Top of the Fold

• Census miscounts favor Democrats: The U.S. Census Bureau reported that it miscounted 14 states’ population numbers for the 2020 census. Of those 14 states, eight were overcounted while six were undercounted. Interestingly, the majority of the states whose populations were overcounted are blue states, whereas the majority of those that were undercounted just happen to be heavily Republican. The state with the highest overcount was Hawaii (+6.8%), whereas the state with the greatest undercount was Arkansas (-5%). The rest of the overcounted states included Delaware, Rhode Island, Minnesota, New York, Utah, Massachusetts, and Ohio. The undercounted states were Texas, Illinois, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the aforementioned Arkansas. Clearly, this miscounting could have significant implications for these states’ representation in Congress, even though the Census Bureau insisted that the miscounts would have no impact on the House or Electoral College. We’re just supposed to take the word of those who miscounted in the first place.

• China tips its hand on Taiwan while a network of retired lawmakers’ CCP connection is exposed: It’s no secret that Beijing has its eyes set on taking the island nation of Taiwan through the use of force. The question has been not one of if, but when China will act. Given how poorly Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has gone, including the world’s raising of severe sanctions against Russia, Beijing has taken note. Chinese strongman Xi Jinping instructed top-level government officials to shed their overseas assets. In other words, the order is for government officials to insulate themselves from potential international sanctions. Clearly, Xi has not changed his mind about “complete reunification” with Taiwan. Meanwhile, it’s been revealed that a number of former U.S. lawmakers have been working to boost the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in America. A nonpartisan transparency group called Project on Government Oversight observed the existence of a “shadow lobbying operation” between the Association of Former Members of Congress, the Capitol Counsel, and the Exchange Foundation that peddles CPP propaganda in Washington. The Exchange Foundation is a think tank that has deep ties to both Democrats and the Chinese government.

• Netflix dumps several woke shows: Following Netflix executives’ memo to employees to essentially get tolerant or get lost, the streaming giant made more moves that appear to go against the Left’s woke doctrine. Netflix pulled the plug on several woke shows that had been in the works, including one from Ibram X. Kendi titled “Antiracist Baby” intended for preschoolers. Netflix also dropped Kendi’s “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You.” On top of that, Netflix announced that it is canceling Megan Markle’s planned feminist animation series intended for children that was about a 12-year-old girl’s voyage of self-discovery as she encountered famous women in history. Netflix insisted that the decision to dump these shows was not based upon a monetary motivation but was rather creative-based. Maybe, but there’s no denying that Netflix has experienced a drop in subscribers and revenue, and that reality was underscored by the fact that it laid off roughly 150 U.S.-based employees last week.

Headlines

• Senate passes $40 billion in new aid to Ukraine; bill heads to Biden (ABC News)

• House passes bill to crack down on alleged gas price gouging (CBS News)

• Hunter Biden reportedly raked in $11 million from overseas biz deals (NY Post)

• Three Senate Democrats reintroduce gun control bill that would require people to get a federal firearm license to procure a gun (Blaze Media)

• “Politically motivated hit piece”: Elon Musk faces sexual assault claim from SpaceX flight attendant (Fox Business)

• El Paso, Texas, considers declaring state of emergency over border crisis (Daily Wire)

• Oklahoma legislature passes strictest U.S. abortion ban starting at “fertilization” (Just the News)

• Starbucks to cover employees’ abortion tourism, “trans” surgeries (CNBC)

• Russia removes top commanders over war failures, UK defense ministry says (Fox News)

• Turkey to block Sweden, Finland NATO bids over “home to terrorists” claims (Fox News)

• Policy: The right way to sanction Russian energy (Foreign Affairs)

• Humor: Elon Musk replaces horn sound on all Teslas with “Let’s Go Brandon” (Babylon Bee)

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