DOGE Descends On IRS As Musk Prepares To Audit Agency

 A top staffer of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived at IRS headquarters on Thursday ahead of a planned audit announced by President Donald Trump.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Washington on Jan. 9, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Elojn Musk aide Kavin Kliger visited the DC offices of the IRS to examine its systems, according to the Wall Street Journal, which noted that Kliger has been working at the Office of Personnel Management.

Later in the day, Trump announced that DOGE would audit the nation's tax collection agency.

"The Internal Revenue Service will be looked at like everybody else," Trump told reporters during a White House press briefing.

"They’re doing a hell of a job. It’s an amazing job they’re doing," Trump said of Musk and DOGE. "I call it the force of super-geniuses, but it’s building, and you know they go up, and they talk to some of the people about certain deals, and they get all tongue-tied because these people get it. They’re very smart people. We need smart people."

Trump was responding to a question about Kliger's visit to the IRS and whether the administration wants to close the agency - to which Trump said he did not expect that to be the case.

Democrats Freak Out (again)

Of course, no investigation into waste, fraud, and abuse would be complete without Democrats for some reason having a huge problem.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) posted on X that his office heard Musk's team was at the IRS.

"That means Musk’s henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America. And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason."

NEW: My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS. That means Musk's henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America. And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason.

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) February 13, 2025

Yes, henchmen. Fraud-investigating henchmen.

As the Epoch Times notes further, after DOGE accessed U.S. Department of Treasury payment systems earlier in the year, a group of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to the acting IRS commissioner asking what confidential information DOGE had requested from the IRS and how many taxpayers had had their confidential information accessed by DOGE.

Separately on Thursday, senior IRS executives were instructed to identify all contracts that were nonessential for termination, according to an internal email.

The email said that the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages most government contracts, is demanding they review consulting contracts under their purview and determine whether they can be justified.

The GSA deems a contract nonessential if it “merely generates a report, research, coaching, or an artifact,” the email says. “Consistent with the goals and directives of the Trump administration to eliminate waste, reduce spending, and increase efficiency, GSA has taken the first steps in a government-wide initiative to eliminate non-essential consulting contracts.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/doge-descends-irs-musk-prepares-audit-agency

EMA Launches Review of Finasteride for Suicidal Ideation

 The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started a review of medicines containing finasteride and dutasteride following concerns about associated suicidal ideation and behaviors. 

Medicines containing finasteride (5 mg tablets) and dutasteride (0.5 mg capsules) are approved to treat symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Products containing finasteride are also used orally (1 mg tablets) or as a spray to prevent hair loss and stimulate hair growth in men aged 18-41 years with early-stage androgenic alopecia. Both work by inhibiting the enzyme 5-alpha reductase responsible for the conversion of testosterone to 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone, thus slowing hair loss, stimulating hair growth, and reducing the size of the prostate.

Suicidal Ideation Frequency Unknown

Both drugs, when taken orally, are known to impart a risk for psychiatric side effects, including depression, but the frequency is uncertain. 

Suicidal ideation has recently been added as a possible side effect of unknown frequency in the product information for finasteride brands Propecia and Proscar. 

To minimize the risks, measures are already in place for finasteride, including warnings to healthcare professionals to monitor patients for psychiatric symptoms and stop treatment if symptoms occur. There are also recommendations for patients to seek medical advice if they experience psychiatric symptoms.

The EMA review, initiated at the request of the French medicines agency, will use all available data to evaluate the impact of suicidal ideation and behaviors on the benefit-risk balance of the drugs, taking into consideration the conditions they are used to treat. 

In the European Union, finasteride- and dutasteride-containing medicines are available as tablets or spray solutions under various trade names including Propecia, Proscar, Fynzur, Avodart, Combodart, Dutaglandin, Androfin, Dupro, Duster, Andropecia, Adadut, Prosterid, Finpros, Tadusta, Gefina, Dutascar, Finural, Finaristo, Finapil, Prosmin, Finapuren, Capila, Finahair, Duodart, and Dutalosin.

Questions to Be Answered

During the review, the marketing authorization holders will be asked to provide information and answer various questions including:

• What information on psychiatric disorders, suicidal ideation, and/or suicide is included in the summary of product characteristics, package leaflet, and labelling (ie, inner and/or outer packaging).
• Any important differences in the product information in different countries.
• Any additional risk minimization measure(s) related to psychiatric disorders in place in each country, as well as the timing of their implementation.
• A detailed analysis of all relevant nonclinical data, clinical trials data, pharmaco-epidemiological studies, and published literature on suicidal ideation and/or suicide following finasteride or dutasteride use as applicable.
• A discussion on the causal relationship between suicidal ideation and/or suicide and treatment with finasteride or dutasteride, as well as a discussion on the characterization of possible risk factors including age, dose, route of administration, treatment duration, other known adverse drug reactions (such as persistent sexual disorders), and personal history of psychiatric disorders.
• The effectiveness of the current risk minimization measures in place regarding psychiatric disorders.
• A critical appraisal of the impact of suicidal ideation and/or suicide events on the benefit-risk balance of the medicinal product(s) in each approved indication.
• Proposals and justifications for further measures to minimize suicidal ideation and/or suicide and the feasibility of these measures.

On consideration of all these factors, the EMA will then issue a recommendation on whether the marketing authorizations for finasteride and dutasteride should be maintained, varied, suspended, or withdrawn across the European Union.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/ema-launches-review-finasteride-suicidal-ideation-2025a10003ye

Hospitalization for Cannabis Use Disorder Linked to Higher Risk for Early Death

 Hospitalization for cannabis use disorder (CUD) is associated with a nearly threefold higher risk for premature death compared with the general population, with risk particularly high for death by trauma, suicide, and opioid poisoning, a new study showed.

METHODOLOGY:

• A population-based retrospective cohort study included 11.6 million individuals aged 15-105 years from Ontario, Canada, between 2006 and 2021.
• Researchers compared overall and cause-specific mortality between nearly 107,000 individuals receiving incident hospital-based care for CUD and nearly 421,000 age- and sex-matched members of the general population or individuals receiving hospital-based care for other substance use disorders.
• The analysis was adjusted for comorbid mental health, substance use, and chronic health conditions.
• The median follow-up duration was 5 years.

TAKEAWAY:

• Individuals who received incident hospital-based care for CUD were nearly three times more likely to die within 5 years of care than those in the general population (3.5% vs 0.6%; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.8; 95% CI, 2.6-3.0).
• After adjusting for comorbidities, the group receiving hospital-based care for CUD showed an increased risk for mortality by suicide (aHR, 9.7; 95% CI, 6.0-15.6), trauma (aHR, 4.6; 95% CI, 3.6-5.8), or opioid poisoning (aHR, 5.0; 95% CI, 2.9-8.8) compared with the general population.
• Risk for lung cancer mortality was also notably elevated among individuals receiving hospital-based care for CUD (aHR, 3.8; 95% CI, 2.4-6.1) compared with the general population.
• Interestingly, there was a higher mortality risk for individuals receiving hospital-based care for consuming alcohol (aHR, 1.30), stimulants (aHR, 1.7), or opioids (aHR, 2.2;) than for CUD.

IN PRACTICE:

"Although CUD may not be directly responsible, our findings highlight a growing segment of the population who are at elevated risk of death and may benefit from preventive measures," the investigators wrote.

Authors of an accompanying editorial, led by Laura J. Bierut, MD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, noted that "We must adopt a robust public health approach, similar to the successful strategies used to reduce tobacco consumption, to mitigate the harms associated with cannabis use. We need a nationwide public health campaign to address the dangers of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder."

SOURCE:

The study was led by Daniel T. Myran, MD, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was published online on February 6 in JAMA Network Open.

LIMITATIONS:

The study considered only individuals seeking hospital-based care for CUD, representing a high-risk subpopulation, and the findings may not generalize to CUDs not requiring hospital-based care. The study also lacked detailed data on cannabis use patterns, including the frequency and type of cannabis used. Additionally, unmeasured confounding factors such as tobacco use, and risk-taking behaviors may have influenced the results.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by the University of Ottawa site of ICES (formerly known as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences). Several investigators reported receiving grants and honoraria from various sources, including pharmaceutical companies; and one reported being an employee of Health Canada. Full details are provided in the original article.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/hospitalization-cud-linked-higher-risk-early-death-2025a10003un

Trump to sign order yanking federal funds for schools with COVID-19 vaccine mandates

 President Trump will sign an order Friday barring federal funding for schools and universities that require students to take COVID-19 vaccines.

The executive order, first reported by Breitbart News, comes roughly five years after the novel coronavirus arrived in the US, killing more than 1 million Americans and unleashing massive economic, social and educational upheaval.

Highly effective vaccines were developed in late 2020 through Trump’s first-term Operation Warp Speed, but Republicans generally have opposed vaccine mandates imposed on federal employees and by state and local entities.

The executive order, first reported by Breitbart News, comes roughly five years after the novel coronavirus arrived in the US, killing more than 1 million Americans and unleashing massive economic, social and educational upheaval.The Washington Post via Getty Images

Vaccines have become less effective at blocking COVID-19 transmission while newer variants of the virus have become less lethal over time.

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Twenty-one states currently ban coronavirus vaccine mandates in schools, according to the National Academy for State Public Health, including Republican bastions such as Texas and Florida and Democrat-led jurisdictions including Arizona and Michigan.

It’s unclear precisely how much money could be clawed back if state and local officials refuse to comply.

It’s unclear precisely how much money could be clawed back if state and local officials refuse to comply.Getty Images

Federal funding for schools has long been a mechanism for Washington to intervene in educations, which is mostly regulated locally.

For example, the Senate passed a proposed rule in 1994 to bar schools with federal funding from advocating “the promotion of homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative” — a measure supported by then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), who went on to become president. That dictate wasn’t approved by the House and so did not become law.

Trump, who took office Jan. 20, has authorized Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative to chop up to $1 trillion from annual federal spending through massive staff and grant reductions, with early targets including USAID, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Education Department, each of which Trump hopes to ultimately eliminate.

https://nypost.com/2025/02/14/us-news/trump-to-sign-order-yanking-federal-funds-for-schools-with-covid-19-vaccine-mandates/