Today in 5 Lines
CNN reports that the White House has paperwork ready to pardon former Maricopa County Sheriff Jeff Arpaio, after President Trump hinted that he would do so at a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday night. House Speaker Paul Ryan said he doesn’t think lawmakers are interested in shutting down the government over funding for Trump’s border wall, as Trump suggested. Workers in Charlottesville, Virginia, covered up two Confederate statues to signal the city mourning the death of Heather Heyer, who was killed August 12 when a white-nationalist driver drove his car into a crowd of demonstrators. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi before traveling to Israel to continue Middle-East peace discussions. Despite Trump’s recent criticism of Mitch McConnell, the majority leader said he and Trump are working together on “shared goals” and those who say otherwise are “clearly not part of the conversation.”
Today on The Atlantic
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Party of Enablers: As President Trump uses increasingly destructive rhetoric, “the stain and responsibility for [his] ungoverned tone stick more lastingly to the Republican establishment.” (James Fallows)
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What’s in a Name?: There are 11,518 Robert Lees living in the United States. Julie Beck spoke with one of them about what it’s like to share a name with the Confederate general.
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Roosevelt vs. Trump: Seventy-seven years ago, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech in Charlottesville, Virginia, that unified America, while President Trump’s recent response to the violence in Charlottesville divided it. (Michael Fullilove)