Tuesday, August 26th, 2025 - Trump’s dictator talk & new EOs; Epstein subpoena; Abrego-Garcia re-detained; Musk vs Apple & more

Today’s Headlines: Trump claims he’s “not-a-dictator” while justifying plans to send the National Guard into states under the banner of fighting crime. He followed that up by signing a stack of executive orders: one to criminalize flag-burning (directly challenging a Supreme Court ruling that protects it as free speech), and another targeting cashless bail by pressuring cities and D.C. to roll it back. He also picked new fights with Chris Christie and threatened to have FCC revoke their licenses - which he can’t really do. Meanwhile, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is openly defying Trump, calling him a wannabe dictator and vowing to stop him. On Capitol Hill, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Epstein’s estate for financial records, contacts, and his infamous birthday book. In deportation news, ICE re-detained Kilmar Abrego Garcia—less than 24 hours after his release—though a judge has temporarily blocked his deportation to Uganda. In other news, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro is urging citizens to join the pro-government militia in response to U.S. warships and a $50M bounty on his head (though his claim of 4.5M soldiers is… generously padded). Trade tensions are also flaring again, with foreign postal services pausing shipments to the U.S. over confusion around Trump’s changes to tariff exemptions. Lastly, Elon Musk’s xAI is suing Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of illegally rigging the AI market by locking ChatGPT into every iPhone. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: Axios: Trump denies being a dictator as he threatens new National Guard deployment AP News: Trump moves to ban flag burning despite Supreme Court ruling that Constitution allows it WSJ: Trump Takes Aim at Ending Cashless Bail Axios: Trump threatens ABC and NBC over "BAD STORIES" WTTW Chicago: Pritzker Vows to Stop Trump From Sending National Guard to Chicago AP News: House committee subpoenas Jeffrey Epstein's estate for documents AP News: Kilmar Abrego Garcia faces new deportation efforts after ICE detains him in Baltimore CBS News: Housewives, retirees in Venezuela line up to join militia in response to what Maduro calls "outlandish threats" by U.S. Axios: Global shippers cut U.S. off as de minimis tariff deadline nears WSJ: Elon Musk’s xAI Sues Apple and OpenAI, Alleging They Are Monopolists Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices