Deborah Blum
@deborahb.bsky.social
Book author, toxicology journalist, fascinated by poison and murder (current book project), and, oh yeah, I'm the former director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
We are SO CLOSE — we're just $33 away from making our matching goal this year! Thanks to matching donors like @sabs.bsky.social and many others for helping make this possible! www.theopennotebook.com/15thannivers...
December 26, 2025 at 9:31 PM
We are SO CLOSE — we're just $33 away from making our matching goal this year! Thanks to matching donors like @sabs.bsky.social and many others for helping make this possible! www.theopennotebook.com/15thannivers...
Reposted by Deborah Blum
This is sad news. Good luck to the repair team at Lick in the upcoming months.
Powerful Christmas Day winds gusting up to 114 mph severely damaged UC Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, forcing the nearly 140-year-old facility to close while officials headquartered at UC Santa Cruz assess structural damage and begin repairs expected to take months.
Christmas Day winds up to 114 mph damage UC Lick Observatory
Powerful Christmas Day winds gusting up to 114 mph severely damaged UC Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, forcing the nearly 140-year-old facility to close while officials headquartered at UC Santa Cruz assess structural damage and begin repairs expected to take months.
buff.ly
December 26, 2025 at 10:21 PM
This is sad news. Good luck to the repair team at Lick in the upcoming months.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
![The Government asked this Court to stay the District Court's order. After the response and reply were filed, JUSTICE BARRETT referred the application to the Court. We directed the parties to file supplemental letter briefs on an issue that the District Court had addressed but the parties' initial briefs had not: the meaning of the term "regular forces" in §12406(3). In its supplemental brief, the Government argues that the term refers to civilian law enforcement officers, such as those employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Federal Protective Service.
Respondents, echoing the District Court, maintain that the term refers to the regular forces of the United States mili-tary.
We conclude that the term "regular forces" in §12406(3) likely refers to the regular forces of the United States mili-tary. This interpretation means that to call the Guard into active federal service under §12406(3), the President must be "unable" with the regular military "to execute the laws of the United States." Because the statute requires an assessment of the military's ability to execute the laws, it likely applies only where the military could legally execute the laws. Such circumstances are exceptional: Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the military is prohibited from "execut[ing] the laws" "except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress."
18 U. S. C. §1385. So before the President can federalize the Guard under §12406(3), he likely must have statutory or constitutional authority to execute the laws with the regular military and must be "unable" with those forces to perform that function.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreiftbhzwvn3vgwhqsi7k2paizvdw4t26ailljvovso3chqupnmj364@jpeg)
December 23, 2025 at 8:16 PM
NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
Reposted by Deborah Blum
“In DOGE’s published list of canceled contracts and grants, the 13 largest were all incorrect.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little?
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:29 PM
“In DOGE’s published list of canceled contracts and grants, the 13 largest were all incorrect.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
Reposted by Deborah Blum
These declines are MASSIVE.
And the comparative silence in media coverage is absolutely DAMNING.
“Why are ppl always so afraid of crime?”
THIS is why. When crime goes up, media trips over itself to report it.
Falls to pre-war (!!) levels? Just CRICKETS.
And the comparative silence in media coverage is absolutely DAMNING.
“Why are ppl always so afraid of crime?”
THIS is why. When crime goes up, media trips over itself to report it.
Falls to pre-war (!!) levels? Just CRICKETS.
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
December 23, 2025 at 10:03 PM
These declines are MASSIVE.
And the comparative silence in media coverage is absolutely DAMNING.
“Why are ppl always so afraid of crime?”
THIS is why. When crime goes up, media trips over itself to report it.
Falls to pre-war (!!) levels? Just CRICKETS.
And the comparative silence in media coverage is absolutely DAMNING.
“Why are ppl always so afraid of crime?”
THIS is why. When crime goes up, media trips over itself to report it.
Falls to pre-war (!!) levels? Just CRICKETS.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
Bari Weiss lied in her memo. She said segment didn't report administration's legal justification (it does in the very first sentence) and didn't say how many detainees had been charged with crimes as opposed to just those who were convicted (it does). www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-...
WATCH: The 60 Minutes CECOT Segment
I was sent the CECOT segment anonymously in a group chat.
www.muellershewrote.com
December 23, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Bari Weiss lied in her memo. She said segment didn't report administration's legal justification (it does in the very first sentence) and didn't say how many detainees had been charged with crimes as opposed to just those who were convicted (it does). www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-...
Thread.
"It is going to get so much worse."
For the first of two end-of-the-year episodes of @pandemia.bsky.social, I talked to @drdemetre.bsky.social about what happened in 2025 at the CDC and how he thinks about the future of vaccines and public health in the US.
A quick 🧪🧵
For the first of two end-of-the-year episodes of @pandemia.bsky.social, I talked to @drdemetre.bsky.social about what happened in 2025 at the CDC and how he thinks about the future of vaccines and public health in the US.
A quick 🧪🧵
Impfen | Es wird noch viel schlimmer werden
Podcast Episode · Pandemia · 22/12/2025 · 40m
podcasts.apple.com
December 23, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Thread.
Do share. And I mean do.
60 minutes CECOT segment. Recorded through my browser. HD quality. Not phone. Spread it around. If you're press, it's yours. Go nuts.
It's streaming on a Canadian website, but there is no telling for how long.
www.filemail.com/d/wkcdttnacp...
It's streaming on a Canadian website, but there is no telling for how long.
www.filemail.com/d/wkcdttnacp...
Banned 60 Minutes CECOT Segment - Filemail
Get it while it's hot.
www.filemail.com
December 23, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Do share. And I mean do.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
BREAKING:
Here’s the 60 Minutes Segment Trump and CBS News Executives Don’t Want You to See
Video (no paywall): bit.ly/4qn6Jn5
Here’s the 60 Minutes Segment Trump and CBS News Executives Don’t Want You to See
Video (no paywall): bit.ly/4qn6Jn5
December 23, 2025 at 12:05 AM
BREAKING:
Here’s the 60 Minutes Segment Trump and CBS News Executives Don’t Want You to See
Video (no paywall): bit.ly/4qn6Jn5
Here’s the 60 Minutes Segment Trump and CBS News Executives Don’t Want You to See
Video (no paywall): bit.ly/4qn6Jn5
Reposted by Deborah Blum
EXCLUSIVE: I received a copy of the letter sent to developers today halting construction on all 5 offshore wind farms being built in America.
What’s new here is the close “coordination” with the “Department of War” in determining the “risk” poised by these wind farms. And the threat to “cancel.”
What’s new here is the close “coordination” with the “Department of War” in determining the “risk” poised by these wind farms. And the threat to “cancel.”
‘Bonkers': DOI letter halts all five in-progress offshore wind farms
Construction will be paused for 90 days as Trump's Department of War and Interior Department coordinate to evaluate supposed "national security" risks.
www.canarymedia.com
December 23, 2025 at 12:31 AM
EXCLUSIVE: I received a copy of the letter sent to developers today halting construction on all 5 offshore wind farms being built in America.
What’s new here is the close “coordination” with the “Department of War” in determining the “risk” poised by these wind farms. And the threat to “cancel.”
What’s new here is the close “coordination” with the “Department of War” in determining the “risk” poised by these wind farms. And the threat to “cancel.”
Reposted by Deborah Blum
Even BILL CLINTON is saying he doesn’t care if the full release of the files implicates Bill Clinton. Amazing.
Bill Clinton releasing a statement saying 'release the Epstein files, you cowards' was not on my bingo list.
December 23, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Even BILL CLINTON is saying he doesn’t care if the full release of the files implicates Bill Clinton. Amazing.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
Food safety also relies on education of those who handle food. Not those who inspect it but the very poorly paid and fairly poorly trained workers.
Saying this as someone who had been in such a position. I was college educated and I took it seriously (your books played a role in that).
Saying this as someone who had been in such a position. I was college educated and I took it seriously (your books played a role in that).
December 22, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Food safety also relies on education of those who handle food. Not those who inspect it but the very poorly paid and fairly poorly trained workers.
Saying this as someone who had been in such a position. I was college educated and I took it seriously (your books played a role in that).
Saying this as someone who had been in such a position. I was college educated and I took it seriously (your books played a role in that).
Thanks! This is a great list!
tenth annual top ten reads of 2025:
1. Running for My Life by Lopez Lomong
2. The Poison Squad by @deborahb.bsky.social
3. Who Gets In and Why by Jeffrey Selingo
4. The Certainty Trap by Ilana Redstone
5. Notes to John by Joan Didion
1. Running for My Life by Lopez Lomong
2. The Poison Squad by @deborahb.bsky.social
3. Who Gets In and Why by Jeffrey Selingo
4. The Certainty Trap by Ilana Redstone
5. Notes to John by Joan Didion
December 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Thanks! This is a great list!
How about this for a headline: American food safety is falling apart.
December 22, 2025 at 4:38 PM
How about this for a headline: American food safety is falling apart.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
Americans & Europeans needlessly exposing African babies to preventable diseases just to see if they can find something that would justify their preexisting antivaccine beliefs is not only unscientific and actually anti-science, it is very much reminiscent of colonialist, racist human rights abuses
“It is not clear what the research question is. It seems to be about the safety of the vaccine rather than its effectiveness, but both are already well-established, and to undertake such a study in a population where almost 1/5 of the adult population has a marker of infection seems extremely risky”
US plan for $1.6m hepatitis B vaccine study in Africa called ‘highly unethical’
Experts decry ‘neocolonialist’ Guinea-Bissau study after Trump administration changed advice for US babies
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Americans & Europeans needlessly exposing African babies to preventable diseases just to see if they can find something that would justify their preexisting antivaccine beliefs is not only unscientific and actually anti-science, it is very much reminiscent of colonialist, racist human rights abuses
Reposted by Deborah Blum
Reposted by Deborah Blum
Tens of thousands of annual cases of chickenpox, rotavirus, and other vaccine preventable diseases a year - in a country of six million people.
Not only will Denmark’s vaccine schedule not work for the US, it already isn’t working for Denmark.
Not only will Denmark’s vaccine schedule not work for the US, it already isn’t working for Denmark.
Should the US adopt Denmark's vaccine schedule for children? @jakescottmd.bsky.social argues no in a piece that points out the risks such a move would pose for American kids. www.statnews.com/2025/12/19/d...
Why Denmark's vaccine schedule works for Denmark — but not for the United States
With its vaccine schedule, “Denmark has made a values choice to accept preventable hospitalizations and illnesses that other countries have chosen to prevent.”
www.statnews.com
December 20, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Tens of thousands of annual cases of chickenpox, rotavirus, and other vaccine preventable diseases a year - in a country of six million people.
Not only will Denmark’s vaccine schedule not work for the US, it already isn’t working for Denmark.
Not only will Denmark’s vaccine schedule not work for the US, it already isn’t working for Denmark.
Also wildly homicidal.
This is wildly irresponsible and exactly what RFK promised Sen. Cassidy he wouldn’t do but I guess they were both crossing their fingers so nothing will happen.
BREAKING: RFKJr directs that the US instantly stop recommending all vaccinations for children. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
December 20, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Also wildly homicidal.
The North Carolina Tiger Rescue sanctuary in Pittsboro is really impressive.
December 20, 2025 at 6:51 PM
The North Carolina Tiger Rescue sanctuary in Pittsboro is really impressive.
Reposted by Deborah Blum
This story is literally incredible, i.e. very difficult to believe. Fantastic reporting
December 19, 2025 at 3:34 PM
This story is literally incredible, i.e. very difficult to believe. Fantastic reporting
Reposted by Deborah Blum
Great lede via @peterbakernyt.bsky.social
"It all might make more sense if he actually *were* drinking."
Gift link www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
"It all might make more sense if he actually *were* drinking."
Gift link www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
Shouting, Ranting, Insulting: Trump’s Uninhibited Second Term
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Great lede via @peterbakernyt.bsky.social
"It all might make more sense if he actually *were* drinking."
Gift link www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
"It all might make more sense if he actually *were* drinking."
Gift link www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
Reposted by Deborah Blum
Both @deborahb.bsky.social's "Poison Squad" and @rbreich.bsky.social's "Coming Up Short" covers some of the machinery of policy making. And it's such a sobering reminder that it's just humans at every level. Just humans being flawed and that's when they're burying their best.
December 18, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Both @deborahb.bsky.social's "Poison Squad" and @rbreich.bsky.social's "Coming Up Short" covers some of the machinery of policy making. And it's such a sobering reminder that it's just humans at every level. Just humans being flawed and that's when they're burying their best.
So much!
Nano Banana Pro.
"Please create a version of this with corrected labels"
Is this better?
"Please create a version of this with corrected labels"
Is this better?
December 19, 2025 at 5:57 PM
So much!
This is hilarious.
Given all the recent buzz about how great ChatGPT has gotten, including its prowess with images, I figured I'd check in on its anatomical skills. Nope.
December 19, 2025 at 3:46 PM
This is hilarious.
