Pennsylvania lost over 7 million birds to H5N1 since January. Shapiro says they're in crisis mode. Economic losses in the tens of millions, and a vaccine is still months away. We need functioning public health leadership to respond to outbreaks like this. 2/
Some thoughts heading into the weekend:
CDC has no permanent director. NIH director positions sitting open plus top aides leaving. And NIAID dropped pandemic preparation entirely. Public health infrastructure is being dismantled while H5N1 spreads across the country. 🧵
To be clear: our counterterrorism professionals are excellent at their jobs. They've already stopped most Iranian plots and will continue to do so. The problem is political decisions pulling *some* off mission. It's not too late to course correct. Let them focus on actual threats. 3/
"The way you thwart these plots is being on top of things on a regular and consistent basis." You don't get to dismantle your counterterrorism capacity for a year and then expect it to work when you need it. That's the opposite of preparedness. 2/
Matthew Levitt, former FBI counterterrorism official: Iran is actively trying to radicalize people here for lone offender attacks. Meanwhile, FBI counterterrorism agents got pulled to immigration work. Iran experts were fired. You can't surge people back and expect them to stay current on threats. 🧵
Noem lasted through immigration scandals, murders of Americans, a rumored affair, and two Senate grillings. What actually got her fired was telling Congress Trump approved a $220 million ad campaign. He said he didn't. She's now "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas." Whatever that means...
New reporting on Metro Surge impacts: Minneapolis police overtime budgets blown, emergency services strained, resources diverted from actual public safety. Federal agents wrecked a city's operations for a month and left locals to pay for it.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
I remember warning about an infectious disease breakout in confined facilities last week & week before.
I also said RFK is not prepared on it and Vitamin A or whatever quackery he recommends will not cure the problem.
It will continue to spread aggressively.
3️⃣ Every counterterrorism agent reassigned is 1 less tracking threats. FBI agents looking for immigrants at Home Depot instead of operatives. HSI chasing families at bus stops instead of money laundering networks. Fired agents took institutional knowledge that doesn't regenerate overnight.
2️⃣ Critical infrastructure operators are on high alert for potential Iranian cyber retaliation. Water systems, energy grids, financial sector preparing for attacks. CISA is operating at 38% capacity because of the shutdown. Defensive planning should have happened before the strikes.
Spot on from Miles Taylor: Trump took us to war w/out consulting DHS on homeland defense. Counterterrorism agents got reassigned to immigration raids and FBI agents tracking threats were fired for investigating Trump. The people who should be protecting us either weren't asked or were pushed out.
Trump spent the last year firing counterterrorism experts - including recently firing a dozen FBI agents from "an elite counter espionage unit that investigates threats from foreign adversaries and specializes in Iran."
www.ms.now/news/kash-pa...
BLUMENTHAL: Have you met with any of the American citizens who have been detained or arrested by your agents?
NOEM: They could've been instructing law enforcemen--
BLUMENTHAL: You haven't met with them. I'd like to introduce you to 3 of them. Will you please stand?
Few people are talking about USAID anymore. Trump claims this war is about "freedom for the Iranian people." But we gutted the agency that actually supports activists and civilians in conflict zones. Turns out "move fast and break things" has consequences... who would've thought 🫠
DHS won't define "domestic terrorist" but they're using the label to justify massive surveillance. Facial recognition at protests, buying location data, tracking critics. They're building the infrastructure first, making up rules later. Lawmakers are finally asking: who decides who's a threat?
www.defiance.news/p/dhs-oppose...
Adding to post 1️⃣: DHS warned Trump that war w/ Iran required serious homeland defense preparation. He ignored them. We may be unprepared for the cyberattacks, terrorist plots, and infrastructure vulnerabilities this invites, especially as counterterrorism agents are diverted to immigration.
This post👇
From a preparedness standpoint:
War is how authoritarians consolidate power. It 'justifies' emergency measures, silences critics, and diverts resources from our own domestic problems, while increasing threats at home. Reckless military action makes us more vulnerable.
The Trump regime isn't finished fucking with MN.
Operation Metro Surge is out of the headlines but the health, social, and economic impacts will be felt for years to come. They should have to pay for the 'disaster' they created. Read more in February's Situation Report.
Anthropics CEO said it perfectly. The DoD says everything they want is "legal." It's also "legal" for the government to buy bulk data on Americans and run it through AI. Privacy laws can't keep up with technology since Congress moves too slow. That's why they're holding the line.
Outstanding @caseynewton.bsky.social analysis (of course) of the Anthropic/DOD fight. www.platformer.news/anthropic-pe...
If measles vaccination rates continue to drop just 1% annually for the next five years, the cost to the U.S. could reach $1.5 billion a year, according to a new report from the Yale School of Public Health.
The warning that should haunt everyone: "Institutions like the C.D.C., F.D.A. and N.I.H. will be far more difficult to rebuild than they have been to destroy." A must-read from @nytopinion.nytimes.com (gift link)
"She could be dead by now." A doctor in Chicago hasn't seen his 10-year-old HIV-positive patient — living in a car with her mother — since ICE raids scared her family away from the clinic. This is what the rollback of public health looks like in practice.
In the first eleven months of 2025, 10,109 doctoral-trained scientists left the federal government. The losses were concentrated in agencies that fund medical research, regulate environmental standards and model climate.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
February's Situation Report examines the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. $203M+ in damage, federal agents terrorized the Twin Cities. Despite that, the community remains resilient and is showing us how to fight back against the Trump regime.
February's Situation Report examines the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. $203M+ in damage, federal agents terrorized the Twin Cities. Despite that, the community remains resilient and is showing us how to fight back against the Trump regime.
Parents make medical decisions out of love and fear. RFK Jr. exploits that vulnerability from inside HHS to spread disinformation. Shaming confused parents fails. Raw scientific data rarely changes a frightened mind. Empathy is how we rebuild trust in public health.
The ICE surge in Minnesota cost $280M to detain 4k people. Of those- only 30 were accused of violent crimes.
$9 million per capture of the "worst of the worst".
Renee Good and Alex Pretti were unavailable for comment….
