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1:35 PM ET, August 20, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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:
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.
Alex Thompson / Axios:
Exclusive: Newsom pollster sees big support for California redistricting
Discussion: New Jersey Online
Asher Price / Axios:
Texas Democrats plot to stall redistricting effort until Epstein files released
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.
New York Times:
Trump Demands a Fed Governor Resign, Escalating Campaign to Remake Central Bank
Discussion: Fox Business
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.
RELATED:
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Jeanine Pirro bragged about helping Trump and GOP while a Fox News host  —  The former Fox host complained of “CENSORSHIP” by Fox over her coverage of the 2020 election, according to newly unredacted documents in the Smartmatic defamation case.  —  Jeanine Pirro, then a weekend host on Fox News …
RELATED:
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 …
Discussion: CNN, MSNBC, The Hill and Politico
RELATED:
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 …
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 …
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 …
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:
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.
RELATED:
Julian E. Barnes / New York Times:
N.S.A.'s Acting Director Tried to Save Top Scientist From Purge
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 …
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 …
Alicia A. Caldwell / Bloomberg:
Trump Orders Border Wall Painted Black So It's Too Hot to Touch  —  President Donald Trump ordered the entire southern border wall to be painted black to stop migrants from crossing because it'll be too hot to touch, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Discussion: The Hill, Axios, Fox News and twitchy.com
RELATED:
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
With black paint on border barriers, Trump and Noem are repeating a familiar mistake
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, WBUR and New York Times
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 …
Politico:
Playbook: How Gavin Newsom took over your X feed  —  With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco  —  On this morning's Playbook Podcast, Adam Wren and Dasha Burns talk through Gavin Newsom's new Trumpian approach to social media, the latest in the diplomatic scramble over Ukraine …
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
National Guard Troops in Washington Stick to Tourist Areas  —  The number of troops in the city is expected to grow.  But Army officials appear to be trying to keep them on the sidelines of President Trump's mission.  —  The number of troops in the city is expected to grow.
Discussion: Defense One and Washington Post
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.
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 …
Discussion: Axios, The Hill, The Guardian, NPR and NOTUS
Cameron Adams / The Daily Beast:
White House Rages at Rocker Who Dissed Trump's ‘Vulgar’ Oval Office  —  B*TTHURT  —  Donald's decor is full of “splendor and significance,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast.  —  The Trump administration has clapped back at Grammy-winning musician Jack …
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 …
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard / Telegraph:
European rearmament is pushing Trump into irrelevance on Ukraine  —  This vain, vacillating, gullible US president no longer commands the West  —  BAE Systems is quietly ramping up production of 155mm artillery shells at Glascoed in rural South Wales.  Output will have increased 16-fold from 2022 levels by the end of this year.
Perry Bacon / New Republic:
The Democratic Establishment's Shunning of Mamdani Is Disqualifying  —  In the weeks after he won the 2021 Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, Eric Adams was enthusiastically embraced by the party's establishment.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi posed for a picture with Adams and described herself as …
Discussion: Chronology and Politico
Matt Burgess / Wired:
Phone Searches at the US Border Hit a Record High  —  Customs and Border Protection agents searched nearly 15,000 devices from April through June of this year, a nearly 17 percent spike over the previous three-month high in 2022.  —  United States Custom and Border Protection officials …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Colin Demarest / Axios:
Exclusive: Army kickstarts plans for huge artillery ammo factory in Iowa
Discussion: IJR
Politico:
‘Heartbreaking’ transportation cuts hit home in GOP districts
Discussion: KAJ-TV
Nathaniel Meyersohn / CNN:
Target's CEO is stepping down as customers turn away
Associated Press:
National Guard vehicle collides with civilian car near US Capitol, trapping one person
Discussion: IJR
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
Adam Bonica / On Data and Democracy:
Spam PACs Raise Money by Deceiving Seniors
Janan Ganesh / Financial Times:
Trump's ambiguity is the worst of all worlds
 Earlier Items: 
Axios:
Companies can't hold the line on prices much longer
Discussion: Wired, Newsweek and KSDK-TV
Steve Kopack / NBC News:
Trump bought more than $100 million in bonds since January, filings show
Discussion: CNBC and Bloomberg
Molly Taft / Wired:
FEMA Now Requires Disaster Victims to Have an Email Address
Discussion: The Independent
Frances Vinall / Washington Post:
White House creates account on TikTok, the app Trump once tried to ban
Josh Funk / Associated Press:
Nebraska announces plan for immigration detention center dubbed the ‘Cornhusker Clink’
 

 
From Techmeme:

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Netflix agrees to buy WBD's studios and streaming business in an $82.7B cash-and-stock deal; the transaction is expected to close after Q3 2026

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
The EU fines X €120M for breaching online content rules, the first fine under the DSA, citing issues including the deceptive design of its blue checkmarks

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

 
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