Politics & World
Mangione Expected to Plead Guilty in Federal Case
Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty Friday in the federal case over the killing of former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a person familiar with the matter told the AP.
You’re reading the edition from Friday, August 14, 2026. Read today’s
Friday, August 14, 2026 · 4-minute read
Mangione to Plead Guilty, Judge Tosses Harvard Suit, and Stolen Mini Mozarts
Mangione heads toward a guilty plea, China faces a $26 billion tariff-evasion charge, and Kyle Schwarber launches two homers into the corn.
Need to know
Politics & World
Judge Dismisses Trump Administration Antisemitism Lawsuit Against Harvard
A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s Title VI lawsuit alleging antisemitism at…
Sources: NPR News, Reason
Business
White House Accuses China of $26 Billion Tariff Evasion
A White House report says China routed goods through more than 40 third countries to avoid U.S…
Sources: Fox News Politics, The Hill
406mph
The speed at which the Hydromax — built by JCB, a company best known for diggers — blasted into the land-speed record books. It got there on a pair of reworked production-based engines, from machines ordinarily built to move earth, not break speed records.
Source: The Register
In the know
Worth a longer read
Her Brain Was Broken. It Was Fixed With Sound—Not a Scalpel
How doctors repaired a woman’s broken brain using focused ultrasound instead of a scalpel — and what it means for the future of neurosurgery. (Read)
Wired · Emily Mullin
She Spent 7 Months in Legal Hell After Cops Used Flock Surveillance To Identify the Wrong Car
How a Flock license-plate camera misidentified the wrong car — and plunged an innocent woman into seven months of legal hell. (Read)
Reason · Joe Lancaster
The exodus from Israel
Why growing numbers of Israelis are leaving the country — and what the exodus means for the nation they leave behind. (Read, paywall)
Financial TimesSubscription
- Coming days
Watch for the courts to respond to the Kennedy Center board’s vote restoring President Trump’s name and approving a $250 million renovation — moves that appear to challenge a federal judge’s earlier order and set up a fresh legal fight.
- Coming months
Monuments to Elon Musk — from fans and critics alike, including Cards Against Humanity — are set to go up near SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas, with at least one designed purely to annoy him.
- 2026-27 season
The NBA’s newly released 2026-27 schedule locks in opening night, Christmas Day matchups, and marquee reunions, with LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo slated to face their former teams.
Etcetera
- More than 200 golden mini Mozarts stolen from Salzburg — and not for the first time
- Nigel Farage beat a trash can — but Count Binface took a quarter of the vote
- A note to the U.S. military: that bright light is Venus, please don’t shoot
- Björk threw an eclipse rave in a balloon dress for 7,000 dancing Icelanders
- Alfred Hitchcock’s surprising supporting role in the rise of the modern mimosa
- Why ancient Romans feared the number 17
Today’s clickbait, so you don’t have toThis Hamster Has a Strava — and She Runs More Than You
On this day · August 14
The Historybook- 1935President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law
- 1945Japan accepts Allied surrender terms, effectively ending World War II
- 1947Pakistan gains independence from British rule
- 2003A massive blackout leaves roughly 50 million people without power in the northeastern US and Canada
Compiled by the Desk, not linked to a source · Report an error
Quote of the day
“Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa.”
— ‘Field of Dreams’ (1989) — quoted as the Phillies and Twins played MLB’s return to the Dyersville, Iowa ballpark
Get The Morning Brief by email, free.
Five minutes, the facts that matter, no spin. Seven mornings a week.