Edition · TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2026
Today's five.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026. 5 briefs — three national, one local, one state — analyzed from across the spectrum.
HEALTH · POLITICS
The MMR vaccine has been safe and effective for sixty years, so naturally it's now in three pieces.
Trump signed an executive order Monday splitting the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three separate shots — each requiring its own doctor's visit. The order also calls for overhauling the broader childhood vaccination schedule to space out immunizations. RFK Jr. and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya were in the Oval Office for the signing. Bloomberg led with the MMR split; The Hill led with the overall reduction in recommended vaccines. The MMR vaccine does not currently exist as three separate domestically available products, which makes this an instruction to do something that isn't possible yet.
POLITICS
Trump's Former Defense Lawyer Now Runs the DOJ, Which Is a Sentence That Exists
The attorney general who defended the president at trial is now the attorney general of the United States, administered his oath by the judge who was also on that defense team, while the president watched. Todd Blanche was confirmed by a narrow Senate vote and sworn in Monday at the Oval Office, replacing Pam Bondi, who was ousted in April. CBS and The Hill covered the ceremony straight. Florida Phoenix and others led with the word "contentious." The oath was administered. The irony was not commented on by anyone in the room.
CLIMATE
AOC Is Running for President and Her Old Tweets Are Already Campaigning Against Her
The problem with spending a decade being extremely online is that the internet has receipts. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is repositioning herself for a presidential run — softer edges, broader appeal, less of the maximalist rhetoric that made her famous — and both Reason and The Daily Wire are doing what political media does when someone rebrands: pulling the tape. The specific contradiction getting airtime: a 2019 prediction that climate catastrophe was twelve years away, followed by a 2025 announcement that she's freezing her eggs. The ideology can evolve. The timestamps cannot.
BRIEF
Western Colombia absorbed a 7.4-magnitude earthquake so you don't have to wonder what 7.4 means: at least 111 dead, more than 1,500 homes damaged, and rescue crews still pulling through rubble in Pereira. President de la Espriella confirmed the toll is likely to climb. NBC led with the death count; the Times led with the search effort still underway. Time published a "what to know" explainer, which is what outlets do when the situation is moving faster than anyone can summarize. The buildings are down. People are missing. The number will be different by the time you finish your coffee.
A 7.4 quake just hit western Colombia and the death toll isn't done climbing
POLITICS
Two Democrats are fighting over the same Tampa Bay seat, and only one gets to keep being a Democrat who matters in Florida.
When a safe seat opens up, the interesting question isn't who wins the general — it's which member of your own team you're willing to beat. State Reps. Fentrice Driskell and Michele Rayner are both Democrats, both from the Florida House, and both want the state Senate District 16 seat being vacated by Darryl Rouson in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. One of them will win on August 18. The other will have spent months campaigning hard against someone who agrees with them on basically everything. Florida politics is a strange sport.