TYb
Solar Killshot Windows, Airplane Radiation - Live #54 S0 News and frens
August 15, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-MUg97jR08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ght5M2n9C3M (dutchsinse: 8/15/2026 NEW LARGE M7.0 (M6.9) Strikes Indonesia 1700 miles away Mount Sinabung location hit!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDVJaXK1qTg (dutchsinse: New FREE Public Use Earthquake program + 3D solar viewing programs now available)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tacYX1_l99A (EarthMaster: Yet another large event this evening 6.1 Earthquake Vanuatu Region. Antipode discussion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TLe3gGIV38 (Dobsonian Power: Earthquakes - THIS ISNT NORMAL)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kba62f_ACZQ (Stefan Burns: Earth's Biggest Volcanoes Just Got Simultaneously Activated …)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyv6WZ1wSmE (The Observers Notebook- The August 2026 Lunar Eclipse)
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solar
https://news.inbox.eu/150mpzk-a-double-hit-from-the-sun-will-cover-the-earth-with-a-series-of-magnetic-storms
https://scienceblog.com/sb-in-1859-a-geomagnetic-storm-now-called-the-carrington-event-lit-up-auroras-bright-enough-to-read-a-newspaper-by-in-the-caribbean-set-telegraph-offices-on-fire-from-boston-to-paris-and-let-operators/
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wildfires
https://www.mensjournal.com/news/more-than-1-million-was-bet-on-l-a-wildfires-lawmakers-warn-it-could-spur-arson
https://www.firerescue1.com/wildfire-and-wildland-urban-interface/study-calif-homes-increasingly-likely-to-be-destroyed-when-wildfires-reach-them
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/08/16/europe-continues-to-battle-wildfires-as-belgium-sees-biggest-blaze-in-recorded-history
https://greekreporter.com/2026/08/16/firefighters-battle-wildfires-on-the-greek-islands-of-skyros-and-andros/
https://www.wionews.com/world/wildfires-rage-across-greece-and-croatia-as-tourists-flee-firefighters-battle-flames-and-smoke-1786877594864
https://srpske.rs/en/news/svet/2026/08/16/four-arrested-near-benkovac-suspected-wildfire-arson
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storms and floods
https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/flash-floods-next-big-weather-threat-4707026
https://watchers.news/2026/08/16/at-least-six-dead-as-severe-storms-and-historic-flooding-hit-indiana/
https://www.25newsnow.com/2026/08/16/flooding-emergency-declared-bloomington/
https://wtop.com/weather-news/2026/08/severe-storms-flooding-threat-target-dc-region-sunday/
https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/lala-buzzes-hawaii-with-damaging-winds-flooding-rain/1922399
https://www.ibtimes.com.au/historic-flooding-indiana-federal-emergency-declared-1874112
https://www.ibtimes.sg/spains-weather-swings-wildfires-floods-climate-risks-intensify-92279
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/16/torrential-rain-and-flood-kill-nine-in-japan-amid-wettest-month-in-decades
https://greekreporter.com/2026/08/16/mani-flooding-greece-peloponnese/
https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/08/16/4O6LELAO3VCKNIWETZLLZM36EU/
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tornadoes
https://www.10tv.com/video/news/local/south-columbus-residents-displaced-after-ef1-tornado/530-68660e70-0102-442e-9d03-255e18d6d65d
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earthquakes
https://modern.az/en/aktual/742971/another-powerful-earthquake-in-indonesia/
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9331284/magnitude-58-earthquake-strikes-papua-new-guinea/
https://cedarnews.net/newstasks/943786/m5-7-earthquake-strikes-japans-volcano-islands-region/
https://watchers.news/2026/08/16/m6-1-earthquake-hits-vanuatu-at-intermediate-depth-3/
https://english.gujaratsamachar.com/news/international/indonesia-earthquake-341-aftershocks-rock-region-in-24-hours-51-dead-and-thousands-forced-into-shelters-43964418797
https://www.voiceofemirates.com/en/news/2026/08/16/the-colombian-earthquake-opens-an-economic-front-with-washington-bogota-requests-exemption-from-trumps-tariffs/
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volcanoes
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/hurricane-lala-threat-kilauea-hawaii-volcanoes
https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/08/hawaii-mauna-loa-1935-us-army-bombing-lava/
https://colombiaone.com/2026/08/16/active-volcanoes-colombia/
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2285357/taal-volcano-sulfur-dioxide-emissions-drop-but-seismic-unrest-persists
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dailys
https://schumannresonance.today/
https://www.weather.gov/
https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Severe-Storms-Rally-Across-the-Midwest?source=news
https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/nfn
https://www.tornadohq.com/
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news/326444/Volcano-earthquake-report-for-Sunday-16-Aug-2026.html
https://www.spaceweather.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzjJNo992WI (Storm chaser Jordan Hall: Hawaii slammed by flooding - Hurricane LaLa)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J7Jb_-ZvQM (Fox Weather: Intense Winds, Torrential Rain Batter Hawaii As Hurricane Lala Sparks Widespread Power Outages)
lets go fusion
Rare images show comet 220P/McNaught brightening by more than 600 times
August 15, 2026
The comet completes one orbit around the Sun every 5.5 years and passed perihelion 2 months ago.
Astrophotographers imaged the comet 220P/McNaught as it traversed the skies over Namibia on August 8, 2026.
During a skywatching excursion to Farm Tivoli, Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger used a 12-inch telescope and a ZWO ASI 6200 MM Pro camera to photograph the comet as it glowed a bright green.
This brightness was unexpected since the comet 220P was known to have already reached its maximum glow around the time of its closest approach to the Sun in June.
At the time of writing, comet 220P/McNaught has moved to a distance of just over 1.20 astronomical units (1 AU equals about 93 million miles, or the average distance between Earth and the Sun) in the constellation Cetus.
The apparent skywatching coordinates of the comet are as follows: Right Ascension: 02h 57m 26s; Declination: +09° 38’ 32”
The comet should not have been an easy target to capture, having spent most of the year as a faint 17th-magnitude object.
The spike this month, however, saw it reach more 600 times its usual brightness, allowing Rhemann and Jäger to capture it. Astronomers at Bulgaria's Rozhen Observatory also made the most of the opportunity on August 8 by taking detailed measurements of the comet.
The data, published in The Astronomer's Telegram on August 10, show the comet is dominated by reflected dust. In contrast, the previous eruption, which saw the comet brighten around 8,000 times, was characterized by molecular gas enrichment.
This, according to a report in Tech Times, suggests that the two explosions exposed two chemically distinct zones inside the comet's nucleus—the solid frozen core—thus offering scientists a rare view of the comet's interior.
Meanwhile, citizen scientist Tiago Ferreira, who observed the comet on August 9, claimed that its tail became "so wide that almost fit the distance from the Earth to the Moon or 2.6x the diameter of Jupiter."
Comet 220P/McNaught is a relatively new discovery—having been first seen in the year 2004 by astronomer Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia.
It belongs to the Jupiter family of comets, meaning that its orbit of 5.5 years around the Sun is primarily influenced by the gravity of the gas giant.
https://starlust.org/rare-images-show-comet-220-p-mc-naught-brightening-by-more-than-600-times/
https://x.com/DobsonianPower/status/2086851195864281311
moar space objects
https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2026/08/16/comet-220p-mcnaught-an-image-16-aug-2026/
https://spacedaily.com/a-meteorite-punched-through-a-bedroom-ceiling-in-hillsborough-new-jersey-in-2024-scientists-have-now-found-hundreds-of-different-amino-acids-inside-it-and-the-majority-are-not-known-to-oc/
Vest tested in Artemis I shows promise against solar flares: Study
Updated: Aug 16, 2026 / 05:51 AM CDT
A special plastic vest tested during an unmanned Artemis space mission shows promise in helping shield astronauts from the dangerous effects of solar flares, a new study says.
People on Earth are safe from radioactive solar flares, thanks to the planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field. But it’s a different story in space, where that same radiation can harm astronauts. Women space travelers are considered especially vulnerable.
That’s where the AstroRad vest — developed by the U.S.-Israeli startup StemRad and Lockheed Martin — may come in. During the Artemis I moon flight in 2022, NASA outfitted a female manikin with one of the garments to see how it would fare next to humanlike figure that did not have one.
Moon base with UFOs? Avi Loeb weighs in on report
Although no major solar outbursts were encountered, the data collected is encouraging, researchers said. Findings showed the vest could reduce an astronaut’s radiation dose by between 40% and 60% compared to extreme solar particle events recorded in 1972 and 1989.
The Artemis program is ultimately shooting for a base on the Moon, but radiation remains a concern for future astronauts who travel there and stay at the outpost.
The latest AstroRad vest, currently weighing 57 pounds, is meant to shield the most vulnerable human organs and tissues, including the lungs and stomach, from high radiation during solar events.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/space-vest-radiation-protection-artemis-nasa/
moar
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/artemis-ii-pilot-thanks-nasa-for-letting-him-fly-orion-by-hand-im-still-blown-away-by-that-trust
https://www.space.com/technology/nasa-funds-spherical-aerobots-that-could-explore-the-caves-of-saturns-moon-titan
https://mars.nasa.gov/raw_images/1250462/
https://www.newsweek.com/nasa-sees-early-signs-el-nino-could-impact-us-fish-supply-12327396
'This goes beyond showcasing technological soft power': China's new moon map signals bold space ambitions
August 16, 2026
"This standard will be extended to future planetary geologic mapping, establishing an independent intellectual property framework for China's deep space exploration."
Chinese researchers have presented a new map of the moon, updating a previous edition based on new scientific findings and recalibrating the moon's ancient geologic eras.
The comprehensive map of the moon, with a scale of 1:5 million, was unveiled by the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (IGCAGS) on Aug. 6.
The map is an update of a 2024 edition and puts forward new boundaries for the ancient Aitkenian, Nectarian and Imbrian lunar periods.
(The researchers use the term Aitkenian, whereas the term pre-Nectarian is often used to describe the lunar geologic period from roughly around 4.5 billion to 3.9 billion years ago.)
The map also uses reprocessed spectral data to update areas of KREEP terrane, which features crustal material enriched in potassium (K), rare-earth elements (REE), and phosphorus (P), and is found to be more continuous and abundant than previously estimated.
"The lunar geologic history has indeed been rewritten — more precisely, refined and systematized," the state-run outlet Xinhua quoted Yang Zhiming, director of the IGCAGS, as saying.
Both the United States, through the Apollo missions, and the Soviet Union delivered lunar samples to Earth more than 50 years ago, greatly shaping research on and understanding of the moon.
China's own robotic sample return missions, Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6, launched in 2020 and 2024, respectively, have provided fresh materials and new insights.
Chang'e 6 was the first sample-return mission to the lunar far side. Chinese researchers say the returned material will provide a new starting point for scientific discussions on the nature of that hemisphere of the moon, which is hidden from view on Earth.
The map "introduces a proprietary cartographic standard," according to Xinhua, amid a wider, Chinese government-driven initiative to influence global standards.
In terms of space, aspects of the map such as the color scheme, geologic logic and an aesthetic "lighter for younger, darker for older" principle will be applied more broadly as China looks to expand its exploration beyond the moon and into the outer solar system.
"This goes beyond showcasing technological soft power. This standard will be extended to future planetary geologic mapping, establishing an independent intellectual property framework for China's deep space exploration," Yang said.
Both China and the United States have interests in setting standards as humanity renews its interest in exploring the moon.
While on Earth everyone agrees on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the two countries currently disagree about what time it is on the moon, where clocks run faster due to weaker gravity.
This suggests that leadership in space will be contested not just through missions and firsts, but via whose technical standards are followed, with China's new map playing into these efforts.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/this-goes-beyond-showcasing-technological-soft-power-chinas-new-moon-map-signals-bold-space-ambitions-video
https://english.news.cn/20260806/8a82a9ca021049fd8a4ac83f246c6180/c.html
https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/news–archives/2023/cas-in-media/202308/t20230810_1127777.shtml
moar
https://spacedaily.com/t-gj-3378b-90-percent-starlight-revised-mass-rocky/
https://en.as.com/latest_news/images-from-space-reveal-a-previously-unknown-structure-stretching-almost-5000-miles-in-the-atlantic-ocean-f202608-n/
New record! SpaceX launches 2 Falcon 9 rockets just 38 minutes apart
August 16, 2026
SpaceX keeps setting spaceflight records.
Elon Musk's company launches far more frequently than any other outfit, and it operates the largest satellite constellation ever assembled — the Starlink broadband network, which consists of nearly 11,000 satellites (and counting).
On Saturday evening (Aug. 15), SpaceX set another mark, for the shortest time between orbital flights: It launched two Falcon 9 rockets just 38 minutes apart, besting its old mark — set on Aug. 31, 2024 with two Starlink missions — by 27 minutes.
The first liftoff, from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, occurred Saturday at 9:12 p.m. EDT (0112 GMT on Aug. 16) and carried eight satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO) for Louisiana-based telecom company Globalstar.
All eight spacecraft were deployed successfully, separating over a six-minute span beginning 56.5 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX announced via social media.
While that Falcon 9 was powering its way to LEO, another one launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, on California's central coast.
That liftoff, at 9:50 p.m. EDT (6:50 p.m. local time; 0150 GMT on Aug. 16), kicked off a mission for the U.S. Space Force called USSF-366.
We know very little about USSF-366, which isn't surprising given its classified status. However, rocket watchers have made a few inferences from the limited available information.
"It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites for a U.S. government entity based on SpaceX's Starshield satellite bus, based on locations of rocket stage drop zones being exact fits with previous Starlink Group 15 launches," NextSpaceflight.com wrote in its mission description. (Starshield is a SpaceX project that uses modified versions of Starlink craft to fly national security missions for the U.S. government.)
It's unclear when and where the rocket's upper stage will deploy the USSF-366 payload(s); SpaceX's mission description doesn't reveal that information. And the company ended its livestream shortly after the first-stage landing, as is typical for national security flights.
Both of Saturday's missions featured successful rocket landings. The Falcon 9 first stage that launched the Globalstar mission came back for a touchdown at Cape Canaveral about eight minutes after launch. It was the 14th flight for that particular booster.
The USSF-366 Falcon 9 first stage, meanwhile, came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after its launch, touching down in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You." That booster now has 18 missions under its belt.
Saturday's doubleheader brought the tally of Falcon 9 launches in 2026 to 96. The vast majority of those — about 75% — have been Starlink missions.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-breaks-record-launch-doubleheader-ussf-366-globalstar-2r
https://www.spacex.com/launches
moar SpaceX
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/6030495-redwire-spacemd-starfall-drug-research/
Ukrainian drone attack kills civilian in Moscow Region – governor
16 Aug, 2026 11:00 | Updated 16 Aug, 2026 13:03
Six more people were injured as around 200 UAVs were intercepted, Andrey Vorobyev has said
An 83-year-old man died and six more people were injured as a result of an overnight Ukrainian drone strike in Moscow Region, local governor Andrey Vorobyev has said, adding that electronic warfare shot down or intercepted 187 Ukrainian UAVs.
The strike comes as Kiev has intensified long-range attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure and residential areas. Earlier this month, a Ukrainian drone struck a crowded beach in the southern resort of Gelendzhik, killing at least seven people, including three children, and injuring dozens more.
Drones were intercepted over Domodedovo, Podolsk, Stupino, Odintsovo, Naro-Fominsk, Ramenskoye, Chekhov, Kolomna, Kashira, and Yegoryevsk, Vorobyev said on Sunday in a post on Telegram.
The governor said that the 83-year-old man was killed when a drone fell on the grounds of a private house. Three people were injured in Podolsk as a truck driver suffered a hand injury in Klimovsk.
Another man sustained shrapnel wounds at the Lesnoy allotment association, where a private house was also damaged, while a woman in the settlement of Zheleznodorozhny suffered a shoulder injury. None of the injuries were life-threatening, Vorobyev added.
Several homes and a shopping center were damaged in Domodedovo, where a balcony also caught fire. A private house and a church school were damaged in Chekhov, while a bathhouse was destroyed in Stupino, Vorobyev noted.
A storage facility linked to e-commerce giant Wildberries caught fire after a drone strike in the Koledino industrial park in Podolsk, while a warehouse storing medicines caught fire in Domodedovo.
Damage was also reported at a newly built police department in Kashira and at industrial facilities in Voskresensk. A power line was damaged in the Matveyevskoye cottage settlement, the governor specified.
Wildberries press office confirmed the fire at its warehouse in Podolsk, saying that the facility had been evacuated and deliveries rerouted to other sites.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that 822 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over Russian regions and the Black and Azov seas. Five people were killed in the Rostov Region, while attacks also injured civilians in Belgorod and Bryansk regions.
Damage was reported in several regions, including to homes, public buildings, and industrial facilities. In Belgorod, a drone attack on a civilian bus killed one woman and injured nine more people.
Russian authorities have condemned Kiev’s drone raids as terrorist attacks targeting civilians. In May, a triple wave of Ukrainian UAV strikes on a student dormitory in Donbass’ Starobelsk killed 21 people, mostly teenage girls, and partially collapsed the five-storey building.
Russia has responded to the raids by stepping up its long-range missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial and logistical infrastructure. Moscow maintains that it never targets civilians, only military sites and infrastructure supporting Kiev’s forces.
https://www.rt.com/russia/644300-ukrainian-drone-attack-kills-civilian/
extra RT
https://www.rt.com/russia/644302-press-gang-ukraine-tear-gas/
Russia-Ukraine war escalates: Ukraine launches 822 drones at Russia, NATO jet intercepts drone over Romania
16 Aug 2026, 07:10 PM IST
Ukraine launched one of its largest aerial attacks on Russia on Sunday, with hundreds of drones targeting Moscow and other regions, while Russian missile and drone strikes hit cities across Ukraine.
The escalation also spilled into NATO airspace after a Spanish fighter jet shot down a drone over Romania.
At least six people were killed in Ukraine's attacks on Russia, while Russian strikes killed at least five people in Ukraine and wounded several others.
822 Ukrainian drones intercepted, Russia says
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones overnight, in one of the largest reported drone barrages of the war.
Moscow was among the main targets. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said around 600 drones were detected heading towards the Russian capital, with about one-third of them destroyed over the Moscow region.
An 83-year-old man was killed when a Ukrainian drone struck a private home in the Moscow region, regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said.
A Ukrainian drone attack also sparked a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in Podolsk, according to Vorobyov. Ukraine has increasingly targeted the Russian online retailer's large distribution centres, with previous attacks destroying huge quantities of merchandise.
In the southwestern Rostov region, more than 150 drones targeted three towns, killing five people, Governor Yury Slyusar said. Several homes and a railway station were damaged, while the strikes also triggered a forest fire.
Russian strikes kill at least five in Ukraine
Russia also launched fresh missile and drone attacks across Ukraine.
A Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih killed two people and wounded 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. One additional person was killed in Sumy.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine's largest steel producer, confirmed that one of its facilities had been hit and that operations were partially suspended.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a man and a woman were killed when their home was struck by a Russian attack, according to regional military administration chief Ivan Fedorov.
Russian strikes also caused fires across Kyiv and wounded six people. One of the most prominent sites hit was a major book market near the Pochaina metro station, where flames tore through rows of kiosks and sent thick black smoke across the Ukrainian capital.
Zelensky accused Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure with ballistic missiles.
Russia, however, said its strikes were aimed at military and industrial targets. Its Defence Ministry said it had struck a metallurgical plant in Kryvyi Rih and several military-industrial facilities in Kyiv.
Ukraine's Flamingo missiles emerge as key weapon
The latest attacks come as Ukraine continues to develop its own long-range strike capabilities.
Russia said one of its targets in Kyiv was a facility involved in producing Ukraine's Flamingo missiles. The domestically produced weapons are becoming an increasingly important part of Kyiv's ability to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine had used the missiles to attack a rocket research and production centre in Russia's Samara region, about 900 km (560 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Spanish F-18 shoots down drone over Romania
The latest escalation also raised concerns about the war spilling into NATO territory.
Romania's Defence Ministry said a drone entered its airspace near the eastern city of Galati, about 24 km from the border with Moldova.
A Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jet, deployed in Romania for air-policing duties, detected the drone on radar and received authorization to engage it.
The aircraft shot down the drone at 5:01 am, around 17 minutes after Romanian surveillance systems detected it.
Romanian authorities later reported drone debris in the Black Sea near the coastal city of Constanta. They did not specify where the drone originated.
The incident follows several previous drone incursions and debris incidents in Romania since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Romanian acting Foreign Minister Oana Toiu said Spain's air-policing deployment had been expanded at the request of Romania and NATO to strengthen the alliance's eastern flank following earlier drone incidents.
https://www.livemint.com/news/world/russiaukraine-war-escalates-ukraine-launches-822-drones-at-russia-nato-jet-intercepts-drone-over-romania-11786887174050.html
other Russia and Ukraine
https://ukranews.com/en/news/1168950-wildberries-largest-warehouse-near-moscow-on-fire-after-drone-attack
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/82460
https://news.liga.net/en/war/news/the-times-ukraine-has-started-using-british-drones-to-strike-russia
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/homes-demolished-civilians-injured-in-russian-1786891141.html
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/2026-08-16/live-updates-905605
other Israel
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/artc-centcom-commander-admiral-brad-cooper-completes-10-day-trip-to-the-middle-east-live-blog
https://www.timesofisrael.com/kushner-hamas-chief-in-egypt-for-talks-on-advancing-trumps-gaza-plan-idf-continues-strikes/
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-905657
https://vinnews.com/2026/08/16/idf-displays-captured-hamas-and-hezbollah-weapons-including-nazi-era-firearms/
https://www.jfeed.com/middleeast/hezbollah-radwan-force-commander
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-islamic-jihad-operatives-targeted-in-separate-gaza-strikes-idf/
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israel-needs-a-drone-army-before-the-next-war/
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sykd11oalfe
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/un-officials-visit-families-stuck-in-qusra-homes/
Live Updates: Hezbollah attempts to resupply operatives trapped underground, Iran continues executing protesters
August 16, 2026
Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo to discuss BoP deal • IDF reportedly diverts forces to West Bank to combat settler extremism • IDF strikes Hezbollah command center
August 16, 5:41 PM
Recent Kurdistan Region attacks expose Baghdad’s struggle with Iran-backed militias - analysis
Three drones were intercepted over Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, as Baghdad seeks to bring armed groups under state control and rein in Iran-backed militias.
Three drones were intercepted over Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, on Friday.
The Kurdistan Region has been targeted by more than 1,000 drones and missiles launched by Iran and Iranian-backed proxies since February. Iraq has vowed that it will rein in Iranian-backed militias in Baghdad; however, the continued attacks illustrate that Baghdad has not been able to stop all the attacks.
August 16, 5:38 PM
Renewed Moscow-Damascus flights signal revival of ties after Assad's fall - analysis
Syria is expanding its airline network, adding flights from numerous countries over the past year as Damascus seeks to reconnect with the region and Europe.
A Syrian Airlines flight from Moscow arrived at Damascus International Airport on Sunday, the first civilian flight from Moscow since the fall of the Assad regime. This “marks the resumption of the carrier’s air services between Syria and Russia,” Syrian state media SANA said.
This comes after Russia and Syria agreed to a deal that will lead to Syria returning to control two bases in northwestern Syria that had been run by the Russians.
August 16, 5:38 PM
Iranian military chief places $30,000 bounty on killed, captured US soldiers
A $30,000 reward for captured or killed United States service members has been announced by Iranian Army Commander-in-Chief Amir Hatami, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) revealed in a Sunday post on X/Twitter.
The reward will reportedly be granted to any Iranian soldier from "the Iranian people."
August 16, 5:37 PM
Iran’s accusing Qatar of holding Iranian pilots an attempt to ‘flip narrative,’ analyst to 'Post'
Iran struck Qatar, Qatar defended itself, and Tehran is now seeking to recast its failed strategy as victimhood, a Gulf analyst tells the ‘Post’.
Iran’s accusations that Qatar is holding three Iranian pilots shot down during attacks on Gulf states are an attempt to “flip the narrative” on Tehran’s “failed military gamble,” Gulf analysts told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff wrote in a letter published by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency on Saturday that it had appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help secure the release of three Iranian pilots it claims have been held by Qatar since a failed mission to attack US military bases in March.”
August 16, 4:18 PM
China-based Hengli Group main importer of sanctioned Iranian crude oil, analysts say - report
Hengli is one of the largest companies in a network of "teapot" refineries in China that purchase sanctioned oil, according to the officials cited by WSJ.
Hengli Group, a Chinese company that employs over 300,000 people and earns over $100 billion per year, is a primary importer of Iranian crude oil, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing industry analysts, shipping brokers, and the US Treasury.
Since 2023, Hengli has received at least five million barrels of Iranian oil from multiple ships sanctioned by the United States, the US Treasury and shipping brokers claimed.
1/2
August 16, 4:18 PM
Iranian parliament votes to further criminalize interviews with US, Israeli media outlets
Under the bill, which the Guardian Council must still review, interviews or collaborations with such media would be banned, and violations would be punishable by up to two years in prison.
Iran's parliament approved a bill on Sunday that would criminalize interviews and other communications with media deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic, including US or Israeli media and outlets financed by either country, Iran's Shargh newspaper reported.
Under the bill, which must still be reviewed by the Guardian Council before it can become law, interviews or participation in discussions with such media would be banned and violations punishable by six months to two years in prison.
Interviews with other foreign media would require notification to the intelligence ministry, while contact with foreign embassies, offices of foreign organizations or other non-Iranian institutions without notification and written permission from the foreign ministry would be punishable by a fine and deprivation of certain social rights.
August 16, 4:14 PM
Hamas’s popularity is falling, but Khalil al-Hayya remains more popular than PA’s Abbas - poll
Support for Hamas continues to decline in the West Bank (33%) and Gaza (18%). Palestinians show little trust in the Board of Peace, while 32% prefer NCAG to retain governing responsibility.
Though Hamas’s popularity has declined among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya still commands more support than Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to a new poll published by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research on Wednesday.
The survey was conducted among 1,270 Palestinians between August 5 and 8, with 830 respondents in the West Bank and 440 in the Gaza Strip. Researchers conducted face-to-face interviews using tablets or mobile phones, with the data automatically transmitted to the research center’s server to prevent interception or manipulation. The poll had a margin of error of 3.5%.
August 16, 2:26 PM
Iran executes man convicted of running over police during January protests
Shahram Sadeghi was accused of driving a car into police officers in Karaj on January 8, injuring seven officers, one of whom was reportedly left in a coma for three months.
Iran executed a man convicted of deliberately driving his car into police officers during anti-government protests in the city of Karaj in January, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
Shahram Sadeghi was accused of driving a car into police officers in Karaj on January 8, injuring seven officers, one of whom was reportedly left in a coma for three months, according to Tasnim news agency.
The Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced Sadeghi to death and confiscation of his assets for what authorities described as an “operational action” in favor of Israel, the United States, and hostile groups under Iran's espionage law.
August 16, 2:02 PM
Hamas, Hezbollah coordinating attacks with Iran as IDF warns of rebuilt ‘axis of evil’
IDF says Hamas, Hezbollah coordinating with Iran to rebuild terror axis amid increased friction on Gaza, Lebanon fronts • White House pressure limits Israeli strikes in Gaza City, targeted killings
Hamas and Hezbollah have begun coordinating their increased activity with Iranian assistance in recent weeks, the IDF has assessed, as the military has identified increased friction between Israeli forces and terrorists on both the northern and southern fronts.
The IDF has expressed that the coordination is likely an effort to rebuild its axis of evil that would increase pressure on Israel.
According to a military source, a ‘battle of wits’ is taking place around the Ali Taher ridge between the Northern Command and Hezbollah.
August 16, 11:37 AM
Red Sea Mocha port in Yemen closed following over 25 Houthi missile attacks
Yemen's Mocha port has suspended commercial and maritime operations after being hit by more than 25 missiles in Houthi attacks over recent days, the port's director said on Saturday.
The attacks killed seven people and caused an estimated $16 million in losses, the director told a news conference.
Mocha is a Red Sea port near the Bab al-Mandab strait, a strategic chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and a key route for international shipping.
2/2
its all too familiar
Department of War investigating mysterious triangle UFO videos after Post report
Aug. 15, 2026, 8:09 p.m. ET
The Department of War is investigating the claim that the Air Force is holding back two cellphone videos supposedly showing a 100-foot triangle UFO over a Colorado military base.
Days after The Post revealed the alleged coverup the agency said it is “actively investigating” the whereabouts of two videos showing the out-of-this-world aircraft, recorded on successive nights by a service member in 2023, acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez said on Wednesday.
“We will release what we find under PURSUE on war.gov/ufo,” said Valdez.
The Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters has been the Trump administration’s platform for releasing the tranches of UFO files which have garnered billions of website hits.
The two classified clips purportedly show a 100-foot triangle UFO flying near a military base somewhere in Colorado — zooming over mountains and actively camouflaging in clouds, according to sources.
The videos are stored with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in Colorado, file numbers IRR1669S015524 and IRR1669S005024, according to those sources.
The Trump administration’s most recent UFO files release revealed that government employees witnessed a triangle UFO near Colorado Springs in 2023.
There is no timetable on when those videos could be released, Valdez said.
The administration announced on July 21 that it would waive non-disclosure agreements for former government employees and contractors who have information on UFO programs in an effort to draw out further information on any highly secretive programs.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/15/us-news/department-of-war-investigating-triangle-ufo-videos-after-post-report-will-release/
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/pentagon-probes-triangle-ufo-videos-colorado-1814390
https://x.com/JoelValdezDOW/status/2086249237654765932
extra ICYMI
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16043827/The-puzzling-cases-Trumps-released-UFO-files-star-craft-Apollo-17-mystery.html
https://nypost.com/2026/08/15/us-news/late-vp-dick-cheney-oversaw-alien-detainment-situation-ufo-whistleblower-claims/
https://en.royanews.tv/news/72708
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/unexplained-red-lights-time-discrepancy-fbi-uap-files-1814351
https://usaherald.com/the-nda-question-why-uap-insiders-shifting-stories-are-colliding-with-a-new-federal-disclosure-order/
https://curiosmos.com/reported-white-sands-orb-recoveries-could-be-tested-in-a-lab-if-the-materials-are-released/
UFO Mysteries + Corporate Spies: Two Cases That Show Information Is Worth Protecting
Aug 16, 2026
National security stories don’t always begin inside a SCIF.
Sometimes they start with a fireball streaking across the Pennsylvania sky. Other times, they begin with an employee quietly searching Slack channels at a Silicon Valley startup.
At first glance, the Kecksburg Incident of 1965 and the ongoing legal battle between HR software companies Rippling and Deel couldn’t seem more different.
One is a decades-old mystery involving military vehicles, eyewitnesses, and speculation about unidentified flying objects. The other is a modern corporate espionage case centered on alleged insider access and stolen trade secrets.
But both highlight the same underlying truth: information has value and organizations will go to great lengths to protect it.
The Mystery in the Pennsylvania Woods
On December 9, 1965, thousands of people across the northeastern United States reported seeing a bright fireball race across the evening sky before descending into the woods near Kecksburg, Pennsylvania.
Witnesses described military vehicles arriving quickly, roads being blocked, and rumors of a strange acorn-shaped object recovered from the crash site.
Over the decades, theories have ranged from a meteor to a failed Soviet space probe to something far more extraordinary.
Official investigations concluded that nothing unusual was recovered, yet eyewitness accounts continue to fuel speculation more than 60 years later.
Even after Freedom of Information Act requests and renewed public interest surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), no definitive answer has emerged.
Whether the object was extraterrestrial, experimental technology, or simply a misunderstood astronomical event, one thing is certain: uncertainty creates lasting fascination.
Corporate Espionage Goes Digital
Fast forward to today, and secrecy looks very different. Instead of military convoys and remote forests, the battleground is collaboration software and cloud-based workplace tools.
In an ongoing lawsuit, HR technology company Rippling alleges that competitor Deel recruited one of its employees to secretly collect confidential company information.
According to court filings, the employee allegedly searched thousands of internal Slack conversations, accessed product plans, pricing strategies, customer information, and sales data before passing that information along.
Rippling says it uncovered the alleged scheme by creating a fake Slack channel containing fabricated information and monitoring who attempted to access it, a digital version of setting a trap.
The company has since brought claims involving trade secret theft, wire fraud, unfair competition, and even violations under the federal RICO statute.
Deel has denied the allegations and counters that Rippling itself engaged in improper conduct, making this an ongoing legal dispute that has also drawn the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Regardless of how the litigation ultimately ends, the case serves as a reminder that today’s insider threats rarely involve someone sneaking documents out in a briefcase. More often, they involve someone who already has legitimate access.
The Insider Threat Has Changed
For security professionals, the Rippling case reinforces principles that have existed for decades inside government and defense organizations:
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Insider threats often come from trusted individuals with legitimate access.
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Monitoring unusual behavior can be just as important as preventing outside attacks.
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“Need to know” remains one of the strongest security controls.
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Continuous evaluation matters because motivations can change over time.
These concepts are central to initiatives like Trusted Workforce 2.0, which emphasize ongoing evaluation rather than relying solely on periodic investigations.
While the Rippling lawsuit involves the private sector, many of its lessons mirror challenges security professionals have long managed inside classified environments.
Sometimes the Biggest Story Is the Information Itself
One case asks whether something extraordinary landed in a Pennsylvania forest. The other asks whether someone quietly walked away with a company’s most valuable intellectual property.
The facts may be vastly different, but both demonstrate why governments, businesses, and security professionals spend so much effort protecting information and why the stories surrounding that information continue to capture our attention decades later.
Whether it’s an unexplained object in the woods or unusual searches inside a Slack workspace, the lesson is the same: the most valuable asset is often the information people are trying to keep or uncover.
https://news.clearancejobs.com/2026/08/16/ufo-mysteries-corporate-spies-two-cases-that-show-information-is-worth-protecting/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjO6b79BChc
Trump Cabinet member roasted for awkward TikTok video: ‘Walks like the aliens’
Sat, August 15, 2026 at 12:54 p.m. PDT
President Donald Trump's Small Business Administration chief is taking lumps online after she posted a video that showed her walking like an "alien" down a hallway filled with photos of herself.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler filmed a TikTok video in which she answered questions while strolling past numerous photos of herself. She appeared to be holding an empty binder during her walk.
Commenters online latched onto the odd way she moved through the video, with an odd saunter, with one X user likening her walk to that of an alien disguised as a woman from the film Mars Attacks!
"Congratulations to Kelly Loeffler on her first day with limbs! You'll get the hang of it!" X user Brian Tyler Cohen wrote in response to the video.
The mockery didn't stop there. Other commenters were a bit more vicious and offered criticisms of the administrator's body.
The video is strange, but the oddness is likely the result of the former Georgia senator's social media team botching a "walk-and-talk."
The technique is used often in film and television — it was especially prevalent in Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing — and gives a scene motion and a sense of progression or urgency while characters deliver expository dialogue.
Professional camera operators with gimbals and Stedicams who are trained to quickly walk backward while shooting a scene with actors walking naturally can pull the shots off. Interns with cellphones doing their best not to fall over is a different story.
It's clear in the video that Loeffler is walking slower than anyone would walk normally, likely because she was trying to stay in frame without overtaking the camera operator.
Unfortunately for Loeffler, the end result turned out weird, and the internet noticed.
"First day in a human body is always awkward," on X user wrote.
"Why is there a giraffe wearing a Kelly Loeffler skin suit?," another quipped.
"Seen less rigid movements in a 1970s action doll that had 5 decades of soda spilled on it and left in a hot car to bake than Kelly Loeffler," a third added.
Another user wondered if the former Georgia senator couldn't pull off the walk because she is "secretly a nerd but by being conservative she's forced into also trying to be a tradwife and bimbo simultaneously?"
A different user avoided attacking her strange walk and appearance and focused on the fact that Loeffler was still working for Trump even after his endorsement failed to secure her a victory in her 2021 re-election.
"The same self hating lady that had Trump hand her a big L in Georgia in 2021. No spine what-so-ever," they wrote.
Loeffler lost her re-election campaign in 2021 to Senator Raphael Warnock.
The SBA is just one of numerous federal agencies that are now using TikTok to promote their work.
The agencies were banned from using the platform in 2022 amid worries that the Chinese government was using the app to spy on its users.
TikTok divested in January when its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sold off a majority of its shares in the company to a group of U.S. investors that included Trump ally Larry Ellison's Oracle.
The White House reversed the TikTok ban on federal employees on Tuesday.
Last month, the Department of Justice adjusted its stance on the app. The DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel determined that the U.S. version of the app — the version created by the ByteDance divestment in January — was not subject to the 2022 ban.
After the July 21 policy change, several federal agencies launched their own accounts on the app. The Treasury Department, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Health and Human Services all started TikTok accounts following the July decision.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-cabinet-member-roasted-awkward-195433701.html
https://x.com/kong_johnn38228/status/2088691990087209237
==The Guardian explores the great silence of alien civilizations in our ancient universe=
2026.08.16 08:00 KST
The British daily the Guardian on the 11th (local time) highlighted the problem of the “great silence” in our vast and ancient universe, where no signs have yet been observed of extraterrestrial civilizations capable of communicating with humans on Earth.
Key questions surrounding the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations began in earnest with the “Fermi paradox” proposed in 1950 by Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi.
In a universe teeming with stars and planets and 13.8 billion years of history, it seems plausible that extraterrestrial civilizations more advanced than humans should exist, so why have we still not encountered them?
The Fermi paradox, however, has the limitation that its basic premise—that extraterrestrial civilizations are common—remains unclear.
Starting with “Project Ozma” by American astronomer Frank Drake in 1960, scientists have searched for radio signals coming from beyond Earth, but over the past several decades they have not confirmed any signals suspected to have been sent by extraterrestrial civilizations.
Drake proposed the “Drake equation” to estimate how many extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy might be capable of sending radio transmissions, multiplying factors such as the rate of star formation, the number of planets, the likelihood of life arising, and the longevity of civilizations. Because some parameters, such as the “lifetime of a civilization,” are highly uncertain, the equation functions less as a formula for calculating practical probabilities and more as a checklist of variables humanity has yet to understand.
As observational technologies such as space telescopes have advanced, the search for exoplanets has made major strides.
As of 2025, astronomers have confirmed around 6,000 exoplanets, and some estimates suggest that at least hundreds of millions of planets in the Milky Way lie in habitable zones where life could exist.
It still remains difficult to determine how often life actually emerges, and among those cases, what fraction goes on to develop intelligence and technological civilizations.
Some researchers advocate the “rare Earth” hypothesis, which holds that complex life and technological civilizations are only possible when numerous conditions coincide—such as protection by a giant planet like Jupiter, plate tectonics, a stable climate, and a series of contingent evolutionary events.
The “great filter” hypothesis, systematized in the 1990s by American economist Robin Hanson, posits that there is at least one extraordinarily difficult step on the path from simple life to a civilization capable of sending signals into space.
If the filter lies before the emergence of humanity, then the absence of other civilizations is not surprising; if instead the filter lies ahead—requiring civilizations to survive for very long periods after they form—then it represents a challenge humanity has yet to face.
More recently, some have argued that extraterrestrial life or intelligence might not resemble humans in having bodies and radio technology, and that we may need to redefine life itself.
Another idea is that even if civilizations arise frequently, they may not endure long enough for their lifespans to overlap and allow them to encounter one another.
The Guardian concluded that “ultimately, the quest to find aliens is also a mirror reflecting how humans imagine themselves and the future of their civilizations, in a situation where there is very little concrete data to go on.”
https://www.dongascience.com/en/news/79409
wfx
@wfxclipx
Nicole Aniston shared her alleged UFO encounter.
She claimed that after it happened, she noticed something in her b👀bs and At the hospital they found a metallic triangle-shaped object inside, which a dermatologist extracted. A lab kept it as a “foreign object of unknown material.” 👀
She said after the removal she never felt the same, and they even suggested putting it back and anytime she went hiking in the mountains, Apache helicopters would always follow and surveil her. 👀🔥
12:15 PM · Aug 15, 2026
https://x.com/wfxclipx/status/2088706065626198411
extra
https://x.com/HoodliensHDLN/status/2088949185982734640
https://x.com/halkyofu/status/2088806889568260482
https://x.com/DrStevenGreer/status/2088347722063470707
Prof Avi Loeb from Trump's UAP Science Advisory Council - says ORBs may be alien warp drive tech!
Aug 15, 2026
In this exclusive interview, Professor Avi Loeb from Harvard University joins The King Of UFOs to discuss his new role on the UAP Science Advisory Council.
Prof. Loeb reveals a groundbreaking theory: the mysterious "orbs" reported by the US government may actually be alien warp drive technology distorting space-time.
We dive into:
The mission of the new UAP Science Advisory Council.
The physics behind warp bubbles and how they appear as orbs.
Why the scientific community must "aim high" in the search for life.
Prof. Loeb's interview with the Trump family and the future of disclosure.
A direct message to the UK government on taking UAPs seriously.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction: Prof. Avi Loeb's New Role
01:06 - The Nature of UAP Orbs
02:10 - Breakthrough: Alien Warp Drive Tech Explained
03:32 - Were Non-Human Crafts Shot Down?
04:51 - To Shoot or Not to Shoot: The Ethics of Contact
06:26 - The Role of AI in Finding Extraterrestrial Life
09:25 - Why Science Should Stop Playing it Safe
12:13 - President Trump and the Future of Space Real Estate
13:57 - Message to the UK Government and Scientists
16:10 - Final Thoughts: The Next Great Discovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYEzsq-4poc
https://x.com/Thekingofufos
extra disclosure dejour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R0XJ2flp80 (Ross Coulthart Q&A: Skinwalker's dire wolf, CIA cover-ups, and time-traveling UFOs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BucLHKc2A7I (ESETI: Contact Happening Now)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ETlJ1iScI (William Henry: One Age of Humanity Is Ending. The Ancients Told Us How to Cross)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYEzsq-4poc (Kristin Fisher: Did the US Government Set a Trap for UFOs?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU6DORQU–k (What’s Really Hidden Beneath the Pyramids of Giza? | The UnXplained)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2po_qY4Ot88 (Matt Ford: We Found Our Cattle Mutilated: San Luis Valley Ranchers Go Public)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycu7ff3uhLw (WeAreChange: Alex Jones & Tucker Just F**KING CONFIRMED IT…)