Politics & World Affairs — August 28, 2026

Federal judge again blocks Trump's mail ballot order just before midterms. President Trump's mail-in voting executive order faces a new two-week block from a federal judge in Boston as the November midterms approach.

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Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' in the U.S. President Trump says he's renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' in the U.S. as he escalates his trade war with Canada.

The order, signed Thursday, followed the collapse of trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa, according to AP News. The redesignation applies only within the United States, and it has already drawn pushback: Canada rejected the change, as did several U.S. governors, while House Democrats say they plan legislation to nullify the order. Those responses set up a potential congressional and cross-border dispute over whether the new name takes effect.

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Centcom says Iranian sea mines cleared from Strait of Hormuz transit routes. The U.S. military said it has cleared all Iranian sea mines along internationally recognized transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

The announcement comes as the conflict with Iran reaches its six-month mark Friday, according to The Hill. Alongside the Centcom statement, Iran signaled that a return to diplomacy "isn't impossible," a notable shift in tone. The clearing of the internationally recognized transit routes removes a hazard to shipping through the strait, a key waterway, and the paired developments suggest possible movement toward de-escalation after months of hostilities.

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King Harald, Norway's reform-minded head of state, dies at 89. Norway's King Harald, a reformer who spent more than three decades on the throne, died at 89, the royal palace said Friday.

The succession took effect immediately, with Crown Prince Haakon, 53, becoming Norway's new king upon his father's death, the royal palace said. Harald V reigned for more than 30 years and was described by Reuters as a reform-minded monarch. His death Friday closes one of Europe's longer recent reigns and begins a transition for the Norwegian royal house under Haakon.

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