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Way up in the sky, a triangle glowed the same three colours over and over again: yellow, red and green.
Craning their neck to see it, mobile phone in hand, was a former RAF personnel member on holiday on the west coast of Bali in Indonesia.
The triangle wasn’t alone.
‘We saw three triangular-shaped objects in the sky,’ the personnel member, who asked to speak anonymously, tells Metro of the July 6 UFO encounter.
‘One was flashing red, pink and blue green lights and the other was showing three steady green lights.
‘The third was quite faint. They were not making any noise and were stationary.’
A UFO, a kite or just AI? Depends on who you ask (Picture: Gary Heseltine)
The sky was clear and the wind still as the objects hovered about 600ft above them and their partner’s heads for 20 minutes from 6.40pm, they add.
‘We moved briefly inside the apartment to get ready to go out. When we moved outside again, we noticed they had gone. That’s about it. Quite weird really.’
‘There are several things to suggest it’s a UFO’
Gary Heseltine, the editor of UFO TRUTH MAGAZINE, was sent the footage by a former colleague.
He says that at first glance, the objects in the clip appear to be drones.
‘But there are several things that suggest to me that they might be anomalous, or a UAP,’ Heseltine says, using the modern term for UFOs, unidentified anomalous phenomena.
‘They hovered above the hotel for 20 minutes in total silence and they have an unusual appearance, three objects with two distinct shapes.’
The objects don’t appear to be in a typical drone formation, though, and he location of the encounter, a hotel in Seminyak, is ‘unusual’.
‘All in all,’ the retired British Transport Police Detective Constable adds, ‘curious and for me unidentified.’
So… is it aliens?
Depends on who you ask. Metro shared the alleged close encounter with other experts in all things extraterrestrial.
Mark Christopher Lee, a UFOlogist and filmmaker, says that while the video is ‘impressive’, he’s not convinced it shows aliens coming to say hello.
Instead, he said the triangles could be Balinese kites fitted with ‘terrestrial’-looking LED lights.
The objects were seen at the height of the island’s kite-flying season, a centuries-old tradition where locals ask the Hindu gods for a good harvest.
Some kites, known locally as layang-layang, are fitted with green, blue and red lights, a Bali tourist website says.
‘For a brief few seconds my ancient alien head on was thinking ancient Vimāna [flying ships described in Hindu text] coming back!’ adds Lee.
‘But logic kicks in, especially with those lights – I guess at night you also can’t see the strings.’
Mick West, a science writer and UFO sceptical investigator, was blunter with his verdict.
‘They look like LED kites,’ he says.
Experts suggested the video was of a kite (Picture: Gary Heseltine)
Bali’s kite season runs from May to September each year (Picture: SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
Videos of UFOs over the decades are all too infamous for being low-quality. And we might be entering the modern-day version of that.
Kate Burns, VP EMEA of identifAI – a tool that detects if an image or video is AI-generated – says parts of the video appear to be edited.
She added: ‘The challenge with such videos, however, is that the lower the resolution they are, the harder it is to provide an entirely confident score.’
But exact figures on UFO sightings can be tricky, as police forces do not record them, leaving alien hunters to compile their own databases.
Nearly 100 sightings of orbs, colourful triangles and fleets of metal discs in UK skies have been reported to UFO Identified this year.
Almost all sightings can be explained away as hoaxes, Chinese paper lanterns or aircraft lights, according to Nick Pope, who investigated UFOs for the Ministry of Defence in the 1990s.
Speaking before his death in April, Pope told Metro nearly all callers to the ministry’s ‘UFO desk’ were ‘sincerely believed’ they saw a UFO.
‘In the end, we found about 80% or so of these sightings were misidentifications, 15% had insufficient data and 5% were unknown,’ he said.
‘That 5% doesn’t mean extraterrestrial, but as I always remind people, neither did we rule that out.;
The biggest risk in a crypto presale purchase is often a fake link or unsafe transaction, not the wallet itself. A copied website can look real, and a rushed approval can give a malicious contract access that a buyer never intended to grant.
Trust Wallet users should verify the official website, contract details, and transaction request before funding MemeToro or any other presale.
Start With The Official Website, Not A Social Link
Open the MemeToro website by typing or bookmarking the official address. Do not rely on links sent through private messages, search ads, comments, or accounts claiming to be support.
Compare the page with official project channels and the public GitHub repository where possible. A real crypto presale page should clearly show the purchase route, supported assets, and current stage terms.
Before connecting Trust Wallet, confirm:
The website domain is spelled correctly.
The browser connection uses $BNB Smart Chain when required.
The page shows the expected payment method.
No one has asked for your recovery phrase.
A recovery phrase is never needed to buy crypto presale. Anyone requesting it is attempting to take control of the wallet.
Review Permissions And Transaction Prompts
A wallet connection lets a site ask for a transaction. It does not mean every request should be approved.
Read the Trust Wallet prompt before signing. For a purchase, it should show the asset being spent, the amount, network fee, and a request that matches the official crypto presale screen.
Be especially careful with approval requests. An approval can allow a contract to spend a token from your wallet. If the amount is unlimited or unclear, stop and verify the contract through official project information.
MemeToro’s public fair-launch contract draft is designed without an owner, admin role, or upgrade path. It is intended to lock funding rules and limit contributor funds to refunds or the planned liquidity process.
The full production contract system remains unfinished. Buyers should not assume that every contract using MemeToro branding is official. Always use the current official portal and published project links.
Check The Wider Presale Rules Before Buying
Contract safety is one part of the review. Buyers should also check token allocation, claim rules, audit information, vesting, and the difference between live features and future plans.
MemeToro is in Stage 7 at $0.00430 under the supplied information. $MT is intended to support platform access, funding, staking, rewards, trading, and prediction markets.
The project has published 1,373 lines across 17 files for its early fair-launch system. It still needs testnet deployment, token execution, liquidity routing, and independent security review.
For a safer Trust Wallet purchase, fund a separate wallet only with the amount you intend to use, keep $BNB for fees, verify the official portal, and save the transaction hash after confirmation.
Wallet safety is a habit. Verify the link, read the prompt, avoid broad approvals, and never share the recovery phrase.
The Latin Grammy 2026 nominations have officially arrived, setting up a major night for Karol G, Rosalía, Jorge Drexler, CA7RIEL& Paco Amoroso and prolific songwriter and producer Edgar Barrera.
The Latin Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 27th Annual Latin Grammy Awards on Wednesday, September 16. Barrera leads the overall field with 10 nominations, while Karol G, Rosalía, Jorge Drexler and Argentine duo CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso each earned seven.
Silvana Estrada and Mon Laferte are also among the year’s most recognized artists, with six nominations each, while Milo J received five.
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The nominations span 60 categories and cover recordings released during the eligibility period from June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026.
Who Has the Most Latin Grammy Nominations in 2026?
Edgar Barrera enters the 2026 Latin Grammys with the highest nomination total at 10. The songwriter and producer’s nominations include recognition for his work with artists including Karol G and Carín León, along with nods in the Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year categories.
Edgar Barrera accepts the Producer of the Year award during the Premiere Ceremony for The 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards on November 16, 2023, in Seville, Spain.
But among recording artists, there is a four-way tie near the top.
Karol G, Rosalía, Jorge Drexler and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso each have seven nominations, giving the 2026 ceremony a particularly competitive general field.
Karol G and Rosalía both appear in three of the night’s biggest races: Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Album of the Year brings together artists from across Latin America, Spain and Brazil, with pop, alternative, singer-songwriter, música mexicana and other sounds represented.
The nominees are:
Anitta, EQUILIBRIVM
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Free Spirits
Jorge Drexler, Taracá
Silvana Estrada, Vendrán Suaves Lluvias
Karol G, Tropicoqueta
Mon Laferte, Femme Fatale
Carín León, Muda
Milo J, La Vida Era Más Corta
Rawayana, ¿Dónde Es El After?
Rosalía, Lux (Complete Works)
The category gives Karol G and Rosalía another major awards-season moment while also placing established names such as Drexler alongside a newer generation of artists including Milo J and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso.
Paco Amoroso and CA7RIEL attend the 68th GRAMMY Awards
Anitta’s nomination for EQUILIBRIVM also puts the Brazilian superstar in one of the ceremony’s most prominent categories.
Karol G Lands Major Latin Grammy 2026 Nominations
Karol G’s Tropicoqueta earned an Album of the Year nomination, while her collaboration with Marco Antonio Solís, “Coleccionando Heridas,” is nominated for Record of the Year.
The song also appears in Song of the Year, where Karol G shares songwriting recognition with Edgar Barrera, Kevyn Mauricio Cruz and Luis Miguel Gomez Castaño.
Karol G performs at the Coachella Stage during the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
That puts Karol G in all three major recording and songwriting categories and continues her presence at the center of the Latin Grammy conversation.
Rosalía’s ‘Lux’ Earns Major 2026 Latin Grammy Nominations
Rosalía is similarly represented across the biggest categories.
Lux (Complete Works) is nominated for Album of the Year, while “La Perla,” featuring Yahritza y Su Esencia, is nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Rosalía returns to the stage after a family emergency as the North American leg of her LUX Tour officially begins.
Rosalía finished with seven nominations overall, tying Karol G, Jorge Drexler and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso among the most nominated recording artists of the year.
Latin Grammy 2026 Record of the Year Nominees
Record of the Year is packed with major names and collaborations.
The nominees include “Ha Ha” by CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, “¿Cómo Se Ama?” by Jorge Drexler, “Dime” by Silvana Estrada, “O Amor Nos Encontrou” by Loulu Gilberto, “Coleccionando Heridas” by Karol G and Marco Antonio Solís, “Femme Fatale” by Mon Laferte, “Desde Que Te Tengo” by Carín León, “Niño” by Milo J, “La Perla” by Rosalía featuring Yahritza y Su Esencia, and “Alma” by Elena Rose.
Song of the Year recognizes songwriters rather than simply the performers behind the recordings, and several of 2026’s most nominated stars appear here too.
The nominated songs are “Coleccionando Heridas,” “¿Cómo Se Ama?,” “Dime,” “Femme Fatale,” “Hasta Jesús Tuvo Un Mal Día,” “Humano,” “La Perla,” “Mi Gran Amor,” “Nilo” and “Solifican12.”
Among the notable collaborations is Santana featuring Becky G‘s “Mi Gran Amor,” with a songwriting team that includes Edgar Barrera, Becky G and Carlos Santana. Juanes and Vivir Quintana are represented with “Humano,” while CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso’s “Hasta Jesús Tuvo Un Mal Día,” featuring Sting, is also nominated.
Who Is Nominated for Best New Artist at the 2026 Latin Grammys?
The Best New Artist category has 11 nominees this year: Delilah, FABIAN, Loulu Gilberto, Arath Herce, Macario Martínez, maye, Sofia Monroy, Kendall Peña, Dora Sanches, ARIA VEGA and Zeca Veloso.
Arath Herce is especially prominent across the full nominations list, receiving four nominations overall.
What’s New at the 2026 Latin Grammys?
The Latin Recording Academy introduced several changes for its 27th awards cycle.
Best Portuguese Language Urban Performance has evolved into Best Portuguese Language Urban Album, while Best Latin Electronic Music Performance is now called Best Electronic Music Performance. Best Urban/Urban Fusion Performance has also been renamed Best Urban Performance.
Latin Grammy 2026 nominations are here, with Edgar Barrera leading the field and Karol G, Rosalía, Jorge Drexler and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso scoring big.
The Academy also clarified its approach to artificial intelligence. Only human creators can be submitted, nominated or win a Latin Grammy. Music containing AI-generated elements may remain eligible in applicable categories, but the human contribution must be meaningful and relevant to the category.
When Are the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards?
The 27th Annual Latin Grammy Awards take place Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The ceremony will air live on Univision. Final-round voting begins October 1 and runs through October 12.
Mexican singer Natalia Lafourcade poses with her trophies for during the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada
With Edgar Barrera collecting 10 nominations and Karol G, Rosalía, Jorge Drexler and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso sitting at seven apiece, the 2026 nominations put songwriters, global superstars and emerging talent in the same spotlight.
How many Latin Grammy categories are there in 2026?
Nominees were selected across 60 categories for the 27th Annual Latin Grammy Awards.
When and where are the Latin Grammys 2026?
The 2026 Latin Grammy Awards will be held November 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will air live on Univision.
Artist’s concept of a Trans-Neptunian Object, a small, faint, icy body (Picture: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)/Cover Images)
Scientists have identified 27 mysterious new objects hovering at the edge of our Solar System.
Astronomers used the combined power of NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes for the first time to study the trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).
TNOs are small, faint and icy bodies orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune.
Some are among the smallest and faintest objects ever directly observed.
In two complementary papers published in The Astronomical Journal, researchers analysed the colour, composition and size distribution of 27 newly discovered tiny TNOs.
They unexpectedly found fewer small TNOs than predicted by some models of planet formation. They also discovered that the colours of the smallest objects closely matched those of their much larger counterparts. Most TNOs are more than 100 million times fainter than objects visible to the unaided eye.
The TNO is orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune (Picture: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)/Cover Images)
Scientists believe these small bodies offer a glimpse into an early stage of planet formation. At that time, a disc of dust and pebbles orbiting the young Sun began to clump together into city-sized ‘planetesimals’ – the solid building blocks from which planets eventually formed.
Beyond Neptune, the process stopped before these bodies could merge into full-sized worlds, leaving behind a frozen population of planetesimals. In what researchers describe as the deepest TNO survey so far, teams led by PhD candidates from the University of Victoria in Canada, working under the guidance of the National Research Council of Canada, and Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff studied the same region of sky using both telescopes.
Hubble observed visible light from the objects, while Webb detected their infrared light. By combining the observations, researchers were able to measure the TNOs’ colours, which provide clues about the composition of their surfaces. They also determined their sizes and traced their orbits.
The teams examined two populations of TNOs. The first, known as dynamically ‘cold’ TNOs, remain in relatively circular orbits close to the original plane of the Solar System.
The second, dynamically ‘hot’ TNOs, are thought to have formed between the present-day orbits of Uranus and Neptune before being pushed outwards as the giant planets migrated early in the Solar System’s history. These ‘hot’ objects now follow highly elliptical orbits and move in and out of the plane of the Solar System.
Astronomers had expected small TNOs in both populations to have experienced numerous collisions. Such impacts should have fragmented the objects and altered their surfaces compared with those of larger TNOs. But the observations told a different story. The smallest bodies appeared to resemble their larger relatives, suggesting collisions have not significantly altered their surfaces.
One possibility is that collisions occur less often than expected. Another is that the TNOs somehow preserve their original, pre-collision compositions. Researchers say the reason remains unclear.
The teams examined two populations of TNOs. The first, known as dynamically ‘cold’ TNOs, remain in relatively circular orbits close to the original plane of the Solar System (Picture: World History Archive)
‘You could imagine a scenario where getting knocked around and fragmented would change the surface composition, and then you would see a different surface colour for tiny TNOs compared to their larger siblings,’ said Northern Arizona University PhD candidate Anastasia Morgan, who led the study of colour and composition.
‘So it’s really fascinating to see that the smallest objects are somehow ‘remembering’ and preserving the history of how they were made.’
‘These dynamically ‘hot’ TNOs retain a signature of where they were born, even though they’ve been orbitally scrambled since then,’ said co-author David Trilling of Northern Arizona University.
Both the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ populations appear to have retained the colours they had when they formed, with little change since the birth of the Solar System.
The researchers also found fewer very small TNOs than expected from some planet formation models. Webb identified 27 new, exceptionally faint TNOs. One was so faint that its brightness was comparable to standing on Earth and seeing a small swarm of fireflies on the Moon.
The smallest object observed was about 3 miles (5km) across. That’s roughly five times smaller than the size detectable by even the most sensitive ground-based telescopes.
The findings provide a rare look at the remnants of the Solar System’s earliest planet-building process – and suggest that some of these tiny frozen worlds have remained remarkably unchanged for billions of years.
MemeToro has published the first smart contract layer for its AI memecoin launchpad. The update adds 1,373 lines across 17 files while $MT continues through Stage 7.
This development reflects a wider shift in AI memecoin news from social-media personalities toward agents connected with documented rules and on-chain financial systems.
AI Memecoin News Moves Beyond Automated Social Posts
Early AI memecoins often became known through agents that posted online, replied to communities and developed recognizable digital personalities. This model showed that software could help manage attention around a token.
The next stage adds operational functions. Agents can collect market data, organize research, score risks and prepare structured proposals before a token launches.
MemeToro follows this second approach. Its agent scans collected news, social sentiment and market signals before creating a token concept.
The proposal includes a name, ticker, evidence, reasoning, supply and funding conditions. This makes the system useful for launch research instead of using AI only to promote a finished token.
The project’s news portal is planned to support this information layer. Users could follow relevant events while reviewing the evidence behind agent-generated launch proposals.
Deterministic Validation Controls the AI Agent
Generative AI can produce incorrect facts or links. MemeToro therefore sends every proposal through fixed validation code before allowing it to advance.
The validator rejects a URL when the trend connector never collected it. This prevents the AI from adding unsupported evidence to a launch manifest.
Other automatic checks reject:
Allocations that do not equal exactly 100%.
Insider allocations above zero.
Funding amounts that conflict across the proposal.
Missing or malformed launch conditions.
Payment rules that fail the approved format.
The AI agent cannot change these checks by writing a persuasive explanation. A proposal that breaks the rules receives a rejection.
This refusal system gives MemeToro a clear place in AI memecoin news. It treats choosing not to launch as a useful agent function rather than measuring progress only through token volume.
Smart Contracts Add Fair-Launch Enforcement
MemeToro’s recent code release introduced FairLaunchEscrow.sol, launch interfaces, tests and architecture notes. The escrow is designed to hold contributor funds during one fixed-rate $BNB Chain round.
Its terms are locked when the round is created. The contract has no owner, administrator or upgrade path.
Contributor and liquidity allocations must cover the full launch supply. This prevents the launch round from creating a separate founder or private tier.
Money can only return to contributors through refunds or move to the planned executor for liquidity. The contract can also store a fingerprint of the public launch manifest.
These rules connect AI research with verifiable funding conditions. The completed executor and automated PancakeSwap step remain future development stages, while the published code establishes their required boundaries.
$MT Connects the Agent, Trading and News Ecosystem
$MT is intended to power several parts of MemeToro. Its planned roles include launchpad access, memecoin funding, staking, prediction markets, trading and community rewards.
The news portal can help users discover market developments, while the AI agent turns selected signals into documented proposals. The trading dashboard is intended to help users follow and trade launched assets.
Creators may earn up to 1.2% of trading volume. Holders can also access staking rewards advertised at up to 35%, depending on the final pool conditions.
Users can purchase $MT through the official presale portal with $BNB, ETH, selected stablecoins or card. Stage 7 prices $MT at $0.00430, while $0.05186 remains a planned launch target.
MemeToro’s current AI memecoin news is therefore centered on product development. The wider sector continues moving toward agents whose decisions and financial rules can be checked publicly.
Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, who musician Macklemore said orchestrated his removal as an opening act on Ed Sheeran’s tour, once faced a solicitation charge, and his name appears in the files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Rating:
Context
Kraft faced a charge of solicting prostitution in Florida, but the case was ultimately dropped as it hinged on video that was secretly recorded. Kraft’s name also appears in the Epstein files multiple times, but they do not connect Kraft to Epstein’s crimes and he has not been accused of any involvement in those crimes.
After rapper Macklemore was dropped as an opening act on singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran’s 2026 tour over his pro-Palestine stance, a rumor spread that Gillette Stadium and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft once faced a solicitation charge and appeared in the federal government’s files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Macklemore said in an Instagram post that Kraft had orchestrated his removal from Sheeran’s tour after he advocated for Palestinian freedom during a performance. Kraft confirmed in a statement provided to ESPN on Sept. 14, 2026, that he had Macklemore removed as an opening act for shows at Gillette Stadium because the venue has a “longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech.”
The rumor about Kraft spread on X and Facebook. On X, a post (archived) read, “This is who Ed Sheeran sided with: an Epstein-connected billionaire who was charged with soliciting prostitution”:
In short, the claim is true.
Snopes found Kraft faced charges of “soliciting another to commit prostitution,” according to the Palm Beach County, Florida, clerk’s database. (Readers can verify the information directly by search for Kraft’s name, the offense date of Jan. 19, 2019, and the case number 50-2019-MM-002346-AXXX-NB). However, the case was dismissed after a federal court of appeals upheld a lower court’s decision to throw out video evidence.
Further, it is also true that Kraft appears in the Epstein files, largely regarding the solicitation charge he faced. However, the files do not connect Kraft to Epstein’s crimes, and he has not been accused of any involvement in those crimes.
The Palm Beach County database shows that the charges against Kraft were filed on Feb. 25, 2019, and he was arrested the following day on misdemeanor offenses allegedly committed on Jan. 19 and 20, 2019. The case status showed it was closed.
Authorities accused Kraft of paying workers at a massage parlor in Jupiter, Florida, for sex acts. However, his case hinged on a video that was secretly recorded, which Kraft’s attorneys argued was an invasion of his privacy. A federal court of appeals agreed:
Neither the Florida statutes, nor case law authorize covert audio surveillance to investigate prostitution-related offenses. It follows that the more intrusive video surveillance is also prohibited, providing yet another basis for affirmance.
This matches information found through links to news reports we identified among the Epstein files on the U.S. Department of Justice website. A search for Kraft’s name turned up 24 documents, the vast majority of which shared news articles reporting on his solicitation charge.
In one document containing a death announcement, Kraft is one of the email recipients copied on a message. In an email that Epstein sent to Melanie Spinella, then the assistant of former Apollo Management CEO Leon Black, Kraft is named in a link to a story by The Guardian regarding his ownership of an offshore company the paper said could help him avoid taxes in the U.S.
The claim that six images circulating online showed Iranian damage to U.S. military bases in the Middle East is still under investigation.
According to CBS News, the outlet that first shared the images, they came from active service members who shared them on condition of anonymity “because of rigid media restrictions within the military.”
Snopes does not rely on anonymous sources. We could not independently verify the authenticity of the photographs because we could not speak to the people who took them and verify their metadata (information about where and when a photo is taken). As such, we leave claims about the authenticity of the images unrated.
At least one of the images showed another angle of damage to a sentry aircraft that otheroutlets previously verified. Others corroborated reports of damage at U.S. bases.
Snopes will update this report if, or when, additional information surfaces. We contacted the CBS journalist who published the pictures to ask how he verified their authenticity and CENTCOM for further comment and await replies to our queries.
In September 2026, a series of images circulated online that social media users claimed (archived) showed Iranian damage to U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
For example, one X user shared a video consisting of six photographs that appeared to show a damaged aircraft, vehicle and structures, and wrote:
BREAKING: Troops leaked photos of their wrecked bases to CBS, saying they’re “standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face”
Active service members sent the images anonymously.
The images came from an exclusive CBS News report that said its reporter Jonah Kaplan had received the photos from “active service members on condition of anonymity because of rigid media restrictions within the military.”
It wasn’t possible for Snopes to independently verify the authenticity of the images. We don’t rely on anonymous sources. Therefore, in order to independently verify them, we would need to speak to the people who took the images and verify their metadata (information about where and when a photo was taken). This did not appear possible given the sources told CBS News they didn’t want their names published alongside the images. Therefore, we leave claims about the authenticity of the images unrated.
We contacted Kaplan to ask how he verified the authenticity of the photos. We also contacted U.S. Central Command, which directs U.S. security operations across the Middle East, to ask about the authenticity of the images. We await replies to our queries.
What we know about images
The CBS News report included six photos. The first claimed to show a damaged plane at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The image resembled photos verified by the BBC in March 2026 after Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported that Iranian strikes damaged an E-3 sentry aircraft and injured 12 troops at the base.
Snopes could not verify the exact location of the plane at the base, though CBS News’ image did show a sign reading “35L S2.” 35L is the name of one of the runways at the Prince Sultan Air Base, suggesting the damaged plane was parked on or near that runway when Iranian strikes hit. The image showed what appeared to be a drain or tunnel under the runway. Google Earth imagery showed identical structures along the 35L runway.
A report about Operation Epic Fury (the U.S. government’s name for the war in Iran) that the lead inspector general submitted to Congress in September 2026 found one E-3 aircraft had been “damaged on the ground in Saudi Arabia by Iranian strikes” during the conflict (Table 5).
The next two images in the CBS News article claimed to show damage to a large tent structure and several trailers at Camp Buehring in Kuwait. According to the Institute for the Study of War, a public policy research organization that analyzes military and foreign affairs, Iran has claimed to have struck Camp Buehring at least five times since the start of the war.
One of the images, which showed a burned-out vehicle, also showed a mural that included a hand grasping three lightning bolts. This was the same imagery used by the 136th Expeditionary Signal Battalion. That battalion has previously been deployed to Camp Buehring. The unit was deployed to Central Command’s area of operation, which includes the Middle East, around April 2026.
Another image appeared to show damage to the Unaccompanied Officers Quarters at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. The ISW reported that Iranian forces had struck Camp Arifjan at the start of March 2026. CNN reported on March 3 that six U.S. service members had been killed in strikes on the Port of Shuaiba, which is around 18 miles north of Camp Arifjan, suggesting the Iranian military had targeted the area.
The sixth image claimed to show damage to a large tent structure at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Snopes could not independently confirm the location or date of that image.
Foreign base damage difficult to confirm
Verifying damage to U.S. bases or equipment overseas is difficult because U.S. authorities generally do not publicly confirm such strikes so as not give away equipment locations or military capabilities. For example, in April 2026, the Pentagon declined to comment on reported damage to U.S. bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia for operational security reasons.
The September 2026 report to Congress about Operation Epic Fury included damage estimates only for diplomatic facilities such as embassies and consulates (Page 19), not military bases.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said (at 32:57) on March 3, 2026, that the six people killed near Camp Arifjan in early March 2026 died because a “squirter” passed through U.S. air defenses and hit a “tactical operation center.”
Hegseth said such incidents happened “every once in a while.”
Speaking to CBS News about the September 2026 images, a service member reportedly refuted that characterization of the alleged damage caused to U.S. bases in the Middle East, instead saying, “We’re not defending these bases. We’re just watching them get destroyed.”
For further reading, Snopes has investigated a number of claims related to the war in Iran.
Sources
136th Expeditionary Signal Battalion Casing Ceremony. 6 Apr. 2026, https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/VideoPlayer/videoid/1002181/.
Britzky, Haley. ‘No Warning, No Siren: Six US Service Members Killed in Iranian Strike That Hit Makeshift Operations Center in Kuwait’. CNN, 3 Mar. 2026, https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/02/politics/six-soldiers-killed-in-iranian-strike-kuwait.
‘Camp Arifjan’. Institute for the Study of War, https://understandingwar.org/site-search/. Accessed 16 Sept. 2026.
‘Camp Buehring’. Institute for the Study of War, https://understandingwar.org/site-search/. Accessed 16 Sept. 2026.
Department of War. ‘LIVE: Secretary of War and CJCS, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, Hold a Press Briefing at the Pentagon.’ YouTube, 2 Mar. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/live/Y5LgpOGxTmE?t=1977s.
‘Enhancing Quality of Life at Camp Arifjan: USACE Cuts the Ribbon on the Unaccompanied Officers Quarters’. DVIDS, https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8359568/enhancing-quality-life-camp-arifjan-usace-cuts-ribbon-unaccompanied-officers-quarters. Accessed 16 Sept. 2026.
Holliday, Shelby, and Summer Said. Crucial E-3 Sentry Aircraft Damaged in Saudi Base Attack. 26 Mar. 2026, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-war-middle-east-news-updates/card/crucial-e-3-sentry-aircraft-damaged-in-saudi-base-attack-8LibxBawXturwMIFOwTx?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqdSLCnZttiSrXyedw07NYZytLrlx0bHVoOigdxFA1fZXptP4N-3aPjveVH7A0Y%3D&gaa_ts=69c88775&gaa_sig=65vHgSOGboOLSbqmi4NYJJdQcPkdE5vgGDNgaXoPRHeYGw4kmWJfvr7o-OILcq7unGtdpeRFnbZpLRorVJISeg%3D%3D.
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EXCLUSIVE: A group of House lawmakers is launching a new caucus focused on the economic and cultural impact of movies, music, entertainment and sports.
The Movies, Music, Entertainment & Sports (MoMEntS) Caucus is being launched by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), whose district includes Culver City, and she will co-chair it along with Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Troy Carter (D-LA).
Kamlager-Dove said in a statement, “America’s creative and entertainment sectors are economic powerhouses, generating more than $1 trillion each year and supporting over five million good-paying jobs. Yet for far too long, Congress has failed to give these industries and the workers and creators who power them the attention and support they deserve.”
The caucus comes amid an industry push for the establishment of a federal film and TV tax incentive as a way to address the flight of production to other countries.
The caucus will have a broader focus than TV and film, and also include broadcasting; music; sports and live entertainment; fashion and beauty; gaming, esports, and interactive media; streaming and digital platforms; content creators and the influencer economy; literary and publishing; and visual and performing arts, organizers said.
Salazar said in a statement that the caucus “will bring lawmakers and creative industries together to better understand the challenges they face, protect creative rights, and keep American talent and innovation leading on the world stage.”
Carter said the caucus “provides a critical opportunity for us to prioritize America’s creative and entertainment industries, which contribute so much to our nation’s history, economy, and culture.”
The caucus also will focus on innovation, competition, and responsible platform practices, among other aims.
Other members of the caucus include Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), Rep. André Carson (D-IN), Rep. Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA), Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), and Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-CA).
Among those praising the formation of the caucus were Recording Academy President Harvey Mason Jr., TKO Group Chief Legal Officer Riché McKnight, TikTok USDS Joint Venture”s head of public policy Nicole Nason and Kathryn Busby, head of orginal programming at Starz.
Congress also has a Creative Rights Caucus, focused on copyrights, First Amendment rights and intellectual property rights. It is co-chaired in the House by Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL), and in the Senate by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI).
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) and Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA) appeared on a press call on Tuesday to call for a federal film incentive, telling reporters that legislation is being drafted. President Donald Trump announced his support for a federal film incentive earlier this month.
In an August 2026 meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Joesley Batista, the owner of Brazilian multinational meat-processing company JBS, Batista asked Trump to lower tariffs on Brazilian beef, then Trump decided to allow 660 million pounds of tariff-free imported beef, that Europe had banned, into the United States, with JBS buying it all, suggesting the beef would come from Brazil.
Rating:
What’s True
In August 2026, Trump expanded a U.S. beef import quota by roughly 660 million pounds. The European Union did also adopt restrictions on Brazilian beef in summer 2026.
What’s False
The quota expansion of roughly 660 million pounds was not specifically for Brazilian or JBS beef, according to a presidential proclamation. It was not possible to rule out the prospect that, despite not being mentioned in the proclamation, JBS or Brazilian beef could be the main or sole beneficiaries of the expansion. It is also imprecise to say the imported beef would be tariff-free.
What’s Undetermined
The Wall Street Journal reported that JBS controlling shareholder Joesley Batista asked Trump to lower tariffs on Brazilian beef. It was not possible for Snopes to independently verify this report.
In September 2026, a rumor circulated online that during an August meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Joesley Batista, the owner of Brazilian multinational meat-processing company JBS, Batista asked Trump to lower tariffs on Brazilian beef. Trump then allegedly decided to allow 660 million pounds of tariff-free imported beef into the United States that Europe had banned, with JBS buying it all.
The suggestion appeared to be that the imported products would come from Brazil despite the European restrictions on Brazilian beef, and that JBS would benefit from the reduced tariffs.
One Instagram post (archived) featuring the rumor describes JBS as the “primary beef supplier” for McDonald’s, Burger King, Sysco, Walmart’s Great Value brand and Kroger private-label products. Its caption reads, in part:
The owner of JBS met privately with Trump in the Oval Office, and discussed lowering the import tax on Brazilian beef.
The next day, Trump opened the border to 660 million pounds of tariff-free imported beef. JBS is the world’s largest meat processing company. Their headquarters are in Brazil.
The EU banned Brazilian beef after Brazil couldn’t prove their cattle met antibiotic safety rules. China rejected beef from Argentina after it was lab tested to contain a drug linked to cancer.
Versions of the rumor also spread on TikTok, Facebook and Threads, and readers contacted us to ask whether the elements of the claim were true.
In short, the claim contains a mixture of accurate, false and unconfirmed information.
In August 2026, Trump did expand a U.S. beef import quota by roughly 660 million pounds, and the European Union did adopt restrictions on Brazilian beef. However, that expansion was not specifically for Brazilian or JBS beef, according to a proclamation Trump signed in August 2026, and it is imprecise to say the imported beef would be tariff-free. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Batista, JBS’ controlling shareholder, asked Trump to lower tariffs on Brazilian beef, but it was not possible for Snopes to independently verify that report.
Trump expanded beef imports in August 2026
On Aug. 26, 2026, Trump signed a proclamation temporarily increasing the amount of lean beef trimmings that could enter the U.S. under an existing tariff-rate quota by 300,000 metric tons. That increase equals roughly 660 million pounds.
Describing the imports as “tariff-free,” however, is imprecise. Under a tariff-rate quota, a set amount of a product can enter at a lower tariff, while imports above that amount face a higher tariff. The White House said Trump’s measure increased the amount of beef eligible for the lower tariff rate rather than eliminating duties for beef altogether.
Moreover, the proclamation did not explicitly say the beef would come from Brazil. It allocated the additional quota to “other countries or areas” and directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure that “all eligible countries have full access” on a first-come, first-served basis. JBS is also not mentioned in the proclamation.
However, it was not possible to rule out the prospect that, despite not being mentioned in the proclamation, JBS or Brazilian beef could be among the main or sole beneficiaries of the expansion.
Did JBS co-owner meet Trump?
Batista and his brother, Wesley Batista, are JBS’ “ultimate controlling shareholders,” according to the company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As of March 18, 2026, the brothers held about 86% of the company’s voting power.
Citing anonymous sources, The Wall Street Journal reported (archived) on Aug. 31 that Joesley Batista met Trump at the White House on Aug. 20 and argued that additional beef imports from Brazil could help lower U.S. prices if tariffs were reduced. Trump announced plans to increase beef imports the following day.
However, the policy was not implemented immediately. Trump formally expanded the quota on Aug. 26, and the first tranche opened on Sept. 1.
Reuters later reported the Journal’s account but said it could not independently verify it. Snopes also was unable to independently verify the report, given it was based on anonymous sources.
We contacted JBS via email to confirm whether Batista met with Trump and, if so, what was discussed. We will update this story if we receive a response.
Snopes also reached out to the White House with similar questions and to ask how much beef would come from JBS or Brazil. Replying via email, a spokesperson said the tariff-rate quota expansion was not the result of a single conversation (emphasis ours):
President Trump’s action to address a short-term supply crunch in the beef market was the result of a long policy planning and coordination process involving domestic stakeholders; this action was not done as the result of any one conversation. At the same time, the Trump Administration continues to work with American farmers and ranchers to grow America’s cattle herd, which is currently at a multi-decade low.
JBS has ties to some named companies
JBS does have documented relationships with several companies named in the social media posts, but it was not possible to confirm that it is the primary beef supplier for all of them, as of September 2026.
For instance, a 2017 JBS report (Page 87) says its Seara division supplied 75% of McDonald’s hamburger requirements in Brazil at the time and listed McDonald’s and Burger King among its global customers. A 2020 JBS sustainability report (Page 76) also says Friboi, a JBS beef brand, received Burger King’s Best Supplier Award that year.
There is also evidence of relationships with Sysco and Kroger. Sysco named JBS Swift Beef among its beef suppliers in a 2016 supplier awards announcement, while Department of Agriculture records show JBS produced ground beef products sold under the Kroger and Private Selection brands. A JBS job posting also described (archived) Kroger as a “key case ready customer.”
But those sources do not show that, as of September 2026, JBS was the primary beef supplier for all the companies listed in the social media posts. McDonald’s, for example, lists OSI, Lopez Foods and National Beef among the U.S. suppliers behind its beef burgers.
Walmart also disputed the post’s description of JBS as a supplier of its ground beef. Annie Walker, director of Walmart U.S. communications for food and U.S. manufacturing, said via email, “We do not source ground beef from JBS.”
Snopes contacted JBS, McDonald’s, Burger King, Sysco and Kroger to clarify their current supplier relationships. We will update this article if we receive responses.
EU did restrict Brazilian beef
The posts were also broadly correct that the EU restricted Brazilian beef. On June 4, 2026, the European Commission adopted a regulation changing the list of countries authorized to send certain animal products to the EU under rules concerning the use of antimicrobial medicines. The changes took effect Sept. 3, 2026.
The regulation says Brazil was previously authorized for bovine products, among other categories, but that the commission did not receive information guaranteeing Brazil had implemented the measures needed to comply with the antimicrobial requirements by Sept. 3. Brazil’s authorization for bovine products was therefore removed.
Importantly, the regulation does not say Brazilian beef tested positive for unsafe antibiotic residues. Rather, it says Brazil did not provide enough information to show it met the EU requirements laid out above, which a European Commission spokesperson confirmed via email. The spokesperson said Brazilian exports could resume once the country meets those requirements.
Brazil’s government also said the restrictions concerned new rules governing the use of antimicrobial medicines, adding that Brazilian authorities are continuing engagement with European officials.
Snopes contacted Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture for additional context on the restrictions and will update this story if we receive a response.
China case unrelated to Brazil
Chinese authorities did suspend (Page 1921) the export authorization of one Argentine beef plant, ArreBeef, after detecting the antibiotic chloramphenicol in a shipment in March 2026, as Snopes previously reported. However, Argentina’s government said the country’s broader beef market with China remained open and operational (Page 1921). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibits chloramphenicol in food-producing animals and says residues of the drug can pose health risks.
As we previously reported, that incident was separate from Trump’s August import plan. The president’s Aug. 26 proclamation does not assign the additional 300,000 metric tons to Argentina, Brazil or any other individual country.
Filmmaker Mike Young is betting on an indie film about the real-life gambler known as Vegas Matt.
Red Leaf Entertainment is developing The Chop, a rags-to-riches drama movie that has set Young to pen the script and produce. The feature is inspired by the true story of Stephen Matt Morrow, aka Vegas Matt, and his path to becoming an advantage slot player and gambling influencer with more than 1.6 million YouTube subscribers.
The Chop is eyeing a 2027 production start and has not yet announced a director. Additional financing, production and casting details are set to be shared at a later date.
This project centers on Morrow, a dedicated husband and father whose life changes when he embraces the high-stakes world of advantage gambling in Las Vegas. The story sees the lead character connect with a band of misfit gamblers, and as the collective soon rises to fame, Morrow grapples with the challenges inherent with his success.
Young is a writer, filmmaker and stand-up comedian. He wrote and directed Stealing Jokes, a feature starring Michael Rapaport that has landed theatrical distribution from Byron Allen’s Freestyle.
“Vegas Matt hired me to write his story, and I was immediately drawn to the human side of his journey,” Young says. “This isn’t just a story about Las Vegas or gambling. It is about trust, friendship and the American Dream he never predicted.”
Morrow adds, “Mike understands that the most compelling part of this story is not what happened at the tables or the lucky spins — it is this invisible economy that no one knows exists and the subculture that goes with it. There were real risks, real relationships and a lot of moments that changed my life. I’m excited to work with Mike to bring our story to the screen.”
