Politics & World Affairs — August 11, 2026

Trump reportedly used plane decoy. Reports say President Trump exited Air Force One via a catering truck at last month's NATO summit in Turkey and flew home on a smaller military jet. The reason: an Iranian threat.

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Trump shifts to Iran sanctions. President Trump pivoted from military strikes to a sanctions-and-blockade strategy after Strait of Hormuz reopening talks stalled over dueling reparations demands. U.S. crude rose above $84.

NPR reports the turn to economic pressure comes as U.S. stockpiles of key weapons have dwindled, narrowing military options. Negotiations with Tehran have followed a stop-start pattern and appear to have stalled again, according to the outlet, leaving sanctions and a naval blockade as the administration's chosen tools. The oil market response, with crude climbing past $84, underscores the economic stakes of a prolonged standoff over the strait.

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Six states hold primaries today. Voters in six states cast ballots today, headlined by Wisconsin and Minnesota gubernatorial races that test the Democratic Party's ideological divide, plus Alabama's redistricting-delayed special primaries.

In Wisconsin, democratic socialist Francesca Hong leads the Democratic gubernatorial primary, according to AP, making the contest a measure of how far left voters in a key swing state are willing to move. The Minnesota race presents a parallel test of the party's competing wings in the Upper Midwest. Alabama's special primaries, delayed by redistricting, round out a day that could shape both parties' calculations heading into the general election.

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Syria sentences Assad to death. A Syrian court sentenced ousted leader Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia after convicting him of killings, torture, and crimes against humanity during the country's 14-year conflict.

The verdict marks the decisive resolution of a trial covering atrocities from a conflict that killed roughly half a million people, according to Reuters. Assad's brother was also sentenced to death in absentia, and the convictions included arbitrary arrest alongside killings and torture. Because the ousted leader was tried in absentia, carrying out the sentence would require his capture or return to Syria.

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