Top of the Fold

• Jill Biden issues apology after stepping in it with Hispanics: “The first lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community,” reads a social media post delivered by Jill Biden’s spokesman, Michael LaRosa. The secondhand apology came after Mrs. DOCTOR Biden delivered a speech in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday in which she compared Latinos to breakfast tacos. The statement ignited a firestorm of criticism, with several leading Hispanic figures blasting the first lady’s comments as insulting. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists sought to educate the educator: “NAHJ encourages FLOTUS & her communications team to take time to better understand the complexities of our people & communities. We are not tacos. Our heritage as Latinos is shaped by various diasporas, cultures & food traditions. Do not reduce us to stereotypes.” Jill’s comment was not some off-the-cuff gaffe but a prepared remark. The English professor and her team signed off on this stereotyped comment ahead of time, evidently believing it would be well received. This type of misstep underscores why so many Latinos feel disrespected by Democrats and are jumping to the Republicans.

• Senate confirms ATF chief: For the first time since 2015, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) will have a Senate-confirmed director. That’s not good news. On Tuesday, Joe Biden’s ATF nominee Steve Dettelbach was confirmed to head the agency by a 48-46 vote. Two Republicans, Susan Collins (ME) and Rob Portman (OH), crossed the aisle to side with Democrats. The vote was made possible after the Senate bypassed a filibuster despite the fact that both Democrat Senators Chuck Schumer and Richard Blumenthal were absent due to COVID. Dettelbach received endorsements from several groups, including the National Sheriff’s Association and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. The White House pointed to the confirmation as yet another step in Biden’s efforts to tackle “gun violence.” The National Rifle Association warned against Dettelbach, noting: “[He] endorsed gun bans, restrictions on lawful firearm transfers, and further expansion of prohibitions on who can lawfully posses a firearm. In short, it’s unclear what gun control measures Dettlebach doesn’t support.” Another point against Dettelbach is that he has admitted to never owning a firearm, which sort of seems like a prerequisite. It appears that an anti-gun guy will now head the ATF. What could go wrong?

• Twitter sues Musk: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently backed out of his deal to purchase Twitter. After Musk’s $44 billion offer to acquire the social media giant was accepted, wrangling over the number of fake accounts threatened to derail the purchase. Musk alleged that Twitter’s public claim that fewer than 5% of its users are fake or spam bots is well below his team’s estimation, and he therefore demanded inside company data in order to verify Twitter’s claim. Twitter execs initially refused but then apparently acquiesced. However, according to Musk, the mountain of internal data Twitter handed over was mostly irrelevant, and after more back and forth he pulled the plug on the deal. Well, Twitter has now sued Musk, stating, “Having mounted a public spectacle to put Twitter in play, and having proposed and then signed a seller-friendly merger agreement, Musk apparently believes that he — unlike every other subject to Delaware contract law — is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away.” Musk responded to the lawsuit by tweeting a meme depicting himself laughing with the following captions: “They said I couldn’t buy Twitter; Then they wouldn’t disclose bot info; Now they want to force me to buy Twitter in court; Now they have to disclose bot info in court.”

Headlines

• Inflation rose 9.1% in June, even more than expected, as price pressures intensify (CNBC)

• Joe Biden defends Saudi Arabia trip as bid to “strengthen a strategic partnership” (Fox News)

• John Bolton casually admits he’s planned coups before (Daily Wire)

• “Is this how you run your classroom?” Senator Hawley, law professor clash in heated exchange over who can get pregnant (Fox News)

• New WHO guidance says gender “not limited to male or female” (NY Post)

• Church of England refuses to define the word “woman” (Fox News)

• Video shows police responding to shooting inside Robb Elementary School (Austin American-Statesman)

• California governor signs bill allowing gun makers to be sued (Daily Wire)

• Anthony Fauci admits COVID vaccines do not protect “overly well” against infection (Fox News)

• President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees Sri Lanka on military jet (BBC)

• Policy: Inflation is the five-alarm fire burning down the economy (NR)

• Humor: Polls indicate more breakfast tacos leaning Republican (Babylon Bee)

• Humor: Kamala Harris quotes as motivational posters (The Federalist)

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