Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Will Stay Closed After Trump Claims 'Total Control'
President Trump said on Aug. 12 that the U.S. Navy has total control of the Strait of Hormuz; Iranian officials said the same day that the waterway stays shut until Washington meets six conditions.
U.S.
CDC Reports 2,371 U.S. Measles Cases So Far in 2026, Passing the Full-Year 2025 Total
Federal data show more than 2,300 confirmed cases and dozens of outbreaks, most among unvaccinated people, as a November review will decide whether the U.S. keeps its measles-elimination status.
National Guard Deployment in D.C. Reaches One Year as Studies Split on Crime Effect
New research finds the Guard's presence cut property crime but shows no measurable effect on violent crime, while the White House points to more than 16,000 arrests and a Pentagon extension runs the mission to January 2029.
Carrier George Washington Transits Toward the Middle East to Relieve Abraham Lincoln, at Sea 265 Days as of Aug. 13
The Navy's Japan-based carrier is heading to the Arabian Sea as senators question conditions aboard the Lincoln and Pentagon officials call the reports misleading.
Spokane-Area Fires Reported at 5% to 13% Containment as Two New Fires Draw Level 3 Evacuation Orders
Officials say the Old Trails, Autumn Lane and Fairview fires have burned more than 10,000 acres and destroyed at least 700 structures near Spokane, Washington, while two smaller new fires, the Charles and Sparrow, triggered fresh evacuation orders west of the city.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Votes 8-5 to Hold Fauci in Contempt, Refers Matter to the Justice Department
The party-line vote on August 6 followed Fauci's repeated use of the Fifth Amendment at a July 29 hearing on COVID-19's origins; Chairman Rand Paul is sending the referral to prosecutors without a full Senate vote.
Senate Appropriations Leaders Release Stopgap Funding Bill Through Dec. 11; Senate Votes 89-4 to Advance It
Sens. Susan Collins and Patty Murray unveiled a continuing resolution that would fund the government past the November midterms, but the House is in recess until Aug. 31 and has passed a different version.
N.C.
North Carolina Reports 867 Cyclosporiasis Cases and 33 Hospitalizations Since May 1; State Says Source Not Yet Identified
NCDHHS says most cases are in Wake County and that its investigation is separate from the national Taco Bell lettuce outbreak, even as the FDA added North Carolina to that multistate count on August 5.
North Carolina Elections Board to Decide Early Voting Plans for 20 Counties on Aug. 20 After Local Boards Split
State officials approved plans for 80 counties that agreed unanimously; 20 divided counties, most of them arguing over Sunday hours, now go to the state board.
Duke Energy Progress and North Carolina Public Staff Sign Settlement Cutting Requested Rate Increase by More Than Half
The August 5 agreement follows a similar July deal covering Duke Energy Carolinas customers; the North Carolina Utilities Commission has not yet ruled, and the state attorney general has declined to sign either settlement.
Raleigh Lifts Stage 1 Water Restrictions as Falls Lake Reaches 84% of Water Supply Pool
The city ended its April drought rules on August 3 after two weeks of heavy rain refilled the reservoir, while state officials say the wider drought is not over and flood watches remain posted in western North Carolina.
Records Show NC Auditor's Staff Urged County Boards on Early-Voting Sites; Watchdog Asks Elections Board to Subpoena Ex-Liaison
American Oversight released texts from former auditor's-office elections liaison Dallas Woodhouse and asked the State Board of Elections to subpoena him, weeks after the board's Republican majority rejected a similar request 3-2.
U.S. Drought Monitor's Aug. 13 Update Shows North Carolina Drought Easing, but Exceptional Drought Persists in Western Brunswick County
Western Brunswick County remains the state's only area rated in the worst drought category even as conditions eased statewide, with extreme drought holding in parts of the Piedmont, the southern mountains and Columbus County.
Finance
Brent Crude Rises to $84.18 in Third Straight Session of Gains as Hormuz Reopening Talks Continue
Oil gained again on Monday as Iran and Oman said a shipping-route deal was near but warned the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen right away.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Releases July Consumer Price Index; Futures Traders Put September Fed Hike Odds Near 50%
The July inflation report landed at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, the last major price reading before the Federal Reserve's September meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh.
SpaceX Shares Rise About 23% Over Two Days to $133.27, Still Below the $135 IPO Price, After Lockup Opens
Nearly 1 billion insider shares became sellable on August 6; the stock rose instead of falling, following a revenue beat and a new Tesla-SpaceX chip plant announcement.
U.S. Payrolls Rose 73,000 in July, Below the Roughly 85,000 Economists Forecast; Unemployment Rate at 4.2%
The Labor Department's July employment report came in under consensus forecasts, with wage growth also slowing, and traders moved to price in a higher chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September.
Gold Trades Around $4,254 an Ounce on Aug. 7, Below Its January 2026 Record, as Hormuz Talks Advance and July Jobs Data Is Released
Spot gold rose about 0.4% on Friday and is up roughly 5% for the week, with traders citing progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, falling Treasury yields and a slowing U.S. labor market.
World
Rome Talks End Without Agreement on Who Verifies Hezbollah Disarmament; Israel Strikes South Lebanon After Two Reservists Killed
Israeli and Lebanese delegates finished a seventh round of U.S.-mediated talks on August 6 without naming the countries that would inspect cleared zones, and Israel resumed strikes after a bomb blast killed two reservists in Majdal Zoun.
Spanish F-18 on NATO Patrol Shoots Down Drone Over Romania; Fourth Drone Downed Over Romanian Territory So Far in 2026
Romania's Defense Ministry says the drone entered from Moldova early Sunday and was destroyed over an unpopulated area; Moldova identified it as a Shahed-type craft that arrived from Ukrainian airspace, while NATO says the drone "appears to be Russian" and Moscow denies responsibility.
Netanyahu Rejects Board of Peace's 15-Point Gaza Plan; Israeli Strikes Continue and Army Orders West Bank Home Demolished
Israel says it will not pull back until Hamas is fully disarmed, while Hamas says it accepted the U.S.-brokered plan but will not hand over weapons unless Israel withdraws and halts attacks.
Taiwan Cuts Mobile Data Speeds to About 1% for 30 Minutes in 14 Cities and Counties During Han Kuang Drills
The throttling, scheduled in two 30-minute windows on August 10 and August 13, is part of civil-defense exercises folded into Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military drills, which run August 5 to 14.
Iran's Army Chief Announces $30,000 Reward for Killing or Capturing U.S. Soldiers
Major General Amir Hatami said Iran's army will pay the equivalent of $30,000 — doubled if the act is carried out by a woman — to anyone who kills or captures what he called an invading American service member.
Analysis
Unbiased, evergreen deep-dives on the bigger questions — not breaking news.
What Fauci's Released Diary Documents About the U.S. COVID-19 Response — and What It Leaves Unresolved
A 1,141-page personal diary released by Sen. Rand Paul's committee is roughly one-third routine administrative logging; a minority of entries bear directly on contested questions, and a few conflict with contemporaneous public statements.
Eight Months of Mamdani: What New York's Record Actually Shows, and What It Cannot Yet Show
A claim-by-claim audit of what Zohran Mamdani has delivered, how New Yorkers judge it, and what the evidence does and does not license anyone to conclude about the rest of the country.