Top of the Fold

• U.S. and Israel agree to prevent Iran from getting nukes: As Joe Biden left for his trip to Israel and the Middle East on Wednesday, he was asked about Iran’s efforts to gain nuclear weapons and if the U.S. would use military force to prevent it. “As a last resort, yes,” Biden answered, adding, “The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons.” Upon arriving in Israel, Biden declared that the U.S.-Israel relationship was “deeper and stronger” than ever. “The connection between the Israeli people and the American people is bone deep.” According to administration officials, Biden’s reason for going to Israel was to sign a new joint agreement that “includes a commitment to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and to address Iran’s destabilizing activities, particularly threats to Israel.” Meanwhile, Biden is still stumping to reestablish Barack Obama’s bad Iran nuclear deal, arguing unconvincingly that Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of it was “a gigantic mistake.” He asserted, “They’re closer to a nuclear weapon now than they were before.” Thanks, of course, to Obama’s terribly conceived Iran nuclear deal.

• Biden’s DOE hired drag queen to top position: A whistleblower in the Department of Energy recently alleged “substantial irregularities” in the agency’s hiring of Samuel Brinton, a man who was a drag queen LGBTQ+ activist and had also defended underage homosexual prostitution. Brinton was hired to a top position within the DOE, which gives him a top secret “Q clearance” and a taxpayer-funded salary of $178,063 — putting him in the top 1% of federal salaries. The trouble beyond Brinton’s deviant sexual behavior and advocacy is that he has little educational background or work experience to justify such a high position and salary. The whistleblower complaint notes that “undue political influence and preferences were applied” to secure Brinton his undeserved position. His “background is limited to select advocacy work and an academic background at the graduate-degree level which together satisfy requirements for the competitive placement of a qualified GS-11 in federal career service, not a high-standing member of the SES (Senior Executive Service).” In other words, this hire smacks of cronyism and favoritism, as government hiring rules appear to have been broken in order to elevate him to such a high federal position. The whistleblower called on the Office of Personnel Management to investigate.

• Biden administration gives leftist group millions to help illegals avoid deportation: We’ve repeatedly observed that the border crisis is in fact designed; the open border is Joe Biden’s de facto policy. Yet another example proving this to be the case is his administration’s recent deal with the leftist nonprofit outfit the Vera Institute of Justice, a group that supports the defunding of police and is opposed to immigration enforcement. The organization specifically works to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants. The Biden administration has just inked a taxpayer-funded multimillion-dollar deal that will contract the Vera Institute to provide immigration-related services specifically for minors caught entering the country illegally. The deal is through 2023 and pays a cool $171.7 million, but if extended to 2027 it could net the leftist organization nearly $1 billion in taxpayer funds. The Vera Institute specifically advocates for ending “mass incarcerations” and for policing policies “that limit the number of people who enter the criminal legal system” because “racial equity makes the public safer.” The Marxist-based ideal of racial “equity” is one of the organization’s major focuses.

Headlines

• Ohio 10-year-old’s alleged rapist is Guatemalan illegal immigrant (Fox News)

• HIPAA violation allegedly filed against abortionist used as sole source for story of 10-year-old rape victim (The Federalist)

• Congress grapples with looming ObamaCare premium hikes ahead of midterms (Washington Times)

• Wholesale prices shoot up near-record 11.3% in June on surge in energy costs (CNBC)

• Clueless Democrats push reconciliation as tool to fight inflation (The Hill)

• Biden lashes out at reporter asking about dismal approval among Dems (Fox News)

• Secret Service agent on Biden’s Israel trip detained, sent home after alleged “physical encounter” with woman (Daily Wire)

• ICE to offer detained migrants abortion services (Daily Wire)

• Border deaths surge under Biden compared with Trump, Obama (Daily Signal)

• Climate activists expand tire-slashing operation beyond New York City (Fox News)

• Two new studies drain the juice out of Biden’s electric vehicle schtick (RedState)

• Policy: Biden’s Middle East failure (RNC)

• Policy: Sri Lanka is what happens when countries fail to realize green policies don’t work (The Federalist)

• Humor: Biden vows to help all minorities whether they’re “black, yellow, or taco” (Babylon Bee)

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