INTERNACIONAL
Spencer Pratt’s runner-up edge over Democrat Raman down to 1%, few thousand ballots
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Spencer Pratt’s independent bid to make the Los Angeles mayoral runoff hangs in the balance nearly a week after Election Day.
With the jungle primary leaving incumbent Democrat Mayor Karen Bass already ruled to have advanced to a November runoff, Pratt’s margin over Democrat City Councilmember Nithya Raman has slimmed to just 1% with a few thousand ballots left to make up the difference.
Pratt led Raman by just 7,494 votes in the latest AP elections tally with 78% of the vote counted to date. Bass remained in first place with 235,180 votes (34.8%), while Pratt had 184,596 votes (27.3%) and Raman had 177,102 votes (26.2%).
Los Angeles County continues to count ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received by Tuesday, June 9, drawing the attention of the Republican National Committee. The election results must only be counted within 30 days and certified by July 10.
CALIFORNIA’S SLUGGISH VOTE COUNTING RIPPED ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM: ‘EXTREMELY EMBARRASSING’
Either independent Spencer Pratt or Democrat Nithya Raman will advance to a November runoff against incumbent Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. (HIGHFIVE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images; Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
«The California primary ended on June 2, 2026; yet California is still counting ballots,» the RNC website tracker counting the seconds since polls closed reads.
«The state’s election system is a complete joke. The RNC is tracking every hour it takes California to finish the count.»
The latest ballot update gave Raman another boost, as she picked up 23,514 votes in the latest batch, more than double Pratt’s 10,336-vote gain. That cut Pratt’s lead by 13,178 votes in a single day and pushed the contest for second place into uncertain territory.
Pratt posted a meme to X decrying the ongoing ballot count in the race.
«Me trying to figure out how votes get counted in LA,» he wrote Saturday night.
Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt had become a viral sensation with his campaign ads, but pundits now expect his upstart campaign to unseat a Democrat mayor is going to come to an end. (Highfive/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Under California’s top-two primary system, if no candidate wins more than 50% of the votes, the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election. The AP reported that Bass advanced to the runoff after finishing first in the crowded mayoral primary, while Pratt and Raman continued battling for the remaining November spot.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., pointed to California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom when discussing the delayed results.
«The question to the rest of the world is what happened to California elections? Well, I’ll tell you, it’s Gavin Newsom,» McCarthy told Fox News’ «Sunday Morning Futures.» «When Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California, you knew who was elected in a day to two days. Now it takes more than weeks, almost a month.»
«Why did we get here?» McCarthy continued. «Gavin changed a number of election laws in which you want to see is what did he do and why did he cause it?»
WATCH: LEFT-WING LA MAYOR FACES REALITY TV CHALLENGER’S BLUNT TAKEDOWNS IN HEATED MAYORAL DEBATE
The slow count has drawn heightened attention because later-counted ballots have steadily cut into Pratt’s lead.
Longtime Democrat strategist Michael Trujillo told The California Post on Saturday that the trend pointed to a likely runoff appearance for Raman, calling the late ballot counting «normal» for California and telling critics to «go back to where you came from.»
«I was always a little jealous of east coast elections getting so much attention in the media and on this app, yeah nevermind,» he wrote on X. «The stupidity from these out of state analysts and reporters and the bots and fake accounts it brings to what is really a very NORMAL process happening in Los Angeles and California is annoying.
«Go back to where you came from, thanks.»
Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman might wind up No. 2 to fellow Democrat Mayor Karen Bass and advance to the November runoff. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
SPENCER PRATT SEIZES ON HOMELESSNESS REMARKS BY KAREN BASS, BLASTS DEMOCRAT FOR FAILURES
Conservatives on X are decrying the probability of Pratt being shut out of the runoff.
«Spencer Pratt is likely going to be overtaken by far left Nithya Raman today,» Robby Starbuck wrote on X. «This graph shows the count on Election Day through last night. «Nithya did this by suddenly winning 1st in every new ballot drop.
«North Korean ‘elections’ have more self respect. Even they’d find it absurd for 3rd to suddenly jump to 1st place in every ballot drop DAYS after an election. It’s just ludicrous.»
That post also brought the attention of X owner Elon Musk.
«The reason ID is banned in California (and New York) elections is to enable large-scale fraud,» Musk claimed on X, replying to Starbuck’s post. «When you combine no ID and mail-in voting, fraud is de facto legalized.»
SCOTUS CONSERVATIVES SIGNAL READINESS TO CURB LATE-ARRIVING MAIL BALLOTS
Starbuck noted the historic run Raman’s count has made.
«ChatGPT can’t find a single example of a 3rd place candidate surging, days AFTER Election Day, to overtake 2nd place,» he wrote Sunday morning. «It couldn’t find 1 example in all of American history. That’s what’s happening with Nithya Raman & Spencer Pratt.
«Los Angeles has 3rd world country elections.»
Democrats merely point back to an overwhelming edge in registered Democrat voters versus Republicans, even if Pratt is running as an independent.
«IF SOMETHING CAN BE EXPLAINED BY A CONVOLUTED CONSPIRACY THEORY—OR SIMPLE MATH—THEN MATH ALWAYS WINS,» Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., wrote on X. «LA Registered Voters. Approximate number of Dems: 1,224,737 Approximate number of Republicans: 326,292.»
RNC RAILS AGAINST CALIFORNIA’S LATE MAIL-IN BALLOT COUNTING AMID NATIONAL LITIGATION: ‘IT IS ABSURD’
Americans «want to see election integrity,» McCarthy told host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.
«They want to see transparency and they want to see timely reporting: We had that in California,» McCarthy, a former Republican House member in the deep-blue state, said. «We were very liberal in the rules about absentee ballots, but we had accountability.»
«We had cut off voter registration 30 days before the election. That helps the registrars to know who’s going to vote and the candidates,» he continued. «Now we have same day voter, and you don’t have to show ID. Gavin changed the rules where he mails ballots to everyone. So he took away the choice to Californians to vote in person or to vote absentee. Everybody gets mailed a ballot. But he didn’t clean up the rolls. So that raises doubt in people’s minds.»
McCarthy noted Raman’s Election Night disappointment was originally telling.
«When you look at the LA mayor’s race, the third place person gave it like a concession speech that night and cried, and she was getting the most votes in the last drop,» McCarthy said. «So if she didn’t even believe that she could move up, that puts in question to the whole election itself. And that’s why it brings doubt to people.»
President Donald Trump had weighed in, too, with the RNC pointing to the pending Watson v. RNC Supreme Court decision on late ballot counting due soon.
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The Watson decision might come before the end of June.
«.@POTUS is right,» the RNC’s Election Integrity unit posted on X. «That’s why the RNC has boots on the ground and is fighting in the Supreme Court to stop ballots received after Election Day from being counted. MAKE ELECTIONS SECURE AGAIN!»
democrats elections, primary results, spencer pratt, california, independents
INTERNACIONAL
NY AG hopeful blasts Letitia James as Medicaid fraud recoveries collapse: ‘She’s not doing the job’
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Republican New York attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy is making Medicaid fraud a centerpiece of her campaign, charging that prosecutions have sharply declined under Attorney General Letitia James.
Cracking down on Medicaid fraud has become a flashpoint issue in the country after investigators uncovered billions of dollars in alleged fraud tied to public assistance programs in Minnesota. The scandal pushed the Trump administration to make cracking down on fraud a higher priority, with Vice President JD Vance leading a federal effort. Now, Republican candidates in races across the country, including New York’s attorney general contest, are calling for states to do more to prosecute Medicaid fraud and recover taxpayer money.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Komatireddy accused James of failing to aggressively pursue Medicaid fraud, saying taxpayers could be losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries.
«They’re totally failing to prosecute Medicaid fraud, and you can look at that based solely on the record of Letitia James and her Democratic predecessors,» Komatireddy said. «This is not a partisan issue.»
New York Attorney General GOP candidate Saritha Komatireddy blast AG James for failing to adequately investigate and prosecute Medicaid fraud. ((Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images) Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
NEW YORK REPUBLICANS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT FRAUD INVESTIGATION FOLLOWING MINNESOTA REVELATIONS
Komatireddy’s said Medicaid fraud recoveries have plummeted under James, falling from $168 million in 2019, her first year in office, to just $31 million in 2024, according to data from New York Attorney General’s annual reports.
Before James took office, New York attorneys general routinely posted some of the nation’s largest Medicaid fraud recoveries. Under Eliot Spitzer, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recovered $243.6 million in 2006. Andrew Cuomo’s office then recovered $113.8 million in 2007, $263.5 million in 2008 and more than $283 million in 2009, totaling more than $660 million during his first three years as attorney general. And Cuomo’s successor, Eric Schneiderman, recovered more than $335 million in 2012 — the second-highest annual total in the unit’s history and its highest recovery in seven years.
«Even her Democratic predecessors used to bring in $200 to $300 million per year in fraudulent proceeds,» Komatireddy said. «When Tish James comes into office, it goes down to $20 to $30 million per year. According to her own year-end reports, she’s just decided not to do that part of the job.»
ALEX BERENSON: MINNESOTA WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING: NEW YORK’S MEDICAID GRIFT IS FAR WORSE
Republican candidate for New York Attorney General Saritha Komatireddy holds a news conference with state GOP lawmakers on increasing public transit safety in New York on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at West Capitol Park in Albany, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images))
As New York recovers less money from Medicaid fraud each year under James, the state’s spending on the fraud recovery program has increased, from about $45 million in fiscal 2020 to $70 million in 2025.
«It used to be the case the New York Attorney General’s office would get around 100 criminal convictions a year, holding people who are stealing from Medicaid accountable,» Komatireddy said. «Under Tish James, that number is very low. There’s one year where she got eight criminal convictions.»
New York’s handling of Medicaid fraud has also caught the attention of the federal government. Earlier this year, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz sent Gov. Kathy Hochul a letter asking for more information about how the state screens providers and fights fraud. Oz said the review is meant to help protect Medicaid beneficiaries and maintain public confidence in the program. New York was one of only three states — along with California and Minnesota — to receive the letter.
READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD
Komatireddy said reduced enforcement ultimately costs New Yorkers by increasing healthcare spending and reducing funds available for other state priorities.
«It’s New Yorkers who pay the price, because when people steal from Medicaid, that increases our healthcare costs,» she said. «When we are just letting a billion dollars go out the door over the course of her term, that’s money that we could be getting back as taxpayers.»
Instead, Komatireddy said lawmakers are forced to seek additional revenue from taxpayers.
New York Attorney General Letitia James stands silently during a press conference at the office of the Attorney General in New York City on Dec. 15, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
«The folks in Albany keep thinking of new ways to take more money away from taxpayers,» she said. «If you had an attorney general who actually prosecuted fraud properly, you wouldn’t have to worry about a tax hike.»
Komatireddy pledged to strengthen the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit by adding 20 criminal prosecutors.
Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor who spent more than a decade in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and later served as chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, has framed the race as a choice between a career law enforcement prosecutor and an inept incumbent.
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«Like I said, we have to actually just do the job of attorney general,» Henry said. «That job involves prosecuting crime and fraud.»
The New York Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
attorney general, health care executive, republicans, governors, kathy hochul
INTERNACIONAL
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INTERNACIONAL
La Universidad de El Salvador identifica dos genotipos del virus Epstein-Barr en linfomas de Hodgkin
La Universidad de El Salvador (UES) confirmó la presencia de los genotipos uno y dos del virus Epstein-Barr en linfomas de Hodgkin diagnosticados en el país, un hallazgo que aporta bases para futuras investigaciones sobre el comportamiento clínico y las alternativas terapéuticas de estos tumores en la región.
La investigación, a cargo del Laboratorio de Virología de la Facultad de Medicina, pone en relieve la importancia de caracterizar a nivel molecular los tumores vinculados a este virus, que puede estar presente en más del 90% de la población mundial.
Carlos Ortega, médico y biólogo molecular experto en virología y responsable del laboratorio, explicó en entrevista con Infobae que el virus Epstein-Barr es un virus de ADN descubierto el siglo pasado a partir de su relación con tumores.
“Más del noventa por ciento de la población puede estar infectada por el virus a nivel mundial”, detalló el especialista, quien también es profesor del Departamento de Microbiología de la Facultad de Medicina.
La infección suele ser asintomática, aunque en algunos casos provoca mononucleosis infecciosa y, en menor medida, se asocia a tumores como el linfoma de Hodgkin, linfoma no Hodgkin, linfoma Burkitt y otros.
El estudio de la Universidad de El Salvador comprobó que ambos genotipos principales del virus —el tipo uno y el tipo dos— están implicados en linfomas de Hodgkin entre la población infantil salvadoreña.
Ortega explicó que “el linfoma de Hodgkin es un tumor de linfocito B, una célula clave del sistema inmune”. Cuando se produce la infección, “el virus Epstein-Barr infecta estos linfocitos y permanece latente de por vida, por factores ambientales, de inmunosupresión o genéticos, esta infección puede transformar el linfocito B y provocar el cáncer”, detalló el galeno.
El médico aclaró que, aunque la presencia del virus no explica la totalidad de los casos, sí contribuye a la inmortalización de estas células en un porcentaje importante.
“Ambos genotipos, uno y dos, son capaces de provocar la transformación del linfocito B en un linfocito anormal, lo que desemboca en el linfoma. El comportamiento clínico, epidemiológico y de pronóstico puede variar dependiendo del genotipo involucrado”, señaló Ortega.
Antes de este trabajo, en El Salvador no existían datos sobre la prevalencia de los genotipos del virus en linfomas infantiles y adultos. Según el equipo de investigación, conocer estos genotipos es clave para establecer comparaciones con otros países y avanzar hacia mejores alternativas terapéuticas.
“En nuestro país no se había demostrado cuáles eran los genotipos que estaban relacionados con los linfomas que se diagnostican, en particular el linfoma de Hodgkin”, subrayó Ortega.
El hallazgo resultó de una colaboración previa a la pandemia entre el Laboratorio de Virología y Microbiología Molecular, Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de El Salvador, y el Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, División de Patología, del Hospital de Niños Ricardo Gutiérrez, de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Además se contó con el apoyo de la Red Iberoamericana de Linfomas-RIALCYTED.
Sobre la continuidad del estudio, el médico explicó que “el siguiente paso es analizar el comportamiento clínico de los linfomas en relación con los genotipos del virus en más casos”. Asimismo, desean investigar variantes dentro de cada genotipo y comparar la filogenia de los virus detectados en El Salvador con la de otros países, lo que podría contribuir a mejorar el diagnóstico y tratamiento de los pacientes.
“Esto permitirá una mejor caracterización de estos tumores y, en consecuencia, un mejor tratamiento. Ya existen fármacos dirigidos a proteínas del virus que transforman el linfocito B, lo que abre la puerta a la medicina de precisión”, dijo Ortega.
El galeno agregó que la Universidad de El Salvador busca contribuir a la caracterización molecular de estos tumores para facilitar el acceso a tratamientos más efectivos, aunque reconoció que el costo de los diagnósticos y tratamientos sigue siendo elevado para la mayoría de la población.
“El tratamiento del linfoma de Hodgkin puede superar miles de dólares por paciente durante todo el proceso terapéutico, ya que habitualmente se requieren varios ciclos de tratamiento y seguimiento especializado”, indicó.
En cuanto al acceso, Ortega aclaró que tanto en el sector público como privado existe la posibilidad de caracterizar muchos de estos tumores, aunque en la práctica la mayoría de la población depende del sistema público por el alto costo de los tratamientos.
Destacó que existe una fundación que colabora activamente con el Hospital Nacional de Niños Benjamín Bloom para ayudar en la terapia de los infantes con cáncer, incluido el linfoma de Hodgkin.
Sobre el cuadro clínico, el médico mencionó que “el síntoma inicial puede ser un ganglio inflamado en el cuello u otra región, a veces puede acompañarse de fiebre prolongada, sudoración nocturna, y otros síntomas inespecíficos”. El diagnóstico requiere estudios especializados y biopsia, “y los pacientes deben ser derivados al Hospital de tercer nivel”.
El especialista reiteró que solo un pequeño porcentaje de todos los infectados desarrolla linfoma u otra neoplasia relacionada con el virus, ya que influyen factores genéticos, de inmunosupresión y ambientales.
“Los fármacos usados para tratar el linfoma de Hodgkin se basan en esquemas terapéuticos bien establecidos y su utilización se fundamenta principalmente en la caracterización clínico-patológica del tumor.
No obstante, la caracterización molecular del linfoma, incluida la identificación del virus de Epstein-Barr y de sus genotipos, aporta información valiosa para comprender los mecanismos biológicos de la enfermedad, su comportamiento clínico-epidemiológico, y el desarrollo a futuro de terapias más específicas”, aseguró el galeno.
Agregó que “este conocimiento podría contribuir a optimizar el manejo de los pacientes y mejorar su pronóstico a medida que avancen las estrategias de medicina de precisión”; por ejemplo, para atacar específicamente los antígenos con función oncogénica del virus Epstein-Barr en los linfomas.
Finalmente, el especialista destacó que el avance en biología molecular tras la pandemia fortaleció la capacidad del país para caracterizar tumores y diagnosticar casos, aunque insistió en que aún falta mucho por investigar sobre la relación entre los diferentes genotipos del virus y el comportamiento clínico de los linfomas entre la población infantil del país.
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