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12:15 PM ET, August 20, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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.
RELATED:
Alayna Treene / CNN:
Key Trump legislative advisor to depart with potentially bruising midterm looming  —  President Donald Trump's director of legislative affairs is expected to depart the White House in the coming weeks, a Trump administration official told CNN.  —  James Braid has served …
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 …
Hyung-Jin Kim / Associated Press:
North Korea fires barrage of missiles toward the sea after dismissing overture from Trump  —  North Korea launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the North shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills …
RELATED:
Daniel Tudor / Financial Times:
North Korea dismisses Donald Trump's overture
CNN:
FBI raids former Rep. Eric Swalwell's home, seizes devices in probe tied to sexual assault claims  —  Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell at the San Francisco airport on Saturday and then raided his home in Washington, DC, the next day as part …
Discussion: The Independent
RELATED:
Shawn Cohen / Daily Mail:
FBI agents confront Eric Swalwell at San Francisco Airport and seize his electronics as part of sexual misconduct investigation  —  FBI agents confronted Eric Swalwell with a search warrant when he landed at San Francisco Airport Saturday and seized the former congressman's electronic devices including …
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:
David Frum / The Atlantic:   The ‘Resistance’ Is Over  —  The insurgent left cares more about its own factional agenda …
Ishaan Tharoor / New Yorker:
After Six Months of War, Trump Is Still Losing to Iran  —  The conflict marks a “precipitous collapse of American power and American prestige.”  —  Spare a thought for the sailors of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.  As the United States' campaign against Iran drags on, their deployment aboard …
Discussion: Bloomberg, The Hill and Axios
RELATED:
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:   How Trump misunderstood what Americans think about war
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
Financial Times:
US long-term bonds slide as Bessent intervention fails to soothe investors  —  Yield on 30-year Treasuries rises despite move to ‘at least double’ purchases of securities  —  US long-term government bonds were hit with a fresh wave of selling on Thursday as Treasury secretary Scott Bessent's intervention …
RELATED:
Douglas Gillison / Reuters:
More than 150 Polymarket wallets may have traded on military secrets, research finds  —  More than 150 wallets on Polymarket International may have traded on inside U.S. military information, attracting copycat bets and raising concerns that the market could broadcast signals exploitable …
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 …
Scott Clement / Washington Post:
A fake poll tested media and poll trackers.  Here's who passed and failed.  —  Median Strategies, a fake polling firm, claimed it was a “social experiment.”  The fraudulent poll received some attention but was shunned by mainstream poll aggregators and exposed by a reporter.
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 …
Leo Sands / New York Times:
Trump Threat Puts Focus on Iran's Trading Partners  —  President Trump appeared to suggest that the United States would impose economic penalties on countries that do business with Iran, though he did not specify what actions he would take.  —  President Trump has threatened …
Roby Brock / Talk Business & Politics:
Poll: Tight race for US Senate between Cotton, Shoffner  —  Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Hallie Shoffner holds a slim lead over incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, but the race is within the statewide survey's margin of error of 4.7%.  —  The new Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll …
Sarah Davis / NewsNation:
Air Force major detained again for Capitol protest after Trump criticism  —  The U.S. service member who was arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol last month after he advocated for President Trump's impeachment was detained again, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed Wednesday evening.
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
August 2026 National Poll: Democrats Lead Congressional Ballot by Eight Points; Rubio Outperforms Vance on 2028 Ballot Tests  —  Home Polls August 2026 National Poll: Democrats Lead Congressional Ballot by Eight Points; Rubio Outperforms Vance on 2028 Ballot Tests
Discussion: NewsNation and NewsMax.com
David French / New York Times:
JD Vance Thinks You Are Not Christian Enough  —  JD Vance doesn't think our nation is Christian enough to be truly free.  Your faithlessness has broken the social compact, and now it is time for the government to seize greater control.  —  If I had to distill many of our most important economic …
Steve Vladeck / One First:
Bonus 244: Minnesota v. Abbott  —  Governor Abbott is refusing to comply with a demand to extradite an ICE officer under criminal indictment in Minnesota.  He has no legal leg to stand on, but may instead be trying to run out the clock.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Interstate extradition is supposed to be boring.
CBS News:
ICE, Iran quietly worked together on deporting Iranians to Iran, emails show  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  Los Angeles — U.S. immigration officials worked with Iran to deport Iranians in late 2025 and early 2026, newly released emails show, revealing a working relationship between the U.S …
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Reason
Washington Post:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott takes aim at Muslim washing stations in airports  —  Legal experts dispute Abbott's claims that the ritual washing stations are discriminatory, with some saying his attack fits a pattern of anti-Muslim actions and rhetoric.  —  Summary
Aram Roston / The Guardian:
Crypto bank part-owned by Trump family offers depositors way to ‘gain favor’ with White House, experts say  —  Democrats have called World Liberty Trust Company a stark example of corruption but officials claim there is no insider dealing  —  Two fundamentals underpin the business model …
Discussion: BusinessDay
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 …
Sidney Blumenthal / New Republic:
Two Years Ago, They Revered Trump; Now, They Ridicule and Revile Him … Donald Trump has lost his war in reality and virtual reality, not only with Iran but also in the arena where he thought he was the eternal master, in image and myth.  He has lost it on land, sea, and air—and in thin air.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Lauren Green / Washington Examiner:
From Maine to Alaska, Johnson crisscrosses country during August recess
Discussion: NewsMax.com
Olivia George / Washington Post:
Democrats' view of Trump's first term improves in retrospect, poll finds
Discussion: MS NOW and PoliticusUSA
Lawfare:
A History of LGBT Officers & the Central Intelligence Agency
Phil Williams / ConfrontTheHate.com:
As Local News Dies, White Nationalists See Opening
 Earlier Items: 
MS NOW:
The Navy's ships risk wearing out in the Iran war
Wall Street Journal:
Build First, Ask Questions Later: Trump's Ballroom Puts Supreme Court in a Bind
Discussion: The Bulwark, SCOTUSblog and Forbes
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Vance raises $5 million at big Hamptons event
Politico:
‘Woefully underprepared’: Graham critics seize on her foreign policy misstep
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America's Borrowing Binge Continues
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Charter closes its $34.5B Cox acquisition, announced in May 2025, uniting two of the biggest US cable and broadband providers, and completes its Liberty deal

Todd Spangler / Variety:
José Suárez, president and general manager of three Telemundo-owned TV stations in Florida, died in a helicopter crash Wednesday in Kenya along with six others

Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
US officials discussed firing Stars & Stripes publisher Max Lederer ahead of his Sept. 30 retirement, which was provoked by differences with the Trump admin

 
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