The price of eggs in the US is spiking, mostly due to #H5N1 bird flu. Solving the problem requires urgent, important communications from the CDC & FDA* and rapid development of research by the NIH** * Currently paused by Executive Order ** Grant reviews now all canceled

KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR

Egg prices are soaring again. Here’s why and what to expect

Bird flu has killed millions of hens in recent weeks, shrinking the supply of eggs and hiking up prices at grocery stores.

The above was originally posted by Katie Mack on Bluesky My own commentary: And it's not just about the price of eggs. The strain of H5N1 that has been surging on poultry farms is far more dangerous than the strain infecting cattle. Mortality in humans is closer to 50%. If this strain evolves P2P transmission, the effects could be devastating. The public, scientists, epidemiologists, doctors and hospitals need timely information. Withdrawal from the WHO only exacerbates the challenges of preventing and/or fighting major disease outbreaks, as the U.S. was providing a major chunk of that organization's funding. And withdrawal from the organization could impair communication and collaboration between U.S. and international scientists and health agencies. Meanwhile, there actually is a vaccine already available for H5N1 that we know is effective for birds. However, it has not yet been confirmed effective for humans and, by the end of the year, there'll only be enough for a few million people, nowhere near enough for the >300 million people, just in the U.S. Seems unlikely that the vaccine research and production would increase with RFK Jr at the helm of HHS. Great work from the "anti-censorship" and "free speech" president. #H5N1 #birdflu #avianflu #pandemic #PublicHealth #trump #rfk #vaccine #censorship #FreeSpeech #science #cdc #nih #who

Of course they don't see, hear, or say anything...fascism is still great for business. Hell, Mark Zuckerberg completely changed FB's policies so he could benefit financially from Trump's reign (rather than being attacked by him). Same with Bezos, and the WaPo. And with so many other business owners. #fascism #trump #bezos #wapo #zuckerberg #facebook #business

Today in Labor History January 24, 1961: A B-52 bomber, carrying three 4-megaton Mark 39 nuclear bombs, broke up in mid-air, dropping its nuclear payload over North Carolina. Five crewmen successfully bailed out of the aircraft and landed safely. Another ejected, but did not survive the landing. Two others died in the crash. Each of the bombs had more than 250 times the destructive power of the Hiroshima bomb. Each one was large enough to create a 100% kill zone within an 8.5 miles radius. A supervisor of nuclear safety at Sandia National Laboratories said that "one simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe." However, there is evidence that the switch of at least one of the bombs was set to ARM. No one knows why none of them exploded. And while the authorities were able to recover the uranium core from two of the bombs, one of them is still lost somewhere in North Carolina. For a truly terrifying look at just how many times we were just a hair trigger away from a major nuclear accident, read Eric Schlosser’s “Command and Control.” Also consider that we are currently in a massive resurgence of the nuclear arms race, with potential flashpoints in Ukraine, Israel, China, and Iran. #nuclear #atomic #bomb #NorthCarolina #missile #coldwar #hiroshima #EricSchlosser #nonfiction #books #author #writer #russia #ukraine #china #israel #iran #palestine @npub1wceq...lzu8

Today in Labor History January 24, 1977: Right-wing extremists assassinated five labor activists in Madrid during the Atocha massacre. It was part of the far-right reaction to Spain's transition to democracy after the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco. While the reactionaries hoped to provoke a violent left-wing response that would legitimize a right-wing counter coup d'état, the massacre actually increased popular revulsion of the far-right and accelerating the legalization of the long-banned Communist Party. In Madrid up to 100,000 people joined the funeral procession on January 26 for three of the victims of the Atocha massacre. Remember, the original poem by pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) began with the lines: first they came for the socialists, but I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist. Then they came for the union members…. Of course, in today’s scenario, they’re already coming for the immigrants, and the trans and nonbinary people. But unions and labor activists are most definitely in their crosshairs, too. This was one of the primary goals of Project 2025. And with Trump releasing every one of the January 6 prisoners, the Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers, both decimated to near extinction by the imprisonment of their leaders, will likely rebuild, rearm, and gladly act as Trump’s shock troops against activists and even striking workers. #workingclass #LaborHistory #spain #massacre #fascism #franco #communism #dictator #labor #organizer #Project2025 #trump #immigration #lgbtq #transrightsarehumanrights #proudboys #januarysix #oathkeepers