Tuesday, 11 August 2026

President Trump secretly evacuated from Turkey via military aircraft after a NATO summit, reportedly hiding in a catering container to switch planes amid an Iranian threat. The elaborate ruse kept his location hidden from the press pool and some White House staff.

Trump signed an executive order substantially reducing the number of recommended childhood vaccines and calling for splitting combined vaccines like MMR into separate shots. Medical professionals and public health experts condemned the order as dangerous and scientifically unfounded, with no evidence supporting the claim that combined vaccines cause autism.

The ACLU and immigrant rights groups filed new legal challenges to Trump's second executive order attempting to strip birthright citizenship from certain Americans, arguing the order violates the Supreme Court's June ruling that affirmed the practice under the 14th Amendment.

Negotiations between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz remained deadlocked as Trump demanded Iranian compensation for casualties and damages from the ongoing war, while Iran conditioned the strait's reopening on war reparations. Oil prices approached $90 per barrel amid the stalemate.

In a major ICE operation in Atlanta, more than 1,200 people were arrested, with 720 having some form of criminal history according to the agency. The operation represents continued aggressive enforcement under Trump's mass deportation campaign.

Human rights organizations sued the Trump administration over its sanctions against the International Criminal Court, arguing the sanctions violate constitutional rights and hinder the court's ability to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Trump's approval rating fell to yet another record low according to a new Economist/YouGov poll, continuing a downward trend throughout his second term as voters express dissatisfaction with his policies and priorities.

The Trump administration finalized a plan to cut off federal Medicaid funding for hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgeries for transgender youth, continuing its campaign against gender-affirming care and DEI policies.

A federal judge expanded an earlier block on Trump's executive order seeking to tighten mail-in voting rules, freezing a key piece of his attempted overhaul for all U.S. states ahead of the November elections.

The National Guard deployment to Washington D.C., initially announced as a one-year emergency measure, has been quietly extended until Inauguration Day 2029, with the operation expected to cost in the billions of dollars. A year into the deployment, residents report mixed reactions on public safety gains.