Love Me Or Leave Me Alone! Tabs, Mon. Aug. 18, 2025

Morning news roundup and things to read!

Tabs gif by Martini Glambassador!

Morning, Wonketariat! Drink your chai tea and do your tai chi, it’s Monday again!

The siege of Washington, DC continues to intensify, and now South Carolina will get its 165-year-old wish, their National Guard troops will be occupying the Capitol, along with troops from West Virginia and Ohio. Meanwhile mobs of feds have been setting up checkpoints in DC, and officials have been bulldozing homeless encampments and destroying people’s meager possessions, WWJD. There’s been legal wrangling, protests, and we will have more updates soon. (The Guardian/ NBC Washington)

Speaking of Russia, President Donald J. Trump’s failure in Alaska was a travesty and humiliation heard around the world. And the most dazzling day Russian President Vlad Putin has ever had! From Trump clapping at him like a seal, to a tandem ride chatting privately in The Beast, to Trump saying the US and Russia might even trade together again soon, it was JESUS CHRIST. These Fox News clips, gah.

Yes, Kellyanne Conway, we remember what happened at the end of that Sopranos episode. So Trump is scared Putin will Members-Only-Jacket-guy him? What a wuss. Putin did say that his opening line was: “‘Good afternoon, dear neighbor. Very good to see you in good health and to see you alive.’ I think that is very neighborly.” (CBS)

Now Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy are scheduled to meet at the White House today, so Trump can tell him what Ukrainian land Putin thinks that he should hand over, and Zelenskyy can tell him no again, in person this time. Seven other European leaders and representatives are supposed to join too. Unprecedented, but the meeting in Alaska was emergency bad for Ukraine and Europe. Stay tuned, will be wild. (New York Times gift link/ CBS)

Marco Rubio is so pathetic.

Oh, and the brain geniuses on Team Trump also left the summit schedule on their hotel printer, complete with Russian-flag clip art and references to Putin as “His Excellency.” Filet mignon and halibut Olympia were on the menu, because Trump is frozen in 1989. (NPR)

The Texas House started their second special session, and Democrats say they have made their point and will return. (KXAN)

ICE’s racial profiling is now before the Supreme Court, and we can all guess how that’s going to go. (Vox)

In other ICE news, they spent more than $730k to wrap trucks for a recruitment video with a DaBaby soundtrack. Hey kids, working for ICE, it’s almost like being a multi-millionaire rapper! Hopefully some of that budget was also for DaRoyalties, as ICE just had to yank a recruitment video that stole Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement.” Hey, wasn’t Trump going to prosecute Beyoncé for endorsing Harris like less than a month ago? Guess he forgot about that. (Independent UK/ MXDWN)

Axios got hold of a spreadsheet from the White House “that rates 553 companies and trade associations on how hard they worked to support and promote President Trump's ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’.” Oh. (Axios)

Oklahoma, ranked 50th in education, is now going to make all teachers from New York and California say that the 2020 election was stolen and there are only two genders in order to be able to teach. 🙄 (USA Today)

Baltimore has opted to accept a settlement of $152 million from drug distributors McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, making the city’s total opioid settlement haul nearly $560 million. Good job, mayor Brandon Scott! Bleed ‘em! (WBAL)

Long reads:

“Fortunate Son: Returning to Vietnam with my parents, 50 years after the war ended.” (Slate)

“‘Being short is a curse’: the men paying thousands to get their legs broken – and lengthened.” WARNING, the link has a graphic header picture that is NOT for the squeamish. (The Guardian)

Whatever is going on with Mr. Zuckerberg and Dr. Chan? (Vanity Fair)

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