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Rumbling Meteor Lights Up Norway, a Bit Possibly Landing near Oslo

OSLO, July 25 (Reuters) - An "unusually large meteor" briefly lit up southern Norway on Sunday, creating a spectacular sound and light display as it rumbled across the sky, and a bit of it may have hit Earth, possibly not far from the capital, Oslo, experts said.
OSLO, July 25 (Reuters) - An "unusually large meteor" briefly lit up southern Norway on Sunday, creating a spectacular sound and light display as it rumbled across the sky, and a bit of it may have hit Earth, possibly not far from the capital, Oslo, experts said.
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Rumbling Meteor Lights Up Norway, a Bit Possibly Landing near Oslo

OSLO, July 25 (Reuters) - An "unusually large meteor" briefly lit up southern Norway on Sunday, creating a spectacular sound and light display as it rumbled across the sky, and a bit of it may have hit Earth, possibly not far from the capital, Oslo, experts said.
OSLO, July 25 (Reuters) - An "unusually large meteor" briefly lit up southern Norway on Sunday, creating a spectacular sound and light display as it rumbled across the sky, and a bit of it may have hit Earth, possibly not far from the capital, Oslo, experts said.

An "unusually large meteor" briefly lit up southern Norway on Sunday, creating a spectacular sound and light display as it rumbled across the sky, and a bit of it may have hit Earth, possibly not far from the capital, Oslo, experts said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Reports of sightings started arriving around 1 a.m., with video circulating on social media showing at least one bright flash lighting up a marina at Holmestrand, south of Oslo.

The Norwegian Meteor network on Sunday was analyzing the video footage and other data to try to pinpoint the meteor's origin and destination.

Preliminary data suggested a meteorite may have hit Earth in a large wooded area, called Finnemarka, just 60 km (40 miles) west of the capital, Oslo, the network said.

"This was crazy," the network's Morten Bilet, who saw and heard the meteor, told Reuters.

The meteor travelled at 15-20 km per second and lit up the night sky for about five to six seconds, Bilet said. The summer sky was dark, with the days starting to get shorter from the end of June.

"What we had last night was a large rock travelling likely from between Mars and Jupiter, which is our asteroid belt. And when that whizzes in, it creates a rumble, light and great excitement among us (experts) and maybe some fear among others," Bilet said.

There were no reports of damage or people being particularly frightened, as was the case in 2013 when a meteorite streaked across Russia and exploded over Chelyabinsk Bilet said.

For those nearest, it was likely more of a "spooky" event, he added.

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Varieties

For Sale on Facebook: Monkeys, Rhino Horn and Dead Pangolins

A Facebook post offering a dead pangolin curled up on a weighing scale for sale. STR / AFP
A Facebook post offering a dead pangolin curled up on a weighing scale for sale. STR / AFP
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For Sale on Facebook: Monkeys, Rhino Horn and Dead Pangolins

A Facebook post offering a dead pangolin curled up on a weighing scale for sale. STR / AFP
A Facebook post offering a dead pangolin curled up on a weighing scale for sale. STR / AFP

The ghostly white creature curled up on a weighing scale is almost unrecognizable in the Facebook post offering it for sale. Only closer inspection reveals it to be a dead pangolin.

The animal, one of the world's most endangered and trafficked mammals, has been stripped of its scales and is being advertised by a Thai account selling "seasonal wild delicacies".

The post is one of dozens reviewed by AFP that illustrate what conservationists call rampant illegal wildlife trafficking across social media platforms, particularly those belonging to Facebook parent company Meta.

A report by several NGOs released Monday accuses Meta of hosting the world's "largest single known illegal wildlife trade market" and effectively encouraging the trade by sharing advertising revenues with users and allowing them subscription models.

The report follows recent research by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), which warned Facebook is now "the central public infrastructure through which online wildlife trafficking is being concentrated, discovered and scaled".

Meta declined to respond to questions from AFP, and pointed to policies that restrict the sale of endangered species on its platforms.

But conservationists say those policies have done little to prevent Meta's platforms being used for the illegal wildlife trade.

The GI-TOC research found over 20,000 adverts for more than 260,000 wildlife products on social media platforms between April 2024 and March 2026.

Nearly three-quarters were on Facebook, and many remained up even after being reported, said Russell Gray, a data scientist and ecologist who co-authored GI-TOC's April report.

"Even the unredacted accounts and groups we reported on publicly in the report are still live and active," he told AFP.

'Mindboggling'

Conservationists and wildlife experts said that was common.

"I have not once received a response or seen any action taken," said Tom Taylor, chief operating officer of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.

"Accounts that are openly breaking the law should be closed, and investigations into the criminal activities behind them should be launched."

Conservationists argue Meta is not only failing to remove content that violates its policies, but may effectively be encouraging it by allowing popular accounts to monetize content through advertising revenue and subscription models.

"This content monetization that Facebook and Instagram push is actually incentivizing people to commit illegal acts," said Daniel Stiles, an independent wildlife trafficking investigator.

"The more interaction and engagement they get on their account, the more money they can make," added Stiles, who co-authored the report released Monday by NGOs including Freeland, Education for Nature Vietnam and International Wildlife Trust.

Meta does not make public which accounts are in its content monetization programs.

But those enrolled in its subscription program are publicly identifiable, and include an account apparently in Laos purporting to show poaching of wildlife including pangolins.

"How Meta can allow that is mindboggling," said Stiles.

'Lip service'

Animals and wildlife products are offered across Meta platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, research shows.

But other platforms, including TikTok and Snapchat -- popular because of its disappearing post settings -- are also increasingly used by traffickers.

AFP reviewed examples offering everything from chimpanzees intended as pets to rhino horn for traditional medicine and pangolins for consumption.

Some of the content is oblique -- vendors often post images of animals or parts for sale without any price or explanation. Interested commenters are told to message them directly.

But much of the content is clear, including a public Facebook account offering dead pangolins, monitor lizards and other protected wildlife for consumption in Thailand.

The algorithmic nature of social media platforms means that users who engage with wildlife trafficking accounts are offered more.

After reviewing just a handful of public accounts advertising illegal wildlife trade, an AFP journalist's Facebook feed began routinely displaying posts selling wildlife and endangered animal parts.

Meta was among 11 tech firms that announced this month they would work to eliminate wildlife trafficking on their sites.

But the company has been a member of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online since 2018, and the problem has continued to grow, said Steve Galster, founder of Freeland.

He warned the latest announcement risked being "more lip service".

"Until Meta is compelled to rid its platforms of illegal wildlife trade, and prove that it is not profiting from it, the online wildlife trade will only get worse."

Varieties

At Least 117 Dead Dogs Found in 'Horrific Scene' at California 'No-kill' Shelter

Investigators from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office search the grounds of Miranda's Rescue Animal Sanctuary in Fortuna, Calif., June 24, 2026, where the remains of at least 117 dogs were found. (Ryan Burns/Lost Coast Outpost via P)
Investigators from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office search the grounds of Miranda's Rescue Animal Sanctuary in Fortuna, Calif., June 24, 2026, where the remains of at least 117 dogs were found. (Ryan Burns/Lost Coast Outpost via P)
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At Least 117 Dead Dogs Found in 'Horrific Scene' at California 'No-kill' Shelter

Investigators from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office search the grounds of Miranda's Rescue Animal Sanctuary in Fortuna, Calif., June 24, 2026, where the remains of at least 117 dogs were found. (Ryan Burns/Lost Coast Outpost via P)
Investigators from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office search the grounds of Miranda's Rescue Animal Sanctuary in Fortuna, Calif., June 24, 2026, where the remains of at least 117 dogs were found. (Ryan Burns/Lost Coast Outpost via P)

The remains of at least 117 dogs were found on the grounds of a California “no-kill” animal shelter, many of them with gunshot wounds, authorities said.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that it also discovered 21 canine skulls, hundreds of bones and other remains during searches at Miranda’s Rescue Animal Sanctuary, a 50-acre (20-hectare) facility in Fortuna, California.

Investigators combing the site on Thursday located an area in a barn where they believe dogs were likely killed, the sheriff’s office said. More than 600 dog collars were found nearby, The Associated Press quoted the office as saying.

Sheriff William Honsal called it a “horrific scene.” No charges have been filed.

A message seeking comment was left for the shelter’s founder, Shannon Miranda.

In a statement posted to the shelter’s website on June 18, Miranda said that recent media coverage and online commentary “have presented an incomplete and, in some cases, inaccurate picture of our work.”

“At Miranda’s Rescue, our mission is to save as many animals as we safely can—always balancing compassion for animals with our responsibility to protect families, children, other pets, and the public,” Miranda wrote.

The sheriff’s office said it started investigating the shelter after receiving “credible information” in April “regarding allegations of felony animal abuse, animal cruelty, fraud, and conspiracy.”

Miranda’s Rescue collects fees from shelter transfers, as well as donations that it says helps cover the costs of food, housing, veterinary care, medications, facility expenses and staffing.

An affidavit from an earlier search of the property said that the sheriff’s office was tipped off by a pair of animal advocates, one of whom owns property adjoining the shelter and used trail cameras to monitor activity near an alleged burial site.

The advocates later went onto shelter property and dug up dog remains, the affidavit said.

“This investigation is just getting started,” Honsal said in a statement. “There is a tremendous amount of data to process, witnesses to interview, and evidence to examine.”

Investigators using ground-penetrating radar found 117 intact remains in various stages of decomposition buried in an open field, the sheriff’s office said.

They X-rayed 70 of the remains on site and found evidence of bullet fragments in many of them. The cause of death for many of those animals appeared to be gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators also found additional remains in advanced stages of decomposition, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said hundreds of dogs were transferred or turned over to Miranda’s Rescue by private citizens and animal shelters.

In his statement, Miranda said, “Miranda’s Rescue is a no-kill rescue. We do not euthanize animals simply to make space.”

However, Miranda wrote, “there are rare circumstances in which euthanasia may be necessary — when an animal is suffering from a terminal condition or when it poses a serious, ongoing danger to people or other animals.”

“In those situations, we make the most humane and responsible decision we can, always with public safety and animal welfare in mind.”

Varieties

Heat Wave and High Humidity Will Blast Much of the US this Week

A woman cools off while walking through a water sprayer installed in central Bucharest, on June 28, 2026. (Photo by Mihai Barbu / AFP)
A woman cools off while walking through a water sprayer installed in central Bucharest, on June 28, 2026. (Photo by Mihai Barbu / AFP)
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Heat Wave and High Humidity Will Blast Much of the US this Week

A woman cools off while walking through a water sprayer installed in central Bucharest, on June 28, 2026. (Photo by Mihai Barbu / AFP)
A woman cools off while walking through a water sprayer installed in central Bucharest, on June 28, 2026. (Photo by Mihai Barbu / AFP)

A long and dangerous heat wave will blast a large swath of the United States this week, the National Weather Service said, with temperatures rising ahead of the July Fourth holiday and feeling even hotter because of the high humidity that's arriving with it.

Several days of high temperatures will settle in across the lower Great Lakes, the mid-Atlantic and the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys, the weather service said.

A number of big cities could see their highest temperatures of the year so far as they host World Cup matches.

Feeling the heat will be the East Coast cities of New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore and Midwestern and Great Lakes cities including Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit.

Southern cities including Dallas, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, will also see high temperatures.

High heat will last into next weekend across the Great Plains, southeast and mid-Atlantic, The Associated Press quoted the weather service as saying.

Temperatures will reach well into the 90s and low 100 degrees Fahrenheit (mid to high 30s Celsius), the weather service said. High humidity will lead to heat indices of 100 to 110 degrees F (40 C to 43 C), and as high as 115 F (46 C). Nightly lows in the 70s F (21 to 26 C) won't provide much relief, the weather service said.

The heat index, which factors in humidity and is included on many weather forecasts, provides a sense of how hot it really feels — and what’s dangerous for prolonged exposure or strenuous activity.

Parts of the US, especially Phoenix, Las Vegas, central Texas, and much of the southwest, were already experiencing temperatures around 100 F.

During extreme temperatures, limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated and ensure access to air-conditioning and other cooling areas, the weather service said.