The Sidebar

Dr. Carrie Lynn Madej ("mah-day"), who McGill University's Office for Science and Society called "a menace to society," has been sued for malpractice, outrageous conduct, negligence, and other allegations. 

The lawsuit involves three patients she allegedly treated on December 5, 2021 in Morgan County, Tennessee, about 60 miles west of Knoxville. 

One patient died less than three weeks later.

...The complaint (click here to download) was filed February 27 in Tennessee's Ninth Judicial District Circuit Court individually by Jana Sutoova Bennun and her husband Steven Bennun, and on behalf of the estate of Ms. Bennun's father, Stefan Suto.  

Dail Cantrell (source)

According to plaintiff's attorney Dail Cantrell, yesterday in a Kingston, TN court Judge Mike Pemberton "ruled in our favor."

Mr. Cantrell informed me he'll have court orders in January. I'll post those ASAP.

From Jenna Bush Hager reveals husband Henry saved woman’s life while choking at restaurant: ‘My hero’ by Lindsay Lowe, Today.com, March 9, 2023:

Jenna Bush Hager is calling her husband a “hero” after he jumped into action to save a woman’s life.

The incident occurred Wednesday night when Jenna and her husband, Henry (Hager), were having a quiet dinner at a restaurant with Henry’s mom.

Jenna said she was sitting with her back to the restaurant, while Henry sat facing outward.

“All of a sudden, he says, ‘That woman is choking!’” Jenna said. “He gets up, he runs over, and he gives a woman the Heimlich maneuver for, it felt like it was 10 minutes.”

Jenna said some other people came over to help as Henry continued to try to save the woman.

“He continued, and other men were helping him, and I could tell he thought it wasn’t working, and he was saying, ‘Guys, keep going, keep going, keep going!’” Jenna said. “And she survived. 911 arrived.”

For the past month I've tried to verify Ms. Hager's story by sending a couple dozen emails and leaving messages for various parties: Mr. Hager, senior producers at the Today Show, NBC's head of publicity; and the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

The result was deafening silence - including from Ms. Lowe, the writer who bylined the Today.com item. (Page down for the unanswered DMs I sent her.)

The only response came from Andrew Kaufman, Director of Communications and Marketing at the Bush Center: 

Unfortunately, the best way to reach the Hagers are the methods you used – my powers are limited there.

Did the incident really happen? If not, it wouldn't be the first time a celebrity may have fabricated a dramatic choking rescue. 

For example, in 2012 here's what country star Luke Bryan told People Magazine:

I had a friend do the Heimlich on me last Monday in a pizza restaurant. It was pretty freaky there for about 30 seconds. A piece of flatbread pizza flaked off and got lodged in my airway, and I went down. He picked me up and got it out of there!

As Sidebar readers know, I reported a string of stories about my unsuccessul efforts to verify his claim.

The Bryana and Hager stories story raise an interesting point.

When a celebrity makes a dramatic, newsworthy claim on national television, do they have a responsibility to back it up?

As you might guess, I think they do. 

But I don't have the clout to compel powerful, connected people to respond to my questions. 

If someone out there does have the requisite swat and the Hagers (or Bryan, for that matter) provide the information I requested, I'll update this item with gratitude and without hesitation.

James Moore was sentenced to an active sentence of 20 years for carnal knowledge on January 13, 2023. Evidence showed that from September through December of 2019, Moore started a sexual relationship with a thirteen year old. She was the daughter of people he had met in his role as a “social media influencer.” The sexual abuse began on a joint family vacation with Moore and his wife and the victim’s family. After that vacation, Moore would drive from his home in South Carolina to wait outside the home of the victim. On multiple occasions, he would encourage the victim to sneak out of the house after her parents were asleep. Moore would engage in sexual acts with the 13 year old in his vehicle and eventually began taking her to a hotel.

Law enforcement obtained records of Moore’s conversations with the juvenile victim. The records  onfirmed the sexual abuse describing vaginal intercourse and sodomy. Among the sexually explicit messages to the victim, the messages also showed Moore manipulating the victim. Moore would repeatedly tell the victim that he was the only person in her life that cared for her. He would criticize her parents and other relationships creating distance between the victim and her family.

During sentencing, the Henrico County Circuit Court described Moore as being two people: one who is the well-educated community member who everyone sees as a good guy and second as someone who would describe “f- the brains out” of a thirteen-fourteen year old child. Someone who when the victim states she is feeling suicidal tells her “to get over it.” 

The judge sentenced James Moore to an active sentence of 20 years.