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Top U.S. doctors offer updated flu and COVID vaccine recommendations, aiming to ease confusion
Leading U.S. medical groups are urging people to get updated flu and COVID-19 vaccinations this fall, banding together Wednesday to issue shot guidelines — and highlight the science behind them — saying they hope to ease confusion caused by the Trump administration's changing advice.
US medical groups urge people to get flu and Covid shots in counter to Trump guidance
Top medical groups band together to ease confusion from Trump administration’s changing immunization advice
Doctors say they’re filling a void left by CDC on vaccines. Here’s what to know about flu, Covid-19 and RSV this fall
With children back in school and the looming threat of respiratory viruses like Covid-19, influenza and RSV on the horizon, many people may now be wondering how to stay healthy.
Fall vaccine guide: What to know about covid, flu and RSV shots this year
Influenza, covid-19 and RSV are expected to send hundreds of thousands of Americans to the hospital this fall.
ATLAS publishes first paper on Public Engagement with Science
You can’t exactly take the ATLAS experiment on tour. At 7,000 tonnes and buried 100 metres underground at CERN, it’s not easy to move. So, for more than a decade, the ATLAS Collaboration has found another way to bring the experiment to people around the world: live, interactive virtual visits with the scientists who work on it. In a recent paper published in the European Physical Journal Plus, the ATLAS Collaboration documents the evolution and impact of its flagship Virtual Visits programme. The paper is the Collaboration’s first publication focused specifically on science education, communication and outreach. It traces the programme from its beginnings as an experimental outreach effort in 2010 through its growth into a global programme – connecting classrooms in the Amazon, schools in the Himalayas and even a research station in Antarctica. Drawing on data collected between 2019 and 2025, the paper examines the programme’s reach and impact. Global reach, local connection Figure 1: World map showing the number of virtual visits across participating countries from 2019 to 2025. Cooler colours (purple and blue) are used for countries with fewer visits, and warmer colours (red and orange) for countries with more visits. (Image: ATLAS Collaboration/CERN) The core mission of the ATLAS Virtual Visit programme is to connect audiences worldwide with particle physicists and engage them in accessible discussions about cutting-edge research. While visiting CERN in person is an unforgettable experience, financial and logistical barriers can make such a trip difficult for many students and public groups. Video conferencing has allowed the Collaboration to break down these barriers: between 2019 and 2025, the Collaboration hosted 698 virtual visits, engaging tens of thousands of participants across nearly 70 countries (see Figure 1). Interactivity is central to the programme. Far from simple one-way broadcasts, Virtual Visit audience members are encouraged to engage in conversation with the scientist(s) hosting the visit. Most hosts are volunteers from the ATLAS Collaboration, who bring their diverse scientific expertise, language skills and cultural backgrounds to each visit. Where possible, audiences are paired with volunteer scientists who share their native language and cultural background, making it easier to engage, ask questions and connect with the hosts. Between 2019 and 2025, Virtual Visits were held in 19 different languages. The core mission of the ATLAS Virtual Visit programme is to connect audiences worldwide with particle physicists and engage them in accessible discussions about cutting-edge research. Constant evolution Figure 2: The number of ATLAS Virtual Visits organised annually since 2019. (Image: ATLAS Collaboration/CERN) The ATLAS Virtual Visit programme has continuously evolved to enhance the visitor experience. Early sessions were hosted directly from the ATLAS Control Room before transitioning in 2014 to a dedicated space in the ATLAS Visitor Centre, equipped with modern videoconferencing technology. In 2019, the ATLAS Collaboration expanded the programme’s reach, introducing live Virtual Visits from the experimental cavern during year-end maintenance stops and long LHC shutdowns. These exclusive sessions take participants beyond the ATLAS visitor platform, offering real-time, up-close views of the towering detector. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person gatherings worldwide, demand for virtual engagement surged. The ATLAS Collaboration adapted rapidly by introducing Open Virtual Visits streamed via Zoom and YouTube, allowing individual science enthusiasts and families to join live guided tours. Figure 2 shows that the programme reached a peak of 155 visits in 2021 and has since maintained around 100 visits per year, demonstrating sustained engagement beyond the pandemic-driven increase. More than just a tour Beyond participation numbers, the paper highlights the positive impact on participants and educators. Teachers report successfully integrating Virtual Visits into their physics curricula, sparking sustained curiosity and in many cases inspiring students to pursue STEM studies and careers. Feedback received also highlighted how the direct dialogue with ATLAS scientists has given students an authentic and personal perspective on particle physics, helping them connect what they learn in the classroom with the people behind ATLAS research. Looking ahead, the programme will continue to evolve with new technologies and communication platforms. The goal is simple: to give even more audiences the opportunity to engage directly with particle physics and make fundamental science open to all. Learn more Breaking barriers: the impact of ATLAS Virtual Visits in science communication (Eur. Phys. J. Plus 141, 874 (2026), arXiv:2601.22457, see figures) ATLAS Virtual Visit Dashboard Register for an ATLAS Virtual Visit
Business Owner Charged with Tax Fraud, Wire Fraud Related to COVID Relief Funds
URBANA, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) - Hans Lee Grotelueschen, 56, of Mahomet has been charged with allegedly failing to pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and fraud related to Economic
Illinois Quick Hits: Champaign business owner charged with COVID relief fraud
(The Center Square) – A Mahomet man has been charged with fraud and failing to pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.
Pa. business owner guilty of using COVID money for personal use
A federal jury found a Pennsylvania man guilty of using COVID relief money to buy a house and a vehicle, among other things.
Adams County Health Department offers prevention tips as COVID cases rise in Missouri, Illinois
According to the latest CDC guidance, people who contract the virus can return to normal activities after symptoms disappear and they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication.
Why was this previously healthy 14-year-old so sick?
What started as a suspected middle ear infection was quickly found to be a much more serious issue related to COVID-19. Quick response is key.
Chicago couple's COVID hobby expands into thriving bagel business
DOJ: Federal jury convicts Jefferson County business owner of COVID relief fraud
Federal authorities say a Jefferson County business owner could spend decades in prison after he was found guilty of committing pandemic relief fraud.Prosecutor
A temporary COVID-era subsidy helped Americans afford health care. Then it vanished
Congress let enhanced ACA subsidies expire after months of political gridlock. Millions now face premiums they can no longer afford
FDA approves updated Covid-19 vaccines
The US Food and Drug Administration has signed off on updated Covid-19 vaccines for many Americans.
FDA just approved updated covid shots. Here’s what to know as cases rise.
Questions remain over formal federal recommendations for which Americans should get a vaccine, which could complicate availability of the shots in a handful of states.
How A Tribal Health System Built A Wastewater Early-Warning System From Scratch
Tribal health org in remote Alaska proved wastewater surveillance can detect flu, RSV, and COVID-19 days before clinical cases in underserved communities.
Investing in Pandemic Preparedness for Resilient and Sustainable Health Systems
Pandemic preparedness and resilient health systems are inseparable. This message featured prominently during Symposium 5, “Resilient Health Systems for Future Well-being”, at the Public Health Summit held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 22 to 24 July. The WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEARO) participated in the symposium, contributing to discussions on how countries can prepare for future health emergencies while sustaining essential health services, contributing to health security, and advancing universal health coverage.Photo: Public Health Summit, where the main theme was 100 years of organised community health services in Sri Lanka. The summit was supported by the WHO Country Office for Sri Lanka. The SEARO presentation at the symposium, titled “Pandemic Preparedness for Resilient Health Systems”, highlighted how lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing global health initiatives are shaping stronger, more resilient health systems capable of protecting populations during future crises.Photo : WHO South-East Asia Regional Office’s Health Emergencies Programme highlighted that pandemic preparedness strengthens resilient health systems, advances health security, reinforces primary health care, and supports progress towards universal health coverage.
Gov. Reeves Announces Investment In Mental Health Services For Mississippi Youth » Office of Governor Tate Reeves
Gov. Tate Reeves today announced the state of Mississippi is deploying $3,375,709 to support expanded mental health services for children, adolescents and young adults who were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Community Development Block Grant CARES Act Coronavirus Relief (CDBG‑CV) program, the Mississippi Development Authority has approved targeted funding to modernize treatment environments and establish new programming focused on long-term recovery.
iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date?
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the iPhone event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The traditional respiratory virus season hasn’t started, but Covid is already climbing
Are you coughing, hacking or feeling feverish? It may not be just a summer cold; you might want to consider taking a Covid test.
Crisis Standards of Care: Lessons from COVID-19 and Emerging Gaps in Health System Preparedness
Hospitals struggled to activate crisis standards of care during COVID-19. New report reveals regional coordination is critical for future health emergencies.
Medical researcher who touted Covid ‘cure’ and was hailed by Dr Oz under fire over ethics
New findings further call into question scientific judgment of current health leaders in the Trump administration
Korean, Japanese restaurant in Oakley closes after more than a decade in business
Since opening in 2014 and surviving the Covid-19 Pandemic, the couple has felt the Oakley community’s warmth for more than a decade.
The COVID-19 vaccine may offer brain cancer patients a surprise benefit
A recent shot of the COVID-19 vaccine doubled survival time in glioblastoma patients who had undergone tumor biopsy or surgery.
Bexar County health department at risk as ARPA money runs out
Just four years in, Bexar County's public health department faces an uncertain future as the pandemic-era funding it relied on dries up.
Fauci refuses Senate appearance after invoking Fifth Amendment more than 100 times in COVID probe
Anthony Fauci's attorney rejected Sen. Ron Johnson's request to testify, arguing a second Senate appearance would amount to political harassment.
COVID-19 awakens dormant viruses — and one is linked to long COVID
COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses hiding in the body, including Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, and several herpes viruses. One poorly understood viral family was strongly associated with long COVID and lasting disability, offering a potentially important clue to why some patients struggle to recover.
Is there a summer COVID-19 surge this year? Yep, it's ramping up again
Just like all previous summers since the pandemic began, COVID-19 cases are ticking up again, even while other health threats make more headlines.
FBI arrest Lawrence mayor for allegedly misusing COVID-19 small-business loans
The FBI has arrested the Mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts, Brian Depena, for allegedly misusing $1.5 million in COVID-19 small-business loans.
Lawrence mayor faces federal charges, accused of misusing COVID business loans
Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña was arrested Friday morning on federal charges alleging the misuse of COVID business loan money.
What Does Science Say When “the Science” Refuses to Speak?
The data from the COVID-19 pandemic must be objectively reviewed and defended. Invoking science means accepting responsibility for outcomes and interpretations of the results.
Post-COVID, audience behavior at live shows seems worse
Texting, talking, and generally ignoring the rest of the crowd, audience members seem to have forgotten that live entertainment is a communal experience.
False claims about miscarriage risk from Covid-19 vaccines are spreading online. They use a faulty interpretation of data
Numerous studies have shown that Covid-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy, but Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials have recently stirred up false and misleading claims that are now spreading on social media.
West Virginia math and English scores top pre-COVID levels as science slips
West Virginia’s 2026 student assessments show math and ELA proficiency above pre-COVID levels, with math rising to 39% and ELA holding at 48%. Science slipped to 29%, while chronic absenteeism remained strongly linked to lower scores.
Vaccine Clinic at the Council on Aging (COA)
The Central MA Regional Health Dept. is partnering with Shaw's for a vaccine clinic on 9/9/26 from 9am-11:30am at the C.O.A., 98 Maple Avenue. Walk-in appointments available for Flu & COVID shots
Small Business Spotlight: Specialty dental practice takes root on Market St.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO OPEN BLUE HERON ROOT CANAL SPECIALISTS? OWNER SARAH ERMOSHKIN: “I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart. When I was 23 years old, I owned a cafe in Seattle, where I even fought to oppose oppressive sales taxes on espresso drinks. After selling that business, I got married and started a family. Once my children were in school, I attended dental school through the Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP), which covered my tuition and provided a stipend. From the beginning, my goal was to eventually own my own practice after completing my military service. The work I do is incredibly rewarding and being able to create an environment that puts patients first while helping employees grow professionally makes every day as a business owner meaningful.” WHAT DOES YOUR BUSINESS PROVIDE? ERMOSHKIN: “Endodontists are often called ‘pain doctors’ because our primary mission is to relieve pain and save natural teeth. We specialize in root canal therapy, retreatment of nonhealing root canals, treatment of root resorption, apicoectomies – microsurgical root-end procedures – and vital pulp therapy for children. Our goal is to preserve teeth that might otherwise need to be extracted and replaced with implants. Saving a patient’s natural tooth is almost always the best long-term solution for their oral health.” HOW DOES YOUR MILITARY TRAINING HELP YOUR BUSINESS? ERMOSHKIN: “My military service taught me how to lead, collaborate and make decisions under pressure. I worked closely with senior leadership while treating a large patient population and collaborating with specialists across multiple disciplines. During the COVID-19 pandemic, (I) served a dual role as Navy dentist and as the public affairs officer for Naval Health Clinic Annapolis, where I helped develop medical and dental communications for the midshipmen and support staff, while coordinating with the broader Navy Capital Region. We worked closely with other military treatment facilities to share best practices and deliver consistent public health messaging. Those leadership experiences continue to shape how I lead my team and serve our patients today.” WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU FACING RIGHT NOW IN YOUR BUSINESS? ERMOSHKIN: “One of our biggest challenges is overcoming the misinformation surrounding root canal treatment. Root canals are safe, effective and often the best way to relieve pain while preserving a natural tooth. Unfortunately, many people choose extraction because they believe it’s less expensive or because they’ve seen misleading information online. What they may not realize is that losing a tooth can lead to shifting teeth, changes in the way they bite and chew and significantly higher costs to restore their smile later.”
Experimental Pulse Oximeter Accurate Regardless Of Skin Tone, Researchers Say
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterWEDNESDAY, Aug. 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Pulse oximeters became widely known during the COVID-19 pandemic, as doctors used the finger clip devices to tell whether a respiratory infection was robbing patients of needed oxygen. But skin tone impairs the ...
Letters: Refocus public health priorities on current threats like food safety, measles
Recently, public discourse has been dominated by debates surrounding Dr. Anthony Fauci and COVID-19. While leadership in managing a pandemic is important, our focus should be on the critical dangers
Anthony Fauci Hysteria Reveals a Big Flaw of Our Political System
The hysteria around Anthony Fauci's tenure leading the NIH during the Covid-19 pandemic reveals a political system incapable of balance.
Dr. Ramon Tallaj reflects on the family doctor, faith, and health equity
Dr. Ramon Tallaj is chairman of the board and founder of SOMOS Community Care. “SOMOS,” which means “we are” in Spanish, is a physician-led network of 2,600 healthcare providers serving over 850,000 Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries in New York City’s immigrant communities. Tallaj reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of the family doctor, and how faith has played a large role in his life and work.
Long COVID Linked to Lasting Damage in The Brain's Dopamine System
The virus can cause serious damage.
Fauci Contempt Vote Reflects the Enduring Politics of COVID
Experts say the focus on COVID grievances shows that some wounds it opened were never closed
Fauci contempt vote reflects the enduring politics of COVID
Republican lawmakers and Secretary of Health RFK Jr. continue to scrutinize the legacy of COVID-19, recently voting to hold retired immunologist Anthony Fauci in contempt after his refusal to testify before a Senate committee.
Feds should devise way to reflect on COVID-19 response, says Canada's chief science adviser
Canada's chief science adviser says the federal government should devise a way to reflect on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic to better prepare the country and Canadians for future public health challenges.
New Book Examines Small Business Recovery and Racial Equity After the Pandemic
UCLA Luskin Professor Robert Fairlie explores how government aid, entrepreneurship and racial inequality shaped small business recovery after COVID-19.
Cardiologists share vaccine recommendations for heart patients: Flu, COVID-19 and more
The American College of Cardiology has shared an updated guidance that highlights the importance of vaccination for patients with a history of CVD.
FDA approves 1st flu shot using same technology as COVID vaccines
Previously, the COVID-19 immunizations made by Pfizer and Moderna were the only mRNA vaccines on the market.
Republican-led Senate panel will ask Justice Department to charge Dr. Anthony Fauci with contempt of Congress
A Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, advancing an audacious effort by Republicans to prosecute the well-known scientist over his role in the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fauci contempt vote reflects the enduring politics of COVID
Six years after the world was thrust into a global pandemic, Republicans in power aren’t leaving it in the past.
Fauci contempt vote reflects the enduring politics of COVID
Six years after the world was thrust into a global pandemic, Republicans in power aren’t leaving it in the past.
The Latest: Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt over refusal to answer questions
A Senate committee has voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and refer him to the Justice Department for potential prosecution over his refusal to answer questions at a hearing last week on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic
Covid can reactivate dormant viruses, according to study
A CDC director officially confirmed, Moderna's mRNA flu shot approved, and other health news from Morning Rounds
Senate committee set to vote on holding Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress
Hearing called after the former chief medical advisor invoked the fifth and refused to answer questions at a hearing on Covid-19
Republicans may finally snare Dr. Fauci in Covid’s last culture war
The Covid-19 pandemic was a historic stress test that revealed American politics as too broken to deal with a national crisis.
Fauci's HHS iPhone turned over to Senate investigators as contempt vote looms
Sen. Ron Johnson's subcommittee obtained a copy of Anthony Fauci's pandemic-era iPhone as Rand Paul's panel weighs holding him in contempt of Congress.
Science|Business summer reads of 2026
As most people in the European research and innovation policy bubble are going on a well-deserved summer break, we have come up with a list of our favourite books, podcasts and essays from the past year that ask deeper questions about science, technology and politics.BooksPasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation, by Donald StokesIf you haven’t read Pasteur’s Quadrant yet, now is the time. In the EU and elsewhere, we’re living through a period of dwindling faith that curiosity-driven research automatically leads to economic growth and technological progress. Pasteur’s Quadrant, published in 1997 by the Princeton academic Donald Stokes, is the most influential critique of the standard “linear model” of R&D: the idea that new discoveries made in ivory-tower labs get neatly passed on for commercialisation by start-ups. In reality, Stokes argues, practical applications often inspire more theorical lines of inquiry. Of course, we have long known that things are more complex than the linear model, but even today, it’s still often assumed in Brussels discourse. The book is a useful corrective, and is being used now to argue for new types of scientific institutions. David MatthewsThe Weaponization of Expertise: How Elites Fuel Populism, by Jacob Hale Russel and Dennis PattersonAre society’s problems solvable by technical expertise alone? “If only the benighted would listen,” say Jacob Hale Russel and Dennis Patterson, two professors at Rutgers Law School who got frustrated with how scientists and politicians handled public health communication during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the book, they argue that clichéd mantras about scientific evidence and expertise perpetrated by academics, journalists and politicians have harmed public trust in the very institutions they were trying to defend. Paradoxically, slogans such as “we believe in science,” “follow the science” and “defer to the experts” can fuel mistrust in science, experts and democratic institutions. The authors criticise “condescension” and “technocratic paternalism” in the public discourse and make the case for a more nuanced approach to scientific and expert policy advice that rests on humility, doubt, scepticism and open dialogue. “Most complex social questions in fact revolve around values, not the recitation of unambiguous facts,” they say. Florin ZubascuBreakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, by Dan WangIn this book, Dan Wang compares the structural differences between the US and Chinese industrial policies, but raises a very timely question for innovation policy wonks: how can advanced manufacturing know-how contribute to technology-intensive economic growth? Wang says technology has three components: the tools, the blueprints and patents, and the process knowledge. The third component represents the “proficiency gained from practical experience, which isn’t easily communicated and requires years of implementation.” According to Wang, rather than seeing tools and blueprints as the ultimate ends of technological progress, policymakers should see them as milestones in the training of better scientists and manufacturers. Over the past decades, China has amassed “process knowledge” because capital flowed to complex fabrication facilities, while investors in the West have parked their money in capital-light businesses such as digital platforms or chip companies that focus on design. As it turns out, thanks to its oversized focus on manufacturing, China has gained remarkable advantages in the global technology race. Florin ZubascuBaltic: The Future of Europe, by Oliver MoodyWhat can Europe learn from the nine countries surrounding the Baltic Sea? Alongside the familiar stories about Estonia's digital transformation, the book examines how the region has used technology, resilience, education, governance and long-term thinking to respond to geopolitical, economic and security challenges. Innovation policy wonks might find fresh perspectives on how innovation can strengthen defence, societal resilience and Europe's capacity to adapt in an uncertain world. Whether or not you agree with all of Oliver Moody's conclusions, the book is a useful guide to a region that is increasingly shaping European debates on security, competitiveness and technology. Goda NaujokaityteThe Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf This book chronicles the wild and adventurous life of natural science pioneer Alexander von Humboldt who at some point in the 19th century seems to have been just about the most famous person in the world. Through scientific expeditions to the Andes Mountains and to the depths of Siberia, von Humboldt contributed a host of discoveries and concepts. During his life he met and formed relationships with historical figures as different as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Simon Bolivar, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte and Charles Darwin. He is also claimed to be the person in the world with most things named after him, a list that includes an ocean current, a penguin and a region of the Moon. Still venerated in Germany, with numerous scientific institutions named after him, von Humboldt has slipped out of public consciousness in most of the rest of the world. For anyone not familiar with him, this book does a good job of describing his fascinating life. Ole EllekrogCareless People, by Sarah Wynn-WilliamsYou may have heard this referred to as the book Meta doesn’t want you to read. The 2025 memoir from Sarah Wynn-Williams, former director of global public policy at Meta, then just called Facebook, includes explosive claims about everything from a toxic workplace culture to how the company worked with advertisers to target vulnerable teens, and the lengths it was prepared to go to in order to break into China. It’s a fascinating insight into how and why the tech company gradually shifted its approach to policy, whether in the US, Europe or Asia. Meta has denied the allegations in the book, and last year won an emergency ruling to prevent Wynn-Williams from promoting it. In response, the author is now suing her former employer. If that doesn’t make you want to read it. Martin GreenacrePodcastsThe Europeans: Europe’s anti-ElonThis podcast is a great choice for a light-hearted dose of European policy and culture news. Most of it has little to do with research, innovation and technology, but this particular podcast features an interview with Mastadon’s founder Eugen Rochko. He talks about his experience running an open-source, federated, European-made social media platform, and leaving it all behind. The conversation, which starts 14 minutes in, gently encourages us to reflect on what kind of technology we, as Europeans, want to make. Goda NaujokaityteSolarpunk and how we escape dystopiaNew technologies are very often taken from science fiction. Alberto Santos-Dumont, inventor the airship, was inspired as a child by the adventure stories of Jules Verne. OpenAI’s attempt to build a personal assistant with the voice of Scarlett Johansson was lifted from the 2013 film Her, completely ignoring the movie’s cautionary message. So if we want better tech, we need to imagine it first. Unfortunately, the state of current sci-fi is relentlessly dystopian, giving inventors precious few ideas or hope. However, a new genre, Solarpunk, which envisages a technologically advanced but ecologically harmonious future, is now taking off. The actual tech the genre imagines, such as permaculture, renewable energy or community repair workshops, while nice, isn’t all that inspiring or ambitious. But it’s a first step towards rescuing sci-fi from its pessimistic Blade Runner rut. David MatthewsEveryday AbundanceLaunched in June, Everyday Abundance is a podcast that tells the stories of the inventions we now take so for granted that we barely given them a second thought. For example, the washing machine, which liberated women from a lifetime “bent over washtubs and washboards.” Or modern dentistry, which ended the reality that “tooth pain was simply part of human life.” Historians of technology, Virginia Postrel and Charles C Mann are very much on the optimistic end of the spectrum when it comes to the capacity of invention to improve human life. Here, they set out their case: if it wasn’t for progress, you might be hunched over a washtub with toothache rather than reading these words. David Matthews‘We will not know what we lost’: Conservation fallout a year after USAID shutdownSince his return to the White House, Donald Trump has been on a mission to undermine science. He slashed jobs at federal agencies, terminated grants in some research areas, took unprecedented control over university affairs and, within hours of his inauguration, suspended the US Agency for International Development. While its initial focus was to administer health and food aid around the world, it had since expanded to conservation projects. The result? Some of these projects were stopped abruptly. In this Mongabay podcast, environmental reporter Michelle Nijhuis tells the story of the EcoGuard conservation programme in Liberia, whose local patrols had helped protect rainforests, monitor endangered wildlife and track illegal threats. From one day to the next, these were left without salaries. Luckily, she notes, the initiative was able to get emergency funding from international NGOs, but its future remains “incredibly uncertain.” Juliette PortalaEssaysThe Mars Delusion, by Henry WismayerWhy is humankind so fixated on establishing a colony on Mars? asks London-based writer Henry Wismayer. From space evangelists promoting Martian settlement as an insurance policy, to billionaire Jeff Bezos, who said humans should settle on Mars “because it’s cool,” the mission is not running short of advocates. However, in this essay, Wismayer reminds us that some critics expect any future Mars pioneer to end up “irradiated, sick, mad and dead.” Scientists have already looked into the possible effects of prolonged exposure to Martian gravity, and it’s not pretty: muscle shrinking, bones weakening, changes to the central nervous system and other biological modifications to make us all reconsider the journey. “Some researchers have forecast that the future settler, after generations of evolutionary conditioning, will look less like an Übermensch and more like ET,” Wismayer writes. Juliette Portala
Exclusive | Senate Panel Says It Has Obtained Copy of Fauci’s Covid-Era Phone
Republicans in Congress have ramped up scrutiny of the retired government doctor, and one panel could vote on holding him in contempt on Thursday.
NBC Tower owner plans hundreds of apartments amid downtown conversion wave
The preliminary plan would add another high-profile address to a wave of downtown office conversions since the COVID-19 pandemic upended workspace demand.
What we’ve learned about Covid-19 since the pandemic
Here’s what we’ve learned – and how our understanding has evolved – since the earliest cases of the novel coronavirus were first reported.
What we’ve learned about Covid-19 since the pandemic
Here’s what we’ve learned – and how our understanding has evolved – since the earliest cases of the novel coronavirus were first reported.
Demand for experiences surges as travelers prioritize activities over relaxation
Hit especially hard by the COVID pandemic, the experiences sector of the travel industry has returned to pre-pandemic levels of business, growing faster than much of the rest of the
iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: Pre-Orders and Release Date
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. Labor Day is September 7 this year. The last time the holiday fell on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the last time Labor Day was on September 7 in a normal year was in 2015, and the iPhone event was held on Wednesday, September 9 that year.
RFK Jr., Bash clash in heated interview: ‘This is not productive’
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CNN’s Dana Bash clashed over vaccine safety and COVID-19 in a heated interview on Sunday. The tension in the “State of the Union”…
Fauci’s diaries show he changed his mind often. That’s what scientists are supposed to do.
Ann Keller: Public health experts need to be allowed to admit when they’re wrong — and share with the public what they are learning.
Fauci’s diaries show he changed his mind often. That’s what scientists are supposed to do.
Ann Keller: Public health experts need to be allowed to admit when they’re wrong — and share with the public what they are learning.
COVID’s political fallout still haunts both Democrats and Republicans
Unbiased Politics News
Does public health *need* MAHA?
Last week, our friend Dr. Craig Spencer sparked an ongoing volatile discussion with his Atlantic article “Public Health Needs MAHA.” Some have come out in strong dissent, others are cheering, and others are simply lamenting that we find ourselves in such a divided world to begin with. We will dare to dip our toes in these controversial waters, too. Does public health need MAHA? We think in some ways yes, and in other ways, no. MAHA leaders versus the everyday MAHA supporter The vitriol in this debate mostly comes from one collapsed distinction: the leadership of MAHA is not necessarily the same as the people who support it. Say “MAHA” and most people picture RFK Jr. Fair enough, as he coined the term and holds most of the power. And, yes, some MAHA followers treat Kennedy as something close to a saint. But talk to the grassroots, and it’s not a monolith. They’re Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. People who distrust vaccines and vaccine supporters. It’s a wide, eclectic coalition. The data backs this too: 4 in 10 Americans support the movement—that’s a lot of people! But according to polls, vaccines and medical choice (the issues most tied to Kennedy personally) are cited by only 4% as their reason for supporting the movement. For many, the motivations are much broader. Many MAHA supporters are signing up for the idea that “something needs to change” with health in this country. They’re asking good-faith questions about corporate influence on our health systems, health care costs, nutrition, chemicals, and clean air and water. These are all questions that plenty of public health professionals recognize as legitimate and also care about very deeply. Blurring the lines between the leadership and grassroots does real damage in two important ways: It hands the 4 in 10 exactly the narrative already fed—that the health ecosystem doesn’t listen, doesn’t care, and paints every critic with the same brush. It gives the actual bad actor more power. RFK Jr. has done irreparable damage and can’t be trusted. What the MAHA movement gets right A healthy population is something the public health field was literally built on, and many of these topics are things we have dedicated our lives to. Yet the MAHA movement has captivated nearly half the country in a way the public health establishment has failed to achieve. So that means MAHA is doing something right. Some of it may be timing (after a Covid-19 pandemic and deep frustration and mistrust with institutions). The movement also does three other things really well: 1. It gives a new, louder voice to system failures. While MAHA is not a monolith, one theme stays consistent across their stories: the system failed them. For some, it was the system that flooded their communities with opioids and then walked away. For others, it was the system that let their business collapse during Covid with no safety net in sight. For others still, it was the system that failed to help them manage a complex chronic illness, bouncing them from physician to physician without any real answers. And in many ways, our health ecosystems are failing Americans. Why are medical bills so incomprehensible? Why do some kids get a healthy school lunch and others don’t? Why do an epidemiologist and a MD/PhD student have to start newsletters in the middle of the biggest public health emergency in a century, just so people can get straight information? Because the systems failed. This deep-seated frustration driving many Americans to search for solutions elsewhere needs to be recognized. 2. MAHA has brilliant comms central to their efforts. MAHA figured out something most health institutions still have not: the information landscape changed. It’s participatory now, not top-down; influence runs through many nodes in a community, not one institution; and storytelling and telling audiences “what you really think” moves people more than data dumps do. MAHA goes where audiences are listening, using podcasts, social media, and memes in ways most health institutions would scoff at—but it works. 3. They are very good at organizing. A MAHA meeting feels like a rally: energy, speakers, music, and most importantly, an action for everyone. Someone’s writing the next policy brief, someone’s seeding a narrative, someone knows the next legislative deadline, someone’s sending the text messages for a campaign. None of this is new (ask the civil rights movement), but MAHA knows it works and has capitalized on it. What MAHA gets wrong This list could be much longer, and this newsletter has spent a lot of time covering it, but here are a few things: Poor use of scientific evidence. This is the fundamental problem with many MAHA policies: the hype outpaces the science, and experts are often villainized for pointing this out. MAHA leadership has traded real solutions for cheap wins. For example, instead of taking on the powerful food industry and passing real reforms, it has celebrated french fries made of beef tallow and taken out artificial dyes from still very sugary children’s cereal. These changes won’t move the needle on America’s diet. MAHA leadership has tried to dismantle vaccine access in the U.S. While many MAHA supporters emphasize other issues, the effort to change vaccine policy has become MAHA’s signature effort. This is not surprising given RFK Jr.’s extensive track record campaigning against vaccines. It has rallied behind the wrong leader. RFK Jr. has a decades-long track record of villifying doctors, scientists, and public health workers, well before he became HHS secretary. He is known for his decades-long work sowing distrust in vaccines as well as life-saving treatments like antiretroviral therapy for HIV. This is not a serious person who can move the needle on health in the U.S, and he has already done serious damage. Public health needs more than defense Defending the evidence is absolutely necessary so health in the U.S. doesn’t move further backward. The public health establishment is very good at defense. The problem is this defense often sounds like defending the status quo, which has failed many people. Public health needs to offer an alternative to RFK Jr.’s MAHA—one that is rooted in evidence, truly listens to and addresses people’s frustrations, and has innovative solutions and the courage to change the systems. How do we get there? Find common ground. Do you know what most people care most about? The abysmal cost of healthcare. Start there. Fight for the human loudly. Too often, communications and engagement center on science with a capital S, funding mechanisms, or the CDC/FDA/NIH. Not the person. So the public doesn’t see themselves in it. Instead, they see people fighting for the very powerful systems that they feel negatively impact their health and well-being. Let the public feel and hear that you see their frustrations, you get it, and you’re fighting for them within the system. Recognize when pro-science messages are alienating people. Facts absolutely matter, but angrily venting only alienates people further. Our friend Elisabeth Marnik recently wrote a New York Times article about her experience growing up unvaccinated and how listening and empathetic conversation are the only ways to reach people that really work (a position backed by communication science). Her comments section was full of hateful comments from pro-vaccine individuals attacking her for daring to suggest we approach vaccine-hesitant individuals with empathy. It is possible to both stand firm behind scientific evidence and empathize with people who don’t trust it. Lean into politics smartly. Often, public health has shied away from politics: Don’t touch it, lest you get burned. But this fails to recognize that the third rail is what fuels the train: who is elected determines our budgets, our priorities, and our authority. Being political means being very savvy in strategy on both sides of the aisle, knowing your audience, and recognizing that political capital is as scarce as financial resources and needs to be allocated accordingly. Bottom line So does public health need MAHA? That’s not really the right question. Public health has a responsibility not to dismiss 40% of the country who feel heard by this movement and are frustrated that the system has failed them. And it has a responsibility to stick to the evidence and recognize MAHA leadership for what it is: a danger to our nation’s health. Both can, and should, be done. Love, YLE and KP A big thanks to Craig Spencer, who had the courage to put his neck out there to start a much-needed discussion at such a critical moment—one that is determining the identity of an entire field. Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD is completing an emergency medicine residency and research fellowship focusing on health literacy and communication. In her free time, she writes the newsletters You Can Know Things debunking health myths and rumors and The Public Health Roundup. Views expressed belong to KP, not her employer. Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with one goal: to “translate” ever-evolving public health science so that people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. The YLE suite of newsletters reaches over 475,000 people across more than 132 countries. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribe
They Worked To Protect Public Health. Now They Want the Public’s Votes.
By Phil Galewitz, Christine Mai-Duc, and Amanda Seitz | KFF Health News A handful of former public health officials are campaigning for top statewide offices across the country, testing whether their experience with covid and other hot-button health issues will appeal to voters in November. The ...
Judge dismisses suit against Medical Aid in Dying Act days over lack of standing
It will legalize medically assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live.
After Hobbes vs Rousseau: Politics must move beyond human nature
Since the great debate between Hobbes and Rousseau, our political theory has been organised around a single question: is human nature essentially good or essentially corrupt? Graham Harman, the philosopher behind object-oriented ontology, argues that this is simply the wrong question to be asking. The real forces governing our collective fate - climate change, artificial intelligence, geography, and pandemics - are non-human; therefore, questions about human nature are not the central ones. Instead, Harman proposes a politics reorganised around our relationship to non-human objects and environments, in which quasi-government institutions incentivise and deter actions with the aim of extending the survival of the human race. “It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” This has become one of the most popular phrases among twenty-first-century intellectuals. Often misattributed to Fredric Jameson, it has been warmly embraced by such influential authors as Slavoj Žižek and the tragically departed Mark Fisher, and has fueled the notion that the major problem with the political Left is that it simply needs to become more speculative and creative. Naturally, this is never a bad idea in any human pursuit. But what if the political distinction between Left, Right, and Center itself results from a failure of imagination? SUGGESTED READING Hobbes vs Rousseau: are we inherently evil? By Robin Douglass This particular division has been with us only since the summer of 1789. During the simmering prelude to the French Revolution, it referred originally to the physical position in the National Assembly of radical figures on one side and loyal monarchists on the other. These positions are linked with two entirely different camps of modern political theory. On the Left we find a series of authors ranging from the moderate (Locke) to the supercharged (Rousseau) to the truly radical (Marx), all of them contending that exploitation of the many by the few justifies revolutionary overthrow of the existing order. On the Right they are countered by the likes of Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Schmitt, a group of thinkers convinced that corrupt human nature can be tamed only by force. In the words of the Nazi supporter Schmitt: “One could test all theories of nature and state and political ideas according to their anthropology and classify these as to whether they consciously or unconsciously presuppose [humans] to be by nature evil or by nature good.” This is the division we continue to face today, even in the daily retail politics of Western democracies.___Our species has regularly proven itself capable of both the noblest gestures and the most scathing cruelties, making it hard to define us as essentially either emancipatory or brutal in our aims.___The most refreshing feature of David Graeber and David Wengrow’s 2021 book The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity was their awareness that the forced choice between Rousseau and Hobbes (as they put it) is no longer sufficient. Our species has regularly proven itself capable of both the noblest gestures and the most scathing cruelties, making it hard to define us as essentially either emancipatory or brutal in our aims. Far from being stationed “beyond good and evil,” we seem to be fully entangled with both. We are not naturally good or evil, Graeber and Wengrow contend, but naturally experimental and imaginative. They rest their case on the archaeological record, which seems to bear witness to numerous episodes of seasonally shifting governments and festivals, which vacillate in the same society (even in the same year) between the egalitarian and the dictatorial. Such praise of political experiment makes a good fit with the generally anarchist position defended by these authors. Yet it is also what I find most disappointing in their position. Although they are right that the forced choice between Hobbes and Rousseau falls short of what our new situation requires, the authors simply replace it with praise for the human being as a political tinkerer and performer. In other words, they give us just another theory of human nature, one that would not have been out of place in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. What other options might we have?___The time is ripe for a retheorization of politics on the basis of something other than human nature… We are not just alienated and limited by objects, but also empowered and unleashed by them___One fresh approach would be to treat politics within a broader framework than human nature, given that the polis does not exist in a vacuum filled exclusively with people. When Bruno Latour went to observe the baboons of Kenya with the San Diego anthropologist Shirley Strum, they jointly concluded that these primates were more socially interdependent than our own species. Each baboon is so reliant on the dynamics of the group that they find themselves locked into constant surveillance of their potentially dangerous peers. The group structure turns out to be inherently volatile. Humans, by contrast, are able to stabilize their societies to a large degree through the mediation of inanimate objects. Although one’s position in society may seem to fluctuate over time, considerable stability is produced through such items as apartment keys, wedding rings, and identification cards, all of them serving to secure us a place distinct from that of our fellows. The Italian philosopher Maurizio Ferraris has written at length about the crucial role of documents in establishing social relations, making him a hero among notaries in his country. Proper names and license plates cement our position amidst other humans, as do symbolic achievements such as graduation from a top university or distinguished wartime service with its various medals and ribbons. None of this is found among baboons, despite their closeness to us on the evolutionary tree: after all, we did share a common ancestor just 25 to 30 million years ago. SUGGESTED VIEWING The goodness paradox With Richard Wrangham The time is ripe for a retheorization of politics on the basis of something other than human nature, whether understood in the manner of the Left or of the Right. We are not just alienated and limited by objects, but also empowered and unleashed by them. But initially, it is true, we face non-human things primarily in the form of constraints. It would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to form a human civilization underwater, deep underground, atop Mount Everest, or in outer space. Human dependence on the non-social background takes on subtler form in discussions of political geography, especially unloved on the more idealistic Left. Consider the luckless position of Poland during World War II, sandwiched between Hitler on one side and Stalin on the other. By contrast, note the good fortune of the United States in not having a military peer positioned on any land border. Anglo-American geopolitics, since the writings of the American naval commander Alfred Thayer Mahan and the British geographer Sir Halford Mackinder, has been wedded to the notion that one or more liberal offshore naval powers should prevent any authoritarian “heartland” regime from gaining effective control of Eurasia. That remains the case whether the opponent is the impatient Napoleon, the swashbuckling German Kaiser, the villainous Hitler, the murderous Stalin, or the industrial juggernaut Chinese. In their current Foreign Affairs article “Heartland vs. Rimland,” Michael Beckley and Hal Brands analyze the current and coming state of the world on the basis of these same rather durable principles. In recent years a similar outlook has been embraced, in inverted form, by the Putin-loving Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, an icon of the Rightist intellectual underworld. For Dugin, the Anglo-Saxons are an evil force bent on destroying the spiritually superior people of the land: much like Athens in its failed war with Sparta, or Carthage in its eventual collapse against Rome. But the shared notion on both sides is that any strategy that fails to take geography into account is likely to end up as a defeated form of excessive optimism.___When dealing with environmental degradation, then, we are doing business with forces that promise dire effects on our species as a whole.___More striking for us today than geography is the non-human object called climate, which threatens rimland and heartland equally. Even if we contend that humans are one hundred percent responsible for triggering the climate crisis, it remains non-human in the sense of being an independent force beyond our effective control. In a major work published just before his death in 2002, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, the American paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould noted the tendency of evolutionary theorists to focus too closely on the fate of individuals in view of their successful or failed adaptation to circumstances. With climate change, however, we confront a force that goes well beyond the scope of any individual life. Whereas Richard Dawkins extended evolutionary questions downward from individuals to the sub-individual gene, Gould pushed it upward, speaking of entire species or clades as impacted by environmental change. The asteroid that struck the Yucatán 66 million years ago is only the most famous example of this sort. In the wake of that catastrophe, large animals needing abundant supplies of food were at a fatal disadvantage by contrast with the smaller birds and mammals of the planet. When dealing with environmental degradation, then, we are doing business with forces that promise dire effects on our species as a whole. The effect is to shift our attention away from individual beings towards the survival of the group.In the United States in particular, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked considerable backlash among those who asserted a nearly absolute degree of individual freedom. In California I encountered those who demanded that their businesses be allowed to reopen, that it was enough to cover their mouths but not their noses, or that they should have the right to enter any public area despite refusing vaccination. Yet public health is probably the clearest argument against libertarianism, which often merely asserts the autonomy of individuals against any claims of the commons. In normal times the individual is worth defending; under conditions that threaten the survival of part or all of our species, compulsion may be our only resort, as with perfectly reasonable blackouts and rations in wartime. To rebuild human society under the constraints of climate change will be one of the great challenges of the century to come, as will our improvised grappling with artificial intelligence. Such phenomena pose existential risks for humanity, and leave far less room for tolerance of individual brattiness. Cases are mounting of devastating wildfires caused by arson. Recently it was reported that there is even a website where one can bet on the location of coming wildfires, raising the specter of deliberate blazes set to collect on wagers. The death penalty has steadily lost support in a world where many stress the infinite value of human life. But if we focus instead on entire ecosystems, those who purposely burn the forests may begin to look worse than serial murderers.___The politics of the future may be splintered by disagreement over such topics as how to manage our environing background and how to permit or restrict the entry of new objects into the political sphere.___So far I have spoken of force, authority, and punishment: measures sure to have greater appeal to those who identify with what we know as the Right. But other implications of the post-anthropocentric world are likely to have different backers. If non-human objects are seen as structuring political space, it stands to reason that they can no longer be introduced solely by the pace of technical breakthrough. Fields ranging from cybernetics to energy will demand increased politicization once they are reconceived not just as products of individual human investment, but as renovations of collective political geography. This need not involve world government, with its inherent risk of tyranny, but may involve quasi-governmental enforcers of prestige along the lines of a less corrupt FIFA or International Olympic Committee, punishing deviant states not with violence but with less tangible incentives.Politics will never lose its historic links with conflict and faction. But rather than factions aligned by differing theories of human nature, the politics of the future may be splintered by disagreement over such topics as how to manage our environing background and how to permit or restrict the entry of new objects into the political sphere. This will prove just as incommensurable with the modern Left/Right spectrum as a globe is with a two-dimensional map.
Animal spillover? Lab leak? What the science says about the origins of COVID-19
The release of Dr. Anthony Fauci's pandemic diaries has rekindled the debate over the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Here's how scientists have weighed in.
Animal spillover? Lab leak? What the science says about the origins of COVID-19
The release of Dr. Anthony Fauci's pandemic diaries has rekindled the debate over the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Here's how scientists have weighed in.
Moreno curses out Fauci over COVID response
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, made headlines Wednesday when he cursed out Dr. Anthony Fauci at a congressional hearing on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anthony Fauci’s high-profile Senate hearing: what we learned
Six years on from Covid crisis, Republicans still politicizing science – and Fauci remains a political punching bag
Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment in heated COVID-19 Senate hearing
Physician declines to answer Senate questions as Republicans like Rand Paul accuse him of covering up COVID's origins.
WATCH: Fauci invokes 5th Amendment, declining to answer questions in GOP-led hearing on COVID-19
Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment, declines to testify in COVID-19 Senate hearing
In his opening statement, Fauci said Paul has an "obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution"
Dr. Fauci, the Age of Big Players in science and what his diary reveals about the disputed origins of Covid
In the age of Big Players, even science has become politicized. The most recent evidence is contained in Dr. Anthony Fauci’s diary.
Dr. Anthony Fauci pleads the Fifth to avoid Senate questions about Covid pandemic
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, refusing to testify Wednesday just minutes into a Capitol Hill hearing that Republicans outwardly hoped would undermine the scientist and open him to claims of perjury.
WATCH LIVE: Senate panel questions Fauci on ‘diary entries’ about COVID-19 origins
Live updates: Anthony Fauci to face Senate questions on Covid origins
Get live updates and the latest news on the Trump administration as Anthony Fauci faces senators’ questions about the origins of Covid and Sen. Linsey Graham is laid to rest in South Carolina.
Fauci to face Republican questions over Covid pandemic origins
Veteran medical adviser likely to face questions over disputed ‘lab leak’ theory in investigation seen by scientists as ‘vilification and harassment’ of 85-year-old
Researchers north of the border find Canadian emergency departments in crisis—still
Burnout levels among Canada’s emergency physicians are as high now as they were at the height of the COVID pandemic, according to a study published July 27 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Inside Fauci's private diary: What he wrote about Trump, TV personalities and celebrities
Anthony Fauci's diary entries reveal candid opinions about Trump, Mark Meadows, Jake Tapper and celebrities he encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gary Stevenson to quit YouTube channel, citing health concerns
Former City trader’s weekly Gary’s Economics videos took off during the Covid pandemic
Temporal Changes in Pediatric Influenza Test Positivity Across COVID-19 Public Health Policy Phases: A Five-Year Retrospective Cohort Study
Background The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with substantial changes in respiratory virus circulation, healthcare utilization, and diagnostic testing. Although population-level influenza activ...
Once an adventurer, Dr. Anne Zink offers health and safety tips for travelers
While the crisis of COVID-19 is mostly behind us, new health-related issues are causing travelers to pay attention to how and where they travel.
U.S. death rate falls to pre-pandemic levels, but Louisiana’s rate is higher. See the data.
The U.S. death rate fell 4.6% in 2025, a return to pre-COVID trends. See more data.
N. Y. contractors brace for impact of new Canada tariffs
The current questions around tariffs are being piled on top of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and previous tariffs.
COVID-19 Linked to Short-Term Increases in Medicare Health Care Spending
Postacute COVID-19 symptom diagnoses, health care spending, and utilization among Medicare beneficiaries diminish within 3 months of infection.
Science and the public are learning the wrong lessons from Covid
“Post-pandemic polarization threatens to lock our memories into attractive, untrue conclusions that will leave us unprotected next time,” write Marc Lipsitch and Sara Cody.
The Sewer Knows What You Ate
During the Covid-19 pandemic, wastewater testing became a virus warning system. Now, scientists are using the approach to understand how communities eat.
How Erica Fee keeps Rochester Fringe reinventing itself
Erica Fee reflects on launching Rochester Fringe, navigating COVID and helping grow the festival into a regional arts destination.
Trump's CDC Nominee Praises Vaccines, Without Vowing Independence From RFK Jr.
By Rachel Spears and KFF Health News HealthDay ReportersMONDAY, July 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Dr. Erica Schwartz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expressed support for vaccines — including mRNA-based COVID shots — in a Senate hearing,
Sonja Shaw explains why she should be California’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction
Sonja Shaw shared her journey going from concerned parent during COVID-19 to political advocate in a wide-ranging conversation on California Politics 360.
Common antidepressant may ease long COVID’s crushing fatigue
A low-cost antidepressant may offer new hope for people struggling with long COVID fatigue. In a randomized clinical trial involving 399 adults, fluvoxamine significantly reduced fatigue and improved quality of life compared with a placebo, making it one of the first medications to show meaningful benefits for this disabling condition.
8 Chicago officers face firing over federal small business loan fraud
The officers are among 28 cops accused of lying on government documents in order to receive funding meant to assist small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic
‘Social media bans are likely to make things worse’: psychologist Candice Odgers on kids, tech and mental health
She has studied adolescent mental health for 25 years and fears the debate obscures some of the biggest issues facing teenagers – from the impact of Covid to the health of their adult caregivers
How a teen turned a candy hobby into business sold at Disney World
An 18-year-old has transformed her COVID-era hobby into a thriving business, with her freeze-dried candy now sold at Disney World and other prominent locations.