Category: News
Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Estate Plan
Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Estate Plan
Authored by Javier Simon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
So you have an estate plan. You’ve taken a major step in making sure you leave behind a legacy and that your assets are passed down as you see fit. But that, however, is not enough. There are plenty of potential mistakes that can torpedo your estate plan. That’s why you need to mobilize now to make sure your estate plan is bullet proof.
Inside Creative House/Shutterstock
So let’s take a look at some of the mistakes to look out for and how to fix them.
Forgetting to Update Your Estate Plan
Your estate plan is a living mechanism. And things change in life. Divorces happen. Falling outs happen. Loved ones pass away. New kids are born, and so on. These major life events could affect the sturdiness of your estate plan. So you need to go back in there and make the necessary changes to make sure the estate plan still adheres to your wishes.
Forgetting to Manage Beneficiaries
Designated beneficiaries overpower what’s in a will or trust. So you need to make sure you still have the right beneficiaries listed on accounts like retirement plans.
You may have listed your spouse as the designated beneficiary to your individual retirement account (IRA), and recently went through a divorce. In this case, you may want to update the beneficiary designation.
Or, perhaps, a designated beneficiary has passed away. With that said, many experts recommend you name more than one beneficiary.
And to keep everything in line, here’s a list of common accounts that take beneficiary listings:
insurance policies
401(k)
Roth 401(k)
IRA
Roth IRA
brokerage accounts
savings accounts
In addition, it’s always important to pay close attention to how the beneficiary themselves could affect your estate plan.
Designating a Minor as a Beneficiary
You want your children to be financially taken care of after you pass away. So naming them as beneficiaries to something like your retirement savings can seem like a no brainer.
But that can open you up to some pitfalls. Minors can’t manage large amounts of assets. In most cases, a court will have to appoint a conservator to manage the assets. And this individual may not be the person you would want to have managed your child’s inheritance. In addition, the minor would take full control of the assets once they reach the age of majority (18 or 21, depending on the state). At this point, your child may or may not be capable of handling the money responsibly.
You could bypass these issues by creating a trust and naming your child as the beneficiary. A trustee of your choice would manage the assets. And you can choose when the funds may be distributed. This could hinge on specific circumstances like once your child graduates college or holds a steady job.
Improperly Funding a Trust
A trust is an essential part of any estate plan. Not only does it allow your assets to bypass probate but it also ensures assets are properly distributed as you wish. It’s a legal entity that holds and manages these assets.
But unless it’s properly funded, it’s nothing more than an empty vessel. To avoid this, you need to start by drafting your legal trust document. And you need to list all your assets by type and value. For example, you can have real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, and brokerage accounts. You also need to gather all the paperwork that proves your ownership to these assets such as financial documents, deeds, and titles. Next, open an official trust account through a financial institution. You then fund your trust by making title changes and naming the trust as the beneficiary on applicable accounts.
Forgetting About Your Digital Assets
With so much time we spend online, we may forget we are creating virtual assets. You create an identity and share pictures of precious memories on social media. You may have a substantial amount of money in cryptocurrency. You may run a business entirely online.
So your estate plan needs to take into account what happens to these assets after you die. So creating a digital estate plan is key.
Start by taking inventory of your digital assets like social media profiles, emails, intellectual property, important computer files, digital media, and more. And as you would choose an executor for your estate plan, you should choose one for your digital estate plan as well. It can be the same person.
Moreover, you may want to provide access to these digital assets by using a reliable password manager and giving your trustee access. Plus, make sure you have a detailed digital estate plan document outlining exactly how you want your digital assets managed.
Failing to Prepare for Incapacitation
Nobody wants to think about it—but anything can happen in life. And you could become incapacitated and unable to make important decisions regarding your assets and health.
You can avoid this by setting up a financial and health care power of attorney. These are people you trust who can step in to make important financial and health-related decisions in the unfortunate event that you become incapacitated.
Forgetting About Taxes
The federal estate tax can take a bite out of your estate before it’s distributed to your heirs. Luckily, this tax would only impact significantly large estates.
For 2025, the estate tax is only levied on transferable assets valued at more than $13.99 million or $27.98 million for married couples. That is the current federal estate and gift tax exemption. For 2026, the federal estate and gift tax exemption rises to $15 million per person or $30 million per married couple.
Forgetting About Final Arrangements
How would you like to spend your last days? In hospice? Assisted living? And when the time comes, how would you want to be remembered? Do you want to be buried or cremated? Do you want a memorial?
All these are difficult questions. But you can save your loved ones some headaches by answering them now. You can clearly outline this in your estate plan so everything goes as you would like it to.
The Bottom Line
Drafting an estate plan is not enough. You need to continually update it. You may want to make beneficiary changes, for example. And you may have overlooked other factors, too. For example, you may want to make sure you have a digital estate plan in place. And you also want to make sure your trust is properly funded. And, importantly, you need to take a look at any tax implications. In any case, it’s a good idea to review your estate plan with a trusted estate planning attorney.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/10/2025 – 19:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/mistakes-can-wreck-your-estate-plan
Will Chicago Bears CB Kyler Gordon return this season? Ben Johnson says it’s ‘to be determined.’
The Chicago Bears have not given a clear answer as to cornerback Kyler Gordon’s status moving forward after he injured his groin in pregame warmups Sunday in Green Bay.
Asked Wednesday if Gordon will return this season, coach Ben Johnson said, “to be determined.”
“I haven’t heard (a status) over the last couple of days, the extent of it, but coming out of that one it didn’t look very good,” Johnson said.
Per the team’s injury report Wednesday — which was an estimate because the Bears held a walkthrough rather than a full practice — Gordon did not participate.
Here’s what else we learned Wednesday.
1. The Kyler Gordon dilemma.
Chicago Bears cornerbacks Jaylon Jones and Kyler Gordon walk off the field after losing to the Saints on Nov. 5, 2023, at the Superdome in New Orleans. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Gordon was a surprise scratch ahead of Sunday’s 28-21 loss in Green Bay. At that point, the inactives were already filed and the Bears were forced to play the game a man down. Gordon had made his return to the field a week earlier in Philadelphia after missing about a month with groin and calf injuries.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson has filled in at the nickel cornerback spot with Gordon sidelined this year. But the Bears missed Gordon’s speed on Christian Watson’s 41-yard touchdown Sunday.
All in all, Gordon has appeared in only three games this season after signing a contract extension in the offseason. He was inactive for the first four games of the season due to a hamstring injury. He returned for contests against the Washington Commanders and New Orleans Saints before going on injured reserve for five games.
Gordon and Jaylon Johnson, who spent nine games on injured reserve with a groin injury, were both activated for the Bears’ road game against the Eagles on Nov. 28. Gordon played 36 snaps against the Eagles (67% of defensive snaps).
On Monday, Ben Johnson said the Bears would “exhaust all of our resources” in getting Gordon healthy. But it’s unclear if Gordon will be back in the next several weeks or if he’s destined for another stint on injured reserve. Going on IR would require a minimum four-game absence. The earliest he could return would be for the wild-card round of the playoffs.
In other injury news, per the Bears’ injury report, running back Travis Homer also sat out Wednesday with an ankle injury. Receiver Rome Odunze (foot), cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hip) and receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (hamstring) were limited participants.
2. The Bears are playing meaningful games in December, which brings bad weather.
A member of the grounds crew clears snow off the field before the Chicago Bears play the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears are no strangers to cold weather. This team battled cold and windy conditions on Black Friday in Philadelphia. It did so again last week at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
The ability to win games in the elements will be key down the stretch this season. All four remaining games are outdoors, with three of them at Soldier Field.
The forecast for Sunday’s game against Cleveland is a high of 13 degrees with wind gusts up to 20 miles per hour.
“Nothing really (changes),” veteran safety Kevin Byard said. “I don’t really think about the cold weather during the game. It’s more about before the game. The whole lead-up — warmups, when you’re kind of just standing around, that’s the annoying part of it. The TV timeouts, I stand over by the heaters and when there’s 30 seconds left in the TV timeout, I run back on the field and get the play call. During the game, you’re thinking about the game.”
It would seem that this Bears team — with the No. 2 run game in the NFL — is built to perform outdoors this time of year. A solid run game typically translates well in cold weather.
Quarterback Caleb Williams said cold-weather games “don’t bother me.”
“(It’s) just being able to get warm, get my body warm and then go out there and deliver good balls to my guys and let them go make plays,” Williams said.
The wind was tricky in Philadelphia and it definitely affected a few of Williams’ throws in that game. Wind is always a concern this time of year on the lakefront in Chicago.
The Bears will have another home game against Green Bay on Dec. 20, followed by a trip to San Francisco on Dec. 28 before rounding out the schedule at home against the Detroit Lions in Week 18.
3. Ben Johnson says ‘we desperately need this win’ against Cleveland.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson speaks to Chicago Bears offensive tackle Darnell Wright before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Soldier Field on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Johnson said that right now his team just needs to maintain its focus. The Bears know they probably need at least two more wins to secure a playoff spot in the NFC.
Johnson has mentioned that publicly and his players have echoed it. But the Bears can’t spend any time looking ahead.
“We’ve got a good group of leaders that keep the main thing the main thing as we’ve been talking about it,” Johnson said. “It helps when the younger players are hearing that constantly, that they do the best that they can to avoid the distractions. I think it’s harder, this day and age, than ever before. It’s so easy to get caught up on what’s being said outside of the building, but we just try to keep the focus on how we see it.”
As it stands now, the Bears would be the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff picture. Cleveland is the last team with a losing record remaining on their schedule.
Even so, there are no easy wins in the NFL. Johnson isn’t going to let his team have a letdown after all the buildup that preceded the first matchup with Green Bay.
“You go from an emotional rivalry game like we just played, this week is equally important,” Johnson said. “We need this win. We desperately need this win.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/10/chicago-bears-kyler-gordon-ben-johnson-forecast/
Crockett’s Senate Run Was Engineered By Republicans
Crockett’s Senate Run Was Engineered By Republicans
Rep. Jasmine Crockett. (D-Texas) officially launched her campaign for the U.S. Senate on Monday, and Republicans appear to have played a major role in that happening.
According to a report from NOTUS, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) was “actively worked behind the scenes to encourage Rep. Jasmine Crockett to jump into the Senate Democratic primary in Texas, believing she will be the easiest opponent to beat.”
With Sen. John Cornyn facing a tough three-way primary and Democrats fielding two strong candidates, Republican strategists reportedly were concerned the race would be tougher than expected. They feared a draining fight could leave the nominee wounded before the real battle against the Democrats even began.
Back in July, the NRSC commissioned a private poll that “by design” included Crockett’s name among the Democratic contenders. Her numbers surprised everyone: she topped the field. Instead of treating it as an internal curiosity, GOP operatives moved fast.
“When we saw the results, we were like, ‘OK, we got to disseminate this far and wide,’” a source told NOTUS.
In June news broke that Texas Democrats Colin Allred, James Talarico, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Rep. Joaquin Castro met to discuss the 2026 election.
Operatives at the NRSC realized that Crockett — whose political stock had been rising — wasn’t included in that meeting and also hadn’t been included in any credible poll. So they decided to change that.
Following the NRSC’s polls, other surveys began to include Crockett and showed similar results: She was surging in the primary.
The NRSC then worked to amplify those polls and is taking credit for helping “orchestrate the pile on of these polling numbers to really drive that news cycle and that narrative that Jasmine Crockett was surging in Texas,” the source said.
And Crockett took the bait.
“The more I saw the poll results, I couldn’t ignore the trends that were clear,” she said later, tying her Senate bid directly to the polling wave Republicans had manufactured for her. It was the political equivalent of bait left in plain sight. And she took it.
Behind the curtain, the NRSC operatives had built an entire ecosystem to sustain their creation. The source called it an “AstroTurf recruitment process,” as the NRSC had allies who were “seeding these new polls pretty aggressively into progressive digital spaces.”
They even coordinated text messages and phone calls to Democratic activists, urging them to call Crockett’s office and push her to run. Each round of organized “encouragement” added to the illusion of an organic movement. A small feedback loop spun into a statewide phenomenon.
Meanwhile, internal GOP numbers showed Cornyn trailing Attorney General Ken Paxton badly in a three-way primary that also included Wesley Hunt. Paxton polled as a general-election liability; Hunt wasn’t ready for a statewide fight. The GOP couldn’t afford to risk a damaged nominee in a cycle where Democrats had real contenders in Allred and Talarico. So national Republicans recalibrated. If their incumbent had vulnerabilities, they could balance the math by softening up the other side.
That meant turning Jasmine Crockett—a loud, anti-Trump social-media darling with a taste for cable brawls—into the presumptive Democratic frontrunner. She was tailor-made for the part Republicans wanted cast: a polarizing progressive who would turn off swing voters in a Texas general election.
Then the miracle happened. Allred, once the strongest Democrat in the field, suddenly exited the Senate race to run for the House, effectively ceding the primary to Crockett. Crockett announced her campaign the same day, citing the same polling trends the NRSC had seeded months earlier.
Crockett’s campaign has admittedly gotten off to a rocky start. Her campaign launch video became an unintentional punchline, and despite her high profile and large campaign war chest, Senate Democrats aren’t lining up to endorse her.
But Republicans aren’t done shoring her up.
They are actively exploring ways to sustain her momentum long enough to secure the Democratic nomination. That means quiet talks with outside conservative-aligned groups about launching “independent expenditure” efforts that appear progressive on paper, with the sole purpose of propping up her campaign.
Crockett frames her Senate run as destiny, powered by the people.
The irony is, those “people” were Republican operatives running call lists from D.C., testing whether they could turn raw data into a political force that worked in their favor. They could. And they did.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/10/2025 – 18:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/crocketts-senate-run-was-engineered-republicans
El gobierno de Trump añade zona militarizada a la frontera de California
SANTA FE, Nuevo México, EE.UU. (AP) — El gobierno del presidente Donald Trump añadió otra zona militarizada a la frontera sur de Estados Unidos para apoyar las operaciones de seguridad fronteriza, esta vez en California.
El Departamento del Interior anunció el miércoles que transferiría a la Armada la jurisdicción a lo largo de la mayor parte de la frontera internacional de California con México, ello con el fin de reforzar “el papel histórico que las tierras públicas han desempeñado en la salvaguarda de la soberanía nacional”.
La zona militarizada recién designada se extiende casi desde la frontera con el estado de Arizona hasta la Reserva Natural de la Montaña Otay, atravesando el Valle Imperial y comunidades fronterizas, incluida Tecate.
Desde abril, grandes franjas de la frontera han sido designadas zonas militarizadas, lo que faculta a los soldados federales a detener a inmigrantes y otras personas acusadas de ingresar sin autorización a bases del Ejército, la Fuerza Aérea o la Armada, y autorizando la aplicación de cargos penales adicionales que pueden conllevar tiempo en prisión. Más de 7.000 efectivos han sido desplegados en la frontera, junto con diversos helicópteros, drones y equipos de vigilancia.
La estrategia militar comenzó en abril a lo largo de un tramo de 275 kilómetros (170 millas) de la frontera en Nuevo México, y luego fue expandida a porciones de la frontera en Texas y Arizona.
El Departamento del Interior indicó que la nueva área de defensa nacional en California es una zona de alto tráfico de inmigrantes que cruzan ilegalmente. Sin embargo, los arrestos efectuados por la Patrulla Fronteriza a lo largo de la frontera sur de Estados Unidos este año han caído al ritmo más lento desde la década de 1960, en medio del empuje de Trump para que haya deportaciones masivas.
“Al trabajar con la Armada para cerrar añejas brechas en la seguridad, estamos fortaleciendo la defensa nacional, protegiendo nuestras tierras públicas del uso ilegal, y haciendo avanzar la agenda del presidente”, manifestó en un comunicado el secretario del Interior, Doug Burgum.
El hecho de que Trump haya efectuado una declaración de emergencia le ha dado a a las fuerzas armadas un papel central para disuadir los cruces de migrantes en áreas ubicadas entre los puertos de entrada a Estados Unidos. Expertos jurídicos dicen que la estrategia desacata abiertamente una prohibición a que las fuerzas armadas desempeñen labores policiales en suelo estadounidense, y las arroja a una misión potencialmente politizada.
El miércoles se anunció la nueva zona militarizada. Ese mismo día, un juez federal le ordenó al gobierno de Trump detener el despliegue de la Guardia Nacional de California en Los Ángeles y devolver el control de esos efectivos al estado.
Trump convocó a más de 4.000 soldados de la Guardia Nacional de California en junio sin la aprobación del gobernador Gavin Newsom, ello con el fin de seguir avanzando en los empeños del gobierno federal para controlar la inmigración.
——-
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
3 Chicago White Sox takeaways from winter meetings, including adding 2 pitchers and losing 1 in Rule 5 draft
ORLANDO, Fla. — Nearly 24 hours after the Major League Baseball 2026 draft lottery, there was still plenty of buzz surrounding the Chicago White Sox securing the No. 1 pick.
“You can still feel the excitement in our room, that’s for sure,” general manager Chris Getz said Wednesday afternoon. “I’m sure that is extended in Chicago and our fan base. Everyone that’s touching the Chicago White Sox right now is diving into the upcoming draft and what are some of the possibilities, and I would imagine that’s going to continue and pick up as we get closer.
“We feel really good about it. Just a boost to what we’re already doing.”
The lottery result served as one of the highlights for the team at the winter meetings, which concluded Wednesday. Here are three takeaways from the final day of the gathering.
1. The Sox selected 2 pitchers, lost 1 in the Rule 5 draft.
The Sox made a splash at last year’s Rule 5 draft, selecting Shane Smith with the first pick. The right-hander went on to lead the team in several pitching categories during an All-Star season.
The Sox doubled up on pitching Wednesday in this year’s Rule 5 draft, selecting right-handers Jedixson Paez with the No. 2 pick and Alexander Alberto in the second round.
Paez had a 2.79 and 23 strikeouts in seven starts in 2025 for High-A Greenville in the Boston Red Sox system. He missed most of the season because of a right calf strain.
Paez, 21, is 17-15 with a 3.22 ERA and 307 strikeouts in 73 appearances (58 starts) over five career minor-league seasons. Getz described Paez as someone with “multiple weapons.”
“He’s got an arsenal to navigate to both-sided hitters,” Getz said. “He obviously hasn’t pitched at the upper levels, but in terms of the command and the amount of pitches he has, our group was really excited about it.”
Alberto, 24, went 2-2 with a 2.59 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 42 relief appearances with Low-A Charleston and High-A Bowling Green in the Tampa Bay Rays system in 2025.
“The guy’s got big-time stuff,” Getz said.
Alberto is 6-10 with a 4.18 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 104 outings (15 starts) during five minor-league seasons. Like Paez, High A represents Alberto’s highest level of professional baseball.
“When you’re going through the Rule 5 … there’s always a reason why there’s availability on some of those players,” Getz said. “Some of it is just the gap between where they’ve pitched and the big leagues, injury history, what have you.
“In this sense, we feel like this is a chance worth taking on both of those guys and we’ve proven last year that we were able to navigate with two Rule 5 picks (Smith and later Mike Vasil, whom they claimed off waivers in March), three at one point (infielder Gage Workman appeared in three games in late April). We’re excited to see what (Paez and Alberto) can do for us.”
The Sox saw the Cleveland Guardians select pitcher Peyton Pallette. The right-hander made 52 relief appearances between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte in 2025.
“We knew that Peyton was at risk of being taken, it wasn’t an easy decision (to not add him to the 40-man roster) for us,” Getz said. “Obviously he’s got to stick on a roster for a full season, but tough to see him go. But really excited about the guys that we’ve brought in.”
2. The focus continues to be on free agents more so than trades.
Getz summed up the winter meetings as “productive.”
“A lot of meetings, both with other organizations and agents,” he said. “To get everyone in person and spend some time together and talk about the upcoming season, that’s a benefit of the winter meetings.”
Getz said there was some progress made with free agents.
“Those kind of take on a life of their own based on the competition there and just the market in general,” Getz said. “Trade discussions just continue to be ongoing, but most of our focus is very much on the free-agent front more so than trade.”
3. The outfield market has yet to pick up.
The outfield market is one area the Sox continue to monitor.
“That really hasn’t moved perhaps like some other positions or even on the pitching front,” Getz said. “You’re at the mercy just of the industry and behaviors of whether it be other clubs or agents ready to be a little bit more active and have more specific negotiations, so to speak.
“You’ve just got to stay on top of it, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The Sox have five outfielders on their 40-man roster, including Luis Robert Jr. The center fielder has drawn interest from other teams, just as in past winter meetings.
“Teams continue to check in on him, which is of no surprise just because of the talent,” Getz said. “But we’re focused on Luis Robert being in our uniform come spring training. If that changes, it changes but it’s quite the talent. We know that and it’s our job to support him the best we can.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/10/chicago-white-sox-winter-meetings-takeaways/
Argentina logra colocar 1.000 millones de dólares en su regreso al mercado de capitales
BUENOS AIRES (AP) — En su regreso al mercado de capitales luego de casi ocho años de ausencia, Argentina logró colocar el miércoles un bono nacional en dólares con vencimiento en 2029 en un esfuerzo por saldar una parte del vencimiento de la deuda de enero sin hacer uso de las reservas.
El ministro de Economía, Luis Caputo, había adelantado el viernes sobre la emisión del bono a cuatro años, con una tasa de interés anual del 6;5%. Se trata de la primera colocación de deuda en moneda extranjera en el mercado de capitales desde 2018.
La cartera de Economía subrayó el miércoles en un comunicado que con la emisión el país sudamericano pagará una parte del vencimiento de deuda por unos 4.200 millones de dólares que enfrentará el próximo 9 de enero.
“Se recibió un total de ofertas por más de 1.400 millones de dólares, de un total de más de 2.500 inversores”, indicó.
El resultado de la licitación “estuvo en línea con lo que esperaba el mercado lo que permite considerarlo como un buen punto de partida para futuras emisiones”, apuntó Matías Waitzel de AT Inversiones al diario Ámbito Financiero.
Consideró que se trata de “un buen puntapié para eventuales nuevas licitaciones, ya que “este resultado ayuda a reconstruir cierta confianza de los inversores, al volver al mercado de deuda en dólares sin tensionar las reservas del Banco Central, tal como lo planteó la autoridad”.
El Fondo Monetario Internacional había insistido la semana pasada en la necesidad de que las reservas del Banco Central de Argentina se fortalezcan. El FMI alcanzó en abril un acuerdo con el país para un paquete de rescate de 20.000 millones de dólares que contempla una serie de metas macroeconómicas, entre ellas que las reservas estén a fines de año en unos 5.000 millones de dólares.
Las reservas brutas informadas por el Banco Central rondan los 41.883 millones de dólares, aunque ese número no refleja la disponibilidad real de divisas para afrontar vencimientos de deuda, sostener el tipo de cambio y sortear inestabilidades financieras. Economistas privados advierten que las netas son negativas.
Caputo explicó el viernes que “típicamente los países renuevan la deuda” y como Argentina no tiene crédito, la ha tenido que pagar, por lo que “es importante acceder de nuevo a los mercados, porque al poder refinanciar los vencimientos de deuda cada dólar que compre el Banco Central ahora sí los puede acumular”.
La emisión del bono es bajo legislación local, que no requiere la aprobación del Congreso, como sería el caso si se hiciese bajo normativa internacional, según estipula una ley aprobada por la administración anterior, refirió el ministro.
Brote de botulismo en EEUU enferma a más de 50 bebés y se extiende a todos los productos de ByHeart
Por JONEL ALECCIA
Reguladores de salud en Estados Unidos ampliaron el miércoles un brote de botulismo infantil vinculado a la fórmula para bebés de ByHeart retirada del mercado para incluir todas las enfermedades reportadas desde que la empresa comenzó la producción en marzo de 2022.
La Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de (FDA) dijo que los investigadores “no pueden descartar la posibilidad de que la contaminación haya afectado a todos los productos de fórmula de ByHeart” jamás fabricados.
El brote ahora incluye al menos 51 bebés en 19 estados. La nueva definición de caso incluye “cualquier bebé con botulismo que haya estado expuesto a la fórmula de ByHeart en cualquier momento desde el lanzamiento del producto”, según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de Estados Unidos (CDC). El caso más reciente se reportó el 1 de diciembre.
No se han reportado muertes debido al brote, que se anunció el 8 de noviembre.
Anteriormente, los funcionarios de salud habían dicho que el brote incluía 39 casos sospechosos o confirmados de botulismo infantil reportados en 18 estados desde agosto. Fue entonces cuando los funcionarios del Programa de Tratamiento y Prevención del Botulismo Infantil de California reportaron un aumento en el tratamiento de bebés que habían consumido la fórmula de ByHeart. Con la definición ampliada, los CDC identificaron diez casos adicionales que ocurrieron desde diciembre de 2023 hasta julio de 2025.
ByHeart, un fabricante de fórmula infantil orgánica con sede en Nueva York fundado en 2016, retiró del mercado todos sus productos vendidos en Estados Unidos el 11 de noviembre. La empresa, que representa aproximadamente el 1% del mercado de fórmula infantil en el país, vencñia unas 200.000 latas del producto cada mes.
La noticia de que los productos de ByHeart podrían haber estado contaminados durante años fue angustiante para Andi Galindo, cuya hija de cinco semanas, Rowan, fue hospitalizada en diciembre de 2023 con botulismo después de beber la fórmula. Galindo, de 36 años, de Redondo Beach, California, dijo que insistió en usar la fórmula de ByHeart para complementar una baja producción de leche materna porque una consultora de lactancia le dijo que era “muy natural, muy suave, muy buena para los bebés”.
“Eso es difícil”, dijo Galindo. “Si hay pruebas de que hubo problemas con su fabricación y su planta desde el principio, eso es un problema y realmente necesitan rendir cuentas”.
Amy Mazziotti, de 43 años, de Burbank, California, dijo que su hijo Hank, de entonces cinco meses, se enfermó y fue tratado por botulismo en marzo, semanas después de comenzar a beber ByHeart. Ser incluida en la investigación del brote “se siente como una victoria para todos nosotros”, dijo el miércoles.
“Desde el principio supe en mi interior que ByHeart fue la razón por la que Hank se enfermó, y ver que estos casos ahora son parte de la investigación me hace llorar, una mezcla de alivio, gratitud y esperanza de que finalmente se reconozca la verdad”, expresó.
Los representantes de ByHeart no respondieron de momento a las preguntas sobre el brote ampliado.
Pruebas de laboratorio detectaron contaminación
La FDA envió inspectores el mes pasado a las plantas de ByHeart en Allerton, Iowa, y Portland, Oregon, donde se produce y empaqueta la fórmula. La agencia no ha publicado resultados de esas inspecciones.
La empresa informó previamente que pruebas realizadas por un laboratorio independiente mostraron que 36 muestras de tres lotes diferentes contenían el tipo de bacteria que puede causar botulismo infantil.
“No podemos descartar el riesgo de que toda la fórmula de ByHeart en todos los lotes de productos pueda estar contaminada”, escribió la empresa en su sitio web el mes pasado.
Esos resultados y las discusiones con la FDA llevaron a los funcionarios de los CDC a ampliar el brote, según la doctora Jennifer Cope, científica de los CDC que lidera la investigación.
“Parece que la contaminación persistió en todas las corridas de producción, diferentes lotes, diferentes lotes de materia prima”, dijo Cope. “No pudieron aislarlo a lotes específicos de un período de tiempo determinado”.
Los documentos de inspección mostraron que ByHeart tenía un historial de problemas de contaminación.
En 2022, el año en que ByHeart comenzó a fabricar fórmula, la empresa retiró cinco lotes de fórmula infantil después de que una muestra en una planta de empaque dio positivo para un germen diferente, cronobacter sakazakii. En 2023, la FDA envió una carta de advertencia a la empresa detallando ”áreas que aún requieren acciones correctivas”.
Una planta de ByHeart en Reading, Pensilvania, fue cerrada en 2023, justo antes de que los inspectores de la FDA encontraron problemas de moho, filtraciones de agua e insectos, según muestran los documentos.
El botulismo infantil es raro
El botulismo es una enfermedad rara que afecta a menos de 200 bebés en Estados Unidos cada año. Es causada cuando los bebés ingieren bacterias de botulismo que producen esporas que germinan en los intestinos, creando una toxina que afecta el sistema nervioso. Los bebés son vulnerables hasta aproximadamente el primer año de vida porque sus microbiomas intestinales no son lo suficientemente maduros para combatir la toxina.
La fórmula para bebés ha estado previamente vinculada a casos esporádicos de enfermedad, pero no se han confirmado previamente brotes conocidos de botulismo infantil vinculados a fórmula en polvo, según estudios de investigación.
Los síntomas pueden tardar hasta 30 días en desarrollarse e incluir estreñimiento, mala alimentación, pérdida de control de la cabeza, párpados caídos y una expresión facial plana. Los bebés pueden sentirse “flácidos” y tener problemas para tragar o respirar.
El único tratamiento para el botulismo infantil se conoce como BabyBIG, un medicamento intravenoso hecho a partir del plasma sanguíneo de adultos inmunizados contra el botulismo. El programa de botulismo infantil de California desarrolló el producto y es la única fuente en todo el mundo.
Los anticuerpos proporcionados por BabyBIG son probablemente más efectivos durante aproximadamente un mes, aunque pueden continuar circulando en el sistema del niño durante varios meses, dijo la doctora Sharon Nachman, experta en enfermedades infecciosas pediátricas en el Hospital Infantil Stony Brook.
“El riesgo para el bebé es continuo y la familia no debería estar usando esta fórmula después de que fue retirada”, dijo Nachman en un correo electrónico.
Las familias de varios bebés tratados por botulismo después de beber la fórmula de ByHeart ya demandaron a la empresa. Las demandas presentadas en tribunales federales alegan que la fórmula que alimentaron a sus hijos era defectuosa y ByHeart fue negligente al venderla. Buscan compensación financiera por facturas médicas, angustia emocional y otros daños.
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El Departamento de Salud y Ciencia de The Associated Press recibe apoyo del Departamento de Educación Científica del Instituto Médico Howard Hughes y de la Fundación Robert Wood Johnson. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Donna Vickroy: Late-blooming monarchs get express trip to Mexico
It’s a long way from Chicago to Texas, but what’s a thousand miles between butterfly rescuers?
Bob Erlich lives in Evergreen Park.
Therese Smith lives in Austin, Texas.
They’ve never met but, thanks to a Facebook post, they recently became cohorts in a quest to save nine monarch butterflies.
Their 11th-hour mission spared the late-blooming insects a certain death and gave them a chance to catch up with fellow migratory journeyers en route to the monarchs’ winter roost in central Mexico.
In late October, a friend called Erlich about nine caterpillars she’d found in her garden. Erlich took the larvae back to his south suburban home, which he has converted to a veritable butterfly hostel over the past 18 years, and pondered what to do.
If he let nature take its course, the vibrant orange and black insects would emerge from their chrysalises, hit the cooling Chicago temperatures and likely die within a few days.
The flutterers missed the last roost out in late September, Erlich said. There wasn’t enough time for them to get out of town safely.
But if he could somehow get them farther them along the migration path, he might be able to save the endangered insects.
He reached out to his daughter, Melissa Erlich, whose Facebook page, Missy’s Monarchs of Lindenhurst, now reaches more than 1,000 people across the country. She posted a plea for help.
Smith is among the page’s followers.
She read the post and offered her services.
With the clock winding down before the larva would emerge, Erlich placed the pupas in Styrofoam cups, buffeted them with cotton balls and mailed the collection south to Austin.
“About two weeks after I got them,” Smith said, “all nine ‘eclosed’ (opened) and turned into butterflies.
“My grandson and I happened to be there when that happened,” she said. “It was wonderful. We tagged them and tested them for OE (the parasite ophryocystis elektroscirrha ) and then released them.”
Erlich said it’s unusual for monarch eggs to be laid so late in the season, but it does happen.
“Every year, three or four come along late. I feel bad letting them go because I know they’re just going to be dead in a day or two,” he said. “I always try to do whatever I can to keep them alive.”
Smith said she wasn’t nervous at all about receiving her first shipment of butterfly pupa.
“Actually, I was very excited about it,” she said.
“I don’t know Bob. I don’t know Missy. But I know the process” of helping butterflies take flight, she said.
“It’s just wonderful that you can connect with people who are like-minded and who care about the flight of these little butterflies,” she said. “It’s just amazing.”
Smith said Erlich cut about 1,000 miles off the typical monarch migration journey from the Midwest to Mexico.
“Bob made their trip a lot easier. They were probably really happy about that because it was a lot warmer here,” she said.
Like Erlich, who took an interest in the plight of monarchs after retiring from a career in sales, Smith became a butterfly rescuer later in life.
“I got involved after reading an article about the (struggle) years ago, just like Bob did. I thought that’s something I could do — plant milkweed, plant pollinator plants,” Smith said.
Her grandson Kyan, 8, has been at her side helping since he was 3. Whenever he or Smith’s other grandchildren visit, they run to her butterfly sanctuary to monitor the progress, she said.
“My grandkids are very fortunate. They are very well taken care of. But one thing they don’t get to do is garden with their parents because everybody is so busy,” Smith said.
She’s happy to fill that void.
“Gardening is something unique we do here for them. And they love it,” she said. “I like to think I’m not just raising butterflies, I’m raising a generation to help care for them.”
Both Smith and Erlich are members of Monarch Watch, a nonprofit education, conservation and research program based at the University of Kansas. The program encourages members to tag monarchs, which helps scientists monitor populations.
The effort, Smith said, has given her faith in humankind.
“There are so many good people out there trying to help,” she said. “Monarch conservation efforts are worldwide.”
Even though the crisis is still a big one, the connections fellow rescuers make seem to bridge the distance with wonder and fellowship.
“Who knew,” she said, “somebody from Chicago would connect with somebody from Texas over butterflies?”
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years. She can be reached at donnavickroy4@gmail.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/10/vickroy-monarch-butterflies-mexico-erlich/
Letitia James Moves To Silence Debate Over Transgender Policies
Letitia James Moves To Silence Debate Over Transgender Policies
There was an interesting complaint filed in New York yesterday in which a group of parents and educators sued New York Attorney General Letitia James over a letter viewed as threatening those who are raising transgender policies in public meetings.
While the legal basis for the complaint is likely to be challenged as premature by the state, the lawsuit exposes an effort that seems clearly designed to chill such public discussions of transgender issues. The “guidance letter” warns school boards that discussing student trans issues at public meetings could violate the right to privacy for affected students and, if board members engage in such public discussions, “they may be removed” by state education officials.
The letter seems designed not only to threaten those who want to raise these policies, but also to offer cover for boards to cut off public debate. Few boards want to discuss the issue and we have seen heavy-handed tactics to cut off those who raise the policies.
The Southeastern Legal Foundation filed the lawsuit and faces considerable challenges in using a guidance letter as the basis for a lawsuit. James will argue that such letters are common and merely express how her office will interpret the law in these areas in light of questions from various boards.
It states:
“Board members may be removed by the commissioner of education if they, (1) violate the education law or another law ‘pertaining to [public] schools,’ including the state Human Rights Law; (2) willfully neglect their duties as public officers; or (3) willfully disobey a ‘decision, order, rule or regulation’ of the Regents or the commissioner of education.”
The question is whether a court will find the letter itself insufficient to trigger a lawsuit, rather than waiting to see how that legal guidance is applied in any given case.
Putting aside the merits of the legal cause of action, the letter should raise free speech concerns. It seems designed to intimidate some who want to raise these policies while giving others support for shutting down debates. Polls show that the public is generally opposed to transgender policies on pronouns, sports, and bathroom access.
The letter emphasizes that free speech can be limited at these meetings:
“[u]nder the First Amendment, school board meetings are considered limited public fora. This means that school boards that allow public comment ‘may make reasonable, view-neutral rules governing the content of speech allowed,’ including prohibiting all comments on a particular topic that would have discriminatory, harassing, or bullying effects.”
James leaves the scope of what would be considered “discriminatory, harassing, or bullying effects” lingering without any clear definition. It is the same vagueness in standards that we have seen used in higher education where administrators have succeeded in getting students to self-censor to avoid the unknown lines of speech regulation.
In other words, the letter is giving these boards guidance on how to stop public debate in their meetings on issues that are currently unpopular and leading to rising opposition among parents and students.
The timing of the letter before the midterm elections only magnifies suspicions that James is nudging boards to prohibit all comments on these divisive issues.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/10/2025 – 18:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/letitia-james-moves-silence-debate-over-transgender-policies
Policía de Brasil detiene a uno de dos sospechosos del robo de obras de Matisse a plena luz del día
SAO PAULO (AP) — Uno de los dos sospechosos de un audaz robo a plena luz del día sigue prófugo luego del atraco del fin de semana en Sao Paulo, el cual incluyó ocho obras del artista francés Henri Matisse, informaron las autoridades brasileñas el miércoles.
El otro sospechoso fue detenido el lunes, informó la secretaría de seguridad pública del estado de Sao Paulo. Las obras, que también incluían cinco piezas del artista brasileño Candido Portinari, no han sido recuperadas.
Imágenes de las cámaras de seguridad dadas a conocer por las autoridades después del robo del domingo en la biblioteca Mário de Andrade, durante el último día de la exposición, muestran a los sospechosos manipulando las obras.
Se puede ver a un sospechoso que carga los cuadros sobre su cabeza y emprende una carrera.
El robo ocurrió menos de dos meses después de que ladrones robaron más de 100 millones de dólares en joyas de la corona del Museo del Louvre en París.
Las piezas robadas de Matisse eran parte de una copia de “Jazz”, un libro de edición limitada de impresiones publicado por primera vez en 1947, del cual hay un total de 270, según documentos oficiales.
La portada, donde el nombre de Matisse y el título aparecen en caligrafía negra y fluida, fue parte del botín, al igual que el recorte conocido como ‘circo’.
Las impresiones de Matisse pueden valer hasta 15.000 dólares, dijo Wiona Raba, gerente del Art Loss Register. Los grabados de Portinari pueden alcanzar hasta 2.000 dólares, pero no llegan con frecuencia al mercado internacional, agregó.
Brasil ha notificado a la Interpol sobre el robo, en caso de que las impresiones sean sacadas de contrabando del país.
Las obras de arte estaban en exhibición como parte de la exposición ‘Del libro al museo’ en colaboración con el Museo de Arte Moderno de Sao Paulo, que se llevó a cabo del 4 de octubre al 7 de diciembre. Consistía principalmente en obras de las décadas de 1940 y 1950 y una selección de libros que representaban la producción moderna durante el mismo período.
La secretaría de cultura de Sao Paulo dijo que la exposición estaba asegurada con la mejor póliza disponible, las obras estaban protegidas por cables de acero y la biblioteca cuenta con un sistema de cámaras de seguridad.
La biblioteca no cerró tras el robo.
Matisse, quien murió en 1954, es uno de los artistas más preciados de Francia y la figura principal del Fauvismo, un movimiento de arte moderno caracterizado por colores intensos y pinceladas fuertes y expresivas que rompieron con la tradición impresionista del siglo XIX.
Raba expresó su esperanza en que se puedan recuperar las impresiones de Matisse y las obras de Portinari.
“Incluso si la policía no rastrea inmediatamente estas obras, no se pierde la esperanza”, dijo.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
