Global borrowing costs hit fresh highs on oil, AI and inflation
Global borrowing costs hit fresh highs on oil, AI and inflation. The KRAK 11 News hour: The World Desk, Criminal Intent, Happy Animals, Sports. Real stories from named sources, read by Chip Marlowe and Deb Sarkissian.
Aired 2026-08-18 19:57 UTC · 5 segments · 12 min · complete transcript below
Rundown
KRAK 11 NEWS
Good evening. I'm Chip Marlowe.
And I'm Deb Sarkissian. This is KRAK 11 News.
This hour: The World Desk, where the head of England's Premier League says FIFA has pressed the self-destruct button over plans to sell off the World Cup.
Criminal Intent: twenty-nine states are taking Meta to trial over what they say children see online, and the case could change social media across the country.
Happy Animals, where we will look at an animal that is definitely happy.
And Sports, where the question is no longer whether China has a space program, but whether the United States is ready to compete with it.
We begin tonight on The World Desk, coming up in just a few minutes, where FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing the strongest criticism yet over his plan to restructure World Cup broadcasting rights.
Richard Masters, who runs the Premier League, says the plan is a self-inflicted wound that could damage the sport permanently. That's next.
That's the alarm.
I'm aware.
We should go.
Cronkite didn't go.
It's a real alarm.
They're all real, Gordo. That's what makes them alarms.
I can smell it.
So can I, and I'm still here. I will report the news. You sallies head on out of here.
THE WORLD DESK
Before we begin, I'd like to note that tonight's World Desk covers four continents, which I believe is a record for this hour.
We cover the same continents every night, Chip.
Tonight feels more global.
We begin with global economic news. Interest rates on long-term government debt have reached their highest levels in years across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.
Yields on ten-year bonds in all four countries have climbed to levels not seen since the early months of the pandemic recovery, driven by concerns over oil prices, artificial intelligence spending, and persistent inflation.
Four of the world's seven largest economies seeing this simultaneously is what economists are calling unusual.
The G6 economies, which represent most of global GDP.
The G7.
Which has six major members.
Seven, Chip. That's the seven in G7.
Analysts are watching to see if central banks will respond with policy changes in the coming quarter. Deb?
In England, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has sharply criticized FIFA president Gianni Infantino over plans to restructure the World Cup calendar.
Masters said FIFA has, quote, pressed the self-destruct button and delivered a self-inflicted wound with the proposal, which would expand the tournament and compress the schedule.
The changes would affect domestic leagues across Europe in ways Masters says could undermine the sport's financial structure.
Europe, the continent directly east of England.
England is in Europe.
England is an island nation in the North Atlantic.
England is part of the island of Great Britain, which is off the northwest coast of continental Europe, which England is also part of geographically.
We're splitting hairs.
We're splitting a channel of water twenty-one miles wide.
FIFA has not yet responded to Masters' comments. The Premier League season continues this weekend.
Also tonight, the Trump administration announced new sanctions targeting senior officials at the International Criminal Court, including prosecutors and investigators involved in ongoing cases.
The administration has stated its intention to dismantle the court, quote, brick by brick. The ICC is headquartered in The Hague.
The Hague is in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands, which is in the Benelux region, bordered by Germany to the east and France to the south.
Belgium is to the south. France is to the southwest.
Belgium, which shares a border with France.
Yes.
So I'm not incorrect.
You're three countries off.
The sanctions target individuals the administration says have exceeded the court's jurisdiction. No timeline has been given for when the measures take effect.
Still ahead on KRAK 11 News, a Wexler County man has been charged in connection with a string of thefts dating back eighteen months.
Investigators say they recovered stolen property from six different addresses, including items reported missing as far back as twenty twenty-three.
The sheriff's office is asking anyone who believes their property may have been taken to contact the tip line. That number is on your screen now.
Criminal Intent is next.
I need one of you to witness a wedding in the loading dock.
Whose wedding.
Couple from the mattress store. I got ordained at lunch.
You cannot marry people with sandwich breath.
The state doesn't ask.
Why the loading dock.
The groom's ankle monitor won't reach the courtyard.
I'll witness.
Fine. I am going to go hang around by the methadone clinic. The people outside always have great merchandise for sale.
CRIMINAL INTENT
Good evening. I'm Chip Marlowe.
And I'm Deb Sarkissian. The Cambridge professor who resigned last week has left questions about hiring practices across academia.
He's left a larger story, Deb. About the entire system. That's coming up.
But first, the Blotter. And we begin tonight with a federal trial that could reshape how social media companies operate.
Four states have filed suit against the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, alleging Meta knew its products could addict children and concealed the danger.
The suit stems from a complaint filed in twenty twenty-three by twenty-nine states. They claim violations of federal and state privacy laws for children.
Opening arguments began today. This is a person of interest situation on a national scale, and the implications reach every household in this country.
Prosecutors allege. Meta has not been convicted of anything.
Of course. Prosecutors allege Meta designed features specifically to maximize youth engagement despite internal research showing harm.
The trial is expected to last six weeks. We'll continue to follow it.
Also tonight: a Cambridge professor has resigned amid questions about his academic record. The Atlantic calls it a story about more than one man.
Jason Arday's rise and fall has prompted questions about hiring practices across universities. A former academic writing for the magazine says the case reveals structural problems in how institutions vet faculty.
The university says it stands by its process. The professor has declined to comment publicly.
Coming up after the break: animals. Happy ones. Verifiably happy.
We have video, Deb. We have multiple angles. You're going to want to see this.
Happy Animals is next.
Stay with us.
Who microwaved socks in the break room.
I did. Heat resets the elastic.
What setting.
Popcorn.
The booth smells like a foot fucked a radiator.
Popcorn is too hot. Use baked potato.
Why the hell do you know that.
He did my gloves last winter.
The method is sound.
HAPPY ANIMALS
Welcome back.
Deb, I've been reviewing the octopus footage and I believe we should lead with the container. The container moment. Because that is a network-level visual.
The octopus opening the childproof bottle.
In under ninety seconds, which is faster than I can do it on a good day, and I have thumbs.
We turn now to creatures that continue to amaze researchers, and tonight that includes an octopus solving puzzles faster than some graduate students.
The Natural History Museum has documented eight ways octopuses demonstrate intelligence we didn't know they possessed, including using tools, escaping enclosures, and recognizing individual human faces.
One specimen opened a childproof container in under ninety seconds.
That is a creature that has never seen a container, does not know what medicine is, and still figured out the mechanism.
Researchers say the findings challenge assumptions about invertebrate cognition.
Also tonight, researchers have confirmed what many suspected: some animals have evolved what can only be described as a sense of humor, including dolphins, ravens, and certain primates who engage in play behavior with no survival benefit.
Ravens have been observed hiding objects from each other purely for entertainment, then watching the reaction.
One dolphin repeatedly stole a trainer's clipboard, returned it, then stole it again seventeen times in a single session.
That dolphin knew exactly what it was doing.
And if you've been following the story of Jimothy the raccoon, the internet's latest obsession, we have an update. The raccoon photographed wearing a small knitted hat across six platforms now has his own merchandise line, with proceeds going to wildlife rehabilitation.
A very fortunate raccoon.
Still ahead, we'll have sports, and a story about a stadium proposal that has divided the county in ways nobody expected.
That's next.
Sixty-eight point four degrees.
What.
That's the temperature. I've been testing for three weeks.
Testing what.
My optimal broadcast temperature. Sixty-eight point four. Any higher, I sweat. Any lower, my voice tightens.
It's seventy-two in here.
I know. Someone keeps fucking with it.
That's the building default.
let me guess Deb is the building default?
SPORTS
And now sports.
Gordo, the scoreboard graphic is still showing eleven like two ones. I asked about this Tuesday.
It's kerning.
It's unprofessional. A viewer sees two ones, they think we're covering a bowling league. Barcelona paid eighty-one million dollars for Rodri, not eighty-two.
Barcelona has officially completed the signing of Rodri from Manchester City. The fee is sixty-five million pounds. That converts to eighty-one million dollars, making it the most expensive defensive midfielder transfer in football history.
And well worth it. Rodri was named player of the twenty twenty-six World Cup. Seven trophy-laden years with Manchester City. Now he says he's ready for, quote, excitement again.
Barcelona finished second in La Liga last season. Manchester City finished fourth in the Premier League.
Which is why they're letting him move to a team that finished higher. That's strategic roster management.
Barcelona finished lower than City.
In a different league.
That's what second and fourth means.
Closer to home. The Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies eleven to five last night at Coors Field. Shohei Ohtani extended his home run streak with two more. Blake Snell pitched seven strong innings.
Ohtani is now batting three-seventeen with thirty-one home runs this season while still recovering from Tommy John surgery. That stat should be on every highlight package. Two-way player, major surgery, still batting over three hundred.
The win moves the Dodgers to within three games of first place in the National League West with forty-one games remaining in the regular season.
Three games back with forty-one left to play. That is a manageable deficit for a team that just put up eleven runs and has the kind of offensive depth the Dodgers are showing right now.
They scored eleven runs.
Against a division rival.
The Rockies are fourteen games under five hundred.
A win is a win, Deb.
In other news tonight. Kanye West has announced eight tour dates in Russia beginning in November. He is the first major Western artist to schedule performances in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.
That is not sports.
It's entertainment.
It's the scoreboard.
The venues include arenas in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Kazan. Ticket sales begin Thursday.
That's business news. Possibly international relations. Deb, we have a format.
We have thirty seconds.
Then use them for scores. Baseball. Basketball. Something with a number at the end.
We covered the Dodgers.
Cover them again.
Still ahead on KRAK 11 News. We will have the latest on the breaking developments out of Virginia State University, where five people were shot outside university dorms earlier tonight. A teenager is in custody. The campus remains on lockdown.
That and more coming up at the top of the hour on the next KRAK 11 News.
Thank you for watching.
Gordo, the kerning.
Let it go.
It makes eleven look like two ones. Two ones is not a football number, Deb. Two ones is a date.
Nobody sees it.
I see it. That's one.
Reporting behind this episode
- Premier League chief says Fifa self-destructed over World Cup plan
- US announces new sanctions on top ICC figures
- Global borrowing costs hit fresh highs on oil, AI and inflation
- How the Meta trial could change social media for young people
- Jason Arday's rise and fall tells a larger story about academia, a critic says
- 'Profits won.' The child safety trial against Meta kicks off in federal court
- Morning news brief
- Rodri ready for 'excitement again' after Barca complete £65m deal
- Kanye West announces tour dates in Russia