To piece together what happened to Rümeysa Öztürk in the weeks since the Ph.D. student was arrested by masked officers, we examined court filings and interviewed attorneys and Öztürk’s close friend, who regularly speaks to her in detention.
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The Big Story

April 13, 2025 · View in browser

In today’s newsletter: The government’s secretive detainment of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk; experts fear for our public health system; appliance chaos; and more from our newsroom.

American Rendition: Rümeysa Öztürk’s Journey From Ph.D. Scholar to Trump Target Languishing in Louisiana Cell

“So horrifying and so heartbreaking”: Öztürk’s close friend provides an intimate look into one of the hundreds of foreign students who have had their visas revoked — and in dozens of instances have been detained without criminal charges.

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Quoted

 
 

“We’re weakening our public health system, and that will put us on a path towards more illness and shorter lives.”

 

— Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, a pediatrician and chief health officer of the Washington State Department of Health

Washington is one of 23 states and the District of Columbia that sued the Trump administration last month for cutting $11 billion from state and local public health agencies, which are on the front lines of protecting Americans from outbreaks; the administration said the money was no longer necessary after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

National rates for four major vaccines, which had held relatively steady in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, have fallen significantly since, according to a ProPublica analysis of the most recent federal kindergarten vaccination data. 

Many medical authorities view measles, which is especially contagious, as the canary in the coal mine, but a recent sharp increase in pertussis cases may also be a warning, albeit one that has attracted far less attention.

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Trump Administration

 
Illustration of Donald Trump punching a showerhed in cartoonish style

Illustration: Rui Pu for ProPublica

Beyond Showerheads: Trump’s Attempts to Kill Appliance Regulations Cause Chaos

President Donald Trump makes no secret of his loathing for regulations that limit water and energy use by home appliances. For years, he has regaled supporters at his campaign rallies with fanciful stories about their impact. He is so exercised by the issue that, even as global stock markets convulsed Wednesday in response to his tariff plans, Trump took time out to issue an executive order titled “Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads.”

 

The order generated headlines, but it’s likely to have little effect. Far more consequential steps have been taken outside the Oval Office.

 

With the aid of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team, Trump appears to be attempting an end run that could succeed where his past attempts failed: by simply terminating the consulting contract that the Department of Energy relies on to develop and enforce the rules. Neither the White House nor DOGE responded to requests for comment.

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More from the newsroom

 

“Slow Pay, Low Pay or No Pay”

NOAA Scientists Are Cleaning Bathrooms and Reconsidering Lab Experiments After Contracts for Basic Services Expire

Beyond Showerheads: Trump’s Attempts to Kill Appliance Regulations Cause Chaos

“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline

From Lollapalooza to Detention Camps: Meet the Tent Company Making a Fortune Off Trump’s Deportation Plans

 
 
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