Top 5 US news stories
August 26 2025
Trump Moves to Oust Fed Governor Cook, Escalating Battle Over Central Bank Independence
Clash Looms as Trump Eyes Troop Deployments in Major Cities; Pritzker Promises Court Fight
Dillard's Bucks Retail Trend, Acquiring Malls to Prevent Decline
Research Suggests Repurposing Mine Waste Could Secure US Supply of Essential Metals
AI Disrupting Entry-Level Jobs, Displacing Young Workers in Some Fields, Stanford Study Finds
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1. Trump Moves to Oust Fed Governor Cook, Escalating Battle Over Central Bank Independence
A. WASHINGTON—President Trump said he is removing Lisa Cook, a Joe Biden-appointed Federal Reserve governor, citing allegations that Cook submitted fraudulent information on mortgage applications. “I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” Trump wrote in a letter to Cook posted on social media on Monday night. Trump’s decision comes days after Bill Pulte, the leader of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleged that in 2021 Cook sought mortgages on two properties—one in Michigan, the other in Atlanta—and described both of them as her primary residence in papers submitted 14 days apart. Pulte said he would submit the information to the Justice Department in a criminal referral. Trump said last week that he would fire Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board, if she didn’t resign, though it is legally unclear whether the president possesses such power. “President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” said Cook in a statement late Monday. “I will not resign.” Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Cook, said Trump’s move “is flawed and his demands lack any proper process, basis or legal authority. We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action.” The Fed didn’t immediately comment.
B. President Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook is the most dramatic step yet in his effort to take control of the independent central bank and its vast authority over interest rates. Trump has for months demanded the Federal Reserve lower rates to boost the economy, make housing more affordable, and lower the cost of servicing the national debt. He has castigated Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not moving sooner to cut them. By replacing Cook, he could add enough voices to the seven-member board of governors to potentially outvote Powell and move interest rates in his preferred direction.
WSJ
2. Clash Looms as Trump Eyes Troop Deployments in Major Cities; Pritzker Promises Court Fight
A. The Pentagon has for weeks been planning a military deployment to Chicago as President Donald Trump says he wants to crack down on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration, in a model that could later be used in other major cities, officials familiar with the matter said. The planning, which has not been previously disclosed, involves several options, including mobilizing at least a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September to what is the third most populous city in the United States.
B. CHICAGO—Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker promised to challenge President Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard to the nation’s third-largest city, calling the move unconstitutional and un-American. The clash highlighted the rocky path Trump faces in trying to expand his troop rollout into more blue cities. “The state of Illinois is ready to stand against this military deployment with every peaceful tool we have,” Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, said at a Monday afternoon press conference with the Chicago River as a backdrop. “We will see the Trump administration in court.” Trump has long painted many of the country’s biggest cities as hellscapes of lawlessness, blaming the Democrats who run them. He described Los Angeles as being “invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals” and said Washington, D.C., was “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.”
C. National Guard members in Washington are now carrying weapons and “detentions may occur leading to arrests,” according to a statement from the force on Sunday, potentially deepening the military’s involvement in President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of D.C. police. The shift comes as President Donald Trump over the weekend threatened to send National Guard troops to Baltimore. Trump said Baltimore is “out of control” and “crime ridden” in a Sunday morning Truth Social post in response to an invitation by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) to join city officials to walk the streets and discuss public safety in September. Moore responded by touting progress in reducing crime in Baltimore, which is experiencing its lowest homicide rate in 50 years.
WaPo, WSJ, WaPo
3. Dillard's Bucks Retail Trend, Acquiring Malls to Prevent Decline
Big department-store chains from JCPenney to Macy’s are unloading their properties as fast as they can. Dillard’s is buying real estate. The department-store chain this month purchased the Longview Mall in Texas, about two hours east of Dallas. Dillard’s and a partner paid $34 million for the 47-year old mall in the city of Longview, according to a person familiar with the matter. The mall was available at the right price and is a longtime favorite of Chief Executive Bill Dillard. The company also wanted to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. “There are some bad actors out there in the mall industry that have been buying malls,” said Chris Johnson, co-chief financial officer at Dillard’s, who declined to name which ones. “They are not paying their utility bills, not paying property taxes. Every mall they own deteriorates.” Investors have been among the most active mall buyers in recent years as mall values plummeted and legacy mall companies unloaded their weaker properties. The most prolific buyers, Kohan Retail Investment Group and Namdar Realty Group, have snapped up malls at rock-bottom prices across the U.S. City officials have criticized and in some cases sued Kohan and Namdar, alleging they continue to collect rent from tenants while letting their properties fall into disrepair.
WSJ
4. Research Suggests Repurposing Mine Waste Could Secure US Supply of Essential Metals
The US could break its dependence on China for many critical minerals if metals found in the waste from existing American mines were used rather than discarded, new research has found. The US is among a growing number of countries racing to secure more independent supplies of metals including copper, lithium and nickel — which are essential for a broad range of industries, from energy to technology and defence. China has invested heavily in the sector for two decades and dominates the supply chains for many critical minerals. That dominance contributed to the Trump administration’s imposition of hefty tariffs on a range of Chinese products in a bid to encourage domestic US supply chains. The paper, published in the journal Science on Thursday by researchers at the Colorado School of Mines, said that the US could supply most of its metals needs if it made better use of mining waste. Rare earth elements, which are essential for the production of magnets, have drawn particular attention in recent months following a temporary Chinese export ban on the materials that upended the global supply chain. Despite their name, these metals are not especially rare but are often not economical to extract, with many mined as byproducts of other minerals.
Editors note: rare earth metals aren’t geologically “rare”; it’s the PROCESSING CAPACITY that is going to be hard to reshore due to domestic environmental regulations
US Industrial Policy: critical minerals
The materials that run a 21st century economy are all produced elsewhere
Greg Loving
FT
5. AI Disrupting Entry-Level Jobs, Displacing Young Workers in Some Fields, Stanford Study Finds
Artificial intelligence is profoundly limiting some young Americans’ employment prospects, new research shows. Young workers are getting hit in fields where generative-AI tools such as ChatGPT can most easily automate tasks done by humans, such as software development, according to a paper released Tuesday by three Stanford University economists. They crunched anonymized data on millions of employees at tens of thousands of firms, including detailed information on workers’ ages and jobs, making this one of clearest indicators yet of AI’s disruptive impact. “There’s a clear, evident change when you specifically look at young workers who are highly exposed to AI,” said Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson, who conducted the research with Bharat Chandar and Ruyu Chen. At the same time, the economists found evidence that in fields where AI can help people in their work, rather than replace them, employment among young people is improving.
WSJ
August 26 1939: First televised Major League baseball
The first televised Major League Baseball game on August 26, 1939, between the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers, marked the beginning of sports media's transformation into a multi-billion dollar industry that would fundamentally reshape American entertainment and business. Television initially expanded sports' reach beyond local markets, but the real revolution began with ESPN's launch in 1979, which created the first 24-hour sports network and proved that sports content could sustain dedicated programming. The internet era of the 1990s and 2000s enabled real-time statistics, fantasy sports, and direct fan engagement, while social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook allowed leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB to build global audiences and create new revenue streams through targeted advertising and sponsored content. The streaming revolution, led by services like Netflix and later specialized platforms, has further fragmented and expanded the market, with leagues launching their own direct-to-consumer services (MLB.TV, NBA League Pass) and tech giants like Amazon and Apple securing exclusive broadcasting rights worth billions. This evolution has transformed sports from simple entertainment into a data-driven, multi-platform media ecosystem where the NFL generates over $15 billion annually in media rights, the NBA has become a global brand with significant international streaming partnerships, and MLB leverages advanced analytics and social media to engage younger demographics, creating an industry where media rights now often exceed ticket sales as the primary revenue source for professional sports organizations.
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Sources
- https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-says-he-is-removing-fed-governor-lisa-cook-5e2ec2dd, https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/uncharted-waters-trumps-attempt-to-take-charge-of-the-fed-a2548461?mod=hp_lead_pos1
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/08/23/trump-chicago-military-national-guard/, https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/chicago-vows-to-challenge-trumps-national-guard-plans-913f6877?mod=hp_lead_pos2, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/08/24/national-guard-dc-weapons-armed/
- https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/dillards-mall-longview-texas-cd380a0b?mod=hp_featst_pos3
- https://on.ft.com/4mXSFPy
- https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/ai-entry-level-job-impact-5c687c84?mod=hp_lead_pos9
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