<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/madonna">Madonna</a> called out a fan who wasn’t getting up to dance at a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/music">concert</a>, only to discover the person was in a wheelchair.
During her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">show</a> at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Thursday, the 65-year-old pop singer directly addressed the individual from the stage. “What are you doing sitting down over there? What are you doing sitting down?” Madonna can be heard saying on video clips of the interaction. She walked to the edge of the stage to get a closer look at the offending party.
After seeing the concert attendee was in a wheelchair, the “Like a Virgin” singer quickly backtracked and apologized. “Oh, okay. Politically incorrect. Sorry about that,” she said after seeing the fan was in a wheelchair. “I’m glad you are here,” Madonna added.
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Madonna questions fan for sitting down during her show then finds out they’re on a wheelchair:
“Oh okay, politically incorrect, sorry about that. I’m glad you’re here.” <a href="https://t.co/oezHxfjrFn">pic.twitter.com/oezHxfjrFn</a>
&mdash; Pop Crave (@PopCrave) <a href="https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1766603640914006388?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Social media users wondered why someone should be called out for sitting down whether they were physically disabled or not.
“Does it matter if they’re sitting or standing? they paid for the ticket and took the time to be there? Isn’t that enough???” one account <a href="https://twitter.com/Across3Horizons/status/1766606894150439409">said</a>.
“Ok you shouldn&#8217;t be calling people out for sitting down anyways. She&#8217;s not the queen of England,” another X user <a href="https://twitter.com/TalkerReel92/status/1766615768127422795">agreed</a>. “Some people are tired or have conditions where they need to sit. You want them to leave altogether?”
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Madonna is currently on her Celebration Tour, which was postponed last year due to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/madonna-pretty-sure-god-spoke-to-her-during-near-death-experience">medical incident</a>. 
“This show every night is not really so hard on me physically. It’s hard on me emotionally because I’m really telling you the story of my life. My heart is on my sleeve,” she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/madonna-pretty-sure-god-spoke-to-her-during-near-death-experience">said</a> from the stage of one of her Inglewood shows last week. “I’ve fallen off a lot of horses and broken a lot of bones … but nothing can stop me.”
“I’m pretty sure that was God saying to me, ‘Do you want to come? Want to come up with me? [I said] no,&#8217;” Madonna said of her hospital experience.

Madonna

Madonna Calls Out Fan For Sitting During Concert; She Was In A Wheelchair

California

Disability

Entertainment

Los Angeles County

Music

U.S.

A judge has ruled that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lady-gaga">Lady Gaga</a> will not have to pay up the promised $500,000 reward following the safe return of her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/crime">stolen</a> dogs. 
The 37-year-old recording artist, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, successfully had Jennifer McBride’s request for the reward money thrown out for good, per a report from <a href="https://people.com/judge-rules-lady-gaga-wont-pay-reward-dog-kidnapping-accomplice-case-8318778">People</a>. McBride, 53, had filed a lawsuit against the singer in February, demanding the reward plus $1.5 million in additional damages.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Holly J. Fujie said McBride&#8217;s complaint was “legally insufficient in its entirety” due to her “involvement in the theft.&#8221; The judge further noted that McBride was indicted and pleaded no contest to charges of receiving stolen property in 2022, making her “not entitled to thereafter benefit from their wrongdoing by seeking to enforce the contract.”
The dog theft incident occurred in February 2021. James Howard Jackson and two others drove around Hollywood &#8220;looking for French bulldogs,&#8221; prosecutors said. They were not specifically seeking the Grammy Award-winning pop star’s pets. 
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They encountered Germanotta’s dog walker Ryan Fisher, who was walking the singer’s two dogs, Koji and Gustavto. Fisher was assaulted and shot before the animals were taken. Jackson pleaded no contest to attempted murder in December 2022 and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. 
Fisher called the violence a &#8220;very close call with death&#8221; and later had to have part of his lung removed following the incident. Germanotta promised to pay all his medical bills, which neared six figures, and to pay for counseling for her employee. 
McBride returned the stolen dogs several days later and was initially not suspected of being connected to the case. But later, it was discovered that the woman was in a romantic relationship with Harold White, the father of Jackson’s accomplice Jaylin White. 
McBride maintains she was “in no way involved in the theft” of Germanotta’s dogs and claimed she only “took possession” of the stolen animals so she could return them to the “Bad Romance” singer. She was arrested along with Jackson and his accomplices in April 2021. McBride received two years probation after pleading no contest to one count of receiving stolen property.

Lady Gaga

Judge Rules Lady Gaga Won’t Have To Pay $500K Reward To Woman Connected With Dognapping

Judge Rules Lady Gaga Won't Have To Pay $500K Reward To Woman Connected With Dognapping

Celebrities

Los Angeles

Zero-bail policy — a process eliminating set cash bail amounts for suspect criminals accused of misdemeanors and specific non-violent felonies — took effect in Los Angeles County on Sunday even as a dozen cities challenge the controversial system in court.
&#8220;This change just applies to a tiny segment of the pretrial system,&#8221; Jeff Stein from the Civil Rights Corps <a href="https://abc7.com/zero-bail-police-takes-effect-los-angeles-county-courts/13851402/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> ABC7. &#8220;It&#8217;s just about that window between when a person is arrested and when they see a judge in LA. That can last up to five days.&#8221;
According to reports, the Los Angeles County Superior Court instituted the policy known as Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols in July, arguing that cash bail processes discriminate against minorities and poor communities. The decision came after a Superior Court judge issued an order in late May when several plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit claiming that they suffered “negative consequences because they could not afford bail, including missed work, separation from their families and lapsed medical care,” according to <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/zero-bail-policy-reinstated-in-los-angeles-county/">KTLA</a>.
Under the new policy, suspects arrested on non-violent or non-serious offenses face being cited and released or booked and released at local law enforcement stations. If authorities actually charge a suspect with a crime, they are ordered to appear in court on a specific date for arraignment. If the suspect poses a threat to the public or is considered a flight risk, they would face a magistrate judge for a case review to determine if authorities should hold the suspect in custody until arraignment or released with certain restrictions.
But just before the policy took effect, a dozen cities in Los Angeles County filed a court action on Friday, arguing it poses a threat to public safety.
&#8220;There is and has been grave public concern regarding public safety in light of reduced enforcement and criminal consequences for various categories of `low-level&#8217; offenses that, despite the nomenclature, have profound and significant impacts on the day-to-day life of whole communities of plaintiff cities and others within the county,&#8221; the cities <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/communities-officials-react-after-controversial-zero-bail-policy-takes-effect-in-l-a-county/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> wrote in court papers.
The 12 cities <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/communities-officials-react-after-controversial-zero-bail-policy-takes-effect-in-l-a-county/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> in the suit are Arcadia, Artesia, Covina, Downey, Glendora, Industry, Lakewood, La Verne, Palmdale, Santa Fe Springs, Vernon, and Whittier.
&#8220;Our big hope would be to overturn the zero-bail policy or at least put a pause on it so that we have the ability to take a harder look at it and find out whether or not this is the right thing to do,&#8221; Glendora Mayor Gary Boyer reportedly said.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore issued a statement about the new policy on social media.
&#8220;Law enforcement is averse to the list of &#8216;book and release&#8217; offenses because that approach offers little to no deterrence to those involved in a range of serious criminal offenses,&#8221; Moore <a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDPIO/status/1706779249699586542" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;We are asking the court to not release individuals who pose risks to the community&#8217;s safety, including those with repeated instances of prior serious offenses.&#8221;
California District Attorney Jeff Reisig criticized the county&#8217;s zero-bail policy on X on Sunday morning.
&#8220;They ignored the only thorough comparative study in CA on Zero Bail and its impact on statewide crime. My county,&#8221; Reisig <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffreisig/status/1708503984309465336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;What our 2023 study found was frightening: 163% more crime + 200% more violent crime committed in CA by arrestees released from jail on Zero Bail.&#8221;
Los Angeles has been plagued by rampant retail and personal theft in recent months.
Most types of violent crime are down in Los Angeles except theft, which is up 15% to more than 20,409 thefts compared to this time last year, according to police data <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/los-angeles-crime-task-force-arrests-11-linked-to-smash-and-grab-robberies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by The Daily Wire.
Since the fall of 2021, Los Angeles County has seen at least 170 organized retail thefts, including the smash-and-grab trend, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Office.
Mairead Elordi contributed to this report.

US-HEALTH-VIRUS-PRISON

Zero-Bail Policy Takes Effect In Los Angeles County As A Dozen Cities Sue To Stop Controversial System

Bail Reform

Crime

A suspect was arrested on Monday in connection to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/targeted-act-l-a-county-sheriffs-deputy-shot-and-killed-in-ambush-attack-officials-say">fatal shooting</a> of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer over the weekend.
Kevin Salazar, 29, was detained in the morning following an hours-long standoff at the suspect&#8217;s residence in Palmdale, California, Sheriff Robert Luna <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uEJfZiYuAA">announced</a> in a press conference.
&#8220;We are extremely confident we have the right person in custody,&#8221; Luna <a href="https://twitter.com/KTLA/status/1703827283914686693">said</a>, adding that he did not believe there were any other suspects, though he noted that the investigation is ongoing ahead of an expected prosecution. A motive was not immediately known.
Authorities <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/targeted-act-l-a-county-sheriffs-deputy-shot-and-killed-in-ambush-attack-officials-say">said</a> Clinkunbroomer, 30, was &#8220;ambushed&#8221; on Saturday evening while driving in his cruiser near the Palmdale sheriff&#8217;s station.
A &#8220;Good Samaritan&#8221; discovered him unconscious in his vehicle and contacted Palmdale station personnel, after which Clinkunbroomer was transported to Antelope Valley Medical Center, where staff worked to treat the deputy for a gunshot wound but ultimately he succumbed to his injuries, <a href="https://lasd.org/update-on-the-murder-of-deputy-ryan-clinkunbroomer-in-palmdale/">according to the</a> Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Kevin Salazar, 29, surrendered after a standoff at his home in Palmdale this morning, Sheriff Luna said. <a href="https://t.co/1rzCMuFApg">https://t.co/1rzCMuFApg</a> <a href="https://t.co/XLeCreQV7J">pic.twitter.com/XLeCreQV7J</a>
&mdash; KTLA (@KTLA) <a href="https://twitter.com/KTLA/status/1703828634518319158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Luna said on Monday that &#8220;courageous&#8221; members of the community helped authorities track down the suspect, part of a roughly 36-hour search that included a look-out for a dark grey 2006-2012 Toyota Corolla and a $250,000 reward for information.
The sheriff said the standoff began after deputies surrounded the suspect&#8217;s home and called for people to exit, after which family members vacated, but Salazar remained inside. The standoff, which lasted for hours and included efforts to negotiate, ended with the suspect surrendering and being taken into custody &#8220;peacefully&#8221; after authorities deployed chemical agents, Luna added.
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Luna said investigators discovered multiple firearms and the vehicle of interest. The sheriff also said investigators will present their evidence to the Los Angeles County District Attorney&#8217;s Office, and he expects prosecutors to &#8220;aggressively pursue&#8221; this case.
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🔹 Blessed Are The Peacemakers 🔹
Deputy Sheriff Ryan Clinkunbroomer
Los Angeles County Sheriff&#39;s Department, California
End of Watch: Saturday, September 16, 2023<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EnoughIsEnough?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EnoughIsEnough</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OfficerDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OfficerDown</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EOW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EOW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThinBlueLine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThinBlueLine</a> <a href="https://t.co/wRZvJbPn7C">pic.twitter.com/wRZvJbPn7C</a>
&mdash; National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/GLFOP/status/1703831159426146502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Clinkunbroomer was an eight-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department. He leaves behind loved ones.
“Ryan is not coming home, and Ryan wasn’t only a Deputy Sheriff for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but he was a son, grandson, and newly engaged. He had so much ahead of him,&#8221; Luna said in a statement over the weekend.

Sheriff Robert Luna speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles

Suspect Arrested In Ambush Killing Of L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy

Suspect Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy

Law Enforcement

Police

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot while sitting in his patrol cruiser on Saturday evening in what officials are calling a “targeted act” against law enforcement. 
Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was sitting in his cruiser near the Palmdale, California, station on Saturday when he was ambushed by an unidentified attacker who shot him in the head, according to a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-16/on-duty-los-angeles-sheriffs-deputy-shot-near-palmdale-station" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Los Angeles Times. Clinkunbroomer was found unconscious at roughly 6 p.m. by someone passing by and was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The Sheriff&#8217;s Department initially <a href="https://twitter.com/LASDHQ/status/1703236769817522414">reported</a> that Clinkunbroomer had been &#8220;found in medical distress in front of&#8221; the Palmdale station.
“I think it was a targeted act based on what we know now, but we’re still in the extremely early stages of this investigation,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/17/us/los-angeles-sheriffs-deputy-shot-palmdale/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a press conference late Saturday night. “It could have been just the fact that he was representing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as one of our employees. We don’t know.”
A suspect has not been identified.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I want to let to our community know Deputy Clinkunbroomer left his family tonight to serve our community. He laid everything on the line to serve us. He wore a uniform just like other <a href="https://twitter.com/LASDHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LASDHQ</a> deputies wear, driving in a police car, and he was senselessly murdered tonight. <a href="https://t.co/Jqc2sSB63c">pic.twitter.com/Jqc2sSB63c</a>
&mdash; Robert Luna (@LACoSheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/LACoSheriff/status/1703313798659252261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
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According to the Times, which reviewed unreleased surveillance footage of the attack, a black car slowly pulled up next to Clinkunbroomer’s cruiser, briefly stopped, and then sped off. Deputy Clinkunbroomer&#8217;s vehicle then &#8220;drifts forward a foot or two and stops moving,&#8221; the report said. Sheriff Luna says homicide investigators are still analyzing the footage. 
Police have not released any information on what may have led to the shooting, but Luna assured residents the assailant would be found. 
“Every resource that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has to bear is going after you,” Luna <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-sheriffs-deputy-shot-palmdale-353f2e537c78b62a98136f7bcb1df789" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We need to get this guy off the street – guy or guys. He’s a public safety threat. He ambushed and killed – murdered – one of our deputies,” he later added. 
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Clinkunbroomer was an eight-year veteran of the department and a third-generation law enforcement officer, according to the sheriff. He transferred to the Palmdale station in 2018, where he worked as a field training officer for a year and a half. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Procession for LASD Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer starting soon. We thank you all for your support and prayers. 
To view it visit HQ Instagram LIVE <a href="https://t.co/LnziCcqNhf">pic.twitter.com/LnziCcqNhf</a>
&mdash; LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/LASDHQ/status/1703306110483190255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
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He became engaged just four days before the tragedy occurred, according to Luna. “He was just starting his life,” Luna said. 
“Service was running through his veins. He embodied the values of bravery, selflessness and was committed to justice,” the sheriff wrote in a Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesCountySheriffsDepartment/posts/697176415783811" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a>. “Our deputy was a devoted family member and a cherished community member. He was cowardly shot while working tirelessly to serve our community this evening.”
The sheriff asked anyone with information on the shooting to call homicide investigators at (323) 890-5500. 
According to a <a href="https://national.fop.net/report-shot-killed-20230905#page=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Fraternal Order of Police, 101 law enforcement officers have been shot in 83 separate ambush-style attacks in 2023 as of early September. Fifteen of those officers were killed by gunfire, the report notes.

Police Car Sirens

‘Targeted Act’: L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Shot And Killed In Ambush Attack, Officials Say

Shooting

This article is adapted from Sunday&#8217;s Morning Wire episode. To listen to the podcast version, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/the-real-reason-glendale-parents-protested-pride-7-9-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>.
Problems have been brewing in a Los Angeles County school district for years now. A recent clash with Antifa over LGBT Pride policies, however, finally garnered legacy media headlines. 
The Daily Wire spoke to numerous parents of students at Glendale Unified School District about why they were protesting. The parents pointed to issues with transparency, inappropriate LGBT curriculum and policies, and directed us to shocking videos related to district policies.
“I’m not a political guy in any way,&#8221; Ervin, a father of two students at Glendale told The Daily Wire. “I’m just a regular dad.&#8221;
While Glendale is a notoriously liberal area of Los Angeles, where registered Democrats <a href="https://www.laalmanac.com/election/el18.php">double</a> Republicans, Ervin, like other parents who spoke to The Daily Wire, didn&#8217;t consider himself particularly political.
&#8220;When I started seeing these things pop up locally, and people are complaining about it, I decided to go to a couple of school board meetings and see what the fuss is about,&#8221; Ervin said. &#8220;And we learned quite a few things that happened. This all kind of got kicked off in my opinion when COVID happened, and some of the parents discovered what was being told to the students, especially the younger ones in elementary school.&#8221;
Ervin is referring to the day parents protested an LGBT Pride Day assembly at Saticoy Elementary School, which is in the neighboring Los Angeles Unified School District. The school planned to <a href="https://sherman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sherman-denounces-burning-of-pride-flag-at-saticoy-elementary#:~:text=Sherman%20Denounces%20Burning%20of%20Pride%20Flag%20at%20Saticoy%20Elementary,-May%2031%2C%202023&amp;text=North%20Hollywood%2C%20California%20%2D%2D%20An,hate%20crime%2C%20according%20to%20LAPD." target="_blank" rel="noopener">teach</a> children about “LGBTQ+ identities.” Some parents disagreed, saying they don’t want sexuality discussed at school and many of them kept their children home on the day of the Pride assembly. It was <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/06/05/antifa-urged-to-battle-california-parents-over-elementary-schools-lgbtq-pride-day/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that only 40% of the students showed up to school that day. 
“Why do elementary kids need to learn about sexual orientation or who they want to have sex with?&#8221; Ervin questioned. &#8220;Like, eight, nine-year-olds are not thinking about who they&#8217;re gonna have sex with.”
More than 100 parents protested outside the elementary school. Protesters held up signs and chanted things like, “Leave our kids alone,” “There’s no pride in grooming,” and “Teach our kids math, science, and English.” A physical fight broke out between protesters and counter-protesters, and a small Pride flag placed outside an elementary classroom was reportedly burned — the flag allegedly belonged to a teacher at the school who identifies as transgender.
Parents also claimed some of the counter-protesters didn&#8217;t have a connection to the district. 
“I tell them right now, you don’t have a child here,&#8221; one father <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EegCCm01PPw&amp;t=246s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;You cannot say what my child should learn or not. If the parent who has a child here comes and says, ‘Hey I feel offended&#8217; — I can talk to him. But they’re here to provoke us.” 
Glendale parents said the issue of transparency has been raging for a long time.
Another parent, Marina Vivar, brought her complaint to a Glendale city council meeting and was captured on video. Her daughter — an autistic ninth-grader who has a brain injury — was taught about gay sex in class. Vivar said she opted her daughter out of certain portions of sex-education, but her request was not followed by the school. 
“My daughter was taught subjects such as ‘scissoring’ which seems to be two females who decide to have sex with each other,&#8221; Vivar <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbm_4ZmnUho">said</a> at the meeting. &#8220;The good thing is they at least taught you to use female condoms, because if you don&#8217;t use female condoms then two females can get pregnant, which is not something that can actually happen.&#8221;
&#8220;When my daughter did express that I did opt her out of these classes, she was called a bigot by her teacher and her aide, she was called intolerant, and she was also called homophobic,&#8221; Vivar continued. &#8220;I don’t feel that a teacher or a staff member’s personal opinion, or beliefs, or lack of, should be considered on the clock. That’s not what you guys are paying them for. We’re not paying teachers for their opinions, to share their opinions, or push their opinions, or agendas on children.”
Principal Benjamin Wolf, according to <a href="https://thepostmillennial.com/exclusive-glendale-high-school-accused-of-disciplining-special-needs-student-for-using-wrong-pronouns-teaching-lgbtq-sex-lessons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporting</a> from The Post Millennial, told Vivar that her daughter, Thelma, was mistaken, and this incident never happened. He also told her that parents are not allowed to specifically opt out of LGBTQ content for their children, and must opt out of the entire course. Wolf did say, however, that the form Vivar filled out was “in need of updating&#8221; and would be for next school year. 
“Then how did my daughter come home explaining to me what scissoring was and asking me how two females can have sex and must use protection … or else they can get pregnant?&#8221; Vivar pushed back. &#8220;How else would my daughter come home knowing the word ‘transphobic’? &#8230; that’s what I would like to know.” 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Marina Vivar on GUSD’s mistreatment of her special needs child" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pbm_4ZmnUho?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Vivar also said that her daughter’s aide in school is a woman who now <a href="https://thepostmillennial.com/exclusive-glendale-high-school-accused-of-disciplining-special-needs-student-for-using-wrong-pronouns-teaching-lgbtq-sex-lessons">identifies</a> as a man and uses male pronouns. Her daughter didn’t understand this due in part to her special needs, Vivar said, and was allegedly being sent to an office repeatedly and disciplined for messing up these “preferred pronouns.” 
&#8220;I got in trouble for it because I wasn’t exactly sure,&#8221; Thelma said. &#8220;I never knew what it was. My teacher says I used the wrong pronouns &#8230; I got in trouble for it many times, either through adults or students.&#8221;
Thelma was told over and over that her aide is now “a man.” Vivar said the school kept these incidents from her and she found out weeks later.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Special needs student Thelma Gonzalez on GUSD’s mistreatment" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tRa_gY85EQw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Additionally, a middle school teacher from the Glendale district gave a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tyTErSu9EQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presentation</a> at the 2019 California Teachers’ Association LGBTQ Issues Conference, where she directs other teachers about how they can start a “Gay-Straight Alliance” club – also known as a “Gender-Sexuality Alliance” club or a GSA in their schools. During the presentation, Rosemont Middle School English teacher Lisa Avery describes starting a GSA without permission from the school principal, who told Avery the children were too young for such a club.
&#8220;By the time school started again in the fall, we were done asking for permission,&#8221; Avery said during the presentation. &#8220;We went to our administrators and said, ‘By the way, we’re starting a GSA, just so you know. This is what’s happening.’” 
When they received pushback from the principal, Avery described how her husband — then the school’s Mental Health Counselor — used colorful language when confronting her. 
“Right before we wanted to take our club public, [the principal] wanted to pull it out and be like, nope, we can’t do it. She totally got cold feet, and my husband had a little conversation with her in the parking lot where he used some really choice four-letter words and basically said to her, ’Look, these are the kids on campus that are looked down on by everyone else, … if you wanna make the club stop — you can show up to our next meeting and you can tell them yourself.”
One of the most notorious portions of the presentation, though, came when Avery said that she “poached” the school’s most unstable children for leading the GSA. “Our leaders were unreliable,&#8221; Avery said. &#8220;Remember, we had poached them from the counseling office, right? They were not the most emotionally stable students on campus. Actually, they were the least emotionally stable students on campus, right?”
On June 6, things came to a head at the school district, when some 500 people reportedly protested outside a school board meeting.
“They need to stop asking little children what they sexually identify as,&#8221; one protester said, as seen in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8iWOrXSy2w">footage</a> from a FOX affiliate. Another said, &#8220;Anybody could come to the principal and say, ‘Ya know what, I’m transgender,’ and walk into the girls’ bathroom.”
There were physical altercations at the protest that gained much media attention. Parents who were in attendance said they were being agitated by outsiders. They said those who started trouble had no connection to the school and some were dressed in riot gear.
It’s been reported that members of the Southern California chapter of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antifa">Antifa</a>, a Left-wing political group known to use violence to shut down dissenting voices, <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/punches-thrown-outside-a-glendale-school-board-meeting-over-student-pronouns">showed up</a> to the protest. 
“Where were they two weeks ago? Where were they four weeks ago? Where were they? Six weeks ago? Why is it that they showed up on June 6th? Were they there to antagonize people?&#8221; Ervin asked. &#8220;And that&#8217;s exactly what happened. That&#8217;s exactly what happened.&#8221;
&#8220;We had a peaceful protest going on,&#8221; the father added. &#8220;And then, I mean, you could poke the bear so many times, eventually it&#8217;s gonna strike back.”
Weeks later, on June 20, parents gathered to protest outside the last school board meeting of the year. That culminated in one arrest when protesters and counter-protesters again clashed. Almost immediately following that board meeting, Glendale Superintendent Dr. Vivian Ekchian announced her retirement, which was effective on June 30. Ekchian made no reference to the ongoing disputes between parents and administration on her way out, but she <a href="https://www.gusd.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&amp;DomainID=1&amp;ModuleInstanceID=37215&amp;ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&amp;RenderLoc=0&amp;FlexDataID=50136&amp;PageID=1">said</a> the “transformative work being done throughout the district” would continue.
This wasn’t the only high-profile departure from the district. Ray Shelton, a 5th-grade teacher with decades of teaching experience also left over the transgender policies. He went viral in April when he spoke out at a Glendale school board meeting.
“Two plus two equals four. The world is not flat. Boys have penises, girls have vaginas. Gender is binary and cannot be changed. Biology is not bigotry. Heterosexuality is not hate,&#8221; Shelton <a href="https://spectrumstream.com/streaming/gusd/2023_04_18.cfm">said</a> at the meeting. &#8220;Gender confusion and gender delusion are deep psychological disorders.&#8221;
&#8220;No caring professional or loving parent would ever support the chemical poisoning or surgical mutilation of a child’s genitalia. Transgender ideology is anti-gay, it is anti-woman, and it is anti-human. And I can also say this as a gay man &#8211;,&#8221; Shelton continued before his mic was cut off. 
Shelton was subsequently suspended from his teaching position, The Daily Signal <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/06/06/award-winning-gay-teacher-suspended-for-speaking-out-against-transgenderism/">reported</a>. Hours after that viral moment, another teacher named Alicia Harris filed a complaint against Shelton, suggesting he was pro-Nazi. 
For now, parents in Glendale are continuing to speak out. While The superintendent is on her way out, parents still don’t yet know who will replace Ekchian. And another issue that parents are concerned about is a <a href="https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB596/id/2701905#:~:text=(a)%20Any%20parent%2C%20guardian,is%20guilty%20of%20a%20misdemeanor.">bill</a> currently working its way through the California legislature that could chill future attempts to speak up at school board meetings or even on social media. The bill would criminalize harassment or threats toward school employees after school hours, but the bill doesn&#8217;t specify what counts as harassment. Convictions could carry up to a year behind bars and a $1,000 fine. This bill claims to &#8220;protect&#8221; school employees from parents, but parents say the bill is designed to silence them. 
“Like I said, I’m not some huge political guy, but now I’m gonna be,&#8221; Ervin told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Right now, I’m gonna get more involved. I’m gonna protest &#8212; like they say, I’ve been activated now. Nobody wants to be an activist; it&#8217;s a pain in the a**. But if we’re dragged into it, we’re forced into it, we will be.”

Glendale School Board meeting

The Real Reason Parents In Los Angeles County Protested ‘Pride’

The Real Reason Parents In Los Angeles At Glendale Unified School District Protested 'Pride'

LGBTQ

Pride

Readers Pass

Schools

Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department authorities named 65-year-old Carlos Medina of Torrance, California, as the person of interest arrested in the fatal shooting of Auxiliary Bishop David O&#8217;Connell over the weekend.
O&#8217;Connell, 69, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was shot dead in his home in the suburb of Hacienda Heights on Saturday just before 1 pm Saturday.
&#8220;This bishop made a huge difference in our community,&#8221; Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said during a Monday night <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&amp;v=4359275967537551">press conference</a>. &#8220;He was loved, and it&#8217;s very sad that we&#8217;re gathered here today to talk about his murder in this way.&#8221;
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said detectives investigating the death of O&#8217;Connell received a tip from a concerned individual who described the person of interest as &#8220;acting strange, irrational, and made comments about the bishop owing him money.&#8221;
Medina is the husband of O&#8217;Connell&#8217;s housekeeper and had previously worked at the bishop&#8217;s residence.
Law enforcement found O&#8217;Connell dead in his bed on Saturday from a single gunshot wound after a deacon from the church dialed 911 upon checking on the bishop because he was late for a meeting, Luna said.
Authorities did not recover a firearm at the scene or detect any signs of forced entry at the bishop&#8217;s home. However, after canvassing the neighborhood for surveillance footage, detectives discovered recordings Sunday that showed a dark-colored compact SUV that had pulled into the bishop&#8217;s driveway, stayed for a short time, and left the location.
The sheriff said authorities received a tip Medina had left Los Angeles County and was believed to be in the Central California area until later returning to his home at approximately 2:00 am on Monday.
Authorities surrounded Medina&#8217;s residence and called for the suspect to surrender.
At approximately 8:00 am, Medina exited his residence and surrendered — he was taken into custody without further incident.
&#8220;Although our priority before 8 am this morning was to apprehend the suspect — and we did by some amazing detective work,&#8221; Luna said. &#8220;Our next priority is to get him prosecuted.&#8221;
Luna said a motive for O&#8217;Connell&#8217;s murder had not been determined.
O&#8217;Connell was named Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015. He served as chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force, which helped respond to an influx of immigration from Central America in recent years. He was chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops&#8217; Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
While serving as an associate pastor, O&#8217;Connell focused part of his ministry on helping communities with gang violence and poverty in southern Los Angeles.
&#8220;My heart grieves,&#8221; Luna said. &#8220;Although I personally did not know the bishop, I cannot tell you how many phone calls I&#8217;ve received over the last 48 hours from people who have worked with him in different capacities,&#8221; adding the bishop was a pillar in the Los Angeles community known for his peacemaking and passion for serving those in need.
Archbishop of Los Angeles José H. Gomez said that O&#8217;Connell was &#8220;a good friend to Los Angeles&#8221; during the press conference.
&#8220;Out of His love for God, he served the city for more than 40 years as an immigrant from Ireland,&#8221; Gomez said. &#8220;Among the many things I admired in his life and ministry, he was fluent in Spanish with an Irish accent.&#8221;
&#8220;Every day, he worked to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant. And to all those living on society&#8217;s margins,&#8221; Gomez added. &#8220;He was a good priest, a good patient, and a man of peace, and we&#8217;re very sad to lose him.&#8221;

Immigration Issues

LA County Sheriff Names Suspect Arrested In Killing Of Los Angeles Bishop

Catholic Church

Murder

The Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s department said Sunday that authorities investigating the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O&#8217;Connell are handling the situation as a murder investigation, a spokesperson told The Daily Wire.
O&#8217;Connell, 69, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was shot dead in his home in the suburb of Hacienda Heights.
ABC News correspondent Alex Stone first reported that authorities ruled out a suicide overnight. A medical emergency was reported in his home on Saturday afternoon.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Los Angeles County Sheriff&#39;s investigators now believe the death of auxiliary bishop of LA Archdiocese David O&#39;Connell to be murder. Suicide was ruled out overnight after O&#39;Connell was found dead after a medical emergency call on Saturday afternoon in a home.
&mdash; Alex Stone (@astoneabcnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/astoneabcnews/status/1627364590282760193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Authorities did not comment to The Daily Wire on that report. Investigators previously marked the bishop&#8217;s death as suspicious, but few details were available.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department told CBS Los Angeles that the shooting happened just before 1 p.m. Saturday. Deputies arrived and found a man with a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was pronounced dead soon after.
&#8220;I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O&#8217;Connell has passed away unexpectedly,&#8221; Archbishop of Los Angeles José H. Gomez said in a statement Saturday. &#8220;It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness.&#8221;
&#8220;As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for forty-five years, Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother,&#8221; Gomez added. &#8220;He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected.&#8221;
O&#8217;Connell was named Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015. He served as chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force, which helped respond to an influx of immigration from Central America in recent years. He was also chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops&#8217; Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
John Rigolizzo contributed to this report.

A Community Memorial Service

Catholic Bishop’s Death Being Handled As ‘Murder Investigation,’ Los Angeles Officials Say

Catholic Bishop's Death Being Handled As 'Murder Investigation,' Los Angeles Officials Say

Catholicism

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/catholic-church" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Catholic bishop</a> was shot and killed in a Los Angeles suburb on Saturday.
David O&#8217;Connell, 69, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was shot dead in his home in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles-county" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles County</a> suburb of Hacienda Heights Saturday afternoon. The Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Office said it is investigating the bishop&#8217;s death as suspicious, but few details were available.
&#8220;I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly,&#8221; Archbishop of Los Angeles José H. Gomez said in a <a href="https://lacatholics.org/statement-from-archbishop-gomez-on-bishop-oconnell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> Saturday. &#8220;It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness.&#8221;
Born in Ireland, O&#8217;Connell served in the archdiocese since 1979, and was a stalwart in the local community, serving throughout Los Angeles. Gomez called him a good friend and asked that people pray for him.
&#8220;As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for forty-five years, Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother,&#8221; Gomez added. &#8220;He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected.&#8221;
The Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/bishop-david-oconnell-fatally-shot-in-hacienda-heights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS Los Angeles</a> that the shooting happened just before 1 p.m. Saturday. Deputies arrived and found a man with a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was pronounced dead soon after.
&#8220;It&#8217;s very early in the investigation,&#8221; LASD Homicide Bureau Detective Michael Modica told CBS Los Angeles. &#8220;We got a lot more steps we have to take to make more determination to what&#8217;s happening.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://angelusnews.com/local/la-catholics/bishop-oconnell-dies/amp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angelus News</a>, O&#8217;Connell attended seminary at All Hallows College in Dublin. Then-Father O&#8217;Connell became a prominent figure in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots, when he was serving as pastor of St. Frances X. Cabrini. O&#8217;Connell aided community recovery efforts and served as a mediator between South L.A. residents and the police.
O&#8217;Connell was named Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015. He served as chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force, which helped respond to an influx of immigration from Central America in recent years. He was also chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

Bishop David O’Connell

Los Angeles Bishop Shot And Killed In His Home

Video shows an inmate wriggling his way out of a Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department cruiser on Saturday before being quickly detained again.
The failed escape happened just before 5 p.m. in the Newhall area of the 5 Freeway, authorities said, per local media reports.
Authorities said the man kicked out the vehicle&#8217;s window. That&#8217;s when footage captured by a nearby driver showed the man was handcuffed when he plopped onto the highway.
A deputy quickly hopped out of the vehicle and secured the prisoner, as seen in the video <a href="https://abc7.com/caught-on-video-inmate-tries-to-escape-5-freeway-newhall/12637110/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aired by L.A.&#8217;s</a> ABC News affiliate.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Inmate attempts, fails to escape from LASD cruiser on freeway" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AcbBKUJIpaI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Though not shown in the clip, a report from <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/inmate-attempts-to-escape-during-transport-in-los-angeles-county/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KTLA</a> said a good Samaritan stopped and helped restrain the inmate.
The attempted getaway happened as the prisoner was being transported from the North County Correctional Facility to a hospital for injury treatment, <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/inmate-attempts-to-escape-during-transport-in-los-angeles-county/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KTLA</a> reported.
It was not clear what prompted the trip to the hospital in the first place.
Once the prisoner was placed back in the vehicle, he was transported to the hospital, per KTLA.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/los-angeles-county-sheriff-concedes-re-election-race-slams-local-media-political-establishment">Los Angeles County Sheriff Concedes Re-Election Race; Slams Local Media, Political Establishment</a>

Police Car

SEE IT: Prisoner Flops Out Of Sheriff’s Cruiser Onto Highway In Botched Getaway

SEE IT: Prisoner Flops Out Of Sheriff's Cruiser Onto Highway In Botched Getaway

Sheriff

For most Americans, and much of the world, COVID is a thing of the past.
Even in mandate-obsessed Los Angeles, people are celebrating weddings, gathering for the holidays, attending large-scale sporting events and concerts, and doing their holiday shopping in busy shopping malls, while children are attending school, participating in music and sports — full-time, in-person, with zero or limited restrictions.
Despite this global return to normal, something common to every pandemic throughout human history, one person remains determined to remind citizens that their freedoms exist only as long as she wants them to.
Barbara Ferrer, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (a person who has inexplicably been bestowed with limitless powers accompanied by no accountability whatsoever), announced that because the county may soon reach the arbitrarily-set Centers for Disease Control (CDC) “high” level of COVID transmission, she is likely to <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/la-county-mask-mandate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reimpose an indoor mask mandate</a> on all people. This will apply to public transportation, schools, businesses and any public spaces.
All this even as China begins to depart from its <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-hopes-looser-covid-rules-sets-off-rush-fever-drugs-2022-12-07/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed, draconian zero COVID policies</a>.
When news of this announcement began to spread on social media, I received messages such as “this is a joke, right?” or “China, here we come!” But this was no joke, and there is a very real possibility that Los Angeles will become one of the only places on earth with an indoor mask mandate.
How can this even be possible today?
This past July, Ferrer and her team decided at the last moment to pull a planned countywide indoor mask mandate after significant outrage by numerous key stakeholders.
First, a group of local physicians and epidemiologists spelled out clearly <a href="https://www.ocregister.com/2022/07/22/bringing-back-a-mask-mandate-in-los-angeles-county-is-unjustified/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a widely circulated op-ed</a> why new mask mandates are unjustified due to a lack of differentiation between patients hospitalized with COVID and for COVID, a flawed and arbitrary CDC “<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fscience%2Fcommunity-levels.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Community Levels</a>” metric, and mountains of new published clinical evidence from around the world which demonstrated that real-world use of masks had minimal impact on the spread of COVID, at best.
Second, independent municipalities throughout Los Angeles County like Beverly Hills, whose city governments prioritize healthy and happy residents over strict adherence to Ferrer’s zero COVID agenda, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-26/beverly-hills-wont-enforce-la-county-indoor-mask-mandate-if-implemented" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted not to enforce a new mask mandate</a> should it be imposed.
Finally, a group of <a href="https://redstate.com/jenniferoo/2022/07/19/exclusive-underground-moms-group-exposes-ferrers-plan-to-return-to-mandates-in-opposition-to-medical-data-n597770" target="_blank" rel="noopener">very observant local parents and activists</a> unearthed an <a href="https://twitter.com/kerpen/status/1548367588291330048?s=61&amp;t=25uO176WiSG5CpQRlEeA9Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">internal video</a> made by senior physicians at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center (the largest medical center in the county, which happens to care for the poorest and sickest population) that shockingly revealed no patient had been intubated for COVID in months, <a href="https://twitter.com/lacuscmedcenter/status/1549131897879506944?s=61&amp;t=qE_X9HsdnZ2pamx4rA4wSA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forcing the county hospital to admit</a> that only 10% of COVID-positive patients had been admitted “due to illness caused by COVID.”
What happened when Ferrer finally caved under international media attention and citizen uproar and <a href="https://abc7.com/los-angeles-county-mask-mandate-indoors-masks-masking-rule/12078706/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decided against imposing a mask mandate</a>? Did hospitals fill up with dying residents? Did schools have to close due to outbreaks of COVID? Did we need to bring in refrigerator trucks to store countless corpses? No. 
The COVID cases magically crashed, on their own, without the need for a mask mandate, as cases always do with coronaviruses. Had Ferrer masked us all, she would still be taking credit for this crash, but because she caved, it is obvious that a new mask mandate would not have helped.
We effectively had our first scientifically controlled situation, enabling us to do an apples-to-apples comparison between how COVID surges behave in Los Angeles County both with and without mask mandates. And we discovered that there is no difference. Masks wouldn’t have helped, and masks have likely never helped in a real-world situation.
What was valid last July is equally applicable today. Since then, nothing has meaningfully changed.
The Omicron variants we have in circulation are nowhere near as deadly as the Delta and original variants. COVID-related deaths are relatively low and occur in elderly and/or those with numerous medical comorbidities. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-appeals-court-rules-school-districts-cant-mandate-own-covid-vaccine-requirements-for-students" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Schools remain fully open, mask-free,</a> without major COVID outbreaks or any student deaths. Vaccines are available for those who want them, we have excellent medications on the market, and most importantly, we have widespread and robust natural immunity that can <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2118946" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exceed what can be achieved with a vaccine</a>, with many having been infected numerous times, even the vaccinated.
Moreover, we now have an overwhelming body of evidence regarding the social, academic, and psychological <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/23/my-kids-wont-wear-masks-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harms of masking children</a>, with no meaningful clinical benefit.
It is now obvious to anyone with a brain that this is not about COVID, and it was clearly never about COVID. Rather, this is about Los Angeles County weaponizing its Department of Public Health, led by Ferrer, to control the people — including our most vulnerable humans, our children. How else could anyone explain this fanatical reliance on meaningless CDC Community Levels and a belief that the known harms of mask mandates (particularly for children) are somehow outweighed by the nonexistent benefits they offer?
As an Iranian-born American who escaped to the U.S. during the Islamic Revolution of 1979, I watch in awe as women in Iran risk their lives to protest a mandated covering over their hair. But here, today, we once again risk being forced to cover not our hair but our mouths, with the threat of exclusion, shaming, and a denial of work and education. This is not the America my parents and I fled to for freedom and comfort.
Now that newly-elected members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have been sworn into office, it is time for the board to remove Ferrer and replace her with a medical doctor who has a working knowledge of medicine, public health, and ethics.
It is time for the people of Los Angeles to examine the facts, demand transparency, insist that this threat of a renewed mask mandate be ended, and refuse to comply with any new mandates that are clearly against both common sense and public health.
Houman David Hemmati, M.D., Ph.D. is a board-certified ophthalmologist and biomedical research scientist in Santa Monica, California. Dr. Hemmati earned a BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, an MD from UCLA School of Medicine, and a PhD from Caltech, and completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Stanford Hospital, an ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a postdoctoral research fellowship in chemical engineering at MIT, and a clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School. He has co-founded and helps run two pharmaceutical companies developing treatments for eye diseases like macular degeneration, and has published extensively in the areas of stem cell research and blinding eye diseases. You can follow him on Twitter: @houmanhemmati
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Face mask required signs on Los Angeles businesses

Why It’s Time To Resist Any New Mask Mandates From Los Angeles County Public Health Officials

COVID

Mask Mandate

Social Issues

The 22-year-old driver who crashed into 25 Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s recruits last week denied authorities&#8217; claims that investigators had enough evidence to prove the incident was a deliberate act.
Nicholas Gutierrez was held on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer on a $2 million bond for driving his Honda CR-V into 25 cadets about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 16. around 6:30 a.m. during a training exercise with about 75 recruits from the Sheriff&#8217;s Department and several local police agencies.
The horrific crash left more than a dozen cadets injured and at least five in critical condition.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said they later provisionally released Gutierrez because the initial complaint was not enough to hold him in custody.
In an interview with <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/driver-crash-law-encforcement-la-county-sheriff-whittier/3038595/">NBC</a>, Guiterrez refuted claims made by Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who said investigators had enough evidence to conclude that the crash was intentional.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t intentionally do it,&#8221; Gutierrez said, adding that he fell asleep on his way to work.
Gutierrez said he fell asleep at the wheel and woke up to the sound of recruits banging on the windows.
&#8220;I wish it never happened,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I feel bad it happened.&#8221;
In the interview, Gutierrez had injuries to his face that were suffered at the scene, which he claimed were sustained when the sheriff&#8217;s &#8220;dragged&#8221; him out of the car when he woke up from the impact.
The sheriff&#8217;s department declined to comment or elaborate.
The recruits were part of a 22-week program with the Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s S.T.A.R.S. Explorer Training Academy in South Whittier, California. At the time of the crash, the cadets ran in four rows while drill instructors and two black-and-white radio cars accompanied them.
According to Villanueva, seven recruits remain in the hospital, with two in critical condition and multiple leg fractures. He said authorities&#8217; biggest concern is one of the recruits is on life support and suffering from serious brain bleeding and swelling.
&#8220;They have a long road to recovery happen to them, and we&#8217;re just hoping and praying that they can pull through,&#8221; he told News Nation.
Villanueva said five recruits are still under observation, and the remaining 20 have been released to their families.
The suspect&#8217;s lawyer, Alexandra Kazarian, told <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-21/driver-asleep-in-crash-that-hurt-sheriffs-recruits-lawyer-says">The Los Angeles Times</a>, Guiterrez fell asleep at the wheel while on his way to work, calling it a &#8220;tragic accident.&#8221;
Kazarian also denied the preliminary investigation from Villanueva, saying there is no evidence suggesting it was intentional.
&#8220;I have no idea why the sheriff said that,&#8221; Kazarian said.
Gutierrez&#8217;s attorney issued a statement Friday to NBC saying Gutierrez comes from a law enforcement family. According to the Los Angeles Times, his father is a retired corrections officer. His uncles work in the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, and the Sheriff&#8217;s Department.
&#8220;Nicholas comes from a proud law enforcement family, and the injuries to these recruits is beyond heartbreaking,&#8221; attorney Alexandra Kazarian said. &#8220;The Gutierrez family appreciates the Sheriff&#8217;s Department taking the time to conduct a full and complete investigation. As many have asked, we want to emphasize that Nicholas was on his way to work and had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of this tragic accident.&#8221;
Kazarian said Gutierrez &#8220;harbors absolutely no animosity toward law enforcement,&#8221; adding claims that her client was a disgruntled academy recruit or had any association with being a recruit were incorrect.

US-INCIDENT-POLICE

Driver Who Crashed Into 25 L.A. Sheriff Recruits Claims He Fell Asleep At Wheel

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