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Episode Date: August 21, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Court documents allege the woman charged Thursday with plotting to plant a bomb at the New York State Capitol have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State Group. John Sarkon is the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. As alleged, this defendant was radicalized online and spread messages of hate and violence against the American people. Jessica Bowie of upstate New York appeared in federal court Thursday following her arrest this week. Federal authorities say she had a gun and a dummy explosive device with her as she met with informants that she believed would help her carry out her plan.

Sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are now on their way home. The military says another ship is in the region to provide relief. Family members report deteriorating conditions, including suicide. Attempts. Here's NPR's KDIA Riddle reporting. The military has not confirmed reports of suicide. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegesath says the media has exaggerated the hardships the crew is enduring. But experts who have worked on these kinds of missions say nine months at sea, even in the best of conditions, is difficult. Dr. Philip Hunt was for years a Navy physician. He says the treatment of these sailors and Marines is unacceptable. To do that to people who have dedicated, they put their lives on the line. They took an oath.

we all took the same oath. It just almost brings you tears. The return journey home for the aircraft carrier will take a month. Katie O'R. News. U.S. military says the crash of a charter aircraft in Western Alaska Thursday killed all eight people on board. The crash happened at Cape Newonham Airport at a radar site that tracks aircraft operating in Alaska's airspace. It's managed by the Pacific Air Force's Regional Support Center. The plane had taken off from Anchorage.

residents of a Rio Grande community in South Texas suing the federal government over border wall construction. Texas Public Radio's Tim Gutierrez reports. Chanting no border wall about 60 protesters marched outside the federal courthouse in Laredo. Many came from San Ignacio, where landowners are fighting border wall construction, they say, is crossing onto private land. Tricia Cortez is with the Rio Grande International Study Center. This is a very small historic community that has this unique ability to push back against the federal government. Residents along the Rio Grande from Laredo Westward Big Bend National Park have formed the no border wall coalition to oppose new construction. The coalition says San Ignacio landowners have temporarily stopped work on disputed property, asking a federal judge to halt construction while the case moves forward.

I'm Tim Gutierrez in San Antonio. And you're listening to NPR News. A court in Hong Kong has convicted two former organizers of the city's Tiananmen Square vigils. The two were charged in 2021 of inciting subversion under the Beijing imposed national security law. They face up to 10 years in prison when they're sentenced. The Hong Kong vigils were held for decades in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

They drew tens of thousands but were banned in 2020 during the first year of the COVID pandemic. The proposed merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery would cost thousands of film and TV jobs over three years. That's according to a new report issued by Los Angeles County. M.P.R. Mandilito Barco reports. Film and TV production in Los Angeles has already been on the downturn for years, but could get worse if the two major studios, Paramount and Warner Brothers consolidate. That's the warning of a new report prepared. for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, the findings suggest that the combined company would be pressured to reduce costs,

and that could mean cutting local jobs and moving production out of Los Angeles. Paramount counters that its $11 billion deal is needed to prevent more decline in production and jobs. The merger is for now on hold, at least until March, when the proposed deal will be the subject of an antitrust lawsuit filed by 12th state attorneys general. Mandalay-Dal-Larco, NPR News, Los Angeles. Carlos Alcaraz confirmed Thursday that he will defend his U.S. Open title. He posted social media messages with one picture showing him in front of the U.S. Open logo. Alcarus has been sidelined with a wrist injury since April.

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