Morning Digest

Thursday, August 20, 2026

35 stories from 8 sources, 59 more held back.

RT

Ukraine sanctions creators of hit Russian children’s cartoon

The animated series, loosely based on a traditional Russian folk tale, follows the adventures of a mischievous little girl and a retired circus bear. It is one of the most popular children’s shows online, with one episode, Recipe for Disaster, having been viewed more than 4.6 billion times on YouTube.

RT 1:40 AM

US debt hits $40 trillion ahead of forecasts

US debt tops $40 trillion months earlier than expected. The US national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, reaching the milestone months earlier than expected as Washington’s borrowing accelerates amid persistent deficits, rising interest costs, and military spending. The debt was expected to reach the milestone next year, but it has jumped by $1 trillion since March.

RT 12:55 AM

French police intercept migrants attempting Channel crossing

French police storm beach to stop migrant Channel crossing (VIDEO). Drone footage released by the UK’s Border Security Command on Thursday shows French police intercepting migrants attempting to cross the English Channel illegally.

RT 10:43 PM

Eurasian Cinema Academy award screenings to begin in China

Beijing is gearing up for the Eurasian Cinema Academy award screenings, which will showcase six feature-length films that garnered the Diamond Butterfly in various categories at the inaugural ceremony in Moscow last year.

RT 7:54 PM

The unborn are dying in the siege of Gaza

Shocking news of a sudden over-threefold year-on-year increase of the number of miscarriages and stillbirths should be front page on global media. But because it is one of the latest consequences of the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, it will probably go ignored by most Western corporate media.

RT 7:53 PM

RT speaks with Russian farmer fined for firing at Ukrainian UAV

Russian farmer Nikolay Mukhin, who was fined for attempting to shoot down a Ukrainian drone with his shotgun, has told RT that his actions were motivated by love for his motherland. The 66-year-old vowed to appeal the court’s decision, and the Volgograd Region prosecutor’s office is now siding with him amid a public outcry.

RT 4:19 PM

Russia and China stand against Japan’s nuclear ambitions – Beijing

Japan ‘playing with fire’ over nuclear ambitions – China. Russia and China are both opposed to Japan’s accelerating militarization and growing debate over acquiring nuclear weapons, Beijing’s ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, has said, warning that Tokyo’s policies could trigger a new arms race.

RT 1:49 PM

Simon Willison

ChatGPT search now uses the site:operator at scale

ChatGPT search now uses the site:operator at scale. Promptwatch is part of the emerging "GEO" space, for Generative Engine Optimization - the chatbot version of SEO, where companies offer tools and consulting to help your site increase its presence in replies to prompts inside tools like ChatGPT.

Simon Willison 11:57 PM

Research: A shot-scraper-style JSON API on Bun 1.4's new Bun.WebView

Today saw the long awaited release of Bun 1.4, the first stable version since the infamous Rust rewrite a few months ago. Interestingly, the Rust rewrite was downplayed in the release notes, which introduced a bewildering array of new features and claimed 2,900 additional bug fixes:. Bun 1.4 adds +1,517 tests from the Node.js test suite - our biggest jump in Node.js compatibility since Bun 1.0.

Simon Willison 3:37 PM

Cubs — MLB.com

One potential prospect callup for each team

In case you were hiding under a baseball rock last week, you noticed Cardinals’ prospect Joshua Báez made his big league debut against the Cubs in Chicago last Saturday. All he did was make history by becoming the first player in Major League history to homer in his first three plate appearances in his debut.

Cubs — MLB.com 11:30 PM

Shaw begins rehab assignment; Milner throws a scoreless inning

Shaw landed on the 10-day Injured List on June 29 with a left-hand sprain that he suffered while fouling off a pitch. Shaw, 24, is hitting .246/.322/.415 (105 OPS+) through 56 games with Chicago this season. He also spent time on the IL earlier in the year with back tightness.

Cubs — MLB.com 4:26 AM

Raw America

Breaking: Trump Just Lost One of His Most Important Staffers

Top staffers in Donald Trump’s White House keep heading for the exits, and the latest to go is the president’s key point of contact for Congress. White nationalist organizers held a strategy summit in Rome and openly celebrated the collapse of local newspapers as a golden opportunity to organize in rural America.

Raw America 10:16 PM

Breaking: MAGA Election Denier to Pay for His Own Public Humiliation

An active-duty Air Force major who went on cable news and directly accused Donald Trump of violating the Constitution was arrested less than 24 hours later, making that the second time he’s been arrested for upholding his oath. Senate Republicans are quietly panicking that the growing backlash against data centers could cost them a crucial Senate seat in a reliably red state.

Raw America 3:31 PM

ESPN

Jury rules New York Times defamed Alabama basketball player

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- An Alabama jury on Thursday awarded $9.25 million in damages after finding that the New York Times defamed a college basketball player by incorrectly reporting that he was at the scene of a fatal shooting in Tuscaloosa.

ESPN 9:56 PM

Rangers' Jacob deGrom becomes 2nd fastest to 2,000 strikeouts

Jacob deGrom reached 2,000 career strikeouts in the second-fewest games and innings pitched in major league history when the Texas Rangers' right-hander fanned the first two batters against the Washington Nationals on Thursday night. DeGrom struck out Daylen Lile and Abimelec Ortiz, both chasing strike three on sliders below the zone.

ESPN 8:16 PM

Rory McIlroy makes quick turnaround to share 5-way BMW lead

LOUIS -- Rory McIlroy might not be as far away as he thought four days ago, playing bogey-free at Bellerive for a 6-under 64 that gave him a share of the lead Thursday in the BMW Championship with three other U.S. Open champions and Chris Gotterup. Four days brought a big change for Scottie Scheffler, too.

ESPN 8:02 PM

Group of players granted restraining order enter transfer portal

Eight former college football players who were plaintiffs in the Louisiana court case entered their names in the portal as of Thursday afternoon: running back TJ Harden (SMU), tight end Dae'Quan Wright (Ole Miss), offensive lineman Weylin Lapuaho (BYU), defensive lineman Zxavian Harris (Ole Miss), linebacker Trent Hendrick (James Madison), cornerback Ethan Johnson (App State), cornerback Blake…

ESPN 8:02 PM

Sources: Mariners to call up top pitching prospect Kade Anderson

The 22-year-old Anderson, the third pick in the 2025 draft out of LSU, has a 1.06 ERA over 93 1/3 innings with 135 strikeouts, 13 walks and 47 hits allowed at Double-A Arkansas. Anderson was ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball in ESPN's August update.

ESPN 6:50 PM

Ronaldinho arrives on Ravenna beach to restart playing career

RAVENNA, Italy -- Brazil great Ronaldinho has landed in Ravenna, a city more famous for its nearby beaches than its soccer team. The lyrics "and the world's going to know your name" seemed ironically superfluous as one of soccer's most recognizable figures stepped onstage in front of thousands of fans Thursday.

ESPN 5:14 PM

The Robot Report

ATDev gives update on its journey building autonomous wheelchairs - The Robot Report

There are millions of powered wheelchair users in the U.S. today. Assistive Technology Development Inc., or ATDev, aims to use robotics to give these users more independence and freedom in their lives. “I’ve been a power wheelchair user for over 30 years, my whole life really,” Owen Kent, founder and chief marketing officer at ATDev, told The Robot Report.

The Robot Report 5:39 PM

Agtonomy releases new autonomous multi-point turning features - The Robot Report

Off-road physical AI company Agtonomy has expanded its commercial platform with fully autonomous multi-point turning and enhanced passive data collection. The company said this enables farm equipment to execute complex maneuvers in tight headland spaces without human intervention. Agtonomy develops full-autonomy packages that retrofit vehicles from its OEM partners, Kubota and Bobcat.

The Robot Report 12:30 PM

Cubs — Sun-Times

Cade Townsend is Cubs pitching's far future, but what's near future look like when starters hit free agency?

Cade Townsend is a 21-year-old who’s been a pro ballplayer for all of two months. The Cubs’ first-round draft pick from earlier this summer is already ranked as their No. 4 prospect, but he’s a long way from the majors, yet to play a minor league game as he gets his first taste of life in the organization. I don’t think there’s another organization like it,” Townsend said Wednesday.

Cubs — Sun-Times 9:04 PM

¡Empate total! La serie estelar entre los Cubs y los White Sox termina 3-3

A los aficionados del béisbol de Chicago puede que no les guste, pero no lo olvidarán. Con los White Sox venciendo a los Cubs 3-0 el miércoles en Wrigley Field, la mejor serie Crosstown de todas terminó en un empate 3-3. Sí, leíste bien, la mejor, desde que el juego entre ligas empezó en las Grandes Ligas en 1997.

Cubs — Sun-Times 1:22 PM

Manufacturing Dive

Tesla looks to build $10B solar cell manufacturing site in Texas

Both of Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, are separately working toward a combined goal of building out of 100 gigawatts per year of manufactured solar power capacity in the United States, the CEO said at the World Economic Forum at the start of the year. “That’ll probably take us three years or something,” Musk said at the event.

Manufacturing Dive 11:59 AM

Big Ass Fans maker to acquire Ebm-Papst for $5.4B

Ebm-Papst is headquartered in Mulfingen, Germany, and was established in 1963. The company has more than 13,000 employees worldwide, with operations in about 40 countries including two U.S. sales offices in Connecticut and Tennessee, according to the website. Madison Air has also been one of the Germany-based manufacturer’s longstanding customers, President and CEO Jill Wyant said in a statement.

Manufacturing Dive 8:53 AM