Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got some very important stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
The U.S. Supreme Court will not take on a voter registration case from a swing state, a federal agency is warning Americans that scammers are out there, and the high court will not hear a challenge brought by Elon Musk.
Also, another politician resigns in New York City, and researchers are working on the very first vaccine aimed at preventing ovarian cancer.
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Voter Registration Case
Biden’s order calls upon all federal agencies, including the prison system, to help increase voter registration and participation and promote voting by mail.The judges denied the petition in Keefer v. Biden without comment.
So you know, state lawmakers in Pennsylvania previously filed a petition to appeal an unfavorable ruling by a federal district court, which is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
You should know that Biden’s executive order, issued in March 2021, requires all federal agencies to submit a plan for voter registration and participation to Susan Rice, the president’s domestic policy adviser.
The Keystone State lawmakers argued that the order was unconstitutional and that voter registration drives are not a legitimate function of government. They said that the executive actions violated their rights under the U.S. Constitution by usurping their power to prescribe the time, place, and manner of holding elections.
They asked the high court justices to expedite consideration of the standing issue, so if they prevail, they can obtain a preliminary injunction in the district court well before November’s election, which is just weeks away.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court denied the petition, brought by Pennsylvania Rep. Dawn Keefer, without a single dissent.
Federal Agency Warns Americans of Scams
FEMA specifically singled out identity theft- and fraud-related scams, saying some criminals might try to get a person’s information by pretending to be disaster workers.You should know that Hurricane Helene caused significant damage to infrastructure, entire towns, water and electrical systems, and more across western North Carolina.
While the agency did not provide specific examples or reports of scammers, it follows a similar warning issued by the North Carolina Department of Justice late last week about scammers targeting natural disaster areas.
In at least one alleged situation, James Butler, a contractor in the city of Asheville, said on social media that fake “FEMA-authorized” tree experts were going door to door and demanding $280 for help.
By the way, FEMA says it doesn’t hire or endorse specific contractors to fix homes or recommend repairs and also that a FEMA inspector’s job is to verify damage.
The agency goes on to say that “scam artists” could also attempt to apply for FEMA disaster aid using Social Security numbers, names, and addresses that they stole from individuals who’ve been affected by a natural disaster.
Again, officials say don’t trust anyone who offers help and then asks for money.
They’re also urging people not to provide information during “unsolicited telephone calls” or through email to individuals claiming to be with FEMA or another federal agency. FEMA says it’ll contact you if you have called first or registered for assistance.
One final note. FEMA’s leadership has been struggling with allegations that they’ve prioritized giving much-needed funds to illegal immigrants over helping Americans after Helene’s impacts. They deny the accusations, calling them ridiculous and not helpful to people who are truly in need of assistance.
Supreme Court Rejects Musk’s Case
Without any dissent, the justices declined to take the case, filed by Musk, who owns the social media platform X. He says that he should not have been forced to turn over data from former President Donald Trump’s X account to special counsel Jack Smith.It started in 2023, when Smith obtained a warrant for Trump’s Twitter account as part of the federal prosecutors’ 2020 election case against Trump who had frequently used the account during the 2016 presidential campaign and during his first administration.
Smith’s team repeatedly mentioned Trump’s posts on Twitter in the first indictment, which was unsealed last year. A revised indictment was brought against Trump by Smith this past September following the high court’s ruling that presidents should be declared broadly immune from prosecution for their official acts and duties.
X argued that Smith’s team carried out an “unprecedented end-run around executive privilege” by obtaining a nondisclosure order. That order prevented Twitter from notifying Trump of a warrant for private communications that he sent and received during his presidency.
The Musk-owned platform had initially refused to comply with a nondisclosure order and was fined $350,000 by a judge in August of 2023.
By the way, last week, Smith filed a lengthy brief that included what prosecutors say is evidence that Trump committed crimes and tried to illegally overturn the 2020 election. Trump’s lawyers argued that this filing is tantamount to election interference since November’s election is just weeks away. A federal judge ultimately rejected their arguments.
NYC Mayor Adams Accepts Another Top Resignation
Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety, is the latest public official to resign amid a federal probe into New York Mayor Eric Adams’s alleged illegal campaign activity. Banks was appointed in 2022 and had previously served as the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) highest-ranking officer.So you know, in 2014, Banks resigned from the NYPD after a scandal in which two businessmen were convicted of bribing police officers and other officials. He was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in that case, but was not charged. He later acknowledged accepting gifts from the businessmen, including overseas travel, meals, and cigars, which he said were mistakenly left off his disclosure forms.
Just last month, federal agents seized devices from Banks and other city officials, including Banks’s brother, David Banks, chancellor of New York City schools, who also announced his resignation. Those officials include NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and Adams’s closest aide, Timothy Pearson, who both stepped down after their phones were taken.
You should know that Banks is the fifth top administrator to step down recently, before and after Adams was indicted in September on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and receiving campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
According to the indictment, Adams allegedly “not only accepted, but sought illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, as well as other things of value, from foreign nationals.”
Prosecutors alleged that as Adams’s influence grew, foreign nationals exploited their relationship with him, which the mayor allegedly allowed by “providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received” and so you know, Adams has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Now this is kind of interesting. So far, Adams has rejected calls for his resignation saying once the full story comes out, New Yorkers will see he can stay focused and get the job done.
1st Ovarian Cancer ‘Preventative Vaccine’
Researchers at the University of Oxford have been awarded nearly $800,000 from Cancer Research UK to create the world’s first vaccine designed to prevent ovarian cancer. Also this past week, a new test is said to be able to detect 96 percent of ovarian cancers.Those involved with the research say that the jab in development, known as OvarianVax, will work by teaching the immune system to recognize and attack the earliest stages of ovarian cancer.
You may not be aware, but ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in females. Scientists say they believe that women with “faulty” BRCA1 genes have a higher ovarian cancer risk, and to a lesser extent in women with a faulty BRCA2 gene. That’s compared with women who don’t have these variants.
The lead professor for the vaccine project says that OvarianVax could offer the solution to prevent cancer in women in the high-risk category.
In the first stage of research, the scientists will try to establish which proteins on the surface of early-stage ovarian cancer cells are recognized most by the immune system and how effective the proposed vaccine is at killing mini-models of the cancer in the lab.
If this stage is considered successful, the team will then begin working on clinical trials of the vaccine. Their intention is that in the future, women considered to be at high risk of ovarian cancer could be offered the vaccine in order to help prevent the disease.
You should know that the way in which the ovarian cancer jab is intended to work is similar to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. It claims to train the immune system to recognize and eliminate HPV-infected cells, thereby preventing cervical cancer.
However, there have been multiple reports and lawsuits associated with the HPV vaccine—known as Gardasil and manufactured by Merck—brought by the parents of young girls who have allegedly been killed or seriously harmed by this vaccine.
On a final note, according to Cancer Research, the estimated lifetime risk of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer is 2 percent for women born in 1961 in the UK. Researchers say if the vaccine development and trials prove successful, they would expect to start seeing an impact within the next five years.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Tuesday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from Linda Grayson, who said: “There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.”
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times News Brief program was written today by Sharon Reardon.
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Enjoy the remainder of your Tuesday, and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.
