Top of the Fold

• House Democrats pass gun control bills: On Wednesday, House Democrats passed several gun control measures under their euphemistic goal of seeking to combat “gun violence.” The legislation passed largely along party lines. One bill, the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” would raise the purchasing age of semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21 as well as require firearm owners to store their guns in such a way that prevents minors from gaining access. It imposes a penalty of up to five years in prison should a minor gain access. Furthermore, the bill would make straw purchases a federal crime and would ban dealers from selling firearms with magazines that hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition. Democrats predictably played upon the emotions of those who suffered from the recent Uvalde school massacre, insisting that doing nothing — meaning not passing more of their Second Amendment-infringing legislation — was not acceptable and that lawmakers would be guilty of promoting more bloodshed. Of course, Democrats claim that their gun control measures don’t infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights. But Republicans called out the Democrats’ blatant power grab. Representative Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) observed that the votes were “designed to advance the radical Democrat base that believes no private citizen should ever be able to own a gun.” The bills are destined to die in the Senate, as they are nonstarters with Republicans. The only significant issue some GOP senators appear sympathetic to is raising the purchasing age for semiautomatic rifles.

• Former Democrat Pennsylvania congressman pleads guilty to election fraud: Michael “Ozzie” Myers pleaded guilty to election fraud this week, agreeing that he conspired “to deprive voters of civil rights, bribery, obstruction of justice, falsification of voting records, and conspiring to illegally vote in a federal election.” The Justice Department further noted that “Myers admitted in court to colluding with the Judge of Elections for the 39th Ward, 36th Division in South Philadelphia, Domenick J. Demuro, in a fraudulent scheme over several years … bribing Demuro to illegally add votes for certain candidates of their mutual political party in primary elections.” Myers paid Demuro between $300 and $5,000 per election wherein the judge would both add fraudulent votes and then certify the cooked voting results. Myers pleaded guilty for engaging in the ballot-stuffing fraud that favored his preferred Democrat candidates in elections between 2014 and 2018. Myers was booted from Congress way back in 1980 after he was caught taking bribes.

• Nassar victims sue the FBI over failure to act: Several victims of former sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was found guilty of sexually abusing and assaulting several minor gymnasts over several years, have raised a $1 billion lawsuit against the FBI. “The FBI knew that Larry Nassar was a danger to children when his abuse of me was first reported in September of 2015,” stated Team USA gymnast Maggie Nichols. “For 421 days, they worked with USA Gymnastics and USOPC to hide this information form the public and allowed Nassar to continue molesting young women and girls. It is time for the FBI to be held accountable.” The lawsuit, which includes 90 claimants, comes after the FBI announced late last month that it would not be charging any of its agents involved in the Nassar investigation. This decision came after it was found that FBI agents repeatedly ignored sexual abuse allegations against Nassar, sought to cover up their missteps, and then lied to investigators. Last year, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee agreed to a $380 million settlement with Nassar’s victims.

Headlines

• Would-be assassin arrested outside Brett Kavanaugh’s home as House Dems stall on SCOTUS security (Free Beacon)

• J6 panel to put Trump at center of “coordinated, multistep effort” to overturn election (The Hill) | Pentagon first offered National Guard to Capitol four days before J6 riots, memo shows (Just the News)

• Biden takes aim at Republicans, Trump during appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (Fox News)

• Hunter Biden paid full-time salary to stripper who fathered his child (Washington Examiner) | 168,000 deleted files recovered from Hunter’s laptop (Washington Examiner) |

• In reversal, Twitter plans to comply with Elon Musk’s demands for bot data (Washington Post)

• Mortgage demand hits 22-year low as interest rates rise (NY Post)

• Texas under threat of rolling blackouts amid heatwave (Fox Business)

• Policy: Oil is as secure as it gets (RCP)

• Satire: Historic Powerball lotto jackpot now up to two tanks of gas (Babylon Bee)

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