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A visit from the comforter-in-chief

Laura L. Davis   | Paste BN
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President Joe Biden visited the site of a collapsed condo building in Florida. The Trump Organization and its CFO were charged with tax crimes. And the battle over Britney Spears' conservatorship intensified after Bessemer Trust asked to withdraw.

👋 It's Laura. It's Thursday. I'm up to my eyeballs in news, so let's get to it.

But first, holy ugly couches, Batman. 😱 Y'all, IKEA launched these couch slipcovers meant to honor LGBTQ communities and while I love the inclusivity – I can't even with these designs. What do you think?

The Short List is a snappy Paste BN news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here.

Biden visits site of condo collapse

Reprising his role as comforter-in-chief, Biden highlighted Thursday the “life and death” situation that has brought together all levels of the government as he visits a south Florida community reeling from the collapse of a 12-story condo building where scores of people are still missing. Keep up with the latest coverage on Biden's visit here.

Rescue efforts were halted overnight Thursday because of concerns about the instability of a condo section still standing. Rescuers stopped work at the site overnight when on-site engineers identified that one column had shifted 8 to 10 inches and three cracks were expanding. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said search-and-rescue teams will continue as soon as it is safe to do so. 

The death toll continues to slowly climb: Levine Cava announced that two of the six bodies found in the rubble Wednesday were children, ages 4 and 10. This raises the death toll to 18; 147 people are still missing.

  • Condo collapse mystery: Why did the building fall? Investigation may take years.
  • 'What can you do?' He was in Paris. His wife was 4,500 miles away in a condo that had started to collapse.
  • Remembering those who died in the condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida.

Trump Organization, CFO charged with tax fraud

Criminal charges were unsealed Thursday against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, detailing an alleged tax evasion conspiracy spanning more than a decade, representing the most serious threat yet to the Trump family real estate enterprise long managed by former President Donald Trump. The Trump Organization and its CFO Weisselberg were charged with criminal tax fraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records. Weisselberg, who was walked to the courtroom in handcuffs, was also charged with grand larceny in connection with failing to pay taxes on $1.7 million on fringe benefits from the company.

What everyone's talking about

Washington Football Team fined $10M after sexual misconduct investigation

With the investigation into the allegations of rampant sexual misconduct within the Washington Football Team organization complete, the NFL has fined the franchise $10 million, the league announced on Thursday. The investigation, conducted by independent counsel, spanned roughly a year and included interviews with more than 150 people, many of them being current and or former employees of the team who received anonymity in exchange for their testimony. News of the long-running misconduct and harassment allegations first became public following a lengthy investigation by The Washington Post last summer. The reports detailed incidents in which cheerleaders were secretly videotaped in various stages of undress, and other female employees were subjected to sexual advancements and lewd comments from team employees.

Real quick

  • Judge blocks Trump-inspired Florida law cracking down on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; DeSantis vows to appeal.
  • In a seismic shift for college sports, NCAA adopts temporary policy on name, image and likeness.
  • Another gender option will be added to passports. Here's what you need to know.
  • He risked his life helping U.S. troops in Afghanistan before seeking asylum in Iowa. So why is he facing deportation?
  • Puerto Rican man confirmed as world's oldest living male at 112 years old.

A statue fit for a princess

To honor their mother on what would have been her 60th birthday, Prince Harry and Prince William reunited publicly Thursday for the unveiling of Princess Diana's new statue. William, 39, and Harry, 36, entered a Kensington Palace garden side by side, smiling, before greeting guests separately. Together, they revealed the bronze statue of Diana, which is slightly larger than lifesize, surrounded by three bronze children, meant to symbolize her universal and generational impact on humanitarian causes. Harry and William commissioned the statue of their mother in 2017 to honor her legacy after she died in a Paris car wreck in 1997. The new statue sits in the Sunken Garden at the palace, one of her favorite spots during her time there.

Judge denies Britney Spears' conservatorship request; trust asks to withdraw

A week after Britney Spears spoke out in court and condemned her conservatorship, managed by her father James "Jamie" Spears, a judge denied the singer's request to have him removed as conservator. And "due to changed circumstances," Bessemer Trust is requesting to withdraw as co-conservator of Spears' estate, according to court documents filed Thursday. In the filing, the firm said they believed Spears' conservatorship was "voluntary" and that she consented to the firm acting as co-conservator, until the singer publicly revealed she wants the arrangement to end during an explosive court hearing on June 23. Catch up on the latest here.

A break from the news

This is a compilation of stories from across the Paste BN Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.

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