Cross-Examination

• Martha’s Vineyard lawsuit dismissed: When 49 illegal immigrants showed up on Martha’s Vineyard last September, one would have thought the bucolic island had just been invaded by a horde of Vikings given the response of the wealthy residents. The illegals had been sent to the island by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a brilliant move designed to highlight Joe Biden’s border malfeasance. Of course, it was less than 48 hours before all the illegals had been removed from the island, but the islanders’ hypocrisy had been exposed, and for this DeSantis had to pay for the embarrassment. Democrats ran to the media accusing DeSantis of various crimes for simply offering illegals a free ticket to Martha’s Vineyard. No one was deceived or coerced against their will, but that didn’t stop lawsuits from being raised against DeSantis. On Monday, one of those lawsuits was thrown out by a Leon County circuit judge, who rejected the claim that the Florida Department of Transportation had failed to fully comply with public records requests regarding the transport of illegals to Martha’s Vineyard. What this shows is that DeSantis has been consistently careful to play by the book. He knows how to engage in a political fight while avoiding being tripped up by opponents who attempt to throw up frivolous legal hurdles to prevent him from succeeding.

• Stephen Curry says NIMBY: NBA superstar Stephen Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, has been a vocal supporter of Joe Biden. When it comes to politics, Curry checks off all the usual leftist social justice issue boxes. However, like so many of these privileged leftists, when it comes to walking the talk, they suddenly experience a change of heart. Case in point: Curry owns a $30 million mansion in Atherton, California, a wealthy and exclusive community a few miles south of San Francisco. Recently, Stephen and his wife, Ayesha, sent a letter to Atherton officials voicing their objection to the building of a low-income development near their home. “We hesitate to add to the ‘not in our backyard’ (literally) rhetoric, but we wanted to send a note before today’s meeting,” they wrote. “Safety and privacy for us and our kids continues to be our top priority and one of the biggest reasons we chose Atherton as home.” This from a couple active in voicing their support for various “social justice” and “racial inequality” issues. It’s yet another example of leftist elites who have no problem calling for others to sacrifice their safety and security for leftist political causes, while refusing to subject themselves to those same demands.

• Utah vs. the groomers: Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox showed some backbone on Monday when he refused to back down to the demands of the Rainbow Mafia and signed into law legislation that will protect children from being physically mutilated in service to the cult of transgenderism. The bill that Cox signed will prevent children from being exploited via the deceptively termed “gender-affirming care” industry. It bans “hormonal transgender treatment to new patients who were not diagnosed with gender dysphoria.” It furthermore precludes children from receiving any “gender transitioning” surgical procedures. Cox argued that the law was prudent due to the “permanent and life-altering” reality of these “treatments” with little existing research into the long-term consequences of such extreme actions. Cox noted, “We sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures.” Utah now becomes the latest state to ban the medical “transitioning” of children, with 18 others looking at implementing similar legislation.

Headlines

• More police officers relieved of duty over death of Tyre Nichols, EMTs fired (Daily Wire)

• Dems preemptively discredit John Durham (Daily Wire)

• Pakistani terrorists using weapons Biden left behind in Afghanistan (Free Beacon)

• U.S. general warns country could be at war with China by 2025 (National Review)

• Biden announces date for the official end of COVID emergency despite previous pandemic declaration (Fox News)

• In blow to Biden DOJ, jury acquits pro-life activist of all charges (Just the News)

• Fertility rate increases for first time since 2014 (The Hill)

• Alzheimer’s Association terminates partnership with assisted-suicide advocacy group (National Review)

• Gas prices creeping toward $4 per gallon on fifth straight week of gains (Washington Examiner)

• New York Republican Rep. George Santos to recuse himself from committee assignments (Fox News)

• Lingering redistricting lawsuits in 15 states could reshape 2024 political battlefield (Washington Examiner)

• CNN announces huge lineup change with Bill Maher (Daily Caller)

• Policy: Fact-check: Mass shootings actually increased during federal “assault weapons” ban (The Federalist)

• Satire: Rookie trans woman picks the one sport where biological women actually have an advantage (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.