Top of the Fold

• No gas card rebates … because of chip shortage: The government is ultimately the “solution” to all of society’s problems, says the Left. Thus, it’s quite humorous when a story reveals the absolute ineptness of government. The Biden administration recently explored the ridiculous idea of sending Americans rebate cards to offset the skyrocketing price of gas. Not only is “free money” what caused runaway inflation in the first place, but the administration’s hair-brained scheme ran into a big hurdle — the ongoing supply chain issue, which itself was in large part due to the government’s over-the-top response to the COVID pandemic. It turns out that a shortage of microchips precludes the Biden administration from being able to produce enough rebate cards to send to millions of drivers. What’s amazing about this is that Joe Biden continues to look at any potential solution for sky-high gas prices except for the only one that will actually work to lower the price at the pump, which is to unleash the domestic fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, Biden continues to blame Vladimir Putin, saying, “I’m doing everything in my power to blunt Putin’s gas price hike.” No, he’s not.

• “Transgenders” partially banned from women’s swimming: The international governing body for swimming, FINA, has voted to ban males from competing against females in women’s swimming competitions if those males “transitioned” after the age of 12. FINA members overwhelmingly voted 71.5% in favor of the new policy. With Lia Thomas creating a lot of controversy in collegiate women’s swimming this past year — he destroyed several long-held female swimming records — the objective lack of fairness was simply undeniable. The problem is that rather than banning all males outright, FINA’s adoption of a pre-teen “transition” actually works to encourage the abuse of children. Given this obvious implication, FINA spokesman James Pearce contended: “This is not saying that people are encouraged to transition by the age of 12. It’s what the scientists are saying, that if you transition after the start of puberty, you have an advantage, which is unfair.” Pearce further added: “They’re not saying everyone should transition by age 11, that’s ridiculous. You can’t transition by that age in most countries and hopefully you wouldn’t be encouraged to.” If it’s so “ridiculous,” why create a policy that effectively encourages the very thing you say you oppose? If you indeed want to discourage children from “transitioning,” wouldn’t it send a clearer message to outright ban males from competing as women?

• UK grants U.S. Julian Assange extradition request: On Friday, a British court green-lighted the U.S. extradition request for WikiLeaks creator Julian Assange. A message from the British Home Office stated that “the U.K. courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr. Assange.” Following his publishing of a slew of classified U.S. documents that prosecutors allege Assange helped then-U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning steal, he has been on the U.S. most-wanted list. Charged with 17 counts of espionage, the U.S. has long sought to bring the Australian national into custody. Assange plans to appeal the court’s ruling. His lawyer, Barry Pollack, responded that it was “disappointing news that should concern anyone who cares about the First Amendment and the right to publish.” Assange faces up to 175 years in prison if convicted in U.S. court.

Headlines

• Bye-bye, Fourth of July? CNN contributor says Juneteenth is “America’s true birthday” (Free Beacon) (BTW, a few outcomes from the Juneteenth celebrations last weekend: In Chicago, it was another bloody weekend with 47 people shot and four killed. In Washington, D.C., chaos broke out when gunfire erupted, killing a teenager and injuring one police officer and at least two others. A shooting in New York City left one dead and eight injured.)

• “Serious doubts” about gun deal emerge as Senate conservatives begin to push back (Hot Air)

• Stephen Colbert’s staff arrested at U.S. Capitol complex for unlawful entry into House building (Townhall)

• Pro-abortion protests erupt outside Coney Barrett’s home soaked in blood-stained clothes (Townhall)

• Kamala Harris falsely says support for abortion does not require people to “abandon their faith” (Daily Wire)

• Justice Clarence Thomas gets surprise defense from Justice Sotomayor (Daily Wire)

• Woman who found Ashley Biden’s diary is under FBI investigation for selling the journal (Daily Mail)

• The moment Hunter Biden says his father will do anything he tells him to (Washington Examiner)

• Texas and Arizona send 79 buses full of 2,500 illegals to Washington, DC (PJ Media)

• Biden’s sinking popularity isn’t enough to bring back Hillary Clinton in 2024 (Washington Times)

• World Health Organization head now “privately” blames Chinese lab for pandemic (Daily Wire)

• Youth suicide spike linked to increased access to puberty blockers and sex-change hormones, study shows (Washington Times)

• The pinnacle of hypocrisy: Jennifer Lopez — a celebrity who built her career marketing herself as a sex object — introduces her child using gender-neutral pronouns (Fox News)

• Belief in God (but not the God of the Bible) in U.S. dips to 81%, a new low (Gallup)

• Policy: The unsustainable costs of Biden’s climate agenda (Heritage Foundation)

• Satire: Explorers discover remote island untouched by Pride Month (Babylon Bee)

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