Pharmacies share medical data with police without a warrant, inquiry finds

Pharmacies share medical data with police without a warrant, inquiry finds

The Washington Post reports: The nation’s largest pharmacy chains have handed over Americans’ prescription records to police and government investigators without a warrant, a congressional investigation found, raising concerns about threats to medical privacy. Though some of the chains require their lawyers to review law enforcement requests, three of the largest — CVS Health, Kroger and Rite Aid, with a combined 60,000 locations nationwide — said they allow pharmacy staff members to hand over customers’ medical records in the store….

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UN warns Gaza is now ‘uninhabitable’ as war continues

UN warns Gaza is now ‘uninhabitable’ as war continues

The Associated Press reports: The UN humanitarian chief has described Gaza as “uninhabitable” three months into Israel’s war with Hamas, warning that famine was looming and a public health disaster unfolding. In a grim assessment of the devastating impact of Israel’s military response to the horrific Hamas attacks on 7 October, Martin Griffiths said that Gaza’s 2.3 million people face “daily threats to their very existence” while the world just watches. He said tens of thousands of people, mostly women…

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Safe zones: Israel’s technologies of genocide

Safe zones: Israel’s technologies of genocide

Nicola Perugini writes: “This evacuation is for your own safety,” the Israeli military declared on October 13, when it ordered 1.1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza to leave their homes. Thousands heeded the warning and headed south, only to be bombed along the way and upon arrival. The massive evacuation order was only the inauguration of an array of announcements and legal technologies developed by the Israeli military and its legal team in order to organise the violence against the…

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Inside Israel’s torture camp for Gaza detainees

Inside Israel’s torture camp for Gaza detainees

+972 Magazine and Local Call report: In early December, images circulated worldwide showing dozens of Palestinian men in the city of Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, who were stripped to their underwear, kneeling or sitting hunched over, then blindfolded and put into the back of Israeli military trucks like cattle. The vast majority of these detainees were civilians with no affiliation to Hamas, Israeli security officials later confirmed, and the men were taken away by the army without…

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‘He’s breathing’: My two hours under Gaza’s rubble after an Israeli strike

‘He’s breathing’: My two hours under Gaza’s rubble after an Israeli strike

Mohammed R Mhawish writes: On the morning that the unthinkable happened, my father was holding the radio close, hoping the news bulletin might bring some kind of relief such as news of a ceasefire. My mother was attempting to strike a reassuring tone following another long and sleepless night in our family home in central Gaza City. “I am hopeful today shall pass peacefully, or at least be anything unlike last night,” she told us. That morning – December 7…

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Lots of people will vote this year. That doesn’t mean democracy will survive

Lots of people will vote this year. That doesn’t mean democracy will survive

Brian Klaas writes: The greatest paradox of modern politics is that there are more elections than ever before in human history, and yet the world is becoming less democratic. Voting will take place in more than 60 countries this year—an unprecedented number—containing roughly half of the global population. But even with all this voting, democracy is under severe threat, endangered by predatory politicians who rig elections and disgruntled voters willing to hand over power to autocratic leaders. The most pivotal…

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Jan. 6 was an example of networked incitement − a media and disinformation expert explains the danger of political violence orchestrated over social media

Jan. 6 was an example of networked incitement − a media and disinformation expert explains the danger of political violence orchestrated over social media

Social media and cellphones connected President Trump to the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images By Joan Donovan, Boston University The shocking events of Jan. 6, 2021, signaled a major break from the nonviolent rallies that categorized most major protests over the past few decades. What set Jan. 6 apart was the president of the United States using his cellphone to direct an attack on the Capitol, and those who stormed the Capitol being wired and ready for…

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Microplastics in drinking water affect behavior and immunity in mice, study reveals

Microplastics in drinking water affect behavior and immunity in mice, study reveals

PsyPost reports: A study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences has uncovered startling effects of microplastics on mice, revealing significant behavioral changes and immune responses in both young and old subjects. This research expands our understanding of how these environmental pollutants might be affecting mammals — potentially including humans. Microplastics, tiny plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in diameter, have been a growing concern for environmentalists and health professionals alike. Found in everything from water bodies to human…

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Why is Biden risking a new regional war in the Middle East?

Why is Biden risking a new regional war in the Middle East?

Jeet Heer writes: The Biden administration, under fire for an increasingly unpopular policy of near-unconditional support for the Israeli government as it indiscriminately bombs civilians in Gaza, has resorted to the transparently desperate measure of claiming credit for keeping a terrible situation from getting even worse. The White House line on the Middle East is that Biden, behind closed doors, has used his close ties with Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent potentially reckless escalation that would have led to an even…

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The war in Gaza may widen. The Biden admin is getting ready for it

The war in Gaza may widen. The Biden admin is getting ready for it

Politico reports: Biden administration officials are drawing up plans for the U.S. to respond to what they’re increasingly concerned could expand from a war in Gaza to a wider, protracted regional conflict. Four officials familiar with the matter, including a senior administration official, described internal conversations about scenarios that could potentially draw the U.S. into another Middle East war. All were granted anonymity to speak about sensitive, ongoing national security discussions. The military is drafting plans to hit back at…

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Arab and Muslim Americans weren’t happy with Biden before Gaza war. Now they’re enraged

Arab and Muslim Americans weren’t happy with Biden before Gaza war. Now they’re enraged

Bishara A. Bahbah writes: In the key swing state of Michigan Arab and Muslim voters have been watching closely – and with growing rage – U.S. President Joe Biden’s one-sided support of Israel in a war they say is not being waged just against Hamas, but against Palestinians living in Gaza. These voters who helped him win in 2020 could now help tip the support against Biden, potentially costing him re-election. Michigan is home to the largest population of Arab…

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The promise and risk of South Africa’s case against Israel

The promise and risk of South Africa’s case against Israel

Alaa Hachem and Oona A. Hathaway write: The war in Gaza has now reached the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In the closing days of 2023, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ. South Africa alleges that Israel’s conduct in Gaza violates its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide both by committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and by failing to prevent it, including by failing to…

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If Trump is not an insurrectionist, what is he?

If Trump is not an insurrectionist, what is he?

Jamelle Bouie writes: Last month the states of Colorado and Maine moved to disqualify Donald Trump as a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. In response, Trump has asked the Supreme Court to intervene on his behalf in the Colorado case, and he has appealed Maine’s decision. There is a real question of whether this attempt to protect American democracy — by removing a would-be authoritarian from the ballot — is itself a…

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The people of Solano County, California, versus the next tech-billionaire dystopia

The people of Solano County, California, versus the next tech-billionaire dystopia

Gil Duran writes: It is easy to mock the absurdity of California Forever, the new city that a group of tech billionaires want to build amid cattle pastures 60 miles north of San Francisco. Its wealthy backers frame the project—envisioned as a mega suburb with dense housing and walkable streets set on 60,000 rural acres—as an innovative solution to California’s housing shortage. But their bumbling and villainous antics may ensure it never gets built. The particulars of this caper veer…

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