Morning news brief

NPR | By Sacha Pfeiffer,

Leila Fadel

Published August 20, 2026 at 4:52 AM EDT

Gulf countries react to protracted Iran war, U.S. debt tops $40 trillion, U.S. oil companies sign first deals with Venezuela.

NPR News

Sacha Pfeiffer

Correspondent, Investigations

Leila Fadel

Leila Fadel is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.

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