MGM Resorts International expects to lose $100 million in cash flow as a result of a nine-day cyberattack and told customers the company would offer free identity protection and credit monitoring services to individuals indicating their information was impacted.
The announcement Thursday was the first time MGM acknowledged the incident as a cyberattack, although the company made earlier references to working with the FBI.
The estimated loss reported in a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing and a letter to MGM customers signed by CEO Bill Hornbuckle issued Thursday said the incident did not result in a compromise of any customer bank account numbers or payment card information.
“We do understand that the criminal actors obtained certain personal information belonging to some customers who transacted with us prior to March 2019,” Hornbuckle’s letter to customers said.
“This includes name, contact information, gender, date of birth, and driver’s license number. The types of impacted information varied by individual. We also believe a more limited number of Social Security numbers and passport numbers were obtained. We have no evidence that the criminal actors have used this data to commit identity theft or account fraud.”
Hornbuckle apologized for the outcome and thanked employees for their resilience during the nine days since Sept. 10 that the attack took down computer systems and crippled operations from the MGM app enabling guests to enter their hotel rooms to slot machine payouts and company email.
Hornbuckle said a dedicated telephone call center has been established for customers with concerns. The toll-free number is 800-621-9437, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., or Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding major U.S. holidays. Callers are asked to reference engagement number B105892 when calling. The company also has set up a webpage at www.mgmresorts.com/importantinformation.
The SEC filing indicated MGM’s third-quarter financial results would be negatively impacted, but that there would be minimal impact in the fourth quarter, particularly for its Las Vegas operations. The company is expected to release third-quarter earnings information in late October or early November. The filing said the company doesn’t expect there to be a material effect on its financial condition and results of operations for the year.
“Specifically, the company estimates a negative impact from the cybersecurity issue in September of approximately $100 million to adjusted property EBITDAR (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation, and restructuring or rent costs) for the Las Vegas Strip resorts and regional operations, collectively,” the SEC filing said. “While the company experienced impacts to occupancy due to the availability of bookings through the company’s website and mobile applications, it was mostly contained to the month of September which was 88 percent (compared to 93 percent in the prior year period).”
The reason the company isn’t expecting longer term financial damage is that it is anticipating a huge fourth quarter, thanks to the company’s proximity to events around the Nov. 16-18 Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix race on the Strip.
“The company believes it is well-positioned to have a strong fourth quarter, with record results expected in November primarily driven by Formula 1. The company is further forecasting occupancy to be 93 percent in October (compared to 94 percent in the prior-year period) and to fully rebound in November for the Las Vegas Strip resorts.”
MGM said in the SEC filing that it spent less than $10 million in the third quarter on expenses related to the cyberattack, which consisted of technology consulting services, legal fees and expenses of other third-party advisers.
“Although the company currently believes that its cybersecurity insurance will be sufficient to cover the financial impact to its business as a result of the operational disruptions, the one-time expenses described above and future expenses, the full scope of the costs and related impacts of this issue has not been determined,” the filing stated. “Based on the ongoing investigation, the company believes that the unauthorized third-party activity is contained at this time.”
Las Vegas-based gaming industry analyst John DeCree of CBRE Equity Research said he was encouraged by the news and said in a report to investors Thursday that MGM’s outlook is favorable.
“MGM currently believes its cybersecurity insurance will cover all financial impacts, including business interruption and one-time expenses incurred as well as future potential expenses,” DeCree’s note to investors said.
“However, it could take several quarters for MGM to be reimbursed by its insurance carriers. We view the third quarter and fourth quarter impact as one-time in nature, with a future cash offset from insurance proceeds,” he said. “Given the strong occupancy in October and favorable outlook for November, we still expect no long-term impact on the business.”
The Governor of Abia, Dr Alex Otti, has reconstituted the boards of the state’s three foremost football clubs.
The clubs are Enyimba International Football Club, Abia Warriors and Abia Comets.
A statement signed by the Abia State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu said for Enyimba International Football Club, the team will have Eric Asomugha as Vice Chairman and Frank Adiele Alaribe as the Secretary.
Other board members of the club are Uche Okechukwu, Nwazue Ernest Chibuike, Dr .Barr. Chijioke Collins O, Ude Jerry, Herbert Okonkwo, Raymond Izuwa and Onwunali Jap Nnamdi.
For Abia Warriors, the board will have James Agbaha Ochunkwo, Francis Obinna N. (Secretary), Nwoke Chibuzor Emmanuel, Anokwuru Dennis Chinonye, Nwokocha Charles Agwu, Ukaegbu Herbert, Okezie Chimezie, Francis Chibuike Chilaka and Emeka Nwanna.
The statement also listed members of the board of Abia Comets to include Onuoha Marshal Ibe, Nna Henry, Henry Steven (Secretary), Anyanwu Hope Ibezim, Onwuchekwa Chukwu, Okereke Chinedu Emmanuel and Chidi U. Obasi.
Recall that Otti had upon assumption of office as the governor of the state ordered the dissolution all boards of agencies and parastatals of the state government, with immediate effect.
Otti’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Ferdinand Ekeoma had in a statement on May 30 said, “Governor Otti has directed the immediate dissolution of all boards of Abia State Government agencies and parastatals and subsequently ordered the chief executives of these organisations to hand over to those next in line to them.”
The Kwara State Polytechnic has disowned the two suspects, Vandora Favour Oreoluwa Davies and Joseph Joy Adama, who were paraded for the murder of a club owner, Adeniyi Ojo, in a hotel situated in Ilorin, Kwara State.
While being paraded on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, Adama claimed to have completed her ND program at Kwara Polytechnic prior to the murder of Ojo (read here).
Reacting to the claim in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Halimat Garba, on Thursday, Oct. 12, the institution stated that its students are good ambassadors of Nigeria, and that they aren’t students.
The statement reads:
“The management wishes to disclaim this discrediting and malicious news about the institution, stating that the suspects being paraded in Abuja by the force PRO, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, are students of Kwara State Polytechnic.
“Our database check showed that the two ladies had since been withdrawn from the school after their first years on account of poor academic performances. They have, therefore, ceased being students of our great institution.
The polytechnic management states categorically that its students are good ambassadors of the institution, the state, and Nigeria at large, and will not be involved in shameful or criminal acts of any kind.”
The deceased, 52, is the son of a very popular and wealthy socialite, Chief Emmanuel Ọjọ, who owns a fleet of expensive hotels in the state.
The late Adeniyi Ojo, it was further learnt, was an associate pastor in one of the Winners Chapel branches in Ilọrin. His first daughter also recently graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Ilọrin.
He was said to have preached to the congregation about four Sundays ago where he said he was initially against his father’s decision to relocate to Nigeria from one of the African countries.
The Defence Headquarters claimed on Thursday troops have killed 50 suspected terrorists and arrested 114 others in the Northern part of the country in one week.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the operations of the Armed Forces in Abuja.
Buba said the troops also rescued 49 kidnapped hostages during the week.
He added that the troops of Operation Hadin Kai in the North-East had sustained an onslaught against Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and forced some of their fighters to surrender in Borno and Yobe States.
The spokesman revealed that the troops recovered 17 AK47 rifles, one AK47 rifle loaded with 21 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, one hand grenade, 137 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, and four mobile phones in the operations.
He added that the troops also killed 12 terrorists, arrested 26, and rescued six kidnapped hostages in the region.
Buba added: “The air component of Operation Hadin Kai conducted air interdiction around Damboa-Maiduguri and Gwoza-Madagali areas, during which some terrorists were sighted and neutralised with rockets.
“Troops of Operation Safe Haven in North-Central had while on fighting patrol, arrested suspected kidnappers in Kanam and Sanga Local Government Areas of Plateau and Kaduna states within the period.
“One AK47 rifle, four pistols, a Dane gun, 15 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo and two mobile phones were recovered while two terrorists were eliminated, 12 apprehended and three kidnapped hostages rescued.
“Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke also conducted raids and arrested suspected terrorists in Takum Local Government Area of Benue and the Federal Capital Territory.
“The troops apprehended 26 suspected criminals and illegal oil bunkerers in Gwagwalada and Abuja Municipal Councils of the FCT within the week under review.
“Overall, troops neutralised four terrorists, arrested 28 terrorists and rescued one kidnapped hostage.”
The official X, formerly Twitter, account for the Prime Minister of Israel shared graphic images of babies who were murdered and burned by Hamas terrorists during the deadly attacks over the weekend.
“Here are some of the photos Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Warning: These are horrifying photos of babies murdered and burned by the Hamas monsters. Hamas is inhuman. Hamas is ISIS,” the Prime Minister’s account stated.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
Reports coming out of Israel include horrifying accounts of Israeli soldiers finding raped women, families burned alive and babies beheaded. Many X users have questioned the veracity of such reports.
Ben Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew and popular American podcast host, slammed those who’ve questioned reports of children being burned, mutilated and killed.
“You wanted pictorial proof of dead Jewish babies? Here it is, you pathetic Jew-haters. Israel will minimize civilian casualties. But Israel will not allow the pieces of human shit who did this to live. Every ounce of blood spilled in Gaza is on Hamas,” Shapiro posted on X.
During a roundtable with Jewish Community Leaders on Wednesday, President Joe Biden appeared to confirm that Hamas beheaded Jewish babies during the attacks.
READ MORE: Jewish kids told to hide identity in UK as antisemitic incidents skyrocket: Report
“And — and I believe Israel is doing everything in its power to — to pull the country together, stay on the same page, and we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure Israel succeeds and, God willing, to bring home those Americans who are in harm’s way,” Biden said, adding, “I mean, I — I’ve been doing this a long time. I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children. I never thought I’d ever — anyway.”
The White House later walked back Biden’s comments, saying the president never actually saw photos of babies beheaded by Hamas, according to The Washington Post.
Divine Oduduru, a four-time NCAA champion has been banned for six years for his role in a doping case first pursued by United States authorities.
The Athletics Integrity Unit said on Thursday that it has found the Nigerian sprinter guilty of possession and use or attempted use of multiple prohibited substances when he competed for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
He has also been instructed to pay World Athletics $3,000 for the expenses related to the case.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of this matter, given its particularly grievous nature, exposing the sinister collusion between athletes and other persons in deliberate plans to corrupt athletics at the highest level,” said Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU.
The case began when US prosecutor filed a case against Eric Lira, who was accused of supplying performance-enhancement drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.
Blessing Okagbare who is Oduduru’s teammate received a ban if 11 years for doping in the build up to the Tokyo Olympics.
She failed to cooperate with the investigation. Okagbare’s phone was examined by the US Custom and Border and they found “highly incriminating text and voice messages” exchanged with Lira, the FBI said.
Influenza vaccines contain small amounts of various ingredients that allow them to work and keep them safe and long-lasting. A misleading meme suggestively lists more than two dozen substances it claims are in flu vaccines. But most are not present — and the ones that are aren’t dangerous.
Full Story
All vaccines contain tiny amounts of various ingredients, including the active ingredient, or antigen, which triggers the body to mount an immune response and produce antibodies. Some vaccines may also include stabilizers, adjuvants, preservatives and minuscule amounts of other ingredients used during their production. All of these components are safe in the concentrations used in vaccines, and many are either naturally present in our bodies or found in water, food or other products we ingest or use regularly. Manufacturers list the components of each vaccine on publicly available package inserts.
Seasonal influenza, or flu, vaccines have a “good safety record,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the benefits outweigh the risks. While the effectiveness of the shots varies each year, getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and others from the flu.
There are different types of flu vaccines, with different production processes, doses and ways of administration, as we will explain. But all of them contain components of influenza viruses, which change every year to try to match the viruses that will be circulating during each season. All the 2023-2024 flu vaccines are quadrivalent, meaning they contain components of, and protect against, four influenza viruses, two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses. Just as with all vaccines, to be effective and to remain potent and free of contamination, some flu vaccines contain adjuvants, stabilizers, preservatives or other residual byproducts.
But a viral meme that reads “FLU SHOT INGREDIENTS” lists many substances that are not present in any current flu vaccines, including “antifreeze,” “cow muscle tissue” and “monkey kidney cells.” When checking for the ingredients in databases compiled by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Institute for Vaccine Safety, we found that only a fraction of the 27 listed in the meme are present, in very small quantities, in at least one influenza vaccine.
A misleading meme circulating since 2020 claims flu vaccines include many substances that are not present in the vaccines.
An earlier version of the meme, which circulated and was fact-checked by others in 2020, said the flu shot includes “some of these” ingredients. The words “some of these” were deleted in this version. The image provides no source for the information.
While the post doesn’t explicitly say the listed ingredients are dangerous, the implication is clear. “Demons and witches brew,” wrote an Instagram user when sharing it.
Most of the listed ingredients — while not necessarily in flu vaccines — are present in other vaccines, or are part of the manufacturing process. But these have not been shown to be harmful.
“There is no vaccine that includes everything on this list,” Dr. Kawsar R. Talaat, associate professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told us in a phone interview. “I think that they have gathered these ingredients and use different names for them in order to scare people as much as possible.”
A Misleading List
Two of the “ingredients” listed in the meme are “Human Embryonic (aborted baby) Lung Culture” and “Aborted Human Diploid Cell Cultures (WI-38 & MRC-5).” But as we’ve written, and as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia explains, vaccines do not contain fetal cells or tissues. Some vaccines use fetal cell lines to grow vaccine viruses. MRC-5 and WI-38 are two cell lines taken from lung tissue of two embryos aborted in the 1960s for the preparation of some vaccines. But none of the influenza vaccines available in the U.S. uses fetal cells for production. The viruses or viral proteins used to make flu vaccines are produced in chicken eggs or in non-human cell cultures. We’ll explain more of this process later.
Similarly, while tiny amounts of aluminum are present in other vaccines as an adjuvant to boost the immune response — and has been safely used for decades — it’s not in any flu vaccines.
Flu vaccines do not contain antifreeze either, as the meme incorrectly claims. The active ingredient of the antifreeze and coolant used in cars or vehicles is ethylene glycol, which is toxic, and isn’t used in any vaccine. Older formulations of the influenza vaccines used tiny amounts of polyethylene glycol, a product used in some cosmetics, skin conditioners and in laxative medicines used for constipation. Polyethylene glycol is nontoxic and very different from ethylene glycol. There is no polyethylene glycol in the current flu vaccines.
Anyone can check the Johns Hopkins database or consult the package inserts to see that none of the current flu vaccines contains ethanol, aluminum dye or aluminum, any type of acetone, “monkey kidney cells” or Vero cells, “fetal cow serum” or bovine serum, barium, E. coli, “cow muscle tissue,” “DNA from pig circoviruses (PCV)”, “embryonic guinea pig cells,” human albumin (a protein naturally made in the liver), “Mueller’s media (containing cow extracts),” or dextrose (a type of sugar), as the meme incorrectly claims.
Some substances listed in the meme are present in some flu vaccines or other vaccines. But the quantities used are very small and safe.
“Because chemical names can be unfamiliar and relative quantities of exposure are often central to their safety (i.e., ‘the dose makes the poison’), it is easy for people to become confused, concerned, or downright scared when they see a list like this,” Charlotte A. Moser, co-director of CHOP’s Vaccine Education Center, told us in an email.
Tiny amounts of certain detergents, for example, may be present in some flu vaccines, but these are better thought of as surfactants that keep the ingredients blended together.
“Detergent can also be surfactant, if you want to use that term, which are things that help keep things into solutions,” Talaat told us. “So the bread from the grocery store, Oreos, Twinkies, they all have surfactant or detergent to make it homogenous.”
“Most of the things that we use in the flu vaccine are things that are very common in other things that we encounter on a … daily basis,” Talaat added. They may sound scary when you put them in a list like this, she said, but they’re not. “The important thing is that flu vaccines, like the other vaccines that are available have been tested extensively, have been used in billions and billions of people over many years and are incredibly safe and protect us from the most severe influenza disease.”
What’s in the Flu Vaccines
As we said, the major components in the flu vaccines are the flu viruses or viral proteins used to prompt our bodies to make an immune response.
Most flu vaccines contain whole inactivated viruses. One, the FluMist nasal spray vaccine, uses weakened viruses. Some others use surface proteins from the viruses. None of them can cause the flu, since the viruses are either dead or too weak to replicate effectively to make us sick.
Vaccine manufacturers receive candidate vaccine viruses selected for a particular season and use different technologies to grow those viruses and make their vaccines.
Most flu vaccines are made by inoculating and growing viruses in chicken eggs. The fluid containing the viruses is then harvested from the eggs, and the viruses are purified and killed or weakened. Egg-based flu vaccines (Afluria, Fluad, Fluarix, FluLaval, Fluzone and FluMist) may contain traces of egg proteins, but people with an egg allergy can still get any of these vaccines, based on recommendations from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Previously, the ACIP recommended people with severe egg allergy get their vaccine in a medical office, but starting this season, those measures are no longer recommended.
One of the flu vaccines (Flucelvax) is made by growing influenza viruses in cell culture, specifically Madin-Darby canine kidney, or MDCK, cells. The cells used to make this cell line were isolated in 1958 from the kidney of a cocker spaniel. To make the vaccine, manufacturers grow and collect the viruses, inactivate them, and then purify the antigens. Since the 2021-2022 season, this vaccine is egg-free. But it may contain very tiny amounts of MDCK cell DNA or protein.
There is also a recombinant flu vaccine (Flublok) made up of just influenza surface proteins. The vaccine uses recombinant DNA technology to add the genes for each flu strain’s surface proteins to a baculovirus, a virus that infects insects. The “recombinant” baculovirus is then put into a cell line — one derived from cells of the fall armyworm, an insect related to moths, caterpillars and butterflies — to produce the proteins. The proteins are then extracted and purified. This flu vaccine is egg-free, but it may contain residual amounts of fall armyworm and baculovirus DNA and proteins from the manufacturing process.
As we mentioned, the vaccines also may use stabilizers, preservatives or adjuvants so that they remain safe and effective.
Stabilizers are used to keep the antigen stable during shipping and storage. One of the stabilizers used in the nasal spray vaccine is porcine, or pig, gelatin. It’s worth noting that we consume gelatin made from cow and pigs in numerous food products, from gummy candies or marshmallows to wine or mints. Although the vaccine only contains 2 milligrams per dose (for reference, a teaspoon is equivalent to 5,000 mg), people with a severe allergic reaction to gelatin should get a different flu vaccine, as recommended by the CDC. As CHOP’s Vaccine Education Center explains, people who have severe allergic reactions to foods containing gelatin should avoid vaccines that contain gelatin.
Some vaccines also contain preservatives, added to prevent contamination. “Whereas stabilizers keep what’s supposed to be in the vial stable, preservatives keep what shouldn’t be in the vial out,” the CHOP website explains. This is important when a vial contains multiple doses because bacteria or other microbes could enter the vial and contaminate the contents.
Three of the flu vaccines (Afluria, Fluzone and Flucelvax) use the preservative thimerosal, which contains ethylmercury, in multidose vials. Ethylmercury is a kind of mercury that is safer than methylmercury, which can be present in some fish and animals and can be toxic at high levels. Ethylmercury is less dangerous because it’s broken down and excreted faster from the body than methylmercury. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the amount of mercury contained in a vaccine is roughly the same amount contained in a 3 ounce can of tuna fish. The small amounts of thimerosal in vaccines have been shown not to be harmful. There is no link between thimerosal in vaccines and autism, as we’ve explained.
Vaccines may also contain some leftover products from the manufacturing process. As explained by CHOP’s Vaccine Education Center, since the ingredients of the vaccine come from biological systems, it’s sometimes impossible to completely remove substances used during the process. Although most of the time the amounts that remain in the vials are insignificant, the substances still need to be listed.
Formaldehyde, which is mentioned in the meme, is one of them. This organic compound is used in vaccines to inactivate viruses, so they don’t replicate and make us sick. Formaldehyde is also produced naturally in our bodies, where it has a role in producing amino acids, and is also present in the environment and in food we eat. According to the FDA, the amount of formaldehyde “present in some vaccines is so small compared to the concentration that occurs naturally in the body that it does not pose a safety concern.”
The agency says that, for example, in a newborn baby of 6 to 8 pounds, the amount of formaldehyde in their bodies is 50 to 70 times higher than the maximum amount they could receive from a singe dose of a vaccine or from vaccines administered over time. Repeated exposure to formaldehyde, mostly through breathing air containing the compound, is associated with cancer, but there is no evidence linking cancer to the small amounts of formaldehyde in some vaccines.
Some flu vaccines (Afluria, Flublok and Fluzone) may include chloride, or salt. Salts, often based on sodium and potassium, keep the pH balance and keep the active ingredients suspended, according to the University of Oxford’s Vaccine Knowledge Project. “These are common and harmless,” the organization says.
People with concerns about specific ingredients can ask their doctors and choose which of the nine flu vaccines offered this season is the best for them. The CDC says everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every season, with specific recommendations for each age group.
Editor’s note: SciCheck’s articles providing accurate health information and correcting health misinformation are made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over FactCheck.org’s editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.
Sources
What’s in Vaccines. CDC. Updated 14 Jul 2022. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Vaccine Ingredients. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Updated 18 Jul 2023. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Components of Vaccines. Institute for Vaccine Safety, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Updated 6 Apr 2023. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Package Inserts And Manufacturers For Some Us Licensed Vaccines And Immunoglobulins. Institute for Vaccine Safety, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Updated 31 Aug 2023. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Flu Vaccine Safety Information. CDC. Updated 25 Aug 2023. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Different Types of Flu Vaccines. CDC. Updated 31 Aug 2022. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Selecting Viruses for the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine. CDC. Updated 3 Nov 2022. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Summary: ‘Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—United States, 2023-24.’ CDC. Updated 23 Aug 2023. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
TABLE. Influenza vaccines — United States, 2023–24 influenza season* CDC. Updated 24 Aug 2023. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine. CDC. Updated 25 Aug 2023. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
“Flu Vaccine: What’s in the Vial?” CHOP. Nov 2022. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Reuters Staff. “Fact check: The flu vaccine does not include many of these supposed ingredients.” Reuters. 30 Oct 2020.
“Flu Shot Ingredients Includes Some of These — Or Do They?” I Speak of Dreams blog. 13 Nov 2020.
Talaat, Kawsar R. Associate professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Phone interview with FactCheck.org. 5 Oct 2023.
Vaccine Ingredients – Fetal Cells. CHOP. 21 Oct 2021. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
How Influenza (Flu) Vaccines Are Made. CDC. Updated 3 Nov 2022. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Ethylene Glycol. ChemicalSafetyFacts.org. Updated 14 Oct 2022. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Ethylene Glycol. PubChem. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Dabaja, Amani, et al. “Polyethylene Glycol.” StatPearls. 8 May 2023.
Michelle, Meg. “Polyethylene Glycol Vs. Ethylene Glycol.” Sciencing. Updated 21 May 2018.
Moser, Charlotte A. CHOP. Email to FactCheck.org. 5 Oct 2023.
“Flu Vaccine: What’s in the Vial?” Parents PACK, CHOP. 10 Nov 2022. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Misconceptions about Seasonal Flu and Flu Vaccines. CDC. Updated 16 Jun 2023. Accessed 9 Oct 2023.
Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE): Safety of Influenza Vaccines for Persons with Egg Allergy. CDC, ACIP. 21 Aug 2023.
ACIP Evidence to Recommendations (EtR) Framework: Safety of Influenza Vaccines for Persons with Egg Allergy. CDC, ACIP. 10 Aug 2023.
Grohskopf, Lisa A. et al. “Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, 2023–24 Influenza Season.” MMWR. 15 Aug 2023.
Cell-Based Flu Vaccines. CDC. 25 Aug 2023.
Fall armyworm. Featured Creatures. University of Florida.
A man who remained a virgin till the age of 71 has managed to barricade himself inside his home for 55 years to avoid women.
Callitxe Nzamwita erected a 15-foot fence around his home in Rwanda to keep women and members of public away from him.
The 71-year-old admitted he was “really scared” of women coming up to his home, hence the isolation.
Despite his fear, it is local women who are keeping the man alive and helping him survive. They get his groceries for him but he does not let the women anywhere close to him.
He said: “The reason I locked myself inside here and have a fence on my house is because I want to make sure that women will not come closer to me.”
An unnamed local added: “Strangely, even though he fears women, we are the ones who help him get food and some things he needs. When you try to help him, he doesn’t want us to come close or talk to him.
“Instead, we give him things by tossing them into his house, and then he comes and picks them up. He doesn’t let us get close to him, but he still takes what we offer from a distance.”
If he spots a woman on their way to the property, Callitxe promptly shuts himself inside and locks the door behind him.
The virgin is believed to be suffering from gynophobia, an irrational fear of women.
Symptoms can be triggered merely by thinking of women. Panic attacks, tightness in the chest, profuse sweating, a rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing, are all listed as potential symptoms.
Feeling faint and stomach troubles when near the opposite sex are other symptoms of gynophobia.
Despite their day-to-day help, the women of the village cannot converse with Callitxe, who cowers away from women when they approach.
A petro tanker exploded at the Sari Iganmu area of Lagos on Thursday night.
However, the cause of the incident and the number of casualties have not been ascertained.
The incident caused panic in the area with passersby fleeing in different directions over the intensity of the fire.
The spokesman of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services, Shakiru Amodu, confirmed the explosion in a terse statement sent to journalists.
He added that the agency’s operatives are battling frantically to put out the fire.
Amodu wrote: “Tanker fire is being combatted at the Lagos Quadrapoint Bridge, by National Arts Theater, Iganmu as Sari Iganmu and Ilupeju Fire Crews combine efforts to tame the raging fire.”
The Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) also confirmed the explosion on its X platform, formerly Twitter.
“A tanker has gone up in flames just before Iganmu bridge from Sifax. LASTMA has already alerted the @LagosRescue. Our officers at the scene are doing their best to handle the situation,” the agency stated.
‘McCarthy Congress’ Wants to Hide All Jan 6 Videos and Emails as Security Information and Non-Public Records, Asserts Sovereign Immunity from ‘Right to Know’ Court Challenge
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it received the court-ordered declaration of James W. Joyce, senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the Capitol Police, in which he describes emails among senior officials of the United States Capitol Police (USCP) in January 2021 that show warnings of possible January 6 protests that could lead to serious disruptions at the U.S. Capitol.
The declaration comes in a lawsuit Judicial Watch brought under the common law right of access to public records (Judicial Watch v. United States Capitol Police(No. 1:21-cv-00401)). The suit requests:
Email communications between the U.S. Capitol Police Executive Team and the Capitol Police Board concerning the security of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The timeframe of this request is from January 1, 2021 through January 10, 2021.
Email communications of the Capitol Police Board with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security concerning the security of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The timeframe of this request is from January 1, 2021through January 10, 2021.
All video footage from within the Capitol between 12 pm and 9 pm on January 6, 2021.
After an August 15, 2023, hearing, in which U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes ordered the Capitol Police to provide Judicial Watch more detailed descriptions of certain emails that had been withheld, the U.S. Capitol Police filed a seven-page “second declaration,” which describes email discussions of evacuations and relocations of people from certain buildings, arrests, and other security matters.
The U.S. Capitol Police describe “situational security update” emails at issue as follows:
a. A January 3, 2021 email, with attachment, from the USCP Deputy Chief to a Board member and others at USCP and in Congress providing a detailed “special event assessment” of anticipated protest activity in advance of the January 6, 2021 Joint Session of Congress. The attached document is marked on each page “For Official Use Only/Law Enforcement Sensitive.”
b. A January 5, 2021 email, with map attachment, from the USCP Chief to two Board members detailing a proposed “bike rack” security perimeter for January 6, 2021, and proposing further discussion.
c. A January 5, 2021 email, with map attachment, from the USCP Chief to two Board members detailing a proposed security perimeter for January 6, 2021.
d. A January 5, 2021 email, with social media post and map attachments, from the USCP Deputy Chief to a Board member and others at USCP and in Congress reporting “a significant uptick in new visitors” to a “historical website” containing information on Capitol system tunnels. The Deputy Chief describes proposed attempts by unauthorized individuals to block members of Congress from entering the Capitol building, through tunnels or otherwise.
e. A January 5, 2021 email from the USCP Deputy Chief to a Board member and others at USCP and in Congress alerting them to an online website soliciting information on high-level government officials and their expected whereabouts on January 6, 2021, and linking to the website’s article entitled Why the Second American Revolution Starts Jan 6.
f. A January 6, 2021 email from the USCP Chief to Board members and others at USCP and in Congress relaying that the President had completed a speech at the Ellipse and that a large group was preparing to approach the Capitol.
g. A January 6, 2021 email thread between the USCP Chief, two Board members, and congressional staffers responding to questions on the status of evacuations and relocations of certain buildings on the Capitol Grounds on January 6, 2021, and relaying information on crowds gathering near the Washington Monument and on Capitol Grounds on January 6, 2021.
h. A series of four January 6, 2021 emails from the USCP Deputy Chief to a Board member and others at the USCP and in Congress providing four updates throughout the course of January 6, 2021. These updates contain intelligence assessments, information on arrests, coordination with other law enforcement agencies, crowd estimates, scheduling of high-level government officials, threat and incident reports, medical responses, and officer deployment status.
i. A January 7, 2021 email, with photo attachment, from the USCP Deputy Chief to Board member and others in Congress providing an update on the arrest and subsequent charging of an armed individual found in a “suspicious vehicle” on January 6, 2021.
The U.S. Capitol Police describe “updates on police personnel issues” emails at issue as follows:
a. A January 7, 2021 email from the USCP Chief to all Board members and others at the USCP and in Congress providing an update on the medical condition of a USCP officer following the events of January 6, 2021.
b. A January 7, 2021 email from the USCP Chief to all Board members and others at USCP and in Congress providing an update on the medical condition of a USCP officer following the events of January 6, 2021.
c. A January 7, 2021 email from the USCP Chief to all Board members and others at USCP and in Congress providing an update on the death of a USCP officer following the events of January 6, 2021.
d. A January 8, 2021 email from the USCP Chief to a Board member and others at USCP and in Congress concerning the lowering of flags to half-staff in recognition of a USCP officer who died in the line of duty on January 6, 2021.
e. A January 9, 2021 email from the USCP Acting Chief to all Board members providing an update on when autopsy results could be expected for a deceased USCP officer following the events of January 6, 2021.
Another email is described under the category of “updates about news media reports:”
A January 7, 2021 email, with attachment, from the USCP Chief to all Board members and others at USCP and in Congress providing an anticipated statement by the USCP on the events that transpired at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
On September 29, 2023, the Capitol Police filed a motion to dismiss Judicial Watch’s common law right of access lawsuit that asks for over 14,000 hours of video footage, arguing that the USCP has a sovereign immunity exemption from lawsuits asserting a common law right of access to public information. The latest filing goes further than prior Pelosi Congress secrecy arguments in this litigation by newly asserting even if a lawsuit were allowed to go forward, all January 6 videos and emails would be exempt from disclosure as “security information.”
Judicial Watch also received the January 7, 2021, resignation letter of Steven A. Sund, chief of the Capitol Police on January 6, who left the position at the request of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“It is urgent that the January 6 videos and related U.S. Capitol Police emails be released to the American public. I would hope the next House speaker takes a different approach than Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy and affirms the public’s lawful ‘right to know’ – and stops working with the Biden Justice Department to hide this January 6 evidence,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
Judicial Watch is extensively investigating the events of January 6.
Last month it received records from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, a component of the Department of Justice, in a FOIA lawsuit that detail the extensive apparatus the Biden Justice Department set up to investigate and prosecute January 6 protestors.
A previous review of records from that lawsuit highlighted the prosecution declination memorandumjustifying the decision not to prosecute U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd for the shooting death of Babbitt.
In January 2023, documents from the Department of the Air Force, Joint Base Andrews, MD, showed U.S. Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd was housed at taxpayer expense at Joint Base Andrews after he shot and killed U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In November 2021, Judicial Watch released multipleaudio, visualand photo records from the DC Metropolitan Police Department about the shooting death of Babbitt on January 6, 2021, in the U.S. Capitol Building. The records included a cell phone videoof the shooting and an audio of a brief police interview of the shooter, Byrd.
In October 2021, United States Park Police recordsrelated to the January 6, 2021, demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol showed that on the day before the January 6 rally featuring President Trump, U.S. Park Police expected a “large portion” of the attendees to march to the U.S. Capitol and that the FBI was monitoring the January 6 demonstrations, including travel to the events by “subjects of interest.”
