NPR
1A
The News Roundup For August 21, 2026
August 21, 20264:29 PM ET
The News Roundup For August 21, 2026
Listen·1:27:351:27:35
- Download
- Embed
<iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5941106/nx-s1-mx-5941106-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon participates in a worship service during a visit to the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.
Joe Raedle/hide caption
toggle caption
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The United States’ national debt has now surpassed $40 trillion, a milestone that forecasters thought the country wouldn’t reach for months.President Donald Trump drew the ire of many military families, lawmakers, and the public when he was asked if the deployment of the USS Lincoln to the Middle East had gone on too long. He responded by saying, “No no no no…not nearly long enough.”Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon pulled off one of the biggest upsets of this year’s primary season. The Democratic Socialist beat former Army intelligence officer Alexander Vindman by more than 12 points in the state’s Democratic Senate primary.And, in global news, President Donald Trump started this week by threatening Canada with drastic new tariffs, some as high as 50 percent, if negotiators from both countries didn’t reach a new trade deal.Reporting from The New York Times indicates that the U.S. Navy is helping tankers sneak through the Strait of Hormuz by turning their ship transponders off. American Officials say around 10 million barrels of oil are now making their way to global markets.And Trump is also pushing for another meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, potentially as soon as this fall. The two last met in 2019 during the president’s first term.We cover the most important stories from around the world in the News Roundup.Find more of our programsonline. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ atplus.npr.org/the1a.
