August 13, 2026
Wisconsin, Charts, and History
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Today, we will look at Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race and a series of charts, maps, and historical snapshots.
Let’s get to it.
United States
-Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley declared victory yesterday morning following his narrow victory in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary on Tuesday.
Crowley’s slim victory over Democratic socialist Francesca Hong came after polling consistently showed Hong with comfortable leads in the weeks before the vote.
The race was the latest proxy battle to determine the Democratic Party’s future, with Crowley getting the backing of traditional party figures such as Governor Tony Evers while Hong had the backing of leftist streamer Hasan Piker.
In an interview yesterday, Crowley said that he does not plan to campaign with Piker.
In response, Piker said that he hoped Crowley would take “some of the great policies that brought out 300k wisconsinites into consideration as the dems work to defeat tom tiffany as a unified front!”
Hong issued a statement formally conceding yesterday, saying she “fully” supported Crowley.
Read the full statement here:
Just hours after the election was called, the candidates, along with other top state Democrats, met for a unity breakfast following the contentious election.
Crowley will now take on Republican Tom Tiffany in the general election.
Yesterday, Tiffany released an ad titled, “Geez, That’s Crazy!” that seeks to tie Crowley to Hong.
View it here:
-Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson are locked in a dead heat, according to a new Fox News poll.
-Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico released a new 30-second spot featuring his grandfather.
View it here:
-New York Governor Kathy Hochul holds a 10-point lead over her Republican challenger, Bruce Blakeman, according to a new Siena University poll.
-Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball changed its forecast for the Montana Senate race from “likely Republican” to “safe Republican” yesterday.
-Democratic Pennsylvania Senator Jon Fetterman said he would not campaign against his Republican counterpart, Senator Dave McCormick.
-Annual inflation slowed to 3.4% in July, down from 3.5% the month prior, according to data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics yesterday.
Meanwhile, the average U.S. gas price stood at $4.03 yesterday, amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, according to AAA.
-The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published data this week showing total U.S. household debt standing at $18.8 trillion.
-President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a record low, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll.
-Trump said yesterday that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt would be stepping down at the end of the month.
-California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer discussed potential 2028 presidential bids on Newsom’s podcast.
Whitmer has previously ruled out running.
-In a behind-the-scenes look at Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, former President Barack Obama shows off the model Oval Office, saying, “I do want to point out there’s no gold sign on the outside that says Oval Office.”
He added, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”
-On this day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act at his California ranch, enacting a sweeping series of tax cuts aimed at stimulating economic growth.
Other Links:
A Catering Truck and a Decoy Plane: How Trump’s Great Escape Unfolded - The New York Times
Trump executive privilege memo could hamper Democrats if they win Congress - CNN
Republicans see Minnesota fraud scandal as a chance to go on offense in a blue state - AP
NRSC pushes Republicans to endorse Darline Graham - Politico
Emily Moreno sues Rep. Max Miller, alleging he posted nude photo of daughter - The Hill
Trial lawyers, once a force for Democrats, reclaim political clout in Texas GOP’s MAGA wing - The Texas Tribune
Wall Street flirts with a record after AI stocks rise and worries about inflation ease a bit - AP
ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks - AP
Ex-Southern Poverty Law Center official charged in broader criminal case against group, lawyer says - AP
John Hinckley Jr., who shot Ronald Reagan to impress Jodie Foster, says he wishes her well - NBC
Nick Reiner indicted in slayings of Hollywood icon father, Rob, and mother, Michele - Los Angeles Times
Africa
-A new study suggests that the current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo stemmed from a new transmission from animals to humans.
The outbreak, which has been deemed the fastest-growing in the history of the disease, has killed more than 2,000 people, with 4,300 confirmed cases across five provinces.
The public health response has been hampered by mass strikes by frontline health workers demanding pay that has been denied.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that the spread of the virus is outpacing international response efforts.
Yesterday, Tedros warned that the current outbreak is on track to become the deadliest one in history.
-Zambia will hold a presidential election today, with President Hakainde Hichilema seeking a second term after a tumultuous five years in office.
In 2021, Hichilema defeated incumbent President Edgar Lungu, whom critics accused of electoral fraud and violent suppression of dissidents. Hichilema’s election was viewed as a victory for political and economic reforms.
Now, Hichilema’s main opponent, Brian Mundubile, and civil society organizations have accused authorities and the president’s party of cracking down on opposition groups.
Democracy tracker Freedom House rates the southern African nation low for the government’s lack of respect for “political rights” and “civil liberties.”
The organization says that although the country “features regular multiparty elections, and some civil liberties are respected,” opposition parties “face onerous legal and practical obstacles to fair competition, and the government regularly invokes restrictive laws to narrow political space.”
Read the full country report here.
-On this day in 1998, President Bill Clinton attended a national memorial service for the victims of two U.S. embassy bombings at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Just days earlier, simultaneous truck bombs exploded at the American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people and wounding 4,500 others.
Al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks.
Other Links:
South Africa seeks reimbursement from African countries for migrant repatriations - AP
Thousands flee yearslong drought in Somalia as hunger deepens and aid shrinks - AP
Kenya bids to become first African nation to host World Athletics Championships - Africa News
Africa gets new sovereign bond ETF - Semafor
At least 44 die as ferry sinks in Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba - BBC
Americas and the Caribbean
-Search and recovery efforts for survivors from a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday continued into a third day yesterday.
The quake, which also shook Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela, has killed at least 254 people.
The disaster came just days after the inauguration of new Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella.
-U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth said yesterday that La Espriella had requested U.S. collaboration in joint “narco-terrorism” operations.
-Wildfires are raging across British Columbia’s wine heartland.
-On this day in 1926, Fidel Castro was born.
In 1959, at the age of 32, the revolutionary leader led guerrilla forces that toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Other Links:
Protest denounces secrecy of Venezuela transition talks - France 24
Bolsonaro campaign drafts debt-linked fiscal rule to replace Brazil framework - Reuters
Brazil Supreme Court upholds laws that led to downfall of Amazon soy moratorium - AP
Powerful cartel in Mexico sought to buy weapons overseas in exchange for fentanyl and meth, U.S. says - CBS
Brazil Orders Discord to Suspend Livestreaming After Teenager’s Death - Bloomberg
Argentina ends free healthcare for nonresident foreigners - UPI
30,000 pounds of beef from Argentina recalled in two states - The Washington Post
Chile Cuts Copper Production Forecast Again as Mine Woes Persist - Bloomberg
Asia/Indo-Pacific
-North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the waters off its eastern coast yesterday, according to South Korean and Japanese authorities.
The launch comes just ahead of joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises slated for next week.
Pyongyang regards the annual drills as “invasion rehearsals.”
-The Cook Islands held a general election yesterday, with results still being processed.
Prime Minister Mark Brown is seeking a third term.
The self-governing island nation is party to a free association pact with New Zealand, allowing the islands to govern their own affairs while allowing New Zealand to assist with defense upon request.
The United States has three similar pacts with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
-New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon survived another leadership vote in parliament yesterday.
The challenge, led by the country’s defense minister, comes less than three months before a general election.
-Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has died at the age of 97, according to state media.
Zhu, who served as China’s top economic official from 1998 to 2003 under former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, ushered in the country’s economic reforms and its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), helping catapult the nation into the economic giant it is today.
In April 1999, President Clinton hosted Zhu for a high-stakes summit in Washington, D.C., where Beijing offered major market-opening concessions in a bid to secure U.S. support for China’s entry into the WTO.
However, faced with domestic political pressure, Clinton unexpectedly declined to sign a deal at the meeting.
He relented later that year, saying China’s membership in the global body would be a “one-way street” that would force China to open its markets to U.S. goods and services.
Other Links:
Thailand Halts New Gun Permits Days After Mass Shooting at a School - The New York Times
U.S. charges 11 for alleged sham marriage scheme to help Chinese nationals gain green cards - CBS
China bets on AI weather forecasting as extreme weather intensifies - NBC
China Races to Solve $148 Billion Property Threat as Leases End - Bloomberg
Rescuers evacuate more than 200 from a ferry fire that left at least 1 dead near Bali - AP
Europe
-Ukraine’s military unleashed a wave of attacks on grain terminals in the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk, leading Russia to accuse Kyiv of pushing up global food prices.
Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter, with most of its shipments passing through its ports on the Black Sea.
In a post to his social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the operation “unique.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy warned that Russia is planning “an additional rapid mobilization of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year.”
-Zelenskyy said yesterday that Ukrainian forces have retaken 288 square miles of territory held by Russia so far this year.
Currently, Russia controls approximately 19% to 20% of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory.
-British Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired an emergency response committee meeting on the country’s scorching heat levels that have caused wildfires and drought.
The country is currently in the midst of its fifth heatwave this year.
Meanwhile, record heat has killed over 20,000 people across the European continent in 2026.
-Sexually transmitted diseases are surging across Europe, according to new data.
-Germany’s cabinet approved a plan that grants the country’s intelligence services new authorities to hack and disrupt foreign adversaries’ operations.
-On this day in 1942, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill excoriating their decision not to invade Western Europe at that time.
Other Links:
JD Vance asked Ukraine to halt strikes on tankers using Russian port - Financial Times
U.S. and Ukrainian Forces Went Head-to-Head in an Exercise. Ukraine’s Drones Won. - The Wall Street Journal
Putin warns of tit-for-tat seizures of European vessels - Al Jazeera
Russia Turns to India for Gasoline as Ukraine Pummels Refineries - Bloomberg
Kosovo begins excavations at newly found mass graves tied to 1998-99 war missing - AP
Solar eclipse live: Millions in UK and Europe watch once-in-a-generation event - BBC
Middle East
-Negotiations to reach a permanent end to the war between the United States and Iran remain at a standstill, according to a senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters.
Meanwhile, global oil prices remained elevated yesterday as attacks on vessels seeking passage through the Middle East continued.
At the same time, President Trump claimed that the United States has “total control” over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
-An Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip yesterday critically wounded a Palestinian man, with the Israeli military saying it was targeting a Hamas commander it believed to be planning attacks against Israeli soldiers stationed in the coastal enclave.
The attack is the first since Israel scaled back its military operations in the territory under pressure from the United States.
Last month, Trump announced that his Board of Peace overseeing post-war Gaza had reached an agreement on the “complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups” in the coastal enclave, which has since been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
-On this day in 2020, the United States announced the historic Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
The agreement marked the first time that an Arab country agreed to normalize relations with Israel since Jordan did so in 1994.
Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and Kazakhstan later joined the agreement.
Other Links:
Iranian photojournalist faces 15 years in prison over images, reporting - Reuters
Inside the White House bet that Netanyahu’s peace plan rejection is for show - Politico
Israel deliberately starting wildfires in southern Lebanon, firefighters say - The Guardian
Israeli settlers besieging Palestinian families in West Bank village - BBC
Saudi Arabia bets on defensive alliances to deter slide into war - Reuters
Countries in War Zones Can’t Host Eurovision, Song Contest Says - The New York Times
Lebanon passes a controversial general amnesty law - AP
Syria receives first shipments at pier previously used by Russia - Reuters
That’s all for today. See you next week.
Interesting news out of Lebanon. Who thought of the Cook Islands as a count of fiftennthousand people? But, hey, they are democratic. Sad news from British Columbia on forest fires, Scary times in Europe and central Africa.