Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Haunted by Hoover, Trump searches for an endgame in Iran

 

at 8/9/26 6:39am

President Trump is confronting a question that has haunted presidents throughout history: how a war - that has gone on longer than predicted - can reshape a presidency.(Image credit: KENT NISHIMURA)

— There's a birth control backlash online. Can it explain the rise in abortions?

 

at 8/9/26 6:12am

The number of abortions is up in the United States. Is it because fewer people are using birth control pills?(Image credit: Jim Watson)

— Can birth control trends explain the rise in abortions? It's complicated

 

at 8/9/26 6:12am

The number of abortions is up in the United States. Is it because fewer people are using birth control pills?(Image credit: Jim Watson)

— This rising painter reimagines Renaissance art in a cocoa plantation in Cameroon

 

at 8/9/26 5:58am

A new gallery show in London features the paintings of Marc Padeu, playing with themes from Renaissance art and bringing them to his homeland of Cameroon. (Image credit: Copyright The Artist)

— Yemen's Houthis claim attack on Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia, and other Middle East news

 

at 8/9/26 3:44am

Meanwhile, Iran has made new demands about the restart of negotiations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Pentagon is pressing the U.S. defense industry to accelerate production of weapons.(Image credit: Vahid Salemi)

— Solar eclipse to occur next week. Here is what to know

 

at 8/8/26 6:56pm

It will be visible in parts of the U.S. on Wednesday.(Image credit: Edward M. Pio Roda)

— Meet the man circumnavigating the Arctic Ocean, alone

 

at 8/8/26 3:30pm

Matt Rutherford is sailing 10,000 nautical miles, through ice floes and gales, to try and accomplish a world first. He spoke with NPR from the cabin of his boat.(Image credit: Matt Rutherford)

— Tanker sailors still face danger in the Strait of Hormuz

 

at 8/8/26 3:19pm

An agreement over the Strait of Hormuz is still far away. Tim Wilkins, who works for a tanker industry group, says the ships stuck around the waterway are in limbo, and transiting is still dangerous.

— Ukraine mourns 'collector of souls' Oleksiy Yukov, killed recovering war dead

 

at 8/8/26 11:46am

Oleksiy Yukov spent two decades recovering the bodies of soldiers — including many Russians. He was killed during a recovery mission after stepping on a landmine.(Image credit: Roman Pilipey)

— K-pop's global wave inspires Chile's next pop stars

 

at 8/8/26 7:34am

K-pop conquered the world — now Chile's young creatives are remixing the movement and making it their own.(Image credit: Rony Curifuta)

— Opinion: Europe's summer of heat

 

at 8/8/26 6:00am

Europe is in another brutal heat wave. The summer's earlier record-breaking weather already damaged crops, sparked wildfires and led to increased deaths.(Image credit: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

— Switzerland is a neutral nation but has more nuclear bunkers than any country in the world

 

at 8/8/26 5:01am

Instead of scrapping its network of bomb shelters after the Cold War, Switzerland kept building them. The country has more than 370,000 nuclear bomb shelters. Some are now used to house migrants.(Image credit: Rob Schmitz)

— The Women's Professional Baseball League makes its historic debut

 

at 8/8/26 4:30am

The Los Angeles Queens, the New York Heights, the Boston Hunters and the San Francisco Firebells take the field in Springfield, Ill., as the Women's Pro Baseball League kicks off its inaugural season.(Image credit: Jaclyn Licht for NPR)

— Private prisons announce $1.4 billion in revenue as immigration detentions climb

 

at 8/8/26 4:00am

That revenue does not include net proceeds of $1.6 billion made by CoreCivic after the recent sale of four of their facilities to the Department of Homeland Security.(Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon)

— Federal funds can't be used to give test strips to drug users, raising overdose fears

 

at 8/8/26 4:00am

Drug addiction groups are reeling after Trump officials said federal grants cannot be used to hand out test strips to drug users. The strips help users check street drugs for dangerous adulterants. (Image credit: Bebeto Matthews)

— Data centers are a political issue crossing party lines, driving voters to candidates

 

at 8/8/26 3:00am

Wisconsin Democratic candidate for governor Francesca Hong called for a moratorium on data centers. So did Ohio Republican governor hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, as data centers begin to dominate campaigns.(Image credit: Mario Tama)

— Senate votes to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general

 

at 8/8/26 2:46am

The Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as U.S. attorney general early Saturday morning, elevating President Trump's former personal lawyer to head the Justice Department.(Image credit: Eric Lee)

— Women in Maine may choose the victor in this year's Senate race

 

at 8/7/26 2:24pm

The race between Susan Collins and Troy Jackson is one of the nation's most high-profile Senate contests this year -- and may ultimately be decided by an especially powerful voting bloc: Maine women.

— Trump renews push to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook

 

at 8/7/26 1:35pm

Trump is once again threatening to fire Cook over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud after an earlier effort to remove Cook was struck down by the Supreme Court.(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

— Another court blocks White House ballroom work, teeing up a Supreme Court review

 

at 8/7/26 12:10pm

A federal appeals court says above-ground construction cannot continue without approval from Congress, siding with historic preservation advocates.(Image credit: Tierney L. Cross)

— Monty Roberts, who trained horses through trust, dies at 91

 

at 8/7/26 11:48am

The internationally acclaimed horseman defied the conventional method of breaking horses and developed his own gentler approach — based on horses' non-verbal language. Roberts spoke with Fresh Air in 1997.

As of 8/9/26 12:15pm. Last new 8/9/26 11:22am.