research shows government benefits help low‑income people find jobs

Food aid doesn’t make people loafers

Claudia Strauss, Pitzer College

Millie Morales believes in hard work.

“I feel that as an American citizen, we all have a great opportunity to be able to improve our life,” the 58-year-old woman explained in an interview I conducted with her in 2025. “Are you willing to put in the work, or are you not?”

Morales, whose name I changed to protect her privacy, was a stay-at-home mom devoted to caring for her large family. After her divorce, she worked at social service agencies and enrolled at a local college. Then her ex-husband stopped paying for child support, and she and her eight children faced eviction.

She said she is very grateful for the government benefits she received for the first time, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps low-income Americans buy groceries.

Those benefits made it possible for her to keep putting food on the table and remain housed until she earned a college degree and obtained jobs that could pay those bills. Now she assists families dealing with difficult medical decisions, a job that makes her feel she is able to help others through hard times in their lives.

Is the FBI Investigating Environmental Activists?

Anyone supporting issues disapproved by Trump is suspect

By Nicholas Kusnetz

FBI Director Kash Patel may have other priorities

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

The group in the Brooklyn studio seemed harmless. There was a graduate student, a Yiddish teacher, a hairdresser. Fifteen people had gathered on a Wednesday night for a training offered by Extinction Rebellion NYC and Climate Defiance, two climate activist groups that engage in nonviolent civil disobedience and theatrical protest.

They sat in metal folding chairs eating pizza, surrounded by banners and art supplies, discussing how to gain a crowd’s attention without prompting immediate boos.

Yet their actions have apparently drawn the attention of federal counterterror investigators. Last month, an FBI agent arrived at the door of a former member, who was not at the Brooklyn meeting, saying she had questions about Extinction Rebellion.

Environmental activists have long drawn scrutiny from the FBI. But the recent visit appeared to place this group on the leading edge of the Trump administration’s use of law enforcement against what many civil liberties advocates say are constitutionally protected acts of protest and free speech.

After last year’s killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump issued a national security memorandum titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.” The memo asserted that the killing and other attacks, such as the attempted assassination of Trump and the slaying of a health care executive in 2024, were “a culmination of sophisticated, organized campaigns” designed to intimidate and influence public policy.

It linked these acts with “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity,” among other views, and directed the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces to “coordinate and supervise a comprehensive national strategy to investigate, prosecute, and disrupt entities and individuals engaged in acts of political violence and intimidation designed to suppress lawful political activity or obstruct the rule of law.”

Many civil liberties advocates viewed the memorandum as an overly broad assault on political opposition, and it came as the Department of Homeland Security deployed increasingly aggressive tactics against people observing and protesting immigration raids.

Now, the FBI visit may be a sign the Department of Justice is broadening the administration’s scope, said Dana Fisher, director of the Center for Environment, Community and Equity at American University.

How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues

Many children will die because of Bobby Jr.'s obsession
By Patricia Callahan

Dr. Adam Ratner hovered over a gravely ill infant in a New York City intensive care unit on a grim day in 2022. The 3-month-old girl spiked a fever two days earlier and had become lethargic. Soon she was having seizures and struggling to breathe.

She didn’t register Ratner’s towering frame or the bright hospital lights. Her eyes stared up and to the right, eerily frozen. 

He ran his hand over the soft spot on her head, which should have been flat. Instead, it bulged, a sign that too much fluid was building up inside her skull. 

The baby’s life was in danger, and Ratner needed to figure out why. He worried the culprit was bacterial meningitis, an infection of the membranes that protect the brain.

What came back on her lab tests was something out of the history books.

The infant’s meningitis was caused by invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, a type of bacteria that used to kill nearly 1,000 children a year in the U.S. A shot introduced in the late 1980s was so effective that Ratner, a veteran pediatric infectious disease doctor, was among the generations of physicians who had never seen a case. But the baby’s parents, Ratner learned, had chosen not to vaccinate her.

Disheartened, he told his colleagues, “This should be a never event.”

It wasn’t. The following year, Ratner treated another infant with Hib, then another, each of them unvaccinated. Two went home, but one had to be discharged to a rehabilitation facility. That 5-month-old boy had huge black pupils that didn’t respond to light, and he needed a ventilator to breathe. Ratner and his colleagues noted an “absence of brain stem reflexes,” indicating severe damage.

The U.S. government took a half century to build a vaccination system that shielded children from such a fate. Its success depended on two fundamental pillars: parents trusting in vaccines and children having access to them. Both are now in peril, thanks in no small part to the man steering America’s health policy.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who founded an antivaccine group and once likened the immunization of children to a holocaust, is transforming a government that long championed the lifesaving benefits of shots into one that spreads doubts about their safety here and abroad. 

Kennedy is also considering changes that could prompt the few companies that make vaccines for American kids to abandon the U.S. market, leaving parents who want the shots unable to get them.

The threat to vaccine access reaches across the globe after Kennedy yanked the government’s $1.6 billion pledge to the aid group that provides shots for the world’s poorest children. For decades, the U.S. had funded such work not just as a humanitarian mission but as a way to keep Americans safe from unchecked contagions.

Use your imagination

Tomorrow!

RI Democratic Party hires former Magaziner aide as executive director

State Dems staff up going into the midterm elections

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Katherine Riordan, a former press assistant for U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, has been tapped as the Rhode Island Democratic Party’s new executive director.

The state’s Democratic party announced Riordan’s hiring in its weekly email newsletter on Friday. Riordan, who most recently worked in communications for Democratic congressman Magaziner, fills the full-time, paid leadership role left open after Sam Bader left in December 2025. 

Bader, who worked for three years for the Democratic party, including one year as its director, took a new job as campaign manager for Kim Ahern, a candidate for state attorney general.

Riordan, a Rhode Island native and University of Rhode Island graduate, was chosen through a nationwide search that drew candidates from across the country, Liz Beretta-Perik, party chair, said in an email.

“Katherine applied for and was offered the position because of her vast experience in communications, organization and public service,” Beretta-Perik said. “Her experience and energy will be critical as we begin a pivotal election season working to keep Rhode Island Blue.”

A job posting still up on the party’s website lists a $70,000 to $100,000 salary, with a minimum of four years of campaign or related work experience. 

Researchers develop biodegradable, plant‑based packaging from natural fibers – new research

The on-going search for a safe and practical plastic substitute

J. Carson Meredith, Georgia Institute of Technology

Jie Wu, an engineering graduate student, was studying a type of striking white beetle found in Southeast Asia and attempting to figure out how to mimic its brilliant color when an unexpected discovery upended the experiment.

Jie and I had been hoping to identify naturally occurring whitening pigments that could be used in paper and paints. The beetle’s white exoskeleton is made from a compound called chitin, which is a type of carbohydrate – one that is also commonly found in crab and lobster shells.

First, Jie extracted chitin nanofibers from crab shells obtained from food waste that are chemically the same as those found in the white beetles. But instead of creating a white material as intended, Jie produced dense, transparent films. The nanofibers more readily assembled in tightly packed films than in the porous structures Jie desired.

An attempt to mimic the striking white color
of Cyphochilus beetles led researchers to a
unique discovery. 
Olimpia1lli/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-ND

On a whim, Jie measured the rate at which oxygen passed through the film. The result was astonishing: The barrier allowed less oxygen through than many existing packaging plastics.

That serendipitous finding in 2014 shifted my team of engineering students’ focus from color to packaging. We asked whether natural materials could rival the performance of common plastics. In the years since, our team has used this discovery to create biodegradable films that offer a more sustainable and effective alternative to plastic packaging.

Challenges of plastic packaging

Plastic packaging is commonly used to protect food, pharmaceuticals and personal care products. These plastics keep out moisture and oxygen from the air, so products stay fresh and safe.

Most packaging has several layers that work together to keep air out, but these layers hinder reuse and recycling efforts. As a result, most of this plastic barrier packaging is discarded to landfills as single-use materials.

Many researchers have sought alternatives that are renewable, biodegradable or recyclable, yet just as effective. At Georgia Tech, my team of students and post-docs has spent more than a decade tackling this problem. This journey began with that beetle.

Pandemic deaths in the US were higher than previously reported

Why the early U.S. COVID-19 death toll may be 155,000 higher

By Mike Stobbe

Edited by Andrew Zinin

You will find more infographics at Statista

The COVID-19 pandemic's early death toll was much higher than the official U.S. count, according to a new study that spotlights dramatic disparities in the uncounted deaths.

About 840,000 COVID-19 deaths were reported on death certificates in 2020 and 2021. But a group of researchers—using a form of artificial intelligence—estimate that as many as 155,000 unrecognized additional deaths likely occurred in that time outside of hospitals. That would mean about 16% of COVID-19 deaths went uncounted in those years.

The overall findings, published Wednesday by the journal Science Advances, were close to estimates from other studies of pandemic deaths during that time. But the authors of the new study tried to determine exactly which deaths were more likely to be missing from the official tallies.

The answer: The undiagnosed dead were more likely to be Hispanic people and other people of color, who had died in the first few months of the pandemic, and who had been in certain states in the South and Southwest—including Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Under Donald Trump, ‘Everything Is for Sale’

Trump Exploits 250th Anniversary of US Independence for Yet Another Grift

Jake Johnson for Common Dreams

Allies of the Trump administration, in partnership with the White House, are reportedly using the upcoming 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence as another opportunity to solicit deep-pocketed donors, enticing them with promises of access to the president and other rewards.

The New York Times reported Sunday that donors who give at least $1 million to Freedom 250—a group announced by Donald Trump in December—have been promised a path to “gain access to, and seek favor with, a president who has maintained a keen interest in fundraising, and a willingness to use the levers of government power to reward financial supporters,” including through his crypto scam and ballroom project.

Trump has described Freedom 250 as a “public-private partnership” dedicated to organizing “a celebration of America like no other” later this year. Listed as official corporate sponsors of the initiative are prominent corporate names, including ExxonMobil, Mastercard, and Palantir.

The Times obtained a donor solicitation document circulated by Meredith O’Rourke, Trump’s top fundraiser. Donors who give at least $1 million to Freedom 250 “will receive prominent logo placement at Freedom 250 events,” which are expected to include UFC fights and an IndyCar race.

Freedom 250 appears to have been created to dodge oversight that applies to America250, a bipartisan congressional commission formed to plan official celebrations of the nation’s semiquincentennial.

Woof!

Trivia Night with Sam Wilcox our next state Senator (hopefully)

From Charlestown State Rep. Tina Spears

NEWS FROM THE RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOR TINA SPEARS

MARCH 2026

Updates from the State House

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Meeting the Moment: What I am Introducing   My focus this 2026 legislative session reflects a strong and growing commitment to meeting the real needs of communities.   Each week, starting next week, I'll be highlighting bills introduced by myself and colleagues, that illustrate a coordinated effort to improve quality of life, expand equity, and protect vulnerable populations across the state.   Topics will include healthcare access, disability inclusion, environmental resilience, and child safety.   I'll also give you ways you can help, so stay tuned!   TINA ABOUT TOWN Below, Tina hard at work at the RI State House, meeting with folks from University of Rhode Island.

Our next Tea with Tina will be April 4, 2026. We'll be discussing HB 7485 with special guest Andrew Kettle, Chief, Charlestown Ambulance Rescue. This bill aims to improve ambulance services by requiring insurance to reimburse for care even when no transport to a hospital occurs. This legislation supports community paramedicine and “treatment in place” models, aiming to lower costs and improve care access, particularly in rural areas. Come out, ask questions, and be part of the discussion!   10-12 noon @ Caf Bar in The Venue, 5153 Old Post Road, Charlestown

Want to volunteer on Tina's re-election campaign? Contact us here. We have lots of fun and we'll keep Tina in the State House!

If you'd like to donate to Tina's re-eelction campaign, please make personal checks payable to: The Friends of Tina Spears 82 Hillside Drive Charlestown, RI 02813   Or click HERE to contribute online or scan the QR code

Another study documents the health benefits of coffee

Your daily coffee may be protecting your brain, 43-year study finds

Mass General Brigham

Moderate coffee or tea drinking may help protect your brain as you age, lowering dementia risk and slowing cognitive decline. Credit: Shutterstock

A large prospective cohort study conducted by researchers from Mass General Brigham, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard examined data from 131,821 participants in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). 

The findings showed that moderate intake of caffeinated coffee (2-3 cups a day) or tea (1-2 cups a day) was associated with a reduced risk of dementia, slower cognitive decline, and better preservation of cognitive abilities. The study was published in JAMA.

People trust the pediatricians more than Bobby Jr.'s CDC on vaccines

Trust in federal government drops when it comes to childhood vaccines, poll suggests

Stephanie Soucheray, MA

A new Axios/Ipsos American Health Index poll shows Americans are losing confidence in the federal government to make recommendations about childhood vaccines. 

From June 2025 to March 2026, public trust in federal childhood vaccine recommendations dropped 11 points, from 71% to 60%, with only 8% of those polled saying they trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more than the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). 

The poll was conducted in early March, before a federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. 

One in three respondents (35%) have more confidence in guidelines from the AAP than in those from the CDC. About one-quarter (23%) express equal confidence in both sources, while 16% are not confident in either source.

Iraq war’s aftermath was a disaster for the US – the Iran war is headed in the same direction

We've all seen this movie before. Except Trump, maybe

Farah N. Jan, University of Pennsylvania

The United States military achieved every objective it set when it went to war in Iraq in 2003. Decapitation: Saddam Hussein was captured, tried and hanged. Air dominance: total, within days. Regime collapse: The Iraqi government fell in 21 days.

Now, consider Iraq more than 20 years after the U.S.-Iraq war. Iraq is still an authoritarian state governed by political parties with deep institutional ties to Tehran. Iranian-backed militias operate openly on Iraqi soil – some holding official positions within the Iraqi state.

The country the U.S. spent US$2 trillion and 4,488 American lives to remake is, by any reasonable measure, within the sphere of Iran’s influence.

As an international security scholar specializing in nuclear security and alliance politics in the Middle East, I have tracked the pattern of U.S. military success across multiple cases.

But the military outcome and the political outcome are almost never the same thing, and the gap between them is where wars fail.

Two and a half millennia ago, Thucydides recorded the Athenian empire at its most confident in his “History of the Peloponnesian War”: “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” Athens then destroyed Melos and launched the Sicily Expedition with overwhelming force and no coherent theory of governance for what came next.

The lesson, then and now, is not that empires cannot destroy. It’s that destruction and governance are entirely different enterprises. And confusing them is how empires exhaust themselves.

The U.S. military can destroy the Iranian regime. The question that the Iraq precedent answers – with brutal clarity – is what fills the power vacuum when it does?