daily08122026

 Live from NPR in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt is leaving her position at the end of the month. NPR's Adipa Shiveram reports her time in the role ends as T is facing troubling polling numbers ahead of the midterm election. President T announced Leavitt's departure in a post on social media, saying she was leaving to spend time with her two young children. He called Leavitt one of his, quote, most trusted aides and said she would now serve as a top outside advisor as Republicans gear up for the midterm elections in November. Leavitt first started working for T at the end of his first administration. She also ran for Congress in her home state of New Hampshire, but was unsuccessful. And she later worked for T's Super PAC before coming on to his 2024 campaign. Who her replacement will be is not yet clear. While Leavitt was on parental leave, several cabinet officials briefed the press. Deepa Shiveram, the White House.
President T is being sued in federal court to stop him from making money off early access to his social media posts. The suit brought by two media groups comes after Truth Social started charging Wall Street firms as much as $100,000 a month for the service so they can trade off of them.
President T took a secret flight out of Turkey last month after Israel warned the U.S. of an Iranian threat against Air Force One. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports that's according to a person familiar with the matter. Israel had intelligence of a possible threat of Iranian missiles toward Air Force One and shared that intelligence with the U.S., according to a person briefed on the matter, not authorized to speak publicly. The warning prompted T to be secretly flown out of Turkey on a different plane. Air Force One flew separately. That news was first reported by the Washington Post. When asked about it late Tuesday, T said he was following instructions from the Secret Service. This comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with no progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Daniel Estrin, Tel Aviv.
A moderate edged out a Democratic Socialist in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor yesterday. Mayan Silver from member station WUWM reports a key factor was a late endorsement from the state's popular outgoing Democratic governor. Polls were showing progressive Francesca Hong up by double digits in the days and weeks before the primary. That's despite an endorsement from Wisconsin's Democratic governor, Tony Evers, for her main opponent, moderate David Crowley. But the margins were narrower than anyone imagined, bopping up and down by tens of percentage points. Some Democrats had concerns about her comments years ago, about defunding the police and canceling Thanksgiving, which she's since backed away from. Crowley will face Congressman Tom Tiffany, who was backed by T, in the general election. He won the Republican primary handily.
The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in Congo is on track to surpass the deadliest one in history. The outbreak has killed over 2,000 people out of more than 4,300 cases, the fastest growing in history.
A grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner on murder charges and the killing of his parents, director Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner. As NPR's Mandelit Del Barco reports, he pleaded not guilty. The grand jury's newly unsealed indictment alleges that Nick Reiner was lying in wait before attacking his parents. On December 14th, the beloved Hollywood director, actor Rob Reiner, and producer-photographer Michelle Singer Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home. Hours later, their youngest son was arrested and charged with murder. Since then, the 32-year-old has remained behind bars without bail. He entered a not-guilty plea and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in September. L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hockman says the killing was, quote, a profound betrayal by someone who is loved and trusted by the very people he's accused of killing. Hockman said the new allegations mean if he's found guilty, Reiner could face the death penalty. Prosecutors haven't yet decided whether to seek it. Mandelit Del Barco, Los Angeles.
A Kansas town has agreed to pay $850,000 to a former reporter at the Marion County Record to end her lawsuit over a police raid of the paper's offices in 2023. Marion's police chief said he was investigating whether the paper had committed identity theft in accessing a restaurant owner's driving record. The reporter, Phyllis Zorn, says the raids were a retaliation for hard-hitting local coverage. It's NPR.