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Daily Finance & Markets Brief · August 16th
storyflo · finance and markets
Aug 16, 2026 · 7 min listen · Last updated August 16, 2026
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief. It's Mason. August 16th. Five things on the tape worth your attention this morning. Let's get into it. First, from Forbes Business. Georgia Ponzi Schemer Sentenced To 20 Years For $380 Million Fraud.
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Daily Finance & Markets Brief · August 16th
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Georgia Ponzi Schemer Sentenced To 20 Years For $380 Million Fraud
Todd Burkhalter the CEO of Georgia-based financial advisory group Drive Planning LLC was sentenced on August 14th to 20 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Tiffany Johnson on charges related to his orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in Georgia history through which he scammed more than 2,000 investors out of approximately $380 million. Judge Johnson rejected the U.S. Attorney’s plea-bargained recommendation of a 17 ½ year prison sentence.
Trump Tests Birthright Citizenship Again After Supreme Court Loss
President Donald Trump has recently made another run at birthright citizenship. He may be entitled to dislike the Supreme Court’s answer but he is really not entitled to keep fidgeting with it as though a constitutional Supreme Court judgment were merely a negotiating position. On June 30, in Trump v. Barbara, the Supreme Court held that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment. The judgment was 6-3.
Iran Tells Trump: ‘Accept The Reality’ He Can’t Make Strait Of Hormuz U.S. Territory
Iran pushed back on President Donald Trump’s insistence that the Strait of Hormuz would become a U.S. territory, accusing Trump of “fanciful delusions” and declaring that the strait will remain under Iran’s control.
NYT ‘Connections’ #1162 Hints And Answers For Sunday, August 16
Another Sunday and another tricky NYT Connections to solve. If you’re looking for help with today’s puzzling NYT Connections puzzle, this guide is here to help with some extra clues and every connection for the Yellow, Blue, Green and Purple groups. This is a very tricky Connections today so we’ll get right to it. Of course, I have to point you toward my friendly neighborhood streaming guide so that you know what shows and movies to watch this evening when you’re all done exploring the great outdoors and solving all your NYT puzzle games.
Iran Embassy Claims Karoline Leavitt Resigned Because Of Decoy Plane 'Betrayal'—But It's Unlikely She Was On Jet
An Iranian embassy pushed the social media conspiracy that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt resigned from her job this week because President Donald Trump left her on the plane he evacuated in Turkey to evade an alleged threat from Iran—but it’s unlikely she was actually on the so-called decoy flight. The embassy of Iran in South Africa posted a photo of Leavitt on X Saturday and commended her resignation, writing, "betrayal is awful. When your boss betrays you and sends you in danger, while he escapes in a food truck, you lose all hope for camaraderie.
On the markets — Kalshi traders have been actively repricing this story in the last day.
Dillion Brooks Extended By Phoenix Suns Utilizing Larry Bird Exception
HOENIX – Mat Ishbia, the majority owner of the Suns and Mercury, recently found himself in a precarious financial situation because of multi-millions of dollars lost and recouped through his company, United Wholesale Mortgage. That didn’t stop the Suns from using the NBA’s famous Larry Bird exception to extend forward Dillon Brooks by three years, $73 million, even though the club is well above the league’s salary cap of $165 million. The Suns, according to Spotrac, are at $240.9 million, $80 million above the cap and well beyond what the league calls its second financial apron.
Tesehki And Big Lex Fight Might Be Stealing The Show In Atlanta
Have Tesehki and Big Lex stolen the show from Ray J and Orlando Brown as the primary undercard attraction in Atlanta on Saturday night? We might need to ask if the ladies have taken some of the spotlight away from the main event which features Claressa Shields chasing unified middleweight titles against Kaye Scott at the State Farm Arena. In any case, this Atlanta fight night is blazing hot and Tesehki and Big Lex have carved their piece of the pie. Let's talk boxing. Tesehki vs. Big Lex Key Facts - Fight: Tesehki vs.
NYT ‘Pips’ Hints, Answers And Walkthrough For Sunday, August 16
Looking for help with today’s NYT Pips puzzles? You’ve come to the right place. Not only will you find strategies below, but full answers for each daily trio of Pips puzzles and a full walkthrough for the Hard Pips. Looking for Saturday’s Pips? Read our guide right here. In Pips, you have a grid of multi=-colored boxes. Each colored area represents a different “condition” that you have to achieve. You have a select number of dominoes that you have to spend filling in the grid. You must use every domino and achieve every condition properly to win. There are Easy, Medium and Difficult tiers.
Today’s Wordle #1884: Hints And Answer, Sunday August 16
Looking for help with today’s Wordle? In this guide, we have some extra hints and clues to help you on your path to Wordle victory, plus a fun Bonus Wordle to solve while you’re at it. The answer is below as well, plus some Wordle Bot analysis and plenty more. Lazy Sunday means we get to just solve puzzles and then read through my friendly neighborhood streaming guide for all the best shows and movies you can watch while being lazy all day long. Doing nothing. Just watching the tele and doom-scrolling.
Ray J Gets Redemption Against Orlando Brown, And It Was Hilarious
What did you expect? Ray J defeated Orlando Brown via unanimous decision. It wasn't pretty and it was more comedy than competition. I hope you weren't expecting anything else. The two men didn't appear to take it overly serious and both likely walked away with a nice payday as the State Farm Arena appeared to be packed for the Zeus Promotions event that served as the appetizer for Claressa Shields vs. Kaye Scott. Let's talk boxing. Ray J vs. Orlando Brown Key Facts - Opponent: Orlando Brown - Result: Unanimous decision - Scheduled distance: Three rounds - Event: Claressa Shields vs.
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