(Mercola)—COVID-19 lockdowns accelerated brain aging in adolescents, according to a recent study.¹ The pandemic drastically changed daily routines, leaving many young people struggling with their mental and physical health. You might have noticed how isolation affected teens, especially girls, more than boys. Increased feelings of anxiety and depression became common as social interactions dwindled.²

As the lockdowns wore on, physical fitness levels among young adults began to decline sharply. Reduced opportunities for exercise and more time spent sedentary led to significant drops in both aerobic and anaerobic fitness.³ This decline isn’t just about physical health; it’s closely tied to mental well-being as well.

We’re only now beginning to see the many ways COVID-19 lockdowns impacted adolescent brain development and physical fitness; the full effects likely won’t be apparent for years or decades to come.

The Impact of Lockdowns on Adolescent Brain Development

Adolescence is a critical period for brain maturation, where emotional and social development take center stage. During this time, your brain undergoes significant changes, including synaptic pruning and myelination, which are essential for cognitive and emotional growth. However, the COVID-19 lockdowns disrupted these typical developmental trajectories, particularly in girls.⁴

Researchers used MRI scans to compare brain structures before and after the lockdowns, revealing that young girls experienced more rapid cortical thinning than boys did. Cortical thinning is a natural part of brain development during adolescence, where your brain’s outer layer, the cortex, becomes thinner as it matures.

This process is essential for improving cognitive functions like thinking, memory and emotional regulation. However, the study showed that the lockdowns caused this thinning to happen much faster than usual, especially in female adolescents. Girls experienced a mean brain age acceleration of 4.2 years compared to 1.4 years in boys.

The acceleration in brain maturation is linked to increased stress caused by the pandemic restrictions. Prolonged social isolation and the disruption of daily routines led to higher levels of stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones affect brain development, leading to the accelerated thinning observed in the study.

Moreover, the faster brain maturation in females is concerning because it’s associated with a higher risk of developing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. The rapid changes in brain structure may interfere with the normal development of emotional and social skills, making adolescents more vulnerable to neuropsychiatric disorders.

The study highlights the critical need for ongoing support and monitoring of adolescents who experienced the lockdowns. Providing mental health resources and promoting healthy lifestyles may help mitigate the negative impacts of accelerated brain aging, but early intervention is essential to address the long-term consequences on young minds.

Autobiographical Memories Impact Mental Health in Lockdown

Another study found that as lockdowns continued, children’s memories of that time became less detailed and more negative over time. Initially, kids could recall specific events and feelings from the lockdown, but as months passed, their memories lost some of that detail and leaned more toward negative emotions.⁵

Psychological well-being among children and adolescents also took a hit during the lockdowns, with girls showing the most significant decline. While all young people experienced increased anxiety and depression, female adolescents were particularly hard-hit, reporting the lowest levels of happiness and the highest levels of depressive symptoms.⁶

The content of these memories played a crucial role in mental health outcomes. Memories that were filled with negative emotions and detailed factual information about COVID-19 and the restrictions predicted poorer psychological well-being over time. Not surprisingly, kids who focused more on the negative aspects and the hard facts about the pandemic struggled more with their mental health.⁷

Overall, the findings suggest that the way children and adolescents remember and narrate their experiences during challenging times significantly influences their mental health. Negative memory narratives lead to worse psychological outcomes, highlighting the need for supportive interventions that help young people process their experiences in healthier ways.⁸

Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Physical Fitness in Young Adults

COVID-19 lockdowns also had a significant long-term impact on the physical fitness of young adults.⁹ Researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis involving over 5,300 university freshmen, comparing their physical fitness levels before and after the pandemic lockdowns. Again, not surprisingly, the lockdowns led to notable declines in both aerobic and anaerobic fitness compared to previous years.

The study showed that anaerobic fitness, which is essential for short bursts of intense activity like sprinting, decreased by an average of 0.84 points. More strikingly, aerobic fitness, crucial for sustained activities such as running or cycling, dropped by 2.25 points in males and a more substantial 4.28 points in females. This indicates that young adults became significantly less capable of performing endurance-based activities post-lockdown.

With gyms, parks and sports facilities closed, many young adults found themselves spending more time sitting or engaging in less physically demanding activities like video games or desk work.

Curiously, females experienced greater declines in aerobic fitness compared to their male counterparts. This gender disparity suggests that lockdown measures may have disproportionately affected girls in maintaining their cardiovascular endurance. Possible reasons include differences in how males and females engaged in physical activities during the lockdown or varying access to exercise resources and support systems.

The decline in physical fitness may lead to long-term health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. The study underscores the urgent need to promote physical activity among young adults, especially in the aftermath of lockdowns or similar restrictions. Encouraging regular exercise and reducing sedentary time are essential steps in preventing these negative health outcomes and ensuring that fitness levels recover post-pandemic.

Furthermore, the research highlights that addressing fitness declines is important for supporting the overall health of young adults. Promoting accessible and enjoyable forms of exercise may help mitigate the long-term consequences of the pandemic on youth fitness and well-being.

Lockdowns Led to Vitamin D Deficiency, Worse Birth Outcomes in Pregnant Women

In related news, a team of Spanish researchers looked into the effects of strict lockdown on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women, noting, “In Spain, a strict lockdown (SL) was declared, with the population being confined at home, therefore influencing their exposition to sunlight.”¹⁰

For this study, vitamin D deficiency (VDD) was defined as a vitamin D level below 20 ng/mL, and vitamin D insufficiency as a level between 20 and 30 ng/mL. This is notable, since it represents an extremely low level of vitamin D. While sufficiency begins around 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L in European measurements), the target range for optimal health is 60 to 80 ng/mL (150 to 200 nmol/L).

If higher levels were used to define vitamin D deficiency in the study, even more women would have been deemed deficient. Still, even using 20 ng/mL as the deficiency cutoff, 55.5% of pregnant women in the region were vitamin D deficient. Among those on strict lockdown (SL), the prevalence was 77.8%.¹¹

While the study stopped short of examining the pregnancy outcomes of lockdown-driven vitamin D deficiency, past research has linked VDD with adverse effects in pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth and caesarean delivery.¹²

COVID-19 lockdown was also associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes, with risk increasing the longer the lockdown continued,¹³ as well as an increased risk of preterm birth.¹⁴

Other studies also suggest that lockdowns negatively affected pregnant women in other ways. For example, in a study comparing women who experienced a Level I lockdown in China during the pandemic with women who did not, the lockdown group had shorter gestational length and a higher risk of preterm birth.¹⁵

Brain Development and Fitness Are Suffering After Pandemic Lockdowns

To conclude, the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on adolescent brain development and physical fitness, particularly in young girls. These effects, coupled with increased stress and prolonged social isolation, have heightened the risk of mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression.

Physical fitness has also taken a significant hit, with both aerobic and anaerobic capacities declining, especially among young women. The shift toward sedentary lifestyles and reduced opportunities for physical activity has had lasting effects on health and well-being, with implications for long-term health outcomes.

To mitigate these impacts, it’s essential to promote regular physical activity, provide mental health support and encourage healthy lifestyle habits. By understanding the unique challenges faced by adolescents during the pandemic, we can develop targeted interventions to support their recovery and ensure a healthier future for our youth.

Early intervention, consistent support and fostering resilience are crucial steps toward helping adolescents navigate these challenging times and safeguarding their mental and physical health.

• ^1, 4 PNAS September 9, 2024, 121(38)
• ^{2, 5, 6, 7, 8} Child Development August 14, 2024
• ^3, 9 Scientific Reports September 18, 2023, volume 13, Article number: 15430 (2023)
• ¹⁰ Nutrients 2023, 15(8), 1972
• ¹¹ Nutrients 2023, 15(8), 1972, Discussion
• ¹² Nutrients 2023, 15(8), 1972, Introduction
• ¹³ Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022; 13: 824245
• ¹⁴ Front Med (Lausanne). 2021; 8: 705943
• ¹⁵ BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2021; 21: 795

The deceased student has been identified as Kaiden Francis from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

A university statement said students and medical professionals quickly came to the freshman guard’s aid, but attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

“Despite the quick and heroic efforts of students and medical professionals, Kaiden never recovered and passed away. Our hearts are heavy as we process this tragedy,” the university’s president, Dr. Charles Smith, said.

The cause of the 6-foot-2 freshman’s death has yet to be disclosed.

Francis was found unresponsive shortly after finishing his weekly skills workout with coaching staff and trainers, despite showing no signs of underlying issues in recent heart and lung evaluations.

Responding to the tragedy, the Alabama university canceled classes Wednesday to allow the community time to grieve and pray.

A campus-wide memorial service was held at 10 a.m., according to the private, Christian-based university.

A scheduled basketball game against Southern University at New Orleans for Wednesday evening was postponed.

Smith said he had the opportunity to watch Francis play recently and that the teen showed extraordinary talent.

“My family and I had the privilege of watching Kaiden play just last week. He was profoundly gifted and clearly loved by his teammates,” Smith said.

“As you can imagine, Kaiden’s family, coaches, and teammates are heartbroken and need our prayers.”

According to recent stats, the University of Mobile Rams basketball team is currently ranked No. 24. In their recent 81–49 victory over No. 20 Life University in Marietta, Georgia, Francis came off the bench to score 10 points, helping the team improve their season record to 6–0 overall and 2–0 in Southern States Athletic Conference play.

In his statement, Smith encouraged students and staff to find comfort in their faith.

“As we walk through this together, I want to encourage you to remember where our help and hope come from,” he said.

“You may recall the first chapel of the semester began with a simple, but profound question: ‘Who is God?’ Psalm 23 reminded us that even in the darkest valleys, we can trust that God is good, God is in control, and God is working all things – including this unspeakable tragedy – together for His glory and the good of His people.”

The university has made counseling services available to students who may need support.

Classes were expected to resume on Thursday.

Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, guilty on all ten counts of killing Riley outside of the University of Georgia’s campus on Feb. 22 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As the family pleaded for Ibarra to serve a life sentence without parole, Phillips read words Riley wrote in her entry on Jan. 17, 2023, where she promised to be a loving, God-fearing future wife and mother to her future family.

“I think one of her last journal entries dated 12/17/23 says it best, so here we go: ‘To my future husband, as silly as I feel writing this, my old small group leader once recommended it, so here I am,” Phillips read. “‘To my future husband, I want you to know that I’m thinking about you and working everyday to become the best wife I can be by working through my current relationships to best prepare me for ours and our kids one day. I’m focusing on God and what he defines as a faithful, Christian life and so that I can best embody those characteristics. I pray that you know that it is with my full faith and trust in God that I know that this relationship has been handcrafted by Him. I pray that we continue to glorify the Lord, prioritizing him in every aspect of our lives, and raise our family, our future family to be God-fearing Christians as well.’”

“‘I pray God is the singer of our relationship as it is a gift from Him, I thank Him for you before I even know you. I can’t wait to love you in the best way I know how for the rest of our lives,’” her stepfather read. “‘I pray you know and feel the importance of our love and hopes for our relationship. No matter what challenges we face, I pray that our trust in God and for one another overrules the obstacle. May our relationship last forever, Your future wife, Laken.’ That your Honor was our beautiful Laken. That your Honor is just a glimpse of what was tragically and brutally taken from her and us that day.”

The convicted murderer, who unlawfully entered in September 2022, abducted Riley while she was on a jog and murdered her by causing blunt force trauma to the head with an inanimate object. The judge found Ibarra guilty of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a 9-1-1 call, tampering with evidence and being a peeping tom.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that Ibarra had entered the U.S. illegally through an entryway near El Paso, Texas, and was released into the country on parole due to the lack of detention space at the time. He was later arrested for allegedly acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 years old in New York City, according to ICE.

His former roommate, Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello, testified during a Monday hearing that she and Ibarra traveled from New York City to Athens, Georgia, after requesting a “humanitarian flight” in September 2023, four months before Riley’s murder.

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On Tuesday, Ukraine fired six long-range missiles that were provided by the United States into Russia. On Wednesday, Ukraine fired twelve long-range missiles that were provided by the United Kingdom into Russia. This is literally insane.

What would we do if another superpower was using Canada or Mexico to launch long-range missiles at us? Needless to say, there would be millions of Americans screaming for us to use nukes against that superpower.

Well, right now there are millions of people inside Russia that want their government to use nuclear weapons against the United States and Europe.

Of course if there is a full-blown nuclear war, there won’t be any winners.  As I pointed out in this video, more than 90 percent of the U.S. population would eventually end up dead.

We should be doing all that we can to find a way out of this mess.

The war in Ukraine is not good for anyone except for the military-industrial complex, and so leaders on both sides should be seeking to sit down at the negotiating table while it is still possible to do so.

But instead of pushing for negotiations, a number of countries in Europe appear to be preparing for war.

For example, on Monday Sweden began to distribute more than 5 million copies of a booklet “advising its citizens how to prepare for war”…

Sweden on Monday started to distribute copies of a booklet advising its citizens how to prepare for war, as Nordic countries teach people how to brace for a potential Russian attack.

The 32-page brochure, which is also available in English and several other languages, advises citizens on warning systems, how to seek shelter during an air raid and even psychological and digital security.

Why would Sweden need to prepare for war? Nobody is going to attack Sweden.

Something doesn’t smell right.

Sweden has not had to fight a war for a very long time, but apparently top Swedish officials believe that this is a very real possibility…

Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin made waves in January when he warned: “There could be war in Sweden.”

Sweden’s then army chief Micael Byden also alarmed many when he days later said “Swedes have to mentally prepare for war.”

Sweden has not gone to war in more than two centuries.

Meanwhile, Finland and Norway are also suddenly interested in getting their citizens prepared for war…

As Norwegian paper Aftenposten recently reported, Norway’s citizens have also received similar “emergency preparedness” pamphlets because “in the worst case” acts of war could also affect Norway.

Finland’s government, too, has released a digital booklet to prepare citizens for “incidents and crises,” stating that the country “has always been prepared for the worst possible threat, war.”

In particular, Finland has become quite paranoid.

They are actually constructing a 10-foot-tall wall that is going to be 200 km long when it is finally finished…

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia and Helsinki has maintained a higher level of preparedness.

But after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Helsinki announced plans to build a 200-kilometre border fence with Russia.

Three meters (10 feet) tall and topped with barbed wire, it is due to be completed by 2026.

Why would the Russians invade Finland?

The Russians have their hands quite full with Ukraine, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

Once again, something is not adding up.

In Germany, an incredibly detailed document that is a thousand pages long contains intricate plans for a war with Russia…

According to a 1,000-page document entitled ‘Operationsplan Deutschland’, Germany would reportedly host hundreds of thousands of troops from NATO countries and serve as a logistics hub for sending huge quantities of military equipment, food and medicine toward the front.

A report by Der Spiegel in the summer said as many as 800,000 soldiers from the security bloc could be hosted by Germany as they transit to posts further East.

The German army is also instructing companies and civilians on how to protect key infrastructure and mobilise for national defence, envisaging a situation in which Russia expands drone flights, spying operations and sabotage attacks across Europe.

Why are they spending so much time and energy preparing for a hypothetical war with Russia?

If the Russians become convinced that an all-out war with NATO is inevitable, they won’t invade Europe with conventional forces.

Instead, they will use their nukes.

And the Europeans won’t be the first to get nuked.

We will.

As I have relentlessly warned my readers, Russia has been preparing to fight a nuclear war with the United States for a long time.

Their strategic nuclear arsenal is far superior to our own, their anti-missile systems are far superior to our own, and the subs that they would use to deliver a devastating first strike are so quiet that we cannot even track them effectively.

So let’s find a peaceful solution to the problem in Ukraine before events spiral completely out of control.

Because right now we are closer to nuclear war than we have ever been, and the death and destruction that a full-blown nuclear war would cause would be unthinkable.

Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

This comes from an investigation conducted by COVID-19 Substack blogger Super Sally, who noted that, adding the number of fewer births and the number of excess deaths from 2020 to 2023, the Philippines had an “unrealized population” – the number of people who should have been living at the time – of about 1.285 million people. (Related: Philippine government reports 297,000 excess deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccines.)

“New readers may be shocked at the excess mortality in 2021, which started only in March of that year,” wrote Sally. However, “I believe that the 2021 mortality and birth data was throttled in early 2022, and the devastation of 2021 will likely be hidden forever.”

Sally’s data comes from an analysis of the PSA, which publishes reports yearly on data collected from the Philippine Civil Registration System, including vital statistics like births, marriages and deaths.

Rise in deaths and decline in births coincide with COVID-19 vaccine rollout

The Philippines’ mass COVID-19 vaccination program was initiated in March 2021, around the same time the country’s unrealized population started surging. While there were a few COVID-19 “vaccine” brands used in the Philippines, the Janssen vaccine by Johnson & Johnson and supplied to the nation through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) program of the World Health Organization is believed to be the biggest killer for the country.

“The big spike in deaths which happened in every single region [of the Philippines] in July of 2021 was concurrent with the rollout of Janssen [COVID-19 vaccines] which were delivered to all regions with 3.2 million doses administered within just a few weeks,” wrote Sally. “There was a second death spike in January 2022, also matching the second Philippine delivery of 5.2 million new doses of Janssen.”

“All Janssen doses were delivered under the COVAX program,” she continued. “This is not to say other injectables were not deadly and causative of excess deaths, just that Janssen drove those excess deaths to a new devastating high.”

If 2019 is taken as the last normal and reference year, there have been 908,566 fewer births and 386,939 excess deaths from 2020 through 2023. This gives an “unrealized population” of 1.285 million.

Overall 2023 deaths are slightly higher than 2022 levels, and 2023 births are just slightly lower than 2022 levels. Both may rise slightly in the final reports that will be issued early in 2025.

The deaths are higher than 2022 levels for many months, with even some data points higher than 2021, which was the prior worst year. Early in 2023 births were higher than 2022 and 2021 levels. However, by the end of the year births had dropped, across almost all regions to levels similar to 2021.

Watch this video of a hearing in the Philippine House of Representatives as congressmen investigate the nearly 300,000 excess deaths caused by the COVID-19 vaccines.

This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

• Deaths and injuries from COVID-19 vaccines could put insurance companies at risk of bankruptcy.
• Bill Gates’ “days are numbered,” say Japanese scientists after ABORTION DRUGS found in “vaccines.”
• The COVID “vaccine” is an intentional effort at world genocide.
• Report: VACCINES and LOCKDOWNS are responsible for excess all-cause mortality, not COVID-19 infection.
• Study of 125 countries reveals inconvenient truth: Excess mortality was caused by democide and vaccine mandates, not “covid.”

Sources include:

• SHTFPlan.com
• SuperSally.Substack.com
• Brighteon.com

“The increase contributes to inflation, the high cost of living in California, and has a disproportionate and adverse impact on lower income Californians,” wrote Professor Michael A. Mische. “To compensate for the increases, the average Californian driving an internal combustion vehicle will have to earn an additional $600.00 to $1,000.00 a year in pre-tax income in order to “breakeven” with 2024 prices, depending on the grade of gas they purchase.”

Days after the November election, the California Air Resources Board — a regulatory commission almost entirely appointed by the governor — passed new updates to the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, requiring producers of “dirty” transportation fuel to purchase more credits from producers of “clean” transportation fuel. The new LCFS will provide an estimated $105 billion in EV charging credits and $8 billion of hydrogen credits largely paid for by fees on gasoline and diesel, which the state estimated would be passed on to drivers and consumers.

Mische first estimated that the state’s newly passed carbon credit requirement will increase retail prices for regular grade gasoline in 2025 somewhere between 40 and 65 cents per gallon — similar to that estimated by the University of Pennsylvania Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.

He then estimated that the governor’s new refinery regulations he passed during a special legislative session last month would increase prices between 5 and 27 cents per gallon, and that the shutdown of the Phillips 66 refinery announced after the new refinery regulations would add another 8 to 14 cents per gallon.

Because California gas taxes rise with the state’s price index, Mische estimates the gas tax will go up between one to two cents per gallon in 2025.

Combined, these changes add up to an increase of 55 to 90 cents per gallon of regular-grade gasoline in 2025, and 95 cents to $1.15 for premium-grade gasoline.

Republicans pointed out that the governor has now moved away from Sacramento, the state’s capital, and will now be chauffeured to work in a gasoline car.

“Newsom is completely out of touch, recently purchasing a $9.1 million mansion in Kentfield, a wealthy town that’s 90 miles away from his job in Sacramento,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego, in a statement. “While regular Californians face tough choices between putting food on the table or gas in their cars, Newsom will be chauffeured to work from his luxury home in a taxpayer-funded car, running on taxpayer-funded gas, on the rare occasions he decides to show up.”

Gaetz resigned last Wednesday shortly before the Ethics Committee was scheduled to release the investigation into allegations of the former representative engaging in sexual misconduct and illicit drug consumption. It remained unclear whether the committee’s report would be released, with Speaker Mike Johnson opposing the investigation’s publication.

“There was not an agreement by the committee to release the report,” Republican Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, the chair of the Ethics Committee, told reporters following a committee meeting Wednesday.

WATCH: Rep. Matt Gaetz responds on Tucker Carlson Tonight to allegations of sexual misconduct:

He says a former DOJ official named David McGee is trying to extort is family for money

He says that the FBI and DOJ have audio recordings that will prove his innocence. pic.twitter.com/J95AEFtxsr

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 31, 2021

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Jong-Fast wrote in a Vanity Fair column Monday that expressing outrage over Trump’s remarks about women and “wokeness” only satisfies his supporters and is less dangerous than what he may do during his administration. The “Morning Joe” guest argued the media focused too heavily on Trump’s rhetoric throughout his first administration, and stated they should instead focus on Trump’s alleged threat to democracy and American institutions.

“We are in it for 4 years, this is gonna be a marathon, not a sprint. We need to protect norms and institutions and not focus on the aesthetic problem of Trumpism,” Jong-Fast said. “The first time there was a lot of ‘he used vulgar language,’ you know, offended by things and more focus on the norms and institutions. So, the war on woke is vague. You saw reporting that had these people, Trump voters, saying Trump had defeated woke. So that’s vague. But the structural things that Trump might do to try and fight woke could end up undermining democracy. So I feel like, more focused on democracy, democratic values, norms and institutions, the structures that keep America, America, and less focused on the aesthetic problems of Trumpism.”

Jong-Fast wrote in her piece that Trump’s tweets during his first administration distracted from the “actually terrifying things” the then-president did. She argued that his possible “outrageous” remarks that will be made in the upcoming 4 years should not get the same reactions.

“Will I be outraged? Obviously, Trump will do outrageous things. But in entering likely one of the most perilous moments for our democracy, we must focus on the assault on essential norms and institutions, because without them, we are lost,” she wrote.

The media, including “Morning Joe,” spent the entirety of the 2024 election season warning that Trump is a “threat to democracy” and will govern as a dictator, even likening him to former Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Scarborough accused Trump of being the single biggest “threat to democracy since the Civil War” and compared him to Hitler during a Sept. 23 segment, while one of their guests Claire McCaskill claimed he is “more dangerous than Hitler” during a November 2023 segment on the program.

Co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with Trump in Mar-a-Lago on Friday to discuss their concerns regarding policy issues, including abortion and illegal immigration.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Now, just as Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has made it clear that her state will refuse to collaborate with President Trump’s federal immigration efforts upon his return to office, we see these disturbing arrests unfold.

One suspect arrested is 21-year-old Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz from Guatemala. He stands accused not only of forcibly raping a child but was also released by local authorities despite ICE’s detainer request meant to ensure he would face federal custody.

“Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz stands accused of horrifically victimizing a Massachusetts child and represents a significant threat to our neighborhoods,” Patricia H. Hyde, acting ERO Boston Field Office Director, said.

De Paz-Munoz entered the U.S. on September 24, 2020, near Eagle Pass, Texas—yet he was allowed back into society before facing any consequences for his actions after authorities ignored federal requests.

The second arrest involves 42-year-old Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos from Colombia who was taken into custody for allegedly committing even more heinous acts against children: statutory rape and aggravated rape among them.

“Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos stands accused of the most heinous and reprehensible of crimes,” Hyde said.

Despite failing to leave under visa terms since arriving at JFK International Airport in New York back in May 2016—and now facing grave charges—local law enforcement still seems hesitant when it comes to enforcing immigration laws effectively amid rising crime rates involving illegal immigrants like him.

“We thank our law enforcement partners at the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction for prioritizing public safety and protecting children in the communities they were appointed to serve,” Hyde said.

Then we have Alexandre Romao De Oliveira—a foreign fugitive wanted for his conviction related to child rape back home in Brazil who entered America without proper admission procedures on April 16th last year. He managed slip through unnoticed until recently when taken down by ICE agents while hiding out in Methuen, MA

“Alexandre Romao De Oliveira is a convicted child rapist who fled his home country to evade justice,” Hyde said.

This individual’s evasion highlights severe flaws within current immigration practices that allow criminals safe harbor, penalizing innocent citizens through lax policies driven by political agendas rather than genuine security concerns—an outright travesty if there ever was one!

“Enhancing public safety starts with cooperation between law enforcement partners.”

President Trump’s policies will make millions of Americans safer than they are today. But in states like Massachusetts where woke Democrats rule, will federal authorities be hindered? We’ll learn more after President Trump is inaugurated and his policies are put in place.

Article generated from corporate media reports.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” a statement published on the embassy’s official website stated.

The embassy also urged Americans in Ukraine to follow the directions of Ukrainian officials and first responders in the event of an emergency and to monitor local media.

The Italian and Greek embassies in Kyiv also shut to the public for the day. The British government said that its embassy in the city remained open.

The warning comes a day after Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that Ukraine used U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike its territory.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Russian forces shot down five of six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region.

Fragments from one of the missiles hit the military facility, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished and caused no casualties or damage, according to the ministry.

“According to confirmed data, U.S.-made ATACMS [Army Tactical Missile Systems] … have been used,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

The White House has not yet confirmed whether Ukraine has been authorized to use U.S. weapons against targets in Russia, however, anonymous U.S. officials who spoke to media outlets said Biden authorized Ukraine to use the missiles to strike targets in Russia.

Biden, who is set to leave office in two months, has previously been opposed to the idea of allowing U.S. missiles to be used deep inside Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that such a move by the United States would be tantamount to direct involvement in the conflict and would trigger a response.

Putin Updates Nuclear Doctrine

Russian President Putin signed an updated nuclear doctrine on Nov. 19, lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons. The updated doctrine now states that an attack on Russia by any nation using conventional missiles supplied by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on Russia.

Following the move, the White House said it has no plans to adjust its nuclear posture in response to Russia’s actions.

“As we said earlier this month, we were not surprised by Russia’s announcement that it would update its nuclear doctrine; Russia had been signaling its intent to update its doctrine for several weeks,” the White House National Security Council said in a statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Nov. 18 accused the Biden administration of “adding fuel to the fire” and “provoking further escalation.”

“President Putin has already explained it very simply. Ukraine does not carry out these strikes. After all, the strikes are carried out by those countries that give permission, because the Ukrainian military does not acquire the targets and provide the maintenance,” Peskov said. “This is done by military specialists from these Western countries, and this fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict. This is the danger and the provocative nature of this situation.”

Earlier this month, Washington accused Russia of attempting to escalate the conflict by deploying more than 10,000 soldiers from North Korea to eastern Russia.

At the time, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned what he called a lack of response from Western allies over the move.

The Ukrainian leader has not yet commented on the alleged use of U.S.-made long-range missiles in Russia but he said during a joint press conference, alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Kyiv earlier this week, that Ukraine has “long-range capabilities, including domestically produced drones, the Neptune (cruise missile), and now ATACMS.”

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine “will use all of these.”

Owen Evans and Reuters contributed to this report.