Political Wire: “A Florida district court has ruled that Florida’s newly-drawn congressional districts drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) violate the state constitution, the AP reports. CNN: “Judge J. Layne Smith, a DeSantis appointee to the 2nd Circuit Court of Florida, said during a hearing that he intended to issue an order granting an injunction that would prevent the…

ClickOrlando: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is appointing Rep. Cord Byrd as the next Secretary of State, following the resignation announcement by the prior secretary earlier this week. Thank you @GovRonDeSantis for appointing me as Secretary of State. Honored and ready to get to work on protecting the integrity and security of our elections!— Cord Byrd (@CordByrd) May 13, 2022…

Buzzfeed News: “But Aiken has been chafed by what he says is a disgusting anti-gay undercurrent to the recent onslaught of sexualized material released against the 26-year-old Republican. “I am loath to defend him in any way but I will say that that last video with him on the bed pissed me off,” Aiken told…

The Daily Beast: “Multiple embarrassing traffic stops. A credible accusation of insider trading. Photos of him sporting hoop earrings and a bra. A video of a male staffer’s hand near his crotch. Another video showing him jokingly but nakedly humping the upper body of potentially the same man—his cousin. And possibly more to come. Few…

The Atlantic: “For the next 15 minutes, Bolin does not mention the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, or the life everlasting. Instead, he spouts misinformation and conspiratorial nonsense, much of it related to the “radically dangerous” COVID-19 vaccines. “A local nurse who attends FloodGate, who is anonymous at this time—she reported to…

NY Times: “In the fall of 2020, Kevin Thompson delivered a sermon about the gentleness of God. At one point, he drew a quick contrast between a loving, accessible God and remote, inaccessible celebrities. Speaking without notes, his Bible in his hand, he reached for a few easy examples: Oprah, Jay-Z, Tom Hanks. Mr. Thompson…

CNN: “Prosecutors in Georgia investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election have interviewed several individuals who served as fake GOP electors from the state, according to two sources familiar with the ongoing criminal probe. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office appears to be trying to determine whether the pro-Trump electors in Georgia…

NC Policy Watch: “All of which brings us back to that ever-present but rapidly graying elephant in the North Carolina education policy room: the quarter-century-old Leandro school funding lawsuit. For 25 years now, learned judges at various levels of the state’s judiciary have been handing down determinations in that case that state lawmakers are failing to meet their…

The North State Journal: “South Carolina will close state offices on Tuesday to mark Confederate Memorial Day. The observation of the holiday is every year on May 10. South Carolina is among a handful of states in the South with such an official holiday. State offices in Alabama and Mississippi closed down for their Confederate…

NY Times: “It was the equivalent of: “Show your work.” To help explain its puzzling rejection of dozens of math textbooks, the state of Florida released nearly 6,000 pages of reviewer comments this week and revealed an often confusing, contradictory and divisive process. A conservative activist turned textbook reviewer was on the lookout for mentions…