U.S.
Indiana Governor Declares Disaster Emergency and Requests a Presidential Emergency Declaration After Derecho and Record Flooding
Gov. Mike Braun signed a disaster emergency order on Aug. 13 and asked FEMA for federal emergency aid on Aug. 14, after an Aug. 11 derecho, tornadoes and record rain hit Indiana and neighboring states.
Trump Memo Orders Plan Within 60 Days to Replace EMALS With Steam Catapults on Carrier CVN-81
An August 13, 2026 presidential memorandum gives the Pentagon 60 days to plan swapping the electromagnetic launch system and advanced weapons elevators on the future USS Doris Miller for steam catapults and hydraulic elevators.
Trump Signs Aug. 12 Memorandum Creating a DOJ- and DHS-Run Program for Vetted Private Firms to Conduct Offensive Cyber Operations Abroad
The memorandum sets up a contracting program in which approved companies may hack foreign criminal networks, with each operation requiring written government approval and a $1 million bond.
CDC Links 9,481 Cyclospora Illnesses in 17 States to Recalled Taylor Farms de Mexico Lettuce; Company Disputes the Link
Federal investigators say traceback and patient interviews point to iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico, while Taylor Farms and Mexican regulators say no test has found the parasite in the product.
Justice Department Finds Reasonable Cause That Two California Women's Prisons Violate the Constitution Over Staff Sexual Abuse
The DOJ Civil Rights Division issued findings against the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino, and gave the state 49 days before the Attorney General may sue.
Kennedy Center Board Votes 20-3 to Add Trump Inscription and Partially Close Building for Renovations
The Trump-appointed board approved a two-year partial closure and an inscription reading "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump," three months after a federal judge ordered Trump's name off the building.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to Leave Post at End of August; No Successor Named
Trump announced on August 12 that Leavitt is stepping down to spend more time with her two young children and will serve as an outside adviser, and the White House has not named a replacement.
Supreme Court Rules 6-3 That Asylum Seekers Stopped at the Border Have Not 'Arrived' in the U.S., Reversing Ninth Circuit in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado
The June 25, 2026 merits decision held that federal asylum law is triggered only when a person physically crosses the border, clearing the legal path for the 'metering' practice that caps daily asylum processing at ports of entry.
Justice Department Legal Opinion Says Executive Privilege Can Cover Trump's Talks With Private Advisers
An Office of Legal Counsel opinion signed August 10, 2026 by Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser sets a three-part test for shielding presidential communications with advisers outside government, and the department has invoked it against a subpoena for Trump attorney Boris Epshteyn.
Texas Tribune Analysis Finds at Least 60 Children Held 100 Days or More at Dilley ICE Family Detention Center
ICE data reviewed by the Texas Tribune shows average stays of 25 days at the Dilley facility, peaking at a 47-day average in one six-month stretch, as a federal judge weighs appointing a monitor under the Flores settlement.
Injunction Barring NFA Registration for Suppressors and Short-Barreled Firearms Takes Effect for Case Plaintiffs and Their Customers
A federal judge in Texas ruled on August 5 that the National Firearms Act's registration rules for suppressors and short-barreled guns lost their constitutional basis when Congress zeroed the tax behind them; the seven-day stay lapsed August 12, and the order covers the parties in the case rather than the whole country.
Grasshopper Fire Closes 15 Miles of Oregon Highway 35; Contract Dozer Operator Killed on Klamath County Fire
Officials reported 49 large fires burning in Oregon and Washington, Level 3 "Go Now" evacuations in Hood River and Wasco counties, and the death of a dozer operator on the Wrights Spring Fire.