Friday, October 17, 2025

Washington Post Publisher Says Biden DOJ ‘Intensified’ Trump-Era Attacks on Press Freedom

“The egregious acts by the outgoing Trump Justice Department, and the apparent doubling down on them during the Biden administration, should alarm all Americans, regardless of political persuasion.”

WHO Celebrates As Indian Health Regulator Removes Ivermectin from Its Covid-19 Protocol

After India finally gets somewhat of a grip on its deadly second wave, one of its health regulators just took away one of its main lines of defense. 

Covid Was a Tipping Point for Telehealth. If Some Have Their Way, Virtual Visits Are Here to Stay.

Health industry leaders and many patient advocates are pushing Congress and the Biden administration to preserve the pandemic-fueled expansion of telehealth.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/7/2021

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

UN Report Assesses Dire State of Global Soil Pollution

The UN last week issued a report assessing the dire state the world’s soil. The calls to action are inadequate to the scale of the problem.

Links 6/7/2021

Environmental Activists Call on Biden Administration to Pursue Ratification of the Basel Convention to Block U.S. Exports of Plastics and e-Waste

California lawmakers and NGOs call on the Biden administration to press for U.S. ratification of the 1989 Basel Convention and subsequent amendments.

G7 Countries Reach Deal on 15% Global Minimum Tax Rate for Multinational Corporations

One critic of the agreement said that “by settling for anything less than a 25% tax rate, the G7 is telling their citizens and the world that they’re willing to keep the race to the bottom alive and kicking.”

Wolf Richter: Oh Lordy, Yellen Comes Out for Higher Interest Rates: “A Plus for Society’s Point of View and the Fed’s Point of View”

“We want them to go back to” a normal interest rate environment.

Quaking Aspen: The Keystone Species that Clones Itself

The world’s oldest and heaviest living being is an aspen clone!

Links 6/6/2021

In Missouri and Other States, Flawed Data Makes It Hard to Track Vaccine Equity

Just as an uneven approach to containing the coronavirus led to a greater toll for Black and Latino communities, the inconsistent data guiding vaccination efforts may be leaving the same groups out on vaccines

Links 6/5/2021

Food Insecurity: A Potentially Underrated Collateral Damage of the Pandemic

Increases in hunger and food insecurity under Covid are significant, yet have gone largely under the radar.

Rethinking Unemployment: From Adam Smith to Marx “Reserve Army of the Unemployed” to the Neoliberal War on Full Employment

Unemployment as a balancing act between workers ‘fearing the sack’ and employers ‘fearing the quit,” with employers usually winning out.