Friday, August 8, 2025
All civic learning topics for this day
Today's Topics
Trump orders Pentagon to target five drug cartels with US forces
On August 8, 2025, President Trump signed a secret directive authorizing the Pentagon to designate five major Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and deploy US special operations teams and armed drones against them. The order bypasses the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and reallocates at least 1,200 troops across bases in Mexico and Colombia. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the move, while Sen. Marco Rubio and Veteran Affairs Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the escalation.
AG Bondi taps Martin to probe James and Schiff
On August 8, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Ed Martin, former chair of the Missouri Republican Party, as a special prosecutor to lead a federal mortgage fraud investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James and Senator Adam Schiff, according to Associated Press reporting (Associated Press, August 8, 2025). Critics warn this mirrors Trump-era tactics of using the Justice Department to harass political opponents, raising concerns about prosecutorial discretion being swayed by partisan interests