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Israeli soldiers jailed for desecrating Virgin Mary statue

Two Israeli soldiers were sentenced to several weeks in military prison for desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said.

Last week, a photo surfaced showing a service member hugging the statue in the predominantly Christian village of Debel, near the Israeli border, and placing a cigarette in the statue’s mouth. The image sparked outrage on social media and prompted an official investigation.

On Monday, IDF spokeswoman Ariella Mazor said the soldier posing with the statue and the soldier filming him were sentenced to 21 and 14 days behind bars, respectively.

“The IDF views the incident with great severity and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities,” Mazor wrote on X.

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US war in Iran has cost $36.9 billion so far: Pentagon

The US’ war in Iran has cost US$29 billion (S$36.9 billion) so far, a senior Pentagon official said on May 12, an increase of US$4 billion from an estimate provided in late April.

With just six months before the mid-term elections, in which US President Donald Trump’s Republicans may face an uphill battle to keep their House majority, Democrats are riding high in public opinion polls as they attempt to link the war to cost-of-living issues.

On April 29, the Pentagon said the war at that point had cost US$25 billion.

Mr Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers on May 12 that the new cost included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.

“The joint staff team and the comptroller team are constantly looking at that estimate,” he said.

He was speaking alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.

It is unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the US$29 billion figure. A source told Reuters in March that the Trump administration estimated that the first six days of the war had cost at least US$11.3 billion. REUTERS

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Former CDC Autism Scientist Extradited to U.S. on Fraud, Money Laundering Charges

A former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientist who played a key role in research that denied any link between vaccination and autism was extradited to the U.S. last week to face charges of wire fraud and money laundering stemming from a 2011 indictment.

Poul Thorsen, 65, a Danish native, began working for the CDC in the late 1990s. In 2011, a federal grand jury indicted him for the alleged misuse of over $1 million in CDC grant money that was earmarked for autism and public health research. Thorsen is accused of redirecting the funds for his personal use.

Despite the indictment — and the existence of an extradition treaty between the U.S. and Denmark — Thorsen continued to live and work in Denmark. However, he was arrested in Germany last year on an INTERPOL warrant.

On May 8, U.S. Air Marshals escorted him from Germany to Atlanta, where he was arraigned.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which listed Thorsen on its most wanted list in 2012, posted a video of his extradition.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Thorsen faces two counts of wire fraud and nine counts of money laundering. He is being held without bail until trial.

In 2011, studies Thorsen co-authored were used to dismiss cases filed by the parents of autistic, vaccine-injured children that were part of the Omnibus Autism Proceedings pending before the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).

A 2016 book, “Master Manipulator: The Explosive True Story of Fraud, Embezzlement, and Government Betrayal at the CDC,” focused on the Thorsen case, describing him as “a world-class villain whose manipulation of health data gave CDC and big pharma what they wanted: a report clearing thimerosal of any possible role in the autism crisis.”

Mary Holland, CEO of Children’s Health Defense (CHD), said Thorsen “was central to the CDC and Pharma lies that ‘vaccines do not cause autism.’”

Brian Hooker, Ph.D., chief scientific officer for CHD, said Thorsen’s work “set autism research back more than 20 years.”

“Previous administrations did not appear interested in pursuing Thorsen,” according to the MAHA Report. As a result, Thorsen was “living openly, apparently without concern of being captured in Denmark.”

HHS and DOJ did not respond to The Defender’s requests for comment.

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Media Spreads Hantavirus Hysteria In Attempt To Save Disgraced WHO

The establishment media has been drumming up fear after a recent outbreak of Hantavirus on a cruise liner traveling from Argentina to West Africa.  The Guardian has used the opportunity to assert that the US is currently ill equipped to deal with future pandemic threats, largely because of Donald Trump (of course) and the dramatic US exit from the now disgraced World Health Organization. 

Is Hantavirus a serious danger to the world, or, is it another hyped up virus like Covid being used to trigger public hysteria?  And if it is being hyped, who (or WHO) stands to benefit? 

For decades the WHO constructed its image as a global angel of benevolence; the primary line of defense against what they said was the inevitable invasion of a population rending plague.  However, when the time finally came in the form of a mutated Coronavirus (Covid), they dropped the ball, and evidence suggests they may have done it deliberately.

During the initial outbreak in China, the WHO echoed CCP propaganda suggesting that human-to-human contact was unlikely and, knowingly or unknowingly, aided China in hiding details behind the outbreak.  Details surrounding the involvement of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the largest dangerous disease lab in Asia, were actively dismissed (or suppressed).  Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus even praised China’s “transparency”. 

The WHO then set up a joint task force to determine the origins of Covid, only to let the Chinese dominate the investigation and lead it away from the activities at the Level 4 lab in Wuhan.  The Chinese wanted to push the theory of animal-to-animal mutation instead of the gain of function research that was ongoing at the lab (partially funded by US interests in the Obama Administration). 

Today, evidence overwhelmingly suggests that Covid originated in the Wuhan Lab.  In January 2025, the CIA assessed that a lab-related origin is more likely than natural spillover.  This determination matched with similar FBI assessments. 

In 2025, German Intelligence also reported their findings, indicating a 90% likelihood that Covid was engineered and originated at the Wuhan Lab in China.   

Of course, anyone who made this claim online during the pandemic response was called a dangerous “conspiracy theorist” and was deplatformed (much like Zero Hedge).

The WHO would go on to exaggerate the death rate of the virus, claiming an initial Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 3.4%.  This data was based on studies which ignored mild cases as well as asymptomatic cases, thus artificially pumping up the death rate.    

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NBA Legend Magic Johnson’s Gushing Endorsement of Failed LA Mayor Karen Bass Totally Backfires After X Users Uncover This Damning Fact

NBA all-time great and self-made billionaire Magic Johnson made a completely boneheaded political decision that is coming back to haunt him after X users pointed out an inconvenient truth.

On Sunday, Johnson issued a gushing endorsement of failed LA mayor Karen Bass in a video posted on her X account. After first noting their personal connection (Johnson has known Bass for three decades), Johnson lavished praise on her supposed ‘accomplishments,’ including her record on homelessness and crime.

Then, Bass appeared on screen. In a clearly rehearsed stunt, the two embraced before Johnson slobbered over Bass some more.

“Listen, you took on a tough job here, and you’ve done a fabulous job, and all of us appreciate your effort and what you’re doing, and we look forward to helping you continue your mission and the things that you have in store, your vision for the city,” he tells her. “And tell me what I need to do.”

Bass then praises Johnson in response before the retired basketball star hails her for creating jobs as the video ends.

After the video went viral, X users quickly discovered that Johnson lives in a huge mansion in Beverly Park, a gated community in Beverly Hills. Perfectly cordoned off from all of the problems that ordinary Angelinos face.

Moreover, Beverly Hills is its own city and has its own mayor. This means he cannot even vote for Bass for mayor.

There’s also another factor regarding Johnson’s home: it lies in a high fire-hazard severity zone, just like Pacific Palisades, which burned under Bass’s watch. Giving her the seal of approval is like having the arsonist serve as the firefighter.

Just imagine if Bass gets re-elected and, during her second term in office, Johnson and his neighbors’ homes get torched in an inferno. Talk about digging your own grave.

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Inside the sprawling secret spy network that propelled Chinese agent Eileen Wang on US soil

Two convicted Chinese spies helped Arcadia’s former mayor become a successful SoCal politician — who secretly took orders from Beijing.

Yaoning “Mike” Sun and John Chen helped Eileen Wang win office and secretly reported back to their masters in the People’s Republic of China, according to court documents.

Sun took orders from Chen as he served as the campaign manager and business partner of Wang in her successful 2022 run for Arcadia City Council.

When Wang won her seat, Chen told Sun to send a report to their PRC masters calling Wang a “new political star.”

Wang would “go against Taiwanese independence” and “report to China,” Chen reported to his PRC spymaster.

The Chinese official responded: “That’s great!”

Chen told Sun to make a list of politicians that Wang was friendly with, adding: “the more the better, the higher position the better.”

He also bragged to Beijing about they could turn local U.S. politicians against Taiwanese independence, according to the documents.

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Secretary Doug Burgum Backs BYOP: Data Centers Must ‘Bring Your Own Power’ to Curtail Economic Impact

Data centers must “bring your own power” to curtail the economic impact, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said during a Monday event with Breitbart News.

Addressing concerns about the economic impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) in terms of energy, Burgum acknowledged, “When you bring in AI, the rates go up because they use so much power.” However, he said he fully embraces BYOP – bring your own power.

Pointing to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, Burgum said it is a fairly simple concept.

“If you’re one of the hyperscalers, and if you want to build out a data center, then you have to, like, you know, say BYOP. You’ve got to bring your own power,” the Interior Secretary said.

And in the instances they do not want to bring their own power, they have to at least be willing to allow themselves to be “curtailed.”

“You have to be willing during those peak moments, hours, days of the year, to say, yeah, you can shut my center off. And you say, well, that’s not possible. It’s not possible in some forms of AI, but if you’re just doing a training model, then you could say, yeah, we’re, you know, we’re willing, over a course of 365 days to be shut down 24 hours,” he explained. “We can be curtailed.”

“If somebody says yes to that, there’s a lot of places you go in the country where we actually have excess power in the spring and the fall – we generate, you know, hundreds of gigawatts more power than what we use,” Burgum said.

“All the grid of operators are trying to, you know, trying to make sure that on those peak cold days and peak warm days that we can still keep everything running and not have the, you know, the cascading collapse on this giant machine called the grid,” he said. “So there’s that.”

But ultimately, Burgum said these data centers have the option to “build your own power.”

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Trump DOE Removes Highly Enriched Uranium From Venezuela in Major Nuclear Security Win!

The Trump administration has completed the removal of all remaining enriched uranium from a legacy research reactor in Venezuela, marking a major nuclear security victory for the United States, South America, and the world.

According to a post from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, the DOE/NNSA worked with international partners to remove all enriched uranium from Venezuela’s RV-1 research reactor.

The agency described the operation as a major nonproliferation success that reduced risk to both South America and the U.S. homeland.

“The safe removal of all enriched uranium from Venezuela sends another signal to the world of a restored and renewed Venezuela,” NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams said, according to the Department of Energy post. 

“Thanks to President Trump’s decisive leadership, the dedicated teams on the ground completed in months what would have normally taken years.”

The uranium came from the RV-1 reactor, which had supported physics and nuclear research for decades. According to DOE/NNSA, once that work ended in 1991, the uranium became surplus material. 

The material was enriched above the crucial 20% threshold, making its removal a serious national security matter.

The operation moved quickly after Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Venezuela in February. 

In the weeks that followed, NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation worked with State Department personnel in Washington and Caracas, experts from the United Kingdom, the Venezuelan Ministry of Science and Technology, and the International Atomic Energy Agency to prepare the removal.

Less than six weeks after the initial site visit, the team safely removed 13.5 kilograms, or roughly 30 pounds, of uranium from the RV-1 reactor.

The material was securely packaged into a spent fuel cask before being escorted about 100 miles overland to a Venezuelan port. From there, the cargo was transferred to a specialized carrier supplied by the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Transport Solutions.

The vessel then transported the uranium to the United States, where it arrived on U.S. shores in early May.

Upon arrival, American teams unloaded the casks and transported the material to the Savannah River Site for processing and reuse.

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Parents Sue OpenAI After Son Fatally Overdosed Following ChatGPT Drug Advice.

 WHAT HAPPENED: A Texas couple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPTprovided their son with unsafe advice about drug use, leading to his fatal overdose in 2025. The family alleges that ChatGPT recommended a combination of kratom and Xanax, which proved lethal for their 19-year-old son, Sam Nelson.

 DETAIL: The lawsuit claims the teen repeatedly used ChatGPT for guidance on various substances and that the chatbot gradually shifted from refusing harmful requests to offering specific recommendations on drug intake and recovery. His parents, Leila Turner-Scott and Angus Scott, argue that the AI platform dispensed dangerous advice that it was unqualified to provide and failed to maintain adequate safety protections. The suit, filed in a California state court, seeks to hold OpenAI responsible for wrongful death and negligence, alleging their son would still be alive if stronger safeguards had been in place. OpenAI has not publicly responded in detail to the lawsuit, but it has previously stated that ChatGPT is designed to discourage harmful behavior and direct users to professional help. The case adds to a growing number of lawsuits accusing AI chatbots of contributing to dangerous or violent conduct, such as mass shootings and mental health crises, including recorded suicides.

 KEY QUOTE: “The chatbot is capable of stopping a conversation when it’s told to or when it’s programmed to… And they took away the programming that did that.” – Leila Turner-Scott, the victim’s mother.

 IMPACT: The case highlights growing concerns over the potential for AI platforms to provide unverified medical advice, raising questions about liability and the need for stricter safeguards. It also underscores broader debates about the role of AI and whether teenagers, the mentally ill, and other vulnerable people should have unsupervised access to it.

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After Months of Fighting, Leftists in Providence, Rhode Island Succeed in Removing Mural of Murdered Legal Immigrant Iryna Zarutska

In March, a mural of legal immigrant and murder victim Iryna Zarutska was painted on an outdoor brick wall in Providence, Rhode Island and immediately came under fire from hateful leftists who wanted it removed.

The Democrat Mayor and other liberal officials sided with the leftist activists, but the mural remained up on the wall. Now they are taking it down.

They have finally succeeded in erasing this innocent young woman from their sight.

FOX News reports:

Mural honoring murdered Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska taken down in Providence after local outrage

A mural painted to honor Iryna Zarutska — the Ukrainian refugee who was murdered while riding a North Carolina train — is being taken down after outrage in Providence, Rhode Island.

On Tuesday, a construction crew was seen near the exterior of The Dark Lady, an LGBTQ+ club in downtown Providence, working to remove the partly finished mural. The mural, which was painted on canvas, was lowered to the ground, folded up and taken away, WJAR-TV reported.

Artist Ian Gaudreau confirmed the news that the artwork was going to be removed after local outrage.

“A lot of people voiced their frustrations, and voices were heard, and the work is coming down as a reaction to that,” Gaudreau told WJAR-TV Monday.

The mural’s removal came as residents and elected officials complained about the artwork. The office of Mayor Brett Smiley told Fox News that he wanted the artwork taken down, saying that the art is “divisive and does not represent Providence.”

“The murder of the individual depicted in this mural was a devastating tragedy, but the misguided, isolating intent of those funding murals like the one across the county is divisive and does not represent Providence,” Smiley said in a statement.

The left’s opposition to this mural is very easy to explain. They do not want to be reminded that the policies they support are responsible for her death. It’s that simple. Her memory is an ugly inconvenience to them.

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