Latest news with #PresidentBiden
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Can You Trust Anybody?
Who can you trust anymore? Just before leaving office, President Biden railed against a 'tech-industrial complex' claiming, 'The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit.' Hmmm, was he referring to the coverup of his own health decline and the sharp-as-a-tack charade? Can we trust presidents? The press? Anyone? We're told to trust the process. Trust the system. Even trust the science. Trust always starts with a belief in truth and adds in a little integrity, reliability and character. Often, it's more faith than belief. Being trustworthy is the first attribute of Boy Scout Law. How quaint. We're told to trust 'experts.' I like to say, 'I trust them about as far as I can throw them.'
Phone Arena
23-05-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
Verizon wants the FCC to allow it to renege on a pro-consumer promise it made to the agency
In September 2020, Verizon offered to buy what was then the largest MVNO in the States, Tracfone, for more than $6 billion. To get the deal approved by the FCC, Verizon agreed that once it took control of Tracfone, it would change Tracfone's phone unlocking policy to match Verizon 's. The latter had a 60-day unlocking policy that then-FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wanted Verizon to apply to Tracfone's phones. After all, Tracfone's policy at the time was to unlock handsets only after these devices had been activated for 12 months. Rosenworcel, who then served as Chairwoman of the FCC at the behest of President Joe Biden, wanted all carriers to unlock their customers' phones 60 days after activation. "You bought your phone, you should be able to take it to any provider you want," Rosenworcel said adding that such a change would be "in the best interest of consumers and competition." Last year when President Biden was in office, the FCC unsuccessfully proposed a rule that would force all wireless providers to unlock phones after 60 days. That would have forced AT&T and T-Mobile to be on the same page as Verizon . This change in policy seems unlikely now that Republican Brendan Carr is FCC Chair and the focus is on eliminating regulations in the industry favoring the wireless companies over their customers. Knowing this, Verizon feels like it can use this change to its advantage. This week, Verizon made a formal request to the FCC asking to have the unlocking rule waived "until such time as the Commission decides on an appropriate industry-wide approach for the unlocking of wireless devices." FCC Chairwoman under Biden, Jessica Rosenworcel wanted all wireless providers to unlock phones no longer than 60 days after activation. | Image credit-FCC Trying to prove its point, Verizon said that unlocking phones leads to theft and is bad for customers. Some might say that Verizon is gaslighting its own customers by trying to get them to believe that they would be better off waiting a longer period of time to have their phones unlocked when the truth is that the longer their phone is locked to Verizon , the longer they are unable to switch wireless providers. - Verizon Verizon also complained that after it bought TracFone, there was "a sharp increase in the number of TracFone devices that deactivated before making enough payments for Verizon to recover the subsidy on the device." To make it clear what side it is on, Verizon said that the unlocking rule is "the perfect example of the type of rule that the Commission should eliminate as part of the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) Deregulatory Initiative." Hey, Verizon isn't called "Big Red" for nothing. Verizon says forcing it to unlock phones 60 days after activation is not enough to combat fraud. Instead, it argues that allowing phones to be unlocked after 60 days enables trafficking in phones that are unlocked and are sent illegally to foreign markets. "This is why the industry standard for providers not subject to the Unlocking Rule is a minimum of 6 months or longer," Verizon said.
Wall Street Journal
20-05-2025
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
Biden's Prostate Cancer Transparency
President Biden's announcement Sunday that he has stage 4 prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones, is a sad moment for the country, and we wish him and his family the best for treatment and prognosis. But Mr. Biden owes the public more information, given that he left office only 120 days ago, after telling voters he was fit to stay through 2029 and age 86. The statement from Mr. Biden's office said he was diagnosed Friday after being seen 'for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.' When did his symptoms start? A spokesman told the press Tuesday that Mr. Biden's last known PSA blood test, which screens for prostate specific antigen, was in 2014. Why? Could another test have caught the cancer earlier? One prominent oncologist, Obama Administration veteran Ezekiel Emanuel, offered an unsettling medical assessment on MSNBC. 'He's had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading,' Dr. Emanuel said. 'It's a little surprising. I looked back at the records, and there's no evidence that when he got his health status, and the medical records were released, that he had a prostate specific antigen.' That blood test isn't perfect, and other doctors quoted in the press say they've had patients develop aggressive cancers like Mr. Biden's, despite clean PSA tests. Mr. Biden was 78 when he was sworn in as President. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force currently recommends against PSA screening of patients 70 and older, saying that the potential harms outweigh the benefits for a population that already has a heightened risk of mortality from all causes.
The Sun
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Did Joe Biden reveal he had cancer in a 2022 speech slip-up? Ex-President faces fresh scrutiny over his health in office
JOE Biden is facing fresh scrutiny over his health in office as a speech slip-up from 2022 resurfaces amid his "aggressive" prostate cancer diagnosis. The former president, 82, claimed to have had cancer in a public speech three years ago sparking fears for his health. 3 3 Biden's comments came during a speech about "cancer-causing" emissions from oil refineries near his childhood home in Delaware. He said: "That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer and why for the longest time Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation." Biden's use of the present tense led to speculations that the president was suffering from cancer. But these were dismissed after it was suggested that the comments were a reference to "non-melanoma skin cancers". Before assuming the presidency, Biden had a number of "localized, non-melanoma skin cancers" removed by surgery. In November 2021, Biden had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion. And in February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancer typically develops in the areas of the body most exposed to the sun such as the face, ears, hands, shoulders, upper chest, and back. But Biden is now facing fresh scrutiny over his cancer comments following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis on Sunday. This comes as Donald Trump took a swipe at his predecessor and said he was "surprised" the public wasn't told long ago about Biden's cancer. Trump 'surprised public wasn't told long ago' about Biden's prostate cancer as Don takes swipe at when ex-President knew The US President cast doubt on the timeline of Biden's diagnosis on Monday as he said it usually takes a "long time" to reach such an aggressive stage of cancer. Trump was backed up by a leading oncologist who claimed that the former president likely had cancer when he took office in 2021. Dr Zeke Emanuel said: "He had it while he was President. "He probably had it at the start of his presidency, in 2021." How could prostate cancer be missed? By Sam Blanchard It is likely that Joe Biden's cancer started while he was still serving as president – as recently as January – but impossible to know how long he has had it. Prostate cancer is widely regarded as the slowest growing form of cancer because it can take years for any sign of it to appear and many men never need treatment. The former president's office said his cancer is aggressive and has spread to his bones, further confusing the timeline. PSA blood tests could indicate whether a patient is likely to have cancer but they become less accurate with age, and gold-standard tests involve taking biopsy tissue samples. There is no guarantee that Mr Biden, 82, was tested during his presidency and, even if he was, the cancer is not certain to have been detected. It may have first formed a long time ago and only recently become aggressive, or started recently and grown very quickly. Most cancers are found before they spread but a fast-growing one may be harder to catch in time. Prostate cancers are well-known for not causing many symptoms in the early stages and the NHS says 'there may be no signs for many years'. The time it takes for a cancer to progress to stage four – known as metastatic, when it has spread to another body part – can vary from a number of months to many years. Professor Suneil Jain, from Queen's University Belfast, said: 'Every prostate cancer is different and no-one from outside his direct team will have all the information to be specific about President Biden's specific diagnosis or situation. 'In recent years there has been a lot of progress in the management of prostate cancer, with many new therapies becoming available. 'This has significantly extended the average life expectancy by a number of years.' Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in males and one in eight men develop it at some stage in their life. Biden announced his cancer diagnosis in an official statement from his personal office on Sunday. The statement said that he was seen by doctors last week after suffering urinary symptoms, with a prostate nodule then being found. He was then diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone. The statement read: "Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. "On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone. "While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management. "The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians." A Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells "look very abnormal" and that the disease is "likely to grow quickly", according to Cancer Research UK. Biden served as US president from 2021 to 2025, with his term ending on January 20 when Donald Trump took office. What are the symptoms every man needs to know? In most cases, prostate cancer doesn't have any symptoms until the growth is big enough to put pressure on the urethra – that tube you pee through. Symptoms include: Needing to urinate more often, especially at night Needing to rush to the toilet Difficulty in starting to pee Weak flow Straining and taking a long time while peeing Feeling that your bladder hasn't emptied fully Many men's prostates get larger as they age because of the non-cancerous conditions, prostate enlargement, and benign prostatic hyperplasia. In fact, these two conditions are more common than prostate cancer – but that doesn't mean the symptoms should be ignored. The signs that cancer has SPREAD include bone, back, or testicular pain, loss of appetite, and unexplained weight loss. 3
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Disgruntled volunteer firefighters rally at Victorian Parliament on budget day
Photo shows Image shows former US President Joe Biden at a podium, with microphones visible at the bottom of the frame Has Video Duration: 1 minute 55 seconds . 1 m 55 s
