memeorandum: A Mysteriously Financed Group That Could Upend a Biden-Trump Rematch (Julie Bykowicz/Wall Street Journal)

12:40 PM 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 Times of Israel, The Hill, Al Jazeera, BBC, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Just The News, Reuters, TASS, The New Arab, UPI and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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, The New Arab, TASS and Voice of America

Associated Press:
Israel targets a West Bank militant stronghold with drones and troops, killing 8 Palestinians

Discussion: Reuters, NewsNation, BBC, The New Arab, Financial Times, The Messenger and Florida Politics

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

Discussion: Breitbart, National Review, 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: HuffPost, 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 — Trump so far has persuaded enough Republicans in the crucial early state that his indictment is their political cause — A Facebook icon representing an external link to share …

Discussion: New Republic

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: Vanity Fair, American Wire News, Raw Story, The Western Journal, Occupy Democrats, Insider and USA Today

Collin Binkley / Associated Press:

Activists spurred by affirmative action ruling challenge legacy admissions at Harvard — A civil rights group is challenging legacy admissions at Harvard University, saying the practice discriminates against students of color by giving an unfair boost to the mostly white children of alumni.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion and The Messenger

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 …

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: The Messenger, Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Forbes and Slate

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

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 …

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

Julie Bykowicz / Wall Street Journal:

A Mysteriously Financed Group That Could Upend a Biden-Trump Rematch — Centrist nonprofit No Labels says voters want an alternative, but some say effort could hand election to Trump — WASHINGTON—A centrist group is laying the groundwork to run an alternative candidate …

Discussion: New Republic and The Daily Caller

Daniel Mordzinski / PEN Ukraine:

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

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

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 and The Messenger

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: NPR, The Messenger, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and The Guardian

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, Twitchy, RedState 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: The Daily Caller, American Wire News, IJR and The Gateway Pundit

Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:

Number of Migrants Crossing U.S. Southern Border Is Down. But for How Long? — Officials say the lull after nearly two years of increased crossings is not going to last. — Nearly two months since the lifting of a public health order that allowed the United States to swiftly expel migrants …

Discussion: NewsNation, The Hill and PJ Media

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

Tami Luhby / CNN:

States have been on a tax-cutting spree, but revenues are now weakening — Fueled by surging revenues, states have been slashing taxes for individuals and businesses for the past three years. — But the party is expected to come to an end in the coming fiscal year, which started on Saturday in 46 states.