Cross-Examination

• Biden to deplete oil reserves in wake of OPEC production cut: Following OPEC’s Wednesday decision to cut oil production by two million barrels a day, Joe Biden announced that he will release another 10 million barrels from the U.S.‘s already enfeebled Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an ill-advised effort to counter rising gas prices. The impetus for this move has everything to do with the upcoming midterms, as Biden is desperate to save Democrats from a red wave. The fact of the matter is that releasing oil from the SPR will have little impact on the price at the pump; using it this way is merely a political stunt designed to give the appearance that Biden is doing something. The bigger issue is that the U.S. would not be experiencing this current gas price spike had Biden not caved to the climate activists and implemented an anti-fossil fuel agenda. And despite Biden’s crass and boastful declaration that “no one f***s with a Biden,” it would seem just the opposite is the case. As Clay Travis observes: “So the Saudis made Joe Biden travel all the way to Saudi Arabia to fist bump [Mohammed bin Salman] & beg for oil only to reduce supply by two million barrels a day before midterms, guaranteeing gas prices go up before the election. Yikes. No one in the world respects Biden.” Meanwhile, Biden’s actions will further deplete the SPR, already at its lowest level since 1984, and serve only to threaten our national security preparedness.

• U.S. murder rate rose 4.3% in 2021: According to the FBI’s recently released “Crime in the Nation” report, the murder rate across the nation rose by 4.3% last year, while overall violent crime dipped slightly by just 1%. With this year’s statistics, the FBI notes a substantial and glaring caveat: This report was based on less data than prior years. “For years,” the FBI explained, “the FBI’s [Uniform Crime Reporting] Program has provided annual snapshots of crime in the nation. This year, users will notice a difference in the data because it was exclusively collected via [the National Incident-Based Reporting System] in 2021.” Local law enforcement participation in the FBI’s crime-tracking system significantly dropped last year, as just 63% of local law enforcement agencies and only 52% of all agencies submitted data. That is the lowest participation rate since the late 1970s. So, the question is, just how bad are the real homicide and violent crime rates across the country, with nearly 40% of the nation’s law enforcement crime data unaccounted for?

• U.S. Army misses recruitment goal by 25%: The U.S. Army has come up short of its recruitment goal by 15,000 soldiers, a quarter of its overall target. This represents the biggest shortfall in Army history. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth explained, “In the Army’s most challenging recruiting year since the start of the all-volunteer force, we will only achieve 75% of our fiscal year 22 recruiting goal.” She added: “The Army will maintain its readiness and meet all our national security requirements. If recruiting challenges persist, we will draw on the Guard and Reserve to augment active-duty forces, and may need to trim our force structure.” It was a tough year for recruitment across all U.S. military branches, but all others were able to meet their goals. Still, the future prospect for meeting recruitment targets is looking increasingly difficult across the board. As Maj. Gen. Edward Thomas, the Air Force’s head of recruitment, put it: “Using Air Force lexicon, I would say we’re doing a dead stick landing as we come into the end of fiscal '22, and we’re going to need to turn around on the first of October and do an afterburner takeoff. We’re going to be starting 2023 in a tougher position than we started 2022.” A combination of Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate, his administration’s pushing of a woke agenda onto the ranks, and a growing percentage of young Americans who simply don’t meet the military’s physical fitness requirements have all contributed to these lower recruitment numbers.

Headlines

• An appeals court rules against DACA, but the program continues — for now (NPR) | Biden scolds “MAGA Republicans” after 5th Circuit Court strikes down DACA (Fox News)

• Migrant bus arrives outside Kamala Harris’s DC home (National Review)

• AOC’s district gives illegals the Martha’s Vineyard treatment (PJ Media)

• Biden praises DeSantis over storm recovery efforts (Politico)

• DOJ charges 11 pro-life activists for blocking abortion clinic (National Review)

• Oklahoma governor signs bill stopping gender transition services at children's hospital (Daily Wire)

• Democrats shelve climate change talk on the campaign trail, home in on abortion (Washington Times)

• Secret Service claims no records exist of Biden’s Delaware visitors (Fox News)

• BLM rioter who murdered retired St. Louis police captain sentenced to life in prison without parole (National Review)

• Supreme Court vacates controversial Massachusetts gun control law (Fox News)

• Judge blocks Philadelphia mayor’s gun ban (Daily Wire)

• Velma is officially revealed to be a lesbian in new “Scooby-Doo” film (Fox News)

• Humor: Biden calls Dave Ramsey’s radio show for advice on paying off $31 trillion (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.