“Rep. Chuck Edwards announced he won’t seek reelection in a post to social media early Wednesday morning. ‘Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life. Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support. God bless WNC and America,’ Edwards said. He added he will fullfill the remainder of his term. This follows the release of a report by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, which indicated that Edwards should face censure from the House for inappropriate conduct directed at two young female staffers.” (08/05/26)
“Disney and TikTok have agreed a deal which will allow creators to use clips from Disney films, including its subsidiaries, in their videos. It means clips from hit franchises like Star Wars, Toy Story and the Marvel Cinematic Universe will soon start popping up in videos – which will also be shared on Disney’s short-form video platform, Verts. The scheme will be launched in the US before being rolled out to other countries. Neither company shared financial details of the agreement, although it follows the collapse of a $1bn (£745m) deal between Disney and OpenAI which would have let people use its characters in AI-generated videos. That agreement was cancelled in March when OpenAI shut down its AI video generation tool Sora, citing a decision to focus on other parts of its business.” (08/05/26)
“Lebanon and Israel held a fresh round of US-sponsored talks in Rome on Tuesday, with Beirut seeking Israel’s phased withdrawal from the country’s south. Convoys carrying delegations from the two countries arrived in the morning to the US embassy in the Italian capital, where discussions are scheduled to run until Thursday. … This week’s negotiations are the seventh round of Washington-mediated talks since Israel launched its war on Lebanon that has killed more than 4,300 people.” (08/05/26)
“Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro on Wednesday picked his running mate, a lawmaker from his party who will run for vice president in the October election after centrist parties largely failed to endorse his candidacy or opted to stay neutral in the race. The senator and a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro was confirmed as the presidential candidate of his father’s Liberal Party last month. He will run against incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the two could go into a runoff if neither gets a majority vote. … Alfredo Gaspar has been a member of Brazil’s lower house since 2023. Before that, he worked as a prosecutor and served as secretary of public security of the northeastern state of Alagoas.” (08/05/26)
“The U.S. Justice Department has indicted 19 people in Pennsylvania for alleging [sic] billing the government for thousands of hours in fake home healthcare shifts, the department said Tuesday. The alleged fraud schemes involved more than $4 million in claims to Medicare and Medicaid. Those charged with healthcare fraud and other offenses include several home healthcare workers and owners of home healthcare companies. In one case, one home healthcare aide claimed to be providing billable services while they were incarcerated, while another did so while hospitalized, the government said. These two and the two Medicaid recipients accounted for more than $440,000 in claims.” (08/04/26)
“A drone carrying an explosive device has been found at a German airport, police say. A robot was deployed at Leipzig/Halle Airport after the device was spotted by an employee near Ukrainian cargo planes overnight, according to Saxony police. A second unidentified object also collided with a cargo aircraft near the same airport. Minor damage was detected on the aircraft after it landed in Hanover. German airports are on high alert following a series of unauthorised drone flights in recent months over sensitive sites including military bases, airports, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies. Police have warned that the overflights could have been organised by Russian agents.” (08/05/26)
“Taiwan’s largest military drills of the year began Wednesday as the island democracy attempts to prepare its population for a potential Chinese invasion. The annual ‘Han Kuang’ exercise, which runs from August 5-14, stages combat scenarios for troops and reservists to practise responding to an attack on the island, defence officials say. Civilians will also be put through their paces during exercises that include a temporary slowdown of mobile internet speeds as well as air raid drills. China [pretends] Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize the island of 23 million people.” (08/05/26)
“The state of New Mexico sued the Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday, saying the federal government blocked the state’s ability to investigate the sex crimes of financier Jeffrey Epstein at a ranch there. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the Justice Department and Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking steps that ‘actively harms victims and undermines the public interest’. The lawsuit, which seeks judicial intervention to force the federal government to turn over relevant materials to New Mexico’s investigators, was filed on the same day that New Mexico is releasing a report showing its preliminary findings from an ongoing probe into Epstein and his ranch.” (08/05/26)
“Missouri Rep. Wesley Bell crushed a comeback attempt by his predecessor Cori Bush, a democratic socialist and sharp critic of the war in Gaza, in a high-profile Democratic primary Tuesday that drew millions of dollars in ads from pro-Israel groups. With more than 95 percent of votes in, Bell was leading Bush 59 percent to 37 percent in the Democratic contest for the St. Louis-anchored 1st District, The Associated Press reported. The result marks a victory for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel group whose campaign arm spent more than $2.5 million targeting Bush.” (08/05/26)
“At least 17 people have been killed and 44 injured in the latest Russian attacks targeting the Kyiv region. The number of dead continues to mount partly because of an air defence shortage in Ukraine. Speaking this morning, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that missile interceptors could have ‘saved the lives of those killed today’. … Russia’s latest attacks targeted civilian infrastructure, according to multiple voices in Ukraine, including Zelenskyy. Residential buildings, shops and warehouses were all hit. Russia said it targeted sites linked to the war effort, including warehouses storing drone components.” (08/05/26)
