Trump News for Thursday, August 20, 2026

Iran has so far proved adept at finding ways around years of already punishing sanctions on its economy.

As Ariana Grande winds down her Eternal Sunshine Tour, she’s the latest pop icon to call out Trump for using her music. On Thursday, the Grammy winner commented on a TikTok video posted by the Trump campaign, which used Grande’s 2024 single “We Can’t Be Frien…

“Aide is one way to describe a side piece,” a netizen wrote.

"I would say that maybe it can use a little public relations help," Trump said about data centers Wednesday.

By Sinéad Carew and Avinash P Aug 20 (Reuters) - The three main U.S. equity indexes closed lower on Thursday as rising Treasury yields dented risk appetite w...

US economic restrictions have strained the island's already fragile economy, prompting blackouts and medical shortages.

Cracker Barrel's CEO did not have awareness of what customers were afraid of losing, and that gap is what cost her the job.

The USDA, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, filed the proposed rule and corresponding draft environmental impact statement in the Federal Register on Tuesday.

In some tight midterm races, how farmers frustrated with the war and rising costs vote could make a difference.

Scott Bessent has not said if countries such as China could be targeted in an effort to economically isolate Tehran.

High-profile Mossad firings show that none of the agency’s promises about the war with Iran have come to pass. The post Israeli’s Spy Agency Suffers a Crushing Defeat Entirely of Its Own Making appeared first on The Intercept.

CBP claims dictatorial powers over Americans coming home. A big part of that is hiding information.

The US Treasury secretary says allies will need to decide whether they "are with us or against us".

Swalwell, a vocal Trump critic, resigned from Congress and dropped out of California governor's race amid allegations.

Liberia is part of a growing list of partners under US President Donald Trump to accept third-country deportations.

Crime in D.C. had already fallen 29 percent before the National Guard showed up, yet the Pentagon plans to keep at least 2,500 troops in the city through 202...

"We can grow our way out of that," the Treasury Secretary told CNBC on Thursday.

One side effect of Trump-era trade wars has been cheaper whiskey in much of the United States. But there were exceptions.

The much-derided movement was right about Trump’s nature, and how to defeat him.

Investor Jordan Blashek argues the defense-tech bubble will burst within 18 months, forcing mergers, recaps, and acquisitions across the sector.

South Korea convened an emergency security meeting following the launches, as Trump seeks to sway Pyongyang.

He may also have blurted out classified information about North Korea.

The Georgia senator's Trump jabs reveal a deliberate strategy and a leading 2028 contender

By Sofia Menchu GUATEMALA CITY, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Guatemala has received around 2,300 Mexicans deported from the U.S. so far in 2026, President Bernardo Are...

Maintaining MAGA beauty standards is 'exhausting,' staffers claim ... (First column, 10th story, link) Related stories:OBSESSION... Rosie goes there... President walking sideways to hide rear-end contraption?

Rosie goes there... (First column, 9th story, link) Related stories:OBSESSION... Maintaining MAGA beauty standards is 'exhausting,' staffers claim ... President walking sideways to hide rear-end contraption?

23% of Voters Consider Themselves Supporters of the Democratic Socialists of America A new Emerson…Full Release & Results

Aug 20 () - The United States will impose "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, U. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday as he urged Beiji...

The DOJ argues that Minnesota’s law goes further than federal rules and could slow down AI development.

President Donald Trump, who has made hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto, met at the White House with what he called a "who's who” of cryptocurrency leaders.

New mRNA vaccines and studies are demonstrating a flood of medical breakthroughs. But how much will the federal government stand in the way?

The US government is intensifying efforts to unify the country's two rival governments.

Iran's deep trade ties with Beijing and Moscow could prove difficult for the US to disrupt, say analysts.

Donald Trump was spotted walking sideways after entering a White House meeting on Wednesday, as critics accused him of attempting to hide the mysterious bulge he was seen sporting days ago

This drone maker is exploiting a loophole to bring its "intelligent self-flying camera" to the U.S. despite a ban.

Iran's foreign minister has dismissed Trump’s latest threats, calling them a “diversion" from America’s own crisis."

Vessel expected to replace USS Lincoln after reports of dire conditions on board raised questions over US war planning.

A heartbreaking interstate surrogacy story has become the latest cause célèbre for social conservatives.

With the U.S. six months into the war with Iran, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will enact the "most crushing economic operation ever taken," calling it "an Economic D-Day."

President Donald Trump’s Director of Legislative Affairs James Braid is expected to depart the White House in the coming weeks, a Trump administration offici...

Longtime Stars and Stripes publisher Max D Lederer Jr announced his resignation over clashes with the Pentagon.

First Lady Melania Trump is set to make an announcement about educational opportunities for young people leaving foster care.

Today on Decoder, I’m talking with Robert Hart, The Verge’s London-based AI reporter, about what AI is doing to the field of mathematics and the existential crisis many lead mathematicians are having about it. OpenAI just published a set of solutions to longs…

The fines, for not “willfully” leaving the country, can accrue interest and harm people in immigration proceedings. The post Immigrant Wants to Pay $368,000 in Fines, but Broken Payment System Won’t Let Him appeared first on The Intercept.

Pakistan says the comments contradict Washington’s position, but experts see them as a diplomatic misstep.

Heavy borrowing, increased spending and tax cuts by Democratic and Republican administrations have long raised concern.

US President Donald Trump has announced a new campaign to isolate Iran and punish its trading partners.

Funerals take place weeks after the bodies of 112 Palestinians were buried in another mass funeral.

South Korea has held a nationwide drill simulating an air raid to coincide with joint military exercises with the US.

Back in 2014 you might remember there was a giant, two-year, manufactured news cycle where Republicans pretended to be outraged that the then Obama White House had openly supported the FCC’s efforts to impose some modest net neutrality rules (designed to prot…

Ashley Gold is joining Semafor as senior technology correspondent, taking on a key role in coverage including AI and global politics. Gold joins from Axios, where she was senior tech policy reporter and co-authored the AI+ Government newsletter. She will star…

Netanyahu’s government is using anti-Muslim fear to rally a Western right increasingly receptive to its message.

Dollar Biggest Loser From Bessent 'Rescue'... (Second column, 2nd story, link) Related stories:Treasury Market's Coveted Status as Safe Haven Fading... Buyback Might Only Briefly Tame Yields...

Quebec’s premier said Canada-U.S. trade negotiations are “far from over” and demanded more information from Prime Minister Mark Carney before deciding whethe...

During the height of Trump’s trade war with China, where tariff increases were announced on an almost weekly basis, companies like Logitech responded by significantly increasing the prices of their products in the US. Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court r…

The U.S. debt has surpassed $40 trillion. And, a new census report on noncitizen voting that President Trump is touting has ties to a think tank aligned with him, raising concerns among experts.

Six and a half years after leaving the UK and their royal duties, Meghan and Harry are moving back and enrolling their kids in British schools.

Are you coughing, hacking or feeling feverish? It may not be just a summer cold; you might want to consider taking a Covid test.

Big Tech is pouring money into local PR campaigns to win support for the data centres it needs. Opposition to the buildings is spreading across the United States. They are holding town halls, dropping tax demands and sponsoring community groups. That is accor…

The US Department of Justice has stepped into a court fight on the side of Elon Musk’s xAI. It is backing the company’s challenge to a Minnesota law that bans AI “nudification” tools. A federal judge heard arguments on Wednesday and said he would rule soon, a…

MONROVIA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - People deported by the U.S. to Liberia will mostly hail from Latin American countries including Cuba and Venezuela, Liberia's in...

The network is finally fighting back — and hitting the president where it hurts

My morning reads: • What Are Bond Markets Telling Us? Interest rates are up — but don’t panic: I have a message for future policymakers: Don’t let the usual suspects undermine your policy agenda by scaremongering about interest rates and government debt. I sa…

The special envoy is failing in his efforts at shuttle diplomacy to broker peace between Israel and Hamas

Ishaan Tharoor writes about the state of President Donald Trump’s war in Iran six months after its beginning.

The U.S. military budget is vast and opaque. Projects end up facing delays and ballooning costs

Hey look everybody, a guy who never scored a single point in the NBA thinks he could totally dominate the WNBA!

If Anthropic IPOs first, "That’s OK, we are running our own race," she reportedly said.

The suspected launch on Thursday comes a day after North Korea shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills with South Korea in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy.

How conflict is making life more expensive for Iranians

President Donald Trump’s social media company is charging clients up to $100,000 a month for priority access to Trump’s posts. Is that legal?

Maria Alejandra Gomez-Quiroz is being held in Texas' Dilley detention center.

Critics say it is the reason why more detainees are risking their lives to protest inhumane conditions and legal rights violations, in the form of widespread hunger strikes.

Many people don't pay attention to bond markets, but they should — especially now. This is why they matter and why the drop in bond prices is signaling investor concerns about the U.S. economy.

Siblings Cody and Kaleigh Brendle have grown up with the right to community integration. Now, they worry those protections for people with disabilities like them are being eroded.

A New York Times reporter flew out to Los Angeles to meet the people running the VHS Dates Instagram account, which supposedly digitizes VHS tapes from an "old dating service," only to find the whole thing was staged with actors. [Read More]

Most ships are trying to mask identities while trying to cross the strait. But more seem scared of Iran than of the US.

The Securities and Exchange Commission spent Tuesday proposing the friendliest set of crypto rules an American regulator has ever put on paper. On Wednesday, the industry that would benefit from them was at the White House, having lunch with the president. Do…

Smaller, private U.S. oil producers are beginning to ink deals in Venezuela as the dilapidated energy industry evolves.

In a questionnaire, the Pentagon presented a list of questions to 31 NATO allies to determine ‘loyalty’ to the US.

The children's investment accounts currently offer only a State Street S&P 500 ETF.

US President Donald Trump has threatened ‘economic D-Day’ on any countries that help or do business with Iran.

Madhur Mehta worried about his US visa status. When he was selected in the H-1B lottery, "it was like someone had taken a 100-pound weight off my mind," he told Business Insider.

The past 18 months have seen a significant number of health issues, perhaps crises, arise in America. Measles, cyclosporiasis, whooping cough, and more have all been in the news. RFK Jr. is either stroking his pet conspiracy theories alongside Trump, or else …

President Trump showed off the new, granite White House helipad on Wednesday.

Controversial data centers are playing a role in the Ohio senate race.

Trump's order to scale back military drills rattles Seoul, reviving doubts over US security guarantees.

The U.S. hasn't responded to weeks of strikes to commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz despite Trump's previous threats that the U.S. will “hit back much harder.”

By suddenly scaling down war games with South Korea, US President Donald Trump risks working against his own stated goal of having Seoul assume more responsi...

Retirement of longtime Stars and Stripes publisher comes amid the Trump administration's push for editorial control.

On Wednesday, he offered to fund a recount in the Minnesota governor primary

The US science-funding agency is withholding $1 billion of its budget so that the money can go to a special White House project.

Trump says Washington may resume talks with Tehran 'at some point'.