Nepal floods leave 1,300 missing; Why CIA director secretly traveled to Moscow

At least 270 people are dead, and several hundred remain missing after catastrophic flash floods tore through the Nepal-China border region, where rescuers are searching for survivors amid widespread destruction.

Plus, why CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly traveled to Moscow this week: it was reportedly a warning to Russia not to test NATO’s resolve.

And 24 states and Washington, D.C., are suing to block new Postal Service rules governing mail ballots, arguing the changes could disrupt voting and disenfranchise people ahead of the midterms.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026.

Flash floods kill at least 270 with hundreds still missing along Nepal-China border

The search for hundreds of missing people continues Thursday morning after a wall of water and mud tore through communities along the Nepal-China border. The floods have killed at least 270 people.

In Nepal, more than 1,300 people were reported missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals. At least 47 of them are Americans.

Cars have been buried, and debris is dangling from trees and power lines.

In some places, the mud reaches the second floors of buildings. At least 19 bridges and about 25 miles of road were swept away.

One man said he ran to his home’s terrace as the flood rose to the top floor, adding that his wife was buried in the mudslide. He stayed on that terrace for hours before a helicopter finally reached him.

Rescue crews are now airlifting survivors out of areas they can’t reach by road. Nepal has asked both India and China to help with the rescue effort.

Scientists believe an ice-rock avalanche from a glacier high in the Himalayas triggered the flood. At one point, the Trishuli River rose as much as 27 feet in about half an hour.

Trial date for accused 9/11 mastermind set for 2028

More than two decades after the 9/11 attacks, the man accused of masterminding them now has a trial date.

Khalid Sheik Mohammed is set to go on trial in June of 2028, along with three other men accused of conspiring in the attacks.

Mohammed is accused of orchestrating the plot to hijack four commercial planes on Sept. 11, 2001.

Two were flown into the World Trade Center. Another hit the Pentagon. The fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers.

Mohammed has been held at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006.

So why has it taken this long to get to trial?

The case has been tied up for years in legal fights, including over whether statements the defendants made after being tortured in CIA custody can be used against them. There have also been years of disputes over plea deals, the death penalty and other pretrial issues.

A previous trial date in 2021 passed. Then prosecutors wanted it to begin in January 2027.

The judge has now set it for June of 2028, giving both sides more time to resolve the issues still before the court.

Ratcliffe warned Russia on NATO as Trump calls Moscow visit ‘semi-routine’

The reason for CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s unexpected visit to Russia this week has now been revealed.

Sources familiar with the matter told multiple news outlets that Ratcliffe went to Moscow to deliver a warning: do not attack NATO countries.

The secretive visit first came to light Tuesday, when a U.S. Air Force jet was spotted landing at a Moscow airport, followed by a diplomatic motorcade through the Russian capital.

A senior Ukrainian official said Ukraine was given advance notice and asked to hold off on strikes while Ratcliffe was there.

President Donald Trump confirmed the visit Wednesday, calling it “semi-routine” and saying it had nothing to do with concerns about Russia testing NATO.

The Kremlin also confirmed that Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials but declined to say what they discussed.

NVIDIA revenue more than doubles, projects $108B next quarter

NVIDIA just gave Wall Street a fresh look at how much money is still pouring into artificial intelligence. The chip giant reported earnings after the bell Wednesday, with revenue more than doubling from a year ago to $96 billion.

Profit more than doubled, too, and both beat Wall Street expectations.

Most of that business is coming from the massive data centers being built for AI. NVIDIA made $89 billion from data centers last quarter alone, up 117% from a year ago. That’s why this report gets so much attention.

NVIDIA’s chips are at the center of the AI buildout, so demand for them has become one way to gauge how that boom is holding up. And NVIDIA expects much more growth.

The company projects $108 billion in revenue this quarter, above Wall Street’s expectations. Its chief financial officer also said NVIDIA expects revenue to grow 70% next fiscal year.

Questions remain about how long companies can keep spending this much on AI. NVIDIA, though, said it’s still supply-constrained, meaning it could be selling even more if it had the chips available.

The first full day of trading on these results will be available when Wall Street opens Thursday morning.

Mail ballot rules face legal challenge over new postal requirements

Two dozen states and Washington, D.C., are suing to block new U.S. Postal Service rules governing mail ballots, just months before the November midterms. The rules follow Trump’s March executive order tightening mail-in voting procedures.

States would need to provide USPS with the names and addresses of voters receiving mail ballots and use new envelopes with trackable barcodes. USPS said it will not determine voter eligibility, maintain voter rolls or count ballots. But the states argue the requirements are unconstitutional and interfere with their authority to run elections. They also warn that some mail-in voters could be disenfranchised.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the Constitution gives states the power to regulate elections, not the president or USPS.

The White House called the changes commonsense measures to protect mail ballots and ensure only Americans elect American leaders.

The lawsuit comes days after the Supreme Court rejected an earlier challenge from the states, saying it was filed too soon, before USPS had issued its final rule.

The justices allowed USPS to move forward but did not rule on whether the final rule itself is legal.

Thousands revel in La Tomatina’s iconic tomato battle

Spain’s famous tomato-throwing festival is now in the books for August 2026. Thousands of revelers packed the streets of Buñol on Wednesday for the massive food fight known as “La Tomatina.”

Trucks loaded with overripe tomatoes rolled through the small town, and people on board hurled them into the crowd.

From there, it was everyone for themselves.

The tomato-tossing went on for more than an hour, and it wasn’t just locals getting in on the mess.

“It was amazing, it was amazing. We came all the way from the U.K. for this day, and it was amazing,” said Sam, who traveled from England. “It was a lifetime experience; we’re always going to remember it. ¡Viva la España!”

“It feels really good to enjoy this special occasion, especially in Buñol,” said Bhuban Brashandh, who traveled from Dublin. “It’s a phenomenal experience. It’s my 30th birthday, come on guys! I’m enjoying my birthday.”

Ahead of the festival, buildings along the route were covered with tarps for pretty obvious reasons.

La Tomatina is held on the last Wednesday of August each year. The tradition dates back to 1945, when a food fight broke out during a local parade.

More from Straight Arrow:

New York’s Rikers Island jails are supposed to close within a year. What happens when they don’t?

New York City faces a complicated math problem, and how officials solve it will decide the fate of one of the nation’s most ambitious and expensive criminal justice reforms.

One year from Monday, on Aug. 31, 2027, the city faces a self-imposed legal deadline to shut down Rikers Island, a micro-city in the East River with its own bakery, gas station, firehouse — and 10 jails.

By the latest count, New York was incarcerating 6,541 people. That’s almost 1,400 more than four new jails, now under construction across the city, are designed to hold.

And those new facilities, part of the $16 billion Borough-Based Jails Program, won’t be completed for years, Straight Arrow has learned.

So Rikers, a jail complex where conditions are so bad that it has been under a federal court’s supervision for 11 years, seems destined to remain open for the foreseeable future, despite years of promises from politicians to find new ways to lock up people accused of crimes.

Read the full story now>