“The yield on 30-year U.S. Treasuries hit the highest in almost two decades, reflecting investor angst over the surging national debt, a flood of long-dated bond sales and inflation that’s been stuck over the Federal Reserve’s target for the past five years. The rate on the so-called long bond rose three basis points to 5.29% on Monday, the highest since 2007. The move pushed it closer to that year’s 5.44% peak during the early days of the global financial crisis. The rise, which is driving up the U.S. government’s borrowing costs, is part of a broader trend in global bond markets, where investors are demanding more compensation to protect themselves against the risk of mounting government debts and persistently high inflation that’s likely to keep short-term interest rates elevated.” (08/17/26)
“President Trump on Sunday accused vandals of damaging the ground near the World War II Memorial where thousands gathered for a July 4 celebration hosted in conjunction with the White House. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, shared pictures of a grassy field with patches of brown across the lawn. ‘Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,’ he wrote. ‘Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School,’ the president added.” (08/17/26)
“Paramount Skydance will seek to force the states holding up its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to pay for the fees and costs associated with the delay, according to a new filing in the antitrust case Monday. Paramount is requesting a $1.88 billion bond that would be paid by the states behind the lawsuit. In July, a dozen state attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta filed to challenge the proposed $110 billion merger between Paramount and WBD. … ‘By the time trial concludes and the parties submit their final briefs, Paramount will have paid Warner Bros. shareholders an unrecoverable $1.3 billion in ticking fees alone,’ Paramount said in the filing. ‘Delay also threatens to nullify the regulatory approvals that Defendants have already spent months securing. … That is precisely why federal law requires plaintiffs to provide security as a condition for receiving preliminary relief such as the court-approved order,’ the filing says.” (08/17/26)
“Chinese researchers have engineered a probiotic that could make diabetes care as simple as drinking a cup of yogurt or swallowing a capsule. The ‘smart’ bacterium, designed to sense high blood sugar and automatically release a glucose-lowering hormone, performed on par with the blockbuster drug Ozempic in animal tests, according to a study published in Nature last week. The team at East China Normal University in Shanghai has already filed patents and is now scaling up production to meet pharmaceutical standards for the US and European markets.” (08/17/26)
“US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday introduced legislation that would prohibit the federal government from garnishing Social Security payments from older Americans and people with disabilities who default on their student loans, a move that comes amid a debt crisis made worse by education cuts in President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Stop Social Security Garnishment Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey (both D-MA), would bar the Treasury Department from seizing Social Security payments, including Social Security Disability Insurance, to collect on defaulted federal student debt. ‘As a result of Trump’s disastrous cuts to education, an increasing number of seniors are in danger of having their Social Security checks garnished to pay back student loans they took out decades ago. That is beyond unacceptable,’ Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement.” (08/17/26)
“Somalia’s federal troops and armed opposition groups clashed in heavy fighting in Baidoa city centre on Monday, a local resident and an army officer told Reuters. The administrative capital of South West state, Baidoa is home to international peacekeepers and humanitarian agencies. It is one of Somalia’s largest cities with a population of over a million people. Fresh fighting in the city could compound a dire humanitarian crisis in the area. Baidoa hosts hundreds of thousands of displaced people and one in four children at displacement sites there are severely malnourished, according to a July survey by Medecins Sans Frontieres.” (08/17/26)
“Police in Singapore are investigating the assault of an elderly man after he patted a young girl on the head at a food court. A man believed to be the father of the young girl appeared agitated after the gesture and shoved the 73-year-old to the ground. Security camera footage of the incident on Saturday went viral over the weekend. While some argued that the elderly man should not have touched the child without the parents’ consent, most called the physical altercation an overreaction to a pat on the head. In a statement on Sunday night, police said they had identified a 40-year-old man involved in the incident. The police urged people ‘not to speculate on the incident or its circumstances’ and to let police ‘conduct investigations and establish the facts of the case’.” (08/17/26)
“The FBI should not have ‘back-burnered’ a 2005 tip from Playboy founder Hugh Hefner that Jeffrey Epstein had trafficked and sexually abused Playmate Audra Christiansen, a former federal agent says. Christiansen says Hefner, at her urging, made multiple reports to the FBI more than two decades ago but the agency did not immediately follow up. Court documents in a lawsuit filed on behalf of dozens of Epstein survivors say the FBI eventually contacted Christiansen — but not until 2020 after Epstein’s jailhouse death.” (08/16/26)
“The Justice Department finalized a rule Monday that will pave the way for people who’ve been barred from owning firearms because of criminal convictions to apply to have their gun rights reinstated [sic]. The process launched by newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche is a victory for Second Amendment advocates who have long pushed for nonviolent people with felony convictions to be given a pathway to regain [sic] their legal right to own firearms. … The Justice Department moved earlier this year to roll back and modify a slate of gun regulations. Separately, the department recently decided against challenging a court ruling that struck down regulations on firearm suppressors and certain guns.” [editor’s note: Rights can’t be “reinstated” or “regained.” They can just be respected or violated – TLK] (08/17/26)
“At least seven Hindu devotees were killed Monday morning in a crowd crush at a Shiva temple in eastern India, where tens of thousands had gathered to take part in a religious observance, according to reports. The incident occurred near Ashok Dham, a famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Lakhisarai during the holy month of Shravan, when Mondays are considered particularly auspicious for worship. Preliminary information indicates that reports that a live wire from a fallen electricity pole electrocuted people queuing for Ashok Dham prompted people to panic and run for safety, causing a barricade to collapse and people to pile on top of one another, The New Indian Express reported.” (08/17/26)
