NEWS - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2026 - NEWS
California sued the Trump administration twice Monday, to block President Trump's latest round of tariffs and to block his administration from sharing needy families' personal data with immigration officials. LA Times
President Trump's executive order required the U.S. Postal Service to use state-by-state lists of eligible voters who may send a ballot by mail. LA Times
VOA VIEW: The SC does not have the authority.
The president is scheduled to attend a Republican National Committee dinner Tuesday night at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes. LA Times
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Nutritious food will be emphasized at the five promised municipal supermarkets, according to a "request for proposal" issued by the NYC Economic Development Corporation. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Mamdani will not have the stores buit.
The DOJ announced that it is expanding its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to Philadelphia as federal and state authorities target alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraud. New York Post
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination to serve as permanent head of the Department of Justice (DOJ). OANN
A man from Spokane, Washington, has been arrested in connection with the largest of three major fires in the area, which have collectively destroyed at least 700 structures and displaced about 67,000 people. OANN
VOA VIEW: He should go to jail for life.
President Donald Trump knocked U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro for her decision to drop charges against former U.S. Olympian David Hearn, who had been accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after the Trump administration's restoration efforts. OANN
Defense attorneys representing Luigi Mangione, the suspect charged in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, have formally challenged proposed court access restrictions, arguing that full media access and live broadcasting of the upcoming trial are necessary to protect their client's constitutional rights. OANN
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A newly opened Nashville bookstore canceled a launch event for a Jewish author's forthcoming book amid an online pressure campaign accusing the store of promoting Zionism. Washington Times
Americans are now more displeased with the U.S. Supreme Court than they have been in the past 26 years. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: As they should be.
A federal judge has blocked New York's new law barring ICE officers from wearing masks while on duty in the state, but allowed another law that blocks localities from signing cooperation agreements with the deportation agency. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: The judge was foolish in the latter.
More than 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday to block it from getting wide access to the personal information of millions of recipients of a benefits program for low-income families. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: Its questionale.
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Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced Monday, the first deaths confirmed in the U.S. related to the microscopic parasite. Washington Times
Light winds and lower temperatures were in the forecast Monday to help firefighters with wildfires in eastern Washington state that forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures. Washington Times
Imports and exports both declined, retreating from a busy month in May, data from the Commerce Department showed. New York Times
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Qatar said that draft language of a deal was being circulated, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed optimism about the talks but added that nothing was final yet. New York Times
VOA VIEW: Tran can't be trusted.
States are pushing to pass laws sanctioning more reasons to use lethal violence in self-defense, a distinctly American tradition. New York Times
VOA VIEW: In selfdefense.
The malaria-carrying mosquito is resistant to all insecticides. Scientists are scrambling to find ways to blunt the risk. New York Times
More than 700 buildings in the Spokane area have been destroyed, and another 400 have yet to be assessed, officials said Monday as three fires burned in the area. CBS
The Justice Department argued that the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters had until Jan. 6, 2023, to sue the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act, missing the deadline to file a lawsuit by over two years. CBS
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The House Ethics Committee released a report detailing the findings of an investigation into GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards, concluding that there is "substantial reason to believe" he violated House rules. CBS
The Senate is moving ahead with a plan to keep the government funded and avoid another shutdown before the midterm elections. CBS
The order asks AI companies to share previews of powerful new models with the government before they are released to the public. CBS
VOA VIEW: It should be done.
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Sony and Marvel's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" set the record for the highest domestic opening weekend of all time with $360 million in ticket sales. CNBC
Airlines can finally start flying passengers soon after planes are certified, but it can take them months to work them into schedules. CNBC
President Donald Trump's attorneys continue to fight in court against a judicial order that said the settlement deal is legally baseless. CNBC
ICE averaged roughly 1,645 immigration arrests per day in July, smashing June's record of 43,000 as new funding and personnel fuel the crackdown. FOX News
Retention and recruiting goals are being exceeded as young Americans pursue Army careers in engineering, military intelligence and helicopter mechanics. FOX News
David Simpson allegedly shot two men in Charlotte less than two hours after his bond release from Mecklenburg County Jail on an unrelated charge. FOX News
A coalition of 24 Democratic states on Monday sued the Trump administration to prevent immigration authorities from accessing private data from millions of families receiving anti-poverty aid. UPI
Three confirmed cases of tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, have been reported in New York this year, health officials said Monday. UPI
Florida-based Complete Health will pay a $14.1 million settlement stemming from allegations that it inflated patient diagnoses to overcharge Medicare. UPI
Only a fraction of Cuba's electrical grid was operating in the capital after the system suffered its sixth nationwide blackout of the year. UPI
Prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have moved to dismiss charges against three more people accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. UPI
President Donald Trump said ExxonMobil and Chevron "made too much money" over the Iran war, which netted the companies a combined $26.5 billion. UPI
VOA VIEW: They made too much.
ISM's July Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index report showed on Monday that economic activity picked up in the manufacturing sector. UPI
VOA VIEW: It sounds good.
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COMMENTARY OF THE DAY
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Voice Of America
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The U.S. death rate dropped to its lowest level on record in 2025, according to provisional data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week. It makes little sense.
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reported that 3,094,593 total deaths occurred in the U.S. last year. The nation’s overall age-adjusted death rate was 689.2 per 100,000 people, a 4.6% decrease from 2024’s rate of 722.1 and the lowest figure recorded in U.S. history, according to the agency. The death rate fell across all age groups and for both sexes. The age-adjusted rate stood at 811.1 per 100,000 for males and 582.9 per 100,000 for females.
ge-adjusted death rates varied widely by race and ethnicity. The rate was lowest among the multiracial non-Hispanic population, at 187.3 per 100,000 people, and highest among the Black non-Hispanic population, at 869.0 per 100,000. Rates increased for American Indian and Alaska Native people and for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people, while the change for Asian people was not statistically significant, the CDC said. Heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries remained the three leading causes of death nationwide in 2025, with heart disease accounting for 694,708 deaths and cancer for 622,832. Death rates were lowest for children ages 5 to 14, at 14.0 per 100,000, and highest for people 85 and older, at 12,787.5 per 100,000, mirroring the pattern seen in 2024.
Influenza and pneumonia climbed from the 11th leading cause of death in 2024 to the eighth in 2025, while suicide dropped from 10th to 11th, the report found. Farida Ahmad, a CDC health scientist and co-author of the report, said the biggest factor behind the record-low death rate was the continued decline in fatal drug overdoses, with a further drop in COVID-19 deaths also contributing, Newsweek reported, citing agency officials. ge-adjusted death rates varied widely by race and ethnicity. The rate was lowest among the multiracial non-Hispanic population, at 187.3 per 100,000 people, and highest among the Black non-Hispanic population, at 869.0 per 100,000. Rates increased for American Indian and Alaska Native people and for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people, while the change for Asian people was not statistically significant, the CDC said. Heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries remained the three leading causes of death nationwide in 2025, with heart disease accounting for 694,708 deaths and cancer for 622,832. Death rates were lowest for children ages 5 to 14, at 14.0 per 100,000, and highest for people 85 and older, at 12,787.5 per 100,000, mirroring the pattern seen in 2024. Influenza and pneumonia climbed from the 11th leading cause of death in 2024 to the eighth in 2025, while suicide dropped from 10th to 11th, the report found. Farida Ahmad, a CDC health scientist and co-author of the report, said the biggest factor behind the record-low death rate was the continued decline in fatal drug overdoses, with a further drop in COVID-19 deaths also contributing, Newsweek reported, citing agency officials.
