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'You think I'm crazy?' Florida GOP sweats Trump vs. DeSantis — Most of Congress' Sunshine State Republicans have a line ready if you ask whether they prefer Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis: “The next president will be from Florida.” — Ask them who that president will be, though, and you rarely get a firm answer.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New Republic, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Insider
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Florida 2024: Trump and DeSantis in Two-Way Race for GOP Nomination
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Forbes, Florida Politics, The Hill and USA Today
Nate Cohn / New York Times:
DeSantis, on Defense, Shows Signs of Slipping in Polls
DeSantis, on Defense, Shows Signs of Slipping in Polls
Discussion:
Florida Politics and Los Angeles Times

New Data Links Pandemic's Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market — Genetic samples from the market were recently uploaded to an international database and then removed after scientists asked China about them. — An international team of virus experts said on Thursday that they had found genetic data …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Associated Press and RedState
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The Strongest Evidence Yet That an Animal Started the Pandemic — A new analysis of genetic samples from China appears to link the pandemic's origin to raccoon dogs. — For three years now, the debate over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic has ping-ponged between two big ideas …

Hunter Biden sues laptop repair shop owner, citing invasion of privacy — The lawsuit, a counter-move against John Paul Mac Isaac, escalates the legal battle surrounding the president's son at a sensitive moment. — Hunter Biden has filed a sweeping countersuit against the computer repair shop owner …
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA, National Review, Twitchy, Raw Story, Just The News and Political Wire
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Lucien Bruggeman / ABC News:
Hunter Biden files counterclaims against computer repairman over handling of infamous laptop
Hunter Biden files counterclaims against computer repairman over handling of infamous laptop
Discussion:
Fox News, Bloomberg, NBC News, New York Post, Krassenstein's Democratic … and Semafor

Steve Bannon Is Neck-Deep in Guo Wengui's Allegedly Fraudulent Business Empire — In late November 2021, Steve Bannon appeared in a live broadcast on GTV, a media outlet that he'd helped his friend Guo Wengui launch a year earlier. Bannon used the appearance to celebrate HCoin, a supposed cryptocurrency that Guo was selling.
Discussion:
Insider, The Daily Beast, Media Matters for America, Letters from an American, Fortune, Al Jazeera and Balloon Juice
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Evan Osnos / New Yorker:
What Secrets Does the “Donald Trump of Beijing” Know?
What Secrets Does the “Donald Trump of Beijing” Know?
Discussion:
Raw Story and New York Post

Trump-commissioned report undercut his claims of dead and double voters — A report buried by the former president's campaign and obtained by The Post did not back up his claims of fraud and did not provide evidence to overturn the 2020 election — When Donald Trump called Georgia Secretary …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Letters from an American, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Forbes and Vanity Fair

Jack White pens poetic ode to Meg White after White Stripes drummer was maligned — Jack White dedicated a poem on Wednesday to his former wife and bandmate, Meg White, after a journalist posted a disparaging tweet about the White Stripes drummer that went viral.
Discussion:
Pitchfork and Rolling Stone

‘Donald Trump Hates America!’ Joe Scarborough Disgusted by Trump Calling the US ‘Greatest Threat to Western Civilization Today’ — Joe Scarborough called out Donald Trump's apparent hatred for America and went off on the constant criticism from the former president and many Republican allies of the former president.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Daily Caller and The Wrap
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Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:
Pence on whether Trump should bow out if indicted: It's up to him
Pence on whether Trump should bow out if indicted: It's up to him
Discussion:
Insider, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, New York Post, WKRG-TV and CBS News

EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of Mar-a-Lago staff, from servers to aides, are subpoenaed in classified documents probe — At least two dozen people - from Mar-a-Lago resort staff to members of Donald Trump's inner circle at the Florida estate - have been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury that's investigating …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Hill, Raw Story, Washington Times, Mediaite, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA, National Review, The Daily, Rolling Stone, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Fox News, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Insider, ABC News, The Mahablog, Raw Story and Alternet.org

Gosar Blames Jesus for Sneaking Kari Lake into ‘New’ National Prayer Breakfast — Lake rejected the prayer breakfast's calls for reconciliation, said God “enacts justice” — Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) at the Feb. 2, 2023, National Prayer Breakfast.

Scoop: YouTube restores Trump's channel — YouTube will lift its restrictions on former President Trump's channel Friday, a spokesperson confirmed to Axios. Why it matters: The restrictions have prevented Trump from posting any new YouTube videos to his account, which has more than 2.6 million followers, for over two years.
Discussion:
ABC News, Fox News, The Hill, TechCrunch, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Washington Times, more at Mediagazer »

The Federalist Society Isn't Quite Sure About Democracy Anymore — AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas sun was just beginning to rise over central Austin as groups of neatly-dressed law students arrived at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, a beige monolith plopped on the southwestern corner …
Discussion:
Raw Story

The Unlearned Lessons From the War in Iraq — You don't have to reflect on a war if that war doesn't end, let alone pay reparations for your crimes. — Leave it to George W. Bush to misspeak his way to the truth about the Iraq War that he launched 20 years ago.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Washington Examiner, Foreign Affairs, Common Dreams, Atlantic Council, Al Jazeera, CounterPunch and Informed Comment

Xi, Cast as Peacemaker, Wades Into Russia's War in Ukraine — China's top leader, Xi Jinping, is expected to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia this month and speak with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. — China's top leader, Xi Jinping, has cast himself as a global statesman …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, Reuters, UPI, Al Jazeera, Politico, Washington Post, New York Magazine and nationalinterest.org

Trump Picks an Enemy: Us — The Orange Caligula sides with Russia. — For a moment, set aside the buzz about an impending indictment, bank bailouts, and even how badly your March Madness bracket is doing. — Pay attention to this. Please. — Because on Earth 2.0, this would be the stuff of endless news cycles and nightmares.

The Fed Was Too Late on SVB Even Though It Saw Problem After Problem — Just over a year before Silicon Valley Bank's collapse threatened a generation of technology startups and their backers, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco appointed a more senior team of examiners to assess the firm.

Federal appeals court blocks enforcement of Florida ‘Stop W.O.K.E. Act’ — Public university professors in Florida may continue to share their opinions about racism, sexism, and discrimination in the classroom — at least for now — after three federal judges upheld a ban on enforcement …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Florida Politics, The Daily Caller and Just The News
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Wall Street rides to the rescue as 11 banks pledge $30 billion to First Republic Bank — A group of financial institutions has agreed to deposit $30 billion in First Republic Bank in what's meant to be a sign of confidence in the banking system, the banks announced Thursday afternoon.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New York Post, CBS News, Bloomberg, NPR, Fox Business, CNN, Washington Post, Sputnik News, Fortune, Financial Times, Business Wire, The Japan News, Breitbart, Bloomberg, Politico, Japan Times, UPI, One America News Network, The Hill, Grid News, NBC News, Al Jazeera, Semafor, HuffPost, The Guardian, Daily News, Slashdot, Associated Press, Political Wire, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Quartz, Fox Business, Financial Times, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Just The News, KFOR-TV, Fortune, Breitbart, TechCrunch, SHERLOC Exposes and CNBC
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Elizabeth Spiers / New York Times:
I Was an S.V.B. Client. I Blame the Venture Capitalists.
I Was an S.V.B. Client. I Blame the Venture Capitalists.
Discussion:
AIER, Reuters, Fortune, Washington Monthly, Marketplace, Bloomberg, Noahpinion and Financial Times

How the ‘No Labels’ Gambit Could Wreck the 2024 Election — The group says it doesn't want its (as-yet-unchosen) third-party candidate to be a spoiler—but it also doesn't say who all its funders are. — Those politics watchers—including most journalists—who are envisioning …
Associated Press:
Slovakia agrees to give Ukraine fleet of Soviet warplanes — Slovakia's government has approved a plan to give Ukraine its fleet of 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the second NATO member country to agree to fulfill the Ukrainian government's pleas for warplanes to help defend against Russia's invasion. .
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, UPI, The Guardian and Axios
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CNN:
Poland becomes first to pledge fighter jets to Ukraine
Poland becomes first to pledge fighter jets to Ukraine
Discussion:
Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Reuters, National Review, TVP World, Just Security, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNN, CNN, Reuters, Reuters, Washington Examiner, UPI, BBC, The Post Millennial, abc7NY, NPR, The Guardian, Politico, CBS News, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Fox News, NBC News, CBS News, Associated Press, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Politico, The Guardian, Al-Monitor, Euractiv, Kurt Nimmo on Geopolitics, Breitbart, Associated Press, nationalinterest.org, middleeastmonitor.com, BizPac Review, National Review, Politico, HotAir, Deseret News, New York Times and Washington Post

Regulatory Failure 101: What the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank Reveals — It's an all-too-familiar cycle: First comes the boom, then the breathtakingly speedy bust, and then the bailout. Now we're in the moment where everyone wonders where the financial regulators were. — Co-published with The Atlantic

Trump Media executives worried over murky $8m loans, emails reveal — Exclusive: financing with suspected Russian ties came at a critical time as company was running out of cash after a planned merger — Top executives at Donald Trump's social media company started to become concerned …
Discussion:
Alternet.org

Here Dems are, stuck in the middle with Biden — President Joe Biden is taking a number of steps to negate potential Republican attacks and he's telling progressives they'll have to stomach some tough policy compromises. But the White House insists you not call it triangulation.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Washington Times, New Republic, Fox News and Wall Street Journal

Biden's Italian mystery — With the Senate finally voting to confirm Eric Garcetti as ambassador to India, senators and Democratic donors are turning their attention to something of a Biden-era mystery: the open embassy in Italy. … - Although the embassy's chargé d'affaires …

Dr. Rachel Levine says changing kids' genders will soon be fully embraced: ‘Wheels will turn on this’ … Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Rachel Levine promised that medically changing kids' genders will soon be normalized.
Discussion:
New York Post

Ron DeSantis' crackdown on “woke” banks could help a big Ron DeSantis donor — Today's bonus newsletter is written by Jason Garcia, an amazing corporate-accountability reporter who focuses on Florida. He also has his own newsletter, Seeking Rents. For more of Jason's indispensable reporting, subscribe.
Discussion:
Seeking Rents and Just The News