NOAA said a strengthening El Niño is expected to shape the 2023-24 winter with wetter conditions across the South and warmer-than-average temperatures in much of the northern United States. Forecasters said the pattern raises the odds of regional weather extremes, even though it does not guarantee every area will see the same impacts.

Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot, who served in President Donald Trump's orbit, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is presiding over chaos at the Pentagon as scrutiny grows over staffing purges and Signal chat disclosures. The criticism adds to pressure on Hegseth even as Trump and the White House continue to defend him.

Federal prosecutors said a 35-year-old Albany woman accepted a fake explosive device from undercover FBI operatives as part of an alleged ISIS-inspired plot targeting the New York State Capitol. The case was announced August 20 after authorities said the planned attack was disrupted before any live explosives were used.

A new dispute over a Census Bureau report on noncitizen voting has added to the political fight over election administration ahead of the midterms. Former bureau officials say the report’s methods and origins point back to people aligned with President Donald Trump.

A prosecutor said Karmelo Anthony’s former girlfriend reported fearing him on the morning of the 2025 track meet stabbing, but jurors never heard that evidence at his murder trial. The disclosure surfaced during an August 20, 2026 hearing on Anthony’s request for a new trial in Collin County.

The family of Pearl Harbor hero Doris Miller said it was not informed before reports surfaced that the Navy was weighing whether to remove his name from a future aircraft carrier. The disclosure has intensified scrutiny of a possible change involving one of the Navy’s highest-profile ship names.

NOAA says El Niño is suppressing the overall 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, but that does not remove danger for coastal residents. Forecasters say the greatest near-term concern is shifting toward the Gulf, Caribbean and western Atlantic, where waters remain unusually warm.

U.S. diesel prices climbed above $5 a gallon in early August, adding new pressure to shipping, farming and household budgets as the midterm campaign season approaches. Federal energy data shows the increase has been sharper than the move in gasoline, with inventory and supply constraints playing a central role.

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio said the United States is "very close to a recession" as the Trump administration's trade fight with China pushed new uncertainty into markets, prices and business planning. His comments came as consumer sentiment weakened and economists tracked rising concern about growth.

The Navy says the USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to San Diego after a deployment stretched by the Iran war, but the status of the destroyers that escorted it remains unclear. The move is also highlighting a wider carrier coverage gap as another strike group shifts from the Pacific toward the Middle East.

Newly resurfaced comments are drawing fresh attention to how a prominent Texas Democrat has talked about border security and immigration, an issue that remains central in Texas politics. The recordings have become part of a wider fight over how Democrats position themselves on the border in 2026.

A new Justice Department filing says U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle in eastern North Carolina decided to pursue the criminal case over James Comey’s “8647” seashell post without direction from Attorney General Todd Blanche or President Donald Trump. Prosecutors also detailed their use of slang definitions, social media reach and other context to argue the post could be read as a threat.