memeorandum: A World Without American Democracy? (Larry Diamond/Foreign Affairs)

2:20 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: CBS Boston, WCVB, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, ABC7, Joe.My.God., WINK NEWS and Associated Press

CBS Boston:

Wakefield Standoff Suspects Claim To Be Part Of Group Called ‘Rise Of The Moors’ — WAKEFIELD (CBS) — Interstate 95 in Wakefield was shut down by a standoff between Massachusetts State Police and a group of heavily armed men Saturday morning. The men claim to be part of a group called …

Discussion: The Guardian, Reuters, The Daily Beast, NBC Boston and Mother Jones

NBC Boston:

11 Suspects Now in Custody Following Armed Standoff Off I-95 in Mass.: Police — All remaining suspects involved in an hours long armed standoff with police off Interstate 95 in Wakefield, Massachusetts on Saturday morning have been taken into custody, state police said.

Discussion: The Boston Globe, New York Post, The Hill, WPRI-TV and Fox News

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: PinkNews, Mother Jones, UPROXX, Metro.co.uk and Slate

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: Washington Post and Insider

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, POLITICUSUSA and The Verge

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
FBI launches flurry of arrests over attacks on journalists during Capitol riot

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Salon, more at Mediagazer »

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, Joe.My.God., USA Today, Daily Kos, Insider, The Hill, Political Wire and RedState

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:
BUSTED: Arizona official was told to ‘stop the counting’ during blitz by Trump, Giuliani and GOP chair

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

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, Associated Press, HotAir, 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: The Hill, Forbes, Yahoo News, Florida Politics, TheGrio, Associated Press, National Review and NBC 6 South Florida

Washington Post:

Widespread ransomware attack is affecting hundreds of businesses — Researchers said cybercriminals were demanding $50,000 from smaller companies and $5 million from larger ones — A supply-chain ransomware attack that hit hours before the beginning of a holiday weekend has already affected …

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

Kevin Collier / NBC News:
Ransomware attack on software manager hits 200 companies

Discussion: The Verge, Joe.My.God., The Gateway Pundit, Wired, Raw Story and BIG by Matt Stoller

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

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Post, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, CBS Denver and Gizmodo

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.

Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
DeSantis to forgo Trump rally in Sarasota

Discussion: New York Times, Insider and Townhall

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, RedState, Common Dreams, Metro.co.uk, The Gateway Pundit, Gizmodo, The Times of Israel, UPROXX, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Twitchy

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: Washington Post, Common Dreams and New Republic

Aaron Wherry / CBC News:

A hotter future is already here — and Canada is not ready — Like the pandemic, climate change causes the poor and the frail to suffer most. We need to prepare. — Two weeks ago, the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices released a report on the public health impacts of climate change …

Dana Liebelson / New York Times:

How to Vaccinate Wyoming Against Covid — Living on his 25,000-acre ranch about an hour outside Laramie, Wyoming, 67-year-old Scott Sims figures he's at lower risk of catching the coronavirus: He resides in relative isolation. A fourth-generation cattle rancher, he takes his vitamins …

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: Outside the Beltway, Associated Press, Scroll.in, Washington Post, CBS News and New York Post

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

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.