Top of the Fold

• DeSantis sues the Biden admin for unlawful immigration policy: Following the Biden administration’s recent immigration policy change known as “Parole + Alternative to Detention,” in which illegal aliens are released within the U.S. without a legal process for removal being initiated, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cried foul and launched a lawsuit. “The Biden administration has not only consciously refused to enforce immigration laws, but it has also developed an operation to secretly resettle illegal aliens into communities across Florida and the rest of the United States," DeSantis noted. "They’re doing this in the dark of night without any coordination with states, without any background checks, and without any efforts to initiate the legal process for their removal.” This is now the second lawsuit DeSantis has raised against Biden’s immigration policy, with the first one revolving around the reintroduction of Barack Obama’s “catch and release” policy.

• U.S. intel warns of Russian “false flag” operation: As tensions continue to rise between Ukraine and Russia, U.S. intelligence is warning of a Russian “false flag” operation as a pretext for Vladimir Putin’s green-lighting of invasion. According to a U.S. intelligence official: “We have information that indicates Russia has already pre-positioned a group of operatives to conduct a false-flag operation in eastern Ukraine. The operatives are trained in urban warfare and in using explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against Russia’s own proxy-forces.” Furthermore, the official noted, “Our information also indicates that Russian influence actors are already starting to fabricate Ukrainian provocations in state and social media to justify a Russian intervention and sow divisions in Ukraine.” Such a false-flag operation by Russia is not unprecedented, as it engaged in similar tactics prior to its 2014 invasion of Crimea.

• Hochul signs Dems’ gerrymandered redistricting map: On Thursday, Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed off on the Democrats’ new congressional redistricting map, which Republicans called “illegally gerrymandering themselves into permanent power.” With the new, clearly partisan redistricting map, Republicans could lose four congressional seats, moving from a current 19-8 Democrat/Republican makeup to 22-4, producing one of the biggest seat shifts in the country. With all the Democrats moaning and handwringing over a Republican “threat to democracy,” it’s the Democrats who are guilty of producing the most unbalanced and gerrymandered congressional map in the country.

• South Dakota culture wars: On Thursday, Republican Governor Kristi Noem signed a state Senate bill banning biological males from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Noem was criticized for vetoing similar legislation last year, but she touted this bill as designed to ensure “fairness” in sports. The bill does not exclude biological females from competing in boys sports. Meanwhile, it may appear that Noem and the Republican-dominated state legislature have finally gotten on the same page, but the legislature’s rejection of the governor’s “heartbeat” bill seems to indicate otherwise. In a bit of tit-for-tat, House Speaker Spencer Gosch explained: “I am as pro-life as can be, and because of that, I do not want to do not want to do something that will jeopardize our involvement in a court case that could abolish abortion in this country.” He added: “It’s the Legislature’s job to legislate, not the governor’s. What she had wasn’t a bill. It was language, and we said that it’s not going to be a bill.” Recall that Noem had used a similar excuse in justifying her veto of the legislature’s bill protecting female sports last year.

More From Your Patriot Post Team

• Mark Alexander: Joe Biden, Super Hero Crime Fighter? — Surging violence is the direct result of Democrat urban politics and policies, not a “gun problem.”

• Douglas Andrews: Don’t Watch One Minute of China’s Genocide Olympics — The ruthless regime is thirsty for a propaganda win, and we should oppose it entirely.

• Nate Jackson: The Resilient American Economy — January’s jobs report looked good, and upward revisions to previous months are encouraging.

• Emmy Griffin: Even Biden’s State Department Excoriates Amnesty International — AI accuses Israel of being an apartheid state, a falsehood that its enemies have long been spreading.

• Brian Mark Weber: Jordan Peterson Leaves Authoritarian Academia — The famed Canadian academic has had enough of cancel culture and “diversity.”

• Thomas Gallatin: Black Coach’s NFL Lawsuit Exposes Rooney Rule Racism — The league’s efforts to “stop racism” have only added fuel for the race hucksters.

• Douglas Andrews: Our $30 Trillion Albatross — No one likes to talk about it, but that doesn’t excuse us.

• Ron Helle: Courage for the Things of His Kingdom — Courage doesn’t just magically appear in the heat of battle; it is a construct of several elements.

• In Brief: Is Christianity Harming American Men? — Men face rising rates of depression, suicide, and disengagement from the workforce. And the church is not helping.

Government & Politics

• Schumer falsely claims Supreme Court “was all white men” until 1981, ignoring Thurgood Marshall (Fox News)

• D'oh! Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending hamstrung by his own bureaucratic red tape (Washington Times)

• Kamala Harris speechwriter joins growing list of resigning staffers (New York Post)

• CNN, MSNBC, NYT, and WaPo completely avoid Johns Hopkins study finding COVID lockdowns ineffective (Fox News)

Economy

• Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch: Facebook suffers biggest one-day value drop of any U.S. company in history (Washington Examiner)


• Inflation hits Amazon: Price of Prime memberships going up (Fox Business)

• Used-car prices may be easing, research shows (CNBC)

Culture

• Sixteen Penn swimmers say Lia Thomas should be barred from competition (New York Post)

• ActBlue still allowing BLM to solicit donations despite charity’s shutdown claim (Washington Examiner)

• Standing firm … for now: Spotify CEO tells employees Joe Rogan is necessary for “achieving our bold ambitions” (Washington Examiner) | Obamas considering leaving Spotify (Daily Wire)

• Brad Pitt built dozens of homes in New Orleans after Katrina. Now they’re falling apart and residents are suing. (NBC News)

Closing Arguments

• Policy: U.S. isn’t ready for nuclear rivalry with China and Russia (Bloomberg)

• Humor: Whoopi Goldberg says Order 66 “wasn’t about the Jedi” (Babylon Bee)

• Related humor: Biden quietly withdraws Goldberg SCOTUS nomination (Babylon Bee)

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

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