Cross-Examination

• Fueling electric vehicles costs roughly $17 a gallon: Who knew free fuel could be so expensive? The efforts of leftists like Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg to force the electric vehicle revolution on carmakers and consumers have been exposed in numerous ways of late. But now we have a new study showing that fueling EV costs roughly the equivalent of $17 per gallon. Yowsa. As calculated in the 16-page report from the Texas Public Policy Institute, “The average model year 2021 EV would cost $48,698 more to own over a 10-year period without $22 billion in government favors given to EV manufacturers and owners.” It’s the subsidies, stupid. Furthermore: “The cost of charging equipment and charging losses, averaged out over 10 years and 120,000 miles, is $1.38 per gallon equivalent on top of [the $1.21 per gallon cost claimed by EV advocates]. Adding the costs of the subsidies to the true cost of fueling an EV would equate to an EV owner paying $17.33 per gallon of gasoline.” EVs aren’t all negative. They deliver spectacular torque at the starting line, for example. But it’s becoming clearer by the day that in its desire to pick winners and losers, Big Government has jumped the gun on the demise of the internal combustion engine.

• Trump files motion for mistrial in NYC fraud case: Anyone who believes Donald Trump can get a fair trial by a jury of his peers in a Manhattan courthouse is either a Democrat or hasn’t been paying attention to the comedic nature of the case. Accordingly, the Trump legal team requested a mistrial yesterday in his New York fraud case, arguing that the “tangible and overwhelming” Trump hatred of the cartoonish trial judge, Arthur Engoron, and his principal law clerk has “tainted” the case, threatening “both Defendants’ rights and the integrity of the judiciary as an institution.” About that bias: Last year, Engoron told Trump’s attorney that the former president is “just a bad guy” and that Trump-hating New York Attorney General Letitia James “should go after” him. James, in fact, ran for office on a promise to “get” Trump, and earlier this week she was caught smirking in the courtroom as Donald Trump Jr. took the stand. Class act, that AG. Engoron, for his part, has already ruled Trump liable for “persistent fraud,” and he issued a sleazy gag order against Trump last month in an attempt to silence him. No bias to see here, folks. Move along.

• Pro-Hamas protest turns violent in DC: It “scared me more than January 6,” said one House Democrat who was there yesterday during the anti-Israel, pro-Hamas riot at the Democratic National Committee headquarters — a riot that injured six Capitol Police and caused the evacuation of the DNC HQ. “Someone sent out word for people to come [back] and police said it’s not safe,” the lawmaker said. “Police were wearing gas masks. … This was not peaceful.” Whomever that honest Democrat lawmaker was, we suspect he’ll be disciplined for his candor by leadership. Can’t have folks deviating from the official J6 “insurrection” narrative, y'know. Democrats, it seems to us, are simply reaping the cultural Marxism they’ve sown on our college campuses. This riot wasn’t just “pro-Palestinian,” though; it was also violently anti-Jew. “Tonight 6 officers were treated for injuries — ranging from minor cuts to being pepper sprayed to being punched,” posted the Capitol Police. “One person has been arrested for assault on an officer.” What’s that? Only one person arrested? How can that be? Where’s the full force of the federal government and the FBI when we need it most?

• Arrests made in case of teen boy “hate-crimed” to death by mob: It was a sickening example of mob violence, but the wheels of justice are grinding forward. As the New York Post reports, “Eight teens were arrested and charged with murder in the ‘senseless beating’ of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. as authorities revealed Tuesday the after-school fight in Las Vegas started over stolen headphones.” We’re not sure about the adjective “senseless” here. After all, what could be more sensible than mobbing up and videotaping and curb-stomping a kid to death over a pair of headphones that they apparently stole from him? The deceased boy had defended a smaller friend who’d been stuffed into a trash can, said his father. “Jonathan was actually attacked first by a few kids, and they couldn’t beat him up because he was so strong. And then so all the other kids joined in and beat him to death after that.” At a news conference, a Las Vegas police spokesman “was asked whether authorities were investigating the incident as a possible hate crime since Lewis was White and most of the teens involved in the beating are Black,” according to The Washington Post. “Police indicated they do not believe it was a hate crime.” Is it just us, or does certain crime seem to have a higher hate-crime threshold than certain other crime?

• Terrorism and the border: A Muslim individual on the FBI’s terror watch list was involved in a shootout with Austin, Texas, police who were called to a house in which individuals had been attacked. The terrorist was killed in the shootout. Sadly, two of the responding officers were shot by him during the exchange, with one of them dying from his wounds. There were also two deceased victims in the house, identified as the terrorist’s mother and brother. Police also uncovered his plans to carry out terror attacks against the public. Meanwhile, National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine Abizaid went before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday and dubiously claimed there was no evidence that foreign terrorist groups are taking advantage of Joe Biden’s open border. “As we look at the global terrorism environment,” Abizaid stated, “as we look at foreign terrorist organizations’ intentions to try and seed operatives into the United States, we don’t have indications that are credible or corroborated that those terrorist organizations are trying to do that at this time.” Abizaid’s claims run counter to that of FBI Director Christopher Wray, who said that “one of the areas we are of concern is individuals who, once here, information later comes in.”

• BBC apologizes for pushing anti-Israel propaganda: The British Broadcasting Company issued an apology to its viewers for its erroneous reporting that “medical teams and Arab speakers were being targeted” by Israeli forces. In reality, the IDF had embedded medical professionals and Arabic speakers within its own forces that were tasked with clearing Hamas jihadis out of the Al Shifa Hospital. In other words, the IDF was doing the exact opposite of the BBC’s reporting, as the IDF was engaged in an operation to root out and remove Hamas militants from the hospital while also making every effort to protect and preserve the lives of the innocent within it. This kind of “accidental” reporting happens because of a flawed worldview that automatically assigns an oppressor and oppressed template over all situations irrespective of the truth.

• Florida’s about-face on banning Students for Justice in Palestine: In the wake of Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack against Israel, the pro-Hamas organization Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) issued a call for all SJP chapters across the country to “join the call for mass mobilization.” The call included a statement that praised Hamas’s murderous attack against innocent Israelis as “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance … [against] the Zionist entity.” In response, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration banned SJP groups in state schools, with state university system chancellor Ray Rodrigues citing state law that makes “providing material support … to a designated foreign terrorist organization” a felony. However, DeSantis’s administration soon reversed course and lifted its ban following a challenge raised by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) that charged the state with violating First Amendment protections for free speech. DeSantis’s office is instead working with colleges to get these SJP groups to affirm “a rejection of violence, renunciation of Hamas, and commitment to upholding the law.”

• Ben Shapiro slams Candace Owens: A video clip depicting Daily Wire cofounder Ben Shapiro has gone viral in which he is captured blasting fellow commentator Candace Owens as “disgraceful.” What’s the context behind this apparent haymaker? Recently, Owens has been expressing opinions the Jewish Shapiro clearly considers anti-Israel — opinions based on factual inaccuracies, such as the false “apartheid” claim that Muslim Israelis are only permitted to live in certain “Muslim quarters” within Israel. She also claimed that support for Israel has “virtually collapsed socially,” pointing to the numerous pro-Hamas protests as evidence. She then asserted that the reason support remains for Israel is all tied to money. In other words, it seems Owens has been treading in anti-Semitic waters. Ergo, when Shapiro was questioned about her behavior, he called it “disgraceful.” He added that while she still remains employed by The Daily Wire, “I think that her faux sophistication on these particular issues has been ridiculous.” The only question is, how much longer will Owens remain with Shapiro and company?

Headlines

• Senate approves stopgap funding bill to avert government shutdown (National Review)

• CNBC anchor tries to Corner Mike Johnson on church and state, gets a history lesson instead (Daily Wire)

• Speaker Johnson says Biden impeachment inquiry has reached stage for “key” witness testimony (Daily Wire)

• Biden again calls Xi Jinping a “dictator” as China vows to be “unstoppable” in retaking Taiwan (Fox News) | Antony Blinken winces as Biden calls Xi “dictator” (New York Post)

• House Republican demands names of U.S. executives who attended dinner where Xi received standing ovation (National Review)

• Migrant encounters at southern border set new record for October (Fox News)

• Texas passes bill allowing state police to arrest, deport illegal immigrants (National Review)

• Nikki Haley says “every person on social media should be verified by their name” when she becomes president (Not the Bee)

• Osama bin Laden is duping young people on TikTok from the grave (National Review)

• Rashida Tlaib part of hidden Facebook group that glorifies Hamas, mocks hostages (New York Post)

• American multimillionaire couple fund Marxist group coordinating anti-Israel protests (Fox Business)

• Satire: Palestinian at hospital for colonoscopy not sure about this doctor holding grenade launcher (Babylon Bee)

• Satire: After five minutes with Biden, Xi gives order to invade Taiwan (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.