Cross-Examination

• More abortion pill wrangling: On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down what is effectively a split decision on the Biden administration’s effort to expand access to the abortion pill mifepristone. The three-judge panel stayed a lower court’s ruling against the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of significantly relaxed rules for the distribution of mifepristone. However, the panel did agree with Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s view that the FDA’s relaxing of mifepristone safety standards in 2021, which eliminated the requirement that a patient visit a “qualified physician” in order to get a prescription for the drug, were arbitrary and capricious. Therefore, the Fifth Circuit reinstated the previous mifepristone standards. Attorney General Merrick Garland promised to appeal the decision, virtually ensuring that the issue is headed to the Supreme Court, which will keep abortion front and center for Democrats leading into 2024.

• Biden plots massive government hiring spree: When it comes to Democrats and their view of government, bigger is always better. Joe Biden’s proposed budget puts that view into overdrive, as he’s already added 75,000 more non-defense employees since taking office and is on the way to adding 88,400 employees this year. He wants an additional 81,700 in 2024. The federal government has experienced a general trend of downsizing payrolls since 2013, and it become even leaner under Donald Trump, with executive branch employees numbering 2.183 million when he left office. Biden is ballooning that total to 2.356 million by 2024, which represents one of the fastest expansions of the federal government in U.S. history. As conservatives well know, bigger government means a greater threat to Americans’ individual liberty, which we are witnessing almost every day under Biden.

• Senator Dinosaur under friendly fire: The 89-year-old Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein has clearly been slipping mentally over the past couple of years. After winning reelection in deep blue California in 2018, there was much speculation over when she would hang things up. With Feinstein being away from the Senate suffering from shingles, multiple Democrats are reportedly calling for the ailing octogenarian to resign. Well, those calls didn’t sit well with former House Speaker and fellow Californian octogenarian Nancy Pelosi, who blasted her fellow Democrats as “sexist” for daring to call for Feinstein’s resignation. “I don’t know what political agendas are at work that are going after Senator Feinstein in that way,” Pelosi huffed. “I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way.”

• Taxpayer-subsidized healthcare for Dreamers: On Thursday, Joe Biden announced that he is planning to extend ObamaCare access to DACA recipients. In other words, Biden is looking to give taxpayer-funded health insurance to illegal aliens. Biden justified his decision by contending that these Dreamers are “American in every way except on paper.” Never mind the fact that it is that “paper” or officially recognized citizenship that makes one an American, irrespective of one’s race, ethnicity, or land of origin. The expanse of ObamaCare to DACA recipients is no small potatoes either, as the number covered by that program has ballooned to nearly 580,000 illegal immigrants.

• Church fined for COVID services: Calvary Chapel San Jose has been ordered by a judge to pay $1.2 million in fines to the county of Santa Clara for violating its COVID pandemic rules by allowing people to gather in the building and worship maskless. According to Judge Evette Pennypacker, “It should appear clear to all — regardless of religious affiliation — that wearing a mask while worshipping” helps “protect others while still exercising your right to religious freedom.” The church’s pastor, Mike McClure, has argued the opposite, noting that many people have said that allowing people to come and worship literally saved their lives. Furthermore, multiple studies demonstrating that masking had almost no effect on preventing the spread of COVID only support McClure’s position. The church has also countersued, contending that members’ religious liberty rights were violated.

• WTA bows to China: In yet another example of how money talks, the Women’s Tennis Association announced that it has ended its suspension against holding tournaments in China. The WTA first enacted its suspension following the sudden and temporary disappearance of China’s biggest female tennis star Peng Shuai in 2021 after she accused a Chinese government official of sexual assault. The WTA at the time demanded a “full and transparent” investigation into Peng’s allegations. Nothing happened, and now nearly two years later, the WTA has caved to Beijing while claiming it will seek to engage in a “different approach.” In other words, We’re losing out on too much money, so how about we just ignore the issue and play some tennis?

Headlines

• FBI arrests 21-year-old Air National Guardsman suspected of leaking classified documents (NBC News)

• A federal judge has blocked Biden’s clean water rule in 24 states (CNBC)

• DeSantis signs heartbeat bill into law, expands funding for pregnant women and families (National Review)

• House Dem leader pressed to apologize for comparing black conservatives to slaves in past editorial (Washington Times)

• U.S. corporations cut dividends and employees while dumping billions into race-hustling groups (The Center for the American Way of Life)

• Tennessee House Democrat Justin Jones assaulted driver during 2020 protests, video shows (National Review)

• Florida professor leaves job following claim he faked data on racism studies (NY Post)

• Soros-backed St. Louis prosecutor facing removal blames subordinates for “possible mistakes” (Free Beacon)

• Disgraced ex-Biden official Sam Brinton avoids jail time after plea deal in luggage theft case (Daily Wire)

• North Korea says it tested new solid-fuel long-range missile (AP)

• Navy SEAL who was shot 27 times then walked himself to safety dies 16 years after heroic feat (Daily Mail)

• Policy: Americans are convinced that race relations are bad. The data says the opposite. (Newsweek)

• Humor: Pentagon leaker kicking himself for not just leaving classified documents strewn around his garage (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.