Digging into the rumor Iranian state TV said, ‘There is a surprise tonight that the world will remember for centuries’
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Students learn to tend cattle at Be a Champ Camp
About 150 students — from age 9 through 19 — are attending Be A Champ Camp this week. The camp, held each June at Connors, teaches livestock grooming and showmanship. Retired Connors ag instructor Jerry McPeak: “Rain or shine, it’s the same thing,” he says of the camp. “Attitude is everything, I don’t care what you do in life,’’ he adds, referring to the camp’s motto: ‘You fail only when U don’t give it all U have.’ ‘I have not missed a year since I was 9 years old,’ says Stormi Hopkins, 21.
“Rain or shine, it’s the same thing,” said retired Connors ag instructor Jerry McPeak, who has led the livestock camp for 43 years. “The rain makes it more difficult — it’s like life.”
About 150 students — from age 9 through 19 — are attending Be A Champ Camp this week. The camp, held each June at Connors, teaches livestock grooming and showmanship to young people from across the United States, and beyond. McPeak said a student from Canada attended a cattle showmanship camp last week and an Australian will attend a lamb camp later this month.
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Campers spent Thursday afternoon grooming and shearing their cattle.
“They’re giving them haircuts to emphasize their strengths and minimize weaknesses of these cattle,” McPeak said.
Thursday’s rain challenged the students.
“Sometimes it gets more difficult because of things you can’t control, that’s how today was,” McPeak said Thursday. “They don’t have any choice but to do that, coming from their trailers into here. We’re going to wash them anyhow. They’ve got the equipment to get them dry and do a lot of brushing.”
The camp also fosters positive attitudes, McPeak said. “Attitude is everything, I don’t care what you do in life.”
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Motivational posters such as “Don’t Just Walk, Walk and THINK” and “You fail only when U don’t give it all U have” lined show barn walls.
Fourth-grader Liam Dyches of Nowata County said he’s learning how to fit his cow for showing. Part of that involved grooming them with electric clippers.
“Cattle have a lot of hair on them, so you pull down on the brush,” Liam said, referring to the electric clippers.
Fourth-grader Waylon Hargis of Waurika led his cattle across the muddy grounds to his trailer. He said he’s used to tending cattle in the rain.
Stormi Hopkins of Claremore grew up attending the camp and returned to teach.
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“I came (as a camper) every year that I could, a total of nine years,” said Hopkins, 21. “I have not missed a year since I was 9 years old.”
Hopkins said the camp has a great atmosphere.
“Everybody around you is willing to help and give you their all,” she said. “It’s such a positive atmosphere. We instill motivation and confidence, so that whenever they leave here, they want to help other kids. It’s been humbling to be able to watch kids from the first day go on to the last day and see the growth.”
Unpacking rumor Iranian state TV said, ‘Tonight, a great surprise will occur, one that the world will remember for centuries’
A rumor circulated online in mid-June 2025 claiming Iranian state TV announced, “Tonight, a great surprise will occur, one that the world will remember for centuries” The rumor possibly originated from an X post appearing on the account Tehran Updates (@TehranDefence) in the U.S. morning hours of June 17. Snopes contacted Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs by email to ask whether Iran state TV made the alleged announcement. We have not definitively established the truth about this matter. The existence of this X post indicated the rumor Iranian stateTV made the announcement was likely false. The rumor circulated amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, with Iran and Israel attacking each other with missile strikes. On June 18, the AP reported Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected U.s. calls for surrender, and warned any U.N. military involvement would cause “irreparable damage” to them.
For example, on June 17, an X user posted (archived), “BREAKING: Iranian State TV has said: ‘Tonight, a great surprise will occur, one that the world will remember for centuries.'” The post received 12.4 million views, as of this writing.
(@unusual_whales/X)
Numerous other users also shared this claim, including on Bluesky (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Reddit (archived), TikTok (archived), X (archived) and YouTube (archived). Newsweek, The Gateway Pundit and the Arabic-language website Asharq News (archived), as well as the British tabloids The Daily Mail and The Mirror, reported this news as fact as well.
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However, searches of the wire services Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press and Reuters found no reports about this matter. Had Iranian state TV made such an announcement, news media outlets worldwide would have reported it as major breaking news. Very few outlets reported the alleged quote, and those that did provided no video or other evidence to support their claims.
This rumor possibly originated from an X post appearing on the account Tehran Updates (@TehranDefence) in the U.S. morning hours of June 17. The account displays a bio reading: “Live War updates / This account is not affiliated with any Government entity.” According to a search of X, the post featured the earliest record of the text, “Tonight there will be a big surprise and the world will remember it for centuries.”
The existence of this X post indicated the rumor Iranian state TV made the announcement was likely false. However, Snopes did not attach a fact-check rating to this story because we have not definitively established the truth about this matter.
(@TehranDefence/X)
Snopes contacted Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs by email to ask whether Iranian state TV made the alleged announcement, and will update this story if we learn more information.
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Users shared this matter amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, with Iran and Israel attacking each other with missile strikes. On June 18, the AP reported Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected U.S. calls for surrender, and warned any U.S. military involvement would cause “irreparable damage” to them.
The AP also said an Israeli airstrike hit an Iranian state TV studio during a live broadcast. The reporting features a video of the moment of impact.
For further reading on the subject of state TV broadcasts, another fact check examined the true claim that Russian state TV aired n*de photos of U.S. first lady Melania Trump shortly after the 2024 election.
Sources:
Barnes, Julian E., et al. “Iran Is Preparing Missiles for Possible Retaliatory Strikes on U.S. Bases, Officials Say.” The New York Times, 17 June 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/us/politics/iran-israel-us-bases.html.
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Gambrell, Jon, et al. “Israel Strikes Iran’s Nuclear Sites and Kills Top Generals. Iran Retaliates with Missile Barrages.” The Associated Press, 13 June 2025, https://apnews.com/article/iran-explosions-israel-tehran-00234a06e5128a8aceb406b140297299.
“Israeli Strike on Iranian State TV Fills Studio with Dust and Debris during Live Broadcast.” The Associated Press, 16 June 2025, https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-irib-state-tv-air-strike-9ab46d05baeb354a6596bd09aa12a2d6.
“Live Updates: Iranian Leader Warns US That Intervening Would Cause ‘Irreparable Damage.'” The Associated Press, 18 June 2025, https://apnews.com/live/israel-iran-attack-conflict-updates.
Russia fires North Korean ballistic missiles in ‘extremely dangerous’ threat to Europe and Asia: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renews warnings that the threat posed by the Moscow-Pyongyang alliance is “extremely dangerous” for Europe and Asia alike. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, confirmed in an interview with The War Zone that Russia has significantly improved North Korea’s KN-23 ballistic missiles. Zelenskiy: “This must be addressed now, not when thousands of upgraded Shahed drones and ballistic missiles begin to threaten Seoul and Tokyo” North Korea supplied Moscow with more than 11,000 troops beginning last October, as well as 9 million rounds of mixed artillery and multiple rocket launcher ammunition, a slew of weapons systems, and at least 100 ballistic missiles last year alone, a U.N.-member group confirmed last month. North Korea has agreed to produce Russian UVAs on North Korean territory utilizing developments in drone warfare that Moscow has obtained through Iran.
“The longer this war continues on our territory, the more warfare technologies evolve, and the greater the threat will be to everyone,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday. “This must be addressed now, not when thousands of upgraded Shahed drones and ballistic missiles begin to threaten Seoul and Tokyo.”
Zelenskyy’s warning came just one day after Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, confirmed in an interview with The War Zone that Russia has significantly improved North Korea’s KN-23 ballistic missiles.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lays flowers as he pays tribute to 12 people killed by the Russian ballistic missile in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 25, 2025.
Zelenskyy Dismisses Trump’s Claim That Russia Wants Peace, Says He Knows Putin ‘Much Better’
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Earlier this year, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team – a U.N.-member group that includes the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea – confirmed late last month that Pyongyang not only supplied Moscow with more than 11,000 troops beginning last October, but also 9 million rounds of mixed artillery and multiple rocket launcher ammunition, a slew of weapons systems, and at least 100 ballistic missiles last year alone.
In May 2024, Ukrainian authorities reported that at least half of the North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles fired by Russia were missing their targets by malfunctioning and even exploding in midair.
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On Monday, Budanov said the missiles are now hitting Ukrainian targets with “deadly accuracy” – an improvement that appears to have arisen following a June 2024 mutual defense pact between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during a signing ceremony following bilateral talks in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024.
Russia Launches Biggest Drone Barrage Of The Ukraine War, Kyiv Says
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Top Ukrainian officials are sounding the alarm that there is a clear exchange of North Korean troops and supplies for Russian technical knowhow – including developments it has learned from Iranian drone manufacturing.
“We are also tracking evidence that Russian-Iranian drone technologies have spread to North Korea,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday. “This is extremely dangerous both for Europe and for East and Southeast Asia.”
Similarly, Budanov said Pyongyang has agreed to produce Russian UVAs on North Korean territory utilizing developments in drone warfare that Moscow has obtained through Iran and its steady supply of Shahed drones.
“It will for sure bring changes in the military balance in the region between North Korea and South Korea,” the intelligence chief warned on Monday.
Upper floors of a nine-story residential building in the Dniprovskyi district are damaged by a Russian drone strike on March 23, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
But North Korea’s increased knowledge of drone development and ballistic missiles could have far deadlier consequences when it comes to the nuclear-armed, anti-Western nation.
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“Unfortunately, ballistic missiles… are carriers of nuclear payloads,” Budanov pointed out.
But when asked if Moscow is aiding North Korea’s nuclear program, the intelligence chief said, “Let’s say they had huge problems with the carriers of these missiles and the firing from their sea component. And Russians are helping them with this.”
Original article source: Russia fires North Korean ballistic missiles in ‘extremely dangerous’ threat to Europe and Asia: Zelenskyy
TikTok-Famous Skincare Brand BYOMA Breaks the Fourth Wall to Win Over Gen Z
“Your Skin Barrier Needs You” is the first global campaign from fast-growing skincare brand BYOMA. The campaign is an “in-your-face visual that breaks the fourth wall,” said Sarah Rios, director of marketing. The company used geo-targeting based on store and sales data to place media across out-of-home, search ads, and platforms including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. ByOMA was one of the first to focus on the skin barrier and bring this topic into the mainstream, CEO Marc Elrick told ADWEEK. It rolls out during Skin Barrier Awareness Month, an initiative BYOMa launched last year.
“Your Skin Barrier Needs You,” debuting today, is the first global campaign from BYOMA, the brand founded in 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland that has since gained traction with young TikTok users and launched in Target, Boots, and Sephora Europe.
Developed with London-based agency Small World, this is also BYOMA’s first marketing work not made solely in-house.
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The three-year-old skincare brand, created by Marc Elrick, founder and CEO of Future Beauty Labs, was one of the first to focus on the skin barrier and bring this topic into the mainstream.
This campaign aims to “solidify our positioning as a leader in skin barrier health” amid a wider audience, Elrick told ADWEEK.
It rolls out during Skin Barrier Awareness Month, an initiative BYOMA launched last year to address rising interest in skincare among demographics as young as Gen Alpha, Elrick explained.
“People as young as 12 years old on TikTok [are] using retinol,” he said via email. “As an education- and community-first brand, we felt a sense of responsibility to address this. Our hope is this campaign furthers that mission to build better barriers and ultimately better beauty for younger generations and beyond.”
The company used geo-targeting based on store and sales data to place media across out-of-home, search ads, and platforms including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. The campaign will also comprise creator partnerships and events. BYOMA declined to disclose media spend figures.
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“We work hard to know our consumers as well as they know themselves. That means showing up where they are, and speaking to them honestly about the things they care about, in a way that resonates,” said Elrick. “We don’t want to be constrained by feeling like a typical skincare brand–we want to speak their language.”
A campaign Gen Z can’t ignore
BYOMA’s Gen Z-focused strategy includes bold packaging to stand out in increasingly crowded skincare aisles.
Its campaign uses a similarly colorful design to more closely resemble “an art installation” rather than traditional advertising, Elrick explained.
“We’ve always felt that we have permission to play in art-centric spaces,” he added.
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BYOMA “wanted to build a campaign Gen Z couldn’t ignore,” Claire IJsbrandij, lead creative at Small World, said in a statement.
“We literally got in their faces. It was important for us to relay this important message about skin health while retaining the bold, playful edge that feels fitting to the brand and its audience,” she continued.
Utah’s largest mansion — complete with a Star Wars tunnel and 65-seat theater — goes to auction for $8 million
The 154-acre estate in Hyrum, Utah, is Utah’s largest private residence. It features a five-level, 10-bedroom main house, a Disneyland Tiki Room replica, a Star Wars-style underground tunnel and a 65-seat theater. Bidding for the home will open at $8 million, and the price has since dropped to $19.5 million. Some residents in the Cache Valley community of 10,000 are skeptical about whether the mansion will sell at all. But one resident says she’s optimistic that someone will make the most of the mansion’s potential value. The home sits just 15 minutes from the city of Logan and 75 minutes from Salt Lake City, near Blacksmith Fork Park and Hyrums Reservoir. The estate could also be converted into a rental or event space to create local jobs and attract visitors, the listing says. It could also bring in a chunk of change for local services if the home is sold and reassessed. The sale could also drive broader interest in Cache Valley properties.
The sprawling home features more than 70,000 square feet of space, including a five-level, 10-bedroom main house, a Swiss Family Robinson-themed bunk room, a Disneyland Tiki Room replica, a Star Wars-style underground tunnel and a 65-seat theater modeled after Walt Disney World’s Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade. Initially listed for $35 million, the price has since dropped to $19.5 million. Bidding for the home will open at $8 million.
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That has locals in Hyrum, a quiet Cache Valley community of around 10,000 residents, wondering who might want to live there.
“It was a big deal … in our little teeny Hyrum,” resident Kathy Schroeder told KSL-TV.
“People are kind of blown away by that because we’re kind of a rural, you know, kind of community. People don’t really expect that there.”
Disney-themed rooms, a pool barn and an underground racetrack
In addition to the main residence, the property includes a 27,000-square-foot unfinished pool barn, with plans for a massive swimming pool, an exercise center and 16-car garage — all connected by that 140-foot-long underground tunnel.
The home also includes an underground racetrack that circles the home’s footprint.
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Other highlights include:
Stunning mountain views.
An expansive entryway with vaulted ceilings and exposed beams.
Dining room with a 42-seat table.
A nearly complete pond.
Vaulted ceilings and ensuites in each bedroom.
A guest house and well house.
Event space.
The property listing also notes that the home sits just 15 minutes from the city of Logan and 75 minutes from Salt Lake City, near Blacksmith Fork Park and Hyrum Reservoir.
Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it
How could this home impact Hyrum?
In spite of all these amenities, some residents remain skeptical about whether the home will sell at all.
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“I don’t know who would want to buy it here,” local Adam Berger told KSL-TV. “It’s not Jackson Hole or like other places where millionaires go.”
That skepticism stems in part from Hyrum’s identity as a rural, working-class community, not a luxury destination. While nearby mountains and reservoirs offer outdoor appeal, the community lacks the kind of high-end restaurants, shopping or airport access typically found in luxury markets.
Mansions of this size are rare anywhere, but in small communities like Hyrum, they can have an outsized impact, both good and bad.
On the positive side, increased tax revenue for Hyrum could bring in a chunk of change for local services if the home is sold and reassessed. The estate could also be converted into a rental or event space to create local jobs and attract visitors. Finally, the buzz surrounding the sale could drive broader interest in Cache Valley properties.
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On the negative side, a sale of this size could lead to market distortion. If the home goes for at or near $19.5 million, it could skew local home value comparisons and complicate appraisals of nearby properties.
The limited buyer pool for the property is also a risk factor. If it doesn’t sell, it may sit empty and remain unfinished. Some residents also worry new ultrawealthy neighbors may not integrate into the community and its small-town atmosphere.
Schroeder, who also runs the Cache Valley Buzz Instagram page, says she’s optimistic someone will make the most of the mansion’s potential.
“We just really want someone to buy it and make it a fun place where they can live and have vacations and things like that,” she said.
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“They put a lot of time and effort into it … to make it a really family fun kind of place.”
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