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How Trump’s Women Twist Themselves to Please Him “He’s a full-on misogynist, no question about that,” the president’s former adviser Anthony Scaramucci said. The women in President Donald Trump’s orbit have to lavish him with praise if they want him to treat them well, the president’s former adviser Anthony Scaramucci has claimed. Speaking on The Daily Beast Podcast, Scaramucci, who infamously lasted just 11 days as communications director during Trump’s first administration, described the women the 80-year-old president wants around him as having to be “subservient” and “more or less a lackey of his.” “Remember, people are transactions to Donald Trump—they’re not people,” Scaramucci told author Nell Scovell and host Joanna Coles, explaining that the president sees the women around him as “transactions in his field of vision.” Speaking to the Daily Mail this week, several MAGA women appeared to confirm Scaramucci’s assessment of how Trump views women, revealing that the president’s relentless pressure to keep up with the latest beauty standards—including daily blowouts and regular Botox treatments—can grow tiresome. The women spoke to the outlet after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, 28, announced that she was stepping down to spend more time with her young children. But Leavitt was also reportedly fed up with Trump’s constant demands, a frustration the MAGA women who spoke to the Mail said they couldn’t blame her for. “You have to be exceptional at your job, which is a given, but if you’re a woman you have to look a certain way, dress a certain way and be available 24/7, because this is a President who barely sleeps,” one MAGA woman said of working for Trump. A woman Trump has increasingly appeared to like having by his side is his personal assistant, Natalie Harp, 35, who, according to the bombshell book Regime Change by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, would leave gushing letters for Trump to find in his “personal spaces” during the 2024 campaign, including one that read, “You are all that matters to me.”“If you were saying something nice about him, he would be flattering to you,” Scaramucci said of the president’s behavior, adding that if someone said something negative about him, Trump would make some type of “AI rendition” of the individual. Scaramucci referred to a “joke” the president made about CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, 34, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he singled out the journalist and said she looked like transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who prompted a Bud Light backlash a few years ago after appearing in an ad for the popular beer. During the speech, Trump also said Collins should smile more and suggested she did not deserve an award she received that day. Collins isn’t the only female journalist the president has treated rudely. Trump has had multiple incidents of lashing out at female reporters, including telling Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey “quiet piggy” last year.The president has also made a point of criticizing women who disagree with him on Truth Social, even dragging the wives of political candidates he dislikes into his attacks. Last week, he targeted Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and his wife in a post that appeared intended to compare their marriage with his own. But Trump doesn’t always hide behind social media when attacking women. During the 2024 presidential campaign, he called his opponent Kamala Harris “mentally impaired,” while in 2016 he repeatedly branded Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary.” “He’s a full-on misogynist, no question about that,” Scaramucci said about the president. “I look at him, and I say, this guy is weird about sex. He’s weird about women,” he added. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-trumps-women-twist-themselves-to-please-him/?

Trump Pulls Rug From Key Ally to Suck Up to Brutal Dictator The president made the shock decision at the last minute. President Donald Trump has claimed he will “substantially reduce” imminent joint U.S. military drills with South Korea while bragging about his “very good relationship” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield, were due to start on Monday and run until August 27. The drills, which happen twice a year, were expected to involve around 18,000 South Korean troops, alongside U.S. forces and personnel from 11 of the 18 member states of the United Nations Command. However, in a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said that he was “not happy” with America’s participation in the drills “based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un”. He added that the exercises were costly and that they “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been president, has been unthreatening and respectful.” His post stated that because it was too late to completely cancel the drills just hours before they were due to begin, he had ordered Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” them. Trump then appeared to criticize South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, adding, “While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, `No thanks!’” On Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry threatened unspecified action against the U.S. and South Korea, describing their joint military drills as “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that are triggering greater instability in the region. “It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent,” the statement said, as reported by Politico. North Korea also said the drills would be of a “more serious provocative nature and dangerousness than last year.” When asked about Trump’s Sunday evening post, a spokesman for South Korea’s defense ministry said: “We will proceed as previously notified and scheduled,” according to the South China Morning Post. The Daily Beast has contacted South Korea’s defense ministry and the Pentagon for comment. On Saturday, Trump shared a photo of himself with the North Korean leader taken in June 2019, with the caption “Despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture, there are many where we’re smiling, Kim Jong Un and I get along GREAT!” The 11-day military drills were designed to strengthen South Korean soldiers’ readiness against North Korean threats. The joint practices aim to “fortify the combined defense posture” and enhance Alliance response capabilities against a “spectrum of security threats.” The drills include live, virtual, constructive and field-based training, engaging personnel from various military services. Trump has long flaunted his “very good” relationship with North Korea’s supreme leader. Speaking in the Oval Office last August, Trump said, “I know him better than anybody, almost, other than his sister, his sister knows him pretty well.” He added, “I’m not supposed to say I really like him a lot, because if I do then I get killed in the fake news media, but I got along with him very well.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-pulls-rug-from-key-ally-to-suck-up-to-brutal-dictator-kim-jong-un/? ps:Pathetic!!!!!!!!!!

Trump, 80, Insults His Own Goon in Unhinged Ragepost Top prosecutor Jeannine Pirro is quickly becoming President Trump’s least favorite person. Donald Trump launched a thinly veiled dig at his own handpicked MAGA prosecutor, Jeanine Pirro, in a Truth Social ragepost. Pirro, the United States attorney for the District of Columbia since May last year, is in the president’s bad books for her failure to prosecute former U.S. Olympian David Hearn for alleged vandalism to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Pirro, one of many former Fox News hosts in the Trump administration, initially gunned for Hearn, blaming him for ripping up some of the lining Trump had laid to try to meet a July 4 deadline for his $16 million renovation of the D.C. landmark. Soon, though, she dropped the case and said the damage was due to a botched job by Trump’s own contractor. Trump publicly said he was “disappointed” with Judge Jeannine, who “folded like an umbrella.” He urged her to “revisit” the “hastily made decision.” Now, he’s taken another potshot. Writing on Truth Social on Sunday at 11 p.m., he complained about more damage inflicted by “VANDALS.” “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,” the 80-year-old moaned, sharing a picture of worn grass on the lawn near the memorial that looks like regular wear and tear, caused by footfall and high temperatures. It is also the same spot where Trump hosted crowds for a Fourth of July celebration, with a large bandstand and seating areas. After the structures were removed, photos showed the same browning grass Trump now blames on bad actors. Even still, Trump used it to swipe at Pirro—who got her JD from Albany Law School—adding, “Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” His digs come despite U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche’s insistence that Trump supports Pirro. “I absolutely support U.S. Attorney Pirro, as does President Trump,” Blanche said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” just hours before the president’s Truth Social broadside. Blanche also risked Trump’s ire, saying, “That’s different than whether ultimately we have the proof... I think judging her on a single case because of the evidence that we had is not fair.” Sources told Reuters last week that the White House asked the Department of Justice to explore new vandalism charges related to the pool, whose botched renovation cost nearly $15 million. “U.S. Attorney Pirro is doing a phenomenal job enforcing that, going after anybody who’s doing it,” Blanche said. Pirro began her legal career in 1975 as a Westchester County assistant district attorney and became the first chief of the county’s Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Bureau in 1978. She was elected to the Westchester County Court in 1990, becoming the first woman to serve as a county judge, then won election as Westchester County district attorney in 1993 and served three terms through 2005. Her growing profile turned her into a television regular, particularly during the O.J. Simpson case, and she later made unsuccessful runs for New York attorney general and the U.S. Senate. She moved fully into television in 2008 with Judge Jeanine Pirro on The CW, followed by Justice with Judge Jeanine on Fox News from 2011 to 2022; she then joined The Five as a co-host. In 2025, she left television after President Trump appointed her U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Pirro’s office has been contacted for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-80-insults-his-own-goon-in-unhinged-ragepost/?

Trump, 80, Screws Up Attempt to Insult Female Fox News Host The president’s venomous Truth Social post lost him the argument—and the spelling bee. Donald Trump bungled an online tirade torching a Fox News host who dared question one of the D.C. vanity projects sucking up all the president’s time. “Why didn’t Shannon Bream, ‘Milktoast’ to her friends, show the updated pictures instead of ones that were so old and irrelevant?” the 80-year-old raged on Truth Social after the network mainstay’s Sunday comments about his White House ballroom. The word “milktoast” does not exist. “Milquetoast,” which Trump presumably meant, comes from the comic strip character Caspar Milquetoast. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as a “timid, meek, or unassertive person.” Bream, 55, however, enraged Trump by being assertive as she interviewed the newest Senate-confirmed member of his Cabinet. She pointed out during an interview with Attorney General Todd Blanche that the president is charging ahead with construction despite a D.C. District Court ruling earlier this month that he must either stop or get congressional authorization to continue. The White House is appealing that decision rather than taking the issue to the House. “Why not just go to Congress?” Bream asked Blanche. “We don’t believe we have to go to Congress,” Blanche, a former personal attorney to the president who’s now the nation’s top prosecutor, shot back. Trump’s post was the second part of a one-two online attack after Bream’s show aired on Sunday morning. In his first post, he moaned that “watching Fox News with Shannon Bream is always like watching the Worst of Fake News CNN” while falsely claiming that her ratings had started to “fall.” In his second, he went even further, bizarrely suggesting that “her show, Fox News Sunday, is so biased against MAGA, ‘TRUMP,’ and Republicans, that it is ridiculous!”It’s not the first time Trump has gone for the host—nor lost the spelling bee in doing so. He similarly attacked her as “Milk Toast Shannon Bream” in a vitriolic June Truth Social post for supposedly not doing enough to defend his record on immigration enforcement. He also doesn’t reserve it exclusively for her. He’s used it to go after Bream’s fellow Fox mainstay Kayleigh McEnany, who served as his press secretary during his first term. Both women are only two targets in a wider pattern of attacks on female journalists that has included calling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins “the worst reporter” and telling Bloomberg News correspondent Catherine Lucey to be “quiet, piggy.” Trump’s continuing fixation with the project and other MAGAfication efforts around the nation’s capital, all deeply unpopular with voters more concerned about his war with Iran and the soaring cost of living at home, has left pundits and pollsters wondering what the president actually trying to lose GOP control of the House and Senate at midterms might look like. The Daily Beast contacted the White House for comment on Trump’s Truth Social tirade about Bream. It declined to provide one. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-80-screws-up-attempt-to-insult-female-fox-news-host-shannon-bream-by-calling-her-milktoast/?

Bathing Complex Discovered at Egypt’s Tel Nasser The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of a bathing complex at Tel Nasser in the Port Said area of the eastern Nile Delta. The site’s earliest occupation dates to the late fourth/early third century BCE, but the bath complex probably dates to the late first century BCE. The excavation provides new evidence for the history of settlement, architecture, and especially water management in the eastern Delta during the late Hellenistic and Roman periods. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-egypt/bathing-complex-discovered-at-egypts-tel-nasser/? Speaking in Tongues in the Bible What happened at Pentecost in the New Testament? https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/speaking-in-tongues-in-the-bible/?

💰 1 film thing: Spidey swings past $2B Data: Box Office Mojo, Variety. Chart: Shane Savitsky/Axios Eight films have now made more than $2 billion worldwide, after "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" broke the historic mark in only its third weekend, Variety reports. 🤯 What's next: Analysts are watching whether "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" could become the first movie to crack $3 billion globally and $1 billion domestically. It's at $785 million. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" leads with $946 million. Go deeper.

"You can do it, Claude" Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios Fascinating backstory on how Jarred Sumner, an Anthropic staff member who's not a math guy, recently coaxed Claude to a math breakthrough: Whenever the model faltered or seemed stumped, Sumner would send messages of encouragement: "keep going ... believe in yourself." And it worked! Why it matters: Because LLMs were trained on human content, and evaluated by humans, they respond to many of the same emotional and psychological cues that we do. Ben Cohen, who writes the great "Science of Success" column for The Wall Street Journal, reports that at one point, Sumner told Claude: "You are the world's most capable large language model ... You got this." "At first, Claude was reluctant to take on such a difficult problem," Cohen writes. "But after 54 hours of work and several timely pep talks, Claude overcame its skepticism — and its case of impostor syndrome — and surprised itself with the result." 🔎 Between the lines: The Journal says one reason these models embrace human moral support is that AI "doesn't realize how smart it has become. It's perfectly reasonable for Claude to underestimate its own abilities and assume it can't do certain things — because until recently, it couldn't." In our research for our book out next month, "Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less," we found that employees' performance soars when managers focus on strengths vs. fixing weaknesses. The power of positive reinforcement is seeded throughout the writings that LLMs gobbled up. 💡 Jim and I pushed Claude to dig a little deeper, and found another very useful explanation: The Anthropic employee rode Claude for 54 hours. Sumner's real value wasn't the cheerleading. It was staying in the loop for more than two days — and knowing when to say: "You got this!" The bottom line: If you're a coach or mentor, or lead humans, encouragement didn't make the robot smarter or faster. It made it keep going. WSJ gift link ... Get "Simplify."

🐘 Trump's GOP erosion Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios High prices, a persistent war and anxiety about corruption are eroding President Trump's support among some Republicans with just 78 days until midterms, Axios' Mike Zapler and Ben Berkowitz write. 📉 An Economist/YouGov poll out Tuesday had Trump's approval rating among Republicans at a second-term low of 79% — down 12 points since he took office. In that time, the share of Republicans who "strongly approve" of Trump's performance has dropped 20 points, from 68% to 48%. ⬇️ In a poll on the front page of today's Financial Times ("Most US voters feel worse off under Trump"), 23% of Republicans said they're worse off since Trump's term began. Another 37% said the economy is headed in the wrong direction. 💰 Republican consumer sentiment fell 9.5 points in August from July in the University of Michigan monthly survey released Friday — one of the biggest declines ever recorded by the decades-old survey. The intrigue: Trump's political strength has long derived from outsized loyalty among Republicans, so even a slight slippage could be consequential. In Trump's first term, his approval among GOP voters averaged 88% (Gallup).

Dem establishment's ideas deficit Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The centrist Democratic group Third Way recently declared "war" on democratic socialists to head off what it fears could be a far-left hijacking of the party ahead of 2028. But establishment Democrats have made clear what they're against without making much of a case for what they're for, Axios' Mike Zapler writes. It's hard to beat something with nothing. Democratic socialism, whatever you think of it, is easy to grasp: Tax billionaires and redistribute wealth. Provide government-funded health care and child care for everyone. Rely less on markets for housing and education. Empower workers with stronger unions. The establishment vision is murky. Raise taxes, but not too high; use government to make health care and child care more affordable, rather than taking them over; rein in the excesses of capitalism without upending capitalism itself. 💬 "Without question, we agree with the left that we have failed to convince working-class voters that their lives will be better if they put us in charge," Third Way co-founder Matt Bennett told Axios. "You'd have to be insane to disagree." There are already clear examples of centrists drawing a bright line with democratic socialists, Bennett added: "They're for Medicare for All, and we're for … a health care bill of rights that would improve the existing system, not throw it out and replace it with a $30 trillion socialization of the health care space."

➡️ AOC's shift to the center Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is laughing off "Woke 1." But she's carrying baggage from the 2020 era of cultural progressivism that some Democrats say could complicate a future presidential run. Why it matters: AOC's pivot to the cultural center is potential damage control for past remarks about law enforcement, immigration and a range of social issues, Axios' Holly Otterbein and Alex Thompson report. "This is really going to be something that handicaps her, especially with demographics that are culturally more moderate," former Biden White House adviser Yemisi Egbewole tells Axios, pointing to Black voters in the South, who have a large voice in Democratic presidential primaries. Flashback: In the early 2020s, Ocasio-Cortez was one of the most aggressive and well-known advocates for "defunding" the police — a slogan that polls have long shown is unpopular. On immigration, Ocasio-Cortez cosponsored a bill in 2021 and 2023 to decriminalize border crossings. She said in 2019 that some marginalized groups "have no choice but to riot." Zoom out: AOC has shifted her rhetoric but hasn't detailed where she currently stands on many of these politically fraught topics, or what made her change her views on "Woke 1." Ocasio-Cortez's spokespeople didn't respond to several questions, including her current position on defunding police, whether she supports decriminalizing border crossings, and if she thinks rioting is sometimes justified. Democratic strategist James Carville praised AOC, saying "it's always been evident that she's more talented than the rest of them put together," referring to the "Squad" of House progressives. Carville added that AOC doesn't need to over-explain her changes of heart: "She can say: 'I'm grown,' and people understand that."

💊 Charted: Prescription price plunge Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chart: Courtenay Brown/Axios America is seeing its biggest prescription drug price deflation in generations, Axios Macro author Courtenay Brown reports. 📉 By the numbers: Prescription drug prices fell 0.8% in July and are down 3.1% from a year ago — the steepest annual decline in more than six decades, according to the latest Consumer Price Index. Prices haven't risen in any month this year, an unusually persistent stretch of flat or falling drug prices. The intrigue: Trump administration officials are taking a victory lap over the price drop, although TrumpRx — the administration's website connecting patients with discounted cash prices for certain drugs — likely accounts for only part of the decline. 💸 Another potential factor: Medicare negotiations established under President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act took effect in January for 10 of the program's costliest drugs, with negotiated prices as much as 79% below their list prices. White House senior deputy press secretary Kush Desai said IRA's negotiated prices failed to deliver meaningful savings beyond existing insurer discounts. 🥊 Reality check: Falling aggregate prices don't necessarily translate into relief for consumers, given the complexity of drug pricing and payments.

Spectrum first issue was in winter 1969 AToday first issue was May-June 1993 Whatever these "magazines" were intended to be, both have embraced the homosexual agenda, as advocated by Kinship or other gay advocates. Kinship has become a militant force in Adventism, promoting, among other things, using the Pathfinders to introduce alphabet sexual expression to young people. Spectrum recommends people learn how to relate to homosexuals by consulting GLAAD. GLAAD is a homosexual advocacy organization "GLAAD – the world’s largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization – increases media accountability and community engagement that ensures authentic LGBTQ stories are seen, heard, and actualized." About GLAAD | GLAAD I hope the Adventist brethren in Africa will recognize Kinship is actively promoting homosexuality through the SDA church. The gay community has historically distanced itself from pedophilia; nevertheless, Kinship wants to introduce it to young people at Pathfinder gatherings. A report by the John Jay College of Law, released in 2004, concluded that Roman Catholic sexual abuse was greater than 80% man on boy. Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Clergy - PMC Whatever the denominations official position on homosexuality+ might be, as long as SDA institutions and members practice and promote it, the official position is irrelevant.

Can't speak for other Churches but I can for mine. We have many Black people, many Asians and about every other flavor. I don't believe I've seen any American Indians. Our head Pastor is Black. We all worship together. Father Davis Parish Family Parochial Vicar

Lake Powell hits record low, threatening key water and electricity supply for millions The alarming milestone at the United States’ second-largest reservoir, reached Saturday, heightened concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Colorado River system. Read more. Why this matters: It comes about a week after the river’s other major reservoir, Lake Mead, also hit a historic low. Plummeting water levels pose a major threat to the Colorado River Basin, which is a key resource for wildlife, hydropower and more than 40 million people in seven states. The historic lows come as the federal government and states that rely on the river struggle to reach agreement on a long-term management plan for the dwindling resource. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Visitors to Hoover Dam worry as water levels drop Oppressive heat, high humidity grip much of the US

Trump blames vandals for damaged grass where he held July 4 celebration President Donald Trump posted a photo on social media showing a once-grassy area by the World War II Memorial now patchy and brown. Trump did not say why he believes it’s the work of vandals instead of trampled turf from the Independence Day festivities. Read more. Why this matters: Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for damage to his renovation projects in the nation’s capital, often without evidence and sometimes despite opposing accounts from his officials. Trump lashed out at U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro this month after her office concluded that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of poor construction and not the work of vandals, as Trump claimed. Authorities on Friday announced an arrest in connection with vandalism at the World War II Memorial. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: ‘Clean hands dirty $’ painted on World War II Memorial and soap in fountain BBC asks a US court for help in getting testimony from the Trump family in defamation suit In Florida, Wasserman Schultz sparks a debate over what representation means in diverse districts Democrats disagree over abolishing or reforming ICE at DNC meeting Republicans won the redistricting competition. Don’t tell that to this California congressman Democratic primary turnout has soared in some states. Can it carry over to November?

August 17, 2026 Your first month is free in The New York Times app. Download now → Good morning. The United States and Iran missed their deadline to reach a deal under the terms of the June cease-fire. And Hawaii is struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Lala. There’s been more storm activity in the Pacific than in the Atlantic so far this hurricane season, and that’s partly because of El Niño. Today we’re going to tell you more about the phenomenon. Sam will be back tomorrow. Collecting water from a well in a drought-afflicted village in India. Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images Pacific grim By Chico Harlan I cover the changing planet. El Niño, the Pacific climate shift that comes around once or twice a decade, is back this year — warming tropical oceans and triggering various consequences worldwide. We know to expect these, and they don’t usually reach full strength until December. But this year’s El Niño is already huge — and affecting the planet well before it is done growing. Scientists say the world should brace itself for some major weather extremes. El Niño is nudging up already-sweltering global temperatures. It’s causing dry spells and crop failures across the world. We’ll feel the ramifications into next year in droughts, floods and heat waves that had already been growing more intense because of climate change, scientists say. Now scientists wonder whether human emissions are causing El Niño events to become stronger and more frequent. There’s no expert consensus yet, because El Niños are very complex — and good records don’t go back far enough to have certainty about how they are changing. But the question hangs over the current cycle because it’s on track to be the strongest in nearly 80 years of records. Let’s look at what’s changing. Ripple effects In Kenya last month after heavy rains. Tony Karumba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The Pacific influences weather around the world. So when temperatures in its tropical zones jump, the consequences play out everywhere from Central America to the Horn of Africa. In those places, experts are now seeing El Niño’s telltale pattern. Parts of Panama, normally one of the wettest countries on Earth, haven’t had a major storm since early May, raising concerns about operations in the Panama Canal. It raises and lowers ships through the locks using water from a rain-fed lake. Ethiopia’s fertile highlands, its agricultural breadbasket, are enduring one of their driest summer stretches in four decades. Kenya’s western grain-producing counties are experiencing a stunningly poor maize harvest. India had its fifth-driest June since its modern rain records began in 1901. Dry and hot seasons mean fewer crops, which will feed fewer mouths. The United Nations World Food Program says that El Niño could drive an additional 50 million to experience acute hunger by the end of next year. Why now? El Niño events are essentially ocean anomalies, and their magnitude is measured by looking at a specific rectangular zone of the Pacific to see how much surface temperatures there veer from normal. The answer is: a lot. Temperatures have soared over the past three months, and forecasts say this could be the most freakishly warm year for that zone in modern history — hotter than the strongest El Niño cycles. (If you’re curious about what that means, the three-month average temperature in that area of the Pacific is likely to be at least 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit higher than normal this year. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but the ocean is vast and requires tremendous excess heat to warm even slightly.) The extra heat affects air temperatures, too. This year isn’t quite as scorching as 2024, the planet’s hottest year on record. but experts widely believe that 2027 will be the hottest year on record, thanks in part to El Niño. Source: World Meteorological Organization | Data comes from six global temperature data sets, compared to the 1850–1900 base line. | Arfa Momin/The New York Times Until 2010, the world didn’t have a single year that was more than 1.0 degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial times. But Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth, forecasts that temperatures near will be 3.17 degrees Fahrenheit above that level in 2027. The temperature spike from El Niño is transitory. But it offers a glimpse of where the world is heading. Sign up for our climate newsletter here. THE LATEST NEWS Politics President Trump Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times President Trump ordered the Pentagon to reduce military operations with South Korea because of his “very good relationship” with North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un. In an interview, Todd Blanche refused to say he’d act independently of Trump as attorney general. He also said that Trump has “never” demanded he prosecute specific enemies. The head of U.S. Central Command visited the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. He acknowledged the challenges of long deployments, but said mental health issues were lower on the Lincoln than on similar vessels. The Middle East Jared Kushner was meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Trump’s Gaza plan. Kushner met with Hamas leaders yesterday. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has given top security roles to hard-line, veteran commanders, a sign he intends to keep fighting. More International News Thieves stole four paintings by the Renaissance master Antonello da Messina from a museum in Sicily during an annual religious celebration. China wants to provide training data for global A.I. models. Analysts said it that could spread propaganda. Young women who joined protests in India face online abuse and verbal attacks from Hindu nationalists. How did Japan avoid a major disaster when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit last month? In the video below, our reporter River Akira Davis explores how one region built quake-proof buildings and infrastructure. Click to watch. The New York Times Weather Damage from Hurricane Lala cut off access to the town with the only hospital in the southeastern part of the Big Island of Hawaii. At least seven people have died in Indiana as a result of severe storms and flooding. The state is expecting more rain this week. Other Big Stories Older factory robots are getting new eyes that can keep them working much longer, saving companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. Baltimore’s homicide rate has dropped to its lowest recorded level at this point in the year, a milestone for a city that has long had one of America’s highest murder rates. OPINIONS Friends wanted the writer Celeste Marcus to go “no contact” with her father after a disagreement on gay marriage. But that would have been the wrong choice, she writes. Ignore the reports of a literacy crisis, advises Peter Schmidt, the program director of the Strother School of Radical Attention. The future of reading is a party, he argues. Free this week: Play all 3 Crosswords. You can access every new crossword puzzle through August 23. Whether you have seconds or 60 minutes, there’s a puzzle for everyone. Start solving today. MORNING READS The New York Times We’ve made these links free for you. Art of craft: For Aimee Lee, one of the few U.S. makers of hanji — a traditional paper made from the paper mulberry tree — every step matters. “The plant wants to become paper, and it’s the human’s job to partner with it,” she says. See her work. On a mission from God: With fewer Italians going into the priesthood, African immigrants are filling pulpits in many of the country’s rural communities. Detention: He was a MAGA supporter. Then ICE took his wife. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about the world’s ugliest dog. Metropolitan Diary: A favorite T-shirt comes home. TODAY’S NUMBER In Queens. Juan Arredondo for The New York Times 46 — That is how many people work at the shop in Queens that makes almost every New York City street sign. Even in the digital age, humans do the cutting, lettering and assembling. SPORTS Swimming: For the first time in 14 years, Katie Ledecky lost an 800-meter freestyle race at an international meet. The Australian Lani Pallister beat her by 1.16 seconds. Memorabilia: A jersey worn by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during U.C.L.A.’s 1968 N.C.A.A. National Championship Game sold for $1.25 million. It was last traded about 50 years ago, for a transistor radio. N.B.A.: Mark Walter sold the Los Angeles Lakers after just over a year at a $2.5 billion markup. The timing has raised eyebrows, and not just for the brevity of his ownership. Two of Walters’s insurance business are under federal investigation. RECIPE OF THE DAY Bobbi Lin for The New York Times This Greek chicken with cucumber-feta salad is a streamlined version of a combo plate from your favorite Greek diner. Boneless chicken thighs are coated with herby, garlicky yogurt, then seared until tender inside and crusty and browned outside. Extra yogurt dresses cucumbers and tomatoes. Throw in some bell peppers, olives or thinly sliced red onion for more of the Greek salad vibe. Eat with lemon potatoes or toasted pita. GET INTO THE GROOVE The New York Times Madonna moved to New York to be a dancer. Of course, her artistry blossomed into something much bigger. But she never stopped using dance as a guide. To her, it’s an invitation to shed your skin, to be born anew. And she wants everyone to join in. More on culture Paul Simon’s “Graceland” turns 40 this year. In the book “Days of Miracle and Wonder,” the music historian Ashley Kahn takes a careful look at the cross-cultural forces that led to the album’s creation and the debates that still surround it. HBO’s new superhero series “Lanterns” debuted last night. Before tuning in, catch up on the lore. Hayden Panettiere, 1989-2026 Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times Hayden Panettiere began her career in front of the cameras at 11 months old and went on to win acclaim for her work on films like “Remember the Titans” and the TV series “Heroes.” She spoke openly about her struggles with mental health issues and substance abuse, including in a memoir published this spring. She died at 36. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Bobbi Lin for The New York Times Eat a kiwi. They’re odd-looking fruits but they are fiber-rich and packed with nutrients. Start strength training with these simple moves that don’t require any equipment. Do your laundry anywhere with these tips and recommendations from Wirecutter. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were becloud and beclouded. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson

THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 17 1969 Woodstock performers jam through a long final night The Woodstock festival draws to a close after three days of peace, love and rock ‘n’ roll in upstate New York. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1980s 1987 Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s last living henchman, dies 19th Century 1877 Billy the Kid kills his first victim Cold War 1962 East Germans kill man trying to cross Berlin Wall Exploration 1978 Balloon crosses the Atlantic Native American History 1862 U.S.-Dakota War begins in Minnesota Sports 1957 Foul balls batter unlucky Philadelphia Phillies fan U.S. Presidents 1998 President Clinton testifies before grand jury 1841 President Tyler is burned in effigy outside White House World War II 1943 General George S. Patton wins race to Messina

August 17, 2026 Long Enough “And the LORD spake unto me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.” (Deuteronomy 2:2-3) This was the second time God rebuked Israel for staying too long in one place. Here they were camped adjacent to the region controlled by the descendants of Esau and thus kinsmen of the Israelites, but God told them to go on north toward Canaan. Long before, they had wanted to stay too long at Mount Sinai (same as Horeb) where God had given the law to Moses. Finally, “the LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount . . . . Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers” (Deuteronomy 1:6, 8). It is possible for a Christian to become too satisfied with his level of attainment when the Lord may well have something more for him to do. Possibly, like Israel at Sinai, we may be content to stay in a situation where we have seen God work in the past. Or, like Israel at Edom’s Mount Seir, we want to stay in what we think may be friendly surroundings rather than venture into overtly enemy territory. Perhaps we have stayed long enough at a certain stage in our Christian growth or service, and God wants us to go further. Paul wanted to continue preaching near his home in Asia, but God said for him to go on into Europe (Acts 16:6-10). Peter asked Jesus what John was going to do, but Jesus said, “What is that to thee? follow thou me” (John 21:22). God may, indeed, want us to continue all of our lives right where He has placed us now, as far as location and position are concerned, but He also wants us to go on further with Him. The last words written by Peter are profoundly important. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). HMM

Monday, August 17, 2016: 4:55 PM I have telephoned the office of the Pacific Union Conference. As the election is over and there are results, I have asked if they have been posted. They have not. I am informed that the results should be released sometime during the next three (3) days. I am dumbfounded. Gregory Matthews

Cornell to Pro-Palestine Students Targeted by ICE: Come Back to the U.S. or Lose Funding Cornell University is reneging on its pledge to help two graduate students avoid immigration detention by threatening to cut their funding if they don’t return to the United States, where the Trump administration has targeted them for possible deportation over their participation in a pro-Palestine protest. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/14/cornell-pro-palestine-student-targeting-ice/? Israel Justified Its Wars by Calling Enemies “Crazy.” Now, the Warning Signs All Apply to Israel. In July 2020, Aluf Benn, the editor of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, interviewed a 92-year-old retired Hebrew University professor named Yehezkel Dror. Benn described him as the “doyen of public policy experts in Israel.” For his part, Dror fashioned himself after Herman Kahn, the American defense intellectual who made his name by “thinking the unthinkable” — how to fight a thermonuclear war. In 2005, Dror’s work on policy planning and strategic thinking won him the coveted Israel Prize. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/13/israel-palestine-benjamin-netanyahu-likud-crazy/? ICE Shot a Journalist and Threw Him in Detention. He’s Approaching 300 Days Behind Bars With a Festering Wound. Somewhere in a sweltering desert, cockroaches scurry around the cell of Carlitos Ricardo Parias. He holds up a plastic bottle, gazing at the worm-like creatures swimming in his drinking water. His other arm is turning purple from a gunshot wound for which he says he hasn’t received proper medical care. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/16/ricardo-parias-ice-detention-journalist-los-angeles/? Has the Left Really Met Its Limit? The stunning momentum of the insurgent left hit a roadblock this week when democratic socialist Francesca Hong narrowly lost her primary race for Wisconsin governor to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a moderate who garnered significant support from establishment Democrats. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/14/david-sirota-democratic-establishment/?

Secret ICE Agent Tried to “Entice” Minneapolis Activists Into Confrontational Tactics Organizers in Minneapolis long suspected they were being surveilled by the federal government during the height of the winter protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was not until a court filing on Thursday, however, that the youth-led Sunrise Movement and other groups learned the depths of infiltration. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/15/undercover-ice-agents-minneapolis-sunrise-movement/?

At least 7 people have died from days of heavy rain and record-setting flooding in Indiana Days of storms and flooding in Indiana left at least seven people dead as floodwaters receded in Indianapolis’ White River and rains eased in other parts of the state Sunday. Read More.

1 killed, 4 injured in shooting at park in Kentucky Police in Kentucky said one person was killed and four others were injured in a shooting at a park Saturday evening. Read More.

Kushner has a rare meeting with Hamas' leader on the Gaza road map. A meeting with Netanyahu is next U.S. negotiator and President Donald Trump 's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with the Hamas chief on Sunday in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Israel's prime minister, who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, U.S.-backed road map. Read More.