Scientists Are Starting to Track Bird Flu in Farm Wastewater

Now that bird flu has been detected in animals in all 50 states, and nearly 70 cases have been confirmed in people, health officials are racing to find better and more reliable ways to track the virus.

One promising method is sampling wastewater. The technique continues to prove useful for monitoring COVID-19; since most people now self-test and formal data collection has diminished, wastewater is the most reliable way of tracking upticks and changes in infections since it doesn’t require people to report results.

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Scientists are now figuring out how to apply the same principle to test wastewater on farms for H5N1, the avian influenza virus. On Feb. 4, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) announced a grant to Barnwell Bio, Inc. to fund the development of a farm-based system for testing wastewater for pathogens. The nonprofit research group FFAR was created by Congress in 2014 via the Farm Bill to use both government and private funding to support important agricultural research, and Barnwell Bio focuses on agricultural applications of wastewater testing.

“The system is pretty patchwork” when it comes to understanding what makes animals sick, says Michael Rhys, CEO of Barnwell Bio. “There isn’t a gold standard for understanding animal health of different species.”

Read More: We Are Not Safe from Bird Flu Until We Protect Farmworkers

Part of the problem has to do with the many species of animals that reside on farms, from pigs to chickens and cows. And not all farms have a central wastewater system, like towns and cities do, where all waste is processed. Developing a way to detect H5N1 in these conditions required specific strategies for each species, says Rhys.

To evaluate pathogens that affect chickens, which relieve themselves everywhere in the barn, the farmers wear booties that end up getting covered in the animals’ waste. Vets or health officials take samples from those booties, places them in test tubes, and analyzes them for the presence of H5N1.

As for cows, most dairy farms generally focus on milk-producing cows, so effluent can be sampled after workers hose down milking areas, since that’s where cows urinate.

The grant, which totals around $150,000, will help Rhys’ team to develop a test that farmers can use on site to detect H5N1 early. “Can we detect H5N1 early such that on a big chicken farm, it’s not spreading barn to barn?” says Rhys. “We’re also looking at different variants of H5N1 which can be helpful in understanding where it came from, whether it was a wild bird or it was an animal-to-animal infection.”

The company is currently working with two poultry farms to test the feasibility of their wastewater surveillance system.

source https://time.com/7212477/wastewater-testing-farms-bird-flu/

The Minor Events That May Have Sparked a Major Aviation Tragedy

As I ate breakfast last week, I scrolled through my newsfeed and read with dismay about the tragedy at Reagan National Airport outside of Washington D.C. in which an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter. With more than 60 believed to be dead, the accident had a particularly painful sting.

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For 25 years, I worked in civilian aerospace at Rolls Royce and Airbus. Then, I taught college students to dispassionately analyze the probability of a fatal failure. For the last 10 years, I have been developing unmanned rotorcraft, regularly sharing airspace with military helicopters.

The full details of what happened may not be known for months. Yet it seems likely to have involved a tragic convergence of minor events. The airport was at or above capacity, requiring the Air Traffic Control (“ATC”)—itself already overstretched—to redirect the passenger jet to a different runway at short notice. The ATC was aware that a military helicopter in the area presented a complication and advised the pilot to avoid it, who then attempted to “eyeball” the plane away from the risk. In the dark, without confusion but with complication, the pilots’ luck ran out.

Aircraft design, automation, enhanced ATC, and global safety initiatives have actually drastically reduced accident rates over the years. A 2024 study from MIT found that from 1968 to 1977, the chance of a fatal accident on a commercial flight was about one in 350,000. But now, that chance has dropped to one in 13.7 million. More shockingly, if we had modern traffic levels but 1970s safety rates, we would see a fatal accident every few days.  However, all of these reassuring statistics do nothing to calm the jolt of anxiety I experience every time my flight hits turbulence. And they will certainly do nothing to console the families of the victims of the tragedy in DC. So instead, we attempt to understand what exactly went wrong. 

As the emerging details of the accident seem to illustrate, air traffic controllers tried to warn the Army helicopter about the nearby Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ). But in my experience, the military helicopter world can be less ordered and its traffic control processes can be less mechanized. The result is that military helicopter pilots are then expected to react skilfully to the more ad hoc world in which they operate. It is possible that when the two quite different aviation worlds of conventional civil aircraft and military helicopters mixed, the structured collaboration that facilitates safety broke down. 

For instance, after the CRJ was redirected, the helicopter pilot acknowledged seeing the commercial plane and accepted the task of steering clearly. Perhaps with more automated tracking and communication, we can ensure that this kind of incident never happens again.

Around the world, thousands of aircraft communicate successfully under the watchful eye of security, control, and regulation organizations. This regulated communication may seem at odds with the Western world’s instinct for deregulation. Trump has unfortunately already turned the crash into a political battle, saying that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hires in ATC were to blame. These comments came days after he gutted the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.

Perhaps Trump should leave the air safety and communication to the professionals. Everyday, commercial aircrafts provide safe transport for travelers around the world by effectively communicating. The horrible D.C. crash should remind us that we must clearly communicate so that we can all co-exist. 

source https://time.com/7212758/events-sparked-aviation-tragedy/

The Netflix Korean Dramas to Look Out For in 2025

Nine years after launching in South Korea, Netflix has proven that Korean content overcame what Parasite director Bong Joon-ho once called the subtitle “barrier.” 

One just needs to look at the sophomore season of fan-favorite Squid Game, released over the winter holidays in 2024: In just weeks, it became the second most watched non-English season of all time, with audiences watching for over 1.24 billion hours, falling behind only to its own first season, which had been viewed for 2.2 billion hours. (For reference, the streaming giant has about 301 million paid subscribers.)

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The popularity of Korean dramas has also risen among Netflix’s competitors like Disney+, Apple TV+, and Hulu. But with its billion-dollar investment in Korean productions, Netflix is likely to continue its domination in 2025 with a highly anticipated conclusion to Squid Game in the mid-year, alongside a bevy of other titles featuring some of the Hallyu wave’s most bankable stars.

Here are the K-dramas to look forward to on Netflix in 2025:

Melo Movie

Parasite’s Choi Woo-shik and Daily Dose of Sunshine’s Park Bo-young join forces in a Valentines’ Day romance for cineastes. Choi plays Ko Gyeom, a movie buff turned critic, who crosses paths with Park’s Kim Mu-bee, a director who enters the film industry out of a love-hate relationship with her father, after years apart. Helming the production is director Oh Choong-hwan, who has brought shows like Hotel de Luna (2019) and Start-Up (2020). Melo Movie will stream on Netflix on Feb. 14.

When Life Gives You Tangerines

South Korea’s “little sister” IU (Hotel de Luna) and Park Bo-gum (Reply 1988, Record of Youth) team up in this slice-of-life series. IU plays the younger version of Ae-sun, a bold “remarkable rebel,” while Park plays Gwan-sik, nicknamed “unyielding iron”—in a show that chronicles their relationship over the course of four seasons in 1950s Jeju Island, a paradise known for its sprawling tangerine farms. When Life Gives You Tangerines airs on March 7.

Weak Hero: Class 2

This brutal, action-packed series returns with a second season, focused once again on one of the pressing social woes in South Korea: bullying. Based on the Naver webtoon of the same name by Seopass, Weak Hero Class 2 picks up where the first season left off in 2022—Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon, returning from Season 1) has been transferred to a new school after exacting violence on his enemies in the previous one. Among the new faces are Ryeo-un (Twinkling Watermelon), Choi Min-yeong (XO, Kitty) and Lee Min-jae (Uprising). Weak Hero Class 2 is set for a second quarter release.

Squid Game 3

The epic finale of globally-celebrated survival series Squid Game will arrive mid-year. The second season ended with (spoiler alert) Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) in despair following a failed rebellion against the game and its architect, a failed attempt to locate the games, and the death of his friend. A post-credits scene in the second season promises even higher stakes in the follow-up—teasing a second giant doll, Cheol-su, joining the characteristic Young-hee doll in the deadly Red Light, Green Light game. Creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk told Deadline that the final season will be a “crazy, crazy, crazy” one. Squid Game 3 will be released June 27.  

Aema

Chungmuro, an avenue in Seoul, was the historic “cradle” of the South Korean film industry from the 1960s until the 1990s, and this fictional comedy explores the struggles of those trying to make it big at the height of the Hollywood-like neighborhood’s glory. The series goes behind the scenes of the making of the 1982 erotic box-office hit Madame Aema. Lee Ha-nee (The Fiery Priest, Phantom) plays Chungmuro A-lister Jeong Hee-ran, who loses the lead role in the film after a squabble with the creator, and is eventually replaced by aspiring Shin Ju-ae, played by up-and-coming actor Bang Hyo-rin. Aema is set for a third quarter release.

Genie, Make a Wish

Kim Eun-sook, the writer behind the 2022 revenge drama The Glory, is no stranger to romance, having penned local hit shows like Lovers in Paris and Descendants of the Sun. This year, she is the screenwriter behind a light-hearted fantasy rom-com that brings together Kim Woo-bin (Black Knight, The Heirs) and Suzy (Doona!) years after their last project, Uncontrollably Fond, in 2016. Kim plays the Genie, while Suzy plays Ka-young, his new master, and the two characters go through the familiar three wishes rule. Genie, Make a Wish is expected to be out in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Can This Love Be Translated?

Actor Kim Seon-ho, whose popularity skyrocketed after a supporting role in 2020 tvN drama Start-Up, is back after his last project with Netflix, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. Kim plays a polyglot who eventually works—and forms a romance—with a global celebrity, played by Go Youn-jung (Alchemy of Souls Part 2, Moving). Can This Love Be Translated? is slated for a release in the last quarter of the year.

source https://time.com/7212723/korean-dramas-2025-netflix/

Trump Agrees to Pause Tariffs on Mexico, But Import Taxes Still in Place for Canada and China

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum put their planned tariffs on hold Monday for a month to give time for further negotiations, and Mexico said it planned to deploy 10,000 members of its national guard to address drug trafficking.

Trump’s tariffs against Canada and China were still slated to go into effect Tuesday, but uncertainty remained about the durability of any deals and whether the tariffs were a harbinger of a broader trade war, as Trump has promised more import taxes to come.

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The U.S. and Mexican leaders announced the pause after what Trump described on social media as a “very friendly conversation,” and he said he looked forward to the upcoming talks.

Trump said the talks would be headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and high-level representatives of Mexico.

“I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a ‘deal’ between our two Countries,” the president said.

As a condition ahead of the talks, Sheinbaum laid out changes in border policies, and Trump confirmed Mexico’s deployment of troops.

“Mexico will reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard immediately, to stop drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, in particular fentanyl,” Sheinbaum posted on X. “The United States commits to work to stop the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico.”

Trump posted earlier on social media that he spoke Monday morning with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and would speak with him again at 3 p.m. Both Canada and Mexico had plans to levy their own tariffs in response to U.S. actions, but Mexico is holding off for the moment.

Trump used his social media post to repeat his complaints that Canada has been uncooperative, despite decades of friendship and partnerships that range from World War II to the response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

“Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there,” Trump posted. “What’s that all about? Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada.”

Financial markets, businesses and consumers are trying to prepare for the possibility of the new tariffs. Stock markets opened with a modest selloff, suggesting some hope that the import taxes that could push up inflation and disrupt global trade and growth would be short-lived.

But the outlook reflected a deep uncertainty about a Republican president who has talked with adoration about tariffs, even saying the U.S. government made a mistake in 1913 by switching to income taxes as its primary revenue source.

Trump said Sunday the tariffs would lift if Canada and Mexico did more to crack down on illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling, though there are no clear benchmarks. Trump also said the U.S. can no longer run a trade imbalance with its two largest trade partners.

Mexico is facing a 25% tariff, while Canada would be charged 25% on its imports to the United States and 10% on its energy products. China is facing a 10% additional tariff due to its role in the making and selling of fentanyl, the Trump White House said.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Monday that it was misleading to characterize the showdown as a trade war despite the planned retaliations and risk of escalation.

“Read the executive order where President Trump was absolutely, 100% clear that this is not a trade war,” Hassett said. “This is a drug war.”

But even if the orders are focused on illegal drugs, Trump’s own remarks have often been more about his perceived sense that foreign countries are ripping off the United States by running trade surpluses. On Sunday, Trump said that tariffs would be coming soon on countries in the European Union. He has discussed tariffs as both a diplomatic tool on national security issues, a way to raise revenues and a vehicle for renegotiating existing trade pacts.

Multiple economists outside the administration have warned that the tariffs would push up prices and hamper growth, with Trump himself saying there would be some short term pain after having campaigned last year on the promise that he could tame inflation.

Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the consultancy RSM, said the United States was unlikely to fall into a recession this year, but the tariffs would hurt growth and push up the cost of government borrowing, which would potentially keep the interest rates charged on mortgages and auto loans elevated.

“If there is no resolution, the impact on the U.S. economy will be significant,” he said. “Growth will slow notably from the 2.9% average over the past three years as inflation and interest rates rise. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, currently around 4.5%, could climb to a range between 4.75% and 5%.”

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Sherman reported from Mexico City.

source https://time.com/7212428/trump-agrees-pause-tariffs-mexico/

Why Some Food Additives Banned in Europe Are Still on U.S. Shelves

Walk down your grocery aisle, and you’ll spot many foods containing ingredients you won’t find in Europe. The unusual way the U.S. regulates ingredients is in the news and the hot seat right now, thanks to the recent ban of a food additive—red dye 3, an artificial dye linked to cancer in animals—and the rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During his confirmation hearing on Jan. 30, Kennedy said that compared to Europe, the U.S. “looks at any new chemical as innocent until proven guilty.”

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“It needs to end,” he said.

Here’s what to know about some of the most controversial food additives under the microscope and why additives are regulated differently in the U.S.

Key ingredients banned in Europe but allowed in the U.S.

Titanium dioxide is used to make foods and beverages whiter and brighter. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers it safe for human consumption, but it isn’t found in foods in Europe. In 2022, the European Food Safety Authority banned titanium dioxide, saying that after reviewing thousands of studies, it could no longer consider the additive safe because it has the potential to damage DNA or cause chromosomal damage.

“A chemical that builds up in the body and could harm the immune and nervous systems should not be in candies and treats marketed to children,” says Melanie Benesh, vice president of governmental affairs at Environmental Working Group (EWG), which filed a petition to the FDA in 2023 asking it to ban titanium dioxide.

In the U.S., it’s still found in many confections, including Sour Patch Kids watermelon candies, Hostess chocolate cupcakes and Hostess powdered Donettes, Friendly’s cake singles birthday cake ice cream, Zweet sour belts, and Skittles.

Read More: Should You Eat More Protein?

Potassium bromate is another ingredient banned in the U.K. and many other countries around the world—including Canada, Brazil, and Argentina—but allowed in the U.S. in certain quantities. It has been linked to cancer in humans as well as gut problems, and was listed to be “potentially carcinogenic to humans” in 1999 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It is used to improve the texture of dough and bread, and in the U.S., it’s still found in some breads (such as soft heroes from A&M Bronx Baking), frozen pizzas (like Imo’s Pepperoni), and baked goods.

Added to products to extend their shelf life, propylparaben is linked in animals to hormone disruption. Since 2006, it’s been illegal to use it as a food additive in Europe. But in the U.S., it’s a listed ingredient in bread and bakery products , including Chi-Chi’s white corn tortillas and red decorating icing from Great Value, Walmart’s generic brand.

How the U.S. uniquely regulates additives

The U.S. has a very different approach to regulating additives than many other countries, says Thomas Galligan, principal scientist for food additives at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group.

“The E.U. says that if they can’t dismiss the possibility of harm, they can’t find an additive safe,” Galligan says. In the U.S., the bar is much lower; companies can add new ingredients to their foods without even informing the FDA. “In the U.S., it feels like the FDA is waiting to act until harm is definitely proven,” says Galligan.

Read More: Is Intermittent Fasting Good or Bad for You?

Companies that include these additives in their products defend their safety. Mars Wrigley, which manufactures Skittles, said in a statement to TIME that all of its ingredients are safe and manufactured in strict compliance with safety requirements established by regulators including the FDA. J.M. Smucker, which owns Hostess, said that titanium dioxide is a common ingredient approved by the FDA and that its products follow the FDA regulations that the quantity of titanium not exceed 1% of the weight of the food. And Walmart, which produces Great Value products like the red icing containing propylparaben, said that food and safety is always its top priority. Several companies did not return requests for comment, including Mondelez, which owns the company that makes Sour Patch Kids; Brix Holdings, which owns Friendly’s; Zweet Shop, which makes Zweet’s; and Hormel, which owns Chi-Chi’s. A&M Bronx Baking and Imo’s also did not return requests for comment.

The FDA said it could not provide comment because the Department of Health and Human Services has issued “a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health.”

How additives sneak their way into the food supply

The presence of so many additives illuminates what many experts see as a concerning lack of oversight of chemicals in food. When the FDA is considering regulation on a food additive, it will invite public comment, seeking input from scientists, academics, and companies. But for many food additives, companies don’t have to seek that public comment or even specific FDA approval to add new chemicals to their foods.

It can instead convene its own panel to declare the additive as “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS. The company can either notify the FDA that it is adding the chemical, or skip that process and just begin adding it because the panel that it hired deemed it safe. The Government Accountability Office criticized this process in 2010, saying that the FDA “does not help ensure the safety of all new GRAS determinations.” And one study reviewing 403 GRAS notices found that companies often used the same small group of people to make these determinations.

GRAS arose out of a Congressional bill from 1958, but the term was intended for everyday substances like flour or vegetable oil that were frequently used as additives. Galligan worries that there are GRAS substances currently in use that could be contributing to diseases in a way scientists don’t yet know about. “There are chemicals entering the food supply with zero oversight from the FDA,” he says. (This is in contrast to Europe, where a third-party government agency decides what food ingredients are considered safe.)

Read More: The Supplements Doctors Actually Think You Should Take

Nearly 99% of new chemicals introduced in the U.S. food supply between 2000 and 2021 came through GRAS notices, rather than FDA review, according to EWG. “That’s an enormous number,” says Benesh of EWG.

The GRAS process has gone awry before. In 2022, a company called Daily Harvest started adding a substance called tara flour to its lentil and leek crumbles product, labeling the additive GRAS. That year, nearly 400 people became sick from the product. Some people got so sick that their livers malfunctioned and they had to have their gallbladders removed. The culprit was likely tara flour—yet the FDA did not ban it until 2024. (Daily Harvest did not provide comment for this story.)

Why most additives aren’t formally approved

One reason companies may choose to label substances GRAS is that the FDA process to approve additives is relatively slow. So is its process to ban them. Red dye 3 has been banned from use in topical drugs and cosmetics since 1990, when the FDA found that the additive causes cancer in animals. 

A charitable explanation for the FDA’s slow pace is that it lacks resources, says Benesh. But there are other problems about the way the FDA reviews foods that aren’t only linked to a lack of resources, she says. 

“The E.U. made a concerted effort starting in 2010 or so to systematically go back and look through the food chemicals allowed in Europe at the time and determine if they’re still safe,” she says. “We haven’t done anything like that.” 

Signs of potential change

If Kennedy is confirmed as HHS Secretary—which oversees the FDA—he plans to alter this system. He publicly criticized GRAS during his confirmation hearing, and has said he would dramatically change the FDA. 

“The FDA allows hundreds of additives into our chemical food supply that are banned in other countries,” he said in a video posted in October promoting his Make America Healthy Again agenda. 

California is another change agent. Its ban of potassium bromate, propylparaben, red dye 3, and the additive brominated vegetable oil  has forced many companies to start to reformulate their foods because it’s difficult to manufacture different foods for California than the rest of the country. And members of Congress are starting to pay attention. In Sept. 2024, Rep. Rose DeLauro from Connecticut introduced a bill, the Toxic Free Food Act, that would alter the GRAS process and require companies to submit more evidence that a food is safe before being used in products.

“There is growing awareness that the system is broken and that the food companies should not be the ones determining whether or not their products are safe,” Benesh says. 

When that awareness will reach grocery aisles is an open question.

source https://time.com/7210717/food-additives-us-fda-banned-europe/

I’m a Veteran. Trump’s Trans Military Ban Betrays Our Troops

I have served my country. For two decades, I wore the uniform of an American soldier, deployed to Afghanistan three times, and led troops in combat. I didn’t do it for politics, I did it because I believed in the values the military claims to uphold: service, integrity, and leadership. I was also the first openly transgender infantry noncommissioned officer. That distinction didn’t inherently make me a better Staff Sergeant, but neither did it make me any less capable. 

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I trained and fought for my country. And I did it all while political pundits, selling themselves as experts in military readiness without ever proving themselves under fire, sat in television studios while promoting a ban on transgender military service members.

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring transgender people from enlisting and serving openly in the military. Being trans, Trump writes, “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle.”

Trump, who received five deferments exempting himself from military service (including a medical deferment for heel spurs) goes on to state that being trans “is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”

Many transgender troops have served for years, led units in combat, carried out complex missions, and proven themselves under extreme pressure. The loudest voices against us are often those who have not served alongside us. They don’t see the daily discipline, sacrifices, and absolute commitment to the mission that transgender service members demonstrate every single day.

The truth is, those calling for a trans military ban hide behind rhetoric about “standards” without understanding that every transgender person currently serving has met them. The military doesn’t lower the bar for anyone—certainly not for us. If anything, we’ve had to clear it while dragging extra weight. Every trans service member has had to prove themselves twice: first to meet the standards of their chosen branch, and again just to justify their continued existence within it. We have done so, over and over again, while others question whether we belong.

The betrayal of transgender service members

Trump’s executive order, which he signed on January 27, 2025 doesn’t just reinstate his previous trans military ban—it goes further. It asserts that transgender service members “undermine unit cohesion” and lack “honesty, humility, and integrity.” These insults are especially disrespectful towards the transgender Americans who have raised their right hand and sworn to serve this country and who have done so with the highest levels of professionalism.

Transgender service members (such as myself) have commanded units, trained recruits, and carried out missions under fire. Many have served through multiple deployments, all while hearing slurs and lies about who they are from their own elected leaders.

The transgender soldiers I’ve worked with—and the airmen, sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and even Guardians—have demonstrated courage in the face of difficulty, grace in the face of insult, and integrity in living who they truly are every day. They are professionals, they are leaders, and they are damn good at their jobs.

A purge disguised as policy

The 2017 ban didn’t result in immediate discharges; it simply made service so untenable that transgender troops were forced out over time. This new policy is even more aggressive. It blocks enlistments, restricts access to medically necessary care, and limits reenlistment opportunities. This isn’t about ensuring readiness; it’s about making life unbearable for those already serving.

Let’s be clear: this is an attrition strategy. President Trump knows that if he can’t legally discharge transgender troops outright, he can create enough barriers to force them out. Indeed, it appears that Trump’s overarching strategy is to erase transgender people.

This executive order isn’t just about military service—it’s part of a much broader effort to push transgender people out of public life entirely. It’s connected to bans on gender-affirming care, restrictions on legal recognition, and attempts to erase trans people from schools, healthcare, and government protections. The military is just one front in a larger war against transgender existence.

We’ve seen this before. The same politicians pushing this ban are the ones backing anti-trans laws in state legislatures, trying to control how we access medical care, where we can exist, and even what words we can use to describe ourselves. This is about power, not policy. It’s an attempt to force transgender people out of spaces where they have already proven they belong.

The reality of transgender military members

Trump framed his ban on trans military members as a matter of “readiness.” However, the RAND Corporation has already debunked the myth that transgender service members harm readiness. Their research, commissioned by the Pentagon itself, found that allowing transgender individuals to serve had no negative impact on unit cohesion or operational effectiveness.

Financially, the argument against transgender service members falls apart. The cost of gender-affirming care represents a tiny fraction of the military’s overall healthcare budget—far less than what is spent annually on other common treatments like erectile dysfunction medications. Gender-affirming care is healthcare, and it helps ensure that all troops, regardless of gender identity, are able to perform at their best.

Blocking this care hurts retention and readiness. Transgender troops who are denied healthcare won’t just leave the military—they’ll leave with service-connected medical conditions that the Department of Veterans Affairs will still have to treat. It’s a short-sighted policy that creates long-term financial and strategic consequences.

When I scheduled my first transgender-related surgery, I planned it around my unit’s operations. I was in 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment. I scheduled my surgery the Friday after Thanksgiving, knowing that our unit was on holiday leave during Christmas and our training calendar was clear. I recovered during the lowest operational tempo of the year, and by the time my unit resumed training in February, I was back at full capacity.

This is how transgender service members operate. We don’t put ourselves above the mission. We can schedule our care responsibly, return to duty as soon as possible, and continue to meet the same physical, mental, and leadership standards expected of any service member. Trump’s assertion that we lack integrity is not just offensive—it’s demonstrably false.

Trump’s trans military ban is bigger than the military. It’s about whether we, as a country, believe that America is a place where anyone willing to sacrifice for it can belong.

To every service member reading this: Keep doing your job. Show up, lead, and prove others wrong, just like we’ve always done. And to everyone else: Pay attention. The fight over this ban is about more than just military policy—it’s about whether trans people have the right to exist in public life.

Transgender service members don’t just serve, we lead. We are as capable, as effective, and as lethal as anyone else. And we aren’t going anywhere.

source https://time.com/7211956/veteran-trumps-trans-military-ban-betrays-troops/

The Best, Worst, and Most Memorable Moments of the 2025 Grammys

The 67th annual Grammy Awards are taking place on Sunday, Feb. 2 at Crypto.com arena, hosted by Trevor Noah, now a veteran of the broadcast, for the fifth consecutive year. Though this show is no stranger to Los Angeles, it is surrounded this time by a change in scenery, following a January marked by two of the city’s most destructive and expensive wildfires on record, which claimed a combined 37,469 acres across Altadena and the Pacific Palisades.

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But alas, the show must go on, albeit in a more muted register; several events traditionally held in the week leading up to the Sunday night program were canceled due to the environmental devastation and ongoing rebuilding efforts, namely those held by Universal Music Group, Sony, Spotify, BMG, and Warner Music Group, all of which have allocated resources to help affected citizens. (The Recording Academy, which has presented the Grammys since 1959, launched the Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort in tandem with its MusiCares charity with a $1 million dollar donation.)

The 2025 Grammys are poised to be a celebration of history as much as one of contemporary music: for the first time since 1997, the Beatles earned new Grammy nominations (for record of the year and best rock performance), Beyoncé has already become the first Black woman to win an award in a country category since the Pointer Sisters in 1974, and the late, former president Jimmy Carter (who was nominated for his audiobook, Last Sundays In Plains: A Centennial Celebration, at age 100) is now the oldest award nominee and winner in Grammy history.

Most Tone-Setting Tribute: “I Love L.A.”

Sunday night’s show opened with a celebration of Los Angeles, a highly intentional theme which continued throughout the night. The “I Love L.A.” tribute was an ode to the beauty of a city now compromised by natural disaster: Noah’s opening monologue shouted out Chappell Roan’s ode to the clubs of the city, and the sibling powerhouse duo Billie Eilish and Finneas who converted their bedroom there into a hitmaking studio. John Legend, Sheryl Crowe, St. Vincent, Brittany Howard, an Brad Paisley all joined the stage with Dawes, a group that lost its studio, equipment, and one member’s home, to the fire. The group sang Randy Newman’s 1983 song of the same name, set to footage paying tribute to L.A. firefighters.

But support for the city didn’t stop at the top of the show. Noah’s mentions of the wildfires and calls for donations continued over the course of the night, with contributions from major companies rolling in as the show played on. The show also provided small local L.A. businesses impacted by the fires with free commercial airtime, including a florist called Orla Floral Studio (joined by a cameo from Doja Cat), based in Altadena, and Rhythms of the Village, also in Altadena, which Anderson Paak visited.

Best Cinderella Story: Doechii

Tonight Doechii joined the ranks of just two female emcees before her—Lauryn Hill and Cardi B, who presented the award—when she won the award for Best Rap Album for her mixtape “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” The 26-year-old singer and rapper from Tampa, Fla., known for her clever use of irony and unapologetic storytelling, has quickly proven herself to be a strong addition to T.D.E.’s star-studded roster with breakout hits like “What It is (Block Boy),” “Persuasive,” and “Denial is a River.” “God told me that I would be rewarded and he would show me just how good it can get,” Doechii said as she accepted her award, joined by her mother onstage. “I know that there are so many Black women out there watching me right now and I just want to say you can do it…don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you…I am a testimony.” Later on in the evening, Doechii delivered a powerfully free-spirited performance of “Denial is a River,” her tongue-in-cheek breakout single from the project she won the award for.

Shortest and Sweetest: Sabrina Carpenter

Sabrina Carpenter’s medley of “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” began with a jazzy rendition of the former hit (which was also acknowledged in a buzzy commercial from Dunkin Donuts advertising the singer’s specialty latte with the coffee retailer). Carpenter entered the stage in a glittery tuxedo dress she soon ripped off to reveal a bedazzled baby blue bodice, after a series of playful intentional errors, now part of her comedic schtick. Carpenter won the night’s “Best Pop Vocal” award for Short n Sweet” presented by Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith of L.A.’s own Red Hot Chili Peppers, marking her first Grammy win. She thanked fans, the Recording Academy, and her mom for driving her to every vocal lesson, before innocently wondering aloud if it was okay that she said “hell” three times in her acceptance speech.

Most Historic: Beyoncé’s Country Grammy Haul

Beyoncé radiated pure gratitude and shock when she accepted the award for “Best Country Album,” presented by Taylor Swift, who won the category 15 years ago. The award came after winning best country duo/group performance earlier in the day for “II MOST WANTED” with Miley Cyrus, the first time in 50 years that a Black woman won a country music Grammy. Cowboy Carter made waves as an explicit hat tip to country music and a celebration, more specifically, of the Black American musicians who created and advanced the genre historically to little acknowledgement by the establishment and audiences alike. “Sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists and I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay consistent,” Beyoncé said, before thanking God, her family, her fans, and the country artists who accepted the album and her presence in the country market.

Read more: How Beyoncé Fits Into the Storied Legacy of Black Country

Most Literal Performance: “Pink Pony Club”

Pop darling Olivia Rodrigo introduced “Midwest Princess” Chappell Roan’s performance of “Pink Pony Club.” The rousing show was marked by pink, illuminated steam rising up from the stage and a “Pink Pony Club” sign above, alongside a sign that read “My Drink is Karma,” a wink at her track “My Kink is Karma.” Roan belted from a larger-than-life pink pony, playful and cartoonish and reminiscent of the singer’s makeup for the night. The back-up dancers were a colorful mix of rodeo clowns, the performance ending with a passionate guitar display and an expression of confident satisfaction from Roan.

Most Passionate Use of the Platform: Chappell Roan

Best New Artist winner Chappell Roan followed up her rousing performance with a sober call to action—as she said she promised herself she would if she ever had the Grammy stage as a platform with the most powerful people in music listening. Roan implored the major label establishment to offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists. She cited her own experience as an artist who was signed to a label as a minor and subsequently dropped as something that radicalized her when she realized how deeply she was committed to her art while still struggling to make a living, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The award, one of the night’s most anticipated, was presented by last year’s winner Victoria Monet. In her acceptance speech, Roan thanked her fellow nominees, producer Dan Nigro, friends, family, her Papa Chappell “who I named myself after,” and “all who listened.” “Labels,” she said, “we got you, but do you got us?”

source https://time.com/7210740/grammys-2025-recap/