Cross-Examination

• Senate advances stopgap spending bill as GOP snubs Manchin: West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin got a taste of his own medicine on Tuesday as Senate Republicans, who were blindsided last month by his sudden about-face to vote for Joe Biden’s green energy boondoggle (the falsely titled Inflation Reduction Act), weren’t about to give his energy permit proposal reform a lifeline. Despite Manchin having worked out a deal with Chuck Schumer to have his proposal considered in exchange for his vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, a number of Democrats lined up against it, requiring Republican support for it to pass. But that support never came, as Republicans took issue with Manchin’s permit proposal not going far enough to remove the needless and burdensome bureaucratic red tape that has increasingly limited fossil fuel companies’ ability to gain permits needed for extraction and development. So, Manchin is left hat in hand, with his proposal stripped from the government funding stopgap bill the Senate advanced for a vote today for final passage. The measure is needed to prevent a partial government shutdown this weekend. With Manchin now sitting with proverbial egg on his face, Schumer continued to float the notion that he will still work to honor the deal: “Sen. Manchin, myself and others will continue to have conversations about the best way to ensure responsible permitting reform is passed before the end of the year.”

• Sabotage of Russia-to-Germany pipelines: Underwater explosions in the Baltic Sea, which officials from Denmark are saying were “deliberate actions,” have caused two natural gas pipelines that carry fuel from Russia to Germany to leak. While Danish authorities are convinced the explosions were deliberate, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen noted (with a straight face), “There is no information indicating who could be behind it.” (That maniacal laughter you hear is coming from Moscow.) She also rejected the notion that the incident was intended as an attack against Denmark, pointing out that the incident took place in international waters. The pipelines that were damaged are Nord Stream 1 and 2. The leaks from the natural gas pipelines are apparent on the surface, as they produce foamy white bubbles. The pipelines have not yet been shut off, though the extent of the damage means that the pipelines will be unable to carry natural gas fuel to Europe this winter. Furthermore, once the full extent of the damage is determined, it could mean a permanent closure. Speaking of Russian schemes, the Kremlin claims that it will annex territory in Ukraine currently occupied by the Russian military following recent referendums held in those regions — referendums the U.S. and NATO have rejected as illegitimate. According to Moscow, the residents in the Russian-occupied territory voted overwhelming to join Russia. In reality, these sham referendums were clearly designed to paint a veneer of justification over Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

• Columbia students react to their school ranking as worst for free speech: The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) recently released its annual College Free Speech Rankings, and topping the list of schools for the least free speech was Columbia University. Following FIRE’s published rankings, Columbia students were asked for their opinions, which unsurprisingly were mixed. One student was baffled: “I think everyone here is open-minded, and so I’m not really sure where that’s coming from.” Another student observed: “Of course people think they can’t say things. I think people think they might be judged by the majority.” Yet another student who was surprised by the ranking seemed to epitomize why Columbia got its negative ranking: “I think that there is definitely a homogenous point of view at school, but I don’t think that opposing points of view are necessarily suppressed either.” She then added that “hate speech should definitely at least be monitored” on campus. Several students had a similar response, saying that “hate speech” was unacceptable. Of course, the crux of the issue is who gets to define “hate speech.” FIRE found that just 27% of Columbia students believe it is unacceptable to shout down a speaker to silence them. Furthermore, FIRE observed that 63% of the students surveyed reported feeling worried that others misunderstanding their expressed opinions would be damaging to their reputations, while 22% of students said they self-censored.

Headlines

• Hurricane Ian rapidly strengthens into Category 4 before catastrophic Florida landfall today (TWC)

• Media, Democrats race to make Hurricane Ian all about Governor DeSantis (Daily Wire)

• CNN’s Don Lemon tries to blame Ian on climate change; NOAA’s hurricane director shuts him down (Daily Wire)

• Fake charities are spending millions to help Democrats win elections (Washington Examiner)

• FBI seized $86 million in raid on innocent Americans’ safe boxes after duping judge for warrant (The Federalist)

• “Flagrantly illegal”: Law firm files lawsuit to stop Biden’s student loan forgiveness (Reason)

• Investigation into congressional stock trading reveals massive corruption red flags (Based Politics)

• Next up on the Supreme Court’s agenda: Affirmative action (Hot Air)

• Americans should flee Russia immediately, could be conscripted, U.S. embassy urges (Fox News)

• North Korea fires two ballistic missiles ahead of Harris visit to South (Reuters)

• War on women: Biden White House fuels gender pay gap (Free Beacon)

• Virginia students stage walkout to protest Governor Youngkin’s transgender guidelines (National Review)

• A dozen white women flagellate themselves on their own racism in wild scene from “Deconstructing Karen” doc (Mediaite)

• Netflix drops LGBTQ tag on Jeffrey Dahmer series after viewers’ outrage (NY Post)

• CDC no longer recommends universal masking in health facilities (The Hill)

• COVID vaccines detected in 45% of breast milk (National Pulse)

• Women said coronavirus shots affect periods; new study shows they’re right (WaPo)

• Shareholders demand Pfizer scrap race-conscious policies in the wake of civil rights lawsuit (Free Beacon)

• Iran’s protests show no signs of slowing as anger at “morality police” mounts (Washington Times)

• Humor: Are you a fascist? Twelve signs to look for (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.