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There is no ‘scientific divide’ over herd immunity

There is no ‘scientific divide’ over herd immunity

Matt Reynolds writes: On October 4, in a wood-panelled room at an event hosted by a libertarian think tank, three scientists signed a document that they say offers an alternative way of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. The signing of this so-called “Great Barrington Declaration” was greeted with clinking champagne glasses before the signatories jetted off to Washington DC on the invite of White House coronavirus advisor Scott Atlas. Aside from the three lead signatories, there is little about the…

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Twitter upends retweets in bid to stop spread of election misinformation

Twitter upends retweets in bid to stop spread of election misinformation

Politico reports: Twitter is making sizable changes to retweets and other features aimed at making it harder for politicians and other users to spread misinformation about the Nov. 3 election, the company announced Friday — the latest attempt by Silicon Valley platforms to protect the vote. The changes are part of a push to protect the “critical dialogue” on Twitter “from attempts — both foreign and domestic — to undermine it,” said Twitter’s general counsel Vijaya Gadde and head of…

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Trump incited insurrection in Michigan; militia members then plotted to kidnap Whitmer, overthrow government

Trump incited insurrection in Michigan; militia members then plotted to kidnap Whitmer, overthrow government

Trump issued this command on April 17: LIBERATE MICHIGAN! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020 The Detroit News reports: Federal agents said Thursday they thwarted a plot to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — a conspiracy that included visits to her home in northern Michigan and training with explosive devices. The alleged plot involved conspirators who met during a Second Amendment rally at the Capitol in Lansing in June and reached out to…

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Trump calls in for rambling and ugly post-hospital interview

Trump calls in for rambling and ugly post-hospital interview

CNN reports: Dialing in for his first interview since being hospitalized, President Donald Trump went on an hour-long ramble that devolved into vicious and sexist attacks on the Democrats running against him, desperate claims against old enemies and dangerous boasts about his own apparent recovery from coronavirus. Trump’s appearance did little to reverse impressions of a candidate in denial about the country’s health situation or lost in a web of old grievance and comes just weeks before a presidential election…

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The U.S. debt is now projected to be larger than the U.S. economy

The U.S. debt is now projected to be larger than the U.S. economy

CNN reports: As the United States continues its struggle with the pandemic-induced economic recession and a sputtering recovery, the country’s burgeoning debt is not anyone’s top concern these days. Even deficit hawks are urging a dysfunctional Washington and a chaotic White House to approve another round of badly needed stimulus to the tune of trillions. “The US federal budget is on an unsustainable path, has been for some time,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said this week. But, Powell added,…

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Ex-Trump fundraiser charged with illegal foreign lobbying

Ex-Trump fundraiser charged with illegal foreign lobbying

Bloomberg reports: Elliott Broidy, a former top political fundraiser for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, has been charged as part of a wide-ranging federal probe into back-channel efforts to influence the Trump administration on behalf of foreign interests. Broidy participated in a scheme to illegally lobby the Trump administration to stop investigating the embezzlement scandal at the 1MDB Malaysian state investment fund, according to charging documents unsealed on Wednesday. Jho Low, a Malaysian fugitive who was charged as…

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When COVID-19 superspreaders are talking, where you sit in the room matters

When COVID-19 superspreaders are talking, where you sit in the room matters

Classroom experiments show how the coronavirus can spread and who’s at greatest risk. Tom Werner via Getty Images By Suresh Dhaniyala, Clarkson University It doesn’t take long for airborne coronavirus particles to make their way through a room. At first, only people sitting near an infected speaker are at high risk, but as the meeting or class goes on, the tiny aerosols can spread. That doesn’t mean everyone faces the same level of risk, however. As an engineer, I have…

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How Amy Coney Barrett’s religious group helped shape a city

How Amy Coney Barrett’s religious group helped shape a city

Adam Wren writes: In 2002, when Amy Coney Barrett moved [to South Bend, Indiana] to begin her academic career, she joined the faculty at the law school where she’d been a student, attended Notre Dame football games and eventually joined a Primal Fitness gym where she’s currently known for her fierce pullup workout. She also connected with one other local community: People of Praise, a charismatic Christian group founded here in 1971. Many aspects of her life dovetail with a…

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The fear of being eaten shapes brains, behavior, and entire ecosystems

The fear of being eaten shapes brains, behavior, and entire ecosystems

Lesley Evans Ogden writes: As high tide inundates the muddy shallows of the Fraser river delta in British Columbia, what looks like a swarm of mosquitoes quivers in the air above. Upon closer inspection, the flitting mass turns out to be a flock of small shorebirds. The grey-brown wings and white chests of several thousand Pacific dunlins move in synchrony, undulating low over the water, then rising up like a rippling wave, sometimes for hours on end. Staying aloft like…

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New England Journal of Medicine: The Trump administration turned a crisis into a tragedy

New England Journal of Medicine: The Trump administration turned a crisis into a tragedy

In an editorial, the New England Journal of Medicine says: Covid-19 has created a crisis throughout the world. This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy. The magnitude of this failure is astonishing. According to the Johns Hopkins…

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Chaos in the White House

Chaos in the White House

The New York Times reports: The White House that President Trump woke up in on Tuesday morning was in full-blown chaos, even by the standards of the havoc of the Trump era. Aides said the president’s voice was stronger after his return from the hospital Monday night, but at times he still sounded as if he was trying to catch air. The West Wing was mostly empty, cleared of advisers who were out sick with the coronavirus themselves or told…

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Trump, unhinged, demands Barr lock up his foes

Trump, unhinged, demands Barr lock up his foes

Politico reports: Donald Trump mounted an overnight Twitter blitz demanding to jail his political enemies and call out allies he says are failing to arrest his rivals swiftly enough. Trump twice amplified supporters’ criticisms of Attorney General William Barr, including one featuring a meme calling on him to “arrest somebody!” He wondered aloud why his rivals, like President Barack Obama, Democratic nominee Joe Biden and former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton hadn’t been imprisoned for launching a “coup” against his administration….

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Trump’s team trusts Russian intelligence over U.S. intelligence

Trump’s team trusts Russian intelligence over U.S. intelligence

Josh Rogin writes: As the election draws near, President Trump’s political appointees, private lawyers and GOP allies on Capitol Hill are escalating their campaign to help the Russians interfere in U.S. politics. Now they’re effectively asking Americans to side with Russian intelligence services over the U.S. intelligence community — and the president is going along. Over the past few months, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, GOP senators, U.S. lobbyists and pro-Trump media organizations have been working with Russian intelligence…

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‘We need to take away children,’ no matter how young, Justice Dept. officials said

‘We need to take away children,’ no matter how young, Justice Dept. officials said

The New York Times reports: The five U.S. attorneys along the border with Mexico, including three appointed by President Trump, recoiled in May 2018 against an order to prosecute all undocumented immigrants even if it meant separating children from their parents. They told top Justice Department officials they were “deeply concerned” about the children’s welfare. But the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions, made it clear what Mr. Trump wanted on a conference call later that afternoon, according to…

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