Supremes watch: A Win for Girls’ Sports

To see “why the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30 decision in two cases preserving fairness in girls’ and women’s sports is so important, look to California,” argues USA Today’s Ingrid Jacques. There, a transgender athlete “won two track and field state championships in late May — no surprise, given the inherent advantages biological men have over women in athletics.” Trans athletes challenged laws requiring they compete under their birth sex in two states, Idaho and West Virginia; the Supreme Court found that states are free to pass such laws and thus protect girls from the unfairness and safety risks that come with having to compete against the opposite sex. “Biological reality matters, and the Supreme Court acknowledged that by allowing states to do what’s right.”

From the right: Walz Foreshadowed DSA’s Rise

“Many Americans,” even those “who only casually follow politics,” are wondering, “Just how radical exactly is today’s Democrat Party?” observes David Deavel at AMAC, and the “legacy” of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “may provide an answer.” A new film about Walz called “Minnesota Mao” reveals his “affection and admiration” for the Chinese “totalitarian dictatorship,” and his purchase of “dozens and dozens” of the Little Red Book. Many of Walz’s trips to China were funded “in large part” by Beijing, and as governor he promoted his own “Year Zero” approach to history, renaming lakes and removing statues. The film leaves a clear impression that Minnesota’s “alternately absurd and frightening governor” foreshadowed the “radicalism of the young DSA politicians” now ascendent in Democratic politics.

Turtle Bay beat: The UN’s Recycled Lies on Israel

The latest UN-associated report “accusing Israel of genocide” is riddled with “lazy” recycled conclusions that have been “predetermined and based to a large degree” on earlier lies about Israel, warns the Commentary’s Seth Mandel. The report claims Israel was “deliberately targeting” Palestinian children and committing “genocide.” Yet “genocide requires intent,” so the report’s conclusion “never gets off the ground,” leaving readers with “a list of unsubstantiated Israeli crimes.” Example? The report claims “Israeli attacks hit Gaza schools,” but if you read further, the document itself admits “Gaza’s schools were closed soon after Hamas initiated the war.” “Dishonest activists posing as ‘experts’ ” should hope “no one reads beyond the headline,” when they put out their next “already-debunked” report.

Religion desk: The ‘Vital Fight’ for Liberty

Thomas Jefferson “correctly regarded freedom of religion as a right given by God, not government,” contends The Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn, though he was wrong in “believing most Americans would exercise their religious liberty by eventually becoming Unitarians.” Indeed, “ ‘the constitutional order that Jefferson helped create has sustained a deeper and more diverse religious life than even the Founders themselves anticipated,’ ” argues Mark Rienzi, president the Becket Fund, whose “vital cause” is fighting the many threats to “the free exercise of religion.” “If our first 250 years have taught us anything, it is that our strength comes from our freedom,” insists Rienzi. And “mothing is more American than fighting for religious liberty — even when we disagree.”

Economist: Minimum-Wage Hikes Set To Backfire

Jurisdictions around the country are set to “enact minimum wage hikes,” most “based on inflation,” notes Michael Saltsman at the Washington Times. But officials in these places “ignore the growing evidence” that raising the minimum wage comes with “serious costs for workers, businesses and consumers.” Touted as an affordability measure, “minimum wage hikes are linked to fewer employment opportunities, strained business operations and a higher cost of living.” The “economics are straightforward,” because when “minimum wages increase” employers “reduce staff” or even go out of business. Moreover, these“wage increases make the cost of living worse, not better” as they fuel inflation. “Minimum wage mandates” mean “the economic situation is likely to worsen,” with “fewer jobs, struggling businesses, higher prices” on the horizon.

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board