TechAI infrastructure spending continues to surge, with hundreds of billions of dollars flowing annually into data centers and GPUs. Yet companies still lack a simple way to price compute or hedge against price swings. Silicon Data has raised a $30 million Series A and wants to establish a reference price for GPU rentals and a related index.
TechCrunch
EconomyAs Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington on Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said negotiations had made “significant progress.” President Donald Trump said “a very good deal” was on the table, but neither offered details about what had been negotiated.
EconomySpelman College Chair Emerita Roz Brewer explains why she accepted a demotion when she left Kimberly-Clark for a vice president role at Walmart. She spoke with Bloomberg’s Romaine Bostick at the Bloomberg New Voices event in Martha’s Vineyard.
Bloomberg Television
WorldThe U.S. State Department says four Americans were killed when a tourist helicopter crashed in a remote part of Kenya. Telemundo executive José Suárez was among the seven people who died.
NBC News
CultureBeninese-French singer Angélique Kidjo has made history as the first Black African artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Benin’s President Romuald Wadagni said the honour elevated the nation’s rhythms, creativity and dignity.
CultureThe broadcast features Malachi Barton and Liamani Segura discussing “Camp Rock 3,” Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton discussing Nat Geo’s “Lion,” and news of ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen’s death at 93.
ABC News
Politics10:22Ukraine’s popular former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for elections during wartime, widely viewed as the biggest challenge to Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine has been under martial law since the war began in 2022, suspending elections. Fedorov was unexpectedly dismissed last month, six months after his appointment, and Zelensky has not yet responded to the video.
BBC News
PoliticsThe Party of European Socialists is facing an internal rift over migration. Italian and Spanish MEPs accuse Denmark’s Frederiksen of “selective solidarity” for siding with Meloni against Spain over Ceuta, while Denmark’s Social Democrats continue to defend a strict migration policy.
EconomyPresident Donald Trump said the United States and Canada reached a trade agreement after he spoke with Prime Minister Mark Carney. He called it fair to both sides and said threatened 50% tariffs on Canadian goods were paused for three days while documents are finalized. The deal would remove Canadian tariffs affecting U.S. farmers, while the U.S. would lower some tariffs.
Global News
PoliticsAs Nigeria’s January election campaign gets under way, President Bola Tinubu faces a central question before seeking a second term: whether Nigerians are better off after more than a decade of APC rule.
Reuters
OtherWatch the full Aug. 19 episode of NBC’s TODAY Show, which airs weekdays at 7 a.m. local time.
NBC News
PoliticsA progressive Democrat wins an upset in Florida’s primary election, President Trump delays the 50% Canadian tariff plan by three days, and data indicates that the cyclospora outbreak is trending downward.
NBC News
SocietyPolice are searching in Philadelphia for a suspect reportedly seen wearing a Chucky-style mask and asking a woman whether she was “ready to die.”
Fox News
PoliticsPresident Donald Trump said he plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He made the remark while speaking informally with reporters after touring construction on the South Lawn, alongside comments about last-minute negotiations with the Canadian government.
The Associated Press
HealthModerna and Merck said an experimental vaccine treatment showed signs of preventing cancer from returning or spreading in a study involving patients with high-risk melanoma.
NBC News
WorldOn World Humanitarian Day, the UN says aid workers are being targeted in Sudan at record rates. At least 350 were killed in conflict zones last year, while 36 have been killed in Sudan since the start of this year—already exceeding the country’s total for all of last year. Former UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Mukesh Kapila comments.
CultureMore than 10,000 people have travelled to the UK's Medicine Festival to join ancestral ceremonies, dance, practise yoga and explore different approaches to mind-body health. Many attendees came from across Europe.
World6:18James Hookham, director of the Global Shippers Forum, discusses the situation in the Strait of Hormuz with TRT World. The crucial maritime chokepoint carries around 20–21 million barrels of oil each day.
PoliticsPresident Trump delivered remarks on Aug. 19, 2026.
EconomyPresident Donald Trump postponed a planned 50% tariff on a broad range of Canadian goods that was due to begin at midnight and could have affected about $20 billion in imports. He said he had reached an unfinished deal with Prime Minister Mark Carney after their talks, claiming it would benefit both countries.
CNN
TechA SpaceX rocket has unexpectedly been seen drifting off Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory. It landed in the Indian Ocean after a test flight from Texas on 24 July and was later towed away, initially being mistaken for ships by a local tourism official.
BBC News
EconomyEdmunds director of insights Ivan Drury discusses a new report indicating that three-year-old used cars could cost more than $32,000, as well as the reasons behind the price surge.
ABC News
CultureMore than 10,000 people have travelled to the UK's Medicine Festival to join ancestral ceremonies, dance, practise yoga and explore different approaches to mind-body wellbeing. Many participants came from across Europe.
PoliticsPresident Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States had reached a trade agreement with Canada, claiming Canadian representatives provided “the points we had to have.” He made the remarks while speaking with Bloomberg Television’s Tyler Kendall at the White House.
Bloomberg Television