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Federal regulators on Tuesday said that samples of pasteurized milk from around the country had tested positive for inactive remnants of the bird flu virus that has been infecting dairy cows. The viral fragments do not pose a threat to consumers, officials said. “To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. Over the last month, a bird flu virus known as H5N1 has been detected in more than 30 dairy herds in eight states. The virus is also known to have infected one farmworker, whose only symptom was pink eye.

Persons: “ Organizations: and Drug Administration, Agriculture Department

☆ Is Bird Flu Coming to People Next? Are We Ready?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bird flu outbreaks among dairy cows in multiple states, and at least one infection in farmworker in Texas, have incited fears that the virus may be the next infectious threat to people. The influenza virus, called H5N1, is highly pathogenic, meaning it has the ability to cause severe disease and death. The only symptom in the patient in Texas was conjunctivitis, or pink eye, which was also reported in people infected during other bird flu outbreaks. and other agencies in the United States and elsewhere have tracked H5N1 for years to monitor its evolution. Federal agencies have stockpiled vaccines and drugs to be used in a possible bird flu outbreak.

Persons: “, ”, Demetre Daskalakis Organizations: National Center, Centers for Disease Control Locations: farmworker, Texas, United States

Six years ago, Illinois farmer John Ackerman didn't hire any contract workers at all. He enjoys mentoring young people, but says it's felt harder lately to justify hiring inexperienced workers when contract workers do the same hard, physical jobs faster and better. Climate change affects all farm workers, but advocates and researchers say this is a reason to focus particularly on these workers. The USDA data showed an uptick in the number of farms using migrant labor, both within farms that already hired contract workers and overall. He’s tried reaching out H-2A workers on nearby farms, but says their supervisors won’t let them talk to him.

Persons: John Ackerman didn't, Ackerman, it's, Alexis Guild, Rebecca Young, ”, Jennifer Vanos, Abigail Kerfoot, Luis Jimenez, farmworkers, Jimenez, He’s, won’t, “, Jed Clark, he's, Stephanie McBath, ” McBath, “ it’s, ” Bruce Cline, Scott Kuegel, ” Jimenez, Dorany Pineda, Joshua A, Bickel, Melina Walling Organizations: U.S . Department of Agriculture, Farmworker, Arizona State University, Centro de, Alianza Agrícola, “, National Association of State, of Agriculture, Associated Press Locations: Illinois, U.S, New York, North Carolina, Kentucky, Crofton , Kentucky, Owensboro, AP.org

☆ How the fortune of one of America’s biggest pharmaceutical families has quietly funded conservative causes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Casey Tolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

From The Searle Freedom TrustThis year, the Searle trust is poised to play an even bigger role as it empties out its coffers. Researchers who study political nonprofits say that the Searle trust has had a major impact, even as the Searle family has stayed under the radar compared to more well-known conservative benefactors. The Searle trust is one of the most prolific funders of conservative groups among all private foundations, according to a CNN analysis of nonprofit tax data. The Searle trust has given millions to the Foundation for Government Accountability, which has worked behind the scenes to push conservative policies such as stricter voting laws. Dennis, the CEO of the Searle trust, is also the chair of DonorsTrust.

Persons: Searle, Daniel C, Trump, Donald Trump, ”, Galen Hall, who’s, Kimberly Dennis, ” Searle, “, Sarah Scaife, doesn’t, Michael B, Thomas, SPN, They’ve, ” Brendan Fischer, Brendan Fischer, “ They’ve, ” Hall, Caleb Rossiter, ” Galen Hall, movement’s MAGA, It’s, Mike Pence, that’s, Dennis, Henry Ford, John D, Rockefeller, ” Fischer, Gideon, Michael Searle, ” Dennis, “ We’re, Dan, Gideon Daniel Searle, Daniel Searle, Jonathan Eig, Jack Searle, Daniel Searle’s, Gregory Pincus, John Rock, Pincus, weren’t, –, Sue, Eig, Margaret Marsh, Enovid, misoprostol, Searle –, Pfizer –, ” Daniel Searle, Donald Rumsfeld, Searles, Biden, Wade, Dobbs, Kristen Batstone Organizations: CNN, Searle Freedom Trust, University of Michigan, Sarah Scaife Foundation, Searle, American Enterprise Institute, Reason Foundation, Tax Foundation, Manhattan Institute, Cato Institute, Foundation, Government, State Policy Network, American Legislative Exchange Council, Fair, Pacific Legal Foundation, Federalist Society, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Environment Research Center, CO2 Coalition, Heartland Institute, ”, CO2, Heartland, Republican Party, movement’s, America, Policy Institute, Trump, American Freedom Foundation, Everett, FDA, Rutgers University, Pfizer, Monsanto, Heritage Foundation, Reason, Affordable, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Public Policy Center, Claremont, National Women’s Health Network, Trust, IRS Locations: Missouri, St, Louis , Missouri, California, judgeships, ”, Omaha, Metamucil, Dramamine, Puerto, Brazil, Diet Coke, America

☆ Big Tobacco turns to rooibos tea to counter upcoming ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Emma Rumney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Tobacco companies have yet to publish any research showing the health implications of rooibos or other zero-tobacco sticks, Simonavicius added. PMI (PM.N) CEO Jacek Olczak told shareholders that its zero-tobacco sticks could avoid the regulatory scrutiny that tobacco products face. BAT's zero-tobacco sticks are not subject to current EU tobacco rules, the company told Reuters. That means it can sell rooibos sticks in flavours like peppermint and tropical fruit even after a ban on flavoured heated tobacco products is implemented across the bloc later this month. Across the European Union, heated tobacco products must be taxed at a minimum of 20% of the retail price, though national governments can go higher.

Persons: Erikas Simonavicius, Simonavicius, Philip Morris, Jacek Olczak, Jefferies, Owen Bennett, Bennett, Phil Gorham, Gorham, Fabienne, Morningstar's Gorham, Shabab, Emma Rumney, Matt Scuffham, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Big Tobacco, British American Tobacco, Union, Tobacco, BAT, Reuters, King's College, King's College London . Tobacco, Philip Morris International, PMI, Rivals Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International, Morningstar, EU, Dunhill, Lucky, European Union, University College London . Tobacco, Thomson Locations: Cape, Germany, Greece, King's College London

☆ How an astronaut’s experience as a migrant worker helped him soar into space
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Catherine E. Shoichet | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —More than a decade after he became the first former migrant worker to soar into space as a NASA astronaut, José Hernández reached another milestone this month. Hernández, an engineer, made history aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009, the first shuttle mission sending two Latino astronauts into space. The film portrays Hernández’s perseverance as the space agency rejected Hernández’s astronaut applications 11 times before selecting him for the program in 2004. And it shows what a critical role Hernández’s family played supporting him along the way. Daniel Daza/PrimeIn a 2016 interview with CNN, Hernández described how important Adela was in his journey.

Persons: José Hernández, Michael Peña, ” Hernández, we’ve, Hernández, Daniel Daza, Salvador Hernández, “ I’d, they’d, ”, Julio César Cedillo, “, Alejandra Márquez Abella, bachelor’s, Rosa Salazar, Hernández’s, Adela, Obama, Reuters Hernández, Steve Ueckert, Alejandra, “ It’s, he’d, hadn’t, Nicole Stott, Christer Fuglesang, Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, Kevin Ford, Joe Raedle, he’s, Eduardo Serralde, CNN’s Octavio Blanco Organizations: CNN, NASA, International Space, Amazon Prime, Space Shuttle Discovery, “, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Televisa, Mexican TV, Space Station, Reuters, Canada, United States, Español, Houston Chronicle, Stars, Discovery, Kennedy Space Center, KCRA Locations: California, “, Mexico, Mexican, Michoacán, North America, Canada, United States, United, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Luna

☆ Visual Highlights From the 'More Than Words' Project
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Wilson Liévano | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +13 min

Many of those who only speak Spanish are frustrated that language barriers get in the way of public safety information. Cabrera works long hours and would like to find community and services for her 79-year-old mother, but language barriers holds them back. (Emree Weaver / Yakima Herald-Republic)YAKIMA, WASHINGTON – In Yakima County, which is 52% Hispanic and largely agricultural, local health care systems have had to adapt to the needs of the population. (Emree Weaver / Yakima Herald-Republic) Rigo Zepeda, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, demonstrates how providers use a video remote interpreting device at MultiCare Yakima Memorial, in Yakima, Washington. (Emree Weaver / Yakima Herald-Republic)

Persons: Victoria Franco, Harika Maddala, Catchlight Local Salvador Reyna Madryc, Luis Magaña, Ignacio Yepez, Rosa Cardenas, Rosa Trevizo, Doug Kuehne’s, Gerdrado Serrano, Griselda Juarez, Juarez, Gabriela Martínez, Esmirna Jiménez, Jimenez, Pedro Ferreras's, Pedro Ferreras’s, ’, “, ” Jiménez, Gabriela Lozada, Flerida Moriel, Mirla Cabrera, Cabrera, Flerida, Moriel, ”, ” Cabrera, don’t, They’re, NHPR, Santiago Ochoa, Emree Weaver, YAKIMA , WASHINGTON –, Granger, Bertha “ Lily ” Gonzalez, Maria Guadalupe Diaz, Diaz, Lisaola, Rigo, Angelina Garcia, Bertha Lopez Organizations: America, . News, Services, Victoria, Catchlight Local, Flea, Stockton, News, Loel, Spanish, New, American Community Survey, Social, Derry, New Hampshire Public, Flerida, HAMPSHIRE, Immigration, New Hampshire Public Radio, Facebook, Yakima Herald, Yakima Herald -, Yakima Herald - Republic Workers, Census, Memorial Cornerstone Medicine, Memorial Locations: Stockton Text, Bay, Bay City, Stockton , California, STOCKTON , CALIFORNIA, San Joaquin County, Spanish, Lodi , California, Weston, United States, Dominican Republic, Harrisburg , Pennsylvania, WITF, HARRISBURG , PENNSYLVANIA, Pennsylvania, New American, Carlisle, Harrisburg, Allison Hill, NHPR, MANCHESTER, Manchester, New Hampshire, Nashua, New, Peru, Yakima, Yakima Herald - Republic, Cowiche , Washington, YAKIMA , WASHINGTON, Yakima County, Toppenish, Wapato, Republic, Yakima , Washington, Yakima County’s

☆ Summer has become a survival test as heat gets more extreme
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But lately, as extreme temperature records pile up, she said the heat has made her work more unbearable. Outdoor workers, particularly those in the farming and construction industries, are just one of the groups for which summer is now a survival test. Even desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the grip of an extreme heat wave smacking the Southwest this week. “When it comes to protecting the health of outdoor workers during extreme heat events, there are really just three fundamental pieces — water, shade and rest,” Dahl told CNN. Then they need to start early again.”People who work outdoors have a much higher risk of becoming ill or dying because of extreme heat, experts say.

Persons: CNN — Estela Martinez, ” Martinez, “, Martinez, It’s, Matt York, David Hondula, Phoenix’s, —, we’ve, ” Hondula, ” Kristina Dahl, ” Dahl, Concerningly, Dahl, she’s, Pablo Ortiz, ” Ortiz, Brandon Bell, Vivek Shandas, Shandas, ” Organizations: CNN, National Weather Service, Phoenix, Union of Concerned, ”, Portland State University Locations: Florida, Texas, Arizona, Rio, Pacific Northwest, Phoenix, Maricopa County, White

☆ Factbox: Who was freed in Nicaragua's surprise political prisoners release?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cristiana Chamorro and Pedro Joaquin ChamorroCristiana Chamorro was placed under house arrest in 2021, just as she was leading Ortega in polls to unseat him as president at elections. Her brother Pedro Joaquin Chamorro was also arrested and jailed the same month, according to newspaper La Prensa. Arturo CruzAn academic who was Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States between 2007 and 2009, Cruz was arrested in 2021 after returning to Managua from Washington. Like Mairena, he was arrested in 2021 over accusations of crimes during the 2018 protests. On Thursday, he declined to board the plane to Washington, preferring to stay home instead, one of only two prisoners to do so.

☆ $100 repair bill sparked Half Moon Bay shooting, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN FRANCISCO — A farmworker charged with killing seven people at two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms reportedly told investigators he was spurred to carry out the shootings after his supervisor demanded he pay $100 to repair a forklift damaged at work. KNTV-TV, the NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, was first to report the development. Zhao told KNTV-TV in a courthouse interview Thursday that he committed the shootings. He said he has a 40-year-old daughter in China and lived with his wife in Half Moon Bay. The coroner’s office has named six of the victims: Zhishen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, of Moss Beach, California; Aixiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco; Qizhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay; Jingzhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay; and Yetao Bing, 43, whose hometown was unknown.

“One of the worst things you can hear from your child is them screaming ‘I don’t want to die! Residents across the state are just beginning to understand the full extent of the damage, especially in marginalized communities, as they recover from the deluge. But instead of work, Naranjo and other farmworkers are faced with some 20,000 flooded farmland in Salinas, according to early estimates from the Monterey County Farm Bureau, a nonprofit association of farmers and ranchers. When asked if he would return to work soon, Naranjo answered: “I don’t know.”Cars driving through a flooded roadway in Planada, Calif., on Jan. 10. “In my head, I thought if it was that bad, someone would come tell us, but no one ever did.

☆ Backers of Farmworker Visa Overhaul Make Year-End Push for Immigrant Labor Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Kristina Peterson | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

While there is no cap on the number of U.S. visas for seasonal agricultural work, farmworkers are only allowed to remain in the country for up to 10 months. WASHINGTON—Lawmakers, agriculture groups and farmworker organizations are pushing to pass an overhaul of the farmworker visa program through both chambers of Congress before the GOP takes control of the House next year. A bill providing a path to citizenship for about one million farmworkers—and creating a capped number of new year-round visas—passed the House in March 2021, with the support of 217 Democrats and 30 Republicans.

Del Bosque, 72, now farms 2,000 acres — including that half-mile he first bought. "It's been a great journey for me," Del Bosque said. These last couple of years, Del Bosque has felt that his long-term family farming enterprise is under threat. When Del Bosque was growing up in the area, his life revolved around farm work, picking melons alongside field workers his father managed. Del Bosque hopes to introduce a few of his grandkids to farming, but he’s losing hope about its viability.

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