Author: J.P. Knowles

Disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti confronted his former client Stormy Daniels on the stand Friday during his trial at a federal court in Manhattan.

Avenatti faces allegations that he swindled the adult film star out of almost $300,000 in revenue from book sales. Avenatti previously represented Daniels beginning in 2018. Daniels sought to free herself from a nondisclosure agreement and go public on the details of an affair she supposedly had with former President Donald Trump in 2006.

“On Sept. 27, 2019 … You stated that I was ‘f—ing myself pretty nice and hard and that when I go to prison, there will be a long line of people to ass-rape me,” Avenatti asked Daniels, who neither confirmed nor denied making the statement, during the trial Friday.

Avenatti also confronted Daniels about a social media statement she had made concerning a brand of sex lubricant he could use while in prison. “You suggested you could put Tabasco sauce in the lube and bring it to me in prison, so I could be anally raped,” Avenatti said. Daniels did not deny making the statement, the outlet reported.

Avenatti also questioned Daniels on statements she had made about her purported supernatural powers and an ability to speak with the dead. Daniels has claimed that she can read Tarot cards, as well as see through the walls of a house.

Daniels agreed with Avenatti’s statement that she believed herself to be a “medium,” someone who, in her own words, can communicate with “non-living” spirits.

Avenatti is facing charges that he had two installments of book payments intended for Daniels wired to a bank account that he controlled. Daniels and her legal counsel have text messages that show Daniels asking for the money multiple times.

Avenatti denies the charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he could face up to 22 years in prison.

Avenatti and Daniels first found themselves in the limelight during the presidency of former President Donald Trump. Trump’s since disbarred attorney Michael Cohen had paid Daniels $130,000 of hush money to silence rumors of an affair.

During this time, media personalities such as Joy Behar of ABC’s “The View” and MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle hailed Avenatti as a hero, with Behar even saying that Avenatti was, “the savior of the Republic.” Ana Navarro echoed Behar’s effusive praise, telling the now-disgraced lawyer, “You’re like the Holy Spirit.” Others, such as CNN’s Brian Stelter, hoped Avenatti would run for president.

Avenatti has also been convicted of trying to swindle Nike out of $25 million, for which he has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

A federal study asks underage boys to report their sexual behavior using a mobile app in exchange for up to $275 without requiring permission from their parents.

Researchers at Columbia University funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have spent over eight million dollars of taxpayer dollars on a study that pays gay and transgender minors age 13 and up to track their sexual behavior on an app called MyPEEPS without requiring parental permission. One example of the questions asked for them to report is whether or not they have “condomless anal sex.”

The app has “activities and games” to educate users about HIV prevention and protective sex. Only 13-18-year-old males who are “into other guys” are eligible to participate in the research study, according to a MyPEEPS.

In 2012 and 2013, the NIH spent more than $300,000 developing the app. Since 2016, the federal government has given $7.9 million to researchers to study the data collected from the app, according to a government spending database.

Researchers at Columbia University were granted another $341,522 to study transgender teenagers using MyPEEPS in 2022.

“MyPEEPS Mobile” markets itself as “a sexual health project for teen guys who are into guys.” It promotes the app as a way to “Learn about relationships, communication & ways to protect your health using an app.”

Some experts say there are ethical concerns with studies involving minors who are considered a vulnerable population, according to Dr. Monique Wubbenhorst, former deputy assistant administrator in the Bureau for Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“There is an ethical balance between investigators’ desire to enroll children in a study and the need to support parents in caring for their children,” Wubbenhorst said. “There are additional concerns that minor children in this study may be engaged in sexually exploitative relationships with older males, sex trafficking/child prostitution, violence, and sexual abuse, from which they should be protected.”

Researchers are required to apply for a waiver of parental permission through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services which means that they must prove that children who participate in the study will be protected through an “appropriate mechanism.”

Dr. Rebecca Schnall, the project leader of the MyPEEPS study, said that her team secured a waiver because of the minimal risk of the research, and she argued subjects of the study might be reluctant to participate if they were concerned their parents would have knowledge of their sexual activities.

The White House confirmed Friday that South Carolina District Court Judge Michelle Childs is under consideration as a candidate to fill the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Judge Childs is among multiple individuals under consideration for the Supreme Court, and we are not going to move her nomination on the Court of Appeals while the President is considering her for this vacancy,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. “At the same time, reporting indicating that the President is only seriously considering three potential nominees is incorrect.”

Childs was expected to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee in early February for a confirmation hearing after President Joe Biden had nominated her for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Since then the Biden administration has postponed the judge’s appearance in the Senate while she is considered as a potential pick for the SCOTUS seat.

Following Breyer’s Thursday announcement of a forthcoming retirement, Biden vowed to nominate the first black woman to replace Breyer on the bench.

“The president has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a black woman to the Supreme Court and certainly stands by that,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

President Joe Biden was spotted shaking hands with people in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Friday without wearing a mask despite describing indoor masking as a “patriotic duty.”

After delivering remarks Friday, Biden can be seen in a video walking away from the podium maskless as he approaches members of the crowd to greet them. Since his election, Biden has made similar comments about wearing masks as being a “patriotic duty.”

In an April 2021 interview commemorating his 100 days in office, Biden said he would continue wearing masks even outside despite the newly released guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saying vaccinated people can remove masks outside. In May 2021 the CDC announced vaccinated people no longer had to wear masks indoors, then later changed guidelines due to the spread of Delta and Omicron variants.

Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy said President Joe Biden contacted him to “clear the air” after being snappy with him during a Monday press conference with the Competition Council.

As reporters were being ushered out of the briefing, Doocy asked Biden a question about inflation and its potential “political liability” in the upcoming midterm elections. In response, the president could be heard calling Doocy a “stupid son of a bitch” through a hot mic.

Doocy said the president contacted him by phone “within about an hour” of the briefing to “clear the air” telling him the remark was “nothing personal.” Doocy said Biden encouraged him to continue to ask about a variety of issues in the future.

“I made sure to tell him [Biden] that I’m always going to try to ask something different than what everybody else is asking and he said ‘you’ve got to,’” Doocy said. “And that is the quote from the president, so I will keep doing it.”

The president said, ‘it’s nothing personal, pal” and “I told him that I appreciated him reaching out, Doocy said. “ I appreciate that the president took a couple minutes out this evening while he was still at the desk to give me a call and clear the air, but I don’t need anybody to apologize to me.”

Doocy said the call was “enough” and the two can “move forward” from the comment. He said there will be “three to seven years” to ask him about different sets of issues.

One day after a New York judge denied “in all respects” the Duke of York’s bid to dismiss a sex-abuse lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, the Queen stripped him of his military affiliations and royal patronages.

Giuffre claims that Andrew sexually abused her when she was a minor, at the invitation of the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations, stating that he did not take part in the sexual exploitation of minors or witness such behavior.

Giuffre has said she was the victim of sex trafficking and abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and financier who committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019.

Andrew’s reputation has come into question during the highly public scandal involving his ties to Epstein, whom he met through Epstein’s long-time girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The British socialite was also found guilty of federal sex-trafficking charges in December.

Andrew’s lawyers argue that a $500,000 settlement that Giuffre reached with Epstein in 2009 should block her from suing him. But District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said the settlement, made public earlier this month, is too vague to specifically protect Andrew from a lawsuit.

Andrew stepped back from his public duties in late 2019, but until Thursday he still held honorary military titles in Britain and elsewhere in the commonwealth.

In 2017, the queen approved Andrew’s appointment as the new colonel of the famed Grenadier Guards, a post that had long been held by his father, the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

A Florida House committee passed a bill forbidding discussions about gender ideology and sexual orientation in primary level classrooms on Thursday.

The House Education and Employment Committee overwhelmingly passed the “ Parental Rights in Education Bill,” also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, banning teachers from discussing LGBTQ-related issues with primary level students. The legislation is designed to protect the “fundamental rights of parents” to choose what their children are taught.

“A school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students,” the bill states.

The legislation allows for a parent to pursue “declaratory or injunctive relief” against a school district should they violate the new rules. The court may award parents attorney fees and court costs in the course of the legal action.

The bill also requires school administrators to notify parents if there are any changes in a student’s “mental, emotional, or physical health or wellbeing.” The bill also requires personnel to encourage students to talk openly with an adult about their wellbeing and are prohibited from withholding any information about the physical and mental wellbeing of a child from their parents.

The bill was introduced by Republican Florida state Sen. Dennis Baxley, who said the legislation “defends” a parent’s responsibility.

“This bill is about defending the most awesome responsibility a person can have: being a parent,” Baxley said. “That job can only be given to you by above.”

Chasten Buttigieg, husband of transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, called out Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for making his state a difficult place for LGBTQ children to “survive in.”

“This will kill kids. You are purposefully making your state a harder place for LGBTQ kids to survive in,” Buttigieg accused DeSantis. “In a national survey, 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide last year. Now they can’t talk to their teachers?”

A separate Trevor Project study found that LGBTQ students learning about the issue resulted in a 23% drop in suicide attempts last year. The Trevor Project’s director of advocacy and government affairs, Sam Ames, said the bill will harm LGBTQ students.

“This bill will erase young LGBTQ students across Florida, forcing many back into the closet by policing their identity and silencing important discussions about the issues they face,” Ames said. “LGBTQ students deserve their history and experiences to be reflected in their education, just like their peers.”

Jon Harris Maurer said teachings about sexuality and gender identity are “prejudicial” and insult LGBTQ students as well as those with LGBTQ parents. He argued that those that support the bill cannot call themselves “allies of the LGBTQ community.”

The bill requires the Department of Education to review and update school counseling, professional conduct principles, and other guidelines to ensure they are following the new regulations by June 30, 2022.

A longtime Democratic operative in New Jersey pled guilty Tuesday to a murder-for-hire plot to kill the son of a former state senator.

Sean Caddle and Bomani Africa, one of the men he had hired, both pled guilty to conspiring to commit murder-for-hire.

Caddell hired George Bratsenis in April of 2014 to kill Michael Galdieri. Bratsenis and Africa killed Galdieri the following month then set his apartment on fire.

Caddle and Galdieri had worked together and had been acquaintances for years. The motive in the murder has not yet been released.

“I had given up. I thought for sure the day would never come. I had resolved myself to the fact that whoever did this to my brother got away with murder….well…almost 8 years later, at 7am this morning, 3 FBI agents rang my bell…They got ‘em, Mike…they got em.” Michael Galdieri’s brother, Richie Galdieri posted to Facebook Monday.

Caddle had worked on former Democratic state Sen. Ray Lesniak’s 2013 and 2017 campaigns.

“The most bizarre thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. No..indication whatsoever,” former Democratic state Sen. Ray Lesniak said. “He led a double life. While he was running campaigns for me, a lot of them very successful, he was arranging a murder.”

The presiding judge released Caddle on a $1million unsecured bond to home confinement. The government is seeking a 12 ½ -25 year sentence for Caddle.

“This was a callous and violent crime, and the defendant is as responsible as the two men who wielded the knife,” U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called out White House press secretary Jen Psaki for making statements about Florida’s handling of COVID-19.

Psaki said Friday that Florida used “little to no steps” to distribute funds to ensure that school districts remain open during the pandemic. The Florida governor lobbed back saying that the press secretary “lies through her teeth” during a briefing at Miami-Dade College.

“An example would be Florida, where they have done little to distribute money — little to no steps to distribute money across the state into school districts,” Psaki said. “Part of it is you have to write a plan for how you’re going to keep schools open to get the third tranche of money and some have been delayed in that, but right now that’s an example of a state that can do more.”

“The White House press secretary stands in front of that podium and lies through her teeth every single day and it’s usually about the state of Florida. The other day, she said Florida hasn’t done enough to get schools open,” DeSantis said. “Are you kidding me? I remember them criticizing me when we did this almost two years ago. We were the only big state to have every school district open for in-person, and we did that way before Biden was even president.”

“We didn’t need the Biden stimulus money for that. We did it, we opened them and they’re saying ‘Florida didn’t do it and you look right now at all the school closures across the country. You don’t see that happening here like you do there and yet that’s what they do,” he continued.

DeSantis also slammed Psak for the statement she made saying that the monoclonal antibody treatments (mAbs) from Regeneron and Eli Lilly are ineffective in treating the Omicron variant during a Tuesday press briefing. The Florida governor called her statements “a lie” that support the administration’s political position.

“So recently, she said that monoclonals do not work, definitively do not work against Omicron and they have really bad side effects,” DeSantis stated. “That’s what she said! And that is not true based on what we’ve seen in the state of Florida. But the idea that this has led to massive, adverse reactions is just a lie. And it is a lie designed to buttress politically a position that they have taken, which is just indefensible, as a matter of policy, as a matter of basic decency for people.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday that emergency authorization use (EUA) for two monoclonal antibody treatments (mAbs) from Regeneron and Eli Lilly would be revoked due to its ineffectiveness in fighting Omicron. The order led to the cancellation of 2,000 appointments for Floridians to receive the antibody treatment.

DeSantis, along with Florida health officials, began advocating in August for the use of monoclonal antibodies for individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to treat those with mild-to-moderate symptoms of the virus. The governor condemned the administration’s “royal decree” of revoking Regeneron and Eli Lilly, claiming the order “takes treatments out of the hands of medical professionals.”

A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the latest to show that there is no connection between COVID-19 vaccines and infertility in either women or men.

The study which was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology and funded by the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development found “no adverse association” between getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and fertility in 2,000 couples in the United States and Canada.

There was evidence, however, that being infected with COVID-19 can temporarily suppress a man’s fertility.

Concerns about infertility have made many reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccination, however, the NIH study isn’t the first to find that fertility is unaffected by the shots.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study published on Jan. 4 showed there was no increased risk of preterm or low-weight births from pregnant women who got a COVID-19 vaccine, nor was there any evidence of an increased risk of miscarriage in vaccinated women.

Additionally, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine both urge all pregnant women to get vaccinated, as does the World Health Organization.

A study published Jan. 13 in Nature Medicine found that unvaccinated pregnant women who contracted COVID-19 were more likely to have a preterm birth or pregnancy loss.

“The findings provide reassurance that vaccination for couples seeking pregnancy does not appear to impair fertility,” said Dr. Diana Bianchi, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “They also provide information for physicians who counsel patients hoping to conceive.”