
5 things to know for Aug. 26: Presidential race, Middle East, Alaska landslide, Grand Canyon floods, Apple juice recall
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Lights are out in many parts of Ukraine today after Russia launched an overnight aerial attack on power grids across the country. Dozens of missiles and drones targeted almost all regions of Ukraine, officials said, including the capital Kyiv and the southern port city of Odesa. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. The race for the White House is entering its final stretch with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump targeting battleground states and preparing for their upcoming debate. Harris is looking to build on momentum from the Democratic National Convention as she tours the key swing state of Georgia this week. Meanwhile, Trump will campaign in Wisconsin and Michigan as he seeks to regain the spotlight. Those states and a few others will play a big role in determining who will secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the November election. With party conventions over, the September 10 presidential debate will be the next race-defining moment on the calendar. The Israeli military launched what it called “preemptive” strikes over the weekend against Hezbollah in Lebanon as the Iran-backed militant group said it carried out its own attacks in response to the killing of a top commander. The latest strikes are some of the most serious yet between Israel and Hezbollah, who have been exchanging fire for months. They also took place just hours before mediation talks resumed in the Egyptian capital Cairo, which aim to strike a ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Separately, polio vaccines for more than 1.2 million people have been delivered to the Gaza Strip. This comes as the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah is preparing for a large-scale vaccination campaign to prevent the highly infectious virus from further spreading in the embattled enclave. A landslide in southern Alaska on Sunday left one person dead and several others injured, and some residents have been ordered to evacuate as officials warn another slide could strike nearby. The slide sent a dense wave of snapped trees, toppled power poles and dirt crashing into a row of hillside homes in the coastal city of Ketchikan. All residents have been accounted for, officials said. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster emergency declaration for the city, saying in a post on X that “all state agencies are directed to provide whatever assistance is needed.” Ketchikan, with a population of about 14,000, is nestled along the southern portion of Alaska’s Inside Passage — a water route famed for its stunning landscapes, fjords and glaciers. The city claims to be the salmon capital of the world. Flash flooding in Grand Canyon National Park has prompted the rescues of more than 100 people since Thursday. At least one hiker died in the floods triggered by monsoon storms, local authorities said. The hazardous conditions led Arizona’s National Guard to use a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to evacuate dozens of tourists and tribal members from a canyon on the lands of the Havasupai Tribe within the park on Saturday, video from the Arizona National Guard showed. A North Carolina couple told CNN as they hiked in the Havasupai Indian Reservation, they had to form human chains and hack through the thorny bushes and cacti for hours until they reached safety.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.










