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Prosperity Now Launches Updated VITA Train Materials to Help Programs Prepare for the 2027 Filing Season

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 [Category: Economics] -- Prosperity Now (formerly the Corporation for Enterprise Development) posted the following news release:

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Prosperity Now Launches Updated VITA Train Materials to Help Programs Prepare for the 2027 Filing Season

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. - Prosperity Now today launched updated VITA Train curriculum materials for the 2027 filing season at VITACon, its national convening for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance practitioners and partners. The October release is part of a national VITA readiness effort made possible with support from the Wells Fargo Foundation.

VITA ... Show Full Article

Prosperity Now Launches ABC Initiative Tools to Help VITA Programs Prepare for Child Savings at Tax Time

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 [Category: Economics] -- Prosperity Now (formerly the Corporation for Enterprise Development) posted the following news release:

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Prosperity Now Launches ABC Initiative Tools to Help VITA Programs Prepare for Child Savings at Tax Time

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. - Prosperity Now today launched the next phase of ABC Initiative practitioner resources to help Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs prepare for child savings conversations, workflows and referrals during the 2027 filing season. The resources were developed with support from Citi Foundation and are being ... Show Full Article

Hundreds of Nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital File Petition Demanding Election to Oust Teamsters

SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, Oct. 8 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation posted the following news release:

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Hundreds of Nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital File Petition Demanding Election to Oust Teamsters

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Nearly 70% of currently working nurses sign petition asking for decertification vote

Grand Blanc, MI (October 6, 2026) - Hundreds of registered nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital backed a petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a vote to remove Teamsters Local 332 officials from their hospital. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible ... Show Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, Oct. 8 -- The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation posted the following news release: * * * Hundreds of Nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital File Petition Demanding Election to Oust Teamsters * Nearly 70% of currently working nurses sign petition asking for decertification vote Grand Blanc, MI (October 6, 2026) - Hundreds of registered nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital backed a petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a vote to remove Teamsters Local 332 officials from their hospital. The NLRB is the federal agency responsiblefor enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or "certify") and remove (or "decertify") unions.

Genesys Hospital nurse Kristen Cox, who is spearheading the nurses' effort, submitted a "decertification" petition with the NLRB, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, backed by the signatures of 264 nurses, which amounts to nearly 70% of the 385 nurses currently working at the hospital.

Teamsters Local 332 officials launched a strike at Genesys Hospital on Labor Day 2025, and more than a year later, the strike remains unresolved. What is certain, however, is that the overwhelming number of nurses working at the hospital no longer want to be represented by Teamsters Local 332.

Disregarding the voices of nurses who simply seek the ability to choose their representative, the Teamsters are blocking any decertification election at the hospital. This tactic, known as a "blocking charge," allows union officials to halt workers' decertification efforts by filing unproven charges against their employer. In June, Foundation staff attorneys filed a formal rulemaking petition asking the NLRB to scrap the non-statutory policies it uses to block workers' decertification votes.

Foundation staff attorneys also represent Genesys nurses who have filed unfair labor practice charges against Teamsters Local 332 for retaliating against nurses who resigned their union membership and returned to work. In those cases, Teamsters officials stopped payment on checks they issued to employees who exercised their legal right to resign from the union and return to work in defiance of the union strike.

Michigan politicians repealed the state's Right to Work law in 2023, meaning private sector workers in the state can once again be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of keeping their jobs.

"Genesys nurses have made clear that they want the chance to vote Teamsters bosses out of their hospital. The NLRB should not rubber-stamp union lawyers' attempts to disenfranchise them," commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. "If Teamsters bosses are so confident they 'represent' what Genesys nurses want, they should stop hiding behind legal maneuvers and respect the wishes of the hundreds of nurses asking for this vote."

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Original text here: https://www.nrtw.org/news/michigan-genesys-nurses-petition-teamsters-removal-10062026/

Wellcome responds to first confirmed Ebola Bundibugyo case in Kenya

LONDON, England, Oct. 7 -- Wellcome, a charitable foundation, posted the following news release:

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Wellcome responds to first confirmed Ebola Bundibugyo case in Kenya

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On 6 October, the Kenyan government reported the country's first imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) to the WHO. Kenya is the fourth country to confirm BVD. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is responding to an ongoing outbreak, while Uganda ended the latest outbreak in August 2026.

Natsuko Imai, Research Lead in Epidemics and Epidemiology at Wellcome, said:

"Despite some progress, the Ebola outbreak in ... Show Full Article

OMRF receives $1 million for fellowship honoring scientist

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, Oct. 7 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news:

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OMRF receives $1 million for fellowship honoring scientist

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A $1 million donation to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation will fund an endowment honoring the legacy of OMRF scientist Charles T. Esmon, Ph.D.

The endowment was announced Monday during a scientific symposium featuring speakers who were Esmon's trainees and peers. The funds will create a new endowed graduate student fellowship in cardiovascular biology at OMRF.

Esmon retired in 2019 after a 37-year career at OMRF that ... Show Full Article OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, Oct. 7 -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation posted the following news: * * * OMRF receives $1 million for fellowship honoring scientist * A $1 million donation to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation will fund an endowment honoring the legacy of OMRF scientist Charles T. Esmon, Ph.D. The endowment was announced Monday during a scientific symposium featuring speakers who were Esmon's trainees and peers. The funds will create a new endowed graduate student fellowship in cardiovascular biology at OMRF. Esmon retired in 2019 after a 37-year career at OMRF thatfeatured paradigm-shifting discoveries about how blood clotting relates to inflammation. He died in May at age 79.

His work led to the development of two drugs that received approval from the Food and Drug Administration. One of them, Ceprotin, is still used worldwide to treat patients with a life-threatening deficiency of protein C in their blood.

For his achievements, Esmon was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and was the first scientist outside a university to be named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, one of the highest honors in medical research.

One of Esmon's former trainees, Jun Xu, Ph.D., announced the endowment, saying he approached OMRF with the idea and committed to funding it "so that graduate students like me can start with basic research and later see their work translate into real-world treatments."

"Dr. Esmon's discoveries at OMRF transformed our understanding of coagulation, vascular biology and inflammation," Xu said. "He was also a wonderful mentor, so it's fitting that this endowment will help foster the development of a new generation of cardiovascular biologists."

Xu now oversees a Chinese pharmaceutical company focused on blood disorders. One of its products, based on Esmon's research, is an investigational drug designed to treat disorders including hemophilia by rebalancing the blood's clotting system.

"Chuck was an incredible scientist and mentor who shaped numerous careers, including mine," said OMRF scientist Lijun Xia, M.D., Ph.D., who leads the foundation's Cardiovascular Biology Research Program and organized Monday's symposium. "It was an honor to call him a colleague, and it will be a privilege to teach the students who receive this fellowship about his work."

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Original text here: https://omrf.org/omrf-receives-1-million-for-fellowship-honoring-scientist/

Freedom From Religion Foundation: Anti-Abortion States Launch Concerted Attack on Shield States

MADISON, Wisconsin, Oct. 7 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:

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October 5, 2026

Anti-abortion states launch concerted attack on shield states

The Freedom From Religion Foundation warns that three anti-abortion states are going hammer and tongs after three other states shielding abortion rights groups and physicians.

The attorneys general of Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas have filed a suit directly before the U.S. Supreme Court contending that shield laws in California, Massachusetts and New York violate the U.S. Constitution by preventing anti-abortion ... Show Full Article

Foundation for Economic Education Issues Commentary: Why Specialized Knowledge Doesn't Relieve Us of the Responsibility to Think for Ourselves

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct. 7 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary:

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October 5, 2026

In the Shadow of Experts

Why specialized knowledge doesn't relieve us of the responsibility to think for ourselves.

Denise Lever

I would be lying if I didn't admit to being somewhat intimidated once selected for the FEE Teacher Fellowship. I felt under-credentialed in what I expected the topics and discussions of the Fellowship to demand of me intellectually. Others showed up confident, and I perceived them as possessing the needed knowledge and skills to participate at ... Show Full Article DETROIT, Michigan, Oct. 7 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary: * * * October 5, 2026 In the Shadow of Experts Why specialized knowledge doesn't relieve us of the responsibility to think for ourselves. Denise Lever I would be lying if I didn't admit to being somewhat intimidated once selected for the FEE Teacher Fellowship. I felt under-credentialed in what I expected the topics and discussions of the Fellowship to demand of me intellectually. Others showed up confident, and I perceived them as possessing the needed knowledge and skills to participate ata higher level than I might be able to. Then Joy, another member of our cohort, admitted after a lecture and discussion on economics in the historical context that she lacked some of the historical background we were exploring. Her intellectual honesty was refreshing and helped reset my expectations for the event. We were there to share our own knowledge, expertise, and experiences. The in-person retreat at the University of Maryland was part of FEE's 2026 Teacher Fellowship, a months-long program that began weeks earlier with independent study of economics, history, and philosophy. Our small cohort came from very different corners of education, including economics and personal finance classrooms, traditional teaching backgrounds, career-changers, and education entrepreneurship.

The fellowship experience in some ways mirrored Leonard Read's famous "I, Pencil," one of our pre-retreat readings. It soon became obvious that, whether purposeful or fortuitous, our cohort would embody the characteristics Read understood about distributed specialized knowledge and cooperation. We embodied the idea that specialization deepens our knowledge in some areas while necessarily leaving others to other people.

Specialization doesn't create or require the acceptance of importance or hierarchy. Different people simply know more about different things. Our personal experience informs not only our perspective but where and how we spend our resources. We may consult a subject matter expert for precise knowledge, but intelligent and relevant application of that knowledge requires deeper understanding of the specific circumstances--knowledge that the remote expert may not possess. The Nobel Prize-winning economist Friedrich Hayek argued that knowledge is dispersed among individuals and that an individual's knowledge of the particular circumstances of time and place is key. It can be tempting to defer to an expert, but complete or uncritical deference risks excluding relevant knowledge. The challenge, then, is how to give expertise the weight it deserves without surrendering our own responsibility for judgment.

At the VIP reception before the awards dinner, Vincent Geloso, an economist at George Mason University and FEE's 2026 Economist of the Year, asked to share the table where I was seated. The Fellowship ran alongside FEE's Summer Campus, giving Fellows access to shared lectures and events throughout the week. I was excited to have the opportunity to reengage with a concept that Vincent shared during one of those lectures on public goods. I had been wrestling with questions about the government's role in certain public goods, particularly where scale and shared natural resources complicated my thinking. I embraced the chance to discuss these ideas further. Vincent's command of economics and the opportunity to engage with a true subject matter expert was rewarding. Our discussion, coupled with his earlier lecture, helped me challenge some of my earlier assumptions and re-examine my position. Our second conversation flipped the script! Vincent politely inquired as to what I did. When he learned that I am an education entrepreneur, he grew excited. His questions revolved around what problems exist that I might solve for parents, who participates in school choice, what barriers founders and parents are encountering, and where the sector is heading. Suddenly my knowledge was desirable, and Vincent was eager to examine it.

This exchange illustrates the tension at the heart of Thomas Grundmann's recent book, Expert Authority and the Limits of Critical Thinking. Grundmann argues that "due to massive division of epistemic labor and increasing specialization, we are almost universally dependent on expert guidance--and this applies to everyone." This creates what he calls a fundamental problem: "on the one hand, laypeople ought to defer to experts; on the other, they should not do so uncritically." Vincent's depth of knowledge was evident in both his lecture and our conversation. While no one will be offering me a department chair in economics, my ideas became sharper and more defined as his intellect and expertise challenged them. An interaction with an expert, when thoughtfully applied, can be an accelerant to personal intellectual growth. What one cannot expect from an expert, however learned or credentialed, is for him to carry our intellectual burden of deciding what we believe or our implementation burden of applying knowledge to our particular circumstances.

Deferring all of the intellectual heavy lifting to an expert would be a lost opportunity to practice intellectual maturity and an abdication of personal responsibility. Intellectual growth may require approaching challenging ideas with curiosity, the confidence to contribute what knowledge you possess, the ability to examine your current beliefs, the willingness to reform, reframe, or reject those beliefs, and sometimes to remain uncertain.

The FEE Teacher Fellowship provided an immersive experience in intellectual depth, honesty, and freedom of thought, while we were asked to engage fairly with competing perspectives. The cohort was diverse in experience, culture, language, and expertise, yet able to find common ground in education and a desire to advance the principles of a free society. We were given brilliant lectures in philosophy and economics, sessions in pedagogy, and lessons in navigating a campus under renovation. What I experienced in my week with FEE scholars was not the expectation that I become an economist, philosopher, or historian, or that I simply accept the conclusions of those who were. The Fellowship provided access to expertise and opportunities to engage with it while contributing knowledge and experience of our own. A free and prosperous society depends upon specialized knowledge, but it also depends upon individuals willing to wrestle with that knowledge, contribute what they know, and retain responsibility for what they ultimately believe and do. Even in the shadow of experts, we retain responsibility for judging how specialized knowledge applies to our own lives and communities.

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Denise Lever

Denise Lever is the founder of Baker Creek Academy and TrailblazED Microschool Leadership Forge. A former wildland firefighter and longtime homeschool mom, she now leads a growing network of self-directed microschools and mentors education founders nationwide.

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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/in-the-shadow-of-experts/

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