Jill Burcum
@jburcum.bsky.social
Minnesota Star Tribune opinion writer on health care. Applying Minnesota mom sensibilities to coverage: don't fib, don't be mean & you better have done your homework. StarTribune.com
Vaccine benefit in children "Since 1974, vaccination has averted 154 million deaths, including 146 million among children younger than 5 years of whom 101 million were infants younger than 1 year." www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... The most striking benefit was for vaccination vs measles (Figure)
ICE is planning to make sure field agents have body cams by the end of September. But its policy to only release footage that is in the agency’s “best interest” means taxpayers may be paying millions for cameras without benefitting from their oversight. apnews.com/article/ice-...
ICE will release body camera video only when seen in the agency’s ‘best interests,’ policy says
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to equip officers with body cameras in the next two months but the public should not expect to quickly see footage of every critical incident.
apnews.com
Gift link: www.startribune.com/angie-craig-...
Burcum: Putting Flanagan and Craig to the test on health care
Columnist Jill Burcum asked the DFL candidates for their positions on several pressing Minnesota health care issues to provide a more detailed look at how they’d approach the job in the U.S. Senate.
startribune.com
We’ve update our Medicaid enrollment tracker and the news for children isn’t good. Since January 2025 there has been a shocking drop of 2.3 million kids enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP. This means the child uninsured rate is likely going up.
GIFT LINK: www.startribune.com/ice-immigran...
Burcum: If everything’s fine inside Whipple, let reporters inside
"This isn’t about letting a reporter in for a photo op. An agency permitted to operate without regular, independent observation has every incentive to hide or minimize its mistakes," columnist Jill Bu...
startribune.com
As Trump administration signs a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia, a number of the president's allies and relatives, including members of his cabinet, stand to benefit if his big bet on nuclear power pays off. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/26/u...
Trump Is Pushing Nuclear Energy, Including Saudi Deal. His Family and Supporters Could Benefit.
In some cases, no direct line can be drawn from the president’s domestic nuclear agenda to his family or close allies. But they have overlapping business ties that could position them for gains.
nytimes.com
‘"Never in my career until now have I felt that those edits, those suggestions, came from a place of misinformation or politics," Vega said. "That's the difference."’
Oliver Darcy@oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 3w agoScoop: Cecilia Vega broke her silence on Thursday and detailed how the Bari Weiss-led CBS News management tried to meddle in her stories, according to an audio recording of her remarks that I obtained. Full story in @status.news: www.status.news/p/cecilia-ve...
“.. the Trump administration decided to remove four service members killed this past weekend from the list .. because their deaths occurred after President Trump declared a cease-fire ..” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/u...
I thought RFK Jr was going to strengthen trust in our health care system? This is a joke.
WIRED@wired.com · 3w agoOutside experts—some with a vested interest in peptides—recommended adding a number of the amino acids to the FDA's bulk list, including the “Wolverine stack” touted by Joe Rogan and other influencers. www.wired.com/story/fda-pa...
The zillionth study finding COVID vaccines are safe for both pregnant people and babies. Vaccinated women had babies just as healthy as unvaccinated women. Getting sick with COVID during pregnancy, however, is very risky for moms and babies.
CIDRAP@cidrap.bsky.social · 3w agoData suggest: COVID vaccination during pregnancy didn’t increase poor infant outcomes. Rates of low birth weight, small for gestational age, death, and studied medical conditions were lower than before the pandemic. Read more: https://bit.ly/4b8smTh
Quick takes: -Ebola death toll tops 1,000 -Delaware declares measles outbreak -H9N2 avian flu in China Read more: https://bit.ly/4bab3RP.
Quick takes: Ebola death toll tops 1,000, Delaware declares measles outbreak, H9N2 avian flu in China
The case-fatality rate for the Ebola outbreak is 40%.
bit.ly
A devastating but lesser known part of federal science attacks is on the federal science advisory system. In a new post, I discuss the state of play on federal advisory committees and how the scientific community is pushing back through independent science efforts. blog.ucs.org/gretchen-gol...
The dogs caught the car and now we are stuck riding in a car that’s being driven by dogs who don’t know how to drive a car and aren’t capable of learning and the car is full of diarrhea
Melody Schreiber@melodyschreiber.com · 3w agoAn EXCELLENT point by @lisamjarvis.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
IRAN WAR COVER UP Pentagon Withheld Dozens of U.S. Military Injuries in Iran War www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/u...
Pentagon Withheld Dozens of U.S. Military Injuries in Iran War
Central Command is not required to release information about injured troops, especially when they quickly return to duty, a military official said.
nytimes.com
But nearly six months after the website's launch, those deals on TrumpRx represent fewer than 12% of the more than 800 brand-name drugs made by the participating pharmaceutical companies. www.npr.org/2026/07/16/n...
TrumpRx promised a supermarket for cheaper drugs but delivered a boutique
President Trump said TrumpRx is the biggest thing to happen in healthcare in decades. But an NPR analysis finds drugmakers are only offering deals on a few of their medicines.
npr.org
one of the supposedly damning docs the White House released tonight says Russia tried to undermine BIDEN. Also says China "prefers that President Trump be defeated" but actually "Beijing did not intend to try to affect the election" (!)
Maine ICE shooter has history of severe mental illness, multiple psych hospitalizations, mil PTSD, chronic violence agst at least two wives, and threats against mutiple family members and more. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-mus...
A Must Read and Truly Horrifying Story
The AP has just posted a detailed investigation into the background of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
Most economic indicators are largely exogenous to the president, who in reality has few levers and typically unfairly gets blame or credit. But for the very few levers the president actually has, Trump has made them all worse. Tariffs and the Iran war were both self-inflicted.
Justin Wolfers@justinwolfers.bsky.social · last mo.US inflation is the highest in the G7.
WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD: “.. the President is right that his tariffs are at work — in destroying U.S. jobs .. The U.S. has lost some 75,000 manufacturing jobs since January 2025 .. “His trade oscillations and border taxes are a major reason .. why Americans are so unhappy.” www.wsj.com/opinion/how-...
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley has asked FBI Director Kash Patel to defend his use of FBI aircraft and purchase of BMWs in a letter obtained by CNN, an indication that the powerful Republican chairman is conducting his own oversight of Patel’s controversial spending of taxpayer dollars.
Republican Sen. Grassley probing FBI Director Patel’s travel and spending | CNN Politics
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley has asked FBI Director Kash Patel to defend his use of FBI aircraft and purchase of BMWs in a letter obtained by CNN, an indication that the powerful Republican c...
cnn.com
SHOCK NYT REPORT: DHS now admits the man ICE killed in Houston wasn't even their target. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 35-year U.S. resident, was just driving to work when agents — with no body cameras — shot him dead searching for two other men who weren't even in the van. Gift link in reply.
"The three men lay helpless as their boss lay dying." Strong reporting, via @arelisrhdz.bsky.social / @washingtonpost.com 🎁 🔗 wapo.st/4ydn1Ux
Ominous: Congressional scholar @normornstein.bsky.social thinks there's a real chance GOP will cave to Trump's rage and pass SAVE Act via reconciliation by using a twisted process that overrules parlimentarian. On the pod, Norm is so good on this and everything else: newrepublic.com/article/2128...
Trump’s Rage over Midterm Woes Badly Unnerves GOPers: “He’s a Bully”
As Trump’s angry demands for voter suppression really start aggravating Republicans, a veteran congressional observer explains the deeper pickle they’re in—and what will happen next.
newrepublic.com
STAT has published a freely available summary of their very important investigation of Nutex. This company runs hospitals and ERs that don’t contract with Medicare and thus do not have to comply with EMTALA—the law that says everyone must be treated at the ER regardless of ability to pay
5 takeaways from STAT’s investigation into microhospital operator Nutex Health
Read the takeaways from STAT's investigation into Nutex, which used the No Surprises Act to fuel a stunning financial turnaround.
statnews.com
Molly Jeffery, PhD MPP@mollyjeffery.bsky.social · last mo.I wish I could share a gift link to this, because everyone should have access to this story. This is a company that has buildings that say "Hospital and ER," but they don't accept Medicare or Medicaid, so they aren't subject to EMTALA--the law that says EDs must treat everyone who walks in.
In Minnesota, we know a thing or two about algae. Trump admin should bring in a state expert to deal with the Reflecting Poll’s pea soup mess. GIFT LINK: www.startribune.com/burcum-the-r...
Burcum: The Reflecting Pool is a hot, green mess. A Duluth researcher may have the answer.
From columnist Jill Burcum: A Minnesota expert is digging into the science behind the algae bloom. Washington should ask for his help.
startribune.com
"The documents do not reveal a deep-state playbook. When actually read, they show Gabbard’s playbook." @noupside.bsky.social breaks down Tulsi Gabbard's "Fauci Files" which claim Fauci manipulated intelligence and lied to Congress about the origins of COVID-19.
Tulsi Gabbard’s Fauci Files Don’t Prove What She Says They Prove
Gabbard’s declassification theater is a case study in politicizing intelligence.
lawfaremedia.org
Tulsi Gabbard dumped a pile of docs & claimed they were evidence of a vast plot by Fauci to manipulate intelligence, cover up the lab leak, & conceal his role in creating Covid. They weren’t. In reality, Gabbard’s documents undermine her. Here’s what they say… www.lawfaremedia.org/article/tuls...
Tulsi Gabbard’s Fauci Files Don’t Prove What She Says They Prove
Gabbard’s declassification theater is a case study in politicizing intelligence.
lawfaremedia.org
Two researchers — one in Massachusetts and one in Shanghai — hoped for the same breakthrough: a gene therapy for deaf children. New Chinese investment in science propelled the one who got there first. n.pr/4weVi49
How the U.S. is losing ground to China in university research
Two researchers — one in Massachusetts and one in Shanghai — hoped for the same breakthrough: a gene therapy for deaf children. New Chinese investment in science propelled the one who got there first.
n.pr
“.. Trump personally pushed acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to issue the subpoenas. The president delivered the message — with the word ‘Treason’ written in Sharpie — on a stack of printed articles he handed to Blanche.” @cnn.com www.cnn.com/2026/06/23/m...
