by Jennifer Berry Hawes | Feb 21, 2026 | anti vaxxers, anti-vaccine, Anti-Vax, Hospitals, Measles, News, Public Health, Republicans, South Carolina, Vaccines
In mid-January, an unassuming man in khakis and a button-down shirt walked to a wooden lectern at a school board meeting in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Most chairs in the audience were empty. The man, Tim Smith, was the only person signed up to speak during public comments. He had five minutes. “I trust that each one of you had a good Christmas and New Year’s,” he began.
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by Sharon Zhang | Feb 6, 2026 | Corruption, News, Public Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Samoa, Vaccinations
Newly released emails show that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. openly lied during multiple Senate confirmation hearings last year when discussing his 2019 visit to Samoa, after which a horrific measles outbreak killed dozens of young children. Kennedy visited Samoa in June 2019, during a time of high interest in the country for anti-vaccine activists.
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by Candice Norwood | Feb 6, 2026 | ICE, immigration, immigration jails, News, Prisons, Public Health
Period products like pads and tampons are considered an essential public health need, but access for women and trans people held in federal custody — from prisons to immigration detention centers — remains inconsistent. While specific figures for women held in immigration detention have not been reported for President Donald Trump’s second term, the detention population broadly reached record…
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by Tareq S. Hajjaj | Feb 5, 2026 | Blockade, disease, diseases, Famine, Gaza, Israel, malnutrition, Medicine, meningitis, News, Palestine, Public Health, Starvation
On January 23, 11-year-old Aline Asfour received her third-grade graduation certificate with honors, scoring in the 98th percentile and ranking first in her class. Her family celebrated her academic achievement and excellence. Two days later, Aline began feeling unwell. She started vomiting repeatedly and suffered from severe diarrhea. At first, her family believed she was experiencing a common…
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by Eman Abu Zayed | Feb 2, 2026 | Blockade, Drinking Water, Gaza, Israel, News, Palestine, Public Health, Water, Water Contamination
Since the beginning of the Israeli genocide and the imposition of a total blockade on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, water desalination plants have almost completely shut down due to severe fuel shortages. According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, more than 90 percent of water and desalination facilities have gone out of service. As infrastructure systems collapse…
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by Lizzie Presser | Jan 19, 2026 | Abortion, maternal health, News, North Carolina, Public Health, Reproductive Rights
When Ciji Graham visited a cardiologist on Nov. 14, 2023, her heart was pounding at 192 beats per minute, a rate healthy people her age usually reach during the peak of a sprint. She was having another episode of atrial fibrillation, a rapid, irregular heartbeat. The 34-year-old Greensboro, North Carolina, police officer was at risk of a stroke or heart failure. In the past…
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