A Massive 10-Foot Ball of Hair Rolls Through the Streets of New York City Like a Tangled Tumbleweed Laughing Squid
Mount Etna erupts a day after US tourist killed by lightning Euronews
Climate/Environment
Lala Leaves a Trail of Catastrophic Flooding Across Parts of Hawaiʻi Eye on the Tropics
Tornado Alley’s on the Move and Creating New Risk Concerns, Modeler Says Insurance Journal
Who owns Europe’s systemic climate risks? New Climate Reality
Make it rain: Indonesia chases clouds to stem El Nino fires Channel News Asia
Is this El Niño a glimpse of a future, hotter Earth? The Climate Brink
Pandemics
How to Stop a Lab leak From Starting the Next Pandemic New York Times
Water
The Next Energy Crisis Could Be a Water Crisis OilPrice
Japan
Japanese Yen has already weakened so much that the U.S. Treasury intervention has been wiped out completely, now onto the BOJ intervention 🚨 🚨 pic.twitter.com/mZzVlf5p3l
— Barchart (@Barchart) August 18, 2026
The Koreas
Asian allies stress ‘critical cooperation’ as Trump slashes Korea drills France24
Lee reaffirms push to retake wartime operational control of troops during his term Yonhap
China?
China rattled by Trump White House chaos weeks ahead of Xi visit. It has happened before South China Morning Post
China unveils measures to boost county-level consumption Xinhua
same K, different diagnoses CHINA POLICY leads
Why is Chinese state media telling people to stop using English AI terms? South China Morning Post
The Great Game
Russia’s India Route, China’s BRI and Pakistan’s Dilemma: A New Battle for Eurasian Connectivity India Narrative
Ukraine-Pakistan Drone Deal: Strategic Depth is No Longer an Advantage India Narrative
Syraqistan
Kushner-Netanyahu Talks Allow Continued Israeli Strikes in Gaza, Source Says Haaretz
***
Trump says Iran should surrender, threatens to bomb Oman New Arab
The Walls Have Doors Now: Why Bessent’s “Unprecedented” Sanctions on Iran — Operation Economic Fury — Will Fail Larry Johnson
PM of Iraqi Kurdistan:
Following an investigation by the Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Unit, my personal office and the home of the head of the Security and Intelligence Agency were targeted by Iranian drone attacks earlier today.
I condemn these reckless and unacceptable attacks in the strongest terms.…
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) August 17, 2026
Nothing justifies the reckless attack on PM Barzani’s office. Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys to sow discord between neighbors.
We protected our Kurdish friends against Saddam and DAESH, and we’re thankful for security they’ve provided on our border.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) August 17, 2026
***
Asian Refiners Ask to Pick Up Saudi Oil Outside Risky Red Sea Bloomberg
Iraq’s oil pipeline to Syria’s Baniyas to take four years to complete Iraqi News
Old Blighty
‘Horrific’ Conditions Grip UK Hospitals Unprepared for Heat Bloomberg (Mark)
The inequality of Britain’s heatwaves and the case for public adaptation London School of Economics and Political Science
British Leader Reportedly Exchanged Messages with Impostor of Top White House Official AP
European Disunion
Ice cream makers as ‘critical infrastructure’? EU’s new cybersecurity law suffers wobbly rollout Politico
Paks on the brink: Critical days ahead, ‘superhuman work’ underway to keep 2 turbines running DailyNewsHungary. Effort to keep Hungarian nuclear plant running.
The Lucky Country
NSW Supreme Court criticises IHRA definition as ‘detached from reality’ Deep Cut
O Canada
Canada sees surge in citizenship applications amid anxiety over Trump policies Anadolu Agency
Canada’s Most Powerful Icebreaker Reaches North Pole gCaptain
New Not-So-Cold War
Tanker Struck Near Black Sea Terminal as Both Sides Continue Attacks Maritime Executive
Russian attacks hit energy infrastructure in six regions, with Donetsk Oblast worst affected Ukrainska Pravda
Ukraine starts burying power substations ahead of a fourth winter of strikes Intellinews
‘Deliberate negligence’: Russian nuclear power company with EU operations accused of violating safety standards Politico
Putin, Japan and the Islands America Never Wanted Tokyo to Forget Kautilya the Contemplator
South of the Border
Tech Magnate Peter Thiel Consolidates his Presence in Argentina TeleSur
Spook Country
David GIbbs: How Intelligence Services Captured Academia & Journalism Glenn Diesen
Trump 2.0
Trump crypto firm backs venture offering AI from restricted Chinese companies Reuters
Amid Outrage, Trump Border Chief Halts Construction in Big Bend National Park Common Dreams
Democrats Suck
Questions about Schumer’s future grow as Democratic candidates call for change The Hill
Economy
Global Bond Rout Sends Long-Term Borrowing Costs to Highest in Decades Bloomberg
Imperial Collapse Watch
Raytheon gets massive $23B contract to boost Tomahawk production Breaking Defense
Technology and Constitutional Rot Yale Law School
AI
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility 404 Media
Nvidia to provide up to $105 billion backstop for OpenAI data center Semafor
Edgerton calls citizen petition ‘void and invalid,’ files suit to block data center ban KCTV5
His AI boss fired his human coworker. He’s not worried San Francisco Standard
The Accelerationists
Meta faces a $1.4 trillion reckoning in latest trial over social media addiction Engadget
Facebook Is Drowning In Islamophobic AI Slop Calling for Violence Against Muslim Americans Futurism
Antitrust
NYC’s Public Grocery Stores Will Face the Same Monopolized Food Market as Privates, But Bigger Public Options Could Change That Food & Power
Supply Chain
Copper squeeze builds with spreads surging and price near record Mining.com
Meet the world’s rarest mineral. It was found only once ZME Science
Tech
Apple Wallet Driver’s License Feature to Launch in Four More U.S. States MacRumors
Cats and dogs are missing meals after a popular smart feeder went down The Verge
Class Warfare
‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Lenders Pitch Loans for Needs Like Electricity and Rent New York Times
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
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