WORLD NEWS
Sweden Recommends 5th Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine to Pregnant Women and Over-65s
Sweden’s government is recommending a fifth dose of COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and over, and at-risk groups that are under 65, which includes those who are immunocompromised and pregnant women, authorities said on May 24.
At-risk groups under 65 also include people with heart and lung disease, the Swedish Public Health Agency noted.
The agency said its fifth dose—or third booster dose—will be available starting Sept. 1.
“In Sweden, we need to be prepared for an increased spread during the coming autumn and winter season,” the agency said in an announcement.
Swedish Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren said the pandemic is not over. “The vaccine is our strongest tool for preventing serious illness and death,” she said in a statement.
The agency’s recommendations for the other age groups remain the same. Adults aged 18–64 are recommended to have taken three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. They can take a fourth dose if they want to, the agency said. Children aged 2 to 17 are “recommended vaccination with two doses.”
“In general, the risk of serious illness is assessed as low for adults under the age of 65 who have been vaccinated with three doses, but the risk increases with age and varies within the group,” agency chief Karin Tegmark Wisell said.
Sweden has been relatively hands-off in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, having never imposed a full lockdown or closed businesses.
Vaccines currently in use in Sweden are Comirnaty from Pfizer-BioNTech and Spikevax from Moderna, both of which are based on mRNA technology.
The COVID-19 vaccines from these companies have been linked with heart inflammation, including myocarditis and pericarditis, data from around the world have suggested.
Younger populations, especially young men, have been observed to experience these conditions at much higher than expected rates, data from the CDC previously suggested. A small number of deaths from heart inflammation after COVID-19 vaccine have been reported.
The primary regimens of the vaccines, which are two doses administrated several weeks apart, have been insufficient to protect against infection, and have shown waning efficacy in protecting against hospitalization amid newly emerging variants. This has prompted the governments of many countries to recommend boosters and subsequent boosters throughout the pandemic.
Zachary Stieber and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Court fight looms over UK supermarket’s cat ban
An autistic man is taking supermarket giant Sainsbury’s to court for refusing entry to his assistance cat.
Designer and writer Ian Fenn from London says the ban on Chloe, who helps him in daily life, is limiting his independence.
He says she helps him stay calm, but the supermarket argues that cats, unlike assistance dogs, present risks to food hygiene.
The case might set a legal precedent if it has to be ruled on by top judges.
Sainsbury’s says it is working with an environmental health team to find out how Ian and his cat can visit safely.
Ian was recently diagnosed with autism after many years of struggling with anxiety in busy or noisy environments.
He has trained Chloe to help him manage his way through daily life after discovering on a train journey that her presence improved what would otherwise have been a stressful situation.
When we meet Ian and Chloe in a south London pub, she’s sitting on a small, dedicated mat beside him on the sofa, gazing intently at the drinkers.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Uvalde shooting: Texas police change key details as criticism mounts
Police in Texas have revised key details about Tuesday’s deadly school shooting as criticism mounts from parents over the initial response.
The gunman roamed outside the Uvalde school for 12 minutes before entering unchallenged, police said on Thursday.
That contradicted earlier statements which said the attacker had been confronted and shot at by an officer.
He killed 19 children and two teachers before he was shot dead 90 minutes after he arrived, police said.
That delay, combined with video footage showing frustrated parents being tackled and handcuffed by police while the gunman was still inside the school, has led to growing public anger and scrutiny of the early response.
It has also called into question claims by state Governor Greg Abbott, who earlier this week hailed the “quick response” of “valiant local officials” who he said had engaged the gunman before he entered the school. “They showed amazing courage by running toward gunfire,” he said.
The latest timeline was given at a news conference by Texas Ranger Victor Escalon, who said several times that he wanted to “clear up” previous statements. He defended the police response and spoke of the emotional toll the shooting had taken on officers. “We’re all hurting inside,” he said.
But the timeline of events was still unclear after Thursday’s briefing, and questions remain about how long it took officers to arrive and why the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was inside the school for more than an hour before he was killed – not by local officers – but by a tactical unit led by US border agents.
Mr Escalon said Ramos crashed his vehicle nearby at 11:28, with the first emergency call coming two minutes later as witnesses reported a man carrying a gun. Ramos then shot at members of the public, roamed the school premises, and entered freely through an unlocked door at 11:40.
Police arrived on site four minutes later, Mr Escalon said. But it is unclear how close they got to the gunman or whether they attempted to enter the classroom where the shooting took place.
Police initially said the officers were “inside making entry” and took cover after coming under heavy fire. This was revised on Thursday by Mr Escalon. “They [didn’t] make entry immediately because of the gunfire they were receiving,” he said.
At 12:45, the gunman was shot dead by a team led by an elite Border Patrol tactical unit. Mr Escalon played down previous statements by police that there had been ongoing exchanges of gunfire during the previous hour. “The majority of the gunfire was in the beginning,” he told reporters.
Police Waited to Enter Texas School as Shooter Opened Fire: Witnesses
Several witnesses at the scene of the Texas mass shooting said that police waited to enter, as videos surfaced of parents telling officers, “Go protect the kids!”
“What are you doing—get inside the building!” a person yelled in one of the videos, while another screamed, “Go protect the kids!”
Law enforcement authorities faced questions on May 26 about how much time had elapsed before they stormed a classroom in Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, where an 18-year-old gunman opened fire, killing two teachers and 19 children on May 24.
Investigators were also unable to say with any certainty whether an armed school district security officer outside Robb Elementary in the town of Uvalde exchanged fire with the attacker, Salvador Ramos, when Ramos first arrived.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw confirmed to news outlets on May 25 that 40 minutes to an hour had elapsed between when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer to when the tactical team shot him. Ultimately, officials confirmed that a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Ramos.
“The bottom line is law enforcement was there,” McCraw said. “They did engage immediately. They did contain [Ramos] in the classroom.”
EXCLUSIVE: Police Initially Lacked Ballistic Shield Needed to Reach Barricaded Texas School Shooter
Multiple law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that part of the delay in stopping the barricaded elementary school shooter hinged on a deadly mix of the shooter’s defensive tactics and the lack of needed gear. Specifically, officers lacked the ballistic shield needed to enter the classroom with the barricaded shooter. Attempting to breach the door without a ballistic shield would have resulted in certain death for the officers which could have provided the shooter with the officers’ weapons and ammunition. There is also the possibility that the shooter could have taken police communications gear off of the officers’ bodies, thereby giving the shooter the ability to listen to police movement and plans.
A Border Patrol source with knowledge of the methods used by the hastily formed team of law enforcement officers to engage the suspect described the difficulty faced by the officers. The source, with decades of prior experience on the Border Patrol’s elite BORTAC team, says the situation became much more difficult to resolve once the shooter barricaded himself in the classroom.
The source, not authorized to speak to the media, told Breitbart Texas a barricaded subject is the most difficult tactical situation to resolve. In this case, the source says the shooter most likely planned the attack days or weeks in advance, perhaps prior to the purchase of two AR-15 style rifles and the ammunition he carried onto the school grounds.
According to the source, officers at the scene who had been trained in advanced tactical procedures located a level IV ballistic shield. This tool allowed them to approach the shooter without immediately being killed. A United States Marshal Service employee acquired the necessary ballistic shield that ultimately allowed the quickly formed tactical team to enter the building and reach the barricaded shooter.
Even with the shield, as reported by Breitbart Texas, one of the Border Patrol agents who rushed the shooter still suffered a grazing gunshot wound to the head. The law enforcement team did not wait for personal protective equipment before acting.
Another Border Patrol agent was also on the makeshift tactical team and fired the shots believed to have stopped the suspect, the source confirmed.
“If the subject can effectively take out an officer, he gains one more weapon, more loaded magazines, and law enforcement communications are instantly compromised allowing the suspect to know what the next plan of attack is,” the source explained.
Breitbart Texas spoke to a local law enforcement official who also says small-town police departments lack access to this equipment due to funding issues. The official says he is dismayed at the false premise that officers on the scene were afraid to enter.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigation, told Breitbart Texas one officer poised at the window of the classroom could not gain access and ultimately lost his child who was inside the room.
“Our officers had their own children in the building — one of whom was killed,” the official stated. “We wanted to end this as badly as anyone else. To think that we would stand around and let children die by choice is unconscionable for our officers right now during their time of mourning.”
The official says most law enforcement agencies in the area, including the Uvalde school police are stretched thin. Training opportunities are costly and unaffordable with the small budgets the departments have access to.
Here Are All the 21 Victims Who Died in the Texas School Shooting
The identities of the 21 people, including 19 children, who were slain in a Texas school shooting on May 24 have been identified.
Eva Mireles, 44, is one of two teachers killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, according to her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, who spoke to ABC7.
Mireles’ daughter, Adalynn, paid tribute to her mother on Wednesday morning, writing in a Twitter post: “My sweet mommy, I will miss you forever.”
Xavier Lopez, 10, was identified as another victim, his cousin, Lisa Garza, told The Associated Press.
“He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life, not knowing that this tragedy was going to happen today,” said Garza, according to the AP.
Manny Renfro lost his 8-year-old grandson, Uziyah Garcia, in the shooting. “The sweetest little boy that I’ve ever known,” Renfro said. “I’m not just saying that because he was my grandkid.”
Husband of Teacher Slain in Texas Attack Dies of ‘Broken Heart’: Family
The husband of one of the teachers slain in the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school this week died on May 26 from an apparent heart attack, family members said.
Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, “tragically passed away this morning as a result of a medical emergency,” Debra Austin, Irma Garcia’s cousin, wrote on GoFundMe. “I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart, and losing the love of his life of more than 25 years was too much to bear.”
According to the teacher’s official biography, the Garcias had been married for 24 years and had four children.
“I love to BBQ with my husband, listen to music, and take country cruises to Concan,” Irma Garcia wrote in the bio.
Family members took to social media to lament the newest loss.
“Lord god please on our family, my [tia’s] husband passed away this morning due to a heart attack at home,” Joey, one of Irma Garcia’s nephews, wrote on Twitter.
Joe Garcia visited a memorial for his wife in the morning on May 26 to drop off flowers, and when he returned home, he “pretty much just fell over,” John Martinez, another nephew, told The New York Times.
“I’m really in shock right now,” he added.
Martinez said on Twitter that Irma and Joe Garcia were high school sweethearts and leave behind children aged 13, 15, 19, and 23.
“No child should have to go through this. My heart breaks for them,” he said.
Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles, another teacher at Robb Elementary School, and 19 children were killed on May 24 by a shooter identified by authorities as Salvador Ramos, 18. Ramos was killed by officers, according to Texas authorities.
Family members have said Garcia and Mireles died trying to protect their students.
Garcia “sacrificed herself protecting the kids in her classroom,” according to Martinez.
Adalynn Ruiz, Mireles’s daughter, said on Facebook that her mother “selflessly jumped in front of her students to save their lives.”
“Mom, I have no words to describe how I feel right now, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life,” Ruiz wrote. “Mom, you are a hero. I keep telling myself that this isn’t real. I just want to hear your voice.”
Top Democrat Blocks Legislation Aimed at Preventing School Shootings
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blocked legislation on May 25 that proponents say could help prevent school shootings.
The legislation, known as the Luke and Alex School Safety Act, would require the Department of Homeland Security to establish a clearinghouse on the best school safety practices after consulting with education, justice, and health officials.
“It’s pretty simple. It just creates a clearinghouse of information of the best practices for school safety. It ensures that parents, teachers, school officials, and other stakeholders have input into what those best practices are. It doesn’t allow the clearinghouse to mandate any school to take any certain action. Maybe most importantly, it publishes the available grant programs and federal resources available for school safety,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said on the Senate floor in Washington.
The bill is named for Luke Hoyer and Alex Schachter, who were both killed when a man with a gun opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in 2018. It’s backed by the parents of the boys.
“It’s a good idea. It could save lives. It is an action, when people are calling for action following this tragedy,” Johnson said.
He asked for unanimous consent for the legislation. That enables a bill to pass with no recorded vote, but also opens up the possibility that a single senator could block the request.
Schumer blocked it, referencing the mass shooting that took place this week in Uvalde, Texas.
The “sad truth” about that shooting is that “hardening schools,” or ramping up prevention techniques and strategies, “would have done nothing to prevent” the shooting, Schumer said.
“In fact, there were guards and police officers already at the school yesterday when the shooter showed up. One was a school police officer, two were from the Uvalde Police Department. The shooter got past all of them, with two assault weapons that he purchased. They couldn’t stop him,” Schumer said. “The bill would not have protected those children. More guns won’t protect our children. That is the wrong answer.”
He said he was open to adding the bill’s language as an amendment to a bill he supports, but only if Republicans voted for it.
Johnson responded, saying that he would “not engage in partisanship, other than to say it is just sad.”
Left-wing New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received a rapturous response Thursday at Harvard University as she outlined her government’s commitment to strict gun control laws, linking them to the defense of democracy.
The Harvard Gazette reports Ardern, a former president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, drew loud cheers and standing ovations as she spoke about how her government cracked down on gun ownership in the wake of the deadly 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
“We knew we needed significant gun reform, and so that is what we did,” she said. “But we also knew that if we wanted genuine solutions to the issue of violent extremism online, it would take government, civil society and the tech companies themselves to change the landscape.”
The Labour Party leader said the move on gun ownership, which involved restrictions on semiautomatic firearms and high-capacity magazines, was a way of defending democracy and personal freedoms.
Ardern’s strict actions were mirrored two years ago when she imposed some of the toughest restrictions in the world during the coronavirus epidemic. In that period she closed New Zealand’s borders to the world while enforcing social measures to build a two-tiered society – the vaccinated and the unvaccinated – as Breitbart News reported.
Lee Greenwood, Larry Gatlin, Larry Stewart Cancel Texas NRA Performance
Lee Greenwood, Larry Gatlin, and Larry Stewart have all pulled out of performing at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
In a statement to Fox News, Larry Gatlin said he cannot “in good conscience” perform at a time like this.
“To my fellow sad Americans, I cannot, in good conscience, perform at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend,” said Gatlin.
“While I agree with most of the positions held by the NRA, I have come to believe that, while background checks would not stop every madman with a gun, it is at the very least a step in the right direction toward trying to prevent the kind of tragedy we saw this week in Uvalde — in my beloved, weeping Texas,” he added.
Gatlin also lamented the fact teachers were not proficient in the use of arms.
“It is not a perfect world and the ‘if only crowd’s’ policies will never make it one,” Gatlin said. “I am a ‘what if guy,’ and I can’t help but ask the question, ‘What if the teachers had been proficient in the use of firearms and had, in fact, been armed this week? My answer is that there would not be 21 freshly dug graves for 21 of God’s precious children.”
“My prayers and thoughts go to all who are suffering, and I pray that the NRA will rethink some of its outdated and ill-thought-out positions regarding firearms in America. I’m a Second Amendment guy, but the Second Amendment should not apply to everyone. It’s that simple. GOD HELP US PLEASE,” Gatlin added.
Larry Stewart noted he pulled out of performing in respect for the victims while acknowledging the NRA’s work in protecting the 2nd Amendment. He said:
Due to the tragedy in Uvalde with the horrific school shooting and children who died, I want to honor the victims, families, the town and our friends in the great state of Texas the best I know how.
So I have made the decision to pull out as a performer for the NRA convention this weekend, especially given the event is just down the road. I’m a strong believer in the Second Amendment, and I know the NRA is a great organization who teaches strict gun safety with a membership of law-abiding citizens who love our country. I just believe this is best for me at this time. God bless everyone involved!
Lee Greenwood, singer of God Bless the USA, said he will not be performing to mourn the loss of those innocent children who died.
“As a father, I join the rest of America in being absolutely heartbroken by the horrific event that transpired this week in Texas. I was scheduled to perform at NRA’s private event on Saturday with my band. After thoughtful consideration, we have decided to cancel the appearance out of respect for those mourning the loss of those innocent children and teachers in Uvalde,” said Greenwood.
“During this Memorial Day Weekend, we should also remember the servicemen and women, and first responders who’ve given their lives to protect our great country,” Greenwood further shared. “Please join me to pay our respects as we unite together as would be the most appropriate measure at this time.”
The three performers dropping out comes shortly after “American Pie” singer Don McLean pulled out of performing for the same reasons, as Breitbart News reported.
“In light of the recent events in Texas, I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week,” McLean said.
“I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans. I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation,” he concluded.
As Attacks on 2nd Amendment Fester, State Advances Bill to Ban Enforcement of Federal Gun Control
On Wednesday, a Louisiana Senate committee passed a bill that would prohibit state and local enforcement of any federal gun control implemented on or after Jan. 1, 2022. Passage into law would take a first step toward stopping federal acts that infringe on the right to keep and bear arms within the state.
Rep. Larry Frieman (R) filed House Bill 43 (HB43) on Feb 3. Titled the “Louisiana Firearm Protection Act,” the legislation would bar state enforcement of federal gun control that infringes on a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Constitution of Louisiana.
The bill defines specific acts enacted after Jan. 1, 2022, that would be considered infringements, including but not limited to:
- taxes and fees on firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition not common to all other goods and services that would have a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by law-abiding citizens;
- registration and tracking schemes applied to firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition;
- any act forbidding the possession, ownership, or use or transfer of a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition by law-abiding citizens;
- any act ordering the confiscation of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition from law-abiding citizens.
A law-abiding citizen is defined as ” a person who is not otherwise precluded under state law from possessing a firearm.”
The proposed law would prohibit the state, its agencies, and its political subdivision from “adopting a rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the entity explicitly or through consistent overt action enforces a federal statute, order, rule, or regulation” if it infringes on the right to keep and bear arms.
It would also prohibit the use of state assets, state funds, or funds allocated by the state to local entities “in whole or in part, to engage in any activity that aids a federal agency, federal agent, or corporation providing services to the federal government in the enforcement of or any investigation pursuant to the enforcement of any federal act, law, order, rule, or regulation regarding a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition” enacted after Jan 1, 2022 that infringes on the right to keep and bear arms.
The proposed law would create a cause of action to sue any person that violates the law in state court without the possibility of “sovereign, official, or qualified immunity” as an affirmative defense. Any state agency or political subdivision in violation of the law would be subject to losing state grant funds the following year.
Ex-Clinton Lawyer Facing Jail Time If Convicted Won’t Testify
The former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer who is on trial for allegedly lying to the FBI will not take the stand to testify, he said in federal court on May 26.
Michael Sussmann, the lawyer, said that he agreed not to testify after speaking with his lawyers when asked by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who is overseeing the case. Cooper told Sussmann he has the right to testify, but can choose to forgo that right.
Sussmann was considering testifying in his own defense against the charge of making a false statement to the government, which carries a potential jail term of up to five years.
The charge came after Sussmann brought derogatory information about Donald Trump, while representing Clinton’s campaign, to the FBI ahead of the 2016 election while claiming he was acting on his own accord.
Sussmann later told Congress he went to the FBI on behalf of a client, with information from a client.
The FBI examined the data, which allegedly showed a link between Trump and Russia, and found it did not substantiate that alleged link. Months afterward, Sussmann shared the information with the CIA, which concluded the alleged link was not “technically plausible” and did not “withstand technical scrutiny,” according to special counsel John Durham’s team, which is prosecuting the Perkins Coie lawyer.
Clinton campaign officials have said that Clinton approved a plan to spread the same allegations to media outlets, but that they did not approve Sussmann going to the FBI because they feared it would delay the publication of stories about the allegations.
Sussmann’s decision not to take the stand followed his attorneys attempting to convince the judge not to allow him, if he did testify, to be questioned on negotiations he had with the government prior to being charged.
Filings on the matter were entered, but were sealed. That means they weren’t available for perusal by parties outside of the defense, the prosecution, and the judge.
County judge in Texas is arrested for alleged cattle theft
A county judge in West Texas was arrested Friday on charges of livestock theft and engaging in organized criminal activity.
Loving County Judge Skeet Jones, 71, was charged along with three other men following a yearlong investigation, report the Associated Press, NewsWest9 and NBC News.
Jones is accused of picking up and selling stray cattle. He is the highest elected official in Loving County, Texas.
According to NBC News, “word of the arrests spread faster than a prairie fire with a tailwind through this West Texas county, population 57 as of the last U.S. Census Bureau estimate.”
NBC News described Jones as “the scion of a powerful ranching family that settled in Loving County in the 1950s.”
County judges in Texas preside over the county governing body, the commissioners court and often have broad judicial duties, as well, according to Ballotpedia and the Texas Association of Counties.
Jones has served as county judge since 2007. He received a public warning from Texas’ State Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2016 for downgrading charges, such as speeding and marijuana possession to parking violations, according to NBC News and NewsWest9. The offenders were charged fees ranging from around $600 to $750.
Jones said he hadn’t been involved in negotiations to downgrade charges and simply approved plea deals that were presented to him.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is accused of making “dishonest” statements in election litigation in an ethics petition filed by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline of the State Bar of Texas.
The May 25 petition stems from Paxton’s original jurisdiction lawsuit filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in December 2020. Paxton’s suit sought to overturn the election results in the battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court tossed the case the same month, citing a lack of standing to challenge election results in other states.
According to the petition, Paxton’s suit misrepresented that Texas had “uncovered substantial evidence” that raised serious doubts about the integrity of the election process in the four states.
The petition, filed in Collin County, Texas, said Paxton’s pleadings contained these additional misrepresentations:
- The number votes tied to unregistered voters would affect the election outcome.
- Votes were switched because of a voting-machine glitch.
- State actors unconstitutionally revised election statutes.
- Illegal votes affected the outcome of the election.
Paxton’s “representations were dishonest,” the disciplinary petition said. “His allegations were not supported by any charge, indictment, judicial finding and/or credible or admissible evidence and failed to disclose to the court that some of his representations and allegations had already been adjudicated and/or dismissed in a court of law.”
Five people had asked the Texas bar to investigate Paxton, including Democratic Party activist Kevin Moran and David W. Wellington Chew, a retired Texas appeals court justice.
Brent Edward Webster, a top Paxton deputy, is facing a separate ethics complaint, filed May 6, that also cites alleged “dishonest” assertions in the Supreme Court election lawsuit.
Hat tip to Law360, Bloomberg Law, Law.com, the Texas Tribune and the Washington Post, which had coverage of the petition.
The articles pointed out that the complaint against Paxton was filed a day after he defeated George P. Bush, the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, in a GOP runoff election for Texas attorney general.
Judge Strikes Email, Testimony Suggesting Trump-Russia Claims May Have Been Fabricated
Testimony that suggested the Donald Trump-Russia claims given to the FBI by a Hillary Clinton lawyer may have been fabricated will be struck from the record, along with mention of the email that triggered the testimony, a judge has ruled.
On Tuesday, FBI agent Curtis Heide was presented with an email sent by Rodney Joffe to researchers with the Georgia Institute of Technology dated Sept. 14, 2016. Joffe discussed one of the white papers Michael Sussmann, a lawyer representing both Joffe and the Clinton campaign, later handed over to the FBI alleging a secret link between Trump and a Russian bank.
“Please read as if you had no prior knowledge or involvement, and you were handed this document as a security expert (NOT a DNS expert) and were asked: ‘Is this plausible as an explanation?’” Joffe wrote. “NOT to be able to say that this is, without doubt, but to merely be plausible.”
DNS stands for Domain Name System, or the type of information that Joffe and the researchers said linked Russia’s Alfa Bank and Trump’s business in the papers they compiled. Sussmann gave those papers to the FBI shortly after the September email.
Asked about the language in the message, Heide said that “it appears, from this email, that this report may have been fabricated.”
Sean Berkowitz, a defense lawyer, said while the jury was out of the room that the answer was “prejudicial” to his client.
“I did not want to draw attention to it. But given the parameters of the court’s prior ruling and the way that they went through that, I think that was improper to elicit, and nonresponsive,” Berkowitz said.
Jonathan Algor, a prosecutor with special counsel John Durham’s team, said asking Heide about the email was “legitimate” because it followed a series of questions from the defense about David Dagon, one of the researchers Joffe emailed, and the source for the paper in question.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, the Obama appointee overseeing Sussmann’s case, on May 24 ordered Heide’s quote struck from the record. His justification was that the answer was “at odds” with his earlier ruling that prosecutors could not delve into whether the data was concocted or “spoofed” because Sussmann was said to not be involved in the research itself.
On Wednesday, Cooper said the email itself can no longer be an exhibit.
Cooper had allowed the document to be admitted because he said it was not hearsay since it had a statement and a question.
Nolte: Media Try to Blame FDA for Biden’s Baby Formula Shortage
His Fraudulency Joe Biden’s baby formula shortage is such an unmitigated disaster, the lying corporate media are unable to dismiss it, unable to blame Republicans for it, and can only try to blame the FDA, and do so with the most desperate spin you’ll ever read:
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf laid out a series of setbacks in congressional testimony that slowed his agency’s response, including a COVID-19 outbreak at the plant and a whistleblower complaint that didn’t reach FDA leadership because it was apparently lost in the mail.
[…]
FDA staff began honing in on Abbott’s plant last fall while tracking several bacterial infections in infants who had consumed formula from the facility. The four cases occurred between September and January, causing hospitalizations and two deaths.
[…]
Califf also struggled to explain delays in following up on a whistleblower complaint alleging numerous safety violations at Abbott’s plant, including employees falsifying records and failing to test formula before shipment.
Nice try, ABC News!
The media want you to believe the following is the problem: the baby formula scarcity, which is putting infants all over America in the hospital with malnutrition, was caused by the FDA’s delay in shutting down Abbott’s Michigan plant.
In this article, which is deceptively titled, “FDA chief struggles to explain slow response on baby formula,” we’re told there was “a months-long delay in inspecting the plant at the center of a nationwide baby formula shortage” is the issue.
Well, sorry. That’s not the issue.
It might be an issue.
But it’s not the issue.
A months-long delay inspecting at a baby formula plant where there might be contamination certainly is an issue. But I repeat, it is not the issue.
The issue is the shortage of baby formula, and whether the Abbott Michigan plant was inspected in and closed in September of last year of February of this year, has nothing to do with the shortage.
Allow me to lay out the issue…
The issue is that the Biden administration had known for months — and whether those months began in September 2021 or February 2022 — that a primary manufacturer of baby formula was being shut down. And although the Biden administration knew this shutdown was coming, the Biden administration did nothing to ensure there was a plan B that would keep our country stocked with baby formula.
That is THE issue.
That is THE only issue.
And we all know why the Biden administration failed to plan for what was obviously going to result in a shortage… because feeding babies is not a priority with an administration obsessed with pronouns and gun-grabbing and destroying Donald Trump and covering for an enfeebled president who has no idea what day it is.
Making sure Americans are safe and have enough food, energy, and water is priority number one for the government, and the idiots in the Biden White House are failing on almost every count. Our border is wide open, we don’t have enough gasoline, and our babies are being hospitalized for malnutrition.
But what’s a few dead babies when pronouns are at stake?
‘Too Slow’: FDA Admits Delayed Response to Complaints About US Baby Formula Plant
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) initial response to complaints about Abbott’s infant formula plant was “too slow” and some decisions could have been “more optimal,” the FDA’s top official said while facing a grilling from lawmakers on Wednesday.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf appeared before a congressional panel to answer questions about the FDA’s handling of events that led to the biggest infant formula shortage in recent U.S. history after Abbott in February recalled some products and closed its Sturgis manufacturing plant.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), chair of the panel, raised the question of the “timeline of FDA’s investigation and response,” citing a “four-month lapse before returning to inspect the Sturgis facility,” and a delay in contacting a former Abbott employee whistleblower.
Lawmakers heard that senior FDA officials only saw the complaint in February because of pandemic-related mail routing issues.
Califf acknowledged that the “FDA’s timeliness of interviewing the whistleblower and getting into the facility for a for-cause inspection were too slow. And some decisions in retrospect could have been more optimal.”
“While there are many steps along the way where different actions could have sped up the sequence of events, to this day, I can find no evidence of intentional delay or malfeasance,” he said.
The FDA inspected the plant following reports of bacterial infections in babies allegedly linked to Abbott’s formula, and the whistleblower complaint in late October.
But an investigation by the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “could not conclude” that the “egregiously unsanitary conditions” at the Abbott plant caused the illnesses in the infants.
“However, we cannot rule it out either. There’s a confluence of events that’s highly unusual. There is no dispute that the facility was unacceptably unsanitary, as evidenced by the consent decree. Frankly, the inspection results were shocking,” he said.
Califf noted that inspectors found cracks in vital equipment, a lack of adequate handwashing, evidence of previous bacterial contamination, and water leaks in areas where formula is produced, a risk factor for bacteria.
It is critical to return the Sturgis plant to safe production of infant formula as soon as possible, Califf said, because Abbott holds the largest market share in America, “leaving it with a responsibility” to produce safe formula “that was not met.”
Abbott did not have a contingency plan to produce its lines of specialty formulas that serve as the only source of nutrition for thousands of babies with metabolic disorders, lawmakers heard.
“We will do everything in our power to work with Abbott to make this happen as quickly and safely as possible. But this timing is in Abbott’s control,” Califf said.
Reflecting on the FDA’s role in exacerbating the formula shortage, Califf cited chronic underfunding of the FDA as one issue that needs to be addressed, hinting that “you will see changes in the future.”
“Our requests for funding and authority are essential in concert with improved operations and leadership,” he said.
For the sake of expediency, the FDA entered a consent decree with Abbott, which allows the company to avoid litigation by pledging to voluntary act to improve and address deficiencies. An outside official will have full oversight of “every single step.”
Abbott said on Tuesday that it planned to reopen the plant on June 4.
US Schools Facing Mass Exodus of Teachers Who Won’t Return This Fall
With the end of the academic year in sight, an overwhelming number of educators are planning to close the book on their teaching careers.
Much of this stems from post-pandemic classroom behavioral challenges with students and ongoing staff shortages that create excessive workloads for teachers.
Many educators who have 25 years or more under their belt are opting to retire, but even less seasoned ones are walking away and choosing different career paths.
Back in February, the National Education Association (NEA) released a study conducted by GBAO Strategies that revealed a startling 55 percent of teachers planned to leave their profession ahead of schedule.
The NEA is the most prominent teachers union in the United States and represents 3 million educators.
Widespread educator shortages pre-date the arrival of COVID-19, but the pandemic also served as the last straw for many, kicking off the trend of an early departure.
A RAND study from January 2021 showed nearly a quarter of those surveyed expressed the desire to quit after just one year of teaching during the pandemic.
The average national turnover rate was only 16 percent before COVID-19. However, in 2021, that number jumped to 25 percent.
This year, 80 percent of NEA members reported that unfilled job openings at schools have led to more work obligations for the educators who’ve chosen to stay in their profession.
“I think people are leaving because it’s all too much. It’s a firestorm. It’s all eroding,” Heidi Rickard told The Epoch Times.
Under Legal Pressure, San Diego Schools Delay Vaccine Mandate With No Religious Exemptions
The San Diego Unified School District decided on May 24 to postpone for a second time its policy requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as opponents press forward with a federal lawsuit against the district.
Paul Jonna, Thomas More Society special counsel and partner at LiMandri and Jonna LLP, hailed the decision to delay the mandate as a victory.
“We welcome this course of action, which represents another significant victory for these families and their students, most of whom will now be able to have normal senior years and graduate from high school,” Jonna said in a statement.
The mandate, which was to take effect in July, will be delayed until July 2023 or later. The school district, which previously delayed the mandate, is one of the few in the United States that requires students to receive the vaccine for in-person instruction while not offering a religious exemption for schoolchildren.
The extensively litigated case went before the Supreme Court three months ago, as The Epoch Times previously reported. On Feb. 18, the high court denied an application to halt the mandate after the school district postponed it at that time but invited the litigants to seek an injunction in the future “if circumstances warrant.” The court order states: “Because respondents have delayed implementation of the challenged policy, and because they have not settled on the form any policy will now take, emergency relief is not warranted at this time.”
While the Supreme Court has generally been reluctant to block mandates requiring people to accept COVID-19 vaccinations, the court has been willing to curtail pandemic-related restrictions when religious freedoms have been threatened.
The new postponement decision took place days after attorneys from the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm that focuses on religious freedom, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction (pdf) against the mandate in federal court and one day before the school district’s response to the motion was due. The motion is scheduled to be heard on June 15 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
The Thomas More Society and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty have been representing a group of families who sued the school district and its board of education over its policy that required students to obtain the controversial vaccines, while explicitly disallowing exemptions for sincerely held religious objections. Those who object say they disapprove of the vaccines because they were tested using human fetal cell lines.
The school district’s policy would have forced students to take the vaccine and violate their faith, or stand firm and skip the vaccine but withdraw from all extracurricular activities and return to independent, online study.
Jonna said in one ruling in the case, 11 judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit dissented from a decision not to provide emergency relief for students with religious objections to the mandate, arguing the mandate should be immediately struck down, given its constitutional shortcoming. A few weeks later, he said, when the Supreme Court was ready to invalidate the San Diego school mandate, the district halted the policy, prompting the high court to decide not to intervene.
“The school board’s decision to postpone the mandate earlier this year was likely made in order to evade Supreme Court review,” Jonna said. Soon after, the district decided to reimpose the mandate as of July 2022.
“Thus, we immediately filed yet another motion seeking injunctive relief–set for hearing June 15, 2022,” Jonna said. “But the district is pulling its mandate, yet again–likely because it realizes, once again, that the mandate would be struck down in court.”
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Cargo Freeway Expansion Canceled in L.A. Due to ‘Racist’ Roads
The 710 freeway, a major artery linking Los Angeles to its port complex, will no longer be expanded, thanks to opposition that claimed the highway is racist because it produces emissions that affected minority communities living near the road.
The cancelation means that the 710 will remain congested, leaving trucks idling on the road longer, creating more pollution than they would if they were able to travel consistently at the optimum, efficient speed between 45 and 65 miles per hour.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
The freeway and the working-class communities’ ills became a potent symbol of a larger effort playing out across the state: to stop freeways that shape, divide and hurt neighborhoods, especially those where people of color live. The Times found that more than 200,000 people nationwide have lost their homes because of federal road projects over three decades. The largest recent highway expansions, including in California, have forced out residents in Black and Latino neighborhoods at a disproportionately high rate.
Black and Latino residents make up an estimated 83% of the 1.2 million people who live along the 710 corridor. They endure some of the worst air quality in the country. The area accounts for about 20% of all particulate emissions in Southern California, according to [the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority].
…
The 710 Freeway is the main artery for the nation’s largest port complex, through which nearly a third of the nation’s imported goods move. Big rigs carrying a crush of goods — as varied as electronics, auto parts and shoes — often clog the road. Activists call it the diesel death zone, but Americans with their appetite for click-shopping, have come to rely on the web of warehouses and deliveries that the port is built around.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has drawn criticism for his claim that much of America’s infrastructure is “racist” because it affected or isolated minority communities, pointing to planners like New York’s Robert Moses.
The cancelation of the 710 expansion comes in the midst of a supply chain crisis in which one of the limiting factors has been the difficulty of moving trucks in and out of port facilities with shipping containers at Los Angeles and Long Beach.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Yikes: The Brave New World of Genetically Modified People
The World Economic Forum claims that genetic modification is the way of the future
In February 2022, Chile passed a law prohibiting employers from discriminating against genetically impaired employees
There are studies suggesting that in some cases, COVID injections might lead to changes in human DNA; more research is needed
Disabled rights attorney Todd Callender looked at a Supreme Court case from 2013, which led him to believe that using mRNA to modify genomes may turn people into legal property of the patent holders (unless this interpretation is explicitly ruled out)
Making us biologically dependent on the “artificial immunity service” is bad for the people but sadly good for business
—> Watch: Harnessing Gene Editing for Multiple and Permanent Genetic Changes | Haoyi Wang
Despite all the bad press reported about Amazon’s smart speaker devices (see 1, 2, 3, 4) – and the high levels of biologically harmful wireless radiation they emit – people are still buying these devices and using them in their homes and businesses. In fact, they’re even being used in nursing homes, sometimes with disastrous results.
Collecting user data to sell and/or share with 3rd parties is sometimes referred to as “surveillance capitalism”, and Amazon smart speaker users are thoroughly being surveilled.
From The Verge:
Researchers find Amazon uses Alexa voice data to target you with ads
Amazon and third parties use data from smart speakers to sell you stuff, says report
A report released last week contends that Amazon uses voice data from its Echo devices to serve targeted ads on its own platforms and the web. The report, produced by researchers affiliated with the University of Washington, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and Northeastern University, said the ways Amazon does this is inconsistent with its privacy policies.
Titled, “Your Echos are Heard: Tracking, Profiling, and Ad Targeting in the Amazon Smart Speaker Ecosystem,” the report concludes that Amazon and third parties (including advertising and tracking services) collect data from your interactions with Alexa through Echo smart speakers and share it with as many as 41 advertising partners. That data is then used to “infer user interests” and “serve targeted ads on-platform (Echo devices) as well as off-platform (web).” It also concludes that this type of data is in hot demand, leading to “30X higher ad bids from advertisers.”
Amazon confirmed to The Verge that it does use voice data from Alexa interactions to inform relevant ads shown on Amazon or other sites where Amazon places ads. “Similar to what you’d experience if you made a purchase on Amazon.com or requested a song through Amazon Music, if you ask Alexa to order paper towels or to play a song on Amazon Music, the record of that purchase or song play may inform relevant ads shown on Amazon or other sites where Amazon places ads.” Amazon spokesperson Lauren Raemhild said in an email.
HEALTH
California Poised to Adopt ‘Medical Misinformation Bill’ Targeting Alternative COVID-19 Protocols
The California Legislature is poised to pass Assembly Bill 2098, described as a “medical misinformation bill.” If passed, the new law would prohibit doctors from freely providing medical advice and treating their patients if those practices run counter to the official state sanctioned position.
In April 2020, the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, the California State Board of Pharmacy, and the Medical Board of California issued a statement (pdf) regarding the “improper prescribing of medications related to treatment of Novel Coronavirus,” such as hydroxychloroquine, warning that “inappropriately prescribing or dispensing medications constitutes unprofessional conduct in California.”
On June 29, 2021, the Federation of State Medical Boards issued a warning, stating that “Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license.”
In August 2021, Dr. Anthony Fauci said there was no evidence that ivermectin works, and that it’s more likely to cause harm. In December 2021, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning headlined, “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19.” In an updated April 29, 2022, report, the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel said it “recommends against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19, except in clinical trials.”
Should AB 2098 become law, doctors who prescribe medications not approved by the state or who claim unsanctioned drugs are effective would see their licenses revoked and face strict penalties and disciplinary actions by the Medical Board of California.
In short, AB 2098 would designate the dissemination of information not approved by the state related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes “COVID-19,” as misinformation or disinformation, which constitutes unprofessional conduct.
One physician, Dr. Syed Haider, has already been reported to four state medical boards by pharmacists he says “don’t like filling ivermectin prescriptions.” He has also been forced to retain a lawyer to protect his medical license.
Walmart, CVS to Stop Filling Controlled Substances Prescriptions by Telehealth Startups
Walmart Inc and CVS Health Corp said on Wednesday they would stop filling prescriptions for controlled substances issued by telehealth startups Cerebral Inc and Done Health.
Cerebral and Done are known for treating patients with ADHD, prescribing stimulants such as Adderall.
Walmart confirmed the move to Reuters and said the decision was made after an audit and compliance process.
CVS said it would not accept prescriptions for controlled substances issued by the startups effective May 26, as a result of a review it conducted on the telehealth firms and after it was “unable to resolve concerns we have with Cerebral and Done Health.”
Cerebral had earlier this month decided to stop prescribing controlled substances and taper existing prescriptions based on the impending expiration of waivers, the company said in an emailed statement.
The company was working to ensure that existing patients with controlled substance prescriptions are able to receive their medications, while working with the pharmacies to allow sufficient time to adjust to the changes, Cerebral said.
The company said it plans to continue to prescribe controlled substances to treat opioid use disorder.
7 Nutrients to Boost Your Skin’s Natural SPF
You can support healthy skin and protect it from ultraviolet damage from the inside. Scientists have identified several nutrients that have UV protective activity, reducing your risk of sunburn and related skin damage
Astaxanthin, lycopene, beta carotene, vitamins D, E and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) have all been shown to help protect your skin against sun damage
Astaxanthin specifically helps protect against UV-induced cell death. Unlike topical sun block, astaxanthin does not actually block UV rays, so it doesn’t prevent UVB from converting into vitamin D in your skin; it simply protects your skin against damage
Lycopene also acts as an internal sunscreen, although it’s not nearly as protective as astaxanthin. A 2001 study found tomato paste helped protect fair-skinned individuals with a tendency to burn rather than tan
Vitamin E absorbs energy from UV light, thus plays an important role in photoprotection, preventing UV-induced free radical damage to skin
—> Power Mall Recommended Products:
‘Landmark Study’ Shows Eating This Way Can Add Years to Life
An animal study showed how a time-restricted and calorie-restricted diet could lengthen life by 35%, adding nine months over the typical two-year lifespan
Past research showed calorie-restricted and time-restricted diets each confer health benefits, including activating autophagy, improving immunity and reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Time-restricted eating increases certain metabolites that are connected to muscle maintenance and antioxidant activity, increases longevity, improves potential weight loss and lowers the risk of diabetes, certain cancers and dementia
There are several strategies to help overcome hunger pangs as you begin to practice intermittent fasting, including staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, eating the right fat and drinking coffee with MCT oil
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Egg Supplies Experiencing Challenges as Concerns Over Shortages Grow
Concerns over potential shortages of eggs nationwide are growing due to inflation and supply chain issues made worse by avian flu.
“Like many sectors of the economy, egg farming is impacted by inflation and experiencing some limited supply chain challenges due to a variety of factors,” the American Egg Board (AEB) said in a May 24 statement in response to an Epoch Times inquiry.
The AEB was created by an act of Congress in 1976 at the request of egg farmers as a way to pool resources for national-level marketing.
Regarding avian flu, the AEB said, “It is important to note that less than 5 percent of commercial layer flocks have been impacted by avian influenza and those farms affected are working with state and federal agency partners to safely resume operations.
“Our farmers continue to work diligently to ensure that Americans nationwide have consistent access to their favorite protein: the incredible egg.”
At Frye’s Market in Cottonwood, Arizona, for example, the shelves appeared about half full on May 20.
PET NEWS
Monkeypox patients should avoid pet contact
Monkeypox patients should avoid any contact with their pets for 21 days, according to new advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
So far, 106 people in the UK have been confirmed as infected with the virus.
Gerbils, hamsters and other rodents could be particularly susceptible to the disease and the concern is it could spread in the animal population.
The government said no cases have been detected in pets so far and the risk is still low.
“The worry is the virus could get into domestic animals and essentially ping-pong between them and humans,” said Prof Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick.
“If you are not careful you might create an animal reservoir for the disease that could result in it spreading back into humans, and we’ll be in a loop of infection.”
The guidance from the UKHSA and other health authorities recommends that pet guinea pigs, rats, mice and other rodents should be removed from the household of someone infected with monkeypox for 21 days, and be tested for the disease.
GOOD NEWS
Adventurous Play Helps Boosts Children’s Mental Health, Research Says
Children who spend more time playing adventurously have lower symptoms of anxiety and depression, and were happier over the first Covid-19 lockdown, according to new research.
A study led by the University of Exeter asked parents how often their children engaged in play that was “thrilling and exciting,” where they might experience some fear and uncertainty.
The study comes at a time when today’s children have fewer opportunities for adventurous play out of sight of adults, such as climbing trees, riding bikes, jumping from high surfaces or playing somewhere where they are out of adult sight. The study sought to test theories that adventurous play offers learning opportunities that help build resilience in children, thereby helping to prevent mental health problems.
Iceland Trots Out Service That Lets Horses Reply to Work Emails While You’re On Vacation
Iceland has trotted out a service that lets horses reply to work emails when you’re on holiday.
The world-first ‘OutHorse Your Email’ service is designed to encourage travellers to switch off and take an uninterrupted trip to the country.
Using a large keyboard mat, the gaited horses are able to walk, trot, canter, tölt, and pace their way across the keys.
Unsurprisingly, the result is nonsense replies to corporate contacts, with examples listed as “þþnjifai=’.,,lmbmbnbbhgycdrgzw/’pfæ ndaiFVxhðut7r7r7djsmfdsm” and “þnjifai\’/.p,oii9unnbhvggyvgjhbjm,kfæ,.iklp–jpomohu o/’k;,i,mumnf.”
A recent global study by Visit Iceland found that two fifths (41%) of people globally check their work emails between one and four times a day when on holiday, while one in ten (14%) review them 5-6 times every day.
“When visitors travel to Iceland we want them to fully experience everything our nation has to offer, from breathtaking surroundings to endless landscapes and friendly faces,” Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, Head of Visit Iceland said.
Dolphins Self-Treat Their Own Skin By Lining Up to Rub on Specific Coral
Amazing footage shows dolphins rubbing against a specific type of coral—possibly to extract healing elements that will keep their skin healthy.
Researchers say it is the dolphin equivalent of “showering” after getting out of bed.
If a human comes down with a rash, they might put ointment on it. Similarly, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins get skin conditions, and a new study shows they, in essence, are self-medicating by lining up (nose-to-tail) to rub themselves against corals.
Researchers have now shown that the corals have medicinal properties, suggesting that the dolphins are using the marine invertebrates to medicate skin conditions.
Thirteen years ago, co-lead author Dr. Angela Ziltener, a wildlife biologist at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, first observed dolphins rubbing against coral in the Northern Red Sea, off the coast of Egypt.
She and her team noticed that the dolphins were selective about which corals they rubbed against, and they wanted to understand why.
“I hadn’t seen this coral rubbing behavior described before, and it was clear that the dolphins knew exactly which coral they wanted to use,” Dr Ziltener said. “I thought, ‘There must be a reason.’”
Most dolphin research is conducted from the surface of the water, but because Dr. Ziltener is a diver, she was able to study the dolphins up close.
It took some time to earn the trust of the pod, which she was able to do in part because the dolphins weren’t phased by the large bubbles released by her air tank. Once the pod allowed her to visit them regularly, she and her colleagues were able to identify and sample the corals that the dolphins were rubbing on.
Dr. Ziltener and her team found that by repeatedly rubbing against the corals, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins were agitating the tiny polyps that make up the coral community, and these invertebrates were releasing mucus.
To understand what properties the mucus contained, the team collected samples—of the gorgonian, leather, and sponge corals—and analyzed them using state of the art equipment. Their findings were published in the journal iScience/Cell Press.
Study lead author Professor Gertrud Morlock and her team found 17 active metabolites with antibacterial, antioxidative, hormonal, and toxic activities.
This discovery of the bioactive compounds led the team to believe that the mucus of the corals and sponges is serving to regulate the dolphin skin’s microbiome and treat infections.
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