The Americas were declared polio-free in 1994.

But now there's a new case that indicates community transmission in the United States for the first time since 1979: An unvaccinated young adult in Rockland County, N.Y., contracted the highly contagious virus and was paralyzed as a result.

Initially, authorities suspected that the individual was exposed when traveling abroad because the type of virus acquired is only seen in other countries: It's what is known as vaccine-derived polio rather than "wild polio."

Vaccine-derived polio stems from the oral vaccine used in low- and middle-income countries. This vaccine is cheap and easy to administer. Two doses confer lifetime immunity. But it is made with living, weakened virus. Those who've been immunized with live virus can shed it in their stool, which can then spread through sewage in places with poor sanitation. If the virus stays weak, it can expose the unvaccinated to polio and give them immunity. But if the virus mutates and regains virulence, someone who isn't vaccinated can become sick with vaccine-derived polio after contact with the contaminated wastewater.

Ionizable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have gained attention as mRNA delivery platforms for vaccination against COVID-19 and for protein replacement therapies. LNPs enhance mRNA stability, circulation time, cellular uptake, and preferential delivery to specific tissues compared to mRNA with no carrier platform. However, LNPs have yet to be developed for safe and effective mRNA delivery to the placenta as a method to treat placental dysfunction. Here, we develop LNPs that enable high levels of mRNA delivery to trophoblasts in vitro and to the placenta in vivo with no toxicity. We conducted a Design of Experiments to explore how LNP composition, including the type and molar ratio of each lipid component, drives trophoblast and placental delivery. Our data revealed that a specific combination of ionizable lipid and phospholipid in the LNP design yields high transfection efficiency in vitro. Further, we present one LNP platform that exhibits highest delivery of placental growth factor mRNA to the placenta in pregnant mice, which demonstrates induced protein synthesis and secretion of a therapeutic protein. 

 Orwellian messaging and media control techniques the Western powers honed in the run up to and during the Iraq war are being applied two decades later to stifle any dissent over involvement in the Ukraine conflict, former UK ambassador Peter Ford told Sputnik.

On March 19, 2003, the US launched the invasion of Iraq based on what turned out to be the false premise that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction. The US and Western press strongly beat the drums for war before the invasion. A FAIR watchdog group poll revealed that 70% of American sources cited in stories in the run up to the invasion were pro-war and a mere 3% were categorized as anti-war.

The war itself was accompanied by images and stories about human rights abuses, including the crimes committed by American personnel at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, although some journalists were targeted for covering such issues.

"Policymakers resolved to get better at manipulating domestic opposition to military adventurism, notably by tighter control over corporate media," Ford said about lessons learned from the Iraq war. "The Ukraine crisis is the perfect illustration of how these lessons have been applied. Dissent over involvement in Ukraine is stifled to an Orwellian degree, while the US shows a limitless capacity for enduring Ukrainian casualties."

Yemen’s National Salvation Government and the Saudi-sponsored administration of the ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi have agreed at UN-brokered talks in Switzerland to swap more than 880 prisoners.

"An agreement has been reached to implement a (prisoner) swap" that will see more than 880 people released in total, said Abdul Qader al-Murtada, the leading delegate of the popular Ansarullah resistance movement to the talks in Bern, according to Yemen's al-Masirah news channel on Monday. The exchange is set to take place within weeks.

Under the agreement, Ansarullah will release 181 detainees, including Saudi and Sudanese nationals, in exchange for 706 prisoners, said Murtada, who heads the National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs. "The swap will be implemented after three weeks." 

House Republicans are now demanding testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg ahead of his potential indictment of former President Trump. 

Trump revealed over the weekend that he believed he would be arrested on Tuesday in relation to a case Bragg has been working on for years related to hush money payments he made to Stormy Daniels. 

The letter came before Bragg even officially took any action, and the chairs of three committees demanded Bragg answer for 'what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision.' 

Dollar Tree has stopped selling eggs after raging inflation push the cost of a dozen to $4.21 - a three-fold increase on two years ago.

The discount chain said eggs won't be sold again until at least fall, but the stoppage could last even longer.

Average eggs prices fell slightly to $4.21 per dozen in February 2023 after reaching a record of $4.82 in January. In February 2021, the price was just $1.59 a dozen.

President Joe Biden on Monday issued the first veto of his presidency – stopping a Republican-led bill that would overturn his administration's rule letting retirement account planners take 'environmental, social and governance' factors into account.

Biden did so by labeling the GOP move as a 'MAGA' effort, in a statement where he referenced Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.).  

The Biden Labor Department issued a rule that  ended a Trump-era ban on managers of retirement plans considering factors such as climate change or pending lawsuits when making investment choices.  

 For many electric vehicles, there is no way to repair or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents, forcing insurance companies to write off cars with few miles - leading to higher premiums and undercutting gains from going electric.

Pres. Donald Trump released a series of statements on Truth Social Sunday afternoon, defending his innocence amid rumors that he could be indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as soon as this week.

“When Alvin Bragg first attained office, he made it very clear that, like many other prosecutors, there was no case against Donald J. Trump,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Then the Biden Administration, the Democrats, and the Fake News Media began pushing him, and pushing him hard, and low and behold he said that there might just be a case after all.”

Trump was referring to the beginning of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s tenure. Two of the lead prosecutors, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, resigned after Bragg reportedly told them he was initially not prepared to move forward with an indictment against the 45th president. Following the resignations, Bragg released a statement on the ongoing investigation, emphasizing he was still on the case.

George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley called the Manhattan District Attorney’s potential case against former President Donald J. Trump “legally pathetic” after the 45th president announced he expects to be arrested next week.

George Soros-tied Manhattan District Attorney Bragg is allegedly preparing to indict the leading GOP presidential candidate “for alleged hush money payments Trump made as a presidential candidate in 2016” to Stormy Daniels, Fox News reported.

In a series of tweets, Turley said he is “highly critical of this case,” which he called potentially “flawed.”

The United States will send Ukraine another $350 million in military assistance including more missiles and air defense ammunition, the Biden administration announced Monday.  

The lethal aid package includes more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and howitzers, as well as ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, High-speed Anti-radiation missiles, anti-tank weapons and riverine boats, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. 

Montana Sen. Steve Daines, Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), strongly denounced reports that the Manhattan District Attorney plans to indict Trump over alleged hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

“[The Manhattan DA] should focus on the violent criminals terrorizing New York instead of pursuing politically motivated charges against [Trump],” tweeted Daines on Sunday before saying that the New York Times called the arrest “risky legal theory.”

On Tuesday, December 7th, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene released "Unusually Cruel: An Eyewitness Report From The DC Jail."

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, to Bragg Monday morning demanding his testimony. The letter was also signed by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Committee on Administration Chairman Brian Steil, R-Wis.

Jordan warned Bragg that if news reports of a possible Trump indictment are accurate, Bragg’s actions “will erode confidence in the evenhanded application of justice and unalterably interfere in the court of the 2024 presidential election.”

“In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision,” Jordan wrote.

The potential charges stem from the $130,000 hush money payment then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.