Friday Top News Executive Summary

Government & Politics

BIDEN BUSHWHACKED: “A swath of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, with Kamala Harris leading the way, tore into a stunned Joe Biden with jabs at his nearly five decades in office and his record on race. In what may well turn out to the biggest moment of the first two Democratic debates, the senator from California, 54, took the former vice president to task for opposing busing (designed to end racial segregation in schools) and declared that she had been a victim at age 6, saying ‘I was that little girl.’” (Washington Examiner)

CENSUS DELAY? “President Trump on Thursday said that he is asking his administration to temporarily delay the 2020 census in light of the Supreme Court ruling blocking the question for the time being,” reports The Hill. In a nutshell, SCOTUS wrongly suggests “purity” transcends constitutionality.

ON THE DOCKET: “The Supreme Court finally agreed Friday to referee a two-year-old dispute between President Trump and Democrats in Congress over the fate of nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. The high court showdown, which could be decided in the midst of the 2020 presidential election, will determine whether Trump has the power to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program known as DACA that President Barack Obama created in 2012.” (USA Today)

TROLL MASTER: “With a smirk and a finger point, President Donald Trump dryly told Russia’s Vladimir Putin ‘Don’t meddle in the election’ in their first meeting since the special counsel concluded that Moscow extensively interfered with the 2016 campaign.” (The Associated Press)

TWITTER SPEECH PATROL: “Twitter said Thursday it will start labeling tweets from influential government officials who break its rules against bullying and abusive behavior.” (CNBC)

Immigration

BORDER FUNDING APPROVED: “After a brief showdown over competing emergency humanitarian aid measures to alleviate the crisis at the southern border, the House voted 305-102 on Thursday to pass the Senate’s less restrictive version of the bill. … The vote marked a serious setback for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had vowed not to accept the Republican-led Senate’s legislation.” (NPR)

BANK OF … WHAT? “Bank of America announced they will no longer do business with companies who are involved in the operation of migrant detention centers.” (Washington Examiner)

National Security

ELECTION MEDDLING: “Russia isn’t the only threat to election security going into 2020, as Trump administration officials say they are preparing for meddling from Iran, China, and North Korea.” (The Daily Signal)

NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION: “Last-ditch talks to persuade Tehran not to exceed nuclear limits within days were on course for failure on Friday, as Iranian officials said their demands had not been met and Washington rebuffed European calls to ease sanctions to allow negotiations.” (Reuters)

Culture & Heartland

CLIMATE RACKET: “The New York City Council on Wednesday approved a resolution declaring a climate emergency, calling a sweeping transition to clean energy systems ‘vital to our future.’ … It’s the only U.S. city with more than 1 million people to declare a climate emergency.” (USA Today)

STRAIGHT-PRIDE GREEN LIGHT: “After initially being turned down by the city, Boston’s first ever ‘Straight Pride’ parade has been granted an official date: August 31,” The Daily Wire reports. Interestingly, “A new Harris Poll commissioned by the pro-LGBT media group GLAAD shows that the percentage of non-gay Americans aged 18-34, who are considered allies of the LGBT community, fell from 63% in 2016 to 45% in 2018,” according to CNSNews.com.

Policy

Right on gerrymandering, wrong on the census (National Review)

Don’t laugh at Democrats on health care. Private insurance is a catastrophe (Washington Examiner)

Humor

Major cave-in as Democrat candidates rush to far left side of debate stage (The Babylon Bee)

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