Above the Fold

BERNIE SANDERS HOSPITALIZED: “‘During a campaign event yesterday evening, Sen. Sanders experienced some chest discomfort. Following medical evaluation and testing he was found to have a blockage in one artery and two stents were successfully inserted,’ said Sanders’ senior adviser Jeff Weaver on Wednesday in a statement. ‘Sen. Sanders is conversing and in good spirits. He will be resting up over the next few days,’ Weaver said. ‘We are canceling his events and appearances until further notice, and we will continue to provide appropriate updates.’” (ABC News)

HARVARD’S MEDIOCRITY UPHELD: “A federal judge Tuesday cleared Harvard University of discriminating against Asian American applicants in a ruling that was seen as a major victory for supporters of affirmative action in college admissions across the U.S.,” according to the Associated Press. Around this time last year, our own Arnold Ahlert explained how Harvard’s admission policies do a grave disservice to meritocracy and an educated electorate — to the Left’s delight.

Government & Politics

TAX-RETURN LAW BLOCKED: “A U.S. judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a California law aimed at forcing President Donald Trump to release his personal income tax returns in order to appear on the 2020 primary ballot. U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. issued a written opinion saying the law likely violates the U.S. Constitution.” (Associated Press)

DEATH AND TAXES: “Americans on average spent more on taxes in 2018 than they did on the basic necessities of food, clothing and health care combined, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. … The $14,758.11 that the average American consumer unit paid for food, clothing and health care was $3,859.82 less than the $18,617.93 it paid in federal, state and local income taxes, property taxes, Social Security taxes and ‘other taxes.’” (Terence Jeffrey)

NET-NEUTRALITY REPEAL UPHELD: “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission was mostly lawful in its rollback of Obama-era ‘net neutrality’ guidelines, while offering a glimmer of hope to proponents of the guidelines. In a 2–1 ruling, the court said the FCC had acted lawfully in its decision to stop regulating broadband like a utility or a ‘common carrier’ such as a phone service. But it said the FCC had exceeded its authority in attempting to block states from passing their own rules in contradiction of the net-neutrality repeal, as California did in 2018.” (National Review)

TANTAMOUNT TO A WARREN ENDORSEMENT: “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in July that an Elizabeth Warren presidency would pose an ‘existential’ threat to the company, according to over two hours of leaked audio published by The Verge.” (National Review)

Culture & Heartland

ANTI-NRA U-TURN: “Remember last month when San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring the National Rifle Association a domestic terrorist organization and ordered city employees to ‘take every reasonable step to limit’ business interactions with the NRA and its supporters?” asks Jim Geraghty of National Review. “… The NRA sued, and lo and behold, San Francisco is backing down, before the suit even went to court.” The mayor in a new memo states, “No [municipal] department will take steps to restrict any contractor from doing business with the NRA or to restrict City contracting opportunities for any business that has any relationship with the NRA.” Meanwhile, says Geraghty, “The NRA is challenging a similar law passed by the Los Angeles city council requiring city contractors to disclose any ties they have to the gun-rights group.”

PRO-LIFE SETBACK: “A federal judge handed an early win to abortion rights activists Tuesday by blocking Georgia’s restrictive law from going into effect — but it is only the first step as a lawsuit makes its way through the court system. District Judge Steve C. Jones’ ruling stops House Bill 481 from taking effect Jan. 1 while the case plays out. Anti-abortion activists are hoping the case winds up in the U.S. Supreme Court.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

MURDERS DECLINE: “Murder is on the decline in America, according to a new FBI report. The nation’s top federal law enforcement agency found that homicides fell by 6 percent in 2018. The decline in homicides is part of a 3 percent drop in the violent crime rate, according to the Uniform Crime Report, the FBI’s annual tally of crimes reported to local police departments. The 2018 decline follows several years of slight increases in homicide and violent crime, driven largely by spikes in major cities such as Chicago and Washington, D.C.” (The Washington Free Beacon)

FAIRFAX FOLLY: The Daily Caller reports: “A county police department in Virginia announced Tuesday that one of their officers was suspended for turning an illegal alien over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after determining the individual had dodged a deportation hearing. Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. said the officer in question had a ‘lapse in judgment’ when he called ICE about the illegal alien. … Fairfax County has a policy that limits the police department’s cooperation with ICE.” The “lapse in judgment” here is being directed at the wrong person.

OPIOID SETTLEMENT: “Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said on Tuesday it will pay $20.4 million to settle claims by two Ohio counties, allowing the U.S. healthcare giant to avoid an upcoming federal trial seeking to hold the industry responsible for the nation’s opioid epidemic. J&J became the fourth drugmaker to settle claims ahead of the Federal Court trial against multiple manufacturers and distributors in Cleveland scheduled for later this month. The case is considered a bellwether for more than 2,600 lawsuits by state and local governments that are pending nationally.” (Reuters)

Closing Arguments

POLICY: Impeachment or not, the intelligence community is the real loser (Washington Examiner)

POLICY: We won’t restrict investment in China, but we should (American Enterprise Institute)

HUMOR: Nation’s Civil War reenactors have been preparing for this moment their entire lives (The Babylon Bee)

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

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