Health

IMPERIAL — Whenever the weather changes suddenly, or the skyline becomes shrouded in a windy haze, Fernanda Camarillo braces herself for an asthma attack.

Her condition has become more manageable, but the 27-year-old said it’s still scary when her chest tightens and she starts to wheeze. It was one of her first thoughts when she heard about plans to develop a massive data center next to her home in Imperial County, a farming community near the border of Mexico that struggles with poor air quality.

“A lot of people in the county are asthmatic,” she said, explaining that she worries the new center would add more pollution. “I’ve been anxious — so many of us are voicing our concerns.”

Data centers have existed for decades but are rapidly changing and expanding due to the worldwide boom in artificial intelligence, or AI as it’s known. States and communities nationwide have started pushing back, citing concerns that the projects could strain power grids, increase utility bills and have negative health and environmental impacts.

In California, state legislators are debating how to protect residents and natural resources without creating so much red tape that developers go elsewhere, taking their jobs and taxable earnings with them.

No Data Center signs are posted in the front yard of a home that is right behind the proposed site.

“We can be supportive of innovation and a technology that is needed but also protect our communities and our health and our environment,” said state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). “We can do both at the same time.”

The California Legislature is considering bills to prohibit the projects from being exempted from the state’s stringent environmental law and to impose new tariffs on new major energy users that strain power supplies. Lawmakers also have proposed restrictions on new data centers, requiring companies to provide verifiable estimates on expected water and energy usage before they can be granted a business permit.

Imperial resident Fernanda Camarillo, who is an asthmatic, holds some of her medications.

Members of Congress also expressed concerns. Rep. Ro Khanna, speaking at a town hall about AI last month at Stanford University, said legislators must ensure data centers serve the communities that power them.

“We live in a new gilded age,” said Khanna (D-Fremont). “What kind of future are we going to build?”

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Eric Masanet, a professor at UC Santa Barbara specializing in sustainability science for emerging technologies, described the facilities as the “brains” of the internet. The sprawling centers are filled with banks of specialized computers that process online shopping orders, stream movies, host websites, encode Zoom and other videoconferencing apps, store data and serve as switching stations for the digital world that’s now woven into daily life.

Data centers, particularly those that power AI, use significant amounts of water and energy. The facilities accounted for about 4.4% of the nation’s total electricity consumption in 2023, up from 1.9% in 2018, according to a report provided to Congress from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The researchers projected that figure will reach 6.7% to 12% by 2028.

Many companies, including big tech giants like Meta, Google and Amazon, are making major investments in AI.

“We are building a lot more data centers faster than we ever did — and a new AI data center is 10 to 20, maybe 30 times, the size of the largest data centers we had before,” Masanet said.

The proposed site of the 950,00-square-foot data center is on a dusty parcel that is next to the Victoria Ranch housing community and adjacent to farmland in Imperial, Calif.

It’s unclear how many data centers are in the state. A California Energy Commission spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times it does not track this information. Data Center Map, a nongovernmental website that tracks data centers across the world, lists 289 facilities in California, with more than 4,000 nationwide.

The federal government has, so far, largely left it to states or localities to regulate data centers.

The facilities can generate significant revenue for local governments due to sales and property taxes.

But some new proposals are sparking a backlash. More than 200 community and environmental organizations, including a dozen from California, sent an open letter to Congress in December calling for a national moratorium on new data centers.

Robert Gould, a pathologist with San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, one of the organizations that signed the letter, explained data centers are causing a shift away from renewable energy and back toward fossil fuels because the facilities need a reliable and constant stream of power.

Cornell University researchers last year estimated that AI growth could add 24 to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere annually by 2030, unless steps are taken to change course.

Gould said fossil fuel emissions are associated with various cancers, an increase in hospitalizations for older adults due to respiratory conditions, and asthma attacks or stunted lung growth in children. Particulate matter from fossil fuel emissions is also linked to cardiovascular events and negative effects on maternal fetal health.

Gould’s organization has noticed an alarming trend.

“These are generally placed in communities that are the least able to defend themselves,” he said.

Farmworkers toil in the noon heat to pick vegetables in Imperial. Agriculture is an important part of the Imperial Valley economy.

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The debate over data centers is heating up in the Imperial Valley, a rural desert region in southeastern California where a proposed center faces fierce opposition from residents.

The county in 2025 granted the project an exemption for the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA. The landmark 56-year-old state law has been credited with helping to preserve California’s natural beauty and protecting communities from hazardous impacts of construction projects — but also blamed for stymieing construction.

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, a California-based limited liability company that started two years ago, plans to develop a 950,000-square-foot facility in the county that’s designed for advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning operations. The company says it will use reclaimed wastewater and EPA-certified natural gas generators, and create 2,500 to 3,500 construction jobs and 100 to 200 permanent positions.

“We are committed to Imperial County and to creating lasting economic opportunity,” the company website states. “The project will generate $28.75 million in annual property tax revenue for local schools, fire departments, libraries, and essential services.”

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors is moving toward finalizing the proposal.

Farmland spreads out in front of the Imperial Valley Fair near a proposed data center in Imperial.

Sebastian Rucci, an attorney and chief executive officer of Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, said he commissioned multiple studies assessing the proposed center’s potential effect on issues like traffic or the environment that found no or minimal harms. He threatened to pull his proposal if a CEQA review was required.

“CEQA leaves you in an unknown territory — some of the environmental groups have used it for extortion, they sue, they have no basis for the suit but they delay you, and then they can squeeze money out of you for settling the lawsuit,” said Rucci.

The exemption, however, has alarmed residents, who have spoken up at county board meetings and launched a community organization, Not in My Backyard Imperial, to protest the data center and demand a CEQA review.

“It feels like it’s us against the county,” said Camarillo, adding that many feel the board has dismissed their questions and concerns.

None of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors responded to requests for comment.

Resident Fernanda Camarillo’s home is right behind the proposed site of the data center in Imperial.

The center would be a neighbor to Camarillo’s house in Victoria Ranch, a family-friendly area with beige stucco homes topped with terracotta tile roofs. She worries about noise, pollution and spiking utility bills. Power companies that have to upgrade grids to meet data centers’ energy demands sometimes seek to recoup that cost by hiking up rates for all consumers.

Camarillo, a substitute teacher, is also scared for her students. The air quality in Imperial Valley is already so poor that schools use a system of color-coded flags to signal whether it’s safe for children to go outside during gym or recess, she said.

“I think they see [the valley] as easy pickings because we are a low-income community and we have such a large population of Latinos here,” Camarillo said.

A quick drive around the neighborhood shows others share her concerns. Signs protesting the data center pop up throughout the community, displayed on front lawns or nestled into rocky garden beds.

Victoria Ranch was quiet and peaceful on a sunny Sunday in late February. Francisco Leal, a resident and lead organizer for NIMBY Imperial, said that’s a major part of its appeal.

The colorful dusk sky hovers over a Little League baseball game at Freddie White Park in Imperial. The debate over data centers is heating up in the Imperial Valley, a rural desert region in southeastern California.

Leal wants answers about everything from potential health hazards and impacts on the local water supply to whether the fire department is equipped to handle a large-scale electrical blaze. But without a CEQA review, he says residents are left to trust assurances from the developer or privately hired consultants.

Leal plans to sell his property if the project goes forward, but the thought makes him emotional.

“It’s not just a house; it’s a home,” he said. “This is the only home my kids have ever known and all of our family memories are here.”

Gina Snow, another resident, isn’t necessarily against bringing a data center to the county. But she wants the proposal to undergo a CEQA review.

“Clearly we understand that there is economic development and the potential for that to be positive for the county, but at what cost?” she said.

Daniela Flores, executive director of Imperial Valley Equity and Justice, a nonprofit that works for social and environmental equality, stands on the site of the proposed data center.

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Daniela Flores, executive director of Imperial Valley Equity and Justice, a nonprofit that works for social and environmental equality, said the community has good reason to be wary. Various industries have come into the region over the years and made grand promises that never panned out.

“We became a sacrifice zone,” she said, adding industries use the area’s resources while ultimately doing little to permanently improve the lives of most residents.

Flores said the community continues to struggle with a range of problems, including poor air quality, high poverty rates, weak worker protections and crumbling infrastructure. She believes a data center could add new and potentially dangerous challenges.

The valley has long, brutal summers with temperatures that swell to 120 degrees. If the data center strains the grid and causes a lengthy blackout, or low-income residents have their power shut off because they can’t afford the rising bills, Flores fears the situation could quickly turn deadly.

The city of Imperial also has concerns. The city has filed a lawsuit calling on the county to halt the project, arguing it should not have received a CEQA exemption.

The controversy has drawn attention from Padilla, whose district includes Imperial Valley. Padilla has echoed residents’ calls for more transparency from the county and introduced Senate Bill 887, which would ban data centers from receiving exemptions from CEQA.

“I am not anti-data center or anti-artificial intelligence,” Padilla said. But, he added, we need to “find a way to do this right and make sure there is adequate review and understanding.”

A dusty haze settles over the city of Imperial at dusk near the site of a proposed data center.

Another measure from Padilla, Senate Bill 886, would direct the Public Utilities Commission to create an electrical corporation tariff to cover the cost of data center-related grid upgrades.

Other related legislation this year includes Assembly Bill 2619 from Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) that would require data center owners to provide an estimate about expected water usage and sources before applying for a business license, and Assembly Bill 1577, by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), which would require data center owners to submit monthly information to a state commission about water and fuel consumption and energy efficiency.

While lawmakers weigh new policies at the statehouse, Camarillo said she hopes the priority will be protecting communities.

“Innovation is important, but innovation for the sake of innovation has never really been something that hasn’t had negative impacts,” she said. “Think about human lives.”

Los Angeles County’s chief executive officer Fesia Davenport, who has been on medical leave since October, has announced that she will resign next month.

In a LinkedIn post, Davenport said she was leaving county service to “focus on my health and wellness.”

A notice to the Board of Supervisors provided to The Times Saturday said she had decided to step down April 16 “based primarily on hereditary and ongoing health issues initially uncovered late last year, the risks of which have become clearer based on more recent medical testing and consultation with my doctors.”

She said the “extraordinary amount of time and energy” required of the chief executive played into her decision.

“Although I originally assumed that I would be able to return to my post, I now know that I would be unable to do the job as it deserves to be done while also prioritizing my health,” she told the supervisors.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement Saturday saying, “I’m disappointed by Fesia Davenport’s decision to step down. Her dedication and accomplishments over nearly three decades have left a lasting impact on Los Angeles County.”

Davenport, who was appointed to the county’s top job in 2021, received an undisclosed $2-million settlement last summer to compensate for damage to her “professional reputation” from Measure G, a voter-approved ballot measure that will soon eliminate her position.

In a July 8 letter, released by the county counsel in October through a public record request, Davenport said she sought $2 million in damages for “reputational harm, embarrassment, and physical, emotional and mental distress caused by the Measure G.”

Under Measure G, which voters approved in 2024, the county chief executive, who manages the county government and oversees its budget, will be elected by voters instead of appointed by the board. The elected county executive will be in place by 2028.

Measure G “has had, and will continue to have, an unprecedented impact on my professional reputation, health, career, income, and retirement,” Davenport wrote to county counsel Dawyn Harrison. She said it had “irrevocably changed my life, my professional career, economic outlook, and plans for the future.”

At the time the payout was disclosed, Davenport had begun a medical leave, saying at the time she expected to be back to work early this year.

A lengthy email to her staff, posted on LAist, which first disclosed her resignation, said the unspecified “health crisis” has affected three of her siblings and posed risks to her that “have become clearer based on more recent medical testing and consultation with my doctors.”

Her brother Raymond died in 2018 after “experiencing a sudden health crisis,” she said. Last year, two more of her sisters survived the same health crisis, but one will now require 24-hour care for the rest of her life, she said.

“Although I am not out of the woods yet, I am thankful to the Board for granting me the space to focus on my health and to arm myself with the knowledge I needed to make informed decisions,” she wrote.

The office of chief executive issued a statement Saturday saying chief operating officer Joe Nicchitta will continue serving as acting chief executive officer while Davenport remains on medical leave.

“We appreciate Fesia’s nearly three decades of service to Los Angeles County and all that she has accomplished on behalf of its residents and communities,” the statement said.

Davenport listed a number of accomplishments in her letter to the board, including setting up five new departments maintaining the county’s credit rating when other jurisdictions were being downgraded and “balancing the budget while developing a financing plan to compensate sexual assault victims — the largest settlement of its kind in American history.”

That payout has now come under scrutiny after a Times investigation found that some plaintiffs had been paid to join the class-action lawsuit.

Surrounded by countryside and quaint shops, spending the night in this historic crescent building felt like living out a life in a period drama manor

Pulling up to the hotel felt like I was stepping into the world of Bridgerton. It was impossible not to be immediately blown away by the sheer size of its Georgian masterpiece, which is the exact greeting I’d expect from a five-star hotel.

The Buxton Crescent Hotel sits at the very heart of the Derbyshire town. Really, it is the centrepiece of the place, and so it would be hard to imagine staying anywhere else when visiting for a weekend.

Buxton, as a spa town, rivals Bath and is famous for its natural and ancient spring waters that have been filtered through the Peak District’s limestone for 5,000 years. It’s these clean, drinkable, and consistently warm waters that provide mineral-rich and calming waters to the spa within the hotel.

These small but significant details are what make the Buxton Crescent hotel feel so swanky. To know I was staying within the walls of such a historic building certainly helped me live out my period drama dreams.

Room

After a very warm welcome and helpful valet service from the team, we were directed to our humble abode for the night, which was one of the Crescent Rooms with rear-facing views. The décor had a timeless feel to it that felt aged, but with class, generally the kind I’d expect for a hotel of this sort – but it was nothing mind-blowing.

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It was clean, the bed was incredibly comfortable, and it had everything we needed for a simple night’s stay. Normally, the package we enjoyed – which included a night’s stay, spa access, dinner, and breakfast – would cost around £510 for this time of year.

A particularly noteworthy feature of the room was the shower, which, to be honest, was potentially the best I’ve ever had, with a huge overhead waterfall and amazing water pressure. I guess you’d expect nothing less from a town quite literally famous for its water and cleansing methods, and it certainly beats the half-hearted drip of a flimsy budget hotel bathroom.

Spa facilities

Buxton Crescent is part of the Champneys Spa empire, but it definitely didn’t feel like a chain. Instead, it offered an authentic spa experience, and one of luxury at that.

I was impressed by just how big the place was and kept stumbling upon different rooms, areas, underground, and on the roof – like the rest of the hotel, it is a bit of a maze.

There are a number of unique features that make this spa a standout in my eyes, the first blindingly obvious one – the epic rooftop pool. It’s rare to find an outdoor pool anywhere in Derbyshire, let alone one on the roof of an 18th-century building, and yet it certainly adds a wow factor to the place.

Even amid the thick fog and cold of June, its thermal waters and bubbling pools create a cool environment for a relaxing swim. It’s a shame the views aren’t much to write home about, considering Buxton is surrounded by beauty.

Adding to this sense of magic is the colour-illuminated relaxation pool in a dimly lit room. The thermal pool sits peacefully beneath an impressive stained-glass canopy that reflects onto the water and the original 1920s tiles lining the pool. I think it’s these standout elements combined that lend the hotel its five-star status.

I was lucky enough to experience one of the unique water-based treatments, which the hotel claims is not available anywhere else in the UK. Opting for the Signature Wave Balance on the Water Couch, I was going into this rather blindly.

The masseuse was friendly and made me feel incredibly comfortable as she used the waterbed’s rhythms to create movement beneath me and gently helped relax my muscles. Personally, I don’t think this treatment was for me, and I would have enjoyed a more intense massage over a relaxation one, not to mention the atmosphere outside of the room was a slight mood killer.

With it being a Saturday, a bit of busyness at the spa is expected. However, outside of the room, I could hear doors shutting, floorboards creaking, and people chatting, and it was hard to stay in my ‘waterbed cocoon’ with all that going on – there’s only so much tranquil music can drown out.

Restaurant

I am everyone’s least favourite type of person to dine with (vegetarian), so if a menu isn’t stacked with options, which they rarely are, I can be a bit of an awkward one. However, the veggie options at the hotel were drool-worthy and felt just as fancy as any other meat-based dish. Not to mention, the setting and service were arguably the most five-star aspects of this place.

As we entered the restaurant for our reservation, we immediately felt underdressed, as guests were quite literally suited and booted for their evening meal. The dimly lit restaurant, wine stands, and well-dressed waiters made the experience feel very fancy, adding to my sense of a regal stay.

I couldn’t help but find the way the space transformed in the morning quite humorous. While the furniture remains the same, the lights are up, people are helping themselves to food, and all of the same guests’ blazers are swapped for hoodies.

In my opinion, there’s only so fancy a breakfast can get in a hotel, when really, everyone just wants a full English. I was pleased to see both vegetarian and vegan options of this, but more importantly, alongside a menu of dishes, you could tuck into smoothies, fruits, yoghurts, pastries, the lot.

Whilst it did sort of feel like the shine had worn off by morning with coffee-stained menus and mugs, as far as hotel breakfasts go, I thought it was still up there with the best.

In the area

There’s no questioning how perfectly placed the Buxton Crescent Hotel is in respect of all that the town has to offer; it is in the centre of it all. So much so that I thought it felt as though the town was built around this very building.

Attached to the building is the Cavendish Arcade, which offers a range of independent shops perfect to mooch around. In fact, this building is actually where the town’s original hot baths were first housed.

Just a stone’s throw away from the hotel entrance is the high street, bursting with cafes, restaurants and shops, as well as other little roads leading you to more hidden independent spots. I’d certainly suggest a wander, as some of the best-looking foodie spots are slightly more tucked away from the Greggs and Café Nero of it all – shock.

For deeper exploration, Buxton acts as the ideal hub for hikers and cyclists keen to explore the Peak District National Park. Lud’s Church is one of the closest and most popular routes, full of dramatic views and a sense of mystery with its moss-covered gorges.

Meanwhile, a more challenging hike would take you to Dragon’s Back, a ridge walk near Buxton that showcases the jagged, rugged limestone cliffs of the peaks. Previously, I parked up in the village of Hollinsclough and walked from there, but there are other alternative starting points.

The Buxton Crescent Hotel is the ultimate romantic spa getaway in the Peak District, and that was evident by the number of couples surrounding us at dinner, in the spa, and on our hike. Clearly, we missed the memo all this time that Buxton is, in fact, the place to be for an idyllic romantic getaway.

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Rooms at Champneys Buxton Crescent Hotel & Wellness Spa start from £185 including bed and breakfast. For general hotel bookings, please visit: buxtoncrescent.com and contact Email: info@buxtoncrescent.com Tel: +44 1298 808 999

Jeffrey Epstein urged Canadian-American media and real estate mogul Mortimer Zuckerman to relinquish control of his financial affairs over what he claimed was the magnate’s “potentially dangerous” cognitive impairment, according to files released by the United States Department of Justice.

While Epstein’s business ties with Zuckerman, now 88 years old, have been a matter of public record for over two decades, the files suggest that the late sex offender also served as a confidant with access to the most intimate details of the billionaire mogul’s personal life.

After a meeting with Zuckerman and the Norwegian diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen in October 2015, Epstein wrote an email urging the tycoon to enter a guardianship or conservatorship for his own protection.

Epstein told Zuckerman, the owner and publisher of US News & World Report, that the mogul had requested his help during their meeting several days earlier, but that he “might not remember”.

“Your friends including me are very concerned that your cognitive impairment has now reached a serious and potentially dangerous level. There is serious concern for your financail, emotional physical and psychological safety,” Epstein wrote, using his typically idiosyncratic approach to spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Epstein suggested that Zuckerman grant Rod-Larsen, Zuckerman’s nephews, and “anyone else you trust” authority to manage his affairs, warning that his “remarkable abilities” were no longer enough to protect him.

“I am aware that your condition makes you prone to suspicion but that being said, the future predictable decline will be an ever increasing danger,” Epstein wrote.

“Admittting you have a problem will take courage and determination.”

Zuckerman, who previously owned The Atlantic and the New York Daily News, appeared to take Epstein’s advice seriously, thanking him for his “thoughtfulness and friendship” and asking for recommendations for a lawyer with “experience in such matters”.

Zuckerman suggested the two men meet after he returned from an upcoming trip to San Francisco, but Epstein advised him to cancel the trip and said the mogul had told him about his travel plans on four separate occasions.

“I know you dont remember each time. . MORT , you need a Guardian,” Epstein wrote. “you should choose one now, while your judgment peeks through the haze. waiting too long. will mean most likely a court imposed solution. NOT FUN.”

Epstein also discussed Zuckerman’s health with his nephew, Eric Gertler, advising the relative to oversee the sale of the businessman’s stocks, art collection, helicopter and plane.

“my expertise is the financial . take any other suggestion as merely transmitting from others skilled in this terrible situation,” Epstein wrote to Gertler, who is the current executive chairman of US News & World Report, in one email.

It is not clear if Zuckerman followed Epstein’s advice to pass over control of his affairs.

Zuckerman announced that he would step down as chairman of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the US, about six months after his correspondence with Epstein.

Zuckerman did not cite any health concerns at the time and kept the title of chairman emeritus at the company, which he cofounded in 1970.

His philanthropic organisations – the Zuckerman Institute and Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program – and Gertler did not reply to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment.

Zuckerman’s relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, occasionally made headlines during the early 2000s, before Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

In 2003, Zuckerman partnered with Epstein and several other prominent businessmen, including the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, in an unsuccessful bid to buy New York Magazine.

The two men teamed up again the following year to invest $25m in the short-lived relaunch of the entertainment and gossip magazine Radar.

Investigative files released by the US Department of Justice in January showed that the late financier viewed Zuckerman as a client and close associate, as well as a business partner.

In 2013, Epstein drew up a $21m proposal to provide Zuckerman with “analysing, evaluating, planning and other services” related to the passing on of his estate, according to emails in the files.

It is unclear whether Zuckerman accepted Epstein’s proposal or otherwise employed him to manage his estate planning.

Epstein also pressured Zuckerman to alter coverage of his alleged sexual abuse of girls in the New York Daily News, suggesting a “proposed answer” to questions put to him by the newspaper in 2009. Zuckerman owned the New York Daily News at the time.

DOLLY Parton has issued a major announcement about Dollywood after taking time off for a health crisis.

She opened the amusement park, which is located in her native Tennessee, back in 1986 and it hosts nearly three million guests each year.

Now it’s been revealed that Dollywood is officially open for the new 2026 season.

She shared the exciting news on her Instagram feed with a throwback picture of herself standing at her theme park.

The 80-year-old penned: “I look just like the girls next door… if you happen to live next door to an amusement park.

“@dollywood is officially open for the 2026 season!”

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Fans flocked to the comments section to share their excitement as one said: “Yayy I love Dollywood!!”

Another person commented: “The girl next door who owns an amusement park. Because Dolly showed us, girls can do anything.”

Somebody else enthused: “Can’t wait to go back!!”

Yet another expressed: “The Queen of Tennessee, beautiful Dolly.”

While a fifth added: “Going in August – taking a family vacation and Dollywood is definitely on the itinerary.

This comes after Dolly sparked health concerns last fall when she canceled several performances.

At the beginning of fall in 2025, the Tennessee native announced she was forced to postpone her Las Vegas residency after dealing with a number of “health challenges.”

Dolly’s shows were scheduled for six dates in early December at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Tim McGraw subsequently took her place and the rescheduled shows have been set for September 2026.

In her message to fans, Dolly explained that she couldn’t perform due to doctor’s orders and had to undergo “a few procedures.”

“He is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you.

“I love you and thank you for understanding.”

She assured fans that she would be back on stage soon, writing, “And don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet.

After taking some time off, she returned last month as she told her fans some exciting news.

Looking incredible while sitting in a colorful room, Dolly delivered the news that East Tennessee Children’s Hospital was officially becoming Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital.

In the video, she explained how she believed every child should grow up healthy and with a fair chance.

She then revealed the hospital’s name change before saying, “I can’t do it all myself,” and asking for people to get involved via her website.

Meanwhile, the caption of the video read: “A new chapter begins.

“East Tennessee Children’s Hospital is proud to share we are becoming Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital.

“Inspired by Dolly’s commitment to children, this transformation represents more than a name change, it’s a promise. A promise to bring hope, healing and world-class care to patients and families across our region.

“Together, we’re building a future where every child has the chance to grow, thrive and feel the comfort of compassionate care.

“The same dedicated team. The same trusted care. Now carrying a name that reflects the heart of our mission. Learn more at DollyChildrens.org.”

Gaza City, the Gaza Strip – Shortly before the call to sunset prayer, Islam Dardouna stretches her hand towards a pot hanging over a makeshift stove fashioned from a battered metal can, with scraps of paper and pieces of wood feeding the fire beneath it.

Then she pauses. She turns her face away from the rising tongues of smoke. Her face stained with a thin layer of soot and her clothes steeped in the lingering smell of fumes, she takes a deep breath but does not immediately lift the lid.

In her right hand, Dardouna holds an asthma inhaler as though it were a ladle or tongs. With her other hand, she tries to prepare food for her three children.

“I can no longer tolerate the fire at all,” the 34-year-old says in a strained voice as she raises the inhaler to her mouth.

“We heat water on it, cook on it … everything. It completely destroyed my health,” she said, pointing to her chest.

Dardouna has been displaced from Jabalia in northern Gaza since the start of Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the territory in October 2023.

She now lives with her husband – 37-year-old Muath Dardouna – and their children in Sheikh Ajleen, west of Gaza City.

A year and a half ago, their home was destroyed. Since then, the family has moved from place to place until they eventually settled in this camp alongside other displaced families.

Everything changed after the war began. But for Dardouna, having to cook daily over an open fire in the face of cooking gas and fuel ranks among the worst.

“Our entire life now is a struggle, searching for wood and things we never imagined we would need one day,” she says. “There is no cooking gas and no gas cylinders. We lost all of that during displacement.”

What makes the situation even harder is that she suffers from asthma and chronic chest allergies, conditions she says began during Israel’s 2008 war on Gaza when she inhaled the smoke of a phosphorus bomb that dropped on her house. Her situation improved over the years, but has dramatically worsened during the current war.

“I developed airway obstruction, and recently there were masses found in my lungs,” said Dardouna, who in January was hospitalised for six days after suffering from oxygen shortage.

“The doctors prescribed an oxygen cylinder for me,” she says, quietly. “But unfortunately, I cannot afford it.”

A prolonged shortage

Like so many others across Gaza, Dardouna is struggling amid a prolonged shortage of cooking gas and fuel that has persisted since the start of the war.

Supplies have remained severely limited even after a “ceasefire” came into effect in October that included provisions allowing the entry of fuel and essential goods into the territory.

However, the quantities that have entered since then remain far below the population’s actual needs, according to official sources in Gaza and United Nations agencies.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the availability of cooking gas in Gaza remains “critically constrained”, with the limited quantities entering the territory covering less than three percent of what is required.

As a result, many families have been forced to rely on alternative and often hazardous cooking methods.

UN data indicates that about 54.5 percent of households rely on firewood for cooking, roughly 43 percent burn waste or plastic, and only around 1.5 percent are able to cook with gas.

Humanitarian groups warn that such unsafe alternatives endanger people’s health and the environment due to prolonged exposure to smoke and toxic fumes produced by burning plastic and other waste.

Amid these conditions, cooking over open fires made from wood, scrap materials or plastic has become a daily reality across displacement camps and neighbourhoods throughout Gaza.

The crisis has intensified during the Muslim holy month Ramadan, when families must prepare both suhoor meals before their daily fast and iftar meals afterwards.

Firewood has become expensive, requiring a daily budget. Lighting the fire before dawn is also often difficult due to the lack of lighting and unfavourable weather conditions, so the family often skips the pre-dawn meal entirely.

“Today, for example, it’s raining and windy. I couldn’t light the fire,” said Darduna’s husband, Muath, who is also helping out with the daily cooking.

“Even when we break our fast, we wish we could drink a cup of tea or coffee afterwards, but we can’t, because lighting the fire again is another struggle.”

A former psychosocial support worker for children, Muath says it pains him to see his children fasting without suhoor.

“Every detail of our lives is literally suffering,” he says. “Fetching water is suffering. Cooking is suffering. Even going to the bathroom is suffering. We are truly exhausted,” he added.

“Our lives are covered in soot,” Muath says, pointing to the black smoke stains left by the fire.

He describes gas as “one of our dreams”, recalling how “it felt like Eid day” when the family got a gas cylinder a few months ago. “But we don’t even have the stove to use it, and many families are like us,” he said.

“We are living on the edge of nothing. Displacement and war stripped us of everything,” he adds. “We are willing to live with the simplest rights in tents. But there is no heating, no gas, no lighting. It feels like we are living in open graves on Earth.”

Serious implications

In a statement on Wednesday, the General Petroleum Authority in Gaza warned of the “catastrophic and dangerous consequences of the continued halt in cooking gas supplies” to the territory, stressing that the crisis “directly affects the lives of more than two million residents” amid already dire humanitarian conditions.

The authority said Gaza had already been facing a shortfall of about 70 percent of its actual gas needs compared with the quantities that entered after the “ceasefire” announcement.

It added that the “complete suspension of gas supplies places the Gaza Strip before a looming disaster that threatens food and health security”, particularly during Ramadan.

The authority also said that preventing gas from entering the enclave constitutes a “clear violation of the ceasefire understandings”, calling on mediators and international actors to intervene urgently to ensure the regular flow of cooking gas into Gaza.

Across Gaza, many families now rely on ready-made meals from aid distributions and charity kitchens because of economic collapse and the difficulty of cooking.

“Even when food arrives ready hours before iftar,” Muath says, “heating it becomes another problem.”

The frustration of daily survival pushes Muath to the brink.

“As a father now, I cannot even provide the most basic things,” he says. “Imagine my son simply wants a cup of tea … even a little wind can stop me from making it.”

‘The fire suffocates you’

In a nearby tent, Amani Aed al-Bashleqi, 26, sits watching food being cooked over an open fire for iftar while her husband stirs the pot.

She said cooking on fire makes food taste “flavourless” – not because the taste changes, but because “exhaustion and suffering have become part of every bite”.

“We start cooking early so we can finish by iftar, and after breaking the fast, my husband and I are completely exhausted and covered in soot.”

Like Dardouna, al-Bashleqi says the smoke causes severe headaches and health problems.

“The fire suffocates you. All the women in the camp suffer health problems from cooking on fire,” she says. “But we have no choice.”

She has a seven-month-old baby, and her biggest worry is boiling water for his milk.

“Sometimes I boil water and keep it in a borrowed thermos, but I don’t always have one,” she says. “And sometimes when he wakes up at night, I mix the milk with water without boiling it, even though I know that’s not healthy. But what can I do?”

Nearby, Iman Junaid, 34, displaced from Jabalia to western Gaza City, sits with her husband Jihad, 36, in front of the fire preparing food.

Junaid blows on the flames while she pushes an empty plastic oil bottle under the fire.

Behind them, bags full of plastic bottles are piled up. The family collected them to fuel the fire because cooking gas has been unavailable for months.

A mother of six, Junaid says she knows the health dangers of burning plastic, but has “no other choice”.

“My little daughter is one year old, and her chest always hurts because she inhales the smoke,” she says. “Our life is collecting and burning plastic and nylon.”

“With the price of wood rising, we now wish we could even find wood. Gas has become almost impossible … we’ve forgotten it.”

She said there were many promises that gas would enter Gaza after the “ceasefire”, but “nothing happened”.

For Dardounah, the solution is not simply bringing cooking gas into Gaza. “What we need is for life to become possible again,” she says.

“Let gas enter. Let goods enter at reasonable prices. Let there be basic necessities for a normal life.”

YOUTUBER Gabriella has revealed a heartbreaking health update, as she prepares to have a hysterectomy.

The social media star, who is just 31, revealed her news in a candid Instagram post.

The fashion vlogger, who first launched her channel in 2013, gave fans an update, revealing she had been put into early menopause.

Gabriella bravely opened up about how she was set to have a hysterectomy.

This type of surgery is very rare for a woman her age and involves removing her womb.

However, preparing for the operation has had some extreme side effects, which she has now shared with fans.

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Taking to her latest Instagram Stories, Gabriella bravely penned: “Are you going through early menopause?!

“I was put on medication to induce the menopause before I have a hysterectomy as it helps some people’s endo symptoms – and it helps the team know what HRT to put me on after surgery based on how I reacted to the menopause med.

“I’ve actually been told to stop taking it 2 weeks before my op (which is now).

“So I’m having a really glamorous mix of menopause symptoms and withdrawal from the meds at the same time and it’s hell.”

The star also shared a selfie of her giving a thumbs down and she emotionally wrote over the snap: “Not doing so well over here.”

The influencer also revealed that her sleep had been badly affected by her symptoms.

“Going into the menopause is all well and good until it gives you insane insomnia to the point where your Sultrahumanhg ring says your ideal bedtime is 5am!” she wrote.

Gabriella is best known for her fashion and make-up vlogs where she often shows off her huge hauls of goodies.

Over the last 13 years she has built up a huge following and has amassed nearly 600K fans on Instagram, and almost 1M on YouTube.

Gabriella got her first big break in 2014 when she teamed up with YouTuber OG Zoella, for a beauty haul collaboration.

The two then went on to become best friends before a fall out around ten years ago.

Speaking at the time, Gabriella addressed the feud in a lengthy video.

“Sometimes people just grow apart, that’s what happens,” she told fans.

“To be honest I’m quite upset about mine and Zoe’s friendship because we were so close at one point.

“So close. And I classed her as my absolute best friend. Part of the reason we’re not close now is probably my fault.”

The Influencer Insider – Get all the gossip on all your favourite online stars

Want to know more about the influencer who faked cancer? Read all about Brittany Miller and her sham career here.

We have all the inside gossip about Ladbaby mum’s incredible weight loss here.

And talking of weight loss, we know all about what is going on with B&M queen Becki Jones, which you can read up on here.

If health influencers are your thing, then read this on the man behind Tonic Health and his dubious claims here.

The World Health Organization has warned that “black rain” caused by Israeli strikes on Iran’s oil facilities could pose health risks, especially for children. Iranian authorities have advised residents stay indoors as fires and thick smoke worsen air quality.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says children, the elderly at particular risk after damage to Iranian petroleum facilities.

The head of the World Health Organization has warned that recent Israeli attacks on oil facilities in Iran could have negative effects on public health, with Iranian children and the elderly among the most vulnerable.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on Monday that damage to Iranian petroleum facilities “risks contaminating food, water and air”.

Those hazards “can have severe health impacts especially on children, older people, and people with pre existing medical conditions”, Tedros warned in a post on X. “Rain laden with oil has been reported falling in parts of the country.”

The Iranian authorities said oil facilities in the capital, Tehran, and the nearby province of Alborz were targeted on Saturday in the United States-Israeli war against the country, the Fars news agency reported.

Israel said it struck “a number of fuel storage facilities in Tehran” that were used “to operate military infrastructure”.

The strikes sent massive flames and clouds of thick, black smoke into the sky above Tehran, with Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi reporting that black raindrops fell early on Sunday morning.

The attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure came as the US and Israeli governments had vowed to continue to bombard the country despite mounting international concern over the widening conflict.

Iran has retaliated to the US-Israeli strikes by launching missiles and drones at targets across the Middle East, including energy infrastructure in nearby Arab Gulf states.

Human rights groups have condemned both Iran and the US and Israel for targeting civilian infrastructure.

Agnes Callamard, the head of Amnesty International, said on Monday that “Israel should have taken all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize the risks to civilians when targeting oil refineries” in Iran.

“The incidental harm to civilians, including the release of toxic substance, appears to indicate that too little precautions were taken and that the incidental harm to civilians is disproportionate,” she wrote on X.

“The scenes of catastrophe described by Iranians after Tehran’s oil depots were bombed are yet another demonstration that ultimately, whatever they may say, the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran are harming first and foremost civilians, including children.”

Israeli strikes on fuel depots and petroleum logistic sites in Tehran on Sunday saw apocalyptic images coming out of the Iranian capital, as the spilled oil ignited a river of fire, and thick black smoke blanketed the city of 10 million, leaving streets and vehicles covered with soot.

Israel and the United States claimed they were targeting Iranian military and government sites, but government officials and people say civilian structures such as schools, hospitals and major landmarks are increasingly coming under attack. At least 1,255 people have been killed in the strikes since February 28.

What Israeli and US military planners frame as a calculated degradation of state infrastructure is being described by local officials and environmental experts as an act of total warfare, and collective punishment.

Shina Ansari, head of Iran’s Department of Environment, described the systematic destruction of the oil depots as a blatant act of ecocide.

The attacks systematically targeted four major storage facilities and a distribution centre, including the Tehran refinery in the south and depots in Aghdasieh, Shahran, and Karaj. In the Shahran district, witnesses reported unrefined oil leaking directly into the streets as temperatures hovered around 13C (55F).

Ansari from Iran’s Department of Environment stated that the environment remains the silent victim of the war, noting that the incineration of vast fuel reserves has trapped the capital under a suffocating shroud of pollutants.

The medical and environmental fallout is immediate and severe. The Iranian Red Crescent Society warned that the smoke contains high concentrations of toxic hydrocarbons, sulphur, and nitrogen oxides. The organisation noted that any rainfall passing through these plumes becomes highly acidic, posing risks of skin burns and severe lung damage upon contact or inhalation.

Ali Jafarian, Iran’s deputy health minister, told Al Jazeera that this acid rain is already contaminating the soil and water supply. Jafarian added that the toxic air poses a life-threatening risk to the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions, prompting authorities to advise residents to remain indoors.

The destruction has also forced the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum to slash daily fuel rations for civilians from 30 litres [8 gallons] to 20 litres [5 gallons]. At least four employees, including two tanker drivers, were killed in the depot strikes.

The strategic bombing myth

Major General Mamoun Abu Nowar, a retired Jordanian military analyst, told Al Jazeera that the primary objective of the strikes is to break the resilience of the Iranian people and paralyse the country’s logistics and economy.

“They are preparing the Iranian environment for an uprising against the regime,” Abu Nowar said, adding that the broader goal is to halt state operations and curb Tehran’s regional influence.

However, Abu Nowar raised urgent concerns about the specific munitions deployed, urging Iranian authorities to investigate the bomb fragments given the unusual density of the smoke and the resulting acid rain.

Some military strategists argue that striking an adversary’s vital infrastructure can paralyse the state from the inside out, bypassing the need to fight its military forces directly.

Modern warfare has increasingly relied on this strategic bombing via precision drones and missiles to destroy morale and incapacitate an adversary’s ability to wage war. For Israel, which is engaged in a genocidal war in Gaza and wider regional conflicts, targeting oil depots is viewed as a way to send a coercive message while avoiding a ground war.

However, Adel Shadid, a researcher in Israeli affairs, told Al Jazeera Arabic that the strategy is designed to make life hell for ordinary Iranians in hopes of sparking an uprising. Shadid noted a glaring contradiction in the rhetoric of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claims to support the Iranian people while overseeing the destruction of their basic means of survival.

Raphael S Cohen, director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program at the RAND Corporation, notes that such bombing campaigns consistently fail to achieve their primary goal of breaking a population’s will. Instead, Cohen argues, strategic bombing typically produces a rally-around-the-flag effect, unifying societies against a common foe rather than causing them to capitulate.

Historical echoes and retaliation

The reality of targeting oil infrastructure rarely aligns with sterile military theory, as history shows that such tactics reliably produce devastating, long-term environmental consequences.

During the 1991 Gulf War, the torching of Kuwaiti oil wells created a regional environmental catastrophe. Similarly, during the battle against ISIL (ISIS) in Iraq, the burning of the Qayyarah oil fields created a “Daesh Winter” that blocked out the sun for months.

The fires released vast quantities of toxic residues, including sulphur dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, causing severe respiratory illnesses, soil acidification, and long-term carcinogenic risks for the local population.

Meanwhile, Mokhtar Haddad, director of the Al-Wefaq newspaper, told Al Jazeera Arabic that the targeting of energy hubs could trigger a global energy war.

According to Al Jazeera’s Sohaib al-Assa, reporting from Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has already retaliated by striking the Haifa oil refinery and targeting a US base in Kuwait, signalling that the conflict is no longer confined to military targets.

On Monday, Bahrain’s state-run oil company Bapco declared force majeure after waves of Iranian strikes targeted its energy installations. Iran has also been accused of also targeting energy facilities in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a national public health leader by staking out science-backed policies in contrast with the Trump administration.

After Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez for refusing what her lawyers called “the dangerous politicization of science,” Newsom hired her to help modernize California’s public health system. He also gave a job to Debra Houry, the agency’s former chief science and medical officer, who had resigned in protest hours after Monarez’s firing.

Newsom also teamed up with fellow Democratic governors Tina Kotek of Oregon, Bob Ferguson of Washington and Josh Green of Hawaii to form the West Coast Health Alliance, a regional public health agency, whose guidance the governors said would “uphold scientific integrity in public health as Trump destroys” the CDC’s credibility. Newsom argued establishing the independent alliance was vital as Kennedy leads the Trump administration’s rollback of national vaccine recommendations.

More recently, California became the first state to join a global outbreak response network coordinated by the World Health Organization, followed by Illinois and New York. Colorado and Wisconsin signaled they plan to join. They did so after President Trump officially withdrew the United States from the agency on the grounds that it had “strayed from its core mission and has acted contrary to the U.S. interests in protecting the U.S. public on multiple occasions.” Newsom said joining the WHO-led consortium would enable California to respond faster to communicable disease outbreaks and other public health threats.

Although other Democratic governors and public health leaders have openly criticized the federal government, few have been as outspoken as Newsom, who is considering a run for president in 2028 and is in his second and final term as governor. Members of the scientific community have praised his effort to build a public health bulwark against the Trump administration’s slashing of funding and scaling back of vaccine recommendations.

What Newsom is doing “is a great idea,” said Paul Offit, an outspoken critic of Kennedy and a vaccine expert who formerly served on the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee but was removed under Trump in 2025.

“Public health has been turned on its head,” Offit said. “We have an anti-vaccine activist and science denialist as the head of U.S. Health and Human Services. It’s dangerous.”

The White House did not respond to questions about Newsom’s stance and Health and Human Services declined requests to interview Kennedy. Instead, federal health officials criticized Democrats broadly, arguing that blue states are participating in fraud and mismanagement of federal funds in public health programs.

Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily Hilliard said the administration is going after “Democrat-run states that pushed unscientific lockdowns, toddler mask mandates, and draconian vaccine passports during the COVID era.” She said those moves have “completely eroded the American people’s trust in public health agencies.”

Public health guided by science

Since Trump returned to office, Newsom has criticized the president and his administration for engineering policies that he sees as an affront to public health and safety, labeling federal leaders as “extremists” trying to “weaponize the CDC and spread misinformation.” He has excoriated federal officials for erroneously linking vaccines to autism, warning that the administration is endangering the lives of infants and young children in scaling back childhood vaccine recommendations. And he argued that the White House is unleashing “chaos” on America’s public health system in backing out of the WHO.

The governor declined an interview request, but Newsom spokesperson Marissa Saldivar said it’s a priority of the governor “to protect public health and provide communities with guidance rooted in science and evidence, not politics and conspiracies.”

The Trump administration’s moves have triggered financial uncertainty that local officials said has reduced morale within public health departments and left states unprepared for disease outbreaks and prevention efforts. The White House last year proposed cutting Health and Human Services spending by $33 billion, including $3.6 billion from the CDC. Congress largely rejected those cuts last month, although funding for programs focusing on social drivers of health, such as access to food, housing and education, were axed.

The Trump administration announced that it would claw back more than $600 million in public health funds from California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, arguing that the Democratic-led states were funding “woke” initiatives that didn’t reflect White House priorities. Within days, the states sued and a judge temporarily blocked the cut.

“They keep suddenly canceling grants and then it gets overturned in court,” said Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Assn. of California. “A lot of the damage is already done because counties already stopped doing the work.”

Federal funding has accounted for more than half of state and local health department budgets nationwide, with money going toward fighting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, preventing chronic diseases, and boosting public health preparedness and communicable disease response, according to a 2025 analysis by KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Federal funds account for $2.4 billion of California’s $5.3-billion public health budget, making it difficult for Newsom and state lawmakers to backfill potential cuts. That money helps fund state operations and is vital for local health departments.

Funding cuts hurt all

Los Angeles County public health director Barbara Ferrer said if the federal government is allowed to cut that $600 million, the county of nearly 10 million residents would lose an estimated $84 million over the next two years, in addition to other grants for prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Ferrer said the county depends on nearly $1 billion in federal funding annually to track and prevent communicable diseases and combat chronic health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure. Already, the county has announced the closure of seven public health clinics that provided vaccinations and disease testing, largely because of funding losses tied to federal grant cuts.

“It’s an ill-informed strategy,” Ferrer said. “Public health doesn’t care whether your political affiliation is Republican or Democrat. It doesn’t care about your immigration status or sexual orientation. Public health has to be available for everyone.”

A single case of measles requires public health workers to track down 200 potential contacts, Ferrer said.

The U.S. eliminated measles in 2000 but is close to losing that status as a result of vaccine skepticism and misinformation spread by vaccine critics. The U.S. had 2,281 confirmed cases last year, the most since 1991, with 93% in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. This year, the highly contagious disease has been reported at schools, airports and Disneyland.

Public health officials hope the West Coast Health Alliance can help counteract Trump by building trust through evidence-based public health guidance.

“What we’re seeing from the federal government is partisan politics at its worst and retaliation for policy differences, and it puts at extraordinary risk the health and well-being of the American people,” said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Assn., a coalition of public health professionals.

Robust vaccine schedule

Erica Pan, California’s top public health officer and director of the state Department of Public Health, said the West Coast Health Alliance is defending science by recommending a more robust vaccine schedule than the federal government. California is part of a coalition suing the Trump administration over its decision to rescind recommendations for seven childhood vaccines, including for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza and COVID-19.

Pan expressed deep concern about the state of public health, particularly the uptick in measles. “We’re sliding backwards,” Pan said of immunizations.

Sarah Kemble, Hawaii’s state epidemiologist, said Hawaii joined the alliance after hearing from pro-vaccine residents who wanted assurance that they would have access to vaccines.

“We were getting a lot of questions and anxiety from people who did understand science-based recommendations but were wondering, ‘Am I still going to be able to go get my shot?’” Kemble said.

Other states led mostly by Democrats have also formed alliances, with Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and several other East Coast states banding together to create the Northeast Public Health Collaborative.

Hilliard, of Health and Human Services, said that even as Democratic governors establish vaccine advisory coalitions, the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices “remains the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations in this country, and HHS will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and gold standard science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”

Influencing red states

Newsom, for his part, has approved a recurring annual infusion of nearly $300 million to support the state Department of Public Health, as well as the 61 local public health agencies across California, and last year signed a bill authorizing the state to issue its own immunization guidance. It requires health insurers in California to provide patient coverage for vaccinations the state recommends even if the federal government doesn’t.

Jeffrey Singer, a doctor and senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, said decentralization can be beneficial. That’s because local media campaigns that reflect different political ideologies and community priorities may have a better chance of influencing the public.

A KFF analysis found some red states are joining blue states in decoupling their vaccine recommendations from the federal government’s. Singer said some doctors in his home state of Arizona are looking to more liberal California for vaccine recommendations.

“Science is never settled, and there are a lot of areas of this country where there are differences of opinion,” Singer said. “This can help us challenge our assumptions and learn.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.

DOLLY Parton has left fans sobbing with an emotional announcement.

After taking time off due to a health crisis, Dolly, 80, is back and she has returned with a touching announcement.

Looking incredible while sitting in a colorful room, Dolly delivered the news that East Tennessee Children’s Hospital is officially becoming Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital.

In the video, she explained how she believes every child should grow up healthy and with a fair chance.

She then revealed the hospital’s name change before saying, “I can’t do it all myself,” and asking for people to get involved via her website.

Meanwhile, the caption of the video read: “A new chapter begins.

GOLLY DOLLY!

Dolly Parton’s $180m Tennessee real estate portfolio revealed

“East Tennessee Children’s Hospital is proud to share we are becoming Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital.

“Inspired by Dolly’s commitment to children, this transformation represents more than a name change, it’s a promise. A promise to bring hope, healing and world-class care to patients and families across our region.

“Together, we’re building a future where every child has the chance to grow, thrive and feel the comfort of compassionate care.

“The same dedicated team. The same trusted care. Now carrying a name that reflects the heart of our mission. Learn more at DollyChildrens.org.”

Reacting to the announcement, one person penned, “Anyone else sob upon this news? Well deserved honor.”

“Our very own earth angel,” said a second.

“Bless you Dolly! A true angel on earth,” penned a third.

A fourth then demanded, “Dolly for president!”

“Ooooh Dolly, you truly are an angel! I have chills just reading this! Those kids will be wrapped in love,” said a fifth.

While a sixth penned, “The world needs more Dollys! She shouldn’t have to be one in a million.”

And an eighth added, “Dolly your are a great human being and do so much for the community and for the world.”

This comes after Dolly sparked health concerns last fall when she canceled several performances.

At the beginning of fall in 2025, the Tennessee native announced she was forced to postpone her Las Vegas residency after dealing with a number of “health challenges.”

Dolly’s shows were scheduled for six dates in early December at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Tim McGraw subsequently took her place and the rescheduled shows have been set for September 2026.

In her message to fans, Dolly explained that she couldn’t perform due to doctor’s orders and had to undergo “a few procedures.”

She assured fans that she would be back on stage soon, writing, “And don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet.

“He is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you.

“I love you and thank you for understanding.”

“During that time I think that we weren’t playing badly at a club and I wasn’t playing badly but certain people decided to just send abusive messages after pretty much every game and it got to a point where I thought this is not OK,” Cain added.

“It didn’t matter what I did on the pitch and it does affect you at some point.

“You see so much of it you start thinking, are they right? Obviously you know that they’re not but I think it was becoming so much that sometimes you have to speak out.”

Cain believes people can forget that footballers “are actual humans”, with abuse affecting players’ lives away from the pitch as well as family members.

Therefore, Cain says, she will use her platform to try to prevent further abuse.

“I think when you do say something, people start deleting all the negative comments they’ve made and they think that’s OK,” she added.

“But if I can have a tiny, tiny effect on people maybe thinking before they write something, then I’ll absolutely do that.”

“You have to take the good with the bad sometimes and I understand people can get carried away and let their emotions get away from them, but I think [it is good to have] a reminder that it can have a serious effect on people’s mental health.”

The flight attendant’s warning about onboard coffee has left some travellers surprised

Holidaymakers may think twice before ordering a coffee at 35,000ft. That’s because a flight attendant has alleged a little-known airplane rule that’s left travellers horrified.

In a viral TikTok video, crew member @ichbinvin responded to posts asking flight attendants to share their “dirty little secrets of the industry”. He urged passengers to grab a drink before jumping onboard.

Ichbinvin, who works in the US, claims the issue isn’t just the water tanks used for the hot drinks — which he says are “hardly ever cleaned” — but how the leftover coffee is disposed of mid-flight. “For me, it’s always been the way that flight attendants have to clean out coffee pots,” he claimed.

He claimed cabin crew are instructed not to pour leftover coffee down the aircraft sink, but instead to empty it into the toilet. To avoid spills, this can mean holding the pot close to the bowl, raising fears about contamination, the alleged.

“And I imagine that there’s some kind of backsplash of particles, bacteria, whatever that goes directly back into the coffee pot which gets put right back into the coffee maker,” he claimed. “So unless the airline that you’re buying has an espresso maker on the plane, I would not get coffee on the plane.”

Viewers were left disgusted by the warning, with one writing: “The coffee one is making me cry.” Another added: “I know pilots personally that won’t drink the coffee. They know more about the plane than I do so I’m going to trust them,” while someone else simply said: “The coffee one is disgusting.”

While airlines maintain strict hygiene standards, research shows airplane water systems have raised concerns before. A 2019 report by the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center ranked several airlines’ onboard water quality as “medium risk”, based on Environmental Protection Agency data.

Toilet bacteria can include E. coli and norovirus, which the NHS says can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps. According to the NHS, norovirus is highly contagious and spreads easily through contaminated surfaces and droplets.

Public health experts stress that modern aircraft are subject to sanitation regulations, and serious illness from onboard drinks is rare.

NEW YORK — Wellness influencer, author and entrepreneur Dr. Casey Means on Wednesday shared a vision for addressing the root causes of chronic disease instead of feeding into “reactive sick care” during her confirmation hearing to become the nation’s next surgeon general.

“Our nation is angry, exhausted, and hurting from preventable diseases,” the 38-year-old said in Washington before the Senate health committee Wednesday. “If we’re addressing shared root causes, we’re going to be able to stop the whack-a-mole medicine that’s not working for us and that is so costly.”

It’s a message that dovetails closely with that of Means’ ally Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement. It also has some bipartisan support, with a wide swath of both Democrats and Republicans agreeing that the rise in chronic disease is a problem that needs solving.

But Means also faced tough questions from senators about more inflammatory topics, such as vaccines and hormonal birth control, as well as about her qualifications and potential conflicts. The Stanford-educated physician’s disillusionment with traditional medicine drove her to a career in which she has promoted a wide range of products, at times without disclosing how she could benefit financially. She has no government experience, and her license to practice as a physician is not currently active.

“I have very serious questions about the ability of Dr. Means to be the kind of surgeon general this country needs,” Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate health committee, said Wednesday.

Senators grill Means on vaccines, birth control

As the nation’s doctor, the surgeon general is a leader for Americans and health officials on public health issues. If confirmed, Means would be empowered to issue advisories that warn of public health threats. She also would be tasked with promoting Kennedy’s sprawling MAHA agenda, which calls for removing thousands of additives from U.S. foods, rooting out conflicts of interest at federal agencies and promoting healthier foods in school lunches and other nutrition programs.

Surgeons general also have sometimes used the office to advocate on issues related to vaccination — though the office has no role in creating vaccine policy. Though Means has largely steered clear of Kennedy’s debunked views on vaccines, senators from both parties sought clear answers from her on how she would approach the issue if confirmed.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate health committee, asked Means whether she would encourage Americans to vaccinate against flu and measles amid outbreaks across the U.S. She declined to make such a commitment, instead emphasizing the importance of informed consent between patients and their personal physicians.

Cassidy also asked Means whether she believes that vaccines may contribute to autism, a claim that Kennedy has embraced despite overwhelming research to the contrary.

““I do accept that evidence,” she said. “I also think that science is never settled.” She said she looked forward to seeing the results of the federal health department’s effort to study environmental contributors to the disorder.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, asked Means to address past comments on a podcast in which she said birth control pills were being prescribed “like candy” and showed a “disrespect of things that create life.”

Means said she thinks oral contraceptives should be available to all women but raised concerns about what she called “horrifying side effects” that can occur in certain populations.

“Doctors do not have enough time for a thorough informed consent conversation,” she said.

Means isn’t a traditional candidate for the role

Means in her hearing said her goal is to “get more whole, healthy foods on American plates.” It’s a worldview that she got from her own unconventional path in the medical field.

After graduating from medical school at Stanford University with a doctor of medicine degree, Means dropped out of her surgical residency program at Oregon Health and Science University in 2018. She has cited her belief that the health care system was broken and exploitative as the reason for her withdrawal.

Means then turned to alternative approaches to address what she has described as widespread metabolic dysfunction driven largely by poor nutrition and an overabundance of ultraprocessed foods. Because she had completed enough postgraduate training to obtain a medical license, she did so and started her own functional medicine practice in Oregon, which later closed. She co-founded Levels, a nutrition-, sleep- and exercise-tracking app that also can give users insights from blood tests and continuous glucose monitoring.

Financial disclosures show she made hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting health and wellness products, including specialty basil seed supplements, teas and elixirs, probiotic products and a prepared meal delivery service. An Associated Press investigation found that while recommending these products, she at times failed to disclose that she could profit or benefit from the sales.

Senators on Wednesday questioned Means about several specific incidents in which they said she didn’t disclose a financial relationship while promoting a product. She said such claims were incorrect, and that she takes conflicts of interest seriously.

In an ethics filing, Means said that if she is confirmed for the post by the full Senate, she will resign from her position with Levels and forfeit or divest stock options and stock in the company. She also pledged to stop working for Rupa, a specialty lab work company for which she developed an online course. While she may continue receiving royalty payments from her book “Good Energy,” she will not promote it, the filing said.

The filing also noted she will “not acquire any direct financial interest in entities listed on the Food and Drug Administration’s prohibited holdings list.”

At least two previous surgeons general have publicly suggested Means is not fit for the job.

In an op-ed in The Hill last May, former Bush administration surgeon general Dr. Rich Carmona wrote that Means’ professional qualifications “raise significant concerns.” Later that month, President Donald Trump’s first-term surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, wrote on the social platform X that the surgeon general’s traditional leadership of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps requires a medical license.

Means is seeking to join an administration for which her brother, Calley Means, already works. As a senior adviser to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, he has helped promote the Republican administration’s message about the dangers of ultraprocessed foods.

The nomination for Trump’s first pick for surgeon general, former Fox News Channel medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, was withdrawn after she came under criticism from the president’s allies.

Means was nominated to the role last May. Her confirmation hearing was rescheduled from last October, when she went into labor the day she was set to appear.

Swenson writes for the Associated Press.

Call the Midwife sees the comeback of popular characters as the nun’s health continues to spiral following her recent diagnosis.

Call the Midwife is welcoming back one much-loved family, and fans will be ecstatic.

In recent episodes of the BBC One drama, Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) has been rapidly declining in health, leaving her loved ones at Nonnatus House very concerned. On Sunday, 15 February, Doctor Patrick Turner (Stephen McGann) confirmed that the nun’s loss of appetite and exhaustion are the result of a chronic kidney disease.

The GP then devastatingly added, “Unless we can persuade her to accept what treatment there is, she’ll progress to end-stage renal failure fairly quickly”, as he also implied her deterioration has been rapid.

In the past, Sister Monica Joan has made miraculous recoveries from her medical issues, but this time, a subtle comment from her, “Maybe I do not care to go on for a long time”, appeared to seal her fate.

In forthcoming scenes airing during episode eight on Sunday, 8 March, Sister Monica Joan reunites with Bernie Mullocks (Christopher Reilly). The much-loved Mullocks’ family were introduced during series five before returning in series six as part of the ongoing Thalidomide story.

Who are the Mullucks family in Call the Midwife?

In 2016, Rhoda Mullucks (Liz White) gave birth to a daughter, Susan, who was born with birth defects after taking medication prescribed by Doctor Turner. During birth, the nurses immediately realised Susan was born without properly developed arms and legs as the newborn struggled to breathe.

Rhoda and her partner Bernie were left surprised by the developments but dedicated themselves to being the best parents they could.

The show tackled the Thalidomide scandal again in series six, catching up with the Mullucks family 18 months after Susan’s birth, as Dr Turner helped fit her with prosthetic limbs before enrolling in nursery school. Bernie found Susan’s condition hard to comprehend, and even walked out of a meeting as tears filled his eyes.

Over the years, Bernie went from despising his child he once cruelly called a “monster”, to being terrified into over-protectiveness, afraid she would be the object of ridicule.

In 2022, the Mullocks family returned as Rhoda and Bernie welcomed another baby into their beautiful family. Their story continued as the parents’ mental health was also explored.

In an advance glimpse of the Call the Midwife episode, Bernie sits beside his wife, Rhoda, as she lies in a hospital. The couple hold hands as they look dishevelled, though it is unclear why Rhoda was admitted to the hospital.

In another sneak peek, Bernie is seen pushing a frail Sister Monica Joan in a wheelchair through the streets of Poplar, carrying a bouquet of white flowers.

Bernie and Sister Monica Joan also visit a church together, though it is currently unknown what brings the two back together.

The BBC drama has also released a photo of Sister Monica Joan lying in bed, eyes closed, with her hands by her side. Is this the end for the adored sister? Viewers will have to wait and see what lies ahead for Sister Monica Joan.

Call the Midwife airs Sunday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer

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