Epstein’s $100K gift, hunt for a baby mama top bombshells in Hollywood publicist’s story
Hollywood power broker Peggy Siegal saw her career unravel after her ties to Jeffrey Epstein came under scrutiny following the financier’s 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.
Roughly 5,000 emails between Siegal and Epstein sent between 2009 and 2019 were released by the Department of Justice earlier this year. The correspondence between Siegal – who represented clients such as Steven Spielberg, Harvey Weinstein and Barry Levinson – shed new light on the pair’s seemingly symbiotic relationship.
Siegal opened up about what she gained from her association with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial, in a recent interview with New York Magazine.
The revelations offer a closer look at the Hollywood publicist’s role in Epstein’s social orbit and the fallout that followed.
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Epstein gifted Hollywood power broker $100,000
Jeffrey Epstein gifted Peggy Siegal $100,000 for her 70th birthday in 2017, roughly two years before the financier was arrested on charges of sex trafficking minors. “I had no problem taking his money,” she told New York Magazine. “He had lots of it.”
Siegal laid out her plans on how she was hoping to spend the money in an email to Epstein. $30,000 was set aside for a birthday party she wanted to host in Southampton with 70 guests. Another $15,000 was to be donated to Elton John’s AIDS Foundation so she could “attend a party at his house in June.”
Siegal also revealed she’d use some of the huge sum to supplement her apartment renovation as she was looking for a temporary fix while she waited for “an amazing brown and beige leopard rug that is wall to wall carpeting for my whole apartment and being made in France.”
“When the apartment gets done, you’re my first visitor,” she wrote at the time.
Helped Epstein regain access to elite social circles
While Peggy Siegal claimed she never went to Jeffrey Epstein’s island or traveled on his plane, the Hollywood publicist helped the disgraced millionaire regain access to elite social circles following his time behind bars in the 2000s.
According to New York Magazine, Siegal got Epstein invited to the 2013 Met Gala and helped him gain access to dinners alongside A-list names such as Martha Stewart, Lorne Michaels and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
She also routinely added him to screening lists and occasionally brought him herself.
A close associate of Siegal’s claimed the publicist became “the linchpin” for Epstein’s social life.
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Planned Epstein A-list party with former Prince Andrew
Peggy Siegal helped Jeffrey Epstein plan a party filled with A-list guests and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as the guest of honor. According to emails, Epstein was eager to befriend Woody Allen and suggested Siegal invite the director to his party.
“Woody is a great idea. Do you know Woody? I do,” she wrote back. The publicist seemed to consider the possibility it could create a fallout. “Could there be any resistance because he had a public issue with Soon-Yi? … just thinking ahead.”
She suggested inviting art dealer and Allen’s close friend Lorinda Ash, writing, “He may feel better if people he knows are around [him]. On the other hand a royal may intrigue him.”
Siegal insisted to New York Magazine that the dinner party was a “total exception” and that she never hosted parties for Epstein. She claimed she had only agreed to this party in order to get Harvey Weinstein’s film “The King’s Speech” to former Prince Andrew and in front of Queen Elizabeth II.
“Harvey had been trying to get a quote from the queen,” she told the outlet, noting she had been marketing the movie at the time. “It was ridiculous.”
Looking back, Siegal claimed she “jeopardized” her relationships with “all these important people” by inviting them around Epstein. “They did not know who he was.”
“All of Jeffrey’s illegal, immoral behavior was in Palm Beach, and he went to jail in Palm Beach, and the New York Times never wrote about him. World-famous newscasters didn’t know who Jeffrey Epstein was. And they counted on my relationship with them to invite them to an interesting evening, which I had many, many times before. They came on my say-so.”
The New York Times did write about Epstein’s 2008 jail stint.
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Epstein wanted a ‘baby mama’
Jeffrey Epstein’s emails to Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal showed that he may have been interested in finding a “baby mama.”
“You shmooze and find me a baby mama,” Epstein wrote in an email.
“A baby Mama … if I wasn’t 102 I would take that job in a nano second,” the publicist wrote back.
“I need great genes,” Epstein added. “smart pretty, funny if you were fifty years younger, whoops, forty.”
She responded, “I am thinking this is a position for a European who understands the mistress (in this case baby mama) mentality. You need someone young without much of a career. Maybe a professional student someone who is kept and can just keep going to school. Also, who doesn’t have much of a family herself. A wanna be socialite is NOT the way to go. Looking and looking. xoxo Peg.”
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Hollywood publicist was ‘in denial’ about Epstein
Peggy Siegal admitted she “wasn’t oblivious” to the fact that Jeffrey Epstein was “morally compromised” and a “con man.”
“I was in denial, but if I tell you that he told me he changed his ways, then that’s telling you I knew that he was a pervert,” she told New York Magazine.
“I mean, obviously I had a sense that he had done something wrong if he had gone to jail,” Siegal added. “I wasn’t oblivious that he was morally compromised and a con man. But I don’t know how to say this to you: The idea of child pornography is so heinous that you can’t even think about it. You can’t even discuss it. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s nothing I wanted to deal with.”
State targets Trump ICE hires with police employment ban proposal
Rhode Island Democrats have introduced a bill that would bar police departments from hiring ICE agents brought on during President Donald Trump’s second term, escalating the state’s pushback against federal immigration enforcement.
Immigration enforcement agents, including those within ICE, have come under fire in recent months from Democratic lawmakers and governors opposed to the tactics involved in Trump’s mass deportation agenda, which the president has said are necessary due to the open-border effects of the Biden era.
In Rhode Island, companion bills in the House and Senate dubbed the ICE OUT Act would amend the Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process Accountability and Transparency Act to add a section denoting the new restriction.
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“A law enforcement agency… shall not employ any individual who was hired as a sworn officer of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency on or after January 20, 2025,” the bill reads.
The policy would take effect in October 2026 and would not affect any officers already hired out of ICE’s ranks.
The bill’s top sponsor in the House, Democratic state Rep. Karen Alzate of Pawtucket, said during a recent hearing that the policy would help bolster public-police relationships in Rhode Island, according to the Providence Journal.
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An official with the Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association, which supports the bill, also told the paper that the alleged “relaxed hiring standards” of Trump-era DHS would not suffice in the Ocean State.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island police officials warned in recent state legislative testimony on a broader group of Democratic-led police reform bills, which include the ICE OUT Act, that officer recruitment will take a hit, according to the Fall River Reporter.
Another such bill from state Rep. Joshua Giraldo, D-Central Falls, would ban ICE from being within 200 feet of a polling place. During the session, Giraldo said that when conjecture about stationing federal immigration enforcement near polls arises, “particularly in the current climate; immigrant communities hear a message that is aimed at intimidation.”
DHS officers on duty are already banned from the city proper in the state capital under a January executive order from Providence Mayor Brett Smiley that makes parking lots, schools, parks and government buildings restricted areas.
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“[Providence] has the responsibility to manage such property in a manner that ensures public trust, access and delivery of essential city services for all residents,” the mayor’s order read in part.
Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Dan McKee for indications as to whether he would sign the ICE OUT Act if it reaches his desk, and to DHS for comment.
NFL Draft prospect claims racial aspect to getting asked to switch from QB position
NFL Draft prospect Taylen Green starred with the Arkansas Razorbacks in college and made a lasting impression on scouts with his performance at the Scouting Combine.
He ran 4.36 seconds in the 40-yard dash, recorded a 43.5-inch vertical jump to go along with an 11-foot, 2-inch broad jump. The talk after his performance was about whether he would be willing to switch positions for a prospective NFL team.
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Green appeared on “Outta Pocket” with former NFL star Robert Griffin III and his wife, Grete, and made clear he had no interest in playing anything other than quarterback. He also suggested there was a racial component to him receiving the question.
“Just like Lamar (Jackson) said, I’m a quarterback. Draft me as a quarterback. I’ve always been a quarterback. Going into recruiting, people wanted me for different positions, I told them, no, I’m a quarterback. I’m not going to your school. I just always had that chip on my shoulder to prove them wrong. If Lamar did it at the next level and won MVPs … We had the same college coach so he definitely prepared me for the next level.
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“I’m not trying to make this a whole race thing, but I feel like they definitely see my color, and they think I’m gonna run, or I’m just a runner, can’t really throw or process things. RG3, I’m pretty sure you’ve been through that, been through that at this process too. I’m just trying to beat that stigma and just put everybody on notice that think that way.”
Plenty of college athletes switched positions from quarterback to a different position. Julian Edelman did it when he played for the New England Patriots, and Terrelle Pryor moved from quarterback to wide receiver eventually – to name a couple.
Jackson, the current quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, was seen as a possible candidate to switch from QB to wide receiver, but the mere suggestion of that caused a stir before he was drafted. He eventually stayed at quarterback and won two NFL MVP awards.
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Green is seen as someone who could be a “good backup” with the possibility of being developed into a starter, according to NFL.com.
Overturning an outlandish Supreme Court ruling is the only way to fix education
Tennessee lawmakers have taken a bold stand against the misuse of taxpayer dollars in public education. On March 10, House Bill 793 advanced out of a full committee with a 15-9 vote, divided mostly along party lines, with Republicans in favor and all seven Democrats opposed. The proposal is scheduled to be heard on the House floor on March 16.
The measure now requires public and charter school officials to verify students’ immigration status at enrollment and report the aggregate results to the state. The proposal originally empowered school officials to deny enrollment to students who could not prove lawful presence in the United States or to charge their families tuition. That provision remains in the Senate’s version – which already passed that chamber 19 to 13 – but opponents to the measure later stripped it out of the House proposal.
This proposal represents the bare minimum in addressing a long-standing injustice, yet it falls far short of what is truly needed. Requiring verification and reporting data sheds light on the number of illegal immigrants in public schools, but it does nothing to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars subsidizing their education.
In Tennessee, as in many states, per-student allocations drive budgets, meaning districts gain financially from admitting more students, regardless of immigration status. Lawmakers must go further by prohibiting public schools from using any tax dollars to educate those unlawfully present. Such a ban would redirect resources exclusively to lawful residents and citizens, allowing per-student funding to surge for eligible children without necessitating tax increases.
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The relief would extend beyond school budgets. Property taxes, which predominantly finance public education systems, exert constant upward pressure on homeowners. By excluding illegal immigrants from taxpayer-funded schooling, state policymakers could alleviate this strain, stabilizing or even reducing property tax rates while enhancing educational quality for legal enrollees.
At the heart of this issue lies the 1982 Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which compels state officials to provide free public education to children of illegal immigrants. That ruling, decided 5-4 by a less conservative court than today, imposes an unwarranted federal obligation on states to divert scarce resources toward entitlements for those without legal status.
Education policy, particularly the allocation of limited funds, belongs in the hands of state legislatures, not dictated by unelected judges. States possess the sovereign right to prioritize their citizens and legal residents, especially when federal immigration enforcement failed spectacularly under the previous presidential administration.
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Today’s Supreme Court has an opportunity to rectify this overreach. Conservatives in Tennessee and elsewhere should welcome legal challenges to HB 793, particularly from teachers’ unions eager to preserve the status quo. These unions profit doubly from illegal immigrant enrollment: first, through inflated per-student funding tied to higher headcounts, and second, via supplemental allocations for English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.
Union leaders would likely hesitate to escalate a fight to the Supreme Court, recognizing the risk. A victory for Tennessee could dismantle Plyler nationwide, inspiring a cascade of similar reforms. The precedent would empower legislatures to reclaim control over education spending, removing the incentives that exacerbate illegal immigration. Rather than fearing litigation, policymakers should provoke it, confident that the current court would affirm states’ authority to manage their own affairs.
Public sentiment aligns firmly against the current policy. Phi Delta Kappa International/Gallup poll found that 55% of Americans oppose using taxpayer dollars to educate children of illegal immigrants, with 81% of Republicans agreeing.
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These numbers reflect a commonsense view: American taxpayers should not shoulder the costs of federal border failures. Education represents a significant investment in the nation’s future, and diluting that investment by extending it to those outside the legal framework undermines equity for citizens.
Momentum builds beyond Tennessee. Since early 2025, legislators in Oklahoma, Texas, Idaho, Indiana and New Jersey have pursued measures to contest Plyler v. Doe, ranging from data collection on immigration status to outright tuition requirements. These initiatives signal a growing recognition that unchecked illegal immigration burdens public systems, from schools to hospitals.
Education policy, particularly the allocation of limited funds, belongs in the hands of state legislatures, not dictated by unelected judges.
In Texas, where Plyler originated, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has long advocated revisiting the decision, citing the unsustainable fiscal strain on local districts. Oklahoma’s proposals mandate proof of status for enrollment, while Idaho and Indiana saw bills advance through committees before stalling. Even in blue-leaning New Jersey, lawmakers introduced the “PLYLER Act” to impose tuition on undocumented students.
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Critics of these efforts often invoke compassion, arguing that denying education harms innocent children. Yet the real harm stems from policies that encourage illegal entry by promising free services, perpetuating a cycle of dependency and straining resources meant for legal residents.
States like Tennessee invest billions in education to foster opportunity, but that promise erodes when funds are spread thinner to accommodate those who bypassed the system. Overturning Plyler would restore fairness, allowing states to focus on their own communities without apology.
The fiscal implications demand attention. Nationwide, educating illegal immigrant students costs billions annually, with estimates varying by state but consistently revealing a disproportionate load on taxpayers.
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The influx strains classrooms, necessitates more ESL teachers and inflates administrative costs. By contrast, excluding these students from taxpayer funding would free up resources for class size reductions, teacher salary increases and program enhancements for lawful enrollees. Property owners, weary of annual tax hikes to cover expanding enrollments, would finally see relief.
Plyler exacerbates illegal immigration by mandating education as an entitlement, regardless of status. The Supreme Court could end this mandate, returning power to the states where it belongs.
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Tennessee’s HB 793, though imperfect, ignites a necessary debate. Lawmakers should strengthen it by banning tax-funded education for illegal immigrants outright, then defend it vigorously in court. The proposal would not only safeguard taxpayer dollars but also deter future illegal entries by removing a key pull factor.
Americans have waited too long for relief from policies that prioritize outsiders over citizens. The time has come for the Supreme Court to overturn Plyler v. Doe and let states chart their own course.
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Fox Nation special details how affair allegedly drove Chris Watts to kill family
A new Fox Nation special goes into the harrowing case of Chris Watts’ plot to murder his pregnant wife and their two young daughters.
The new special will be available to watch on Fox One starting on March 23.
Watts was sentenced in November 2018 to life without parole for the murders of his wife, Shanann Watts, 34, and their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3.
Watts, then 33, pleaded guilty to all charges against him in exchange for prosecutors not pursuing the death penalty, the Weld County District Attorney’s office said.
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Immediately after the crime, in August 2018, Watts told responding officers from the Frederick Police Department in Colorado that his wife and two young daughters had up and “vanished.”
“My kids are my life,” he told KMGH. “I mean, those smiles light up my life. When I came home and then walked in the house, nothing. Vanished. Nothing was here.”
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Within days of the disappearance, Chris Watts was arrested and the bodies of his pregnant wife and children were found.
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A break in the case came after a neighbor provided home security video showing Chris backing up his truck into the driveway early in the morning the day Shanann and the children disappeared. The video did not show Shanann or the children leaving.
Along with the video, authorities also tracked Watts’ digital footprint, including his cell phone data and GPS tracking data.
After failing a polygraph on August 15, 2018, he confessed during an interview. He led investigators to an oil and gas site operated by Anadarko Petroleum near Roggen, Colorado, where the bodies were recovered.
Shanann Watts, who was approximately 15 weeks pregnant at the time, was found in a shallow grave.
Bella and Celeste were found, authorities said, inside separate crude oil storage tanks at the same site. Their bodies were recovered after the tanks were drained.
Watts confessed that he strangled Shanann in their bed after he told her their marriage was over, and she said he would never see their children again. Watts said his wife correctly suspected that he was having an affair, but he did not tell her about his ongoing relationship with a co-worker before killing Shanann.
Authorities have speculated that Watts wanted a chance to start over with the woman. Watts told investigators that the woman “never asked him to get rid of his family” but their relationship may have “contributed” to his actions.
After he strangled Shanann, Watts said Bella came into their bedroom clutching a blanket and asked what was wrong with her mother. Watts claimed his wife wasn’t feeling well. Their daughter continued watching as Watts wrapped the body in a bedsheet and began crying when he pulled it down the stairs of their home, he said.
Watts said he put her body on the floor of his truck’s back seat. When he went inside, Celeste was also awake.
According to Watts, he put the girls into the backseat of the truck, where they occasionally napped on each other’s laps as he drove.
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Watts claimed he had no plan for his daughters but drove to an oil work site about 40 miles east of the family’s home. He worked there as an operator for an oil and gas producer. He told police he pulled Shanann’s body from the truck as the girls asked, “What are you doing to mommy?”
Watts confessed he went back to the truck and used Celeste’s blanket to smother her as Bella watched from a seat beside her sister. He then put Celeste’s body inside an oil tank before returning to the truck and smothering Bella using the same blanket. Her last words were, “Daddy, no!” he told police, adding that Bella struggled under the blanket. He said he put her body inside another oil tank and buried Shanann’s body nearby.
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Watts insisted that he did not plan to kill his wife or children.
Brooks Nader and sisters spark double takes in bubble outfits on NYC streets
Brooks Nader and her sisters turned heads on the streets of New York City after they stepped out in eye-catching outfits made entirely of bubbles.
On March 10, the 28-year-old Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model and her siblings Mary Holland, 26, Grace Ann, 25, and Sarah Jane, 23, were photographed walking through Manhattan in coordinated looks covered in clear plastic bubbles, creating the illusion they were wearing little more than soap suds.
The sisters’ ensembles, which varied slightly from each other, were two-piece sets of crop tops and shorts or miniskirts with clusters of transparent spheres layered over nude fabric. They paired the looks with matching open-toe, stiletto nude heels.
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In photos from their viral outing, Brooks, Mary Holland, Grace Ann and Sarah Jane were seen exiting a gray van before strutting down the sidewalks of the Big Apple, earning double takes from passersby.
The Louisiana natives were trailed by photographers during their attention-grabbing excursion, which was part of a marketing stunt and campaign shoot for the March 23 relaunch of women’s personal care brand Jukebox.
Brooks and her sisters were pictured holding clear plastic bags filled with Jukebox products and posing for photos with fans.
After photos from the Nader sisters’ outing went viral, their looks were widely compared to Lady Gaga’s iconic bubble dress, which the pop star famously wore during performances in 2009.
Brooks, Mary Holland, Grace Ann and Sarah Jane star together in the Freeform/Hulu reality show “Love Thy Nader,” which follows the sisters as they navigate modeling careers and life in New York City.
“Born and raised in Louisiana, the four of us always dreamed of moving to New York to chase big-city dreams,” they told People magazine in a joint statement when the show premiered last August.
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“It felt a world away. And yet — here we are. Four sisters, all in our 20s, living together in NYC,” their statement continued. “Working, dating, laughing, learning, and building a life we never could’ve imagined… side by side!”
Brooks rose to fame after she won Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s Swim Search in 2019 and landed her first cover of the magazine in 2023. During a 2023 interview with People, Brooks shared that she hoped her sisters were inspired by her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover.
“I’m trying to be a role model to them, they’re all models as well, so I gave them a little something to put on their wishlist,” she said.
“I think they can achieve it,” Brooks added. “Anything’s possible.”
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Brooks competed alongside professional dancer Gleb Savchenko on Season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2024 and has also embarked on an acting career.
Earlier this month, she was cast as Selene, the captain of the Zuma Beach lifeguards, in Fox’s upcoming “Baywatch” reboot.
“Love Thy Nader” was renewed for a second season in November 2025.
Woman waits over 12 hours in emergency room amid Canada healthcare crisis
A woman seeking emergency care for severe abdominal pain recently shared her frustration on social media with the long wait times at a Canadian hospital.
Amanda Gushue, 37, first visited her primary care physician — who sent her to the emergency department (ED) with a swollen appendix.
After waiting for two hours in triage, she was sent to the waiting room — where she was shocked to see that it could be anywhere from five to 15 hours before she could see a doctor or nurse.
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She ultimately waited another 10 to 12 hours before she was seen.
“There were probably about 150 seats, and they were all full,” Gushue, a resident of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, told Fox News Digital. “This is what we deal with when we go to the hospital on a regular basis — you’re looking at spending a full day there.”
Gushue shared that one elderly woman came in with a head wound, “bleeding profusely,” and had to wait for two hours before she was seen.
Gushue said she attributes the long wait times to a scarcity of doctors. “We have tons of nurses, but no doctors.”
Even after she was admitted, Gushue claimed she received sub-par care and was not given sufficient privacy.
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Canada has a universal healthcare system that is funded through taxes, according to the government’s website.
Eligible residents of a province or territory can apply for public health insurance to access free healthcare services, the website states.
“I would rather pay for my healthcare at this point and get treated fairly,” Gushue said.
“The healthcare system is overworked right now, and these doctors are probably exhausted,” she said, expressing her point of view. “They’re working around the clock, and then after a 16- or 17-hour shift, you get a cranky doctor.”
Gushue was ultimately admitted. She had her appendix removed recently.
She is now recovering and said she “feels great.”
“I would rather pay for my healthcare at this point and get treated fairly.”
In 2024-2025, there were more than 16.1 million unscheduled emergency department visits in Canada’s hospitals, an increase from about 15.5 million the year before, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
Among those patients who were admitted into the hospital from the emergency department, nine out of 10 of the ED visits were completed within 48.5 hours, the above source stated. For those who were not admitted, nine out of 10 were completed within around eight hours.
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Median wait times vary widely by province, CIHI stated.
Some of the main factors contributing to the extended wait times include staff and bed shortages, hospital flow issues (due to lack of primary care access), and overcrowding that leads to system stress, according to the Canadian Medical Association.
Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency room doctor in Edmonton, recently shared with the Calgary Journal that he sometimes sees more than 100 people in the waiting room of his hospital, which only has 30 chairs.
“People who can stand, stand. Some are on the ground, and we’re hoping they’re alive,” he said. “And you walk by this carnage, and then you start your day.”
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The doctor added that some patients wait all night to receive care. “What used to be a mass casualty event is now the new norm,” he said, per the report.
Another ED physician, Dr. Michael Howlett, who is president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, also shared his concerns about the situation.
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“I’ve worked in emergency departments since 1987, and it’s by far the worst it’s ever been. It’s not even close,” he told CityNews, a Canadian news outlet.
“We’ve got people dying in waiting rooms because we don’t have a place to put them,” he went on. “People [are] being resuscitated on an ambulance stretcher or a floor. Those things have happened.”
In January, Alberta’s minister of hospitals announced an investigation into the death of a 44-year-old man who died after waiting nearly eight hours in an Edmonton emergency department with chest pain, according to local reports.
A system review has since been completed by Acute Care Alberta, identifying emergency department overcrowding and triage challenges. The review issued multiple recommendations to prevent similar incidents, though a formal investigation into the death remains ongoing.
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The government also announced new triage liaison physician roles in major hospitals, as physicians report continued overcrowding and capacity issues.
Fox News Digital reached out to Nova Scotia Health and Canada Health requesting comment.
Another big billionaire flees California for Texas prior to tax deadline
Billionaire and Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick officially joined the exodus from California, revealing he moved to Austin, Texas, just weeks before a proposed wealth tax could have targeted his estimated $3.6 billion fortune.
“Just to be clear, on December 18, I moved to Texas. I don’t know what’s so specific about December 18, but let’s just say it’s prior to January,” Kalanick said in an interview with TPBN.
“I get a little bit [of] FOMO on like, these people going to Florida. I’m like, dude! Why so much Florida action?” he continued. “Come on, homies.”
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Kalanick left his San Francisco home for Texas just 14 days before the new year, when the retroactive residency deadline for the proposed billionaire tax would take effect.
While it has not yet qualified for the November ballot, the proposal — backed by the Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) — would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California residents with more than $1 billion in wealth. The tax would be due in 2027, and taxpayers could spread payments over five years, with additional fees, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office.
If the measure is approved by voters, anyone who was a California resident on Jan. 1, 2026, would owe the tax, according to the proposal. Based on Forbes’ estimates, Kalanick could owe roughly $180 million.
Kalanick’s departure follows other longtime California billionaires who have moved themselves or their businesses to Texas in recent years, including Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and venture capitalist David Sacks.
Florida is also rapidly absorbing California’s finance and media elite, with names like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg moving to the “Gold Coast.”
Kalanick is using his relocation to launch his new venture, Atoms — formerly City Storage Systems — which focuses on industrial robotics and “gainfully employed” artificial intelligence, he said in the interview. It’s a pivot from the “perception politics” he claims pushed him out of Uber in 2017.
“I had been torn away from an idea and a movement that I had poured my life into. I had lost my bearings as I found the world increasingly operating by the rules of perception, not reality,” he writes on Atoms’ website.
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When jokingly asked if he ever takes work calls through his AirPods while waterskiing, Kalanick responded that he might start doing so.
“Dude, I should. I’d love it. Don’t get me excited,” he said.
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