Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Trilateral Defense Agreement in Mecca
The three governments say an armed attack on any one of them will be treated as an attack on all three; the full text has not been released.
U.S.
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.
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Lift Block on White House Ballroom Work Before Aug. 21
Solicitor General John Sauer filed an emergency application on Aug. 13 seeking to pause a D.C. Circuit order halting above-ground construction; Chief Justice John Roberts told the challengers to respond by noon Eastern on Aug. 18.
Sen. Bill Cassidy Says Trump's Order to Split the MMR Vaccine Is 'Wrong on So Many Levels'
The Senate health committee chairman, a physician and Republican, said the August 10 executive order would mean more shots, more office visits and higher costs; the White House says it expands parental choice.
Judge Sullivan Orders DOJ to Unredact More Epstein Records and Presses Its Lawyers at Aug. 13 Hearing
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, ruling in independent journalist Katie Phang's suit under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, ordered the Justice Department to lift redactions or justify them, and questioned department lawyers in court on Aug. 13 about withheld FBI notes.
Rights Groups Ask New Hampshire Federal Court to Block Trump's Two New Birthright-Citizenship Orders
The ACLU and allied groups filed a motion on August 11 asking the judge in Barbara v. Trump to rule that an existing class-wide injunction already covers the orders Trump signed August 6, six weeks after the Supreme Court struck down his 2025 order.
N.C.
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.
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.
Goldsboro Police Charge 17-Year-Old in Aug. 15 Double Homicide; Third Juvenile Charged in Two Separate City Killings Since Aug. 13
Two 20-year-old men were fatally shot on West Oak Street, and a 17-year-old was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of felony conspiracy, days after two other juveniles were charged in a separate Goldsboro killing.
NC Attorney General Says Duke Energy Misstated Residential Rate Increase Under Oath; Duke Calls It a Mix-Up
Jeff Jackson says Duke Energy Progress households face a 9.3% increase over two years, not the 6.8% figure a company executive gave the Utilities Commission; Duke says its written filings were correct and one number was swapped for another while speaking.
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.
Gold Trades Above $4,400 an Ounce, Still Below Its January Record, as Weak July Jobs Data Cuts September Fed Rate-Hike Odds
Spot gold has climbed back above $4,400 after a July payrolls report showed U.S. job losses, lowering market odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase, while central banks bought a record amount of gold in the second quarter.
Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Restraining Order Lapses Aug. 17; Separate Stipulation Already Blocks Closing Until Trial or June 1, 2027
A judge's temporary pause on the $110 billion deal ran through Aug. 17, but the companies agreed on July 24 not to close until after an antitrust trial now set for March 2027.
World
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.
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.