Reuters World News - US primaries, Trump's secret plane swap and total eclipse

Episode Date: August 12, 2026

Six U.S. states hold primary votes, with Wisconsin Democrats narrowly picking moderate David Crowley over Democratic socialist Francesca Hong as their nominee for state governor. President Donald Trump confirms he secretly switched planes in Turkey last month on the orders of Secret Service. Leaking crude oil from a tanker grounded off Oman is creating a massive oil slick. And parts of Europe prepare to watch a rare total solar eclipse. 📲 Podcasts, breaking news, and video analysis from the source. Download the Reuters app here. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. And I'm Peter Devon in London. It's Wednesday, August 12th. Today. The November midterms take shape, with primaries delivering mixed results for progressive Democrats. Trump responds to revelations he secretly flew on a military jet last month, making those on board Air Force One a decoy. And parts of Europe and Russia prepare for a total solar eclipse. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week.

We begin with primaries in the US, where votes were held across six states on Tuesday. In Minnesota, progressive lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan won the Democratic nomination for an open US Senate seat, defeating a more moderate rival. And in South Carolina, Senator Darlene Graham, the sister of the late Lindsay Graham, advanced to Republican, Senate runoff, setting up a contest later this month against conservative Congressman Ralph Norman. This is a very emotional night because I'm usually standing here celebrating with Lindsay. So I know he's looking down right now, smiling. In Wisconsin, Democrats nominated Rebecca Cook to challenge Republican Congressman Derek Van

Orden in one of the country's most competitive House districts. Democrats there also narrowly picked establishment by. David Crowley over Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong is their nominee for state governor. So what does that result mean for both sides? Here's Congress editor Michael Lerman. I just think it's a huge shocker tonight. We've basically got a rerun from Michigan where a race that we thought was going to be not close, was extremely close.

For Republicans, it means potentially they get one less person to run against. you know, Francesca Hong. She's had very controversial things. She's big on, you know, defunding the police and all these things that Republicans just love to run against. David Crowley does not give them that kind of target.

So for Republicans, I think it's a, it's not a great night. They would love to see the most radical progressives win these statewide races. I think for Trump, it was a mixed night. His endorsement clearly put Darlene Graham into the runoff. It wasn't enough to get her to 50%,

but it got her into the runoff. But it didn't matter in Minnesota because he endorsed one of his closest allies, Mike Lindell for governor of Minnesota, and he was pretty soundly defeated tonight. Now back to Kim with the rest of the news. I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight,

a different plane, safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say. President Trump there, responding to questions about the elaborate ruse to secretly fly him out of Turkey during last month's NATO summit after apparent threats from Iran. Trump bordered the old Air Force One, but was then snuck off it to fly on a military jet instead. I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk. I think it was a favorite because that be the plane, I think that they would be more likely to go for.

The operation raises a lot of questions about security threats facing the president, about his new Qatari-donated jet, and about White House credibility. Our reporter, Graham Slattery, was there. I was actually on the old Air Force one going from Turkey to the UK. We saw Trump get into the plane. We all get into the plane. We assume he's in there. But in fact, he smuggled out of that.

plane in a catering van into another similar military plane, at which point he flies in that separate plane to England, the press and a lot of staff, all of a sudden Whitting also fly to England, and then once in England, he is smuggled by means which are still unclear back into the old Air Force one. Graham says that while this type of action to protect the president has some precedent, this was different. There are situations in which the White House and the Secret Service will use deception during travel. However, what typically happens, for instance, what happened with Clinton is that the press, the traveling past will be briefed, and the information will simply be embargoed. that's sort of the standard operating procedure. The truth is that the White House really went to great pains to maintain this elaborate fiction

that was not truthful for a very, very long time. It seems simply because it was something that was embarrassing, you know, that this new plane wasn't up to snuff. It's hard not to come to the conclusion that the very few people aware of this plan thought that the plane that had some of Trump's staff on it as well as the media could have been blown up. The White House has not disputed reporting on the story, and in a statement to media, said they use every tool at their disposal to address threats the president faces.

The U.S. and Iran remain gridlocked over reopening the Strait of Fremuz, with both sides demanding their conditions be met before progress is made. And attacks at sea continue, with the Iran-aligned Houthis, targeting a Saudi ship and the US firing on a Panama flagged vessel. Separately, a tanker grounded off a nature reserve in Oman is leaking crude oil, creating a huge oil slick, which could get worse. Here's shipping correspondent Jonathan Saul. One of the big problems is there needs to be some kind of containment, not just of the spill, but the risk that the actual tanker might break up, at which point it sinks and then all the oil

spills out even more so than it has done. Jonathan says the response is complicated in two ways. One, the vessel is part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet, impacting insurance and the ensuing salvage operations. And two, it's not clear what caused the damage to the ship, as no party has taken responsibility. If it is an act of hostility or war that triggered this, it's possible it could have been connected to Ukraine's war against Russia's tanker fleet. That much we know is open and has been explicitly stated by Ukrainian officials.

But there's been no confirmation or any details whether this vessel was targeted by the Ukrainians. If it has been targeted by the Ukrainians, this is obviously massive implications, given the environmental impact that we're witnessing at this current moment. To Syria. Bashar al-Assad-Ibn Hafez, where a court has sentenced former president, Bashar al-Assad. al-Assad to death for crimes he committed during Syria's 14-year civil war. Assad was tried in absentia, having fled to Russia in December of 2024. Assad's brother, Mahar, and another security official, Atef Najib, were also sentenced to

death, though Najib was the only one tried in person. Former American Marine Robert Gilman has returned to the US, having been freed from a Russian prison on humanitarian grounds. US President Trump made the prisoner release announcement on social media, saying the 32-year-old's release follows discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. US officials say Russia didn't seek any concessions in return for the release. Gilman's health had deteriorated badly in detention, with advocates saying had fallen into a disassociative stupor.

Typhoon Dolphin is bringing torrential rain to Beijing, with the Chinese. Chinese capital expected to receive more than a third of its average annual rainfall rainfall in just 24 hours. Even though the storm has weakened, it's still driving heavy rain across central China. Authorities are warning of flooding, with rainfall records already broken in Henan and Hubei provinces. And finally, a total solar eclipse will move across parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, Spain and Portugal this evening. And suddenly the bird will start chirping, the animals will be confused. You will see a very, very dark coin that is the moon covering the sun. Astrophysicist Dr Noelia Noel

reminds people to not look directly at the eclipse, which could damage your eyes without special glasses. It's the first total solar eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula since 1912. In a tiny Spanish farming village, retired shepherd, Joaquin Tappoles, built his own observatory for the occasion. And even if you aren't in the direct path, you might still get a glimpse of a partial eclipse visible across parts of eastern Canada, Europe and North Africa. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player.

If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. And if you want Markets news, check out Reuters Morning Bid podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.