Fighting between the U.S. and Iran resumed overnight for the first time in more than a month, just days after President Donald Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz free from mines.
Plus, a flash flood at the Grand Canyon leaves one person dead and leaves about 15 potentially missing, while damage to a key water pipeline could disrupt visits heading into Labor Day weekend.
And Google Maps is now calling Lake Ontario “Lake America” for U.S. users, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford isn’t playing along, unveiling a giant sign and promising Canada won’t be bullied.
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Fighting in the Middle East resumes after a month-long lull, as US, Iran trade strikes
Fighting has started up again in the Middle East after U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers near the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Iran to launch its own attack.
Iran fired nearly a dozen missiles toward U.S. bases in Jordan overnight. Jordan’s military said it intercepted at least eight, but some made it through the country’s defenses. Officials did not say where those missiles hit, but said there were no casualties.
The United Arab Emirates said its air force “responded” to a drone approaching from Iran over its territorial waters. The UAE’s defense ministry also denied Iranian media reports that one of its key air bases was targeted by missiles.
So far Monday morning, the Strait of Hormuz remains calm after U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers near Larak Island Sunday, ending a month-long lull in U.S. military strikes.
U.S. Central Command said members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the strait.
Trump announced last week that U.S. forces had cleared the strait of mines, and warned Iran against putting more in the waterway.
Nepal-Tibet flood death toll tops 900 with more than 4,700 people still missing
The death toll from last week’s catastrophic flooding in Nepal and Tibet has now topped 900. Still, more than 4,700 people remain missing.
Rescuers are now focused on workers who may be trapped inside tunnels at damaged hydropower projects. Nepal’s disaster agency said the death toll there now stands at 903, with more than 4,200 people still missing.
Chinese authorities said 16 people were killed on their side of the border, with more than 500 still missing. The State Department said approximately 85 Americans remain unaccounted for.
The threat isn’t over. Heavy rain has pushed river levels even higher, prompting fresh flood warnings for people living along waterways.
Rescuers are also trying to reach workers at damaged hydropower projects in Nepal. About 900 people from 12 project sites are unaccounted for, and officials believe roughly 500 may be trapped in tunnels.
Specialized rescue teams from other countries are now helping with that effort.
Flash floods ravage Grand Canyon, killing one and leaving more than a dozen missing
Flash flooding at Grand Canyon National Park has killed one person, and about 15 others are still believed missing. A 46-year-old man was found dead Sunday near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River.
The flood hit Saturday after storms swept through Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area. At least 62 people have been evacuated.
Nearly all of the footbridges across Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, cutting off pedestrian access. The flood also swept large rocks and pieces of damaged infrastructure into the Colorado River.
Several trails and campgrounds remain closed, and the park’s Transcanyon Waterline is out of service, limiting water reserves. More showers and thunderstorms are possible through the rest of the day, and saturated ground increases the risk of additional flash flooding.
Trump targets Venezuelan oil for reserves
The U.S.-Venezuela oil deal has started to take shape, but the two sides are already describing parts of it very differently.
Trump now says he plans to use Venezuelan oil to begin refilling America’s strategic petroleum reserve. He announced the agreement Friday, calling it the “biggest oil deal in world history.“
The deal would give the U.S. a stake in a new private oil company with access to Venezuelan fields holding about 65 billion barrels of proven reserves. The U.S. would get 55% of the company’s effective output, including an ownership stake and the right to buy oil at cost.
On Sunday, Trump said some of that oil will go into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, calling it a “gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States.” But Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has made it clear she doesn’t view the deal as Venezuela handing over its oil.
“There is something that must be absolutely clear: Venezuela retains ownership of and sovereignty over its resources,” Rodríguez said Saturday.
El gran acuerdo energético con Estados Unidos sigue nuestro camino para convertir a Venezuela, de un país con grandes reservas, en una potencia productora de petróleo, en beneficio y felicidad del pueblo venezolano. pic.twitter.com/rfADqDZwA0
— Delcy Rodríguez (@delcyrodriguezv) August 30, 2026
And there’s another key difference: U.S. officials describe it as a 100-year contract, whereas Rodríguez says the agreement runs for 25 years. No text of the agreement has been released, and it’s still unclear who will pay for the billions of dollars needed to rebuild Venezuela’s aging oil infrastructure.
Experts say any major increase in production could take years, so the deal isn’t expected to bring down U.S. gas prices anytime soon.
Google Maps now shows ‘Lake America’ for US users
Google Maps users in the U.S. who search for Lake Ontario will now see “Lake America” instead. The company rolled out the name change after Trump signed an executive order last week renaming the lake for U.S. government use.
American users will see “Lake America,” while in Canada it will remain “Lake Ontario.” Users elsewhere will see both names.
Trump made the change after U.S. trade talks with Canada collapsed, saying Canada has been the worst country to deal with on trade.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has responded with a sign of his own. He unveiled a massive sign along the Canadian shoreline Saturday, reading, “Lake Ontario. Now and always.”
It’s Lake Ontario, now and always. pic.twitter.com/KNahtPAMeJ
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) August 29, 2026
“That’s our message to President Trump. We’re resilient, and we’re strong Canadians. We’re always going to protect our sovereignty. Always. And we’ll never, ever back down from a bully,” Ford said.
But Ford’s pushback isn’t just about the name. The U.S. is now imposing 50% tariffs on a broad range of Canadian goods after the trade talks fell apart. Canada is set to retaliate with its own tariffs starting Sept. 8.
On ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, Ford argued Americans could end up feeling more of the pain from that fight
I had the chance to talk to Martha Raddatz from ABC News on the shores of beautiful Lake Ontario yesterday about the need to end U.S. tariffs on Canada, which are only making life more expensive for the American people. pic.twitter.com/mkrc4P3hrk
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) August 30, 2026
“It’d be devastating on both countries, but it’d be definitely devastating on the U. S. We’re the largest purchaser of vehicles in the entire world off the U. S. Over 400% more than anyone else,” Ford said. “A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people, and it’s probably the worst move he could ever do.”
“I love the American people. Canadians love the American people. We differentiate between the great American people and the president,” Ford said.
NASA launches new Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to unravel the mystery of dark energy
NASA’s newest crown jewel is hurtling through space on a mission to unravel some of the universe’s biggest mysteries. SpaceX launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket early Sunday morning.
The $4.3 billion telescope is now headed to an observation point about a million miles from Earth — the same region of space as the Webb Space Telescope.
The bus-sized telescope, named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, the late Nancy Grace Roman, will take more than three months to reach its destination.
Once in place, Roman will use a 300-megapixel camera with a field of view 100 times wider than Hubble’s, enabling it to map vast sections of the universe.
It will also search for clues about dark energy — the mysterious force accelerating the expansion of the universe — and dark matter, which helps hold galaxies together.
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Should Americans shoot — and eat — more deer?
When Anne Sheret and her husband Peter moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from Vermont, they bought 80 acres of land — half of which was continuous forest, full of Christmas tree cookie-cutter balsams and a smattering of papery birch hardwoods.
It was beautiful. Until the deer gobbled it all up.
About four or five years ago, a newly arrived neighbor began feeding the deer “a smorgasbord morning and night,” she said. “Pete took a picture of something like 55 deer in her yard.”
But deer, particularly white-tailed, are not just overrun in the Sheret’s pocket of Yooper country.
The 36 million or so brown-eyed mammals — nearly extinct at the turn of the 20th century — are terrorizing America’s trees. Forest ecologist Don Waller told Straight Arrow that deer are destroying biodiversity, contributing to more car accidents and spreading disease. Meanwhile, various state wildlife management agencies have been reluctant to change the way they mitigate deer overpopulation, leaving conservationists with limited options to reduce growth.
