Trash pick up to resume in Northern California as Republic Services strike ends with tentative deal
Teamsters Local 439 informed Republic Services that picket lines are coming down.
Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi announced on social media that trash services were set to resume in Stockton. The City of Lathrop also took to social media to announce that trash services were going to resume.
Many San Joaquin County and Solano residents were feeling the impacts of the strike, including some residents taking the matter into their own hands.
The City of Fairfield threatened legal action against Republic Services, calling the situation a public health emergency.
Several Bay Area cities, such as San Jose, Daly City, Half Moon Bay and Fremont, were also impacted by the strike.
The City of Fremont said Saturday's residential collection services will focus on reported missed garbage and recycling pickups, as well as missed organics from Wednesday through Friday. Saturday's work will also include missed commercial pickups.
On Monday, all three waste bin collections will be collected on their normal days.
Details on the tentative agreement were not released.
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French left urges Macron to act over US plan to destroy contraceptives
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RFK Jr. is quietly reshaping vaccine policy. This is the man helping him do it.
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Burns facilitated dozens of meetings between anti-vaccine activists and government officials, and arranged access to CDC data for Mark and David Geier, father-son researchers who falsely linked autism to vaccines and served as experts in legal cases alleging vaccine injuries. He coordinated press and lobbying strategies with activists, pushed medical journals to publish anti-vaccine research that had been rejected, and asked anti-vaccine activists to advise on government-funded research. He also publicly discounted studies that debunked purported links between vaccines and autism, and was repeatedly described in books, news articles and autism forums as a tireless behind-the-scenes organizer. One source with knowledge of calls between Weldon's office, CDC staffers and anti-vaccine researchers described Burns as 'explosive.' Burns, they said, organized meetings, brought anti-vaccine researchers like the Geiers onto calls without warning, and repeatedly demanded access to databases containing private patient information. They recalled Burns at times screaming and threatening agency funding, as Weldon sat on the House Appropriations Committee at the time. It's not clear what has motivated his passion over vaccines, but one former CDC staffer who interacted with Burns all those years ago described it as something like a 'religious crusade.' Burns is one of dozens of new political appointees across HHS agencies, some with minimal public health experience and others with clear ties to the anti-vaccine movement that Kennedy helped build. In the last six months, Kennedy has dismantled and partly remade the country's largest federal agency, overseeing the firings of thousands of employees and shuttering programs related to issues including mental health, senior care, cancer, and HIV and AIDS. 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In addition to organizing the destruction and rebirth of the ACIP panel, Burns personally ordered the removal of a webpage that hosted a scientific review on the safety of thimerosal, an ingredient falsely linked to autism by anti-vaccine activists. (The ACIP panel ultimately recommended removing the preservative from influenza vaccines.) The decision to remove the report from the website, made after communication with Kennedy's office, broke from standard practice, which allows such panels to act independently of the agency. An HHS spokesperson defended the removal to MSNBC, saying the report had been posted without permission, but did not address Burns' involvement. Kennedy's sweeping plans for vaccines include the re-examination of settled vaccine safety studies, particularly around autism. Kennedy has said that this fall he will announce preliminary findings from a reanalysis of health data — findings that critics, including those inside CDC, say are preordained and are likely to reignite disproven claims around autism and vaccines. Kennedy's overhaul of vaccine policy is also coming amid a growing number of public health emergencies. Measles outbreaks tore through the country this year, hospitalizing hundreds and killing two unvaccinated children. The country's elimination status is under threat while vaccine hesitancy grows: a recent study found that only 40% of pregnant Americans and parents of young children said they plan to follow the recommended vaccine schedule. Meanwhile, Burns appears to be benefitting from a power vacuum. Two Trump loyalists — Heather Flick Melanson, Kennedy's chief of staff, and Hannah Anderson, a senior policy adviser — were fired this week. Key positions, including CDC director and several division heads, remain unfilled. Nearly a third of top HHS leadership positions currently sit vacant, according to the agency's website. With few career leaders in place, political appointees have been operating with unusual authority. Burns has wielded his new power to realize an old dream. 'He's a senior adviser to the director, but there is no director,' said one official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to speak publicly about the agency. 'And all that he does, all day long, is work in this covert vaccine space.' Dr. Paul Offit, the inventor of a rotavirus vaccine and a longtime critic of Kennedy and the anti-vaccine movement, suggested that Kennedy's actions are like the dinosaur in 'Jurassic Park,' testing the fence before it breaks through. 'Activists have been shouting from the sidelines for decades,' Offit said. 'Now they are making policy.' This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword
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2 days ago
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Battle over the Black Sea: Russia, Ukraine strike top resort cities
Russia and Ukraine took aim at corresponding Black Sea resort cities early Thursday morning, just hours after ceasefire talks in Turkey once again failed to deliver results. The major Russian resort city of Sochi was rocked by a Ukrainian drone strike that began around 1 a.m. and lasted until 3 a.m., where one person was reportedly killed and another injured, according to Ukrainian media outlet the Kyiv Independent, though the Ukrainian military has not commented on the incident. An oil depot in the Krasnodar Krai region where Sochi is located was also struck, though the extent of the damage remains unclear. Kyiv has routinely levied strikes at Russian territory as Moscow continues to pummel not only the eastern frontlines of Ukraine, but civilian populations across the country. What Ukraine may have been targeting in Sochi remains unclear, though the city is home to some of Russia's most favored vacation locations as well as the infamous Soviet-era palace used by the Kremlin leaders as a retreat, and allegedly housed Russian President Vladimir Putin during the COVID pandemic – though it was reportedly demolished in 2024 over Ukrainian strike concerns. Russia also hit the Ukrainian port city of Odessa – which has been repeatedly targeted in the three-year-long war – in early morning strikes in what Ukraine's State Emergency Service described as "another hellish night" as a nine-story residential building was struck. "The residents from the 5th to the 8th floors lost their homes," the emergency management body said in a statement posted to Telegram. "There is a risk of structural collapse." Emergency rescue teams evacuated 38 people, including five who were trapped in their apartments. At least four people were injured in the overnight strikes, according to Reuters, and fires were reported to have raged in other parts of the city as well. "Overnight, russian forces launched a massive attack on Odesa. As a result of an attack, one of the city's most iconic landmarks, the Pryvoz market, caught fire," Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said in a post on X. "Also, multiple civilian targets were damaged, including the residential high-rise, a two-story building, a gas station, and even a UNESCO-protected architectural monument in the city center. "Once again, Russians target civilian cities – there is zero military gain from these strikes," the ministry added. "Ukraine needs more air defense systems to protect our people from such terror." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said on Thursday that "dozens" of civilians in Kharkiv, including children, were injured in an overnight attack by Russian glide bombs. "These are utterly senseless strikes with no military purpose whatsoever," Zelenskyy said. "And we see that this is Russia's only intention – to continue aggression and killings. "That is precisely why we need support in defense – strong air defenses, expanded weapons production. All of this will help save lives," he added. While Ukraine's Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal met with NATO officials this week to discuss ramping up defensive aid and counter capabilities, attempted ceasefire talks in Istanbul between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv again failed to achieve any results, though future POW swaps were again discussed. Zelenskyy took to X to voice his frustration at the continued Russian attacks despite Ukrainian efforts to secure a ceasefire, and said, "Yesterday, at the meeting in Istanbul, the proposal for an immediate and full ceasefire was reiterated to the Russian side." "In response, Russian drones struck residential buildings and the Pryvoz market in Odesa, apartment blocks in Cherkasy, energy infrastructure in the Kharkiv region, a university gym in Zaporizhzhia. Donetsk, Sumy, and Mykolaiv regions were all under strikes as well," he added. "In total, there were 103 attack drones, mostly 'Shaheds', and four missiles." President Donald Trump last week gave Putin 50 days to enter into a ceasefire or face stiff sanctions, though some have expressed concern that the threat of sanctions will not be enough to deter his war ambitions.
