The Thursday, August 20, 2026 Edition
US Debt Tops $40 Trillion, Moderna Cancer Shot Clears Trial, and Red Panda Twins
4 min read
Sports, Entertainment & Culture
Science & Technology
3
The number of red panda cubs -- including a set of twins -- born this year at the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute. The healthy trio marks a milestone for a species that remains endangered in the wild, where every successful birth counts toward its survival.
Source: Smithsonian
Today: The Duane 'Keffe D' Davis murder trial holds another day of proceedings in Las Vegas.
This weekend: Little League World Series play continues in Williamsport, Pa., where Kinley Rasmus just tied Mo'ne Davis' single-game strikeout record for girls.
- 1911The New York Times sends the first telegram to circle the globe
- 1920Detroit's 8MK, forerunner of WWJ, begins broadcasting as a pioneering commercial radio station
- 1968Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, crushing the Prague Spring reform movement
- 1977NASA launches Voyager 2, beginning its grand tour of the outer planets
The Cascade of Dysfunction That Helped Doom Jason Arday
How a cascade of media and institutional dysfunction helped doom the celebrated story of Cambridge academic Jason Arday. (Read)
The Dispatch · Jesse Singal
How Teen 'After-Prom' Kings in LA Monetized the High School Rager
How teen 'after-prom kings' in Los Angeles turned the high school rager into a moneymaking enterprise. (Read)
Wired · Manisha Krishnan
Private equity is coming for your kid's sports league
Why private equity is buying into your kid's sports league -- and what that could mean for young athletes and their parents. (Read)
Fast Company · Paul Mueller
Get The Morning Brief free, every morning.
Everything you need. Nothing you don’t.