Strikes Without End

The U.S. and Iran are back at it: Both countries have resumed trading airstrikes this week after mostly pausing for the month of August, when they were attempting to agree to a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Then, on August 30, “US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on its Larak Island” claiming “that the attack on Larak was launched to prevent Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz,” per Breakthrough News. 

Last night, U.S. Central Command reported that it had struck its adversary’s military targets in retaliation for attacks on U.S. troops and ships in the region. The U.S. military allegedly killed four members of the IRGC and 12 people across the south of Iran, per Iranian state outlets. The New York Times is reporting that U.S. forces hit a wedding in the port town of Kuhestak, killing four people (including a child). The “U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” said CENTCOM spokesperson Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins.

The IRGC responded, saying it had targeted U.S. bases in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan; it characterized its strikes as retaliatory, saying the U.S. bombing was a “flagrant violation of human rights” turning an “engagement” event into a “mourning ceremony.”

“American evil ⁠in the region will be met with heavier, more widespread, and devastating responses, and any country that cooperates with the aggressive American army must accept its dangerous consequences,” said Iran’s military command in a statement.

“Asian and European stocks tumbled after the renewed U.S. airstrikes, which pushed oil prices back up to levels unseen since July,” reports Reuters, “compounding the economic impact of a global sell-off in bonds as disrupted energy supplies fuel inflation worldwide.”

It’s not clear what exactly the Trump administration hopes to accomplish at this stage of the war; his negotiations haven’t resulted in the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and other allied groups still routinely fire on ships if they do attempt passage at all; the whole corridor remains destabilized.

Scenes from New York: “Since May, several New Yorkers have reported seeing people venturing in and out of the 7,500-mile network of pipes that make up the city’s sewer system,” reports The New York Times. “And while these explorations have fueled rumors of an underground society, the Police Department has not established a motive.”

QUICK HITS

• HUGE NEWS: Stephanie Slade’s new book, Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the American Right, is out! Read an excerpt here and BUY THE DAMN THING if you know what’s good for you.
• “For the first time in recent history, Danish conscripts have been deployed to Greenland, as Denmark moves to bolster its presence in the Arctic ​after U.S. demands to acquire the territory,” reports Reuters. “U.S. President Donald Trump has ‌repeatedly sought to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish island, citing national security concerns and accusing Copenhagen of neglecting Arctic defence. Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected the idea.” I’m not sure Trump is intimidated by Danish soldiers, but good for them, I guess.
• “The 32-year-old Cuban who traveled between Tampa and Miami for work had already spent more than a year in immigration detention centers across the United States. Officers moved him from one jail to another before putting him on a plane in Texas on the morning of July 30,” writes Juan Carlos Chavez for the Tampa Bay Times. “No one told Moreno, who originally came to the United States on a temporarily protected basis, where he was going until five hours into the flight, when an immigration officer told him they were going to Africa. ‘I honestly thought it was a bad joke because the officer laughed, like he was making fun of me,’ Moreno said. A month after arriving in the Central African Republic, Moreno and 35 other immigrants deported on a 21-hour flight remain in Bangui, the country’s capital, without passports and no information about what will happen next.”
• “Rhonda Lynn Orr was written out of her aunt’s estate in 2013. By the time the pandemic rolled around, she had turned up again in her aunt’s life and taken charge of her care,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “Soon after, authorities say Orr drained at least $690,000 from her aunt’s accounts. Now, Orr is in jail facing charges of theft from a vulnerable adult. Her aunt is under the care of a court-appointed guardian. In an interview from jail, Orr disputed the charges.”
• “The percentage of parents and caregivers in the United States refusing a standard vitamin K shot for infants at ​birth has accelerated sharply this year, an exclusive data analysis for Reuters found, putting more newborns at risk of life-threatening bleeding episodes….In the first half of 2026, the rate of non-receipt was 2.5 times higher than the average rate from 2019 to 2024. It was 1.4 times higher than in 2025.”
• Pretty nasty, from Michigan’s Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed:

So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no… https://t.co/JApcsCW4kU

— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) August 22, 2026