• “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Congress on Wednesday that the situation at the U.S. southern border is ‘truly an emergency.’ The United States is experiencing a ‘real serious and sustained crisis at our borders,’ Nielsen said. … ‘The projections are dire,’ she said. ‘The agency is now on track to apprehend more migrants crossing illegally in the first six months of this fiscal year than the entirety of [fiscal year 2017]. And at the current pace, we are on track to encounter close to one million illegal aliens at our southern border this year.’” (The Washington Free Beacon)

• “The leading 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have come out in force to support Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) after her latest round of anti-Semitic remarks, declaring that her statements do not constitute anti-Semitism. … Democrats were going to introduce another resolution this week to condemn Omar’s anti-Semitism, but after outrage from the far-left wing of the Democratic Party, it appears as though the party will no longer introduce a resolution specifically condemning Omar but will condemn all hate. The leading 2020 Democratic candidates — Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — also weighed in on Omar’s growing anti-Semitism scandal, stating that they did not believe her anti-Semitic remarks were actually anti-Semitic.” (The Daily Wire)

• “The Democratic National Committee (DNC) said Wednesday it would not permit Fox News to host a presidential primary debate, citing an explosive story this week alleging deep ties between the conservative network and President Trump’s inner circle,” The Hill reports. Trump responded, “Democrats just blocked @FoxNews from holding a debate. Good, then I think I’ll do the same thing with the Fake News Networks and the Radical Left Democrats in the General Election debates!”

• “A sprawling General Motors assembly plant near Youngstown was idled on Wednesday after more than 50 years producing cars and other vehicles, a move that will eliminate nearly 1,700 hourly positions by month’s end. … The Cruze, once a popular and well-reviewed compact car made in Lordstown since 2011, has become the victim of consumer tastes as car buyers in an era of inexpensive gasoline have shown strong preferences for trucks, SUVs and crossover-type vehicles, all of which produce far bigger profits than sedans for GM.” (Associated Press)

• “Cody Weddle, a Venezuela-based freelance reporter, was released late Wednesday after spending 12 hours in custody — underscoring the ongoing political crisis in the South American nation. Weddle, a 28-year-old Virginia native, was detained early Wednesday after Venezuela’s Military Counterintelligence, DGCIM, raided his home in Caracas. His assistant, Carlos Camacho, was also detained and their equipment seized. … Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott demanded Weddle’s release and the U.S. State Department accused Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro of preferring to ‘stifle the truth rather than face it.’” (Miami Herald)

• “Once a rising Republican star, former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock’s public fall from grace began with stories of his lavish tastes, including the extravagant remodeling of his Washington office inspired by the British television series ‘Downton Abbey.’ After he resigned in 2015 amid a federal investigation, Schock, of Peoria, was hit with a sweeping criminal indictment alleging he used his government and campaign funds as a personal piggy bank… On Wednesday, however, Schock’s story took a stunning turn — one virtually unheard of in a high-profile corruption case. In a surprise move, federal prosecutors in Chicago announced they had agreed to drop all charges against Schock in what’s known as a deferred prosecution. Under the terms of the deal, Schock, 37, must pay back taxes to the IRS and $68,000 to his congressional campaign funds.” (Chicago Tribune)

• “A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from including a citizenship question on the 2020 census, ruling the decision to add the question is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of the district court in San Francisco is the second federal judge to reject the Trump administration’s bid to include the citizenship question on the upcoming census questionnaire. … The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last month to consider the issue, and the justices will hear arguments in the case out of New York in April.” (Washington Examiner)

• “Sen. Martha McSally, the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat, disclosed during an emotional Senate hearing on Wednesday she was ‘preyed upon and then raped’ in the Air Force by a superior officer. … McSally said she didn’t report the assault because she didn’t trust the system, and was ashamed and confused. … The revelation came just weeks after Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, came forward in January with her story of being raped by a former boyfriend, saying she decided to do so after details of her divorce were made public.” (Fox News)

• “The dream of the $15 minimum wage was finally realized among Amazon employees after the company caved to mounting pressure and implemented it company-wide on Nov. 1. But according to a new report, the improved wages aren’t working out as many employees had hoped at Amazon’s Whole Foods grocery store chain. … The employees, speaking on condition of anonymity ‘for fear of retaliation,’ revealed … that they’ve seen an average of about a 30% reduction in hours per week for part-timers and about a 10% reduction for full-timers.” (The Daily Wire)

• Humor: Nation’s Republicans weep bitterly upon learning Hillary Clinton not running in 2020 (The Babylon Bee)

• Policy: “Putting reparations in practice today would be challenging… and misguided,” says Lone Star Policy Institute Director Doug McCullough. Read more about “The Problems With Social Justice Economics.”

• Policy: The Heritage Foundation’s Lee Edwards explains why “Socialism Is a Rigid Ideology That Always Ends in Tyranny.”

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.