Faye Norby

I love how the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the guy in charge of our national well-being, runs away like a cartoon character the moment somebody needs medical help. The other Trump gargoyles at least attempt to look concerned. Kennedy sprints off camera.

🔥🔥🔥Canada with their warmest October on record. Departure from 1991-2020 normal is +3.7C.🔥🔥🔥

the only thing wrong with SNAP is that nobody has yet proposed adding CRACKLE (Caregivers Receiving Assistance Can Keep Loved Elders) and POP (Paid Opportunity Placement)

Today in @NEJM: The Vaccine Integrity Project reviews the latest data on flu, COVID, & RSV immunizations, filling a vital evidence gap for clinicians and the public.
Independent science matters more than ever.
Read the paper ➡️ www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa2514268

Napoleon’s assault and retreat is immortalized in the greatest data visualization of all time (h/t Edward Tufte). Minard’s map shows the march on Moscow in brown, and the retreat in black. The width of these lines is the size of the army. They were already decimated before they reached Moscow.

Postdoc at the Minnesota Population Center, @minnpop.bsky.social

Applications open now and being evaluated on a rolling basis. Pass on to demographers you know!

(This one requires folks to relocate to the Twin Cities, because it involves work in the restricted data center)

Three panel thing. In the left panel we use error bars. In the second, we take statistical significance as the biggest number but still have error bars. In LLM science, we just have the biggest number

What if we did a single run and declared victory

Grading. That's the only plus. Easy to hand in assignments, see when they are late, and grade.

A beautiful Bald Eagle circled overhead during our protest in Burnsville Minnesota and the crowd went wild
#NoKings #Minnesota

Minneapolis is showing up and showing out. #NoKings

‘Instability and confusion’ as CDC slashes 1,300 jobs before reinstating half Trump administration says 700 notices were sent in error, while top CDC officer says ‘they didn’t think through what they were doing’

The entire HR department at the CDC is gone. Everyone at the IRB, which makes sure studies are conducted ethically and rigorously, and the ethics office, which oversee conflicts of interest for CDC leaders and advisory committee members, were also let go.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

MMWR stole the show in the first round of headlines about CDC cuts but in the chaos, many missed that the NHANES mobile team remains RIF'd. This is the backbone of this key survey that contains some of the only representative anthropometric, biochemical, clinical and dietary data on the country.

Republicans are completely full of it on healthcare And it becomes more obvious every time they talk about it.

"Most Americans probably don’t have a detailed grasp of what’s happening with ACA subsidies right now, but once people start getting letters notifying them of how much their premiums are going up, it will become a much bigger issue."

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

A JAMA "Research Letter" published online October 9, 2025, shows a US map depicting 'Emergency Medicaid Spending for Undocumented Immigrants.' States are color-coded to show the percentage of spending, ranging from 1 to 2%.

Emergency Medicaid accounts for less than 1% of total #Medicaid spending, even in states with large undocumented populations.

ja.ma/4mZsZSf

“A study, published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that last season’s 2024–2025 mRNA COVID vaccines reduced people’s risk of emergency department visits by 29%, their risk of hospitalizations by 39% & their risk of death by 64%”

Benefits were seen even if 0 risk factors

Can’t believe I have to say this, but in Minnesota you will continue to have the freedom to get your COVID and flu shots.

Setting aside the absurdly xenophobic framing, once again, there is ZERO truth to any of this. Everyone qualifies for Emergency Medicaid equally. Hospitals do not receive more for treating undocumented immigrants in an emergency than Americans. Speaker Johnson is flatly wrong.

More Than Half of ACA Marketplace Enrollees Live in Republican Congressional Districts Since the enhanced premium tax credits became available in 2021, ACA Marketplace enrollment has increased significantly in some red states, and 57% of enrollees now live in Republican congressional di...

57% of ACA marketplace enrollees live in a district represented by a Republican. The five districts with the largest ACA enrollment are all in Florida, one of ten states that have not expanded Medicaid.
www.kff.org/quick-take/m...

Trump officials discussed sending elite Army division to Portland, text messages show A high-ranking White House official was indiscreetly texting about the Portland, Ore., planning last weekend, according to messages shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune.

“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth considered sending an elite U.S. Army strike force to Portland, Ore., to quell protests that President Donald Trump has characterized as ‘lawless mayhem,’ according to images of messages provided to the Minnesota Star Tribune.”

this is wild: while Stephen Miller's guy was in Minnesota for his uncle's funeral, somebody was able to see his entire phone and take pictures of his Signal group chats talking about military deployments to Portland, and brought them to the Strib (gift link: www.startribune.com/trump-offici...)

Infectious disease expert breaks down surge in Minnesota measles cases The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed 10 new cases of measles since Monday, bringing the total to 18 cases in the state.

www.mprnews.org/episode/2025...

a white cat is sitting on a box with the words where written on it . ALT: a white cat is sitting on a box with the words where written on it .

The fiscal year is over.

So how was the NIH appropriation committed?

A long thread with institute by institute results about where the money went.

The Doctors Building a Public-Health Universe Outside the Government A growing contingent of physicians and policymakers are breaking away from federal health guidance under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A growing contingent of doctors say they are wary of federal health guidance under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—and they are forming a parallel public-health universe.

It's frustrating - this has been an issue ever since the green line opened and I don't think any meaningful trip time improvements have been made in these past 10+ years. I also have yet to hear an explanation besides not "inconveniencing drivers" and "it's political" (whatever that means)

A graph showing NIH grant funding for fiscal years 2015-2024 and 2025 showing that fiscal year 2025 was lagging behind the pace from other years, but has been catching up in July and August.

Updated funding curve (with two weeks to go in the fiscal year)

(Posted on jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g... )

Breaking: CDC advisers weaken COVID vaccine recommendations but stop short of requiring prescriptions

ACIP narrowly rejected its working group’s proposal to require a doctor’s prescription for the #COVID19 vaccine

www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...

This creates a two-tiered system: VFC families can access MMRV while those with private insurance likely cannot, since insurers follow ACIP recommendations. We're establishing different standards of care based on insurance type - the opposite of equitable public health policy. 5/8

I'm watching the ACIP meeting. #Follow along for updates.
The committee will vote on whether to delay the hepatitis B vaccine for babies and whether to give the MMR (measles/mumps/rubella) and chickenpox vaccines separately.