Janek Bebout grinned as he cued up his instrument, as proud and prepared with his jar of hot-pink slime as any classically trained musician making an orchestral debut.

First, the 8-year-old explained, the slime is warmed with a short massage. Lift it slightly so an air pocket forms at the base of its container. Then, squish.

Flerrrrrrrp.

“And then comes the fart,” he said. “A pretty good one. I bet if you had let that one rip it would feel good.”

Cue the giggles.

The third-grader’s peal of laughter at the flatulent sound he made with a jar of slime was integral to a recent press conference at the children’s wing of Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak, where Janek and his grandmother Barbara Soffin donated 2,409 containers of slime to pediatric patients. Each container is topped with a sticker that says “Janek’s laughter.”

Janek, his 4-year-old brother, Julen, and their mother, Johanna Bebout, were among the nine people injured in a mass shooting last summer at a Rochester Hills splash pad. Janek’s injuries were severe, leading to major surgery, a two-week hospital stay and repeated tests, pricks and pokes from doctors. The Rochester Hills resident is blind as a result of his injury and uses a cane to navigate the world.

Janek’s effervescent attitude touched the medical team that took on the highly emotional job of caring for a child who had been among those injured in a mass shooting, said Amanda Lefkof, a child life specialist at Corewell in Royal Oak. She said Janek and his brother Julen were “an inspiration” to everyone who worked with them.

“Even though (Janek) was going through such a hard thing, he brought laughter and he brought smiles to every nurse and every doctor and every surgeon that walked in his room and took care of him,” Lefkof said. “It just made you want to keep going back.”

Slime was integral to the laughter and smiles, she said. One of her tricks for raising the spirits of hospitalized children, particularly boys, is to encourage them to find lighthearted ways to mess with their caregivers.

Janek appeared to be a natural.

He explained his method: “A doctor came in, or a nurse, and I put the slime under my blanket and then I made a fart noise, and they thought that I farted,” he said. “And then I pulled the slime out, and they were like, ‘Whoa.'”

Seeing Janek return to the hospital in good health and with a mission to share joy with other patients is moving, Lefkof said, although she’s not sure where she’ll store the thousands of jars of donated slime.

“I think our favorite thing is being able to see our patients come back doing well,” Lefkof said. “Not only is he doing well, just rocking it with his cane and feeling good, but wanting to give back to other children that are going through hard times. It’s such a meaningful, full-circle moment.”

Finding toys Janek would enjoy after he lost his sight was a learning curve for the family, said Soffin, Janek’s grandma. She scrambled to find something to entertain him in the hospital and landed on a little container of slime.

“He started playing with it, and he belly-laughed because it made ‘boy noises,’ like fart sounds, and he laughed so hard,” Soffin said, the sound of Janek making those “boy noises” echoing in the background. “When he laughed, my son hit his knees and he cried and said ‘Mama, you gave me my son’s laughter back.'”

After he was released from the hospital, Janek told Soffin he wanted to collect slime for the other kids who were hospitalized. She agreed, and before Christmas wrote a post on Facebook asking her friends to help Janek’s wish come true.

“I couldn’t even open my front door at one point in time,” Soffin said. “I think we cleaned Amazon out (of slime).”

Soffin said she hopes Nickelodeon, the children’s television network that cornered the market on slime entertainment in the 1980s, takes up the charge and donates slime to kids in hospitals around the country.

Soffin said Janek and his family are recovered from their physical injuries. They’re now focused on their emotional recovery.

“By laughing today and having fun with slime, it might be simple to some people,” she said. “It’s actually everything to us.”

The family of a 5-year-old boy killed in a hyperbaric chamber explosion in Troy on Friday is raising money for costs associated with his passing, according to a GoFundMe page.

Thomas Cooper from Royal Oak loved life, according to the fundraiser, everything from running to swimming and playing video games.

“He was planning to try mountain BMX racing and karate in the summer,” the fundraiser said. “He had nature school last year and ran, jumped and rolled down hills. He loved mud. Loved to stomp on ice. Loved his mama and daddy so much.”

Troy Fire and Police responded to an explosion at the Oxford Center, a medical facility at 165 Kirts Boulevard near Livernois Road and Interstate 75, Friday morning. A hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a pressurized device that contains 100% oxygen gas, exploded with the five-year-old boy inside, law enforcement and fire officials said at a news conference Friday.

Firefighters and police contained the blaze quickly after arriving on the scene and extracted the boy, who was later pronounced dead. The boy’s mother was standing near the hyperbaric chamber at the time of the explosion and her arms were injured, according to police and fire officials. The cause of the explosion is under investigation by the Troy Fire Department.

Cooper loved video games like Minecraft and was excited to go home after his hyperbaric treatment Friday to play a new Yoshi game on his Nintendo DS that his father had gotten him the night before, according to the fundraiser.

“He was the smartest and cutest kid that liked to zoom, zoom, zoom,” the fundraiser said. “He asked to see pictures of germs, liked to know how things worked, he liked to make field journals and he had finally started adding facial features to his people drawings.”

Cooper had also recently received a red envelope with money, a tradition during Chinese New Year that symbolizes good luck for the upcoming year, according to the fundraiser.

“Before his passing, he asked for a Chinese red pocket money for the new year. He placed it underneath his pillow and declared ‘he’d have the best luck ever!’” the fundraiser said. “The day of his passing was the day he was planning to spend his red pocket with his little brother.”

The fundraiser did not specify why Cooper was receiving oxygen therapy in the hyperbaric chamber. It has raised over $10,000 in less than 24 hours.

By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times

As the Donald Trump administration rushes to cut spending and eliminate federal jobs, even the people who work at the national parks — among the country’s most beloved and least politicized institutions — find themselves directly in the crosshairs.

Last week, the seasonal workers who staff 433 national parks and historical sites, including Yosemite, Death Valley and Joshua Tree, began receiving emails saying their job offers for the 2025 season had been “rescinded,” with little further explanation.

The move set off panic in the ranks of park employees, and threw into limbo the vacation plans of hundreds of millions of people who visit the parks each year. On the chopping block are hundreds — and potentially thousands — of park rangers who respond to medical emergencies, as well as visitor center employees and the crews that clean bathrooms and empty garbage cans.

In many of the larger and most popular parks, seasonal workers outnumber year-round permanent employees, making it hard to imagine how the parks will function without them, according to one supervising ranger who asked that her name not be used for fear of retaliation.

“To me, it’s unfathomable that we would be able to run a large park without the seasonals,” she said. “They’re essential; they run the parks on an operational level.”

In 2021, Yosemite National Park had 741 employees working the summer season, compared with 451 in the winter off-season, according to the National Park Service website.

Scott Gediman, a spokesman for Yosemite, did not respond to emails and phone calls requesting comment. Media contacts at the agency’s Washington, D.C., office also did not respond.

In addition to 63 named parks — nine of which are in California, more than any other state — the National Park Service administers 370 other sites, including national monuments, national historic sites and national battlefields. The total land mass under its supervision is more than 85 million acres.

And they are among the most revered and beautiful acres in the United States, drawing more than 325 million visitors in 2023.

The emails rescinding job offers for parks employees appear to stem from a broader Trump administration hiring freeze for federal agencies, part of a coordinated campaign to slash the federal budget and weaken a bureaucracy — Trump and his supporters call it the “deep state” — that he claims worked behind the scenes to thwart much of his first-term agenda.

While many government agencies are unavoidably enmeshed in the nation’s polarizing political tug of war, the parks are among the few public places where people of all stripes can escape. Exhausted by the bickering on cable news shows and social media feeds? Go camp beneath the stars in Yosemite, or stroll among the giant trees in Sequoia, or watch the sun rise over the silent desert in Joshua Tree. What could be more cleansing?

Certainly not a visit to a national park bathroom this summer, if the hiring freeze indeed holds.

In previous shutdowns stemming from congressional budget disputes or the COVID-19 pandemic, facilities inside the parks deteriorated at an alarming rate. Unauthorized visitors left human feces in rivers, painted graffiti on once pristine cliffs, harassed wild animals and left the toilets looking like “crime scenes”, the supervising ranger said.

“It’s just scary how bad things can get when places are abandoned with nobody watching,” she said.

Seemingly lost in the politics is how much people sacrifice to take the seasonal jobs now being rescinded. Many workers organize their whole lives around the temporary slots, hoping eventually to turn them into permanent careers. They do all kinds of side hustles in the off-season — ski patrol, driving ambulances — to make sure they are available when the summer tourist season comes around again.

As the dreaded emails started landing in their inboxes last week, many would-be workers were left scrambling, wondering if they needed to cancel travel plans, wriggle out of leases and line up other summer employment.

And it’s not like the park jobs are a path to riches. The pay is lower than in many private sector careers, and housing costs can be sky-high in remote gateway communities on the edges of the parks. People do it because it’s the career they’ve dreamed of since they were kids.

“We used to joke that we got paid in sunsets,” said Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, which represents over 3,100 current, former and retired employees and volunteers of the National Park Service.

Francis worked for the parks system for 41 years, including stints at Yosemite and Shenandoah National Park, before retiring as superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2013.

“The longer we’re on pause, the less probable it is that the parks are going to be able to open,” for the peak summer season, Francis said.

It’s not just the build-up of trash and graffiti that parks supervisors worry about when they don’t have enough employees. It’s the safety of the visitors. “People get hurt, they get lost,” Francis said, so there have to be enough rangers on hand to respond, “when things go wrong.”

There’s also the economic damage that could be suffered by the many hotels and businesses that rely on park visitors, and by the families who have already booked flights, rented cars and made hotel reservations on the assumption the parks would be open and functional this summer.

Francis said many of the families he met during his career saw trips to the national parks as a rite of passage, a way to get outdoors and celebrate one of the essential joys of being an American.

“There are some families who come every year for decades, who make it a tradition,” Francis said.

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Robbie Sequeira, Stateline.org

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s City of Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling last June allowing localities to ban outdoor camping even if there is no homeless shelter space available, roughly 150 cities in 32 states have passed or strengthened such ordinances.

Another 40 or so local bans are pending, according to data sent to Stateline by the National Homelessness Law Center. The measures vary in detail, but they typically include prohibitions on camping, sleeping or storing property on public land. Many also include buffer zones near schools, parks or businesses.

Bans often allow for steep fines and jail time. In Indio, California, for example, people caught camping illegally could face a penalty of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. The ordinance in Fresno, California, bans sitting, lying, sleeping or camping on public property anytime, anywhere, with a penalty of up to a year in jail. Elmira, New York, includes sleeping in vehicles in its camping ban.

Housing advocates and experts anticipate the surge in camping bans to continue in 2025. Supporters of the bans argue that homeless encampments endanger nearby residents and businesses. Critics say the prohibitions will just criminalize visible street homelessness and move it somewhere else.

“The idea behind anti-camping laws is to make homelessness so uncomfortable that people won’t want to experience it. But homelessness is already incredibly uncomfortable, especially during disasters,” said Samantha Batko, a senior fellow in the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute. “Criminalizing homelessness doesn’t solve the problem — it just punishes people, makes it harder for them to find housing or jobs, and keeps them stuck in a cycle of instability.”

California has the highest number of camping bans, with more than 40 ordinances either passed or introduced since July. It also has about 30% of the nation’s homeless individuals, followed by New York, Florida and Washington state, according to a U.S. Housing and Urban Development report to Congress in 2022.

California Democratic Gov. Newsom invested heavily in encampment clearance and housing, allocating $131 million to municipalities after the Grants Pass ruling. He also issued an executive order to cities to “urgently address homeless encampments.”

Elizabeth Funk, CEO of DignityMoves, a nonprofit that is helping California cities address unsheltered homelessness, anticipates a rise in anti-camping policies in 2025. Still, she said, the Grants Pass ruling could require cities to build more temporary shelters.

“It really is a policy decision, and we have chosen that the only valid use of taxpayer money is permanent housing. But the reality is … we can’t build our way out of this at a million dollars per unit,” said Funk. “Grants Pass removes the excuse that cities can’t act. Unsheltered homelessness is solvable — it starts with providing a roof.”

‘What do we do?’

Florida’s updated law, passed last year, requires counties and municipalities to ban sleeping or camping in public spaces such as parks, sidewalks and the state’s many beaches.

Many local governments scrambled to put local ordinances in place to comply with the law. And as of Jan. 1, residents and business owners have the right to sue municipalities if local efforts to address homelessness are deemed insufficient. The state has around 31,000 homeless residents.

Gainesville, Florida, Mayor Harvey Ward said the state’s requirements haven’t dramatically changed the city’s response to homelessness.

Gainesville city officials noted philosophical disagreements with the state when they passed an anti-camping ordinance in December to avoid any potential legal action for noncompliance. The ordinance carries no jail time but includes a fine.

Ward said in an interview that he’s seen a major decrease in visible chronic homelessness in the city’s community plaza from a decade ago, a shift he attributes to the opening of more shelter spaces over the years.

“The good news is we don’t have 100 people a night sleeping on the community plaza anymore. I can see progress. I’m just not sure how to make that sort of leap in progress again,” said Ward, who is a registered Democrat, though the mayoral position is nonpartisan.

He said the state’s ban mandate also complicates how Gainesville and other cities respond to chronic street homelessness, especially given Florida’s bottom-tier spending on mental health services.

“The idea that the problem is such a small number of people — fewer than 1,000 chronic homeless folks in any year — and no matter how much we spend on it, we’re not spending enough to actually fix it, is very frustrating,” Ward said.

“We’ve plateaued. There are folks who, for whatever reason, either can’t be admitted to a shelter because of past issues or refuse to go. But they’re not doing anything illegal, so what do we do? How do we help someone who refuses services and isn’t breaking the law?”

‘No one chooses to sleep outside’

The rise in anti-camping ordinances after the Grants Pass ruling was a predictable outcome, even in cities that have no other options for people who don’t have homes, said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director at the National Homelessness Law Center.

“A large misconception is that people choose to experience homelessness. But no one chooses to sleep outside. People are forced into homelessness because elected officials fail to ensure safe and affordable housing,” said Rabinowitz. “The Grants Pass approach — making cities inhospitable to force people to leave — has been tried before. It’s expensive, ineffective, and only prolongs homelessness.”

Yet the approach is quickly gaining ground.

In November, Arizona voters approved a ballot measure allowing property owners to apply for reimbursements for public nuisance expenses when the government fails to enforce laws related to camping and loitering.

A Republican-led bill in Washington state — where six municipalities have passed or strengthened anti-camping ordinances since the Grants Pass ruling — would require most local governments to ban encampments near schools and parks by May of 2027. It would offer grants for encampment sweeps, but also would pull funding from localities that don’t enforce the ban. The bill remains in committee.

Among the state’s cities with a ban in place is Spokane Valley, which updated its ordinance last fall. The updates include upgrading the violation of being in a city park after dark from a civil infraction to a misdemeanor, and changing the definition of “camping” to include sleeping overnight with or without camping gear.

Little has changed with enforcement in the interim months, wrote city spokesperson Jill Smith in an email to Stateline. The city also has several employees dedicated to connecting unhoused residents with services, she said, and it added a second outreach police officer in December.

Devon Kurtz, the public safety policy director at the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, argues that camping bans are necessary to address unsafe encampments and unsheltered homelessness, and that they can be part of a system that helps reluctant individuals receive help.

In a recently published interview with the Philanthropy Roundtable, which advises conservative philanthropists, Kurtz warned that “homeless encampments are toxic environments filled with waste and trash, and are often hotbeds of crime.”

Advocates in many states are pushing back. After a successful petitioning effort by local residents, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, will allow voters to decide in April whether to overturn a new camping ban passed last fall. As of November, the city had 28 shelter beds to serve an estimated homeless population of 150.

Do they work?

A 2024 RAND study found that policy changes — such as encampment sweeps and camping bans — in three Los Angeles neighborhoods temporarily reduced visible homelessness, but within months the unsheltered populations rose slightly in two of the communities and doubled in the third.

The survey found chronic mental and physical health issues and substance use disorders affecting more than half of respondents, with Skid Row residents being the oldest and least healthy.

Experts also argue that these laws are ineffective and costly, with a 2020 federal report finding sweeps in four cities cost $1,672 to $6,208 per unsheltered person annually.

Jeremy Ney, a data researcher who publishes the American Inequality newsletter, said that while a lack of affordable housing is a root cause of rising homelessness, responses to homelessness need to accompany policies that address other chronic barriers to stability.

“Housing alone is not enough. We also need employment, mental health, addiction and social service support systems that can ensure people stay in those homes,” Ney said.

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald

MIAMI — A Dubai-based developer has unveiled the details of an ultra-luxury project on the Surfside property where a building collapse in 2021 left 98 people dead and shattered a community.

In a press release, DAMAC said construction has begun on what it’s calling The Delmore, featuring 37 “mansions in the sky” starting at $15 million apiece, a “meditation garden” and the availability of “residential butlers.” The release makes no mention of the collapse.

On Tuesday morning, dozens of top Miami brokers were set to gather in Surfside to learn more about the condo project, which will be one of the most expensive in South Florida. The announcement comes with the launch of a website to promote sales and an estimated completion date of 2029.

The flashy launch didn’t sit well with some who were directly affected by the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South on June 24, 2021.

Martin Langesfeld, whose sister Nicole and brother-in-law Luis Sadovnic died in the collapse, told the Miami Herald it was “concerning to see this project marketed without acknowledging the collapse that killed 98 people.”

Langesfeld said the project shouldn’t begin until a federal investigation into what caused the collapse is finished.

“The focus must be on completing the investigation before allowing another development to proceed, while also ensuring a memorial is included to honor those we lost,” he said.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, who was in office when the collapse occurred and elected again last year, said he had hoped the developer would find a sensitive way to honor the site’s history in its marketing.

“The challenge for the developer is to be honest and blend their efforts to do whatever they have to do with a deep respect for the history of that site,” Burkett said. “They’ve got a real opportunity to see the reality that’s right in front of them and take it head on and deal with it.”

In an interview Tuesday, DAMAC spokesperson Jeffery Rossely acknowledged that the firm chose not to mention the collapse in its marketing materials, saying the project “represents a closure to the past and a new beginning.”

“We’re not hiding anything,” he said. “You just don’t necessarily, when you’re doing a marketing campaign, put (the collapse) out there as a lead of the campaign.”

Still, Rossely said DAMAC is being transparent about the collapse with potential buyers and that details of the tragedy will be included in a “memento” book given to each buyer at closing that talks about the history of the site.

“I would not say anybody would recommend featuring it in your marketing,” he said. “At the same time, we would not hide it if there’s a question asked.”

Eliana Salzhauer, a former Surfside town commissioner who was in office when the collapse occurred, said it seems like the developers “hope that people forget anything happened there.”

“They can pull out all their bells and whistles and their nice, slick marketing materials,” Salzhauer said. “It doesn’t change the fact that their entire site is a graveyard.”

The Delmore is the first foray into United States real estate for DAMAC founder Hussain Sajwani, an Emirati billionaire and business partner of President Donald Trump who recently pledged $20 billion in investment in U.S. data centers.

Sajwani was the lone bidder for the 1.8-acre property at 8777 Collins Ave., paying $120 million that went toward a settlement for unit owners and victims’ relatives.

Langesfeld and other family members of the victims protested a judge’s decision to have the Champlain site auctioned off after the collapse, saying it should have been turned into a memorial.

After the sale, some family members pressed DAMAC to allow a memorial on part of the site, but the developer said that wasn’t feasible.

Surfside officials have designated part of an adjacent roadway, 88th Street, for a memorial that remains in the planning stages. DAMAC has pledged $1.5 million toward the effort.

Rossely said the memorial could possibly be built before the new condo tower is complete but that it would be “far cleaner and easier” to wait until 2029 to avoid disruptions from construction that will include hauling in sand to raise the dunes next to the property.

“There’s going to be a significant amount of disruption if one tries to do it earlier,” Rossely said.

DAMAC is marketing the 12-story condo project to uber-wealthy buyers, touting Surfside as part of a “billionaire’s triangle” created by Surfside, Indian Creek and Bal Harbour, while boasting that the building will be “directed by a Residence Manager and served by residential butlers.”

Renderings show a 75-foot swimming pool suspended 125 feet in the air at the top of the building. A 20,000-square-foot “outdoor meditation garden,” Tuesday’s press release says, “will be a quiet hideaway, marked by cascading reflective pools, open-air spaces for healing and yoga, a fire pit, and botanical gardens with a serenity path.”

A private restaurant exclusive to residents and their guests “will be an additional piece de resistance,” the release says.

The units, which will be fully furnished and average 7,000 square feet with four or five bedrooms, are being designed for “permanent residents,” according to the announcement. Rossely said potential buyers have already been “chasing us.”

“We know there’s a clear interest in the site and the opportunity it represents,” he said.

The Douglas Elliman firm will broker sales for the building. On a website promoting the condo, the firm says the average unit price will be $33 million.

“Simply put, this is a spectacular, transformative property,” Jay Phillip Parker, the CEO of Douglas Elliman’s Florida brokerage, said in a statement. “There is significant demand for a product of this magnitude, especially in South Florida where the one percent continue to acquire ultra-high-end properties. For the most discerning of purchasers, this is going to be the next great retreat.”

A federal investigation into what caused the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South is ongoing, with a report on the findings anticipated in 2026. Investigators have said there is “strong evidence” that the collapse began in the pool deck of the 12-story, L-shaped building, echoing the findings of a Miami Herald investigation that found the deck collapsed several minutes before half of the tower fell.

The town of Surfside and Miami-Dade County also commissioned their own investigations into the collapse that have not concluded.

Rossely said DAMAC hired experts to conduct extensive testing on the below-ground conditions at the site to ensure that it was safe to build there. The subsurface conditions were “actually better than we expected,” he said.

The collapse triggered a scramble to determine whether Florida’s coastal buildings were safe, followed by new legislation to mandate more frequent inspections and funding for structural fixes.

The requirements have put a financial strain on condo owners. Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special legislative session to amend the condo safety law, but lawmakers dropped it from their special session agenda Monday.

©2025 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Stephanie Armour, KFF Health News

In summertime, cows wait under a canopy to be milked at Mark McAfee’s farm in Fresno, California. From his Cessna 210 Centurion propeller plane, the 63-year-old can view grazing lands of the dairy company he runs that produces products such as unpasteurized milk and cheese for almost 2,000 stores.

Federal regulators say it’s risky business. Samples of raw milk can contain bird flu virus and other pathogens linked to kidney disease, miscarriages, and death.

McAfee, founder and CEO of the Raw Farm, who also leads the Raw Milk Institute, says he plans to soon be in a position to change that message.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist President Donald Trump has tapped to run the Department of Health and Human Services, recruited McAfee to apply for a job as the FDA’s raw milk standards and policy adviser, McAfee said. McAfee has already written draft proposals for possible federal certification of raw dairy farms, he said.

Virologists are alarmed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against unpasteurized dairy that hasn’t been heated to kill pathogens such as bird flu. Interstate raw milk sales for human consumption are banned by the FDA. A Trump administration that weakens the ban or extols raw milk, the scientists say, could lead to more foodborne illness. It could also, they say, raise the risk of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus evolving to spread more efficiently, including between people, possibly fueling a pandemic.

“If the FDA says raw milk is now legal and the CDC comes through and says it advises drinking raw milk, that’s a recipe for mass infection,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist and co-editor-in-chief of the medical journal Vaccine and an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University in New York.

The raw milk controversy reflects the broader tensions President Donald Trump will confront when pursuing his second-administration agenda of rolling back regulations and injecting more consumer choice into health care.

Many policies Kennedy has said he wants to revisit — from the fluoridation of tap water to nutrition guidance to childhood vaccine requirements — are backed by scientific research and were established to protect public health. Some physician groups and Democrats are gearing up to fight initiatives they say would put people at risk.

Raw milk has gained a following among anti-regulatory conservatives who are part of a burgeoning health freedom movement.

“The health freedom movement was adopted by the tea party, and conspiracy websites gave it momentum,” said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who has studied the history of the anti-vaccine movement.

Once-fringe ideas are edging into the mainstream. Vaccine hesitancy is growing.

Arkansas, Utah, and Kentucky are weighing legislation that would relax or end requirements for fluoride in public water. And 30 states now allow for the sale of raw milk in some form within their borders.

While only an estimated 3% of the U.S. population consumes raw milk or cheese, efforts to try to restrict its sales have riled Republicans and provided grist for conservative podcasts.

Many conservatives denounced last year’s execution of a search warrant when Pennsylvania agriculture officials and state troopers arrived at an organic farm tucked off a two-lane road on Jan. 4, 2024. State inspectors were investigating cases of two children sickened by E. coli bacteria and sales of raw dairy from the operation owned by Amish farmer Amos Miller, according to a complaint filed by the state’s agricultural department.

Bundled in flannel shirts and winter jackets, the inspectors put orange stickers on products detaining them from sale, and they left toting product samples in large blue-and-white coolers, online videos show. The 2024 complaint against Miller alleged that he and his wife sold dairy products in violation of state law.

The farm was well known to regulators. They say in the complaint that a Florida consumer died after being sickened in 2014 with listeria bacteria found in raw dairy from Miller’s farm. The FDA said a raw milk sample from the farm indicates it was the “likely source” of the infection, based on the complaint.

Neither Miller’s farm nor his lawyer returned calls seeking comment.

The Millers’ attorney filed a preliminary objection that said “shutting down Defendants would cause inequitable harm, exceed the authority of the agency, constitute an excessive fine as well as disparate, discriminatory punishment, and contravene every essential Constitutional protection and powers reserved to the people of Pennsylvania.”

Regulators in Pennsylvania said in a press release they must protect the public, and especially children, from harm. “We cannot ignore the illnesses and further potential harm posed by distribution of these unregulated products,” the Pennsylvania agricultural department and attorney general said in a joint statement.

Unpasteurized dairy products are responsible for almost all the estimated 761 illnesses and 22 hospitalizations in the U.S. that occur annually because of dairy-related illness, according to a study published in the June 2017 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

But conservatives say raiding an Amish farm is government overreach. They’re “harassing him and trying to make an example of him. Our government is really out of control,” Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Doug Mastriano said in a video he posted to Facebook.

Videos show protesters at a February 2024 hearing on Miller’s case included Amish men dressed in black with straw hats and locals waving homemade signs with slogans such as “FDA Go Away.” A court in March issued a preliminary injunction that barred Miller from marketing and selling raw dairy products within the commonwealth pending appeal, but the order did not preclude sales of raw milk to customers out of state. The case is ongoing.

With Kennedy, the raw milk debate is poised to go national. Kennedy wrote on X in October that the “FDA’s war on public health is about to end.” In the post, he pointed to the agency’s “aggressive suppression” of raw milk, as one example.

McAfee is ready. He wants to see a national raw milk ordinance, similar to one that exists for pasteurized milk, that would set minimal national standards. Farmers could attain certification through training, continuing education, and on-site pathogen testing, with one standard for farms that sell to consumers and another for retail sales.

The Trump administration didn’t return emails seeking comment.

McAfee has detailed the system he developed to ensure his raw dairy products are safe. He confirmed the process for KFF Health News: cows with yellow-tagged ears graze on grass pastures and are cleansed in washing pens before milking. The raw dairy is held back from consumer sale until it’s been tested and found clear of pathogens.

His raw dairy products, such as cheese and milk, are sold by a variety of stores, including health, organic, and natural grocery chains, according to the company website, as well as raw dairy pet products, which are not for human consumption.

He said he doesn’t believe the raw milk he sells could contain or transmit viable bird flu virus. He also said he doesn’t believe regulators’ warnings about raw milk and the virus.

“The pharmaceutical industry is trying to create a new pandemic from bird flu to get their stock back up,” said McAfee, who says he counts Kennedy as a customer. His view is not shared by leading virologists.

In December, the state of California secured a voluntary recall of all his company’s raw milk and cream products due to possible bird flu contamination.

Five indoor cats in the same household died or were euthanized in December after drinking raw milk from McAfee’s farm, and tests on four of the animals found they were infected with bird flu, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Health.

In an unrelated case, Joseph Journell, 56, said three of his four indoor cats drank McAfee’s raw milk. Two fell sick and died, he said. His third cat, a large tabby rescue named Big Boy, temporarily lost the use of his hind legs and had to use a specialized wheelchair device, he said. Urine samples from Big Boy were positive for bird flu, according to a copy of the results from Cornell University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

McAfee dismissed connections between the cats’ illnesses and his products, saying any potential bird flu virus would no longer be viable by the time his raw milk gets to stores. He also said he believes that any sick cats got bird flu from recalled pet food.

Journell said he has hired a lawyer to try to recover his veterinary costs but remains a staunch proponent of raw milk.

“Raw milk is good for you, just not if it has bird flu in it,” he said. “I do believe in its healing powers.”

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News

The Trump administration has intervened in the release of important studies on the bird flu, as an outbreak escalates across the United States.

One of the studies would reveal whether veterinarians who treat cattle have been unknowingly infected by the bird flu virus. Another report documents cases in which people carrying the virus might have infected their pet cats.

The studies were slated to appear in the official journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The distinguished journal has been published without interruption since 1952.

Its scientific reports have been swept up in an “immediate pause” on communications by federal health agencies ordered by Dorothy Fink, the acting secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Fink’s memo covers “any document intended for publication,” she wrote, “until it has been reviewed and approved by a presidential appointee.” It was sent on President Donald Trump’s first full day in office.

That’s concerning, former CDC officials said, because a firewall has long existed between the agency’s scientific reports and political appointees.

“MMWR is the voice of science,” said Tom Frieden, a former CDC director and the CEO of the nonprofit organization Resolve to Save Lives.

“This idea that science cannot continue until there’s a political lens over it is unprecedented,” said Anne Schuchat, a former principal deputy director at the CDC. “I hope it’s going to be very short-lived, but if it’s not short-lived, it’s censorship.”

White House officials meddled with scientific studies on covid-19 during the first Trump administration, according to interviews and emails collected in a 2022 report from congressional investigators. Still, the MMWR came out as scheduled.

“What’s happening now is quite different than what we experienced in covid, because there wasn’t a stop in the MMWR and other scientific manuscripts,” Schuchat said.

DNR warns of statewide bird flu uptick in wild waterfowl

Neither the White House nor HHS officials responded to requests for comment. CDC spokesperson Melissa Dibble said, “This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization.”

News of the interruption hit suddenly last week, just as Fred Gingrich, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, a group for veterinarians specializing in cattle medicine, was preparing to hold a webinar with members. He planned to disclose the results of a study he helped lead, slated for publication in the MMWR later that week. Back in September, about 150 members had answered questions and donated blood for the study. Researchers at the CDC analyzed the samples for antibodies against the bird flu virus, to learn whether the veterinarians had been unknowingly infected earlier last year.

Although it would be too late to treat prior cases, the study promised to help scientists understand how the virus spreads from cows to people, what symptoms it causes, and how to prevent infection. “Our members were very excited to hear the results,” Gingrich said.

Like farmworkers, livestock veterinarians are at risk of bird flu infections. The study results could help protect them. And having fewer infections would lessen the chance of the H5N1 bird flu virus evolving within a person to spread efficiently between people — the gateway to a bird flu pandemic.

At least 67 people have tested positive for the bird flu in the U.S., with the majority getting the virus from cows or poultry. But studies and reporting suggest many cases have gone undetected, because testing has been patchy.

Just before the webinar, Gingrich said, the CDC informed him that because of an HHS order, the agency was unable to publish the report last week or communicate its findings. “We had to cancel,” he said.

Another bird flu study slated to be published in the MMWR last week concerns the possibility that people working in Michigan’s dairy industry infected their pet cats. These cases were partly revealed last year in emails obtained by KFF Health News. In one email from July 22, an epidemiologist pushed to publish the group’s investigation to “inform others about the potential for indirect transmission to companion animals.”

Jennifer Morse, medical director at the Mid-Michigan District Health Department and a scientist on the pending study, said she got a note from a colleague last week saying that “there are delays in our publication — outside of our control.”

A person close to the CDC, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of concerns about reprisal, expected the MMWR to be on hold at least until Feb. 6. The journal typically posts on Thursdays, and the HHS memo says the pause will last through Feb. 1.

“It’s startling,” Frieden said. He added that it would become dangerous if the reports aren’t restored. “It would be the equivalent of finding out that your local fire department has been told not to sound any fire alarms,” he said.

In addition to publishing studies, the MMWR keeps the country updated on outbreaks, poisonings, and maternal mortality, and provides surveillance data on cancer, heart disease, HIV, and other maladies. Delaying or manipulating the reports could harm Americans by stunting the ability of the U.S. government to detect and curb health threats, Frieden said.

The freeze is also a reminder of how the first Trump administration interfered with the CDC’s reports on COVID, revealed in emails detailed in 2022 by congressional investigators with the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. That investigation found that political appointees at HHS altered or delayed the release of five reports and attempted to control several others in 2020.

Bird flu likely ‘widespread’ in Massachusetts, officials say

In one instance, Paul Alexander, then a scientific adviser to HHS, criticized a July 2020 report on a coronavirus outbreak at a Georgia summer camp in an email to MMWR editors, which was disclosed in the congressional investigation. “It just sends the wrong message as written and actually reads as if to send a message of NOT to re-open,” he wrote. Although the report’s data remained the same, the CDC removed remarks on the implications of the findings for schools.

Later that year, Alexander sent an email to then-HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo citing this and another example of his sway over the reports: “Small victory but a victory nonetheless and yippee!!!”

Schuchat, who was at the CDC at the time, said she had never experienced such attempts to spin or influence the agency’s scientific reports in more than three decades with the agency. She hopes it won’t happen again. “The MMWR cannot become a political instrument,” she said.

Gingrich remains hopeful that the veterinary study will come out soon. “We’re an apolitical organization,” he said. “Maintaining open lines of communication and continuing research with our federal partners is critical as we fight this outbreak.”

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Miriam Fauzia, The Dallas Morning News

In 1942, during its fight against the Soviet Union, Finland launched a novel campaign to keep the Red Army at bay: Raitis tammikuu, or “Sober January.” The monthlong sobriety challenge – one of the first Dry Januarys in history – was meant to encourage Finns to lay off the bottle while also conserving scant wartime resources.

Nowadays, Dry January isn’t so much a fight against invading forces as it is about a reset heading into a new year.

Alcohol has already taken center stage in 2025 after the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory calling for warning labels highlighting the risk of cancer in drinking boozy beverages earlier this month.

“Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States – greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S. – yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said in a statement. “This Advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm.”

Across the globe, some countries have introduced forms of health warning labels on alcoholic drinks. But only a few, like South Korea and soon Ireland, have explicit labels warning of the risk of cancer and other negative health consequences.

But considering how socially ingrained alcohol is, the arrival of the surgeon general’s advisory begs the question: Is it possible to sip smarter in a world where every pint or cocktail comes with a side of caution?

A research smorgasbord

The connection between cancer and alcohol may come as news to the general public, but it’s not for scientists and clinicians, said Dr. Mack Mitchell, a gastroenterologist and professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

“There’s a large background of information on alcohol and health that’s accumulated over the last not 10 years, but 50 years,” said Mitchell, who is also a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse. “The issue about cancer began to be recognized back in the 1980s, and the first thing that came up was a small but real association between drinking and breast cancer in women. I think there’s no question that this has been confirmed many, many times.”

Cancer occurs through different biological mechanisms, some of which involve ethanol — the main chemical component of alcoholic beverages — and other chemicals produced when we metabolize beer or a glass of wine, said Dr. Flavio Rocha, surgical oncologist and physician-in-chief at the Oregon Health and Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute.

“Alcohol can also increase inflammation through reactive oxygen species that we know can damage DNA,” Rocha said. “Alcohol hormonal changes particularly in estrogen, which is the mechanism thought to be causative for breast cancer and potentially liver cancer, as well.”

Yet, other studies have suggested that alcohol consumption, particularly in moderation, may be associated with positive health benefits such as longevity.

This perception, in particular, was popularized in the 1990s with the “French Paradox,” an observation that the French enjoy low rates of heart disease despite their rich, fatty diets. The secret to their good health? Imbibing red wine regularly.

But no studies to date have conclusively proved that drinking red wine offers any health benefits. And recent years have called into question the methodology of studies linking moderate alcohol drinking to health.

A 2024 review of 107 studies on drinking habits and longevity found the data suggested moderate drinkers — those enjoying anywhere between a drink a week and two a day — had a 14% lower risk of dying during the study period compared to those who abstained from alcohol. This link disappeared, however, when the researchers dug deeper into the data. In high-quality studies, which included younger people and made sure former and occasional drinkers weren’t considered abstainers, there was no evidence that light to moderate drinkers lived longer. In the lower quality studies, which involved older participants and made no distinction between former drinkers and lifelong abstainers, moderate drinking was linked to greater longevity.

Problematic methodology aside, other studies have also found socioeconomic status plays a major role in determining the health benefit of alcohol. For example, it’s been observed that people on the higher end of the socioeconomic ladder may consume similar or greater amounts of alcohol compared to people on the lower end but it’s the latter group that bears the burden of poorer health.

“There are many things related to our socioeconomic and educational levels that may contribute and, therefore, could be confounders to the alcohol effect,” Mitchell said. “And that’s where a lot of the controversy exists, whether the benefit of so-called ‘moderate’ drinking is related to drinking or related to your socioeconomic status. It’s very hard to separate the two.”

Mileage may vary

The current U.S. guidelines for alcohol consumption is two drinks a day or less for men and one drink a day or less for women. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a standard drink is defined as either:

• 12 fluid ounces of regular beer with an alcohol content of 5%
• 5 fluid ounces of table wine with an alcohol content of 12%
• A 1.5 fluid ounce shot of distilled spirits with an alcohol content of 40%

Even with these guidelines, alcoholic beverages don’t have explicit labeling informing consumers of how their drink compares to the standard, said Matthew Rossheim, associate professor of health administration and health policy at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.

“I’ve done research where I’ve given people cans of alcohol products like a 14% 23 and a half-ounce Four Loko. People will guess that it has two or three standard drinks but it’s really closer to a six-pack of beer in a single can,” he said.

Rossheim said the guidelines also don’t reflect the inventory of high volume alcohol products currently on the market.

“[Those guidelines] are dated because it assumes that there’s 5% beer when a lot of the products now are 8%, 12%, even 14 or 16%,” Rossheim said. “Some people don’t realize that what they’re drinking is low-end liquor rather than a beer type product, so that’s a huge issue.”

So should you cut alcohol out of your life entirely? While Mitchell, Rocha and Rossheim said there isn’t a safe amount when drinking alcohol, saying no to a nightly glass of Pinot Noir — or a cannabis-infused cocktail — is easier said than done.

If you already don’t drink alcohol, it’s best not to start now. If you do currently drink, Mitchell and Rocha said it’s best to stay within the standard guidelines and have a conversation with your health care provider to get an idea of what an acceptable amount looks like for you. That’s because one’s risk of cancer or other negative health consequences depends on many different factors, such as age, health status, lifestyle, genetics and family history.

Mitchell also endorses taking advantage of Dry January to evaluate your relationship with alcohol.

“If you don’t make it through Dry January, and your intent was to do so,” Mitchell said, “then you might want to rethink your relationship with alcohol and why you’re drinking.”

Miriam Fauzia is a science reporting fellow at The Dallas Morning News. Her fellowship is supported by the University of Texas at Dallas. The News makes all editorial decisions.

©2025 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio, KFF Health News

DENVER — Outside HCA HealthONE Rose medical center, the snow is flying. Inside, on the third floor, there’s a flurry of activity within the labor and delivery unit.

“There’s a lot of action up here. It can be very stressful at times,” said Kristina Fraser, an OB-GYN in blue scrubs.

Nurses wheel a very pregnant mom past.

“We’re going to bring a baby into this world safely,” Fraser said, “and off we go.”

She said she feels ready in part due to a calming moment she had just a few minutes earlier with some canine colleagues.

A pair of dogs, tails wagging, had come by a nearby nursing station, causing about a dozen medical professionals to melt into a collective puddle of affection. A yellow Lab named Peppi showered Fraser in nuzzles and kisses. “I don’t know if a human baby smells as good as that puppy breath!” Fraser had said as her colleagues laughed.

The dogs aren’t visitors. They work here, too, specifically for the benefit of the staff. “I feel like that dog just walks on and everybody takes a big deep breath and gets down on the ground and has a few moments of just decompressing,” Fraser said. “It’s great. It’s amazing.”

Hospital staffers who work with the dogs say there is virtually no bite risk with the carefully trained Labradors, the preferred breed for this work.

The dogs are kept away from allergic patients and washed regularly to prevent germs from spreading, and people must wash their hands before and after petting them.

Doctors and nurses are facing a growing mental health crisis driven by their experiences at work. They and other health care colleagues face high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, suicidal ideation, and burnout. Nearly half of health workers reported often feeling burned out in 2022, an increase from 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the percentage of health care workers who reported harassment at work more than doubled over that four-year period. Advocates for the presence of dogs in hospitals see the animals as one thing that can help.

That includes Peppi’s handler, Susan Ryan, an emergency medicine physician at Rose.

Ryan said years working as an emergency room doctor left her with symptoms of PTSD. “I just was messed up and I knew it,” said Ryan, who isolated more at home and didn’t want to engage with friends. “I shoved it all in. I think we all do.”

She said doctors and other providers can be good at hiding their struggles, because they have to compartmentalize. “How else can I go from a patient who had a cardiac arrest, deal with the family members telling them that, and go to a room where another person is mad that they’ve had to wait 45 minutes for their ear pain? And I have to flip that switch.”

To cope with her symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, Ryan started doing therapy with horses. But she couldn’t have a horse in her backyard, so she got a Labrador.

Ryan received training from a national service dog group called Canine Companions, becoming the first doctor trained by the group to have a facility dog in an emergency room. Canine Companions has graduated more than 8,000 service dogs.

The Rose medical center gave Ryan approval to bring a dog to work during her ER shifts. Ryan’s colleagues said they are delighted that a dog is part of their work life.

“When I have a bad day at work and I come to Rose and Peppi is here, my day’s going to be made better,” EMT Jasmine Richardson said. “And if I have a patient who’s having a tough day, Peppi just knows how to light up the room.”

Nursing supervisor Eric Vaillancourt agreed, calling Peppi “joyful.”

Ryan had another dog, Wynn, working with her during the height of the pandemic. She said she thinks Wynn made a huge difference. “It saved people,” she said. “We had new nurses that had never seen death before, and now they’re seeing a covid death. And we were worried sick we were dying.”

She said her hospital system has lost a couple of physicians to suicide in the past two years, which HCA confirmed to KFF Health News and NPR. Ryan hopes the canine connection can help with trauma. “Anything that brings you back to the present time helps ground you again. A dog can be that calming influence,” she said. “You can get down on the ground, pet them, and you just get calm.”

Ryan said research has shown the advantages. For example, one review of dozens of original studies on human-animal interactions found benefits for a variety of conditions including behavioral and mood issues and physical symptoms of stress.

Rose’s president and CEO, Casey Guber, became such a believer in the canine connection he got his own trained dog to bring to the hospital, a black Lab-retriever mix named Ralphie.

She wears a badge: Chief Dog Officer.

Guber said she’s a big morale booster. “Phenomenal,” he said. “It is not uncommon to see a surgeon coming down to our administration office and rolling on the ground with Ralphie, or one of our nurses taking Ralphie out for a walk in the park.”

This article is from a partnership that includes CPR News , NPR , and KFF Health News.

©2025 Kaiser Health News. Visit khn.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. ©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Sarah Boden, KFF Health News

Erica Hayes, 40, has not felt healthy since November 2020 when she first fell ill with COVID.

Hayes is too sick to work, so she has spent much of the last four years sitting on her beige couch, often curled up under an electric blanket.

“My blood flow now sucks, so my hands and my feet are freezing. Even if I’m sweating, my toes are cold,” said Hayes, who lives in Western Pennsylvania. She misses feeling well enough to play with her 9-year-old son or attend her 17-year-old son’s baseball games.

Along with claiming the lives of 1.2 million Americans, the COVID-19 pandemic has been described as a mass disabling event. Hayes is one of millions of Americans who suffer from long COVID. Depending on the patient, the condition can rob someone of energy, scramble the autonomic nervous system, or fog their memory, among many other symptoms. In addition to the brain fog and chronic fatigue, Hayes’ constellation of symptoms includes frequent hives and migraines. Also, her tongue is constantly swollen and dry.

“I’ve had multiple doctors look at it and tell me they don’t know what’s going on,” Hayes said about her tongue.

Estimates of prevalence range considerably, depending on how researchers define long COVID in a given study, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts it at 17 million adults.

Despite long COVID’s vast reach, the federal government’s investment in researching the disease — to the tune of $1.15 billion as of December — has so far failed to bring any new treatments to market.

This disappoints and angers the patient community, who say the National Institutes of Health should focus on ways to stop their suffering instead of simply trying to understand why they’re suffering.

“It’s unconscionable that more than four years since this began, we still don’t have one FDA-approved drug,” said Meighan Stone, executive director of the Long COVID Campaign, a patient-led advocacy organization. Stone was among several people with long COVID who spoke at a workshop hosted by the NIH in September where patients, clinicians, and researchers discussed their priorities and frustrations around the agency’s approach to long-COVID research.

Some doctors and researchers are also critical of the agency’s research initiative, called RECOVER, or Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery. Without clinical trials, physicians specializing in treating long COVID must rely on hunches to guide their clinical decisions, said Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development with the VA St Louis Healthcare System.

“What [RECOVER] lacks, really, is clarity of vision and clarity of purpose,” said Al-Aly, saying he agrees that the NIH has had enough time and money to produce more meaningful progress.

Now the NIH is starting to determine how to allocate an additional $662 million of funding for long-COVID research, $300 million of which is earmarked for clinical trials. These funds will be allocated over the next four years.At the end of October, RECOVER issued a request for clinical trial ideas that look at potential therapies, including medications, saying its goal is “to work rapidly, collaboratively, and transparently to advance treatments for Long COVID.”

This turn suggests the NIH has begun to respond to patients. This has stirred cautious optimism among those who say that the agency’s approach to long COVID has lacked urgency in the search for effective treatments.Stone calls this $300 million a down payment. She warns it’s going to take a lot more money to help people like Hayes regain some degree of health.“There really is a burden to make up this lost time now,” Stone said.

The NIH told KFF Health News and NPR via email that it recognizes the urgency in finding treatments. But to do that, there needs to be an understanding of the biological mechanisms that are making people sick, which is difficult to do with post-infectious conditions.

That’s why it has funded research into how long COVID affects lung function, or trying to understand why only some people are afflicted with the condition.

Good Science Takes Time

In December 2020, Congress appropriated $1.15 billion for the NIH to launch RECOVER, raising hopes in the long-COVID patient community.

Then-NIH Director Francis Collins explained that RECOVER’s goal was to better understand long COVID as a disease and that clinical trials of potential treatments would come later.

According to RECOVER’s website, it has funded eight clinical trials to test the safety and effectiveness of an experimental treatment or intervention. Just one of those trials has published results.

On the other hand, RECOVER has supported more than 200 observational studies, such as research on how long COVID affects pulmonary function and on which symptoms are most common. And the initiative has funded more than 40 pathobiology studies, which focus on the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms of long COVID.

RECOVER’s website says this research has led to crucial insights on the risk factors for developing long COVID and on understanding how the disease interacts with preexisting conditions.

It notes that observational studies are important in helping scientists to design and launch evidence-based clinical trials.

Good science takes time, said Leora Horwitz, the co-principal investigator for the RECOVER-Adult Observational Cohort at New York University. And long COVID is an “exceedingly complicated” illness that appears to affect nearly every organ system, she said.

This makes it more difficult to study than many other diseases. Because long COVID harms the body in so many ways, with widely variable symptoms, it’s harder to identify precise targets for treatment.

“I also will remind you that we’re only three, four years into this pandemic for most people,” Horwitz said. “We’ve been spending much more money than this, yearly, for 30, 40 years on other conditions.”

NYU received nearly $470 million of RECOVER funds in 2021, which the institution is using to spearhead the collection of data and biospecimens from up to 40,000 patients. Horwitz said nearly 30,000 are enrolled so far.

This vast repository, Horwitz said, supports ongoing observational research, allowing scientists to understand what is happening biologically to people who don’t recover after an initial infection — and that will help determine which clinical trials for treatments are worth undertaking.

“Simply trying treatments because they are available without any evidence about whether or why they may be effective reduces the likelihood of successful trials and may put patients at risk of harm,” she said.

Delayed Hopes or Incremental Progress?

The NIH told KFF Health News and NPR that patients and caregivers have been central to RECOVER from the beginning, “playing critical roles in designing studies and clinical trials, responding to surveys, serving on governance and publication groups, and guiding the initiative.”But the consensus from patient advocacy groups is that RECOVER should have done more to prioritize clinical trials from the outset. Patients also say RECOVER leadership ignored their priorities and experiences when determining which studies to fund.

RECOVER has scored some gains, said JD Davids, co-director of Long COVID Justice. This includes findings on differences in long COVID between adults and kids.But Davids said the NIH shouldn’t have named the initiative “RECOVER,” since it wasn’t designed as a streamlined effort to develop treatments.

“The name’s a little cruel and misleading,” he said.

RECOVER’s initial allocation of $1.15 billion probably wasn’t enough to develop a new medication to treat long COVID, said Ezekiel J. Emanuel, co-director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Healthcare Transformation Institute.

But, he said, the results of preliminary clinical trials could have spurred pharmaceutical companies to fund more studies on drug development and test how existing drugs influence a patient’s immune response.

Emanuel is one of the authors of a March 2022 COVID roadmap report. He notes that RECOVER’s lack of focus on new treatments was a problem. “Only 15% of the budget is for clinical studies. That is a failure in itself — a failure of having the right priorities,” he told KFF Health News and NPR via email.

And though the NYU biobank has been impactful, Emanuel said there needs to be more focus on how existing drugs influence immune response.

He said some clinical trials that RECOVER has funded are “ridiculous,” because they’ve focused on symptom amelioration, for example to study the benefits of over-the-counter medication to improve sleep. Other studies looked at non-pharmacological interventions, such as exercise and “brain training” to help with cognitive fog.

People with long COVID say this type of clinical research contributes to what many describe as the “gaslighting” they experience from doctors, who sometimes blame a patient’s symptoms on anxiety or depression, rather than acknowledging long COVID as a real illness with a physiological basis.

“I’m just disgusted,” said long-COVID patient Hayes. “You wouldn’t tell somebody with diabetes to breathe through it.”

Chimére L. Sweeney, director and founder of the Black Long COVID Experience, said she’s even taken breaks from seeking treatment after getting fed up with being told that her symptoms were due to her diet or mental health.

“You’re at the whim of somebody who may not even understand the spectrum of long COVID,” Sweeney said.

Insurance Battles Over Experimental Treatments

Since there are still no long-COVID treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration, anything a physician prescribes is classified as either experimental — for unproven treatments — or an off-label use of a drug approved for other conditions. This means patients can struggle to get insurance to cover prescriptions.

Michael Brode, medical director for UT Health Austin’s Post-COVID-19 Program — said he writes many appeal letters. And some people pay for their own treatment.

For example, intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, low-dose naltrexone, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are all promising treatments, he said.

For hyperbaric oxygen, two small, randomized controlled studies show improvements for the chronic fatigue and brain fog that often plague long-COVID patients. The theory is that higher oxygen concentration and increased air pressure can help heal tissues that were damaged during a COVID infection.

However, the out-of-pocket cost for a series of sessions in a hyperbaric chamber can run as much as $8,000, Brode said.

“Am I going to look a patient in the eye and say, ‘You need to spend that money for an unproven treatment’?” he said. “I don’t want to hype up a treatment that is still experimental. But I also don’t want to hide it.”

There’s a host of pharmaceuticals that have promising off-label uses for long COVID, said microbiologist Amy Proal, president and chief scientific officer at the Massachusetts-based PolyBio Research Foundation. For instance, she’s collaborating on a clinical study that repurposes two HIV drugs to treat long COVID.

Proal said research on treatments can move forward based on what’s already understood about the disease. For instance, she said that scientists have evidence — partly due to RECOVER research — that some patients continue to harbor small amounts of viral material after a COVID infection. She has not received RECOVER funds but is researching antivirals.

But to vet a range of possible treatments for the millions suffering now — and to develop new drugs specifically targeting long COVID — clinical trials are needed. And that requires money.

Hayes said she would definitely volunteer for an experimental drug trial. For now, though, “in order to not be absolutely miserable,” she said she focuses on what she can do, like having dinner with her family.At the same time, Hayes doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life on a beige couch.

RECOVER’s deadline to submit research proposals for potential long-COVID treatments is Feb. 1.

This article is from a partnership that includes NPR and KFF Health News.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

DETROIT — The Tigers on Wednesday reached an agreement with veteran right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle on a one-year deal worth $7.75 million.

The deal, which is pending a physical, was first reported by Jon Heyman and confirmed to The Detroit News by a source familiar with the negotiations.

Kahnle, 35, has been a model of consistency the last three seasons, posting 2.44 ERA and a 1.063 WHIP with the Dodgers in 2022 and the Yankees the last two seasons. Last season in 50 games he had a 2.11 ERA, 1.148 WHIP with 46 strikeouts in 42.2 innings.

He started last season on the injured list with shoulder soreness. But he quickly became the Yankees’ most reliable reliever for a three-month stretch. In 33 appearances from June 12 through the end of August, Kahnle allowed two earned runs in 28.2 innings with 31 strikeouts.

He’s logged 30 innings in the postseason over his career, including 8.2 last season. He didn’t allow an earned run until his last outing, which came in Game 5 of the World Series.

The 10-year veteran adds a different look to the back end of the Tigers’ bullpen in that he features an elite and unique changeup, one he threw 73% of the time last season. He throws it between 87 and 88 mph off a 94-mph four-seamer. Last season, the changeup limited hitters to a .173 average and a 39% swing and miss rate.

At one point last season, he threw 61 straight changeups.

Going back to 2019 when he made the changeup his primary pitch, opponents hit .163 (65 for 397) against it with 155 strikeouts.

Overall last season, Kahnle got hitters to chase pitches out of the strike zone 31% and whiff 36%. The swing-and-miss ability, as well as the uniqueness of his changeup, adds a dimension to the Tigers’ ‘pen that was missing last season.

The Tigers had been linked to several top-end relievers this offseason, including Kirby Yates, who signed a one-year deal worth $13 million with the Dodgers. Others at the top of the market, like Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, Blake Treinen, A.J. Minter and Clay Holmes all signed deals that average between $11 and $18 million per season.

Interesting, too, is that Kahnle has only 18 save opportunities (with eight saves) over his career. He’s never been a closer, which seems to fit with the way the Tigers, under manager AJ Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter, like to construct the bullpen — without assigned, traditional roles.

Kahnle is expected to join Tyler Holton, Jason Foley, Beau Brieske and Will Vest as late-game options. It’s also going to create an even more intense battle for the final three bullpen spots this spring with Alex Faedo, Brenan Hanifee, Sean Guenther, Brant Hurter with the possibility of a starting pitcher eventually transitioning to a relief role (Matt Manning, Ty Madden, Kenta Maeda, among others).

By Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse

If in the new year you’ve resolved to become a better and smarter traveler, there are some simple steps you can take in 2025.

Whether it’s streamlining your airport experience, avoiding the pitfalls of following the crowd or maximizing your luggage, there are easy-to-remember dos and don’ts to ensure you fly like your best self in the year ahead.

Do apply for TSA PreCheck, trusted traveler programs

If you fly multiple times per year it’s wise to invest in TSA PreCheck and other trusted traveler and expedited security screening programs like Global Entry to minimize stress and time spent at the airport.

TSA PreCheck costs just $85 for a five-year membership that travelers can easily renew online after enrollment. While the U.S. Customs and Border Protection implemented fee changes to Global Entry, NEXUS and SENTRI last fall, these programs offer convenience and peace of mind that can’t be beaten in 2025.

Don’t join the ‘gate lice’

“Gate lice” refers to those impatient or easily influenced travelers who crowd the gate area prior to boarding, and the issue has become so serious that airlines have begun to crack down on the impolite crowds.

Southwest Airlines is the last major carrier to offer open seating and will be transitioning to assigned seating, so there’s no need to rush the gate before your group has been called. Your seat will be waiting for you, and you don’t need to get there any faster than your fellow passengers.

Do understand DOT’s new refund rules

Late last year the U.S. Department of Transportation implemented its final rule on automatic airline refunds, which is expected to save Americans more than $500 million annually.

It only takes a few minutes to read up on what constitutes a refund and what qualifies. The new rule applies not only to canceled flights but also to significantly altered trips, significantly delayed checked baggage return and a failure to provide ancillary services that were purchased.

Don’t check luggage (if you can help it)

It’s always best to avoid checking a bag if you can, as it will trim time off of your trip both before and after your flight. The carry-on size limit for most airlines is 22 x 14 x 9 inches, which is plenty in most cases, especially if you pack smart by rolling your clothes and using compression bags to maximize space.

Do be flexible to save on flights

Try to be as flexible as possible when planning your getaway. Traveling during the shoulder seasons such as the weeks after Labor Day can net you significant savings on flights. Booking those flights on weekdays such as Tuesday and Wednesday can also provide some relief for your wallet.

What’s more, booking an early morning flight could save you more while reducing the risk of a delay or cancellation.

Don’t remove your shoes or socks

For the vast majority of us, air travel is a public experience, so it’s always advised to practice common courtesy even if that means sacrificing personal comfort. That includes keeping your shoes and or socks on for the duration of the flight.

The cringy behavior of removing them routinely ranks among the rudest as far as airline passengers are concerned. A 2023 study from travel search engine KAYAK found that roughly three-fourths of respondents said taking your socks off is unacceptable. More than half said it’s not OK to remove your shoes on a flight.

Other annoying behaviors to avoid when flying include hogging the armrests, asking to switch seats, engaging in unwanted conversation with strangers, using the volume on your phone and engaging in personal grooming.

©2025 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

January can be something of a slog for home cooks.

The excitement and extravagance of holiday cooking is in our collective rearview mirror, and with fresh green vegetables at a minimum, we’re back to the hearty casseroles, warming stews and meaty one-pot dishes that define winter cooking.

Yet there is at least one bright spot you can count on in the new year: the big bags of sweet and juicy oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit from Florida and California that are so easy to find on store shelves. January is when the colorful citrus season is in full swing, bringing a much-needed dose of sunshine to the table along with a healthful shot of vitamin C and other antioxidants.

This easy dessert recipe combines the bright, tangy bite of lemon with the sweeter, mellower flavor of orange in a classic, buttery tart.

The original recipe calls for making one large tart to be cut into slices, but after cooking and serving so many meals over Christmas and New Year’s, I decided to portion the crust and filling into 12 mini-tartlet pans to make it an easy grab-and-go dessert. I also topped the tartlets with a dusting of powdered sugar, but you could dollop on a teaspoon of whipped cream.

The tarts are best at room temperature or when slightly chilled (which allows the filling to set). You definitely want to blind bake the pastry (without filling) to avoid the dreaded soggy bottom.

Once assembled, the citrus tartlets should be kept in the fridge. They’ll stay crispy for two days.

Citrus Tartlets

PG tested

For pastry crust

• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 10 tablespoons salted butter, cut into slices and chilled
• 2 tablespoons sour cream

For filling

• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, plus 2 yolks
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 3 tablespoons orange juice

For crust:

In small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch. Microwave until set, 30 to 40 seconds, stirring halfway through. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Once cornstarch mixture is chilled, in a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt, then process until mixed, about 5 seconds.

Add the cornstarch mixture, and pulse until ground. Add the butter and sour cream, then process until dough comes together and begins to collect on the blade.

Pat the dough into a 4-inch disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (and up to 48 hours).

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in middle position.

On a well-floured counter, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. Hang the dough over the rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch tart pan.

Gently ease the dough into the pan. Trim the edges, leaving a ½-inch overhang. Tuck overhang under itself so the dough is flush with the rim of the pan.

Crimp the dough with your fingers or tine of a fork, then chill in freezer for 15 minutes,

Blind bake the crust: Line the chilled crust with heavy-duty foil and fill with enough pie weights to come three-quarters up.

Bake until the edges are light golden brown, about 25-30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.

Remove the foil and weights and bake until the bottom of the crust just begins to color, another 5 to 7 minutes. Let coil on wire rack for 1 hour before filling. (Once baked, crust can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

For filling:

In a bowl, combine sugar, both zests and salt. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant and mixture begins to clump.

Add the eggs and yolks and whisk until pale and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Whisk in the cream and juices; skim the foam off the top.

Pour the filling into the warm tart shell and bake on baking sheet on the middle rack until set, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack until room temperature, at least 1 hour.

Remove the outer metal ring and serve, or chill completely before serving.

Makes 1 9-inch tart or 12 individual-sized tartlets.

— Adapted from “Milk Street: The New Home Cooking” by Christopher Kimball

©2025 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Beth LeBlanc

The Detroit News

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House approved bills Thursday that would retain the state’s tipped wage for restaurant workers and limit the reach of paid sick leave laws that are set to take effect on Feb. 21.

The tipped wage bill was approved in a 63-41 vote, while the paid sick leave bill passed 67-38, getting support from a few Democrats. The votes in the GOP-led House came after a six-month push to change the law following a July 31 Michigan Supreme Court order that overturned 2018 efforts to rein in the law and gave the legislation full effect.

The bills, sponsored by Republican state Reps. John Roth of Interlochen and Jay DeBoyer of Clay Township, move next to the Democratic-led Senate, which earlier this month introduced its own version of paid sick leave and tipped wage legislation.

State Rep. Jamie Thompson, R-Brownstown Township, said immediate action on the legislation was critical to curb the decision of an “activist Supreme Court.”

“If we do not act today, servers and bartenders will begin losing their tips on Feb. 21 and our workers and small business owners are going to have to navigate a sick leave mandate that even lawyers are unable to figure out,” Thompson said.

GOP Rep. Jay DeBoyer of St. Clair County, whose district takes in a portion of northern Macomb County, echoed those comments.

“It was easy to see that this was the proverbial freight train coming at small businesses and tipped workers like restaurant servers and bartenders. After months of inaction with Democrats in majority, House Republicans are prioritizing reforms and working on behalf of people we represent to protect their livelihoods,” he said.

House Democrats offered more than a dozen amendments to the bills, each seeking to retain some measure of the wage schedule and paid sick leave rules that are set to go into effect on Feb. 21. None of the amendments were adopted in the Republican-controlled House.

State Rep. Helena Scott, D-Detroit, whose district includes not only Detroit but also Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge in Oakland County, argued the House’s efforts to scale back the full effect of the laws would amount to “another assault on Michigan’s hard working families.”

“This keeps workers trapped in jobs that do not pay enough to cover groceries or other living expenses,” Scott said.

House Republicans’ proposals would gradually increase the traditional minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2029 and would keep the tipped wage at 38% of Michigan’s minimum wage. The House Republican bills related to paid sick leave would limit the policy to affect only employers with more than 50 workers.

One Fair Wage, a group that helped to the organize the minimum wage increase, threatened to collect signatures for a referendum that would repeal the law if the Michigan Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer chose to make changes.

Under the July 31 Supreme Court order, Michigan’s hourly minimum wage is slated to increase 42% from $10.56 an hour to about $15 an hour by 2028, while the minimum wage for workers who receive tips will gradually be increased annually from $4.01 an hour — 38% of the standard minimum wage — to about $15 an hour by 2030.

The laws, first introduced as ballot initiatives in 2018, were given full effect by a Michigan Supreme Court ruling in July after a protracted legal battle over Republican efforts in 2018 to curb the laws. The high court set a deadline of Feb. 21 for the laws to begin taking effect.

Senate Democrats and House Republicans last week introduced competing legislation meant to address the pending increase to the tipped wage and minimum wage and alter the state’s paid sick leave laws.

In the Democratic-controlled Senate, state Sen. Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, has authored legislation that would increase the traditional minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2027, while keeping the tipped wage at 38% of the standard rate in 2025. Then Hertel’s measure would gradually increase the tipped minimum wage to 60% of the traditional minimum wage over a 10-year period.

———–

©2025 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

MediaNews Group staff contributed to this report.

By Courtney Frazer, Bankrate.com (TNS)

Food costs represent a significant portion of household budgets, and rising grocery prices make strategic shopping essential. While cutting back isn’t the only solution, smartphone apps can provide substantial grocery savings through cash-back rewards, digital coupons, discounts and loyalty programs.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to 10 effective food savings apps for both grocery shopping and dining out.

Top food savings apps

1. Ibotta

Ibotta is one of the most popular cash back apps available. It’s known for offering cash-back rewards on everyday purchases at major retailers. The app allows users to select offers before shopping and earn rewards by scanning receipts afterward.

Its browser extension enables cash back on online grocery purchases, and partnerships with retailers provide exclusive deals on essential household items.

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Multiple redemption options, including PayPal and gift cards
• Wide acceptance at major retailers
• Bonus rewards for reaching specific goals, such as trying new products or completing a certain number of offers in a month

Cons

• Requires pre-selecting offers
• The cash-out minimum takes time to reach
• The interface can be overwhelming with numerous offers

2. Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards allows users to earn points on any receipt from grocery stores, pharmacies and even gas stations, making it a versatile option for shoppers.

Unlike other cash-back apps, Fetch Rewards doesn’t require users to select offers before shopping. Instead, they can scan any eligible receipt and automatically earn points, which can be redeemed for gift cards to major retailers.

Pros

• No pre-selection of offers required
• Compatible with numerous retailers
• Bonus points available through referrals

Cons

• Limited earnings on generic brands
• Gift card redemption only
• No direct cash rewards

3. Flipp

Flipp helps users save by compiling weekly ads and sales from major retailers in one easy-to-use app. The app enables users to search for specific items, compare prices across stores and create shopping lists based on current promotions, making it valuable for strategic grocery planning.

Pros

• Great for sale matching, providing easy access to local deals and promotions
• Integrates with loyalty programs, allowing users to clip digital coupons directly from ads
• Reduces the need for multiple apps by combining local deals and digital coupons in one place

Cons

• Focused on weekly ads, without cash-back or rewards
• May not include all local stores
• Deals are limited to specific weekly promotions

4. Checkout 51

Checkout 51 offers weekly cash-back deals across various stores, similar to Ibotta but with a slightly different selection of offers. Users can upload their receipts to the app after purchasing selected products to earn cash back. The app refreshes its offers every Thursday, so users have new savings opportunities each week.

Pros

• Simple, user-friendly interface
• Works across multiple stores
• Seasonal promotions often boost cash-back percentages on select items

Cons

• Limited cash-back options for fresh foods
• High cash-out minimum
• Requires prompt receipt uploads to avoid missing cash-back opportunities on eligible items

5. Coupons.com

Coupons.com streamlines digital coupon usage by connecting with store loyalty cards for automatic savings at checkout. The platform offers both digital and printable coupons across various brands and retailers. Coupons.com is a solid option if you enjoy the simplicity of using coupons without the hassle of clipping.

Pros

• Automatic discount application through loyalty programs
• Wide variety of frequently updated coupons
• Convenient and user-friendly, with no need for physical coupons at participating stores

Cons

• Limited to specific partner stores
• Some coupons have restrictions or expiration dates
• Requires keeping track of coupon terms

6. Kroger App

The Kroger app provides exclusive discounts, digital coupons and personalized savings offers for shoppers who frequent Kroger and its affiliated stores. The platform integrates with the store’s loyalty program and includes fuel rewards for additional savings.

Pros

• Customized offers based on purchase patterns
• Integrated fuel rewards for added savings
• Allows users to scan receipts to earn additional rewards on select items, boosting the overall value

Cons

• Limited to Kroger and affiliated stores
• Not all promotions are available in every local store
• Some benefits may be too store-specific

7. Target Circle

Target Circle combines the retailer’s loyalty program with exclusive discounts and rewards. Members can save money on a variety of grocery items and other household essentials, and the app frequently features special offers for members.

Pros

• Seamless online and in-store integration
• Easy to use for both in-store and online shopping
• Allows users to participate in community support by voting on charities

Cons

• Limited to Target stores
• Rewards can take time to accumulate
• Some offers have minimum purchase requirements

8. RetailMeNot

RetailMeNot offers a diverse selection of coupons and cash-back opportunities for groceries, restaurants and local services. The platform supports both in-store and online purchases.

Pros

• Extensive range of discounts across multiple categories
• In-store and online coupons, plus a cash-back portal for extra savings
• User-friendly with easy access to deals for a variety of needs and preferences

Cons

• Coupon values can vary, and some offers may come with restrictions
• Limited cash-back features
• Not all coupons are guaranteed to work at every store

9. Dosh

Dosh is a cash-back app that connects directly to your debit or credit card, providing automatic cash-back on purchases made at participating stores. The app covers grocery stores and restaurants, eliminating the need for receipt scanning or coupon clipping.

Pros

• Automatic savings tracking
• Allows stacking of rewards with other loyalty programs for maximum savings
• Regular bonus promotions

Cons

• Only works with participating merchants
• Cash-back percentages can vary, and offers may change frequently
• Redemption process can be confusing for some users

10. Too Good To Go

Too Good To Go is a unique app that helps users save on food by purchasing surplus from local restaurants and bakeries at a discount. Users can pick up these surplus meals at a reduced price, making it both budget-friendly and environmentally friendly.

Pros

• Offers a unique savings model that focuses on reducing food waste while providing affordable meal options
• Environmentally friendly, contributing to sustainability efforts by repurposing food that would otherwise go to waste
• Variety of meal options from local businesses

Cons

• Limited market availability
• Meal options can be unpredictable

The bottom line

Food savings apps provide multiple ways to reduce grocery and dining expenses without compromising quality or variety. You can more effectively manage your food budget by combining these tools with strategic shopping habits. Consider your shopping preferences and habits when selecting apps, and remember that using multiple platforms may maximize potential savings.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News

A Southfield man was arrested after leading Berkley police on a car chase and crashing into a house last weekend, officials said.

Berkley police at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday tried to conduct a traffic stop on a white Dodge Journey near Edwards Avenue and Greenfield Road, investigators reported. Police said they suspected the driver, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant, was operating the vehicle without insurance.

However, the driver refused to stop and sped away from officers, authorities said. Police gave chase.

Officials said the suspect drove south into Oak Park and east on Lincoln Drive toward Coolidge Highway and through Huntington Woods before returning to Berkley.

The driver then lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a home, according to authorities.

He then exited the vehicle and ran but was quickly arrested a short distance from the crash site, investigators said. He was identified as a 31-year-old Southfield man.

After officers searched the suspect’s vehicle, they found cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms, according to authorities. The suspect also exhibited signs of being under the influence of narcotics, police reported.

Police said no injuries were reported in the incident.

Officials released photos and video of the incident via the department’s Facebook page.

Authorities said they plan to seek multiple charges against the suspect, including fleeing and eluding, a five-year felony, possession of cocaine, a four-year felony, and resisting officers, a two-year felony.

They are not releasing his identity until he has been formally charged in court, police said.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

@CharlesERamirez

©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Twelve Oakland County communities that contract with the sheriff’s office for law enforcement services are scrambling to figure out how they’ll cover a roughly 33% rate increase over three years, saying they’ll have to cut spending elsewhere, raise taxes or eliminate deputy positions.

Several communities have already made adjustments for the first year of the contracts, which started Jan. 1. Three scrapped plans to expand their substations and add deputies. Addison Township in northern Oakland County will lay off one deputy starting April 1, the start of its fiscal year.

But multiple officials, one of whom called the rate increases “astronomical,” said they’re still figuring out how they’ll handle the second and third years of the three-year contracts that the Democratic-controlled Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved in November. The board raised contract prices by an average of 15% in 2025 and around 9% each in 2026 and 2027. Several communities have property tax millages specifically for police services that they can’t increase yet.

For Rochester Hills, the contract increase amounts to about $4.5 million more over three years. For Independence Township, it’s $1.8 million.

“After 2025, we have to look at it (police service costs) very strongly because the rates go up again in 2026,” Oxford Supervisor Jack Curtis said. “… I have to look at every ounce of overtime, I have to look at every expenditure and say, ‘How is this going to affect us in ’26?'”

But county officials said the new contract better reflects the actual cost of police services.

Dave Woodward, chairman of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, said the county had been effectively subsidizing the costs of police services in these communities for years and these are the first contracts that accurately reflect the price of the services.

“The issues about the pricing of these services being out of sync with what they really cost came to light three years ago when we approved those (contracts), but we were so close there was no time to make adjustments at that time,” said Woodward, a Royal Oak Democrat. “Oakland County’s fiscal office, led by our CFO in the county, working with the sheriff’s office, compiled all the costs that are associated with individual officers, and that became the framework of these agreements.”

The average contract increases in 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 were 2.8%, 2.7%, 1.3%, and 2.9%, respectively.

Still, many aren’t happy with how the increase was handled or its timing. The Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Oakland County, a union that represents sheriff’s deputies, posted a letter on social media in late December to residents, detailing the contract’s potential impact. It was signed by leaders of 11 of the 12 contracted communities. Only Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel didn’t sign the letter.

“Imagine waiting longer for help to arrive during a crisis or seeing vital community programs disappear due to budget shortfalls,” the letter states.

The Deputy Sheriff’s Association didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Local officials balk

The sheriff’s office has contracts with 12 communities that don’t have their own police departments, including Commerce Township, Independence Township, Highland Township, Lyon Township, Pontiac, Rochester Hills and Springfield Township. Eight of the 10 townships in northern Oakland County all contract with the sheriff’s office for police services.

Contracts are priced by officer, with different rates for positions such as deputies, captains and sergeants, Woodward said. Everything from wage increases under labor union contracts, health care and retirement contributions to vehicle and liability costs go into determining the price per officer, he said. All of these have been growing, Woodward said.

All of the indirect costs associated with providing law enforcement services, including human resources support, payroll support, accounting and legal support, were included in the cost per officer, Woodward said.

Still, many officials said they were caught off guard by the size of the increases.

In Rochester Hills, which has a $185 million budget for its 2025 fiscal year, the contract increases 17% in the first year. Mayor Bryan Barnett said while the city budgeted for some price hikes, the new rates will force residents and officials to consider the level of service they want to maintain.

“When something goes up 35% in three years, you have to make some tough choices,” Barnett said. “Either … we have to ask residents to pay more, or we’re going to have to redeploy resources in a way that’s going to cause significant cuts in other parts of what we do as a community.”

Independence Township faces a similar 15% increase in 2025, followed by 9% increases each in 2026, and 2027, amounting to roughly $1.8 million. The township has a $9.4 million general fund budget for the 2025 fiscal year.

“The resulting pressure will lead to cuts in essential services, delays to critical projects like the new substation, or tax and fee increases that cannot take effect until 2027,” Township Supervisor Chuck Phyle said in a statement.

Some leaders especially questioned the timing of the new contract, approved in November, after the general election. By that point, most townships and cities had finished their 2025 budget processes, and it was too late to raise taxes.

“We all had an election this year, that’s when we are allowed to ask for tax increases or millages. We would have unequivocally in Orion Township … put a ballot question on our ballots in either August or November,” Supervisor Chris Barnett said. “Unequivocally, we will be asking our residents for a tax increase in 2026, probably August 2026.”

Woodward said the contracts were approved by the commission at the exact same time, almost to the day, as they were approved three years ago and local officials should not have been surprised.

“Every supervisor knew that the costs were going to have to go up,” Woodward said. “Many of these communities also contract for dispatch services. … Those prices were adjusted in the very same way we’re talking about here and there was an increase, the cost associated with delivering the services were increased there as well.”

Oxford Township has a millage that supports the sheriff’s substation and finalizes its annual budget by September, said Curtis, the supervisor. When the commission sent the new contracts in December, it was “well beyond a budget amendment process that we do, or trying to find funds,” he said.

“Fortunately, I anticipated some costs going up, so I budgeted for some of those costs, but impactfully a 15% raise in the rate is astronomical,” Curtis said. “We’re wrestling through it all, we’re allocating funds from future years, we’re allocating funds away from some building costs that we were doing. We are not going to lay anybody off at this time because quite frankly, three years ago, when we had this (Oxford High School) shooting, we are still experiencing large numbers of overtime hours.”

Sheriff’s response

While the county administration has historically worked with the contracted communities and the sheriff’s department to agree on contract rates, that was not necessarily the case this year, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.

“This time, the communities were not part of the discussion, and the sheriff’s office input was received but not necessarily agreed to,” said Bouchard, a Republican who has held the sheriff’s position for more than two decades. “We think there are a number of things that went into the process for determining the rates that made them higher than we think they should have been.”

The sheriff agreed that the communities should pay their fair share of the cost to the county but certain support positions in the sheriff’s office, such as human resources, that exist regardless of the contracts should not be factored into the rates.

“A portion of the contracts include positions that would be there anyway, with or without the contracts,” Bouchard said. “We would like to see actual documentation to what the so-called costs are as it relates to actual costs that would exist with or without the contracts.”

Bouchard said the sheriff’s office already runs “lean” and is concerned about the increased rates reducing positions. Commerce Township decreased the number of positions at its substation by two. Rochester Hills, Pontiac and Orion Township all axed plans to expand their substations and add positions this year.

Still, all of the contracts were signed at the new rate in time to start the new year, Woodward said.

‘Unfair’ subsidies

Woodward maintained that the county undercharged communities for sheriff’s office services for too long, adding up to tens of millions of dollars of unfair subsidies.

“The entire county was subsidizing the difference, and that’s fundamentally unfair,” Woodward said. “We have 12 communities we contract with, but the other 50 have their own police departments.”

Woodward blamed previous county administrations for not charging communities the full price of law enforcement services in previous contracts.

Some officials, like Phyle of Independence Township, still have concerns about transparency and the accuracy of the county’s calculations.

“Independence Township deserves better than unanticipated financial burdens that jeopardize public safety and trust,” Phyle said. “The $1.8 million increase is unacceptable without collaboration and transparency from the county.”

But Woodward said the county has made its entire fiscal services team available to the communities to answer their questions, and the contracts represent the price of “exceptional law enforcement services.”

“I get that people wish the prices were lower. I wish the prices were lower,” Woodward said, adding: “The price is the price.”

Forming their own police departments

Even with the price increases, the communities that contract with the sheriff’s office for public safety services are a “captive audience,” Orion Township’s Barnett said. The contracts began at the start of the new year, leaving roughly a month for local governments to consider and plan.

“If you were going to form your own department, you’re probably four or five years away from forming a department,” said Joseph Merucci, Oakland Township supervisor. “I understand the rates got to go up, because just inflation is going to go up, but it’s the timing that really stinks.”

The cost of contracting with the sheriff is also still less than the cost of starting and operating a local police department, Highland Township Supervisor Rick Hamill said.

“There’s no way that we could have our own police department for anywhere near, near the price that we pay for Oakland County’s program, and their program is stellar,” Hamill said. “The commission’s approach to covering those or those costs was a bit defective, and I think, ironically, it was more politically biased than anything.”

The Oakland County Deputy Sheriff’s Association letter, posted to the organization’s Facebook page last month, linked the increased rates to delayed response times and the potential loss of community programs.

“Dave Woodward intentionally pushed this agenda item to defund the police under the guise of ‘indirect costs,'” the letter said. “Every delayed response time, every underfunded program, and every officer stretched too thin impacts the safety of our community.”

Woodward said the argument that the rate increase is part of an effort to defund the police is “completely false” and called it dangerous to suggest the public is less safe than before the contracts were approved.

“Every one of these communities that signed this letter have money in their police millages to pay for these contracts,” Woodward said. “To grab one’s pearls and act in shock and awe is, it’s just juvenile.”

The Sheriff’s Department consistently receives one of the largest portions of money from the county’s general fund each year, Woodward explained. In 2025 the Sheriff’s Department’s budget is $218 million.

“Oakland County has never invested more in our law enforcement than we do today. It was Oakland County, led by Democrats, that paid for body cams to lead to not only greater transparency but … also to defend our officers of false claims,” Woodward said. “We just entered into a multimillion-dollar contract to get our officers the best equipment, brand new state-of-the-art tasers to reduce the need for a use of a gun to de-escalate situations. We are buying new vehicles.”

Greimel, Pontiac’s mayor, said he didn’t sign the union’s letter because he didn’t agree with its aggressive tone. Pontiac faced an immediate increase of about $2 million in 2025 and a total increase of roughly $5 million over the next three years, which Greimel called a “shock” to the system.

“We understand the county’s motivation, and we want to work with the county, but we’re hoping that we can get some assistance and flexibility from the county over the next couple of years so that it’s not as big of an increase all at once,” Greimel said. “The magnitude of the increase in price to the city of Pontiac is concerning, and I’ve certainly expressed those concerns directly to county commissioners.”

Communities have the option to distribute the contract increase more evenly over three years, Woodward said.

Rate increase in years two and three

The contracts will increase by 9% in 2026 and 2027, the result of the estimated consumer price index, a measure of inflation experienced by consumers, plus 6% in both years. Bouchard is concerned that the 6% increase is more of a guess and would like to see a specific accounting for what costs it covers.

“We would like to see year two and year three, the percentage of increase CPI and actual direct, documentable increase in cost, not a percentage based on best guess,” Bouchard said.

But Woodward said it’s difficult to predict future cost increases in things such as health care, equipment, liability insurance, and wages, especially with deputy and command union contracts up for re-negotiation in the next three years, Woodward said.

“This wasn’t made in a vacuum. It is looking at what is our experienced growth in these categories: wages, health care, liability, equipment, etc., and forecasting what those costs are, and that’s what the projected increase for years two and years three are,” Woodward said.

Initially, the county’s fiscal services department proposed contract increases of the CPI plus 2%, but commissioners on the public health and safety committee voted to increase it.

The county is also not allowed to charge communities more than the price of the service provided and is hiring personnel to track prices over the life of the contract, Woodward said.

“Let’s say wage increases for the sheriff deputies is lower than what we’re planning… then we will immediately, in the next month, credit the community for that service,” Woodward said.

The Detroit Lions have announced their uniform combination for Saturday night’s divisional round against the Washington Commanders.

Detroit will be donning its blue jerseys to go along with its blue pants after wearing all black to close out the regular season Jan. 5.

The Lions, who entered the playoffs with the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed for the first time in franchise history, can advance to their second consecutive conference title game with a win over the Commanders, who beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round to get here.

Representing the other side of the bracket in the NFC Championship will be either the Los Angeles Rams or the Philadelphia Eagles. They’ll play one another Sunday.

Detroit finished the regular season 15-2, setting a new franchise record for wins heading into the postseason.

DETROIT ― The Lions are the obvious headliners Saturday.

The playoff game at Ford Field against the Washington Commanders will cap off what is an impressive day in Detroit sports, including Pistons-Phoenix Suns at Little Caesars Arena at 4 p.m. and Oakland-Detroit Mercy at Calihan Hall at 1 p.m.

The Metro Series men’s basketball game is the first for new Titans head coach Mark Montgomery, a Metro Detroit native who coveted this very job, in large part, for games ― and days ― like this.

“We start at 1, and everyone else follows,” Montgomery said in his Calihan Hall office, before practice Friday. “So, a big day of sports in the state of Michigan, in the Detroit area. This is gonna be fun.”

The season hasn’t been a whole lot of fun for either team, at least from a record perspective. Oakland, coming off an NCAA Tournament win over Kentucky, is 7-12 and 4-4 in the Horizon League, thanks to a roster that features 11 new players and having to grind through a daunting schedule of the who’s who of power-conference foes. Detroit Mercy, meanwhile, is 6-13 overall and 2-6 in league, with the struggle becoming real lately amid a slew of key injuries, some of them season-enders.

Detroit Mercy, which has improved over last season’s historically awful 1-31 season, is getting some good news on the injury front, though. Junior point guard Orlando Lovejoy (Detroit) and junior forward Legend Geeter (River Rouge), transfers from Eastern Michigan, are both expected to be back in the lineup against Oakland.

Both have been out the last two games with ankle injuries; Lovejoy missed both games, Geeter missed one full game and played limited minutes in the other. In the last game, at Purdue Fort Wayne, Detroit Mercy actually started five freshmen, something that’s unheard of in today’s game.

“I’ve always said as a coach, I don’t care if you’re a freshman, if you’re a sophomore, if you’re a fifth-year guy, we’ve got to put the five best on the floor,” Montgomery said. “We made a little history.”

Detroit Mercy tied the game at Purdue Fort Wayne early in the second half, before PFW pulled away, 90-67, to hand the Titans their third straight loss, and eighth in the last nine games. Detroit Mercy is averaging just over 61 points a game over the last three games, but at least gets back its leading scorer in Lovejoy (16.1 points). It’s second- and third-leading scorers, Mak Manciel and Jared Lary, are out for the season with injuries.

A scuffling offense isn’t a great recipe against Oakland’s unique zone defense, which gives all opponents fits at the power-conference and mid-major levels.

The Golden Grizzlies, led by the best big men tandem in the Horizon League in seniors Buru Naivalurua and Allen Mukeba, have their own issues on offense, though, after losing five of their top six scores from last season. They haven’t found that consistent threat from 3-point range, a staple in head coach Greg Kampe’s system, and one possible threat, senior Malcolm Christie, is still out with a hand injury.

“Our half-court defense, I think, has become elite,” said Kampe, in his 41st season at Oakland. “But our offense is so bad, we don’t get to play half-court defense.”

Oakland has won two in a row and three of its last five, all in Horizon League play, after giving away a couple games at a holiday tournament in Hawaii, to Oregon State and Hawaii. Six of the Golden Grizzlies’ losses this season have come in games in which they had double-digit point leads. So finishing hasn’t been a strength.

Finishing against Detroit Mercy hasn’t been an issue in recent years. Oakland leads the all-time series, 20-15, and has won 14 of the last 16 games. It has won nine straight at Calihan Hall, with Detroit Mercy last beating Oakland on its own court in 2015. That was four Detroit Mercy head coaches ago.

Kampe isn’t worried about the history, though. He’s worried about the present, and trying to get Oakland established in a Horizon League it won (both the regular-season and tournament titles) a season ago.

“You know, I think the excuse time is over,” Kampe said. “It’s the middle of January now. It’s time to play. … I think we have a very high ceiling, but we’ve also proven we have a very deep low floor.

“We’ve gotta find a consistency level.”

The matchup features the worst (Oakland) and second-worst (Detroit Mercy) scoring offenses in the Horizon League. The rivals will play again Sunday, Feb. 16, at the O’Rena.