WORLD NEWS
UK food prices skyrocket – data
Soaring costs for basic essentials have led to a decline in living standards in the country
British households have been hit with a record jump in food prices as decades-high inflation continues to cripple the economy, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
A report by the trade body, which represents UK supermarkets, showed on Tuesday that fresh food prices soared by 17.8% in April on an annual basis, while prices for tinned goods and other store-cupboard items accelerated by 12.9%.
According to the BRC-NielsenIQ shop price index, prices were up 8.8% last month compared to the same period in the previous year, while slightly down from 8.9% in March.
“Overall shop price inflation eased slightly in April due to heavy spring discounting in clothing, footwear and furniture,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson was quoted as saying by Sky News. “However, food prices remained elevated given ongoing cost pressures throughout the supply chain,” she added.
Israel renews air attacks on Gaza Strip
At least one Palestinian killed and two wounded, according to local media, as attacks continue.
Desperate Iranians are selling ORGANS for up to £12,000 due to country’s economic crisis
Amid a deepening economic crisis, many Iranians are reported to have turned to selling body organs to overseas buyers out of poverty, Iranian news warns.
Reports claim people are selling kidneys, liver, cornea, bone marrow, sperm and ovum to support their families or pay for medical bills, fetching £5,500 ($7,000) to £12,000 ($15,000) per organ.
Iran International cited local news in saying middlemen inside the million-dollar industry would buy the organs to send on to countries including the UAE, Turkey and Iraq.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Jury in New York Finds Trump Liable for Sexual Abuse, Not Rape; $5 Million Damages
A jury in New York found former President Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexual abuse and battery of writer E. Jean Carroll three decades ago, though not liable for rape, and awarded $5 million in civil damages against him.
The jury also found Trump defamed Ms. Carroll in his reactions to her lawsuit, which was encouraged by anti-Trump lawyer George Conway and backed by Democrat mega-donor Reid Hoffman, an associate of the late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
The jury reached its decision after a few hours of deliberations, after a trial in which U.S. Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, allowed character evidence, including the infamous Access Hollywood tape, to be used.
Trump Lawyer Says Trump Will Appeal Verdict in E. Jean Carroll Civil Lawsuit
Joseph Tacopina, attorney of former President Donald Trump, told The Epoch Times that the former president is planning to appeal the verdict that found him liable for battery and defamation charges in the E. Jean Carroll trial.
It came as a Manhattan grand jury on Tuesday ruled against former President Donald Trump on one count of defamation and one count of battery in a civil case launched against him by Carroll, an advice columnist.
The verdict will not result in jail time because it is a civil case. The jury found that Trump should pay a total of about $5 million in damages to Carroll, including about $3 million for the defamation charge and about $2 million for the civil battery charge.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Clinton appointee who oversaw the trial, announced the verdict after a 9-member jury panel deliberated on the case’s merit for less than three hours.
It concluded a one-week-long civil trial in the Southern District Court of New York, in which Carroll, 79, claims Trump, 76, raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in 1995 or 1996—committing a battery offense—and, in his denial of the incident, committed libel, a type of defamation in written words.
Trump’s denial of the incident, Carroll’s attorney alleged during the trial, hurt Carroll’s career prospects as a journalist and a writer.
Because the case was brought in civil court, Carroll was required to establish her battery claim by “a preponderance of the evidence”—a legal standard meaning more likely than not—and establish “clear and convincing evidence” for her libel claim. Both standards here are lower than the “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” requirement to establish a guilty verdict in criminal cases.
Jurors were tasked with deciding whether Trump raped, sexually abused, or forcibly touched Carroll, any one of which would satisfy her claim of battery. They found that Carroll did not prove that Trump raped her but instead found that Trump sexually abused her. They also found that Trump defamed Carroll.
“Strange verdict,” Tacopina told reporters outside the courthouse. “It was a rape case all along, and the jury rejected that.”
“We’ll obviously be appealing those other findings,” Tacopina said, referring to the defamation and battery counts.
Trump Issues Warning Ahead of CNN Showdown: ‘Could Turn Into a Disaster for All’
Former President Donald Trump promoted his Wednesday night CNN town hall in New Hampshire but issued a word of caution about what might happen.
“I’ll be doing CNN tomorrow night, LIVE from the Great State of New Hampshire, because they are rightfully desperate to get those fantastic (TRUMP!) ratings once again. They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse!!! Could be the beginning of a New & Vibrant CNN, with no more Fake News, or it could turn into a disaster for all, including me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Let’s see what happens? Wednesday Night at 8:00!!!”
The former president did not elaborate on the “deal” he made with CNN, a network that was highly critical of Trump when he was president and after he departed the White House.
After CNN announced the Trump event, Democrats and corporate media commentators criticized the network’s decision. They repeated often-used claims CNN shouldn’t host Trump because of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
CNN parent company and Warner Brothers CEO David Zaslav pushed back against those allegations, saying that it is an opportunity to allow “both voices” to be heard before the 2024 election. “He’s the frontrunner, he has to be on our network,” Zaslav told CNBC last Friday.
“We are a divided government. We need to hear both voices. That’s what you see. Republicans are on the air on CNN, Democrats are on the air. All voices should be heard,” Zaslav stated.
The Warner Bros chief executive did not elaborate on whether the network would have a system in place to edit or censor Trump’s comments. Last month, Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. accused ABC News of editing his remarks about COVID-19 vaccines and placing a disclaimer in a move that he described as censorship. ABC later confirmed editing Kennedy’s statements that were critical of vaccines.
A CNN spokesperson told news outlets last week that “our job despite his unique circumstances is to do what we do best: Ask tough questions, follow up, and hold him accountable to give voters the information they need to sort through their choices.”
Alan Dershowitz: ‘No Way’ Case Against Trump in Fulton County Can Be Successful
There isn’t anything for former President Donald Trump to worry about with a potential lawsuit coming from a Georgia district attorney, although he might have more serious trouble with some of his other cases, said Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz.
Speaking to EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” program on May 8, Dershowitz was asked about the $250 million civil fraud lawsuit brought by New York’s Democrat Attorney General Letitia James, who accuses Trump and three of his children of overvaluing the family’s real estate assets by billions of dollars. This case, according to Dershowitz, will likely be resolved by settlement.
“That’s a civil case and it will be resolved civilly, probably by some kind of a settlement.” he told host Jan Jekielek. “I don’t think [Trump] has anything to worry about with that, except time.”
Nolte: Tucker Carlson Announces New Show on Twitter ‘Soon’
Former Fox News primetime anchor Tucker Carlson announced on Tuesday that he will “soon” broadcast a show on Twitter, which he called one of the few “English speaking” outlets that still allows free speech.
“Starting soon, we will be doing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for six-and-a-half years to Twitter,” Tucker promised without elaborating on what “soon” means. “We’ll bring some other things too, which we’ll tell you about. But for now, we’re just grateful to be here.”
He closed with, “Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others.”
In fewer than 20 minutes, the video had over 700,000 views, which is more viewers than anyone at CNN earns.
Report: Tucker Carlson Accuses Fox News of Fraud, Contract Breach
Tucker Carlson’s lawyers have sent Fox News a letter accusing the network of fraud and breach of contract and requested the network take immediate steps to “preserve all existing documents and data” relevant to its relationship with Carlson, according to a report.
Axios reported Tuesday that Carlson is considering litigation against Fox News, which reportedly is trying to prevent him from ending his contract – that runs through January 2025 – and starting a new show.
Report: Federal Prosecutors Indict New York Rep. George Santos
Federal prosecutors have indicted New York Rep. George Santos (R) on unknown criminal charges, CNN reported on Tuesday.
The charges were filed under seal, but Santos is expected to appear at federal court in New York’s eastern district as early as Wednesday, CNN revealed.
Sanctuary State California: Accused Serial Killer Freed into U.S. at Border by Obama’s DHS
An Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC), released into the United States from the southern border by former President Obama’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2009, is now accused of murdering two men in the sanctuary state of California and attempting to murder a 64-year-old woman.
Carlos Dominguez, a 21-year-old UAC from El Salvador, has pleaded not guilty this month for the murders of 50-year-old David Breaux and 20-year-old Karim Abou Najm, as well as the attempted murder of 64-year-old Kimberlee Guillory.
On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “José Díaz-Balart” John Martin, who is the Director of the Opportunity Center for the Homeless in El Paso, TX stated that there is “a humanitarian crisis” in the city, “we’ve never seen the situation as critical” as it is now, and “we’re overwhelmed.” Martin also stated that they’re “expecting the worst” as Title 42 is lifted.
Martin said, “Well, the reality is that we’re overwhelmed. We’ve got several partners within the community. All of the emergency shelters are operating at or over capacity, and to give you an example of our situation with the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, we’ve got 200 inside the shelter, and we’ve had up to 810 outside the shelter camped in the alley. So, it truly is a humanitarian crisis.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) has declared a state of emergency for the sanctuary city of Chicago, Illinois, stating that the city has hit a “breaking point” and is “full” due to illegal immigration flows arriving from the United States-Mexico border.
Since August 2022, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has bused more than 8,000 border crossers and illegal aliens to Chicago to help save his state’s taxpayers billions in social and economic costs associated with illegal immigration.
In comparison, the city of El Paso, Texas — with less than a fourth of Chicago’s population — is expecting to absorb close to 10,000 border crossers and illegal aliens every day when President Joe Biden ends Title 42 on May 11.
Title 42, used for years now to immediately remove illegal aliens arriving at the border, is one of the Biden administration’s last few border controls.
“… we’ve reached a breaking point … today we responded to the arrival of 48 more individuals and families that needed emergency support and shelter,” Lightfoot said:
As sympathetic as we are to the significant challenges that border cities face now and have been facing for quite some time, Chicago simply does not have the infrastructure or resources to continue humanely providing for migrants. [Emphasis added]
Texas Governor Sends More Migrant-Filled Buses from Border to Sanctuary Cities
As the border crisis grows, Governor Greg Abbott ordered an increase in the busing of migrants from the Texas border region to the sanctuary cities of Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia. The first bus of about 50 migrants arrived in Chicago late Tuesday morning after a journey from Laredo, Texas.
Officials with the Office of the Texas Governor told Breitbart Texas on Tuesday that the State of Texas is stepping up the busing of migrants from the border region to sanctuary cities in response to the most recent migrant surge. Three buses left Texas this week heading to Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia, officials stated.
On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Your World,” Rockland County, New York Executive Ed Day (R) stated New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) didn’t warn local officials about his plan to send migrants to Rockland County and that Adams “decided he wanted [to be] a sanctuary [city], and he got it. And now he realized he bit off more than he can chew and he can’t handle it.”
Day stated, “We had to figure it out ourselves…the Mayor and the Mayor’s office were not giving any details. We had to figure out through investigation exactly where this was going to be. We figured out what hotel it was. We got information that told us how many people were coming. They consistently refused to tell us when they were coming. So, they left us no choice. We have no idea what’s happening. And I resent the fact that somehow Mayor Adams thinks he has a hold on humanity and treating people well. He’s doing these folks no favors. We actually have a very humane course of action here. We have great connections with our local not-for-profits that were at my press conference today, treating people right. What the Mayor is doing right now is taking people, trying to have New York City homeless shelters outside New York City, in direct violation of zoning laws.”
Illegal aliens cross open southern border under Joe Biden’s open border plan. Bill Melugin video screengrab
In late April, Republican Congressman Andy Biggs, told Steve Bannon and The War Room he just got off a conference call with certain executives in big border counties in Arizona. The county leaders told him they had just had a briefing by Border Patrol who said along the Southern border of
the United States and there’s 700,000 to a million illegal aliens prepared, when Title 42 comes off, to storm the border.
Title 42 ends on Wednesday, May 10. US border states are preparing for a massive invasion into the United States. This is Joe Biden’s plan.
Now border patrol agents are irate after the Biden regime tipped off dangerous illegal invaders what entry points to avoid.
FOX News reporter Bill Melugin reported in a series of tweets.
Bill Melugin: From a strategic standpoint, it is puzzling that DHS would announce this publicly via a press release which essentially gives these evaders/gotaways a heads up that they are coming. Already hearing from frustrated Border Patrol agents saying the operation will now be worthless.
The New Immigration Bill Is a Trojan Horse for E-Verify and Is a Threat to All Americans
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are set to vote this week on new legislation that would greatly increase the federal government’s power over private businesses, workers, and US citizens. Unfortunately, much of the GOP majority is supportive of the legislation—the “Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023” (HR 2640)—because it is being marketed as a bill “to secure the border.”
Much of the bill contains reasonable provisions such allowing state attorneys general the authority to sue the federal government for refusing to detain illegal aliens. Other provisions include denying asylum and residency to known criminals. In many ways, the bill is an effort to rein in the executive branch’s control over immigration policy.
Alarmingly, however, the legislation also contains a provision mandating nationwide use of “
E-Verify” which is essentially a federal surveillance program that determines whether or not a person can be legally employed in the United States. Every American would require the federal government’s permission to work. So long as the Border Security and Enforcement Act contains these E-Verify provisions, the bill presents a clear and present danger to basic American freedoms and property rights. The expansion of E-Verify would also go a long way in helping the federal government build essential infrastructure that in the future could be used to implement “social credit scores” or restrictions on employment for those who refuse federally mandated vaccines or other mandates.
E-Verify as Government Surveillance
E-Verify was initially implemented in 1997 as a program designed to prevent companies from employing foreign nationals who had entered the US illegally—i.e., “illegal aliens.” The program was never made mandatory at the federal level, however. The program has generally been voluntary except for government employees in most states. Instead, mandated use of E-Verify has been a matter of state legislation, and some states have certainly been more enthusiastic about it than others.
Since implementation, only nine states have mandated the use of E-Verify for all employers. Florida is poised to be the next to impose these mandates on employers. Governor Ron DeSantis has repeatedly pushed to further regulate and surveil private businesses with universal E-Verify. Some states, such as Colorado, have implemented alternative, but similar, state-administered programs.
The Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023, however, would mandate nationwide use of E-Verify for all employers, and remove state-level authority to approve or decline participation. In other words, Congress is now considering one of the largest expansions of federal employment regulation in years.
As if often the case, however, conservatives and Republicans are happy to embrace more federal power and regulation when it suits their political agendas. It’s an old trick. Beginning in the days of the “War on Terror,” conservatives and the GOP often promoted and approved new “antiterrorism” legislation creating vast federal spying and prosecutorial powers. Supporters often supposed such powers could only possibly be used against Islamic terrorists and other official enemies of the Bush Administration. A federal spying apparatus has since been erected and deployed against virtually all Americans.
DEVVY OPINION: Illegal Aliens Invasion: Texas GOP Legislators Selling Out America
CIA May Have Solicited Signature for Letter Undermining Hunter Biden Story, Report Finds
Top House investigative committees have evidence that at least one CIA employee allegedly had a role in obtaining signatures for the now-debunked statement that 51 former intelligence officials signed casting doubt on the Hunter Biden story in 2020, according to a joint committee report.
The 65-page “interim report,” compiled by the Judiciary Committee, Intel Committee, and Weaponization of the Federal Government Select Subcommittee, contains a wealth of detail about the orchestration of the statement, according to a copy Breitbart News obtained in advance of its anticipated Wednesday release.
Kevin McCarthy Cancels Rashida Tlaib’s Antisemitic Event at U.S. Capitol
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Tuesday canceled Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s antisemitic event at the U.S. Capitol scheduled for Wednesday and will host a “bipartisan discussion to honor the 75th anniversary of the US-Israel relationship” in its place.
Tlaib planned a Wednesday event at the Capitol Visitor Center to mourn Israel’s founding. The event was to celebrate the “Nakba,” which is a Palestinian term for the creation of Israel that loosely translates as “catastrophe,” according to the Washington Free Beacon.
As the Washington Free Beacon detailed:
Tlaib was scheduled to headline the anti-Israel event with several organizations that support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, an anti-Semitic effort to wage economic war on Israel. They include Jewish Voice for Peace, a “radical anti-Israel activist group” that pushes the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has come under fire for glorifying Palestinian terrorism. Other organizers include Emgage Action, another BDS supporter that claims Israel is an “apartheid state,” and Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, an advocacy group that claims Jewish money is infecting politics.
The invitation for Wednesday’s event accuses “Zionist militias” of violently expelling Palestinians from the region when Israel was created in 1948, and maintains that Israel continues to brutalize Palestinians.
“May 15th marks 75 years since the beginning of the Nakba, which means ‘catastrophe,’” the invitation reads. “Seventy-five years ago, Zionist militias and the new Israeli military violently expelled approximately three-quarters of all Palestinians from their homes and homeland in what became the state of Israel.”
However, McCarthy intervened on Tuesday and blocked Tlaib from hosting the event, replacing it with his own pro-Israel discussion.
Similar pro-regime arguments are now being used to promote E-Verify. We’re told it will only be used against immigrants. We’re told that unless you’re breaking the law, you have nothing to worry about. We’ve heard these claims in other contexts many times before.
Observers who have refused to be taken in by the anti-immigrant hysterics have provided some key sanity. Last week, for example, Congressman Thomas Massie warned against keeping E-Verify in the proposed bill, writing
If, heaven forbid, the United States government ever adopts a social credit score, National E-Verify is one more tool they can use to prevent honest people from being part of society. Believe what you will, but it will have little impact on illegal immigration into this country.
Massie specifically noted the legislation could be used to enforce federal vaccine mandates as well:
Republicans are about to make a huge mistake. Biden forced millions of Americans to take VACCINES by threatening their JOBS, and turning EMPLOYERS into enforcers. Imagine giving Biden the ultimate on/off switch for EMPLOYMENT called E-verify. Might as well call it V-verify.
FBI Denies Request for Nashville Shooter’s Manifesto, Writings
Government also denies expedited release of documents because there was not ‘widespread and exceptional media interest’
Despite multiple requests for the release of Nashville Christian school shooter Audrey Hale’s manifesto and writings surrounding her March 27 attack that left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead, the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation denied a request from The Epoch Times for those documents.
The reason the FBI cited in a letter to an Epoch Times reporter based in Tennessee is that U.S. Code exempts from disclosure “records or information compiled for law enforcement records or information… could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings…”
Those “enforcement proceedings” were not cited in the letter. It is unclear what the enforcement proceedings could be in reference to, as the main suspect, Audrey Elizabeth Hale, died at the scene of the attack.
The FBI’s letter further stated “the records responsive to your request are law enforcement records; there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records, and release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
The request was then “administratively closed,” the FBI noted in the letter.
CNBC announced on Tuesday that it had parted ways with anchor and senior correspondent Hadley Gamble after she had accused former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell of sexual harassment.
Describing Gamble as a “distinguished journalist” with “deep experience in the Middle East and beyond,” CNBC wished her a prosperous future.
2ND AMENDMENT
The Armed Citizen® May 5, 2023
Illinois Defends Assault Weapon Ban at Supreme Court
The state of Illinois has filed a brief with the Supreme Court defending its ban on assault weapons, insisting that such a ban does not violate Second Amendment rights.
The case revolves around an ordinance passed by the Naperville City Council in August last year that was set to come into effect Jan. 1. The ordinance bans the sale of assault weapons as well as large capacity magazines with 15 rounds in case of a handgun or 10 rounds for long guns. People who violate the ordinance would be subjected to penalties. In September, the National Association for Gun Rights, a gun store, and the owner of the gun store filed a complaint against the ordinance, claiming that the prohibition violated their Second Amendment rights.
Texas state Rep. Justin Holland (R-Rockwall) caved to gun controllers Monday and voted in support of a bill, HB 2744, to raise the minimum purchase age for AR-15s and similar semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21.
When Politicians Push Gun Control, This Happens
As anti-Second Amendment politicians in a few states continue to push, and even pass, gun bans and other legislation that infringes on Americans’ constitutional rights, they’re seeing increased firearms sales in those same states.
While the latest National Instant Background Check System (NICS) numbers show that, nationwide, April background checks (an indirect indicator of new firearms sales) were up about 1% from April of last year, states where politicians are cracking down on law-abiding gun owners saw much bigger increases.
Oregon is an excellent example. We’ve reported recently how Oregon legislators are trying to pass a measure to implement the restrictive bans contained in Measure 114, an anti-gun initiative that was narrowly approved by a statewide vote last fall but has been stalled judicially due to a number of legal challenges, including an NRA-backed lawsuit. In spite of the legal challenges faced by Measure 114, the legislature is attempting to implement even more onerous restrictions than those that were originally on the ballot. In April, Oregon saw over 43,000 background checks performed, compared to just under 28,000 the previous year—a 56% jump.
Likewise, April gun sales in Washington, where an “assault-weapons” ban had been considered all spring and, along with two other anti-gun bills, was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on April 25, show a similar trend. That state saw more than 71,000 background checks in April, up from the roughly 49,500 during the same month last year. That’s a 44% increase.
Meanwhile, in Illinois, a so-called “assault-weapons” ban that was passed earlier this year, and is currently being hashed out in court, was recently blocked by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. “It does not appear that the legislature considered an individual’s right under the Second Amendment nor Supreme Court precedent,” the court wrote.
Embattled Illinois gun owners have increased firearms purchases in reaction to the new law. April 2023 saw just shy of 40,000 background checks cond
Report: Mall Shooter Was Level III Security Certified (Could Carry a Gun in Texas)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
U.S. may freeze bank withdrawals as currency fear rises, expert warns
An expert in economics is warning that the Biden administration may be looking at ways to lock down your checking account – literally ban withdrawals from the banking system.
The teams Biden has installed in power in the federal government already have moved to force you to buy an electric car, limited the kinds of appliances you can buy, censored the questions you can raise about fair elections and much more.
Now the next step could be your bank account, according to macro economics guru Hugh Hendry.
A report at The Daily Hodl explained Hendry was in an interview with Bloomberg Markets when the questions of mass panic and capital flight came up.
He said the moves away from the U.S. banking system, which recently has seen several major institutions fail, is justified.
The report explained, “Hendry says a further decline in the M2 money supply, which in part tracks money in liquid checking accounts, could convince the U.S. government to step in and prevent citizens from taking their capital out of the banking system.”
“Sometimes it’s kind of relevant to panic. I would recommend you panic… You’ve seen the biggest waterfall decline in M2 right now. M2 is deposits, not loans. That’s the deposits fleeing the system and going into money market funds,” he explained. “That could reach a crescendo where the Treasury and the Fed may have to come in and actually restrict your right as a U.S. citizen to pull money out of the U.S. banking sector.” (NOTE: Money market funds are the worst performers in the stock market!)
Homeless Encampments Are Exploding In Size All Over America As Rents Soar And Evictions Surge
Communities all over the United States are being taken over by giant homeless encampments, but we are supposed to believe that this is perfectly normal. The Biden administration is trying very hard to convince all of us that the economy is in fine shape even though many of our most prominent corporations are currently conducting mass layoffs and even though Challenger, Gray & Christmas is telling us that the number of jobs cuts during the first three months of this year was up 396 percent compared to the same period last year. Just like in 2008 and 2009, large numbers of people that have lost their jobs or their businesses are ending up living in the streets, and as a result homeless encampments are absolutely exploding in size from coast to coast.
In Marin County, California the average price of a home is 1.4 million dollars, and it is one of the most prosperous areas of the entire country.
But it is also home to vast hordes of homeless people. In fact, one of the biggest homeless encampments in Marin County is now more than two miles long…
Hundreds of locals in one of San Francisco’s wealthiest counties have been forced to pack up their lives into RVs and trailers after being pushed out of the housing market.
Shocking photos show the ever-growing line of trucks and other vehicles along 101 Highway – which now stretches over two miles in one of the largest encampments in the country.
The Federal Reserve knew that pumping vast amounts of money into the system would make the wealthy even wealthier, but they also hoped that some of that wealth would eventually trickle down to the poor.
Sadly, that didn’t really happen.
Expert Says It’s A Good Thing That AI Could Replace 80% Of Jobs “In Next Few Years”
Artificial intelligence could replace 80 percent of human jobs in the coming years — but that’s a good thing, says US-Brazilian researcher Ben Goertzel, a leading AI guru.
Mathematician, cognitive scientist and famed robot-creator Goertzel, 56, is founder and chief executive of SingularityNET, a research group he launched to create “Artificial General Intelligence,” or AGI — artificial intelligence with human cognitive abilities.
With his long hair and leopard-print cowboy hat, Goertzel was in provocateur mode last week at Web Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the world’s biggest annual technology conference, where he told AFP in an interview that AGI is just years away and spoke out against recent efforts to curb artificial intelligence research.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Transhumanist Peter Thiel Is Planning Cryopreservation After Death
Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel told independent journalist Bari Weiss on her podcast, “Honestly with Bari Weiss,” that when death comes knocking on his door, he has opted to be cryogenically frozen, even though he isn’t entirely sure if the technology will revive him at a future date.
Weiss asked Thiel:
“Is it true that you’re signed up to be cryonically preserved when you die so that you might be brought back to life in the future?”
The billionaire, who ranks 271 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $8.1 billion, responded:
“Yes… But I think of it more as an ideological statement.”
“I don’t necessarily expect it to work, but I think it’s the sort of thing we’re supposed to try to do,” Thiel continued.
Weiss then asked Thiel if he made plans for his loved ones to be frozen too. That’s when he stated he was “not convinced” the technology works as intended (yet).
“It’s more, I think we need to be trying things. It’s not there yet,” he said
SURVEILLANCE STATE
IoT Forensics: What Your Smart Home Knows About You
Do you know how many internet-connected devices there are inside your home? I certainly don’t. These days, it could be almost anything: a thermostat, a TV, a lightbulb, an air conditioner, or a refrigerator. But what I do know, thanks to some of the conversations I’ve had over the past few weeks, is just how much data they’re producing, and how many people can access that data if they want to. Hint: it’s a lot.
The FBI’s Anti‐Encryption Campaign
On April 24, the FBI’s war against public key encryption technology—the kind many of us use for texting, emailing, and online banking—entered a new phase. The FBI published a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on its proposal to “collect data on the volume of law enforcement investigations that are negatively impacted by device and software encryption.”
Tellingly, the bureau is not asking state and local law enforcement agencies how many times they were able to get into cell phones, tablets, or computers despite the presence of encryption technology. This new, skewed “data collection” rule is designed to further the FBI’s longstanding “going dark” narrative: that encryption is making the bureau’s job next to impossible in terms of fighting crime.
But that’s a false narrative. And senior FBI officials will frequently say or do something that proves it so.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Ditch your spade, forget fertiliser, listen to the weeds: Alys Fowler’s guide to laid-back gardening
Itching to whip your flowerbeds or veg patch into shape now spring has finally arrived? Not so fast! Life’s much easier when you work with nature rather than against it
After almost 30 years of gardening, several of those at fine institutions such as the Royal Horticultural Society and Kew Gardens, I’ve realised that much of what I was taught is, if not wrong, not exactly on the mark either. All that laboured effort – the weeding, the fertilising, the digging, the tending and pruning, the selecting and conforming – it’s not working. Not for the plants, the soil or the community around them, which includes you and me. Indigenous cultures everywhere have based their practices on observing and honouring the ecology, while we in the “developed world” wrote down our rules. Our attempt to control nature has perpetuated poor relations with all the beings in the garden, turning everything into some sort of battle, or endless regimes whether that’s mowing, hoeing, watering or attacking some critter. It is a lot of work and these days way more than I am prepared to put in. Now spring is finally unfurling, this growing season, perhaps rather than going to work in our gardens, we could all relax a little, spend more time looking and listening, waiting rather than reacting, being in the garden as much as actively gardening. Here is how it’s done.
VIDEO: U.S. Farmers Having Land Stolen For Co2 Carbon Capture Scam
HEALTH
Frankenpork! FDA Approves Gene-Edited Pigs for Human Consumption
FDA-approved genetically modified (GMO) salmon (aka “Frankenfish”) has been considered controversial for many years (see 1, 2). That didn’t stop the agency from approving gene-edited pork for human consumption. Bon appétit!
From Futurity:
The United States Food and Drug Administration has authorized gene-edited pigs entrance into the food chain for human consumption—as German-style sausages.
Gene-editing can make changes in an organism’s DNA that could occur in nature or through selective breeding but would take much longer without a tool like CRISPR.
The FDA authorization is investigational, and limited to these particular pigs, but shows that gene-editing livestock to quickly produce desirable traits for improved food production is a viable strategy for helping feed the planet’s growing population.
“It’s important for a university to set the precedent by working with federal regulators to get these animals introduced into the food supply,” says Jon Oatley, a professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences in Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “If we don’t go through that process, all of the research we’re doing is for naught because it will never make it out into the public.”
Oatley uses the gene-editing tool CRISPR to improve genetic traits in livestock and is working toward an FDA approval for a line of gene-edited pigs. He undertook the investigational food use authorization process for five gene-edited pigs to demonstrate that food made from the animals is safe to eat and that it is possible for an academic institution to achieve this type of FDA authorization.
The two-year-old pigs were processed at the university’s Meat Lab, and the US Department of Agriculture inspected the meat, as it does with all meat products. Working with the Meat Lab, meat scientist Blake Foraker made some of the pork into sausages, which will be used in catering services that raise travel funds for the student members of the university’s Meat Judging team.
“The original intent in making these animals was to try to improve the way that we feed people,” he says. “And we can’t do that unless we can work with the FDA system to get these animals actually into the food chain.”
Only one other organization, a company by the name of Acceligen, has had a gene-edited animal receive the FDA ok to enter the food supply. In 2020, the FDA made a low-risk determination for products made from “Slick-Haired Cattle,” which are gene-edited to have coats that increase the animals’ resilience to higher temperatures.
Other companies have had genetically modified animals approved by the FDA, but the approach was transgenic which is a different technology involving inserting DNA from outside species into the genome of an organism. Gene-editing is a modern, cutting-edge technology that works only within a species’ DNA and can make changes that could come about naturally or through traditional breeding practices.
The public often holds many misconceptions about gene-editing, Oatley says. He hopes this example will help dispel misinformation and improve perceptions of this technology.
Bill Gates Owns Synthetic Fruit Coating — What’s in It?
Apeel is a plant-based protective coating that “helps the produce you love stay fresh for longer.” It retains moisture within the produce and keeps oxygen out, thereby slowing the spoilage rate
Apeel Sciences was founded with a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Other investors include the Rockefeller Foundation; the World Bank Group; Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and CEO of the personal genomics company 23andMe; and Susan Wojcicki, former CEO of YouTube
Apeel Science’s founder, James Rogers, Ph.D., is an agenda contributor to the World Economic Forum (WEF). He’s hailed COVID lockdowns as a model for future action on climate change. In other words, climate lockdowns. Rogers is also a WEF Young Global Leader
Avocados, cucumbers, lemons and limes, mandarins, oranges, organic apples, grapefruit and mangos are listed as produce that are currently being treated with this coating. Apeel-treated produce can be identified by looking for the “Apeel Protected” produce sticker
The coating, which cannot be washed off, likely contains toxic contaminants, including heavy metals and carcinogens, as well as trans fats and, potentially, harmful linoleic acid
Should 40 Year Olds Get Breast Screenings? Why New Recommendations Throw Caution to the Wind
In move that could negatively impact the overall health of women, the US Preventive Services Task Force released new draft recommendations on Tuesday urging all women to undergo x-ray mammography breast screenings every other year, starting at 40 instead of previous guidelines from 2016 which recommended starting at 50 years of age.
“Cause marketing” campaigns related to breast cancer focused on the promotion of x-ray mammography have been running non-stop since 1985, with “early screening” of the breasts of asymptomatic women being equated to “prevention” in the popular mind.
Unfortunately, these campaigns continue to fail to address the root causes of breast cancer — the most obvious and important of which is the role of mammary carcinogens and related carcinogenic exposure — which include exposure to the very same kinds of radiation used in x-ray mammography.
Nor do these campaigns honor the medical ethical principle of informed consent, which require patients know what the true risks and benefits of an intervention are before they make their medical decisions.
In light of this, the USPSTF’s latest draft guidance recommending x-ray mammography breast screenings begin at 40, raises concern, especially given that their previous guidance from 2016 advised against screening women before age 50 due to the following concerns:
“In addition to false-positive results and unnecessary biopsies, all women undergoing regular screening mammography are at risk for the diagnosis and treatment of noninvasive and invasive breast cancer that would otherwise not have become a threat to their health, or even apparent, during their lifetime (known as “overdiagnosis”). Beginning mammography screening at a younger age and screening more frequently may increase the risk for overdiagnosis and subsequent overtreatment.”
The new draft recommendations are based on a May 09, 2023 draft modeling report titled, “Breast Cancer Screening With Mammography: An Updated Decision Analysis for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force“ and is open for public comments until June 6th, 2023 after which it is expected to be approved. The conclusion of their draft is as follows:
“Conclusions: This collaborative modeling analysis suggests that several mammography screening strategies reduce breast cancer mortality and increase life expectancy in average-risk female persons. Strategies with biennial screening, start ages at 40 or 45, and cessation age 79 resulted in greater incremental gains in mortality reduction per mammogram compared with most strategies involving annual screening, start age 50, and/or cessation age 74. For some subgroups of female persons with higher risk of breast cancer and breast cancer death, more intensive screening resulted in judicious benefit-to-harm tradeoffs.” [bold added]
While their conclusion makes bold claims for the health benefits of starting mammography screenings at 40 years of age instead of 50, glaring flaws in both their reasoning and study design are apparent, and are explicitly acknowledged by the draft itself in the section titled “Limitations” are apparent:
“We did not consider imaging modalities besides mammography, individuals at high risk of breast cancer due to genetic susceptibility, or potential risk of breast cancer due to screening-related radiation.” [bold added]
In other words, the carcinogenic effects of x-ray mammography radiation on the women whose breasts are screened – i.e. iatrogenic breast cancer – and the well-known role that those women who possess the so-called breast cancer susceptibility genes – BRCA1/BRAC2 – have in making patients more vulnerable to radiation-induced breast cancer susceptibility, are not taken into account at all in this study, making the draft’s claims that earlier mammography screening would “reduce breast cancer mortality and increase life expectancy in average-risk persons” an exceedingly difficult to justify statement from sufficiently evidence-based and precautionary perspectives. In fact, beginning screening a decade earlier would expose millions more women to increased risk of breast cancer from the diagnostic procedure itself.
Disinfectant Dangers: COVID Boosted The Use of Unnecessary Antimicrobial Chemicals
Over the past few years, tens of millions of people made it a habit to never leave home without some hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes. However, could these widespread disinfectants for combating COVID-19 end up fueling an entirely different health crisis? In a new report, over two dozen scientists say the pandemic boosted the unnecessary use of antimicrobial chemicals linked to numerous health problems, antimicrobial resistance, and environmental harm.
More specifically, this new critical review highlights companies marketing the use of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) in home, healthcare, education, and workplace settings. So, what’s so bad about that? The team says there are plenty of safer alternatives to QACs available right now, and in some scenarios, there isn’t even adequate evidence confirming QACs can reduce disease transmission.
“Disinfectant wipes containing QACs are often used on children’s school desks, hospital exam tables, and in homes where they remain on these surfaces and in the air,” says Courtney Carignan, a co-author and assistant professor at Michigan State University, in a media release. “Our review of the science suggests disinfecting with these chemicals in many cases is unhelpful or even harmful. We recommend regular cleaning with soap and water and disinfecting only as needed with safer products.”
Studies conducted with humans have found links connecting QACs with asthma, dermatitis, and inflammation. Lab studies featuring animals, meanwhile, have also raised concerns regarding QACs — linking them to infertility, birth defects, and more. There is even evidence dating all the way back to the 1950s suggesting QACs contribute to antimicrobial resistance, provoking certain bacteria species to become resistant to both QACs themselves and to critical antibiotics.
“It’s ironic that the chemicals we’re deploying in vain for one health crisis are actually fueling another,” adds Erica Hartmann, a co-author and professor at Northwestern University. “Antimicrobial resistance was already contributing to millions of deaths per year before the pandemic. Overzealous disinfection, especially with products containing QACs, threaten to make it worse.”
QACs are a common ingredient in the production of disinfectant solutions, wipes, hand sanitizers, sprays, and foggers. Manufacturers are now adding them to many personal care products, textiles, paints, and medical instruments. Predictably, since the COVID-19 pandemic, measured levels of these chemicals in the environment and our bodies are increasing.
Benzalkonium chloride is one of the most commons QACs, but others can be found on ingredient labels with names that end in “ammonium chloride” or something similar. However, disclosure and regulation of QACs varies widely. For instance, while pesticide labels are required to list QACs, paint labels are not. In fact, most QACs are subject to no regulation at all, nor are they comprehensively screened for health hazards.
In summation, researchers suggest eliminating the use of QACs unless absolutely necessary. For example, using QACs to disinfect is often no more efficient than cleaning with plain soap and water. Other recommendations proposed by researchers include requiring full disclosure of QACs across all products, as well as the close monitoring of QAC levels in people and the environment.
“Drastically reducing many uses of QACs won’t spread COVID-19,” concludes Carol Kwiatkowski, a co-author and scientist at the Green Science Policy Institute. “In fact, it will make our homes, classrooms, offices, and other shared spaces healthier.”
The study is published in Environmental Science & Technology.
Should Your Child Get That Root Canal?
A root canal is an invasive procedure that leaves a dead tooth in your body, setting the stage for both acute and chronic infection
Thirteen dental clinics operated by pediatric dentist Barry L. Jacobson and his company, HQRC Management Services, were accused of performing and billing Medicaid for medically unnecessary baby root canals
The investigation was prompted by a 2017 whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former employee, who stated that staff performed unnecessary procedures; Jacobson and HQRC agreed to a $753,457 settlement following the investigation
Prevention of dental issues is often overlooked in favor of invasive interventions; Medicaid offers low reimbursement rates, so dentists who see a lot of Medicaid patients — whose practices tend to be located in high-poverty areas — may try to make money by performing many procedures, some of which may not be necessary
Infected root canaled teeth may lead to heart disease, cancer and other chronic health issues; consider ozone therapy before getting a root canal or tooth extraction done, particularly on a child
PET NEWS
Note: Make sure to tune into our second hour of today’s show where Lindsay Power of Good Health Naturally will discuss SERRAENZYME DR 80,000 IU for pet health.
Serrapeptase is the best anti-inflammatory enzyme for supporting your pet’s good health.
Supports Immunity, Circulation and Normal Inflammatory Response
The inflammatory response is an automatic mechanism employed by the body’s immune system to protect against everyday wear and tear. It is activated by any irritation or penetration of the skin or mucous membranes with the ultimate goal of increasing the flow of blood to the site to increase cleansing. One of the things that happen during this normal process is the formation of a substance called fibrin. Fibrin is a protein that forms a mesh-like structure over the affected area for new cells to form on. But the body may not always have the necessary tools to remove fibrin in the circulatory system when its work is done. Serrapeptase helps ensure the timely removal of excess fibrin.
Supports the Respiratory System
Serrapeptase has also been found to break down mucus in the nasal passages, throat and lungs. In this way it contributes to clear breathing and respiratory comfort.
Solely Serrapeptase
The inflammatory response is an automatic mechanism employed by the body’s immune system to protect against everyday wear and tear. It is activated by any irritation or penetration of the skin or mucous membranes with the ultimate goal of increasing the flow of blood to the site to increase cleansing. One of the things that happen during this normal process is the formation of a substance called fibrin. Fibrin is a protein that forms a mesh-like structure over the affected area for new cells to form on. But the body may not always have the necessary tools to remove fibrin in the circulatory system when its work is done. Serrapeptase helps ensure the timely removal of excess fibrin.
GOOD NEWS
US man leaves job interview, rescues baby in runaway stroller, then lands job
Ron Nessman was leaving a job interview at a California Applebee’s when he spotted a baby stroller hurtling towards a busy road
Having experienced homelessness and unemployment for years, Ron Nessman was leaving a job interview at an Applebee’s restaurant in California when a baby in a stroller rolling into the path of several cars captured his attention.
Nessman sprinted into the street, stopped the stroller, saved the child from harm – and landed his first job in years to cap off a story that has interrupted a US news cycle dominated by headlines about mass killings and bitter partisan politics.
ICYMI
Do you appreciate our work here at The Power Hour?
Please consider that we are a 100% reader-supported platform, without website advertisements. This means that without your support, we wouldn’t exist.
Thankfully, there are 4 easy ways for you to help us stay alive and well:
1) Become a member (level 2 & 3 supporters will have permanent discounts at The Power Mall)
3) Shop our store www.thepowermall.com
4) Purchase a limited edition Joyce Riley coffee mug
More Stories
Today’s News: April 18, 2024
Today’s News: April 17, 2024
Today’s News: April 16, 2024