Today is Monday, June 16, 2025.
It is the 167th day of the year.
198 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
NOTABLE & NOTEWORTHY: More closure in the FTX saga.
ANTONIO BROWN faces attempted murder charges and BLAKE LIVELY tries to save face with former friend TAYLOR SWIFT. More in SHOWBIZ.
MARK HAMILL clarifies his “quitting” “Star Wars” comment in CASTING CALL.
Some new staff roles in the House of Sussex. Details in ROYALS.
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Here’s the latest on the conflict between Israel and Iran:
– Israeli officials say the initial attack conducted early Friday morning were more successful than originally hoped, hitting more than 20 sites in less than 15 minutes, after gathering intelligence over the last year. Both Israel and Iran have confirmed the decimation of Iran’s military leadership and top nuclear research scientists.
– The campaign is expected to continue in the coming days and weeks. Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU has pledged that the operation will definitively end Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
– Multiple reports have suggested that the United States played an essential role in recent weeks to catch Iran off guard. In public comments, PRESIDENT TRUMP and other administration officials insisted on pursuing diplomatic negotations instead of military intervention.
HOWEVER: On Sunday, news broke that Trump rejected a plan to take out Iranian Supreme Leader ALI KHAMENEI as part of the operation.
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The fallout from the FTX collapse continues to settle, now with SHAQUILLE O’NEILL paying $1.8 MILLION to settle a class action brought by some of the crypto exchange’s former customers.
Shaq was one of many paid celebrity spokesmen employed by FTX who were targeted by lawsuits after the exchange’s insolvency in 2022. Shaq’s move appears to be money just to make the whole fiasco go away. Jacksonville Jaguars QB TREVOR LAWRENCE also previously settled a similar suit for $1.3 MILLION.
A claim continues against the likes of TOM BRADY, GISELE BUNCHDEN, LARRY DAVID, and STEPH CURRY. [via NY Times]
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The Catholic Church will soon get its first millennial saint.
POPE “Father Bob” LEO XIV will formally canonize Carlo Acutis on September 7. Acutis died from leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, but spent his short life ministering in Italy, focusing on the homeless and hungry.
Becoming a saint includes two major steps, beatification and canonization. In 2000, the late POPE FRANCIS beatified Acutis, citing a report that in 2013 a Brazilian boy beat cancer after his mother had prayed to Acutis, which counts as the first miracle to merit beatification. The second miracle came in 2022, when a Costa Rican woman prayed to Acutis to heal her daughter who suffered a bike crash, which she did, earning full canonization.
Acutis was headed for sainthood on April 27, but those plans were delayed after Francis’ death – so Leo isn’t making any waves with this move. [via New York Post]
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FOLLOW UP: North Korea’s state media says its Kang Kon destroyer has finally been launched, a few weeks after it tipped over after a botched first attempt.
In images aired to announce the re-launch, two officials blamed for the first failure appear to have been edited out, compared to identical previous photos. The men include a navy commander and a manager for the shipyard.
NK News, a watchdog group of the Hermit Kingdom, say they first started noticing such unpersoning practices back to 2013. [via Yonhap]
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As of yesterday, Father’s Day, Ari “The Sperminator” Nagel says he is officially retired from spreading his seed.
“It’s best if they find someone younger -- it’s healthier,” the 49-year-old told The New York Post.
He also shared that he is dating someone, and after years of abstinence to accommodate women’s ovulation schedules, Nagel said he is ready to give it all to his new love.
FOR THE RECORD: Nagel donated his sperm for the past 17 years across 20 states, 10 countries, and 5 continents. The oldest kid is 16, youngest is 2, and 5 are currently on the way. There were also 13 sets of twins conceived, and 1 baby born in prison. [via NY Post]
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