memeorandum: First Solar announces new U.S. panel factory following the Inflation Reduction Act (Pippa Stevens/CNBC)

12:50 PM ET, August 30, 2022

Top Items:

'There's enormous frustration': Trump forces Republicans off-script... again — The investigation into Donald Trump's handling of classified national security records is forcing Republicans into a strained defense during a pre-midterm sprint in which they'd much rather be talking about Joe Biden.

Discussion: HotAir, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Guardian and The Ohio Star

Insider:

Trump posts dozens of memes attacking Biden, the FBI, and others as the former president's allies beg him to keep quiet — Since the Mar-a-Lago raid in early August, Trump has taken to social media to lash out. — He has routinely promoted or commented on posts and memes that bashes Biden, Democrats, or the FBI.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Raw Story

Ashton Pittman / Mississippi Free Press:

‘Do Not Drink The Water’: Jackson Water System Failing For 180,000 People — Jackson's water system is failing and water across the city is entirely unsafe to drink, officials said at an emergency briefing Monday night. State leadership have warned all residents of Mississippi's capital city …

Phil Helsel / NBC News:

Jackson, Mississippi, without reliable running water — Mississippi faces major water crisis in wake of severe flooding — The city of Jackson, Mississippi, was without a reliable water supply Monday after rain and flooding pushed the Pearl River to dangerous levels, officials said.

Discussion: USA Today, CNN, The Hill, The Daily Wire, UPI, MyNorthwest.com, Reuters, NewsNation, CBS News and Fox News

Rick Rojas / New York Times:
Mississippi Governor Declares Emergency Over Drinking Water Crisis

Discussion: Reuters, National Review, Associated Press, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Forbes, KTVX-TV, WJTV and CNN

Susan Dynarski / New York Times:

Why I Changed My Mind on Student Debt Forgiveness — As an economist who studies education, I long thought that forgiving student loans was a crude and inequitable tool for fixing student aid. College graduates, after all, are the winners in our society. College certainly changed my life …

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
House conservatives prep plans to impeach Biden

Discussion: RedState and The Dispatch

Brian Bennett / TIME:
Republicans Search for Someone Who Can Sue Over Biden's Student Loan Debt Plan

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Denver Post, Associated Press and Insider

Common Sense:
Biden's Student Debt Plan: A Godsend? An Appalling Policy? A Debate.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, Insider, PolitiFact, Reason, Mother Jones and Los Angeles Times

Marc Caputo / NBC News:

Trump hires former Florida solicitor general in criminal probe of Mar-a-Lago documents — Chris Kise, Florida's former solicitor general who served on Gov. Ron DeSantis's transition team, inked a contract to represent Donald Trump in the criminal case that resulted in the FBI search …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Post, CNN and Law & Crime

Meridith McGraw / Politico:
Trump adds former Florida solicitor general to legal team working Mar-a-Lago probe

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

CNN:
DOJ to file lengthy response to Trump's request for a special master to oversee Mar-a-Lago search review

Discussion: Alternative Source, Insider, HuffPost, Just The News and Bloomberg

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Scoop: Truth Social's Google Play Store holdup — Google hasn't yet approved Truth Social's Android app for distribution via its Play Store because of insufficient content moderation, a Google spokesperson tells Axios. … - “Last week Truth Social wrote back acknowledging our feedback …

Discussion: CNBC, Insider, Mediaite and Forbes, more at Techmeme »

Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
Trump Woke Up and Went on a 60-Post, QAnon-Fueled Social Media Spree

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Rolling Stone:

Trump Bragged He Had ‘Intelligence’ on Macron's Sex Life … For Trump, that has been a subject of intense — and tawdry — interest for years. — Specifically, Trump has bragged to some of his closest associates — both during and after his time in the White House …

Discussion: Politico, Insider, Raw Story, The Spectator World and Political Wire

Chris Brennan / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

More Republicans back Josh Shapiro for Pennsylvania governor — The ranks of Republicans rejecting State Sen. Doug Mastriano, their party's nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, grew this week as a former national security Cabinet member and a former Trump administration lawyer endorsed …

Discussion: Philadelphia Magazine and Washington Examiner

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
More former Republican officials come out in support of Josh Shapiro in Pa. governor's race

Discussion: The Hill

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:

U.S. Approval of Labor Unions at Highest Point Since 1965 — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Seventy-one percent of Americans now approve of labor unions. Although statistically similar to last year's 68%, it is up from 64% before the pandemic and is the highest Gallup has recorded on this measure since 1965.

Discussion: Vox

Politico:

Republicans fight abortion backlash with ads — and stealth website edits — Democrats have been hammering GOP candidates on abortion since the fall of Roe v. Wade. That's left some Republicans scrambling to try to figure out how to soften the blow. — A number of Republicans are trying …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Hill and National Review

Ally Mutnick / Politico:
Dems interfere in GOP primary in New Hampshire

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller

Neal K. Katyal / New York Times:

Bill Barr Made the Decision to Clear Trump, and That Should Still Frighten Us — The memo released last week by the Justice Department closing the book on the report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election is a frightening document.

Discussion: Alternet.org

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:

Here are the signs Republicans' hopes for a ‘red wave’ are receding ahead of the 2022 elections — Analysis: The GOP may still make gains this fall. But the Supreme Court's abortion ruling, declining gas prices and Trump's re-emergence give Democrats fresh cause for optimism.

Discussion: Fox News, Daily Kos and New York Times

Ronald Brownstein / CNN:
From a Republican ‘tsunami’ to a ‘puddle’: Why the forecast for November is changing

Discussion: Newsbusters

Zoë Richards / NBC News:
Senate GOP candidate Blake Masters suggests diversity at Federal Reserve is harming the economy

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite, Bloomberg, New York Times and Townhall

CBS News:

Top-level FBI agent under fire for role in Hunter Biden investigation resigns — Timothy Thibault, a top-level FBI agent who had been under fire for his role in investigations regarding President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, resigned late last week and was walked out of the FBI, two U.S. officials confirmed.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, HotAir, Breitbart, Forbes, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and RedState

Washington Times:
Top agent exits FBI amid charge of political bias undermining Hunter Biden probe, sources say

John Hudson / Washington Post:

Ukraine lures Russian missiles with decoys of U.S. rocket system — KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine may be outgunned but in the latest sign it is not yet outfoxed, a fleet of decoys resembling advanced U.S. rocket systems has tricked Russian forces into wasting expensive long-range cruise missiles on dummy targets …

Discussion: Alternet.org, Reuters, New York Times, Atlantic Council, World Socialist Web Site and Radio Free Europe/Radio …

The Verge:

How Twitter's child porn problem ruined its plans for an OnlyFans competitor — Internal documents and Twitter employees reveal the need for massive investment to remove illegal content — but executives haven't listened — In the spring of 2022, Twitter considered making a radical change to the platform.

Discussion: New York Post, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters scrubbed language on campaign website saying the 2020 election was stolen from Trump — Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters removed language from his website following his primary win that included the false claim that the 2020 election …

Discussion: Arizona Republic, Lawyers, Guns & Money, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Insider, HuffPost, Daily Kos and Big League Politics

Dave Philipps / New York Times:

Death in Navy SEAL Training Exposes a Culture of Brutality, Cheating and Drugs — The elite force's selection course is so punishing that few make it through, and many of those who do resort to illicit tactics. — CORONADO, Calif. — Kyle Mullen always had the natural drive and talent that made success look easy.

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:

What's Behind Trump's Private War With the Intelligence Community? — The former president is serially criminal, loves dictators, and hates being held accountable. No wonder he despises the U.S. intelligence community. … When you are at war with the truth, you attack the truth tellers.

Cathy Free / Washington Post:

His emotional support animal is an alligator. They sleep in the same bed. — ‘When he turns his nose toward you, that means he expects a kiss,’ Joie Henney said — Joseph Henney's emotional support animal WallyGator goes with him almost everywhere, from the grocery store to walks in the park.

Discussion: Althouse, National Review, Mediaite and KFOR-TV

Pippa Stevens / CNBC:

First Solar announces new U.S. panel factory following the Inflation Reduction Act — First Solar, the largest solar panel manufacturer in the U.S., said Tuesday that it will build a new panel factory in the U.S. — CEO Mark Widmar told CNBC the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and UPI

Kate Bennett / CNN:

An ‘annoyed’ Melania Trump stays mum on Mar-a-Lago search as she promotes NFT business — Shortly after the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago home earlier this month, former President Donald Trump fumed on social media about agents rummaging through his wife's clothing and personal items.

Discussion: Insider

Washington Examiner:

Horror and humiliation: Biden's Afghan withdrawal one year later — On the anniversary of the last American C-17 transport plane leaving Afghanistan , images of that shameful day still haunt President Joe Biden and taint his legacy. They will do so in perpetuity. — Recall some of these appalling events.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Fox News

Anna Giaritelli / Washington Examiner:

Biden administration will pay border cities for cost of busing migrants across US — The Biden administration is sending federal money to cities on the southern border looking to copy Texas and Arizona's migrant busing operations, covering the costs of transporting migrants to sanctuary cities, according to city leaders.

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller and El Paso Matters

Ashley Fetters Maloy / Washington Post:

Their ancestors came to America. After Dobbs, they want out. — The curtailing of abortion rights and general political turmoil have made many in the U.S. see dual citizenship as an escape hatch — On the morning of June 27, Julie Schäfer logged into her work computer and sat stunned at what she saw.