Kenya confirms first Ebola case as virus 'surges' in DR Congo province Health minister says 28 contacts identified after death of citizen who arrived from DRC on SaturdayKenya has reported its first-ever Ebola death, the health minister announced on Tuesday, as the disease continues to spread rapidly through the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the outbreak was announced in May.This is the 17th outbreak of the highly infectious, often deadly disease in the DRC. As of 2 October, 4,082 people had died out of 8,463 confirmed cases in the country since the emergence of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is still no vaccine nor specific treatment. Continue reading...
Tigray rebel groups 'forcibly recruiting boys as young as 15' as fighting spreads Civilians try to flee as men and boys rounded up on streets by new alliance as Ethiopia conflict erupts againAs renewed fighting has threatened a fresh humanitarian crisis in the northern region of Ethiopia, reports are emerging that a new alliance of armed groups in Tigray has been forcibly recruiting men and boys to its ranks.Renewed conflict erupted on 23 September between Ethiopia's federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which rules the region, shattering the fragile Pretoria peace agreement signed between the two sides in November 2022. Continue reading...
Guardian readers fund life-changing surgery for Somali boy injured in US airstrike After Guardian investigation uncovered drone strike that killed 12 civilians and injured many more, seven-year-old Abdiqadir Salah underwent vital operation in MogadishuOn the rickshaw ride to the hospital, Marian Haji Abdi Guled felt a mixture of joy and apprehension: the day they had been waiting for had finally arrived.Almost a year earlier, her then seven-year-old son, Abdiqadir Salah, had been seriously injured, alongside his two siblings, in what a Guardian investigation found was a US drone strike on the village of Jamaame in Somalia that killed at least 12 civilians, including eight children. Continue reading...
Skull fractures suggest servants of Egypt's ancient kings were sacrificed Study of remains taken from royal cemetery at Umm el-Qa'ab appears to confirm early Egyptologist's theoryCourt officials and craftspeople serving early Egyptian kings may have been sacrificed when their ruler died, according to research that found fractures in several ancient skulls.The royal cemetery of Umm el-Qa'ab near Abydos features the tombs and enclosures of the First Dynasty rulers of Egypt, and dates as far back as 3,000BC. Continue reading...
Egyptian journalist faces terrorism charges after entire newsroom detained Calls for release of six Matsadaash staff after one is charged, while whereabouts of other five remain unknownAn Egyptian journalist has been charged with joining a terrorist group, days after an entire newsroom was detained in what rights groups have said is a crackdown on press freedoms.Last week, authorities arrested six journalists from the independent fact-checking and investigative platform Matsadaash - literally meaning "don't believe" - accusing them in a statement of being unlicensed and publishing false news on behalf of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Continue reading...
US man arrested as second suspect in Canada mass school shooting planned with ChatGPT Justice department detained James Codey Bryant and allege he offered 'technical advice' to primary suspectA surprise suspected accomplice has been arrested in connection with a mass school shooting in Canada that was made notorious after an 18-year-old allegedly killed six children after discussing it with the AI chatbot ChatGPT.The US Department of Justice said Tuesday it had detained James Codey Bryant, 30, a resident of western Washington state, on a charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. Continue reading...
Christa Pike awake and speaking after failed Tennessee execution, attorneys say Christa Pike awake and speaking after failed Tennessee execution, attorneys sayChrista Pike, a Tennessee inmate who survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her, is awake and speaking as she receives treatment at a hospital, her attorneys said Tuesday. Pike's attorneys said her prognosis is still unclear and said she faces "a long recovery." "Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care," attorneys for Pike said in a statement. "Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented." Her attorneys said they are grateful for the first responders and the medical team at the hospital "who treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her." The statement was the first indication that Pike has improved since an ambulance carried her away from a Nashville prison last Wednesday. Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital as they attempted to put her to death for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. The lethal injection drug didn't kill her, but her lawyers said her arms were left burned and blistered. As recently as Sunday, her attorneys said Pike had remained unconscious and on a ventilator since the failed execution attempt. Dr. Joel Zivot, a professor of anesthesiology and surgery in Atlanta who consulted as an expert for Pike's legal team, said the development "bodes well for a good recovery." But, he added, it could be weeks or months before anyone knows exactly what her recovery might look like, and whether her competency could be restored to a level that might enable the state to try again to execute her. "She's still in the ICU," he said. "She has recovered to a certain degree that she's able to be off a ventilator and able to speak, but in no way would I announce her free of further serious risk. There's still a lot of bad things that can happen here, even when everyone is doing their job well." A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Correction said she could provide no information other than that Pike remained hospitalized Tuesday. Pike's attorneys are set to go to court Wednesday as they seek to learn more about what happened in the failed lethal injection. The attorneys are seeking a court order requiring the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence, including drug lot numbers, records and other information from the Sept. 30 attempted execution. Chancery Court Judge I'Ashea Myles scheduled a Wednesday morning status conference in the case. Pike's attorneys said in their Tuesday statement that they continue to ask outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute Pike's sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. "Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time," her attorneys said. Lee halted further executions following Pike's hospitalization and ordered a "comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred." U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the state's Republican candidate to replace him, called on the state to explore other methods of execution to ensure it can continue carrying out capital punishment. Some legal experts have questioned whether the state would be able to try to execute Pike again. In addition to questions about competency - whether she can understand why she would be put to death - Pike has strong arguments that it would be cruel and unusual to try again, and that it would violate the prohibition on double jeopardy, trying or punishing someone twice for the same offense, said Deborah Denno, a Fordham Law professor who has studied execution methods for 36 years. "She has satisfied this very, very high standard for cruel and unusual punishment," Denno said. "She also has a very good double-jeopardy argument. They carried out every aspect of the execution. She didn't die, but every process they intended, they did it." Seattle University Law Professor Michael Russo, who handled capital cases as a public defender in Los Angeles, called the failed execution horrible, but said he doubted whether the Supreme Court would stop the state from trying again on double-jeopardy grounds, should it decide to do so. "There's nobody else in the history of the death penalty in this country who has gone through what she's been through," Russo said. But, he added, "I think what this Supreme Court would say is, her sentence was to die - to be executed - not to suffer an attempt at execution." ___ Associated Press reporter Gene Johnson contributed from Seattle.This article originally appeared on Associated Press at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/christa-pike-conscious-speaking-hospital-205022410.html
FBI whistleblower says White House pushed unconstitutional probe of protesters FBI whistleblower says White House pushed unconstitutional probe of protestersWASHINGTON - The Trump administration pushed the FBI to investigate Los Angeles protesters in violation of their constitutional rights and the bureau's policies, a former FBI supervisor alleges in a new whistleblower complaint. Jill Fields, a former supervisory intelligence analyst in the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, made a formal whistleblower complaint to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders over the federal response to anti-ICE protest activity around federal buildings, as well as in a residential area, early last year. Fields asked Congress and the Justice Department's watchdog to investigate the allegations, her attorneys said in a letter to lawmakers. She says they violated the First Amendment right to free speech and to peaceably assemble. Fields says Emil Bove, then the acting deputy attorney general, told the head of the field office to open an investigation into activities outside the federal building even though, she says, the activities were protected free speech. Separately, she says the White House gave a directive to FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate a group of protesters using megaphones during immigration enforcement operations after FBI agents had conducted a check into the conduct and declined to open an investigation.President Donald Trump had viewed a video of people using megaphones to alert residents about immigration activities, advise them of their legal rights and encourage them not to open their doors unless immigration enforcement agents had signed judicial warrants, according to the letter. A personwhose name is redacted in the complaint told Fields that an investigation would be opened because "the President wants this investigation," Fields' whistleblower complaint says.The protests were staged across Los Angeles after the Trump administration launched an immigration enforcement operation. Fields said the FBI's Los Angeles office had pulled agents off active cartel cases to satisfy what a supervisor described as "optics" designed to "make a show for the president." The area would be the scene of major protests later in the year during an immigration surge in cities nationwide. A Justice Department spokesperson called the whistleblower complaint politically-motivated and said that violence is not protected by the First Amendment, though the complaint focused on non-violent protests. "Under President Trump, the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously uphold the First Amendment rights of all Americans and restore the rule of law," the spokesperson said. "The DOJ and FBI have a responsibility to investigate any potential violations of federal law, and conspiracies to impede federal law enforcement and assaults on federal officers are against the law."The FBI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Justice Department officials have previously said government workers need to follow the Trump administration's priorities. Last week, Justice Department leaders filed an administrative complaint about federal judges who made remarks to the media about the impact the surge in immigration enforcement had on their courtrooms.Fields says supervisors were told not to put things in writing, so many of the directives came in face-to-face meetings. She says she didn't know whether any formal investigation was opened because she was excluded once she refused to participate. Fields consulted with a senior FBI official in charge of privacy and civil liberties matters, who expressed dismay about the investigation and subsequently told Fields she planned to resign, according to the complaint.Fields, too, resigned from the bureau, after she was informed that she would be removed from heading three programs, a decision she believes constituted retaliation for making protected internal disclosures. The FBI's actions, according to the letter, "created a chilling effect within the workforce" and "signaled to other employees that raising constitutional or legal concerns could carry professional consequences."The conduct "had significant consequences for constitutional rights, and the integrity and effective operation of the FBI," according to the complaint. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via Getty)Hundreds of FBI agents and Justice Department attorneys have resigned or been fired since Trump returned to office, particularly those who were involved in investigating him, and former Justice Department employees have expressed concerns that the nation's top law enforcement agency is doing the bidding of the president. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., told NBC News that Fields' disclosure is another instance of Trump's weaponizing the Justice Department to go after his perceived political enemies. Padilla, who himself was forcibly removed from a news conference featuring then-Homeland Security Kristi Noem in June 2025, is the ranking member of the Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship and border safety."How many more of these investigations have been opened up because of political pressure coming from the White House, despite the questions and concerns about legality and constitutionality?" Padilla said.He acknowledged that the Trump administration's attacks on civil service protections through unilateral firings, as well as the mass firings of internal government watchdogs, had an impact on the legislative branch's ability to conduct oversight."That's going to be a significant challenge, but it begins with good, honorable professionals being willing to come forward and tell us what's going on and what's wrong with what's going on," Padilla said. "We're hoping others may be inspired, as well."In a letter Padilla sent to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Patel, Padilla wrote that the allegations in the Fields disclosure "raise grave concerns about the rule of law under your leadership, the diversion of resources from ongoing criminal investigations, and the testimony that you provided under oath to Congress." The senator asked for officials to preserve information about the investigation and send any details to his office.Fields was represented by the nonprofit Government Accountability Project and David Laufman, a former top official in the Justice Department's National Security Section.This article was originally published on NBCNews.comThis article originally appeared on NBC News at https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-whistleblower-says-white-house-pushed-unconstitutional-probe-prote-rcna601599
Supporters have launched an online campaign in recent weeks aimed at protecting the identity of a woman, identified as "Jane Doe," who alleges in a civil lawsuit that she was drugged and raped by multiple members of a Cornell University fraternity in 2024.
Jane Doe's lawyer says that the ex-Cornell student has received "multiple threats" in recent days aimed at exposing her real identity.
"There are people out there trying to track her down," Thomas Giuffra, who represents Jane Doe, told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. "They said, 'We're gonna shut you up. You're gonna still get hurt by us. You're gonna pull this lawsuit out or we're gonna do something to hurt you even more.'
"The threats, the abuse to protect what's going on, the status quo - these guys are disgusting," Giuffra added.
Among those trying to identify Jane Doe is political commentator Michael Tracey, who publicly asked anyone with information about her identity to contact him and said he would publish her name and identifying details.
The possibility that Jane Doe's true identity might be revealed mobilized many social media users to post "I am Jane Doe" in an effort to protect the identity of the former Cornell University student. Hundreds of Cornell students participated in a rally about the rape case on Oct. 5 in Ithaca.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The goal of the movement is to show solidarity with Jane Doe and to make online searches for the woman's identity less useful by returning a mix of conflicting "Jane Doe" identities.
Some TikTok users have been sharing their own experiences with sexual assault and overlaying "I am Jane Doe" text over the video. In a Reddit thread, some users are taking it a step further by deliberately using false identities, including fictional characters or celebrities.
"Jane Doe's name? Nunya. Nunya Business," one user commented.
"Of course I know the identity of Jane Doe, the plaintiff against Cornell and the Cornell 7. Jane Doe is Robert California," another user wrote, referring to the fictional character from The Office.
According to Chirag Shah, a professor at the University of Washington's Information School, the tactic has a name.
"Typically, this is a form of information poisoning," Shah told Yahoo. "People do it for different intents to confuse people, to slow them down or to divert them to other things."
Shah said this strategy is commonly associated with misinformation campaigns, online scams and efforts to manipulate search results. He said this recent strategy stands out because many participants appear to be motivated to protect the plaintiff's identity.
"If the intent here is to protect Jane Doe, which, on the social side of it, is very admirable, on the technical side of it, it's not really possible," Shah said. "But what it ends up doing is creating friction."
He explained that while the friction might discourage casual internet sleuths, it's unlikely to conceal someone's identity from those determined to uncover it.
"Most people don't have the time, motivation or skills to really investigate," Shah said. "But somebody who really wants to do this, they can cut through this noise."An attendee wears a name tag reading "Jane Doe" during an Oct. 5 protest in Ithaca.
Adrian Kraus/AP
The online movement has sparked discussion about whether flooding the internet with false identities could confuse search engines and AI chatbots. Shah said modern systems are designed to combat attempts by bad actors to spread false information.
"Because this is not a new phenomenon, the existing search engines, including the chatbots, are designed to counteract a lot of these things," Shah said. "Even if it works, it would only work temporarily."
Search engines also increasingly weigh the credibility and reliability of sources rather than simply counting mentions of a claim, he explained. A surge of coordinated posts might temporarily influence results, but Shah said those systems are built to recognize unusual spikes and eventually correct for them.
Volume can still matter in specific ways, he added.
If "I am Jane Doe" posts are associated with one celebrity's name, it will generate more volume and receive more attention, but it could easily be discredited if the celebrity clearly is not the former Cornell student.
"If the intent is to leave people confused, you're better off giving all kinds of [names]," Shah said, comparing it to the "Two Truths and a Lie" game. "If you tell a million lies and one is true, it's much harder to find, and people then just give up.
"So that strategy often works."
Shah said the campaign itself is fascinating to him because it flips a tactic usually used by bad actors into one being used by people who believe they are protecting someone vulnerable.
"All these times I have talked about misinformation and disinformation campaigns, this is the first time it's sort of on this side," Shah said. "If I were ever to look for a good case of a misinformation campaign," he added, "this would be it."
This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/how-fake-online-jane-doe-identities-became-a-tactic-to-protect-the-plaintiff-in-the-cornell-rape-case-173653121.html
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday evening temporarily allowing the use of red-dyed diesel on public roads and deferring the federal excise tax on that fuel through the end of the year, a move aimed at lowering costs for truckers and farmers facing record-high diesel prices.Red-dyed diesel is chemically the same product as standard highway diesel, but carries a red dye to mark it as off-road fuel - meaning it is not subject to the 24.4-cent-per-gallon federal excise tax that applies to diesel sold at the pump for road use, such as for tractors and heavy machinery. Using it in highway vehicles has been illegal, carrying penalties for tax evasion, according to CNBC.According to the White House, the order instructs the Treasury Secretary to hold off on collecting federal excise taxes on highway use of dyed diesel between October 5 and December 31, 2026, and to do so without charging interest or imposing penalties. The Treasury is also directed to direct the Internal Revenue Service not to impose penalties for on-road use of dyed diesel during that period. The order further instructs officials to explore pathways, including legislation, to eliminate the deferred tax obligations entirely.The White House projected that a trucker who tops off an 18-wheeler's tank with 250 gallons stands to save over $100 on a single fill-up, provided the trucker's state suspends its own diesel tax as well. On top of the federal levy, each state levies its own diesel excise tax, and those state-level taxes average out to 35.5 cents per gallon, according to CNN.The order also directs the Secretary of Agriculture to coordinate with agricultural cooperatives and rural fuel distributors to ensure adequate dyed diesel distribution in high-demand areas, and the Secretary of Transportation to engage with state governments and industry stakeholders. The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs was directed to encourage states to adopt corresponding policies.Diesel prices surged from $3.76 a gallon before the Iran war to a record national average of $6.53 a gallon on September 22, according to AAA data. As of Tuesday, the national average stood at $6.32 a gallon. Behind the price surge are several converging pressures: supply dislocations tied to the Iran conflict, Ukraine's drone campaign against Russian oil refineries - which led the Kremlin to curtail diesel exports - and a worldwide deficit in refining output.Trump announced the order at a rally in Nebraska on Monday evening. "We're not going to need it long, I hope, we're not going to need it long because your prices are plummeting and they're going to really be plummeting," Trump said, according to CNN.Several states had already moved in this direction before the federal order. In the roughly ten days before the federal order, a total of ten states - among them Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Alabama - had already moved to open up access to dyed diesel for drivers on public roads, according to CNN, which cited a count from research firm ClearView Energy Partners.The diesel crisis had drawn pressure on the administration from Capitol Hill. Earlier, as Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley called for an embargo on U.S. diesel exports, arguing that record fuel prices were devastating farmers and truckers, Trump instead pursued the international route: last week, the Group of Seven nations agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of emergency oil and diesel stocks following sustained U.S. pressure on European allies.
This article originally appeared on Quartz at https://qz.com/trump-executive-order-red-dyed-diesel-tax-free-highway-100626
President Donald Trump said Monday night that he will no longer use taxpayer funds to pay for a multimillion-dollar pro-Trump ad blitz ahead of the midterm elections, saying his super PAC will now pay for them. But he appears to have no plans to reimburse the federal government for funds already used on the ads, a White House official said Tuesday."The President's [social media post] was not referring to reimbursement," the official told ABC News.While Trump dismissed criticism of the ads as "a rather standard thing to do," he posted Monday that he had decided to pay for them on his own dime."I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc," Trump wrote, referring to his super PAC.Eric Lee/Reuters - PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks with media before boarding Marine One as he travels to Grand Island, Nebraska, on the South Lawn of the White House, Oct. 5, 2026.The move came after the U.S. government bankrolled a series of ads that aired nationally and heavily featured the president. One of the ads was a direct copy of a spot Trump's campaign ran in 2024.A White House official confirmed to ABC News Monday night that MAGA Inc. will pay for ads moving forward but defended them as something previous administrations have used."Presidential Public service announcements are nothing new. Administrations of both parties have used public service announcements to explain policy and make the case for the nation's direction," the official said.Trump defends spending millions on taxpayer-funded promotional ads: 'For the country'Earlier Monday, Vice President JD Vance defended using taxpayer money to run the ads, claiming they are "public service announcements.""They're not partisan. They're not -- you know, it's not like we're advocating for a particular candidate. We're trying to tell a story, I think, about how great the United States of America is," Vance said.Trump defended the ads last week at an event in the Oval Office, saying they were "for the spirit of our country" and not a political endorsement for Republican candidates on the ballot this November or for his administration's policies."You have to understand; I'm not promoting a candidate. I'm not promoting myself because I'm not running for office. I'm promoting the country," Trump said. "Now, if somebody said that that's wrong, I'll gladly pay the money. But these are ads for the country," he said.U.S. Government - PHOTO: A fourth taxpayer-funded ad that promotes President Donald Trump's policies ahead of the midterm elections shows scenes of Trump and the U.S. military amid the war in Iran as audio of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the president play over them.Trump has implored Republican voters to "pretend" that he is on the ballot in the November midterm elections to boost voter turnout for GOP congressional candidates.The federal government has spent at least $2.5 million to air the TV ads, according to an estimate from AdImpact, an advertising agency that analyzes ad spending across television.A total of $20 million from the Department of Homeland Security's budget had been allocated for the effort.Ethics watchdogs and several Congressional Democrats -- as well as some Republicans -- have said the ads are inappropriate. Some critics have said the ads could violate federal propaganda law.Four ads have been aired over the last two weeks. One features Trump in monochrome, slowly walking down a hallway, describing "the final battle" against "the deep state," "the globalists," and "the sick political class that hates our country."U.S. government video - PHOTO: The Trump administration appeared to run an ad on Fox News that has drawn criticism from Democrats as violating federal rules preventing the use of tax dollars for political purposes.Another ad includes a montage of clips and images of Trump at events and rallies featuring onscreen text about the "largest tax cuts in history."The latest ad, released last week, focuses on the U.S. war with Iran, now in its eighth month. Audio of Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plays in the background as U.S. military footage, including unclassified strikes, is displayed.The video in the ad appears to be the same as one played during the Republican midterm convention last month. And it played last Wednesday before Hegseth addressed 600 service members in his State of the Force speech at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia.
This article originally appeared on ABC News at https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-super-pac-pay-controversial-promotional-ad-campaign/story?id=137019187
Russia stonewalls U.S. as Trump administration weighs risks from mysterious lab death Russia stonewalls U.S. as Trump administration weighs risks from mysterious lab deathSecretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference at the House of Collections in Reykjavik, Iceland, on October 6, 2026. - Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Trump administration is struggling to get clear answers about the death of a Russian laboratory worker at an institute dedicated to studying the plague, amid days of stonewalling from Russian officials about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the episode.The death of the technician at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia immediately raised alarms throughout the administration, prompting a race to compile intel and plot for a potential public health response, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.But Russia's reluctance to share information about the incident has complicated those efforts, leaving officials uncertain what broader risks it could pose - and how exactly to defend the US against them."It's incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. "Maybe it's bigger than we thought. We don't know, but I think it would be reckless at this moment, given the limited information we still have, to speculate."US officials were in touch with the Russian government as early as last Friday, a State Department official said, including contact between the department's health experts and the Russian Foreign Ministry. And that outreach has continued, an administration official said, as Rubio expressed hope Tuesday that the limited information sharing "will change in the next few hours and days."President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House Tuesday afternoon that he had "call scheduled" to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the issue "very soon." He added US agencies would have more information to report "probably tomorrow."But the US has gotten limited cooperation so far. What little information has come out of Russia has faced deep skepticism, with officials unconvinced that the Kremlin is being fully forthcoming, according to people familiar with the situation.Still, until the administration knows more through intelligence collection and diplomatic outreach, officials are not taking steps such as putting travel restrictions into place to prevent any potential spread, according to a US official. The US already advises against travel to Russia due to various factors, including the possibility of wrongful detention and the war with Ukraine.Among the critical questions still outstanding: whether the 28-year-old lab worker who died last week contracted pneumonic plague - a severe but treatable infection - or another, unknown infectious disease. Staff at the Anti-Plague Institute study a range of other dangerous diseases, including cholera, anthrax and brucellosis, according to the institute's website.US officials have also sought details on whether the disease was modified in any way, a process called gain of function that could dramatically alter the way the US and other countries might respond.Rubio and other Trump officials have publicly downplayed the immediate threat to Americans, emphasizing that the administration is closely monitoring the situation and that pneumonic plague is treatable with antibiotics.But behind the scenes, there is deep unease within the administration over the continued lack of insight, the people familiar with the situation said. Compounding those concerns is the Russian government's outsized response, including quarantining the hospital where the lab worker was treated, according to the mayor of the Shelekhovsky district. Nearly 200 people are under observation, a regional news outlet reported.The entrance to the grounds of the anti-plague institute in the city of Irkutsk, Russia, on October 6, 2026. - AFP/Getty Images"We don't know a lot right now about what actually happened," said one US official. "But one thing most of us feel certain about: The Russians are going to act like the Chinese did with Covid. They won't be forthcoming."Still, Trump on Monday characterized the situation as a "big problem" for Russia, suggesting that the US might need to provide some unspecified level of aid.In a statement, a State Department spokesperson said that several federal agencies were "closely monitoring the fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague," but that many of the details surrounding it remained unconfirmed. They reiterated that Americans have long been advised not to travel to Russia for any reason."We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly," the spokesperson said.In the days since the lab worker's death, the National Security Council and State Department officials have led the administration's push to gather information, piece together what happened and evaluate the potential risks, officials and others familiar with the situation said. Federal health agencies, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, have also been involved in the cross-government effort.A source familiar with the outreach said Trump officials have also backchanneled with the World Health Organization - the international health body that Trump pulled funding from soon after taking office, but that the government has continued to communicate with in emergency situations.WHO said Monday that it was in contact with Russian authorities to verify details about the lab worker's death, though it has so far also received little information."If they're not transparent, if they're not open to independent accountability, how is it possible to trust the Kremlin is telling us the full and accurate information?" said Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Georgetown University who has worked closely with WHO. "Clearly, on its face, the lab was conducting extremely high-risk research and using shoddy biosafety measures."The Anti-Plague Institute's relatively remote location in eastern Russia, combined with the pneumonic plague's limited ability to quickly spread, has given health experts some comfort that any immediate threat can be contained.Pneumonic plague is a bacterial infection, unlike the highly transmissible coronavirus strain that sparked the 2020 pandemic. And while the plague is fatal if untreated, there are now effective and widely available antibiotics to treat it.While there is little indication that the incident will touch off another global health crisis, officials and outside experts said it has nevertheless reinforced how difficult it can be to monitor and prepare for potential biological threats.The CDC may have the medical stockpile necessary to combat conventional pneumonic plague, those officials and experts said. But there's little certainty whether it could do the same against a modified version - or how long it would take to develop a treatment if needed.Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiology professor and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health, said the episode also comes as health response capabilities both in the US and globally have been diminished by funding cuts and the strain of responding to other crises. WHO has proposed slashing its budget following a $600 million shortfall triggered by the US' exit.America's ability to handle a new public health response, meanwhile, "is severely diminished" amid its efforts to combat measles outbreaks, she said."We are talking about a very depleted system. God forbid you layer another pathogen onto the already laborious and difficult work of going after measles," said Nuzzo. "That would be a nightmare."For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/06/politics/russia-plague-death-trump
