The anti-slavery activist whose story was turned into the hit film Sound of Freedom has angrily denied sexually exploiting seven women and taking advantage of a Mormon elder.

Tim Ballard, a Utah-born former CIA agent who founded the non-profit Operation Underground Railroad in 2013, is accused by the women of pressuring them while on missions to rescue children.

He did not address the sexual misconduct allegations in detail, but declared it was all untrue – and spoke passionately to deny the Church’s allegations.

‘It’s not true, nothing you hear is true. Something evil is going on. I don’t know what yet,’ he said, claiming it was a plot against him, and questioning whether the Mormon church has really issued the statement.

The statement was given to Vice News, which has since the summer been reporting on Ballard being forced out of the charity he founded.

On Monday, the website alleged he pushed the women into sharing a bed with him or showering together, telling them it was to convince traffickers they were married.

Sources told Vice News Ballard, who resigned from O.U.R. in June, sent at least one woman a photo of himself in his underwear, covered in fake tattoos.

The married father-of-nine allegedly asked another woman ‘how far she was willing to go’ to save children. 

Over the weekend, the Mormon church – of which Ballard is a part – issued a rare rebuke, condemning in a statement ‘activity regarded as morally unacceptable’.

They did not specify what they meant.

The letter from the Church of Latter Day Saints also accused Ballard of using the name of their president, M. Russell Ballard, who is no relation.

‘President Ballard and Tim Ballard (no relation) established a friendship a number of years ago,’ the statement reads. 

‘That friendship was built on a shared interest in looking after God’s children wherever they are and without regard to their circumstance. However, that relationship is in the past.

‘For many months, President Ballard has had no contact with the founder of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). The nature of that relationship was always in support of vulnerable children being abused, trafficked, and otherwise neglected. 

‘Once it became clear Tim Ballard had betrayed their friendship, through the unauthorized use of President Ballard’s name for Tim Ballard’s personal advantage and activity regarded as morally unacceptable, President Ballard withdrew his association. 

‘President Ballard never authorized his name, or the name of the Church, to be used for Tim’s personal or financial interests.

‘In addition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints never endorsed, supported, or represented OUR, Tim Ballard, or any projects associated with them.

‘President Ballard loves children, all over the world. It has been his mission and life’s work to look after them, care for them, and point them to their Savior.’

Tim Ballard on Monday angrily denied the Church’s allegation that he had abused President Ballard’s name, and said it was ‘ruining his life’.

‘President Ballard is like a grandfather to me,’ said Tim Ballard.

‘He came to me in 2011, 2012, and he told me he appreciates all the things I’m doing and wants to help me.

‘I’ve never used Elder Ballard’s name. Ever! I’ve never treaded on his name to ask for anything. I’ve never had any business dealings with him. What business deal?

‘All the press in Utah is saying some Church representative is saying this. This is breaking down my family like you can’t believe.

‘My children are being harassed right now because everyone believes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – which I have defended for how many years – and no one can tell me.’

He said that he did not believe the statement given to Vice, making allegations of influence-peddling, was true.

‘Do you think the church would make a statement to Vice? Vice Magazine has done anti-Mormon stories like you wouldn’t believe.

‘Vice Magazine has done more hit pieces on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints than any other.’

He also questioned why no Church officials had been able to confirm the veracity of the statement. 

‘Can you imagine the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints would publicly condemn one of its members without talking to the bishop, the stake president?’ asked Ballard.

‘I have never traded on his name to ask for anything. I’ve never had any business dealings with him.’ Ballard has been approached by DailyMail.com for comment. 

An anonymous letter sent to O.U.R. donors this summer, reads: ‘It was ultimately revealed through disturbingly specific and parallel accounts, that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating multiple women for the past few years with the ultimate intent of coercing them to participate in sexual acts with him, under the premise of going where it takes and doing ‘whatever it takes’ to save a child.’

In the film of his work, Ballard is played by Jim Caviezel, the staunchly Catholic star of Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of Christ’, who is known for promoting QAnon conspiracy theories. His wife Katherine is played by Mira Sorvino.

Ballard is shown working to rescue young girls from a Colombian sex-trafficking ring, in a plot loosely based on his own exploits – but which Ballard freely admits has been embellished.

Sound of Freedom’s themes have struck a chord in particular with conservatives, including mainstream Republicans interested in education and other children’s issues, and  evangelicals who have responded to the movie’s religious overtones. 

It also resonated with far-right QAnon believers who have for years spread alarmist fears of child endangerment, such as the idea that a child sex-trafficking ring was being run out of a Washington DC pizza parlor, with involvement of Hillary Clinton and other senior Democrats. 

The was shunned by big studios and released independently, going on to become one of the most successful independent films in history. 

Released on July 4, it was supported by Donald Trump – who held a screening at his Bedminster golf club, and spoke to Ballard for his podcast. 

Yet on June 22, Operation Underground Railroad severed ties with Ballard, without explanation.

The letter from O.U.R., sent to donors, was obtained by journalist Lynn Kenneth Packer.

He read the letter in an episode of his podcast.

‘Several weeks ago, an OUR employee who accompanied Tim on an undercover operation filed a sexual harassment complaint against him with OUR’s HR department,’ the letter reads. 

‘This resulted in an extensive internal investigation into Tim and his individual operational tactics and led to more women speaking up as part of the investigation process.

‘It was ultimately revealed through disturbingly specific and parallel accounts, that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating multiple women for the past few years with the ultimate intent of coercing them to participate in sexual acts with him, under the premise of going where it takes and doing ‘whatever it takes’ to save a child.’

The letter said OUR’s board and lawyers had made agreements preventing executives from discussing the circumstances of Ballard’s exit from the organization.

They said the agreement had made it ‘virtually impossible for them to defend the organization against Tim’s false narratives.’

The drama comes as Ballard says he is seriously considering a run for the U.S. Senate.

Ballard told Sean Spicer on ‘The Sean Spicer Show’ this week in the video first obtained by DailyMail.com that he was asked ‘several weeks ago’ to look at running for the seat by ‘very influential people.’

Romney, 76, sent shockwaves through Congress with a surprise announcement Thursday that he would not be running for a second term. 

He also fired parting shots at the disarray within the Republican Party, and said Biden and Trump, like himself, were too old to serve in office.

‘At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s,’ he said. ‘Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders’ 

When Ballard was approached to run for the seat even before Romney publicly announced his Senate departure, he said: ‘I was very seriously considering it.’ 

And now that Romney announced he will be stepping down, Ballard said it is ‘easier’ for himself to potentially stage a run for the seat. 

He said he will enter the race after he prayerfully considers the position and if his wife Katherine supports the decision. 

The former agent currently lives in Utah with his wife and their nine children, two of whom they adopted from Haiti. 

He said based on his work, there has to be ‘something done more none at the federal level’ and the momentum keeps building for his potential Senate run.

‘I keep getting phone calls from people,’ he expressed. 

Ballard said the success of the film has barred him from ever working as an operator again, because his face is now recognized by traffickers and bad actors, so becoming a senator could be a good next step. 

The ex-agent who inspired the renowned film Sound of Freedom has become a leading voice for anti-trafficking efforts across the world.

On July 4, Sound of Freedom brought in $14 million, while the newest Indiana Jones film earned only $11.5 million, according to the Post Millennial. It is now the number one movie in Latin America. 

As for the continued success of the Sound of Freedom film, Ballard told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview this week that he’s still ‘shocked by it.’

But he’s grateful for the success because he’s now getting audiences with Latin America leaders who are helping to enact change.

‘And it’s forcing a conversation that I think the American people have wanted to have, but didn’t know how to start it,’ he added.

Ballard said the film wasn’t intended to ‘make a statement about border policy’ but it came out just when it was most needed.

He said the success of the film has barred him from ever working as an agent operator again, because his face is now recognized by traffickers and bad actors. 

Ballard was on Capitol Hill this week to meet with lawmakers and testify about child sex trafficking.

He told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview ahead of his testimony before the House that Biden’s open borders policy is perpetuating human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad.

The Biden administration has lost track of over 85,000 unaccompanied minors that have come across the border into the U.S. over the last several years, he said.

The children become easy ‘prey for the traffickers’ creating an ‘alarming predicament’ that he says is being largely ignored by the Biden administration.

Republicans are heading toward a ‘potential’ impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as they expose the horrific human impact of the southern border crisis – including rampant sex trafficking and fentanyl poisonings. 

The United Auto Workers strike against the ‘Big Three’ Detroit carmakers entered its second day on Saturday, and some union members are questioning whether President Joe Biden has done enough to back their cause.

The strike involves 13,000 workers so far, less than a tenth of the union’s total membership, but UAW’s strike fund has enough cash to support a full 150,000-member walkout for up to three months. 

The union representing workers at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis is seeking a 40 percent raise for its workers. The walkout is limited for now to three assembly plants: a GM factory in Wentzville, Missouri, a Ford plant near Detroit, and a Jeep plant run by Stellantis in Toledo, Ohio. 

In Kokomo, Indiana, the hometown of UAW boss Shawn Fain, Local 685 President Garry Quirk told Politico that Biden, the self-described ‘most pro-union president in American history,’ had not done enough to prevent a strike.

‘I don’t know what he’s done,’ Quirk said. ‘Ask him. I don’t think he knows what he’s done. Seriously. I’m not trying to be mean.’

Quirk, 60, told the outlet he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and then Donald Trump in 2020.

Fellow local member Denny Butler, 52, also expressed frustration at the White House’s perceived lack of action.

‘We haven’t had a president in there for years, with the exception of Trump, that was really for the people, all the way back to the Reagan days,’ he told Politico.

He noted that unions were once tightly aligned with the Democratic Party, but said that was no longer the case.

‘Democrats were for the working people. That s**t has changed. I’m telling you what, the Democratic Party was not what it was 20, 30 years ago.’ 

On Thursday, Biden spoke with Fain and the three auto company CEOs in a futile last-ditch bid to avoid a strike. 

The chair of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers cited Biden’s record of backing unions and collective bargaining, saying the president had been ‘very much engaged’ in the negotiations. 

The union appeared to be digging in for a potential protracted strike, even as Ford quickly announced that ripple effects from the walkouts meant temporary layoffs of 600 jobs.

UAW President Fain said late Friday that it wasn’t true ‘negotiations have broken down.’

However, he added that ‘our members and allies are standing strong at the picket lines. Anyone who wants to stand with us can grab a sign and hold the line.’

‘Tomorrow, we expect to be at the bargaining table,’ he said. ‘All three companies have received a comprehensive counteroffer from our union, and we await their response.’

For Biden, the strike represents a collision of two of the president’s top goals – fighting climate change and expanding the middle class by supporting unions. 

Biden is trying to turbocharge the market for electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent China from solidifying its grip on the growing industry. 

His signature legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes billions of dollars in incentives to get more clean cars on the roads.

However, many autoworkers fear the transition away from gas-powered cars will cost jobs, because electric vehicles require fewer people to assemble. 

Although there will be new jobs in the production of high-capacity batteries, there’s no guarantee that those factories will be unionized, and they’re often being planned in states more hostile to organized labor.

‘The president is in a really tough position,’ said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. ‘What he needs to be the most pro-labor president ever and the greenest president ever is a magic wand.’

The union is demanding steep raises and better benefits, and it’s escalating the pressure with its targeted strike. 

Brittany Eason, who has worked for 11 years at the Ford Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, said workers are worried that they’ll ‘be pushed out by computers and electric vehicles.’

‘How do you expect people to work with ease if they’re in fear of losing their jobs?’ said Eason, who planned to walk the picket line this weekend. 

Electric vehicles may be inevitable, she said, but changes need to be made ‘so everybody can feel secure about their jobs, their homes and everything else.’

Biden on Friday acknowledged the tension in remarks from the White House , saying the transition to clean energy ‘should be fair and a win-win for auto workers and auto companies.’

He dispatched top aides to Detroit to help push negotiations along, and he prodded management to make more generous offers to the union, saying ‘they should go further to ensure record corporate profits mean record contracts.’

As part of its demands, the UAW wants to represent employees at battery plants, which would send ripple effects through an industry that has seen supply chains upended by technological changes.

‘Batteries are the power trains of the future,’ said Dave Green, a regional director for the union in Ohio and Indiana. ‘Our workers in engine and transmission areas need to be able to move into the new generation.’

Executives, however, are keen to keep a lid on labor costs as their companies prepare to compete in a global market. China is the dominant manufacturer of electric vehicles and batteries.

‘The UAW strike and indeed the `summer of strikes´ is the natural result of the Biden administration´s `whole of government´ approach to promoting unionization at all costs,’ said Suzanne Clark, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Some environmental groups, conscious of how labor remains crucial to securing support for climate programs, have expressed support for the strike.

‘We’re at a really pivotal moment in the history of the auto industry,’ said Sam Gilchrist, deputy national outreach director at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Presidential politics have increased the stakes for the strike, which could damage the economy going into an election year, depending on how long it lasts and whether it spreads. It’s also centered in Michigan, a key part of Biden’s 2020 victory and critical to his chances at a second term.

Former President Donald Trump , the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, sees an opportunity to drive a wedge between Biden and workers. 

He issued a statement saying Biden ‘will murder the US auto industry and kill countless union autoworker jobs forever, especially in Michigan and the Midwest. There is no such thing as a ‘fair transition’ to the destruction of these workers’ livelihoods and the obliteration of this cherished American industry.’

In an interview with NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Trump said that ‘electric cars are going to be made in China,’ not the United States, and he said ‘the auto workers are being sold down the river by their leadership.’

Trump’s comments have not earned him any support from UAW president Fain.

‘That’s not someone that represents working-class people,’ he told MSNBC earlier this month. ‘He’s part of the billionaire class. We need to not forget that. And that´s what our members need to think about when they go to vote.’

Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign, said Trump ‘will say literally anything to distract from his long record of breaking promises and failing America’s workers.’ 

He noted that Trump would have let auto companies go bankrupt during the financial crisis rather than bail them out as President Barack Obama did at the time.

But there are also disagreements between Biden and workers.

When the Energy Department announced a $9.2 billion loan for battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, part of a joint venture by Ford and a South Korean company, Fain said the federal government was ‘actively funding the race to the bottom with billions in public money.’

Madeline Janis, co-executive director of Jobs to Move America, which works on environmental and worker issues, said the White House needs to do more to alleviate labor challenges.

‘We don’t have enough career pathways for people to see themselves in this future and let go of the jobs in industries that are causing our world to be in crisis,’ she said.

The Sound of Freedom’s Tim Ballard reveals that he is ‘very seriously considering’ running for Mitt Romney‘s Utah Senate seat. 

Ex-DHS agent Ballard’s harrowing tale about rescuing children from sex slavery is featured in the film ‘The Sound of Freedom,’ which has dominated box offices worldwide.

Ballard told Sean Spicer on ‘The Sean Spicer Show’ this week in the video first obtained by DailyMail.com that he was asked ‘several weeks ago’ to look at running for the seat by ‘very influential people.’

Romney, 76, sent shockwaves through Congress with a surprise announcement Thursday that he would not be running for a second term. He also fired parting shots at the disarray within the Republican Party, and said Biden and Trump, like himself, were too old to serve in office.

‘At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s,’ he said. ‘Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders’ 

When Ballard was approached to run for the seat even before Romney publicly announced his Senate departure, he said ‘I was very seriously considering it.’ 

And now that Romney announced he will be stepping down, Ballard said it is ‘easier’ for himself to potentially stage a run for the seat. 

He said he will enter the race after he prayerfully considers the position and if his wife Katherine supports the decision. 

The former agent currently lives in Utah with his wife and their nine children, two of whom they adopted from Haiti. 

He said based on his work, there has to be ‘something done more none at the federal level’ and the momentum keeps building for his potential Senate run.

‘I keep getting phone calls from people,’ he expressed. 

Ballard said the success of the film has barred him from ever working as an operator again, because his face is now recognized by traffickers and bad actors, so becoming a senator could be a good next step. 

The ex-agent who inspired the renowned film Sound of Freedom has become a leading voice for anti-trafficking efforts across the world.

On July 4, Sound of Freedom brought in $14 million, while the newest Indiana Jones film earned only $11.5 million, according to the Post Millennial. It is now the number one movie in Latin America. 

As for the continued success of the Sound of Freedom film, Ballard told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview this week that he’s still ‘shocked by it.’

But he’s grateful for the success because he’s now getting audiences with Latin America leaders who are helping to enact change.

‘And it’s forcing a conversation that I think the American people have wanted to have, but didn’t know how to start it,’ he added.

Ballard said the film wasn’t intended to ‘make a statement about border policy’ but it came out just when it was most needed.

He said the success of the film has barred him from ever working as an agent operator again, because his face is now recognized by traffickers and bad actors. 

Ballard was on Capitol Hill this week to meet with lawmakers and testify about child sex trafficking.

He told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview ahead of his testimony before the House that Biden’s open borders policy is perpetuating human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad.

The Biden administration has lost track of over 85,000 unaccompanied minors that have come across the border into the U.S. over the last several years, he said.

The children become easy ‘prey for the traffickers’ creating an ‘alarming predicament’ that he says is being largely ignored by the Biden administration.

Republicans are heading toward a ‘potential’ impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as they expose the horrific human impact of the southern border crisis – including rampant sex trafficking and fentanyl poisonings. 

Michelle Bridges enjoys family night out with her son Axel as she leads the celebrity arrivals alongside Cameron Robbie at the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

By Marta Jary For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 09:31 EDT, 18 June 2023 | Updated: 09:31 EDT, 18 June 2023

The U.S. premiere of the fifth installment in the Indiana Jones film franchise was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Wednesday.

And while there was no shortage of star power on the red carpet for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, a recent Oscar-winning actor had a surprise reunion with Harrison Ford, the man behind the role of renowned archaeologist and adventurer, Indiana Jones.

In a show of support for his Indiana Jones family, Ke Huy Quan made a point of spending time with the longtime leading man for the cameras, in a sweet and emotional moment for the two actors.

Quan was just 12-years-old when he made his debut as a professional actor nearly 40 years ago, playing the role of Short Round in Indiana Jones And The Temple of Doom (1984).

Fans will recall he was the young orphan sidekick, who drives the 1936 Auburn Boat Tail Speedster that allows Indy to escape during the opening sequence.

As fans watched from just outside the red carpet, Quan, now 51, wrapped his arms around Ford with a glowing smile on his face, decked out in a black suit with a red shirt.

Equally beaming with pride, Ford was also visibly moved by the moment, which comes just three months after his former co-star won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

His riveting role as Waymond Wang followed an almost 20-year hiatus from acting, where he worked as a stunt choreographer and assistant director.

Seizing on the heartfelt moment, Ford and Quan could be seen fielding questions from entertainment journalists on the red carpet.

For Temple Of the Doom, Quan was handpicked by director Steven Spielberg to play Short Round after a long search through about 6,000 kids to find the perfect child actor. 

The Saigon, South Vietnam native actually tagged along with his brother to an audition for the first sequel to Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), in a show of support, according to Movie Web.

But the casting director would see the potential in Quan, not his brother, and asked him to also read for the character. 

He ended up sealing the deal for the role of Short Round once Spielberg got a look at the footage of his audition.

Spielberg liked his personality so much that he and Ford got to improvise the scene where Short Round accuses Indy of cheating during a card game 

‘I didn’t go looking to be an actor. I was just like a normal kid, going to school every day at my elementary school, 12 years old at that time,’ Quan recalled.

He continued, ‘I immigrated here to Los Angeles in 1979, and four years later, as fate would have it, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas was looking for a Chinese kid to be Short Round. And they went everywhere looking for him. Couldn’t find him, almost gave up the role, when they decided to have an open call in Chinatown, Los Angeles.’

In the wake of his success with his comeback role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, the grateful actor has garnered fan support from all across the world.

The former child star actually had his first reunion with Ford at the D23 expo last September.

‘Are you Short Round?’ the 80-year-old actor asked when they met eyes, which Quan said transported him back to 1984 and the Temple Of Doom, during an interview in Men’s Health.

‘Yes, Indy, it’s me,’ he responded back to Ford at the time.

Afterwards, Ford shared his thoughts and emotions about the reunion, saying it was ‘great to see him. I mean… I’ve had the opportunity to see the film (Everything Everywhere All At Once). He is really terrific in his movie. And I’m so glad to see him… and what he has become. I’m so happy for him… And well deserved! Well deserved.’

In what’s considered Indy’s last adventure with Ford wearing the iconic fedora-style hat and carrying his trusty whip, Dial Of Destiny is set on 1969 with the backdrop of the Space race.

Dr. Jones finds himself uneasy over the U.S. government’s recruitment of former Nazis to help beat the Soviet Union in the competition to make it to space.

For this go-around, Indy’s goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), accompanies him on his new journey, while Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a NASA member and ex-Nazi involved with the moon-landing program, wishes to make the world into a better place as he sees fit. 

Directed by James Mangold from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and David Koepp, the cast also includes Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Ethann Isidore and Boyd Holbrook.

Indiana Jones And The Dial of Destiny, the first of the franchise not to have Steven Spielberg direct, is scheduled to hit theaters across the U.S on June 30.

The chat-up lines to AVOID if you want to bag a date, according to scientists

By Matthew Phelan For Dailymail.Com

Updated: 13:03 EDT, 9 June 2023

Doctors have reported rising cases of a rare but fatal condition linked to significant marijuana use, which causes intense vomiting, dehydration and abdominal pain.

Daily marijuana smokers are at risk of developing cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), which researchers warn could become more common as marijuana becomes increasingly legal. It can be used recreationally in 22 US states.

Brian Smith, 17, died in Indiana in October 2018 from dehydration due to CHS. 

Smith is one of four known deaths linked to CHS – the others are a 27-year-old female, a 27-year-old male, and a 31-year.

However, there are numerous cases of people with the condition being hospitalized for weeks. 

One woman from Boston, who deemed herself an ‘Olympic smoker’, spent more than two weeks in the hospital. 

ER doctor Sam Torbati said CHS is a ‘relatively unique condition that we see with patients who use relatively large amounts of marijuana – at least 20 times in a month.

‘Patients who suffer from this condition have recurrent bouts of vomiting and abdominal pain.

‘They’re terrifically symptomatic and can get very sick.’

CHS is a rare illness that comes as a result of chronic and prolonged usage of cannabis. Symptoms of CHS include extreme vomiting, nausea, dehydration, stomach pain and death in rare cases.

In the brain, marijuana often helps to prevent nausea and vomiting. However, in the digestive tract, marijuana has the opposite effect and makes nausea and vomiting more likely to occur.

Some doctors believe CHS is due to overstimulation of the endocannabinoid system, a network of receptors in the body that respond to compounds in cannabis.

Dr Torbati said he has seen increasing CHS cases at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

But diagnosing the condition is difficult.

Dr Torbati said: ‘There’s no test that we can do. There’s no blood test. It doesn’t show up on a CAT scan. I can’t really show you an image to say, this is what CHS looks like.

Mr Smith, who died in 2018 from CHS, first went to the hospital with his mother, Regina Denney, to complain about severe vomiting and abdominal pain and, at the time, had lost about 30 pounds in a single month.

His mother, Regina Denney,  told ABC News: ‘The first time I noticed the vomiting was April 7. He was vomiting so much that he said he felt tingling in his face and hands.’

She said: ‘The doctors took Brian ahead of me. I came in, and he had IVs in both arms; he was on oxygen. They said that the muscle contraction was an anxiety attack from the vomiting.

‘They did say he was dehydrated. His kidneys went into failure.’

Mr Smith agreed to give up marijuana for 45 days, but when the symptoms did not stop, he got annoyed and began smoking again.

His death came as a shock to his mother six months after his diagnosis.

‘He said, ‘Mom, I can’t breathe.’ I rolled him over, and my son was gone,’ Ms Denney told RTV6.

Ms Denney said: ‘I had to process that because weed doesn’t kill you. But it did.’

She added: ‘I don’t want another family to go through what we have.‘

A Canadian study found that CHS-related ER visits shot up 13-fold over seven years between 2014 and 2021. 

Commercial sales skyrocketed in Canada, as did the choice of cannabis products on the market.

Dr Torbati said more research is essential.

He said: ‘We became more and more aware of this condition because more and more people are now using marijuana products. They now have far more THC, which believe is the main chemical compound responsible for this.’

In America, cannabis samples seized by the DEA showed that potency tripled from 4 percent THC in 1995 to 12 percent in 2014.

The ratio of THC to CBD also increased from 14 to 80 times greater.

For years, marijuana has been used recreationally and medically to treat chronic pain and nausea, but for some, it causes the opposite, which is why the condition is sometimes misdiagnosed.

Erica Hagler, 38m from Boston, said she used so much marijuana she thought of herself as an ‘Olympic smoker’.

She walked around her house with a bong in hand and would even wake up in the night to have a drag.

Ms Hagler first became sick in August 2018 and told ABC: ‘I ended up in the hospital. I was there for two and a half weeks, constantly vomiting.’

She told Salon: ‘I could not stop vomiting or shaking. I was getting to the point where I couldn’t walk because I was so weak. I lost 30 pounds in three weeks.’ 

She said: ‘They tested me for everything else underneath the sun and they couldn’t find a diagnosis.’

Ms Hagler did her own research and came across CHS. A doctor confirmed her diagnosis and she gave up marijuana instantly.

She said: ‘Once I knew it was killing me, it was immediate. But for most people, it’s not that easy.’

Ms Hagler started a Facebook support group for those recovering from CHS, creating a place to share their symptoms.

Many in the group suffer horrific burns from scalding hot showers, as the water relieves CHS symptoms, at least temporarily.

One poster said: ‘During my last episode I spent hours and hours in the hot steamy shower through the course of about 10 days and I used such hot water and I was in there for so long that I scalded my back and ended up in the ER.’

Doctors believe that when THC and CBD bind with certain receptors in the body over and over, it can set off serious nausea and vomiting.

It’s thought that using high heat might trigger something in the same receptors that helps symptoms.

CHS has no cure, but doctors say patients must give up marijuana.

Dr Torbati said: ‘Patients will say, well I stopped for two weeks and I didn’t get better, so it must not be this condition that you’re labeling me with.

‘And we educate and say, really, you’re gonna need to stop for months.’

Professional movie critics aren’t enjoying ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,’ the hotly anticipated and allegedly final adventure for Harrison Ford as the whip-cracking archeologist.

But those failing grades could mean that ‘Indy 5’ is shaping up to be a runaway summer sensation, according to University of California Davis researchers.

Scientists analyzed tens of thousands of reviews for 448 different movies, finding bad scores with formal and analytical writing styles often preceded a smash hit opening. 

However, a positive review by these same ‘out of touch’ critics, they said, could be used to predict a box office bomb on opening weekend accurately. 

Pre-release reviews for the new Indiana Jones film have led to a ‘rotten’ 50 percent score at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 46 reviews. 

And the aggregation site Metacritic gives the new Indy a score of 52/100, based on 24 reviews.  The film is expected to hit the big screen on June 30.

While well-established critics said that ‘this is not the goodbye Harrison Ford deserves,’ their bad reviews could pave the way for a Blockbuster hit. 

Using the text analytics software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), the researchers searched for any signs of similarity or differences in their ‘harbinger critics’ writing style, as first reported on by StudyFinds.org. 

They found that the critics whose taste aligned least with popular opinion tended to write more formally and analytically. 

These critics were less likely to frame their reviews as personal opinions, using fewer self-reference pronouns.

‘This indicates that harbinger critics show overconfidence in their abilities,’ the researchers write, ‘while non-harbinger critics are more self-reflective about the audience’s opinion and convey more confidence in their reviews.’

This pattern persisted even with top critics, suggesting that trusting the film experts would be a big mistake for Indy fans.

‘This surprising outcome challenges the prevailing belief that positive reviews equate to better box office revenues,’ Loupos said.

The researchers examined 28,884 pre-release reviews and commentary for 448 movies from the years 2015-2019, according to their paper in the peer-reviewed journal Marketing Letters. They then compared those critical hits and bombs to each film’s opening weekend box office.

The researchers called their sub-category of ‘out of touch’ movie reviewers — whose tastes repeatedly ran counter to public tastes — ‘harbinger critics.’ 

‘Interestingly, when these critics penned positive pre-release reviews,’ according to lead author Pantelis Loupos, ‘they signaled that the movie would be a flop.’

‘Conversely,’ said Prof. Loupos, an assistant professor of marketing and business analysis at the UC Davis’ Graduate School of Management, ‘their negative reviews hinted towards the film being a success.’

‘The stronger the sentiment in either direction,’ Loupos said in a press release, ‘the stronger the predictive signal.’

Two unusual examples in their investigation were the commercially oriented franchise flicks Baywatch (2017) and Tomb Raider (2018). Both garnered pre-release raves but netted dismal box office revenues upon opening weekend.

The researchers also double-checked their theory by doing a second analysis on ‘sleeper’ hits: 20 films from their 448 film dataset with bad opening weekends that then went on to generate big revenue and critical praise over the long haul. 

Even with those movies, films akin to The Shawshank Redemption and Children of Men, ‘harbinger critics’ proved to be even more out of sync with popular opinion, with their pre-release reviews having even more inverted predictive power.

But Loupos and his UC Davis team wanted to understand why. What makes these critics so far off from mainstream tastes?