The Patriot Post® · Thursday: Below the Fold

Cross-Examination

• CDC’s pandemic cronies: Anthony Fauci may be retired from the NIH, but his legacy will live on in federal health agencies. The CDC, among others, lost a ton of credibility during the coronavirus pandemic and yet learned nothing — except that greatly increased power is desirable. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is on her way out, and rumor has it that Joe Biden is set to tap Fauci cult member Mandy Cohen as her replacement. She was a proponent of lockdowns and mask mandates (including in schools and regardless of vaccination status). In other words, Cohen is the new boss, same as the old boss. It could be worse. One of her deputies will be Howard Zucker. If you’ve never heard of him, journalist Daniel Greenfield notes he “had his name on the infamous ‘Cuomo Death Order’ that has been blamed for the deaths of thousands of nursing residents.” And then Zucker helped cover it up on Cuomo’s behalf. So don’t worry — the CDC will be run by people who have a lot of deaths on their hands. They’ll be in good company with Dr. Richard Rachel Levine, who isn’t known for all the nursing home deaths in Pennsylvania on his watch but for being a man dressed as a woman. Trust? Pffft.

• Gay teacher suspended for opposing transgenderism: All is not well with the Alphabet People. “A gay fifth grade teacher in Glendale, California, was placed on leave after complaining at a school board meeting that his school promotes transgenderism,” reports The Daily Signal. Evidently, 25 years of teaching, a couple of “Teacher of the Year” awards, the PTA’s Golden Oak Award, and the fact that he’s gay wasn’t enough to save Ray Shelton from suspension for “wrongthink” manifesting in a T-shirt that read “Make Biology Great Again.” He was even promoting science and he still got suspended. That’s how tight a grip the transgender cult has on people. Dissent based on reality will not be tolerated.

• NYC sues NY counties over migrant busing: New York City is a “sanctuary city” for illegal aliens, but don’t think for a minute that the city actually wants them coming. Mayor Eric Adams has complained about “showmanship” from Governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, who have flown or bused illegal migrants from their overrun states to places that sanctimoniously declare to be sanctuaries — like New York City. Adams has had a tough time finding places for all these migrants, however, and has even floated asking residents to accommodate them in their homes. But the city is also suing other New York counties for refusing to accept migrants bused from the city. DeSantis rebuked California Governor Gavin Newsom, but Adams should take it to heart as well: “These sanctuary jurisdictions are part of the reason we have this problem because they have endorsed and agitated for these types off open border policies. They have bragged they are sanctuary jurisdictions. … When they have to deal with some of the fruits of that they all of a sudden become very, very upset about that.”

• Ukraine blew up Nord Stream? Among the material in the classified information pilfered by Airman First Class Jack Teixeira was some intriguing stuff about Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline, which was blown up by someone last year. The Washington Post reports, “Three months before saboteurs bombed the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline, the Biden administration learned from a close ally that the Ukrainian military had planned a covert attack on the undersea network, using a small team of divers who reported directly to the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.” The Post proceeds to detail the evidence from the leak as well as various reaction to it. This isn’t incontrovertible proof that Ukraine actually carried out the attack, in part because key details of the leaked plan differ from what actually happened, but it’s certainly strong circumstantial evidence. We’ve written before about analysts who speculated that either Russia did it as a way to blackmail European clients or the U.S. did to sabotage Russia.

Headlines

• Comer cancels move to hold Director Wray in contempt after FBI comes to its senses (Townhall)

• Dangerous air quality smothers major cities along I-95 corridor as Canada wildfires push smoke into U.S. (Fox Weather)

• Gavin Newsom proposes 28th amendment to the Constitution that would restrict gun access (Fox News)

• Biden vetoes measure overturning student loan forgiveness plan (The Hill)

• Trump attorneys notified former president is target of criminal investigation (Fox News)

• Pat Robertson, Christian media mogul and presidential candidate, dead at 93 (National Review)

• Missouri governor signs bills banning transgender treatments for minors, protecting women's sports (Daily Wire)

• Louisiana legislature, with veto-proof majority, passes ban on gender transition for minors (National Review)

• Instagram accused of connecting “vast pedophile network” in new report (Daily Wire)

• Three arrested after antifa clashes with Armenian parents at California school board meeting (Daily Signal)

• Arkansas judge orders Hunter Biden to appear in court in child support case, threatens contempt (National Review)

• Fox News says Tucker Carlson breached his contract (Axios)

• China to build spy base in Cuba focused on intercepting communications within U.S. (Daily Wire)

• Pentagon denies secret UFO retrieval program after whistleblower bombshell (Fox News)

• Syrian refugee injures four children, adult in knife attack in French Alps town (Fox News)

• Policy: The inevitable baseless left-wing claims that climate change caused the Canadian wildfires (Washington Examiner)

• Humor: Eric Adams calls on all New York residents to blow really hard toward Canada on count of three (Babylon Bee)

• Humor: Newsom gets revenge on DeSantis by continuing to send thousands of Californians to Florida (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.