August 17, 2006 (Thursday)
- North Korea: According to ABC News, a "senior State Department official" says that "It is the view of the intelligence community that a (nuclear) test is a real possibility," and says that they have seen "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected nuclear test site. However, according to Reuters, a United States official said that "We have no new evidence to support that." Also according to the Associated Press, the White House said that any nuclear weapons test would be an "extremely provocative" act that would be denounced around the globe." (ABC News America)(Reuters)(Associated Press via Fox News)
- United States district court judge William Alsup orders Greg Anderson, the personal trainer of Barry Bonds to testify before a Grand Jury about use of steroids by athletes. (Bloomberg)
- US District judge Anna Diggs Taylor orders the NSA warrantless surveillance program be shut down as unconstitutional. (MSNBC)
- Thai police claim that John Mark Karr has confessed to the murder of JonBenét Ramsey. Karr tells reporters after the press conference that he was with the child when she died but didn't mean to kill her. (CBS)
- Lebanese troops deploy south of the Litani River in Lebanon as part of the ceasefire agreement (Reuters)
- Tungurahua, an active stratovolcano in Ecuador, erupts, spewing out pyroclastic flows, shooting volcanic ash six kilometres into the air and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. At least one person is killed and another 60 people missing. (UN), (BBC), (Reuters), (CNN)