FBI Reports Violent Crime Fell 9.3% and Murder Fell 18.1% in 2025; White House and Criminologists Differ Over the Cause
The FBI's annual report, released August 14, 2026, records the largest one-year drops in both categories since its national estimates began in 1936; the administration credits its policies, while many researchers point to a decline that started in 2022.
U.S.
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.
Lala's Center Passes About 46 Miles South of Hawaii's Big Island; One Dead, 100-Plus Homes Damaged, Peak Outages Near 219,000
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center says Lala's eye stayed offshore, though its northern eyewall brushed South Point; officials report more than 30 inches of rain, homes swept off foundations and outages that may last weeks in rural areas.
11 Charged in New York Indictment Alleging More Than 1,000 Sham Marriages for Green Cards
A two-count federal indictment unsealed August 12 in Manhattan accuses 11 people of arranging fake marriages, mostly for Chinese citizens; all 11 have pleaded not guilty or have yet to enter pleas, and the charges are allegations.
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
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.
Bloomberg Reports Stripe Has Agreed to Buy AI Model Router OpenRouter for More Than $7 Billion
Neither company has publicly confirmed the deal, which reports value at over five times the $1.3 billion valuation OpenRouter received in a May 2026 funding round.
U.S.-China Business Council Says Talks on Investment Board Agreed at May Summit Have Not Started
The U.S.-China Board of Investment, announced after the May 14 Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, has seen no formal consultations and is not expected among deliverables for Xi's September 24 Washington visit, while a separate tariff-relief mechanism moves ahead.
Texas Judge Defers Approval of 777 Partners' $2.5 Million Bankruptcy Loan; Rival Funding Offer Filed
The Miami investment firm, which listed at least $2.7 billion in funded debt when it filed for Chapter 11 on August 9, is also fighting over whether its case belongs in Texas or Florida.
50% U.S. Tariffs on About $20 Billion of Canadian Goods Are Set to Start Aug. 19 as Talks Continue
Canadian minister Dominic LeBlanc and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are still negotiating over autos, alcohol and dairy, with three Section 338 proclamations due to take effect Wednesday.
World
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.
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.
Moroccan State Broadcaster Reports 294 Migrants and 61 Alleged Facilitators Arrested Near Ceuta
The arrests reported on Saturday, August 15, follow a late-July mass crossing into the Spanish enclave whose death toll Spanish and Moroccan authorities count very differently.
Russia Says It Downed 822 Ukrainian Drones Overnight; Russian Missiles Hit Kyiv and a Kryvyi Rih Steel Plant
Russian officials reported drone intercepts across 16 regions and Crimea on August 16, 2026, while Ukrainian officials reported deadly missile strikes on Kyiv and on ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih.
Taiwan Confirms AI-Assisted Cyberattack on Government Systems; Israeli Firm Says Open-Source AI Agents Breached 85 Accounts in Four Days
Taiwan's digital ministry says the July intrusion came from "overseas sources" and was contained, while researchers at the Israeli firm Dream say the attackers built the tool from open-source AI agent frameworks and left Chinese-language traces.
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.