Washington Times

Multiple outlets report 600 deaths and 1,759 confirmed Ebola cases in Congo, with two suspected cases in Kisangani, Tshopo province. One case links to Ituri province while another shows no geographic connection to known areas. Lower-quality reports identify the Bundibugyo strain and note unpaid healthcare workers in Ituri.

President Trump removed Election Assistance Commission members Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks late Thursday, leaving the agency with no sitting commissioners months before the 2026 midterms. The White House cited the Supreme Court’s Trump v. Slaughter decision as authority. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the action as an attempt to control elections.

Conor McGregor is set to fight Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor has not competed since suffering a broken leg against Dustin Poirier in 2021, while Holloway is moving up from featherweight after defeating McGregor by unanimous decision in 2013. Multiple undercard bouts have also been announced for the event.

Mexico will request criminal charges related to 17 deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody or during enforcement operations, with the announcement made by President Claudia Sheinbaum and Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco on Thursday. The move follows the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and includes plans to file complaints with U.S. prosecutors and pursue civil suits against detention operators. [Washington Times] [Mexico News Daily]

Congress has long sought to require platforms including Google, Apple, Meta, X and TikTok to protect children online, an effort now linked to AI oversight of firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Senator Ted Cruz has stated the need to address catastrophic risk without ceding ground to China or restricting free expression. A June executive order from President Trump promotes AI innovation through voluntary government collaboration.

President Trump stated on Wednesday that the ceasefire with Iran is over and that he is unsure about pursuing a new deal. The U.S. military carried out strikes on Iranian targets aimed at degrading threats to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on sites in several Gulf states.

The Trump administration finalized a rule on Friday that repeals the regulatory definition of 'harm' under the Endangered Species Act, eliminating habitat modification from the scope of prohibited actions. The change reverses an interpretation in place for decades and upheld by the Supreme Court in 1995. Public comments opposing the rule numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump nominee, dismissed the remaining seditious conspiracy charges against Proud Boys members at the request of the Trump DOJ. Verified records confirm the action followed earlier clemency measures in January 6 cases. Unverified reports describe broader prior convictions and the exact timing of the dismissal.

Construction started on Thursday for American Express's new global headquarters at 2 World Trade Center, 25 years after the September 11 attacks. The project is reported by Washington Times and Newser. Multiple details including height, completion date, job numbers, and design features remain unverified and sourced solely to the Washington Times.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived in the United States for 35 years with no criminal record, was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Houston during an attempted traffic stop. ICE officers were not wearing body cameras. Mexican officials have cited 17 deaths of Mexican nationals in U.S. immigration custody and plan to file complaints.

Turkey purchased the Russian S-400 air defense system in 2017 and was removed from the U.S. F-35 program in 2019. Reports indicate Turkish President Erdogan seeks to transfer the system to restore F-35 access, with unverified claims of ongoing talks involving Russia. Multiple sourcing limitations affect verification of details on discussions and contractual terms.

No party has claimed responsibility for reported airstrikes on southern Iran as of Friday. All other details, including the start date of the conflict, U.S. and Israeli involvement, oil prices, and Iranian leadership preparations, originate from a single unverified source. Gulf Arab states have not commented.

Bloomberg and Washington Times report that China recaptured the first stage of a rocket following launch. Multiple details including rocket model, launch date, location, and performance comparisons remain unverified according to available sourcing. Analyses from progressive, conservative, libertarian, and critical viewpoints address implications for sustainability, security, markets, and verification standards.

The National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-1 on Thursday to approve preliminary site and building plans for a 250-foot arch proposed by Donald Trump at the Virginia end of the Memorial Bridge. The Interior Department is the applicant and has argued that the Height of Buildings Act does not bind federal projects, while the commission deferred a final ruling on that question. The next commission meeting is scheduled for early September.

Congress allocated $20 million to DHS for body cameras, with additional billions in broader funding, yet ICE officers involved in the fatal Houston shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo were not equipped with them. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem pledged rapid deployment following earlier shootings of two American citizens in Minneapolis. Official accounts of the Houston incident conflict with witness statements regarding whether Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle.

A high-pressure system is projected to produce temperatures 15–25°F above normal across much of the continental United States, with triple-digit readings in the Southwest and Great Plains and more than 90 local records expected to be tied or broken by Wednesday. Overnight lows are forecast to remain above 80°F in multiple southern cities. The National Weather Service attributes the pattern to a classic heat dome that traps hot air and blocks cooling winds.

U.S. Central Command conducted strikes against Iran after President Trump ended the U.S.-Iran MOU and ceasefire. Iran launched drones and missiles toward partners in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, with intercepts reported by those countries. Multiple regional governments held calls with U.S. and Iranian officials while American prisoners remain in Iran.

Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche recorded China sales drops between 30 and 41 percent year-on-year in the April-June quarter, with Volkswagen deliveries falling 36.6 percent to 424,300 vehicles [Washington Times]. Volkswagen Group global deliveries declined 8.6 percent in the same period while rising in Europe and the Americas [Washington Times]. All four brands posted first-half China sales declines exceeding 20 percent amid China's property-sector downturn and economic slowdown [Washington Times].

Marco Rubio stated that Tou Lue Vang was deported after the Trump administration terminated his legal status. Tim Walz served on the Minnesota pardon board that pardoned Vang, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to first-degree criminal sexual conduct against a child victim. Coverage of the case originates exclusively from right-leaning outlets.

The live-action Moana, directed by Thomas Kail and featuring Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga’aia, is described as a near shot-for-shot remake of the 2016 animated film. It holds a 35% Rotten Tomatoes score based on 55 reviews as of Wednesday and has seen domestic opening weekend tracking lowered from $85 million to just over $60 million. Moana 2 was released less than two years earlier after originally being planned as a streaming series.

Leandro Andres Bertazzo exited a Cessna 150G in flight near Toledo in Cordoba province, Argentina, after which the 22-year-old student pilot landed the aircraft safely at Coronel Olmedo Airport. Reporting on the incident derives primarily from a single source with limited corroboration. Available accounts leave most details unverified and provide no confirmation from Argentine authorities.

Washington Times and Fox News reported an unverified exchange on The Joe Rogan Experience between host Joe Rogan and guest Rupert Lowe regarding U.S. policy toward Iran. The reports cite statements attributed to Rogan criticizing escalation and to Lowe on war rationales, alongside references to the 2024 election and USAID changes. All cited claims remain unverified with secondary sourcing only.

Washington Times reporting describes Russian overnight missile and drone launches against Ukraine, with Ukrainian air defenses intercepting most drones and some missiles, resulting in civilian casualties in Odesa and Kyiv regions. Ukrainian General Staff claims damage to multiple Russian vessels, while Russian officials dispute the scale of those attacks. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports Russia halted shipping through the Don-Azov Canal.