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12:55 PM ET, August 13, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
M. Gessen / New York Times:
What's Happening in Kansas Should Alarm Us All  —  On Feb. 25, Siobhan Kirchstein received an official letter from the Kansas Division of Vehicles instructing her to surrender her driver's license.  She was one of hundreds of Kansans who received such letters when Senate Bill 244 …
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Holly Otterbein / Axios:
Pollsters missed again in Wisconsin.  Here's why.  —  Pollsters appeared to blow another high-stakes Midwest election Tuesday, as center-left Democrat David Crowley stunned socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin's primary for governor.  — But on Wednesday, the reasons for the miss seemed clear …
RELATED:
Dan Merica / Washington Post:
What Democrats can learn from Wisconsin's ‘oatmeal’ win
Discussion: Slate and New York Times
Mae T. Weir / The Harvard Crimson:20 minutes ago
Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Administration Antisemitism Lawsuit Against Harvard  —  A district court judge dismissed the Trump administration's antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard on Thursday, concluding that the incidents pointed to by the government were “too isolated and episodic” …
Discussion: New York Times
RELATED:
Mark Arsenault / New York Times:   Trump Administration Live Updates: Judge Dismisses Federal Antisemitism Case Against Harvard15 minutes ago
Paul Krugman:
Why Isn't the Price of Oil Even Higher?  —  Donald Trump is not a well man.  He is, unfortunately, also President, which means that we all pay a price for his inability to accept reality.  Notably, while he insists that he has “total control over the Strait of Hormuz,” …
Discussion: UPI and Quartz
Kiara Moore / Washington Examiner:NEW!
Leavitt ran the podium ‘like a Navy SEAL’: Joe Concha  —  Washington Examiner columnist , Joe Concha praised White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt for her performance behind the podium, arguing that Leavitt distinguished herself through preparation, confidence, and a willingness …
RELATED:
Christopher Wiggins / Advocate:
Karoline Leavitt will tell her last lie from the White House podium this month. Trump says she's leaving
New York Post:
Karoline Leavitt's possible successors emerge after WH press secretary's surprise departure
New York Times:
Homeland Security Paid $464 Million for Airplanes.  Then It Parked Them.  —  The agency used a no-bid contract to buy 10 used jets, saying they were urgently needed for deportation flights.  But the fleet has largely sat idle for months.  —  Starting last fall, the Department …
Discussion: The Independent and NewsMax.com
Washington Post:
CIA had ‘low confidence’ in Iranian threat before Trump switched planes in Turkey  —  CIA had doubts about Israeli intelligence on a threat to Trump in Turkey that prompted an extraordinary secret flight.  —  Summary  —  U.S. intelligence officials were skeptical of an Iranian assassination threat …
Tyler Monroe / Media Matters for America:NEW!
Fox News has spent over 13 1/2 hours waging a WNBA culture war this summer  —  Since June 25, Fox has dedicated at least 206 segments to the WNBA … Since June 25, Fox News has devoted at least 13 hours and 34 minutes of programming to the WNBA, much of which criticized the league …
Discussion: Vanity Fair
RELATED:
Doug Feinberg / Associated Press:
WNBA denounces ‘bad-faith’ transgender debate and says league has no eligibility issues
Anat Shenker-Osorio / Public Notice:
Stephen Miller's secret campaign against helpless kids  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  💥 Subscribe to PN 💥  —  Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, is making his dreams come true: accelerating the arrest and removal of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant kids.
RELATED:
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán / NPR:
Controversial group wins $158M-contract to represent unaccompanied immigrant children
Discussion: NOTUS
Mike Allen / Axios:
Haberman: 70% of Trump's brain on monuments  —  The New York Times' Maggie Haberman tells me 70% of President Trump's mindshare ("maybe plus or minus 5%") goes to his gilding, construction, renovation, renaming and tribute projects.  — “He is spending a huge amount of energy …
Discussion: Joe.My.God.
Yulia Almazova / Wired:
CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues  —  Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues' cell phones.
Discussion: Just Security
New Republic:
Trump Secret Plane Swap Suddenly Looks Darker as Damning New Leaks Hit  —  By now you've heard that when Donald Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey last month, he was clandestinely transferred from Air Force One to an alternative plane to avert a credible Iranian threat.
Damian Paletta / Wall Street Journal:
No One Wants to Talk About the Debt  —  Plus, Iran's ability to make the Strait of Hormuz too risky to cross with limited firepower, and a progressive reckoning in the Midwest  —  Good morning.  Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrats' nominee for the Senate in Michigan, campaigned on Medicare for All.
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
Texas 2026 Poll: Paxton and Talarico Deadlocked in U.S. Senate Race; Abbott Leads Hinojosa by Four Points  —  Economy, immigration top issues among Texas voters  —  A new Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media survey of Texas likely voters finds the U.S. Senate race in a dead heat …
Aaron Parnas / MeidasTouch:
Trump Pocketed $2.2 Billion in 2025 While American Families Lost $219 Billion to Rising Costs, New Report Finds  —  New calculations from the Joint Economic Committee, Minority, show a staggering gap between how President Trump fared financially in 2025 and how ordinary American families fared.
Frank Andrews / CBS News:
Live Updates: Tehran says Strait of Hormuz “under Iran's control” after Trump threatens U.S. might “keep it”  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  What to know about the Iran war today:  — Tehran said Thursday the Strait of Hormuz is “under Iran's control and management” …
RELATED:
Madaleine Rubin / New York Times:
ICE Agent Who Pushed Activist to the Ground Pleads Guilty  —  The agent, Adam Saracco, was charged with misdemeanor after the altercation at a gas station near Chicago last year during the Trump administration's crackdown there.  —  An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent pleaded guilty …
Todd Wallack / Washington Post:
About 110,000 fewer foreign students expected after visa crackdown, report says  —  A report released this week forecasts a decline of about 111,000 international students at U.S. colleges and universities.  —  There will probably be far fewer foreign students on campuses nationwide …
Discussion: The Independent
Stef W. Kight / Axios:
Scoop: House GOP group launches $22 million campaign in 41 districts  —  American Action Network, a top outside group aligned with House GOP leaders, is launching a $22 million ad campaign on Thursday across 41 congressional districts, Axios has learned.
RELATED:
Axios:
Why House Dems may go easy on one of GOP's most vulnerable members
Discussion: Townhall
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Democrats demand Trump reveal stock managers, explain suspicious trades … Two top Democratic lawmakers are pushing President Donald Trump for answers on the mountain of stock trades made in his name since he returned to the White House.  —  In a 17-page letter sent Wednesday and seen by CNBC …
Peter Navarro / New York Times:
It Was a Great Scam While It Lasted  —  The recliner really is made in Vietnam.  The plant, just north of Ho Chi Minh City, is legit — it's got thousands of workers making real furniture.  The motor inside the recliner is another story.  —  The motor arrives from China finished …
Discussion: Financial Times
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
In Minnesota yesterday, close Trump ally Mike Lindell, the former chief executive officer of MyPillow, lost the Republican primary for governor to Republican state house speaker Lisa Demuth.  This loss comes after Trump ally Representative Andy Ogles lost his primary in Tennessee.
Discussion: The Hill and Politico
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Trump Administration Lets Key Gun Law Lapse Following Court Ruling  —  The retreat by the Justice Department effectively allowed a pillar of the Prohibition-era National Firearms Act to lapse.  —  The Justice Department declined to appeal a court ruling that effectively dismantled longstanding restrictions …
Margaret Talev / Axios:
Youth poll: Thumbs down on everything  —  More than a quarter of younger Americans (27%) believe they or someone they know has lost a job because their employer replaced them with AI, according to a new Axios-Generation Lab poll of 18- to 34-year-olds.
Discussion: RedState
Anna Liss-Roy / Washington Post:
Chatbots are doing the work of Congress with little oversight … The amendment was one of hundreds filed this summer to an annual defense bill making its way through Congress.  Along with her proposed change, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's office had sent a summary of what it would do.
Ross Adkin / CNN:
Lawmakers demand answers about USS Abraham Lincoln conditions as reports emerge of sailors attempting to jump overboard  —  EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains discussion of suicide.  Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters.
Politico:
Republicans fear Hegseth's Democrat brushoff could backfire  —  The Pentagon is shutting congressional Democrats out of classified briefings — and even Republicans are shocked by the brazen partisanship.  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth trekked to Capitol Hill at least twice in recent weeks …
David Strom / HotAir:
Irony: Watch the SPLC CFO Decry Increase in Racist Groups She Funded  —  As Glenn Reynolds loves to joke, the demand for racism is so high that liberals are forced to manufacture it.  —  It is no laughing matter.  Almost every racist incident in America aimed at the preferred and exalted “victim” groups is, in fact, manufactured.
Discussion: twitchy.com and NewsMax.com
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Older Democrats walloped by midterms anti-establishment revolt  —  House Democrats who have comfortably held their seats for decades are suddenly finding the ground shifting beneath their feet as primary voters revolt against the party's old guard. … - Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) …
 
 
 New Item Finder: 
New
Kiara Moore / Washington Examiner:
Leavitt ran the podium ‘like a Navy SEAL’: Joe Concha   Find
20 minutes ago
Mae T. Weir / The Harvard Crimson:
Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Administration Antisemitism Lawsuit Against Harvard   Find
30 minutes ago
Matthew Fischetti / New York Post:
Hochul shells out over $7M to cover legal bills for 1,400 migrant children in NY   Find
 
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 More Items: 
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
Trump administration accused of ‘bullying’ union leader at consumer protection agency
Naomi Lim / Washington Examiner:
Nikki Haley goes all in for Ralph Norman against Trump-backed Darline Graham Nordone
Rachel Cohen / Vox:
How money actually works in American elections
Patrick Reilly / New York Post:
Lauren Boebert's son could see jail time after pleading guilty in child abuse case
Discussion: TMZ.com, Joe.My.God. and Breitbart
David Crary / Associated Press:
As Abdul El-Sayed breaks a barrier, anti-Muslim vitriol surges on multiple fronts
Discussion: 5Pillars
Kevin Frey / MS NOW:
Inside Jon Ossoff's congressional superpower: Making oversight go viral
Ali Bianco / Politico:
Capitol agenda: ‘No tax’ fever hits Congress
Discussion: Washington Reporter
 Earlier Items: 
Reuters:
Trump promised a sex-trafficking crackdown. His Justice Department hasn't delivered
Adam Wren / Politico:
Buttigieg's plan to help Dems win again starts with the Indiana state legislature
Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Political Wire
Gary Fineout / Politico:
Cory Mills hopes Trump boost will overcome Ethics headlines in Florida primary
Discussion: Orlando Sentinel
Tom Burgis / The Guardian:
Greenland forces Trump-linked US oil firm to delay drilling
Discussion: CNBC and New York Times
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Forbes Fired Top Editor After Discovering He Received Secret $6 Million Payment
Lisa Lerer / New York Times:
Rep. John Larson, a Longtime Lawmaker, Loses a Primary in Connecticut
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Dan Mangan / CNBC:
President Trump announces that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her post by the end of August to spend more time with her family

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Apple is discussing multiyear content deals with publishers to deliver current news and information for Siri AI, with a potential nine-figure budget

Sherman Smith / Kansas Reflector:
A reporter for the Marion County Record in Kansas will get $850K after settling a lawsuit against the city of Marion, three years after police raided the paper

 
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