#us health

[globalnewscollective]

Poison in the Water: How the EPA's Latest Move Puts Us All at Risk

Imagine turning on your tap, filling a glass with water, and unknowingly drinking sewage. It sounds like a dystopian nightmare, but thanks to a new ruling from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump administration, this nightmare could become reality.

The EPA has quietly rolled back regulations that once protected public waterways from sewage contamination. With this change, industries and local governments have more leeway to discharge wastewater—including untreated sewage—into rivers, lakes, and streams. If you think this doesn’t affect you, think again. These are the same water sources that supply drinking water to millions of Americans.

What’s Happening?

The new EPA ruling effectively weakens oversight on sewage treatment and pollution controls. Previously, strict regulations required facilities to treat wastewater to remove harmful bacteria, chemicals, and pathogens before it could re-enter the environment. Now, under the guise of ‘cutting red tape’ and ‘easing industry burdens,’ those safeguards are gone.

The result? Cities and towns will face increased risk of contaminated water supplies. Vulnerable communities, particularly those in low-income and rural areas, will be hit hardest, as they often lack the resources to combat these changes. Expect more outbreaks of waterborne illnesses, beach closures, and environmental devastation.

How Does This Affect You?

Drinking Water Contamination: If your city relies on rivers or lakes for drinking water, your tap could soon deliver a mix of sewage, bacteria, and industrial waste.

Public Health Risks: Waterborne diseases such as E. coli, giardia, and hepatitis A thrive in untreated sewage, leading to serious health crises.

Economic Consequences: Property values drop, tourism suffers, and businesses dependent on clean water—like fishing and farming—could face disaster.

Environmental Devastation: Aquatic ecosystems are highly sensitive to pollution. Fish and wildlife populations will decline, affecting biodiversity and food chains.

The Bigger Picture

This decision isn’t just about dirty water—it’s about the systematic dismantling of environmental protections for corporate gain. The Trump administration has made it clear: if regulations stand in the way of industry profits, they will be gutted, no matter the human cost.

Historically, environmental rollbacks like this have led to catastrophic consequences. The infamous Flint water crisis showed the devastation that occurs when regulatory safeguards are ignored. Are we about to see similar disasters play out across the country?

What Can You Do?

Stay informed and demand accountability from local and state officials.

Support organizations fighting for clean water protections, such as the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Waterkeeper Alliance.

Pressure lawmakers to reinstate strong water protections and hold the EPA accountable.

Use your vote to elect officials who prioritize public health over corporate interests.

This is not just an environmental issue—it’s a human rights crisis. Safe, clean water is a fundamental necessity, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy. We must act now before our water becomes a toxic legacy of greed and negligence.

[karadin]

current Kansas Tuberculosis outbreak now the largest recorded in US history

(Trump is currently blocking all federal health agencies from reporting results to the population until he can install a political agent to 'massage the messaging' as he did in his last term during the Covid pandemic)

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said as of Friday there had been 67 “outbreak associated active cases” reported since 2024, with 60 of them in Wyandotte County—which encompasses Kansas City—and seven in Johnson County, which is just south of Wyandotte.

[gwydionmisha]

Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring

[the-final-sif]

If you're sexually active and queer, have HIV and/or are a sex worker, please get vaccinated for mpox

Queer people (specifically amab people having sexual with amab people) with more than one sexual partner, people with HIV and sex workers are at much higher risk of catching mpox, it's really important to help get this population vaccinated as we're starting to see cases in the US. Mpox can spread through several kinds of close contact, but sex tends to be the most risky.

MPOX Vaccines are free, they're safe, and they help protect not only you, but everyone around you too. The link above provides resources for finding vaccines in the US, please go check it out.

You need two doses to be fully protected (4 weeks apart), but even just the first dose can do a lot to help protect you. Partial protection is better than nothing, and

IF YOU HAVE A MPOX EXPOSURE, YOU CAN STILL GET VACCINATED IF YOU ACT QUICKLY. AN MPOX PEP VACCINE IS AVAILABLE AND EFFECTIVE.

If you're heading out to pride events, drag events, clubs, etc, any events where you could have sexual or skin to skin contact with possibly infected strangers, then get vaccinated before you go. If you're not sure if you're at risk, go get vaccinated anyways.

Again, vaccination is free, and it's the best tool we have to prevent severe outbreaks.

If you suspect you may have mpox, please get in contact with your local health department so they can get you tested and give you further guidance for what you need to do.

If you're organizing pride events, consider sending out messages encouraging attendees to get vaccinated prior to the event, or even talk to your local health department/hospital about setting up a vaccination station at the event!

Right now cases in the US are scattered, but vaccination rates are low and many people only got partial protection last summer during the outbreak. Let's keep the case count low by getting vaccinated and spreading awareness so people can stay safe!

[fenrislorsrai]

This emergency was predictable: There have been shortages of this drug in eight of the last 20 years. Yet federal health authorities have not prevented the drug shortages in the past and aren’t doing much to prevent them in the future. Syphilis, which is typically spread during sex, can be devastating if it goes untreated in pregnancy: About 40% of babies born to women with untreated syphilis can be stillborn or die as newborns, according to the CDC. Infants that survive can suffer from deformed bones, excruciating pain or brain damage, and some struggle to hear, see or breathe. Since this is entirely preventable, a baby born with syphilis is a shameful sign of a failing public health system. In 2022, the most recent year for which the CDC has data available, more than 3,700 babies were infected with syphilis, including nearly 300 who were stillborn or died as infants. More than 50% of these cases occurred because, even though the pregnant parent was diagnosed with syphilis, they were never properly treated. That year, there were 200,000 cases identified in the U.S., a 79% increase from five years before. Infection rates among pregnant people and babies increased by more than 250% in that time; South Dakota, where Strohfus works, had the highest rates — including a more than 400% increase among pregnant women. Statewide, the rate of babies born with the disease, a condition known as congenital syphilis, jumped more than 40-fold in just five years. - - -

Twenty years ago, there were at least three manufacturers of the syphilis shot. Then Pfizer, one of the manufacturers, purchased the other two companies and became the lone U.S. supplier. Pfizer’s supply has fallen short since then. In 2016, the company announced a shortage due to a manufacturing issue; it lasted two years. Even during times when Pfizer had not notified the FDA of an official shortage, clinics across the country told ProPublica, the shots were often hard to get. - - -

Having only one supplier for a drug, especially one of public health importance, makes the country vulnerable to shortages. With just one manufacturer, any disruption — contamination at a plant, a shortage of raw materials, a severe weather event or a flawed prediction of demand — can put lives at risk. What’s ultimately needed, public health experts say, is another manufacturer. Congressional Democrats recently introduced a bill that would authorize the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to manufacture generic drugs in exactly this scenario, when there are few manufacturers and regular shortages. Called the Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act, it would also establish an office of drug manufacturing. - - - In November, the Biden administration announced it was creating a new syphilis task force.

Bill number is S. 3398 if you want to call your Senator.

[beartrice-inn-unnir]

It’s also been happening for over a year. If auditory info is more your jam, here’s the American Medical Association’s podcast from Feb 5 2025 (incl. transcript):

"In case anyone missed it, the tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas has now spread to Ohio.

[The Republican Administration] has ordered the CDC to not report on this"

[nedcaratacus]

[mymy4802]

I just read that Donald Trump and his circus took down a website called reproductiverights.gov

This was a website to help women learn about their reproductive rights in the US and to find health care.

This is absolutely disgusting so I’ll share in this post some resources in case you need them:

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn

[johnny-depp-is-loved]

Please, spread this for those who might need it right now

U.S. suicide hotline: call or text 988 (available 24 hours)

U.S. trans lifeline: (877) 565-8860 (when you call, you’ll speak to a trans/nonbinary peer operator. full anonymity and confidentiality)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) – provides 24/7 confidential support and referrals for individuals and families facing mental health and substance use disorders, including panic attacks and anxiety.

LGBT National Help Center: (888) 843-4564

Trevor Project: Call (866) 488-7386, text START to 678-678, or chat online.

Take care of yourself and each other. Please stay safe ♡

[victusinveritas]

[globalnewscollective]

Project 2025: A Blueprint for Democracy’s Demise?

What’s Happening?

It’s no longer a warning—it’s reality. Donald Trump has won the presidency, and Project 2025 (also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project) is now in full motion. This initiative, designed to reshape the executive branch of the U.S. federal government in the event of a Republican victory in the 2024 election, is no longer just a blueprint—it’s actively transforming the country before our very eyes.

This sweeping political takeover, spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, is actively dismantling democratic institutions, expanding presidential power, and eroding fundamental rights. The time to stop it has passed—the time to resist is now.

Political scientist Laura Field warned that Project 2025 was never just about conservative policy: “They want to provide President Trump with the tools to overcome, in some cases, the legal or constitutional limits of the executive branch.” Now, those tools are in his hands. Constitutional law expert Erwin Chemerinsky previously called the plan “deeply frightening,” and Joe Biden described it as “the greatest attack on our system of government and personal freedom ever proposed in this country’s history.” Those warnings have become our new reality.

Here’s what is already happening:

50,000 career federal employees have been fired, replaced by hardline Trump loyalists—an unprecedented purge of government professionals.

The Insurrection Act has been invoked, allowing the U.S. military to enforce domestic laws and suppress opposition.

Political opponents are being targeted, with DOJ resources used to investigate and prosecute those who resist the administration.

The Supreme Court’s oversight has been weakened, effectively allowing Trump to rule with minimal checks on his power.

Paul Dans, a key Project 2025 leader, openly stated that they were preparing to “march into office with an army of ideologically aligned conservatives.” That march is over. The takeover is complete.

Why This Should Terrify You

The America you knew is disappearing. Here’s what is already at stake:

Federal Agencies Are Being Dismantled: The Department of Education is being gutted, civil rights protections are vanishing, and agencies that safeguard healthcare and environmental protections are under siege.

The Government Has Become a Propaganda Machine: Career professionals have been replaced with political operatives, ensuring that government agencies now serve only Trump’s interests.

Checks and Balances Are Crumbling: Trump’s power is expanding rapidly, with fewer legal and institutional barriers to stop him.

Dissent Is Being Crushed: Journalists, activists, and political opponents are being targeted, making free speech increasingly dangerous.

Kamala Harris had explicitly warned that Trump had a “detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025”—and now, he’s executing it.

Why This Matters to You

If you’re a young adult, woman, or member of a marginalized community, you are already feeling the effects of Project 2025:

Your Reproductive Rights Are Disappearing: Nationwide abortion bans and birth control restrictions are being enforced.

Your Education Is Under Attack: Public school and university funding cuts are already affecting accessibility and affordability.

Your Future Is in Danger: Environmental deregulation is accelerating climate change, leaving younger generations to deal with the fallout.

Your Freedom to Be Yourself Is Under Threat: LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice efforts, and diversity programs are being dismantled at a rapid pace.

This is not a distant threat—it’s happening right now. And if you don’t take action, the damage may become irreversible.

The Bigger Picture

What’s happening in the U.S. mirrors global trends—authoritarian leaders are rising, using democratic systems to cement their control. Project 2025 is not just an attack on America’s democracy; it’s part of a worldwide movement to undermine freedom and human rights.

The frightening reality? Once a democracy is dismantled, history shows that it rarely comes back without a fight. The window for reversing this course is closing fast.

What Can You Do?

Stay Informed: Share updates on Project 2025, educate your peers, and spread awareness—knowledge is power.

Support Resistance Movements: Join organizations fighting for civil rights, democracy, and social justice.

Use Your Voice: Social media, protests, community action—speak out before it’s too late.

Prepare for the Worst: Recognize the risks of authoritarian rule and find ways to protect yourself and those around you.

We are no longer on the brink—we are in the crisis. Project 2025 is happening, and the time to resist is now. The question is: What will you do?

For real-time updates on the progress of Project 2025, visit Project2025.Observer.

https://thehill.com/opinion/5186896-trump-project-2025/

[shadesofmauve]

I want to step away from the art-vs-artist side of the Gaiman issue for a bit, and talk about, well, the rest of it. Because those emotions you're feeling would be the same without the art; the art just adds another layer.

Source: I worked with a guy who turned out to be heavily involved in an international, multi-state sex-slavery/trafficking ring.

He was really nice.

Yeah.

It hits like a dumptruck of shit. You don't feel stable in your world anymore. How could someone you interacted with, liked, also be a truly horrible person? How could your judgement be that bad? How can real people, not stylized cartoon bogeymen, be actually doing this shit?

You have to sit with the fact that you couldn't, or probably couldn't, have known. You should have no guilt as part of this horror — but guilt is almost certainly part of that mess you're feeling, because our brains do this associative thing, and somehow "I liked [the version of] the guy [that I knew]", or his creations, becomes "I made a horrible mistake and should feel guilty."

You didn't, loves, you didn't.

We're human, and we can only go by the information we have. And the information we have is only the smallest glimpse into someone else's life.

I didn't work closely with the guy I knew at work, but we chatted. He wasn't just nice; he was one of the only people outside my tiny department who seemed genuinely nice in a workplace that was rapidly becoming incredibly toxic. He loaned me a bike trainer. Occasionally he'd see me at the bus stop and give me a lift home.

Yup. I was a young woman in my twenties and rode in this guy's car. More than once.

When I tell this story that part usually makes people gasp. "You must feel so scared about what could have happened to you!" "You're so lucky nothing happened!"

No, that's not how it worked. I was never in danger. This guy targeted Korean women with little-to-no English who were coerced and powerless. A white, fluent, US citizen coworker wasn't a potential victim. I got to be a person, not prey.

Y'know that little warning bell that goes off, when you're around someone who might be a danger to you? That animal sense that says "Something is off here, watch out"?

Yeah, that doesn't ping if the preferred prey isn't around.

That's what rattled me the most about this. I liked to think of myself as willing to stand up for people with less power than me. I worked with Japanese exchange students in college and put myself bodily between them and creeps, and I sure as hell got that little alarm when some asian-schoolgirl fetishist schmoozed on them. But we were all there.

I had to learn that the alarm won't go off when the hunter isn't hunting. That it's not the solid indicator I might've thought it was. That sometimes this is what the privilege of not being prey does; it completely masks your ability to detect the horrors that are going on.

A lot of people point out that 'people like that' have amazing charisma and ability to lie and manipulate, and that's true. Anyone who's gotten away with this shit for decades is going to be way smoother than the pathetic little hangers-on I dealt with in university. But it's not just that. I seriously, deeply believe that he saw me as a person, and he did not extend personhood to his victims. We didn't have a fake coworker relationship. We had a real one. And just like I don't know the ins-and-outs of most of my coworkers lives, I had no idea that what he did on his down time was perpetrate horrors.

I know this is getting off the topic, but it's so very important. Especially as a message to cis guys: please understand that you won't recognize a creep the way you might think you will. If you're not the preferred prey, the hind-brain alarm won't go off. You have to listen to victims, not your gut feeling that the person seems perfectly nice and normal. It doesn't mean there's never a false accusation, but face the fact that it's usually real, and you don't have enough information to say otherwise.

So, yeah. It fucking sucks. Writing about this twists my insides into tense knots, and it was almost a decade ago. I was never in danger. No one I knew was hurt!

Just countless, powerless women, horrifically abused by someone who was nice to me.

You don't trust your own judgement quite the same way, after. And as utterly shitty as it is, as twisted up and unstead-in-the-world as I felt the day I found out — I don't actually think that's a bad thing.

I think we all need to question our own judgement. It makes us better people.

I don't see villains around every corner just because I knew one, once. But I do own the fact that I can't know, really know, about anyone except those closest to me. They have their own full lives. They'll go from the pinnacles of kindness to the depths of depravity — and I won't know.

It's not a failing. It's just being human. Something to remember before you slap labels on people, before you condemn them or idolize them. Think about how much you can't know, and how flawed our judgement always is.

Grieve for victims, and the feeling of betrayal. But maybe let yourself off the hook, and be a bit slower to skewer others on it.

[karadin]

current Kansas Tuberculosis outbreak now the largest recorded in US history

(Trump is currently blocking all US health agencies from reporting results to the population until he can install a policial agent to 'massage the messaging' as he did in his last term during the Covid pandemic)

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said as of Friday there had been 67 “outbreak associated active cases” reported since 2024, with 60 of them in Wyandotte County—which encompasses Kansas City—and seven in Johnson County, which is just south of Wyandotte.

[thebibliosphere]

I’ve got my tumblr inbox turned off so I really have to commend the person who actually emailed me to let me know they don’t like the things I’ve posted about the UnitedHealth CEO being murdered on their commitment to their beliefs.

But seen as how you emailed me from a dud email that appears to be bouncing back replies and I really wanted to address something you said to me about violence begetting violence:

My migraine medication, the medication I was given for my debilitating neurological disease that has gotten so bad I spent most of this year actively suicidal, costs $1300 a month.

My insurance covered it. But only because my doctors office went to fucking war for me because I’m a high anaphylaxis risk for the drugs the insurance wanted me to try.

Because that’s the thing.

My doctors knew, based on my documented medical history, I likely wouldn’t be a good fit for the “first line” of preventative migraine drugs, but because of insurance, I had to be given drugs that were contradictory to my other life threatening conditions, because otherwise insurance wouldn’t cover anything else.

I failed them. Spectacularly and with an anaphylactic reaction to one of them. And I was still warned insurance would fight me because I hadn’t tried the remaining drug they wanted me to try.

A drug which I would have to take in an ER waiting room because my mast cell disease is unpredictable but insurance wouldn’t cover in-patient treatment to let me try it safely under medical supervision.

Is that not violence?

Were all the times I was denied coverage for vital and necessary procedures that could have prevented my disabilities from worsening not violence?

Maybe not in the sense you mean. But I assure you it felt very much like violence to me.

Do I condone murder? No, obviously. But I’m also sick and tired of people pretending that what is happening to the American people every day isn’t eugenics through class warfare.

Violence begets violence.

It sure fucking does.

Maybe these insurance companies should have thought of that first.

[itsbansheebitch]

Briana Boston faces terrorism charges and CEOs are getting free therapy

Briana Boston is a 42 year old mother of three from Florida who is under house arrest for expressing her frustration at her insurance (which she PAYS for) who denied her claim. She owns ZERO guns and doesn't have a criminal record.

She was originally held in prison for $100,000 bail. They have not dropped the charges and she is under house arrest even after widespread backlash.

They are trying to charge her with terrorism. They want her to spend 15 years in prison.

They are calling her a Luigi Mangione copycat. As if she killed someone. She made a indirect, not at all credible threat.

Meanwhile...

I want every woman who has ever faced threats online, stalking, etc to bring this Briana Boston up at every opportunity. Every time you were told by police that there was nothing they could do, know that they not only CAN do something, but they WILL do something, just not for you.