Early Edition: August 31, 2026

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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:

IRAN WAR 

The United States and Iran over the weekend exchanged strikes for the first time in a month. U.S. forces attacked two Iranian rocket launchers on Iran’s Larak Island attempting to disperse sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, according to Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp today said they had fired at air bases in Jordan and the UAE in response to the U.S. strikes. Jordan’s armed forces claim to have intercepted and destroyed eight missiles. The UAE’s Defense Ministry today denied Iranian reports that Al Minhad Air Base had been targeted by missiles. Earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry confirmed they intercepted an Iranian drone that was detected over its waters. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times; Jalen Beckford reports for POLITICO; Reuters reports; David Rising reports for AP News.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday announced that the department would propose a rule prohibiting U.S. banks from facilitating transactions in the UAE-based branches of Banque Misr, one of Egypt’s largest banks.  In an interview with Reuters yesterday, Bessent said that the department is likely to unveil weekly new secondary sanctions, with an initial focus on banks. In a separate interview, Bessent told AP News that the administration also plans to impose sanctions on another unnamed bank. Michael Stratford reports for POLITICO; David Lawder reports; Fatima Hussein reports.

Airwars, a conflict monitor, today released a review on the initial strikes of Iran in February, which found that Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike Missile sprayed pellets that killed civilians up to 164 feet away, and damaged property around 500 feet away. The blasts killed at least 21 civilians, including seven children, according to Iranian officials. Julia Frankel reports for AP News. 

[Editor’s note: Readers may be interested in Michael W. Meier, “Precision Strike Missiles” (PrSMs) in Iran War: The U.S. Obligation to Conduct a Legal Review of New Weapons, Just Security, April 1, 2026]

IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS 

Several U.S. military leaders have advised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to respond to threats elsewhere, sources told the Washington Post yesterday. The warnings were from the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book. The SDOB outlines the availability of U.S. warships, aircraft, personnel, and weapons systems globally. Alex Horton and Tara Copp report.

Israel’s Shin Bet security agency yesterday said it urgently evacuated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s oldest son from the United States due to a threat against him. They did not elaborate as to what the threat was. POLITICO reports.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

Multiple Israeli airstrikes took place over the weekend, killing ten people, including a three-year-old child. On Friday, a rare West Bank airstrike was launched, which killed a Hamas operative and two of his accomplices, according to the Israeli military. Hamas confirmed that the man targeted was one of their members. In Gaza, Nasser Hospital officials said five people were killed in strikes. The Israeli military confirmed it had struck Gaza city but was not aware of a strike that hit a family home outside Khan Younis. Yesterday Gaza medics reported an airstrike landed near a bakery in Deir Al-Balah, killing a man and a three-year-old. The Israeli military said it attacked and killed a Hamas militant. Hussam Nusair. Mohamad Torokman, Ali Sawafta, Nidal al-Mughrabi, and Rami Ayyub report for Reuters; AP News reports; Nidal al-Mughrabi and Steve Scheer report for Reuters.

WEST BANK VIOLENCE

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers on Saturday attacked a home surrounding the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, while a separate attack took place in the Palestinian town of Jalud. According to the Qusra homeowner, the Israeli military fired tear gas into the home outside Qusra, and then handcuffed, blindfolded, and beat those inside. The Israeli military said in a statement that troops and border police forces had arrived on the scene to remove “rioters” and protect residents in the house. The attacks in Jalud injured reporters with NBC News who were interviewing a Palestinian woman driven out of her home. Netanyahu condemned the attacks, and blamed them on a “handful of rioters.” Pesha Magid reports for Reuters; F. Brinley Bruton reports; Aaron Boxerman and Pranav Baskar report for the New York Times.

 RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Sources told Axios on Saturday that C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe floated the idea of a trilateral meeting between President Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during his meeting with Russian officials on Tuesday. Zelenskyy on Friday said that the United States had given him information from the meetings, and thanked them for “the necessary tone of the conversation with Russia.” Barak Ravid reports; Anna Peverieri reports for Reuters.

A Russian strike on an ammunition depot in the Kyiv region on Friday caused an explosion that killed at least 37 people, according to Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy stated that under Ukrainian law the ammunition depot should not have been located in a populated area, and vowed to punish the negligence which allowed for storage of explosive materials near people. Anastasiia Malenko reports for the Wall Street Journal; Dan Peleschuk reports for Reuters; Siobhan O’Grady and Yurii Shyvala report for the New York Times.

A Ukrainian missile attack yesterday killed two people, injured 16, and set ablaze seven warehouses in the Russian city of Belgorod, according to acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev. Russian online retailer Ozon also reported that a logistics hub and sorting facility in Belogorod came under attack. It remains unclear if Ozon’s report refers to the same facilities as Shuvayev’s announcement. Reuters reports.

A NATO official yesterday said the alliance sees no imminent threat of attack from Russia. However, they acknowledged that Russia is stepping up its “hybrid acts in Europe.” Lili Bayer and Anna Koper report for Reuters.

Ukraine’s former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that he is seeking U.S. investment for a defense technology fund, in an interview published by the Financial Times yesterday. Fedorov did not give details of his role with the fund nor whether he might personally benefit from it. Christopher Miller reports.

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT 

A flash flood at the Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday killed one person, while another 15 people are missing. Park workers and the Arizona Department of Public Safety have evacuated 62 people, and are continuing evacuation and response efforts. Johnny Diaz, Lauren McGaughy, Christina Morales, and Jack Healy report for the New York Times.

The Canadian Government on Friday asked a court to toss out a high-profile environmental lawsuit, arguing that the government is not required to update Canada’s climate plan to meet national emissions reduction targets. The government also stated it is not the court’s role to direct climate policy. The lawsuit, launched in June by three young people and two environmental groups, alleges that not updating the climate plan violates the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. David Thurton reports for CBC News.

A report published today says that the world’s coral reefs are running out of time for recovery. The report also found that the world’s coral reefs had declined by 9.5% between 2020-2024, matching the decline between 1980-2009. Quinn Glabicki reports for the New York Times.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS

Elon Musk’s xAI has recently sued two of its users over terms of service violations relating to their usage of Grok to create explicit images of children, in an attempt to fend off lawsuits against the company over the child sexual abuse material allegedly created by Grok. The company’s lawsuits seek to hold those users responsible for “all reasonable expenses” xAI incurs defending itself against lawsuits their alleged victims file against the company. Hassan Ali Kanu reports for POLITICO.

Financial Stability Board Chair Andrew Bailey today said that the impact of AI on cyber risk was the most immediate concern for the global financial system. In a letter to G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, Bailey said many countries do not have systems in place to manage the deployment of advanced AI models, and that the financial sector’s dependence on a handful of powerful tech providers could undermine system-wide market confidence. Phoebe Seers reports for Reuters.

Units of Sony Music and Warner Music on Friday filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, alleging one of the “largest and most blatant ongoing thefts of intellectual property in history.” It alleges Anthropic unlawfully trained its models off tens of thousands of copyrighted compositions. Ben Berkowitz reports for Axios.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS  

The Chinese Embassy in Nepal on Saturday rebuked claims that China could have given Nepal some advance warning of the floods last week. The Embassy claims that China makes every effort to monitor Himalayan terrain for risks and share information, but that the task is complicated by the fact that risks are dispersed across the Himalayas. Krishna Pokharel and Tripti Lahiri report for the Wall Street Journal.

Nepali Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle on Saturday told Reuters that Nepal may need $4-5 billion to rebuild after the floods, which would account for one-tenth of their economy. Wagle did not elaborate on why the reconstruction bill was expected to be less than the $9 billion spent after the 2015 earthquake. Saurabh Sharma reports. 

Iceland on Saturday narrowly voted against restarting negotiations to join the EU. Results published yesterday showed 52.8% of voters rejected reopening talks. Kim Mackrael reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Greece today is expected to sign a deal with Israel for a multi-layer air defense system worth $3.5 billion. Reuters reports.

A group of soldiers from an airbase in Niamey, Niger on Saturday attacked the capital’s airport, triggering hours of gunfire and explosions which briefly knocked state television and radio off air. Yesterday, Niger’s army, backed by Russian paramilitary forces, regained control of the key military airbase. Reuters reports.

An Ecuadorean court on Friday found former President Lenin Moreno guilty in a bribery case tied to the construction of the country’s largest hydroelectric plant. Moreno was sentenced to five years in prison and has been permanently barred from holding any public office in the future. Reuters reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Trump announced on Friday that the United States has struck a deal with Venezuela, giving a private company long-term rights to develop oil fields holding an estimated 65 billion barrels of reserves. Under the agreement, the U.S. government would take a 35% passive stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, with the Pentagon helping finance the venture. Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodriguez confirmed the deal in a public statement, where she praised the Trump administration and said the deal could bring $209 billion in additional tax revenue for Venezuela. Trump said yesterday that oil from the deal will be used to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Marc Caputo reports for Axios; Vera Bergengruen, Drew Fitzgerald, Collin Eaton , and Juan Forero report for the Wall Street Journal; David Thomas reports fo Reuters. 

The Department of Justice on Friday corrected earlier claims that Chinese hackers had breached several government agencies, saying the U.S. Senate, the Federal Reserve, NASA, and others were among its targets. The DOJ said it had edited its August 26 press release to accurately reflect the FBI’s affidavit. A.J. Vicens and Raphael Satter report for Reuters.  

Google announced yesterday that it has updated its maps application to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States, following Trump’s executive order signed last week. “People using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the United States and Canada will see both names,” Google said. AP News reports.  

North Korea said today that the United States’ hostile policy remained unchanged and vowed to continue strengthening its nuclear force, according to a statement from a foreign ministry spokesperson. Kyu-Seok Shim reports for Reuters.  

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS  

ICE on Thursday arrested and detained Milo Yiannopoulos, a British right-wing commentator, at Louisiana airport, the Department of Homeland Security said. Yiannopoulos legally entered the United States in 2019, but “chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” DHS added. Yiannopoulos was deported back to the United Kingdom on Saturday. Elizabeth Wolfe and Eduardo Cuevas report for CNN; Chris Kirkham reports for Reuters.  

A U.S deportation flight carrying about 70 people left for the Central African Republic on Friday, according to advocacy organizations. On board was a 24-year-old Afghan national whose father, brother, and sister worked alongside U.S. forces, said AfghanEvac. Miriam Jordan and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times.  

Border Czar Tom Homan yesterday defended the Trump administration’s ongoing deportations to Haiti despite the State Department’s advisory warning U.S. citizens against traveling there. Homan said in an interview that the administration was simply complying with the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian migrants. Cheyanne M. Daniles reports for POLITICO.  

10 individuals, who were on a U.S. deportation flight to Liberia this month, described a harrowing journey that followed months in detention in the United States and abusive or violent treatment by ICE, according to interviews with the New York Times. Leonardo Sánchez said he cried in pain for hours on the deportation flight, but the agents would not remove his chains or let him use the toilet. Those who protested on the flight were beaten by agents, five of the deportees said. Sánchez and three others refused to disembark in Liberia, and after being forced onto the tarmac by agents, they were carried back onto the flight and taken instead to Equatorial Guinea. Emmanuel Akinwotu, Pranav Baskar, Genevieve Glatskiy, and Hamed Aleaziz.

The Department of Homeland Security last year devised a legal tool that made it possible for National Guard members to participate in immigration enforcement operations, according to an internal memo obtained by POLITICO. The memo said the Homeland Security Secretary can designate any federal employee, which Guard troops become when they are ordered to another state, as an immigration officer. The agency has yet to use the argument in court. Eric Bazail-Eimil reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

Walmart will pay $50 million to settle claims that its pharmacies filled hundreds of thousands of suspicious prescriptions for opioids, which helped fuel a national drug abuse crisis, the Justice Department said on Friday. Ishani Desai reports for the New York Times. 

A military judge ruled on Friday that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed’s confessions to FBI agents at Guantánamo in 2007 were not voluntary and cannot be used against him in trial. Mohammed is accused of being the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.  

A federal appeals court on Friday overturned a jury verdict that found a Virginia military contractor liable for the abuse of three Iraqis detained at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 and 2004. The court said a recent Supreme Cuurt ruling had effectively eliminated the legal basis for the men’s claims under the Alient Tort Statute. Mattathias Schwartz reports for the New York Times.  

A lawsuit filed this month alleges that KRSM obtained about $4 million worth of fuel without paying and sold some of it to Freedom Fuel Network stations, potentially explaining their unusually low prices. The White House has promoted Freedom Fuel’s unusually cheap prices, with Trump personally praising the stations. Kathy Gilsinan reports for POLITICO. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS 

The Pentagon has quietly placed several conservative military influencers, including Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter and Thomas Anderson, in civilian government roles, according to sources, while they continue to amplify Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s viewpoints and attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration. The undisclosed appointments have raised concerns about taxpayer-funded partisan messaging and transparency, particularly because some of the influencers have continued political commentary without revealing their Pentagon employment. Dan Lamothe and Tara Copp reports for the Washington Post. 

Hegseth is blocking the promotions of four more Army officers selected for promotion to one-star rank, current and former defense officials said. Hegseth has removed at least 45 officers from promotion lists this year, more than half of whom have been women or Black. Greg Jaffe, Eric Schmitt, and Helene Cooper report for the New York Times.  

Trump said yesterday on social media that NBC’s Kristen Welker will be reported to the Federal Communications Commission for “rebuke or punishment,” after she noted that Trump’s success in endorsing political candidates has been mixed. Andrew Chung reports for Reuters. 

The Pentagon on Friday gave a one-week reprieve to three Stars and Stripes journalists facing imminent dismissal for speaking out about threats to editorial independence. The delay was announced in a hearing on Friday, a day after the three journalists filed a lawsuit alleging the firing violates their First Amendment rights. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Trump administration violated the First and Fifth amendment rights of international students when it sought to deport them for criticizing Israel’s war in Gaza. Gregory Svirnovskiy and Ben Johansen report for POLITICO.

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow the U.S. military to fully enforce its ban on transgender service members. Ann E. Marimow and Dave Philipps report for the New York Times.

The Trump administration on Friday appealed a freeze on Trump’s plan to restrict mail-in voting. The move came less than a day after a federal judge found that a Postal Service rule published last week was likely unconstitutional and exceeded the agency’s authority. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.

California filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Trump administration and Golden State Wind, saying their agreement to forgo a wind farm near Morro Bay jeopardized thousands of jobs and the state’s investment in the offshore wind industry. Heather Knight reports for the New York Times.

A federal judge on Friday declined again to erase Trump’s hush money conviction, noting the president’s arguments were “neither new nor legally sufficient.” Josephine Walker reports for Axios.

Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.

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