The Headlines - U.S.S. Lincoln Begins 13,000-Mile Journey Home, and the Shortage That Could Take Down the Grid

Episode Date: August 21, 2026

Plus, your Friday news quiz.  Here’s what we’re covering: The Message Behind Trump’s Threats of ‘Economic Warfare’ Against Iran, by Anton Troianovski and Alan Rappeport Weary U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Leaves Middle East, by John Ismay Trump Fired the Watchdogs. Their Replacements Have a Different Mission., by Luke Broadwater What if America Went Completely Dark?, by Christopher Cox Humans Love Having Pets. Seems Like Some Other Primates Do, Too., by Taylor Mitchell Brown Tune in every weekday morning, and tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Friday, August 21st. Here's what we're covering. With the war in Iran almost at the six-month mark, President Trump is issuing new threats, this time aimed at Iran's economy. On social media this week,

he promised what he called an economic D-Day, and quote, the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country. Though his administration has not specified what that will look like. What can we expect here? Yeah, you're going to expect.

I'll be holding a press conference on Monday to talk about exactly what we're going to do. Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose department oversees things like sanctions, said a plan will be rolled out next week. But his comments also made something else clear. If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be

a large-scale kinetic restructure.