Top of the Fold

Democrats are never done with guns: When Congress passed and Joe Biden signed significant gun legislation last month so as to appear to “do something” about mass shootings, we warned that they weren’t going to stop there. We were right. “House Democrats pushed ahead Wednesday with legislation that would ban certain semi-automatic weapons,” reports the Associated Press, “as they considered their most far-reaching response yet to this summer’s series of mass shootings.” The AP uses the correct terminology for the guns, but what Democrats are after is reviving their beloved “assault weapons” ban. And just so there’s no mistaking their intent, Representative Jerry Nadler says “the point of the bill” is to ban weapons in common use (the Supreme Court’s definition of firearms protected by the Second Amendment). In fact, Nadler says, “The problem is that they’re in common use.” Those are the words of a tyrant. Next thing you know, the ATF will be showing up at your door demanding to verify your guns. Oh, wait…

Baghdad Bob says the border is secure: “The border is secure,” announced Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week. “We are working to make the border more secure. That has been a historic challenge.” The historic challenge is that Joe Biden has intentionally allowed an invasion and Mayorkas is lying through his teeth about it. Month after month sees new records in illegal border crossings, and that means “the border is secure”? On what planet? “Hundreds of thousands crossing every month is not the definition of secure,” said one Border Patrol agent. “They are liars and anyone who believes them are fools.” Heck, even the mayors of DC and New York City are complaining about being overwhelmed by illegals. That’s not “secure.”

Elections have consequences: Senators Susan Collins and Joe Manchin have introduced legislation aimed at revising the 1887 Electoral Count Act. Former President Donald Trump tried to cajole Vice President Mike Pence into claiming authority via that law to overturn the 2020 election results. Collins, Manchin, and a bipartisan group of other senators want to make clear that the VP has only a “ministerial” role in certifying elections. While that may shore up one weakness, many states are busy expanding other vulnerabilities — namely bulk-mail ballots. Washington Monthly approvingly reports, “Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., have all passed reforms this spring and summer to expand voter access to mail-in ballots, as did New Jersey in 2020.” Despite constant media assertions of the 2020 election being fraud-free (what would perhaps be the only such one in history), bulk-mail and no-excuse mail balloting is an invitation for fraud.

Headlines

• Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19, has “mild symptoms” (AP)

• Biden announces new climate change programs, but no emergency declaration (CNBC)

• Confusion ensues after Biden claims during climate speech that oil refinery gave him cancer (Fox News)

• Officials weigh possible Hunter Biden charges as probe reaches “critical stage” (NY Post)

• White House considers declaring national emergency over abortion pills (Daily Caller)

• “More pronouns, less recruits”: U.S. military facing unprecedented recruiting crisis under Biden (Daily Wire)

• St. Louis man found guilty in murder of David Dorn during summer of rioting (Fox News)

• Two Texas men indicted in deaths of 53 migrants found in sweltering hot truck (NY Post)

• Ford to fund its EV efforts in part by laying off 8,000 workers (Car & Driver)

• AR-15 and AK-47 rifle sales surge to 24 million, more than Ford F-150s (Washington Examiner)

• Chinese spent $6.1 billion on U.S. real estate last year (NY Post)

• ESPN names skier who grew up in U.S. but competed for China “Best Breakthrough Athlete” (Daily Wire)

• October trial date set for Elon Musk-Twitter dispute (Daily Wire)

• Policy: New Title IX rule guts protections for women and girls. Here’s how to fight it. (Washington Examiner)

• Satire: White House clarifies that Biden only claimed to have cancer due to his dementia (Babylon Bee)

• Humor: AOC still handcuffed as Capitol Police misplaced the invisible key (Babylon Bee)

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