Top Google News stories right now: August 13, 2026

Karoline Leavitt stepping down leads Google News at rank 1 of 38 on August 13, 2026, after Trump's August 12 announcement, while Europe's first total eclipse in decades sits at rank 4.

Published August 13, 202612 trending topics

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Top Google News stories right now: August 13, 2026

Karoline Leavitt stepping down as White House press secretary leads Google News at rank 1 of 38 on August 13, 2026, after President Trump announced on August 12 that she will leave at month's end to spend more time with her family (Axios/CNN/AP). Trends MCP get_top_trends returned 38 headlines (as_of 2026-08-13T08:01:36 UTC) for type Google News Top News. The board replaces August 12's primary-election live blogs at ranks 1 and 2 with the Leavitt exit and a Sabato's Crystal Ball Wisconsin rating shift, while First Total Eclipse in Europe coverage enters at rank 4 a day after the August 12 totality path.

  1. Karoline Leavitt stepping down as White House press secretary - Axios: A Google News headline at rank 1 of 38. Axios leads after Trump announced on August 12 that Leavitt, 28, will leave the press secretary role at month's end for an outside advisory post, citing time with her young children after maternity leave (Axios/CNN/AP, August 12). The opener replaces August 12's primary-election live blogs.

  2. Wisconsin Gubernatorial Race Moves to Leans Democratic - Sabato's Crystal Ball: A Google News headline at rank 2. Sabato's Crystal Ball on August 12 moved Wisconsin's governor race from Toss-up to Leans Democratic after David Crowley edged Francesca Hong in the August 11 Democratic primary and will face Rep. Tom Tiffany (Crystal Ball/AP, August 12).

  3. CIA had 'low confidence' in Iranian threat before Trump switched planes in Turkey - The Washington Post: A Google News headline at rank 3. The Post reports CIA analysts viewed Israeli-derived intelligence on an Iranian threat as low confidence before Trump's July 8 secret plane switch leaving the NATO summit in Ankara, even as Secret Service treated the warning as serious (Washington Post/BBC, August 12 to 13).

  4. First Total Eclipse in Europe in Decades Turns Day to Night - The New York Times: A Google News headline at rank 4. The Times covers the August 12, 2026 total solar eclipse that brought mainland Europe its first totality since 1999 along a path over Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and a sliver of Portugal (NYT/NASA/Reuters, August 12 to 13).

  5. U.S. immigration agency plans to buy electric shock gloves, raising alarm among rights advocates - Reuters: A Google News headline at rank 5. Reuters and AP report ICE plans a multimillion-dollar purchase of G.L.O.V.E. conductive gloves that can deliver painful shocks, drawing rights-advocate criticism after the DHS notice surfaced earlier in the week (Reuters/AP, August 11 to 12).

  6. Live Updates: Trump says U.S. has "total control" over Strait of Hormuz and might "keep it" - CBS News: A Google News headline at rank 6. CBS live updates track Trump's August 12 Truth Social claim that the United States has total control over the Strait of Hormuz and might keep it, as Iran disputes the claim and ship traffic stays near multi-month lows (CBS/Reuters, August 12 to 13).

  7. A Fight Over Abortion and Surrogacy Ends With a Baby Born in Texas - The New York Times: A Google News headline at rank 7. Coverage follows surrogate McKenna West giving birth August 12 in the Dallas area after a Texas court ordered life-sustaining care for a newborn with hypoplastic left heart syndrome amid a dispute with California intended parents (AP/CBS/NYT, August 12).

  8. Two soldiers are dead after a military helicopter crashes in Texas, sparking a fire - NBC News: A Google News headline at rank 8. NBC reports two Fort Hood soldiers died when an AH-64 Apache crashed near Salado, Texas, around 1:30 p.m. on August 12, sparking a grass fire and local evacuations (NBC/CNN, August 12).

  9. Police: 2 adults, 1 child dead in suspected murder-suicide at Hopkins daycare; case linked to Burnsville homicide - 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS: A Google News headline at rank 9. Minnesota outlets report a suspected murder-suicide at a Hopkins in-home daycare on August 12 left two adults and a 7-year-old dead, later linked to a Burnsville stabbing of a 78-year-old relative (KSTP/FOX 9, August 12 to 13).

  10. 'You Got to Engage': GOP Senators Scold Hegseth for Shutting Dems Out of Briefings - Mediaite: A Google News headline at rank 10. Mediaite covers Senate Republicans including Thom Tillis warning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that excluding Democrats from Pentagon budget briefings could sink votes for Trump's proposed $1.5 trillion defense package (Mediaite/Politico, August 12).

  11. Colombia earthquake death toll rises as frantic search for survivors continues - CBS News: A Google News headline at rank 11. CBS reports Colombia's official death toll from the August 10 magnitude 7.4 quake rose to about 265 by August 13, with roughly 496 missing as rescue work nears the 72-hour window (CBS/Al Jazeera, August 12 to 13).

  12. Major Russian grain export terminals hit in Ukraine Black Sea port attack - BBC: A Google News headline at rank 12. BBC details a Ukrainian drone and missile strike on Novorossiysk that damaged major Russian grain export terminals and the Black Sea naval base on August 12 (BBC/Bloomberg, August 12 to 13).

The full list of 38 trending headlines is available via the Trends MCP API. Get your free API key

What changed on Google News since yesterday

Compared with the August 12, 2026 Google News daily post, primary-election live blogs exit the published cut while Leavitt's exit, the Crystal Ball Wisconsin lean, eclipse aftermath, the Texas surrogacy birth, the Fort Hood Apache crash, and the Hopkins daycare case enter the top 12.

ChangeDetails
New entrants (published 12)Leavitt (#1); WI Leans Democratic (#2); CIA plane-switch (#3); Europe eclipse (#4); Hormuz live (#6); Texas surrogacy birth (#7); Apache crash (#8); Hopkins daycare (#9); Hegseth briefings (#10); Novorossiysk grain (#12)
HoldoversICE shock gloves (#10 to #5); Colombia quake toll (#11)
Drop-offs from August 12 cutPrimary live blogs (#1-2); Demuth MN win (#4); Midwest weather (#5); Timber Fire (#6); Larson ouster (#7)

Personnel and aftermath stories replaced primary night as the August 13 board's center of gravity. Leavitt at rank 1 and Hegseth briefings friction at rank 10 keep White House and Pentagon staffing fights near the top, while Wisconsin's Crystal Ball lean at rank 2 extends August 11 primary fallout into rating-agency analysis.

Disaster and war coverage still fill the lower published cut. Colombia's rising toll at rank 11, the Novorossiysk grain-terminal strike at rank 12, and Hormuz control claims at rank 6 sit beside eclipse aftermath at rank 4, a day after NASA and European outlets streamed the August 12 totality path.

These ranks came from the Trends MCP get_top_trends API on August 13, 2026, using type Google News Top News and limit 50. The feed serves analysts and agent workflows that need live boards. Related data page: https://www.trendsmcp.ai/google-news-top-news-api.

{
  "type": "Google News Top News",
  "limit": 50
}
  • Previous daily: https://www.trendsmcp.ai/trending/google-news-trending-august-12-2026
  • Data source: https://www.trendsmcp.ai/google-news-top-news-api
  • Evergreen guide: https://www.trendsmcp.ai/blog/best-google-news-trend-monitoring-tools

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