Dr. K Drenner

Experts fear ‘unethical’ vaccine trial in Africa is ‘prototype’ for US studies under RFK Jr Danish researchers whose work on effects of vaccines has been called into question are at center of US vaccine policy

The whole story behind the proposed CDC funded Hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau from the Bandim Project continues to unfold.

What is described, frankly, are shocking “research” practices far outside normal ethical norms or conduct.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Americans Stranded in the Middle East Are Having a Hard Time Getting Help From the State Department “Please do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation,” a State department hotline said when NOTUS called Tuesday afternoon.

Americans in the Middle East calling the U.S. State Department hotline after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Americans to contact it were hearing an automated message saying, “Please do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation at this time.”

ICE confirms a measles outbreak in the nation's largest detention facility in Texas The agency said it's closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with public health authorities while the facility has been closed to visitors and attorneys.

At least 14 cases of measles have been confirmed at the nation’s largest ICE detention facility, an agency spokesperson told NBC News in a statement.

ICE confirms a measles outbreak in the nation's largest detention facility in Texas

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Kash Patel’s latest firings ousted agents with expertise in Iran The FBI director gutted a specialized, global espionage unit of counterintelligence agents, just days before Operation Epic Fury.

Patel "targeted an elite counter espionage unit that investigates threats from foreign adversaries and specializes in Iran" days before the US attacked Iran.
www.ms.now/news/kash-pa...

“Not Ready for Prime Time.” A Federal Tool to Check Voter Citizenship Keeps Making Mistakes. The Department of Homeland Security pushed out the revamped tool while it was still adding data. That led to widespread misidentification, particularly for citizens born outside the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security has had to correct information provided to at least five states after its SAVE voter tool misidentified some voters as noncitizens, according to correspondence between state and federal officials.

With @texastribune.org

‘What Black hair product is safe?’ | CNN Many people suffer from rashes or other negative reactions to hair used for braiding. Turns out that many hair extensions are full of known hazardous chemicals, which could be harmful to Black hair st...

Almost every Black woman or girl has purchased hair extensions for box braids, boho braids, twists, faux locs and other styles. The latest research shows that many of those extensions are full of known hazardous chemicals, which could be harmful to Black hair stylists and their clients.

Interviewer: "What's your take on how he's framing the economy?"
Me: "It's that he's lying."

Texas gave voter rolls to the DOJ so the DOJ could audit for voter fraud.

Wrong. Republican voters are now getting this mailing.

Trump Treasury official to exit after objecting to Minneapolis crackdown John Hurley’s exit follows internal disputes over the White House-backed push to target alleged fraud in the Somali community.

Breaking WaPo:

A top Trump Treasury official is leaving his post after privately raising objections to White House-backed plans to crack down on alleged fraud within the Somali immigrant community in Minnesota, according to seven people familiar with the matter.

Bleak Research Report Stokes A.I. Debate on Wall St. In a widely circulated note, Citrini Research painted a dire picture of job losses and stock market sell-offs, though many analysts and economists questioned its conclusions.

A report that described what would happen if A.I. upends white-collar work and the U.S. economy — saying well-paid professionals would be forced to become Uber drivers and miss mortgage payments — was cited as one factor fueling a decline in the S&P 500 on Monday.

AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations Leading AIs from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google opted to use nuclear weapons in simulated war games in 95 per cent of cases

Advanced AI models are willing to deploy nuclear weapons without the same reservations humans have when put in simulated war games. The scenarios involved intense international standoffs, including border disputes, competition for scarce resources, and existential threats to regime survival.

Love this. One of my followers—okay, his daughter who is finishing college—turned this shirt into a reality. You can buy it here: t3jw0w-g0.myshopify.com/products/vet...

(I have no relationship to the store, and don't profit. Gemini turned my idea into a design I love, and they've done the rest.)

Toxic Gaslighting: How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe Decades ago, Kris Hansen showed 3M that its PFAS chemicals were in people’s bodies. Her bosses halted her work. As the EPA now forces the removal of the chemicals from drinking water, she wrestles wit...

A horror story of greed, corporate deception and corruption, as well as failure of governments to hold the company to account for the toxins.
🧪 #PFAS #Pollution #3M #Environment #Toxicology
www.propublica.org/article/3m-f...

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents | Fortune Neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath said older generations “screwed up” giving students access to so much technology: “I genuinely hope Gen Z quickly figures that out and gets mad.”

Now THAT's a headline.

"The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents"

fortune.com/2026/02/21/l...

Trump to SCOTUS: ‘You better not take away my tariffs…’

SCOTUS:

Manitoba leads Canada in measles cases after Brandon superspeader event YouTube video by CBC News: The National

Manitoba is struggling to contain a measles outbreak made worse by a recent superspreader event at a large indoor farm show in Brandon.
Manitoba leads Canada in reported measles cases.
youtu.be/AysnPjqs7Ck

What Gives Me Hope Read more here.

Hope is not a promise. It is not a guarantee of success. It is the courage to act in the face of uncertainty. And right now, in this fragile moment for our democracy, it is the most important responsibility we share. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/what...

Judge Goodwin: "An anonymous government is no government at all. It cannot be held accountable. A masked agent freely uses force without justifying his actions, and the public cannot name him to challenge his conduct. A regime of secret policing has no place in our society."

HHS Casts Doubts On mRNA Products, But Funds Studies On Debunked Ideas It's conspicuous that HHS refuses to review Moderna's application for regulatory approval of an mRNA-based flu vaccine while it prioritizes research on debunked theories.

HHS Casts Doubts On mRNA Products, But Funds Studies On Debunked Theories www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

FDA’s rejection of Moderna threatens to stifle broader vaccine industry Experts say the FDA "moved the goalposts" on Moderna, creating "a destructive precedent that will undermine the future of vaccine development" in the U.S.

“I consider it an unprecedented action that really violates the basic principles of a data-driven regulatory agency and the fundamentals of public health, and it’s that simple…it’s a destructive precedent that will undermine the future of vaccine development and the preeminence of American research”

Study finds no link between COVID-19 vaccines and autism

“For people who are worried that taking the COVID vaccine during pregnancy may cause autism, the study is pretty clear, convincing evidence that it does not.”

www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/stu...

convergence of Trump policies is exponential escalation of the catastrophes he has unleashed

A diagram showing different colored humans. The title reads — There have been 646 measles cases confirmed in the current South Carolina outbreak (as of Jan 20, 2026) Red human — unvaccinated (563) Black human — unknown vaccination status (58) Blue human — partially vaccinated (12) Green human — fully vaccinated (13) Receiving both doses of the measles vaccine (MMR vaccine) is 97% effective at preventing measles.

Measles has one of the highest basic reproduction numbers (R₀) of any disease (12 to 18), meaning one infected person can spread it to 12 to 18 others in a fully susceptible population, making it extremely contagious. Need 95% vaccination status to achieve herd immunity. Get vaccinated!!

New evidence shows how discrimination shortens lives in Black communities Researchers linked higher inflammation levels to decades of stress, including discrimination and economic hardship.

wapo.st/3LzWXzD

Aaron Parnas

This was foreseeable.

EPA Will Stop Calculating the Economic Savings to Health in Key Air Pollution Rules Environmental advocates called the agency's action a dangerous abdication of its missions

EPA Will Stop Calculating the Economic Savings to Health in Key Air Pollution Rules www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...

America's Economic Future Under Trump: Bill O'Reilly Debates a Former Obama Economist Dr. Betsey Stevenson, former Chief Economist for the Department of Labor under former President Obama, joins the No Spin News to talk about the essence of capitalism and Trump’s claims that the…

My son watched his mom in an interview/conversation with Bill O'Reilly, and just commented "he's trying to mansplain capitalism to an economist." www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi6H...

11/ That’s your weekly Dose, you’re all caught up for the week!
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Love,
The YLE Team 💖

A study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...