5 things to know for August 20: Smithsonian, Immigration, DC, Texas redistricting, Covid-19

CNN

2 hours ago

Hurricane Erin may not be forecast to make landfall, but the sprawling Category 2 storm is still going to impact much of the East Coast as it tracks north this week. On Tuesday, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency to prepare for the life-threatening rip currents and storm surge expected to affect the coastal region.
Here's what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.
President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric about the Smithsonian Institution on Tuesday, alleging that its museums were too focused on the negative aspects of US history, including 'how bad slavery was.' The comments, which he posted on his social media site, came a week after the White House ordered a review of the Smithsonian's museums and exhibits 'to ensure alignment with the President's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.' If the Smithsonian refuses to purge materials that conflict with Trump's political directives, it could suffer a fate similar to the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities. Both organizations lost tens of millions of dollars in federal funding earlier this year, which has affected small museums, libraries, arts programs and research projects across the country.
People applying to live or work in the US will now be screened for 'anti-Americanism' in their immigration applications, authorities said Tuesday. According to a policy update by US Citizenship & Immigration Services, immigration officers will be able to scrutinize applicants' social media posts for any 'anti-American activity.' Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, compared the move to McCarthyism in the 1950s, when authorities prosecuted left-wing individuals amid a widespread public panic over communism and its influence on US institutions. 'The term (anti-Americanism) has no prior precedent in immigration law and its definition is entirely up to the Trump (administration),' Reichlin-Melnick said.
More National Guard troops arrived in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to assist in President Trump's emergency crime crackdown in the nation's capital. The troops, which were deployed from West Virginia, could begin operations as soon as today, a defense official told CNN. Republican governors from five other states — Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee — have also promised to deploy their National Guard troops and escalate Trump's efforts to amass armed forces in the capital. Although the president has repeatedly complained about rising crime in DC, overall crime numbers are lower this year than in 2024.
Some Texas House Democrats ripped up agreements to leave the House floor under police escort and spent Tuesday night in the chamber in protest. They joined state Rep. Nicole Collier, who on Monday refused to 'sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts.' Texas Republicans' efforts to redraw the state's congressional districts in the middle of the decade were hindered when dozens of quorum-breaking Democratic House members left the state. Upon their return to the Capitol on Monday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows ordered constraints put on their movements. The Texas House is aiming to vote on the redistricting measure after it reconvenes today, and Republicans are expected to move quickly to approve their new map, which could potentially eliminate five Democratic US House seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
With Covid-19 levels on the rise in the US, and transmission increasing in at least 45 states, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its updated recommendations for vaccines on Tuesday, including Covid-19 shots. The AAP's guidance is a break from the current CDC recommendations and defies HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who announced in May that the CDC would no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines for healthy children or pregnant women. The AAP, on the other hand, recommends that all children, ages 6 months through 23 months, should receive a Covid-19 vaccine unless they have allergies to the vaccine or its ingredients. It also recommends a single dose of the vaccine for children ages 2 through 18 years if they are at high risk of Covid-19, residents of long-term care facilities, have never been vaccinated against Covid-19 or live in a household with people who are high risk for Covid-19.
GET '5 THINGS' IN YOUR INBOX
If your day doesn't start until you're up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to your new favorite morning fix. Sign up here for the '5 Things' newsletter. The public is urged not to eat certain bags of shrimp sold at Walmart, citing concerns about unsanitary conditions and radioactive contamination.
Her husband, writer/director Jeff Baena, died in January at the age of 47.
That's what major food companies are hoping as they tap celebrities to create new flavors.
The list includes popular slang like 'broligarchy' and 'dululu.'
And will Taylor Swift's new album, which will be available on cassette, turn the trend into a revival?
460 millionThat's how many metric tons of plastic are made each year.
'I represent every Palestinian woman and child whose strength the world needs to see. We are more than our suffering — we are resilience, hope, and the heartbeat of a homeland that lives on through us.'
— Nadeen Ayoub
Ayoub will become the first woman to represent the Palestinian people at the Miss Universe pageant.
🌤️ Check your local forecast to see what you can expect.
It's cool. The '80s are back.
Today's edition of 5 Things AM was edited and produced by CNN's Andrew Torgan.