Author: News Room

The Erik Voorhees-founded Venice AI has achieved unicorn status after raising $65 million in Series A funding at a $1 billion valuation. Led by Dragonfly and with backing from Coinbase Ventures, F-Prime, North Island Ventures, Morgan Creek and others, the funding round announced on Wednesday marks the company’s first external capital raise since launching in 2024. The fundraising came in the same month Anthropic was forced to suddenly cut foreign access to two of its latest AI models, and comes just weeks after OpenAI was accused in a class-action lawsuit for sharing ChatGPT data with third parties, highlighting the potential appeal of…

Get a rundown of Us Weekly‘s top stories making headlines in celebrity news, sports and entertainment on July 1, 2026. Here are the key takeaways: • A Utah court denied Tate Paul‘s temporary restraining order against ex-wife Taylor Frankie Paul, finding insufficient evidence of immediate harm and noting that Taylor had the children while Tate traveled to Iceland from June 11-17, according to court documents obtained by Us. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. • Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s wedding will span two days at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with an intimate rehearsal dinner on Thursday,…

The Federal High Court in Lagos has urged parties in a N98.5 billion patent infringement suit involving the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Enterprise Logistics Special Limited and Avanage Nigeria Limited to make genuine efforts to resolve the dispute amicably before the case proceeds to trial. Trial court judge Deinde Dipeolu gave the advice on Tuesday after declining to commence trial because the Central Bank of Nigeria, Avanage Nigeria Limited and the Registrar of Patents and Designs were not represented by their lawyers. The plaintiffs, Enterprise Logistics Speciale Limited and its Managing Director, Samuel…

Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, NNPC Limited, recorded a profit after tax of ₦462 billion in May 2026, representing a ₦ 19 billion decline from the ₦481 billion reported in April, despite improvements in crude oil production, natural gas output and pipeline availability. The company’s latest monthly report summary, published on Wednesday, showed that the May profit was 3.95 per cent lower than the previous month’s performance. Revenue also declined significantly during the period. NNPC reported revenue of ₦4.335 trillion in May, down by about ₦635 billion from the ₦4.97 trillion recorded in April. According to the report reviewed by PREMIUM…

Perhaps Bello’s greatest asset remains his relationship with people. His warmth draws people to him as naturally as bees are drawn to honey. Across professional, political and social circles, one constantly encounters individuals eager to testify to his kindness, generosity and readiness to assist. He is celebrated not merely because he occupies high office, but because he has touched lives in meaningful ways. In a country where officialdom is often weighed down by bureaucracy, territoriality and needless rigidity, encounters with genuinely humane public officers are rarities. Indeed, many public officials in Nigeria erect invisible walls around themselves, making access difficult…

Belgium produced one of the most remarkable comebacks of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, fighting back from two goals down to defeat Senegal 3-2 after extra time and book a place in the Round of 16. Youri Tielemans converted a dramatic penalty in the 125th minute to seal Belgium’s victory and extend the Red Devils’ unbeaten run to 17 matches. Senegal dominated the opening stages and deservedly took the lead through Habib Diarra after Ismaïla Sarr’s header struck the post. The Teranga Lions continued to dictate play, with Sadio Mané and Sarr causing constant problems for Belgium’s defence.…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has formally taken custody of 6,778.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, intercepted at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos. The illicit consignment was officially handed over to the NDLEA during a ceremony at the Apapa Port on Wednesday, following its interception during a joint examination of two containers by operatives of the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies. A statement on Wednesday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, revealed that the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), represented by the agency’s Director of…

Bitcoin could face further downside pressure after ending June below its 200-week moving average but above its realized price, a combination that crypto analyst PlanB says suggests the market has yet to reach a bear market bottom.Bitcoin fell 20.5% in June to close the month at $58,526 — its worst monthly performance since June 2022 — below its 200-week moving average of $62,000 but above its realized price of $52,000.“ALL previous bear market bottoms were below realized price,” said PlanB, the creator of the stock-to-flow pricing model, on Wednesday, adding in a separate post that Bitcoin could drop to $52,000.The…

Credit: CBS Emily Wickersham Character: Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop When They Exited: Season 18, Episode 16 Whether They’ll Return: During an August 2024 episode of the “Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch” podcast, Emily Wickersham hinted that her exit from the series is permanent. “I left the show, I found out I was pregnant a month later … So it was a combo of decompressing and trying to really relax and figure out how things were going to be without work,” she explained of when it hit her that her NCIS stint was over. “It’s all consuming. Your life is all NCIS…

At least 48 villagers have been killed in a clash between the Fulani and Kamuku ethnic groups in Tegina, a town in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State. Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that the violence erupted early Wednesday morning when machete-wielding herders invaded a Kamuku community, killing 42 people, mostly women, children, and the elderly. Residents shared graphic images of the scene with our reporter, showing victims who had been hacked to death or burned. Ibrahim Musa, a resident, stated that numerous people from the outskirts of Tegina, where such attacks are frequent, are currently fleeing to the…