Cross-Examination

• TX AG impeached: In a 121-33 vote, the Texas legislature impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton over corruption allegations. This development reveals an apparent division within the Republican Party, given that the GOP-controlled state legislature impeached Republican Paxton. Twenty articles of impeachment have been raised against Paxton regarding allegations that he illegally used $3.3 million in public funds to settle a lawsuit. Paxton pushed back by claiming that the allegations were too weak to hold up in a court of law. Paxton becomes just the third state official in Texas history to be impeached.

• Post-Carlson Fox News sees prime-time numbers plummet: It’s been a month since Fox News suddenly and surprisingly fired Tucker Carlson. The reason for his sacking remains unclear. Carlson was Fox News’s biggest draw, dominating the prime-time 8:00 p.m. hour across cable news by pulling in an average of 3.27 million viewers nightly. Since his ouster, Fox has seen its viewership in that time slot tumble by more than a million viewers. The top cable news outlet has been rotating a number of hosts, including Brian Kilmeade and Jesse Watters, to fill in until settling on a permanent replacement.

• Kirk Cameron’s Pride: Conservative Christian actor and children’s book author Kirk Cameron is releasing his latest book just in time for “Pride Month.” Titled Pride Comes Before the Fall, the book doesn’t specifically address homosexuality at all. Instead, it’s the first in a series of books in which Cameron covers the so-called seven deadly sins. Cameron explains that he chose to start with the sin of pride because “it is the deadliest.” We all struggle with pride, he said, but “what makes that struggle even more difficult is when kids see pride being celebrated for an entire month” and “seeing the message that pride is good.” He added, “We wanted to give parents a tool to be able to have an important conversation about the topic of pride and humility.”

• The AI threat to future political campaigns: There is no putting the toothpaste back in the tube — artificial intelligence is a new and rapidly growing reality that we will all need to learn to live with and adapt to. The primary fear being expressed, especially regarding politics, is how AI tech can and will be used to deceive and manipulate voters. So-called “deep fakes” have already emerged that include images, video, or audio of high-profile candidates such as Donald Trump and Joe Biden engaged in activities or making statements that they never did. How might rival candidates use AI against their opponents? How might a foreign entity use AI in an underhanded effort to disrupt elections? In the end, it always boils down to the same issue, since AI is simply a tool — a powerful tool, yes, but still a tool. What really matters is how it is wielded.

• NYC Mayor Eric Adams makes fat an identity class: In New York City at least, there is now another officially recognized identity status in the Left’s oppression hierarchy — the obesity class. On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill banning discrimination against individuals over their height or weight. “No one should ever be discriminated against based on their height and weight,” Adams insisted. “We all deserve the same access to employment, housing, and public accommodations, regardless of our appearance.” While an individual’s height is outside of their control, when it comes to obesity, that is another story. Furthermore, with obesity being a leading factor in the nation’s negative health issues, the notion that being fat should be recognized as a protected class is absurd, as it only serves to obfuscate from a real problem. Meanwhile, what has Adams done to tackle NYC’s spiking crime problem?

• Zelensky arrests and detains American critic: A YouTuber and critic of Ukraine who has been living in Kharkiv, Ukraine, since before the Russian invasion last year was arrested by Ukrainian authorities earlier this month. Gonzalo Lira is an American citizen who has been a vocal supporter of Russia throughout the war. He has been charged by the Ukrainian Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for violating a 2014 Ukrainian law that prohibits portraying the war as an “internal civil conflict,” a popular Russian propaganda claim. The U.S. State Department is aware of Lira’s arrest but has not commented on any possible negotiations with Ukraine seeking his release. If convicted, Lira faces up to 13 years in prison. Meanwhile, the State Department is still working on securing the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is currently detained in Russia.

Headlines

• Bipartisan debt limit package unveiled as clock ticks toward “x date” (Roll Call)

• Republicans secure massive gas pipeline approval in debt ceiling deal (Fox News)

• McCarthy’s debt-ceiling deal with Biden comes up short on his vow to rein in IRS (NY Post)

• Sen. Dianne Feinstein confused by VP Kamala Harris’s participation in tie-breaking vote (Fox News)

• Jane Fonda blames “white men” for climate crisis, calls to “arrest and jail” them (Fox News)

• CUNY Law commencement speaker claims laws are “white supremacy,” attacks “fascist” police and military (Fox News)

• “Another company needing Bud-Lighting”: Kohl’s ripped for infant LGBT merchandise (Daily Wire)

• Lululemon fires Atlanta employees for calling police during burglary (National Review)

• Horrific video shows nearly 40 teens viciously attacking off-duty Marines on California beach (NY Post)

• Nine injured in shooting near beach in Hollywood, Florida (AP)

• Uganda leader signs law imposing life sentence for same-sex acts and death for “aggravated homosexuality” (CBS News)

• Moscow hit with drone attack for first time since invading Ukraine (National Review)

• Turkey’s President Erdoğan wins reelection (Axios)

• Policy: The modest debt-ceiling deal (National Review)

• Humor: Deal reached on debt ceiling as McCarthy offers Biden two pints of chocolate chip ice cream (Babylon Bee)

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