Popular Cooking Ingredient Linked to Cancer Diagnoses in Young People

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Climbing rates of colon and rectal cancer among people under 50 years old is a striking recent trend that has alarmed and puzzled clinicians racing to figure out why. Now a new study published in Gut offers what might be a crucial insight: specific lipids, or fatty acids, that are abundantly found in ultra-processed foods may be promoting inflammation that causes cancerous colon cells to run amok.

Colorectal cancer tumor samples from 81 people in the U.S. had excessive amounts of inflammation-boosting lipids, called omega-6 fatty acids—and lacked helpful lipids called omega-3 fatty acids, which help stop inflammation.

Inflammation is a normal defensive response that the immune system switches on to heal wounds or fight off infection. But researchers in the 1800s found that colon tumors under a microscope looked like “poorly healed wounds,” says Timothy Yeatman, a co-author of the study and a professor of surgery at the University of South Florida. Rampant inflammation over long periods of time damages cells and hampers their ability to fight potentially cancerous cell growth. Omega-6 fatty acids often come from our diet, and Yeatman suspects ultraprocessed food is likely a major source of them.

“We don’t know the full effects of these ultraprocessed foods on our body, but we do know that that’s a major thing that’s changed from 1950 onward,” Yeatman says. “Young people today, particularly rural and impoverished people, are being exposed to more of these processed foods than anybody else because they’re cheap and they’re in all the fast-food restaurants.”

Many ultraprocessed foods and fast foods are prepared with seed oil—a cheap, common type of vegetable-based cooking oil that is chemically processed from seeds such as canola (rapeseed), corn, grapeseed and sunflower. These oils contain high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids. The study was not able to definitively connect the lipids detected in the colon cancer tumors to any specific food or oil, however. (Read more from “Popular Cooking Ingredient Linked to Cancer Diagnoses in Young People” HERE)

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Congress’s Adoption Tax Credit Legislation Is Pro-Life and Pro-Family

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. . .Amidst rising inflation, soaring housing prices, and increased living costs, raising a family has become more expensive. Adoption itself is no exception; today, the process can cost between $20,000 and $45,000, making this meaningful path to family formation simply unaffordable for many. A 1985 Washington Post article gives an example of an adoption that cost just $4,000 in 1980, or about $15,000 in today’s dollars, indicating that adoption costs may have outpaced overall inflation rates.

While some outstanding nonprofits help reduce the financial barriers to adoption, the process is still far too costly for many would-be parents. Enter third-party “baby brokers,” firms that sometimes use unethical practices to connect prospective birth mothers with adoptive parents. These brokers are not licensed adoption agencies, have no legal authority to place children, and are inadvertently driving up the cost of adoption. . .

Thankfully, there’s a practical solution that could make adoption more accessible: the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act. Introduced in 2023, this bill has garnered bipartisan support, including from Senators Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. In a hyperpartisan political landscape, and in the aftermath of a divisive presidential race, it is encouraging to see a measure that both sides can rally behind.

National Review Institute Senior Fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez recently said in a webinar, “[A]fter Roe, Dobbs — what it means to be ‘pro-life’ has to be more of an examination of conscience. We have to be more creative about it … and there also is tremendous opportunity for common ground.” The Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act is common ground and a measure of support for both children and families.

The Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act would amend the U.S. tax code to provide adoptive parents with a refundable tax credit for adoption-related expenses. The current adoption tax credit, which is non-refundable, functions like a deduction: it reduces a family’s tax liability but doesn’t put money back in their pockets. The new refundable credit will do just that for many low- and middle-income families. Given today’s cost of living, this tax relief could allow more families to pursue adoption and provide loving homes to children. (Read more from “Congress’s Adoption Tax Credit Legislation Is Pro-Life and Pro-Family” HERE)

Federal Jury Convicts Man for Using Cryptocurrency Scheme to Fund ISIS

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A federal jury convicted a Virginia man for using a cryptocurrency scheme to funnel money to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) on Friday, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.

Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, had been charged with providing material support to the terrorist group, the Justice Department said.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from at least October 2019 through October 2022, Chhipa collected and sent money to female ISIS members in Syria to benefit ISIS in various ways, including by financing the escape of female ISIS members from prison camps and supporting ISIS fighters. Chhipa would raise funds online on various social media accounts. He would receive electronic transfers of funds and travel hundreds of miles to collect funds by hand. He would then convert the money to cryptocurrency and send it to Turkey, where it was smuggled to ISIS members in Syria.

His primary co-conspirator was a British-born ISIS member residing in Syria who was involved in raising funds for prison escapes, terrorist attacks, and ISIS fighters. Over the course of the conspiracy, the defendant sent out over $185,000 in of cryptocurrency.

The jury found Chhipa guilty of one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization and four counts of providing and attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Chhipa faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 5, 2025. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

(Read more from “Federal Jury Convicts Man for Using Cryptocurrency Scheme to Fund ISIS” HERE)

Report: Madison School Alleged Attacker a 17-Year-Old Girl

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The alleged attacker who killed at least one teacher and one student at Abundant Life Christian School was a 17-year-old girl, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The AP cited their source as “a law enforcement official.”

CNN reported, “The shooter, who is also dead, was a female, according to a law enforcement official.” . . .

Madison Chief of Police Shon Barnes noted that police responded and found the suspected shooter was already deceased. He pointed out that police officers did not fire their weapons.

Two innocents were killed and numerous others went to the hospital with injuries. FOX News reported the attacker used a 9mm pistol. (Read more from “Report: Madison School Alleged Attacker a 17-Year-Old Girl” HERE)

Here They Go Again: Anti-Gunners Rush to Exploit Wisconsin School Shooting to Push Gun Control

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It has only been a few hours since the news broke about the tragic mass shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, and the anti-gunner lobby is already using the incident to push for more restrictions on firearms.

The shooting, which is believed to have been carried out by a juvenile, left a teacher and a student dead. Six other students were injured.

The motive behind the shooting has not yet been revealed. Police Chief Shon Barnes stated, “The suspect used a handgun,” and noted that the shooting “was confined to one space.” The suspect was dead when police arrived on the scene, according to ABC News.

Several leftists took to social media to use the shooting to call for more gun control. Singer Ricky Davila said, “It’s the guns, it’s the terrorist organization NRA and it’s the republicans who are paid by the gun lobby to block all gun safety laws.”

[Warning: tweets contain explicit language.]

(Read more from “Here They Go Again: Anti-Gunners Rush to Exploit Wisconsin School Shooting to Push Gun Control” HERE)

Russian Soldiers Killed by North Koreans After Enlisting Them for Help, Ukraine Says

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Russian paramilitary soldiers were accidentally targeted and killed by North Korean troops in a recent bout of friendly fire, according to Ukrainian officials.

In a statement published on Saturday, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) detailed how Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) soldiers have recently assisted Russian troops in the Kursk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian officials estimate that around 11,000 DPRK personnel are stationed in Russia.

“The aggressor state of Russia has begun to use DPRK soldiers in assault operations in the Kursk region, in particular, as part of the combined units of the marines and airborne troops of the Russian Armed Forces,” the statement read.

“The North Korean troops suffer sanitary and irreversible losses as a result of a successful fire attack by the Ukrainian Security and Defense Forces,” the DIU added. “In particular, at one of the positions in the Kursk region, the DPRK army was effectively targeted by FPV drones.”

The DIU noted that, in a recent incident, the language barrier between Russian and North Korean troops ultimately led to the death of eight soldiers in the Akhmat special forces unit, which is a paramilitary group in Chechnya. (Read more from “Russian Soldiers Killed by North Koreans After Enlisting Them for Help, Ukraine Says” HERE)

Bernie Sanders: Biden Set ‘Dangerous’ Precedent by Pardoning Son

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said during an interview over the weekend that President Joe Biden set a “dangerous” precedent by pardoning his son.

Sanders made the remarks during a Sunday interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” with Kristen Welker when asked about whether the administration should give blanket pardons to current officials so that they are immune from prosecution under the incoming Trump administration.

“Well, I’m a little bit nervous about it,” he said, adding that the White House “might want to consider” preemptive pardons “very seriously.”

Welker then asked Sanders about Biden’s lies to the American public that he would not pardon his son, convicted felon Hunter Biden.

(Read more from “Bernie Sanders: Biden Set ‘Dangerous’ Precedent by Pardoning Son” HERE)

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Christmas Disaster: Feds Ramp up J6 Prosecutions to Break Families Apart

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With Donald Trump promising to pardon some, if not all, of those convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, logic would suggest that the Justice Department might slow down or halt its ongoing prosecution of J6 defendants, and that the FBI would terminate its ongoing orders to surveil, raid and apprehend new suspects who demonstrated in Washington, D.C. that fateful day.

In just a few weeks, on Jan. 20, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump will make his return to the Oval Office, something long awaited by the men and women who have been politically prosecuted by the Biden DOJ for protesting the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results at the “Save America” rally on Jan. 6, 2021. . .

Yet the DOJ and federal prosecutors are ramping up the charges against Jan. 6 defendants, even circumventing the Supreme Court’s ruling on its misuse of federal statutes, to send protesters who trespassed in the “People’s House” to prison for years or decades, all in a scurry as the new Republican administration prepares to assume power.

The FBI continues to steadily arrest protesters who sought to “Stop the Steal,” apprehending at least two new Jan. 6 suspects every day, often in predawn SWAT team raids, four years after the event.

Criminal defense attorney Roger Roots, who has represented nearly four dozen Jan. 6 defendants over the past three-and-a-half years, is sounding the alarm on the government’s incessant attempts to destroy the lives of everyday Americans who supported Trump by exercising their First Amendment rights to speech and assembly. (Read more from “Christmas Disaster: Feds Ramp up J6 Prosecutions to Break Families Apart” HERE)

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Profound Mystery Lies at the Heart of Christmas — And Christians Must Embrace It

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This weekend, I saw a person on X bemoaning the fact that Christians believe so many supernatural things. This guy praised multiple ethical teachings of Christianity and then framed Christianity as something that would be much more palatable if we weren’t so insistent on the miracles.

The miracles can seem like a stumbling block in the minds of those who are committed to a closed universe, a universe in which there is no God at work. Some people prefer a more deistic approach to things: If there is a God, he is remote because he withdrew after he set everything in motion. From that standpoint, natural laws are the way things are and the way things will always be.

Getting rid of the miraculous might be an appealing strategy to some people, because — from a secular view — non-miraculous teachings and stories are easier to believe. . .

This tactic didn’t work when Thomas Jefferson purged miracles from the four Gospels and retained the moral teachings of Jesus (a project that became known as the Jefferson Bible). According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, the teachings of Christianity rest upon the truth of a historical bodily resurrection of Jesus. This miracle, however, follows many previous ones. . .

The Israelites flee from the Egyptians through standing walls of water. The Lord feeds his people for decades with manna on the ground every morning. Moses strikes a rock from which water flows for the thirsty people. The walls of Jericho fall after the Israelites followed specific marching instructions and a musical cue. Elijah calls down fire from heaven, and later he is taken to heaven apart from an earthly death. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from a fiery furnace unharmed and un-singed. (Read more from “Profound Mystery Lies at the Heart of Christmas — And Christians Must Embrace It” HERE)

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Massive Defense Bill Creates Sperm Freezing Program, Dumps Millions Into ‘Minority Serving’ Schools

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The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House of Representatives Thursday authorizes hundreds of millions in funding for “Minority Serving Institutions” and finances the freezing of sperm and eggs for some service members.

The nearly $884 billion bill includes over $102 million dollars in funding for “Minority Serving Institutions” and “Historically Black Colleges and Universities” (HBCUs), and establishes a development program that provides eligible service members with a $500 reimbursement for the cryopreservation of sperm and a $10,000 reimbursement for the cryopreservation of eggs.

Section 709 of the NDAA authorizes the creation of a three-year development program to fund the freezing of qualifying service members’ sperm and eggs: “The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a demonstration program to reimburse covered members for expenses incurred in the retrieval, testing, cryopreservation, shipping, and storage of gametes of such covered members in a private storage facility determined appropriate by the Secretary.”

The secretary of defense is also encouraged to “promote the demonstration program to covered members in the course of annual health examinations and pre-deployment screenings,” according to the bill’s text.

Qualification requirements for federal coverage of sperm and egg freezing include receiving hazardous duty pay, receiving approval from the secretary of defense and being geographically separated from a “spouse, domestic partner or dating partner for a period of not less than 180 days.”

(Read more from “Massive Defense Bill Creates Sperm Freezing Program, Dumps Millions Into ‘Minority Serving’ Schools” HERE)

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