WORLD NEWS
French farmers close in on Paris as government struggles to calm protests
French police arrested some protesting farmers on Wednesday as convoys of tractors edged closer to Paris, Lyon and other strategic locations in France, with many ignoring warnings of police intervention if they cross red lines laid down by ministers.
US threatens to reimpose sanctions on Venezuelan oil sector
The US has threatened to reinstate sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, days after the South American country’s top court upheld a ban on opposition candidate María Corina Machado.
Ms Machado won a primary to become the opposition’s unity candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
But on Friday, Venezuela’s Supreme Court confirmed a 15-year ban on Ms Machado running for public office.
Venezuela rejected the US warning as “rude and improper blackmail”.
The oil industry is crucial to Venezuela’s economy.
The US imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector after President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a second term in 2019, after an election widely dismissed as neither free not fair.
The US loosened those sanctions in October after the Maduro government reached a deal with the opposition, laying some of the groundwork for free and fair presidential elections to be held in the second half of 2024.
Canada Delays Killing Mentally Ill People amid Widespread Public Disgust
The Canadian government on Monday announced an indefinite delay in its plans to expand Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) to patients with mental illness, but no physical ailments.
Canada’s long march to assisted suicide seems to have finally stalled with the proposal to provide physician assistance for mentally ill people to kill themselves. Canadian doctors have gone from discussing euthanasia as a last resort to aggressively recommending it, even to patients who desire treatment rather than death. Critics fear that if MAID is extended to the mentally ill, Canada’s overburdened socialist healthcare system will be sorely tempted to use euthanasia to clean up long waiting lists for psychiatric care.
Assisted suicide is spreading faster in Canada than in any other nation in the world, than any other nation in history. MAID deaths quadrupled over the past five years and now account for four percent of all deaths in the country. If current trends hold, Canada might have more assisted suicides by the end of this year than countries like the Netherlands, which legalized the practice decades before Canada did.
The Toronto Star mused on Saturday that since “one in five Canadians are impacted by mental health challenges,” expanding MAID to cover mental illness could lead to a dizzying surge in the already huge number of assisted suicides.
Dr. Cheryl Rowe, a Toronto psychiatrist who supports expanding MAID, ominously described it as a “failure of medicine” that “there are so many doctors that believe that they have to keep their patients alive at all costs.”
Whatever the merits of that philosophy might be for terminal physical illness, expanding it to psychiatry – encouraging doctors to promote suicide to people who are not of sound mind – would almost certainly cause the explosion of MAID deaths to go nuclear.
Ukraine Says U.S. Money Not Going to Ukraine, ‘Benefiting American Interests’
The $113 billion sent to Ukraine so far for its war against Russia is apparently not actually going to Ukraine, but is really “benefiting American interests,” a spokesperson for Ukraine told Breitbart News.
The shock claim was in response to a request for information by Breitbart News on whether or not any American tax dollars had gone specifically to Uman, a city in the war-torn Eastern European nation that is currently seeing a condo built on a Jewish mass grave, as previously reported, in violation of a bilateral agreement with the U.S., and in violation of international law.
Breitbart reported on January 10 that a city in Ukraine is proceeding with building a condo on a Jewish mass grave, despite three letters from members of Congress from both parties to the Ukrainian government demanding the cemetery be protected.
Replying to an inquiry about whether or not U.S. dollars are going to the city where this is taking place, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Embassy told Breitbart that “funds authorized by American lawmakers to support Ukraine’s armament are not directly allocated to Ukraine” — after claiming the Ukrainian Embassy “did not receive” a request sent by Breitbart News eight months ago for information on the construction project, which requires desecrating the remains of victims of the
1768 Haidamacks massacre.
The spokesperson explained that, instead, a “significant portion” of the billions of dollars to Ukraine is “utilized in the United States for the construction of new weapons or to replenish those dispatched to Kyiv from U.S. reserves,” adding that “an analysis” (not specifically cited) found that “nearly 90 percent” of aid granted by Congress “is benefiting American interests.” The email continues, “The allocation of funds doesn’t imply immediate expenditure.”
“American interests” in this context presumably means weapons manufacturers.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that employees from a Ukrainian arms firm “conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million” allocated for weapons purchases.
The news comes months after the New York Times reported on the sacking of Ukraine’s minister of defense due to “graft” and “financial mismanagement” in the department, amid an avalanche of cash coming from the United States to fund the beleaguered war effort, and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asks for more.
The Times report said some prepayments for weapons had “vanished” in the bank accounts of weapons dealers, among “about $980 million in weapons contracts” that “missed their delivery dates,” in 2023.
The Biden administration is now seeking an additional $64 billion for Ukraine aid — or, “American interests” — but is facing resistance from Congress.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Gov. Abbott Says Federalizing Texas National Guard Would Be Severe ‘Political Blunder’
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that suggestions to federalize state National Guards would be a severe “political blunder” on behalf of the Biden administration in the midst of a legal battle over U.S.–Mexico border enforcement.
Last week, the legal fight escalated after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision that favored the Biden administration, allowing federal agents to cut razor wire set up under Texas’ Operation Lone Star. Texas National Guard members were involved in setting up the razor wire along the border, which top state officials say is effective in deterring illegal immigration.
“This is the No. 1 issue in America. Americans want a secure border. If Joe Biden federalizes our National Guard, that would be the biggest political blunder that you can make, and that’s why I think he will not do it,” Abbott was quoted as saying.
He added, “I am prepared in the event that they do make such a blunder to make sure that Texas will be able to continue to secure our border.”
In a separate comment on social media, the governor cited a poll that found about 70 percent of Americans back Texas setting up barriers at the border to curb illegal immigration, adding that 53 percent strongly support it. The poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports found that only 27 percent disagreed with the move.
After the Supreme Court ruling, the Texas National Guard was seen installing more razor wire near the border, although some legal analysts have said that the high court’s ruling only dealt with the removal or cutting of the wire—not whether or not the state could keep placing it there.
Soros-Funded Group Seeks to ‘Turn Texas Blue’ with Mass Immigration
A political action committee (PAC), financially backed by billionaire George Soros, is looking to “turn Texas blue” this year as other left-wing groups have expressed increasing interest in turning the state blue with the help of mass immigration.
Texas Majority PAC, run by consultants who worked for Beto O’Rourke’s failed gubernatorial campaign, is being partially funded by Soros, who has a net worth of $6.7 billion and remains one of the biggest donors to Democrats in the United States.
According to records reviewed by the Texas Tribune, the group raised $2.25 million since its inception after the 2022 midterm elections. In particular, through the group, Soros has thrown six-figure donations to Democrats in Dallas County, Cameron County, and Hidalgo County.
“We need millions of more dollars and hundreds of more full-time staff to do this,” the group’s deputy executive director Katherine Fischer told the Texas Tribune. “Texas Majority PAC works with partners across the state to create the conditions that will make flipping the state possible.”
At the same time, the left-wing group Voto Latino has made it clear they are looking to turn Texas blue this year with mass immigration to the state.
In an op-ed for Democracy Docket, Voto Latino’s CEO Maria Teresa Kumar urges Democrats to take advantage of the nation’s historically high legal immigration levels, where more than a million legal immigrants are admitted every year, in upcoming elections:
The U.S. Census Bureau recently confirmed that Latinos now outnumber non- Hispanic whites in Texas. It’s a demographic shift that has been years in the making, and it has massive implications for the political future of the state that we’re only beginning to see. [Emphasis added]
To understand the political giant rising in Texas, it’s important to know that the Latino population is disproportionately young. Nearly a quarter of young people under 18 in America are Latino, but the numbers are even starker in Texas. More than 50% of all Texans 18 years and younger are Latino, and more than 800,000 Texas Latinos have come of voting age since 2020. These young people are the future of the electorate in the state, and their potential political influence can’t be underestimated. But it also can’t be taken for granted. [Emphasis added]
In Texas, the state’s foreign-born population is vital for Democrats.
In particular, Indian Americans increasingly make up a large portion of Texas’s foreign-born population and are a huge voting bloc for Democrats akin to black Americans.
Research from October 2020 found that more than 452,000 Indian Americans now reside in Texas — only second to California with more than 815,000 Indian Americans.
Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, a whopping 65 percent of Indian Americans said they supported then-Democrat candidate Joe Biden against then-President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Trump garnered support from fewer than 3-in-10 Indian Americans.
This month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) visited Mumbai, India, to recruit more India-based businesses to the state, which would bring even more immigration to the state from India.
Over the last few years, Democrats have set a goal of helping one million legal immigrants gain naturalized American citizenship in time for this year’s presidential election in the hopes of swinging the electorate in favor of Democrats.
Illinois Elections Board Votes to Keep Trump on the Ballot
The Illinois State Board of Elections voted to include former President Donald Trump on the state’s primary ballot following a recommendation from the board’s general counsel to dismiss the case.
The board is a bipartisan one made of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, who voted unanimously to dismiss the challenge.
Board member Jack Vrett said the axiom “hard cases make bad law” applied to this case.
“If we exceeded our authority … and looked at the underlying of conduct … I think what we would see would be an opening of floodgates of litigation,” he said. For example, every school board candidate could then challenge their rivals over alleged criminal conduct and require election boards to investigate.
“The relief that petitioners are seeking is one of ballot forfeiture” and they had not met that threshold, he added.
Board member Cristina Cray was the only other member to make a statement, wanting to add to the record that she was a Republican but that “there’s no doubt in my mind” that President Trump engaged in “insurrection.” She said she did not think the board had the jurisdiction to rule on such an issue.
The decision can be appealed to state court, and general counsel Marni Malowitz provided several notes during the hearing meant to streamline the decision and prevent a lengthy process should the case be remanded to the board by the court, she said.
Ms. Malowitz had advised the board that even if it didn’t have authority to analyze constitutional issues, it had statutory authority to put the eligible candidates on the ballot. She said she was not convinced President Trump had filed false papers. She added that several issues needed determination before the matter of whether of Section 3 constituted insurrection, and recommended the board not touch on that issue.
She recommended that President Trump be certified for the ballot.
The petition was brought on Jan. 4 by activist group Free Speech for People, which has been promoting the legal theory that President Trump is disqualified from running for office because the events of Jan. 6, 2021, constituted an “insurrection” as described in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, and the Illinois case is one of several it has brought.
Attorneys for the group and for President Trump also made brief arguments before the board vote, with petitioners relying largely on the Democrat controlled January 6 Select Committee report and President Trump arguing that he did not engage in insurrection and the board has no jurisdiction to rule on “insurrection.”
The board also unanimously rejected two petitions against President Joe Biden’s candidacy.
House panel approves impeachment articles against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
A Republican-led House panel approved articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas early Wednesday for having “willfully and systematically” flouted federal immigration laws and breached the public trust.
The House Homeland Security Committee voted 18-15 along party lines for the two articles of impeachment, affirming that Mayorkas failed to detain migrants crossing the border before deciding whether to grant asylum.
The articles also state that the secretary ignored records requests from the committee and misled Congress about having “operational control” of the US border and maintaining that it is “secure.”
Poll: Donald Trump Boasts Blowout Lead over Nikki Haley
Former President Donald Trump boasts a blowout lead over challenger Nikki Haley in the
Republican primary race, this week’s Morning Consult survey found.
This week’s tracking poll showed Trump with support from 81 percent of potential Republican primary voters. Haley comes in 63 points behind with 18 percent support — well outside of the survey’s +/-2 percent margin of error. According to the survey, Haley’s attacks on Trump’s age are not resonating with GOP primary voters, as only 13 percent “strongly agree” that Trump, 77, is too old to be president.
More via Morning Consult:
Trump’s also dominating in key states: Before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped his bid, our surveys in key primary states showed Trump with commanding leads in Nevada, South Carolina and a number of key Super Tuesday states — something that’s likely to expand alongside his national growth in support.
This week’s Morning Consult survey results are consistent with the results of last week’s survey, as Trump led with 81 percent support to Haley’s 18 percent in last week’s survey as well.
This week’s survey was taken January 26-28, 2024, among 4,044 potential Republican primary voters:
The survey coincides with several others — both nationwide and statewide — showing Trump boasting large leads over Haley.
Secretary Blinken Warns: ‘Most Dangerous Moment for Middle East’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which escalated after a drone strike killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan, appears to be the region’s ’most dangerous’ period in about 50 years.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the top U.S. diplomat said: “This is an incredibly volatile time in the Middle East. We’ve not seen a situation as dangerous as the one we’re facing now across the region since at least 1973, and arguably even before that,” according to a State Department transcript of a press conference he held with NATO’s secretary-general. He was referring to the Yom Kippur War of that year, fought by Israel against Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia, which lasted about two weeks.
“And that is the environment in which we’re operating, and of course that was triggered by the horrific attacks of October 7th by Hamas against innocent men, women, and children,” Mr. Blinken added.
The FBI Director made the remarks in prepared testimony.
China’s hackers are preparing to “wreak havoc” and “cause real-world harm” to Americans, FBI Director Christopher Wray will warn in Congressional testimony submitted on Wednesday.
Director Wray, along with U.S. Cyber Command Commander General Paul Nakasone, Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly and Harry Coker, the director of the National Cyber Director office, will be testifying in front of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist party.
“There has been far too little public focus on the fact that PRC hackers are targeting our critical infrastructure — our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems. And the risk that poses to every American requires our attention — now,” Wray says in selected testimony released by the FBI ahead of the hearing.
He says they are “attacking our economic security, engaging in wholesale theft of our innovation, and our personal and corporate data.”
House Democrat Being Probed by DOJ for Allegedly Misusing Campaign Funds
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), a member of the far-left “Squad” in Congress, is reportedly under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly misusing government funds meant for private security.
This week, the Justice Department subpoenaed the House Sergeant at Arms for records related to the misuse of federal security money.
The House clerk read a message from the office of the Sergeant at Arms formally notifying the House chamber that the office had been served with a grand jury subpoena by the DOJ.
According to the official House website:
The Sergeant at Arms is the chief law enforcement and protocol officer of the House of Representatives and is responsible for maintaining order in the House side of the United States Capitol complex. The Sergeant at Arms reviews and implements all issues relating to the safety and security of Members of Congress and the Capitol complex. The Sergeant at Arms also coordinates extensively with the U.S. Capitol Police and various intelligence agencies to assess threats against Members of Congress and the Capitol complex.
Reports did not initially name which House Democrat is involved with the investigation. However, one House Democrat was previously investigated by the Federal Elections Commission for misusing campaign funds for private security.
Ms. Bush, 47, is a nurse and Black Lives Matter activist who was first elected in 2020 and won reelection in 2022.
Ms. Bush’s reelection campaign spent $571,856 for security services, including $338,193 in 2022 alone, the watchdog Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust said in a complaint to U.S. authorities that called for an investigation.
Some of the money went to Courtney Merritts, who local broadcasters reported lacks a St. Louis private security license and also is not in a database for those licensed in the Washington area. Additionally, Ms. Bush married Mr. Merritts in 2023 and reportedly began a relationship with him in 2021.
Republicans Call for Ilhan Omar to ‘Resign in Disgrace’ over ‘Appalling Somalia-First’ Speech
Minnesota “squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) is facing fierce backlash and accusations of threatening to “make the U.S. bow to Somali interests,” with Republicans and others calling for her ousting after a clip appears to show her telling Somali Americans that her first priority in office is not America, but Somalia.
In remarks she made to a crowd that included Somali leaders in a Minneapolis hotel, the Somali-born Democrat congresswoman appeared to prioritize Somali interests — including expanding Somalia’s territory — over American ones.
According to a translation of her comments featured in a viral clip posted to X with more than 4.3 million views as of Tuesday morning, the pro-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Omar describes herself as “Somalian first” and “Muslim second,” saying that “the U.S. government will only do what Somalians in the U.S. tell them to do.”
“They will do what we want and nothing else,” she continues. “They must follow our orders, and that is how we will safeguard the interest of Somalia.”
“We Somalians must have that confidence in ourselves that we call the shots in the U.S.,” she adds.
Describing America as a country where “one of your daughters is in Congress to represent your interests,” Omar tells the crowd to “sleep in comfort, knowing I am here to protect the interests of Somalia from inside the U.S. system.”
Widecsale outrage ensued after her comments went viral.
“Ilhan Omar’s appalling, Somalia-first comments are a slap in the face to the Minnesotans she was elected to serve and a direct violation of her oath of office,” wrote House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN).
“She should resign in disgrace,” he added.
“Terrorist sympathizer Ilhan Omar, in her own words: Somalian first. Muslim second. She never mentions America,” wrote Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). “She flaunts using her position as [a] congresswoman to protect Somalia’s border while our border is invaded by MILLIONS of illegals who are a danger to America.”
“These people hate America, and they’re so emboldened by the Democrats’ disdain for our country, they’re not even trying to hide it anymore,” she noted.
Omar has a history of controversy, having been accused repeatedly of being antisemitic and anti- American, including in past statements accusing Israel of being an “apartheid regime” that has “hypnotized the world” and claiming pro-Israel stances of politicians are “all about the Benjamins.”
She has also referred to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, as a day in which “some people did something.”
In February 2023, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reiterated why Omar is “unfit” to represent the U.S. on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) also blasted the congresswoman after she equated the United States and Israel to Hamas terrorists and the Taliban.
“Omar is an antisemite who hates America and hates American troops,” he said. “She has no place serving in Congress.”
Nashville Jury Finds 6 Pro-Life Activists Guilty of Violating FACE Act
The six pro-life advocates facing more than a decade in federal prison heard back from a Nashville jury of five men and 11 women on Jan. 30 with a verdict of guilty on all counts. They were not taken into custody and will be sentenced on July 2.
They were charged with felony violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrance (FACE) Act, and conspiracy to violate the FACE Act for trying to talk women out of aborting their babies at a now-closed abortion clinic. They were among a group who read from the Bible, sang church hymns, and in some cases, blocked the door to Carafem Health Center in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
Court testimony from a police officer said the group moved from the door when asked and that they were peaceful.
The incident occurred in March 2021. In August 2022, Tennessee changed its law, making abortion illegal in most cases.
In October 2022, the Department of Justice arrested 11 people who participated in the 2021 incident. Of those, the six found guilty face up to 11 years in federal prison. Another four face lesser charges. Their trial is to be scheduled now that the case for the first six has wrapped up.
One of those charged initially plead guilty and became a witness for the DOJ.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
UPS Announces 12,000 Job Cuts Due to Drop in Package Volume
The United Parcel Service (UPS) on Tuesday announced 12,000 job cuts after reporting a decline in the volume of packages being shipped, coming months after the company came to an agreement with a top union to pay drivers higher wages.
Officials with the shipping firm confirmed to several news outlets the number of job cuts, saying they represent fewer than 3 percent of the firm’s overall worldwide workforce. The cuts also do not impact union-backed employees.
“In 2023, dynamic external and economic conditions led to lower volume and a more than $9 billion decline in revenue year over year,” UPS Director of Financial and Strategy Communications Brian Hughes told USA Today, confirming the figure.
The job cuts will save the firm about $1 billion, the company’s CEO, Carole Tome, told reporters on an earnings call.
“I want to thank UPSers for providing the best on-time performance of any carrier for the sixth year in a row,” the CEO said in a statement Tuesday, adding that “2023 was a unique and difficult year and through it all we remained focused on controlling what we could control, stayed on strategy and strengthened our foundation for future growth.”
The UPS managers did not say what positions would be eliminated.
UPS, sometimes seen as a bellwether for the global economy, said business conditions are not expected to improve until the second half of 2024. On Tuesday, it forecast full-year revenue in the range of $92 billion to $94.5 billion, below analysts’ estimates of $95.57 billion, based on LSEG data.
“Some of this performance was due to the macro environment and some due to disruptions associated with our labor contract negotiations as well as higher costs associated with the new contract,” Ms. Tome said on the call.
The Atlanta-based company is being squeezed by higher labor costs from its new contract with the Teamsters union and declining average daily volume. In July, UPS agreed to a contract with the Teamsters worth about $30 billion to up full-time workers’ pay to $49 per hour and $21 per hour for part-time employees.
Bayer to pay $2.25B after jury says Roundup weed killer gave man cancer
A Pennsylvania jury unanimously ruled that its Roundup weed killer gave a man cancer.
John McKivinson, 49, who was diagnosed with non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma, sued Roundup maker Monsanto and its corporate parent, Bayer, saying he developed the cancer after using the herbicide on his property for two decades.
The massive payout includes $2 billion in punitive damages.
Jury members also found that Monsanto was negligent in warning customers about the dangers of Roundup,
The jury’s ruling is “a declaration that its misconduct was in reckless disregard of human safety and a substantial cause of John McKivison’s cancer.” according to the plaintiff’s attorneys.
The verdict marked the fifth straight loss in court for Bayer, which has recently doled out more than $500 million in the previous three litigation losses.
In November, a Cole County, Mo., jury similarly found that Monsanto was liable for claims of negligence, design defects and failing to warn plaintiffs of the potential dangers of using Roundup, according to court documents.
Valorie Gunther of New York, Jimmy Draeger of Missouri and Daniel Anderson of California were awarded a combined $61.1 million in compensatory damages and $500 million each in punitive damages after alleging that Roundup caused their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis.
Draeger’s wife, Brenda, was also awarded $100,000 for the harm she allegedly suffered from her husband’s disease.
Though Roundup — the most widely-used herbicide to kill weeds in the US — reportedly contains 41% glyphosate, which Bayer has repeatedly argued is safe for human use, Gunther and Draeger argued that exposure to the chemical caused the cancer.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to the Mayo Clinic, typically starts in white blood cells and causes symptoms including enlarged lymph nodes, fatigue, dramatic weight loss, trouble breathing and night sweats.
The company had been found not liable in nine consecutive trials before that.
Top U.S. automaker reports $1.7 BILLION loss on EVs in 4th quarter
General Motors reported a $1.7 billion loss on Tuesday in its fourth quarter earnings call in the production and sale of its electric vehicle line, despite having positive net income growth in the quarter.
The automaker’s net income for the fourth quarter rose 5.2% year-over-year to $2.1 billion despite a reduction in revenue over that time frame of 0.3%, according to GM’s fourth quarter earnings report. The losses on EVs accompany a $1.1 billion total loss from a six-week-long strike by the United Auto Workers that partially halted operations, with the union gaining a new work contract that could raise labor costs in the coming year, according to the company’s investor earnings call.
HEALTH
Use of Medical Cannabis Linked to Increased Risk of Arrhythmia
Using medical cannabis for chronic pain management could put patients at risk for developing arrhythmia, a new study reports.
The study comes out of Denmark, which is one of more than 40 countries worldwide that has legalized the use of medical cannabis for adult use.
Researchers recruited 5,391 individuals experiencing chronic pain who had never before used cannabis. Their pain symptoms stemmed from arthritis, back issues, slipped discs, complicated fractures, cancer, neurological diseases, headaches, and other unspecified pain diagnoses. Just under two-thirds of the patients were women (63.2 percent), and the average age of the participants was 59 years old. Many had experience taking NSAIDs, opioids, antiepileptics and antidepressants to deal with their pain. Some also took beta-blockers and antihypertensive drugs.
During the study, just under half of the patients (47 percent) received medical cannabis with just THC, 24 percent of the patients received medical cannabis with just CBD, and 29 percent received medical cannabis with a combination of the two properties.
An additional 26,941 patients were recruited to serve as a control group. The control group did not receive cannabis as a treatment.
The research team found that within 180 days of follow-up, 42 patients developed new onset arrhythmia. New arrhythmias were most common in patients with cancer or cardiometabolic diseases.
Arrhythmia occurs when the heart begins to beat irregularly. It may beat too quickly, too slowly or with an irregular rhythm. When left untreated, arrhythmia can damage the heart, brain and other vital organs. Arrhythmias can also lead to life-threatening strokes, heart failure or cardiac arrest.
Additionally, the research team found that among the patients exposed to cannabis for the first time, 22 experienced stroke and 13 experienced heart failure for the first time. However, patients in the control group also experienced heart failure and stroke, leading the researchers to find “no significant associations” between first-time stroke or heart failure and medical cannabis use.
“Despite a low absolute risk difference, this is vital knowledge for any prescribing physician due to the rising demand for medical cannabis as pain treatment,” the research team wrote.
It is noted in the study that the rate of onset of new arrhythmias caused by medical cannabis is similar to the rates found in patients treated with opioids, anti-epileptics and NSAIDs.
THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive component of cannabis. This is the compound responsible for making a person “feel high” when consuming cannabis. CBD, which is short for cannabidiol, is also made from cannabis. While it is related to THC, it doesn’t contain psychoactive components and doesn’t give a person a euphoric “high.” CBD is often prescribed as a pain reliever.
While the research team didn’t identify whether patients on THC, CBD or a combination of the two had higher rates of arrhythmia, they noted that THC triggers the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for maintaining the body’s resting heart rate. Also responsible for keeping the body in ‘fight or flight’ mode, constant flickers or triggers of the system could cause the heart to develop arrhythmic states.
The study added that previous research also points to a strong association between THC and cardiovascular events. The CDC chimed in and stated that marijuana can increase the heart rate and blood pressure immediately after use while also increasing the risk of stroke, heart disease, and other vascular diseases.
The CDC notes, however, that “It is hard to separate the effects of marijuana chemicals on the cardiovascular system from those caused by the irritants and other chemicals that are present in the smoke” and that more research is needed to fully understand the impact of cannabis use on the cardiovascular system.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
CEOs from Meta, TikTok, Snap, X and Discord head to Congress for kids’ online safety hearing
The controversial bill known as KOSA will loom large at Wednesday’s hearing
CEOs from some of the biggest social platforms will appear before Congress on Wednesday to defend their companies against mounting criticism that they have done too little to protect kids and teens online.
The hearing, set to begin at 10 a.m. ET, is the latest in a long string of congressional tech hearings stretching back for years, with little in the way of new regulation or policy change to show for the efforts.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will host the latest hearing, which is notable mostly for dragging five chief executives across the country to face a barrage of questions from lawmakers. Tech companies often placate Congress by sending legal counsel or a policy executive, but the latest hearing will feature a slate of CEOs: Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, X (formerly Twitter) CEO Linda Yaccarino, TikTok’s Shou Chew, Discord’s Jason Citron and Evan Spiegel of Snap. Zuckerberg and Chew are the only executives who agreed to appear at the hearing voluntarily without a subpoena.
While Zuckerberg is a veteran of these often lengthy, meandering attempts to hold tech companies to account, Wednesday’s televised hearing will be a first for Yaccarino, Spiegel and Citron. Snap and X have sent other executives (or their former chief executive) in the past, but Discord — a chat app originally designed for gamers — is making its first appearance in the hot seat. All three first-timers could produce some interesting off-script moments, particularly Yaccarino. In recent interviews as X’s top executive, Elon Musk’s pick to lead the company has appeared flustered and combative — a world apart from her media overtrained peers like Zuckerberg and Chew.
Discord is a very popular app among young people, but it’s still an unusual name to come up in one of these hearings. The committee’s decision to include Discord is likely a result of a report last year from NBC News exploring sextortion and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the chat platform. The company’s inclusion is notable, particularly in light of the absence of more prominent algorithm-powered social networks like YouTube — often inexplicably absent from these events — and the absence of Amazon-owned livestreaming giant Twitch.
Wednesday’s hearing, titled “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” will cover much more ground than its narrow naming would suggest. Lawmakers will likely dig into an array of concerns — both recent and ongoing — about how social platforms fail to protect their young users from harmful content. That includes serious concerns around Instagram openly connecting sexual predators with sellers advertising CSAM, as the WSJ previously reported, and the NBC News investigation revealing that Discord has facilitated dozens of instances of grooming, kidnapping and other instances of sexual exploitation in recent years.
Beyond concerns that social platforms don’t do enough to protect kids from sexual predation, expect lawmakers to press the five tech CEOs on other online safety concerns, like fentanyl sellers on Snapchat, booming white supremacist extremism on X and the prevalence of self harm and suicide content on TikTok. And given the timing of X’s embarrassing failure to prevent a recent explosion of explicit AI-generated Taylor Swift imagery and the company’s amateurish response, expect some Taylor Swift questions too.
The tech companies are likely to push back, pointing lawmakers to platform and policy changes in some cases designed to make these apps safer, and in others engineered mostly to placate Congress in time for this hearing. In Meta’s case, that looks like an update to Instagram and Facebook last week that prevents teens from receiving direct messages from users they don’t know. Like many of these changes from companies like Meta, it raises the question of why these safeguards continue to be added on the fly instead of being built into the product before it was offered to young users.
Microsoft scrambles to update its free AI software after Taylor Swift deepfakes scandal
Microsoft cracked down on the use of the company’s free AI software after the tool was linked to creating the sexually explicit deepfake images of Taylor Swift that swamped social media – and raised the specter of a lawsuit by the infuriated singer.
The tech giant pushed an update to its popular tool, called Designer – a text-to-image program powered by OpenAI’s Dall-E 3 – that adds “guardrails” that will prevent the use of non-consensual photos, the company said.
The fake photos – showing a nude Swift surrounded by Kansas City Chiefs players in a reference to her highly- publicized romance with Travis Kelce – were traced back to Microsoft’s Designer AI before they began circulating on X, Reddit and other websites, tech- focused site 404 Media reported on Monday.
“We are investigating these reports and are taking appropriate action to address them,” a Microsoft spokesperson told 404 Media, which first reported on the update.
“We have large teams working on the development of guardrails and other safety systems in line with our responsible AI principles, including content filtering, operational monitoring and abuse detection to mitigate misuse of the system and help create a safer environment for users,” the spokesperson added, noting that per the company’s Code of Conduct, any Designer users who create deepfakes will lose access to the service.
Over the weekend, Elon Musk’s social media platform took the extraordinary step of blocking any searches involving Swift’s name from yielding results — even those that were harmless.
The Atlantic: Technocracy And The Despots Of Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley has its own ascendant political ideology. It’s past time we call it what it is.
At a now-famous Christmas party in 2007, Mark Zuckerberg first met Sheryl Sandberg, his eventual chief operating officer, who with Zuckerberg would transform the platform into a digital imperialist superpower. There, Zuckerberg, who in Facebook’s early days had adopted the mantra “Company over country,” explained to Sandberg that he wanted every American with an internet connection to have a Facebook account. For Sandberg, who once told a colleague that she’d been “put on this planet to scale organizations,” that turned out to be the perfect mission.
Facebook (now Meta) has become an avatar of all that is wrong with Silicon Valley. Its self-interested role in spreading global disinformation is an ongoing crisis. Recall, too, the company’s secret mood-manipulation experiment in 2012, which deliberately tinkered with what users saw in their News Feed in order to measure how Facebook could influence people’s emotional states without their knowledge. Or its participation in inciting genocide in Myanmar in 2017. Or its use as a clubhouse for planning and executing the January 6, 2021, insurrection. (In Facebook’s early days, Zuckerberg listed “revolutions” among his interests. This was around the time that he had a business card printed with I’M CEO, BITCH.)
And yet, to a remarkable degree, Facebook’s way of doing business remains the norm for the tech industry as a whole, even as other social platforms (TikTok) and technological developments (artificial intelligence) eclipse Facebook in cultural relevance.
The new technocrats claim to embrace Enlightenment values, but in fact they are leading an antidemocratic, illiberal movement.
To worship at the altar of mega-scale and to convince yourself that you should be the one making world-historic decisions on behalf of a global citizenry that did not elect you and may not share your values or lack thereof, you have to dispense with numerous inconveniences—humility and nuance among them. Many titans of Silicon Valley have made these trade-offs repeatedly. YouTube (owned by Google), Instagram (owned by Meta), and Twitter (which Elon Musk insists on calling X) have been as damaging to individual rights, civil society, and global democracy as Facebook was and is. Considering the way that generative AI is now being developed throughout Silicon Valley, we should brace for that damage to be multiplied many times over in the years ahead.
The behavior of these companies and the people who run them is often hypocritical, greedy, and status-obsessed. But underlying these venalities is something more dangerous, a clear and coherent ideology that is seldom called out for what it is: authoritarian technocracy. As the most powerful companies in Silicon Valley have matured, this ideology has only grown stronger, more self-righteous, more delusional, and—in the face of rising criticism—more aggrieved.
The new technocrats are ostentatious in their use of language that appeals to Enlightenment values—reason, progress, freedom—but in fact they are leading an antidemocratic, illiberal movement. Many of them profess unconditional support for free speech, but are vindictive toward those who say things that do not flatter them. They tend to hold eccentric beliefs: that technological progress of any kind is unreservedly and inherently good; that you should always build it, simply because you can; that frictionless information flow is the highest value regardless of the information’s quality; that privacy is an archaic concept; that we should welcome the day when machine intelligence surpasses our own. And above all, that their power should be unconstrained. The systems they’ve built or are building—to rewire communications, remake human social networks, insinuate artificial intelligence into daily life, and more—impose these beliefs on the population, which is neither consulted nor, usually, meaningfully informed. All this, and they still attempt to perpetuate the absurd myth that they are the swashbuckling underdogs.
Comparisons between Silicon Valley and Wall Street or Washington, D.C., are commonplace, and you can see why—all are power centers, and all are magnets for people whose ambition too often outstrips their humanity. But Silicon Valley’s influence easily exceeds that of Wall Street and Washington. It is reengineering society more profoundly than any other power center in any other era since perhaps the days of the New Deal. Many Americans fret—rightfully—about the rising authoritarianism among MAGA Republicans, but they risk ignoring another ascendant force for illiberalism: the tantrum-prone and immensely powerful kings of tech.
We do not have to live in the world the new technocrats are designing for us. We do not have to acquiesce to their growing project of dehumanization and data mining. Each of us has agency.
No more “build it because we can.” No more algorithmic feedbags. No more infrastructure designed to make the people less powerful and the powerful more controlling. Every day we vote with our attention; it is precious, and desperately wanted by those who will use it against us for their own profit and political goals. Don’t let them.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Left Wing Local Council Hits EV Owners with Extra Charges to Park Outside Their Homes
A left wing local council is slapping massive parking charges on electric vehicles (EVs) in
the name of protecting the environment.
EV owners will also pay to park outside their homes for the first time in Westminster, Central London, with the charge being levied as part of a broader “climate change” package of imposts brought in by the Labour council.
The Sun reports local residents will find their general parking discount is axed from April — in a bid to achieve net zero.
Local Tory MP Nickie Aiken told the outlet: “It makes a mockery of its (Westminster’s) claims to want to tackle climate change and support small businesses with electric vans.”
But Westminster councillor Paul Dimoldenberg said it is keeping charges “fair, proportionate, and as low as possible.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined the fray saying the council should think again, accusing the council of “penalising hard-working people” and urged it to rethink “the damaging proposals”.
He spoke out in the House of Commons after local Conservative MP Nickie Aiken raised it at Prime Minister’s Questions.
Ed Pitt Ford, a Conservative councillor in the area, slammed the move, saying local motorists and businesses would be hammered by the costs, GB News reports.
The councillor for Pimlico North Ward, said: “The council are proposing a massive tax hike on electric vehicle drivers as they increase parking charges by up to 1,800 per cent on EVs.
“Particularly hard-hit will be tradespeople and small businesses who have done the right thing by switching to EVs and will now see charges increase by up to £35 a day.
“It’s not good for business, it’s not good for climate change and it’s not good for residents.”
Similarly, Nickie Aiken, Conservative MP for Westminster, said it “beggars’ belief” the Labour-run council wanted to increase parking fees for cleaner vehicles.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Fire Engulfs Massive Chicken Plant In Texas
Recall the surge of headlines in 2022 about mysterious fires at food processing plants.
At the same time, rogue elites – part of the World Economic Forum cult – pushed sinister narratives of how the working poor class must abandon “animal protein” for “insects” because the current food supply chain was contributing to climate change. Yet to these elites, flying across the world in private jets and sailing on diesel-powered megayachts is kosher?
The question many have for 2024: Will a series of mysterious fires erupt at food plants across the US while radical WEF elites continue their info campaign to ‘reset’ the food supply chain?
According to BBC News, the first big fire of the year was reported at a large chicken farm in a rural part of Northeast Brazos County in Texas.
The blaze at Feather Crest Farms, located near Fickey Road east of Kurten, was reported shortly after 5 p.m. local time. Authorities stated on Monday night that it might take several days to extinguish the fire completely.
A California town will vote on banning factory farms. What does that mean for the rest of the US?
This year voters in Berkeley, California, will get to choose whether to ban factory farms in its city limits – marking the first time in the US that such a measure has been put on the ballot.
It may seem like an unusual mandate for a city that presently has no factory farms. (There’s a horse race track field that would be shut down if the measure passes.) But the activists behind the ballot initiative say it’s part of a broader strategy to ban this type of industrial style of livestock production in which cattle, chickens and pigs are held in confined spaces before slaughter.
If successful in Berkeley, a liberal San Francisco Bay Area town that’s often been at the forefront of US environmental policy, the method can be replicated elsewhere, they say.
“We can pave the path to abolishing factory farming,” said Cassie King, an organizer with Direct Action Everywhere, one of the groups that pushed for the measure.
There’s some reason to think that what starts as a local ordinance in Berkeley could catch on nationwide. Berkeley was among the first cities to ban the sale of new fur; now it’s a California-wide policy. Berkeley was also among the first cities to impose soda taxes and a ban on gas stoves – both of which sparked contentious national debates on the issues.
Other initiatives include “Green Monday”, which, similar to “meatless Mondays”, requires all city-owned and -managed facilities and programs to provide only vegan food options on this day to encourage people to reduce their environmental impact. The city also approved a “healthy checkout” ordinance, requiring grocery stores to offer healthier items in the checkout aisle.
2ND AMENDMENT
Washington State Democrats: Using Ammo a ‘Privilege’ That Needs to Be Taxed
The first month of the Washington Legislature’s 2024 session is ending with a slew of Democrat-backed gun control proposals, including a new measure to tax people who have the “privilege” of using ammunition.
House Bill 2238, sponsored by Democratic state Reps. My-Linh Thai and Liz Berry, would create an 11 percent tax on the retail sale of ammunition across the state in addition to all existing federal, state, and local sale and use taxes, with the exception of sales to governments for the purposes of supplying law enforcement agencies.
Instead of recognizing the purchase of ammunition as an integral part of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, the language of the bill classifies it as a “privilege.”
“A use tax is levied on every person in this state for the privilege of using ammunition as a consumer at the rate of 11 percent of the selling price,” the bill reads.
The stated reason behind the proposal is to help reduce “gun violence,” or deaths involving guns—most of which are suicides.
“Gun violence remains a persistent health and safety threat for people across our state,” the bill’s authors wrote, admitting that nearly seven out of every 10 gun deaths in Washington are suicides.
“Data from the Washington office of firearm safety and violence prevention show that, in 2021, 69 percent of all firearm-related deaths were suicides,” they wrote.
Revenue from the proposed tax would go to funding suicide prevention programs, as well as programs aimed to reduce “firearm-related domestic violence.”
Ms. Berry, a gun control advocate who previously worked for former Rep. Gabby Giffords as her legislative director when the Democrat congresswoman was shot in the head in Tucson in 2011, also co-sponsored at least five other measures targeting guns.
COVID RELATED NEWS
FDA Finds Safety Signals for Updated COVID-19 Vaccines
Updated COVID-19 vaccines may cause heart inflammation and severe allergic shock, according to a new study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Researchers with the FDA, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and companies like CVS looked at health care databases to try to figure out if there were signs the Moderna and Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccines might be linked to any health issues.
They found several safety signals. One signal was for myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation, and a related condition called pericarditis following Pfizer vaccination in adults aged 18 to 35. Another was for anaphylaxis, or severe allergic shock, following Moderna and Pfizer vaccination in people aged 18 to 64.
The signals were detected in a database from Carelon Research.
The incidence rate for anaphylaxis was 74.5 cases per 100,000 person-years following Pfizer vaccination and 109.4 cases per 100,000 person-years following Moderna vaccination.
Researchers arrived at an incidence rate of 131.4 cases of myocarditis/pericarditis per 100,000 person-years after a Pfizer shot.
No stratification was done by gender, despite myocarditis, according to many studies, disproportionately affecting males.
Person-years is a measure used in some studies. In this study, all time during post-vaccination periods of time known as risk intervals were included. The risk intervals were different depending on the health outcome. For anaphylaxis, the risk interval was 0 to 1 day; for myocarditis/pericarditis, it was 0 to 7 days or 0 to 21 days.
Additional issues were also identified in the four databases that were analyzed, but none rose to the level of a safety signal, a set criteria that is an indication of a vaccine causing an issue.
CANCEL CULTURE
Police: RPGs Found in Home of Student Who Threatened School Shooting
A student who allegedly threatened to carry out a shooting at Rancho Bernardo High School in California was arrested Friday, and his 45-year-old father was arrested Tuesday morning after San Diego police discovered rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and non- serialized guns in the family home.
NBC 7 San Diego reported that police were alerted Friday that the student was allegedly threatening to carry out a school shooting on January 30, 2024. The student was arrested and detained on Friday.
The San Diego Union-Tribune noted that “authorities also obtained a temporary gun violence restraining order against the student,” which allowed police to enter the family home to search for guns that the student could have accessed.
NBC 7 pointed out that police searched the family home on Tuesday morning and discovered “unregistered, un-serialized firearms; manufacturing supplies to make ghost guns (both rifles and handguns) as well as a large number of explosives and rocket-propelled grenades.”
The student’s 45-year-old father was subsequently arrested and faces numerous charges.
PET NEWS
How to Train a Dog to Stop Barking
Dogs bark because it is a natural form of communication in the canine world. A barking dog could be trying to establish territory, warning a potential threat not to come closer, or just letting other dogs know where they are. Having a dog bark at strangers when they approach your home or when they sense or hear something strange is helpful when you want that extra “alarm system” at your house, however excessive barking can become a problem, especially when there are neighbors living nearby who may find the barking to be less helpful and more annoying.
There are several training techniques you can use to stop unwanted barking and train a dog to bark only when the time is right.
Understand why your dog barks
It is important to examine the possible reasons why your dog is barking. First, is the dog hungry or thirsty? Is there something else you think the dog may be trying to communicate to you that you need to know? Is the dog in distress or in pain? Most would agree that these are valid reasons for your dog to bark.
If you believe your dog is barking because it is bored or needs more exercise, provide more dog toys, take your dog on more walks, or play with your dog more often. Sometimes these simple things can stop barking problems in dogs.
Saying “no” or using another such forceful command to get your dog to stop barking will probably not work because your dog will see this as you barking, too. Be gentle in your commands, and designate a word, such as “silent”, to communicate to your dog that the command specifically pertains to the barking behavior. Use rewards, such as dog treats or dog snacks, to reinforce the behavior of the dog stopping its barking when you use this command.
Bark collars and other bark control methods
Consider a bark control collar or sensor to reduce excessive dog barking. Bark control tools help reinforce communication with your dog by sensing your dog’s barking and administering a safe, but annoying, shock correction, letting them know when barking is appropriate and when it is not. Bark control tools are available at your local Tractor Supply Co. store and help dogs learn to associate unnecessary barking with a negative experience: the shock of the bark collar. When used consistently, bark control collars can effectively stop the barking behavior.
There are several types of bark control options available:
- E-collars
- Spray and Static Correction Bark Collars
- Ultrasonic Bark Control
Electric bark control collars
E-collars, or electric bark control collars for dogs, deter excessive barking and have a built-in safety shut-off. This way, if your dog is barking for a significant reason, like home intruders or those who trespass, the collar will cease shocking after a certain amount of time has gone by.
Most bark control collars come in the form of a small electronic box that is attached to a dog collar. The collar has sensors that touch the dog’s neck when worn and that detect the dog’s vocal cord vibrations when the dog barks. At the moment the sensor detects vibrations, it delivers a correction, or small electric shock, to the dog. Some bark collars come with a microphone and speaker to ensure only your dog’s bark triggers the correction. Other types of vibration from a dog’s vocal chords, such as sneezing, “talking” or quiet murmurs do not need correction.
Pet lovers have reported great success with using bark collars to control dog barking within the first week of use. When accompanied by consistent training, bark collars provide an effective method for reducing excessive dog barking.
Spray and static correction bark collars
Many dogs enjoy wading around in muddy water, swimming, or hanging their heads out of a moving car window until the skin on their faces flap in the wind; however, strangely enough, most dogs do not like getting sprayed in the face by a small squirt of water or blown by a small puff of air. Spray correction bark collars work in this way. When the unwanted barking behavior is detected, a short burst of spray is emitted in front of the dog’s face, startling the dog and breaking the barking pattern. Similarly, static correction collars issue a mild electric pulse that feels like the static “shock” a human might feel when touching a metal doorknob after shuffling across a carpet.
Ultrasonic bark control
Another form of bark control is indoor or outdoor ultrasonic bark correction devices. These are free-standing devices you can place in your home, garage or yard that detects barking and emits a high-pitched frequency that is annoying to dogs but inaudible by humans. Your dog will associate the negative experience of hearing the sound with the barking behavior, reducing the amount of unnecessary barking within about a week.
Some dog owners report that their dogs get used to the sound of the ultra sonic bark controller and begin tuning it out and barking again. If you believe this has happened to your dog, simply turn the ultra sonic bark controller off for a few days, and then turn it back on to re-train the dog.
Ultrasonic bark controls are best if used in a house with fewer dogs. If you have more than one dog, consider using a bark control method that can only be experienced by the dog that is barking, such as spray, static, or electric bark control collars. You don’t want a quiet dog having to suffer by listening to the annoying ultrasonic sound because another dog is barking.
How to choose the right bark correction method for your dog
Here are some tips for using a bark correction collar for your dog:
- Choose a bark collar based on the size of your dog and its temperament. If your dog is small and easily corrected, consider a spray or static collar. If your dog is a large breed or has a tendency to “think independently”, consider an electric bark collar for a stronger correction.
- Remove the collar from your dog for at least several hours of the day to keep your dog comfortable and prevent chaffing.
- Consider a collar with a built-in safety feature that allows the corrections to stop after a certain amount of time.
- Regularly replace batteries in your bark collar.
- Check the fit of the bark collar every day to make sure it is not too tight on your dog or causing discomfort or injury to your pet.
- If using a spray collar, refill water often.
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