All Activity

Navy may strip Black war hero’s name from carrier A portrait of Doris Miller, showing a Navy Cross received in a ceremony at Pearl Harbor. (US Navy) The US Navy is working to rename an aircraft carrier that was set to honor a Black sailor hailed for his heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor, potentially naming it after President Trump instead. During Trump’s first term, the Navy announced the Ford-class carrier would be named the USS Doris Miller, honoring the enlisted sailor who helped defend US forces during Japan’s attack. Officials are now considering naming another warship after Miller and plan to recommend him for the Medal of Honor, sources told CNN. Naming the carrier after Trump would be unprecedented: Several active US aircraft carriers honor former presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and George Washington, but none of those first set sail while their namesake was still in office. + Read more: Navy weighs renaming carrier slated to honor Black war hero + Video: Great-nephew of Black WWII hero: ‘a shock’ to hear ship may be renamed ps:"May?" That's putting it lightly!! Can't get anymore pathetic with this administration!!!

Walmart promises price cuts Walmart told investors Thursday it will use the $2.9 billion it received in tariff refunds for “price investments,” or price cuts aimed at encouraging consumers to spend more. The announcement comes after the retailer posted its slowest US store sales growth since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Other major retailers are also receiving sizable refunds, including Target, TJX, Home Depot and Lowe’s. The payments follow the Supreme Court’s February ruling that President Trump’s sweeping tariffs were illegal and that the $168 billion collected from 330,000 importers would need to be returned. + Read more: Walmart promises price cuts after $2.9 billion tariff refund + Plus: Americans are being choosy about where they spend their money ps:Funny they would claim that! They've actually been saying that for a few months now, and there prices have been coming down here and there! You'll see the prices going up week after week and than they'll say a few weeks later prices are being rolled back, but when you look at the price it's not even half lower than what it was 2/3 weeks before, but at the same time prices of other items have still gone up little by little!!!!! I'll be watching this in the coming weeks!!!!!

The Only Truth About Trump’s America Is That Everything Is a Lie Our government is braindead. If they get their way, we’re next. As bad as you think things are, they’re worse. How do I know? I mean, besides that I am Jewish and this bleak worldview has been inculcated in me since growing up in the tiny shtetl of Summit, New Jersey. I know because while this administration has waged war on the First Amendment and is the least transparent in history, while it is erratic and chaotic and the goat rodeo to end all clusterf–ks, there is one thing about which we can be absolutely certain. It lies. The president lies. His soon-to-depart press secretary lies… and so will her replacement, no matter who that is. His director of communications lies. His Cabinet secretaries lie. When economic data is released, it is no longer reliable. When casualty counts for military actions are announced, they are wrong. When new policy initiatives are announced, what we’re sure of is that the ones that might help us will never happen and the ones that appear crazy or ill-conceived will surely turn out worse than we can imagine. When big deals are announced, we know that there are side deals we will never hear of—while we are shocked by how much Trump corruption is out in the open the one thing we know is that there is even more of it taking place in the shadows, in the demi-monde of crypto, Russian oligarchs, the children of Steve Witkoff and Howard Lutnick and of course the whole Trump clan. Did DOGE save us money or enhance government efficiency? No. Will the Make America Healthy Movement make us healthier? The opposite. When the insanity of RFK Jr. and his quack clack leads to disease outbreaks, contaminated food and viral misinformation, the only thing we know for sure is that these unqualified nutcases are lacing their announcements with science they read off a tile over a urinal at an 1-95 rest stop. Wherever possible, mendacious goons kill or pervert or attempt to coopt reliable sources of government data, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to the National Weather Bureau. Look out your window; do you see a baked landscape? Shriveling crops? Europe in flames from wildfires? Well, try to find information about climate change on a government website—it’s not there. There is no climate change, folks. That’s the BS being fed to you via the droopy info teats of Trump and Stephen Cheung. It’s an election year. Trump has the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. Republicans seem headed for historic losses. And what kind of predictions do you hear from the White House, the Keebler Elf serving as Speaker of the House, or the confederacy of dunces in the GOP caucuses? That it’s all gonna be great! Prosperity is around the corner. (It must be. Scott Bessent said it would be.) Peace is around the corner. (It must be. Marco Rubio said it would be.) Big victories are coming. (They must be. Because Dear Leader says so and he is never wrong.) How do we know the lies will keep flowing? Because they seem more and more compelled to lie about smaller and smaller matters. If they are going to lie about the actual role being played by the president’s… amanuensis Natalie Harp, or the state of the Trumps’ Potemkin marriage, or the causes of bruises on his hands or his golf scores, you know that they are going to lie about the big damaging realities we face. You know, the really big ones, like the exploding budget, the cuts to healthcare, the depletion of our military stockpiles, the Iranian victory in Trump’s illegal war, their plans to steal the elections in November or to end democracy thereafter, the destruction of our institutions, the ending of our vital alliances, the strengthening of our enemies and Trump’s involvement with the most notorious sex-trafficker of our time. In fact, although our government has lied to us in the past, just as almost all governments do, we are now in an entirely new era in which smart information consumers know not to believe anything the White House says. (It is really something that we don’t believe anything about the Iran war unless it is confirmed by Tehran.) Worse, we also know that behind their lies are malevolent intentions, incompetence, pathological personalities, ignorance and corruption. They are not just unleashing a never-ending torrent of falsehoods, but they are doing it to hide a destructive agenda in which the people of the United States are very often the intended victims. Other nations know that they too are being lied to by the U.S. government. Were the government the only contributor to the tsunami of lies, deceptions, and misrepresentations that washes over us daily, we might hope to remain afloat on planks of truth. The problem is that the media on which we have depended in the past to search for the truth has largely been coopted by oligarchs with a political agenda or hacks who misunderstand their mission and seek ‘balance’ rather than simple facts. (It is compounded by the fact that new media is dominated by opinion, conjecture, conspiracy theories and, increasingly, AI slop.) Meanwhile academics who seek to speak truth to power often find themselves undermined, silenced or fired by spineless trustees and administrators who are being pressured by the administration to teach the MAGA party line. In short, in what is undoubtedly the moment in human history when we have the greatest abundance of mechanisms by which information can be delivered to us, we are presented with more distortions, falsities and what a recent president would have called “malarkey” than ever before. This could be a golden era of informed lives and good, transparent governance. Instead, we are entering a new dark age in which we ignore or misuse the tools of insight and wisdom all around us and choose immersion in bulls–t. It may be high-class, high-tech bulls–t, scented with a faint whiff of a misunderstood truth, but it is bulls–t nonetheless. The only path out is that each of us, individually, makes seeking the truth our top priority, and skepticism our constant ally. We must seek out reliable sources of information and reject those who deliver anything less. For voters, it is also essential we become intolerant of liars in government, media, the corporate world, academia—anywhere. The argument that “they all lie” is one proffered by liars to excuse deceptions not yet unleashed on the world. So is the nonsense that we are each “entitled to our own truth.” Demand proof. Demand evidence. Make people work for your trust. We entered into this Trumpian bulls–tocracy because we stopped giving proper value to the character of our leaders, and like a virulent epidemic, the flaws of those we elevated then spread so rapidly that they now threaten the very life of our republic. That’s no exaggeration. In the best case, if we reject lies and demand truth again—starting with November’s elections—it will still take many years to restore trust in the U.S. government at home and abroad. But if we fail to, if we allow the lies to triumph yet again, we may well live the rest of our lives in this new grim, unnecessarily, tragically dark age, and with the fear that must carry with it. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-only-truth-about-trumps-america-is-that-everything-is-a-lie/?

FACT FOCUS: Social media falsely claims heat wave threatens Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and bank MILAN (AP) — As Italy has been plunged into a period of extreme heat, social media accounts amplified and falsified reports about the impact on the production of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and a regional bank that stores the cheese wheels as collateral for loans. https://apnews.com/article/italy-parmigiano-reggiano-cheese-extreme-heat-bank-e077ee7f9b93f2b7a50364e25387a991?

Trump warns of ‘economic D-Day’ against Iran, but Tehran is well acquainted with sanctions Nearing the six-month mark of the Iran war and facing diminishing stockpiles of key weapons, the Trump administration is touting a crushing financial campaign against a country that has so far withstood nearly five decades of punishing American sanctions. Read more. Why this matters: With sparse details, President Donald Trump announced this week that the U.S. would be imposing an “unprecedented” level of economic warfare and isolation on Iran, aiming to force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers. The president is refocusing America’s might on bringing Iran to its knees through an accelerated sanctions campaign against one of the most economically penalized countries in the world. Iranian officials and analysts have accused the Republican president of flip-flopping with his latest pivot to economic pressure against Iran. Trump has long derided past leaders who used sanctions to limit Iran’s ability to pay for its military and nuclear development. In a post last week on X, Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, wrote that Washington’s pattern of retreating to sanctions when it doesn’t want to pursue diplomacy has proven to be futile. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Iranian families struggle to afford the basics as US ratchets up economic warfare US aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East, relieving long-deployed USS Lincoln A quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails show

US ramps up Cuba sanctions and detentions of Americans returning from the island The Trump administration is imposing more economic penalties on industries in the heavily sanctioned socialist country and broadening enforcement of laws that bar Americans who visit the island from dealings with government-owned or affiliated businesses. Read more. Why this matters: The administration has steadily ratcheted up pressure on Havana, threatening it with potential military intervention even when mired in a conflict against Iran, while also boosting economic sanctions designed to cut off funding for the Cuban government. An oil blockade that the U.S. imposed on Cuba after the American military raid that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, whose country provided Cuba with subsidized oil, has plunged the already economically crippled island into full-blown crisis. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ More than 2,300 Mexicans sent to Guatemala and Honduras as Trump ramps up third-country deportations US has sent deportees to many African countries, the latest one being Liberia. Here’s why

Why Trump administration moves to calm the bond market haven’t worked so far Interest rates rebounded Thursday despite efforts by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to put a lid on longer-term borrowing costs, a sign Wall Street investors remain worried about burgeoning government debt, heavy borrowing by tech firms and the Federal Reserve’s commitment to fighting inflation. Read more. Why this matters: While Bessent is talking about billions of dollars in bond buybacks, the Treasury market is so large that even purchases at that scale may not have much impact. History shows that government interventions in the bond market have limited effects. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Canadian provincial leader says Trump is a ‘bad person’ as Canada weighs concessions for trade deal Trump appears on former fixer-turned-enemy Michael Cohen’s radio show after detente Investigators examining foes of Trump seek interviews related to Mar-a-Lago search, AP sources say Trump keeps embracing data centers even as they become toxic in midterm races Federal agents seize devices from ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell in sexual misconduct probe, AP source says California lawmaker Aisha Wahab wins special election to succeed Swalwell in Congress Federal court is asked to block Kennedy Center from returning Trump’s name to building

August 21, 2026 Your first month is free in The New York Times app. Download now → By Sam Sifton Good morning. There’s a lot of news below, including a surprising story about the people who buy and resell America’s wild horses — for a huge profit. I’m going to start with the Russia-Ukraine war. At a subway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, yesterday. Danylo Antoniuk/Associated Press Sitting ducks With fighting between Russia and Ukraine largely stalled on the front lines, the air war between them has intensified. Ukraine launches drone attacks deep into Russian territory, and Moscow rains ballistic missiles down on Kyiv. That’s not going well for Ukraine, which is out of the defensive weapons that keep Kyiv safe from Russian salvos. A Russian attack there yesterday left at least 15 people dead and around 40 injured. The strikes damaged residential buildings, a school and a children’s hospital. You could hear the thunder of the exploding missiles deep below ground, in a subway station where civilians had taken shelter, reported The Times’s Constant Méheut. Some 40,000 residents slept in the subway system that night, the local authorities said. Russia “had been preparing for a long time,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media, and its attack combined “different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, aiming to cause as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure.” He had said earlier that the number of air defense missiles supplied by Ukraine’s Western allies had dropped threefold from the year before. That number’s not likely to rise any time soon, Constant wrote a few weeks ago: Western allies are more hesitant to give up missiles they may need for their own defense as war rages on multiple fronts, including in the Middle East, where fighting has whittled global stockpiles. Even if Ukraine’s partners did heed Mr. Zelensky’s call, they could not fully meet the country’s needs. Russia produces ballistic missiles faster than the West can make the interceptors designed to stop them. The effects of the attacks are chilling. Civilian deaths in Ukraine have risen under the barrages, with nearly 1,400 civilians killed in the first six months of this year, according to the United Nations. That’s 37 percent more than in the same period in 2025 and more than double the figure from 2024. In Kyiv yesterday. Francisco Seco/Associated Press A city under siege The missiles have also destroyed food warehouses and distribution centers. For the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion, report Kim Barker and Oleksandra Mykolyshyn, the shelves of Kyiv’s grocery stores are going bare. Supplies of dairy products, meat and fresh produce have dwindled. At one shop in Kyiv, the reporters discovered, “the only produce remaining were six mushy avocados and the papery skins of a few onions and garlic bulbs.” One shopper they spoke with called the situation a nightmare. She had only bread and herring in her cart. “I’m horrified,” she said. “I wanted to buy sugar, but I looked and there wasn’t any. And there’s an entire section over there that’s completely empty. I didn’t even go in there. I don’t want to look at it and upset myself.” But there was also dark humor. The supermarket had posted signs blaming Russia for the shortages but also advising stoicism in the face of them, short poems with blank spaces in them encouraging customers to offer their own reactions. One read: Russia ___ probably ___ hoped this would be our end ___ and bring only sorrow but here we have anger ___ new ideas and ___ gratitude ___ for our people. During yesterday’s drone strikes. Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters Related: Read more about the state of the Russia-Ukraine war here, and do not miss this breathtaking account of an elderly woman’s nine-mile escape — on foot, under drone-filled skies — from a war-ravaged city near the front lines in Eastern Ukraine. THE LATEST NEWS War in Iran President Trump this week promised an “economic D-Day” against Iran. That’s a signal to Iran he does not want full-scale war again, our reporters say. Somali piracy is having its biggest surge in over a decade because of regional instability, according to experts. Politics F.B.I. agents searched the home of Eric Swalwell, the Democratic former congressman, as part of a federal inquiry into sexual assault claims against him. The Trump administration has tried to crush California’s climate policies by enlisting at least half a dozen agencies to help fossil fuels or cancel green energy projects there. The administration also updated its space policy, saying it would dramatically increase rocket launches and rely more on private companies. The federal government is rounding up wild horses on public lands, and quietly selling them to buyers who ship them off to be slaughtered for meat, The Times found. Economy The New York Times Trump’s promises to reduce America’s debt burden have been hampered by tax cuts, tariff refunds and his own policies. Alan Rappeport, our economic policy reporter, explains. Click above to watch. An increasing number of Fed officials are impatient about inflation, and several support raising interest rates. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been intervening in the bond market. He wants to lower borrowing costs, but it’s not so easy. Trump has threatened “tremendous economic consequences” for any nation that does business with Iran, without offering details. Which countries would be at risk? Walmart posted its slowest sales growth in years as Americans reined in their spending. (The company’s stock fell almost 10 percent on the news.) Around the World Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters U.S. deportees began to arrive in Liberia, which struck a deal with the Trump administration to eventually accept 1,200 people. Pakistan moved its former prime minister Imran Khan, convicted on corruption charges, from prison to a hospital. It was a win in his prolonged legal battle over medical treatment. The State Department said an American scholar arrested in China on spying charges is wrongfully detained. Other Big Stories Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, in Sydney. Pool photo by Jonathan Brday Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s planned move back to Britain seems to have surprised even his father, King Charles III. It’s been the worst tick season on record. And a species that can leave you permanently allergic to red meat is spreading. Read what you need to know. The New York Times lost a defamation lawsuit brought by a college basketball player in Alabama. A NASA mission to save a space telescope has failed. The telescope, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, is expected to burn up in the atmosphere this year. D.C. TRAFFIC REPORT By The New York Times Trump is bringing an IndyCar race to Washington on Sunday. It’ll go around the National Mall 147 times. Scroll through our map to see what it will feel like to race this unique course. OPINIONS Electricians love data centers, Don Slaiman, a union representative for electrical workers, writes. He explains why you should, too. Should having a child be a human right? To create a more equal society, yes, Anna Louie Sussman 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 We’ve made these links free for you. A fan-made poster promoting the movie “The Bull is Coming” at a theater in Beijing on Tuesday. Andy Wong/Associated Press So bad it’s good: “The Bull Is Coming” has a baffling plot and terrible graphics, but this low-budget film is a hit in China, where fans are celebrating its authenticity in the age of A.I. Death by trebuchet: Researchers believe a young man found buried at a Scottish castle is the first confirmed victim of the fearsome siege weapon. Your pick: The most-clicked story in The Morning yesterday was about Prince Harry and Meghan's move back to Britain. See a timeline. TODAY’S NUMBER $5.1 million — That is how much a private buyer spent on a 2023 one-of-one Victor Wembanyama sports card this year. His financial advisers suggested he could have bought a house instead. “I say the difference is the one or two percent of billionaires in the world don’t really, really, really want my house,” he told The Athletic. “But they f—ing want that card.” SPORTS Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz said he’ll return to play the U.S. Open as its reigning champion next week. He’s been tending to a wrist injury since April. Soccer: The Georgia women’s team set an N.C.A.A. soccer attendance record with more than 25,000 spectators at a game. RECIPE OF THE DAY Armando Rafael for The New York Times Here’s a fun Friday night feed for kids and those who feel like them: bacon cheeseburger meatballs, with a classic fast-foodish mayo-mustardy burger sauce on the side. Serve with oven fries and slices of onion and tomato. FEELING THIS The New York Times Travis Barker has been a pop-punk star and hip-hop collaborator for decades. He lived hard, survived a deadly plane crash, got sober, does breath work. He keeps a low profile but married a Kardashian. He’s a dad. And throughout it all, he’s been a drummer, playing loudly, fast and with as much power as he can manage. “I think scars are cool,” Barker said recently in an interview on Popcast, The Times’s pop-culture chat show. “I’ve never left a show where I’m a bloody mess, or my hands are a mess, and be like, I wish I didn’t play the way I did.” More on culture Is “Life of M,” the new novel from Rachel Cusk, about the actress Natalie Portman? Cusk’s not saying. “The book explains itself and defends itself pretty comprehensively, and it’s something I created,” she told The Times, “so to start to explain it kind of ruins it for me.” Let’s go to the movies this weekend. Here are eight new films our critics are talking about. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Pick a $1.5 million home in South Florida. I’m going with the bungalow in Key West, but you do you. Play our summer reading game and we’ll find just the right end-of-season book for you. Travel to the Cotswolds, in England, if only in your imagination. The place names alone are relaxing: Stow-on-the-Wold, Castle Combe, Malmesbury Abbey. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was quoting. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam 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

🏎️ Pic to go: D.C. racetrack reflection Photo: Alex Brandon/AP The Capitol dome is reflected in a puddle along the 1.7-mile, seven-turn street circuit for this weekend's Freedom 250 Grand Prix in D.C. The slogan: "Let Freedom Rev!" Practice and qualifying races are scheduled for tomorrow, followed by the main race on Sunday. Watch: Time-lapse tour of the circuit.

📈 Another year of health insurance pain Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Employer health costs are set to rise sharply for a fourth straight year, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes from new projections by benefits consultant Aon. Why it matters: Companies and their workers are locked in one of the most sustained periods of health care inflation in decades. Rising demand for health services, more chronic disease and increased use of drugs like GLP-1s will help drive up employer health costs 9.5% next year — to more than $19,000 per employee, Aon said. Workers this year are expected to pay an average of $5,297 for health coverage. That's $388 more than in 2025.

🥊 Washington's economic collision course Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos via Getty Images Two of the most powerful economic officials in President Trump's orbit — Fed chairman Kevin Warsh and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — are pursuing strategies that work against each other, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes. Why it matters: They're Washington's most consequential economic policymakers. But investors are getting conflicting signals about the government's role in financial markets. 🔬 Zoom in: Warsh wants to step back and give markets more room to respond to the economy. He has staked out a new position as Fed chair by giving less explicit guidance about what the central bank will do — a sharp departure from years of Fed practice. Speaking to reporters last month, Warsh seemed pleased with the results of that effort, even as long-term borrowing costs jumped. "Market participants are learning to play the ball, not the referee," he said. The other side: Treasury's intervention in bond markets this week signals there are limits to how much market-driven movement Washington is willing to tolerate. Bessent told CNBC yesterday that Treasury has room to do more. "We have a big toolkit, so we'll see." He framed the move as "signaling" that Treasury believes the bond market chaos doesn't reflect the economy's underlying fundamentals. Keep reading ...

🛢️ Oil markets tune out Trump Data: Roll Call, Financial Modeling Prep. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals President Trump's social media posts about the Iran war are losing their power to move oil markets, according to an analysis by Axios' Erin Davis and Ben Geman. Why it matters: Oil price changes ripple throughout the U.S. and global economies — and the conflict has brought unprecedented supply disruption. ⏱️ By the numbers: Axios tracked 269 posts on Truth Social between Feb. 28 and Aug. 19 that mentioned Iran or the Strait of Hormuz. In the five minutes after these Truth Social posts appeared, or in the five minutes after the next market open, the average change (0.73%) was almost four times higher than normal. That effect is now diminishing (charted above). Zoom out: In the early weeks, there was an "information vacuum" and high uncertainty about U.S. policy and objectives, said oil analyst Ben Cahill. Markets often "overreacted" in response, he said. 👀 What we're watching: Trump's waning power to "jawbone" oil markets has political consequences, as Democrats use energy prices as a cudgel against Republicans in the midterm elections.

America's debt explosion Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios America is caught in a historic capital squeeze, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. On one side: Trillions Washington must borrow to pay for the past. On the other: Trillions the economy needs to build the future. Why it matters: The next president will inherit a fiscal reckoning decades in the making. The price it exacts — on taxes, benefits, borrowing and investment — could shape America's prosperity and power for generations. 🔎 Zoom in: President Trump said in 2016 that he could eliminate what was then roughly $19 trillion in national debt within eight years. On Tuesday, the debt crossed $40 trillion, after growing by $3 trillion in the past year alone. About $32 trillion is owed to investors and other outside holders. The rest is debt the government owes to its own accounts, including Social Security and other federal trust funds. Treasury must refinance $9.7 trillion in debt coming due this fiscal year while covering a deficit the Congressional Budget Office now projects at roughly $2.1 trillion. That creates a punishing cycle: Old debt comes due, Washington replaces it with more expensive debt, and the resulting interest bill feeds future deficits. CBO projects annual deficits will average $2.4 trillion through 2036, pushing debt held by the public to 120% of GDP — above the record set after World War II. The U.S. has already spent $963 billion on interest in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, $200 billion more than it spent on the military over the same period. Data: CBO. Chart: Sara Wise/Axios 🔭 Zoom out: For years, Silicon Valley's AI buildout was financed almost entirely with cash. Now Big Tech is becoming one of the biggest new forces in global debt markets. Bond sales by the "hyperscalers" building AI infrastructure are on pace to roughly double in 2026. Goldman Sachs projects debt will fund more than a third of the AI buildout by next year. Nvidia is working with BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, KKR and other Wall Street giants on plans to marshal more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure. 💰 Stunning stat: Nine major tech companies have already spent roughly $600 billion on capital projects over the past year. A Wall Street Journal analysis found they have another $3 trillion in future commitments, mostly tied to AI, that aren't yet reflected on their balance sheets. 👀 What to watch: America's fiscal options are narrowing as its political ambitions expand. On the left, democratic socialism and economic populism are surging, pairing promises of cheaper housing, health care and child care with calls for higher taxes on the wealthy. On the right, the Trump-era GOP has protected Social Security and Medicare politically while pursuing tax cuts and higher defense spending, including Trump's push for a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 21 1959 Hawaii becomes 50th state Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1980s 1980 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is founded African History 1961 Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan independence leader, is freed American Revolution 1754 Bloody Ban Tarleton born in Britain Arts & Entertainment 1920 Christopher Robin’s birthday Civil War 1863 Guerrillas massacre residents of abolitionist settlement of Lawrence, Kansas Cold War 1991 Attempted coup against Gorbachev collapses Early U.S. 1793 Yellow fever breaks out in Philadelphia Inventions & Science 1897 Olds Motor Vehicle Company founded Natural Disasters & Environment 1986 Gas cloud kills Cameroon villagers Slavery 1831 Nat Turner launches massive insurrection in Virginia Sports 2004 Michael Phelps wins eighth Olympic medal in Athens 1950 Althea Gibson becomes first African American on U.S. tennis tour U.S. Government and Politics 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates begin 1974 The Equal Educational Opportunities Act is enacted Vietnam War 1971 Antiwar protesters raid draft offices World War II 1944 The seeds of the United Nations are planted

> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.9%, Dow -1.3%, Nasdaq -1.0%) as rising Treasury yields increase borrowing costs (More) > Walmart shares tumble 9.2% after reporting smallest sales growth in over six years; retailer to use its $2.9B in tariff refunds to lower prices on 11,000 items, including groceries (More) > Charter Communications, the US’ largest cable operator, completes $34.5B acquisition of Cox Communications; merged company will serve approximately 37 million subscribers across 45 states (More)

> Saliva samples appear able to detect colorectal cancer and may be a more accurate diagnostic tool than widely used fecal tests (More) | Colorectal cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among people under age 50; why? (More) > Researchers develop electronic skin that can detect pressure and temperature with 10 times more sensitivity than current commercial glove sensors, potentially helping amputees gain feeling in their prosthetics (More) > Mysterious lipid droplets in cats' kidneys may help create unique scent marks that cats use to identify each other (More) | How scientists are genetically modifying cats so they don't trigger allergies in humans (More, w/video)

Fall Weather Predictions Nearly all US states are likely to see warmer-than-average temperatures in the coming three months, a new federal forecast reveals. See more here (w/maps). Summerlike weather is most likely to persist in the Pacific Northwest, where below-average rainfall is also expected—potentially fueling the spread of wildfires. Wetter-than-average conditions are forecast for the Southwest and Southeast. On the East Coast, an El Niño fall is expected to suppress hurricane activity, though high-tide flooding is predicted on the West Coast (El Niño 101). Forecasters could not say whether temperatures would be above or below average in the Ohio Valley, encompassing Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Separately, the Old Farmer’s Almanac and the Farmers’ Almanac both released their outlooks yesterday. Research shows only about half of the latter's predictions have historically been borne out. Read how the forecasts differ from federal predictions. Storms batter Mid-Atlantic and Northeast A line of drenching storms swept across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast late Thursday, triggering destructive tornadoes and significant flooding, including in parts of New York City. As much as 2.5 inches of rain fell in just three hours across northern New Jersey and southern New York, while damage was also reported in parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Such intense downpours can quickly overwhelm urban drainage systems, particularly in New York City, where aging sewers can handle only about 1.75 inches of rain per hour before flash flooding occurs. Forecasts also show the rough stretch of weather isn’t over yet, with more challenging conditions expected across multiple states today. + Read more: Storms sweep the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Northeast + Video: See the aftermath of storms and flooding + Your forecast: Track the storms, find out your local risk and get more detailed timing from meteorologists in the CNN Weather app

North Korean Missiles North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters yesterday, according to South Korea’s military, hours after Pyongyang dismissed President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to ease tensions. The missiles traveled roughly 185 miles before landing in the sea (explore the North’s missile arsenal). The test came during the annual US-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which Trump shortened from 11 days to five in a bid to reduce tensions. Washington and Seoul call the drills defensive, while North Korea considers them preparations for an invasion and often responds with weapons tests. Kim Jong Un’s sister said the reduction changed nothing, though she described Trump and Kim’s relationship as “excellent.” Trump, who met Kim three times from 2018 to 2019, said Wednesday he hopes to meet him again this year; Pyongyang has rejected giving up its nuclear arsenal as a condition for renewed talks (who has nuclear weapons?). Explore 25 years of US-North Korea negotiations and provocations with this interactive.

Charter plane crash kills 8 near remote radar site in western Alaska, military says JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A charter aircraft carrying eight people crashed at a remote radar site in western Alaska on Thursday, killing all on board, the U.S. military said. https://apnews.com/article/alaska-charter-plane-crash-bda232d16205502288149db380610d05?

2 organizers of Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigils convicted in national security case HONG KONG (AP) — Two former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigils in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown were convicted Friday for what the government-approved judges ruled was inciting others to overthrow China’s communist leadership. https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-tiananmen-verdict-alliance-9e1f5c915931eecfa083053dd262548b?

People are opting out of the two main political parties ☐ Republican ☐ Democratic ☑ Other An increasing percentage of voters are registering with a minor party or no party at all. In states that require party affiliation on voter registration (because not all do), three out of four counties had voters shifting away from the Republican and Democratic parties over the past decade. In some states, both Republican and unaffiliated voter growth drew away from Democratic registration. In North Carolina, unaffiliated registrations grew in every single county, while the Republican share grew alongside it in 78 of the state’s 100 counties. The Democratic share fell in all 100. In other states, both parties lost ground in roughly equal measure. A prime example of this is Colorado, where unaffiliated and minor party registration climbed 16 percentage points over the decade, while both major parties lost ground. In 2016, 38% of Colorado voters were registered as unaffiliated or with a minor party. In 2026, that share had grown to 54%. The Democratic share of registrations was 31% in 2016 and declined to 24% in 2026. The Republican share of registrations was 31% in 2016 and dropped to 22% in 2026. (You might assume that some government agency has a number of registered Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters at the ready for public use. But you would be wrong. Check out the Analyst Notes on how we collected and analyzed this voter registration data.)

Mortgage rates ease again, but remain higher than this time last year The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate eased for the second week in a row, but remains elevated compared with this time last year. Read More.

Both of you, thank you and much appreciated. Your prayers ae welcomed.

Croatia orders detention of Ukrainian man wanted in Germany for Nord Stream blasts in 2022 A Croatian judge on Thursday ordered the detention of a Ukrainian man who is wanted in Germany in connection with the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines, his lawyer said. Read More.