Cross-Examination

• DeSantis to finally announce he’s officially in: Today is the day. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will officially announce his entrance into the Republican presidential primary. DeSantis, who has consistently polled highly among GOP contenders, is widely viewed as the biggest threat to Donald Trump winning the nomination. Realizing this, Trump has focused the lion’s share of his attacks on DeSantis, while the governor has for the most part avoided engaging in any direct criticism. But DeSantis has not only been targeted by Trump, he’s also been hit by Democrats and their Leftmedia cohorts. DeSantis will make his announcement in a rather untraditional and unprecedented fashion, as he plans to declare his candidacy during an interview with Elon Musk on Twitter at 6 PM today.

• The suspicious U-Haul “attack” on the White House: According to Joe Biden, “white supremacy” is the biggest domestic threat facing the nation. Thus, when a U-Haul truck appears to have been intentionally crashed near the White House, driven by a man who is reported to have espoused white supremacist views, it would seem to validate Biden’s dubious claim. Furthermore, the individual is said to have been seeking to kidnap or harm the president. That may all be true; however, there are some strange details surrounding the incident that have caused some to question whether or not this could be some type of false-flag event. For example, the only item found in the truck was a Nazi flag, which, for some unexplained reason, law enforcement decided to display almost like a photo opt next to the truck. Secondly, the supposed “white suprematist” driver is not white but brown. He’s a 19-year-old of apparent South Asian descent from Chesterfield, Missouri. In other words, it is far from clear what exactly are the motives for this incident.

• Waking up early is white supremacy? According to the woke social justice types, not only can negative behaviors in society be blamed on “white supremacy,” but so too should practices that lead to higher levels of productivity — practices like waking up early to start one’s workday. In a recent article in Medium, a social justice warrior asserts that “waking up early is rooted in white supremacy.” The author goes on to claim that waking up at the crack of dawn was a European or white phenomenon that they have subsequently forced onto other cultures. This claim is blatantly false upon its face, as many cultures across the globe have long recognized and practiced that old adage of “early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” It appears that the actual motive behind this dubious claim is to justify excusing laziness by labeling industriousness and timeliness as “white supremacy.”

• Leftist machete-wielding prof gets fired: A leftist Hunter College professor who earlier this month was caught in a viral video berating two students over pro-life materials they were displaying on a table has been fired. However, it wasn’t the above incident that got Professor Shellyne Rodriquez fired. Rather, it was her threatening a reporter with a machete that got her canned. In another viral video, a New York Post reporter is seen with a machete being held to his throat by Rodriquez as the two are standing outside of her apartment door. Rodriquez tells him: “If I see you on this block one more f***ing time, you’re gonna — get the f*** off the block! Get the f*** out of here, yo!” Following that incident, a spokesman for Hunter College condemned the professor’s actions, stating, “Rodriguez has been relieved of her duties at Hunter College effective immediately, and will not be returning to teach at the school.” Why did it take a machete-wielding incident for the school to act?

• Another round of layoffs at Disney: When Bob Iger took over as Disney CEO for a second time following the exit of Bob Chapek after just two years leading the company, it was clear that some serious actions were going to be taken to right a sinking ship. Those actions included some significant cuts to Disney’s workforce. Back in March, Iger initiated the first round of worker cuts, which was quickly followed by a second round totaling 4,000 employees. Disney has now initiated a third round of cuts, as an additional 2,500 workers will be handed their walking papers. Iger’s aim with these cuts is to save Disney some $5.5 billion in costs. The once-popular, once-family-friendly organization is reeling from its decision to align with the radical Left in pushing a woke social agenda.

Headlines

• Another day, another pause in debt ceiling negotiations (Roll Call)

• FBI refuses to provide subpoenaed document on alleged Biden “criminal scheme” (Fox News)

• Biden again claimed son Beau died “in Iraq” to Marines at Japan stop (NY Post)

• Target holds “emergency” meeting over LGBTQ merchandise in some stores to avoid “Bud Light situation” (Fox News)

• Target CEO says woke capitalism “great” for their brand and “the right thing for society” (Fox News)

• NAACP leader defends living in Florida despite org’s travel warning: “We haven’t told anybody to leave” (Fox News)

• Migrant who raped and killed Maryland woman was known MS-13 affiliate (Free Beacon)

• 160-plus retired military brass urge Congress to root out DOD’s poisonous “diversity” and “equity” programs (The Federalist)

• South Carolina passes “heartbeat” abortion bill that limits access to six weeks (Fox News)

• Biological male who took 2nd place in California girls’ high school track meet would’ve come in dead last in boys’ meet (RedState)

• Catholic clergy sexual abuse of kids was far more common than church acknowledged, Illinois AG finds (AP)

• Policy: It’s a gloomy outlook for jobs under Biden. Here’s the formula to change that. (Heritage Foundation)

• Satire: Dodgers summon Satan to throw out first pitch at Pride Night (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.