Disappointed, though not surprised, I began to describe various life- saving components of USAID’s global health portfolio, highlighting how we prepare for and respond to emerging pandemic threats; support the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV; and immunize millions of children from the deadliest childhood diseases. I spoke for about five minutes, focusing primarily on our infectious diseases work and hoping to keep the attention of people who seemed to have no experience—or interest—in global health. When I finished, the room was silent, the political appointees looking at one another in what appeared to be disbelief. The silence was broken by Ken Jackson, who chuckled softly and shook his head. “Wow, there really is so much that USAID does that we never knew,” he said. “This is the story that needs to get out there.” Joel, also smiling, chimed in next, echoing Jackson’s amazement. “I had no idea you did all this,” he said. “As a Republican, when I think of what USAID does in global health, I assumed it was just, you know, abortions.”

This is NUTS

www.thehandbasket.co/p/trump-usai...

Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did 'just abortions,' asked for 'Barney-style' slides before gutting agency, per new book Read an exclusive excerpt from Nicholas Enrich's "Into the Wood Chipper"

NEW—I got an exclusive excerpt from a USAID whistleblower's new book that made me gasp multiple times. It details Trump's dismantling of the humanitarian aid agency & his team/DOGE's shocking ignorance to public health.

'Into the Wood Chipper' by Nicholas Enrich is out tomorrow. Read excerpt here:

Really important findings here: treating US foreign aid collapse as an exogenous shock, tests across 44 countries show a 12% increase in conflict last year among the more aid dependent countries. Read with research on: health impact, corruption, etc. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

The University of Michigan has been measuring consumer sentiment since 1952. We just got the first Iran-afflicted measure for April, and it's at the lowest level ever recorded.

"ICE OUT" banners seen in the Timbers Army during the National Anthem. #RCTID

Applications for our 2026 New Era Workshop (NEW) for PhD students are now live! Apps close May 3rd at 11:59pm MT.
NEW will be held Sept 24-26, 2026 at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs.

For more information and to apply, visit our website

I love the form the NYTimes “bothsidesism” takes in this article. On one hand, professors worry that something they or a student says might put them on the radar of authorities and then deported. On the other hand, I don’t have to feel imaginary pressure to say “menstruating persons” anymore!

They're going to poison a city with 17 million people

Nothing says “we are liberating you from a bad regime to give you a better life” like bombing desalination plants and oil refineries

No Help and Few Options for Travelers Stranded by Mideast Conflict

One woman who called the State Department helpline looking for help said they told her to "stop ranting and raving" and hung up on her.

Another woman said they asked her how to spell Oman.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/t...

Brilliant. An expat im Dubai has a startling revelation, by @stephencollins.bsky.social

Trump helps MAGA influencers flee Middle East war zone on private jet Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz, dogwalker Sarah Daither, former lobbyist Jay Footlik, and others managed to escape on a private plane thanks to the White House.

The White House has helped MAGA influencers escape the Middle East on a private jet while more than a million ordinary Americans are still trapped with no way out.

Very glad that I'm not teaching I-Law this semester, my condolences

After a US-Israeli strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran, rescuers dug through the rubble for survivors. The death toll is still rising, with more than 80 confirmed dead so far.

“It’s just weird to see a toddler in a pink onesie getting their eyes washed out from tear gas, you know?”

What it's like to be tear gassed in a crowd by ICE, at the nonviolent Portland Labor Against ICE rally. There were children in the march.

A little girl in Portland, OR after being tear gassed by ICE. what the actual fuck.

Just got gassed pretty good at the labor union anti-ICE protest in Portland. Massive march, 5-10k strong. Vibes were very much liberal rather than radical. Lots of kids and older folks.

They gassed the whole crowd as soon as it marched on ICE, in broad daylight.

A mother and their 15 year old describe getting gassed and seeing young children in pain. #Portland #ICEOut #Pretti

Today I saw ICE gas little white kids in the streets of Portland with chemical weapons. Imagine what they're doing to brown and black kids in the detention camps

Just experienced the most intense tear gassing of my life by federal officers outside the ICE facility in Portland where marchers gathered. There was no fast exit as they indiscriminately threw loads of gas and flash bangs. Children were in the crowd screaming. @oregoncapitalchronicle.com

Can confirm this weird line of argument is also going on in local mom groups on FB (in an extremely blue city!) and I'm convinced it's bots

This would be disastrously bad for universities in Florida and the state as a whole. The Board is essentially handpicked by DeSantis so the odds of this passing are high.

As the article notes, The proposal also forbids discrimination based on national origin, which is some cognitive dissonance.

“…despite a judge ordering the toddler’s release.”

My father is a polio survivor. I’ve seen firsthand the lifelong damage it inflicts.

Vaccines have all but eradicated these diseases. WE SOLVED THIS PROBLEM.

This administration’s devotion to dangerous ideology over science will only cause more Americans to suffer.

man. not just the horror of this, but also the little girl immediately thinking of her friends.

Applications close this Sunday!

United States Completes WHO Withdrawal WASHINGTON —  January 22, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of State today announced the United States’ completion of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) due to the organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a joint statement on the termination of U.S. membership in the WHO.President Trump on January 20, 2025, announced the U.S. plan to leave the WHO. During the yearlong process, the U.S. stopped funding WHO, withdrew all personnel from WHO, and began pivoting activities previously conducted with WHO to direct bilateral engagements with other countries and organizations. With the exit from WHO, the U.S. will be coordinating with WHO solely in a limited fashion to effectuate withdrawal.  The WHO delayed declaring a global public health emergency and a pandemic during the early stages of COVID-19, costing the world critical weeks as the virus spread. During that period, WHO leadership echoed and praised China's response despite evidence of early underreporting, suppression of information and delays in confirming human-to-human transmission. The organization also downplayed asymptomatic transmission risks and failed to promptly acknowledge airborne spread.After the pandemic, the WHO did not adopt meaningful reforms to address political influence, governance weaknesses or poor coordination, reinforcing concerns that politics took priority over rapid, independent public health action and eroding global trust. Its report evaluating the possible origins of COVID-19 rejected the possibility that scientists cre…

And just like that, the US has left the World Health Organization.

Link goes to the official announcement—lies pretending to justify a decision that will kill countless numbers—from people too stupid to even include a proper twittercard.

www.hhs.gov/press-room/u...