Cross-Examination

• KJP “explains” Biden’s early exit from MOH ceremony: Vietnam veteran U.S. Army Captain Larry Taylor was honored with the Medal of Honor Tuesday at the White House. Our Mark Alexander attended and wrote about it. He and many others noted one bizarre thing: Joe Biden’s unexpected and hasty exit from the room before the closing benediction. “It was planned,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre laughably claimed. “He left when there was a pause in the program in order to minimize his close contact with attendees who are about to participate in a reception.” No one is buying that excuse. The commander-in-chief stayed for prior MOH ceremonies last year and the year prior during times when COVID numbers were much higher. Furthermore, “Biden was in close contact with people while maskless for the entire ceremony to that point,” observed Fox News’s Joe Concha. “The way this press secretary continues to insult the intelligence of anyone above a 50 IQ is breathtaking.” Unfortunately, Biden’s behavior along with KJP’s disingenuous excuse have distracted from a significant event honoring a genuine American hero.

• More Georgia RICO: Atlanta, Georgia, is not Portland, Oregon, in more ways than the mere difference in geographic location. On Tuesday, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr indicted 61 individuals associated with the domestic terrorist organization known as antifa. Carr charged these thugs with violations of the Racketeering Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act (RICO) over their involvement in various violent acts meant to prevent the city of Atlanta from building a police training center in a forested area in DeKalb County. Following the indictments, Carr warned: “Looking the other way when violence occurs is not an option in Georgia. If you come to our state and shoot a police officer, throw Molotov cocktails at law enforcement, set fire to police vehicles, damage construction equipment, vandalize private homes and businesses, and terrorize their occupants, you can and will be held accountable.” Most of these individuals are not from Georgia and are members of an antifa group dubbed the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement that formed in the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd. They have been linked to more than 200 criminal acts since July 2020.

• Trump liable for defamation: Donald Trump has been found liable by a federal judge in a second civil case raised against him by former New York gossip columnist E. Jean Carroll. In this lawsuit, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that Trump was liable for making defamatory statements against Carroll. The lawsuit was raised by Carroll following statements Trump made against her in 2019. A jury will now decide how much Trump must pay in damages. Trump’s legal team dismissed Kaplan’s ruling by arguing that their appeal of the first case will be successful, thus rendering this ruling moot.

• NYC mayor whines about immigrants: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is clearly sick and tired of dealing with the migrant crisis. “I don’t see an ending to this,” he lamented at a town hall event Wednesday. “This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City.” Adams blasted Joe Biden for not providing support, but he stopped short of calling on the president to close the open southern border. Rather, Adams blamed Texas Governor Greg Abbott, calling him a “madman” for busing illegal aliens to New York. Yet Adams conveniently ignored the reason behind the busing: New York’s self-appointed “sanctuary” designation. Abbott didn’t put up the “illegals welcome here” sign in NYC — that was done by the Empire State’s Democrat leadership.

• Coach Kennedy resigns: After just one game back as a coach of a Washington state high school team, Joe Kennedy, the praying coach, tendered his resignation. After winning his seven-year-long battle against the school this summer, Kennedy explained, “It is apparent that the reinstatement ordered by the Supreme Court will not be fully followed after a series of actions meant to diminish my role and single me out in what I can only believe is retaliation by the school district.” Furthermore, he noted that he has a family member living out of the state who needs care. Finally, since this ordeal began, he has moved to Florida and was uncertain as to whether he would move back to Washington full time. Kennedy did commit himself to be an “advocate for constitutional freedom and religious liberty” and “will continue to work to help people understand and embrace the historic ruling at the heart of our case.”

Headlines

• Hunter Biden will be indicted on gun charges later this month, DOJ says (NY Post)

• Biden to observe upcoming 9/11 anniversary in Alaska in departure from tradition (Fox News)

• Judge orders Texas to remove floating buoys used to curb flow of illegal immigrants (Fox News)

• EPA delays new ozone pollution standards for businesses until after 2024 election (Fox Business)

• Scientist says he left out “full truth” to get climate change paper published (College Fix)

• Gas prices soar to their highest seasonal level in a decade even as the summer driving season comes to a close (Insider)

• U.S. to cancel Alaska oil and gas leases issued under Trump (NBC News)

• Antitrust case of the century: What to expect as Justice Department v. Google case begins (Washington Examiner)

• Policy: Why America’s birthrate is in decline (Daily Signal)

• Satire: Bud Light welcomes new investor Bill Gates with limited-edition Jeffrey Epstein cans (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.