Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
5:00 PM ET, August 20, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Associated Press:
Both parties expect a GOP map in Texas to clear a big hurdle in a national fight over redistricting  —  Both parties expected Republicans to win an early round Wednesday in a growing national redistricting battle by pushing a new congressional map creating five new potential GOP seats past its biggest obstacle in the Texas Legislature.
RELATED:
Jim Saksa / Democracy Docket:
Texas Democrat Threatened With ‘Felony’ During Press Call  —  As the Texas House of Representatives prepared to vote on a mid-decade redistricting to give President Donald Trump the five more safe Republican seats he demanded, Democrats rallied the troops.  —  The Democratic National Committee …
Asher Price / Axios:
Texas Democrats plot to stall redistricting effort until Epstein files released
Discussion: The Hill, Townhall and NewsMax.com
Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
Trump Uses Legal Threats to Push Federal Reserve Member To Resign  —  One trademark of an authoritarian regime is the use of the legal system to target political opponents and forgive friends.  This has the effect of undermining our basic conception of the law as a set of rules that is fairly and consistently applied.
RELATED:
Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg:
Trump Presses Fed's Cook to Quit After Mortgage Fraud Allegation  —  President Donald Trump called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign after a staunch ally called for an investigation of the board member's mortgages, intensifying his campaign on the central bank.
Neil Irwin / Axios:
Trump housing regulator accuses Fed governor Cook of mortgage fraud  —  Federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte accused Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud and referred her for criminal prosecution. … - She took out a mortgage on a house in Michigan represented …
Steve Kopack / NBC News:
Trump says Fed Governor Lisa Cook ‘must resign’ after William Pulte alleges mortgage fraud
Discussion: Axios and Daily Kos
New York Times:
The Democratic Party Faces a Voter Registration Crisis  —  The party is bleeding support beyond the ballot box, a new analysis shows.  —  Florida has had a significant shift of registered voters in the Republican direction, a remarkable inversion that explains the state's transformation …
RELATED:
Ali Bianco / Politico:
Playbook PM: Why neither party can bank on Latino voters
Discussion: CBS News
NPR:
Former national guard vice chief calls deployment into D.C. an ‘intimidation’ tactic  —  Several Republican-led states are deploying more National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. to address what President Trump has called a “crime emergency” in the nation's capital.
Discussion: The Intercept
RELATED:
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
National Guard Troops in Washington Stick to Tourist Areas
Discussion: Defense One
Washington Post:
Most D.C. residents oppose Trump's city police takeover, poll finds  —  Though crime continues to be a concern, most residents don't think Trump's actions will make D.C. safer, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll.  —  Washington, D.C., residents overwhelmingly oppose President …
RELATED:
Lara Jakes / New York Times:
Preparations for a Move on Gaza City Have Started, Israel's Military Says  —  Troops have reached the city's outskirts, an Israeli official said, adding that more reservists are being asked to report for duty to cover for other soldiers who will be involved in going into Gaza City.
RELATED:
Anat Peled / Wall Street Journal:
Israel to Call Up 60,000 Reservists for Gaza City Invasion
Jessica Nix / Bloomberg:
RFK Jr. Blamed by HHS Staff for Misinformation That Sparked CDC Attack  —  A group of current and former staff members at the US Department of Health and Human Services are publicly blaming Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for spreading misinformation that led to a deadly shooting …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Hegseth's expansive security requirements tax Army protective unit  —  The agency tasked with protecting Defense Department leaders is under significant strain, and the secretary's atypical needs are becoming untenable, officials say.  —  Just now  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's …
Salvador Rizzo / Washington Post:
Pirro's office won't pursue gun charges over carrying rifles, shotguns  —  D.C.'s top prosecutor said her office would continue charging violent crimes and firearms trafficking that involve those weapons.  —  Federal prosecutors in D.C. have been instructed not to seek felony charges …
RELATED:
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Pushes White Nationalist Agenda Across Multiple Fronts
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
Anemona Hartocollis / New York Times:
Trump's Tactics Mean Many International Students Won't Make It to Campus  —  Students from some countries won't make it to class this fall because of President Trump's travel ban.  Others can't get visa appointments.  Some are simply scared.  Universities are panicking.
Discussion: Boston.com and MeidasTouch News
Brian Schwartz / Wall Street Journal:
Elon Musk Pledged to Start a Political Party.  He Is Already Pumping the Brakes.  —  The billionaire has sought to maintain ties with JD Vance, a potential heir to Trump's MAGA political movement  —  The billionaire Elon Musk is quietly pumping the brakes on his plans to start a political party …
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
ICEing the U.S. Economy  —  Mass deportations will hurt more than people realize  —  Donald Trump has been able to convert Immigration and Customs Enforcement (and Customs and Border Protection, which is effectively part of the same operation) into a huge secret police force …
Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:
Trump Says Smithsonian Focuses Too Much on ‘How Bad Slavery Was’  —  The remark, made as the president has ordered a wide-ranging review of museum exhibits, added to his pattern of minimizing Black history.  —  President Trump accused the Smithsonian Institution on Tuesday of focusing too much on …
Emily Hallas / Washington Examiner:
National Guard truck collides with civilian car in Trump DC police takeover  —  A National Guard vehicle on Wednesday collided with a civilian car in Washington, D.C., amid President Donald Trump's federal takeover of the district.  —  The accident, which occurred early Wednesday morning …
Nathaniel Meyersohn / CNN:
Target's CEO is stepping down as customers turn away  —  Video Ad Feedback  —  Why customers turned away from Target  —  Why customers turned away from Target  —  JFK Jr. explains his magazine's controversial Cindy Crawford cover  —  This three-Michelin-starred chef opened a restaurant in a Singapore car factory
Adam Bonica / On Data and Democracy:
Spam PACs Raise Money by Deceiving Seniors  —  One 89-year-old woman made 7,532 donations totaling $68,666  —  In a recent article, I broke down how the spam PACs flooding our phones and inboxes spend exorbitant amounts on fundraising and consulting fees.  The kind of Democratic fundraising …
Pooja Salhotra / New York Times:
Judge Halts Texas' Law Mandating the Ten Commandments in School  —  The state law had said public schools would have to display the Ten Commandments in a “conspicuous” location in every classroom in Texas by Sept. 1.  —  A federal judge in Texas temporarily halted on Wednesday a state law …
Sharon Lerner / ProPublica:
RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism.  Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That.  — Slashed Autism Funding: RFK Jr. promised to identify the causes of autism but has eliminated parts of his agency actively investigating them and has cut millions in funding for autism research.
Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner and WBUR
Richard L. Hasen / New York Times:
Would You Trust This Man With Your Elections?  —  With Republicans potentially losing their current seven-vote majority in the House in next year's midterm elections (or, less likely, their six-vote majority in the Senate), President Trump has been sending clear signals of his intent to interfere …
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Government Staffing Cuts Have Fueled an Ant-Smuggling Boom  —  “It's getting out of hand,” one seller says.  “They realize the US market is a gold mine.”  —  It's hard to keep track of all the ways that the United States has changed since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Dan Bongino's babysitter  —  Public Notice is reader funded.  Support us by becoming a paid subscriber 👇  —  🕵️ Subscribe to PN 🕵️  —  On Monday, the Trump administration announced that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey will be appointed …
Discussion: The Hill and Kansas City Star
Julian E. Barnes / New York Times:
N.S.A.'s Acting Director Tried to Save Top Scientist From Purge  —  Vinh Nguyen, an expert in artificial intelligence and advanced mathematics, was among the current and former officials whose security clearances were revoked by the president.  —  The acting director of the National Security Agency tried …
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Hillary Clinton predicts SCOTUS will eventually overturn same-sex marriage  —  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton predicted that the Supreme Court will “do to gay marriage what they did to abortion” and send it back to states to decide. … While the court could surprise legal experts …
Discussion: The Hill and Washington Times
William J. Burns / The Atlantic:
A Letter to America's Discarded Public Servants  —  You all deserved better.  —  Dear colleagues,  —  For three and a half decades as a career diplomat, I walked across the lobby of the State Department countless times—inspired by the Stars and Stripes and humbled by the names of patriots etched into our memorial wall.
Julia Ainsley / NBC News:
Kristi Noem is pushing for ICE to buy and operate a fleet of deportation planes, sources say  —  Former officials say if ICE owns its own planes, it could double the number of people it deports each month.  But it would be costly.  —  WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem …
Ketrin Jochecová / Politico:
Russia wants ... Russia to have veto over Western security guarantees for Ukraine  —  The Kremlin's recalcitrant comments indicate the Trump administration's whirlwind diplomacy has yielded little in the way of results.  —  Moscow isn't shifting on what it considers to be acceptable security guarantees …
Tal Axelrod / Axios:
MAGA erupts after Israeli official charged in child sex ring flees U.S. … - Alexandrovich posted a $10,000 bail without appearing before a judge and quickly fled to Israel, raising questions about why his passport was not confiscated.  — Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told …
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 5:00 PM ET, August 20, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 See Also: 
memeorandum: site main
memeorandum River: reverse chronological memeorandum
memeorandum Mobile: for phones
memeorandum Leaderboard: memeorandum's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
memeorandum RSS feed
memeorandum on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Ivan Pereira / Reuters:
Protesters heckle Vance, Hegseth at photo op to thank DC National Guard
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
Robert Kennedy Has Gutted Our Best Defense Against Future Pandemics
Discussion: Advocate
CNN:
Judge rejects Trump administration request to release Jeffrey Epstein grand jury documents
Politico:
‘Heartbreaking’ transportation cuts hit home in GOP districts
Discussion: KAJ-TV and Raw Story
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard / Telegraph:
European rearmament is pushing Trump into irrelevance on Ukraine
Matt Burgess / Wired:
Phone Searches at the US Border Hit a Record High
Discussion: TechCrunch
 Earlier Items: 
Jeremy B. White / Politico:
California Common Cause advisory board members quit in gerrymandering fallout
Discussion: Washington Examiner
Cara Lombardo / Wall Street Journal:
Bill Ackman's New Pet Project Is a School That Embraces AI and Rejects DEI
Janan Ganesh / Financial Times:
Trump's ambiguity is the worst of all worlds
Steve Kopack / NBC News:
Trump bought more than $100 million in bonds since January, filings show
Discussion: The Hill, CNBC, UPI and Bloomberg
Perry Bacon / New Republic:
The Democratic Establishment's Shunning of Mamdani Is Disqualifying