The Daily Brief
Today
Good morning. The Trump administration’s war on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education is pushing programs to the brink, with Wisconsin a prime example of how federal pressure closes off students’ learning opportunities. Simultaneously, [the Department of Education appealed a federal court ruling on which employers qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness](https://www.newsweek.com/student-loan-update-donald-trump-public-forgiveness-program-12382612), while [Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told the Jackson Hole symposium there is still work to do on inflation and refused to rule out a rate hike](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/fed-chair-warsh-not-ruling-out-interest-rate-hike-amid-inflation-concerns) — a triple assault on working-class students, debtors, and borrowers.
[Seth Moulton, who once called progressive populism a recipe for losing, is now asking Wall Street financiers to help him claim the progressive mantle](https://www.levernews.com/the-corporate-dem-asking-super-pacs-to-call-him-a-progressive). In Michigan, [Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s joint appearances with party leaders were organized to demonstrate his post-primary embrace of the party establishment](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/08/28/wxka-a28.html) — the ruling class’s two parties managing dissent by co-opting its language.
[Nepali flood survivors face profound loss and pressing needs, left with little or nothing of the lives they had built and struggling with immediate survival while unsure how to rebuild](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/world/asia/nepal-flood-survivors.html). [President Donald Trump plans to meet with U.S. oil refining executives next week as he confronts persistently high gasoline prices stoked by the war in Iran](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/trump-to-discuss-high-fuel-prices-with-oil-refiners-next-week), even as he cannot decide when that war will end — climate catastrophe abroad, war profiteering at home.
[Recent articles argue that abolishing ICE will result in worse outcomes for immigrants and that even debating the idea makes Democrats more vulnerable to attacks](https://fair.org/home/abolish-ice-perish-the-thought-says-press), while ICE agents arrested British far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos at a Louisiana airport on Aug. 27 — a move that [sparked open accusations and a war among conservatives after the former MAGA ally credited himself with getting President Donald Trump elected](https://www.rawstory.com/all-hell-breaks-loose-as-dhs-arrests-far-right-poster-boy-who-put-trump-in-office). The machine grinds on: ICE is also looking to spend up to $2 million on robot dogs.