National, Regional and Local News

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https://nypost.com/2025/02/12/us-news/n ... skyrocket/

Video at the link

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Robert Kennedy Jr. named director of the HHS.
Next: Chicken Little named head of NASA.

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The first pic looks like Canal Street (Chatham Square?) in NYC's China Town.

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Catherine Rampell
‪@crampell.bsky.social‬

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On Friday night, HHS ordered CDC to take down all flu vaccine campaign materials from its website. Materials are starting to come down.
For example, a campaign explaining that flu shot can reduce flu severity from "wild to mild" is now offline. Left image is from Friday, right is now (top and bottom here)

Meanwhile...





Per source, they also fired 18 contractors this week just from the flu division who work on data and communications, 4 from the comms team.
This is also the primary division handling bird flu.

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They really don't care which or how many people die. The gullible will go first I suppose.

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A team from SpaceX is being brought in to overhaul FAA’s air traffic control system

The visit comes after a union representing FAA workers says hundreds are being laid off.

by Andrew J. Hawkins

Feb 17, 2025, 2:37 PM EST

Andrew J. Hawkins
Andrew J. Hawkins is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.

A team from Elon Musk’s SpaceX is visiting the Air Traffic Control Command Center in Virginia Monday to help overhaul the system in the wake of last month’s deadly air disaster in Washington, DC, US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced. The news comes after CNN reported that the Federal Aviation Administration fired hundreds of probationary employees who maintain critical air traffic control infrastructure.

The exact number of workers losing their jobs is unknown, but the union representing them said it was in the “hundreds.” The Trump administration is in the process of trying to eliminate thousands of federal employees as it works with Congressional Republicans on a massive tax cutting bill that is said to favor mostly corporations and the Congressional Republicans on a massive tax cutting bill that is said to favor mostly corporations and the wealthy.

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is playing a key role in the mass terminations from his perch at the Department of Government Efficiency. And as critics have noted, Musk’s status as a major government contractor — mostly through his company SpaceX — represents a massive conflict of interest that both he and President Donald Trump have repeatedly attempted to downplay.

In a post on X, Duffy said the team from SpaceX went to Virginia to “get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.” Previously, Duffy said that Musk’s DOGE team would “plug in” to the FAA to help “upgrade our aviation system.”

Duffy also dismissed criticism about opening the door to a Musk-led team to another sensitive area of the federal government. “Because I know the media (and Hillary Clinton) will claim Elon’s team is getting special access, let me make clear that the @FAANews regularly gives tours of the command center to both media and companies,“ Duffy said. (Clinton has previously criticized the DOGE team’s lack of experience.)

The FAA is under heightened scrutiny three weeks after a midair collision over the Potomac River resulted in the deaths of 67 people. The tragedy highlighted shortages of air traffic controllers as well as congestion at major hubs like Ronald Reagan National Airport. The FAA has fielded hundreds of complaints from air traffic workers describing dangerous conditions from staff shortages to dilapidated buildings. And the agency itself lacked a permanent head at the time of the crash — mostly because Musk had a hand in ousting the last administrator after the FAA fined SpaceX for failing to submit safety data.

Duffy’s post doesn’t mention Musk’s role in the ouster, nor the hundreds of workers who were just laid off. CNN says the probationary employees were likely targeted because they’ve been employed for less than a year and lack the right to appeal.

“This draconian action will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin,” David Spero, National President of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO, said in a statement. “This decision did not consider the staffing needs of the FAA, which is already challenged by understaffing.”

https://www.theverge.com/news/614078/fa ... rge_social

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Federal layoffs surprise Nebraska cattle research center, sparking concern from cattlemen
by Steve White Mon, February 17th 2025 at 4:11 PM
Updated Mon, February 17th 2025 at 4:38 PM

CLAY CENTER, Neb. — Federal layoffs have struck the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in central Nebraska, leaving several scientists who work with cattle and pigs without jobs. The move has sparked confusion and concern among those in Nebraska agriculture.

"It's the largest research center of its kind in the world. We just can't emphasize enough how important the work they do there is for the beef cattle industry. They've been revolutionary on so many things. It certainly is a concern for us to hear statements about people being let go," said Laura Field, executive vice president of the Nebraska Cattlemen.

The U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, operational 365 days a year, focuses on improving production practices for farmers and ranchers by raising cattle, pigs, and sheep. Multiple sources have confirmed that several scientists have been laid off, though the exact number remains unclear. The center has not responded to inquiries regarding the layoffs.

The layoffs come in the wake of President Donald Trump's recent announcement to reduce the federal workforce. The Department of Agriculture stated it is "pursuing an aggressive plan to optimize its workforce by eliminating positions that are no longer necessary, bringing its workforce back to the office, and relocating employees out of the National Capital region into our nation’s heartland to allow our rural communities to flourish."

In the case of USMARC, the facility comprises tens of thousands of acres with livestock on site.

"They've done work on bovine respiratory disease, they've done things to reduce sudden beef cattle deaths due to congenital heart failure, dramatically improved food tests for salmonella so we know we're having safe products, improvements to heifer fertility which is hugely important in production operations and of course leading the evaluation of beef cattle feed efficiency," Field said.

Congressman G.T. Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, toured the facility in 2021.

"It's pretty incredible," he told NTV at the time. His visit was seen as a positive sign, but now Congress is expected to hear from Nebraskans concerned about the cuts.

Field said her association, the Nebraska Cattlemen, has been in contact with the state's Congressional delegation.

"Nebraska is the number one beef exporting state in the nation and we feel very, very tied to USMARC but the center is about more than just Nebraska. It is a revolutionary place for beef cattle research in the world," Field said.

Sources indicate that the layoffs at the research center targeted probationary employees. The facility, which has been conducting long-term research on cattle genetics for over 60 years, is now facing questions about its future viability. The University of Nebraska provides the operations staff responsible for animal care, but the center's long-term sustainability is uncertain.

"The industry would definitely not be the place it is now without the work they've done there," Field said.

In addition to the research center, other USDA agencies, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service, are reportedly experiencing staff reductions.

https://nebraska.tv/news/local/federal- ... g-concerns

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Throwing paper towels goes up a level

nobadlinks
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3m ago
Headline is also (expletive). Proposal is checks to tax paying households, which would exclude lowest earners/poorest as well as anyone not making enough to file.

Adventurous-Case6436
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3m ago
If they did anything like this, it would be to cool things down.

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The unlawful RIFs are coming. Here’s what we should do to prepare:

ETA for clarification: I am not referring to the unlawful termination of probationary employees that is currently happening. This administration’s next goal is to unlawfully terminate employees with tenure under the guise of a RIF.

Some people in my department have started receiving termination letters that say something along the lines of, “The skills of this employee no longer align with the policies of the current administration” instead of the “poor performance” language used in others.

This is language you would see with a RIF, but like everything else this administration has done, they’re going to go about RIFs unlawfully.

This document provides a good overview of how RIFs are conducted lawfully and within the bounds of the USC: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12908

Things of note:

OPM can only provide guidance for RIF procedures, they cannot carry out RIFs themselves or tell agencies they need to conduct RIFs. To that point:

Only individual agencies can determine if RIFs are necessary.

RIFs cannot be used for conduct or performance-related reasons.

RIFs must adhere to collective bargaining agreements.

Employees affected by RIFs must be given 60 full days notice before being separated.

RIF documentation must provide reasons for the action, its effective date, and how to appeal to the MSPB.

If more than 50 employees will be RIFed from the same agency, the agency has to notify the state government.

There’s a whole lot more to the process. Arm yourself with knowledge. Don’t be afraid to demand documentation, delay the process as long as possible, and make it clear you will appeal whether the RIF is lawful or not.

A Reduction in Force is just that — a slow, targeted reduction when agencies decide certain expertise is no longer needed.

It cannot lawfully be used for rushed, mass terminations. Stay strong, everyone.

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