Morning Digest

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

25 stories from 4 sources, 64 more held back.

RT

New York probes ‘predatory’ prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi

New York City Council is investigating Polymarket, Kalshi, and other predictive market platforms for “deceptive and predatory” marketing practices, accusing the industry of encouraging gambling and insider trading. Council Speaker Julie Menin notified Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, and Gemini Titan of the investigation on Tuesday.

RT 7:02 PM

Beyond the headlines, Pakistan and Russia are drawing closer

Sometimes trust develops gradually in settings that most people are unaware of, such as a working group, a ministerial handshake, or an agreement made on the fringes of a summit that garners national attention for a single day. For the better part of a decade, Pakistan and Russia have been developing this kind of trust.

RT 6:22 PM

Most Poles want unemployed military-age Ukrainian men deported – IBRiS survey

Most Poles would back the deportation of unemployed military-age Ukrainian men, a recent survey by the Warsaw-based IBRiS Institute for Market and Social Research has indicated. Public perception of Ukrainians in Poland has deteriorated in recent months amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries linked to Kiev’s lionization of the perpetrators of WWII massacres of Poles.

RT 5:41 PM

Pentagon accused of ‘whitewashing’ US civilian casualties

The Pentagon was accused of whitewashing US Army crimes after publishing its annual estimate of civilian casualties in 2025. The report, submitted to Congress late Monday and obtained by US news outlets, contains numbers that are far lower than estimates by independent outlets. The Pentagon concluded that US military operations killed 153 civilians and injured 243 last year.

RT 5:05 PM

UK PM Burnham calls for wider distribution of asylum seekers

UK’s Burnham calls for more housing for illegal immigrants. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for immigrants to be housed more widely across the UK, as the country continues to grapple with large numbers of people crossing the English Channel.

RT 4:58 PM

Force is the only language West understands – Carl Zha to RT

Moscow’s response for seizing Russian vessels will put West in its place – Carl Zha to RT. The only response Western nations will understand for seizing Russian commercial vessels is a forceful one, including retaliation in kind, Carl Zha, the host of the Silk and Steel podcast, told RT.

RT 4:52 PM

US calls Kiev to heel over Black Sea tanker attacks – FT

The US called Ukraine to heel for targeting oil tankers in the Black Sea after Kiev began launching drone attacks on vessels sailing to a partly US-owned Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in Russia, the Financial Times reported. The CPC funnels Kazakh crude across southern Russia to a marine terminal near Novorossiysk, where tankers carry it onward to Europe and Asia.

RT 3:09 PM

Russian military praises female drone pilot

A video recently released by the Russian Defense Ministry features a female drone pilot reporting the details of a successful battle against Ukrainian forces. Women are being increasingly accepted for combat roles in the country, marking a shift in gender roles.

RT 2:17 PM

The empire’s last aces: Russia in the skies of World War I

When we think of WWI-era aviation, what usually comes to mind is the ‘Red Baron’ and Zeppelin raids—in short, most people think of the Western Front in all its fury. However, few people know that during the First World War, Russia was waging its own aerial war, full of challenges and drama. Aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky didn’t plan to build a bomber.

RT 1:52 PM

Raw America

Revealed: Trump Flew with Young Blonde Aide While Leaving Cabinet Behind

New details are emerging about Donald Trump’s secret flight out of Turkey last month in a decoy jet, with a new report finding that he made sure his favorite young blonde staffer came with him while top Cabinet officials got left behind. Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton got publicly humiliated on a phone town hall when a voter asked him why he cheated on his wife.

Raw America 4:00 PM

Breaking: Trump Throws Tantrum and Demands Pirro Revive Doomed Case

Trump is now demanding his Justice Department resurrect criminal charges against a former American Olympian, even after his own handpicked prosecutor admitted there was no evidence. Former President Barack Obama couldn’t help but mock Trump’s gold-gilded Oval Office during a cameo on HBO Max.

Raw America 10:41 PM

Kelly Dietrich of the National Democratic Training Center on Building the Next Blue Wave

With the midterms less than three months away, Raw America managing editor Carl Gibson interviewed Kelly Dietrich, founder and CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC), to talk about how Democrats can get involved in 2026 campaigns, and how they can mount candidacies of their own up and down the ticket in 2028. Gibson and Dietrich covered various topics, including:.

Raw America 10:04 PM

ESPN

Chiefs' Travis Kelce says he can still 'play at a high level'

JOSEPH, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce says he believes he can perform at a higher level in what could be his final NFL season, adding that he also wants to be more accountable as a leader in the locker room. "I've still got a lot of love for this game," Kelce said Wednesday. "I want to go out there and prove to myself that I can play at a better level than I did last year.

ESPN 3:11 PM

Rory McIlroy sure he'll keep PGA Tour status despite 14 starts

Masters champion Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that he's confident he'll reach a compromise with the PGA Tour to fulfill his minimum qualification of playing in 15 events this season to maintain his dual membership. After skipping the FedEx St. Jude Championship last year, McIlroy is playing in the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs this week at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

ESPN 3:01 PM

Russell Westbrook announces NBA retirement after 18 seasons

Westbrook, who was the No. 4 pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, had career averages of 20.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. Westbrook holds the NBA record for most career triple-doubles with 209. He has held the league record since 2021 when he recorded his 182nd triple-double to surpass Oscar Robertson's long-standing mark of 181, which had stood since 1974.

ESPN 3:01 PM

Jets' Qwan'tez Stiggers in concussion protocol after collapsing

Glenn said that Stiggers has entered the NFL's concussion protocol after displaying symptoms Tuesday. "Talked to him a good amount last night and he's doing well," Glenn said Wednesday. "I talked to his wife and she's taking good care of him, so happy about that."

ESPN 3:01 PM

Aaron Rodgers wishes game at Lambeau, discusses retirement return

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- If this is indeed Aaron Rodgers' final season, he will end his career without playing at Lambeau Field as a visitor, something he thought might happen this season. In advance of Thursday's Packers-Steelers preseason game in Pittsburgh, Rodgers said when he first heard the teams were slated to play this summer, he had hoped it would be in Green Bay.

ESPN 3:01 PM

Ben Johnson wants Bears to have 'highest-scoring offense ever'

Ben Johnson is setting a high bar this season for the Chicago Bears -- even higher than winning the Super Bowl. Johnson outlined his goals for the 2026 season, his second as the Bears' head coach, as part of a wide-ranging profile published Wednesday by The Athletic. "You've got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying, 'Our goal is to win the Super Bowl.

ESPN 1:50 PM

Tua Tagovailoa to start Friday, not yet named Falcons' QB1

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will start Friday night in the team's preseason opener against the Denver Broncos, coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday. That does not necessarily mean Tagovailoa will be the starter Week 1, though.

ESPN 1:50 PM

Pushed out of San Diego, Lozano is 'perfect football fit' for Galaxy

Mexican superstar Hirving Lozano finds himself in new surroundings for the rest of the 2026 MLS season. Following much-publicized internal tension with 2025 league debutants San Diego FC, which led to him sitting on the sideline for months, the 31-year-old former face of the franchise has made the move on loan to Southern California rivals LA Galaxy to close out the rest of campaign.

ESPN 1:09 PM

FedEx Cup playoffs: What to watch over the next three weeks

The PGA Tour's band is back together this week, at least the two most accomplished and popular golfers, as the FedEx Cup playoffs tee off with the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday. World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy are both in the field after the latter skipped the first leg of the playoffs last season.

ESPN 12:57 PM

2026 NBA Cup: Schedule, format, groups, updates and more

Which two teams will face off inside Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup? On Wednesday, the league unveiled the full group stage schedule for this year's in-season tournament, with action taking place every Friday from Oct. 30 to Nov. 27 and on special Cup nights during Thanksgiving week (Nov. 24-25).

ESPN 12:57 PM

The Rundown AI

Anthropic slips an invisible signature into Claude

That memo you just worked with Claude to write? It might soon carry an invisible signature that says so. Anthropic just quietly detailed the rollout of invisible watermarks that label everything its Claude models touch, and, like most features forced onto the world, a lot of users aren’t happy about it.

The Rundown AI 12:00 AM