Morning Edition · Friday, August 28, 2026
Macro
Warsh Delivers His First Jackson Hole Speech With US Profits at a Postwar High
Corporate profits rose $400.9 billion in the second quarter, even as the share of business output paid to workers fell, the economic backdrop the new Federal Reserve chair must now address.
Markets
Venezuela Examines Leaving OPEC as Washington Negotiates Long-Term Access to Its Oilfields
The country pumped 1.16 million barrels a day in July, less than half its output a decade ago, while Gulf shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have recovered to between 6 million and 8 million barrels a day.
Geopolitics
Qatar's Prime Minister Presses Mediation in Tehran as Trump Says No Talks Are Under Way
The United States has widened sanctions, and Beijing has warned it will take "all necessary measures" if those measures reach Chinese buyers of Iranian crude.
Macro
Seven French Presidential Candidates Argue Over Debt and Pensions in First Debate
Marine Le Pen used the business-lobby event to present a 125 billion euro cost-cutting plan, eight months before the first round of voting.
World
Nepal and Tibet Flood Toll Passes 460 With More Than 1,400 Missing as a New Lake Threatens Rescuers
The confirmed toll has risen to 538 dead in Nepal and 5 in China, with more than 1,300 people still missing, as rescuers paused and then resumed work around an unstable barrier lake that Chinese authorities say still carries a "high risk" of bursting.
Crypto
Ripple-Backed XRP Treasury Company Clears the SEC and Sets a September 30 Shareholder Vote
Evernorth's merger with a listed shell company would put a token-holding balance sheet on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN.
Geopolitics
Lavrov Says Russia Issued No Ultimatum to Washington After CIA Director's Moscow Visit
The Russian foreign minister spoke days after John Ratcliffe met intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin in Moscow, and hours after drone strikes closed two kindergartens in Yaroslavl.
Geopolitics
South Korea, Japan and the United States Will Hold Freedom Edge Drills in September Despite Scaled-Back Exercises
The trilateral exercise runs from 7 to 11 September near Jeju Island, two weeks after Washington and Seoul halved their bilateral Ulchi Freedom Shield drills at President Trump's request.
World
US Memo Restricts Internship Work Permits for International Students and Threatens University Certification
The 24 August notice tells colleges they can lose the right to enrol foreign students, and some universities have already suspended processing while visa interviews are separately on hold.
World
Indonesians March on Parliament Over Corruption as the Government Promises a Credible 2027 Budget
Police deployed about 18,000 personnel around the Jakarta complex on the anniversary of last year's deadly protests, and the rally turned violent after nightfall, with a police post and motorcycles set ablaze, as President Prabowo Subianto's approval rating is reported at 38 percent.
World
Nigerian Kidnapping Victims Paid 7.78 Billion Naira in Ransom Over a Year, Research Group Says
SBM Intelligence counted 7,825 people abducted and estimates that Boko Haram received more than 90 percent of the money.
Tech
Meta's Multibillion-Dollar US Child Safety Settlement Sets a Template Other Governments Can Use
The company agreed to pay state attorneys general and to cap under-18 users at two hours a day, while claims in Kenya, the Netherlands and elsewhere remain unresolved.