Most likely voters support anti-groomer laws such as Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, a survey from The Federalist/Susquehanna released this week revealed.
The survey, taken April 19-27, 2022, among 800 likely voters, presented respondents with the following: “Florida recently passed a law prohibiting public school teachers from introducing sexual topics to elementary school children without parental consent. Do you support or oppose proposals that protect young children from being exposed to sexual topics by school employees without parental consent or knowledge?”
The vast majority, 70 percent, said they support such laws designed to protect children, and of those 61 percent “strongly” support it.
Less than a quarter, 23 percent, said they oppose such measures, and of those, 11 percent “strongly” oppose. The survey has a +/- 3.46 margin of error and comes one month after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the parental rights law, which prohibits classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity for children in kindergarten through third grade.
The bill I signed today protects Florida parents like January Littlejohn. School officials manipulated her daughter to “transition,” calling her a male name & pronouns without January’s knowledge or consent. This is wrong & today’s legislation will ensure it doesn’t happen again. pic.twitter.com/qH4VKUgmkO
Heart inflammation requiring hospital care was more common among people who received COVID-19 vaccines than those who did not, according to a new study of tens of millions of Europeans.
Rates of myocarditis or pericarditis, two types of heart inflammation, are above the levels in an unvaccinated cohort, pegged at 38 per 100,000 after receipt of a second dose of a vaccine built on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in males aged 16 to 24—the group studies have shown are most at risk of the post-vaccination condition—researchers with health agencies in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway found.
“These extra cases among men aged 16–24 correspond to a 5 times increased risk after Comirnaty and 15 times increased risk after Spikevax compared to unvaccinated,” Dr. Rickard Ljung, a professor and physician at the Swedish Medical Products Agency and one of the principal investigators of the study, told The Epoch Times in an email.
Comirnaty is the brand name for Pfizer’s vaccine while Spikevax is the brand name for Moderna’s jab.
Rates were also higher among the age group for those who received any dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, both of which utilize mRNA technology. And rates were elevated among vaccinated males of all ages after the first or second dose, except for the first dose of Moderna’s shot for those 40 or older, and females 12- to 15-years-old.
Researchers pulled data from national health registers, analyzing 23.1 million people aged 12 or older. The analysis was of data from Dec. 27, 2020, to incidence of myocarditis or pericarditis, or the end of the study time period, which was Oct. 5, 2021.
“The risks of myocarditis and pericarditis were highest within the first 7 days of being vaccinated, were increased for all combinations of mRNA vaccines, and were more pronounced after the second dose,” researchers wrote in the study, which was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association following peer review.
Moderna and Pfizer did not respond to requests for comment.
Some previousstudieshave indicated that the risk of heart inflammation is higher from the companies’ vaccines, or certain doses of the vaccines, than from COVID-19 itself.
Others have concluded the opposite, including a recent non-peer-reviewed study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though that is one of the papers that has estimated a higher rate of post-vaccination heart inflammation.
Authorities in the United States and many European countries continue recommending vaccination for virtually every eligible person, regardless of age, health condition, or prior infection.
The Nordic countries, however, halted use of Moderna’s vaccine in 2021 for youth and young adults due to concerns over post-vaccination heart inflammation.
Ljung said he could not answer whether the results mean some people should consider only a single dose, or no doses, of a COVID-19 vaccine because the Swedish Medical Products Agency doesn’t give those types of recommendations.
In a press release promoting the study, researchers said that occurrence of the heart inflammation is “very rare” and claimed that “the benefits of these vaccines to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and death outweigh the risks of side effects.”
Dr. Peter McCullough, the chief medical adviser for the Truth for Health Foundation and a cardiologist who is seeing patients with post-vaccination heart inflammation, disagreed.
The benefits of the vaccines in no way outweigh the risks.
“In cardiology we spend our entire career trying to save every bit of heart muscle. We put in stents, we do heart catheterization, we do stress tests, we do CT angiograms. The whole game of cardiology is to pervert preserve heart muscle,” McCullough told The Epoch Times. “Under no circumstances would we accept a vaccine that causes even one person to stay sustain heart damage. Not one. And this idea that ‘oh, we’re going to ask a large number of people to sustain heart damage for some other theoretical benefit for a viral infection,’ which for most is less than a common cold, is untenable. The benefits of the vaccines in no way outweigh the risks.”
Charlotte Cuthbertson for EPOCH TIMES April 20, 2022
Twenty-six governors, all Republican, announced the creation of a Border Strike Force to “disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations” on April 19.
The group of governors signed a memorandum of understanding, pledging to work together to “serve as a force multiplier to target cartels and criminal networks financially and operationally.”
“Together, governors will improve public safety, protect victims from horrific crimes, reduce the amount of drugs in our communities, and alleviate the humanitarian crisis at the Southern Border,” the agreement states.
The group includes two border states—Arizona and Texas—as well as 24 others: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
“In the absence of federal leadership, states are partnering together to create the American Governors’ Border Strike Force to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations by increasing collaboration, improving intelligence, investing in analysis, combating human smuggling, and stopping drug flow in our states,” the agreement states.
A group of illegal aliens is apprehended by law enforcement on a ranch in Kinney County, Texas, on Jan. 15, 2022. (Courtesy of Kinney County Sheriff’s Office)
The governors will coordinate to share intelligence, disrupt smuggling corridors, and assist border states. They plan to focus efforts on targeting cartel finances and border-related crime.
The participating states also plan to review state laws regarding human trafficking, drug trafficking, and transnational criminal organizations “to ensure that such crimes are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
For example, Arizona doesn’t currently have a state law against human smuggling, while Texas just strengthened its anti-smuggling laws last September.
A Border Patrol agent walks from the wreckage of Wanda Sitowski’s car after a 16-year-old smuggler ran a red light at 105 miles per hour and caused a fatal crash in Cochise County, Ariz., on Oct. 30, 2021. (Zach Bennett/Sierra Vista News Network)
States can request help from other participating states and state-specific certifications and licenses will be honored among the states. Each state is responsible for its own costs.
The Border Strike Force was announced days after Customs and Border Protection released its March statistics, which show the highest number of Border Patrol apprehensions—209,906—along the southern border since early 2000.
Border Patrol agents apprehend a group of Cubans who just crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas, on April 19, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves wrote on Twitter that “we’re all border states now & we’re going to protect ourselves.”
“Despite what the Biden Admin would have you believe, criminals, drugs & human trafficking don’t just stay on the border. They make their way to every state,” Reeves wrote on April 19.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little accused President Joe Biden of refusing to address the border crisis.
“America’s governors are stepping up. Our multi-state partnership is designed to disrupt and dismantle the transnational criminal organizations taking advantage of the open border with Mexico,” Little wrote on Twitter on April 19.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said his state has had a similar state-level in operation since 2015.
“What we’re doing in Arizona works,” Ducey said in an April 19 statement. “If our entire southern border isn’t secure, our nation isn’t secure.”
By:Jenna Schauer, MD Sujatha Buddhe, MD, MS Avanti Gulhane, MD, DNB, FSCMR Sathish Mallenahalli Chikkabyrappa, MD Yuk Law, MD Michael A. Portman, MD et al for The Journal of Pediatrics
Myopericarditis, , has emerged as an important adverse event following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination, particularly in adolescents [1]
Patients typically exhibit chest pain and an elevated serum troponin level in the days following the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. They usually are hemodynamically stable, and symptoms and cardiac biomarkers normalize within a few days[2] cardiac magnetic resonance studies, when performed early, frequently demonstrate abnormalities such as edema and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), meeting Lake Louise Criteria for diagnosing myocarditis noninvasively [2],[3]
In classical myocarditis LGE can be predictive of a poor outcome [5]
Little is known about the prognostic value or expected evolution of these CMR abnormalities associated with post-COVID-19 mRNA vaccine myopericarditis. In this case series we report the evolution of CMR imaging compared with initial, acute phase, CMR in our cohort of patients with myopericarditis post COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.
Methods
This case review includes patients younger than 18 years of age presenting to Seattle Children’s Hospital with chest pain and elevated serum troponin level from April 1, 2021 to January 7, 2022 within one week of receiving the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. All patients were evaluated by a pediatric cardiologist, underwent ECG and echocardiogram, and were admitted for observation with telemetry, serial troponin measurements, and repeat cardiac testing as needed. All patients underwent CMR within 1 week of initial presentation and had repeat CMR imaging at 3-8 months follow up. CMR was performed on a 1.5 T Siemens scanner. CMR analysis was performed using CVI42 (version 5.11.4, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc., Alberta Canada). Patients were excluded if they did not undergo CMR or did not have a follow up CMR. Initial and follow up CMR data for each patient were reviewed and compared using paired Student t-test. Statistical significance was defined as a p < 0.05. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 27 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL).
Results
A total of 35 patients with the diagnosis of myopericarditis associated with Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine are followed at our institution. Twelve patients were excluded as they never had CMR due to delayed presentation after initial symptoms resolved or admission to other centers. Six patients were excluded as they did not have a follow up CMR, either because they followed up out of state or a study is still pending. One patient was excluded as initial CMR was performed 3 weeks after presentation. Sixteen patients who had both acute phase and follow-up CMR available for review comprised the final cohort. This group had a median age of 15 years (range, 12-17), were mostly male (n=15, 94%), white and non-Hispanic (n= 14, 88%). One patient was Asian and one patient was American Indian. Median time to presentation from the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was 3 days (range 2-4 days). All patients had chest pain. The most common other presenting symptoms were fever (n=6, 37.5%) and shortness of breath (n=6, 37.5%). All patients had elevated serum troponin levels (median 9.15 ng/mL, range 0.65-18.5, normal < 0.05 ng/mL). Twelve patients had c- reactive protein (CRP) measured with median value 3.45 mg/dL, range 0-6.5 mg/dL, normal < 0.08 mg/dL.
Ten (62.5%) patients had an abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG), with the most common finding being diffuse ST segment elevation. All patients had an echocardiogram on admission; 14/16 patients had normal left ventricular (LV) systolic function; two patients demonstrated mildly reduced LV systolic function with no dilation. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) for these two patients was 45% and 53% (normal > 55%). Median left LVEF was 59% (range 45-69%). No patients had pericardial effusion.
The initial CMRs were performed within 1 week of presentation (median 2, range 0-7 days). All were abnormal; all showed evidence of edema by T2 imaging and 15/16 had LGE in a patchy subepicardial to transmural pattern with predilection for the inferior LV free wall. Distribution of LGE can be seen in Figure 1. LV regional wall motion abnormalities were noted in 2 patients. CMR median LVEF% was 54%, range 46-63%. CMR LVEF was mildly decreased in 7 patients. CMR global longitudinal strain (GLS%) measurements were abnormal in 12 patients (median -16.1%, range -13.2% to -18.1%, normal <-18%).
Figure 1Distribution of Late Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE) in American Heart Association Myocardial Segments[12] Figure shows segment with number of patients and percent of cohort.
All patients were treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): 75% (n=12) received scheduled dosing (mostly, 10 mg/kg ibuprofen every 8 hours) with the remaining 4 receiving NSAIDs as needed for pain. The median time from vaccination to NSAID initiation was 2.5 days (range 0-4 days) and from symptom onset to NSAID initiation was 1 day (range 0-4 days). The two patients who presented with echocardiographic LV dysfunction were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) plus a corticosteroid per our institutional pathway for treatment of myocarditis [2]
One additional patient received IVIG without corticosteroids. Median hospital length of stay was 2 days (range 1-4 days) with no ICU admission and no significant morbidity or mortality. All patients had resolution of chest pain and down-trending serum troponin level prior to discharge.
All patients underwent follow up CMR at 3-8 months after their initial study (median 3.7 months, range 2.8-8.1 months). The results are compared in Table I. Follow up CMR LVEF (57.7 ±2.8%) was significantly improved from initial (54.5 ± 5.5%, p < 0.05), and none of the patients had regional wall motion abnormalities. LVEF by echocardiogram was normal for all patients at the time of follow up. Eleven patients (68.8%) had persistent LGE, although there was a significant decrease in the quantifiable LGE% (8.16± 5.74%) from the initial study (13.77± 8.53%, p <0.05). Cardiac edema resolved in all but one patient. GLS% remained abnormal in most patients (75%, mean -16.4 ± 2.1%) at follow up without significant change from the initial study (-16.0 ± 1.7, p = 0.6). Examples of initial and follow up CMR images are shown in Figure 2. The patient who received IVIG alone and one patient who received IVIG plus corticosteroid had resolution of LGE, and the other had persistence of LGE.
Table 1Covid Vaccine-Associated Myopericarditis Findings in 16 patients
Initial (Mean±SD)
Follow up (Mean±SD)
P value
Echocardiographic LVEF %
59.4±6.0
62.6±2.8
<0.05
Electrocardiogram
Abnormal
Normal
10 (62.5%)
6 (37.5%)
Peak Serum Troponin (ng/mL)
9.0± 5.2
CMR LVEF %
54.5 ± 5.5
57.7 ±2.7
<0.05
CMR LGE % (n=15*)
13.5± 8.3
7.7 ± 5.7
<0.001
CMR global longitudinal strain % (n=15*)
-16.0 ± 1.7
-16.4 ± 2.1
0.5
*Initial source images were not available for reanalysis for one patient.
Figure 2CMR images from 3 days after admission of a 16-year-old male who presented to emergency room with chest pain and elevated troponin 3 days after receiving Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. Initial CMR. 1a and 1b. subepicardial to midmyocardial LGE in inferior and inferolateral LV wall from base to apex (arrows). 1c shows T2 hyper-intensity in similar segments, consistent with edema. 1d, 1e and 1f. Follow up CMR 4.4 months later. LGE still persistent but decreased from 26% to 19.84% (arrows), LVEF remained stable at 58%. There is improved T2 hyperintensity.
Eight patients (5 of whom had persistent LGE) underwent 24-hour cardiac rhythm monitoring, all of which studies were normal. Six patients, all with persistent LGE, underwent exercise tests, all of which were normal. Four patients complained of intermittent chest pain at follow up with no identifiable abnormality on evaluation; no therapy or intervention was required. No patient received heart failure medication.
DISCUSSION
[3]We previously reported 15 patients with clinically suspected SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine induced myopericarditis. All patients had an abnormal CMR, with edema and or LGE in addition to clinical symptoms and troponin elevation, and some had abnormal ECG or echocardiogram
We have since established a clinical protocol for serial CMR performance in these patients consistent with the 2021 American Heart Association (AHA) statement that stressed the risk of sudden cardiac death, particularly with exercise, while active inflammation is present. [6]
our patients were restricted from exercise on discharge. Repeat CMR was performed within 3-6 months to guide next clinical decision-making steps; timing was modified in some individuals based on scanner accessibility and safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although symptoms were transient and most patients appeared to respond to treatment (soley with NSAIDS), we demonstrated persistence of abnormal findings on CMR at follow up in most patients, albeit with improvement in extent of LGE.
CMR has increasingly been identified as an important diagnostic tool for myocarditis given its ability to identify subclinical injury and fibrosis by markers of LGE and edema. CMR also has been utilized in longitudinal follow up of patients with myocarditis to help therapeutic management, although exact screening protocols remain controversial[6]
The presence of LGE is an indicator of cardiac injury and fibrosis and has been strongly associated with worse prognosis in patients with classical acute myocarditis. In a meta-analysis including 8 studies, Yang et al found that presence of LGE is a predictor of all cause death, cardiovascular death, cardiac transplant, rehospitalization, recurrent acute myocarditis and requirement for mechanical circulatory support[5]]Similarly, Georgiopoulos et al found presence and extent of LGE to be a significant predictor of adverse cardiac outcomes in an 11 study meta-analysis[7]
The persistence of LGE over time and its prognostic value is less well established. Malek et al found that in a cohort of 18 patients with myocarditis, nearly 70% had persistent CMR changes at a median follow-up time of 7 months[5],[9] Dubey et al found similar findings in their cohort of 12 pediatric patients, with persistence of LGE in all patients despite resolution of edema.
Prognostic meaning of LGE in vaccine associated myopericarditis requires further study.
Strain analysis by CMR also has been shown to have prognostic utility in myocarditis even in the setting of normal LV function[10]Strain testing can be performed without use of contrast material and can be particularly useful in situations where contrast administration is challenging or contraindicated. Notably, in our cohort, though there was significant reduction in LGE at follow up, abnormal strain persisted for the majority of patients at follow up.
This study has certain limitations. Patients who did not seek medical attention during acute illness or did not present with significant symptoms and require hospitalization were not captured, and their disease course may be different. Incomplete CMR data on other patients precludes extrapolation of our CMR findings to all who experienced mRNA vaccine-related myopericarditis. In addition, follow-up CMR timeframes varied from patient to patient making it difficult to predict the timing of CMR changes over time. the total number of patients reported is small, limiting ability to draw conclusions about the effect of treatment modalities or to generalize regarding outcomes of vaccine-associated myopericarditis.
In a cohort of adolescents with COVID-19 mRNA vaccine-related myopericarditis, a large portion have persistent LGE abnormalities, raising concerns for potential longer-term effects. Despite these persistent abnormalities, all patients had rapid clinical improvement and normalization of echocardiographic measures of systolic function. For patients with short acute illness, no dysfunction demonstrated by echocardiogram at presentation and resolution of symptoms at follow up, return to sports was guided by normalization of CMR alone. In patients with persistent CMR abnormalities we performed exercise stress testing prior to sports clearance per myocarditis recommendations[6] We plan to repeat CMR at 1 year post-vaccine for our cohort to assess for resolution or continued CMR changes.
The CDC notes that even though the absolute risk for myopericarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is small, the relative risk is higher for particular groups, including males 12-39 years of age.
Some studies have suggested that increasing the interval between the first and second dose may reduce the incidence of myopericarditis in this population [11]
These data led to an extension in CDC recommended dosing interval between dose 1 and dose 2 to 8 weeks. Further follow up assessment and larger multicenter studies are needed to determine the ultimate clinical significance of persistent CMR abnormalities in patients with post COVID-19 vaccine myopericarditis
Gargano JW, Wallace M, Hadler SC, Langley G, Su JR, Oster ME, et al. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Use of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine After Reports of Myocarditis Among Vaccine Recipients: Update from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices-United States, June 2021 2021;70. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000239?url_.
mRNA Coronavirus-19 Vaccine–Associated Myopericarditis in Adolescents: A Survey Study.
Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Strain in Suspected Myocarditis With Preserved LV-EF: A Comparison Between Patients With Negative and Positive Late Gadolinium Enhancement Findings.
We describe the evolution of Cardiac MRI (CMR) findings in 16 patients, 12-17 years of age, with myopericarditis after the second dose of the Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Although all patients showed rapid clinical improvement, many had persistent CMR findings at 3-8 month follow up.
Figures
[12]Figure 1Distribution of Late Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE) in American Heart Association Myocardial Segments
. Figure shows segment with number of patients and percent of cohort.
Why not have a age limit for a sex change?
Photo My security sign
So think about it. We have laws that stop people from doing things before adulthood. Drinking, Smoking, Voting, serving in the Military, etc. Why not make it illegal for a child to have a sex change operation till they reach adulthood? 18-21. Even then they’re still very immature.
You have Progressives who have no problem with teaching 5-8 year olds about transgender and being gay. I just wonder if their parents taught them about that. Odds are no, So why force something like this on children?
Also is it something the government should pay for? Is this something that schools should be teaching? I can see it now. Class instead of learning how to read and write, we will discuss why you should or should not have a penis or vagina.
A Texas federal judge on Friday ordered President Joe Biden to stop the mass release of illegal migrant children crossing the southern border into the country.
Judge Mark Pittman’s order prevents Biden from exempting minor migrants from Title 42. Title 42 is an immigration policy implemented by former President Donald Trump that allows U.S. immigration officials to expel immediately migrants who come to the southern border. Title 42 was implemented in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the policy’s start in March 2020, the federal government has expelled more than 1.6 million migrants.
Biden previously declined to expel unaccompanied minor children under Title 42. Instead, he allowed the young migrants to enter the country, where they would be placed under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ supervision. From there, they would be placed with sponsors in the United States, who are typically family members.
Here, the President has (arbitrarily) excepted COVID-19 positive unaccompanied alien children from Title 42 procedures—which were purposed with preventing the spread of COVID-19. As a result, border states such as Texas now uniquely bear the brunt of the ramifications. Yet, while policy decisions are beyond judicial review, those agency actions that are “arbitrary, capricious, . . . or otherwise not in accordance with law” will be set aside.
Pittman explained that the “ramifications” Texas deals with include strains on the state’s public school system and medical resources, and increased incarceration.
A record number of more than 122,000 unaccompanied minors arrived at the southern border during the fiscal year 2021.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the decision is a “win for Texas & children—loss for Biden & cartels!”
Huge win against Biden! Along w @America1stLegal & @IRLILaw, I sued the Admin for failing to use Title 42, contrib to massive wave of smuggling. Fed court just BLOCKED Biden from excepting alien minors from the Title 42 process. Win for Texas & children—loss for Biden & cartels!
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 5, 2022
America First Legal, led by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, served as outside counsel for Texas as part of the lawsuit. Miller called the decision “a truly historic victory.”
We are honored beyond words to have partnered with Attorney General Ken Paxton and the State of Texas in our landmark lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s egregious decision to except ALL illegal alien minors traveling without adults (UAC) from Title 42—and to have just obtained a preliminary injunction. Biden’s decision to except UAC from Title 42, and instead mass resettle them in the United States, has led to the largest wave of criminal child smuggling in human history–and the flood of illegal alien teens and minors has drained the resources of our schools, hospitals, and communities while creating a new unimpeded recruiting pipeline for MS-13. This preliminary injunction orders the Biden Administration to halt their order categorically excepting unaccompanied alien minors from Title 42 repatriation. This is a truly historic victory, but we have a long, long, long way to go to end the Administration’s crusade to eradicate our sovereignty.
Friday’s decision is Texas’s latest successful effort to prevent Biden from implementing his radical immigration agenda. Texas previously stopped a 100-day deportation moratorium from being enforced last February. Additionally, the state got a federal judge to order Biden to continue Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, where asylum seekers are returned to Mexico to wait for their hearings.
The case is Texas v. Biden, No. 4:21-cv-0579-P in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
A police vehicle is seen parked near a statue of Father Junipero Serra in front of the San Gabriel Mission in San Gabriel, California on June 21, 2020. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Nearly 500 people have been arrested in California in a human trafficking sting operation that took place ahead of the Super Bowl, authorities announced on Feb. 15.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva shared the results of the week-long campaign, dubbed “Operation Reclaim and Rebuild,” in a press conference, stating that the statewide operation had “met with positive results.”
Villanueva said the operation was conducted by the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force and more than 80 participating federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and task forces from across the state.
These included officers from Long Beach, San Bernardino County, and San Francisco, among others.
This is the seventh year Operation Reclaim and Rebuild has been conducted, officials said.
The sting operation took place between Feb. 6 and Feb. 12 and focused on “rescuing victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking, providing victims with much-needed services, identifying and arresting their captors, seeking successful prosecutions, and disrupting the demand for vulnerable victims by targeting their customers,” police said.
“Police agencies and other trafficking task forces throughout our state joined in the enforcement operation to send the clear message that California law enforcement shares a unified mandate: Human trafficking must not be tolerated in our state!” officials said.
Villanueva said that a total of 65 adults and seven minor victims were recovered in the sting operation and are now being cared for by professionals from various Department of Children and Family Services agencies as well as by victim service providers in each county.
Official data show that a total of 82 people were rescued over the week-long operation.
Police arrested 182 males for the charge of solicitation, and 30 suspected traffickers and exploiters were arrested, Villanueva said.
Official data show that police arrested a total of 494 people, of which 192 were in Los Angeles alone. Charges ranged from human trafficking, pimping, pandering, and supervising prostitution, among others.
The sting operation came as advocates and hospitality agencies were on high alert ahead of the Super Bowl, which officials have said attracts human traffickers due to the high influx of visitors.
According to the organization It’s a Penalty, 47 traffickers were arrested, and 22 victims were identified during the Miami 2020 Super Bowl. At that event, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received an increase of 163 percent in calls compared with the previous Super Bowl.
In the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta, the FBI arrested 169 people involved in trafficking schemes and received an increase of 23.6 percent more calls compared to the 2018 Super Bowl.
According to the International Labour Organization, 24.9 million people are trapped in human trafficking and exploitation around the world, with women and girls accounting for 99 percent of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58 percent in other sectors.
President Joe Biden has pledged to prosecute human traffickers and bring an end to trafficking in the United States and around the world.
In December, the White House released an updated National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, with a new focus on advancing gender and racial equity as well as workers’ rights.
The plan “links anti-trafficking initiatives to our wider efforts to counter illicit financing; advance gender and racial equity; expand the rights and dignity of working people; and promote safe, orderly, and humane migration,” the White House said.
In this still image from undercover video footage, Ryan Cole, an executive officer at the Food and Drug Administration, speaks about vaccines. (Courtesy of Project Veritas)
By Zachary Stieber for The Epoch Times February 17, 2022
An executive officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a newly released video that President Joe Biden’s administration plans to push annual COVID-19 vaccine shots.
Christopher Cole, executive officer of the medical countermeasures initiative at the FDA, made the comments to the journalism group Project Veritas.
“Biden wants to inoculate as many people as possible,” Cole told an undercover reporter with the group. “You’ll have to get an annual shot. I mean, it hasn’t been formally announced yet because they don’t want to rile everyone up,” he said.
Right now, all Americans 5 and older are advised to get a two-dose primary regimen of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. All Americans 12 or older are also advised to get at least one booster dose five months after their second shot.
Cole said that drug, food, and vaccine companies “pay us hundreds of millions of dollars a year to hire and keep the reviewers to approve their products.”
He also said that annual shots would become “a recurring fountain of revenue” for the vaccine makers, referring to them as Big Pharma.
“It might not be that much initially, but it’ll be recurring—if they can get every person requiring an annual vaccine, that is a recurring return of money going into their company,” he added.
Cole didn’t respond to requests for comment, including an email, a LinkedIn message, and a voicemail at his office.
An FDA spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email, “The person purportedly in the video does not work on vaccine matters and does not represent the views of the FDA.” The spokesperson didn’t respond to a followup question.
Cole later told Project Veritas that he is a manager in an office of the FDA that does not work on vaccines but that does help “oversee the approval of the COVID vaccines for emergency approval.”
Cole said his comments about having to get a COVID-19 vaccine annually was a comparison to how many Americans get a flu shot every year.
He also confirmed that he believes the FDA will ultimately grant emergency authorization for at least one vaccine for toddlers—the FDA delayed its decision on that front on Feb. 11—and that he is not in communication with the president, but “from what he’s said, he probably wants to inoculate more people than not.”
Cole said he was on a date when he made the remarks.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment and White House press secretary Jen Psaki didn’t address the matter during a briefing on Wednesday.
Biden and his administration have pushed virtually every American to get vaccinated, asserting its the best protection against COVID-19. They’ve also downplayed natural immunity, or protection enjoyed by people who recover from COVID-19, drawing criticism from some experts.
Dr. Robert Malone, who helped create the technology the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are built on, described the Project Veritas video as a “smoking gun.”
“What we have is an agency that has been completely distorted by the huge amounts of capital that await all their employees once they leave their agency,” he said on Steve Bannon’s show. “They have a strong incentive to behave in these ways, to do whatever’s necessary to comport with the interests of Big Pharma, and now you’ve got a smoking gun, thanks to Project Veritas.”
By Bethany Mandel For Dailymail.ComPublished:Updated:
Tracy Compton, a mother of two in Fairfax, Virginia, had voted for Democrats for as long as she can remember, until the COVID-related school closures. “I tried and went to apply to work with the Democratic Party. I was told I was not allowed to become a member of the Democratic Party [in Fairfax].”
A recording of a reorganization meeting showed fellow Democrats deeming Compton too ‘anti-school’ to be part of their political efforts.
What made Compton anti-school? She wanted the public schools to fully reopen.
When Compton worked to collect signatures for a recall petition for the local school board, she was welcomed out of the rain by a Republican party tent, even after telling them she was a Biden voter.
In contrast, when Compton offered the petition to those inside the Democrat party tent, she was yelled at.
Now? Given a hypothetical matchup between Kamala Harris or President Joe Biden vs. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, she said she’d vote for the Republican in a heartbeat.
Compton lamented how she got here, now supporting a political party with whom she felt very little in common with until COVID hit.
She told me, “All the things that Biden and Kamala believe in; and what the Democratic Party believe in… I still believe in it. But I have to look at what’s happening in my family and with my children right now.”
Bethany Wagner (above with family) said the ‘schools issue’ proved to be a gateway into seeing the world through another set of eyes.
Wagner (above with children) went from a casual viewer of CNN and MSNBC to seeking out Fox News clips about the ‘schools issue’ on YouTube because they were the only ones covering it.
“They’re being hurt by not being able to be in school, and not in school normally. My focus has to be on making sure that they’re going to grow up and prosper and be the good citizens that they need to be.
“So that they can protect the environment. And they can go on to do all the things that are important to me… I’ve got to put my attention on the thing that’s yelling at me the most.”
She went on, describing how she’ll vote in the future, “Until [Democrats] can present someone that’s logical, I’m going to have to make choices. Right now, my choices are very much based on my children and my children getting an education.”
“If that can be solved, then I can worry about other things that are important to me, like gun control, the environment, and universal healthcare. I can’t do that until I know my kids are good.’
Compton isn’t alone, she’s part of an army of Virginia parents who swung the gubernatorial election towards the Republican Glenn Youngkin, who just took office this week.
Compton was active in her community’s efforts to open schools, as was her friend Bethany Wagner, a mother of two, also living in Fairfax.
For Wagner, the ‘schools issue’ proved to be a gateway into seeing the world through another set of eyes.
She realized early in the pandemic that it was conservative sites that were reporting on the impact of school closures and concerns she had over curriculum.
She went from a casual viewer of CNN and MSNBC to seeking out Fox News clips about the ‘schools issue’ on YouTube because they were the only ones covering it. Soon, she did the unthinkable: She just turned on Fox News itself. And she realized, “It’s not what CNN claims it to be.”
Neither women see themselves as Republicans, but for the time being, they will be voting for them. Compton and Wagner are just two names behind a widespread shift towards Republicans over the course of the last year.
Ashley (a pseudonym), a mother of three from Central New Jersey, fumed, “I hate when Democrats like Biden get all defensive and say that 95% of schools are open right now. They are being willfully ignorant and not paying attention that even though schools are ‘open’ they are NOT NORMAL.”
Gallup reported a remarkable shift in the way Americans identify themselves politically. Strikingly, the most pronounced shift away from Democratic party identification came in the third and fourth quarter of the year, coinciding with the fall as children returned to school.
In the first quarter of 2021, 49% of U.S. considered themselves to be Democrats. By the third quarter of 2021, self-identified Democrat (and Democrat-leaning individuals) dropped to 42%.
For Republicans it went in the opposite direction. 40% self-identified with the GOP at the start of 2021, and 47% put themselves in the Republican-camp at the end of the year.
That’s a 14-percentage point swing from a nine-point Democratic advantage to a five-point GOP edge, and among the largest advantages the GOP has ever held in Gallup polling.
Strikingly, the most pronounced shift away from Democratic party identification came in the third and fourth quarter of the year, coinciding with the fall as children returned to school.
Why might parents have snapped in the fall when their kids finally went back to school? Ashley (a pseudonym), a mother of three from Central New Jersey, fumed, “I hate when Democrats like Biden get all defensive and say that 95% of schools are open right now. They are being willfully ignorant and not paying attention that even though schools are ‘open’ they are NOT NORMAL.”
It’s a line that President Biden repeated at his two-hour White House press conference on January 19.
“It’s always going to be the top of the news,” Biden said of the ‘schools issue.’
“But let’s put it in perspective: 95 — as high as 98 percent of the schools in America are open, functioning, and capable doing the job.”
He’s not fooling parents like Ashley.
Kids are masked, have no field trips, no extracurriculars, no sports (our town canceled winter recreation sports just for kids but kept adult recreation programming). Not to mention the constant threat of closures when cases rise. School might be mostly ‘open’ but it is not normal. Democrats should be paying attention instead of gaslighting me and telling me everything is fine.’
Now we’re learning that Biden wants to increase masking for children – not reduce it.
President of the American Mask Manufacturer’s Association (AMMA) told Reuters that the White House is interested in creating a U.S. manufacturing base for protective masks for kids.
“We are ready to provide protective children’s masks for American families,'”said President Lloyd Armbrus. I’m sure they are. But do parents want them, and do kids really need them anymore?
It’s not only in K-12 schools where the situation is critical.
On parenting boards across the country parents of young children in daycares and preschools are at a breaking point.
After a huge spike in cases around the holidays, and with holidays and then weather-related closures, many of these centers have been closed more than they’ve been open so far in 2022.
A single case can lead to a closure of 10-14 days, and several of those means no routine or steady childcare for parents of small children.
On supply chain issues, Biden asserted much of the same. Everything is fine, don’t believe your lying eyes.
Biden claimed, “The share of goods in stock in stores is 89% now, which is barely below the 91% that prevailed pre-pandemic.”
It’s a fascinating strategy, telling Americans that everything is fine when they are keenly aware of the reality.
It’s a strategy that isn’t exactly paying off for the President, with his approval numbers sinking faster than the Titanic.
According to new poll numbers from Gallup, Biden’s approval rating is at just 40%, with 56% of respondents disapproving.
Alongside a shift away from the Democratic Party, there was a similar shift away from the President, with his support dipping in the fall of 2021.
Gallup explains, “In the latest survey, 40% of Americans approve and 56% disapprove of the job he is doing, as the U.S. is plagued by the highest inflation in four decades and another surge of COVID-19 cases, this time fueled by the omicron variant of the coronavirus.”
But it’s not just that.
Read the President’s meandering answer when he was asked if school closures would become a potent midterm issue for Republicans.
To get the full-flavor of this alternatively dismissive, halting, and incoherent answer – you really have to watch.
(Problems with sound)
Here’s some of it from the official White House transcript:
Reporter question: Could school reopenings or closures become a potent midterm issue for Republicans to win back the suburbs?
Biden: Oh, I think it could be, but I hope to God that they’re — that — look, maybe I’m kidding myself, but as time goes on, the voter who is just trying to figure out, as I said, how to take care of their family, put three squares on the table, stay safe, able to pay their mortgage or their rent… You know, every — every president, not necessarily in the first 12 months, but every president in the first couple of years — almost every president, excuse me, of the last presidents — at least four of them — have had polling numbers that are 44 percent favorable… I mean, the idea that — the American public are trying to sift their way through what’s real and what’s fake.’
You can see why struggling Democratic parents have snapped.
In contrast, Republicans in Congress are vocally advocating for children. “Children are paying one of the greatest costs of this pandemic, despite being the least at risk to COVID-19. It’s time for the Biden administration to prioritize children’s well-being above junk CDC science, political donors and teachers unions,” tweeted Washington Congressman Cathy McMorris Rodgers on January 20.
Ashley warned, ‘I’m about as lefty as they come. I campaigned for Elizabeth Warren in 2020, Bernie Sanders in 2016, and Ralph Nader in 2000. Most of my views on specific issues haven’t changed… Now I don’t know if I can vote for any of them unless they reckon with what they did, and continue to do, to kids during this pandemic.’
‘I would even accept an apology, a mea culpa, a reflection on what they failed to do, and an effort to make it right. But I’m not holding my breath.’
Judging from Biden’s performance at the White House an apology or more importantly a change of course – is not coming.
Joe’s having one hell of a week. So what comes next? Joe keeps on saying crazy things the media and thewhite house says what Joe said is not what Joe meant. Joe’s met by Let’s go Brandon howls, Joe petting and hugging kids, and Joe Manchin says let’s put on the brakes to this madness.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1470915056783216646
Biden asks Americans “What’s the big deal” with giving up their Freedoms..
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