Today’s News 27th January 2023

• Victor Davis Hanson: The Real Differences Between The Biden And Trump Document Troves
  Victor Davis Hanson: The Real Differences Between The Biden And Trump Document Troves

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson,

  Former President Donald Trump for now certainly seems to have had more documents labeled “classified” at Mar-a-Lago in Florida than did President Joe Biden at his various homes in Delaware.

  

  Yet otherwise, the comparisons between the two cases, contrary to popular punditry, hardly favor Biden.

  First, a stranger would face a far greater challenge entering a post-presidential Mar-a-Lago than a pre-presidential Biden home, office, or garage — or who knows where?

  Secret service agents and private security were stationed at Mar-a-Lago. Prior to the 2020 presidential election they were not at citizen Biden’s various troves for most of 2017-2020, much less prior to 2009.

  Second, we seem to forget that for much of the developing controversy, Biden’s own team was investigating Biden.

  On the other hand, the Biden Administration’s Justice Department and the FBI were not just investigating Trump as an outside party, but as a former president — and possible 2024 presidential candidate and opponent of Biden himself.

  Remember, the narrative of the first Democratic impeachment of Trump was the allegation that Trump had used his powers of the presidency to investigate Biden and his family, a likely 2020 challenger to Trump’s reelection bid.

  Third, no one in a position of government authority had passed judgment on Biden’s alleged security violations.

  That was not the case of the still alleged violations of Trump.

  Biden, as president, had weighed in, during his own Justice Department’s ongoing investigations of Trump. Indeed, he proclaimed the former president to be guilty: “How could anyone be that irresponsible?” In contrast, he also dismissed the ongoing investigation of himself with “There is no there, there.”

  Fourth, Trump is certainly right that as president he had a far more substantial claim of declassification rights than did Biden, who took the papers out either as a senator or vice president.

  

  Fifth, the FBI was not merely asymmetrical in melodramatically raiding the Trump home while allowing Biden lawyers to inspect various Biden stashes. The FBI also leaked the purported contents of the subjects of the Trump classified documents (falsely spreading the lie of “nuclear codes” and “nuclear secrets”) in a way it has not with the Biden cache.

  The FBI went so far as to scatter the documents on the floor for a fake news photo-op as if the papers were so messily arrayed when they arrived.

  So far, the FBI has come lightly and belatedly to the Biden case without the SWAT team get-up, and only under pressure from the public and the Republican opposition.

  Six, Biden did not “self-report.” Biden’s team did not call the relevant government authorities the minute they discovered the classified documents in Biden’s office and home and garage.

  In truth, Biden, or someone close to Biden, certainly knew that he or someone close to him had illegally removed classified documents when he left the vice presidency in 2017 — or years earlier as a senator.

  For at least the last six years — at least — Biden has felt no compunction to confess to authorities he illegally was in possession of classified documents.

  

  Indeed, the only reason the current troves are coming to light was apparent White House paranoia that the media, the Biden Justice Department, and the special counsel were so fixated on the Trump documents that they likely feared someone might raise the logical question of whether a hypocritical Biden himself might be guilty of exactly the crime for which they were pursuing Trump.

  Worse, Biden and his staff knew classified documents were in his possession before the midterms, but deliberately suppressed that information until after the elections were over.

  Seventh, Trump’s documents were stored only at one place — Mar-a-Lago, and only for about 19 months. Biden’s were stashed at various locations for nearly seven years, or perhaps over a decade.

  There were far more opportunities of time and space for those without security clearances to have access to the Biden documents than to the Trump files.

  Eighth, the press has exhaustively speculated, usually wrongly, about how the documents reached Mar-a-Lago and what they contained.

  In contrast, no one knows or even asks why Biden took classified documents, what they concerned, or who if any in his family circle had access to them.

  Ninth, Trump’s documents did not expose other liabilities of the constantly investigated Trump. The Biden files so far have directed attention to the mysterious tens of millions of dollars in Communist Chinese money that poured into Biden’s think tank at the University of Pennsylvania, the proximity of members of the quid pro quo Biden consortium to these classified papers, and the files’ relevance, if any, to the Biden family’s overseas businesses.

  Did Hunter Biden ever consult or view classified documents while living in a home with them? Will there be fingerprint or DNA tests on the documents? If Hunter consulted any of these classified documents, then the Biden presidency is finished.

  Tenth, Trump possessed contested documents as a private citizen. Biden’s files under contention involve the current behavior of the president of the United States. Biden ran for office, was elected, and serves as president with the full knowledge that during all this time he unlawfully possessed classified documents.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 23:30

• NASA, DARPA Testing Nuclear Engine For Future Mars Missions
  NASA, DARPA Testing Nuclear Engine For Future Mars Missions

  NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a plan on Tuesday to test out a nuclear-powered thermal rocket engine which will enable NASA-crewed missions to Mars, according to NASA.

  

  The program, called Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, or DRACO, could allow for faster transit time, an increased payload capacity, and higher power for instrumentation and communication.

  In a nuclear thermal rocket engine, a fission reactor is used to generate extremely high temperatures. The engine transfers the heat produced by the reactor to a liquid propellant, which is expanded and exhausted through a nozzle to propel the spacecraft. Nuclear thermal rockets can be three or more times more efficient than conventional chemical propulsion. -NASA

  

  Under the agreement, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) will lead technical development of the nuclear thermal engine to be integrated with DARPA’s experimental spacecraft. DARPA is acting as the contracting authority for the development of the entire stage and the engine, which includes the reactor. DARPA will lead the overall program including rocket systems integration and procurement, approvals, scheduling, and security, cover safety and liability, and ensure overall assembly and integration of the engine with the spacecraft. Over the course of the development, NASA and DARPA will collaborate on assembly of the engine before the in-space demonstration as early as 2027.  -NASA

  “DARPA and NASA have a long history of fruitful collaboration in advancing technologies for our respective goals, from the Saturn V rocket that took humans to the Moon for the first time to robotic servicing and refueling of satellites,” said DARPA director Dr. Stefanie Tompkins. “The space domain is critical to modern commerce, scientific discovery, and national security. The ability to accomplish leap-ahead advances in space technology through the DRACO nuclear thermal rocket program will be essential for more efficiently and quickly transporting material to the Moon and eventually, people to Mars.”

  According to the press release, the last time the US conducted nuclear thermal rocket engine tests was more than 50 years ago under NASA’s Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application and Rover projects.

  

  “With this collaboration, we will leverage our expertise gained from many previous space nuclear power and propulsion projects,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for STMD. “Recent aerospace materials and engineering advancements are enabling a new era for space nuclear technology, and this flight demonstration will be a major achievement toward establishing a space transportation capability for an Earth-Moon economy.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 23:10

• Renewable Power Projects Slow In US Over High Costs And Community Opposition
  Renewable Power Projects Slow In US Over High Costs And Community Opposition

  Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The installation of wind and solar power projects is slowing down in the United States, with some projects being canceled over persistent cost issues and community animosity.

  

  New utility-scale solar installations are estimated to have fallen by 40 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to a report from research firm Wood Mackenzie. Utility-scale solar deployments in the third quarter of 2022 were 36 percent lower when compared to Q3, 2021, and 9 percent lower compared to Q2, 2022.

  “The low installation figures are the result of previous project delays and continued supply chain constraints,” the report said.

  During the third quarter, new wind installations are calculated to have crashed by 77.5 percent compared to the same period a year ago based on another report by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Between July and September, U.S. developers only added 501 MW of new wind power capacity, down 22 percent from Q3, 2021.

  “No other third quarter saw lower wind capacity additions since at least 2015. The 4,500 MW of new wind capacity added in the first three quarters of 2022 is less than half of that added by the end of 2021’s third quarter, 9,223 MW,” the report states.

  High costs are said to be one of the reasons for canceling some of the renewable energy projects. For instance, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) canceled around 245 renewable energy projects in the four years between January 2016 and July 2020 which had reached advanced stages of development.

  The 245 projects accounted for 40 percent of total projects by the organization at the time. According to MISO, issues with congestion and costs related to grid upgrades were the main reason behind withdrawing the projects, according to the Institute of Energy Research (IER).

  Community Opposition, China Slave Labor

  Wind and solar projects are also facing increasing opposition from local communities. The Renewable Rejection Database shows that 79 local governments in the United States either restricted or banned solar power projects in 2022, up from 19 in 2021 and just two in 2020.

  Much of the rejections between 2017 and 2022 happened last year, with 106 projects being rejected during this period in total.

  Rural communities in states like Ohio, Michigan, and New York have blocked solar and wind projects over concerns about how these initiatives will affect property values and neighborhoods, according to IER. In Ohio, over 40 townships prohibited the construction of such large renewable energy projects last year.

  While some experts expect more electricity to come from renewables in the future, they foresee great challenges before getting to such a position.

  A ban on certain imports from China also had a negative effect on the implementation of renewable energy projects.

  “Solar panel imports, 80 percent of which come from China and Asia, have slowed following U.S. legislation aimed at labor abuses in China with several thousand shipping containers of solar panels being detained by U.S. Customs near ports such as Los Angeles,” according to IER.

  In June last year, the United States banned the import of goods from China’s Xinjiang region following President Joe Biden signing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021.

  A 2022 report by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization stated that China has implemented a “widespread and systematic” program of using Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities as forced labor for industrial and agricultural activities in the Xinjiang region.

  “Some 13 million members of the ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang are targeted on the basis of their ethnicity and religion with a goal of social control and assimilation of their culture and identity,” the report said.

  Biden Green Energy Push, Wind Power Challenges

  The Biden administration has been promoting the transition to green energy power. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by Biden in August last year, contains provisions promoting renewable energy.

  In the last three months of 2022, over $40 billion in solar, wind, and battery projects were announced, according to the American Clean Power Association. This is roughly equivalent to the total investment in such renewable projects in 2021.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 22:50

• Global Military Buyers Flooded Vegas Arms Expo, Spurred By World War III Threats
  Global Military Buyers Flooded Vegas Arms Expo, Spurred By World War III Threats

  Last week, military buyers from Europe and Asia flooded the Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum in Las Vegas for the world’s largest firearms trade show of its kind. 

  The Washington Times said Poland, Romania, and the Baltic States sent defense buyers to SHOT Show, where more than 2,500 exhibitors showed off new weaponry, drones, robots, and other high-tech devices for war. 

  Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and other Asian states also sent military buyers. The Times even said visitors from China and North Korea were present at the closed-door event. 

  We attended the event (read: here & here) and can confirm the military buyers were present. This comes as European and Asian nations are preparing for possible conflict. The US and Germany are sending main battle tanks to Ukraine, with even the possibility Lockheed Martin is ready to send F-16 fighter jets. 

  The Times said 40 nations sent delegations to purchase firearms and equipment. Most of the deals are made at the event or a follow-up meeting. There’s even an event before the Shot Show where a select group of attendees tests the weapons in a nearby desert. We were there and observed multiple military buyers from Asia, including ones from Singapore, shooting machine guns and high-powered sniper rifles. 

  Hubert Marciniak, a Polish defense contractor, told The Times that Russian aggression has resulted in Warsaw modernizing its forces. 

  “Russia is our neighbor. But it’s also a crazy neighbor, so we need to be prepared for what they are doing,” Marciniak said.

  Military officials from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines were also walking the floors of the event. Many of them were making deals with US defense companies for military-grade weapons. Here are some of the exhibitors we came across.

  

  

  

  

  

  A Japanese official declined to comment on Tokyo’s shopping list, but when asked by The Times if they were buying or selling at the show, they replied: “buying.” 

  What’s clear is that foreign defense buyers are on spending sprees with long shopping lists for US weaponry as risks of war in Ukraine and the Taiwan Strait spark an arms race. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 22:30

• State Department Issues Travel Warning To Popular Tourist Destination
  State Department Issues Travel Warning To Popular Tourist Destination

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The U.S. State Department on Monday issued a travel warning for American citizens visiting tourist areas in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo due to “recent incidents involving taxi and Uber drivers.”

  

  The “security alert” said that American citizens should be wary of “application-based transportation services in Mexico,” the State Department wrote. Quintana Roo encompasses Cancun and other popular resort areas on the Yucatan Peninsula.

  “Application-based car services such as Uber and Cabify are available in many Mexican cities, and generally offer another safe alternative to taxis,” the bulletin stated. “Official complaints against Uber and other drivers do occur, however, and past disputes between these services and local taxi unions have occasionally turned violent, resulting in injuries to U.S. citizens in some instances.”

  Medallion taxi drivers in the state have reportedly harassed and attacked Uber drivers and passengers due to complaints of competition in recent days. This week, medallion taxi drivers blocked all three Cancun Hotel Zone entrances, according to local media reports and photos published online.

  A reporter with the Riviera Maya News outlet said that dozens of taxi drivers blocked the three main roadways that go into the hotel zone on Monday, forcing hundreds of tourists to scramble to find a way in or out of the zone. The state’s National Guard and local police were deployed to deal with the demonstration, it was reported.

  The Cancun police department shared photos of travelers getting into the beds of police trucks, and said that “given the blockades on the Kukulcan boulevard, our transit officers helped people get to the airport.” Cancun’s mayor called on the taxi drivers to show restraint amid the unrest.

  Some Cancun residents also posted videos or photos of taxis encircling suspected ride-hailing cars, and one man said he was just giving a ride to some people when his car was pelted with stones and dented by taxi drivers.

  “I am not going to allow a small group to damage the reputation of the resort and human safety,” Mayor Ana Patricia Peralta said in a recorded message, according to The Associated Press.

  And State Secretary Cristina Torres Gomez told reporters that the “free demonstration of the citizens of Quintana Roo” is fine “as long as it does not violate or harm the rights of third parties.”

  “We listen to absolutely all groups, but under no circumstance are we going to allow peace and tranquility to be violated, nor for the roads to collapse in a state that is Mexico’s window to the world,” she added.

  Ride-hailing apps had been blocked in Cancun until earlier this month, when a court granted an injunction allowing Uber to operate. Given the high cost of local medallion taxis in Cancun, many travelers prefer to use apps.

  A group representing about 12,000 members in Cancun called the Taxi Union was angered by the court ruling, issued on Jan. 11, that allows Uber to operate, according to the Mexico Daily News. That triggered the protests this week.

  On social media, some users targeted the Taxi Union and called on people not to use medallion taxis.

  “The Quintana Roo taxi drivers are just another cartel. Don’t ride one,” a Twitter user said. “These mafia taxi drivers, just like the sargassum, are ending Cancún,” another user said, the outlet reported.

  But the union described the court ruling as unjust.

  “Just as today voices have been raised condemning taxi drivers, we also raise our voices to demand certainty and action against the activities that violate our source of income,” the Andres Quintana Roo taxi union said in a statement to the Daily News.

  Other Warnings

  Amid cartel-related violence, crime, and kidnappings, the U.S. State Department frequently issues travel alerts against traveling to certain Mexican states. Earlier this month, the agency warned Americans not to travel to Sinaloa state following reports of cartel violence sparked by the arrest of a powerful drug lord.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 22:10

• Global Smartphone Shipments Plunge Most On Record
  Global Smartphone Shipments Plunge Most On Record

  A new report via Massachusetts-based International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed worldwide smartphone shipments experienced the most significant quarterly drop on record over the holiday season as cooling consumer demand suggests trouble for smartphone manufacturers ahead of earnings releases. 

  Fourth-quarter global smartphone shipments plunged 18.3% year over year to 300.3 million units.

  

  The decline was the largest on record for one quarter and contributed to an annual reduction of 11.3%. 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped for the year, the lowest yearly total since 2013. 

  

  IDC blamed the shipment drop on “significantly dampened consumer demand, inflation, and economic uncertainties.” 

  Commenting on the challenging global smartphone market is Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, who said:

  “We have never seen shipments in the holiday quarter come in lower than the previous quarter. However, weakened demand and high inventory caused vendors to cut back drastically on shipments.

  “Heavy sales and promotions during the quarter helped deplete existing inventory rather than drive shipment growth. Vendors are increasingly cautious in their shipments and planning while realigning their focus on profitability. 

  “Even Apple, which thus far was seemingly immune, suffered a setback in its supply chain with unforeseen lockdowns at its key factories in China. What this holiday quarter tells us is that rising inflation and growing macro concerns continue to stunt consumer spending even more than expected and push out any possible recovery to the very end of 2023.”

  Also, Anthony Scarsella, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, sheds light on dwindling consumer demand and perhaps more turmoil for the industry this year: 

  “We continue to witness consumer demand dwindle as refresh rates climb past 40 months in most major markets.

  “With 2022 declining more than 11% for the year, 2023 is set up to be a year of caution as vendors will rethink their portfolio of devices while channels will think twice before taking on excess inventory. However, on a positive note, consumers may find even more generous trade-in offers and promotions continuing well into 2023 as the market will think of new methods to drive upgrades and sell more devices, specifically high-end models.”

  IDC’s report was published one week before Apple reveals quarterly earnings. On Monday, UBS wrote in a note to clients that it expects iPhone softness in the December quarter. 

  None of this should surprise readers as we’ve thoroughly detailed the waning demand for smartphones and PCs that have triggered a semiconductor bust. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 21:50

• 25 People Charged In Fake Nursing Diploma Operation After Multi-State Law Enforcement Action
  25 People Charged In Fake Nursing Diploma Operation After Multi-State Law Enforcement Action

  Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Around 25 people have been charged for their roles in a huge coordinated scheme to sell false and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses, the Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) announced on Jan. 25.

  

  HHS-OIG and its law enforcement partners conducted a “multi-state coordinated law enforcement action” dubbed “Operation Nightingale” using search warrants across Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Florida, to arrest about 25 individuals who were allegedly part of the fraud, according to a press release.

  The scheme involved the individuals selling fake and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to aspiring registered nurses, licensed nurse practitioners, and vocational nurse candidates.

  According to officials, those who acquired the fake nursing credentials used them to qualify to sit for the national nursing board exam that is needed to obtain a nursing license in the United States.

  After passing the exam, the individuals were able to obtain the licenses and take nursing jobs in various states, officials said.

  The scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas and transcripts by three South Florida-based nursing schools: Siena College in Broward County, Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County, HHS-OIG said.

  The three schools are now closed.

  Scheme Is ‘Public Safety Concern’

  Each of the defendants allegedly involved in the fraud scheme faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, according to a separate statement issued by the Department of Justice.

  DOJ prosecutors said that the charges “speak to the purpose of a nursing license which is to protect the public from harm by setting minimum qualifications and competencies,” adding that the fake nursing diplomas and transcripts allowed aspiring nurses to take “employment shortcuts.”

  “Not only is this a public safety concern, it also tarnishes the reputation of nurses who actually complete the demanding clinical and course work required to obtain their professional licenses and employment,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe.

  He added that “a fraud scheme like this erodes public trust in our health care system.”

  Three individuals were charged with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud at Siena College. Prosecutors allege that the three arranged with the manager of the college, Eugene Sanon, to create and distribute the false diplomas and transcripts, making it seem as though the individuals who received them had completed all the necessary courses and clinical experience needed to obtain the diplomas.

  “In fact, the aspiring nurses never completed the necessary courses and clinical,” prosecutors said.

  Sanon was charged by information with wire fraud conspiracy.

  Fake Nurse Diplomas Sold for Up to $17,000

  At Palm Beach School of Nursing, prosecutors charged 14 individuals with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud, alleging that they arranged with the school’s owner, Johanah Napoleon, and four school employees to make and hand out the fake diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses.

  Napoleon was previously charged by information and has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, according to prosecutors.

  Elsewhere at Sacred Heart International Institute, six individuals were given the same charges after prosecutors claimed that they organized with Charles Etienne, Sacred Heart’s owner, to sell the fake documents.

  Defendants in the scheme allegedly charged individuals between $10,000 for a licensed practical nurse degree and $17,000 for a registered nurse diploma, the Miami Herald reported.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 21:30

• IRS Alerts Taxpayers They Must Answer a New Question On Tax Forms Or Face Consequences
  IRS Alerts Taxpayers They Must Answer a New Question On Tax Forms Or Face Consequences

  Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued an alert to taxpayers on Tuesday, reminding them that they must report all digital asset-related income and answer a new digital asset question on their 2022 federal income tax return or face consequences such as delayed refunds or even penalties.

  

  The IRS said in a Jan. 24 release that a key change on 1040 forms this year is that the agency has replaced the term “virtual currency” with “digital assets,” in addition to some other modifications to the wording.

  The “Yes” or “No” question, which was expanded and revised this year to update terminology, reads as follows:

  “At any time during 2022, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, gift or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?”

  The question appears at the top of tax forms 1040, Individual Income Tax Return; 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors; and 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return.

  “All taxpayers must answer the question regardless of whether they engaged in any transactions involving digital assets,” the agency cautioned.

  It is a legal requirement to accurately report all income, including income from digital assets, on federal income tax returns. Failure to do so could result in non-compliance with tax laws and possible penalties.

  The IRS has provided a detailed explanation of what constitutes a digital asset, which includes such things as stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cryptocurrencies.

  Taxpayers need to check the “Yes” box if they:

  • Received digital assets as payment for property or services provided;
  • Transferred digital assets for free (without receiving any consideration) as a bona fide gift;
  • Received digital assets resulting from a reward or award;
  • Received new digital assets resulting from mining, staking, and similar activities;
  • Received digital assets resulting from a hard fork (a branching of a cryptocurrency’s blockchain that splits a single cryptocurrency into two);
  • Disposed of digital assets in exchange for property or services;
  • Disposed of a digital asset in exchange or trade for another digital asset;
  • Sold a digital asset; or
  • Otherwise disposed of any other financial interest in a digital asset.

  Those who tick the “Yes” box must also report all income related to their digital asset transactions on relevant forms. For instance, an investor who sold cryptocurrency during 2022 would use Form 8949, Sales and other Dispositions of Capital Assets.

  Taxpayers should check the “No” box if they merely owned digital assets but didn’t engage in any transactions involving them in 2022.

  They should also tick “No” if they merely transferred digital assets from one wallet or account they own or control to another one that they own or control, and if they bought digital assets using real currency like the U.S. dollar.

  Many Americans Will See Smaller Tax Refunds

  The IRS has warned that many taxpayers should expect a smaller refund this tax season because of tax law changes including the expiration of pandemic-related stimulus payments that would otherwise have boosted refund balances.

  “Due to tax law changes such as the elimination of the Advance Child Tax Credit and no Recovery Rebate Credit this year to claim pandemic-related stimulus payments, many taxpayers may find their refunds somewhat lower this year,” the IRS said in a press release on Jan. 23, the day the agency began tax returns for 2022 earnings.

  Not all tax filers will see lower refunds as individual circumstances vary; many will see smaller checks.

  The Recovery Rebate Credit was a way for millions of Americans to receive pandemic support if they did not receive their full amount via stimulus checks.

  This credit was available for missing amounts from the first, second, and third round stimulus checks, and could only be claimed on 2020 and 2021 tax returns.

  The stimulus checks were discontinued in December 2021 and the missing third-round amounts could only be claimed on a 2021 tax return filed in 2022.

  However, people who may have missed the opportunity to claim missing third-round stimulus payments can review their 2021 tax return and consider filing an amended return.

  The Child Tax Credit (CTC) for 2022 tax returns has been reduced to $2,000 per child, down from the expanded amount of $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for children between 6 and 17 in 2021.

  Some taxpayers may be eligible for an Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), which would allow them to receive up to $1,500 of the CTC as a refund on their tax return.

  Also, a tax credit that working parents can use to help cover child care costs or that people with adult dependents can use for the same purpose is lower in 2022.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 21:10

• 9 Palestinians Killed In Deadliest West Bank Raid Under New Israeli Govt
  9 Palestinians Killed In Deadliest West Bank Raid Under New Israeli Govt

  Via The Cradle,

  Israeli occupation forces killed nine Palestinians and injured at least twenty on Thursday during violent raids in the occupied city of Jenin and its refugee camp.

  The raids began on the evening of January 25 and persisted into January 26, in what is being described as “one of the deadliest days” in the West Bank since last year.

  

  According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC), several have been detained throughout the raids and transferred for interrogation by Israel’s security service. As a result of the incursions, intense clashes broke out between Israeli troops and resistance fighters, several of whom sustained bullet wounds.

  An elderly woman has also been reported among the dead, according to security officials. Eyewitnesses have referred to the situation as a “massacre.”

  The Israeli army cut off the power supply to the Jenin camp, while also blocking journalists and ambulance teams from entering. Health officials have said that injuries are continuing to accumulate.

  “There is an invasion that is unprecedented in the past period, in terms of how large it is and the number of injuries … The ambulance driver tried to get to one of the martyrs who was on the floor, but the Israeli forces shot directly at the ambulance and prevented them from approaching him,” Wissam Baker, head of Jenin’s public hospital, told media.

  The Palestinian Authority said Thursday it was suspending security coordination with Israel after a deadly army raid in the occupied West Bank.
  Washington condemned the decision, saying it was not the “right step.”
  Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due in the region next week pic.twitter.com/fjC7SpQoX2

  — AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 26, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Despite centering around Jenin and its camp, the Israeli raids also targeted several homes and refugee camps across the West Bank, including Ramallah’s Al-Amari camp and Jerusalem’s Shuafat camp, as well as the towns of Silwan, Sur Baher, Al-Tur, and Al-Isawiya.

  In response to the Israeli aggression, the Palestinian resistance managed to down a drone as it was flying over the Jenin refugee camp.

  According to reports, an Israeli soldier was killed and another injured in the confrontations. Another report says that the Jenin Brigade of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) resistance movement detonated an explosive device inside an Israeli military jeep, resulting in “casualties in their ranks.”

  WATCH: Palestinian fighters shot down an Israeli drone that was surveying the area as Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp.

  The raid resulted in the deaths of nine Palestinians in what has been described as a “massacre” by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s office. pic.twitter.com/kkpUWpO8ww

  — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) January 26, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  “The military operation in Jenin was launched after intelligence from the Shin Bet about the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement’s intention to carry out a major operation against Israeli targets … the operation aimed to arrest a prominent member of the movement,” Israeli media reported.

  The military ended up withdrawing from Jenin, however, the injury toll is expected to rise.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 20:50

• Middle-Aged Tech Mogul Spends $2 Million Per Year To Achieve '18-Year-Old' Body
  Middle-Aged Tech Mogul Spends $2 Million Per Year To Achieve ’18-Year-Old’ Body

  A 45-year-old tech mogul worth nine figures says he spends around $2 million per year to ‘bio hack’ his body so that he has the fitness of an 18-year-old, the skin of a 28-year-old, and the heart of a 35-year-old.

  

  Bryan Johnson, who sold his company Braintree Payment Solutions to Ebay for $800 million when he was in his 30s, has been sticking to an aggressive daily routine that was crafted by his team of 30 doctors and regenerative health experts, Bloomberg reports.

  Every morning, Johnson wakes at 5am, downs two dozen supplements, works out for an hour, and then drinks a green juice concoction that includes collagen peptides and creatine. He then brushes and flosses, rinsing with tea-tree oil and antioxidant gel.

  

  Then, before bedtime, Johnson wears special glasses that block out blue light for two hours while monitoring vital signs.

  He also goes through monthly medical procedures to gauge his progress, which include MRIs, colonoscopies, blood tests and ultrasounds. He tracks his weight, BMI, blood glucose levels and heart rate variations on a daily basis.

  When he goes to bed, Johnson is hooked up to machine that tracks the number of nighttime erections (why though?).

  

  Here’s Johnson in 2017, before he began the health quest:

  

   

   

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 20:30

• Colorado To Consider Its Own Gun Ban
  Colorado To Consider Its Own Gun Ban

  Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Colorado appears ready to join other states in clamping down on Second Amendment rights. A draft of the “Mass Shooting Prevention Act,” expected to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session, was made public and Second Amendment Advocates are concerned.

  “This bill uses the most insane parts of the laws from California and New York,” Taylor Rhodes, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO), told The Epoch Times. “This doesn’t just ban many commonly owned pistols and shotguns; this will ban almost 70 percent of all firearms overnight.”

  

  Rhodes was made aware of the bill draft almost three weeks ago. He said the proposed legislation is designed to greatly diminish Second Amendment rights in Colorado.

  “You might as well call this the ‘Gun Owners Get Out of Town Bill,’” Rhodes said.

  The proposed law expands the definition of “assault weapons” to cover a wide array of commonly owned rifles, pistols, and shotguns. In addition, parts that could be used to convert a semiautomatic weapon into a so-called “assault weapon” would also be outlawed. The only exceptions would be guns owned before the law was enacted, which would be grandfathered. However, that too comes with a catch.

  

  Guns owned before the law’s enactment can only be kept if the owner has proof of ownership before that date. The law doesn’t say what constitutes proof, but it does outline what will happen if the gun owner doesn’t have proof.

  Without adequate proof of ownership, the gun owner would be required to surrender the gun to law enforcement, who would hold it for up to three business days. The gun would be confiscated and destroyed if the owner could not provide proof on the fourth business day. The gun owner could face criminal prosecution, including fines of up to $1,000 for violations between July 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2024. The penalties increase to $5,000 after Jan. 1, 2025.

  Rhodes said a gun owner would have to carry proof of ownership whenever they had a gun since a police officer could demand to see proof at any time. This could be a problem for people who did not buy the gun they are holding.

  “What if you inherited your grandfather’s shotgun 30 years ago?” Rhodes asked.

  The fines for Federal Firearms License holders who sell a banned gun are even steeper.

  A licensed gun dealer who sells or attempts to sell a banned gun after July 1, 2023, faces a fine of $250,000. Subsequent violations will result in a fine of $500,000.

  Rhodes said RMGO lawyers are already drafting a lawsuit because the law is almost guaranteed to pass the General Assembly and be signed by Gov. Jared Polis. According to Rhodes, the “Bloomberg lobby” has invested heavily in Colorado state elections and is reaping the benefits.

  Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg started “Everytown for Gun Safety.” The nationwide organization raises volunteers to push for gun control in their communities and provides backing for political candidates who support the group’s gun control agenda.

  “These politicians are nothing more than elected activists,” Rhodes said. “We know the realities in Colorado right now, and we are ready to sue.”

  Travis Couture-Lovelady is the Colorado state director for the National Rifle Association. Like Rhodes, he sees the proposed law as nothing more than an effort to control law-abiding citizens by denying their Constitutional right to self-defense.

  “A ban on so-called ‘assault weapons’ will do nothing to reduce violent crime or enhance public safety, but it will stop law-abiding Americans from exercising their Second Amendment rights,” Lovelady wrote in a statement released on Jan. 23.

  Laws Counterintuitive to Rulings

  Rhodes said the proposed legislation makes little sense in light of recent Supreme Court decisions that affirmed the individual’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

  In the 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, the court ruled that the Second Amendment was describing an individual right. More recently, in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, the high court justices struck down New York state’s overly restrictive requirements for individuals carrying weapons outside their homes.

  

  Since then, lawmakers in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, and Oregon, among other states, have adopted gun control laws that appear to be opposed to the court’s rulings. Many of those laws are now the subject of lawsuits.

  One lawsuit filed in Illinois has more than 800 plaintiffs from 87 of the state’s 102 counties suing to overturn the state’s newly enacted gun ban. More than 90 Illinois sheriffs stated they would not enforce the law because they consider it unconstitutional.

  Rhodes believes gun control advocates are pushing back just as hard, hoping for success on at least one or two legal points. He said most gun control organizations, like Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, are well-funded and feel they have little to lose.

  What They Can Get Away With

  “They want to see what they can get away with. For them it’s not that big of an issue because they’ve got more money than Kellogg’s got cornflakes,” Rhodes said.

  Larry Correia is a novelist and Second Amendment advocate based in Utah. While he mainly writes in the fantasy/science fiction genre, his non-fiction work centers on the Second Amendment. His latest book, “In Defense of the Second Amendment,” was set for release on Jan. 24 by Regnery Press.

  Correia wrote the book to provide Second Amendment supporters with facts to show people the truth about firearms.

  “We’ve got the facts on our side. I want to provide those facts for the people who need them. I want to move the dial for the ‘fence sitters,’” Correia told The Epoch Times.

  While the move toward stricter gun laws may seem counterintuitive given the court’s recent actions, Correia said the laws are likely elements in more comprehensive strategies. The fact that the courts have been ruling against them may have gun control advocates in “fight-or-flight” mode. It could be as Rhodes proffered that they “are throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks.” Or, Correia said, the court battles may be the objective.

  Well Funded Groups

  Rhodes pointed out that many gun control movements are well-funded. Correia agreed, saying it might be to wear Constitutionalists down and deplete their resources.

  “The process is the punishment,” said Correia.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 20:10

• IMF Mulling Fresh $16 Billion Ukraine Aid Package 
  IMF Mulling Fresh $16 Billion Ukraine Aid Package 

  The International Monetary Fund is now reportedly talking about a fresh multiyear package to help cover Ukraine’s budget and for war recovery totaling as much as a whopping $16 billion.

  Citing officials privy to IMF deliberations, Bloomberg details that “If approved, the three- to four-year program — worth $14 billion to $16 billion total — will assume a disbursement of $5 billion to $7 billion in the first year.

  

  The plan could be finalized by the end of March, with a first tranche payment released as early as April.

  However, the IMF has pointed to a number of conditions which must be met, such as G7 endorsement for the package, and other donors coming forward to vouch for sustaining the country’s immense and growing debt.

  An official IMF statement only indicated it “remains closely engaged” with Ukraine and said cooperation “could pave the way toward a fully fledged program” – but the fund didn’t confirm to Bloomberg the potential size of the loan.

  Billions upon billions in international aid has already flooding into Ukraine, some of it for civilian relief and some of it for weapons. The US alone in Ukraine reached nearly $50 billion in 2022 in specifically military aid, with other types of aid going beyond that.

  Ironically news of the potential impending IMF mega-package for Ukraine comes the same week the war-ravaged country is back in the news related to a major corruption scandal, resulting in forced resignations and firings of some dozen high-ranking officials.

  Kiev of course is attempting to show the world it’s finally getting serious about anti-corruption initiatives in order to keep billions from the West flowing in.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 19:50

• National Archives Misses Deadline To Send Biden Materials To House Republicans
  National Archives Misses Deadline To Send Biden Materials To House Republicans

  Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) failed to meet a Jan. 24 deadline to hand over materials requested by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability relating to the discovery of classified documents in President Joe Biden’s former office, a committee spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times.

  

  Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) asked Acting NARA Archivist Debra Steidel Wall in a Jan. 10 letter (pdf) to provide various information related to the classified records by no later than Jan. 24.

  The information requested by the lawmaker included all related documents and communications between NARA and the White House, among NARA employees, between NARA and the Department of Justice (DOJ), and between NARA and any outside entities—including Biden’s attorneys—relating to the documents found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington.

  Those documents were initially discovered on Nov. 2, 2022, a week before the midterm elections, but the findings weren’t made public until two months later.

  

  NARA Says It Must ‘Consult’ With DOJ

  In a statement to The Washington Examiner on Jan. 24, a committee spokesperson said GOP investigators plan to conduct a transcribed interview with NARA’s general counsel soon, which would provide lawmakers with a more detailed timeline as to how the discovery of the classified documents was handled.

  NARA officials didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

  On Jan. 16, Comer accused NARA of failing to be “transparent with the American people” in a post on Twitter, adding that many unanswered questions about the documents remain.

  In response to Comer’s Jan. 10 letter, Wall said the agency must first consult with the DOJ before it can hand over information related to the discovery of the Biden classified documents to Republican lawmakers.

  “I want to express my commitment to working cooperatively with you and your staff on this and all matters of concern to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability,” Wall wrote in a Jan. 17 letter (pdf) to the lawmaker. “Our desire to provide you with as much information as we can, however, must also be balanced with the need to protect Executive branch equities, particularly as they relate to ongoing criminal law enforcement investigations by DOJ.”

  Wall added that the agency must first consult with the DOJ regarding the release of any such records.

  “DOJ has advised it will need to consult with the newly appointed Office of Special Counsel (SCO) in DOJ, to assess whether information can be released without interfering with the SCO’s investigation,” Wall wrote.

  

  Comer Says White House ‘Stonewalling’ Probe

  After the initial documents were found at the Penn Biden Center in November 2022, a second batch was discovered from Biden’s time in the Obama administration at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said.

  Additional documents were later found at the property shortly after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur, a former federal prosecutor in Maryland, as special counsel to investigate whether any person or entity violated the law regarding the handling of the documents.

  In a Jan. 22 interview for “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News, Comer also took aim at the White House, who he accused of “stonewalling” the Republican-led probe into Biden’s handling of classified documents.

  During that interview, the Kentucky lawmaker also said that he would be sending letters to the Secret Service requesting further information regarding the documents, including any type of correspondence, emails, and documentation that could help GOP lawmakers determine who may have had access to the newly discovered documents.

  “Hopefully, the Secret Service will work with us, despite the fact that this White House is not,” Comer said.

  The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment, although the White House counsel’s office has previously said that the president is committed to operating with the Justice Department’s investigation into the classified documents.

  On Jan. 24, lawyers revealed that “a small number” of documents with classification markings were found at former Vice President Mike Pence’s home.

  The documents were initially found on Jan. 16 at Pence’s home in Indiana, in the wake of the documents found at Biden’s former office and residence, Greg Jacob, one of Pence’s lawyers, wrote in a letter to NARA.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 19:30

• "Near Miss": Asteroid To Make One Of 'Closest Ever' Approaches To Earth On Thursday
  “Near Miss”: Asteroid To Make One Of ‘Closest Ever’ Approaches To Earth On Thursday

  An asteroid about the size of a big truck will buzz the earth on Thursday – coming within 2,200 miles of the planet’s surface in one of the closest passes ever recorded, according to scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

  

  The asteroid, 2023 BU, will travel over the Pacific Ocean west of southern Chile this afternoon according to JPL’s Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer.

  Not to worry (of course they’d say that) – but the near-Earth object poses no danger, according to Farnocchia.

  “It’s not going to break up,” he said. “It’s going to zoom past Earth, say hello and move on.”

  And even if it did enter Earth’s atmosphere, it would have burned upon entry and turned into a fireball.

  

  “It’s not going to get close enough for that,” the scientist continued, adding that the flyby will be the fourth-closest approach ever recorded – with the first two in 2020 and 2021, the WSJ reports.

  2023 BU was first spotted by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov, from his observatory in Nauchnyi, Crimea, on Jan. 21. More observations were reported to the Minor Planet Center, a clearinghouse for the position measurement of small celestial bodies. And after the discovery was announced, observatories around the globe added to the findings, helping astronomers refine 2023 BU’s orbit, according to NASA.

  NASA’s impact hazard assessment system, which is based in Southern California and called Scout, analyzed the data and quickly predicted the near miss. -WSJ

  The Scout impact detection system was developed by Farnocchia, who says he received an alert from the system while having dinner.

  “When you see that alert, you just want to make sure that it’s real,” he said. “So usually I just go and see the data and confirm it’s real and that everything is checked out.”

  “Some of them actually can come really close to the Earth, and some of them might never come close to the Earth. That is just the first cutoff to split objects that could be potentially interesting and the ones that certainly are not.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 19:10

• Utah Plastic Surgeon Allegedly Destroyed COVID Vaccines, Gave Fake Shots To Children
  Utah Plastic Surgeon Allegedly Destroyed COVID Vaccines, Gave Fake Shots To Children

  Authored by Jana J. Pruet via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A Utah plastic surgeon, along with three others, is facing charges for allegedly administering fake COVID-19 vaccines to children, destroying vaccines, and distributing falsified vaccine cards.

  

  Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, the owner of the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah in Midvale, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to court documents (pdf).

  Moore’s office manager Kari Burgoyne, receptionist Sandra Flores, neighbor Kristin Andersen, and the Plastic Surgery Institute are also charged in the case.

  The defendants are accused of running a vaccine scheme out of the physician’s business.

  Moore and Andersen were allegedly members of a “private organization seeking to ‘liberate’ the medical profession from government and industry conflicts of interest,” the documents state.

  In May 2021, Moore signed an agreement with the CDC to administer COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination cards. Court documents claim that Moore and Burgoyne then ordered “hundreds of doses of COVID-19 vaccines,” which they began receiving at the plastic surgery center in October 2021.

  Working the Plan

  After receiving the vaccine doses, the doctor and three others started notifying “fraudulent vax card seekers” that they could “receive fraudulently completed COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards from the Plastic Surgery Institute without having to receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” the documents state.

  Those seeking fraudulent vaccination cards were required to pay $50 cash or make a $50 donation to Moore and Andersen’s private organization.

  Burgoyne allegedly managed the “day-to-day logistics of the scheme,” while Andersen handled the screening process. Once a person was successfully screened and had made their $50 payment, Andersen would send them forms to complete.

  “Flores and other employees would then provide the Fraudulent Vax Card Seekers with the completed COVID-19 Vaccine Record Cards without administering any COVID-19 vaccine to them,” the document reads.

  The group also gave fake vaccines to children when requested by the minors’ parents.

  “Dr. Moore, Burgoyne, and Flores also arranged, at times, to administer or have others administer saline shots to minor children at the request of their parents so that the minor children would think they were actually receiving a COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the document.

  The names of the fraudulent vaccination card seekers were uploaded to the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System.

  Between Oct. 15, 2021, and Sept. 6, 2022, the Plastic Surgery Institute allegedly received about 2,200 doses of the vaccine and destroyed nearly 2,000 of them at a value of more than $28,000. The doses were destroyed “usually by drawing them from the bottle and then squirting them down the drain from a syringe.”

  At least 1,937 fraudulent vaccination cards were allegedly sold at $50 each for a total of $96,850. The vaccination cards and the vaccine doses amounted to a combined value of nearly $125,000.

  Undercover Agents

  The scheme fell apart when an undercover agent managed to complete the “referral only” process and acquire a fake vaccination card.

  A second agent went through the process and then asked Flores if his children could also receive a similar vaccine record card.

  Flores “wrote on a Post-it note that ‘with 18 & younger, we do a saline shot,’ indicating that minors could receive saline shots and obtain the cards without receiving the vaccine,” the court papers say.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 18:50

• Fire Sale: Bel-Air Land Hits Auction Block At 70% Discount
  Fire Sale: Bel-Air Land Hits Auction Block At 70% Discount

  One of the largest undeveloped plots of land in one of the wealthiest enclaves in Los Angeles is being sent to the auction block Tuesday at a whopping 70% discount versus the 2013 asking price of $125 million. 

  Senderos Canyon is the largest untouched Bel Air acreage left, containing 260 acres in an area where homeowners have included Ronald, Nancy Reagan, and Elon Musk. 

  

  Today’s minimum bid at auction is $39 million, down from $60 million last year. The property was listed in 2017 for $75 million and initially had an asking price of $125 million in 2013. 

  “The seller wants to move on,” Scott Tamkin, the Compass Inc. agent who has the listing, told Bloomberg. 

  Unlike some of the other land-only listings, Senderos Canyon has no entitlements, meaning the buyer could spend millions of dollars and years securing permits. Hence, no developer wants to purchase the land to build a massive compound or a bunch of McMansions. 

  

  Misha Haghani, the founder of Paramount Realty USA, the auction house conducting the sale, said, “Bel-Air’s not going anywhere,” and the land would be “a safe haven” play for a high net-worth individual to shelter money during high inflation and economic storms. 

  Meanwhile, Stephen Shapiro, co-founder of Westside Estate Agency, a luxury brokerage with offices in Beverly Hills and Malibu, said the heavily discounted auction is a sign of desperation: 

  “An auction is like your last shot … Good luck with that.”

  Paramount Realty requires those interested in the property to submit sealed bids by March 15. 

  “Anyone who buys it is rolling the dice” on development, said Shawn Bayliss, executive director of the Bel-Air Association, a neighborhood group. 

  The auction comes as high mortgage rates pressure the housing market in what’s expected to trigger a downturn this year. Many economists are mixed about whether home prices will crash. The owner of Senderos Canyon wants to unload the property before real estate turmoil strikes. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 18:30

• Judge Blocks California’s COVID-19 Misinformation Law
  Judge Blocks California’s COVID-19 Misinformation Law

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A California judge on Wednesday halted the state’s so-called COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation law, which was challenged by doctors in two lawsuits, claiming it violates their constitutional rights.

  

  In Hoeg v. Newsom, five doctors alleged that the state law, AB 2098, is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. A separate related lawsuit, Hoang v. Bonta, makes similar allegations.

  Both lawsuits sought a preliminary injunction to prevent California from enforcing the law.

  The five doctors, Tracy Hoeg, Ram Duriseti, Aaron Kheriaty, Pete Mazolewski, and Azadeh Khatibi, filed their lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials, including the president and members of the Medical Board of California.

  They argued the law prevents them from providing information to their patients that may contradict what the law permits or prohibits. They also alleged the law was used to intimidate and punish physicians who disagreed with prevailing views on COVID-19.

  Judge William Shubb, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in his ruling (pdf) it was plausible that the medical board would determine their conduct violates AB 2098, and therefore the doctors’ fears are reasonable “given the ambiguity of the term ‘scientific consensus’ and of the definition of ‘misinformation’ as a whole.”

  Shubb noted that this weighed in favor of the plaintiffs having standing.

  “Because the definition of misinformation ‘fails to provide a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited, [and] is so standardless that it authorizes or encourages seriously discriminatory enforcement,’ the provision is unconstitutionally vague,” Shubb wrote. “Accordingly, the court concludes that plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their vagueness challenges.”

  The Law

  Newsom signed the bill into law in September 2022, and it took effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

  The law defines misinformation as “false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus,” and prohibits physicians from disseminating “misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, including false or misleading information regarding the nature and risks of the virus, its prevention and treatment; and the development, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.”

  Doctors who deviate from the established U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance by attempting to assess and advise their patients as individuals may run afoul of the new law.

  The state medical board is required by law to act against any licensed doctor charged with unprofessional conduct.

  The court’s ruling effectively halts the law while the legal challenge plays out.

  The legal organization representing the doctors said their clients were put in a difficult position, fearing repercussions for acting in the best interests of their patients by giving them honest information, depriving them of their right to receive advice and hear treatment options without fear of professional discipline.

  According to American Civil Liberties Alliance (ACLA), the First Amendment, which protects Americans’ rights to free speech and expression, applies to minority views and majority opinions.

  The doctors alleged they have been threatened by other doctors and individuals on social media to use AB 2098 to have their licenses taken away, according to ACLA.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 18:10

• Busted Pfizer R&D Exec Claims He Lied About "Mutating COVID" To "Impress A Date Like Normal People"
  Busted Pfizer R&D Exec Claims He Lied About “Mutating COVID” To “Impress A Date Like Normal People”

  Update (1750ET): Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe was physically assaulted after approaching Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizer’s Director of R&D, Strategic Operations, who had been caught on tape admitting to the fact that the company is exploring a way to “mutate” COVID via “Directed Evolution” in order to anticipate new strains for their Covid-19 vaccine.

  When O’Keefe first approached him about his admission, Walker erupted in denial, exclaiming that “I was just lying to a person to impress them on a date.” He then lunged for O’Keefe and his staff in what appeared to be an effort to take away the iPad that O’Keefe was holding.

  The situation escalated when Walker urged the restaurant owner to call the police, but the restaurant owner asked O’Keefe to leave… which left Walker pressuring him to stay until the police arrived.

  As Walker raged around the empty restaurant, he once again claimed: “I was on a third date with a man and like normal people you lie to impress a date…”

  

  Yeah, we are not sure lying about mutating the COVID virus in order that the company you work for can make more money will get you to 3rd base (let alone first base).

  Walker went on to admit that “I’m not even a scientist by background…”

  When speaking to the NYPD, Walker said “there are… five white people… and I am feeling very unsafe right now.”

  

  Then Walker, more emotionally, asked O’Keefe why he is doing this, with the alleged Pfizer exec saying: “I’m just someone who’s working in a company that’s trying to literally help the public.”

  

  Once O’Keefe had left the restaurant, Walker jumped in front of their car to block it until the police arrived (however, it was not the right car)…

  

  Watch the full interaction here: 

  SHOCKING: @Pfizer Director Physically Assaults @JamesOKeefeIII & Veritas Staff; Destroys iPad Showing Undercover Recordings About “Mutating” Covid Virus; NYPD RESPONDS!

  “I’m just someone who’s working in a company that’s trying to literally help the public.”

  “You fu*ked up!” pic.twitter.com/83OWqlKd4t

  — Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) January 26, 2023

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  O’Keefe also draws attention to the fact that it appears Google has gone into full suppression mode on this story…

  What is going on? pic.twitter.com/ZLY7Si8mVo

  — James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) January 26, 2023

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  Jack Posobiec summed the entire interaction up perfectly: “This is what happens when a narcissist knows he’s funked and there is no way out.”

  *  *  *

  A high-level Pfizer employee was caught on undercover camera by Project Veritas when he inadvertently dropped several bombshells which we’re confident will be subject to extreme damage control over the coming weeks.

  

  Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizer’s Director of R&D, Strategic Operations – and an mRNA Scientific Planner, said that the company is exploring a way to “mutate” COVID via “Directed Evolution” in order to anticipate new strains for their Covid-19 vaccine.

  “One of the things we [Pfizer] are exploring is like, why don’t we just mutate it [COVID] ourselves so we could create — preemptively develop new vaccines, right? So, we have to do that. If we’re gonna do that though, there’s a risk of like, as you could imagine — no one wants to be having a pharma company mutating f**king viruses,” said Walker, adding that he believes Pfizer scientists are going about it slowly “because you obviously don’t want to advertise that you are figuring out future mutations.”

  BREAKING: @Pfizer Exploring “Mutating” COVID-19 Virus For New Vaccines

  “Don’t tell anyone this…There is a risk…have to be very controlled to make sure this virus you mutate doesn’t create something…the way that the virus started in Wuhan, to be honest.”#DirectedEvolution pic.twitter.com/xaRvlD5qTo

  — Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) January 26, 2023

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  (Entire interview below)

  Walker claims that “directed evolution” is different from Gain-of-Function research.

  “Don’t tell anyone. Promise you won’t tell anyone. The way it [the experiment] would work is that we put the virus in monkeys, and we successively cause them to keep infecting each other, and we collect serial samples from them,” he said, before saying calling the Covid-19 natural origins theory bullshit:

  “You have to be very controlled to make sure that this virus [COVID] that you mutate doesn’t create something that just goes everywhere. Which, I suspect, is the way that the virus started in Wuhan, to be honest. It makes no sense that this virus popped out of nowhere. It’s bullsh*t.”

  “You’re not supposed to do Gain-of-Function research with viruses. Regularly not. We can do these selected structure mutations to make them more potent. There is research ongoing about that. I don’t know how that is going to work. There better not be any more outbreaks because Jesus Christ,” he continued.

  “Directed evolution” https://t.co/lhnNMGCRAc

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 26, 2023

  Walker also admitted that Covid-19 mutations were going to be “a cash cow” for Pfizer.

  Walker:Part of what they [Pfizer scientists] want to do is, to some extent, to try to figure out, you know, how there are all these new strains and variants that just pop up. So, it’s like trying to catch them before they pop up and we can develop a vaccine prophylactically, like, for new variants. So, that’s why they like, do it controlled in a lab, where they say this is a new epitope, and so if it comes out later on in the public, we already have a vaccine working.

  Veritas Journalist:Oh my God. That’s perfect. Isn’t that the best business model though? Just control nature before nature even happens itself? Right?

  Walker:Yeah. If it works.

  Veritas Journalist:What do you mean if it works?

  Walker:Because some of the times there are mutations that pop up that we are not prepared for. Like with Delta and Omicron. And things like that. Who knows? Either way, it’s going to be a cash cow. COVID is going to be a cash cow for us for a while going forward. Like obviously.

  Veritas Journalist:Well, I think the whole research of the viruses and mutating it, like, would be the ultimate cash cow.

  Walker:Yeah, it’d be perfect.

  He also explained that Big Pharma and government agencies such as the FDA are not working in the best interests of Americans.

  Walker:[Big Pharma] is a revolving door for all government officials.

  Veritas Journalist:Wow.

  Walker:In any industry though. So, in the pharma industry, all the people who review our drugs — eventually most of them will come work for pharma companies. And in the military, defense government officials eventually work for defense companies afterwards.

  …

  Veritas Journalist:How do you feel about that revolving door?

  Walker:It’s pretty good for the industry to be honest. It’s bad for everybody else in America.

  Veritas Journalist:Why is it bad for everybody else?

  Walker:Because when the regulators reviewing our drugs know that once they stop regulating, they are going to work for the company, they are not going to be as hard towards the company that’s going to give them a job.

  Watch the entire video below: 

  CLEAR YOUR CALENDAR @pfizer! I’m sure the committee to investigate Covid will have questions on this!! https://t.co/RRlW5edKmd

  — Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) January 26, 2023

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  Unsurprisingly: pic.twitter.com/38VRGrFUlt

  — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 26, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 18:02

• Toyota's CEO To Step Down As New Chief Will "Remodel" Automaker
  Toyota’s CEO To Step Down As New Chief Will “Remodel” Automaker

  Akio Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation and grandson of the company’s founder, is stepping down after leading the world’s largest automaker for 14 years, according to Nikkei Asia. 

  Chief Branding Officer Koji Sato will replace Akio Toyoda on April 1. The plan is to “fully remodel” the automaker as a mobility company and accelerate the electrification of vehicles under Sato’s leadership. 

  

  Toyoda has led the company that pioneered hybrid cars with its Prius model since 2009 and will become chair. Sato is currently the chief branding officer and head of the Lexus unit. The handover is primarily due to Toyota’s slow adoption of electric vehicles. 

  “Because of my strong passion for cars, I am an old-fashioned person in regards to digitalization, electric vehicles, and connected cars. I cannot go beyond being a car guy, and that is my limitation,” Toyoda told reporters.

  “The new team can do what I can’t do . . . I now need to take a step back in order to let young people enter the new chapter of what the future of mobility should be like,” he continued. 

  One of Toyoda’s mishaps was the botched launch of the company’s first mass-produced EV, the bZ4X, which was immediately recalled after its launch last year. He also has had a staunch view that hybrids are much better than EVs, which likely led to the management reshuffle. 

  “The mission of the new team, led by new President Sato, is to fully remodel Toyota as a mobility company,” Toyoda emphasized.

  Tatsuo Yoshida, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said today’s announcement is a total “surprise.” He noted, “Toyoda’s choice to remain as chairman will help maintain the company’s business strategy and continuity.”

  Toyoda’s slow move toward all-electric vehicles probably cost him the top spot. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 01/26/2023 – 17:50

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