Labor and Working – Page 21 – The Tarbabys Blog

One third of workers say they are considering a job change in 2025

The Hill

One third of workers say they are considering a job change in 2025

Amanda Kavanagh – January 3, 2025

Twenty-twenty-five is set to see seismic change in the workforce, if the findings of a new report are anything to go by.

According to the Global Talent Barometer from Manpower Group, 35 percent of workers are considering a job switch this year.

The report, which surveyed more than 12,000 workers across 16 countries, found that for younger workers (aged 18-27) that number is even higher at 47 percent.

And perhaps surprisingly, 41 percent of remote workers report themselves likely to change jobs, despite reporting higher wellbeing and work-life balance.

So whatever age bracket or working model you fall into, know that if you’re feeling stuck, you’re not alone.

Ups and downs

The inaugural talent barometer measures worker wellbeing, job satisfaction and confidence around the world, and it recorded many highs and lows.

Though globally, 80 percent believe their work has meaning and purpose, and this rises to 82 percent for U.S. respondents, the report also found that nearly half of workers (49 percent) experience daily stress.

A further third (34 percent) say they lack opportunities to achieve their career goals with their current employer.

At an almost direct match to the job seeking figure, it becomes clearer why so many are reevaluating their professional paths. If this is you, look for job specs that emphasize training, mentorship, and clear advancement paths.

Lack of career development is a sizable issue. Some 59 percent of workers say they have not received any skills training in the past six months, and only 39 percent have a mentor or coach for their current roles.

However, in the U.S. specifically, there is a more optimistic mood. Some 76 percent of respondents say they had values alignment with their organization, 70 percent have work-life balance, and at 68 percent the American wellbeing index is above the global average of 64 percent.

Also, some 42 percent of Americans said they experienced minimal daily stress, close to the global average of 41 percent.

Sector spotlight and working models

Contradictions continue as the report drills down into industry-specific wellbeing.

Unsurprisingly, healthcare and life sciences employees find the most meaning in their work (87 percent). And though IT workers report the highest daily stress levels, they also report the highest work-life balance (74 percent). Other high scoring work-life balance industries are financials and real estate (73 percent).

The barometer also looked at the connections between job roles, working models, and overall wellbeing.

Fully or mostly remote and hybrid workers (both 72 percent) report the highest levels of work-life balance, compared to mostly onsite (68 percent), onsite by choice (62 percent), and onsite without choice trailing in at 57 percent.

Workers who report feeling the highest levels of daily stress are middle managers (61 percent), but this was followed closely by essential front-line workers (60 percent), then “white collar” workers and executives or senior employees, which are all 59 percent. Of those dubbed “blue collar” workers, 47 percent reported minimal daily stress.

Executive and senior workers reported the highest satisfaction with values alignment and work-life balance

Taking control

If you’re intent on meaningful change this year, start by evaluating your priorities. Is career growth the most important thing to you? Or at this life stage, is it work-life balance? Perhaps you’re looking for more meaning so a mission-driven organization or healthcare setting might be where you land next?

Whatever direction you go in, most employers value candidates who are proactive about their development, so if you’re part of the 59 percent of workers who have not received training in the last six months, take matters into your own hands. Seek out training opportunities or certifications that will strengthen your offering.

And if you’re ready to start looking, The Hill’s Job Board is the perfect place to start. Here you’ll find new roles updated daily across all industries and levels.

Here are the top 10 California employers who hired H-1B visa workers in 2024

Palm Springs Desert Sun

Here are the top 10 California employers who hired H-1B visa workers in 2024

Jason Hidalgo and James Ward – January 3, 2025

The H-1B visa program for skilled foreign workers is in the spotlight nationwide after causing a split among President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters.

The visa program is fueling a debate within the conservative MAGA faction even before Trump takes office for a second time, pitting H-1B supporters such as Elon Musk on one side against H-1B critics like Steve Bannon on the opposing side.

At the crux of the issue is immigration.

Immigration is one of the key cornerstones of Trump’s agenda — which includes pushing for a border wall between the United States and Mexico — and remains a focus for the Republican leader as he gets ready for another term as U.S. president.

That leads to a question: How many H-1B workers were hired in California last year?

Here’s what you need to know about the H-1B program both nationwide and in California.

Who were the top California employers for new H-1B visa workers in 2024?

In California, the H-1B program was used to hire just more than 78,000 workers in 2024, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency.

https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/21015878/embed

Most 2024 H-1B recipients were in the tech industry, with Silicon Valley powerhouses Google, Meta (Facebook’s parent company), and Apple leading the hires.

Since 2009, California has had the highest number H-1B recipients of any state, with just over 1 million workers, driven by the tech industry.

https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/21016359/embed

Since 2009, India-based IT services company HCL has led all California employers with just over 41,000 H-1B recipients, followed by Google with just over 40,000. The other leading H-1B-hiring companies include Silicon Valley-based companies Google, Apple and Meta.

https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/21016715/embed

Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Spineless Repub’s in Congress, America and the World is in for a Chaotic 2 or 4 Years: Tesla’s Deadly Trump Tower Cybertruck Explosion in Vegas Mocked as ‘Perfect Metaphor’ for 2025

The Wrap

Tesla’s Deadly Trump Tower Cybertruck Explosion in Vegas Mocked as ‘Perfect Metaphor’ for 2025

Benjamin Lindsay – January 1, 2025

Chaos erupted outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday after a Cybertruck, Tesla’s popular-but-maligned electric pickup truck model, exploded into flames. The New Year’s Day event killed one and injured an additional seven, according to authorities.

CEO Elon Musk responded Wednesday on X, writing that after the “whole Tesla senior team” investigated the matter, they’d “confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.”

“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” he said.

And while there’s apparent reason for concern over the event, the tragedy also garnered a fair amount of ridicule and mockery on X, the social media platform Musk owns.

Many users expressed that it’s a “perfect metaphor” for what’s in store for 2025 under President-elect Donald Trump and Musk leading his DOGE advisory board.

“A real photo and perfect metaphor heading into 2025,” MeidasTouch News editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski wrote.

“Have you seen the footage? Looks like it deliberately blown up,” responded another. “If it was, you’re probably spot on, just not in the way you thought.”

In a Wednesday morning press conference, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shared that the police were informed of an apparent explosion at 8:40 a.m. local time, detailing that at the time of the event, a 2024 Tesla Cybertruck “pulled up to the last entrance doors of the hotel” before exploding, killing one person inside.

“We saw that smoke started showing from the vehicle, and then a large explosion from the truck occurs,” McMahill said.

McMahill additionally drew comparison’s to Wednesday morning’s vehicular terrorist attack in New Orleans, saying that investigators are “very well aware of what has happened” there.

“As you can imagine, with an explosion here on an iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe,” he said. Police had also determined at that time that there did not appear to be any additional public safety threats.

“Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas,” Eric Trump, a Trump Organization leader and the President-elect’s son, wrote on X, a message later echoed by the hotel’s official account. “The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority.”

And while the news circulated into Wednesday afternoon as more detail emerged of the cause and nature of the explosion — along with surveillance video that appears to the vehicle exploding (watch that below) — many took to social media to confess that no matter the cause, the optics of Trump- and Musk-world literally burning didn’t bode well for the upcoming presidency.

A Tesla Cybertruck in flames in front of Trump Tower Vegas?

Melanie D’Arrigo: If you were going to choose a metaphor for our current state of politics, a Tesla Cybertruck exploding and burning in front of a Trump Tower in a city where millions of Americans go each year to lose their money, is pretty spot on.

You couldn’t script a better metaphor.

A fire-prone status symbol of excess parked outside the shrine to grift and failed promises—it’s almost poetic.

Bernie Sanders says Elon Musk is wrong about H-1B visas: ‘Low-wage indentured servants’

Insider

Bernie Sanders says Elon Musk is wrong about H-1B visas: ‘Low-wage indentured servants’

Bryan Metzger – January 2, 2025

Bernie Sanders waded into an ongoing debate between Elon Musk and some on the right over H-1B visas.
Musk and the tech right generally support the visas, but some in the MAGA base oppose them.
Sanders argued that the system allows corporations to exploit workers and enrich themselves.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is wading into the heated debate between Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the MAGA base over high-skilled immigration.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Vermont independent and two-time Democratic presidential candidate said Musk is wrong about the H-1B visa, which is designed to bring high-skilled workers from abroad to work in the United States.

Musk, Ramaswamy, and others on the “tech right” have argued that the system is necessary to compensate for a shortage of high-skilled workers in America, pitting them against more nationalist Republican voices who see the system as bringing unfair competition upon American workers.

Sanders argued on Thursday that the system is used to exploit foreign workers while enriching corporations.

“The main function of the H-1B visa program and other guest worker initiatives is not to hire ‘the best and the brightest,’ but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad,” Sanders said, pointing to the fact that corporations have laid off American workers even as they’ve hired foreign workers through the H-1B system. “The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make.”

The Vermont senator called for a series of reforms to the system, including increasing guest worker fees for large corporations, raising the minimum wage for guest workers, and allowing them to easily switch jobs.

“The widespread corporate abuse of the H-1B program must be ended,” Sanders said. “It should never be cheaper for a corporation to hire a guest worker from overseas than an American worker.”

Trump has sided with Musk, saying that he supports the H-1B visa system. That’s despite him signing an executive order halting the program in 2020.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sanders has previously signaled a willingness to work with the billionaire businessman on cutting defense spending via the “Department of Government Efficiency” initiative, though he told BI that it remains to be seen how serious Musk is about the issue.

Multiple Arctic outbreaks to affect more than 250 million in central, eastern US into mid-January

AccuWeather

Multiple Arctic outbreaks to affect more than 250 million in central, eastern US into mid-January

Alex Sosnowski – January 1, 2025

Multiple Arctic outbreaks to affect more than 250 million in central, eastern US into mid-January

Round after round after round of Arctic air is poised to plunge into the central and eastern United States. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that each outbreak of Arctic air has the potential to bring colder air farther south than the previous round and will lead to a major surge in energy demands and the risk of freeze-related damage in the Southern states.

The magnitude and extent of the Arctic air will build into the first full week of January and linger through the middle of the month and will, at times, affect more than 250 million people living in more than 40 states in the Central and Eastern regions.

“At this time, it looks like there will be at least three major blasts of Arctic air that will affect the Southern states,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva said. “The first outbreak will linger into Jan. 4, the second on Jan. 7-8 and then the third round on Jan. 11-12.” Additional rounds of Arctic air may follow but be directed more toward the Midwest and Northeast.

Each wave will bring a reinforcing shot of cool air, keeping air temperatures well below the norm for the first month of the year.

Even though each layer of cold coming in may stop short of the most extreme conditions in the past 10-15 years, the number of days spent below the historical average will add up in dozens of states from just east of the Rockies to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

“This is not record-setting cold, but the longevity of these cold waves, combined with snow on the ground in the Upper Midwest and northern Plains, will lead to a prolonged surge in heating demand,” AccuWeather Long-Range Expert Joe Lundberg said.

The prolonged nature of the cold, as a result, could end up making a splash on the record books, making it the coldest January in over a decade.

“This could end up being the coldest January since 2011 for the U.S. as a whole,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok said.

Another key factor as to how far to the south and east the extreme cold will be able to penetrate is that multiple storms are forecast to produce extensive swaths of snow and ice from the Great Plains to the Midwest, East and even well into the Southern states. Snow cover minimizes the warming effects of the ground and acts as a tundralike surface for the cold air to expand upon.

In the southern U.S., exposed or poorly insulated homes and buildings are at high risk of frozen and bursting pipes with the potential for major water damage. The persistence and magnitude of the cold can be enough to cause heat pump systems to struggle to keep up. As energy demands increase, the strain on the electric grid could force rolling blackouts.

Due to the magnitude and duration of freezing temperatures, cold-sensitive crops in the Gulf Coast states will be at risk from damage.

“At this time, the areas that are likely to be most vulnerable for crop-damaging freezes will be in central and northern Florida, southern Louisiana and parts of central Texas,” DaSilva said. “We are closely watching South Texas and South Florida for any indication of lower temperatures that could be damaging to agriculture.”

Much of the Great Lakes has little ice cover, leaving the exposed water to warm the Arctic air somewhat. However, persistent cold air will cause the ice cover to increase substantially. As the ice coverage increases, the warming effects of the Great Lakes will be reduced, opening up the Northeast to more exposure to extreme cold.

As the frigid air passes over the Great Lakes, it will quickly pick up moisture and result in heavy to extreme bands of lake-effect snow that could bury some towns under feet of snow and massive drifts. As the bands of snow move around with shifting winds, the snow can move away and then come back in some areas multiple times during the approximately two-week period through the middle of the month.

Commuters brave the wind and snow in frigid weather on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Periods of stiff winds will accompany the cold blasts. In some cases, the combination of frigid air, wind and precipitation will push AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures to well below zero for extended periods from the northern Plains to the Great Lakes and middle Mississippi and Ohio valleys.

Over time, the subzero RealFeel Temperatures will reach east of the Appalachians and into the Gulf Coast region.

The wavy nature of the Arctic air will be conducive to multiple winter storms across the central and eastern US, including a storm coming this weekend expected to unload areas of accumulating snow and ice.

The storms will vary in intensity and cover, but at least a couple of them can be so extensive and heavy as to result in major travel disruptions. Snow and ice will occur in parts of the Southern states, and with limited winter storm fighting equipment, extended periods of dangerous travel and school closings could result.

But even in the Midwest and Northeast, as the cold and snowy pattern intensifies, disruptions to travel and the potential for school closings will increase.

FBI finds 150 homemade bombs at Virginia home in one of the largest such seizures, prosecutors say

WJZY

FBI finds 150 homemade bombs at Virginia home in one of the largest such seizures, prosecutors say

Sean C. Davis – January 1, 2025

SMITHFIELD, Virginia (WAVY) — Residents worried about the large FBI presence and numerous explosions heard in Virginia’s Isle of Wight County in mid-December finally have answers.

According to federal court documents, agents had just uncovered a massive trove of pipe bombs, and deemed them too unstable to transport — so they blew them up. The FBI said it believes it’s the largest amount of homemade explosives it has encountered in its history.

Brad Spafford, 36, was taken into custody at his home on Dec. 17 and charged with a weapons violation. The FBI executed a search warrant and uncovered the ‘improvised explosive devices,’ along with bomb-making instructions and materials and a jar full of a homemade high-explosive stored in the family freezer.

“FBI bomb technicians, who X-rayed the devices on scene, assessed them as pipe bombs,” the newly-filed document reads. “The majority were found in a detached garage, organized by color. … Some were hand-labeled “lethal.”

“Some were preloaded into an apparent wearable vest,” it continued. “In the garage were also found numerous tools and materials for manufacturing explosives, a home-made mortar, and riot gear.”

The filing also describes how the the pipe bombs were made — with two layers of plastic tubes.

“[I]n between the tubes were metal spheres which ‘would enhance the fragmentation effect of the device upon its explosion.’ it quotes an FBI analysis of one bomb. “The lab concluded that the device was ‘capable of causing property damage, personal injury and/or death.’”

Spafford was released on $25,000 bond earlier this week. The new details in this case come from new filings from the defense, arguing to block his release.

Defense attorneys argued in a motion Tuesday that authorities haven’t produced evidence that he was planning violence, also noting that he has no criminal record. Further, they question whether the explosive devices were usable because “professionally trained explosive technicians had to rig the devices to explode them.”

“There is not a shred of evidence in the record that Mr. Spafford ever threatened anyone and the contention that someone might be in danger because of their political views and comments is nonsensical,” the defense lawyers wrote.

Spafford’s original, and so far only charge, is for violating the National Firearms Act — for possessing a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches. His Dec. 30 preliminary hearing found enough evidence to allow the case to move forward.

Most of the evidence prosecutors relied on for the firearms charge came from a person Spafford apparently believed he was friends with. Spafford showed the man his illegal rifle and the two went shooting together.

“[The source] also noted that the defendant was using pictures of the president for target practice at shooting at a local range, stated that he believed political assassinations should be brought back, and that missing children in the news had been taken by the federal government to be trained as school shooter,” the prosecution’s filing reads.

Prosecutors reiterated why they believe Spafford is dangerous, writing that “while he is not known to have engaged in any apparent violence, he has certainly expressed interest in the same, through his manufacture of pope bombs marked ‘lethal,’ his possession of riot gear and a vest loaded with pipe bombs, his support for political assassinations and use of the pictures of the President for target practice.”

Spafford also allegedly joked about someone assassinating then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The document describes a casual meeting at his newly-purchased farm.

“He also discussed fortifying the property with a 360-degree turret for a 50-caliber firearm on the roof, and noted how he could block the driveway with a vehicle so no other vehicles could access,” the filing reads.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Why brain rot and bed rotting aren’t all bad — and the reasons why Gen Z and millennials are so drawn to this form of escape

Yahoo! Life

Why brain rot and bed rotting aren’t all bad — and the reasons why Gen Z and millennials are so drawn to this form of escape

Elena Sheppard – December 30, 2024

Cheerful Woman connects to the online world on her smartphone in bed at night — Why people – particularly Gen Z-ers and millennials — are so drawn to “rotting.” (Getty Creative)

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways

Oxford University Press’s word of 2024 was “brain rot.” The year also gave us a flurry of TikToks documenting “bed rotting.” What’s with all this rotting — and is it a trend we should be taking into 2025?

But first: What do these terms, generally used by Gen Z-ers and millennials, even mean?

“‘Brain rotting’ typically refers to the idea of engaging in mindless content consumption, like scrolling social media or binge-watching TV shows, which over time, feels like numbing or dulling your brain,” explains mental health therapist Brittany Cilento Kopycienski, who owns Glow Counseling Solutions. “‘Bed rotting’ involves spending excessive time lying in bed, contributing to physical and mental stagnation.”

Both activities, it seems, are about checking out of whatever your reality is at the moment — and checking into the often good feeling of doing nothing. Is that good for our mental health? Here’s what experts say.

Why are we so drawn to ‘rotting’?

“Let’s face it—bed rotting or brain rotting is not a style of lazy living. It’s about escape,” psychologist Caitlin Slavens tells Yahoo Life. “The world is noisy, chaotic and often overwhelming. ‘Rotting’ is like pressing a giant snooze button on life. When you’re inundated with expectations (of work, family or even yourself), shutting down might seem your only option.”

She adds, “These trends are a response to a world that’s made us feel like we must be performing in every moment of our lives — for work, for social media, for each other’s expectations. The rise of rotting says we’re burnt out, together.”

That may be especially true for younger adults. “Our brains are experiencing unprecedented levels of stimulation through constant notifications, social media and digital engagement,” Sophia Spencer, a social psychology and mental health therapist, tells Yahoo Life. “For Gen Z and millennials in particular, they are the first generations to live like this from a young age and for this to be their norm. Essentially, their brains are subject to a level of information that was once unthinkable, and not what our brains are designed for.”

But others argue that this urge to disassociate from life isn’t new, but rather something past generations have also felt as they settle into adulthood.

“Do you remember the ‘adulting’ movement?” Slavens points out. “People began to celebrate even the most basic life tasks, like doing laundry or paying bills, as if they were a win in a world so large it felt overwhelming. Or hygge — the Scandinavian midcentury concept of warm living — where we all collectively agreed that it was candles and blankets we needed to feel better when burned out. “All of these trends speak to the same need: to ease up, to take a breath, to feel fine about not doing it all.”

Is rotting a bad thing?

It really depends on the intention behind it — and how much time is being spent staring at screens in lieu of actually resting. Many people see bed rotting as a particular form of self-care: a day spent in bed, with a sole focus on recharging. “Our brains are not meant to be on overdrive all the time. Intentional breaks, time away from screens and the permission to veg out can be restorative,” says Slavens. “The issue is when rotting turns into avoidance, when we’re evading responsibilities or feelings we’re afraid to confront. So yes, a little rotting? Great. Full-blown decay? Probably not ideal.”

As for “brain rot,” who among us hasn’t mindlessly scrolled on our phone? “‘Rotting’ in moderation can be seen as a chance to mentally reset,” says Kopycienski. “It can allow for a break from constant stimulation where emotional recovery can occur.”

How do we move forward?

Thinking all this rotting through, the long and short of it seems to be that it’s about burnout. And burnout isn’t best handled by festering, or rotting; it’s best handled via intentional rest, experts say.

“The best thing we can do is redefine what rest looks like in a digital age,” says Spencer. “Rather than reactively rotting, [we should be] having a system of proactive healthy habits.” That might involve proactively setting better work-life boundaries, scaling back our commitments or being less online to minimize burnout in the first place. Spencer doesn’t rule out more radical change.

“When our ancestors went through significant social change, such as during the Industrial Revolution, people moved from agricultural rhythms that followed daylight to the factory 9–5 schedule,” she notes. “I think we need to take the digital age as a significant change to our life … and adapt our lives ourselves as appropriate.”

How extreme car dependency is driving Americans to unhappiness

The Guardian

How extreme car dependency is driving Americans to unhappiness

Oliver Milman in New York – December 29, 2024

<span>A new study has found there is a tipping point at which more driving leads to deeper unhappiness.</span><span>Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/Alamy</span> — A new study has found there is a tipping point at which more driving leads to deeper unhappiness.Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/Alamy

The United States, with its enormous highways, sprawling suburbs and neglected public transport systems, is one of the most car-dependent countries in the world. But this arrangement of obligatory driving is making many Americans actively unhappy, new research has found.

The car is firmly entrenched as the default, and often only, mode of transport for the vast majority of Americans, with more than nine in 10 households having at least one vehicle and 87% of people using their cars daily. Last year, a record 290m vehicles were operated on US streets and highways.

However, this extreme car dependence is affecting Americans’ quality of life, with a new study finding there is a tipping point at which more driving leads to deeper unhappiness. It found that while having a car is better than not for overall life satisfaction, having to drive for more than 50% of the time for out-of-home activities is linked to a decrease in life satisfaction.

“Car dependency has a threshold effect – using a car just sometimes increases life satisfaction but if you have to drive much more than this people start reporting lower levels of happiness,” said Rababe Saadaoui, an urban planning expert at Arizona State University and lead author of the study. “Extreme car dependence comes at a cost, to the point that the downsides outweigh the benefits.”

The new research, conducted via a survey of a representative group of people across the US, analyzed people’s responses to questions about driving habits and life satisfaction and sought to find the link between the two via a statistical model that factored in other variables of general contentment, such as income, family situation, race and disability.

The results were “surprising”, Saadaoui said, and could be the result of a number of negative impacts of driving, such as the stress of continually navigating roads and traffic, the loss of physical activity from not walking anywhere, a reduced engagement with other people and the growing financial burden of owning and maintaining a vehicle.

“Some people drive a lot and feel fine with it but others feel a real burden,” she said. “The study doesn’t call for people to completely stop using cars but the solution could be in finding a balance. For many people driving isn’t a choice, so diversifying choices is important.”

Decades of national and state interventions have provided the US with an extensive system of highways, many of which cut deep into the heart of its cities, fracturing communities and bringing congestion and air pollution to nearby residents, particularly those of color.

Planning policies and mandatory car parking construction have encouraged suburban sprawl, strip malls with more space for cars than people and the erosion of shared “third places” where Americans can congregate. As a result, even very short journeys outside the house require a car, with half of all car trips being under three miles.

Most of the decisions driving this are made at a state level, although Joe Biden’s administration vowed to help rebuild public transit networks beleaguered by the Covid pandemic and to tear down certain divisive highways. However, the federal government has continued pouring far more money into building and expanding roads than in any alternatives to driving. Next year, more than $60bn in federal funding is planned for roads and bridges.

A small sliver of the American public actively chooses to live without a car because they are able to live in the few remaining walkable communities in the US, but for most of those without a car it is a forced deprivation due to poverty or disability.

Being without a car can itself be expensive and isolating, according to Anna Zivarts, who was born with a neurological condition that prevents her from driving. Zivarts, based in Seattle, is the author of the book When Driving Is Not an Option and advocates on behalf of those unable to drive.

“Seattle has a solid bus system but everyone who can afford a car has a car. I’m often the only parent going to any sort of event without a car. Everything is built around cars,” she said.

“We are just locked into a system of driving that is meant to be more enjoyable but isn’t. I walk five minutes with my kid to the school bus stop and yet other parents make that journey to the stop by car. Is this really how you want to spend your life?”

A long-term effort is required to make communities more walkable and bolster public transport and biking options, Zivarts said, but an immediate step would be simply to consider the existence of people without cars.

“Concerning” bird flu mutations in Louisiana patient underscores pandemic potential of H5N1

Salon

“Concerning” bird flu mutations in Louisiana patient underscores pandemic potential of H5N1

Nicole Karlis – December 31, 2024

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

In 2024, at least 66 human cases of bird flu have been reported in the United States, each one raising the risk of another pandemic like COVID-19. So far, most cases have been described as “mild,” which means they weren’t hospitalized. No patients have died, though infections years ago had a very high mortality rate. Symptoms have typically included pink eye, but not serious respiratory distress.

However, a patient recently made headlines in Louisiana for being a more severe case. The patient, who is reportedly over the age of 65, was hospitalized and in critical condition due to severe respiratory symptoms.

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said a genetic analysis suggests the virus mutated inside the patient to possibly make it a more severe illness in humans. The agency called the mutation “concerning,” as it may allow the virus to better bind to receptors in humans’ upper airways. This would make it easier to jump from person to person, sparking major outbreaks or even a pandemic. However, the public health agency said that the risk to the general public from the outbreak “has not changed and remains low.”

The CDC also stated that these mutations have not been detected in the bird flock that infected the patient, which would make the situation “more concerning.”

“These changes would be more concerning if found in animal hosts or in early stages of infection (e.g., within a few days of symptom onset) when these changes might be more likely to facilitate spread to close contacts,” the CDC said in its report. “Notably, in this case, no transmission from the patient in Louisiana to other persons has been identified.”

Still, every additional human case gives H5N1 more opportunities to adapt. As a study found earlier in December, it will only take one single mutation to make bird flu much worse. Out of the 66 human cases of bird flu that have been reported in 10 states, including some without reported outbreaks, all but two stem from exposure to either cows or poultry. Human-to-human transmission could be occurring undetected, but so far there is no hard evidence of such transmission.

In an interview with Intelligencer, Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan noted that these exact viral mutations have been seen in bird flu before, nearly two decades ago. The more concerning aspect of the emerging crisis, she said, was how the number of human cases keeps rising.

“Even though this particular virus from this particular case isn’t a huge concern in terms of onward transmission, if we’re having human cases tick up and up and up, we’re going to give the virus more chances to develop mutations,” Rasmussen explained. “And if that’s not detected and starts spreading in the human population, that’s a very good way to have a pandemic start out of this.”

Rasmussen also underlined the risk of reassortment — the potential for H5N1 to swap genes with human influenza virus, which could supercharge the spread of the pathogen. “That’s essentially like shuffling two decks of cards together, ending up making new viruses that have a combination of segments from both of the viruses that were infecting the person. That can lead to really, really rapid evolutionary jumps and rapid adaptation to a new host,” she said.

Over the weekend, Dr. Leana Wen, the former Baltimore health commissioner, told “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” that the United States should have learned its lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We should be having rapid tests, home tests, available to all farm workers, to their families, for the clinicians taking care of them, so that we aren’t waiting for public labs and CDC labs to tell us what’s bird flu or not,” she said. “We have 66 cases of bird flu in humans, and this is almost certainly a significant undercount, because we have not been doing nearly enough testing.”

She also urged the Biden administration to approve the H5N1 vaccine.

“There’s research done on it,” she said. “They could get this authorized now, and also get the vaccine out to farm workers and to vulnerable people.”

As Salon previously reported, public health experts aren’t optimistic the incoming Trump administration will handle the bird flu situation any better.

“If the Biden administration is not doing a good job, you can only imagine when you have certain individuals who are much more hostile towards these types of government action, it will get worse,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease and senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Salon.

‘Worrisome’ mutations found in H5N1 bird flu virus isolated from Canadian teenager

Los Angeles Times

‘Worrisome’ mutations found in H5N1 bird flu virus isolated from Canadian teenager

Susanne Rust – December 31, 2024

**ADVANCE APRIL 22-23 ** A California Department of Food and Agriculture technician perform tests on chickens for the Avian Influenza viruses in poultry Friday, April 21, 2006, at the Best Live Poultry & Fish store in Sylmar, Calif. The stakes are especially high in California, where a $2.5 billion poultry industry ranks among the top 10 producers nationwide for dinner chicken, turkey and table egg output. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) — A California Department of Food and Agriculture technician perform tests on chickens for bird flu in 2006 at the Best Live Poultry & Fish store in Sylmar. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

The fate of a Canadian teenager who was infected with H5N1 bird flu in early November, and subsequently admitted to an intensive care unit, has finally been revealed: She has fully recovered.

But genetic analysis of the virus that infected her body showed ominous mutations that researchers suggest potentially allowed it to target human cells more easily and cause severe disease — a development the study authors called “worrisome.”

The case was published Tuesday in a special edition of the New England Journal of Medicine that explored H5N1 cases from 2024 in North America. In one study, doctors and researchers who worked with the Canadian teenager published their findings. In the other, public health officials from across the U.S. — from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and local health departments — chronicled the 46 human cases that occurred between March and October.

There have been a total of 66 reported human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. in 2024.

In the case of the 13-year-old Canadian child, the girl was admitted to a local emergency room on Nov. 4 having suffered from two days of conjunctivitis (pink eye) in both eyes and one day of fever. The child, who had a history of asthma, an elevated body-mass index and Class 2 obesity, was discharged that day with no treatment.

Over the next three days, she developed a cough and diarrhea and began vomiting. She was taken back to the ER on Nov. 7 in respiratory distress and with a condition called hemodynamic instability, in which her body was unable to maintain consistent blood flow and pressure. She was admitted to the hospital.

On Nov. 8, she was transferred to a pediatric intensive care unit at another hospital with respiratory failure, pneumonia in her left lower lung, acute kidney injury, thrombocytopenia (low platelet numbers) and leukopenia (low white blood cell count).

She tested negative for the predominant human seasonal influenza viruses — but had a high viral loads of influenza A, which includes the major human seasonal flu viruses, as well as H5N1 bird flu. This finding prompted her caregivers to test for bird flu; she tested positive.

As the disease progressed over the next few days, she was intubated and put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) — a life support technique that temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs for patients with severe heart or lung conditions.

She was also treated with three antiviral medications, including oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu), amantadine (Gocovri) and baloxavir (Xofluza).

Because of concerns about the potential for a cytokine storm — a potentially lethal condition in which the body releases too many inflammatory molecules — she was put on a daily regimen of plasma exchange therapy, in which the patient’s plasma is removed in exchange for donated, health plasma.

As the days went by, her viral load began to decrease; on Nov. 16, eight days after she’d been admitted, she tested negative for the virus.

The authors of the report noted, however, that the viral load remained consistently higher in her lower lungs than in her upper respiratory tract — suggesting that the disease may manifest in places not currently tested for it (like the lower lungs) even as it disappears from those that are tested (like the mouth and nose).

She fully recovered and was discharged sometime after Nov. 28, when her intubation tube was removed.

Genetic sequencing of the virus circulating in the teenager showed it was similar to the one circulating in wild birds, the D1.1 version. It’s a type of H5N1 bird flu that is related, but distinct, from the type circulating in dairy cows and is responsible for the vast majority of human cases reported in the U.S. — most of which were acquired via dairy cows or commercial poultry. This is also the same version of the virus found in a Louisiana patient who experienced severe disease, and it showed a few mutations that researchers say increases the virus’ ability to replicate in human cells.

In the Louisiana case, researchers from the CDC suggested the mutations arose as it replicated in the patient and were were not likely present in the wild.

Irrespective of where and when they occurred, said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University in Providence, R.I., “it is worrisome because it indicates that the virus can change in a person and possibly cause a greater severity of symptoms than initial infection.”

In addition, said Nuzzo — who was not involved in the research — while there’s evidence these mutations occurred after the patients were infected, and therefore not circulating in the environment “it increases worries that some people may experience more severe infection than other people. Bottom line is that this is not a good virus to get.”