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June 19 – 25, 2026 Powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela causing widespread damage, a rising death toll and thousands injured. Conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire political neophyte, will be Colombia’s next president after electoral authorities declared him the winner of the presidential runoff election. The Andean New Year celebration, with traditional offerings to Pachamama, marked a pause in social protests and a slow return to normality after the end of a state of emergency that followed more than 50 days of road blockades isolating La Paz and other regions of Bolivia. This gallery was curated by photojournalist Fernando Llano based in Mexico City. ___ AP photography: https://apnews.com/photography AP News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Four people have died due to flooding from thunderstorms in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday, and he issued a state of emergency with additional rainfall expected. Flash flood warnings were in effect Saturday for parts of Kentucky and Indiana amid heavy rainfall, according to the National Weather Service. The agency late Saturday afternoon said between 4 and 10 inches of rain had already fallen in some parts of southwestern Indiana, with more possible. Beshear’s office said up to 7 inches of rain were expected in parts of his state through the late evening. He said on social media that three people had died in Madison County and one in Jackson County due to flooding. “This is a serious flooding event, where teams have already had to conduct multiple water rescues from vehicles and homes across the commonwealth,” he said in a statement. “As more heavy rain continues through late tonight, we need folks to remain alert and to avoid driving, especially after dark when there is limited visibility.” Beshear said there were “significant roads underwater” in Madison County, with search and rescue teams sent to that region. He also said at least 12 state roads were “out of commission” because they were flooded. In northwestern Kentucky, just outside Louisville, Bullitt County emergency management officials asked residents of a rural road to evacuate as a precaution after a landslide at a dam embankment. The dam was holding and there was no indication of imminent failure, they said. The area saw about 3 inches of rain in the past two days, according to the National Weather Service. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

By Jana Choukeir and Jasper Ward DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) – The U.S. military said it struck Iran again, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, in the worst escalation since the two sides signed an interim peace deal two weeks ago. Each of the warring sides has accused the other of violating the agreement reached two weeks ago to end the four-month-old conflict. U.S. Central Command said on Saturday its forces carried out fresh strikes after a Panama-flagged tanker was attacked by an Iranian drone early on Saturday. In Iran, state broadcaster IRIB said early Sunday local time that explosions were heard in Sirik in southern Iran, without providing further details.  “Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. It said the strikes were “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping” and targeted Iranian military surveillance, communications, air defense, drone storage and mine-laying facilities.  A U.S. defense official later reported that the strikes on Iranian targets were complete, according to Fox News.  Washington said earlier that it hit Iranian targets overnight. Iran said it responded on Saturday by striking targets linked to U.S. forces. Saturday’s attack on a tanker in the strait followed another on a cargo ship on Thursday that triggered the latest escalation. Iran has made a fresh bid to assert control over the world’s most important energy shipping route, which has begun to reopen after months of disruption. Britain’s UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker hit on Saturday had sustained damage to its bridge, with all crew reported safe. The Joint Maritime Information Center, run by a coalition of navies protecting shipping, raised its security threat level as a result of recent incidents. Iran has not directly commented on reports of specific attacks on ships. But Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards fired “warning shots” toward unspecified vessels attempting to pass through channels not approved by Iran, and that this was now prompting other ships to seek Iranian permits before attempting to cross the strait. Earlier, Iran’s foreign ministry said it launched “defensive” attacks on U.S.-linked military targets, while Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s regional headquarters, reported an Iranian drone attack. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to the reports. IRAN ASSERTS CONTROL OVER VITAL STRAIT Iran has accused the United States of not upholding the interim agreement, in particular by not sustaining a promised ceasefire in Lebanon, which U.S. ally Israel invaded in March in pursuit of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Israel and Lebanon have repeatedly agreed to U.S.-brokered ceasefires, the latest of which was announced on Friday. But these have had only limited overall impact, with Israel insisting it will not withdraw from territory it has seized and Hezbollah repeatedly rejecting calls to give up its arms as long as Israeli troops remain in place. Lebanese state television reported an Israeli drone strike on Saturday in the Nabatiyeh area in the south, which has experienced Israeli strikes throughout the conflict. The Israeli military said it had targeted a person who posed a threat to its forces. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the day-old Israel-Lebanon agreement as a surrender, and said it was “null and void.” With hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, mainly Shi’ite Muslims, still unable to return to homes in Israeli-occupied areas, anger over the agreement has spread beyond Hezbollah to the wider Shi’ite community. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz praised the agreement, saying it allows Israel to maintain its occupation of a so-called security zone in Lebanon and bars the return of displaced residents.  Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said Washington had violated the war-ending memorandum of understanding by supporting what he called proxy forces in the region and creating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has also struck neighbouring Gulf states that host large U.S. military bases. Iranian state television said the Revolutionary Guards had delivered “a decisive response” after U.S. forces hit a communications tower in the port city of Sirik. Iran’s Mehr news agency said the Iranian port was operating normally with no damage reported to facilities or equipment. Bahrain said Iran’s latest attacks violated the memorandum of understanding. Hundreds of ships, including tankers laden with oil, have been blockaded inside the Gulf since war broke out. As they began leaving through the strait over the past two weeks, oil prices have tumbled close to pre-war levels on the resulting surge in supply. Washington has been promoting a southern lane along the coast of Oman, while Tehran, which ultimately aims to charge fees for use of the strait, wants ships to use a northern route through its waters and under its control. Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said on Saturday that any violation of Iran’s shipping instructions would be met decisively.  U.S. Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump’s chief negotiator on the conflict, said the Americans had adhered to the ceasefire deal and blamed Iran for any return to conflict that might result from its actions. “Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,” Vance said on X. (Reporting by Reuters bureausWriting by Peter Graff and David MorganEditing by Chris Reese, Andrew Heavens, Alexander Smith Alistair Bell, Rod Nickel) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

CHICAGO (AP) — As the White Sox were slugging their way to a 22-1 victory over the Royals on Friday night, former player Ron Kittle was getting married in a ballpark suite with Chicago chairman Jerry Reinsdorf officiating. Kittle tied the knot with his girlfriend, Barbara, in Reinsdorf’s suite during Chicago’s 10-run third inning. The White Sox went on to score their most runs since a 22-13 victory at Boston on May 31, 1970. “He’s so superstitious he might marry somebody today in the bottom of the third,” Kittle, the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year, said Saturday about Reinsdorf. Harold Baines and Greg Walker, Kittle’s teammates on the 1983 White Sox squad, and their spouses also attended the quick ceremony. “My better half doesn’t want any notoriety, recognition. She wants to keep it to herself,” Kittle said. “But I invited Harold Baines and his wife and Greg Walker and his wife, and we did it and I was pretty excited. I think Jerry is excited. We’ve become a family over the years.” The 1983 White Sox, who won the AL West, were honored before Saturday’s game between Chicago and Kansas City. Kittle said he also is ordained and that he officiated a wedding in the outfield last season on Bill Veeck Day. “Now I’m the only player to marry someone at the park and get married at the park,” Kittle said. “And I’m good.” Other members of the 1983 team who attended the pregame reunion at Rate Field were Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, who serves as a White Sox special adviser, Richard Dotson and Greg Luzinski. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) – The United States carried out further strikes on Iran on Saturday, said the U.S. Central Command, targeting various sites, including military surveillance infrastructure. “CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning,” it said. (Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; editing by Michelle Nichols) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com