https://verity.news/rss Latest stories from Verity.news en-us https://www.verity.news/story/2026/sa-court-sentences-safari-boss-in-rhino-horn-case https://www.verity.news/story/2026/sa-court-sentences-safari-boss-in-rhino-horn-case A South African court sentenced hunting safari operator Dawie Groenewald and co-accused Tielman Erasmus on Wednesday after they entered a plea agreement in what authorities described as the world's largest rhino horn trafficking investigation, spanning more than 15 years. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 23:03:00 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/canadian-dollar-hits-month-low-amid-recession https://www.verity.news/story/2026/canadian-dollar-hits-month-low-amid-recession The Canadian dollar fell to a 14-month low on Friday, trading at 1.4180 per U.S. dollar, marking its seventh consecutive daily decline and a weekly loss of 1.3%. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 21:31:36 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/dunlap-wins-maine-cd-primary-via-rankedchoice https://www.verity.news/story/2026/dunlap-wins-maine-cd-primary-via-rankedchoice Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap won the Democratic primary for the state's 2nd Congressional District early Friday after ranked-choice tabulations concluded, defeating state Sen. Joe Baldacci with 35,924 votes to Baldacci's 32,555. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 20:42:04 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/mangione-defense-drops-psychiatric-plea-in-murder-trial https://www.verity.news/story/2026/mangione-defense-drops-psychiatric-plea-in-murder-trial Luigi Mangione's legal team withdrew its plan to pursue a psychiatric defense in his New York state murder trial on Thursday, one day after informing Judge Gregory Carro they intended to argue he suffered an "extreme emotional disturbance" at the time of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:46:44 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/italy-cancels-us-visit-after-trumps-meloni-begged-claim https://www.verity.news/story/2026/italy-cancels-us-visit-after-trumps-meloni-begged-claim Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled a planned visit to the U.S. scheduled for June 21 and 22 after Trump claimed in an interview with Italian channel La7 that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had "begged" him for a photo at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:27:49 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/retailers-push-eu-to-exempt-ai-ads-from-labeling-rules https://www.verity.news/story/2026/retailers-push-eu-to-exempt-ai-ads-from-labeling-rules Eurocommerce, whose members include Amazon, H&M, Inditex and IKEA, has written to EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen requesting that AI-generated advertisements be exempted from labeling requirements under the EU AI Act, which takes effect on Aug. 2. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:24:44 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/armie-hammer-film-banned-in-germany-over-migrant-content https://www.verity.news/story/2026/armie-hammer-film-banned-in-germany-over-migrant-content German director Uwe Boll's action thriller "Citizen Vigilante," starring Armie Hammer, has been denied a classification rating by Germany's rating agency, FSK, effectively blocking its commercial release in the country through cinemas, broadcasters and streaming platforms. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 16:40:08 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/israelhezbollah-ceasefire-agreed-after-deadly-strikes https://www.verity.news/story/2026/israelhezbollah-ceasefire-agreed-after-deadly-strikes According to a senior U.S. official and a Gulf diplomat, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire set to begin at 4 p.m. local time Friday, brokered by Qatar, the U.S. and Iran. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 16:02:52 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/uae-bans-unders-from-social-media https://www.verity.news/story/2026/uae-bans-unders-from-social-media The UAE Cabinet approved a resolution on Thursday, setting 15 as the minimum age for social media use, making the UAE the first Arab nation to introduce such a restriction. Children under 15 are barred from creating, using or operating personal accounts on any social media platform. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 15:27:56 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/dc-socialist-lewis-george-wins-mayoral-primary https://www.verity.news/story/2026/dc-socialist-lewis-george-wins-mayoral-primary D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic mayoral primary on Thursday after opponent Kenyan McDuffie conceded, with Lewis George holding roughly 53% of the vote to McDuffie's 36.4% with about three-quarters of ballots counted. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:01:39 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/gabbard-releases-docs-tying-fauci-to-wuhan-lab-funds https://www.verity.news/story/2026/gabbard-releases-docs-tying-fauci-to-wuhan-lab-funds On her final day as U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard released declassified documents she alleged show Dr. Anthony Fauci directed millions in U.S. taxpayer funds toward gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:42:12 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/parents-of-serbian-school-shooter-sentenced-in-retrial https://www.verity.news/story/2026/parents-of-serbian-school-shooter-sentenced-in-retrial The parents of a Serbian boy who killed in 10 people at an elementary school shooting in 2023 were convicted and sentenced in a re-trial in Belgrade on Thursday. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:04:12 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/cdc-funds-m-fight-against-deadly-ebola-outbreak https://www.verity.news/story/2026/cdc-funds-m-fight-against-deadly-ebola-outbreak The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) activated $107 million in emergency funding on Thursday to bolster its domestic and international response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, which has now reached 894 confirmed cases across 32 health zones. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:19:49 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/nsf-reverses-plan-to-shut-down-ocean-observatory https://www.verity.news/story/2026/nsf-reverses-plan-to-shut-down-ocean-observatory The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) reversed its plan to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) on Thursday, announcing it would halt the removal of equipment from remaining arrays and continue operations, including planned maintenance. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 13:28:02 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/accra-summit-pushes-slavery-reparations-forward https://www.verity.news/story/2026/accra-summit-pushes-slavery-reparations-forward Ghana hosted a three-day conference in Accra on Thursday, bringing together leaders from Africa and the Caribbean to advance practical commitments on slavery reparations following a landmark U.N. resolution adopted in March. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:06:44 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/court-revives-ohios-social-media-parental-consent-law https://www.verity.news/story/2026/court-revives-ohios-social-media-parental-consent-law The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Thursday that Ohio's Social Media Parental Notification Act must be restored, overturning a lower court block on the law requiring parental consent for users under 16. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 13:56:46 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/meta-seeks-immunity-in-kids-online-safety-act https://www.verity.news/story/2026/meta-seeks-immunity-in-kids-online-safety-act The U.S. tech giant Meta has lobbied U.S. lawmakers to include a provision granting it legal immunity from child-harm lawsuits in the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), according to a report published by Reuters on Thursday. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 18:58:01 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/uk-man-released-on-bail-after-boy-ended-up-in-crocodile-enclosure https://www.verity.news/story/2026/uk-man-released-on-bail-after-boy-ended-up-in-crocodile-enclosure A 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy "ended up" in a crocodile enclosure at a zoo, local police in the U.K. confirmed on Thursday. An update on Friday said the man was released on bail, adding he "was assessed as not being fit for interview." Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:38:32 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/burnham-wins-makerfield-eyes-labour-leadership https://www.verity.news/story/2026/burnham-wins-makerfield-eyes-labour-leadership Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election in the early hours of Friday, securing 24,927 votes and a majority of 9,231 over Reform UK's Robert Kenyon, who received 15,696 votes. Turnout reached 58.75%, up from 52.4% at the 2024 general election. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 09:09:56 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/top-consumers-cost-earth-t-in-damage https://www.verity.news/story/2026/top-consumers-cost-earth-t-in-damage A study published in Communications Sustainability on Thursday found that the world's top 10% of consumers cause between $1.7 trillion and $5.7 trillion in environmental damage annually, exceeding global climate financing commitments. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:56:06 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/israel-cuts-ties-with-eus-kallas-over-apartheid-remark https://www.verity.news/story/2026/israel-cuts-ties-with-eus-kallas-over-apartheid-remark Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced Thursday he was severing "all contact" with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, citing a media report alleging she compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians to South Africa's "racist apartheid regime" during closed-door talks in Mexico last month. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 12:43:25 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/us-military-drug-strikes-kill-since-september https://www.verity.news/story/2026/us-military-drug-strikes-kill-since-september The U.S. military struck a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Thursday, killing three people and bringing the total number killed in such strikes to at least 211 since the Trump administration began targeting alleged drug traffickers in early September. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:41:54 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/alqaeda-claims-niger-airport-attack-dead https://www.verity.news/story/2026/alqaeda-claims-niger-airport-attack-dead An al-Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack on Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger, which killed 11 soldiers and two civilians. Security forces said they killed 22 attackers and arrested around 20 suspects. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 16:04:52 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/fda-panel-backs-modernas-mrna-flu-vaccine-for-adults- https://www.verity.news/story/2026/fda-panel-backs-modernas-mrna-flu-vaccine-for-adults- The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted unanimously on Thursday that the benefits of Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine, mRNA-1010, outweigh its risks for adults aged 50 and older. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:30:56 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/uk-jails-two-for-spying-for-hong-kong-intelligence https://www.verity.news/story/2026/uk-jails-two-for-spying-for-hong-kong-intelligence Peter Wai, 41, a former U.K. Border Force officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Bill Yuen, 66, a senior manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, received an eight-year term at the Old Bailey on Thursday. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:30:20 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/tory-mp-petitions-to-halt-new-heritage-months-in-canada https://www.verity.news/story/2026/tory-mp-petitions-to-halt-new-heritage-months-in-canada Conservative MP Jamil Jivani, who represents the Ontario riding of Bowmanville—Oshawa North, sponsored a House of Commons petition this week calling on the federal government to stop recognizing new heritage months and commemorative days dedicated to ethnic and cultural groups. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 16:13:16 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/iran-halts-nuclear-talks-citing-israeli-lebanon-ops https://www.verity.news/story/2026/iran-halts-nuclear-talks-citing-israeli-lebanon-ops Iran on Thursday suspended its delegation's trip to Switzerland for the opening round of nuclear talks, citing ongoing Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon as a violation of the first clause of the memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 06:15:06 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/caricom-pushes-slavery-reparations-at-accra-summit https://www.verity.news/story/2026/caricom-pushes-slavery-reparations-at-accra-summit Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley distributed an updated 52-page Caribbean Community (CARICOM) manifesto at a conference in Accra, Ghana, on Thursday, asserting the "moral, ethical and legal case" for reparations from former European colonial powers for centuries of enslavement. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 06:32:17 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/ice-arrests-colombian-activist-amid-election-tensions https://www.verity.news/story/2026/ice-arrests-colombian-activist-amid-election-tensions U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Franklin Humberto Coral-Garrido, a Colombian activist aligned with the country's leftist President Gustavo Petro, in Phoenix on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed, after he overstayed his B1/B2 visa by 10 years. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:56:06 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/hn-kills-of-seal-pups-on-heard-island https://www.verity.news/story/2026/hn-kills-of-seal-pups-on-heard-island According to a study published on Wednesday, researchers estimate that 13,359 southern elephant seal pups — out of a total population of 17,364 on Australia's Heard Island — have died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu since last August, representing more than 75% of the cohort. Mortality in some seal harems reached as high as 97%. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 02:26:35 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/europeans-fear-rising-crime-despite-falling-homicide-rates https://www.verity.news/story/2026/europeans-fear-rising-crime-despite-falling-homicide-rates A YouGov poll published on Thursday and conducted across Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain found that between 53% and 80% of respondents in each country believed crime was rising nationally, with Italy (80%) and France (78%) recording the highest levels of concern. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:31:48 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/council-seeks-court-ban-on-lamppost-flag-group https://www.verity.news/story/2026/council-seeks-court-ban-on-lamppost-flag-group Oxfordshire County Council announced on Wednesday that it has applied to the High Court for an injunction to prevent the Raise the Colours group from placing Union Jack and St. George's Cross flags on lampposts and other highway infrastructure across the county. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:01:33 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/judge-revokes-bond-of-chud-the-builder-over-social-media https://www.verity.news/story/2026/judge-revokes-bond-of-chud-the-builder-over-social-media Davidson County, Tenn., Judge Melissa Blackburn revoked the bond of Dalton Eatherly, known online as "Chud the Builder," on Wednesday at a hearing held at the Justice A.A. Birch Criminal Justice Building in Nashville. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 20:56:17 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/nasa-relativity-space-team-up-for-mars-mission https://www.verity.news/story/2026/nasa-relativity-space-team-up-for-mars-mission NASA announced a public-private partnership with Relativity Space on Wednesday to send the Aeolus atmospheric-science instrument suite to Mars, with a planned launch in 2028 aboard Relativity's Terran R rocket from Cape Canaveral. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:09:12 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/chatgpt-tricked-into-generating-graphic-images https://www.verity.news/story/2026/chatgpt-tricked-into-generating-graphic-images British AI security startup Mindgard found that OpenAI's ChatGPT, running on its GPT-5.4 system, could be made to generate sexualized and graphically violent images by slightly altering a widely shared prompt originally designed for humorous results. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 19:51:34 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/teacher-gets-life-for-murdering-adopted-toddler https://www.verity.news/story/2026/teacher-gets-life-for-murdering-adopted-toddler Jamie Varley, 37, a teacher from Blackpool, was sentenced to a whole life order at Preston Crown Court for the murder and sexual abuse of 13-month-old Preston Davey, who died in July 2023. His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was jailed for 25 years for allowing the child's death, sexual assault and cruelty. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 20:31:10 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/us-bolivia-sign-m-anticrime-security-deal https://www.verity.news/story/2026/us-bolivia-sign-m-anticrime-security-deal The U.S. Embassy in Bolivia confirmed on Wednesday that the two countries reached an agreement under which Washington will provide up to $20 million to help La Paz to fight drug trafficking and other transnational organized crime. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 20:17:51 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/scotus-marijuana-users-cant-be-banned-from-guns https://www.verity.news/story/2026/scotus-marijuana-users-cant-be-banned-from-guns The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday that the federal government cannot prosecute a person solely for possessing a firearm while using marijuana, finding the law overbroad under the Second Amendment. The decision came in the case U.S. v. Hemani. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:54:03 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/fifa-denies-security-breach-at-englands-world-cup-opener https://www.verity.news/story/2026/fifa-denies-security-breach-at-englands-world-cup-opener FIFA stated it had "no indication of fans entering the stadium without a valid match ticket" after eyewitness reports claimed scores of ticketless supporters bypassed security checks at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, during England's 2026 World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:19:35 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/cuba-approves-market-reforms-amid-crisis https://www.verity.news/story/2026/cuba-approves-market-reforms-amid-crisis Cuba's Communist Party Central Committee approved 176 market-liberalization measures covering 23 economic sectors during an extraordinary plenary session Wednesday, with the National Assembly convened Thursday to ratify the reforms. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 19:17:49 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/ca-billionaire-tax-hits-ballot-divides-democrats https://www.verity.news/story/2026/ca-billionaire-tax-hits-ballot-divides-democrats California Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced Wednesday that a proposed one-time 5% tax on residents with assets exceeding $1 billion had qualified for the November ballot after supporters submitted more than 1.55 million signatures, roughly double the required threshold. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:42:28 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/long-island-killer-gets-life-for-murders https://www.verity.news/story/2026/long-island-killer-gets-life-for-murders Rex Heuermann, a 62-year-old Long Island architect, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on June 17 for murdering eight women between 1993 and 2010. Judge Timothy Mazzei handed down three consecutive life sentences plus four consecutive terms of 25 years to life — the maximum under New York law. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:26:22 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/panel-urges-permanent-maid-ban-for-mental-illness https://www.verity.news/story/2026/panel-urges-permanent-maid-ban-for-mental-illness A special joint parliamentary committee released a report Wednesday recommending the Canadian government amend the Criminal Code to indefinitely exclude people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAID). Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:52:06 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/sanders-proposes-t-ai-wealth-fund-with-stock-tax https://www.verity.news/story/2026/sanders-proposes-t-ai-wealth-fund-with-stock-tax U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act on Thursday, proposing a one-time 50% stock tax on the largest AI companies to create a federally managed sovereign wealth fund estimated at around $7 trillion. This follows Sanders' announcement of the proposal earlier this month. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:41:22 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/idf-holds-ground-in-lebanon-amid-usiran-peace-deal https://www.verity.news/story/2026/idf-holds-ground-in-lebanon-amid-usiran-peace-deal The Israeli military (IDF) published a map on Thursday showing its forces deployed up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) inside southern Lebanon, a day after the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding calling for an immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:05:16 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/belfast-stab-victim-wakes-from-coma-after-riots https://www.verity.news/story/2026/belfast-stab-victim-wakes-from-coma-after-riots Stephen Ogilvie, 44, has emerged from an induced coma after being stabbed at Kinnaird Avenue in north Belfast on June 8. His family confirmed the update via a GoFundMe page, noting he lost sight in his left eye and may lose sight in his right eye. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 13:48:47 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/hegseth-pushes-nato-reviews-us-troops-in-europe https://www.verity.news/story/2026/hegseth-pushes-nato-reviews-us-troops-in-europe U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a six-month Pentagon review of American troop deployments in Europe at a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday, saying its outcome would depend on how quickly European nations take greater responsibility for their own defense. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 14:07:36 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/alligator-alcatraz-empties-ahead-of-hurricane-season https://www.verity.news/story/2026/alligator-alcatraz-empties-ahead-of-hurricane-season The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday that all detainees at a Florida detention facility — known as "Alligator Alcatraz" — had been transferred to other facilities, citing concerns about the Atlantic hurricane season. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:40:17 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/trump-iran-sign-historic-ceasefire-deal-at-g https://www.verity.news/story/2026/trump-iran-sign-historic-ceasefire-deal-at-g U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran at the Palace of Versailles during a G7 summit dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian subsequently signed the document to finalize the accord. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:38:21 +0000 https://www.verity.news/story/2026/congress-probes-maxwells-prison-transfer-perks https://www.verity.news/story/2026/congress-probes-maxwells-prison-transfer-perks Staff from the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees visited Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas on Tuesday, conducting a three-hour visit that included a two-hour tour and discussions with facility staff, including the warden. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 13:56:13 +0000