memeorandum: As Afghan Forces Crumble, an Air of Unreality Grips the Capital (Adam Nossiter/New York Times)

12:20 PM ET, July 3, 2021

Top Items:

Massachusetts police responding to group of ‘heavily armed men’ claiming to ‘not recognize our laws’ — Police said the men fled into the Wakefield woods carrying rifles and handguns. — A bizarre incident is playing out Saturday morning in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

Discussion: New York Post, NBC Boston, WCVB, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., ABC7, WINK NEWS and Associated Press

New York Times:

Trump Is Said to Have Called Arizona Official After Election Loss — Donald Trump tried to reach the top Republican in metropolitan Phoenix as his allies were trying to overturn the state's 2020 results, according to the official, who said he did not pick up the calls.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, USA Today, Joe.My.God., Insider, Daily Kos and The Hill

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

BUSTED: Arizona official was told to ‘stop the counting’ during blitz by Trump, Giuliani and GOP chair — Donald Trump is under investigation in Georgia for his caught-on-tape efforts to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 12,000 votes to overturn the election in the Peach State.

Discussion: Associated Press, Crooks and Liars, CNN and Washington Examiner

New York Times:

In Case Against Trump's Company, Echoes of His Father's Tactics on Taxes — The first criminal prosecution involving the former president's business hearkens back to Fred Trump's $16,135 purchase of boilers in the 1990s. — Long before Donald J. Trump's company was accused of plotting detours around …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, TaxProf Blog, Raw Story and NewsHounds blog

Wall Street Journal:
Trump Organization Charges: A Probe of Hush Money Moved to Fringe Benefits

Discussion: Insider

NBC News:
'There's just no legal defense': Trump Organization in jeopardy, experts say

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, CBS News, HotAir, MSNBC, Associated Press and One America News Network

New Yorker:

Britney Spears's Conservatorship Nightmare — How the pop star's father and a team of lawyers seized control of her life—and have held onto it for thirteen years. — On June 22nd, Britney Spears's management team started getting nervous. Spears, who is thirty-nine …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Metro.co.uk and Slate

Devoun Cetoute / Miami Herald:

North Miami Beach condo ordered to close, evacuate after inspection said structurally unsafe — The city of North Miami Beach has ordered that Crestview Towers Condominium be immediately closed and evacuated Friday evening after a building inspection report found it to have unsafe structural …

Discussion: NBC News, HotAir, Associated Press, NBC 6 South Florida, CBS News, The Hill, Joe.My.God., Fox News, WSVN-TV and NBC Bay Area

Terry Spencer / Associated Press:

Fewer people missing in collapse; nearby tower is evacuated — SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — The number of people missing in the Florida condominium collapse fell Friday following a new review, but fears of another potentially catastrophic failure deepened after engineers found unsafe conditions …

Discussion: Insider, Florida Politics, TheGrio, National Review, The Hill and NBC 6 South Florida

Kevin Collier / NBC News:

Ransomware attack on software manager hits 200 companies — A successful ransomware attack on a single company has spread to at least 200 organizations, according to cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs, making it one of the single largest criminal ransomware sprees in history.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., The Verge, The Gateway Pundit, Gizmodo, Wired, Raw Story and BIG by Matt Stoller, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:
Widespread ransomware attack is affecting hundreds of businesses

Discussion: The Record, Raw Story and One America News Network, more at Techmeme »

BBC:
US companies hit by ‘colossal’ cyber-attack

Discussion: Bloomberg, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, CBS Denver and Associated Press

Reuters:

‘Eye of fire’ in Mexican waters snuffed out, says national oil company — A fire on the ocean surface west of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula early on Friday has been extinguished, state oil company Pemex said, blaming a gas leak from an underwater pipeline for sparking the blaze captured in videos that went viral.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Metro.co.uk, The Gateway Pundit, Gizmodo, The Times of Israel and UPROXX

New York Times:

Lawmaker Threatens to Subpoena Exxon After Secret Video — The chairman of a powerful House subcommittee said he is seeking answers from Exxon and other oil and gas giants over their role in spreading disinformation on climate change. — The chairman of a House subcommittee is demanding …

Discussion: Common Dreams and INDIVISIBLE VENTURA

Kate Aronoff / New Republic:
The Biden White House Has an Exxon Problem

Discussion: Washington Post, Rolling Stone and Common Dreams

Adam Nossiter / New York Times:

As Afghan Forces Crumble, an Air of Unreality Grips the Capital — With the Taliban advancing and U.S. troops leaving, President Ashraf Ghani and his aides have become increasingly insular, and Kabul is slipping into shock. — KABUL, Afghanistan — With his military crumbling …

Discussion: MyNorthwest.com, Scroll.in, CBS News and New York Post

Washington Post:
Biden's cold response to Afghanistan's collapse will have far-reaching consequences

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Townhall and Politico

David Jackson / USA Today:

In wake of indictments and with Ron DeSantis focused on condo collapse, Donald Trump holds Florida rally … WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's campaign-style rally in Florida Saturday comes at a fraught time for the former president: While the organization bearing his name in New York was indicted this week …

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

Can the Senate Be Saved? Ben Nelson, the Manchin of Yesteryear, Has Doubts — A former Democratic centrist senator says too many lawmakers come to Washington to obstruct rather than be constructive. — WASHINGTON — The senator adamantly insisted on bipartisanship.

Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:

Biden administration formally launches effort to return deported veterans to U.S. — The Biden administration unveiled plans Friday to bring hundreds, possibly thousands, of deported veterans and their immediate family members back to the United States, saying their removal “failed to live up to our highest values.”

Discussion: WINK NEWS, Washington Times and Fox News

Department of Homeland Security:
DHS, VA Announce Initiative to Support Noncitizen Service Members, Veterans, and Immediate Family Members

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Graham Piro / FIRE:

Chilling effect remains as Oklahoma's ‘divisive concepts’ law becomes effective — Yesterday, Oklahoma's HB 1775 formally took effect, joining the growing number of states enacting legislation to ban, or crack down on, how issues of race and gender can be taught.

Samuel Chamberlain / New York Post:

Biden's pick for German ambassador is president of university that paid him nearly $1M — President Biden's nominee to be the next ambassador to Germany is an Ivy League president whose university paid him nearly $1 million for an honorary professor gig where he was seldom seen, it was revealed Friday.

Discussion: RedState, Forbes, CNN, The Times of Israel, NBC10 Philadelphia, San Diego Jewish World and BizPac Review

Bloomberg:
Biden Picks University of Pennsylvania Leader as Germany Envoy

Discussion: Politico, Twitchy and New York Times

Associated Press:

NYC mayoral contenders file lawsuits seeking ballot review — NEW YORK (AP) — All three candidates who are still in the running in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary have filed legal actions seeking the right to review the ongoing ranked choice vote tally.

Emma G. Fitzsimmons / New York Times:
Campaigns Keep Close Watch on Count That Will Decide N.Y.C. Mayor's Race

Discussion: New York Magazine

Jacques Billeaud / Associated Press:

Rioters accused of erasing content from social media, phones — PHOENIX (AP) — They flaunted their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol on social media and then, apparently realizing they were in legal trouble, rushed to delete evidence of it, authorities say.

Discussion: The Hill

CNN:

Trump's Hill allies could be ensnared in January 6 probe as GOP preps strategy — (CNN)House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has asserted he'd “have no problem talking to anybody” about his conversations with then-President Donald Trump on January 6. That proposition may soon be put to the test.

Discussion: Insider, Raw Story, Digby's Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Mississippi Free Press

William Saletan / Slate:
Trump Is Working Harder Than Ever to Undermine Democracy

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState and Politico

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Nancy Pelosi has backed Kevin McCarthy into a corner

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly and The American Independent

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Byron York's Daily Memo: A new get-Trump committee? — Welcome to Byron York's Daily Memo newsletter. — Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive the newsletter. — A NEW GET-TRUMP COMMITTEE? A congressional investigation is a fact-finding enterprise.