"In a sweeping interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, outlined a strategy for containing the measles outbreak in West Texas that strayed far from mainstream science, relying heavily on fringe theories about prevention and treatments. He issued a muffled call for vaccinations in the affected community, but said the choice was a personal one. He suggested that measles vaccine injuries were more common than known, contrary to extensive research."
If the possibility of a politically driven dearth of data for your climate and environment reporting has you on edge, the new Reporter’s Toolbox just may have something to soothe your nerves: A data source from beyond the grasp of the Trump administration and outside the boundaries of the United States. Take a quick tour of environmental data from the OECD.
Industry experts and government regulators have long known that radionuclides reside in oil and natural gas. Yet radioactive emissions and waste continue to threaten the lives of workers and community members across the country. Investigative journalist Justin Nobel on the opportunities and urgent need for reporters to drill into a story steeped in questions of accountability, health and justice.
"The former congressman who drew scrutiny for anti-vaccine views did not appear to have the votes for confirmation amid a measles outbreak, according to people familiar."
Anti-science policies are being instituted by the Trump administration at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal offices, reports the latest Backgrounder. That makes it especially challenging to keep politics out of decision-making around everything from natural disasters to public health. An examination of scientific integrity under Trump 2.0 and what environmental journalists should watch for.
"Utah could become the first state to ban fluoride in its drinking water, alarming public health experts and dentists who note the mineral’s role in reducing tooth decay across the nation. The Republican-controlled statehouse sent the legislation to Gov. Spencer Cox (R) last week after both chambers passed it largely along party lines."
"An unidentified illness has killed scores of people and infected hundreds in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization has reported, with preliminary investigations tracing the outbreak to three children who in January ate a bat and died."
"A child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious — but preventable — respiratory disease since 2015."
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