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Saturday, January 25, 2025

DOJ drops charges against Texas doc who blew whistle on kids’ secret sex-change surgeries

The federal case against a Texas doctor accused of illegally leaking that a Houston hospital was secretly performing transgender surgeries on kids was dropped Friday — weeks before trial was set to begin.

US District Judge David Hittner signed off on prosecutors’ request to throw out all four felony counts accusing Dr. Eithan Haim, 34, of accessing patient records from Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) under false pretenses and providing them to conservative journalist Christopher Rufo in 2023.

Rufo then published a report in City Journal showing the hospital was performing so-called “gender-affirming” procedures on kids at least through May 2023, despite announcing it had stopped offering surgeries and puberty blockers a year earlier.

The initial announcement followed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issuing an opinion in February 2022 declaring sex change procedures in kids a form of child abuse.

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The dismissal request “with prejudice” was made in a single-page joint motion filed by the feds with Haim’s consent.

The motion didn’t offer any explanation for why prosecutors wanted to drop the case with trial set to begin on Feb. 10.

Haim faced up to ten years behind bars if convicted and sentenced to the maximum on all counts.

Judge Hittner approved the request in an order issued later Friday.

Haim’s legal team said the dismissal “fully vindicates” their client and noted that the feds can not ever revive the case against the doctor.

“The United States has finally agreed to drop the case against Dr. Haim, and the Court just granted dismissal,” said defense attorney Marcella Burke said.

“The fight against the evils he exposed continues, but this dismissal represents a repudiation of the weaponization of federal law enforcement and the first step in accountability for the misdeeds we have all witnessed in this case.”

Prosecutors claimed that Haim — a surgeon who performed part of his residency at TCH — accessed medical records after he stopped treating patients there in 2021.

But Haim’s lawyers argued in court papers last year that prosecutors had records proving that he’d actually continued treating patients at TCH into 2023 and never illegally accessed patient information.

Haim has maintained that he was simply blowing the whistle on the hospital breaking Texas law.

The Southern District of Texas US Attorney’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday afternoon.

https://nypost.com/2025/01/24/us-news/doj-drops-charges-against-texas-doc-who-blew-whistle-on-kids-secret-sex-change-surgeries/

Whistleblower: FBI's New Orleans Boss Stayed On Vacation after New Year's Terrorist Attack

by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

Apparently the second-deadliest foreign-inspired terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11 wasn’t enough for the boss of the New Orleans FBI field office to end his vacation early.

Early on New Year’s Day, 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a pickup truck into a crowd in New Orleans’s famed French Quarter—killing 14 people who were celebrating the New Year. Police fatally shot Jabbar in a following firefight, and authorities later determined that the incident was inspired by the foreign terrorist organization ISIS.

Despite that, New Orleans FBI Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil took several more days to return to the office, according to a whistleblower working with the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

“Myrthil vacationed in Europe from late December to early January, which included New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and the Sugar Bowl and took multiple days to return to New Orleans after the terrorist attack on January 1,” Grassley said in a Tuesday letter to FBI Acting Director Brian Driscol and Acting Attorney General James McHenry.

“The FBI failed to note this in any of the joint briefings it provided to Congress and must provide more information.”

Along with questions about the vacationing SAC, Grassley’s office seeks more information about the New Orleans attack, as well as info about the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on the same day. Grassley also wants to make sure whether those two attacks were connected—especially given that the driver of the Cybertruck, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, served at Fort Bragg and in Afghanistan at the same time as Jabbar.

“Similarities do reportedly exist between Jabbar and Livelsberger. For example, both individuals had experience in the U.S. Army and the vehicles in both incidents were rented from the same company, Turo. Further, according to reports, authorities claimed Livelsberger and Jabbar “likely overlapped at Fort Bragg and again in Afghanistan,’” Grassley noted. “It remains unclear whether there are additional similarities or connections between Jabbar and Livelsberger.”

Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson seek updates on the New Year’s Day attacks by Feb. 5.

Grassley and Johnson also wrote a separate letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, asking about Jabbar’s terroristic Facebook posts in the leadup to his attack.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/whistleblower-fbis-new-orleans-boss-stayed-vacation-after-new-years-terrorist-attack

What is Guillain-Barre Syndrome, neurological condition affecting over 70 people in Pune, India?

A total of 59 people in Pune have been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder. Around 12 out of the 59 are on ventilators.

The Maharashtra health department has formed a team to investigate the sudden increase of cases in the city.

"The total number of GBS cases increased to 59 on Wednesday, including 38 men and 21 women. 12 patients are currently on ventilator support," said a health official.

Doctors have explained the bacterial or viral infections generally lead to GBS since they weaken a person's immunity.

"It is prevalent in both paediatric and young-age groups. However, GBS will not lead to an epidemic or pandemic," said the official adding that with treatment, most people recover fully from the condition.

WHAT IS GUILLAIN-BARRE SYNDROME?

Guillain-BarrÃ© Syndrome (GBS) is a rare neurological condition in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves, leading to weakness, numbness or even paralysis.

GBS is not just rare, the exact causes of it remain unknown. According to Mayo Clinic, around a majority of people with Guillain-Barre Syndrome have experienced symptoms of an infection at least six weeks before the GBS symptoms show.

These infections include any respiratory illness or a gastrointestinal infection.

The symptoms of GBS include is weakness, which is experienced within in the feet first, then may move up the body to the legs, arms, face and breathing muscles.

A person may find it difficult to walk up the stairs, or simply walking. Other less common symptom includes weakness in the face and then down the body.

The brain may received abnormal sensory signals due to nerve damage in GBS, according to US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Other symptoms of Guillain-BarrÃ© syndrome may include: difficulty with vision, difficulty swallowing, speaking or chewing, prickly pain in hands and feet, pain gets severe at night, abnormal heart rate or blood pressure and problems with digestion or bladder control.

The condition is diagnosed by conducting a physical exam along with reviewing medical history. A nerve conduction velocity test (NCV) is conducted to measure the nerve's ability to send a signal. A doctor may also analyse the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the spinal cord.

Currently, there's no cure for GBS. Some therapies can help reduce the severity of the condition.

https://www.msn.com/en-in/health/health-news/what-is-guillain-barre-syndrome-neurological-condition-affecting-59-people-in-pune/ar-AA1xIhGb

Hegseth outlines priorities after being sworn in to lead Pentagon

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was sworn in on Saturday, issued a statement outlining his top priorities for the Pentagon under President Trump.

“It is the privilege of a lifetime to lead the warriors of the Department of Defense, under the leadership of our Commander in Chief Donald J. Trump,” Hegseth said in a statement to the military. “We will put America First, and we will never back down.”

Hegseth vowed to promote Trump’s mission of achieving peace through strength in three ways: Restore the warrior ethos, rebuild the military and reestablish deterrence.

“All of this will be done with a focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness,” he wrote. “I have committed my life to warfighters and their families. Just as my fellow soldiers had my back on the battlefield, know that I will always have your back.”

“We serve together at a dangerous time. Our enemies will neither rest nor relent. And neither will we,” the Army veteran continued. “We will stand shoulder to shoulder to meet the urgency of this moment.”

Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate Friday after Vice President Vance issued a tie-breaking vote. It is believed to be only the second time in history that a vice president has cast such a vote, after former Vice President Pence broke the tie to confirm former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in 2017.

Three Republican senators including Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.) voted “no.” While Murkowski and Collins were expected to vote against him, McConnell’s vote emerged as a surprise.

Trump was quick to offer support to his nominee after the vote was final.

“Congratulations to Pete Hegseth. He will make a great Secretary of Defense!” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, faced an uphill battle after Trump tapped him to lead the Defense Department, from allegations of sexual misconduct to questions about a past drinking problem. His nomination was also rattled earlier this week when Democrats revealed they had obtained a sworn affidavit by his former sister-in-law accusing him of being physically intimidating and frequently drunk, even while in military uniform.

Despite the mounting scrutiny, a fiery questioning during confirmation hearings and a nomination that at times seemed doomed to fail, Hegseth, 45, is now the second youngest Pentagon chief in history after the late Donald Rumsfeld — who served under both the Ford and George W. Bush administrations.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5106718-pete-hegseth-pentagon-priorities-post-confirmation/

Advocate groups ordered to stop aiding refugees who have already arrived in US

The Trump administration on Friday abruptly halted services for refugees in the United States, including Afghans, according to a memo obtained by CNN, stunning agencies that provide critical support to recent arrivals.

It’s a sweeping move that prompted a scramble as refugee advocates tried to interpret the order. The memo stands to affect tens of thousands of refugees – including Afghans who aided the US during the war – by seemingly barring them from assistance, ranging from caseworker support to housing, that is afforded to arrivals in their first three months in the United States.

“We’ll have refugees going homeless,” a refugee advocate told CNN. “It’s completely unprecedented. Nothing like this has ever happened.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week suspending refugee admissions as part of a broader effort by the administration to limit entry to the US on the basis of public safety and national security. As a result, approximately 10,000 refugees who had travel booked following a yearslong and often cumbersome process had those flights canceled.

But Friday’s memo goes a step further, according to multiple sources.

Resettlement agencies receive federal funding from the State Department. Those funds are authorized and appropriated by Congress for the purpose of aiding refugee arrivals. The State Department notified partners that all work under those awards must end, according to the memo obtained by CNN.

“Effective immediately upon receipt of this Notice of Suspension the Recipient must stop all work under the award(s) and not incur any new costs after the effective date cited above. The Recipient must cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible,” the memo states.

CNN has reached out to the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration for comment.

While Trump’s executive order, and the flight cancellations that followed, marked a huge blow to the refugee admissions program, Friday’s memo appears to bar agencies from providing funds and services to the refugees already in the United States.

Resettlement agencies help place refugees once they’ve been admitted to the US, introducing them to services, helping them get jobs and familiarizing them with a new community. In some cases, the help offices provide can be as simple as showing individuals the local bus route or teaching them how to use the financial system, or as significant as providing housing assistance.

Some of the most critical support is provided in the first three months, when refugees are eligible for multiple services that are federally funded.

Those exempt from the flight cancellations, like Afghans who worked for the US government and come under a special visa, may be impacted by the memo because it would similarly keep them from receiving services provided by resettlement agencies.

“We understand the need to reevaluate and realign priorities, but Afghan programs must be exempted to prevent a humanitarian crisis. This is a fixable issue, and we stand ready to work with the administration to get it right,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac and a Navy veteran.

Without those funds, it’s unclear what avenues of support they have.

“The goal is self-sufficiency,” an immigration attorney told CNN. “You’re diminishing peoples’ access to services that help them become self-sufficient.”

More than 30,000 refugees have arrived in the United States since October 1, the start of the fiscal year, and would be within the three-month window receiving benefits and services.

“You got here a week ago, under the wire, you know your case manager for three days. And now you’re not allowed to call them to get support from them,” another source said. “All of that is on hold. If you’re a recent arrival, you’re what, just on your own now?”

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/24/politics/refugee-benefits-afghans-halt-trump-administration/index.html

French shipping giant CMA CGM to keep avoiding Red Sea

French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM will continue to avoid the Red Sea even though it considers the region is more stable following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, it said on Saturday.

Shipping executives remain cautious about a return to the Red Sea, where Iran-backed Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023, leading most shipping companies to divert vessels to other routes.

CMA-CGM said in a statement the improved stability was "a positive but fragile sign" for the industry, and safety was a priority.

"Given the ongoing tensions and associated risks for commercial vessels in certain areas, CMA CGM will for time being continue to prioritise alternative routes, including a significant reliance on passage via the Cape of Good Hope," the statement said.

It added that adjustments to the policy could be made on a case-by-case basis depending on security and global operational conditions.

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/world/french-shipping-giant-cma-cgm-to-keep-avoiding-red-sea/ar-AA1xRmKR

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