CDC Issues Travel Alerts as Untreatable Tropical Virus Spreads Across Several Countries

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U.S. health officials are urging Americans traveling abroad to be on high alert as multiple countries report growing outbreaks of chikungunya, an untreatable mosquito-borne virus that has surged across parts of Asia, the Caribbean, and southern China.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new Level 2 travel advisories for Cuba, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Guangdong Province in China. The alerts encourage travelers to take enhanced precautions, especially because there is currently no antiviral treatment for chikungunya.

Although no treatment exists for the disease itself, officials note that chikungunya is preventable through vaccination, which is strongly recommended for anyone visiting outbreak-affected regions.

Chikungunya typically begins with fever and intense joint pain, and some patients also experience headaches, rashes, muscle aches, or swelling. Symptoms usually begin three to seven days after a mosquito bite, and most people recover within a week. However, severe cases can lead to months or years of debilitating joint pain. In the most serious situations, the virus can cause organ damage or even be fatal, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO data from October 3 shows that worldwide, between January and September 2025, there were 445,000 suspected and confirmed chikungunya cases and 155 deaths.

Several countries are reporting significant spikes:

Bangladesh: Roughly 700 suspected cases were identified in Dhaka during the first nine months of 2025.

Guangdong Province, China: Officials have logged 16,000 locally transmitted cases, marking the largest outbreak ever recorded in China.

Cuba: From January through late September, 34 confirmed cases prompted public health measures to contain spread.

Sri Lanka: Between January 1 and mid-March 2025, 150 confirmed cases were recorded, with infections peaking in June.

With no treatment available and outbreaks growing, U.S. health agencies stress the importance of preventing mosquito exposure. Travelers are being encouraged to:

Use insect repellent consistently

Wear long sleeves and pants

Stay in screened or air-conditioned buildings

Consider receiving the chikungunya vaccine before travel

As outbreaks continue to evolve, officials say updated information will be provided to help travelers assess their risks before heading abroad.

Photo credit: Flickr

Socialist Mayor-Elect Taps Armed Robbery Felon for Public Safety Role

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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has chosen a formerly incarcerated rapper to serve on his City Hall transition team as he prepares to take office in New York City Jan. 1, according to reports.

The controversial selection comes as Mamdani, who won November’s election on a progressive platform, assembles his transition team.

Mamdani’s appointment of Mysonne Linen, 49, was announced in a Nov. 26 Instagram post from Until Freedom, a New York City–based social-justice organization, where Linen is a leader.

Linen is featured in the social media post alongside Tamika Mallory and Angelo Pinto.

“We are proud that Until Freedom leaders have been chosen to serve on Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team on committees for public safety and criminal justice respectively,” the post reads. (Read more from “Socialist Mayor-Elect Taps Armed Robbery Felon for Public Safety Role” HERE)

Jury Decides Stabbing White People Is Okay If They Use A Racial Slur

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A Portland jury acquitted a man who admitted to stabbing a stranger after video captured the victim using a racial slur in the aftermath of the attack.

Multnomah County prosecutors charged Gary Edwards, 43, with second-degree assault for the July 7 knife attack on Gregory Howard Jr. near the Union Station MAX stop, according to Oregon Live. Edwards faced five years and 10 months in state prison under Oregon’s Measure 11 sentencing law.

Edwards testified he acted in self-defense after Howard yelled the slur at him. Howard denied using the word before the stabbing.

Transit cameras showed Edwards approaching Howard from behind with a fixed-blade knife as Howard sat on a bench. Howard jumped up and pushed Edwards when he saw him. The two scuffled briefly before Edwards stabbed Howard in the shoulder.

Defense attorney Daniel Small told jurors the key evidence came later, when security officers recorded Howard shouting the racial slur on body cameras.

“What other than racism could explain why Mr. Howard perceived hatred, animosity and aggression from a complete stranger,” Small asked the jury. (Read more from “Jury Decides Stabbing White People Is Okay If They Use A Racial Slur” HERE)

Whistleblower Claims Somalians Committed Mass Medicaid Fraud In Maine

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A Somali-owned company may have defrauded Maine in a manner similar to schemes that ripped off at least $1 billion from Minnesota, a whistleblower told NewsNation Monday.

Christopher Bernardini, a former “billing guru” at Gateway Community Services, said that the company falsified documents to obtain payment from Maine’s Medicaid program for services to low-income and disabled clients, NewsNation reported. Abdullahi Ali, the owner of the company, reportedly ran for office in Jubaland, a region of Somalia, and boasted about funding a militia there, according to The Maine Wire.

“I have a passion for helping people and I thought that we were doing the right thing this whole time,” Bernardini told NewsNation, later adding, “When I had clients calling me to tell me their staff hadn’t shown up and I was told to bill those hours anyway. It just got worse and worse until I started really putting up a stink.”

Bernardini told NewsNation that an electronic monitoring system intended to track field staff was manipulated to make it appear the clients were visited when staff actually failed to show up.

Gateway Community Services received $28.8 million in Medicaid funds from Maine, according to documents obtained by The Maine Wire via a Freedom of Access Act request. (Read more from “Whistleblower Claims Somalians Committed Mass Medicaid Fraud In Maine” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Toddler Among Victims as Pepper-Spray-Wielding Thieves Injure 21 at Major Airport

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Police arrested a 31-year-old man Sunday at a London airport following a robbery in which 21 people — including a 3-year-old child — were pepper-sprayed and required medical treatment, officials said.

The morning incident happened at Heathrow Airport’s parking garage when a group of four men stole a woman’s suitcase in an elevator and sprayed an irritant at her, the Metropolitan Police said.

“A woman was robbed of her suitcase by a group of four men, who sprayed a substance believed to be pepper spray in her direction,” Commander Peter Stevens said in a statement, adding that passengers in the elevator and surrounding area were also affected.

Police said the suspects then fled the elevator following the incident. They appeared to be three young men dressed in all black with their heads covered, The Associated Press (AP) reported, citing a witness.

Video captured a swarm of officers rushing to the scene of the assault, visibly carrying large firearms as they navigated the multi-story parking garage. (Read more from “Toddler Among Victims as Pepper-Spray-Wielding Thieves Injure 21 at Major Airport” HERE)

Zelensky Says He Still Has One Big Unanswered Question in Ukraine-Russia Peace Deal

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that one key question remains unanswered as the Trump administration works to hammer out a peace deal end the war in Ukraine.

As President Trump pushes for a cease-fire deal to end Russia’s nearly four year invasion, Zelensky maintained that the US and its allies have yet to offer clear details on what security guarantees would be granted to Ukraine to protect it from future aggression.

“There is one question I — and all Ukrainians — want to get an answer to: if Russia again starts a war, what will our partners do?” Zelensky told Bloomberg.

The main disagreements in the peace deal involve Russia’s maximalist demands that Ukraine shrink its military, totally cede the contested Donbas region and give up any hopes of joining NATO.

“There are visions of the US, Russia and Ukraine — and we don’t have a unified view on Donbas,” Zelensky said. (Read more from “Zelensky Says He Still Has One Big Unanswered Question in Ukraine-Russia Peace Deal” HERE)

‘Criminal Illegal Alien’ Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s Nephew Set to Be Released From ICE Detention

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The mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew was ordered released from an immigration detention facility in Louisiana on Monday — nearly two weeks after she was nabbed in Massachusetts.

Bruna Caroline Ferreira was detained by agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement while she was en route to pick up her son from school on Nov. 26.

An immigration judge ordered her released on a $1,500 bond, even though the Department of Homeland Security labeled her a “criminal illegal alien.”

Ferreira was working toward obtaining her green card, her attorney Todd Pomerleau said. She was born in Brazil, but was previously permitted to stay in the US under the Obama-era DACA law, the lawyer added.

Pomerleau told ABC News that Ferreira is expected to be released on Monday or Tuesday.

A DHS spokesperson previously said that Ferreira had a criminal record with an arrest for battery plus an overstay on a visa that expired in June 1999. (Read more from “‘Criminal Illegal Alien’ Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s Nephew Set to Be Released From ICE Detention” HERE)

Trump Says Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Not America First or MAGA’

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President Donald Trump on Monday reacted to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) interview on 60 Minutes, asserting that the lawmaker is “not AMERICA FIRST or MAGA.”

Greene announced in November that she would be resigning from Congress come January, asserting that “nothing ever gets better” for regular Americans.

Since then, Greene has continued to speak out, making waves during an interview on 60 Minutes, identifying herself as “America first.” Trump, however, is not buying it.

“The only reason Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown (Green turns Brown under stress!) went BAD is that she was JILTED by the President of the United States (Certainly not the first time she has been jilted!). Too much work, not enough time, and her ideas are, NOW, really BAD,” Trump said, claiming that Greene reminds him of a “Rotten Apple.”

“Marjorie is not AMERICA FIRST or MAGA, because nobody could have changed her views so fast, and her new views are those of a very dumb person,” Trump said, continuing:

That was proven last night when washed up, Trump hating, 60 Minutes “correspondent,” Lesley Stahl, who still owes me an apology from when she attacked me on the show (with serious conviction!), that Hunter Biden’s LAPTOP FROM HELL was produced by Russia, not Hunter himself (TOTALLY PROVEN WRONG!), interviewed a very poorly prepared Traitor, who in her confusion made many really stupid statements. My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor, it was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME! Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE! Oh well, far worse things can happen. P.S. I hereby demand a complete and total APOLOGY, though far too late to be meaningful, from Lesley Stahl and 60 Minutes for her incorrect and Libelous statements about Hunter’s Laptop!!! President DJT

(Read more from “Trump Says Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Not America First or MAGA’” HERE)

Republicans ‘Bringing a Number’ of Healthcare Bills to House Floor in ‘the Next Few Weeks’

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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise explained on Friday that House Republicans are introducing a series of healthcare bills that would alleviate the high costs that have arisen thanks to Obamacare.

Scalise joined the Ruthless podcast to discuss how House Republicans are working to lower prices. As a part of these efforts, he said Republicans will bring forth many bills that seek to lower healthcare costs, although it remains unclear if it will be one large healthcare reform package or a series of bills.

He said:

We’re bringing a number of bills to the floor in the next few weeks… I was meeting with the Doctors Caucus. I met with every different group, along with the three chairmen of the committees of Jurisdiction. Energy and Commerce has been working on a lot of really big things. Ways and Means Committee, the Education and Workforce Committee. They’ve all been working on different pieces to do things like association health plans… There’s no competition in health insurance. Really no transparency either. Imagine bringing those elements in.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday shared a text that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) had sent him, urging the president to back legislation that would make it easier to establish Association Health Plans (AHPs), which allow individuals to buy health insurance via a membership such as Amazon, Sam’s Club, or Costco. (Read more from “Republicans ‘Bringing a Number’ of Healthcare Bills to House Floor in ‘the Next Few Weeks’” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

MTG Alleges Trump Fueled Death Threats After Public Fallout Over Epstein Files

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Former Trump ally and outgoing Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene alleged in a “60 Minutes” interview that several threats against her family began shortly after President Donald Trump publicly branded her a “traitor.”

The Georgia lawmaker, who will leave Congress in January 2026, told CBS’s Lesley Stahl that the situation escalated after Trump withdrew his support for her reelection bid. Greene announced her upcoming resignation on Nov. 21, one week after Trump publicly cut ties with her politically.

According to Greene, a pipe bomb threat was made against her home, followed by what she described as “direct death threats” aimed at one of her adult sons. “After President Trump called me a traitor, I got a pipe bomb threat on my house. And then I got several direct death threats on my son,” she said. She did not previously mention threats to her son in public statements, including a Nov. 15 social media post referencing a “hot bed of threats” but offering no specifics.

Greene told Stahl that the threatening messages included the label “Marjorie Traitor Greene,” the same nickname Trump used on Nov. 16 when asked by a reporter about her earlier criticisms. At the time, Trump dismissed concerns about her safety, saying, “I don’t think her life is in danger. Frankly, I don’t think anybody cares about her.”

During the interview, Greene argued that the threats were “directly fueled” by the president’s rhetoric. She said she alerted both Trump and Vice President JD Vance, sharing the threats with them directly. Vance, she said, responded that he would “look into it.” She added that Trump also replied, but described his message only as “extremely unkind.”

The congresswoman also claimed other Republican lawmakers have taken note of her break with the president. Asked whether members of her party speak differently about Trump in private, Greene said their private remarks would “shock people.” She described colleagues who once mocked Trump but shifted to supporting him publicly after he secured the 2024 GOP nomination.

Greene further said that part of her falling-out with Trump stemmed from her push to release documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. She signed a discharge petition to force a vote on the “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” which ultimately passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed by Trump on Nov. 19. Greene said Trump had opposed her efforts at first, arguing that releasing the documents would “hurt people,” though she said he did not specify whom he meant.

Stahl asked whether Republican lawmakers fear backlash from Trump’s supporters or from the president himself. Greene responded that many are reluctant to speak out because they fear public attacks from Trump, saying, “I think they’re terrified to step outta line and get a nasty Truth Social post on them.”

Greene’s resignation will take effect at the start of 2026, leaving her safely Republican district without its most controversial representative for the first time in six years.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr