World
King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89 after weeks in hospital, ending a 35-year reign as Europe's oldest reigning monarch. The palace said he passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on August 28. Harald modernized the Norwegian monarchy, married a commoner, and served as a unifying figure through national crises including the 2011 terror attacks. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, succeeds him as King Haakon VIII at a time when the royal family faces scandals involving Crown Princess Mette-Marit and her son. Harald's reign will be remembered for bringing the monarchy closer to the Norwegian people.
AP News
Politics
British provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the United Kingdom, a day after US immigration agents arrested him at New Orleans airport. The Department of Homeland Security said he overstayed his visa after entering the country legally in 2019 and failed to appear for an immigration hearing, leading a judge to order his removal in July. The 41-year-old, once a vocal supporter of President Trump and a defender of ICE, was believed to be heading to a concert by rapper Ye when he was detained. His removal marks a fall for a figure who spent years urging tough enforcement of immigration laws.
The Guardian
Business
The US federal debt has passed $40 trillion for the first time, according to the Treasury Department. The total reached $40.05 trillion, roughly double the level of a decade ago. Treasury also reported a $432.3 billion deficit in July, the highest monthly shortfall since March 2021. Interest on the debt now costs more than $1 trillion a year, making it the government's second-largest expense. With a population of about 343 million, the debt equals roughly $117,000 per American. Watchdogs project the country will hit its $41.1 trillion debt limit sometime between late winter and mid-summer 2027, forcing another congressional fight over borrowing.
CNBC
Technology
AI startup Groq has raised $350 million at a $3.5 billion valuation to accelerate its pivot from designing its own chips to running a neocloud business. The company, known for its custom LPU inference chips, now operates 13 data centers across four regions and plans to scale power capacity from 54 to more than 200 megawatts by 2027. Nvidia is among the investors. The shift follows the loss of key chip team members and reflects booming demand for AI computing power. Groq will use the funds to offer customers larger clusters of Nvidia GPUs alongside its own hardware for AI training and inference.
TechCrunch
Science
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have captured the clearest image yet of Betelgeuse's companion star, named Siwarha. The star, about 650 light-years away in Orion, was first proposed as an explanation for Betelgeuse's mysterious dimming a century ago. The new observations reveal Siwarha is two to three times the mass of the Sun, far larger than expected, and that it stirs a trail of dense gas through Betelgeuse's atmosphere. The team timed its observations using 2024 predictions of the companion's orbit. The finding could help explain Betelgeuse's strange brightness changes and refine forecasts of its eventual supernova.
ESA/Hubble
Sports
Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship on Sunday, capturing his second FedEx Cup and passing Tiger Woods as the PGA Tour's all-time career earnings leader. The $10 million winner's purse pushed his career total to $130,390,661, eclipsing Woods' mark that had stood for nearly 26 years. Scheffler, 30, came from behind on the final day at East Lake, finishing at 16-under to beat Viktor Hovland. It was his third PGA Tour win of the year and extended his run as the Tour's top earner to five straight seasons.
Front Office Sports
Health
Two unvaccinated residents of Pennsylvania have died from measles, the first US deaths from the disease in 2026. Both lived in Lancaster County, which has recorded 185 cases this year as part of a statewide outbreak of 393 cases across 28 counties. Nationally, the CDC has counted 2,777 measles cases in 2026, the worst year since 1991. The deaths are Pennsylvania's first from measles in 35 years. Health officials link the resurgence to falling vaccination rates: kindergarten exemptions have more than doubled in five years, from 1.9% to 4%. Measles is highly contagious and fully preventable with the MMR vaccine.
STAT News
Environment
A Paris court has ordered TotalEnergies to disclose the climate risks linked to emissions from its oil and gas products and to set out measures to address them. The June 25 ruling, filed under France's 2017 corporate duty of vigilance law, gives the company six months to submit an updated vigilance plan, with a follow-up hearing set for January 2027. The court stopped short of ordering production cuts, making the decision a partial victory for the NGOs and the city of Paris that brought the case in 2020. The city called it a landmark in French climate law, extending corporate responsibility to product-use emissions.
Reuters