Carving Board

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for Aug. 13, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

The Kennedy Center’s board voted to carve Donald Trump’s name into the building’s white marble facade, months after a judge ruled the president’s name had to be taken off the center’s signage.

• The board, which Trump fired en masse last year and restocked with allies, also voted to proceed with shutting down the building for a $250 million renovation project.

The federal government investigated left-leaning groups during its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, according to a new filing in the U.S.’s case against a set of activists. Documents show Homeland Security officials used invasive tactics to investigate groups and individuals who were never accused of crimes.

THE ADMINISTRATION

The White House says the U.S. is losing up to $26 billion in annual tax revenue from tariff dodging, specifically highlighting how China responded to new import taxes in 2018 in a new report.

Todd Blanche tried to rally the DOJ troops in his first address to staff as attorney general.

• “Everything that I do will not be the right path or the right decision,” he said, adding that he will listen to staff suggestions and make adjustments accordingly.
• The agency assailed the D.C. Council for demanding more than a dozen U.S. governors withdraw their National Guard troops by Sept. 1.

THE HILL

Lawmakers are demanding answers after reports of deteriorating conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The USS George Washington carrier group is headed to the Middle East to replace the aircraft carrier in a previously planned swap, according to CNN.

• Reports about poor conditions were “completely misrepresented,” Hegseth told reporters in Panama today.

Chatbots are doing the work of Congress with little oversight, The Washington Post reports.

• “It’s kind of like you can sit there and talk to an expert,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) said of his experience with ChatGPT. “You don’t know whether or not they’re 100 percent correct. But they put you on the right path.”

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