Monday, Aug. 15

• A group of lawyers and journalists filed a lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency and its former director, Mike Pompeo, over allegations that the spy agency violated the privacy rights of these private citizens when they were put under surveillance while and after meeting with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Plaintiffs include journalists Charles Glass and John Goetz and lawyers Margaret Kunstler and Deborah Hrbek, who have represented Assange.
• The State Department announced that the United States has engaged with Syrian officials on the detention of journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Syria 10 years ago and is suspected of being held by the Syrian government. “We have engaged extensively, and that includes directly with Syrian officials and through third parties,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price.
• The Justice Department opposed a request by several news outlets to unseal the affidavit that backed the search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, saying the document contains sensitive material that could compromise its ongoing investigation.
• First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for the coronavirus. Elizabeth Alexander, her communications director, said “The first lady is double vaccinated, twice boosted and only experiencing mild symptoms.”

Tuesday, Aug. 16

• Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a $740 billion climate change, healthcare and tax bill, into law. “The American people won and the special interests lost,” Biden said. “This bill is the biggest step forward on climate ever.”
• A federal judge threw out the plea agreements for Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, a Maryland couple who tried to sell nuclear submarine secrets to Brazil, because he felt the proposed prison sentence was too low.

Wednesday, Aug. 17

• Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced that the organization would undergo a “reset” to address its shortcomings in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MPX, or monkeypox, outbreak, and other public health threats. The changes include internal staffing shifts and steps to speed up data releases.
• Former Vice President Mike Pence called on Republicans to stop attacking the FBI over its search of Mar-a-Lago. “Our party stands with the men and women who stand on the thin blue line at the federal and state and local level, and these attacks on the FBI must stop,” said Pence.
• Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani appeared before a Georgia special grand jury investigating attempts by Trump and his associates to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state.
• NASA’s new 322-foot moon rocket, the Space Launch System Artemis 1, arrived at its launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, ahead of its debut flight. The Artemis program will mark the first time the U.S. has traveled to the moon in 50 years.
• A federal judge awarded $650 million in damages to two Ohio counties, Lake and Trumbull, after they won a landmark lawsuit against national pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, arguing that the way these corporations distributed opioids to local customers caused serious harm. Attorneys for the counties had originally requested $1 billion in damages.

Thursday, Aug. 18

• The U.S. and Taiwan announced that, against China’s wishes, they have agreed to move forward with the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, which is a planned set of trade talks that seek to boost trade and establish common standards in key areas like environmental regulation and anti-corruption policy. “We plan to pursue an ambitious schedule for achieving high-standard commitments and meaningful outcomes covering the eleven trade areas in the negotiating mandate that will help build a fairer, more prosperous and resilient 21st century economy,” said Deputy Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi.
• The Biden administration announced that the U.S. will add 1.8 million additional doses to its supply of MPX vaccines.
• Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said he is in favor of releasing some of the evidence submitted by the Justice Department to justify its request for a search warrant for Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago resort, saying that “there are portions of the affidavit that could be unsealed.” He gave the Justice Department a week to provide proposed redactions to the affidavit that justified the search.

Friday, Aug. 19

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new $775 million military aid package for Ukraine that will include “additional arms, munitions, and equipment” from the Defense Department.
• A federal judge sentenced El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, a member of a British-born ISIS cell known as “The Beatles,” to life in prison without parole over a hostage-taking plot that led to the beheadings of U.S. journalists and aid workers. “The behavior of this defendant can only be described as horrific, barbaric, brutal and of course criminal,” District Court Judge TS Ellis said.

Saturday, Aug. 20

• No news to report.

Sunday, Aug. 21

• Jill Biden left isolation after testing negative for the coronavirus nearly a week earlier. “After isolating for five days and receiving negative results from two consecutive COVID-19 tests, the first lady will depart South Carolina later today for Delaware,” a statement said.