The Standing Record — Saturday, August 22, 2026
1 event that erodes our democratic ideals from August 21, 2026 · 7 more from the archive
The Standing Record
This is the Standing Record for August 22, 2026. We recorded 1 event from August 21, 2026 that erode our democratic ideals and added 7 more from earlier dates — 389 so far this month, bringing the total archive to 1781. If you saw something happen — yesterday, or any other day — that belongs here, send it to our tip line.
Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes publisher, editor-in-chief, reporter for insubordination Slavin says was CBS News interview on Pentagon interference
Event: August 21, 2026 Location: Washington, D.C. Jurisdiction: Federal Abuses: Press retaliation
The Pentagon on August 21, 2026, issued separation notices to Stars and Stripes publisher Max D. Lederer Jr., editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East correspondent Lara Korte, citing insubordination. The stated cause traced to a CBS News interview in which Slavin and Korte discussed Pentagon pressure on the outlet's editorial independence and said they would not accept censorship of coverage for service members. All three were given five days to appeal the terminations.
People & Organizations: - U.S. Department of Defense#5a8710f3 - Pete Hegseth#323f4d31 (Secretary of Defense)
Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/08/21/federal-press-retaliation-a3a6592d/ Primary source: Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor, publisher and reporter
Filling out the archive
We're steadily backfilling the archive — working backward through the record so the timeline is complete, not just current. These are older events we archived yesterday. If you know of something from months or years back that belongs here, send it to our tip line.
- March 10, 2025 — South Dakota Legislature referred Amendment L, raising constitutional-amendment threshold to 60%, a bar past citizen wins wouldn't have cleared
- October 21, 2025 — Interior Dept. signed Izembek refuge land exchange with King Cove Corp. without completing statutory reviews required for the road swap
- January 14, 2026 — State Department suspended immigrant-visa processing for 75 countries citing "public charge" concerns
- August 11, 2026 — CBP arrested a Billings parent and his 9-year-old child without a warrant and held them at the Havre Border Patrol Station
- August 18, 2026 — Anne Arundel County, Maryland schools narrowed LGBTQ+ student confidentiality rule to open gender-identity records to parents after federal threat
- August 19, 2026 — ICE arrested two people en route to medical appointments in Santa Fe clinic parking lot
- August 20, 2026 — North Carolina elections board voted along party lines to reject most Sunday early-voting hours across 20 counties
Like what you're reading? Share this with someone who should see it, and subscribe if you haven't yet — so tomorrow's record reaches you too.
