Half of the DRC Ebola outbreak's deaths have occurred in the last 20 days — and the toll is now contested at roughly 2,500, making this the deadliest Ebola outbreak in DRC history and the second-worst ever recorded.
Ebola Bundibugyo Outbreak: DRC & Global Response
- Scale, now uncontested: The outbreak covers an area larger than France; confirmed cases have topped 5,000 (contested); the outbreak is the deadliest in DRC history and second-worst ever recorded.
- Acceleration, uncontested: Half of all deaths occurred in the last 20 days.
- Vaccine trial: 20,000 doses of Ervebo will be used in a clinical trial to assess effectiveness against the Bundibugyo strain.
- Death toll now contested: Earlier figures — 2,000+ deaths, 4,449 confirmed cases, 2,061 deaths as of Tuesday, and a 45.9% case fatality rate — are newly disputed. Newer reporting puts deaths close to or exceeding 2,500 (3 outlets, contested).
- Also newly contested: the $270M US State Department funding figure; health worker infection counts (~100 infected, ~35 dead); and the count of at least 12 attacks on health facilities since mid-May.
Trump Tariff Wave: Forced Labor & Trade Partners 2026
- Tariffs now live: US 50% tariffs on Canadian goods took effect at 12:01am EDT Saturday after negotiations collapsed — uncontested across 4 outlets.
- Each side's account of the breakdown is uncontested but contradictory: PM Carney says last-minute US changes were unfair and unreliable; USTR Greer says Canada made new demands that upended a carefully balanced agreement.
- Canada's response: PM Carney announced dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs (3 outlets, uncontested).
- Vehicle carve-out: A deal element would cut tariffs on Canadian-built vehicles from 25% to 15% (3 outlets, uncontested).
- Canadian public opinion: 56% of Canadians want a hardline approach in trade talks — now reported by 3 outlets, up from 1.
- Newly contested: The claim that the two sides had reached a deal before the midnight deadline.
SAVE Act: Proof-of-Citizenship Voting Requirement
- New contested assertion: DHS claimed Nevada had as many as 16,000 non-citizens on voter rolls but confirmed only 185 were actually non-citizens (1 outlet, contested).
- Newly contested: DHS's figure of ~278,000 non-citizens registered to vote nationally; also newly contested: whether DHS has explained its methodology at all.
U.S. Wealth Inequality & the OBBBA
- Newly contested: Trump's claim of raising ~$850 million (he himself said "nobody knows" the exact amount; 1 outlet). Also newly contested: the claim that MAGA Inc. holds $400M for Republican candidates, and the August 18 Treasury selloff figures (30-year yields at ~5.34%, highest since 2007).
USS Abraham Lincoln Crisis & U.S. Military Readiness
- Corroboration gain: Navy discussions about renaming a planned carrier from USS Doris Miller to a ship named after President Trump — now reported by 3 outlets, up from 1. Context on Doris Miller (first Black service member to receive the Navy Cross) also now carried by 3 outlets, up from 1.
- Newly contested: The claim that USS Abraham Lincoln has departed the Middle East and is returning to San Diego after ~272 days at sea.