Thursday, October 22, 2026
Amtrak Rail Study Sets Wakefield Open House Nov. 4
Another session on the Charlestown Citizens Alliance's (CCA) top obsession
Adriana
Vossari, RI & Local Government, is NOT an actual person but rather is an AI-bot used by UpriseRI to review and summarize public records. Click here for their explanation for how this is done:
The study will weigh new rail alignments or upgrades on the line ending in Providence, and Rhode Islanders can weigh in at a Wakefield open house on Nov. 4. Amtrak says no route has been chosen.
The Wakefield open house runs from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at
South Kingstown High School, 215 Columbia St. The Groton session runs the same
hours on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Thrive55+ Active Living Center, the Groton
Senior Center. Both are drop-in events, meaning residents can arrive any time
during the window, and the town notice says the same information is shared at
both.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Even though the so-called Old Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass was never a serious threat, as I explain HERE, and died in 2017, the CCA has repeatedly attempted to revive this issue each election cycle. The CCA has always run on fear by raising up some demon, often imaginary, and presenting themselves as the only protection Charlestown has. Kind of Trumpian even before Trump emerged on the scene. I have also gotten a little Trumpy by calling this obsession the Charlestown Choo-Choo Hoax. - Will Collette
New Lancet study links 12% of global cancer cases to 12 infectious diseases
For most such infections, there are vaccines or vaccines in development
NEWSROOM CLARIN
 |
| Let's add preventable cancers to this list |
The findings demonstrate that roughly 1 in
every 8 cancers diagnosed globally is linked to an underlying infection,
representing a substantial cancer burden that could be prevented or mitigated
using existing vaccines, diagnostic screenings, and antimicrobial therapies.
The global proportion of infection-attributable cancers has
remained essentially unchanged since the agency's previous assessment in 2018
(which estimated 13%), highlighting persistent gaps in worldwide
vaccination uptake, screening infrastructure, and therapeutic access.
The 12 Pathogens: Which Infections Cause Cancer?
The vast majority of infection-driven cancers in 2024 were
concentrated among five primary pathogens, with two leading agents
responsible for more than 1.5 million cases:
- Helicobacter
pylori (760,000 cases / 4% of all global cancers): A common bacterium
that colonizes the stomach lining, typically transmitted through
contaminated food, water, or poor hygiene. It is the leading cause of
non-cardia gastric cancer (accounting for 700,000 cases, or 85% of all
non-cardia stomach cancers) and causes cardia gastric cancer (42,000
cases) and gastric non-Hodgkin lymphoma (18,000 cases).
- Human
Papillomavirus / HPV (750,000 cases / 4% of all cancers): The primary
driver of cervical cancer, which accounted for 600,000 cases (100%
attributable to HPV). HPV is also responsible for 58,000 cases of
oropharyngeal, tonsil, and base-of-tongue cancers, 32,000 anal squamous
cell carcinomas, 18,000 penile cancers, 14,000 vaginal cancers, and 12,000
vulvar cancers.
- Hepatitis
B Virus / HBV (360,000 cases / 2% of all cancers): Contracted through
blood, sexual contact, contaminated needles, and perinatal transmission
from mother to child. It accounts for 330,000 cases of hepatocellular
carcinoma (primary liver cancer) and 27,000 cases of intrahepatic
cholangiocarcinoma.
- Epstein-Barr
Virus / EBV (260,000 cases / 1% of all cancers): A ubiquitous
herpesvirus carried by more than 90% of adults. It was linked to 110,000
cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, 78,000 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma,
47,000 cases of Hodgkin lymphoma, 20,000 cases of diffuse large B-cell
lymphoma, and 6,200 cases of Burkitt lymphoma.
- Hepatitis
C Virus / HCV (160,000 cases): A bloodborne virus causing chronic
hepatitis, responsible for 130,000 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma,
17,000 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and 11,000 cases of intrahepatic
cholangiocarcinoma.
- Kaposi's
Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus / KSHV (35,000 cases): Responsible for
34,000 cases of Kaposi's sarcoma and rare primary effusion lymphomas.
- Other
Classified Infectious Agents (19,000 cases combined): Human T-cell
lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1, causing 3,900 cases of adult T-cell
leukaemia/lymphoma); Schistosoma haematobium (a parasitic waterborne
flatworm causing 5,900 bladder squamous cell carcinomas); liver flukes Opisthorchis
viverrini and Clonorchis sinensis (causing 3,800 bile duct cancers);
Merkel cell polyomavirus (causing 3,200 aggressive Merkel cell skin
carcinomas); and HIV (which directly caused 2,300 cases of conjunctival
eye cancer and contributed via immunosuppression to tens of thousands of
HPV- and KSHV-related cancers).
AI misuse and nuclear famine could threaten humanity's survival before 2100
Why we must prepare for existential threats
By Sanjukta
Mondal, Medical Xpress
Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan
The COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the world to a standstill at the start of the decade, showed that containing and neutralizing a disease is only one part of being prepared.
A recent Lancet Commission on 21st Century Global Threats to Health set out to answer the question of what major health threats humanity could face over the next 75 years, from 2025 to 2100.
Rather than zooming in on
individual diseases, the commission cast a wider net, looking at interconnected
dangers that could threaten humanity's health and survival.
The commission identified 17 threats to humanity's future.
Two of them—malicious use of artificial intelligence and nuclear conflict
severe enough to trigger a global nuclear famine—carry a chance of causing
human extinction before the century ends.
The other 15 threats are classified as major catastrophic risks, and
each is expected to inflict more than 1 billion cumulative disability-adjusted
life years (DALYs) of health loss by 2100, with air pollution, antimicrobial
resistance and climate change among the most prominent.
The combination of obesity, poor diet and low physical activity forms the largest driver of preventable health loss worldwide, with 23.1 billion healthy life-years at stake between the plausible worst and best scenarios. These factors ranked as the leading health threat in 154 of the 204 countries evaluated.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
59% of Americans Believe Trump Has Done Illegal or Unethical Things to Profit From Presidency
New Fox Poll shows voters' #1 concern is government corruption
Jessica Corbett for Common Dreams
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
surveyed 2,140 US adults from September 24-28 and found
that 56% of Americans across the political spectrum believe that Trump has
prioritized his personal business interests “a lot” since 2025. Another 19%
said he has prioritized those “some.”
 |
| Trump Bibles: buy one at $60 each, printed in China |
Trump—whose approval rating has recently plummeted to record lows, fueling GOP fears about losing
majorities in both chambers of Congress next month—disclosed
in July that he pocketed at least $2.2 billion, over half of which came from his family’s cryptocurrency grift.
That “completely unprecedented” windfall generated
allegations of corruption—as have Trump’s stock trading disclosures since then, despite White House attempts to
stress that his “stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by
third-party financial institutions.”
AP-NORC found that 59% of Americans across the political
spectrum believe Trump has done something illegal (41%) or unethical but not
unlawful (18%) to profit from the presidency. That includes 89% of Democrats,
50% of independents, and 32% of Republicans.
“His wealth increases,” 87-year-old retiree Barbara Thaxton,
an independent from Summerfield, Florida, told the AP, “but the people in the country are just barely
getting by.”
Last week, Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth
Warren (D-Mass.) released the “Trumpflation Tracker,” a tool that she said
shows “families across the country exactly how much of a price they are paying
for Trump’s and Republicans’ failed economic agenda.”
According to Warren’s tracker, during Trump’s second term,
gasoline prices have soared 43.7%, healthcare costs are up
14.6%, residential electricity prices are 12.7% higher, childcare has risen
7.6%, and rent has jumped 5.1%. The tool suggests the average US household is
paying thousands of dollars more due to GOP policies, from the president’s
illegal war on Iran and tariffs
to cuts in his party’s 2025 budget
package.
“So much for Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ of economic opportunity,”
retiring Sen. Dick
Durbin (D-Ill.) said
in response to the tracker. “Inflation is up more than
5% since he returned to the White House. Whether it’s the president’s tariffs,
war with Iran, or cuts to healthcare and food assistance, his administration is
making it harder for you to afford the basics.”
A new report just busted another myth about heat pumps
There is there plenty of room on the grid for these electrical wonders — and they'll save ratepayers tons of cash.
Matt Simon, Senior Staff Writer
You may have heard by now that heat pumps — which transfer warmth from outdoor air to an indoor space, instead of generating it like a furnace — don’t work when it gets really cold out. That’s incorrect, as models designed for frigid climes can keep you toasty even in the dead of winter. Don’t believe me? Look no further than the Nordic countries, which have fully committed to them despite the region’s not-exactly-balmy winters.
OK, so heat pumps are more efficient than ever, which is why Americans seem to be warming up to the appliances. But surely, since they’re electric, switching to them en masse will push the grid to collapse? That’s also false.
A new report from the energy think tank RMI finds that thanks to “headroom” in the grid during the winter months, three-quarters of U.S. homes — some 109 million — could adopt the technology, no problem. That would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slash electric bills by over 20 percent in some states.
Foulkes holds 11 point lead
Sabrina Matos in statistical tie for LG
By the Salve Regina University’s Pell Center
Democratic candidate Helena Foulkes leads the Rhode Island gubernatorial race with 39% support among likely voters, while the race for lieutenant governor remains statistically tied, according to a new survey from Salve Regina University’s Pell Center.
The survey was directed by Pell Center
Associate Director and Fellow Katie Sonder and fielded by Embold Research
between October 5-8, 2026. The survey included 815 likely Rhode Island midterm
voters and has a margin of error of ±3.6 percentage points.
Foulkes leads by 11 points, followed by Independent Ken
Block (28%) and Republican Aaron Guckian (17%). Foulkes leads across major
demographic subsets and has the strongest support among women (44%), people of
color (53%), and college-educated voters (43%). While support for Block and
Guckian does not individually outweigh support for Foulkes, their combined vote
share surpasses hers in some demographic groups, including across all Rhode
Island counties. Thirteen percent of likely midterm voters remain undecided.
Russia, Russia, Russia…Trump now openly aligns the US with Putin
He really is a Russian asset
Before entering the White House for the second time in 2025,
Trump agreed with Putin’s fictional grievances over the expansion of NATO —
which provided the pretense for Putin’s assault on his neighbor, saying “I
could understand their feeling.” Nonetheless, the Trump regime still purported
to be supporting Ukraine’s defense.
But last week, Trump gave up any pretense of being a
“mediator” in Russia’s War on Ukraine, and openly threw in his lot with Putin.
The dire significance of Trump’s actions can’t be minimized.
Trump has declared his desire to make the United States an ally in Russia’s
ever more brutal effort to annihilate Ukraine, including by bolstering Russia’s
flagging economy with US funds, and using Ukraine’s dependence on US defense
systems against it by hobbling the country’s successful offensive and defensive
actions.
But there may be a silver lining in a very dark cloud:
Ukraine’s true supporters are being forced to face facts many have long
avoided.
That baseless theory allowed some Europeans to avoid
the reality that they must take on the full burden — including the costs and
risks — of supporting Ukraine, or face the inevitability that Russia will come
after them next.
Trump’s announcement of his full-blown alliance with Putin
was preceded by an attempt by his incompetent and absurdly corrupt team of
“envoys,” real estate investor Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, to
advance a predictably bogus Ukraine “peace plan.”
To cap off this great proposal, Witkoff and Kushner
reportedly announced that the “peace plan” would involve an immediate halt on
some of the most devastating attacks in the war … but solely by Ukraine.
But Trump himself all but put the kibosh on his purported
mediators’ “peace plan” by announcing his intention for the US to join Iran,
North Korea, and China in becoming an open ally in — and profiteer from —
Russia’s “Special Military Operation” against Ukraine.
It was hard to make sense of Trump’s actions in light of
actual energy market realities.
Since Trump returned to the presidency, many of Ukraine’s
supporters — including some allies in Europe and Republicans in the US — have
clung to the theory that, despite Trump’s fondness for Putin, he was not
ineluctably committed to a pro-Russian position. All that was needed, these
“optimists” argued, was continued sweet-talking and submission from Ukraine’s
leaders — including a lot of plaintive “thank yous” — and Trump would come
around.
The false notion that Trump was not fully committed to Putin
also allowed many Republican supporters of Ukraine to justify looking the other
way while Trump uttered his endearments to the Russian dictator.
Now that the Trump/Putin alliance has been indelibly
formalized, denial is no longer a remotely reasonable option.
The fake peace plan
On October 9, Witkoff and Kushner made a show of inviting
representatives of Ukraine, as well and European and NATO representatives whom
they had previously frozen out of their “mediation” efforts, to a meeting at
Witkoff’s Florida golf club.
The purpose, as columnist (and Kushner mouthpiece) David
Ignatius explained in a recent
column, was to announce a “peace” initiative.
As Ignatius touted, instead of going along with Putin’s
demand for all of the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, the Trumper plan
offered Ukraine the “carrot” of a ceasefire based on the current lines —
“guaranteed” by the US (whatever that is worth).
The only problem with the “plan” was that Putin has
resolutely refused such terms in the past, and there’s no indication he’s
changed his mind.
Ignatius asserted that the Trumper “envoys” had extended a
generous offer of funding the rebuilding of Ukraine once Russia’s campaign of
devastation ends. What Ignatius failed to mention, but later emerged from press
reports, is that Kushner and Witkoff also demanded (as they have in the past)
that Europe hand over to Trump as yet undisclosed portions of the billions of
dollars in frozen Russian assets currently held in Belgium.
In sum, their “peace plan” was to use those monies — which
rightfully belong to Ukraine — to fund the “rebuilding” effort, presumably
after skimming a large amount off the top for Trump cronies.
The one-sided “ceasefire”
For months, Ukraine has been striking key elements of
Russia’s war economy, particularly its oil and gas industry, by attacking
hydrocarbon industry plants and other infrastructure, including refineries and
tankers. As a result, Russia’s ability to generate oil revenues on the black
market is becoming impaired, as is Russia’s ability to produce the refined fuel
that is crucial to the operation of its economy and prosecution of its war of
conquest against Ukraine.
One would expect that Kushner and Witkoff, as supposed
“mediators,” would want Ukraine to continue its strikes. After all — as
demonstrated during Zelenskyy’s notorious February 2025 Oval Office encounter
with Trump and JD Vance — Ukraine needs to have such “cards” of its own both to
defend itself and obtain leverage over Russia in any actual negotiations.
But the very opposite was true. Over at least the past
several months, it has come to light that US representatives from Vance on down
have been demanding that Ukraine cease attacking Russian refineries. And during
the Florida golf course meeting, Kushner and Witkoff formalized that demand for
what Trump later called an “energy ceasefire.”
The problem, of course, is that such a one-sided “deal”
would leave Russia free to continue hitting Ukraine’s heating and electrical
infrastructure in advance of the winter, as Putin’s regime has been doing with
ever greater ferocity — including immediately after Trump announced the
“ceasefire.”
The peace “proposal,” therefore, was actually a proposal for
Ukraine to hobble its own military and defense activities, while Russia
assaults Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.
Trump’s “diesel deal”
The vehicle for that announcement was Trump’s declaration
that he had reached a “diesel deal” with Russia, pursuant to which the US would
purchase diesel fuel from Russia and facilitate the sale of the fuel by Russia
to other countries.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United
States has cut off purchases of Russian oil and gas and has strongly pressured
allies, particularly Europeans, to do the same. Some countries, particularly
Germany, have substantially reconfigured their economies to end dependence on
Russian hydrocarbons.
Furthermore, just weeks ago, Trump signed into law the
Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, which was to impose massive
secondary tariffs on countries that continued to purchase Russian oil and gas,
including China and India. Trump’s announcement was, therefore, a complete
about-face, rendering the US into a buyer and marketer of the very same Russian
oil products the US has pressured others to shun.
Because of Ukraine’s successful refinery strikes, as
Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged during two Sunday interviews, Russia has
been experiencing a serious shortage of diesel.
Indeed, Putin has had to turn to other countries, including South Korea, for supplies of the fuel. Furthermore, the US produces more diesel that it consumes, so it’s unlikely that Russian diesel would be imported to the US even if it was available.
But Trump’s actual purpose was plainly not to increase US
diesel supplies, or otherwise lower consumer prices, but rather to make clear
his intention to definitively change sides and become Russia’s wartime ally —
and to undermine the international sanctions regime against Russia that the US
worked so hard to implement over the past nearly five years.
This became all the more clear when reports began leaking
out that Trump’s “peace” envoys, Witkoff and Kushner, have been working on a
plan with their close associate, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, to pressure
Germany to start buying Russian gas again — but this time in a commercial
arrangement that will give Trump-associated American firms a cut. This jibes
completely with another Kushner/Witkoff scheme that was recently leaked to sell
the assets of a large Russian oil company, Lukoil, to an American investor
named Todd Boehly who has donated
millions to Trump.
If Russia is going to be an ally, why shouldn’t Trumpers get
a piece of the resulting gusher of oil profits?
Trump capped off the week by announcing last Friday that he
was “implementing” the Graham Act by suspending its provisions and preventing
the sanctioning of purchasers of Russian goods, including the diesel fuel Trump
has effectively been marketing for his ally Putin’s part.
The Graham Act requires the president to provide
certification that any such waiver “is in the national interests of the United
States” and to report to Congress on why that’s the case. But Trump made a
mockery of these requirements by simply declaring that his about-face in US
policy is in the national interest without any substantial explanation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in typically disingenuous
fashion, later said that Trump “wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort
of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global
economy and even to the US economy,” despite the fact that the president signed
a law calling for those sanctions and tariffs just days ago.
But, of course, by that time, everyone knew Trump’s actual
purpose was to help Putin vanquish Ukraine and endanger the rest of Europe.
The scheme to hobble Ukrainian defenses
Trump’s decision to ally the US with Russia became clear
last week, when the Defense Department — which uses its sophisticated aerial
intelligence to warn Ukraine of incoming Russian ballistic missile attacks —
repeatedly failed to provide such warnings in advance of massive Russian
assaults on Kyiv. That came on the heels of reports that Kushner and Witkoff
had threatened a complete cutoff of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine during
the “peace” talks in Florida.
Then, on October 12 — entirely without warning — the
Ukrainian armed forces began to incur sudden speed and connection interruptions
in the SpaceX-owned Starlink systems used for navigation of many Ukrainian
drones. As a result, Ukraine’s ability to both intercept incoming Russian drone
attacks and conduct the midrange attacks the country has been pursuing with
great success on Russian military logistics hubs were drastically impaired.
The unexplained cutoff was met with such anger and dismay by
Ukraine and its allies that even Putin-friendly oligarch Elon Musk distanced
himself from it, stating it was ordered by the US military. Defense Department
sources then pointed the finger at, you guessed it, the White House.
Rubio later acknowledged that the US government has wholly
cut off Ukraine from the “military” elements of Starlink. Rubio went on to say that it is “under discussion
right now how [Ukraine] would want to use” the services Trump has cut off, more
than implying that Trumpers are continuing to try to blackmail Ukraine into a
one way “energy ceasefire.”
Just yesterday, reports emerged the United States has been
holding off on giving necessary approvals to Ukraine of the transfer of Patriot
missile interceptors — which provide virtually the only effective defense to
increasing Russian ballistic missile attacks. This comes as the US itself has
largely refused to provide these interceptors to Ukraine from its own
stockpiles.
Also on Monday, Trump opined that Russia "hasn't been
doing much" to Ukraine and that its brutal war of annihilation is “fine.”
Facing facts
During a Sunday morning interview Treasury Secretary Scott
Bessent was repeatedly asked if Ukraine is an ally of the United States. He
refused to give a straight answer, but effectively responded in the negative by
berating Zelenskyy.
Trump himself is far less cagey than Bessent on the topic of
who his allies are. He recently announced that he was going to invite Putin to
attend the G20 meeting, to be held in December at his own Doral golf club. It
is now clear that if Putin attends, it will be in his newly anointed role as
US, or rather Trump, ally.
Trump’s open effort to join nations like Iran, North Korea,
and China in aiding Putin’s murderous assault on Ukraine is nothing short of
disastrous, and it will leave a lasting moral stain on the United States. But
there may be something of a silver lining to this dark cloud.
This never made much sense, particularly given the ample
evidence that Russia helped Trump get elected, and continues to cultivate him
through elaborate disinformation campaigns and by offering lucrative financial
“deals” to the likes of Kushner, Witkoff and other Trump cronies.
But it was also, in certain respects, a reassuring fiction.
Many European countries have been notably hesitant to take
all of the steps necessary to assist Ukraine in defending itself against
Russia. Those include sharing weapons systems and stocks of anti-missile
defense weapons (if the US allows it), and by providing Ukraine with access to
frozen Russian assets, which are needed both to keep the Ukrainian economy
afloat and fully fund the country’s defense.
That European hesitation has continued despite, and possibly
in some respects because, Russia has been increasing its so-called hybrid war
on other European countries, consisting of everything from cyber attacks to
kinetic terror attacks on airports and infrastructure. The use of the term
“hybrid warfare” itself reflects a form of self-denial by Europeans, many of
whom are hesitant to acknowledge that they are now effectively at war with
Russia.
Trump’s now open alliance with Russia may increase the
impetus for European leaders to take more steps necessary to provide Ukraine —
which after all is the frontline defender of the entire continent against
Russian aggression — the resources it requires to prevail. But even if such
full-throated resolve is forthcoming, it could also be too late given that
(with the help of Russia) pro-Russian politicians may soon come to power in
France and potentially Germany.
There also remains a chance, albeit a small one, that some
of the vast majority of Republicans who have long claimed to support Ukraine
against Russia’s murderous assault will finally stand up to Trump, even feebly.
Lindsey Graham’s sister, who Trump plucked out of obscurity to become her late
brother’s successor, took a first step in that direction last week by opposing
Trump’s “diesel deal” with Putin. A drubbing in the midterms and Trump’s
descent into the political basement could encourage that process.
Recent history makes it hard to say that optimism is
warranted. But continued, and ever greater, efforts by Ukraine’s supporters are
nonetheless essential. The stakes not only for Ukraine, but also the world,
could not be higher.
Thanks for reading Public Notice. This post is public so
feel free to share it.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
“At this point, Trump’s economic policy is starting to look less like governing and more like Publishers Clearing House with a campaign logo.”
Trump promises yet another check, this time a $90 Medicare check
Stephen Prager for Common Dreams
Trump, who declared on
Truth Social that his administration would send out “checks,” said the money
will come from the $2 billion Medicare Improvement Fund and is expected to appear in seniors’ bank accounts around October
8.
The $90 payment is not even enough to cover half of the
standard monthly Medicare Part B premium payment, which is about $202. But Trump described the
comparatively small payment as proof that Americans could trust his promise of
a much heftier windfall if Republicans prevail in
next month’s elections.
“Because I delivered on this very important issue for the
American people, they can also rest assured the highly popular $5,000 Trump
Dividend will be distributed to every U.S. Citizen if, and when, the
Republicans win the Midterm Elections!” Trump said.
In February 2025, he proposed $5,000 “DOGE dividend” checks for
Americans, purportedly funded by savings generated by Elon Musk’s Department
of Government Efficiency, but the payments were never authorized by the GOP-controlled Congress.
That November, he promised that most Americans would receive tariff payments
of “at least $2,000 a person,” but Congress has still not authorized them
nearly a year later.
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