Thursday Edition No. 054 · August 20, 2026
Iran Deadline Expires as Trump Threatens to Bomb Oman, Then Says No Talks Are Scheduled
The 60-day window for a U.S.-Iran deal closed August 17 with no agreement. Trump threatened a longtime U.S. partner, and a day later said no talks were underway.
The Gap
Fox framed the day around Trump's claim that Iran wants a deal. A day later Trump posted that no talks were going on or scheduled; Semafor noted this came a day after Jared Kushner described positive and active conversations with parts of Iran's government. The New Republic led with the threat against Oman but did not mention the Iran-Oman shipping plan at issue, reported by Mehr.
What the left said
“On the day the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is scheduled to expire, President Trump threatened to bomb a different country.”
MS NOW headlined the Oman threat and quoted a diplomat saying Oman's primary objective is a solution that leads to reopening the strait.
“find some Republican colleagues to join with Democrats”
What the right said
Fox News led its August 17 live coverage with Trump saying Tehran wants a deal and floating U.S. control of the strait.
“They want to make a deal, but they're not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary”
“They should put up the white flag of surrender”
The Record So Far
The 60-day deadline the U.S. and Iran agreed to in June, to end the war and reach a nuclear agreement, expired August 17 without a deal. Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency said Iran had reached an agreement with Oman on a plan for traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump told Fox News: "If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s--- out of them." On August 18 he posted that there were "no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled" with Iran.
Sources: Sources: NBC News (Aug 17), Fox News (Aug 17), MS NOW (Aug 17), The New Republic (Aug 17), Semafor (Aug 18)
ABC Sues the FCC, Calling Early License Reviews Retaliation for Its Programming
Disney's network asked a federal court to stop the FCC's early review of eight ABC station licenses. The FCC chairman called the suit meritless and said no decision had been made.
The Gap
Carr called the suit premature because no decision had been made, but the FCC had already pulled the renewals forward by years, from dates as late as 2031. MS NOW's Steve Benen dismissed the DEI rationale in a parenthetical. The FCC says it has examined DEI claims against Disney for over a year.
What the left said
“the question now is whether other broadcasters find their own backbones and join in the rebellion”
MS NOW's Steve Benen wrote that outlets that fight back against the administration's abuses have done better than those that tried to appease it.
“I have long called on companies to push back against this kind of government intimidation.”
What the right said
“a meritless case based on their own campaign of disinformation”
“We have made no decision, but now Disney has rushed to court to try to stop the FCC from moving forward.”
Fox News ran a follow-up headlined on the suit's statement that ABC has been more cautious booking candidates on The View amid FCC pressure.
The Record
ABC and parent Disney sued the FCC on August 18 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking it to halt early license renewal proceedings. In April, Chairman Brendan Carr called for early renewal of eight ABC-owned stations whose licenses were due between 2028 and 2031. The FCC says the review stems from its probe of Disney's DEI practices. The complaint alleges retaliation for what ABC broadcasts.
Sources: Sources: Fox News (Aug 18), CNBC (Aug 18), MS NOW (Aug 18, Aug 20), TV Technology (Aug 19)