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Hantavirus Case Reported at NY High School Not Linked to Deadly Cruise Ship Outbreak

Health officials in Ontario County, New York, are investigating a suspected case of hantavirus involving a student at Geneva High School, just after a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sparked international concerns about a COVID-2.0 scenario.

According to health officials, the case is not connected to the rare Andes strain that killed three passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship and prompted the quarantine of 18 Americans, including three New Yorkers.

Officials emphasize this is a locally acquired infection typical of the hantavirus strains already present in the United States, and there is no evidence of risk to other students, staff, or the general public.

The Ontario County Department of Health received the alert Thursday morning.

Geneva City Schools sent a letter to parents Friday afternoon confirming the investigation and reassuring families that the situation poses no threat to the school community.

“The Ontario County Department of Health is investigating a suspected case of locally acquired hantavirus involving a Geneva High School student,” the district said in the announcement. “The Department of Health has advised that there is no evidence of risk to other students or staff related to this situation. Health officials have also emphasized that this situation is not tied to the hantavirus strain currently receiving national media attention.”

Ontario County Public Health Director Kate Ott described the timing as “horrible” given the ongoing national attention to the cruise ship outbreak, but stressed that the student’s symptoms have been mild fatigue, aches, and lethargy for several weeks, according to a report from local station WHAM.

“We thought surely this can’t be Hantavirus in relation to what’s going on in the media at this time,” Ott said.

“The case is mild, and hantavirus is not always mild,” Ott added. “It can be really severe, so we’re really grateful for that.”

She noted this is only the second suspected hantavirus case in Ontario County in the past two decades.

The student is not required to quarantine.

Officials are urging residents to take standard precautions when cleaning areas that may have rodent droppings, such as attics, cabins, sheds, and garages, by wearing masks and gloves and wetting down debris before sweeping to avoid aerosolizing particles.

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Hackers possibly linked to Iran breached tank readers at US gas stations: CNN report

Hackers suspected to have ties to Iran may have infiltrated computerized fuel monitoring systems at gas stations across the United States, according to CNN on Friday.

The report said the suspected cyber intrusions targeted automatic tank gauge systems, or ATGs, which are used to track fuel levels and detect leaks in underground storage tanks at gas stations.

The CNN report suggested that federal investigators think the activity was carried out by hackers linked to Iran but officials have not publicly connected the operation to a specific branch of the Iranian government.

U.S. officials told CNN that some of the systems had been connected to the internet without password protection, potentially allowing hackers to access and manipulate digital readings and display settings. 

Investigators warned that falsified readings could hide leaks or create other safety problems.

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Texas AG Ken Paxton Scores Major Win — Forces Children’s Hospital to Open America’s First ‘Detransition’ Clinic

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a major victory for the state of Texas.

Texas Children’s Hospital has agreed to create the nation’s first dedicated detransition clinic, cut ties with five physicians, and pay $10 million to the state as part of a broader settlement.

The agreement follows a state investigation launched after Texas banned gender-related medical interventions for minors in 2023.

Earlier this year, Paxton sued the hospital, alleging that it continued to provide prohibited procedures and used inaccurate diagnostic codes to bill Medicaid.

Under the settlement, Texas Children’s will establish a clinic focused on treating patients who previously underwent gender-related medical interventions and are seeking care related to reversing or managing those effects.

For the first five years, the hospital will cover the full cost of services.

The settlement also requires the hospital to permanently sever ties with five doctors involved in providing such care to minors.

“This historic settlement reflects an institutional and fundamental cultural shift away from radical ‘gender’ ideology,” Paxton said in a statement.

“I applaud Texas Children’s Hospital for changing course and committing to being a part of the solution by agreeing to form a first-of-its kind Detransition Clinic that will help provide free care to those who have been victimized by twisted, morally bankrupt transgender ideology.”

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Worst Prosecutor In America Struggles To Explain Why Democrats Keep Protecting Illegal Alien Murderers

After being presented with piles of evidence showing his office systematically allows violent criminal illegal aliens back on the street, Steve Descano, the George Soros-backed Fairfax County, Virginia, Commonwealth’s Attorney, continued to claim his office does everything in its power to prosecute them properly.

Descano testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement in a hearing titled “Fairfax County, Virginia: The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary Policies,” alongside Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid, former Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Cheryl Minter, the mother of a woman murdered by an illegal, and others.

In a heated exchange with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, regarding Descano’s preferential treatment of illegals in sentencing — requiring that their immigration status be considered in a way that will protect them from deportation — Descano claimed the promise to shield illegals was merely an empty campaign promise.

“I didn’t realize people were so obtuse that they could not realize what the difference between a campaign statement and an actual office policy is,” Descano said. “We’re not protecting undocumented individuals, we prosecute people who commit crimes in Fairfax County regardless of their status.”

However, a since-deleted portion of Descano’s website, which had been up for six years until last week when he was asked to testify, stated, “Our office will take immigration consequences into account when making prosecuting decisions. … If two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County.”

Descano refused to answer how many times his office took immigration status into account when reducing the sentences of violent illegal aliens, but maintained that there was a difference between what his campaign website said and his office’s official policy.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, confronted Descano with his office’s official policy, which reads nearly the exact same way.

The guidelines for plea bargaining, charging decisions, and sentencing, signed by Descano himself, state, “Although not outcome determinative, prosecutors shall consider: (i) the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crime(s) the defendant is charged with, and (ii) the detrimental impact that deportation/removal has on the families and communities those removed or deported leave behind.”

That policy is in line with the county’s “public trust and confidentiality policy,” which allows illegal aliens in Fairfax to “access county benefits and services without fear that the information they share will be disclosed to federal immigration officials.”

Shielding illegal aliens is necessary, Descano argued, because 30 percent of residents of Fairfax County are immigrants, and their testimony is needed to obtain convictions. David Bier of the Cato Institute said that 20 percent of Fairfax’s residents are “here illegally or lives in a household of someone here illegally.”

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Pentagon Draws Up Strike Plans as Trump Weighs Renewed Iran Assault

The Pentagon has prepared plans for a possible renewed military campaign against Iran as President Donald Trump weighs whether to resume strikes following stalled negotiations and mounting tensions in the Middle East.

According to The New York Times, U.S. and Israeli officials have intensified military preparations for the possible return of combat operations as early as next week if diplomatic efforts fail.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled the administration is prepared to escalate.

“We have a plan to escalate if necessary,” Hegseth told lawmakers this week.

Trump, returning from China on Friday, indicated Tehran’s latest peace proposal was a non-starter.

“I looked at it, and if I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

The president has repeatedly warned Iran against dragging out negotiations.

“They’re either going to make a deal, or they’re going to be decimated,” Trump said earlier this week. “So, one way or another, we win.”

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Exploiting Veterans To Advance An Unaffordable Housing Agenda

One of the side effects of our misguided monetary policy in recent decades is the spike in home ‘values’.  Housing is one of the most common inflation hedges this side of gold.  It gives investors a relatively safe place to park their resources, and put them to work. 

But it’s not just big institutional investors who act as landlords.  Almost 9 in 10 such homes are owned by those who can count their entire portfolio on one hand. 

So while federal lawmakers bemoan the ‘affordability’ crisis that they arguably created, state and local lawmakers are left to deal with it.  Too often though, they make things worse.

Last week the San Antonio City Council banned landlords who own five or more rental homes from declining to rent to veterans for the express reason that they use a federal housing voucher as partial payment. 

This is another example of government showing insufficient understanding, much less respect for, the supply side of the economic equation.  This tendency has even penetrated our cultural lexicon.

When my financial literacy class discussed “unearned” income recently, returns from rentals was included with investments in stocks, bonds and the like.  I felt the need to clarify the term. 

Speaking from experience, landlords are ‘on’ 24/7, dealing the tenant concerns, neighborhood/HoA issues, etc.  Plus, when tenants move out, the clock starts ticking. 

The condition of the property must be assessed, cleanup is needed, and repairs might be necessary.  Then there’s marketing, sifting through prospective new tenants, and signing an agreement.

If I got that knocked-out in 4-6 weeks, I was content.  Considering I had a full-time job, was raising four daughters, and teaching at night, I considered that timeframe a win.  That is not “unearned.” 

Insert government meddling, and you introduce a new, unique headache into the process. 

When I started renting, my realtor brought up the possibility of accepting section 8 vouchers.  “It’s a steady income,” he said.  I declined, but not because I’m uncharitable.  Once when a tenant’s husband left, I lowered her rent for the remainder of the lease.

I declined section 8 because I didn’t want to deal with potential bureaucratic hassle, like the inspection headaches laid out by a local landlord.  Sidewalk problems that are the “city’s responsibility.”  Repairs to floors devoid of any actual problems.

I just wanted to convert the house I used to live in into a rental that could eventually help pay for my daughters’ college.  Landlords like the author on the other hand, are trying to help others in the community of lesser means, people who could use a hand-up. 

Aren’t citizens like her the same ones whose virtues are extolled by politicians, aiding citizens that those pols claim to care for?  This issue presents one of the clearest contrasts between the private sector and the public sector.

On the one hand, you have people serving a market demand, in this case with altruistic intentions, and with their own resources. 

On the other hand, you have politicians who promise ‘affordable’ housing on the campaign trail, put citizens on the hook for a staggering amount of debt that their property taxes finance, and then kneecap those who are already doing the work. 

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Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Say Zelensky’s Right-Hand Man Yermak Turned to Fortune Teller To Cast Spells and ‘Eliminate Enemies’

Yermak sought the counsel of ‘Veronika Feng Shui’, who urged him to ‘eliminate his enemies’ while still in power.

It turns out that Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man, Andriy Yermak, turned to a fortune teller amid the political turmoil that ended with him in pretrial arrest.

We first reported this story back in February, when Russian RT brought ‘a story that would have had all the markings of pure Moscow propaganda, if it were not brought by a Ukrainian source with knowledge of the inner workings of the Kiev regime’.

Former press secretary to Volodymyr Zelensky, Yulia Mendel, had claimed that Yermak sought help from witches of various stripes – shady occultists gathering ‘water from corpses’, burning herbs, and performing dark rituals – as you can read in: Former Ukrainian Official Denounces Regime Reliance on Witchcraft – Disgraced Gray Eminence Andriy Yermak Said To Mess With Corpses, Burned Herbs, and Perform Dark Rituals.

Many people may have dismissed this story as a fantasy by one disgruntled employee amplified by the Russian propaganda machine – but now, the reports have resurfaced, with iron-clad Ukrainian sources and copious amounts of evidence.

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‘Crazy ass Uncle Tom’: Democrat State Rep. Juandalynn Givan says Clarence Thomas ‘sold us back into the hands of the master’

State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) called U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Associate Justice Clarence Thomas an “Uncle Tom” and the “one who sold us out in Africa” after a recent redistricting ruling on Monday.

SCOTUS struck down a 2023 federal court-ordered Alabama congressional map on Monday.

The ruling paves the way for Republicans in Alabama to likely pick up at least one congressional seat in the 2026 midterms. Republicans currently have a narrow majority in Congress, and redistricting battles are happening in multiple states across the nation. A special master hired by a three-judge panel in Birmingham redrew the map for the 2024 congressional elections after Democrats and liberal groups were successful in their initial redistricting legal challenge. The court-ordered map resulted in Democrats picking up one seat in Alabama via Figures in Congressional District 2.

Givan criticized Thomas, a black and respected conservative jurist, for ruling to “take away two damn congressional seats” from Democrats.

“This mf’er, this man, this Uncle Tom, this Uncle Tim…and I’m so pissed and I said this today…this black man right here, I don’t know what kind of black he is. I don’t know what damn plantation this man came from. I don’t know what slave ship he was on. I don’t know what part of the slave ship he was on,” Givan said on Facebook on Monday.

“I have never in my life met a black man who has never done any damn thing at all in the position that he has that would ever benefit black people and this man is just as dark as I am. First of all, you just pissed on the 11th Circuit. You just pissed on the judges in the 11th Circuit. You literally have ruled to take away two damn congressional seats because that’s what’s going to happen. You have sided with the Republican Party. You are a freaking straw boss…a damn Uncle Tom for these people. I just don’t get it.”

Givan continued, “I do not say the N word. You have not ever heard me use the N word to say it out. I may say reggin. That’s it spelled backwards but this reggin right here, this reggin right here. This man. I’m telling y’all. This mf’er must’ve been there, he must’ve been the one who sold us out in Africa. His ancestors had to be the ones that sold us out in Africa that caused us to be chained. I don’t understand this man.”

“Today this man has forever turned the clock, he is the man who has turned us back into the hands of the master,” Givan said. “Help me understand this black man right here. Help me understand this crazy ass Uncle Tom. Help me understand this lynchman. Help me. Help me understand him.”

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‘The Daily Show’ Host Charlamagne Tha God Calls Justice Clarence Thomas a Racial Slur on Television

Radio host Charlamagne Tha God referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas using a racial slur during an appearance on The Daily Show this week.

Charlamagne, whose real name is Lenard McKelvey, made the remark during his recurring “In My Opinion” segment while discussing comments from Sen. Chris Coons about President Donald Trump and speculation over a possible third term.

“Mr. Coons’ is actually my nickname for Clarence Thomas,” Charlamagne said.

He then argued that Trump’s comments about remaining in office should not be treated as harmless jokes.

“Nope. Jokes about abusing power don’t hit as hard when you’re actually abusing power, okay?

”It’s like breaking out a whoopee cushion after you already shit your pants in the middle of a meeting. Nobody’s in the mood to laugh, okay?” he said.

Charlamagne went on to say that even if Trump is joking, repeated rhetoric can take on a life of its own.

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Netanyahu: We Will Sue NYT for Exposé Alleging Sexual Torture in Israeli Prisons

Israel is planning to sue The New York Times over a shocking report that Israeli prison officials are sexually torturing Palestinian prisoners.

Opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof’s 3,500-word exposé graphically details mind-boggling cruelty, including genital mutilation and using dogs to rape prisoners.

Such a lawsuit won’t likely succeed in U.S. courts because the Constitution forbids it. Federal law generally forbids recognizing defamation judgments in foreign courts.

The exposé appeared one day before the Times reprised an official Israeli report that detailed Hamas’ rape and sexual torture of Israeli prisoners and hostages during and after the October 7, 2023 terror raid.

The Story

Palestinians told Kristof about sexual violence against men, women, and children by myriad Israeli assailants: “soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency and, above all, prison guards.”

Evidence does not show that leaders ordered the rapes, Kristof explained. But a UN report explained that sexual torture is “one of Israel’s ‘standard operating procedures’ and ‘a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians.’” And the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has reported that “systematic sexual violence” is “widely practiced as part of an organized state policy.”

Kristof spoke to 14 victims. 

A freelance journalist, Sami al-Sai, 46, told Kristof that Israeli guards raped him with a rubber baton and then a carrot. A sadistic woman guard, he told Kristof, “grabbed him by the penis and testicles and joked, ‘These are mine,’ and then squeezed until he screamed from pain.”

Noting that American tax money has made the U.S. government complicit in the sex crimes, Kristof also detailed a case from the Euro-Med report. It described the repeated rape of a 42-year-old woman, which Israeli soldiers photographed and said would be released if “she did not cooperate with Israeli intelligence.”

Yet abuse, Kristof reported, went beyond — way beyond — rape.

“Many reported that they often had their genitals yanked or were beaten on the testicles. Hand-held metal detectors were used to probe between men’s naked legs and then smashed into their private parts; some men had to have their testicles amputated by doctors after beatings, according to the Euro-Med monitor,” Kristof reported.

A farmer told Kristof that Israeli guards raped him three times with a metal baton. He invited the third assault by asking for a pen and paper to write a complaint. 

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