M. Ruth Myers

Federal agents handcuffed Humboldt Park Ald. Jessie Fuentes as she confronted them at a hospital. blockclubchi.co/3Wkje5V

Thankful for this excellent nonprofit local newsroom documenting the chilling events unfolding in my city this week.

Censorship is so 1984. Librarians Supporting Eash Other to Confront Book Bans. Tuesday, October 7, 2025. Law for Librarians, Intellectual Freedom Hotline,

Facing censorship challenges? You’re not alone.
Join us Oct 7 at noon CT for a free webinar on two ALA resources, Law for Librarians + Library Helplines, designed to help you push back.
Learn more and check out other free #BannedBooksWeek events at https://www.ala.org/bbooks/events

Seventy years ago this morning (October 3, 1955), this guy beamed into American living rooms for the very first time.
#CaptainKangaroo #childrenstelevision
jcbruening.com/o-captain-my...

It's Historical Mystery Day! Have you read a mystery set in the past in each of the categories in the challenge below?

Don't forget, today and Sept. 30 you can get FREE historical mystery novels from assorted authors here books.bookfunnel.com/hmdbooks2025...

#booksky #mysterybooks

I'm partial to my own, of course, but I also recommend Sara Rosett's Murder at Archly Manor and I'm looking forward to Kate Parker's Deadly Fashion.

#HistoricalMystery lovers, don't miss out on free books during this Sept. 28-30 celebration of Historical Mystery Day. You might find a new author to enjoy. books.bookfunnel.com/hmdbooks2025...

#booksky, #mysterybooks

Is there a wall to beat my head against?

A cookie loving writer after my own heart!

Sierra: "Since she put that flea prevention goo on me today, I'll block access to her printer thingy."
#catsofbluesky #writercats

Sounds great!

Congrats.

This little volunteer petunia that popped up unexpectedly in a crack of my patio seems like a metaphor for the resilience we all need to have right now.

We should post BIDEN also!!

Rev. Barber, surrounded by police, praying in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Rev. Barber, surrounded by police, praying in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

BREAKING: Police just surrounded Rev. William Barber, prominent activist and pastor, as he and others prayed in the U.S. Capitol Rontunda.

Police then expelled everyone (including press!) from the Rotunda to (presumably) arrest them.

I've covered protests here a lot. Never seen anything like it.

Join the Best of Core Forum webinar, Understanding and Fighting Anti-Trans Misinformation, to learn how false narratives take hold and how library workers can stand up for access, literacy, and equity.
May 7, 2025, 1:00 pm CT
Register at: elearning.ala.org/local/catalo...

Top Producer of ‘60 Minutes’ Quits, Saying He Lost Independence The news program has faced mounting pressure from both President Trump and its corporate ownership at Paramount, the parent company of CBS News.

Breaking News: The executive producer of “60 Minutes” said that he would resign from the long-running program because he had lost his journalistic independence.

While protestants of many stripes join Catholics in mourning the death of Pope Francis, Marjorie Taylor Greene called him "evil" and said he was struck down by the hand of God.

How can she be so vile?

Pope Francis died of a stroke and 'cardiocirculatory collapse' The official certification came from professor Andrea Arcangeli, the director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, according to Vatican News, an official publication of ...

The official certification came from professor Andrea Arcangeli, the director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, according to Vatican News, an official publication of the Vatican.

Library Internet Access Is 'World-Changing' for Millions, but the Money Could Disappear Local libraries are helping to bridge the broadband gap by getting communities online. But federal funding is under threat.

Thanks to federal programs like E-Rate, communities have built life-changing broadband networks—with libraries at the center. But that future is now under threat.
Join us in the fight to protect E-Rate and federal library funding—because no one should be left offline.
www.cnet.com/home/interne...

All publishers big & small should support IMLS!

Promotional image for National Library Outreach Day on April 9, 2025, featuring an illustration of a person standing on a stack of books, holding a map and a book with numbers. Logo of the American Association of School Librarians is included.

Happy National Outreach Library Day! 📚 We’re celebrating school libraries connecting with communities and supporting student success. Share your stories and photos! buff.ly/OIGQ9lN #NationalOutreachLibraryDay #AASL #SchoolLibraries #CommunityPartnerships

Thanks to all school librarians!

“The descent to hell is easy and those who begin by worshipping power, soon worship evil.” -C. S. Lewis

Elon Musk's DOGE Is Getting Audited The General Accountability Office's audit examines DOGE’s handling of data at a number of federal agencies, according to sources and records reviewed by WIRED.

SCOOP: DOGE is getting audited.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 Celebrating 3 years on Substack!

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 open.substack.com/pub/maryloui... Celebrating 3 years doing my daily diary newsletter on substack!

Dozens of free measles vaccine clinics close in Texas as federal funding is cut Many clinics had been planned at schools in the Dallas area with low vaccination rates.

More awful news for public health. “Steep federal funding cuts have forced public health officials in one of Texas’ most populous counties — Dallas — to cancel dozens of vaccination clinics and lay off 21 workers on the front lines of combatting the state’s growing measles outbreak.”

Project title: Optimising Vaccination Outreach Through Epidemiological-Behavioural Modelling and AI Location: University of Liverpool Supervisors: Dr Edward Hill (University of Liverpool), Professor Iain Buchan (University of Liverpool), Professor Cathy Montgomery (Liverpool John Moores University), Dr André Charlett (UKHSA) Funded studentship at UK/home status tuition fee rates Availability Region: Open to UK applicants Application Deadline: Wednesday 07 May 2025

Description Vaccine hesitancy is a complex, time-varying problem leading to suboptimal vaccination coverage for individuals, groups and populations. In turn, this has serious consequences for individuals and populations – as seen with avoidable COVID-19 deaths among the unvaccinated, and with the reemergence of measles outbreaks. Yet most public health services do not adapt their vaccination programmes according to data on how people may behave in response to different approaches to outreach. This PhD project will use state-of-the-art modelling approaches to understand public behaviours around vaccination and the epidemiological consequences. We will also consider how artificial intelligence (AI) – for example voice-based conversational agents for interacting with public services – might be harnessed to optimise vaccination outreach to individuals and communities. Using a mixture of real-world and realistic synthetic data, the student will develop new models that bridge infectious disease dynamics, epidemiology, and social science. Example questions include: - How can pathogen, epidemiological, behavioural and wider social (e.g. consumer) data be combined to target vaccination and how the offer is communicated to specific groups? - Should the identified groups be targeted differently in preventive vs responsive vaccination programmes? - How do interventions seeking to reduce vaccine hesitancy impact wider healthcare utilisation? - How can AI increasingly used for marketing and access to public services be harnessed to improve vaccination uptake?

This is an exciting opportunity to work with a world leading team delivering research that is relevant to public health in the UK. This PhD opportunity is funded by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections (EZI). The successful candidate will therefore join the NIHR HPRU-EZI, a partnership between the University of Liverpool, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), University of Oxford, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine + UKHSA, in collaboration with University of Glasgow. HPRU-EZI has been running since 2014, supporting & strengthening UKHSA in its role protecting England from emerging infections and zoonoses (i.e. those which spread from animals to humans). HPRU-EZI has played significant roles in UK response to Ebola, Zika, COVID-19 and mpox. For further details please see http://hpruezi.nihr.ac.uk/ Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement, and Participation (PPIEP) will be an integral element of this PhD project. The project will have an allocated PPIEP budget. The PhD student will be expected to develop and lead PPIEP activities throughout the PhD timeline, supported by the PPIEP leads and public contributors on the PPIEP working group. More information at: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/ppi-patient-and-public-involvement-resources-applicants-nihr-research-programmes. Academic Career Development Program. All HPRU-funded PhD students are part of the NIHR academy, which gives access to a wide range of excellent career development opportunities (https://www.nihr.ac.uk/career-development/nihr-academy). The HPRU-EZI runs a bespoke academic career development program, comprising training, development & mentorship opportunities beyond the individual research group in which the PhD student is based. Attendance at the career development events is expected of HPRU PhD students & covered by HPRU career development funding.

Funding information Funded studentship This PhD opportunity is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections (EZI). This studentship will be for a maximum of 3.5 years duration. The studentship includes tuition fees at the UK/home rate, stipend and research-related travel.

1/ 🚨 Funded PhD opportunity 🚨 #PhDSky

🧪 On "Optimising Vaccination Outreach Through Epidemiological-Behavioural Modelling & AI" #IDSky #EpiSky

💷 3.5 year studentship @liverpooluni.bsky.social - tuition fees at UK/home rate, stipend & research-related travel.

🔗: www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgr...

Part of what makes CDC so amazing is the diversity in experts which makes them an invaluable resource

Centralizing them in the CDC enhances public health response

Laying them off cripples our ability to respond to threats