Links for you. Science:
SARS-CoV-2 is a natural virus that has nothing to do with gain-of-function research. While a complex topic, there is zero scientific doubt behind this today
COVID-19 associated with higher risk of erectile dysfunction (IT PUTS THE CLUNK IN UR JUNK!)
The Emergence and Evolution of SARS-CoV-2
Treacherous ancestry: An extraordinary hunt for the ghosts of SARS-CoV-2
500-Pound Prehistoric Bird Was a ‘Giga-Goose,’ Fossils Reveal
‘What’s going to happen?’ Tufts scientists race to stay ahead of H5N1 as officials announce third human US case this year
Other:
The “Originalist” Supreme Court vs Democracy: As the Right is using “originalism” to re-impose a reactionary order on the country, I exchange letters with Madiba Dennie about the dangers of judicial supremacy – and how to get out of this trap (excellent)
How A Luxury Trip For Trump Judges Doomed The Federal Mask Mandate. The April 2022 ruling included an unusual legal theory — and new disclosures seen by HuffPost shed some light.
Investors, worried they can’t beat lawmakers in stock market, copy them instead
Anthony Fauci faces questions during contentious COVID-19 hearing in the House
Why restaurants are so loud
COVID death reporting (shit talking the People’s CDC)
OpenAI finds Russian and Chinese groups used its tech for propaganda campaigns
Solar project to destroy thousands of Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert
Basic training in Ukraine is barely covering the basics, commanders say
What ever happened to the war on terror? (like withdrawing from Afghanistan, this was a good policy decision by Biden et alia)
Bitcoin billionaire, firm to settle D.C. tax fraud suit for $40 million
The first national calculation of mortality of the US homeless population
The Texas Republican Party has gone off the deep end
Washington Post: Madame Alito Can Fly Her Flag…Because She’s Fun at Parties
Off Leash: Inside the Secret, Global, Far-Right Group Chat
The MAGA Internet Calls for War
You can force employees to come back to the office, but not the good ones!
Texas professors sue to fail students who seek abortions
Here’s how Trump could make America great. For the good of his country and his party, Donald Trump must withdraw from the presidential race. (gift link)
Why Can’t College Grads Find Jobs? Here Are Some Theories — and Fixes. (gift link)
The obscure federal intelligence bureau that got Vietnam, Iraq, and Ukraine right
Florida educators trained to teach students Christian nationalism
Republicans’ About Face On Ballot Drop Boxes Is Particularly Cartoonish In Wisconsin
Take a Peek at How Exactly the Right Demolished Roe v. Wade
How a Drop in Small-Dollar Donations Is Shaking Up Both Parties (I think the demise of Xitter is playing a role here; I never see political ads or posts asking for political donations on Bluesky)
Anthony Fauci, facing GOP accusers, says debate on Covid origins has been ‘seriously distorted’
mikethemadbiologist
The INR sounds like the old pre-1973 CIA. I knew a Russia analyst who worked for the CIA for close to 20 years before Nixon and the RIFs. He specialized in Russia, debriefing Russian sources and monitoring Russian actions. When Khrushchev was visiting and called Eisenhower a “klopetz”, one of Eisenhower’s people called the CIA. My friend was on duty. He explained that a klopetz was a shitkicker, a country or farm boy. I got the impression that the CIA never really recovered from Nixon’s reductions-in-force.