Elon Musk Is Especially Fired up Over This Part of the CR

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On Tuesday night, as we covered at the time, Congress released the over 1,500 page proposal that is supposed to keep the government open through March 14. The deadline for a government shutdown, December 20, is fast approaching. Arguably one of the worst provisions of the bill, which is causing considerable chatter, especially over X, is how Congress has given itself a 40 percent pay raise. Members may also opt out of ObamaCare.

A pinned post from Elon Musk, who has posted to X extensively on Wednesday to express his strong opposition, takes particular issue with the pay raise.

As Musk wondered, “How can this be called a ‘continuing resolution’ if it includes a 40% pay increase for Congress?” Members would go from making $174,000 to $243,000.

(Read more from “Elon Musk Is Especially Fired up Over This Part of the CR” HERE)

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Madison Police Chief: ‘I Don’t Know if [Shooter] Was Transgender’

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During a Monday night press conference, Madison Chief of Police Shon Barnes was asked about transgender rumors regarding the alleged shooter, and he suggested how “she or he or they may have wanted to identify” had nothing to do with the events that took place.

In a video posted by LiveNOW from Fox, a reporter off-camera noted that questions of whether the shooter was transgender had been raised.

Barnes replied, “Yes, I don’t know whether [the shooter] was transgender or not, and quite frankly, I don’t think that’s even important. I don’t think that’s important at all.” (Read more from “Madison Police Chief: ‘I Don’t Know if [Shooter] Was Transgender’” HERE)

‘Horrible Ordeal’: Father of 11 Targeted by Biden DOJ Urges Repeal of Face Act

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Paul Vaughn, a Christian father of 11 convicted under the Freedom of Clinic Access Act for praying outside an abortion clinic, testified Wednesday that the weaponization of the U.S. Justice Department against pro-lifers is more than a catchphrase to his family.

It’s their life, he said.

“Since my arrest, I’ve been restricted to the Middle District of Tennessee for over two years under the control and supervision of the federal government,” Vaughn testified during a House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Revisiting the Implications of the FACE Act.”

“My family spent 20 months of having a potential decade in prison hanging over their heads,” he told lawmakers. “We endured long, stressful days of the actual trial for the sake of government winning a case with no regard to actually seeking justice.”

Vaughn was subjected to a SWAT-style FBI raid of his home in October 2022 in front of his wife and children. He later was charged under the FACE Act and another federal statute called “Conspiracy Against Rights.”

Vaughn prayed and sung hymns, encouraged women seeking abortions to choose life, and spoke to police officers during a pro-life gathering March 2021 at a now-closed abortion facility in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. (Read more from “‘Horrible Ordeal’: Father of 11 Targeted by Biden DOJ Urges Repeal of Face Act” HERE)

James Ho’s Post-Election Remarks Fuel Supreme Court Speculation

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Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho’s public remarks since Election Day have rekindled talk of a possible audition for the Supreme Court.

In the days after President-elect Donald Trump won back the White House, Ho referenced a gaffe by President Joe Biden against Trump supporters, publicly changed his position on birthright citizenship in a way that aligns with the Trump agenda, and appeared on a popular legal podcast from a conservative news outlet.

“For judges who are ambitious, it’s a way to put your name on the Supreme Court shortlist,” Kenneth Manning, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth who researches judges, said of Ho’s recent comments. “I don’t think there are many people who doubt that Ho’s maneuvers here are probably an attempt to do that.” . . .

There are no current vacancies on the Supreme Court, and none of the justices have publicly indicated plans to step down. But Ho, 51, a former law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas who was on a past shortlist for a Trump Supreme Court pick, has both the conservative resume and academic credentials that could see him help cement the high court’s conservative supermajority for the coming decades.

One of his former law clerks threw cold water on the idea that Ho has a Supreme Court seat in mind. (Read more from “James Ho’s Post-Election Remarks Fuel Supreme Court Speculation” HERE)

NJ Military Base Confirms Multiple Contraband-Smuggling Drone Incursions This Year

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A New Jersey military base said that after numerous drone incursions this year, it has established countermeasures to detect and thwart the aircraft attempting to smuggle illicit items into a federal prison within its perimeter.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, which houses FCI Fort Dix prison, confirmed to military blog The War Zone that it’s taken the defensive measures after numerous attempts to sneak drugs and other contraband into the federal penitentiary.

The airspace above the joint base has “standing flight restrictions” in place which prohibit drones or other aircraft from operating without authorization, base spokesperson Kitsana R. Dounglomchan told the outlet.

“We take each case seriously and aggressively coordinate with local law enforcement to ensure the safety and security of our installation. The majority of the drones were intercepted or recovered,” he said. . .

The Garden State has been inundated by unexplained drone sightings over the last month, with thousands of reports received so far, according to law enforcement sources. (Read more from “NJ Military Base Confirms Multiple Contraband-Smuggling Drone Incursions This Year” HERE)

The Hidden Danger in the Air That Can Cause Infertility, Colon Cancer and Lung Problems

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This is rubbish!

Researchers say that deteriorating car tires and decomposing garbage are sending minute plastic fragments into the air, which may be fueling infertility, colon cancer and respiratory illnesses.

There’s long been concern about how exposure to microplastics — found in cosmetics and toothpaste and shed from food containers and clothing — can hurt humans. Growing evidence suggests that these particles smaller than a grain of rice can damage cells, trigger inflammation and disrupt the balance of bacteria in the gut.

After reviewing 3,000 studies on the matter, researchers from UC San Francisco (UCSF) concluded that microplastics are “suspected” to harm reproductive, digestive and respiratory health, with a suggested link to colon and lung cancer.

“Microplastics are basically particulate matter air pollution, and we know this type of air pollution is harmful,” said senior study author Tracey J. Woodruff, a UCSF professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences.

The research team reports that companies worldwide generate nearly 460 million metric tons of plastic each year — a number that is expected to rise to 1.1 billion by 2050. (Read more from “The Hidden Danger in the Air That Can Cause Infertility, Colon Cancer and Lung Problems” HERE)

Americans Overwhelmingly Support MAHA, RFK’s Plans To Reform The Food Industry

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The new movement to “Make America Healthy Again” is incredibly popular.

According to a recent YouGov poll released last week, Americans were three times as likely to hold a favorable opinion of the MAHA movement than they were to hold an either “very” or “somewhat unfavorable” perspective. Branding aside, Americans overwhelmingly favor the major pillars of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s proposals to reform the food industry as secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) even as opinions of Kennedy himself were profoundly polarized.

Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats were united in support of “requiring nutrition education in federally funded medical schools, banning certain food additives, funding research into alternative and holistic approaches to health, increasing restrictions on the use of pesticides in agriculture, and banning processed foods from public school lunches,” according to the poll.

Out of the 1,064 adults surveyed online between Nov. 19-20, respondents were most united on rules to prioritize nutritional education in medical schools, with nearly 8 in 10 who said they supported the proposal. However, as outlined in my new book Fat And Unhappy: How “Body Positivity” Is Killing Us (and How to Save Yourself), U.S. medical programs are already failing to meet the minimum standards for nutrition classes set by the National Academy of Sciences. Just 27 percent of medical schools met the academy’s recommendation of a 25-hour minimum embedded in curriculums, according to a 2010 survey.

Exactly what students are taught about nutrition in medical school meanwhile remains controversial as the public health establishment still promotes the low-fat diet as conventional wisdom. Kennedy, on the other hand, has rightfully condemned the low-fat dogma promoted by the food industry, though the YouGov survey did not go into details about how the potential new HHS secretary might reform nutrition curriculums in higher education. (Read more from “Americans Overwhelmingly Support MAHA, RFK’s Plans To Reform The Food Industry” HERE)

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Mayor Says Radioactive Material Missing From Port, Connects It To Drone Mystery

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By Daily Caller. Belleville, New Jersey, Mayor Michael Melham connected a string of mysterious drone sightings to a report of a radioactive shipment that went missing earlier in December.

Melham said the drones have been hovering over critical infrastructure and residential areas in his state for at least four weeks, suggesting that their grid-like flying patterns indicate they are searching for something specific. . .

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) confirmed in an event report Friday that a Ge-68 pin source shipped by New Jersey‘s Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) went missing from the Port of Newark on Dec. 2. Melham said the materials were lost in transit.

“It was a shipment. It arrived at its destination. The container was damaged, and it was empty,” he told the hosts.

The NRC classifies Ge-68, a radioactive isotope of Germanium, as a “Less than Cat 3” material, which the NRC describes as “very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury,” though it can still be hazardous to humans. (Read more from “Mayor Says Radioactive Material Missing From Port, Connects It To Drone Mystery” HERE)

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New Jersey Governor Urges State to ‘Calm Down’ as FBI Looks Into Drone Mystery

By The Guardian. The governor of New Jersey has asked residents of the state plagued with unexplained drone sighting to “calm down” as federal and state authorities warned of pilots of manned aircraft being hit in the eyes by laser pointers aimed from the ground.

The FBI and New Jersey state police said in a statement on X: “There is also a concern with people possibly firing weapons at what they believe to be UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] but could be manned aircraft.”

The law enforcement agencies added that they have been out every night to legally track down drone operators “acting illegally or with nefarious intent” and warned that there could be “dangerous and possibly deadly consequences” if manned aircraft are targeted.

The warnings came as the FBI, US homeland security department, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and defense department issued a statement that said an examination of “the technical data and tips from concerned citizens” concluded “the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and stars mistakenly reported as drones”.

“We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast,” the statement said. (Read more from “New Jersey Governor Urges State to ‘Calm Down’ as FBI Looks Into Drone Mystery” HERE)

Doctor Who Won’t Release Results of Federal Transgender Study Is Sued by Ex-Patient

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The doctor who has refused to release the results of a federally funded study on “gender-affirming care” is being sued by a former patient, a young woman who says she was “fast-tracked” into a gender transition that culminated in having her breasts removed at age 14.

Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, oversaw the treatment of Kaya Clementine Breen. Doctors diagnosed gender dysphoria at age 12 during her first appointment in December 2016.

Ms. Breen’s medical negligence complaint says Dr. Olson-Kennedy “affirmed” the girl’s transgender identity within minutes of meeting her, put her on puberty blockers at age 12 and testosterone at age 13, and then referred her for a double mastectomy.

“She represented that if Clementine got a double mastectomy at an early age, the healing process would be easier, and that if she waited any longer, it would be impossible to do it right,” reads the lawsuit, filed Dec. 5 in California Superior Court in Los Angeles.

When Clementine’s parents objected, Dr. Olson-Kennedy asked “if they would rather have a living son or a dead daughter,” even though the girl had not experienced or expressed suicidal thoughts, the complaint says. (Read more from “Doctor Who Won’t Release Results of Federal Transgender Study Is Sued by Ex-Patient” HERE)

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Two Men Die After Using Bat Poop — Described as ‘Natural Superfood’ for Weed — To Grow Pot: Study

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Two men from New York died from pneumonia they contracted from bat feces — after they used the excrement as fertilizer to grow marijuana, a new study found.

The unidentified men from Rochester, ages 64 and 59, smoked pot that had been tainted with a fungus found in the bat droppings, known as guano, that caused fatal lung infections, according to a study published in Open Forum Infectious Disease earlier this month.

Their deaths were not connected to each other, which the researchers said highlights a growing trend of using bat waste to produce marijuana since the drug has been legalized.

The 59-year-old man had purchased the bat guano — described as a “natural superfood” for cannabis plants due to its high nutrients — from an online store, according to the study.

The 64-year-old had harvested a thick layer of guano in his attic, where he had a heavy bat infestation, to fertilize his plants. (Read more from “Two Men Die After Using Bat Poop — Described as ‘Natural Superfood’ for Weed — To Grow Pot: Study” HERE)