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Sen Sheldon Whitehouse accused of conflict of interest after he funnels taxpayer funds to his wife’s environmental group

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) has urged the Senate Select Subcommittee on Ethics to investigate Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) over the granting of millions of dollars in government grants to an advocacy group that Sandra Whitehouse, the senator’s wife, works at. 

FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold wrote in a letter to select committee Chair James Lankford and Vice Chair Christopher Coons that Sandra Whitehouse has worked for Ocean Conservancy since 2008, with the group paying her through her consulting firm Ocean Wonks LLC since 2017, and paying her directly before that. Since Whitehouse began with the group in 2008, Ocean Conservancy has been awarded 19 government grants worth around $14.2 million, with around half of this reportedly being given to the group in the fall of 2024 alone, “all of which Senator Whitehouse directly voted for.”

“In September 2024, Ocean Conservancy received a $5.2 million federal grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for marine debris cleanup. This grant was funded by the Biden Administration’s ‘Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,’ a bill Sheldon Whitehouse supported and voted for,” Arnold wrote. “In December 2024, Ocean Conservancy also received $1.7 million in federal funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist with marine debris cleanup. The grant was funded as part of the EPA’s annual appropriations bill, which Sen. Whitehouse also voted for.”

The group said that “While these two grants alone appear to be a conflict of interest, it is even more egregious in the context of Senator Whitehouse’s long history of working on legislation being lobbied for by organizations tied to his wife.”

Ocean Conservancy, Arnold wrote, has spent “millions on federal lobbying expenses over the years on issues relating to oceans, climate change, and environmental cleanup—issues directly championed by Senator Whitehouse, a longtime member (and current Ranking Member) of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee and the co-founder of the Senate’s so-called ‘Oceans Caucus.'”

“For instance, Ocean Conservancy urged Congress to pass the International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act—legislation first introduced by Senator Whitehouse in 2023. Ocean Conservancy also advocated and secured billions in funding for coastal restoration projects in the Inflation Reduction Act. Senator Whitehouse not only voted for that legislation, but touted $3 billion in grant funding for ports and coastal restoration among the ‘Whitehouse-backed measures in the bill.’ In addition to Ocean Conservancy, Sandra Whitehouse has been paid by other organizations that have lobbied the Senate on legislation connected to her husband and received government contracts or federal funds,” the letter stated.

The group stated that “Senator Whitehouse directly voted for legislation that recently led to $6.9 million of taxpayer funds being paid to an organization for which his wife works and receives an income from. This circular relationship appears to be directly contrary to the Senate rules that broadly prohibit Senators from using the power of their office to benefit or appear to benefit themselves or their spouses.”

“As the Ethics Committee has stated: ‘Senators must closely guard against even the appearance that their families or friends are entitled to use [the Senator’s] resources and power for their own personal gain.’ Additionally, even if Senator Whitehouse believes the federal funds are going to a worthy cause, ‘the fact that a cause is worthy does not negate the duty to ensure compliance with ethical standards.’ This is exactly the type of case that citizens view as a conflict of interest and leads to the public’s mistrust in Congress. We request the Senate Ethics Committee conduct a full investigation into Senator Whitehouse’s actions that, at a minimum, have created an appearance of a conflict of interest.”

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Pfizer hires ex-FDA drug chief as top doctor

The former head of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) drug division is joining Pfizer as its chief medical officer, the company announced Monday. 

Patrizia Cavazzoni was formerly director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) from 2020 until January, when she resigned just ahead of President Trump’s return to office. 

Cavazzoni previously worked at Pfizer prior to joining the FDA in 2018.  

The announcement spurred renewed criticisms about the common “revolving door” between the FDA and industry. Critics worry the close relationship leads to a quid pro quo and favoritism toward industry.

Robert Califf, who served as FDA commissioner under President Obama, left the agency to advise Google Health and its spinoff, Verily Life Sciences. The move garnered criticism and opposition from some Senate Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) when President Biden nominated him for the same job.

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Conspiracy Theorists Were Right About Everything – Now What?

For many years alternative economists and “conspiracy theorists” have argued that, according to the evidence, there has been an organized criminal cabal operating a long running agenda to exploit and eventually destroy western culture. We have suggested that much of this agenda was being funded with our own tax dollar while using government institutions and NGOs as vehicles for social engineering.

In the 20 years since I started work in the liberty movement (or patriot movement), I have seen corruption beyond imagining and it all culminated in 2020-2023 when many of us battled against the imposition of total medical tyranny and mass woke indoctrination. Even after that startling Orwellian period we were still called conspiracy theorists, but public awareness is changing rapidly.

I’ve see enough to know that what is happening today is truly unprecedented. We have entered a crossroads; a time when reality is no longer discarded for the sake of collective comfort and “conspiracy” becomes historic fact. It’s an exciting time to be alive, but also potentially hazardous.

My running theory has always been that once the house of cards came crashing down and the truth was revealed to the wider public, a whole lot of skeptics that used to call us “fringe crazies” and “tinfoil hatters” would suddenly claim they “saw it coming all along”. Yes, the conspiracy theorists were right, about EVERYTHING. The truth is coming to light in a big way, but what does this mean for the future?

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France Eyeing Deployment Of Nuclear-Armed Rafale Fighters To Germany: Report

France is apparently looking at the possibility of deploying air-launched nuclear weapons to Germany, a consideration that’s being made amid growing concerns that the United States will no longer guarantee European security under NATO. Broader discussions about nuclear deterrence among European leaders point very clearly to the deepening crisis in the transatlantic alliance under U.S. President Donald Trump, emphasized by calls from German leader-in-waiting Friedrich Merz for talks with his British and French colleagues about European “nuclear sharing or at least nuclear security.”

According to a report in the British newspaper The Telegraph, which cites an unnamed French official, “Posting a few French nuclear jet fighters in Germany should not be difficult and would send a strong message” to Russia, which would aim to bolster Europe’s nuclear deterrent.

While it’s unclear how seriously the proposal is being discussed at the highest levels in France, there is a logic behind raising the idea at this point in public.

In France, there is now an increasing focus on building up Europe’s capacity to provide a defensive bulwark against Russia, as Trump shifts to embrace Moscow. The result has been a growing rift between the United States and its European NATO allies, with differing positions on the continued provision of support for Ukraine looming large.

Evidence of this fractious relationship was provided in a meeting between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington yesterday, in which Ukraine was again atop the agenda. Trump refused to provide security guarantees to Ukraine once a potential peace deal is signed.

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From Farmland to Deserts to Mountainsides: Lesser-Known UFO Crashes from Around the Planet

Most of us, even those outside of the UFO community, will almost certainly have heard of the Roswell UFO crash in July 1947, even if there is debate as to whether it was an otherworldly vehicle that crashed in the desert in New Mexico. The fact is, though, there are many other claims of vehicles from elsewhere crashlanding on Earth, and what’s more, these mystifying and baffling events are not at all limited to the United States but are on record in locations right around the planet.

As is usually the case with such a huge subject, while we will not have time nor space to explore every alleged crash of an alien vehicle – even briefly – we will examine some of the most intriguing and thought-provoking, not to mention some of the most credible. Ultimately, what will become apparent as we negotiate our way through these remarkable and enthralling cases is that something out of the ordinary has been taking place around the world for decades, if not longer, and it could very well be in our collective interests to find out what that something is.

A good place to start is with an apparent legitimate case of a downed UFO that came to light through forged documents. It is one of several intriguing cases investigated by the late British UFO investigator Tony Dodd. The account was detailed in Dodd’s book, Alien Investigator: The Case Files of Britain’s Leading UFO Detective, and is one that Dodd claimed was at least as important as the more famous Roswell crash that occurred four decades previously. Moreover, as well as the wreckage, which was seemingly recovered by the South African military, the craft’s occupants were also recovered, each of which was still alive.

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Former Connecticut high school student sues teachers for letting her graduate while unable to read or write

A former Connecticut high school student is suing her teachers for letting her graduate while she was unable to read or write due to her learning disability. 

Aleysha Ortiz, 19, is seeking $3 million in damages from staff at Hartford Public Schools district for alleged bullying, harassment and/or negligence. 

Ortiz claims she requested educational resources and support for years – but her special education teacher instead chose to yell at and humiliate her in front of other students, often bringing her to tears. 

The teenager graduated unable to read or write. She struggled to even spell her own name during an emotional interview about her education with ABC affiliate WTNH.

‘My time in Hartford Public Schools was a time that I don’t wish upon anyone,’ Ortiz told the outlet. 

When Ortiz moved from Puerto Rico to Connecticut in first grade, she struggled with a language barrier compounded by a speech impediment, dyslexia, and ADHD. 

‘Every first day of school, I would tell the teacher I cannot read and write so please be patient for me, so everyone knew,’ she told WTNH. 

‘I would cry knowing the people who had big titles knew this was happening, and no one stepped up to do something about it.’ 

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Idaho Governor Signs Bill Setting Mandatory Minimum Fine For Marijuana Possession

Idaho’s governor has signed a bill creating a new mandatory minimum fine for possession of marijuana.

Under the legislation approved by Gov. Brad Little (R) on Monday, adults caught with less than three ounces of cannabis will face a mandatory minimum fine of $300.

Sponsor Rep. Bruce Skaug (R), the sponsor of the measure, told a House committee last month that “we do not want this to become a marijuana state.”

On the House floor, the representative asked colleagues: “Tell me what state—anybody who debates against this bill—what state is a better place because of the passage of marijuana legalization? I submit none.”

He later told a Senate committee that “a $300 fine is not too much if you can afford to buy this marijuana and concentrate.”

“Every dollar spent on pot by someone is not spent on food, clothing, school supplies, real medicine or housing,” he said.

The new law is set to take effect on July 1.

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Apple Confirms Infowars Report iPhone Voice Dictation Swaps ‘Trump’ for ‘Racist’

Apple says it’s fixing an issue after users noticed their iPhones temporarily showed the name “Trump” when they attempted to type the word “racist” by using the voice-to-text feature.

The issue was reported and replicated by Infowars host Alex Jones Tuesday morning after his daughter saw it on TikTok and duplicated it on several phones.

Jones was then able to replicate the issue on several other iPhones, warning it could be a “subliminal attack on President Trump.”

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The Inside Story of DOGE’s State Department Reforms

The DOGE tsunami is about to strike the U.S. Department of State, as well as other agencies. Let’s see what that means.

The day the music died was January 28, when nearly everyone at State, along with over two million other federal civilian employees, received an email referring to “A Fork in the Road.” The email offered qualifying diplomats and civil servants a choice ahead of planned Reductions in Force (RIFs, layoffs): resign now under a special program, don’t come to work for a few months while being paid, and then in September become eligible for whatever retirement benefits you would otherwise be eligible for, if any. State offers its diplomats a full retirement with pension after age 50 and 20 years of service, similar to the military, and after 30 years for civil servants, all with exceptions of course.

Despite the general sense that the buyout was some sort of trick (workers questioned what legal authority allowed State and other federal agencies to pay people who technically resigned, then bring them back into the system to retire), across the government some 77,000 people signed up for the deal before it was brought to a pause by court action. For those with a long way toward formal retirement, it seemed like good enough; ahead of being RIFed, they’d pocket some seven months’ salary on top of whatever severance package might await them when actually let go. The Fork program, as it was commonly now called (alongside the new expression “to get forked”), acquired a formal name, “deferred resignation,” and the paid time off without working became “administrative leave.” An involuntary retirement is called the Orwellian “Discontinued Service Retirement.”

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and others sued to block the “deferred resignation” program, arguing that its chaotic rollout and shifting legal justifications constituted violations of the Administrative Procedure Act’s protections against “arbitrary and capricious” decision-making, and the promise to pay employees past the March 14 possible government shutdown deadline could constitute an Anti-Deficiency Act violation.

On February 12 the federal judge who had temporarily blocked the plan reversed course, ending the temporary restraining order upon concluding he lacked jurisdiction in the case. The deferred resignations would be allowed to go forward (though the sign-up deadline has now passed) reducing headcount at State and other federal agencies if everything went as planned. In his decision, U.S. District Judge George O’Toole wrote that the unions’ challenges are of the type Congress “intended for review within the statutory scheme,” referring to the need to file administrative appeals before going to court. There were doubts the Trump administration would or legally could follow through as stated. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, called the plan “an unfunded IOU from Elon Musk.”

Then things started to get really interesting at State.

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Leftist Politician Meets Teen Migrant For Sex, Gets Robbed and Raped at Gunpoint

A Green Party leftist politician in Germany met up with a 17-year-old migrant for sex in Berlin but ended up being taken hostage, blackmailed, robbed and raped.

The unnamed 33-year-old senior government inspector (who the media is calling ‘Eva’) began speaking to 17-year-old Mehmet A. on a dating app geared towards casual sex hook-ups.

After the migrant filmed the sexual encounter and bragged about it to friends, Eva met up with him again in October last year for another sexual encounter.

However, their tryst was interrupted when a masked man appeared in the apartment and held a gun to her head.

Mehmet A. and the other man then held Eva hostage for 6 hours and threatened her with the publication of the sex video if she didn’t give them money.

When Mehmet A. left the apartment to withdraw money from Eva’s bank account, the other man allegedly raped her.

The next morning, Mehmet A. demanded Eva give him a 20,000 euro loan to prevent the leak of the videos.

“She plays along, but only pretends. She waits for him in a parking lot at Wedding S-Bahn station . When he arrives, he is arrested: she decided to confide in the police instead,” reports German newspaper BZ.

Mehmet A. claimed in court that the other man was “only supposed to look after her while I was away.”

Eva says she was shocked by the act of betrayal.

Mehmet A. and the other alleged accomplice face up to 10 years in youth prison on charges which include kidnapping for ransom and aggravated robbery.

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