Cross-Examination

• Thousands dead in Turkey/Syria earthquake: Early Monday morning, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey near its border with Syria. The tremor was felt as far away as Israel and Jordan. Hundreds of aftershocks followed, including a couple of massive ones. The registered death toll has thus far surpassed 5,000, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declaring a state of emergency in 10 of the nation’s provinces. Over 8,000 people have been rescued from the rubble of fallen buildings, but given the devastation in the region the death toll is expected to climb to as many as 20,000 people. Countries across the globe have sent aid, including Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained that “a request was also received to [provide relief] for the many who were injured in the earthquake in Syria,” and so he “instructed that this be done.” Syria, a longtime enemy of Israel, denied that any request for help from Israel had been made, but that hasn’t stopped the plans for receiving it. Joe Biden offered condolences for the quake victims, and the U.S. State Department has already dispatched aid.

• Miami unveils black-themed cop cruiser for Black History Month: The Miami Police Department’s effort to celebrate Black History Month has been met with mockery and derision from the black community. Miami PD sought to commemorate the month with a cruiser decorated in a collage of “black” culture symbols, such as the “Black Power” symbol alongside African flags and a slogan that reads, “Miami police support Black History Month.” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez called it “a beautiful collaboration to commemorate Black history and Black History Month and the history of African Americans and our police department and our city.” But several others clearly think otherwise. Former NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill tweeted, “THIS CANNOT BE.” Another individual mocked: “Policing is fixed now. Thank you, police car.” Meanwhile, someone else wonders if this was a joke given the backdrop of Tyre Nichols’s beating death last month in Memphis at the hands of five black police officers. Backlash against this type of vacuous virtue signal should have been anticipated.

• Dems souring on Kamala: The long knives are out for Kamala Harris, as even some of her biggest supporters have given up hope in her being able to step up to the challenge and be the next leader of the Democrats. With national polling continuing to show Harris with a low favorability rating — currently 39% — Democrats are ready to throw in the towel. Prominent Democrat fundraiser John Morgan observed that Harris is actually a problem for Joe Biden seeking reelection: “It doesn’t take a genius to say, ‘Look, with his age, we have to really think about this.’” He pointedly added, “I can’t think of one thing she’s done except stay out of the way and stand beside him at certain ceremonies.” Oof. Harris’s supporters, including Biden himself, have countered criticism against her by saying she’s a “work in progress.” The trouble is, Democrats aren’t seeing this “progress.” Instead, it’s more akin to regression. The New York Times noted, “After her disastrous interview with Lester Holt of NBC News in June 2021, in which she struggled to articulate the administration’s strategy for securing the border … she all but went into a bunker for about a year, avoiding many interviews out of … fear of making mistakes and disappointing Mr. Biden.” Harris has never really been able to recover. In her brief media interactions since then, she typically speaks with an assortment of silly disconnected platitudes, appearing to lack any thoughtful or studied knowledge on a matter. And Democrats are coming around to accepting the reality that this is all there is to Harris — an empty suit whose instinct is to laugh when challenged with any serious policy questions.

Headlines

• “The greatest threat to our future”: Speaker McCarthy blasts Biden, Democrats in major speech (Daily Wire)

• White House press secretary gets scorched for fumbled explanation on China spy flights (Fox News)

• Biden’s “but Trump!” deceptive balloon defense deflates (NY Post)

• No surprise: Biden says he deserves “no” blame over mishandling of classified docs (Daily Wire)

• NYC and illegal aliens quit on each other; city now sending them to Canadian border (RedState)

• Leaked Pfizer document shows embattled employee from Project Veritas videos is still employed, warns against more “anti-science" stings (Daily Wire)

• "Slaves built this country”: Disney kids’ show pushes CRT-inspired interpretation of history (Daily Caller)

• Disney cuts “Simpsons” episode that mentions forced labor camps from Chinese platform (Daily Wire)

• “End of days vibes”: Public figures slam demonic performance at the Grammys (Daily Wire)

• Trans Lives Matter occupies Oklahoma capitol to protest bill criminalizing genital mutilation of minors (PM)

• Team USA skiers to wear climate change-themed race suits at world championships (National Review)

• Policy: DeSantis is right to reform higher education (National Review)

• Satire: Horrified Satan distances self from Grammys (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.