Morning Digest
35 stories from 10 sources, 107 more held back.
A Greek-run tanker has been attacked in the Black Sea off the Russian coast after calling at a US-linked oil terminal, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The strike comes weeks after US Vice President J.D. Vance pressed Vladimir Zelensky to curb Ukrainian strikes on vessels using the hub.
Trump declares Hormuz ‘new US territory’. Iran has called US President Donald Trump “delusional” after he proclaimed the Strait of Hormuz a “new US territory.” Trump made the claim on the strategic waterway, which remains heavily disrupted due to the ongoing standoff, in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.
Congressional Democrats will introduce a war powers resolution prohibiting military action against Oman, after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the country for holding talks with Iran. Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump warned that “if Oman gets in the way” of his efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz via a peace deal favorable to the US, he would “bomb the sh*t out of them.
Russian and Egyptian nuclear authorities reject ‘biased’ Politico report. Russia and Egypt have strongly challenged a report by Politico alleging violations at the El Daba nuclear power project (NPP).
US rapper Kanye West could potentially meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the artist’s upcoming visit to Russia, a senior State Duma lawmaker has said. West, also known as Ye, is scheduled to perform in St. Petersburg on October 10 and 11 as part of his Ye Live Concert Tour.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could soon be out the door, as Donald Trump is in need of a scapegoat for the failed Iran war and desperate sailors on an aircraft carrier trying to jump overboard. Disney and ABC just filed a lawsuit against Trump’s FCC over what they say is a retaliation campaign against the network’s coverage of his administration.
Maggie Haberman comes up with viral nickname for Natalie Harp, Trump DOJ to send 1,000 election observers to polling places, sailors adrift for 4 days without power. U.S. President Donald Trump's executive assistant Natalie Harp disembarks Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 16, 2026.
A new report confirms that Donald Trump has stacked his administration with more centimillionaires and billionaires than the last three presidents combined. New polls shows that even the most hardcore Trump supporters are turning on him with less than three months to go before the midterms.
As robots become more autonomous and enter more spaces with people, the need for a trustworthy safety technology stack has grown. FORT Robotics Inc. today said it is merging with Newbury Street II Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
Sensing “skin” is among the technologies in development around physical AI including humanoid robots. Materials company Uni-Chem Co. this month acquired Loomia Technologies Inc. to enter the market for “electronic skin” for humanoids, as well as the market for interior materials for smart mobility.
With the new robot, Diligent is also launching its learning flywheel. The Austin, Texas-based company claimed that the proprietary world model learns from the experience of its robot fleet and improves continually with every hospital deployment. “Today, we’re deploying our most sophisticated physical AI platform yet,” stated Andrea Thomaz, founder and CEO of Diligent Robotics.
Coronary artery bypass grafting, or CABG, is the most common type of cardiac surgery in the world. Despite this, and the heavily invasive nature of the surgery, only 1% of these procedures are performed with the help of robots. At the El Camino Health Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI), surgeons are now performing CABG with Intuitive Surgical‘s da Vinci robotic system.
Summer is about creating memories. And for robots, that translates into generating lots of data. It’s also a time to catch up on reading.
Calling all comic lovers and baseball fanatics: All Baseball Comics is debuting a collection of three officially licensed books to expand your collection. Centered on the thesis that baseball is “the story of America,” the trio of issues features one spotlight on each of the Yankees, Dodgers and Cubs. They are available for preorder now on baseballcomics.com.
Crosstown Classic or WS preview? | Morning Lineup.
CHICAGO – The chants began before the Cubs could even hit play on the hype video ahead of the bottom of the 10th inning on Monday night. The fans inside Wrigley Field already knew who was due to bat and they sent his famous initials echoing through the old ballpark in anticipation of what could come next. Pete Crow-Armstrong did not let them down.
CHICAGO – With roughly six weeks remaining in the regular season, fans on Chicago’s North and South Sides can realistically dream about October baseball. The Cubs are in the thick of the National League Wild Card race, while the White Sox currently sit atop the American League Central.
This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Microspines are one of many ways to enable robots to latch onto surfaces like walls and ceilings. Now roboticists in Canada are using the mini spikes to get drones to land on a more challenging, remote surface: icebergs.
Humanoids desperately need to stop making YouTube videos and get a job already, and Persona AI is one of the few humanoid companies which seems to be entirely focused on making that happen. Persona’s approach has been to carefully select a job that is economically viable for robots right now, and they’ve found one that was also the job of one of the very first industrial robots ever sold: welding.
Twenty-eight days since the checkered flag fell on the previous stop on the Formula 1 calendar in Hungary, the 2026 season resumes on Sunday with the Dutch Grand Prix. The summer break is officially over and the paddock is reconvening on the shores of the North Sea. With 12 races taking place over the next 16 weeks, there will hardly be time for the sport's stars to catch their collective breath.
Bill Rasmussen, whose vision and ambition fueled the 1979 launch of ESPN as the world's first 24-hour television network, died Tuesday. Rasmussen died at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson's disease. With son Scott, Rasmussen conceived of the initial idea of ESPN -- first, as solely a Connecticut venture, and then as a 24-hour national sports network.
Hall strained his right groin in practice Monday but is expected to be "ready for the regular season," Glenn said. Hall went down on the grass field without being touched. He caught a swing pass in the red zone and was running toward an apparent touchdown, but he dropped to a knee a few yards from the end zone.
Oswaldo Pirela, 34, who is from Venezuela, was taken into custody early Sunday at El Paso (Texas) International Airport, his wife, Kemberly Avila, told The Athletic on Monday. He was not carrying his work permit card at the time, according to his brother, Jorge Pirela. The Padres' Triple-A affiliate is the El Paso Chihuahuas.
The seven-year contract follows a handful of agreements between Raytheon and DOD signed at the beginning of 2026, supporting the company’s yearly production rate of more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles. In January, Raytheon was awarded an additional $380.8 million for an existing contract for recertifying and upgrading Tomahawk missiles.
It's easier to develop new manufacturing processes and equipment than to develop new materials for manufacturing that have unique chemical and other properties, according to Z Polymers CEO Mike Zimmerman. However, innovative materials are what really drives product development, he said. “These things have typically taken a long time.
The MOU also orders DOD to replace the aircraft carrier-based Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems and the Advanced Weapons Elevators with “traditional steam and hydraulic systems” during the construction of the aircraft carrier CVN 81, or the USS Doris Miller.
Despite the U.S. economy losing 23,000 jobs last month, employment in manufacturing didn’t see much change according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, underscoring the sector's persistent demand for talent.
If you were picking a day to launch a GitHub competitor, you couldn't script a better one than the morning the legacy platform suffered a massive outage. Cursor just managed to hit that window, launching Origin as an alternative to the place the world has held its code for two decades.
AI has a trust problem, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei doesn't think a marketing campaign can fix it. Amodei just made a rare X appearance to answer claims that his AI safety talk is backfiring, framing the warnings as honesty rather than doom and pitching real breakthroughs in areas like medicine as the only route back for public opinion. P.S. — We’re hiring for seven open roles at The Rundown!
Qwen 3.8 27B scores 52 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (via) That's the same score as GPT-5.6 Luna (max), and just one point behind GLM-5.2 (max) and DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 (max) - that GLM is 753B and that DeepSeek is 1.6B parameters, and Luna is size unknown but presumably a whole lot bigger than 27B. Qwen 3.8 27B is a truly astonishing model.
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility. Excellent piece of reporting from 404 Media.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a walk-off win at Wrigley Field. For the 12th time this season, the Cubs won in walk-off fashion, topping the White Sox on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning Monday, grabbing a 7-5 victory in the first of this week’s three Crosstown games.
This site is free thanks to our community of supporters. Voluntary donations from readers like you keep our news accessible for everyone. Cubs and Sox fans swarm Wrigley Field for Crosstown Classic.
Crosstown in the thick of a playoff race is interesting enough. Could you imagine Crosstown in October? “Sign me up,” Cubs skipper Craig Counsell said before the first of three games with the White Sox on Monday at Wrigley Field.
Things were feeling a lot like May and June on Monday at Wrigley Field, with ample injury news and the Crosstown-rival White Sox on the schedule, challenging for intra-city supremacy.
A Greek-run tanker has been attacked in the Black Sea off the Russian coast after calling at a US-linked oil terminal, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The strike comes weeks after US Vice President J.D. Vance pressed Vladimir Zelensky to curb Ukrainian strikes on vessels using the hub.
Trump declares Hormuz ‘new US territory’. Iran has called US President Donald Trump “delusional” after he proclaimed the Strait of Hormuz a “new US territory.” Trump made the claim on the strategic waterway, which remains heavily disrupted due to the ongoing standoff, in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.
Congressional Democrats will introduce a war powers resolution prohibiting military action against Oman, after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the country for holding talks with Iran. Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump warned that “if Oman gets in the way” of his efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz via a peace deal favorable to the US, he would “bomb the sh*t out of them.
Russian and Egyptian nuclear authorities reject ‘biased’ Politico report. Russia and Egypt have strongly challenged a report by Politico alleging violations at the El Daba nuclear power project (NPP).
US rapper Kanye West could potentially meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the artist’s upcoming visit to Russia, a senior State Duma lawmaker has said. West, also known as Ye, is scheduled to perform in St. Petersburg on October 10 and 11 as part of his Ye Live Concert Tour.
Twenty-eight days since the checkered flag fell on the previous stop on the Formula 1 calendar in Hungary, the 2026 season resumes on Sunday with the Dutch Grand Prix. The summer break is officially over and the paddock is reconvening on the shores of the North Sea. With 12 races taking place over the next 16 weeks, there will hardly be time for the sport's stars to catch their collective breath.
Bill Rasmussen, whose vision and ambition fueled the 1979 launch of ESPN as the world's first 24-hour television network, died Tuesday. Rasmussen died at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson's disease. With son Scott, Rasmussen conceived of the initial idea of ESPN -- first, as solely a Connecticut venture, and then as a 24-hour national sports network.
Hall strained his right groin in practice Monday but is expected to be "ready for the regular season," Glenn said. Hall went down on the grass field without being touched. He caught a swing pass in the red zone and was running toward an apparent touchdown, but he dropped to a knee a few yards from the end zone.
Oswaldo Pirela, 34, who is from Venezuela, was taken into custody early Sunday at El Paso (Texas) International Airport, his wife, Kemberly Avila, told The Athletic on Monday. He was not carrying his work permit card at the time, according to his brother, Jorge Pirela. The Padres' Triple-A affiliate is the El Paso Chihuahuas.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could soon be out the door, as Donald Trump is in need of a scapegoat for the failed Iran war and desperate sailors on an aircraft carrier trying to jump overboard. Disney and ABC just filed a lawsuit against Trump’s FCC over what they say is a retaliation campaign against the network’s coverage of his administration.
Maggie Haberman comes up with viral nickname for Natalie Harp, Trump DOJ to send 1,000 election observers to polling places, sailors adrift for 4 days without power. U.S. President Donald Trump's executive assistant Natalie Harp disembarks Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 16, 2026.
A new report confirms that Donald Trump has stacked his administration with more centimillionaires and billionaires than the last three presidents combined. New polls shows that even the most hardcore Trump supporters are turning on him with less than three months to go before the midterms.
Calling all comic lovers and baseball fanatics: All Baseball Comics is debuting a collection of three officially licensed books to expand your collection. Centered on the thesis that baseball is “the story of America,” the trio of issues features one spotlight on each of the Yankees, Dodgers and Cubs. They are available for preorder now on baseballcomics.com.
Crosstown Classic or WS preview? | Morning Lineup.
CHICAGO – The chants began before the Cubs could even hit play on the hype video ahead of the bottom of the 10th inning on Monday night. The fans inside Wrigley Field already knew who was due to bat and they sent his famous initials echoing through the old ballpark in anticipation of what could come next. Pete Crow-Armstrong did not let them down.
CHICAGO – With roughly six weeks remaining in the regular season, fans on Chicago’s North and South Sides can realistically dream about October baseball. The Cubs are in the thick of the National League Wild Card race, while the White Sox currently sit atop the American League Central.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a walk-off win at Wrigley Field. For the 12th time this season, the Cubs won in walk-off fashion, topping the White Sox on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning Monday, grabbing a 7-5 victory in the first of this week’s three Crosstown games.
This site is free thanks to our community of supporters. Voluntary donations from readers like you keep our news accessible for everyone. Cubs and Sox fans swarm Wrigley Field for Crosstown Classic.
Crosstown in the thick of a playoff race is interesting enough. Could you imagine Crosstown in October? “Sign me up,” Cubs skipper Craig Counsell said before the first of three games with the White Sox on Monday at Wrigley Field.
Things were feeling a lot like May and June on Monday at Wrigley Field, with ample injury news and the Crosstown-rival White Sox on the schedule, challenging for intra-city supremacy.
As robots become more autonomous and enter more spaces with people, the need for a trustworthy safety technology stack has grown. FORT Robotics Inc. today said it is merging with Newbury Street II Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
Sensing “skin” is among the technologies in development around physical AI including humanoid robots. Materials company Uni-Chem Co. this month acquired Loomia Technologies Inc. to enter the market for “electronic skin” for humanoids, as well as the market for interior materials for smart mobility.
With the new robot, Diligent is also launching its learning flywheel. The Austin, Texas-based company claimed that the proprietary world model learns from the experience of its robot fleet and improves continually with every hospital deployment. “Today, we’re deploying our most sophisticated physical AI platform yet,” stated Andrea Thomaz, founder and CEO of Diligent Robotics.
Coronary artery bypass grafting, or CABG, is the most common type of cardiac surgery in the world. Despite this, and the heavily invasive nature of the surgery, only 1% of these procedures are performed with the help of robots. At the El Camino Health Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI), surgeons are now performing CABG with Intuitive Surgical‘s da Vinci robotic system.
Summer is about creating memories. And for robots, that translates into generating lots of data. It’s also a time to catch up on reading.
This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Microspines are one of many ways to enable robots to latch onto surfaces like walls and ceilings. Now roboticists in Canada are using the mini spikes to get drones to land on a more challenging, remote surface: icebergs.
Humanoids desperately need to stop making YouTube videos and get a job already, and Persona AI is one of the few humanoid companies which seems to be entirely focused on making that happen. Persona’s approach has been to carefully select a job that is economically viable for robots right now, and they’ve found one that was also the job of one of the very first industrial robots ever sold: welding.
Qwen 3.8 27B scores 52 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (via) That's the same score as GPT-5.6 Luna (max), and just one point behind GLM-5.2 (max) and DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 (max) - that GLM is 753B and that DeepSeek is 1.6B parameters, and Luna is size unknown but presumably a whole lot bigger than 27B. Qwen 3.8 27B is a truly astonishing model.
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility. Excellent piece of reporting from 404 Media.
The seven-year contract follows a handful of agreements between Raytheon and DOD signed at the beginning of 2026, supporting the company’s yearly production rate of more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles. In January, Raytheon was awarded an additional $380.8 million for an existing contract for recertifying and upgrading Tomahawk missiles.
It's easier to develop new manufacturing processes and equipment than to develop new materials for manufacturing that have unique chemical and other properties, according to Z Polymers CEO Mike Zimmerman. However, innovative materials are what really drives product development, he said. “These things have typically taken a long time.
The MOU also orders DOD to replace the aircraft carrier-based Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems and the Advanced Weapons Elevators with “traditional steam and hydraulic systems” during the construction of the aircraft carrier CVN 81, or the USS Doris Miller.
Despite the U.S. economy losing 23,000 jobs last month, employment in manufacturing didn’t see much change according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, underscoring the sector's persistent demand for talent.
If you were picking a day to launch a GitHub competitor, you couldn't script a better one than the morning the legacy platform suffered a massive outage. Cursor just managed to hit that window, launching Origin as an alternative to the place the world has held its code for two decades.
AI has a trust problem, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei doesn't think a marketing campaign can fix it. Amodei just made a rare X appearance to answer claims that his AI safety talk is backfiring, framing the warnings as honesty rather than doom and pitching real breakthroughs in areas like medicine as the only route back for public opinion. P.S. — We’re hiring for seven open roles at The Rundown!