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Benefits of robotic surgery Dr. Christopher Taglia to lecture at Lompoc Valley Medical Center
Lawmakers: DHS head may have misled Congress about disinformation board By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
General and Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Christopher Taglia stands with a da Vinci robot-assisted surgical system, also shown below, at the Lompoc Valley Medical Center on Friday.
(The Center Square) – Several Republican senators are demanding a hearing saying they received documents from a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower about the agency’s new disinformation governance board that allegedly show DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas misled a Senate committee when he testified about the board last month. The lawmakers sent a letter this week to Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee asking for a hearing on the issue where Mr. Mayorkas could come back for questioning. “We write to request you convene a hearing with Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas as soon as possible to answer critical questions about apparently misleading testimony before the Committee on May 4 on the Department of Homeland Security Disinformation Governance Board (the Board),” the letter said. “We are deeply concerned that documents recently obtained by Senators Josh Hawley and Chuck Grassley
The lawmakers sent a letter this week to Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee asking for a hearing on the issue where Mr. Mayorkas could come back for questioning.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Robotic surgery has important advantages. That’s according to Dr. Christopher Taglia, who will present the lecture, “Robotic Surgery: Is It The Future?” at 6 p.m. June 29 in the Oceans Seven Cafe at Lompoc Valley Medical Center. Dr. Taglia’s two-hour talk is part of the Lompoc Hospital District Foundation’s Community Lecture series. The speaker talked to the News-Press about the differences between conventional and robotic surgeries. “When we do a minimally invasive survey, normally an assistant holds a camera and uses instruments to retract and expose an operative site,” Dr. Taglia said. “The surgeon holds long instruments that are inserted into the incision. “In robotic surgery, the instruments and cameras are inserted and connected to a robot,” he explained. “The surgeon controls everything sitting down at the consul.” “The vision is superior,” Dr. Taglia said. Please see SURGERY on A4
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DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
contradict the Secretary’s testimony and public statements about the Board.” This kerfuffle is the latest in a string of disputes around the board, not the least of which included Nina Jankowicz’ resignation from leading the board after controversial social media videos surfaced. The Republican senators published the DHS documents online purporting to show documented evidence that Mr. Mayorkas misrepresented the purpose of the board. “Responding to a question from a reporter ‘Will American citizens be monitored?’ Secretary Mayorkas responded unequivocally ‘No,’ adding that ‘We at the Department of Homeland Security don’t monitor American citizens,’” the letter said. “He went on to suggest the Board would be concentrating on foreign threats – ’addressing the threat of disinformation from foreign state adversaries [and] from the cartels.’ Yet talking points prepared by Ms. Jankowicz, the Board’s then–Executive Director appear to show that the Department does in fact monitor American citizens and that the Board’s work is concentrated on domestic threats.” The documents also give evidence that the federal Please see DHS HEAD on A3
Gas prices are down slightly, but still hovering near record levels
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Current gas proces are shown at, from left, the Fuel Depot at 250 N. Turnpike Rd. in Santa Barbara, the Shell station at 175 N. Turnpike Rd. in Goleta and the Speedway station at 4069 State Street in Santa Barbara on Sunday. The average price of gas in the U.S. dropped slightly to $4.98 per gallon after having surpassed $5 recently. The average price in California is $6.40 per gallon, while Santa Barbara County is doing slightly better at $6.34 per gallon.
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