Scientists decipher new secrets from ancient scrolls scorched by Vesuvius eruption: "Finally able to read them"

World

By Kerry Breen

Updated on: June 26, 2026 / 9:55 AM EDT /

CBS News

A University of Kentucky project using artificial intelligence to help decode an ancient Roman mystery has led to a major discovery, researchers announced Thursday.

In 79 A.D., the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the Roman city of Pompeii and the nearby town of Herculaneum. During a dig in Herculaneum in the 18th century, archaeologists found 1,800 papyrus scrolls in an intact ancient library, deep under the site of a villa that was destroyed by Vesuvius' eruption. But reading them was impossible: The scrolls are brittle and charred, and unravelling them turns them into ash.

Corporate profits were already at historic highs. They shot even higher in Q1.

Ben Werschkul · Washington Correspondent

Updated Fri, June 26, 2026 at 11:14 AM PDT 3 min read

US business profits are booming no matter how you measure it, with strength in US corporate balance sheets hovering above historic norms for more than a decade.

Larry Ellison quietly gave $45 million to a pro-Trump group—then Oracle landed a starring role in a $500 billion AI buildout

FORTUNE

By Sydney Lake

Associate Editor

June 25, 2026, 12:00 PM ET

While many of Big Tech’s biggest names have been fairly public and open about their dealings with President Donald Trump, there’s one executive who has been more stealthy in his dealings with the CEO-in-Chief.

Larry Ellison, the billionaire Oracle cofounder, gave about $45 million to a nonprofit backing Trump’s 2024 campaign, people familiar with the fundraising told The Wall Street Journal. This funding wasn’t subject to disclosure rules, according to WSJ, and hadn’t been reported until this week.

U.S.-Iran Latest: U.S. strikes Iran after Trump accuses Tehran of "foolish violation" of ceasefire

By Alex Sundby, Mark Osborne, Khaled Wassef, Frank Andrews
Updated on: June 26, 2026 / 8:59 PM EDT / CBS News

What to know about the Iran war today: 

• The U.S. carried out retaliatory strikes against Iran on Friday after Iranian forces hit a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier.
• President Trump on Friday called Iran's attack a "foolish violation" of the ceasefire, as Tehran and Washington appear to remain at odds on even basic points in their memorandum of understanding, including control of the strait and how Iran will spend its unfrozen funds.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the framework of a deal Friday between Lebanon and Israel, but Hezbollah, which has rejected similar past deals, was not part of the negotiations.

Venezuelans take search for the missing into their own hands as earthquake death toll climbs

BY  REGINA GARCIA CANO, JUAN PABLO ARRAEZ AND MEGAN JANETSKY

Associated Press Updated 6:35 PM PDT, June 26, 2026

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans took the search for missing loved ones into their own hands Friday in the aftermath of back-to-back earthquakes, citing the scarcity of government rescuers, as the human toll of the disaster climbed to at least 920 dead and more than 51,000 missing.

UN agency pauses evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz after attack on vessel

June 26, 20261:36 AM ET
By The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A United Nations agency paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after the British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman following the passage of several tankers that used a route backed by the U.N.

Rescuers race to find Venezuela quake victims as global relief effort gains pace

 Live Updates 

At least 235 people were killed, with thousands more injured, after two of the country's strongest quakes in over a century.

Updated 1:51 AM EDT, Fri June 26, 2026

Here's the latest

• Deadly quakes: The death toll from the twin quakes in Venezuela — a country mired in political and financial crisis — has risen to around 235, as rescuers race to reach survivors before the “golden window” closes. The second quake was the country’s most powerful in more than a century.

• Nowhere to go: Many people are missing or still trapped beneath rubble. Affected residents have nowhere to go after their homes were flattened in La Guaira, Caracas and surrounding areas.

• Global response: The US military are on the ground for rescue efforts in Venezuela – where, earlier this year, special forces conducted a deadly raid to seize President Nicolás Maduro. Relief teams from around the world are also mobilizing help, and pledges of foreign aid are pouring in.

Sweet Revenge on the Way: A 3-Star Admiral Fired by Hegseth on Track to Claim a Seat in Congress

June 25, 2026

As fate often plays its hand, what was meant to silence her has instead propelled her into the spotlight—a seat above the very chain of command that sought to dismiss her.

A retired Navy three-star admiral may be on track to claim a seat in Congress after being unceremoniously ousted by Pete Hegseth. Just last August, Hegseth dismissed Nancy Lacore with a casual flick of his wrist, no hearing, no charges, and certainly no acknowledgment of her decades-long dedication to service. Perhaps he thought he could erase her like a minor bureaucratic error—clearly, fate had other plans.

Government scientists fired by Trump launch new website for sharing climate data

Futurism
Story by Joe Wilkins 
25/06/2026

Since September of 2024, federal science agencies in the US have axed nearly 120,000 employees, in a stinging loss for public research. Some of the heaviest impact was felt by scientists studying the climate, at bureaus like the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Luckily for us, climate scientists are a resourceful bunch. A recent initiative pushed by former NOAA staffers has led to the creation of a non-profit website to share trusted climate data with the public.

Israel revives Gaza expulsion plan as UN probe confirms genocide against children

Wednesday, 24 June 2026 6:45 PM 

Israeli officials have renewed the discussion of the possibility of expelling Palestinians from Gaza, as an independent UN inquiry confirmed that the occupying regime continues to commit genocide in the besieged strip.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Shmuel Ben Ezra, head of the so-called national security council, convened an urgent meeting with military officials to discuss “encouraging voluntary emigration” from Gaza.

Senate rejects measure to restrict Trump's Iran war powers as key Republicans shift votes

Politics
By Joe Walsh, Kaia Hubbard
Updated on: June 24, 2026 / 11:37 PM EDT / 

CBS News

The Senate late Wednesday rejected a measure aimed at restricting President Trump's power to wage war against Iran, in a victory for the president and Senate GOP leadership as they seek to quell congressional discontent with the Trump administration's Iran strategy.

Trump cancels signing of largest housing affordability bill in a generation

By Samantha Delouya, Updated 14 hr ago

This week, Congress celebrated a rare bipartisan victory after overwhelmingly passing the largest housing affordability bill in a generation. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump was set to sign it into law.

But there was a change of plans.

Less than two hours before the planned signing, Trump posted on social media: “Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby canceled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” referring to a bill that would tighten ID requirements to vote in US elections.

Manifesto laden with incel ideology linked to Côte-des-Neiges shootings

 

Montreal Crime

A 104-page document advocates for use of terror in creating "new order."

By Montreal Gazette

June 23, 2026, at 9:43 a.m.

Seth Hatfield, the man responsible for a fatal shootout in Côte-des-Neiges on Monday, appeared to have written a manifesto filled with rhetoric associated with the “involuntary celibacy” — or “incel” — movement and advocating for the use of terror.

Dispute over nuclear inspections shows how US and Iran are negotiating in public

By MARI YAMAGUCHI and JON GAMBRELL
Updated 10:24 AM PDT, June 24, 2026

TOKYO (AP) — The head of the U.N.'s nuclear agency said Wednesday that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors as part of the interim U.S.-Iran deal to reach an end to the war. An Iranian diplomat instead insisted any such visit would only come after a final deal.

Europe: The World's Fastest-warming Continent

June 23, 2026, 9:32 am EDT

AFP By Laurent THOMET

The latest heatwave sweeping across Europe is a stark reminder that it is the world's fastest-warming continent, stretching into an Arctic that is heating at an even greater pace.

Britain, France, Italy and Spain have issued red alerts and health warnings for much of their territory this week as the region endures its second heat episode since May.

Greece’s Parthenon gets a facelift, revealing a look not seen for 220 years

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Visitors to the Acropolis can now see the Parthenon’s western side looking whole for the first time in about 220 years. Officially unveiled last Thursday, restorers have slotted two new marble blocks into long-empty gaps high on the temple’s western end — the view visitors see when they first enter the ancient monument in Athens.

Trump’s Pick for Top I.R.S. Lawyer Works at Firm That Represents Him

James R. Gadwood, the president’s nominee for chief counsel at the Internal Revenue Service, works at Miller & Chevalier, which has represented Mr. Trump 

in tax matters.

By Andrew Duehren

Reporting from Washington

June 23, 2026

President Trump has nominated a lawyer from a firm that worked on his taxes to become the top attorney at the Internal Revenue Service, an arrangement that could add to the scrutiny that the nomination was already likely to face after the administration granted the president protection from tax audits last month.

Iran says deal to end Mideast war 'declaration of US defeat'

Story by AFP
June 24, 2026• 6h •
4 min read

Iran called the deal it struck to end the Middle East war "a declaration of America's defeat" on Wednesday, as the top US diplomat kicked off a tour of Gulf countries hit hardest by Tehran.