memeorandum: The Russian spy who posed as a Canadian for more than 20 years (Shaun Walker/The Guardian)

3:15 PM ET, August 24, 2019

Top Items:

Trump Asserts He Can Force U.S. Companies to Leave China — BIARRITZ, France — President Trump asserted on Saturday that he has the authority to make good on his threat to force all American businesses to leave China, citing a national security law that has been used mainly to target terrorists …

Discussion: CNN, South China Morning Post, Quartz, Outside the Beltway, Slate, Hullabaloo, The Guardian, Law & Crime, The Intellectualist, Progress Pond, The Bulwark and The Week, more at Techmeme »

Peter Baker / New York Times:

A Gyrating Economy, and Trump's Volatile Approach to It, Raise Alarms — BIARRITZ, France — President Trump has again tossed out the economic and political playbook that guided other occupants of the Oval Office for generations as the United States dominated the flow of goods and services across the world.

Discussion: Big League Politics, Outside the Beltway, Washington Press, Latest from Crooks and Liars, National Review, RedState, Reason, Fox News, Vanity Fair and UPI

National Review:

Out of Order — A question in the spirit of Donald Trump's tweets this morning might be: Who's trying harder to crash U.S. markets, the president of the United States or the president of China? — After Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell didn't forecast the loosening of monetary policy …

Neil Irwin / New York Times:

One Crazy Day Showed How Political Chaos Threatens the World Economy — An escalating trade war and unpredictable policy shifts. Also, tweets. — The series of economic and financial developments on Friday was a strange, bewildering, exhausting microcosm of why the global economy is at risk of a meltdown.

Matthew Choi / Politico:

Trump: ‘Chosen one’ remark was sarcasm — In a wide-ranging press gaggle before departing for the G7 in France, President Donald Trump late Friday spoke positively of world leaders, North Korea and the economy, and said his recent remark calling himself the “chosen one” to fight China on trade was just sarcasm.

Discussion: Politico, Agence France-Presse, The Week, Althouse, The Guardian and ABC News

Associated Press:

At global summit, Trump facing limits of go-it-alone stance — BIARRITZ, France (AP) — President Donald Trump arrived Saturday in France for an international summit with the leaders of the globe's economic powers as he confronts the consequences of his preference for going it alone …

Discussion: KTLA, Politico, Washington Post, The Week and Patterico's Pontifications

Washington Post:
With the global economy slowing and the U.S.-China trade war escalating, Trump arrives at G-7 with a list of grievances

Discussion: CNN, Mother Jones and UPI

Washington Post:
Trump ‘hereby’ orders U.S. business out of China. Can he do that?

Discussion: RedState, Fortune and Daily Wire

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump has questioned why he must attend G7

Discussion: Don Surber, Washington Post and Hot Air

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Haley-Pence rivalry heats up as GOP weighs post-Trump future — When top Republicans convened at the St. Regis resort in Aspen, Colo. last month for an exclusive donor retreat, several attendees said there was palpable tension in the room as the gathering's two headliners prepared to speak …

Discussion: The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog and Talking Points Memo

Shaun Walker / The Guardian:

The Russian spy who posed as a Canadian for more than 20 years — Elena Vavilova's book offers rare insight into the Soviet deep-cover ‘illegals’ programme — “A spy has to be an actor, but an actor that doesn't need a public or a stage, and doesn't require the approval of others,” …

Franklin Foer / The Atlantic:

The Amazon Fires Are More Dangerous Than WMDs — One person shouldn't have the power to set policies that doom the rest of humanity's shot at mitigating rising temperatures. — When Jair Bolosonaro won Brazil's presidential election last year, having run on a platform of deforestation …

Discussion: New York Times, The Week and Daily Kos

Ronald Bailey / Reason:
Don't Panic: Amazon Burning Is Mostly Farms, Not Forests

Discussion: thedailychrenk.com, The Atlantic, New York Times, CNN, Watts Up With That? and twitchy.com

New York Times:
As Amazon Fires Become Global Crisis, Brazil's President Reverses Course

Discussion: CNN, Denver Post, Washington Post, WHYY, The Week, Politico, Al Jazeera and Slate

Harry Enten / CNN:

Six polls and more than 6,000 interviews show Trump's approval dropping — (CNN)First things first: The theme song of the week is the ESPN's SportsCentury. — Poll of the week: A new national CNN/SSRS poll finds that President Donald Trump's approval rating stands at 40%. His disapproval rating is 54%.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Washington Post:

Trump's company could save millions if interest rates fall as he demands — President Trump stands to save millions of dollars annually in interest on outstanding loans on his hotels and resorts if the Federal Reserve lowers rates as he has been demanding, according to public filings and financial experts.

Discussion: Political Wire, Financial Times, The Gateway Pundit, BizPac Review, ZeroHedge News, New York Times, CNN and Press Herald

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Trump increases tariffs on Chinese goods hours after slamming Fed chief

Discussion: BizPac Review, New York Magazine, Big League Politics, Barron's Online and CNBC

New York Times:

Joe Biden, Recalling '68, Asks Audience to Imagine Obama's Assassination — “Imagine what would have happened if, God forbid, Barack Obama had been assassinated after becoming the de facto nominee,” Mr. Biden said, evoking the tumult of 1968. — HANOVER, N.H. — Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr …

Discussion: The Root, Rolling Stone, Breitbart, Front Page Magazine and twitchy.com

Matt Viser / Washington Post:
Evoking 1968 at town hall, Biden asks: What would have happened if Obama had been assassinated?

Discussion: BizPac Review, Mediaite and Politico

Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Biden evokes 1968, asks voters to imagine if Obama had been assassinated

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

Liberty and Slavery Have Always Been Wrapped Up With Each Other — The question of how to work out the relationship between them is fundamental to understanding American history. — I am just one of many contributors to The New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project and can't claim to speak for it.

New York Times:

Tainted Water, Ignored Warnings and a Boss With a Criminal Past — How a long line of questionable decisions led to the crisis over lead contamination in Newark. — NEWARK — In the year after receiving test results showing alarming levels of lead in this city's drinking water …

Mike Baker / New York Times:

How a Bitter Divorce Battle on Earth Led to Claims of a Crime in Space — Summer Worden, a former Air Force intelligence officer living in Kansas, has been in the midst of a bitter separation and parenting dispute for much of the past year. So she was surprised when she noticed …

Discussion: Meduza.io, BizPac Review, PJ Media Home, Fox News, TheBlaze, WSVN-TV, Quartz, Daily Wire and New York Post

MSNBC:

Chris Hayes on the inception of white terrorism in America — Chris Hayes explains how white supremacist terrorism is an existential threat to equal and open democracy.

Claire Goforth / The Daily Dot:

Far-right troll Jacob Wohl scammed a Trump fan out of $25,000 (updated) — ‘We got cheated by some 20-year-old kid.’ — Jacob Wohl scarcely goes a month without being implicated in a scam. And his latest is a doozy. — Two men say that his latest target was the Telugu Association of North America …

BuzzFeed News:

Federal Agencies Have Been Sending Employees Links To White Nationalist And Conspiracy Websites For Months — An arm of the Justice Department regularly sent summaries and links to articles from an online white nationalist publication over the last year, a BuzzFeed News investigation has found.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, ImmigrationProf Blog and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:

Gabbard hits DNC over poll criteria for debates — Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) hit the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over its polling criteria for upcoming primary debates, asking it to “ensure transparency and fairness” in selecting the qualifying surveys.