Tag: corruption

Appeals Court Upholds New York ‘Gas Stove Ban’ That Chuck Schumer Insisted Wasn’t Even Happening

A federal appeals court just upheld a New York state ban on gas stoves, which is very strange, considering the fact that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York insisted that the ban on gas stoves wasn’t even happening.

This has all been unfolding quietly in the background for about two years now.

Groups which are part of the gas industry challenged the ban but a federal court just sided with the state.

Just the News reports:

Federal appeals court upholds New York’s ‘gas stove ban’ amid legal challenge

New York could be moving ahead with a first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas hookups in new buildings after a federal appeals court rejected a challenge from industry groups.

The ruling issued Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit rejected a lawsuit by natural gas industry groups challenging a provision of New York’s All-Electric Buildings Act, which would ban gas hookups in new buildings under seven stories, among other restrictions.

A coalition of construction and trade groups sued to block the 2023 law, saying it conflicts with federal law under the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act and would drive up costs for businesses and energy consumers.

But the appeals court upheld lower court rulings that had determined federal law “does not preempt ” the state’s regulations on natural gas hook ups, and on Tuesday dismissed the industry lawsuit.

In 2023, when people started complaining about this, Chuck Schumer treated it like a conspiracy theory and condescendingly claimed no one is coming after gas stoves.

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Moderna’s mRNA Flu Vaccine Gets Unanimous Thumbs-Up Despite Risks, Low Efficacy

A federal advisory committee today unanimously voted to endorse Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine — just months after rejecting the company’s application on the basis that Moderna had not performed an “adequate and well-controlled” clinical trial.

The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), which reviews scientific data on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other therapeutics on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), voted 9-0 in dual votes to recommend approval of the vaccine for the 50-64 and 65-plus age groups.

Today’s votes took place after several hours of presentations based on the findings of Moderna’s Phase 4 clinical trial data for its mRNA-1010 vaccine. The trial compared the efficacy of mRNA-1010 to that of a conventional, non-mRNA flu vaccine.

Daniel O’Connor, founder and CEO of TrialSite News, told The Defender today’s favorable votes “may reflect the committee’s view that the benefit-risk profile is acceptable.” However, the vote “does not erase the fundamental concerns surrounding this application.”

“Significant questions remain about comparator selection, study design and whether the reported efficacy advantage represents a clinically meaningful improvement for patients or simply a statistical advantage within the framework of the trial,” O’Connor said.

According to an FDA briefing document prepared in advance of today’s meeting, “no major deficiencies were identified” with the vaccine for adults 50 and over. Citing the clinical trial data, the document states that the mRNA-1010 vaccine had a 26.6% relative efficacy rate in adults 50 and over, with similar rates for adults 65 and up.

The mRNA-1010 vaccine also showed a higher immune response than Sanofi’s Fluzone vaccine, the document noted. According to Fierce Biotech, these results met all of the FDA’s “pre-specified criteria for success” and bolstered Moderna’s application for approval.

Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., senior research scientist for Children’s Health Defense, said today’s vote shifts mRNA-1010 safety monitoring to after licensure.

“VRBPAC meetings proceed to the beat of the rubber stamp. The unanimous vote guarantees a lot of really good questions of harm will have to be answered in the post-marketing period, when that harm manifests in the population,” Jablonowski said.

Moderna seeks traditional approval for the mRNA-1010 vaccine for the 50-64 age group and accelerated approval for the 65-plus age group.

Fierce Biotech reported that the FDA uses VRBPAC meetings to “seek outside counsel on tough or high-profile regulatory decisions.”

The FDA will make an approval decision on mRNA-1010 by Aug. 5 — and while the agency is not bound to VRBPAC’s votes, it “often follows the opinions” of its advisory committees.

Moderna’s stock was up over 4% in trading immediately after the vote, and up 3.50% at the close of market.

mRNA vaccine had higher rate of adverse events than conventional flu shot

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Big Corporations Get Rich From Their Secret Seed Patents — Taxpayers and Farmers Pay the Price

The U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that allows companies to hold patents on plant varieties.

As a result, a small number of corporations can — and do — suppress competition in the seed industry, stifle innovation and turn taxpayer subsidies intended for farmers into corporate profits.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found that two companies control more than 70% of U.S. corn and soybean seed sales, and the top four cottonseed companies control nearly 94% of that market.

In a May court filing in a legal dispute between two U.S. seed companies, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said patents on seeds are obstructing competition and research in the agriculture industry.

As researchers who work on plant breeding and seed policy, we have seen how that plays out.

When huge companies assert their patents, smaller businesses and public plant breeders, who often lack the legal resources to fight back, are frequently dissuaded from conducting research and development that might actually not be illegal at all.

And a lack of competition allows dominant companies — not always based in the U.S. — to collect large sums of taxpayer money that Congress allocated in hopes it would help farmers, not shareholders’ and executives’ bottom lines.

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Creepy California State Sen. Scott Wiener Helps Kill Bill That Would Have Barred Sex Offenders from Public Office, Says ‘Some People Just Have Flaws’

California State Senator Scott Wiener helped kill a bill that would have barred registered sex offenders from running for or holding public office in California.

On Tuesday, Wiener’s Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee defeated Assembly Bill 2753 after the measure had sailed through the State Assembly unanimously.

Authored by Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria of Merced, the bill would have prohibited anyone required to register as a sex offender under California’s three-tier system from seeking or serving in state or local offices such as city council, school board, or the legislature.

The legislation was introduced after registered sex offender Rene Campos, who pleaded no contest in 2018 to a misdemeanor involving possession of child sex abuse material, announced a bid for Fresno City Council.

Soria had promised her constituents she would act to prevent sex offenders from running.

“It’s deeply disturbing that this issue is unfolding in my own backyard. The idea that a registered sex offender could run for public office in the City of Fresno is unacceptable,” Soria said in a press release announcing the bill. “This bill will ensure once and for all that registered sex offenders are prohibited from seeking public office in California, so voters can have confidence that those seeking to represent them meet the most basic standards of public trust.”

Wiener, who chairs the committee, opposed the bill and said he would support it only if amended to apply solely to lifetime Tier 3 registrants.

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A Huge Scandal Breaks Out In Spain: 400,000 “Refugees” Claiming Refugee Status DON’T EVEN LIVE IN SPAIN!

Sánchez’s Socialist Open-Borders Bonanza Turns Into the Biggest Immigration Fraud in European History

While Europe is being overrun and native citizens are pushed to the back of the line, Spain’s far-left Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has just presided over one of the most blatant immigration scams ever recorded on the continent.

According to explosive reports from Spanish National Police sources published by El Español and Breitbart, over 400,000 of the staggering 1.3 million amnesty applications come from migrants who weren’t even living in Spain before the January 1, 2026 cutoff date.

That’s right. The Sánchez regime hyped this “regularization” as a compassionate fix for roughly 500,000–800,000 illegals supposedly already inside the country. Instead, they got flooded with 1.3 million claims — and police insiders are now confirming that nearly one-third are fraudulent ghosts who crossed into Spain from France, Italy, or elsewhere in Schengen just to cash in on the free papers.

Organized Fraud on an Industrial Scale

Documents required to “prove” five months of continuous presence — utility bills, bus tickets, rental contracts, empadronamiento registrations — are being openly sold on Telegram and Instagram black markets. Criminal networks have turned the entire process into a lucrative business, shuttling migrants across Europe to exploit this one-time socialist giveaway.This isn’t “integration.”

This is a manufactured invasion enabled by a government that apparently can’t — or won’t — tell the difference between people who were already there and opportunists gaming the system.

The Spanish Police aren’t even in charge of verifying the applications (that joyful task falls to the ultra-progressive Ministry of Inclusion). So while officers on the ground watch the chaos in real time, the Sánchez regime will spend the next three months pretending to “review” files that never should have been accepted in the first place.

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Is This Gavin Newsom’s Biggest Lie Ever?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, perhaps best described as “seven lying serpents in a skinsuit,” just told a lie so big that even my jaded self had to sit back, take a sip of coffee, and admire the handiwork of whoever steam-cleaned the soul out of his body.

According to a video statement posted Tuesday to X, California under Newsom’s management “grew from three trillion dollars to four and a quarter trillion dollars. That’s a roughly 40 percent growth.”

In just seven years? Impressive, if true.

Meanwhile, poor Florida’s economy grew just 31.2% in that time, and those lazy laggards in Texas eked out even less growth than that, at 30%.

And you know what? It is true. The governor is 100% factually correct. Newsom is absolutely right when he says that “no other jurisdiction in the United States has come close” to California’s economic growth since 2019…

…with one tiny caveat. It’s only the smallest of details, a mere hideous cold sore breaking out on prom night.

You see, California did grow more than any other state, city, territory, or purely imaginary fantasyland in the United States, provided that you adjust every other state, city, territory, or purely imaginary fantasyland for inflation, but don’t adjust for inflation in California.

“We have no peers,” Newsom insisted. Yes, in sheer unadulterated cask-strength gall.

Braver souls than I have tried and failed to make it through the entire 26-second video, but here it is, should you decide to test your mettle.

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BBC refuses to report on The Rape Gang Inquiry because it has to make “complex choices”

Today, the story broke about a Muslim rape gang ringleader, who was convicted of 30 child rapes, who “cannot be deported” despite being stripped of his British citizenship – thanks to a rule in the Immigration Act 1971.  Instead, this child rapist will be let loose into the British community.

It’s not only legislation which is protecting the perpetrators and putting the community at risk. 

Today, Rupert Lowe, a Member of Parliament (“MP”) for Restore Britain, revealed evidence of the protection the BBC affords Muslim rape gangs.

The BBC has not reported on the findings of the independent Rape Gang Inquiry because, the BBC says, “complex choices” have to be made for editorial and practical reasons.

You can read the BBC’s excuses HERE.

The following is a tweet posted by Mr. Lowe, commenting on the BBC’s explanation.

The BBC has issued an official explanation on why it has failed to cover our rape gang inquiry.

“Complex choices” are made for editorial and practical reasons. These choices “should not be taken as indicative of bias.” Their words.

But the BBC were very quick to cover malicious complaints against our inquiry, in an attempt to smear our efforts. They were then forced to later apologise for how they covered the story.

So, either the inquiry is worth reporting on, or it’s not. They can’t pick and choose.

We’re told “complex choices” are made, meaning that efforts to uncover the industrial rape of young girls is not near the top of list.

Let’s take a look at a few stories on the main BBC news page, right now…

  • ‘Osaka pays ‘love and respect to Japan’ in Wimbledon kimono’
  • ‘Why £15 durians are being sold at half price – or given away for free’
  • ‘We had packed lunches every day for 10 years and retired at 40’

Are these stories more important than the rape gang inquiry? I think not.

You cannot hate the BBC enough. I expect no fair coverage from them; I’ve stopped expecting it. But the BBC is funded by the British people. Their continued suppression of our inquiry is a disgrace.

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Elon Musk Shares that AOC is an Actress – How Many Other Politicians Are Actors As Well?

Elon Musk Shares that AOC is an Actress – How Many Other Politicians Are Actors As Well?

Elon Musk shared a post this morning that tells how AOC won a contest for Congress, and her brother put her name in.

Elon Musk just posted “AOC is an actor”

He’s 100% correct, and here’s the proof. AOC was chosen to be in Congress by a Democrat casting call. She’s a political actor that was picked out of 10,000 applicants

AOC’s brother submitted her application and she was chosen by the Executive Director of Justice Democrats Out Of 10,000 Candidates

It’s all on camera. There is even footage of AOC and Alexandra Rojas both confirming this on camera

“Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is not really the congresswoman of New York’s 14th congressional district. She is essentially an actress. She’s merely playing the part of a New York congresswoman. I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me. In 2017, a group called the Justice Democrats held auditions for potential congressional candidates that they would run on their platform for various congressional seats throughout the country. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s brother Gabriel submitted her for the role”

– In 2017 Justice Democrats, a progressive PAC founded by former Bernie Sanders staffers and allies put out a public call for congressional candidates
– They received over 10,000 nominations
– AOC’s younger brother, Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez, submitted her name. AOC was working as a bartender

Justice Democrats vetted nominees and chose AOC. They then trained her and installed her as their candidate

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Justice Sotomayor Discloses $4,333 in Concert Tickets from Bad Bunny’s Record Label in Latest Supreme Court Financial Report

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor disclosed receiving $4,333 worth of concert tickets from Rimas Entertainment, the Puerto Rican record label that represents superstar Bad Bunny, as part of the latest round of Supreme Court financial disclosure reports.

The tickets were for Sotomayor and an unspecified number of guests during a private trip she took to Puerto Rico in August.

Sotomayor, the first justice of Puerto Rican descent, noted in her filing that the gift came from the label while she was traveling privately, though she did not specify which concert she attended.

At the time, Bad Bunny was in the middle of a major residency that included more than 30 sold-out shows in San Juan.

These 2025 financial disclosures, which cover outside income, gifts, and other interests for eight of the nine justices, are required annually under federal ethics rules.

Justice Samuel Alito was granted a 90-day extension and has not yet filed.

While Sotomayor’s concert tickets stand out as the most eye-catching gift in the current reports, the filings also show substantial outside earnings for several other justices, primarily from book deals and teaching positions.

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Iraqi Police Discover $14 Million Stashed in Oil Minister’s Walls

Iraqi investigators carried out a major anti-corruption operation on Sunday, raiding several homes in exclusive Baghdad neighborhoods and arresting dozens of prominent public figures.

One of the most remarkable arrests was Deputy Minister of Oil for Distribution Affairs Ali Maarij al-Bahadly, whose home proved to have $14 million in cash stuffed into its walls.

The Iraqi judiciary released footage of investigators smashing through the wall of al-Bahadly’s pool house and discovering suitcases filled with American dollars and Iraqi dinars, plus a few luxury goods, such as a Rolex wristwatch.

The presiding judge of the Iraqi Central Criminal Court for Corruption, which has taken Bahadly into custody, said the suitcases full of cash were discovered during the “initial investigation” of the deputy oil minister. One can only imagine what the full investigation will look like.

Bahadly was directly in charge of selling and distributing refined fuel products across the entire country, which put him in close contact with traders, distributors, and numerous local officials. His position was considered exceptionally sensitive for this reason, although surprisingly enough, he was not caught with his hand in the biggest cookie jar.

That distinction belongs to another deputy oil minister, Adnan al-Jumaili, who had almost $86 million in cash when he was arrested in late May. The judiciary said that 70 properties, 21 vehicles, and 6.6 pounds of gold jewelry have been seized so far, in addition to the mountain of cash.

The anti-corruption crackdown was ordered by Iraq’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, soon after he was sworn into office by parliament in May. The Iraqi public was furious about corruption, mismanagement, and the reluctance of previous governments to take action against politically-connected officials.

The U.S. government also pressured the new prime minister to take action, and was specifically interested in Bahadly, who was targeted for sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in early May for “abusing his position to facilitate the diversion of oil to be sold for the benefit of the Iranian regime and its proxy militias in Iraq.”

“Like a rogue gang, the Iranian regime is pillaging resources that rightfully belong to the Iraqi people. Treasury will not stand idly by as Iran’s military exploits Iraqi oil to fund terrorism against the United States and our partners,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said when announcing the sanctions in May.

Other officials caught up in the anti-corruption dragnet include Raed al-Jubouri, current health director and former governor of the province where Adnan al-Jumaili lives, and Alaa Samir al-Jubouri, a top official with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity.

In addition to the arrests, Prime Minister al-Zaidi canceled a massive $764 million Baghdad airport project on June 14 over corruption concerns.

Some observers worried that al-Zaidi’s long-overdue anti-corruption drive would stall out, despite some big early headlines, for the same reason that previous efforts to curb rampant corruption have failed: Iraq’s governing coalition is fragile, and could completely disintegrate if some factions think they are being treated unfairly. Many of the factions in that coalition are heavily armed.

“I would expect the campaign to stop once pursuing it further begins to carry significant political, security, or systemic costs. For now, however, there are indications that additional arrests may still be forthcoming,” Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies researcher Harith Hasan told The National on Tuesday.

“Corruption in Iraq is politically protected. Thus, it becomes a very complicated task to fight it. It is linked directly to the nature and the composition of the political system,” media professor Ghalib Aldaamy told Al Jazeera News.

“Can you imagine that some of those who commit such crimes believe they are not doing something wrong because they hold a religious doctrine that states that public funds belong to no one?” Aldaamy asked.

Former Iraqi Federal Integrity Commission chief Mousa Faraj told Al Jazeera he was impressed by the prime minister’s effort so far, but added that $14 million stuffed in a minister’s walls is a fraction of the stolen money that investigators might find if they look in the right places.

“My advice to the prime minister is to start with serious and major old files. At the top of them are the Central Bank currency auctions in previous years, where corruption reached tens of billions of dollars,” Faraj said.

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