New Limits on Trump’s I.R.S. Deal, and Prosecutors Say Reflecting Pool Work Was ‘Botched’

0:00A BetterHelp ad. After my session and talking to my therapist and really feeling seen and heard for the first time, I just felt like a weight just was lifted off of my shoulders. And I felt like it was a good match from the first time we talked. I could tell people from lived experience that they should try therapy. I could really be myself again. And I have this continued support with BetterHelp. Wherever you are, that's where BetterHelp begins. Visit BetterHelp.com slash New York Times to get started. Paid testimonials. Results may vary. From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford.

0:37Today is Monday, August 3rd. Here's what we're covering.

0:45To start, two updates on the Trump administration. Last night, Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, confirmed in writing that the Justice Department will abandon some elements of a highly controversial deal it reached with President Trump earlier this year. The deal, which came out of a lawsuit Trump filed against the federal government for a leak of his tax returns, included two elements, sweeping immunity from IRS audits, and a$1.8 billion pool of money to pay people the administration claimed were unfairly persecuted by the government. That fund in particular fueled bipartisan outrage, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling it a slush fund for Trump allies.

1:29What we're talking about is nothing short of the sitting president of the United States looting from the Treasury for his own gain. Blanche's involvement in this deal had threatened to sink his chances of being officially confirmed as attorney general, with key Republicans threatening to withhold their votes over it. Even though Blanche had already walked back the plan for the fund, the holdout senators demanded that he kill it, formally, in writing. They also wanted him to narrow the scope of the IRS immunity agreement. In orders that Blanche posted online last night, he did both, which could clear the way for a vote on his nomination in a Senate committee tomorrow.

2:09Still, when it comes to the audit deal, the narrower agreement between the president and the Justice Department remains unprecedented and possibly illegal. It requires the government to abandon any audits of past tax returns from Trump, his two older sons, and the Trump Organization, which could potentially save them$100 million in IRS penalties. And in a dramatic reversal, federal prosecutors who claimed for weeks that the reflecting pool in D.C. had been vandalized now say the damage was caused by contractors hired by the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the Interior Department gave a no-bid contract to a small firm to help overhaul the pool, with Trump initially saying he personally chose the company because it had done some work at one of his golf clubs.

3:01Soon, there were signs of trouble, with bubbles and holes appearing in the new blue coating at the bottom of the pool. Trump started claiming left-wing criminals had slashed the coating with knives, and the Interior Department said, quote, deranged vandals were to blame. Eventually, seven people were arrested, including one former Olympic athlete who was facing up to 10 years in prison. But prosecutors now say they're moving to drop the charges against him, and that the damage was all a result of a flawed, rushed installation job. They also said their office had been misled by the Interior Department.

3:39It's not immediately clear what will happen to the rest of the people facing vandalism charges. On social media, Trump made clear he was unhappy with the reversal from prosecutors and doubled down on his accusations, writing, quote, There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by vandals.

4:03In Ceuta, the Spanish enclave at the northern tip of Morocco, the immediate crisis set off by a huge influx of migrants has eased, but a lot of unanswered questions remain. Late last week, at least 50 ,000 people, most of whom were young Moroccan men, rushed into the small Spanish territory. The scene was chaotic, with migrants risking their lives, some swimming to get there. At least 72 people died, according to the Spanish government. Now, most have left, going back to Morocco after being pushed back by authorities or leaving on their own when they realized there was no food, water, or anywhere for them to stay.

4:44There are still questions, though, about what set off the surge in the first place. Far-right leaders across Europe, as well as the White House, accused Spain's prime minister of inspiring the crossings by promoting migrant-friendly policies. Spain's prime minister has pushed back on that, though, saying migrants were misled by disinformation. And some of the migrants themselves told The Times that Moroccan authorities had encouraged them to cross, an opportunity they felt they couldn't turn down. One young man that we talked to basically said the only work that he could find was in construction.

5:18It didn't pay very well, and he just really felt that if he could not find his way out of Morocco, there was basically no future for him. My colleague Ben Hubbard has been in Morocco, speaking to some of the migrants after they crossed back. We met two parents who were sitting by the border on Sunday, while sort of the last stragglers of the migrants who were returning from Ceuta were coming through the border crossing. The parents basically decided this was an opportunity to try to get a better future for their son, who was 18 and had just graduated from high school. He had wanted to study in Europe, but the family didn't have the money to afford it.

5:53And so when all of a sudden they heard that the border was open, they figured, well, maybe this is his chance. And so the three of them jumped in the car. His parents drove him from their town all the way up to the border. They saw him walk off toward the border crossing and that was the last that they heard from him. So they felt like they were doing something that was hopefully gonna put their son in a better position to have a prosperous life. And at least last we spoke with them, they had no idea what had happened to him.

6:34In Washington state, fierce wildfires have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate as fast-moving flames and billowing smoke roared in and around the city of Spokane. Authorities said there were no reported deaths or injuries, but hundreds of structures were destroyed. The Times talked with one woman who said she was shopping at Walmart when she got a text from her neighbor about a fire nearby. She rushed home to get her grandkids and pets out, and within 30 minutes, her home was up in flames. This is an extraordinary wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest. It's not a normal season. Officials said the fires have been especially bad because of drought conditions, unusually high temperatures, and strong winds.

7:20This is one of 15 major fires burning throughout the state of Washington right now. More than 250 ,000 acres are on fire in this state. Over the weekend, forecasters issued a red flag warning, their most urgent alert for large portions of eastern Washington, the first time that kind of warning has ever been issued there. As of yesterday afternoon, the fires burning around Spokane were not contained, and 4 ,000 more structures were at risk of burning. One fire official told the Times that because of how close the blaze is to so many homes, this fire is the, quote, number one priority fire in the nation.

8:07And finally, just in time for a new season, college football jerseys are looking a little different, a little more crowded. As of this weekend, a new NCAA policy change allows for corporate patches on the players' uniforms. Before, the only commercial logos allowed were generally the companies who made the gear, Nike, Adidas, etc. Now the Ohio State Buckeyes have made space for the Chase Bank logo, and Notre Dame is slapping on patches for SoFi, the financial services company. Both schools are getting around$20 million in these deals, which can include signage on stadiums and other things too.

8:49And in return, the companies will have their marks on two of the premier teams in college sports and all the eyeballs that come with that. There have also been conference-wide deals like an agreement between the Big 12 and Monster Energy. Pro sports set the model for this. The NBA and the MLB have made the switch in recent years to allow sponsorship patches, though the NFL still doesn't. The change at the college level comes as athletics programs are feeling a financial crunch. They're facing more and more costs, in part because of another recent rule change that has allowed schools to pay some players directly.

9:29Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a deep dive into the Tate brothers, who built an online empire around hyper-masculinity and misogyny and became close allies with the Trump family before getting arrested in Miami last month. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.