Have a MAGA xmas

'Tis the Season to Recycle Your Christmas Tree to Improve River Habitats

And improve trout fishing

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is again partnering with the Rhode Island Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) for the ‘Trees for Trout’ habitat restoration program, which collects donated conifer Christmas trees to improve habitat for wild brook trout and other aquatic organisms. The public can drop off their Christmas trees at a collection event in the New Year. 

WHAT:               ‘Trees for Trout’ Christmas tree collection

WHEN:              Saturday, Jan. 4, 10 AM – 2 PM

WHERE:            Arcadia Check Station, Wood River Arcadia Management Area, 2224 Ten Rod Rd, Exeter

DEM and TU thank the public for their willingness to donate trees, which makes this program a success. Donors are urged to read the following information before dropping off trees:

DEM is only accepting real trees, not fake ones or trees sprayed with fire-retardant chemicals. 

All decorations, tinsel, ornaments, lights, and the stand must be removed before the tree is brought in.

Only whole conifers will be accepted, do not bring tree trimmings. 

Trees larger than 5’ tall are preferred. 

DEM will not accept large drop offs of surplus trees from businesses.

The Trees for Trout program was started by TU in 2018 to assist in restoration projects to fish habitats. During the summer months, DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) staff, along with volunteers from TU, build “conifer revetments” where trees are strategically placed along riverbanks to provide stability and control erosion. 

Just kidding

Will there be anything else, sir?

High-Fiber Plant-Based Diet Found To Halt Progression of Incurable Blood Cancer

Tasty and good for you

By Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have announced results from the first clinical trial to demonstrate that a high-fiber, plant-based dietary intervention may delay the progression to multiple myeloma—a rare and currently incurable blood cancer that affects the bone marrow.

The study involved 20 participants diagnosed with a precancerous blood disorder and an elevated body mass index (BMI), placing them at higher risk for developing multiple myeloma. Over 12 weeks, participants followed a high-fiber, plant-based meal plan and received an additional 24 weeks of dietary coaching. Notably, two participants who had shown advancing disease prior to the trial experienced a significant improvement in their disease progression trajectory.

Additionally, at one year after enrollment, none of the participants had progressed to multiple myeloma. MSK myeloma specialist and NUTRIVENTION study lead, Urvi Shah, MD, presented these findings at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in San Diego, California.

EPA Bans Known Carcinogens Used in Dry Cleaning, Other Industries

Will the ban on cancer-causing chemicals last under Trump?

Jon Queally for Common Dreams

The Biden administration's Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a permanent ban on a pair of carcinogenic chemicals widely used in U.S. industries, including dry cleaning services and automative work.

According to the Washington Post:

The announcement includes the complete ban of trichloroethylene—also known as TCE—a substance found in common consumer and manufacturing products including degreasing agents, furniture care and auto repair products. In addition, the agency banned all consumer uses and many commercial uses of Perc—also known as tetrachloroethylene and PCE — an industrial solvent long used in applications such as dry cleaning and auto repair.

5 of the most frustrating health insurer tactics and why they exist

What could possibly go wrong with a system that rewards denying claims?

Monica S. Aswani, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Paul Shafer, Boston University

The U.S. has made great progress in getting more people insured since the Affordable Care Act took effect in 2014. The share of uninsured Americans ages 18 to 64 fell from 18% before the ACA to 9.5% in 2022. And preexisting conditions no longer prevent coverage or lead to an increase in premiums.

Yet even for those with health insurance, coverage does not ensure access to care, much less high-quality and affordable care. Research shows that 1 in 3 Americans seeking care report delaying or forgoing treatment because of the “administrative burdens” of dealing with health insurance and the health care system, creating additional barriers beyond costs.

Some of these are basic tasks, such as scheduling appointments. But others relate to strategies that health insurers use to shape the care that their patients are able to receive – tactics that are often unpopular with both doctors and patients.

In addition, more than 40% of Americans under 65 have high-deductible plans, meaning patients face significant upfront costs to using care. As a result, nearly a quarter are unable to afford care despite being insured.

As scholars of health care quality and policy, we study how the affordability and design of health insurance affects people’s health as well as their out-of-pocket costs.

We’d like to unpack five of the most common strategies used by health insurers to ensure that care is medically necessary, cost-effective or both.

At best, these practices help ensure appropriate care is delivered at the lowest possible cost. At worst, these practices are overly burdensome and can be counterproductive, depriving insured patients of the care they need.

Deja Vu

Hey MAGA sucker - then and now

Winter solstice marks official start of winter

 ...With a coating of snow in Charlestown

The day of the winter solstice has the shortest amount of daylight of the year. From this day forward, each passing day adds to the length of daylight. Note that Donald Trump has announced that he will end daylight savings time, yet another way his MAGA will change our lives.

Naturally, the idea to abolish daylight savings time comes from Trump's Rasputin, Elon Musk. 

Two ProPublica reports on formaldehyde in your car and home, why that's important and what to do about it

Unless you're getting embalmed, Formaldehyde Is not good for you. 

By Topher Sanders, with additional reporting by Sharon Lerner and Al Shaw for ProPublica

Reporting Highlights

• Invisible Danger: Formaldehyde, a colorless pungent gas, can cause cancer, breathing problems and reproductive harms.
• Greatest Threat: Most of us face the highest risks in our homes, where formaldehyde is released by some types of furniture, gas stoves and other everyday products.
• Our Testing: We found concerning levels of formaldehyde in furniture stores, inside a nail salon, in cars and at a dinner party.

These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

The air was packed with savory and sweet aromas when I walked into my colleague’s Brooklyn apartment for dinner. The sizzle and pop of rice and green beans cooking on the gas stove blended with soft jazz coming from the TV. Candle flames danced and flickered.

But we weren’t gathering just to enjoy a late-summer meal. We were trying to expose an uninvited yet ever-present guest — formaldehyde.

The invisible chemical can be harmless in small amounts, but in larger concentrations, it can cause headaches, dizziness, respiratory illness and asthma. It is also responsible for more cancer than any other toxic air pollutant.

Because of its importance to many industries, formaldehyde has proven difficult to regulate. This year, President Joe Biden’s administration finally appeared to make some progress, though it was modest. If the past is any guide, however, even those limited efforts are likely to hit a dead end after Donald Trump is inaugurated. Knowing our risks is essential to protecting ourselves, experts say. Last week, ProPublica published a tool to show how much formaldehyde is in the outside air.

But our biggest exposure happens indoors, so my colleagues and I set out to do our own testing.

We read thousands of pages of scientific studies and Environmental Protection Agency documents on the dangers of formaldehyde, and we learned the toxic chemical is nearly impossible to escape. Formaldehyde is in furniture and flooring. It is in the adhesives used in wallpaper and carpets. It’s given off by candles, fireplaces and gas stoves. And it’s in hair products and cosmetics.

Nearly Half of Older Americans Can’t Afford Basic Needs

Trump plans to make it worse

By Sherlea Dony 

I worked hard my whole career and retired feeling secure. Then I lost every last dime in a scam. I was left with $1,300 a month in Social Security benefits to live on in an area where monthly expenses run about $3,700.

I’m a smart woman, but scams against older Americans are increasing in number and sophistication. Whether through scams, strained savings, or costs of living going up, half of older Americans — that’s 27 million households — can’t afford their basic needs.

And suddenly I became one of them. The experience has taught me a lot about the value of a strong social safety net — and why we’ll need to protect it from the coming administration.

I was ashamed and frightened after what happened, but I scraped myself up off the floor and tried to make the best of it.

I’d worked with aging people earlier in my career, so I was familiar with at least some of the groups who could help. I reached out to a local nonprofit and they came through with flying colors, connecting me to life-saving federal assistance programs.

I was assigned a caseworker, who guided me through applying for public programs like the Medical Savings Plan (MSP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), subsidized housing, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid.

It’s hard to describe my relief at getting this help.

Suckers!

If your Amazon package is late...

Teamsters Launch Largest Strike Against Amazon in American History

Kara Deniz 

The Teamsters launched the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history beginning at 6 a.m. EST on Thurs., Dec. 19. The nationwide action follows Amazon’s repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain with the thousands of Amazon workers who organized with the Teamsters.

“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. 

“These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them.” 

Workers will join the picket line from DBK4 in New York City; DGT8 in Atlanta; DFX4, DAX5, and DAX8 in Southern California; DCK6 in San Francisco; and DIL7 in Skokie, Ill. Amazon Teamsters at other facilities are prepared to join them.

Teamsters local unions are also putting up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide. Amazon warehouse workers and drivers without collective bargaining agreements have the legal right to honor these picket lines by withholding their labor.

“What we’re doing is historic,” said Leah Pensler, a warehouse worker at DCK6 in San Francisco. “We are fighting against a vicious union-busting campaign, and we are going to win.”

Amazon is the second-largest corporation on the Fortune 500 list. Despite being worth more than $2 trillion, the company fails to pay its workers enough to make ends meet.

Will Charlestown get its first snow of the year?

Maybe. Maybe not

By Will Collette

Earlier this year, NOAA's winter forecast for us predicted higher temps meaning less snow was likely. This follows a continuing pattern, driving by climate change, of milder winters.

While Trump's transition team has its sights on abolishing NOAA and perhaps the National Weather Service, too, we have the benefit of some pretty good weather diagnostic tools at our exposure. They just have to work out how to focus Donald Trump enough so he can make weather predictions with his Sharpie®.

One of my favorites is the NOAA/NWS Winter Weather Forecast tool which gives you site-specific odds of snowfall. 

At 7 AM this morning, the best odds (59%) are for a Charlestown snow accumulation of less than an inch. It is possible for up to 2 inches to fall, but the odds are only 7%. I don't know if there are weather bookies who take action using this tool, but let's face it, there are people who will bet on anything.

The official National Weather Service forecast at 11 AM calls for rain just after sundown and then some snow showers and a possible accumulation of about half an inch of snow before ending tomorrow night. With a forecast of temperatures in the 20's, whatever does fall is likely to be very slick, so be careful on the roads. 

Here's the NOAA/NWS odds sheet for South County snowfall:

DOJ suit claims CVS ignored red flags, dispensed opioids from ‘dangerously understaffed’ pharmacies

"War on drugs" targets CVS

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

The U.S. Department of Justice has targeted CVS in a nationwide lawsuit, alleging the retail pharmacy giant worsened the opioid crisis by filling — and using government money to pay for — phony prescriptions for powerful drugs. 

The civil complaint filed on Friday and unsealed Wednesday names CVS and its numerous subsidiaries in all 50 states as defendants. The 97-page suit accuses the pharmacy chain, which numbers more than 9,000 branches, of ignoring clear patterns of prescription fraud for opioids and other tightly regulated depressants. 

The national pharmacy giant’s filling of questionable prescriptions ultimately contributed to “the epidemic of opioid death” over the 10-year period investigated in the lawsuit, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Zachary A. Cunha told reporters in a press event Wednesday.

“It is our allegation that CVS as a corporation ignored repeated red flags that large numbers of opioid prescriptions were not legitimate and should not have been filled,” Cunha said.

CVS Pharmacy Inc. is headquartered in Woonsocket and is the largest pharmacy chain in the country. It operates directly in six states, including Rhode Island, and owns subsidiaries in other states which are responsible for local compliance with Drug Enforcement Administration rules for controlled substances. 

The pharmacy chain’s parent company, CVS Health, has expanded into most areas of the health care industry but has experienced tough times in recent months. In September, it announced it would lay off 2,900 people, and a year ago, its stock price was $74.88 per share. Shares rose 2.82% to $45.28 Wednesday.

The suit argues that CVS ignored internal suspicions about certain problematic doctors and prescriptions, and essentially defrauded federal programs like TRICARE, a military health care program, by filling these prescriptions. The suit places the blame squarely on corporate policies, and notes that pharmacists themselves often raised alarms about prescriptions, including those from known fraudulent physicians, to no avail. 

“CVS pharmacists described working at CVS as ‘soul crushing’ because it was impossible to meet the company’s expectations while performing their jobs properly and safely,” the lawsuit reads.

Chariho MAGAs move quickly – maybe too quickly – to assert control over school district

In what appears to be a play to elect an incoming member as Chair of the Committee, Republicans held a possibly illegal vote. 

Steve Ahlquist

This is Steve's video of the meeting:

Thursday Tuesday evening, the Chariho School Committee held its first meeting under a new 7-5 Republican majority. Chariho is a regionalized school District with representatives from Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton. The School Committee is made up of four persons from each town. The unexpected resignation of Richmond Republican Kathryn Colasante has complicated the current lineup of the Committee. 

Under the law, the next highest vote-getter in the most recent election is offered a spot on the Committee. That person is conservative Republican Louise Dinsmore, co-founder of the Forgotten Taxpayers PAC, former Chair of the Richmond Republican Town Committee, and a Chariho Rotary Club board member.

“Who am I really?” asked Dinsmore at a fundraiser for Chariho Forgotten Taxpayers PAC featuring South Kingstown mother and anti-trans activist Nicole Solas, “I’m a vocal taxpayer and Richmond resident concerned about how my tax dollars are being spent by the town and the school District.” Dinsmore also signed onto the Moms for Liberty Pledge while running for office. Dinsmore joins Hopkinton Republican and Moms for Liberty member Dianne Tefft, who was also elected to the Committee last election. I wrote about the pledge ahead of the election here.

A new committee chair must be elected per the State Chariho Regional School District Act, which governs the Chariho Regional School District. Instead of electing a new chair, the seven Republicans blocked the vote for reasons unknown but easily guessed. They are saving the Chair for Dinsmore, who was not sworn in as a member of the Committee as of last night’s meeting. 

As Chariho Superintendent Gina Picard noted, not electing a chair at the first meeting is breaking State law, and “if you choose to break the State law, you would no longer be indemnified as school committee members and have to get your own attorneys.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Westerly Sun reporter Jason Vallee also covered the meeting. His article HERE largely confirms Steve Ahlquist's account.   - Will Collette

Thoughts and prayers again

Only the best

99% of US streams are off the radar amid rising flash flood risks – we saw the harm in 2024

No flood gauges, no warning 

Julie Arbit, University of Michigan; Brad Bottoms, University of Michigan, and Branko Kerkez, University of Michigan

Flooding is one of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters in the U.S., causing billions of dollars in damage each year. In 2024 alone, floods destroyed homes in over a dozen states and claimed more than 165 lives.

Southeast Texas was hit by flash flooding repeatedly in the spring, and then hit again by Hurricane Beryl. In one heartbreaking moment, a 4-year-old boy was swept away after his family’s car was submerged during a thunderstorm near Fort Worth.

In the Upper Midwest, days of rainfall in May caused flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. A slow-moving storm in the Northeast in August caused catastrophic flooding in Connecticut.

The mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee saw some of the year’s most devastating flooding as the remnants of Hurricane Helene hit in September. Heavy rain poured down mountains, turning creeks and rivers into torrents that washed away homes and vehicles. More than 100 people died in North Carolina, and six workers drowned when their plastics factory was inundated in Tennessee.

Storms like these are intensifying faster, weakening more slowly and producing more extreme precipitation that the land can’t absorb fast enough. While many coastal areas are becoming more prepared for hurricane and tidal flooding, inland flood risk is less understood or easily anticipated.

These disasters underscore the importance of fast, accurate flood warnings. They’re also a reminder that extensive gaps still exist in the systems that monitor U.S. stream levels.

How a Decades-Old Loophole Lets Billionaires Avoid Medicare Taxes

The rich have been attacking Medicare for decades

By Paul Kiel for ProPublica

Reporting Highlights

• Tax Dodge: Most working Americans have to pay Medicare taxes, but some of the richest figures on Wall Street have found a way to opt out, a ProPublica investigation found.
• Accidental Loophole: Nearly 50 years ago, Congress tried to fix one financial abuse but unwittingly created an obscure loophole that these billionaires exploit to avoid Medicare taxes.
• Battling Abuse: The IRS only recently got tough on people it viewed as abusing the loophole, but it is unclear if the agency will be able to end the practice.

These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

For most working Americans, paying their share of the taxes that fund Medicare is an unavoidable fact of life. It’s so automatic for many workers that they may not even realize it takes a bite out of every paycheck. In theory, everyone is required to contribute to the country’s health insurance program for seniors, no matter how poor or rich, from cashiers to CEOs.

Not on Wall Street. There, some of the most powerful people in finance found a way to opt out.

The trove of tax records behind ProPublica’s “Secret IRS Files” series contains plenty of examples of billionaire financiers who avoided Medicare tax despite earning huge amounts from their companies. In 2016, Steve Cohen, the owner of the New York Mets, paid $0. So did Stephen Schwarzman, head of the investment behemoth Blackstone. Bill Ackman, the headline-grabbing hedge fund manager, was able to shield almost all his income from the tax.

How do they do it? Business owners, like any self-employed person, whether they’re a freelance Uber driver or a hedge fund manager, have the responsibility to declare their self-employment earnings on their tax returns. Indeed, the vast majority of small-business owners have no choice but to do so and pay the same taxes that wage earners pay, including Medicare.

But high-priced tax advisers, wielding a once-obscure bit of the tax code, found a way to make that obligation vanish. By carefully channeling profits through a company in a way that invokes that obscure provision, even a Steve Cohen, with a tax return showing he received hundreds of millions in profits from his hedge fund, can exempt that income from Medicare tax.

Vaccine misinformation distorts science – a biochemist explains how RFK Jr. and his lawyer’s claims threaten public health

Let's make Americans sick again

Mark R. O'Brian, University at Buffalo

Kids in the 1950s had it great before the polio vaccine.
No school while hanging out with friends in
an iron lung (Boston Childrens Hospital) 

Vaccinations provide significant protection for the public against infectious diseases and substantially reduce health care costs. Therefore, it is noteworthy that President-elect Donald Trump wants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading critic of childhood vaccination, to be secretary of Health and Human Services.

Doctors, scientists and public health researchers have expressed concerns that Kennedy would turn his views into policies that could undermine public health. 

As a case in point, news reports have highlighted how Kennedy’s lawyer, Aaron Siri, has in recent years petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw or suspend approval of numerous vaccines over alleged safety concerns.

I am a biochemist and molecular biologist studying the roles microbes play in health and disease. I also teach medical students and am interested in how the public understands science.

Here are some facts about vaccines that Kennedy and Siri get wrong:

Concept of a plan

Not so special kind of stupid

If you have done business with any of these Rhode Island programs, you might have been hacked

 

Knee problems tend to flare up as you age – an orthopedic specialist explains available treatment options

You and your aching knees

Angie Brown, Quinnipiac University

A healthy knee. 
Inna Kharlamova/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

Knee injuries are common in athletes, accounting for 41% of all athletic injuries. But knee injuries aren’t limited to competitive athletes. 

In our everyday lives, an accident or a quick movement in the wrong direction can injure the knee and require medical treatment. 

A quarter of the adult population worldwide experiences knee pain each year

As a physical therapist and board-certified orthopedic specialist, I help patients of all ages with knee injuries and degenerative conditions.

Your knees have a huge impact on your mobility and overall quality of life, so it’s important to prevent knee problems whenever possible and address pain in these joints with appropriate treatments.

Is RFK Jr. going to continue his attack on 5G cellphone service?

In the Trump Administration Crosshairs: Cell Phone Radiation

By Margaret Manto, NOTUS

Do cell phones and 5G cause cancer? It’s a question that has plagued Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and if Kennedy is confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, it’s one he will have power to explore.

“The next-generation telecommunications network should be discontinued until it has been ‘sufficiently demonstrated that there are no real and serious health risks,’” Kennedy wrote on X in 2020. Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.

In a July 2024 episode of his podcast, Kennedy spoke at length about what he saw as the risks of cell phone radiation and how he believed research into the topic has been systematically suppressed by the telecommunications industry.

The amount of radiation produced by cell phones is regulated by two agencies: the Food and Drug Administration, which generates recommendations for reducing health risks, and the Federal Communications Commission, which turns those recommendations into regulations for manufacturers and cell phone service providers. Other agencies are also involved in cell phone radiation research, including the National Toxicology Program, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. Both the FDA and the NIH are part of HHS.

Many experts say that research has not shown a correlation between the kind of radiation produced by cell phones and the health issues that Kennedy has said they can cause, including cancer.

Anger Explodes at Health Care CEOs

Private insurers profit by denying help to sick people. 

By Sam Pizzigati 

Over 8,000 Americans die every day, many of them unnecessarily.

Why? Because the United States still doesn’t have a national health care system that guarantees everyone adequate medical attention.

One particular American’s death has driven that point home. On December 4, a gunman murdered Brian Thompson, UnitedHealthcare’s 50-year-old CEO. The bullet casings from the shooting read “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.”

Those three words neatly sum up the gameplan America’s giant insurers so relentlessly follow: deny the claim, defend the lawsuit, depose the patient.

Last year, United pulled down $281 billion in revenue, boosting annual profits 33 percent over 2021. Thompson himself pocketed $10.2 million in personal compensation. And Andrew Witty, CEO of the overall UnitedHealth operation, collected $23.5 million, making him the nation’s highest-paid health insurance CEO.

All private insurers profit by denying help to sick people who need it. But UnitedHealth’s operations have become especially rewarding thanks to the shadowy world of “Medicare Advantage,” the program that gives America’s senior citizens the option to contract out their Medicare to private health-service providers.

Not to much to ask, is it? Also, you might get hacked.

If you've been hacked in the recent RI data breech (or any other)...

NASA-DOD Study: Saltwater to Widely Taint Coastal Groundwater by 2100

Future threat to Charlestown well water

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA

Seawater will infiltrate underground freshwater supplies in about three of every four coastal areas around the world by the year 2100, according to a recent study led by researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 

In addition to making water in some coastal aquifers undrinkable and unusable for irrigation, these changes can harm ecosystems and corrode infrastructure.

Called saltwater intrusion, the phenomenon happens below coastlines, where two masses of water naturally hold each other at bay. 

Rainfall on land replenishes, or recharges, fresh water in coastal aquifers (underground rock and soil that hold water), which tends to flow below ground toward the ocean. Meanwhile, seawater, backed by the pressure of the ocean, tends to push inland. Although there’s some mixing in the transition zone where the two meet, the balance of opposing forces typically keeps the water fresh on one side and salty on the other.

Now, two impacts of climate change are tipping the scales in favor of salt water. Spurred by planetary warming, sea level rise is causing coastlines to migrate inland and increasing the force pushing salt water landward. At the same time, slower groundwater recharge — due to less rainfall and warmer weather patterns — is weakening the force moving the underground fresh water in some areas.

Saltwater intrusion will affect groundwater in about three of every four coastal aquifers around the world by the year 2100, a NASA-DOD study estimates. Saltwater can make groundwater in coastal areas undrinkable and useless for irrigation, as well as harm ecosystems and corrode infrastructure.

The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters in November, evaluated more than 60,000 coastal watersheds (land area that channels and drains all the rainfall and snowmelt from a region into a common outlet) around the world, mapping how diminished groundwater recharge and sea level rise will each contribute to saltwater intrusion while estimating what their net effect will be.

R.I. elections board removes No Labels from list of recognized political parties

Spoiler group's recognition revoked by state

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Source: Data for Progress

No Labels Rhode Island is no more, confirmed by the state elections panel in a meeting on Wednesday.

The Rhode Island Board of Elections’ 4-0 vote removes No Labels from the list of officially recognized state political parties. The bipartisan group gained recognition in Rhode Island in March, after submitting more than 20,000 signatures of registered voters. 

The Republican and Democratic parties are the only other recognized political parties in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island was among more than a dozen states in which No Labels successfully petitioned for political party recognition amid plans to prop up a third-party “unity ticket” in the 2024 presidential election.

In April, No Labels ended its presidential bid, explaining it was unable to find a candidate to represent its platform on the 2024 presidential ballot. Rhode Island state law requires political parties to run a gubernatorial or presidential candidate, and for that candidate to receive at least 5% of votes cast, to maintain state recognition.

No Labels Rhode Island did not have any candidates for any office on Rhode Island’s 2024 ballot, disqualifying the group from continued party recognition.

“It was long overdue,” Gary Sasse, chairperson of No Labels Rhode Island, said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “The party was created for one thing and one thing only, and that was to support a presidential candidate. We were never interested in having it on a permanent basis.”

“Gas on a Dumpster Fire”

Children likely to suffer worse under Trump

By Aspen Coriz-Romero | December 5, 2024

The right to seek asylum or refuge from danger is a fundamental human right. It’s protected by both international and U.S. law.

But Donald Trump wants to eliminate that right, including for the most vulnerable: children. These children are often forced to cross the border without their parents to try and claim asylum in the United States. 

I spoke with Arlene Rodriguez, Esteffany Luna, and Esther Ramos, who provide legal and social services to unaccompanied migrant youth in Texas. They gave me a glimpse into the daunting obstacles faced by young asylum seekers.

Nearly a third of new cases in immigration court are minors, I learned, with 1 out of 8 being 0-4 years old. 

But these children are expected to navigate the same complex processes as adults. “They have to sign their own agreements and applications, present themselves in court, and answer the judges’ questions,” said Ramos. “They’re treated very adversarially — not much different from adults.”

“Sometimes they’re so young they don’t understand what they’re being asked to do, or what is being asked of them,” Luna added.

Asylum applicants have to undergo “credible fear” screenings to convince authorities that it’s unsafe for them to go home. In interviews, documents, and court appearances, children are required to repeatedly disclose trauma, which takes a toll. “For older kids who are more conscious of the bad things they’ve experienced, it’s difficult to deal with having someone else know about it,” Rodriguez told me.

Sure hope you get your wish

 

Stocking stuffer

 

Rhode Island state government hit by major cyberattack

McKee says state and it's contractor will fix this. Also, he has a bridge to sell you

By Rhode Island Current staff, Rhode Island Current

A massive cyberattack led the state of Rhode Island Friday to take down its online portal used by residents to obtain social services such as SNAP and Medicaid benefits, as well as health insurance through HealthSourceRI.

The number of people whose personal information was potentially compromised by the data breach of the RIBridges system is significant.

“It’s in the hundreds thousands,” Gov. Dan McKee said at an emergency news conference Friday night at the Department of Administration attended by several cabinet members.

State officials said they learned of the possibility that the system was the target of a potential cyberattack on Dec. 5 from its vendor Deloitte. At that time, the FBI and the Rhode Island State Police were notified.

The system was taken offline Friday afternoon after Deloitte confirmed a major security threat had occurred. Networks are typically taken offline to prevent further intrusion on systems.

Hackers could have obtained names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and banking information could have been stolen, state officials acknowledged.

“I understand this is alarming,” McKee said. “Please know that Deloitte and the state are working with law enforcement, as well as IT experts to minimize the impact on Rhode Islanders.”

Eating Dark Chocolate 5 Times a Week Could Lower Your Risk of Diabetes

Milk chocolate showed no benefit

By BMJ Group

EDITOR'S NOTE: The US doesn't grow cacao beans so all chocolate sold in the US is either imported or made from imported ingredients. Donald Trump's planned tariffs on all imports will probably have an out-sized effect on chocolate. 

Coffee, too, is almost entirely imported. As far as I know, only Puerto Rico grows coffee (and pretty good coffee) but only in small amounts. Besides Trump doesn't seem to realize that Puerto Rico is part of the US. 

Anyway, you can stock up on chocolate and coffee since both have pretty good shelf life and will be hard hit by tariff-driven inflation.    - Will Collette

Consuming five servings of dark chocolate per week has been linked to a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a long-term U.S. study published in The BMJ.

Global rates of type 2 diabetes are set to rise to 700 million by 2045. Chocolate contains high levels of flavanols (a natural compound found in fruits and vegetables) which have been shown to promote heart health and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. But the link between chocolate consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes remains controversial due to inconsistent results.

In addition, most previous studies have not looked at whether eating dark and milk chocolate – which have different cocoa, milk and sugar content – might have different impacts on the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Rhode Island too often passes laws that aren't funded or enforced

Environmental laws typically get the short shrift

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

This reporting was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

Everyone knows how a bill becomes law. Here’s the quick version:

Legislation, written by lawmakers or interest groups, is introduced by legislators into the General Assembly; either the House of Representatives, the Senate, or oftentimes both. In each chamber, it will be assigned to a designated committee, which in turn begins the bill vetting process to arrange a hearing date, solicit public comment, and for those lucky few pieces of legislation, a vote onto the House or Senate floor.

Most bills won’t get that far, statistically speaking; most will be held in committee for further study without an up or down vote. Legislation passed out of committee onto the floor of the House or Senate will receive another vote by the full chamber. Once passed, it’s sent to the opposite chamber, where the process is repeated until both versions of the bill have passed. Then it’s up to the governor to sign or veto the legislation.

That’s the quick and clean version of how Rhode Island creates state law. But just because a bill is passed doesn’t mean it’s enforced.

Mocking the Disabled Is Cruel and Immoral — Especially When Trump Does It

This is so wrong

By Eric S. Jackson

For most people, verbal communication is a seamless, unthinking act.

But for individuals with communication disorders — such as stuttering, aphasia, or other speech and language impairments — speech is anything but automatic. They must not only consider what they say but also how they say it, knowing their manner of speaking might elicit judgment, dismissal, or ridicule.

And soon they’ll have to worry about that ridicule coming from the White House again.

President-elect Trump has repeatedly mocked people with disabilities, including his infamous imitation of a reporter with a congenital movement disorder and President Joe Biden’s stuttering, often to eruptions of laughter from his supporters. Trump also allegedly told his nephew to let his son with developmental disabilities die.

When the most powerful leader in the world engages in this behavior, it sends a chilling message: Some people are less deserving of respect simply because of their disabilities or how they express themselves.

No returns

And we salute them

Advisory Boards Created by Legislation Often Left Unfilled

‘Dead on the Vine’ 

By Colleen Cronin / ecoRI News staff

This reporting was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

State's message seems to be they don't want advice

Ten years ago, when Rhode Islanders had concerns about the high cost of an electricity bill or struggled to get the heat back on, they could go before the Ratepayers Advisory Board, an assembly of appointed volunteers, to air their grievances, and in many cases move the needle on their problems.

The Pawtucket-based George Wiley Center and other groups would often champion those issues, too, recalled Camilo Viveiros, executive director of the center, and bring them before the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which oversees rate changes and other policies.

“We wouldn’t always get a response,” Viveiros said. “The Ratepayers Advisory Board would nudge the PUC to respond.”

He said the board was instrumental in getting modified payment plans in place that made it easier for customers to reinstate service, instead of remaining without heat or electricity because they couldn’t afford it.

“It is important to have something that has a broad oversight of utility policies,” Viveiros said.

Although Viveiros and others saw it as a champion for customers, it’s been seven years since the Ratepayers Advisory Board met. It’s just one of the bodies that oversees environmental or related policy that has become defunct, despite laws mandating they meet, file reports, and advise state officials.

Soda taxes don't just affect sales: They help change people's minds

Sugary soft drink tax works

University of California - Berkeley

It wasn't that long ago when cigarettes and soda were go-to convenience store vices, glamorized in movies and marketed toward, well, everyone.

Then, lawmakers and voters raised taxes on cigarettes, and millions of dollars went into public education campaigns about smoking's harms. Decades of news coverage chronicled how addictive and dangerous cigarettes were and the enormous steps companies took to hide the risks and hook more users. The result: a radical shift in social norms that made it less acceptable to smoke and pushed cigarette use to historic lows, especially among minors.

New UC Berkeley research suggests sugar-sweetened beverages may be on a similar path.

The city of Berkeley's first-in-the-nation soda tax a decade ago, along with more recent Bay Area tax increases on sugar-sweetened drinks, have not only led to reduced sales. They are also associated with significant changes in social norms and attitudes about the healthfulness of sweet drinks, said Kristine A. Madsen, a professor at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and senior author of a paper published Nov. 25 in the journal BMC Public Health.

Over the span of just a few years, taxes coupled with significant media attention significantly affected the public's overall perceptions of sugar-sweetened beverages, which include sodas, some juices and sports drinks. Such a shift in the informal rules surrounding how people think and act could have major implications for public health efforts more broadly, Madsen said.