Blanche Confirmed As Attorney General—Here’s Are The Concessions That Got Him The Job

Business

By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes Staff. 

Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.

Aug 08, 2026, 11:31am EDT

Topline
Todd Blanche, a former defense lawyer for President Donald Trump, was confirmed as attorney general in the early hours of Saturday morning after making two major concessions to please Senate Republicans who’d expressed doubt about his ability to impartially do the job, but his deals aren’t necessarily as ironclad as the confirmation hearing made them seem.

'Not looking good right now': Starship likely to be lost at sea 2 weeks after epic 13th test flight, Elon Musk says

News
By Mike Wall
Published 7 hours ago
"Nonetheless, we were able to obtain close-up photos of critical regions of the heat shield and engines for future upgrades."

It looks like Starship's two-week-long ocean adventure won't have a happy ending.

Into the Omniverse: How Open World Models Push the Frontier of Physical AI

August 6, 2026
by Ming-Yu Liu

Editor’s note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on how developers, 3D practitioners and enterprises can transform their workflows using the latest advancements in OpenUSD and NVIDIA Omniverse.

In July, NVIDIA joined more than 200 companies and organizations in signing “Open Weights and American AI Leadership,” an open letter arguing that AI leadership will be measured not by any single frontier model but by whether an open ecosystem reaches every sector. 

The deportation economy is backfiring on American workers, top economist warns

Economy Labor
By Eva Roytburg
Fellow, News
August 7, 2026, 3:07 PM ET
FORTUNE 

As the Trump administration continues to purge hundreds of thousands of workers from the country, Americans aren’t simply taking their place. Instead, their jobs appear to be disappearing with them.

The economy lost 23,000 jobs last month, yet the unemployment rate went down as the workforce shrank. America’s emerging deportation economy may account for the riddle.

Europe's rivers are drying up. Can they be saved?

NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT / GERMANY
Tim Schauenberg
13 hours ago

The Rhine and Danube have reached historic lows. Dwindling water levels are affecting shipping, agriculture and ecosystems — and raising concerns about the future of drinking water supplies.

Iran war live: Trilateral Mecca defence pact signed, as Hormuz deal looms

The Turkish president, Saudi crown prince and Pakistani prime minister signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca 
By Enes Abuomer, Yashraj Sharma and Ali Mustafa
Published On 8 Aug 2026
AL JAZEERA

• The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan have signed a mutual defence pact in Mecca, declaring that “any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all”.
• In a statement addressing regional tensions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasised that while Tehran does not seek war or territorial expansion, it will not yield to “coercion”.
• United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it has redirected 51 merchant ships, disabled two, and boarded another two since resuming its naval blockade against Iran on July 14.

What the jobs report can’t tell us about the confounding economic moment

Analysis by Rachel Siegel
Updated 5 hr ago

Business / Economy / 3 min read

Scan the topline numbers of this month’s jobs report, and you’ll wind up with two wildly different impressions

The first – that the economy lost 23,000 jobs in July – is bad news. We expected a gain of 95,000 jobs and sank into the red instead. 

Then there’s the second figure: a 4.1% unemployment rate, down from 4.2% in June. Historically, that’s quite low. And it reflects a market that’s stable for most people who are looking for or already in jobs.

Financial Times: Silicon Valley Titans Are Building a $10M Doomsday Sanctuary in Argentina

Source: THE FINANCIAL TIMES

July 7, 2026

Far from global flashpoints, a group of high-tech tycoons is placing a massive bet on the end of the world, according to a recent Financial Times report. Led by tech founder Martín Varsavsky, the investors have spent nearly $10 million to carve out a 32,000-hectare refuge—five times the size of Manhattan—in the foothills of the Argentinian Andes. 

Named Wamani (a Quechua word meaning "guardian of the mountains"), the compound features solar-powered prefab homes, geodesic domes, its own airstrip, plans for agricultural self-sufficiency, and offline AI/data storage to weather potential global server collapses. Varsavsky, whose fortune is estimated at $700 million, views the remote estate near Mendoza as the ultimate insurance policy against global conflict, climate collapse, or digital fallout.

Another court blocks White House ballroom work, teeing up a Supreme Court review

Politics
August 7, 2026, 2:10 PM ET
By Rachel Treisman
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO

An appeals court ordered the Trump administration to halt construction on its White House ballroom, saying the project needs approval from Congress in order to continue.

The Supreme Court’s Archaeology of Authority

 
While the Roberts Court’s favorite new legal test promises objective facts, what it actually delivers is unchecked judicial power.

Eric Scarffe
August 6
(Photo illustration by Bill Kuchman/The Bulwark | Photos: Getty, Shutterstock)

WHEN THE SUPREME COURT CLOSED its most recent term, one lesson stood out: The Court’s most consequential decisions increasingly arrive dressed in the language of history. Whether the issue is abortion, administrative power, gun regulation, or substantive due process, the justices present themselves less as constitutional decision-makers than as constitutional archaeologists: excavating answers to questions that history supposedly settled long ago. Yet far from removing values from constitutional adjudication, the use of such history has merely hidden them from view.

Trump signs orders to limit US birthright citizenship, despite Supreme Court ruling

REUTERS
By Kristina Cooke and Andrew Chung
August 6, 2026, 12:50 PM PDT Updated 53 mins ago

Summary

• Trump acts after Supreme Court birthright defeat
• Orders target birth tourism and other exceptions
• White House disputes scope of Constitution's 14th Amendment

Aug 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday in a new but narrower attempt to curtail birthright citizenship, renewing his challenge to a provision ​of the U.S. Constitution after the Supreme Court rejected his previous effort.

Meta says its AI model hacked another company, adding to worries about bots going rogue

By BARBARA ORTUTAY
Updated 1:38 PM PDT, August 6, 2026
Meta said Thursday that one of its artificial intelligence models accessed the internet on its own and hacked another company, the latest in a series of disclosures about AI models going rogue. 

In recent weeks OpenAI and Anthropic also have described instances of AI models going beyond humans’ instructions to access the web and find ways around other companies’ digital security.

Mark Ruffalo Calls for John Fetterman to Step Down from Senate After Jon Stewart Humiliation

Source: Daily Beast's Obsessed

August 6, 2026

Actor Mark Ruffalo has urged Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman to resign following a controversial interview Fetterman gave to Jon Stewart. The exchange, which has since gone viral, featured Fetterman stumbling through statements asserting that Democrats who criticize Israel should not be part of the Democratic Party. The senator also expressed his unwavering support for Israel's right to defend itself.

Strait of Hormuz tolls would harm livelihoods worldwide, shipowners warn

AL JAZEERA

Eight leading shipping organisations sign letter opposing fees in critical waterway
By Erin Hale
Published On 6 Aug 2026
Eight of the world’s largest shipping associations have urged the United Nations to oppose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz amid reports that Iran and Oman are nearing a deal to manage the critical waterway. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, the group said that allowing authorities to charge vessels to transit the strait would violate international norms and harm the global economy.

Putin Turns the Heat in Ukraine and the Pacific Rim with A Little Help From his Friends

As the conflict in Ukraine escalates on a global scale, Vladimir Putin is ramping up military operations with substantial support from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. This growing collaboration has raised alarms in Japan and throughout the Pacific region.

August 6, 2026

North Korea's involvement in Ukraine is nothing new; on April 26 in Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened a memorial museum honoring the tens of hundreds of North Korean troops killed while fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine. That event, attended by prominent Russian defense officials, is proof of the growing military collaboration between the two nations. Yet, now, North Korea is expected to enhance military support to Russia by supplying additional ballistic missile launchers for its operations. And that's not all. 

Red alert issued for all major Italian cities as blistering heat wave grips Europe, sets Austria record

 

Rose Manister and Ramy Inocencio contributed to this report

Updated on: August 6, 2026 / 8:23 AM EDT /

CBS/AP

Italy placed all of its major cities under the highest heat alert Thursday as a blistering heat wave gripped Europe.

The heat has set a national temperature record in Austria, fueled wildfires in France and disrupted energy and transport systems across the continent. Temperatures have climbed to above 104 degrees Fahrenheit in several countries, prompting health warnings for millions of people.

Senate Homeland Security committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress

 

POLITICS 

Updated August 6, 2026 9:18 AM ET
Eric McDaniel

Heard on Morning Edition

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has voted to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress.

Thursday's vote was along party lines, and came after Fauci refused to answer lawmakers' questions in a hearing last week about the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.

JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon warns of high leverage: ‘Somebody will disrupt the market’

CEOs
Published Wed, Aug 5 202610:02 PM EDT
 Lee Ying Shan
         Key Points

• JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon warned that leverage across financial markets remains elevated.
• “Margin debt is the highest it has ever been,” he said in an interview with CNBC’s Leslie Picker.

JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has warned that leverage across financial markets remained elevated, adding that investors should be mindful that hidden borrowing could amplify market disruptions.