As we enter the fall and winter respiratory virus season, @venuri.bsky.social interviewed local public health experts to learn how Allegheny County is navigating the shifting landscape of federal vaccine policy.

Actually I think more media unions should work some kind of right to expression into their contracts. It’s ridiculous that every major newspaper chain plus NYT and WaPo restricts journalists from expressing any meaningful opinion for the entirety of their careers.

Treble NLS suggested we return to the place where he was handcuffed in the midst of a mental health crisis for portraits for @venuri.bsky.social's story on how involuntary ‘302’ hospitalizations fall more heavily on Black patients. Trusting his vision, I met him at the edge of the Mon Wharf. 🧵

Do you live in Allegheny County and have you or a loved one experienced involuntary mental health commitment? Public Source would like to learn from you for our ongoing series When Care is Compulsory. Please email [email protected] if you are in a position to share.

And experts are very clear: these people are fringe. Scientific consensus is that race and IQ studies are shoddy. But journalism has trouble saying that; it’s nearly impossible for them to figure out what whole fields believe. That’s why “Merchants of Doubt” work.

Magee nurses say executives' jetsetting stands in contrast to low staffing levels and employee burnout:

political journalists obsess over the public’s lack of trust in our profession but strangely see that as downstream of things like “we didn’t talk enough about how biden was old” and not “many of us appear to be indifferent to a nihilistic attack on the constitution”

This kid is 15, and so has a moral clarity and uprightness that no adult elected official would or could ever have. There aren't really and never have been two sides of this issue, but if it has to be argued as a binary thing I don't see how anything less than this could seem like the side to be on.

Emerging journalists/photojournalists– come join our independent, nonprofit newsroom in Pittsburgh! Delight in the joys of holding power to account & Pittsburgh's fries on salad habit. @publicsource.org interns get to work across their interests from reporting to fact checking to engagement & more.

Pitt faculty, students and staff sent an open letter to university officials this morning. It's got 902 signatures and counting. Among their demands: 1) Protect the campus from immigration raids 2) Fight "unjust federal grant termination" 3) Avoid layoffs 4) Create a crisis task force

The Trump administration is cutting staff and grant funding at Health and Human Services including the NIH. Those agencies fund much of Pittsburgh’s research. Are you an affected researcher? Please consider emailing PublicSource at encrypted [email protected] or Signal at PublicSource.412

New from @tessastuart.bsky.social www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

My uncle is a big time IP lawyer in NYC. I cannot stress enough how taking away IP laws would benefit the wealthy who would steal and then out produce any ideas they find useful. Thus destroying all creatives and their livelihoods.

Follow a buncha local journalists and news outlets here: go.bsky.app/FzSc9z They're way better than our substandard national press.

So many student visas have been revoked that Inside Higher Ed started mapping them

Want to stay up to speed with what our PublicSource journalists are sharing about news in Pittsburgh? Check out our PublicSource journalist starter pack: go.bsky.app/8xEPt5J

Many Medicaid recipients do not know they receive it because Medicaid is called different things in different states. The public narrative of Medicaid focuses on a distant other, but 40% of US children and 60% of nursing home residents receive Medicaid. Just SOME of the names by state are below:

1/ Think cuts to Medicaid won't affect you because you have fancy private insurance? Here's my Q&A with an expert who explained how even those with high incomes could suffer under the cuts that Congress is considering. www.publicsource.org/medicaid-cut... 🧵

THIS IS SERIOUS: The Times of India is reporting that there are hundreds of international students getting their student visas immediately revoked, reportedly for supporting Gaza on social media, based on a Marco Rubio directive to analyze/surveil students' social media posts.

When scholars of authoritarianism and fascism leave U.S. universities because of the deteriorating political situation here, we should really worry.

An ICE agent told Neri Alvarado "We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos, and that's why he was arrested. Stunningly, after Neri explained his autism tattoos' meanings, THE ICE AGENT SAID HE WAS CLEAN. And yet he stayed detained — then got sent to El Salvador!

Prof. Gananath Obesekere has passed away slguardian.org/obeyesekere-...

Seems like the media should *at least* point out *in the headline* that you can't shut down the Department of Education via an Executive Order? But... I guess that's asking too much.

Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan was visiting family in Jordan over winter break when she received an email from the school accusing her of harassment. Her supposed top offense: writing an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel.

BREAKING: The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University has reneged on their commitment to host the @sciencewriters.org annual conference and withdrew their entire financial support. The National Association of Science Writers is now looking for a new venue, sponsors, and partners.

Our News Editor, @colinbwilliams.com isn’t the only one whose calls were ignored by John Fetterman and his disappearing staff. How about you?

Just received notice that our grant was terminated. 5R24AG066599-03 TheRiseRegistry.org

Exactly. Let's be clear eyed. To be perceived as an activist in elite journalistic circles is looked down upon. What gets defined as activism reflects values systems of those circles not the reality. To keep a job means writing within the narrow confines of a value system that isn't honest to itself

Science journalists are unsung heroes! When engaging with them, please take a moment to express gratitude for their efforts. Their science communication plays a vital role in fostering a well-informed public. I, for one, appreciate their tireless work in sharing scientific advancements (cont)

Some of society's most vulnerable people are locked up behind bars – and the deeply troubled correctional "healthcare" system fails them every single day. What will it take to get people the care they need? Read our new report 👇 https://buff.ly/417P7Rq

i think we should replace “how are you?” with “hey things are generally bad, how are you personally?” just to make things easier on everyone trying to answer in a way that doesn’t initially seem like you’re either delusional or complicit

NEWS: In USDA, multiple people have been asked to report the names of LGBTQ employee resource group leaders to higher-ranking officials, according to interviews with workers and a document reviewed by Mother Jones. + similar in the Department of the Interior

BREAKING: The Trump administration has announced that it will kill Medicare coverage of most telehealth services on April 1st.

Pittsburgh is a research hotbed, and uncertainty about federal funding for science is rattling local labs and teams. If your Pittsburgh-based research is threatened or on hold, we want to know more. Please alert us via this short form www.publicsource.org/as-the-trump...

I think we should have small buses, as a treat. www.pghcitypaper.com/news/midibus...

1/ I am seeing a lot of comments on the slashing of NIH support along the lines of “universities should just spend their huge endowments.” I’m the last person to cheer on the institutional stratification rising endowments have contributed to. But let me explain why this is not a solution.

Dear PGH research community: We want to uplift NIH-funded research projects in our area that could be affected by the Trump administration’s efforts to cap indirect costs. Please reach out if you're at Pitt, CMU or another institution: [email protected].

I keep thinking of all my relatives who died in their 50s and 60s of alcoholism or lung cancer 'cause SSRIs hadn't been invented yet.

Part of thriving under collapse has to be to mourn the life that you thought you'd be able to live. That will take a while. Most of us are not there yet.

1. Protests have erupted at multiple hospitals across the United States that have decided to comply with Trump's executive order banning trans care under 19. Now, a lawsuit challenges that EO. Writer Mira Lazine writes about the importance of the protests. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Has congress passed a law superseding or eliminating the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961? Has the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional? Then why are journalists reporting that Trump and Musk are "shutting down" USAID. They are not authorized to do so.

Whenever Venuri drops, it's a must-read.

Hey Yinzers! Know of any UPMC or AHN nurses or hospital workers who'd like to talk with me about their work conditions and overall job satisfaction? I'm doing a story that will reflect on last year's union victories — and what could come next. DM me or email [email protected].

dude could get a swastika tattooed on his forehead and the NYT would run 1000 words speculating on his possible interest in Hinduism

The story behind RFK Jr. in Samoa's measles crisis has never been reported. He wasn't there to spread misinformation about vaccines (though he did). He wanted to study a "natural experiment" of unvaccinated kids. “I can’t imagine anything less ethical or more cruel.” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Black journalists, writers, poets, artists and intellectuals have been telling you all for years. No one cares for our warnings, pain or common sense. Look where we are now. Right where we told you we’d be…

In my latest @npr.org story, officials and data users warn that the reliability of the U.S. government statistics used to track the country’s economy and population is under threat because of budget concerns. That's before any new funding cuts by President Trump and Congress.

Really thankful to all of the scientists who made themselves available to talk to me about the unprecedented situation at NIH. I've never had so many people reach out to me for a story like this. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

“Hallam said she’s aware of “numerous people” who’ve waited days after being arrested to continue their MOUD, which could lead to a painful and unnecessary detox. “That is definitely still a hold up and an obstacle in the process that I’m sure is able to be overcome, but hasn’t been yet.” “