🏅 Sabarimala probe officer gets President's Medal

SP S. Sasidharan, who investigated the Sabarimala gold loss cases, received the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service. He is from Kerala and was appointed in 2025 by the Kerala High Court to look into the alleged loss of gold. This award was announced by the Union government on Friday, August 14, 2026, during Independence Day celebrations. Sasidharan is the only officer from Kerala receiving the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service this year. The Sabarimala gold loss probe is nearing its end with chargesheets expected soon. 🏅

🤖 Google drops Gemini 3.7 Flash with better coding

Google has launched Gemini 3.7 Flash, its newest and most intelligent Flash model, specifically designed for coding and AI agents. This update was released just three weeks after Gemini 3.6 Flash and aims to boost workflows in software engineering and web development. The model achieved a 43.6% score on FrontierCode 1.1, up from 34.4% for its predecessor, and scores at $0.75 per million input tokens. This improved performance and lower cost aim to let developers scale AI agents more affordably. Gemini 3.7 Flash will also power Gemini Spark, enhancing its efficiency across Google Workspace. 🤖

😠 Rishika Singh slams Yash's 'Toxic' trailer

Actor Rishika Singh strongly criticized the romantic and intimate scenes in Yash's upcoming film, Toxic. She shared this strong reaction on Instagram, specifically targeting the portrayal of women in the trailer. Singh questioned the depiction of the five female actors, including Kiara Advani, while praising the film's potential. She warned that audiences would make him vacate Karnataka if women are disrespected. The film also stars Nayanthara and Huma Qureshi in major roles. 😠

📜 Kepler's mom faced witchcraft charges

Johannes Kepler, known for discovering the three laws of planetary motion, faced a huge personal crisis. His elderly mother, Katharina Kepler, was accused of witchcraft in Leonberg, Germany, in 1615. By August 1620, she faced 49 accusations and was imprisoned, leading Kepler to halt his scientific work. He spent nearly a year defending her, writing a major statement against the prosecution's claims. After six years, she was released in the autumn of 1621, though she passed away the next year. 😟

⚖️ Student takes legal action against threats at protest

A plea regarding alleged threats and vigilantism against a protest participant was accepted by the Supreme Court. The matter was brought before the Chief Justice of India in relation to events at Jantar Mantar. The petitioner cited continuous acts of vigilantism along with threats of rape and abduction. Counsel stressed the urgency due to ongoing incidents, mentioning disturbing videos. CJI Surya Kant agreed to list this matter on Tuesday alongside other student protest petitions.

🚗 Sedan sales up in July 2026, compacts lead the charge 🚗

Sedan sales hit 37,728 units in July 2026, marking a 13.96% YoY increase. Maruti Suzuki Dzire dominated the segment, selling 23,791 units in India. The segment saw 20.99% MoM growth from June 2026 figures. Midsize sedans are struggling as buyers prefer SUVs, according to the data. The growth story is heavily driven by compact models like Dzire, Aura, and Amaze.

🗳️ G.S. Patil elected as Karnataka Assembly Speaker

Congress MLA Gurupadagouda Sanganagouda Patil was elected as the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on August 14. Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar proposed the nomination in Bengaluru on August 13, 2026, with the Deputy CM seconding it. The election took place after U. T. Khader's resignation on June 3, following the vacancy. The opposition BJP and JD(S) chose to boycott the proceedings in protest. Senior Member of Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed was elected Chairperson of the Upper House the same day. 🗳️

🔬 Can a drug stop childhood trauma before it starts?

Researchers investigated whether childhood trauma could be prevented using medication in mice. They subjected mother mice to hardship, which led to offspring being placed in lower social ranks. When a compound called SAFit2 was administered, the pattern of social disadvantage disappeared. This suggests the drug could reverse the impact of early adversity on the brain and behavior. However, the study only showed prevention, not repair, and human trials are years away. 🔬

🧐 CM Reddy takes voter deletion issue super seriously

The process of removing invalid votes has begun, with Telangana being the first state to see the SIR drive. Currently, more than 72 lakh votes in Telangana are under doubt, which is nearly 21% of the total votes. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has ordered ministers to review constituency in-charges within two days. He also directed party leaders to expose alleged conspiracies by the BRS and BJP regarding voter deletion. This situation presents a major political challenge for Revanth Reddy before the next election. 🧐

🚨 SAAP chief alleges massive exam fraud in Group-I

SAAP chairman A. Ravi Naidu accused the YSR Congress Party of using the DSC-2025 recruitment as a distraction. He claimed the Group-I scam under the previous YSRCP government was the biggest in APPSC history. Specifically, he alleged that 48,442 OMR sheets were replaced after the then APPSC Chairman was sidelined. This tampering reportedly happened with the help of private security instead of government staff. The SIT probing the case is expected to file its report soon.

🎬 Karisma Kapoor links to Sushmita Sen's 'Mehboob Mere'

Karisma Kapoor shared a hidden detail about Sushmita Sen's iconic song 'Mehboob Mere' from the 2000 movie 'Fiza'. This revelation happened during 'India's Best Dancer' Season 5 when 90s music legends Anu Malik and Kumar Sanu were featured. Kapoor confirmed she was on screen searching for Hrithik Roshan while Sushmita performed the song. She described this experience, set amid the sand, as a very unusual situation for her. The film 'Fiza' starred Karisma Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, with Sushmita Sen in a cameo role.