'Very stupid': New York Times beclowns itself with botched 'fact-check,' proving RFK Jr.'s point



Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's proposed Health and Human Services secretary, has pledged to "Make America Healthy Again" primarily by tackling the "chronic disease epidemic" and the corporate capture of federal regulatory agencies.

The environmental lawyer's adjacency to the Republican president and his recent criticism of experimental gene therapies have made him a frequent target for criticism by lawmaking recipients of Big Pharma lobbying money and the liberal media. In their efforts to dunk on Kennedy, establishmentarians have in many cases exposed their true loyalties as well as their aversion to inconvenient facts.

The New York Times is now among the outfits that has risked such exposure in its desperation to characterize Kennedy as "wrong."

'The science shows that these dyes cause hyperactivity in children, can disrupt the immune system, and are contaminated with carcinogens.'

By attempting to miss a point that Kennedy was making in a recent interview, the Times' Christina Jewett and Julie Creswell unwittingly defended his thesis. Critics have since descended upon the liberal publication, mocking it over its botched fact-check.

At the outset of their article, titled "Kennedy’s Vow to Take On Big Food Could Alienate His New G.O.P. Allies," Jewett and Creswell wrote, "Boxes of brightly colored breakfast cereals, vivid orange Doritos and dazzling blue M&Ms may find themselves under attack in the new Trump administration."

After highlighting why food titans that produce unhealthy products are "nervous" about the incoming administration, Jewett and Creswell tried nitpicking through some of Kennedy's concerns, zeroing in on his recent remarks about the ingredients of Kellogg's Froot Loops cereal.

In September, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) moderated a four-hour round table discussion on Capitol Hill about American health and nutrition.

During her presentation, Vani Hari, a critic of the food industry who founded FoodBabe, shared the ingredient lists for multiple food products in the U.S. versus in Europe and stressed the need for limits on additives and dyes in breakfast cereals.

Together with Jason Karp, founder and CEO of the healthy living organization HumanCo., Hari highlighted the color difference between the Froot Loops cereal produced for American consumption and the version produced for consumption in Canada.

The brighter artificial colors are more attractive to children — and helpful with sales — but apparently harmful to their health.

Hari recently told Blaze News:

The science shows that these dyes cause hyperactivity in children, can disrupt the immune system, and are contaminated with carcinogens. There are safer colors available made from fruits and vegetables, such as beets and carrots. Food companies already don't use artificial dyes en masse in Europe because they don’t want to slap warning labels on their products that say they 'may cause adverse effects on attention in children.' If food companies like Kellogg's can reformulate their products without artificial dyes to sell in other countries, there is no reason why they can’t do that also here in America.

The food activist added, "As there are over 10,000 food additives approved for use in the United States, while Europe only allows 400, the [incoming] administration should prioritize taking control of the alarming amount of food additives in our food supply."

'This is of particular concern for fetuses and babies under the age of 6 months, whose blood-brain barrier is not fully developed.'

Kennedy appeared on Fox News the following day and referenced Hari's presentation, saying, "A box of Froot Loops from Canada or from Europe ... has a completely different group of ingredients. It's actually colored with vegetable oils, which are safe. Ours are colored with chemical oils, which are very, very dangerous."

Following the election, Kennedy revisited the example in a MSNBC interview, saying offhand, "Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada and it's got two or three?"

The Times seized on Kennedy's critique of Froot Loop, writing:

Mr. Kennedy has singled out Froot Loops as an example of a product with too many artificial ingredients, questioning why the Canadian version has fewer than the U.S. version. But he was wrong. The ingredient list is roughly the same, although Canada's has natural colorings made from blueberries and carrots while the U.S. product contains red dye 40, yellow 5 and blue 1 as well as Butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, a lab-made chemical that is used "for freshness," according to the ingredient label.

In the same paragraph that the Times claimed Kennedy was wrong about Froot Loops having more artificial ingredients in Canada than in the U.S., the liberal publication effectively pointed out he was right on the money.

According to the National Library of Medicine, butylated hydroxytoluene — used as a preservative in fats and oils as well as in packaging material for fat-containing foods — has been shown in animal studies to increase serum cholesterol, reduce growth in baby rats, and increase absolute liver weight. The NLM and the Canadian government also recognize BHT as harmful to the environment.

Red dye 40 is made from petroleum and has been approved by the FDA for use in food and drinks. It has been linked in some studies to hyperactivity disorders in children. The Cleveland Clinic indicated that red dye 40 also has various potential side effects, including depression, irritability, and migraines.

Yellow dye 5 or tartazine is another synthetic food colorant linked to numerous adverse health effects. It is reportedly restricted in Austria and Norway owing to the allergies, asthma, skin rashes, hyperactivity, and migraines it can apparently cause.

A 2021 paper in the peer-reviewed journal Advances in Nutrition noted that blue dye 1 has been found to cause chromosomal aberrations and "was found to inhibit neurite growth and act synergistically with L-glutamic acid in vitro, suggesting the potential for neurotoxicity. This is of particular concern for fetuses and babies under the age of 6 months, whose blood-brain barrier is not fully developed."

'This is beyond absurd.'

The paper noted further that having found blue dye 1 to have cytotoxic and genotoxic effects, some researchers "advise that caution must be exercised when using it for coloring food."

Children are the biggest consumers of such artificial food dyes.

Critics blasted the Times over its bizarre "fact-check," which said he was wrong then unwittingly explained why he was right.

"This is what passes for a 'fact check' at The New York Times," wrote Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. "The media lie a lot, but fortunately for us, they are also VERY stupid."

"Americans are being poisoned under the status quo food and health institutions, and regime media wants you to believe that Bobby Kennedy pushing for reform is somehow the problem. Make it make sense!" added Kirk.

Molecular biologist Dr. Richard H. Ebright of Rutgers University tweeted, "I read the paragraph multiple times yesterday, trying to make sense of what the idiot writer had written. I could only conclude that the idiot writer had written the equivalent of '2 + 2 = 5.'"

One critic quipped, "'As you see, the ingredient list is just completely identical, except the US product contains formaldehyde, cyanide, and nearly undetectable levels of saxitoxin."

"Crazy," tweeted Elon Musk.

Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman wrote, "This is beyond absurd. The @nytimes says @RobertKennedyJr 'was wrong' about Froot Loops having too many artificial ingredients compared to its Canadian version, and then goes on to explain the artificial colorings and preservatives in the U.S. vs the Canadian version. @RobertKennedyJr is right and The NY Times is an embarrassment."

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) noted, "In their defense, their comedy writers are really strong."

The Times has since blamed an "editing error" and rewritten its Orwellian paragraph to read:

Mr. Kennedy has singled out Froot Loops as an example of a product with too many ingredients. In an interview with MSNBC on Nov. 6, he questioned the overall ingredient count: 'Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients and you go to Canada and it has two or three?' Mr. Kennedy asked. He was wrong on the ingredient count, they are roughly the same. But the Canadian version does have natural colorings made from blueberries and carrots while the U.S. product contains red dye 40, yellow 5 and blue 1 as well as Butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, a lab-made chemical that is used 'for freshness, according to the ingredient label.

The New York Times' credibility has taken a massive hit in recent months and years. After all, it was an exponent of the Russian collusion hoax; falsely claimed Trump supporters killed U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick with a fire extinguisher; falsely reported on the basis of terrorist propaganda that Israel blew up a Gazan hospital; and suggested that the Babylon Bee, a satire website, was a "far-right misinformation site."

Despite its trouble getting the facts right, it recently teamed up with Media Matters to get BlazeTV hosts censored, citing concerns over "misinformation."

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Study: 80% of Americans test positive for chemical found in some cereals that may cause infertility, disrupted fetal growth



The vast majority of Americans have been exposed to a toxic agricultural chemical that has been linked in animal studies to disrupted fetal growth, damage to the reproductive system, delayed puberty, and reduced fertility, according to a new peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

The study, executed by the Environmental Working Group — a chemical watchdog and activist group that has been accused in recent years of alarmism and exaggeration — examines concentrations of chlormequat chloride in oat-based foods and suggests that current exposure levels "warrant more expansive toxicity resting, food monitoring, and epidemiological studies."

Chlormequat was first registered in the U.S. in 1962 as a plant growth regulator that successfully inhibits cell elongation, producing sturdier stalks that are less likely to bend over — particularly beneficial for cereal crops.

The chemical, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency apparently recognized as "toxic to wildlife," has been found to take a toll on mammals.

The new study highlights how Danish pig farmers noticed in the 1980s "reproductive declines in pigs raised on chlormequat treated grains." Their observations were reportedly replicated in a controlled lab environment where female pigs fed chlormequat treated grain "exhibited disrupted oestrus cycling and difficult mating compared to animals on a control chlormequat-free diet."

Male mice, similarly exposed to the chemical via food or water, "exhibited decreased fertilization capacity of sperm in vitro."

When proposing to register new uses of the plant growth regulator as a pesticide in April 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claimed there were "no dietary, residential, or aggregate (i.e., combined dietary and residential exposures) risks of concern associated with human exposure to chlormequat.

However, the study suggests that "more recent reproductive toxicity studies on chlormequat show delayed onset of puberty, reduced sperm motility, decreased weights of male reproductive organs, and decreased testosterone levels in rats exposed during sensitive windows of development, including during pregnancy and early life."

The EWG researchers conceded that other studies have not found such animal test subjects similarly impacted but intimated that such discrepancies simply warrant further investigation.

Chlormequat, which can form naturally from choline precursors in wheat products and egg powder under high temperature, reportedly entered the American food supply after the EPA published acceptable food tolerance levels for the pesticide in imported oat, wheat, barley, and other products in 2018.

These allowable levels were reportedly increased for oats in 2020. While admitting imported products containing traces of chlormequat, the EPA reportedly only allows the chemical to be used on ornamental plants grown in the U.S..

The EWG researchers examined 96 urine samples collected from American residents in three geographical regions between 2017 and 2023. The study notes that the pesticide was detected in 80% of all urine samples.

"Detection frequencies were higher in 2023 samples compared to 2017 and 2018 to 2022 samples with 16 of 23, or 69%, 17 of 23, or 74% and 45 of 50, or 90% of samples with detections, respectively," said the study.

The EWG researchers noted that food samples purchased from 2022 and 2023 "show detectable levels of chlormequat in all but two of 25 conventional oat-based products. Quaker Oats and Cheerios were allegedly among the affected cereals.

While the pesticide concentrations in urine taken up in this study were "several orders of magnitude below the reference dose (RfD) published by the U.S. EPA," the EWG indicated that much lower doses have been observed to reduce fertility in mice and pigs.

"Given the toxicological concerns associated with chlormequat exposure in animal studies, and widespread exposure to the general population, in European countries, and now also likely in the U.S., monitoring of chlormequat in foods and people, in conjunction with epidemiological and animal studies, is urgently needed to understand the potential health harms of this agricultural chemical at environmentally relevant exposure levels, particularly during pregnancy," the researchers concluded.

The EWG suggested in a report corresponding with its study, "Until the government fully protects consumers, you can reduce your exposure to chlormequat by choosing products made with organic oats, which are grown without synthetic pesticides such as chlormequat."

The New York Post indicated that neither General Mills, which produces Cheerios, nor PepsiCo, which makes Quaker Oats, responded immediately to requests for comment.

"The federal government has a vital role in ensuring that pesticides are adequately monitored, studied and regulated," Alexis Temkin, a toxicologist at EWG and lead author on the study, told the Daily Mail. "Yet the EPA continues to abdicate its responsibility to protect children from the potential health harms of toxic chemicals like chlormequat in food."

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FACT CHECK: Do Stanley Cups Contain A Dangerous Amount of Lead?

A spokesperson for the company said that the area is covered with a layer of stainless steel, making it "inaccessible" to consumers

Husband sets up hidden camera, catches teacher wife poisoning his smoothie with deadly plant: Police



A Missouri man became suspicious that his teacher wife was trying to poison him, so he allegedly set up a hidden camera. The surveillance camera reportedly caught the woman poisoning his smoothie with a potentially deadly plant.

Sarah Scheffer, of Jefferson City, was arrested on Wednesday. She was charged with first-degree domestic assault, first-degree attempted murder, and armed criminal action.

Over the course of six weeks, Scheffer's husband said he experienced multiple occasions of peculiar and debilitating symptoms.

"The victim described eight occurrences in which the defendant provided a beverage or food that had an odd taste and shortly after ingesting he experienced extreme fatigue, confusion, blurred vision, severe cotton mouth, and nausea," the probable cause statement stated.

On Jan. 1, the husband confronted his wife after she reportedly served him a beverage with a "bitter taste."

Scheffer allegedly told her husband that she had urinated in his beverage. She then "admitted to putting an industrial strength adhesive in it," according to the probable cause statement. Scheffer allegedly changed her story once again and denied that she added any substances to his drink.

Following the alleged incident, the husband installed a surveillance camera in the couple's kitchen.

The husband claimed to have found a green bowl containing a root from a bag labeled "lily of the field" on Scheffer's desk.

The hidden camera purportedly caught Scheffer preparing a smoothie for her husband. Scheffer added the contents from a green bowl into the smoothie, according to the statement.

The husband presented the video to the police. Scheffer confessed to putting lily of the valley in the smoothie when confronted by law enforcement, according to the probable cause statement.

"[Scheffer] admitted to adding a root of the 'lily of the valley' into the blender while preparing a smoothie drink of the victim," the probable cause statement read. "[Scheffer] admitted doing this with the intent to cause the victim harm... admitted to knowing that ingesting 'lily of the valley' could result in death... [and] admitted knowing the act was illegal."

WebMD warns of the dangers of lily of the valley: "The lily of the valley plants are extremely toxic. All parts of the plant can cause illness when eaten. It is categorized as having major toxicity. The lily of the valley contains several compounds that can affect the heart. It may be used in very small quantities in medication, but ingesting the plant can lead to severe illness, cardiac distress, and even death."

The smoothie was allegedly placed in the refrigerator.

Officers with the Jefferson City Police Department seized the blender and sent the contents of the blender to a state laboratory for testing.

Scheffer is being held without bail at the Cole County Jail.

According to ABC News, "Police said they believed she would be at risk for failing to appear in court in response to a criminal summons because she allegedly said she has a relationship with someone who lives in Pakistan and 'has conducted Google searches for flights to Pakistan,' the probable cause statement said."

KMIZ reported that Scheffer is a 37-year-old part-time design and art teacher at Calvary Lutheran High School in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Scheffer has reportedly been placed on leave by the school following the accusations. She is no longer on the school's online faculty page.

"The alleged conduct was outside of the employee’s association with the school and did not involve a student or any other school personnel," Calvary Lutheran executive director John Christman said in a statement. "As a Christian community, Calvary Lutheran High School believes in protecting the well-being of all individuals who are part of our programs and we seek to respond in a caring and sensitive manner to everyone in our school community. With this in mind, consistent action has been taken in response to the notification."

Teacher in Jefferson City charged with attempted murder for husband's alleged poisoning www.youtube.com

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Veterinary drug transforming American city streets into zombie nightmares: 'Literally eats your flesh'



Drug addicts are reportedly experimenting with an especially destructive drug: the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine.

Xylazine, often called "tranq" or the "zombie drug," has profoundly devastating effects on human beings. Users who do not immediately die by overdose frequently see their skin rot, turn black, and slough off or their injection wounds become infected and compromise entire limbs.

This danger is compounded by the drug's increasing popularity in big American cities such as San Francisco, New York, and Philadelphia.

Los Angeles, another hard-hit city, has witnessed the animal tranquilizer spread into the local street drug supply, prompting the LA County Sheriff's Department to begin actively testing confiscated drugs for traces of xylazine.

Zombie-maker

The zombie drug, usually purchased online from Chinese suppliers for $6-$20 per kilogram, is neither a controlled substance nor a new drug. It has been long marketed as a veterinary drug and used as a sedative.

According to a 2014 study published in the journal Forensic Science International, "In humans, it could cause central nervous system depression, respiratory depression, bradycardia, hypotension, and even death. There have been publications of 43 cases of xylazine intoxication in humans, in which 21 (49%) were non-fatal scenarios and 22 (51%) resulted in fatalities."

TheBlaze previously reported on a warning provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which said, "Repeated exposure to xylazine, by injection, has been associated with severe, necrotic skin ulcerations that are distinctly different from other soft-tissue infections (e.g., cellulitis, abscesses) often associated with injection drug use. These ulcerations may develop in areas of the body away from the site of injection."

The drug is reportedly used frequently as an adulterant in recreational drugs — to enhance or mimic the effects of other illicit drugs, such as heroin or cocaine.

While dangerous on its own, used in combination with other drugs, xylazine can prove especially fatal.

For instance, a 2021 American study detected the drug in 42 Connecticut fatal overdoses from March to August 2019.

'Self-destruction at its finest'

KTLA reported that the recent rash of xylazine use has seen some users horribly disfigured. Some have been found covered in sores, requiring amputation. Others have had their skin fall off and inner workings exposed.

Tracey McCann, a user, told the New York Times earlier this year that the needle bruises she had from fentanyl were hardening and turning crusty. "I’d wake up in the morning crying because my arms were dying," said McCann.

Brooke Peder, a 38-year-old user in the city, lost her leg as the result of a zombie drug wound that became infected and ate into the bone. She bore her arm for the Times, revealing "patches of blackened tissue, exposed white tendons and pus, the sheared flesh was hot and red."

"The tranq dope literally eats your flesh," said Peder. "It's self-destruction at its finest."

"We had a woman come in and her sister had passed away from a fentanyl overdose," addiction expert Cary Quashen told KTLA. "But not only was it a fentanyl overdose (but) her skin was starting to rot, the muscles on her leg and her arm. So that’s a sure sign of xylazine."

DEA special agent Bill Bodner told KTLA, "It's really gruesomely disfiguring people. ... It’s much more likely to stop someone from breathing and the things that come along with xylazine, it’s a vasoconstrictor. So when you’re injecting it, it’s actually reducing the blood circulation."

The DEA released an intelligence report on the drug in October, detailing instances of exhibits involving the drug in the agency's laboratory system between 2020 and 2021. The report noted a 61% increase in the Northeast U.S. census region, a 193% increase in the South, a 7% increase in the Midwest, and a 112% increase in the West.

As xylazine-positive overdoses in the aforementioned U.S. census regions, the Northeast has seen a 103% increase; the South, a 1,127% increase; the Midwest, a 516% increase; and the West, a 750% increase.

Taking a closer look

As Los Angeles is one of the American cities hardest hit, the LA County Sheriff's Office has begun to track how common xylazine is, reported the New York Post.

This was not previously a priority, as the drug is not illegal.

Beginning in April, the LACSO's pilot program has had crime lab analysts noting preliminary signs of the tranquilizer when testing confiscated drugs.

"In the greater Los Angeles area, we are seeing xylazine as an additive within fake fentanyl pills," DEA Los Angeles Field Division spokeswoman Nicole Nishida told the Los Angeles Times. "While the numbers are relatively low in our community compared to elsewhere in the United States, the presence of xylazine is now becoming more frequent and the trend is concerning."

The Times indicated that federal data shows that roughly 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized in 2022 contained the tranquilizer.

If they determine by month's end that the number of xylazine positives is high, they will figure out standards for conducting additional confirmatory tests.

"This is going to be very unique for us, because I’m asking them to track a non-controlled substance," Capt. Ernest Bille, who oversees the department’s Scientific Services Bureau, told the Los Angeles Times.

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EPA-associated agency testing air for toxins allegedly got hundreds of locals near site of Norfolk Southern chemical inferno to sign contract to 'indemnify, release and hold harmless' testing groups



A resident of the Ohio village where derailed Norfolk Southern train cars were altogether transformed into a toxic inferno told nationally syndicated radio host and co-founder of Blaze Media Glenn Beck that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency affiliates were pushing contracts on locals, purportedly looking to minimize liability around air monitoring tests.

What's the background?

Katlyn Schwarzwaelder is a resident of East Palestine, Ohio, the epicenter of Norfolk Southern Railways' recent ecological disaster, which reportedly killed countless animals in the area and has left a number of locals complaining of bleary eyes and breathing difficulties.

Schwarzwaelder also operates the Von Schwarz Doberman Kennel in nearby Darlington, Pennsylvania, a little over a mile away from the blast site.

Chemical and Engineering News reported that Schwarzwaelder, who managed to get her dogs and horse out of the area, has taken calls from locals who have observed fish, chickens, foxes, dogs, and other animals dying without warning in the aftermath of the derailment and controlled breach.

"I got a call yesterday from a person who lives 1.5 miles away from the derailment area,” she said. “They let their 2-year-old healthy dog out to go to the bathroom, and the dog never returned inside. He was dead in the yard."

While Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and other officials have announced that evacuated residents in and around East Palestine can now safely return home, Schwarzwaelder isn't so sure, particularly when at least one gas used as a weapon of mass slaughter in World War One was released overhead.

TheBlaze previously reported that the thick column of smoke that darkened the sky above East Palestine after the derailment contained fumes from the toxic chemicals stored in the wrecked cars, such as vinyl chloride, hydrogen chloride, and phosgene.

The EPA also cautioned Norfolk Southern that an additional three chemicals were aboard the breached and derailed trains: ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene.

Silverado Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist, told WKBN that ethylhexyl acrylate is a carcinogen that can cause burning and irritation in the skin and eyes, as well as breathing problems. He noted that isobutylene can also cause dizziness and drowsiness if inhaled.

Phosgene, used in warfare at the turn of the 20th century, can result in chest constriction and choking.

Some of the other toxins released can have similarly debilitating and deadly consequences.

After residents were coaxed into returning home to East Palestine, Norfolk Southern- and EPA-associated groups reportedly continued to test the air for potentially harmful toxins.

Broad contracts

In conversation with Glenn Beck Wednesday, Schwarzwaelder indicated that East Palestine residents were told by Norfolk [Southern Railway] personnel "that the agencies that were coming to our homes to test were from independent laboratories."

Despite this suggestion, Schwarzwaelder noted that an individual with the environmental consulting firm CTEH LLC had been camped out front of her house on the night of the derailment, who told her, "We follow around the railroad when they make mistakes and they are happy to have us here."

Those testing Schwarzwaelder's air reportedly handed her a release form authorizing "Norfolk Southern, its affiliates, subsidiaries, parents, contractors, associated environmental professionals, and assisting local, state, and federal agencies, including but not limited to CTEH LLC and any of their personnel (collectively, 'Monitoring Team') to access the Property for air monitoring or environmental sampling."

"Landowner agrees to indemnify, release, and hold harmless Unified Command from and against any and all legal claims, including for personal injury or property damage, arising from Monitoring Team's performance of air monitoring or environmental sampling at the Property on the date of signature below," the contract added.

\u201cThis is the contract\u201d
— Glenn Beck (@Glenn Beck) 1676478881

While the contracts appear specific to the "Monitoring Team's performance of air monitoring or environmental sampling," it is presently unclear whether the legalese may be broad enough to cover injuries resulting from inaccurate measurements.

Furthermore, it is unclear whether lawyers for the railway or others named as members of the "Monitoring Team" could at some later stage suggest that inaccurate measurements for which their affiliates would be indemnified — contra the derailment and subsequent controlled breach of dangerous fumes — were ultimately responsible for potential injuries and damages (e.g., carcinomas, breathing issues, and crop failures).

Schwarzwaelder refused to sign the release form, but indicated 340 other residents did sign the document.

"My heart just breaks for these people. We don't know the long-term repercussions of what these chemicals can do in our air, to our environment, to our homes, to our businesses. And they signed their rights away in the hopes that they're getting help and the right answers from these organizations," Schwarzwaelder told Beck.

"What I can tell you first hand is that CTEH, the affiliate of Norfolk that came to test the air, was followed by the EPA. ... We said, 'Can the EPA by themselves come into our kennel? We do not sign this paper,' and 'Can they test themselves because they are a government organization that has the ability, they have the testing equipment with them?' And the answer was, 'Absolutely not.'"

Contamination and liability

The EPA sent Norfolk Southern a general notice of potential liability over the weekend, outlining EPA cleanup actions and the possibility that the railway will have to foot the bill, reported CBS News.

With schools of fish floating belly-up down nearby streams and rivers, residents are now especially concerned about possible water contamination.

CBS News reported that this fear has been exacerbated by a 2019 drinking water source assessment conducted by the Ohio EPA that indicated East Palestine's source of drinking water has a "high susceptibility to contamination" because of a lack of clay helping protect the aquifer and "the presence of significant potential contaminant sources in the protection area."

The assessment notes, "This susceptibility means that under currently existing conditions, the likelihood of the aquifer becoming contaminated is relatively high."

WKBN reported that the EPA recently castigated Norfolk Southern for simply covering up contaminated soil in the aftermath of the derailment.

"Five railcar tankers of vinyl chloride were intentionally breached; the vinyl chloride was diverted to an excavated trench and then burned off. Areas of contaminated soil and free liquids were observed and potentially covered and/or filled during reconstruction of the rail line including portions of the trench /burn pit that was used for the open burn off of vinyl chloride," said the letter.

According to an EPA fact sheet, vinyl chloride — one of the primary toxins spilled and burned up over East Palestine — "will be expected to be highly mobile in soil and it may leach to the groundwater. It may be subject to biodegradation under anaerobic conditions such as exists in flooded soil and groundwater."

"Based on epidemiological and animal studies, vinyl chloride is carcinogenic in humans when inhaled, and it is considered to be a human carcinogen from oral exposure," the fact sheet added.

WITNESS: Train derailment causing ‘WAR ZONE’ scenes in Ohio youtu.be

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FACT CHECK: No, Bill Clinton Was Not Murdered With Poison

There is no evidence that Clinton has died

Hacker tried to poison Florida city's water supply with lye, sheriff says



Authorities say an unknown hacker was able to gain remote access to the controls of a Florida city's water treatment plant, and made multiple attempts to increase the amount of lye in the water supply to "dangerous" levels.

What are the details?

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced the threat during a news conference Monday, explaining that the unidentified suspect targeted the water supply for the city of Oldsmar.

"The hacker changed the sodium hydroxide (lye) from about one hundred parts per million, to 11,100 parts per million," Gualtieri said, calling that level a "dangerous" amount.

Motherboard reported:

When asked if this should be considered an attempt at bioterrorism, Gualtieri said, "What it is is someone hacked into the system not just once but twice ... opened the program and changed the levels from 100 to 11,100 parts per million with a caustic substance. So, you label it however you want, those are the facts."

According to ABC News, sodium hydroxide "is used to treat water acidity but the compound is also found in cleaning supplies such as soaps and drain cleaners." The outlet noted that "it can cause irritation, burns and other complications in larger quantities."

The hacking was discovered by a plant worker who noticed the tampering of the control panel at around 8 a.m. Friday, and discovered a second attempt at changing the lye levels was made at around 1:30 p.m. the same day.

The employee was able to quickly reverse the hacker's tampering in both instances, and officials say multiple safeguards in place at the plant that provides water to roughly 15,000 homes and businesses mean the public was not put at risk.

Gualtieri told Reuters, "The guy was sitting there monitoring the computer as he's supposed to and all of a sudden he sees a window pop up that the computer has been accessed. The next thing you know someone is dragging the mouse and clicking around and opening programs and manipulating the system."

Law enforcement is now seeking to identify the culprit, and the FBI and Secret Service have also been looped in on the criminal investigation.

Anything else?

Nicole Perlroth, a reporter for The New York Times, pointed out that similar attacks on water supplies have been attempted in other countries, tweeting, "This was also an attack scenario that played out in Israel last April, when Israelis accused Iran of getting into their water treatment plant. Israel responded with a hack of Iran port."

After Substantiated Allegations Of Poisoning Opponents, Russia Reportedly Bans EU Representatives In Spite

'denied entry to the Russian Federation'

Teacher sentenced to death in China for poisoning students

A nursery school teacher in China was sentenced to death after a court found her guilty of poisoning 25 children, including one who died.