More than 800 veterans who were discharged under the controversial \"don't ask, don't tell\" policy are set to receive upgrades to their military service records, as announced by the Pentagon. This change will automatically convert their discharge status to honorable, thereby making them eligible for additional benefits. The \"don't ask, don't tell\" policy, which mandated that LGBTQ service members conceal their sexual orientation, was enacted during President Bill Clinton's administration and was repealed by Congress in 2011.

In a separate development, North Carolina's Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson has filed a lawsuit against CNN. The lawsuit stems from a recent report alleging that Robinson made racist and sexually explicit comments on a pornographic website over a decade ago. The report claims that in 2010, Robinson referred to himself as a \"black Nazi\" who wished to reinstate slavery and expressed enjoyment in watching transgender pornography. Robinson has vehemently denied the allegations, labeling the report as false, reckless, and defamatory.

Additionally, authorities in New Mexico have reported a significant rise in migrant deaths, with the number of fatalities increasing tenfold in recent years. New data indicates that over 100 bodies were discovered near the border in the first eight months of this year, a stark contrast to just nine bodies found in 2020. Many of these remains were located near the El Paso, Texas border crossing. While the reasons for this alarming trend remain unclear, experts suggest that smugglers are increasingly directing migrants into perilously hot areas of the state, contributing to the rising death toll.