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Rand Paul slams Fauci as 'political animal' after fiery Senate hearing
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul sparred once again with Dr. Anthony Fauci in a Senate hearing on Tuesday, with the lawmaker pressing the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on reports he sought to quash "fringe" epidemiologists' coronavirus mitigation strategies.
The Kentucky Republican also asked Fauci to address accusations that he is at least tangentially culpable in the creation of viruses through gain-of-function research.
Following the hearing, Paul told Fox News' "The Story" there is evidence on a probability of "90 to 10" that the COVID-19 virus came from a Wuhan, China, laboratory and was engineered via gain-of-function research, despite Fauci's denials.
"[Fauci] funded the lab," Paul told host Martha MacCallum. "He tried to obscure the idea that he was giving money to the lab and then he steadfastly, for two years, said it wasn't gain of function, that they weren't taking viruses that don't exist in nature, creating them and creating viruses that are so dangerous that they could actually wipe out a portion of humanity."
Later, Paul claimed that Fauci and his former boss, ex-NIH chief Francis Collins,orchestrating a "takedown" of three prominent epidemiologists regarding their coronavirus mitigation theories.
"They orchestrated a takedown campaign in the lay media, not in the scientific journals on the merits, but in the lay media," Paul said. "And so he didn't want to answer my question, so he accuses me of fomenting violence. But it's a misdirection because he doesn't want to accept that basically, he's become a political animal and that everything he does every day is to further his political agenda, not the science." CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON OUR TOP STORY.
In other developments:
- Top doc lets professional mask slip in heated hot mic explosion after clash with GOP rep
- Fauci, Paul clash over accusations of 'cheap politics' regarding alleged 'takedown' of other scientists
- Reps. Comer, Jordan expose new Fauci emails they say point to COVID-19 lab leak 'cover up'
- WaPo columnist: It's time to make life a 'living hell' for the unvaccinated
- Omicron testing: Are throat swabs better at detecting the COVID-19 variant than rapid tests?
Ted Cruz slams podium over reporter's mask questions: 'Just once' I'd like you to ask Biden, Psaki about that
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, slammed his fists on a podium in frustration Tuesday as he attacked what he deemed media hypocrisy regarding elected officials wearing face masks or not.
During a news conference speaking out against Democrats trying to eliminate the filibuster, a reporter questioned Cruz about him and his fellow Republicans not wearing masks. Cruz quickly shot down the question.
"Just once, I'd like to see a reporter say to Joe Biden, when he stands at the damn podium in the White House without a mask, 'Mr. President, why aren't you wearing a mask?'" Cruz said angrily. "Just once, I’d like to see you say to Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, when she stands at the podium with no mask, ‘Ms. Psaki, why don’t you have a mask?’
"The questions are only directed at one side," Cruz alleged, "and I got to say that the American people see the hypocrisy."
Twice, Cruz thumped his hands on the podium for effect.
Prior to this answer, Cruz also called out the "wild hypocrisy" on the part of President Biden and his administration regarding COVID-19 policies. CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
In other developments:
- Cruise industry tries to stay afloat during omicron surge
- CDC Director Rochelle Walensky doubles down on flawed mask study at Senate hearing
- Canadian province announces plan to impose fine on the unvaccinated
- Howard Stern slams Novak Djokovic in profanity-laden tirade over vaccine stance: 'A--hole'
- House sergeant-at-arms says Capitol will remain closed to visitors: 'I'm afraid of COVID’
- Spanish PM urges European leaders to treat COVID-19 as an 'endemic' illness, track it like the flu
Damari Perry death ruled a homicide: Chicago boy burned after freezing to death
Damari Perry, a 6-year-old Chicago boy found dead in freezing temperatures in Indiana on Saturday morning, was killed in a gruesome homicide, a medical examiner ruled Tuesday evening.
Three family members have been accused of forcing the boy into a cold shower on Dec. 30 – making him stay until he vomited and passed out. Then they failed to call for assistance.
The child died – and the suspects allegedly dumped him near an abandoned house in Gary, Indiana, according to local authorities.
In a gruesome news release, the Lake County Coroner's Office announced that the pending cause of death was hypothermia – but the statement also described other injuries.
Damari is believed to have frozen to death before his partially burned body suffered "charring," according Coroner David Pastrick. Authorities said they discovered the boy naked and wrapped in a plastic trash bag. CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
In other developments:
- Young Dolph murder: Suspect arrested in Indiana, another charged
- Former Oklahoma police officer sentenced to 25 years in murder of daughter’s boyfriend
- Waukesha Christmas parade suspect Darrell Brooks Jr. scheduled to be in court Friday
- Police, law enforcement line of duty deaths in 2021 jumped 55% from year before
- Florida murder trial that ended in mistrial over race is set to start anew
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TODAY'S MUST-READS:
- Biden slams Jefferson Davis -- despite past vote to restore Confederate leader's US citizenship
- Florida abortion legislation would ban procedure after 15 weeks
- Cruz slams 'arrogance' of FBI to stonewall his Jan. 6 questions: 'Did they actively solicit illegal conduct?'
- North Korea claims success after second hypersonic-missile test this week
- Harmony Montgomery case shines spotlight on need for more social workers in police departments, cops say
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- McCarthy considers banning stock trades in Congress if Republicans win majority
SOME PARTING WORDS
Tucker Carlson guest Kathy Guillermo, a senior vice president at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Tuesday night, accusing Fauci's federal agency of funneling tens of thousands of dollars into proposed medical research that she claimed would pose harm to monkeys.
"PETA's discovered the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases spent more than 200 grand on a proposed experiment that would ‘subject real male rhesus monkeys to feminizing hormone therapy to see whether that makes them more susceptible to HIV to help transgender women,'" host Tucker Carlson said. "It couldn't get uglier."
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This edition of Fox News First was compiled by Fox News' Jack Durschlag. Thank you for making us your first choice in the morning. We’ll see you in your inbox first thing Thursday.
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