August 21, 2026

Brittney Melton

up first newsletter writer

Good morning. Researchers say the Poweshiek skipperling, a tiny butterfly native to the Midwest, has made a comeback from the brink of extinction with the help of experts. Here’s the news we’re following today:

Today’s top stories

President Trump from the chest up in a dark blue suit and a lighter blue patterned tie.

Finn Gomez/Getty Images

The Trump administration is threatening more economic pressure on Iran to push it back into negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump is calling the campaign an “economic D-Day.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he will outline the new measures Monday.

🎧 The U.S. has already imposed extensive sanctions limiting international trade with Western countries, NPR’s Emily Feng tells Up First. Iran's economy was struggling before the war, but Sina Toossi of the Center for International Policy says the Iranian government is willing to endure hardship to survive. Iran wants sanctions relief and the unfreezing of tens of billions of dollars in assets held abroad. More sanctions will likely deepen Iran's distrust of the U.S., Feng says.

➡️ Meanwhile, the USS Abraham Lincoln is heading home after roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard spent a grueling nine months at sea during U.S. military operations against Iran.

The Supreme Court will decide whether Trump can continue construction on his ballroom after the nonprofit group National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the administration. An appeals court ruled in the nonprofit’s favor but paused its order until today. The nonprofit says Trump needs congressional approval for the project. The Trump administration argues the ballroom is essential to an “integrated military complex,” including medical facilities, a drone port and bomb shelters.

🎧 If construction stops, it could create a logistical nightmare, especially as millions have already been spent on the ballroom's construction, NPR's Deepa Shivaram says. Congress is not known for moving super fast in its decision-making, which could leave the incomplete ballroom-slash-military complex in limbo for a while. Shivaram says the dispute highlights Trump’s approach to decision-making and the courts, as his demolition and construction efforts have put the court in a difficult position.

Investors dumped stocks and bonds yesterday after government debt yields hit their highest level in nearly two decades earlier this week. The Trump administration tried unsuccessfully to calm markets. Here’s why you should pay attention to the bond market.

🎧 Big tech companies are borrowing heavily to build AI data centers, while the government is also looking for lenders, NPR’s Scott Horsley says. Rising interest rates mean the government will spend more than $1 trillion on interest this year. The Treasury Department is buying back bonds to reassure investors, but the relief has been temporary. And when the government pays more to borrow, consumers can face higher rates on mortgages and car loans.

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Picture show

This photo shows a trailer of wild mustangs. The dark-colored horses are inside the trailer, which has horizontal metal bars on its sides.

McKenzie Lange/CPR News

U.S. officials manage the ever-growing population of wild horses on federal lands across 10 Western states by removing horses when their numbers exceed what the land can support. In rural Colorado, the Bureau of Land Management is using helicopters to capture about 1,000 horses. Many will be sent to controversial long-term holding facilities, and once separated, will likely never be together again. See photos of how the federal government thins the herd of wild horses.

Weekend picks

Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson starring in “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.” They are seen from the shoulders up in a dark room watching a film. Light projects above their heads.

MUBI

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Movies: Pop Culture Happy Hour says the bloody, queer slasher Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is “gore-filled fun you won't want to miss.”

📺 TV: Jason Segel plays a psychotherapist who suffers a nervous breakdown after his wife's death in Shrinking. Frustrated by his patients' repetitive complaints, he begins offering blunt advice. Segel dishes all about the show on Fresh Air.

📚 Books: Paul Yoon's Etna tells the story of a dog conscripted into an unnamed war in an unspecified country. NPR's Maureen Corrigan says that from the beginning, the book’s narrative voice is somber and poetic in its simplicity.

🎵 Music: Taja Cheek's fata morgana blends the alien and familiar, showcasing music that embraces experimentation as part of the artist's evolutionary cycle, drawing her closer to her pop center

🍚 Food: Jollof is one of the most famous dishes in West Africa. It consists of rich, fragrant rice cooked with spices, tomatoes and meat. Try it for yourself with this recipe.

3 things to know before you go

An illustration showing the outline of a person looking to the side and squiggly lines drawn for their brain inside their head.

JDawnInk/Getty Images

1

People who used magic mushrooms through Oregon's homegrown psychedelic industry — the first program of its kind in the country — reported largely positive experiences, new research found.

2

The Mexican state of Sonora, south of Arizona, confirmed its first case of the New World screwworm parasite just days before the border with the U.S. is scheduled to reopen to cattle. (via KJZZ)

3

The Eloy Police Department in Arizona is working with eSleuth Inc., an AI-powered software that helps investigations by providing AI “investigators.” (via KJZZ)

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This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.

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