Rand Paul blasts Anthony Fauci after NIH admits gain-of-function funding
NIH in Bethesda, Md., now admitting to funding gain-of-function research
Despite repeated denials by NIAID Director Anthony Fauci that his agency used American taxpayer money to fund Chinese gain of function research on bats infected with coronaviruses, the National Institutes of Health - which oversees NIAID - admitted in a letter to House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer, R-Ky., that a "limited experiment" was indeed conducted.
Comer's fellow Kentuckian, Sen. Rand Paul, joined "Fox News Primetime" to react to the bombshell, as well as further reflect on his often-viral sparring with Fauci during Senate hearings on the matter.
Earlier this year, Paul accused Fauci of "obfuscating the truth" and at one point asked if he wished to rescind prior remarks given that it is a felony to lie to Congress.
The Brooklyn-born doctor responded that "if anyone is lying, it is you." Paul told host Will Cain the story should not be about him, but about America's health and national security:
"Five million people died from a virus that came out of a lab -- wouldn't we want to know, wouldn't we want to prevent this from happening again? This virus is very deadly, what if we had a virus that had a 15% mortality rate?"
Paul, a doctor of ophthalmology, said China is already experimenting with a variation of the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus of the early 2000s - noting that its predecessor had a 1 in 2 mortality rate.
"They still to this day are trying to get around the truth," Paul said. "They say 'well it was unexpected that it gained function'."
Tennessee Representative Scott DesJarlais Sends Letter to President Biden Warning Him of Result of Vaccine Mandates for Tennessee Valley Authority Employees
Tennessee Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) announced in a press release that he sent a letter to President Joe Biden regarding his executive order mandating COVID-19 vaccines for federal workers and the effects it will have on Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) employees.
In early September, Biden announced a new executive order that requires vaccination for employees of the executive branch and contractors who do business with the federal government - with no option to test out. The executive order also called on the Department of Labor to require all employers with over 100 workers to have them vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.
DesJarlais' press release reveals that some TVA employees are expressing their intent to resign or retire over Biden's executive order mandating all federal employees be vaccinated.
DesJarlais highlights in the letter the importance of the TVA workforce and the mission-critical infrastructure they provide.
He wrote, "Take for example, the seven nuclear units TVA operates. It goes without argument that the jobs at these plants are not only critical to our infrastructure but the impact of operations being run short-staffed or with staff that is not properly trained would be disastrous. TVA nuclear facilities are already experiencing a labor shortage. If even a small percentage of the current employees at TVA nuclear plants resigned or retired, the plant operations would be unable to function."
Tennessee's GOP Congressional Delegation React, Discuss Next Steps After Learning Anthony Fauci Lied to Congress
News that the Bethesda, Maryland-based National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Gain-of-Function research in Wuhan, China has prompted certain members of Tennessee's congressional delegation to condemn Anthony Fauci as a liar and to demand drastic changes.
Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) tweeted about the matter on Thursday.
"For months, I've been urging Dr. Fauci to come clean about the fact that NIH funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. Yesterday, NIH finally admitted it," Harshbarger wrote.
Harshbarger, in her tweet, linked to a Washington Examiner column she wrote in June urging Fauci to tell the truth.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) tweeted Thursday that "Fauci lied to Congress. He knew we were funding gain of function research, and he lied about it. This admission is long overdue. #FauciLied."
Later that day, Blackburn tweeted that "Fauci lied, Americans died. #FireFauci."
Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) also offered his thoughts on Thursday.
"NIH now admits Dr. Fauci misled Congress and the American public," Hagerty tweeted.
"The agency he leads did in fact fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Technology. He should resign immediately."
DON'T FORGET: SPECIAL SESSION III STARTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27th AT 4:00pm. Stay Tuned!!
Tennessee Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Designate Party Affiliation During School Board Elections
Tennessee State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) on Thursday introduced a bill that would allow party affiliation to be designated during a school board election.
The legislation, if enacted, would alter the current election process, which allows individuals to campaign on a nonpartisan basis.
"Elections for school board members may be conducted on a partisan basis, and a person seeking a position on a board may campaign as the nominee or representative of a political party," the bill reads.
The bill will be considered during an upcoming special legislative session, which begins on October 27. According to Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), the session "will cover a number of issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including overreaching health care mandates."
If passed, the new law would go into effect in July of 2022.
Local school boards have been at the center of the debate of coronavirus mandates throughout the country, and Tennessee specifically.
Haiti gang leader threatens to kill 17 kidnapped missionaries, family members if demands not met
EVENS SANON, MATÍAS DELACROIX and PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA
Associated Press October 21, 2021
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang that police say is holding 17 members of a kidnapped missionary group is seen in a video released Thursday saying he will kill them if he doesn't get what he's demanding.
The video posted on social media shows Wilson Joseph dressed in a blue suit, carrying a blue hat and wearing a large cross around his neck.
"I swear by thunder that if I don't get what I'm asking for, I will put a bullet in the heads of these Americans," he said in the video.
He also threatened Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the chief of Haiti's National Police, Léon Charles, as he spoke in front of the open coffins that apparently held several members of his gang who were recently killed.
