Mike Trout doubles and homers as Angels defeat Diamondbacks
PHOENIX — Mike Trout hit a two-run home run and an RBI double for the Angels in a 7-0 shutout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.
Trout’s 436-foot two-run shot to center came in the fifth inning and gave the Angels a 5-0 lead, and his sixth-inning double drove in Denzer Guzman.
Reid Detmers (3-5) worked seven innings for the Angels, giving up no runs and three hits while striking out three. He has given up three or fewer earned runs in each of his past five outings and nine of his last 10.
Wade Meckler hit an RBI single in the second to get the Angels on the board first, followed by a solo home run by Zach Neto in the third. Donovan Walton hit an RBI single in the fourth and a ground-rule double in the eighth to bring Logan O’Hoppe across.
The Angels combined for 14 hits, paced by O’Hoppe’s three-for-four night.
Adrian Del Castillo got the first hit of the game for the Diamondbacks in the third inning. Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo both singled in the sixth, and Corbin Carroll had a one-out infield base hit in the ninth. Arizona went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and stranded five baserunners.
Kirby Yates and Chase Silseth combined for two scoreless innings of relief to close out the game.
Merrill Kelly (5-6) gave up 11 hits and six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings for Arizona. He struck out four and walked one.
Trump-backed Mike Collins wins Georgia Senate GOP runoff

June 17 (UPI) — Rep. Mike Collins was projected Tuesday night to win Georgia’s Republican Senate primary runoff, defeating former football coach Derek Dooley as voters cast ballots in contests across the country.
The Collins-Dooley race was the highest-profile race on a primary night.
President Donald Trump has loomed large over November’s midterm elections, encouraging GOP-led states to redraw congressional maps, warning of impeachment and investigations if Democrats win control of the House and endorsing candidates who align with his agenda.
The Georgia Senate runoff drew national attention as a race that could help decide control of the Senate and test Trump’s influence in a battleground state.
Collins of Georgia’s 10th Congressional District ran with Trump’s endorsement, while Dooley had the support of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
With all 159 localities reporting, Collins had secured 55.5% of the vote to Dooley’s 44.4%, according to unofficial results from the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Collins, speaking to supporters Tuesday night, projected an image of GOP unity, stating he had spoken with both Dooley, thanking him for running a “spirited campaign,” and Kemp “for his leadership and his friendship over the years.”
“We’re going to have some robust primaries out there. Sometimes, we got some strong disagreements, but I can tell you we stand united around one mission,” he said to applause.
“That’s right. And y’all know what the mission is: Is to put a Republican in that seat and get rid of that Jon Ossoff in November.”
Ossoff, a Democrat, won the Senate seat in 2021, flipping control of the chamber from the Republicans.
In his victory speech, Collins attacked Ossoff for voting in favor of President Joe Biden‘s landmark Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan as well as voting against banning transgender athletes from competing in female-segregated sports.
Following Collins’ victory, Ossoff attacked him on social media, calling him a “notorious bigot, antisemite and extremist” who is being investigated by the House Committee on Ethics for illegal misuse of tax dollars.
“Collins, who is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, voted to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, for the Iran War and for the Trump tariffs,” he said in a statement.
Dooley conceded defeat.
“While tonight didn’t go our way, I want you to know that I’ll continue to be in this fight,” he said on social media.
“No matter who you voted for or what you believe, one thing we all can agree on is Jon Ossoff does not represent our Georgia values. In November, we’re sending him to the bench!”
Trump endorsed Collins on Friday after early voting ended, while Kemp endorsed Dooley in August.
But Tuesday night was not a clean sweep for Trump-backed candidates in Georgia. Rick Jackson, the billionaire founder of Jackson Healthcare, was poised to defeat Trump-endorsed Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the GOP governor runoff race.
According to unofficial results, Jackson had secured 52.65% of the vote share to Jones’ 47%.
The Georgia governor’s mansion is up for grabs as Kemp, a Republican, has been term limited. He faced Democrat Stacy Abrams in the last two gubernatorial elections.
Jones had won 38% of the vote in the primary election last month. Jackson received 32% of the vote. The runoff was scheduled as neither candidate surpassed the 50% threshold needed to win the GOP nomination outright.
Joe Fisher contributed reporting.
Alleged Plot On White House UFC Fight Puts Drone Threat In The Spotlight
A plan to attack the UFC America 250 event at the White House on June 14 with explosive drones was thwarted by the FBI, according to federal records. Exactly how capable those involved were of actually pulling it off remains unclear. However, the alleged plot amplifies concerns that TWZ has been documenting for years about threats posed by drones to critical facilities in the homeland and how they continue to change the national security picture at home and abroad.
The long-standing potential for a drone attack on the White House was something we recently discussed last month in an examination of President Donald Trump’s plans to fortify the under-construction ballroom. More on that later in this story.

The plot involved a group of individuals who wanted to “attack the UFC event and involved staging a ‘demonstration’ on the north side of the White House,” CBS News reported, citing the court filings. “The group would then fly drones ‘laden with unspecified explosive devices which would detonate over the north side of the UFC arena,’” according to the filing in the case of one of the five people arrested, 19-year-old Tycen Proper.
When the drones exploded, “the group then planned to force attendees of the UFC event and ‘high value targets’ to evacuate to the south,” Proper’s affidavit read. The suspect told investigators that the plan was for group members to “act as snipers and additional shooters,” shooting fight attendees and the “high value targets” as they fled from the explosions.
The affidavit said the “high value targets” were “wealthy people” and politicians, CBS noted.
Proper allegedly told investigators the goal of the attack was to “jumpstart” a revolution in the U.S. He was interviewed from a hospital, according to the document, where he was admitted on an emergency basis due to “homicidal ideations.”
In addition to Proper, Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, California; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska were also charged, according to the Justice Department.
Fox News was the first to report details about the plot.
TWZ cannot independently verify any of these details at this time and it remains publicly unclear what capabilities, training, funding and equipment the suspects had to actually carry out a complex attack like the one described. Proper’s mother said her son “began interacting with a group online that was comprised of individuals who claimed to be ex-military and Christian-based,” according to the court documents. They espoused anti-government and anti-Semitic sentiments.
At the very least, it would have taken unique skills and some level of discipline, coordination and operational security to pull off this kind of a plot. It would have also required funding and time. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies disrupt attack plans long before they get close to becoming operational, and many of those have a low chance they could actually been implemented as dreamed-up. That does not mean the individuals involved or their plans are not still a significant threat. In this case, there is no information available on whether anyone involved had the means and ability to stage an attack like the one described.

Regardless, it is important to note it would be a challenge to stop people simply from bringing weaponized uncrewed aircraft into range of the White House without law enforcement having prior knowledge. Actually employing those drones as weapons successfully is another story. Still, the danger of such an attack looms large and is growing by the day.
As we have frequently highlighted, two incidents last year highlight the alarming danger of near-field drone attacks that raised lingering concerns in the U.S.
On June 1, 2025, Ukraine launched drones hidden in trucks at air bases across Russia, causing severe damage to its strategic aviation fleet. Weeks later, Israel fired drones from deep inside Iran at the country’s air defenses during the 12-Day War.
TWZ raised concerns about just these kinds of attacks for years long before the ones in Russia and Iran took place.
The following video shows one of the Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian bombers during Operation Spider Web.
In both Russia and Iran, the drones were set up undetected deep in enemy territory during armed conflict against military targets. The plot on the White House, as characterized in the court documents, is of course different on many levels and was to be planned and executed by citizens, not sponsored by another nation at war with its neighbor. At the same time, both presents a host of challenges to defend against, many of which overlap.
Given the presence of the president, his family and thousands of VIP guests on the White House lawn at the time, as well as the event’s extremely high-profile nature, UFC Freedom 250 was “designated a Special Event Assessment Review 1 event, like the Super Bowl, Indianapolis 500, Kentucky Derby and college football games, according to the Department of Homeland Security,” ABC News reported last week.
Security was also tightened at the Ellipse outside the White House, where thousands more watched the event on large screens.

The increased precautions included concern about drones, said Tara McLeese, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office.
Federal law prohibits flying drones in the airspace over the National Capital Region, so McLeese advised fans ahead of the event to “leave their drones at home.”
“We will have law enforcement drones for overwatch, but just to make it simple for the public, if they see a drone, we want them to report that,” she said, according to ABC.
The Secret Service declined to talk about its concerns over drone threats, instead pointing us to its post on X.
While we don’t know the extent of the counter-drone measures deployed by the FBI, Secret Service or even the military, they certainly included devices to detect and, if needed, jam the signals of threatening drones. However, as the war in Ukraine and Israel’s push into Lebanon have proven, the efficacy of these methods is far from assured. This is especially so since the introduction of drones controlled via fiber optic cables, which mitigate the effects of radio frequency passive detection and active jamming with a direct hardwired link between a drone and its operator.

Meanwhile, as we noted in our story about Trump using the ballroom he is building as a kind of defensive fortification, using traditional kinetic protection from drones and other aerial threats in and around the White House is limited and risky. The advent of interceptor drones, many that are hit-to-kill or use electromagnetic pulses and other low collateral damage means instead of explosive warheads, is starting to mitigate some of those concerns.
From the story about Trump’s ballroom:
“Clearly, the drone issue is a massive one and has been for many years. This structure will serve as a secure place to do daily business if needed. Based on Trump’s comments, it will also act as a critical active defense node with its roof hosting air defenses, and apparently ones that are capable of at least a limited degree of area defense, not just highly-localized point defense. This is where drones could come into play. Drone interceptors (drones that intercept other drones) are well suited for the unique challenges of defending the White House and the Mall area as a whole, where collateral damage is a huge concern. Some of these systems use warheads, while others do not, physically smashing into their targets or blasting them with electrical pulses and other non-traditional effects instead. Drone interceptor capabilities are expanding rapidly now, equipping forward bases and warships. They proved critical in defending U.S. interests against Iranian attacks during the recent war. In Ukraine, they have proven indispensable in countering waves of Russian Shaheds.”

Directed energy, such as lasers and high-power microwave weapons are another potential countermeasure, but these systems remain somewhat in their infancy and have very short range. Above all else, using them in dense urban areas, especially those with nearby low-flying air traffic, can be extremely problematic. They are not widely deployed for the counter drone role in the United States and won’t be in the near term.
It’s also worth remembering that the alleged plan did not necessarily rely on the accuracy of the drones or the damage they could inflict. The goal was to induce panic by their very presence and drive people into a field of fire to be attacked by snipers.
Even if counter-drone measures were able to provide a relatively robust protective bubble over UFC 250 at the White House, the plot as described in the documents further highlights the vulnerability large events have from even the lowliest of drone attack attempts.
The U.S. at the moment is protecting several facilities across the country with huge crowds during the World Cup soccer tournament at a time of heightened global tensions. Countering drone attacks was a central component of pre-event security measures as well as ongoing efforts.

This all comes as the U.S. is working to increase authorities to allow the military and law enforcement to better protect against drone threats.
We were the first to report numerous unauthorized drone flights over U.S. military facilities and other sensitive areas. The defensive capabilities have been constrained by a labyrinth of often confusing legal and regulatory hurdles. Incursions by cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border have sharpened the need for reforms, some of which are underway.
As we reported back in February, in advance of the U.S. hosting the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games, the Trump administration pushed to expand counter-drone authorities. Congress granted that when it passed the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Officials have already taken action against drone operators using these new authorities. Last week, FBI Los Angeles said it seized drones and issued citations to pilots near SoFi Stadium for alleged violations of temporary flight restrictions during last Friday’s World Cup match, The Los Angeles Times reported. The bureau “shared photos showing confiscated drones as well as an image of a drone operator being cited,” the newspaper noted. “However, it did not specify how many drones were taken or how many pilots were issued citations. It also did not provide details on the technology used to locate or track the drone operators.”
The bureau did not say if the operators of these drones had nefarious intent or whether they were armed, though neither of those are prerequisites for violating the no-drone-zone rules.
While the actual ability of the alleged perpetrators to pull off the combined drone and sniper attack on the White House like what’s described remains unknown, the threats to the homeland from uncrewed aircraft are only growing by the day, as are nefarious actors’ experience and creativity with the technology.
Contact the author: howard@twz.com
South African jazz icon Abdullah Ibrahim dies at age 91
JOHANNESBURG — Globally celebrated South African jazz icon Abdullah Ibrahim has died at age 91, his family announced in a statement Monday.
Ibrahim, formerly known as Dollar Brand, passed away peacefully in Germany following a short illness, surrounded by loved ones, the statement issued on behalf of his family said.
As one of South Africa’s most respected jazz figures, he famously played at Nelson Mandela’s 1994 presidential inauguration. Mandela referred to Ibrahim as “our Mozart.”
His final public concert in South Africa took place at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in March, when he once again captivated audiences with the musical skill that defined his career.
Paying tribute to her partner, Dr. Marina Umari said he “passed away peacefully with South Africa and its people in his heart.”
“His love for his country never wavered, no matter where in the world he found himself,” she said.
His family said that even though his life is over, his influence and voice would continue to resonate around the world.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to the musician, praising his contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle and acknowledging his lasting impact through music.
“Today our nation mourns the passing of an international icon and global citizen whose profound creations honored the South Africa that shaped his political commitment and musical brilliance,” said Ramaphosa.
Born Adolph Johannes Brand in Cape Town on Oct. 9, 1934, Ibrahim rose to international prominence as a pianist, composer and bandleader. With a career spanning more than seven decades, he forged a unique blend of jazz and South African musical traditions, making him a cultural ambassador whose music struck a chord with listeners worldwide.
Ibrahim’s mother Rachel Brand was mixed-race and under the apartheid system he was classified as “colored,” which afforded him certain social privileges that were denied Black South Africans. He was raised by grandparents and was told Rachel was his sister, only learning the truth in adulthood. Influenced by his grandmother and mother playing piano at the AME Church in Kensington, a Cape Town suburb, Irbrahim began piano lessons at age 7 and made his professional debut at 15.
In 1959 and 1960, he played with saxophonists Kippie Moeketsi and Mackay Davashe, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, trombonist Jonas Gwangwa, bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makaya Ntshoko in the Jazz Epistles. The group recorded the first full-length jazz LP by Black South African musicians, “Jazz Epistle — Verse 1.” The South African government began targeting jazz groups as part of increasing state repression, and following the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960, the Jazz Epistles broke up.
During this time, Ibrahim met jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin and the pair moved to Europe. The following year, in Zurich, Switzerland, Benjamin convinced Duke Ellington to come see Ibrahim perform with the Dollar Brand Trio. Impressed, Ellington helped arrange a recording session with Reprise Records, later released as “Duke Ellington presents The Dollar Brand Trio.”
In 1965, Ibrahim and Benjamin married and moved to New York. He played at the Newport Jazz Festival and toured throughout the U.S. In addition to playing with, and, on occasion, leading the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Ibrahim interacted with such musicians as Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, and was influenced by the Black Power movement, incorporating African elements into his jazz. His compositions also reflected the influence of Ellington and Thelonious Monk.
The musician returned briefly to Cape Town in 1968 and converted to Islam, changing his name from Dollar Brand to Abdullah Ibrahim. As an expatriate, he toured the world for decades, appearing at major venues and working with classical orchestras in Europe. His composition “Mannenberg” became noteworthy as an anthem of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement.
In 2009, Ibrahim received an honorary doctorate in music from Wits University and the Order of Ikhamanga, a prestigious civilian award, from former President Jacob Zuma in the same year.
Ibrahim was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2019.
Alan Winde, the mayor of the Western Cape, where Ibrahim’s hometown is located, honored the performer and commended him for capturing South Africa’s cultural richness and history in his music.
“South Africa has lost a legend,” Winde said. “Abdullah Ibrahim represented everything that makes South Africa and the Western Cape so remarkable. His music told the story of our unique cultural diversity and past.”
Ibrahim is survived by Umari; his son, Tsakwe, a musician; and his daughter, Tsidi, a rapper who goes by Jean Grae.
According to his family, Ibrahim will be laid to rest in the German state of Bavaria, where he lived.
Gumede writes for the Associated Press.
Japan’s export surge narrows May trade deficit to JPY 378.7B;core mach

Dilok Klaisataporn
Japan’s trade deficit significantly decreased to JPY 378.7 billion in May 2026, down from JPY 662.5 billion a year earlier and performing better than the market’s expected JPY 564.6 billion shortfall, the contraction was driven by exports expanding faster than imports.
Highlights: Messi equals Klose scoring record with hat-trick against Algeria
Lionel Messi becomes the World Cup’s joint-top all-time leading scorer with a hat-trick, as reigning champions Argentina begin their defence with a 3-1 win over Algeria.
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Russian drone strikes residential building in Ukraine | Politics
A suspected Russian drone attack on a residential building in Ukraine has injured at least seven people. Emergency services responded as fire ripped through the building in Zaporizhzhia.
Published On 17 Jun 2026
Trump administration seeks to halt air pollution lawsuit against Musk’s xAI | Technology News
US Department of Justice claims NAACP lawsuit threatens ‘national, economic, and energy security’.
The United States government has intervened on the side of Elon Musk’s xAI in a legal dispute over a $20bn data centre, claiming that efforts to block a related power project threaten national security.
In a court motion filed this week, the Department of Justice requested the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing xAI of illegally operating dozens of natural gas turbines erected to power the Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the largest civil rights group for African Americans, filed the lawsuit in April under the 1963 Clean Air Act, which allows citizens to seek injunctions and civil penalties against alleged polluters.
The NAACP alleges that xAI built the turbines, located in nearby Southaven, Mississippi, without obtaining the necessary permits, exposing hundreds of thousands of residents to harmful pollutants linked to “increases in asthma, respiratory diseases, heart problems, and certain cancers”.
The lawsuit notes that a “much larger share” of residents are Black compared with the US general population.
In its motion, filed in a US District Court on Monday, the Justice Department accused the NAACP of threatening “national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations”.
The motion also claims that the US Constitution vests the power to seek civil penalties “conclusively and preclusively” in the executive branch, including the “discretion to decide when such an enforcement action is unwarranted or inconsistent with federal enforcement priorities”.
Adam Gustafson, the top prosecutor at the Justice Department’s environment and natural resources division, said in a statement that the government would “not sit idly by while private organisations use environmental laws to undermine our national security”.
xAI, which is a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earthjustice, an advocacy group representing the NAACP in the lawsuit, condemned the intervention as a “massive power grab” by President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Trump’s Justice Department wants to shield Elon Musk’s data center company, xAI, from being held accountable for its illegal pollution – and it’s attempting to grab power from impacted communities, the courts, and Congress to do so,” Laura Thoms, director of enforcement for Earthjustice, said in a statement.
“There is no moral or legal precedent for this.”
Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at UCLA School of Law, described the Trump administration’s argument as a “brazen attempt” to limit enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
“It’s based on a radical notion that the executive branch can dismiss lawsuits brought by citizen groups that Congress has authorised based on no rationale at all,” Carlson told Al Jazeera, adding that the Justice Department’s position would let “polluters off the hook even for blatant violations of the law.”
“This motion is also just one of many ways in which the administration is undermining efforts to protect air quality,” Carlson said.
The Trump administration has cultivated close ties with Musk, the world’s richest man, tapping the tech titan as a temporary cost-cutting tsar and using xAI’s flagship model Grok in the Pentagon’s drive to become an “AI-enabled fighting force”.
In testimony in support of Monday’s motion, Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon’s top official for AI, said that Grok had been used to launch more than 2,000 munitions at 2,000 targets within the first 96 hours of the US-Israel war on Iran.
If Grok cannot be deployed and upgraded due to “limitations in energy supply or limited reserve compute capability”, numerous tools used by the Pentagon would be “severely impacted”, Stanley said in a declaration made under oath.
Newly married Dua Lipa splashes out £2m in one week as she snaps up TWO new London homes
DUA Lipa has taken her London property empire to four pads by snapping up two more swish homes.
The pop sensation – who recently married actor Callum Turner– has just splashed around £1m on a two-bed flat in London’s Leicester Square area.
And another £1m went on a flat in north London which is next door to a pad with a similar price tag she already owns.
Dua also has a pad in Hampstead worth £7m.
A firm called Chiltern Court Ltd, of which she is a “person of significant control” took out loans from the royal family’s banker Coutts & Co and OneSavings Bank Plc to fund the purchases.
That’s despite the chart topper being worth £150m.
Dua also owns a stunning £6.5m Victorian property in West Hampstead, which she bought back in 2020.
Prior to that she bought her first home in 2017, located in London, when she was just 22.
It’s been a great few weeks for Dua after tying the knot with Callum during an intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall last month.
Dua, 29, stunned in a white hat, dress and gloves hand in hand with newly wedded husband, 35-year-old Callum, wearing a navy suit and tie.
Eight friends and family stood on both sides of the stairs at Marylebone Registry and tossed confetti as the beaming couple headed into a black cab.
A small security team and the family went in a green Land Rover and accompanied the couple who left in taxi.
It was a low-key affair making them legally man and wife ahead of their second wedding – a lavish three-day event in Sicily.
Insiders have said that the ceremony will be a massive, luxurious affair.
“They have rented out multiple huge venues for the multi-event extravaganza,” said a source.
Dua and Callum have been linked together since early 2024 and went Instagram official in May that year.
Then in June 2025 the singer confirmed that they were engaged.
Prosecutors charge 15 for impeding Minnesota immigration crackdown
Federal prosecutors announced charges Tuesday against 15 people who are accused of impeding federal agents during the Trump administration’s massive immigration surge in Minnesota earlier this year.
The investigation targeted two “Minneapolis-based antifa groups” whose members were trained in “surveillance, operational planning and rapid mobilization against law enforcement,” Minnesota U.S. Atty. Daniel N. Rosen said at a press conference.
The charges come as the Trump administration has escalated its attacks on “antifa,” an umbrella term for a diffuse movement of militant left-wing activists, which President Trump has described as a domestic terror group.
Rosen said some of those arrested identified as “antifa” while deploying a range of tactics to disrupt the immigration crackdown, such as “stalking” federal agents and using blocks of ice to slow their convoys. He declined to say whether any federal agents were injured as a result of their actions.
“Whether or not they actually, at the end of the day, cause bodily harm is not the measure of whether or not they committed a serious federal crime,” Rosen told reporters.
Twelve people were arrested Tuesday, two remain at large and one is already in custody, Rosen added. The names and specific charges of those arrested were not immediately available.
The charges come months after the administration’s “Operation Metro Surge” brought thousands of federal agents to the Twin Cities, setting off mass protests and leading to the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens.
During the surge, convoys of agents in unmarked SUVs traveled through neighborhoods, at times banging down doors, waiting outside schools and demanding residents produce proof of citizenship.
Primarily organized through anonymous neighborhood messaging threads, a sprawling network of outraged Minnesotans quickly formed, with ordinary citizens and activists using whistles and car horns to call attention to the masked, heavily armed agents.
At the time, border czar Tom Homan indicated that federal authorities were probing “the organization and funding of the attacks on ICE.”
“They’ll be held accountable,” Homan said. “Justice is coming.”
Last September, Trump signed an order classifying antifa as a domestic terror organization and directing federal agencies to “investigate, disrupt, and dismantle” its affiliates and funders.
Democrats and several First Amendment groups have raised issue with the designation. While the federal government may designate foreign terror groups, there is no formal mechanism to apply the same label to domestic groups.
Trump has long invoked the term against a range of political opponents, including peaceful protesters without anarchist leanings.
Offenhartz writes for The Associated Press.
Lakers promote Lawrence Tanter to special advisor for game presentation
The smooth and soothing voice that generations of Lakers fans grew so accustomed to when Lawrence Tanter was the longtime public address announcer has put down his microphone.
Tanter, known as the “Voice of the Lakers,” has retired from his game-day role, the team announced Tuesday, and he will become a special advisor for Lakers game presentation.
Tanter, 76, sat in his courtside seat as the public address announcer for 43 years at Lakers games, starting in 1982 when they played at the Forum and lasting until late March, when the team announced he would miss a game to attend to his health. Those with knowledge of the situation who are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter said he had a stroke.
“Lawrence Tanter has been an integral part of the Lakers gameday experience for more than four decades, setting the tone for countless memorable moments with his professionalism, energy and signature booming voice,” said Jeanie Buss, the Lakers’ governor. “Since the 1980s, LT has narrated every chapter of Lakers basketball, connecting generations of fans, players, coaches and staff while becoming a trusted and unforgettable part of the Lakers’ experience. I am incredibly grateful for everything he has given to this franchise.”
From the days of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, to the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal era and the current LeBron James and Luka Doncic days, Tanter was the voice that resonated.
Suspect in fatal Delaware hospital shooting arrested in Philadelphia

June 16 (UPI) — Delaware authorities said Tuesday night that a suspect has been arrested in connection with a shooting inside a Wilmington hospital that left one person dead and another injured.
Little about the arrest has been made public. A statement from the Wilmington Police Department identified the suspect as a 23-year-old man who was taken into police custody in Philadelphia.
UPI has contacted the Philadelphia Police Department for comment.
“Charges and extradition to Delaware are pending,” the Wilmington Police Department statement said.
A preliminary investigation has indicated the shooting was targeted, authorities said following the arrest.
The shooting erupted at about 3:30 p.m. EDT at ChristianaCare Wilmington Hospital, a 321-bed facility located in the heart of Delaware’s most populous city. Officers arrived on the scene to find two people suffering from gunshot wounds. One person was pronounced dead, Wilmington Police Chief Wilfredo Campos told reporters during a press conference.
Authorities withheld the victims’ identities and the condition of the surviving victim out of respect for their families, he said.
The hospital, a trauma center, was placed under lockdown, which has since been lifted. Hospital staff barricaded themselves in rooms across the facility as law enforcement cleared the building. The large police presence that had descended on the facility was being removed, according to the police chief.
Regardless of the motive, “there is never an excuse for violence and there is never an excuse for gun violence,” he said.
Wilmington Mayor John Carney said violence and loss of life in the city were “unacceptable” and that the thoughts and prayers of his office were with the hospital employees “who I know experienced a terrible day today.”
“It’s particularly distressing when an incident like this occurs in a hospital whose fundamental purpose is to treat injuries and save lives,” he said.
“If there’s a place that should be a sanctuary from such violence, that is the place.”
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, a Democrat, said the shooting hits “especially close to home.” His wife, the state’s first lady, Lauren Meyer, works as a physician there.
“We ask all Delawareans to keep everyone affected in their thoughts as we learn more about what happened and stay vigilant,” he said.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said he was monitoring reports of the shooting.
“I’m praying for everyone’s safety, including patients, healthcare workers, first responders and law enforcement officers,” he said in a social media statement.
According to The Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 5,800 shooting-related deaths and nearly 10,600 shooting-related injuries in the United States so far this year.
Haaland scores two goals as Norway beat Iraq 4-1 on World Cup return | World Cup 2026 News
The Manchester City striker scored his first goals at a major international tournament as Norway powered past Iraq.
Published On 17 Jun 2026
Erling Haaland scored twice in his World Cup debut as Norway powered past Iraq to win 4-1 in their Group I opener in Boston.
The Manchester City striker scored his first goals at a major international tournament on Tuesday as Norway returned to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
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Haaland turned in from close range to give Norway the lead on 29 minutes, but Aymen Hussein’s header brought Iraq level.
Haaland then pounced on an error at the back to put Norway ahead again before half-time and take his goal tally at international level to 57 in just 51 matches.
Leo Ostigard headed in a third for Norway moments after coming off the bench to effectively wrap up the victory. Norway then got a fourth deep into stoppage time through a Hussein own goal.
The win left Norway on top of Group I on goal difference, level with France on three points after Les Bleus overcame Senegal 3-1 earlier in the day. The Norwegians face the African powerhouses in their next game in New Jersey on June 22 .
No team has endured a longer or more perilous road to the World Cup than Iraq, who secured their place as the 48th and final qualifiers in March after a 21-match campaign that stretched across 867 days.
Hussein, the scorer of the decisive goal in the play-off win over Bolivia, was held and questioned for hours by US immigration officials after arriving with the squad ahead of Iraq’s first World Cup since 1986.
Norway’s impressive return
Norway last played at the tournament in 1998, when coach Stale Solbakken was a member of the squad that famously beat Brazil in the group stage before exiting in the last 16. He also featured at Euro 2000.
After breezing impressively through qualifying, twice thrashing Italy, they are hoping a golden generation of players – led by Haaland and Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard – can break new ground in North America.
Solbakken predicted that Haaland would make a “very big impact” at his first major finals, and the Manchester City star was quick to deliver on that promise.
Antonio Nusa’s trickery was a problem for Iraq, and his incisive pass released the overlapping David Moller Wolfe clear before Haaland stretched to steer in the low cross from the left.
Iraq, who lost all of their group games in their only previous appearance, did not let that get to them as they equalised 10 minutes later.
Amir Alammari found space just inside the area and clipped in a cross, with Hussein rising brilliantly to power a header past Orjan Nyland.
But Iraq only had themselves to blame as they gift-wrapped Haaland’s second of the contest.
Goalkeeper Jalal Hassan was slow to react to a softly hit back pass, his attempted clearance smacking off Haaland’s shin and ricocheting into the net.
Iraq again responded well with Ibrahim Bayesh denied by a desperation block, Ali Alhamadi dribbling an effort wide, and centre-back Akam Hashim lashing a spectacular volley just over the bar.
Ostigard nodded in Odegaard’s corner on 76 minutes to seal the points for Norway, before Haaland was thwarted by Hassan when another loose pass sent him clean through and seeking his hat-trick.
Haaland, nonetheless, had a hand in Norway’s late fourth, his looping header back across goal deflecting off Hussein before trickling over the line.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley dares to glare as she shows off ‘sensual’ new bikini range
MODEL Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looked incredible as she wore shades with a white cropped jacket and bikini.
The mum of two, 39, who is the long-term partner of movie action star Jason Statham, wore the outfit for Brazilian swimwear brand ViX Paula Hermanny.
She also got on her bike in a tied blue shirt for the photoshoot, as part of her role as a co-designer and global ambassador.
For another look, she wowed in a strapless cut out red swimsuit as she posed for a snap in front of beach waves.
The model completed the look with the blue oversized shirt and pushed her hair out of her face with a wet look.
Rosie said: “I wanted to design a collection to reflect how women really live and travel — pieces that feel effortless, sensual, and timeless, wherever you are.”
She added: “This collaboration feels incredibly personal as I’ve worn ViX for years.
“Paula and I share a love for beautiful fabrics, clean lines, and pieces that feel effortless yet considered.”
This is Rosie’s second official collection with the luxury brand.
Earlier this month Rosie wowed in a pink matching gym set as she worked up a sweat.
She also rocked a pair of weight-lifting gloves and some sunglasses for the mirror selfie.
The star scraped her hair back off her face and completed the look with some gold earrings.
Rosie started dating Jason, who has starred in the likes of Transporter, The Mechanic and Fast & Furious, started dating in 2009.
The pair met while at a party in London.
The two took their relationship to the next level and got engaged in 2016.
And they share two children Jack, eight, and Isabella, four.
Judge who had sex in courthouse agrees to exit Georgia election case
ATLANTA — A federal judge who was disciplined after an investigation found she had sex with a police officer in her chambers and attended a partisan event, then lied when confronted with the allegations, has recused herself in a fight over Georgia election records after the U.S. Department of Justice raised questions about her ability to be impartial.
The Justice Department sought to remove U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross from the case, citing her reported attendance at an event for Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis, who prosecuted President Trump. Ross filed an order Tuesday recusing herself, writing that she was doing so “out of an abundance of caution for the potential perception of bias.”
The Justice Department had sued Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for seeking an unredacted statewide voter list, and Ross was presiding over that case.
“Both the Trump administration’s present and Willis’s past efforts have become heavily polarized,” Ross wrote, explaining that she “cannot discount” that an objective observer might interpret her attendance at an event sponsored by Willis’ campaign as support for the district attorney’s position, even if she only went to see former colleagues.
Ross received a “private reprimand” after a court investigation found that she had sex in the courthouse with a high-ranking uniformed police officer within earshot of staff, attended a partisan event and then initially lied to deny the allegations.
The investigation report says Ross went to an event hosted by a district attorney’s campaign. The judge said the district attorney had been a friend since 1999 and acknowledged having gone to the a private mixer held on the sidelines of the event to visit with former colleagues in the district attorney’s office.
Ross previously worked in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and overlapped there with Willis there before Willis was district attorney.
Willis in August 2023 obtained an indictment against Trump and 18 others, accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. That case was ultimately dismissed in November.
Brumback writes for the Associated Press.
World Cup 2026: Haaland rises to the occasion on World Cup debut
If there is a stage that is too big for Erling Haaland, we’re yet to find it.
A hat-trick on his Champions League debut for RB Salzburg, a hat-trick on his Bundesliga debut for Dortmund, a double on his Premier League debut for Manchester City, and now two goals on his World Cup finals debut, inspiring Norway to a 4-1 win over Iraq.
The 2026 World Cup might be six days in, but it felt as if it really began on Tuesday, with Kylian Mbappe inspiring France to a 3-1 victory over Senegal with two superb goals which made him Les Bleus’ all-time leading scorer.
Little over an hour later, Haaland strode out for his first World Cup appearance and picked up the gauntlet thrown by Mbappe, nearly 18 months his senior, with a display full of desire, as well as the goals we have come to expect.
Norway manager Stale Solbakken said afterwards: “You can see he lived up to the occasion – it wasn’t too big for him.
“I had a good feeling before the game, the last training session was very good. I had a feeling he would do it for us today.”
Iraq head coach Graham Arnold added: “He’s just an amazing number nine. We dealt with him quite well for a lot of the game [but] at the end of the day he’s a top striker.
“Norway could shock a lot of people with the team they have. They could go a very long way.”
Arnold spoke to Haaland after the final whistle and revealed: “I just said to him: ‘You’re one of the best number nines I’ve ever seen.’ He’s so strong, so quick and he’s just lethal.”
DOJ charges 15 in Minneapolis, allege ‘antifa’ ties

June 16 (UPI) — On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced charges against 15 people in Minnesota they say “conspired to impede or injure federal officers” in connection with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement push in Minneapolis earlier this year.
A Department of Justice press release said the 15 are members or associates of Direct Action Minnesota. The charges included conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, interstate stalking, interstate threats, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, assaults on federal officers and destruction of government property.
The prosecutors and other officials said those charged are left-wing antifa activists. “Antifa” is short for “anti-facist.” Thirteen of those charged are in custody, while two remain at large.
The Trump administration’s ICE surge in Minneapolis drew widespread protests and pushback, including volunteer “rapid response” and “ICE watch” patrols, The Washington Post reported. ICE agents killed two protestors, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during the surge.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that those charged “engaged in an unrelenting campaign of harassment and violence targeting local and federal law enforcement.”
Markwayne Mullin, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the people charged were “rioters” and said the charges were “a win for law and order.”
“We have zero tolerance for violence against our law enforcement,” he said. “If you assault or obstruct law enforcement, you will face the consequences.”
Daniel Rosen, U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, was asked during a briefing about the charges how many federal agents were injured through the defendant’s alleged actions, The Post reported. Rosen said the charges were based on their plans.
In the release, Rosen said the direct actions of the activists were “un-American” and “will be met with swift justice.”
The press release said Direct Action Minnesota is, in the group’s own description, “a decentralized coalition of working-class people engaged in various forms of community defense against the (then-current) federal occupation happening within the wider metro area, and against state and a far-right violence more broadly.” It said the group “trains its members in the use of shields against law enforcement, surveillance, event planning, role differentiation and rapid mass mobilization” against ICE actions.
Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis City Council member, said Tuesday on social media that he was concerned investigators were targeting legal observers.
“Alerting our neighbors about ICE activity is not a crime,” he wrote. “Observing is not a crime, and loving your immigrant neighbors is not a crime. To every person who was observing the illegal actions committed by ICE and who supported our immigrant community, please know we have your back.”
As of yet, there are no charges against the ICE agents involved in the deaths of Good and Pretti. Rosen said Tuesday that investigations are ongoing.
Smotrich says Israel taking control of Hebron | Israel-Palestine conflict News
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel has transferred authority over Hebron to the army. It includes control of the key holy site, Cave of the Patriarchs. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh explains.
Published On 17 Jun 2026
Mystikal has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for 3rd-degree rape
Grammy-nominated rapper Mystikal has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for third-degree rape.
The “Danger” rapper was arrested in the summer of 2022 and booked into the Ascension Parish Jail in Louisiana and charged with first-degree rape, simple robbery, domestic abuse battery–strangulation, false imprisonment and simple criminal damage to property after the victim identified the rapper as the suspect from the hospital where she was being treated for injuries.
According to Baton Rouge-based ABC affiliate WBRZ, the victim told a Louisiana courtroom on Tuesday that Mystikal, real name Michael Tyler, punched and choked her, pulled braids out of her hair and forcibly raped her during the 2022 incident. The victim requested the maximum sentence for the rapper.
“If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence,” Tyler told the courtroom before he was sentenced to 20 years for third-degree rape, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years with no chance for early release or probation.
In March, Tyler entered a guilty plea, which knocked his first-degree rape charge down to third-degree. In Louisiana, first-degree rape carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. According to WBRZ, the rapper’s attorney filed a motion to withdraw the guilty plea days before Tyler was sentenced, but the motion was tossed.
The New Orleans-born artist was convicted more than two decades ago of sexual battery after pleading guilty to charges in 2003. He served six years in prison and was released in 2010.
The rapper was previously indicted in 2017 on rape and kidnapping charges stemming from allegations in 2016. He spent 18 months in jail before being released in 2019 on a $3-million bond, the Associated Press reported. The Caddo Parish district attorney in Louisiana ultimately dropped those charges in 2020 after a second grand jury declined to bring an indictment.
With his raspy vocal intensity and scream-like musical delivery, Mystikal shot to the top of the charts with Master P’s No Limit Records in the late 1990s. In 2004, the embattled rapper’s original label, Jive Records, released two compilations of his music, “Prince of the South … The Hits” and “Chopped & Screwed.”
Former Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.
Wednesday 17 June Independence Day in Iceland
Iceland was proclaimed an independent republic on June 17th 1944.
Iceland actually gained independence from Denmark much earlier, on December 1st 1918 with the signing of the Act of Union with Denmark. The Act recognised Iceland as an independent state under the Danish crown.
The formation of the republic in 1944 was based on a clause in the 1918 Act which allowed for a change to the relationship between Iceland and Denmark in 1943.
Due to the German occupation of Denmark in 1943, a vote on the revision to the Act was delayed until after the Second World War finished.
The referendum was held in at the end of May 1944. Voters were asked whether the Union with Denmark should be abolished and whether to adopt a new republican constitution. Both measures were approved with more than 98% in favour and a voter turnout of 98.4%.
Although he would have preferred a different outcome in the referendum, King Christian X of Denmark sent a letter on June 17th 1944 congratulating Icelanders on forming their Republic.
The June 17th date was already a significant date in Iceland’s history as it is the birthday of Jón Sigurdsson who was the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement which led to the 1918 Act of Union. Sigurdsson died in Copenhagen in 1879.
June 17th, was therefore chosen as Iceland’s National Holiday as a fitting date to mark the Independence from Denmark, the proclamation of the Icelandic republic and to recognize Jón Sigurdsson’s efforts toward Icelandic independence.
The day has been a legal public holiday since 1971, though it had been a tradition for most employers to give their workers a day off since 1945.
Tuesday 16 June Awal Muharram in Malaysia
This article explores the significance of Awal Muharram, a public holiday marking the Islamic New Year in Malaysia. The day commemorates the historic journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, serving as a time for spiritual reflection and personal improvement. Observances include communal prayers, the recitation of religious texts, and the sharing of a traditional sweet porridge known as Bubur Asyura. Furthermore, the Malaysian government honors distinguished individuals for their service to Islam through the Tokoh Ma’al Hijrah award. Ultimately, the source highlights how this occasion encourages believers to renew their resolutions and seek a more purposeful life in the coming year.





















