Cross-Examination

• Higher price tag for Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act: We all know that Joe Biden’s grossly misnamed Inflation Reduction Act had nothing to do with inflation or reduction. It was all about government expansion, in fact, which is always expensive and inflationary. Well — surprise! — the price tag is higher than estimated, to the tune of maybe $800 billion. The biggest reason for that is the continued climate boondoggle. For example, the act expanded tax credits for electric vehicles and renewable energy, picking winners and, by extension, losers. More people want to be winners than was, for some reason, expected. Thus, while the original estimate for all this climate spending was $369 billion over 10 years, recent estimates project it might end up being as much as $1.2 trillion. That’s not much of a Green New Deal.

• No consequences for San Francisco shoplifters: Petty theft is a new way of life in San Francisco, and thieves are getting away with it. Police have solved just 3.6% of larcenies in 2023. Employees are helpless and businesses are closing. In a recent incident, a Walgreens security guard shot and killed an alleged shoplifter. The response was typical San Francisco: Guards are now told to stand down and leave their guns at home. Strangely enough, politely asking thieves to leave and then no punishing them means the city is seeing more theft.

• Brew of schadenfreude: Socialist Bernie Sanders certainly cashed in by ranting about capitalism. But things didn’t turn out so well for a coffee shop in Toronto called “The Anarchist.” Forget the Starbucks model of charging way too much for a latte. The self-described “anti-capitalist cafe, shop and radical community space on stolen land” tried to run on a “pay what you can” model to help the proletariat. Just one year into its warped capitalist enterprise, however, the shop is closing its doors for good on May 30 — but not without one last proverbial Marxist middle finger. The owner concluded his closing letter by writing: “F*** the rich. F*** the police. F*** the state. F*** the colonial death camp we call ‘Canada.’” Really pleasant fella. We wonder what went wrong.

Headlines

• Durham finds DOJ, FBI “failed to uphold” mission of “strict fidelity to the law” in Trump-Russia probe (Fox News)

• IRS axes “entire investigative team” probing Hunter Biden taxes (Townhall)

• Yellen says nation could face debt default in less than three weeks (Daily Wire)

• Man with baseball bat attacked staffers at Rep. Gerry Connolly’s office (CBS News)

• Pro-life groups challenge Trump’s suggestion that Florida’s heartbeat ban is “too harsh” (Daily Signal)

• Lori Lightfoot’s biggest controversies as Brandon Johnson is sworn in (Washington Examiner)

• Brittney Griner sounds a different tune on the national anthem after stint in Russian prison (RedState)

• Miller Lite’s new feminist spokeswoman is here to cuss at you and explain why men are evil (Not the Bee)

• Sports Illustrated features “transgender” model on cover of swimsuit issue (Washington Times)

• Policy: Tilling the garden of school choice (Law & Liberty)

• Humor: Mayorkas assures that droid army deploying onto planet is not an invasion (Babylon Bee)

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