Top of the Fold

• Diabetes-related deaths jumped during the pandemic: Over the past two years, the number of Americans who died from diabetes hit record highs of more than 100,000 each year. That represents a rise of 17% in 2020 and 15% in 2021. Diabetes was and is a leading COVID comorbidity factor, but these particular death figures were at least partially due to social isolation that contributes to unhealthy habits thanks to government-imposed lockdowns and other restrictions. Of course, some Democrats responded to this news by using it as yet another excuse to advocate for ever more government intervention. Democrat Senator Patty Murray (WA) used the findings to push for Biden’s Build Back Better socialist boondoggle. What’s missing is an appeal to individual personal responsibility, as the vast majority of increased diabetes numbers across the nation are caused by life choices, not heredity.

• National debt soars to record $30 trillion: Speaking of avoiding responsibility, the national debt has topped $30 trillion for the first time in U.S. history, and the primary contributing factor is massive social spending, much of it tied to the COVID pandemic. Over the last two years, the national debt has swelled by a whopping $7 trillion, as politicians have been spending your money like drunken sailors. To put things into even more shocking perspective, 80% of the current dollars in circulation were printed within the last 22 months. Is it any wonder that inflation has hit a 40-year high? Meanwhile, the only solution the Biden administration offers is to ignore the debt and go on spending more of that freshly printed money.

• ABC suspends Whoopi Goldberg: It’s a rare occasion when a leftist gets in hot water over racially charged comments, but that’s exactly where Whoopi Goldberg finds herself following her claim that the Holocaust was “not about race.” ABC News President Kim Godwin announced that Goldberg had been suspended from “The View” Tuesday evening: “While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments.” But is she really sorry? In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Goldberg said she viewed racism “as being something that I can see.” She explained: “I see you and I know what race you are. This wasn’t based on the skin.” She then added: “You couldn’t tell who was Jewish. They had to delve deeply to figure it out.” Ben Shapiro, who is Jewish, observed, “In a sane world, Whoopi wouldn’t be suspended. But the Left’s standard is that if you say a Bad Thing™ then you lose your job. So they should fire her. Mutually assured destruction until you stop with all of this nonsense.”

• Fertilizer shortage threatens global crops: A nitrogen fertilizer shortage threatens to cut global crop yields, and the shortage is due to soaring natural gas prices, warns CF Industries, a major producer of crop nutrients. Meanwhile, a massive fire burned through a fertilizer plant in North Carolina yesterday causing thousands to evacuate the area over explosion fears due to the presence of an estimated 500 tons of ammonium nitrate at the factory. While so much attention throughout the pandemic has been placed on more obvious economic issues such as the scarcity of semiconductors, a more ominous problem of a fertilizer shortage could lead to food shortages and serious hunger issues on a global scale.

More From Your Patriot Post Team

• Douglas Andrews: The Left Is Losing Black Americans — With its radical agenda, its economic failures, and its soft-on-crime policies, the Left is no longer a natural home for blacks.

• Nate Jackson: Democrats’ Scheme to Win the Midterms — They’ve gerrymandered several states to make retaining their House majority considerably easier.

• Emmy Griffin: Vandy Study Pours Cold Water on Universal Pre-K — This is just another nail in the Build Back Better coffin.

• Michael Swartz: Pot Is Like, Bad, Man — A new study reveals the long-term mental problems caused by Mary Jane.

• Thomas Gallatin: Georgetown Law Panders to the Mob — Professor Ilya Shapiro was suspended and is likely to be fired for daring to criticize Biden’s SCOTUS racial test.

• Douglas Andrews: Impeaching Biden Is the Right Thing to Do — If the president’s nonstop southern-border malfeasance isn’t a high crime, nothing is.

• Jack DeVine: The Trump Enigma — It’s time to face up to the big gorilla in the room.

• Roger Helle: United We Stand — Just like the many promises Biden made about unifying the country, there are many examples of his broken promises.

• In Brief: The Cosby Horror Show — A new documentary delves into just how wrong we all were about America’s Dad.

Security

• Biden orders 3,000 U.S. troops to Europe to support allies in Russia-Ukraine conflict (Just the News)

• Putin slams U.S. response to Moscow’s “security” demands (Politico)

• Biden designates Qatar as a major non-NATO ally (New York Times)

• ICE releases border-crossing terrorist suspect despite FBI recommendation … because he might catch COVID (CIS)

Government & Politics

• Democrat Senator Ben Ray Lujan suffers a stroke, which could complicate Biden’s Supreme Court plans (CNBC)

• State Department rejects Amnesty International’s “apartheid” Israel report (Washington Examiner)

• Kamala Harris marks Holocaust Remembrance Day by attending inauguration of Honduran anti-Semite (Free Beacon)

• GOP bill would require abortionists to report suspected trafficking victims (Daily Signal)

Culture

• Oh, CNN… Jeff Zucker resigns as president after failing to disclose romantic relationship with colleague (National Review)

• NFL sued for racial discrimination by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores (Axios)

• Washington’s NFL team unveils new name as “Commanders” (AP)

• At least 30 law enforcement officers shot last month, up 67% from January 2021 (Fox News)

• Christian school in Dallas hosts racially segregated school clubs (The Federalist)

Health

• Traffic deaths jumped 12% through last fall, continuing pandemic surge (Washington Post)

• Moderna’s COVID vaccine gets full FDA approval (The Verge)

Odds & Ends

• Leaked document reveals Biden’s Afghan failures (Axios)

• Key evidence undermining Ukraine impeachment narrative withheld from Trump defense (PJ Media)

• John Durham going deep into Russiagate; a new U.S. District Court filing reveals an internal DOJ tug-of-war (Washington Times)

Closing Arguments

• Policy: Biden has failed the black community (RNC)

• Satire: While watching “The View” in hell, Hitler surprised to learn Holocaust wasn’t about race (Babylon Bee)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit Headline Report.

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