2,119 events on record Subscribe September 16, 2026
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Timeline

Every entry in the archive, ordered by event date. Page 3 of 43, showing August 16, 2026 to August 24, 2026. Pages contain 50 entries each; entries for a given date may continue on the next or previous page.

2026 Events (1,295)

August(188)

CENTCOM official confirmed secret blacklist of journalists who call the command too often

On August 24, 2026, The Intercept reported that a U.S. Central Command public affairs official, Richard Allee, confirmed on the record that the command maintains a secret internal list of journalists to "disregard," and told an Intercept reporter he could be added to it for calling too often. CENTCOM's press office separately denied in writing that any "blacklist" exists, directly contradicting Allee's own on-record confirmation.

West Point ordered professor to stop teaching human-caused climate change, then declined to renew his contract after he objected, lawsuit says

Adam Kalkstein, a tenured geography professor who taught climatology at the United States Military Academy for 17 years, sued West Point and three administrators in federal court on August 24, 2026, alleging he was pushed out for refusing to comply with a directive -- issued on White House orders -- to stop teaching cadets that human activity is a primary driver of climate change. According to the lawsuit, West Point stripped Kalkstein of tenure in 2025, ordered the geography department in September 2025 to stop teaching anthropogenic climate change under threat of dissolving the department, and declined to renew his contract in 2026 after he protested the directive to the academy dean. West Point said in a statement it was aware of the allegations but declined further comment.

U.S. Air Force charged Maj. Jason Watson with Article 88 contemptuous-words violations over his public criticism of Trump

U.S. Air Force prosecutors charged Maj. Jason Watson on August 24, 2026 with three violations of UCMJ Article 88 for contemptuous remarks about President Trump, five violations of Article 92 for disobeying orders, and two violations of Article 133 for conduct unbecoming an officer, according to a charging document his attorney shared with CNN; an Air Force spokesperson confirmed the charges the following day. The charges stem from a June newsletter interview, a July 1 protest in uniform at the U.S. Capitol calling for Trump's impeachment, and an August 17 CNN interview in which Watson said Trump was "flagrantly violating the Constitution" and "killing Americans." Watson's attorney said he is believed to be among the first officers of his rank charged under Article 88 in modern military history, and Watson remains in pre-trial confinement.

AP investigation revealed State Department preparing to revoke B1/B2 visas of up to 200,000 asylum seekers

The Associated Press reported on August 24, 2026 that the State Department, coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security, is preparing to revoke B1/B2 business and tourism visas from as many as 200,000 people who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum in the United States. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott confirmed on the record that the department is working with DHS to identify and revoke visas from people who entered as short-term visitors and later filed for asylum. Officials said the action, targeting visas issued between 2016 and 2026 on a rolling basis, would be the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history.

Florida's Juvenile Justice department left a public-records request unfulfilled for nearly two years, Florida Phoenix found

Florida Phoenix reported that the state's Department of Juvenile Justice has left the outlet's October 2024 public-records request for detention-center behavior reports unfulfilled for nearly two years, despite fulfilling a nearly identical request within three months earlier that same year. A second request from February 2025 and a March 2026 request for a statutorily mandated annual financial report also remain unanswered, and the department has given no explanation for any of the delays. First Amendment Foundation executive director Bobby Block said the pattern of non-response is increasingly common under the current administration and treats public records as a privilege rather than a right.

Idaho Education News investigation reveals Idaho Tax Commission withheld tax-credit recipient data despite months of records requests

An Idaho Education News investigation published August 24, 2026 found that the Idaho State Tax Commission had denied nearly all of at least seven public records requests filed between February and July 2026 for data on who benefits from Idaho's $50 million-a-year Parental Choice Tax Credit private-school subsidy program. Requesters included two journalists, a college faculty member, a data analyst, a homeschool advocate, a former public school superintendent, and Democratic state legislative leaders, several of whom sought data on how many recipients previously attended public school. Tax Commission officials confirmed the denials on the record, citing tax-return privacy laws and incomplete data processing.

Second Habersham County deputy misused Flock license-plate database for personal, non-law-enforcement searches; fired and arrested

Habersham County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jonathan Thomas was terminated and arrested on August 24, 2026, after an internal audit found he had accessed the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system for a personal, non-law-enforcement purpose connected to a personal relationship. Thomas was booked into the Habersham County Detention Center on one felony count of violation of oath of office and two misdemeanor counts of misuse of license plate data, making him the second Habersham deputy in less than a month found to have misused the system after Deputy Christian Brewer's July 31 arrest. Sheriff Robin Krockum announced a strengthened two-person approval policy for Flock searches in response.

Missouri Department of Mental Health left man found incompetent to stand trial in county jail for years awaiting treatment bed

A Marshall Project investigation, published August 24, 2026 and republished by the Missouri Independent, found that the Missouri Department of Mental Health left Carl Henry Louis -- a man found incompetent to stand trial -- confined in the Clay County jail in Liberty, Missouri for roughly two and a half years, from his 2021 arrest until January 2024, awaiting a state psychiatric bed for court-ordered competency-restoration treatment. The wait included months after a judge suspended Louis's criminal case in August 2023 and ordered him committed for treatment, during which the jail continued to hold him because no bed was available. Missouri's own figures show the statewide waitlist for competency evaluation or restoration grew from 27 people in 2016 to 549 by July 2026, with at least two deaths in jails on the waitlist since May 2025.

JTF Western Hemisphere killed 2 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in eastern Pacific; 67th strike, ~223 campaign deaths

On August 23, 2026, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere — the U.S. Southern Command unit that replaced Joint Task Force Southern Spear earlier that month — carried out its 67th lethal strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two people without charge, trial, or any attempt at interdiction. It was the first publicly announced strike under the new task force name and ended a 63-day pause in the campaign, the longest interruption since strikes began in September 2025. The strike brought the campaign's reported death toll to approximately 223 people across 67 strikes.

Upper Pottsgrove Township police officer fatally shot unarmed college student who mistakenly went to wrong house

On August 23, 2026, Upper Pottsgrove Township, Pennsylvania Police Cpl. Sean Farrell fatally shot 22-year-old college student Glenwood Earl Pysher IV, who was unarmed and had mistakenly gone to the wrong house while walking to a friend's home late at night. Body-camera video reviewed by the Montgomery County District Attorney showed Pysher with his hands raised and complying with commands when Farrell fired, and on September 1, 2026 the DA charged Farrell with voluntary manslaughter, stating the shooting was "not a legal use of lethal force."

CoreCivic staff pepper-sprayed and dispersed protesting detainees at Natchez ICE facility after halting hot food and water, detainee said

On Saturday evening, August 22, 2026, an estimated 80-100 detainees held in two housing pods at CoreCivic's Adams County Correctional Center, an ICE detention facility in Natchez, Mississippi, protested outside the cafeteria after the facility halted hot meals and hot water and served a lunch of two flour tortillas and sliced bologna. CoreCivic's special response team, in riot gear, dispersed the protest soon after; detainee Melvin Funez said the team sprayed some detainees and threw others to the ground before locking the dormitory doors. The facility, which CoreCivic operates under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was holding roughly 2,500 people in a space designed for 2,300.

Border Patrol arrested Key West father of deployed USS Lincoln sailor; DHS held him for deportation despite no criminal record

On August 22, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, a 48-year-old Key West, Florida handyman, during a traffic stop while his son Joshua was nine months into a deployment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Aviles, a Nicaragua native who has lived in the U.S. for about 19 years, was placed in ICE custody pending deportation; his wife said he holds a work permit and the family says he has no criminal record, while DHS confirmed the arrest, said he entered the country illegally, and did not dispute the absence of a criminal record. DHS said in a statement that "having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation's laws."

DOJ attached immigration-enforcement conditions to FY2026 law-enforcement and juvenile-justice grants, lawsuit alleges

A coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Department of Justice in Rhode Island federal court on August 21, 2026, alleging that DOJ had attached four new civil-immigration-enforcement conditions to fiscal year 2026 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance (Byrne JAG), juvenile-justice, and crisis-intervention grants, most of which were awarded in July 2026. The conditions require states to notify federal immigration agents of a detainee's release date on request and bar restricting the sharing of a person's immigration status with federal agents, among other terms. The states said DOJ used the same tactic on Victims of Crime Act grants in 2025 before an earlier multistate lawsuit forced it to remove those conditions.

Polk County deputies and ICE detained injured Ecuadorian mother and daughter at Florida hospital, refusing to show a warrant

On August 21, 2026, Polk County Sheriff's deputies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents handcuffed and removed Grace Stephanie Calero Cabanilla, 39, and her daughter Giulianna Mía Carriel Calero, 19, from HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital in Kissimmee, one day after a car crash left both women hospitalized. A deputy questioned Calero Cabanilla about her immigration status while she was still being treated, then contacted ICE, which lodged detainers describing both women as having overstayed their visas; family members say Calero Cabanilla held a pending asylum case and work permit and that her daughter's visa was valid until 2030, claims neither ICE nor the sheriff's office has addressed.

Trump administration redirected $500 million clean-steel grant to fund coal-fired furnace at Ohio steel mill

On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it had redirected a $500 million grant, originally awarded to Cleveland-Cliffs in March 2024 to decarbonize its Middletown, Ohio, steel mill, to instead fund continued operation of the plant's coal-fired blast furnace. The grant was restructured after Cleveland-Cliffs said the "green premium" business case for the original hydrogen-ready project no longer held; DOE Secretary Chris Wright and Vice President JD Vance, a Middletown native, appeared at the plant to promote the change. A former DOE official said the revised scope conflicts with the Inflation Reduction Act's statutory definition of eligible "advanced industrial technology," which requires funded projects to accelerate progress toward net-zero emissions.

Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes publisher, editor-in-chief, reporter for insubordination Slavin says was CBS News interview on Pentagon interference

The Pentagon on August 21, 2026, issued separation notices to Stars and Stripes publisher Max D. Lederer Jr., editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East correspondent Lara Korte, citing insubordination. The stated cause traced to a CBS News interview in which Slavin and Korte discussed Pentagon pressure on the outlet's editorial independence and said they would not accept censorship of coverage for service members. All three were given five days to appeal the terminations.

Former Savannah, Georgia police officer Donald Phillips charged in Flock camera misuse case

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged former Savannah, Georgia police officer Donald Phillips, 23, of Fleming, on August 21, 2026, with two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system and one count of violation of oath of office. Phillips was one of six Savannah Police Department employees fired on or about August 7, 2026 after an internal audit found they had used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system to search on personal acquaintances and family members unrelated to any case; the GBI's independent criminal review has since charged Phillips and three others of the six individually. Phillips was booked into Chatham County Jail.

Former Savannah, Georgia police officer Marquis Dillard charged in Flock camera misuse case

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged former Savannah, Georgia police officer Marquis Dillard, 48, on August 21, 2026, with two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system and one count of violation of oath of office. Dillard was one of six Savannah Police Department employees fired on or about August 7, 2026 after an internal audit found they had used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system to search on personal acquaintances and family members unrelated to any case; the GBI's independent criminal review has since charged Dillard and three others of the six individually. Dillard was booked into Chatham County Jail.

Former Savannah, Georgia civilian police employee Calandic Thomas charged in Flock camera misuse case

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged former Savannah Police Department community service specialist Calandic Thomas, 34, of Pooler, on August 21, 2026, with two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system. Thomas, a civilian employee, was one of six Savannah Police Department employees fired on or about August 7, 2026 after an internal audit found they had used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system to search on personal acquaintances and family members unrelated to any case; the GBI's independent criminal review has since charged Thomas and three others of the six individually. Unlike the three sworn officers charged alongside her, Thomas was not charged with violation of oath of office, consistent with her non-sworn status. Thomas was booked into Chatham County Jail.

Former Savannah, Georgia police officer Matthew Rich charged in Flock camera misuse case

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged former Savannah, Georgia police officer Matthew Rich, 39, of Savannah, on August 21, 2026, with two counts of misuse of a license plate reader system and one count of violation of oath of office. Rich was one of six Savannah Police Department employees fired on or about August 7, 2026 after an internal audit found they had used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system to search on personal acquaintances and family members unrelated to any case; the GBI's independent criminal review has since charged Rich and three others of the six individually. Rich was booked into Chatham County Jail.

Newsday reporting revealed HUD withdrew its own finding that Hempstead, NY housing authority discriminated against disabled, Black residents

Newsday reported on August 20, 2026, that HUD's director of compliance and disability rights, Andrew Hill, had notified the Town of Hempstead (NY) Housing Authority that HUD was withdrawing its own 2024 finding that the authority used an illegal point system to discriminate against disabled applicants and to "systematically" further racial segregation on its public-housing waitlist. The reversal came days after a Newsday investigation made the previously undisclosed finding public, without the housing authority requesting reversal and without HUD referring the matter to the Justice Department or withholding funding as it could have done instead.

Deportees say ICE agents assaulted, restrained, and denied them medical care and bathroom access on Liberia deportation flight

On August 20, 2026, deportees said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents beat, restrained, and denied them medical care and bathroom access during a roughly 14-hour deportation flight from Louisiana to Monrovia, Liberia, the first of an expected 1,200 people to be sent to Liberia under a third-country deportation arrangement. Deportees said agents beat those who resisted, denied a Cuban national with a surgically repaired abdominal wound access to a toilet and later knelt on his abdomen on the tarmac, and held others for days without beds in an unheated room. The Department of Homeland Security denied several of these specific claims on the record but did not address most of the deportees' other allegations.

Highland Heights, Ohio police dispatcher misused Flock license-plate cameras in 20,292 unauthorized searches, resigned

A part-time Highland Heights, Ohio police dispatcher resigned on August 20, 2026, after Police Chief Dennis Matejcic found she had repeatedly misused the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system for searches unconnected to any Highland Heights case. Records obtained by the public-records tracker HaveIBeenFlocked showed the dispatcher's account carried out 20,292 Flock searches between October 24, 2024 and November 22, 2025, including more than 5,000 searches on a single license plate, and the chief said she continued the unauthorized searches in the 30 days before he discovered them. Highland Heights had never audited its Flock system, in use since 2021, before this incident, and the department has since made monthly audits mandatory for every employee with Flock access.

Colleton County, S.C. lieutenant made 2,700+ unauthorized Flock license-plate searches on 14 people over a year, fired

Colleton County, South Carolina Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Ruben Carter was fired on August 20, 2026 after an internal audit found he had made more than 2,700 unauthorized searches of the department's Flock license-plate-reader system over roughly a year, targeting 14 people -- including himself, fellow deputies, friends, and former associates. Sheriff Guerry "Buddy" Hill Jr. asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate possible criminal conduct and overhauled the department's Flock access policy in response.

Lufkin, Texas officer misused Flock license-plate database to track 11 people over a year, indicted on 100 felony counts

Lufkin, Texas police officer Zachary Anthony Klein was arrested by Texas Rangers on August 20, 2026, following an internal audit and an outside investigation into his use of the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system. He was indicted the next day on 100 felony counts of misuse of official information, accused of tracking the vehicles of 11 people -- most connected to an ex-girlfriend -- for nongovernmental purposes between June 2024 and December 2025. The Lufkin Police Department suspended its use of Flock cameras department-wide as a result.

North Carolina elections board voted along party lines to reject most Sunday early-voting hours across 20 counties

The North Carolina State Board of Elections, whose Republican majority was installed under a 2024 law shifting appointment power from the governor to the state auditor, voted largely along party lines on August 20, 2026, to reject most proposed Sunday early-voting hours among roughly 20 counties whose local boards had deadlocked. Board member Matthew Longworth, a Republican member of the Anson County elections board presenting his county's plan, said "we are requiring people to work on the Lord's day" by having Sunday voting. The board granted a handful of exceptions, including a unanimous vote for Sunday hours in Lee County.

U.S. Education Department opened Title VI investigation into Milwaukee schools over race-conscious discipline

On August 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights notified Milwaukee Public Schools that it is investigating whether the district's student-discipline practices improperly use race, one of two Title VI investigations the department opened that day. The department's statement, issued alongside new Title VI guidance barring race-conscious discipline, said Milwaukee education leaders had "derided facially neutral school policies as reflecting systemic 'whiteness,'" without specifying what triggered the probe.

ICE arrested two people en route to medical appointments in Santa Fe clinic parking lot

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Edgar Chacon-Miranda and Adriana Ruiz in Santa Fe, New Mexico on August 19, 2026, as both were on their way to medical appointments. Chacon-Miranda was detained in the parking lot of La Familia Health's Alto Street clinic in front of his 11-year-old daughter; DHS cited a prior criminal charge that Chacon-Miranda's attorney says was dismissed and that does not preclude the lawful permanent resident status he qualifies for. Ruiz was separately taken into custody after agents allegedly gave a false vehicle description to identify her; her family could not confirm her whereabouts or whether she received medical care afterward.

Cherokee County, Ga. Deputy Jerry Shellhouse fired, arrested on felony charge for misusing Flock database; fourth employee charged

On August 19, 2026, the Cherokee County, Georgia Sheriff's Office fired and arrested Deputy Jerry Shellhouse, 57, of Waleska, after an internal audit found he had used the agency's Automated License Plate Reader (Flock) system for non-law-enforcement purposes between October 2023 and December 2025. He was charged with one felony count of violation of oath of office and one misdemeanor count of unlawfully retaining license-plate-reader data, and was held on a $3,812 bond. Shellhouse is the fourth Cherokee County Sheriff's Office employee arrested in 2026 in the same self-initiated audit, following Deputy Cynthia Jodesty, Lt. Chris Bryant, and Sgt. Mike Creeden.

Sarasota, Fla. officer misused Flock and DAVID databases 335 times to track ex-partner's vehicle; fired, arrested

On August 19, 2026, the Sarasota Police Department fired and arrested Officer Cory Waiters, 38, after an internal and criminal investigation found he had misused the department's Flock license-plate-reader network and Florida's DAVID driver database to repeatedly search his ex-partner's vehicle. A USA Today reporter's independent analysis of Flock audit logs first flagged the pattern -- 335 searches of the same plate over roughly two months, including 121 in a single day -- and the reporter's August 6 email to the department triggered the internal affairs and criminal investigations. Waiters was charged with felony offenses against computer users/systems, felony official misconduct, and misdemeanor violation of public records law.

Kenosha County deputy charged with felony misconduct for using Flock and Polaris databases to track a coworker

On August 19, 2026, the Kenosha County District Attorney's Office charged former Kenosha County Sheriff's Deputy Frank McGrath with two felony counts of misconduct in public office for using the FLOCK license-plate-reader network and the Polaris squad-tracking system to monitor a fellow deputy with whom he had a personal relationship. A county internal investigation had already substantiated the conduct, but McGrath was permitted to resign under a negotiated separation agreement in December 2025 without the matter being referred for criminal review; a prosecutor took it up only after Kenosha County Eye publisher Kevin Mathewson filed a John Doe petition in March 2026 asking a judge to compel the review.

Oregon Journalism Project revealed sworn staff statements alleging Oregon Youth Authority covered up physician abuse of youths

Thirteen former Oregon Youth Authority staff filed sworn statements in federal litigation alleging agency leaders knew for years that a MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility physician was sexually abusing incarcerated youths and failed to investigate, discipline, or remove him, Oregon Journalism Project (via Lookout Eugene-Springfield) reported August 19, 2026. Dr. Edward Gary Edwards, the facility's longtime chief medical officer, is accused of abusing youths in his care from approximately 2000 to 2017. One official who led the agency for part of that period, Fariborz Pakseresht, was appointed interim director of the Oregon Health Authority by Gov. Tina Kotek last month despite being a named defendant in the litigation.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick demanded 2,193 library books' removal, threatened school ratings penalty

On August 19, 2026, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held a news conference at the Texas Capitol demanding that public school districts remove 2,193 books — including works by Elie Wiesel, Oscar Wilde, Kurt Vonnegut, and Toni Morrison — that the conservative activist group Recover America had flagged as objectionable. Patrick said he would pursue legislation cutting a full letter grade from any district's state performance rating if even one listed book remained on its shelves, a penalty that can trigger state takeover of underperforming districts. The demand builds on Texas Senate Bill 13, which shifted book-removal authority from school librarians to school boards.

POGO investigation found ICE inflated detention facility ratings while cutting inspections and weakening standards

A Project On Government Oversight investigation with American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop, published August 18, 2026, found that ICE's Office of Detention Oversight nearly tripled "Superior" ratings for detention facilities since fiscal year 2024 while recorded violations fell nearly 70 percent between fiscal years 2022 and 2025. The investigation found ICE eliminated a congressional twice-yearly inspection requirement in 2025 and adopted 2026 detention standards that dropped mandatory water testing and detainee wage protections, even as a California Department of Justice report, a federal judge's order, and Disability Rights California documented ongoing medical-care and water-quality failures at facilities ICE rated favorably. The detained population passed 65,000 in 2026, and 2025 was the deadliest year in ICE custody since 2004.

Trump falsely claimed a flawed, unauthored Census Bureau report proved over 24,000 noncitizens voted illegally in 2020

On August 18, 2026, President Trump cited an unauthored, seven-page Census Bureau report as proof that over 24,000 noncitizens voted illegally in the 2020 election and urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act. Data and election experts, along with a Census Bureau employee, said the report departed from the bureau's normal practice -- it carried no named author, was not produced by career civil servants, and used a matching methodology multiple experts called unreliable. The disputed figure represents about 0.02% of the 128 million voter records analyzed.

DOJ election observers exceeded legal scope, demanded records, sought voter interviews at Laramie County, Wyoming polls, clerk and governor say

During Wyoming's August 18, 2026 primary election, two U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division attorneys deployed to Laramie County questioned poll administrators about matters Clerk Debra Lee said were outside the scope of federal voting rights law, requested poll-worker training materials and equipment-acquisition records, sought to examine vote tabulators, and attempted to interview voters — a request Lee denied. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon subsequently asked Attorney General Ryan Schelhaas to examine whether the observers exceeded the authority Congress granted them.

Former Fauci adviser David Morens pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal COVID-19 origin records from FOIA requesters

David Morens, a former senior adviser in the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Office of the Director who worked under then-NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, pleaded guilty on August 18, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, to a federal conspiracy charge for scheming to evade Freedom of Information Act and Federal Records Act requirements. Prosecutors said Morens and a co-conspirator used his personal Gmail account, rather than his official NIH email, to hide communications about COVID-19-origins research funding -- including efforts to restore a terminated NIH coronavirus grant tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology -- from public disclosure between roughly April 2020 and December 2022, and that Morens accepted wine and meals as an illegal gratuity for advocacy work favorable to that co-conspirator's interests.

DOJ whistleblower complaint alleged antisemitism task force rigged Harvard, Columbia and Brown Title VI probes to extract settlements

Former DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney Haley Van Erem filed a whistleblower complaint on August 18, 2026 with the DOJ and HHS inspectors general and the Office of Special Counsel, alleging that the interagency antisemitism task force's Title VI investigations of Harvard, Columbia and Brown had predetermined outcomes without factual or legal support and were marked by "extraordinary procedural irregularities." Van Erem, who worked on the task force before leaving DOJ in May 2025, said the effort was a "politically mandated" campaign to extract settlement money rather than enforce civil-rights law; Columbia settled for $200 million and Brown for $50 million, while a federal judge separately dismissed the related lawsuit against Harvard. A DOJ spokesperson said the department "stands behind the integrity" of the investigations.

Pentagon forced out longtime Stars and Stripes publisher amid clash over editorial independence, USS Lincoln coverage

Max D. Lederer Jr., publisher of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes for nearly 20 years, announced his retirement on August 18, 2026, citing "fundamental differences" with the direction Pentagon leadership was taking the outlet. The announcement came four months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's Pentagon fired the paper's ombudsman, moved to overhaul its editorial operations, and clashed with the outlet over its coverage of conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln; CBS News separately reported that Pentagon officials had discussed firing Lederer before he could retire. Lederer's retirement takes effect September 30, 2026.

Air Force ordered Maj. Jason Watson into pretrial confinement after he criticized Trump on CNN, second detention since Capitol impeachment protest

U.S. Air Force Major Jason Watson was ordered into pretrial confinement on August 18, 2026, days after he publicly criticized President Trump in a CNN interview and renewed his call for Trump's impeachment. An Air Force spokesperson told CNN that Watson was confined based on "probable cause to support allegations of continued misconduct" after he informed his chain of command he would no longer wear his uniform, and he is being held at a county detention facility in Maryland on a military hold. Watson had previously been arrested by U.S. Capitol Police in July 2026 after publicly calling, in uniform, for the impeachment and removal of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Jefferson Parish, La. deputy fired after admitting 3,200+ unauthorized Flock searches on ex-fiancee

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputy Nathan Rome was fired Aug. 18, 2026 after admitting, following a reporter inquiry and after waiving his rights to investigators, that he had used the agency's Flock license-plate-reader system to search his former fiancee's vehicle more than 3,200 times over several years for reasons unrelated to any official duty. Sheriff Joseph Lopinto confirmed the admission and the firing on the record.

Anne Arundel County, Maryland schools narrowed LGBTQ+ student confidentiality rule to open gender-identity records to parents after federal threat

On August 18, 2026, Anne Arundel County Public Schools revised Administrative Regulation JQ-RA, "Safe and Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Students," adding language stating that nothing in the regulation limits parents' right under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to inspect their child's complete education record. Superintendent Mark Bedell told the school community the next day that the amended text reaches "any information maintained in education records that relates to gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns." The revision followed a July 27, 2026 joint enforcement action by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, which threatened the district with litigation or loss of federal funding over that same confidentiality provision.

Kansas City security officers forcibly removed and handcuffed stadium-subsidy critic at public hearing

On August 18, 2026, Kansas City, Missouri City Hall security officers forcibly removed, pinned to the ground, and handcuffed Darrell Miller, a Kauffman Stadium worker and Missouri Workers Power member, during a City Council Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee hearing on a proposed $600 million public subsidy for a new Royals stadium, after he objected that stadium supporters were allowed to exceed the two-minute public comment limit while critics were held strictly to it. Minutes later the committee voted unanimously to advance the funding ordinances, and police later issued Miller a municipal summons for trespassing and assault.

Vandenberg Space Force security forces held invited journalists, troops at gunpoint despite escort

On August 17, 2026, Vandenberg Space Force Base's 30th Security Forces Squadron ordered invited journalists from four outlets and two military members out of their vehicles at gunpoint and handcuffed the two service members, despite the group having a public-affairs escort and an official invitation to a base ceremony. Base security raised barriers and sounded sirens, and the group missed the groundbreaking event they had been invited to cover. A Space Launch Delta 30 public-affairs spokesperson said the stop resulted from a "breakdown in communication" verifying the media's authorized entry.

White House's Rapid Response account attacked CNN's Kristen Holmes, invoking her children, after Trump berated her in Oval Office

On August 17, 2026, the White House's official "Rapid Response" account on X attacked CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes, telling her "your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question" and calling her "a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment," hours after President Trump repeatedly told Holmes to "be quiet" and called her "a fake reporter" during an Oval Office event, after she asked him about North Korea and about a Trump aide. CNN said the attacks were "beneath the office" and inconsistent with the principles of a free press.

Justice Department opened Title VI investigation into William & Mary's race-based scholarships

On August 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division announced it opened a Title VI compliance investigation into the College of William & Mary, a Virginia public university, over whether five scholarship and student-benefit programs use race-based criteria. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a DOJ statement that "the Department will not turn a blind eye to race-based preferences, however they are packaged or portrayed by universities."

NYPD specialized units conducted unconstitutional stops at far higher rates than patrol officers, federal monitor found

A federal court-appointed monitor's Thirty-First Report, filed August 17, 2026 in the Floyd v. City of New York stop-and-frisk case, found that NYPD's specialized units -- the Neighborhood Safety Teams, Community Response Teams, and now-disbanded Public Safety Teams -- made unlawful stops, frisks, and searches at far higher rates than officers on routine patrol, based on a sample of 603 stops in 2025. Unlawful stops occurred in 17% of specialized-unit encounters versus 6% for other officers, and 91% of the people stopped were Black or Hispanic. The units missed nearly every compliance benchmark the monitor had set for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Michigan corrections officer altered Native American prisoner's ID with racist caricature, posted it publicly for humiliation, lawsuit alleges

A corrections officer at Newberry Correctional Facility in Michigan's Upper Peninsula digitally altered a Native American prisoner's ID to depict him wearing a feathered headdress and other stereotypical Indigenous imagery, then posted the altered image publicly, according to a state civil-rights lawsuit filed in early August 2026 by prisoner Dylan Leenheer (Gun Lake Tribe). The lawsuit, which names officers Jay Stevens and Robert Marsh and the Michigan Department of Corrections, alleges a broader pattern at the facility -- including two other prisoners, one Black and one of "Indian-national-origin," whose ID photos were similarly altered -- and that no corrections staff involved faced discipline.

Attorney General Blanche refused to pledge DOJ independence from White House, said Trump's views can factor into prosecutions

Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News's "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker on August 16, 2026, "No, I'm not going to pledge that" the Justice Department would always act independently of the White House, saying "no attorney general should ever pledge that." Asked whether he takes President Trump's views into consideration on individual prosecution decisions, Blanche said "Yes, of course," and called the idea that the president secretly directs specific prosecutions "an extraordinarily false narrative." The comments came in Blanche's first Sunday show appearance since his Senate confirmation as attorney general the prior week.

ICE detained Padres coach Oswaldo Pirela at El Paso airport; family says his 2014 asylum case is still pending

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Oswaldo Jose Pirela, a Venezuelan-born San Diego Padres minor-league catching coordinator, at El Paso International Airport at approximately 5 a.m. on August 16, 2026, while he was traveling for work. The Department of Homeland Security said Pirela's authorized stay expired in February 2018 and that he lacked legal immigration documentation when encountered; his family says he filed for asylum in 2014 and that the case has remained pending since. He remained in ICE custody as of August 18, 2026, pending removal proceedings.