Sparks fly as Cuomo, Mamdani tear into each other during fiery NYC mayoral debate
Front-runners for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, wasted little time attacking each other on alleged personal scandals they have been involved in during a Wednesday night debate between the pair and GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani and Sliwa took the opportunity during Wednesday’s debate to drill down on past sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, the former governor of New York, ahead of an impeachment inquiry that preceded Cuomo’s 2021 resignation. Cuomo was also hit by Mamdani over accusations he has – while in public office – failed to meet with Muslim constituents and only began doing so amid pressure from his mayoral campaign, and over his alleged poor handling of the COVID-19 virus in New York after Cuomo was party to issuing guidance forcing nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit COVID-19 positive patients.
Meanwhile, Cuomo did not hold back on targeting Mamdani over alleged controversies that have embattled his campaign. Cuomo blasted the self-proclaimed socialist over his lack of experience, ties to radical politics, and past radical comments about law enforcement, Israel and the situation in Gaza.
FBI AGENTS FROM ’93 WTC ATTACK BLAST MAMDANI FOR EMBRACING RADICAL IMAM
“My main opponent has no new ideas. He has no new plan. … He’s never run anything, managed anything. He’s never had a real job,” Cuomo said of Mamdani during the debate. Cuomo also branded Mamdani as someone who has proven to be “a divisive force in New York,” pointing to past incidents that have garnered Mamdani heat from critics.
One of those incidents included a picture he took with a hard-lined Ugandan lawmaker who has pushed policies of imprisoning people for being gay, which Mamdani took while taking a break from the campaign trail to visit his home country of Uganda for a wedding. Cuomo also hit the controversy over whether Mamdani supports Jewish New Yorkers, as his critics have claimed he is anti-Israel pointing to statements he has made, like “globalize the intifada.”
Cuomo also accused Mamdani of disrespecting Italian-Americans after a video of him surfaced giving the middle finger to a statue of Christopher Columbus, while also pointing to criticism the self-proclaimed socialist candidate has garnered from 9/11 first-responders after posting a photo with a Muslim cleric who served as a character witness for the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.
TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’
“You have been a divisive force in New York, and I believe that’s toxic energy for New York. It’s with the Jewish community. It’s with the Italian-American community – when you give the Columbus statue the finger. It’s with the Sunni Muslims when you say decriminalize prostitution, which is Haram. It’s the Hindus,” Cuomo continued. “Then, you take a picture with Rebecca Kadaga, deputy Prime Minister of Uganda. … She’s known as Rebecca ‘Gay Killer.’ … You’re a citizen of Uganda. You took the picture. You said you didn’t know who she was. It turns out you did. How do you not renounce your citizenship or demand BDS against Uganda for imprisoning people who are gay just by their sexual orientation? Isn’t that a basic violation of human rights?”
Mamdani shot back that his politics have remained “consistent” and that they are built on a belief in human rights for all people, including LGBTQ+ folks. Had he known Kadga’s role in drafting legislation to imprison gay folks, Mamdani said, he never would have taken the picture.
“This constant attempt to smear and slander me is an attempt to also distract from the fact that, unlike myself, you do not actually have a platform or a set of policies,” Mamdani shot back at Cuomo before introducing his own claims about the former governor regarding past accusations of sexual harassment.
MAMDANI RIPPED BY RIVALS FOR UNPOPULAR STANCE DURING FIERY NYC DEBATE: ‘YOU WON’T SUPPORT ISRAEL’
“Mr. Cuomo. In 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration credibly accused you of sexual harassment. Since then, you have spent more than $20 million in taxpayer funds to defend yourself, all while describing these allegations as entirely political,” Mamdani said while attacking Cuomo Wednesday night.
“You have even gone so far as to legally go after these women. One of those women, Charlotte Bennett, is here in the audience this evening. You sought to access her private gynecological records. She cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her. I, however, can speak. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?”
Cuomo, in 2021, was accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment that preceded his resignation as governor that year. A subsequent report from New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed Cuomo “sexually harassed multiple women from 2013 through 2020,” while in January 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had reached a nearly $500,000 settlement with Cuomo’s executive office over one of the claims. However, no criminal charges were ever filed against Cuomo, with some district attorneys citing insufficient evidence.
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Cuomo defended himself against Mamdani’s accusations, noting the cases were eventually dropped, before returning to questions about Mamdani’s alleged past.
Meanwhile, Sliwa didn’t skip an opportunity to slam Cuomo over the sexual assault allegations either, saying early in the debate during a discussion about homelessness that Cuomo “fled” the governor’s office amid an impeachment inquiry that was investigating him.
“Andrew, you didn’t ‘leave.’ You fled from being impeached by the Democrats in the state legislature,” Sliwa began before getting into the homelessness issue, earning him a round-of-applause from the audience.
“‘Leave?’ You fled!” Sliwa continued to applause. “But let’s get back on topic.”
Healthcare premiums skyrocket as Sen Ted Cruz’s decade-old warning proves true
Over a decade ago, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, predicted that healthcare premiums would skyrocket, even in the face of subsidies put into effect under Obamacare that were meant to bring them down.
Today, the ballooning of those premiums and their accompanying subsidies are at the center of the 22-day shutdown that looks poised to get longer still.
“Despite Obamacare subsidies, many Americans will still be paying higher premiums in 2014 as a result of Obamacare,” Cruz said in 2013, referring to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES AT CENTER OF DEM SHUTDOWN FIGHT ‘FUEL’ HEALTHCARE COST INFLATION, CONSERVATIVES SAY
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In his 2013 floor speech, Cruz pointed to research from Avik Roy, a healthcare researcher who, at the time, was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Roy’s research made the case that subsidies passed by the Obama administration would do little to stop government-backed healthcare plans from growing more expensive over time or competing effectively with non-government-backed plans.
But even those forecasts have paled in comparison to the costs of the government’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The subsidies under Obamacare have vastly expanded in recent years. An emergency provision included in President Joe Biden’s 2021 American Rescue Plan widened the range of eligible applicants as a response to the global pandemic.
Now that those COVID-era provisions are set to sunset at the end of 2025, an expiration date set by Democrats themselves, Democrats are voicing alarm that Obamacare policyholders will have to shoulder the costs of health insurance without the enhanced supplemental aid.
‘THE PANDEMIC’S OVER’: GOP, DEM SENATORS SPAR ON CAMERA OVER COSTLY OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES
According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on fiscal policy, continuing the expanded credits could cost upwards of $30 billion annually. Findings by KFF, a healthcare policy group, say that over 90% of the 24 million Obamacare enrollees make use of the enhanced credits.
KFF analysis indicates that the enhanced premium tax credits saved subsidized enrollees an average of $705 last year.
Democrats in Congress, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have demanded some sort of extension to the already expanded COVID-era subsidies as a condition for passing spending legislation to end the current government shutdown, which is now the longest full shutdown in history.
Republicans, who maintain that the subsidies are completely unrelated to government funding considerations, have said lawmakers will address the subsidies when the government is open again.
The most conservative members in Congress have said cutting back on the subsidies is key to returning the government to pre-COVID levels of funding.
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Lawmakers in the Senate have voted 11 times on a short-term spending extension meant to keep the government open through Nov. 21 but have so far failed to move past the gridlock over the enhanced premium tax credits.
Cruz did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Coca-Cola’s Trump-approved drink officially rolls out across the US
Coca-Cola has reportedly begun rolling out soda made with cane sugar across the U.S., months after President Donald Trump urged the beverage giant to bring back the ingredient to its American products.
A new 12-ounce, single-serve glass bottle of Coca-Cola’s signature soda made with U.S. cane sugar is launching in select markets nationwide this fall, a spokesperson for the company told The New York Post.
The move gives consumers “a classic and timeless way to enjoy their Coca-Cola Original Taste made with US cane sugar,” the spokesperson said.
COCA-COLA TO LAUNCH NEW PRODUCT WITH CANE SUGAR THIS FALL FOLLOWING TRUMP PUSH
The Coca-Cola Company’s Chief Financial Officer John Murphy told Bloomberg News on Tuesday that the launch will be gradual.
“It’s going to be a measured roll-out,” Murphy said. “There is only a certain amount of cane sugar available in the United States.”
The announcement follows months after Trump said in July that he had spoken with Coca-Cola executives about bringing back “real cane sugar” to their U.S. products and that the company agreed.
COCA-COLA’S SUGARCANE SHIFT: STATES THAT COULD BENEFIT FROM THE BEVERAGE GIANT’S LATEST MOVE
“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”
Just days after Trump’s July announcement, Coca-Cola said in its second-quarter earnings report that it was planning to debut a version of its signature soda made with real sugar this fall.
“As part of its ongoing innovation agenda, this fall in the United States, the company plans to launch an offering made with U.S. cane sugar to expand its Trademark Coca-Cola product range,” Coca-Cola said.
TRUMP SUCCESSFULLY CONVINCES COCA-COLA TO BRING BACK ‘REAL’ CANE SUGAR IN US DRINKS: ‘IT’S JUST BETTER!’
In the 1980s, the beverage giant swapped cane sugar, which came with high tariffs, for high-fructose corn syrup. High-fructose corn syrup was the cheaper alternative due to corn farming subsidies.
While Mexican Coca-Cola, made with cane sugar and sold in glass bottles, is still imported into the U.S., it is a rarity that typically carries a higher price tag.
Coca-Cola did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
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John Fetterman breaks with Dems, criticizes shutdown and party rhetoric amid standoff
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., told “Hannity” Wednesday he’s willing to “pay a price” to help reopen the government, even if it means breaking with his party, as the shutdown stretches into its fourth week.
“I am always going to vote country over my party and if I pay a price within my base, that’s something I am willing to do,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman has been outspoken in his criticism of the shutdown, vocalizing his priorities to fund the military and Capitol Police over party politics. He noted that he’s one of only two Democrats voting to keep the government open.
“I’m not afraid to tell my truth and if I’m going to pay a penalty, I’m not afraid of that,” Fetterman told host Sean Hannity. “It’s wrong to shut our government down.”
FETTERMAN CALLS OUT DEMS’ FLIP: ‘WE RAN ON KILLING THE FILIBUSTER, AND NOW WE LOVE IT’
This comes after Fetterman labeled the 22-day-long shutdown a “failure” in a post to X Wednesday.
Looming cuts to critical government programs have struck a chord with the Pennsylvania Democrat.
“I refuse to vote to suspend SNAP for millions of Pennsylvanians in my state and across the entire nation,” he insisted.
GOVERNMENT ENTERS LONGEST FULL SHUTDOWN IN US HISTORY WITH NO END IN SIGHT
Millions of Pennsylvanians and 42 million Americans rely on food bought with assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps low-income families afford nutritious groceries. The largely federally funded program is reportedly expected to be cut if the shutdown continues.
“That’s going to be suspended because our government is shut down,” Fetterman said. “I can’t ever vote for that kind of mass food insecurity.”
The Democratic senator also condemned what he described as “extreme” rhetoric from party leaders, referencing President Donald Trump being labeled a “fascist.”
“Extreme kinds of rhetoric make it easier for those extreme kinds of actions,” he said.
“I refuse to be a part of it and comparing people to Hitler and those things,” he added. “If that’s what’s required to win, then I refuse to.”
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Fetterman cautioned that inflammatory language is steering the country in the wrong direction, saying, “We’ve lost the plot.”
“I refuse to call my fellow citizens fascists or Nazis or those things,” Fetterman said. “If somebody wants to primary me or the party wants to vote me out, I’m going to go down being honest and telling you that this is wrong.”
Fetterman urged both parties to return to decency and cooperation, saying he’s willing to take political heat if it means standing up for his convictions.
“It’s just basic humanity and we’re forgetting that we all need each other,” he concluded.
Sports reporter ambushed on air as bizarre teen trend leaves adults baffled
Liv Cleary, a sports reporter for KEZI covering the Oregon State-Lafayette game, went viral after fans interrupted her live shot with a new Generation Alpha meme trend.
Bombarded by gamewatchers during her report, one attendee was several decibels higher than the others as he shouted “6-7” multiple times behind the journalist on a hot mic.
“At the start of my live shot, fans were kind and added a fun element to my coverage. As it went on, a few fans stuck around and things got a little out of hand which is what you saw,” Cleary wrote on X. “Live TV is unpredictable and sometimes you have to roll with it!”
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From teachers in classrooms to reporters on the street, no one is safe from the viral “6-7” meme taking the younger generation by storm after being popularized by the Charlotte Hornets’ basketball point guard LaMelo Ball.
A 15-year-old high school sophomore told The Washington Post, “It’s more of an ironic thing. People are making fun of the fact that it’s not funny.”
The meme — which The Wall Street Journal dubbed “this fall’s most obnoxious classmate” — originated from a song by rapper Skrilla, titled “Doot Doot (6 7).” The rapper told The Washington Post the inspiration for the lyric came after riding past a truck with “‘6-7’ written on it in dust in Arizona.”
The trend triggers whenever either number — six or seven — comes up. Teens then shout “6-7!” repeatedly while gesturing with both palms up, alternating like a balance scale.
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Teachers have particularly endured the storm of this internet trend, encountering the silliness day in and out. One teacher now even avoids breaking her students up into groups of six or seven, and refrains from using the numbers when referencing a page or question number.
“If you’re like, ‘Hey, you need to do questions six, seven,’ they just immediately start yelling, ‘Six Seven!’ It’s like throwing catnip at cats,” Cara Bearden, a math teacher at Austin Peace Academy in Texas, told The Wall Street Journal.
While some have racked up views for venting about the fad on social media, other educators have taken to TikTok to share their plan for adding the trend to lesson plans to make “6-7” cringey.
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“South Park” joined the “6-7” craze in a recent episode, where students obsessed with the meme attend a parody assembly warning that it symbolizes “satanic numerology” and “the coming of the anti-Christ.”
Some millennials have compared the trend to “1738” by Fetty Wap and Lil Wayne’s “6 Foot, 7 Foot” from their childhood, while Gen X has compared the craze to Tommy Tutone’s popular song, “867-5309/Jenny.”
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Whether completely meaningless or so highbrow that it’s beyond comprehension — Gen Alpha has confused the masses with this latest internet obsession.
Trump was right about China’s threat, now a new danger lurks in American hospitals
In today’s political environment, it is hard to envision important issues where Republicans and Democrats can find common ground. Protecting the safety and security of citizens from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is hopefully still that issue.
In recent years, we have seen growing agreement among lawmakers that the CCP is actively working against the security of the U.S. Whether through coercive trade practices, espionage, military aggression or technology theft, the CCP is intent on undermining American strength.
President Donald Trump has rightly identified our nation’s increased dependence on Chinese companies as a clear threat to national security. In response, he has taken action to rebuild our domestic industrial manufacturing bases. This is especially true in critical security industries like defense, nuclear development, pharmaceutical manufacturing and data center infrastructure.
The Trump administration should now look at medical devices. This lesser-known threat to American privacy and security lurks within our hospitals, health care facilities and even in the homes of everyday Americans. Used to treat patients, monitor patient health and inform medical decisions made by health care professionals, medical devices are critical tools used in the everyday care of our most vulnerable members of society.
CHINA’S MALIGN INFLUENCE TOUCHES EVERY ASPECT OF US LIFE. WE ALL NEED TO HELP STOP THEM
It is no wonder, then, that medical devices made by Chinese companies not only have the potential to take advantage of that intimate access, but have already been shown to exploit those vulnerabilities to gain access to the personal, private data of American patients.
Just this month, it was reported that medical hardware from Shanghai-based United Imaging has been installed in some of the country’s top research labs. In some instances, these labs were even funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Not only has United Imaging worked alongside the Chinese military and the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to the FBI, the company has also bribed employees working at an NIH-funded lab to backchannel non-public information about their research to United Imaging and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning about a patient monitor made by Chinese-based company Contec, specifically calling attention to a software backdoor on the device that once connected to the internet “begins gathering patient data, including personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI), and exfiltrating (withdrawing) the data outside of the health care delivery environment.”
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) followed up with its own report, saying that the backdoor enabled remote actors to engage in “remote code execution and device modification with the ability to alter its configuration.”
FIVE WAYS AMERICA CAN STOP A NEW COLD WAR WITH CHINA FROM TURNING HOT
Far from being an idle threat, CISA explained that this vulnerability in a machine that monitors and displays critical information like electrocardiograms and blood pressure could result in life-or-death consequences: “This introduces risk to patient safety as a malfunctioning monitor could lead to improper responses to vital signs displayed by the device.”
Medical devices made by Chinese companies have quietly made their way into many hospitals and clinics in the United States, bringing with them hidden risks that are waiting to be abused by the CCP.
First, patient privacy is compromised when unknown actors can access and siphon the most sensitive and confidential data from every patient in America, undermining the very foundation of trust in our health care system.
Compounded with the fact that Chinese law compels Chinese companies to cooperate and share information with the CCP and that China prizes big data and is gathering information on individuals around the world, we can be assured that whatever private information is gathered on American patients is not in our national interest.
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Second, we cannot trust that information siphoning will not escalate to more serious tactics that put patient lives at risk. Remote access to medical devices could result in real-world harm to patients if those devices were reconfigured to display false information that then led to unnecessary and harmful medical interventions.
Third, the U.S. healthcare system is becoming too dependent on Chinese companies to run our hospitals. It does not take much of a leap to think about what would happen if the CCP decided to cut off the supply of medical devices. Just like critical minerals, energy or military equipment, depending on Chinese companies for medical devices is a clear threat to American security.
What these threats amount to is that the U.S. can no longer blindly outsource medical devices – some of our most vital and sensitive equipment – to companies that operate at the behest of foreign adversarial governments like the CCP. It is critical that America has a domestic supply chain of medical devices.
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Now is the time that lawmakers, both at the federal and state level, take this threat seriously and take meaningful steps to reduce the risks posed by these medical devices.
Protecting Americans from threats to their health and security should be an easy, bipartisan win.
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Steelers QB warns 311-pound lineman after viral celebration gone wrong: ‘I’m 41’
Aaron Rodgers went viral last Thursday with some crafty touchdown passes for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the biggest clip that circulated was after a crucial one in the fourth quarter.
Rodgers was celebrating a 68-yard catch-and-run for six by tight end Pat Freiermuth that gave Pittsburgh a late lead against the Cincinnati Bengals, but when offensive tackle Broderick Jones tried to join Rodgers, the moment went awry. Jones jumped on top of Rodgers, and both of them fell to the turf.
Rodgers was heated, and he gave a straight answer as to why on Wednesday.
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“What you don’t see in the video is right after the throw, he’s coming over to me and shaking me and shaking me,” Rodgers said about Jones. “I texted him, I said, ‘Hey, I love your energy, I love everything you’re about. But also, I’m 41. You can’t be out there tackling me.’”
Fair enough, Aaron.
STEELERS’ BRODERICK JONES WARNS HE MAY TACKLE AARON RODGERS AGAIN DESPITE ANGER OVER CELEBRATION HIT
The celebration didn’t last long for the Steelers, though, as Joe Flacco had his coming-out party in his first Bengals home game since being traded by the Cleveland Browns.
Flacco finished his great night with a game-winning drive to beat their AFC North rival, 33-31.
Rodgers threw for 249 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss. And Jones did deserve to celebrate given Rodgers wasn’t sacked once despite the loss.
While Rodgers doesn’t want Jones to tackle him again, the 6-foot-5, 311-pound tackle didn’t rule out it never happening again.
“It’s just the energy that he brings and that I bring,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “He told me, ‘Don’t lose the fire,’ and I told him the same. We shall see on Sunday after he throws another touchdown. I might tackle him again.”
It’ll be a special Sunday for Rodgers, who will face his former Green Bay Packers squad for the first time since he departed for the New York Jets two seasons ago. Rodgers obviously has storied history with the franchise that took him 24th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft.
He commented on facing the Packers, saying he doesn’t “have any animosity toward the organization.”
“I wish that things had been better in our last year there, but I have a great relationship with a lot of people still in that organization, and this is not a revenge game for me,” he told ESPN. “I’m just excited to see some of those guys and be on ‘Sunday Night Football’ again.”
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With the prime time lights shining down on Acrisure Stadium on Sunday night, Rodgers may not consider this a revenge game, but he sure hopes to score a lot of touchdowns against his former team.
He’s just hoping to stay upright after throwing them.
Man charged with assault on costumed Trump supporter at ‘No Kings’ rally
A Massachusetts man has been charged after allegedly assaulting a supporter of President Donald Trump who was wearing an inflatable costume of the president at a political protest over the weekend, police said.
The incident occurred Saturday during a “No Kings” rally on King’s Beach in the North Shore town of Swampscott, just outside Boston.
Cellphone video captured the moment Michael Curll, 36, ran up behind the man in costume, identified as Jonathan Silveira, and allegedly kicked and tackled him from behind.
Silveira’s girlfriend, Angela Mazariegos, was behind the camera during the alleged assault.
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Silveira, who held an American flag while dressed in the inflatable suit, told Boston 25 News he simply “wanted to get Trump out there and show he has support” and was not seeking a fight.
“I love Donald Trump. Go Trump,” he added.
Swampscott police said Curll “hooked Silveira’s legs” and wrapped his arms around his neck, knocking him to the pavement, according to a police report obtained by Boston 25.
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Swampscott Police Department Sgt. Brendan Reen confirmed to Fox News Digital that Curll pleaded not guilty Monday to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and was released on personal recognizance.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for December.
Silveira posted the jarring video to Facebook writing, “My costume is ruined by a liberal lunatic.”
Silveira said he will continue showing his support for Trump “unapologetically, even if others may not like it.”
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Fox News Digital requested a copy of the incident report from police.
Silveira did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Scientists uncover unexpected link between gray hair and deadly skin cancer
Why does hair turn gray? And how is that common hallmark of aging connected to a life-threatening disease?
A new study may have pinpointed how going gray is connected to one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.
Researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, led by Dr. Emi K. Nishimura, found that pigment-producing stem cells in hair follicles respond to stress in dramatically different ways.
BREAKTHROUGH BLOOD TEST COULD SPOT DOZENS OF CANCERS BEFORE SYMPTOMS APPEAR
Depending on their environment, those cells can either die off, which leads to gray hair, or survive and multiply in ways that could trigger melanoma, according to a university press release.
The findings were published Oct. 6 in the journal Nature Cell Biology.
The team studied melanocyte stem cells, the cells that give hair and skin their color, using mouse models and tissue samples. In exposing these cells to forms of stress that damage DNA — such as chemicals that mimic UV exposure — the scientists observed how the cells behaved inside their natural setting.
SKIN DNA BREAKTHROUGH COULD LET 60-YEAR-OLD WOMEN HAVE GENETICALLY RELATED KIDS
Some of the cells responded to the damage by stopping their normal self-renewal process and turning into mature pigment cells that soon died. This left the hair without its source of color, producing graying.
But when the researchers altered the surrounding tissue to encourage cell survival, the damaged stem cells began dividing again instead of shutting down. Those surviving cells accumulated more genetic damage, and, in some cases, started behaving like cancer cells.
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Additional experiments showed that certain signals from the cells’ environment — including one molecule called KIT ligand, which promotes cell growth — helped determine which way the cells went, the release stated.
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In other words, the same kind of cell could either fade out harmlessly or become the seed of melanoma, depending on the cues it received from nearby tissue.
“It reframes hair graying and melanoma not as unrelated events, but as divergent outcomes of stem cell stress responses,” Nishimura said in the release.
Nishimura’s team described the process as a biological trade-off between aging and cancer, but that doesn’t mean gray hair prevents cancer.
“It reframes hair graying and melanoma not as unrelated events, but as divergent outcomes of stem cell stress responses.”
Instead, it shows that when pigment cells stop dividing and die off, it’s the body’s way of getting rid of damaged cells, the researchers noted. If that process doesn’t happen and the damaged cells stick around, they could turn into cancer.
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The study was conducted in mice, but its implications could help scientists understand why some people develop melanoma without obvious warning signs, and how the natural mechanisms of aging could actually protect against cancer.
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For now, the researchers say the discovery shows how finely balanced the body’s cellular responses are and how small changes in that balance can mean the difference between a harmless sign of aging and a life-threatening disease.