memeorandum: The ‘Shrinking Baptist Convention’ Is Doubling Down on the Culture Wars (David Siders/Politico)

11:25 AM ET, July 3, 2023

Top Items:

Jack Khoury / Haaretz:

Israeli Army Strikes Jenin in Large-scale ‘Anti-terror’ Op; Eight Palestinians Killed — After drone strike on militant HQ, Jenin op continues with ground incursion, weapons seizure ■ At least eight killed, 50 wounded ■ Security sources say op may ‘accomplish goals within 48 hours’ ■ …

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, CBS News, The Times of Israel, Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters, Washington Examiner, Fox News, The Messenger, Just The News, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, TASS, The New Arab and UPI

Washington Post:

Israel invades West Bank city, killing at least 8 Palestinians — JERUSALEM — Some 1,000 Israeli soldiers backed by drone strikes stormed Jenin on Monday, targeting a militant “operational command center,” the most expansive Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank in two decades.

Discussion: The Times of Israel, Associated Press, Reuters, The New Arab, TASS and Voice of America

Emanuel Fabian / The Times of Israel:
IDF strikes in Jenin, launches major counterterrorism campaign; 8 Palestinians killed

Discussion: Breitbart, National Review, BBC, TASS and FDD

CNN:

Trump once said a president under felony indictment would grind the government to a halt and create a constitutional crisis — Former President Donald Trump said in 2016 that a president under indictment would “cripple the operations of our government” and create an “unprecedented constitutional crisis” …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story and Political Wire

Marc Caputo / The Messenger: ‘A Ginormous Jug of Diesel Fuel on a Bonfire:’ How Trump's Indictments Could Win Him Iowa and the GOP Nomination

David Siders / Politico:

The ‘Shrinking Baptist Convention’ Is Doubling Down on the Culture Wars — The challenges facing the nation's largest Protestant denomination mirror those facing the GOP — and both would rather stick to their guns than shift course. — Thousands of Southern Baptists traveled to New Orleans …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

New York Times:

Musk Says Twitter Is Limiting Number of Posts Users Can Read — The change on Saturday came as thousands of users complained about getting an error message that they had “exceeded” their “rate limit.” — Elon Musk said on Saturday that Twitter will temporarily limit the number of posts users …

Max Tani / Semafor:

Why Netflix quietly shelved an anti-racist video project — The Scoop — Amid the turmoil after George Floyd's murder by police in 2020, Netflix sought to address racist depictions in its film and television library in its own, particularly on-brand way.

Discussion: Fox News and Yahoo Entertainment

Daniel Mordzinski / PEN Ukraine:

Victoria Amelina, a Ukrainian writer, and our dearest colleague, passed away — Цю статтю можна прочитати українською

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, PEN America, The New European, New York Daily News, UPI, Associated Press, The Guardian, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Euromaidan Press, Financial Times, inews.co.uk, The Messenger and The Kyiv Independent

Wall Street Journal:

Jack Smith Probe of 2020 Election Challenges Focuses on Trump Lawyers — Prosecutors examine efforts to create fake electors and claims made in fundraising drives — WASHINGTON—Special counsel Jack Smith's team in recent weeks has taken a growing interest in the role of lawyers …

Discussion: Raw Story, Forbes and Slate

Steve Vladeck / MSNBC:

Don't believe the data: This is the most conservative Supreme Court we've known — Hot takes summarizing the justices' work can try to spin to the data, but the reality is simple. — The effective end of the Supreme Court's term on Friday touched off what has become an annual tradition …

Ann M. Simmons / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Ambassador Meets With Detained Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich — Visit is the second time Gershkovich has been granted consular access since he was detained in March — The U.S. ambassador to Russia was granted access to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich …

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio …

Ronny Reyes / New York Post:

Hunter Biden filmed himself smoking crack behind the wheel, driving at 172mph on way to Vegas: photos — Hunter Biden apparently filmed himself smoking crack behind the wheel of a car in 2018 — the same year he took a picture of himself driving 172mph in a Porsche, according to thousands …

Discussion: One America News Network, RedState, Twitchy and TheBlaze

Josh Boswell / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: Life in the fast lane! How reckless Hunter Biden photographed himself driving at 172mph while behind the wheel of his Porsche en route …

Discussion: American Wire News, IJR and The Gateway Pundit

Lee Moran / HuffPost:

Jen Psaki Exposes Hypocrisy Of GOP's Latest Anti-Trans Strategy — The former Biden White House press secretary pointed out the “cynical ploy to tear at the fabric of our society.” — MSNBC's Jen Psaki on Sunday highlighted the “reemergence of a very old GOP playbook” …

Discussion: RedState, Fox News, Twitchy, IJR, Instapundit, The Daily Caller and Washington Examiner

Dean Obeidallah / CNN:

Lindsey Graham getting booed at Trump rally is both hilarious and alarming — Editor's note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio's daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show.” Follow him @DeanObeidallah@masto.ai. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

Discussion: American Wire News, Raw Story, The Western Journal, Occupy Democrats, Insider, USA Today, Just The News, RedState and Rolling Stone

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

Procedure exists to force the Supreme Court to rehear ‘made up’ wedding website case: Neal Katyal — Based upon new evidence that a landmark Supreme Court case on religious and 1st Amendment rights was based upon a bogus claim, former Solicitor General Neal Katyal claimed that Colorado's attorney general …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Messenger and The Status Kuo

Benedict Vigers / Gallup:

Confidence in U.S., U.K. Governments Lowest in G7 — For decades, much has been made of the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom. But in 2022, the national governments of both nations shared a somewhat less special accomplishment: earning the least confidence …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner and Voice of America

Reuters:

Hong Kong police issue arrest warrants for eight activists — Hong Kong police on Monday accused eight overseas-based activists of “serious” national security offences including foreign collusion, and offered a HK$1 million ($127,656) reward for information leading to any arrest.

Discussion: Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, Associated Press, The Messenger, Reuters and Bloomberg, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Exclusive: Zelensky calls Putin ‘weak’ and says Russian President's power is ‘crumbling’ — Editor's Note: Erin Burnett's full interview with Volodymyr Zelensky airs Wednesday July 5 at 7 p.m. ET. — Vladimir Putin's response to the armed Wagner rebellion was “weak” and the Russian President …

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, The Kyiv Independent, Euromaidan Press and The Messenger

Ali Swenson / Associated Press:

Moms for Liberty's focus on school races nationwide sets up political clash with teachers unions — An annual gathering of Moms for Liberty is drawing Republican presidential candidates and criticism from protestors outside the event. The group has quickly become a force …

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors, Newsbusters, Washington Examiner, Digby's Hullabaloo and Washington Times

Erica Werner / Washington Post:

How sellers of L.A. mansions are dodging a tax meant to help the homeless — LOS ANGELES — A tax on mansion sales in Los Angeles was intended to raise millions to fight homelessness. It hasn't quite worked out that way. — Instead, wealthy Angelenos rebelled, putting the brakes on sales …