Cross-Examination

• Scalise withdraws: On Thursday evening, following a closed-door meeting of House Republicans, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (LA) announced that he was withdrawing from the speakership race. In making the decision, Scalise observed that Republicans had yet to come together. That’s an understatement. He acknowledged that “there are still some people that have their own agendas,” but argued members need to “put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs.” While Scalise had won a Republican conference vote earlier in the week, the faction of Republicans who refused to vote for him was enough for him not to win the speakership. Jim Jordan (OH) remains in the race, but he too has members refusing to back him.

• Blinken blinks: Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Israel on Wednesday to express U.S. solidarity with Israel. In an interview with NBC News, Blinken was asked if Iran was involved in Hamas’s murderous terrorist attack against Israel. Rather than admit to the obvious and long-established history of Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, supporting Hamas, Blinken hedged. “When it comes to this specific attack, in this moment, we don’t have direct evidence that Iran was involved in the attack, either in planning it or carrying it out,” he said. Clearly, Blinken was trying to deflect from growing and deserved criticism of the Biden administration’s waffling on $6 billion in Iran assets. Acknowledging Iran’s responsibility makes appeasement harder.

• Dude named “Woman of the Year”: Dylan Mulvaney, the “transgender”-identifying man whose sponsorship torpedoed Bud Light, was recently named “Woman of the Year” by Attitude Magazine. The magazine promotes the LGBTQ agenda, and therefore it comes as a shock to no one that Mulvaney would be celebrated. Anything a woman can do, a man pretending to be a woman can do better, right? In his acceptance speech, Mulvaney blasted “extremist media” and those who “don’t see me as a woman at all.” The science denier added that he especially appreciates the award because “no matter how hard I try or what I wear or what I say or what surgeries I get, I will never reach an acceptable version of womanhood by those hateful people’s standards.” Other than the hateful smear, he accurately recognizes that people who care about the truth will never accept his blatant lie about biological reality.

• At least one of them has an ounce of integrity: Democrat Representative Shri Thanedar (MI) was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) but announced his resignation from the organization on Thursday. Thanedar explained, “After the brutal terrorist attacks on Israel, which include the indiscriminate murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent men, women, and children, I can no longer associate with an organization unwilling to call out terrorism in all its forms.” Not only was the DSA unwilling to condemn Hamas’s murderous terrorism against innocent Israelis, but several chapters across the country held rallies in support of Hamas. “Sunday’s hate-filled and anti-semitic rally in New York City, promoted by the NYC-DSA, makes it impossible for me to continue my affiliation,” Thanedar noted. “I stand with Israel and its right to defend itself.”

• CT donates to Democrats: Recently, we noted that the popular evangelical magazine founded by the Reverend Billy Graham, Christianity Today, had been drifting left. Well, more evidence has come to light showing the scope of this leftist drift. From 2015 to 2022, nine employees from CT made political donations. Every one of those donations went to Democrats. One of those donating to Democrats was CEO Timothy Dalrymple, who gave $300 to failed Georgia Senate candidate Sarah Riggs Amico. To put things in perspective, Amico was no “Blue Dog” Democrat; rather, she is a radical leftist who called for abortion on demand “without exception” and wanted the Hyde Amendment, which bans tax dollars from funding abortions, to be repealed. Furthermore, Amico described herself as a “staunch LGBTQ ally” and promised to push for the Equality Act, which is a direct threat to religious freedom. As the old adage states, follow the money. What people willingly support with their money tells you what they really believe, and Christianity Today isn’t looking good.

Headlines

• Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal calls for day of jihad on Friday the 13th, and tells Muslims to “take to the streets” in protest against Israel (Daily Mail) | Knife-wielding attacker shouts “Allahu akbar” and kills teacher in French school (Fox News)

• White House prepares evacuation flights from Israel for U.S. nationals (Daily Wire)

• Over one million people ordered to evacuate from northern Gaza, UN says (Washington Examiner) | Hamas tells Gaza residents to defy evacuation order (Newsweek)

• Senior Hamas official admits Israel attacks had been planned for years under guise of governing Gaza (Fox News)

• Democrat Senator Bob Menendez accused of acting as a foreign agent in superseding indictment (Fox News)

• Former IRS contractor pleads guilty to leaking Trump tax returns (Just the News)

• Build Back Better? Mortgage rates hit 20-year high (PJ Media)

• The Left is still saying Matthew Shepard was killed for being gay instead being a meth head who got beat senseless by an ex-lover over a drug shipment (Not the Bee)

• Policy: Iran is also responsible (National Review)

• Humor: Bigfoot spotted near U.S. Capitol (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.