Trump Vaccine Order, Truth Social Lawsuit, Lakers Sale, West Bank Siege - August 13, 2026

Transcript

This is Artificially Intelligent News for Thursday, August thirteenth, twenty twenty-six. I’m Mark Ellison. This program is created with artificial intelligence and fact-checked against current reporting and official sources.

We begin at the White House, where press secretary Karoline Leavitt says she will leave her job at the end of August.

Leavitt is twenty-eight and became the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary. She said the decision was about spending more time with her young family after returning to the podium following the birth of her second child in May.

President Trump said he respected the decision and said Leavitt would remain in his political orbit as an outside adviser. He has not named a replacement.

The move matters because Leavitt has been one of the most visible defenders of the administration during a bruising midterm year. She also became a symbol of the White House’s media strategy, which has relied heavily on direct presidential posts, friendly interviews, and fewer traditional briefings than some past administrations.

Her departure gives the president a communication vacancy at a moment when the administration is trying to sell voters on its handling of inflation, crime, immigration, vaccines, and foreign conflicts.

The second major domestic story is a new fight over childhood vaccines.

President Trump has signed an executive order that pushes for spacing out childhood shots and splitting combination vaccines such as the measles, mumps, and rubella shot into separate injections.

Public health experts say the order is not a scientific update to the vaccine schedule. They say separate versions of some combined vaccines are no longer in regular use in the United States and would require new manufacturing, approvals, and clinical work. Pediatricians are also warning that more visits and more individual shots could make it harder for children to stay fully protected.

The administration’s position is that parents should have more flexibility and that the federal government should examine the current schedule. Medical groups counter that the existing schedule is built around decades of evidence and is designed to protect children before they enter school and before exposure risks rise.

The order itself does not instantly rewrite state school vaccine rules. But it adds pressure to an already tense public health debate. It also comes after another year of measles concern and after years of declining trust in public health agencies.

For parents listening this morning, the practical point is simple. The official vaccine rules in your state may not have changed. Pediatricians are urging families to check with their own doctors before delaying or skipping shots.

Politics now moves to the states, where this week’s primaries gave both parties a signal about voter mood.

In Wisconsin, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly won the Democratic primary for governor, defeating state Representative Francesca Hong. Crowley now faces Republican congressman Tom Tiffany in one of the country’s most watched governor’s races.

Crowley’s win was notable for two reasons. He becomes the first Black major-party nominee for governor in Wisconsin. And he won after a campaign that many observers framed as a test between a more establishment Democrat and a democratic socialist candidate with strong progressive support.

But the broader pattern was not simply left versus center. In Minnesota, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan won a Senate primary from the progressive side. In Connecticut, former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin defeated longtime Representative John Larson, adding to the year’s pressure for generational turnover.

The message from Democratic voters is unsettled but clear enough to matter. Many want new leadership. Some want sharper ideological change. Others are choosing candidates they see as more electable. Republicans are watching the same map and trying to tie Democratic nominees to unpopular national figures and policies.

The November stakes are high because governor’s races, Senate contests, and state legislatures will shape voting rules, redistricting fights, and the final two years of Trump’s term.

The courts are also shaping the midterm battlefield.

A federal judge in Boston has again blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order that sought to limit mail voting. Judge Indira Talwani ruled against provisions that would have pushed toward a national voter list and increased the Postal Service’s role in election procedures.

The challengers included Democratic attorneys general and voting-rights groups. They argued that the Constitution gives states and Congress, not the president acting alone, the central role in regulating federal elections.

The administration says the order is about election security. Critics say it would create confusion and make it harder for eligible voters to cast ballots.

The ruling does not end the fight. The administration has asked higher courts to revive parts of its election agenda. But as of this morning, the blocked provisions are not in effect for the twenty twenty-six midterms.

The next story sits at the intersection of presidential power, markets, and social media.

A federal lawsuit filed in New York seeks to stop Trump Media from charging for faster access to President Trump’s Truth Social posts about U.S. policy.

The lawsuit was brought by media groups including the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Intercept. They argue that official announcements should not be distributed in a way that gives paying subscribers a speed advantage over the public.

The service reportedly charges as much as one hundred thousand dollars a month for early or high-speed access to posts. That matters because the president’s comments on tariffs, military action, oil, trade, and companies can move markets.

Trump Media says the service is a normal data product and calls the lawsuit politically motivated. The plaintiffs say the arrangement raises constitutional concerns and creates a pay-to-see-first model around public information.

The court has not decided the merits. But the case could test how old transparency rules apply when a president uses a personal social platform as a major channel for official policy.

In Washington’s cultural world, the Kennedy Center board is meeting over whether to proceed with a major closure after a federal judge blocked an earlier two-year shutdown plan.

Management has put forward options that include a full closure, a partial closure with limited public access, or phased closures focused on urgent infrastructure problems.

The dispute is not only about plumbing, stages, and scheduling. Since returning to office, President Trump has reshaped the Kennedy Center’s leadership and made the venue part of a broader argument over federal institutions, public art, and political control of Washington landmarks.

Judge Christopher Cooper previously criticized the board’s earlier closure vote as appearing poorly informed. That means the board is under pressure to show it has weighed the consequences for performers, audiences, staff, and the city.

The building has real maintenance needs. The question is whether those needs require a sweeping shutdown or a narrower plan that keeps more programming alive.

Our seventh domestic story is from central Texas, where two soldiers died when an Army AH-sixty-four Apache helicopter crashed near Fort Hood.

Officials say the helicopter went down Wednesday during a routine training flight in a field near Salado. The crash sparked a wildfire and led to evacuations of nearby homes, but local officials said the aircraft did not hit any houses or other structures.

The names of the soldiers had not been released pending family notification. Fort Hood’s criminal investigation division is leading the inquiry into the cause.

The Apache has been a mainstay of Army aviation for decades. Training flights are routine, but they carry real risk, and the crash is another reminder that military readiness has a human cost even far from a combat zone.

Overseas, we start in the occupied West Bank, where a settler siege of Palestinian homes has drawn a rare and sharp rebuke from the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Israeli settlers surrounded three homes in the village of Qusra, including one owned by a Palestinian American. Local officials and residents said families were blocked from leaving and had trouble getting food, water, and electricity.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the action a horrific act of terror. That language stood out because Huckabee and the Trump administration are generally viewed as strongly supportive of Israel and sympathetic to settlers.

Israeli forces moved to dismantle illegal outposts in the area and evacuated some families. Reports from the village indicated the situation remained tense, with residents still facing restricted access.

The episode fits into a broader rise in settler violence and deepening pressure on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. It also complicates U.S.-Israel diplomacy at a time when Washington is trying to manage multiple Middle East crises and when Americans with family or property in the West Bank are demanding protection.

In Ukraine, Kyiv is trying to show that Russia cannot wage the war without feeling pressure at home.

Ukrainian forces have stepped up long-range drone and missile strikes against Russian oil facilities, air defenses, and military infrastructure. The strategy has not ended the war, and Ukraine still faces shortages of air-defense interceptors and long-range weapons. But the campaign has forced Moscow to defend more territory and has brought the costs of the war closer to Russian civilians and industry.

The shift follows a turbulent period in U.S.-Ukraine relations. Earlier in Trump’s second term, Washington pressured Kyiv toward negotiations and temporarily restricted some support. More recently, the administration has shown renewed willingness to help Ukraine build or license air-defense systems, including Patriot-related production.

For Ukraine, the aim is not only battlefield damage. It is leverage. Kyiv wants to make clear that any peace process cannot simply freeze Russian gains while leaving Ukraine exposed to the next attack.

The danger is escalation. Russia continues to strike Ukrainian cities, and civilians on both sides remain vulnerable. As of this morning, there is still no durable settlement and no sign that either side is ready to stop fighting on the other’s terms.

Now to the economy.

The most recent completed U.S. trading session was Wednesday, August twelfth. Final closes were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell twenty-one point five eight points to fifty-three thousand seven hundred seventy point two seven. The S&P five hundred rose twenty point three points to seven thousand seven hundred forty-eight point five zero. The Nasdaq Composite gained one hundred forty-three point zero four points to twenty-six thousand five hundred eighty-eight point four nine.

Those are final closing levels, not futures and not intraday quotes.

The market reaction came after inflation data gave investors some relief. The government’s July consumer price report showed annual inflation easing to three point four percent. Then this morning, the producer price index showed wholesale prices were flat in July and up four point seven percent from a year earlier, down from five point five percent in June.

The inflation story is not solved. Prices are still rising faster than the Federal Reserve’s two percent target, and households are still dealing with elevated costs for basics. But the latest wholesale number suggests some price pressure may be cooling before it reaches consumers.

That matters for the Fed’s September meeting. Before these reports, investors saw a rate increase as a more serious possibility. After two softer inflation readings, the case for holding rates steady is stronger, though the Fed still has more data to review.

For businesses, the details are mixed. Energy and food costs helped pull wholesale inflation lower. Services costs are still sticky in some categories. And companies are still dealing with tariffs, global conflict, and heavy demand tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure.

In sports, the Los Angeles Lakers are changing hands again at a record price.

An Associated Press source says Josh Kushner and Bob Iger have agreed to buy the Lakers in a deal valuing the franchise at twelve point five billion dollars. If approved by the NBA’s board of governors, it would be the highest valuation ever for a U.S. professional sports team.

The Lakers are one of the defining brands in American sports, with seventeen NBA championships and a global fan base. The price reflects more than basketball revenue. It reflects media rights, international reach, arena economics, and the scarcity of iconic franchises.

The deal comes after Mark Walter bought control from the Buss family at a ten billion dollar valuation just a year earlier. Jeanie Buss’s future role remains a central question for fans, as does the direction of a team now built around Luka Dončić after LeBron James’s move to Philadelphia.

The number is also a message to every other owner. Premium teams are no longer just sports assets. They are global media, real estate, technology, and status assets rolled into one.

The NFL also gets rolling tonight with the first full week of preseason games.

The league’s preseason Week One schedule begins with the Lions at the Bengals, the Packers at the Steelers, the Colts at the Patriots, the Chargers at the Texans, the Cardinals at the Raiders, and the Titans at the forty-niners. The Packers-Steelers and Titans-forty-niners games are among the national NFL Network windows.

Preseason football is not about final scores as much as roster decisions. Coaches are evaluating backup quarterbacks, offensive line depth, return specialists, and young defenders who need live tackling reps. Starters may play little or not at all, depending on the team.

Still, the audience is real. After months without football, preseason week one is the first broad look at new coaches, rookie classes, and position battles. It also starts the countdown to a regular season in which the Chiefs, Eagles, Cowboys, forty-niners, Bills, and several rising teams will again drive national attention.

Here are five notable recent results.

In baseball, the Yankees beat the Mariners ten to five. The Braves beat the Mets six to three behind power from Austin Riley and a strong Tyler Mahle start. In the NFL’s Hall of Fame Game, the Panthers beat the Cardinals thirty-three to thirty on a last-second touchdown. In Little League regional play, Darien, Connecticut beat Port Washington, New York eight to four to reach the Metro regional final. And at the Cincinnati Open, Carlos Alcaraz advanced past Jordan Thompson in three sets.

Finally, entertainment.

Disney is leaning into nostalgia this week with Camp Rock three premiering Friday on Disney Channel and Disney Plus.

The new movie brings Connect Three back to Camp Rock after the group loses an opening act for a reunion tour. A new generation of campers then competes for the chance to join the show.

The original Camp Rock films were a major part of late two-thousands Disney Channel culture and helped define the era of Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato fandom. The third installment arrives in a very different media world, where studios are trying to turn familiar millennial and Gen Z brands into streaming events.

It is also part of a crowded entertainment week. Prime Video has launched a new season of Reacher. Hulu is premiering a Travis Barker documentary called Louder Than Fear. Netflix is carrying an MLB Field of Dreams Game. But Camp Rock three has the clearest nostalgia hook and the strongest family-audience play.

The business question is whether a title built for cable-era teenagers can create a broad streaming moment in twenty twenty-six. Disney is betting that parents who grew up with the franchise and kids discovering it for the first time can meet in the same place.

That is the Thursday briefing. Karoline Leavitt is leaving the White House podium. Trump’s vaccine order is drawing sharp medical pushback. Midterm primaries are showing voter impatience. A court has again blocked parts of Trump’s mail-voting order. A lawsuit is challenging paid early access to Truth Social posts. The Kennedy Center is weighing its future. Two soldiers are dead after a Fort Hood helicopter crash. Overseas, the West Bank and Ukraine remain urgent flashpoints. Markets closed mixed after cooler inflation data. The Lakers may sell for a record twelve point five billion dollars. NFL preseason begins tonight.

For Artificially Intelligent News, I’m Mark Ellison. Thanks for listening.