Kathleen Howley

Good morning #BlueSky 😁💙

Me at the gym. 😂

Trump officials quietly move to reverse bans on toxic ‘forever chemicals’ EPA bids to change chemical risk evaluations, which could expose public to higher levels of PFAS and other pollutants

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

the Dow is down more than 1,100 points (!) since opening 5 minutes ago

It's getting a lot of attn today. But even before today most of the country had very little idea of what has happened at NIH or through it the entire ecosystem of biomedical research in the US. Simply put, Musk, Kennedy & Trump exploded a bomb right in the middle of cancer cure research in the US.

Elon sucks.

Let’s use our words this weekend.

Fed's Collins says it is clear tariffs will drive inflation up near term Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said on Thursday that Trump administration tariffs will drive up U.S. inflation but it is unclear how persistent that upward pressure will be.

Boston Fed chief Susan Collins: “It looks inevitable that tariffs are going to increase inflation in the near term.”

Update: Lumber Prices Up 15% YoY This is something to watch again. Here is another monthly update on lumber prices. SPECIAL NOTE: The CME group discontinued the Random Len...

Update: Lumber Prices Up 15% YoY www.calculatedriskblog.com/2025/03/upda...

A really powerful WWII era "don't be a sucker" piece, that explains how authoritarians have to separate and destroy groups of people so they can take power. I don't usually watch anything this long (22 min) but couldn't stop watching once I started this.

Meanwhile Paul, Weiss has announced its rebranding to Neville, Chamberlain.

The Trump administration’s new restrictions on mRNA research funding will hinder development of mRNA-based cancer treatments.

I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky

This reads like a horror story

Trump Says a Recession Would Be Worth It, but Economists Are Skeptical (Gift Article) President Trump and his advisers say his policies may cause short-term pain but will produce big gains over time. Many economists are skeptical of those arguments.

“The idea of short-term pain for long-term gain is not a crazy idea in and of itself,” said Greg Mankiw, Harvard economist and former G.W. Bush CEA chair. But Mr. Trump’s trade policies are “short-term pain to get more long-term pain.” via @bencasselman.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/b...

When there is uncertainty, lenders get persnickety about lending money.

And yes that’s an #econsky official term

Introducing my next foster dog, Dominic! He's 1-year old, weighs 14 lbs, and has already stolen my heart.

A kindergartner’s hopes for beating cancer are tied to federal grants now on the chopping block | CNN A family whose 6-year-old is battling cancer says a move to slash funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research at universities and medical centers would be “devastating.”

cutting pediatric cancer research…

www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/h...

Oh so this was the red wave y’all were talking about

Lutnick Remarks on Removing Government Spending in GDP Data Raises Fears (Gift Article) Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, suggested government spending should be excluded from data about U.S. economic output.

Comments from Howard Lutnick, the secretary of Commerce, and Elon Musk have renewed concerns that the Trump administration could interfere with federal economic statistics.
with @colbylsmith.bsky.social #EconSky
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/b...

We’re witnessing a Brexit-level instance of completely unnecessary economic destruction. A country that’s not hit by any shock, but simply chooses policy self-harm.

The last time America increased tariffs like this, it was 1930 — and it triggered the Great Depression.

Even after the deletions, DOGE's data still contains errors.

It still, for instance, claims credit for saving $53 million by cancelling a Coast Guard contract....which ended in 2005.

If you worked for 18F and got fired, Group together to start a consulting company.

It’s just a matter of time before DOGE needs you to fix the mess they inevitably create.

They will have to hire your company as a contractor to fix it. But on your terms.

I’m happy to invest and/or help

Opinion | Here’s the real threat to ‘personal liberties and free markets’ The rapidly spreading authoritarianism coming from this administration threatens all of our freedoms.

Dana Milbank's column on personal liberty and free markets in WaPo today:
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

It's an idea worth considering: "Law, but for rich people."

Please enjoy my last ever post at Climate.gov/ENSO Blog. This afternoon I was fired by the Trump Administration 15 days before my 2yr probationary period ended on March 13.
I have worked at NOAA since 2010, and I'm so incredibly proud of the work I did. If anyone wants a quote, let me know.

In 1915, at 23, chemist Alice Ball developed a treatment for leprosy. She died the next year & her graduate advisor took credit for her work. The doctor she’d worked with at Kalihi Hospital did his best to credit her but her contribution wasn’t recognized for decades. A brilliant life cut short.

In Defense of Snow Days Inconvenient? Yep. Unpredictable? Sure. Disruptive? Yes. But a snow day is also a minor civic miracle, and we ought to treat it as such.

This sense of reprieve, of the suspension of predictable rules, is the most important reason we should extend the benison of snow days instead of taking them from children." ICYMI, Clare Coffey on the necessity of snow days: