01 Trending

News Source
EXCERPT:

BOGOTA, Colombia — A Colombian senator, who recently lost the nation’s presidential election, said Tuesday he will not recognize his opponent, Abelardo de la Espriella, as the nation’s new head of state, if he does not comply with several demands, including renouncing his U.S. citizenship.

In a statement issued Tuesday, progressive senator Iván Cepeda urged de la Espriella, the winner of June’s presidential runoff, to renounce his U.S. citizenship, arguing that holding it while being Colombia’s president could generate conflicts of interest.

The senator also said that de la Espriella should clarify whether he is an “agent” of the United States, because as a criminal defense lawyer he defended a former paramilitary leader who was an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

News Source
EXCERPT:

HAVANA — Talks between Cuba and the U.S. are at a standstill, despite the island recently approving a series of free-market reforms, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez announced Tuesday.

He noted that the newly unveiled reforms were neither mentioned nor discussed in earlier talks between the two nations.

“The recently announced (measures) are a matter of total and absolute sovereignty,” Rodriguez said. “We have neither listened to nor are we interested in the U.S. government’s opinion on them.”

But he said it was striking that they “were met with a new package of unilateral coercive measures … against Cuba.”

News Source
EXCERPT:

 

Oil tankers and cargo vessels are anchored off the coast of Oman after being stranded for days as congestion at Port Sultan Qaboos has prevented them from docking on June 23, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Elke Scholiers | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Iran has exported more than 40 million barrels of crude oil since the U.S. removed its naval blockade of Iranian ports, and is now selling oil at prices roughly 20% higher than before the war, parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tuesday.

The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 to end nearly four months of war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and set ​up 60 days of negotiations to work out a permanent peace deal. The two sides briefly traded strikes over the weekend after Iran attacked two transiting vessels.

The ceasefire prompted a surge in crude shipments through the vital waterway where traffic had largely ground to a halt during the conflict, sending oil prices sharply lower.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Representatives from the two sides met in Switzerland last weekend for talks to end the war, which resulted in the US partially lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has risen significantly since the MOU was signed, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.

Its latest data suggests 284 vessels have made the transit from 18 June, the day after the deal was signed, although that is is still well below the pre-conflict average of some 138 crossings each day.

Child under 12 years old is euthanised in the Netherlands for the first time after law change www.thesun.co.uk
News Source
EXCERPT:

A CHILD under the age of 12 has been euthanised in the Netherlands for the first time.

The child’s death was disclosed in a letter to parliament by Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans.

The euthanasia was carried out at the end of last year, although no further details have been released.

Euthanasia for terminally ill children aged between one and 12 has been legal in the Netherlands for the past two years.

Before the change, the procedure was only permitted for newborn babies in exceptional circumstances and for children aged 12 and over.

Former Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said the law would help “a small group of terminally ill children in agony with no hope of recovery and unbearable suffering”.

Zohran Mamdani went three-for-three in his effort to win U.S. House nominees for his anti-American socialist movement, his new world order, the progressive state.  Bernie Sanders also endorsed the same far-left candidates. He is becoming the center of the real power of the Democratic Party as it completes its transition from an American leftist party to an anti-American communist party.

Go Deeper

News Source
EXCERPT:

Tech mogul Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein’s prior sex crime conviction but that he did not know Epstein was continuing to engage in misconduct at the time of their acquaintance, according to a transcript of his testimony.

In his transcribed interview with the panel earlier this month as part of its ongoing Epstein investigation, Gates recounted details of his dealings with Epstein over the years — which extended from 2011, when he was first introduced to Epstein, to 2014, when he realized Epstein would not make good on his promise to steer donors towards Gates’ philanthropic work.

“I was aware that he had a criminal conviction,” Gates said, according to the transcript. “I knew that it was of a sexual nature, but, no, I don’t think I … dug into the specifics, although I probably should have.”

News Source
EXCERPT:

A supercomputer in China now outranks its U.S. counterparts as the world’s most powerful, marking the first time since 2017 that a Chinese computer has topped a list sometimes viewed as a measure of a nation’s technological prowess

A supercomputer in China now outranks its U.S. counterparts as the world’s most powerful, marking the first time since 2017 that a Chinese computer has topped a list sometimes viewed as a measure of a nation’s technological prowess.

The LineShine computer in Shenzhen, China, displaced top-ranked U.S. computer El Capitan in the latest version of the TOP500 ranking announced Tuesday. It was the Chinese computer’s debut on the list.

News Source
EXCERPT:

The House appeared poised Tuesday to pass Congress’ most significant housing legislation in decades — a bid by both parties to show midterm voters that they’re paying attention to affordability concerns ahead of November’s election.

The legislation, which the Senate passed Monday, aims to boost the housing supply through dozens of targeted provisions whose effects are expected to be seen over the next several years. In California, measures to provide federal funding for housing production in big cities could be particularly significant.

The bipartisan agreement over the legislation, after weeks of negotiation, marks a highly unusual collaboration in the divided Congress. It reflects growing public pressure on Washington to address economic issues, at a time when Americans’ economic woes are deepening amid inflation, elevated gas prices and the ongoing effects of President Trump’s tariffs.

The bill aims to help housing supply by removing regulatory barriers to building affordable housing units, preventing large investors from buying up single-family homes and incentivizing housing production in cities with federal funding, among other measures.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Texas Democrat James Talarico is facing fresh scrutiny after newly leaked audio reveals that the Senate candidate once described himself as “a Christian who hates Christianity” during a podcast discussion with progressive religious activists.

The remarks were made during a 2021 appearance on the “Activist Theology” podcast but were leaked online by the Republican National Committee on Tuesday.

The audio is now drawing attention as Talarico attempts to present himself as a faith-driven Democrat in his bid to defeat Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in November’s closely watched Senate race.

News Source
EXCERPT:

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a formal request to Congress. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, including Monday evening. A top deputy defense secretary told senators about the Iran funding request last week, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the developments.

News Source
EXCERPT:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday called for a major expansion of the country’s naval forces, suggesting the regime should build two large warships each year for the next five years.

Speaking at a commissioning ceremony for a new destroyer, Kim suggested North Korea should build two warships comparable in size to its 5,000-ton Choe Hyon-class vessel each year over the next five years, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim was celebrating the deployment of the new multipurpose destroyer at the port of Nampho. In April, he observed launches of two cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles from the vessel.

News Source
EXCERPT:

London — Labour Party lawmaker Andy Burnham, who looks increasingly likely to be Britain’s next prime minister, has previously criticized President Trump, accusing the American leader of bringing “instability” to the world.

Current Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that he would resign in the wake of disastrous local elections in May, and 20 resignations from his government.

As his Labour Party still has a large majority of seats in the U.K. parliament — won in the last national elections in 2024 — it gets to pick Starmer’s replacement, and Burnham is widely expected to get the job.

News Source
EXCERPT:

“I had never seen those pictures, and I never want to see those pictures. I saw one, and it was, that was enough,” said Jeff Metcalf.

His son, Austin Metcalf, was 17 years old when he was murdered by Karmelo Anthony, who was convicted earlier this month of killing Metcalf.

News Source
EXCERPT:

China’s newest and most powerful aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has sailed through the Taiwan Strait, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China’s newest and most powerful of its three aircraft carriers sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the Taiwanese defense ministry said, a day after Taiwan began a five-day military exercise on responding to a Chinese attack.

The Fujian carrier first sailed through the narrow body of water separating China and Taiwan in a trial run last September. It later transited the strait for the first time as a fully commissioned military vessel in December.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Commercial vessels and oil tankers preparing to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical strategic waterways for global trade flows, maintain their wait in the Gulf of Oman, on June 17, 2026.

Oil fell Tuesday, reversing slight gains at the start of the session, as investors showed cautious optimism about an end to the conflict in the Middle East.

International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 1.57% to $76.68 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for August declined 1.53% to $72.73 per barrel.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Gas ⁠station ​operators including BP, Circle K, Marathon, 7-Eleven, Walmart and Albertsons were sued on Monday by California drivers ⁠who accused them of using artificial intelligence to boost prices at the pump.

According to a proposed class action, the defendants ⁠violated California’s main antitrust law, the Cartwright Act, by using an AI-based tool that ​uses data from competing gas ‌stations to “coordinate high prices ‌and wring more money from the pockets of consumers”.

The lawsuit in the ‌Sacramento federal court said the scheme violated assembly bill 325, a California law that took effect on 1 January and was intended to crack down on algorithmic price fixing.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Israel loves President Trump, but “the security of Israeli citizens comes first,” the country’s far-right national security minister said Monday.

“We love President Trump but first and foremost – Israeli soldiers, our fighters, our residents, the security of Israeli citizens comes first,” Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

“No more daredevil ceasefire,” he added.

Ben-Gvir, who has been sanctioned by the U.K., Canada, Australia and several other countries for inciting violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, said the deaths of Israeli soldiers taking part in operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon last week showed “the containment policy failed.”

He criticized “years of measured responses” and “attempts to buy temporary peace” with Iran and its proxy forces – Hezbollah being the most serious threat to Israel among them – and said those initiatives had been interpreted by Israel’s enemies as “weakness.”

“The State of Israel must be safe, if not – Beirut will look like Beit Hanun,” he said, referring to a city in Gaza that was once home to more than 50,000 Palestinians. The city was “level[ed] to the ground” during Israel’s war with another Iranian proxy, Hamas, according to Israel’s defense chief.

News Source
EXCERPT:

U.S. naval power is undergoing its greatest transformation in a generation, and the nation’s status as the top global military superpower may hinge on the outcome.

That transformation and all the challenges that come with it — including advanced technology integration, shipbuilding labor shortages and budgetary tensions — will be at the center of a special event to be hosted Wednesday by The Washington Times’ Threat Status national security team at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington.

News Source
EXCERPT:

Board members of a small township in Michigan agreed to “fight to our very last breath” against an AI data center planned in their community. America’s nuclear scientists and the University of Michigan want to build a massive data center in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. If built, the data center will, among other things, run simulations to help America build nuclear weapons.

The residents of Ypsilanti Township overwhelmingly oppose the construction of the data center and voiced their opposition to the computer warehouse during a public board meeting on June 16. In a show of support that’s often rare from local leaders in communities with data centers, Ypsilanti Township’s board vowed to fight UofM and Los Alamos National Laboratory, which is partnering with the university, with everything they had.

News Source
EXCERPT:

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian lawmakers late on Monday rejected a new government proposed by Prime Minister-designate Adrian Vestea, who had hoped to bring an end to the country’s protracted political crisis.

The vote in Parliament failed — with 189 votes for and 23 against — and more than half of lawmakers abstained. It needed at least 233 to pass. The outcome caps a monthslong political crisis that started when a no-confidence vote toppled the previous government in May.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said he designated Vestea, a longtime member of the National Liberal Party, or PNL, to try to form a government based on his past administrative experience. Vestea was Dan’s second prime ministerial nomination after his previous pick, Eugen Tomac, failed to present a cabinet within 10 days.

News Source
EXCERPT:

An Ohio voting-rights group is insisting it did nothing to justify the “swarms” of FBI agents who fanned out across the state on June 12, searching offices and visiting the homes of employees and volunteers with the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.

Meanwhile, the FBI hasn’t given any public hint of its reasons for the action or shown that they were justified.

“We’ve done nothing wrong,” Rev. Michael Harrison Sr., chairman of the collaborative’s board, said in an interview on MS Now. “In the midst of having done nothing wrong, there’s nothing to find, and there are no charges to be filed.”

The collaborative says it has registered more than 600,000 Ohioans to vote. It focuses particularly on traditionally disempowered groups. Its leader said the FBI effort didn’t come as a complete surprise.

“Whenever you’re doing the right thing, there will always be pushback,” he said during the MS Now interview. “Whenever you’re providing opportunity for the marginalized or left out, there will always be some level of pushback.”

President Donald Trump has officially signed a deal with Iran that is effectively a 60-day ceasefire intended to lead to a final peace deal. Details of the plan have not been clearly given, but already Trump faces skepticism from both progressives and conservatives at home.

Go Deeper

News Source
EXCERPT:

Toronto police have linked multiple shootings, including one at the U.S. Consulate in March, to complex gun-for-hire networks

TORONTO — Police in Canada said Tuesday they have linked multiple shootings, including at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto in March, to “multilayered” gun-for-hire networks that have also targeted synagogues in the city.

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw told a news conference that young adults are being recruited through encrypted messages and paid by the networks to carry out the shootings and have to film them to get paid. Some of the firearms used in the attacks have since been seized by investigators.