Today’s News: January 15, 2024

WORLD NEWS

From Sam Altman to Emmanuel Macron: Who’s going to Davos 2024?

The global elite are pulling on their snow boots and firing up their private jetsfor the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The 2024 WEF, titled “Rebuilding Trust,” runs Jan. 14-19. Hanging over the event is the sharp escalation in geopolitical tensions and global trade concerns in the Middle East. Meanwhile, inflation and economic growth, the war in Ukraine, technological change and global fragmentation will all remain on the agenda.

Perhaps the most heavyweight political figures set to be in attendance are China’s second-in-command Li Qiang, and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will both give special addresses.

Macron is the only G7 leader heading to the Swiss mountain resort, while last year only Germany’s Olaf Scholz was there from the alliance. Some have suggested politicians are increasingly wary of attending the event amid the ongoing cost of living crisis and with issues to tackle at home.

Joe Biden has not attended since he became U.S. president; nor has the U.K.’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Taiwan’s Ruling Party Candidate Lai Wins Presidency in Setback for Beijing

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has secured the presidency for another four years, a result that means Taiwan and the United States will likely continue to work closely as partners in the face of challenges from Beijing.

The DPP presidential candidate, current Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, secured over 5.5 million votes, or about 40 percent of the ballot, defeating two other candidates. His victory means that his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim, who stepped down as Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States in November, will be the new vice president.

Hou Yu-ih, the current New Taipei City mayor and the presidential candidate of the main opposition Kuomintang Party (KMT), finished second with about 4.6 million votes. In third place with about 3.6 million votes is Ko Wen-je, former Taipei mayor and the presidential candidate of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), a relatively new party founded in 2019.

Mr. Lai emphasized that he will maintain the current status quo across the Taiwan Strait. “As long as there is dignity and parity between two sides of the street, Taiwan is very willing to engage in dialogues with China,” he added.

The president-elect also praised President Tsai Ing-wen, the current DPP chairwoman, saying that her foreign policy and national defense policy “have received recognition from the international community.”

“President Tsai has been extending goodwill [to China] many times in the past eight years. However, China did not provide the response that should have been there,” Mr. Lai said. Ms. Tsai has been president since 2016, winning two four-year terms.

China, which has been sending military planes and vessels to areas near Taiwan in recent years, continued its aggression on election day. Taiwan’s defense ministry reported on Saturday that it had detected eight Chinese military planes and six military vessels near the island in the 24 hours before 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Mr. Lai’s victory is likely upsetting to the Chinese regime, which traditionally favors KMT candidates. Compared to the DPP, the KMT sees Beijing as less threatening to Taiwan’s national security.

Americans warned not to use dating apps in Colombia after 8 ‘suspicious deaths’

The State Department has issued a warning to American travelers, urging them not to use dating apps while in Colombia after reports of multiple “suspicious deaths” of U.S. citizens in the South American country.

Colombia has been marked as a “reconsider travel” destination for Americans since Jan. 2, with the State Department citing concerns about crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping risks.

“Violent crime, such as homicide, assault, and armed robbery, is widespread,” the State Department states in the advisory. “Organized criminal activities, such as extortion, robbery, and kidnapping, are common in some areas.”

More recently, the State Department issued a warning of a new threat—with the use of dating apps being a common denominator.

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, was made aware of eight “suspicious deaths” of private U.S. citizens in Medellín between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023, according to a Jan. 10 advisory.

“The deaths appear to involve either involuntary drugging overdose or are suspected homicides,” the advisory states.

While it’s not believed that the deaths are directly linked as each involved “distinct circumstances,” a number of them involved the use of online dating apps, along with possible drugging, overdose, and robbery. Local authorities in Medellín have noted a significant increase in crimes against foreign visitors.

The Tourism Observatory of the District Personnel of Medellín reports that the number of thefts committed against foreigners (with the exception of Venezuelans) jumped 200 percent in the latter part of last year. Additionally, violent deaths of visitors from other countries have jumped 29 percent—with a notable majority of the victims being U.S. citizens.

Criminals in Colombia are reportedly using dating apps to lure victims, particularly foreigners, to meet them in places like hotels, restaurants, and bars—with the aim of robbing them.

“Numerous U.S. citizens in Colombia have been drugged, robbed, and even killed by their Colombian dates,” the advisory warns.

The U.S. Embassy notes that these incidents are on the rise, with major cities like Medellín, Cartagena, and Bogotá being hotspots for such crimes.

While such incidents are reported regularly to the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, it’s likely that the scale of the problem is greater than it seems as these types of crimes “routinely go underreported” because victims are often embarrassed and reluctant to pursue legal action.

British Troops In Ukraine Would Be ‘Declaration Of War’ Risking Nuclear Response: Medvedev 

Reacting to the ‘unprecedented’ military aid package just reached between Kiev and the United Kingdom, and with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the Ukrainian capital, the Kremlin has issued an urgent warning saying that any deployment of British troops to Ukraine as a “declaration of war.” 

The alarming and blistering words came from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev upon Sunak’s arrival in Kiev for the unveiling of the $3+ billion defense aid package. The new security agreement has outraged Moscow.

While there’s been nothing in the official security deal which indicates UK troop deployment inside the war-ravaged country, apparently things like deepened intelligence-sharing has been enough to raise Kremlin suspicions of Western ‘boots in the ground’ escalation. 

The deal “formalizes a range of support the UK has been and will continue to provide for Ukraine’s security, including intelligence sharing, cyber security, medical and military training, and defense industrial cooperation,” Downing Street had announced. 

Medvedev posted his response to social media. Importantly, he currently serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, and he said: 

“What does this mean? It means only one thing – they risk running into the action of paragraph 19 of the fundamentals of Russia’s state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence,” Medvedev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“This should be remembered,” Medvedev said.

According to more of the context from Reuters, he said that “some Ukrainian military commanders were considering hitting missile launch sites inside Russia with Western-supplied long-range missiles.”

The follows the Russian Defense Ministry having previously claimed UK troops already have a presence on the ground in Ukraine, certainly at least in an ‘advisory’ role.

While ultimately only President Putin is the final decision-maker on deployment of Russian nukes, Medvedev’s threat was ominous and gained the West’s attention at a moment of multiple conflict flashpoints across the globe chiefly because of the following: 

Paragraph nineteen of Russia’s 2020 nuclear doctrine sets out the conditions under which a Russian president would consider using a nuclear weapon: broadly as a response to an attack using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or to the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the very existence of the state is put under threat.”

Medvedev made specific mention of point “g” of paragraph nineteen which deals with the nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack.

Throughout the nearly two-year long war, former president Medvedev has been an outspoken hawk, engaging in nuclear saber-rattling on repeat occasions, especially when there’s an escalation perceived from Ukraine or its Western backers. Russia had previously positioned tactical nukes inside Belarus, which the West has seen as a significant escalation.

U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Arctic Blast Forecast: Record-Breaking and Dangerously Cold Temperatures Across the U.S. This Weekend

A blast of arctic air descending over the continental United States saw temperatures drop to the minus 30s over the weekend as winter made a late but unmistakable arrival.

After a week of winter storms, another low-pressure system in the northern Pacific is clashing with a frigid Arctic air mass that is pushing south over the continent from western Canada and is expected to bring the coldest conditions yet this season.

Below-freezing conditions are forecast for 75 percent of the United States over the next few days. More than 30 million residents from California to New York were affected under the winter weather advisories issued over the weekend.

The National Weather Service is warning residents from across the country to prepare for the arrival of some life-threatening conditions due to wind chill. Montana has already seen temperatures plummet to below -30 degrees F with wind chills as low as -50 degrees F. 

The arctic conditions have also been seen in the Northern Rockies to northern Kansas and into Iowa.

The NWS in Des Moines, Iowa, warned of “Life Threatening Wind Chills” in a Saturday update. “This Arctic air combined with breezy to strong winds will create dangerous temperatures and wind chills through early next week, with wind chill values as low as 45 below zero possible at times.”  

Heavy snow is also forecast for areas downwind of the Great Lakes through midweek, bringing another 12–24 inches of snow through Monday.  Reports indicate that at least 95 million people will be directly affected by the polar vortex.

Up into the middle of the week, sub-zero wind chills are forecast to spread and potentially reach areas as far south as Texas. There and to the east, conditions are expected to bring more severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, and heavy rain.

Freezing rain could pose a threat to parts of the Southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley, and Tennessee Valley on Sunday evening through Monday evening, the NWS said, and there is a chance of freezing rain, sleet, and snow along the storm front for eastern Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana from last night into today, as temperatures are expected to dive to well below freezing. Showers and thunderstorms will develop over the Florida Peninsula into Monday.  

Obviously, over 700 flights were delayed or canceled over the weekend, especially in the snow and ice-impacted areas.  Widespread power outages have been reported in Michigan, Wisconsin, Vermont, New Hampshire and along the Oregon coast.

Texas’s power grid and the state’s independent grid operator, ERCOT, is monitoring for increased power demand as the cold conditions arrive. The cold weather blast is of concern for the GOP’s Iowa Monday evening caucuses, Trump leads by a wide margin in the polls. Temperatures are forecast to drop to -5 to -10 degrees F in Des Moines, with wind chill forecast to make conditions feel like -16 to -27 degrees F—the lowest on record for the city on caucus day. The state has held caucuses in January or February every four years since 1972. On average, it’s been the coldest January in five years.

BOMBSHELL: 200 Undercover FBI Assets at US Capitol on Jan. 6, Congressman Estimates

A member of Congress investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the U.S. Capitol estimates the FBI had 200 undercover assets both inside and outside the building.

“We believe that there were easily 200 FBI undercover assets operating in the crowd, outside the Capitol, embedded into groups that entered the Capitol or provoked entry of the Capitol,” Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., said.  

Higgins appeared on the Tucker Carlson Network for an interview that aired Saturday, the third anniversary of the day now commonly known as J6. He’s among the few elected Republicans still questioning the official media narrative about the day’s events.

“Given the scope of the operation and the number of doors where entry was allowed or even encouraged—and the number of people that were actually outside the Capitol and that entered—we believe 200 [is a] conservative number,” Higgins said of his estimate.

He based the estimate on eyewitness accounts, video evidence, affidavits, and whistleblower statements. He also cited court records of Jan. 6 defendants, many of which are sealed but he has personally viewed.

Carlson reacted with alarm.

“It’s shocking what you’re saying and confirms everyone’s worst suspicions about this,” Carlson told Higgins. “It’s clearly true.”

Based on the evidence he’s reviewed, Higgins said FBI assets worked with the local Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police. The assets were dressed as supporters of then-President Donald Trump inside the Capitol, “because those were the guys that knew their way around the Capitol.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray has refused to answer questions about undercover FBI assets on Jan. 6, telling Higgins at a congressional hearing, “You should not read anything into my decision not to share information on confidential human sources.”

In remarks about the Jan. 6 anniversary, Attorney General Merrick Garland boasted Friday that more than 1,250 individuals have been charged for their involvement, with more than 890 convicted.

“Since the Jan. 6 attack, the Justice Department has engaged in what has become one of the largest and most complex and resource-intensive investigations in our history,” Garland said. “Our work continues.”

President Joe Biden used the anniversary of Jan. 6 to attack Trump in his first campaign speech of 2024.

Aileen Cannon Refusing Jack Smith Request in Donald Trump Case Sparks Fury

The federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump rejected a request from federal special prosecutor Jack Smith’s request to force the former president to reveal a portion of his legal strategy.

Several weeks ago, Mr. Smith’s team attempted to compel the former president to disclose to the prosecutors whether he intends to use an “advice-of-counsel” defense against the charges that he illegally retained and stored classified materials. It’s because, according to the special counsel, President Trump has signaled he wants to state in his case that he was merely following legal advice regarding how to deal with the classified documents post-presidency.

But on Jan. 12, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a paperless order, posted to the docket, that it is too soon to request President Trump’s counsel to tell prosecutors what their plans entail.

“Assuming the facts and circumstances in this case warrant an order compelling disclosure of an advice-of-counsel trial defense, the Court determines that such a request is not amenable to proper consideration at this juncture, prior to at least partial resolution of pre-trial motions, transmission to Defendants of the Special Counsel’s exhibit and witness lists, and other disclosures as may become necessary,” her order stated. “The Special Counsel’s Motion 208 is therefore denied without prejudice.”

Without prejudice means that federal prosecutors can raise the same issue in the future. In his election-related case in Washington, President Trump has been ordered by the federal judge to disclose whether he will rely on advice-of-counsel defense by Monday.

Judge Cannon’s order comes weeks after a November motion filed by the Smith team, who wrote that the former president should disclose part of his legal strategy because, in part, he has “publicly stated he was ‘told’ he had no legal obligation to return classified documents to the Government or presidential records to the National Archives and Records Administration (‘NARA’), thereby indicating a possible defense of good faith reliance on advice of counsel.”

Oregon Supreme Court won’t remove Trump from ballot, for now

The Oregon Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a 14th Amendment-related case to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s ballots, saying it will wait for a U.S. Supreme Court decision before taking any action.

In a one-page statement, the state’s top court wrote that it would not “for now” hear a challenge issued by five Oregon voters seeking to bar the former president from ballot access in the 2024 Republican primary and general election.

The voters had asked the court to direct the Oregon secretary of state to disqualify the former president under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, although the secretary, Democrat Lavonne Griffin-Valade, wrote she had no authority under state law to do so.

Because the U.S. Supreme Court took up an appeal of a decision handed down last month by the Colorado Supreme Court to block President Trump from appearing on state ballots, the Oregon Supreme Court noted that the arguments presented in the court decision “are identical to some arguments advanced by” the voters. The Colorado high court had ruled that the 14th Amendment’s Section 3 bars individuals who have engaged in an “insurrection or rebellion” from appearing on state ballots.

A majority of the Colorado court’s judges had argued that they believed the former president engaged in an insurrection relating to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The former president has not been charged with or convicted of carrying out an insurrection against the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court said last week that it would review the Colorado Supreme Court decision. Justices are slated to hear arguments in that case on Feb. 8.

“Oregon’s presidential primary ballots must be finalized by March 21, 2024. Because a decision by the United States Supreme Court regarding the Fourteenth Amendment issue may resolve one or more contentions that [the voters] make in the Oregon proceeding, the Oregon Supreme Court denied their petition for mandamus, by order, but without prejudice to their ability to file a new petition seeking resolution of any issue that may remain following a decision by the United States Supreme Court,” the Oregon Supreme Court wrote Friday.

Ms. Griffin-Valade argued in November that no provision under Oregon law gives her the capacity to “determine the qualifications of candidates in a presidential primary,” adding that she only has the ability to make such a determination in the 2024 general election. “I will follow our usual process and expect to put Donald Trump on the primary ballot unless a court directs me otherwise,” she said at the time.

“I understand that people want to skip to the end of this story. But right now, we don’t even know who the nominee will be,” she added. “When the general election comes, we’ll follow the law and be completely transparent with our reasoning.”

House Judiciary Committee announces investigation into Fulton Co. special prosecutor

Nathan Wade,  the special prosecutor playing a leading role in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump in Georgia, is now part of a House Judiciary probe into the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office’s “politically motivated prosecution” of the former president and alleged misuse of federal funds. Wade was held in contempt of court last year in an unrelated matter.

According to a letter from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Mr. Wade is believed to be in possession of documents and information regarding the “coordination of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office (FCDAO) with other politically motivated investigations and prosecutions, as well as the potential misuse of federal funds.”

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis—who is accused of having an “improper” personal relationship with Mr. Wade and benefiting from it financially—brought the election interference case against President Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a law drafted to fight organized crime.

President Trump and Republicans have alleged that Ms. Willis’ case against the former president is a politically-driven prosecution meant to derail his 2024 comeback bid.

Now, Mr. Wade is being asked to provide the House Judiciary Committee with various documents—including notes, memos, invoices, and contracts—that relate to the committee’s “serious concerns” about “improper coordination among politicized actors—including the Biden White House—to investigate and prosecute President Biden’s chief political opponent.”

The documents relate to meetings, communications, and other engagements between Ms. Willis’ office (including Mr. Wade) and the Justice Department, the White House, the Jan. 6 Select Committee, and the White House Counsel’s Office, in regards to the Trump case.

Mr. Jordan’s letter cites reports that purportedly corroborate Mr. Wade’s “coordination with partisan Democrats” on the case, including that he and Ms. Willis’ staff “quietly met” with the Jan. 6 committee, which allegedly gave the case against President Trump a “boost” and provided Mr. Wade with access to records that it withheld from other law enforcement agencies and even from Congress.

Invoices from Mr. Wade’s office, which were shared on social media by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), show that Mr. Wade held meetings with White House officials in May 2022 and November 2022 “while building the political prosecution of Donald Trump.”

Mr. Jordan’s letter also features an invoice showing a “Jan. 6 meeting” and “Interview with DC/White House,” while stating that all the recently surfaced information reinforce the committee’s concerns about politically motivated prosecutions.

Judge in Trump’s Georgia election case targets February for hearing on Fani Willis allegations

During a Jan. 12 motions hearing, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee indicated a hearing on what one attorney termed “scandalous” allegations surrounding the district attorney’s relationship with a prosecutor would be held mid-February.

Judge McAfee is holding motions hearings every Friday for the next few weeks in the case Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is prosecuting against former President Donald Trump for his actions to challenge the 2020 election results. President Trump and 14 other co-defendants have been charged with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and have been accused of operating a criminal conspiracy in their election challenge efforts.

Earlier this week, defendant Michael Roman, a former GOP strategist, made huge accusations of the “improper” use of funds in the district attorney’s office.

He alleged that Nathan Wade, an attorney for the prosecution who has argued at every hearing in the case, had taken lavish vacations with Ms. Willis using state funds. Mr. Wade is currently married and seeking divorce.

Mr. Wade is a partner at his own, private law firm, and would be paid by the district attorney’s office after his appointment as special prosecutor, which the motion alleges is close to $1 million in legal fees. Mr. Wade has been paid at a rate of $250 per hour, and around $650,000 for this case.

Mr. Roman also alleged the funds for the case investigation had been obtained “to clear the COVID backlog” but not used for those purposes.

In a 100-plus page filing, Mr. Roman argued this was grounds for dismissal of his charges and dismissal of the district attorney and her team.

Prosecutors have not yet filed a response to the motion but said they would do so. Judge McAfee said a hearing on this motion would not be scheduled until after the court has received the response, and the earliest would likely be mid-February.

During the court hearing, Steve Sadow, attorney for President Trump, asked for the option to adopt the motion at a later date. He said he presently had no foundation for the “scandalous and salacious” allegations, the first of which was made public through the court filing, and would certainly wait to see the district attorney’s response filing before making a decision to adopt Mr. Roman’s filing. The judge had no issue with him doing so.

In the court filing, Mr. Roman only cites “sources” and does not provide evidence of Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis’s relationship or proof of such vacation expenditure.

“Admittedly, this is a bold allegation considering it is directed to one of the most powerful people in the State of Georgia, the Fulton County District Attorney,” the filing reads. “Nevertheless, the district attorney’s fame and power do not change the fact that she decided to appoint as the special prosecutor a person with whom she had a personal relationship and who is now leading the day-to-day prosecution of this case.”

Mr. Roman argued that public records don’t show that Ms. Willis obtained county approval to appoint Mr. Wade as special prosecutor, and that he has sealed records in his ongoing divorce case. He argued this was “indefensible conduct” and thus created an “irreparable defect” in the indictment.

Pentagon gives health update on Austin after hospitalization controversy

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who still remains hospitalized following admission on January 1st following complications involving a prostatectomy. 

The update comes two weeks after the 70-year-old was secretly moved to an intensive care unit after suffering from a post-surgery infection.

“Secretary Austin remains hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and is in good condition,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in the update.

The Pentagon recently updated the condition of“He’s in contact with his senior staff and has full access to required secure communications capabilities and continues to monitor DOD’s day-to-day operations worldwide.”

Over the past two weeks, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have been criticizing the Pentagon for its lack of transparency and delays in disclosing Mr. Austin’s Jan. 1 hospitalization and the nature of his condition.

Complications from a urinary tract infection and fluid collecting in his abdomen following a surgery caused Mr. Austin, 70, to return to the hospital on Jan. 1, when doctors transferred him to the intensive care unit for an expelling procedure and close monitoring.

However, President Joe Biden and top Defense Department officials, including Mr. Austin’s deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks, who was called on to take over some of his duties on Jan. 2, were not informed of the hospitalization until Jan. 4—three days after he was admitted to the ICU. The Pentagon blamed that on the absence of Mr. Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, who was ill and didn’t deliver the news earlier.

The public wasn’t informed about the hospitalization until Jan. 5, when Mr. Austin resumed his duties. In a public statement, Mr. Austin took full responsibility for the delay in notification, although he held back disclosing more about his cancer surgery, citing personal privacy.

Some Republican lawmakers have called for the secretary to resign or be removed. Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) introduced an impeachment resolution on Jan. 10, proposing to remove Mr. Austin from his post for failing to adhere to expected practices of communication with the president, National Security Council, and other senior U.S. officials and Cabinet members.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the panel’s top Democrat, also released a joint statement voicing their disapproval of the secretary’s handling of the issue.

The lapse in communication came at a time when the United States is juggling what seems to be a growing array of national security crises.

Massachusetts Officials Pleading with Private Homeowners to Take in Illegal Aliens

The state of Massachusetts is asking private homeowners to take in illegal aliens as the state runs out of room to house the thousands of border crossers who are still flooding into the Bay State.

Massachusetts is the only state that has a state-wide “right to housing” rule for homeless families. And with that rule in mind, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) has repeatedly asked legal residents to open up their homes to illegal immigrants for whom officials are having a hard time finding beds.

Healey declared a “state of emergency” over the influx of illegal aliens in August, saying in her declaration, “There are currently nearly 5,600 families or more than 20,000 individuals in state shelter, including children and pregnant women.”

One solution Healey and her allies have suggested is housing migrants in private homes.

Days after Healey’s declaration, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll (D) told the state, “Most importantly, if you have an extra room or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family. Housing and shelter is our most pressing need and become a sponsor family.”

The state is currently housing more than 1,400 families in 40 hotels in 28 cities around the state at taxpayer expense — and free for the illegal aliens. According to FAIR, the average stay for these families is 14 months of free room and board.

Now it looks as though the state is reaching out to non-governmental groups to step up the pressure on homeowners to take in migrants. These steps have sent many wondering if the state intends to make more serious attempts to place illegals in people’s homes. One reason for that suspicion is that Massachusetts is the only state with a “right to housing” law for families, though it does not cover single homeless individuals.

By law, the state is forced to pay for shelter and housing for homeless families. But the state’s housing system is already overwhelmed.

Free, Fair, Lawful, Transparent Elections 2024

Commentary by Lex Green – At what point in American history did free, fair, transparent, and lawful elections become a partisan issue? Are we really now a society of overly partisan cheating voters no better than the corrupt politicians we vote for, or against?

The USA is very unique in the world in that all political authority exists at the pleasure of the governed, the People. Our government has a right to exist only so long as the People say so, and only so long as governments perform within the limited powers they are granted. Taxation without representation is prohibited in the USA, no matter which party you’re loyal to, or how you might feel about it.

A free self-governed society requires first and foremost, free, fair, lawful, and transparent elections, allowing the People to self-govern via their legitimate votes. Without this cornerstone of self-governance, no member of society is free, and no government can be trusted at all.

This makes the pursuit of free, fair, lawful, and transparent elections the most critically important issue for any free self-governing society. No matter your personal political beliefs, conservative, liberal, capitalist, socialist, communist, anarchists, etc., if we have no legitimate elections, your opinions are irrelevant.

So, how did this matter become a partisan issue?

There has been more than adequate evidence presented to prove that the elections of 2020 and 2022 (and others dating back decades) were “unlawful,” meaning, held in direct violation of State and Federal Election Laws in all fifty states. Like it or not, it’s legally impossible to get a “lawful” outcome from any “unlawful” process.

Many have claimed that these election cycles included numerous methods of outright election fraud, a crime. But criminal claims must be reported to proper law enforcement agencies for investigation, handed over to a proper prosecutor and grand jury for criminal indictment, a trial and conclusion in the criminal courts following rules of criminal procedure. It’s a very long difficult road that can take years and cost millions of dollars.

But there’s no getting around a cut-n-dry case in civil courts to determine whether or not the election procedures used within a state followed, or were in violation of, State Election Laws in place at the time of the elections. The law says we must do this, but instead, people did that.

This is a YES or NO question for State Supreme Courts. Did the election procedures in 2020 and 2022 comply with, or violate State Election Laws? Simple… cut-n-dry and impossible for any legitimate court to get wrong.

If a State Supreme Court rules that election procedures failed to comply with State Election Laws, then the election was “unlawful.” You can’t get a “lawful” outcome to an “unlawful” election process. End of story…

After getting answers to this very basic question, the next question can be asked…was it done by intent, and did those who did it, commit crimes in the process of doing it?

2020 and 2022

If State Supreme Courts declare “unlawful” election procedures happened in these election cycles, then everyone who benefited by these elections, no matter person, party, or office, cannot hold their office “lawfully.”

Claims of fraud are a separate matter. Codes governing criminal procedures will direct how any formal criminal complaints are handled.

But the People do not have to prove fraud, they only have to prove “unlawful.” Election laws vary from state to state. Therefore, this is a State issue for the State Supreme Courts to decide. Only if the State Court gets the matter wrong, does it become a Federal case to force the State into Constitutional compliance via federal courts.

All Americans

All Americans must support and insist upon free, fair, lawful, and transparent elections, without any regard for partisan views. Because if they don’t, all Americans have lost all control over their own government and country.

No issue should be more non-partisan than this one. While there will always be a laundry list of things Americans might disagree on, if we can’t all agree on this one, none of the secondary issues will matter at all.

Candidates who are legally eligible for office must be allowed ballot access. It’s not just the candidate who is harmed by efforts to block access to ballots just because political opponents fear running against them. Voters are disenfranchised, denied their right to vote for leaders of their choice, by simply blocking ballot access for their candidate of choice. It’s the kind of tactics usually only seen in 3rd world dictatorships.

To be American is to demand free, fair, lawful, and transparent elections. Anything less is un-American!

When the snooze media promotes blatant lies, playing politics instead of real journalism, it amounts to overt election interference. When “fake news” exists at the demand of advertisers, it’s a dangerous form of corruption designed to control the outcome of elections. When social media platforms only allow “approved narratives” and rely upon highly partisan “fact-checkers” to censor posts on their public forums, this too is a powerful means of election interference.

We either have free, fair, lawful, and transparent elections, or we no longer have a free, fair, lawful, and transparent country!

Trump holds wide lead over GOP field ahead of Iowa caucuses, poll finds

Former President Donald Trump cemented his place as the top choice in Iowa.Ann Selzer’s Selzer & Co. Iowa caucuses poll published by the Des Moines Register, NBC News, and Mediacom Communications Corp., found former President Trump has 48 percent of likely caucus goers support.

Significantly behind President Trump, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley has 20 percent of voters backing her. Following her, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has 16 percent support. Finally, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has 8 percent support.

Fact-Checking 4 Biden Claims in Valley Forge Speech

“It was on that day that we nearly lost America, lost it all,” Biden said Friday at a speech in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Carlson opened his interview with Higgins by criticizing “professional liars” who have presented a one-sided narrative about what happened on that day. Higgins, who worked in law enforcement before his election to Congress, has led the charge after being frustrated by the official congressional committee that investigated Jan. 6, which was stacked with anti-Trump lawmakers. Ever since Republicans reclaimed control of the House in 2023, members like Higgins have pressed for answers.

For example, as a member of Congress familiar with the U.S. Capitol, Higgins said it’s unfathomable to believe that everyday Americans in Washington, D.C., would know how to navigate the building without help.

“There’s no way they can come in some random door that gets opened and then get their way directly to Statuary [Hall] or the House chamber or the Senate chamber. It’s just not possible,” Higgins explained. “The FBI assets that were dressed as Trump supporters that were inside the Capitol were there, I believe, and evidence indicates that they were there to specifically wave in the Trump supporters that had gathered outside the Capitol.”

Tucker Carlson said Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., is “one of the only” members of Congress asking tough questions about what really happened on Jan. 6, 2021. (Photo: Tucker Carlson Network)

Higgins told Carlson these undercover assets guided protesters “directly to the areas where the FBI, the DOJ, and the Deep State actors” would later be able to implicate them for arrest and prosecution.

When pressed on who could have orchestrated such a massive operation, Higgins put the blame on not on a single person but rather a combination of anti-Trump actors working in cahoots with Democrats.

“It’s a complex web of FBI assets across the country that can be activated. So, if you have authority at some of the highest levels in the FBI, it doesn’t take much,” Higgins said. He added that those who planned it were “the faction within the FBI and within our intelligence services that would coordinate with the most extreme liberal factions within the Democrat Party that were desperate to keep Trump out of office.”

What the Media Isn’t Telling You About Jan. 6

Higgins identified the 200 undercover assets as confidential informants, registered informants, nonregistered informants, and voluntary informants.

Ultimately, Higgins said, they had a goal of tarnishing not just Trump’s reputation but also the people associated with the Make America Great Again movement.

“Their objective was to destroy the entire MAGA movement,” Higgins said, “to forever stain the patriotic fervor that was associated with the America First MAGA movement that had won in 2016 and we believe won again in 2020.”

Democrat Insider Warns Michelle Obama’s History As a Man Is Being Exposed

The Washington Post revealed that Obama has ordered Biden’s closest advisers to tell campaign aides they are allowed to “make decisions” and “move aggressively” without waiting for Biden’s approval.

Make no mistake, three terms is not enough for Barack Obama. He is chasing his fourth right now. And according to sources, the Obamas are preparing to take Biden out the back and put him out of his misery.

Last time Michelle Obama was seen in public she was playing tambourine with Bruce Springsteen in front of tens of thousands of people. Now she is sharpening the knives for her campaign versus Trump. Of course she chose CNN for her soft launch.

She may not be shy about speaking her truth but she is very shy about revealing details from her shady past. There are famously no photos of her pregnant with her two daughters. 

Now people from her past, including former boyfriends and family members, are queuing up to blow the whistle on who the former First Lady Michelle Obama really is.

People who have lived a lie tend to have skeletons in their closets and the Obamas are no exception. As the former First Couple prepare to re-enter public life, people from their past are queuing up to blow the whistle about who they really are. 

Last year, Barack Obama’s college girlfriend told an interviewer that the young Barack shared gay sex fantasies with her, acknowledging that he “made love to men daily, but in his imagination.”

Did the imaginary become reality when he met Larry Sinclair, who provided Tucker Carlson with an account of his intimate experiences with then State Senator Obama?

Or how about when Obama met Michael Robinson?

As though her ex-boyfriend and brother-in-law weren’t enough, according to official documents obtained from the Illinois State Board of Elections, Michelle Obama was officially registered to vote as a man from 1994 until 2008.

The official documents also reveal Obama officially changed her sex to female in 2008, the same year her husband was running for the presidency.

The official board of elections documents were obtained from the state of Illinois by documentary maker Joel Gilbert who explains that he decided to “take a serious approach” to learn about Michelle Obama’s background because the mainstream media is terrified of going anywhere near the topic.

But Gilbert, a liberal, didn’t expect to find proof that Michelle was registered to vote as a man for fourteen years.

Gilbert was stunned when he received Michelle Obama’s official voter registration cards from 1994 and 2008. Describing the process of unraveling Michelle Obama’s “changing sexual identity.“

“Having recently obtained official documents from the state of Illinois, here is what I can say with assurance: I found proof in official documents that Michelle Obama registered to vote as a man in 1994. I also have official proof that, after 14 years of voting as a man, Michelle Obama changed her sex in 2008 from male to female. This is not more social media silliness, this is fact. I obtained the documents from the Illinois State Board of Elections only last week. Here is Michelle Obama’s official voter registration card from 1994 when she registered to vote as a man. The letter M is circled under Sex.“

“Then, on July 14, 2008, with her husband about to be nominated by the Democrats for the presidency, she changed her sex from male to female.“

friend David Upchurch has come forward to reveal that “she” is actually a man named Michael Robinson and only became “Michelle” after meeting Barack Obama and having prospects of becoming First Lady.

According to Upchurch, who dated Michelle Obama during high school, Barack Obama is a “lucky man”having a partner as “talented and versatile” as the former Michael.

Of course, the mainstream media will deploy fact checkers to shoot down any hint of truth about their darling, Michelle Obama. But will they interview David Upchurch and let him speak for himself? 

Of course they won’t. They are terrified of allowing the masses to gain even the slightest understanding of the great deceptions of the elite. 

Regardless, the revelation by her former boyfriend is the latest blow for Michelle Obama’s political ambitions. Members of her own family are also lining up to let the cat out of the bag. 

Brother-in-law Malik Obama, Barack’s oldest brother, has also confirmed he will campaign against Michelle when she runs for president.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

Santos v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., No. 22-11187 (11th Cir. 2024)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit considered whether consumers can recover statutory damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) without proving actual damages caused by a consumer reporting agency’s willful violation of the Act. The case was brought by plaintiffs Omar Santos and Amanda Clements on behalf of a class of individuals, against Experian Information Solutions, Inc. The plaintiffs alleged that Experian willfully violated its obligation under the FCRA to ensure consumer credit reports were prepared with maximum possible accuracy, allowing credit reports to reflect inaccurately updated status dates. The district court denied class certification, holding that the FCRA required proof of actual damages. 

The Eleventh Circuit vacated and remanded the district court’s decision, holding that consumers do not need to prove actual damages to recover statutory damages under the FCRA. The court found that the FCRA allows consumers to recover damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000 for a willful violation of the Act, regardless of whether they can prove actual damages. The court cited the plain language of the Act, the structure of the statute, and the Act’s legislative history in reaching its decision. The court also noted that its interpretation was consistent with the holdings of other circuit courts that have addressed this issue. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with this interpretation.

EBay to pay $3 million after employees sent spiders and fetal pig to a couple critical of the company

EBay is set to pay $3 million to make right criminal charges brought about after several former employees sent cockroaches, spiders, and a fetal pig to a Massachusetts couple who wrote a critical newsletter about the company in 2019, according to NBC News.

The online retail and auction juggernaut was charged with two counts of stalking through interstate travel, two counts of stalking by electronic communications services, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

As a result, eBay has agreed to pay the penalty, which is the maximum amount that can be fined for the six felonies. Reports mentioned that the company will have to retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for three years and make substantial changes to its compliance program. 

“eBay engaged in absolutely horrific, criminal conduct. The company’s employees and contractors involved in this campaign put the victims through pure hell, in a petrifying campaign aimed at silencing their reporting and protecting the eBay brand,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said.

“We left no stone unturned in our mission to hold accountable every individual who turned the victims’ world upside-down through a never-ending nightmare of menacing and criminal acts. The investigation led to felony convictions for seven individuals, all former eBay employees or contractors, and the ringleader was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison.”

“Today’s criminal resolution with the company imposes the maximum fine that the law allows under the statutes, holding eBay accountable for a corporate culture that led to this unprecedented stalking campaign,” Levy continued. 

“The corporate monitoring of eBay will be in place for the next three years and will ensure that eBay’s senior leadership sets a tone that makes compliance with the law paramount, implements safeguards to prevent future criminal activity, and makes clear to every eBay employee that the idea of terrorizing innocent people and obstructing investigations will not be tolerated.”

EBay released a statement on Thursday, writing: “The company’s conduct in 2019 was wrong and reprehensible,” Jamie Iannone, Chief Executive Officer at eBay, said. 

“From the moment eBay first learned of the 2019 events, eBay cooperated fully and extensively with law enforcement authorities. We continue to extend our deepest apologies to the Steiners for what they endured. Since these events occurred, new leaders have joined the company and eBay has strengthened its policies, procedures, controls and training. eBay remains committed to upholding high standards of conduct and ethics and to making things right with the Steiners.”

NBC News reported eBay admitted that from August 5 to August 23, 2019, eBay’s former senior director of safety and security, as well as six other members of the team, took aim at the victims, who resided in Natick.

HEALTH

RECALL WARNING:

Quaker Oats expands recall of certain products over salmonella risk

The Quaker Oats Company has added two dozen additional types of granola bars, cereals, and snack foods to a December recall over possible salmonella contamination.

The company, which is owned by PepsiCo., announced the additional recall in the U.S. and Canada on Thursday.

The expanded recall includes Quaker Chewy Granola Bars and Cereals, Cap’n Crunch Bars and select cereals, Gamesa Marias Cereal, Gatorade Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Bars, Munchies Munch Mix, and snack boxes that contain those products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received at least 24 reports of adverse events related to the products initially recalled, but no illnesses have been confirmed to be linked to the foods, an agency spokesperson said Friday. Adverse events can include medical problems, but also complaints about off taste or color of a product, defective packaging, or other non-medical issues, the official said. FDA will continue to investigate the reports.

Salmonella infections can cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain. In rare cases, the bacterial infections can be fatal.

Consumers should check their pantries for any of the products listed and throw them away. The company’s recall website has additional information and details on reimbursement.

Contributors to psychiatry’s bible, the DSM-5, got $14 million from industry

A new report published in the British Medical Journal reveals that over half the doctors who contributed to the newest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) received millions of dollars as a result of conflicts of interest.

The revelation indicates a potential to obstruct the integrity of medical research as conflicts of interest “lead to implicit bias, compromise the research process, and erode public trust,” wrote lead researcher Lauren Davis of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and her team.

The DSM is the industry standard used to establish symptom criteria and psychiatric disorders. It plays a role in approving new drugs and patents and can hold sway over payers and mental health professionals looking for “The manual has been referred to as the ‘bible’ of psychiatric disorders, and industry influence over the development of this diagnostic guideline can have a profound effect on public health,” researchers wrote.

The first DSM was published in 1952 by the APA. The manual was primarily intended to help classify and organize the issues veterans coming out of World War II were experiencing.

Over the next 40 years, the APA appointed groups to revise the DSM and issued three more versions. The DSM-4 was published in 1994. The manual was a six-year effort involving over 1,000 people from multiple professional and health care organizations.

Work on the DSM-5 and DSM-5-TR (text revision) editions began in 2007 and 2019, respectively; the DSM-5-TR involved more than 200 experts. Their work included creating white papers, monographs, and journal articles that ultimately led to a summary of the current state of psychiatry.

The researchers found that of the 168 individuals who served on either the DSM panel or as a task force member, 92 met the inclusion criteria. Among them, 55 had ties to industry that resulted in payments totaling over $14.2 million. The bulk of the payments made to the 55 contributors went to research (71 percent), “other payments” (13 percent), consulting (8 percent), or travel (5 percent).

Nineteen panel members also received payments for services other than consulting, including being a faculty member or speaker at a continuing education program.

Overall, the most common type of payment received was for food and beverages (totaling $89,506), followed by travel ($684,622) and consulting ($1,178,603).

Of interesting note: Certain psychiatric disorders in the DSM had a high concentration of authors with conflicts of interest, while other psychiatric disorders had few. For example, contributors working on gender dysphoria and eating, anxiety, and paraphilic disorders reported no conflicts of interest. However, groups working on disruptive, sleep-wake, and medication-induced disorders received at least $1 million. The contributors working on medication-induced disorders received over $8.4 million in undisclosed funding.

“Out of the 20 total DSM-5-TR work groups and the task force, five consisted of more than 75 percent of the members that received money from pharmaceutical companies,” co-author and assistant professor Brian J. Piper said in an e-mail to The Epoch Times.

Ms. Davis and her team suggest that individuals who participate in DSM updates should be held to rigorous standards to avoid conflicts of interest. For example, no DSM panel member should be part of the pharmaceutical speaker bureau, a group of experts in the pharmaceutical industry.

Additionally, individuals with conflicts of interest should be prohibited from serving on the panel. The researchers noted that if a working group lacks expertise and needs to consult with industry experts, the experts should not have decision-making powers.

“As leaders in evidence-based medicine have argued, guideline writers should be free of financial relationships with industry, especially those writers who are responsible for the preeminent psychiatric diagnostic manual in the world,” Mr. Piper said.

New report reveals widespread presence of plastic chemicals in popular foods

In a world grappling with declining health and an alarming reduction in lifespan, a hidden menace lurks within our daily sustenance.  The mass production of food, once a symbol of progress, is now an inadvertent saboteur of human health and the delicate balance of our planet.

A recent report sheds light on a disturbing revelation: plastic chemicals stealthily infiltrate the fabric of our food.  As Consumer Reports delves into the heart of our grocery stores and fast-food havens, uncovering the pervasive presence of plastic phthalates and bisphenol chemicals, a disturbing narrative unfolds – intertwining our dietary choices with the encroaching threat of these insidious substances.

From self-reliance to corporate dominance, the compromised journey of our food

Not too long ago, people embraced self-reliance when it came to their food sources – small farms, backyard gardens, and individual hunting or fishing endeavors were the norm.  However, this era of personal sustenance has given way to a landscape dominated by corporate-backed food production.

While convenient, the journey from vast corporate farms and food factories to your dining room table comes at a cost: the compromise of food safety.  Chemical intrusions from contaminated groundwater, soil, food packaging, and various other sources now threaten the very sustenance we depend on for our health and vitality.

Particularly troublesome in this complex scenario is the presence of plasticizer chemicals.  Known for enhancing plastic durability and flexibility, these plasticizers, or phthalates, have become a source of concern, adding another layer of complexity to the safety of our food supply.

NEW report reveals the unseen dangers lurking in your everyday food choices

If you’re like the majority of consumers, delving into the complexities of your food’s ingredients may not be a routine practice.  For most, the allure of affordability or delectable flavors often dictates choices, with the underlying assumption that every item on store shelves is inherently safe, thanks to regulatory oversight.

However, a closer examination of the linked report may prompt a reevaluation of your grocery habits.  The findings reveal the omnipresence of phthalates in almost every tested food item, often in disconcerting concentrations.  What sets this report apart is the consistency of phthalate levels across various packaging styles and types of foods.

Consumer Reports points out some alarming culprits, with Fairlife Core Power milkshakes, Chicken of the Sea pink salmon, and Del Monte peaches topping the list.  Even seemingly health-conscious options like Yoplait vanilla yogurt were not spared from elevated phthalate levels.

Surprisingly, fast-food ingredients from Chipotle, Wendy’s, and Burger King also displayed the presence of phthalates.  The organic aisle didn’t offer refuge either, with Annie’s organic ravioli canned products found to have the highest phthalate content.  In total, a staggering 79% of the tested foods contained detectable levels of phthalates or bisphenol.

Consumer Reports’ food analysis also revealed that phthalate levels differed within specific items from food brands, meaning no single brand has completely safe food.

Strategies to end your reliance on Big Ag and foods contaminated with plastic

With influential figures like Bill Gates acquiring vast expanses of farmland across the United States, the landscape of agriculture is undergoing a transformation.  The era of the small farmer is gradually being overshadowed by the dominance of Big Agriculture, often referred to as “Big Ag,” a shift that diminishes the power and agency of everyday individuals.

Beyond merely bookmarking this article for future reference, you can actively contribute to your well-being by opting for food exclusively grown by local farmers.  Steer away from corporate-owned grocery stores and explore the vibrant offerings of farmers’ markets, where local growers showcase a diverse range of produce and more.

Try growing some vegetables and herbs in your backyard or vertical garden.  Additionally, becoming politically engaged is in your best interest.  Reach out to your Congressional representatives, expressing your views on the need for stricter regulations safeguarding food production.  Organized citizens wield the potential to influence legislation, compelling food manufacturers to eliminate or reduce the presence of phthalates in packaging, conveyor belts, tubing, and even the gloves used by workers in food processing.

>> Grown your own food with Heaven’s Harvest HEIRLOOM VEGETABLE SEED KIT

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

Genetically Modified Synthetic Milk To Hit Stores In 2024

No antibiotics, no hormones. Just dairy. A new completely lactose-free dairy. Dairy without the cows? 

Um, how does that work?   

The fake milk, sold by Bored Cow, uses a wannabe whey protein  –   “microflora” called “ProFerm” made by their partner Perfect Day, “a consumer biology company on a mission to create a kinder, greener tomorrow by developing new ways to make the foods you love today — starting in the dairy aisle.”

They claim their product is a new kind of “animal-free” milk alternative “made with real milk protein from fermentation.”

Health Research Institute (HRI), a nonprofit independent lab based in Fairfield, Iowa examined multiple samples of Bored Cow’s “original” flavor milk using mass spectrometry to test the claim that the synthetic protein it contained was the same as real milk protein. HRI compared these results to samples of natural milk from grass-fed cows.

Their testing revealed 92 unknown molecules — and a fungicide — in “synthetic”  milk protein used by more than a dozen food brands sold in common grocery chains. 

The ingredients listed for Bored Cow’s “original” flavor are:

“Water, animal-free whey protein (from fermentation), sunflower oil, sugar, less than 1% of vitamin A, vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), vitamin D2, riboflavin, citrus fiber, salt, dipotassium phosphate, acacia, gellan gum, mixed tocopherols (antioxidant), calcium potassium phosphate citrate, natural flavor.”

This is a stew made with sorcery and mostly crap, starting with the sunflower oil which is an inflammatory seed oil that may be genetically modified as well. Meanwhile, the label does not specify whether the whey protein was produced through the genetic engineering of yeast. Also, the main input for fermentation is sugar — and they’re using high fructose corn syrup, which is also a GMO product. It’s all gross and phony.Aside from the host of unknown compounds, synthetic milk lacked many important micronutrients found in natural milk such as an omega-3 fatty acid, vitamin E, and some B vitamins. Additionally, forms of carnitine that are “really important for energy metabolism” were either missing or only present in trace amounts in the synbio product.“There were 69 important nutrients present in natural milk, most of which were completely absent in synbio milk. A few were present in small or trace amounts,” according to HRI’s Chief Scientist and CEO John Fagan, Ph.D. Fagan — a molecular biologist and former cancer researcher at the National Institutes of Health — has been a worldwide pioneer in testing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).Additionally, only eight compounds were identifiable. The rest were “uncharacterized” by scientific literature.

“The 92 unknown molecules we found have never been studied by scientists. So we don’t know whether they’re safe or dangerous, whether they are nutrients or toxins,” added Fagan.

Fagan found it concerning that the Bored Cow samples also contained an agricultural fungicide called Benthiavalicarb-isopropyl.

“I think the reason this fungicide is present is because they added it to the fermentation process to inhibit the growth of fungi that could contaminate the production system,” he said, “So the things that we see here are not really good for us, let me put it that way.”

HCI’s official report has not been published yet.But suffice to say, these results contradict Perfect Day’s claim that its product — used by Bored Cow — is “identical to what cows make.”

Claiming the proteins are “molecularly identical to those produced by cows” is a lie.

Synthetic milk has never before been consumed by humans and has not undergone This slogan is no longer applicable.

Perfect Day claims ProFerm does not contain GMOs. The industry calls it ‘precision fermentation’ rather than ‘genetic engineering.’  Unlike plant-based alternatives like almond milk or soy milk, this stuff supposedly “tastes and performs the same way as real milk when used as an ingredient.”

Trix is for kids.

Perfect Day’s website doesn’t even use the word “GMOs” to explain its production process, instead, they describe “how [they] teach microflora to create sustainable protein.”

Some call this DoubleSpeak.

‘Microflora’ is a nice term for GMO yeast.

“Synbio” — short for “synthetic biology” — is a method that uses genetic engineering to modify microorganisms like yeast, algae, or bacteria to produce novel products.

Looks like they are avoiding the negative connotations of Frankenstein faux food.

“The biotechnology industry is marketing this method as ‘precision fermentation’ because it exploits a natural process … but it’s actually a form of genetic engineering,” states the Non-GMO Project.

Companies may claim that the GMO DNA is removed during the processing of the fermented proteins, but it is highly unlikely that they could remove all of the GMO DNA, say experts.

Current federal law does not require products that contain ProFerm to be labeled as bioengineered or as containing GMOs. The Non-GMO Project states that Synbio products go “unlabeled and unregulated in the marketplace.”

The FDA does not carry out, commission, or require mandatory safety testing of GMOs that are entering the human food supply. Certain GMOs are regulated by other government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  or the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), based on potential environmental impacts. The FDA only looks at voluntary pre-market research that is designed and conducted by the companies making GMO products.

On March 25, 2020, the FDA sent Perfect Day a “no-questions” letter that classified ProFerm as “Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).”

Given that Perfect Day’s fermentation process does use GMOs, it is unclear how the FDA concluded the product could be “generally regarded as safe.”

But hey when it comes to Public Health precautions don’t matter.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Geoengineering Watch Global Alert News, January 13, 2024, #440

“A Weekend of Ferocious Winter Weather Could See Low-Temperature Records Set in the US Heartland”. The chemical flash freezing of the US is being super sensationalized by all matrix media sources. The geoengineers are doubling down on winter weather whiplash, but what aren’t they telling us? Here’s one headline example from this week, “Birds drop from trees’ in extreme 45C Australian heat amid sweltering four week heatwave”. There can be no legitimate discussion of climate anything, from any perspective, without first and foremost addressing global climate intervention operations. 

Chair Rodgers: EPA’s Failure to Report $7 Billion in Spending is Another Failure of Leadership

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials failed to disclose as much as $7 billion in spending to the main federal internet website to inform the public about where their tax dollars are going, according to a government watchdog.

“The EPA’s initial reporting of its fiscal year 2022 spending in USAspending.gov was not complete or accurate. This occurred because the EPA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) did not follow its information technology configuration management procedures,” the EPA inspector-general said in a report made public on Jan. 9.

“As a result, the EPA’s fiscal year 2022 award-level obligations were underreported by $1.2 billion, and its fiscal year 2022 award-level outlays were underreported by $5.8 billion. This means that 12.9 percent of the EPA’s total award-level obligations and 99.9 percent of the EPA’s total award-level outlays were not reported in fiscal year 2022. The EPA also did not report any of its Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act outlays and underreported its coronavirus pandemic-related outlays,” the report explains.

The result was that taxpayers were “initially misinformed about the EPA’s spending, and policy-makers who relied on the data may not have been able to effectively track federal spending.”

The agency’s 2023 budget was $10.1 billion, but it also administers more than $27 billion in grants under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) established by the Inflation Reduction Act. President Joe Biden appointed Michael Regan as EPA administrator in 2021.

The billions in EPA spending weren’t properly reported to USASpending.gov—which documents most federal expenditures and makes that data accessible to anybody with an internet connection—for multiple reasons.

Among those reasons, according to the report, were the failure of EPA officials to implement mandatory digital-spending evaluation and approval system controls, the absence of required digital-error detection procedures needed to confirm accuracy and comprehensiveness, and the fact agency leadership doesn’t require manual checks of the data sent to the website for public transparency.

The report said the unreported spending would have remained concealed from taxpayers had the inspector general’s auditors not discovered it and pointed it out to EPA officials. Agency officials agreed to implement multiple recommendations by the inspector general to ensure that all future EPA spending is made public, as required by law.

“USAspending.gov is the federal government’s official public source of spending information. The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 requires federal agencies to report complete and accurate spending data to USAspending.gov to facilitate transparency into how they spend taxpayer dollars,” the inspector-general said.

New Hampshire Bill To Ban Climate Engineering, 90 Second Alert

A bill to ban climate engineering has been introduced in New Hampshire. Will it pass? Will it make a difference?  All are needed in the critical battle to wake populations to what is coming, we must make every day count. Share credible data from a credible source, make your voice heard. (contains a video)

GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING

15+ Black Chicken Breeds: Beauties for Your Backyard Flock

If you want to add one or more solid black chickens to your flock you have a great variety from which to choose. Since many breeds have black feathers — and some even have black skin and meat — there is no shortage of options! 

In fact, there are 46 black chicken breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association. This is great news because there are different reasons for having a flock of chickens, so you can find the breeds that will work best in your backyard or on your farm.

Table of Contents

• Raising Black Chickens: Which is best for your flock?
• Jersey Giant
• Silkie
• Australorp
• Cochin
• Orpington
• Ameraucana and Araucana 
• Minorca
• Java
• Japanese Bantams
• Crèvecoeur
• Hamburgs
• Marans
• LaFleche
• Langshan
• Ayam Cemani
• Other all black chicken breeds accepted by the American Poultry Association

Raising Black Chickens: Which is best for your flock?  Black chickens come in a variety of sizes, as well as temperaments and tolerance to different climates. They have different sizes and shapes of combs, which work better (or worse) in different climates. While most have clean legs, a few have feathered legs.

2ND AMENDMENT

Federal judge rules ban on firearms in post offices unconstitutional

A Florida judge has ruled that the U.S. government’s decision to arrest an individual for possessing a firearm in a post office violated the person’s Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Postal worker Emmanuel Ayala was indicted by the United States on charges of violating Section 930(a) of the U.S. Code, which regulates the possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities. Mr. Ayala argued that the law is “unconstitutional as applied to him” since historical records do not support a law banning firearms in post offices, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said in her Jan. 12 order.

She cited the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen case, in which SCOTUS said that the Second Amendment protects an American citizen’s right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense purposes.

That ruling also set up a new test for judging firearms laws, stating that such legal restrictions should be consistent with the country’s historical tradition of firearms regulation.

The United States responded to the Ayala case by stating that “the Second Amendment allows it to punish the bearing of arms inside any government building. But the Supreme Court has been clear: the government must point to historical principles that would permit it to prohibit firearms possession in post offices.”

“The United States fails to meet that burden. Thus, I dismiss the [Section] 930(a) charge because it violates Ayala’s Second Amendment right to bear arms,” Judge Mizelle wrote.

The lawsuit stems from Mr. Ayala’s arrest that took place back in 2022 when he was a semi-truck driver for the U.S. Postal Service. From time to time, Mr. Ayala carried his firearms into the Post Office when retrieving his semi-truck from work “for extra protection” while walking to and from the employee parking lot, the order stated.

On Sept. 14, 2022, two agents from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General attempted to detain him as he walked into the post office. Mr. Ayala ran but was eventually apprehended by the local police. A grand jury indicted him for violating Section 930(a) as well as forcibly resisting arrest. Judge Mizelle’s order only resolves Mr. Ayala’s Section 930(a) claims.

Alleged car burglars scurry away in a hurry after Texas man confronts them with AR-15: ‘I’m just not taking it anymore’

A Texas man says he scared away a group of car burglars with his AR-15 and offered a warning to anyone else who might try the same at his neighborhood.

Terry Willis told KHOU-TV that he was alerted to the presence of strangers by his surveillance cameras at his home in Cypress, a suburb of Houston.

There had been previous reports of car break-ins in the neighborhood, so Willis grabbed his AR-15 rifle and went outside.

Surveillance video showed the suspected burglars were going around the parked cars and pulling on door handles to see if any were left open.

“I had a UTV that was on the back of the truck, hooked to it, and they had got up into the side-by-side and were trying to take it off of the trailer,” Willis said. 

The video shows Willis walking outside with his rifle. He said that he warned the suspects, and they ran off in a hurry.

“I told them, I said, I don’t think you want to do this,” said Willis. “I racked the bolt back, put the shell in the chamber.”

Video shows them scurrying away.

“They were leaving and that was what I wanted, I wanted them away from here, I don’t want to kill somebody but if it comes to that to protect my family, I will,” Willis said.

He went on to say that he had a lot of experience with guns.

“For approximately 20 years, I’ve had a concealed weapons permit. I’ve also been through hunter safety courses. I’ve built guns. I’ve built the ARs,” he explained.

No property was damaged and no one was injured in the incident, but police are seeking help from the public to identify the suspects. 

Willis also had a warning for anyone else who might come to his neighborhood looking to commit burglary.

“I’ve worked for 40 years of my life. Everything that I’ve got … never stole anything and I’m just not taking it anymore,” he said.

“This isn’t the place to come because we’re tired of it,” Willis concluded.

The homeowner did the right thing … shooting them as they were fleeing would have been wrong. 

COVID RELATED NEWS

False-Positive HIV Test Results More Likely Among Patients With Active COVID-19

A recent paper by Feldman et al. reporting a young man who attempted to commit suicide caught my attention. It read:

“Our team became aware of the possibility of false positive HIV tests (all but HIV PCR) in individuals vaccinated against Sars-CoV-2 when a laboratory technician attempted suicide. The reason: five months after his second vaccination against Sars-CoV-2 (being negative for Sars-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies at all times) his HIV antibody tests as well as the usual confirmatory HIV tests yielded positive results. Only multiple controls by means of PCR in various centers of competence showed that the human HIV-virus (all HIV subtypes) was and is not detectable in this patient. After such cases became more frequent in our international network, we asked for documentation and reporting. Result: there seems to be a genuine effect, although rather small in magnitude. However, when it comes to HIV and the associated consequences, each individual case is worth taking a closer look at.”

An Australian vaccine trial was abandoned in 2020 because of a high number of participants turning HIV false positive. “Australia had previously agreed to buy 51 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Australian firm CSL and the University of Queensland,” the BBC reported.

Now cases of HIV false positive testing are coming in for both patients who had SARS-CoV-2 infection and some who had COVID-19 vaccination. Gudipati et al. from Henry Ford did a search in their data system among 39,110 records and found 87 false positive HIV results distributed across patients who had COVID-19, vaccination, and presumably both. However, the study mostly focused on the link between false positives and COVID infection.

Japanese Scientists Find Indisputable Evidence That ALL COVID Variants Are Man-Made

A stunning Japanese study that has evolved from preprint to peer-reviewed publication suggests that all COVID-19 variants were engineered in biolabs and intentionally released upon humanity. First released in August 2023, the study, conducted by renowned Japanese virologists Professors Atsushi Tanaka and Takayuki Miyazawa of Osaka Medical University and Kyoto University, affirms that the push to keep COVID around is part of a nefarious deep state scheme to remove our individual freedoms and control us. 

It is well known that the U.S. Department of Energy, the CIA, and the FBI now recognize that there is a possibility that SARS-CoV-2 was created in a lab. And now, as conveyed in a super interesting September 15 discussion between Jefferey Jaxen and Del Bigtree, the mind-boggling published scientific conclusion by Tanaka and Miyazawa that all COVID-19 variants are intentionally manufactured adds a massive component to the quite technical scientific debate, which has been slow to get a proper investigation in a public forum because it is such a specialized and colossal conversation. And let’s not forget the topic is heavily censored.

Though complicated, in a nutshell, to determine the order of mutations of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, in a 25-page paper titled “Unnaturalness in the Evolution Process of the SARS-CoV-2 variants and the possibility of deliberate natural selection,” Tanaka and Miyazawa traced the variant’s origins by studying viral sequences found “in the wild” around the world that had been deposited into public databases. The researchers explained that their study aimed “to clarify the evolutionary processes leading to the formation of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants, focusing on Omicron variants with many amino acid mutations in the spike protein among SARS-CoV-2 isolates.”

As their work progressed, they discovered roughly 100 separate Omicron subvariants that could not possibly have arisen naturally. The existence of these variants and the systematic order in which they appeared provide conclusive evidence of large-scale lab creation and release of COVID-19 viruses. Specifically, to determine the order of mutations leading to the formation of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants, Tanaka and Miyazawa compared the sequences of 129 Omicron BA.1-related isolates, 141 BA.1.1-related isolates, and 122 BA.2-related isolates, and attempted to clarify the evolutionary processes of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants, including the order of mutations leading to their formation and the occurrence of homologous recombination. Surprised by their findings, the scientists remarked:

“As a result, we concluded that the formation of part of Omicron isolated BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2 was not the product of genome evolution, as is commonly observed in nature, such as the accumulation of mutations and homologous recombinations. Furthermore, the study of 35 recombinant isolates of Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 confirmed that Omicron variants were already present in 2020. The analysis showed that Omicron variants were formed by an entirely new mechanism that cannot be explained by previous biology, and knowing how the SARS-CoV-2 variants were formed prompts a reconsideration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

These results suggest that the establishment of BA.1-0.1 and BA.1.1-0.1 isolates occurred independently. On the other hand, if reversion mutations caused each of these isolates with one amino acid different to the Wuhan-type, these isolates could be detected by examining an astronomical number of isolates. However, these virus strains were detected in the number of sequenced whole genomes (a limited number), rather than in astronomical numbers examined. The fact that most of these mutations occurred without synonymous mutations suggests that none of them arose as a result of trial-and-error random mutations in nature.”

PET NEWS

RECALL WARNING:

Blue Ridge Beef Has Recalled Puppy and Kitten Food in These 16 States

The Blue Ridge Beef company has recalled some of its pet food in 16 states because of contamination of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, per a statement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The North Carolina-based pet company has recalled all lot numbers and used-by dates between N24 1114 to N24 1224 of Kitten Grind (two-pound log), Kitten Mix (two-pound log), and Puppy Mix (two-pound log). 

On January 3, Blue Ridge included the following states in their recall: Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The original list of states, issued by the FDA on December 22, only included seven of the above.

All of the affected pet food was distributed between November 14, 2023 and December 20, 2023. Per the FDA, “the products were packaged in clear plastic and sold primarily in retail stores sold” in the 16 states. Look at the silver section on the end of the tube in which the food is stored to see if it contains one of the recalled lot numbers. For reference, the FDA has included photos of what to look for here.

“Pet parents worried that their puppy or kitten may be affected by Salmonella or Listeria from contaminated food should watch for early symptoms of intestinal upset, such as loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, lethargy, and abdominal pain,” veterinarian Dr. Bartley Harrison tells The Wildest. “Pets who are more severely affected can develop symptoms of shock like pale gums, low blood pressure, and collapse due to the toxins made by the bacteria.” 

The FDA statement advises pet parents to “wash and sanitize pet food bowls, cups, and storage containers. Always ensure you wash and sanitize your hands after handling recalled food or any utensils that come in contact with recalled food.” 

If you have purchased these products, please email blueridgebeefnc@yahoo.com or call Steven Lea at (704) 880-4500 Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.

GOOD NEWS

123 people arrested in human trafficking sting in Florida, including a nurse and teacher? 

A human trafficking operation in Florida carried out over the past three months has led to the arrest of 123 people. Among those arrested include a spiritual leader, a nurse, and a teacher, according to WTVT.

The name of the three-month operation was known as Operation Renewed Hope, carried out by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s Human Trafficking Squad. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said detectives carried out several undercover streetwalker and hotel/motel operations. 

The operation also included online chats. During the virtual chats, detectives posed as minors available for sex. Chronister also mentioned that detectives posed as the guardians of minors who were available for sex to lure predators.

Chronister said he decided to conduct the operation during the holidays when children would be out of school and more Apresent online, according to the report.

“I wanted to ensure that our children would be protected and those wanting to pay for sex and wanting to fuel the sex trade were not getting a free pass because of the holidays,” Chronister said. 

After the authorities arrested 123 people who were charged with human trafficking-related crimes, Chronister said that a basketball coach, a spiritual teacher, and a nurse were involved. 

“These are individuals who betrayed our trust,” he said.

“These suspects know what they are doing is wrong. Even a few of them that were arrested, and we’re seeing a trend – they drop their cell phones, they take their cell phones somewhere else before they show up to have sex with this young child because they don’t want their wife to be able to track where they are at,” Sheriff Chronister said. “They know what they are doing is wrong.”

Fox News Digital reported that since the Human Trafficking Squad was launched, it has successfully arrested 604 individuals and charged 36 with trafficking-related crimes.

“What I find even more impressive is the fact this squad has rescued 28 victims from the grips of human trafficking,” Chronister said. “That is 28 people whose lives were saved thanks to the hard work and dedication of the men and women on this team.”

Chronister went on to say that those involved know they are in the wrong. Oftentimes, the men leave their cellphones behind before showing up to have sex with a minor so that their wife does not know where they are, per the report.

Miss Colorado makes history as she becomes first serving US soldier EVER to be crowned Miss America: Air Force pilot, 22, training to be Top Gun fighter pilot after graduating from Harvard

U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh won the Miss America title on Jan. 14 at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando, Florida.

2nd Lt. Marsh, who represented the state of Colorado, is the first active-duty Air Force officer ever to compete and win the title. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The 22-year-old Arkansas native competed for the Miss America crown in Florida on Sunday—an event featuring several phases including a public interview, as well as evening gown and fitness stages. She was one of the 51 contestants who participated in the event.

From a young age, 2nd Lt. Marsh had a love of science and a dream to be a pilot and astronaut. Her parents encouraged her dreams, sending her to Space Camp when she was 13 years old where she met astronauts and fighter pilots.

Around that time, she learned about the United States Air Force Academy. At 15 years old, she started flying lessons, earning her pilot’s license two years later, and then began to work towards her goal of becoming a cadet.

She was crowned Miss Colorado in May 2023 just before graduating from the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and commissioning as an Air Force Officer.

ICYMI

Alabama judge approves experimental execution method, says inmate ‘not guaranteed a painless death’

An Alabama judge has determined that Kenneth Eugene Smith — a convicted murderer — will be the first human to face death by nitrogen hypoxia later this month, according to Fox News Digital.

Smith’s legal team tried to stop the process, but they were unsuccessful. Smith was sentenced to death in 2022 for the 1998 killing of a preacher’s wife. The preacher, Pastor Charles Sennett Sr., hired Smith and John Forrest Parker to murder his wife. The two men carried out the killing after being promised $1,000 a piece from Sennett.

This is not the first time Smith has faced the death penalty. In 2022, the state attempted to lethally inject Smith, but the operation was bungled. The report noted that Smith’s attorneys said in legal filings that putting him back into the state’s execution chamber would constitute double jeopardy, and that to test out the new form of execution would violate his constitutional rights.

However, U.S. District Court Judge R. Austin Huffaker rejected the request. He dismissed the argument that nitrogen hypoxia was new, going on to say that lethal injection was also nice at one time. 

Even though Smith’s attorneys tried to communicate the theoretical risks of the new method, the judge determined that those risks did not present an unconstitutional violation. 

Huffaker went on to say that “Smith is not guaranteed a painless death,” adding that “[o]n this record, Smith has not shown, and the court cannot conclude, the Protocol inflicts both cruel and unusual punishment, rendering it constitutionally infirm under the prevailing legal framework.”

NBC News reported that Alabama’s new method of execution would include placing a respirator-type face mask over Smith’s nose and mouth, replacing oxygen with nitrogen, causing him to suffocate to death. Alabama is just one of three states — Mississippi and Oklahoma being the other two — that have made the execution method legal.

Huffaker added that there was no evidence to suggest that death by nitrogen hypoxia “is substantially likely to cause Smith superadded pain short of death or a prolonged death.”

Smith’s attorneys also noted that the gas mask would interfere with Smith being able to pray aloud or make a final statement before the execution is carried out. However, the Alabama attorney general’s office said these concerns are speculative.