Mississippi Declares Public Health Emergency

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) today [08/21/25] declared a public health emergency in response to rising infant mortality rates across the state.  Mississippi's 2024 data shows the overall infant mortality rate has increased to 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, which is the highest in more than a decade.  In Mississippi, 3,527 babies died before the age of 1 since 2014.

“Too many Mississippi families are losing their babies before their first birthday,” said State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney. “This is deeply personal to me — not just as a physician, but as a father and grandfather. Every single infant loss represents a family devastated, a community impacted and a future cut short. We cannot and will not accept these numbers as our reality. Declaring this a public health emergency is more than a policy decision; it is an urgent commitment to save lives. Mississippi has the knowledge, the resources and the resilience to change this story. It will take all of us — policymakers, healthcare providers, communities and families — working together to give every child the chance to live, thrive and celebrate their first birthday.”

US Supreme Court to Hear Ballot Deadline Case

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton announced today that the Supreme Court of the United States has granted review in a landmark election integrity case brought on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Mississippi. The case seeks to uphold a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which struck down a Mississippi law unconstitutionally allowing election officials to count mail-in ballots received up to five days after Election Day. Fitton stated:

US Supreme Court Accepts Challenge to Mail-In Ballot Counting Law

Big League Politics

The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear a major election-integrity case challenging state laws that allow mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day — a move conservatives say could restore long-lost trust in America’s elections.

At issue is whether states such as Mississippi and Illinois can continue counting mail ballots that arrive in the days following Election Day, so long as they were postmarked by Election Day. Roughly 18 states and the District of Columbia currently allow this practice.

The Mississippi case, which the Court accepted Monday, questions whether federal law — which sets a single, nationwide Election Day for choosing members of Congress and the presidency — preempts state laws that effectively extend that period by several days.

Mississippi’s attorney general has argued that such extensions undermine the “uniform Election Day” standard and threaten to sow confusion and doubt about late-arriving ballots.

Canadian Advocacy Groups Push Euthanasia Program for Children

Blaze TV Staff, 11/09/25 

On Nov. 6, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) [pictured here] joined The Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek on his show American Thought Leaders to discuss what he considers one of the gravest crimes of our time: the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting.

“I’m one of the few members of Congress who’ve ever actually done transplant surgery,” Dunn said. “I understand a lot of it is coming near and dear to my heart, and the idea of actually murdering someone—to take their organs and give them to somebody else—that is as appalling as anything that anybody’s ever done in the history of the world. That’s right up there with the Nazis and the Holocaust.”

A surgeon by training and a member of the House Select Committee on the CCP, Dunn has made combating China’s forced organ harvesting one of his top priorities. In the interview, he explained his sponsorship of the Block Organ Transplant Purchases from China Act of 2025, also known as the Block Act, a bill designed to ensure that no American citizen or institution participates in or profits from the Chinese regime’s organ transplant industry.

A Crime Hidden in Plain Sight

For over two decades, mounting evidence has indicated that prisoners of conscience in China, particularly adherents of Falun Gong—a spiritual practice persecuted in China since 1999—have been killed on demand for their organs. Independent tribunals, human rights investigators, and medical experts have documented thousands of cases, estimating that tens of thousands of transplants occur each year without identifiable voluntary donors.

The Bodies Were Left to Rot

By JGM 

On Friday, “professional marksmen” in Canada gunned down almost 400 ostriches. Birds that were clearly disease free; just more victims of the Canadian government’s totalitarian overreach. Deja vu- “the truckers rally.” ...

There are only five groups of ratites left in the world (ostriches, emus, kiwis, cassowaries, and rheas). They have a special place in the animal kingdom. Ratites may be the closest living relatives to the dinosaurs and truly are fascinating....

Driver Screams ‘Allahu Akbar’ After Ramming Into Crowd in France

At least two people have been seriously injured after a man drove into a crowd of pedestrians and cyclists on an island off the west coast of France, according to prosecutors.

Local officials said a 35-year-old man deliberately drove into people between the towns of Saint Pierre d'Oléron and Dolus d'Oléron on Île d’Oléron on Wednesday, injuring 10 people.

Arnaud Laraize, the public prosecutor for the nearby city of La Rochelle, said the suspect had yelled "allahu akbar," or "God is greatest" in Arabic, as he was arrested, according to the newspaper Sud Ouest. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez separately confirmed that the suspect was in custody and an investigation was underway. Nuñez said two people had been critically injured.  

Minneapolis POLST Event

By Julie Grimstad  

On September 11, at a HALO event in Minneapolis, I addressed concerns about Hospice. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to answer all the questions attendees asked. People who ask questions deserve answers. Furthermore, when one person asks a question, it is likely that others are interested in the answer as well.

The 10/24/25 HALO Voice Alert answered questions about Nutrition and Hydration. Today, I will tackle questions about POLST (Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment), a healthcare advance directive used extensively throughout the United States. It has various names and acronyms, but they all can be hazardous to your life.

WARNING:

+ All POLST forms reduce complicated medical decisions to a “check the box” format and are slanted toward encouraging refusal of life-saving and life-preserving treatment and care, resulting in avoidable deaths.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE #WALKAWAY CAMPAIGN

On the Election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City

Dear Patriots,

As the dust settles from last night’s election, we recognize a hard truth: New York City has chosen Zohran Mamdani, a radical socialist whose platform rejects the values of law, order, and freedom that built this city. This outcome is deeply disappointing, but we refuse to see it as a defeat.

Over the past weeks and months, the #WalkAway Campaign and our incredible community of patriots have poured our hearts into this fight. We spoke truth in the face of hostility. We rallied in the streets. We reached voters who had never heard another perspective. And in doing so, we planted seeds of courage and awareness that will continue to grow long after this election.

Public Service Commissioner Allegations

Keila Szpaller, Friday October 31, 2025, 

Montana Public Service Commission (via PSC Twitter account).  Public Service Commissioner Annie Bukacek, also a doctor in private practice, is using state equipment to copy medical records unrelated to agency work, a complaint filed this week with the state ethics watchdog alleges.

Bukacek, elected in 2022, declined Friday to address the question and directed the Daily Montanan to the Public Service Commission director.

Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar filed the complaint, dated Wednesday, with the Commissioner of Political Practices, which monitors and enforces ethical standards for public officers.

In the complaint, Molnar, recently ousted as president, asks the Commissioner of Political Practices to estimate the money Bukacek owes ratepayers for her alleged abuse of state resources and levy penalties accordingly.  Bukacek is a licensed physician based in Kalispell, according to the Montana Board of Medical Examiners. She is on the Logan Health Medical Center receptionist directory. 

Gov. JB Pritzker Says He’s still deciding Whether ‘Right-to-Die’ Legislation Should Become Illinois law

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said he was still deciding whether he’d sign legislation that would permit doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives, after the bill narrowly passed the General Assembly last week. 

“It was something that I didn’t expect and didn’t know it was going to be voted on, so we’re examining it even now,” Pritzker said. 

The Democratic-run state Senate, before dawn broke Friday, voted with the bare minimum 30 votes to allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults the right to access life-ending prescription medication with physician oversight. The vote sent the bill to the governor’s desk. But opponents, including disability advocates and the Catholic Church, have pushed back against the measure, saying it could lead to discrimination, coercion and abuse.

Rising Electricity Costs Emerge as Key Campaign Issue in New Jersey, Virginia Races

John Haughey

Reporter

Updated: 11/2/2025

Power bills may be among the factors that determine what party is in power in statehouses and governors’ mansions in 2026. 

The Nov. 4 New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races are being closely watched, as they spotlight issues that could determine how campaigns nationwide approach the 2026 midterm elections.

In both mid-Atlantic states’ elections, voters’ chief concerns include taxes, health care, job generation, and inflation in the context of affordability, with spiking grocery prices, rising housing costs, and skyrocketing utility bills among their sources of anxiety.

With New Jersey customers paying on average 19 percent more for electricity in August 2025 than in August 2024, and Virginia utilities—after imposing 30 percent hikes from 2020 to 2023—receiving approval for 15 percent to 21 percent rate increases in the next two years, power bills may be among the factors that determine what party is in power in statehouses and governors’ mansions in 2026.

New Jersey and Virginia voters are demanding that candidates address electricity rates, a potential harbinger of elections to come, with an Oct. 20 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll showing that 36 percent of U.S. adults are stressed over utility costs.

Walker Larson: Revenge of the Dumbphone. Why Minimalist Phones Are Making a Comeback

https://www.theepochtimes.com/author/walker-larson 

Not so long ago, the ability to carry a pocket-sized phone with you everywhere and call anyone in the world with it seemed like a stunning technological breakthrough, the realization of the most fanciful sci-fi daydreams. We’d finally made a real-life version of the impossibly advanced communicator gadget in the old Star Trek TV show. Everyone rushed to get one and step into a new, futuristic age.

But soon, this wonder machine itself became obsolete, as flip phones were quickly outpaced by smartphones—which we really ought to call miniature computers instead of phones, since calling is used far less than their social media apps, web browsing, games, and texting features. By the mid-2010s, anyone still using a flip phone was seen as frightfully out-of-date. People still lugging around those antiques were either hopeless Luddites or criminals using them as burner phones.

But now, cell phones are following the cycle of hairstyles and fashion: What was once cool, then uncool, has become cool again. The “dumbphone” may have been knocked down, but it never left the fight. Today, it’s coming back with a vengeance.

About 80 Missing Children Rescued, 1,700 People Arrested in Memphis

Jack Phillips

Breaking News Reporter

Updated: 10/30/2025

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Oct. 29 that federal efforts in Memphis, Tennessee, over the past month have led to the rescue of about 80 missing children and the arrests of 1,700 people, including 126 gang members.

Last month, the federal government said it would send National Guard troops and federal agents to Memphis, which has long been ranked among U.S. cities as having the highest rates of violent crime and homicides.

Bondi confirmed the operation’s figures in a post on X, saying that “tolerating crime is a choice.”

“With 1700 arrests—including 126 gang members—in just one month, our Memphis surge is proving that it’s possible to make American cities safe again,” Bondi said.

SNAP Payments

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston [pictured here]  ... ruled that the "suspension of SNAP payments was based on the erroneous conclusion that the contingency funds could not be used to ensure continuation of SNAP payments."

Both Talwani and McConnell and were appointed by former President Joe Biden....

The president [Trump] responded to the rulings in a post on Truth Social....

"I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT," he added. "Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible." 

Eastern Oregon Attempting to Breakaway from Oregon

Epoch Times 

Unbeknownst to most Americans, the eastern part of Oregon is in the process of attempting to break away from the state.

After many years of being fed up with the policies coming out of Portland, over a third of the counties in Oregon have voted to secede. Specifically, they voted to leave Oregon and join the state of Idaho. This is part of a growing regional shift known as the “Greater Idaho” movement.

What’s truly interesting about this particular movement is that it might actually succeed.