WORLD NEWS
North Korea Launched ICBM After US-South Korea Exercises Announced
North Korea conducted an “ICBM [inter-contiential ballistic missile] launching drill” Saturday, hours after South Korea announced it would hold joint exercises with the United States.
Citing the South Korean military, the New York Times reported a North Korean ICBM, launched from the communist regime’s capital of Pyongyang, “flew about 560 miles to the east” on Saturday and landed off Japan’s coast.
North Korea Launches 2 Missiles After Warning U.S.
North Korea launched two ballistic missiles on Monday after sending a stark warning to the U.S. over its military maneuvers. The latest launch of short-range rockets comes after Pyongyang conducted a separate weapons test of an intercontinental ballistic missile over the weekend in response to drills carried out between the armed forces of the U.S. and South Korea. Japan said both of the missiles launched Monday landed in the waters outside its exclusive economic zone. North Korean state media bragged that the missiles could be armed with “tactical” nuclear weapons. In a statement Sunday, Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong said: “The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the U.S. forces’ action character.”
Inside China’s Military Balloon Program
Years before a gigantic white spy balloon from China captured America’s attention, a top Chinese aerospace scientist was keenly tracking the path of an unmanned airship making its way across the globe.
On a real-time map, the white blimp appeared as a blinking red dot, although in real life its size was formidable, weighing several tons and measuring 328 feet (100 meters) in length—about 80 feet longer than a Boeing 747-8, one of the largest passenger aircraft in the world.
“Look, here’s America,” the vessel’s chief architect, Wu Zhe, told the state-run newspaper Nanfang Daily. He excitedly pointed to a red line marking the airship’s journey at about 65,000 feet in the air, noting that in 2019, that flight was setting a world record.
Named “Cloud Chaser,” the airship had been flying for just shy of a month over three oceans and three continents, including what appears to be Florida. At the time of Wu’s interview in August, the airship was hovering above the Pacific Ocean, days away from completing its mission.
Large White Balloon’ Spotted Northeast of Hawaii, Air Traffic Control Confirms
Air Traffic Control (ATC) confirmed that a “large white balloon” has been spotted just northeast of Hawaii.
The Oakland Oceanic Air Traffic Control Center said on Sunday that a white ballon was spotted over the Pacific Ocean just 594 miles northeast of Honolulu.
Biden Admin Negotiates Deal to Give WHO Authority Over US Pandemic Policies
The Biden administration is preparing to sign up the United States to a “legally binding” accord with the World Health Organization (WHO) that would give this Geneva-based UN subsidiary the authority to dictate America’s policies during a pandemic.
Despite widespread criticism of the WHO’s response to the COVID pandemic, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra joined with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in September 2022 to announce “the U.S.-WHO Strategic Dialogue.” Together, they developed a “platform to maximize the longstanding U.S. government-WHO partnership, and to protect and promote the health of all people around the globe, including the American people.”
These discussions and others spawned the “zero draft” (pdf) of a pandemic treaty, published on Feb. 1, which now seeks ratification by all 194 WHO member states. A meeting of the WHO’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) is scheduled for Feb. 27 to work out the final terms, which all members will then sign.
Written under the banner of “the world together equitably,” the zero draft grants the WHO the power to declare and manage a global pandemic emergency. Once a health emergency is declared, all signatories, including the United States, would submit to the authority of the WHO regarding treatments, government regulations such as lockdowns and vaccine mandates, global supply chains, and monitoring and surveillance of populations.
Escalation: UK to Become First State to Hand Ukraine ‘Longer Range Weapons’ Says PM Sunak
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged that the United Kingdom will become the first state to supply Ukraine with “longer-range weapons” to use in its war with Russia.
In comments made on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Rishi Sunak said that the West must “help Ukraine to shield its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones and that’s why the United Kingdom will be the first country to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons.”
Thousands Protest Against World Economic Forum-Backed ’15-Minute Cities’ in UK
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Oxford on Saturday against the World Economic Forum-backed idea of so-called 15-minute cities as the local government announced that it would be trialling such a scheme.
Last year, the Oxfordshire County and City Councils in England proposed a “traffic filter system” trial scheme that would see licence plate-reading cameras installed for the purpose of fining citizens who drive their cars to other areas of the city without exemptions or resident permits during certain times of day.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Presidents’ Day–George Washington’s Birthday – American Minute with Bill Federer
Presidents’ Day is actually Washington’s birthday, recognized by an Act of Congress for government offices in Washington, D.C., in 1879, and for all federal offices in 1885.
In 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create more three day weekends moved the observance of Washington’s birthday to the third Monday in February. As Abraham Lincoln was also born in February, so many States include him in the observance, and still other States include all the Presidents.
Former President Jimmy Carter in Hospice Care
Former president Jimmy Carter chose to receive hospice care at home for “his remaining time” after a stay at the hospital, Carter Center said Saturday.
“After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention. He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers,” the organization said in a statement.
The 98-year-old former president—whose full name is James Earl Carter, Jr.—founded the Carter Center, a not-for-profit charity organization, in 1982.
He became the 39th U.S. president when he defeated former President Gerald R. Ford in 1976.
He won the 1976 presidential election after beginning the campaign as a little-known, one-term Georgia governor. His surprise performance in the Iowa caucuses established the small, Midwestern state as an epicenter of presidential politics. Carter went on to defeat Ford in the general election, largely on the strength of sweeping the South before his native region shifted heavily to Republicans.
He served a single term and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Ukrainian Refugee Girl Finds San Francisco Schools So Violent She Wants to Go Back
A Ukrainian refugee girl who settled in San Francisco with her mother is finding public school in the city so violent that she longs to return to her war-torn country, where she feels children are less cruel to one another.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday:
It didn’t take Yana long to realize that real life in her eighth grade classes at Marina Middle School was nothing like the scenes that played out on her [television] screen.
…
Students interrupted classes, jumped on desks, cursed at teachers. At first, Yana wondered what was going on, but then, “nothing happened.” Students were not disciplined or prevented from repeat behavior.
…
Yana just wants to go back to her hometown in central Ukraine, back to the only school she knew before the war, even as her mom and aunt have started to research camps and other programs in San Francisco to occupy the summer months.
A year ago, San Francisco voters recalled three school board members over concerns that the district had moved in a radical, far-left direction.
Norfolk Southern CEO Visits Site of Ohio Toxic Train Crash
Vowing that Norfolk Southern “will be working tirelessly every day to get East Palestine back on its feet as soon as possible,” company CEO Alan Shaw visited the eastern Ohio village where a Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 3, sending toxic chemicals into the air and onto the ground.
“I am here to support the community,” Shaw said in a Feb. 17 statement. “We know we will be judged by our actions, and we are taking this accountability and responsibility very seriously.”
Shaw released an open letter to East Palestine residents on Feb. 16.
“We will not walk away, East Palestine.
Residents in East Palestine ‘May Already Be Undergoing DNA Mutations,’ Lawyer Alleges
A lawyer representing plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, alleged that some residents of the town may “already be undergoing DNA mutations” after the incident earlier this month.
“I’m not sure Norfolk Southern could have come up with a worse plan to address this disaster,” said attorney John Morgan, who is representing plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit, in reference to the train operator. “Residents exposed to vinyl chloride may already be undergoing DNA mutations that could linger for years or even decades before manifesting as terrible and deadly cancers.”
Their “lawsuit alleges that Norfolk Southern made it worse by essentially blasting the town with chemicals as they focused on restoring train service and protecting their shareholders,” Morgan told local media WFMJ-TV as well as USA Today this week. Morgan did not provide specific evidence for his claims regarding DNA mutations.
The latest lawsuit was filed Wednesday his law firm Morgan & Morgan in U.S. District Court’s Northern District of Ohio. It’s one of six suits that Norfolk Southern now faces after the train derailment earlier this month, according to the outlet.
‘Disgusting’: Ohio Senator Finds ‘Chemicals’ in East Palestine Water
A video of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) placing a stick in a creek in East Palestine, Ohio, causing what appears to be synthetic chemicals to rise to the surface drew widespread attention.
Earlier this month, a train that was carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, derailed in East Palestine. Officials confirmed later that a controlled release and burn of the chemicals was initiated so as to prevent a potential explosion.
“Visited a local creek in East Palestine today. These waterways are still very polluted,” Vance wrote on Twitter.
The post included a video of the Republican senator placing a stick in what his office said is the Leslie Run creek, located near the derailment site. After removing the stick from the creek, an oily rainbow-colored liquid emerged to the surface.
“This is disgusting,” Vance said. “The fact that these chemicals are still seeping in the ground is an insult to the people who live in East Palestine,” he said, adding that “do not forget” those people.
Vance asserted that when you “scrape the creek bed,” there appears to be “chemicals coming out of the ground.” In the footage, the newly elected lawmaker said that there are “dead worms” and “dead fish” in the waters of Leslie Run.
Ohio Sen. Michael Rulli (R-Salem) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Saturday that anyone living within ten miles of East Palestine should not drink or bathe in the water. “It is not safe,” Rulli affirmed.
“Anyone within ten miles, I am begging you not to drink the water. I am begging you not to bathe in the water. It is not safe,” Rulli told Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle on Saturday.
“Now that we’ve had this disaster, and fortunately for us, no one got killed on the initial explosion, bu
Ohio Senator: East Palestine Residents Are ‘Right to Be Skeptical’ After Toxic Train Crash
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on Sunday noted that residents of East Palestine are “right to be skeptical” after a train derailed and emitted toxic chemicals into the air, water, and land near the homes.
“Should the residents accept the assurances from the government or are they right to be skeptical?” anchor Pamela Brown asked Brown, who was elected in 2007, during a Sunday morning interview.
“Well, they’re right to be skeptical,” Brown said, echoing comments made by various state and federal authorities. “The EPA administration when I was there, both the state and federal EPA administrators, said that. But when you return to your home, we think the water is safe, but when you return to your home, you should be tested again for your water and your soil and your air.”
Residents Say They’ve Broken Out in Rashes After East Palestine Train Derailment
Locals who live near the train derailment and release of toxic chemicals near East Palestine, Ohio, have complained about various health problems since the incident unfolded earlier this month, including rashes, headaches, and other issues. And they’ve expressed concerns that these new symptoms may be tied to the chemicals that were burned or released.
The Feb. 3 derailment triggered officials to initiate a controlled release and burn of various chemicals as they cited concerns that those materials would explode and send out deadly shrapnel. Chemicals carried on the Norfolk Southern-operated train include toxic vinyl chloride gas, which was vented and burned, releasing a large cloud of black smoke that hung over the area for days.
A plume of chemicals from the train derailment was also detected heading down the Ohio River, although some Ohio environmental officials assert that they may largely be fire retardant substances used to put out the fire. Other chemicals carried on the train include butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate, and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said (pdf).
Undercover DC Police Officer Pushed Protesters Toward Capitol, Climbed Over Barricade: Court Filing
Three undercover Metropolitan Police Department officers joined the march of protesters up the northwest side of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021—including one who climbed over a barricade and pushed others toward the Capitol, and another who walked behind Ashli Babbitt and predicted that “someone will get shot,” according to newly disclosed court documents.
New court motions filed by Jan. 6 defendant William Pope of Topeka, Kansas, also show MPD bicycle officers stopping four armed men in plainclothes on Jan. 6. The men turned out to be federal agents. Video included with Pope’s filings also shows uniformed MPD officers saying, “we were set up” to fail on Jan. 6.
Information in the court papers will rekindle the debate about the role that undercover officers and agents played in the riots of Jan. 6 and why the U.S. Department of Justice and federal judges have kept the evidence under seal and away from public view.
“This video clearly evidences undercover law enforcement officers urging the crowds to advance up the stairs and scaffolding towards the Capitol on January 6,” Pope wrote in one motion. “The government may claim that incidents like this did not happen, but the facts show they did.
“Since the government cannot be trusted to disclose these facts,” Pope wrote, “it becomes even more important that defense teams, including Pro Se defendants, be able to directly examine the evidence.”
Arizona Court Rejects Kari Lake’s Appeal of 2022 Gubernatorial Election Results
An Arizona appeals court has struck down a challenge filed by Republican Kari Lake regarding the results of the Arizona gubernatorial election, denying her request to have the current results thrown out.
Lake has claimed that a range of issues in Maricopa, Arizona, on Election Day—including problems with printers and vote tabulation machines—effectively disenfranchised Arizonans who were trying to vote.
Such issues were previously confirmed by Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates, although the county has said that no voters were disenfranchised due to the problems.
In December, Lake filed a lawsuit asking the court to either re-do the election in Maricopa or declare her the winner after the results showed that she trailed former Secretary of State and now-Gov. Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes.
Hobbs was sworn in as governor on Jan. 2.
However, the Arizona appeals court in its 12-page opinion (pdf) on Feb. 16 upheld a lower court ruling on the matter and said that Lake had failed to provide enough evidence to proof her case.
A Maryland school district is reportedly looking into a teacher who voiced leftist views about property destruction and theft.
In 2020, Lane Cogdill, of Silver Spring International Middle School in the Montgomery County Public Schools District, offered thoughts on world events, according to a Fox News article published Sunday, adding the district is investigating the matter.
Per the outlet, Cogdill said:
As a history teacher who cares about racial justice, I keep hearing people saying, like, “I understand protesting, but I don’t understand rioting and looting.” Let me just remind y’all, this country was literally built by Black people.
…
Black people’s bodies were literally the currency that our white founding fathers used to fund for revolution. As far as I’m concerned, as a white person, and as a history teacher, if your ancestors built this country, you have the right to burn the motherf—-r to the ground. And White people I’m [going to] need you to do better because your opinion on this is at best, irrelevant, and at worst, literally propagating white supremacy.
The teacher has also reportedly admitted hiding students’ gender changes, and said comments made regarding such changes were part of the district’s policy.
Former Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson Plans to Make ‘Important Announcement’ in March
Former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson said on Saturday that she will make an “important announcement” in March, amid speculation that she might challenge President Joe Biden for the White House in 2024.
“As America gears up for the 2024 presidential election, I’m preparing an important announcement on March 4th in Washington D.C.,” Williamson said in a statement.
She listed three motivations that “propelled me to explore the possibility of running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2024.”
“I am motivated by: a commitment to the tenets of liberty espoused in the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address; a realization of the Democratic Party’s shift away from the party of President Franklin Roosevelt; and the economic injustices endured by millions of Americans due to the influence of corporate money on our political system,” she explained.
Williamson added that her announcement will be made at the nation’s capital at 2 p.m. local time on March 4.
“I look forward to discussing with the country my thoughts about where we have been as a nation, where we are now, and where we need to go from here,” she concluded.
CSPOA Will Provide an In-Depth Constitutional and Law Training Workshop in Illinois Mar 4th
In case you haven’t heard, Sheriffs across Illinois are refusing to enforce the state’s unconstitutional gun ban. In support of these brave sheriffs and officers, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) will provide an in-depth workshop covering the Constitution and Law, Sheriff’s and citizen rights, and explain how to uphold the law of the land.
This event is free to any US sheriff or police officer and can be attended by members of the public by donating $1000 or more.
This Revolutionary Event is Saturday, March 4th, from 8 AM – 3 PM in Springfield, IL. This workshop is critical and should interest anyone who wishes to Restore Constitutional Law in America.
If you cannot come, please donate to the event; any amount you donate will be beneficial and appreciated.
El Paso Police: Armed Citizen Shot, Wounded Mall Shooter
The El Paso, Texas, police department reports that an armed citizen drew his firearm and shot and wounded the Cielo Vista Mall shooting suspect Wednesday night.
Breitbart News reported that one person was killed in the mall shooting, and CNN pointed out that the alleged shooter was a 16-year-old who was subsequently shot by Emanuel Duran, a 32-year-old concealed carry permit holder.
‘Peacemaker’ Catholic Bishop Shot Dead in Southern California
Auxiliary bishop David O’Connell of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was shot to death Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, authorities have confirmed.
Bishop O’Connell, 69, who was found dead in a room with a gunshot wound to his upper torso, was killed just before 1:00pm, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
Cops: Mom’s Deadly Plunge from Niagara Falls with Child Not Believed to Be Accident
A woman is dead but her five-year-old son survived after the two plunged 90 feet into a gorge at Niagara Falls on Monday, according to law enforcement.
However, authorities said the fall was not believed to be accidental, NBC News reported Friday.
HEALTH
21 Foods That Can Save Your Heart
Fresh Herbs
Black Beans
Red Wine and Resveratrol
Salmon: Super Food
Tuna for Omega-3s
Olive Oil
Walnuts
Almonds
Edamame
Tofu
Sweet Potatoes
Oranges
Swiss Chard
Barley
Oatmeal
Flaxseed
Low-Fat Yogurt
Foods Fortified With Sterols
Cherries
Blueberries
Dark Leafy Greens
FDA Announces Recall of Blood Pressure Medication After Failed Lab Test
A blood pressure medication that is produced by Sun Pharmaceuticals is being voluntarily recalled, according to an “enforcement report” issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week.
Sun Pharmaceuticals is voluntarily recalling diltiazem hydrochloride in a 360-milligram dosage form across the United States, the FDA report said. Diltiazem hydrochloride is used to treat chest pain, high blood pressure, and some heart rhythm disorders like atrial fibrillation or rapid heartbeats.
According to the FDA, the recall was initiated after “failed impurity specification” that occurred during testing at an FDA laboratory. The product was made at Sun’s facility in Halol, India, and the company voluntarily initiated the recall, the FDA said.
The recall was issued earlier this year, according to the FDA report, and appears to have been uploaded on its website on Feb. 14.
The drug agency also gave the recall its Class II designation, which means it is a ” situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote,” the FDA website says.
It’s not clear if any adverse events were associated with the recalled lots of diltiazem hydrochloride.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Social Security Set to Run Short of Funds Earlier Than Expected: CBO Director
The head of the Congressional Budget Office, Phillip Swagel, said this week that Social Security funds may start running out by 2032, or a year earlier than previously expected by the CBO.
In December, CBO estimated that the Social Security trust funds will evaporate by 2033. But Swagel said that a new analysis suggests it may dry up before 2032, which marks the end of the budget window, according to December’s report.
“The Social Security solvency date—the exhaustion date for the trust fund—is now within the budget window,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel told reporters this week.
Swagel made reference to last year’s decision from the Social Security Administration to make an 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2023’s Social Security payments. The administration hiked the COLA due to decades-high inflation, which soared to over 9 percent during a period last year.
“There was high inflation, and that resulted in a high COLA, and then those benefits affect the solvency of the [Social Security] trust fund,” he told reporters. However, Swagel cautioned, “On net, it led to a deterioration in the system, and that moves our exhaustion date just forward one year but into the budget window.”
Biden’s Declared War on Oil and Gas Hits Home Hard in West Texas’ Permian Basin
When President Joe Biden openly advocates for phasing-out oil and gas as primary energy generators in the United States within a decade, what appears as a news scroll blip for most Americans is a clap of thunder across the rolling West Texas sage of the Permian Basin.
“The messages, virtue signaling, and rhetoric that have come from the federal level lately, tell us oil and gas is evil or not on the side of average the American, or on the side of caring for our environment,” Midland Mayor Lori Blong told Congressional lawmakers during a Feb. 16 field hearing in her city, which she called “the energy capital of Texas and, arguably, the energy capital of the United States.”
Forty percent of U.S. oil and natural gas production and 7 percent of global output comes from the Permian Basin, which also spans southeastern New Mexico.
Being the scapegoat for controversial U.N.-led predictions of “catastrophic” climate change is demoralizing enough, but businesses and people in “energy producing communities” like Midland are now facing financial and family challenges fostered by the Biden administration’s “rush-to-green energy” policies, and by his own January 2023 words claiming oil and gas would only be needed for 10 more years.
U.S. Home Seller Profits Top 50 Percent In 2022 Despite Market Slowdown
ATTOM’s latest year-end 2022 home sales report shows that home sellers nationwide realized a profit of $112,000 on the typical sale in 2022, up 21 percent from $92,500 in 2021 and up 78 percent from $63,000 two years ago.
Despite a market slowdown in the second half of last year, profits rose from 2021 to 2022 in 98 percent of housing markets with enough data to analyze. The latest nationwide profit figure, based on median purchase and resale prices, marked the highest level in the United States since at least 2008.
Biden’s Labor Market: 1.9M Fewer Americans Working, 2M Foreign Workers Funneled into U.S. Jobs
At the end of 2022, 1.9 million fewer Americans were working than in 2019 before the Chinese coronavirus pandemic while President Joe Biden’s administration has funneled two million additional foreign workers into United States jobs.
A new analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) shows that in the fourth quarter of 2022, close to two million fewer native-born Americans were working in jobs compared to the same time in 2019 while two million foreign-born workers have been added to the workforce compared to the same time period.
California Exodus Continues: 700,000 More Left Than Moved in Over 2 Years, US Census Shows
California continues to grapple with the harsh reality of an ongoing migration crisis with its net migration—the difference between people moving in and those moving out—down by nearly 700,000, the most in the country, according to recently released U.S. Census data from April 2020 to July 2022.
According to Chapman Economics Professor Dr. James Doti, who has studied migration trends in California, the net losses began in 2011.
“It’s been more than 10 years, but it’s been gradually increasing,” Doti told Epoch TV’s California Insider.
Doti said people leave California for a multitude of reasons, including high taxes, the tough business environment, and hefty environmental regulations.
On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Phillip Swagel stated that while it is mathematically possible to balance the federal budget within ten years without touching Social Security and other entitlement programs, the Congress “has inherited a very difficult” fiscal situation, because, in addition to the U.S. having “a very large deficit that’s set to persist,” it’s facing “a weakening economy with high inflation” in the first half of the year.
Swagel said, [relevant remarks begin around 4:35] “[I]t’s a very challenging situation. And at CBO — I appreciate what you said at the beginning — at CBO we do our work with impartiality, we’re non-partisan and we do it with integrity…it’s mathematically possible to balance the budget within ten years and leave Social Security and other entitlements aside. It’s very challenging. And there’s a sense in which policymakers today, the Congress today, has inherited a very difficult situation, a very large deficit that’s set to persist, at the same time, the economy in the first half of this year is facing a weakening economy with high inflation, so it’s a — the fiscal situation is very challenging.”
New Apple Settlement Could Lead to Payout for MacBook Owners: See If You’re Eligible
The deadline to claim upwards of $395 for a payout of up to $400 following an Apple Inc. class-action settlement is fast approaching.
It says that a design flaw in the laptops made between 2015 and 2019 led to a litany of problems before Apple agreed to settle the claims last year. A lawsuit alleged that MacBook laptops sold between those years contained defective keyboards, court documents say.
The deadline to file a claim regarding the butterfly keyboard settlement is 11:59 p.m. PT on March 6, or in just under three weeks from now, according to a settlement-related website. If one wants to object to that settlement, the deadline passed, as it was Feb. 10.
If you want to file, one can submit an online claim via the settlement website. You can also mail a completed form to MacBook Keyboard Litigation Settlement c/o JND Legal Administration PO Box 91341 Seattle, WA 98111. One can also call the claims administrator at 1-855-579-1311 for more information, the settlement website says.
Proof of purchase along with the laptop’s serial number will be required for claim approval. Customers will also have to support “[their] claim with reasonable documentation and information that you received a Topcase Replacement or a Keycap replacement” and “may also download and submit a Paper Claim Form or request from the Claims Administrator,” described on the website
SURVEILLANCE STATE
Who Or What Has Control Of Your Smart Home?
Smart home technology has hidden dangers that most home owners do not understand. “Smart home” includes programmable devices within the home and, bi-directional connectivity to the Internet. Utility smart meters provide another gateway to monitor and control connected electrical devices such as thermostats, refrigerators, washers and driers, etc. ⁃ TN Editor
On the first night in his new home, Clint Basinger was unpacking a few stray boxes in the living room, when out of nowhere at around midnight, he heard a voice echoing down the hallway from the other side of the house. “Good night,” the voice said. “It’s bedtime.”
Then, he heard the sound of locks clicking. “I couldn’t do anything with the doors, all the windows were armed, all the motion sensors turned on,” said Mr. Basinger, who had spent 15 years saving up to buy the three-bedroom, split-level house in Asheville, N.C. “I had no clue what to do, so I just stayed locked inside the house that night.”
Turns out, the home’s previous owner had installed a smart security system that he neglected to tell Mr. Basinger about. “It was really disconcerting, being in a new place and having no control over what was happening,” said Mr. Basinger, 36, the host of a YouTube channel for retro technology and video game reviews.
These days, smart technology can be found within virtually any quotidian object in a home: televisions, fridges, voice assistants, doorbells, coffee makers, thermostats, lights, alarm clocks, vacuums, toothbrushes and more. According to a 2022 report from the technology company Plume, households in the United States had an average of 20 internet-connected devices.
As our digital footprints in the home grow, the myriad apps and accounts required to control these devices also widens. All this automation creates more opportunities for people to lose access or power over aspects of the home, or, like in the case of Mr. Basinger, never gain access in the first place.
“We tell ourselves this story that our home is the thing that we can control — it’s private, it’s protected, it’s our space,” said Heather Suzanne Woods, a communication professor at Kansas State University and the author of a forthcoming book on smart homes.
But that feeling of control — even in ideal conditions, where the person is the original device owner and they have sole access to it with a password they made up — is often not much more than an illusion.
At best, when we can’t fully govern our devices, the complicated internet-of-things ecosystems we’ve set up in our private spaces are annoying, time-consuming or costly to deal with. At worst, when bad actors, such as an abusive ex-partner, are connected to the devices, they can become tools of abuse — allowing people with malicious intentions, who are not even physically in the home, to surveil, taunt or mentally torment those inside.
“In cases where people have separated from their partners and are no longer living together, it creates a situation where people can feel like they did all this work to get away from them, but just a click of a button can bring back that sense of helplessness,” said Lana Ramjit, the director of operations at Cornell University’s Clinic to End Tech Abuse. “It creates the sense that you’ll never be free from this person and that the abuse is coming from everywhere. It’s more than just the direct ways of showing control, it’s setting the coffee maker off suddenly, turning off the A.C. or flickering the lights.”
What happens when you can’t get control of the devices in your home? Is your home controlling you?
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
The Climate Change Rationale For Transforming The American Energy Grid
The only reason climate alarmists are pushing to rebuild our energy grid is to accommodate wind and solar power. Our existing grid worked just fine with traditional energy generation, even as it required maintenance to keep it operational. The “new” grid must mix with sporadic on-again, off-again sources of energy. As the “new” grid is formed, traditional energy transmission is a secondary consideration.
This article is very clear from the climate change perspective: “But as humanity responds to global warming, renewable, zero-carbon sources of energy, especially wind and solar energy, are replacing fossil fuels. That requires a new transmission grid.“⁃ TN Editor
- Most of the U.S. electric grid was built in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, over 70% of the U.S. electricity grid is more than 25 years old, and that aging system is vulnerable to increasingly intense storms.
- Also, the electric infrastructure in the U.S. was built to bring energy from where fossil fuels are burned to where the energy will be used.
- But as humanity responds to global warming, renewable, zero-carbon sources of energy, especially wind and solar energy, are replacing fossil fuels. That requires a new transmission grid.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
It has become essential to enlighten people about the global forces that are trying to seize control, with the ultimate goal of eliminating human rights and freedoms, including your medical freedom
Google is a core powerbase of this global cabal, often referred to as the Deep State — a hidden power structure based on wealth and financial influence behind (and above) the individual governments of the world — because the cabal’s control powers hinge on electronic surveillance and social engineering
There is strong collaboration between organized crime and U.S. military intelligence going back to World War II. We now have evidence showing intelligence agencies have coerced private companies to censor and violate Americans’ Constitutional rights on their behalf
Understanding that The Great Reset is an enslavement system, some of the best defense strategies are to optimize your health, become more self-reliant and form communities willing to work together outside of the new enslavement system
Also, disengage from the control system as much as possible and refuse to go along with Great Reset agenda schemes such as vaccine passports, digital identity and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as all of these will be used to micromanage and control how you live your life
Watchdog Group Exposes ‘Painful’ Taxpayer-Funded Experiments on Dogs
Documents obtained by a watchdog organization monitoring government spending for animal experimentation show federal grants of up to $10 million used for “painful and distressful” experiments on discarded dogs at the University of Iowa (UI), a member of the watchdog group said.
Justin Goodman, vice president of advocacy and public policy for the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), told The Epoch Times that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have been using taxpayer dollars to let sandflies that had been starved for 12 hours feed off of dogs surrendered to the university.
The dogs carried a parasite—transmitted by sandflies—that can infect dogs and people with the tropical disease leishmaniasis.
“In this particular experiment, the dogs were locked in cages and the experimenters strapped capsules of sandflies to them to see if the dogs infected the sandflies,” Goodman told The Epoch Times. “When they were done, they killed the dogs.”
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Dirt to Soil: A Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture
The challenge facing most farmers today is that conventional agriculture has decimated the topsoil with tilling and synthetic fertilizers, which disrupt and destroy the microbial life necessary to grow nutrient-dense food
Mycorrhizal fungi grow in healthy soils and are responsible for nutrient transfers between plants and soil biology. The most critical thing in a plant’s life is its relationship with mycorrhizal fungi, which is why tillage and synthetic chemicals should be avoided
The five basic principles for building a healthy soil ecosystem are: not disturbing the soil microbiome, protecting the soil surface with cover crops, diversification, maintaining living roots in the ground as long as possible and integrating livestock and insects
For change to occur, farmers must decide they want to change, and consumers must demand nutrient-dense foods produced in a regenerative manner that benefits the ecosystem as a whole
The farm program keeps farmers trapped in the conventional model, which destroys soil — an essential resource — and locks them into a monocrop system with dwindling financial returns
COVID RELATED NEWS
The Growing List of COVID Lies
Lockdowns, social distancing, school and business closures, universal mask wearing, use of face shields and plastic barriers, travel restrictions, the use of PCR tests to diagnose infection, the choice of treatments and the safety and effectiveness of the COVID jabs — all of these countermeasures were based on a combination of lies, fraud and/or willful ignorance
Universal lockdowns have never before been used as a pandemic prevention measure, and for good reason. It doesn’t work. To prevent spread of infection, you isolate those who are actually sick. Healthy people cannot spread infection, so there’s no reason to isolate them
An August 2020 analysis of COVID-19 surveillance data from the top 50 countries in terms of reported cases also concluded that border closures, lockdowns and wide-spread testing had no impact on COVID-19 mortality per million people. Another paper published in 2021 found lockdowns were actually associated with increases in excess mortality
The absence of evidence to support mask wearing for infection control was confirmed from the very beginning by the same agencies and organizations that ended up recommending and/or mandating universal mask wearing
To avoid making the same mistakes in future pandemics, medical crises must not be managed by means of emergency powers. Emergency powers should be used only in case of war
Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Associated With Heart Inflammation: Study
A higher than expected number of heart inflammation cases have occurred in people who received Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, researchers reported in a new study.
Sixty-one cases of myocarditis, pericarditis, or both following a Novavax vaccination were reported in the World Health Organization’s vaccine safety database through Aug. 23, 2022, Spanish researchers found.
Using pre-pandemic rates of heart inflammation in the population, the researchers calculated that the number of post-vaccination cases was higher than expected.
Reporting odds ratio values of higher than one indicate a higher-than-expected rate. For myocarditis following Novavax vaccination, the ratio was 5.2. For pericarditis, it was 24.75. For myopericarditis, or both conditions at once, it was 14.4.
Heart inflammation is a known side effect of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, which utilize messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, but little data has been collected on the condition following Novavax vaccination, which does not contain mRNA.
12-Year-Old New Jersey Boy Dies Suddenly During Football Practice
A family in Newark, New Jersey, is left with questions after their 12-year-old son collapsed and died suddenly during football practice at a local field.
The boy, Elijah Jordan Brown-Garcia, was reportedly performing drills along with his team, the Essex County Predators, at the West Side Park football field when he collapsed.
Dave Hollis, who left his post as a Disney executive to help his wife run a successful lifestyle empire, has died at his home in Texas. He was 47.
Hollis, whose ex-wife Rachel Hollis wrote the bestseller “Girl, Wash Your Face,” was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon at his home in Dripping Springs, a city on the outskirts of Austin, according to Hays County Justice of the Peace Andrew Cable.
Moderna Reverses Course, Says People Won’t Have to Pay for COVID-19 Vaccine
Moderna has reversed course and promised that people won’t have to pay for the company’s COVID-19 vaccine once the U.S. government stops buying doses.
“Moderna remains committed to ensuring that people in the United States will have access to our COVID-19 vaccines regardless of ability to pay,” the company said in a statement.
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine “will continue to be available at no cost for insured people whether they receive them at their doctors’ offices or local pharmacies,” according to the company. People who don’t have health insurance or don’t have adequate insurance will be able to get the vaccine “at no cost” through a Moderna assistance program, it noted.
The U.S. government has purchased hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses since 2020, and Americans who have wanted one haven’t been charged.
President Joe Biden’s administration plans to end the COVID-19 public health emergency in May and stop buying vaccine doses.
Texas Doctor Questions Whether ‘Frankenstein Viruses’ Causing Spike in Disease
A 1,000 percent increase in syphilis among newborns as reported by a Mississippi medical director concerns a Texas physician who was involved in the effort to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine data released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Because of what he’s read in that data, Dr. Richard Bartlett, a Texas physician of 30 years, told The Epoch Times that he questions whether the outbreak of syphilis and 2021’s surge of hepatitis are potentially related to evidence from a new study suggesting that “extended vaccination with [receptor binding domain] boosters overturned the protective immune memories by promoting adaptive immune tolerance.”
In other words, prolonged boosters could be harming the immune system.
Thomas Dobbs, the medical director at the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Crossroads Clinic in Jackson, posted on Twitter in January that the instance of babies born with syphilis—a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can be passed to the baby from the mother during pregnancy—has increased by 1,000 percent in six years, a trend that he said “should be a thing of the past.”
Dobbs, the state’s former top health officer who advocated for COVID-19 vaccines and masking, told NBC News that in 2021, 102 newborns in Mississippi were treated for syphilis—up from 10 in 2016—and that it’s “kind of a shock.”
US Says Government, Not Moderna, Should Face COVID-19 Vaccine Lawsuit
The U.S. government is asserting that it, not Moderna, should face a lawsuit that alleges the company committed patent infringement with its COVID-19 vaccine.
The government said the court should allow it to “relieve Moderna of any liability for patent infringement resulting in performance of the ’-0100 contract and to transfer to the United States any liability for the manufacture or use of the inventions claimed in the patents-in-suit resulting from the authorized and consented acts.”
Liability did not refer to an admission of patent infringement, the filing said, but “having legal responsibility for any acts that may constitute the alleged infringement.”
Florida Surgeon General Issues Health Alert on mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Safety
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) citing that there has been a 4,400 percent increase in reports of life-threatening conditions in Florida since the rollout of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
CANCEL CULTURE
A nurse’s accidental success that turned into online empire is helping the next generation of healthcare workers.
On Monday, ER nurse Stephanee Beggs told Varney & Co. how she unknowingly turned a simple task into a great opportunity while preparing for an exam, Fox Business reported Sunday.
GOOD NEWS
A nurse’s accidental success that turned into online empire is helping the next generation of healthcare workers.
On Monday, ER nurse Stephanee Beggs told Varney & Co. how she unknowingly turned a simple task into a great opportunity while preparing for an exam, Fox Business reported Sunday.
People have been traveling from across the country to join the ongoing, more than 10-day long service being called a “revival” in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Asbury University has seen worshipers flock to the event that began when students refused to leave a chapel service on February 8, Fox News reported Saturday.
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