The United States added eight Cuban state-owned enterprises, Cuba’s construction ministry and three officials of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples to its sanctions list on August 20, 2026. The Associated Press reported that several US citizens returning from Havana were briefly detained in Miami and that some electronic devices were seized for inspection.
US officials said on August 20 that a Cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce from central Mexico had reached 10,930 illnesses in 17 states, including 454 hospitalizations and two deaths. The recalled lettuce should no longer be available, but the source investigation remains open as agencies review cases and inspect growing sites in Mexico.
White House legislative affairs director James Braid will leave in September, US President Donald Trump announced on August 20, 2026. He has coordinated the administration's congressional outreach as the November 2026 midterm elections approach, and no successor has been publicly identified.
The United States sent 2,284 Mexican deportees through Guatemala in 2026 before they were returned to Mexico, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said on August 19. Mexico opposed the route, while Associated Press reporting documented 117 Mexican deportees arriving in Honduras on three August flights.
David Morens, a former senior adviser at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pleaded guilty on August 18, 2026, to conspiring to commit offenses and defraud the United States. Prosecutors said he used personal email to conceal federal records and joined an illegal-gratuities arrangement; sentencing is set for November 12.
NPR reported on August 18 that 29-year-old Sophie Rottenberg had disclosed suicidal thoughts to ChatGPT before her death in February 2025 while keeping them from her family, friend and therapist. The chat log shows the bot recommended professional help and the US 988 crisis line but later wrote a note after refusing twice.
Nvidia entered into multiple residual-value guarantee agreements with SB Energy on August 17, setting a cumulative US$105 billion cap for its initial support of 4.25 IT-GW of OpenAI leases. The obligations would cover a shortfall only after specified OpenAI defaults, while Nvidia will separately invest US$1.5 billion in the developer.
US federal assistance was approved for Indiana on August 15 after storms killed at least six people and pushed the White River above century-old records. More than 28 centimeters of rain fell in parts of the state over two days, forcing evacuations and water rescues.
US President Donald Trump on August 12 ordered the creation of a US federal program for vetted companies to conduct surveillance and disruptive cyber operations against foreign criminal groups. Every operation requires written US government approval, while detailed eligibility rules and operating procedures remain unfinished.
Police arrested a 19-year-old after five people were shot outside residence halls at Virginia State University in the US state of Virginia on August 15. Investigators were still seeking others who fired and had not established a motive.
Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty on August 14 to two US federal stalking charges and is due to be sentenced on December 18. His lawyers now say New York’s murder case is barred by the state’s broader double-jeopardy law, a claim prosecutors will contest.
A US federal judge lifted a court-ordered pause on August 14, allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Somalia. The decision affects an estimated 1,082 approved beneficiaries and applies a June Supreme Court ruling that narrowed available legal challenges.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa is scheduled to visit China from August 16 to 23, his second trip there since taking office. The talks follow a rise in trade with China and Ecuador’s signing of a separate reciprocal trade agreement with the United States.
A US magistrate judge on August 13 postponed Andrew and Tristan Tate’s detention hearing to August 27, leaving the brothers in federal custody as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom. Their lawyers sought more time to answer prosecutors, while the extradition hearing itself remains unscheduled.
Karoline Leavitt will leave as White House press secretary at the end of August, US President Donald Trump announced on August 12, 2026. Trump said she would become an outside adviser as Republicans prepare for the November 2026 US midterm elections, but he did not name a successor.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention renewed its Ebola-related entry suspension for 30 days on August 12. Uganda and South Sudan remain covered even though Uganda ended its outbreak and South Sudan has reported no confirmed cases.
The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a final rule on August 13 that ends federal matching funds for specified gender-affirming treatments on October 13. States may finance them separately, while a six-month federal transition applies only to people already receiving cross-sex hormone therapy.
Colombian authorities reported at least 287 deaths by August 14 after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the country's west four days earlier. An initial 96-kilometer depth estimate put it in the intermediate range, but collapsed buildings kept rescuers searching in several cities.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 10 recognizing an 11-disease core childhood immunization list and calling for separate measles, mumps and rubella shots. Separate products are not currently available in the United States, while state school mandates do not change automatically.
Nvidia has agreed to invest up to US$3 billion in Lancium, The Information reported on August 7, citing three people familiar with the transaction. The reported second tranche depends on power milestones, while neither company has publicly confirmed the terms.
British Columbia declared a provincewide state of emergency on August 8 after the Bald Range wildfire forced more than 20,000 people from communities along Okanagan Lake. An evacuation order requires people to leave immediately, while an alert tells them to prepare to leave on short notice.
The United States announced more than $100 million in rewards on August 5 for information leading to the arrests or convictions of eight people tied to Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The largest offer, up to $25 million, targets Juan Carlos Valencia González, whom US court filings identify as the cartel's new leader.
Cuba recorded its sixth nationwide grid collapse of 2026 in early August, leaving much of the island without power. Fuel shortages and an aging electricity system have turned scheduled cuts into outages that can last for days.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta on August 6 to pay $567 million and change how Instagram and Facebook treat young users in the state. The five-year order adds time limits, privacy defaults and age checks, but Meta says it will appeal.
US President Donald Trump signed two immigration actions on August 6 that seek to narrow birthright citizenship and restrict travel intended for giving birth in the United States. The measures reopen a legal dispute weeks after the US Supreme Court rejected his broader 2025 order.
A US Senate committee voted 8-5 on August 6 to hold former federal health official Anthony Fauci in contempt after he declined to answer questions about the COVID-19 response. The dispute centers on whether a 2025 presidential pardon removed his risk of prosecution and therefore his basis for invoking the Fifth Amendment.
The US Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a 51-44 vote on August 5. She takes over after repeated leadership changes and the loss of more than one-quarter of the agency's workforce.
A media estimate put revenue from US-managed Venezuelan oil sales above $13 billion by late July 2026. The money remains Venezuelan property under a US order, but lawmakers say public records do not show a full account of its custody and use.
US regulators linked 345 salmonella cases in 27 states to jalapeños grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, on August 5. A distributor recalled the peppers after Chipotle and QDOBA removed affected supplies from their restaurants.
More than 100 Mexican wildfire personnel arrived in British Columbia on August 3, with over 200 more expected later in the week. The deployment added crews as 126 fires burned across the Canadian province and more than 2,200 properties were evacuated near Kiptuk Creek.
A truck exploded outside the police headquarters in Cúcuta, Colombia, before dawn on August 1, wounding 11 officers and killing a police dog. The government blamed the National Liberation Army, but the attribution had not been established in court.
Jessica Treviño has asked a US federal judge to reverse her deportation to Mexico and preserve her protection under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. US immigration officials cited unauthorized travel on the date the government removed her.
Lawyers for a Guatemalan mother detained in Nashville on May 19, 2026, have asked a US federal court to order her release. They say her detention conflicts with an ICE directive covering pregnant, postpartum and nursing people, while the US government cites undisclosed charges.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued the state's child welfare agency on July 28 after staff allegedly sent a 15-year-old US citizen across the border into Mexico alone. The state seeks the teenager's return and a court-order requirement for future placements outside the United States.
The US Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a 50-49 vote on August 8, 2026. Two Republican holdouts cleared his path only after the Justice Department put concessions over a disputed tax settlement in writing.
Temporary Protected Status and related work authorization ended for roughly 350,000 Haitians in late July after a US Supreme Court ruling removed lower-court restraints. The same judgment cleared the termination of protection for more than 6,000 Syrians and sharply limited review of the US homeland security secretary's decisions.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes resigned on July 30 after criticism of the city's delayed and inaccurate public updates on a festival shooting. Preliminary ballistics did not match the bullets that killed two bystanders to the gun carried by the arrested 15-year-old.
A Utah judge on July 29 rejected Kouri Richins' request to disqualify the judge who presided over her murder trial. The ruling addressed who may hear her separate motion for a new trial, not whether a new trial should be granted.
Keiko Fujimori was sworn in as Peru's president on July 28 after winning a runoff by 49,641 votes. Her coalition enters office with half the Senate seats and plans for new prisons, border militarization and migrant deportations.
