Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro is such a pariah in US media circles that pundits rejoiced that the unvaccinated president had to eat pizza on the sidewalk in New York City. Never mind that he has natural immunity, as a Covid-19 survivor.

MSNBC host Joy Reid and anti-Trump commentator Keith Olbermann were among the observers whose hearts were warmed by a viral photo on social media of Bolsonaro eating a slice outside because New York restaurants require proof of Covid-19 vaccination to dine indoors. The populist leader traveled to the Big Apple to give a speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

“I love New York,” Reid tweeted on Tuesday in response to the photo. Olbermann, formerly of CNN, MSNBC and ESPN, demanded that Bolsonaro, “Get out of our city, fascist.”

I love New York.✌🏿❤️ https://t.co/ubVLB1Palh

— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) September 21, 2021

Get out of our city, Fascist https://t.co/MnMWxhkbGG

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) September 20, 2021

Author Regina Phelps said the news of Brazil’s head of state and his delegation being precluded from fine dining “made my morning.” US singer-songwriter Ricky Davila joined in the celebration, saying, “Well done, New Yorkers.”

#covid19 This made my morning. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro ate a piece of pizza on a sidewalk instead of fine dining at NYCs restaurants due to no proof of covid vax while in town for the UN General Assembly @scoopit https://t.co/1Dug62AMNA

— Regina Phelps (@ReginaPhelps) September 21, 2021

Anti-vaxx Dictator Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil was forced to eat pizza whilst standing on a sidewalk in New York City after he was denied entry into restaurants for refusing to show any proof of vaccination. Well done New Yorkers. 👊👏

— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) September 21, 2021

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday that Bolsonaro shouldn’t have bothered to come to the city because he hasn’t gotten his jabs.

Others lamented that the restrictions weren’t made tougher on Bolsonaro for daring to come to New York without proof of vaccination. “What hotel let this motherf***er in, though, and why isn’t he camping in a pup tent in Central Park,” self-described fanfic writer Jolanta Benal said.

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The concerns didn’t stop there. The Washington Post argued that Bolsonaro violated the UN’s ‘honor system’ by speaking at the General Assembly on Tuesday without being vaccinated.

Other observers, such as Walt Disney Co. executive Dan Linden, noted that the UN lectern was thoroughly sanitized after Bolsonaro gave his speech. Professor and journalist Joyce Karam added, with some relief, that the Brazilian leader gave his speech before US President Joe Biden entered the General Assembly and the two men didn’t cross paths.

Podium at #UNGA being sanitized before President Biden appears - this following a speech by Brazilian Pres. Bolsonaro, who is unvaccinated. https://t.co/AvczQ3oUXg pic.twitter.com/T9ASeb8wlX

— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) September 21, 2021

Similarly, Guardian correspondent Tom Phillips noted that Bolsonaro had a meeting scheduled with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, “who one hopes will be wearing a mask.”

All of the critics and worry warts ignored the fact that Bolsonaro has already been infected with Covid-19 and recovered from the virus, developing natural immunity. In fact, Bolsonaro himself has said that because his natural antibodies are “way up high,” he has chosen not to get the shots.

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An Israeli study last month showed that people who had been vaccinated were 13 times more likely to contract Covid-19 than those who had already been infected with the virus. But the US’ CDC still recommends that people who’ve had Covid-19 get vaccinated, and mandate enthusiasts have been undaunted by the science.

South African journalist Wesley Fester said Bolsonaro’s rough dining experience in New York was “soon to be the fate of anti-vaxxers around the world.”

Unvaccinated Bolsonaro eats pizza on New York sidewalk.

Soon to be the fate of anti-vaxxers around the world. https://t.co/fyAm533diT

— Wesley Fester (@wesleyfestersa) September 21, 2021

Asked earlier this month about the Israeli study on CNN, chief White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci struggled to make the case that people who’ve already been infected with Covid-19 should get vaccinated. “I don’t have a really firm answer for you on that,” Fauci said.

this is called ‘narrative collapse’

Biden’s White House medical advisor Dr Fauci on previously infected Americans and why they should still get vaccinated if shown to have stronger NATURAL IMMUNITY:

“I don’t have a really firm answer for you on that”pic.twitter.com/j8x0127tLm

— Maajid أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) September 20, 2021

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The US military has announced a probe into the drone strike - initially said to have hit a terrorist bigwig - that killed an aid worker and seven children. But true accountability has never been typical for the 20-year-long war.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has been placed in charge of the investigation, which will be conducted by Air Force Inspector General Lt.Gen. Sami Said, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Monday. The probe comes after Austin ordered a military officer (three stars or higher) to conduct a review of the initial CENTCOM investigation into the strike. Investigators have 45 days to complete the task, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby.

Kirby further elaborated that the review would “examine the investigation itself, the thoroughness of the investigation, to study the degree to which any policies, procedures or targeting mechanisms may need to be altered going forward” as well as “what levels of accountability might be appropriate and if so at what level” during a briefing on Monday. However, he also said that its aim would be to “make recommendations, rather than to take actions” - suggesting another episode of pass-the-buck might be at hand, rather than a legitimate effort to hold named individuals responsible.

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The Reaper drone strike on August 29 that killed 10 people was initially declared a success, with the Pentagon declaring it had taken out “at least one” notable figure in ISIS-K, the Afghan offshoot of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), along with three civilians. The vehicle, officials claimed, had posed “an imminent ISIS-K threat” to US forces involved in evacuating people from Kabul.

However, by Friday, CENTCOM head Gen. Frank McKenzie had acknowledged to reporters that he was “now convinced” that “as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that strike.” Additionally, he admitted it was “unlikely” that the dead had anything to do with ISIS-K or other potential threats to US forces.

McKenzie called the killing a “mistake” and offered “profound condolences” to the friends and family of the deceased, taking full responsibility for “the strike and this tragic outcome,” but many have called for more than an apology. While this is by no means the first or even the hundredth drone strike to ‘accidentally’ massacre Afghan civilians, President Biden’s efforts to extract the US from its longest-ever war have attracted more than the usual share of attention to this latest tragedy, belatedly humanizing the dead who were so frequently written off as ‘collateral damage’ during the two-decade ‘War on Terror’ that turned the region into a massive killing field.

Some have accused the Pentagon of acting rashly based on “dubious claims” to distract from the larger snafu of the Biden administration’s haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left hundreds of American citizens and countless more Afghans who had assisted in the US-led war effort essentially stranded in what is now Taliban territory. While Washington has been able to coordinate further chartered flights with Kabul in order to extract some of those left behind, the problem remains significant, especially after the Biden administration literally handed the Taliban a list of Afghan collaborators with the US occupation. Some have called for members of the Biden administration to resign for their roles in the screwup.

Those calls have only grown louder in the wake of the revelation that this latest drone strike was also a “mistake.” The driver of the destroyed vehicle, Zemari Ahmadi, was not only not an ISIS-K terrorist - he worked as an electrical engineer for a US-based aid group, Nutrition and Education International, for over a decade. The ‘explosives’ that were initially said to be packed in his vehicle were merely water jugs and laptop cases. The company’s Kabul office confirmed to the New York Times that he was on his way to pick up a laptop from work when he was murdered in the Hellfire missile strike, not far from Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.

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The brother of the deceased, Emal Ahmadi, was shocked to learn that the US did not “find conclusive intelligence” before pulling the trigger on the missile that killed so many of his relatives and has called for those responsible to be brought to “justice according to American law” - something the Afghan subjects of the US-occupied nation have been denied for two decades as a war fought under false pretenses ‘restructured’ their country into the explosion-scarred wreck the US finally left behind on August 31.

Over 71,000 Afghan and Pakistani civilians have been killed since the US invasion of Afghanistan began in 2001. The casualties have only increased since 2017, when the US relaxed its rules of engagement, bolstering the kill rate 330%, according to US military data collected by Brown University’s Costs of War project. In addition to the many civilian casualties, quality of life has also plummeted under US occupation, with disease, malnutrition, poverty, and other issues on the rise as access to clean water and healthcare became sparser. 

Civilian casualty levels reportedly hit record highs in the first half of 2021 even as the conflict was supposed to be winding down, according to the United Nations, which reported a surge of 47% in the number of civilians killed and injured in the first six months of this year, compared to the same period of 2020. While that report blamed ‘anti-government forces’ for nearly two thirds of the killings, the CIA is known to have armed and funded certain Afghan militia groups that have themselves been involved in major human rights abuses and extrajudicial civilian killings.

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Retail giant Amazon has vowed to hire refugees from Afghanistan as part of a program with other major companies including Facebook, Uber, and UPS to get refugees into the US workforce.

Some 34 companies joined the Tent Foundation’s Coalition for Afghan Refugees and have pledged to train, hire, and “help integrate” refugees into the American economy, the Tent Foundation announced on Tuesday.

The companies include Facebook, Uber, UPS, Pfizer, Chobani, Trip Advisor, Western Union, Hilton, Gap, Mastercard and Amazon – the latter of which will train and hire Afghan refugees to work in its controversial warehouses and transportation centers.

“This effort will empower Afghans beginning a new life in America – in support of the US government’s long-term vision of economic and social integration,” the Tent Foundation declared.

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Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, who founded the coalition, said in a statement that “every part of our society must play its part to welcome our Afghan brothers and sisters,” adding, “They have stood by our side, and we must stand by theirs.”

“The moment a refugee gets a job, it's the moment they stop being a refugee” and “can start a new life,” Ulukaya said, calling on more American businesses to join the coalition.

In a press release, the Tent Foundation praised Amazon’s “remarkable efforts” to include refugees in its US workforce, hiring people from all nationalities at its fulfilment and transportation centers, and “training and placing high-skilled refugees in corporate roles across different business teams.”

In a statement of its own, Amazon boasted that it “continually hires immigrants and refugees across the company” and is committed to expanding those efforts, noting the “imminent need” for Afghan refugees.

The United States reportedly evacuated over 65,000 Afghans during its controversial military withdrawal from the country last month – at least 24,000 of which have arrived in the US.

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Amazon – which has successfully fought to stop the unionization of its workers – has faced heavy backlash in recent years due to allegations of inhumane employee treatment.

In 2017, an undercover journalist for The Mirror reported that Amazon employees were being treated like “animals” and worked to exhaustion, while in 2018, another journalist claimed Amazon warehouse employees were urinating in bottles to avoid missing their work targets, as bathroom breaks were so strictly timed and facilities were far from work stations.

Hundreds of Amazon workers protested the alleged “inhuman” conditions on Black Friday in 2018.

Despite such reports, Amazon has denied ill treatment of its workers, tweeting in March, “You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us.”

In the same month, however, a leaked Amazon memo showed that the company knew of its drivers defecating into bags while undertaking deliveries.

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Why does the public care so much about Gabby Petito? If you ask MSNBC’s Joy Reid, it’s because they’re suffering from “missing white woman syndrome.” Reid’s racialization of Petito’s tragic death caused outrage.

Authorities believe that a body found in Grand Teton National Park on Sunday is that of Gabby Petito, a social media personality who had been reported missing a week earlier. Petito’s fiance Brian Laundrie, who the 22-year-old vlogger had been traveling with and who returned home in the couple’s van alone, is currently missing, and is being pursued by law enforcement.

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The case has received considerable media attention, and MSNBC host Joy Reid isn’t happy about this. 

“Now it goes without saying that no family should ever have to endure that kind of pain, and the Petito family certainly deserve answers and justice,” she opined on Monday night’s episode of ‘The ReidOut’. “But the way this story has captivated the nation has many wondering, why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?”

“No one is looking for us.” With all the coverage on the Gabby Petito case, Joy Reid calls out the media’s obsession with missing white women, and calls it “missing white woman syndrome”. pic.twitter.com/FPbA3bHjNq

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) September 21, 2021

"Well, the answer actually has a name: Missing White woman Syndrome,” Reid continued, referring to a term coined by black journalist Gwen Ifill and popular among liberal academics and activists. These liberals see “white women occupying a privileged role as violent crime victims in news media reporting,” in the words of New York University professor Charlton McIlwain.

However, few would consider ‘violent crime victims’ to be ‘privileged’, and Reid was slated online for her comments.

“Just say you hate white women already,” conservative reporter Cassandra Fairbanks tweeted. “The people who spammed us with wall to wall George Floyd are seriously angry that people care about a murdered woman.”

I told you this would happen. Somebody was going to play the race card on the Gabby Pitito story, and most likely it would be Joy Reid.https://t.co/TW0iHRXSZr

— Neal Boortz — Puddin’ Stick (@Talkmaster) September 21, 2021

I don't feel it was appropriate of Joy Reid to inject "race" into the conversation about Gabby Petito. The parents are grieving their dead daughter. Very insensitive to turn it into political discourse. A bigger question should be, how do we prevent these crimes from happening?

— Uncovering The Truth (@UncvrngTheTruth) September 21, 2021

Anti-Whites never miss an opportunity to spread their hatred against us.

Every single thought they have revolves around hating White people. https://t.co/lERgZgqotQ

— Chicago Joe (@__ChicagoJoe_) September 21, 2021

Reid then cited research from the Black and Missing Foundation showing that non-white missing persons are more commonly labeled as runaways or criminals by the media. However, commenters pointed out that Reid herself has done nothing to cover their cases and dispel the apparent stereotype, nor does she focus on the black victims of violent crime in America’s cities.

Notice @MSNBC's resident racist @JoyAnnReid doesn't focus on missing blacks either & she never covers the numerous blacks (& children) killed in Chicago on a weekly basis

Sadly with Reid everything is black & white as she strives to Divide Americanshttps://t.co/FULx1Q83yO

— RoadMN 📈 (@RoadMN) September 21, 2021

Joy Reid has made it very clear that stoking racial division is more profitable than shining light on the black community that needs help locating their loved ones. She is the media and does nothing

— TheM0dAlice (@TheM0dalice) September 21, 2021

Reid is not the only pundit to bring race into the Petito story. Daily Beast editor Molly Jong-Fast penned an article on Monday lambasting the media for failing to cover the 710 indigenous people, mostly girls, who went missing in the same area as Petito over the last decade. While the statistics are shocking, and true, Jong-Fast doesn't appear to have reported on their disappearances until now either

Reid, however, has made headlines for herself on multiple occasions as of late, first for a high-profile spat with rapper Nicki Minaj over Covid-19 vaccines and their allegedly testicle-swellling side effects, and second for accusing Republicans of deliberately spreading the virus as part of their “death cult.” Last month, she also joined in a chorus of other media voices in comparing American conservatives to the Taliban, the hardline Islamist militant group that had just seized power in Afghanistan.

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US President Joe Biden has doubled down on his Pacific pivot, declaring that Washington has no closer ally than Canberra in a meeting with Australian PM Scott Morrison, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The “United States has no closer, more reliable ally than Australia,” Biden told Morrison on Tuesday in a brief photo-op for the media before they went into a bilateral meeting. 

Just last week, announcing the AUKUS alliance between Washington, London and Canberra, Biden appeared to forget Morrison’s name and called him “that fella from Down Under.” Speaking on Tuesday about bringing in other regional players into the fold, Biden said he would discuss the alliance with “Japan, India and India” – presumably Indonesia – later this week.

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Britain, with which the US has had a ‘special relationship’ for far longer, wasn’t even mentioned as an afterthought. Nor was Canada, literally a US neighbor to the north. Likewise France, which was an American ally before the US even existed and helped the 13 colonies win independence from London. 

Paris was left fuming at the AUKUS announcement not just because it scuttled a massive shipbuilding deal it had with Canberra, but also because it was made on the anniversary of a 1781 French naval victory that directly led to the British surrender at Yorktown. 

BIDEN: "It goes way beyond just our partnership. Our partnership is in line with all the other democracies in the world."

Both Biden and Scott Morrison at pains to point out that a US/Australia partnership "reaches out" to other nations. Read; the French. pic.twitter.com/wdlrlm1qkP

— Zach Purser Brown (@zachjourno) September 21, 2021

In his own remarks, Morrison tried to bring in “friends” in Asia and Europe, prompting Biden to say that the US “partnership” with Canberra “is in line with all the other democracies in the world.” It wasn’t clear what he meant by that, however.

Lavishing praise on the alliance between the US and Australia, which was formalized in 1951 with the ANZUS pact, Morrison claimed the two countries “have always shared a partnership that is about a world order that favors freedom.”

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France has called the AUKUS deal a “stab in the back” and pulled its ambassadors from Canberra and Washington for consultations. On Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the pact was more than just a breach of contract, but a “breach of confidence” between allies, which calls for “serious reflection among Europeans on the very concept that we have of alliances and partnerships.”

An alliance or a partnership means transparency, predictability and communication, “and none of this was there” with AUKUS, Le Drian told reporters, speaking after the UN General Assembly opening session. 

He also said that to Paris, the AUKUS alliance seems “very confrontational toward China,” something Washington, London and Canberra have carefully avoided addressing directly.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called on President Joe Biden to stop the deportation of illegal Haitian immigrants back to the Caribbean country, calling the removals “hateful and xenophobic.”

Tens of thousands of mostly Haitian migrants crossed into the US at Del Rio, Texas, in recent days, where they gathered in a makeshift tent city under a bridge separating the US and Mexico. Amid outcry from conservatives and immigration hawks, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) vowed over the weekend to speed up deportation flights, as Border Patrol agents chased down runners on horseback.

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The Biden administration has not clarified whether all of the migrants will be flown home, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an immediate and wholesale end to the removals on Tuesday.

“I'm told there are four flights scheduled to deport these asylum seekers back to a country that cannot receive them. Such a decision defies common sense. It also defies common decency,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

“We cannot continue these hateful and xenophobic Trump policies that disregard our refugee laws,” he added, referring to the fact that these migrants are being removed under Title 42 of the US Code without being given the chance to apply for asylum. Enacted under former President Donald Trump at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic and continued by the Biden administration, Title 42 allows migrants to be turned back due to the threat of disease.

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Texas authorities have estimated that as many as 14,000 migrants had set up camp under the bridge in Del Rio. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited the border area on Monday, where he cautioned would-be migrants against entering the US. “If you come to the US illegally, you will be returned,” he said. However, Mayorkas on Tuesday condemned Border Patrol agents for rounding escaping migrants up on horseback, calling photos that pundits alleged showed these agents using whips against the migrants “not acceptable.”

More than 1.5 million illegal immigrants have crossed the US’ southern border this year so far, more than in 2020 and 2019 combined, according to Customs and Border Protection figures. While Schumer views the deportations as “xenophobic,” conservatives have repeatedly accused Biden of fomenting a humanitarian crisis by apparently refusing to crack down harder on the border-crossers.

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President Joe Biden has told the UN General Assembly that the US’ “period of relentless war” is over. Instead, Biden says, America will fight climate change, Covid-19, and terrorism – both abroad and “in our own backyard.”

Taking the podium at the United Nations General Assembly in New York for the first time as president, Biden painted the US’ disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan as a success, given that the two-decade war was finally brought to an end under his watch.

“We've ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, and as we close this period of relentless war, we're opening a new era of relentless diplomacy,” he announced, adding that the US will not continue “to fight the wars of the past.”

Conflict was a central theme of Biden’s speech, and he described the coming decade as “an inflection point in history.” 

The US will refocus its priorities on the Indo-Pacific region, Biden stated, before claiming that he was not seeking a “new Cold War” – despite increasing tensions with China. However, while Biden promised to “do so with our allies and partners through cooperation and multilateral institutions,” his recently unveiled security partnership between the US, UK, and Australia has left America’s European allies snubbed, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian condemning the “lies,” “duplicity,” and “brutality” of the deal, which will see Australia buy nuclear submarines from the US and UK instead of France as previously planned.

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In keeping with his campaign messaging of a more cooperative US on the world stage, Biden called on his fellow leaders to work together to fight climate change and the “borderless” threat of Covid-19. The American president delivered a globalist message of international cooperation and “global action on shared challenges,” highlighting his administration’s rekindling of ties with the World Health Organization and rejoining of the Paris climate agreement, as well as a pledge to spend $100 billion on helping the developing world combat global warming.

Back in the realm of military affairs, Biden stressed that the winding down of the ‘War on Terror’ will not mean the end of the US’ fight against terrorism. 

“Those who commit acts of terrorism against us will continue to find a determined enemy in the United States,” he stated. “Today, we're better equipped to detect and prevent terrorist threats and we are more resilient in our ability to repel them and to respond.” 

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Biden, however, has drawn scathing criticism for the confusion surrounding the US evaluation of Kabul that allowed an ISIS-K suicide bomber to kill 13 US troops at the city’s overcrowded airport last month, and for a retaliatory drone strike that wiped out a family of Afghan civilians, killing zero terrorists.

While ISIS-K and Al-Qaeda members are reportedly operating in Afghanistan once again, Biden’s anti-terror crusade will also seemingly focus on his own citizens. 

“We must also remain vigilant to the threat of terror that terrorism poses to all our nations, whether emanating from distant regions of the world or in our own backyard,” he said, echoing the words of former President George W. Bush at a 9/11 memorial event in Pennsylvania earlier this month, when he declared that “there is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home," whom he called "children of the same foul spirit."

Bush’s words were seen as a threat by conservatives and supporters of former President Donald Trump, who have repeatedly been labeled “insurrectionists” and “domestic terrorists” by the media since the infamous riot on Capitol Hill in January. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have spent their energies in recent months on fighting the supposed threat of “domestic terrorism,” all while the most audacious domestic terror plots in recent memory were organized by the FBI itself.

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Despite what many see as a humiliating retreat from Afghanistan, amid diplomatic fury over his latest security deal, and even with his approval ratings plummeting in a divided US, Biden closed his half-hour speech on an optimistic note.

“I stand here today, the first time in 20 years the United States is not at war. We’ve turned the page. All the unmatched strength, energy, commitment, will and resources, our nation are now fully and squarely focused on what's ahead of us, not what was behind," he said.

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Fox News host Tucker Carlson has claimed that the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate is actually a ruse to rid the military of anyone who doesn’t meet the government’s new standards, including Christians and Republicans.

On Monday evening, conservative Carlson took aim at the Pentagon’s recently introduced vaccine mandate for all active-duty service members. He suggested that Joe Biden’s government had a dark reason for pushing the Covid-19 shots on US troops – and it wasn’t just about inoculation from the virus.

The point of mandatory vaccination is to identify the sincere Christians in the ranks, the freethinkers, the men with high testosterone levels and anyone else who does not love Joe Biden – and make them leave immediately.

Carlson claimed that the move amounted to a “takeover of the US military.”

He also displayed fact sheets presented to troops on vaccination, which he said included lies and a “sympathetic portrayal of Satanism.” One image from a slideshow apparently used by the US Army asks “how many children were sacrificed to Satan for the vaccine?” – a seemingly ironic reference to conspiracy theories about the vaccine's creation. 

Tucker Carlson reveals a powerpoint from the U.S. Army justifying vaccine mandates with a slide that says "How many children were sacrificed to Satan for the vaccine?" along with listing the 7 tenets of Satanism pic.twitter.com/a6SmmNwLvS

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 21, 2021

The Fox host goes on to claim that the rest of the US military presentation is not as shocking but is full of ‘falsifications’, including that only three people died after taking a vaccine. However, the information provided in the slideshow does appear consistent with reported deaths in the US.

Instead of the vaccine mandate for what he claimed were fit and healthy Americans, Carlson said the Biden administration should be focusing on suicides in the armed forces. He cited Department of Defense figures which show that only 46 members of the armed forces have died from Covid-19, while there were 377 military suicides in 2020. 

Carlson’s comments came as the US death toll from Covid-19 hit 675,000 on Monday. The Pentagon mandated the Pfizer vaccine for all active service personnel in late August after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the jab its full approval. 

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The Covid-19 shot is actually the 18th vaccine mandated by the Pentagon for its forces. However, a single service member is unlikely to have had all of them as many are location-specific. 

While some agreed with Carlson, with videos of his monologue widely shared on social media, others were quick to slate the host as a conspiracy theorist and suggested he is likely vaccinated himself – though he has refused to confirm it one way or another.

CNN political analyst Joe Lockhart was less diplomatic, going so far as to tweet that Carlson was an “enemy of the state.”

Carlson is the most-watched cable news host in the US, averaging 3.3 million viewers in August.

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The US government has announced sanctions against a cryptocurrency brokerage which American officials claim has been used to process illicit transactions for ransomware attackers.

On Tuesday, the Biden administration took aim at the currency exchange SUEX OTC “for its part in facilitating financial transactions for ransomware actors.” In a statement, the US Treasury claimed the platform has facilitated transactions involving illicit proceeds from at least eight different types of ransomware. They added that “analysis” of SUEX OTC’s known processed transactions suggests around 40% of them concern illicit actors.

Cryptocurrency-tracking firm Chainalysis said in a post on Tuesday that SUEX is among the most active platforms in handling illicit funds obtained through cybercrime and hacking attacks, according to its investigations. 

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SUEX is legally registered in the Czech Republic, but while it reportedly has no known physical presence there, it has branches in Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to Chainalysis.

The aim of the sanctions is to cripple the “financial enablers” of ransomware gangs, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters in a press conference previewing the announcement. “Today’s action is a signal of our intention to expose and disrupt the illicit infrastructure using these attacks,” he added. 

While the Treasury Department has previously sanctioned ransomware developers and distributors, Tuesday’s move is the first such designation against a cryptocurrency exchange. It has been executed with assistance from the FBI, the statement added.

Ransomware attacks have become increasingly costly for victims in recent years. The Treasury said 2020 was the most expensive yet on record, as ransom payments reportedly amounted to more than $400 million.

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The 43rd president of the US may now be beloved by the mainstream left, but some anti-war activists, who want to hold him accountable for the invasion of Iraq, continue to target his public appearances.

The latest disruption happened when George W. Bush was delivering a speech in Long Beach, California on Monday evening. A small protest by about 30 members of the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition met him at the location, demanding his arrest for war crimes. The group followed Bush from Beverly Hills, where they picketed his speech on Sunday.

Good crowd out tonight protesting George W. Bush in Long Beach pic.twitter.com/Jd9UpW37rm

— FREE PALESTINE (@MikePrysner) September 21, 2021

Activist Jeb Sprague said he was briefly detained after disrupting Bush's Monday talk at Terrace Theater with his message and kicked out of the venue. He said he failed to livestream his protest as he intended due to a technical malfunction.

Fellow activist Mike Prysner was more successful on the previous night, when he interrupted Bush's speech at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills with accusations of lying the nation into the Iraq War.

https://t.co/5ohAdxxBJk

— FREE PALESTINE (@MikePrysner) September 20, 2021

Bush used to be a bogeyman for the US left, loathed for the destructive hawkish policies of his administration. The 2003 invasion followed a relentless PR campaign to rally public support for the planned war on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, based largely on claims that later proved to be false. Those included accusations that Hussein was in league with Al-Qaeda or was prepared to strike Europe with weapons of mass destruction. The war claimed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, became a drain for US resources and sent shockwaves of instability and extremism throughout the Middle East.

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Dubya managed to reinvent himself in the eyes of many former critics after Donald Trump emerged as a more convenient target for their hatred. He is now perceived by many as the face of the good old decorous pre-Trump GOP, an opposite number to Joe Biden in a drive for bipartisanship. The liberal media has been reliably gushing about his painting hobby, appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, being buddies with the Obama family and many other episodes in the past few years.

People who preserved their attitude to the former president find this appalling, disturbing and dangerous for the future of the country.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis awarded the Medal of Freedom to former CIA officer Felix Rodriguez last week, despite Rodriguez’s controversial history, including his part in the death of Che Guevara.

DeSantis awarded the medal to Rodriguez last Thursday but published a photo of the ceremony on social media Monday, praising his violent history of roles with the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Felix Rodríguez fled communist Cuba, embraced America as his home, fought for freedom in the Bay of Pigs and continued to fight against communism in the CIA and the military.

Felix has led a remarkable life and I was proud to award him the Governor's Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/OoDuTHMvJS

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 20, 2021

“Felix Rodríguez fled communist Cuba, embraced America as his home, fought for freedom in the Bay of Pigs and continued to fight against communism in the CIA and the military,” DeSantis said, adding that he “was proud to award him the Governor’s Medal of Freedom.”

Rodriguez – whose uncle was a minister in US-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista’s murderous regime – worked with the CIA in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, a failed attempt to invade Cuba following the 1959 revolution. He was also hired by the CIA to help capture Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967. Rodriguez was photographed standing next to Guevara before he was executed.

Though Rodriguez claimed to have been against the execution of Guevara, as he wanted him to be interrogated, he told the colonel in charge, “I give my word as a man that I will bring you Che Guevara's body.”

Guevara was then shot to death by Bolivian Army Officer Mario Terán.

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Rodriguez was also involved with the Reagan White House during the Iran-Contra scandal, when it was discovered that President Ronald Reagan’s administration was facilitating the illegal sale of weapons to Iran to fund right-wing, anti-communist rebel groups in Nicaragua.

Additionally, Rodriguez has been accused of playing a role in the murder of DEA agent Kiki Camarena – who was allegedly killed to cover up the CIA's connection to cartel drug smuggling, again to fund anti-communist contras in Central and South America. Rodriguez denied being involved in the murder or being present in Mexico at the time. The CIA has also rejected allegations of its involvement.

Though DeSantis’ decision to award Rodriguez with the Medal of Freedom was praised by some, including former US diplomat Alberto Miguel Fernandez, who called Rodriguez a “hero and patriot,” others criticized the decision, noting Rodriguez’s sketchy history.

One American referred to Rodriguez as a “CIA butcher,” while another expressed concern over the allegations of Rodriguez’s involvement in Camarena’s murder.

“So, you're parading Felix around to get the Latino vote, while at the same time you rally against other Latinos from ‘fleeing’ horrific conditions in their countries. Oh, the hypocrisy Ron. Shame on you,” tweeted another person in reference to DeSantis’ attempt to stop illegal immigrants from settling in Florida.

In July, a poll showed DeSantis to be the most popular Republican to potentially run for president in 2024 if former President Donald Trump is not in the race – ahead of politicians like Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Utah Senator Mitt Romney, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

This month, however, polls showed DeSantis’ support in Florida was dropping as the state experienced a surge of Covid-19 cases.

Florida has some of the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths per capita in the United States.

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An officer who accompanied CIA chief William Burns during his trip to India earlier this month suffered symptoms consistent with Havana syndrome, a mysterious sickness affecting US officials since 2016, CNN reported.

An unnamed CIA officer required medical attention due to his condition, the sources told the broadcaster. Burns reportedly was left “fuming” with anger after being informed about what had happened.

Some US officials have interpreted the new Havana-syndrome incident as a direct message to the CIA chief that no is safe, including the people from his entourage, two sources told CNN.

When approached by Reuters, a CIA spokesperson replied that the agency doesn’t comment on specific incidents or officers. “We have protocols in place for when individuals report possible anomalous health incidents that include receiving appropriate medical treatment,” he pointed out.

In August, Vice President Kamala Harris had to slightly delay her visit to Vietnam after multiple US staff in Hanoi reported symptoms consistent with Havana syndrome and two diplomats required evacuation.

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The so-far unexplained sickness is characterized by migraines, nausea, memory lapses and dizziness among other things. More than 200 US officials and family members have been reportedly affected by Havana syndrome in various parts of the globe, including Russia, China, Germany and Australia, as well as inside the US since it was first encountered among American diplomats working in the Cuban capital Havana in 2016.

US agencies have been investigating the phenomenon, but they are yet unable to say with certainty if it’s a result of deliberate attacks or a byproduct of surveillance technology used to spy on American personnel.

The US National Academy of Sciences panel said in a report last year that the most plausible theory could be that Havana syndrome was being caused by “directed, pulsed radio frequency energy.”

In July, Burn insisted that Havana syndrome was “real” and “serious” as he announced another 100-day probe into the sickness, headed by the same senior officer who once led the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

The CIA chief claimed that there was a “very strong possibility” that the syndrome was a result of intentional action, adding that there was only a limited list of “potential suspects” capable of carrying out such activities on a global scale.

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Earlier this month, a panel of Cuban scientists, which also investigated the events of 2016, said that there was “no scientific evidence of attacks” against the US diplomats in Havana. The “non-science-based” explanations of the phenomenon disseminated by the media only confuse the public and “harm US officials, who believe them,” it insisted.

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Los Angeles health officials sprang to the Emmys’ defense, hailing safety protocols at the show and noting that it’s exempt from the mask mandate as a television production after the sight of maskless celebrities stoked outrage.

The 73rd annual Emmy Awards that took place at the Event Deck at LA Live, which is considered to be an indoor-outdoor venue, has courted massive controversy due to the guests sporting no masks despite it being tightly packed.

New: LA County Department of Public Health tells me that the mask-less Emmys were not in violation of the county's mask mandate because "exceptions are made for film, television, and music productions” since “additional safety modifications” are made for such events. pic.twitter.com/6S105zYjbJ

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) September 20, 2021

The organizers were accused of hypocrisy and elitism at a time when children have to mask up at school – a highly politicized issue, which has been fueling legal battles between Republican governors and proponents of school-mask mandates.

These same liberals sanctimoniously mock Republicans for giving parents a choice about masks.

They're all frauds.

And that includes Fauci, who removes his mask when the cameras are off. https://t.co/5mZAlprqTs

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 20, 2021

Responding to the backlash sparked by the ceremony, LA County’s health officer on Monday defended the gathering, insisting that neither the assorted celebrities nor the organizers had done anything wrong. The official invoked exemptions in place for film, television and music production, arguing that since the Emmys were televised, they fall under this category.

The Emmy Award Show is a television production and persons appearing on the show are considered performers

The statement went on to note that all of those in the audience were fully vaccinated, and provided proof of a negative PCR test taken within the past 48 hours. Members of the production team were subject to less strenuous requirements, but were still compelled to be either fully vaccinated or report Covid-19 testing results twice per week.

Heaping further praise on the organizers, the official said that they “exceeded the baseline requirements for television and film productions,” calling the full vaccination of all those present “one of the most powerful ways to achieve a safe environment.”

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Under Los Angeles County’s Department of Health guidelines, everyone aged two years and older must mask up in “all indoor public settings, venues, gatherings, and public and private businesses.”

LA officials’ defense of the event still riled up outraged commentators, who blasted the exemption granted to the rich and powerful. Some pointed out that workers at the ceremony had to wear masks, taking the observation as further proof of Hollywood’s skewed moral compass. 

But the workers had to wear masks?

— Sam Parker (@Sparkerino) September 20, 2021

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A man with a gun who was detained at the Justice for J6 rally near the US Capitol was revealed to be a federal law enforcement officer, with prosecution saying that no charges against him are pending.

One of the four people arrested at the Saturday rally in support of those on trial for participating in the January 6 riot has turned out to be a federal law enforcement officer, who showed up at the gathering with a concealed handgun.

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The man is reported to be a 27-year-old New Jersey native and an officer with US Customs and Border Protection. The officer’s arrest was one of the rare incidents involving police that marred an otherwise uneventful and peaceful rally.

The arrest was captured on video, and saw multiple Capitol police officers encircling the man. Upon finding a gun and what appeared to be a badge on him, police asked if he was “undercover” or “part of the event.” The man, however, dodged the question, saying that he was “just here” before being escorted away. 

While some commentators suggested that Capitol police might have nabbed the man by mistake - due to the lack of real offenders -  the AP reported, citing two law enforcement officials, that the officer was not acting in his official capacity at the rally. The border protection agency tentatively confirmed that the man was one of their own, but assured that he was “fully cooperating with the investigation” while adding that it “expects officers to adhere to the oath they take to uphold the laws of this country.”

Nevertheless, the brush with the Capitol police will unlikely land the CBP agent in any legal trouble. Citing a spokesman for the US attorney's office in Washington, AP reported that the prosecution was “not moving forward with charges” against him.

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The rally which took place on Saturday received intense media attention, with pundits warning about an imminent threat stemming from protesters. Amid concerns that the protest could spiral into violence, a fence was erected around the Capitol, while the police enlisted support of multiple other agencies, including the National Guard soldiers that were put on standby. The heightened security measures were proved to be over-the-top, however, as the small crowd of demonstrators, vastly outnumbered by law enforcement officers, protested peacefully, with the organizer himself denouncing instances of violence that occurred during January 6 events.

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A Missouri official has petitioned the state’s Supreme Court to suspend the law licenses of the St. Louis couple charged and later pardoned after aiming guns at a crowd of protesters outside their home last year.

In a Monday filing, Missouri’s chief disciplinary counsel Alan Pratzel asked the state’s highest court to reprimand Mark and Patricia McCloskey over the June 2020 incident, in which the couple brandished weapons at a group of demonstrators who entered their gated community to protest at the nearby home of former St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. Though no shots were fired and nobody was harmed, footage of the encounter circulated widely and garnered national attention, resulting in charges for the McCloskeys. 

While they ultimately received a pardon from Missouri Governor Mike Parson in June, Mark McCloskey earlier pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was fined $750, while his wife Patricia pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and ordered to pay a fine of $2,000. 

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In calling for an indefinite suspension with no ability to apply for reinstatement for at least six months, Pratzel argued that the McCloskeys’ actions showed “indifference to public safety” and demonstrated “moral turpitude,” adding that while a pardon may undo a conviction, “the person’s guilt remains.” He also cited previous cases in which lawyers were disciplined for similar acts involving “moral turpitude.”

It is so far unclear how the state Supreme Court will respond to the request, which comes from the state’s top legal ethics watchdog.

The McCloskeys’ case came at the height of nationwide police brutality protests kicked off by the death of George Floyd in May 2020 and was highly polarizing, with critics insisting the couple had harassed peaceful racial justice protesters, while supporters argued they were merely exercising their Second Amendment rights on their own property.

Despite entering guilty pleas, the couple has remained unapologetic in public comments, with Mark – who has since launched a US Senate campaign – even saying he would “do it again.” 

“Anytime the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family,” he said.

Both Mark and Patricia were admitted to the Missouri bar in 1986, according to local media. They practice together under the McCloskey Law Center in St. Louis, and reportedly focus on personal injury and medical malpractice cases. 

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The US Border Patrol has been accused of “cruelty” toward Haitian immigrants crossing into Texas, as an activist claimed its agents used “whips” against them. The agency says mounted agents used reins to control their horses.

Amid the ongoing drama with migrants crossing the US-Mexico border at a stretch of the Rio Grande near the small Texas town of Del Rio, a Democrat activist claimed that mounted BP agents were “rounding up Haitian refugees with whips.”

“This is unfathomable cruelty towards people fleeing disaster and political ruin. The administration must stop this,” tweeted Sawyer Hackett, director of People First Future, a political action committee set up by Democrat Julian Castro.

Here’s the video pic.twitter.com/itFwZfYN45

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) September 20, 2021

Hackett posted a photo taken by AFP, as well as a video from the border, showing mounted BP agents trying in vain to stop Haitian migrants from wading back and forth across the river. One of the men in the video says, in Spanish, that he was crossing back into Mexico to buy food and diapers for his children.

It doesn’t matter if a Democrat or Republican is President, our immigration system is designed for cruelty towards and dehumanization of immigrants.

Immigration should not be a crime, and its criminalization is a relatively recent invention. This is a stain on our country. https://t.co/PZKYN4WLyj

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 20, 2021

“Immigration should not be a crime, and its criminalization is a relatively recent invention. This is a stain on our country,” said Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), retweeting Hackett. She also argued that the US immigration system “is designed for cruelty towards and dehumanization of immigrants.”

The claims made by Hackett and AOC quickly captured the news cycle, with White House press secretary Jen Psaki fielding multiple questions about “whips” at Monday’s briefing. 

“I have seen some of the footage. I don't have the full context. I can't imagine what context would make that appropriate,” Psaki said at one point.

WH Secretary Jen Psaki on footage appearing to show border patrol agents using whips against Haitian migrants coming into the United States from Mexico: "I have seen some of the footage. I don't have the full context. I can't imagine what context would make that appropriate." pic.twitter.com/83O2bjZCyp

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 20, 2021

Border Patrol officials have repeatedly told reporters their agents do not carry whips, and that the objects seen in the photos and videos are reins for the horses. Agents will “also spin them sometimes to deter people from getting too close to the horse,” one official told Townhall’s Julio Rosas, but added they were “not aware of anyone being struck with the reins.”
This was confirmed by none other than Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who gave a press conference in Del Rio on Monday. He said the long reins are used by mounted agents to “ensure control of the horse” and that agents don’t carry whips, but also pledged to “investigate the facts” of the case.

At one point in the video shared by Hackett, a mounted BP agent can be seen spinning the reins, but at no point do photos or videos show anyone getting hit.

The US Homeland Security secretary said authorities would investigate reports that Haitian migrants may have been abused by border patrol officers on horseback as they tried to manage the flow of hundreds of people crossing the Rio Grande riverhttps://t.co/yZ0dXB3xsD pic.twitter.com/pEbTXTuWae

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 20, 2021

More than 15,000 migrants, overwhelmingly of Haitian origin, have crossed into Del Rio over the past week, and are crowded under a highway bridge in increasingly inhumane conditions. The Biden administration has reportedly flown 320 or so back to Haiti so far, with more flights scheduled. However, Border Patrol officials said that only single men will be deported, while families will be allowed to enter the US, with notices to appear at asylum hearings later. 

One of the reasons the man in the video spoke Spanish is that very few of these migrants were actually coming directly from Haiti. According to reporters on the border, they had been living in various Latin American countries – as distant as Chile – but made their way to the US after hearing the Biden administration was stopping deportations, letting in asylum-seekers, and trying to put millions of illegal migrants on a path to citizenship.

However, the courts have since pushed back on these policies, and over the weekend the Senate parliamentarian ruled that what amounted to mass amnesty could not be considered a transitory budget measure.

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More than a million migrants crossing into the US illegally have been detained by the Border Patrol this year. The Biden administration has denied there was a migrant crisis, called the surge “seasonal,” and blamed climate change and poverty. Critics, including former President Donald Trump, have accused the White House of opening the border to uncontrolled migration. 

“The largest number of illegal aliens in the history of our Country are pouring in by the millions,” Trump said in a statement on Sunday. “They are totally unchecked and unvetted, can do whatever they want, and go wherever they want. Our Country is rapidly becoming a cesspool of humanity.”

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The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating some 30 million vehicles made between 2001 and 2019, concerned over potentially faulty airbag inflators that could injure drivers, Reuters reports.

The offending part – an airbag inflator made by Japanese company Takata and recalled over 67 million times in the US (and over 100 million globally) – is being blamed for at least 28 deaths around the world, 19 of which happened in the US. Over 400 people have supposedly been injured by the inflators, which can explode into metal fragments and injure crash victims when airbags are deployed. 

Now, the nearly two dozen automakers who have had vehicles recalled for using the faulty part are under the spotlight again, according to a government document seen by Reuters on Sunday. Some may have had another faulty inflator installed after already being recalled over an earlier unsafe part, according to the source, said to be an engineering analysis of the airbag inflator problem. “While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators,” the agency’s report allegedly read.

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Unfortunately for these 30 million vehicles now in the target of the NHTSA, installing that inflator was considered mandatory for safety at the time, like seatbelts. While newer vehicles’ bags no longer deploy in every impact, being outfitted with sensors that keep the bag dormant unless the crash is above a certain force, they may still have ended up with the faulty inflators in their cars, according to car makers like Ford who admit they continued to install ‘old’ parts even when an upgrade came along. 

Many manufacturers have gotten a head start on recalling their vehicles, especially those makers, like Honda, who have confirmed multiple deaths from the faulty part. But attempts to recall vehicles are not always heeded or received – some of the Honda inflators’ victims had been issued upwards of a dozen recall notices, but were continuing to drive their vehicle in its dangerous state.

The potential recall could put a massive number of vehicles out of commission while the faulty inflator is removed or disabled, already a problem in a country that is running out of the speciality materials needed to make the increasingly elaborate computer chips that make modern cars go. Already, used cars have soared in price as scarcer new ones are being made, and many consumers are opting for older models that don’t rely so heavily on the suddenly expensive and difficult-to-source computer chips.

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Car manufacturers affected by the recall include many well-known brands, from Honda and Ford to Toyota, GM, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla, Mazda, Ferrari, Daimler, BMW, Chrysler, Porsche, and Jaguar Land Rover. Many have already had to recall cars for this problem in previous years, and the NHTSA has not publicly released numbers indicating how many vehicles are still affected.

The NHTSA has not yet officially announced the investigation, according to ABC, which quoted the agency denying a need for public action.

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US President Joe Biden is about to get the Covid-19 booster shot and he’ll be doing so on TV, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told the media on Monday. Biden has been determined to get Americans to embrace the jab.

The booster shot has been approved by the FDA, only for high-risk patients and the elderly. Despite the protestations of Biden’s top medical adviser Anthony Fauci, however, who insists Americans will need three shots for “full vaccination,” the agency refused to approve Pfizer shot boosters for everyone. However, the oldest-ever US president falls into a high-risk group.

The third shot has already been rolled out in Israel, where some are approaching their second booster shot already – their flagging immunity and hospitalization with Covid suggesting the shot’s immunity might not last as long as initially hoped. Others have blamed the Delta variant, which supposedly is easier to catch especially among children.

But no matter how many reasons they’re given to accept the jab, a relatively large segment of the US population has declined to go gently to the needle. A September poll found that most Americans believe Biden’s vaccine mandates set a bad precedent that might be abused in the future.

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The president’s vaccine evangelism is well-known, as he has previously accused unvaccinated Americans of supposedly keeping everyone else from returning to pre-pandemic ‘normal’ – already an impossibility, at least according to medical superstars like Fauci. Mask mandates remain the law of much of the land even as supposedly herd-immunity-adjacent amounts of people get the shot, leading many to question when they and their children might ever get to remove the now-ubiquitous disposable face covering.

The news that vaccinated and unvaccinated people carried similar viral loads, meaning each was just as likely to infect someone else, has also led some to wonder whether re-upping with the same vaccine formula that failed to prevent the Delta variant from emerging is the best idea.

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The paper, owned by the world's richest man and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced a “major expansion” that will see it hire dozens of new editors. The aim, apparently, is to bolster newsroom diversity.

Promising to “create a greater number of career paths across the newsroom and increase the number of journalists of color in editing roles,” the Post noted that not only would two deputy managing editors join to run the daily issue, but with all the new hires, a senior news editor would be capable of overseeing news coverage from 7am until the late evening.

The positions include eight assignment editors, sprinkled amongst the photo, national, metro, investigations, design, and business divisions, along with eight assistant editors to work with them. Five multi-platform editors and eight breaking news and weekend additions, two project editors, and three visual enterprise editors to produce features on science, climate, health, and the environment round out the new hires, along with three new additions to the business department.

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The Post hailed its own move as an “expansion” that “demonstrates anew that the Washington Post is an ascendent news organization, with boundless ambitions and a growing capacity to meet them.” Along with the New York Times, the Post is considered one of the most reliable papers by the American political elite, even as a growing faction of the country no longer trusts the news published by such mainstream outlets.The paper has been caught amplifying phony stories, generally those that make its political opponents on the Left and Right look bad or somehow inferior. Despite the growing criticism of its news reporting practices, however, few critics have blamed a lack of diverse voices for the paper's supposed antipathy to truth.

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FBI and the local police have responded to an alleged mass shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News, Virginia. Two schools have been put on lockdown amid unconfirmed reports of multiple casualties.

Newport News police reported a shooting at Heritage just before noon local time on Monday. There have been multiple reports of wounded and even killed, citing radio traffic from the site, but numbers of injuries or deaths have not been officially confirmed.

BREAKING: A source confirms there was an "incident" inside Heritage High School in Newport News. Someone has been shot, extent of injuries unknown at this time. @13NewsNow pic.twitter.com/tiSfizZXKe

— Evan Watson (@EvanWatsonNews) September 20, 2021

Both Heritage and the nearby Achievable Dream Academy have been placed on lockdown, local media reported. Police said that Heritage students are being evacuated to the nearby outdoor tennis courts, where parents can pick them up.

Students at the Newport News school being evacuated and sent to the tennis courts. Parents can meet them there.

— The Virginian-Pilot (@virginianpilot) September 20, 2021

The FBI field office in nearby Norfolk is assisting the Newport News police.

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