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Reading Time: 3 minutes Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, will not face criminal charges in Wisconsin for promising $1 million checks to voters during the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race. La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, a Democrat, who was tapped as a special prosecutor to review the case, wrote in a letter Tuesday that he did not believe a jury would convict Musk of a crime. “I have routinely worked with campaigns and candidates from both parties and nonpartisan elections to correct any potential violations of election/campaign laws,” Gruenke wrote. “In this case, without the famous name…

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief. The highlights this week: An Olympics-style robotics tournament showcases China’s industry dominance, the United States threatens secondary sanctions on China over its support for Iran, and the founder of Evergrande Group is sentenced to life in prison for fraud and bribery. Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief. The highlights this week: An Olympics-style robotics tournament showcases China’s industry dominance, the United States threatens secondary sanctions on China over its support for Iran, and the founder of Evergrande Group is sentenced to life in prison for fraud and bribery. China Showcases Robotics Prowess The 2026 World Humanoid…

Claim: In August 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “We were a dumb, stupid country, led by a very, very stupid person a year ago.” Rating: What’s True On Aug. 21, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke at a rally for U.S. Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, where he said, “We were a dumb, stupid country led by a very, very stupid person.” What’s False He did not say “a year ago.” Trump was referring to two years ago, when former U.S. President Joe Biden was in office. In August 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump gave a speech…

Frustrated on the military front by its war with Iran, the United States has announced an “Economic D-Day,” threatening to punish any country or entity that does business with Tehran in key industries.The U.S. Treasury Department vowed to target Iran’s gold, digital assets and aviation industries, among others, aiming to throttle the few options Iran has left for global trade. Iran uses these sectors “to prop up its failing economy” and to “continue its campaign of destabilization and terrorism in the region and around the world,” the Treasury Department said in a statement on Monday.Iranian officials dismissed the Trump administration’s…

The MEP was summoned as a suspect to the Kraków branch of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, a state body empowered to prosecute crimes related to the Nazi occupation and communist eras. The case stems from two interviews he gave in July 2025. In one, he declared that “Auschwitz with its gas chambers is unfortunately a fake”; in another, he described accounts of their use as a “propaganda narrative” underpinning a “quasi-religious cult.” The existence and use of gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau is extensively documented. Around a million Jews were killed in the camp, along with around 100,000 Poles, Roma,…

When Darline Graham was appointed last month to fill the South Carolina Senate seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, she became the first sister to directly succeed a sibling in Congress.Family dynasties are common in American politics. Elected offices all the way up to the presidency have been held by one relative after another. About 30 senators have served simultaneously with a sibling in Congress. And more than 40 women, including four in South Carolina, have directly succeeded their late husbands in Congress.But sibling successions are rare.Ms. Graham, a disability rights advocate, had a close relationship with her brother,…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.More than a dozen Iran-flagged tankers have gathered off the coast of Sri Lanka, as the US blockade all but halts access to Iranian ports six months into the war.Ship tracking data shows that about 13 Iranian tankers are anchored on the edge of Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, alongside several others linked to Iran’s “shadow fleet”. They are prevented from returning to Iran by a US blockade on ships using Iranian ports, first imposed in April and reintroduced in July after the…

Universal travel adapter or travel-ready charger — which do you need? Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Know what the power is in the country you’re going to.Check device voltage needs before you travel.Remember, these do not convert voltages!One fact of life when it comes to travel is dealing with different power outlet styles (called sockets in some countries) around the world. While USB might have come a long way to standardizing the charger-to-device pathway, the wall outlet to charger is something travelers must think about and plan for. The US wall outlet…

WhatsApp on Tuesday announced several new features designed to enhance account security, including related to passkeys, two-step verification (2SV), and caller context. The Meta-owned messaging app says more than 1 billion individuals now rely on a passkey to log in to their WhatsApp accounts. Users can now add more than one passkey, which can be useful for those who use the application on both iOS and Android devices. As for two-step verification, the one-time passcode that was previously a six-digit PIN is now being upgraded to a full password. The password can be longer and it can include alphanumeric and…

In brief SpaceX plans to invest $100 billion in a new spaceport in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, on land acquired from Exxon. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with initial flight operations targeted for 2029. The site will include five launch complexes, propellant production, power generation, vehicle processing facilities, and employee housing. Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to invest $100 billion in a new spaceport in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, as the company builds out infrastructure for its Starship rocket.Dubbed Starbase Louisiana, the facility will occupy coastal land acquired from Exxon. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with initial flight operations…