Inside daily news briefs

Inside Daily Brief Newsletter

North Korea on Wednesday called a threat from President Trump a "load of nonsense" and detailed plans to fire missiles into waters near the U.S. territory of Guam. President Trump on Tuesday said North Korea would be met with "fire and fury" if it continued threatening the U.S. The country has responded by saying it wants to launch four intermediate range ballistic missiles that would fly over Japan before striking waters some 30 to 40 km from Guam. Pyongyang said concrete plans to launch the Hwasong-12 rockets toward Guam will be finalized by mid-August. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that North Korea "should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people." – REUTERS

The U.S. has expelled two Cuban diplomats amid an investigation into unexplained health issues that have affected U.S. diplomats in Cuba. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert declined to give details about the symptoms that some American diplomats in Havana have been suffering from. However, a person familiar with the investigation said the Cuban government may have placed sonic devices with the aim of causing hearing loss to approximately five American diplomats. All U.S. diplomats on the island live in housing provided by the Cuban government. The Castro government has launched an investigation into the allegations. – GUARDIAN

The five-bedroom house where President Trump grew up in Queens, New York, is available for rent on Airbnb for $725 a night. "Not much has been changed since the Trumps lived here, the kitchen is original and the opulent furnishings represent the style and affluence in which the Trumps would have lived," the listing reads. In March, a limited liability corporation named Trump Birth House bought the house at auction for $2.14 million. – AP

The U.S has refrained from banning oil imports from Venezuela amid industry concerns that such a sanction would hurt the U.S. economy. Citing data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, AP said that around 20 refineries run by companies including Chevron, Valero and Citgo process Venezuelan oil. Many of these plants were specifically set up to refine the type of heavy oil that Venezuela produces, and they would struggle to find similar crude supplies if the U.S. were to ban Venezuelan oil imports. An industry group that includes the oil companies that control these refineries wrote a letter to Trump saying that banning Venezuelan oil could "harm the U.S. economy, impair the global competitiveness of our energy business and raise costs to consumers." – AP

Oprah Winfrey will launch a line of refrigerated soups and side dishes next week. The products, which will be marketed under a brand called "O, That’s Good!," will include a meal of mashed potatoes with cauliflower and a broccoli and cheddar soup. Winfrey said she was personally involved in the development of some of the recipes. The line of products will include four soups and four side dishes. They will be produced by Kraft Heinz and will retail at under $5 each. – USAT

Fox News host Eric Bolling has sued a journalist for defamation following a report that he sent lewd pictures to colleagues. Bolling is seeking $50 million in damages from Yashar Ali, who last week wrote a story in the Huffington Post claiming that Bolling had sent the unsolicited pictures to three colleagues several years ago. Ali’s story cited 14 anonymous sources. In a statement, the HuffPost said: "Yashar Ali is a careful and meticulous reporter. We stand by his reporting." Ali is a paid freelancer under contract with the HuffPost. On Saturday, Bolling was suspended from his job at Fox News – where he recently hosted the "Fox News Specialists" and "Cashin' In" talk shows – amid an internal investigation into the allegations. – HR

According to the United Nations, smugglers deliberately let some 50 immigrants drown off the coast of Yemen. The smugglers forced some 180 immigrants from a boat on Thursday and those who survived may have buried some of the deceased on a beach in Yemen, the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement. IOM staff found 29 shallow graves and provided medical care to 27 surviving immigrants. The immigrants were mostly teenagers and they hailed from Somalia and Ethiopia. IOM estimates that about 55,000 immigrants may have fled the Horn of Africa so far this year in search for a better life in the Gulf countries. – CNN

Canada plans to set up an immigration camp near the U.S. border to host asylum seekers. Around 100 soldiers will be deployed to Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle on the Canadian side of the border to set up heated tents that would offer temporary accommodation to up to 500 people. Fearing deportation from the U.S., some 250 asylum seekers a day are arriving in Montreal. The asylum seekers are mostly from Haiti. Following the 2010 earthquake, some 50,000 Haitians were allowed to stay in the U.S. under a "temporary pro...