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Breaking News, Local, National

FBI Interviews Sarah Bils, the Donbass Devushka, as the DOJ and NCIS Probes Her Past

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[Oak Harbor, Wash.] – WBHG/MTN – Former United States Navy Chief Petty Officer Sarah Bils, better known as the Russian propagandist Donbass Devushka, was interviewed by FBI agents at her Oak Harbor, Washington home on Sunday, according to a report by Newsmax, and is also under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

An open-source intelligence investigation spearheaded by NAFO, a loosely affiliated group of pro-Ukrainian social media users who are united in their fight against Russian disinformation, identified Bils as the person behind a Twitter and Telegram disinformation empire that started in 2014 while she was in the U.S. Navy, and exploded after Russia expanded its war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Malcontent News was the first to report on Ms. Bils’s alter ego and was able to verify the self-declared “Russian Jew” Donbas maiden was actually born in Voorhees, New Jersey, according to her 2011 marriage license.

On Monday, Bils told the Wall Street Journal, after an exclusive interview with the newspaper on Saturday, that she was “forthright and honest with the FBI and NCIS in regards to what my clearances were and what I had access to, which was literally nothing.” The FBI interviewed her on Sunday.

In early April, investigators with Bellingcat determined the Donbass Devushka Telegram channel was the first to publicly leak edited secret and top secret documents from the Pentagon allegedly distributed by U.S. Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeria on a private Discord server called Thug Shaker Central. Teixeria, who has no connection to Bils, was arrested without incident by federal officials on April 13.

On Monday, an unnamed source with the U.S. Department of Justice said that “she is actively under federal investigation, but the circumstances of the content of the investigation is unclear at this time.”

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh was peppered with questions about Bils during a Monday press briefing. When asked if the Department of Defense was aware that the former Navy chief petty officer had been posting Russian propaganda since 2014 and if she had been under investigation prior to the revelation of the document leak, Ms. Singh replied, “Because this investigation is ongoing, I would refer you to the DOJ for that.”

Ms. Singh did confirm that Bils had not been under investigation by the U.S. Navy “while she was in uniform,” adding, “as far as I am aware,” and referencing additional questions to the Department of the Navy. On Tuesday, an NCIS spokesperson told the South Whidbey Record that the NCIS “is continuing to work jointly on an investigation of her activities with the Department of Justice.”

On April 5, four poorly edited top secret Pentagon documents were posted on her Telegram channel, with Bils claiming that she was not responsible for the post, that it was done by another admin who was “disciplined,” and the documents removed. However, on April 14, the documents, which have since been deleted, were still available contrary to her claims during her Wall Street Journal interview.

Over the last two days, a clearer picture of Bils’s life has started to form. At the end of 2020, she was promoted to E7, chief petty officer, which is a senior non-commissioned officer rank. But just under the surface, her life was falling apart. She was already involved in a bitter divorce battle over custody of her daughter, and in court papers reviewed by the South Whidbey Record, Bils declared she was suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a “substance abuse disorder.”

In 2021, court papers show the U.S. Navy sent Bils to a substance abuse treatment program in Utah. In September 2021, she was in a serious car accident where she rear-ended another vehicle while traveling at a high rate of speed. Drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the daytime crash, and Bils was cited by the Washington State Patrol for speeding. According to her mother, the Donbass Devushka was seriously injured in the crash, and she traveled to Washington to help her daughter recover.

Two days after the accident, Bils posted on Twitter that she totaled her car and lost custody of her child. She was honorably discharged from the Navy on November 27, 2022, with a demotion to E5, petty officer second class. In the U.S. Navy, a petty officer is a non-commissioned officer and would be equal to a sergeant in the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Space Force.

Bils had previously filed for divorce in 2014 and requested a temporary restraining order, which was delivered to her husband by the Island County Sheriff on June 13, 2014. The 14-day temporary order was not extended by the court. In 2016, Bils withdrew her petition for divorce.

Since she left the Navy, Bils has made various claims on why she was discharged, including telling the Wall Street Journal that she was suffering from PTSD, writing on social media it was due to her “leftist views,” and, in another Twitter thread, claimed she stopped showing up for duty. In a series of Tweets on Monday, which are currently protected from public view, Bils, or one of up to 15 people that she claims helps run her social media empire, posted a Tweetstorm defending her actions, declaring that no laws had been violated, while calling out numerous news agencies for sharing and analyzing the top secret documents released by Teixeria. At the time of publication, the Donbass Devushka Telegram channel remained active, posting dozens of times a day.

The investigation by the FBI and NCIS comes at a time when the U.S. government appears to be cracking down on Russian influence in American politics. In a separate case, the DOJ announced on Tuesday that four U.S. citizens and three Russian nationals have been charged with “conspiring to covertly sow discord in U.S. society, spread Russian propaganda, and interfere illegally in U.S. elections.” A federal grand jury alleges that Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents recruited, funded, and discredited U.S. political groups to act as unregistered Moscow agents. Omali Yeshitela, Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel, and Augustus Romain Jr. of St. Petersburg, Florida, have been charged with violating the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and each faces up to five years in prison.

Moscow resident Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov was one of the three Russians charged with a FARA violation. He’s accused of using foreign influence to “create the appearance of American popular support for Russia’s annexation of territories in Ukraine.”

Malcontent News’s research for our initial report on Bils included potential legal consequences; a legal expert advised that an area of potential trouble for the Donbass Devushka lies with FARA.

FARA requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities.  Disclosure of the required information facilitates evaluation by the government and the American people of the activities of such persons in light of their function as foreign agents. 

United states department of justice

Bils’s social media work is endorsed by the Telegram channel Rybar, which has over 1.1 million followers and is one of the most influential Russian military-aligned social media brands on the planet. Rybar is led by computer programmer Denis Shchukin and former Russian Ministry of Defense press officer Mikhail Zvinchuk, according to Kung Chan of the Chinese thinktank ANBOUND. The pair are alleged to be connected to the FSB, although they insist that they receive minimal funding from the Russian government and have an operating budget of $20,000 a month.

On social media, the Donbass Devushka frequently praises and defends the Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner Group led by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. In November 2022, Prigozhin opened a new headquarters for PMC Wagner in St. Petersburg, Russia, which included plans for material and financial support for journalists and bloggers. Prigozhin has bragged publicly about interfering in the 2016 and 2020 United States elections and was using his company, Concord Management and Consulting, as early as 2014 to manipulate U.S. elections. 2014 is the same year Bils became more active in posting anti-Ukrainian and anti-United States content, and is the same year the DOJ alleges Ionov first violated FARA.

Bils has periodically complained about financial trouble on social media; for years she solicited donations of cash and cryptocurrency through CashApp and Buy Me a Coffee, claiming the money was going to support Russian causes. Online and in her interview with the Wall Street Journal, she claimed that no money went to Russia, and what little funds were raised went to cover her personal technology and equipment costs.

A critical question that the Department of Defense needs to answer is how an individual with a documented history of substance abuse, mental illness, financial problems, and a troubled marriage involving custody battles and restraining orders was able to maintain their top security clearance.

Bils has blocked us on social media and did not respond to a request for comment.

Mental illness and substance abuse are sensitive topics that can release strong emotions. If you are depressed, despondent, or having suicidal thoughts, there is help available. In the United States, you can dial 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Hotline. You can also call 800-273-8255 24 hours a day. If you’d rather not talk to a person, you can text 741741, and for U.S. veterans, you can text 838255.

Editor’s Note: It is Malcontent News’s editorial policy to use an individual’s most current legal name. Sarah Bils changed her legal name to Lyudmila Mikhailova Karakova on March 31, 2023. Given the particular circumstances of this story, we chose to use her previous name for clarity.

BIPOC, Breaking News, Local, National

Lynnwood man indicted for hate crime and interstate threats

[SEATTLE, Wash.] – A 37-year-old Lynnwood, Washington man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for a hate crime and four counts of interstate threats, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Joey David George will be arraigned on the indictment on August 11, 2022, in Seattle Federal Court. George remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, Washington.

“By law, the decision to charge a hate crime is appropriately deliberate – with consultation and approval from DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in Washington DC,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “In this case, the hate-filled threats to kill, based on race, are fittingly being prosecuted as a hate crime.”

The probable cause court filing on July 21 outlined the alleged incidents. According to records filed in the case, on July 19 and 20, George allegedly telephoned a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and threatened to shoot Black people in the store.

“On July 19, 2022, an individual called a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York. The caller, who identified himself as “Peter,” spoke with an employee at the store. The caller asked how many Black people were in the store. He said he would make the news if he shot and killed all of the Black people, including all of the women, children, and babies. He asked if the employee had cleared out the building. He said there was a chance he was already in the store or somewhere nearby. He said that if he did not see anyone at the store, he would travel to the Jefferson Tops store,” the court filing said.

The Tops Friendly Market store in Buffalo had reopened on July 14, two months after a racially motivated mass shooting left ten dead and three injured. In the second call, George allegedly ranted about a “race war.”  Law enforcement traced the phone number and identified George as the person who made the call. The second Tops location in Buffalo on Jefferson Avenue, had a grand reopening on July 16 after an extensive renovation.

In addition to the calls to Buffalo, George is charged in connection with a May 2022 call to a Shari’s Restaurant and Pies in San Bruno, California. In that call, George, using the pseudonym “Tony Sumorrah,” talked to a San Bruno, California police officer. George told the officer that he called Shari’s restaurant because “he wanted to attack Black people and strike fear into the Bay Area’s Black community. He stated Black people are not human but rather “sub-humans.” He said he was proud of his actions because he instilled fear in the employees and customers of the restaurant.”

The San Bruno police department obtained location data for the origination point of the call. The call was made from Lynnwood, Washington, using a T-Mobile-provided cellphone number with Joey George as the subscriber. T-Mobile confirmed the May 12 call to Shari’s came for George’s number and phone. In the eyes of the law, a restaurant is a place of public accommodation, which added the hate crime charge: Interference with a Federally Protected Activity.

Additionally, George is charged with making interstate threats to a business in Maryland, saying he intended to shoot Black people at the store.  The fourth count of the indictment charges him with making interstate threats to bomb a restaurant in Connecticut. 

On January 16, 2022, George threatened marijuana dispensaries in Seattle and Skyway. An employee answered the call, and the male caller asked if there were any Black employees at the business. The male caller stated that he carried a gun and would go to the business to shoot any Black people who were there at the time of his arrival. According to the dispensary, a similar threat was made to their Skyway location. T-Mobile records show the call to the Seattle business came from George’s cellphone. George is not facing charges for the January 2022 incident, and it is unclear if the Seattle Police Department was contacted about the threat and if they were if they initiated a case and performed an investigation.

George is facing up to 30 years in prison based on the five charges.

Five Facts, Local

Hobby Lobby says humbug to homeless outreach during heatwave

[Mount Vernon, Wash.] – Matt Uyeno set up to distribute water and cooling towels in a Dollar Tree parking lot with permission, but the Hobby Lobby next door called police and reported he was setting up a camp on their property.

Five Fast Facts

  • Uyeno originally set up near the Safeway gas station on College Way on Friday, but was asked to move so he relocated across the street on East College Way to the Dollar Tree, where the manager gave permission for his activities
  • The manager of Dollar Tree confirmed that permission was given to KIRO 7 News
  • On Saturday, Uyeno returned with coolers of cold water and cooling towels, and the Mount Vernon Police Department said Hobby Lobby called and claimed that people were “setting up a camp on the business property”
  • No one from Hobby Lobby ever spoke to Uyeno, but the police insisted he had crossed a few feet onto Hobby Lobby property; he was trespassed and barred from the property for one year
  • Uyeno, undeterred, moved further into the Dollar Tree parking lot and continued his assistance until 10 p.m., even ordering 17 large pizzas for the unhomed and the Dollar Tree employees

An independent community activist organizer says he was trespassed by the Hobby Lobby in Mount Vernon as he gave water to the homeless in 90-degree heat on Saturday.

Matt Uyeno told KIRO 7 News that the…pandemic has [sic] fueled an escalating homeless situation in Mount Vernon, which has been especially dire in Skagit Valley…

You can read more at KIRO7 News.

BIPOC, Five Facts, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Washington 3rd Congressional District primary candidate has alleged ties to white nationalism

Five Fast Facts

  1. Primary candidate Joe Kent (R-WA) who is challenging current Washington 3rd District congressperson Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) has the support of the former President Donald Trump and connections to right-wing extremists and white nationalists
  2. Kent is a close political ally of Joey Gibson, founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer
  3. Kent has spoken at extreme-right-wing events including the “Justice For J6” rally held near the U.S. Capitol on September 18, 2021.
  4. Nick Fuentes, neo-Nazi, pro-Putin, white nationalist, and white supremacist activist who gained a following after his involvement in the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, has said he and Joe Kent discussed working together last year
  5. A strategist for the Kent campaign released the statement: “Joe Kent’s platform of inclusive populism rejects racism and bigotry and invites all Americans to support his aggressive America First agenda”

WASHINGTON — A congressional candidate whose compelling personal story of military valor and unfathomable loss helped him win former President Donald Trump’s support has connections to right-wing extremists, including a campaign consultant who was a member of the Proud Boys.

Republican Joe Kent, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in Washington state in the Aug. 2 primary, has also courted prominent white nationalists and posed recently for a photograph with a media personality who has previously described Adolf Hitler as a “complicated historical figure” who “many people misunderstand.”

You read more from the Kitsap Sun via MSN.

Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

988 rolls out as national suicide and crisis lifeline number

[OLYMPIA, Wash.] – MTN – You can now dial 988 in the United States for assistance with: thoughts of suicide, Mental health crises, substance use crises, or any other kind of emotional distress.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the new, nationwide, easy-to-remember, three-digit number in 2020. As of July 16, 2022, people experiencing a mental health crisis, or those worried about a loved one going through a crisis, can call, text, or chat 988 via cell phone, landline, or voice-over-internet device and be connected to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The current NSPL number (1-800-273-TALK (8255)) will continue to be in service; the new three-digit number is intended to be easier to remember and access in times of crisis.

Depending on which area code communication to 988 is made from, the connection will be routed to one of three designated crisis call center hubs. This is the newest addition to the state’s network of crisis care providers and doesn’t replace existing centers.

Washington is one of 21 states that have passed legislation linked to the launch of the new 988 system. Only two other states have joined Washington in legislating a funding source for the services in their states. Washington established a telcom tax as part of House Bill 1477 (E2SHB 1477), which also outlines standards, rules, oversight, integration, follow-up, and accountability.

Ultimately, the 988 system is designed to expand mobile crisis response teams, including trained mental health professionals, to respond to individuals around the state. Sponsors of the bill have voiced their hope that such teams can eliminate the need for armed law enforcement to respond. However, there are still times that activation of an EMS or law enforcement response may be necessary, such as in the case of an active suicide attempt.

Additionally, part of the legislation requires health insurance providers within the state to establish, by January 1, 2023, a system making next-day appointments available to their enrollees with urgent, symptomatic behavioral health conditions. Further, a Crisis Response Improvement Strategy Committee has been established to develop recommendations to the governor’s office and legislature to support additional needs as identified and outlined in HB 1477.

If you or someone you care for needs resources for mental health crises, suicidal thoughts, substance use crises, or other emotional distress, the below services are always available.

Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988

Veteran’s Crisis Line: Call 988, then press 1, or text 838255

Teen Link: 1.866.TEENLINK (833.6546)

The Trevor Project: 1.866.488.7386

BIPOC, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Two Men Connected to White Nationalist Hate Group Charged with Vandalism in Olympia

[Olympia, Wash.] – MTN – The City of Olympia Prosecutor’s Office has announced charges against two men in connection to the October 16, 2021, vandalization of the “Respect and Love Olympia” mural that fronted the former Griswold’s Building on 4th Avenue in downtown Olympia.

Colton Michael Brown, 23, of Ravensdale, and Spencer Simpson, 20, of Ellensburg, have been charged with a misdemeanor crime of Aiding and Abetting Graffiti. The pair are accused of defacing the rainbow mural and community statement against hate. Brown is the Pacific Northwest Network Director of Patriot Front, which has been recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist hate group. Simpson is also a member.

The Olympia Police Department has been investigating the crime and made use of community information and open-source social media and websites to help identify those involved in the vandalism. This led to the charges against the two men.

Patriot Front began in late 2017 as a splinter group of the violent fascist organization Vanguard America, which fractured after it was tied to Charlottesville car attack murderer James Alex Fields. Its 22-year-old leader, Thomas Rousseau, lives in the group’s current headquarters in Haslet, Texas, where he leads the Neo-Nazi organization.

The group Unicorn Riot released video, audio, and pictures in January 2022 after a data leak exposed 400GB of data about Patriot Front. The information suggests that Brown goes by the name “John WA” in his online presence and in communications to other Patriot Front members.

This isn’t the first brush with the law for the duo, who were among 31 members of the hate group arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on June 11, charged with conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor. Prosecutors allege the group planned to force confrontations at a gay pride event in the lakeside Idaho panhandle community.

The plan was foiled when a person alerted police after they saw the group loading up into the back of a U-Haul truck like, “a little army,” according to local officials. Area police stopped the U-Haul truck within sight of the festival. During the search of the suspects and the box truck, police found smoke grenades, shields, batons, and other tactical gear.

Patriot Front members were active in Kirkland from 2018 to 2021. Social media users first started sharing images of flyers posted across the city in October 2018. In 2019, members tossed flyers in plastic baggies with a rock as added weight into residents’ driveways in the Highlands neighborhood. Stencils and stickers appeared sporadically through early 2021. No one was ever identified or charged in any of those incidents.

Photo Credit – Social Media User – Members of Patriot Front left flyers in Kirkland driveways in January 2019
Photo Credit – Social Media User – October 2018 Patriot Front flyer attached to a light pole using the Nazi-era slogan, “blood and soil” on recruitment posters placed in Kirkland, Washington

“I appreciate the work of the investigators, and the community members who stepped forward to assist in the investigation,” said Olympia Police Chief Rich Allen. “Acts like these have no place in Olympia. We will always investigate these kinds of incidents, and we will always work to hold those responsible to account in a court of law.”

Brown and Simpson will be arraigned on their charges on July 13, 2022, at 8 a.m. in Olympia Municipal Court. The work of identifying others involved in the vandalism is ongoing. After Olympia, the pair are expected to be in court in Idaho on August 22, 2022, to face their conspiracy charges.

Health and Lifestyle, Local

Omicron COVID Variant Keeps Evolving, Transmission Rates Increasing in Washington

[OLYMPIA, Wash.] – (MTN) Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated criteria for measuring the impact of COVID in a region, 15 Washington counties currently have high community levels of COVID-19. In March, the CDC changed the criteria for defining low, medium, and high to a formula that evaluates new cases, new hospital admissions, and the percent of in-patient staffed beds treating COVID-infected patients.

The University of Washington Virology Lab reported on Monday that test positivity was 15.4% from an Independence Day holiday reduced sample set. The rapidly evolving Omicron variant of COVID has eliminated the tidal waves of new cases that came in spikes every four to six months to a steady but controllable flood.

On November 28, 2021, the first Omicron cases were detected in Washington. A series of superspreader events over the weekend of December 4 in southwestern Washington spread new Omicron cases to 14 counties in less than ten days. By mid-January, Washington hospitals were on the precipice of moving to crisis standards of care.

The Omicron BA.2 variant was detected at the end of January and less than two months later had replaced the original Omicron strain accounting for 84% of new cases. However, on June 12, BA.2 was down to 17% of new cases. The BA.2 variant was replaced with the highly transmissible vaccine and prior immunity resistant BA.2.12 strain, which is already being replaced by BA.5.

Omicron BA.5 is a very vaccine and prior infection immunity resistant variant with similar genetic mutations to the Delta strain. The original vaccines remain effective at preventing hospitalization and severe illness but are offering diminished protection from catching COVID. Prior COVID infections, even from Omicron strains, provide little immunity to the new strains, especially BA.5.

Although the number of people infected by COVID is increasing, the number of deaths remains low due to many people’s broad baseline immunity. Researchers are still trying to understand the impact of long-COVID, defined as experiencing COVID systems or COVID-related complications more than 21 days after infection. It is estimated that 20% to 33% of people infected by coronavirus experience long-COVID. Symptoms can range from “COVID toe,” the loss of taste and smell, to debilitating migraines, joint pain, and fatigue.

Fifteen counties in Washington are feeling the sting from high community transmission of coronavirus, new hospital admissions, and the percentage of hospitalized patients with COVID. Asotin, Chelan, Clallam, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Lincoln, Pacific, Pierce, Spokane, Thurston, and Walla Walla Counties have been advised to take increased protective measures, including wearing masks indoors.

King County didn’t make the list, but 4,900 people are being tested for COVID daily, and 20.2% of those tests return positive. The figure is artificially high compared to last year when home testing wasn’t widely available, and international travel required a negative PCR test. Additionally, many employers require repeated negative PCR tests in some job fields. Today, most PCR tests are only given to people suspected of having symptomatic COVID and to frontline healthcare workers with recent close exposure.

More troublesome is daily new hospital admissions for COVID cases have climbed to 25 a day in King County, a 54% increase from last week. Hospitalizations are a lagging indicator, spiking two to four weeks after a new case surge.

Many area hospitals are once again at or over capacity. A combination of acute staffing shortages, a return to everyday life, increasing accidents and work-related injuries, and hundreds of patients who can’t be released from the hospital because there aren’t enough transitional and long-term care facilities, has created a perfect storm. The bump in new COVID cases is adding to the problem.

COVID transmission remains low in outdoor, open-air settings. A driver of the increasing number of new COVID cases and hospitalizations has been the region’s cool and wet non-existent spring, keeping people indoors and windows closed. Even with the first days of summer here, the high temperature in Seattle struggled to reach 58 degrees on July 3rd.

While BA.5 is on track to become the next dominant strain in Washington, a new strain is already taking over on the other side of the planet. Omicron BA 2.75 was sequenced in India and is rapidly spreading across the region.

Breaking News, Health and Lifestyle, Local

Washington state mask mandate ending on March 21

[OLYMPIA, Wash.] – (MTN) Governor Jay Inslee announced the statewide mask mandate in public schools, and most indoor venues will end on Mar. 21. The announcement came a day after King County officials announced the requirement to show proof of vaccination at restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues will end on Mar. 1.

Gov. Inslee showed a forecast that indicates that on Mar. 21, new COVID-related hospital admissions would drop to a level that is sustainable for medical facilities.

Additionally, the state requirement to show proof of vaccination at large events will end on Mar. 1.

Counties, municipalities, and businesses reserve the right to require mask wear or show proof of vaccination after the mandates expire next month.

COVID-related hospitalizations are down 35% from the record-setting January peak. During the week of Jan. 16, hospitals teetered on the edge of moving to crisis standards of care. the pause on non-urgent surgical procedures announced in January, expired today.

Health and Lifestyle, Local

Washington ending the statewide outdoor mask mandate as COVID cases and hospitalizations decline

[OLYMPIA, Wash.] – (MTN) Governor Jay Inslee announced that the outdoor mask mandate would end on Feb. 18 and that it is, “no longer a matter of if, but when,” for the end of the indoor mandate.

The outdoor mask mandate was implemented on Sept. 13, as hospitalizations for the delta variant peaked in Washington. The requirement applied to large outdoor events with 500 or more people. Enforcement of the outdoor mask requirement was close to non-existent, with Lumen Field full of maskless fans through the fall and early winter, cheering for the Seattle Seahawks.

Data has shown that COVID transmission rates are significantly lower in outdoor settings and areas with excellent air circulation.

The statewide indoor mask mandate, that was brought back on Aug. 19 still stands. Gov. Inslee said that he was taking a wait-and-see approach, and would revisit ending the indoor mask mandate as early as next week. California, Illinois, New York, and Oregon have ended or announced they are ending indoor mask mandates this week.

Washington repealed almost all COVID restrictions on Jun. 30 as hospitals emptied of COVID patients and the statewide vaccination rate for residents 16 and over approached 70%. Less than two months later the state was facing record hospitalizations due to the more transmissible and virulent Delta variant, just as school was restarting.

Washington never fully exited the delta wave when the first omicron case was detected on Nov. 29. More than a half-dozen high school wrestling matches on Dec. 4 in Pierce and Thurston Counties became super spreader events. New cases of omicron exploded from the Canada border to the Columbia River flooding Western Washington hospitals during the last week of December. The combination of holiday travelers and lower vaccination rates in Eastern Washington created a secondary wave in January.

New COVID cases are declining across the state and hospitalizations have peaked on both sides of the Cascades. Despite the improvement, there are still over 1,700 COVID patients in Washington hospitals according to the Washington State Hospital Association.

With the hospital situation improving, the statewide pause of “non-urgent” surgical procedures announced last month, will come to an end on Feb. 17. When Gov. Inslee announced the 28-day pause on Jan. 20, many hospitals had already taken the extraordinary measure independently.

At the peak of the omicron wave, Washington medical facilities were brought to the brink of collapse. The darkest days were during the week of Jan. 16. In an unprecedented move during the COVID pandemic, a handful of patients were transferred by aircraft out of Western Washington to Eastern Washington and Montana hospitals. On Jan. 19, the demand for hospital beds was outstripping all available resources.

To avoid moving the state to crisis standards of care, the Washington Medical Coordination Center (WMCC) implemented a protocol called guaranteed-acceptance hospital rotation. During guaranteed-acceptance hospital rotation, larger regional hospitals took turns taking accepting transfer patients and finding some way to care for them. By Jan. 23, the peak of the crisis had passed, and the protocol was ended.

The WMCC, which operates out of Harborview Medical Center, provides assistance to hospitals that need to move patients when the institution has exhausted all other options.

In Idaho, new COVID cases peaked earlier this week with test positivity reaching 34%. Southern Idaho has been operating under crisis standards of care for almost a month, and some patients from the Boise area have been arriving in Eastern Washington hospitals. Historically Alaska, Idaho, Eastern Oregon, and Western Montana have relied on Washington hospitals to take in critically ill patients and specialized cases.

The positivity rate for COVID tests in Washington has dropped to 18%, according to the University of Washington Virology Lab. So-called stealth omicron has been detected in Washington, but there has not been an increase in cases.

Virologists believe that between the statewide vaccination rate and how transmissible the Omicron variant is, many residents have some degree of immunity. The United States Centers for Disease Control is not supportive of repealing mask mandates because nationally new case rates remain extremely high, with over 110,000 hospitalized COVID patients.

Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

A New COVID testing company emerges from the ashes of the Chicago testing labs scandal

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[CHICAGO, Il.] – (MTN) State and federal investigators made January a rough month for the Center for COVID Control, Doctors Clinical Laboratories, Northshore Clinical Labs, FCTS, and O’Hare Clinical Lab Services. Dozens of consumer complaints, serious deficiencies uncovered in CMS audits, and multiple investigations at a state and federal level have forced the cadre of Chicago-based companies to terminate contracts and shutter COVID testing locations. Just days after Northshore Clinical Labs shut down FCTS in mid-January, it appears the testing sites are reorganizing under a new business name.

An investigation by Malcontent News has discovered that the Chicago COVID testing machine is possibly being reborn as Testative.

Before the shuttering of the FCTS website, Northshore Clinical Labs and FCTS jointly marketed COVID testing to the public. They maintained a transparent relationship between test sites and the embattled lab, now under multiple investigations.

Free PCR and Rapid COVID Tests jointly promoted by FCTS and Northshore Clinical Labs

A Jan. 5 Chicago Tribune article reinforced this transparent relationship. The newspaper visited a testing site operated by NorthShore Clinical Labs using the FCTS name at 321A Harlem Ave in Forest Park, Illinois on Jan. 4. The Tribune was investigating allegations of delayed and missing COVID test results.

The first domino to fall for the Chicago COVID testing cadre was the Center for COVID Control (CCC) and Doctor Clinical Laboratories. A story on Jan. 10 by WINK in Ft. Myers, Florida raised questions about the operation and caught national attention. On Jan. 14 CCC suspended its test sites for retraining. On Jan. 20 they pushed backed their reopening date and after the FBI opened a criminal investigation, the company announced it was closing its doors on Feb 4.

On Jan. 17, the website for Northshore Clinical Labs announced it was terminating all “third-party operation sites” relationships. At the same time, the website for FCTS, freecovidtestingsite.com, was reduced to a single page declaring the site is under maintenance.

The remains of the FCTS website are still available on the Internet Archive, through scans completed from Dec. 20 to Jan. 5. The contact information for FCTS lists Northshore Clinical Labs of Chicago, Illinois, as the parent company.

Using online social intelligence, researchers searched using the FCTS phone number listed on the now-shuttered website – 888-452-3287. Instead of the phone number resolving back to Northshore Clinical Labs or FCTS, it is connected to a new company – Testative. The number is also attached to a COVID testing site in Elkton, Maryland, at 1653 Elkton Road. The previous FCTS site was at 1657 Elkton Road, in the same parking lot as the new Testative location. The photos associated with the Testative site are for FCTS.

Similar results were found for a former FCTS testing site at 3751 Island Ave, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The phone number listed for the site is for FCTS, but the website is listed as Testative. While our research team was reviewing the information, a potentially fake review was added to the location by someone using the alias of YZ Hatim. Two hours earlier, the same person left a five-star review for Testative in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee location has two reviews, left almost simultaneously, by YZ Hatim and Belaal L.

A researcher with Malcontent News called the legacy phone number for FCTS. The number was answered with “customer service” and did not identify the company. Our researcher told the person they were waiting for test results from Northshore Clinical Labs. The representative stated rapid results could take up to two days and a PCR test could take up to five days. Our researcher responded they had waited for nine days already. The representative said they would find a supervisor who could help and put the researcher on hold. After a 25 minute wait, the researcher hung up.

Within a minute of hanging up, a call came in from a different phone number, 800-365-3438. The caller didn’t leave a voicemail, but a text from the same number arrived seconds later.

Text received calling a phone number associated with FCTS and Testative, asking for test results from Northshore Clinical Labs

“First, last name: Date of birth: Gender: Confirmation number: Date of Collection: Verbal Rapid results: Phone number: Email address: Location of testing-pls provide us the details.”

Text received from the phone number for testative after calling the fcts phone number and asking for test results from northshore clinical labs

Researchers used online social intelligence using the phone number 800-365-3438, and uncovered it is the phone number for Testative. The same number is listed at multiple testing locations for Testative on SolvHealth, Google Maps, and the Testative website.

Reviewing the FCTS and Testative websites found more in common than potential links to Northshore Clinical Labs and a common phone number. Much of the text and claims on the website are identical. For example, the descriptions for Rapid Testing, PCR Testing, and Workplace Testing (called Corporate Business Testing on the FCTS website archive) are for all intent and purposes the same, with only the company name changed.

“Testative offers easy employee testing services for any size business. We are partnered with over 1000 businesses around America. Our goal with this type of testing is to ensure workplace safety, and making employees feel comfortable coming to work. Testative will bring PCR Testing kits to businesses and test all your employees. Our process doesn’t disturb the workflow.”

The language for PCR testing states, “Our process is easy. Just walk in, or drive up to any of our locations, and give us a call. Test results are typically available online via email within 24-72 business hours of taking the test.“

While rapid testing also shares the same description, “Rapid testing is a quick process and gets you results almost instantly. The rapid testing process isn’t 100% accurate, so we would highly recommend getting a PCR Test done as well. Get your Rapid testing results as quick as 15 minutes verbally.“

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Malcontent News has archived web pages and social media sites highlighted in this story as a permanent archive

The Testative website is built on WordPress and has numerous technical issues and mistakes. The website has no listed privacy or HIPAA policy. The site goes to great lengths to obscure who owns and manages the website or the company’s relationship with any test lab. A search on Open Corporates and the Illinois Secretary of State records found no corporate listing for Testative. An ICANN search identified GoDaddy as the DNS provider.

Another researcher called the phone number for Testative. The call went to a voicemail box, and the researcher did not leave a message. Less than a minute later, the number called back. The researcher told the caller they were trying to find test results from the Testative Milwaukee location. The customer support representative said they would send a text requesting additional information. A few minutes later, the identical text from the earlier interaction with the legacy FCTS phone number arrived.

Searching LinkedIn for Testative located a single employee – Khaalid Latifi. Latifi has listed himself as the Director of Operations for Testative since November 2020. Latifi’s former employer is FCTS where he was also a Director of Operations. He describes his role at Testative as, “Worked with other team members to establish testing locations across America. Implemented an electronic HR system to efficiently establish 100+ employees.“

It appears Latifi changed the name of his employer on LinkedIn instead of showing a change in employment, and indicates the time between both companies has run contiguously. A phone call to Latifi went unanswered, and there was no response when we went to press.

Latifi’s Facebook page has not been updated in months and does indicate he is unemployed, in contrast to his LinkedIn page. It also shows he has a brother, Belaal Latifi, who coincidentally has the same first name and last initial as a person leaving positive online reviews for Testative on Google.

Our research team found other websites affiliated with the FCTS phone number 888-452-3287, including Texas COIVD Testing and UR1stop Medical.

Texas COVID Testing has a near-identical logo to FCTS and uses the same language as Testative and FCTS. The site claims Texas COVID Testing has Walmart, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, and ASM Global as corporate clients, claims to have 300 locations nationwide, lists the same phone number formerly used by FCTS, and is connected to Northshore Clinical Labs.

Texas COVID Testing has a similar logo to FCTS and lists the same phone number previously used by FCTS

The site lists two locations in Houston on 3222 Hillcroft Street and 9730 Southwest Freeway. According to an archive of the Center for COVID Control website, the 3222 Hillcroft Street location was a planned site for the company before their testing suspension in mid-January. A former employee of the Center for COVID Control alleges that one test site briefly sent test samples to Northshore Clinical Labs. A company spokesperson for CCC denied that claim.

The UR1stop Medical website has identical language, blog entries, and errors the archived FCTS website has. The address is to a former electronics store under a similar name, and the FAQ on the UR1stop Medical website provides information on electronics and shipping.

UR1stop Medical website lists the same phone number for FCTS, has the same footer, the same blogs, and the same date errors as the archived FCTS website

Neither website has a relevant privacy or HIPAA policy posted, lists an NPI number, or provides a CDC CLIA number for the labs they are affiliated with. None of the test sites listed resolve to an archive of FCTS sites or current Testative sites.

Testative created a Facebook page on Jan. 22, five days after Northshore Clinical Labs pulled the plug on third-party test sites and FCTS. The Facebook business page is Testative FCTS, a Medical Lab, and uses the identical artwork and color scheme from Northshore Clinical Labs.

We attempted to contact Northshore Clinical Labs and inquire about their relationships with FCTS, Testative, Texas COVID Testing, and UR1stop Medical, but we received no response.

While Northshore Clinical Labs faced growing allegations of malfeasance by clients, municipalities, school systems, and regulators, the company continued expanding operations. The expansion went unabated even after a Dec. 29 CMS audit gave Northshore an imminent jeopardy rating in three categories.

On Jan. 10, Northshore Clinical Labs expanded into Portland and Grants Pass, Oregon. On Jan. 15, the company opened up a testing site in Lima, Ohio.

Prior to falling under the watchful eye of investigators, Northshore Clinical Labs used press releases to enhance its SEO and tout its continued expansion. By early January, the company shifted to a quieter approach. They used social media such as Facebook and promotion from local governments, companies, and schools. Although the approach lowered the public profile in the face of a growing scandal, the use of social media has left a trail of outraged clients waiting for test results.

The day after Northshore Clinical Labs announced they were ending all third-party relationships, it opened up a mass test site in Kissimmee, Florida, just outside the gates of Disneyworld. The location is backed by Osceola County and less than three weeks later, social media is filled with complaints about late, missing, and false rest results. The testing site is still operating today.

Additional locations Northshore expanded to after Jan. 17 include the Avoca School District in Wilmette, Illinois, Dynamic Diagnostics in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Florence-Firestone Chamber of Commerce in Long Beach, California.

On Jan. 22. Northshore opened sites in Las Vegas two weeks after opening tests sites in Reno, Nevada, including the University of Nevada Reno (UNR). The Nevada Division of Health and Human Services opened a formal investigation into Northshore on Jan. 24, after multiple complaints emerged in the Reno area. A report by KOLO 8 News indicated an independent review of approximately 200 negative PCR test results from Northshore were actually positive. Washoe County officials suspended PCR testing by Northshore but permitted the company to continue rapid testing. Other allegations include improper testing procedures, dirty test facilities, untrained staff, and reusing PPE such as gloves.

On Feb. 1, UNR terminated its relationship with Northshore, citing “the institution’s dissatisfaction with Northshore’s service in helping to conduct on-campus COVID-19 testing for students, faculty and staff.”

In the midst of the ongoing investigations and quiet expansion, Northshore Clinical Labs told reporters and state investigators last week that earlier problems were due to unforeseen demand. In a statement to CBS Chicago 2, a spokesperson said, “No lab could have handled” the increase in cases they saw in December.”

The company recently claimed it has processed over five-million tests, which would require more equipment and staff than it appears to possess. Block Club Chicago reported that Northshore has received more than $154 million in public funds from the CDC as reimbursement for COVID testing. If both figures are accurate, taxpayers provided Northshore with $30.80 for every test they provided. Reimbursement is done by the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as part of the CARES Act passed by the Trump Administration in March 2020. This would be in addition to money billed to insurance companies, third-party partners, individual cash payments for expedited testing services, and workplace contracts.

Northshore Clinical Labs is in no way affiliated with NorthShore University Health System or North Shore Medical Labs. Testative does not have locations in Washington state at the time of publication, but a map on its website indicates they plan to expand into Western and Eastern Washington. Northshore Clinical Labs denies having any connection with Doctors Clinical Labs and Center for COVID Control. Washington State Attorney General Robert Ferguson sued the Center of COVID Control in King County District Court on Feb. 1 for providing invalid, false, and delayed COVID-19 test results to Washingtonians, or sometimes providing no results at all.