“A Trump administration task force created to combat antisemitism pushed for settlements with Ivy League universities despite government investigations that were rushed and incomplete or that failed to establish legal violations by the schools, a former Justice Department lawyer alleged in a whistleblower disclosure obtained by The Associated Press. The complaint alleges that the investigations into some of the nation’s most prestigious academic institutions were designed to strong-arm the schools into cutting deals for political purposes. Outcomes of the investigations were ‘predetermined, without regard to the evidence’ in a ‘politically mandated effort’ to extract money from schools through settlement demands and funding freezes under the pretext of rooting out antisemitism, the complaint alleges.” (08/18/26)
“The leader of Quebec’s separatist party said Tuesday he would delay any referendum on independence from Canada until Donald Trump is no longer U.S. president. Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whose party is out of power but could win Quebec’s next election that must be held by Oct. 5, said a PQ government would still hold a referendum during its first term — but not before Jan. 20, 2029, when Trump’s term ends. He said a question as consequential as Quebec’s future requires a clear and calm debate. ‘It must not be hijacked by the upheavals of American politics, nor by the outbursts of an unpredictable president, nor by fear campaigns,’ St-Pierre Plamondon said.” (08/18/260
“The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court on Monday to reinstate the criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man wrongfully deported by the Trump administration last year, by reversing a lower court order that found them to be vindictive in nature. In May, a federal judge in Tennessee dismissed a criminal indictment against Abrego Garcia, who had been accused by federal prosecutors of smuggling immigrants in the U.S. illegally. The judge found that the Justice Department prosecuted Abrego Garcia in retaliation for his efforts to challenge his wrongful deportation to El Salvador last year. In a filing Monday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the Justice Department denied that the prosecution was vindictive, arguing it had ‘multiple legitimate bases to prosecute’ Abrego Garcia.” (08/18/26)
“Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan be moved to hospital for medical checks, after a petition by his lawyers over claims of poor health. Justice Shahid Waheed said 73-year-old Khan, who has been in jail since 2023 on corruption charges, will be shifted in the next two days to Shifa International hospital in the capital Islamabad. Khan and his wife and spiritual guide Bushra Bibi were both sentenced late last year to 17 years behind bars. … Khan was prime minister from 2018 to 2022 before being removed in a no-confidence vote during a political crisis over tensions between his government and the South Asian country’s powerful military establishment.” (08/18/26)
“OpenAI, the maker of artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, is rolling out an experience for teens that includes safety [sic] and learning features. The global introduction of ‘ChatGPT for Teens’ comes as OpenAI and other tech companies face lawsuits that allege AI chatbots are harming young people by providing information used to plan mass shootings and suicides. As students turn to chatbots for schoolwork, teachers and parents also worry that teens will use the tools to cheat or avoid practicing critical thinking skills. OpenAI said ChatGPT users who state their age is between 13 and 17 will automatically be placed into the teen experience. The San Francisco AI company also estimates if a user is under 18 and those minors will also be added to ChatGPT for Teens.” (08/18/26)
“The Walt Disney Company, ABC and a number of its stations on Tuesday sued the Federal Communications Commission, seeking to stop an early license renewal process that they say is an attack by the Trump administration. In April, the FCC ordered Disney’s eight owned-and-operated television stations to file their broadcast license renewals ahead of schedule. That order came amid a probe into ABC’s ‘The View’ program, as well as a long-running investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion practices at Disney. All eight of the ABC stations whose licenses were put in jeopardy by the FCC are part of Tuesday’s lawsuit. The move from the FCC also came after the White House and President Donald Trump himself assailed ABC late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel for a joke about the first lady Melania Trump.” (08/18/26)
“An immigrant in Minnesota who once received an ‘outstanding refugee’ award from the state government has been charged with Medicaid fraud, prompting strong backlash on social media. Salman Ahmed Elmi is facing three counts of aiding and abetting by swindle and five counts of aiding and abetting by false representation as part of an alleged scam to bill Medicaid for over $1 million in fraudulent services, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported. The charges also allege that two members involved in the fraud scheme were tied to a sex-trafficking ring involving brothels. In 2021, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, an agency deeply involved in the massive fraud scheme that has unfolded across the state in recent years, honored Elmi with the title ‘outstanding refugee’ along with an Entrepreneurship Award. News of the charges quickly spread on social media via conservative influencer accounts like LibsofTikTok and End Wokeness.” (08/18/26)
“A German court on Tuesday handed a jail sentence of one year and three months to a Ukrainian man for spying for Russia and helping prepare possible acts of sabotage. The court in Stuttgart acquitted two other Ukrainian men aged 22 and 25 who were on trial for the same plot, which involved posting test packages containing GPS trackers in March last year to Ukraine. The plan was aimed at scoping out possibilities for ‘disrupting transport and infrastructure’ and was ultimately directed by a ‘Russian state entity’, the court said.” (08/18/26)
“A historic preservation group that sued to block construction of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to suspend the project while it considers whether the work can continue. The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed its request less than a week after the Trump administration asked the nation’s highest court to allow the White House to continue construction on its $400 million ballroom project. Lawyers for the trust argued that ‘rather than obtain permission from Congress, petitioners have instead decided to try to outrun judicial review’. The building of the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom has included demolishing the East Wing of the White House and is part of Trump’s plans to quickly remake Washington. The petition comes after a divided appeals court panel upheld an order to pause aboveground construction on the project. The ruling was suspended to let the administration appeal.” (08/18/26)
“The prosecution rested Monday in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy over the killings of her three children in Massachusetts. Clancy, 36, is accused of fatally strangling her children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — at their home on Jan. 24, 2023. … The prosecution said Clancy committed the killings while her then-husband Patrick was out of the house. She then jumped out of the second-story window of the house and was paralyzed from the waist down. The defense does not dispute that Clancy killed her children but argues that she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis.” (08/17/26)
