Flu Kills up to 4,000 a Week, Causing 1 in 10 Deaths

/0 Comments/in , /by

The amount of influenza ravaging the U.S. this year rivals levels normally seen when an altogether new virus emerges, decimating a vulnerable population that hasn’t had a chance to develop any defenses.

It’s an unexpected phenomenon that public health experts are still trying to decode.

The levels of influenza-like illnesses being reported now are as high as the peak of the swine flu epidemic in 2009, and exceed the last severe seasonal flu outbreak in 2003 when a new strain started circulating, said Anne Schuchat, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s acting director. Swine flu, which swept the globe in 2009 and 2010, sickened 60.8 million Americans, hospitalized 274,304 and killed 12,469, according to CDC data. Deaths from the current outbreak will likely far outstrip those of the 2009-2010 season.

“This is a difficult season, and we can’t predict how much longer the severe season will last,” she said. “I wish there was better news, but everything we are looking at is bad news.”

The primary type of influenza this year hasn’t changed enough from previous seasons to be considered a novel strain, Schuchat said. The agency’s virologists are studying it to determine if there are any other explanations for why it’s been so hard-hitting. (Read more from “Flu Kills up to 4,000 a Week, Causing 1 in 10 Deaths” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

The Out-Of-Control Reason a Teacher Is Being Charged with Child Abuse

/0 Comments/in , /by

A Boulder Valley School District teacher now faces child abuse and assault charges for allegedly forcing a child to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Karen Smith, a physical education teacher at Angevine Middle School in Lafayette, was placed on leave earlier this month.

Police say on Feb. 1, Smith grabbed a boy by his jacket, lifting him to his feet, and took him out of class.

A parent waiting to pick her child up at Angevine recently told CBS4 that her daughter knows Smith as a “strict” teacher but has never had an issue. (Read more from “The Out-Of-Control Reason a Teacher Is Being Charged with Child Abuse” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Kansas Election Officials Bar Dog from Running for Governor

/0 Comments/in , /by

Kansas election officials on Tuesday barred a dog from running for governor, saying such a candidate would be disqualified even if there are no actual state laws prohibiting the animal from running.

Terran Woolley, the dog’s owner, used the state’s oversight to file the paperwork that would allow his 3-year-old wire-haired Visla named Angus P. Woolley to run.

“I thought, ‘Hey, why not Angus? He’s a good dog, he’s smart. And I think he could provide better leadership than what we’ve had the last seven years in our state,’ ” Woolley told The Hutchinson News . . .

Bryan Caskey, director of elections for the Kansas secretary of state’s office, told The Kansas City Star on Tuesday that “there’s several laws that reference that the governor has to be an individual or a person, and so we are relying on that, and if a dog comes in to file for office, we will not allow that.”

Caskey told the newspaper last year that he does not “know what would happen if [a dog] tried to” run. “I can’t point you to a law that says anything about the qualifications to run for governor.” (Read more from “Kansas Election Officials Bar Dog from Running for Governor” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Trump’s Lawyer Says He Paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 out of Own Pocket

/0 Comments/in , /by

The latest twist in the tangled tale of what happened between President Donald Trump and an adult film star more than a decade ago has taken a new turn Tuesday, with Trump’s longtime personal lawyer claiming that he paid the porn star $130,000 out of his own pocket.

Michael Cohen, the lawyer who worked for Trump for over a decade, said in a statement obtained by Fox News that the 2016 transaction with Stomy Daniels was lawful and not a campaign contribution or campaign expenditure “by anyone.”

“Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly,” the statement read.

Trump met Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the name Stormy Daniels in films, at a golf event in 2006 — a year after Trump’s marriage to his wife, Melania. According to The Wall Street Journal’s report, Clifford began talking with ABC News in the fall of 2016 for a story involving an alleged relationship with Trump, but reached a $130,000 deal a month before the election, which prevented her from going public. (Read more from “Trump’s Lawyer Says He Paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 out of Own Pocket” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Girl Declared Dead While Alive Reawakens Another Famous Case

/0 Comments/in , /by

A foundation advocating for the disabled is accusing the New Yorker of presenting “fact-free assertions” that mislead readers about the death of Terri Schindler Schiavo.

WND has reported extensively on Schiavo, most recently when her brother, Bobby Schindler, lobbied for 11-month-old infant Charlie Gard, who died after Britain’s High Court ruled a hospital could take him off life support, even though his parents had raised more than $1.8 million to transfer him to the U.S. for treatment. Schiavo died after a court allowed doctors to withhold food and water . . .

The New Yorker piece focused on the case of Jahi McMath, who was declared dead after a tonsillectomy.

However, a judge later ordered a trial, which is coming in a few weeks, since McMath has been kept on life support by her family. An expert now has concluded that while she may have met the definition of death several years ago after her surgery, she no longer does . . .

Evidence shows that her heart rate speeds up when her mother talks to her, and she is able to respond to instructions to move her fingers or toes. There’s also been an absence of decomposition. (Read more from “Girl Declared Dead While Alive Reawakens Another Famous Case” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Why Have Crime Scene Unit Vans Been Spotted at Two Abortion Clinics in Two States?

/0 Comments/in , /by

Somewhat of a mystery has developed over the past few days as a second group of pro-life activists describe the presence of Crime Scene Investigation van at their local abortion facility.

Last week, Operation Rescue reported on the presence of a Palm Beach County Crime Scene unit at Presidential Women’s Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 6, 2018. It was unclear why the unit was dispatched to that abortion facility, but given the fact that PWC was referred to the State Attorney General’s office by the U.S. House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives for illegally trafficking in aborted baby remains, it raised hopes the Crime Scene unit was gathering evidence in that case.

Since then, pro-life activists in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, told Operation Rescue that a similar Crime Scene unit was seen at the West Alabama Women’s Center abortion facility on February 3, 2018.

However, additional details emerging from the Tuscaloosa incident may shed more light on why Crime Scene Units have now been spotted at two abortion businesses in two states within days of each other.

The van at the Tuscaloosa abortion business was from the City of Gadsden, which is about 120 miles from Tuscaloosa. Pro-life activists also noticed that one of the two CSI officers that entered the abortion facility carried a small Styrofoam cooler in and out of the facility. (Read more from “Why Have Crime Scene Unit Vans Been Spotted at Two Abortion Clinics in Two States?” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Department of Education: We’re Done Being Involved with Transgender Students and Bathrooms

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Department of Education has decided it will not investigate or interfere if transgender students complain they are barred from bathrooms that match their chosen gender, according to Buzzfeed News.

On Thursday, Buzzfeed asked Liz Hill, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, if restroom complaints from transgender students are not covered by a 1972 federal civil rights law called Title IX. Hill answered, “Yes, that’s what the law says,” adding on Friday, “Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity.”

Hill made it clear that some complaints by transgenders students will indeed be investigated, but bathroom complaints will not be among them. She stated, “Where students, including transgender students, are penalized or harassed for failing to conform to sex-based stereotypes, that is sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX. n the case of bathrooms, however, long-standing regulations provide that separating facilities on the basis of sex is not a form of discrimination prohibited by Title IX.” . . .

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states that discrimination is forbidden on the basis of sex. The word “gender” is not included in its language:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. (Read more from “Department of Education: We’re Done Being Involved with Transgender Students and Bathrooms” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Obama Artist Paints Black Women Holding Severed White Heads

/0 Comments/in , /by

While America is captivated by the newly released portraits of former President Obama and first lady Michelle, there’s something curious about Obama’s artist that’s raising eyebrows: He apparently enjoys painting portraits of black women holding the severed heads of white people.

Kehinde Wiley, a New York artist who paints primarily African-American subjects in heroic poses, was chosen by former President Obama to create a portrait of the 44th president to be displayed at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Wiley’s portrait of Obama was unveiled Monday . . .

Still, it turns out President Obama’s artist has a curious history of painting African-American women holding the severed heads of white people, according to the Media Research Center. Like the presidential portrait, the subjects are depicted with floral backgrounds.

One example is this painting known as “Judith and Holofernes,” a subject from the deutercanonical Book of Judith, which tells of a beautiful woman named Judith who beheads an Assyrian general named Holofernes, who had planned to destroy Judith’s home city.

[There is a] painting from Wiley’s collection known as “The Economy of Grace,” a series that focused on black women whom he recruited from the streets of New York. Wiley described the collection as “a celebration of black women, creating a rightful place within art history, which has to date been an almost exclusively white domain.” (Read more from “Obama Artist Paints Black Women Holding Severed White Heads” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding Invitations Send Trump Family an Unmistakable Message

/0 Comments/in , , /by

There’s been much speculation in the past few months over who is on the guest list for the upcoming royal wedding, where Britain’s Prince Harry will wed American actress Meghan Markle.

Several well-known names will no doubt be on the list, but a new report has revealed arguably the most famous American to get an invite — former President Barack Obama.

It was previously unclear whether or not Obama and his family would get invited to the wedding, which is set to take place on May 19 at Windsor Castle.

Though the former president is good friends with Prince Harry, the royal family was reportedly worried about upsetting President Donald Trump by inviting his predecessor, but not the current president himself.

It is unlikely that Trump, who Markle has publicly criticized in the past, is going to be invited to the wedding.

The U.K. Daily Star, however, reported Monday that the royal couple has decided to disregard their advisers and invite Obama, along with his wife, Michelle.

Prince Harry and Markle “want to do things their own way,” a royal source told The Star. “They are inviting their own friends, and not on the advice of aides.”

The royal couple has sent the Obamas an RSVP, leaving the final decision in the former first couple’s hands.

“I am very, very sure they will attend though,” the source said.

Barack Obama’s friendship with Prince Harry has been well-documented.

Last year, Obama let Harry interview him on BBC Radio 4’s “Today.”

Moreover, following the royal couple’s engagement announcement in November, Obama sent them both well wishes via Twitter.

“Michelle and I are delighted to congratulate Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their engagement,” the former president wrote. “We wish you a lifetime of joy and happiness together.”

Meanwhile, Trump indicated last month that he is not terribly upset about being left off the invite list. Indeed, he said he hopes the royal couple lives a happy life together.

“I want them to be happy. I really want them to be happy. They look like a lovely couple,” Trump told British journalist Piers Morgan in an interview for ITV, according to Vanity Fair.

Trump’s remarks came despite the fact that Markle accused of being “misogynistic” during the 2016 presidential election cycle.

”Yes of course Trump is divisive,” she said on “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore” in May 2016. “I think it was in 2012, the Republican Party lost the female vote by 12 points. That’s a huge number and with as misogynistic as Trump is and so vocal about it, that’s a huge chunk of it.”

Markle and Prince Harry are set to be married by Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury. The entire royal family is expected to attend. (For more from the author of “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding Invitations Send Trump Family an Unmistakable Message” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Homeless Man Saves Life of Pastor Who Took Him In

/0 Comments/in , /by

There is a saying ‘one good turn deserves another’ – and in Pastor John Greenaway’s case, it has proved to be true.

He and his family gave shelter to a homeless man in 2016, after a chance meeting in a faith mission book shop . . .

In turn, Mr Boyd changed a life when he offered the pastor, who needed an organ transplant, one of his kidneys.

Since then, Mr Boyd has stayed at the family home every day and night, and has become another son to the pastor, and his wife, who already have four children.

Last March, he repaid the pastor for his generosity by donating one of his kidneys to him. (Read more from “Homeless Man Saves Life of Pastor Who Took Him In” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.