Iran Wants to End the War While It Can Still Claim Victory

August 21, 2026

Pezeshkian’s unusual message to Washington: Tehran is ready for an end to the conflict — but only if it can leave the battlefield claiming that it won

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian presented a compelling argument for ending the ongoing conflict with the United States, claiming that Tehran is prepared to negotiate peace only if it can assert that it emerged victorious. During a meeting with Iranian doctors, Pezeshkian emphasized that the current situation allows Iran to negotiate from a position of “power and dignity,” asserting that the war should end while the perception of Iranian strength remains intact.

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

Updated August 21, 2026 

4:38 PM ET
 Deepa Shivaram

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that President Trump can — for now — move forward with construction of his ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House without needing approval from Congress.

The new ballroom is estimated to cost taxpayers at least $300 million despite the president saying repeatedly that taxpayers would not foot the bill.

AI data center outrage is showing up everywhere from ads to elections

AI Age
Published Thu, Aug 20 2026 10:03 AM EDT
Updated Thu, Aug 20 2026 11:56 AM EDT

Ashley Capoot
Garrett Downs
Key Points

• With less than three months until the midterm elections, opposition to AI data centers is becoming a bipartisan rallying cry in a growing number of states.
• On a major primary election day, a pair of beverage companies seized on data center opposition and released a satirical ad about the facilities’ water usage.
• It was a key issue in Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, which was won by Rep. Byron Donalds. Donalds was backed by major crypto PACs, but proposed restrictions on data centers in Florida.
• That same day Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order placing harsh standards on data center development in his state.

Iran-US war latest: Tehran accuses Trump of ‘economic terrorism’ after he vows to crush it with sanctions

Over 750 members of the US military have been injured since the Iran war began

Shweta Sharma

Friday 21 August 2026 06:45 BST

Iran has accused US president Donald Trump of threatening "economic terrorism" after the US treasury said it would introduce the “toughest sanctions in history" against Tehran.

Alaska was a trial run for Democrats’ Senate majority hopes. How did it go?

 By Aaron Blake
9 hr ago 

The Alaska primary on Tuesday presented us with something unusual ahead of the 2026 midterm elections: An actual matchup between the two candidates who will face off in November in a key Senate race.

Exclusive: Navy weighs renaming carrier slated to honor Black war hero, potentially switching it to Trump

By  Haley Britzky,  Pamela Brown
3 hr ago
The US Navy is working to rename an aircraft carrier under construction that was set to honor a Black sailor hailed for his heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, three sources familiar with internal discussions told CNN.

During President Donald Trump’s first term, the Navy announced that the Ford-class carrier would be called the USS Doris Miller, recognizing an enlisted sailor who helped defend US forces from Japan’s attack.

European leaders demand Israel halt controversial E1 settlement project in West Bank

Europe News
By Gavin Blackburn
Published on 20/08/2026 - 20:22 GMT+2•

Updated 20:23
The E1 plan was green-lit by Israel last year and would further separate east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, from the West Bank.

The leaders of seven countries, including four EU member states, condemned a major settlement project in the West Bank and called on Israel to end expansion in the occupied Palestinian territory after authorities opened bidding for more than 1,200 homes in the area.

Aisha Wahab wins race to fill Swalwell’s House seat, overcoming AIPAC spending

Wahab beat Melissa Hernandez to fill Eric Swalwell’s vacant seat as California’s 14th District representative

Today at 6:48 p.m. EDT

  By Praveena Somasundaram

Democrat Aisha Wahab, a California state senator, won a Tuesday special runoff to take former congressman Eric Swalwell’s seat in the House, overcoming a late intervention by the pro-Israel lobby that spent millions of dollars to oppose her. The race was called Thursday.

USS Abraham Lincoln Is Coming Home, Report Says

The USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to port at San Diego, the New York Times first reported on Thursday, after a marathon nine-month deployment in the Middle East that saw combat in the ongoing war in Iran and allegations of a mental health crisis among crewmembers.

By Zachary Folk,

Forbes Staff. I cover breaking news.

Aug 20, 2026

PBS NEWS: Michael Cohen, Trump's former fixer-turned-enemy, is hosting the president on his radio show

By — Michelle L. Price, Associated Press

Politics Aug 20, 2026 3:40 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to appear Thursday on the radio show of his former fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen, making a public reunion with the man who once called him a "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain" and testified against him both in court and before Congress.

FBI thwarts an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to bomb New York Capitol building

 

Jessica Bowie, 35, is accused of telling a confidential source with the FBI that she supported ISIS and asked for help learning to make explosives

Aug. 20, 2026, 11:00 AM PDT / 

Updated Aug. 20, 2026, 12:51 PM PDT

By Tom Winter, Doha Madani and Marlene Lenthang

A woman has been charged with providing support to a terror group after allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the New York State Capitol building in Albany, federal officials said Thursday.

‘We’re very close’: LeBlanc on new trade deal as premiers agree to restock U.S. booze. Live updates here.

By CTVNews.ca Staff

Updated: August 20, 2026 at 4:16p.m. EDT - Published: August 20, 2026 at 8:48a.m. EDT

Canadian trade representatives have arrived in Washington for more talks amid a tentative trade deal with the U.S. It comes after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed imposing new tariffs on Canada until later this week.

LeBlanc and Chief Negotiator Janice Charette were seen arriving shortly after noon ET at the U.S. Trade Representative offices to meet with their American counterpart Jamieson Greer. They were joined by Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s chief of staff Marc-André Blanchard.

Who is Natalie Harp, Trump's 'human printer,' and why are Democrats and Republicans fighting about her online?

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff accused Trump of wanting to 'travel with Natalie' rather than 'do the job' of the president.

Andrew Romano

Updated Thu, August 20, 2026 at 8:34 AM PDT

5 min read

Prominent Democrats and Republicans have spent the last three days fighting about Natalie Harp — a White House insider many Americans had never heard of until now. But why?

Satellite proliferation imperils astronomical observations, study finds

By Reuters

August 20, 2026

3:03 AM PDT

Updated 8 hours ago

SANTIAGO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - As thousands more satellites enter orbit, astronomers may face mounting difficulties in observing the cosmos, according to a study by the European Southern ​Observatory, which operates telescopes in northern Chile.

FBI raids former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s home, seizes devices in probe tied to sexual assault claims

By Allison Gordon, Pamela Brown, Evan Perez
Updated 1 hr 58 min ago
Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell at the San Francisco airport on Saturday and then raided his home in Washington, DC, the next day as part of an ongoing probe connected to sexual assault allegations, sources familiar with the investigation told CNN.

Swalwell and his lawyer did not immediately respond to messages from CNN. Swalwell resigned from Congress in April after reporting from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle detailed allegations of sexual misconduct.

‘There is no breaking point’: The problem with Trump’s plan to economically strangle Iran

As the administration promises unprecedented economic isolation, former US officials and Iran experts warn Tehran may be willing to absorb far more pain 

than Washington anticipates

By Megan Messerly and Sam Sutton

08/18/2026

President Donald Trump is waiting for Iran to cave to his economic pressure. Tehran may be willing to wait even longer.

Hegseth Covered Up the Real Reason the USS Lincoln Wasn’t Resupplied

Edith Olmsted

August 19, 2026/11:03 a.m. ET

According to a report from MS NOW, the USS Abraham Lincoln wasn’t resupplied because Iranian strikes destroyed a key Navy resupply base in the Middle East

The USS Abraham Lincoln wasn’t able to be resupplied because the U.S. Navy’s main resupply base in the Gulf of Oman was destroyed by Iranian strikes—a fact that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth chose not to make public, David Rhode, MS NOW’s senior national security reporter, said on Tuesday.

Who owns America and what does American power actually buy the American people?

American Power Is Becoming Increasingly Difficult to Reconcile With Life in America

Edited by Yiannis Damellos

Illustrations: IntellAIgence - AI-generated art & digital creativity

August 19, 2026

America isn't necessarily becoming poorer; rather, it's experiencing a growing disparity in who reaps the benefits of its vast wealth and who bears the burden of sustaining its power.

Donald Trump has spent much of his second presidency reminding America's allies that the United States carries an enormous share of the Western world's military burden. At NATO, he has repeatedly complained that America is getting too little in return, while demanding that allies spend more on defense. There is an obvious argument to be made for burden-sharing. But there is another question — one that is rarely asked with the same force: What does American power actually buy the American people?