Benjamin Mason Meier

Trump Administration Live Updates: R.F.K. Jr. Cancels mRNA Vaccine Contracts

“This is a bad day for science,” said Scott Hensley, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania who has been working to develop an mRNA vaccine against flu…With this move, the department is “undermining our ability to rapidly counter future biological threats,” said Rick Bright, a flu expert”

The Trump Administration Is Promoting Its Anti-Trans Agenda Globally at the United Nations U.S. delegates have objected to use of the word “gender” in U.N. documents during forums on topics as varied as women’s rights, science and technology, global health, toxic pollution and chemical wast...

“At a session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March, Jonathan Shrier, a longtime State Department employee who now works for the U.S. Mission to the UN, said the U.S. disapproved of a declaration supporting “the empowerment of all women and girls” that mentioned the word “gender.”

The Gates Foundation today announced a $2.5 billion dollar investment in #womenshealth innovations

The biggest investment in history, says Anita Zaidi. Areas:

OB/gyn care
Maternal nutrition & gut health
Contraception access
STIs
Menstrual health

WDYT?
www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-...

White House has no plan to mandate IVF care, despite campaign pledge President Donald Trump has said he wants a “baby boom,” but critics say his administration has yet to make significant family policy changes — and that Medicaid cuts will hurt.

Did anyone think this administration would actually follow through on this promise?

Claim WHO controls Australian health policy not accurate: experts A former politician claims the government has handed control of health policy to the World Health Organization, but experts say Australia retains its sovereign right to determine health policies.

Misinformation around the pandemic agreement & IHR amendments is rampant.

Grateful to @aapfactcheck.bsky.social for cutting through the noise. I spoke with them about why the amended IHR won’t erase national health sovereignty or human rights ⬇️

🗓️ Amended IHR enters into force: 19 Sept 2025

Make America Triangle Shirtwaist Again

Assistant Professor - Madison, Wisconsin, United States Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...

We're hiring! Please share with your networks!

The Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor in the field of demography of health and aging beginning in August 2026
jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...

@theipcinfo.bsky.social warns: the worst-case scenario of #famine is unfolding in #Gaza.

Mass starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths.

@who.int calls for urgent access for food and medical aid into Gaza at scale.

Ceasefire.
Peace is the best medicine!

‘We have no clue what the university is standing up for’: Supporters and critics question Harvard’s mission as it makes quiet reforms - The Boston Globe Harvard’s battle with the Trump administration has now ignited a fierce debate about whether the university is being true to itself.

One way to suppress opposition to the state is to ensure universities become mouthpieces for the government. Knowledge and the free exchange of ideas are the enemies of authoritarianism. Universities exist to teach, to learn, to inquire into the nature of things. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/29/b...

Screenshot of article that reads: When looking beyond just Harvard and Columbia, one thing becomes clear, said Dominique Baker, an associate professor of education and public policy at the University of Delaware, the president is inciting an “outright attack” on higher education, and he has no plans of slowing down. From the political ousting of University of Virginia president James Ryan to the legislative termination of countless academic programs in Indiana with little to no faculty input, Baker identified one defining thread: curtailing the power of democratic institutions. “We are in a very dangerous time, both for U.S. higher education, but more importantly for our country,” she explained. “These types of outright attacks on colleges and universities are typically the moves of autocrats and dictators, often seen as signs of authoritarian takeovers.” She later added, “if one wanted to overthrow our constitutional republic, these are the types of moves you would make.”

Reporter: How do you feel about the Columbia settlement?

Dominique: Let me tell you about public universities in Republican-led states...

I appreciate that I get the kicker on a lot of these stories because I'm the most grim

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

1. The pediatric death toll from #flu for 2024-25 continues to climb, with #CDC informed of 5 more deaths last week. That brings the season's total so far to 266, which is only 22 fewer than during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic! Of kids eligible for vax & for whom vax status is known, 90% weren't vaxed.

MAHA’s focus on ultraprocessed food: Real reform or empty gesture? | Op-Ed The FDA is targeting ultraprocessed foods for reform to improve healthfulness of children's food. Whether the approach is comprehensive remains to be seen.

Unless policymakers regulate the food industry, the 'Make America Healthy Again' movement is just a public relations campaign, says CPC Fellow Lindsey Smith-Taillie.
www.seattletimes.com/opinion/maha...

The plot against vaccines Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies have hit on a way to undermine immunization.

Kennedy will “do everything possible to destroy the vaccine infrastructure.”

This is very Aktion T4. Rounding up people with mental illness. It just never been clearer where all this is going.

Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose and

This is an executive order that lays the groundwork for sending homeless people and people with mental illness to concentration camps to be "civilly committed." It was never going to stop with immigrants.

This is horrifying beyond words.

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

UNC System leaders to meet ahead of new school year, as financial pressures loom Financial pressures from the state legislature, the Trump administration and the changing landscape of college athletics all present issues for public universities in North Carolina about to kick off ...

“The UNC System is leaving its current accrediting body to join with FL, TX, SC, TN, & GA to form a new group. It’s the brain-child of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican & possible 2028 presidential candidate, who has said they’ll fight against the “woke” standards used by other accreditors.”

Amy Sherald Cancels Her Smithsonian Show, Citing Censorship

Amy Sherald says the Smithsonian suggested removing a painting of a transgender woman as the Statue of Liberty from her upcoming show at the National Portrait Gallery “to avoid provoking President Trump.” Sherald: “I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship”

Healthy environment a human right, UN court says in landmark climate ruling Court’s decision expected to be used in future litigation and to support political negotiations by vulnerable states

🚨BREAKING🚨 ICJ ruling that a healthy environment is a human right could be a real turning point in setting out governments’ legal responsibility to tackle #climate crisis 👇

The ICJ Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change livestream has begun.

The Court begins by concluding that the questions put to it are legal in nature and that it has jurisdiction to provide an Advisory Opinion.

(1/n)

Thank you for drawing on our scholarship . . . to strengthen your own.
In these challenging days, I hope that our academic research continues to support your policy analysis to uphold global health and human rights. Pushing ahead.

Withdrawal of the United States of America from UNESCO: statement by Statement attributable to Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO

“However regrettable, this announcement was anticipated, and UNESCO has prepared for it.” No layoffs anticipated, no shockwaves sent.

A strong, balanced retort to an easily baited and reactionary government. Would that this could have been the response of WHO too.

WHO says Israeli forces attacked residence and detained staff; IDF shelling kills 12 in tent encampment - Israel-Gaza war live WHO says residence attacked three times with women and children forced to evacuate through active conflict A severe heatwave sweeping Iran has disrupted water and electricity supplies in much of the country, with reservoir levels dropping to their lowest point in a century, state media said on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports. At least 18 of the country’s 31 provinces, including Tehran, have been affected by the extreme temperatures, which began on Friday and expected to ease gradually by Thursday, according to meteorological authorities cited by state television. Continue reading...

WHO says Israeli forces attacked residence and detained staff; IDF shelling kills 12 in tent encampment - Israel-Gaza war live

More US students choosing UK universities after Donald Trump attacks on higher education Latest admissions data shows 14% rise in American applications for undergraduate courses

“A record number of Americans have applied to undergraduate courses at UK universities, according to new data” #academicsky
www.ft.com/content/c074...

F.D.A. Approves Juul Vapes After Yearslong Delay

Will FDA approval of Juul reignite the youth vaping epidemic?
“It is clear that the Trump administration does not care about our kids,” Senator Durbin said. “Instead, they are giving the green light to Big Tobacco to continue lining their pockets by peddling poison.” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/h...

BREAKING: OMB director Russ Vought said Pepfar had funded $9.3 million to teach doctors in Russia how to perform abortions.

It turned out to be untrue.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/h...

Opinion | Texas just gutted free speech on college campuses. Is your state next? New laws in Texas will silence dissent on college campuses and undermine faculty authority.

"When politicians can defund universities for political disagreement, when political appointees can ignore faculty expertise on academic matters, when students can be detained for peaceful assembly, then we are witnessing the erosion of our democracy.

What's happening in TX will occur elsewhere.

He sold vaccine cards and injected kids with saline so they thought they were vaccinated. There are no rules anymore

Big Plastic wants you to think you can recycle your yogurt container Those numbered labels, vetted by private interests, can be misleading.

Most plastics are not recyclable, largely because there is no market for materials labeled 3 through 7.

from @grist.org via @climatedesk.org

It's time to bring everyone back together again — as I prepare the editorial guidance for our contributing authors.