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A health crisis has emerged for Democrat officials in Long Beach, California, following a tuberculosis outbreak linked to a hotel housing ‘homeless’ people, according to Fox News. 

On Thursday, health officials declared a public health emergency after an alarming tuberculosis outbreak was reported at an unnamed hotel housing. 

The city has so far confirmed 14 cases of tuberculosis in people “associated with a single room occupancy hotel.” Nine of them were hospitalized with one fatal case. Another 170 people were “likely exposed” to the deadly bacteria. 

“The outbreak is currently isolated to a distinct population and the risk to the general public is low,” the city said, adding, “The population at risk in this outbreak has significant barriers to care, including homelessness and housing insecurity, mental illness, substance use and serious medical comorbidities.”

The reason health officials declined to name the hotel or its location is to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations. 

One X user said, “I believe the name of the hotel SHOULD BE DISCLOSED in the interest of traveler safety. OR does this mean the hotel is used to house illegal aliens invading our border? Long Beach declares public health emergency after deadly tuberculosis outbreak.” 

I believe the name of the hotel SHOULD BE DISCLOSED in the interest of traveler safety. OR does this mean the hotel is used to house illegal aliens invading our border? Long Beach declares public health emergency after deadly tuberculosis outbreak https://t.co/jTe7fpuR2R

— Judy Holiday (@msjudyholiday) May 3, 2024

The question now becomes if Long Beach officials were housing illegal migrants in the hotel… 

If so, this isn’t the first time unvaccinated and undocumented illegal aliens have sparked infectious disease outbreaks in hotels and shelters nationwide. 

Rumors are flying Saturday that Hamas and Israel are closer than ever to finally reaching a truce deal that would center of the release of more Israeli hostages, and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

“Negotiations for a potential hostage deal and truce in Gaza appeared to reach a critical moment Saturday, with Hamas set to offer its response to the latest proposal, and Israel indicating an offensive in the city of Rafah could be imminent if no agreement is reached,” Times of Israel reports.

Separately Haaretz is reporting based on regional Arab sources that Hamas has in essence already accepted a deal. The last hours of Egyptian and Qatari mediated talks have reportedly seen significant progress.

However, this key caveat could make all of the current Saturday headlines premature: 

An Israeli official told Haaretz that ‘Israel will, under no circumstances, agree to end the war as part of a deal’ and is determined to enter Rafah.

But Haaretz is also saying that “Hamas was guaranteed by the U.S. for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and that Israeli forces will not continue fighting once the hostages are released.”

Picture Alliance via Getty Images

The problem with this is that given PM Netanyahu’s latest and consistent rhetoric vowing to not halt the operation until Palestinian terrorists in the Strip are eradicated, a full IDF withdrawal still seems unrealistic.

Starting Friday Israeli leaders said they were giving Hamas one week to agree to the deal on the table or else a full-scale assault of Rafah will begin. 

Less than 40 hostages are expected to be freed as part of the deal – it would focus on the remaining children, elderly, and the sick.

One Israeli official told Haaretz that the government is “waiting anxiously to see Hamas’ final position.”

But the source cautioned, “The information has not yet arrived, but in light of past experience, even if Hamas says it’s following the suggested framework, the small details and reservations it’ll eventually present may dissolve the whole deal.”

This is precisely what has happened to prior rounds of negotiations which were believed to be at the finish line. They blew up at the last moment over specific details, typically involving wrangling over the names on the hostage release list.

Friday night’s ZeroHedge Debate explored which is the superior asset: Gold or Bitcoin.

Arguing in favor of Gold were investor Peter Schiff and NYU economist Nouriel Roubini, who went toe-to-toe with crypto proponents Erik Voorhees, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and wealth manager Anthony Scaramucci.

Schiff made the case that Bitcoin cannot be a viable currency because “money needs to be a commodity” and that Bitcoin has no inherent value.

“It’s not just a unit of account and a medium of exchange. It needs to be a store of value,” he added.

“[Bitcoin] is no more ‘digital gold’ than if I create an image of a hamburger on a computer screen. That’s not digital food.”

Does Bitcoin’s transferability give it value?

Voorhees argued that Bitcoin’s ability to seamlessly cross borders is an example of inherent value.

“I can send $1 million to Europe in five minutes from my phone.”

As things heated up, Roubini echoed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), suggesting that crypto could be exchanged between a “criminal and a terrorist” and that Bitcoin’s transferability allows for the subversion of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) laws.

He blasted Voorhees for being too idealistic.

“Live in your Libertarian cave! That’s not the world we live in.”

Voorhees then gave his best impression of Socrates, attempting to dissect Roubini’s argument that Bitcoin is not “decentralized.”

Roubini, meanwhile, made the case that Bitcoin mining is controlled by an oligopoly, and that “The Gini coefficient of Bitcoin is worse than North Korea,” – a point he’s made in the past, suggesting that Bitcoin contributes to income inequality, rather than reducing it.

One topic the panelists agreed on: inflation is crushing the work class.

According to Schiff, “there’s only one source of inflation and that’s government.”

So, who do you think won?

If you would like to protect yourself from rising inflation, consider checking out this debate’s sponsorsPreserve Gold and Bitlayer Labs. ZeroHedge would like to offer a special thank you to each of them for helping to facilitate free speech and open debate.

Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute,

Russian forces are advancing in several places across the 600-mile frontline in Ukraine, straining Kiev’s ability to build rear fortifications. Some in the Ukrainian military fault the country’s leadership for not building stronger second and third-line defenses last year while Russian troops were stalled. 

According to a dozen Ukrainian soldiers, government officials, and construction company directors who spoke with the Associated Press, Kiev is struggling to set up new defensive lines as its forces retreat. The officials cited several issues including decision-making last year, bureaucracy in doling out military contracts, and ammunition shortages. 

A deputy infantry commander fighting near Avdiivka explained that the defensive line needed to be built last year during Ukraine’s offensive. “There was an absence of responsibility. … People didn’t understand that fortifications can save your life if you do it in advance,” he stated. “Many people thought we … wouldn’t need to prepare such lines. They didn’t expect a new Russian offensive.”

Last summer, at Washington’s insistence, Kiev launched a counteroffensive that failed to retake much territory due to deeply entrenched Russian defensive lines. Ukraine lost a significant number of troops and military equipment during the failed assault. 

The AP notes that “Ukraine’s lack of adequate defensive lines has helped Russia make significant military gains, and constant enemy fire hinders building.”

In a Telegram post on Sunday, Kiev’s Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said the situation at the front had “escalated,” adding, “Trying to seize the strategic initiative and break through the front line, the enemy has concentrated its main efforts in several directions, creating a significant advantage in forces and in means.”

In the battle for Chasiv Yar, a city in Donetsk, a Ukrainian soldier said the lack of fortified positions allowed Russian forces to prevail, with over 100 men killed or missing after a major withdrawal from the area.

“We lost department commanders, platoon commanders, company commanders, and sergeants. That is, we lost the entire skeleton of the brigade,” the soldier explained to the AP. 

2/ Ukrainian intelligence officials also identified three Russian efforts to destabilize Ukraine and achieve victory.

Details in the Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment for May 2, 2024https://t.co/p2XVK93bUy pic.twitter.com/OEvKmsYaoH

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) May 3, 2024

Rather than use military engineers to complete the projects, Kiev elected to pay construction companies to build third-line defenses. Ukraine awarded the contracts without following the typical bidding process, raising fears of corruption. Additionally, one contractor said the reported progress on the fortifications has been exaggerated to satisfy the government’s demands.

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team admitted on Friday that key evidence in Trump’s classified documents case was altered or manipulated – leaving two different chronologies; one that was digitally scanned vs. what’s in the actual boxes.

Smith also misled the court, after originally telling U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that the boxes remained “in their original, intact form as seized,” when in a footnote they conceded that they removed classified documents and left placeholder sheets, which prosecutors acknowledged has created an “inconsistent” record – in which some of the documents are no longer in the same order as they appear in digital scans made in the fall of 2022.

“The Government acknowledges that this is inconsistent with what Government counsel previously understood and represented to the Court,” the footnote reads, according to Just the News.

The finding comes after Cannon ordered a review into whether the FBI may have seized legally privileged records in response to a request from Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta.

“Since the boxes were seized and stored, appropriate personnel have had access to the boxes for several reasons, including to comply with orders issued by this Court in the civil proceedings noted above, for investigative purposes, and to facilitate the defendants’ review of the boxes,” wrote Smith’s team in the Friday filing.

“There are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans,” the filing continues.

The organization of the documents in storage boxes at Mar-a-Lago is likely to be an important part of Trump‘s defense. His team is expected to argue the documents were stored in the White House in chronological order on the days that Trump received them, and that staff simply boxed them up and sent them to his home without him accessing them or knowing they contained classified information.

Smith’s team tried to downplay the problem and argued it’s not a reason for a delay in Trump’s case.

But several legal experts told Just the News the court filing essentially is an admission of evidence tampering, and could be problematic. -Just the News

“Prosecutors and investigators should never tamper with or alter evidence in their possession, including the order of documents in a box because one never knows what may become relevant or crucial to a court or jury later in a case,” Alan Dershowitz told Just the News.

“This admission is stunning on multiple levels,” said defense attorney Tim Parlatore, who worked on Trump’s team earlier in the classified documents case but no longer is involved, adding that the revelation “reinforces the incompetence” of prosecutors “in conducting basic criminal investigations and prosecutions that I observed when I was on the team.

“But at a deeper level, the loss of specific document locations is a destruction of exculpatory evidence,” Parlatore added. “I went through all of the boxes at NARA and the document order was important because it was clear to us that the boxes had been untouched since leaving the White House.

“For prosecutors who are trying to prove that the defendants knowingly possessed these documents to then destroy the evidence that would undermine that claim is a very serious violation,” he said.

In response to the filing, Trump said on Truth Social that “Deranged Jack has admitted in a filing in front of Judge Cannon to what I have been saying happened since the Illegal RAID on my home … that he and his team committed blatant Evidence Tampering by mishandling the very Boxes they used as a pretext to bring this Fake Case.“

Smith’s Excuses

The prosecution offered several explanations for the manipulated evidence.

“There are several possible explanations, including the above-described instances in which the boxes were accessed, as well as the size and shape of certain items in the boxes possibly leading to movement of items,” reads the filing. “For example, the boxes contain items smaller than standard paper such as index cards, books, and stationary, which shift easily when the boxes are carried, especially because many of the boxes are not full.”

That said, Just the News also notes that altered evidence has featured prominently in previous political scandals.

Erasure of an 18 1/2 minute segment of Richard Nixon’s White House tapes became a very important aspect of the Watergate scandal.

The Iran-Contra scandal exploded during the Reagan years with the revelation that documents were shredded before they could be obtained by investigators.

The Hillary Clinton classified email scandal became more complicated in 2015 with the revelation that her team used a “Bleach Bit” program to erase emails on her secret computer server, and had email devices destroyed. 

As Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton suggests, this is “Yet more reason to throw out this sham prosecution.”

EVIDENCE TAMPERING? Biden DOJ/Jack Smith just admitted they messed with boxes supposedly containing “classified” documents they seized from Trump and can’t be sure the order or placement of the documents as originally found has been maintained — which is contrary to what they…

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) May 3, 2024

And as the Epoch Times notes, the case was brought against President Trump and others over their alleged violation of federal law in handling documents marked classified. Defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Neither Mr. Nauta nor other defendants in the case have responded yet to the new filing.

Mr. Nauta’s request for an extension is one of many documents that are under seal, or unavailable for perusal.

In another recent filing, President Trump’s team said that the case should be dismissed because prosecutors are motivated by “improper political animus,” pointing in part to how White House lawyers worked with the National Archives and Records Administration on its referral to the Department of Justice and how President Joe Biden has said that he was “making sure” President Trump “does not become the next president again.”

Prosecutors opposed the dismissal request but their opposition was filed under seal.

Read the filing below (via Just the News): 

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

“Unaffordable climate commitments have two leftist British parties racing to exit stage left.”

Europeans Ditch Net Zero

The Wall Street Journal reports Europeans Ditch Net Zero, While Biden Clings to It

You know you’ve stumbled through the looking glass when European politicians start sounding saner on climate policy than the Americans do. Well here we are, Alice: Europeans are admitting the folly of net zero quicker than their American peers.

The latest example—perhaps “victim” is more apt—is Humza Yousaf, who resigned this week as Scotland’s first minister. That region within the U.K. enjoys substantial devolved powers over its own affairs, including on climate policy. An administration led by Mr. Yousaf’s left-leaning Scottish National Party had hoped to rush ahead of the national government in London in slashing carbon emissions.

Until, that is, someone noticed the costs. A recent report from the U.K.’s Climate Change Committee noted Scotland had fallen far behind on its climate goals. The government aimed to reduce by 20% the aggregate distance driven by Scottish motorists, compared with 2019 levels, but had no plan to accomplish the reduction in personal mobility by the 2030 deadline. To get back on track with the government’s goal of a transition to home electric heat pumps, Scotland would have to replace natural-gas fire boilers at a rate of more than 80,000 households a year by the end of the decade. That’s a big ask considering that in 2023 it managed 6,000 boiler replacements. The government resisted imposing an aviation tax to discourage excess flying. And so on.

Mr. Yousaf did the only thing he could under the circumstances: He all but abandoned net zero. His administration announced it is ditching firm annual emission-reduction targets in favor of fuzzier “carbon budgets.” The Green Party, with which Mr. Yousaf’s SNP governed in a coalition, balked. After a series of political machinations that were one part “Macbeth” and two parts “Comedy of Errors,” Mr. Yousaf’s administration collapsed and he was forced to resign.

Observe two salient details. First, the specific list of targets the country was missing. Scotland had reached the point where further net-zero progress would have made obvious and material demands of household budgets. That isn’t counting the additional costs of renewable power hidden in utility bills.

I have discussed the above ideas many times. There are farm protests in nearly every country on the main continent and Greens are likely to get clobbered hard in the European Parliament elections in June.

What About the US?

The Journal reports “The puzzlement is that the U.S. is headed in the opposite direction. President Biden is pressing ahead with aggressive net-zero policies such as an electric-vehicle mandate and pouring trillions of dollars of borrowed government and hard-earned household money into climate boondoggles.“

There is no puzzle. Biden is owned 100% by the Progressives.

They control climate policy, regulations, student loans, abortion, everything.

Please note Biden Promotes Climate Change at the Expense of More Global Poverty

The mad rush to deal with climate change, even if it works (it won’t), has a nasty tradeoff (more global poverty).

Biden will not do anything to offend the Progressives, even if it means he loses the election over it.

Traders and shipping companies have ensured millions of barrels of Russian crude and crude products flow around the world despite European Union sanctions against Moscow for its ‘special operation’ in Ukraine. One method to ensure the flow has been cargo switching at sea, known by traders as ship-to-ship or STS transfers. 

One of the hottest STS transfer spots for Russian crude and crude products was in Greece’s Laconian Gulf, a gulf in the south-eastern Peloponnese. Now, research firm TankerTrackers reports that Russian oil transfers in the area have “completely vacated” the area this week. 

“For reasons unknown, the Laconian Gulf in Greece, used as a transshipment point for Russian oil; was completely vacated of major tankers on the afternoon of 2024-05-01. The STS transfers are now taking place directly south of the gulf,” TankerTrackers wrote on X. 

For reasons unknown, the Laconian Gulf in Greece, used as a transshipment point for Russian oil; was completely vacated of major tankers on the afternoon of 2024-05-01. The STS transfers are now taking place directly south of the gulf. Maritime data by @MarineTraffic, a @Kpler… pic.twitter.com/9WUPircXTi

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) May 3, 2024

STS Russian transfers from the Laconian Gulf have ended up thousands of miles away in Asia. However, according to the Black Sea Group, some of it ended up at European ports because of Brussels’ poor sanction management: 

“68% of the oil was brought to the Laconian Gulf in Greece for transshipment, while the rest was directly exported to the EU ports amid poor sanctions management,” researcher Bohdan Ben wrote in a note. 

TankerTrackers pointed out that the STS transfers in the Laconian Gulf have shifted just south. The firm used maritime data from Marine Traffic and satellite imagery data from Kpler.

Bloomberg notes STS transfers of Russian crude could be shifting to the Red Sea: 

There are other signs of change in how Russian oil is moving. One tanker also flipped a cargo of crude onto another vessel in the Red Sea last month. The Panta Rei 1 transfered its cargo onto the Odysseus, which then transported its consignment to India. That’s the first ever switch observed in that location in ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

What is evident is that, despite Western sanctions on Moscow, Russian crude oil and crude products continue to circulate globally. The puzzling thing here is why the abrupt shift away from the Laconian Gulf region? 

Authored by Vivek Sun via Bitcoin Magazine,

Fidelity, a major financial services firm, says pension funds are starting to explore investing in Bitcoin, particularly after the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds earlier this year…

Fidelity has been bullish on Bitcoin for years, launching its Digital Assets branch in 2018 and bringing a successful Bitcoin ETF to market earlier this year. The firm’s ETF attracted significant capital compared to competitors.

Now, Fidelity’s VP of Digital Assets Manuel Nordeste says the company is engaging with major pension funds and other institutional investors about allocating to Bitcoin.

Speaking at a recent event, Nordeste stated: “Now, we’re starting to have conversations with the larger, real money institutional investor types, and we’re getting some of those clients, as well as corporates and so on.”

His comments come after BlackRock also mentioned yesterday having educational conversations with pension funds regarding Bitcoin ETFs. Recent 13F filings show major pension consultants have already purchased spot Bitcoin ETFs.

This mounting evidence indicates serious diligence is underway about allowing pension investments in Bitcoin vehicles like ETFs. 

With over $4 trillion in capital, U.S. pension funds committing even tiny portfolio allocations could drive significant inflows.

While pensions remain cautious compared to family offices and hedge funds, who’ve already bought Bitcoin exposure, their conservative mandates and focus on risk management has kept most pensions on the sidelines so far.

If pensions follow the lead of early adopters, it would represent a seismic shift in mainstream acceptance.

Thus far, Bitcoin ETFs have seen tremendous demand since launching this year. While this week marked record outflows, the long-term trajectory still appears highly favorable.

Publicly traded telehealth company Hims & Hers Health, Inc. tumbled into a correction at the end of last week when the CEO said he and other executives were “eager” to hire anti-Israel student protesters. 

“Moral courage > College degree,” Palestinian-American CEO Andrew Dudum wrote on X. 

Dudum said, “If you’re currently protesting against the genocide of the Palestinian people & for your university’s divestment from Israel, keep going. It’s working.” 

“There are plenty of companies & CEOs eager to hire you, regardless of university discipline,” he noted. 

Substack author Jordan Schachtel responded to Dudum’s post on X by indicating his activism is a “violation of fiduciary duty…” 

Violation of fiduciary duty in support of Hamas. Bold move, Cotton.

— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.today (@JordanSchachtel) May 2, 2024

“What does this have to do with your business? why does this belong at a public company? Marshall Wace isn’t paying you to play politics,” Martin Shkreli wrote.

what does this have to do with your business? why does this belong at a public company? Marshall Wace isn’t paying you to play politics

— Martin Shkreli (e/acc) (@MartinShkreli) May 2, 2024

Here’s what other X users said:

Real moral courage doesn’t involve joining a mindless mob, chanting anti-US and other woke pablum, following instructions not to debate or discuss your positions at all yet being indignantly righteous, while large numbers in the mob chant for violence and block Jewish students.

— Joe Lonsdale (@JTLonsdale) May 1, 2024

Translation$HIMS hires antisemites

If there was ever a sell signal, this is it.

— Jordan Fried (@JordanFried) May 1, 2024

Job offers for pro-terror students at a soon to be bankrupt company. #BoycottHims

— Ellie Cohanim (@EllieCohanim) May 3, 2024

What does this have to do with selling boner pills

— Sam Rosenthal, Award Winning Online Safety EXPERT! (@SirSardonic) May 2, 2024

Following the CEO’s activism post, shares of Hims & Hers tumbled into a correction. 

Other X users said they were “selling” the stock, while others said they were “shorting” it. 

Selling all my $HIMS 🤡

— Terry Cheng ⛽️ 🇺🇸 (@Bat_tery) May 2, 2024

Cue the $HIMS selloff 📉

— Jonathan Snow, DMD (@drjonathansnow) May 2, 2024

SHORT $HIMS, got it 👍🏼

— Prestige Worldwide (@jayhawk_73) May 2, 2024

Soo you prefer to hire the students who aren’t in class, aren’t in jobs, easily susceptible to propaganda, larping as terrorists, harassing jews, and generally wreaking havoc over a list of demands that aren’t even achievable?

Easiest short of my life

— Rho Rider (@RhoRider) May 2, 2024

I would never join this company whose leader supports terrorists. And if you’re looking to hire encampment activists instead of students who are studying for finals – I’ll short this company in a heartbeat.

— Paul S (@paulscolnick1) May 2, 2024

Meanwhile, Palantir CEO Alex Karp said anti-Israel protesters causing chaos across colleges and universities should be shipped off to North Korea as part of an “exchange program” to give them perspective. 

“We’re gonna do an exchange program sponsored by Karp,” he said, adding, “A couple months in North Korea, nice-tasting flavored bark. See how you feel about that.”

The problem with some of these college protests is their artificial nature, funded by the Soros group and other non-governmental organizations, with the goal of sparking chaos in a Marxist takeover of America. 

An extremist on the mic says: “There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.”

This isn’t just about Israel/Palestine. It’s an attempt of the Marxist takeover of America. Our colleges have become… pic.twitter.com/2IEqRyuorB

— A Man Of Memes (@RickyDoggin) April 30, 2024

CEO Dudum reminds us of the virtue-signaling days of mega-corporations who jumped on the BLM movement, which only turned out to be a bunch of Marxists wanting to destroy capitalism and the US. 

By Grzegorz Adamczyk of RMX.news

The Świętokrzyska Industrial Group Industria (ŚGP Industria) has confirmed the presence of uranium in a deposit within the Świętokrzyskie Region in southern Poland. The company now plans to undertake further exploratory work to determine the deposit’s size and potential extraction methods. This finding was made during exploratory activities, though the company has chosen not to disclose the exact location at this time. In the coming months, detailed work will be carried out to establish the deposit’s size and potential exploitation methods.

A uranium ore pile is the first to be mined at the Energy Fuels Inc. uranium Pinyon Plain Mine, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, near Tusayan, Ariz., USA. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Poland has approximately 100,000 tons of natural uranium, although only 7,000 tons have been confirmed so far. ŚGP Industria received an exploratory concession from the Ministry of Climate and Environment for a polymetallic deposit containing uranium in the region.

Following the company’s efforts, the presence of uranium in the deposit was verified. Continued exploration over the next few months will aim to precisely determine the content of various elements in the deposit, its size, and potential extraction methods.

“I am very pleased that our efforts over the past three years to develop mining in the Świętokrzyskie Region and access to critical raw materials in Poland, including uranium crucial for the nuclear sector, are bearing fruit,” said Szczepan Ruman, president of the Board of ŚGP Industria. He added that the discovery of the uranium deposit is an important event from the perspective of developing cooperation with Rolls-Royce on implementing small modular reactors (SMRs) in Poland.

The company conducted its studies based on documents from the National Geological Archive of the State Geological Institute in Warsaw. These documents include data from the Soviet atomic program and uranium ore searches in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains in the 1950s.

Continue reading at RMX.news