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Wicked Blue

Wicked Blue's Journal
Wicked Blue's Journal
February 9, 2025

Trump Revokes Security Clearance for Letitia James, Alvin Bragg and More

Source: Newsweek

President Donald Trump said in an exclusive interview with the New York Post on Saturday that he revoked the security clearance for some former Democratic officials and current legal authorities, following his decision to do the same for former President Joe Biden earlier this week.

Trump on Saturday told the New York Post in an exclusive interview that he would revoke the clearance of eight additional Democrats, which the newspaper wrote was meant to "punish" them. Without their clearance, the officials will not be allowed to access classified information or enter federal facilities.

The list includes:

Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken
New York Attorney General Letitia James
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
former national security adviser Jake Sulivan
Biden's deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco
Lawyers Andrew Weismann, Mark Zaid and Norm Eisen

Each of those listed were at some point involved with investigations into Trump.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/trump-revokes-security-clearance-letitia-james-alvin-bragg-2028357

February 8, 2025

New evidence allowed in brazen Jersey Shore polluter case. Site considered one of worst in U.S.

NJ.com

It’s not the final victory Jersey Shore advocates are looking for, but it’s a big step in that direction.

Nonprofit Save Barnegat Bay and Toms River officials have long challenged a proposed $500,000 settlement between the state of New Jersey and BASF, which took over Ciba-Geigy and is blamed for decades of pollution at its former 1,255-acre chemical manufacturing site.

A court order issued Tuesday will allow new evidence to be considered in the challenge, according to documents provided this week to NJ Advance Media.

The additional items will provide a better understanding of groundwater and other toxic impacts polluters brought to the region’s land and water, Save Barnegat Bay said.

In its ruling, the panel of judges said “certain evidence not presented during the administrative proceedings may be material to the issues on this appeal.”

https://www.nj.com/ocean/2025/02/new-evidence-allowed-in-brazen-jersey-shore-polluter-case-site-considered-one-of-worst-in-us.html


I live about 3 miles from the Superfund site and am glad that Save Barnegat Bay will have a chance to introduce additional evidence. The $500,000 settlement is woefully inadequate and an insult to the community

According to an AP article, beginning in the 1950s Ciba-Geigy — which had been the town's largest employer — flushed chemicals into the Toms River and the Atlantic Ocean, and buried 47,000 drums of toxic waste in the ground. This created a plume of polluted water that has spread beyond the site into residential neighborhoods and is still being cleaned up.

More than 80 children in Toms River were diagnosed with cancer from 1979 to 1995. The state Health Department study did not explicitly blame the increase on Ciba-Geigy’s dumping, but the company and two others paid $13.2 million to 69 families whose children were diagnosed with cancer.

More info from a 2014 interview in Democracy Now:

https://www.democracynow.org/2014/4/23/toms_river_how_a_small_town

February 8, 2025

Trader Joe's is limiting egg purchases at all U.S. stores: What to know

NBC NY

With egg shortages impacting supply to stores across the country, and sending prices skyrocketing, one store is setting limits on just how many cartons customers are allowed to buy.

Trader Joe's announced Friday that egg purchases would be limited to "one dozen per customer, per day." The new policy would go into effect for all Trader Joe's grocery stores throughout the country.

"We hope these limits will help to ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs are able to purchase them when they visit Trader Joe’s," a statement read.

The ongoing avian flu outbreak has forced farmers to euthanize millions of egg-laying hens in an effort to stop the spread of the disease, leading to lower supply and higher prices.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/trader-joes-limiting-egg-purchases/6141214/

February 8, 2025

Meta prepares for layoffs on Monday

(Reuters) - Facebook owner Meta Platforms plans to carry out its expected company-wide layoffs next week while pushing ahead with the expedited hiring of machine learning engineers, it told staffers in internal memos seen by Reuters on Friday.

Notices will go out to employees losing their jobs starting at 5 a.m. local time Monday in most countries, including in the U.S., according to one of the posts, authored by Meta's Head of People Janelle Gale.

Employees in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands will be exempt from the cuts "due to local regulations," while those in more than a dozen other countries across Europe, Asia and Africa will receive their notifications between February 11 and February 18, it said.

-snip-

The company confirmed last month that it was planning to trim about 5% of its "lowest performers" and backfill at least some of the positions. The Friday memo, in which Gale referred to the cuts as "performance terminations," was first reported by The Information.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-prepares-layoffs-monday-internal-memo-2025-02-07/

February 8, 2025

Boeing warns moon rocket program employees of layoffs

Boeing (BA.N) warned on Saturday of layoffs in its Space Launch System moon rocket program, saying it expects to have about 400 fewer positions in line with revisions to NASA's Artemis program and cost expectations.

The Seattle-based aerospace manufacturer said it will issue 60-day notices of involuntary layoffs to the affected employees in the coming weeks.

"We are working with our customer and seeking opportunities to redeploy employees across our company to minimize job losses," a Boeing spokesperson said via email.

The Artemis program, which is estimated to cost $93 billion through 2025, was established by the U.S. space agency during the first administration of President Donald Trump. It represents the flagship American effort to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since NASA's Apollo 17 mission.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-warns-moon-rocket-program-employees-layoffs-2025-02-08/

February 8, 2025

More than three decades after leaving the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have begun to unplug from Russia'

Source: BBC

More than three decades after leaving the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have begun to unplug from Russia's electricity grid and join the EU's network.

The two-day process began on Saturday morning, with residents told to charge their devices, stock up on food and water, and prepare as if severe weather is forecast.

-snip-

After disconnecting on Saturday morning, the three countries will carry out frequency tests before integrating into the European grid via Poland on Sunday.

"We are now removing Russia's ability to use the electricity system as a tool of geopolitical blackmail," Lithuania's Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas told AFP news agency.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c627d55v07go

February 8, 2025

Band-Aids marketed to people of color contain harmful chemicals, lawsuit says

By Jackie Roman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Updated: Feb. 08, 2025, 9:58 a.m.|Published: Feb. 08, 2025, 9:00 a.m.

At least half a dozen customers who purchased Band-Aid products have filed a class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and global consumer health company Kenvue for selling bandages that contain harmful PFAS chemicals.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, claims that while Band-Aid products are marketed as having better ingredients and better processes, PFAS — or forever chemicals — are present in unsafe amounts in Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages.

Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that a disproportionate number of Band-Aid OURTONE products specifically marketed to people of color contain PFAS chemicals, raising questions about disparity.

The lead plaintiff in the case, a Georgia resident, “would not have purchased the bandages, or would have paid less for them, had she known that they contained and/or had a material risk of containing dangerous PFAS,” the lawsuit claims.

https://www.nj.com/healthfit/2025/02/band-aids-marketed-to-people-of-color-contain-harmful-chemicals-class-action-lawsuit-alleges.html

(paywall)

https://www.nj.com/healthfit/2025/02/band-aids-marketed-to-people-of-color-contain-harmful-chemicals-class-action-lawsuit-alleges.html

February 8, 2025

Flu levels now highest since 2009 pandemic, CDC reports

CBS

Levels of influenza nationwide are now at the highest they have been since the peak of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, according to figures published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, amid this winter's second wave of the virus.

Close to 8% of visits for respiratory illness to outpatient providers, including urgent cares and doctors offices, reported to the CDC this week were people sick with influenza. That is the worst on record in the CDC's influenza surveillance network since late 2009, during the swine flu pandemic.

While most flu seasons usually see a resurgence of infections after the winter holidays, this winter's flu wave has now reached unusually high levels compared to recent years.

That has driven overall levels of respiratory illness to "very high" levels for the first time this season, despite a smaller and now-decreasing wave of COVID-19 in recent months.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/flu-levels-highest-since-2009-pandemic-cdc-reports/

February 8, 2025

'You will not win' Community responds after group displays Nazi symbols on I-75 overpass

WCPO

LINCOLN HEIGHTS, Ohio — After roughly a dozen people displayed swastika-emblazoned flags on an overpass over I-75 near Lincoln Heights and Evendale, residents who live nearby say hate has no place in their communities.

"You will not win," said Julian Cook, a pastor in Lincoln Heights. "You will not win. You may try, but we have a history of being able to push past these things, as difficult as they may be. You will not win."

The people with the flags could be seen on traffic cameras displaying around six black flags with a bright red swastika in the middle. The people displaying the flags appeared to be dressed in all black clothing, including black balaclavas and red face masks.

"My message to the people that's spreading hate, what do you get out of it because God said love all," said Charlene Evans, who lives nearby. "Love all. In this community, we got every race. So we love all."

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/people-displaying-swastika-emblazoned-flags-over-i-75-overpass-near-evendale

According to the article many of the people with the flags were also openly carrying rifles.

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