WORLD NEWS
Did NIH Researcher Steal Taxpayer Funds?
U.S. federal law prohibits the use of “official resources,” such as federal funds or one’s job title, for private gain. A recent investigation has unveiled evidence showing Dennis Carroll, former director of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Pandemic Threat Program, may have done just that
It appears that while Carroll oversaw the USAID PREDICT program, PREDICT funds were used to promote and further the Global Virome Project that Carroll cofounded. The goal of the Virome Project is to collect and catalogue 1 million viruses from wildlife in an effort to predict which ones might cause a human epidemic
Emails released under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by U.S. Right to Know (USRTK) suggest Carroll’s work on the Virome Project began in March 2017, and that his work as USAID’s leader in viral surveillance and as the chair of the Global Virome Project overlapped for three years
The USAID PREDICT program also funded laboratory equipment for the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China through grants to the EcoHealth Alliance, and Shi Zhengli, a top coronavirus researcher at the WIV, not only worked with PREDICT but was also slated to work with the Global Virome Project
Metabiota, a core partner in the USAID PREDICT program, is funded by Rosemont Seneca (an investment fund co-managed by Hunter Biden) and In-Q-Tel (a CIA venture capital firm that specializes in high-tech innovations for U.S. intelligence agencies). The U.S. Department of Defense’s Threat Reduction Agency has also funded Metabiota to operate biolabs in the Ukraine
IMF Warns That Sanctions Against Russia Threaten to Weaken the Dominance of the Dollar
The recent financial sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine are threatening to weaken the dominance of the U.S. petrodollar as the world currency, said First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to The Financial Times.
The sanctions may result in a more fragmented international monetary system, warned Gopinath.
She had previously said that the sanctions against Russia would not foreshadow the demise of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency and that the Ukraine crisis would slow growth, but not cause a global recession.
The United States, the EU, and the Group of Seven nations have hit Russia with a bundle of heavy sanctions and blocked the country from using SWIFT, the global communications service that clears international financial transactions, virtually cutting it off from the global financial markets and international trade.
The United States also froze $630 billion in assets held in international reserves by the Russian Central Bank.
The Russian government is retaliating by demanding payment in rubles or gold for purchases of energy and other important commodities.
“If they want to buy, let them pay either in hard currency, and this is gold for us, or pay as it is convenient for us, this is the national currency,” said the head of Russia’s energy committee, Pavel Zavalny.
The United States and the UK have imposed embargoes on Russian energy exports, but the EU, which is more reliant on energy imports, is more reluctant to ban it.
The new policy has hit the EU the hardest, sending gas prices on the continent up by 30 percent on March 30.
Kremlin Says Ukrainian Attack on Fuel Depot in Russia Unhelpful for Peace Talks
The Kremlin on Friday accused Ukraine of a military strike against a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod while saying that the attack was unhelpful for the progress of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, which were set to resume on Friday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that the strike, which Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied, would do nothing to build trust between the two sides and could jeopardize peace talks.
“Clearly, it’s not what could create conditions for further talks,” he said, according to Russian state-backed media Tass.
Ukraine Accuses Russia of Executing Civilians; Moscow Denies Claim
Ukrainian officials on April 3 claimed that Ukrainian civilians were massacred by Russian forces in the city of Bucha, located near Kyiv, as Western powers said they were preparing more sanctions against Moscow.
The “Bucha massacre proves that Russian hatred towards Ukrainians is beyond anything Europe has seen since WWII,” Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter as he posted photos of dead civilians that were allegedly targeted by Russian forces. The Epoch Times couldn’t immediately verify the photos.
“The only way to stop this: help Ukraine kick Russians out as soon as possible. Partners know our needs. Tanks, combat aircraft, heavy air defense systems. Provide them NOW,” Kuleba wrote, adding that the “Bucha massacre was” a “deliberate” attack on civilians.
Hours later, the Russian Ministry of Defense, however, denied Ukraine’s allegations.
“All photographs and video materials published by the Kyiv regime, allegedly showing some kind of ‘crimes’ by Russian military personnel in the town of Bucha … are yet another provocation,” the ministry said on April 3, according to state-run media.
“It’s particularity concerning that all the bodies of people whose images were published by the Kyiv regime, after at least four days, have not stiffened, do not have characteristic cadaveric spots, and have fresh blood in their wounds,” it added.
Canceling All Things Russian ‘A Warning Sign’: Professor
A current trend to cancel all things Russian, even Tchaikovsky concerts, is a warning sign because it’s the same kind of thinking used during the totalitarian Soviet Union and can lead to more harm, according to Gary Saul Morson, a Northwestern University professor who has studied Russian literature and thought for decades.
“This should be a warning sign when you start thinking that because President [Vladimir] Putin does horrible things in Ukraine, we have to stop listening to Tchaikovsky,” Morson told NTD’s “The Nation Speaks” program on Mar. 26. “What’s going on here? How far can such thinking go?”
“To me, it’s reminiscent of exactly how the Soviets thought. They certainly divided the world into all good and all bad. And so, literally anything you did that hurt your enemy was good. And that was the basis of their morality,” said Morson. “It is what led to the horrors of Soviet behavior to killing millions of people.”
Kremlin Says Britain Won’t Get Any Russian Gas Due to Sanctions
The Kremlin has said that London’s sanctions of Moscow’s Gazprombank, through which payments are to be made under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rubles-for-gas scheme, mean that Great Britain won’t be able to buy Russian gas.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state-backed news agency Tass on Saturday that British sanctions against Gazprombank mean that the UK faces the prospect of being cut off from Russian gas supplies.
“London wants to be the leader of everything anti-Russian. It even wants to be ahead of Washington! That’s the cost!” Peskov said, according to an RT translation of his remarks.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office with a request for comment.
As part of a recent wave of sanctions against Russia, the UK added Gazprombank to its sanctions list (pdf) in late March, with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss saying at the time that there would be “no let-up” in measures to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin should be under no illusions—we are united with our allies and will keep tightening the screw on the Russian economy to help ensure he fails in Ukraine,” Truss said on March 24.
Russia to End International Cooperation on Space Station Unless Sanctions Lifted
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos will halt its cooperation with international partners like NASA on the International Space Station (ISS), citing crippling sanctions designed to “kill” the Russian economy.
Dmitry Rogozin, the chief of Roscosmos, made the announcement in a series of statements on Twitter, in which he said that collaboration on joint projects like the ISS would only resume when the sanctions are lifted.
“I believe that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions,” Rogozin said.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” to disarm its neighbor and topple its government, Western allies imposed sweeping sanctions, including export bans on key technologies.
President Joe Biden ordered high-tech export restrictions against Moscow that he said were designed to “degrade” Russia’s aerospace industry, which includes its space program.
At the time, Rogozin suggested the U.S.-imposed measures could “destroy” ISS teamwork and lead to the space station falling out of orbit.
Russia Threatens to Limit Vital Exports of Agriculture Products to ‘Friendly’ Countries Only
A senior Russian government official has threatened to limit exports of agriculture products to “friendly” countries only amid sanctions from Western nations in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, who previously served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of the country’s security council, took to Telegram on April 1 where he warned of the potential move.
Medvedev said that many counties depend on supplies of food from Russia, a major global wheat exporter, writing: “It turns out that our food is our quiet weapon. Quiet but ominous,” according to Breitbart.
“The priority in food supplies is our domestic market. And price control,” he continued. “We will supply food and crops only to our friends (fortunately, we have a lot of them, and they are not at all in Europe and not in North America). We will sell both for rubles and for their national currency in agreed proportions.”
He then explained that Russia would not supply products and agricultural products to those countries it deems as “enemies.”
“And we won’t buy anything from them (although we haven’t bought anything since 2014, but the list of products prohibited for import can be further expanded),” he continued. Russia previously imposed a ban on imports of certain agricultural products from the EU and other Western countries in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea.
U.S. NEWS, POLITIC & GOVERNMENT
Media ‘Caught in a Cover-Up’ of Hunter Biden’s Laptop Story: Sen. Johnson
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on April 3 claimed that some major media outlets have been “caught in a cover-up” regarding the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Johnson’s remarks come shortly after The Washington Post and The New York Times published articles verifying and acknowledging the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop, nearly two years after it was first reported by the New York Post shortly before the 2020 election.
However, the New York Post’s reporting of the scandal was promptly suppressed by social media sites including Facebook and Twitter, the latter of which also locked the NY Post’s account for more than two weeks, citing the outlet’s alleged publication of “hacked material” as its justification.
In an editorial titled “The Hunter Biden story is an opportunity for a reckoning,” The Washington Post blamed the reluctance among some media to publish the story on the possibility of it being one of the “unwitting tools of a Russian influence campaign in 2016” among other things.
The Post’s editorial board also stressed that President Joe Biden himself had not “acted corruptly.”
Johnson told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the recent admissions by both The New York Times and The Washington Post prove “how complicit the media was” in concealing Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 presidential election.
“I really think what the New York Times and Washington Post stories prove is how complicit they have been and continue to be in the cover-up,” Johnson said. “And, you know, quite honestly, they’re not impartial. They are the defenders of the Democratic Party of the radical left. You know, The Washington Post learned a lot from their coverage of Nixon. When you get caught up in a cover-up—and that’s what happened, the media get caught up in a cover-up. They are caught with their lies.”
Johnson said that some outlets had participated in “what they call a limited hangout or in [President Richard] Nixon’s case, a modified limited hangout. You’ve let out just enough information, just enough truth to try and get you by the moment.”
A modified limited hangout is a public relations or propaganda technique in which the individual or official involved releases some information that was previously hidden, albeit still retaining important key facts, in an effort to prevent more important details from being exposed.
According to former Central Intelligence Agency official Victor Marchetti, the technique results in the public being “so intrigued by the new information that it never thinks to pursue the matter further.”
Homeland Security 20th Agency to Track Religious Vaccine Objectors
The Department of Homeland Security is at least the 20th federal agency to have created or proposed tracking lists for employees requesting religious accommodations from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
A rule placed in the Federal Register on Friday allows the DHS “to collect and maintain records on employees and applicants for employment” that are seeking certain religious and medical accommodations. A vaccine mandate remains in place for the federal workforce.
“This notice also clarifies DHS’s collection, use, maintenance, and dissemination of records needed to process, manage, maintain, and resolve reasonable accommodation requests based on a medical condition/disability or a sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance,” the proposed rule says. “This modified system will be included in DHS’s inventory of record systems.”
Public comment for the DHS rule closes on May 2.
The Daily Signal reported in January that at least 18 federal agencies were undertaking rules to track religious accommodations for the COVID-19 vaccine, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of the Treasury. The Daily Signal first reported on a small federal agency, the Pretrial Service Agency. The Daily Signal later reported the Commerce Department sought to track both religious and medical exemptions.
The volume of such rules should raise concerns, said Sarah Parshall Perry, a legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, the parent organization of The Daily Signal.
“Collecting data on religious objections—and not just for the vaccine—means the Biden administration is creating a blacklist of federal employees,” Perry told The Daily Signal. “To have one massive database with every federal employee and applicant that has requested religious accommodations is concerning.”
Last week, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., introduced legislation to prohibit the federal government from sharing, disclosing, or disseminating information concerning religious accommodation requests from federal employees.
The rules are different, and vary among agencies. Generally, the agencies plan to collect religious affiliation, the reasons given for religious accommodations requests, names, dates of birth, and addresses that could be shared between federal agencies, according to Marshall’s office.
The notices also generally don’t explain if it will store the data, why agencies need to share the data, or why it’s needed beyond the decision to grant or deny an employee’s religious accommodation request.
“These accommodation requests include, but are not limited to, requests for modifications to workplace safety protocols and related to public health mitigation measures, such as use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), physical distancing, immunization requirements, testing, travel, and quarantine requirements,” the proposed DHS rule says.
New York Will Mandate Masks for Children Under 5 Years Old
New York Mayor Eric Adams has said that the city will mandate that 2- to 4-year-old children must continue wearing masks after a judge issued an order in favor of his administration.
“Every decision we make is with our children’s health and safety in mind. Children between 2 and 4 should continue to wear their masks in school and daycare come Monday,” Adams, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter on April 1.
The announcement comes after State Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio struck down the city’s mask order for young children earlier that day. However, an appellate court issued a stay in the lower court’s ruling, allowing the mask mandate to remain intact amid the appeals process.
Porzio said the mandate was “absurd” after it was lifted for children aged 5 and older and characterized it as “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.” That ruling was handed down in response to a lawsuit from a group of parents who sued Adams and city agencies.
“Universal masking, therefore, presents one of the strongest, if not the strongest defense against COVID-19 for settings with children ages two to four,” New York attorneys stated in court records.
However, numerous studies have shown that young children have exceedingly low COVID-19 death and hospitalization rates compared with other age groups—even compared with older children.
“For these reasons, throughout the pandemic, both the City and New York State had more stringent rules in place for this setting,” the attorneys wrote.
Court Rules California’s Corporate Diversity Law Unconstitutional
A Los Angeles court determined on April 2 that a California law requiring certain workplace boardroom quotas of underrepresented communities is unconstitutional.
Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit (pdf) in early October 2020 arguing that any spending of taxpayer funds or taxpayer-paid resources on the quota law is “illegal under the California Constitution.”
The lawsuit was filed days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law. The measure required publicly traded companies to have a minimum of one director from an “underrepresented community” on its board by the end of last year and potentially more such directors by the end of 2022, depending on the number of members on a given board.
According to the law, a “director from an underrepresented community” refers to “an individual who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native, or who self-identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.”
California’s Assembly Appropriations Committee has noted that AB 979 “will result in ongoing costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to gather demographic information and compile a report on this data on its internet website,” Judicial Watch stated in its complaint.
Judicial Watch stated in its motion for summary judgment (pdf): “Laws that explicitly distinguish between individuals on racial or ethnic, sexual preference, and transgender status grounds fall within the core of the prohibition of the equal protection clause.”
The group stated that the law’s quotas requirement is “immediately suspect and presumptively invalid and triggers strict scrutiny review.”
Biden ‘Confident’ Son Hunter Biden Didn’t Break the Law: White House Chief of Staff
President Joe Biden believes that Hunter Biden, his son, didn’t break the law, said White House chief of staff Ron Klain in an interview on Sunday.
“Of course the president is confident that his son didn’t break the law,” Klain told ABC News’ “This Week” in response to renewed discussion about his overseas business ties and the content of a laptop hard drive that belongs to him.
There have long been questions swirling around the Biden family and their ties to businesses in China, Ukraine, and other countries.
Documents and messages from Hunter Biden’s laptop referenced a deal that Biden pursued with a Chinese Communist Party-linked emergency firm for which he was paid $5 million, according to a recent article for the Washington Post, which hired two security experts to authenticate the laptop. Other emails related to his work for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings—whose founder Mykola Zlovchesky is under investigation by Kyiv for alleged corruption—was also detailed.
The laptop story was broken by the New York Post in late 2020 before Twitter, Facebook, and other social media companies moved to limit its reach. Twitter also locked the NY Post’s account for more than two weeks, claiming the outlet published “hacked material.”
However, the contents of the laptop were referenced during a debate at the time between President Donald Trump and candidate Joe Biden. Biden told Trump that his son did not receive millions of dollars from a Russian woman who was the wife of former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov: “That’s not true. None of that is true.”
VIDEO: Reports Claim Hunter Biden Probe Heating Up
Biden Admin Announces End to Title 42 Illegal Immigration Rule
The Biden administration on Friday said it will soon terminate the Title 42 public health policy that has been used for the past two years to quickly expel illegal immigrants at the southern U.S. border, amid fears of a significant wave of migrants approaching in the coming months.
“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Friday.
Title 42 was implemented under the Trump administration as a means to quickly deport illegal aliens due to the pandemic. Both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden used the measure.
The order will now end on May 23, said the CDC, which added that the decision was made “in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security.” The agencies will now be “scaling up a program to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to migrants and prepare for resumption of regular migration under Title 8,” the CDC said.
Critics have said that removing the rule will likely draw more illegal immigrants to the U.S.–Mexico border. In February of this year, Title 42 reportedly forced the return of about 55 percent of illegal immigrants.
Among them, Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich warned that rescinding Title 42 will spur a “tidal wave” of illegal immigration, according to a letter he sent to the White House this week.
Sarah Palin Announces Congressional Run for Alaska US House Seat
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday she is running for Congress to represent Alaska as a House representative to fill the vacant seat left by the late Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
Palin, 58, said in an announcement, “Public service is a calling, and I would be honored to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep. Young did for 49 years. I realize that I have very big shoes to fill, and I plan to honor Rep. Young’s legacy by offering myself up in the name of service to the state he loved and fought for, because I share that passion for Alaska and the United States of America.”
The former governor and 2008 Republican nominee for vice president floated the idea of a congressional run in March in an interview with Newsmax. Palin will join a race with more than 50 candidates vying for the vacant seat.
“America is at a tipping point. As I’ve watched the far left destroy the country, I knew I had to step up and join the fight,” Palin said. “The people of the great State of Alaska, like others all over the country, are struggling with out-of-control inflation, empty shelves, and gas prices that are among the highest in the world.
“We need energy security for this country, and Alaska can help provide that—but only if the federal government gets out of the way and lets the free market do what it does best.”
She said the country needs “leaders who will combat the left’s socialist, big-government, America-last agenda.”
Republican Running Against Stefanik Caught on Video Filling Petitions for Himself, Drops Out of Race
Lonny Koons, a Republican who was a primary challenger to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for the 21st Congressional District of New York dropped out after allegations of illegally filling petition sheets.
Parked at a Walmart on March 24, Koons, a trucker and veteran who was allegedly anti-Trump, was video recorded in his car signing petitions for himself, unaware that he was being recorded.
GOP candidates needed at least 1,250 signatures to be seen on the ballot by April 4. According to election laws, all the petition signatures appearing on the ballot should have original marks from the signers themselves.
“I am [dropping out of the race] mainly because I cannot sustain a political campaign on my own,” he said, according to Press-Republican. “I had stayed afloat by pulling out half of my 401k and that is not enough,”
According to Just The News, Koons wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post: “It has come to my attention that I have been fraudulently filling in information on my petition sheets; I was unaware that by my filling in date and city cells as well as printing names of the signees after the fact that I was committing a fraudulent act.”
He later told the outlet, “I had people who had lined out their names in order to correct it so I was recreating the messed up pages,” asserting that he didn’t alter the signatures, just the names and information of the signers.
“I know how this looks and because of that and the financial burden I have put myself in I am withdrawing from the race,” Koons added. “The implications of those videos goes against everything I stand for and I have to accept that no matter [my] intentions, it will always be viewed as if I were cheating.”
“I am sorry that I let so many people down; there is no excuse and nothing I can do to prove my intent. So with that, it’s just better for me to disappear politically.”
Stefanik commented on a campaign statement: “This is a serious crime and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Washington State Plans to Outlaw Most New Gas-Powered Cars
Washington state legislators passed a law to outlaw most new gasoline-powered cars in the next eight years.
SB 5974, which was recently signed (pdf) by Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee, establishes that “all publicly owned and privately owned passenger and light duty vehicles of model year 2030 or later that are sold, purchased, or registered in Washington state be electric vehicles” and creates an “interagency electric vehicle coordinating council.”
During the bill signing this week, Inslee said that the measure is climate-related and will “move us away from the transportation system our grandparents imagined and towards the transportation system our grandchildren dream of.”
Reports indicate that electric vehicles are cost-prohibitive for many Americans, with an average price for an electric car hovering around $50,000. According to local media, just 1.3 percent of cars on the road in Washington state are battery-powered.
Jeremy Horpedahl, an economist at the University of Arkansas, said the 2030 target is “overly ambitious.”
“A better approach would be to gradually encourage consumers to switch to electric vehicles and for private enterprise to build the charging infrastructure with incentives,” he told The Center Square, adding that consumers shouldn’t be forced to purchase electric vehicles.
“But whatever the ideal approach is, using economic incentives to encourage” electric vehicles is “far better than a strict mandate that bans fossil-fuel automobiles,” Horpedahl concluded.
Republicans in the state Legislature said they were cut out of negotiations over the transportation package. The bill, they argue, is not realistic.
“They want to force everybody into an electric vehicle for whatever reason they deem fit,” said Yakima Republican Sen. Curtis King, the ranking member of the Senate Transportation Committee, according to the Yakima Herald. “They want to take the choice away from the people because they think government knows more than anybody else.”
“There’s a lot more to it than just having the cars available,” Rep. Andrew Barkis, another Republican, told the paper. “We’ve got a long way to go for power supply and infrastructure and everything that goes along with it.”
Washington State School District Adopts ‘Culturally Responsive’ Student Discipline Policy
A school district in Washington state has adopted what it calls a “culturally responsive” student discipline policy that takes into account race and ethnic background in doling out punishment.
On March 14, the policy was passed by a vote of 3-2 by the Clover Park School District Board of Directors in Lakewood.
The board’s two conservative members voted against the policy.
“Until we, the five of us, have discussed all these definitions at work—until we do that, I think we are negligent to send this forward,” Paul Wagemann said at the videotaped meeting.
“Let’s say we both commit the same offense. Then the question should be what are the consequences of that offense and how do we go through that process? And to be fair, if we both did the same thing, we should get the same consequence the way I see it,” Wagemann said.
The aim of the new policy is to promote “fairness, equity, and due process in the administration of discipline,” according to the policy.
At the same time, it seeks to implement a “culturally responsive” policy that “provides every student the opportunity to achieve personal and academic success.”
Clinton Campaign, DNC Are Paying FEC Fines in an Effort to Bury Story: Kash Patel
The lead investigator for the House Intelligence Committee’s 2018 probe into the FBI’s investigation of alleged Trump–Russia collusion, Kash Patel, said the fact that the Hillary Clinton campaign is paying a penalty to Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an admittance of guilt. Clinton and DNC are doing so to bury the narrative and prevent more media coverage of these illegal activities, said Patel.
“I think the public sees what that is. It’s their way of burying the narrative, because if they contested what happens, more media coverage, more people start looking into these things,” Patel said.
“So the Hillary Clinton campaign is not contesting it, they’re paying the fine. It’s basically admitting that they did this and they’re out is: ‘we just don’t want a protracted legal deal, as if the Hillary Clinton campaign and DNC ever shied away from taking something or someone to court,” Patel added.
Clinton’s campaign and the DNC agreed to pay a combined $113,000 to the FEC, according to documents made public on March 30, after the commission found probable cause that the entities violated federal law by describing payments that ultimately went to the Fusion GPS research group as going toward legal services and consulting.
“It shows them how wrong they were to violate the law and spend political campaign dollars on hit job, opposition research pieces for then-candidate Trump, all of which, [to] remind the audience, was then used intentionally by the FBI—even though they knew it was false—to go to a federal secret court and surveil a presidential candidate and later a president of the United States.”
Critical Race Theory, Prison Culture Similarities Help Predict Where CRT Can Lead: Christopher Rufo
Writer, filmmaker, and researcher Christopher Rufo realized while working on a documentary that the ideology of prison gangs that leads to racial segregation in prisons holds similarities to the critical race theory (CRT) being promoted in society.
Rufo noticed that although the phenomenon of prison gangs and the development of CRT are different and disparate, by comparing the two and analyzing the outcome of gang activities in the California prison system, he would be able to draw conclusions as to where CRT could lead society.
Rufo began exploring prison culture, gang culture, and street culture for a documentary he directed for PBS called “America Lost,” which looks at three of America’s poorest cities—including Stockton, California—a city with a highly diverse racial makeup comprising white, black, Latino, and Asian populations.
“A lot of the prison gangs emerged with a black nationalist or Marxist Leninist ideology in California. They were tightly interconnected with the revolutionary movements of the late ’60s and early 1970s,” Rufo said on EpochTV’s “Crossroads” program.
“And those same revolutionary movements, those same ideologies, from the Black Panther Party to Eldridge Cleaver [a Black Panther Party activist] to Angela Davis, were really a focal point and a key inspiration for the discipline of critical race theory.”
Angela Davis, a political activist, professor, and author, was leader of the Communist Party USA in the 1960s and had close ties to the Black Panther Party.
The operations of the California prison organizations led to the creation of an environment where a person isn’t an individual but is reduced to a racial category, Rufo said.
“This is a world where you are not at liberty to choose your associations, but your associations choose you. And this is also a world where racial conflict is considered endemic, inescapable, and permanent—and that is an ugly vision of our society.”
Judge Rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bid for New Trial
Onetime Jeffrey Epstein girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in late 2021 on sex trafficking charges, including sex trafficking of minors, saw her bid for a new trial turned down on April 1.
Weeks after the trial, Maxwell, 60, asked for a retrial, pointing to a juror who revealed after the trial that he was sexually abused when he was a child and informed fellow jurors of the fact.
The juror, known as Juror No. 50 and was later granted immunity, “provided inaccurate information during jury selection,” Maxwell’s lawyers said in a motion in January, adding that the defendant “contends the juror’s presence on the jury violated her Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury.”
In a more recent filing, Maxwell also noted that Juror No. 50 said in interviews that another juror also disclosed that he or she had been sexually abused as a child.
Prosecutors opposed the move for a new trial, asserting that defendants are “entitled to a fair trial but not a perfect one, for there are no perfect trials,” quoting from a 1984 ruling. They said Juror No. 50 repeatedly told the court before the trial he could be fair and impartial and noted that he maintains this position in his post-verdict interviews, while alleging he believes he answered the juror questionnaire honestly.
Maxwell has not established that the juror deliberately lied about his history, the government said. The record actually indicates he did not, since he revealed the childhood abuse after the verdict.
U.S. Circuit Court Judge Alison Nathan, a Biden nominee, sided with prosecutors.
While the juror “failed to respond accurately during the jury selection process to a question on a written questionnaire about his history of sexual abuse,” Nathan wrote in her ruling, the defense did not prove the court would have struck him “due to actual, implied, or inferred bias.”
During a recent hearing, the juror “testified credibly,” added Nathan, who found “his tone, demeanor, and responsiveness gave no indication of false testimony.” Further, questions probing his possible bias indicated he wouldn’t have been sent home due to his history.
“The requirements for a new trial under McDonough are not satisfied,” Nathan ruled, referring to McDonough Power Equip., Inc. v. Greenwood.
Maxwell’s sentencing hearing remains scheduled for June 28.
DeSantis Hints at Possible Repeal of Disney’s ‘Special Privileges’
As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrapped up a press conference in Ponte Vedra Beach on Thursday, he floated the possibility that state lawmakers might repeal the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act in response to Disney’s ongoing opposition to the recently signed “Parental Rights in Education” law, dubbed by liberal opponents of the measure as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID)—drafted by the Florida Legislature in cooperation with Walt Disney World and signed into law by Republican Gov. Claude Kirk—effectively created two municipal-style governments, Bay Creek and Reedy Creek, to regulate the Lake Buena Vista land where the Walt Disney World Resort operates. Through the RCID, Disney operates its own fire protection, security services, utilities, and planning. Its Board of Supervisors is selected by landowners surrounding the 38.5-square-mile property, effectively allowing Disney to operate as its own government. If the RCID is repealed, Disney’s property would suddenly be under the complete authority of Orange and Osceola counties.
The announcement came as another installment in the ongoing feud between Disney and DeSantis since the governor signed the bill into law. After facing pressure from LGBTQ communities and staff for his silence, Disney CEO Bob Chapek issued a statement to his employees on March 11, apologizing for not being a “stronger ally” to them, saying the bill represents “yet another challenge to basic human rights.” Chapek then announced Disney would immediately halt all political donations in Florida.
On March 30, Florida Rep. Joe Harding, the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the bill, announced he is returning the $3,126 he had received in political donations associated with Disney.
Disney Corporation issued a March 28 statement vowing that its new goal was “for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts,” promising to support organizations working to make such a thing happen.
DeSantis said the possible repeal would not be entirely retaliatory in response to Disney’s behavior, but rather made as part of a larger effort to strip Disney of what he called “special privileges.”
“I would not say that that’d be retaliatory. I mean, the way I view it is, you know, there are certain entities that have exerted a lot of influence through corporate means to generate special privileges in the law,” DeSantis said. “I don’t think we should have special privileges in the law at all.”
Florida Rep. Spencer Roach revealed through social media that lawmakers already met twice to discuss the possible repeal of the RCID.
“Yesterday was the 2nd meeting in a week w/ fellow legislators to discuss a repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows Disney to act as its own government,” Roach tweeted. “If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County.”
The Parental Rights in Education law, which does not contain the word “gay,” prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade.
Sacramento Shooting Leaves 6 Dead, 12 Injured, Officials Say
Six people were killed and 12 were injured after gunfire erupted in Sacramento’s downtown area early on April 3, officials confirmed.
“Officers located at least 15 shooting victims, including 6 who are deceased,” the Sacramento Police Department stated on social media, adding that the incident unfolded around 9th and K streets. Later, officials told local media outlets that 12 people were injured.
Officials also announced that downtown streets located near the site of the shooting were shut by police as an investigation continues.
Authorities didn’t provide details about a suspect or suspects, or a possible motive.
A video that was apparently captured at the scene showed a group of people attacking one another as several gunshots were heard in succession.
Police had been patrolling the area at about 2 a.m. when they heard gunfire, Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference. When they arrived at the scene, they found a large crowd gathered on the street and six people dead; another 10 either took themselves or were transported to hospitals, she said. No information was given on their conditions.
This is “a very complex and complicated scene,” she said. Lester issued a plea to the public, asking for witnesses or anyone with recordings of the incident to contact the police.
Berry Accius, who works with Sacramento’s Voice of the Youth, told news outlets that he arrived on the scene at 2:30 a.m.
“A lot of victims with blood, just watching some of the families that didn’t know if their loved one was alive, running, trying to figure out what was happening, people distraught, people discombobulated,” Accius said. “It was just horrific.”
Kay Harris, 32, said she was asleep when one of her family members called to say they thought her brother had been killed. She said she thought he was at London, a nightclub at 1009 10th Street. Harris said she has been to the club a few times and described it as a place for “the younger crowd.”
“Words can’t express my shock & sadness this morning. The numbers of dead and wounded are difficult to comprehend. We await more information about exactly what transpired in this tragic incident,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg wrote in a Twitter post.
Family Court Judge Resigns Amid Accusation of ‘Groping’
A Massachusetts family court and probate judge accused of inappropriate touching of an employee has resigned.
Judge Paul Sushchyk turned in his letter of resignation to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker earlier this week on Mar. 28. Sushchyk’s alleged misconduct happened outside of the courtroom.
Sushchyk has been the subject of an ongoing investigation that started in 2019 after a female co-worker accused him of groping her buttocks.
At the time, the woman served as the field coordinator for the Massachusetts Administrative Office of the Courts. She was also a staff liaison to the Massachusetts Court’s Judicial Education Committee.
In the complaint she filed against Sushchyk, the female court employee accused Sushchyk of groping her buttocks using what she said felt like “a full hand.”
Sushchyk’s attorney, Michael Angelini of the Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, did not return phone calls from The Epoch Times about the allegations.
According to court records, the incident is alleged to have occurred at a dinner event that was part of a probate and family court conference for judges that she, Sushchyk, and other Massachusetts court officials attended.
In her complaint, the worker named potential witnesses all of whom were other court employees, and also produced evidence of a text message she sent to her sister immediately following the alleged incident.
“While at the bar after dinner one of the newer judges full palmed my ass. I am still reeling a bit today from it. Kinda thought maybe it was a mistake until today he spent the day hovering uncomfortably around me,” she texted.
In a formal response to the complaint against Sushchyk, Angelini wrote that his client “denies that he had any physical contact whatsoever with any part” of the woman’s body.
However, in a written statement he gave nearly a year earlier and shortly following the alleged groping incident, Sushchyk wrote that he had come into “momentary contact with a portion of her lower body” in an attempt to steady himself.
“I was somewhat unsteady on my feet, feeling the effect of past hip replacement surgery, the long day, the evening meal, and the alcohol consumed,” Suschyk wrote.
The Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct found the contradiction enough to recommend that Suschhyk be suspended without pay during the continued investigation into the alleged incident.
“He falsely claimed to the court administration investigating the matter that he had a recollection of incidental contact, a falsehood he knowingly provided in an attempt to exculpate himself.
“Such misdirection during the investigation not only evinces a consciousness of guilt, but is wholly inconsistent with the oath of office and ethical conduct required of a judge,” the commission wrote in its findings.
46 Months in Prison for Alabama Man Found With Molotov Cocktails, Firearms, and Machetes on Jan. 6
An Alabama man who brought Molotov cocktails and a cache of weapons and ammunition to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on April 1 to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
U.S.District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she was frustrated at not getting a good explanation for why Lonnie Leroy Coffman, 72, of Falkville, Alabama, drove to the country’s capital in a pickup truck loaded with firearms, incendiary devices, and other weapons.
It’s “a serious offense, and I can’t get away from it,” Kollar-Kotelly said. “I mean, he had almost a small armory in his truck, ready to do battle. And I still don’t have an explanation of why you would have all of this.”
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Coffman pleaded guilty in November to possession of an unregistered firearm, a destructive device, and carrying a pistol without a license. In addition, he admitted to a federal charge from Alabama for possession of an unregistered firearm. He had no previous criminal record.
Coffman will get credit for time spent in pretrial detention, meaning he’ll serve about 31 more months in prison.
“The defendant, Mr. Coffman, committed serious federal criminal offenses by unlawfully possessing the component parts to make Molotov cocktail incendiary devices in Washington D.C. and in Alabama,” prosecutor Michael J. Friedman said.
“The defendant transported these weapons across state lines and left them unsecured in his pickup truck. The pickup was parked in a part of Washington D.C. close to residences and government buildings, including the U.S. Capitol building.”
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Doomsday ‘Preppers’ Warn of Hard Times Ahead As Preparedness Goes Mainstream
Food scarcity. Food vouchers. Food riots and flash mobs.
All of that’s coming—and soon, says Texas-based food scientist and “Health Ranger” podcaster Mike Adams, who sees dire events unfolding in America in the short term.
His advice: people need to get prepared now.
“The thing to really watch for is the food inflation,” Adams said.
“My position is we’re going to see food riots in America before the end of this year. We’re going to see flash mobs in grocery stores—especially for meat products.
“Grocery stores are going to respond with increased security and checkpoints. At some point, we’re probably going to see an attempt at price controls and rationing.
“And not on everything—certain types of things. It’s almost certain that the rationing they will attempt to enforce with a vaccine passport app that becomes a food rationing app,” Adams told The Epoch Times.
Adams is not alone in his predictions of hard times coming to America—and the world.
With food production buckling under the weight of runaway inflation, skyrocketing fuel costs, and fertilizer shortages, much of what’s in store is already “built-in.”
Southwest Airlines Apologizes After Thousands of Flights Canceled or Delayed
Southwest Airlines, one of the world’s largest low-cost carriers, issued a public apology after thousands of flights were canceled or delayed early on April 2.
The airline’s operations were affected by an “intermittent technology issue” as well as “ongoing weather challenges in Florida,” Southwest said in a travel advisory. “We offer our heartfelt apologies for any inconvenience, and we will continue to work with customers who experience a disruption in their travel plans.”
According to data from FlightAware, Southwest faced 1,562 flight delays and 520 cancellations on April 2. Systems went down around 4 a.m. but came back shortly at around 6 a.m., a spokesperson from Houston Airports told KPRC 2.
Customers who “purchased their itinerary” through the airline’s website or mobile app were allowed to reschedule travel plans online. Others were asked to call customer service to resolve their issues.
“In order to provide maximum flexibility, Customers holding reservations to/from any Southwest destination from Saturday, April 2, through Sunday, April 3, may rebook in the original class of service or travel standby (within 14 days of their original date of travel between the original city-pairs and in accordance with our accommodation procedures) without paying any additional charge,” the airline said in the advisory.
Southwest customers shared their struggles online, as some had to endure lengthy customer service calls, exorbitant airfares, and double cancellations.
“This has been the worst day of traveling I have ever experienced,” said a Twitter user. “3 canceled flights. Zero support. Now I am stuck in Chicago for two days and having to pay for a hotel! This is going to cost you a loyal customer because it is costing me a ton!”
COVID RELATED NEWS
COVID-19 Hospital Admissions Drop to New Low: CDC Data
The fewest Americans admitted to the hospital are testing positive for COVID-19 since August 2020, according to data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 7-day average of daily new admissions sunk to 1,494 on March 31, down from over 21,000 a day in mid-January, the data shows. The previous low was on June 23, 2021, when the figure stood at 1,829.
Hospitalizations have been a key benchmark in measuring the severity of the pandemic. A number of federal, state, and local measures to mitigate the spread have been dropped in recent weeks. Some experts have argued the measures, such as mask wearing in public and lockdowns of schools and businesses, were ineffective to begin with.
The low numbers come in the wake of the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19. The variant has proven to be highly infectious and able to overcome immune responses induced by vaccination. During the peak days in January, some 700,000–800,000 people a day were testing positive—several times more than during previous waves of infections. The variant also appears to be less lethal. Last winter, over 240,000 deaths were attributed to COVID-19 from December 2020 to February 2021. This winter, there were about 160,000 deaths in the same period. Last winter, however, only a few percent of the population were vaccinated. This winter, it was about 65 percent.
The number of people getting the first dose of the vaccine has dropped below 50,000 a day in recent weeks, the lowest since December 2020, when the shots just became available, CDC data shows.
It’s not clear how the virus will behave from this point on. Some experts predict it will become “endemic,” coming in seasonal waves every year and possibly becoming less virulent over time. So far, there doesn’t appear to be another variant lined up to replace Omicron.
CDC Drops COVID-19 Health Warning for Cruise Ships
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dropped its COVID-19 health warning for cruise ship travelers.
The federal health agency said it will leave it up to travelers to determine whether they feel safe getting on a cruise ship, although it still issued a warning about going on a cruise.
“While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers will make their own risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings,” CDC spokesman Dave Daigle said in a statement to news outlets last week.
Daigle added that the CDC decision was based on “the current state of the pandemic and decreases in COVID-19 cases onboard cruise ships over the past several weeks.”
Since mid-January, COVID-19 cases have been falling across the United States. Hospitalizations have also dropped to a new low on April 1, according to data from the agency.
NIH Admits it ‘Suppressed’ Wuhan Lab Genetic Data, but Disputes Watchdog’s ‘Deleted’ Label
A National Institutes for Health (NIH) spokesperson is disputing a nonprofit watchdog group’s claim that the agency “deleted” genetic sequencing data on the CCP virus from a Chinese lab, but the same official acknowledged the data was “suppressed.”
“The headline says the sequences were deleted which is inaccurate. They were not deleted. This is a really important point, and I’ve highlighted what did happen from what we provided to you earlier this week,” NIH Media Branch Chief Amanda Fine told The Epoch Times in a March 31 email.
Fine was referring to a March 29 Epoch Times story headlined “NIH Deleted Info Received From Wuhan Lab on CCP Virus Genetic Sequencing, Watchdog’s FOIA Finds.” The information Fine referenced as having been provided to The Epoch Times by NIH earlier in the week was included in the published story:
“’In June 2020, in response to a request by the same [Wuhan] researcher, National Center for Biotechnology [NCBI] gave the sequence data the status of “withdrawn,” which removes sequencing data from all public means of access but does not delete them.
“‘NCBI subsequently reassigned the status of the sequence data to “suppressed,” which means that sequence data are removed from the search process but can be directly found by accession number. This action to reassign the data was identified as part of NLM’s ongoing review into the matter. We are working to make more information available,’ the spokesperson said.”
The biotechnology center, which is part of the institute’s National Library of Medicine (NLM), is the U.S. component of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration.
Three Brothers Prepare to Exit Military as Religious Exemptions for COVID Shots Denied
The three Misiura brothers have a family history of military service. Their grandfather was a Navy machinist in the Korean War, their father was in the Air Force, and each of the brothers enlisted with pride to carry on the family legacy and support American liberty.
But now they feel their liberty is being curtailed as they are being told to get the COVID-19 shots or face discharge. Each has asked for a religious exemption, and they’re in varying stages of the exemption process.
David Misiura Jr., 36, is an Air Force Reserve technical sergeant from Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He is a former prison guard who started a men’s grooming business, LOX and Company Ltd. He has served for 15 years and was deployed four times, including two combat deployments in Iraq. One of those deployments was with his brother, Josiah Misiura, 30, an Air Force Reserve technical sergeant from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who works full time as a police officer. Their other brother, Jonathan Misiura, 34, of Honesdale is a private first class in the Army National Guard and works full time as a lineman for a telephone company.
Each military branch has different vaccination deadlines.
RFK Jr. Discusses Fauci, Vaccines And Big Pharma’s Power
March 21, 2022, Megyn Kelly of “The Megyn Kelly Show” interviewed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his position on vaccines, censorship, the claims made in his best-selling book, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” the power of Bill Gates and Big Pharma, and the global war on democracy and public health.
Hundreds of studies show it destroys health and causes dramatic reductions in IQ, since it accumulates in your brain. In 1997 they started removing it, but essentially replaced one brain-harming substance with another.
Watch:
- Fauci, Vaccines, and Big Pharma’s Power | Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Interview, Part 1
- The JFK Assassination, Growing up Kennedy, and His Marriage | Robert F. Kennedy Jr Interview, Part 2
The Real Reason They Want to Give COVID Jabs to Kids
The reason our children are being targeted by COVID mandates is because vaccine makers want to get the shots onto the childhood vaccination schedule
Once a vaccine is added to the childhood schedule, the vaccine maker is shielded from financial liability for injuries, unless the manufacturer knows about vaccine safety issues and withholds that information
Products must satisfy four criteria in order to get emergency use authorization: There must be an emergency; a vaccine must be at least 30% to 50% effective; the known and potential benefits of the product must outweigh the known and potential risks of the product; and there can be no adequate, approved and available alternative treatments (drugs or vaccines). Unless all four criteria are met, EUA cannot be granted or maintained
According to a U.S. federal court decision, the Pfizer shot and BioNTech’s Comirnaty are not interchangeable
Comirnaty is not fully approved and licensed. It’s only “ready for approval.” Comirnaty is licensed to be manufactured, introduced into state commerce and marketed, but it’s not licensed to be given to anyone, and it’s not yet available in the United States. They’re waiting for it to be added to the childhood vaccination schedule, to get the liability shield
One Scientist’s Search For Truth About Human Retroviruses
Judy Mikovits, Ph.D., a virologist, researcher and founding research director of the Whittemore Peterson Institute — which researches and treats chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in Reno, Nevada — got embroiled in controversy when, in 2009, she was the senior author on a paper which reported that a retrovirus known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) may play a causal role in CFS and other diseases, including autism.
Her book, “Plague: One Scientist’s Intrepid Search for the Truth About Human Retroviruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Autism and Other Diseases,” details her research and personal trials that arose as a consequence of her work.
The Most Important Stealth Factor to Improve Your Health
Minerals play a crucial role in the activation of enzyme pathways, which are responsible for metabolism. This, in part, is what makes minerals so foundational for good health. If you don’t have the required minerals, the “batteries” of your cells, the mitochondria and the nuclei, won’t work. Inflammation is poor energy production, and the reason goes back to mitochondrial dysfunction
Iron and copper are highly interdependent and need to be considered together. If you don’t have copper in your diet, hemoglobin production becomes impaired, along with many other aspects of iron metabolism. So, being anemic does not automatically mean that you’re iron deficient. You may be deficient in copper. Anemia typically relates to iron dysfunction or dysregulation, not deficiency
The best way to lower excessive iron is to donate blood, one to four times a year. Most adult men and postmenopausal women have high iron and could benefit from regular blood donation, as high iron is extremely toxic and destroys health. An even better strategy is to remove smaller amounts of blood every month and a recommended schedule is provided
To raise your copper level, you could use a copper supplement, but foods like grass-fed beef liver, bee pollen and whole food vitamin C are better
If you’re a farmer or grow your own food, the best way to put copper back into the soil, to get it into the food, is to add copper sulfate. Before you plant, simply spray the soil with copper sulfate, 10 to 15 pounds per acre
—-> Power Mall Product of Interest: Mother Earth Minerals Healthy Balance (8 fl oz)
Healthy Balance is a professional grade liquid Ionic mineral concentrate dietary supplement containing a comprehensive combination of the most important dietary minerals required for optimal health. This liquid mineral concentrate formula contains recommended potencies of essential minerals to keep our bodies at an ideal level of mineral balance and health. Over 72 traces are added to enhance assimilation and the synergistic effect of the formula.
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