Hello, welcome to my news blog. I made it to share and keep record of underreported news that I think will impact a lot of users here.
Suggested stories and topics of coverage are welcome, but please provide 1-2 backup sources so that I can corroborate.
“Doomer tag” = tag I’m putting specifically on heavier subjects, including but not limited to: disease outbreaks, death mentions, police brutality, etc.
Some FreeStyle Libre 3 glucose sensors made by Abbott Diabetes Care may give incorrect low readings. The devices have been linked to potenti
I felt like this article had more information and the product name, FreeStyle Libre 3, is right there in the link to maybe alleviate some anxiety or find the right users.
My cat is diabetic and I have to use these monitors for him. I got an email alert from the company about it on November 26. I didn't realize there wasn't an actual recall out yet.
News articles are great but I think direct info from the source is more important here, though all of the stuff above appears to be correct. For something as potentially impactful on peoples' health as this, I think the barrier to getting to the information should be as low as possible.
This is the official website to use to check serial numbers. It has the tool to check and full instructions on locating the serial. There is also an FAQ page.
The email I received also listed a customer service number and an online support page.
Abbott Customer Service
1-833-815-4273
Available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
POLITICO is so funny wtf. They're like the bloodhounds of journalism but specifically for finding MAGA Nazis in mainstream US politics. They're now 3 for 3!
The 1.6-megawatt pilot system is among a growing number of initiatives to put solar over waterways. The approach could generate gigawatts of
From the article:
Early research suggests that, along with producing power in land-constrained areas, putting solar arrays above water can help keep panels cool, in turn improving their efficiency and electricity output. Shade from the panels can also prevent water loss through evaporation in drought-prone regions and can limit algae growth in waterways.
Plus, solar canals could offer a faster path to clean energy development than utility-scale solar farms, especially in rural parts of the U.S. where big renewables projects increasingly face community opposition. Placing solar panels atop existing infrastructure doesn’t require altering the landscape, and the relatively small installations can be plugged into nearby distribution lines, avoiding the cumbersome process of connecting to the higher-voltage wires required for bigger undertakings.
“Why disturb land that has sacred value when we could just put the solar panels over a canal and generate more efficient power?” said David DeJong, director of the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project, which is developing a water delivery system for the Gila River Indian Community.
The purpose of these early arrays is primarily to power on-site canal equipment like pumps and gates. But such projects could eventually help clean up the larger grid, too. A coalition of U.S. environmental groups previously estimated that putting panels over 8,000 miles of federally owned canals and aqueducts could generate over 25 gigawatts of renewable energy — enough to power nearly 20 million homes — and reduce water evaporation by possibly tens of billions of gallons.
Journalists at the Pentagon turned in access badges and cleaned out their workspaces, the price for refusing to agree to new restrictions on
News outlets were nearly unanimous in rejecting new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they sought to report on information — classified or otherwise — that had not been approved by Hegseth for release.
The significance of this shouldn't be overlooked. This isn't just a bunch of progressive-leaning outlets; it's everybody (except OANN).
The Pentagon Press Association, whose 101 members represent 56 news outlets, has spoken out against the rules. Organizations from across the media spectrum, from legacy organizations like The Associated Press and The New York Times to outlets like Fox and the conservative Newsmax, told their reporters to leave instead of signing the new rules.
These people had desks at the Pentagon, and they packed up their stuff and walked out, together, rather than agree to let the government restrict press freedom.
“What they’re really doing, they want to spoon-feed information to the journalist, and that would be their story. That’s not journalism,” said Jack Keane, a retired U.S. Army general and Fox News analyst, said on Hegseth’s former network.
This is what you have in common with people you disagree with on everything else. It's the line in the sand between being able to disagree with each other and not being allowed to speak. This is where things can tip.
The White House issued an executive order yesterday titled "Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization." To be clear, the US has no legal category for "domestic terrorist organizations," and the order does not add any specific groups or individuals to the SDGT/SDN lists. In other words, this order does not literally designate "Antifa" as a terrorist organization under US law. But the point of the order is clear; Trump is telling federal law enforcement to:
...utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa, or for which Antifa or any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa provided material support, including necessary investigatory and prosecutorial actions against those who fund such operations.
In other words, this order is the Trump administration's way of announcing their intention to expand the federal government's repression of left-wing activists.
If you are involved in activism that is in opposed to the Trumpist ideology, particularly on the issues that they most love to fearmonger about, you should be thinking about ways to make yourself and your friends harder to target. Move sensitive conversations over to end-to-end encrypted messaging services and set conversations to disappear automatically, get a VPN, be thoughtful about what you're saying and what information you're giving away online, consider what types of transactions are best conducted in cash rather than through cards/websites, and avoid communication with federal law enforcement whenever it can be avoided.
At the same time, you should not respond to this executive order by reducing your political involvement or abandoning particular causes. One of the main points of actions like this one is to intimidate and discourage people, to push them to censor themselves. It's important that you not allow them to succeed in that.
There are a lot of historically Black colleges and universities going into lockdown over threats to the campuses right now in the wake of Charlie Kirk's death.
Some have received direct threats, and others are going into lockdown out of precaution. Please spread this around if you can, and check-in on any Black college students you know.
Children under 13 who watched child-directed content on YouTube from 2013 to 2020 may be eligible for money from a $30 million settlement. L
Reuters article on the topic: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/google-settles-youtube-childrens-privacy-lawsuit-2025-08-19/
Yeah sure Biden just found 1 million Actually Criminals with no families or anything to deport, no real people were deported under Biden he was doing 1 Million Good Deportations a year, not like Trump's deportations which are the bad kind >:(
I hate these people so much
🇺🇸nationwide cucumber recall due to salmonella outbreak🇺🇸
FDA & CDC insist: if you are in the US and do not know where your cucumbers come from, throw them out NOW!
FDA publish date may 20, 2025.
🇺🇸FDA investigation - CDC investigation🇺🇸
Bedner Growers, Inc. of Boynton Beach, Florida is voluntarily recalling cucumbers sold at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market between April 29, 2025,
Bedner Growers, Inc. of Boynton Beach, Florida is voluntarily recalling cucumbers sold at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market between April 29, 2025, and May 14, 2025 because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
some emphasis mine.
the cucumbers are contaminated with salmonella, and were sold between april 29th and may 14 2025.
salmonella infection usually causes illness 6 hours to 6 days after exposure, and symptoms usually last 4 to 7 days.
but there is a catch.
The recalled cucumbers were sold directly to consumers at the three Bedner’s Farm Fresh Markets locations in Florida (Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach). Because the recalled cucumbers do not bear any stickers or other labeling, customers should discard and not consume any cucumbers that were purchased at these locations between April 29, 2025, and May 14, 2025.
The recalled cucumbers also were sold to a wholesale distributor, which has been directed to further contact its customers with recall instructions.
emphasis mine.
the recalled cucumbers were sold directly to consumers, and also sold wholesale nationwide. they have no label. there is no way to identify if your cucumber is affected unless you know where it came from or you get contacted by where you bought it from. real fucking helpful!
illnesses have already been reported all over the country.
The cucumbers are being recalled because they have been linked by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to a Salmonella outbreak that has resulted in 26 illnesses in AL, CA, CO, FL, IL, KS, KY, MI, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, and VA.
currently, 26 illnesses and 9 hospitalizations have been linked to this outbreak. these numbers are expected to rise.
the true number of people who got sick is probably much higher than this, and it takes 3-4 weeks to link any given illness to an outbreak. the CDC estimates that only 1 in 30 cases of salmonella actually gets diagnosed. as in, there may be 30 times as many infections as currently reported.
in 2024, this same grower was involved in yet another cucumber salmonella outbreak that sickened over 500 people and hospitalized over 150.
the list of where people got sick is NOT a comprehensive list of where the contaminated cucumbers were sold. these cucumbers were sold nationwide. from the CDC:
People reported buying and eating cucumbers from a variety of locations including grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals and on cruise ships. FDA's traceback investigation identified Bedner Growers Inc. as the common grower of cucumbers in this outbreak.
emphasis mine. because there is no branding, there are no images to help figure out if you are affected.
but here is what the FDA and CDC recommend:
If you cannot tell if your cucumber was grown by Bedner Growers, throw it away. When eating out over the next week, ask if cucumbers were from Bedner Growers or Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc.
some emphasis mine.
finally, not everyone who got sick from the cucumbers said they actually ate cucumbers. there were likely cases of cross-contamination from food being prepared somewhere that came into contact with the contaminated cucumbers.
learn more from the CDC page on salmonella infection here. it is worth noting that infection from salmonella can sometimes cause medical issues for years.
this recall is expanding, and will almost definitely continue to expand.
the recalled items are under the cut because the FDA has been updating, adding, removing, and changing a LOT of related pages. I will note when I update below this point.
this recall is now listed as a major recall, and has its own aggregate list of FDA recall announcements.
3 issues:
not all relevant recalls are posted there because not all recalls have an FDA announcement yet, like the harris teeter recall that only has an external link on the FDA outbreak page.
some recalls that were posted earlier have now been deleted. there was a recall of dozens of "yummi sushi" products sold in kroger and other unnamed stores in at least florida. I am not sure why the recall page was removed or if it will go back up after I post this, so there is a foodsafetynews link just in case.
some recalls, like the greek salad recall, get recall announcements posted a while before they get linked on the outbreak investigation pages or the aggregate page.
this expanded recall includes (last updated may 23, 2025 (SEVERAL TIMES TODAY ALONE)):
snowfruit, snowfox, weis market, and roundy's products (including salads, sushi items, vegetable trays, noodles, MANY more) sold at kroger, roundy's (pick n save, metro market), and weis markets in: indiana, kentucky, illinois, michigan, tennessee, mississippi, arkansas, alabama, wisconsin, new jersey, pennsylvania, west virginia, delaware, maryland, virginia, and new york.
greek salads sold at: ACME, balducci's food lovers market, kings food markets, safeway, shaw's and star market in connecticut, delaware, maine, maryland, massachusetts, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia and washington DC.
big y foods made-to-order subs, wraps and paninis sold in massachusetts and connecticut
marinated cucumber salads sold at: food lion (virginia, north carolina), harris teeter (williamsburg, VA), kroger (virginia, west virginia, ohio, kentucky), libbie market (richmond, VA), and ukrop’s market hall (richmond, VA).
walmart marketside cucumber slices sold in texas
pennrose and restaurant depot-branded whole cucumbers sent to distribution centers in new jersey, georgia, florida, illinois, and ohio (and then potentially sold to other states)
harris teeter cucumbers, large vegetable trays, and small vegetable trays (<- not an FDA recall link, yet?)
yummi sushi(?)
this recall WILL expand, so here are the links that you should be following if you want to keep up with it. as of when I am posting this, each of these links has information not found in the other links.
FDA outbreak investigation page (contains non-FDA recall links, but does not have a complete list of recall links)
FDA major recall page (aggregate of related FDA-posted recalls, does not include non-FDA links)
CDC outbreak investigation (covers different data about this outbreak)
FDA recalls, market withdrawals, & safety alerts (recall announcements with press releases)
due to delays when the FDA links or posts recall announcements, some items may have a recall posted around or after their best by date, or may have a recall posted long after they have already been removed from shelves.
On Monday, April 21st, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to collect federal and private health data for upco
“This turbulent week has shown that the administration has lost the trust of the entire autism community. HHS’ walk-back is a success for our advocacy; it shows that our community has power, and that it is vital to speak up when potential threats emerge."
"This is positive news, but given this administration’s previous actions and comments, particularly those related to autism over the last several weeks, we are not assuming that there is no longer anything to worry about.[...] Secretary Kennedy’s remarks over the past two weeks demonstrate that the administration does not understand us, does not like us, and does not intend to help us."
I feel like "trump wants to throw away literal dinosaur fossils" would really turn heads if we actually had a functional opposition party in this country to get messages out, but I guess I'll just have to get a paint pen and write it on my car. fine, I'll do it.
Trump and friends are trying to get rid of IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Science, USA Federal agency). Everyone is on leave/in admin limbo while the DOGE kids do whatever and lock people out of their emails. Already-awarded federal grants (that's how I get paid) for museums and libraries are now being terminated early via executive order. Museums are already closing (to be fair it has been bad for decades) and a lot of large and delicate fossil material will need new homes with space and funding, which almost no one has. It's bad. I don't know what to do except to keep working and occasionally scream into the internet.
Not trying to be a bummer, but this is pretty much the only thing anyone at my job can think about right now. I can only speak for museums, but specimens need periodical tending or they will decay or get lost. Grant funding is how we do everything: it's how temporary workers get paid, how we get access to subscription-based software, and it's how we buy new label paper for cripes' sake. We are still fighting, but everyone is honestly loopy with stress all the time now. People should know what they are destroying.