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The biotechnology industry has no right to secrecy

In his column ‘Biosafety Now’, Dr. Simon Wain-Hobson revisits controversial gain-of-function research conducted in 2014, funded by US NIH contract HHSN26620070001, which successfully managed to transfer the H7N1 avian (bird flu) virus from ostriches to ferrets. Once transferred, the virus established itself in the “captive” laboratory ferrets sufficiently to cause airborne transmission to other ferrets without loss of virulence.

H7N1 is as deadly for humans as Ebola, but up until now has been rarely contracted. The implications of a biotechnology research programme which transformed the virus sufficiently to enable airborne transmission between mammals will not be lost on any of our readers. This is just another of the almost pandemics that gain-of-function research regularly creates. As we reported in our article, ‘Government Assurances of Biotech Safety Are Worthless. Here is the Evidence’, exotic gain-of-function experimentation is still continuing around the world to this day, whilst lab escapes are routine. 

However, biotechnology researchers are undaunted by the risks to public health, like Margaret Thatcher, “they are not for changing.” One can only presume that they have confidence that there will be enough body bags to go around when the inevitable next pandemic happens.

The UK Guardian reports that a 51-year-old career criminal, ironically called James Farthing, who won US$167 million in the lottery a year ago, has been arrested three times since for petty theft. He has been unable to change the direction of his life even though he has the material means to do so. “A leopard cannot change its spots.” Nothing could be more true of the mad disregard for risk that has continued on from the pandemic. The NZ Herald records an interview with New Zealand Labour Leader Chris Hipkins, who says he has no regrets that he failed to inform the public of the significant risk of heart disease that teenagers faced following the mRNA covid vaccine. A matter that was flagged by the recent Royal Commission Report. Hipkins excused himself, saying:

“In terms of my conscience, I never communicated medical advice around vaccination. That was always done by relevant health practitioners, including the director-general of health and the director of public health. I did not communicate, at any point, right the way through, that information other than reiterating the high-level messages around making sure you’re making informed decisions and consulting with medical practitioners.”

Of course, the “high-level messaging” that Hipkins is referring to was his constant encouragement for everyone, including school children, to get mRNA vaccines immediately on pain of losing their job or their ability to participate in social activities. If that is not offering medical advice, I don’t know what is. Hipkins appeared before the Royal Commission to answer questions but, incredibly, was allowed to do so in private. 

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The US refinery now processing Venezuelan oil

The Minerva Gloria is docked at a wharf in the Mississippi Sound, not far from the US’s vast oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico.

The ship, 820ft (250m) long, painted navy and burgundy, is carrying precious cargo from Venezuela that, just six months ago, would have been impossible to bring to the US – 400,000 barrels of crude oil.

Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves. Under Venezuela’s former president Nicholas Maduro oil exports had dropped significantly, due to a lack of investment. Then came US sanctions against any imports from the Latin American country.

But US President Donald Trump vowed to tap those reserves after the US military captured Maduro in a surprise, night-time raid in January.

Now the oil is flowing again in Venezuela. In March, the country’s monthly crude exports surpassed one million barrels per day. The first time since September.

As the world reels from the impact on global energy prices caused by Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, big oil and gas companies like Chevron are now importing Venezuelan crude oil by the shipload.

“It’s a big deal not only for Chevron but the entire Gulf region,” says Tim Potter. He is the director for Chevron’s oil refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the company’s largest operation in the US. It is also the only major US oil company currently operating in Venezuela.

Together this means that Chevron can extract its own Venezuelan oil, process it itself, and get it directly to the US consumer.

“It’s a pretty big incentive for us to run it,” Potter says. “The refinery was really designed, and we invested in the refinery, to run heavy oils like from Venezuela.”

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Trump Says He Withheld Iran Strike Intel from Germany Because ‘They Would Have Leaked It’

President Donald Trump said Monday that he withheld intelligence from Germany regarding an American strike against Iran because he didn’t trust the country’s leadership not to leak it.

Independent journalist and online personality Nick Sortor shared a clip of Trump discussing the issue on the social media site X.

“How about Germany telling us that, ‘Well, it’s not their war, we had nothing to do with it.’ They wanted me to go and tell them everything I was doing,” Trump said. “If I would have told them, they would have leaked it, and we wouldn’t have been nearly as successful.”

Mediaite also covered the comments from Trump’s Monday news conference and called the president’s words “a shocking accusation against Germany.” But is it really all that surprising?

Trump has continuously been critical of NATO, citing their pompous and contemptuous attitude toward America as offense number one.

He’s also called them out for abusing the United States’ benevolence, not paying their fair share when it comes to defense, and for having a short memory regarding the aftermath of World War II. And he’s right!

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Bill Gates to Be Hauled Before House Oversight Committee to Answer Epstein Questions

Big tech billionaire Bill Gates is reportedly set to give testimony regarding his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein during an in-person transcribed interview before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee.

In a letter addressed to Gates back on March 3, Republican Chairman James Comer of Kentucky wrote that the Justice Department’s release of Epstein-related documents prompted renewed interest in the Microsoft co-founder.

Comer laid out what the committee was investigating, then quickly pivoted to Gates, requesting his presence in Washington, D.C.

Comer wrote that the committee’s main focus is on potential “mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation into Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell,” along with the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, sex trafficking rings, and whether or not these two individuals used powerful contacts to shield themselves from legal consequences.

“Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, and documents obtained by the Committee, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation,” the Republican lawmaker stated. “Accordingly, we request your testimony at an in-person transcribed interview on May 19, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET in Washington, D.C.”

He added, “The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate ‘any matter’ at ‘any time’ under House Rule X.1 To schedule your appearance for the interview or ask related questions, please contact Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority staff.”

CBS News confirmed that Gates will appear before the Oversight Committee for questioning on June 10, citing a “source familiar with the plans.”

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One of Australia’s Most Decorated Soldiers Charged With 5 Alleged War Crime Murders

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have arrested the country’s most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith for five counts of the war crime of murder.

The arrest comes after Roberts-Smith was accused of committing war crimes in Afghanistan in a series of investigative media pieces, which he responded to by suing the related outlets for defamation—cases he ultimately loss.

In the latest development, the 47-year-old was taken into custody at Sydney Airport on April 7 morning and is expected to appear in a New South Wales court later on the same day.

AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed the charges were related to murder committed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.

The offences include multiple counts of murder, as well as allegations of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the killing of five individuals in Uruzgan Province.

“The maximum penalty for the offence of war crime—murder is life imprisonment,” she said.

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Total Cost of California High-Speed Rail Line Rises to $126 Billion, With a Big Funding Shortfall

California’s high-speed rail project connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco is now estimated to cost $126 billion, a rail authority board member said in an interview released by CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday.

But the High-Speed Rail Authority, according to its 2026 Business Plan issued in February, forecasts $39.3 billion in capital funding through 2045, a shortfall of around $87 billion.

“It is a big gap to fill,” board member Anthony Williams said, “[but] we have an understanding of how to get there and to fill that gap.”

The project, approved by voters in 2008, was supposed to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles by high-speed rail for around $33 billion and a completion date of 2020.

“We’re now in 2026,” Republican Congressman Vince Fong of Bakersfield said in the interview. “There are no trains. There’s no track laid. It was a complete bait and switch. The business plan that was put out in 2008 was very theoretical. You know, ‘This is what we think is gonna happen.’ And it became very clear that they didn’t have the specifics worked out.”

Toks Omishakin, who became California’s secretary of transportation in 2022, admitted that mistakes had been made and a lot of the project’s criticism is “very fair.”

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NYC Socialist Mayor Mamdani Openly Declares War on White Taxpayers, DOJ Fires Back

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a “Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan” on Monday, outlining a broad framework aimed at addressing disparities in housing, education, income, and other areas across the city.

According to a press release from the mayor’s office, the report was delivered within the first 100 days of his administration and is intended to reshape how the city measures affordability and evaluates inequality.

Officials said the plan seeks to “establish a new framework for how New York City measures affordability, understands inequity and plans for a more equitable future.”

Mamdani said the report introduces a new cost-of-living analysis designed to reflect the financial realities faced by residents.

“The True Cost of Living Measure offers an honest account of what it actually costs to live in this city — and who is being left behind. It shows that this is not a crisis affecting a small minority of New Yorkers. It is a crisis touching the vast majority of our city, in every borough and every neighborhood,” Mamdani said in the press release.

He added that the impact of rising costs is not evenly distributed among residents.

“But we know this crisis is not felt equally. Black and Latino New Yorkers — who have been pushed out of this city for decades — are bearing the brunt. The Preliminary Racial Equity Plan is where we begin to reverse that pattern. These reports make one thing clear: we cannot tackle systemic racial inequity without confronting the affordability crisis head-on, and we cannot solve the cost-of-living crisis without dismantling systemic racial inequity.”

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Journalist Who First Broke Missing Airman Scoop Steps Forward After Trump’s Jail Threat — Vows to ‘Protect Sources’

The identity of the journalist who first broke the sensitive story about a missing American airman has now been revealed.

An Israeli journalist has come out and admitted to being the first to drop the bombshell details on the second missing U.S. airman in Iran, the New York Post reported.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported on President Trump’s explosive White House comments slamming “somebody” for leaking sensitive details about the missing fighter pilot.

Trump made it crystal clear that reckless disclosure put hundreds of U.S. troops, including elite SEAL Team 6 operators, in mortal danger during the high-stakes rescue deep inside hostile Iranian territory.

The rescue of both airmen was nothing short of an Easter miracle. One pilot was recovered quickly.

The second, the weapons systems officer, evaded Iranian forces for days, surviving intense firefights before being extracted in a daring operation that showcased the unmatched bravery of America’s warfighters.

“As you probably know, we didn’t talk about the first one for an hour, and then somebody leaked something, which we’ll hopefully find that leaker; we’re looking very hard to find that leaker, and talked about there’s somebody missing,” Trump said to reporters on Monday.

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Swalwell Caught Paying His Wife with Campaign Cash for Child Care in 2026 California Governor’s Race

If you were a donor to Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, how would you react to learning that your contributions were used to pay his own wife to watch their children?

As Swalwell now runs for governor of California, a troubling pattern of campaign spending is drawing scrutiny, one that now includes direct payments to his spouse for “childcare.”

These payments do not stand alone. They come after years of similar child care expenditures through his congressional campaign, which are already the subject of my formal complaint before the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

A New Round of Payments—This Time to His Wife

Recent disclosures from Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign show multiple payments made directly to “Swalwell, Brittany” for child care: $2,301.00, $2,026.50, and $1,740.50.

These are not minor reimbursements; they are substantial, repeated payments to a candidate’s spouse.

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Kiwi Farms Challenges DMCA Subpoenas as Tools to Unmask Anonymous Speech

A new lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York offers a clean example of something that keeps happening and keeps getting ignored: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act being used to censor speech and unmask anonymous speakers.

The case is Lolcow LLC v. Fong-Jones, filed on March 12, 2026, and it pits the operator of the web forum Kiwi Farms against Liz Fong-Jones, an activist and field Chief Technology Officer at SaaS observability platform Honeycomb, who has been filing DMCA subpoenas in an attempt to identify anonymous forum users.

The content Fong-Jones wants censored is a screenshot of a Fong-Jones Bluesky post and an edited version of a Fong-Jones headshot, both related to what Fong-Jones has previously described publicly as a “consent accident.”

Forum users posted and discussed those images. Fong-Jones responded by claiming copyright ownership and filing DMCA subpoenas to force the site to hand over the identities of the people who posted them.

The copyright claims seem thin. Kiwi Farms operator Joshua Moon argues that the screenshot is a derivative work over which Fong-Jones holds no copyright, and that the edited headshot represents a textbook case of fair use, given that the image has no commercial value and was modified specifically for purposes of criticism and commentary.

That argument carries weight. Courts have long recognized that transformative use of images for commentary or ridicule sits comfortably within fair use protections.

What makes this case useful as a case study is less the copyright question itself and more the mechanism being exploited. The DMCA subpoena process, codified in Section 512(h), allows copyright holders to obtain a judicial subpoena to unmask the identities of allegedly infringing anonymous internet users just by asking a court clerk to issue one and attaching a copy of the infringement notice.

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