What's Happening

Politics

Is Project 2025 on Its Way to Washington?

What's going on: President-elect Donald Trump has nominated another contributor to Project 2025 for a role in his administration. On Friday, Trump picked Russell Vought, a key architect of the conservative initiative, to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Trump praised Vought as someone who “knows how to dismantle the Deep State” and will be able to restore fiscal discipline. But critics say Vought’s proposals, including reclassifying federal workers to make them easier to fire, threaten to politicize the civil service. Vought, whose nomination requires Senate confirmation, also has a thinktank that’s been lobbying for recess appointments, which would effectively bypass the confirmation process. 

What it means: During the presidential campaign, Trump said he had nothing to do with Project 2025. But Democrats say he appears to be embracing the initiative through his nominations. Aside from Vought, the president-elect has also tapped other project contributors, including Tom Homan as “border czar,” Stephen Miller as deputy chief of Policy, Brendan Carr as the Federal Communications Commission chair, and John Ratcliffe as CIA director. Some of the nominees have authored chapters in Project 2025, which reveals plans to consolidate executive power, limit asylum claims, and eliminate the Department of Education, among other things. Critics warn these moves could undermine democratic norms, while supporters argue they are necessary to dismantle entrenched bureaucracy and advance Trump’s “America First” vision.

Related: Matt Gaetz Is Now on...Cameo, Charging Hundreds for a Video (The Guardian)

Health

The Raw Milk Movement Is Making Big Mooves… 

What's going on: They say there’s no use crying over spilled milk —raw milk, however, is another story. And, actually, plenty of people are making noise over it right now, as a cultural war about health, government, and food safety comes to a boiling point. Raw milk is milk that hasn’t been pasteurized, aka heated to kill viruses and bacteria. Wellness influencers like Ballerina Farm’s Hannah Neeleman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and the new Health and Human Services Secretary nominee RFK Jr. are all fans of the stuff, claiming the extra bacteria has gut health benefits. Since March, raw milk sales have already risen nationwide. But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and most health experts say pasteurization is key to ensuring milk safety and preventing everything from listeria to E. coli, and even potentially H1N1 or bird flu.

What it means: Raw milk has made an udderly hazardous mark on history (see: the swill milk scandal and tuberculosis outbreaks in the early 1900s). FDA data shows that unpasteurized milk was to blame for almost a quarter of food and waterborne illnesses before pasteurization became a mainstream practice. That said, there are considerably fewer raw milk-related illnesses today, as any advocate of raw milk will be eager to tell you. It’s not an issue without nuance — many people choose to drink raw milk and are fine, even though most health experts agree pasteurization is safer. One expert emphasized the necessity for milk pasteurization this way: “The mammary gland is outside the cow, and it sits down in the manure and in the mud…It’s almost like [saying] a doctor shouldn’t wash their hands before they go into an operating room.”

Related: Meanwhile, in Florida: A Health Official Advises Against Adding Fluoride to Drinking Water (NPR)

Economy

High Grocery Prices Are One Tough Egg To Crack 

What's going on: We have good news (if you have the egg ick), and bad news (for everyone else): egg prices are likely to get even higher. This is largely thanks to the spike in H1N1 (aka bird flu) cases and holiday season demand, CNN reports. As of this month, the average cost for a dozen wholesale, large, white eggs in New York is $4.23, per the USDA — compared to $2.43 this time last year. Since January 2022, the avian flu has killed 75 million egg-laying birds and impacted 8% of the national egg supply, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

What it means: Some supermarkets are trying to absorb rising egg prices to keep from losing customers. However, it’s a tricky balance between staying competitive and losing profits (without getting egg on their faces in the meantime). Meanwhile, some experts warn the rising cost could soon trickle down to store-bought shelf products made with eggs, according to CNN. Pretty much everyone, from customers to grocery chains, agree: This situation is far from egg-cellent.

Related: Is This Year’s Thanksgiving Dinner Really More Affordable? (NBC)