Top of the Fold

• House passes “assault weapons” ban: On Friday, the House passed the Democrats’ latest anti-Second Amendment legislation, a ban on so-called “assault weapons.” The bill narrowly passed (217-213) thanks to two Republicans who broke with their party to side with Democrats after five Democrats crossed the aisle and voted against the legislation. If it becomes law, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 would make it illegal to “import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess” a semiautomatic “assault” weapon or large-capacity magazine, though the bill does not call for the removal or confiscation of currently owned weapons. Furthermore, the bill entirely avoids the actual cause of mass shootings, choosing instead to vilify lawful firearm ownership. The good news is that the bill is effectively dead on arrival in the Senate, though it does give Democrats a political talking point to run on in November.

• China: Pelosi’s Taiwan trip marks “invasion”: Beijing has ratcheted up its rhetoric regarding Nancy Pelosi’s upcoming visit to Taiwan. The communist Chinese government has long insisted that the independent country of Taiwan is part of its own territory, and rumors of an imminent invasion of the island nation continue to swirl. On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Joe Biden against “external interference,” and China’s Ministry of Defense directly warned against allowing Pelosi to visit Taiwan, stating that it would incur “strong measures.” Those strong measures included the assertion that her trip would signify an “invasion,” giving China the right to fire on her plane. On Sunday, Pelosi released a statement regarding her planned trip to the Indo-Pacific region and, conspicuously, Taiwan was not included in the list of countries she is slated to visit. However, on Monday, Pelosi’s office confirmed that she will indeed be visiting Taiwan. It will be interesting to see how China responds.

• Air Force drag show: The U.S. military hosted a “family-friendly” drag show at Joint Base Langley-Eustis this past Saturday as part of its first-ever “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summer Festival.” The drag performer called himself Harpy Daniels when giving his show. The woke festival was given the green light by a top base officer, Colonel Gregory Beaulieu, an approval that included the use of military resources. The festival was billed as “Celebrating Differences,” but as Representative Mike Ghallager (R-WI) observed, “Diversity may be a strength for America, but it cannot be an organizing principle for the Pentagon.” Instead, he said: “Actual strength — physical strength, mental strength, and overall end strength — is our strength. DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives risk sapping this strength. By co-opting the Woke Left’s obsession with racial and gender diversity, the Pentagon’s DEI evangelists are ironically stifling the very type of diversity that might improve military performance: intellectual diversity.” Proving Ghallager’s point is the fact that the drag queen acknowledged that he joined the Navy because he needed a steady income to fund his lifestyle. China’s military must be shaking in its boots over this news.

Headlines

• Joe Manchin defends climate/tax deal with Chuck Schumer in multi-show blitz (The Hill) | Deal raises taxes on earners under $400K, study shows (NY Post)

• President Biden tests positive for COVID again (Fox News)

• “We did it, Joe!” Biden has worst job approval at this stage of any modern elected president (Hot Air)

• Supreme Court leak investigators “narrowed it down” (Washington Examiner)

• Chicago prosecutor blasts Kim Foxx in resignation letter, can’t work for office “I don’t respect” (Fox News)

• Can’t fix stupid: San Fransisco to hold gay sex festival despite city declaring emergency over monkeypox outbreak (Daily Wire)

• New media rule: Don’t say gay — the word is conspicuously absent from media coverage of monkeypox (Free Beacon)

• Trans Male cheerleader booted from camp for allegedly choking female teammate (Daily Wire)

• Has crime increased in states that legalized marijuana? The answer is complicated (Washington Examiner)

• CNN journo who reported “fiery but mostly peaceful protests” gets Emmy nomination (Free Beacon)

• Elon Musk countersues Twitter over merger (CNBC)

• “Everything is gone”: Kentucky floods kill at least 28 (Reuters)

• Windy, hot conditions fuel the explosive growth of fires in California and Montana (AP)

• First ship carrying Ukrainian grain leaves the port of Odesa (AP)

• Policy: Why Pelosi must go to Taiwan (Daily Signal)

• Satire: White House hires “This Is Fine” dog as new press secretary (Babylon Bee)

• Humor: Pileup at all-female Tour de France after woman in front stops to ask for directions (Babylon Bee)

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