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Opinion: Mr. Rogers keeps finding a new neighborhood

Catcher Jake Rogers #28 of the Chicago White Sox talks with starting pitcher Anthony Kay #18 before their game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on August 15, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.

MLB catcher Jake Rogers probably didn't know if he was coming or going the last several weeks: he's been a Detroit Tiger, a Baltimore Oriole, a Boston Red Sox, and now he's a Chicago White Sox.

(Image credit: Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

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U.S. imposes 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products

President Donald Trump walks on the Ellipse as he arrives on Marine One near the White House, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Washington.

The United States imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products early Saturday, and Canada immediately said it would retaliate, after last-ditch negotiations failed.

(Image credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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A battle over 'Italian brainrot' could shape who owns AI art

Tung Tung Sahur, one of the world

A legal battle over what looks like a cartoon stick could help set the rules over whether creators can claim ownership of their AI-generated characters.

(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

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Supreme Court allows Trump's ballroom construction to continue for now

President Trump displays a rendering of his proposed $250 million White House ballroom on Oct. 22, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

The ruling comes after months of back and forth between the Trump administration and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

(Image credit: Alex Wong)

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Beatty files emergency request to stop Trump's name from returning to Kennedy Center

National Guard troops patrolling outside the Kennedy Center on June 28. The entryway of the Washington, D.C. arts complex continues to be covered with a tarp after a federal judge ordered the organization

Joyce Beatty, a Democratic representative from Ohio, asked a federal judge to stop the Kennedy Center trustees from putting President Trump's name up in three places at the arts complex.

(Image credit: Alex Wroblewski)

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Top Iran official says US focus on economic warfare shows it has failed militarily

Iran

The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush the country economically, saying that years of U.S. sanctions have failed.

(Image credit: Hadi Mizban)

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Trump declares economic warfare on Iran. And, SCOTUS to rule on White House ballroom

President Trump during an event announcing the expansion of a foster care initiative in the Rose Garden of the White House on Aug. 20, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

President Trump has declared economic warfare on Iran in an effort to pressure the country back into negotiations. And, the Supreme Court is set to decide on the future of Trump's ballroom.

(Image credit: Finn Gomez)

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What to know about this weekend's IndyCar race on the National Mall

President Trump speaks as Bud Denker, president of the Penske Corporation, also in a suit and tie, applauds at a Freedom 250 Grand Prix showcase outside the White House in July.

Why is the car race in this part of D.C.? Will it be streaming? Who's paying for it? Here's what to know before the Freedom 250 Grand Prix hits the National Mall this weekend.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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As Trump courts Kim, Pyongyang ups price while Seoul fears being sidelined

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on August 20, 2026. North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea

Experts warn Trump's transactional approach to alliance will erode political trust

(Image credit: JUNG YEON-JE)

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Federal government thins the herds of wild horses in Colorado

A trailer of wild mustangs is transported to a temporary holding facility during the federal Bureau of Land Management

U.S. officials say the ever-growing population of wild horses that roam federal lands in Colorado is depleting natural resources. But some activists say efforts to remove the horses are inhumane.

(Image credit: McKenzie Lange)

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As USS Lincoln heads home, mental health experts tally the stressors of life at sea

The USS Abraham Lincoln conducts U.S. blockade operations related to the Strait of Hormuz on April 16, 2026 in the Arabian Sea. The aircraft carrier is now headed homeward after reports of deteriorating conditions onboard.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is now on its way home after spending nine months at sea. Experts weigh in on the mental-health challenges of prolonged confinement and isolation aboard an aircraft carrier.

(Image credit: U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

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Amid intense backlash, people are vandalizing Flock surveillance cameras

Brady O

In dozens of states around the country, people are vandalizing, blocking and taking down Flock cameras. The surge in this type of activity underscores the growing resistance to this police surveillance technology.

(Image credit: Meg Anderson)

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Morning news brief

Trump threatens economic pressure campaign against Iran, SCOTUS to weigh in on whether Trump's ballroom project, investors dump stocks and bonds despite government's efforts to calm market.

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Mom and best friend remember girl killed in a mass shooting one year later

For StoryCorps, a mother remembers her daughter who was killed in a mass shooting by speaking with her daughter's best friend.

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Charter plane crash kills 8 near remote radar site in western Alaska, military says

FILE - The National Transportation Safety Board logo and signage are seen at a news conference at NTSB headquarters in Washington, Dec. 18, 2017.

A charter aircraft carrying eight people crashed at a remote radar site in western Alaska on Thursday, killing all on board, the U.S. military said.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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'Survival mode': Indiana residents endure a ninth day without power

A person prays before receiving a free boxed lunch at City Life Center in Gary, Ind., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, more than a week after a deadly storm passed through the area.

Tens of thousands of people in Indiana are entering a second week without power after a deadly storm toppled trees and power lines. Schools remain closed and businesses have been unable to reopen.

(Image credit: Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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Federal agents seize devices from ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell in sexual misconduct probe, AP source says

FILE - Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., appears at a town hall meeting in Sacramento, Calif., April 7, 2026.

Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Rep. Eric Swalwell and searched his Washington home as part of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by the ex-Democratic congressman from California.

(Image credit: Rich Pedroncelli)

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Jurors hear 'Keffe D' say his nephew fired fatal shots at Tupac Shakur in 1996 drive-by shooting

Duane Davis appears in court during his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026.

Jurors on Thursday heard Duane "Keffe D" Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.

(Image credit: Steve Marcus)

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Record cyclosporiasis outbreak tests the response of a 'weakened' health system

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From state and local food-safety response to the federal health agencies that fund that work, a record-breaking year for cyclosporiasis cases runs up against the Trump administration's cuts last year.

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The Iran war and tariffs are costing farmers. Will Republicans pay in November?

Ian Stamy, 38, a sixth-generation cash-crop soybean and grain farmer, walks into his field in Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Aug. 12. Stamy pivoted to soybeans and grain because he says dairy farming was no longer turning a profit.

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

(Image credit: Michelle Gustafson for NPR)

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Three things to know about the $40 trillion federal debt

The federal debt topped $40 trillion for the first time this week. Investors who buy government bonds are demanding higher interest rates to finance the growing debt load.

The U.S. federal debt hit a record $40 trillion this week. The debt has doubled since 2017, and just paying interest on the accumulated debt now costs the government more than $1 trillion a year.

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan)

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What to know about Dr. Heidi Overton, Trump's pick to lead the FDA

Dr. Heidi Overton speaks during a Aug. 10 press conference during which President Trump signed an executive order about the childhood vaccination schedule.

Dr. Heidi Overton is currently working as a White House policy aide. If confirmed, she would lead an agency of 18,000 staffers who study and regulate food, drugs, medical devices, tobacco and more.

(Image credit: Jacquelyn Martin)

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D.C.'s IndyCar race will zoom past museums. Some worry it could harm the art inside

A 14-foot-tall blue rooster sculpture overlooks the racetrack from the roof of the National Gallery of Art

Sunday's course takes high-speed cars right past the National Gallery of Art and three Smithsonian museums. Art experts worry about the works inside, but organizers say they don't expect damage.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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U.S. debt tops $40 trillion. And, new census report Trump is touting raises concerns

An electronic display shows the national debt in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 19, 2026. The U.S. national debt exceeded a record 40 trillion USD.

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.

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan)

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North Korea fires a suspected missile toward the sea, Japan says

U.S. Army soldiers try to dismantle a floating bridge during a training exercise on a river in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026.

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.

(Image credit: Ahn Young-joon)

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Privacy advocates call on Maryland to investigate data brokers

An automatic license plate reader (ALPR) camera monitors traffic on August 19, 2026 in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Maryland has one of the strictest data privacy laws in the country. But privacy advocates allege data brokers are violating the law by selling data to police and federal immigration agencies.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

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The bond market is signaling trouble ahead. This is why you should pay attention

Bond markets have tumbled over economic concerns — even as stocks have hit record highs recently.

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.

(Image credit: Timothy A. Clary)

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Which country makes the best jollof rice? D.C. foodies put it to a blind test

The samples of jollof rice at the festival in Washington, D.C. were prepared by chefs from the D.C. metro area, hailing from six countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and — for the first time since the competition began in 2017 — the United States.

One of the most famous dishes across West Africa is Jollof Rice — fragrant rice cooked down with spices, tomatoes and meat. But which version is best? A traveling festival aims to find out.

(Image credit: Claire Harbage/NPR)

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Here's how the system to report problems in ICE detention has failed immigrants

Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, NJ on June 3, 2026.  An NPR review has found that the grievance system in immigration detention, originally designed as a way to report violations of detention standards, is now barely operational.

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.

(Image credit: Lianne Milton for NPR)

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Disabled adults learn and work in their communities. That right is under threat

Kaleigh and Cody Brendle spend time together at their parents

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.

(Image credit: Claire Harbage)

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