Vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B saves lives.

Why might a CDC panel stop recommending it?

Liz Szabo, MA

RFK Jr. is the problem. He thinks vaccines are bad
but taking his grandkids to swim in sewage,
despite warning signs, is fine.

Alex Lee suffered for years because of a chronic hepatitis B infection.

Like many people with chronic hepatitis B, Lee contracted the virus from his mother during birth. Lee didn't learn he was infected until he was 40, when his mother underwent a liver transplant due to organ failure caused by hepatitis B.

By the time Lee was diagnosed, he already had advanced cirrhosis, a serious liver disease. He has since undergone surgery to remove growths on his liver, followed by chemotherapy to treat liver cancer caused by the virus, as well as a liver transplant. Although Lee is healthy today at 68, he will need to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life to prevent his immune system from attacking his new liver.

Yet Lee considers himself lucky; he doesn't need to worry that his children will develop the same disease. All three were vaccinated against hepatitis B, the first anti-cancer vaccine approved in the United States.

"I would recommend all babies take the vaccination," said Lee, a volunteer health educator for San Francisco Hep B Free, a nonprofit that educates community members about hepatitis B. "I was lucky that I found out early and that my liver cancer was not advanced." 

A 99% drop in hepatitis B

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first recommended vaccinating all babies against hepatitis B at birth in 1991. Since then, chronic hepatitis B infections in children and adolescents have fallen by 99%.

A study published in 2022 found that US children who received the vaccines as newborns were 22% less likely to die from any cause.

The universal birth dose of hepatitis vaccine "has been incredibly effective,” said Ravi Jhaveri, MD, head of infectious diseases at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “The US is in many ways is an envy of the world because we have been able to do this."

Since 1991, the universal HBV birth dose has prevented more than 500,000 childhood infections and prevented an estimated 90,100 childhood deaths, according to a joint statement from the American Public Health Association and 72 public health experts that was submitted as a public comment in response to an upcoming meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Again, weekend snow seems unlikely for Charlestown

Donald J. Trump Puts His Name on ‘US Institute of Peace’ while waging illegal wars and killing civilians

Latest chapter in Trump's quest for the Nobel Peace Prize

Jon Queally

The signs on the building of the United States Institute of Peace were changed overnight to include “Donald J. Trump,” adding the name of the sitting US president who, among other examples of warmongering and war-making, has openly supported the Israeli genocide in Gaza, bombed Iran, sent an aircraft carrier strike group to threaten Venezuela, and ordered the extrajudicial killings of over 80 people aboard boats in the Caribbean and Pacific in recent months.

The building’s name change preceded a meeting on Thursday between leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a proposed peace deal between the two warring nations is set to be signed. It also came amid an ongoing clamoring by the president to be recognized as a great maker of peace despite his record of violence, thuggery, racism, and human rights violations.

Critics of the move were swift in their condemnation of Trump, known more for being possibly the most famous narcissist in the history of humanity than for waging anything that remotely looks like a just and lasting peace.

“This is pathetic, like a little boy running around putting ‘Property of Donald’ stickers on everything in the house,” said Tom Nichols, a staff writer at The Atlantic magazine. “It’s not the Trump institute of peace, it’s the US Institute of Peace.”

Trump's ugly Thanksgiving meltdown

It's getting so bad that even Republicans are starting to notice.

Noah Berlatsky

Thanksgiving is supposedly a holiday devoted to welcoming family, friends, and guests to eat together. So of course, Trump used it to indulge in a bizarre orgy of xenophobia and hate, culminating in a gutter attack on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who he referred to as “seriously retarded.”

Trump’s decision to “give thanks” by spewing bigotry and slurs is not a surprise. Even by his standards, though, his harangue was despicable. It was also a disgusting effort to leverage for partisan ends the shooting of National Guard members in Washington DC.

As his popularity and influence slips, Trump seems more and more desperate. That makes him more reckless and in many ways more dangerous. It also opens up opportunities for opposition, though — sometimes from unexpected quarters.

100% accurate Narco anti-missile system

Not even Kim Il Jun has this power

This is even a greater achievement than his glorious 2019 feat of changing Hurricane Dorian's path with his magic SharpieⓇ

If you walk in RI woods between Dec. 6 and Jan. 2, beware of shotgun-toting hunters

DEM requires you to wear orange to keep from getting killed 

Orange hats and vests are so chic this season – shotgun deer season, that is. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) reminds the public that starting this weekend on Saturday, Dec. 6, it’s time to make a bold fashion statement in hunting areas by adding plenty of orange into your winter wardrobe. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: "bold fashion statement" my ass. DEM wrote this cutesy news release, not me. While I have no problem with subsistence hunting, I am no fan of killing such magnificent creatures for sport. Unless the deer are armed so they can shoot back.   - Will Collette

Anyone in state management areas and undeveloped state parks during shotgun deer season must wear 500 square inches of solid, fluorescent orange, such as an orange vest and hat worn above the waist, through Friday, Jan. 2.  

Wonder what Bobby Jr. thinks of this

Garlic shows promise as a mouthwash alternative to standard chemical compounds

By University of Sharjah

Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan

Garlic extract demonstrates antimicrobial efficacy comparable to other widely used antiseptics and disinfectants, such as chlorhexidine, according to University of Sharjah medical scientists.

Published in the Journal of Herbal Medicine, the study suggests that while garlic-based mouthwash may cause more discomfort than chlorhexidine, it offers longer-lasting residual effects.

"Chlorhexidine is widely used as a gold standard mouthwash but is associated with side effects and concerns over antimicrobial resistance," the authors note. "Garlic (Allium sativum), known for (its) natural antimicrobial properties, has emerged as a potential alternative."

Rhode Islanders worry about winter energy costs

As winter heating costs rise, so does consumer anxiety in Rhode Island, poll finds

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Feeling anxious about how to pay for your winter heating bill? You’re not alone, according to the latest Ocean State Poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which found roughly 78% of Rhode Islanders feel the same way about their upcoming winter heating bills. 

Unease over heating prices has risen since last November, when UNH researchers found 70% of residents were worried about their winter energy bills. Among the anxious, 40% said they were “very worried,” while 37% were “worried.” 

And that worry was expressed across each of the three voter affiliations used in the survey released Nov. 25 — Democrat, Republican and independent — expressed being “worried” or “very worried.” That included 88% of independents, 83% of Democrats, and 61% of Republicans.

Independents, or unaffiliated voters, comprised the overall survey’s largest share at about 51% of the total of 711 residents surveyed. The survey was conducted online between Nov. 13 and 17.

The worries are not abstract, as evidenced by Federal Energy Information Administration data which shows Rhode Island home heating oil prices at about $3.88 a gallon in the last week of November 2025. That’s up from the same time last year, when a gallon of oil cost about $3.52. It’s also significantly above pandemic-era November 2020, when heating oil cost about $2.31 a gallon in Rhode Island. 

Heating oil is, however, still below the heights achieved in the fall of 2022, when October and November oil prices regularly soared above $5 a gallon, almost reaching $5.89 in the last week of October 2022.

Propane has been similarly expensive in recent years, with federal data showing residential propane averages about $3.56 a gallon on Nov. 24, 2025, comparable to the $3.61 per gallon recorded in the same time period in November 2024, but still above the high-$2.80s of late 2020. Like oil, propane prices spiked in fall 2022, regularly reaching the $3.80s in October and November of that year. 

The day after the poll was released, Rhode Island Energy submitted a request to increase service charges for gas and electric customers in an application submitted to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. If approved, the proposed new distribution rates which would take effect in September 2026 would increase the average residential electric bill by about $7.78 a month, while a typical gas customer would pay $343.53 more annually, a 20.6% jump.

Rhode Island federal lawsuit challenges HUD move to defund evidence-based approach to reducing homelessness

Trump regime pushes "incomprehensible" policy change

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

Two Rhode Island nonprofits joined a federal lawsuit filed Monday by a coalition of municipal governments and nonprofit organizations challenging the Trump administration’s push to overhaul a key federal homelessness and housing grant program.

The 85-page lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island seeks to stop the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) from slashing the amount of grant funds that can be spent on permanent housing, or subsidized units that provide a stable residence for formerly homeless people, often those who have experienced mental illness or spent years on the streets. 

Lead plaintiffs include the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, along with Providence-based nonprofits Crossroads Rhode Island and Youth Pride Inc. — among other groups and cities across the country.

The plaintiffs are challenging changes to HUD’s Continuum of Care grant program announced Nov. 13 that shift over two-thirds of the $3.9 billion program toward transitional housing and other short-term interventions for people without shelter. The lawsuit claims the new policy is contrary to “well-established and proven strategies that reduce homelessness” and jeopardize the housing of more than 170,000 people across the nation. 

The so-called “housing first” model prioritizes stable housing before offering case management, mental health treatment, substance use services, and supported employment services. Research has shown this approach leads to more long-term housing stability than programs that require residents to consent to treatment and abstain from using substances before receiving housing.

MAGA evolves

HopArts for the holidays...that's REALLY buying local

CRMC settles one beach access dispute in Westerly

Weekapaug fake fire district road blocks still unresolved.

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

After more than 40 years since it was first given to the state for consideration, coastal regulators have decided to designate a shoreline access point at the end of Everett Avenue in Westerly a state right of way.

The matter had technically been before the Coastal Resources Management Council, the state agency that oversees coastal access, since the late 1970s. According to a report and recommendation authored by CRMC counsel Anthony DeSisto, the agency’s right of way subcommittee held hearings in the fall and winter of 1978 and early 1979.

“The town has made representations that it’s a public street, it’s in the harbor management plan as a public right of way to the shore,” DeSisto said. “You have your dedication and acceptance as subcommittee members heard, the two elements indicating it’s a public right of way.”

During the hearings, the town and members of the public indicated the access point was used as a public right of way (ROW) by local residents, but the full council voted in 1980 to put its designation process on hold to allow abutters opposing the designation process to provide evidence to the contrary. That evidence never materialized, and the ROW issue lay dormant until brought to CRMC’s attention by a town solicitor in Westerly in February.

Majority of MAGA/far-right social media accounts are trolls from Russia, Nigeria and Bangladesh

ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record.

Trump reinstates "Kids in Cages" policy

by Mica Rosenberg, Mario Ariza, McKenzie Funk, Jeff Ernsthausen and Gabriel Sandoval for ProPublica

The notorious kids in cages practice in Trump's first term
is back. And of course it is under Tom Homan, the guy
who caused this in the first term. Before he began working
in Trump 2.0, Homan was the guy who took $50,000 cash
in a paper bag from undercover FBI agents posing as
contractors looking to buy contracts.

It was Friday, June 6, and the rent was due. As soon as she finished an errand, Imelda Carreto planned on joining her family as they gathered scrap metal to earn a little extra cash. Her fiancé, Julio Matias, and 15-year-old nephew, Carlos, had set out early, hitching a trailer to the back of their beat-up gray truck.

Shortly after 8 a.m., Carreto’s phone rang. It was Carlos, telling her an officer with the Florida Highway Patrol had pulled over the truck on Interstate 4 near Tampa. The stated reason: cracks in their windshield. But Carreto was worried. She knew Florida police were collaborating with federal immigration authorities. Her fiancé was undocumented. She says she rushed to the scene and made it there just before the immigration officers.

As she feared, Matias had been detained. But to her surprise, so had Carlos. He was just a kid. (ProPublica is only identifying Carlos by his first name because he is a minor.) Carlos was in high school. He’d been living in the United States for over two years and was working toward applying for legal status to stay long term. The government had given her, a legal resident, custody of him. Now he was in handcuffs. Why would they take him too?

Carreto didn’t carry any proof that she had custody of the boy. She had left it in another car in her rush. She recalls officers saying her nephew would likely be released to her in a few days once she presented the proper documents. Before they drove him away, Carlos started to tear up. Carreto told him, “Don’t cry. I don’t know how, but I’ll get you back. Understand?”

A cracked windshield, a waiting officer, a forgotten document: The new family separations often start in the most mundane ways.

Seven years ago, during the first administration of President Donald Trump, children were taken from their families the moment they crossed the border into the United States. Under a policy of zero tolerance for illegal crossing, Customs and Border Protection officers detained adults while children were sent into the federal shelter system. The aim: to deter other families from following. But after widespread public outcry and a lawsuit, the administration ended it.

Today, family separations are back, only now they are happening all across the country. The lawsuit against the zero tolerance policy resulted in a 2023 settlement that limits separations at the border, but it does not address those that occur inside the country after encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Advocates fear the administration is conducting the new separations for the same reasons as before: to deter new immigrants from coming and to terrify those who are here into leaving.

Since the start of this year, some 600 immigrant children have been placed in government shelters by ICE, according to government data. That figure, which has not been previously reported, is already higher than the tally for the previous four years combined. And it is the highest number since recordkeeping began a decade ago.

Van Slyke wins 3-way Town Council special election with less than 40% of the vote

Three-way races are always hard to call

By Will Collette

Unfortunately, the CCA's candidate, Bonnita B. Van Slyke, gets another chance to see how badly she can screw up again after pulling a win out of a tight race.

She beat second-place finisher and political newcomer, Democrat Jill Fonnemann, by only 42 votes. Jill was my choice and I hope she will try again next year after this strong showing in her first election campaign.

I had expected this election to draw fewer than 1000 voters, but to my surprise that 1,459 Charlestown residents turned out. Still, that's far fewer than the number who typically vote in general elections.

More than 60% of them cast their votes against the CCA so Van Slyke returns with no mandate. 

Republican Laura Rom ran a distant third with less than a quarter of the vote. That's pretty much in line with the way elections in 2025 have turned out for Republicans nationwide.

This sick criminal is US Secretary of "War" (legally, Secretary of Defense)

This is Hegseth's creation, not someone else's satirical work. These Trumpers are really sick. 

To add to your nausea, here's a tweet from Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem, a.k.a. ICE Barbie:

South County Rising meeting and party - December 5

Rising seas and human pressures are rapidly shrinking the world’s beaches and destabilizing the ecosystems that depend on them.

Scientists warn half the world’s beaches could disappear

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Photo by Will Collette

Coastlines around the planet are being steadily "crushed" as climate-driven sea level rise combines with expanding development in coastal zones. This ongoing process damages the diverse life that depends on sandy environments, disrupts local economies that rely on fishing and tourism, and leaves coastal cities more exposed to encroaching waters.

The concern was raised by Uruguayan marine scientist Omar Defeo, a professor at Uruguay's University of the Republic (UdelaR), during the opening sessions of the FAPESP Day Uruguay symposium, which began on November 13 in Montevideo.

"Almost half of the beaches will disappear by the end of the century. We in Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina share these resources. Therefore, we must work in partnership with Brazilian scientists to manage and conserve coastal ecosystems," Defeo said.

Autism groups blast RFK Jr.'s false claims on link between vaccines and autism

Leading Autism and Disability Organizations Statement on CDC’s Vaccines and Autism Page

As national organizations dedicated to advancing the well-being of autistic individuals and partners across the disability and public health sectors, we are deeply disappointed by the latest update to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website on autism and vaccines. 

The website now states: “‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim.” This is false. Nearly three decades of scientific research, consisting of dozens of high-quality studies conducted around the world, surveying millions of people, has repeatedly confirmed there is no causal link between vaccines and autism. The limited studies that have suggested otherwise have not been reproducible and are consistently found to contain methodological flaws and, in some cases, have outright falsified evidence.

CDC has been the primary source of reliable public health and medical information in the country, if not the world. Last week’s actions will likely confuse the public, and especially parents, who seek to protect their children from infectious diseases and chronic conditions that those diseases may cause.

The choice to invest further resources in search of a link between autism and vaccines detracts from the current wishes and needs of the autism community. There are dozens of potential research topics that could inspire hundreds of projects focused on community needs, personalized health care, and services that could benefit from funding. 

Who did what in Afghanistan

Trump's unfitness to serve triggers federal officials' duty to act

Trump has crossed the line where invoking the 25th Amendment should be compulsory

Sabrina Haake

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) governs the conduct of every person in the United States military, and applies equally to all ranks and branches, whether in combat, or not.

All servicemembers are taught, and are expected to understand, its core principles. Ignorantia juris non excusat, or ‘Ignorance of the law,’ is not a legal defense in the US military. 

Under Art. 92 of the UCMJ, members have a duty to obey all lawful commands, and they have a parallel duty to disobey all unlawful commands. Obeying a manifestly illegal order, like an order to target civilians, can expose a service member to criminal liability.

The Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals established
the principle that "I was just following orders" is NOT an excuse

The duty to disobey manifestly illegal orders is a cornerstone of international law, with foundations in Nazi-related post-WWII trials like Nuremberg. Orders of such nature that their unlawfulness is clear and obvious, such as an order to target unarmed civilians, are considered manifestly illegal.

Trump, Hegseth are issuing manifestly illegal orders to murder civilians

Trump has ordered the summary execution of at least 83 people so far in suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. Trump and Hegseth call these targets ‘narco-terrorists’ because they think that means they can treat them as enemy combatants in a war that does not exist.

Name them, Donald

It doesn’t. Even if the victims were “narco-terrorists,” for which Trump has provided zero evidence, at worst, they are citizen criminals entitled to interdiction and legal process under US and international law. No country has the right to execute non-combatant civilians unless faced with imminent threat, otherwise unhinged leaders could shoot people for sport, which Trump’s snuff videos are chillingly starting to resemble.

The international condemnation of Trump’s campaign in South America is growing, along with global accusations of murder that would be louder if Trump weren’t threatening foreign leaders with erratic tariffs. Formerly strong US allies, including the UK, Colombia, and the Netherlands, have either refused or suspended related intelligence sharing with the US because of the illegal strikes. Military support groups are starting to talk in earnest, offering counseling and advice on what to do when faced with illegal order situations.

Native art sale at Quonnie Grange, December 6

Help re-elect our fine State Representative Tina Spears

 

Join Us!

For a reception in support of District 36 Representative

Tina Spears

Thursday, December 4th, 2025 6–8 PM The General Stanton Inn  4115 Old Post Road, Charlestown, RI

DONATE

Suggested contribution:$50 | $100 | $200 Light refreshments will be served

Please make personal checks payable to: The Friends of Tina Spears 82 Hillside Drive Charlestown, RI 02813   Click HERE to contribute online or use the QR code   DONATE

Charlestown Gallery opens doors for Charlestown Ramble

Special event prices

The Charlestown Gallery invites you to join us for the Annual Charlestown Holiday Ramble on Friday, December 5th from 3pm to 9pm and Saturday, December 6th between 10am and 7pm.  You can find us at 5000 South County Trail in Charlestown, Rhode Island. 

We have collected over 100 original art works priced at $500 and below for this event. You will not be disappointed.  Friday night raffle 50% off one original work of your choice (limit applies) and Saturday night raffle 1 free workshop of your choice.  Sip a hot beverage and mingle while you tackle some holiday shopping. Exquisite original paintings, sculptures, furniture, books, ornaments, jewelry, and pottery will make memorable gifts.  You might even find something for yourself if you dare.  

Chef Bryan Chavez Food Truck Curbside Creperie will be on site Friday and his Farm to Sandwich Truck on Saturday.  Gather around the fire pit while you meet the artists and your Charlestown neighbors while supporting small local artists and businesses this holiday season.  Make a lasting difference in our community.  

Storm tomorrow unlikely to bring much (or any) snow

But it will be wet and windy according to the National Weather Service:

7-Day Forecast 41.38N 71.66W

If you are travelling north, watch out:

Boston/Norton, MA Weather Forecast Office Winter Weather Forecasts

Trump Latin America policy: Pardon convicted right-wing drug traffickers while threatening to bomb left-wing leaders

Trump and Hegseth policies make no sense

Julia Conley for Common Dreams

The US Congressional Progressive Caucus on Friday accused President Donald Trump of “flagrantly interfering” in Honduras’ upcoming presidential election after Trump announced his endorsement of right-wing candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura and repeated threats he’s made previously ahead of other electoral contests in which he sought to secure a conservative win.

On the social media platform X, Trump warned that only a victory for former Tegucigalpa Mayor Asfura and the National Party in Sunday’s election will allow Honduras and the US to “fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people” of the Central American country.

He accused Asfura’s opponents—former finance and defense minister Rixi Moncada of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) Party, which is now in power, and sportscaster Salvador Nasralla of the centrist Liberal Party—of being communists and said Nasralla is running as a spoiler in order to split the vote and weaken Asfura. 

State-sponsored terrorism

He added that a loss for the right-wing candidate would allow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro “and his Narcoterrorists [to] take over another country like they have taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.”

The president also wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that “if [Asfura] doesn’t win, the US will not be throwing good money after bad,” repeating a comment he made during New York City’s mayoral election in which he urged voters to reject progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani or risk losing federal aid for the city. Trump also offered Argentina a $40 billion bailout if voters elected his ally, Javier Milei, earlier this year.

War crimes or just plain old murder - why the US
military needed reminding about the duty to not
follow illegal orders

Under President Xiomara Castro, the Libre Party’s government has invested in hospitals and education, and has made strides in halting the privatization of the country’s electricity system, Drop Site News reported. 

The poverty rate has also been reduced by about 13% since Castro took office in 2021, although, as the outlet reported, some rights advocates have criticized Castro’s government for keeping “many of her predecessor’s militarized policies in place, despite her commitment to implement a more community-minded strategy.”

Trump added in his social media post that he was issuing a pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who represented the National Party and is currently serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US. 

He was convicted of working with drug traffickers who paid bribes to ensure more than 400 tons of cocaine were sent to the US. The pardon was announced as Trump continues his threats against Venezuela, which he has accused of trafficking drugs to the US.