Today's News: March 13, 2023

Vancouver Dad Protects Kids From Gender Ideology as ‘Human Billboard’ Talking Truth on Street

A Vancouver dad’s shock upon his hearing that puberty blockers were being prescribed to kids with gender dysphoria led him to follow his dad instincts to protect his kids. A father of two young daughters, Chris Elston’s concern led to investigation which led to his conclusion that no science was behind this at all. So, he vocalized his concerns literally from the rooftops.

When Elston’s efforts to voice his dissent on a street billboard in Vancouver were frustrated, his only option was to go out and become a human billboard. Donning a sandwich signboard, he hit the streets to have conversations with regular people.

Having spoken with some 11,000 people, he says 90 percent agree with his message; the other 10 percent were hoodwinked by propaganda that preys on people’s natural compassion and nurturing instincts. “They say that if you don’t transition children, they will kill themselves, therefore we need to sterilize them or else they’ll die,” Elston told The Epoch Times. “This is a lie. There’s no evidence to support it; all the evidence in the world actually points to the opposite.”

He said, “There are no studies in kids on this, but we know with adults: 10 years after transitioning is when suicides peak and they’re 19.1 times [more likely to commit suicide] than their peers, after adjusting for similar mental health comorbidities.”

Elston also cited a study that followed 139 boys from age five growing into their 20s which determined that in 87.8 percent of cases of severe gender dysphoria, after puberty, the condition simply went away.

ICYMI

Supreme Court Is Asked to Take First Transgender Sports Case

The state of West Virginia and a former collegiate soccer player are asking the Supreme Court to back a state law that bans male student-athletes who present as female from playing on girls’ school sports teams.

The legal action comes as West Virginia and other states are taking action to make sure women and girls continue to have access to school sports even as men who identify as women are taking women’s spots on women’s sports teams. Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Arkansas, and Florida have also passed legislation that keeps males from competing in women’s sports.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, said on March 9 that he was preparing an emergency application to be filed at the Supreme Court asking it to protect the 2021 West Virginia law known as the Save Women’s Sports Act. The U.S. Court of appeals for the 4th Circuit issued an injunction putting the state law on hold while a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) remains pending.

“This simple law demands that girls and women get their fair share of opportunities in sports,” Morrisey said at a press conference.

“The recent injunction decision … is a minor setback, but we remain confident in the merits of our defense. We are resolute in protecting opportunities for women and girls in sports because when biological males win in a women’s event—as has happened time and again—female athletes lose their opportunity to shine.”

“That’s why we’re taking this case to the Supreme Court,” Morrisey said.

McCarthy Agrees to Full Public Release of Jan. 6 Tapes

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has agreed to a full public release of the security footage recorded at the U.S. Capitol during the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

In an interview with Breitbart News that aired on Thursday, McCarthy discussed his decision to share the footage with Fox News host Tucker Carlson and said defendants who are facing charges after going to the Capitol on Jan. 6 should be able to see the footage for their own defense in court.

When asked whether he would fully release the Capitol security footage to the public, the Republican House speaker responded in the affirmative before adding that the footage would first have to go through a security review.

“We just want to make sure we go through them all, and it takes time,” he said.

McCarthy’s assurance that he would pursue a broad public release of the security footage comes as a growing number of January 6 defendants have asked for their trials to be delayed so they can review the security footage.

Wells Fargo Warns Customers of ‘Incorrect Balances or Missing Transactions’

A number of Wells Fargo online customers on Friday reported not seeing paychecks and direct deposits in their accounts, which the bank blamed on a technical issue.

“If you see incorrect balances or missing transactions, this may be due to a technical issue and we apologize,” Wells Fargo told customers in an alert on its website. “Your accounts continue to be secure and we’re working quickly on a resolution.”

In a statement to multiple news outlets Friday, a spokesperson for the San Francisco-based bank told the Charlotte Observer that funds remain available even though some direct deposit transactions weren’t showing up. Wells Fargo was “working quickly on a resolution,” he said.

It’s not clear how many customers were impacted or when the problem will be resolved. The company also did not release further details about what’s causing the issue.

Downdetector, a website that tracks online outage reports, showed a spike in issues with Wells Fargo starting at around 8 a.m. ET. On Twitter, the company was issuing direct replies to users who complained about missing funds or their paychecks disappearing from their accounts.

In a post targeting Wells Fargo, one woman wrote: “You have been ‘fixing the system glitch’ since at least 7 am when I called with my first complaint.” She added, “Now 6.5 hours later I am still left with NO tangible money. I have bills to pay & a toddler to take care of. Get this issue corrected ASAP. I need my money.”

A number of other people posted on the website that their direct deposits and scheduled paychecks suddenly disappeared. Some stated that their accounts are being overdrafted.

Report: Police Called to Silicon Valley Bank’s NYC Branch

Police were reportedly called to Silicon Valley Bank’s Manhattan branch on Friday after depositors attempting to withdraw funds were locked out of the bank.

The incident was the result of a bank run on its main branch in Silicon Valley with customers initiating withdrawals of $42 billion. On Friday, the bank was placed into receivership by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) found the bank insolvent.

Noem: Central Bank Digital Currency Paving the Way for Federal Control of Currency to Control People

Friday on FNC’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) decried legislation passed by the South Dakota Legislature to update the definition of currency to include cryptocurrency and digital current.

Noem said she vetoed the bill because it threatened to open the door for federal control of people.

“We started reading through this bill that was over 110 pages long,” she said. “It was sold as an update to the guidelines of the Universal Commercial Code backed by all of our financial institutions, our banks. As we started reading through it, we saw the section of the bill that changed the definition of currency, and essentially what it did was paved the way for a government-led [Central Bank Digital Currency], and it also banned any other form of cryptocurrency or Bitcoin or digital currency that existed. So for me, it very clearly was a threat to our freedom. In South Dakota, we are the session that completes its business earliest in the year. We are the first ones to really look at this bill and find out the truth of what’s in it, and I did veto that bill.”

Report: NYPD Officers Stepping Down in 2023 at Record-Breaking Pace amid Crime Wave

New York City’s police officers are reportedly resigning at a record-breaking pace amid the crime wave sweeping across President Joe Biden’s (D) America.

The New York Post reported Friday on the data it obtained:

The shocking stats show 239 officers tapped out in January and February, a 36% spike from the 176 who fled in the same period last year and a disturbing 117% jump from the 110 in 2021, NYPD pension data show.

That’s the highest number of resignations for the first two months of a year since 250 members quit in 2007 during a contentious contract dispute.

Dad Accused of Killing Sex Offender with Shovel, Moose Antler

A 27-year-old Minnesota man is accused of fatally beating an elderly sex offender to death on Wednesday, using a shovel and moose antler.

Officials charged Levi Axtell with second degree murder in the death of 77-year-old Lawrence Scully, who was killed inside his Grand Marais home, NBC Los Angeles reported Saturday.