“What Keeps You Up at Night?”

Dr. Fauci’s Newest Concern

By GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER 

“What keeps you up at night?”

It’s a question Anthony Fauci, MD, heard repeatedly throughout his almost forty-year tenure as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the National Institutes of Health

Now a Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine and the McCourt School of Public Policy, Fauci says he realized his worst nightmare — a twist on the usual question — in January 2020 when the type of virus he most feared triggered a worldwide pandemic.

Today, as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, Fauci describes a new nemesis – a lack of “corporate memory.”

Randy Rainbow interviews the Speaker

 

And it's his nap time

Fight the climate crisis!

 

Major Sources of PFAS Contamination Identified in Rhode Island - includes Charlestown

Knowing where it is - a good start

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

 (Photo: Seaside Sustainability Inc./Twitter)

Environmental officials last week identified six major sources of PFAS contamination as part of the state’s first comprehensive investigation into how the substances have impacted drinking water supplies.

The 200-page draft report issued by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management details where and how the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have tainted locations and environments around the state.

The investigation is part of a suite of actions from state officials to respond to the growing number of PFAS detected, as required by a state law passed in 2022. As of July, Rhode Island water systems are required to test their drinking supplies for PFAS and report the results to the state Department of Health (DOH).

According to the latest data from DOH, as of this year 11 water systems have exceeded the state standard of 20 parts per trillion (ppt), with one additional system containing PFAS levels in excess of 70 ppt.

PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” refer to a wide variety of synthetic chemicals that have existed in common household products for decades. From firefighting foam to floor wax to food packaging, PFAS substances can be found in any product that is grease-, stain- or water-resistant.

The chemicals are known for their hardy ability to persist in the environment and inability to break down into further components. It’s their persistence in the environment that’s led to their toxicity; PFAS substances have been linked to several cancers, fertility issues, and developmental delays in children, among other little understood health impacts.

“PFAS are one of the world’s most intractable pollutants, highly complex, and found just about everywhere,” DEM director Terry Gray said in a statement. “This report consolidates important scientific work on the extent of PFAS contamination in Rhode Island.”

DEM identified the following areas as sources of PFAS contamination around the state:

Department of Defense sites: Many locations around the state that have been used by the U.S military, including the Navy and National Guard, have had nearby water supplies test positive for PFAS. The chemicals were often used in aqueous film-foaming foam (AFFF) and in electroplating activities.

Naval Station Newport, singled out as one of the most complex Superfund sites in Rhode Island, was historically used in World War II as a refueling depot for the Navy. A 2.5 million gallon, partially underground tank farm and fire suppression system is the main source of PFAS contamination on the base, according to DEM’s report. Other sites of significant contamination identified include the former Quonset Naval Air Station and Charlestown Auxiliary Landing Field, thanks to their use as sites for fire training and emergency response actions.

Are new drugs being properly tested?

The FDA Is Approving Drugs After Fewer Trials and Providing Less Information to the Public

By OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been approving a rising number of novel pharmaceutical drugs based on single clinical trials, with less public disclosure about these trials, according to two recent studies conducted by Oregon State University.

While experts agree on the importance of fast-tracking potentially life-saving treatments, especially for critical conditions such as cancer, they say their findings point to a need for greater transparency around how drugs receive approval.

For many drugs that have been tested in multiple clinical trials, pharmaceutical companies are only required to share the results from two trials, leaving questions about why they chose those two for submission and what happened in the other trials, study co-author Veronica Irvin said.

“We’re not saying that cancer drugs need a lot more studies; just that they should show all the results or trials that are completed,” said Irvin, an associate professor in OSU’s College of Health. “It doesn’t mean they wouldn’t get approved, but it means we’d have a more complete picture.”

Republicans are more comfortable with lies

Democrats and Republicans have sharply different attitudes about removing misinformation from social media

Ruth Elisabeth Appel, Stanford University

Your political leanings go a long way to determine whether
you think it’s a good or bad idea to take down misinformation.
 Johner Images via Getty Images

Misinformation is a key global threat, but Democrats and Republicans disagree about how to address the problem. In particular, Democrats and Republicans diverge sharply on removing misinformation from social media.

Only three weeks after the Biden administration announced the Disinformation Governance Board in April 2022, the effort to develop best practices for countering disinformation was halted because of Republican concerns about its mission. Why do Democrats and Republicans have such different attitudes about content moderation?

My colleagues Jennifer Pan and Margaret E. Roberts and I found in a study published in the journal Science Advances that Democrats and Republicans not only disagree about what is true or false, they also differ in their internalized preferences for content moderation. Internalized preferences may be related to people’s moral values, identities or other psychological factors, or people internalizing the preferences of party elites.

And though people are sometimes strategic about wanting misinformation that counters their political views removed, internalized preferences are a much larger factor in the differing attitudes toward content moderation.

Why Is America So Vulnerable to Charlatans Like Trump?

He's a con man, liar, hate-mongerer whose lies have cost at least half a million American lives. Yet his MAGAnuts love him.

THOM HARTMANN

Donald Trump is a confidence man, a charlatan, an unrepentant liar whose deceits have cost at least a half-million Americans their lives.

When Dustin Thompson was hauled before US District Judge Reggie Walton for assaulting the Capitol police on January 6th, his defense lawyer, Samuel Shamansky, argued about Trump:

“You had, frankly, a gangster who was in power. The vulnerable are seduced by the strong. That’s what happened.”

The jury didn’t buy the argument and sent Thompson to prison, as US District Judge Reggie Walton, who was overseeing the case, said:

“I think our democracy is in trouble because, unfortunately, we have charlatans like our former president who doesn’t, in my view, really care about democracy but only about power.”

And yet Trump remains popular with about 20 percent of the American public, making up the majority of the Republican primary-voting base. But why?

There’s nothing new about charlatans and confidence men. Marco Antonio Bragadini (1545-1591) was one of Europe’s most famous: he convinced both a pope and the government of Venice that he could turn lead into gold and they financed a lavish lifestyle for most of his life.

William Thompson was America’s first labeled “confidence man” in New York in the 1840s because he’d approach wealthy men, pretend they were old friends, and ask them if they had “the confidence” to give him their gold watch for an hour: many did, and he ran the scam for years before being busted.

Donald Trump similarly convinced banks that he was had assets worth ten, twenty, sometimes more than fifty times their real value as was revealed in court this week. The self-proclaimed “king of debt” then used his borrowed money to support a lifestyle that reinforced everybody’s belief that he was truly rich.

After American banks refused to lend Trump money, he and his good friend Jeffrey Epstein turned to Deutsche Bank and managed to extract over $2 billion from that institution with the help of William Broeksmit, Thomas Bowers, and Justin Kennedy.

Heil

 

RIP, Donald Trump's older sister. Here's what she had to say about her brother:

 

She was a retired federal judge as well as a good judge of character

Westerly to Hold Forum on Fate of Potter Hill Mill and Dam

Hopkinton will follow with its own forum at a later date

By Colleen Cronin / ecoRI News staff

The town will host a forum to discuss the fate of Potter Hill Dam and its condemned mill Tuesday night (tonight) at the Westerly Library.

The former textile mill and the dam that used to power it both fell into disrepair after the mill stopped operations in the 1950s. A large fire destroyed much of the mill building in the ’70s.

A granite shell, rusted mill equipment, and heaps of burned debris sit on the property, which is now enclosed by a locked, chain-link fence, and vegetation permeates the dam.

Last year, the Town Council voted to demolish the old building to create a recreational area but did not take action on the dam.

Proponents of full or partial removal say getting rid of the dam, the last on the Pawcatuck River, will allow fish to move freely through the river, restore wetlands downstream, and remove the hazard caused by current hydraulics at the dam’s base.

Critics, some of whom are homeowners that live around the river and mill, have voiced concerns about how lowering the water levels above the dam may affect their wells and their recreation areas.

3 Simple Activities That Can Enhance Cognitive Function in Older Adults

Look at what it did for him

By UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND 

Playing a single 18-hole round of golf or completing 6 km of either Nordic walking or regular walking can significantly improve immediate cognitive function in older adults, according to a recent study published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.

An international research team, comprising members from the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Edinburgh, and ETH Zürich, sought to uncover the immediate effects of three specific cognitively demanding aerobic activities on cognition and associated biological responses in older, healthy participants.

Medical debt can no longer be used on your credit report

Medical Debt Is Disappearing From Americans’ Credit Reports, Lifting Scores

Noam N. Levey 

The share of American consumers with medical debt on their credit reports has declined dramatically over the past year as major credit rating agencies removed small unpaid bills and debts that were less than a year old, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit Urban Institute.

At the same time, millions of Americans have seen their credit scores improve, making it easier for many to get a job, rent an apartment, or get a car.

“This is a very significant change,” said Breno Braga, an economist at the Urban Institute and a co-author of the study. “It affects a lot of people.”

The analysis found that, as of August, just 5% of adults with a credit report had a medical debt on their report, down from almost 14% two years earlier.

Urban Institute researchers also found that Americans with a medical debt on their credit report in August 2022 saw their VantageScore credit score improve over the next year from an average of 585 to an average of 615.

That moved many consumers out of the subprime category. Subprime borrowers typically pay higher interest rates on loans and credit cards, if they can borrow at all.

Consumers’ improved scores don’t mean the medical debts have been eliminated. Hospitals, collectors, and other medical providers still pursue patients for unpaid bills. And many continue to sue patients, place liens on their homes, or sell their debts.

But the credit reporting changes appear to be mitigating one of the more pernicious effects of medical debt that for years has undermined the financial security of tens of millions of patients and their families.

Credit scores depressed by medical debt, for example, can threaten people’s access to housing and fuel homelessness.

In total, about 27 million people experienced a significant improvement in their score, the Urban Institute researchers estimated. VantageScore, which uses a slightly different methodology than FICO, in January stopped using any medical debt to calculate scores.

What organizing gets you

"ANYTHING is possible when we organize."

JAKE JOHNSON for Common Dreams

The union representing actors across the television and film industries announced late Wednesday that it reached a tentative contract deal with major studios, bringing to an end a monthslong strike that—combined with a simultaneous writers strike—shut down much of Hollywood's production.

In a statement, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) said the contract agreement is valued at over $1 billion and has "extraordinary scope," including significant pay increases, "unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI," and a "streaming participation bonus."

The tentative deal also includes pension and healthcare improvements and compensation boosts for background performers, according to SAG-AFTRA.

The union said full details of the tentative agreement—which must be ratified by members—won't be released until it is reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board.

If you MUST rake leaves....

Dave Blazek