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Thursday, July 9, 2026

It's hard being green

New reason why Trump should take over Greenland. NOT a joke.

You're invited!

 

Charlestown Conservation Commission holds July 23 on the safety of your well water

Cool, crisp, clear … safe to drink?

Kristen Curry

In Rhode Island, private well owners are responsible for
testing and maintaining the quality of their own well water.

To provide residents with information on private well water testing, treatment, and maintenance, research associate Lisa Hollister with the University of Rhode Island’s Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program and private well specialist Shannon Nakama with the Rhode Island Department of Health Private Wells Program will hold a free program on Thursday, July 23, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Cross’ Mills Public Library, 4417 Old Post Road, in Charlestown. 

This program is held in partnership with the Charlestown Conservation Commission and the Cross’ Mills Public Library. Attendees will learn about well maintenance and protection, the importance of regular well water testing, and resources available to interpret results.

New research suggests that heavy soybean oil intake may disrupt the gut

America’s Most Popular Cooking Oil May Be Harming Your Intestines

By SciTechDaily.com

Soybean Oil Harmful Bacteria
A diet high in soybean oil is found to encourage the growth of harmful bacteria such as adherent invasive E. coli in the gut. Credit: Sladek lab, UC Riverside

Soybean oil or “vegetable oil” is everywhere in the American diet. It is used in salad dressings, sauces, fried foods, packaged snacks, frozen meals, and many restaurant meals. Most people may consume it regularly without realizing how much they are getting.

New research from the University of California, Riverside suggests that high soybean oil intake may affect more than body weight. In mouse studies, it has been linked to changes in gut bacteria, a weaker intestinal barrier, greater susceptibility to ulcerative colitis, and metabolic problems.

The findings do not prove that soybean oil causes these diseases in people. But they do raise concerns about how often this inexpensive, widely used oil appears in processed and restaurant foods.

Anti-vaxxer mom likely to have her lawsuit dismissed

She is charged with murdering her twins whom she claimed were killed by vaccines

Walker Bragman

An Idaho woman whose claims that vaccines killed her toddler twins were promoted by Robert Kennedy Jr.’s former anti-vaccine group has been arrested and charged with their murders.

Andrea Shaw, 23, formerly of Payette, Idaho, was arrested on Tuesday after a grand jury returned an indictment, charging her with two counts of first-degree murder, which requires premeditation, in connection with the deaths of her 18-month-old twins, Dallas and Tyson. Police found the twins unresponsive in their shared bed on May 1, 2025 after responding to a 911 call.

Shaw blamed the flu, hepatitis A, and DTaP (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccines the children had received days earlier, but the indictment alleges that she suffocated the toddlers. The arrest concludes “a lengthy and thorough” multi-agency investigation led by the Payette Police Department, according to a press release posted to the department’s Facebook page. That investigation was launched last year as foul play was suspected.

Children’s Health Defense (CHD), the anti-vaccine advocacy group founded and previously led by Kennedy before he became Health and Human Services Secretary, picked up Shaw’s story and promoted it for months. Days after her children’s deaths, Shaw appeared on a CHD podcast, claiming that her husband’s side of the family all suffered allergic reactions to the flu shot that the pediatrician ignored. In the days after the vaccines, she said, her children deteriorated, prompting a hospital visit. On the eighth day, they died.

Shaw later became the lead plaintiff in a racketeering lawsuit filed by the group against the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)—while under investigation for murder.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

‘Brazen Crypto Corruption’ Helps Trump Pocket $2.2 Billion During First Year Back in Office

Explains why Trump has been pushing crypto so hard 

Jake Johnson for Common Dreams

Annual financial disclosures released Tuesday reveal that Donald Trump pocketed at least $2.2 billion—more than half of it from his family’s crypto grift—during his first year back in the White House, a windfall that experts say is without precedent in American history.

The disclosure report shows that Trump pulled in $635 million in royalties from Celebration Coins, an entity linked to the president’s meme coin. The president also disclosed around $527 million in proceeds from token sales by World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto venture spearheaded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

“It is completely unprecedented,” Megan Gorman, a tax attorney who has studied the history of presidential wealth, told The New York Times of the president’s windfall.

Robert Weissman, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said in a statement that “Trump’s obscene income is driven by various cryptocurrency schemes, leveraging his political position to exploit a scam-driven industry that he once said was nothing more than a racket.”

“In doing so, he’s ripping off investors—to the tune of billions—who want to get in on the game with him, or think that buying his crypto products is an innocent means to show their support,” said Weissman. 

“Most troubling, Trump’s personal profit interest has now aligned him with the crypto industry, paving the way for dangerous legislation that will facilitate mass rip-offs and even threaten financial system stability.”

Trump’s massive profits from an industry he’s tasked with regulating represent what the watchdog group Campaign Legal Center (CLC) described as an “unprecedented” conflict of interest, notwithstanding the White House’s laughable claim that “neither the president nor his family has ever engaged—or will ever engage—in conflicts of interest.”

“We have never seen a president have direct conflicts of interest with his financial holdings and the policies he supports, and it’s another example why we need widespread ethics reform now,” Kedric Payne, CLC’s senior director of ethics, told The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal noted that, in addition to crypto profits, “Trump reported $4.7 million in income last year from Trump-branded watches, as well as $1.9 million in royalties from his ‘Save America’ book.”

Trump tells NATO the US is back to a shooting war with Iran, still thinking about taking over Greenland and is launching a new trade war against Spain

Trump won't stop his war against the world until he gets the Nobel Peace Prize


 

This week's Tea with Tina to focus on housing


NEWS FROM THE RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOR TINA SPEARS

JULY 2026

Let's Talk Housing
at the next Tea with Tina

Our next Tea with Tina will be

Saturday, July 11th @ Caf Bar in Charlestown
5153 Old Post Road

10 AM–12 NOON

 

Join the conversation on housing
with Tina Spears and guests Deb Carney and Collin Penney 

FRIENDS,

 

In our community, every voice is welcome. Whether your priority is affordable housing, protecting our rural character and environment, or finding the right balance, your perspective matters. 

 

Housing is one of the most important issues facing our community,
with thoughtful perspectives on all sides.

 

The future of our towns should be shaped by those who live in it. Let's come together, learn more, and build a path forward.

 

Following our discussion, there'll be a short Q&A to give us an idea of solutions we hope to explore with your input: 

  1. What makes our area special, and what should we protect for future generations?

  2. What are your biggest concerns about development here?

  3. What housing challenges do you believe our neighbors face today or will face in the future?

  4. What principles should guide housing decisions moving forward?

 

We hope you'll join us. Together, we can shape our community's future. If you are unable to come, you can email your thoughts on these questions to tina@tinaspearsri.com

Have you seen our new yard signs?

Contact Tina at tina@tinaspearsri.com or call Kathleen 401 439 4469 to get yours!

If you'd like to donate to Tina's re-eelction campaign, please make personal checks payable to:
The Friends of Tina Spears
82 Hillside Drive
Charlestown, RI 02813

 

Or click HERE to contribute online or scan the QR code

Want to volunteer on Tina's re-election campaign? Contact us here. We have lots of fun and we'll keep Tina in the State House!

Get our latest updates!

State law prohibits the acceptance of any corporate or business checks. Only individuals and RI registered PACs may contribute. RI law requires contributors to note place of employment. Contributions are limited to $2,000 per person per calendar year, and are not tax-deductible.