Friday, August 14th

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 28, will leave her post by the end of August to spend more time with her two young children, President Donald Trump announced. Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the job, had served since the start of Trump’s second term and returned from maternity leave on July 16. Trump said she will continue supporting him as an outside adviser, a shift that drew scrutiny after a Justice Department memo on executive privilege. Potential successors include Scott Jennings, Alina Habba and Natalie Harp.

The Kennedy Center board voted 20-3 Thursday to close the main building for a two-year renovation and add an inscription beneath the center’s name reading “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The board also moved to designate the site’s physical location or surrounding area as “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” while a smaller annex would remain open during the closure. The action follows a May federal judge’s order requiring Trump’s name to be removed from Kennedy Center signage after an earlier renaming effort.

Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley apologized Thursday for law enforcement misuse of the company’s license-plate reader network and said all police customers must adopt by the end of 2026 an audit tool that flags abnormal searches and suspends access for review. Flock is cutting its recommended default data retention period from 30 days to seven days. It will also let agencies limit outside departments’ access and require officers to justify searches. The changes follow 46 reported cases of improper police use, including officers accused of tracking romantic partners, amid scrutiny of Flock’s 120,000-plus cameras.