Donald Trump threatened to sue a think tank for $5 billion over numbers it published.
The Center for American Progress measured crime in Washington, Los Angeles, and Memphis and found his National Guard deployments didn’t change the crime rate. His personal lawyer, not the White House counsel, sent a nine-page letter threatening the suit unless CAP retracted the report, apologized, and paid Trump money by Friday evening, closing with “PLEASE GOVERN YOURSELVES ACCORDINGLY.” The letter offers no competing crime numbers. CAP refused.
That deadline expired the same day the Pentagon fired three Stars and Stripes journalists, citing the editor for telling CBS that censoring news to service members would be a red line. The Trump administration doesn’t argue that facts are wrong, only what you’ll pay for saying them out loud.
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Omaha superintendent bars police from carrying electric shock gloves in schools after officers used the devices ICE plans to buy on 2 students.
Today’s GovBrief News
US tells Congress it plans to pay the UN $725 million of the $4 billion owed, short of what saves its voting rights in January.
Source: Reuters
August 21, 2026
Iran finalizes a trade deal with mediator Oman and opens Hormuz to Iraqi tankers as China rejects Bessent's demand that every nation join US sanctions.
Source: CBS News
August 21, 2026
Alfalfa sprout outbreak spreads to 55 people across 15 states as the grower FDA warned about unsanitary conditions in 2025 still refuses a recall.
Source: USA Today
August 21, 2026
Interior finalizes the largest Colorado River cuts on record, taking 1.25 million acre-feet yearly from Arizona, California, and Nevada as reservoirs hit historic lows.
Source: UPI
August 21, 2026
USPS finalizes its rule refusing to deliver mail ballots from states that won't share voter data with DHS, despite two injunctions blocking it.
Source: The Guardian
August 21, 2026
Trump threatens the Center for American Progress with a $5 billion suit unless it retracts a report finding his Guard deployments had no effect on crime.
Source: The Associated Press
August 21, 2026
Asked about bond market interventions, Trump tells reporters "the ultimate intervention is our military. And if we have to use that, we will."
Source: Mediaite
August 21, 2026
Canada vows to match US tariffs dollar for dollar as the 50% duties on $20 billion in goods take effect after trade talks collapse.
Source: Euronews
August 21, 2026
Trump orders tariff-free imports of 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef over rancher objections, refusing to name which countries will supply it.
Source: Roll Call
August 21, 2026
Army Secretary Driscoll plans to leave by year's end after months of tension with Hegseth, leaving the Army with no Senate-confirmed leadership.
Source: The Wall Street Journal [gift article]
August 21, 2026
TikTok agrees to pay DOJ $400 million to settle 2024 charges it collected children's data without parental consent and kept accounts it knew belonged to kids.
Source: The Independent
August 21, 2026
Trump announces Stop the Steal advocate Ed Martin is leaving DOJ to fight legal battles in the midterm and 2028 elections.
Source: NBC News
August 21, 2026
Chief Justice Roberts lets White House ballroom construction continue while crews work 20-hour days to finish before courts can rule Congress never authorized it.
Source: SCOTUS blog
August 21, 2026
Idaho appeals the ruling that allowed abortions to protect a woman's health or prevent suicide, arguing the exceptions should cover only the doctor who sued.
Source: The Idaho Capital Sun
August 21, 2026
Judge strikes down Rubio's 75-country visa ban after a State Department cable showed officers ordered to deny applicants who proved they weren't public burdens.
Source: The New York Times [gift link]
August 21, 2026
Pentagon fires the Stars and Stripes editor in chief and a reporter for insubordination after both defended the paper's independence in CBS interviews.
Source: The Hill
August 21, 2026
Santa Barbara County's housing authority opens Patterson Point in Goleta, 23 solar-powered studio apartments with on-site management for special needs and formerly homeless residents.
Source: County of Santa Barbara
August 21, 2026
Ohio Immigrant Alliance's court-records search documents 152 DHS employees charged with sex crimes or violence against women and children, up from 59.
Source: The Ohio Capital Journal
August 21, 2026