I've started a new position as an investigative reporter at the @ocregister! The OC Register is part of the @SoCalNewsGroup, so I'll be covering surrounding areas as well.
Please reach out to send me tips, story ideas, friendly hellos, hate mail, recipes, etc!
.@rfobar has a great story for us today on what the hell is going on with animal experimentation under the Trump administration, balancing a lot of threads very well - give it a read!
vox.com/future-perfect/41285…
ALT screenshotted text: "Money and resources are powerful incentives in scientific research; allocate them in the right way, and scientists will be pushed to innovate in whatever direction is deemed important for societal progress. Evolving beyond the pervasive use of animals in science undoubtedly ought to be one of those priorities: Lab animals experience immense suffering in labs, living in intensive confinement and undergoing painful experiments involving blood draws, tube feeding, forced inhalation of substances, and other procedures. Finding alternatives that would end this agony would be one of American science’s most important achievements.
It’s unclear whether a moonshot for alternatives to animal research can emerge from an administration that’s imposing widespread austerity on science. And there may be reason to worry that the Trump administration’s broader anti-regulatory approach could have negative consequences for the welfare of animals that still remain in labs."
CBP personnel are now detaining frankincense and frankincense-based products sourced from Somalia by Asli Maydi. These products are commonly used in essential oils. The withhold release order is in place due to forced labor indicators. Read more: go.dhs.gov/UdP
A huge update from last week: @CBP has banned imports of frankincense supplied by Somaliland company Asli Maydi, which supplied essential oils brand doTERRA for years, over forced labor.
U.S. bans imports from Asli Maydi, the Somaliland company that supplied frankincense oil to essential oils brand doTERRA, over forced labor. A @FullerProject investigation last year exposed exploitation and abuse of women workers.
bit.ly/4htavrC
The ban follows an investigation published last year into the abuse and exploitation of women frankincense sorters working for Asli Maydi in Somaliland. theguardian.com/world/2023/j…
Reporters, a bit of advice on something I learned the hard way: Don’t let anyone tell you something isn’t a story when you know it is.
I’ve fallen into this trap. Years later, I still regret not telling stories I should have.
1/
Here we go! Introducing Wildlife Investigative Reporters & Editors (WIRE), a new journalism nonprofit from me, @rebersole, and @OlliePayneHere to make sure important stories about exploitation of nature and animals continue to be told. wireonline.org/
Women in Somaliland who worked to supply frankincense to the U.S. essential oils company @doTERRA have said an investigation the company conducted into abuses by their local employer has placed them in danger, & that missing wages have still not been paid: bit.ly/3LypXnF
In 2022, I wrote about Envigo, a research beagle center that had racked up dozens of animal welfare violations.
This week, the DOJ announced that Envigo’s parent company will pay $35 million—the largest fine in the history of the Animal Welfare Act.
justice.gov/opa/pr/animal-br…
Soon after I published, the Department of Justice secured the surrender of more than 4,000 beagles, who were later adopted into loving homes around the country.
youtube.com/watch?v=DuaVKiD1…
No story's ever done. The South African police officer leading plant poaching investigations has been arrested for alleged crimes including corruption, something I caught wind of several yrs ago when reporting the story and police denied. THREAD nationalgeographic.com/anima…