International
Out soon? Biden faces growing calls to withdraw 2024 White House bid
From The Center Square
By
President Joe Biden faces a growing tidal wave of opposition and calls for him to leave the presidential race from his own party, with more elected Democrats coming out against him seemingly every day.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed media reports from multiple outlets have suggested Biden is considering bowing out of the race and could make the announcement in the coming days.
Despite those reports, Biden’s campaign released a statement Friday saying that the president will resume campaigning next week.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., released a statement on Friday calling for Biden to step aside so that another Democrat can take on former President Donald Trump in November.
Heinrich is the third elected senator to do so, joining dozens of House Democrats and other party leaders. This kind of revolt within the party is highly unusual, though Biden does have publicly voiced support from about 75 Democrats, according to a tally from the New York Times.
Most Democrats questioning Biden have made a similar argument: Biden has a great legacy, but he probably can’t beat Trump in November.
A leading Democrat in the House, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, made that argument earlier this week when he called on Biden to step aside.
“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Schiff said.
Freshly certified Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance took a shot at Biden on Friday, questioning his cognitive decline and questioning if Biden should leave the White House altogether.
“If Joe Biden doesn’t have the cognitive function to run for re-election, then he certainly doesn’t have the cognitive function to remain as Commander-In-Chief,” Vance wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “How can any Dem pushing him to drop out of the presidential race, argue in good faith that he should stay on as POTUS?”
Biden’s woes gained steam after his disastrous debate performance at the end of last month put his campaign on defense as traditionally liberal media questioned his fitness and Democrats began calling for him to leave the race.
Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt last weekend, further rallying his base and making him more sympathetic to Independents. Even before the assassination attempt, Trump led Biden nationally in polling and in nearly every key battleground state.
Biden has so far publicly insisted he will remain the party’s nominee. Since the assassination attempt and Biden began quarantining for his COVID-19 infection, the pressure has ramped up even more.
If Biden does drop out, a key question will be whether he decides to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris or to leave the Democratic National Convention in August open for other likely contenders, such Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom or others to make a play for the nomination.
Meanwhile, Republicans and Trump’s fiercest supporters have been propelled by Trump’s wins, his attempted assassination survival, and seem more confident than ever about November.
“The Democrat party is in more chaos than ever,” U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “While they try to force out a feeble old man who refuses to give up the wheel, they remain unified on disastrous policies that have ravaged our country. Will Biden drop out? Maybe.
“Will it matter? No.
“The American people need Donald Trump, and in November, we’re sending him back to the White House,” she added.
Crime
Europol takes out one of the largest pedophile networks in the world with almost 2 million users
From LifeSiteNews
An international group of police agencies has taken down one of the largest pedophile networks in the world with almost two million users.
Investigators from Bavaria, Germany, announced yesterday that they dismantled an online pedophile platform called “Kidflix” used to distribute child pornography that had around 1.8 million users worldwide. Police carried out raids in 31 countries and arrested 79 people in total.
The European police unit Europol coordinated the operation led by the Bavarian criminal police. Europol announced that around 1,400 suspects have been identified worldwide in “one of the biggest blows against child pornography in recent years, if not ever.”
According to Europol, the platform “Kidflix” was one of the largest pedophile networks in the world. Guido Limmer, deputy head of the Bavarian criminal police, said it was the “largest operation ever” organized by Europol. The platform’s server, with over 70,000 videos at the time, was reportedly shut down by German and Dutch authorities in early March.
The 79 people arrested were not only suspected of having watched or downloaded videos of child sexual abuse but some were also suspected of personally harming children. The police units carried out the raids from March 10 to 23 and reportedly confiscated thousands of electronic devices. In Germany alone, 96 locations were raided. Among the suspects was a 36-year-old man who not only viewed illegal material but also reportedly offered up his young son for sexual abuse. The child was given to child protection services after the man was arrested, the Bavarian police spokesman said.
Limmer also noted that one of the arrested suspects was a “serial” abuser from the United States.
According to Europol, “Kidflix” was set up by cybercriminals in 2021 and became one of the most popular platforms for pedophiles. The international police agency said that the investigation into the network began in 2022.
In October 2024, German police dismantled another large online pedophile network with hundreds of thousands of users, arresting six men associated with the platform.
Last year, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office revealed that the cases of sexual abuse against children and adolescents had more than tripled in the past five years.
By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
US Mainstream Media Maintains Myopic Focus on Less than 1000 Cases
As the measles story in the US continues to unfold with reporting of a few cases here and there come in through mainstream media, I wondered about measles in Europe.
The WHO casually reported that the Europe Region had 127,350 cases in 2024.
According to an analysis by WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 127 350 measles cases were reported in the European Region for 2024, double the number of cases reported for 2023 and the highest number since 1997.
Children under 5 accounted for more than 40% of reported cases in the Region – comprising 53 countries in Europe and central Asia. More than half of the reported cases required hospitalization. A total of 38 deaths have been reported, based on preliminary data received as of 6 March 2025.
Measles cases in the Region have generally been declining since 1997, when some 216 000 were reported, reaching a low of 4440 cases in 2016. However, a resurgence was seen in 2018 and 2019 – with 89 000 and 106 000 cases reported for the 2 years respectively. Following a backsliding in immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, cases rose significantly again in 2023 and 2024. Vaccination rates in many countries are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, increasing the risk of outbreaks.
Many regions in Europe have lower rates of measles vaccination than the goal of 95%.
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Less than 80% of eligible children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania were vaccinated with MCV1 in 2023 – far below the 95% coverage rate required to retain herd immunity. In both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro the coverage rate for MCV1 has remained below 70% and 50% respectively for the past 5 or more years. Romania reported the highest number of cases in the Region for 2024, with 30 692 cases, followed by Kazakhstan with 28 147 cases.
The WHO Report does not mention adjudication of hospitalizations or deaths. Presumably hospitalization of healthy kids is routine for contagion control. So if measles is so common and presumably well-handled by Europe, why is it such a big deal in the United States? Don’t look for Sanjay Gupta or Anderson Cooper to tell you that a similar size region and population handles >100K cases per year without much fanfare.
Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
President, McCullough Foundation
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