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3:40 PM ET, August 21, 2026

memeorandum

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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.
Associated Press:
Supreme Court chief justice allows work on Trump's $400M White House ballroom to continue for now
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.
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 …
RELATED:
Jocelyn Noveck / Associated Press:
Stars and Stripes editor says he has been fired for insubordination after doing interview  —  The Pentagon on Friday fired the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, as well as its publisher and a reporter, the editor said.  He said he was dismissed for insubordination after an interview …
Discussion: CBS News, Fox News, MS NOW and The Guardian
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
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 …
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
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, CNBC and Forbes
Scott MacFarlane Reports:
EXCLUSIVE: Committee Review Finds Trump Pardons Have Cost Crime Victims $1.7 Billion and Enriched Trump Allies  —  President Trump's “get out of jail free” cards for convicted crooks are actually costing crime victims a fortune.  —  A scathing new investigation by Democrats …
RELATED:
House Committee on the Judiciary:
New Judiciary Democrats Report Exposes MAGA's Cash-for-Clemency Racket Which Gives Unrepentant Criminals a New Lease on Life and Leaves Victims in the Dust  —  Report Reveals Sprawling Network of Trump Insiders and Influence Brokers Have Helped Wealthy Criminals Secure Pardons from Trump …
Discussion: New Republic
Associated Press:
Live updates: Supreme Court chief justice allows White House ballroom renovation to continue for now  —  Key White House ally leaving to help with midterms  —  Trump says Ed Martin, a key ally who has pushed the president's claims of election fraud, is leaving his administration to help …
Discussion: Axios
RELATED:
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 …
Torrie Herrington / NOTUS:
Mark Sanford Makes an Endorsement in South Carolina Senate Race  —  Mark Sanford, who previously served as both a congressman and the governor of South Carolina, endorsed Rep. Ralph Norman in the Republican primary for the state's U.S. Senate seat.  —  Sanford, a Republican …
RELATED:
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 …
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
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.
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 …
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 …
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: MS NOW and 77 WABC
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
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.
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.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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.
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
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
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.
Igor Bobic / NOTUS:
Democrats Are Getting More Bullish About Taking the Senate  —  Democrats see signs of growing momentum in the battle for the Senate, and they're increasingly optimistic they can expand the map into traditionally red territory ahead of November's midterm elections.
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 …
 
 
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 More Items: 
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
Rachel Treisman / NPR:
What to know about this weekend's IndyCar race on the National Mall
The Free Press:
Ro Khanna, Race Hustler
 Earlier Items: 
Adeel Hassan / New York Times:
U.S. Citizen Who Deleted Phone's Data Says His Prosecution Puts Privacy at Risk
Greg Greene / New Republic:
Natalie Harp Should Concern Everyone—I Should Know, I Once Had Her Job
New York Times:
The Message Behind Trump's Threats of ‘Economic Warfare’ Against Iran
New York Times:
First U.S. Deportees Arrive in Liberia, and Liberians Want Explanations
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
Dustin Gardiner / Politico:
Progressive Aisha Wahab wins Eric Swalwell's former House seat
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Sources: the Pentagon gave separation notices to Stars and Stripes' publisher and EIC, citing insubordination; the publisher had retirement planned for Sept. 30

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

 
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