Zach Gassoumis

RIP ACL. This is shocking news. I just hope that ACL being disbanded will somehow not have devastating impacts on the vital programs and services for older adults and adults with disabilities that it oversees.
www.hhs.gov/about/news/h...

The Gerontological Society of America is seeking an editor in chief for its medical sciences and social sciences journals! academic.oup.com/GSA/pages/ei...

The Senate HELP Committee has jurisdiction over NIH.

GOP members of the committee represent AK, AL, IN, FL, KS, KY, LA, ME, MO, OH, and SC.

Research universities and hospitals in those states need to be extra loud.

I first noticed it was down about 8 hours ago. But it's not just HHS - also 6 of its opdivs. I wonder if the people who are having luck are just seeing cached versions in their browser's memory.

It's been down for about 8 hours, along with the sites for 6 of its operating divisions. Worrisome.

The sites for 6 of its operating divisions, too... and for around 8 hours, now. This is distressing.

Looks like the HHS website is down, as are those of 6/13 of its operating divisions (ACL, ACF, IHS, AHRQ, ASPR, & SAMHSA). Just a blip/temporary bug, or DOGE's next step in dismantling the government? Time will tell. Hopefully these opdivs have their full content available on the Internet Archive.

🤔

Have you tried Aging & Mental Health? It sounds right up their alley.

My favorite thing today is the Internet Archive @archive.org. I was able to pull full historical data & documentation for BRFSS just now, and it looks like they have other CDC & federal data assets. A small consolation right now, but meaningful. web.archive.org/web/20250131...

I've just posted about my immense gratitude for the Internet Archive (@archive.org). They have full backups of BRFSS data, and it looks like they may have GIS, too. It's a band-aid, but better than nothing. web.archive.org/web/20241127...

I've just posted about my immense gratitude for the Internet Archive (@archive.org). They have backups of many (all?) previously public CDC pages, including full BRFSS data. I suspect they may also have other federal agencies. For now, it's at least something. web.archive.org/web/20250131...

But having the Internet Archive is a helpful tool for research in the meantime... and for anyone who wants to research those offensive topics. A small ray of sunshine amidst a turbulent storm.

This does nothing for disease surveillance, of course... but I haven't heard news of data collection efforts being stopped wholesale. I would guess that we'll see old & new data reposted within a year, but stripped of all DEI content & other things the administration finds offensive.

I was near tears today over #BRFSS being taken down by the #CDC. But then I a saw a brief glimmer of hope. The Internet Archive (@archive.org) has a snapshot of all BRFSS pages (including data files) prior to their being taken down. web.archive.org/web/20250131...

Luckily, the Internet Archive (@archive.org) has a snapshot of all BRFSS pages (including data files) prior to their being taken down. This does nothing for disease surveillance, of course, but it can be a helpful tool while we await it being reinstated. web.archive.org/web/20250131...

Very impressive - and perhaps even more rare. Congrats!

"A study of federally funded research projects in the United States estimated that principal investigators spend on average about 45% of their time on administrative activities related to applying for and managing projects rather than conducting active research"

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Interesting article - that behavior could indeed constitute undue influence and even elder abuse. But I would caution you & other reporters from jumping on this bandwagon. Most of the claims of political elder abuse I see people make are more reflective of their own ageism than anything else.

Elder abuse expert here, confirming your suspicion. I'm currently reporting Richard to the relevant authorities.

Interesting article from the UK about a very specific type of #elderabuse. Issues of capacity, undue influence, and marriage are fraught, especially in the face of romance scams. This article discusses some policy challenges the UK is having with inheritance after a fraudulent marriage.

Applications are now open for the NIA Butler-Williams Scholars Program which provides unique opportunities for new/junior investigators to gain insight about #AgingResearch. Learn more and apply here: bit.ly/4h9NQiX

Trump Ally Laura Loomer Says Elon Musk Is 'Silencing' Her Amid Immigration Spat Musk’s X platform took away Loomer’s blue check verification badge as she railed at Musk for backing legal immigration for skilled tech workers.

I'm so glad for the emergence of Bluesky, so we can all be free from the clutches of X.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

🙋 please. Thanks for curating this list!

Yep. This was part of a proposal earlier this year, I believe, by Rep members of an oversight committee - consolidate NIH admin activities by reducing the number of institutes. Worrisome for so many reasons, including the HUGE shift this would have on the nature & scope of aging research in the US.