Company Responsible For Ohio Train Derailment Issues List Of Cancer-Causing Substances Released

Norfolk Southern Railroad and the Environmental Protection Agency released a list of chemicals and hazardous materials on Sunday carried by a train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.

The derailment, which occurred on February 3, caused a fire that lasted several days. Officials decided to initiate a controlled release of the chemicals to mitigate the risk of an explosion; all residents within one mile of the crash site were told to evacuate, although they were permitted to return to their homes on February 8.

Norfolk Southern provided the EPA with a list of cars affected by the crash and the chemicals they were carrying. The company said all five cars containing vinyl chloride have been “stabilized” after the material was burned by crews, forming massive plumes of dark smoke that were visible in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Vinyl chloride is described by the National Cancer Institute as a carcinogen linked to a rare form of liver cancer called hepatic angiosarcoma, as well as lymphoma, leukemia, and various forms of brain and lung cancers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration only permits exposure of one part per million during an industrial worker’s eight-hour shift.

“If a water supply is contaminated, vinyl chloride can enter household air when the water is used for showering, cooking, or laundry,” the agency said.

One train car containing ethylene glycol monobutyl ether currently has an “unknown status,” according to Norfolk Southern. The highly combustible liquid is used to manufacture paints and varnish; ingestion or skin contact can cause headache, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A second car was carrying isobutylene, a flammable gas that can induce “dizziness, drowsiness, and unconsciousness” when moderate concentrations are inhaled, according to another report from the agency. Norfolk Southern said there are “no signs” of a breach for the car containing the substance.

A third train car was transporting ethylhexyl acrylate, a combustible liquid used to make paints and plastics. The amount of the chemical remaining in the car is “pending,” according to Norfolk Southern. The substance has been identified as a carcinogen in laboratory experiments, according to a report from the National Library of Medicine.

Government regulators and public utilities have expressed concern over chemicals released from the derailment. West Virginia American Water, the largest investor-owned water utility in the state of West Virginia, said in a statement that the company has not detected any change to raw water from its Ohio River intake but has “enhanced its treatment processes” as a “precautionary measure.” No drinking water advisories are currently in place for customers.

Federal investigators said an issue with a rail car axle caused the derailment. Footage obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette showed that the Norfolk Southern train had traveled more than 20 miles with a malfunctioning rail car axle. National Transportation Safety Board Member Michael Graham confirmed during a news conference that there were “preliminary indications of mechanical issues” for the axle, according to a report from CBS Pittsburgh.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/company-responsible-for-ohio-train-derailment-issues-list-of-cancer-causing-substances-released

Pentagon Wants to Restart Special Ops Programs Inside Ukraine

The plan could involve deploying US troops to Ukraine to employ Ukrainian operatives for the programs

The Pentagon is looking to restart special operations programs that it was conducting inside Ukraine before Russia invaded last year, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The programs, known as surrogate operations, involve employing Ukrainian operatives to track Russian military movements and conduct information warfare. The Ukrainians involved in the programs would be overseen by US special operations troops.

The surrogate operations inside Ukraine first began in 2018 and were suspended before the invasion. The information warfare program involved using bloggers to counter so-called Russian disinformation. “We had people taking apart Russian propaganda and telling the true story on blogs,” an unnamed person involved in special operations told the Post.

The other program involved US commandos sending Ukrainians on reconnaissance missions in eastern Ukraine, where a civil war had been raging since 2014 that was sparked by a US-backed coup. “We’d train surrogates to go collect signals intelligence off a Russian radar battery … stuff like that,” a US government official told the Post.

Restarting the program would likely involve deploying US troops to Ukraine, although it’s possible they could direct the surrogates from outside the country. The Post report said there is no known US troop presence in Ukraine besides personnel based at the US Embassy in Kyiv, but The Intercept reported in October that US special operations forces were in the country, as well as CIA operatives.

The Pentagon is trying to convince Congress to authorize the resumption of the surrogate programs in Ukraine and insists they will be involved in non-combat operations, but there is skepticism among lawmakers.

“What started as a reconnaissance mission can quickly turn into combat when the surrogates start getting shot at,” a US official familiar with the talks told the Post. “I think that’s a real possibility in Ukraine, and I’m not sure how the department is going to change people in Congress’s minds about that.”

If the programs are re-authorized, it would mark another dramatic escalation of US involvement in the war and make a direct clash with Russia more likely. Whether the US troops are deployed to Ukraine or run the surrogates from another country, Moscow would view the move as a major provocation.

https://news.antiwar.com/2023/02/12/pentagon-wants-to-restart-special-ops-programs-inside-ukraine/

Georgia judge orders limited release of grand jury report on Trump election interference

A Georgia judge on Monday ordered the release of limited portions of a report from a grand jury tasked with reviewing election interference in 2020 as former President Trump sought to reverse his loss in the state.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who is overseeing the grand jury’s work, declined to fully release the grand jury report, which is expected to include charging recommendations.

Instead, he ordered the release of three portions of the report on Thursday.

McBurney’s decision largely sided with an argument from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D), who pledged to soon make charging decisions and said the report’s release could create challenges for future defendants to get a fair trial.

Jurors involved in crafting the report had previously determined it should be released to the public.

“There were no lawyers advocating for any targets of the investigation,” McBurney wrote in the eight-page decision, noting the process is “entirely appropriately – a one-sided exploration.”

“Potential future defendants were not able to present evidence outside the scope of what the district attorney asked them. They were not able to call their own witnesses who might rebut what other State’s witnesses had said and they had no ability to present mitigating evidence. Put differently, there was very limited due process in this process for those who might be named as indictment-worthy in the final report.”

The release will include the introduction and conclusion of the report as well as a section discussing concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath. That section of the report does not identify any witnesses.

McBurney noted the delay ahead of the release is designed to allow Willis to advocate for redactions in any of the sections.

Willis’s case is seen as one of the most promising pathways for an eventual prosecution of Trump, who in a phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) asked him to “find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.”

In a January hearing on the matter, Willis stressed multiple defendants could have their right to a fair trial implicated by the report’s release.

“We have to be mindful of protecting future defendants’ rights. And so what the state does not want to see happen — and don’t think that there’s any way that the court would be able to guarantee — is that if that report was released, there somehow could be arguments made that it impacts the right for later individuals — multiple — to get a fair trial, to have a fair hearing, to be able to be tried in this jurisdiction,” Willis said at the outset of the hearing.

“Decisions are imminent,” she added.

The case could impact a number in Trump’s orbit as well as the former president himself.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3855720-georgia-judge-orders-limited-release-of-grand-jury-report-on-trump-election-interference/

Pre-K teacher attacks idea of 'childhood innocence,' claims toddlers not too young for 'sexuality' discussion

William 'Willy' Villalpando called the idea of 'childhood innocence' a 'mythology'

A pre-kindergarten teacher and early childhood professor repeatedly attacked the idea of "childhood innocence" and claimed that early childhood teachers should introduce children to gender ideology at the youngest ages, Fox News Digital found.

William "Willy" Villalpando works at Santa Ana College in California where he teaches early child development. He also indicated on his Instagram that he is a pre-kindergarten educator.

Fox News found documentation that Villalpando worked in the Rialto Unified School District pre-k division from 2016 through at least June 2021, the latest date California updated teacher's records. It was unclear whether Villalpando continued to work at the district for the 2022-23 academic year, and they refused to respond. When Fox News reached out to Villalpando's Rialto district email address it was not returned to sender.

In 2020, Villalpando called the idea of "childhood innocence" an example of "mythology."

"There is a common mythology that children live in this world of pure innocence, and that by introducing or exposing them to the real-world adults are somehow shattering this illusion for them. Therefore, there is a banning of topics and issues that children should not be exposed to, as if they are not experiencing them already."

On another occasion, he said, "I'm tired of the ‘Childhood Innocence’ argument… Stop blaming a phenomenon that doesn't exist."

He went on to attack the idea that children shouldn't be exposed to "sexuality," claiming that "such a view is a very white, Christian, upper-class, cis-gendered, and hetero-centric."

https://www.foxnews.com/media/pre-k-teacher-attacks-idea-childhood-innocence-claims-toddlers-not-too-young-sexuality-discussion

UNICEF’s History of Using Disasters to Vaccinate Children with the Oral Polio Vaccine that Spreads Polio

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is the world’s largest distributor of vaccines to children internationally.

Unlike the U.S. where most parents are brainwashed by the corporate media and the western allopathic medical system into believing that vaccines promote healthy children, many parents in poorer, developing countries are very wary of western vaccines, and resist them.

When disasters strike these countries, as is happening today in Syria and Turkey, UNICEF is there to vaccinate as many children, and parents, as possible.

The #1 vaccine that UNICEF gives to children in disaster areas, is the oral polio vaccine (OPV), which is banned in western countries like the U.S., because it is known to “shed” and actually cause polio.

We reported on the mass polio vaccination of Syrian children back in 2013 when the Syrian refugee crisis was exploding:

Are UNICEF Live Polio Vaccines Causing Polio Among Syrians? 1.7 Billion Polio Vaccines Purchased by UNICEF

The fact that the oral polio vaccine spreads polio, is not even a fact that is denied, as it has been published in the medical literature for over 2 decades now.

At the end of 2019, just before the COVID Plandemic was unleashed upon the world, NPR and other corporate U.S. media sources finally began to publish news admitting that the oral polio vaccine was a failure, and actually causing polio. See:

Big Pharma and Corporate Media Finally Admit the Oral Polio Vaccine is a Failure – Causes Polio Instead of Preventing It

But that has not stopped the United Nations, and specifically UNICEF, from continuing to purchase these vaccines and give them to children.

Most of the funding to purchase these vaccines through the U.N. comes from Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, started by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Last week I wrote how the United States has continued to turn their back on the people suffering in Syria:

After Years of Bombing Syria, the U.S. Continues to Turn Their Back on Those Suffering After a Massive Killer Earthquake

Due to international pressure, the U.S. has now temporarily eased some of their sanctions against Syria.

https://healthimpactnews.com/2023/unicefs-history-of-using-disasters-to-vaccinate-children-with-the-oral-polio-vaccine-that-spreads-polio/

Why are governments still promoting “vaccines” and not investigating excess deaths? Have they been affected by vaccine-induced cognitive decline?

Every day, my attention is drawn to efforts to extend the reach of mRNA vaccines. For example, nightly news anchor Mark Steyn of GB News has just been removed to make way for a pro-vaccine, pro-lockdown advocate. Mark was famously asking hard questions about vaccine safety. The CDC and the NHS have included mRNA Covid vaccines in the advised regular schedule of childhood vaccination freeing the providers from any legal liability forever.

I can understand if people feel depressed by these and other trends. Following three years of misleading official pandemic advice fuelled by carefully placed public relations – paid for by commercial pharmaceutical interests and governments – people who are vaccinated feel different and want to keep separate from the unvaccinated. Many believe the unvaccinated are deserving of censure, segregation, and even punishment.

The US Federal government is actually tracking people who are unvaccinated (for any reason other than a medically approved exemption). In other words, the unvaccinated are subject to surveillance and listed as obstinate (or dare I say it—asocial).

This is not a random piece of Federal record-keeping. A paper ‘Estimating the risk reduction of isolation on COVID-19 nonhousehold transmission and severe/critical illness in nonimmune individuals: September to November 2021’ published 8 February 2023 seeks to estimate how many “nonimmune” individuals need to be isolated from society to stop the spread of infectious disease. The results of this paper are obscure even to a careful reader, but the intent is obvious – the authors set out to calculate just how many unvaccinated individuals you need to lock up and for how long to prevent the spread of a disease.

Analysis of recently published research

These sorts of actions and imaginings are completely out of touch with careful analysis of pandemic data genuinely seeking to scientifically work out what happened during the last three years rather than merely pushing the biotech vaccine agenda. A petition presented to the UK Government entitled ‘Investigate UK excess deaths not related to Covid’ received a response last week. The government reply included the following:

OHID analysis shows that, in England, for the week ending 28 October 2022, the leading causes of death contributing to the excess were deaths involving cardiovascular diseases; the highest levels of excess mortality were for deaths involving heart failure (21% higher than expected), and ischaemic heart diseases (17% higher than expected). Deaths involving acute respiratory infections were 16% higher than expected. You can view OHID’s (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) excess mortality tool HERE.

OHID estimates show that for deaths registered in England during the whole of 2022, deaths involving four conditions were all over 10% higher than expected: heart failure (15% higher), cirrhosis and other liver diseases (14%), diabetes (12%) and ischaemic heart diseases (11%).

Investigate UK excess deaths not related to Covid, Petitions, UK Government and Parliament, 8 February 2023

There was no mention of vaccination at all, even though it is a very obvious causal candidate, one that has been widely discussed even in the media. The Daily Sceptic, a publication of the UK Free Speech Union, filled in this lamentable oversight with an article ‘Higher Excess Deaths Clearly Linked to Higher Vaccination Rates in England, New Analysis Shows’. The article found:

The more vaccine doses an area of England has received, the greater the number of excess deaths it has experienced, an analysis of official data has found – adding to worries that the novel Covid vaccines are contributing to the sharp rise in excess deaths seen since mid-2021.

The analysis of 300 UK administrative areas found that the more injections people received and the more time that had elapsed the relationship between high vaccination rates and death became stronger. What are people dying from? The UK government figures suggest heart disease, liver disease, and diabetes were especially at fault. It is just a short step to conclude mRNA vaccination might be causal, after all, myocarditis/pericarditis is a known side effect.

https://expose-news.com/2023/02/13/why-are-governments-still-promoting-vaccines/

GOP Senators Say Defense Budget Must Not Be Cut Because of 'Chinese Spy Balloon' Threat

The GOP cannot go through with the defense cuts Kevin McCarthy reportedly promised to secure the Speakership because of the "Chinese spy balloon" menace, Senate Republicans insist.

From The Hill, "Chinese spy balloon has GOP saying no cuts to defense":

A growing number of Senate Republicans are saying that President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) should take defense spending cuts off the table in their negotiation over the debt ceiling.

The Republicans are digging in their heels after receiving a classified briefing on a Chinese spy balloon that floated over sensitive military installations.

“The entire civilized world should recognize that communist China is probably the greatest threat we’ve ever faced, more severe than Soviet Russia was because of its economic integration into the West,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) after receiving a briefing from senior administration officials on the spy balloon. “We should take every step we can to try to reduce our dependency on China [and] try to build stronger military deterrence against them.

“I do not think that we should be talking about cutting the defense budget at all right now. If anything, substantial defense increases,” he said.

As I noted last week, regimists are switching to pushing for war with China now that Ukraine appears to be losing the war.

“Having a strong robust national security is essential to deterring bad behavior,” said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). “I think it’s OK to try to find savings and do the audits and do all that sort of thing to become more efficient, but just willy-nilly saying we’re going to cut defense I think would be a mistake.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said “there is no way that we should be looking at defense cuts right now.”

“We’re probably going to need more and not less with regard to that. The primary responsibility of the Congress of the United States is the defense of our country and this one is a serious threat,” he said of China.

How many people did these "spy balloons" (which they still haven't proven are spy balloons) kill? You'd think millions based off the GOP's hysterics.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another outspoken opponent of cutting defense funding, said he’s open to cutting wasteful programs within the Pentagon but he wants to redirect those savings to other defense-related priorities.

“I don’t mind reforming the Defense Department and doing away with certain programs. I want to apply it back into the Defense budget and put it in other areas. We need a bigger Navy,” he said.

“I don’t think anybody believes our Navy and our military footprint west of the international dateline is sufficient to deter China,” he said.

The Pentagon bragged about developing their own spy balloons as a "weapon" to surveil China and Russia just last year.

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=63597

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=63597

ERO Los Angeles arrests 16 as part of nationwide operation

LOS ANGELES — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Los Angeles officers apprehended 16 unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of drug trafficking or possession offenses involving methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin during a nationwide enforcement effort Jan. 23 through Feb. 6.

The effort includes noncitizens with a final order of removal. Cases amenable to federal criminal prosecution may be presented to the appropriate U.S. attorney’s office.

“These arrests represent criminal noncitizens who have a blatant disregard for our criminal justice system while exploiting our communities for their own profits.” said ERO Los Angeles Field Office Director Thomas Giles. “ERO Los Angeles will aggressively pursue, arrest and hold accountable noncitizens that flaunt our laws and engage in illicit drug activity.

The following people were among those arrested:

A previously removed 41-year-old Mexican citizen arrested in Santa Ana. On Jan. 18, 2017, the Superior Court of California in Orange County convicted the noncitizen for the offense of controlled substance for sale: cocaine/amphetamine, a felony.

A previously removed 41-year-old Mexican citizen arrested in Westminster. On Aug. 11, 2006, the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County convicted for the offense of possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targets and arrests noncitizens who have committed crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws. ICE officers, informed by their experience and training, use their discretion inherent as law enforcement officials to focus enforcement resources on people who threaten the homeland.

In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories; this group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions. These included 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in your community on Twitter @EROLosAngeles.

The Los Angeles Area of Responsibility includes Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ero-los-angeles-arrests-16-part-nationwide-operation

Leader Of Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty To Trafficking Thousands Of Kilograms Of Cocaine

Approximately 1,300 Kilograms of Cocaine Seized in Connection with the Investigation

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/leader-drug-trafficking-organization-pleads-guilty-trafficking-thousands-kilograms

Right-wing terror threat has receded as COVID restrictions have eased, ASIO chief says

The head of Australia's domestic spy agency says the threat of a terrorist attack by nationalist extremists or conspiracy theorists has receded since governments abandoned lockdowns and other strict COVID-19 control measures.

Key points:

ASIO says the risk of a politically motivated terror attack has declined in the wake of COVID restrictions easing

Mike Burgess says right-wing extremism previously accounted for half of ASIO's counter-terror work

It now accounts for about 30 per cent of its workload

Last year the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) dropped the terrorism threat level from "probable" to "possible", with the agency instead ploughing additional resources into growing threats posed by espionage and foreign interference.

The head of ASIO, Mike Burgess, told a Senate estimates hearing this morning that some of the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic — which in turn fuelled anti-government conspiracy theories against lockdowns and vaccination campaigns — had eased over time.

"The volatility has reduced somewhat, in particular around the COVID [measures], so there's less angst these days. We're not subject to mandates," he said.

"Some of that feeling does live on, but the number of cases we've been looking at, they've reduced significantly."

Mr Burgess previously created headlines when he sounded the alarm over the growing terrorist threat posed by far-right racist and nationalist groups.

He also warned those extremist groups were trying to swell their ranks by recruiting people potentially radicalised by COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

On Monday he told senators that at its peak, right-wing extremism accounted for about half of ASIO's counter-terrorism workload — but that figure had now dropped considerably.

"It did get to 50/50 … but has actually since moderated, so now we're in the territory of 70/30," he said.

"So 70 per cent [are] religiously motivated, and 30 per cent [are] ideologically motivated.

"Most of that is nationalist and racist, violent extremism."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-13/right-wing-terror-threat-declines-says-asio/101965964

Chinese investors own 384K acres of US agricultural land: Report

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, by the end of 2021, Chinese investors owned more than 383,000 acres of U.S. land. The land holdings amount to nearly twice the size of New York City, the New York Post reported.

In January, the USDA released a report titled "Foreign Ownership and Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land," which revealed the amount of land owned by foreign investors.

Currently, there are no federal restrictions on the amount of private land a foreign entity can own. However, foreign owners who buy, sell, or gain interest in U.S. land must disclose their transactions to the federal government.

During the next Farm Bill debate, Congress may consider proposed restrictions on foreign land purchases, including tightening the USDA's disclosure requirements and creating additional eligibility requirements. The current Farm Bill was enacted in late 2018 and is set to expire in September 2023.

"An overview of state laws by researchers at the University of Arkansas's National Agricultural Law Center shows that no U.S. state has instituted an absolute prohibition on foreign ownership," the report stated. "However, some states limit or have proposed to prohibit certain foreign persons and entities from acquiring or owning an interest in agricultural land within their state, and several states have separate disclosure requirements within their state."

States with the strictest foreign land ownership prohibitions include counties in Iowa, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

According to 2021 USDA reporting, approximately 40.8 million acres of U.S. agricultural land are owned by foreign entities. The year-end report revealed that Chinese investors own 383,935 acres of land in America.

WH Group, a Chinese firm formerly known as Shuanghui International, bought out the largest pork producer in the world, Smithfield Foods.

Fufeng Group, a Chinese-owned bio-fermentation products manufacturer, purchased 370 acres of land in North Dakota last year. The group planned to invest $700 million to construct a wet corn mill. However, the project was blocked last week after national security concerns were raised about the property's proximity to the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Air Force Assistant Secretary Andrew Hunter penned a letter on January 27 to state senators noting that the "proposed project presents a significant threat to national security with both near- and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area."

Last week, the city council voted to block the group from building the corn mill; however, the city's mayor noted that the Chinese-owned group would still own the land.

According to the USDA, Chinese investors own approximately 0.9% of U.S. agricultural land, not including Fufeng Group's latest purchase.

Newsweek reported that the land owned by Chinese entities has a total value of $2.1 billion.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/chinese-investors-own-384k-acres-of-us-agricultural-land-report

House Oversight Chairman Comer calls for probe into Secret Service's ties to Hunter Biden

Comer is particularly focused on a 2018 incident in which Hunter Biden's girlfriend at the time dumped his gun in a trash can.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Monday called for an investigation into what he and some others see as the Secret Service's especially close relationship with President Biden and son Hunter Biden, saying the agency too often tried to help president's son "when he was in a jam."

"There are numerous instances where the Secret Service came and tried to bail Hunter out when he was in a jam," Comer said on the Fox News Channel.

"When he was in California and getting in all kinds of trouble, getting kicked out of a very exclusive hotel there. The Secret Service showed up to try to see if there was some way they could get him back to Delaware to his family to protect him."

Comer also responded to a New York Post story over the weekend about the incident in 2018 in which Hunter Biden's girlfriend at the time allegedly threw his gun into a trash can.

New emails, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests made by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, suggest the Biden family may have been "protected" by the Secret Service and received assistance from the agency during a police investigation into the matter.

The FOIA requests reportedly resulted in 487 pages of Secret Service records about the incident — in which then-girlfriend Hallie Biden, also his later-brother's widow, left his .38 caliber handgun in a supermarket garbage can in the president's home state of Delaware.

Comer also mentioned reports the Secret Service visited the gun dealer and wanted a copy of the application.

"I don't believe the gun dealer gave the Secret Service a copy of that application, but regardless of the fact at that point in time, Joe Biden did not have Secret Service protection," he said.

In another email, someone from the agency's Protective Intelligence and Assessment Division wrote: "It's kind of odd that we were involved in the missing gun investigation when neither Hunter or Joe were even receiving USSS protection at the time? Hmmm."

Biden left office in 2017 as the vice president of the Obama administration, after which he received Secret Service protection for six months, as is customary. He got the protection again in March 2020 when running for president.

"So there was about a two-and-a-half-year period there where the American people weren't providing Secret Service protection for the Bidens," Comer said. "Yet there are numerous instances where the Secret Service always showed up to try to help Hunter Biden.

"It's bizarre," the Kentucky Republican also said. "And this is another set of questions that Joe Biden needs to come forward and be transparent [about], not just with the American people, but especially with the House Oversight committee, because we have a major investigation here and the Secret Service should now [be] a part of it."

Just The News reached out the Comer's Washington office, the Secret Service media department, and the White House but did not receive a reply to the requests for comment.

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/house-oversight-chair-james-comer-calls-investigation-secret-service

Bill Gates Says AI Can Help Combat “Digital Misinformation” and “Political Polarization”

In an interview published on Thursday with Handelsblatt, a German news media outlet, Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates said artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to help solve “digital misinformation” and “political polarization” problems, Breitbart reported.

Handelsblatt’s chief editor Sebastian Matthes discussed the disruptive potential of AI with Bill Gates, as well as the future of energy supply and the topic of how new technologies are changing the world of work.

“I’m certainly concerned about political polarization, and I know the U.S. situation best of all. I wouldn’t have expected people to attack the Capitol [on Jan. 6, 2021], or people to deny the validity of election results. I‘m in a state of shock about that,” Gates said in response to a question about the spreading of “misinformation” via AI.

“We can’t blame AI for that. That happened. It may have been magnified by digital channels that allow various conspiracy theories like QAnon or whatever to be blasted out by people who wanted to believe those things. So, the digital tools may have played an auxiliary role,” he continued.

When asked if he was concerned about AI spreading disinformation, Gates said it was more of a future problem than a current one, and that AI might be used to fix the “misinformation” that exists today.

“It could, in the future. That’s not the phenomena that we have today,” Gates said. “How are we [going to] solve the digital misinformation that is a factor in polarization? You’ll have to take AI into consideration.”

Gates added that his generation is yet to solve the issue of “misinformation that digital channels can magnify. People can just have confirmation bias of only seeing the stuff they agree with and get kind of outraged in a way that drives political polarization,” Epoch Times reported.

More from Breitbart:

Gates framed “climate change” as an existential threat to humanity while calling for government measures to force reductions and eventual elimination of fossil fuel consumption and associated carbon dioxide emissions.

“It’s not optional to have a solution for climate,” he held, adding that carbon dioxide emissions must be brought “to zero” via “clean energy” and “green energy” substitutes.

Development of reliable and affordable energy is in harmony with governmental pursuits of eliminating fossil fuels and development of “green infrastructure,” Gates claimed.

He concluded by speculating that the Russia-Ukraine war could “energize the recognition” of the supposed need to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions via oil and gas consumption.

“It’s now seen that in the 10- to 20-year-time frame that the goals of climate and the goals of energy security align, he stated, “to say that investment in green infrastructure is even more of a priority than it was before the war.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/bill-gates-says-ai-can-help-combat-digital-misinformation-political-polarization/