Tag: General News

  • Biden’s Border Wall, Explained

    After the Department of Homeland Security announced it would waive laws to enable miles of border wall construction in Texas, President Joe Biden said he “can’t stop” the money being spent on border barriers because of the way it was appropriated by Congress. That’s correct, experts told us.

    When asked about the news on Oct. 5 that new border wall construction would indeed commence under his administration, Biden told reporters: “The border wall — the money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get to them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money. They didn’t. They wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I can’t stop that.”

    “Yes, the President’s hands are tied,” Gabe Murphy, policy analyst at the budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, told us when we asked about Biden’s claim. He pointed us to an appropriations bill that was signed into law on Dec. 20, 2019, during the Trump administration, that “explicitly appropriated funding ‘for the construction of a barrier system along the southwest border.’”

    Biden asked Congress to reprogram the money, but it didn’t agree to that. “So, the money needs to go out the door,” Murphy said. Under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, “an administration can’t substitute its own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law.”

    Michelle Mittelstadt, director of communications for the Migration Policy Institute, also noted that the money had been appropriated in 2019 for border barrier construction, and “the Biden administration did not succeed in its asks to Congress to redirect that money for border spending it viewed as more effective.”

    However, Mittelstadt said in addition to that, the administration is in court defending its halting of border wall construction after Texas and Missouri sued. “The combined case is before a federal judge in Texas and a request for an injunction that would require the government to restart construction is expected soon given briefings in the legal case ended in mid-September.”

    The Oct. 5 announcement looked to some like a major flip-flop on Biden’s campaign promise not to build “another foot of wall constructed on my administration.” But some construction had already occurred, also with money that was appropriated before he became president.

    The day Biden took office, he issued a proclamation ending a national emergency on the southern border, which had been declared by the Trump administration, and pausing both construction of border barriers and the obligation of border wall funds “to the extent permitted by law.” The proclamation directed government agencies to “develop a plan for the redirection of funds concerning the southern border wall.”

    But it also said that agencies could make exceptions to the pause in construction “for urgent measures needed to avert immediate physical dangers or where an exception is required to ensure that funds appropriated by the Congress fulfill their intended purpose.”

    The Department of Homeland Security said later in 2021 that it would continue some work to “construct and/or remediate approximately 13.4 miles of compromised levee” in the Rio Grande Valley under that “physical dangers” exception.

    An image Customs and Border Protection included in a request for public comment this summer. The image shows an example of the proposed steel bollards for the new barriers in Texas.

    The DHS announcement this week said the agency would “install additional physical barriers and roads in the Rio Grande Valley Sector,” an area of “high illegal entry,” using “a fiscal year 2019 appropriation.” The notice said “DHS is required to use those funds for their appropriated purpose,” and that the project was consistent with Biden’s January 2021 proclamation.

    In order to allow that construction to proceed, DHS waived several federal laws, many related to environmental concerns. The Associated Press reported that a map posted by Customs and Border Protection in August indicated the project would total about 20 miles of new barriers in Starr County, Texas.

    Money Was Appropriated in 2019

    The appropriations law from 2019 stated that of the funds for Customs and Border Protection, $1.375 billion would “only” be available “for the construction of barrier system along the southwest border.” The law stipulated that a little more than that figure would be available for CBP to spend until Sept. 30, 2024.

    Tori Gorman, policy director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that works on federal budget issues, told us that sometimes appropriations legislation will include language giving the executive branch the ability to redirect some funding. But this authority “has to be granted to them in the appropriations bill.”

    The 2019 law didn’t do that. It went on to stipulate that the money had to be used to build barriers of certain designs, approved since 2017, or “operationally effective adaptations of such designs.”

    The Government Accountability Office reviewed Biden’s 2021 proclamation to determine whether it violated the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. In its June 15, 2021, report, GAO said the proclamation, and its implementation, didn’t violate the act, but rather, were “programmatic delays.”

    DHS said it wouldn’t use its waiver authority, and it needed to comply with environmental and other requirements before spending the $1.375 billion appropriated for fiscal year 2021. “Delays associated with meeting statutory prerequisites and determining funding needs in light of changed circumstances constitute programmatic delays, not impoundments,” GAO said.

    The report also noted that Biden had asked Congress in his fiscal 2022 budget request to cancel any “unobligated” funding, meaning money that hadn’t yet been contracted, for border barriers. “Cancellation of this funding can only be accomplished through a duly enacted law,” GAO said, adding that Biden can’t legally withhold the funding based only on his request.

    “Nearly three years into a new administration, any further delay would pretty clearly be intentional disregard for following the appropriations statute as Congress drafted and the president signed,” Murphy said.

    What’s the penalty if Biden violated the impoundment law? Murphy explained that GAO can sue to force compliance. “But the biggest consequence is political. Clearly and deliberately flaunting the will of Congress is generally not looked upon highly by Congress,” he said.

    GAO said the Trump administration violated the act in withholding security assistance to Ukraine in 2019, a decision Democrats used in Trump’s first impeachment case.

    As for Biden’s action on border wall spending, he said he still doesn’t think a wall is effective. Asked whether he thought a border wall “works,” Biden responded: “No.”

    Mittelstadt told us the Migration Policy Institute believes that “in very limited cases,” such as “high-density urban areas,” barriers “can serve a purpose as part of a broader strategy.”

    “But as a tool deployed across the entire border, we do not see border walls as the solution to deter irregular crossings,” she said. “There are endless reports of smugglers cutting through the metal bollards with a handsaw that can be purchased at any local hardware store. Fencing requires frequent repair and round-the-clock monitoring and as a result is not an effective strategy on its own. It pushes more people into the hands of smugglers, it increases the numbers of injuries and deaths, it sparks very real environmental and wildlife protection issues given the sensitive nature of the border terrain, and it soaks up resources that could be more effectively spent elsewhere.”

    Source

  • Sweetheart Deal: Relationship Tricks Used By Scammers To Steal From Women Online

    Elizabeth Orji was checking notifications on Facebook, something she usually does whenever she was less busy when she noticed a friend request from a handsome fair young man, Echezona Chukwu. She went ahead to check his profile and noticed that she had one mutual friend with him. The profile said he lives in Los Angeles but from one of the Eastern States in the country, a Marine Engineer with a ‘complicated’ relationship.

    She accepted his request to be friends and moved on. One week later, she noticed a chat on her Facebook messenger and it was Echezona.

    “Hi, how are you, beautiful?” he had dropped a few minutes earlier. She noticed he was still online and she responded to his greeting.

    “I saw that you are from Udenu,” he wrote. “One of my good friends in Texas is from there too”.
    That pricked Elizabeth’s interest and she asked for the name of his friend and the family he was from.

    Though she was not able to recognize the name, that simple act made her trust him and that began a “relationship” journey she regretted ever embarking on.

    Echezona will later tell her that he works offshore and sometimes his number won’t be available. He told her how he had lost his wife during childbirth and how his mother in Nigeria was taking care of his daughter who he said was only ten.

    By now, the relationships had moved to WhatsApp and calls with the number showing a foreign number.

    To build her trust more, Echezona introduced her to his ‘mother’ and ‘daughter’. He gave her his mother’s contact to call her and she started communicating with both the said mother and child.

    “One day, the daughter called me crying that the mother had an accident and was unconscious. She told me that they had to take her to a hospital in Jos, Plateau State and the doctor refused to treat her unless a deposit was made.

    The daughter said she had been trying to reach her father but couldn’t. She pleaded with me to help her save her grandma. She told me that the doctor was on standby to talk with me,” she narrated.
    That week, Echezona had told Elizabeth he was going off shore and won’t be available. She hurriedly informed the daughter to hand the phone to the doctor.

    “The doctor informed me that I should bring a deposit of N100,000 before treatment will commence. He told me that the woman is losing a lot of blood and I should act fast. In the background, the daughter was still crying and pleading with her grandma not to die,” Elizabeth narrated.

    It was the end of the month and Elizabeth had just received her salary of only N50,000 but she had to save life. She asked for the account number and wired the N50,000, pleading that the doctor commence treatment as she runs around to get more money. Still in panic mode, she rushed out to plead with one of her friends to give her a loan. When her friend heard her story, she told her point blank that she had been scammed.

    “I have been there,” her friend said. “Just ask them the hospital they are in and that you will send a friend to come see them and bring the remaining money”.

    Elizabeth with disbelief did as she was told and there the story changed. The doctor at first kept threatening her about her would-be-mother inlaw’s state and later, the number was unavailable. The same went for Echezona’s number. He just disappeared.

    “I learnt my lesson but after they have duped me of my hard earned N50,000,” she said.

    In Ene Ameh’s case, the mother was attacked during a robbery incident in their house. The scammer would have sent money from California where he was but he was having issues with his bank account. He promised to send $1000 to her when he resolved the issue. Ene was ready to part with her money, only she didn’t have any. Well, the story and the relationship ended with insults from the scammer who saw he couldn’t get any money from her.

    Many women on Facebook have been scammed using such stories. They are always Marine Engineers, Chemical Engineers or having any jobs that will take them off shore. They can also claim to be a doctor who is always running shifts in the hospital or they can be in the military. They always live either in the United Kingdom or the United States of America, they have a mother and a daughter in Nigeria and later, a doctor and a nurse are introduced in the equation. And finally, they fall in love fast and want to settle down.

    Romance scam occurs when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust with the aim of manipulating and/or stealing from the victim. According to a BBC report about 63 percent of women fall victim to romance scam. Below are a few great tips for protecting yourself from romance scammers.

    • Check how many mutual friends you share with an account before accepting a friend request. It might be fun to meet new Facebook friends but such strangers sometimes turn out to be scammers.
    • Study the profile of the person sending you a friend’s request. Be wary if they have similar profiles like that of Echezona.
    • Do a reverse google search of the profile picture. Many scammers use the same picture with different names to scam their victims. Take their pictures and use the search engines and free programs to trace the origin of the image, as well as other places it has been posted.
    • Be careful what you share on Facebook. Make sure your email, phone number, and other forms of private contact are kept hidden. Many people don’t have the right privacy settings enabled, so they are discovered quite easily by scammers.
    • Do a background check on the person you are in a relationship with on Facebook. Ask questions about him and verify from people from the community he says he is from.
    • Do not send money to anyone online. You can refer them to other places for help.
    • Finally, when in doubt, ask a reliable friend or family member for a second opinion because when you are emotionally connected to someone, it is really hard to come to the realization that they are not who you think they are.

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  • Fact Check: No, a Bill Gates-funded COVID-19 vaccine won’t be released into the air

    Did Bill Gates fund a COVID-19 vaccine that will be released into the air without the public’s consent? Don’t hold your breath. This is misinformation.

    A vast majority of Americans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines. But some social media users are claiming that soon people won’t have a choice about whether to get vaccinated.

    An Oct. 4 Instagram post shared a screenshot of an article with the headline, “Bill Gates mRNA ‘air vaccine’ approved for use against non-consenting humans.”

    The article included a photo of two people wearing medical coveralls and masks in a helicopter marked with the letters WFP, which stands for the World Food Programme, an international organization that fights hunger.

    This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

    (Screengrab from Instagram)

    A search for this headline led to an Oct. 3 article published by The People’s Voice, a site that regularly shares misinformation. The article cited research conducted by a Yale University team y and claimed this “air vaccine will ‘indiscriminately’ force jab the entire planet with mRNA, delivering the toxic chemicals straight into a person’s lungs.”

    It said the “air vaccine” has been approved by multiple governments, but did not specify which ones.

    In August, Yale researchers published results from a study they conducted on whether a messenger RNA, or mRNA, COVID-19 vaccine could be administered without a needle. The researchers found that a vaccine delivered intranasally into animals’ lungs could effectively protect against COVID-19.

    This inhalable vaccine, made with nanoparticles carrying the COVID-19 vaccine, was tested on mice, not humans, said Mark Saltzman, a Yale biomedical and chemical engineering professor who led the study.

    “Contrary to reports on social media, this airborne technique would not work in humans,” Saltzman said. “Humans must receive a controlled dose that is administered directly into the nose.”

    Additionally, this type of vaccine would need approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration before it would be made available to the public.

    Saltzman said his research team did not receive funding from Microsoft Corp. co-founder and philanthropost Gates — who is often the subject of baseless conspiracy theories related to the COVID-19 vaccine — or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Instagram post and article did not provide any evidence to support this claim.

    The Yale University study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

    We rate the claim that a “Bill Gates mRNA air vaccine” has been approved for use “against non-consenting humans” False.



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  • How We Grew VFD Group From N2.5m Start-Up Capital To A Company With N150bn Assets -Okpala

    VFD Group has described itself as the ‘Berkshire Hathaway of Nigeria’ after expanding its portfolio to 40 different companies and raising its assets base from a meagre N3m to N150bn in a space of 14 years.

    Nonso Okpala, the Group Managing Director of the company gave the description on Friday during the company’s ‘facts behind the figures’ presentation after listing by way of introduction on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.

    The NGX admitted 190,027,365 ordinary shares of 50k of VFD Group with a share price of N244.88 per share.

    With the listing, VFD Group has added N46,533,901,141.2 to the market capitalisation of the NGX, THE WHISTLER can report.

    VFD Group started in 2009 when 35 shareholders raised N2.5m to build an investment proprietary company with a diversified investment portfolio in private equities, venture capitals and assets management companies among others.

    Fourteen years later, the company has invested in 40 companies in across seven sectors including finance, health, tech, entertainment, power, telecommunications and service.

    Some of rhe companies are Anchoria Asset Management, VFD Microfinance Bank, Anchoria Investment and Securities Ltd, Amali, Atiat and Piggyvest among others.

    Within 14 years, the company has gathered an impressive growth trajectory from a total asset of N3m and shareholders fund of N2.5m in 2009 to N149.1bn in total assets and N31.5bn in shareholders’ fund respectively.

    “We have unwavering determination to become the largest investment company in Africa,” the GMD said while explaining the facts behind the company’s listing on the NGX.

    He said, “The VFD story like I mentioned is quite a remarkable one. VFD was started with a seed capital of N2.5m it sounds a lot like a fairy tale. That is the truth and it was contributed by 35 shareholders. These are people that beyond their money committed their time.

    “One thing we wanted to do regardless of our balance sheet was to develop a track record of success so that we can show people what we can do. 14 years down, we have investments in 40 companies and we have deployed about N150bn in total investments. We think that we are uniquely positioned to become Africa’s largest proprietary investment company.”

    When investing, the VFD GMD said the company considers broad-based shareholding, a collaborative approach based on governance and usually targets a non-controlling stake of 20 per cent to 35 per cent.

    The VFD Group eyes the listing of the 40 companies it has invested in on the Nigerian Exchange Group Ltd.

    “When you invest in so many companies, you will find out that all of a sudden you will start to see your opportunities of grossing, leverage and partnership. For VFD in the last 14 years, there are so many companies including the digital bank that we have, the assets management company that we have, the real estate and hospitality company that we have and we have all set up that is now uniquely being positioned for listing on the exchange.

    “That easily will show and release those value of those companies and those investments on our balance sheet and ultimately will avail money for forward investments and also distributions to shareholders.”

    Okpala said the critical enablers for the success of VFD are governance, risk management and investor relationship.

    “I think over the 14 years, we have done something and be consistent in building out this business model and I can say with all humility that there is no company that has been so consistent to building out these sets of skills within this business model like we have done in VFD. That is why we regard ourselves as the Berkshire Hathaway of Nigeria,” Okpala said.

    Berkshire Hathaway founded and chaired by Warren Buffett has investments in 120 companies- property and casualty insurance, utilities, restaurants and food processing among others.

    VDF GMD said out of the 40 companies it has invested in, 20 of them are close to maturity adding, “And we think that if you cast us in the same trajectory, we will do very well and we will make a compelling case for investors be it local and international investors.”

    Source

  • Fact Check: No, this is not a real ABC News headline tying journalist death to Hunter Biden coverage

    A misleading social media post promotes what appears to be a news story that says a journalist covering Hunter Biden has been shot and killed.

    “Journalist covering the Hunter Biden case dies after being shot 7 times in his home; no arrests made,” read what looked like an ABC News headline featured in an Oct. 3 TikTok video that garnered thousands of social media interactions.

    The headline, however, is fake. 


    (Screenshot of TikTok)

    TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact’s partnership with TikTok.)

    On Oct. 2, ABC News posted a story headlined, “Philadelphia journalist shot and killed in his home; no arrests made.” The story is about the fatal Oct. 2 shooting of Josh Kruger, a former city of Philadelphia employee and freelance journalist. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he was shot multiple times in his home. On Oct. 6, police issued a warrant for the arrest of 19-year-old Robert Davis.  

    Several news outlets have reported that Kruger’s writing focused on LGBTQ+ issues, homelessness, and substance abuse issues — not Hunter Biden. In a review of Kruger’s published writing, PolitiFact did not find any articles about Hunter Biden; Kruger did occasionally comment on Hunter Biden on his social media.

    We found no ABC News story with this headline. Mark Osborne, the ABC News editor whose byline appeared in the TikTok screengrab, confirmed to PolitiFact that he never published a story with that headline. 

    ABC News has posted several stories about Kruger’s death with headlines such as “Slain Philadelphia journalist Josh Kruger allegedly shot by 19-year-old he was ‘trying to help’: Police,” and “Journalist who advocated for homeless and LGBTQ+ communities shot and killed at home.” 

    Fake or edited headlines are a common way to spread misinformation, so always double check a trusted news source.

    We rate the claim that an ABC News headline said Kruger died after covering Hunter Biden False.

    PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.



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  • ‘Gang Of Evil Police Officers’ Blocking My Promotion Despite Presidential Directive – CSP Nwadike

    Dr. Joseph Nwadike, a Chief Superintendent of Police has narrated how some “gang of evil police officers” blocked his promotion despite the goodwill and recommendations he enjoyed from several officers within the force and the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami SAN.

    With almost two decades of experience as a lawyer in the legal department of the Nigeria Police Force, Nwadike told THE WHISTLER candidly about the existence of both virtuous and obstructive individuals within the force.

    Despite alleged strong opposition from those he described as “evil men in the force”, he owes special gratitude to “exceptional good officers like the current Inspector General of Police and the Police Public Relation Officer, AIG Abduyari and AIG ARUNGWA” who contributed greatly to his career both as a police officer and lawyer representing the police.

    According to him, the former AGF Malami, having noted his giant strides in the Force, forwarded his name for promotion to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police but that some police officers blocked the AGF’s recommendation from being forwarded to the relevant authorities.

    “Do you know that Malami, the past Attorney General of the Federation signed a Presidential Recommendation for my promotion to Assistant Commissioner of Police, but some gang of evil Police Officers sat upon it and refused to forward it to the Police Service Commission for implementation. This is one of the greatest evil I experienced in the Police Force

    “I must respect Malami SAN, former Attorney General of the Federation for being detribalized by signing a Presidential Recommendation for my promotion,” Nwadike stated.

    Nwadike shared another instance where an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) seemingly dangled the possibility of recommending him for a High Court Judge appointment but failed to follow through while leaving him with excessive workload.

    Nwadike also recalled how a former governor of Imo State wrote recommendations for promotion in his favour, “but the same evil gang of Police Officer’s worked against it and it was never implemented.”

    He added, “My cases at both Supreme Court and Court of Appeal were removed from me in order to deny me the conferment of SAN at the behest of the same gang of evil Police Officers.”

    Despite these challenges, Nwadike commended the current Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun for maintaining a high standard of ethics and commitment to his duties, even in the face of adversity posed by a minority of colleagues.

    Source

  • Fact Check: Nikki Haley’s claim that Joe Biden added 20 million ineligible people to Medicaid is wrong

    Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley criticized President Joe Biden about entitlement program enrollment and claimed he’s responsible for adding millions of ineligible recipients to Medicaid.

    “Under Joe Biden, we now have more than 42 million people on food stamps and nearly 100 million people on Medicaid. That’s almost a third of the country. Biden sees that as an accomplishment,” the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador told a New Hampshire crowd Sept. 22. “He actually blocked states from moving people from welfare to work. And he put 20 million people on Medicaid who aren’t even eligible, then stopped states from taking them off.”

    For this fact-check, we’ll focus on the claim that Biden added 20 million ineligible people to Medicaid and stopped states from taking them off.

    The number of Medicaid participants reached record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic because of a provision in a 2020 law that stopped states from removing enrollees. 

    Biden extended the pandemic health emergency several times, which also extended the provision. But former President Donald Trump enacted the law, not Biden.

    Haley’s claim that 20 million are ineligible for Medicaid is inaccurate, experts told us. It’s based on estimates of how many people could have been removed once removals were permitted.

    The figure includes people who could be deemed ineligible because of procedural issues, such as failing to turn in or update paperwork. That sometimes occurs when states have outdated enrollee contact information or when enrollees don’t understand how to complete renewal packets within the allotted time frame.

    “The notion that this was President Biden’s doing is certainly a big lie and a radical oversimplification on the amount of people being ineligible,” said Leigh Ku, director of George Washington University’s Center for Health Policy Research. “How many are ineligible is yet to be determined; they are still being processed. It’s a huge undertaking in the states and they are slowly working through those claseloads.” 

    When contacted for comment, Haley’s campaign pointed to data showing that Medicaid rolls have ballooned since the pandemic’s onset and referred to reports that estimated around 18 million people would lose coverage by the end of the removal process. Neither is evidence that Biden is responsible for adding millions of ineligible people to the program.

    Continuing Medicaid enrollment started under Trump

    In March 2020, during Trump’s presidency, Congress passed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act.” It included a policy that let states receive extra federal funds for Medicaid if they didn’t remove anyone from the program during the public health emergency. The provision is called continuous enrollment.

    During the health emergency’s three-year duration, people were not removed from state programs unless they voluntarily withdrew or moved out of state. During continuous enrollment, Medicaid enrollment grew from 71 million in February 2020 to 94 million in April 2023.

    In Congress’ fiscal year 2023 budget, the continuous enrollment provision was no longer linked to the public health emergency and ended April 1. Since then, states have resumed what is typically an annual process of reevaluating enrollees, removing those who don’t meet Medicaid’s requirements.

    The Biden administration extended the public health emergency several times before it ended May 11. Concerned that large numbers of people would lose health care coverage, and that moving too quickly could incorrectly disqualify would-be Medicaid recipients, the administration urged states to slow down their reviews.

    This concern proved prescient in September, when the federal government found that about half a million people — including a significant number of children — in 29 states had been improperly removed because of computer errors. Their coverage was restored. 

    How many are ineligible?

    States recently started reevaluating their Medicaid rolls, and it’s not yet clear how many people will be removed. Even if that number reaches or exceeds Haley’s 20 million figure, that doesn’t mean those people weren’t eligible when they signed up.

    “They were technically all eligible because the law extended their eligibility,,” Ku said. “Some of them would normally have fallen off eligibility because they got a job, or because they may have aged out of Medicaid or simply because they forgot to turn in their paperwork — that’s one of the major things that happens is people forget.”

    As of Oct. 2, around 13.2 million of the 94 million enrollees have had coverage renewed, while 7.8 million were removed, according to KFF. KFF found that around 73% of the people removed from Medicaid were for procedural reasons, not necessarily because they were no longer eligible.

    Our ruling

    Haley claimed Biden “put 20 million people on Medicaid who aren’t even eligible, then stopped states from taking them off.”

    A 2020 law included a policy that let states receive extra federal money for Medicaid if they didn’t remove any enrollees during the COVID-19 public health emergency. That was signed into law by Trump, not Biden.

    Haley’s claim that “20 million” are ineligible is based on the large number of people added to Medicaid during the pandemic, and some estimates of how many could be removed during reevaluations. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t eligible when they signed up, or that all are ineligible now. And some will be deemed ineligible for reasons such as failing to turn in paperwork.

    States are still reevaluating their Medicaid rolls and available data shows that, so far, about 7.8 million people have been removed. But most were taken off the rolls because of procedural errors, such as paperwork discrepancies, not because they didn’t meet eligibility requirements.

    We rate this claim False.



    Source

  • Nigerian Herbalist To Become Pastor After 10 Years In Prison

    Michael-Omonigho.

    On Friday, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja discharged Michael Omonigho, a traditional priest from terrorism-related charges instituted against him by the Federal Government in 2013.

    Omonigho was remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Centre since 2013 when he alongside three other suspects, Kelvin Oniarah Eziegbe, Frank Azuekor and Momoh Haruna, was charged on 13 counts bordering on terrorism and kidnapping activities.

    Kelvin Oniarah and Frank Azuekor (who were detained at the Department of State Services since 2013) were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for their involvement in kidnapping their victims, including Mike Ozekhome SAN while attacking five policemen and two prison warders, leading to their death.

    Omonigho was charged on two counts for allegedly supporting terrorist activities and for failing to disclose terrorism information to security agencies in contravention of Section 8 (1) (b) of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011, as amended.

    The case dragged on from 2014 to 2023 due to several adjournments as a result of the reassignment of the matter to three judges – Justice Adeniyi Ademola, Justice Babatunde Quadri and finally Justice Binta Nyako.

    The judge discharged the priest, saying he did no wrong in giving help to visitors and that the prosecution failed to connect his role as a priest to the allegations.

    Justice Binta Nyako, after discharging Michael, asked him why his traditional medicine could not reveal to him that some of the visitors patronising him at the time were involved in crime, to which he responded that he had decided to abandon the practice and repent.

    After the court session, THE WHISTLER asked Omonigho how he felt about the judgement.

    “I am very happy,” he replied.

    He added that his health deteriorated in detention, insisting he never knew the convicts.

    “A person like me staying in that place (detention)? I contacted hypertension there. Every time, I was taking drugs.

    “I was never part of them (kidnappers). You even heard the judge (judgement) saying I did nothing wrong and discharged me,” Omonigho said.

    Asked if he was going back to his traditional priesthood, he responded in the negative.

    “No. I have repented. I’m now a pastor. I will now go to Redeemed (RCCG),” he said.

    Source

  • Fact Check: In GOP impeachment inquiry, texts don’t prove that Joe Biden was ‘in business’ with Hunter Biden

    A text message emerged as a central point of contention during House Republicans’ first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Joe Biden, with members of Congress arguing about its authenticity and context.

    During a Sept. 28 segment of Fox News’ “The Five,” host Jesse Watters seized on the moment from the hearing held earlier that day. He quoted just one line from a December 2018 text message exchange between James Biden, the president’s brother, and Hunter Biden, the president’s son. It said, “I can work with you(r) father alone.”

    Watters said the line from the message shows that Joe Biden was “in business” with Hunter Biden. Republican lawmakers have been working to build a case that the president was involved in his son’s business deals.

    “So there goes the, ‘I was never in business with my son,’” Watters said, referring to the White House’s response to those claims. “Because not only were you in business with your son, you were in business with your brother.”

    (Internet Archive)

    But Watters misleads by citing only a single line from the text exchange. An investigators’ longer summary  of the message exchange that was included in an IRS whistleblower’s affidavit shows James Biden’s message to Hunter Biden was about personal financial matters, not business. 

    We contacted Fox News for comment, but received no reply. 

    Here’s how the discussion of the text message at the impeachment hearing unfolded.

    A text message kerfuffle

    During the Sept. 28 impeachment inquiry hearing, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., displayed an image that looked like an iPhone screenshot.

    Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., showed this image during the Sept. 28, 2023, impeachment inquiry hearing. (Screenshot from C-SPAN)

    “Hunter Biden was in a bad way, by the way,” Donalds said, introducing the message. “He was really strung out. He lost a bunch of money. He needed help.” 

    Later in the hearing, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the image had been “fabricated” and was “not the actual, direct screenshot from that phone.” She asked to share what she called the “full context” of the message exchange.

    “What was brought out from that fabricated image excluded critical context that changed the underlying meaning,” Ocasio-Cortez said, holding up a printed document that was a portion of the source material for the message Donalds had displayed.

    Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., shows a printed document with part of Exhibit 402 from an Aug. 2, 2023, IRS whistleblower affidavit. (AP)

    The text message exchange is from Exhibit 402 in an Aug. 2 affidavit submitted by Joseph Ziegler, an IRS whistleblower who was part of the agency’s criminal investigation into Hunter Biden. Ziegler described the exhibit as “a summary of WhatsApp messages” that he and the investigative team had drafted using “relevant messages from the various Electronic Search Warrant(s).” 

    Read in full, Exhibit 402 provides additional context for the messages between James Biden and Hunter Biden. Ellipses show that some information, deemed irrelevant by investigators, was left out. The exhibit detailed messages between James Biden, referred to as James B., and Hunter Biden, who is sometimes referred to as SM in investigation documents.  

    The investigators’ summary of the message exchange is below, copied exactly as it appeared in the affidavit exhibit, including typos. We put in bold the section that was highlighted by both Watters and Donalds: 

    SM says, “I can work when I’m in NYC all day every day for the next 3 months from 8-12z But I can’t pay alimony w/o Dad or tuitions or for food and gas. Really it’s all gone. I can go make it up in 15/20 days I’m sure, but he’s basically made it clear that he’s not paying alimony b/c Mom made clear that she won’t do it. Hallie wont allow me to be at the house or lend me or pay me back any money. Ashley moves into momoms house after I told dad that I would move in there. (…) That night I tell dad I want to probably stay in the area and specifically I wanted to live by you and teach my course at Penn and maybe develop another one (…)”

    in which James B. responds, “This can work, you need a safe harbor. I can work with you father alone !! We as usual just need several months of his help for this to work. Let’s talk about it. It makes perfect sense to me. This is difficult to fully vet without talking. Will you please call me on w/A. We can develope a plan together. It can work. I’m going to try to call yo again please Ans. I can and I will. Crisis with Caroline , same problem with “P”, and NY Post. Dealing with it as we speak. She is O K , I believe I have it under control !? I get back to you ASAP.”

    The summarized exchange shows that James Biden offered to work with Joe Biden to help Hunter cover alimony payments, tuition and the cost of food and gasoline. James Biden’s message is about Hunter’s personal financial matters, not about business deals. 

    After House Republicans released IRS whistleblower documents — including Exhibit 402 — on Sept. 27, White House spokesperson Ian Sams said on X, formerly Twitter, that the documents were “another total bust” and showed “zero evidence of wrongdoing by Joe Biden.”

    House Republicans in recent months have released financial records that show an intricate web of foreign payments made to Biden family business associates and at least three Biden family members, including Hunter Biden and James Biden. Those records have not provided evidence that foreign payments went to President Joe Biden or that the president committed wrongdoing.

    Our ruling

    Watters said James Biden’s text message to Hunter Biden that says, “I can work with you(r) father alone,” shows that Joe Biden was “in business” with Hunter Biden.

    But Watters took out of context a single sentence from a longer text exchange. An investigators’ longer summary of the message exchange shows James Biden offered to work with Joe Biden to help Hunter cover alimony payments, tuition and the cost of food and gasoline. The message was not about business deals. 

    We rate this claim False.

    PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. 

    RELATED:  Hunter Biden’s criminal case: What IRS whistleblowers said about Joe Biden, DOJ

    RELATED: Hunter Biden investigation: What’s a special counsel, and why did Merrick Garland appoint one?

    RELATED: Largest share of foreign payments went to Biden associates, not kin, House GOP memos show



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  • DOCUMENTS: How Chicago Varsity Disowned Tinubu’s Certificate Tendered To INEC

    Documents obtained by THE WHISTLER have shown that Chicago State University, CSU, denied the certificate President Bola Tinubu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

    The over 200 pages documents released after the testimony at the Northern District Court of Illinois by Caleb Westberg, CSU Registrar, affirmed that indeed there was a Bola A. Tinubu who shared the same social security number with another person of Nigerian descent but that the diploma certificate stamped by INEC was not issued by CSU.

    Westberg who was testifying before the court as he was being cross-examined by the lead counsel to Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Angela Liu, said, “CSU has determined that it does not have a true and correct copy of the diploma issued to Bola A. Tinubu.”

    He explained that, “We went through every diploma in our possession” and found none “given the importance of this matter.”

    Atiku had approached the US court to compel the CSU to release all academic records of his opponent to aid his case in Court which he said amounted to forgery following several years of inconsistencies in Tinubu’s biodata.

    There were controversies surrounding the president’s age, secondary school, state of origin, university education among others.

    Tinubu had said he graduated from University of Chicago before saying it was an error while appearing before the Lagos State House of Assembly in 1999 when he was placed under investigation.

    The House however cleared him of any wrongdoing at the time he was governor of the state.

    But inconsistencies in his biodata regarding his filing with INEC prompted fresh request from Atiku who through his counsels subpoenaed the US court to unfreeze all the records held on Tinubu.

    The school acquiesced to release the documents following the court directive and sent its representative to throw light on the information.

    Answering a range of questions from Atiku’s lawyer, Westberg told the court that “CSU was unable to find an authentic copy of any diploma that CSU issued to Tinubu in 1979.”

    He clarified that the school did not “have a copy of Mr. Tinubu’s June 22, 1979 diploma but his June 27, 1979 diploma; It is in our possession.”

    He said the June 27, 1979 diploma in the school possession is “a reordered copy.”

    He stated that the June 22, 1979 diploma certificate, stamped by INEC which Tinubu filed with the electoral body to aid his qualification for the 2023 presidential election was not issued by the school,

    Referred to as ‘INEC Diploma’, the deponent said the diploma was fake because at the time a certain Bola A. Tinubu was a student in the school, CSU did not have “a Board of Trustees.”

    He averred that the diploma certificate purportedly granted on “’this 22nd day of June 1979,” was not consistent being that one of the signatories, Elnora Daniel, “was not the Chair or President of CSU in 1979.”

    Rather, “She was the President from 1998 to 2008.”

    He also said the other two signatures from “Herbert A. Conley” and the other were not Dean or chairman in 1979.”

    He revealed that apart from the seal on the certificate being triangle with the two lines through it and not having the word “responsibility” under it and also not having “1867 under it” the certificate is invalid and inconsistent with the one CSU issued.

    He explained that no diploma certificate issued in 1979 had three signatures or the triangle seal or any that cuts off “the signature of Herbert Conley’s position.”

    When questioned about the authenticity of the diploma certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC, Westberg said, “The student in question graduated from the University on June 22, 1979. We were not qualified to verify whether this document is authentic, given that it is not in our possession,” explaining that there have been several forged CSU documents consistent with the one Tinubu submitted to INEC.

    He however said he could not support his finding “to provide a name of an entity that does such (forge), advising that “You can Google this easily. There are many companies that do this for folks,” pointing out that, “CSU has no record of issuing this INEC diploma to President Tinubu in 1979.”

    Asked by Atiku’s lawyer that, “So CSU did not issue the June 22, 1979 diploma as well as the June 27, 1979 diploma to Mr. Tinubu in 1979,” the witness responded, “We issue a diploma to every student that graduates. I think I’m a little confused.”

    When further pressed, “So CSU did not issue the INEC diploma to President Tinubu in 1979,” the witness answered, “No, not in 1979.”

    He added that “CSU did not issue a diploma dated June 27, 1979 to Mr. Tinubu in 1979.’

    He explained that a stock letter from CSU dated June 27, 2022 addressed to Tinubu was written by him,” and that “About 20 years ago we received similar requests and a past Registrar named Lois Davis looked into the matter and drafted a more or less identical letter at that time as well.”

    According to him, CSU received similar requests about Tinubu’s records 20 years ago when Lois Davis was the Registrar but that he did not have a record in his possession.

    He explained that the letter in the school’s possession was not “drafted at the request of Tinubu.”

    Westberg said CSU received “about five to 30 inquiries a day via email about Tinubu certificate.

    On one of the letters, which stated, “Please be advised that Bola A. Tinubu attended Chicago State University from August 1977 to June 1979. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with Honors on June 22, 1979. His major was accounting,” he said the information on the letter was possible due to the available transcript.

    He said the student transcript contained key information used in the letter but that “Tinubu did not apply for the letter noting further that there was a “Bola Tinubu who attended CSU.”

    When asked if he “is simply assuming that Bola Tinubu is the same person as the President, the witness just replied, “That is correct.”

    He identified a letter written to Mike Enahoro Ebah, through his lawyer, who had contacted the school for Tinubu’s record where the school said it does not “have a record of any documentation for a passport, visa, social security card, or driver’s licence or a record of how tuition was paid during this time of attendance,” noting it indeed conflicts with other available records held on Tinubu.

    He accepted that the “birth date appears to be 3-29-54”, inconsistent with the birth date of “3-29-52” Tinubu had submitted to INEC during cross examination.

    The witness further said CSU should not be blamed for Southwest College’s recognition of Tinubu as a female.

    “We can attest that this is part of the student record. This was received by the university. This is what we have in connection with the student record,” he explained.

    When pressed further, Westberg said he’s not saying that, “Bola A. Tinubu, who is listed as female here, is the same as the Bola A. Tinubu, who is president of Nigeria.

    “I’m not saying that because we believe this to be a part of the student record. So while, you know, I can’t attest to whether or not that was caught at the time, this was submitted and received as part of the student file,”’ he explained.

    He added that, “I’m saying these are accurate documents,” while adding that, “The university is not confused about that (gender). We issued an admissions letter to Mr. Bola Tinubu. He applied as a male student. That is a part of the record.

    He said he did not know who prepared the diploma Tinubu submitted to INEC

    He added that “CSU never certified any documents for anyone” and that “I don’t know if it’s an exception, but we complied with the request” adding that the certification certificate being paraded by Tinubu, “I believe this was made because it’s more of a Nigerian thing.”

    Westberg agreed that he did not know that Tinubu’s middle name is Ahmed in the diploma certificate he submitted to INEC.

    He indicated that the diploma that was provided as the official copy has the wrong date of graduation noting that “the difference in the date of award on the diploma versus the certified copy is likely the result of human error.”

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