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Social media users are misrepresenting a Vermont Supreme Court ruling , claiming that it gives schools permission to vaccinate children even if their parents do not consent. The ruling addressed a lawsuit filed by Dario and Shujen Politella against Windham Southeast School District and state officials over the mistaken vaccination of their child against COVID-19 in 2021, when he was 6 years old. A lower court had dismissed the original complaint, as well as an amended version. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was filed on Nov. 19. But the ruling by Vermont's high court is not as far-reaching as some online have claimed. In reality, it concluded that anyone protected under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, or PREP, Act is immune to state lawsuits. Here's a closer look at the facts. CLAIM: The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that schools can vaccinate children against their parents' wishes. THE FACTS: The claim stems from a July 26 ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court, which found that anyone protected by the PREP Act is immune to state lawsuits, including the officials named in the Politella's suit. The ruling does not authorize schools to vaccinate children at their discretion. According to the lawsuit, the Politella's son — referred to as L.P. — was given one dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic held at Academy School in Brattleboro even though his father, Dario, told the school's assistant principal a few days before that his son was not to receive a vaccination. In what officials described as a mistake, L.P. was removed from class and had a “handwritten label” put on his shirt with the name and date of birth of another student, L.K., who had already been vaccinated that day. L.P. was then vaccinated. Ultimately, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that officials involved in the case could not be sued. “We conclude that the PREP Act immunizes every defendant in this case and this fact alone is enough to dismiss the case,” the Vermont Supreme Court's ruling reads. “We conclude that when the federal PREP Act immunizes a defendant, the PREP Act bars all state-law claims against that defendant as a matter of law.” The PREP Act , enacted by Congress in 2005, authorizes the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a declaration in the event of a public health emergency providing immunity from liability for activities related to medical countermeasures, such as the administration of a vaccine, except in cases of “willful misconduct" that result in “death or serious physical injury.” A declaration against COVID-19 was issued on March 17, 2020. It is set to expire on Dec. 31. Federals suits claiming willful misconduct are filed in Washington. Social media users described the Vermont Supreme Court's ruling as having consequences beyond what it actually says. “The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that schools can force-vaccinate children for Covid against the wishes of their parents,” reads one X post that had been liked and shared approximately 16,600 times as of Tuesday. “The high court ruled on a case involving a 6-year-old boy who was forced to take a Covid mRNA injection by his school. However, his family had explicitly stated that they didn't want their child to receive the ‘vaccines.’” Other users alleged that the ruling gives schools permission to give students any vaccine without parental consent, not just ones for COVID-19. Rod Smolla, president of the Vermont Law and Graduate School and an expert on constitutional law, told The Associated Press that the ruling “merely holds that the federal statute at issue, the PREP Act, preempts state lawsuits in cases in which officials mistakenly administer a vaccination without consent.” “Nothing in the Vermont Supreme Court opinion states that school officials can vaccinate a child against the instructions of the parent,” he wrote in an email. Asked whether the claims spreading online have any merit, Ronald Ferrara, an attorney representing the Politellas, told the AP that although the ruling doesn't say schools can vaccinate students regardless of parental consent, officials could interpret it to mean that they could get away with doing so under the PREP Act, at least when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines. He explained that the U.S. Supreme Court appeal seeks to clarify whether the Vermont Supreme Court interpreted the PREP Act beyond what Congress intended. “The Politella’s fundamental liberty interest to decide whether their son should receive elective medical treatment was denied by agents of the State and School,” he wrote in an email to the AP. “The Vermont Court misconstrues the scope of PREP Act immunity (which is conditioned upon informed consent for medical treatments unapproved by FDA), to cover this denial of rights and its underlying battery.” Ferrara added that he was not aware of the claims spreading online, but that he “can understand how lay people may conflate the court's mistaken grant of immunity for misconduct as tantamount to blessing such misconduct.” John Klar, who also represents the Politellas, went a step further, telling the AP that the Vermont Supreme Court ruling means that “as a matter of law” schools can get away with vaccinating students without parental consent and that parents can only sue on the federal level if death or serious bodily injury results. — Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck .LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell says it was a really easy decision to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the presence of three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani played a part, too. Snell was introduced Tuesday at Dodger Stadium accompanied by his agent Scott Boras. The left-hander finalized a $182 million, five-year contract last Saturday. “It was really easy just cause me and Haeley wanted to live here, it’s something we’ve been talking about for a while,” Snell said, referring to his girlfriend. “Then you look at the team. You look at what they’ve built, what they’re doing. It’s just something you want to be a part of.” Last month, Snell opted out of his deal with San Francisco to become a free agent for the second consecutive offseason after he was slowed by injuries during his lone year with the San Francisco Giants. Snell gets a $52 million signing bonus, payable on Jan. 25, and annual salaries of $26 million, of which $13.2 million each year will be deferred . Because Snell is a Washington state resident, the signing bonus will not be subject to California income tax. “It just played out the way that people around me felt comfortable with, I felt comfortable with, they felt comfortable with,” Snell said. “We talked and found something that could work for both of us. You want your worth, you want your respect, and you want enough time to where you can really make a name for yourself. I've made a name for myself outside of LA, but I'm going to be invested.” Two-way star Ohtani, who signed a record $700 million, 10-year deal a year ago, had a historic first season with the Dodgers. He helped them win the franchise's eighth World Series while playing only as designated hitter and became MVP in the National League for the first time after twice winning the award while in the American League. “It helps with him in the lineup for sure. That’s big motivation,” Snell said. “You want to be around players like that when you’re trying to be one of the best in the game. Yeah, it played a big part.” Snell joins Ohtani and fellow Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto atop Los Angeles’ rotation. All-Star Tyler Glasnow will be back after having his first season in LA derailed by a sprained elbow. Ohtani didn’t pitch this year while recovering from right elbow surgery but is expected back on the mound in 2025. The rest of the rotation includes Tony Gonsolin, Landon Knack, Dustin May, Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan. “I pitched on six-man, five-man, four-man rotations,” Snell said. “I'm good with it all as long as we have a plan, we'll execute it.” Snell, who turns 32 on Wednesday, went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts this year, throwing a no-hitter at Cincinnati on Aug. 2 for one of only 16 individual shutouts in the major leagues this season. He struck out 145 and walked 44 in 104 innings. He was sidelined between April 19 and May 22 by a strained left adductor and between June 2 and July 9 by a strained left groin. Snell won Cy Young Awards in 2018 with Tampa Bay and 2023 with San Diego. He is 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in nine seasons with the Rays (2016-20), Padres (2021-23) and Giants. He has known Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, since he was 18. In the aftermath of winning the World Series and discussing how the Dodgers could repeat next year, Friedman said, “All conversations kept coming back to Blake.” “Usually in major league free agency, you're buying the backside of a guy's career, the accomplishments that they have had,” he said. “With Blake, one thing that's really exciting for us is, as much success as he's had, we feel like there's more in there." Snell was 2-2 against the Dodgers in his career. “We couldn’t beat him, so we’re going to have him join us,” Friedman said. .___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBPlans to turn a former sand processing plant in the northeast corner of Chippewa Falls into a battery production facility are suddenly moving forward again. KYMA Battery Technologies told the city in December 2023 they had chosen to open their business in a western Detroit suburb instead of here. However, KYMA officials have returned to the city with a different proposal — instead of refurbishing old and damaged batteries, the plan now is to build new batteries. Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman said the city will make alterations to a conditional use permit that will allow KYMA to use all the buildings on the former EOG Sand Plant property. Hoffman said that will include the need to inspect the sight and make sure it is up to code. "I'm totally supportive of the project, but we need to make sure we have the ability to fight fires," Hoffman said. "We'll open it up so they can use the whole campus." Hoffman noted that while it is still KYMA Battery Technologies, there are now different leaders involved in the project than the entrepreneurs who visited the city in 2023. Hoffman said he isn't sure how 00 many jobs will be created. KYMA officials tore down one of the towers on the site. "At this moment, they are not doing manufacturing; they are doing research," Hoffman said. "This spring, they want to get the plant up and going. I'm glad they are using the facility." Chippewa Falls City Planner Brad Hentschel echoed Hoffman's enthusiasm for the project. "They had a change of heart and are back here," Hentschel said. Hentschel said he likes that they aren't going to be trying to repair defective or damaged batteries. "It definitely mitigates some of the concerns of last time," Hentschel said. "The older batteries were more of a risk. I think everybody feels more comfortable with what they've come back with, with this revamped proposal. It's going to bring some good jobs to the area. And to get that facility back into use is good for everybody." A public hearing on the changes to the conditional use permit will be held at one of the January council meetings, Hentschel said. The Chippewa Falls Plan Commission voted 9-1 in October 2023 to approve a conditional use permit for the 88-acre site. However, minutes from that meeting made it clear the battery plant owners objected to many of the conditions set by the city and they didn't think a CUP was needed. Shortly after that meeting, the company announced they were instead going to open in Novi, Michigan. The conditional use permit approved in Chippewa Falls stated the fire department must inspect the facility at least twice a year, and that if there is an environmental issue at the facility, the company is solely responsible for the cleanup efforts. Also, all batteries and components must be stored in an area that has a fire detection system and a fire suppression system. The sand processing plant, located at 1400 Halbleib Road, has been shuttered for a couple years. The plant, originally brought forward by Canadian Sand and Proppants, is located in one of the city's tax-increment financing districts. Plans for the building were announced in spring 2008, and it was controversial from the start, as opponents were concerned the plant would hurt air and water quality, increase traffic and lower property values. The plans were approved on a 4-3 vote with Mayor Hoffman casting a rare tie-breaking vote to move the project forward. Canadian Sand and Proppants obtained state Department of Natural Resources permits in 2009, and construction began in fall 2010. EOG Resources acquired the license from Canadian Sands and Proppants, and it opened the building in 2011. Chippewa County had a dozen mines either approved or open at some point in the past 10 years. Sand from nearby mines was brought to the site, where it was dried and shipped out on rail cars. However, the plant shuttered a couple of years ago and the buildings have sat dormant. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
We condemn thelatest statement by the US Embassy in Azerbaijan, which interferesonce again in our country’s internal affairs under the pretext ofdefending human rights, the Western Azerbaijan Community said in astatement, reports. "In terms of substance, the statement is baseless, manipulative,and far from the truth. The current US administration’s activities under the guise ofpromoting human rights are entirely harmful and incompatible withthe concept of human rights. The U.S. administration has ignored the mass human rightsviolations committed by Armenia against ethnic Azerbaijanis andhas, in practice, allowed ethnic and religious discriminationagainst them. This discrimination is the greatest blow to the veryidea of human rights. We call on the current US administration, at least in its finaldays, to refrain from using human rights as a tool for politicalpurposes and to support the genuine human rights issue of thereturn of Western Azerbaijanis to their homeland," the Communityadded.
Women increase share of most-cited Iranian researchersChip trade oversight 'inadequate'A look at how some of Trump’s picks to lead health agencies could help carry out Kennedy’s overhaulBy Steve Benen After Elon Musk helped derail a bipartisan spending bill with misinformation , Rep. Richie Neal made no effort to hide his frustration . The Massachusetts Democrat — the ranking member on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee — asked, “Can you imagine what the next two years will be like if every time that Congress works its will, and then there’s a tweet, or from an individual who has no official portfolio, who threatens members on the Republican side with a primary, and they succumb?” The billionaire apparently wasn’t pleased with the congressman’s comments, declaring soon after that he would soon “be funding moderate candidates in heavily Democrat districts, so that the country can get rid of those who don’t represent them, like this jacka--.” Whether Musk is aware of this or not, Neal is already widely seen as a moderate, and there’s no reason to believe a primary rival backed by the world’s wealthiest individual would fare any better against the longtime lawmaker. But in the case of Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, a primary challenge apparently isn’t good enough for the billionaire: Musk wants her to be kicked out of Congress altogether. As CNBC reported , at the heart of the story is a change made to the stopgap spending bill designed to prevent a government shutdown last week. House Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut say their Republican colleagues in Congress caved to the demands of Elon Musk, sinking a bipartisan government funding bill that would have regulated U.S. investments in China. In the original, bipartisan spending agreement — the one that Musk helped kill — there was a provision designed to restrict U.S. investments in China , specifically related to investments in the artificial intelligence and technology sectors. When the legislation was rewritten, Republican took this provision out for reasons GOP officials haven’t fully explained. Ostensibly, the party was looking to make the bill cheaper, but this measure cost effectively nothing. In a series of online items , McGovern complained that the removed provision “would have made it easier to keep cutting-edge AI and quantum computing tech — as well as jobs — in America.” The Massachusetts Democrat added, “But Elon had a problem.” McGovern went on to write, “His bottom line depends on staying in China’s good graces. He [Musk] wants to build an AI data center there too — which could endanger U.S. security. He’s been bending over backwards to ingratiate himself with Chinese leaders.” DeLauro went a bit further, writing a letter to congressional leaders questioning whether the change to the bill reflected some kind of behind-the-scenes corruption: Perhaps, the Connecticut Democrat alleged, the legislation was tweaked specifically to benefit Musk, who has, as DeLauro put it, “extensive” business interests in China. It was, to be sure, a provocative allegation. But the billionaire megadonor responded with an online item of his own , calling DeLauro an “awful creature” and saying that he believes the Democratic congresswoman “needs to be expelled from Congress!” For the record, members of Congress are allowed to raise concerns about possible corruption, just as they’re able to make allegations regarding prominent public figures. Whether the congresswoman’s allegations have merit or not, to suggest that an elected lawmaker be kicked out of office for criticizing a billionaire in ways he doesn’t like is, to put it mildly, unsettling. Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are not having a $600 million wedding in Aspen, US, this weekend. Late last week, some reports claimed that billionaire Bezos will marry his fiance Lauren Sanchez next Saturday in an extravagant $600 million wedding in Aspen, Colorado. An upset Bezos has strongly denied the extravagant plans. Amazon's former CEO was so angry with the report that he took to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to clarify. And what makes this clarification serious is the fact that Bezos is not a regular on Twitter. "Furthermore, this whole thing is completely false — none of this is happening. The old adage “don’t believe everything you read” is even more true today than it ever has been. Now lies can get ALL the way around the world before the truth can get its pants on. So be careful out there folks and don’t be gullible. Will be interesting to see if all the outlets that “covered” and re-reported on this issue a correction when it comes and goes and doesn’t happen," Bezos wrote. Elon Musk's 'comforting' reply Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is widely known to share a frosty relationship with Bezos, replied to Bezos' angry post. "That said, I hope you do hold an epic wedding. It’s nice to know that epic events are happening somewhere in the world, even if one is not present. A world where there are amazing events somewhere is better than a world where they are happening nowhere," wrote Musk in a post seemingly aimed at comforting Bezos. No wedding dates confirmed The Daily Mail was the first to report the $600 million wedding plan quoting a “well-placed source.” The report was then picked up by the New York Post. Billionaire Bill Ackman then quote-tweeted a now-deleted post from New York Post writing, “This is not credible. Unless you are buying each of your guests a house, you can’t spend this much money.” Ackman's tweet was what Jeff Bezos quoted in his reply. Incidentally, Bezos, 60, and his fiance, 54, have so far remained mum on their wedding plans and have not yet publicly confirmed their wedding date.Every college football program begins the season with the same three objectives. The requirements set down in the “FBS trinity” are to win the opener, attain bowl eligibility and compete for a conference championship. Boston College achieved the first with a 28-13 upset victory over defending ACC champion and No. 10 ranked Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium on Sept. 2.
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