Category: Opinion

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb made light of fears that an emerging COVID variant, BA.2, was cause for concern.

Though the strain appears to be more transmissible, Gottlieb indicated that a “fully boosted person may be more protected against this new variant than the original strain of omicron.”

“So if you have omicron protection, you should have protection against this new variant. That’s why I don’t think this will create a huge wave of infection. What is likely to happen, as we’re coming down, and we’re coming down quite sharply in parts of the northeast, Florida and the mid-Atlantic, you might see as this new strain starts to pick up, we start to slow down in that decline, but the decline will happen nonetheless … We have so much omicron immunity, it will probably be a backstop against this really taking off,” he added.

BA.2, a “spin-off” of the Omicron variant was first identified in early December and has since been reported in 49 countries, including the U.S.

“Among all the lineages of Omicron, this is the one showing a higher increase of cases. But we have to be careful in interpreting that, because higher increases from a very low number are easier to observe,” Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo, assistant professor of medicine for infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago said.

Even though this new variant is 1.5 times more transmissible, the World Health Organization has not labeled it a variant of concern. World Health Organization (WHO) officials have warned that new variants will arise as omicron spreads across the world at an unprecedented rate.

“The next variant of concern will be more fit, and what we mean by that is it will be more transmissible because it will have to overtake what is currently circulating,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead said. “The big question is whether or not future variants will be more or less severe.”

Singer and songwriter Kid Rock posted a video to his official Facebook Thursday announcing that he would not be “showing up” to venues on his new “Bad Reputation” tour that requires COVID-19 vaccinations.

“There’s been a lot of talk about vaccine mandates and venues. People saying, ‘I’m not going to that venue because of the vaccine mandate’ and this, that and the other,” Kid Rock said. “Trust me, we’ve done all our research on this and the consensus says that all this is going to be done, if there are any at these venues, I’m not aware of any, but if there are any, they’re going to be gone by the time we get to your city. If they’re not, trust me, you don’t have to worry. You’ll be getting your money back because I won’t be showing up either.”

“If you think I’m going to sit out there and say ‘Don’t tell me how to live,’ that ‘We the People’ are holding up their f***ing vaccine cards and wearing masks, that s**t ain’t happening.” Kid Rock added, referencing his track “We the People.” The singer also mentioned that his tour had to take Buffalo, NY, and Toronto, Canada off their agenda due to vaccination mandates. The “Bad Reputation” tour is set to appear in cities across the country, from Woodlands, TX to Clarkston, MI, according to Kid Rock’s website. The tour starts on Apr. 6 and ends on Sept. 17.

Kid Rock’s announcement comes on the heels of controversy on Spotify, with singer Neil Young demanding they choose between his music and Joe Rogan’s podcast. Young accused Rogan of “spreading fake information about vaccines” in a since-deleted letter. Spotify chose to drop Young’s music and keep Rogan’s podcast.

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.