Nsikan Akpan

Kennedy Allies Target States to Overturn Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren

Kennedy Allies Target States to Overturn Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren - Christina Jewett www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/h...

Top aides to RFK Jr. will leave posts The moves are part of a broader management shakeup at the health department.

BFD: HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill (who is also interim CDC director) and General Counsel Mike Stuart are expected to soon leave HHS -- David Lim and Tim Röhn

Boop, this line isn't quite right: "Florida Health has not updated measles data since 2024."

Florida reports measles data here (www.flhealthcharts.gov/ChartsReport...) and to the CDC (www.cdc.gov/measles/data...).

James Van Der Beek, best known as the sensitive heartthrob star of TV show "Dawson's Creek," died Wednesday at age 48, his publicist confirmed.

He is survived by his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek and their six children. on.wsj.com/46uWGoE

Job Growth Was Overstated, New Data Shows

Forest through the trees: "Job growth over the past two years was far weaker than previously believed. U.S. employers added just 181,000 jobs last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday. That was 69 percent fewer jobs than its initial estimate of 584,000." - Ben Casselman / NYT

FDA declines to review Moderna application for new flu vaccine Moderna requests meeting to discuss refusal as decision could have implications for all new and updated vaccines

"US regulators will not review Moderna’s request to license a new, potentially more effective flu shot – even though the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) previously gave the green light to the project ..."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... via @melodyschreiber.com @theguardian.com

Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation

"A small group of conservative activists has worked for 16 years to stop all government efforts to fight climate change. Their efforts seem poised to pay off." - Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...

Updated PASTEUR Act reintroduced in Congress to boost antibiotic development

Updated PASTEUR Act reintroduced in Congress to boost antibiotic development -- Chris Dall / @cidrap.bsky.social

www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobia...

Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE in Trump's 1st year back in office had violent criminal records, document shows The official DHS statistics, which had not been previously reported, provide the most detailed look yet into who ICE has arrested during the Trump administration's crackdown.

Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE in Trump's 1st year back in office had violent criminal records, document shows - Camilo Montoya-Galvez www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-arr...

We had devastating cuts to @washingtonpost. Our health team of 14 lost 9 reporters yesterday despite it being listed as part of the Post’s new focus.
But I still have my job. Along w/a core team, we are still dedicated to covering public health, holding the powerful to account.

U.S. physicists have bid farewell to the nation’s last remaining particle collider, which spun gold into revolutionary discoveries After 25 years, Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider—the U.S.’s largest particle collider—has ceased operations, but its science lives on

An enjoyable read by Joseph Howlett www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guantánamo Doctors, nurses, and other officers are increasingly being deployed to ICE detention centers. Some have resigned in protest, while others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.

“Public health officers are being asked to facilitate a man-made humanitarian crisis.”

A noteworthy scoop from @amymaxmen.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/public...

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein paid for genetic testing in an apparent bid to harness his own genetic material for regenerative medicine, according to newly released emails in the Epstein files. https://cnn.it/4rx9jaG

Great profile

Rio de Janeiro State Bans Shark Meat for School Meals After Pulitzer Center Journalists' Investigation The government of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state has banned shark meat for meals in most of the schools it manages, after pressure from conservationists and school meal advisers raising health and...

Rio de Janeiro state banned shark meat in 1,200 schools after a @mongabay.com investigation found 10 Brazilian states procured more than 5,400 tons of shark meat since 2004.

Environmental and health concerns drove the ban.

Impact by @bykarlamendes.bsky.social reporting. bit.ly/3OkgKDP

As the world warms, freezing rain shifts to the U.S. South Recent winter storm traced the path of an emerging ice corridor

"Freezing rain isn’t vanishing—but it is shifting in location and timing." - @hannah-richter.bsky.social

www.science.org/content/arti...

Lawmakers spend big on home state science projects Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, king of congressional earmarks, steers $165 million to his alma maters

"Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, king of congressional earmarks, steers $165 million to his alma maters" 👀

📝: Jeff Mervis www.science.org/content/arti...

If you're hoping their argument is due to innumeracy, guess again ...

a *description of* their indictment

More details from CNN, including a link to their indictment www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/p...

Sanofi abandons attempt to develop next-gen mRNA seasonal flu vaccine Two and a half years after Sanofi unveiled to investors a revamped strategy to create an mRNA seasonal flu vaccine, Fierce Biotech has learned that the French pharma has put this pipeline on ice.

Sanofi says the decision wasn't about politics, but "sure, Jan" ...

www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/sano...

Totally; @doritreiss.bsky.social and others have been warning of this outcome.

Welp ...

Journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort arrested in connection with church protest against ICE Lemon's attorney said he was taken into custody by federal officers Thursday night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards.

Note: Don Lemon isn't alone.

"Journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort arrested in connection with church protest against ICE"

📝: Samantha Fischer

"Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis civil rights attorney and racial justice advocate, was also arrested"
www.kare11.com/article/news...

Too many weird mouth close-ups. Also the knuckles are icky.

A screenshot of a USDA table titled List of Detections by Day, displaying a table of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) cases in the United States. The text above the table states that since the outbreak began on February 8, 2022, a total of 187.72 million birds have been affected across 2,041 flocks in 50 states and 1 territory. This includes 924 commercial flocks and 1,117 backyard flocks. The table contains the following columns: Confirmation Date, State, County Name, Production, Control Area Released, and Birds Affected. Key data entries include: Jan 28, 2026: Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Commercial Table Egg Layer; 1,509,700 birds affected.

Bird flu detected on Pennsylvania egg farm; 1.5 million birds affected. 👀

www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-po...

Expanding the Mexico City Policy Undermines Global Health | Think Global Health A new rule prohibits U.S. foreign assistance from projects supporting or discussing abortion, gender identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion

This week, the Trump administration finalized a new sweeping rule that broadens the Mexico City Policy.

@spsaki.bsky.social explains how the policy represents the most expansive—and potentially disruptive—version of ideological restrictions on foreign aid to date.

“Sorkin-ing”

"No test, no case" ...but also "no case, no case"

Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti “In my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this,” one worker wrote on Slack.

SCOOP: Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti

WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers.

More here:
www.wired.com/story/palant...