The Stateside Beat — Monday, August 24, 2026 (Morning Brief)

Trump scales back South Korea drills long opposed by North Korea, raising questions about US commitment to allies in the region.

'Coalition of the Willing' leaders discuss air defence shortage as Ukraine and Russia trade drone attacks.

Kazakhstan's new ruling Adulet party has taken a decisive lead in early exit polls, with more than 70% of the vote.

The Democratic Republic of Congo government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group have agreed a roadmap for peace talks.

A mountainous heap of refuse collapsed at the largest landfill in Guinea's capital, Conakry, early on Sunday, killing at least 30 people.

California AG Bonta cancels settlement talks, says he'll meet when they 'stop playing games' over the massive media merger.

Nvidia reports Wednesday in the closest thing the AI trade has to a quarterly referendum, testing markets amid rotation.

Hugging Face is allied with a bank but doesn't yet have a deal; insiders say it's looking to be valued at about $13 billion.

Dow Jones futures are steady, Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.7% as US stocks decline ahead of Nvidia's earnings report.

Micron's recent earnings surge is driven almost entirely by price increases, not volume; stock downgraded to Hold.

New leaks suggest Samsung is planning to revive a lost redesign with its Galaxy S27 series, though details remain light.

Android-based car head units are using a legitimate device-update app to spread malware that enlists compromised devices in a proxy botnet.

Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone Ultra is winning over early testers, though the camera setup has drawn criticism.

An individual or group known as CyberLeek leaked alleged GTA 6 gameplay clips, but a former Rockstar director dismisses them.

The Blood of Dawnwalker will receive a Performance Mode targeting 60 FPS on PS5, PS5 Pro, and Xbox Series X on Day 1.