British authorities have recovered more than $130 million worth of cocaine from a ship that arrived in England from Panama, marking one of the largest drug seizures in the United Kingdom in recent years, officials announced Saturday.
The 2.4 metric tons of cocaine—valued at approximately 96 million pounds ($132 million)—was discovered concealed beneath containers on a vessel docked at London Gateway port, east of London. Authorities said the shipment was uncovered during an intelligence-led operation involving multiple agencies.
The Home Office, Britain’s interior ministry, said the bust ranks as the sixth-largest cocaine seizure ever recorded in the country.
“This seizure is just one example of how dedicated Border Force maritime officers remain one step ahead of the criminal gangs who threaten our security,” Charlie Eastaugh, director of U.K. Border Force Maritime, said in a statement. “Our message to these criminals is clear—more than ever before, we are using intelligence and international law enforcement cooperation to disrupt and dismantle your operations.”
The National Crime Agency describes the U.K. as one of Europe’s largest markets for cocaine. According to government data, cocaine-related deaths in England and Wales surged by 31% between 2022 and 2023.
The record seizure comes amid a string of major interdictions worldwide. Just last week, Mexican naval forces intercepted a semisubmersible “narco sub” carrying 3.5 tons of cocaine off the Pacific coast, releasing video footage of the dramatic operation.
In April, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the seizure of roughly 10,000 pounds of cocaine—worth an estimated $74 million—from a fishing vessel operating in the Atlantic Ocean.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 72 Palestinians in Gaza between Friday and Saturday morning, health officials in the Hamas-run territory said, as President Trump expressed optimism that a ceasefire could be reached in the coming days.
Among the dead were 12 people killed near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, where many displaced families had sought shelter, according to staff at Shifa Hospital who received their bodies. More than 20 others were killed in strikes on the Nasser Hospital area, while 11 people died in a separate attack midday Saturday on a street in eastern Gaza City. Their bodies were taken to Al-Ahli Hospital.
In Muwasi, near the southern city of Khan Younis, an Israeli strike on a tent camp overnight killed a couple and their three children while they were sleeping, relatives said.
“What did these children do to them? What is their fault?” asked the children’s grandmother, Suad Abu Teima, as she waited for their bodies to arrive at the morgue.
The surge in airstrikes came as Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that a truce between Israel and Hamas could be imminent.
“I think it’s close,” he said Friday. “We think within the next week, we’re going to get a ceasefire.”
Neither the Israeli government nor Hamas have publicly commented on whether negotiations have advanced.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has pressured both sides to pause hostilities. Yet a deal has remained elusive, with talks repeatedly collapsing since Israel resumed its campaign in March, deepening Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe.
Late last month, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, proposed a 60-day ceasefire. Under that plan—details of which were obtained by CBS News—Hamas would free 10 living hostages and hand over the remains of 18 others abducted during the October 2023 attacks. In exchange, Israel would release 125 prisoners serving life sentences, 1,111 Palestinian detainees, and the bodies of 180 deceased Palestinians.
Israel endorsed the proposal, but Hamas submitted amendments that Witkoff called “totally unacceptable.”
An official familiar with the talks said Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, will travel to Washington next week for further discussions on the ceasefire, Iran, and other regional issues. The official spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
Roughly 50 hostages remain in Gaza, though fewer than half are believed to be alive. They were among the approximately 250 people seized in Hamas’ attack on October 7, which triggered the 21-month war.
Gaza’s health ministry says more than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, more than half of them women and children. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Some families of the hostages have expressed hope that Trump’s involvement—after helping broker a recent truce between Israel and Iran—might add pressure for a resolution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, buoyed by public support following the Iran conflict, may feel he has more political space to negotiate an end to the war in Gaza, despite opposition from far-right partners in his coalition.
Hamas has reiterated it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war, but Netanyahu has insisted he will not stop military operations until Hamas is disarmed and removed from Gaza—conditions Hamas has rejected outright.
Meanwhile, Palestinians face an increasingly desperate humanitarian crisis. After a blockade of food shipments for more than two months, Israel began allowing limited deliveries into Gaza in mid-May.
Distribution has been chaotic, with aid convoys looted by armed gangs or overwhelmed by desperate crowds. Some Palestinians have been shot while trying to reach distribution sites operated by the American- and Israeli-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Gaza health officials and witnesses.
Witnesses reported Israeli troops firing on crowds traveling to the aid locations. Israel’s military said it is reviewing reports of civilians harmed during those incidents.
WASHINGTON (BN24) — The Senate is expected to hold a critical procedural vote late Saturday on President Trump’s sweeping tax and spending proposal, branded by Trump as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” even as support within the Republican caucus remains uncertain.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) acknowledged Friday he was still short of commitments to guarantee the measure could clear the initial hurdle. The bill’s prospects were complicated by lingering policy disputes and last-minute rulings from the Senate parliamentarian, who determined that several controversial provisions violated reconciliation rules that require measures to directly impact federal spending.
Senate Republicans released the updated 1,200-page bill only late Friday night, leaving lawmakers little time to review the text before the vote to proceed. Trump has pressed Congress to deliver the legislation before the Fourth of July holiday, describing it as a signature fulfillment of his promises to voters.
In a statement to CBS News on Saturday, the White House warned that failure would amount to a betrayal of trust.
“The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reflects the shared priorities of both the Congress and the Administration,” the statement said. “President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.”
The proposal pairs sweeping tax cuts with funding increases for defense and Trump’s immigration priorities. To offset costs, it would cut spending on Medicaid and trim benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Over the past week, the parliamentarian ruled that several sections — including provisions curbing the state and local tax deduction and a mechanism for raising the debt ceiling — would have to be dropped or rewritten to comply with reconciliation rules.
While Republican leaders scrambled to salvage the bill, signs of progress emerged Saturday. Two GOP senators who had criticized aspects of the legislation said they would vote to advance it.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced she would support the procedural vote but left her position on final passage open.
“If the bill is not further changed, I would be leaning against the bill,” Collins said.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who previously blasted the Medicaid cuts, said he would support final passage after securing concessions for Missouri, including delays in proposed changes to the provider tax framework and an increase in rural hospital funding.
“With these changes, Missouri’s Medicaid dollars will actually increase over the next four years,” Hawley said. “But I want to be clear: I’m going to spend however long it takes trying to make sure the cuts we’ve delayed never take place.”
Several Republicans remained firmly opposed. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) confirmed he would vote against both advancing the bill and its final passage. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) have repeatedly warned of the bill’s impact on the deficit and signaled continued opposition.
Paul golfed with Trump earlier Saturday, according to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Asked if Paul could be persuaded, Graham said, “There’s some things we might be able to do if we need to, but I don’t think he’ll vote for final passage.”
With a narrow 53-seat majority, Republicans can only lose three votes before requiring Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaker. Thune said Vance would be available if needed.
The House passed its version of the bill by a thin margin in May. If the Senate amends the measure, the House would have to reconvene to consider the changes, a process complicated by House Republicans’ warnings that substantial revisions could sink the legislation altogether.
On the Senate floor Saturday, Thune acknowledged the divisions but urged unity.
“Fifty-three members will never agree on every detail,” Thune said. “But we are united in our commitment to what we’re doing in this bill. It’s time to get this legislation across the finish line.”
Democrats, powerless to block the bill outright under reconciliation rules, prepared procedural tactics to delay final passage. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) instructed Democrats to demand a full reading of the bill on the floor, a maneuver that could stall proceedings for hours.
TEHRAN, Iran (BN24) — Thousands of mourners filled the streets of Tehran on Saturday as Iran held a state funeral for nearly 60 people, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, killed during the 12-day conflict with Israel that ended earlier this week.
Coffins draped in Iranian flags and adorned with portraits of the dead lined Enghelab Square, where crowds chanted anti-Israel slogans and waved banners in defiance. Authorities had called on the public to attend and provided free buses and metro rides across the capital. Government offices were closed nationwide to mark the occasion.
Among those buried was Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s highest-ranking military officer and chief of staff of the armed forces, who died along with his wife and daughter in an Israeli airstrike. Also laid to rest were Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a prominent nuclear scientist and head of Azad University in Tehran.
State media said a total of 627 Iranians were killed during the hostilities. Israel reported 28 deaths in retaliatory missile attacks launched by Iran.
President Masoud Pezeshkian and Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was injured in an Israeli strike, attended the funeral.
The funeral came days after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he could order more strikes against Iran if American intelligence determined that Tehran’s uranium enrichment posed a renewed threat.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, Trump said he would “without question” bomb Iran again if necessary.
“Why would the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei say so blatantly and foolishly that he won the war with Israel, when he knows his statement is a lie?” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Trump also claimed he had spared Khamenei’s life during the recent escalation. “I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death, and he does not have to say, ‘thank you, President Trump!’” he wrote.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Trump’s remarks as “disrespectful,” warning that such statements could jeopardize any diplomatic progress.
“If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone,” Araghchi posted on X.
He also acknowledged that U.S. airstrikes had caused “excessive and serious” damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said the extent of the destruction or movement of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles and centrifuges remained unclear. He warned that airstrikes would not ultimately prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear capabilities.
“You are not going to solve this in a definitive way militarily,” Grossi told CBS News. “You are going to have an agreement.”
Trump later claimed he had been preparing to ease sanctions to help Iran recover but dropped the effort after Khamenei’s remarks.
“Instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,” Trump wrote.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (BN24) — England’s Under-21 side lifted the European Championship trophy for the second consecutive tournament after edging Germany 3-2 in a dramatic final on Saturday, capping a night of relentless attacking football and late heroics.
Lee Carsley’s team looked in complete control early, racing into a 2-0 lead inside 25 minutes. But Germany clawed their way back to force extra time before Marseille forward Jonathan Rowe scored a decisive header with his first touch, sealing England’s place atop European youth football once again.
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott opened the scoring in the fifth minute, slotting a precise finish into the bottom corner to calm any early nerves among the Young Lions. England doubled their advantage midway through the first half after captain James McAtee’s clever build-up play set up Omari Hutchinson to fire between German goalkeeper Noah Atubolu’s legs.
Germany refused to fold. Just before halftime, Nelson Weiper powered home a header to cut the deficit to 2-1. The momentum shifted after the break as Paul Nebel found space in the penalty area and curled in the equaliser via a slight deflection in the 60th minute, giving Germany a deserved lifeline.
As extra time loomed, England regained their composure and Carsley turned to his bench for inspiration. He introduced Rowe in the first period of extra time, and within two minutes, the Marseille winger ghosted past a static German defense to meet Tyler Morton’s cross with a clinical header into the far corner.
Germany, who had been buoyed by their comeback, were unable to mount another response in the closing stages. The final whistle confirmed England’s successful title defense, two years after lifting the trophy in Georgia.
“Back-to-back champions — that’s something these players will remember forever,” Carsley said after the match. “They showed tremendous character, not just in the way we started but in how we responded when the game turned against us.”
WASHINGTON (BN24) — The Trump administration plans to prosecute Kilmar Abrego, a Salvadoran national accused of migrant smuggling, before deporting him again — but this time not to El Salvador, where he was previously sent in violation of a court order, a government attorney told a federal judge Thursday.
Abrego, 29, became a symbol of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies after he was deported in March to El Salvador despite a 2019 judicial decision barring his removal there due to the risk of persecution. He was imprisoned in El Salvador before being brought back to the United States this month to face federal criminal charges alleging he transported migrants living in the country illegally. He has pleaded not guilty.
A White House spokesperson said Abrego will remain in the United States to stand trial on the smuggling charges before any deportation takes place.
“He will face the full force of the American justice system — including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed,” Abigail Jackson, the spokesperson, wrote in a post on X.
But Abrego’s defense attorney, Sean Hecker, accused the Trump administration of contradicting itself in public statements and court filings.
“No one has any idea whether there are concrete plans for our client, or what those plans are,” Hecker said in a statement Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Justice Department lawyer Jonathan Guynn told a federal judge in Maryland there were no “imminent plans” to deport Abrego. However, if he is removed, Guynn said he would be sent to a third country rather than El Salvador. The specific country was not disclosed.
Abrego’s case has sparked outrage among immigrant rights advocates because he was living in Maryland with his U.S. citizen wife and their young son before his March deportation.
Federal judges in Maryland and Tennessee — where Abrego is separately suing over the initial deportation and facing the smuggling charges — have not yet ruled on his attorneys’ requests to keep him in Maryland and guarantee he will not be removed from the country before trial.
The judge overseeing the criminal proceedings in Tennessee ordered Abrego’s release ahead of trial as soon as Friday. But administration officials have said he will immediately be taken into immigration custody again.
Robert McGuire, the U.S. attorney in Nashville, told Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes at a hearing Wednesday that he would coordinate with Homeland Security officials “as best as I can,” but ultimately could not control where immigration authorities would hold Abrego or whether they would deport him before the criminal proceedings end.
The Justice Department and Homeland Security have declined to comment further.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (BN24) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris joined more than 1,000 mourners Saturday at the funeral of Melissa Hortman, Minnesota’s former Democratic House speaker, who was remembered as both a transformative political leader and a person of deep compassion.
Hortman was fatally shot two weeks ago by a man impersonating a police officer in what federal authorities have called an assassination that also left her husband, Mark Hortman, dead. A state senator and his wife were seriously wounded in the attacks.
“Melissa Hortman will be remembered as the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history,” Gov. Tim Walz said in an emotional eulogy at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. “I get to remember her as a close friend, a mentor, and the most talented legislator I have ever known.”
Walz credited Hortman’s leadership for improving millions of lives, citing her determination to pass policies that expanded abortion and transgender rights, guaranteed free school lunches, and strengthened Minnesota’s social safety net.
During the 2023 session, Hortman, first elected in 2004, steered an ambitious liberal agenda through the House. This year, with Democrats and Republicans tied 67-67, she stepped down from the speaker’s gavel under a power-sharing agreement, took the title speaker emerita, and helped resolve a budget standoff that threatened a government shutdown.
Biden and Harris did not speak during the service but sat in the front row with Walz, who had been Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election. The president had visited the wounded senator in the hospital and was among more than 7,500 people who paid their respects Friday as the Hortmans and their golden retriever, Gilbert—who was gravely injured in the attack and later euthanized—lay in state in the Capitol rotunda.
Rev. Daniel Griffith, pastor of the Basilica, called the violence a symptom of a nation in crisis, invoking W.B. Yeats’ “The Second Coming.”
“Here in Minnesota, we have been ground zero for racial injustice with the killing of George Floyd,” Griffith said. “And now, ground zero for political violence and extremism. Both must be decried in the strongest possible terms.”
But Griffith also said the overwhelming show of solidarity suggested Minnesota could become “a ground zero place for restoration and justice and healing.”
Hortman’s son, Colin, fought back tears as he read the Prayer of St. Francis, which his mother kept in her wallet.
“She and my dad embodied the Golden Rule,” he said. “They believed in showing up for people, even when it was hard.”
After the service, Walz presented Sophie and Colin Hortman with U.S. and Minnesota flags flown over the Capitol on the day their parents were killed.
Authorities say the suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter of Green Isle, fatally shot the Hortmans in their Brooklyn Park home on June 14 and then critically wounded Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in a separate attack. He was arrested the next night after Minnesota’s largest-ever manhunt.
Boelter has not entered a plea. Prosecutors are pursuing a grand jury indictment, which could lead to federal death penalty charges.
At the funeral, Walz urged Minnesotans to honor the Hortmans’ memory not only by grieving but also by recommitting to a politics grounded in dignity and respect.
“Maybe this is the moment,” Walz said, “where each of us can examine how we work together, how we talk about each other, how we fight for what we care about—but without ever losing sight of our common humanity.”
BUDAPEST, Hungary (BN24) — Tens of thousands of people marched through central Budapest on Saturday in what organizers called Hungary’s largest-ever LGBTQ+ Pride event, defying a government ban and mounting pressure from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s administration to stay home.
An estimated 100,000 participants gathered outside City Hall before moving along the Danube River and crossing Erzsébet Bridge, waving rainbow flags and chanting in support of LGBTQ+ rights. Police diverted the demonstration from its original route to prevent confrontations with a small group of far-right counterprotesters, but the marchers continued undeterred, dancing to music and carrying banners denouncing Orbán’s policies.
The demonstration, marking the 30th annual Budapest Pride, was outlawed in March after Orbán’s right-wing populist Fidesz party fast-tracked legislation that criminalized events deemed to “depict or promote” homosexuality to minors under 18. The law, which government officials acknowledged was aimed specifically at Pride, also introduced fines of up to 200,000 forints ($586) for attendees.
“This isn’t just about LGBTQ+ rights,” said marcher Blanka Molnár. “It’s also about the right to assemble and about standing up for each other and not allowing the government to oppress us.” She described the atmosphere as “fantastic,” saying she believed even those who had never attended Pride before felt compelled to participate this year.
The massive turnout came as Orbán, the European Union’s longest-serving leader, faces declining poll numbers and an energized opposition. Though authorities rejected multiple permit requests to hold the event, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony declared Pride would proceed as a municipal gathering, arguing that such an event does not require government approval. The government disputed that interpretation, warning Karácsony and participants that organizing or promoting Pride could result in prison sentences of up to a year.
Ahead of the march, authorities installed new surveillance cameras and signaled they would use facial recognition technology to identify attendees. Still, the crackdown did not dissuade the crowds.
“I think we can only achieve change if so many people take to the streets,” said participant Zsófia Szekér, who held a sign declaring that Hungary’s democracy itself was under threat. “This is about our future.”
Prime Minister Orbán and his allies have argued that Pride events undermine children’s “moral and spiritual development,” rights that a recent constitutional amendment elevated above other protections, including the freedom to assemble. In recent years, Orbán’s government has also banned same-sex marriage, barred same-sex adoption, and prohibited transgender Hungarians from legally updating their gender on official documents.
The demonstration was widely seen as a high-stakes challenge to Orbán’s authority. As music blasted from speakers and thousands marched through the city center, many said the display of solidarity was itself a form of resistance against the administration’s efforts to curtail civic freedoms.
Marcher András Faludy dismissed the government’s months-long campaign to stop Pride as “hysteria,” adding, “It’s damn pathetic. It’s nonsense.”
Organizers said the record turnout sent a clear message that Hungarians would not be intimidated into silence.
WASHINGTON (BN24) — The Trump administration will terminate deportation relief for more than half a million Haitians, ending protections granted under a decades-old humanitarian program as it escalates efforts to reduce both legal and illegal immigration.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Friday that Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for some 521,000 Haitian migrants will officially end on September 2. The move follows Noem’s earlier decision this year to shorten the duration of TPS protections for Haitians, effectively setting the stage for mass deportations unless migrants secure another form of legal status.
President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to curb immigration, has used the first months of his term to unwind protections that have shielded hundreds of thousands from removal. In February, Noem rescinded TPS for about 350,000 Venezuelans and thousands of Afghan and Cameroonian nationals, part of a broader strategy to limit humanitarian admissions.
The Supreme Court has largely cleared the path for these terminations. On May 19, justices ruled that the administration could proceed with ending TPS for Venezuelans. Another order issued May 30 permitted the immediate revocation of a different status, known as parole, for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
TPS, created by Congress in 1990, allows people to remain in the United States if their country has been devastated by natural disaster, war or extraordinary circumstances. The program requires the homeland security secretary to review conditions two months before protections expire to decide whether to renew, broaden, or end the designation.
In a statement Friday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that environmental conditions in Haiti had improved enough to justify returning its citizens, though the agency did not specify which factors led to that determination.
“The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home,” the spokesperson said.
Advocacy groups and humanitarian organizations quickly condemned the decision, citing Haiti’s entrenched instability. The Caribbean nation has not held an election since 2016 and much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, remains under the control of heavily armed gangs. United Nations officials have repeatedly warned that insecurity and food shortages are worsening.
Despite those warnings, the Trump administration has frozen portions of previously pledged funding intended to support a U.N.-backed security mission in Haiti.
Trump has long argued that TPS and similar programs were exploited to bypass the immigration system and prolong unauthorized stays. During his first term, efforts to dismantle TPS protections for Haitians, Salvadorans and others were repeatedly blocked by federal judges, delaying removals for years.
With the Supreme Court now signaling a green light for further terminations, the administration appears determined to advance a sweeping rollback of humanitarian relief.
LONDON (BN24) — Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka left no doubt Friday that any hard feelings after their French Open final were firmly behind them, joining forces for a playful dance on Centre Court at Wimbledon and posting the clips across social media.
The two top-ranked tennis stars put on a show to C+C Music Factory’s 1990 hit “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” swaying and laughing together on the grass in a moment that quickly went viral.
“TikTok dances always had a way of bringing people together,” Sabalenka wrote on Instagram, captioning the video of the pair’s moves during a practice session ahead of Wimbledon’s start on Monday.
Gauff, who regularly shares videos with her millions of followers, uploaded her own clip outside the All England Club’s main stadium. In it, she and Sabalenka mouthed the words: “OK, guys, we’re back. Did you miss us? ’Cause we missed you.”
“The olive branch was extended and accepted! we’re good so you guys should be too,” Gauff added in her caption.
Three weeks ago, Gauff defeated Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 to claim the French Open title. Sabalenka’s remarks after the match — suggesting Gauff had not played “incredible” tennis and instead won because Sabalenka made too many errors — stirred controversy.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion from Belarus, later admitted her comments were “unprofessional” and reached out privately to apologize.
On Friday, the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka and No. 2-ranked Gauff looked united in spirit as they prepared for the year’s third Grand Slam. They could only meet again if both advance to the Wimbledon final on July 12 — setting up the possibility of another high-stakes showdown.
Gauff, 21, has twice defeated Sabalenka in major finals, including last year’s U.S. Open. But for now, the pair seemed more interested in lighthearted camaraderie than rivalry.
