https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eUM7QBOWxgk
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
U.S. school vaccination rates inch down again as exemptions reach record high | PBS News
All states allow exemptions for children with medical conditions that prevent them from receiving certain vaccines. And most also permit exemptions for religious or other nonmedical reasons. In the last decade, the percentage of kindergartners with medical exemptions has held steady, at about 0.2%. But the percentage with nonmedical exemptions has risen...
Trump’s rosy Hormuz claims collide with tanker data - POLITICO
It appears as if Wright was “just pulling a number out of the air,” said Matt Smith, director of Commodity Research at Kpler, a leading firm tracking tanker movements.
“The reality is that Iran has the leverage, Iran has the control,” he said. “The only tankers that are really passing through the Strait of Hormuz are those that are operating through Iranian waters.”…
The Right Is Targeting Abdul El-Sayed’s Family Members – Mother Jones
Since Abdul El-Sayed’s win earlier this month to become the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s US Senate seat, the right has ramped up its attacks on him, condemning his past comments as evidence of him being a “terrorist” and “radical Islamist” or a “jihadist sympathizer” who is “infiltrating from within”. But it has also targeted El-Sayed’s family—including his wife, Sarah Jukaku, a psychiatrist, and his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, a writer and assistant professor at the University of Chicago...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/the-right-is-targeting-abdul-el-sayeds-family-members/
Former federal prosecutor sues DOJ for 'unlawful and retaliatory' firing : NPR
The "unstated reason," according to the complaint, was her work prosecuting eight anti-abortion activists with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, which prohibits intentionally interfering with reproductive health care services, including abortions...
"Unlawful terminations are a frequent tool of the Trump Administration to achieve its political aims," the lawsuit says. "DOJ officials have repeatedly attempted to justify firings and workforce reductions by portraying the employees targeted as culpable for the now-disfavored cases they had been assigned."…
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/17/g-s1-138997/former-federal-prosecutor-sue-doj-retaliatory-firing
Private Schools Where 100% of Students Use Vouchers Barely Face Any Oversight — ProPublica
Private schools — even those that are heavily dependent on taxpayer funding — often operate without the scrutiny public schools are subject to. Following the money at one Milwaukee private school reveals an opaque world with little oversight...
https://www.propublica.org/article/private-schools-vouchers-wisconsin-atlas-preparatory
Ukraine's drone strikes challenge Russia's grip on Crimea
"Putin's got a problem here," said Mark Montgomery, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral who comes to Ukraine regularly to help train the military. He's been keeping a close watch on Crimea.
"You cannot keep that many people in a place with limited water, no fuel, limited foodstuffs. I mean, they're going to have to leave," he said...
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/13/nx-s1-5904418/ukraine-crimea-russia-drone-strikes
AI slop is swamping a House office that drafts US laws - POLITICO
They said AI’s ability to quickly generate mountains of text is forcing the OLC’s lawyers to spend significantly more time reviewing and rewriting the proposals. And in many cases, the drafts are plagued by mistakes that could ripple well beyond Washington — tying up the passage of legislation and risking lawsuits over erroneously cited statutes or incorrect legal definitions...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/17/ai-slop-lawmakers-congress-01008376
Trump blames vandals for damaged grass in the spot where he held his July 4 celebration | PBS News
The photo Trump posted matches what you'd expect to see with a large summer event, according to Penn State University turf professor John Kaminski.
"Nothing in the photograph clearly indicates vandalism. Jumping to that conclusion seems like a fairly large leap, although it is impossible to rule anything in or out," he said…
Appeals court denies Trump administration request to reconsider Michigan voter rolls case
The Trump administration has said it needs that information to ensure that Michigan — and other states where it's seeking access to similar files — is following federal election law. Michigan officials argued the federal government is unconstitutionally intruding into elections that are legally under the supervision of state and local governments, and that its actions will "intimidate and spread fear among voters."…
DHS defends giving warnings to agency critics : NPR
"They effectively concede that this is protected political speech. And I think that should send alarm bells ringing, because now you have the government saying, 'Yeah, we acknowledge this is protected political speech, but it's critical that we issue warning notices about this.'"
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/17/nx-s1-5934692/dhs-free-speech-investigations
Trump votes by mail again in his home state of Florida - POLITICO
Voting records from Palm Beach County show the president requested his ballot in late July and it was returned on Aug. 13...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/17/trump-vote-by-mail-primaries-florida-01039292
Trump orders cuts to South Korea joint drills despite warnings about Kim regime
President says he ‘gets along great’ with dictator but US officials say Ukraine war is boosting North’s capabilities…
Supreme Court asked to review Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools | PBS News
In their Supreme Court brief, the families' attorneys argue that the law violates basic First Amendment principles governing the separation of church and state.
"The question of whether a state may impose scripture on impressionable, captive-audience children — for nearly every hour of every school day, for up to (13) years — implicates the most fundamental guarantees of the First Amendment and our Nation's highest ideals," they wrote...
Michigan coal power plant, set to close more than a year ago, is again ordered to keep running
But environmental groups have challenged the orders in court, arguing that the Energy Department is misusing its emergency powers when no true emergency exists. Consumers Energy had a plan to replace the Campbell plant with cleaner energy sources, and the state of Michigan and the mid-continent power grid operator had both approved the closure. The push to keep the Michigan coal plant operating is part of a broader Trump administration effort to "reinvigorate and expand America’s coal industry."…
DTE-funded group sues Ann Arbor after it approves November ballot question for city-owned utility
A citizens group called Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2) wants voters in November to say yes to a charter amendment that would establish a Municipal Electric Utility Board, in order to eventually separate the city from its electric power supplier, DTE Energy, and create a city-owned electric utility.
The lawsuit claims there were not enough valid signatures on the petitions submitted by A2P2, and that Beaudry wrongly allowed the group to submit supplemental petition sheets after her initial canvas...
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