“United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to convene a face-to-face summit between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his latest bid to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Trump’s proposal on Monday came as he hosted Zelenskyy and top European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the White House for high-stakes talks on ending the conflict, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. … German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte separately confirmed that Putin had agreed to the bilateral meeting, but did not specify a date or location. Zelenskyy, who described his meeting with Trump as a ‘very good conversation,’ told reporters that he was ‘ready’ to meet the Russian leader one-on-one.” (08/19/25)
“The Justice Department has agreed to provide to Congress documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, a key House lawmaker said Monday in announcing a move that appears to avert, at least temporarily, a potential separation of powers clash. The records are to be turned over starting Friday to the House Oversight Committee, which earlier this month issued a broad subpoena …. ‘There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,’ Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the Republican committee chair, said in a statement. … The panel separately issued subpoenas to eight former law enforcement leaders as well as former Democratic President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.” (08/18/25)
“Hamas has accepted a new cease-fire proposal for Gaza put forward by Qatar and Egypt that would see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, two diplomats familiar with the negotiations and an Egyptian official said on Monday. It was unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel would accept the proposal, which came as Qatar and Egypt were intensifying their mediation efforts ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion into Gaza City. The plan would also require Israel to redeploy its forces in Gaza, and it would allow enough humanitarian aid to enter the territory to meet the needs of Palestinians, two of the officials said.” (08/18/25)
“Newsmax has settled with Dominion Voting Systems in its lawsuit over the network’s amplification of false claims that it was involved in rigging the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuit was settled for $67 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. … In April, Judge Eric M. Davis, in a summary judgment ruling, determined that Newsmax ran defamatory and false statements about Dominion in the aftermath of the 2020 election, as personalities and guests amplified claims that the company was involved in rigging the results. He left it up to a jury to decide whether Newsmax was liable for actual malice, and whether Dominion could collect punitive damages. … Newsmax settled with another election systems company, Smartmatic, last year, and agreed to pay $40 million, according to an SEC filing.” (08/18/25)
“Norwegian prosecutors on Monday announced that they have indicted Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess, on multiple charges including rape after a lengthy investigation. Oslo state attorney Sturla Henriksbø said Høiby could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, broadcaster NRK reported. The 32 counts include rape, abuse in a close relationship against one former partner and acts of violence against another. Other charges include making death threats and traffic violations. Høiby, the 28-year-old son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested last year on various allegations of wrongdoing. He is currently free pending trial, and Henriksbø said there is currently no reason to arrest and jail him.” (08/18/25)
“The controversial AI-focused crypto project Qubic has suggested it may mine Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest memecoin, after completing its current operations on Monero (XMR), the privacy-focused blockchain network. On Aug. 17, Qubic Network founder Sergey Ivancheglo shared a Discord screenshot showing that the community voted to target Dogecoin for the upcoming mining season. … Ivancheglo explained that his AI project targets these PoW blockchains to redirect energy-intensive proof-of-work computations toward artificial intelligence applications.” (08/18/25)
“US Customs and Border Protection officers opened fire during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in San Bernadino, California, on Saturday, calling it an act of self-defense after a man ‘struck two CBP officers with his vehicle,’ the Department of Homeland Security said. But the family inside the vehicle said they drove away out of fear for their safety after masked men emerged from unmarked cars and surrounded their truck with weapons drawn before smashing the truck’s windows. … DHS said local police ‘located the subject at a residence and briefly had him in custody,’ but ‘he was set free’ and officers left the scene. … San Bernardino police cited the California Values Act, which prevents local law enforcement from helping federal officials with immigration enforcement actions.” (08/18/25)
“Texas House Democrats announced on Monday that they had returned to Austin for the next stage in a broader redistricting battle playing out across the country, saying their conditions to return to the Lone Star State had been met. ‘We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,’ Texas Democratic House Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in a statement. ‘We’re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans’ plans than when we left.’ … Texas Democrats had signaled they would return to the state after Texas lawmakers adjourned from their first special session on Friday and once California Democrats’ introduced their own set of congressional lines aimed at neutralizing expected gains Texas will make with their new House map.” (08/18/25)
“Lefty [sic] cable channel MSNBC is being forced to take on a new name after its spinoff – as the NBC brand strips the network of its iconic peacock symbol. Mark Lazarus, who will lead Versant, the new company consisting of MSNBC and other cable assets, announced that the channel will be renamed to MS NOW — short for My Source News Opinion World. Its logo will change from NBC’s trademark rainbow peacock to a blue background with a red-and-white striped flag. That’s a sharp turnaround from his assurances earlier this year that the cable news channel would be able to hold onto its name. … The CNBC business news channel, meanwhile, will keep its ‘Consumer News and Business Channel’ name, though it will be forced to launch a new logo without the peacock.” (08/18/25)
“Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown officially launched his campaign Monday to return to the U.S. Senate next year, brushing aside his bitter loss to Republican Bernie Moreno last fall and expressing confidence his pro-working class message can continue to resonate with the state’s voters. The state’s best-known Democrat, Brown is seeking the seat held by Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, a former Ohio lieutenant governor, state senator and secretary of state who’s already landed President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Husted was appointed to the seat in January to succeed JD Vance when he was elected vice president. Next year’s election is for the final two years of the six-year term.” (08/18/25)
