Links 3/8/26

Links for you. Science:

Experts warn NIH director now leading CDC will push ‘RFK Jr’s agenda’
N.I.H. Director Will Temporarily Run C.D.C. in Leadership Shake-Up
Revitalizing actinobacteria research: an urgent response to the antimicrobial resistance crisis
The 80% power lie
National Institutes of Health faces leadership vacuum as director positions sit open
This Is What Destroying the Vaccine Market Looks Like. A shocking move by RFK Jr.’s team has the industry spooked—for good reason.

Other:

Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, And The Construction Of Political Crisis
Don’t Be Fooled By the Corrupt Court’s Tariff Decision
Get Ready for Zombie Tariffs. Even after losing at the Supreme Court, Trump has plenty of ways to reconstruct his trade regime.
Pastor Linked to Erika Kirk Faces Child Trafficking Charges as Online Speculation Spreads
Kansas pass anti-trans ‘bathroom bounty’ law despite governor’s veto (very weird original headline, demonstrating a lack of basic political knowledge)
MAHA Moms Turn Against Trump: ‘Women Feel Like They Were Lied To’
DOJ Deleted Record Revealing That Maxwell Holds Potential Blackmail Over Trump
The break is over. Companies are jacking up prices again.
Kansas Mayor Who Voted for Trump as Noncitizen Faces Felony Charges (he’s Republican, obviously…)
Indian Skier Starts, Finishes Race
Florida pickleball brawl involving up to 20 people results in paddles to the face and felony charges
He made a fake ICE deportation tip line. Then a kindergarten teacher called.
How Legal Immigration Became a Deportation Trap
Maryland bans partnerships with ICE, citing ‘unaccountable agents’
Epstein was invited to gatherings with a dozen members of Congress years after his initial arrest, documents reveal
I Guess We’re Still Doing This
Jesse Watters says billionaires should “make the homeless people in skid row fight like gladiators”
‘Hello Girls!’: Epstein Donated to Harvard Student Group for Years After Sex Conviction
Security And Confidentiality
Staff at Dilley raiding cells to confiscate kids’ letters and drawings detailing conditions inside. The raids allegedly began in response to a recent ProPublica article featuring letters and drawings from children inside the San Antonio-area immigrant detention site.
US plans online portal to bypass content bans in Europe and elsewhere
ICE moves out to the suburbs. The less densely populated areas outside the Twin Cities make it harder for protesters and observers to organize.
Epstein Used Botstein’s Prestige and Connections to Recruit and Support One of His Victims, a Violinist from Europe
Turns Out There Was Voter Fraud in Georgia—by Elon Musk
The billionaires’ eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science
Nevada Brothel Workers Are Unionizing to Protect Their Digital Rights
US judge throws out immigration board’s ruling endorsing Trump mass detention policy
Wow, Elon Musk sure does like White people
Look how much Canadians hate the United States now
Bizarre new RFK Jr video features shirtless secretary climbing into tub in jeans

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Links 3/7/26

Links for you. Science:

Mobile genetic elements drive a fusion-deletion life cycle that shapes plasmid evolution and antimicrobial resistance
Scientist Jack Horner linked to Jeffrey Epstein in newly released DOJ files
FDA reverses course, agrees to review Moderna’s flu vaccine
NanoHIVSeq: A Long-Read Bioinformatics Pipeline for High-Throughput Processing of HIV Env Sequences
How Microbes Got Their Crawl. In the oceans and on land, scientists are discovering rare, transitional organisms that bridge the gap between Earth’s simplest cells and today’s complex ones.
FDA reverses course, will review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine

Other:

DOGE Bro’s Grant Review Process Was Literally Just Asking ChatGPT ‘Is This DEI?’ (not even smart enough to do the dirty work themselves)
Wilson Building Bulletin: To fight (Congress) or not to fight, that is the question (wimping out when faced with Republican lawbreaking: it’s not just for national professional Democrats anymore!)
10 Thoughts On “AI,” February 2026 Edition
Leaked Email Suggests Ring Plans to Expand ‘Search Party’ Surveillance Beyond Dogs
With state backing, Augusta County says no to ICE facility
“The most powerful crime syndicate in history”
Strategic Bombing and the Pop History Problem: Reviewing Malcom Gladwell’s “The Bomber Mafia”
Ohio GOP mayor accused of sniffing underage relative’s underwear (his last name is Dingus–we need new scriptwriters)
AI bots may lead to the end of the internet as we know it
Republicans keep pretending Trump can bail them out in November
Popularism!
After leaving WHO, Trump officials propose more expensive replacement to duplicate it
Ah, Well, Nevertheless
Offshore wind triumphs over Trump in court, but future projects face delays
GGWash endorses Janeese Lewis George for mayor of the District of Columbia
After the massive sewage spill into the Potomac, a shitload of questions remain
Moonlighting: D.C. Rental Housing Administrator Solicits Landlord Clients For His Side Gig. Terrance Laney was put on leave after City Paper asked about the potential conflict of interest in his dual roles.
Goldman Lawyer, Epstein Conferred on Secret Service Prostitution Scandal. In a series of 2014 emails, the wealthy financier gave advice to the former White House counsel as the Colombian incident blew up.
Labor Secretary’s Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports
Inflation Is Down, But Americans Still Feel an Affordability Squeeze
After Censoring CBS, Trump Will Go For CNN
‘No expense has been spared’: Inside a luxury jet DHS wants to buy for deportations
Yeah, US Olympians are woke. Deal with it. Sports have always been political — it’s just a question of who’s speaking out.
You may soon need a passport to vote. Trump is making it harder to get one.
For LGBTQ Winter Olympians, visibility matters just as much as medals
Tabletop industry veteran Ryan Dancey loses Alderac COO job after saying AI can generate game ideas as good as some of his company’s designs
Under Mamdani, City to Probe Businesses Where Most Workers Take Zero Sick Days. Employers will be subject to an investigation by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection if more than half their employees took zero paid time off in a given year.
Republican congressman’s anti-Muslim remark prompts calls for his resignation
We’re pediatricians. We see how ICE is harming children.
Crypto super PAC wades into Illinois House primaries

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Links 3/6/26

Links for you. Science:

The Scientists Groveling to Trump Are Kidding Themselves. The government has pulled back from massive cuts to the NIH, but it’s still destroying scientific research. So why are some groups appeasing the president? (excellent)
FDA chief Marty Makary says ‘everything should be over the counter’ unless drug is unsafe or addictive (if this applies to antibiotics, Makary is a walking public health emergency)
Mom of 7-year-old hospitalized with brain swelling from measles: ‘I still wouldn’t have given my son the vaccine’
The mysterious symptom popping up in some GLP-1 users
The Disastrous First Year of RFK Jr. The damage the HHS secretary has done to science and public health is appalling—and it could have been avoided.
What NIH Staff Can’t Tell You—And Why That Matters

Other:

D.C. needs to play better defense against President Trump and the Republicans in Congress.
The Uncanny Artifice of George Washington
Jewish Republican Randy Fine draws sharp criticism after suggesting he prefers dogs to Muslims
CEOs Joined Trump’s Corruption. It Will Soon Be Time for Consequences.
Mayor Mamdani Breaks His Promise to NYC Public Libraries
Install Your Own Malware
Here’s the real reason Trump wants to slap his name on airports
MAGA White Supremacists Are a Bunch of Pathetic Losers
Thousands of CEOs just admitted AI had no impact on employment or productivity—and it has economists resurrecting a paradox from 40 years ago
As ICE Buys Up Warehouses, Even Some Trump Voters Say No
Grok Exposed a Porn Performer’s Legal Name and Birthdate—Without Even Being Asked
Is it all over for filmmakers?
Why Is Trump Dumping East Wing Rubble in a Public Park?
‘Students Are Being Treated Like Guinea Pigs:’ Inside an AI-Powered Private School
There’s something happening in Texas
Groups sue over Trump effort to ‘erase’ history, science in national parks
They Feed It Everything
Do Not Be Cynical About Jesse Jackson
Why isn’t the biggest tax increase in more than three decades a bigger story?
Underage Trump Accuser’s Brother Was Arrested For Participating Jan. 6 Riot
This is How You Deal With Fascists and Pedophiles
Everybody Hates Cory. Sex workers, bankruptcy, stolen valor, a restraining order, and Trump’s “Complete and Total” endorsement for Congress.
Palantir, Which Is Powering ICE, Says Immigration Crackdown May Hurt Hiring
Netanyahu Plays Trump and American Jews for Fools — Again
The Disappointment of Young Trump Voters: Americans under 30 swung to the right in 2024, but they’re not getting what they voted for.
Labor Secretary’s Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports
Judge scolds Mark Zuckerberg’s team for wearing Meta glasses to social media trial
After Researching Tenure’s History, Tennessee Lawmaker Drops Bill to End It
What Are Heterodox Free Speech Warriors Doing About Trump’s Censorship-Industrial Complex? Nada
The political effects of X’s feed algorithm

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Trump Freezes Out ICE Queen

Screenshot 2026-03-06 at 8.44.01 AM
“WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE MY NEW DHS SECRETARY?”

In case you missed it, Kristi Noem* is out at ICE, and it happened in the most humiliating fashion: while she was giving a speech–and none of her staff bothered to interrupt her and tell her. She deserves it, and hopefully there are criminal charges in her future.

Trump has nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her replacement. I don’t think Mullin’s approval by the Senate is a given, since he has really pissed off a couple of Republican senators (on the other hand, they might be thrilled to have him out of the senate, so who knows?).

Besides his rabid bigotry and Trump support (but I repeat myself), Mullin is just a very stupid person. When people describe someone as “a stupid person’s idea of a smart person”, Mullin is the stupid person in that scenario. He also is a huge wimp.

Will Mullin be worse than Noem? Possibly, but it’s still good that Noem’s political future–and possibly her freedom–has been flushed down Trump’s gold-plated toilet. Here’s to hoping Mullin self-immolates next. Anyway, it’s clear Homan and Miller are calling the shots.

In short, abolish ICE, and remove Stephen Miller.

*Due to autocorrect, future historians will debate whether her name was Kristi Noem or Kristi Norm.

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Links 3/5/26

Links for you. Science:

Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs
A Life-Saving Vitamin for Babies Is Getting Swept Up in Vaccine Backlash
The Evolution of Biomineral Armor in Fungus-farming Ants
The Paradox That’s Supercharging Climate Change
How climate change could be driving ‘killer’ cold outbreaks in oceans
Excruciating tropical disease can now be transmitted in most of Europe, study finds

Other:

The Quintessential Epstein Files Email
Major corporations bankroll political ad featuring white supremacist slogan
‘Show Up for Us’: 13 Democratic Voters on Trump, ICE and Their Frustrations With the Democratic Party
Epstein pal will reportedly keep cushy new gig at CBS News
Colbert Says CBS Pulled Guest Amid FCC Scrutiny, Posts Interview on YouTube Instead
Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon, dies at 84 (and he had a sense of humor)
30 Years Later, It Looks Like Jesse Jackson Won the Economic Argument
New details emerge about in-flight blow-up between Corey Lewandowski and pilot
2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbell challenges Democratic congresswoman in South Florida
RANDY FINE MIGHT BE THE FUTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
Republicans Are Much Much More Corrupt Than Democrats. But most people either do not know this, or refuse to admit it.
Turning Our Back on Clean Energy
The Problem With AI Is Shitty Human Beings
Trump wants to prosecute anti-fascists as terrorists. This Texas trial will test his power.
Jesse Jackson – a life in pictures
We Dare You to Figure Out What Our Nonprofit Does
12-hour days, no weekends: the anxiety driving AI’s brutal work culture is a warning for all of us
Trump somehow got worse on public health after covid (somehow is named HHS Secretary Kennedy)
New Zealand Declares Prediction Markets Are Gambling
Please don’t Bari me
After being cancelled by the woke mob for several minutes, Peter Attia has found redemption at the Bari Weiss Network
Homeland Security Hires Labor Dept. Aide Whose Posts Raised Alarms. A young aide behind social posts that echoed white supremacist messaging will help run social media for the much larger Homeland Security Department.
Noem’s use of Coast Guard resources strains her relationship with the military branch, sources say. Some early decisions by the homeland security secretary, including to divert Coast Guard resources from a search and rescue mission to the deportation of immigrants, set the tone early.
MyPillow guy isn’t losing sleep over scamming his donors
Makers Are Building Back Against ICE
Hegseth sets alarming conditions for AI company’s contract
Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader and Chicago icon, dead at 84
The Worst-Case Future for White-Collar Workers
Trump’s New Voter I.D. Threat Is His Gravest Attack on Democracy Yet
What if everyone had to prove their citizenship to register to vote?

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Abolish ICE Is Now the Mainstream Position

From YouGov polling:

Screenshot 2026-03-04 at 11.47.43 AM

They also have very little confidence in ICE:

Screenshot 2026-03-04 at 11.48.05 AM

In other good news, in North Carolina’s Democratic primaries (for state offices), a pro-ICE candidate was annihilated.

Now, if only Democratic voters would embrace D.C. statehood

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Links 3/4/26

Links for you. Science:

This Is What Destroying the Vaccine Market Looks Like
A Mystery Inside Earth’s Core Has Finally Been Solved With a Mind-Boggling Discovery
The Disastrous First Year of RFK Jr.
RFK Jr. made promises in order to become health secretary. He’s broken many of them.
Measles Just Hit an ICE Facility. I’ve Seen What Happens Next.
America’s Healthier Past is no More Than a Myth

Other:

Drug Cartels Are Shifting Their Money Laundering to Crypto. Cops Can’t Keep Up
What the Democrats Need to Do Now. To win back working-class voters, they need to signal more clearly to working people that they are on their side. That means picking fights on their behalf with the bad actors who are making their lives harder—and the democracy-hating billionaires.
A.I.’s pandemic moment: A new hype epicycle reaches its climax
Bullshit Bots
America’s Most Powerful CEOs Are Awfully Quiet Lately
LGBTQ+ Identification Holds at 9% in U.S.
Democrats have the leverage in the shutdown over ICE
Recent special elections point to a blue tsunami this fall
Beyond the Big Cities, ICE Is Rattling Small-Town and Exurban America
Erika Kirk Faces Backlash Over Alleged ‘Inappropriate’ Texts With A 15-Year-Old: ‘Absolutely Vile’
Broken bones, burning eyes: How Trump’s DHS deploys ‘less lethal’ weapons on protesters
No One Can Object To Bipartisan Commonsense Reforms
The Mark Kelly Case Is Bigger Than It Seems
Trump State Department Official Has Called for Sterilizing ‘Feral’ Populations
Believing Their Own Bullshit
We URGENTLY need a federal law forbidding AI from impersonating humans
Rattled Broadsides
ICE Tried to Justify a Minneapolis Shooting. Its Story Unraveled.
Cars Are Expensive
97% of House GOP would let tariffs ransack America
Right-wing media turns on Kash Patel over Nancy Guthrie case
$1,000 car loan payments are on the rise, stressing household budgets
Rank-and-File Dems to Leaders: It’s Time to Take the Gloves Off
Minnesota’s False Spring
The Politics of Permanent Disaster
A Blaring Warning For The Democratic Party From Across The Pond
Carrie Prejean Boller Is Not Going Quietly. The former beauty queen, dismissed from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, says that it’s “anti-Christian” to accuse her of anti-Semitism.
Diversity Is Our Strength
How the Democrats Can Play Offense on Immigration
AOC is pushing the Democrats to take her seriously. Munich could launch her rebirth. Once seen as an insurgent, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become a team player for the Democratic Party. Now, she wants to remake what that team looks like
Why AI writing is so generic, boring, and dangerous: Semantic ablation

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Links 3/3/26

Links for you. Science:

Trump admin is pulling supercomputers out of key weather and climate research center
Statement on the planned hepatitis B birth dose vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau
Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation
Fossil Vomit Reveals What a Proto-reptile Ate in Germany 300 Million Years Ago
Scientists have discovered one of elephants’ most sensitive secrets
More than a message: Death by a 1,000 “Chats”

Other:

Judge in Minnesota Says ICE Has Violated Nearly 100 Court Orders
GOP slams Mass. for not working with ICE — but reality tells a different story
Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts
Talking Greatness to Death: On Ryan Coogler’s sins and the kinds of performances that attract vampires.
’80s Star Molly Ringwald Gets Emotional in Rare Political Message: ‘I Can’t Stay Silent’
Parents Are Getting Deported Without Having Any Idea Where Their Kids Are
A Black newspaper in the former capital of the Confederacy is closing
ESPN Vet Calls JD Vance A ‘Demon’ Who Made Her Feel ‘Ill’ At Olympic Hockey Match
The snow is finally melting, but the frustrations of disabled people remain
Jesse Watters Mocks Bisexual Gold Medalist In Fox News ‘DEI Thursdays’ Segment
Why rap megastar J. Cole is trying to sell CDs out of his trunk
The Nonresponse To Donald Trump: How an obscure quirk of statistics and human nature explains the liberal crisis of confidence—and why it may finally be lifting.
President Trump’s Claim of an “Irrefutable” Argument Supporting His Right to Unilaterally Impose Voter ID and Election Rules May Be Based on Insane Claim that Marriott Hotel Manager Found Secret Text in the Shadows of a Microfilm Copy of the U.S. Constitution
How do we know the GOP wants to rig elections? Because they lie
Why Kamala Harris Lost
Remove Your Ring Camera With a Claw Hammer
Pam Bondi is daring the Democrats to impeach her
Which Other Olympic Mascots Could Italian Stoats Tina And Milo Slaughter In Cold Blood?
Halftime in America
The Epstein Emails Show How the Powerful Talk About Race
A Politician in Exile, Detained by ICE, Fears Deportation to Venezuela
Golfers sue Trump administration over public course takeover in D.C.
ICE Agents Menaced Minnesota Protesters at Their Homes, Filings Say
This Is What It Looks Like When Nothing Matters
Researcher skeptical of ‘Havana syndrome’ tested secret weapon on himself
The AI Apocalypse
The Last Bastion of Pneumatic Tubes
The Kids Aren’t Alright in Dilley
‘The Most Dejected I’ve Ever Felt:’ Harassers Made Nude AI Images of Her, Then Started an OnlyFans
Inside Democrats’ Primary From Hell: Michigan’s three-way Democratic Senate primary is attracting historic gobs of money, drawing national talent, and providing an early preview of the sort of swing-state chaos the party can expect in 2028. It might also end up costing Democrats the seat.

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Some Context About Maine’s Senate Race

Just to be clear, this is the Mad Biologist’s Official Take on the Maine Democratic primary senate race, which, unfortunately, has become a contest between Gov. Janet Mills and Graham Platner:

Screenshot 2026-03-02 at 4.57.35 PM

There is some important context for Maine: it’s a very weird state. More precisely, it is the whitest state in the U.S., with 93.1% of the population classified as “White alone, not Hispanic or Latino.” It also has a small Jewish population, with only 1.3% of the population being Jewish.

Needless to say, this is not the typical Democratic primary demographic. This might be important context for Totenkopf Guy.

That also is why it is weird to read articles about someone like Platner being touted as the future of the Democratic Party: leaving aside Platner’s Totenkopf problem (which has only become worse), Maine is completely unrepresentative of the U.S. as a whole. Despite the best efforts of Stephen Miller, it’s also not what the future looks like. Arguably, the borough of Brooklyn–which is twice as large as Maine and is usually mocked as atypical and weird–is as ‘normal’ as the nearly all white Maine.

Anyway, just some context.

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Links 3/2/26

Links for you. Science:

RFK Jr. food pyramid site links to Grok, which says you shouldn’t trust RFK Jr.
RFK Jr. made promises to get his job as health secretary. He’s broken many of them
NSF’s flagship fellowship program is rejecting applicants without peer review
RFK Jr. pledged more transparency. Here’s what the public doesn’t know anymore
Students, faculty mystified as NSF turns back applications for prestigious fellowship program
An mRNA Refusal to File

Other:

This Is How a Child Dies of Measles. When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak
The Woman Alex Pretti Was Killed Trying to Defend Is an EMT. Federal Agents Stopped Her From Giving First Aid.
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. admits he used to snort cocaine off toilet seats
School Picture Days Canceled, Investigations Launched After Rumors Link Popular Photo Company To Epstein
Case dismissed against LA protester accused of assaulting federal officer with cloth hat
Elementary students run from bus stop during ICE operation at NJ apartment
Why chasing twitter’s approval doesn’t work. The opinions you believe are universal are being fed to you by an algorithm designed to show you things you agree with
Palantir for Governor? Why is extremist MAGA billionaire Joe Lonsdale funding a California Democrat?
Building the camps
‘Even in Russia, they don’t treat children like this’: A family’s nightmare in ICE detention
“Not Ready for Prime Time.” A Federal Tool to Check Voter Citizenship Keeps Making Mistakes.
European Parliament Votes Overwhelmingly For “The Full Recognition Of Trans Women As Women”
Local police aid ICE by tapping school cameras amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
Rugged Great Plainswoman
‘UK has fallen’: Antisemitic conspiracies theories on Starmer’s wife, Jewish world control spread
What Minnesota Really Thinks Of The End Of Trump’s ICE Surge
Does Anybody Show Up For Work
Why Is Thom Tillis Lying About Trump and Tariffs?
The real reason Kristi Noem wants ICE body cams
Minimum Standards for Taking AI Seriously (I would add regulations about data acquisition and sharing)
Why Are Senate Democrats Still Voting to Confirm Trump’s Judicial Nominees?
The MAGA Bubble Is Imploding
Trump Will Never Stop Dragging the American Economy Down
ICE’s warehouse detention centers run up against NIMBYism
Orlando Rep. Maxwell Frost gets Epstein files assist from Reddit sleuths
ICE Proposal to Hold 8,500 Immigrants in Mississippi Mega Warehouse Draws Local Opposition
An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me – More Things Have Happened
‘Suicide is only one option’: Social Security staff newly assigned to phone duties raise concerns over training
Kristi Noem was unable to cite single election fraud case during secretive Arizona visit
The NFL Owners and Olympic Organizers in Epstein’s Inbox

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