U.S. strike on suspected smugglers kills 3 at sea

June 20, 2026

1–2 minutes

Summary

U.S. Southern Command said a strike in the Eastern Pacific killed three people, raising the death toll from the campaign to at least 211.

Why this matters

The strike adds to a growing U.S. military campaign against suspected drug traffickers in Latin America. It also comes as the Pentagon inspector general reviews whether those strikes followed targeting rules.

A U.S. strike on suspected drug smugglers in the Eastern Pacific on Thursday killed three people, U.S. Southern Command said.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narcotrafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narcotrafficking operations,” U.S. Southern Command said in a news release.

The command released a 15-second video of the strike and said no U.S. forces were harmed.

The inquiry into Operation Southern Spear, the Pentagon’s name for its campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America, was self-initiated and not prompted by a congressional request. Last month, the Pentagon’s internal watchdog said it would investigate whether U.S. strikes on drug boats complied with targeting guidelines.

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World

U.S. to phase out HIV funding for South Africa

A U.S. State Department official said a “phased drawdown” would begin because of “South Africa’s failure to make demonstrable progress on policy requests by the administration.”

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The U.S. government said it will begin a phased withdrawal of funding for HIV and AIDS programs in South Africa, which has more than 8 million people living with HIV, the highest total of any country.

Until 2025, the U.S. provided an estimated $400 million a year through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), about a fifth of South Africa’s HIV-program spending.

The official said the goal was to “foster self-reliance” and reduce dependence on U.S. funding, adding that “South Africa is a middle-income country and is more than capable of supporting its own health programs.”

South Africa’s Health Ministry said it had not been informed of the decision, but said it had “long been working on a self-reliance plan.” The ministry also said life-saving antiretroviral drugs were funded separately, mostly by the South African government.

The funding decision came as relations between Washington and Pretoria deteriorated after President Donald Trump took office. A White House executive order said South African policies had dismantled equal opportunity and fueled violence “against racially disfavored landowners.” South Africa rejected that claim and said its Black Economic Empowerment policy was intended to address inequality rooted in apartheid.

The order also cited South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and its ties to Iran. The White House said that because of these “unjust and immoral practices,” further aid would not be provided.

Trump has also said there is a “white genocide” in South Africa. His administration set up a refugee program for Afrikaners, descendants of Western Europeans who settled in southern Africa in the 17th century.

PEPFAR funding had received a temporary reprieve last October under a “bridge plan.” Efforts to improve ties have struggled, including a White House meeting between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa more than a year ago, and a U.S. boycott of the G20 meeting hosted by South Africa last November.
World Politics

Italy cancels U.S. visit after Trump comments on Meloni

Trump has accused Meloni of failing to help the U.S. with NATO and threatened to pull U.S. troops from Italy, saying Rome “has not been of any help to us” in the Iran war.

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Italy reacted on Friday after reported comments by President Donald Trump about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceling a planned U.S. visit for June 21 and 22.

Meloni said she was “frankly stunned” by Trump’s comments to Italian channel La7.

According to a written transcript of the phone interview provided to AFP by the network, Trump said Meloni “begged me for a picture” at the Group of Seven summit this week and that he agreed only because he “felt sorry for her.”

He also said Meloni was probably “happy that I talked to her, I didn’t have to talk to her.”

Meloni called the remarks “made up,” adding: “Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”

“I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way with his own allies,” Meloni, who leads Italy’s far-right government, wrote on X.

“I can only say that it’s a pity he doesn’t show the same determination with enemies of the West, with enemies of the United States, with leaders with whom, instead, he is far more accommodating,” she said.

Tajani called Trump’s words “grave and offensive” on X and said he was canceling his planned trip.

At the end of the Group of Seven summit in Evian on Wednesday, Meloni had described the atmosphere as “very positive” and said there was “no friction” between Trump and other leaders. She also said she and Trump both had “quite strong characters.”

Meloni was seen several times with Trump at the summit, including in a meeting on a sofa after which he appeared to pat her shoulder.

Trump criticized Meloni in April after she defended Pope Leo XIV from Trump’s criticism of the pontiff’s anti-war views.

Meloni called Trump’s remarks at the time “unacceptable.”
World

U.S. probes German drug pricing, tariff risk rises

Earlier this month, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on dozens of economies in a separate investigation into forced labor concerns.

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The United States on Thursday opened an investigation into Germany’s pharmaceutical pricing policies, a step that could lead to new tariffs.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the probe would determine whether “persistent underpayment for innovative pharmaceutical products by Germany is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts US commerce.”

The investigation was launched under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. It followed similar Trump administration trade probes in recent months involving dozens of trading partners over issues including forced labor and industrial overcapacity.

In a Federal Register notice, the U.S. trade office said “evidence indicates that Germany implements unfair pricing policies and practices with regard to innovative pharmaceutical products.”

The notice said the lower revenue tied to those policies appeared to contribute to reduced investment in research and development. “As a result, the United States pays a disproportionate share of global R&D costs for innovative pharmaceuticals,” it said.

The probe will examine how Germany carries out its pricing policies.

“President (Donald) Trump has made clear that American patients should not be shouldering a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical research and development,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

Greer also cited concerns about Germany’s plans to fast-track legislation “that would further reduce its spending on innovative pharmaceuticals.”

The trade office will accept public comments and hold a hearing in September as part of the investigation.
Military & National Security

U.S. strike on suspected smugglers kills 3 at sea

The deaths bring the total number of people killed in U.S. strikes since early September to at least 211.

Full story +

A U.S. strike on suspected drug smugglers in the Eastern Pacific on Thursday killed three people, U.S. Southern Command said.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narcotrafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narcotrafficking operations,” U.S. Southern Command said in a news release.

The command released a 15-second video of the strike and said no U.S. forces were harmed.

The inquiry into Operation Southern Spear, the Pentagon’s name for its campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America, was self-initiated and not prompted by a congressional request. Last month, the Pentagon’s internal watchdog said it would investigate whether U.S. strikes on drug boats complied with targeting guidelines.
Finance & Markets

Stocks Slip as Iran Nuclear Talks Face Delay

Bitcoin fell for a fourth straight day. Gold was headed for a third weekly loss, trading around $4,150 an ounce.

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Global stocks ended a strong week on a cautious note as relief over an interim U.S.-Iran peace deal gave way to concern about the difficulty of securing a lasting agreement.

With U.S. cash markets closed for the Juneteenth holiday, S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% after the benchmark posted its best week since the end of May. Europe’s Stoxx 600 slipped 0.3%, and Asian stocks fell 0.4% from a record high. Markets in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were closed.

Brent crude traded near $80 a barrel. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to thin Friday, one day after flows through the waterway rose. Tehran said ships crossing the strait needed its permission.
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Pentagon seeking $80 billion for Iran war, other costs

A Pentagon official said in April that the Iran war had cost about $25 billion, but the full cost of the war has remained unclear.

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The U.S. Department of Defense needed $80 billion to cover costs from the Iran war, as well as other expenses unrelated to the conflict, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg told lawmakers in phone calls this week, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A broader U.S. supplemental funding request could be sent to lawmakers in the coming days, the newspaper said. It would include money for the Pentagon and for non-defense priorities, including farm and disaster relief.

The conflict began on Feb. 28, and an initial $200 billion request for additional funding faced opposition from lawmakers.

White House budget director Russell Vought told an April hearing of the House Budget Committee that he had no estimate for the cost of the war, while defending a request for a $1.5 trillion annual military budget.
Tech & Artificial Intelligence

Meta sought child-safety lawsuit shield in KOSA

The effort came as Meta faced youth-safety litigation, including thousands of claims consolidated in California state court and separate lawsuits by states and school districts.

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Meta lobbied U.S. lawmakers for legal immunity from lawsuits alleging harm to children from Facebook and Instagram, according to Reuters.

Meta and Google, which owns YouTube, were ordered to pay a combined $6 million in damages after a Los Angeles jury found them negligent in a bellwether case alleging Instagram and YouTube were designed in ways that harmed a young user. Both companies said they planned to appeal.

Reuters reported that Meta proposed language tied to the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, now under consideration in the Senate. The proposed provision would make online companies “immune from suit or liability under state law with respect to all claims for loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the safety or privacy of individuals under the age of eighteen online or otherwise related to the provisions” of the bill.

The proposal also appeared alongside language that would override state laws on children’s online safety and privacy.

Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway told Reuters that the provision “does not extinguish existing lawsuits, nor does it represent blanket immunity.”

“Instead, it establishes uniform national standards for online youth safety, ensuring these critical issues are governed by comprehensive federal legislation, not plaintiffs’ lawyers or patchwork state legislation,” she said.

A source told Reuters Meta proposed the language in exchange for dropping its opposition to KOSA. Reuters reported lawmakers had not said they were open to adopting it. A spokesperson for Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Reuters: “We have not seen that proposed language and would never consider it.”

KOSA, sponsored by Blackburn and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., would require social media companies to take steps to prevent certain harms to minors, including compulsive use. It would also require care in adding features such as infinite scrolling, activity notifications, and appearance-changing photo filters.

KOSA passed the Senate in 2024 but failed in the House. It was reintroduced this year with support from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
US

3 hikers die amid extreme heat in Grand Canyon

Despite a rapid response and aerial support, all three hikers were dead by the time first responders reached them, the park service said.

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Three hikers died from apparent heat-related illnesses in the Grand Canyon’s inner canyon on two separate days in the past week, where midday temperatures can exceed 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) in the shade, federal officials said Friday.

A 72-year-old man became ill from the heat June 12 while hiking the South Kaibab Trail and died before rescue crews could reach him.

Four days later, a 67-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman also appeared to suffer heat-related illnesses while hiking the North Kaibab Trail and died before help arrived, the National Park Service said in a statement.

The Grand Canyon has seen an increase in heat-related illnesses in recent weeks, and park officials urged inner canyon hikers to avoid trails between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The bodies were taken to the Coconino County medical examiner’s office. Investigations into the deaths are ongoing, the National Park Service said.
Military & National Security

High Court to weigh veterans’ route around VA review

The case asks whether district courts can hear constitutional challenges to veterans benefits statutes.

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The U.S. Supreme Court next term will consider whether military veterans may go directly to federal district court to challenge laws affecting benefits, rather than first using the Department of Veterans Affairs review system.

The case, Johnson v. United States Congress, centers on Floyd Johnson, an Army veteran who served from 1983 to 1985. The Department of Veterans Affairs found that his service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder warranted an 80% disability rating. But because he was incarcerated for a felony conviction, federal law reduced his payments to the amount tied to a 10% rating.

Johnson, who was diagnosed with PTSD while incarcerated in Florida, challenged that law in federal district court, arguing that it violated the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, the court dismissed the case, raising a broader question that has split federal appeals courts: whether district courts can hear constitutional challenges to veterans benefits statutes.

On June 12, the Pacific Legal Foundation filed a 36-page amicus brief arguing that they can.

A lawyer for the foundation said the case turns on the reach of the Veterans’ Judicial Review Act, a 1988 law that created a process for contesting benefits decisions through the agency and specialized courts. The government is expected to argue that the law requires claims to go through that system rather than federal district courts.
US

German soccer fan invited to White House after viral posts

The fan’s visits to American icons have drawn millions of views.

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A German soccer fan who gained national attention for documenting his visits across the United States during the FIFA Club World Cup has been invited to the White House before returning home.

The fan, who posts as @FreddyLA7 and has nearly 400,000 followers, shared posts about American culture and restaurant chains including Taco Bell, Chipotle, Waffle House, Buffalo Wild Wings, Wendy’s, Chili’s, and Buc-ee’s. His posts drew millions of views.

“Just had our first Waffle House experience at 1 a.m. Great food, great prices and friendly staff. 10/10, we will be coming back,” he wrote in one post.

Freddy also posted about visits to Walmart, Bass Pro Shops, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, and filming locations from the television series “Stranger Things.”

He also received several special-access experiences during the trip, including meeting country singer Ella Langley, touring sports facilities, and complimentary stays.

One stop was NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where he received a behind-the-scenes tour and spoke with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

His posts drew notice from the Trump administration. Nick Adams, a senior official responsible for promoting U.S. tourism, said he had been in contact with Freddy about a visit to Washington.