“Bitcoin Latinum founder Donald G. Basile now faces federal fraud charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC claims Basile and his two companies raised $16 million from hundreds of American investors through fraudulent crypto offerings. Regulators filed the complaint on April 17, 2026, in the Eastern District of New York. The charges center on false claims about insurance, asset backing, and the intended use of investor funds. The case revolves around the sale of Simple Agreements for Future Tokens, or SAFTs. These instruments promised investors the right to receive a crypto asset known as Bitcoin Latinum, or LTNM.” (04/19/26)
“Australia and Japan have signed contracts for the first three of 11 warships set to be delivered to the Australian navy under a landmark $7bn defence deal, as the two close US allies in the Asia Pacific region deepen defence cooperation. Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro made the announcement in Melbourne on Saturday at the signing ceremony for the Mogami-class warships. … Australia has committed to a record $305bn in military spending over the next decade, as part of a widespread defence overhaul aimed at boosting the country’s naval power to levels not seen since World War II.” (04/19/26)
“The remains of at least 50 infants and six adults have been dumped at a graveyard in Trinidad and Tobago, police say. In a statement, the country’s police service (TTPS) said the bodies were found in the town of Cumuto, about 40km (25 miles) from the capital Port of Spain on Trinidad – one of the two islands forming the Caribbean nation. A preliminary investigation shows it may be a case of an ‘unlawful disposal of unclaimed corpses,’ it added. It is unclear if the incident is linked to gang violence in the country with one of the highest murder rates in Latin America and the Caribbean.” (04/19/26)
“A life jacket worn by a Titanic survivor sold for more than $900,000 at auction Saturday, far exceeding expectations and highlighting the enduring fascination with the doomed ship. The flotation device — believed to be one of only a handful of Titanic life jackets still in existence — was used by first-class passenger Laura Mabel Francatelli during the ship’s 1912 sinking and was the only one of its kind ever offered at auction. It sold for 670,000 pounds, or roughly $906,000, including fees, at Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers in Devizes, England, to an unidentified telephone bidder.” (04/19/26)
“About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader. It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison. Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were ‘violently trying to break into the property’ and assault officers. … The sheriff’s department said a ‘significant’ number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.” (04/19/26)
“U.K. police said Sunday they are investigating whether a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London are the work of Iranian proxies, as the country’s chief rabbi said British Jews are facing a campaign of violence and intimidation. The Metropolitan Police force says counterterror officers are probing fires at synagogues and other sites linked to the Jewish community, as well as an attack on a Persian-language media company. No one has been injured in the blazes, the latest of which caused minor damage to a north London synagogue on Saturday night.” (04/19/26)
“A Chinese-built humanoid robot beat the human half-marathon world record in Beijing on Sunday, marking a breakthrough moment in a high-stakes global race for technological dominance. A robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor completed the 21-kilometer (13-mile) race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the human record of about 57 minutes set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo last month. The performance marked a dramatic improvement from last year’s inaugural event, when the top robot finished in more than 2 hours and 40 minutes. Dozens of humanoid robots competed alongside about 12,000 human runners, navigating a parallel course to avoid collisions.” (04/19/26)
“A 3-year-old boy shot and wounded a man and his son after mistaking them for a turkey at a Youth Turkey Hunt in Wisconsin. The toddler was being mentored by his 34-year-old parent who aided the three-year-old in shooting the 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun. The two spotted motion in the woods that they mistook for a wild turkey, according to the Department of Natural Resources report. However, a 40-year-old man and his seven-year-old child were actually in the brush 35 yards away from the shooters and were struck by pellets in the back, hands and head.” (04/19/26)
“US President Donald Trump has directed the FBI to investigate a series of deaths and disappearances involving government workers who were somehow linked to sensitive nuclear and space programmes, amid swirling public speculation about whether the cases are ‘connected to UFOs.’ … White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the inquiry on Friday, stating that the administration was ‘actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may exist.’ … The cases in question involve approximately 10 individuals with ties to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and other sensitive defence facilities. They span roughly three years and include disappearances, murders, and deaths from apparently unrelated causes.” (04/19/26)
“Fifteen people deported from the US, who are reportedly from South America, have arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is the first group of an unknown number of people that the US has expelled which the DR Congo had agreed to take in. The government in Kinshasa has stressed that their stay in the country is only temporary and that Washington is funding ‘their reception, support and care.’ The US has already sent deportees to several other African countries, including Ghana, South Sudan and Eswatini, as part of the crackdown on immigration.” (04/19/26)
