Morning Digest

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

35 stories from 10 sources, 59 more held back.

Cubs — MLB.com

Gausman exits after 4 1/3 innings with left hand cramp

CHICAGO – Kevin Gausman removed his glove and inspected his left hand, while Cubs manager Craig Counsell emerged from the dugout and made his way to the mound. It was the second time the veteran starter had to pause due to the issue and Counsell opted against pushing Gausman any further.

Cubs — MLB.com 2:21 AM

PCA, again! Cubs star follows up walk-off blast with another leadoff HR

CHICAGO – In the hours leading up to Tuesday night’s game, Pete Crow-Armstrong flipped his hat around backward and headed to the dugout wearing a vintage Cubs jersey and shorts. A group of kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago was waiting in the dugout. The Cubs star center fielder took a seat, chatted them up and had the group smiling and laughing as he answered an array of questions.

Cubs — MLB.com 1:12 AM

Three iconic baseball franchises getting the comic book treatment

Calling all comic lovers and baseball fanatics: All Baseball Comics is debuting a collection of three officially licensed books to expand your collection. Centered on the thesis that baseball is “the story of America,” the trio of issues features one spotlight on each of the Yankees, Dodgers and Cubs. They are available for preorder now on baseballcomics.com.

Cubs — MLB.com 2:25 PM

PCA secures 2nd straight 30-30 season -- boosts MVP case -- in epic way

CHICAGO – The chants began before the Cubs could even hit play on the hype video ahead of the bottom of the 10th inning on Monday night. The fans inside Wrigley Field already knew who was due to bat and they sent his famous initials echoing through the old ballpark in anticipation of what could come next. Pete Crow-Armstrong did not let them down.

Cubs — MLB.com 6:12 AM

Key takeaways: Cubs 7, White Sox 5

CHICAGO – With roughly six weeks remaining in the regular season, fans on Chicago’s North and South Sides can realistically dream about October baseball. The Cubs are in the thick of the National League Wild Card race, while the White Sox currently sit atop the American League Central.

Cubs — MLB.com 3:49 AM

RT

US abandons ‘hammer Iran ASAP’ strategy – CNN

The US has suspended negotiations with Iran and is seeking to gradually “strangle” the country, CNN reported on Tuesday, after its bombing campaign near the Strait of Hormuz failed to yield the desired results.

RT 1:55 AM

‘AI slop’ is clogging US lawmaking – Politico

AI-written bills riddled with errors flooding US Congress – Politico. US congressional lawyers are struggling with a flood of error-ridden AI-generated legislation, forcing them to spend increasingly more time rewriting proposals produced by chatbots, Politico reported on Monday.

RT 10:10 PM

Relics of warrior-prince recovered at Kremlin cathedral (VIDEO)

The relics of one of Russia’s greatest heroes, Dmitry Donskoy, have been recovered at the Kremlin’s Archangel Cathedral, the Russian Orthodox Church announced on Tuesday. Grand Prince Dmitry of Moscow has for centuries been revered for his victory over the Mongols at the Battle of Kulikovo on the Don River in the year 1380, which earned him the epithet Donskoy.

RT 9:16 PM

EU food production down amid droughts

Agricultural producers across the EU have warned of sharp drops in yields after Europe has been hit by successive heatwaves this summer. Economists have said the losses are likely to push food prices higher in the coming months.

RT 7:02 PM

Danish conscripts deployed to Greenland amid Trump threats

Denmark has deployed a batch of fresh military conscripts to Greenland for the first time in modern history, as Copenhagen seeks to assert its control over the Arctic territory in response to threats of annexation from US President Donald Trump. Around 100 conscripts from the Schleswig Infantry Regiment arrived in Nuuk in early August, Denmark’s military said in a press release on Tuesday.

RT 6:31 PM

Why Trump is mad at South Korea

Only hours before the annual US-South Korean military exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield was due to begin, Donald Trump issued a statement that went far beyond another dispute over how much America’s allies should pay for their own security.

RT 6:29 PM

ESPN

Brewers tie largest shutout since 1900 with 22-0 win over M's

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Brewers matched baseball's modern-era record for the biggest shutout, beating the Seattle Mariners 22-0 on Tuesday night behind three-run homers from Christian Yelich, David Hamilton and Luis Lara and a two-run shot by Jake Bauers. The major-league-best Brewers (78-48) matched a franchise record for runs in a game.

ESPN 11:30 PM

Kelsey Mitchell scores 29 before sitting out 4th in Fever win

TORONTO -- Kelsey Mitchell scored 16 points in the first quarter and finished with 29 before sitting out the fourth, Caitlin Clark added 24 points and the Indiana Fever beat the Toronto Tempo 101-95 on Tuesday for their fifth straight victory. Clark and Mitchell have each scored 20 or more in the same game 16 times this season, a WNBA record.

ESPN 11:30 PM

Padres' Tatis homers twice, robs Lindor of grand slam in win

Tatis hit the first pitch from Zac Thornton 452 feet into the second deck in left field for his team-record 18th career leadoff homer. Tatis added a two-run homer off Thornton in the fifth. He has 15 homers after opening the season without a long ball in his first 238 at-bats.

ESPN 11:30 PM

Multiple brawls mar Saints-Cowboys joint practice session

Punches were thrown, helmets were tossed, and at one point, Saints tight end Brock Rechsteiner, son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, grabbed a Cowboys player and body-slammed him to the turf. That scuffle happened after Cowboys cornerback Caelen Carson punched Rechsteiner, who was then yanked around by the face mask as teammates poured in.

ESPN 9:24 PM

Dodgers place Diaz on IL, watch Ohtani throw in bullpen

DENVER -- The Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday put scuffling closer Edwin Diaz on the injured list because of inflammation in the right side of his neck, while four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani progresses toward a return to the mound.

ESPN 8:34 PM

Raw America

Breaking: GOP Congressman Caught Committing Federal Felony on Camera

A far-right Florida congressman was just caught on video rifling through a voter’s mailbox, which is a textbook federal felony. A Republican congressman in South Carolina is turning on Donald Trump for endorsing his primary opponent, accusing the president of abandoning his MAGA base.

Raw America 11:03 PM

Breaking: Hegseth ‘On the Verge of Losing His Job’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could soon be out the door, as Donald Trump is in need of a scapegoat for the failed Iran war and desperate sailors on an aircraft carrier trying to jump overboard. Disney and ABC just filed a lawsuit against Trump’s FCC over what they say is a retaliation campaign against the network’s coverage of his administration.

Raw America 3:49 PM

Cubs — Sun-Times

Dansby Swanson’s presence will be part of Cubs’ efforts to weather his absence: ‘He turns into another coach’

The Cubs will spend the next four weeks without their starting shortstop, no small thing in the middle of a playoff race. Dansby Swanson is a critical part of the Cubs’ championship puzzle, playing Gold Glove defense at one of the sport’s premier positions and, if at times quietly, providing ample offensive production. He came into Tuesday fourth on the roster with 18 home runs.

Cubs — Sun-Times 6:02 PM

Man charged with sucker-punching fan at Cubs-Sox game at Wrigley Field

The fight, which Chicago police say is not connected to an eighth-inning brawl in the stands captured in a widely shared video, happened outside a restroom as the game was wrapping up, according to court records. The 26-year-old victim told police that a man “sucker punched” him with his right fist, causing his nose to bleed, according to a police report.

Cubs — Sun-Times 3:09 PM

Simon Willison

Mojo🔥 is now open source

Mojo🔥 is now open source (via) Mojo🔥 is now open source. The Mojo programming language has been promising an open source release since May 2023. Last week they shipped their 1.0 and today they have followed through on that original promise, releasing the compiler and toolchain under an Apache 2 license.

Simon Willison 9:39 PM

The Robot Report

IEEE Spectrum — Robotics

Spider-Like Drone Grips Steep Glaciers With Tiny Ice Spines

This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Microspines are one of many ways to enable robots to latch onto surfaces like walls and ceilings. Now roboticists in Canada are using the mini spikes to get drones to land on a more challenging, remote surface: icebergs.

IEEE Spectrum — Robotics 1:00 PM

Manufacturing Dive

Raytheon gets $23B Navy contract to boost Tomahawk missile production

The seven-year contract follows a handful of agreements between Raytheon and DOD signed at the beginning of 2026, supporting the company’s yearly production rate of more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles. In January, Raytheon was awarded an additional $380.8 million for an existing contract for recertifying and upgrading Tomahawk missiles.

Manufacturing Dive 12:25 PM

New materials are key to manufacturing innovation: Z Polymers

It's easier to develop new manufacturing processes and equipment than to develop new materials for manufacturing that have unique chemical and other properties, according to Z Polymers CEO Mike Zimmerman. However, innovative materials are what really drives product development, he said. “These things have typically taken a long time.

Manufacturing Dive 12:03 PM

The Rundown AI

Cursor's Origin hits GitHub on its worst day

If you were picking a day to launch a GitHub competitor, you couldn't script a better one than the morning the legacy platform suffered a massive outage. Cursor just managed to hit that window, launching Origin as an alternative to the place the world has held its code for two decades.

The Rundown AI 12:00 AM