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3:45 PM ET, August 17, 2026

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 Top Items: 
Lucy Campbell / The Guardian:
Trump says Kim Jong-un has responded to his overtures when asked about scaling back US drills with South Korea - live  —  Trump also claims he's ‘actually making it much safer’ for South Korea by scaling back joint military drills just days after North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles
RELATED:
Sam Blewett / Politico:
Burnham exchanged messages with impersonator of top Trump aide  —  The U.K. leader believed he was communicating with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.  —  LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham engaged with messages from somebody impersonating one of Donald Trump's closest advisers, four officials have told POLITICO.
Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Trump Will Make South Korea Pay for His Iran Humiliation
Politico:   Do Dems need their own Stephen Miller?
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
South Korea hoping for talks after Trump reduces joint military exercises
Ian Duncan / Washington Post:   Trump races to prepare for new strains of deadly viruses after cutting biosecurity experts
Washington Post:
60 days after signing Iran deal, Trump stuck in quagmire as peace talks stall  —  President Donald Trump's interim deal with Iran in June set aside two months for negotiations, but the window has now closed and broader talks are at a standstill.  —  Summary
Discussion: The Times of Israel and CBS News
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Wall Street Journal:
Iran's Secret Plan to Escalate the War  —  Intercepted communications and other intelligence suggest a strategic shift by hard-line leaders to raise the costs for the U.S. and its regional allies  —  After President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran in mid-June …
Eric Mack / Fox News:
Trump confirms IRGC backchannel, but calls for Iran's ‘white flag of surrender’
Gaya Gupta / The Guardian:
US gas prices reach highest ever recorded for August amid stalled talks with Iran
Discussion: Washington Examiner and KQTV-TV
Aaron Boxerman / New York Times:
U.S. and Iran Blow Through Deadline to Agree to a Broad Deal to End War
Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books.  It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility … Amazon is buying massive quantities of books, scanning them for AI training data, and destroying them in the process.  —  A 404 Media investigation was able to reveal Amazon's book buying operation …
Jordan Rubin / MS NOW:
Supreme Court denies Trump's rehearing petition, cementing Carroll's $5 million win  —  The Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's long-shot request to reconsider taking up his appeal in one of the two civil cases he lost to E. Jean Carroll.
RELATED:
Ann E. Marimow / New York Times:
Supreme Court Again Rejects Trump's Appeal of $5 Million E. Jean Carroll Payment
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
‘Show How 3M Is 0% at Fault:’ Expert Witness Used ChatGPT to Write Report Defending Company in Deadly Explosion Lawsuit  —  ChatGPT prompts show how an expert witness report was created in a $61 million lawsuit over an explosion that killed three people.  —  An expert witness testifying …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
From Natalie, With LOVE ...  With the growing attention being given to Trump handler/confidante Natalie Harp, I looked up this November 2024 Times article which captures some of the relationship ...  Given that Natalie Harp is not only a conventionally attractive women but also Trump's type …
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
“Suckers and losers” as policy  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🚢 Subscribe to PN 🚢  —  The Navy Times reported last week, based on interviews with family members, that multiple sailors have recently tried to jump overboard …
Discussion: Salon
RELATED:
Adam Bonica / On Data and Democracy:
With Fear and Favor  —  Institutions don't have courage.  They have incentives.  —  Institutions don't have courage.  They have incentive structures.  When incentives line up just right, it is not uncommon for an institution to make a collective decision that almost no one inside it would have made alone.
Discussion: The Nation
Sammy Westfall / Washington Post:
Trump blames vandals for dead grass on lawn where he held Fourth of July event  —  Similarly damaged grass was seen at the White House Ellipse and South Lawn after the UFC Freedom 250 events this summer.  —  President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday to accuse vandals of damaging …
Discussion: Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Julia Curlee / The Atlantic:
The Wrong Kind of American  —  The Trump White House needed me—until the fact that I am trans became public.  —  At the cia, they'd started an office pool on when I'd be fired.  —  President Trump would be sworn in for his second term at noon; the smart money had me gone by 12:15.
JusttheNews.com:
FBI had evidence Swalwell got illegal donations from suspected Chinese spy, bombshell memos show  —  The newly declassified investigation files also show that the FBI had initially tried to recruit the infamous Fang Fang as a source that could share information on Chinese influence operations …
RELATED:
New York Post:
FBI stumbled across Eric Swalwell's affair with Chinese spy Fang Fang when agents tried to recruit her: docs
Discussion: The Daily Wire
Washington Post:
Supreme Court asked to hear case on Texas law requiring Ten Commandments in schools  —  The case could set up a landmark clash over the separation of church and state.  —  Summary  —  Civil liberties groups on Monday asked the Supreme Court to hear their challenge of a Texas law requiring …
Discussion: Common Dreams
Steve Benen / MS NOW:
New evidence suggests White House took steps to punish Colorado over Tina Peters case  —  Exactly one year ago this week, Donald Trump threatened to impose “harsh measures” on the state of Colorado unless it agreed to release election denier Tina Peters from prison several years before her sentence runs its course.
Margaret Hartmann / New York Magazine:
Trump Consults AI George Washington on Ballroom Design  —  Since Donald Trump flattened the East Wing last October, his justification for building a White House ballroom has evolved considerably.  Originally, the president suggested he needed a place to throw killer parties.
Rebecca Santana / Associated Press:
Trump administration pauses contentious border construction in Texas' Big Bend National Park  —  The Trump administration says it is temporarily pausing construction of a controversial border construction project in the Big Bend National Park while the head of the agency tasked with building …
Discussion: Washington Examiner, Axios and The Hill
Anna Bower / Lawfare:
What's So Special about a Special Grand Jury?  —  A primer on how special grand juries work, what federal law actually permits them to do, and why this one might backfire.  —  annabower.bsky.social  —  Meet The Authors  —  The Justice Department has empaneled a special grand jury in Washington …
Mike Zapler / Axios:
The Democratic establishment's ideas deficit  —  The centrist Democratic group Third Way recently declared “war” on democratic socialists to head off what they fear could be a far-left hijacking of the party ahead of 2028.  — But establishment Democrats have made clear what they're …
Gary Fineout / Politico:
Trump votes by mail again in his home state of Florida  —  PLANT CITY, Florida — President Donald Trump voted by mail in Florida's Republican primary, according to local voting records, even as he continues to rail against mail-in voting with wide-ranging allegations of fraud.
Dave Levinthal / NOTUS:
House Ethics Chair Violates the STOCK Act  —  House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, whose committee enforces compliance of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, violated the insider trading and transparency law, a NOTUS review of congressional financial records indicates.
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Is the DSA a Republican Psy-Op?  —  If I told you the DSA was secretly run by Roger Stone to hurt Democrats it would make more sense than . . . this.  —  1. Sides  —  Over the weekend Hakeem Jeffries was asked if he endorsed the agenda of the Democratic Socialists of America.  He said no.
Courtenay Brown / Axios:
Why prescription drug prices are plunging  —  America is experiencing its biggest prescription drug price deflation in generations. … - Prices haven't risen in any month this year, an unusually persistent stretch of flat or falling drug prices.  — The downward trend comes as costs …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Hudson Crozier / Washington Examiner:
Socialist group panics over FBI allegedly investigating it again
Discussion: NewsMax.com
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Hegseth to go to Iowa today to campaign for GOP candidates, sources say
Carl Campanile / New York Post:
Prominent Dem donor fundraising for NY GOP governor candidate Bruce Blakeman: ‘Talk of the Hamptons’
Discussion: NewsMax.com
Mac William Bishop / Rolling Stone:
Trump Has Opened the Door for Putin to Make a Move on NATO
Discussion: The Atlantic
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
Reclaiming “Normalization”  —  Normalization is a dirty word in the pro-democracy movement …
 Earlier Items: 
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Trump ‘Won’ on Tariffs? Lol.
Thomas Beaumont / Associated Press:
Trump dwarfs his predecessors in the number of ultra-rich in his second White House, report shows
Discussion: Common Dreams
Max Boot / Washington Post:
I'm a hawk. I'm shocked by a $1.5 trillion defense budget.
Discussion: Bloomberg
New York Times:
Islamophobia's Rise in Texas: 'I Won't Rest Until Every Muslim Is Gone'
Erika Solomon / New York Times:
Iran's Supreme Leader Signals Intention to Keep Country on a War Footing
Discussion: NewsMax.com
Axios:
Even some Republican voters sour on Trump
NOTUS:
James Talarico's Campaign Is Refunding Over $1 Million in Excess Contributions
Discussion: RedState