Politics & World
Senate Confirms Blanche as Attorney General, 50-49
The Senate voted 50-49 early Saturday to confirm Todd Blanche, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, as attorney general, with Sen. Bill Cassidy casting the deciding vote.
You’re reading the edition from Saturday, August 8, 2026. Read today’s
Saturday, August 8, 2026 · 4-minute read
Senate Confirms Blanche as AG, US Sheds 23,000 Jobs, and a 79-Foot Megalodon
the Senate averts a government shutdown, Nintendo profits jump 53%, and a goose named Goosey honks his family awake to a barn fire.
Need to know
Business
U.S. Economy Unexpectedly Sheds 23,000 Jobs in July
Nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July even as the unemployment rate declined, according to Bureau…
Sources: CNBC, Axios, Financial Times
Politics & World
Senate Passes Stopgap Funding Bill Averting Shutdown
The Senate voted early Saturday to pass a short-term bill funding federal agencies through Dec. 11…
Sources: Reuters, The Hill
150years
How overdue a library book was when it finally made its way back to an Australian library after being found hidden in a fireplace. The likely borrower was an apprentice stonemason who checked it out in the 1870s and went on to work on London’s Houses of Parliament.
Source: BBC
In the know
Worth a longer read
Spokane Shows What the New Era of Wildfires Looks Like
What Spokane reveals about the new era of wildfires — and what it means for communities that never considered themselves fire country. (Read)
Wired · Sachi Kitajima Mulkey
Signal then storm: A researcher’s 50-year hunt for the source of chronic pain
One researcher’s 50-year hunt for the biological source of chronic pain, and why the answer proved so elusive. (Read)
Aeon · Stephani Sutherland
What Came After Hiroshima
What came after the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima — a story of revenge, rebuilding, and survival. (Read)
The Dispatch · Wesley Liu
- This weekend
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ chases a $135M-$140M+ domestic second weekend, which would rank as the third-best U.S. second weekend ever.
- Aug. 12-13
The Perseid meteor shower — which NASA calls the best of the year — peaks Aug. 12-13 with up to 100 meteors per hour, best viewed from dark-sky parks.
- Aug. 18
Angélique Kidjo receives her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, becoming the first African musician to be so honored.
Etcetera
- Meet Goosey, the adopted goose who honked his family awake to a barn fire
- The real reason hot dogs come in 10s but buns come in 8s
- Giant lobsters have taken over the ancient ruins of Pompeii
- Ötzi the Iceman is still hosting life 5,300 years after his death
- Lost Megalodon fossils resurface on a museum shelf — and point to a 79-foot shark
- Pumas are quietly saving drivers from deer collisions
- Burger King just reclaimed its crown as America’s No. 2 burger chain
Today’s clickbait, so you don’t have toThere Is a Man Trapped Inside a Netflix Billboard Above Sunset Boulevard Right Now
On this day · August 8
The Historybook- 1945The Soviet Union declares war on Japan in the final days of World War II
- 1963Robbers make off with £2.6 million from a mail train in Britain’s Great Train Robbery
- 1974President Richard Nixon announces his resignation in a televised address to the nation
- 1988Burma’s 8888 pro-democracy uprising begins with nationwide protests against military rule
- 2008The Beijing Summer Olympics open at 8:08 p.m. on 8/8/08
Compiled by the Desk, not linked to a source · Report an error
Quote of the day
“I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body.”
— Richard Nixon, announcing his resignation as president on this date in 1974
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