Cross-Examination

• Hunter pleads not guilty: On Tuesday, Hunter Biden entered a not-guilty plea over charges related to his illegal purchase of a handgun back in 2018. At the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden responded that he understood the charges raised against him, and that he was given pretrial conditions for his release, which include abstaining from drugs and alcohol as well as getting any travel plans cleared with a probation officer. This marks the first time in U.S. history that the child of a sitting president is scheduled for a criminal trial — while that president is campaigning for reelection, to boot. Of course, this is assuming Joe Biden doesn’t announce a sudden change of plans.

• Hottest September evah? It’s time to panic! The world is on fire! That is essentially the message from The Washington Post with an article titled “September shattered global heat record — and by a record margin.” The Post says initial analysis revealed that global temperatures for the month of September “surged far above previous records … even further than what scientists said seemed like astonishing increases in July and August.” The data found that September was roughly 0.88 degrees Celsius above 1991-2020 temperature levels. To press the panic button even harder, the Post states, “The planet’s temperature reached its warmest level in modern records and probably in thousands of years.” Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather called the September temperatures “absolutely gobsmackingly bananas.” This report from the Post is likely just the first in what will be a litany of Leftmedia stories “ringing the alarm bells” over the climate “crisis,” all in search of particular leftist “solutions.”

• Soft-on-crime leftist killed: Bad policies inevitably produce bad results. And sadly for one leftist social justice activist and poet, Ryan Carson, he became a victim of the soft-on-crime polices he advocated. Carson was stabbed to death in an apparent random attack while he and his girlfriend sat on a bench in New York City waiting for a bus. Carson appears to have been a very generous person. “I don’t think anyone is exaggerating when they say he would give the shirt off his back,” as his roommate put it. “He was the guy that bent over backward time and time again to be there with his friends.” The assumption that niceness and generosity are enough to stop evil people from engaging in criminal behavior is a refusal to accept the reality of human nature. A truly just society requires accountability and punishment for criminal behavior. Ignoring or excusing criminal behavior in the name of “social justice” will only lead to more criminal behavior.

• Male “transgender” student violence: Last week, a disturbing video of a male “transgender” student violently attacking a female student at a middle school in Oregon went viral. The apparently premeditated attack, which left the girl sobbing and struggling to breathe, isn’t the first time this “trans” student has engaged in this behavior. Riley Gaines, who has been standing up for girls and women against the “transgender” lobby, noted: “The SAME student attacking two other girls at a middle school in Oregon. The school board should be sued into oblivion for failing to protect their students time and time again. Every single member of the [Tigard-Tualatin School District] is responsible. Trans violence is violence.” The Tigard-Tualatin School District under which Hazelbrook Middle School falls promotes “transgender”-accommodation polices. There is no information on whether the male student has faced any discipline for his attacks on girls.

Headlines

• House makes history, removes Kevin McCarthy as speaker (The Hill) | McCarthy rules out second House speaker bid (Daily Signal)

• House GOP conference set to hold speaker candidate forum next Tuesday, possible vote on Wednesday (Just the News) | Here are four of the likely contenders to replace McCarthy as speaker (Fox News)

• Nancy Pelosi evicted from her private office in the Capitol by interim House speaker (Fox News)

• McCarthy-aligned PACs spent millions supporting Republicans who ousted him (National Review)

• Laphonza Butler is sworn in, filling Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat (NBC News)

• Judge imposes gag order in Trump’s New York civil fraud trial after former president posts about court clerk (Daily Wire)

• Biden extends $9 billion more of student debt relief to 125,000 borrowers (Washington Examiner)

• Federal debt increased by $2.2 trillion in FY 2023 (Daily Caller)

• FBI probes Amy Coney Barrett’s faith group (Free Beacon)

• Merrick Garland’s “60 Minutes” interview was pure political propaganda (The Federalist)

• Newsom repeals California law that “censored” doctors giving COVID-19 care (Fox News)

• FEMA will be sending a LOUD emergency alert to your phone, television, and radio today. Don’t worry, it’s just a test. (Not the Bee)

• Satire: Congress warns that Gaetz and McCarthy are distracting from important work of voting themselves raises (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.