Cross-Examination

• Escaped murderer Cavalcante captured in PA: Danelo Cavalcante, an illegal alien killer who escaped a prison near Philadelphia two weeks ago, was recaptured on Wednesday. This was Cavalcante’s second prison break after he escaped a prison in Brazil, where he was doing time for a murder conviction there. In 2021, Cavalcante was given a life sentence for murdering his ex-girlfriend. This story garnered a lot of national press coverage, but his illegal immigration status often went without a mention.

• DACA was illegal: Speaking of illegal aliens, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ruled on Wednesday that Barack Obama’s 2012 executive order creating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was illegal. Hanen wrote, “That program is vacated, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is enjoined from implementing Final Rule DACA until a further order of the Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, or the Supreme Court of the United States.” The judge noted that while those individuals who received DACA status prior to July 16, 2021, can continue in the program, the DHS “may not grant any” new applicants approval. He further noted, “A Final Judgment has not been entered in this case, so all matters not being addressed by an appellate court are still pending in this Court and subject to its jurisdiction.”

• ATF looking to redefine “gun dealer”: Concern is growing surrounding the ATF’s effort to redefine the term “gun dealer.” The ATF has taken the phrase “to predominately earn a profit” for a gun dealer and is seeking to expand it to include anyone who would sell a firearm. This would include gun collectors, as the new rule narrows what is meant by “personal collection” to “personal firearms that a person accumulates for study, comparison, exhibition, or for a hobby.” Conspicuously absent is “self-defense.” To make matters worse, the new rule adds to “personal collection” the following condition: “shall not include any firearm purchased for the purpose of resale or made with the predominant intent to earn a profit.” But one of the primary motivations behind building a collection of anything is often turning a profit. What the ATF is attempting to do is declare that anyone engaged in the buying and selling of a firearm is a “gun dealer” and therefore will need to be licensed as such. This is yet another attempt by the Biden administration to infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

• California concealed carry restrictions: Regarding Second Amendment infringement, Democrats in California have just passed a new concealed carry law that further restricts Californians’ right to bear arms. The law, which is headed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk, limits who can obtain a concealed carry permit and includes new age restrictions, storage rules, and a growing list of “sensitive places” where no firearms will be permitted. All the Golden State’s Republicans and one Democrat voted against the bill, but it still overwhelmingly passed the California Senate 28-8. The law appears to run directly counter to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent rulings striking down concealed carry limits, and if Newsom signs it into law as expected, it will be on a collision course with SCOTUS.

• Romney to retire: Mitt Romney, the 76-year-old Republican senator from Utah, announced on Wednesday that he will not seek reelection after his current term ends in 2025. The failed 2012 Republican presidential candidate, who has been a loud critic of Donald Trump, pledged, “While I’m not running for reelection, I’m not retiring from the fight.” Romney, who has been criticized, often deservedly, for being too willing to cave to the Democrats on certain policy issues, at least gave a reason for his decision that many can agree with. “I’ve spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s,” he explained. “Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in.” Hear! Hear!

Headlines

• Biden makes first public comments on impeachment inquiry (Townhall)

• “Abandoned by the Democratic Party”: Auto workers turning on “Union Joe” as major strike looms (Daily Caller)

• Judge blocks New Mexico governor’s temporary gun ban (Axios)

• Student loan payments are set to resume next month after a full three-year pause due to the coronavirus (Not the Bee)

• Ford Motor Company reports $4.5 billion loss from electric vehicles (Fox Business)

• Husband of Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola dies in plane crash (National Review)

• Policy: The DEI racket transformed our colleges and universities. But tide could be turning. (Daily Signal)

• Satire: New Mexico governor suspends First Amendment to silence criticism over suspending Second Amendment (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.