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8:25 AM ET, August 20, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Kimberly Leonard / Politico:
Florida Dems scramble to regroup after Nixon upset  —  MIAMI — Progressive Angie Nixon's stunning upset in Florida's Senate race has many Democrats in the state spiraling.  —  The Jacksonville lawmaker's primary victory on Tuesday night over retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman jolted a state few thought would hold any surprises.
RELATED:
Mike Catalini / Associated Press:
Democrats narrow their list of 2028 presidential convention sites to Boston, Denver and Philadelphia
Discussion: The Independent
Phelim Kine / Politico:
Trump's snub of South Korea sends region scrambling  —  The Trump administration's snub of South Korea has America's allies in Asia rethinking how much they can depend on the U.S. for defense — and looking to each other to reduce their reliance on Washington.
RELATED:
Jesse Johnson / The Japan Times:
North Korea fires off barrage of missiles hours after Trump says he plans to meet Kim  —  Pyongyang fired off a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, Seoul said, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
New York Times:
Trump's Order to Cut Military Exercises With South Korea Carries Risks, Experts Say
Discussion: CNBC, Bloomberg and Politico
Daniel Tudor / Financial Times:
North Korea dismisses Donald Trump's overture
MS NOW:
Trump aide Natalie Harp worked at the White House without security clearance for a year  —  The close aide to the president, known to filter much of the information reaching the commander-in-chief, ultimately relented in recent months after pressure from White House staff.
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America's Borrowing Binge Continues  —  President Trump's promises to restore fiscal order and reduce the amount of America's debt burden have been hampered by spending on the Iran war, tax cuts and tariff refunds.  —  America's gross national debt topped $40 trillion …
RELATED:
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
'It's Bonkers': Jennifer Hegseth's Hands-On Role in Her Husband's Pentagon  —  After an 18-year career at Fox News, she is now her husband's most influential adviser and de facto producer, shaping the job like no Pentagon spouse has before.  —  There has never been a Pentagon spouse quite like Jennifer Hegseth.
Discussion: The Independent
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Michael Cohen won't say if he'll use his Trump interview to seek a pardon  —  Michael Cohen and President Donald Trump have apparently patched up their differences in private.  Now, they can do it in public.  —  The president is scheduled to do a phone interview Thursday with Cohen …
RELATED:
Theodoric Meyer / Washington Post:
Ties to data centers could cost Ohio Sen. Jon Husted his seat, memo warns  —  A GOP memo obtained by The Post urges the tech industry to take action to improve the image of the controversial facilities.  —  Republicans are warning that former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown's relentless campaign …
RELATED:
Axios:
Data center uproar scrambles the midterm election
The Hill:
Trump announces ‘most crushing economic operation ever’ against Iran  —  President Trump announced Wednesday evening the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER” against Iran amid negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading waterway that has been effectively closed since early March.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
New Drone Unit to Be Phased Out as Hegseth's Army Pick Makes His Mark  —  Gen. Christopher LaNeve takes aim at a cutting-edge drone unit, one of several moves he has made since taking over the Army  —  WASHINGTON—The Army took a major step to prepare for wars of the future in January …
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Trump's Human Printer Is Cray-Cray  —  It would be much better if they *were* sleeping together.  —  1,147 … Join  —  1. Nataly.  Natali.  Nathalie.  —  We have to talk about the Trump-Natalie Harp thing.  I'm sorry.  I had a big piece about economics teed up for today.
Politico:
Trump's pick to lead the FDA faces uphill Senate battle  —  Heidi Overton's years of loyalty to Donald Trump helped her become his pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, one of the government's most powerful regulatory agencies.  But that devotion could ruin her chances at Senate confirmation.
NOTUS:
Trump Considers a Press Secretary Shakeup: Picking a Man  —  After four female press secretaries during his two terms, President Donald Trump has told close advisers he would prefer a man to fill Karoline Leavitt's position, NOTUS has learned.  —  The pick would be meant to stave off comparisons …
Discussion: Washingtonian, Fox News and The Hill
Maxine Joselow / New York Times:
How Trump Is Trying to Crush California's Environmental Policies  —  At least a half-dozen federal agencies have taken action against the state that has long led the nation in environmental protections.  —  An oil platform seen from Sands Beach next to Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve in Santa Barbara …
NPR:
Experts raise alarms over Census Bureau report Trump is touting on noncitizen voting  —  A highly unusual Census Bureau report that President Trump is using to reup dubious claims of widespread illegal voting by non-U.S. citizens has ties to a Trump-aligned think tank, NPR has learned.
Barak Ravid / Axios:
U.S. conducting stealth operation to transport oil through Hormuz  —  The U.S. military has quietly established a shipping corridor in and out of the Strait of Hormuz to transport millions of barrels of oil each day — a notable success even as the broader war remains at a stalemate, two U.S. officials told Axios.
Andrew Howard / Politico:
The Freedom Caucus is having a brutal primary run  —  The hard-right Freedom Caucus is having a rough primary season.  —  Candidates with backing from the caucus and its allies flopped in primaries from Florida to Wyoming on Tuesday, adding to a string of recent losses for the group.
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Vance raises $5 million at big Hamptons event  —  Vice President Vance hosted a Wednesday evening fundraiser in Southampton, N.Y., for young Republican donors that raised more than $5 million, Axios has learned. … - Attendees included Donald Trump Jr., Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan and GRV Strategies founder Garrett Ventry.
Wall Street Journal:
Build First, Ask Questions Later: Trump's Ballroom Puts Supreme Court in a Bind  —  The administration says it is too late to unwind the project, even though two courts ruled against it  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump's half-built White House ballroom is a 90,000-square-foot embodiment …
Discussion: Forbes
Washington Post:
Three more Trump-endorsed candidates lose their primaries  —  10 candidates backed by the president have lost so far in 2026, nearly tying his worst year in 2022.  —  For nearly a decade, President Donald Trump has prided himself as a GOP kingmaker, bestowing his “Complete and Total Endorsement” …
Hugo Lowell / Wired:
Elon Musk Is Expected to Point His Money Machine at Texas Politics  —  Sources tell WIRED that Elon Musk is expected to spend up to $200 million in the midterms.  It could be a big boost for GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who's struggled to raise cash.  —  Elon Musk is expected to spend big …
NOTUS:
Trump's Allies Want to Know the Plan in Iran — If There Is One  —  President Donald Trump's shifting statements on Iran have made it difficult for even allies to know the real plan for the war — let alone defend it to the American people.  —  Two House members told NOTUS …
Jocelyn Noveck / Associated Press:
Longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes to retire, citing differences with Pentagon leadership  —  The longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes has announced his retirement, ending a decades-long career with the military newspaper as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's Pentagon moves …
Mychael Schnell / MS NOW:
The Republican town hall is vanishing — and Democrats see an opening  —  The Republican town hall is disappearing.  —  Once a mainstay of life as a lawmaker, in-person town halls have become increasingly rare for House Republicans, who are opting instead for virtual events and more private meetings with constituents.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Ben Jacobs / Slate:
All Michigan Democrats Have to Do to Win Is to Find Peace Over the Middle East
MS NOW:
The Navy's ships risk wearing out in the Iran war
Discussion: New York Post
Politico:
‘Woefully underprepared’: Graham critics seize on her foreign policy misstep
David McCabe / New York Times:
Voters Aren't Waiting for November to Try Ousting Officials Over Data Centers
 Earlier Items: 
Nick Timiraos / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Press Kevin Warsh to Disclose Calls With Trump
NBC News:
Trump administration was warned about peeling Reflecting Pool nearly a month before it brought vandalism case
 

 
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Dwarkesh Patel / Dwarkesh Podcast:
A look at the Hugging Face hack, including AI agents sacrificing themselves for the good of the “collective”, and later gaining access to OpenAI's own systems

Associated Press:
Google updates Maps to show Lake America for US users, Lake Ontario for Canadian users, and both for the rest of the world, citing the US GNIS' name change

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
A look at the management changes John Ternus could make as many key Apple execs prepare to leave in the next few years; Apple tested a Pencil for folding iPhone

 
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