Track 1. Gavel of Grace. Frank Caprio, the empathetic Providence judge known from 'Caught in Providence,' has died at 88 after a fight with pancreatic cancer.

Track 2. Midnight on the Baltic. Italian police arrested 49-year-old Serhii K. in San Clemente on a German European arrest warrant accusing him of involvement in the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.

Track 3. Lines of Power. The Texas House passed a new congressional map designed to flip five seats to Republicans after a partisan standoff and walkout, setting up legal fights and national countermeasures.

Track 4. Ride the Erin Tide. Category 2 Hurricane Erin, with 100 mph winds and a massive reach, is pounding the U.S. East Coast�flooding the Outer Banks, cutting off ferries, damaging homes and prompting coastal flood alerts for millions.

Track 5. Hot Wall, Cold Welcome. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, at President Trump's request, announced plans to paint the U.S.-Mexico border wall black to raise surface temperatures and deter climbers, citing anti-rust benefits and backed by recent congressional funding.

Track 1. Flags on the Lawn. European leaders join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House with President Donald Trump to press for a unified Western stance on a peace deal, security guarantees, and Ukraine's future amid concerns Trump may push for a Russia-favored full deal after his Alaska talks with Putin.

Track 2. Erin: Sea Heat & Warning Beat. Hurricane Erin — which formed from an African tropical wave on Aug 9 and rapidly intensified to a Category 5 with 160 mph winds by Aug 16 — is now a Category 3 (125 mph) about 330 miles ESE of Grand Turk, expanding in size and threatening the Caribbean with heavy rain, power outages, and dangerous surf along the U.S. East Coast.

Track 3. Picket Lines and Runways. On August 16, 2025 CUPE-represented Air Canada flight attendants launched the airline's first strike since 1985, grounding nearly all of the carrier's 700 daily flights and affecting over 100,000 travelers before the federal government invoked Section 107 to force binding arbitration and end the walkout.

Track 4. Zeitoun Echoes. On Aug 17, 2025 the IDF stepped up an offensive in Gaza City's Zeitoun — using the 99th Division (Nahal Infantry and 7th Armored) and the IAF — prompting mass displacement, UN humanitarian warnings and tens of thousands of Israelis protesting plans to occupy Gaza City.

Track 5. River of Resilience. Heavy monsoon flash floods have devastated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing 314 people (including 204 in Buner), injuring 156, leaving many missing and thousands homeless while rescue teams battle rain, landslides and damaged roads.

Track 1. Lights at Al-Shifa. An Israeli airstrike outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on August 10, 2025 killed seven people, including five Al Jazeera journalists, prompting international condemnation and calls for investigation after the IDF alleged the lead correspondent was a Hamas operative.

Track 2. Two States, One Beat. On August 11, 2025 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Australia will recognise the State of Palestine at the 80th UN General Assembly in September, conditional on PA commitments and amid global and domestic debate.

Track 3. Shoal of Sparks. On August 11, 2025, during a chase at Scarborough Shoal, Chinese Type 056 corvette CCG 3104 and Type 052D destroyer CNS Guilin collided while pursuing Philippine vessels escorting fishermen, leaving one Chinese ship unseaworthy as BRP Teresa Magbanua escorted civilians to safety.

Track 4. Capital Lines and Checkpoints. On Aug. 11, 2025 President Trump declared a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C., placed the city's police under federal oversight, deployed roughly 800 National Guard troops plus federal agents, and ordered the immediate removal of the city's roughly 3,782 homeless residents to locations outside the capital, sparking local pushback and legal questions.

Track 5. Whispers in Kati. On August 11, 2025 Malian authorities detained between 20 and 50 soldiers—including Generals Abass Dembele and Nema Sagara—in Kati and around Bamako over an alleged coup plot, highlighting fractures inside Colonel Assimi Goïta's junta amid ongoing jihadist violence and political repression.