Brian Kahn

@blkahn.bsky.social

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Your friendly local Wired science editor

In 2013, the FDA named Taylor Farms as a source of a cyclospora outbreak that sickened hundreds. In 2015, the company voluntarily recalled multiple products containing celery because they may have been contaminated with E. coli. And in 2024, the company recalled certain yellow onions as part of an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. Following the outbreak, CBS News reported that FDA inspectors found dozens of violations at the Colorado Taylor Farms facility linked to the Quarter Pounder outbreak, including minimal handwashing and dirty equipment. Since 2025, the FDA has inspected 18 American plants affiliated with Taylor Farms. Three resulted in “voluntary action indicated,” which means that while violations were found, they weren’t severe enough to warrant mandatory enforcement. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited at least 21 violations in Taylor Farms facilities across the US since the start of 2025. In one particularly gruesome case, the Department of Labor fined a New Jersey facility $1.1 million due to violations. The May 2025 inspection came after an employee died after sustaining injuries cleaning an industrial blancher at the facility.
“We’re the extracted and exploited colony of what is going to be one of the most highly valued entities in the world,” says Justin Pearson, who represents portions of Memphis in the Tennessee House of Representatives. “People are going to die because of this pollution.”
A screenshot of an Energy Department tweet featuring a poster in the style of Love Island. Except it says "coal island" and features a piece of coal wearing aviators that say "mine, baby, mine" on one of the lenses. The coal is sitting ("sitting") inside a heart on a beach
In January, Michigan Republican state Rep. Cam Cavitt posted a 51-second clip to Facebook labeled ​“Solar Farm SECRET.” In the segment, he claimed that farmers in his district couldn’t grow potatoes on land where solar developments were sited. “Frito [Frito-Lay] did the same with the potato growers up by us,” fellow Michigan Republican Rep. Dave Prestin told Cavitt in the clip. ​“Any field that had solar panels installed on it will never be allowed to grow potatoes for human consumption due to the leaching.”
Screenshot of text that reads: I called Rosenbaum and asked for a more detailed description of how he’d used AI to write the book, and whether he disputed Pangram’s results. (BenBella Books, whose imprint published The Future of Truth, did not return requests for comment. Simon & Schuster, which distributes BenBella’s books in the United States, declined to comment.) Rosenbaum would not weigh in on the accuracy of Pangram’s results. In fact, he didn’t want to talk about them at all. “I don’t participate in that conversation,” he said. “It’s like saying, do you beat your wife? It’s one of those accusations that there’s no response to.”
“Sellers typically aren’t going to do anything on that BESO list unless it’s related to being able to get insurance as they’re thinking about aesthetic improvements,” said broker Jen Wolan as she stood in the foyer of the home. “BESO is well-intentioned, but the people it affects the most are the people with the least amount of money.” She noted that potential purchasers of her nearly million-dollar listing would be “one of the more budget buyers in Berkeley” and unlikely to have extra funds to electrify the house. So the sellers are considering spending as much as $9,000 to replace some older wiring to increase the home’s BESO score.
“The natural habitat of the Earth is actually water,” Bessent said during a discussion on Tuesday with Bjorn Lomborg, a Danish political science known for his climate skepticism. “Ice was probably — it’s a very long cycle — but ice was an unusual cycle. We are going through cycles, and I believe that it is very difficult to deconstruct the reasons around why anything changes.” However, the causes of climate change are well-documented. That includes natural variations in the tilt and wobble of the Earth as well as its path around the Sun, which ensure the planet goes through periodic Ice Ages over tens of thousands of years. There’s even a term for it: Milankovitch cycles, which have been known about for more than a century.
The Ralph Wiggum "I'm in danger" meme
A Texas weather station just recorded a temperature hotter than any other previous winter temperature on record in the U.S. The Falcon Dam cooperative weather station, along the Rio Grande River about 70 miles south-southeast of Laredo, reported a high temperature of 106 degrees Thursday.
An animated video of RFK Jr. walking with a penguin in a snowy landscape in the dark with a penguin
An illustration of "Captain Coal." He's a coal miner wearing a mask and cape and a hard hat with "Captain Coal" on it
A line graph showing the top 10 countries by wind capacity through 2024. It shows China has more than triple the installed capacity of the US, the country with the second-highest capacity
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict; Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict; Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children; Peacebuilding Commission; Peacebuilding Fund;
Screenshotted text: Maue did not respond to requests for comment from E&E News. But he wrote on X that he was enlisting artificial intelligence to help with the latest National Climate Assessment. He cited the Gemini 3 Pro program as well as Grok, an AI chatbot developed by xAI, the artificial intelligence company led by tech tycoon Elon Musk. Grok in the past has downplayed the danger of global warming when compared with other AI programs.
A chart of global offshore wind as of 2024. China is far and away the leader followed by the UK and Germany
(Bloomberg) -- Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., the company behind Truth Social, is getting into nuclear fusion. The company said Thursday it will merge with TAE Technologies Inc., a closely held fusion developer founded in 1998, in a transaction valued at more than $6 billion.
A push alert from the Bloomberg Terminal: Brian Kahn, the ex-CEO of Franchise Group, pleaded guilty to defrauding hedge fund investors of about $300 million.
An SPN spokesperson told Businessweek there is a right to privacy for donors: “History has shown how precious that right is. During the Civil Rights era, white supremacists attempted to force the NAACP to disclose their donor lists in an effort to intimidate those who supported the organization.”
Sea ice extent, defined as the total area covered by ice of at least 15% concentration, is one of the most commonly used indicators of long-term Arctic sea ice conditions. The primary source of extent observations is the 46-year record (starting in 1979) derived from satellite-borne passive microwave sensors. This satellite record tracks long-term trends, variability, and seasonal changes from the annual extent maximum in late February or March to the annual extent minimum in September. In recent years, minimum extents are ~50% of the values in the 1980s.
Screenshot of text: These and dozens of other actions taken since Jan. 20 paint a clear picture: The Trump administration is going to war with established climate science. Mass firings, regulatory rollbacks, program closures, and funding cuts across agencies have compromised the nation’s ability to gather and assess data on climate change, reducing the amount of high-quality information that policymakers and business leaders can use to guide their decisions, potentially for years to come.
A screenshot of text that reads: It is unusual for federal border agents to make arrests during the fighting of an active fire, especially in a remote area.
A screenshot of a WEJ headline: Is CO2 Truly a Pollutant? We Break Down the Debate The Trump administration moves to change EPA rules, asserting that carbon dioxide isn't a threat to public health
A tweet from the Energy Department showing a piece of coal and the text "she is the moment." There's a sparkle effect on the coal
Text from ChatGPT assessing the accuracy of the new DOE report's chapter summary on climate change's impact on the US economy. It reads: 📌 Overall Judgment This chapter summary does not accurately reflect the best available climate economics science. It: Relies on outdated interpretations of early IAMs while ignoring modern empirical advances. Downplays strong evidence of climate damages to economic growth, especially in vulnerable countries. Misrepresents the function and credibility of SCC estimates, which are used by governments and endorsed by major institutions. Fails to acknowledge new consensus insights from IPCC AR6 and NCA5 on economic inequality, sectoral damages, and risk amplification. ✅ Accurate Alternatives Would Acknowledge: Climate change is already affecting economic growth in multiple regions. Future damages grow nonlinearly with warming and will be most severe for poor and low-latitude countries. Mitigation delivers net long-term economic benefits. The SCC is an indispensable, though uncertain, policy tool—improved through ensemble modeling, probabilistic frameworks, and transparent assumptions.
Text from the Energy Department report that reads: Elevated concentrations of CO2 directly enhance plant growth, globally contributing to “greening” the planet and increasing agricultural productivity [Section 2.1, Chapter 9]. They also make the oceans less alkaline (lower the pH). That is possibly detrimental to coral reefs, although the recent rebound of the Great Barrier Reef suggests otherwise [Section 2.2].
Text from a DOE report that reads: In summary, some U.S. regions show short-duration increases in extreme precipitation events, consistent with natural variability. But analysis of long term, nationwide historical records that considers the autocorrelation properties of precipitation data does not support the claim that extreme short-duration rainfall events are becoming more frequent or intense.
A screenshot from a DOE report showing two definitions of climate attribution science from old IPCC reports
A screenshot from a new DOE report that reads: Attribution of climate change or extreme weather events to human CO2 emissions is challenged by natural climate variability, data limitations, and inherent model deficiencies [Chapter 8]. Moreover, solar activity's contribution to the late 20th century warming might be underestimated [Section 8.3.1].
Screenshot of text that reads: The MacArthur Foundation announced in March that it plans to increase its giving over the next two years in response to Trump’s attempts to cut budgets, going from 5% of its endowment to 6%. However, the extra cash will be spread across multiple focus areas, says Deborah Philbrick, a senior program officer within climate solutions at the MacArthur Foundation. “It’s not the role of philanthropy to backfill for the government in all cases. It’s a balancing act,” Philbrick says. Some organizations she oversees are reporting funding gaps in the millions, she added. The Kresge Foundation, which provides about $20 million in grants to environmental organizations a year, says it is simplifying its processes to help nonprofits spend “time and energy where it is needed most,” according to a letter President and CEO Rip Rapson sent out to more than 900 grantees on June 3. Kresge anticipates spending more this year to help grantees survive the federal funding pullback, says Rapson, noting nonprofits don’t have the cash reserves needed to get through a year or 18 months. “There’s no way that philanthropy over the next two or three or four years can fill in where the federal government has pulled back,” he says. “A foundation like Kresge is a mid-sized foundation, and yet we could deplete our annual grantmaking easily with just a handful of grants to people who are in vulnerable positions.”
A quote from a story: “In a place like Gaza where there is such an intense humanitarian crisis, people wonder whether it’s right to talk about the environment, but it’s a false dichotomy,” Weir, from the Conflict and Environment Observatory, said. “It’s really clear that so much environmental damage has been caused that it is undermining the basic life support systems that people rely on — whether it’s clean air, water for drinking or land for agriculture.”
A screenshot of a conspiracy tweet from user HustleBitch that reads: HOLY SH*T! TEXAS CLOUD SEEDING CEO FUNDED BY PETER THIEL, CONNECTED TO PALANTIR Meet AUGUSTUS DORICKO, a 25-YEAR-OLD TECH BRO and THIEL FELLOW, who founded the weather modification startup RAINMAKER. According to publicly available info, Doricko’s company was reportedly cloud seeding over parts of Texas just 2 DAYS before historic flooding hit those same regions. He received $100,000 through Peter Thiel’s Fellowship, the same Thiel who co-founded PALANTIR, the surveillance and defense tech giant tracking everything from troop movements to civilian behavior. Let that sink in. Why is a Palantir-connected billionaire funding private weather experiments in Texas? Why is a 25-year-old with no public oversight allowed to modify the sky? They called it “stewarding the natural world.” Texas got biblical flooding instead. This isn’t a theory. It’s documented, privately funded, and totally unregulated. No vote. No consent. No accountability. Just Thiel money, weather manipulation, and a flooded state left asking questions. Sources: celiafarber.substack, Thiel Fellowship, Scientific American
Screenshot of text that reads: "It is all about the economy right now, but no one has any insight as to what will or could happen," said Brad Conger, chief investment officer at Hirtle Callaghan. "There is a big fear of making any big moves, just a sense that in a dark room with a lot of sharp glass on the floor, the best thing to do is stand still and hope the lights come back on."
A pie chart showing share of US imports of solar products in 2024 by country. It shows 29.8% came from Vietnam, 22.9% came from Thailand, 17.6% came from Malaysia, and 7.2% came from Cambodia. Just 22.5% of panels were imported from other parts of the world.
Screenshot of text that reads: The vision for Greenland, one of the people said, could include a hub for artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, space launches, micro nuclear reactors and high-speed rail.
A bar chart showing the share of battery imports to the US by country. China is far and away the biggest source of batteries, with $14 billion imports last year. The totals for the other countries: Japan: $2 billion South Korea: $1 billion Hungary: $891 million Canada: $654 million Poland: $505 million Malaysia: $303 million Germany: $255 million Vietnam: $254 million Taiwan: $231 million
A graph showing quarterly clean manufacturing projects canceled in billions of dollars. The amounts in 2023 and 2024 are all well below $2 billion while Q1 2025 is $7.7 billion
Screenshot of a subject line that says "Vanguard is monitoring the unfolding trade situation"
A screenshot of a tweet from user @d_boeckner that reads: To everyone who's freaking out about the economy right now: you still don't get it. you can use multiple slurp juices on a single ape. So if you have 1 astro ape and 3 slurp juices you can create 3 new apes
A screenshot of text from a Bloomberg article that reads: He was trying to persuade investors that the retailer — which operates the Restoration Hardware chain — was “well-positioned,” when he looked at the company’s share price. “I guess the stock went down based on some of the numbers we reported and then it got killed because of a — oh really, oh sh-t,” Friedman blurted out.
Screenshot of text from a New York Times article that reads: “When home heating is less affordable, more people die each winter,” Seema Jayachandran, an economist at Princeton and one of the authors of the study, wrote on Monday. “That’s what our analysis found for a period when LIHEAP was in place. Without LIHEAP, the effect would presumably much larger.”
A screenshot of text from a Wired article that reads: An email from the CDC’s DEHSP center director states that the division is “slated to be eliminated in its entirety.” The division includes the Asthma and Air Quality Branch, the Climate and Health Activity, the Emerging Environmental Hazards and Health Effects Branch, the Environmental Public Health Tracking Branch, the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch, and the Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch. All of these branches provide key services, and hundreds of employees received RIFs.
Screenshot of text that reads: The U.S. beekeeping industry is in crisis over the shocking and unexplained deaths of hundreds of millions of bees over the last eight months. It's an unfolding disaster for the industry. Blake Shook, one of the nation's top beekeepers, has found tens of thousands of dead insects at his businesses. He said that he's never seen losses like this. "The data is showing us this is the worst bee loss in recorded history," Shook told "CBS Saturday Morning." Researchers are struggling to understand what's causing the deaths. Juliana Rangel, an entomologist at Texas A&M University, has been studying bee hives in her lab. There are a few potential explanations, she said, including changing habitats and weather patterns. But there's no certain answer, she said.
Screenshot of text that reads: This means that, while it is the fourth-biggest national provider of international climate finance, its overall share is low relative to the nation’s wealth and responsibility for climate change. As a result, the US has long been seen as a laggard in this area. The US provides 0.24% of its gross national income (GNI) as aid for developing countries, which includes some climate funding. This is the same share as the Czech Republic, a nation with a per-capita GNI three times smaller.
A black and white historic photo of the 1969 Cuyahoga River Fire shows billowing black smoke coming off a fire in the river amid industrial sites
A vintage photo from the National Archives shows smog hanging over the New York skyline
A bar chart showing climate change mentions in regulatory filings over a 12-month average from 2021 through February 2025. The chart shows a peak in mid-2022 and steady decline since then
A screenshot of a quote from Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, that reads: "“I think we have to stop talking about, ‘Everything we do is climate change,’ because it’s almost like there’s a visceral reaction to those words. This isn’t a good time to put a red flag in front of the bull.”"
A person walking with an umbrella on a trail through the woods
Screenshot of four paragraphs of text that reads: The chief executive of BP Plc oozed confidence as he strode out onto a Houston stage in 2023 to tell an audience of fellow oil executives that he no longer ran an oil company. “I lived in America long enough to know that when you’re getting an electric F-150, the world is going electric,” Bernard Looney, then in his fourth year running the company, told the attendees at CERAWeek by S&P Global, one of the world’s premiere oil conferences. “Our strategy is to transform BP from an international oil company to an integrated energy company.” Two years later, Looney is out of his job and BP has not become the low-carbon, fuels-of-the-future giant it wanted to be. Far from it. The company is now in turmoil after a plunge in its shares made it the target of one of Wall Street’s most aggressive activists. Murray Auchincloss, BP’s current CEO, last week pledged to “fundamentally reset” the company’s strategy, increasing spending on oil and gas nearly 20%, to $10 billion a year. He also slashed investments in clean energy, biofuels and batteries. (Looney was even proved wrong about electric pickup trucks; Ford Motor Co. has lost billions on its marquee EV, far overshooting consumer demand.)
Screenshot of text that reads: Canceling the measurement of economic impacts from climate change, though, doesn’t make those costs — estimated, using researchers’ projections, to be worth nearly $2 trillion for the U.S. economy this decade — go away. Instead, it will likely have the effect of levying them directly onto citizens, who will see their expenses for everything from housing to food rise higher and faster than they otherwise would."
Screenshot of text reading: The Trump administration is exploring legal options to cancel loans issued under a $400 billion program to finance clean-energy technology as it considers overhauling the initiative, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Screenshot of text that reads: These stresses haven’t stopped firefighters from answering the call to deploy at a moment’s notice. Nell Duly was a volunteer firefighter and full-time high school history teacher in rural New South Wales when she got a call one Sunday last year asking if she’d be willing to travel to Alberta, Canada, to battle increasingly out-of-control fires. Within a week, she was on what firefighters jokingly call “mopshot” duty. Working as part of a team of five Australian firefighters, she patrolled areas of forests already burned in search of any lingering embers. Doing so allowed highly specialized members of the Canadian firefighting force to deploy to the frontlines.
Screenshot of text that reads: Even when countries want to work together, simultaneous fires can make that impossible. Last summer was a case in point. “The US was as busy as we were and they really were unable to help us,” Canada’s Connors said. “And also we were unable to help them.”
Screenshot of text that reads: California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has promised to offer survivors a better understanding of their policies. The department is hosting a two-day free workshop in Pasadena City College on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26. Insurance experts will be there to provide one-on-one assistance to the people who lost their homes to the flames, help them file claims and provide information on rebuilding and recovery.
A screenshot of a tweet with a photo. The text reads "No words really - just a horror show. Some of the design choices we made here helped. But we were also very lucky." The image shows a house that survived the Palisades Fire next to a burned out house and blackened trees.
Screenshot of a tweet with an image showing LA viewed from Mount Wilson Observatory on a clear day for miles and miles. The text reads: People love us on Google! “If you find a clear day in or around Pasadena, you gotta go to this place! Omg the views are breathtaking…from the mountains to the beaches you can see all of LA!” We’re grateful for the many visitors who take the time to share their experience!