RFK Jr. announces research effort into 'autism epidemic' with goal to find answers by September

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that about one in 36 children have an autism spectrum disorder.

ealth and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday the agency's research into autism will provide answers by September into what causes the disorder.

"We've launched a massive testing and research effort that's going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world," Kennedy said during a televised White House Cabinet meeting. "By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we will be able to eliminate those exposures."

Kennedy was likely referring to the testing and research from the "Make America Healthy Again" commission that President Trump ordered in February.

The commission is made up of Kennedy and other secretaries to look at everything from the rates of autism and asthma in children to how much medicine is being prescribed to them for ADHD or other conditions, according to Reuters.

One-in-36 children have autism spectrum disorder, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, in 2020, compared to 1-in-44 in 2018.

The agency has not declared autism an epidemic and attributes the rise , in large part, to increased awareness and testing.

Studies have shown that there is no link between developing autism spectrum disorder and receiving vaccines. Kennedy has long been a vaccine skeptic.

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/secretary-kennedy-announces-research-effort-autism-epidemic-hope-find

FBI memos now reveal $1.2 million compensation, reliability concerns for Russia collusion informant

Newly declassified documents show informant Stefan Halper was motivated in part by "monetary compensation" and was paid nearly $1.2 million from FBI over three decades.

key FBI informant in the widely-debunked Russia collusion case was paid nearly $1.2 million over three decades, was motivated in part by "monetary compensation," and continued snitching even after agents concluded he told them an inaccurate story about future Trump National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, newly declassified documents show.

The nearly 700 pages of once-secret documents, obtained by Just the News, were recently turned over by FBI Director Kash Patel to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan after President Donald Trump ordered them declassified at the start of his second administration.

They provide the most extensive portrait yet of former FBI informant Stefan Halper, a Pentagon consultant and academic who, along with retired British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, was used by bureau agents to build the Crossfire Hurricane case against Trump and his advisers during the end of the 2016 election and the beginning of Trump's first term in office.

The memos confirm Halper was the source of one of the most sensational bogus claims to land in the FBI's probe in summer 2016: that Flynn had left a 2014 foreign meeting alone with Russia scholar Svetlana Lokhova when he was a three-star general leading the Defense Intelligence Agency.

FBI agents ultimately deemed Halper's account to be "not plausible" and "not accurate", but the bureau proceeded to investigate Flynn, kept paying Halper and continued to vouch for his veracity as a confidential human source codenamed "Mitch," the memos show.

For instance, a March 2017 memo showed the FBI's Validation Management Unit wrote that it "assesses it is likely HALPER is suitable for continued operation, based on his or her authenticity, reliability, and control.”

That memo makes no mention in its unredacted portions of the concerns about the account Halper gave about Flynn and Lokhova, which were confirmed in a memo from William Barnett, the FBI agent who handled the retired Flynn’s case in 2016 and 2017.

Paid more than $1 million

The new FBI records also show Halper was paid $70,000 by the FBI between August 2016 and the start of February 2017 — a time period spanning his activation as an informant targeting the Trump campaign and then the 2016 election and Trump’s inauguration. The FBI records also showed that the bureau had paid Halper “$1,181,064.44” from 1991 into early 2017.

more…

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/fbi-kept-defending-crossfire-hurricanes-stefan-halper-after-his-mike

Reversing Biden policies, Trump 'unleashing' energy potential in Alaska

This includes reinstating a program to make the entire 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) available for oil and natural gas leasing.

In another reversal of Biden administration policies, the Trump administration is taking action to encourage energy production in Alaska.

In response to President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Unleashing American Energy,” Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order, “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.” In it, he directs the Bureau of Land Management to reopen up to 82% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for oil and natural gas leasing.

In response, the BLM announced it “will pursue steps to expand opportunities for exploration and development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”

“It’s time for the U.S. to embrace Alaska’s abundant and largely untapped resources as a pathway to prosperity for the Nation, including Alaskans,” Burgum said. “For far too long, the federal government has created too many barriers to capitalizing on the state’s energy potential. Interior is committed to recognizing the central role the State of Alaska plays in meeting our nation’s energy needs, while providing tremendous economic opportunity for Alaskans.”

This includes reinstating a program to make the entire 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) available for oil and natural gas leasing. Doing so will “fulfill Congress’ intent in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and advance American Energy Dominance, while maintaining strong protections for important surface resources and uses in the Coastal Plain,” the Interior Department says.

In Trump’s first term, his administration approved seven oil and gas leases in ANWR in January 2021. The Biden administration canceled them in late 2023, prompting lawsuits.

The Biden administration also restricted development on more than 50% of the ANWR, which directly impacted the Iñupiat North Slope community. In response, the community argued the administration was trying to “silence indigenous voices in the Arctic,” The Center Square reported.

The community has stewarded its ancestral homelands for thousands of years, predating the creation of the U.S. federal government, the Interior Department and the state of Alaska, they argue. They advocate for economic development projects in the North Slope, explaining that more than 95% of their tax base comes from resource development infrastructure. Tax revenue funds public school education, health clinics, water and sewage systems, wildlife management and research and other services that otherwise would not exist, they argue.

Last year, U.S. House Republicans passed Alaska’s Right to Produce Act to reverse Biden administration policies by establishing the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program to allow oil and natural gas leasing on 13 million acres of public land in the North Slope. The bill went nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The BLM is also looking for ways to expand energy development in ANWR’s roughly 23 million acres, it says.

It is also taking action to move forward with the proposed Ambler Road and Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline projects.

In order to facilitate this, it’s revoking withdrawals along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor and Dalton Highway north of the Yukon River in order to convey the lands to state of Alaska, it announced.

Doing so will “help pave the way forward for the proposed Ambler Road and the Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline project, two projects that stand to increase job opportunities and encourage Alaska’s economic growth,” it said.

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/reversing-biden-policies-trump-unleashing-energy-potential-alaska

>>22895363

In 3 months, federal oil, gas lease sales total $39 million in 5 western states

In Trump’s first month in office, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management began leasing federal land in five western states.

The Trump administration is continuing to reverse Biden administration energy policies, including its moratorium on new oil and natural gas lease sales on federal land and offshore waters.

In response to President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Unleashing American Energy,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order to reduce regulatory burdens and expedite domestic energy development, impacting 3.5 million acres in seven western states.

In Trump’s first month in office, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management began leasing federal land in five western states. In January, it leased 13 parcels covering 1,324 acres in Montana and North Dakota for $11,314,786. In February, it leased seven parcels totaling 1,317.29 acres in New Mexico for $20,671,801. In March, it leased 4 parcels totaling 2,443.11acres in Wyoming for $6,725,713 and in Nevada 10 parcels totaling 19,954 acres for $295,309.

Total lease sales in three months totaled more than $39 million, reflecting “an ongoing focus on unleashing domestic energy production, supporting job growth, and reducing reliance on foreign resources through efficient, streamlined permitting and leasing processes,” the BLM said.

“Unlike under President Biden, we will not leave our critical energy resources locked up when so many Americans are suffering through the unnecessarily high cost of living imposed by the previous administration,” Burgum said. “Unleashing America’s energy resources will lower prices at the pump, at the grocery store and across all aspects of American life while strengthening our national security.”

On Thursday, the Interior Department announced it would no longer require the BLM to prepare an environmental impact statement for 3,244 oil and natural gas leases in seven Western states in compliance with Trump’s executive order.

Nearly every day, it’s also announcing new leasing opportunities.

One includes scheduling an oil and gas lease sale on June 3 to offer 13 oil and gas parcels totaling 20,888 acres in Utah.

Another includes requesting public input for an upcoming lease sale of 99 oil and gas parcels totaling 84,045.23 acres in Wyoming and for 29 oil and gas parcels, totaling 9,102 acres, in a September sale in Montana and North Dakota.

“Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources,” the department explains. “Before development operations can begin, an operator must submit an application for permit to drill detailing development plans. The BLM reviews applications for permits to drill, posts them for public review, conducts an environmental analysis and coordinates with state partners and stakeholders.”

Oil and natural gas leases are awarded for a renewable 10-year term. The federal government receives a royalty of 16.67% of the value of production.

The Interior Department also approved a new natural gas pipeline in Humboldt County, Nevada, authorizing construction and maintenance of a 16-mile, 24-inch buried pipeline and associated above ground facilities that will cross public and private lands.

Burgum also directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold offshore lease sales in the Gulf of America. The first proposed notice of sale is slated for June.

According to BOEM’s latest analysis, oil and natural gas resources in undiscovered fields in the Gulf of America include 29.59 billion barrels of oil and 54.84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

“By continuing to expand offshore capabilities, the United States ensures affordable energy for consumers, strengthens domestic industry and reinforces its role as an energy superpower,” the Interior Department argues. “Opening the Outer Continental Shelf is central to this strategy as it unleashes domestic energy potential that had been blocked under the previous administration,” and is expected to generate tens of thousands of high-paying jobs throughout the industry.

Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas activities have generated billions of dollars in revenue from lease sales, rental fees and royalties to the federal government and states, helping to fund infrastructure, education and public services and wildlife conservation. They also help strengthen U.S. energy independence, national security and global stability, by reducing reliance on foreign producers, the Trump administration argues.

more…

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/3-months-federal-oil-gas-lease-sales-total-39-million-5-western-states

UConn Med backs down from DEI oath for students after legal warning letter: watchdog

Taxpayer-funded school allegedly didn't say how it's communicating to students it does "not mandate nor monitor" their reciting of the modified Hippocratic Oath.

The University of Connecticut School of Medicine clarified Tuesday it would not require students to recite a diversity, equity and inclusion-flavored version of the Hippocratic Oath, according to a watchdog who called out the taxpayer-funded school two months ago for the apparently mandatory recitation at its "white coat" ceremony.

"UConn’s medical school does not mandate nor monitor a student’s reciting of all or part of our Hippocratic Oath, nor do we discipline any student for choosing to not recite the oath or any part of it," according to an email the school sent the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, as relayed by FIRE Tuesday to Just the News.

"UConn's medical students can now rest assured that they needn't sacrifice their ideas or beliefs to practice medicine. Forced ideological oaths have no place on campus, and FIRE will continue to fight against compelled speech," FIRE Program Counsel Ross Marchand said.

FIRE spokesperson Jack Whitten said UConn did not convey how it's communicating to students the DEI oath is voluntary and not monitored. UConn did not immediately answer a query from Just the News on that question.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/watchdogs/uconn-med-backs-down-dei-oath-students-after-legal-warning-letter-watchdog

Probe into near-collision at airport finds controllers didn't halt flights amid military flyover

The incident took place March 28 and details about the investigation were reported Tuesday.

A federal investigation into the almost-collision between a Delta Air Lines flight and military jets near Reagan National Airport found that airport controllers didn't stop flights during the military flyover.

The incident occurred March 28, and details of the investigation were reported Tuesday.

Sources told CNN air traffic controllers in the control tower of the Washington, D.C.-area airport didn't hold departing flights for five minutes like they were supposed to, as military jets were scheduled to do a flyover at 3:17 p.m.

A source told the news outlet that it is standard protocol to have a short pause in departures from the airport while military jets have a flyover from nearby Arlington National Cemetery, but that didn't happen.

An analysis by CNN using information collected from a flight tracking website called FlightRadar24, suggests the military jets and the Delta flight were five seconds away from colliding with each other.

This incident took place one day after an air traffic controller was charged with assault and battery in connection with a scuffle inside the control tower.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/probe-near-collision-airport-finds-controllers-didnt-halt-flights-amid-military

As border crossings drop, U.S. attorney in AZ files more than 500 border crime cases in 2 weeks

By fiscal 2023, more than 775,000 foreign nationals illegally entered Arizona, including apprehensions reported by CBP and gotaways reported by Border Patrol agents

As illegal border crossings have dropped significantly under the Trump administration, federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona are filing immigration and border crime charges at a record pace.

In one week, they filed charges against 204 illegal foreign nationals. This includes 83 for illegal reentry, 107 for illegally entering the U.S., and 14 responsible for “smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona,” the office announced.

One recent arrest depicts typical ones made by Border Patrol agents in Arizona and elsewhere, The Center Square has reported on over the years. On April 1, Border Patrol agents arrested illegal foreign national Gabriel Santiago-Ramirez near Kingman, Arizona, after engaging in pursuit and catching him on foot in the desert. After being pursued in his vehicle by Border Patrol agents, he bailed out and ran, seeking to evade capture. They found three illegal foreign nationals inside his vehicle allegedly being transported further into the interior. Border Patrol agents caught him and arrested all four illegally in the country.

A recent sentencing also describes typical border crime convictions. On April 2, a federal judge sentenced Mexican national Ivan Mauricio Hernandez-Mosqueda to 46 months in prison for “Conspiracy to Encourage and Induce an Alien to Unlawfully Enter the United States.” He was found guilty of coordinating the smuggling of more than 100 illegal foreign nationals into Arizona, many of whom he coached on how to claim asylum under false pretenses, investigators said.

The previous week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration and border crime charges against 260 illegal foreign nationals, including 96 for illegal reentry and 155 for illegally entering the U.S.

It also filed cases against nine individuals “responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona,” it announced.

In one notable case it highlights, Columbian national Greiby Melissa Barcelo-Velasquez was sentenced to 30 months in prison for “Conspiracy to Encourage and Induce an Alien to Unlawfully Enter the United States.” She was found guilty of coordinating the smuggling of more than 100 Columbia nationals to the U.S. using her travel company, Baul Travel SAS, dating back to June 2023.

Federal agents involved in the investigations of the nearly 500 cases include U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, ICE- Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and ATF.

CBP and Border Patrol agents staffing Arizona’s 378 miles of shared border with Mexico in the CBP sectors of Tucson and Yuma were hard hit by the border crisis that erupted after former President Joe Biden dismantled existing border security policies and implemented new ones. His administration created parole programs and a phone app to facilitate the unlawful entry of millions of inadmissible foreign nationals into the U.S., which were terminated by the Trump administration.

By fiscal 2022, both sectors reported a record high of more than 816,000 apprehensions and gotaways, those who evaded capture, The Center Square exclusively reported. Illegal border crossers reportedly came from 150 countries in one fiscal year, totaling more than the population of every single city in Arizona except Phoenix, The Center Square reported.

By fiscal 2023, more than 775,000 foreign nationals illegally entered Arizona, including apprehensions reported by CBP and gotaways reported by Border Patrol agents exclusively reported by The Center Square.

In the first three months of fiscal 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona brought criminal charges against nearly 1,456 foreign nationals for illegal entry and reentry and filed 260 human smuggling cases, The Center Square reported.

As the border crisis worsened, instead of shutting down the border, the Biden administration increased flights of illegal foreign nationals into the U.S. and expanded entry through a phone app. Illegal crossings dropped slightly to nearly 565,000 in Arizona in fiscal 2024, excluding gotaways, The Center Square reported.

more…

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/us-attorney-arizona-files-more-500-border-crime-cases-two-weeks

Pennsylvania taking up plan to ban gender transitions for minors

“The gender-related procedures at the center of this hearing are not health care and are not harmless,” said bill sponsor Sen. Judy Ward, R-Hollidaysburg.

The debate over whether children should undergo gender transition treatments has grown in fervor since Election Day, though a pending bill to ban the procedures in Pennsylvania has not.

The Senate Majority Policy Committee, filled entirely with Republicans from the upper chamber, will center the issue at a hearing in Altoona next week. Parents, medical professionals, and detransitioned patients will share their perspectives on why the pending legislation, called the Do No Harm Act, should become law.

“The gender-related procedures at the center of this hearing are not health care and are not harmless,” said bill sponsor Sen. Judy Ward, R-Hollidaysburg. “This hearing will give us a much-needed look into the real, permanent, and long-term harm that so many children are suffering because of these procedures at the hands of those who are charged to care for them.”

The bill echoes the name of a medical advocacy group critical of the pediatric field’s embrace of the interventions called Do No Harm. The organization says physicians are too quick to prescribe puberty blockers and perform gender dysphoria surgeries, causing irreversible damage to bone strength, fertility and brain maturity.

Ward sponsored the legislation in December, though it has not yet been formally introduced.

Do No Harm published a database in October that compiles claims from private and public insurers – apart from Kaiser Permanente and the Department of Veterans Affairs – that have been cross-referenced to ensure the procedures covered are for gender-affirming care specifically.

After an October press conference in Harrisburg with state legislators, Serio told The Center Square that families that pay out of pocket aren’t captured in the data. This, combined with the group’s methodology, means the total number of procedures is undercounted.

It’s a notable distinction given research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published in June that indicates 97% of breast reductions performed on minors in 2019 were for cisgender males. The term cisgender describes people who do not identify as the opposite sex.

Researchers, who similarly scoured insurance claims, said the procedure was chosen for analysis because it’s one of the few covered surgeries for children and adults diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

In a news release describing the study, co-author Elizabeth Boskey, an instructor in Harvard’s Department of Social and Behavior Sciences, said the data illustrates the rarity of surgeries performed on transgender, or TGD, minors, backing up “that U.S. surgeons are appropriately following international guidelines around assessment and care.”

Lead author Dannie Dai, a research data analyst in the Department of Health Policy and Management, said legislation in 25 states that bans gender-affirming care isn’t about protecting children, but rather “is rooted in bias and stigma against TGD identities and seeks to address a perceived problem that does not actually exist.”

Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, begs to differ, saying the “first-of-its-kind project” paints a different picture.

“While this data represents the tip of the iceberg, this is the first step in holding the medical establishment accountable for participating in, and often times promoting, predatory and unscientific medical interventions for vulnerable children,” he said.

According to data provided by the group, between 2019 and 2023, insurance companies covered 558 claims for puberty blockers and 321 surgeries for more than 800 minors in Pennsylvania. Of the latter, managed Medicaid approved 125 of the procedures, while commercial companies handled the remaining 196.

That translates to just under $5.9 million submitted hospital claims; $469,592 for puberty blockers, and for surgeries, $2.9 million from private insurers and $2.5 million from managed Medicaid.

Nationally, the database claimed just under 14,000 minors received gender-affirming care, totaling more than $119 million.

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/bill-planned-ban-gender-transitions-minors

>>22895747

notable

>>22895792

tyb