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Illinois heath officials responding to measles outbreak in Douglas County
There have been at least four confirmed, linked cases of measles in Douglas County, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
DOH-Miami-Dade Lifts Water Quality Health Advisory - Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County
DOH-Miami-Dade has lifted the water quality advisory for Crandon Park North in Key Biscayne.
Statement by Chief Pentagon Spokesman, Sean Parnell, on the Clinical G
The War Department remains focused on building and maintaining a ready, lethal fighting force prepared to dominate the battlefield and achieve peace through strength.
Cook County Department of Public Health Launches Building Healthier Communities 2030, a Community-Driven Roadmap to Advance Health Equity Across Suburban Cook County - Cook County Department of Public Health
Today, Cook County Department of Public Health launched Building Healthier Communities 2030, suburban Cook County’s Community Health Improvement Plan. The plan was announced together with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Department of Public Health, community organizations, healthcare providers and cross-sector partners. Building Healthier Communities 2030 serves as both a collective vision and a practical roadmap that will guide public health efforts across suburban Cook County through 2030.The plan aligns with President Preckwinkle's Policy Roadmap and reflects a shared commitment to advancing health equity through coordinated, community-informed action.
Google defeats US bid to force ad tech sale
Google defeated the U.S. Department of Justice's effort to force a sale of its online advertising exchange in Virginia, marking a key antitrust ruling.
Blaze breaks out at Big Flats business complex. What we know about fire
An alarm went off around 3 a.m. Wednesday at 1250 Schweizer Road in Big Flats, home of several businesses, drawing many fire departments.
Veterans Affairs Reveals 250K New Veterans Have Enrolled in VA Health Care in 2026
The veterans who joined this year have had more than 1.4 million medical appointments, according to the agency.
8 Central Florida restaurant shut down after health inspections last week
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation shut down eight Central Florida restaurants during the week from August 23-29 after conducting health inspections.
Federal judge tosses Trump lawsuit over young trans athletes in California school sports
In a major LGBTQ+ rights victory, the justice department cannot force the state to ban trans girls from women’s sports
Louisiana cites three for illegal seafood business
Agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) cited three individuals for several violations related to selling illegal raw seafood
Rising numbers of children in mental health crisis ending up in A&E
NHS emergency departments are seeing more cases of self-harm, eating disorders and emotional distress in young people.
Measles clarification: Allegheny County Health Department addresses measles after cases reported last month
The Allegheny County Health Department is setting the record straight on measles after two cases were reported at UPMC Children's Hospital last month.
Cook County Department of Public Health Earns 15 NaCO Awards for Public Health Programming and Impact - Cook County Department of Public Health
Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) is proud to announce that 15 of its programs received achievement awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) during its 2026 Annual Conference and Exposition, held July 17-20 in New Orleans, La.
Maine health clinics say state failed to pay nearly $6.5M cost-of-living increase
The state health department said there was no funding appropriated for this year's adjustment.
Evers responds to DHS investigation into voter fraud in Wisconsin
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency’s investigators are rooting out election fraud wherever it can be found.
Health officials lift Boardman River no-contact advisory after sewage leak
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- The Grand Traverse Health Department has lifted the public health alert for the Boardman/Ottaway River that was iss
Chicago Department of Public Health announces 2 West Nile cases, 1 death for 2026
The Chicago Department of Public Health on Tuesday announced two human cases and one death from the West Nile virus in the city this year, and one of those two people has died.
U.S. Soccer restructures sporting department: What it means for Pochettino, Hayes
Changes are afoot in the way U.S. Soccer sets up its hierarchy, affecting both the men's and women's national teams
The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing its museum after nearly two centuries
The closure does not affect the rest of the institution, which builds and maintains the collections and conducts research through departments such as the Patrick Center for Environmental Research.
Pages - Maryland Department of Health recognizes National Preparedness Month with social media campaign
An official website of the State of Maryland.
LZ Sees Surprising Result in Search for Dark Matter
Key Takeaways Dark matter is the mysterious substance that accounts for the vast majority of matter in our universe. LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a world-leading dark matter detector and specializes in searching for WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. A new LZ study found one particle interaction that is difficult to explain with known background processes and could potentially have been caused by a WIMP. LZ continues to run to see if additional data strengthens or weakens the hint of a dark matter interaction. For the better part of a century, people have been trying to understand dark matter. This invisible substance makes up roughly 85% of the mass in the universe but has never been directly detected. Determining exactly what it is remains one of the biggest questions about our world. Now, a new analysis from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment has recorded a single particle interaction that researchers have great difficulty explaining with known background signals from normal matter. The result does not yet meet the statistical threshold required to claim a discovery, but is the most compelling hint of dark matter reported by the experiment to date. LZ is an international collaboration of 250 scientists and engineers from 39 institutions. The detector is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and operates nearly one mile below ground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota. The experiment uses 10 tonnes of ultrapure liquid xenon to search for dark matter and is optimized to look for WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. The results were presented in a scientific talk at the 2026 TeV Particle Astrophysics conference in Japan. The paper will be released on the online repository arXiv and submitted to the journal Physical Review Letters. “We’re very intrigued to see this event in the data, in the region where we expect dark matter to show up and the competing backgrounds are very low,” said Rick Gaitskell, a professor at Brown University and the spokesperson for LZ. “With only one event, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We are not claiming to have seen dark matter. But we have seen something interesting that we want to share with the scientific community for their input.” The LZ collaboration studies experimental data in batches. In the new result, researchers analyzed 220 live days of data collected between March 2023 and April 2024. The collaboration had previously searched this dataset for faint signals from the simplest kinds of WIMP interactions. The new analysis searched for a broader range of possible WIMP interactions that could deposit more energy in the detector. LZ is particularly sensitive to such signals while also minimizing false positives. “This was a detailed study in a region we hadn’t explored within this dataset, and we spent months of additional effort to understand all the possible causes of background events,” said Sam Eriksen, a senior research associate at the University of Bristol in the U.K. and lead author of the study. “We understand our detector and the backgrounds so well that even a single outstanding event, like the one we found, is important. We expect dark matter events to be extremely rare, so only a handful could mark the first detection of WIMP dark matter.” If the anomalous event was caused by dark matter, the WIMP that generated it would likely have a mass of at least 200 GeV/c2 (gigaelectronvolts), or more than 200 times the mass of a proton. It would also suggest a specific type of interaction between WIMPs and ordinary matter beyond the simplest model. The LZ results have not reached “5-sigma” significance, the statistical threshold considered a discovery in physics. The new analysis is 2.6 sigma, meaning there is approximately a 0.5% chance that the event could be explained by known backgrounds. With additional data, researchers can test whether the finding continues to grow in significance or fades away. LZ has already accumulated the world’s largest dark matter dataset and will continue to accrue WIMP search data at SURF, substantially improving their search statistics. LZ searches for dark matter by looking for signature flashes of light from energy deposited in the detector. The collaboration leverages multiple methods to prevent or account for particle interactions caused by normal matter. This includes the mile of rock that shields the detector from cosmic rays from space, a water tank and outer detectors that protect the central detector from background neutrons, and a suite of computational tools that disentangle particle interactions and reject dark matter mimics. “Outlier events in the data are not unexpected, but they usually stand out as a background of some kind when you look at them deeper,” said Aaron Manalaysay, a physicist at Berkeley Lab and the chair of LZ’s Institutional Board. “This is the first example in any experiment I’ve worked on of an outlier that appears valid in every way. Of course, we’re still twisting our brains trying to think if there’s a rare background mechanism we could’ve missed, but it’s thrilling to wonder if this could be the first hint of a dark-matter observation.” LZ is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics, and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science user facility. LZ is also supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom; the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology; the Swiss National Science Foundation; the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics; and the Institute for Basic Science, Korea. Thirty-nine institutions of higher education and advanced research provided support to LZ. The LZ collaboration acknowledges the assistance of the Sanford Underground Research Facility. ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Air monitor in South Memphis now operational, health department says
The air monitor is now feeding data to the EPA's AirNow.gov website.
Indiana hospitals end routine ambulance diversion
Indiana hospitals and emergency medical providers entered into an agreement with the Indiana Department of Health Monday to stop directing ambulances to other facilities when emergency departments become overcrowded.
The Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board: Building on 250 Years of Naval Innovation
In September of 1776, an enormous British armada lay anchored in New York Harbor. A month earlier, British forces under General William Howe had defeated the Continental Army and gained control of New York City and Long Island. Now this fleet of 400 ships, including 10 ships-of-the-line, 20 frigates, and 170 transports among many others
New Mexico Department of Health reminds people to keep Naloxone on hand in case of emergency
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The New Mexico Department of Health wrapped up its Overdose Awareness Day series with an important message about the benefits of Naloxone. The department has spent the last week…
Colorado Department of Health releases testing on Arkansas River
Leaders with the Department of Agriculture said they have alerted farmers in communities downstream of the spill and are working to get more information from testing.
How the Pentagon Is Getting Into the Venezuelan Oil Business Under Trump
The Defense Department’s Office of Strategic Capital, founded by the Biden administration to give loans to bolster the U.S. defense industry, is helping lead President Trump’s oil deal.
Police saturate entertainment district in downtown Selma
From the West Alabama Newsroom– The Selma Police Department and the Dallas Co. Sheriff’s Office conducted a joint saturation detail in downtown Selma over the weekend. The detail was conducted in the city’s entertainment district — in response to a shooting incident that happened the previous weekend. “When you have 300 and something shots that were fired, one person injured,...
Florida orders removal of Flock cameras from state highways
The Florida Department of Transportation is revoking permits for automated license plate readers on roads in the state highway system.
Northwest Arkansas hospital becomes latest site for state's maternal health program
A program aimed at supporting high-risk pregnancies has expanded to Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, Department of Human Services officials announced Monday.
CDFW News | Del Norte County Razor Clam Fishery Opens After One-Month Closure Due to Public Health Hazard
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Meghan Hertel has opened the recreational razor clam fishery in Del Norte County following a recommendation from state health agencies that domoic acid no longer poses a significant threat to human health if consumed.
What ECU Health learned 24 hours into a wearable safety rollout
Randall Walston has spent 35 years with ECU Health and now leads a single police department covering all nine of the system's hospitals in eastern North
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s business affairs chief stepping down
Ivan Capifali, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, announced his departure internally to staff on Monday, according to two sources familiar with his decision.
Public health advisory issued for Pontoosuc Lake in Pittsfield
The Pittsfield Health Department issued a public health advisory Monday for Pontoosuc Lake following the discovery of a blue-green algae bloom. The advisory applies to the lake in both Pittsfield a…
First West Nile virus case in Utah County confirmed as neuroinvasive
The Utah County Health Department confirmed the county’s first human case of West Nile virus this season.Health officials said the case is neuroinvasive, the mo
Measles flagged at NC hotel and gas station, health department says
More than 20 cases of measles were recorded in the state in 2025 and 2026, but none have been reported since February.
Exclusive: DHS plans to launch voter fraud investigation surge Tuesday
The Department of Homeland Security is planning a surge in its efforts to investigate voter fraud in select states starting Tuesday, according to internal federal guidance reviewed by CNN.
Chautauqua County Health Department Reports First Lab-Confirmed Measles Case
MAYVILLE, N.Y.
Cat Tests Positive for Rabies in Chatham County
CHATHAM COUNTY, GA – The Chatham County Health Department’s Environmental Health office is alerting the community that a cat... Continue Reading This Post
Kalshi permanently bans ex-Congressman George Santos for life after concluding he likely was insider trading
The company announced the ban after saying its compliance department had established reasonable cause to believe Santos engaged in insider trading over his attendance at the State of the Union, when he turned a $17,839 profit on his trading activity.
What If Every City Department Was a Public Health Department?
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud is bringing health considerations into transportation, zoning, environmental policy and other everyday decisions that shape residents’ lives.
Tennessee health department confirms 4th case of measles in 2026
The cases are spread out across Tennessee, with one in the Memphis area and another in East Tennessee, according to the report.
Tennessee health department confirms 4th cases of measles in 2026
The cases are spread out across Tennessee, with one in the Memphis area and another in East Tennessee, according to the report.
Officials press Pennsylvania health department on ‘measles-associated’ deaths
Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons wrote over the weekend. “If the governor disputes [the coroner’s] finding, he has a responsibility to say why in a clear, transparent way, rather than dismiss it. Nothing prevents him…
State health department issues warning after raw sewage spills into Arkansas River
Business as Mission: Loving the World Well
At Taylor, we’re in the business of developing servant-leaders who will be ambassadors for Christ. Business is Taylor’s largest academic area, with over 400 students in the department.
DOH-Miami-Dade Issues Water Quality Health Advisory - Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County
DOH-Miami-Dade has issued a water quality advisory for Crandon Park North in Key Biscayne.
Treasury Department blocks certain journalists from covering G20 meeting
The New York Times said in a statement that denying American journalists access to an event in the U.S. is “not just another disturbing effort by the administration to undermine independent journalism, but a blatant attempt to evade public scrutiny.”
RFK Jr. packs health agencies with political appointees
Eighteen months into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure leading the Health Department, he’s stacked his agencies with more political appointees than any other recent administration, while reducing staffing to a 20-year low.
RFK Jr. packs health agencies with political appointees
Eighteen months into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure leading the Health Department, he’s stacked his agencies with more political appointees than any other recent administration, while reducing staffing to a 20-year low.
Adams County Health Department offers prevention tips as COVID cases rise in Missouri, Illinois
According to the latest CDC guidance, people who contract the virus can return to normal activities after symptoms disappear and they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication.
A course correction Canada would concur with
I’ve always harbored a soft spot for Canada. My father was stationed there twice, once in the 1960s as the Atomic Energy Commission’s American liaison with the Canadian nuclear reactor program in Chalk River, Ontario and again in the 1970s as the State Department’s scientific attache at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa. I had the […]
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare offering grants to improve rural healthcare
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is offering grants to help improve access to health care in rural areas. The grants cover a variety of projects, and the department is urging organizations to apply.
Folsom Boulevard Flea Market fire destroys 20,000-game collection, businesses
Sacramento Fire Department Capt. Justin Sylvia said the fire started in a barn-style building.
Contra Costa Health facing $730M deficit over next five years
Contra Costa County's health department is staring at a deficit of $730 million over the next five years because of federal and state funding cuts, county health officials said at last week's Board of Supervisors meeting.
Potential measles exposure reported at Asheville hotel, NCDHHS says
There was a measles case from an out-of-state person who traveled through Asheville in August, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said.
North Carolina: Rabid baby goats at a mobile petting zoo prompts health warning
On Friday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported confirmed multiple rabies cases in baby goats at a mobile petting zoo located in Iredell County. They were first notified of a potential rabies exposure among four baby goats at Farm Adventures in Harmony, North Carolina on August 27. The goats were most likely exposed to rabies by a skunk that had entered the pen where they were kept in late July. The NC State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed rabies viruses in three of the baby goats on August 28; a fourth goat was not tested but is also assumed to have been infected. Based on information gathered on August 28, it was determined that no other animals on the farm pose a risk of rabies exposure to people. Learn about rabies Anyone who had contact with baby goats from the Farm Adventures mobile petting zoo either at their location in Harmony, North Carolina, or at an off-site event, between July 28 and Aug. 27, 2026, may have been exposed while the animals were infectious. Impacted individuals should contact their local health department to determine whether medications are needed to prevent infection. Individuals are encouraged to call before visiting an emergency department or urgent care clinic to determine if treatment is needed and where it can be accessed. Known potential exposure dates and locations include: July 28: Jurney’s Assisted Living, 1942 Van Haven Drive, Statesville in Iredell County July 30: Private event in Mecklenburg County Aug. 1: Community Connections Back-to-School Bash, Breeden Amphitheater, 333 S. Main St., Lexington in Davidson County Aug. 6: Brookdale Peachtree, 2806 Peachtree Road, Statesville in Iredell County Aug. 8: Private event in Watauga County Aug. 9: Private event in Burke County Aug. 15: Masonic Picnic Grounds, 201 Poplar St., Mocksville in Davie County Aug. 16: Private event in Durham County Aug. 22: Private event in Iredell County Aug. 23: Private event in Durham County Rabies is a deadly disease that can spread from wild animals to pets and people, primarily through a bite, scratch or when infected saliva touches broken skin or mucous membranes. Human rabies infections are extremely rare in the United States. No human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011. Rabies is almost always fatal in mammals, including people, unless medications to prevent infections are given before symptoms develop. Symptoms can begin weeks to months after someone is exposed. Early symptoms are flu-like illness including weakness, fever or headache as well as a prickling or itching sensation where someone was bitten or exposed. In 2025, over 4,000 animals were submitted to the NC State Laboratory of Public Health for rabies testing, and of these, approximately 6% tested positive. In North Carolina the disease most often occurs in wild animals especially skunks, raccoons, bats and foxes. Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Business People: Regions Hospital emergency department gets national recognition
HEALTH CARE Regions Hospital, St. Paul, announced its emergency department has earned a 2026 Lantern Award from the Emergency Nurses Association, the first Minnesota hospital to receive the national recognition. ADVERTISING/PUBLIC…
Man arrested after firing shot through Texarkana bar’s glass doors, police say
Early Saturday morning, August 29, around 2:55 a.m., officers with the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department responded to Whiskey River Bar and Grill, about a disturbance.
Laramie County health and food inspections (8/21/26–8/27/26)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department inspects restaurants, bars, convenience stores, delis, grocery stores, bed and breakfasts
Natrona County health and food inspections (8/21/26–8/27/26)
CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper-Natrona County Health Department inspects restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, mobile food units, commissaries and
University Computer Science department remains hopeful in the age of AI
According to National Student Clearinghouse, undergraduate enrollment in traditional information and computer science degrees at four-year institutions fell by 8.1 percent in the fall of 2025 compared to fall 2024.
Vermont’s population of primary care doctors is declining
A new Vermont Department of Health census gives a snapshot of a dwindling population of primary care docs and a steady increase of specialists statewide.
Health department hosts free recovery event to reduce stigma and link residents to service
Four baby goats at mobile petting zoo in North Carolina test positive for rabies
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the petting zoo held events involving children and elderly people between July 28 and Thursday.
Oklahoma health department warns of upgraded risk of salmonella contamination in guacamole dip
The Oklahoma State Department of Health is warning residents of an upgraded food recall involving a guacamole dip sold at Whole Foods stores in the state.
KY Health Department confirms potential measles exposure in Richmond, Olive Hill
According to the KY Department for Public Health, a potential measles exposure has been identified in Richmond and Olive Hill this week.
Body found behind Brookhaven business
A body was found behind Harbor Freight in Brookhaven Saturday afternoon. The Brookhaven Police Department and Lincoln County Coroner’s Office were actively working the scene at approximately 2 p.m. The […]
Fact File: Michael Zetterer
Leeds United have added great depth in the goalkeeping department with the signing of German goalkeeper Michael Zetterer.Providing competition for James Trafford, the 31-year-old arrives from Bundesli...
Firefighters investigating after fire breaks out overnight at Over-the-Rhine business
Firefighters with the Cincinnati Fire Department say that they responded to a call in Over-the-Rhine overnight.
Health alerts issued as cases of painful illness typically found in tropical countries spreads across Florida
A mosquito-borne virus commonly reported in tropical countries has been reported in Florida, with county health departments issuing alerts for local transmission.
Shelby County Health Department to host community care fair
The Shelby County Health Department will hold a Community Care Fair on Saturday to connect residents with health services.
Tancredo in Running for Dept. of Ed. Position
Forty-five years ago this week: “I know that my name has been placed before the Secretary of Education, and I know that I’m one of three or four being considered for the Department of Education’s Region 8,” said state Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Arvada. “But that’s all I know for sure.” Tancredo, a former manager of […]
Lane closures set on I-64 in Washington County
NASHVILLE — The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced that one lane in each direction of Interstate 64 will be closed between mile markers 45 and 55 near Nashville starting
Lindsay Clancy trial: Psychiatrist resigns after testimony
Dr. Avram Mack, a psychiatrist who worked in the behavioral health department with Nemours Children’s Health in Delaware, resigned Monday,
NYC health department announces 2 more deaths linked to Legionnaires' outbreak
Officials said there is no evidence of ongoing transmission.
Bentonville, Springdale hospitals become level III trauma centers
Joplin, Mo.-based Freeman Health System said its hospitals in Bentonville and Springdale have been designated as Level III trauma centers by the Arkansas Department of Health. A Freeman Health System...
Bentonville, Springdale hospitals become level III trauma centers
Joplin, Mo.-based Freeman Health System said its hospitals in Bentonville and Springdale have been designated as Level III trauma centers by the Arkansas Department of Health. A Freeman Health System...
Local health department reports human case of West Nile in Central Nebraska
The Grand Island-based Central District Health Department (CDHD) Friday reported the first human case of West Nile Virus (WNV) in the district.
Pennsylvania Department of Health reports 460 cases of measles in 31 counties
Death from measles, though rare, occurs in one to three patients per 1,000 cases, according to the press release.
Two dead, one injured in shooting at business in north Tulsa Friday morning
The Tulsa Police Department says two people are dead follwing a shooting at a business in north Tulsa.
DPH Confirms Four Additional Measles Cases in Georgia
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) has confirmed four additional cases of measles in the metro Atlanta area.
DePaul Is Leading. How Will Marquette Catch Up?
The Blue Demons have struck first in the Big East jersey patch department. What will the Golden Eagles do to match?
Photos: SUV crashes through doors of business in Rocky Ridge Plaza
Friday morning an SUV crashed through the doors at SwimRite, located in Rocky Ridge Plaza.The fire department confirmed there were no injuries.
Initiative brings Arizona cities and towns together to tackle shared challenges
Municipalities are inundated with data. Police and fire department activity, water usage, development permits, traffic incidents, pavement conditions and resident service requests generate a steady stream of information every day. The challenge is determining how to put that data to its best use to improve residents’ lives.
Chautauqua County Health Department warns residents about measles
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Chautauqua County Health Department is warning residents about measles cases spreading across Western New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Measles is highly contagious.…
RFK Jr.’s Health Department empowers political appointees like never before
Political roles are way up. Career staffing is way down, despite a push to hire after last year’s downsizing.
RFK Jr.’s Health Department empowers political appointees like never before
Political roles are way up. Career staffing is way down, despite a push to hire after last year’s downsizing.
Shapiro, Kennedy have war of words following 2 measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Health this week recorded its first two measles-associated deaths in 35 years, both in people who were unvaccinated. The agency declined to provide further details, saying it was protecting patient privacy.
Chautauqua County Health Department Alerts Residents to Measles Activity in Surrounding Areas
Photo Left: CCHD’s Mobile Health Vehicle; Photo Right: Child receiving immunization on Mobile Health Vehicle
Trump's Labor Department is reviving a push to expand health insurance access for gig workers
The agency has sent a draft rule to the White House that would broaden how associations can offer coverage to self-employed workers and small businesses
Florida health system settles Medicare Advantage fraud claims for $542M
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that Villages Health System self-reported the upcoding and fully cooperated with an investigation. The incidents occurred between 2020 and 2024.
Labor Department to propose expansion of association health plans, which could lower insurance costs for some workers
The agency has submitted a rule proposal to the White House that could allow more workers to get health insurance through association health plans.
Carteret County Health Department to host free Recovery Month event
MOREHEAD CITY, Carteret County — Carteret County is hosting a free community event Saturday, Aug. 29, in recognition of Recovery Month.The event is scheduled fr
Department experiments with adding ‘like’ button into radiology reporting workflows
Diagnostic radiologists rarely receive routine feedback from referring clinicians on the quality and value of their work, likely contributing to burnout and poor job satisfaction, experts write.
Rockin’ for Bay concert benefits sports program
The Rockin’ for Bay Music Festival is a fundraising effort taking place this Saturday in downtown Gladstone for the Bay College athletic department.
Two people with measles died in Pennsylvania. Misinformation and politics erupted.
The state Health Department said an infant’s death was associated with measles. The county coroner says the baby with measles died of a ruptured spleen.
The Literacy Crisis Reaches Dog-Bear Science
“New analysis of more than 300 bear encounters suggests our canine companions often increase odds of conflict and rarely serve as early warning systems many recreationists assume,” reads a subhead in Mountain Journal. The thing is, that study reaches no such conclusion. But you have to read beyond the abstract to understand that. Mountain Journal is not alone. Let’s look at a brief list of takeaways published elsewhere just to establish that none of them seem to know how to read science. Wes Siler’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Here’s CBC: “A new peer-reviewed study, The Canine Conundrum: Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country?, dug into conflicts similar to what the video depicts, by analyzing 326 reported human-bear conflicts from 1901 to 2023 involving dogs.” “The study found 54 per cent of conflicts were started by dogs. In the encounters researchers included in the study, five people and 56 dogs were killed, and 170 people were injured.” “Lana Ciarniello, an independent researcher who co-authored the study, said researchers found when a person goes hiking with at least one other person, the odds of a negative bear encounter decrease by 50 per cent.” “However, when a dog is involved, the chances of a negative bear encounter increase because ‘a dog really adds a chaotic factor into the mix of recreation,’ said Ciarniello.” Again, the study finds no data supporting that conclusion. “Hiking with your pet dog may make you feel safer in bear country—but a hiker’s recent encounter and a new study prove that the numbers don’t add up,” writes Backpacker, which is now part of Outside. The numbers don’t add up to support this take. There’s plenty more examples, but all are equally dumb, so I’ll stop there. How did so many people get this so wrong? Three reasons: 1) the study is published behind a paywall, with only the abstract freely available. 2) the methodology sets out to create work relevant to a hyper-specific audience, not the public. And 3) the dataset studied is almost absurdly limited and doesn’t bear (get it?!) comparison to wider information. Let’s work through all three. The Problem is Money I understand the irony, since I’m writing about this on a subscription-model newsletter, but information wants to be free. The study is published by The Wildlife Society and costs $16 to access. Reprinting it is specifically prohibited by the terms of use, so I can only share snippets and my conclusions with you here. Having worked as a journalist for 24 years, I can report with some authority that journalists are both lazy and cheap. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that much of the material you’re seeing written about this study is drawn from the freely-available abstract (above) only, and not a deep dive into its methodology or data. And that’s a problem, because abstracts are where researchers are able to break from their numbers and editorialize their opinions about conclusions. So what’s getting reported isn’t based on numbers, it’s based on an opinion designed for a specific audience, not the general public. Hell yeah ladies, kick that bear’s ass. The Methodology is Designed to Support a Predetermined Conclusion One of the biggest issues with the science that everyone likes to cite about bear spray’s efficacy is that no one understands that study was designed for a specific audience, looking for a specific answer. And since that audience is not the public, and our safety was not the question being asked, its conclusion is rendered irrelevant to our needs. Yes, I’m talking about Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska, which was created by Tom Smith and Stephen Herrero, two of the same scientists who put together this dog-bear conflict analysis. In the spray study, the purpose was to present relevant agencies with the information they needed to issue their field workers with bear spray. As such, incidents where people were unable to access the spray or similarly failed to get it deployed in time were excluded from the results, and only incidents they deemed successful were included. Could a ranger roll down their vehicle’s window and scare a bear away from a dumpster by spraying it? Turns out the answer was yes, and that was good enough for the purposes of that study. The sample size of actual bear attacks—the thing you and I would want bear spray to provide a solution to, was too small to draw conclusions from, and didn’t indicate success in that role. Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country? has similar limitations. “Insights provided here are intended to help wildlife managers create effective guidelines regarding the presence of domestic dogs in bear habitat,” is explained clearly by the study’s text. To conduct the study, Smith and Herrero went looking for publicly available reports of dog-bear conflicts: “All incidents included in our analysis involved at least one bear, one dog, and one person who was at immediate risk of injury (e.g., not in a protective structure such as a cabin or vehicle), injured, or killed,” explains the report’s methodology. Why is that a problem? “We recognize that data used in this study are biased in that people generally only report adverse interactions with bears, not benign ones. Consequently, we assume that for the most part, people and their dogs pass through bear country without incident.” As was the problem with the bear spray study, people are drawing conclusions here from a study that was never intended to be relevant to the general public. The Smith-Herrero database famously excludes Alaska’s Defense of Life and Property records, which are elsewhere considered the largest and most authoritative source on human-bear conflict. The Dataset is Absurdly Limited A 2009 study conducted by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife estimates that each year there are at least 43,000 documented complaints of human-bear conflict across North America. Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country? Examined those reports for years ranging from 1901 to 2023, and only managed to find 326 such incidents that met the criteria explained above. Let’s do some quick math, poorly. 43,000 incidents x 122 years = 5,246,000 total incidents of documented human-bear conflict. Smith and Herrero were only able to find 326 incidents that met their criteria for dog+human+bear+risk or occurrence of injury. That means there’s a 0.006 percent chance that the study’s conclusion—that dogs make bear encounters more dangerous—even gets a chance of occurring. And remember, that’s only in documented conflicts. There’s no way to know how many people across North America run into a bear in any given year without any conflict, but it’s probably safe to assume that the total number is well in excess of 43,000. And, dig deeper into the study and you can find further restrictions that skew its conclusions even more. “While the people involved in these incidents did not report the level of training their dogs had received, it is our assumption that most were untrained companion dogs as opposed to well-trained bear dogs, such as Karelians and livestock guardian breeds that have proven to be significant aids in bear country,” the study’s methodology explains. And that’s a problem, because an ongoing study here in Montana is finding that the simple presence of a Kangal like our youngest dog Teddy can reduce visits to private property from grizzly bears by 87.8 percent. In addition to being a badass, Teddy is also a companion animal. And in my admittedly limited sample size of the three dogs currently present in our living room, she’s no more effective than her mutt brothers. Plenty of people own a dog capable of deterring bears, even if they didn’t set out to own a bear dog. The real purpose of this study appears to be a recommendation that leashes are mandated and recreationists pursue training in their deterrent of choice. But that doesn’t make for sensational headlines. Are There Any Real Takeaways Here? Let’s throw some numbers around, just to try and get our hands around what the larger picture might look like for bears and dogs here. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 42.6 percent of American households own a dog. The Canadian Animal Health Institute says roughly 35 percent of households in Canuckistan own a dog. In an attempt to create the worst possible result for dogs, let’s run with that 35 percent number. And given that outdoorsy and rural people are more likely to both own a dog, and have bear encounters, let’s just make a giant assumption and apply that number to those 43,000 conflicts documented annually. If 35 percent of 43,000 human-bear encounters involve a dog, then we can assume that at least 15,050 dog-bear conflicts are occurring annually in North America. 15,050 x 122 = 1,836,100. Smith and Herrero were only able to find 326 incidents that met their human, dog, chance or occurrence of injury criteria across 122 years. And only 170 documented human injuries. So, with all the obvious caveats about these numbers in no way describing reality beyond narrow study parameters, what they actually found is that your risk of injury if your dog tangles with a bear is only 0.009 percent. I’ll take those odds next time I’m hiking my dogs in bear country. Top photo: “Superintendent Horace Albright, eating pancakes with bears, at Lake Lodge, Yellowstone National Park.” NPS. A journalist with more than two decades of experience working around the world, Wes Siler is here to cut through the outrage and disinformation to bring you the factual, insightful, actionable reporting you need to understand what’s going on. Upgrading to a paid subscription supports this reporting, and buys personal access to Wes, who will help you save money on gear, plan outdoor adventures, and prepare for real life, and who promises he’s less salty in real life than he sometimes comes across as on the Internet. Wes Siler’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. 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UAH Director of CSPAR, Dr. Gary Zank, Receives International COSPAR Space Science Award; Minor Planet Named in His Honor
A lifetime of probing the invisible forces that shape our solar system has earned a University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) researcher one of the highest honors in international space science, as well as an enduring place among the stars. Dr. Gary Zank, director of the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR) and a faculty member and former chair of the Department of Space at UAH, a part of The University of Alabama System, has received the 2026 Committee on Space Research (COSPA
Business U.S. 24 work begins next week
WASHINGTON – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced that pavement patching and resurfacing on Business U.S. 24 (McClugage Road...