WORLD NEWS
Turkey Heads to Runoff Vote After Hard-Fought Presidential, Parliamentary Polls
Turkey’s presidential election appears set to be heading to a runoff vote after neither of the two top contenders secured an outright majority in the contentious May 14 voting.
According to Turkey’s official electoral commission, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), secured roughly 49 percent of the vote.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP), received about 45 percent of the vote, and a third candidate, Sinan Ogan, garnered some 5 percent.
Erdogan, who’s been in power since 2003, began the race with a comfortable lead. But that steadily dwindled throughout the day, ultimately depriving him of a first-round victory.
Sudan: Churches, Mosques, and Hospitals Attacked as Junta Showdown Continues
Sudan’s Radio Dabanga reported Monday that churches, mosques, and hospitals in the capital city of Khartoum were attacked over the weekend as the war between two factions of the ruling military junta continued.
“A Coptic Church was attacked on Sunday morning. Four people were hit by bullets and a priest was assaulted. Mosques were bombed. Two hospitals were raided, reportedly by the members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),” Radio Dabanga reported.
Over 13,000 guns, grenades surrendered in Serbia amnesty
Belgrade declared a one-month amnesty period for citizens to surrender unregistered weapons following two shootings in two days that left 17 people dead
Serbian officials said Sunday that residents had turned over some 13,500 weapons since back-to-back mass shootings stunned the Balkan nation earlier this month.
The government declared a one-month amnesty period for citizens to surrender unregistered weapons as part of a crackdown on guns following the two shootings in two days that left 17 people dead – many of them children.
China Rolls Out Nationwide ‘Pilot Programs’ to Pressure People into Having Children
The China Family Planning Association announced last week that it will launch 20 pilot programs in cities across China to “build a new-era marriage and childbearing culture,” as the state-run Global Times put it on Sunday. In other words, the regime in Beijing is once again looking for a way to hold off demographic collapse.
The Global Times said the launch of these “new-era marriage” programs was timed to coincide with the International Day of Families, a May 15 annual event inaugurated by the United Nations in 1993.
Oil giant ExxonMobil settles long-running Indonesia torture case
The trial in the 22-year-old case brought by villagers in Aceh province was due to start next week.
Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer for the villagers, said the terms were confidential.
A spokesperson for Exxon Mobil said the settlement “brings closure for all parties”.
Filed in 2001, the case was brought by 11 villagers in Aceh who alleged they were victims of human rights abuses committed by Indonesian soldiers brought in to guard the oil and gas plant in the city of Lhoksukon between 1999 and 2003. The allegations included sexual assault, battery and unlawful detention.
A trial to decide whether the company was negligent in contracting the Indonesian soldiers had been scheduled to start in Washington, DC on May 24. ExxonMobil had denied being aware of any human rights violations and said the company could not be held responsible for any abuses that did occur as it did not order or authorize them.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
IN-DEPTH: J6 Attorney Says Feds Using Military Counterterrorism Tactics Against Americans
An attorney has called on House Republicans to investigate and defund the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) efforts to prosecute defendants being treated as domestic terrorists for their presence at the Jan. 6, 2021, rally at the U.S. Capitol.
“This could go on for two or three more years unless House Speaker Kevin McCarthy takes the floor and declares that the DOJ is abusing legislation,” Carol Stewart, who represents several J6 defendants, told The Epoch Times.
Stewart said McCarthy can make a resolution and start an investigation into the abuse of U.S. criminal codes 1752, 231, and 1512, which relate to restricted buildings or grounds; civil disorders; and tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant, respectively. She said these laws are being misinterpreted to frame American citizens who protested at the Capitol building as culprits in a plot to overthrow the 2020 election through a violent insurrection.
The problem, Stewart argues, is that the story the DOJ, the FBI, and the mainstream media are telling “is a lie.”
One of her clients, 56-year-old Eric Christie, is charged with violating statute 1752, a misdemeanor that criminalizes the act of entering or remaining in “any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so.”
In addition, he’s alleged under subsection (b) of the law to have been brandishing “a dangerous weapon or firearm” on restricted grounds.
On Christie’s tool belt was a hammer that Stewart said was never removed, as it was part of a construction worker costume.
“He did not breach or push aside any barriers, assault police, participate in any violence, witness violence, encourage violence, enter the building, or do anything besides use protected First Amendment speech in a peaceful manner in a location that he believed was approved for speech,” Stewart wrote in her facts of the case.
Durham Report Reveals Massive Failures in FBI’s Investigation of Trump
The FBI didn’t interview the people connected to the information that the agency used to open a full investigation of the Trump campaign during the heat of the 2016 presidential election, according to the report by special counsel John Durham.
The bureau rushed to open the initial investigation based on unvetted intelligence from Australia, according to Durham, who has spent nearly three years investigating the origins of the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign.
The FBI’s rush to open the investigation and the shoddy evidence used as the premise for the probe were a departure from how the department treated other politically sensitive investigations in 2016, the report states. That includes the inquiry into the Clinton Foundation, which was virtually frozen in the leadup to Election Day in 2016.
The much-anticipated report (pdf), a copy of which The Epoch Times obtained ahead of its public release, also delves into other controversial aspects of Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI codename for the investigation of the Trump campaign.
“The objective facts show that the FBI’s handling of important aspects of the Crossfire Hurricane matter were seriously deficient,” the report states.
The special counsel further impugned the bureau’s error-ridden applications to surveil Trump campaign associate Carter Page. FBI agents applied to renew the secret-court warrants on Page despite admitting, both at the time and subsequently, that they had no probable cause to do so.
Durham concludes that the FBI failed to uphold its “important mission of strict fidelity to the law.”
Hawley: ‘We Need to End the FBI as We Know It’
Monday on FNC’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reacted to the findings of the Durham probe into the FBI’s initiation of an investigation into alleged collusion between the Russian government and the 2016 Trump campaign to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.
According to Hawley, it showed the FBI needed to be overhauled.
“[A]fter today, the media doesn’t care,” host Jesse Watters said. “They think, yeah, we cheated, but you didn’t catch us. You didn’t put any of our people in jail. We put your people in jail. That must mean that you’re bad and we’re good, and we’re better at this than you. That’s the basic argument. The corrupt Justice Department didn’t indict the corrupt Justice Department. So we win, you lose. Thanks for playing. Let’s turn it over now to Josh Hawley, a member of the Judiciary Committee. What are we going to do now? Are we going to do another report, Senator?”
“There needs to be a lot more than reports, Jesse,” Hawley said. “People need to be prosecuted for this. The Clinton campaign and Hillary Clinton herself — is it any coincidence that she is tweeting about collusion at exactly the same time her campaign operatives are feeding this BS to the FBI? I don’t think so. There needs to be consequences for her and also for the FBI.”
“FBI leadership has clearly got to be changed,” he continued. “Jesse, I’m of the mind we need to end the FBI as we know it. It needs to be broken up. I mean, clearly, it has become corrupt. The leadership is corrupt. Talk to FBI agents in the field. I was doing in this past week. Great folks in my home state all over the place. But they are not served by this leadership. This leadership has become totally radically politicized, and we have got to change it.”
Trump Vows to Release All JFK Assassination Files If Reelected
Former President Donald Trump vowed this week to release all files related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, coming after his nephew alleged that U.S. intelligence officials may have been involved in his 1963 death.
“I released a lot, as you know. And I will release everything else,” Trump told The Messenger on Monday, referring to the Kennedy records.
When Trump was in office, he released some documents but did not release all of the records. At the time, his administration said that it could not release all of the records because “certain information should continue to be redacted because of identifiable national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs concerns.”
“I agree with the Archivist’s recommendation that the continued withholdings are necessary to protect against identifiable harm to national security, law enforcement, or foreign affairs that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure. I am also ordering agencies to re-review each of those redactions over the next 3 years. At any time during that review period, and no later than the end of that period, agencies shall disclose information that no longer warrants continued withholding,” Trump’s office said in 2018.
ANALYSIS: Floridians Fear Being Left Behind as DeSantis Reportedly Prepares for 2024
Florida’s governor has just cut ties with a political action committee (PAC) bearing his name. Many Floridians see this as an indication that he’s preparing to abandon Florida for a presidential run.
On May 9, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis severed ties with “Friends of Ron DeSantis,” a major state-level PAC “committed to advancing” the governor’s “Freedom Agenda and keeping Florida free.” According to the website, the new “associated person,” is Florida State Senator Blaise Ingoglia.”
This is seen as a key move by DeSantis in preparing to run for the presidency, as state law (pdf) prohibits the use of money raised by a state-level PAC for a race at the federal level.
Tim Sharp, a “canceled” Florida House candidate and host of “The Sharp Response” on Rumble’s Red Voice Media, said, “He’s running.”
“He just wanted to make sure the revision on Resign-to-Run came through,” Sharp told The Epoch Times.
Biden DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Dismiss Major GOP Election Lawsuit
The Biden administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss a high-profile case in which Republicans want the court to recognize state legislatures’ power to regulate federal elections without interference from state courts, which they say the U.S. Constitution requires.
At issue is the once-obscure independent state legislature doctrine, under which Republicans argue that the Constitution has always directly authorized state legislatures alone to make rules for the conduct of federal elections in their respective states.
Democrats say the doctrine is a fringe conservative legal theory that could endanger voting rights, green-light partisan gerrymandering in the redistricting process, and cause upheaval in the electoral process.
The doctrine is at the heart of a case, Moore v. Harper, that’s currently being deliberated by the justices after it was argued in December 2022.
Republican Tim Moore, speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, is asking the nation’s highest court to recognize that state legislatures have preeminent authority under the Constitution to make the rules for presidential and congressional elections without state courts getting involved in the process.
IRS to Hide Workers’ Identities From Taxpayers
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on May 11 said it will start limiting workers’ personal identification information on communications with taxpayers in June to reduce threats aimed at IRS employees.
The Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration said in a May 8 report (pdf) that it was “concerned that taxpayers and anti-government or anti-tax groups with malevolent intent may use the Internet or social media to track down and identify IRS employees, their families, their homes, and personal information to threaten, intimidate, or locate them for physical violence.”
The report noted that 34 percent or 11 of 32 IRS managers whose full name and office telephone number appeared on manual correspondence were contacted by taxpayers outside of normal business methods, such as through their personal telephone lines or social media. However, none reported being threatened because of these contacts.
The IRS said it will remove workers’ first names from communications, leaving their last names and respective Mr., Ms., or a gender-neutral title. Phone numbers will still be included in communications.
Progressive Democrat Brandon Johnson Sworn In as Mayor of Chicago
Brandon Johnson, a progressive Democrat, was sworn in as the 57th mayor of Chicago on May 15.
He succeeds Democrat Lori Lightfoot, who lost in the Feb. 28 primary after years of coming under fire on issues ranging from COVID-19 to public safety. Johnson, 47, defeated Paul Vallas, a 69-year-old moderate Democrat in an upset in the April 4 runoff.
Johnson was sworn in by Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court Timothy C. Evans at an inauguration ceremony at the Credit Union 1 Arena at the University of Illinois–Chicago. In addition to the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem, the ceremony included the Black National Anthem and an acknowledgment that the land on which the arena stands was stolen from Native Americans.
The invocation, which included political overtones, was given by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III. Avery R. Young, Chicago poet laureate, recited a hopeful poem about the Windy City. Rabbi Shoshanah Conover of Temple Sholom of Chicago gave a prayer for Johnson, comparing him to the biblical character Joseph. Imam Hassan Aly, of the Council of Islamic Orgs of Greater Chicago, gave a prayer of guidance for Johnson.
On Monday’s broadcast of NBC’s “MTP Daily,” Laredo Mayor Victor Treviño stated that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott busing migrants from Laredo to Democratic-run cities does provide some help and that while recent policy changes by the Biden administration have helped, “we should have done this a long time ago, proactively.”
Treviño said, “[O]f course, there’s no doubt that we’re seeing historic challenges that we’ve never seen before at our southern borders. But, before the end of Title 42, our local hospitals and NGOs were already near capacity or at capacity. But everything we’ve been doing here since the declaration of emergency locally has held up and we have not been overwhelmed to this point.”
Unprecedented Gun Control: Democrats in Government Are Trying to Disarm Young Americans
The anti-gunners are at it again. Democrats in Congress, having failed to pass their radical anti-gun agenda, are putting forth another bill that would prevent a wide swath of Americans from keeping and bearing arms.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) has introduced legislation in Washington, D.C., to raise the federal age for purchasing semiautomatic firearms from 18 to 25. Citing reports from law enforcement officials and experts, Moskowitz emphasizes that individuals between the ages of 15 and 25 are at the highest risk of becoming mass shooters due to developmental changes and societal pressures.
In a statement, the lawmaker highlighted that a significant majority of gun violence and mass shootings since 2020 have been carried out by individuals under 25. Moskowitz has a history of successfully passing gun violence prevention measures, including the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act in Florida.
“Our communities are plagued by gun violence. What will it take to protect our children? We can’t continue to needlessly endure heartbreak after heartbreak as our public places become targets of violence,” Moskowitz argued in a statement. “We no longer need moments of silence; we need moments of action. I refuse to think that nothing can get done.”
The proposal is being met with criticism from supporters of gun rights.
Ron DeSantis Signs D.E.I. Bill in Florida – The New York Times
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Monday that largely banned Florida’s public universities and colleges from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and imposed other measures that could reshape higher education at state schools.
The legislation also restricts how educators can discuss discrimination in required, lower-level courses — by forbidding the teaching of “identity politics,” for example — and weakens tenure protections. Mr. DeSantis signed it at New College of Florida, a public liberal arts institution that the governor has aggressively sought to transform, replacing trustees with conservative allies and engineering the appointment of a new president. The governor, who is expected to announce a presidential campaign soon, was met with loud protests on Monday that could at times be heard through the television broadcast of his remarks.
2ND AMENDMENT
Three Shot, Killed in New Mexico Despite Red Flag Law, Universal Background Checks
Three people were shot and killed in Farmington, New Mexico, despite the state’s red flag and universal background check laws.
Two police officers were also wounded in the incident.
Unprecedented Gun Control: Democrats in Government Are Trying to Disarm Young Americans
The anti-gunners are at it again. Democrats in Congress, having failed to pass their radical anti-gun agenda, are putting forth another bill that would prevent a wide swath of Americans from keeping and bearing arms.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) has introduced legislation in Washington, D.C., to raise the federal age for purchasing semiautomatic firearms from 18 to 25. Citing reports from law enforcement officials and experts, Moskowitz emphasizes that individuals between the ages of 15 and 25 are at the highest risk of becoming mass shooters due to developmental changes and societal pressures.
In a statement, the lawmaker highlighted that a significant majority of gun violence and mass shootings since 2020 have been carried out by individuals under 25. Moskowitz has a history of successfully passing gun violence prevention measures, including the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act in Florida.
“Our communities are plagued by gun violence. What will it take to protect our children? We can’t continue to needlessly endure heartbreak after heartbreak as our public places become targets of violence,” Moskowitz argued in a statement. “We no longer need moments of silence; we need moments of action. I refuse to think that nothing can get done.”
The proposal is being met with criticism from supporters of gun rights.
Elon Musk is Latest Billionaire to be Subpoenaed in Jeffrey Epstein Virgin Island Case
Elon Musk became the latest billionaire subpoenaed in the Jeffrey Epstein Virgin Island case today. He has allegedly been trying to avoid being served since last month.
Elon Musk was issued a subpoena by the US Virgin Islands as part of its lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase over the bank’s alleged facilitation of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, a court filing revealed Monday.
According to the filing, the Virgin Islands has attempted to serve Musk since late April, because Epstein “may have referred or attempted to refer” Musk as a client to JPMorgan.
“The Government contacted Mr. Musk’s counsel via email to ask if he would be authorized to accept service on Mr. Musk’s behalf in this matter but did not receive a response confirming or denying his authority,” reads the filing. (Source.)
Epstein and Musk were known business associates.
According to investigative reporter Whitney Webb, Epstein provided business contacts to Musk helping him start Tesla and SpaceX. Elon’s brother, Kimbal Musk, sits on the board for Tesla and SpaceX, and also dated one of Epstein’s girlfriends. (Source: One Nation Under Blackmail: The sordid union between Intelligence and Organized Crime that gave rise to Jeffrey Epstein, by Whitney Webb, Volume 2, page 55).
In a 2020 article published in The Sun, Musk’s ex-wife Talulah Riley denied “truly awful” rumors that Ghislaine Maxwell had handpicked her to be Musk’s “child bride”, although she did admit that she and her then-husband Musk had been entertained at Jeffrey Epstein’s house in New York City. (Source.)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Biggest Fear Among US Business Leaders Is ‘Catastrophic’ Debt Default: White House Economic Adviser
A key aide to President Joe Biden said Sunday that American business leaders’ chief concern is not inflation or recession but the looming threat of a “catastrophic” government debt default.
Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the country’s top business leaders have told her that their biggest concern is failure on the part of lawmakers on Capitol Hill to avert a default of the nation’s debt.
Talks about raising the U.S. government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling have made little progress in Washington. Biden and the Democrats continue to insist on a “clean” bill to lift the borrowing limit with no preconditions while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and the Republicans have put forward a proposal that pairs lifting the cap by $1.5 trillion with $4.5 trillion in spending cuts.
“When I talk to CEOs, to business leaders around the country, they tell me that things are actually going very well,” said Brainard, who served as vice chair of the Federal Reserve before being appointed by Biden to lead the White House economic advisory panel.
“But their biggest concern is that Congress might fail to prevent default and that would be catastrophic. It would lead to higher borrowing costs for cars, for mortgages, for small businesses, even for the U.S. government,” she said, echoing concerns raised by other Biden administration officials that a default would lead borrowing costs to surge and be a major headwind for the economy.
Social Security Payment Increase Could Drop Significantly in 2024: Seniors Group
A nonpartisan seniors group warned that next year’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for recipients will likely be smaller in 2024 than in 2023, meaning retirees will lose purchasing power.
In a news release, The Senior Citizens League said that the COLA for 2024 could be approximately 3.1 percent for 2024, or down more than 5 percentage points from 2023’s COLA, which was 8.7. percent. The increase was the largest in more than 40 years due to high inflation amidst the winding down of COVID-19-related pandemic rules and lockdowns.
The group said that because of a likely decrease in inflation, there will be a smaller COLA adjustment. Inflation has been decreasing as the Federal Reserve has sharply raised interest rates over the past year or so, although Labor Department data shows that last month’s Consumer Price Index—a measure of inflation—stood at 4.9 percent year-over-year.
“Inflation is moderating, but a lower inflation rate has not necessarily meant that prices have decreased,” the Senior Citizens League wrote in a new study, adding that some “key items” have “stubbornly high” prices.
The COLA is determined annually during the month of October by the Social Security Administration, basing the adjustment on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index in the third quarter of that year. If there is no change, then no adjustment will be made.
“Based on February inflation data, the [FY 2024] COLA looks like it will be below 3 percent and could fall into the 2 percent or even lower range by the third quarter if that 12-month average continues to decline,” Mary Johnson, the Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at the Senior Citizens League, told CBS News in a recent statement.
Abbott Labs Is Sued Over PediaSure Height Claims
A New York City woman sued Abbott Laboratories on Monday, accusing the healthcare company of misleading consumers into believing its PediaSure nutrition drinks were “clinically proven” to increase children’s height.
In a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court, Joanne Noriega said she bought PediaSure Grow & Gain vanilla and strawberry drinks for her eight-year-old grandson, who was “short for his age,” believing they would help him get taller.
The Bronx resident said that by February, after a year of two PediaSure drinks per day, her grandson was still short for his age and had become “so overweight” that she stopped buying the drinks.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Will AI Be Used To Skew The 2024 Election Results?
Computer engineers and tech-inclined political scientists have warned for years that cheap, powerful artificial intelligence tools would soon allow anyone to create fake images, video and audio that was realistic enough to fool voters and perhaps sway an election.
The synthetic images that emerged were often crude, unconvincing and costly to produce, especially when other kinds of misinformation were so inexpensive and easy to spread on social media. The threat posed by AI and so-called deepfakes always seemed a year or two away.
No more.
Sophisticated generative AI tools can now create cloned human voices and hyper-realistic images, videos and audio in seconds, at minimal cost. When strapped to powerful social media algorithms, this fake and digitally created content can spread far and fast and target highly specific audiences, potentially taking campaign dirty tricks to a new low.
The implications for the 2024 campaigns and elections are as large as they are troubling: Generative AI can not only rapidly produce targeted campaign emails, texts or videos, it also could be used to mislead voters, impersonate candidates and undermine elections on a scale and at a speed not yet seen.
“We’re not prepared for this,” warned A.J. Nash, vice president of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm ZeroFox. ”To me, the big leap forward is the audio and video capabilities that have emerged. When you can do that on a large scale, and distribute it on social platforms, well, it’s going to have a major impact.”
A Third Of Scientific Papers May Be Fraudulent
Around a third of studies published in neuroscience journals, and about 24% in medical journals, are “made up or plagiarized,” according to a new paper.
The research, referred to as a preprint — meaning it has not yet been peer-reviewed — looked at 5,000 published papers, as first reported by Science.
Using a simple, automated detection system the researchers looked for two telltale signs: Whether an author was registered with a personal, rather than institutional, email address, and if the author listed their affiliation as a hospital. The papers flagged as potentially fake were then checked by humans. About 1,500 of the papers were likely fraudulent, the researchers concluded.
Academic careers are “publish or perish”: If scientists don’t publish lots of widely cited studies, they won’t progress. They’re therefore incentivized to get their names on as many published papers as possible, and to make sure those studies get citations, not to find true facts.
The paper mill industry has arisen as a result of that incentive. But it’s just one way in which academics can boost their record. Some scientists repeatedly cite their own earlier papers, even if they have no relevance. There are also “citation rings” of scientists who all agree to cite each other’s papers, again regardless of relevance, and “undeserved authorship” in which scientists get their names on papers they didn’t write, either by paying for it or by mutual agreement. All these practices artificially boost the scientists’ citation statistics.
Everyone in science knows about these problems. But surprisingly few people do anything about it.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
A battle has been brewing between e-commerce giants and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) — and once again, millions of Americans are stuck in the middle.
Online shopping giants like Etsy, eBay and StubHub — and the third-party payment networks they use, including PayPal, Square and CashApp — have called on Congress to give relief to millions of online sellers by raising the income reporting threshold on IRS form 1099-K.
Google and Apple cooperate to address unwanted tracking
Google and Apple have announced that they are looking for input from industry participants and advocacy groups on a draft specification to alert users in the event of suspected unwanted tracking. Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Security, and Pebblebee have stated that they will support the specification in future products.
The specification will consist of a set of best practices and protocols for accessory manufacturers whose products have built-in location-tracking capabilities. Examples of these accessories are the Apple AirTag, Tile Mate and Pro, Samsung SmartTag, and Google’s expected Grogu.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
ANALYSIS: Toxicity of Lithium-Ion Batteries at Odds With Push for Electric Vehicles
Government leaders are pushing for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), but there are concerns about the vast amounts of mineral mining necessary for battery production and the ensuing waste management issues taking a toll on the environment.
Lithium, the primary component of an EV battery, can be highly environmentally polluting in its extraction and discarding phases.
A major issue with lithium mining is the quantity of water required. Mining just 1 ton of lithium can use up to 2.2 million gallons of water, according to AZO Cleantech. This results in the depletion of water sources close to mining regions and drying out of land, posing a threat to not only the environment of the region but also communities living in the vicinity.
Lithium batteries use various elements like nickel, copper, and lead, which can all be toxic.
The open-pit mining method of extracting minerals required for batteries involves clearing out vegetation and digging a deep pit, creating the circumstances for erosion, according to UL Research Institutes.
According to a January 2023 study by the Climate and Community Project, if America’s current EV demand is projected to 2050, the U.S. market would need three times the current world supply of lithium to meet the demand. This requires a massive expansion of mining activities that can bring about enormous changes to landscapes and living conditions.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Take it with a grain of salt … or take it to heart?
EMERGENCY RETREAT, SHOULD YOU HAVE ONE?
With the pandemic of the CoronaVirus in 2020, a new way of life took hold. People isolated in their homes and masks became common place around cities everywhere. One eye opening part was the panic that took place when it all started. This was very apparent at grocery stores because food was scarce and strangely, there was no chance of finding toilet paper. Those of us living in major cities might have had a bit of fear watching that unfold. What if you couldn’t find any food at all, or basic supplies? The fact that toilet paper was impossible to find within a week says a lot about this response and especially an outlook on future responses if they are even worse.
Animal Waste From Factory Farms Poses Health Risk
Communities near hog CAFOs have higher mortality rates from anemia, kidney disease, tuberculosis and septicemia, as well as higher infant mortality, likely due to exposure to hog waste
CAFO animal waste is made all the worse by the fact that these animals are routinely fed antibiotics, which promotes drug-resistant bacteria
Drug-resistant pathogens are not only found on meat, they can also spread from CAFO feedlots into the environment via the air, spreading far and wide by wind
Manure from industrial agriculture is the primary source of nitrogen and phosphorus in waterways. Resulting damage includes algae overgrowth that depletes the water of oxygen, killing fish and other marine life
Slaughterhouses are another source of nitrogen pollution, and three-quarters of U.S. meat processing plants that discharge wastewater into local waterways have violated the pollution limits of their federal Clean Water Act permits
HEALTH
Biden Taps Bertagnolli to Lead National Institutes of Health
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday chose cancer surgeon Monica Bertagnolli to be director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after a year-long search to find a permanent replacement for the agency’s long-serving head Francis Collins.
Bertagnolli, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, will become the second woman to serve as a permanent director of the NIH, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with a budget of about $45 billion in 2022.
“Dr. Bertagnolli is a world-class physician-scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people,” Biden said in a statement.
WHO advises against artificial sweeteners for weight control and disease
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday released guidance advising against the use of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) to control weight or manage noncommunicable diseases, citing a lack of evidence that these products have any long-term benefits.
The WHO also noted NSS use may be linked to Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults. A study was released earlier this year that found a possible link between the popular zero-sugar sweetener erythritol and strokes, heart attacks, blood clots and death.
“Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control in the long term. People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages,” said Francesco Branca, WHO director for nutrition and food safety, in a statement.
Medical Tourism Continues to Grow in Mexico Despite the Risks
A growing number of Americans continue to travel to Mexico for medical procedures or medication even though there are potentially many dangers involved while traveling through Mexico and during or after surgery.
This is happening even though two of four Americans kidnapped in Matamoros in March were killed by suspected drug cartel members after traveling to the border city for cosmetic surgery.
Most Americans who travel to Mexico for cheaper medical procedures do so in border areas like Matamoros or close to or in the Rio Grande Valley. But now, an increasing number of U.S. citizens are going deeper into Mexico than they have in the past.
“Before they barely came, but now I have many American patients,” Dr. Raul Lopez Trevino, a dermatologist in Guadalajara, told The Epoch Times. “I can’t remember even treating one several years ago.”
Guadalajara is roughly four hours east of Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist beach destination. It is also filled with surgeons and medical practitioners who provide their services at a fraction of the cost of similar clinics in the United States.
“I paid $4,200 for rhinoplasty surgery in Puerto Vallarta, and that included aftercare,” Justin Suess, who is originally from Oklahoma City, told The Epoch Times. “I’m pretty sure it would be double that in the U.S.”
MORE parents have concerns over childhood immunization, research suggests
New federally-backed research report reveals more parents are questioning childhood shot schedules than ever before
A new research report out of Canada, conducted by Ekos Research Associates and commissioned by the Canadian federal government, offers revelatory findings about how parents truly feel about mandated childhood shots.
The report, Childhood Vaccination Marketing Campaign Survey 2022, collected data from 1,228 Canadians, “including 1,035 parents with children 0 to 6 years of age, and 193 individuals who are currently pregnant or planning a pregnancy within the next 12 months,” according to the report.
Of the respondents, only about 4 in 10 (39 percent) “said they accept all recommended vaccines and have no doubts or concerns about vaccinating their child.” That’s nearly a 10 percentage point drop from 48 percent in 2017.
The report also found that 1 in 3 parents have “minor doubts and concerns” about government-recommended shots, and another five percent say they have “many doubts and concerns,” even though they accept these shots for their children. Conversely, 3 percent of respondents have opted out of all shots, and nearly 1 in 5 (19 percent) have declined or delayed at least some shots.
COVID RELATED NEWS
Millions of doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are getting tossed in the trash because no one’s using them.
More than 2 years after Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was first approved by the FDA, it is now no longer available anywhere in the US, according to the CDC.
Johnson & Johnson expects no new Covid vaccine revenue, after shots drive earnings beat
International Covid vaccine sales helped spark Johnson & Johnson’s revenue and earnings beat on Tuesday, but the company said it expects no sales from the shot moving forward.
“Regarding our Covid-19 vaccine, we do not anticipate material sales beyond that which were recorded in the first quarter as our contractual commitments are complete,” Joseph Wolk, the chief financial officer, said during a conference call Tuesday.
Fired Teachers Who Refused COVID Vaccine To Get Full Reinstatement And Back Pay
Three Rhode Island teachers who were fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine have been offered their jobs back with full back pay after reaching a settlement with the school district.
Teachers Stephanie Hines, Brittany DiOrio, and Kerri Thurber were terminated from their positions in Barrington Public Schools after they had requested a religious exemption after the school mandated employees get the vaccine.
Last week, their attorney, Greg Piccirilli, and the school district said they had reached a settlement, allowing the teachers to return to their jobs. They are also each entitled to $33,333 in damages along with their back pay. DiOrio will get $150,000, Thurber will get $128,000, and Hines will receive $65,000 under the agreement.
Judge Orders FDA to Accelerate Release of COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Data to Just 2 Years
A federal judge in Texas ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make public data it relied on to license COVID-19 vaccines at an accelerated rate, requiring all documents to be made public by mid-2025 rather than, as the FDA wanted, over the course of about 23.5 years.
CANCEL CULTURE
‘Joined the Woke Cult’: Miller Lite Under Fire over Feminist Ad Campaign
Miller Lite is under fire after a March ad campaign caught renewed attention for its overtly feminist tone — which is now reigniting the outrage that ensued after Bud Light appeared to collaborate with biological man who believes he is a woman — as companies continue to embrace the radical woke agenda.
The “Bad $#!T to Good $#!T” campaign, ostensibly debuted in March for women’s month, attempts to right apparent wrongs for women in the beer industry.
ICYMI
Texas Governor Sends Kamala Harris Busload of Migrants on Mother’s Day
Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent Vice President Kamala Harris a busload of migrants for Mother’s Day on Sunday. The migrants had been released by the Biden-Harris administration after crossing the border from Mexico into Texas.
A bus carrying dozens of migrants from the Texas border town of Del Rio arrived at the official residence of Kamala Harris — the U.S. Naval Observatory — on Sunday evening, ABC 15 WJLA reported. A group of local volunteers arrived and took the migrants to a church for processing
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