Feds Charge 89 People, Including Doctors, Nurses, with Millions in Medicare Fraud

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Photo Credit: J. Scott Applewhite / APIn a major crackdown on healthcare fraud across the country, 89 people, including 14 doctors and nurses, were charged for their roles in various Medicare scams that bilked taxpayers of some $223 million through bogus charges, federal officials said Tuesday.

Some people allegedly posed as doctors and wrote bogus prescriptions for drugs and psychotherapy therapy and then billed the government $12 million.

Others are accused of bribing Medicare patients for their ID numbers, then using those numbers to bill $20 million in home health care never performed or not medically necessary.

The lead suspect in that case used the money to buy luxury cars, including two Lamborghinis and a Ferrari, officials said.

About 400 federal agents were involved in Tuesday’s arrests, raiding businesses, seizing documents and charging suspects in Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, Tampa, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La.

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Man, 75, Accused of Running Prostitution Ring in New Jersey Senior Housing Complex (+video)

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Photo Credit: //ZEROA 75-year-old resident of a New Jersey senior citizen housing complex is suspected of running a prostitution ring that employed some elderly residents as sex workers, NBC 4 New York has learned.

The suspect, James Parham, 75, was also accused, along with Cheryl Chaney, 66, of allowing residents and visitors to use crack in their apartments, police said.

Both are charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a nuisance, and Chaney is also charged with possession of crack cocaine.

In Parham’s case, the nuisance charge relates to allowing prostitution in his apartment and in Chaney’s case, it relates to allowing drug use in hers.

Englewood Police Chief Arthur O’Keefe told NBC 4 New York on Tuesday that Parham ran the prostitution ring through his apartments, and employed a mix of young women and older residents.

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One Drink DUI? Feds Want Lower Threshold for Drunk Driving

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Photo Credit: APA federal agency is proposing that states lower the threshold for drunken driving to the point where a woman could be charged for driving after one drink and a man after two in a move officials say would save thousands of lives.

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended that all states drop the blood-alcohol level at which motorists can be charged with driving drunk to .05, down from the current rate of .08 that all 50 states impose. The threshold is a matter of state law, but the federal government can pressure states to meet its standard by threatening to withhold highway funding.

“Our goal is to get to zero deaths because each alcohol-impaired death is preventable,” NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said. “Alcohol-impaired deaths are not accidents, they are crimes. They can and should be prevented. The tools exist. What is needed is the will.”

More than 100 countries have adopted the .05 alcohol content standard or lower, according to an NTSB report. In Europe, drunken driving deaths were cut by more than half a decade after the stricter standard was implemented.

Studies show a woman weighing less than 120 pounds can reach .05 after just one drink, while a man weighing up to 160 pounds reaches .05 after two drinks.

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Japanese Mayor Draws IRE for Saying Wartime Sex Slaves ‘Necessary’

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Photo Credit: APAn outspoken nationalist mayor said the Japanese military’s forced prostitution of Asian women before and during World War II was necessary to “maintain discipline” in the ranks and provide rest for soldiers who risked their lives in battle.

The comments made Monday are already raising ire in neighboring countries that bore the brunt of Japan’s wartime aggression and that have long complained that Japan has failed to fully atone for wartime atrocities.

Toru Hashimoto, the young, brash mayor of Osaka who is also co-leader of an emerging conservative political party, also told reporters that there wasn’t clear evidence that the Japanese military coerced women to become what are euphemistically called “comfort women.”

“To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time,” said Hashimoto. “For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That’s clear to anyone.”

Historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from the Korean Peninsula and China, were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in military brothels.

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Two Sisters Are Reunited Through Sports (+video)

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Photo Credit: Jim, the PhotographerThis is the way it should be, two sisters talking like sisters.

“Every weekend we go over each other’s house,” says Jordan.

It’s a clear evening at Wilson High School in northwest and Jordan Dickerson and her sister, Robin Jeter, laugh and giggle at pictures of their youth. They have a right to be giddy because they’re making up for lost time. “I come up here almost every day,” says Robin.

The sisters are together now but for so long their lives were separate. Jordan, a junior at Wilson High School, was adopted shortly after her birth. Robin, a senior at Friendship Collegiate, bounced around from her biological mother, to foster care, to a legal guardian. For 17 years they lived in the same city, played some of the same sports, but never crossing paths.

“At first I didn’t know I had any siblings,” said Robin. “As time went on, I only knew I had one sibling, I didn’t know I had anymore.” And she didn’t know she had a sister until January 9th, 2013. The reunion occurred during a track meet.

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Gosnell Guilty of Hundreds of Crimes, Murders: May Get Death Penalty

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Philadelphia Daily News, Yong KimBy Fox News and the Associated Press. A Philadelphia doctor was found guilty Monday of murdering three babies born alive in an abortion clinic, Fox News confirms. He was acquitted in the fourth baby’s death, and found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the overdose death of an adult patient.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, was convicted of first-degree murder and could face execution in the deaths of three babies who authorities say were delivered alive and then killed with scissors at his grimy clinic, in a case that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over abortion.

Gosnell was cleared in the death of a fourth baby, who prosecutors say let out a soft whimper before he snipped its neck.

Gosnell was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the drug-overdose death of a patient who had undergone an abortion.

Gosnell appeared hopeful before the verdict and calm afterward; jurors and lawyers on both sides were more emotional. Read more from this story HERE.

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Philly Abortion Doctor Guilty in 3 Babies’ Deaths

By Maryclaire Dale, AP. A Philadelphia abortion doctor was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder and could face execution in the deaths of three babies who authorities say were delivered alive and then killed with scissors at his grimy clinic, in a case that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over abortion.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the drug-overdose death of a patient who had undergone an abortion. He was cleared in the death of a fourth baby, who prosecutors say let out a soft whimper before he snipped its neck.

Gosnell appeared hopeful before the verdict was read and calm afterward; jurors and lawyers on both sides were more emotional.

The jury will return May 21 to hear evidence on whether Gosnell should get the death penalty.

Former clinic employees testified that Gosnell routinely performed illegal late-term abortions past Pennsylvania’s 24-week limit, that he delivered babies who were still moving, whimpering or breathing, and that he and his assistants “snipped” the newborns’ spines, as he referred to it. Read more from this story HERE.

Report: Terrorist Super-Axis to Strike Within U.S.

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Photo Credit: WNDIran has given the go-ahead to operatives of three terrorist groups that have infiltrated the United States to carry out missions, including what is expected to be a Mumbai-style attack on a hotel where innocent bystanders would be killed, WND has learned.

A full report with many details of the missions has been passed on to U.S. officials.

Three targets have been chosen within America for imminent attack, and the terror teams have now cut communications with the operational center in Iran, a sign that they are moving ahead with the attacks, according to a high-level intelligence officer within the Islamic regime.

If only one of the attacks occurs, the regime will consider the operation a success, the source said. Tehran believes, he said, an attack would not be traced back to Iran due to the nationalities of the operators.

One of the planned attacks resemble the Mumbai attack in 2008, the source added, in which a hotel was targeted, hostages were taken and 164 people were killed over several days. India alleges Pakistan used proxies to carry out the Mumbai attack so it wouldn’t be traced back to Pakistan, just as Iran now is using proxies to hide its current terrorism. The information provided by the source provides details of a new jihadist coalition with a focus on creating instability in the U.S.

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Congress Now Investigating Obama Admin.’s Hostility to Religion in the Military

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Photo Credit: APFollowing 59 Members of Congress sending a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel regarding Pentagon officials meeting with an anti-Christian extremist, another group of 56 House Members has sent a second wide-ranging letter, exploring whether these infringements on religious liberty violate both federal law and the Constitution.

The first letter demanded that Hagel explain why Pentagon brass met with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein. It highlighted various disturbing statements Weinstein has made—most of which were first reported by Breitbart News—such as calling Christians “monsters,” and claiming sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ an act of “treason” and equating it with “rape.”

Now a second letter has gone to Hagel, co-sponsored by Congressmen Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Doug Lamborn (R-CO). The letter reminds Hagel that—as Breitbart News previously reported—Congress enacted Section 533 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to protect freedom of religious belief and conscience for all men and women serving in uniform, with a special focus on military chaplains:

Upon signing the NDAA into law, President Obama said the conscience protections were “unnecessary and ill-advised.” This statement, coupled with recent events, raises concerns that the military is developing a culture that is hostile to religion. A recently revealed power point presentation used in equal opportunity training in an Army reserve unit in Pennsylvania included evangelical Christians, Catholics, Mormons, Sunni Muslims, and some Jews on a list of religious extremist groups alongside groups like Al Qaeda and Hamas. A memo regarding visitation policies at Walter Reed issued in December 2011 prohibited visitors from bringing Bibles and other religious materials on the premises. A particularly concerning memorandum issued on September 1, 2011, General Norton A. Schwartz prohibited commanders from notifying Airmen about Chaplain Corps programs, stating that only Air Force chaplains are trained to provide leadership on religious matters.

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How High Up Does This Go? New Report Implicates Washington Officials in IRS Scandal

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Photo Credit: White House flickrAnd just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Obama administration, something new comes along.

From the Washington Post:

Internal Revenue Service officials in Washington and at least two other offices were involved in the targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, making clear the effort reached well beyond the branch in Cincinnati that was initially blamed, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. IRS officials at the agency’s Washington headquarters sent queries to conservative groups asking about their donors and other aspects of their operations, while officials in the El Monte and Laguna Niguel offices in California sent similar questionnaires to tea party-affiliated groups.

Whoa.

Okay, so it appears the Washington Post report contradicts the IRS official who claimed last week that the political targeting was done by “low-level” staffers in Cincinnati.

Of course, it’s important to note that the official who made this claim, Lois Lerner, is the head of the Cincinnati-based IRS office that oversees tax-exempt groups. Considering that her office is heavily involved in the scandal, some of her staffers must also be involved.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Congratulates Pakistan for Electing Islamist Prime Minister Linked to Osama bin Laden

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Photo Credit: APPakistan held another one of those democratic elections that the reformers claim is the solution to terrorism. And Obama seemed upbeat about the Pakistan Muslim League’s big win.

President Obama congratulated the people of Pakistan on national elections Saturday that marked the country’s first democratic transfer of power.

“I congratulate the people of Pakistan on the successful completion of yesterday’s parliamentary elections,” Obama said in a statement. “The United States stands with all Pakistanis in welcoming this historic peaceful and transparent transfer of civilian power, which is a significant milestone in Pakistan’s democratic progress.

The next Prime Minister is an Islamist fellow by the name of Nawaz Sharif who doesn’t like America, but does like Osama bin Laden.

The former prime minister of Pakistan, now one of President Pervez Musharraf’s chief political rivals, once received a million-dollar payoff from Osama Bin Laden as a thanks for not cracking down on the militant tribal areas in Pakistan’s northwest border province, according to a former member of bin Laden’s inner circle. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 coup, returned to Pakistan earlier this week after spending seven years in exile living in Saudi Arabia. When in power, Sharif aggravated the United States by detonating Pakistan’s first nuclear weapon and turning a blind eye to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Now a former member of bin Laden’s inner circle is saying that Sharif was handsomely rewarded by bin Laden for his policies.

Read more from this story HERE.