Science
A Trump win could spell major changes for California's drinking water, RFK Jr. says
More than half of Californians and nearly 75% of U.S. residents live in communities where fluoride has been added to drinking water to prevent tooth decay, an intervention hailed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as one of the 20th century’s greatest public health achievements.
Yet should Donald Trump be elected to a second term, water systems will be immediately directed to end this practice, according to supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy posted Saturday on the social media platform X.
Kennedy described the mineral, which occurs naturally in all fresh water supplies, as an “industrial waste” associated with a variety of health risks.
On Sunday, Trump told NBC News that he had not discussed the fluoride proposal with Kennedy, “but it sounds OK to me.” Reached for comment Monday, a campaign spokesperson told The Times that while Trump “has received a variety of policy ideas, he is focused on Tuesday’s election.”
Kennedy’s statement follows a September ruling from a federal judge in California that could have major effects on the long-standing public health intervention, but that multiple dentists and pediatricians say is based on a flawed reading of the available science.
In his X post, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the advocacy group Food & Water Watch.
In late September, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take further unspecified steps to regulate fluoride in drinking water.
In his ruling, Chen cited a literature review by the U.S. National Toxicology Program that found associations between exposure to high levels of fluoride and lower IQ levels in children.
Though he could not “conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health,” Chen wrote, he still determined that it posed an “unreasonable risk” of harm. His ruling did not specify what exactly the EPA should do about that.
The American Dental Assn. and American Academy of Pediatrics issued a joint statement of concern after the ruling, saying that there were major limitations in the study Chen cited. The groups pointed out that the study found low IQ associations only at fluoride concentrations more than double those of the current recommendation of 0.7 milligrams per liter.
“There is nothing about the current decision that changes my confidence in the safety of optimally fluoridated water in the U.S.,” said Dr. Charlotte W. Lewis, a member of the AAP Section on Oral Health, at the time. “Water fluoridation is a public health policy based on a solid foundation of evidence.”
In California, scientifically shaky skepticism of fluoridated water has been around almost as long as the stuff has been coming out of the taps.
In 1952, San Francisco and Antioch became the first communities in California to supplement naturally occurring levels of fluoride in their drinking water, after a raft of studies showing that the mineral made teeth enamel stronger and more resistant to acid. Within a decade, cavities in 6-year-olds’ permanent teeth had dropped by 84%.
The U.S. Public Health Service in 1962 recommended a fluoridation level of 0.7 to 1.2 mg per liter in drinking water supplies. (In 2015 the service revised its recommendation to 0.7 mg per liter — a sweet spot that maximized the dental health advantages while reducing the risk of tooth discoloration associated with excess fluoride exposure.)
Yet as the number of communities in California voting to fluoridate their water grew, so did complaints from skeptics who pushed debunked theories about fluoride’s link to cancer, AIDS and other conditions, according to a history by UC San Francisco oral biology professor Ernest Newburn.
Despite California’s early leadership in water fluoridation, it now ranks 39th among U.S. states in the percentage of the population covered by fluoridated water systems, with 57.5% of residents living in covered communities, according to the United Health Foundation. (Kentucky leads the board with 99.9% coverage.)
An exploratory study published this year found associations between prenatal exposure to fluoride and an increased risk of neurobehavioral problems at age 3 in a cohort of 229 Los Angeles-area children.
The American Dental Assn., the American Academy of Pediatrics and others have pushed back on the study, citing concerns about the methods used to evaluate both child IQ and maternal fluoride levels.
“It is irresponsible of the authors, based on this study, to suggest that recommendations be changed on the beneficial use of fluoride to prevent dental problems,” said Howard Pollick, a professor at the UC San Francisco School of Dentistry, shortly after the study was published.
A larger study published last year followed more than 2,000 children in Australia over five years and found no associations between prenatal fluoride exposure and behavioral development problems.
Both Trump and Kennedy have said publicly that longtime anti-vaccine activist Kennedy will probably have a prominent role in health policy in a second Trump administration.
“I’m gonna let him go wild on health. I’m gonna let him go wild on the food. I’m gonna let him go wild on medicines,” Trump told supporters during a rally at Madison Square Garden last month.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Our universe might be chock-full of cosmic wonder, but you can observe only a fraction of astronomical phenomena with the naked eye. Meteor showers, natural fireworks that streak brightly across the night sky, are one of them.
The latest observable meteor shower will be the Lyrids, which has been active since April 14 and is forecast to continue through April 30. The shower reaches its peak April 21 to 22, or Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
According to NASA, the Lyrids are one of the oldest known meteor showers, and have been enjoyed by stargazers for nearly 3,000 years. Their bright, speedy streaks are caused by the dusty debris from a comet named Thatcher. They appear to spring from the constellation Lyra, which right now can be seen in the eastern sky at night in the Northern Hemisphere.
The moon will be about 27 percent full tonight, appearing as a thick crescent in the sky, according to the American Meteor Society.
To get a hint at when to best watch for the Lyrids, you can use this tool, which relies on data from the Global Meteor Network. It shows fireball activity levels in real time.
And while you gaze at the heavens, keep an eye out for other stray meteors streaking across the night sky. Skywatchers are reporting that the amount of fireballs is double what is usually seen by this point in the year.
Where meteor showers come from
There is a chance you might see a meteor on any given night, but you are most likely to catch one during a shower. Meteor showers are caused by Earth passing through the rubble trailing a comet or asteroid as it swings around the sun. This debris, which can be as small as a grain of sand, leaves behind a glowing stream of light as it burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteor showers occur around the same time every year and can last for days or weeks. But there is only a small window when each shower is at its peak, which happens when Earth reaches the densest part of the cosmic debris. The peak is the best time to look for a shower. From our point of view on Earth, the meteors will appear to come from the same point in the sky.
The Perseid meteor shower, for example, peaks in mid-August from the constellation Perseus. The Geminids, which occur every December, radiate from the constellation Gemini.
How to watch a meteor shower
Michelle Nichols, the director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, recommends forgoing the use of telescopes or binoculars while watching a meteor shower.
“You just need your eyes and, ideally, a dark sky,” she said.
That’s because meteors can shoot across large swaths of the sky, so observing equipment can limit your field of view.
Some showers are strong enough to produce up to 100 streaks an hour, according to the American Meteor Society, though you probably won’t see that many.
“Almost everybody is under a light-polluted sky,” Ms. Nichols said. “You may think you’re under a dark sky, but in reality, even in a small town, you can have bright lights nearby.”
Planetariums, local astronomy clubs or even maps like this one can help you figure out where to go to escape excessive light. The best conditions for catching a meteor shower are a clear sky with no moon or cloud cover, sometime between midnight and sunrise. (Moonlight affects visibility in the same way as light pollution, washing out fainter sources of light in the sky.) Make sure to give your eyes at least 30 minutes to adjust to seeing in the dark.
Ms. Nichols also recommends wearing layers, even during the summer. “You’re going to be sitting there for quite a while, watching,” she said. “It’s going to get chilly, even in August.”
Bring a cup of cocoa or tea for even more warmth. Then lie back, scan the sky and enjoy the show.
Where weather is least likely to affect your view
Storm systems sweep across the country in early spring, and some will be obscuring skies tonight. But there will still be plenty of areas with clear skies, particularly in parts of the central United States.
“The best spot is going to be in the Upper Midwest,” said Rich Bann, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa will offer especially good sky-viewing weather and a beach on the Great Lakes could be a nice spot to look up at the stars.
But don’t expect to view the show from Chicago, as Illinois could see some thunderstorms. The weather will be better in the Northern and Central Plains, particularly the eastern Dakotas.
High, wispy clouds are expected over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and into parts of the Mid-Atlantic. But, Mr. Bann said, “you may be able to see some shooting stars through thin clouds.”
Clouds will be draped across much of the Southeast and the Northeast, though there could be some clearing in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia. Remember, the meteors could be visible all night long. If you look outside and see clouds, try again later.
Catching the spectacle will be challenging across much of the West, particularly from Washington into Northern California, where a storm system is bringing rain and snow. That system will move east overnight.
There are likely to be some pockets of clear skies at times across southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southwest Utah, Mr. Bann said.
Amy Graff contributed reporting.
WASHINGTON — Amid growing national security concerns, the FBI said Tuesday that it has launched a broad investigation in the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 scientists and staff connected to highly sensitive research, including four from the Los Angeles area.
“The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and state and local law enforcement partners to find answers,” the agency said in a statement.
The FBI’s announcement comes after the House Oversight Committee announced that it would investigate reports of the disappearance and deaths of the scientists, sending letters seeking information from the agencies involved in the federal inquiry as well as NASA, which owns the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, where three of the missing or dead scientists worked.
“If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets,” Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the committee, and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) wrote in the letters.
President Trump told reporters last week that he had been briefed on the missing and dead scientists, which he described as “pretty serious stuff.” He said at the time that he expected answers on whether the deaths were connected “in the next week and a half.”
Michael David Hicks, who studied comets and asteroids at JPL, was the first of the scientists who disappeared or died. He died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59. No cause of death was disclosed.
A year later, JPL physicist Frank Maiwald died at 61, with no cause of death disclosed.
Two other Los Angeles scientists are part of the string of deaths and disappearances.
On June 22, 2025, Monica Jacinto Reza, a materials scientist at JPL, disappeared while on a hike near Mt. Waterman in the San Gabriel Mountains.
On Feb. 16, Caltech astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was fatally shot on the porch of his Llano home. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department arrested Freddy Snyder, 29, in connection with the shooting. Snyder had been arrested in December on suspicion of trespassing on Grillmair’s property.
Snyder has been charged with murder.
There is no evidence at this point that the deaths and disappearances, which occurred over a span of four years, are connected.
A spokesperson for NASA, which owns JPL, said in a statement on X that the agency is “coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists.
“At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” agency spokesperson Bethany Stevens wrote. “The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able.”
Representatives from Caltech, which manages JPL, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sun had barely risen over the Pacific Ocean when a small motorboat carrying a team of Indigenous artisans and Mexican biologists dropped anchor in a rocky cove near Bahías de Huatulco.
Mauro Habacuc Avendaño Luis, one of the craftsmen, was the first to wade to shore. With an agility belying his age, he struck out over the boulders exposed by low tide. Crouching on a slippery ledge pounded by surf, he reached inside a crevice between two rocks. There, lodged among the urchins, was a snail with a knobby gray shell the size of a walnut. The sight might not dazzle tourists who travel here to see humpback whales, but for Mr. Avendaño, 85, these drab little mollusks represent a way of life.
Marine snails in the genus Plicopurpura are sacred to the Mixtec people of Pinotepa de Don Luis, a small town in southwestern Oaxaca. Men like Mr. Avendaño have been sustainably “milking” them for radiant purple dye for at least 1,500 years. The color suffuses Mixtec textiles and spiritual beliefs. Called tixinda, it symbolizes fertility and death, as well as mythic ties between lunar cycles, women and the sea.
The future of these traditions — and the fate of the snails — are uncertain. The mollusks are subject to intense poaching pressure despite federal protections intended to protect them. Fishermen break them (and the other mollusks they eat) open and sell the meat to local restaurants. Tourists who comb the beaches pluck snails off the rocks and toss them aside.
A severe earthquake in 2020 thrust formerly submerged parts of their habitat above sea level, fatally tossing other mollusks in the snail’s food web to the air, and making once inaccessible places more available to poachers.
Decades ago, dense clusters of snails the size of doorknobs were easy to find, according to Mr. Avendaño. “Full of snails,” he said, sweeping a calloused, violet-stained hand across the coves. Now, most of the snails he finds are small, just over an inch, and yield only a few milliliters of dye.
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