Cross-Examination

• Inflation skyrocketed, Biden boasts: The price of eggs has precipitously dropped from record highs in January and is down 13.8% from April. Of course, falling egg prices coincide with the slowing rate of inflation, now at roughly 4% over last year. The White House posted a graph depicting the inflation rate with the message, “Great news: Today’s inflation report shows annual inflation is now at the lowest level since March 2021, and less than half of what it was last June.” The White House added, “This is giving families real breathing room.” The post was laughable, as it demonstrated that all this inflation that Americans have endured began after Joe Biden took office, and it has yet to drop back down to the level the U.S. economy enjoyed during Donald Trump’s presidency. As Governor Ron DeSantis’s press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, observed, “You’re bragging about prices continuing to increase?” Conservative commentator Justin Haskins also weighed in: “This is so dishonest! [The White House] knows most don’t understand inflation. Inflation going down does not mean there is more ‘breathing room.’ It means the rate of price increases is slowing, but still going up. We are paying more than ever! We need DEFLATION for prices to go down.”

• Are border encounters really down? In their ongoing effort to dismiss the crisis at the U.S. southern border, Biden administration players have been claiming that the number of encounters with illegal aliens at the border has dropped by a whopping 70%. Just like with the inflation boast, this claim is dubious on its face given the fact that hundreds of thousands of migrants have been illegally crossing into the U.S. every month. So, how can the Department of Homeland Security get away with such a blatantly false claim? Put simply, by engaging in a redefinition game. Any migrant who attempts to enter at a port of entry without the proper paperwork will not be classified as illegal but “inadmissible,” technically dropping the number of encounters with “illegal aliens” significantly. Furthermore, the Biden administration has expanded its definition of “lawful pathways” to claim asylum, which effectively eliminates the illegal alien categorization for those migrants who claim asylum irrespective of whether they entered the country legally. In short, the Biden administration is cooking the books to make it appear that the border is under control.

• Biden’s State Department wants $76 million to fund its DEI division: On Tuesday, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Joe Biden’s diversity and inclusion officer at the State Department — a first-of-its-kind position created by his administration — testified before Congress. Abercrombie-Winstanley contended that $76 million in funding was needed to help ensure that the department has “an inclusive workforce with equitable opportunities to ensure our foreign policy is as strong, smart, and creative as it can be.” House Republicans were quick to object. Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman Brian Mast bluntly stated, “Ma'am, I believe that your office is mandating division within the State Department.” He added: “This office has a clever name that uses strong emotional words — diversity, equity, inclusion — but functionally does the opposite of what America has always stood for, which is very simply the best man, the best woman for the job. This office is giving people the impression or given many people outside of the State Department the sense that it is looking for a preferred race or at minimum not white, that it is looking for a preferred religion or at minimum not Christian, or that it is looking for a preferred sexual orientation or identity or at minimum not straight male.”

• Johns Hopkins University erases women: The latest incident of leftist newspeak comes courtesy of Johns Hopkins University, which recently provided students with an “LGBTQ Glossary” of “inclusive” gender identity terminology. One of the terms of interest was “lesbian,” which was defined as “a non-man attracted to non-men.” The glossary redefinition went on to explain, “While past definitions refer to ‘lesbian’ as a woman who is emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually attracted to other women, this updated definition includes non-binary people who may also identify with the label.” In other words, there is no such thing as a “woman.” Making matters worse, the glossary did include a definition for “Gay Man” in which the term “man” was not avoided. J.K. Rowling wryly observed: “Man: no definition needed. Non-man (formerly known as woman): a being definable only by reference to the male. An absence, a vacuum where there’s no man-ness.” After blowback like that, Johns Hopkins removed the glossary.

• Christie, the formidable attack dog against Trump: Like CNN did with Donald Trump, the network on Monday hosted Republican presidential primary candidate Chris Christie in a town hall, with Anderson Cooper serving as the moderator. What became clear throughout the event is that Christie has his guns aimed squarely at Trump. He handled himself well throughout, ably answering a variety of questions while attacking Trump calmly and pointedly. He avoided engaging in any sophomoric slander, and his most notable attack on Trump was his observation that Trump is focused on settling personal scores. “If [Trump] goes back to the White House, the next four years will be all about himself,” Christie argued. “We need a president who will wake up every day and think about what’s best for the American people.” If Christie is able to generate enough popularity in the polls to be on the debate stage with Trump, it will be interesting to see the two square off.

Headlines

• Trump pleads not guilty to all 37 counts in classified documents case (National Review)

• “Fake and fabricated charges”: Trump denounces federal indictment in primetime address (Daily Signal)

• White House bans trans activist who went topless after meeting Biden (Free Beacon)

• Starbucks changes its tone on Pride Month displays, heeds a cautionary tale (Hot Air)

• Wuhan lab scientists researching coronavirus were the first to contract COVID-19 (NY Post)

• U.S. intelligence confirms it buys Americans’ personal data (TechCrunch)

• Millions of borrowers in danger of default when student loan repayments resume (Washington Examiner)

• Three hundred million jobs will be lost, degraded by artificial intelligence, report says (Daily Wire)

• Biden admin backs city of Berkeley in bid to ban gas stoves (Free Beacon

• California can’t generate enough power to fuel its electric vehicle mandate (Free Beacon)

• Red states fight back against local, Democrat-led climate policies (PM)

• Southern Baptists refuse to let Saddleback Church back into the denomination for women pastors (AP)

• Belarus starts taking delivery of Russian nuclear weapons (Reuters)

• Policy: Real work requirements for welfare recipients require real work (Daily Signal)

• Satire: Biden updates Iwo Jima memorial with pride flag (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.