PoliticsWith elections approaching, Benjamin Netanyahu is focused on reelection. The Israeli government has become markedly less concerned with international opinion since October 7, prioritising what it defines as security interests despite growing diplomatic isolation. Its recent actions in the West Bank and Syria are seen as part of a broader strategic shift.
SocietyLindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children in January 2023, appears in court. Her defense says she was suffering from postpartum mental health problems. On August 17, her mother and sister testified that she had struggled mentally and expressed thoughts of harming herself and her children in the months before the killings.
Reuters
PoliticsP.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz says he is prepared to end the province’s ban on American alcohol if that helps secure a trade deal with the United States. Canada and the U.S. are meeting again to try to finalize an agreement before a new tariff deadline.
PoliticsHong Kong’s dissolved Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and three former leaders were found guilty on 21 August of inciting subversion under the national security law, carrying up to 10 years in prison. The report examines the court’s reasoning, centred on the group’s call to ‘end one-party rule’, as well as the case and the history of June 4 commemorations.
BBC Chinese
WorldTwo former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown were convicted Friday by government-approved judges of inciting others to overthrow China’s communist leadership.
The Associated Press
Culture‘Fjord’ follows a deeply religious Romanian family whose suspected child abuse case brings it into conflict with Norway’s liberal principles. The film’s Palme d’Or win is expected to polarise audiences—and that is precisely the point.
PoliticsPierre Poilievre is appearing before the media in Kitchener, Ont.; the Conservative leader will respond to reporters there.
PoliticsThe FBI served former Congressman Eric Swalwell with a search warrant and seized his electronic devices while investigating allegations of sexual misconduct. Swalwell has denied assaulting anyone.
ABC News
ScienceThe El Niño developing over the Pacific is likely to be the strongest in living memory, the Met Office warns. The natural climate phenomenon raises global temperatures and the risk of extreme weather; combined with human-caused climate change, it is “very likely” to make 2027 the hottest year recorded worldwide.
BBC News
WorldMexico’s coastguard rescued two fishermen after they spent five days adrift at sea inside a cooler box. Rescue teams gave no information about the boat they had initially taken out or how the men survived for so long.
WorldAuthorities charged Jessica Bowie with providing material support to ISIS and said she asked an informant how to build a bomb for detonation while state lawmakers were in session.
ABC News
PoliticsThe US Navy is considering renaming an aircraft carrier under construction that was intended to honor Black World War II hero Doris Miller. Three sources said there have been internal discussions about naming it for Donald Trump instead. Miller’s great-nephew told CNN he was shocked by the possibility.
CNN
PoliticsGen. Jack Keane says President Donald Trump’s economic pressure campaign against Iran has a genuine chance of succeeding, while warning that Russia and China are providing Tehran with military and intelligence assistance.
Fox News
SocietyMario Fernandez Saldana is facing a Florida jury over allegations that he helped orchestrate the 2022 roadside ambush of former Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan. Bridegan was shot after stopping to move a tire while his 2-year-old daughter was in the car.
Fox News
EconomyCanadian and U.S. officials are working to finalize an agreement before a new midnight deadline, seeking to avert fresh U.S. tariffs on nearly $30 billion worth of Canadian goods.
CultureLive coverage from a Las Vegas courtroom on the fifth day of Duane “Keffe D” Davis’s murder trial. He is charged in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.
The Associated Press
OtherThe U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are recovering from severe overnight storms that brought torrential rain, flash flooding, powerful winds and tornadoes, while hundreds of flights were canceled.
ABC News
EconomyThis week’s top market stories include US debt surpassing $40 trillion for the first time and Walmart’s rare failure to deliver quarterly sales growth.
Reuters
EconomyAfter several volatile days, bonds made modest gains following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s intervention earlier in the week. Market analyst Fiona Cincotta said the move does not solve the deeper fiscal problems, though it may have worked for the moment.
Reuters
WorldAn exceptionally hot summer has left many Tunisians without reliable water and electricity, fueling anger at the country’s leadership. Protesters gathered in Tunis on Thursday, with many calling for President Kais Saied to step down.
The Associated Press
HealthThe UN warns that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is growing exponentially. It is already the largest outbreak in the country’s history and is spreading faster than any outbreak on record.
EconomyUS equity futures rise and the dollar weakens as investors weigh the prospect of larger US debt buybacks. Bitcoin is heading for its strongest week in more than three years, while Samsung Electronics plans to return as much as $80 billion to shareholders this year.
Bloomberg Television
PoliticsRami Khouri, a Distinguished Public Policy Fellow at the American University of Beirut, discusses the US war on Iran and the mounting financial pressure it is putting on Washington. US national debt has passed $40 trillion for the first time, more than doubling in under a decade.
OtherGood Morning America presents the news to start your day.
ABC News