A Massachusetts woman has been charged with trespassing‚ assault on a court officer and disorderly conduct and is now facing jail time after trying to enter the State House without showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Article by Cassie B.‚ republished with permission from Naturalnews.com Michelle Efendi‚ a 37-year-old mother of four‚ could spend six months behind bars after her non-violent attempt to get into the State House in Boston. The incident took place shortly after the State House reopened to the public following its COVID-19 closure. She explained the reason for her visit to radio host Dr. Drew Pinsky‚ saying: “I wanted to meet my elected officials. No one was answering the phone‚ no one was answering emails. No one was responding to the concerns that I had.” Efendi‚ who describes herself as a former liberal‚ said she only squeezed past the officer she has been charged with assaulting after refusing to show a COVID-19 vaccine passport; she has publicly acknowledged that she never got the jab. She said that on the day of her arrest‚ she entered a tent by the State House‚ squeezing past a law enforcement officer so she could be arrested in solidarity with another protestor. She is not sure when she assaulted someone‚ telling NewBostonPost: “If I did it‚ it would have been just like walking past somebody on the MBTA. Really. It would have been like being at a parade. You can see the man that I allegedly assaulted standing there with his hands in his pocket.” In video footage of the incident‚ she can be seen walking into the tent and being arrested immediately by a Massachusetts state trooper. She explained that although the was afraid of the virus when the pandemic first broke out‚ even going so far as to accuse local officials of not doing enough about it‚ she eventually changed her view‚ coming down against mask and vaccine mandates. She wrote in a blog post: “I was forced to give birth in a mask and was terrified my husband would be force-vaccinated to keep his job. I realized the real threat wasn’t COVID but the government.” Suffolk County DA “selectively prosecuting” vaccine protestors She said that although Massachusetts has dismissed charges similar to hers against climate protestors who disrupted proceedings in the State House in the past‚ dropping their pants and refusing to leave‚ the state refuses to drop the charges against her. A statistical analysis conducted by her legal team found that the district attorney of Suffolk County‚ Kevin Hayden‚ has been “selectively prosecuting” vaccine protestors while letting other types of protestors walk free. Efendi said she has no criminal record of any kind and has never even received a parking ticket. She has since moved to Florida and was not sure how she would return to Massachusetts for her court hearing but was eventually given permission to attend the hearing via Zoom. She said that the doesn’t like to use the term “protest” to describe her efforts to speak out against vaccine mandates. Instead‚ she says she resisted by entering establishments where masks were required and going about her normal life until employees directly came to her and asked her to leave. Some of the places she took this approach include the Boston Public Library in the Back Bay and the USS Constitution Museum. She thinks she is being silenced for trying to protest the mandates‚ saying: “I believe that I was arrested on March 1st in an attempt to silence my civil rights‚ which are to participate in peaceful protest. And it’s working‚ because now I don’t protest anymore.” Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com NewBostonPost.com

CNN Philippines will halt its news and production operations at the end of January‚ citing ‘significant financial losses.’ The news outlet will shutter its media platforms in the Southeast Asian country after operating for nine years. Report: CNN Philippines will close down due to financial losses. pic.twitter.com/soumoC4Nmv — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) January 29‚ 2024 Deadline reports: The news organization‚ which is a franchise holder of the CNN International brand and operated by Nine Media Corp‚ began airing under a brand and content licensing deal with Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific in 2015. It cited years of financial issues as the reason for the closure. In a social media post‚ CNN Philippines said it was “forever grateful for the stories we’ve shared‚ the audience we’ve served‚ and to our dedicated team for their commitment to uphold the values of truth‚ accuracy‚ fairness‚ and accountability.” It added‚ “To our partners‚ including CNN Worldwide‚ and Turner Broadcasting‚ we thank you for your support.” Turning the final page of the CNN Philippines newsroom's story. We are forever grateful for the stories we've shared‚ the audience we've served‚ and to our dedicated team for their commitment to uphold the values of truth‚ accuracy‚ fairness‚ and accountability. Thank you for… pic.twitter.com/nSq9LLfWqc — CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) January 29‚ 2024 CNN Philippines' employees took photos inside the newsroom and hugged each other before attending a general assembly that officially announced the closure of the company this Monday‚ January 29. CNN Philippines was on air for 9 years. | via @jekkipascual pic.twitter.com/D9ixYwvQnE — ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) January 29‚ 2024 From Barron’s: Staff were told Monday of the decision to shut down news and production operations on all platforms. “The decision follows significant financial losses sustained over the past years‚ despite rigorous efforts to adapt and innovate in a rapidly evolving and challenging media landscape‚” CNN Philippines-owner Nine Media Corporation said‚ without providing details. “We are aware of the impact of this closure on our valued employees and talents‚ we assure all affected staff will be provided with severance packages.” The closure will affect around 300 employees‚ a member of staff told AFP on the condition of anonymity. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said the closure meant “one less source of reliable information for the public at a time when disinformation and misinformation are rampant”.

Johnson &; Johnson reached a settlement to pay $149.5 million to Washington state and its local governments after the state sued the pharmaceutical giant for its role in the opioid crisis. “They knew what the harm was. They did it anyway‚” Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. Johnson &; Johnson will pay $149.5M to Washington state for its role in opioid epidemic https://t.co/35yy61b7WN — John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) January 29‚ 2024 From the Associated Press: The attorney general’s announcement came as opioid overdose deaths more than doubled from 2019 to 2022‚ with 2‚048 deaths recorded in 2022‚ according to the most recent numbers from the Washington State Department of Health. Under the deal‚ the state and local governments would have to spend $123.3 million to address the opioid crisis‚ including on substance abuse treatment‚ expanded access to overdose-reversal drugs and services that support pregnant women on substances. The rest of the money would go toward litigation costs. The harm is “left now to policymakers to grapple with‚” the attorney general said‚ “or families and individuals who grapple in a very different way with the real tragedy of addiction.” The settlement agreement still requires approval from a judge. If approved‚ the deal would send over $20 million more to respond to the opioid crisis than if the state had signed onto a national settlement in 2021 involving Johnson &; Johnson‚ the attorney general’s office said. “We have an urgent need for resources to address the fentanyl crisis that is impacting communities in every corner of the state‚” Ferguson said. “We are standing up to some of the largest corporations in the world that fueled the epidemic in pursuit of profit‚ and we are winning critical resources that must be used to address the harm. We have now recovered more more than $1.2 billion to improve treatment options‚ support first responders‚ and invest in other proven strategies to combat this crisis — and we’re not done‚” he continued. “Johnson &; Johnson’s aggressive marketing of opioids systematically overstated the effectiveness of the drugs for treating pain long term and understated the risk of addiction‚” Ferguson’s office stated in a press release. “Johnson &; Johnson marketed its opioid drugs for chronic pain conditions like headaches‚ low back pain and fibromyalgia‚ despite evidence that opioids were not effective at treating these conditions‚” it added. BREAKING: Washington state reaches $149.5 million settlement with Johnson &; Johnson over opioid crisis https://t.co/e4o7wwnqB9 — The Associated Press (@AP) January 24‚ 2024 The Center Square reports: Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the settlement was reached after he rejected a lesser national settlement offer with Johnson &; Johnson that would have provided $98.9 million paid over nine years to Washington state and its local governments. Based in Brunswick‚ New Jersey‚ Johnson &; Johnson is required to pay the entire $149.5 million within 21 days of the deal being ratified by Washington’s local governments‚ which must happen by May. The Attorney General’s Office says the Legislature can appropriate all of the state’s share during the current legislative session. To obtain the full amount‚ all 125 eligible local governments will need to sign on to the deal‚ which is expected. According to the AG’s office‚ from the 1990s through at least 2016‚ Johnson &; Johnson through its subsidiaries cultivated and processed opium poppy plants and used their raw narcotic materials to manufacture the active ingredients necessary to produce opioid drugs. The company also sold processed active ingredients to other manufacturers to produce oxycodone‚ hydrocodone‚ fentanyl‚ naloxone‚ and more.

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