Justice Department investigating D.C. police over alleged fake crime data  —  President Donald Trump confirmed the existence of the probe on social media, saying the city is “under serious investigation.”  —  The Justice Department is investigating whether Washington, D.C. …

White House eyes Budapest for peace talks with Zelenskyy and Putin … While the Secret Service often scouts multiple locations and the ultimate venue could change, Budapest is emerging as a first choice for the White House, said the two people, both granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Fort Worth Rep. Nicole Collier refuses to leave Texas House, protesting state trooper escorts  —  AUSTIN — A Fort Worth lawmaker said on Monday that she can't leave the Texas House chambers because she won't agree to round-the-clock monitoring by state troopers, which the GOP speaker is requiring of Democrats who fled the state.

Trump administration revokes security clearances of 37 current and former government officials  —  The Trump administration has ordered the revocation of the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials, including some who worked on the intelligence community's assessment …

FDA Advises Public Not to Eat, Sell, or Serve Certain Imported Frozen Shrimp from an Indonesian Firm  —  Frozen shrimp imported from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati is in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act.  FDA's investigation is ongoing. … Current Update  —  August 19, 2025

DC National Guard members actively training to carry pistols in capitol mission  —  If you want to support The Handbasket's 100% independent journalism, become a paid subscriber or leave a tip.  —  Sig Sauger P320 pistol  —  The DC National Guard is making sure all members have the requisite training …

Fascist Secret Police Cars  —  The next president should spend his first weekend feeding ICE into the wood chipper.  —  ∙ Paid  —  1. Car Talk  —  ICE has some new cars.  They are cartoonishly fascist.  Behold the Department of Homeland Security's hype video announcement:

In Pursuing Trump Rival, Weaponization Czar Sidesteps Justice Dept. Norms  —  Edward R. Martin Jr.'s conduct is part of a pattern in which top administration officials try to use the vast powers of the government to cast the specter of criminality on President Trump's enemies.

Yosemite Employee Fired After Flying Trans Pride Flag  —  Shannon “SJ” Joslin says they were fired for exercising freedom of speech.  —  A federal employee of Yosemite National Park was fired last week after flying a large transgender pride flag from a prominent natural feature.

Trump budget officials claim sweeping spending power from Congress, records show  —  Russell Vought, the White House budget director and architect of Project 2025, would have vast authority to approve or block billions in federal spending, the records show.  —  The Trump administration …

Trump escalates attacks against Smithsonian museums, says there's too much focus on ‘how bad slavery was’  —  President Donald Trump escalated his campaign to purge cultural institutions of materials that conflict with his political directives on Tuesday, alleging museums were too focused …

Billionaires' Great 401(k) Fib  —  This is a web version of The Lever's daily email newsletter.  —  🔥 New in The Lever: One of Google's top executives praised the Trump administration for taking on the “climate extremist agenda.”  —  🎧 ICYMI on Lever Time …

Don't listen to centrist Democrats about crime  —  Public Notice is reader funded.  Support us by becoming a paid subscriber 👇  —  ✍️ Subscribe to PN ✍️  —  If President Trump installed a guillotine where the White House Rose Garden used to be and started kidnapping …

Harvard hiring investigation could upend employment practices for institutions well beyond academia  —  The Trump administration has fixated on everything from college admissions to student discipline as part of its pressure campaign to remake Harvard University.

The Race to Rescue PBS and NPR Stations … Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, the president and chief executive of the Knight Foundation.Moriah Ratner for The New York Times  —  In June, on the eve of a House vote to strip $500 million in federal funding from public radio and TV stations …

Adam Schiff forms legal defense fund … Trump specifically alleges that Schiff illicitly claimed his primary residence was Maryland for financial benefit, and his administration has tapped Ed Martin — now pardon attorney and director of DOJ's Weaponization Working Group — to oversee the matter.

Cuomo's seeking a Trump bump  —  Andrew Cuomo's counting on President Donald Trump and top Republicans to tell the party faithful to vote for Cuomo for mayor if they want to stop Zohran Mamdani, and not to vote for GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa.  —  “We can minimize (the Sliwa) vote …

The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism  —  The health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., says he wants to understand what causes autism.  It's a perfectly laudable goal and one that scientists have been pursuing for decades.  But after announcing a large new federal study on the topic …

Joy Reid Declares White People Never Invented Anything—History Says Otherwise  —  Joy Reid went on an unhinged rant, claiming that white people have never invented anything.  That they have only stolen ideas and inventions from black and brown people.  —  In an interview for his Substack …

‘We are arresting the mayor right now, per the deputy attorney general’ … POLITICO has not reviewed the bodycam video.  Although the footage was submitted as an exhibit in the case, it was not yet publicly available.  A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment …

Trump administration revives plan to paint border wall black  —  The “entire” U.S.-Mexico border wall will be painted black at the request of President Trump to deter illegal immigrant crossings, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Tuesday. … - “That is specifically at the request of the president.

I've Seen What Happens When a Country Messes With Data.  America, Beware.  —  You can't run a country, or any organization, without reliable data, and firing the head of a statistics agency because you don't like the numbers it produces starts a path the United States does not want to go down.

Citizenship reviews now ask immigrants to show “positive contributions” to U.S.  —  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers under the Trump administration must consider the “positive attributes” of immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship — rather than just the absence of misconduct — according to a recent policy memo.

U.S. seeks equity stake in Intel, Commerce Secretary Lutnick says  —  The Trump administration wants a return on money the struggling semiconductor maker gets under the Biden-era CHIPS Act.  —  The U.S. government aims to take an equity stake in Intel, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday morning.

Mexico's Sheinbaum says no agreement exists with DEA on ‘Project Portero’  —  Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday said her government did not have an agreement with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration over an operation known as “Project Portero” after the DEA announced this project.