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6:30 PM ET, February 16, 2023

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Steve Trimble / Aviation Week Network:
Hobby Club's Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF  —  A small, globe-trotting balloon declared “missing in action” by an Illinois-based hobbyist club on Feb. 15 has emerged as a candidate to explain one of the three mystery objects shot down by four heat-seeking missiles launched by U.S. Air Force fighters since Feb. 10.
Holly Bailey / Washington Post:
Judge to release parts of Georgia special grand jury report  —  A Georgia judge on Thursday released parts of a report produced by an Atlanta-area special grand jury investigating efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss in Georgia …
RELATED:
CNN:
Special counsel is locked in at least 8 secret court battles in Trump investigations  —  Special counsel Jack Smith is locked in at least eight secret court battles that aim to unearth some of the most closely held details about Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election and handling …
David Wickert / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Jan. 6 documents: Georgia legislators answered Trump's call to overturn election  —  Some legislators say the documents are not accurate  —  With his chances of winning Georgia slipping away in December 2020, then-President Donald Trump hit upon a novel scheme to stay in power: State legislators would name him the winner.
Discussion: New York Times and Raw Story
Tamar Hallerman / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
BREAKING: Grand jury report recommends perjury charges
New York Times:
Live Updates: Georgia Grand Jury in Trump Inquiry Sees Signs of Perjury by Witnesses
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Tesla recalls 362,758 vehicles, says Full Self-Driving Beta software may cause crashes  — Tesla is recalling 362,758 vehicles and warns that its experimental driver-assistance software, marketed as Full Self-Driving Beta, may cause crashes.  — The recall notice was posted on the website …
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Tesla Recalls More Than 362,000 Cars Due to Self-Driving Crash Risk
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Fetterman Checks Into Hospital to Seek Treatment for Clinical Depression  —  A spokesman for the first-term senator from Pennsylvania, who suffered a near-fatal stroke last year, said his depression had grown severe in recent weeks, as he has worked to adjust to life in the Senate.
Snejana Farberov / New York Post:
Top Putin war official plunges 160 feet to her death from high-rise building  —  A high-ranking Russian defense official in the war against Ukraine was found dead Wednesday after falling from a 16th-floor window in an apartment building.  —  Marina Yankina, 58, was discovered by a passerby …
RELATED:
Allison Quinn / The Daily Beast:
Top Russian Military Official Dead After Fall From 16th Floor
Discussion: HotAir
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Senior Democrats' Private Take on Biden: He's Too Old  —  High-level Democrats are rallying to President Biden's reelection, not because they think it's in the best interest of the country to have an 82-year-old start a second term but because they fear the potential alternative …
RELATED:
Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Biden remains ‘healthy’ and ‘vigorous,’ his physician says
Murray Waas / Rule of Law:
EXCLUSIVE: FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP LEAKED CLASSIFIED RUSSIA PAPERS TO CONSERVATIVE JOURNALIST  —  Trump's leak of the records raises new questions regarding his handling of classified information as the special counsel's probe of Trump's removal of classified documents to Mar-a-Lago intensifies.
Discussion: National Memo
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Fight the Anti-Trans Backlash With Accountability, Not Silence  —  A new book by Hannah Barnes describes how the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock clinic in London, the United Kingdom's only dedicated gender-identity clinic, routinely put children on puberty blockers with inadequate assessment.
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Mitt Romney warns that Trump is ‘by far the most likely’ GOP nominee in 2024  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitt Romney says former President Donald Trump is best-positioned to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, and that the only way to stop him is to ultimately shrink the field to a one-on-one contest against a viable alternative.
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / Vox:
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down  —  One of the most prominent women in tech — and one of Google's earliest employees — is leaving the company.  —  YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who has led the world's largest video site for the last nine years, is stepping down from her role.
Pamela Paul / New York Times:
In Defense of J.K. Rowling  —  “Trans people need and deserve protection.”  —  “I believe the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others but are vulnerable.”  —  “I respect every trans person's right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them.”
RELATED:
Molly Jong-Fast / Vanity Fair:
Ron DeSantis Shouldn't Be Covered Like Just Another Republican
Discussion: Washington Examiner
John Sailer / Minding The Campus:
Research, Teaching, and DEI  —  Diversity statements—short essays that express one's past contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and future plans to advance the cause—have become ubiquitous in academia.  As I've written before, many universities embrace these requirements …
Discussion: National Review
RELATED:
FIRE:
New FIRE model legislation takes on DEI bureaucracy's chilling effect on campus
Discussion: Reason
OH Predictive Insights:
AZ Senate: Gallego Leads in All Head-To-Head Matchups  —  Sinema's Independent Status is the Real Wild Card  —  Toplines and crosstabs can be found here  —  PHOENIX (February 16th, 2023)- The 2024 Senate election is inching closer and the race for Arizona's Senate seat is wide open.
Discussion: The Hill
Alexandra Duggan / KTFT:
Idaho lawmakers introduce legislation to criminalize those who administer COVID vaccines  —  The bill would make administering an mRNA vaccine — a COVID vaccine — a misdemeanor.  —  IDAHO, USA — Two Idaho lawmakers have introduced a bill to charge those who administer mRNA vaccines with a misdemeanor.
Mattathias Schwartz / Insider:
Exclusive: British intel caught FBI spy chief secretly meeting a Russian in London  — An FBI spy chief's secret meeting with a Russian contact was detected by UK officials.  — Charles McGonigal, the ex-FBI official, is charged with taking money from Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska.
RELATED:
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Cancels Arguments in Title 42 Immigration Case  —  The justices, who had been set to hear arguments on March 1, acted after the Biden administration filed a brief saying that the measure would soon be moot.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday canceled arguments …
WNYW-TV:
Rep. George Santos responds to questions about his finances … NEW YORK - Rep. George Santos gave an exclusive interview to FOX 5 News on Thursday to answer questions about his finances and an ethics investigation.  —  When asked by Jodi Goldberg to comment on a recent report claiming …
Discussion: Political Wire
Washington Free Beacon:
Stacey Abrams Charity Has a $500,000 Problem In Its Latest Tax Filing … Over half a million dollars is missing from the New Georgia Project, a discrepancy which experts say is grounds for state and federal investigations into the Stacey Abrams-founded group and the woman Abrams tapped to run it.
Discussion: Washington Examiner
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Gov. Josh Shapiro asks Pennsylvania lawmakers to abolish the death penalty  —  Gov. Josh Shapiro called on the state legislature to end the death penalty in Pennsylvania on Thursday, marking the first time a governor has formally asked the General Assembly to abolish the controversial practice.Inside …
Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:
Businessman, economist, cop, international sex crimes expert?  The stories of Congressman Andy Ogles  —  Congressman places block on confirmation of educational credentials, but NewsChannel 5 digs up an old résumé  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you believe Middle Tennessee's …
Timothy Bella / Washington Post:
Alex Jones is ‘holding firearms’ for Jan. 6 rioters, bankruptcy docs show  —  As Infowars founder Alex Jones is facing bankruptcy for damages he owes to the families of victims of the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a new filing shows the right-wing conspiracy theorist has been …
Discussion: The Atlantic, WFLA-TV and Raw Story
WXYZ-TV:
Crews on scene of train derailment in Van Buren Township  —  (WXYZ) — The Van Buren Township Fire Department confirms that a train derailed near Huron River Drive this morning.  —  Chopper video shows at least six cars off the track.  —  Officials say only one car in the train …
Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
This Christian ‘Prophet’ Backed Trump in 2020.  Now He Says God Favors DeSantis  —  Are Christian visionaries turning on Trump? … And for once, it wasn't about Donald Trump.  “We need to watch Ron DeSantis,” Shamp told the televangelist's audience.  “Because the Lord is going to use him in a powerful way.”
Discussion: Alternet.org
Joe Perticone / Press Pass:
Republicans Turn a Blind Eye to Elon Musk's Twitter Manipulation  —  “If he wants to get his word out that he owns the show, doesn't he own it?”  —  Good afternoon and welcome to Press Pass.  Before we jump into today's edition, please do me a favor and share this newsletter with someone …
Discussion: The Japan News and Political Wire
Associated Press:
Justice Dept. in DC taking over Texas AG corruption probe  —  Justice Department officials in Washington have taken over the corruption investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, removing the case from the hands of the federal prosecutors in Texas who'd long been leading the probe, according to state prosecutors.
Discussion: The Texas Tribune
The Lever:
Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern's Bid To Block Lawsuits  —  The company whose train derailed in Ohio is asking the Supreme Court to kill a suit by a sick rail worker — and help the firm block future lawsuits  —  A looming Supreme Court decision could end up making it easier …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Burgess Everett / Politico:
D.C. drama: Dems weigh veto fight with Biden over crime bill
Discussion: HotAir and Washington Examiner
Svitlana Oslavska / TIME:
Inside the Basement Where an Entire Ukrainian Village Spent a Harrowing Month in Captivity
The Texas Tribune:
Despite decades of mass shootings in Texas, legislators have failed to pass meaningful gun control laws
Stanford Graduate School of Business:
Election-Denying Republican Candidates Underperformed in the 2022 Midterms
Discussion: Bloomberg and Political Wire
Jim Stewartson / MindWar:
Full-Contact Information War
Washington Post:
D.C. overpays landlords millions to house the city's poorest
CNN:
Biden says objects shot down over North America last week appear to not be part of China's spy balloon operation
 Earlier Items: 
Tierney Sneed / CNN:
Biden appeals court nominee faces questions for role in school sexual assault case
Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Shell Spending Scheme Comes Under DOJ Scrutiny
Discussion: Raw Story and Florida Politics
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Don Lemon Apologizes After ‘Completely Offensive’ Remarks Irk His Female Colleagues
James Vincent / The Verge:
Microsoft's Bing is an emotionally manipulative liar, and people love it
Luke Goldstein / American Prospect:
How Noncompete Agreements Hamstrung America's Pandemic Response
Richard Luscombe / The Guardian:
Virginia governor blocks bill banning police from seeking menstrual histories
Discussion: Washington Post and Insider
 

 
From Techmeme:

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads is testing custom feeds for certain profiles or topics; the Threads' version seems easier to use than Bluesky's custom feeds

Jibin Joseph / PCMag:
UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 creates Daisy, an AI-generated “scambaiter” tool that mimics the voice of an elderly woman to waste scammers' time

Financial Times:
Sources: xAI raised $5B at a $45B valuation, almost double its valuation a few months ago; SpaceX prepares a tender offer that would value the company at $250B+
 
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