VOTING STORY OF THE DAY. Michelle Obama.

RIP. Gay anti-war activist David McReynolds. “David McReynolds led an extraordinary life of principled opposition and organizing for decades,” gay longtime social justice activist Bill Dobbs told the Bay Area Reporter. “He waged a helluva fight against war and greed. At turns a gentle pacifist and irascible, McReynolds made a mark with a lifetime of principled activism for a humane world.”

BIG BANG. Jim Parsons responsible for the end of The Big Bang Theory?

SHAM INVOICES. Court filings reveal Trump used sham invoices to mask reimbursements for hush money payments.

BETO O’ROURKE. The Texas Democratic Senate candidate taking on Ted Cruz is making headlines with this viral video about players taking a knee.

‘I can think of nothing more American.’ — Beto O'Rourke — the man taking on Ted Cruz — brilliantly explains why NFL players kneeling during the anthem is not disrespectful pic.twitter.com/bEqOAYpxEL

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 21, 2018

UNHINGED. Omarosa book hits top of NYT best seller list: ‘”Unhinged” topped both the print hardcover and the combined print and e-book best sellers list, according to the Times chart, which was shared with publishers on Wednesday. Some of the sales data indicates that President Trump’s vicious tweets about Omarosa helped lift her sales. The book started climbing Amazon’s best sellers chart when Trump let loose, labeling her “Wacky Omarosa” and describing her as a dog. The Trump tweets generated more news coverage and curiosity which in turn generated more sales.

SUSPENDED. CNN suspends Trumpbot Paris Dennard: ‘On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that pundit Paris Dennard, who also claims to serve as a member of the Donald J. Trump for President Advisory Board, was fired from his position as events director at ASU’s McCain Institute for International Leadership after multiple women came forward claiming he had sexually harassed them.

RUDY GIULIANI. What about Hillary????

If there is any justice left at DOJ why is payment by Hillary Clinton and DNC to FusionGPS for the phony Steele dossier not under investigation. On your theory in Cohen plea it’s an illegal campaign contribution.Let’s go DOJ wake up. where’s the indictment. Clintons not above law

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) August 23, 2018

PAUL MANAFORT TRIAL. Juror says one “holdout” prevented conviction on all 18 counts: Why?

GUNS FOR SCHOOLS. Betsy DeVos considers plan to let states use federal funds to buy guns for schools: “Such a move appears to be unprecedented, reversing a longstanding position taken by the federal government that it should not pay to outfit schools with weapons. And it would also undermine efforts by Congress to restrict the use of federal funding on guns. As recently as March, Congress passed a school safety bill that allocated $50 million a year to local school districts, but expressly prohibited the use of the money for firearms.”

ARMED FORTRESSES. Teachers union president slams DeVos: ‘American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement that considering using resources to supply schools with more guns “is beyond the recklessness we believed she was willing to pursue” and accused DeVos of wanting to turn schools into “armed fortresses.”’

3-D ART OF THE DAY. When cartoon characters get too real.

HOUSTON. Gay men of color and transgender people wanted for new PSA. “The health department is holding auditions on Saturday for gay and bisexual men who are Hispanic or African-American, in addition to transgender persons between the ages of 13 and 34.”

FACT CHECKER. Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler calls one of Trump’s statements a “lie” for the first time: “President Trump and his associates misled, obfuscated and ultimately lied to the American people about hush-money payments. Not just misleading. Not merely false. A lie.”

SCOTT EASTWOOD. Having sex…lots of it.

NEW TUNE OF THE DAY. Soft Cell “Northern Lights”.