FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have repeatedly supported “gender-affirming care” for “transgender” minors, but the National Institutes of Health has approved multiple research grants acknowledging there is “scant evidence” to support the idea that experimental medical interventions improve the lives of children who identify as the opposite sex. America First Legal, a nonprofit organization that describes its mission as protecting Americans’ rights from “an unholy alliance of corrupt special interests, big tech titans, the fake news media, and liberal Washington politicians,” filed a Freedom of Information Act request aiming to uncover communications between the White House and the NIH regarding potential harm to children and adolescents caused by the interventions euphemistically referred to as “gender-affirming care.” “While the rest of the world has rightfully pulled back on life-altering ‘gender’ experiments on children, the Biden-Harris administration is full steam ahead despite scant and dubious ‘evidence’ of any so-called benefits but plenty of data of the clear and obvious harm,” Ian Prior, a senior adviser at America First Legal, told The Daily Signal in a written statement Friday. Prior was referring to European countries such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Finland that have begun to reverse the trend of pushing “gender-affirming care” on children. “America First Legal is committed to finding out exactly what the Biden-Harris administration knew, didn’t know, and didn’t care about while they were pushing this crime against humanity on our nation’s children,” Prior added. The records request, provided exclusively to The Daily Signal, asks the NIH for “all communications with the White House and the Executive Office of the President regarding the potential harm to children and adolescents caused by ‘gender affirming’ care.” In the request, America First Legal cites documents obtained by Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit founded by presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Those records show that the National Institutes of Health approved multiple grants for research into “gender-affirming care” that acknowledge the scarcity of evidence supporting such medical interventions. “Children’s Health Defense is happy to provide this [Freedom of Information Act] information to AFL for further analysis and investigation,” Mary Holland, the group’s CEO, said in a written statement. “The public needs to understand fully the government’s policies on transgenderism, especially as it relates to children.” NIH_FOIA_Youth Gender Affirming Care_2024-09-25Download NIH Grants Reveal ‘Scant Evidence’ Children’s Hospital Los Angeles applied for a research grant for which the NIH first awarded funds in 2015, according to records provided to Children’s Health Defense. The federal government has awarded $7.5 million to date for this research. When requesting funds, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles wrote that it aimed to “expand the scant evidence-base currently guiding the clinical care of [transgender and gender dysphoric] youth and thus, is of considerable public health significance.” (Gender dysphoria refers to the condition of persistently and painfully identifying with the gender opposite one’s biological sex.) The hospital’s grant application noted that, while previous studies focused on adults who underwent “treatments,” “no known U.S. studies have examined similar outcomes among transgender youth with gender dysphoria.” “No U.S. data have been collected on the longer-term physiological impact on [transgender and gender-nonconforming] youth initiating [gonadatropin-releasing hormone agonists] in early puberty,” the grant application noted, referring to the drugs often euphemistically referred to as “puberty blockers.” The Food and Drug Administration has not approved these drugs—first developed to treat cancers that feed on testosterone and estrogen—for gender dysphoria among minors. Prisons use the same drugs to carry out the “chemical castration” of sex offenders. The hospital’s grant application noted, “Very limited data also exist on the longer-term psychosocial outcomes of [transgender and gender dysphoric] youth initiating any gender-affirming medical care.” Children’s Health Defense also obtained a grant application from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, which noted a “dearth of evidence on health care needs of [transgender and non-binary] individuals after surgery, their psychosocial adjustment during this phase of their identity development, their quality of life and long-term physical and emotional wellbeing.” It also noted the “significant gap in the current evidence on best practices.” The federal government has awarded $2.8 million for this research, first funded in 2021. Finally, the nonprofit highlighted a grant to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Since August 2022, the federal government has spent $1.7 million on this research. This study aims to clarify whether the use of estrogen in males who identify as female leads to increasing blood clots. The grant application laid out a hypothesis: “Youth receiving estrogen for [‘gender-affirming’ hormone therapy] will exhibit progressive prothrombotic changes in the coagulation system that increase with longer time on [‘gender-affirming’ hormone therapy].” The application acknowledged that “the thrombosis risk of using estrogen [‘gender-affirming’ hormone therapy] in youth as per current practice guidelines is unknown,” but that the longer an adult male takes estrogen as a cross-sex hormone, the greater his risk of blood clots, studies show. Those previous studies are inadequate, the application noted, because “studies reporting an association of [‘gender-affirming’ hormone therapy] with thrombosis were conducted with outdated treatment regimens and did not include [transgender] youth, who are likely to receive [‘gender-affirming’ hormone therapy] for a much longer time than [transgender] adults.” NIH 61083 recordsDownload The Biden-Harris Narrative Despite the lack of evidence supporting “gender-affirming care” for minors, the Biden-Harris administration has loudly supported so-called puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for Americans under 18. America First Legal pointed to a public White House statement from March 31, 2022, celebrating the “Transgender Day of Visibility,” as evidence of the White House’s loud support for these experimental treatments. That document laid out many actions the Biden-Harris administration took to promote “gender-affirming care” for minors. Those actions included: The Justice Department sent a letter to state attorneys general suggesting that laws banning experimental interventions for kids might violate federal law. A document from the Department of Health and Human Services purported to explain why “gender-affirming care” is “important to transgender, nonbinary, and other gender expansive young people’s well-being.” HHS actions to “support transgender children in receiving the care they need” in response to states that “target parents and doctors who provide gender-affirming care to transgender children with child abuse investigations.” In a particularly noteworthy passage, the White House document also noted that the NIH will “increase funding for research on gender-affirming procedures to further develop the evidence base for improved standards of care.” In other words, while most of the administration was working overtime to protect these experimental transgender interventions on kids, at least one agency was asking whether pumping cross-sex hormones and chemical castration drugs into kids was a good idea after all. Previous Evidence Against ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ America First Legal previously exposed a high-ranking FDA official who urged the federal agency to approve “puberty blockers” for minors, even while acknowledging that preliminary studies revealed that minors who take the drugs experience “increased risk of depression and suicidality, as well as increased seizure risk.” Internal documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a pro-transgender activist group, revealed that WPATH leaders knew about various side effects of “gender-affirming care,” including cancer in teens, reduced sexual function, and the lack of informed consent for procedures with lifelong impacts. These medical professionals endorse the experimental treatments anyway. Many doctors also testified in favor of a Florida rule that would prevent Medicaid dollars from funding “gender-affirming care.” The doctors—including psychiatrists, endocrinologists, neurologists, and a former WPATH leader—testified that these interventions are experimental and may do more harm than good. The post Did Biden, Harris Know There’s ‘Scant Evidence’ for ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ When They Pushed It on Kids? Group Demands Answers appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Time for a Trump 'Purge?'

President Donald Trump posted a prayer to social media on Sunday, asking Saint Michael for help battling "the wickedness and snares of the Devil" — just days ahead of his return to Butler, Pennsylvania, where in July a Democratic donor shot him and killed the heroic patriarch of the Comperatore family. The prayer and accompanying image of Saint Michael vanquishing Satan, reposted by the Trump campaign, were largely well received. Michael is recognized as an archangel in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and the prayer simply asks for help routing evil. However, a number of leftists reflexively expressed shock and horror, in some cases showcasing cultural and historical ignorance — just as Ana Navarro of "The View" did when responding to Trump's happy birthday wishes to the Virgin Mary on the feast of her nativity earlier this month. Former Clinton Labor Secretary and Harris booster Robert Reich led the pack in ignoring or at the very least overlooking the fact that the post coincided with Michaelmas, the feast day of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, which is celebrated by Catholics — of which there are nearly 1.4 billion worldwide and at least 52 million stateside, including Trump's wife, Melania — as well as by Lutherans and Anglicans. 'By the power of God, cast into hell Satan.' "Trump increasingly suggests that he is God's chosen instrument of wrath and that his opponents are 'evil spirits' to be 'cast into hell,'" tweeted Reich, whose fellow Democrats helped set the stage for two known assassination attempts with incendiary rhetoric. "If you don't find this terrifying, you're not paying attention." Reich, now a public policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, apparently found this prayer terrifying: Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. The prayer was written by Pope Leo XIII following an Oct. 13, 1884, vision of demonic attacks on the church from within — and of the archangel tossing the offending demons back into the abyss. It was long recited after Mass, though that obligation ended in 1965. However, when discussing preparations for spiritual battle 13 years after he was wounded in an assassination attempt, Pope John Paul II said, "Even though today this prayer is no longer recited at the end of the Eucharistic celebration, I invite everyone not to forget it, but to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world." According to the Diocese of Gary, Indiana, Pope Pius XI ordered the recitation of the prayer in 1929 for the conversion of Russia. 'But the sword / Of Michael from the Armorie of God / Was giv'n him temperd so, that neither keen / Nor solid might resist that edge.' Saint Michael is one of the three angels mentioned by name in the scriptures and is regarded by multiple Christian denominations as the patron saint of the police, firemen, and members of the military. Michael is also the patron saint of numerous countries and cities, including Kyiv, Ukraine. EWTN indicated that Michael is referred to in two chapters of the Old Testament (in Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1) and in at least two books of the New Testament (Jude 1:9 and Revelation 12:7). Revelation 12:7-9 states: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. The prayer Reich found terrifying not only has religious significance but engages a key character in the Western literary canon. In Book Six of John Milton's "Paradise Lost," Saint Michael introduces the proud and rebellious Lucifer to something called pain: But the sword Of Michael from the Armorie of God Was giv'n him temperd so, that neither keen Nor solid might resist that edge: it met The sword of Satan with steep force to smite Descending, and in half cut sheere, nor staid, But with swift wheele reverse, deep entring shar'd All his right side; then Satan first knew pain. Robert Reich's concern-mongering post was not only slapped with a community note on X, highlighting some of this context, but ridiculed. 'You're totally delusional Robert.' Auron MacIntyre, podcast host and columnist at Blaze Media, responded, "Any public expression of Christianity is now interpreted as a threat to our ruling order." Conservative commentator Michael Knowles noted, "Today is Michaelmas, which Christians have celebrated for ~1,500 years. This specific prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII, was recited after every Low Mass in the world for 86 years. Religious and historical ignorance among our 'elite' is reaching record highs." Seamus Coughlin of FreedomToons wrote, "Leo XIII: I will compose a prayer to scare the devil away[.] Marxist Professor: This prayer is terrifying." "This is one of the most popular prayers in the Catholic faith and in no way suggests that Trump is saying he's God's 'chosen instrument of wrath,'" tweeted conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck. "You're totally delusional Robert." Reich admitted in March that the lead-up to the election would test the "individual and collective capacities." In the months since, he appears to have found his limits on his blog, where he blamed Trump for the two apparent Democratic assassination attempts against him. 'We will FEAR NOT.' Reich was not alone in expressing displeasure about Trump's prayer post. New Atheist author James Lindsay wrote that it's "a damn shame Trump has been pulled into this, probably on bad advice." Claiming he grew up Catholic but had virtually no experience with Michaelmas, Lindsay suggested, "The Left will use it to characterize Trump as a religious warlord type, fitting the worst of the Operation Christian Nationalism motifs. Because of the Left/Right dialectic in play in the op, we'll all be forced to take a side or dip out into irrelevance." Lindsay was similarly met with some notes indicating, again, projection might be at play. While the posting of the prayer may have factored into a broader strategy to appeal to those American Catholics now cluing into Kamala Harris' antagonism for their faith and beliefs, Trump appears to have adopted a more prayerful outlook since his brush with death on July 13. "It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness," he wrote on July 14. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

For centuries, our distant ancestors believed in a plethora of gods and goddesses, having a close relationship with the nature around them and personifying many natural occurrences. But there were some civilizations that moved past that polytheistic belief. They believed that there is only one God - a singular deity above all else. This was known as monotheism, and the Near East is one of its earliest cradles. So, what compelled those ancient cultures to step away from the polytheistic peoples that surrounded them? How did they structure their lives to be centered on a nuanced belief that there is a singular deity? Near East, The Cradle of Change The ancient Near East, often regarded as the cradle of civilization, witnessed the development of some of the most influential and enduring religious systems in human history. It was here that the earliest known examples of polytheistic worship - where societies believed in and venerated multiple gods - flourished. However, among these complex belief systems emerged a revolutionary idea: monotheism, the belief in a single, all-powerful deity. This transition from polytheism to monotheism did not happen in a vacuum. Instead, it was the product of cultural, political, and theological shifts over millennia. The rise of monotheism, particularly through the faith of the Israelites and later reinforced by Zoroastrianism and early Christianity, altered the religious landscape of the Near East and set the stage for the Abrahamic religions that dominate the world today. Read moreSection: NewsGeneralReligionsMyths & LegendsAncient PlacesHistoryAncient TraditionsPremiumPreviewRead Later 

For the first time in 3,500 years, scientists have revealed a likeness of the face of Amenhotep I, the Egyptian pharaoh who founded the Valley of the Kings. This was made possible through a combination of modern technology and historical expertise, offering an intimate glimpse into the appearance of a ruler who ushered in one of ancient Egypt’s golden ages. The Pharaoh Behind the Valley of the Kings Amenhotep I, the second ruler of Egypt's 18th Dynasty, reigned from around 1526 to 1506 BC. Known for his reign of peace and prosperity, he followed in the footsteps of his father, Ahmose I, who expelled the Hyksos invaders and reunited Egypt. Amenhotep I’s reign laid the groundwork for the New Kingdom’s rise to power, and he is credited with establishing the Valley of the Kings as the final resting place for pharaohs and nobles of this era, writes the Daily Mail. Not only was Amenhotep I revered for his military achievements, which included campaigns in Libya and northern Sudan, but he also oversaw significant religious and architectural projects, earning the devotion of his people. After his death at around 35 years of age, Amenhotep I was worshipped as a god, and his mummified body was meticulously preserved. Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyHistoryFamous PeopleRead Later 

The death toll from powerful storm Helene jumped above 100 on Monday, with one county in North Carolina alone reporting 30 deaths, authorities said, as rescuers battled to reach people in need across the southeastern United States.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the 1999 movie The Sixth Sense, Haley Joel Osment had a chat with Entertainment Weekly, where he spoke about his relationship with Bruce Willis, who is now retired due to his Frontotemporal Dementia diagnosis. He recalled how Bruce would call and leave voicemails often, years after they co-starred in the thriller. They also made trips to Japan together to open the movie, and Bruce never failed to “just say hi” before these journeys. Haley Joel Osment on working with Bruce Willis THE SIXTH SENSE, Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis / Everett Bruce played Dr. Malcolm Crowe in The Sixth Sense, while Osment’s Cole Sear was his psychic son. Osment was excited to work with Bruce, as he had seen some of his movies before they filmed together. He also noted that Bruce was his first major celebrity co-star whose fame he was conscious of. He gushed about Bruce’s charm and delivery, noting that he was the kind of person to set a movie’s tone. It is no surprise that the former actor snagged leading parts for most of his career, which lasted for four decades. THE SIXTH SENSE, Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis / Everett Osment, who was 10 when he worked with Bruce, admitted that he has yet to speak with him since he was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia. He says he knows Bruce’s oldest daughters, Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah, quite well. However, he has not reached out to the family yet. Bruce Willis / Instagram Bruce’s condition has tampered with his ability to communicate, thereby hampering his acting career. He is unable to read and recall his lines. He is currently in the care of his family, which includes ex-wife Demi Moore; however, his current spouse, Emma Hemming Willis, has been his primary caretaker. Next up: Dolly Parton Discovers That She Is Actually Related To This Huge Pop Star The post Haley Joel Osment Says Bruce Willis Checked In On Him For Years After ‘Sixth Sense’ appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Peace A

Kurt Cobain’s daughter is now a first-time mom as she announced the birth of her baby boy, Robin Walker Cobain Hawk, via Instagram over the weekend. Frances Bean Cobain shared black and white photos of Robin and his tiny feet, plus one with his dad, Riley Hawk. She accompanied the post with Robin’s date of birth, 17th September, and a cute note that read, “Welcome to the world’s most beautiful son. We love you more than anything.” Fans of Kurt and Riley’s father, Tony Hawk, celebrated the new addition with sweet comments. Fans react to photos of Kurt Cobain and Tony Hawk’s grandson Kurt Cobain’s grandson / Instagram Frances’ post went viral, with nearly 300,000 likes and thousands of comments admiring the cute baby. Among those who dropped heartfelt notes were Bruce Willis’ daughter Tallulah, who called Robin a beautiful gift to his special parents. “WE LOVE YOU tiny prince!!” she exclaimed. Tony was also in the comments, proudly noting that Robin is his favorite grandson. “Heart is swooning for you 3 angel!!! Congratulations mama,” singer Jessica Veronica gushed. Fans wished the couple happy parenting, adding that they would make great examples for Robin. Kurt Cobain / Everett Collection Frances Bean Cobain and Riley Hawk’s relationship Riley and Frances went public with their relationship in February 2022 with PDA photos on the latter’s Instagram page. “I wanted to share a few moments that were captured/created this past year that brought me a great amount of joy,” the 32-year-old said.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Frances Bean Cobain (@thespacewitch) Their duo got together five years after Frances’ previous marriage to Isaiah Silva, which lasted only three years. Their divorce battle was a messy one as Silva accused Frances of conspiring to kill him to recover one of her father’s guitars, which later sold at auction for $6 million. Next up: Haley Joel Osment Says Bruce Willis Checked In On Him For Years After ‘Sixth Sense’ The post Kurt Cobain’s Daughter Is Now A Mom After Giving Birth To Baby Boy appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Peace A

It's the Hard News Monday edition of Five O'Clock Somewhere and, after spending Sunday evening getting caught up on 48 hours of one big story after another, have I ever got some stuff to say today. Advertisement…

Americans throughout several southeastern states are enduring catastrophic devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. So naturally, America’s lamebrain Democrat president and vice president are missing…