FBI WRAY VERY DANGEROUS THREATS AT BORDER.

 JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 FBI WRAY VERY DANGEROUS THREATS AT BORDER.
 
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)

TERROR THREATS
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6348792441112
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBiiUR_XMaI

FBI director warns of ‘very dangerous threats’ at border, smuggling network with 'ISIS ties' Adam Shaw-Mon, March 11, 2024 at 6:47 PM EDT

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday warned of a "wide array" of dangerous threats coming from the U.S. border, including drug trafficking, violent gangs and smugglers with ties to ISIS.Wray was asked by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about the threats at the border, including the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. Wray said he couldn’t speak to a specific gang, but said that there were dangerous individuals entering via the southern border."From an FBI perspective, we are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that emanate from the border. And that includes everything from drug trafficking — the FBI alone seized enough fentanyl in the last two years to kill 270 million people — that's just on the fentanyl side," he said."An awful lot of the violent crime in the United States is at the hands of gangs who are themselves involved in the distribution of that fentanyl," he said.Officials have warned about the presence of gangs, including Tren De Aragua. Fox News reported last week about a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) internal bulletin that told agents to be on the lookout for those coming across the border who may show signs of belonging to the bloodthirsty gang. Fox News reported last week that the brother of the suspect in the killing of Georgia student Laken Riley has ties to the gang. Both the suspect and his brother are Venezuelans who entered the U.S. illegally.Rubio asked Wray whether smuggling networks that are moving people all over the world could also have ties to ISIS or other terrorist organizations."So, I want to be a little bit careful how far I can go in open session, but there is a particular network that, where some of the overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have ISIS ties that we're very concerned about and that we've been spending enormous amount of effort with our partners investigating. Exactly what that network is up to is something that's, again, the subject of our current investigation," he said.Rubio asked him to confirm that there is a network "we’re concerned about" that has facilitators involved with ties to ISIS."Correct," Wray said.

ABC News-    FBI director warns of 'dangerous individuals' coming across southern border-LUKE BARR-Mon, March 11, 2024 at 8:05 PM EDT

Amid a bitter election-year debate over illegal immigration, FBI Director Chris Wray told a Senate panel on Monday that dangerous individuals have entered the United States illegally at the southern border."We have had dangerous individuals entering the United States have a variety of sources," Wray said at the annual "Worldwide Threats" congressional hearings at which the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies testify."We are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that emanate from the border, " he said, citing drug trafficking in particular. "The FBI alone seized enough fentanyl in the last two years to kill 270 million people," he said.Wray, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director William Burns, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeffery Kruse, NSA Director Timothy Haugh, and State Department Assistant Secretary Brett Holmgren testify before the House and Senate every year and detail threats the U.S. faces.While Wray said there is "no doubt" criminals have entered the United States at the southern border, he said there is no specific plot."There is a particular network that has -- some of the overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have -- ISIS ties that we're very concerned about, and we've been spending enormous amount of effort with our partners investigating," Wray said.Overall, he said, threats from various groups have reached a "whole other level.""Even before October 7, I would have told this committee that we were at a heightened threat level from a terrorism perspective -- in the sense that it's the first time I've seen in a long, long time," he said. "The threats from homegrown violent extremists that is jihadist-inspired, extremists, domestic violent extremists, foreign terrorist organizations, and state-sponsored terrorist organizations all being elevated at one time since October 7, though, that threat has gone to a whole other level. And so, this is a time I think for much greater vigilance, maybe been called upon us," he said.The intelligence chiefs were asked about the threat from China, the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as how artificial intelligence could influence the U.S 2024 election.CIA Director Burns said U.S. support for Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin has the "very real possibility of cementing strategic success for Ukraine and a strategic loss of relative importance for Russia."Not providing that support, he said, would have widespread consequences."Without supplemental assistance it seems to me lies a much grimmer future, Ukraine, is likely to lose ground and probably significant ground in 2024. A senior Ukrainian member of the government, Burns said, told him that their men "fought as long and as hard as they could" but they just ran out of ammunition."I think the consequences of that are going to be felt not only by Ukrainians in European security, but across the Indo-Pacific," where he said the U.S. could be seen as walking away from support for Ukraine. "Not only is that going to feed doubts amongst our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, it's going to stoke the ambition, so the Chinese leadership in contingencies ranging from Taiwan to the South China Sea," he said.

Read a full transcript of her line of questioning below:Congresswoman Stefanik: “Director Wray, have you read Robert Hur’s special counsel report? Christopher Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation: “I have reviewed it.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Do you believe Joe Biden mishandled classified information?”Mr. Wray: “I’m not gonna discuss the report. That’s the Special Counsel’s report, and I’ll refer to him.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “In your opinion, as director of the FBI, do you believe he mishandled classified information? Mr. Wray: “Again, I'm just going to refer to the report and the Special Counsel can speak for himself on his report.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Are you aware, and this is breaking news right now, are you aware that there is an audio recording of Joe Biden saying to his ghost writer, in February ‘I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.’ Are you aware of that audio recording?”Mr. Wray: “Again I would just, respectfully refer you to the Special Counsel.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “No, I’m asking you: Are you aware as the director of the FBI? You’re either aware or you’re not.”Mr. Wray: “Am I aware of what now?”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Whether the audio exists of Joe Biden saying in February 2017, ‘I just found all the classified stuff downstairs,’ to his ghostwriter.”Mr. Wray: “Again, I’m just gonna refer to the Special Council, and his testimony, and his report.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “It sounds like you might be aware of it then. In front of this very committee, in an open session, your predecessor Jim Comey testified that he did not follow the proper protocol regarding the notification of Congress of the opening of the crossfire hurricane that will be the counterintelligence investigation into President Trump in 2016. To address this illegal abuse of power by the FBI, this committee included direction to the FBI in the IAA requiring notification to Congressional leadership of any counterintel investigation into a federal candidate for office. Is there any counterintelligence investigation into either Joe Biden or Donald Trump?”Mr. Wray: “I would just say I’ll refer you to the Special Council.” Congresswoman Stefanik: “That is not a question about the Special Counsel. That is a requirement of the IAA of the FBI. Is there a counterintelligence investigation into either Joe Biden or Donald Trump?”Mr. Wray: “There is no investigation that I can confirm here, no.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Is there a counterintelligence investigation?”Wray: “Again, I’m not confirming any investigation into either candidate.”Congresswoman Stefanik: Are you aware that you’re required by the IAA to notify Congress of any counterintelligence investigation?Mr. Wray: “And we will comply with the law.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Have you already complied with the law? Has there been a notification?”Mr. Wray: “I believe we have been in compliance with the law.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “You believe you have been or has there been a notification to Congress of any counterintelligence investigation of a federal candidate?”Mr. Wray: “I believe we have complied with the law.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Has there been a counter-intel assessment conducted on either President Biden or President Trump?”Mr. Wray: “Again, there's no assessment that I would confirm here in any way. I believe we have been in compliance with the aw.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “How about on an immediate family member and by that I mean spouses or children of either President Biden or President Trump?”Mr. Wray: “Again, I’m not in the business of confirming, especially not at an open hearing assessments or anything like that when it comes to counterintelligence matters. Congresswoman Stefanik: “So you will confirm in a classified setting when we ask you this question of whether there is a counterintelligence investigation because you are aware that according to the IAA, you were required by law to notify Congress of any counterintelligence investigation, not just for Presidential candidates but any federal candidate?”Mr. Wray: “We will comply with the law.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “So you will answer this in a classified hearing later today?”Mr. Wray: “We will comply with the law.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “And what’s your understanding of the law?”Mr. Wray: “There is a whole series of oversight requirements that we have related to counterintelligence matters. I'm not going to try to go through all of them.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “But specifically the notification of Congress of the counter-intel investigation on to a federal candidate, how do you, what is your understanding of the law?”Mr. Wray: “Again, I would want to refer to the lawyers to make sure that I’m appropriately complying with it but can tell you we're going to comply with the law. My understanding is that we have been.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Is your assessment that you’re required to notify Congress of any counter-intel investigation into any federal candidate?”Mr. Wray: “I would again I'm going to defer to the lawyers as to the precision of that.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “You’re the director of the FBI. They report to you. What is your understanding of the requirement in the IAA?”Mr. Wray: “We’re going to comply with the law including whatever’s in the IAA.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “I want to turn to the search warrants and the search in one case of Mar-a-Lago, an unprecedented raid and a search working with Joe Biden’s legal team. Were you or your staff, did you have any communication about either the execution of the search warrant on Mar-a-Lago or the search of documents working with Joe Biden's lawyer? Was there any communication with Joe Biden of you or your team?”Mr. Wray: “Not to my knowledge.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “With any White House staff?”Mr. Wray: “By me or my team?”Congresswoman Stefanik: “By you or a personnel at the FBI.”Mr. Wray: “Again I want to make sure I’ve got your question right. By me or my staff with who about which?”Congresswoman Stefanik: “With the White House staff about the execution of the search warrant on Mar-a-Lago or the search working with Joe Biden’s lawyers of classified information.”Mr. Wray: “Not to my knowledge.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “What about the attorney general?”Mr. Wray: “I can’t speak for the attorney general.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “No, was there any communication with your staff with the attorney general or you regarding the execution of the search warrant or the search of Joe Biden’s classified documents?”Mr. Wray: “Well, any search would be done in coordination with the Department of Justice. As to whom may have communicated with whom in the FBI, the department, that I can’t.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “I'm asking if you communicated?”Mr. Wray: “Whether I communicated?”Congresswoman Stefanik: “With the attorney general prior or after the execution of the search warrant on Mar-a-Lago.”Mr. Wray: “No.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Do you think it is a national…”Mr. Wray: “Hold on, prior or after?” Congresswoman Stefanik: “Prior or after.”Mr. Wray: “Well, I would've had conversations with the Attorney General about the appointment at that time of Mr. Lausch.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “And what were those conversations?”Mr. Wray: “Just about the fact that he was going to be named. That’s not really about the search itself I suppose.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “And my last question is do you think it is a national security threat to have a federal campaign account on TikTok?”Mr. Wray: “Well, I have been very clear about my views about TikTok and the national security concerns it presents. And we banned TikTok on all FBI devices. As to what campaigns choose to do with their platforms, I’ll leave that to them.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “So you don’t think it's a national security threat?”Mr. Wray: “I'm not weighing in on that.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “As the Director of the FBI. I agree with you that TikTok is a national security threat. I think it’s a national security threat to have campaign accounts on TikTok. You cannot say here today that you think that’s a national security threat?”Mr. Wray: “I think TikTok represents all sorts of national security threats. As to whether specific account holders choose to exercise their right to access a TikTok account I’ll leave that to them.”Congresswoman Stefanik: “Well we have a disagreement. I think it's a national security threat to have a presidential campaign on TikTok.”

New Terror Threat in Europe Tied to Israel-Hamas War-By Nicole Wells-Tuesday, 12 March 2024 05:59 PM EDT

European authorities say they have prevented several terror plots from unfolding, some of which involved suspects pretending to be refugees, The Wall Street Journal reported.Two separate groups of Afghan and Syrian refugees carrying guns and ammunition, including Kalashnikov rifles, were arrested by police in Austria and Bosnia in a previously unreported investigation in December.Photos of Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe were discovered on some of the suspects' cell phones, which investigators told the Journal indicated they were motivated by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.Also late last year, a group of Tajik nationals was arrested for allegedly planning attacks on the Cologne Cathedral in Germany and St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna around Christmas. Hundreds of people visit both churches during the holiday season.On Monday, Italian authorities announced they had arrested three Palestinians who were suspected members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a designated terror group in the U.S. and European Union (EU). The Italian National Police reportedly said the suspects were planning to attack civilian and military targets in Europe.The string of incidents suggests that the terror threat in Europe isn't just growing, investigators said, but is also coming from new sources. According to the Journal, the Sunni terror militia in Syria and Iraq known as Islamic State inspired and partly directed the wave of European attacks beginning in 2015. Today, the threat is coming from Iran and its Middle Eastern proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as Islamic State Khorasan, Islamic State's Afghanistan-based successor.Late last year, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, warned that Jews and Jewish organizations across Europe were among the potential targets of terror groups that were being spurred by the Gazan war.According to the Journal, German police targeted Hamas and its affiliates in raids across the country at the end of last year. Four people, all longstanding Hamas members, were reportedly arrested by German and Dutch investigators for allegedly receiving a Hamas directive to open a secret weapons cache and attack Jewish targets.The weapons had been buried underground in Europe years ago, German prosecutors said, but the suspects would not reveal the location of the cache.German security officials told the Journal that the war in Gaza has been used by Hamas, Hezbollah, and their affiliates for propaganda, recruitment, and fundraising, with donations from Europeans to the terror groups skyrocketing since Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel.The groups' online activities have also increased and they have encouraged protests against Israel's war on Hamas throughout the EU.

Stefanik Statement On The Committee on House Administration Report Proving That Pelosi’s Sham Jan 6th Committee Was In Fact A Political Witchhunt-March 11, 2024

Washington D.C. – Today, House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik released the following statement regarding the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight’s report:“Today, under Representative Barry Loudermilk’s leadership, the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight published an important report proving what I have been saying since the start: that Nancy Pelosi's illegal, unconstitutional, and sham January 6th Committee was nothing more than a political witch-hunt designed by radical Democrats to damage Joe Biden's chief political opponent President Donald Trump. Pelosi’s witchhunt committee doctored evidence, deleted records, hid testimony, colluded with Fani Willis, and illegally targeted President Trump. The American people know that it is Democrats who are destroying democracy.”

IDF says some 4,500 Hezbollah targets hit, 300 operatives killed since start of war-More than 450 sites belonging to elite Radwan force targeted; terror group vows to hit Israel ‘the same and stronger’ after airstrikes target 2 command centers in northeast Lebanon
By Emanuel Fabian-12 March 2024, 8:31 pm

Israel has hit more than 4,500 Hezbollah targets since the start of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said on Tuesday after some 100 rockets were fired from Lebanon by the Iran-backed terror group earlier in the day.According to the IDF’s estimates, more than 300 Hezbollah operatives have been killed, including five senior commanders, and 750 have been wounded by Israeli strikes across five months of daily skirmishes along the border.Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war against the Hamas terror group.Over the past months, the Northern Command has led strikes from the air against more than 1,200 targets, and another 3,100 sites were targeted from the ground using artillery and tanks, the IDF said.The IDF noted that some of the 4,500 Hezbollah targets were stuck in Syria, including on Tuesday.According to the military, the targets have included weapons depots, buildings used by Hezbollah for attacks, more than 150 observation posts along the border, some 70 command centers where terror operatives were gathered, more than 50 significant rocket launching positions, and dozens of squads carrying out anti-tank missile attacks.Of the targeted sites, more than 450 were said by the IDF to have belonged to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, which is believed by Israel to be tasked with potentially infiltrating the country.The “intense strikes” against Hezbollah are causing damage to the terror group’s “air and ground capabilities as well as its top command,” the IDF said, adding that it is “constantly working to push Hezbollah’s forces and its systems out of southern Lebanon, and has carried out significant attacks in this area.”Hezbollah has named more than 240 members who have been killed by Israel since October 8. Another 40 operatives from other terror groups have also been killed in strikes on southern Lebanon, as well as a Lebanese soldier and at least 30 civilians, three of whom were journalists.The near-daily exchange of fire along the shared Israel-Lebanon border has caused seven civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 10 IDF soldiers and reservists.The Iran-backed terror group took responsibility for firing around 100 rockets at northern Israel on Tuesday morning in two separate barrages, claiming that it had targeted two Israeli army bases in the Golan Heights with Katyusha rockets.There were no reports of damage or injuries from the Hezbollah rockets, with footage showing some of the projectiles being intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system. Sirens had sounded in several communities in the northern Golan Heights and the Galilee Panhandle.Sirens did not sound for the second barrage as the rockets impacted open areas, the army said.After the barrages, the IDF said fighter jets struck three rocket launchers in southern Lebanon used in the attack.The terror group said that the rocket fire was in response to recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, including a strike on Monday night in Baalbek in the country’s northeast, which reportedly killed a civilian.Baalbek, an area identified in the past as a Hezbollah stronghold, is nearly 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Israeli border.The IDF has stepped up its attacks on Baalbek in recent days and confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that it had once again hit Hezbollah sites in the area following the heavy rocket fire earlier in the day.The strike was reported by Lebanese media outlets to have occurred near the town of Saraain, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Israel’s border, and images circulated online showed smoke rising from the targeted site.The airstrikes targeted what the IDF said were two Hezbollah command centers used “to store significant assets used to strengthen its weapons arsenal.”The IDF also said it targeted buildings used by Hezbollah and additional infrastructure in Khiam, Bint Jbeil, Odaisseh, and Ayta ash-Shab on Tuesday. It published footage of those strikes.Also Tuesday, the IDF said it struck two Syrian Army sites in southern Syria, where members of the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group were operating.In a statement, the IDF said it “holds the Syrian regime accountable for all activities which take place within its territory and will not allow for any attempted actions which could lead to the entrenchment of Hezbollah on the Syrian front.”The rare strikes were carried out after the IDF gathered “precise intelligence which incriminated the infrastructure,” the military said.It published footage showing one of the airstrikes.Hezbollah threatened a “stronger” response to the Israeli strikes in the Baalbek region and warned that “all options” were on the table.“Hezbollah will not be silent about the Israeli attacks,” a source with the Iran-backed terror group told the London-based and Qatari-owned publication The New Arab, also known as Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. “The response will be the same and stronger.”“All options are open and Hezbollah is prepared and ready for any expansion [of hostilities],” the source added.Earlier on Tuesday, the terror group said its leader Hassan Nasrallah met with senior Hamas member Khalil al-Hayya to discuss ceasefire efforts in the Gaza war, as well as attacks by Hamas’s regional allies to support its war against Israel, which started with the shock Hamas terror assault on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were massacred and 253 were seized as hostages.As Hezbollah threatened to escalate the tenuous situation with Israel, which for the past five months has been contained to the areas closest to the border, the IDF reiterated on Tuesday that it is “well aware of the great and ongoing difficulty of the residents of the north” who have been displaced due to the ongoing daily attacks.The military stressed that it “appreciates the resilience that the residents demonstrate” and that it is “committed to continuing to operate” to restore security to the northern front for the sake of the roughly 60,000 residents who have been displaced since October.Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.

VACCINE SHOT DEATHS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g1rSggnBv0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BhC0BCYQwo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iqa4CoMciU

COVID Lowered Life Expectancy by 1.6 Years Worldwide-makeshift graveyard-Tuesday, 12 March 2024 03:09 PM EDT-AFP

COVID-19 caused the average life expectancy of people worldwide to fall by 1.6 years during the first two years of the pandemic, a more dramatic decline than previously thought, a major study said Tuesday.This marked a sharp reversal during a decades-long rise in global life expectancy, according to hundreds of researchers sifting through data for the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)."For adults worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a more profound impact than any event seen in half a century, including conflicts and natural disasters," said Austin Schumacher, an IHME researcher and lead author of the study published in The Lancet journal.During 2020-2021, life expectancy declined in 84 percent of the 204 countries and territories analysed, "demonstrating the devastating potential impacts" of new viruses, he said in a statement.The rate of death for people over 15 rose by 22 percent for men and 17 percent for women during this time, the researchers estimated.Mexico City, Peru and Bolivia were some of the places were life expectancy fell the most.But there was some good news in the updated estimates of the IHME's landmark Global Burden of Disease study.Half a million fewer children under the age of five died in 2021 compared to 2019, continuing a long-term decline in child mortality.IHME researcher Hmwe Hmwe Kyu hailed this "incredible progress," saying the world should now focus on "the next pandemic and addressing the vast disparities in health across countries".And despite the setback during the pandemic, people still live far longer than they used to.Between 1950 and 2021, the average life expectancy at birth has risen by 23 years, from 49 to 72, the researchers said.- 16 million COVID-linked deaths - COVID was responsible for 15.9 million excess deaths during 2020-2021, either directly from the virus or indirectly due to pandemic-related disruptions, the researchers estimated.That is a million more excess deaths than previously estimated by the World Health Organization.Excess deaths are calculated by comparing the total number of deaths with how many would have been expected if there had not been a pandemic.Barbados, New Zealand and Antigua and Barbuda were among the countries with the lowest rate of excess deaths during the pandemic, partly reflecting how isolated islands were often spared the full brunt of COVID.The study also showed how the populations of many ageing, well-off countries have started to decrease, while numbers continue to grow in less wealthy countries.This dynamic "will bring about unprecedented social, economic, and political challenges, such as labour shortages in areas where younger populations are shrinking and resource scarcity in places where population size continues to expand rapidly," Schumacher warned."Nations around the world will need to cooperate on voluntary emigration," he added.AFP 2024

 Former CEO Of Medical Device Company Convicted Of Creating And Selling A Fake Component That Was Implanted Into Patients-Wednesday, March 6, 2024

U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York-Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict today against LAURA PERRYMAN on two counts of an Indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and substantive health care fraud in connection with her company’s creation and sale of a fake medical device component.  U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote presided over the 11-day trial.    U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Laura Perryman brazenly created a dummy medical device component — made entirely out of plastic — to be implanted into patients.  She marketed that dummy component as a means for doctors to bill Medicare and private insurance companies approximately $18,000 for each implantation of the piece of plastic.  She did this so that she could entice doctors to buy her device for many thousands of dollars.  Perryman recklessly used patients as tools for financial gain, and this jury’s unanimous verdict sends a resounding message that individuals who defraud health care programs will be held criminally accountable.”According to the allegations in the Indictment and the evidence at trial:Stimwave was a medical device company that manufactured and distributed implantable neurostimulation devices.  As the founder and CEO of Stimwave, PERRYMAN oversaw the design of the StimQ PNS System (the “Device”), pictured below, a neurostimulator system designed to treat chronic pain by providing electrical currents to peripheral nerves.  The Device included a component containing electrodes (the “Lead”) and a receiver component that acted as an antenna, transmitting energy from an external power source to the Lead (the “Pink Stylet”).  From at least in or about 2017 up to and including 2020, PERRYMAN, as Stimwave’s CEO, engaged in a multi-year scheme to design, create, manufacture, and market an inert, non-functioning component of the Device — called the “White Stylet.”  The White Stylet was marketed as a receiver of radiofrequency energy, but it was made of plastic and could not function as a receiver.Stimwave sold the Device to doctors and medical providers for approximately $16,000.  Stimwave instructed health care providers to bill medical insurance providers, including Medicare, for implanting the Device into patients through two separate reimbursement codes.  One code was for implantation of the stimulator portion of the Lead, and a second was for implantation of a receiver.  The billing code for implanting the Lead provided for reimbursement at a rate of between approximately $4,000 and $6,000, while the billing code for implanting a receiver provided for reimbursement at a rate of between approximately $16,000 and $18,000.Soon after the Device was released, physicians informed Stimwave that they were having trouble implanting the Pink Stylet in certain patients because the Pink Stylet was too long.  Stimwave and PERRYMAN knew that the Pink Stylet could not be cut or trimmed to shorten it without interfering with the functionality of the Pink Stylet as a receiver.  And, without a receiver component for doctors to implant and seek reimbursement for, doctors would incur a substantial financial loss with every purchase of the Device, thereby making it more difficult for Stimwave to sell the Device to doctors and medical providers at the approximately $16,000 price.However, Stimwave — at the direction of PERRYMAN — did not lower the price of the Device so that its cost to doctors and medical providers could be covered by reimbursement for the implantation of only the Lead.  Nor did PERRYMAN recommend that doctors not implant the Device or its receiver component in cases where the Pink Stylet could not fit comfortably.  Instead, PERRYMAN directed that Stimwave create the White Stylet — a dummy component made entirely of plastic, but which Stimwave misrepresented to doctors as a receiver alternative to the Pink Stylet.  The White Stylet could be cut to size by the doctor for use in smaller anatomical spaces and was created solely so that doctors and medical providers would continue to purchase the Device for use in those scenarios and continue to bill for the implantation of a receiver component.  To perpetuate the lie that the White Stylet was functional, PERRYMAN oversaw training that suggested to doctors that the White Stylet was a “receiver,” when in fact it was made entirely of plastic, contained no copper, and therefore had no conductivity.  In addition, PERRYMAN directed other Stimwave employees to vouch for the efficacy of the White Stylet as a receiver, when she knew that the White Stylet could not function as a receiver.As a result of these misrepresentations regarding the functionality of the White Stylet, PERRYMAN caused doctors and medical providers to implant the White Stylet into patients and submit reimbursement claims for implantation of the White Stylet to health insurance providers, including Medicare. PERRYMAN, 55, of Delray Beach, Florida, was convicted of one count of health care fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Bergman, Mónica Folch, Steven Kochevar, and Kimberly Ravener, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Joseph Carbone and Benjamin Wasserburg, are in charge of the prosecution.