Tag: news

What’s behind worrying RSV surge in US children’s hospitals?

Children’s hospitals in parts of the US are seeing a surge in a common respiratory illness that can cause severe breathing problems for babies.

RSV cases fell dramatically two years ago as the pandemic shut down schools, day cares and businesses. With restrictions easing in the summer of 2021, doctors saw an alarming increase in what is normally a fall and winter virus.

Now, it’s back again. And doctors are bracing for the possibility that RSV, flu and COVID-19 could combine to stress hospitals.

“I’m calling it an emergency,” said Dr. Juan Salazar of Connecticut Children’s Hospital, where RSV has caused a shuffling of patients into playrooms and other spaces not normally used for beds. The institution explored using a National Guard field hospital, but has set aside that option for now.

A look at RSV and what the recent surge may mean:

What is RSV?

It stands for respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of mild cold-like symptoms such as runny nose, cough and fever. Nearly all US children normally catch an RSV infection by age 2.

People infected are usually contagious for three to eight days. Babies and people with weakened immune systems can spread RSV for up to four weeks. There is no vaccine for it, though several candidates are in testing.

Who does it affect?

Everyone can get RSV. But it causes the most threat to infants, older adults and other vulnerable people, who can get serious airway and lung infections.

Among US kids under age 5, RSV typically leads to 58,000 hospitalizations and up to 500 deaths in a year.

Doctors are calling the RSV surge “an emergency” and are bracing for a dramatic increase in cases.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File

For adults 65 and older, RSV causes 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths yearly.

For babies, the struggle to breathe can interfere with eating. “And that’s really when we start to worry,” said Dr. Melanie Kitagawa of Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, where more than 40 children have RSV.

“They’re breathing fast, breathing deep. We see them using muscles in their chest to help them breathe,” Kitagawa said. “These are kids who are having difficulty taking a bottle because their breathing is being impacted and they can’t coordinate both at once.”

Why is there an increase now?

The virus is encountering a highly vulnerable population of babies and children who were sheltered from common bugs during the pandemic lockdowns.

Immune systems might not be as prepared to fight the virus after more than two years of masking, which offered protection, according to Dr. Elizabeth Mack of Medical University of South Carolina.

“South Carolina is drowning in RSV,” Mack said in a news release. The surge arrived earlier this year than normal, she said.

For babies, their mothers may not have been infected with RSV during pregnancy, which could have given the children some immunity.

US health officials have noted a rise this month in national reports of respiratory illnesses, which they say is at least partly due to the early spread of flu in much of the South.

Last week, more than 7,000 tests came back positive for RSV, according to CDC figures. That’s more than in previous surges.

Is there a treatment?

There’s no specific treatment, so it’s a matter of managing symptoms and letting the virus run its course. Doctors may prescribe oral steroids or an inhaler to make breathing easier.

In serious cases, patients in the hospital may get oxygen, a breathing tube or a ventilator.

What do doctors recommend?

Prevent the spread of viruses by washing hands thoroughly and staying home when you’re sick.

During RSV season, an injection of an antibody-based medicine is sometimes prescribed to protect premature infants and other very vulnerable babies.

If you’re worried your child is having a severe breathing problem, “do not hesitate” to go to an emergency department or call 911, said Dr. Russell Migita of Seattle Children’s Hospital, where RSV is on the rise.

For less severe medical problems, Migita said, call your regular health care provider for advice, use telehealth or go to urgent care.

In Chicago on Saturday, Dr. Juanita Mora saw a family of five kids all with RSV, ranging from a 3-year-old to a teenager. Fearing what’s ahead this winter, she’s telling everyone to get a flu shot and a COVID-19 booster.

“We don’t want a triple whammy, a triple pandemic,” Mora said.

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Who is Rishi Sunak? New UK prime minister succeeding Liz Truss

New UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is a former hedge-fund boss who previously helmed the nation’s Treasury and has promised to restore “integrity, professionalism and accountability” to Britain after months of political upheaval. 

Sunak is the third prime minister to lead the United Kingdom since July, after Boris Johnson was forced to step down following a series of scandals and his successor, Liz Truss, resigned after implementing a disastrous economic agenda that sent the pound plummeting.

Sunak, a 42-year-old multimillionaire, beat out the leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, for the top job, making him the first non-white prime minister of the UK and the youngest to hold the position in more than 200 years. 

His meteoric rise through politics has earned him the moniker “Dishy Rishi” thanks to his youthful looks, sharp suits and smooth manner.

Rishi Sunak beat out his only competitor after Boris Johnson bowed out of the race.
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Rishi Sunak waves at Conservative party headquarters in London after the big win.
AP

“It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve the party I love and give back to the country I owe so much to,” Sunak said in a statement after his win. 

“The United Kingdom is a great country. But there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge. We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.” 

Here’s everything we know about the UK’s new top boss. 

Family and personal life 

Sunak was born in 1980 on the southern English coast in Southampton to a father who was a family doctor and a mother who ran a local pharmacy. 

His parents, both of Indian descent, emigrated to the country from East Africa in the 1960s. Sunak’s grandparents were originally from the Punjab region. 

The new prime minister has spoken often about the sacrifices his parents made to afford sending him to Winchester College as a teenager, a boarding school in Hampshire that’s considered one of the most prestigious in the world. 

Sunak went on to Oxford University, where he studied philosophy and economics before heading to California to get an MBA from Stanford University as a Fulbright Scholar. 

It was there that he met his fashion-designer wife, Akshata Murthy, whom he married in 2009 and with whom he shares two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka. 

Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton and schooled at Oxford and Stanford.
ZUMAPRESS.com
Sukan’s father-in-law, Narayana Murthy, is seen accepting an award in 2008.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Murthy is the daughter of Narayana Murthy, the co-founder behind major tech giant Infosys and one of India’s richest men.

Thanks to a .91% stake in her father’s company, Murthy’s net worth is valued at roughly £690 million, or about $778 million, making her and Sunak one of the richest couples in Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. 

Sunak’s net worth alone is worth about  £40 million, or $45 million. 

Rishi Sunak with his wife, Akshata Murthy, and their two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka.
Instagram / @rishisunakmp
Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy, attending a campaign event.
REUTERS

When Sunak first met Akshata Murthy, his now-father-in-law admitted he was a bit jealous of the relationship, but his feelings changed once he met him, the Independent reported. 

“I … found him to be all that you had described him to be — brilliant, handsome and, most importantly, honest. l understood why you let your heart be stolen,” Murthy’s father wrote to her in a letter that was published in “Legacy: Letters from Eminent Parents to their Daughters.” 

Professional life 

Sunak became a multimillionaire as a hedge-fund manager when he worked at Goldman Sachs and later co-founded a large investment firm, where he worked with companies all over the world, according to his Parliament bio. 

“Then I used that experience to help small and entrepreneurial British companies grow successfully,” he wrote in the bio.

“From working in my mum’s tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen first-hand how politicians should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure our future prosperity.” 

Rishi Sunak is the youngest UK prime minister is more than 200 years.
AP

In 2015, Sunak ditched the private sector after he was elected Conservative MP for Richmond and served as a parliamentary private secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. 

In 2018, he became a minister for local government and in 2019, he became chief secretary to the Treasury. 

Most recently, he served as the chancellor of the Exchequer, Britain’s chief financial minister. 

Scandals 

Sunak came under scrutiny in April after it was revealed he held a US green card, which gave him permanent residence in the States, while he was chancellor, the BBC reported at the time. 

While some opponents accused him of keeping the green card for tax purposes or as a backup plan in case things went south in the UK, his spokeswoman claimed it was returned in October 2021 and had been previously used in accordance with the law. 

“As required under US law and as advised, he continued to use his green card for travel purposes. Upon his first trip to the US in a government capacity as chancellor, he discussed the appropriate course of action with the US authorities,” the spokeswoman said at the time. 

“At that point, it was considered best to return his green card, which he did immediately.”

Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy, bringing tea to the media staking out their home.
ZUMAPRESS.com

While Sunak held the green card, he did file US tax returns, “but specifically as a non-resident, in full compliance with the law,” the spokeswoman said. 

The news around Sunak’s green card broke around the same time his wife found herself in the throes of a tax scandal, the Washington Post reported. 

It was revealed that Akshata Murthy had been filing taxes in the UK as a “non-domiciled” resident, which saved her from paying taxes on the millions of dollars she was earning in India from her father’s company, the outlet said. 

At the time, Sunak and his family had been living on Downing Street. 

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Rishi Sunak to be named UK’s first non-white prime minister

Former UK Treasury chief Rishi Sunak won the race to become the new prime minister on Monday, the third since the summer and the nation’s first non-white leader.

Sunak won the latest leadership battle after his only remaining rival, Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt, conceded and withdrew.

“Rishi has my full support,” Mordaunt said in a concession statement.

Sunak will now be invited by King Charles III to form a government.

The results of the race will make the multi-millionaire former hedge fund boss Britain’s first non-white leader and the first Hindu to take the top job. 

At 42, he’s also the youngest prime minister in more than 200 years, a political prodigy dubbed “Dishy Rishi” thanks to his youthful looks, sharp suits, and smooth, confident manner.

Sunak has already promised “integrity, professionalism and accountability” — a contrast to the chaos of his two recent predecessors, both of whom he had sounded alarm over.

“Dishy Rishi” Sunak is the UK’s first non-white prime minister and, at 42, the youngest in more than 200 years.
AP

The Oxford university grad had quit as Treasury chief in July in protest at the doomed leadership of then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a major turning point leading to Johnson’s eventual resignation 48 hours later.

When he came second to Liz Truss in the battle to take control after Johnson, Sunak had correctly warned that her plans to slash taxes on wealthy Britons would result in the fiscal chaos which led to her humiliating exit last week as the shortest-serving UK leader.

Sunak was a runner-up to Liz Truss in the last leadership battle, and had warned against the economic policies that led to her humiliating downfall after just 6 weeks.
AP

That prescient warning and earlier support quickly helped make him an early favorite for the current job.

His win had seemed cemented on Sunday when former Johnson took his name out of the running.

Despite being forced to resign in July amid a series of scandals, Johnson received strong backing from senior Conservative Party leaders, leaving him appearing set for a potential return to power.

However, he is said to have withdrawn after a face-to-face meeting with Sunak, who persuaded him to pull out for the sake of the party, according to numerous UK reports.

Sunak had served as Johnson’s Treasury chief, with his resignation over the doomed leader’s scandals a key moment leading to Johnson’s own resignation days later.
AP

Johnson returned early from a Caribbean getaway for the contest, but said he was ending his bid because “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament.”

Johnson did, however, hint at a return as he insisted he was “well placed to deliver a Conservative victory” in the next national election, due by 2024.

“I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time,” he said Sunday.

The majority of Johnson’s backers switched to Sunak, leaving third-place hopeful Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, far short of the 100 nominations by the ruling party’s lawmakers she needed.

The son of middle-class parents of Indian descent who were both born in East Africa, Sunak takes the helm with a daunting set of challenges, including a fractured party and an economic crisis sparked largely by the policies of his predecessor that he tried warning against.

He had insisted he wanted to take control to repair the “breakdown of trust” in politics.

With Post wires



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Math scores hit historic low during pandemic: fed data

Math progress ground to a halt during the pandemic, new data showed Monday.

No state or big city notched any improvements on national math tests — while kids on the cusp of high school were particularly impacted, according to results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Eighth grade math scores plummeted in all states but Utah, where they held steady — with roughly 38% of the age group performing below basic achievement levels in math, the dubbed “nation’s report card” found.

“These mathematics results are historic,” said Peggy Carr of the National Center for Education Statistics, the research branch of the US Department of Education that administers the test.

“]T]hey are the largest declines in mathematics we have observed in the entire history of this assessment.”

Overall, the national average math score for fourth grade fell five points since 2019, from 241 to 236 out of a possible 500, and eight points for eighth grade, from 282 to 274. In reading, average scores dropped by three points at both grade levels — from 220 to 217 in the fourth grades and 263 to 260 in the eighth grades.

Eighth grade math scores plummeted everywhere except for Utah.
Getty Images

The data drop comes a month after early results for 9-year-olds showed the pandemic undid decades of math and reading progress in that age group. 

The new findings show math scores dropped in 43 states and jurisdictions in fourth grade, and in 51 of them in eighth grade.

Still, cities including Dallas, Austin, Tampa, Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia bucked the trend, holding steady in either fourth or eighth grade math — though they were still were not improving, the report found.

Federal officials were particularly worried about possible ramifications for kids now in high school falling behind in math. Carr described that grade as the “gateway” to more advanced math, from high-level classes to STEM careers, which could put the US behind the global competition.

“This is the moment of truth for education,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona at a briefing with reporters. “How we respond to this will determine not only our recovery, but our nation’s standing in the world.”

Reading scores also declined in 30 states and jurisdictions in fourth grade and 33 of them in eighth grade — a less widespread drop than in math but still worrisome.

Students seem to struggle without having math classes in schools.
Getty Images/iStockphoto

“Math is just simply more sensitive to schooling. You really need teachers to teach math. Reading, on the other hand, is something that parents and community, they are more comfortable … helping students with,” Carr said.

Carr added those results did not immediately show discrepancies based on how long students learned remotely; the research branch continues to study its impact.

“That doesn’t mean it didn’t have an effect, but it cannot be solely or primarily attributable to these findings that we see today,” she said.

Big city students nearing high school actually broke with national and most states’ trends of tanking reading scores — performing similarly to how they did before the pandemic, though not improving. One exception was Los Angeles, where eighth graders made gains on the federal reading test.

“While the pandemic was a blow to schools and communities, we cannot use it as an excuse,” Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District, said in a statement.

“We have to stay committed to high standards and expectations and help every child succeed,” said Carvalho, who also sits on the National Assessment Governing Board, a nonpartisan panel of governors, legislators and education officials that set policy for NAEP.

New York City math scores for soon-to-be high schoolers, which stayed about the same, also weathered the pandemic better than other big cities. And, like most large city school districts, New York City’s reading scores were comparable with pre-pandemic levels.

Math scores dropped in 43 states.
Getty Images/iStockphoto

“The fact that cities were able to hold steady in the wake of all that we went through does strike me as resilience, as a bright spot,” Carr said.

New York state scores declined on the fourth grade reading and math tests, and on the eighth grade math — but stayed about the same on the eighth grade reading test.

The state snapshot shows fourth graders in the Empire State performed below the national average on math, but roughly the same as kids in other states on the other three federal tests.

Math scores for that age group — an average of 227 — were lower than the national average of 235, and below those of 38 other states and jurisdictions.

But more than four in 10 students across New York state did not demonstrate basic reading achievement levels in the fourth grade, the snapshot showed. Research has shown the importance of kids learning how to read by the third grade, or otherwise face an uphill battle to reach proficiency.

Long-awaited state test scores are expected in the next couple of weeks and, alongside the federal data, could provide more detail on how New York’s students fared during the pandemic.

The US Department of Education also polled teachers on their confidence helping kids rebound from pandemic school closures, finding just half of them reported feeling “quite” or “extremely” confident in their ability to address learning gaps.

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Rory McIlroy wins CJ Cup, returns to world No. 1

RIDGELAND, S.C. — The final steps on Rory McIlroy‘s long road back to No. 1 go down on the scorecard as bogeys, which made him laugh. All that mattered Sunday was winning the CJ Cup in South Carolina, and that about made him cry.

McIlroy reclaimed the No. 1 ranking for the ninth time by holding off Kurt Kitayama and enduring a nervous moment at the end with a three-putt bogey that gave him a 4-under 67 and a 1-shot victory.

More than the ranking, it was realizing how far he had come with so much support behind the scenes that made his voice slightly choke with emotion.

“This tournament last year was the start of me trying to build myself back up to this point,” McIlroy said. “I had a really rough Ryder Cup. I think I was outside the top 10 in the world — it’s not a position that I’m used to being in.”

McIlroy went 1-3 in a Ryder Cup loss. He was outside the top 10 for 15 consecutive weeks, the longest stretch of his career since first getting to No. 1 a decade ago. For a player of his caliber, that made him feel further behind than he really was.

“I think just the steady climb back up to the summit of world golf and what it takes,” he said. “And it’s not just me, it’s everyone that’s a part of my team. I just think about everyone that’s made a difference in my life, not over the last 12 months, but ever.”

Inside the ropes, it was vintage McIlroy.

Tied with Kitayama with five holes to go at Congaree, McIlroy ran off three straight birdies to seize control. The pivotal run began with a 5-iron from 227 yards to 15 feet on the par-3 14th, only the fifth birdie on the hole in the final round.

“I think that the birdie on 14 was really … that’s what separated … the birdie on 14 was big,” McIlroy said. That was followed by another key moment on the 348-yard 15th hole, where he got up-and-down for birdie and Kitayama three-putted for par from 40 feet.

McIlroy followed with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th.

McIlroy, who finished at 17-under 267, won for the 23rd time on the PGA Tour and 31st time worldwide.

It was his ninth time reaching No. 1 in the world, behind only Tiger Woods and Greg Norman (both 11) in getting to the top of the ranking the most times.

This felt like a long time coming.

He won the CJ Cup for the second straight time. The South Korea-based tournament was held in Las Vegas last year, when McIlroy was No. 14 in the world.

So began his climb back to No. 1, with victories in the Canadian Open and the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup, and with help from Scottie Scheffler cooling from his torrid stretch through the Masters.

“I’ve worked so hard over the last 12 months to get back to this place,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I’m enjoying the game as much as I ever have. I played with that joy and it’s definitely showed over these last few months.

“It’s a big achievement. I’m really proud of myself right now.”

McIlroy was No. 1 when golf shut down for three months at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he lost the ranking to Jon Rahm when the Spaniard won the Memorial in mid-July 2020.

Scheffler finished in the middle of the pack at Congaree, meaning McIlroy could have been runner-up and still reclaimed the No. 1 ranking. He wanted the trophy, and it was harder work than he imagined.

McIlroy was staked to a 1-shot lead going into the final round and never trailed, though he didn’t have it easy until he walked toward the 18th green, and even that made him sweat. He had a 2-shot lead and gunned his 40-foot putt some 8 feet by, while Kitayama had a 20-footer for birdie. They both missed.

Rahm, coming off a win at the Spanish Open, tied McIlroy on three occasions early while playing in the group in front of him. Rahm was still in the mix until his tee shot on the long par-3 14th caught a plugged lie in the face of the bunker, leading to bogey.

He wound up with 69 to tie for fourth.

The real threat was Kitayama, three times a winner while playing in Asia and Europe. The 29-year-old Californian overcame an early 2-shot deficit and was tied for the lead until McIlroy took over with big putts and he couldn’t answer.

Kitayama played bogey-free and closed with a 67 for his third runner-up since joining the PGA Tour last year, behind McIlroy, Xander Schauffele in Scotland and Rahm in Mexico. He made $1,134,000.

“That’s a tough group of guys to beat,” Kitayama said. “I just have to keep improving.”

K.H. Lee had a 68 and finished third, with Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood (65) another shot behind.

McIlroy has three wins this year, closing with a 62 in the Canadian Open to outlast Tony Finau and Justin Thomas, a 66 in the Tour Championship to beat Scheffler and a 67 at Congaree with two closing bogeys, just enough to celebrate two big moments.

Another trophy and, finally, another trip to the top of golf.

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Mayor Adams tied to group allegedly spying on Chinese nationals

The troubled charity that runs a Chinese police station in Lower Manhattan, allegedly set up to spy on Chinese nationals in the US, held its annual gala dinner last month with Eric Adams as its honored guest — but the mayor did not disclose his participation at the event on his official agenda, The Post has learned.

Adams attended the glitzy Sept. 26 dinner at a Flushing, Queens, restaurant, sponsored by the America ChangLe Association NY Inc., which owns and operates the police station on East Broadway that has been accused by a human rights group of spying on the Chinese diaspora. The non-profit was blacklisted by the IRS in May, according to public records.

According to his official public schedule, Adams returned from a short visit to the Dominican Republic that day “to support recovery efforts following Hurricane Fiona.” The schedule indicated that Adams would travel back to New York City in the afternoon, but it made no mention of the dinner which began at 6 p.m.

The America ChangLe Association NY Inc. paid $1.3 million for offices at 107 East Broadway that houses the Fuzhou Police Overseas Chinese Affairs bureau, filings show. Watchdogs claim it is used for keeping tabs on Chinese nationals in the US.
William Farrington

However, according to photos posted of the event by businessman George Xu on his LinkedIn page, Adams was onstage at the event. Other Democrats in attendance included State Senator John Liu and City Council Member Sandra Ung, and representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Grace Meng and City Council member Christopher Marte. At least two members of the NYPD were also seen in the photos.

Xu, a Queens-based real estate developer, attended the party which featured 1,000 guests and celebrated the inauguration of America ChangLe Association’s new president, James Lu, according to his LinkedIn post.

Lu, the president of a Queens-based food company, contributed $4,000 to Adams’ mayoral campaign in 2019 and 2021, according to public records.

Adams, seen here at the Sept. 26 event, received $4,000 in political donations from the man who is now America ChangLe’s president, James Lu, public records show.

At the dinner, Adams made a speech honoring the America ChangLe Association, according to a Queens-based Chinese language news service post. “As an important and powerful social organization, the ChangLe Association of the United States gathers a large number of economic talents, makes great contributions to New York where they live, and plays an important role in promoting new immigrants to improve their quality of life in New York,” Adams said, according to the outlet.

The non-profit, which was incorporated in New York in 2013 and listed its charitable mission as a “social gathering place for Fujianese people,” paid $1.3 million three years later for the suite of offices at 107 East Broadway that houses the Fuzhou Police Overseas Chinese Affairs bureau, filings show.

In May, the IRS yanked the group’s tax-exempt status for its failure to submit tax filings for three straight years, according to public records. A phone number linked to the charity’s East Broadway offices “is currently turned off or temporarily off line,” a recording says.

State Senator John Liu was also at the Sept. 26 event.

The Manhattan police station is part of a web of more than 100 such law enforcement offices set up around the world by the People’s Republic of China, ostensibly to help Chinese nationals renew their government-issued identification and drivers’ licenses.

But the stations allegedly have a darker purpose, according to a recently released whistle-blower report.

“Openly labeled as overseas police service stations … they contribute to ‘resolutely cracking down on all kinds of illegal and criminal activities involving overseas Chinese,’” claims a September report by Safeguard Defenders, a Madrid-based human rights group that documents Chinese repression around the world.

Also in attendance at the event were City Council Member Sandra Ung, and representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Grace Meng and City Council member Christopher Marte, as well as members of the NYPD.

The stations also participate in “intimidation, harassment, detention or imprisonment” to spy on dissenters and return migrants, according to the report.

“These latest revelations show Mayor Adams is failing to fundamentally ensure the people of New York City and the world that their safety and wellbeing are firmly rooted in the laws of the United States of America, not the Communist Party of China,” said Tom Anderson, director of the Government Integrity Project at the National Legal and Policy Center, a Virginia-based watchdog group.

Federal agents have long sought to crack down on spying and harassment of Chinese nationals by the Chinese government in the US. On Thursday, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against seven Chinese nationals in Brooklyn, charging them with “participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States,” according to a DOJ press release.

“These latest revelations show Mayor Adams [seen above with Liu at a different event] is failing to fundamentally ensure the people of New York City and the world that their safety and wellbeing are firmly rooted in the laws of the United States of America, not the Communist Party of China,” said the director of one watchdog group.
Matthew McDermott

“The victims in this case sought to flee an authoritarian government, leaving behind their lives and family, for a better life here,” said Michael Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, of the FBI’s New York Field Office in the statement. “That same government sent agents to the United States to harass, threaten, and forcibly return them to the People’s Republic of China. The actions we allege are illegal, and the FBI will not allow adversaries to break laws designed to protect our nation and our freedom.”

Calls and emails to Adams, Liu and Ung were not returned Friday.

“Members of the NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau were invited to attend a gala held by the American Changle Association of NY in September. There were roughly 1000 members of the Asian community present at this event,” a DCPI spokesperson told The Post. “NYPD Community Affairs members were there to promote community relations and safety as they do at any event they attend.

A spokeswoman for Marte confirmed that “a representative of our office was in attendance. We were unaware of any illegal affiliations with the Chinese government.”

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Biden releases 15 million barrels from oil reserve

President Biden announced the release of 15 million more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Wednesday — before ripping critics who accused him of a desperate ploy to drive down gas prices temporarily right before next month’s midterm elections.

“What is your response to Republicans who say you are only doing this SPR release to help Democrats in the midterms?” a reporter asked Biden at the White House.

The president initially tried to brush off the inquiry, saying: “Where have they been in the last four months? That’s my response.”

It’s unclear why Biden said “four months” — as he first ordered oil released from the reserve nearly seven months ago.

Another journalist pressed, “Is it politically motivated, sir? It’s three weeks before the midterms.”

“Look, it makes sense,” Biden said.

Biden delivers remarks on energy at Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Special Presidential Coordinator Amos Hochstein listen on Oct. 19.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

“I’ve been doing this for how long now? It’s not politically motivated at all,” he added. “It’s motivated to make sure that I continue to push on what I’ve been pushing on.”

“The problem is these guys are asleep,” Biden went on, in an apparent reference to oil companies. “I don’t know where they’ve been. And they seem — you know, the price at the pump should reflect what the price of a barrel of oil costs.”

White House officials told reporters ahead of the announcement that higher than usual corporate profits explain roughly 60 cents of current gas prices per gallon. The average cost of a gallon of gas is $3.85 per gallon, up from $3.34 one year ago, according to AAA data.

In his remarks Wednesday, Biden said that the federal government would begin to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when the price per barrel of oil reaches $70. Former President Donald Trump tried to add 77 million barrels to the reserve in 2020 when oil went for about $20 per barrel, but House Democrats blocked the plan.

The president announced the release of 15 million more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — just three weeks ahead of midterms.
Richard Carson/REUTERS

Biden claimed in his remarks that he had done nothing to impede US oil production — despite the fact that he took several actions to throttle exploration, drilling and transportation of oil last year.

“Let’s debunk some myths here. My administration has not stopped or slowed US oil production. Quite the opposite,” Biden said.

The president justified the claim by noting that “we’re producing 12 million barrels of oil per day. And by the end of this year, we will be producing 1 million barrels a day more than the day in which I took office. In fact, we’re on track record oil production in 2023.”

Although domestic production has increased, Biden’s critics point out that he also attempted to impose a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal land, canceled the Keystone XL oil pipeline project from Canada into the US and banned oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Gas prices surged across America for months as the White House attempts to remedy the rise.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

“Americans know that Biden has resorted to gimmicks because his anti-US energy agenda has resulted in soaring gas prices,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “Democrats are to blame for the pain at the pump, the record high utility bills, and soaring energy costs. Voters know Republicans are ready to get our economy back on track and that starts with unleashing American energy.”

The US Oil & Gas Administration joined the pile-on, tweeting: “Gonna keep saying this over and over. The Biden Administration has taken dozens upon dozens of actions (over 100 to date) that will make it harder to produce the very US barrels that POTUS needs to refill the SPR.”

“Biden’s attempt to dig himself out of this energy crisis using our emergency oil reserves threatens our national security and leaves us vulnerable, should disaster strike,” tweeted Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.). “Instead, the President should focus on expanding our domestic energy production.”

Biden said that the federal government would begin to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when the price per barrel of oil reaches $70.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

“It’s the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It’s not the political petroleum reserve,” added Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). “[Biden] is playing politics with this national security asset.”

Biden initially ordered oil to be released from the US strategic reserve in late March to offset price increases linked to Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Biden administration officials framed the upcoming releases as merely “completing” Biden’s plan to release 180 million barrels from the strategic reserve between April and September.

The newly announced release will happen in December. Biden said earlier this month he would release 10 million barrels from the reserve in November to offset production cuts announced earlier this month by the OPEC+ cartel.

About 400 million barrels of oil will remain in the reserve after the December release is complete.



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Bidens’ $5M China loan part of ‘pay-to-play’ scheme: Sen. Grassley

A $5 million interest-free loan the Biden family received from a Chinese energy conglomerate in 2017 should have been probed by the FBI as part of a possible “pay-to-play” plan, Sen. Chuck Grassley told top law enforcement officials last week.

In an Oct. 13 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Delaware US Attorney David Weiss, Grassley (R-Iowa) questioned whether the bureau is fully investigating corruption allegations against first son Hunter Biden and demanded a “full and unredacted FBI summary” of Hunter business partner Tony Bobulinski’s October 2020 FBI interview.

According to Grassley, Bobulinski told investigators that Hunter and first brother James Biden were contracted to assist CEFC China Energy “with potential business deals and investments while Joe Biden was Vice President; however, that work remained intentionally uncompensated while Joe Biden was Vice President.

“After Joe Biden left the Vice Presidency, the summary makes clear that Hunter Biden and James Biden worked with CEFC and affiliated individuals to compensate them for that past work and the benefits they procured for CEFC,” Grassley went on. “According to the summary, Hunter Biden, James Biden and their business associates created a joint venture that would serve as a vehicle to accomplish that financial compensation, and that arrangement was made sometime after a meeting in Miami between Hunter Biden and CEFC officials in February 2017.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley accused President Biden of conducting a possible “pay-to-play” scheme with China.
AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib
Hunter Biden’s former business partner Tony Bobulinski (above) and another partner, James Gilliar, used to refer to Joe Biden as “the big guy.”
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

In a July 26, 2017 email to Bobulinski — first revealed by The Post in October 2020 — CEFC executive Zhao Runlong wrote that the company “fully support the framework of establishing the [joint venture], based on their trust on BD [Biden] family.”

Zhao added that “5 million is lent to BD family in the 10 million charter capital … This 5 million loan to BD family is interest-free. But if the 5M is used up, should CEFC keep lending more to the family? If CEFC lends more, they need to know the interest rate for the subsequent loan(s).”

The $5 million was originally meant to be sent through the joint venture, dubbed SinoHawk and co-owned by Oneida, a holding company made up of five LLCs, two of which were controlled by Hunter and James Biden.

According to a report, investigators think they have enough evidence to indict Hunter Biden on tax crime charges.
AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool

However, Grassley said, the money had not been sent at the time of Zhao’s email to Bobulinski, and “James Biden considered calling CEFC officials and threatening to withdraw Biden family support from future deals.”

The following month, in August 2017, $5 million was wired from “a company connected to CEFC” to Hudson West III, a company jointly owned at the time by Hunter Biden’s law firm Owasco and Coldharbour Capital LLC, which Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) tied to another CEFC executive, Gongwen Dong, in a September 2020 report.

The money, Grassley wrote last week, was later transferred to Owasco and James Biden’s own consulting company, the Lion Hall Group.

President Biden has long denied discussing Hunter’s business deals.
Chris Kleponis / Pool via CNP / SplashNews.com

The first family’s arrangements with CEFC are among the most scrutinized of Hunter Biden’s overseas business interests after a May 13, 2017 email — also revealed by The Post in 2020 — showed that Bobulinski, Hunter Biden, and two other business partners planned split equity in a planned business venture with the company four ways.

According to the email, each of the foursome would get 20% of the shares in the new company, with 10% going to James Biden and the remaining 10% “held by H for the big guy?” – a phrase Bobulinski and another partner, James Gilliar, used to refer to Joe Biden.

The president has repeatedly denied ever discussing Hunter’s overseas business arrangements with his offspring, a stance that has come under scrutiny due to evidence gathered from the first son’s abandoned laptop.

The Post has previously reported on extensive findings from Hunter Biden’s laptop.

“The Justice Department and FBI must come clean to Congress and the American people with respect to the steps they have taken, or failed to take, relating to the Hunter Biden investigation,” Grassley wrote.

The letter was sent one week after the Washington Post reported that investigators believe they have enough evidence to indict Hunter Biden on tax crime charges, as well as making a false statement about his drug use on a federal gun purchase form.

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‘Superfly’ actor Kaalan Walker sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for rape charges

A Los Angeles-based rapper who acted in the 2018 movie “SuperFly” was sentenced Monday to 50 years to life in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting seven victims — including three minors.

Kaalan Walker, 27, was also ordered to register as a lifetime sex offender for the series of crimes dating back to 2013, according to City News Service.

The performer was convicted of three counts of forcible rape, two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, two counts of rape of an intoxication victim and one count of assault with intent to commit oral copulation by a Van Nuys jury on April 18.

Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Wallace said she believes Walker is “truly a predator” for his assaults on young women and teenagers between 2013 and 2018, according to City News Service.

Walker used Instagram and Twitter to find his victims — who were often aspiring models and actresses — and lure them to locations by saying he had booked them for photo shoots and music video productions that never happened.

Kaalan Walker, who was ordered to register as a lifetime sex offender for the crimes, used Instagram and Twitter to find his victims.
WireImage

Instead the rapper raped as well as assaulted the women and underage girls, prosecutors said.

“When they said ‘Stop,’ he didn’t care,” Deputy District Attorney Yasmin Fardghassemi told the jury of Walker during the trial in March, the news service reported.

Walker’s attorney said he didn’t force the women and girls and that they were seeking revenge against his client for the false promises he made of music shoots and opportunities to meet his famous and well-connected friends.

Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Wallace said Kaalan Walker is “truly a predator” for his attacks on his victims.
Getty Images

The lawyer, Andrew Flier, added that the rapper’s career has been ruined and that he has suffered “a living nightmare” due to the allegations he was later convicted of.

Walker — who also appeared in the 2017 film “Kings” starring Halle Berry and Daniel Craig — was arrested in September 2018 and released on bond. He was taken into custody again after he was found guilty.

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White House urged Texas officials not to declare migrant emergency: Sources

The White House pressured the Democratic mayor of El Paso, Texas, to not declare a state of emergency over the city’s migrant crisis due to fear it would make President Biden look bad, The Post has learned.

At least three of the El Paso City Council’s eight mayors have urged Mayor Oscar Leeser to issue an emergency declaration in response to the thousands of migrants who’ve filled the city’s shelters and are being housed in local hotels, sources familiar with the matter said.

But Leeser admitted during a private phone conversation last month that he’d been directed otherwise by the Biden administration, one of the officials told The Post.

“He told me the White House asked him not to,” Councilmember Claudia Rodriguez said.

Councilmember Claudia Rodriguez shared that they were advised by the White House.

Rodriguez also said Leeser has repeatedly assured her that he’d declare a state of emergency “if things got worse” — without saying what that meant.

US Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas), whose district covers rural areas and border towns near El Paso, also said he heard similar accounts from other city officials.

“It is a sleight of hand what the administration is doing — pressuring the local government to not issue a declaration of emergency, to say as if everything is going OK,” he said.

Gonzalez also alleged that the White House has done “the same thing in other parts of my district,” which have also seen huge numbers of migrants seeking refuge.

Leeser declined to speak with The Post but said in a prepared statement, “I don’t bow to pressure from any side.”

At one point over 2,100 migrants were crossing the border at El Paso.
New York Post

“I make decisions based on current circumstances and in the best interest of the citizens of El Paso,” the statement said.

Leeser also praised the federal government for providing his city with “critical” assistance.

The White House pressured El Paso’s mayor to not declare a state of emergency over the city’s migrant crisis.
New York Post
Congressman Tony Gonzalez shares it was not the first time they’ve received pressure regarding migrants seeking refuge.
Congressman Tony Gonzalez

At a Sept. 27 City Council meeting, Mayor Leeser also addressed the issue, saying Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) had urged him not to declare a State of Emergency, adding: “The White House has asked, at this point, for us not to do that and they’ll continue to work with us and continue to give us … money through [the] Federal Emergency Management Agency.”

Figures posted on El Paso’s official website show the city has received only $2 million in federal reimbursements toward the $8 million it has spent dealing with the migrant crisis.

The total cost could end up being much more, with ElPasomatters.org reporting in September the city was spending as much as $300,000 a day to shelter, feed and transport asylum-seeking immigrants.

At least three of the El Paso City Council’s eight mayors have urged Mayor Oscar Leeser to issue an emergency declaration.
City of El Paso

In May, The Post first reported how officials in El Paso were considering declaring a state of emergency ahead of the expected ending of pandemic-related expulsions of border-crossers under Title 42 of the federal Public Health Services Act.

The move would have made the city and county eligible for state and federal funding to open additional shelters for housing migrants.

But the following day, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said that “the mayor and I backed off,” telling The Post that “we found out that there’s very little difference between the funding we’re getting now and the funding that we would get if it went up to the governor and the governor sent it to President Biden.”

At the time, about 700 migrants a day were arriving in El Paso.

But that number topped 2,100 a day last week before dropping down to around 1,600 a day, according to the latest information posted Monday on the city’s website.

Between April and mid-September more than 62,000 migrants had crossed the border at El Paso alone.

El Paso has relocated more than 10,000 migrants by bus to New York City since August, with Lesser revealing at a public meeting last month that he got a green light to do so from Mayor Eric Adams.

The increase of migrants has been an ongoing issue for the El Paso community.
New York Post
El Paso has relocated more than 10,000 migrants by bus to New York City since August.
New York Post
Between April and mid-September more than 62,000 migrants had crossed the border at El Paso alone.
New York Post
The city has received only $2 million in federal reimbursements toward the $8 million it has spent dealing with the migrant crisis.
New York Post

Adams has denied that assertion and publicly called on Leeser to end the program earlier this month, saying “New York cannot accommodate the number of buses that we have coming here to our city.”

The Oct. 7 appeal came the same day Hizzoner declared a state of emergency in the Big Apple over its migrant crisis.

But the buses have continued rolling to the city from El Paso, most recently on Sunday.

Leeser has said that most of the migrants flooding El Paso come from Venezuela.

In recent days, migrants have been able to simply walk across the dried-up Rio Grande, surrender to US Customs and Border Protection officials and get released after saying they intend to seek political asylum.

Last week, the US and Mexican governments announced a deal under which Venezuelans who cross into the US would be sent back to Mexico.

But border sources told The Post that the agreement was only being enforced in a small number of cases.

The White House didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

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