Links for you. Science:

Placebo effects are weak: regression to the mean is the main reason ineffective treatments appear to work
When Lions Abound, Hyenas Pick a New Menu
The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States
Evelyn Witkin and the Road to DNA Enlightenment
Zombie infections: epidemiology, treatment, and prevention

Other:

This week, the US government will take action to slow the economy and prevent wage growth (Yglesias finds a nut)
Those left behind by Silicon Valley’s technology boom struggle to stay in the place they call home.
Dutch Disease
BUSTED: Trump-loving Republican lawmaker caught lying in unhinged rant about Obama’s lies
America’s biggest housing program is run by the IRS, and it’s a huge giveaway to rich people
Abortion falls to record low in the U.S., CDC says (so did pregnancies; would like to see abortions relative to pregnancies)
Protesters, Nazi Slogans, and Threats of Anti-Black Violence: Just Another Donald Trump Rally
In Flint, Mich., there’s so much lead in children’s blood that a state of emergency is declared
A frenzy of hospital mergers could leave the typical American family spending 50 percent of its income on health care within ten years—and blaming the Democrats. The solution requires banning price discrimination by monopolistic hospitals.
The EPA’s “Covert Propaganda” Campaign Explained
The Corporate Takeover of the Red Cross
Holiday Season Giving to Jeff Bezos
Racism In Retail: An Industry-Wide Problem?
Bartered sex, corruption and cover-ups behind bars in nation’s largest women’s prison
A tour of H.P. Lovecraft’s shadowy city…