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Saturday, October 03, 2026

Actors with makeup and fake symptoms staggered into 73 healthcare facilities.


As a gubernatorial candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy wants to talk about tax cuts and data centers. But questions about where his party is headed -- and how candidates like him may fit into that future -- linger over his Ohio campaign. read more


Friday, October 02, 2026

Florida cops are facing questions after a mandate to remove all Flock cameras tracking cars on St. Lucie County roads led local police to uncover more than a dozen suspicious cameras operating without permits. read more


Micron says most of next year's supply is already committed, and market trackers see prices rising into 2027. read more


The Trump administration moved last year to gut the federal agency that oversees Voice of America ... read more


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More from the article ...

... COVID-19 made the weaknesses in our pandemic preparedness at national and global levels painfully clear. But a new study highlights that even at the first, local steps of an outbreak with pandemic-potential, we are worryingly underprepared.

Health officials in New York set up a regional test of healthcare facilities to identify and respond to a patient with a mystery infection that could pose a pandemic-level threat.

But things didn't go well. Overall, responses were slow, appropriate use of personal protective equipment was spotty, and only 60 percent of facilities passed the basics of the test -- an overall failing grade.

"These drills identified needs for health care workers and health care facility staff member training to achieve earlier identification, masking, and isolation of potentially infectious febrile patients," the officials wrote in the study, which was published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The drill centered on "professional patient actors," who staggered into healthcare facilities feigning expected symptoms of an H5 bird flu infection -- a virus type thought to have pandemic potential.

The actors wore makeup to look unwell, used eye drops and petroleum jelly to mimic having conjunctivitis (aka pink eye), and had a fake cough. They complained about feeling weak and feverish and reported taking a Motrin (fever reducer) before coming in. When questioned, they said they hadn't traveled out of the country and, if asked about any sick contacts, would respond, "Does a sick bird count?"

They would tell a sad tale of trying to save a sick duck they found in a park. In the story, the duck doesn't make it, and the now-ill patient didn't wear any gloves while handling it. The chatty actor would tell this story without prompting. ...


RFK Jr. Was Raw Milk's Biggest Fan. Now He Won't Return Industry Calls. (January 2026)
www.motherjones.com

... In May 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sat in the White House and downed a shot of raw milk to celebrate the publication of the MAHA Report, a document full of AI slop and fake citations that was meant to present the Secretary of Health and Human Services's solutions for chronic diseases and other ailments plaguing America.

Kennedy had been a loud proponent of raw milk for years, promising in an October 2024 tweet that under his tenure the FDA, a key milk regulator, would stop "suppressing" the drink. ...




@#7

They came for Florida's sun and sand. They got soaring costs and a culture war. (2024)
www.nbcnews.com

... One of the first signs Barb Carter's move to Florida wasn't the postcard life she'd envisioned was the armadillo infestation in her home that caused $9,000 in damages. Then came a hurricane, ever present feuding over politics, and an inability to find a doctor to remove a tumor from her liver.

After a year in the Sunshine State, Carter packed her car with whatever belongings she could fit and headed back to her home state of Kansas -- selling her Florida home at a $40,000 loss and leaving behind the children and grandchildren she'd moved to be closer to.

"So many people ask, Why would you move back to Kansas?' I tell them all the same thing -- you've got to take your vacation goggles off," Carter said. "For me, it was very falsely promoted. Once living there, I thought, you know, this isn't all you guys have cracked this up to be, at all." ...


@#7 ... I dunno, California was Mexico so.... ...

Not just California.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
www.archives.gov

... The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, that brought an official end to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), was signed on February 2, 1848, at Guadalupe Hidalgo, a city north of the capital where the Mexican government had fled with the advance of U.S. forces.

By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. Mexico also relinquished all claims to Texas, and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern boundary with the United States ...


So, if Pres Trump seems to support Pres Putin taking back areas of Ukraine that were previously under Russian control, might Pres Trump also be OK with giving California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming back to Mexico?


@#7 ... just look at all Manami promised to win his election and so far little issues coming to fruition - one example - just raised transportation fees... ...

Mayor Mamdani's approval ratings have been ticking up since he took office.

re: the free bus rides ... well during his campaign he said he would have to work with NY State for that. And it is NY State that is balking on it, even though Mayor Mamdani has been working on getting it approved.

NYC voters give Mamdani high marks, say mayor is doing better than expected
www.washingtonpost.com

... New York City registered voters give Mayor Zohran Mamdani high job approval ratings, and the vast majority say the democratic socialist is doing better as mayor than they expected, according to a Suffolk University poll released Tuesday.

They also overwhelmingly agreed Mamdani should attend the 25th anniversary commemoration of the 9/11 attacks, despite some Republicans and relatives of victims asking him to stay away. Mamdani plans to go as the city's representative; the poll found nearly 74 percent thought he should.

Mamdani's brand of politics has helped reshape Democratic contests across the country this year, as Democratic voters nominated a suite of democratic socialists and people aligned with the movement over more traditional Democratic candidates. "

Mamdani defeated former New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo in the 2025 mayoral race with 51 percent of the vote. Fifty-six percent of New York voters said Mamdani did an excellent or good job, while 17 percent rated him "fair. " Sixty-one percent said he's done a better job than expected. ...




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