“A Russian missile barrage overnight Thursday killed at least 12 people in Kyiv as explosions echoed across Ukraine’s capital throughout the night, local authorities said. At least 33 people were wounded, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service. The air raid alert remained active into the early morning hours Thursday. … Russia has intensified ballistic missile attacks on the capital to wear down Kyiv’s air defense stocks. Kyiv has limited systems capable of intercepting ballistic threats, while supplies of missiles for its U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems remain chronically constrained. … Ukraine, meanwhile, has intensified its own campaign of long-range strikes against weapons depots, military facilities and other strategic targets deep inside Russian territory, seeking to degrade Moscow’s ability to sustain its attacks on Ukrainian cities.” (08/20/26)
“More than 100 people have died after an artisanal goldmine at a small village in western Central African Republic (CAR) caved in due to a landslide, local officials and aid workers said on Wednesday. The landslide happened on Tuesday afternoon in the village of Zamboye, about 50km (31 miles) from the town of Baboua and close to the border of Cameroon. Footage on social media appeared to show an avalanche of sand descend on a group of people, likely the miners, and cover them. … the incident is believed to have been caused by “’he collapse of several underground tunnels in which miners were operating’.” (08/19/26)
“Data centers, the gigantic buildings that house the computing power behind the artificial intelligence boom, are wildly unpopular. A recent Gallup poll found that 7 in 10 Americans oppose one being built in their area. Most of those objections don’t hold up. In town after town, data centers have delivered real benefits to the communities willing to host them. Local officials should be welcoming these projects, not passing laws to keep them out.” (08/19/26)
“A federal judge in Texas ruled Monday that a Biden administration-era rule regulating untraceable ‘ghost guns’ is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor held that the 2022 measure, which required that self-assembled guns be treated like any other firearm, conflicts with the nation’s ‘historical tradition’ of personal gunsmithing and self-manufacture of firearms.’The Court cannot conclude that the Final Rule’s imposition of ambiguous and far-reaching regulations, which would restrict access to component parts thereby inhibiting home gunsmithing, comports with the Second Amendment,’ O’Connor, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote. He also determined the rule was unconstitutionally vague in violation of the Due Process Clause.” (08/19/26)
“To discover who someone is, you have to pay attention to what they do, not what they say. Words are cheap, and lies come easy. This goes triple for government. A government that talks about your safety but does things that will make you less safe is not on your side.” (08/19/26)
“The U.S. military has quietly established a shipping corridor in and out of the Strait of Hormuz to transport millions of barrels of oil each day — a notable success even as the broader war remains at a stalemate, two U.S. officials told Axios. Under the operation, which has been underway for the last several weeks, 15–20 tankers have entered and exited the strait each night through a southern channel along the coast of Oman. About 10 million barrels of oil a day — roughly half the pre-war volume — are being transported out of the strait and injected into the global energy market, the officials said.” (08/19/26)
“President Donald Trump’s decision to ‘substantially reduce’ joint military exercises between the armed forces of the United States and those of South Korea captures the distilled essence of the nation’s current chief executive in its combination of petulance and affection for autocrats. On the one hand, he wants to punish our allies in the Republic of Korea for withholding support for the U.S. war with Iran. Especially, though, he wants to avoid offending the communist dictator of North Korea by training alongside our democratic and relatively free allies on the Korean peninsula. … Unfortunately, Trump has a history of turning against our friends and maintaining a soft spot for those hostile to American values.” (08/19/26)
“The judge in the case of a Texas teenager convicted of fatally stabbing a 17-year-old athlete at a high school track meet was ordered removed Wednesday, as the defendant seeks a new trial in a case that drew national attention. Karmelo Anthony, now 19, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison after a suburban Dallas jury in June rejected his claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in the stadium bleachers last year. … A new judge will be assigned for Thursday’s hearing on Anthony’s request for a retrial. Anthony’s legal team argued Wednesday that a retrial is needed in part because [District Judge John] Roach enforced overly strict courtroom rules and gave an interview after the trial was over.” (08/19/26)
