U.S. sends $15.5 million to earthquake-struck Colombia.
Today's events
Colombia earthquake.
State mobilized $15.5 million in emergency shelter, food and protection aid and deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team within hours of the August 10 magnitude-7.4 quake.1Aug 11 · StateVisa revocations.
The State Department said it has revoked more than 175,000 visas under Trump, most after law-enforcement encounters involving assault, drunk driving, theft and drug crimes.2Aug 10 · StateYouth gender care.
A final rule ends federal Medicaid and children's-health-insurance funding for puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery for minors; a six-month taper applies and it takes effect October 13.3Aug 11 · HHSArmenia–Azerbaijan peace.
One year after their White House summit, the United States, Armenia and Azerbaijan said the Trump Route transit corridor now has a development company and that Azerbaijan has lifted all transit restrictions.4Aug 10 · StateExploited software flaws.
CISA added three flaws under active attack — in Cisco firewalls, Microsoft Windows and the Metabase analytics tool — to its catalog, obliging federal agencies to patch them.5Aug 11 · CISAMilitary-tech smuggling.
A Chinese citizen pleaded guilty in Salt Lake City to trying to buy U.S. military satellite modems for export to China, after down payments of $40,000 in cash and $30,000 in cryptocurrency.6Aug 10 · DOJAmerican freed by Russia.
Robert Gilman is on his way home after more than four years in Russian detention; the department credited Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and counts him among 100-plus Americans freed this term.7Aug 11 · StateVulnerability database.
NIST opened a request for information on modernizing the National Vulnerability Database, the federal repository whose data feeds a broad ecosystem of security tools; comments close October 13.8Aug 12 · NISTFood-additive safety.
The Food and Drug Administration proposed requiring companies to file notices before using food or animal-feed substances they consider generally recognized as safe; comments close December 9.9Aug 11 · FDA
This week
American mining.
Trump announced more than $2 billion in critical-minerals deals on August 7 — $1.4 billion for silicon-carbon battery anodes, $400 million for the world's first primary scandium mine, $150 million for rare-earth-free magnets and $180 million for the country's mining schools. The same day the trade representative welcomed new S&P Global price benchmarks for gallium, germanium, tungsten, antimony and rare earths as a step toward border-adjusted price floors. Carried in the August 8 and 9 briefs.1Aug 7 · WHPolysilicon floor.
A presidential proclamation signed August 6 sets a minimum import price for polysilicon — the base material for both semiconductors and solar cells — plus a 15% tariff on downstream goods, effective in 120 days. Commerce separately sought comment on extending steel, aluminum and copper tariffs to 14 more derivative products. Government auditors reported the same week that Commerce had canceled $7.8 billion of the $11 billion Congress appropriated for advanced chip research. From the August 7 brief.2Aug 6 · WHChildhood vaccines.
An executive order signed August 10 recognizes 11 diseases for universal childhood immunization, down from the 18 the Centers for Disease Control recommended in 2024, and advises states to revisit school vaccination mandates. A day later Health and Human Services issued a final rule ending federal Medicaid and children's-insurance funding for puberty blockers, hormones and surgery for minors, with a six-month taper and an October 13 effective date. From the August 11 and 12 briefs.3Aug 10 · WHVisa surcharge.
A Homeland Security final rule published August 10 extends the $2,000 skilled-worker and $2,250 intracompany-transfer visa fees to every extension petition filed by large visa-dependent employers, including renewals with the same employer; it takes effect September 9. The State Department said the same week it has revoked more than 175,000 visas under Trump, most after law-enforcement encounters. From the August 10 and 12 briefs.4Aug 10 · DHSIran's crypto rails.
The United States sanctioned six entities and one individual on August 7, among them two digital-asset exchanges Tehran uses to reach the international financial system, and offered up to $15 million for information disrupting Revolutionary Guard finances. State cited Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz earlier that week. A Senate joint resolution introduced August 6 would end unauthorized U.S. hostilities against Iran. From the August 8 and 9 briefs.5Aug 7 · StateGunra ransomware.
The FBI, the cybersecurity agency CISA, the National Security Agency and South Korea's national police issued a joint advisory on August 10 on Gunra, ransomware built from leaked Conti code that has hit hospitals, banks and utilities worldwide. Days earlier CISA published five vulnerabilities in the unauthenticated, clear-text link that carries controller-pilot clearances worldwide, for which no mitigation is available. From the August 8 and 11 briefs.7Aug 10 · CISA
Allied Governments
North Korea missile.
Japan, the United States and South Korea held a foreign-ministry call hours after a North Korean ballistic-missile launch, calling it a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.aAug 12 · Japan MoFAWest Bank violence.
Britain told the Security Council that Israel has approved 104 settlements in four years, an 80 percent rise, and cited a UN count of more than 1,300 settler-related incidents in July.bAug 11 · UK FCDOPacific islands visit.
Japan's state minister for foreign affairs met Micronesia's president and inspected a Japanese-funded expansion of Pohnpei Port, ahead of the 2027 Pacific Islands leaders' summit in Yokohama.cAug 11 · Japan MoFA
Voices
“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right. The Department remains committed to using every tool available to protect our communities from those who abuse it.”
U.S. Dept. of State fact sheet · Aug 102
“While we appreciate this positive step, we are still seeking the immediate return of all other unjustly detained Americans, including wrongful detainee Stephen Hubbard.”
Sec. of State Marco Rubio · Aug 117
“Today, we are ending federal taxpayer funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children. These interventions carry serious risks and can cause irreversible harm.”
HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. · Aug 113
“The OSCE Minsk Group and related structures were dissolved at the joint request of Armenia and Azerbaijan — a recognition that the era of unresolved conflict is over.”
U.S.–Armenia–Azerbaijan joint statement · Aug 104
“Chen tried to divert sensitive U.S. military technologies to the People's Republic of China, technologies the PRC could have used against us in the future.”
AAG John A. Eisenberg, DOJ National Security · Aug 106
“These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise.”
CISA alert on newly exploited flaws · Aug 115
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of State, “United States Mobilizes Life-Saving Response to Colombia Earthquake,” August 11, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/colombia-earthquake-response
- U.S. Dept. of State, “State Department Revokes More Than 175,000 Visas,” August 10, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/revokes-more-than-175000-visas
- U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, “HHS Ends Federal Medicaid and CHIP Funding for Sex-Rejecting Procedures for Children and Youth,” August 11, 2026. hhs.gov/press-room/…/medicaid-chip-sex-rejecting-procedures
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Joint Statement of the United States of America, the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the One-Year Anniversary of the White House Peace Summit,” August 10, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/armenia-azerbaijan-one-year-anniversary
- CISA, “CISA Adds Three Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog” (CVE-2026-20349, CVE-2026-68820, CVE-2026-72898), August 11, 2026. cisa.gov/news-events/…/three-known-exploited-vulnerabilities
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Trying to Obtain U.S. Military Equipment,” August 10, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/chinese-national-military-equipment
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Release of Robert Gilman,” August 11, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/release-of-robert-gilman
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, “Request for Information (RFI) on Modernizing the National Vulnerability Database in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” August 12, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/modernizing-the-national-vulnerability-database
- Food and Drug Administration, “Substances Generally Recognized as Safe” (proposed rule), August 11, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/substances-generally-recognized-as-safe
- Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Japan-U.S.-ROK Foreign Ministries' Official Telephone Meeting on North Korea,” August 12, 2026. mofa.go.jp/press/release/…/japan-us-rok-north-korea
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, “Much more must be done to prevent and prosecute acts of violence in the West Bank: UK statement at the UN Security Council,” August 11, 2026. gov.uk/government/speeches/…/west-bank-unsc-statement
- Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “State Minister HORII's Visit to the Federated States of Micronesia,” August 11, 2026. mofa.go.jp/press/release/…/horii-visit-micronesia