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Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Tue, Aug 18, 2026, 3:20 PM EDT

World

AI Summary

  • Global energy markets are experiencing significant volatility, with the Iraq-Syria pipeline potentially bypassing Hormuz and record-high diesel crack spreads underscoring supply disruption concerns amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
  • The U.S. housing market shows signs of significant downturn, with pending home sales and housing starts plummeting to near-record lows, contrasting with isolated pockets of strength in specific renovation segments.
  • The private credit market is facing unprecedented distress, with heightened scrutiny from the DOJ on Wall Street's insurance and private credit dealings, alongside Meta's legal reckoning over youth mental health and social media addiction.
  • Tech giants are making substantial investments in infrastructure, with Nvidia committing $105 billion to a SoftBank data center in Ohio and Uber partnering with Zipline for extensive drone delivery operations.
  • International relations are increasingly strained, with the U.S. and China forcing other nations to take sides, and significant diplomatic developments occurring in the Middle East, particularly concerning Iran and its Strait of Hormuz activities.

ZeroHedge

  • Maryland Court Strikes Down Nation's First State Tax On Digital Advertising 34 minutes ago by Tyler Durden

    Maryland Court Strikes Down Nation's First State Tax On Digital Advertising Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times , A state tax court in Maryland invalidated the nation's first state tax on digital advertising and directed state officials to refund tax payments already collected from major tech companies. People pass a building on the Google headquarters campus in Mountain View, Calif., on July 23, 2025. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The legal dispute had been closely watched by other states that are considering taxing online advertisements. The Annapolis-based Maryland Tax Court ruled on Aug. 14 that the digital advertising gross revenues

  • Jefferies Identifies High-Quality Energy And Materials Stocks As Cyclical Rotation Accelerates an hour ago by Tyler Durden

    Jefferies Identifies High-Quality Energy And Materials Stocks As Cyclical Rotation Accelerates Jefferies analyst Lloyd Byrne wrote in a note on Monday that surging refined-product margins, stronger gas-fired power demand, and improving earnings estimates are providing clear tailwinds for energy stocks , even as valuations and technicals appear stretched. Byrne showed that the clearest source of strength in the energy market is refining . The six-month New York Harbor diesel-to-crude spread topped $100 (HOCL1 Index on Bloomberg) and has moved in close tandem with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE). Included in the " 10 Charts That Mattered " report

  • Iraq-Syria Pipeline To 'Bypass' Hormuz Likely To Take Four Years, $15BN To Build an hour ago by Tyler Durden

    Iraq-Syria Pipeline To 'Bypass' Hormuz Likely To Take Four Years, $15BN To Build Via The Cradle Iraq's plan to build a pipeline to export oil through Syria and partially bypass the Strait of Hormuz ​will likely take four years to complete and cost $15 billion , Reuters reported on Monday. Iraq urgently seeks new outlets for its oil exports, which have plummeted since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israel war on the Islamic Republic that started in February. via Axios In July, Baghdad exported only 35.5 million barrels through its Basra ports via the Strait

  • Here's Where The Nation's Hottest Housing Markets Are 2 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    Here's Where The Nation's Hottest Housing Markets Are The US housing market's top 10 hottest ZIP codes this year are all located in the Midwest and Northeast for the fourth consecutive year - as tight inventories due to limited homebuilding has fueled competition, according to a Monday report from Realtor.com. A builder works on a commercial property under construction in Peabody, Mass., on Jan. 12, 2015. Peabody is the nation's hottest housing market, according to Realtor.com. Elise Amendola/AP Photo The top 10 - as measured by buyer demand gauged by unique views and how quickly homes are selling are located

  • Federal Judge Halts Move Of FBI Headquarters To Ronald Reagan Building Rather Than Maryland 2 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    Federal Judge Halts Move Of FBI Headquarters To Ronald Reagan Building Rather Than Maryland Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times , A federal court on Aug. 17 blocked a Trump administration plan to move the proposed new FBI headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington instead of a site in nearby Greenbelt, Maryland, that was chosen in 2023. The former United States Agency for International Development building is seen at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC, on July 08, 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images Congress passed laws requiring the General Services Administration (GSA),


The Guardian

  • Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo now deadliest in country’s history a day ago by Nadeem Badshah and Rachel Savage
    Ebola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa, World Health Organization, Global health, World news

    At least 2,325 people have died from the virus, according to official data, with outbreak on track to be biggest in history The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is now the deadliest in the country’s history, with at least 2,325 people dead, according to government data, surpassing the toll from the 2018-20 outbreak. The DRC’s public health institute said confirmed cases had risen to 4,945, including 101 detected in the previous 24 hours. Continue reading...

  • Zimbabwe boat accident death toll hits 68 as 22 more bodies recovered 3 days ago by Nadeem Badshah
    Zimbabwe, Africa, World news

    Eighteen children among the people killed after ferry capsized on Lake Kariba Twenty-two more bodies have been recovered after a boat accident in Zimbabwe, taking the death toll to 68, police said on Saturday. The ferry capsized on Tuesday on Lake Kariba , on the border with Zambia. An investigation has suggested it was overloaded when it turned over during heavy winds. Continue reading...

  • Moroccan police arrest more than 100 people attempting to enter Ceuta 3 days ago by Reuters
    Morocco, World news, Spain, Africa, Migration, Refugees, Europe, Middle East and north Africa

    Border security tightened after social media posts call for another mass crossing into Spain’s north African territory Moroccan police have arrested 111 people as they tried to enter Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, amid ⁠tightened security on both sides after social media posts ​called for another mass crossing. The attempted crossing on Saturday came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta , causing tensions within the EU and prompting anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide. At least 96 people died trying to ⁠reach European soil. Continue reading...

  • American missionary kidnapped in Niger freed after nine months 4 days ago by Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan and agencies
    Niger, US news, World news, Africa, Sahel, Mali, Al-Qaida, US foreign policy

    Kevin Rideout, who was abducted by unknown assailants in Niamey, said to be in good health and in care of US officials An American missionary who was kidnapped in Niger in October has been released, his organisation has said. Serving in Mission International said Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of US officials” and would soon be reunited with his extended family. Continue reading...

  • DRC’s fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreads to sixth province 5 days ago by Rachel Savage and agencies
    Ebola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa, World Health Organization, Global health, World news

    Man dies in Bas-Uele after travelling from Haut-Uele, as head of WHO says outbreak on track to be deadliest ever The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to a sixth province, officials have said, a day after the head of the World Health Organization said the outbreak was on track to surpass the deadliest in history, which killed at least 11,000 people more than a decade ago. The current outbreak has killed more than 2,100 people out of more than 4,500 cases, according to the latest government figures released on Tuesday. At the same point


South China Morning Post

  • Meta accused of targeting children to boost Facebook and Instagram use, as US trial begins an hour ago by Reuters

    Meta Platforms intentionally sought to ⁠addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, a lawyer for California said on Tuesday at the start of a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet. A bipartisan group of 29 US states is suing Meta, seeking potentially tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties and changes to how Meta does business. Four lead states – California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey – accuse Meta of designing Facebook and...

  • Russia’s Putin hosts Myanmar leader, talks up energy projects 2 hours ago by Reuters

    Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow ⁠on Tuesday with ⁠Myanmar’s junta chief-turned-president, Min Aung ⁠Hlaing, discussing a wide range of issues including prospective energy deals. Russia is the first non-neighbouring country Min Aung Hlaing has visited since becoming Myanmar’s president in April, a sign of the two countries’ ‌deepening ties in the face of pressure from the West. In remarks after the meeting, Putin described Min Aung Hlaing as a friend of Russia and said the...

  • Trump and Carney hold urgent talks as steep 50% US tariffs on Canada loom 2 hours ago by Agence France-Presse

    Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has held urgent talks with US President Donald Trump, Ottawa confirmed Tuesday, in an effort to avoid fresh US tariffs on Canadian goods as a midnight deadline fast approaches. Trump signed orders for the steep 50 per cent duties last month, with the White House alleging “discriminatory treatment” by Canada against US alcohol, car and dairy products. The tariffs are set to take effect on Wednesday, covering products such as wine, hockey sticks and cement....

  • Trump posts map with Hormuz as ‘new US territory’, says no Iran talks planned 3 hours ago by Agence France-Presse

    US President Donald Trump said that Tuesday that no talks with Iran were under way or scheduled, as he posted a map showing the Strait of Hormuz as a new American territory in a fresh jibe at Tehran. Trump has been pressing his threat to claim sovereignty over the crucial energy waterway as the nearly six-month-old Iran war grinds on with little sign of resolution. Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner had said on Monday that the United States and Iran were having “very positive and active...

  • WHO chief warns DR Congo Ebola outbreak ‘far from being under control’ 4 hours ago by Agence France-Presse

    The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is moving faster than any previous epidemic of the disease and risks spreading to more countries, the head of the World Health Organization has warned. “We must be frank: the epidemic is far from being under control,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an emergency meeting on the outbreak on Tuesday. “It had a big head start, and we are still playing catch-up.” His comment came after the DR Congo on Monday said the outbreak...


New York Times

  • Bond Sell-Off Sends Borrowing Costs to Highest Level Since 2007 an hour ago by Joe Rennison and Gregory Schmidt
    Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline, Stocks and Bonds, US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026), Government Bonds

    Yields on the 30-year U.S. Treasury and government bonds across the world rose to multiyear highs as investors fret about inflation, deficits and A.I. spending.

  • Gulf Oil Giants Push to Expand Overseas Stockpiles as Iran War Drags On an hour ago by River Akira Davis
    Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline, US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026), Energy and Power, Saudi Aramco, Trump, Donald J, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea

    Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seeking larger oil reserves in Japan and South Korea as regional conflict threatens supply routes.

  • Two Ships Transiting Strait of Hormuz Are Attacked as Oil Prices Rise 3 hours ago by Jenny Gross
    US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026), Ships and Shipping, Maritime Accidents and Safety, Iran-Israel War (2025- ), International Maritime Organization, Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz

    Maritime officials on Tuesday announced the recent attacks, which killed at least one sailor. Six months into the conflict, the vital waterway remains perilous.

  • Israel Strikes Air Base in Syria, Drawing Ire From the U.S. 2 hours ago by Christina Goldbaum and Reham Mourshed
    Defense and Military Forces, Military Bases and Installations, al-Shara, Ahmed (Abu Mohammad al-Jolani) (1982- ), Syria, Israel, Idlib (Syria)

    American and Syrian officials said Israel carried out the attack, the latest in a series of military interventions in Syria over the past two years.

  • Google Just Made It Easier for Campaigns to Send You Fund-Raising Emails 5 hours ago by Shane Goldmacher
    Google Inc, E-Mail, Midterm Elections (2026), Republican National Committee, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Democratic National Committee, Primaries and Caucuses, Campaign Finance, Spam (Electronic), internal-open-access-from-nl

    Republicans previously sued Google claiming its spam filter was biased, but the case was dismissed. The company will now allow verified campaigns to more easily bypass the spam filter.


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