Pope Francis, 86, To Have Abdominal Surgery

A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling yesterday ordering Texas to remove the buoys installed in the waters of the Rio Grande, stating the state violated laws governing navigable waterways by placing the barriers along the border. Via The Hill: In affirming an earlier ruling, the 2-1 decision from the 5th U.

[It's a midday open thread with a discussion of fruitcake. Let us know in comments if you're pro or con fruitcake, and what is your favorite holiday baked good. -- eds.] Jeffrey Miller, Colorado State University Nothing says Christmas quite like a fruitcake – or, at the very least, a fruitcake joke. A quip attributed to former “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson has it that “There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” It’s certainly earned its reputation for longevity. Two friends from Iowa have been exchanging the same fruitcake since the late 1950s.

Seven Wisconsin unions have joined forces and filed a lawsuit seeking to be made whole by ending the failed right wing experiment of Act 10, Scott Walker's legacy of attacking public sector workers by forbidding their collective bargaining rights:: The lawsuit, filed by the teachers and other public workers on Thursday, alleges that the law's exemption of some police, firefighters and other public safety workers from the bargaining restrictions violates the Wisconsin Constitution’s equal protection guarantee.

Krybaby Killer Kyle Rittenhouse has fallen into a monotinouse routine of doing something stupid, getting called out for it, and playing the victim card. The latest example is KKK liking a tweet from a fellow bigoted, redneck, gun-loving reprobate who was badmouthing Pope Francis: The Pope is a liberal ass-hat. https://t.co/SUfTHVwruc — Taylor D.

So Gavin Newsom went on Fox, straight into the heart of the enemy, and in a Sean Hannity "moderated" debate, he delivered the kind of epic beatdown to Ron DeSantis we used to see in WWF cage matches. You probably saw the coverage we did here at Crooks & Liars. But Cliff Schecter put together a funny video tying the biggest moments together with relevant movie clips. Newsom was relaxed, delivered more facts than Ron has learned in his entire existence, and mocked DeSantis the entire time, saving vicious zingers for the end of his statements. It was something to behold. There were moments it seemed like it might make more sense for DeSantis to put a mic in front of his little white booties to see if they'd do better. It was a thorough asskicking in every way, with DeSantis looking every bit as uncomfortable as he usually does in public.

Donald Trump continues to lose in court - bigly. Late Friday the Judge issued an opinion, ruling that Trump's attempts to have his case thrown out based on immunity claims has no legal basis. In the ruling, Judge Chutkan wrote: "Whatever immunities a sitting president may enjoy, the United States has only one chief executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass." Read the entire ruling here.