How Trump destroyed his own dictatorial ambitions

He burned down the government and self-immolated in the process.

David R. Lurie

We are entering the last two years of the Trump era with the man who would be king not only a lame duck, but a desiccated and ever more reviled loser.

In retrospect, it was nearly inevitable that a president who tried to seize dictatorial power over the US government by frontally attacking the US government would not succeed.

Some have described the second Trump regime as the apotheosis of the decades-long growth of presidential power that established a so-called “imperial presidency,” in which presidents expanded their power by expanding the reach of the federal government. But the opposite is true.

Trump set out to assault and gut much of the government to great success, mistakenly believing it would enhance his own power. But Trump’s “success” in immolating the government he is charged with overseeing also ensured his own failure as a would-be dictator.

A head of state at war with the state

Ronald Reagan, the most effective right-wing president of the post-war era, famously presented himself as an opponent of “big government” — but it was an act.

Reagan and his acolytes recognized that lasting political power and ideological influence would come from systematically populating the government with their fellow reactionaries, and using the mechanisms of government to their own ends. By remaking government agencies to serve their purposes, Reagan and subsequent Republican presidents achieved their most significant and resilient successes, to the frustration of Democrats.

But Donald Trump — whose prior “business” career was focused on gutting and pillaging and scamming people — entered government in 2016 with no knowledge of, or curiosity about, how to use the mechanisms of government in his favor.

Trump went on to spend his first term raging over how the government he presided over limited his ability to destroy it, and he left office in 2021 after a vain effort to literally take it down. In the wake of his failed coup, Trump became convinced that an ordered, rule-following government was the greatest possible threat to his power.

So immediately on retaking office, Trump set out to hobble governmental institutions, and replace them with … chaos. In his second regime, Trump has been singularly devoted to destroying the US government, no matter how much it damages his office, and therefore impairs his own power.

By immediately unleashing SpaceX CEO Musk and his “DOGE” — comprised of young nerds whose level of ignorance of the government agencies they assaulted was exceeded only by their vast egos — the self-styled caudillo in the White House made clear he believed that achieving absolute power depended on gutting the executive branch of the government.

While DOGE utterly failed when judged by its supposed purpose of lowering government spending and making agencies more efficient, Musk and his nerdy crew of neo-fascists succeeded in setting a pattern for the entire Trump regime. The lines of authority and rules that govern the operation of the federal government have been gutted through mass firings and driving out professionals who helped to keep the complex machinery of the government running for decades.

At this point, one in five government employees is gone. But contrary to received wisdom, Trump’s power has not been enhanced as a result. Instead, Trump presides over a government he has ruined, and that is rapidly draining his own power.

A shadow war with America’s allies

Over the past two years, Trump has sidelined the State Department and indeed nearly all the established foreign policy channels of the government he ostensibly heads. Instead, his key “foreign policy” initiatives have been placed in the hands of a group of extra-governmental cronies, including his friend Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who, by design, operate in the shadows.

The reason Trump replaced diplomats with his cronies is that he also wants to discard America’s democratic allies and put the United States into an axis with a rogues’ gallery of brutal dictatorships and kleptocracies, such as North Korea and, of course, Russia, most immediately by assisting Putin in vanquishing Ukraine.

The problem, however, is that Trump’s goal of causing the US to leave the community of democratic nations is hugely unpopular in the US, even in Trump’s own party, and is favored only by his venally motived acolytes. Put otherwise, Trump has had to carry out an improvisational, crony-driven “foreign policy” because that policy is reviled by the American people who reject Trump’s goals ever more definitively the more he pursues them.

The recent failed scheme to kneecap Ukraine’s military and civil defense by hobbling Ukraine’s access to the “Starshield” system, and thereby aid Putin in maximizing the mass murder of children and other civilians, exemplifies the phenomenon.

It has been over two weeks since Ukraine’s access to the putatively US military controlled, but SpaceX owned, Starshield was substantially shut off, and it remains unclear how and why it happened, as is the nature of Musk’s and Trump’s involvement in the matter. But the Pentagon’s inspector general has stated he will not even investigate how the potentially illegal actions came about.

The fact that Trump wants the facts to remain as murky as possible, however, demonstrates the fundamental problem with his “strategy.”

The scheme could not be sustained for long, because it was rejected so definitively by Republicans and Democrats alike, and was so reviled that Trump had to distance himself from it. Inevitably, Trump’s broader scheme to make the US a Russian ally will fail as well. It is, and will remain, unacceptable to the American people to ally with Russia in its war on Ukraine, and the rest of Europe.

Accordingly, while Trumpers have through their crony “diplomacy” successfully placed a lot of blood on their hands, Trump will almost certainly leave (or be forced out of) office without having achieved his goal of establishing a permanently evil US foreign policy.

The DOJ at war with the justice system

Two years into his presidency, Trump’s “success” in gutting the government is nowhere more evident than in the Department of Justice, where scores of experienced and exceptionally skilled lawyers and FBI agents have been fired or hounded out of their jobs.

The problem for Trumpers is that the personnel who have replaced the highly skilled fired professionals are not only largely mediocre, but frequently incompetent. Once again, Trump’s assault on a government institution is backfiring on him.

In case after case, the credibility of the Justice Department, and therefore of the Trump regime, has been irreparably damaged before judges, making the DOJ a singularly ineffective defender of Trump’s own misconduct and persecutor of his enemies.

The results of Trump’s kneecapping of the DOJ were on full display in DC courtrooms last week during proceedings in a case constructed, reportedly at the behest of FBI Director Kash Patel, against two former FBI analysts that conspiracy theorists have long asserted deliberately “misled” Congress about Hunter Biden’s laptop.

During an extensive evidentiary hearing, Trump’s legal eagles, who a magistrate judge ruled had improperly filed an amendment to their criminal complaint, embarrassed themselves as it became crystal clear the case is probably baseless. The testimony made clear that there is not a colorable basis for asserting that Congress was deceived by the agents, and that even an agent assigned with trumping up the case was concerned that it could be seen as political.

Trumpers’ repeated gaslighting of, and lies to, a federal judge over the illegal scheme to vandalize a treasured public DC golf course also reached a crescendo on Friday, after the DOJ denied that Trumpers were about to commence a renovation of the property even as Trump was publicly announcing it — and this after a wholesale deforestation of the site that took place in defiance of representations to the court.

When Stanley Woodward, a former Trump house counsel who is now a senior DOJ attorney, declared that he had “endeavored to answer the court’s questions as honestly and effectively as I can,” snickers and guffaws erupted in the courtroom. By the time the latest round in the debacle was over, the DOJ was left with an order mandating a full-blown investigation into potentially serious breaches of ethics standards by Trump’s DOJ attorneys and Interior Department personnel.

In the same courthouse last week, another federal judge quizzed a DOJ lawyer on his agency’s contention that Trump needs to build his desired “triumphal arch” immediately because it will double as a highly armed fortress. When the judge asked the DOJ attorney about whether it is remotely practicable to lace a DC tourist attraction with high explosives, the lawyer confessed that he had no actual facts to support the (absurd) claims he was advancing, only statements from guys like famed truth-teller Pete Hegseth.

These embarrassing proceedings are far from the only abuses of the justice system under the Trump regime, and particularly under AG Todd Blanche, who now shamelessly serves up bogus lawsuits seeking to disrupt elections and criminal charges against Trump’s perceived enemies, wholly without regard to merit.

The problem, of course, is that every bogus lawsuit and criminal charge only further erodes the DOJ’s credibility before judges and juries, which is essential to its effectiveness, especially with a lawbreaking president at the helm. Once again, Trump has dismantled a key part of the federal government to his own detriment.

At war with the Department of “War”

Perhaps the most extreme and self-destructive war Trump is waging against his own government is occurring in the Pentagon, as one of his most incompetent hacks — Department of Defense (or War) Secretary Hegseth — is busy ever more aggressively dismantling the leadership of the armed forces.

The military is one of the few parts of the government that Trump, a would-be strongman, did not want to dismantle. And the wars of choice he’s pursued have placed great demands on every branch of the military. But Trump’s choice to head the Pentagon is nonetheless engaged in an ever more destructive war on the military, right in the middle of his war on Iran.

Hegseth reportedly bears a grudge against military officers, possibly because he was drummed out of the National Guard because of an extremist tattoo on one of his biceps. Whatever the reason for his hard feelings, he has embarked on a systematic assault on the upper reaches of the military, including by intervening in the promotions process and otherwise scheming to force out highly decorated officers.

The list of discarded general officers seems to grow by the day and includes a number of the most respected and decorated leaders of nearly every service, including some with knowledge and expertise of cutting-edge defense challenges like drone warfare. Some experts believe the huge losses that the US suffered early in the war on Iran, which included the decimation of bases in the region, were exacerbated by Hegseth’s nihilistic assaults on the leadership of the Army and other services.

Most recently, Hegseth fired — for the second time — the general holding the post of senior military planner at the Pentagon, in the midst of reported planning for new potential strikes on Iran.

The latest planner to be fired, Lt. General Brett Sylvia, reportedly stands accused of revealing classified information to the press. Hegseth, of course, himself recklessly shared highly sensitive battle plans with a member of the press but was not sanctioned for it, yet he has reportedly gone so far as to refer Sylvia for potential prosecution

Trump, of course, bears full responsibility for this debacle, and has so far stood fully behind his failed “War” Secretary. Yet Trump also seems remarkably disengaged from Hegseth’s serial firings and other acts of extraordinary mismanagement. For example, he indicated his belief that Sylvia is a woman (and therefore a member of the gender he prefers to fire).

Accordingly, Trump — who envisions himself as a wartime dictator of historic proportions — is certain to leave office with a greatly weakened military, and one that is extraordinarily unprepared for the new challenges it is likely to face in potential future conflicts.

The United States is about to enter a foreboding final period in the already catastrophically failed Trump presidency. It is difficult to anticipate what further outrages the frustrated, and increasingly feeble-minded, failed dictator will attempt to unleash on the country he purportedly leads.

But one somewhat reassuring thing is already clear — Trump’s ongoing assault on the US government will continue to sap his already eroding power.

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Too late

Another official White House post that makes you wonder WTF?

Microplastics Are Chemically Active, and Could Cause Biological Harm

Ignore industry claims that plastic is inert

Columbia Climate School

Highlights

• Researchers found that microplastics and nanoplastics can react with surrounding water to generate highly reactive molecules, challenging the view that plastics are chemically inert.
• As plastics break into smaller particles, their surface area increases relative to their volume, creating more sites where these reactions can occur.
• The findings identify a potential mechanism for biological harm from microplastic exposure, including in the water-rich environments of blood and cells.
• Understanding this chemistry could help researchers redesign plastics to reduce their potential impacts on human health and the environment.

Plastics are supposed to be chemically inert. It’s the reason they’re used so frequently to package food, bottle water and create children’s toys. 

But something important happens when a large piece of plastic fragments into micro and nanoparticles: its surface area increases dramatically relative to its volume. Vastly more of the material is now exposed to its surroundings.

A new study by researchers from Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley, found that this newly created surface is not necessarily safe and identified the chemical reasons why.

High protein, low cost, good for the environment, blends into every meal

Tofu is the winner

By University of Cambridge

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Consumers are increasingly confronted with conflicting information surrounding how much protein they should have and which protein sources are healthiest, most sustainable, and best value for money. Cambridge research has uncovered the truth.

What are the best sources of protein?

In a paper published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Dr. Chris Macdonald explored the best sources of protein currently available.

To answer the question, Macdonald had to build a new holistic scoring system that combines measures of environmental impact, health, affordability and availability into a single framework.

Applying the scoring system to 20 commonly consumed protein-rich foods, the analysis found a striking pattern: every product in the highest-scoring quintile was plant-based, while every product in the lowest-scoring quintile was animal-based. Tofu ranked first overall, while cheddar cheese ranked last.

The paper argues that many existing food rating systems focus on only one aspect of a product. While useful, these single-dimension labels can obscure important trade-offs and make it difficult to compare foods comprehensively.

Trump Administration Delays Awards Slated To Improve Rural America’s Health

Charlestown, Narragansett Tribe and other South County communities among populations expected to benefit

By Sarah Jane Tribble, Arielle Zionts, and Bram Sable-Smith

EDITOR'S NOTE: According to Rhode Island's budget submission for this program, RI's share was expected to be $156,169,931. $96,405 was earmarked for the Narragansett Indian Tribe here in Charlestown. Source: RI Budget | DocumentCloud. - Will Collette

Federal leaders overseeing a $50 billion rural health fund missed a critical deadline to announce how much they’ll give states next year, alerting state leaders to the delay with a mass email.

A 12-sentence message from Alina Czekai, director of the federal Office of Rural Health Transformation, said officials “discovered an additional administrative process requirement.”

The Rural Health Transformation Program, which President Donald Trump touted as an “unprecedented” investment to “revitalize hospitals in our cherished rural communities,” calls for federal regulators to award states shares of $10 billion a year for five years.

In 2026, each state was awarded between $147 million and $281 million, with allocations determined by a federal scoring process to be revisited each year. State leaders had just over seven weeks last year to write applications as they competed against one another for first-year funds.

A national program of “this size, scope, and complexity” that has operated on a tight timeline is going to have “unforeseen issues in implementation,” said Alan Morgan, chief executive of the National Rural Health Association, which represents rural hospitals and clinics. “It’s just going to happen.”

Since the program launched last summer, state leaders have raised concerns about tight deadlines and burdensome reporting demands. First-year progress reports show state leaders have complied with federal demands to boost rural health technology infrastructure while also sending money to local communities.

Still, the speedy rollout did not “set anybody up for success to make meaningful progress,” said Lori Foley, who leads revenue and compliance advisory at PYA, a national consulting firm that has worked with regional and local health systems over the past year.

For state leaders, the Oct. 30 email has only added to the pressures of the previous months. One called the email funding alert “cryptic.” Another said there have been “plenty of surprises along the way.” One Midwestern state health association leader said her staff was “in the dark over here” about the funding. KFF Health News agreed not to name the state officials because they feared retribution.

The Ocean State’s version of a blue wave: 10 Republicans left in the legislature

Not much left of the GOP - or LORIB

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Richmond Town Council President Samantha Wilcox, center,
defeated six-term Republican Sen. Elaine Morgan
for the Senate District 34 seat in Tuesday’s general election.
At left is Lynn Gamwell and at right is
Hayden Kendall, her campaign manager. (Photo by Deb Carney)

Democratic dominance of the Rhode Island General Assembly deepened Tuesday night, after five incumbent lawmakers — four Republicans and one independent — were ousted by challengers from the left.

The results leave just 10 Republicans in the 113-member legislature, down from 14.

That includes two GOP members of the 38-person Senate, and eight out of 75 in the House. And there’s still one independent, as former Republican darling Allan Fung, now disaffiliated and at odds with GOP leaders, won his wife’s old House seat in Cranston.

But don’t mistake a handful of upsets for a harbinger of change on Smith Hill. Excluding open seats, 95% of state lawmakers who won Tuesday are incumbents. Reelection was all but guaranteed for most due to the absence of serious opponents — or any at all.

“There’s no sea change in Rhode Island state government based on these results,” said Adam Myers, associate professor of political science at Providence College. “Republicans were already a non-factor. Essentially, now, they’re going to be even less of a factor.”

The absence of change in the legislature stands in stark contrast to Congress as Democrats flipped at least 30 Republican-held seats, notching enough victories to control both chambers. 

Yet, the Ocean State’s few progressive pickups could stem from the same national rebuke of Trump that led to Democratic victories nationwide, Myers said. 

“The fact that this happened in very different parts of the state, everywhere from Woonsocket, to Cranston, to Exeter, suggests to me that the best way to explain it is, these were nationalized races,” Myers said. “Voters in Rhode Island were primarily acting on, or responding to, national changes.”

Woonsocket’s about-face

Perhaps the clearest example was in Rhode Island’s House District 49 where independent Rep. Jon Brien (LORIB endorsed) lost to progressive-backed Democrat Veronicka Vega by nearly 5 points. 

Brien, a former Democratic state representative from Woonsocket who became an independent before his second, non-consecutive legislative career began in 2022, espoused conservative stances on taxes, the Israel-Hamas War and COVID-era public health rules. And Woonsocket voted for Trump in 2024 — the first time the northernmost city backed a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

“As the lone independent in the House, I couldn’t help but get swept up in a confluence of political events that seemingly affected elected leaders across the country,” Brien said in an email. “It seems that this election cycle was less about the candidate and more about the candidate’s ideology.

Vega, 26, was a first-time candidate who put her personal story of facing homelessness, poverty and food insecurity — and the social safety net programs that helped support her — at the heart of her campaign. She was backed by the Rhode Island Working Families Party, Reclaim RI and Affordable RI, among other progressive groups.

To Dan Denvir, co-chair of Reclaim RI, Vega’s victory shows voters’ appetite for progressive politics extends beyond Providence.

“There are poor and working-class families all over this state who oppose MAGA extremism and the corporate Democratic politics that allowed MAGA extremism to happen,” Denvir said. 

Vega did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Across the state in Senate District 34, voters also moved left in electing Democratic challenger Samantha Wilcox over 12-year Republican incumbent Sen. Elaine Morgan (LORIB endorsed).

Wilcox, 37, a paralegal and Richmond Town Council president, didn’t think her victory meant anything about a progressive shift in the rural, western district spanning parts of Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond and West Greenwich.

“We canvassed thousands of doors, regardless of political party,” Wilcox said. “That’s what our district was looking for, someone who listens to both sides.”

Limitations on solar development on rural land, property taxes and housing were what voters wanted to talk about, not political party, Wilcox said.

Morgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Four’s a crowd 

The Senate GOP also lost 10-year incumbent Sen. Thomas Paolino (LORIB endorsed), who was defeated by Democrat Nelly Burdette in a four-way race with two independent candidates. The number of names on the ballot — the most of any state legislative race — likely contributed to Paolino’s loss, Myers said.

Indeed, the 2,000 votes combined for the two independents, Jina Petrarca and John Barr II, is four times the 500-vote margin between Burdette and Paolino, according to preliminary, unofficial results Tuesday night.

Paolino also pointed to the split as the reason for his loss.

“I don’t believe the results are indicative of what 57% of District 17 wants,” Paolino said in a text message Wednesday morning.

He did not call Burdette to concede because he said he did not have her number.

But Denvir with Reclaim, which helped canvas for Burdette, argued that the two independents, both of whom ran for and held office before as Democrats, likely siphoned votes away from Burdette, rather than Paolino.

Burdette, a Ukrainian refugee, clinical psychologist and first-time candidate, said she began canvassing the district in April, well before any of her opponents. The Working Families Party also supported Burdette.

Party ideology came up much less than concerns over healthcare access and energy bills, Burdette said.

“People liked that I was part of the community, not from the political world,” Burdette said Wednesday.

However, Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz warned of the consequences from an even more imbalanced legislature.

“Rhode Islanders are already struggling with some of the highest electricity costs in the country, an increasingly unaffordable cost of living, and a state government that continues to spend more while delivering too little,” de la Cruz, a North Smithfield Republican, said in a statement. “The last thing taxpayers need is even less scrutiny of the decisions being made on Smith Hill.”

The Fung factor

A three-person competition for Cranston’s House District 15 may have also helped Fung defeat freshman Republican Rep. Chris Paplauskas, Myers said. The race, which also included Democrat Colleen Crudele, grew contentious in the final weeks before the election, driven by a rift between the Fungs and Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins, for whom Paplauskas works as chief of staff. Fung’s wife, Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung ran and lost to Hopkins in the 2024 mayoral primary. Her mayoral campaign opened up the legislative seat, which Paplauskas won by 26 votes in 2024. 

Paplauskas did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday, though both he and Crudele called Fung to concede, according to Fenton-Fung.

“I’m incredibly humbled and honored to make history as the first Asian American elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, but what means even more to me is the trust people of Cranston have placed in me once again,” Fung said in a statement. 

Fung served 12 years as city mayor, and has run twice for governor and once for U.S. Congress, all as a Republican. He disaffiliated this spring, prompting criticism from state party officials including House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale.

“It will be interesting to see how a man who once thought himself gubernatorial and congressional material will operate as but one of 75 in a room that doesn’t embrace independence and rejects disloyalty,” Chippendale, a Foster Republican, said of Fung. 

Chippendale, too, blamed national sentiment for GOP losses.

“Rhode Islanders were beaten over the head, day after day and hour after hour, with ads about Donald Trump,” he said. “One might think Trump was running in every RI race. Even after all those ads, I’m still waiting to hear what the Democrats who ran them intend to do about the electric bill, the shortage of primary care doctors or the cost of buying a home in this state.”

A second freshman GOP representative, Richard Fascia (LORIB endorsed) of Johnston, also lost his reelection campaign to Democrat Edward Stravato.

Stravato, 40, a lawyer and small-business owner, credited his “old school” campaign — heavy on handwritten letters with little-to-no social media presence — for his victory.

“I think it speaks more to our campaign than it does a blue wave,” said Stravato.

The district spanning Johnston and Cranston backed Trump in the last three elections. Stravato said he identifies as a moderate Democrat, “not a liberal.”

Stravato said Fascia had called him to congratulate him earlier Wednesday morning.

Fascia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Almost no luck for The League of RI Businesses 

Conservative political group The League of RI Businesses notched one victory from its efforts to put more “business-minded” candidates in the legislature. League-backed Republican Michael Riley defeated Democrat Shaina Smith in the open House District 42 seat, which includes all of Scituate and a piece of Cranston. Riley will succeed Republican Rep. Robert Quattrocchi, who chose not to run for reelection after 10 years in office. EDITOR'S NOTE: LORIB endorsed 8 conservative incumbents. Three lost their seats to Democrats. Riley was the only non-incumbent LORIB candidate to win. Seven of Levesque's House picks for the House lost.  - Will Collette

Dave Levesque, co-founder of The League and owner of Brewed Awakenings coffeehouses, said he was disappointed but not surprised by The League’s low success rate among its endorsed legislative candidates.

“We’ve learned a lot of lessons,” Levesque said, citing the need for better vetting of candidates, and being more selective in the process.

The League bypassed the $2,000 per candidate per year donation limit in state law by setting up a political action committee for every city and town in the state. Levesque acknowledged that campaign finance strategy might have worked better if money was spent on advertising and outreach, rather than poured into candidates’ campaign accounts directly.

“It’s not just about money, you need a strong ground game,” Levesque said.

He was unbothered by the prospect of campaign finance reforms championed by lawmakers and good government groups like Common Cause Rhode Island seeking to prevent The League from leveraging multiple PACs to donate more money to candidates.

“There’s ways around it,” Levesque said. “That’s the least of what we have to worry about. The problem now is, what’s going to happen in the General Assembly? What bills and laws are they going to pass that make Rhode Island not as business-friendly as it needs to be?”

Open seat races 

Other open seat races decided Tuesday include:

• Providence House District 7: Democrat Amy Santiago defeated Republican Chris Ireland (LORIB endorsed).
• Providence House District 12: Democrat Arlette Hidalgo ran unopposed.
• Warwick House District 22: Democrat Zak Pereira defeated Republican Barbara Quigley (LORIB endorsed).
• Warwick House District 23: Democrat William Muto defeated Republican Dana James Traversie (LORIB endorsed).
• West Warwick/Coventry/Warwick House District 27: Democrat Angela Coburn defeated Republican Lawrence Almagno Jr. (LORIB endorsed)
• North Kingstown House District 31: Democrat Jim Sheehan ran unopposed.
• North Kingstown House District 32: Democrat Robert Craven Jr. ran unopposed.
• Barrington/Warren House District 67: Democrat Nicole Jellinek defeated independent Joseph DePasquale.

• November 5, 20266:16 am. This story has been updated to correct the number of Republican lawmakers in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.

He's getting worse

Da, comrade

New Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Sparked Immune Responses in 99% of Patients

Hope in fight against one of the deadliest cancers

By Carly Cassella

Pancreatic cancer is incredibly difficult to shake.

Even after surgery or chemotherapy, the disease may never go away completely.

By some estimates, malignant tumors in the pancreas can recur in up to 80 percent of patients.

Those with certain gene mutations appear particularly at risk of the disease returning.

A new clinical trial, led by a researcher at the Mayo Clinic, has put a potential vaccine to the test.

In a randomized phase 2 trial, nearly every patient who received this vaccine developed an immune response against a mutated gene called KRAS.

Mutations in KRAS are found in about 90 percent of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, which is the most common type of pancreatic cancer.

If a medicine can target cells that express these mutations, it could theoretically keep the cancer at bay.

This does not prove that this vaccine can stop pancreatic cancer from coming back, but these are hopeful signs, especially since other cancer vaccines have shown similar immune responses are linked to improved survival.

The findings are published in Nature Medicine.

Scientists Discover a Surprising Dental Benefit of Cranberry Juice

The catch: Applies to unsugared juice, not sweetened

By University of Illinois at Chicago

In a small human study, unsweetened pure cranberry juice was linked to slower plaque regrowth and lower acid production, hinting at a possible oral health benefit.

Cranberry juice has a reputation for being tart, acidic, and often sugary, qualities that might seem poorly suited to protecting teeth. A small human study from the University of Illinois Chicago, however, found that unsweetened pure cranberry juice was associated with slower dental plaque regrowth and lower acid production.

UIC College of Dentistry researcher Christine Wu examined whether compounds naturally found in cranberries could affect dental plaque bacteria, which feed on sugars and produce acids that contribute to enamel decay. Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins, anti-inflammatory compounds known for their ability to interfere with the attachment of bacteria such as E. coli to cells.

“Just like sugar damage is linked to diet, I’m interested in how the food and beverages we consume can help combat the harmful bacteria and benefit our oral health,” Wu said.

The White House felt the need to post this on their official site

 Not MY president!

Behind progressive wins in Rhode Island

RI Working Families Party: Working-class champions win across Rhode Island

SteveAhlquist.news

Megan won by 20 points. Other South County Democratic
 women were endorsed by RIWFP and won: Rep.
Teresa Tanzi, Sen. Victoria Gu and Sen. Alana DiMario

From a RI Working Families Party press release

The Rhode Island Working Families Party (RIWFP) is celebrating massive general election victories that mark growing power for working people in Rhode Island state politics. Two first-time candidates – Veronicka Vega and Dr. Nelly Burdette – unseated conservative, corporate-backed Republican and independent incumbents, joining working-class voters nationwide in delivering a clear message: enough is enough.

Dr. Nelly Burdette, a clinical psychologist and Lincoln mom, unseated Senate Deputy Minority Leader Thomas Paolino in Senate District 17. She will be the first woman to represent the district and the first psychologist in the Rhode Island Senate. [See: Nelly Burdette is running for State Senate District 17]

In Woonsocket, Veronicka Vega defeated Representative Jon Brien, Rhode Island State Chair of the corporate lobby ALEC, and will be the first person of color to represent House District 49 – or any Woonsocket seat. [See: Veronicka Vega wants to represent Rhode Island House District 49, Woonsocket and North Smithfield]

RIWFP and our partners built and powered both campaigns, without significant help from the Democratic Party establishment. For the past six weeks, volunteers have been hitting doors, holding phonebanks, and texting voters to get out the vote for these two working-family champions. These wins enable both the WFP-aligned Senators and Representatives and the Democratic caucus to pick up a seat in each chamber.

Release the unredacted Epstein files

Expectations...

Satire from The Onion