Mike’s Blog Round-up

Teen infected in Canada’s first bird flu case is in critical condition The Washington PostTeenager in critical condition with Canada’s first human case of bird flu The GuardianB. C. teen with avian flu is in critical condition, provincial health officer says CBC NewsCanada reports 1st local case of H5 bird flu Livescience.comCanadian teen with suspected avian flu in critical condition University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Denver Sen. Chris Hansen, a one-time mayoral candidate who was elected to his second term in the state Senate last week, has accepted a job leading a Durango-based electric authority. But it was still unclear when he planned to resign his seat. The La Plata Electric Association confirmed Hansen as its new CEO in a statement Tuesday, and an agenda for a board meeting next week includes a “CEO welcome and introduction.” Minutes from a previous board meeting indicated the electric cooperative was prepared to offer an unnamed candidate the CEO position in mid-September. A spokeswoman for the company did not return recent messages from The Denver Post.

A few weeks ago, Vice President-elect JD Vance dubbed Donald Trump “the candidate of peace” during a blitz of Sunday morning show appearances. Vance was talking about a guy who during his last term reportedly expressed interest in firing missiles into Mexico, and mused about nuking both North Korea and hurricanes. And, less than a week after Trump’s election victory, the notion of the president-elect as anti-war, a common theme for Vance, has been badly undermined by Trump’s selection of a series of national security hawks—people who advocate using military force to solve international problems—for key administration jobs. On the campaign trail, Trump found some success in positioning himself in an anti-war lane.

STD epidemic slows as new syphilis and gonorrhea cases fall in US The Associated PressThere are millions of sexually transmitted infections in the US every year, but new data shows the epidemic may be slowing CNNAt Long Last, the Surge in S. T. I.s May Be Leveling Off The New York TimesSexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance, 2023 CDC

After the Pandemic, Alcohol Use Remains Elevated Neuroscience NewsAs the Pandemic Deepened, Americans Kept Drinking More The New York TimesPandemic-era increase in alcohol use persists Keck Medicine of USCNew study shows an increase in heavy drinkers CBS NewsExcessive drinking inches higher after pandemic increase: Research The Hill

Has anyone seen how this man holds a hammer? How he sits? How often he sobs on camera?