Today's News: November 05, 2019

World News

American Mormons ‘massacred’ in Mexico cartel attack
Daily Mail – President Donald Trump has waged a war on Mexican drug cartels after three American mothers and six children from a Mormon community based in northern Mexico were massacred by cartel gunmen.
The victims, who belonged to the LeBaron family, were ambushed about eight miles apart in the Mexican border state of Sonora on Monday while traveling in a convoy of three SUVs.
At the time of the attack, 17 of the family members were traveling from the La Mora religious community where they live, which is a decades-old settlement in Sonora state founded as part of an offshoot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of the church’s members were born in Mexico and thus have dual citizenship.
Mexico’s top security official Alfonso Durazo blamed cartel gunmen on Tuesday for the attack and said they may have mistaken the group’s large SUVs for rival gangs.
Theaters to Ban ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ Under New LGBT Guidelines
Infowars – U.K. theaters will soon be safe spaces from phrases such as ‘ladies and gentlemen’ and a variety of appearance-based compliments under new guidelines published by the Equity actor’s union, according to reports.
Policies are being implemented to foster a more welcoming environment for LGBT performers or audience members who may not identify as male or female.
Venues are being urged to introduce “gender neutral terminology for collective calls, both front of house and backstage,” according to the Sunday Times.
“Last night the National Theatre, which supported Equity in producing the guide, said that it was still using ‘ladies and gentlemen’ in some of its announcements but would make it a priority to phase the words out.”
Additionally, the guide advises actors should not receive “backhanded compliments” or be called “brave.”
Compliments based on “appearance, clothing, voice, quality, identity or the performer being brave” should also be avoided.
The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced it will “strive to create environments which welcome and support trans people and people who identify their gender as fluid,” the Daily Mail reports.
After unprecedented shutdown, Lebanon’s banks reopen, mitigate nationwide panic
Al Monitor -The two-week closure of Lebanon’s banks during historic protests that prompted the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri Oct. 29 has restricted the movement of finances within and out of the country. But despite the enormity of the political and economic crisis, banks proved competent in managing fear upon their reopening Nov. 1.
“Banks in Lebanon managed a huge challenge very effectively, making what was expected to be a catastrophic day, [relatively] benign,” Dan Azzi, former CEO of Standard Chartered in Lebanon and Harvard fellow, told Al-Monitor.
“Among big banks, the champion was Banque Libano-Francaise, which used reverse psychology, demonstrating liquidity and using it wisely by allowing any type of transfers including overseas. This actually relaxed many of their clients who ended up either not withdrawing funds or withdrawing much less than they had intended,” he said.
According to Azzi, Banque Libano-Francaise also showed equal treatment to clients across the financial spectrum. Reports of banks offering privileges to clients with significant capital, he noted, were true even during the revolution when the average banker was unable to access their accounts to the full extent.
Protesters block roads in Beirut, other areas of Lebanon
Reuters – Protesters blocked roads in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Monday, pressing a wave of demonstrations against the ruling elite that have plunged the country into political turmoil at a time of acute economic crisis.
The nationwide protests, which were ignited on Oct. 17 by a government proposal to tax WhatsApp calls, led Saad al-Hariri to resign as prime minister last week. There has been no sign of progress yet toward agreement on a new government.
After Hariri quit, protests had ebbed, roadblocks were lifted and banks reopened for the first time in two weeks on Friday.
But in the early hours of Monday, new roadblocks emerged on in Beirut and around the country, snarling major traffic arteries including the main seaside highway north and south of the capital. Schools called off plans to reopen and are now in their third week of closure.
“The slogan is ‘this revolution doesn’t know sleep, form the government today’,” said Hashem Adnan, one of several dozen protesters blocking the Ring Bridge in Beirut, demanding a new cabinet independent of the political elite which protesters accuse of corruption and steering Lebanon into economic crisis.
“People are continuing because you know you can’t trust this regime, any part of it,” he said.
“Thank God For The Deep State”: Intel Traitors Admit They Want to ‘Take Out’ Trump
Infowars – Two former intelligence heads bragged about how the deep state is engaged in a coup to remove President Trump Thursday, with one even praising God for the existence of the deep state.
During an interview with Margaret Brennan of CSPAN, former CIA head John McLaughlin along with his successor John Brennan both basically admitted that there is a secretive cabal of people within US intelligence who are trying to ‘take Trump out’.
“Thank God for the ‘Deep State,’” McLaughlin crowed as liberals in the crowd cheered.
“I mean I think everyone has seen this progression of diplomats and intelligence officers and White House people trooping up to Capitol Hill right now and saying these are people who are doing their duty or responding to a higher call.” he added.
“With all of the people who knew what was going on here, it took an intelligence officer to step forward and say something about it, which was the trigger that then unleashed everything else,” McLaughlin said, referring to the unnamed ‘whistleblower’, who it seems worked for Obama, Biden And Brennan.
“This is the institution within the U.S. government — that with all of its flaws, and it makes mistakes — is institutionally committed to objectivity and telling the truth,” McLaughlin claimed.
“It is one of the few institutions in Washington that is not in a chain of command that makes or implements policy. Its whole job is to speak the truth — it’s engraved in marble in the lobby.” he continued to blather.
Brennan also expressed praise for the deep state and admitted that the goal is to remove the President.
“Thank goodness for the women and men who are in the intelligence community and the law enforcement community who are standing up and carrying out their responsibilities for their fellow citizens.” he said.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Hegseth: Trump Plans ‘Imminent Action’ for ExSoldiers
Newsmax – President Donald Trump plans “imminent action” in the cases of three former military members who have been charged with war crimes, which could include either dismissing the cases or changing their sentences, Fox News’ Pete Hegseth said Monday.
“It doesn’t have to be a pardon or a commutation,” Hegseth reported on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” in an exclusive after speaking Sunday with Trump about the cases of Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, Army Green Beret Maj. Matt Golsteyn, and former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher.
“Pardons and commutations imply guilt, that you’ve done something wrong and you need to be forgiven for that,” Hegseth added. “The president, as the commander in chief, has a lot of latitude under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to dismiss a case or change a sentence. From what I understand, that is likely what will happen here shortly.”
Trump wants to act before Veterans Day, or Nov. 11, Hegseth said.
The president wants to restore Gallagher’s rank, which ended up being reduced after he was convicted of a lesser charge of taking a picture with a corpse after he was acquitted in July for the killing of an ISIS fighter in Iraq, Hegseth said. He was demoted from being a chief petty officer to being a 1st class petty officer, which will cost him up to $200,000 in retirement funds.
The FBI is Now Investigating ‘It’s Okay to be White’ Posters
Infowars – The FBI is now investigating ‘It’s Okay to be White’ posters after the “hate filled flyers” were posted around the campus of Western Connecticut State University.
After the flyers were discovered, university president John Clark characterized them as a ‘hateful attack’. Other flyers also posted on campus said “Islam is right about women.”
“Have no doubt that we are treating this as an attack on our university community and making every effort to see that those responsible are caught and properly punished,” Clark wrote in a letter. “I am fully committed to the absolutely necessary goal this does not happen again. We must be ever vigilant to protect our university against these hateful attacks.”
Clark added that if any student was found to be responsible for posting the flyers, they would be expelled as well as hit with possible “criminal actions.”
The FBI office in New Haven was also alerted and is now investigating the flyers.
ABC News Anchor A “Hundred Percent” Sure Epstein Was Killed
Infowars – ABC News anchor Amy Robach, who in a leaked recording revealed that the network sat on the Jeffrey Epstein scandal for 3 years, is a “hundred percent” certain that Epstein was murdered.
Project Veritas today released bombshell footage from an ABC News insider of Robach revealing to her producer on a hot mic that she had the Epstein story years before it came out, but ABC News helped cover it up.
Asked what she thought happened to Epstein, who committed suicide by hanging according to the official story, Robach was unequivocal.
“So do I think he was killed? A hundred percent, yes I do,” she said. “Because do you want it? He made his whole living blackmailing people.”
“There were a lot of men in those planes, a lot of men who visited that island, a lot of powerful men who came into that apartment.”
Robach went on to say she “knew immediately” the official “suicide” explanation was false.
The ABC News anchor also explained how Epstein’s apparent “suicide attempt” two weeks earlier was to “plant the seed” of the subsequent suicide explanation.
Pregnant Florida mom uses AR-15 to kill home intruder
NY Post – A pregnant woman is credited with saving the lives of her husband and daughter after she used an AR-15 to fatally gun down a home intruder, a report said.
The hero mom sprung into action when two intruders entered the family’s Lithia, Fla. home last week and pistol whipped her husband while violently grabbing their daughter, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
“They came in heavily hooded and masked,” the husband, Jeremy King, told Bay News 9.
“As soon as they had got the back door opened, they had a pistol on me and was grabbing my 11-year-old daughter.”
The robbers then pistol-whipped King and kicked him while the man’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, retreated into the bedroom.
“When he came toward the back door in her line of sight, she clipped him,” King told the outlet. “He made it from my back door to roughly 200 feet out in the front ditch before the AR did its thing.”

Now government requires ‘GOOD REASON’ to carry concealed gun
The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to review a case against Maryland’s requirement that applicants for concealed-carry permits provide “good and substantial reasons” to fulfill their request.
Gun-rights groups that have filed a brief in the case, contending the law is unconstitutional, say it could have widespread impact.
The court, said Second Amendment Foundation founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “could define the parameters of bearing arms outside the home, and that will impact restrictive laws in several states where carry permits or licenses are strictly regulated, which translates to nearly impossible to get.”
SAF was joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition Inc., Firearms Policy Foundation, California Gun Rights Foundation and the Madison Society Foundation in filing the brief through Sacramento attorney Joseph G.S. Greenlee.
The 27-page asks the court to decide “to what extent the right to bear arms applies beyond the home,” because the question “has deeply divided lower courts.”
It notes that the D.C. and Seventh Circuits held that the right applies just as strongly outside the home as inside the home, while the First and Second Circuits determined that the right likely applies outside the home, but in a weaker form.
Meanwhile, the Third and Fourth Circuits declined to decide whether the right exists outside the home, and the Ninth and Tenth Circuits held that the right to bear arms does not protect concealed carry.
“Clearly,” Gottlieb said, “the lower courts need definitive guidance on this important constitutional issue. What other constitutionally enumerated fundamental right applies only within the confines of the home? It is time the high court takes up this issue to determine whether the Second Amendment vigorously protects a right, or allows states to treat it as a regulated privilege.”
The case, Malpasso v. Pallozzi, is not the only lawsuit against Maryland gun restrictions.
Gun owners have challenged the state’s demand that a firearm owner have at least a month of training.
A group called Maryland Shall Issue Inc. has filed a lawsuit contending the training requirement violates the Second Amendment.
Arguing a “right delayed is a right denied,” Gottlieb explained the licensing process is “expensive and lengthy.”
Donald Trump: ‘Whistleblower’ Must Testify; ‘Written Answers Not Acceptable’
Breitbart – President Donald Trump ripped the so-called ‘whistleblower’ on Monday after lawyers agreed to allow him to answer written questions from House Republicans.
“He must be brought forward to testify,” Trump wrote. “Written answers not acceptable!”
Trump argued the “whistleblower” gave false information about his call with the Ukrainian president and worked with House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff before coming forward.
The identity of the “whistleblower” has already been revealed in a report by Real Clear Investigations, although lawyers refused to confirm or deny the report but rather pretended his identiy remains a sacred secret.
Trump taunted the media on Sunday for not following up on his identity.
“You know who it is. You just don’t want to report it,” Trump said. “CNN knows who it is but you don’t want to report it. And you would be doing the public a service if you did.”
The president also questioned the location of the second ‘whistleblower.’
Roger Stone trial promises political drama
AP – Roger Stone, a longtime Republican provocateur and former confidant of President Donald Trump, is going on trial over charges related to his alleged efforts to exploit the Russian-hacked Hillary Clinton emails for political gain.
The trial in Washington, which begins Tuesday, promises to revive the specter of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as the impeachment inquiry against Trump proceeds in the House.
Stone’s indictment in January was an offshoot of Mueller’s investigation. Stone is accused of lying to lawmakers about WikiLeaks, tampering with witnesses and obstructing a House intelligence committee probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.
Hundreds of Oklahoma inmates released in largest commutation in U.S. history
NBC – More than 400 inmates across Oklahoma were being released from prison Monday in what the governor’s office calls the largest single-day mass commutation in the nation’s history.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board approved the commutations Friday and forwarded them to Gov. Kevin Stitt, a former mortgage company CEO who was elected in 2018. The board voted unanimously to recommend that the sentences of 527 state inmates be commuted, with 462 of those inmates slated to walk out of prison Monday and 65 others being held on detainer.
“With this vote, we are fulfilling the will of Oklahomans,” Steve Bickley, executive director of the board, said in a statement Friday. “However, from Day One, the goal of this project has been more than just the release of low-level, nonviolent offenders, but the successful re-entry of these individuals back into society.”
Stitt, a Republican, has advocated for criminal justice reform, pledging to move away from policies that have made Oklahoma the state with the highest incarceration rate in the country. At a news conference Friday, Stitt hailed the decision to give hundreds of Oklahomans “a second chance.”
Justice Dept. targets soon-to-be-published ‘Anonymous’ book
NBC – The Justice Department is demanding identifying details about the senior Trump administration official who has written an anonymous book, warning in a letter to the publisher on Monday that the author may be subject to nondisclosure agreements.
The letter, signed by Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hunt, asked for details or copies of the author’s nondisclosure agreements “or the dates of the author’s service and the agencies where the author was employed, so that we may determine the terms of the author’s nondisclosure agreements and ensure that they have been followed.”
Publication of the book may violate nondisclosure agreements based on the individual’s work or access to classified information, the letter states, “if the author is, in fact, a current or former ‘senior official’ in the Trump administration.”
Hachette Book Group confirmed that they’d received a letter from the Trump administration and said that they would not comply with the requests because the publisher is not party to any contracts with the U.S. government and intends to keep the author’s identity secret.
Georgetown launches $400K annual slavery reparations fund, but won’t force students to pay for it
The College Fix – Georgetown University President John DeGioia announced that a controversial student referendum passed last April, which mandated student fees for a slavery reparations fund, will not be fully implemented.
Instead, the private university will shoulder the costs or come up with the funds through donations, philanthropy or other means unspecified in DeGioia’s message, sent via email last week to the campus community.
The student fee was expected to generate about $400,000 per year.
The university “will ensure that the initiative has resources commensurate with, or exceeding, the amount that would have been raised annually through the student fee,” DeGioia said in his email, noting that officials “embrace the spirit of this student proposal” — but offering a new plan without the fee and other original logistics.
Officials “will work with our Georgetown community to create an initiative that will support community-based projects with Descendant communities,” he wrote, adding those who wish to voluntarily contribute to the fund may do so.

Economy & Business

Is the Run on the Dollar Due to Panic or Greed?
Truthdig – What’s going on in the repo market? Rates on repurchase (“repo”) agreements should be about 2%, in line with the Federal Reserve funds rate. But they shot up to over 5% on Sept. 16 and got as high as 10% on Sept. 17. Yet banks were refusing to lend to each other, evidently passing up big profits to hold onto their cash—just as they did in the housing market crash and Great Recession of 2008-09.
Because banks weren’t lending, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York jumped in, increasing its overnight repo operations to $75 billion, and on Oct. 23, it upped the ante to $120 billion in overnight operations and $45 billion in longer-term operations.
Why are banks no longer lending to each other? Are they afraid that collapse is imminent somewhere in the system, as with the Lehman collapse in 2008?
Perhaps, and if so, the likely suspect is Deutsche Bank. But it looks to be just another case of Wall Street fattening itself at the public trough, using the funds of mom-and-pop depositors to maximize bank profits and line the pockets of bank executives while depriving small businesses of affordable loans.
New York Fed Official Says Market Interventions Have Restored Calm
WSJ – The New York Fed’s efforts to calm short-term markets and keep them placid is working well, a top central bank staffer said Monday.
Fed Outlines Rationale for T-Bill Buying, But Keeps Options Open
Bloomberg – A key Federal Reserve official on Monday made the case for the central bank’s program of buying only the shortest-dated Treasuries to ensure the banking system has enough reserves. But she signaled an openness to make changes if they’re needed to keep markets calm.
By confining itself to bills, the central bank can help maintain the supply of reserves while limiting the impact on financial conditions, said Lorie Logan, who oversees market operations at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She also noted that the market for bills is particularly deep and liquid, and that the Fed at present doesn’t own much in that part of the curve.
“So far, reserve management purchase operations have proceeded smoothly,” she said Monday in a speech in New York. But she also noted that the Fed “is prepared to adjust the pace and other parameters of the reserve management purchases as necessary” and that the Fed would be monitoring the market closely.
Bank Of America’s Outage Panics Consumers. Here’s What We Know So Far
Forbes – Bank of America, the second-biggest lender in the U.S., had a major outage last night that left thousands of customers around the country locked out of their accounts for over an hour without explanation.
The outage apparently hit across the country, with Bank of America’s Web login, mobile app, customer service lines and even ATM services all going down. Other customers said they were unable to pay bills and that their debit and credit cards were getting declined.
When asked for comment, Bank of America said that the outage was “technology related,” and lasted for about an hour. A spokesperson said that the bank now back to business as usual.
Walmart appears to be gaining ground against Amazon
CNBC – Less shopping is happening on Amazon, and consumers are favoring Walmart, according to a new survey.
The frequency of people buying items on Amazon six times or more per month has dropped to 40% this year from 80% in 2017, according to surveys by First Insight, a retail analytics firm that collects data to help retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Crocs and Kohl’s make product decisions.
First Insight conducted three consumer surveys of about 1,000 people each in December 2017, September 2018 and last September to compile the results. They included shoppers with and without a Prime membership.
A majority this year, 55%, said they prefer to shop at Walmart versus Amazon, up from about 47% a year earlier. The percentage of people who favor Amazon has dropped to 45% from about 53% in 2018.
“The excitement of the Amazon box coming to your house is kind of dwindling off,” First Insight CEO Greg Petro said in an interview. “I think the novelty of Amazon is wearing off.”
Amazon has disclosed it has more than 100 million Prime members worldwide. But according to First Insight, signups are dropping. The firm said it found 52% of survey respondents were members in 2019, down from 59% a year earlier.
The survey’s findings could be a sign that Walmart’s e-commerce investments are paying off, and Amazon still has its work cut out for it. Both companies have been in a battle over delivery.
Space economy: China wants to set up $10 trillion Earth-Moon economic zone
RT – As Earth is apparently too small for China’s economic ambitions, the country is considering developing commerce beyond our planet and wants to create an economic zone in cislunar space by 2050.
The new zone will cover areas of space near Earth, the Moon, and in between, Bao Weimin, the head of the science and technology commission at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAST), revealed last week, as cited by state media. The agency is the main contractor for the national space program.
The project could bring in around $10 trillion for China, state-linked Science and Technology Daily newspaper reported, citing industry experts.
In a report on the development of Earth and Moon space, Bao said that the field has huge economic potential and thus the country should study reliable, low-cost aerospace transport systems between our planet and its satellite.
The basic technology is set to be finished by 2030, while the key transport technology is expected to be created by 2040. By the middle of the century, China could successfully establish the space economic zone, according to the official.
China has been rapidly developing its space sector and studying the Moon in recent years. In July, private company i-Space (also known as Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology) launched a carrier rocket in the first successful orbital mission by the Chinese commercial space industry. Last year, China launched its Chang’e 4 probe, successfully landing its lunar rover on the far side of the Moon on January 3.
Microsoft tried giving its Japan workforce an extra day off. Productivity jumped 40%
CNN – A growing number of smaller companies are adopting a four-day workweek. Now the results of a recent trial at Microsoft (MSFT) suggest it could work even for the biggest businesses.
The company introduced a program this summer in Japan called the “Work Life Choice Challenge,” which shut down its offices every Friday in August and gave all employees an extra day off each week.
The results were promising: While the amount of time spent at work was cut dramatically, productivity — measured by sales per employee — went up by almost 40% compared to the same period the previous year, the company said in a statement last week.
In addition to reducing working hours, managers urged staff to cut down on the time they spent in meetings and responding to emails.
They suggested that meetings should last no longer than 30 minutes. Employees were also encouraged to cut down on meetings altogether by using an online messaging app (Microsoft’s, of course).
The effects were widespread. More than 90% of Microsoft’s 2,280 employees in Japan later said they were impacted by the new measures, according to the company.
By shutting down earlier each week, the company was also able to save on other resources, such as electricity

Energy & Environment

USA formally pulls out of Paris climate agreement
The Hill – President Trump on Monday began the yearlong process of withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.
The official announcement cements a promise Trump made in the White House Rose Garden in 2017 when he first announced his intention to withdraw from the global climate change agreement signed by every other country in the world.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move in a statement.
“President Trump made the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement because of the unfair economic burden imposed on American workers, businesses, and taxpayers by U.S. pledges made under the Agreement,” Pompeo said. “The United States has reduced all types of emissions, even as we grow our economy and ensure our citizens’ access to affordable energy.”
“The U.S. approach incorporates the reality of the global energy mix,” he added, arguing “innovation and open markets” will drive emissions reductions.
Trump’s views on the deal have been widely criticized by Democrats, environmentalists and even some Republicans, who say the U.S. is abdicating global leadership at a time when urgent action is required to stem the most dangerous impacts of climate change.

Science & Technology

Screen time changing children’s brains
Cincinnati – Young children who get more screen time than doctors recommend have differences in parts of the brain that support language and self-regulation, a study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has found.
It’s not clear how the changes affect a child’s development, the researchers said.
The study put 47 healthy Cincinnati-area children between 3 and 5 through magnetic resonance imaging of their brains as well as cognitive testing. While the study did not learn how screen time changed the brains, it did show that skills such as brain processing speed were affected.
“Screen-based media use is prevalent and increasing in homes, childcare and school settings at ever younger ages,” said Dr. John Hutton, the author of the study and director of the Reading & Literacy Discovery Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
“These findings highlight the need to understand effects of screen time on the brain, particularly during stages of dynamic brain development in early childhood, so that providers, policymakers and parents can set healthy limits,” he said.

Health

Deep Sleep Can Help Rid Brain of Toxic Substances
Newsmax – The deep stages of sleep may give the brain a chance to wash itself free of potentially toxic substances, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that during deep sleep, the “slow-wave” activity of nerve cells appears to make room for cerebral spinal fluid to rhythmically move in and out of the brain — a process believed to rinse out metabolic waste products.
Those waste products include beta-amyloid — a protein that clumps abnormally in the brains of people with dementia, said researcher Laura Lewis, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University.
Lewis stressed that the findings, reported in the Nov. 1 issue of Science, do not prove that deep sleep helps ward off dementia or other diseases.
But the ultimate goal of research like this is to understand why poor sleep quality is linked to higher risks of various chronic conditions, from dementia to heart disease to depression, she said.
These Seeds Are Good for Your Knees
Mercola – A longtime favorite for flavoring meals, sesame seeds can reduce pain and inflammation in those suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee.
Data also reveal topical application of sesame seed oil reduces pain intensity and the need for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in those suffering from blunt trauma to the upper and/or lower extremities.
In one study, researchers found that using as little as 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds a day could decrease blood pressure in some adults and potentially be meaningful in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Sesame seed oil may be cold pressed at home but should be eaten in moderation as it is high in omega-6 fats and lectins. Pregnant and nursing mothers should use extreme caution, as should those with known allergies to nuts
Study: Blood Test for Breast Cancer Closer to Reality
Newsmax – There’s early promise in the quest for a blood test that might spot breast cancer up to five years before clinical signs of the disease appear, researchers say.
The test identifies specific immune system “autoantibodies,” British researchers explained. The immune system produces the antibodies when it comes into contact with tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), which are produced by breast tumor cells.
Still, the test is so far only partially effective, so much more research is needed, the investigators said.
The findings were presented Sunday at the U.K. National Cancer Research Institute conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
“The results of our study showed that breast cancer does induce autoantibodies against panels of specific tumor-associated antigens. We were able to detect cancer with reasonable accuracy by identifying these autoantibodies in the blood,” said researcher Daniyah Alfattani, a Ph.D. student at the University of Nottingham’s Centre of Excellence for Autoimmunity in Cancer (CEAC).
Man has 12-centimeter parasitic worm removed from brain after years of numbness, blackouts
Fox – For years, a man in China allegedly sought help for puzzling symptoms, including blackouts and seizures, before doctors discovered a parasitic worm that had been feeding off his brain for more than 10 years.
The man, identified by AsiaWire as Wang Lei, of Guangzhou, allegedly first started feeling numbness on his left side in 2007, which set off a series of misdiagnoses.
It wasn’t until 2018 that doctors discovered a 12-centimeter Sparganosis parasite in his brain, which is uncommon in humans and typically lives in the intestines of cats and dogs. While the parasite can be found worldwide, most human cases are recorded in Southeast Asian countries.
Humans acquire sparganosis by either drinking water contaminated with infected copepods or consuming the flesh of an under-cooked second intermediate or paratenic host. They can live for up to 20 years inside a human host, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
When the parasite settles in the brain, patients may experience several neurological symptoms such as weakness, headache, seizure and abnormal skin sensations, as was the case with Lei.
nitially, Lei was reportedly advised to seek non-surgical intervention because of where the worm was located in his brain. But that treatment failed, and surgeons at Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital recently took on the two-hour procedure to remove it.
“The surgery was risky,” Dr. Gu, Lei’s surgeon, told AsiaWire. “The live tapeworm was moving in his brain, and we had to remove all of it, otherwise the leftover part could grow again. It is not the only case –our hospital has treated four patients this year.”

Good News

Parents fight back as schools jam mandatory LGBT lessons on kids
WND – Parents in the United Kingdom infuriated by mandatory LGBT lessons in public schools have launched an organization and a petition demanding the right to exempt their children from the indoctrination.
“If proper consultation was carried out with practicing Christians, then a true perspective will have been understood as to what the Christian position is directly from scriptures. Along side the right of religious freedom being threatened, the right for active and present parents to take the lead in navigating the mental and emotional development of their children (who are deemed minors in the eyes of the law) based on carefully derived moral and religious values is also being threatened in place of societal ideals,” the petition explains.
“How do these actions reflect a diverse and liberal nation that supposedly embraces all? What the government is threatening, is to hand one minority group over to the firing squad in place of rescuing another,” the parents state.
Under the newly approved law, beginning in September 2020, parents no longer will be allowed to remove their children from “Relationship & Sex Education” classes.
The children will be forced to listen to lessons about LGBT activities that conflict with the family’s religious faith in the government’s bid to “normalize” the LGBTQ lifestyle.
“To force faith families across the country to participate in lessons that teach that which is contrary to their faith is nothing short of cruelty and a blatant affront on their religious freedom. The Bible’ view of homosexuality is consistent throughout the scriptures and followers of the Bible and other religious books should be free to live by that without fear of repercussions,” the petition explains.