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House Committee Adopts Amendment to Rehire Troops Fired for Refusing COVID Vaccine
The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would push the Department of Defense to rehire U.S. service members who were fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
The measure, which would require the Pentagon to create a robust plan for rehiring those service members, was adopted by voice vote as the committee considered a round of amendments for a markup of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The measure, however, faces an uncertain future later this year, when the committee will meet with the Democratic-led Senate Armed Services Committee to reconcile differences in the NDAA before full passage in Congress.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who offered the amendment, said the measure would correct the wrongful firing of 8,400 service members who refused the COVID-19 vaccine when it was made mandatory for the U.S. military.
Biden Administration Suspends Funding for Scientist at Center of COVID Lab Leak Theory
The Biden administration said it has suspended from all federal funding programs the scientist at the heart of the lab leak theory of the origins of the coronavirus, and proposed blocking him from receiving federal funding in the future.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent a letter to Peter Daszak on Tuesday, less than a week after the agency took similar action against Daszak’s organization, EcoHealth Alliance (EHA). In the letter, HHS said it was holding Daszak responsible for EcoHealth Alliance’s failure to adequately monitor the activities of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and then subsequently failing to report on the lab’s high-risk virus studies.
HHS cited information from 31 federal documents dating back to the National Institutes of Health’s initial 2014 grant to EcoHealth, leading up to the May 15 notice suspending and proposing debarment of Daszak’s organization.
EcoHealth and Daszak have come under fire from Republicans and Democrats over the group’s work with the Wuhan lab, particularly regarding controversial “gain of function” research to enhance the ability of the virus to cause disease or make it more transmissible.
Biggest Bombshells From New Fauci COVID Emails
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is under fire after the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic reviewed more than 30,000 pages of subpoenaed emails and documents from Dr. David Morens, Fauci‘s former senior adviser.
The subcommittee, led by Republican Representative Brad Wenstrup, said the emails raised “serious questions as to whether Dr. Fauci took part in a conspiracy amongst the highest levels of [the National Institutes of Health] to hide official records related to the origins of COVID-19.” Morens testified in front of the subcommittee Wednesday, and Fauci is slated to testify on June 3.
According to a press release from the subcommittee, the 35-page memo “incriminates Dr. Morens in undermining the operations of the U.S. government, unlawfully deleting federal COVID-19 records, using a personal email to avoid the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and repeatedly acting unbecoming of a federal employee.”
Fauci, as the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, led the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020. Over the years, he has faced public backlash over mask and vaccine mandates and theories about the virus’ origin and subsequent alleged cover-ups. Several GOP leaders believe the virus originated from a scientific lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in Wuhan, China — not through species-to-species transmission, a widely supported theory in the scientific community.
Study Finds COVID Shutdown Flipped Drug Overdose Mortality Rates Among Industries
Drug overdose deaths spiked following Kentucky’s COVID-19 stay-at-home and business closure orders of March 2020. But the industries that suffered the most overdose deaths were surprising, according to research conducted by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health (CPH).
In the years leading up to the study, researchers found Kentucky’s service industry employees experienced the most drug overdose deaths. However, non-service industry workers were more likely to die by drug overdose in the months following the COVID-related shutdown of 2020.
Greg Abbott Vows to Defy Joe Biden Again
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has vowed to defy any World Health Organization (WHO) “pandemic agreement” that is signed by President Joe Biden on behalf of the United States, saying it would contravene American and Texan sovereignty.
In March, a number of world leaders called for a new “pandemic accord” under the constitution of the WHO, which they argued will help prevent a repeat of the pandemic. However, the proposal has proved highly controversial, with some conservatives arguing it would dilute national sovereignty and could threaten free expression.
On Wednesday, in a post on X, Abbott wrote: “I reject the World Health Organization’s proposed ‘Pandemic Agreement’ with the United States. It undermines the sovereignty of the United States & the State of Texas. Texas will NOT comply.”
Abbott also shared an article from news website My Hometown Today that listed 24 Republican governors who signed an open letter in opposition to a new WHO pandemic accord, which they said would “undermine national sovereignty.” The signatories, including Abbott, said such an accord could create “a global surveillance infrastructure” and would “seek to elevate the WHO from an advisory body to a global authority in public health.”
Academic Validation: COVID, Psychological Operations, and the War for Technocracy
Finally, academia weighs in on Technocracy. David A. Hughes has released his massive book, “COVID-19, Psychological Operations, and the War for Technocracy.” He says, “Technocracy has been incubated for decades in China with the support of the Rockefellers and various technology transfers, and, with proof of concept having been established, the aim is now to roll it out in the West.”
Catherine Austin Fitts recognized David Hughes in the Solari Report: “Our Hero of the Week, the brilliant David A. Hughes, is a university lecturer on security studies, international relations theory, foreign policy analysis, globalization, and U.S. exceptionalism. With dual doctorates in German Studies and International Relations, his wide-ranging research interests include psychological warfare, 9/11, COVID-19, the deep state, intelligence crime, technocracy, resurgent totalitarianism, and global class relations.”
Nebraska Sues TikTok for ‘Fueling a Youth Mental Health Crisis’
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) filed a suit against TikTok on Wednesday, accusing the social media giant of being “addictive and harmful to teens and children,” adding that the app is “fueling a youth mental health crisis.”
The suit claims that TikTok’s algorithm and content distribution structure provide minor users with harmful content without proper consumer protection warnings.
Hilgers continued, “TikTok tells parents its platform is safe for kids, but our investigation reveals that nothing could be further from the truth.”
Hilgers claimed that the social media app’s algorithm “has shown kids inappropriate content, ranging from videos that encourage suicidal ideation and fuel depression, drive body image issues, and encourage eating disorders to those that encourage drug use and sexual content wildly inappropriate for young kids.”
California Bill Targeting Social Media Addiction in Teens Passes State Senate
In a bipartisan vote, the California State Senate approved a bill from a Bay Area lawmaker aimed at targeting social media addiction among children and teens.
On Monday night, senators approved Senate Bill 976 by State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) on a 35-2 vote. The bill now goes onto the Assembly for consideration.
“Studies show that once a young person has a social media addiction, they experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. But social media companies have been unwilling to voluntarily change their practices,” Skinner said in a statement. “With SB 976, the state Senate has sent a clear message: When social media companies won’t act, it’s our responsibility to protect our children.”
Under the bill, which is also known as the “Protecting Our Kids From Social Media Addiction Act,” platforms would be prohibited from sending an “addictive” social media feed to a minor without consent from a parent or guardian.
Police in U.S. Cities That Ban Facial Recognition Asking Others to Do It for Them
A major report in the Washington Post has found that law enforcement officers in U.S. several cities where facial recognition tech is banned for police have asked neighboring forces to search face databases for them.
Facial recognition has been prohibited in San Francisco since 2019. But Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s former district attorney, sums up the problem: “Police are using it but not saying they are using it.” The Post says the SFPD have outsourced at least five attempts to make facial matches. Some of these were done by the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC), a “multi-jurisdiction program serving law enforcement agencies in the region.” Others were farmed out to the Daly City Police Department. None were successful.
Police in Austin, Texas, however — also among the biggest U.S. cities to ban facial recognition — recorded 13 requests to a neighboring department for assistance with biometric face matching, and some of these led to arrests. Austin city employees are barred from using facial recognition as well as “information obtained” from the technology, with certain exceptions. But the suburb of Leander, just a 30-minute drive north of Austin, has no such restriction.
Leander’s police force has access to Clearview AI, which has courted many law enforcement agencies in the U.S., despite lingering questions about whether its method of scraping the public internet for facial images is 100 percent consensual. According to the Post, the Leander force also has a recognized Clearview AI “influencer”: Officer David Wilson, who performed several searches for the Austin force via Leander’s Clearview account. Emails seen by the Post show that officers contacted Wilson directly for the express purpose of requesting facial recognition searches.
Canada: Government Pushes Flawed Internet Age Verification and Blocking Law, Fines up to $500,000 for Non-Compliance
Canadian authorities are clearly making a concerted and targeted effort to grab control over various aspects of their citizens’ online activities, and the way internet companies are allowed to operate. And that’s true both of the government and the legislators, who are not afraid to support dubious bills if it benefits their immediate political interest.
Another such draft, now moving close to becoming law, is Bill S-210. It is designed to push the implementation of age verification, choosing sites that feature sexually explicit material as its primary target.
The bill has been in the Senate for several years, with the main criticism centered around a proposal to utilize biometric data (facial recognition and face scanning being one of the ideas), while undermining constitutionally protected freedom of expression by extending its power over regular services that, due to their nature, although not being adult sites, include adult material — such as search engines and social media.
