What the Trump regime is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic

One way to deal with a health care crisis is to pretend it doesn't exist

By Nat Lash for ProPublica

Nearly a million chickens packed the barns at Howe’s Hens last Christmas Eve when the first of them tested positive for bird flu. The deadly virus spreads so fast that even if only one hen is infected, farmers are legally obligated to kill all of the others. Massive mounds of carcasses soon appeared outside the Ohio egg farm, covered in compost. 

The slaughter wasn’t enough. The virus tore through industrial barns in Darke County and moved on through one of the most poultry-dense regions in America, crossing the state line into Indiana. Rows of raised earth became a familiar sight alongside the roads that crisscrossed the plains. The air stank of death, recalled cafe owner Deborah Mertz: “The smell of every bird in Mercer County, rotting.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture urged farmers to follow a longstanding playbook that assumes that bird flu is spread by wild birds and tracked into barns with lax safety practices. The agency blamed the outbreak on “shared people and equipment.”  

Three years into a brutal wave of the virus, industry leaders raised evidence that bird flu was entering barns differently and evading even the strictest protocols. They suspected it could be airborne and begged officials to deploy a proven weapon against the disease: a vaccine for poultry.

The USDA didn’t do that or explore their theory, and its playbook failed: In just three months, the virus that erupted in a single Ohio farm spread to flocks with over 18 million hens — 5% of America’s egg layers. All were killed to try to stop the contagion, and egg prices hit historic highs, surpassing the previous fall’s spike, which Donald Trump had cited as a massive failure of economic leadership in his successful campaign for the presidency.

After a quiet summer, bird flu is on the move again, and experts say it poses an escalating threat. While the virus doesn’t appear capable of spreading from human to human, it has killed people exposed to sick poultry. This year, the United States saw its first death from bird flu, a Louisiana senior with a flock of backyard chickens.  

Viruses are constantly evolving, and if a person catches bird flu while infected with a seasonal flu, the pathogens could mutate into a variant that infects large numbers of people. “The minute it transmits in humans, it’s done,” warned Erin Sorrell, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. 

Given the stakes — and the government’s limited investigation of this winter’s outbreak — ProPublica set out to examine the USDA’s continuing conviction that the spread of the virus can sufficiently be curbed by its safety practices.

5 Reasons Trump’s Economy Stinks and 10 Things the Dems Should Do About It

Finally, the public seems to get how badly Trump has trashed the economy

Robert Reich in Inequality Media

Donald Trump claimed last week on social media that “Our economy is BOOMING, and Costs are coming way down,” and that “grocery prices are way down.

Rubbish.

How do I know he’s lying? Official government statistics haven’t been issued during the shutdown—presumably to Trump’s relief (the White House said Wednesday that the October jobs and Consumer Price Index reports may never come out).

But we can get good estimates of where the economy is now, based on where the economy was heading before the shutdown and recent reports by private data firms.

First, I want to tell you what we know about Trump’s truly sh*tty economy. Then I’ll suggest 10 things that Democrats should pledge to do about it.

1. Prices Continue to Rise as Real Wages Fall

How Donald Trump punishes child sex trafficker

Trump's picture of a new America

 

How tiny woodpeckers deliver devastating strikes to drill into wood

Pecking with power

Brown University

Photo by Will Collette

It’s one of nature’s mysteries: How can woodpeckers, the smallest of which weigh less than an ounce, drill permanent holes into massive trees using only their tiny heads? New research shows that there’s much more at play, anatomically: When a woodpecker bores into wood, it uses not only its head but its entire body, as well as its breathing.

In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, a team led by biologists at Brown University reveals how woodpeckers combine breathing and whole-body coordination to drill into trees with extraordinary force. 

“These findings expand our understanding of the links between respiration, muscle physiology and behavior to perform extreme motor feats and meet ecological challenges,” said lead author Nicholas Antonson, a postdoctoral research fellow in ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Brown.

Photo by Will Collette

The team studied downy woodpeckers, the smallest species of woodpeckers in North America, which populate forested areas throughout the United States and Canada. Most scientists who investigate woodpecker physiology focus on neck muscles, said study co-author Matthew Fuxjager, a professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Brown who has been studying woodpeckers for over a decade.

“We’re left to wonder, where does all the power come from?” Fuxjager said. “Where does the protection come from? Those questions stimulated our study, which took a more whole-body approach.”

In experiments conducted in Fuxjager’s lab, the scientists offered woodpecker study subjects some of their favorite types of wood and then measured the muscles the birds employed while drilling. The team used high-speed video to observe frame-by-frame, every 4 milliseconds, how the birds’ head positioning coordinated with activation of various muscles. They also measured air pressure and airflow in the birds’ airways.

Rhode Islanders: Protect yourself from COVID-19, Flu, and RSV

Vaccines and precautions can help you and your family avoid dangerous illnesses

Rhode Island Department of Health 

Respiratory Viruses | Department of Health

It’s common to get sick from respiratory viruses such as COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), especially in the fall and winter. Each year, respiratory viruses are responsible for millions of illnesses and thousands of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States.

• Current Rhode Island Respiratory Virus Data trends
• Respiratory Guidance Snapshot Graphic (Spanish)

Respiratory Virus Guidance

Core Prevention Strategies

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all people use core prevention strategies. These are important steps you can take to protect yourself and others from respiratory virus illnesses.

• Stay up to date on your vaccines. Talk to your healthcare professional or pharmacist about current recommendations.
• Get your flu shot. Everyone age 6 months or older should be vaccinated every year.
• Stay up to date on your COVID-19 vaccinations.
• Learn about RSV immunizations for certain populations.
• Find out which fall and winter vaccines are right for you.
• Find a vaccine clinic or program near you.
• Practice good hygiene by covering your coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing your hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
• Take steps for cleaner air to increase ventilation and circulation
• When you may have a respiratory virus:
• Use precautions to prevent spread. Stay home and away from others until your symptoms are getting better for 24 hours and you’re fever free without fever-reducing meds for 24 hours. Then take added precautions for the next 5 days.
• Seek health care right away for testing and/or treatment if you have risk factors for severe illness. Treatment for flu or COVID-19 may help lower your risk of severe illness.

40% of women under 45 want to leave the US

If the 15-year-olds leave, who will he date?

This story was originally reported by Terri Rupar of The 19th. Meet Terri and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy.

Forty percent of American women and girls age 15 to 45 say they want to permanently move to another country — an opinion shared by just 19 percent of boys and men that age.

And being married and having children doesn’t make a huge difference in that desire, even though it has in the past. 

The share of American women and girls age 15 to 44 who would like to move permanently to another country if they had the opportunity: 

• 45 percent of single women
• 41 percent of married women
• 44 percent of those who do not have children 
• 40 percent of those who do

That’s according to new data from Gallup, which has been asking people if they want to relocate since 2008. That year, 17 percent of younger women and 16 percent of younger men said they’d like to live elsewhere. 

Trump dismissed a question about the CIA’s finding that Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of a journalist, saying the writer was someone “a lot of people didn’t like.”

Trump Calls Saudi Prince ‘Respected Man’ as Serial Human Rights Abuser Ups US Investment Promise to $1 Trillion

Julia Conley for Common Dreams

A US-based journalist and human rights defender was dismissed as someone “a lot of people didn’t like,” and the Saudi crown prince who US intelligence experts found had likely ordered the writer’s killing was applauded as “one of the most respected people in the world.”

That was Donald Trump’s assessment of Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, who was assassinated in 2018, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday at a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House.

Trump and bin Salman met to discuss a range of topics, from a US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to agreements on minerals and artificial intelligence.

Bin Salman also told the president he would increase Saudi investment in the US from $600 billion to $1 trillion.

The BBC reported that Trump “bask[ed]” in the $1 trillion pledge, telling the prince it was an “honor” to be his friend and saying the US “very much appreciate[s]” the investment.

“We’re doing numbers no one has ever done,” Trump said.

ABC News reporter Mary Bruce asked Trump about his family’s business interests in Saudi Arabia and questioned whether the bilateral deals presented a conflict of interest, before pointedly asking bin Salman about the Central Intelligence Agency’s finding in 2021 that the prince had likely personally ordered the killing of Khashoggi.

“Your royal highness, the US intelligence concluded that you ordered the brutal murder of a journalist,” said Bruce. “Why should Americans trust you?”

Trump was visibly angered by the question and demanded to know what outlet Bruce was with before telling her ABC was “fake news” and calling her comment “horrible, insubordinate, and just a terrible question.”

“He knew nothing about it,” said the president, contradicting the government’s findings.

Khashoggi responded to Bruce, saying, “It’s really painful to hear anyone losing his life for no real purpose or not in a legal way.”

Trump, said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, will “overlook the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to pad his pockets and boost the bottom line of the military industrial complex.”

Nice ICE

November 22: Holiday sale

Senator Whitehouse reports on his trip to the COP30 climate conference

Trump tried to block him from going

Steve Ahlquist

“Interestingly, we received no support whatsoever from the State Department, which is a first,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) at the start of his online press conference about his trip to Belém, Brazil, for COP30 as the sole representative of the United States Federal Government. “I’ve done a lot of codels [congressional delegations] and the State Department has automatically provided logistical support. [This time,] they wouldn’t even help get our badges. We had to do that through a private organization [the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Institute]. It was an interesting response from the Trump Administration, the first time.”

The United Nations’ 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) gathers heads of state, lawmakers, private sector leaders, environmental champions, and civil society leaders from around the world for what is advertised as the largest and most important venue for world governments to gather to solve the global climate crisis.

While at COP30, Senator Whitehouse participated in discussions on the future of offshore wind, clean shipping, and non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. He delivered a keynote at an SEEC Institute panel discussion with other global elected officials on the implementation of climate policies. Over the weekend, the Senator also participated in discussions on methane regulations, net-zero policy implementation, and the impacts of climate change on the world’s oceans, meeting with elected officials, international climate leaders, and business leaders.

“I went there to deliver four messages,” said Senator Whitehouse to reporters.

Conflicting Advice on Covid Shots Likely To Ding Already Low Vaccine Rates

Don't listen to Bobby Jr. - get your COVID shot because it works

Phillip Reese

More than three-quarters of American adults didn’t get a covid shot last season, a figure that health care experts warn could rise this year amid new U.S. government recommendations.

The covid vaccine was initially popular. About 75% of Americans had received at least one dose of the first versions of the vaccine by early 2022, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. 

But only about 23% of American adults got a covid shot during the 2024-25 virus season, well below the 47% of American adults who got a flu shot. The vaccination rates for flu, measles, and tetanus are also going down.

Yet covid remains a serious, potentially deadly health risk, listed as the primary cause of death on roughly 31,400 death certificates last year. By comparison, flu killed about 6,500 people and pneumonia, a common complication of the flu, killed an additional 41,600, CDC data shows.

Trump Regime Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation

Trump's expanded campaign to protect pedophile rights

by Robert Faturechi and Avi Asher-Schapiro for ProPublica

Online influencer Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist who has millions of young male followers, was facing allegations of sex trafficking women in three countries when he and his brother left their home in Romania to visit the United States.

“The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back,” Tate posted on X before the trip in February — one of many times he has sung the president’s praises to his fans.

But when the Tate brothers arrived by private plane in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, they immediately found themselves in the crosshairs of law enforcement once more, as Customs and Border Protection officials seized their electronic devices.

This time, they had a powerful ally come to their aid. Behind the scenes, the White House intervened on their behalf.

Interviews and records reviewed by ProPublica show a White House official told senior Department of Homeland Security officials to return the devices to the brothers several days after they were seized. The official who delivered the message, Paul Ingrassia, is a lawyer who previously represented the Tate brothers before joining the White House, where he was working as its DHS liaison.

In his written request, a copy of which was reviewed by ProPublica, Ingrassia chided authorities for taking the action, saying the seizure of the Tates’ devices was not a good use of time or resources. The request to return the electronics to the Tates, he emphasized, was coming from the White House.

The incident is the latest in a string of law enforcement matters where the Trump White House has inserted itself to help friends and target foes. Since entering office for a second term, Trump has urged the Justice Department to go after elected officials who investigated him and his businesses, and he pardoned a string of political allies. 

Andrew Tate is one of the most prominent members of the so-called manosphere, a collection of influencers, podcasters and content creators who helped deliver young male voters to Trump. And news of the White House intervention on behalf of the accused sex traffickers comes as Trump is under fire over his ties to notorious child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his administration’s recent efforts to stop the public release of the so-called Epstein files.

How Trump Has Exploited Pardons and Clemency to Reward Allies and Supporters

With Trump, everything is for sale (or barter)

By Jeremy Kohler for ProPublica

The beneficiaries of Donald Trump’s mercy in his second term have mostly been people with access to the president or his inner circle. Those who have followed the rules set out by the Department of Justice, meanwhile, are still waiting.

Trump has granted clemency to allies, donors and culture-war figures — as well as felons who, like him, were convicted of financial wrongdoing. On Friday, he granted pardons to 77 people, including Rudy Giuliani and other allies tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, though they are mostly symbolic because federal pardons do not apply to ongoing or possible state prosecutions, which many of the grantees face. 

Those clemencies came on top of the commutation awarded last month to George Santos, the disgraced former New York congressman found guilty of defrauding donors and lying to the House of Representatives. Trump cut short Santos’ seven-year sentence after less than three months.

For those who followed the standard protocol set out by the Department of Justice, the sense is growing that the process no longer matters; they’ve watched the public database of applicants swell with thousands of pending cases, while Trump grants pardons to people who never entered the system at all.

In just over nine months back in office, roughly 10,000 people have filed petitions for pardons or commutations, about two-thirds the total of the 14,867 applications submitted during the entire Biden presidency.

Under Justice Department standards and requirements, people seeking pardons generally must wait five years after their release from incarceration, demonstrate good conduct and remorse, and file petitions through the Office of the Pardon Attorney. But Trump’s actions in his second term show he has largely abandoned that process.

Aboard Starship Trump