LAST UPDATE | 16 Jul 2025

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start the day.

Hoax ads plague social media

1. In today’s morning lead, The Journal reveals that AI technology is progressing increasingly sophisticated scam videos, which are becoming harder to spot on social media.

One recent deepfake video, featuring images of actor Brendan Gleeson, RTÉ newsreader Sharon Tobin, and scientist Luke O’Neill, demonstrates how AI is becoming harder to spot.

Coroner rejects garda referral

2. A Coroner in Co Offaly yesterday rejected calls to refer the circumstances of the death of a farmer on the day after he got married to gardaí for a detailed forensic investigation.

Joe Grogan, 75, died the day after he got married to his part-time carer, unbeknownst to his close friends and family.

How much will tiny flats save?

3. The Journal‘s reporters Eoghan Dalton and Christina Finn examine how much a proposed reduction in the size of apartments in Ireland will save future buyers.

It has been claimed that between €50,000 and €100,000 would be cut from the cost of construction as a result. But how accurate is that? Or, how possible is it?

Ireland’s oldest person dies

4. Sarah Coyle, believed to be Ireland’s oldest person at the age of 108, has died.

Ms Coyle passed away on Monday, ten days before she was to turn 109 years old. She was born on 24 July 1916.

Don’t attack Moscow, Ukraine

5. Ukraine should not target Moscow, US President Donald Trump has said following reports that he asked if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should look at striking the Russian capital.

Yesterday, the Kremlin claimed that a plan to supply weapons to Kyiv and American sanctions threats against Russia would delay peace efforts.

Peter Falconio’s killer dies

6. An Australian man who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio in 2001 has died in hospital, without disclosing where he buried the 28-year-old’s remains.

Police in Australia’s Northern Territory has confirmed the death of Murdoch and said its thoughts are with the Falconio’s family, whose grief continues after the high-profile case.

MAGA’s Epstein crash out continues

7. US speaker of the house Mike Johnson has called for the release of more information from the Trump administration’s probe into the notorious sex criminal Jeffery Epstein.

Johnson, viewed as US President Donald Trump’s closest ally in Congress, and his stance has been echoed by multiple Republicans, who are dissatisfied with the administration’s transparency on the issue which the party campaigned on.

Medical evacuations from Gaza

8. Fewer than half of the sick children from Gaza that Ireland promised to bring here have arrived in Ireland, the health minister has said.

Cabinet agreed yesterday that 18 more patients need to be identified for medical evacuation.

Áras race 

9. Galway Independent TD Catherine Connolly has officially launched her campaign for the presidency today, confirming her bid on Raidió Na Gaeltachta this morning.

Connolly is the second official candidate in the race for the Áras after Fine Gael confirmed yesterday that former European Commissioner and MEP Mairead McGuinness would run under the party’s banner.