Morning Digest
35 stories from 8 sources, 57 more held back.
Last week I recorded an episode of the Talking Postgres podcast with Claire Giordano on the subject of “How AI is changing software development”. We had a really great conversation. Here are a couple of my highlights from a lightly edited transcript (prompt to Claude: “very minor edits to remove disfluencies”).
Donald Trump was caught on camera this week holding a “cheat sheet” in the Oval Office, the same kind of note card Republicans once said was proof Joe Biden had dementia. Newly surfaced video shows Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sitting almost completely motionless for hours during a Senate vote session just days before he completely vanished from public view.
U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a cabinet meeting at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland, U.S., July 31, 2026.
A new book claims Trump White House staffer Natalie Harp was perhaps the biggest driving force behind the destruction of the East Wing of the White House, which houses the First Lady’s office. New FCC documents show Chairman Brendan Carr has been in constant contact with right-wing media executives and White House officials while refusing to discuss any of it in public.
A far-right Florida congressman was just caught on video rifling through a voter’s mailbox, which is a textbook federal felony. A Republican congressman in South Carolina is turning on Donald Trump for endorsing his primary opponent, accusing the president of abandoning his MAGA base.
CHICAGO -- The crowd inside Wrigley Field roared as the baseball that left Alex Bregman’s bat in the seventh inning on Wednesday afternoon carried high over left field. It seemed destined for the bleachers, but this was one of those days when the wind can transform the old ballpark into a hitter’s nightmare.
CHICAGO -- Cade Townsend had been to Wrigley Field a handful of times when he was a kid. He remembers coming to games with his family a decade ago -- getting a chance to see the 2016 champions in person -- and has photos of himself wearing Cubs gear in the stands at the Friendly Confines. “And now I’m sitting in the dugout,” Townsend said on Wednesday morning.
CHICAGO -- When Alex Bregman signed a long-term contract with the Cubs in January, the goal was to help the organization return to the October stage and push for its first World Series triumph in a decade. The veteran third baseman also has work he wants to do off the diamond.
Bregman walks it off for the Cubs | Morning Lineup.
CHICAGO – Kevin Gausman removed his glove and inspected his left hand, while Cubs manager Craig Counsell emerged from the dugout and made his way to the mound. It was the second time the veteran starter had to pause due to the issue and Counsell opted against pushing Gausman any further.
CHICAGO – In the hours leading up to Tuesday night’s game, Pete Crow-Armstrong flipped his hat around backward and headed to the dugout wearing a vintage Cubs jersey and shorts. A group of kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago was waiting in the dugout. The Cubs star center fielder took a seat, chatted them up and had the group smiling and laughing as he answered an array of questions.
On August 18, a federal trial opened in the US, organized by a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general against Meta. Twenty-nine states brought the lawsuit – represented by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey at the trial.
US President Donald Trump has said he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year, days after ordering joint military drills with South Korea scaled back over what he called their ‘hostile’ signal to Pyongyang. During his first presidency, Trump and Kim sought to improve relations between the two countries, meeting three times, including at the Demilitarized Zone in 2019.
Has Serbia withdrawn its support for Russia? Leaving aside Belarus, which is geographically European but rarely treated as part of Europe’s political mainstream, most people would probably name Serbia, which, in geopolitical terms is a remarkable exception.
Second ‘suspect’ in Nord Stream blast case arrested. Croatian police have arrested a Ukrainian man suspected by Germany of taking part in the operation behind the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, following a request from Berlin.
Zelensky fires senior aide amid anti-corruption scandal. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has fired Irina Mudraya, deputy head of his office, after media reports indicated that her home was raided as part of anti-corruption probe over alleged money laundering scheme.
In a recent interview, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in response to a question about the aggressive attitude of Israeli politicians towards Türkiye, stated that Ankara will not shy away from war if attacked. While these words cannot be considered a direct declaration of war against Israel, they certainly served as a stern warning.
Today, humanoid robot OEMs are facing one central challenge: How do they bridge the gap between a working prototype and a manufacturable, scalable product? according to Kollmorgen. While software iterates in weeks, motion hardware moves from paper to functional sample in months and to volume production in years. That mismatch—not concept design—is often the real bottleneck.
This week, Unitree Robotics made its debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market, closing its first day 460% higher. The company raised 6.1 billion yuan, around $905 million U.S., with its initial public offering. Unitree said it is the first major legged robotics company to go pubic.
Serve Robotics Inc., a developer of sidewalk delivery robots, this week announced a partnership with Grubhub, a subsidiary of Wonder. Serve will now be offering robotic deliveries on the Grubhub marketplace starting in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Alexandria, Va.
With pallet pickup cycles as fast as 20 seconds, Pudu Robotics yesterday unveiled the MP2000, an AI-powered autonomous pallet handler built to tackle high-frequency, heavy-payload transport in crowded manufacturing and logistics hubs.
If you had to choose one word to sum up Clay Holmes’ 2026, what would it be? “He’s been disgusting all season, man,” outfielder Tyrone Taylor said. That’s a compliment, by the way.
The overwhelming majority of the guys to play for the Cubs aren’t Chicago born and bred, so excuse them for not seeing the Crosstown series against the White Sox as the biggest three days of the year.
This site is free thanks to our community of supporters. Voluntary donations from readers like you keep our news accessible for everyone. White Sox hold Cubs to two hits, avoid sweep with shutout win in Crosstown series finale.
Un hombre fue arrestado y acusado de golpear a un aficionado en el juego del Clásico Crosstown del lunes por la noche en Wrigley Field, donde los Cubs vencieron a los White Sox 7-5 en entradas extras.
Another night, another dramatic Crosstown finish at Wrigley Field. After center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong won the Cubs the series-opener with a walk-off homer in extra innings Monday, third baseman Alex Bregman delivered a two-out, walk-off single to give the Cubs a 4-3 win over the White Sox, the 13th walk-off win at the Friendly Confines this season.
This site is free thanks to our community of supporters. Voluntary donations from readers like you keep our news accessible for everyone. A tied Crosstown tilt between the Cubs and White Sox went into a late weather delay Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.
WESTFIELD, Ind. -- CEO Scott O'Neil is confident that LIV Golf will continue as it attempts to remake itself amid present financial hurdles and no funding from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia beyond this season. He also expressed a desire for the forthcoming version of LIV to be accepted into the larger golf ecosystem.
Dallas Wings star guard Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's WNBA draft, will undergo a procedure on her injured knee and miss the remainder of the season. The Wings announced Wednesday that Fudd will undergo the arthroscopic procedure on her right knee in Connecticut early next week. The sharpshooting Fudd last played on Aug. 5 and has missed Dallas' past five games.
Former Ole Miss starters Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams, all of whom signed with NFL teams this summer, are among a group of athletes who were granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday to return to college for one more season.
LOUIS -- Rory McIlroy could add the season-ending Tour Championship to his Masters green jacket and his seven top-25 finishes this season, and he believes his résumé still wouldn't be good enough to be the PGA Tour Player of the Year. "No, I'm not the player of the year," McIlroy said Wednesday at Bellerive Country Club, the site of this week's BMW Championship.
The move addresses one of Seattle's biggest question marks and offers Diggs a chance for a fresh start with the reigning Super Bowl champions after a tumultuous ending to his tenure in Dallas last season. The Seahawks still plan to sign cornerback Terrion Arnold, but with no word on when he will be available to play amid his ongoing legal case, Diggs gives them more immediate help at the position.
But reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy isn't sure what value the LIV Golf stars would bring to the PGA Tour if they came back. "I mean, I would argue, have they brought value to LIV? McIlroy said Wednesday, during his news conference ahead of this week's BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club.
The project, slated for Generation Park in Houston, is part of Bristol Myers Squibb’s larger plan to invest $40 billion in the United States through 2030 across research and development, technology and domestic manufacturing. The company said it designed the Houston campus to be modular and multimodal, allowing for flexibility as demand shifts to certain medicines over others.
Many regions across the world have physical premiums over the global benchmark price of aluminum. Despite its name, the Midwest Premium functions as the nationwide premium for aluminum in the U.S. market. Premiums are broadly viewed as surcharges to account for factors including regional transportation costs and tariffs.
On August 18, a federal trial opened in the US, organized by a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general against Meta. Twenty-nine states brought the lawsuit – represented by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey at the trial.
US President Donald Trump has said he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year, days after ordering joint military drills with South Korea scaled back over what he called their ‘hostile’ signal to Pyongyang. During his first presidency, Trump and Kim sought to improve relations between the two countries, meeting three times, including at the Demilitarized Zone in 2019.
Has Serbia withdrawn its support for Russia? Leaving aside Belarus, which is geographically European but rarely treated as part of Europe’s political mainstream, most people would probably name Serbia, which, in geopolitical terms is a remarkable exception.
Second ‘suspect’ in Nord Stream blast case arrested. Croatian police have arrested a Ukrainian man suspected by Germany of taking part in the operation behind the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, following a request from Berlin.
Zelensky fires senior aide amid anti-corruption scandal. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has fired Irina Mudraya, deputy head of his office, after media reports indicated that her home was raided as part of anti-corruption probe over alleged money laundering scheme.
In a recent interview, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in response to a question about the aggressive attitude of Israeli politicians towards Türkiye, stated that Ankara will not shy away from war if attacked. While these words cannot be considered a direct declaration of war against Israel, they certainly served as a stern warning.
WESTFIELD, Ind. -- CEO Scott O'Neil is confident that LIV Golf will continue as it attempts to remake itself amid present financial hurdles and no funding from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia beyond this season. He also expressed a desire for the forthcoming version of LIV to be accepted into the larger golf ecosystem.
Dallas Wings star guard Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's WNBA draft, will undergo a procedure on her injured knee and miss the remainder of the season. The Wings announced Wednesday that Fudd will undergo the arthroscopic procedure on her right knee in Connecticut early next week. The sharpshooting Fudd last played on Aug. 5 and has missed Dallas' past five games.
Former Ole Miss starters Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams, all of whom signed with NFL teams this summer, are among a group of athletes who were granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday to return to college for one more season.
LOUIS -- Rory McIlroy could add the season-ending Tour Championship to his Masters green jacket and his seven top-25 finishes this season, and he believes his résumé still wouldn't be good enough to be the PGA Tour Player of the Year. "No, I'm not the player of the year," McIlroy said Wednesday at Bellerive Country Club, the site of this week's BMW Championship.
The move addresses one of Seattle's biggest question marks and offers Diggs a chance for a fresh start with the reigning Super Bowl champions after a tumultuous ending to his tenure in Dallas last season. The Seahawks still plan to sign cornerback Terrion Arnold, but with no word on when he will be available to play amid his ongoing legal case, Diggs gives them more immediate help at the position.
But reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy isn't sure what value the LIV Golf stars would bring to the PGA Tour if they came back. "I mean, I would argue, have they brought value to LIV? McIlroy said Wednesday, during his news conference ahead of this week's BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club.
Donald Trump was caught on camera this week holding a “cheat sheet” in the Oval Office, the same kind of note card Republicans once said was proof Joe Biden had dementia. Newly surfaced video shows Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sitting almost completely motionless for hours during a Senate vote session just days before he completely vanished from public view.
U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a cabinet meeting at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland, U.S., July 31, 2026.
A new book claims Trump White House staffer Natalie Harp was perhaps the biggest driving force behind the destruction of the East Wing of the White House, which houses the First Lady’s office. New FCC documents show Chairman Brendan Carr has been in constant contact with right-wing media executives and White House officials while refusing to discuss any of it in public.
A far-right Florida congressman was just caught on video rifling through a voter’s mailbox, which is a textbook federal felony. A Republican congressman in South Carolina is turning on Donald Trump for endorsing his primary opponent, accusing the president of abandoning his MAGA base.
CHICAGO -- The crowd inside Wrigley Field roared as the baseball that left Alex Bregman’s bat in the seventh inning on Wednesday afternoon carried high over left field. It seemed destined for the bleachers, but this was one of those days when the wind can transform the old ballpark into a hitter’s nightmare.
CHICAGO -- Cade Townsend had been to Wrigley Field a handful of times when he was a kid. He remembers coming to games with his family a decade ago -- getting a chance to see the 2016 champions in person -- and has photos of himself wearing Cubs gear in the stands at the Friendly Confines. “And now I’m sitting in the dugout,” Townsend said on Wednesday morning.
CHICAGO -- When Alex Bregman signed a long-term contract with the Cubs in January, the goal was to help the organization return to the October stage and push for its first World Series triumph in a decade. The veteran third baseman also has work he wants to do off the diamond.
Bregman walks it off for the Cubs | Morning Lineup.
CHICAGO – Kevin Gausman removed his glove and inspected his left hand, while Cubs manager Craig Counsell emerged from the dugout and made his way to the mound. It was the second time the veteran starter had to pause due to the issue and Counsell opted against pushing Gausman any further.
CHICAGO – In the hours leading up to Tuesday night’s game, Pete Crow-Armstrong flipped his hat around backward and headed to the dugout wearing a vintage Cubs jersey and shorts. A group of kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago was waiting in the dugout. The Cubs star center fielder took a seat, chatted them up and had the group smiling and laughing as he answered an array of questions.
If you had to choose one word to sum up Clay Holmes’ 2026, what would it be? “He’s been disgusting all season, man,” outfielder Tyrone Taylor said. That’s a compliment, by the way.
The overwhelming majority of the guys to play for the Cubs aren’t Chicago born and bred, so excuse them for not seeing the Crosstown series against the White Sox as the biggest three days of the year.
This site is free thanks to our community of supporters. Voluntary donations from readers like you keep our news accessible for everyone. White Sox hold Cubs to two hits, avoid sweep with shutout win in Crosstown series finale.
Un hombre fue arrestado y acusado de golpear a un aficionado en el juego del Clásico Crosstown del lunes por la noche en Wrigley Field, donde los Cubs vencieron a los White Sox 7-5 en entradas extras.
Another night, another dramatic Crosstown finish at Wrigley Field. After center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong won the Cubs the series-opener with a walk-off homer in extra innings Monday, third baseman Alex Bregman delivered a two-out, walk-off single to give the Cubs a 4-3 win over the White Sox, the 13th walk-off win at the Friendly Confines this season.
This site is free thanks to our community of supporters. Voluntary donations from readers like you keep our news accessible for everyone. A tied Crosstown tilt between the Cubs and White Sox went into a late weather delay Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.
Today, humanoid robot OEMs are facing one central challenge: How do they bridge the gap between a working prototype and a manufacturable, scalable product? according to Kollmorgen. While software iterates in weeks, motion hardware moves from paper to functional sample in months and to volume production in years. That mismatch—not concept design—is often the real bottleneck.
This week, Unitree Robotics made its debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market, closing its first day 460% higher. The company raised 6.1 billion yuan, around $905 million U.S., with its initial public offering. Unitree said it is the first major legged robotics company to go pubic.
Serve Robotics Inc., a developer of sidewalk delivery robots, this week announced a partnership with Grubhub, a subsidiary of Wonder. Serve will now be offering robotic deliveries on the Grubhub marketplace starting in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Alexandria, Va.
With pallet pickup cycles as fast as 20 seconds, Pudu Robotics yesterday unveiled the MP2000, an AI-powered autonomous pallet handler built to tackle high-frequency, heavy-payload transport in crowded manufacturing and logistics hubs.
Last week I recorded an episode of the Talking Postgres podcast with Claire Giordano on the subject of “How AI is changing software development”. We had a really great conversation. Here are a couple of my highlights from a lightly edited transcript (prompt to Claude: “very minor edits to remove disfluencies”).
The project, slated for Generation Park in Houston, is part of Bristol Myers Squibb’s larger plan to invest $40 billion in the United States through 2030 across research and development, technology and domestic manufacturing. The company said it designed the Houston campus to be modular and multimodal, allowing for flexibility as demand shifts to certain medicines over others.
Many regions across the world have physical premiums over the global benchmark price of aluminum. Despite its name, the Midwest Premium functions as the nationwide premium for aluminum in the U.S. market. Premiums are broadly viewed as surcharges to account for factors including regional transportation costs and tariffs.