Cross-Examination

• Debt ceiling meeting: Despite President Joe Biden’s misleading rhetoric, recent polling shows that he is not winning his debt ceiling standoff against Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans. Just 19% of Americans support Biden’s no-conditions debt-ceiling demands, whereas 63% of the public agrees with McCarthy that the inclusion of spending reductions is reasonable. Given this backdrop, Biden and McCarthy met again Monday evening at the White House, a meeting that McCarthy described as “productive” while also noting that they “were able to really focus on the areas of difference.” Ironically, the sticking point for Biden is a position on which he would have agreed with McCarthy just a few years ago — work requirements for those receiving government benefits like food stamps. Furthermore, McCarthy wants to drop federal government spending levels below this past year’s. Finally, a hard line in the sand for McCarthy is taxes; raising them is off the table. Republicans have played this debt ceiling standoff well and are positioned to get a win for the American people.

• Power blackouts: The more that Joe Biden’s green dream is implemented, the more of an “elevated risk” there will be for Americans all across the country to experience power blackouts. That is the conclusion of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which recently published its power reliability assessment for the U.S. for this coming summer. The reason has everything to do with the forced shrinking of the use of reliable fossil fuel-based power plants in favor of solar and wind. Reliability is the biggest problem with renewables. As CEO of America’s Power Michelle Bloodworth explained, “Coal is more than five times as dependable as wind and more than twice as dependable as solar when electricity demand is greatest.” Despite that reality, Biden’s EPA is plowing forward with new energy-crippling regulations, leaving Americans to needlessly suffer the consequences of the Left’s “moral” green crusade.

• NC “state of emergency”: Democrat politicians love to claim they stand for defending democracy, but all too often their actions belie that claim. The latest example of this comes courtesy of North Carolina Democrat Governor Roy Cooper, who declared a “state of emergency” on Monday after the state’s Republican legislature passed school choice legislation. In issuing his declaration, Cooper ridiculously sought to justify his power abuse by comparing the legislation to a natural disaster. Cooper claimed “the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education,” and he called on North Carolinians to “take immediate action and tell [Republicans] to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation.” In reality, Cooper is standing in the way of the will of the people — against parents and students — in order to placate the demands of one of the Democrat Party’s biggest donors: teachers unions.

• Ammonium nitrate missing: Some 30 tons of ammonium nitrate has recently gone missing from a train car, and it apparently happened while the train was in transit between Wyoming and California. The shipment of the highly explosive substance, which is primarily used for fertilizer, was originally shipped from Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 12. But by the time it arrived at its destination in Saltdale, California, two weeks later, the ammonium nitrate had disappeared. Making matters even more strange is the fact that the car in which the ammonium nitrate had been contained was still sealed. The Federal Railroad Administration is currently investigating, with one of the theories being that the ammonium nitrate pellets somehow leaked out as the train traveled. Irrespective of how it’s gone missing, if this amount of ammonium nitrate got into the wrong hands, the damage could be massive.

• Senator Carper retirement: On Monday, longtime Delaware Democrat Senator Tom Carper announced that he will be retiring after his current fourth term ends. Carper’s announcement makes him the fourth Democrat who will not be running for reelection next year — an election cycle in which Democrats will be hard-pressed to defend their slim majority. Twenty-three of their seats are up for grabs compared to just 11 for Republicans. While Delaware is a reliably blue state, Carper’s retirement will likely force the Democrats to spend more money and energy defending the seat than they would have otherwise.

Headlines

• Second Hunter Biden IRS whistleblower emerges after dismissal despite five years on case (NY Post)

• Hunter Biden’s mistress asks court to jail him over failure to provide financial disclosures (Free Beacon)

• U-Haul crashes into security barrier near White House; driver had Nazi flag in truck with him (ABC 7)

• Biden to end familial DNA testing at border, key deterrent to fraud and child trafficking (Just the News)

• America’s missile defense system is in tatters, government report finds (Free Beacon)

• U.S. states agree breakthrough deal to prevent Colorado River from drying up (The Guardian)

• The NAACP says Florida isn’t safe for black people. Data tell a different story. (Free Beacon)

• Dodgers re-invite anti-Catholic group to Pride Night amid uproar (Fox Sports)

• TikTok sues Montana over recent ban of social media platform (National Review)

• Nebraska governor signs ban on abortion and child transitions (Washington Examiner)

• Kari Lake loses last claim in Arizona election challenge (Fox News)

• Beijing bans Chinese companies from using Micron chips in critical infrastructure (Engadget)

• Policy: Oil is still king: China’s oil weaknesses and U.S. oil strengths are an undervalued asymmetry in America’s favor (American Spectator)

• Humor: Wife boycotts Target, costing company millions per year (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.