“Amazon said Wednesday it plans to offer drone deliveries in nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of the year, a sign of momentum for a project that’s been slow to develop since founder Jeff Bezos first laid out his vision for the service almost 13 years ago. The planned expansion for Prime Air would represent a sixfold increase from its current footprint, the company said in a blog post. Amazon’s latest update comes five months after David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air, spoke confidently about the program and laid out ambitious growth plans in an internal all-hands meeting, according to a recording obtained by CNBC. Carbon projected at the time that Prime Air will make 1 million deliveries this year, and said Amazon has the “’ighest demand drone delivery service in the industry.'” (08/19/26)
“North Korea said Wednesday that a U.S. decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea does not change what it sees as the provocative nature of the drills, dampening hopes for an early resumption of diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the comments Wednesday night in her country’s first reaction to Trump’s moves to drastically cut back the annual U.S.-South Korean military drills. ‘We think it’s not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all,’ Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. ‘The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced.'” (08/19/26)
“A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld an order limiting federal immigration enforcement at eight houses of worship affiliated with three faith groups, saying religious activities at the sites could be hindered by the operations. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with eight houses of worship from the Quaker, Sikh, and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship traditions in finding that a policy President Donald Trump’s administration adopted likely violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The case is one of a number of similar legal challenges that religious groups have filed nationally. The Trump administration had argued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s policy did not prevent the plaintiffs from conducting worship or ministry services, and said the plaintiffs could not establish it would lead immigrants to choose to not attend their religious services.” (08/18/26)
“A bill to boost New York City teaching assistants’ pay by $10,000 has become law despite Mayor Zohran Mamdani opting not to sign it — and it could still be challenged in court. The law giving raises to paraprofessionals went into effect Wednesday after Mamdani did not take official action, the United Federation of Teachers union, announced. The powerful teachers’ union had backed the ‘Respect for Paraprofessionals’ bill, which the City Council passed unanimously last month. ‘Our paraprofessionals made this happen,’ UFT President Mike Mulgrew said. ‘We thank Council Speaker Julie Menin, Labor Chair Carmen De La Rosa and the Council members who fought so hard to get this law passed and address a long-standing injustice’. But Mulgrew cautioned that Mamdani could decide to challenge the legislation in court, claiming it violates labor law governing collective bargaining.” (08/19/26)
“The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo now exceeds 5,000, government data showed late on Tuesday, as health officials warn that response efforts are failing to contain the deadly disease. Congo’s 17th Ebola epidemic turned into the biggest in the country’s history in terms of number of cases in late July and over the weekend the death toll hit 2,378, the public health institute said, surpassing the previous worst outbreak in 2018-2020. The institute has so far logged 5,021 cases, according to its latest situation report, making it the second-worst outbreak globally, behind only the 2014 to 2016 epidemic in West Africa in both infections and deaths.” (08/19/26)
“The United Arab Emirates suspended all trade with Iran on Wednesday after the UAE said it had come under renewed fire from the country — a move that will further isolate the Islamic Republic, which is suffering under U.S. sanctions and a blockade. Incoming ballistic missile fire triggered nationwide warnings Tuesday night for UAE residents to seek shelter, the first time in weeks such an alarm had sounded. Early in the conflict, the UAE regularly came under intense fire from Iran, and most trade between the countries, which had once been important trading partners, ground to a halt. In late June, as hostilities eased, some maritime trade resumed, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported. ” (08/19/26)
“The U.S. Department of Justice plans to send about 1,000 poll monitors to elections this fall, including some Tuesday in Florida and Wyoming primary races. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told Bloomberg News that the number of poll monitors is ‘probably going to be a historic number for a Republican administration.’ ‘Election monitoring is an ongoing priority for this office,’ Dhillon said in a press release. ‘Nondiscriminatory monitoring ensures all elections remain free, fair and accessible to all.'” (08/18/26)
“Democratic socialist Angie Nixon scored an upset victory on Tuesday in Florida’s Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate, as voters in several states picked candidates for elections that will determine control of Congress. … she defeated former national security official Alex Vindman, who rose to prominence in 2019 when he testified to Congress during Republican President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. Vindman raised 16 times as much money as Nixon. … She will face Republican Senator Ashley Moody in November’s general election.” (08/19/26)
“Ukraine’s ousted Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections in a bombshell address on Tuesday, arguing the nation faced a crisis of governance, in the biggest internal challenge to President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia’s invasion. Fedorov’s call, delivered in a video address posted on YouTube, is the first such demand by a major Ukrainian political figure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukrainian law prohibits holding elections during wartime.” [editor’s note: That last sentence is a lie. The Ukrainian constitution prohibits holding elections during periods of martial law, which is an optional status that the president has to request, and the legislature grant, extensions of every six month. There might be reasons not to hold elections, but not holding them is a choice – TLK] (08/18/26)
“Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott to compel the extradition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent arrested on charges connected to Operation Metro Surge. Christian Castro faces four counts of assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in Minnesota …. Castro was arrested in Harlingen, Texas, in May and booked into the Cameron County Jail. Ellison said Gov. Tim Walz asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in early June to extradite Castro to Minnesota, but he has yet to be extradited. According to Ellison, Walz’s request triggered a mandatory obligation for Gov. Abbott to issue a governor’s rendition warrant to Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino, initiating the transfer of Castro back to Minnesota to face justice.” (08/18/26)
