August 16, 2016 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- The Russian Air Force uses an Iranian airbase near Hamadan to launch airstrikes in Syria. (BBC)
- Houthi shelling kills seven in Saudi Arabia; nine Yemenis from one family die from an airstrike by the Saudi-led alliance. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- Westfield World Trade Center opens on schedule, part of the World Trade Center Ground Zero redevelopment in New York City. (CBS NY)
Business and economy
- Barnes & Noble fires CEO Ronald Boire after less than a year in the job. Executive Chairman and company founder Leonard Riggio, who is postponing his September retirement, will assume Boire's duties. (Reuters) (USA Today)
- China successfully launches QUESS, the world's first ever quantum-communications quantum key distribution satellite. (The New York Times)(Space.com)
Disasters and accidents
- 2016 California wildfires
- The town of Wrightwood, California, is evacuated due to threats from the Blue Cut Fire burning in the Cajon Pass. (KTLA)
- The Governor of California declares a state of emergency in San Bernardino County due to the Bluecut Fire. (ABC 7)
Law and crime
- California wildfires
- California authorities charge a Clearlake resident with 17 counts of arson in connection with the wildfires over the last two years. (The Los Angeles Times)
- Medical marijuana
- A United States Court of Appeals rules that the Department of Justice, per the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, cannot spend money to prosecute federal marijuana cases if the defendants comply with state medical marijuana laws. (Washington Post) (Reuters)