Owner of Suspiciously Vacant Adult Daycare Billed Medicaid $32M While Donating to Kathy Hochul, other Dems

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Kathy Hochul received $55,000 in campaign contributions from social adult daycare centers (SADCs) in fraud-plagued Flushing, Queens, records show.

Almost half of those donations can be linked to two men: local powerbroker Baoli Zhang, and Jiemin Shang — who own two of Flushing’s biggest daycare businesses, both of which were empty of patients when visited by The Post last week.

Zhang, 69, personally donated $10,000, as well as another $5,000 through his Bao Kang Adult Day Care, financial disclosures show. Zhang’s various businesses have claimed at least $32 million from Medicaid since 2018, on behalf of tens of thousands of patients.

Shang runs Livingwell Day Care, which donated $5,000 to Hochul in 2022, the same year it billed $5.8M to Medicaid. Another $5,000 came from Finest Adult Day Care, which Shang also runs.

“In 2021, [social adult daycare centers] were dying due to COVID. Someone threw them a lifeline and must have said something like, ‘Take care of me, I’ll take care of you.’ They’re making more money than ever now,” an industry source claimed to The Post. (Read more from “Owner of Suspiciously Vacant Adult Daycare Billed Medicaid $32M While Donating to Kathy Hochul, other Dems” HERE)

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Birth Order Linked to 150 Health Conditions in Study of 10 Million American Siblings

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Whether someone is the older or younger sibling may be linked to certain health outcomes later in life, according to a massive new study.

Analyzing medical data from 10 million U.S. siblings over two decades, researchers from the University of Chicago and Columbia University found links suggesting that birth order may be connected to specific long-term health risks.

Researchers examined 569 disease categories across families and among siblings, identifying 150 conditions that were significantly associated with birth order.

First-born children showed a higher likelihood of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, including autism, ADHD, Tourette’s and OCD, as well as immune-allergic conditions like food allergies.

Second-born children were statistically more prone to migraines, shingles, substance use disorders and gastrointestinal issues like gastritis. (Read more from “Birth Order Linked to 150 Health Conditions in Study of 10 Million American Siblings” HERE)

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Nearly One-In-Six Americans Have Acted On AI Medical Advice Without Speaking To Human, Poll Shows

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Over 15% of Americans have previously made healthcare decisions based on advice from artificial intelligence programs without first consulting a human doctor, per an Insuranceopedia survey released Wednesday.

Almost one in six respondents, 15.2%, reported skipping, delaying, or seeking medical treatment based on AI advice, per the survey. By comparison, about 9% of Americans had paid, disputed or ignored a medical bill based on what an AI chatbot told them, while 8.9% had used AI advice to select or change a health insurance plan, the poll shows.

The new poll suggests that over 18% of respondents aged 18–24 made a medical bill-related decision based on recommendations from a chatbot, while about 15% of respondents aged 25–34 did the same.

“Our data show that education or digital literacy don’t make much difference when it comes to who is willing to take AI medical advice a step further and act on it without consulting a doctor. While this is clearly a risky trend, it seems that affordability, speed, and convenience are starting to outweigh professional advice,” Insuranceopedia CEO Max Coupland said in a statement.

Twenty-six percent of millennials said they would likely skip, postpone or seek medical treatment based solely on AI advice, according to the survey. Moreover, almost 19% of Americans aged 35 to 44 with health insurance reported having done the same thing. (Read more from “Nearly One-In-Six Americans Have Acted On AI Medical Advice Without Speaking To Human, Poll Shows” HERE)

Karoline Leavitt’s Possible Successors Emerge after WH Press Secretary’s Surprise Departure

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s Wednesday announcement that she’s leaving her role stunned many insiders — who immediately began buzzing about who might replace her behind the briefing room lectern.

Journalists and officials widely regarded Leavitt, 28, as an effective spokesperson for President Trump, whose policies she championed with crisp delivery and conviction. She used her most visible forum to frequently dispense news items in a welcomed change of pace from her Biden-era predecessor.

The New Hampshire native seemed so steady in the role that many thought she could serve throughout Trump’s second term — heightening intrigue into the selection of the US government’s next top spokesperson when Leavitt departs at the end of August.

A White House source told The Post that Trump has not yet decided on a replacement.

Sources within and close to the administration told The Post that early front-runners for the role are believed to include Alina Habba, the former acting US attorney for New Jersey, and Breitbart Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle.

Habba gained fame as one of Trump’s defense lawyers, giving passionate televised appeals on his behalf to journalists before his return to power. She briefly worked in the West Wing last year as a counselor to the president before Trump appointed her the top prosecutor in New Jersey. (Read more from “Karoline Leavitt’s Possible Successors Emerge after WH Press Secretary’s Surprise Departure” HERE)

REPORT: White House Construction Projects Reportedly Swell To At Least $900 Million

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Multiple construction projects on the White House grounds have reportedly soared to at least $900 million.

The Washington Post reported on the higher-than-expected costs Wednesday, stating that the price tag, previously estimated at approximately $600 million, will largely be covered by taxpayers.

Rather than securing money directly from Congress, the administration appears to have gathered funding from private donations as well as executive branch funds, and is reportedly holding the funds in a little-known account typically used to hold smaller amounts of money reserved for modest maintenance, according to AP.

The planning documents and price tag represent the most significant and costly overhaul of the White House in more than 80 years, as it inches toward one billion.

Confidential contracts and money dedicated to Trump’s construction plans are reportedly being routed through the Executive Residence. (Read more from “REPORT: White House Construction Projects Reportedly Swell To At Least $900 Million” HERE)

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Data Shows Iran War Reignited Inflation, Wrecked Economy For Working Americans

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Wednesday’s inflation data showed that the rate of price increases slowed slightly in July, but the damage remained for working-class Americans due to the Iran War.

America’s working class continues to be squeezed when it comes to affording necessities as paychecks fail to keep pace with inflation, forcing households to draw down savings and lean more heavily on credit to maintain their standard of living. Military escalation in Iran sent shockwaves through energy and commodity markets, contributing to a sharp rise in consumer prices with the annual Consumer Price Index rising 3.4% in July, and the monthly rate increasing 0.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

At the center of this squeeze is a widening divergence in the American economy. Prices for everyday necessities have remained elevated following the energy shock unleashed by the conflict, while wage growth slowed to 3.2% over the past year, according to BLS. With inflation running faster than wage growth, workers are seeing their purchasing power eroded even as the headline inflation rate begins to moderate.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank consumer finance tracking, this trend has forced working families to deplete savings and rely increasingly on high-interest credit cards just to maintain basic consumption levels.

Following the outbreak of military operations against Iran, energy prices surged—including a 10.9% single-month jump in March—leaving annual energy costs up 14.7%, according to BLS reporting. (Read more from “Data Shows Iran War Reignited Inflation, Wrecked Economy For Working Americans” HERE)

Ex-Southern Poverty Law Center CFO Charged in Brazen Scheme to Secretly Pay $1.2M to White Supremacist Groups

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A former Southern Poverty Law Center finance officer was charged Wednesday for her leading role in having the left-wing nonprofit secretly pay informants to participate in white supremacist groups.

Heidi Beirich of Palm Springs made her initial appearance Wednesday in federal court in Riverside, California, according to her attorney, Michael Proctor. CNN reported she had been arrested earlier that day.

A 26-page superseding indictment naming Beirich, who was first unmasked by The Post in June, was later filed in the Middle District of Alabama.

“There is a new indictment that includes the former CFO of SPLC,” Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed at an unrelated news conference at DOJ headquarters, adding that there had been “an arrest made,” though Beirich’s attorney said she appeared voluntarily in court.

“Dr. Beirich is innocent, and this case is without merit,” her attorney, Proctor, said in a statement. “We believe the charges against her and the SPLC are politically motivated, and Dr. Beirich has been targeted in this case because of the important work she has done to combat hate groups and extremists.” (Read more from “Ex-Southern Poverty Law Center CFO Charged in Brazen Scheme to Secretly Pay $1.2M to White Supremacist Groups” HERE)

Sex Offender, 46, Shoots Fireworks at Police during Wild Standoff that Ends in Arrest

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A New Hampshire sex offender went berserk when police tried to arrest him on several outstanding warrants — blasting fireworks at officers in an explosive standoff.

Rory Robertson, 46, allegedly went postal when cops tried to pull him over around 6 a.m. Monday after he left his home in Durham, police said.

Instead of stopping, the registered sex offender booked it and then barricaded himself inside a house, the Durham Police Department said.

Robertson ignored multiple commands from cops — and soon began to aim and shoot fireworks at officers and a patrol car outside the house, police said.

The pervert lobbed a plethora of pyrotechnics at officers, law enforcement said, including one “large shell style firework” that nearly struck a cop, before it exploded underneath a police cruiser.

The wild light show prompted police to put out a shelter-in-place request for residents near the home. (Read more from “Sex Offender, 46, Shoots Fireworks at Police during Wild Standoff that Ends in Arrest” HERE)

Sen. John Kennedy Mocks Socialists with Snappy New Nickname — as He Torches Kamala Harris

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Republican Sen. John Kennedy unleashed on former Vice President Kamala Harris Monday, chiding the potential 2028 candidate for desperately cozying up to “Lulu Lenins” — unveiling a new nickname for democratic socialists that quickly went viral online.

Kennedy (R-La.) bitingly called Harris “no longer relevant” in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday night and mocked her for trying to woo progressives after her disastrous loss to President Trump in 2024.

“No disrespect, but Vice President Harris is no longer relevant. She had her shot and she missed,” the senator told Hannity.

“She can cozy up to the ‘Lulu Lenins’ all she wants to,” Kennedy quipped.

Harris — who said she is “thinking about” a 2028 presidential bid — has been quietly strengthening ties with one of the Democratic Party’s fastest-rising socialist stars, recently holding an extended private phone call with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The snappy nickname for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) comrades is a combination of the popular and pricey athletic apparel brand Lululemon and Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, who founded the communist Soviet Union. (Read more from “Sen. John Kennedy Mocks Socialists with Snappy New Nickname — as He Torches Kamala Harris” HERE)

Study Blows Hole In Claim Bullying Drives LGBT Mental Health Problems

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A new study in Psychological Medicine concludes that the reason homosexuals have more mental health issues than heterosexuals is far more likely to be the result of familial issues than minority stress.

The systematic multilevel meta-analysis, published by Cambridge University Press on Monday, suggests that two-thirds of the discrepancy in mental illness between heterosexuals and non-heterosexuals disappears when shared environmental and genetic factors are accounted for.

“A large proportion of the disparities is attributable to factors shared by both non-heterosexual and heterosexual persons who are genetically related and reared together,” the study says, adding that such factors “reflect genetic or shared environmental factors present in the families of non-heterosexual persons and also affecting heterosexual members.”

One of the study’s authors and a professor in the Department of Psychology at Northwestern University, Michael Bailey, said that the study challenges the Sexual Minority Stress Theory (SMST), which suggests that the increased depression, anxiety and suicidality that homosexuals face are the result of the group being mistreated.

He said that one 2003 study pointed to SMST, which has been cited 20,000 times, and that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has also funded research into the theory to explain the larger mental health gap between heterosexuals and transgender youth. SMST has been the dominant theory for 30 years, Bailey said. (Read more from “Study Blows Hole In Claim Bullying Drives LGBT Mental Health Problems” HERE)