Scientist Admits: We Dismissed Lab-Leak Theory Because Trump Promoted It

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One of the 18 scientists who recently published a letter acknowledging the plausibility of the coronavirus lab-leak theory said she and her colleauges didn’t speak out sooner because President Trump promoted that possibility for the origin of the pandemic.

“At the time, it was scarier to be associated with Trump and to become a tool for racists, so people didn’t want to publicly call for an investigation into lab origins,”said Alina Chan in an interview with NBC News. . .

On its website, NBC titled its Wednesday story about the interview “The science around the lab leak theory hasn’t changed. But here’s why some scientists have.”

NBC wrote:

Chan said there had been trepidation among some scientists about publicly discussing the lab leak hypothesis for fear that their words could be misconstrued or used to support racist rhetoric about how the coronavirus emerged. Trump fueled accusations that the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a research lab in the city where the first Covid-19 cases were reported, was connected to the outbreak, and on numerous occasions he called the pathogen the “Wuhan virus” or “kung flu.”

(Read more from “Scientist Admits: We Dismissed Lab-Leak Theory Because Trump Promoted It” HERE)

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Newly Released Email Reveals Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Dressing Down Staffer

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A newly released email from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot dressing down a staffer this year offers a glimpse into the turmoil behind her turnover-plagued administration.

In the condescending message, sent to then-aide Taylor Lewis in January and obtained by the Chicago Tribune, Lightfoot demands more office time — and repeats every sentence more than a dozen times in some cases.

“Since my prior requests for office time are routinely ignored, I am now resorting to this,” Lightfoot begins the Jan. 28 email, posted on Twitter by Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt.

She then writes: “I need office time everyday!” — a phrase that repeats a total of 16 times.

(Read more from “Newly Released Email Reveals Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Dressing Down Staffer” HERE)

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U.S. Officials Express Shock Over Report of Thousands of AWOL Military Weapons

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The Pentagon is looking at how to prevent weapons from being taken from bases to the streets after a bombshell report found almost 2,000 guns have been lost or stolen over the past decade, some of which were used to commit violent crimes.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley was “shocked” by an Associated Press investigation that found at least 1,900 firearms have been lost or stolen from the military in the past 10 years, he told lawmakers Thursday at a hearing held by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Senators like Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) expressed concern over the report, especially an anecdote about gang members in her home state purchasing stolen automatic assault rifles, and pressed Milley for a solution.

In response to the AP report, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) requested the Department of the Defense review safety policies regarding military weapons in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this week, adding he would pursue a mandatory reporting requirement when Congress drafts the new defense budget in the coming months. (Read more from “U.S. Officials Express Shock Over Report of Thousands of AWOL Military Weapons” HERE)

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Entire Portland Police Rapid Response Team Resigns

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Members of a specialized Portland, Oregon, police unit that deals with crowd control have resigned from the assignment en masse a day after a fellow officer was indicted on an assault charge stemming from alleged illegal use of force during a protest last year.

The Portland Police Bureau’s Rapid Response Team, which is primarily responsible for providing public safety at crowd events, consisted of approximately 50 officers, all of whom resigned Wednesday, the bureau announced. The assignment is voluntary and the officers will remain on the force and continue their regular assignments, the bureau said.

The mass resignation comes a day after a grand jury indicted Portland Police Bureau Officer Corey Budworth on one count of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for what prosecutors allege was an “excessive and unlawful use of force” during a protest in August 2020.

Budworth, who at the time was on the bureau’s Rapid Response Team, is accused of striking a woman in the head with a baton during an Aug. 18, 2020, demonstration outside the Multnomah Building. The indictment marks the first time a Portland police officer has faced prosecution for striking or firing at someone during a protest, according to the Oregonian. (Read more from “Entire Portland Police Rapid Response Team Resigns” HERE)

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Biden’s DOJ to States: Bans on Transgender Youth Health Care Are Unconstitutional

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday filed court documents saying recently passed laws in Arkansas and West Virginia restricting transgender rights are unconstitutional.

The legal briefs, shared on Twitter by The Huffington Post, argue that the state laws violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

The DOJ called the Arkansas law “dangerous governmental intrusion.” One of the provisions in the state law prevents doctors from performing gender reassignment surgeries.

“Rather than rely on the judgment of medical professionals and evidence-based treatment guidelines, Arkansas has inserted itself within one of the most confidential and personal of relationships: the physician-patient relationship,” the DOJ wrote. (Read more from “Biden’s DOJ to States: Bans on Transgender Youth Health Care Are Unconstitutional” HERE)

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Biden Announces His Number One National Security Strategy: Imprison Right Wing Extremists

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President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday unveiled a national security strategy that focuses exclusively on domestic terrorism, naming white supremacists and militia extremists as “the most persistent and lethal threats” to America among ideologies motivating domestic terrorists.

Continuing its broad effort to combat violence from homegrown extremists, the administration published the 32-page strategy and the president vowed to both address the violence and the factors that lead to domestic terrorism.

“We cannot ignore this threat or wish it away. Preventing domestic terrorism and reducing the factors that fuel it demand a multifaceted response across the Federal Government and beyond,” Biden said in the strategy’s introduction.

While domestic terrorist attacks have been a threat to the United States for centuries, officials with the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism said, a resurgence of the homegrown violence has been seen in recent years, including in the surge of attacks against Jews and the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas in 2019.

The domestic terrorists of today have a range of motivations, including racial or ethnic bigotry and anti-government sentiment. They can act alone or be part of small, informal groups. Some are part of larger networks. (Read more from “Biden Announces His Number One National Security Strategy: Imprison Right Wing Extremists” HERE)

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Yuck! Parents Send Kids’ Masks to Lab for Analysis

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A group of Florida parents concerned about the potential harm of wearing masks during the school day sent their children’s face coverings to a lab for analysis.

“We need to know what we are putting on the faces of our children each day. Masks provide a warm, moist environment for bacteria to grow,” said a parent who participated in the analysis, Amanda Donoho.

Of the six masks that were examined, five were contaminated with bacteria, parasites and fungi, noted Scott Morefield of Townhall.com. Three of the masks had dangerous pathogenic and pneumonia-causing bacteria.

No viruses were detected on the masks, although the test is capable of detecting them. (Read more from “Yuck! Parents Send Kids’ Masks to Lab for Analysis” HERE)

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Major Bank Cancels Trump Supporter’s Account Without Warning

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A banking corporation, without apology and without much explanation, has shut down a bank account for America First activist Lauren Witzke, but has denied it had anything to do with her conservative beliefs and politics.

A statement from Wells Fargo said the decision was made “appropriately,” but the actions generated a warning from Andrew Torba, the chief of Gab.com, who also has faced banking obstacles because of politics.

“Today it’s Lauren; yesterday it was Gab; and tomorrow it can and will be you,” he warned.

The National File said Witzke, who was a Republican candidate for Senate in Delaware in 2020, confirmed the bank corporation shut down her bank account, removing her money from the entire system.

It left her with a “zero balance” and she would have been stranded had she not been with friends out of state at the time. (Read more from “Major Bank Cancels Trump Supporter’s Account Without Warning” HERE)

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Florida Governor To Send Officers to Southern Border

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Florida will send its own law enforcement officers to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist federal, state, and local police responding to the border crisis in Arizona and Texas, where the governors have asked every other state to send in reinforcements.

“We are the first state to commit support for this effort in response to the request that was submitted by the governors of Texas and Arizona, and we’re proud to lead, yet again, on issues that matter to Floridians,” Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday afternoon.

Officers from the Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, and Walton County Sheriff’s Office will head roughly 1,000 miles west to the southern border. The Florida Division of Emergency Management will oversee the deployments.

“You have a governor who is saying we’ll step up to protect Floridians. This is what real leadership looks like. Leadership is not sending someone down there to beg people not to come,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said at the press conference, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris’s previous statements telling migrants not to travel to the border. (Read more from “Florida Governor To Send Officers to Southern Border” HERE)

[Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/45569056165.]

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Juneteenth Bill Passes House, Set To Become 11th Federal Holiday

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The House of Representatives has passed a milestone measure to create a federal holiday for Juneteenth, the nation’s oldest commemoration of the abolition of slavery and celebration of African American emancipation.

The US Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on Tuesday. It now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The measure, carried by Democratic US Rep Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, where Juneteenth was first commemorated in 1866, had more than 160 co-sponsors.

Following decades of organising for federal recognition, the proposal has gained considerable support over the following year amid racial justice uprisings across the US.

According to a count compiled by CNN, the Republicans who voted against it were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Doug LaMalfa of California, Tom McClintock of California, Mike Rogers of Alabama, Matt Rosendale of Montana, Ronny Jackson of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas and Paul Gosar of Arizona. (Read more from “Juneteenth Bill Passes House, Set To Become 11th Federal Holiday” HERE)

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