“A new political action committee chaired by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker plans to invest at least $20 million aimed at boosting Democratic House candidates for the midterms while also expanding his national political footprint ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run. The ‘Ready for the Fight’ PAC — evoking a phrase Pritzker uses to close his political speeches — will focus on what the governor says are overlooked races, as well as a few competitive contests, according to Pritzker’s team. The PAC plans to reserve air time against the embattled Rep. Max Miller in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District and Brandon Herrera, a Republican candidate in Texas’[s] 23rd Congressional District. Both are running in Republican-leaning districts, but Pritzker sees an opening, arguing they’re weak candidates facing a Democrat-friendly national climate.” (09/08/26)
“Hungary expelled 10 Russian diplomats on Tuesday, saying they had acted in ways incompatible with their diplomatic status, in a stark reminder that the pro-Russian years of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban are over. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would retaliate and its response would be painful for Hungary, Interfax news agency reported. … Those kicked out ‘were engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention,’ Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban, who is not related to the former prime minister, said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. ‘This decision … does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia. Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue,’ the statement added.” (09/08/26)
“Three paintings have been stolen from a museum dedicated to French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France in an early morning burglary. Two thieves broke into the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, a little before 6am (0400 GMT) and took four paintings, Mayor Bryan Masson said in a post on social media on Tuesday. ‘Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran,’ Masson said, adding his office estimated the value of the stolen works at 9 million euros ($10.5m). … The theft comes less than a year after eight items valued at about $100m were stolen during a daylight robbery from the famed Louvre Museum in Paris.” (09/08/26)
“A Pennsylvania priest is facing charges after prosecutors say he stole more than $740,000 from churches, church affiliates – and his own mother. Gregory Allen Madeya, 69, was arrested last month in Vero Beach, Florida and was later extradited back to Pennsylvania. Investigators say he is a former Ukrainian Catholic priest whose crimes started in 2018. He served at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Derry Township, according to the Latrobe Bulletin. Madeya allegedly stole from various churches and the Knights of Columbus as well as ‘nearly $250,000 from his mother, who was of the age when she could not manage her own finances,’ the attorney general’s office said. Following a lengthy investigation, detectives uncovered that Madeya allegedly fraudulently misappropriated nearly $320,000 from churches and donors.” (09/08/26)
“Australia on Tuesday proposed giving social media users the option to select the content they see on their feeds, marking the next step in the government’s push to improve online safety, following its world-first social media ban for children. Under draft laws proposed by the centre-left Labor government, social media platforms will be required to notify users and offer them a choice over their default feed. Users can choose to opt in to having their default feed include personalised content recommended by an algorithm. Alternatively, they can opt out of algorithmically recommended content and instead see posts only from the friends and creators they choose to follow.” [editor’s note: If users want that and are willing to pay for it in some way, they’ll get it without government requirements – TLK] (09/08/26)
“A 78-year-old British widow has told the BBC she is struggling to eat or sleep as the Swedish government threatens to deport her over a late post-Brexit residence application. Joyce Thomas, a retired nurse, moved to Sweden 22 years ago with her husband, who passed away from cancer three years ago. This came after they were informed by the Swedish authorities that they should have made a formal application to stay in the country after Brexit. Thomas has since had numerous applications and appeals rejected, and Tuesday marks the latest deadline for her to leave voluntarily. ‘This is absolute hell’, she said from her home in Sweden. ‘I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. You get up in the morning, you don’t know what’s going to happen.'” (09/08/26)
“An online petition calling for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s exclusion from the 9/11 remembrance ceremony later this week has crossed 100,000 signatures amid a similar push made by several prominent Republican leaders from the state, including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Gov. George Pataki. … The petition says the organizers oppose Mamdani’s attendance because of various ‘public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric’ that are hostile to their values. The petition then outlines eight grievances against the New York Mayor, including allegations of support or association with people who are ‘dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies.'” (09/08/26)
“Americans’ satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education in the country has hit a low point, driven by a growing political divide and concerns that schools are not preparing children for college and future jobs. Just 32% of American adults say they are ‘completely’ or ‘somewhat’ satisfied with the U.S. school system, according to an August poll published Tuesday by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation and shared exclusively with The Associated Press. That’s an 11-point drop over the past two years and the lowest since Gallup began polling on the subject 27 years ago. At the same time, dissatisfaction has increased to a high of 67%. Experts on education and school policy say the findings are deeply concerning but not surprising. Democrats are driving the recent slide, with their satisfaction dropping about 19 points since President Donald Trump’s second term began in 2025.” (09/08/26)
“The number of ships sailing through the Panama Canal could be cut further due to drought caused by the El Nino weather pattern, the new administrator of the waterway said on Monday. Panama has declared a nationwide emergency over El Nino, a phenomenon developing over the Pacific Ocean that is affecting worldwide weather patterns and pushing up global temperatures. This year’s El Nino is expected to be the strongest since record-keeping began four decades ago. Panama’s restrictions come even as use of the canal has risen …. Each ship requires about 200 million litres of water, which is then discharged into the sea. In 2023, El Nino forced a reduction in daily transits from 38 to 22 due to the dramatic reduction in reservoir levels.” (09/08/26)
“Policy experts in the US and Middle East on Tuesday were among those responding to an “astonishing” new investigation from Haaretz, which detailed how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was alerted weeks before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack that a ‘major event’ was being planned by the Palestinian group – an assault that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and which Israel has responded to by slaughtering more than 73,000 Palestinians so far in Gaza. Highlighting revelations contained in an upcoming book called Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment, by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, the Israeli newspaper reported that Netanayahu dismissed a warning about the attack from United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed, which came in a phone call in September 2023.” (09/08/26)
