“The Trump administration plans to charge employers seeking skilled foreign workers through the H-1B visa program a $103,265 fee, a proposed regulation posted on Monday said. Revenue from the fee would be used to run the legal immigration system, the document said, including funding for federal immigration courts and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Donald Trump’s administration argues that the H-1B program has been used to take jobs away from Americans and that the current system fails to prioritize the most exceptional foreign workers. Trump tried to implement a similar $100,000 fee last year through a presidential proclamation, but it was invalidated by a federal judge in June.” (08/24/26)
“Iran’s currency hit a record low Monday as Washington prepared to announce new sanctions it said would put more pressure on an economy already battered by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade. The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar as trading opened on currency markets. Iran’s official Central Bank rate stood at around 1.5 million rial to the dollar, but the market rate is what most Iranians pay. The currency had already been under pressure before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, as Iran faced double-digit inflation and negative growth. The rial has repeatedly hit new lows as nearly six months of war have taken an even greater toll. Iranians find daily staples increasingly unaffordable. Since the war began, rice is up some 60% and beef prices are more than 150% higher. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that gross domestic product will contract more than 5%.” (08/24/26)
“Mexico resumed live cattle exports to the United States on Monday after a suspension of more than a year because of the New World screwworm outbreak. President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her morning news conference that exports have resumed gradually through the Agua Prieta border crossing in the northern state of Sonora. The border reopening will proceed under controlled conditions, with 700 cattle crossing daily from Agua Prieta to Douglas, Ariz. The plan calls for export volumes to increase gradually as sanitary inspections stabilize.” (08/24/26)
“A mission to verify a fragile ceasefire between the Congolese army and Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 armed group was deployed Monday to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the two sides traded accusations of abuses. The eastern DRC has been riven by decades of conflict with multiple armed groups fighting over its mineral-rich territory, including the M23, which seized further swaths of the region last year. … The mechanism for verfiying ceasefire violations comprises Congolese government and AFC/M23 representatives as well as observers from member countries of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). The mission, the first of its kind, was deployed on Monday by UN helicopters to Minembwe in South Kivu province, which has seen intense clashes in recent months, according to UN and government sources.” (08/24/26)
“The United States has canceled a joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korean forces that was set for next month, citing resource constraints driven by the war in Iran, the South Korean military announced Monday. The U.S. Marine Corps had notified its South Korean counterpart in June that Middle East operational demands would prevent the deployment of forces for the biennial exercise known as Ssangyong, or ‘Twin Dragons,’ the South Korean Marine Corps said on Monday. The U.S. military in Korea did not immediately comment on the announcement. The move marked the second joint military drill with South Korea to be canceled or downsized during President Trump’s second term.” (08/24/26)
“A wildfire that mushroomed over the weekend in the Sierra Nevada foothills spread perilously close to neighborhoods in Reno, Nevada, forcing authorities to urge more than 90,000 residents to leave their homes. The out-of-control fire has already burned some homes, but there’s concern that shifting winds could push the flames into newly developed and densely packed neighborhoods in Nevada’s largest city outside of metro Las Vegas. Schools across the county were closed Monday because of the evacuations and to keep roads clear for emergency crews. At a roadblock in one of the evacuated neighborhoods, residents expressed frustration Monday that they could not get back into their homes.” (08/24/26)
“California Attorney General Rob Bonta has canceled planned settlement talks with Paramount over the state’s lawsuit seeking to block David Ellison‘s proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, accusing Paramount of acting in bad faith, according to The New York Times. Bonta is leading a coalition of 12 states in challenging the proposed merger and asking the court to block the deal, arguing the merger would give the company too much power across cable television and movie production. The two sides had been due to meet Monday for preliminary discussions for a possible settlement, but Bonta called off the meeting late Sunday, after accusing Paramount of misrepresenting details of an earlier meeting held on Friday.” (08/24/26)
“Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy who was convicted of killing Sonya Massey, has died. Daniel Fultz, one of Grayson’s defense attorneys, confirmed with Nexstar’s WCIA that Grayson died on Sunday. Grayson, 32, was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Sonya Massey in October of 2025. Massey, a [b]lack woman, had called 911 to report she believed someone was trying to break into her home. Grayson and another deputy responded to the call at 12:50 a.m. on July 6, 2024. Massey was shot by Grayson about 30 minutes later, and was pronounced dead by 1:47 a.m. At the beginning of this year, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Recently, Grayson requested early release from prison on medical grounds. He had been battling colon cancer for years, and in July, WCIA reported the cancer had progressed to Stage 4 and spread to Grayson’s rectum, liver and lungs.” (08/24/26)
“Indonesia intensified its ground and aerial firefighting operations on Monday as huge blazes in central and western regions scorched wide areas of forests and peatland, creating a choking haze that blanketed cities and crossed borders. Indonesian police have arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the forest and peatland fires, while four companies are under investigation for allegedly using fire to clear land at low cost. Emergency services have been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia and Brunei, according to the National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB. Fires remained active in several regions on Monday, according to the agency, while large-scale suppression efforts continue in fire-prone provinces including West, Central and South Kalimantan on Borneo island and in Riau, South Sumatra and Jambi on Sumatra island.” (08/24/26)
“New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has unveiled a proposed law banning children younger than 16 from using social media platforms, citing what he said Monday was “harm being done to a generation” of young people. However, the bill hasn’t yet attracted enough support to pass into law because two of the three parties in Luxon’s coalition government will vote against it. Passage would require support from opposition lawmakers, who have yet to decide how they would vote. There also wasn’t enough time for lawmakers to hold a vote on the proposal before Parliament dissolved on Oct. 1 ahead of November’s election, Luxon said. Bills are required to pass three rounds of voting, usually over a period of months, before they become law.” (08/23/26)
