Cross-Examination

• Senate GOP blocks leftist ERA: The Senate voted Thursday on whether to eliminate the long-past deadline for the ratification of the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In a 51-47 vote, the measure failed to meet the 60-vote threshold. The deadline of 35 states voting to approve the ERA was 1982, and since then several states have reversed their vote while others have approved. Conservatives have long argued that the ERA would effectively enshrine abortion as a constitutional right, stripping states of their authority to enact pro-life legislation. Democrats, who have long challenged that claim, are now admitting that the ERA would indeed be used to make abortion a constitutional right. The reality is that, contrary to the Lefts’s dubious narrative, women in America already do enjoy equal rights protection under the law.

• Underreported surveillance abuses: Fueling bipartisan anger are revelations surrounding the FBI’s abuse of its surveillance power granted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. At issue in particular is Section 702 of the act, which is set to expire this year and which lawmakers on both sides of the aisle contend has been used by the FBI to target American citizens. The FBI abused Section 702, for example, when it misled the court in order to place a wiretap on Donald Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers have raised concerns. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) issued a joint statement last month claiming that the FBI was searching for Americans “at an alarming scale.” FBI Director Chris Wray admitted that the agency has “made mistakes” but contends the bureau has learned from them. There does appear to be broad consensus among lawmakers that Section 702 needs signifiant reforms, but it should not be eliminated entirely.

• Leaker a threat to flee, has racist history: Federal prosecutors allege that the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who leaked classified documents online should remain in detention and denied bail due to his “troubling” history. According to prosecutors, Jack Teixeira has posted racist and violent statements, has been actively deceptive with law enforcement, and is a “serious flight risk.” Prosecutors further claim that he represents a continued threat to national security as he had accessed sensitive information that “far exceeds what has been publicly disclosed.” There does appear to be more to this story than a dumb 21-year-old Airman simply showing off to his online gaming buddies.

• Call it “fossil gas”: In their ongoing effort to force Americans into giving up using the most efficient, abundant, and reliable energy on the planet — fossil fuels — climate activists are petitioning the Biden administration to stop companies from referring to natural gas as “natural.” Eco group Gas Leaks wants the Federal Trade Commission to refer to natural gas as either “fossil gas” or “methane gas,” claiming that the accurate description of “natural” misleads the public into believing the fossil fuel is “green.” Gas Leaks campaign director Caleb Heeringa dubiously asserts, “There’s nothing natural about fracking; there’s nothing natural about thousands of miles of pipelines and there’s nothing natural about the indoor air pollution that is associated with gas.” Well, based on that logic, there’s nothing natural about windmills and solar panels either. Furthermore, natural gas is so named because it is produced by the decomposition of plant and animal life, an entirely natural process. This is a silly effort by Gas Leaks to vilify one of the cleanest-burning fossil fuels — indeed, the fossil fuel that is most responsible for leading to a significant decrease in America’s CO₂ emissions.

• Egypt decries “Queen Cleopatra” racial remake: Egyptian authorities are threatening to ban Netflix over an upcoming docudrama they charge as “blatant historical fallacy” over its depiction of the famed Egyptian ruler Cleopatra as black. Egypt’s secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities criticized the docudrama produced by Jada Pinkett-Smith titled “Queen Cleopatra,” calling it a “falsification of Egyptian history and a blatant historical fallacy.” He further noted that the objection was not due to “any ethnic racism,” and he stressed “full respect for African civilizations and for our brothers in the African continent that brings us all together.” Indeed, the objection is rooted in historical fact, as Cleopatra was directly descended from Macedonian/Greek ruler Ptolemy I Soter, who was the bodyguard of Alexander the Great, the greatest Greek in antiquity. According to the historical record, Cleopatra was of European lineage almost exclusively. In other words, she was white. It would appear that Netflix is culturally appropriating Cleopatra all to push a woke narrative.

Headlines

• Economic growth slows to 1.1% in first quarter (Daily Wire)

• Biden begins reelection bid at low point in his presidency (Gallup)

• Biden again doesn’t include son Hunter’s out-of-wedlock child when talking about his grandchildren (Just the News)

• North Carolina lawmakers unanimously move to stop Chinese entities from buying up farmland (Daily Wire)

• Congress and states seek to “blacklist” Chinese land ownership (Washington Examiner)

• FBI probes climate alarmists’ attack on 140-year-old statue at National Gallery of Art (Daily Signal)

• The Covenant School mass shooter’s manifesto being reviewed for public release (WZTV Nashville)

• San Francisco homicides soared 83% through March, police statistics show (Fox News)

• Kansas legislature passes sex-segregated bathroom bill, overriding Democrat governor’s veto (National Review)

• “Transgender” lawmaker barred from the Montana House floor (National Review)

• “Transgender” runner who beat 14,000 women at London Marathon offers to give medal back (Fox News)

• Republican state senators block abortion limits in South Carolina, Nebraska (National Review)

• Minnesota governor signs bills making state into abortion, gender transition sanctuary (National Review)

• Planned Parenthood annual report shows it killed 374,155 babies in abortions (Life News)

• Churchgoers back tithing, but many struggle to give regularly, survey finds (Washington Times)

• Policy: How Democrats’ push for electric cars endangers national security (The Federalist)

• Satire: Nikki Haley tells Emperor Palpatine that South Carolina is an ideal place to build a Death Star (Babylon Bee)

• Humor: Unemployed guy’s basement selfie video crushes Fox News in primetime ratings (Babylon Bee)

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