8 Things You Need To Know This AM — Aug 18 2016

1. Major News: Some of the NSA's top-secret hacking code have been posted online, leading experts to wonder if the agency has been compromised.

Most outside experts who examined the posts, which were leaked by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers, said they contained what appeared to be genuine samples of the code — though somewhat outdated — used in the production of the NSA's custom-built malware. (New York Times)

2. Spotlight: The number of women in jail has increased fourteenfold since 1970, according to a new report.

The population growth is partly attributable to arrests related to nonviolent crimes, such as drug offenses or property offenses, that weren’t prosecuted in the same way several decades ago, according to the report. (Read More)

3. World News: A judge ordered U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte to remain in Brazil over inconsistencies in his account of an armed robbery.

Brazilian police investigating the alleged mugging say they have found no evidence of the robbery and that CCTV footage doesn’t square with the athletes’ accounts. Lochte and James Feigen arrived back at the Olympic Village about three hours later than they told police. Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, who were in the car with Lochte and Feigen, were pulled from their flight out of Brazil and detained by police. (Read More)

4. Here At Home: A Wyoming judge could be removed from the bench after publicly refusing to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.

The state's judicial ethics commission recommended that Ruth Neely be relieved of her position as a magistrate in the small northwestern Wyoming town of Pinedale after she told the local newspaper that she would "not be able to do" marriage ceremonies for gay couples. (NBC News)

5. Talking Points: Target will spend $20 million to add single-stall locking bathrooms at its stores after backlash for its transgender-friendly policy.

In April, the big box chain said on a blog that transgender workers and customers could use the restroom aligned with the gender they identify with. The move led to a purported boycott of Target by at least one million customers, many of whom argued that Target’s policy would increase sexual assaults. (Fortune)

6. Try Again: Blake Shelton apologized for more than a dozen (now-deleted) racist, homophobic, and sexist tweets from 2010.

"Grown men who wear Chuck Taylor's [sic] may as well write on their fore head [sic] 'Cucumbers turn me on!!!'" reads one from 2010, reports The Music Tea. (Read More)

7. Geek Out: J.K. Rowling has written three collections of Harry Potter short stories that will be sold on Pottermore in September.

Rowling's recent Pottermore work has introduced new characters who shape the history of North American wizardry. But the upcoming stories, which will include both new and previously published content, will focus on characters from the original seven books. (Read More)

8. A-List: American women made Olympic history with a first-ever medal sweep.

Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali, and Kristi Castlin made Olympic history when they became the first American women to ever sweep the medals in a single event. Rollins, Ali, and Castlin finished 1-2-3 in the 100-meter hurdles. Their sweep was also a first-ever for that particular event. (Read More)