Cross-Examination

• TikTok before Congress: Is a TikTok ban coming? That is clearly what TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is worried about as he comes to testify before Congress today. Bipartisan support has been growing to address one of the biggest threats to national security in recent years. It’s no secret that TikTok is effectively a massive spy organization for China, sucking up gobs of user data while at the same time fueling culturally and socially destructive agendas. On Thursday, Chew will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is expected to be inundated with questions regarding his company’s long practice of violating Americans’ privacy rights. While TikTok is currently and deservedly in the U.S. government’s crosshairs, other Big Tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter need to be held to account for the same practices.

• Interest hike: On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve did what many economists anticipated and raised the interest rate another quarter percentage point. This represents the ninth rate hike since the Fed began its effort to counter 40-year-high inflation. The Fed’s ultimate goal is to see inflation drop back down to 2%, though recent bank collapses appear to have raised concerns that may result in a pause for any more interest rate hikes in the near future. The benchmark interest rate has now risen to 4.75%-5%.

• Several GOP-run states pulling out of ERIC: The purportedly non-partisan Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is anything but, according to a growing number of Republican-run states that are dumping the organization that cleans up voter rolls. Half a dozen GOP states charge ERIC with a deep partisan bias favoring Democrats, as they claim the organization has refused to respond to their desired reforms. While ERIC does seek to clean up voter rolls, it also pushes hard for more voter registration, including requiring states to give notice to citizens who aren’t registered. Republicans contend that ERIC is ignoring their growing concerns over greater transparency and accountability. The problem is there is currently no other national organization that exists to help states cross-check with other states in keeping their voter rolls up to date. So far, six Republican-led states have canceled membership in ERIC.

• USA Today erases women … again: Clearly intent on pushing fiction as fact, USA Today has included in its annual “Women of the Year” list of honorees Minnesota Democrat State Representative Leigh Finke. Finke is a man who identifies as a woman and is the first openly “transgender” individual to be elected to Minnesota’s state legislature. This is now the second time USA Today has honored a man as a woman of the year. Last year, the Leftmedia rag honored Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, another man who identifies as a woman. Obviously, USA Today has embraced the view that repeating a lie long enough will eventually cause people to believe it is the truth.

• The Misinformation Pulitzers: Speaking of bad journalism, for five years in a row the Pulitzer Prize has gone to “journalists” who have peddled misinformation. From The New York Times and The Washington Post patting themselves on the back over coverage of the Russia/Trump collusion hoax to Nikole Hannah-Jones’s 1619 Project fiction, the motive behind the Pulitzer has never been more transparent. It has become little more than another Leftmedia propaganda tool designed to put a veneer of legitimacy on blatantly misleading reporting. In a sense, the Pulitzer has become the prize for recognizing those who have been the most successful in peddling lies to the American public.

• Stanford puts DEI administrator on leave: The latest development in the fallout over Stanford University’s poor handling of guest speaker Kyle Duncan, a federal judge who was incessantly heckled by students and then effectively reprimanded by DEI administrator Tirien Steinbach for daring to show up to speak, is news that Steinbach has been put on leave. Furthermore, Stanford Law Dean Jenny Martinez released a letter criticizing the students who disrupted the speech, adding that the school would mandate an educational program for students on free speech and academic freedom. To Martinez’s credit, she states, “I believe that the commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion actually means that we must protect free expression of all views.” She adds, “Enforcement of university policies against disruption of speakers is necessary to ensure the expression of a wide range of viewpoints.”

Headlines

• Bombshell 2018 letter undermines Michael Cohen’s claims in Trump case (Daily Wire)

• Hunter Biden used FBI mole named “One-Eye” to tip him off to China probes (NY Post)

• Karine Jean-Pierre ripped for claiming Biden family’s $1M payout is “lies” (Fox News)

• Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel defends fivefold price hike of COVID vaccine during Senate grilling (CNBC)

• Biden judicial nominee Charnelle Bjelkengren stumped by basic Constitution questions (NY Post)

• “Transgender” woman finishes in first place at New York City cycling event, sparks outrage (Fox News)

• “Derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny”: West Texas A&M University president cancels student drag show, issues fiery rebuke of drag (Daily Wire)

• “I just want to feel like myself,” tearfully admits America’s most famous “trans kid” Jazz Jennings (PJ Media)

• Woke diversity training helps soldiers feel “included,” military officials say (Free Beacon)

• Kidney transplant controller wants to distribute human organs based on “equity” (The Federalist)

• Child mortality is rising at the fastest rate in 50 years (The Hill)

• And we MEAN it this time! Earth “nearing point of no return,” greenhouse gas emissions must be cut (NY Post)

• America is being hit by a huge surge in blackouts — and it’s only going to get worse (Insider)

• CNN has smallest weekly primetime audience in advertiser-coveted demo in over 30 years (Fox News)

• “Satire”: Democrats vow to arrest as many political opponents as it takes to defeat fascism (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.