The Weekend

August 16, 2026; 9am: ICE plans to spend up to $20 million dollars to purchase thousands of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks intended to gain compliance from combative individuals. Civil rights advocates quickly sounded the alarm over the plan, saying ICE officers already face scrutiny over their use of excessive force with little oversight or accountability. But supporters of the gloves say they are generally only used in specific jail or transport situations to subdue violent suspects. Congressional Democrats plan to host a field hearing in Biddeford, Maine, tomorrow, on ICE's use of force after a deadly shooting, last month. Maine Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, who represents the district where the shooting happened, joins “The Weekend” to discuss. She has been an outspoken critic of ICE's use of force and will host tomorrow's hearing.

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August 16, 2026, 8 AM; New polling from Emerson shows that the race for the U.S. Senate is a near dead heat between Democratic candidate James Talarico and Republican candidate Ken Paxton. In the governor’s race, Republican incumbent Greg Abbott leads State Representative Gina Hinojosa by just four points -- only one point outside the poll’s 3-point margin of error. Hinojosa joins The Weekend to discuss her campaign to energize voters.

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August 16 2026; 7am: The Democratic National Committee finalized sweeping changes to their primary calendar on Saturday, making South Carolina the kickoff state in the sprint to Super Tuesday. The party’s membership ratified the decision during their summer meeting in Austin, Texas, moving more racially diverse states to the front of the line. With that 2028 business settled, the focus returns to this year's midterms. Three states will hold primaries on Tuesday: Alaska, Wyoming, and Florida. In Florida, voters will choose a new governor after eight years of Ron DeSantis. Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Florida, former Congressman David Jolly, joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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August 15 2026; 9am: The Democratic Party is expected to give final approval to its presidential primary calendar, with South Carolina scheduled to be the first on January 22nd. This meeting comes amid growing Democratic optimism about the midterms and surging turnout in recent primary elections. However, the party is also facing internal turmoil over questions about leadership and fundraising. DNC chair Ken Martin, joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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August 15, 2026, 8 AM; The group "Alabama Leadership Fund" released a new campaign ad targeting Tuberville on his goal of expanding data centers in the state. Candidate for Governor in Alabama and former US Senator Doug Jones joins The Weekend to discuss the gubernatorial race in his state and the rising concerns over A.I. data centers.

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