Comment on McConnell’s Grip on His Caucus Holds Firm

In the lead-up to Donald Trump’s second inauguration, professional conspiracy peddlers are hard at work finding ways to gin up panic and paranoia—even if their preferred candidate is about to take office. The fear mongering is ginning up skepticism about the next pandemic—and any vaccine that could fight it. Some have suggested that the Deep State is already seeking to undermine Trump’s second presidency by plotting a civil war or scheming ways to prevent him from entering the White House.

Nonfiction All Things Are Too Small By Becca Rothfeld Nonfiction “In a sense all stories are about the same thing, and that thing is thwarted desire,” the literary critic Becca Rothfeld writes at one point in All Things Are Too Small. The same could be said of this collection of essays, which offers a celebration of our unruly desires and an ode to the “enchantments of maximalism” in art, life, and love.

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Malaria killed almost 600,000 people in 2023, as cases rose for the fifth consecutive year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). Biological threats such as rising resistance to drugs and insecticides, and climate and humanitarian disasters continue to hamper control efforts, world health leaders warned. Globally, there were 263 million cases last year, 11 million more than the previous year; the vast majority (94 percent) occurred in Africa. Officials said a $4.3 billion annual funding shortfall was among further challenges, which also include the spread of a new insecticide-resistant species of mosquito, genetic mutations in the malaria parasite that stop tests from working, and the emergence of a new type of malaria parasite in southeast Asia. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said: “No one should die of malaria; yet the disease continues to disproportionately harm people living in the African region, especially young children and pregnant women.” There was now “an expanded package of life-saving tools” that protected against the disease, he said, but a need for more investment and action in the African countries with the highest rates. About $4 billion went into fighting malaria globally last year, less than half of the $8.3 billion that official control plans consider necessary.

If we don't know who they are and they haven't told us, they're a threat.

2 cats die from possible H5 bird flu in Los Angeles County KTLA Los AngelesCDC finds no evidence of bird flu virus in California toddler STATTechnical Update: Summary Analysis of the Genetic Sequence of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Identified in a Child in California | Bird Flu CDCCalifornia child who experienced fever and vomiting from raw milk does not have bird flu, CDC testing shows CBS News

Some breast cancer patients can avoid certain surgeries, studies suggest The Associated PressAre doctors overtreating early-stage breast cancer? Is active monitoring as safe? USA TODAYSome Early Forms of Breast Cancer May Not Need Treatment, Study Says TIMESupport for Omitting SLNB in Some Early Breast Cancers Medscape