By Grey Moran for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Alex Gonzalez for Arizona News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

As avian flu enters an even more virulent phase, federal funding for animal disease outbreak research has been caught in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration - one of many initiatives targeted by the ongoing, sweeping review of federal government spending. This coincides with a muzzling of the Centers of Disease Control and U.S. Department of Agriculture's public communications on avian flu.

The research in question, the Animal Health and Disease Research (AHDR) Capacity Program, is funded by the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), a federal research and grantmaking body. "All NIFA Requests for Applications are currently under review," wrote Faith Peppers, the communications director for NIFA and liaison for multiple multistate research projects looking at aspects of avian flu, in a February 12th email to Sentient.

The NIFA program supporting avian flu and other animal disease research at universities and veterinary colleges was included on this spreadsheet, reported by the New York Times last month, that lists about 2,600 federal assistance programs under review.

For other science agencies, the review process has reportedly involved scouring federal assistance programs for a lengthy list of key words relating to diversity and equity, among other topics, to comply with the Trump Administration's executive orders.

"So they're going through [to] see which of those grants that are right now funded fall under this word classification," Channapatna Prakash, who previously served as the panel manager for the USDA's biotechnology risk assessment grant program, tells Sentient. "And I think they are going to sunset those grants." While it's not clear what this particular review process will look like, he assumes it is similar.

In recent years, the program's multi-state research funding has supported a wide range of scientific insights and innovations into the spread and prevention of avian flu, including research into "how avian influenza spreads from wild birds to poultry flocks," and the role of mallard ducks and contaminated water sources in spreading the virus.

The funding has also supported research into the "new vaccines and regimens to provide better protection against a broader range of avian influenza variants," and the development of tools and automated systems to better detect and surveil the virus and health of animals, according to the USDA's long list of the program's many avian flu research highlights.

For now, the program - which includes ongoing, collaborative research across land grant universities into avian flu - has not had funding frozen, Richard Rhodes III, the executive director of a coalition of agricultural experiment stations participating in the multi-state research projects in the northeast, told Sentient in a February 13th email.

However, the future of new projects under this program remains uncertain as application requests are being evaluated to comply with executive orders. Peppers didn't respond to a request to clarify whether this review also included any freeze on government spending, or questions about what the review entails and when it will conclude. Another U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson responded with the following statement, which appears to have also been sent to other journalism outlets:

"The Trump Administration rightfully has asked for a comprehensive review of all contracts, work, and personnel across all federal agencies. Anything that violates the President's Executive Orders will be subject for review. The Department of Agriculture will be happy to provide a response to interested parties once Brooke Rollins is confirmed and has the opportunity to analyze these reviews."

While the president has the authority to review federal contracts and funding arraignments, a freeze on funding while this is being carried out would be illegal, according to Adam Winkler, a lawyer specializing in constitutional law and a professor at the UCLA School of Law. "The president doesn't have authority to simply unilaterally cut off all of these federal funds just because he wants to get one of his policy goals furthered," Winkler tells Sentient.

The USDA also funds research into avian flu through the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP), which provides "tens of millions in funding to States, producer organizations, universities" to carry out projects on animal disease outbreaks threatening the livestock industry.

The current projects include a $455,649 award to Minnesota Department of Agriculture, funded through mid-2026, to research culling poultry infected or exposed to avian flu with nitrogen gas - a method considered less cruel than the mainstream culling method in the U.S. of killing birds en-mass by heat stroke.

The existing projects under this program also appear to not be disrupted or frozen at this time, according to a USDA spokesperson: "NADPRP funding for all current cooperative agreements that were started prior to January 20, 2025 are continuing and recipients (cooperators) are continuing those projects and receiving funds." The spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions, however, about the status of future agreements.

"As Trump, Elon Musk, and his DOGE team continue to reach out to make serious changes or close multiple important government agencies or de-fund critical programs, the only bright spot I see is the NADRP website (under APHIS) is still there," Dr. Pat Basu, the former chief public health veterinarian for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service under the Obama Administration, told Sentient in an email.

Yet as the Trump Administration continues to test the limits of its executive powers, this bright spot may be brief. "However, NADRP may be low on a priority list for DOGE, but it may still be cut off," wrote Basu. "If the NIH funding for ALL research can be cut off over the weekend, nothing seems off-limits for this team."


Grey Moran wrote this article for Sentient.


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People who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, will be dropped from their CoveredCA health plans at the end of August.

The move comes after the Trump administration changed a Biden-era definition of "lawfully present" to revoke health care eligibility for thousands of immigrants.

Christine Smith, policy and legislative advocate for the nonprofit Health Access California, said people only have a few weeks to get medical appointments in before their coverage ends.

"If you're enrolled in Covered California and you're a DACA recipient, the Trump administration just ended your coverage," Smith emphasized. "People should use as much of your health care as you can before the August 31st deadline."

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defended the move, saying it will save taxpayers money. CoveredCA estimated the change affects about 2,400 DACA recipients in the state who make too much to qualify for Medi-Cal and have jobs not providing health insurance. They can still buy private insurance but it is much more expensive. People who prepaid for their coverage can seek a refund.

Smith predicted it will be a blow not just to those who lose coverage but to the state's health care system as a whole.

"The lines in the ERs are going to be longer because people are not going to be able to get affordable preventive care," Smith projected. "They're just going to get sicker and then end up in the ERs. People will overall incur more medical debt. Hospitals will have more uncompensated care."

The change is nationwide. As of mid-July, about 538,000 people in the DACA program across the U.S. are ineligible to enroll in any state-based insurance marketplace and are unable to access premium subsidies or cost-sharing assistance.

Artificial intelligence is appearing more prominently in many aspects of life and research suggests older populations are curious, yet remain wary of using the technology in their everyday lives.

According to Stats Indiana, there are more than 1.5 million Hoosiers aged 65 and older, or 18% of the state's population. Experts said it is likely the demographic will use AI in some form in the next few years, either by choice or necessity.

Dr. Shaun Grannis, vice president of data and analytics for the Regenstrief Institute on Aging, said AI offers real benefits.

"It can reduce loneliness through conversation, provide reminders for medications and appointments," Grannis outlined. "It can support cognitive stimulation via games, storytelling, news updates."

The technology can also offer a low-pressure way to access information on public services, he added, which is valuable for those with mobility issues or those who feel intimidated by technology.

Grannis cautioned any tool which can be used for good can also lead to problems. He noted AI can create a false sense of companionship and mask social isolation. Overdependence is a legitimate concern, he argued, if the technology becomes a "crutch" for all forms of interaction.

"All cognitive activities or decision-making, it can actually lead to and create a negative feedback loop, lead to a decline in engagement and even basic self-management skills," Grannis explained. "This is risky."

Grannis believes one solution is designing AI systems to complement, not replace, human interaction. He stressed it can be done though building broader support ecosystems including family, friends, caregivers and community services. Grannis emphasized it would encourage real-world activity, prompting the user to go for a walk, call a grandchild or attend a local senior event.

If you have an extra five minutes, you can save a life because you can learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation at no cost from a new mobile, hands-only CPR kiosk.

The new kiosk is in the lobby of Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. The machine's touch screen gives a brief overview of hands-only CPR and you can practice right there, on a mannequin.

Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar, cardiologist at St. John's, said it is an easy way for people to get more comfortable giving chest compressions in an emergency.

"It's a lot like a video game but of course, a lot more important than a video game," Tadwalkar pointed out. "It gives real-time feedback about the depth and rate of compressions, proper hand placement, which are all factors that influence the effectiveness of CPR."

The American Heart Association operates the St. John's mobile kiosk and a stationary model at L-A-X with support from the hospital. Santiago Canyon College in Orange County also has a mobile hands-only C-P-R kiosk now through September, sponsored by Edwards Lifesciences.

Steven Munatones, an Orange County business owner, said he survived what's known as a "widowmaker" heart attack which led to cardiac arrest nine years ago, thanks to his 17-year-old son, who gave him immediate CPR with instructions from a 911 operator.

"You don't have to put your mouth to anybody's mouth," Munatones explained. "You just put your hand on their chest and pump. He saved me, and others can do the same, anywhere. So, it's absolutely a lifesaving, heroic act that anybody can do."

Statistics show 350,000 Americans suffer from cardiac arrest outside a hospital each year and about 90% die, in part because they do not receive CPR. About 70% of those cardiac arrests happen at home, so people often depend on family or friends to give CPR before an ambulance arrives.