memeorandum: Federal judge freezes Florida gender-affirming care bans (Oriana González/Axios)

1:10 PM ET, June 6, 2023

Top Items:

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:

PGA Tour agrees to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf — The PGA Tour agreed to merge with rival LIV Golf, which is backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, an entity controlled by the Saudi crown prince. — The proposed merger comes after the PGA Tour and LIV Golf …

Discussion: PGATOUR.COM, ABC News, The Daily Beast, Politico, Quartz, RedState, 24/7 Wall St., New York Post, Forbes, Associated Press, Mediaite, NPR, Awful Announcing, The US Sun, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Just The News and Political Wire

Alan Blinder / New York Times:

PGA Tour and LIV Golf Agree to Merger — In a stunning announcement, the tour, along with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, said the rivals had agreed to create a “new, collectively owned, for-profit entity.” — The PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the insurgent league bankrolled …

Adam Gabbatt / The Guardian:

Texas sheriff files criminal case over DeSantis flights to Martha's Vineyard — Sheriff recommends charges over flights arranged by Florida governor to deport 49 South American migrants to wealthy town — A Texas sheriff's office has recommended criminal charges over flights that the Florida governor …

Discussion: Washington Post, Joe.My.God., Axios, San Antonio Express-News, SFist, Forbes, UPI, lawprofessors.typepad.com, NBC 6 South Florida, CBS News, HuffPost and Talking Points Memo

Sarah Blaskey / Miami Herald:

Texas sheriff recommends criminal charges in DeSantis' migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard — A Texas sheriff's department has recommended that the district attorney in Bexar County bring criminal charges over the first iteration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' so-called migrant relocation program.

Discussion: HuffPost, Raw Story, New York Times, Quartz, Joe.My.God., The Hill, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, UPROXX, Balloon Juice, The Messenger, Sacramento Bee, RedState and The Moderate Voice

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
It Is Completely Bizarre That Florida Is Allowed to Do This

Discussion: KQCA-TV, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, NBC News and Joe.My.God.

Los Angeles Times:
Newsom threatens DeSantis with kidnapping charges after migrants flown to Sacramento

Reuters:
Second flight arrives in Sacramento carrying migrants with Florida documents

Discussion: KRON4, Just The News, USA Today, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, New York Post, KNSD-TV, Insider, The Hill, NBC 6 South Florida and Associated Press

Washington Post:

U.S. had intelligence of detailed Ukrainian plan to attack Nord Stream pipeline — The CIA learned last June, via a European spy agency, that a six-person team of Ukrainian special operations forces intended to blow up the Russia-to-Germany natural gas project

Discussion: The Post Millennial, The Daily Caller and Rolling Stone

New York Times:

Russia-Ukraine War — Crucial Dam Destroyed on Southern Ukraine's Front Lines — President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia and convened the National Security Council. The damage threatened the safety of a nearby nuclear plant and forced the evacuation of thousands.

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, Financial Times, New York Post, Defense One, The Hill, Sputnik News, Reuters, The Guardian, NPR, Forbes, Al Jazeera, The Messenger, Bloomberg and TASS

Washington Post:

Live updates: Nova Kakhovka dam destroyed on Ukraine's front lines, causing flooding and evacuations — A major dam and hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine were severely damaged by an explosion early Tuesday, unleashing flooding near the front lines.

The Hill:

Judge grants request for George Santos's bond sponsors to be unsealed — A federal judge Tuesday granted media organizations' requests to unseal the names of the people who cosigned Rep. George Santos's (R-N.Y.) $500,000 bond in his criminal fraud case. — The order is a blow to Santos …

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, The Daily Beast, Insider, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, The Messenger, Joe.My.God., Political Wire, Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone, CBS News, New York Daily News and East Bay Times

Summer Concepcion / NBC News:
George Santos' lawyer asks to keep identities of those who secured his $500,000 bond sealed

Discussion: Raw Story and The Hill

CNN:

Exclusive: Mar-a-Lago pool flood raises suspicions among prosecutors in Trump classified documents case — An employee at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence drained the resort's swimming pool last October and ended up flooding a room where computer servers containing surveillance video logs were kept …

Philip Rotner / Bulwark+:
Here's Why Trump's “Declassification” Defense Falls Apart

Discussion: USA Today

New York Times:
Trump Lawyers Visit Justice Dept. as Classified Documents Inquiry Nears End

Oriana González / Axios:

Federal judge freezes Florida gender-affirming care bans … - Four Florida families argued in their lawsuit that the bans violated the Constitution's equal protection clause by singling out trans minors and asked the court to freeze the bans while the lawsuit is reviewed.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, Florida Politics, Law & Crime, Associated Press and The Messenger

Brooke Migdon / The Hill:
Families challenging Florida gender-affirming care restrictions may receive care, judge rules

Discussion: GLAD, New Republic and New York Times

Alicia Victoria Lozano / NBC News:

Oregon breakaway effort is down to just 8 votes, deepening urban-rural divide — The Greater Idaho movement aims to redraw Idaho's map to include 14 conservative Oregon counties, but opponents say it's only worsening political tensions. — ENTERPRISE, Ore. — A grassroots movement …

Rachel M. Cohen / Vox:

Republicans' abortion bans are nothing like those in Europe — Yes, even the 12-week ones. — Republicans scrambling to address mounting backlash to abortion bans have landed on what they hope they can market as a moderate political compromise: limiting abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight and Jezebel

New York Times:

Robert Kennedy Jr., With Musk, Pushes Right-Wing Ideas and Misinformation — Mr. Kennedy, a long-shot Democratic presidential candidate with surprisingly high polling numbers, said he wanted to close the Mexican border and attributed the rise of mass shootings to pharmaceutical drugs.

Discussion: The Message Box, Axios, Politico, Conservative Brief, CNN, TheBlaze, New Republic, Trending Politics Conservative, Insider, The Messenger and Rolling Stone

Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Fox News' favorite Democratic presidential candidate

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Washington Post

Axios:

Uninsurable America: Climate change hits the insurance industry … - It is also bedeviling regulators. … - State Farm said in late May it was done accepting new applications for California property insurance — including homes and commercial property — “due to historic increases …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

Bloomberg:

US Secretary of State Blinken Set to Travel to Beijing for Talks in Coming Weeks — Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to visit China in the coming weeks for talks with top officials, possibly including President Xi Jinping, people familiar with the matter said, as the US looks …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill and The Messenger

Thomas Kika / Newsweek:

Republicans Urge Immigrants to Stay in Florida, Fearing New Law's Impact — A handful of Florida Republicans have implored immigrants to stay in the state in the wake of recent laws signed by Governor Ron DeSantis. — Last month, Florida enacted a new bill, SB 1718, that is set …

Discussion: New Republic, Raw Story and Digby's Hullabaloo

Lee Moran / HuffPost:

Conservative Pundit Says 4 Things Show It's ‘Gotten Very, Very Real’ For Donald Trump — Charlie Sykes explained what the former president “losing his mind” on social media amid developments in the classified documents case really means. — Conservative commentator Charlie Sykes on Monday broke …

Gabby Deutch / Jewish Insider:

U.S. diplomat with antisemitic, racist blog ‘cannot continue to serve’: Foreign Service union president — U.S. Ambassador Eric Rubin called for the firing of Fritz Berggren, who remains at State Department more than two years after the discovery of his ties to the website

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:

SEC Charges Coinbase for Operating as an Unregistered Securities Exchange, Broker, and Clearing Agency — Coinbase also charged for the unregistered offer and sale of securities in connection with its staking-as-a-service program. — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 2023-102

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

Trump Asks Judge to Stop Carroll's Second Defamation Suit — Former President Donald J. Trump told a judge that he could not have defamed E. Jean Carroll by denying her rape accusation because a jury had found him liable only for sexually abusing her. — Former President Donald J. Trump told …

Discussion: New Republic, Raw Story, Associated Press and Political Wire

Whitney Downard / Indiana Capital Chronicle:

Fort Wayne man charged with felony in harassment of Congressman Banks — (Photo courtesy of congressional office) — Allen County prosecutors charged a Fort Wayne man with intimidation and harassment of Congressman Jim Banks after he allegedly threatened the elected representative and his family.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Daily Signal

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:

With Debt-Ceiling Deal Done, House GOP Looks to Cut Taxes — Republicans hope to revive expired business tax breaks in a bill they could introduce this month — WASHINGTON—After insisting on spending cuts and deficit reduction in a debt-ceiling deal that came together just before the U.S. breached …

Discussion: The Hill

David Enrich / New York Times:

A Reporter Investigated Sexual Misconduct. Then the Attacks Began. — After publishing an exposé, journalists in New Hampshire faced broken windows, vulgar graffiti and a legal brawl, with important First Amendment implications. — Reporting from Concord, N.H., and Melrose, Mass.

more at Mediagazer »

Zack Budryk / The Hill:

Biden administration announces $115M to upgrade Jackson, Miss., water infrastructure — The White House announced Tuesday that the Biden administration will award $115 million to Jackson, Miss., to upgrade the decaying water infrastructure that has led to multiple water crises in recent years.

Discussion: UPI, Associated Press and US EPA

Lauren Sforza / The Hill:

Goldman Sachs sees lower chance of recession — Analysts at Goldman Sachs are seeing a lower probability that the United States will enter a recession over the next year, according to a new research note published Tuesday. — Goldman Sachs announced in the note it cut its “judgmental probability” …

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

Maine election officials say No Labels may be misleading voters in its third-party push — After receiving complaints, Maine's secretary of state is trying to make sure voters are aware they switched their registration to the centrist party. — LINCOLNVILLE, Maine …

Paul Sonne / New York Times:

Fake Putin Speech Calling for Martial Law Aired in Russia — The Kremlin said it was investigating what it called a “hack” after a bogus speech aired on some radio and television networks. — A faked declaration of martial law and military mobilization by President Vladimir V. Putin …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and The Kyiv Independent

Audrey Fahlberg / The Dispatch:

North Carolina Republicans Fret Over Their Gubernatorial Frontrunner … North Carolina Republicans continue to feel uneasy about their party's current gubernatorial frontrunner, firebrand Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. But no coherent strategy yet exists to knock him out in a primary.

Discussion: Associated Press and The American Independent

NBC News:

Boppy's recalled infant lounger is now linked to at least 10 deaths — An NBC News investigation last month found that baby loungers were associated with more deaths than federal regulators had previously announced. — The Boppy Newborn Lounger, a popular infant pillow recalled nearly two years ago …

Discussion: CBS News

Washington Post:

FBI had reviewed, closed inquiry into claims at center of Hill fight — Republican lawmaker James Comer said he will still seek to hold the FBI director in contempt of Congress after viewing document in question — The FBI and Justice Department under then-Attorney General William P. Barr …

Discussion: CNN, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, Conservative Brief, The Pulse of NH, Newsbusters, New York Times, Raw Story, Washington Press, Washington Free Beacon and Politico

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Twitter Admits in Court Filing: Elon Musk Is Simply Wrong About Government Interference At Twitter — from the confirmation-idiocy dept — It is amazing the degree to which some people will engage in confirmation bias and believe absolute nonsense, even as the facts show the opposite is true.

Abrahm Lustgarten / ProPublica:

Climate Crisis Is on Track to Push One-Third of Humanity Out of Its Most Livable Environment — As conditions that best support life shift toward the poles, more than 600 million people are already living outside of a crucial “climate niche,” facing more extreme heat, rising food scarcity and higher death rates.