The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent
August 28, 2026
As Trump badly undercuts the GOP electoral strategy, Jennifer Rubin of The Contrarian explains why this could make a meaningful difference—while urging Dems to avoid falling into overconfidence.
Sunday, August 30, 2026
'A giant leap forward': Nasa launches powerful new space telescope
Grace Eliza Goodwin
Nasa's powerful next-generation telescope has blasted off into space from its launchpad in Florida, with a mission to explore dark energy, black holes and other mysteries of the Universe.
The Nancy Grace Roman telescope will capture vast panoramic views of space, with a field of vision 100 times larger than both the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, Nasa says.
Under Fire: Major Networks Stand Firm After Trump Demands FCC Action Against NBC’s Kristen Welker
August 30, 2026
Freedom of the Press
A fierce battle over the Freedom of the Press has ignited in Washington following Donald Trump’s public demand that the FCC punish NBC anchor Kristen Welker over her reporting on his midterm endorsement track record
The ultimatum has triggered swift condemnation from across the media landscape, with rival networks launching a rarely united front to defend Welker and push back against White House intimidation. As the Lone Democrat on the FCC explicitly rejects the administration's authority to censor reporters, major broadcasters are escalating their legal resistance against what they call a dangerous weaponization of federal regulatory agencies.
Meta is Testing Robot Technology to Replace Data Center Technicians
Robotics and Data Centers
According to a recent article in Wired, Meta has begun implementing advanced robotics in its data centers to automate various routine maintenance tasks
The tech giant is experimenting with robots designed to perform duties such as cable swapping, rebooting frozen servers, and reseating hardware components. This initiative is part of Meta's strategy to enhance physical operations across its global network, particularly as it speeds up efforts to bolster its computing capabilities for artificial intelligence applications. However, insiders warn that the automation of these tasks may threaten the jobs of technicians, potentially eliminating up to 80% of their responsibilities.
We Cannot Stop the Floods, But we Can Cut the Death Toll
August 30, 2026
By Yiannis Damellos
I am willing to play devil's advocate just to prove my point. Can we agree on something other than climate change being responsible for every natural catastrophe these days? Just because the loss of life from natural disasters has increased lately, maybe we can agree on a common denominator. Something like "The purpose of a good government is not to prevent nature from killing us. It is to make sure that nature doesn't get to kill us simply because we failed to use everything science already knows." How about that for starters?
Maduro Shares Prison Photos as U.S. Controls Now 7.1% of Global Oil Reserves After Robbing his Country
Edited by Yiannis Damellos
August 30, 2026
Nicolás Maduro, the man who once ruled over the world’s largest proven oil reserves, appeared Sunday in photographs from a New York prison, sending a message to his supporters that he remained “standing firm” even as the political and economic landscape of Venezuela was being transformed around him.
The photographs, posted on social media, showed Maduro in a gray tracksuit making peace signs with both hands. He appeared thinner than before his capture by U.S. forces.
Scientists discover a massive heat anomaly deep inside Mars
Date: August 30, 2026
Source:Caltech
Summary: Mars has a hidden temperature divide, with its southern interior potentially hundreds of degrees hotter than the north and partially molten. The discovery could help explain several long-standing Martian mysteries, including unusual magnetism, seismic behavior, and clues to the planet’s ancient water history.
The museum charting how humans understand the world
8 hours ago
Maggie Downs
It's a chilly afternoon in Vienna, and the line for the Austrian National Library has already spilled out the door, curling like a ribbon around the grand Josefsplatz square. I'm not in the mood to wait – I've already struck out at several crowded nearby attractions where timed-entry tickets were sold out.
Iran war: US military strikes Iran's Larak Island — reports
Zac Crellin with AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters
What you need to know
- The US reportedly conducted its first strikes on Iran in weeks
- The strikes targeted Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz
- Iran's Revolutionary Guard has vowed to retaliate against the attack
Congo is Paying The Price of Progress and Greed by Powering the Modern World with Sacrificial Labor
Source: The Independent
August 30, 2026
The midday sun beat down relentlessly on the red clay walls of the Shabara mine near Kolwezi, reports The Independent. Amidst a swarming sea of thousands of bodies clinging to the precarious dirt terraces, twenty-four-year-old Jean-Pierre swung a crude iron pickaxe into the rock face. His hands were calloused, and his lungs burned with a persistent cough from breathing in toxic, radioactive dust every day.
Greece, Turkey clash over protected Aegean marine areas
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Ridley Scott’s new movie is about the end of the world, but he’s far from done
MOVIES
Director Ridley Scott, photographed in London in August.
(Oliver Mayhall / For The Times)
By Emily Zemler
Aug. 26, 2026 3 AM PT
- In a wide-ranging conversation, Ridley Scott, 88, the director of ‘Alien,’ ‘Blade Runner,’ and ‘Gladiator,’ turns his eye toward AI, global warming and kindness.
- Scott ventures into sci-fi once more with ‘The Dog Stars,’ a postapocalyptic thriller that trades zombies for pandemics and asks whether hope can outlast catastrophe.
- As he storyboards a new version of ‘Treasure Island’ and preps several projects, this fall’s honorary Oscar recipient insists he’s nowhere near finished.
Iran trade falls as Supreme Leader Khamenei urges less reliance on the U.S. dollar
Published Sat, Aug 29 20268:06 AM EDT
Azhar Sukri
Key Points
- President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iranian imports and exports have fallen between 25% and 35%, with imports declining more.
- Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei calls for gradually reducing the U.S. dollar’s role and relying more heavily on domestic production.
- Iran’s August crude export loadings are down more than 80% from August 2025, according to Kpler.
Carnage in Kyiv: If Zelenskyy Didn’t Know, Who Put an Ammunition Depot Among Civilians?
August 29, 2026
Edited by Yiannis Damellos
“If Zelenskyy didn’t know the depot was there, but the Russians did, who knew—and who is actually running Ukraine's War?”
A Russian drone strike on a Ukrainian ammunition depot near Kyiv killed at least 37 people and devastated nearby civilian areas. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the storage of explosives near homes “terrible negligence” and promised an investigation. But his condemnation raises an uncomfortable question: Who authorized the depot, who knew it was there, and how could the president of a country at war not know?
The Census Bureau’s Unorthodox Foray Into Voter Roll Investigations
August 28, 2026 10:39AM
Last week, President Trump used the official White House social media account to once again claim that he’d won the 2020 election (“I WON THE ELECTION!”). This time, his declaration stemmed from a seven-page Census Bureau report alleging at least 24,000 noncitizens voted in the 2020 general election (in which 154.6 million Americans voted).
At the risk of indulging the absurd: Trump’s claim isn’t supported. Even if we accept the report’s findings as facts (more on that below), it still doesn’t change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Of the states with the closest margins of victory for Joe Biden: Arizona (10,457 votes), Georgia (11,779), Wisconsin (20,682), Nevada (33,596), the Census report only alleges 1,100 (AZ), 400 (GA), 500 (WI), and 250 (NV) alleged noncitizens. And of course, we know that not every alleged unlawful noncitizen vote went for Biden.
At the risk of indulging the absurd: Trump’s claim isn’t supported. Even if we accept the report’s findings as facts (more on that below), it still doesn’t change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Of the states with the closest margins of victory for Joe Biden: Arizona (10,457 votes), Georgia (11,779), Wisconsin (20,682), Nevada (33,596), the Census report only alleges 1,100 (AZ), 400 (GA), 500 (WI), and 250 (NV) alleged noncitizens. And of course, we know that not every alleged unlawful noncitizen vote went for Biden.
The Himalayas are unpredictable. But countries are building there like never before
Updated 9 hr ago
Beijing - Deadly flooding along the China-Nepal border has put a sharp spotlight on how risks from natural disasters in the Himalayas are growing, at the same time that countries in the region are rapidly building out their high-altitude infrastructure footprints.
There’s no indication that the latest disaster, which has killed more than 600 people and left around 3,000 more missing on both sides of the border, was linked to manmade development. But the devastation could be a reality check for governments driving a boom in dams, tunnels, highways, railways and bridges across the Himalayas as they aim to harness the region’s vast hydropower potential and resources –– and fortify their borders there.
Friday, August 28, 2026
Western Commanders and Veterans Warn NATO Can’t Fight a Ukraine-Style War with Russia
Editorial Staff
August-27th-2026
U.S. Marines in Arctic Warfare Gear During Exercises in NorwayA senior Norwegian commander has warned that Western societies are fundamentally unprepared for a prolonged conflict on the scale and intensity of the war in Ukraine. Brigadier Atle Molde, who commands the Norway-led Task Force Legio responsible for training Ukrainian military personnel, recently warned: “We are not prepared. No Western country’s prepared.” He described avoiding a prolonged war of attrition as one of the most important lessons Norway and other Western countries should draw from Ukraine.
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