Tag: safety

Agriculture Secretary Announces Update As Flesh-Eating Screwworm Comes Within 70 Miles Of US Border

More than 8,000 traps have been deployed across Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, targeting the New World screwworm (NWS) flies, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a Sept. 26 post on X, adding that no additional NWS infections have been detected since last Sunday.

On Sunday, Sept. 21, an announcement was made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which said that Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality had confirmed a new NWS infection in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nueva Leon state, less than 70 miles from America’s southern border. The infected animal was an 8-month-old cow.

Earlier in July, an NWS infection had been reported 370 miles south of the U.S.–Mexico border.

In her post, Rollins said that over 13,000 screening samples have been screened, and zero NWS flies have been identified thus far.

In addition, 750,000 sterilized NWS flies are being trucked in and dispersed in the Nueva Leon region twice a week, she said.

Mass-produced, sterile male NWS flies are often used to tackle the spread of wild NWS fly swarms. When these sterile flies are released into a swarm in large numbers, they mate with the wild female flies, which end up laying unfertilized eggs, thus lowering the swarm population.

Tackling NWS swarms is crucial since they pose a major threat to livestock. In an Aug. 15 statement, USDA called NWS a “devastating pest.”

“When NWS fly larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious, often deadly damage to the animal. NWS can infest livestock, pets, wildlife, occasionally birds, and in rare cases, people,” the agency said.

“It is not only a threat to our ranching community, but it is a threat to our food supply and our national security.”

Since May, U.S. ports have been closed to imports of cattle, horses, and bison from Mexico to prevent the spread of NWS flies into the United States.

Rollins accused Mexico of having “failed to enforce proper cattle movement controls and neglected to regularly maintain fly traps as agreed, undermining detection efforts.”

“This is unacceptable,” she said in the post on X. “Mexico must immediately implement agreed-upon protocols, expand surveillance, and restrict cattle movement in infected zones. For the foreseeable future the border will remain closed.”

In a Sept. 22 statement, Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the Sept. 21 detection was of an NWS fly in its larval stage, “meaning there is no possibility of the fly emerging.”

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Trump Derangement Syndrome comes for heralded off-label autism treatment after president endorses

he medical establishment and mainstream media are uniting against the Trump administration’s re-purposing of an inexpensive drug to treat an epidemic, calling it “unproven,” not “backed by science,” “not a cure” and “shocking” to endorse, with The New York Times emphasizing no profit-driven drug company suggested it.

In President Trump’s first term, it was ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. In his second, it’s prescription leucovorin to treat autism spectrum disorder.

Long used to treat chemotherapy side effects, leucovorin calcium tablets got approved last week by the Food and Drug Administration to treat “cerebral folate deficiency” (CFD), whose clinical symptoms include “global developmental delays with autistic features,” following its own “systematic analysis of literature” from 2009 through last year.

“Published case reports provided patient-level data on over 40 patients,” adult and child, with most of those given leucovorin treatment showing “substantial improvement of symptoms of CFD that would not be expected when compared to the natural history of CFD due to FOLR1 gene variants,” the Federal Register notice says.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted leucovorin to treat autism Monday with Trump and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, but it was quickly overshadowed by the other autism-related recommendation that pregnant women limit their use of Tylenol, which prompted a new TikTok challenge.

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After Massive Shrimp Recalls, the FDA Finds Radioactive Contamination in Spices Too

Federal regulators have detected possible radioactive contamination in a second food product sent to the U.S. from Indonesia, even as recalls of potentially tainted shrimp continue to grow. The discovery adds to questions about the source of the unusual problem.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California.

That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year.

Here’s what you need to know about potential cesium 137 contamination:

What is cesium 137?

Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food and air.

What have U.S. officials found?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium 137 in shipping containers of shrimp sent by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati to several U.S. ports. CBP officials flagged the potential contamination to the FDA, which tested samples of the shrimp and detected cesium 137 in one sample of breaded shrimp.

The company has sent about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year, according to data from Import Genius, a trade data analysis company. It supplies about 6% of foreign shrimp imported in the U.S.

This month, FDA officials detected cesium 137 in one sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which sends spices to the U.S. and other countries. Records show the company sent about 440,000 pounds ( 200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the U.S. this year.

What are the health risks?

No food that triggered alerts or tested positive has been released for sale in the U.S., FDA officials emphasized.

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Delta to replace hundreds of engine parts after passengers, crew suffer brain injuries from toxic fume leaks

Delta Air Lines is overhauling hundreds of engine parts in its fleet after toxic fumes have been leaking into plane cockpits and cabins, causing brain damage to crew members and passengers.

The carrier will replace auxiliary power units on more than 300 Airbus A320 planes as a part of a safety initiative that began in 2022, Delta confirmed to multiple outlets.

The undertaking to replace the engines that provide power on the ground for essential systems like air conditioning and electrical services is over 90% complete, the airline told CBS News.

The move comes as airlines have filed thousands of reports with the Federal Aviation Administration, warning that engines can cause toxic fumes to seep into cockpits and cabins, according to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal.

The number of cases has surged in recent years, with Airbus’s widely used A320 jets at the center of the spike, records obtained by the Journal showed

One Delta jet bound for South Carolina was forced back to Atlanta after thick smoke poured through the overhead vents.

The mayhem sent passengers scrambling for fresh air to breathe.

“Breathe through your clothing, stay low,” a Delta flight attendant told passengers over the loudspeaker at the time as the pilots declared an emergency.

In a separate incident, JetBlue flight attendant Florence Chesson told the Journal she was left with a traumatic brain injury and permanent nerve damage after breathing the fumes on a flight to Puerto Rico.

She recalled feeling as if she was drugged midair, then witnessed a fellow crew member collapse and vomit beside her.

The two were rushed to the hospital after landing.

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HHS Resurfaces Old Tylenol Post Warning Pregnant Women NOT to Use Their Product

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) resurfaced an eight-year-old tweet from Tylenol’s account.

The timing is ominous: the administration is now aggressively pushing a narrative linking Tylenol (acetaminophen) use in pregnancy to autism in children.

Just days ago, President Trump sounded the alarm on the potential link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and skyrocketing autism rates in children – a connection that’s been buried by the deep state bureaucrats at the FDA for far too long.

As reported by Bloomberg, HHS reposted the circa 2017 message on its official X account, with the chilling tag “No caption needed.”

The resurfaced statement from Tylenol’s official account bluntly told a concerned user:

“We actually don’t recommend using any of our products while pregnant. Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns today.”

According to PBS, “Kenvue said in a statement that ‘sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism.” The company pointed to scientific reviews by multiple government regulators worldwide, including those previously published by the FDA.”

However in 2019, Tylenol also openly admitted: “It’d be great to touch base real quick since we haven’t tested Tylenol to be used during pregnancy (and see what coupons we have for baby!)”

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RFK Jr. Reveals Fatal Organ Scandal, Takes Action

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the unprecedented decertification of the University of Miami’s organ procurement organization following a federal investigation that uncovered unsafe practices, inadequate staff training, and a fatal error involving a donor heart.

This marks the first time in recent memory that HHS has taken such decisive action against a major organ procurement organization for safety failures. The investigation revealed systemic problems that directly endangered patients’ lives and violated the fundamental trust placed in these organizations.

Kennedy emphasized that this crackdown represents a broader commitment to accountability in healthcare, stating that the federal government will no longer tolerate organizations that show “systemic disregard for the sanctity of life.”

The Miami OPO’s failures are particularly egregious given that organ transplant patients are among the most vulnerable in our healthcare system, relying entirely on these organizations for life-saving procedures.

Broken System Finally Faces Accountability

For years, conservative Americans have watched government agencies fail to hold healthcare organizations accountable for their failures, while bureaucrats collected paychecks and patients suffered.

Kennedy’s decisive action represents the kind of common-sense leadership that puts patient safety above institutional politics and entrenched interests.

The organ procurement system has operated with minimal oversight for too long, creating an environment where preventable deaths occurred while administrators faced no consequences.

This investigation reveals what happens when government agencies prioritize bureaucratic processes over protecting American lives.

The Miami OPO’s inadequate training protocols and unsafe practices represent a fundamental breach of trust with families who donate organs and patients desperately waiting for transplants.

Kennedy’s willingness to take swift, decisive action demonstrates the kind of accountability that was sorely missing during the previous administration’s tenure.

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EPA Flags Silicone Chemical D4 as Risk to Humans, Wildlife

U.S. regulators said that D4, a chemical used to make silicone goods from solar panels to cosmetics, may harm women’s fertility and damage aquatic and land animals.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Sept. 17 draft risk evaluation concluded that D4—formally known as octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane—presents “unreasonable” risks to human health in almost two dozen uses and to the environment in seven cases. The agency found no such risk in 37 other applications.

EPA said the human health concerns are driven mainly by worker exposures in 23 uses, such as manufacturing D4, processing it into adhesives and sealants, and applying D4-containing paints and coatings in industrial and commercial settings.

The agency’s draft risk evaluation points to reproductive toxicity studies as the hazard driver for the human health finding. In the document, EPA notes that D4 exposure is linked to adverse reproductive outcomes in women.

While one consumer use—inhalation of fumes or skin contact with paints and coatings—was also flagged as hazardous, the agency determined that for the general population, no uses of D4 “significantly contribute to unreasonable risk.”

The agency noted that its findings did not assume the use of personal protective equipment, though it said that equipment like respirators and gloves could mitigate risks.

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RFK Jr. vaccine advisers to examine shots during pregnancy

A panel of federal vaccine advisers appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will launch a new review on the use of vaccines during pregnancy, the panel’s chair said.  

Martin Kulldorff, a statistician and former Harvard professor who chairs the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), made the announcement at the start of Thursday’s meeting, where panelists will consider recommendations related to the pediatric vaccine schedule, including hepatitis B. 

The panel is set to vote later Thursday on changing the current recommendation that infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. 

Another working group will examine the vaccines given between childhood and adolescence, Kulldorff said. 

Most of the working groups consider a singular vaccine or group of related vaccines, Kulldorff noted, not broad categories or the entire concept of a vaccine schedule. 

Thursday’s meeting comes after a tense Senate hearing Wednesday where former CDC Director Susan Monarez testified she was fired after refusing to rubber-stamp the panel’s recommendations before they were made. Kennedy handpicked the panelists, many of whom are critical about vaccinations, after firing their predecessors 

In his opening remarks, Kulldorff challenged nine former heads of the CDC to a public debate on vaccination, after they accused him and the panelists of being unqualified and of spreading “dangerous and unscientific views.”  

“False accusations that we and other respectable vaccine scientists are unscientific and dangerous anti-vaxxers, that just adds legitimacy to anti-vax positions, damaging both public health and the confidence in vaccines,” Kulldorff said.  

Kulldorff said if the former directors won’t have a debate, they shouldn’t be trusted. 

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‘PFIZERGATE’: EU Commission Forced To Admit That COVID ‘Vaccines’ Were Given to the Population Without ‘Complete Safety Data’

The COVID jabs were ineffective, untested and unsafe.

Whatever else happens in the career of the European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, her legacy will always be tainted by the Pfizergate scandal.

It’s true that she did survive a motion of censure (or vote of no-confidence) that was brought by Romanian nationalist Gheorghe Piperea.

The author of the motion criticized the Commission’s refusal to disclose text messages between von der Leyen and the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the COVID-19 crisis.

But while the lack of transparency and suspicion of corruption are bad enough, there’s an even darker side to this story: as we all know, the mRNA shots were untested and unsafe.

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44 US AGs Write a Letter Warning AI Companies

On the heels of Meta’s Internal AI leak, 44 US Attorney Generals wrote a strongly worded letter to major AI companies.

On the heels of Meta’s Internal AI leak, 44 US attorneys general wrote a strongly worded letter to major AI companies.

The attorneys general condemn exposing children to sexualized content through personalized AI. The letter cites several recent cases where personalized AI went wrong, including:

  • Google’s chatbot drove a teenager towards suicide
  • The Character.ai chatbot told a teenager that he should kill his parents

Oddy, the letter gave the AI companies leeway when it comes to development:

We understand that the frontier of technology is a difficult and uncertain place where learning, experimentation, and adaptation are necessary for survival. You are figuring things out as you go. But in that process, you have opportunities to exercise judgment.

The letter also acknowledged social media has harmed children, but pins the blame on a lack of regulation.

You will be held accountable for your decisions. Social media platforms caused significant harm to children, in part because government watchdogs did not do their job fast enough. Lesson learned

…

We wish you all success in the race for AI dominance. But we are paying attention. If you knowingly harm kids, you will answer for it.

It’s okay if AI dominates the world, replaces everyone’s jobs, and makes people dumber—just watch out when it comes to children.

Forty-four US attorneys general signed this letter because they care about protecting children. In the coming months, we’ll see if they really mean that.

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