Two federally employed researchers — Dutch virologist Vincent Munster and Cameroonian NIH research fellow Claude Kwe — were charged Wednesday with smuggling 113 vials of monkeypox out of the Republic of Congo and lying to federal agents at Detroit Metro Airport. At least 13 of the vials contained active pathogen samples requiring special authorization to transport across borders. When agents asked Munster for documentation, he allegedly replied, "I do this all the time." Both men face up to five years in federal prison if convicted.
A two-week joint operation announced Wednesday — led by Meta and backed by the FBI, DOJ, Microsoft, Coinbase, Starlink, and Thailand's national police — resulted in 63 arrests and the removal of more than 1.4 million scam accounts from Facebook and Instagram. The operation also froze over $3 million in cryptocurrency tied to criminal networks running romance scams and investment fraud out of Southeast Asian scam compounds. The DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force, led by US Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Ferris Pirro, coordinated the American side of the effort.
President Trump's early-2026 ethics disclosure logged more than 3,600 financial transactions valued at up to $750 million, including purchases of Apple, Thermo Fisher, and Micron stock on the same day — or the day before — Trump publicly praised each of those companies in official remarks. The trades were all marked "unsolicited," and the Trump Organization says investment advisers have sole decision-making authority with no involvement from the president or his family. Democrats are calling for a closer investigation of the timing.
Vote-counting continues from Tuesday's primaries across California, Iowa, Montana, and other states. California's governor's race has no clear front-runner, with Republican Steve Hilton facing a crowded Democratic field including Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer under the state's all-party primary system. In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass fell short of the 51% threshold needed to avoid a runoff; in Iowa, Rep. Ashley Hinson locked up the GOP Senate nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Joni Ernst.
Iran launched ballistic missiles and attack drones at US military assets in Kuwait and Bahrain — all were intercepted by CENTCOM before reaching their targets. US forces then conducted what they called a self-defense strike on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island. Iran's IRGC claimed to have struck the air base from which the American attack originated, and Tehran is warning of a harsher response if the US strikes again.
President Trump confirmed a heated confrontation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the exchange "crazy." Reports Trump has not denied indicate he told Netanyahu that Israel's Lebanon operations were making US diplomacy untenable and isolating Israel internationally — and that Israeli forces reportedly advancing on Beirut have since stood down. Netanyahu's office, however, says military operations will continue regardless of pressure from Washington.
As Operation Epic Fury stretches past five weeks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hinting that a diplomatic deal with Tehran remains on the table even as US and Iranian forces continue exchanging strikes. Iran has been disrupting tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz throughout the conflict, and Gulf state allies remain on edge. Rubio's comments suggest the administration is seeking an off-ramp, though the shape of any deal amid active hostilities remains undefined.
A personalized mRNA cancer vaccine from Moderna and Merck, combined with the immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA, reduced melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to KEYTRUDA alone in a landmark five-year follow-up of 157 high-risk patients. The Phase 2b results were presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, with researchers reporting no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events. The combination therapy is now advancing into a Phase 3 confirmatory trial.
The White House confirmed it is actively coordinating with NASA, the FBI, and other federal agencies to investigate the mysterious deaths and disappearances of at least 11 American scientists connected to nuclear and space research — some tied to UAP-related programs. Victims include an Air Force major general, multiple NASA engineers, and researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory; the body of one missing LANL scientist was recently found by a hiker in a New Mexico forest. House Oversight Chair James Comer says "something sinister" may be behind the pattern.
Pre-release tracking for DC Studios' "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" — set to open June 26 — projects an opening weekend of just $47 to $65 million against a combined production and marketing budget of roughly $250 million. Star Milly Alcock has been giving interviews declaring she's glad to "trigger Christian dads" and arguing she's been attacked for "simply existing as a woman" in a superhero role. Hollywood is, once again, preparing for an expensive lesson it appears constitutionally unable to absorb.
