U.S. Right to Know

NIH files reveal broader coronavirus engineering research before COVID-19 Scientists across multiple U.S.-funded projects proposed altering spike proteins and cleavage sites in bat viruses.

Two new stories:

NIH files reveal broader coronavirus engineering research before COVID-19
usrtk.org/covid-19-ori...

Emails show Wuhan scientist suggested hand-carrying research antibodies to China
usrtk.org/covid-19-ori...

Both stories via
@lewiskamb.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social

The CIA continues to stonewall our #FOIA lawsuit for the CIA’s latest assessment of the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, and supporting materials. This is not the “maximum transparency” the American people were promised.
Here is our report to the court.
usrtk.org/wp-content/u...

How to explain glyphosate hypocrisy? Bayer's lobbying and revolving door - Food Politics by Marion Nestle To understand why RFK Jr backtracked on doing something about glyphosate, see the Bayer Lobby Tracker developed by US Right to Know.

How to explain glyphosate hypocrisy? Bayer’s lobbying and revolving door.
Via @marionnestle.bsky.social
www.foodpolitics.com/2026/03/how-...

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to back Bayer again, aided by officials who came from Bayer’s law firms The Trump administration yesterday urged the Supreme Court to side with the German pesticide company Bayer in a high-stakes legal case.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to back Bayer again, aided by officials who came from Bayer’s law firms
Via @usrighttoknow.bsky.social @stacymalkan.bsky.social
usrtk.org/pesticides/t...

Air pollution tied to brain aging, memory loss later in life, study finds Older adults exposed to high air pollution in the early 2000s had worse memory in 2011 — even after air quality improved, a new study has found.

Air pollution tied to brain aging, memory loss later in life, study finds.
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/a...

Tracing Bayer’s ties to power in Trump’s Washington From lobby firms to top officials, a look at how Bayer built access and secured favors from Trump's Washington.

Bayer has secured a string of favors from the Trump administration. What's going on? We looked at the German pesticide and pharmaceutical giant, its lobby firms and their ties to power players in Trump's Washington. Here's what we found: usrtk.org/pesticides/t...

One exposure. Twenty generations later, the damage is still unfolding A single exposure to a toxic agricultural fungicide during pregnancy can echo through 20 generations, with inherited disease risks worsening over time.

One exposure. Twenty generations later, the damage is still unfolding.
"A single exposure to a toxic agricultural fungicide during pregnancy can echo through 20 generations — with inherited disease risks..."
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/o...

Trump Order Aims to Boost Weedkiller Targeted in Health Lawsuits

We need not poison ourselves to produce our nation's food. And it is absurd to invoke national defense to perpetuate the poisoning.

Trump Order Aims to Boost Weedkiller Targeted in Health Lawsuits. Via @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...

Promoting the National Defense by Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Elemental Phosphorus and Glyphosate-Based Herbicides By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Defense Production Act of 1950, Every child deserves a safe and nurturing hom...

Trump's latest affront to MAHA, and a sweetheart favor to the pesticide industry: invoking the Defense Production Act to support the manufacturing of glyphosate.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

'Safe' BPA substitutes tied to fertility damage, fetal harm, and generational effects, review finds Chemicals that replace the controversial plastic additive bisphenol A (BPA) may disrupt fertility, fetal development, and reproductive health.

‘Safe’ BPA substitutes tied to fertility damage, fetal harm, and generational effects, review finds
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/b...

Energy Department's lab-leak pivot likely not driven by new intelligence, records suggest Newly released DOE records suggest the agency's reported 2023 shift in a COVID origins assessment was likely a clarification, not a new conclusion.

Energy Department’s lab-leak pivot likely not driven by new intelligence, records suggest
Via @lewiskamb.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/covid-19-ori...

Nanoplastics sneak into brain cells, disrupting puberty and fertility hormones, new study finds Tiny plastic particles reduced hormone levels, slowed cell movement, and altered genes required for reproductive health in brain cells, a new study shows.

Nanoplastics found in food, water, and air may disrupt brain cells that control puberty and fertility, new research shows. Scientists warn plastic pollution could play a role in delayed puberty and infertility. More in USRTK’s Healthwire. usrtk.org/healthwire/n...

Nanoplastics sneak into brain cells, disrupting puberty and fertility hormones, new study finds Tiny plastic particles reduced hormone levels, slowed cell movement, and altered genes required for reproductive health in brain cells, a new study shows.

Nanoplastics sneak into brain cells, disrupting puberty and fertility hormones, new study finds
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/n...

"Express federal preemption of state food safety laws would be unprecedented, contrary to the shared federal-state power to protect public health and safety..."
Via @jama.com
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

FDA to reassess the safety of BHA, a preservative used in popular snack foods Federal health officials will reassess the safety of a chemical called BHA used in foods including potato chips, cereals, frozen meals and meat products. The U.S.

Good news, even if years (or decades) too late:
FDA to reassess the safety of BHA, a preservative used in popular snack foods
Via @apnews.com
apnews.com/article/fda-...

Contentious Herbicide Is Greenlit in a Blow to the MAHA Agenda

Here's the Trump administration's latest sweetheart favor to the pesticide industry.
Contentious Herbicide Is Greenlit in a Blow to the MAHA Agenda
Via @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/c...

Defense Intelligence Agency considered lab leak scenario in March 2020, new records show Newly released FOIA records show the Defense Intelligence Agency evaluated a detailed COVID lab-origin scenario tied to a Wuhan lab in March 2020.

Defense Intelligence Agency considered lab leak scenario in March 2020, new records show
Via @lewiskamb.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/covid-19-ori...

EPA set to reapprove dicamba, an herbicide previously banned by courts A draft EPA statement obtained by The Post acknowledges concerns from some growers and environmentalists.

Here's today's way you can tell that the Trump administration is in the pocket of the pesticide industry.
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Our fact sheet on dicamba.
usrtk.org/pesticides/d...

Pacifiers, even those labeled “BPA-free,” expose babies to toxic chemical, study finds Pacifiers—even "BPA-free" ones—can release bisphenol A, a chemical linked to hormone disruption and developmental problems, a new study shows.

"Pacifiers can release bisphenol A, a chemical linked to hormone disruption and developmental problems, with the highest levels found in one marketed as “BPA-free,” a new study shows."
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/p...

When profit kills: How private equity is eroding health care Peer-reviewed studies link private equity takeovers to more deaths and medical complications in nearly every corner of healthcare.

A growing wave of peer-reviewed studies supports the same troubling conclusion: When private equity incentives collide with clinical care, patients – especially those who are sicker, poorer, or harder to treat – are more likely to be killed or harmed. usrtk.org/healthwire/w... #healthwire

When profit kills: How private equity is eroding health care Peer-reviewed studies link private equity takeovers to more deaths and medical complications in nearly every corner of healthcare.

When profit kills: How private equity is eroding health care
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/w...

Some ultra-processed foods are as addictive as cigarettes and cocaine Ultra-processed foods are industrially formulated with added sugar, additives and flavorings to be highly rewarding and even addictive.

Big Food brands were once owned by the world’s largest tobacco firms - and evidence shows they are using the same tactics to formulate and market food products that they used to get people hooked on cigarettes. usrtk.org/ultra-proces...

Ultra-processed foods tied to cancer, diabetes, dementia, depression, early death, and more Hundreds of scientific studies show that ultra-processed foods are linked to early death and serious diseases, including cancer, diabetes, dementia, obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression, liver ...

Why "highly processed foods" are a major public health problem. We're tracking the science here. usrtk.org/ultra-proces...

‘Ubiquitous’ flame retardants are linked to higher heart disease risks, major review finds Flame-retardant chemicals widely used in furniture, electronics and textiles are increasingly linked to heart disease, a new study shows.

Ubiquitous’ flame retardants are linked to higher heart disease risks, major review finds.
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/f...

Ultra-processed foods damage health in ways that calories don't explain, new study says Ultra-processed foods may harm health because of what they contain but also how they are manufactured to promote overconsumption and maximize profits.

Ultra-processed foods damage health in ways that calories don’t explain, new study says.
Food additives, packaging chemicals, and processing methods may drive disease risk, even as food safety rules fail to catch up.
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/h...

These kitchen items may be contaminating your food with chemicals See the thousands of plastic chemicals in what we eat.

See the thousands of plastic chemicals in what we eat. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

China banned it, but still sells controversial weed killer in America Despite being banned in China, a dangerous pesticide that endangers farmworkers is flowing from Chinese manufacturers into the United States.

China banned it, but still sells controversial weed killer in America.
Via @rosekellywhite.bsky.social @mlive.com
www.mlive.com/news/2025/12...

Is RFK Jr. backing Big Food's drive to overturn tough new state laws? Is Bobby Kennedy Jr. changing his position on tough new state food safety laws to back the ultra-processed food industry?

Is RFK Jr. backing Big Food’s drive to overturn tough new state laws?
Via @usrighttoknow.bsky.social @stacymalkan.bsky.social
usrtk.org/ultra-proces...

Social media fuels smoking and vaping among children, especially girls, study shows The more time teens spend on social media, the higher their risk of using cigarettes or e-cigarettes — and potentially developing serious health problems.

Social media fuels smoking and vaping among children, especially girls, study shows.
Via @pamelawrites.bsky.social @usrighttoknow.bsky.social
usrtk.org/healthwire/s...

How Coca-Cola’s Calories-Out Myth Backfired Spectacularly The soda giant astroturfed a campaign meant to shift blame from sugar to sedentary lifestyles. Instead, it sparked a PR nightmare.

"U.S. Right to Know, a nonprofit that did yeoman’s work in finding documents through Freedom of Information Act requests..." Great exposé by @mitpress.bsky.social on Coca Cola's "audacious scheme" to keep soda profits flowing thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-coca-col...