I Can't Wait Until The "Deliberative" Body Tangles With Col. Gabbard...,

OMG. 😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/EOZitH70hO

— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) January 15, 2025

 

Of Course Quinones Knew That The Pacific Palisades Reservoir Was Empty

cbsnews  |  Why was the Santa Ynez Reservoir empty when the fires broke out?

The reservoir was taken out of service to "meet safe drinking water regulations," the DWP said in a statement. A tear in the reservoir's cover made the water supply subject to contamination, the Los Angeles Times reported, leading the agency to drain it in February.

"The water system serving the Pacific Palisades area and all of Los Angeles meets all federal and state fire codes for urban development and housing," the release said. 

DWP representatives did not respond to further questions about the reservoir from CBS News. The agency's statement suggested that the fact the reservoir was empty for nearly a year was in part due to the process of contracting a company to carry out the repairs.  

"To commission the support and resources to implement repairs to Santa Ynez, LADWP is subject to the city charter's competitive bidding process which requires time," the statement read.

The reservoir is intended to provide water storage "for domestic use and fire fighting purposes in the Pacific Palisades area" according to city documents. 

DWP says that the agency is conducting its own investigation on its "water resiliency." But experts and officials agree that the extent of the wildfires would have put a strain on the city's water supply regardless of whether the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been full. 

In his letter to DWP, Newsom wrote, "While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors." 

David Freyberg, PhD, a hydrologist and water resources specialist at Stanford University, told CBS News in an email that while a full Santa Ynez would have had benefits, it's not clear how much impact it would have had. 

"The reservoirs above Pacific Palisades were not designed to support fire-fighting at the scale of [this] fire," he wrote. "Water supply reservoirs are typically designed to cope with house fires, not wildfires."

He added that the situation has made it clear that larger-scale solutions are necessary. 

 

When English Is Not Your First Language Or You Just Forget How To Speak English...,

axios  |  As devastating wildfires raged across Los Angeles County this week, firefighters battling the blazes encountered fire hydrants that had no water.

Why it matters: The dry fire hydrants sparked political outrage and illustrated just how unprepared municipal water systems are to combat the sorts of large-scale urban wildfires that have become more frequent with climate change.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday ordered an independent investigation into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), the nation's largest municipal utility, over hydrants and water supply issues. DWP provides water for more than four million L.A. residents and serves Pacific Palisades, a wealthy area of Los Angeles where much of the destruction took place.
• "While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors," Newsom said. "We need answers to how that happened."
• President-elect Trump has suggested Newsom was to blame for the dry hydrants — claiming without evidence that he blocked water supply to the south of the state with the state's fish conservation efforts. The governor and other experts have sharply rejected the claims.
• "We are looking at a situation that is just completely not part of any domestic water system design," Marty Adams, a former DWP general manager and engineer, told The New York Times.

The big picture: Fire hydrants running out of water isn't unheard of during severe wildfires, said Faith Kearns, a water and wildfire expert with the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University. Similar instances were reported during wildfires in Maui, Colorado and Oregon,

• "It's something that we have definitely started to see as, essentially, these wildland fires move into urban areas and become urban conflagrations," Kearns said.
• "Our urban water supply is meant to deal more with things like a single house being on fire," she added.

Why did the fire hydrants run dry?

Firefighters battling the Palisades Fire earlier this week encountered swaths of fire hydrants with no water after the three water tanks supplying the Pacific Palisades ran dry by 3 a.m. Wednesday, Janisse Quiñones, chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said at a press briefing later that day.

• The area's water system had been pushed "to the extreme," she said. "Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure."
• The problem persisted for hours while wildfires ravaged the area, the New York Times reported.

bonjour bonne année...,

2025 is a mathematical wonder.!! pic.twitter.com/WsUfhKF4C9

— 𝗟 𝗼 𝗹 𝗹 𝘂 𝗯 𝗲 𝗲 (@Lollubee) December 30, 2024

 

He Got That Fresh Lineup and Shave....,

yahoo  |  Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City on Dec. 4, waived his right to extradition at the Blair County courthouse in Pennsylvania on Thursday morning.

New York City police officers escorted Mangione out of the courthouse and flew him to New York, where he was indicted earlier this week. He is expected to appear in a state court for arraignment in New York either later Thursday or on Friday.

Federal authorities have now filed murder, stalking and weapons charges against Mangione, according to a complaint that was unsealed Thursday. It is unclear when he would appear in court for the federal charges.

By waiving his extradition hearing, Mangione has voluntarily agreed to put his Pennsylvania criminal case on hold and return to New York for prosecution there. Among the charges he will face in New York include murder as an act of terrorism, which carries a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.

Although neither Mangione nor his New York attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, have commented on the situation, David Sarni, a former NYPD detective and current adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Yahoo News it’s not unusual that Mangione and Agnifilo filed to waive extradition in this case.

“Extradition takes place usually when the case is stronger in the other state and if the prosecution is willing to do the extradition hearing,” Sarni said.

The Federal charge of Murder Through The Use Of A Firearm makes Mangione eligible for the Federal death penalty....,

 

 

Meanwhile, Russia Launches Free mRNA Cancer Vaccine

Reuters  |  MOSCOW, Feb 14 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russian scientists were close to creating vaccines for cancer that could soon be available to patients.

Putin said in televised comments that "we have come very close to the creation of so-called cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs of a new generation".

 

"I hope that soon they will be effectively used as methods of individual therapy," he added, speaking at a Moscow forum on future technologies.

 

TASS  |  MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russia has developed its own mRNA vaccine against cancer, it will be distributed to patients free of charge, General Director of the Radiology Medical Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health Andrey Kaprin has told Radio Rossiya.

The vaccine was developed in collaboration with several research centers. It is planned to launch it in general circulation in early 2025.

Earlier, Director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Gintsburg told TASS that the vaccine’s pre-clinical trials had shown that it suppresses tumor development and potential metastases.

 

Executive Claims Adjuster Formally Branded A Terrorist...,

NYTimes   |   Luigi Mangione on Tuesday was formally accused of first-degree murder, a charge that branded him a terrorist and aimed directly at the idea that the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive was a legitimate political act.

“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation,” said Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, at a news conference on Tuesday.

The assassination of the chief executive, Brian Thompson, on Dec. 4 in the heart of Manhattan set off a dayslong manhunt and captivated Americans, many of whom vented their frustrations on dealings with health insurance companies. Some voiced their support for Mr. Mangione and rooted for him to elude capture.

But on Tuesday, prosecutors said that Mr. Mangione’s actions were meant to further terrorism. They were, prosecutors said, “intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population” and to “affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder.”

Mr. Mangione, 26, also faces two counts of second-degree murder and weapons charges in New York in the killing of Mr. Thompson.

A lawyer for Mr. Mangione, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, declined to comment on the new charges on Tuesday.

Mr. Bragg said that they were in response to the “brazen, targeted and premeditated shooting,” adding that he couldn’t think of another office “more equipped to handle a terrorism charge.”

If convicted on the highest charges, Mr. Mangione faces a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Brian Thompson Denied Claims Till His Own Claim Got Permanently Adjusted....,

Newsweek |  Wanted posters for healthcare executives have started appearing across New York City following the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week.

Thompson, 50, was en route to speak at UnitedHealth Group's investor conference at the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan last Wednesday when he was fatally shot. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that Thompson was struck at least once in the back and once in the right calf.

Police arrested a suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, on Monday in connection with the shooting, charging him with second-degree murder. No motive for the shooting has been established, but a handwritten manifesto purportedly found with Mangione at the time of his arrest indicates that Thompson's killing may have been motivated by anger about the health insurance industry, with the suspect allegedly justifying the homicide by writing: "The parasites had it coming."

Following the shooting, videos shared on social media showed "wanted" signs featuring Thompson and other healthcare corporate leaders plastered across traffic control boxes in Canal Street in Manhattan.

One video showed a poster with a red X over Thompson's image. Other posters featured images of Heather Cianfrocco, Optum Health's CEO, and and UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty. 

UnitedHealth Group is the parent company of UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Videos showed the posters featured the words: "Wanted. Denying medical care for corporate profit. 

Health care CEOs should not feel safe." "UnitedHealthcare killed everyday people for the sake of profit. As a result Brian Thompson was denied his claim to life. Who will be denied next?" they continue.

The Claims Adjuster Too Good Looking - No More Pictures Of The Folk Hero...,

timesofindia  |  Mangione’s actions, punctuated by symbolic gestures like inscribed bullet casings and a manifesto railing against corporate greed, were designed to convey a broader message.

While Mangione’s methods were criminal, the public response has included elements of celebration. Social media platforms have amplified anti-corporate sentiment, with many framing the act as retribution against a predatory system. Tweets like, “When you deny care, karma doesn’t require pre-authorization,” illustrate how personal grievances with healthcare have transformed Mangione into a symbolic figure of resistance.

Following his arrest, an unexpected wave of support for Mangione surfaced online. Merchandise celebrating him appeared on various platforms, and social media users began crafting narratives that portrayed him as a modern-day Robin Hood figure—someone who stood up against powerful corporate entities.

According to a report in Politico, This celebratory reaction, rooted in collective frustration with the US healthcare system, aligns remarkably with Eric Hobsbawm's theory of "social banditry." Thompson’s death is not merely viewed as a crime but as a symbolic strike against a system perceived as exploitative and oppressive.

Message over murder: Reports indicate that bullet casings at the scene were inscribed with words like “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” echoing criticisms of the insurance industry’s claim practices. This performative element suggests an intent to convey a broader critique of systemic injustices rather than personal grievance alone.

Resonance with public sentiment: Social media erupted with posts framing Mangione as a vigilante hero. Tweets like, “Finally, someone stood up to the corporate thieves!” and memes mocking the healthcare system’s shortcomings went viral, illustrating how his actions tapped into collective anger.

A Manifesto of frustration: The discovery of a manifesto carried by Mangione seems to support the idea that his actions were driven by frustration with the complex, costly, and often dysfunctional US health care system. "I had an opportunity to read the manifesto," said Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny of the New York Police Department on Good Morning America. "It's handwritten. He does make some indication that he's frustrated with the health care system in the United States."

Social media as modern balladry

• In traditional contexts, tales of social bandits were spread through songs, stories, and legends that framed them as defenders of the downtrodden. In today’s digital era, social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok serve as the new ballads, amplifying narratives and shaping public perceptions.
• Memes and merchandise: Posts satirizing the healthcare industry, such as “karma doesn’t require pre-authorization,” gained widespread traction. These digital artifacts serve to humanize Mangione while vilifying the healthcare system.
• Merchandise featuring slogans like "FREE LUIGI" and "CEO Hunter" exemplifies this shift in perception. Supporters view him not just as an individual who committed a violent act but as a symbol of resistance against what they perceive as systemic failures within the healthcare industr
• Echo chambers of support: Platforms foster communities where anti-corporate sentiments are amplified, reinforcing the narrative of Mangione as a folk hero. This environment has not only mythologized Mangione but also deepened the public’s antagonism toward corporate America.
• Normalization of violence: The celebration of Mangione raises ethical concerns about the normalization of violence as a tool for addressing systemic grievances. While his supporters argue that his actions highlight legitimate frustrations, endorsing murder as a form of protest risks legitimizing further radical acts.
• Risk of copycat behavior: The glorification of Mangione could inspire others to engage in similar acts of defiance. The New York Police Department has already issued warnings about heightened threats against corporate executives, and online forums have discussed creating “hit lists” of other high-profile figures in the healthcare industry.