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US News:
Solved – Gulf War syndrome mystery: US scientists blame SARIN gas
Puzzled researchers have spent decades searching for the root cause of the illness, which has left veterans battling fatigue, memory problems and chronic pain.
Now, a US Government-funded study claims to offer the ‘most definitive’ proof that the destruction of Iraq‘s cache of chemical weapons is responsible.
January 1991’s explosions, centered around cities Muthanna and Fallujah, released sarin — a lethal nerve-agent — into the air.
The man-made gas — used in the Tokyo subway terror attack — usually kills but the doses inhaled by Western armed forces was diluted.
Dr Robert Haley, who has been investigating the syndrome for nearly three decades, said the quantities were still enough to make people ill, however.
He said: ‘There are still more than 100,000 Gulf War veterans who are not getting help for this illness.
‘Our hope is that these findings will accelerate the search for better treatment.’
Advocacy group calls for new thinking around veteran suicides, spending of federal dollars
(The Center Square) – More than 17 veterans die per day from suicide in the United States.
Mission Roll Call wants President Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to make the prevention of veteran suicides its top priority.
Mission Roll Call Executive Director Cole Lyle said change within the Veterans Health Administration, which is the largest integrated health care network in the United States, has been slow.
That’s partly due to its size. The Veterans Health Administration has 1,255 health care facilities that serve 9 million enrolled veterans annually.
More U.S. veterans die by suicide each year than non-veterans per capita. The suicide rate for veterans in 2019 was 52.3% higher than non-veterans, according to the 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention annual report issued in September. In 2019, the most recent year for which data was available, 6,261 veterans died by suicide, 399 fewer than in 2018, according to the report.
Study shows university diversity, equity and inclusion programs ineffective, overstaffed
(The Center Square) – The promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, on college campuses has become a big focus in academia, but a study says many of the programs are bloated and have a high taxpayer cost.
The Heritage Foundation found that colleges’ vast DEI bureaucracy has little to do with students’ satisfaction with their college.
The study showed the average university has 45.1 people tasked with promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, but some schools have many more.
At the University of Illinois alone, there are 71 DEI personnel, which is four out of every 100 faculty members. At Northwestern University, there are 52 DEI faculty members.
Many DEI employees earn six-figure salaries for leading initiatives that the authors found to be ineffective and instead enforce a “political orthodoxy.”
Sean Garrick, vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion at the U of I, earns nearly $330,000 a year, the study found.
Food Banks Fight To Keep Doors Open Amid Record Inflation, Demand
The record inflation seen in recent months has led massive numbers of people across the country to seek out food banks rather than brave sticker shock at the grocery store. Officials at multiple food distribution organizations told the AP they’ve been swamped by the demand for food.
“In the last few months, with this increase in inflationary pressures, we’re seeing 95 percent of our 200 member food banks saying that they have seen either leveling or an increase in need,” Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, a national food bank network, told the AP.
Inflation has also forced some food pantry partners of Feeding America either to shut down or provide less food.
‘Why wasn’t he in jail?’: NYPD officer shot by ‘dangerous criminal’ allowed to walk NYC streets
Officer Dennis Vargas, 32, was shot by the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Rameek Smith, after a brief foot chase that ended in a shootout, police said.
During a press conference addressing the shooting, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell described Smith as a “dangerous criminal who should not have been on the streets of the Bronx or anywhere else.”
In his remarks, Adams said Smith was arrested in March 2020 for criminal possession of a firearm after he was caught jumping the turnstile of a subway station. At the time, he was on probation for a 2016 robbery on Staten Island.
“For 20 months after the arrest, he remained on the streets,” the mayor said. “He finally pled guilty in December 2021.” Adams said Smith was released while he awaited sentencing, and his sentencing was pushed back multiple times.
Report: West Virginia ranks as one of worst states to be an officer
(The Center Square) – West Virginia ranked as one of the worst states to be a police officer, according to a report conducted by the financial website WalletHub on “2022’s Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer.”
West Virginia ranked fourth to last and scored a 29.24 out of a possible 100. The study ranked each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The only three states to perform worse than West Virginia were Arkansas, Hawaii and Alaska.
The state’s worst category was opportunity and competition, which looked into the number of officers, wages and income growth, among other factors. In this area, West Virginia was the fifth worst state. It also performed poorly in the law enforcement training requirements category, being the seventh worst state.
Rapper Gunna, indicted with Young Thug, surrenders to police, booked into Atlanta jail on racketeering charge
Rapper Gunna, indicted with fellow rapper Young Thug and more than two dozen others for their roles in a violent Atlanta, Georgia, street gang that committed multiple murders, shootings and carjackings for over roughly a decade and promoted its activities in songs and on social media, was in custody Wednesday after surrendering to authorities.
The 28-year-old rapper Gunna, whose legal name is Sergio Giavonni Kitchens, was booked in the Fulton County Jail in the Atlanta area early Wednesday morning.
An indictment filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court accuses Gunna of violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law against organized crime.
San Diego Unified School Board unanimously passes resolution in support of abortion rights
“Everyone should have access to safe, legal and accessible abortion. Prohibitions on the right to freely exercise reproductive freedoms are harmful to public health and safety,” School Board Vice President Sabrina Bazzo said at the school board meeting, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
According to the Tribune, several high school-aged students were protesting outside the school board’s headquarters in support of abortion rights.
The resolution also states and reaffirms “the right of students to release themselves from school to seek these confidential services without parent notification or consent.”
Washington DNA collection identifies suspects in eight crimes
Sex offenders in the state are legally required to provide their DNA. However, in many cases either no sample was taken or it had not been tested against the national DNA database.
The “lawfully owned” DNA project, begun in 2019, is an effort to bring the state’s DNA collection up to date. So far, it has resulted in the creation of 372 new profiles, which were then compared with the national database.
The comparison yielded three matches for unsolved cases in the state, two matches confirming that the offender was either already a suspect or had been convicted of the crime.
Three others profiles matched DNA collected in crimes outside Washington. Appropriate law enforcement agencies in those cases will be notified, the statement said.
Overall, the project identified 635 registered sex offenders were identified from whom a DNA sample had not been collected. Of those, 257 were deceased or had left the state.
Skyrocketing drug overdoses among adolescents ‘very, very concerning’ warns health expert
Drug overdose deaths among adolescents increased by 94% from 2019 to 2020, and by 20% from 2020 to 2021, according to a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association.
“Clearly, one of the culprits is that fentanyl is being used to contaminate all of the illicit drug market, including illicit prescription drugs that teenagers do take,” Volkow told Fox News Digital at the Milken Institute 2022 Global Conference.
“For example, stimulant drugs like Adderall or benzodiazepines like Xanax. All of these drugs…are favored by teenagers for misuse, to study for exams, or if they have pain,” she added.
Volkow noted that the spread of fentanyl has reached every geography and every demographic in America, and strategies to combat drug usage need to be “tailored to the circumstances of those communities.”
Rachel Levine’s claim all agree on ‘gender-affirming care’ is slammed by doctors ‘in hiding’
Several medical professionals told Fox News they have seen rates of gender dysphoria skyrocket among young people in recent years, but that many of their colleagues are reluctant to speak publicly against transgender ideology for fear of both professional and personal retaliation.
Medical professionals took issue with Levine’s blanket claim, including the Florida Department of Health. Citing peer-reviewed studies as well as a “lack of conclusive evidence, and the potential for long-term, irreversible effects,”
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo released a fact sheet on April 20 advising against the HHS’s list of treatment options for children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria.
Ladapo’s office told Fox News he believes Florida’s guidance and fact sheet speak for themselves, and that “the burden of proof to support the outlandish claims made on NPR falls on Dr. Levine.”
Jan 6 Detainees
Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe is still the only one circulated inside Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is set to gather Thursday for the first time since the disclosure that it voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, and there’s no sign that the court is changing course from issuing that ruling by the end of June.
Justice Samuel Alito’s sweeping and blunt draft majority opinion from February overturning Roe remains the court’s only circulated draft in the pending Mississippi abortion case, POLITICO has learned, and none of the conservative justices who initially sided with Alito have to date switched their votes. No dissenting draft opinions have circulated from any justice, including the three liberals.
That could explain why no second draft of Alito’s majority opinion has been distributed, as typically the two sides react to one another’s written arguments and recast their own.
As the nine justices prepare for their scheduled, private, closed-door conference this week, they face one of the greatest crises in modern Supreme Court history, with an internal leak investigation under way, an agitated nation focused on whether the constitutional right to abortion is about to be overturned, and some justices facing angry protests at their homes.
TESTIMONY: Ashley Biden Atty Also Atty for Cuomo Aide – DIL of US Atty who Signed Subpoenas v PV
O’Keefe Answers Questions From Congressional Members Regarding DOJ & FBI Attacks on Press Freedom
Politics:
Senate fails to advance bill to guarantee abortion access nationwide
A Democratic-led bill to guarantee abortion access nationwide failed to advance in the Senate Wednesday in a show vote designed to draw sharp political lines ahead of the midterm elections.
The Women’s Health Protection Act needed 60 votes to advance, but died in a 51 to 49 vote with West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin joining with all Republicans in voting no.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pushed a vote on the legislation after a leaked Supreme Court opinion signaled the court would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade opinion that legalized abortion nationwide. He called the bill “urgent” to prevent states from passing extreme anti-abortion legislation that “would send women’s rights back into the Stone Age.”
Leaked Audio Shows Lindsey Graham Praising Biden Before Inauguration
The audio is talked about in a coming book penned by the two New York Times authors.
“The Capitol police were still trying to clear the Capitol in those moments, Graham is thinking ahead, he is thinking about the political impact on his party and the impact on the country,” he said.
But the author said that President Biden has failed at being a unifier.
“It, in fact, deepened the partisan divisions,” Martin said. “[Biden] is sort of one more partisan actor in the political scene in this tribal moment we’re living through in this country,” he said.
It comes after these same authors played similar audio of House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy attacking former President trump in the days after the incident.
Tammy Bruce: This is why the left fears Trump
Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce joined ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss how Elon Musk has vowed to reverse Twitter’s ban on Donald Trump.
Rep. Boebert and Chicago’s Lightfoot Exchange Jabs After Mayor’s ‘Call to Arms’ over SCOTUS Leak
It remains unclear how Lightfoot mentally justified her own, seemingly literal call to arms, ignoring it by making a reference to the January 6 protests. While Democrats and a handful of RINO Republicans accused Trump of inciting insurrection, the effort did not prevail.
Boebert, however, used the opportunity to highlight the Democrat mayor’s stunning inability to control the rampant violence in her own city:
“Lori Lightfoot just issued a ‘call to arms’ to her fellow radicals directly on Twitter,” the congresswoman continued. “While people are being slain in her streets on a daily basis, all she can worry about is endangering more lives with her reckless words. Shame on her”:
Indeed, Chicago saw yet another violent weekend, as 23 were ultimately shot, as Breitbart News reported. Nearly 200 have been killed in the city this year alone, according to reports.
Arizona Supreme Court won’t boot three Republicans from the ballot
The court ruled on Monday that it will not remove Republican Congressmen Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar and state representative Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot.
“The Candidates are not disqualified from appearing on the ballot for the 2022 primary election,” the court’s decision said.
An organization called Free Speech For People filed the three lawsuits. It claimed that the three politicians were “insurrectionists” and therefore should be disqualified from holding public office under a clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Arizona Supreme Court rejected that claim, explaining that’s not how the law works and that the organization had no legal authority to use this to get candidates tossed from the ballot.
Mesa County judge bars Tina Peters from overseeing 2022 election
The court also granted Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s request to install Brandi Bantz as the DEO for the county. Bantz has served as a Colorado election official for more than two decades, including four years as the senior elections specialist in El Paso County.
“The Court’s decision today bars Peters from further threatening the integrity of Mesa’s elections and ensures Mesa County residents have the secure and accessible elections they deserve,” Griswold said in a statement.
The effort to remove Peters as the DEO began in August last year after allegations surfaced that a copy of Mesa County’s election hard drive was posted on social media. The secretary of state’s office also asked for former Secretary Wayne Williams to be appointed at Mesa County’s new DEO.
Maria Bartiromo blasts Biden official’s claim about abortions helping economy
‘Sunday Morning Futures’ host Maria Bartiromo joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s assertions that abortions are good for the economy and the $40 billion Ukrainian aid bill that passed the House.
Larry Kudlow: Buckle your seatbelts
FOX Business host Larry Kudlow joined ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss the April inflation report and the Biden administration’s handling of rising consumer prices.
New program to benefit Rhode Island landlords, people facing homelessness
(The Center Square) – Providing incentives for landlords to house people facing homelessness is the focus of a new program in Rhode Island, Gov. Dan McKee said.
The governor announced the Landlord Challenge is now open and is seeking landlords across the state to participate in the program. The focus is to provide permanent housing for those who are homeless and staying in hotels and shelters.
The program offers a cash incentive to landlords who sign long-term leases with those who have faced homelessness since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Over 150 Rhode Island households will soon be transitioning out of hotel shelters and seeking available rental housing,” McKee said in the release. “The rental market is tight and the need is urgent. We are calling on landlords across the state to step forward to provide housing to keep Rhode Islanders safely housed.”
LA Mayor Garcetti ‘likely knew’ of ‘widespread’ sexual harassment, racist remarks by ex-adviser: Senate report
A 23-page report released by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said his office’s probe found it was “extremely unlikely” that Garcetti, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as ambassador to India, would not have been aware of the misconduct allegations against his former aide, Rick Jacobs.
The probe marks the latest development in Garcetti’s effort to fill one of the nation’s most prominent diplomatic roles.
The report includes a photo showing Jacobs grabbing the genitals of a male consulting partner in a photograph with Garcetti at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami Beach, Florida.
“By all accounts, Mr. Jacobs’ behavior was widely known and talked about,” the 23-page report released Tuesday says. “It was pervasive, widespread, and notorious – to the point that Mr. Jacobs sexually harassed someone in front of the mayor for a picture that would be memorialized for all time. Such overt conduct suggests at best that Mr. Jacobs had no fear of any repercussions.”
It also says Jacobs condoned his own “predatory” behavior under the justification he is a gay man.
George Soros throws $1M behind Stacey Abrams’ second gubernatorial run
Soros’ Democracy PAC II, a federal committee bankrolled by $125 million from the financier for the 2022 elections, made a $1 million donation to One Georgia Inc. on March 11, Federal Election Commission records show.
One Georgia Inc. is a leadership committee launched to aid Abrams’ candidacy, and Abrams nor the group appear to have publicly announced its existence.
In April, however, a federal judge ruled that it had to suspend activities until she locks up the Democratic nomination at the end of May, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
One Georgia does not appear in state records due to its suspension. Soros’ federal disclosures show that the group shares an Atlanta address with Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign committee.
World News:
More Islamic Death Threats in Europe: Dutch MP Targeted Twice
Wilders has dedicated his life to supporting freedom of speech and religious tolerance, and pointing out problems in radical, violent Islamist extremism. Because of this, he has been the target of frequent death threats by Islamist leaders. There are many who appear to prefer religious conformity, restricted speech and often the death penalty for what they might consider blasphemy.
As for this author, born in the Netherlands, it was always a particular pleasure for many years, while serving as a member of the US Congress, to meet with political visitors from the Netherlands to the US. A special one, with whom I often met, is Wilders.
What seems to have earned him these death threats is his unrelenting passion for freedom. To others, it seems, this commitment, is not a plus. Radical cleric Muhammad Abdullah Ahsan, for instance, recently proclaimed: “The rascals like Geert Wilders can’t be stopped by mere condemnation. He must be handed over to Muslims for public execution to ensure world peace.”
Palestinians Lie to Murder Jews; U.S. Rewards Them
The rioters attacked the police because Palestinian leaders had told them that Jews were planning to “storm into the mosque” during the Jewish holidays.
These leaders, who belong to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas, had told their people, falsely, that Israel was planning to “commit crimes” against the Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site to Muslims, and the leaders urged Palestinians to converge on the site to “defend” it against the “aggression of Jewish settlers.”
The lies of these leaders led thousands of Palestinians to clash with Israeli security forces at the Aqsa Mosque compound. The rioters chanted slogans calling for the slaughter of Jews, the bombing of Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, and “blowing up the head of the Zionists.”
The rioters praised Hamas, the terrorist group that explicitly calls for the elimination of Israel, and raised the Hamas flag on the mosque’s walls.
Syria bombed Twice; Jerusalem warns enemies; WB clashes claim Journalist’s life TV7Israel News 11.05
1) Heavy clashes between IDF troops and Palestinian militants were reported in the West Bank city of Jenin this morning, during which an Al-Jazeera journalist was killed.
2) Multiple targets were separately struck overnight and this morning in Syria’s Quneitra governorate – in an attack Damascus attributed to Israel.
3) Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stresses that while Jerusalem neither seeks nor wants conflict – it is prepared for any scenario.
Hong Kong arrests Roman Catholic cardinal in crackdown on ‘basic rights’
The arrested include Cardinal Joseph Zen singer-actress Denise Ho, lawyer Margaret Ng and scholar Hui Po-keung, according to Hong Kong Watch. Each of the individuals was arrested for allegedly supporting protests against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) destruction of Democracy in Hong Kong.
“We condemn the arrests of these activists whose supposed crime was funding legal aid for pro-democracy protestors back in 2019,” Hong Kong Watch said in a statement. “Today’s arrests signal beyond a doubt that Beijing intends to intensify its crackdown on basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong. We urge the international community to shine a light on this brutal crackdown and call for the immediate release of these activists.”
The arrests come days after CCP loyalist John Lee became mayor of Hong Kong. Lee was elected with 99% of the vote from the Beijing-controlled election committee, which has 1,500 members.
Dead Russian Fighters Were Found With GPS ‘Taped To The Dashboards’ In Ukraine
The Russian Air Force has a new problem – and it’s not just getting shot down over Ukraine: Wrecked Russian fighter jets are being found with rudimentary GPS receivers “taped to the dashboards” in Ukraine because their inbuilt navigation systems are so bad, the UK defense minister said.
The Su-34 was first manufactured during the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, but is still one of Russia’s leading fighter jets.
Ukraine has shared abundant evidence of what it says are Russia’s attempts to patch over issues with old military equipment and bypass equipment shortages.
Last month, Ukrainian troops paraded a Russian drone that had been covered in duct tape and fitted with a generic plastic bottle top for a fuel cap. In late March, Ukrainian troops found Russian army bandages dating back to 1978 discarded on a battlefield.
Commentary/Opinion:
Einstein has a VITAL lesson for America as Iran PREPS nukes
America’s concern about nuclear weapons should go far beyond Russia and Vladimir Putin.
Because a new report from the Washington Examiner details how IRAN now may be ramping up development of their own nukes as well, with plans to use them against U.S. electrical grids.
So, why then are our leftist politicians in D.C. turning a blind eye to the Ayatollah and Iran?
And how has America already forgotten the VITAL lesson Albert Einstein taught the world about nukes just decades ago?