National, Regional and Local News

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[Owendonovan]

He'll be joining congestion pricing if he keeps it up. There's enough nuts with guns in this country, 2 have already tried.

[skatingfan]

ColdFusion is an Australian based YouTube channel that focuses on technology, and business.

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Go to fednews
r/fednews

Shrink_Rae
emoji:VA_seal:
VA

Video of chainsaw & sunglasses related to firing fed workers
I just saw the video of E Lawn celebrating his firing of federal workers by running around waving a chain saw with sun glasses on. The richest person on earth, celebrating making working class families unemployed by waving around a chainsaw. People are cheering. I don’t know how to put my emotions into words other than that I feel defeated & sad. How has it come to this?

[Owendonovan]

How has it come to this?

Internet, Social Media, and religious propaganda.

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[Owendonovan]

AKA Child abuse.

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By AJ Dellinger Published February 21, 2025 |

Look, sure it’s not ideal that decisions that the federal government is being gutted agency by agency, stripped of purpose, funding, and staffing by Elon Musk and a team of 20-something-year-old edgelords who were sourced from a network of tech bro crypto-fascists and boost the messaging of white nationalists in their free time, but at least none of them are directly related to anyone deeply involved in the intelligence apparatus of a foreign adversary. Now, let me take a big sip of water and check out journalist Jacob Silverman’s latest report…

So, you know that DOGE staffer who goes by “Big Balls,” otherwise known as 19-year-old Edward Coristine—an alleged former member of online cybercriminal organization The Com and a cybersecurity worker who reportedly got fired from his job for leaking company secrets? Well, turns out there’s another layer to his dubious background. According to independent journalist Jacob Silverman, Coristine is the grandson of Valery Martynov, a former KGB spy.

Per Silverman’s research, Martynov was an officer in the technical espionage division of the Russian intelligence agency back in 1980, when he was sent to the United States to serve as an undercover agent at the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C. About two years into his stay, Martynov got flipped by the FBI and started to feed the US government Soviet secrets.

Martynov was eventually identified as compromised by KGB counterintelligence officer Victor Cherkashin, who had himself successfully developed sources within the US intelligence agencies. In order to get Martynov back to Russia without him suspecting that he was found out, Cherkashin was asked to escort another Soviet spy back home (it’s a long story that Silverman explains in detail). As soon as the plane touched down, Martynov was arrested and ultimately executed.

His widow eventually moved to the United States permanently, where she and her children would settle, marry, and have kids—including Edward.

Edward started at DOGE working on the General Services Administration, where he reportedly would call employees to make them explain code they had written and justify their jobs, according to Wired. Earlier this month, he was named a “senior adviser” in the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Technology, where a significant amount of sensitive data related to American diplomatic operations is stored. The Washington Post reported that his role could give him the ability to obtain “unauthorized access to classified material and to compromising information on other countries and foreign activities.”

So anyway, a former KGB agent’s grandkid who seemingly did not have to undergo a background check has unprecedented access to sensitive State Department data. That’s just a thing that is happening now. Is it a big deal? I have no idea. It’s just one of those details that you hear and you’re like, “Yeah that sounds like a likely thing to happen with these guys.”

https://gizmodo.com/doge-staffer-known- ... 2000567020

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PBS News‬ ‪@pbsnews.bsky.social‬
·
11m
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 90 cases across seven counties, the state health department posted online Friday, and 16 people are hospitalized.

Measles is a highly contagious disease. Here’s what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles.

First confirmed case of measles in Chicago is 8th in state this year, health officials say
By —
Devi Shastri, Associated Press

Health Feb 22, 2025 6:28 PM EST
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 90 cases across seven counties, the state health department posted online Friday, and 16 people are hospitalized.

In neighboring eastern New Mexico, the measles case count is up to nine, though state public health officials said Thursday there’s still no evidence this outbreak is connected to the one in Texas.

Measles is a highly contagious disease. Here’s what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles, as well as what’s happening in Texas and New Mexico.

Where are measles spreading?
The West Texas cases are concentrated in Gaines County, which has 57 infections, and Terry County, north of Gaines, where there are now 20 confirmed cases.

Dawson County, to the east of Gaines, was new to the count with six. Yoakum County has four and Lubbock, Lynn and Ector counties have a case each.

WATCH: Measles outbreak raises concerns about drop in vaccinations

Texas state health department data shows the vast majority of cases are among people younger than 18: 26 in kids younger than 4 and 51 in kids 5-17 years old. Ten adults have measles and three cases are “pending” an age determination. The Ector County Health Department told the Odessa American its case was in a child too young to be vaccinated.

State health officials have said this outbreak is Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years. Health department spokeswoman Lara Anton said last week that cases have been concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community — especially among families who attend small private religious schools or are homeschooled.

In New Mexico, all of the cases are in Lea County, which borders Gaines County in Texas. The state health department has said people may have been exposed at a grocery store, an elementary school, a church, Nor-Lea Hospital and a Walgreens in Hobbs, New Mexico.

What is measles?
Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most kids will recover from the measles if they get it, but infection can lead to dangerous complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

Is the vaccine safe?
Yes, the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and highly effective in preventing measles infection and severe cases of the disease.

The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. The vaccine series is required for kids before entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide.

READ MORE: Measles cases are rising in the U.S. Here’s why misinformation about the vaccine persists today

Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, the U.S. saw some 3 million to 4 million cases per year. Now, it’s usually fewer than 200 in a normal year.

There is no link between the vaccine and autism, despite a now-discredited study and health disinformation.

Why do vaccination rates matter?
In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95 percent — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”

But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.

The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60. Five years earlier, measles cases were the worst in almost three decades in 2019.

Gaines County has one of the highest rates in Texas of school-aged children who opt out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14 percent of K-12 children in the 2023-24 school year. Health officials say that number is likely higher because it doesn’t include many children who are homeschooled and whose data would not be reported.

What are public health officials doing to stop the spread?

Health workers are hosting regular vaccination clinic and screening efforts in Texas, as well as working with schools to educate people about the importance of vaccination and offering shots.

New Mexico health officials are also hosting several vaccination clinics in Hobbs next week.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/wha ... rise-to-90

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Fox 59
Telehealth will soon no longer be covered by Medicare
Claire Curry
1 day ago
INDIANAPOLIS — If you or someone you love is on Medicare, there are some changes to healthcare access you need to know about.

Telehealth phone and video visits will no longer be covered for certain patients. Telehealth services will still allow for the disabled, elderly and immunocompromised to be seen by a doctor through a phone or video call.


This also applies to those in rural areas, where medical centers are few and far between.

“Countless Indianapolis residents and Hoosier residents across the state absolutely rely on Medicare and Telehealth,” said Democratic Representative Andre Carson. “It makes these services more accessible. It makes them more cost-effective and cheaper.”

In December 2024, Congress set a deadline when Telehealth would be eliminated from Medicare coverage.

However, Republicans and Democrats agreed on a spending package to extend the benefits until around now.

Medicare-covered patients are noticing changes to the website, indicating the federal policy will change on April 1.

Appointments after this date will likely be rescheduled for in person.

“I have to be very clear, I absolutely oppose any cuts to Medicare, this includes telehealth,” said Carson.

Carson said he believes this system expands access to primary care.

“Healthcare should not only be a priority, it should be paramount, and all Americans should have access to health care,” he said.

The change will affect patients but will also likely affect medical centers with a rise in in-person appointments.

“This is going to be disruptive to hospitals,” said Carson. “It’s going to interfere in their ecosystem, and I think it’s so unfortunate.”

FOX59/CBS4 reached out to several other representatives about their reaction to this.

Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz also weighed in on the topic.

“Congress should make the Medicare telehealth flexibilities permanent to improve access and value for seniors,” said Spartz. “It should also eliminate abuses by some large hospitals over-billing Medicare and costing taxpayers billions of dollars.”

There are a few exceptions to the benefits change.

The Medicare website states that patients who are not in a rural healthcare setting can still get certain services like mental health treatment.

Representative Carson added that there is still a chance for another extension. To learn more about the changes to Medicare coverage, click here. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth


https://fox59.com/news/telehealth-will- ... icare/amp/

[ponchi101]

Here’s what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles.

Get.
Vaccinated.
(expletive) full stop.