Also on today’s menu:
Off-Label Use Of Ivermectin
Hassan Supports Trump’s Border Wall
Federal prosecutors are hoping to prevail in a murder case relating to Hells Angels and Laconia’s Motorcycle Week, but they are missing a crucial piece of evidence: the victim’s body.
The alleged murder victim, Joel Silva, was a sergeant-at-arms of the Hells Angels who had angered others due to his “drug use, erratic behavior, attacks on non-Hells Angels guests at the clubhouse, and bullying,” according to a trial memorandum. During the 2014 Motorcycle Week, Silva allegedly binged drugs, behaved rambunctiously, and blurted out that he was going to kill a fellow Hells Angel named Sweeney, prosecutors allege.
Jonathan “Jon Jon” Nelson, Russell “Rusty” Ott, and Brian Wendt are facing charges in California of violating the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, but the U.S. Attorney’s office must convince jurors that Silva was murdered by the Hells Angels, and not simply in hiding. “Because he was so outspoken and had so many non-Hells Angels connections in Sonoma County, it would be a problem for Silva to simply be expelled,” prosecutors wrote. “It was better if he just disappeared, and Nelson agreed that this should happen.”
Silva reportedly sensed he was in trouble and, in the days before his alleged murder, he told family members and friends that, if he disappeared, not to believe it. Prosecutors wrote, “Silva was told that he would travel to Fresno to address his problems with Brian Wendt; the two would likely fight; and afterward, the issue would be resolved.” Yet, when Silva arrived, Wendt allegedly shot him in the back of the head. Prosecutors have admitted, though, that the FBI searched the Fresno clubhouse for blood or other physical evidence to back up that story, and found none.
Off-Label Use Of Ivermectin
During a hearing on House Bill 1022, Senator Jeb Bradley of Wolfeboro, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, asked whether HB 1466 also would meet the goal of making ivermectin easier to get while retaining physician oversight. The response was that both bills would accomplish that goal.
Ivermectin is used to treat infections caused by parasitic worms and head lice, and skin conditions like rosacea, but it is not approved for treating COVID-19. HB 1022 would allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription from a physician, while HB 1466 would keep physicians in charge of prescribing the medication, but give them broader authority to use drugs “off label” for diseases the drugs have not been approved to treat. The law already allows physicians to prescribe medications for off-label use where there is sound medical evidence supporting the decision. HB 1466 also would allow off-label prescribing when a patient provides informed consent to use a drug for off-label use.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment, and studies have shown that it does not reduce the risk of hospitalization from the disease.
Hassan Supports Trump’s Border Wall
Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan and Representative Chris Pappas are fighting to preserve Title 42, a Trump administration policy that empowers Customs and Border Protection to expel migrants for public health reasons without allowing them to seek asylum. They are supporting separate pieces of legislation that aim to keep the restrictions in place until 60 days after the Surgeon General formally rescinds the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Hassan took her fight to keep Title 42 in effect all the way to the U.S.-Mexico border, where she met with customs and border agents. In a video of her standing by a border wall in Nogales, Arizona, she indicated her support for the controversial border wall as well, saying, “The administration needs to address certain gaps in physical barriers along the border.”
New Hampshire progressives expressed outrage at Hassan’s support for a Republican position. “I’m disappointed — no I’m beyond disappointed. I’m upset that she took the time to do this and to make a video out of it, and to use us immigrants as political pawns for an election,” said Eva Castillo, director of the New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants & Refugees.
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