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3:10 PM ET, August 21, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Trump Threatens Suit Over Report He Doesn't Like, Aiming to Intimidate a Critic  —  It was the latest example of President Trump's bid to use the legal system against those who voice unflattering facts and opinions generally protected by the First Amendment.
Tom Schaller / Public Notice:
“Travel with Natalie”  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  👱‍♀️ Subscribe to PN 👱‍♀️  —  Donald Trump is easily triggered.  That's hardly news.  —  He's temperamental and emotional …
Discussion: LifeNews.com and The Atlantic
RELATED:
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Your New Senator Is a Total Lightweight.  She's Perfect.  —  There's been lots of reporting lately about the breathlessly fawning personal letters Natalie Harp habitually writes to her boss.  Last night, the Daily Beast released two of them in full—and they're so, so much creepier than advertised.
Discussion: CNN
David Gardner / The Daily Beast:
Natalie Harp's Intimate Letters to Trump Revealed in Full
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Attacks Bar Association's Power to Accredit Law Schools  —  The move escalates a feud with the nation's premier legal organization  —  The Trump administration is opening a new front in its campaign to remake higher education: threatening the American Bar Association's power to accredit law schools.
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump administration recommends stripping American Bar Association of law school oversight authority
Discussion: Above the Law
Paul Krugman:
Scott Bessent Fails to Gaslight the Market  —  What doth it profit a man if he sell his soul and can't even manipulate the 30-year?  —  Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, isn't the worst member of Trump's cabinet.  I mean, he has to compete with the likes of Pete Hegseth.
Discussion: Drezner's World, Axios and CNBC
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Can Keep Building Ballroom While Supreme Court Weighs Appeal  —  Temporary order from high court gives justices more time to deliberate  —  WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Friday said President Trump can keep building his White House ballroom for now, as the justices continue weighing …
RELATED:
Ann E. Marimow / New York Times:
Chief Justice Declines to Halt Trump's White House Ballroom Construction, for Now  —  The 90,000-square-foot ballroom project has grown in size and scope, with the president's lawyers saying it is intertwined with the renovation of an underground military bunker.
RELATED:
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump ballroom construction to continue  —  Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary stay that allows work to proceed while the court as a whole considers next steps.
Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:
Colorado GOP Gov Nominee Claims to Have Battled ‘Demons’ With ‘Reptilian’ Eyes  —  Victor Marx was deep in the jungle and crippled by a fever when he was attacked.  —  The self-described “high-risk missionary” and Republican gubernatorial nominee in Colorado claims he traveled to Myanmar to train …
Washington Post:
Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes leaders who criticized DOD's interference  —  The Defense Department earlier this year railed against the publication, which has long enjoyed editorial independence, as “woke.”  —  Summary  —  The Pentagon on Friday fired the publisher and the editor …
Associated Press:
Court slashes $50M judgment against Infowars' Alex Jones over falsely calling school shooting a hoax  —  A Texas court has slashed the $50 million judgment to $1.5 million against Infowars founder Alex Jones over falsely calling 2012 school shooting a hoax.  The ruling does not affect …
John Authers / Bloomberg:
Bessent Must Envy When the Grownups Were in Charge  —  Even if they ultimately couldn't tame the deficit, bipartisanship beats an ‘insanity premium.’  —  There are many reasons why the bond market makes a difficult topic for conversation.  It's extremely complicated and based around counterintuitive mathematics that many find opaque.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Why Treasury Secretary Bessent's moves to calm the bond market haven't worked so far
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
This Is How Democrats Talk Themselves Out Of Wielding Power  —  Every party wants to win as many elections as possible.  But a supermajority can not be a prerequisite for democratic renewal in America.  —  Let's peer into a future where Democrats come to power in 2029 with a governing trifecta.
Brady Knox / Washington Examiner:
Buttigieg heads to South Carolina as Trump tries to patch up Graham Nordone's debate gaffe  —  Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is headed to South Carolina to shore up the Democrats' chances in the Senate special election, as the party sees an opening following Darline Graham Nordone's debate gaffe.
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump and Pete face the South Carolina test
Discussion: NewsMax.com and Daily Kos
Ben Meiselas / Meidas+:
Friday Afternoon News Updates: All Hat, Foreign Cattle - 8/21/26  —  It's Friday, August 21.  Here's your midday update.  —  Before I get into the news, a quick reminder that today's episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast with me and my brothers is out now!  Some folks have said they've …
Asawin Suebsaeng / Zeteo:
First Draft: ⬇️ Trump Advisers Worry He Could ‘Sink to the High 20s’  —  The president's favorability has somehow stayed above 30% in the polls but economic pain and policy paralysis mean allies fear worse.  Still, Trump would rather focus on setting the DOJ on his enemies.
Rachel Maddow / MS NOW:
Charter plane crash kills 8 near remote radar site in western Alaska, military says  —  A statement from the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center did not provide details on the specific work the individuals were doing.  —  A charter aircraft carrying eight people crashed at a remote radar site …
Angie Orellana Hernandez / NOTUS:
Log Cabin Republicans Officially Drop the ‘T’ From LGBT  —  Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest group representing gay conservatives and their allies, will no longer advocate for transgender rights, a senior leader for the organization announced in a column Thursday.
Discussion: Townhall and LGBTQ Nation
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
New York Times Loses Defamation Lawsuit in Alabama  —  A 2023 article incorrectly reported that a University of Alabama basketball player was at the scene of a deadly shooting.  A jury awarded $9.25 million in damages.  —  An Alabama jury determined on Thursday that The New York Times defamed …
Jalen Beckford / Politico:
Former acting US attorney found dead in San Diego federal office building  —  Former twice acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California Andrew Haden was found dead this week in the downtown San Diego federal building that houses the prosecutors' office, officials confirmed Friday.
Morgan Phillips / Fox News:
Trump to transform spaceflight from spectacle to status quo targeting 3 launches per day  —  New White House policy directs agencies to expand launch pads, airspace corridors and reentry infrastructure for satellites  —  The Trump administration's new space policy aims to ramp up U.S. space traffic …
Discussion: Washington Times and SPACE.com
Yunior Rivas / Democracy Docket:
Exclusive: Trump DOJ appears to have hired lawyer convicted of hacking election sites to check ‘integrity’  —  A Florida lawyer who pleaded guilty after illegally accessing government election websites appears to have joined President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) …
Discussion: 77 WABC
Reuters:
US plans $725 million payment towards its large UN debt  —  The Trump administration has started the process to transfer $725 million to the United Nations, a congressional notification seen by Reuters showed, a move aid experts said was a welcome step towards paying billions in dues owed.
Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Sanford backs Norman over Graham in South Carolina Senate runoff: ‘Stakes are simply too high’  —  Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) announced Friday he is backing GOP Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.) in the race to serve a full term in the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) seat.
New York Times:
The Message Behind Trump's Threats of ‘Economic Warfare’ Against Iran  —  President Trump's threats of an “economic D-Day” carry a clear signal to Iran that he does not want to go back to war.  —  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to reassure investors worried about the pressure campaign …
Christopher Tremoglie / Washington Examiner:
White, liberal female Lindsay Clancy supporters are proving why men are right to want to remain single  —  Last summer, I went out on a date with a woman, a dame, if you would, to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game.  We had amazing seats, saw an amazing game, and the Phillies won.
Discussion: National Review
New York Times:
How Harvard's Epic Fight With Trump Is Costing the University  —  The federal government has slowed Harvard's funding, despite the university's legal victories.  The conflict is forcing hard choices on campus.  —  One of Harvard University's biggest federal funding streams is down sharply …
Discussion: BusinessDay
Bret Devereaux / Foreign Policy:
The U.S. Is Learning the Wrong Lessons in Iran  —  Tactical excellence can never salvage strategic incompetence.  —  Although the conflict in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz is far from over, analysts are already rushing to declare what lessons should be learned from it.
Rena Rowe / Washington Examiner:
Vance says Bessent has ‘discreet’ plan to address $40 trillion national debt  —  Vice President JD Vance said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a plan to address the nation's roughly $40 trillion debt, arguing the administration can grow the economy faster than the debt accumulates.
New York Times:
N.Y. State Senator's Former Aides Say She Double-Billed for Travel  —  For years, Jessica Ramos used campaign money to pay for hotels and Amtrak tickets while also receiving state payments for travel, records and interviews show.  —  A prominent New York state senator, Jessica Ramos …
Dustin Gardiner / Politico:
Progressive Aisha Wahab wins Eric Swalwell's former House seat  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Aisha Wahab, a progressive California state lawmaker, has won the special election for an East Bay congressional seat previously held by former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned over allegations of sexual assault.
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. to Boost Beef Imports to Address High Prices, Trump Says  —  President says he will temporarily allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported into the U.S. without paying higher tariffs  —  President Trump announced a plan to temporarily allow more foreign beef imports …
Reuters:
Turkey to seek Interpol notice for Netanyahu in Gaza flotilla case  —  Turkey said on Friday it would seek an Interpol red notice for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a domestic criminal case linked to an attack on activists seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Greg Greene / New Republic:
Natalie Harp Should Concern Everyone—I Should Know, I Once Had Her Job  —  Handling a U.S. president's social media voice is a magisterial job.  The work involved ranges far and wide—from figuring out how to handle the president's receipt of a Nobel Peace Prize to huddling with colleagues to pull just the right clip from a speech.
Rachel Treisman / NPR:
What to know about this weekend's IndyCar race on the National Mall  —  The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is poised to bring dozens of race cars and tens of thousands of spectators to the heart of Washington, D.C.'s National Mall this weekend.  —  The two-day motorsports event …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Pentagon says more than 750 US service members wounded in Iran war
Discussion: Stars & Stripes and NewsMax.com
Ed Kilgore / New York Magazine:
AOC and Ossoff Are Young. Why Rush to Run in 2028?
Catherine Rampell / The Bulwark:
Trump's War on Reality Comes for the Census
Jenna Monnin / NOTUS:
Mike Rogers' Pitch to Jewish Democrats May Be Falling Flat
Washington Post:
Inside the police investigation into how Rep. Max Miller's daughter got hurt
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Townhall
Michael Nienaber / Bloomberg:
Germany Says Weapons Cache Points to Hybrid Attack Plans
Discussion: UPI and WTOP News
Whitney Curry Wimbish / American Prospect:
Two Americas: Anti-ICE Fighters vs. Bootlickers
Discussion: Florida Politics
 Earlier Items: 
The Free Press:
Ro Khanna, Race Hustler
Adeel Hassan / New York Times:
U.S. Citizen Who Deleted Phone's Data Says His Prosecution Puts Privacy at Risk
New York Times:
First U.S. Deportees Arrive in Liberia, and Liberians Want Explanations
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Why Do We Keep Imagining a New Civil War?
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Axios:
Oil markets are tuning out Trump's “truths”
Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:
Republicans bristle at Trump's latest tactics to undermine Congress' funding power
NBC News:
Navy discusses renaming aircraft carrier after Trump instead of heroic Black sailor
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
A Seattle Times sports columnist quits, citing its repeated refusal to publish columns that went “against the grain”, including one on transgender athletes

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Patreon announces new and overhauled features, including recommendation algorithm changes aimed at making it easier for smaller creators to get discovered

Ashley Gold / Axios:
The US DOJ and TikTok reach a $400M settlement to resolve allegations TikTok violated COPPA; the DOJ filed the lawsuit in 2024

 
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