Weekly News Roundup - 8/8/25
Redistricting wars the latest sign that democratic norms are eroding
This is the 32nd Weekly News Roundup of 2025. The archive for all weekly news roundups is here.
These weekly dispatches are designed for those who may not have time to do more than glance at the headlines, or those who want to stay informed without becoming obsessed by politics and news. These roundups are a targeted way to get a sense of the shape of the past week on the national level. Without such a map, we can be disoriented, not knowing where we have been over the past several days, or where we may be going.
But by spending concentrated, limited time thinking about the big picture, we can devote more of our time to where “agency and justice begin and end,” as Karen Swallow Prior put it: “on the ground, bodily, in community and real relationships, in flesh and blood.”
Quotes of the Week
To refuse to critique the system or the status quo is to fully support it — which is a political act well disguised. - Richard Rohr
Be joyful, even though you have considered all the facts. - Wendell Berry
One must never let the fire in one's soul go out, but keep it burning. And whoever chooses poverty for himself and loves it possesses a great treasure, and will always clearly hear the voice of his conscience; he who hears and obeys that voice, which is the best gift of God, finds at last a friend in it, and is never alone. - Vincent Van Gogh (Letter 121)
Maybe in each person -- the artist or businessman, wife or mother, grocery clerk, mechanic or teacher -- there are two lives: the life given by the world where we carry out whatever work is before us and the life of the Spirit that engulfs us. - Elizabeth Barks Cox
God keeps creating things from the inside out, so they are forever yearning, developing, growing, and changing for the good. This is the fire he has cast upon the earth, the generative force implanted in all living things. - Richard Rohr
Big Stories This Week
Texas Democrats fled the state to delay implementation of a plan by Republicans to redraw congressional maps so they can give their party more seats in Congress. They remained out of the state at the end of the week. The Texas GOP's move triggered reactions and counter reactions across the country as Democrats in blue states said they would retaliate with their own redistricting, and Republicans in red states said they would imitate Texas.
Week in Review
Saturday, Aug. 2
Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who oversaw two criminal cases against Donald Trump -- including one for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election -- is under investigation by the current government, it is announced.
The Senate leaves Washington for a month break without a deal to advance dozens of judicial nominees.
Sunday, Aug. 3
A boat capsizes off the coast of Yemen, leaving 68 African migrants dead and 74 missing.
A Trump DOGE official is assaulted at 3 a.m. by D.C. teens, prompting President Trump to threaten a federal takeover of the city.
Monday, Aug. 4
Democrats in the Texas legislature leave the state and go to New York and Illinois to prevent Republicans from enacting their planned changes to congressional maps.
Democrats in California say they are considering a plan to change their congressional district maps to counter the Texas Republican plans.
Tuesday, Aug. 5
"22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces.
The Trump administration announces that two Confederate statues in the D.C. area that had been removed will be restored, at a cost of $10 million.
Trump walks around on the roof of the White House to survey projects under construction.
A new report from the FBI shows that violent crime in the U.S. dropped 4.5% in 2024.
Wednesday, Aug. 6
An Army Sergeant shoots and injures five other soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia before he is tackled.
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will hire as many as 450 people to shore up the National Weather Service after deep cuts this spring raised concern about dangerous understaffing," the AP reports.
Trump says he is considering "bringing in the National Guard" to take control of Washington, D.C., claiming that violent crime is up even though it is significantly decreased from past years.
Thursday, Aug. 7
"Goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher," the AP reports.
President Trump makes comments about conducting a new census that does not include immigrants in the country illegally, which requires an act of Congress.
Friday, Aug. 8
Israel says it plans to take military control of Gaza City.
Americans will see an average tax of 18.6% on imported products because of the Trump administration's tariffs, the Budget Lab at Yale says.
Interesting Reads
The Woke Right Stands at the Door by Jonathan Rauch for Persuasion
Trump’s Efforts to Control Information Echo an Authoritarian Playbook, by Peter Baker for The New York Times
FACT FOCUS: RFK Jr.'s reasons for cutting mRNA vaccine not supported by evidence, Melissa Goldin for The Associated Press
RFK Jr., Vaccines and the Trial Bar, by the Wall Street Journal editorial board (gift link)
The Permanent Stain by Andrew Sullivan for The Weekly Dish
Gaza Strip: How one family dedicates each day to finding enough food to survive, by The Associated Press
South Africa starts injecting rhino horns with radioactive material to curb poaching, by The Associated Press
How redistricting in Texas and other states could change the game for US House elections, by Leah Askarinam
Israel minister who led prayers at a controversial holy site has a record of provocative actions, by Melanie Lindman for The Associated Press
In his own words: Trump’s comments over the past year on the jobs report, by Meg Kinnard for The Associated Press
Several states threaten to redraw congressional maps after Texas kicks off fight, by Jesse Bedayn for The Associated Press
