Penn State frat pledges forced to cut and bag cocaine for college drug ring, authorities say

Nation 

Aug 18, 2026 2:04 PM EDT

Penn State Drug Ring

By Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State fraternity pledges were made to cut and package cocaine for a drug ring that was run out of two off-campus frat houses, authorities said.

U.S.-Iran Updates: Trump says no talks with Iran taking place as standoff over Strait of Hormuz continues

By Duarte Dias, Tucker Reals, Khaled Wassef, Frank Andrews

Updated on: August 18, 2026 / 2:42 PM EDT / CBS News

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What to know about the Iran war today:

• President Trump said Tuesday that there is no ongoing dialogue with Iran to end the war, and no discussions scheduled. His son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner told Fox News on Monday that Iran is "not showing any interest" in striking a deal that "makes sense" for the United States. Nearly six months into the conflict, the U.S. and Iran remain locked in a standoff over control over the Strait of Hormuz.
•  A commercial vessel was struck by an "unknown projectile" while transiting the strait on Tuesday, according to the British military, resulting in one casualty and causing damage to an engine room.
• The U.S. ambassador to Turkey chastised Israel on Tuesday for carrying out strikes on a Syrian airbase, saying they "constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability." 

King Crimson - FULL SHOW (King Crimson In Concert - Live In Munich, 1982)

King Crimson's "Live In Munich" refers to their legendary concert performed at the Alabamahalle in Munich, Germany, on September 29, 1982. Originally released as a rare CD for the King Crimson Collectors' Club in 2006, the full professional video footage was officially premiered worldwide on the band's YouTube channel.🎸

Fact check: Every single part of this Trump story about South Korea is wrong

By  Daniel Dale
4 hr ago
President Donald Trump told a story about South Korea on Monday. Every single part of it is false.

Trump has delivered versions of his fictional story before; CNN debunked one telling last year. The president delivered Monday’s version the day after he announced the US would reduce military exercises with South Korea – citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and also mentioning that South Korea declined to participate in the US war with Iran.

Sanders proposes bill to stop Social Security benefit garnishment for unpaid student loans

Published Mon, Aug 17 2026

4:13 PM EDT

Updated 4 Hours Ago
Lorie Konish

Key Points

• Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced a new proposal on Monday to protect federal student loan borrowers from having their Social Security checks garnished.
• Sanders’ proposal comes as the Trump administration has paused involuntary collections for borrowers in default on federal student loans.

‘Despicable' or unfortunate? Lawmakers' fury amid USS Lincoln crisis

Republicans in Congress have largely remained silent about poor conditions reported aboard the USS Lincoln.
Erin Mansfield
USA TODAY
Updated Aug. 17, 2026, 6:07 p.m. ET

Full Summary

Democratic senators Jon Ossoff and Mark Kelly condemned President Trump and called for an investigation into reported poor living conditions and mental‑health crises on the USS Abraham Lincoln after a nine‑month deployment, while Republican officials mostly stayed silent or offered limited oversight suggestions.

Mr. Double Standard votes by mail again in his home state of Florida

President Donald Trump has once again demonstrated a striking double standard on mail-in voting: he continues to attack the practice as vulnerable to fraud 

while using it himself.

Source: Politico

Voting records from Palm Beach County show that Trump requested a mail ballot in late July and returned it on Aug. 13, casting his vote in Florida’s Republican primary. This is not the first time Trump has voted by mail in Florida; he also used a mail ballot in a Palm Beach County special election earlier this year.

Luigi Mangione’s state murder trial effectively postponed

By  Kara Scannell,

AND  Lauren del Valle
Updated 3 hr ago / AUGUST 17, 2026

The New York judge overseeing the state murder case against Luigi Mangione has effectively postponed his September trial by giving prosecutors nearly two months to contest defense claims their client will be unlawfully prosecuted under double jeopardy grounds should it proceed.

In an order Monday, Judge Gregory Carro ordered Manhattan prosecutors to respond by October 9 to Mangione’s motion to dismiss the state murder case on double jeopardy and constitutional grounds. He scheduled the next court hearing for December 10.

Here’s What “Iran’s Secret Plan To Escalate The War” Means For Oil Stocks

By AJ Tiarsmith 

Published Aug 17, 7:12AM EDT

The Wall Street Journal published a report today, Monday, August 17, 2026, titled “Iran’s Secret Plan to Escalate the War,” the same day the 60-day US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed in June expires with no follow-on deal in sight. For investors, the question is narrower: if the ceasefire framework is dead and the Strait of Hormuz has effectively stopped moving cargo, why aren’t oil equities rising on the news?

Can Earth Be Engineered to Mass-Produce Clean Hydrogen?

Paris Smalls, founder of Eden GeoPower / Bob O’Connor
ZAP ROCKS. ADD WATER. 

GET CLEAN HYDROGEN
Startup wields subterranean lightning strikes to conjure the gas
Ariel Bleicher
11 Aug 2026
13 min read

In a tranquil Boston suburb, on the far edge of a horse farm, where pasture gives way to woods, a crane lowers an enormous electrode into a borehole. The electrode, a half-meter-long cylinder with copper-tipped arms to ensure good contact with the borehole walls, descends—deeper, deeper—through layers of spongy sandstone to the hard, marbled roots of an ancient mountain range hundreds of meters below ground. Here the rock is tight; there are few cracks for water or gases to flow. But that’s about to change.

Employee Engagement Remains Flat as AI Adoption Accelerates

Frequent use and strong guidance separate simple access from measurable gains
by Jim Harter

During the first half of 2026, 31% of U.S. employees were engaged at work, unchanged from 2025. Eighteen percent were actively disengaged.

Georgetown presentation to explore search for historic Spanish shipwreck

Posted: Aug 13, 2026 / 08:59 AM EDT 

Georgetown County News 

by: Tim Renaud

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WCBD) – A public presentation in Georgetown on Thursday will examine an ongoing search for a shipwreck that researchers believe could help answer questions about one of the earliest European expeditions to what is now the United States.

The free event will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Winyah Auditorium and will focus on the search for the Spanish ship Capitana, the flagship of the 1526 expedition led by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón.

Hayden Panettiere Suffered Apparent Overdose, Was Unresponsive as ‘Advanced Life Support’ Was Administered Before Death

The actress died at a residence in Greenville, S. Carolina, on Sunday, Aug. 16
By Latoya Gayle, Alex Ross, and Sean Mandell
Updated on August 17, 2026 02:07PM EDT

Need To Know

• Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive in South Carolina and pronounced dead despite advanced life support efforts
• Authorities are investigating her death but have found no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances so far
• Panettiere was known for roles in Heroes, Nashville and the Scream franchise

Live Updates: Trump threatens to bomb Oman with Iran war stuck in stalemate as 60-day negotiation period ends

By Duarte Dias, Tucker Reals, Khaled Wassef
Updated on: August 17, 2026 / 11:11 AM EDT / CBS News

What to know about the Iran war today:

• Monday marks 60 days since the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding that called for a wider peace deal to be negotiated within that timeframe. After multiple flare-ups and suggestions of an imminent accord, there do not appear to be any concrete plans to end the 24-week war.
• President Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if the country "gets in the way" of U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war with Iran, according to Fox News. Earlier, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tehran had reached an agreement with Oman regarding future shipping routes in the strait.
• Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and adviser, met Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, a day after holding talks with Hamas leaders in Egypt to discuss the latest U.S.-backed peace proposal for the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu rejected the U.S.-backed proposal last week.

Trump Punishes South Korea for Saying No to His Iran War

August 16, 2026

Donald Trump’s decision to substantially reduce U.S.-South Korean military exercises is being presented partly as a gesture toward North Korea. But the most revealing element may be something else: South Korea’s refusal to participate in the U.S. campaign against Iran.

The Legal Paths to Hoarding Political and Economic Power

At the same time that the Supreme Court is making the political landscape less competitive, a series of corporate law developments is concentrating power within the commanding heights of the data economy.

It’s a moment for both hope and hesitation: recent victories in Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota, and New York suggest gathering political momentum on the left. Yet a defeat in Wisconsin and a judge’s temporary stay of New York City’s pied-à-terre tax offer reminders that every movement for social progress breeds its own countervailing reaction. But how does that reaction itself build power? The scaffolding for backlash, as the New York City decision suggests, is often found in the legal system.

Something Sparked a Technological Revolution in China 146,000 Years Ago—Archaeologists Have Now Linked It to a Mysterious Extinct Human Species

Micah Hanks

August 16, 2026

During the harsh conditions that prevailed in ice age China 146,000 years ago, a remarkable survival strategy was being developed by early humans—something that led to one of the region’s earliest technological revolutions.

Astronomers Discover the Existence of a Black Hole Star

When Soundgarden Wrote “Black Hole Sun,” they may have inadvertently been 

onto something

Jorge Garay, Science Aug 16, 2026 7:00 AM

In a new paper in Nature, scientists have chronicled a “black hole star” that’s the size of our solar system and glows bright red in the depth of space. The findings are based on observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, which continues to change how astronomers think about the cosmos.