Federal mRNA funding cut is ‘most dangerous public health decision’ ever, expert says
Many public health experts and scientists say they are stunned by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s decision to cancel nearly half a billion dollars in federal funding for future vaccine development. MRNA technology was central in the battle against COVID and can be developed more quickly than traditional vaccines. Geoff Bennett discussed the implications with Dr. Michael Osterholm.The latest move comes after the Trump administration already withdrew a multimillion-dollar contract with the biotech company Moderna to develop a bird flu vaccine using what's known as mRNA technology; mRNA vaccines work by using a single strand of genetic code to create a fragment of a virus that sets off the body's immune response.
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US air force denies early retirement for transgender service members
The US air force is denying early retirement to all transgender service members with 15-18 years of military service, opting instead to force them out with no retirement benefits, according to a memo seen by Reuters.These longer-serving transgender service members will have the same choice as more junior ones: quit or be forced out, with corresponding lump-sum payments as they walk out the door, the 4 August memo says.
The move is the latest escalation by Donald Trump’s administration as it seeks to bar transgender people from joining the US military and remove all who are serving. The Pentagon says transgender people are medically unfit, something civil rights activists say is untrue and constitutes illegal discrimination.
US air force denies early retirement for transgender service members
Move targets trans air force members with 15-18 years of service and forces them out of US military with no benefitsGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
Multiple service members had already been approved for early retirement, but those approvals were rescinded, advocates say. An air force spokesperson said a subset of applications were “prematurely approved”.”It’s devastating,” said Shannon Minter of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. “This is just betrayal of a direct commitment made to these service members.“
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
Analysis: Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025 - Carbon Brief
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.Carbon Brief Staff (Carbon Brief)
GOP's Texas map has Austin residents sharing district with rural Texans 300 miles away
As Texas Republicans try to muscle a rare mid-decade redistricting bill through the Legislature to help Republicans gain seats in Congress -- at President Donald Trump's request -- residents in Austin, the state capital, could find themselves sharing a district with rural Texans more than 300 miles away.
The proposed map chops up Central Texas' 37th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Democrat Rep. Lloyd Doggett, will be consumed by four neighboring districts, three of which Republicans now hold.
One of those portions of the Austin-area district was drawn to be part of the 11th District that Republican Rep. August Pfluger represents, which stretches into rural Ector County, about 20 miles away from the New Mexico border.
GOP's Texas map has Austin residents sharing district with rural Texans 300 miles away
It would "suppress the votes of Black and brown Austinites," one Democrat said.Fritz Farrow (ABC News)
StarFive VisionFive 2 Lite is a cheap(er) RISC-V single-board computer (crowdfunding)
The VisionFive 2 Lite is a credit card-sized single-board computer (SBC) that looks a lot like a Raspberry Pi. But it’s actually a smaller, cheaper, and less powerful version of the VisionFive 2 RISC-V SBC that launched a few years ago.
The new model has a slower version of the same processor and loses a few ports and connectors, but picks up optional support for onboard WiFi and Bluetooth. […]
#crowdfunding #riscV #sbc #sifive #starfive #starfiveVisionfive2Lite
Read more: liliputing.com/starfive-vision…
#RISCV small #SBC single board computer #VisionFive2 #visionfive2lite
kickstarter.com/projects/starf…
'Largest civilian flotilla in history' to set sail for Gaza
Activists from 44 countries plan to launch the largest civilian flotilla in history at the end of August in an effort to break Israel’s siege on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the starving population of the enclave.The Global Sumud Flotilla, along with three allied initiatives, will send dozens of boats from Spanish ports on 31 August and Tunisian ports on 4 September, aiming to establish a humanitarian corridor and confront what organizers call Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.
“This summer, dozens of boats, both large and small, will set sail from ports across the world, converging on Gaza in the largest civilian flotilla of its kind in history,” said organizer Haifa Mansouri at a press conference in Tunis hosted by the Joint Action Coordination for Palestine.
The mission brings together four groups: the Maghreb Sumud Flotilla, the Global Movement to Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, and Sumud Nusantara.
'Largest civilian flotilla in history' to set sail for Gaza
Organizers say the mission aims to open a sea route to Gaza after repeated Israeli seizures of civilian aid vessels in international watersthecradle.co
An Unexpected Path to Hold War Criminals Accountable (The Intercept, 2025-08-06)
An Unexpected Path to Hold War Criminals Accountable
It’s at the national courts, not the ICC or ICJ, where Palestinians have the best chance to see justice.Tyler McBrien (The Intercept)
Leaks reveal Netanyahu deliberately imposed starvation in Gaza to 'force Hamas surrender'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls from senior ministers to advance ceasefire negotiations and deliberately restricted all aid to Gaza in order to force a surrender from Hamas, internal government transcripts published by Israeli news outlet Channel 13 have revealed.The transcripts from an Israeli war cabinet meeting on 1 March show that Netanyahu ignored repeated calls from senior defence officials to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in order to secure the release of Israeli captives, and then to renew hostilities after.
Netanyahu instead chose to unilaterally break the ceasefire in March and bar all aid to Gaza, in the hopes of forcing a surrender by Hamas.
This was despite Hamas complying with the talks, contrary to the war cabinet’s expectations.
Leaks reveal Netanyahu deliberately imposed starvation in Gaza to 'force Hamas surrender'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls from senior ministers to advance ceasefire negotiations and deliberately restricted all aid to Gaza in order to force a surrender from Hamas, internal government transcripts published by Israel…MEE staff (Middle East Eye)
Cabinet votes to approve Netanyahu's Gaza occupation plan | The Jerusalem Post
By JAMES GENN
AUGUST 8, 2025 04:40
Updated: AUGUST 8, 2025 06:01"The security cabinet approved the prime minister's proposal to defeat Hamas. The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones," Axios's Barak Ravid later cited the Prime Minister's Office as saying.
The statement did not use the term "occupation," rather using the term "takeover," due to legal ramifications for the civilian population in the enclave, Ynet reported.
The Security Cabinet also adopted five principles for ending the war, namely disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, both living and murdered, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, Israel maintaining security control over the Gaza Strip, and the existence of civilian government that is not controlled by either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
Cabinet votes to approve Netanyahu's Gaza occupation plan | The Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City was approved by the Security Cabinet on Friday morning.The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com
Smotrich poses next to 'Death to Arabs' graffiti in illegal West Bank settlement
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posed near graffiti that called for "Death to Arabs" on Thursday, as he visited an illegal West Bank settlement that was recently recognised by the Israeli government.Smotrich's visit to Sa-Nur, which sits south of the Palestinian city of Jenin, came after the Israeli government quietly recognised the settlement as one of four that would be placed under the control of the Shomron Regional Council.
Images from Thursday's visit showed Smotrich standing near a wall bearing the slogans: "The people of Israel return to Sa-Nur!" and "Death to Arabs."
Smotrich poses next to 'Death to Arabs' graffiti in illegal West Bank settlement
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posed near graffiti that called for "Death to Arabs" on Thursday, as he visited an illegal West Bank settlement that was recently recognised by the Israeli government.Lubna Masarwa (Middle East Eye)
Feds blame 'coding error' for deleting parts of Constitution
Having handled XML CMS ingestion in the past,
"When updating the site to reflect our constitutional scholars’ analysis of the impact of the latest cases on Article I, Sections 8-10, the team inadvertently removed an XML tag," LoC communications director Bill Ryan told us in an email. "This prevented publication of everything in Article I after the middle of Section 8. The problem has been corrected, and our updated constitutional analysis is now available. We are taking steps to prevent a recurrence in the future."
this sounds far more plausible than a nefarious scheme.
Just because there are a lot of those out there doesn't mean everything is. (and if you've ever had to find the errors in and manually edit XML files ...)
Politically hot parts of US Constitution briefly deleted thanks to 'coding error'
: Nothing to see here - just removing that old Emoluments Clause and habeas corpusBrandon Vigliarolo (The Register)
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Does it make sense that the same omission happened on different pages (text-only versus annotated)? That is: does the explanation suggest that the whole text is stored with xml tags throughout such that it can be displayed in 3 different ways, and that a bad or lost tag would remove not only the text from the below listed 'main' pages but also completely delete the referenced pages, such as constitution.congress.gov/brow… ? We could not get to any of those sorts of pages while the 'main' pages had missing text.
Also, there seemed to be an issue viewing new attempts to archive 14th amendment stuff like: constitution.congress.gov/brow… , which looks fine on the live site, but may give errors if you try to view a new archive (old archives work, but new ones complain about the server or cookies).
U.S. Constitution | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
The original text of the United States Constitution and its Amendments.web.archive.org
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Palantir: As Revenues Rise, Controversy Grows
Palantir: As Revenues Rise, Controversy Grows
Palantir is on a roll, experiencing record growth through government contracting. But its activities have raised ethical concerns from former employees and the larger public.Forbes
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'We're Fast Stumbling Into Stagflation,' Expert Warns as Unemployment Rolls Hit 4-Year High Under Trump
The flow of abysmal U.S. economic data continued Thursday with the release of figures showing that the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits has reached its highest level in nearly four years, heightening concerns that the Trump administration is pushing the country toward a period of "stagflation."”Today's unemployment report, coupled with last week's jobs data, suggests that we're fast stumbling into stagflation, with fledgling jobs growth and rising prices," Andrew Stettner, unemployment insurance expert at The Century Foundation, said in a statement following the new Labor Department numbers.
'We're Fast Stumbling Into Stagflation,' Expert Warns as Unemployment Rolls Hit 4-Year High Under Trump
"In contrast with the president's assertion of bustling job creation," said The Century Foundation's Andrew Stettner, "Americans can't get off of unemployment benefits in an economy that has stopped adding jobs outside of healthcare."jake-johnson (Common Dreams)
"In contrast with the president's assertion of bustling job creation," said Stettner, "Americans can't get off of unemployment benefits in an economy that has stopped adding jobs outside of healthcare."
The sharpest sign yet I've seen that the hiring process is complete and utter bullshit.
I looked it up and it was made up by a conservative to try to explain increase in prices while economic growth is stagnant. But that's just capitalism working as intended, corporations trying to maximize profit by raising prices and firing workers. That money is not circulating or improving the economy.
Landlords fined for first time under WA’s new law capping rent increases
For the first time, Washington state’s attorney general has enforced the state’s new cap on rent hikes, fining eight landlords $2,000 each for violating the law.
House Bill 1217 took effect in early May. The landlords told tenants before that time about rent increases that would exceed the new maximums. But these increases were tied to leases that renewed after the law took effect, according to the attorney general’s office. For example, one rent increase for a tenant in Lakewood would have begun June 22.
In each case, the attorney general notified the landlords that their rent hikes were illegal. All the landlords rescinded them and refunded any payments tenants made under the unlawful increases, according to court filings.
Landlords fined for first time under WA’s new law capping rent increases
For the first time, Washington’s attorney general has enforced the state’s new cap on rent hikes, fining eight landlords $2,000 each for violating the law.Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard (KUOW Public Radio)
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For single-family homes, there's a really easy solution: only allow individuals to own them. This doesn't kill the rental market; it's just common sense. You personally want to build a rental empire? Fine. But no hiding behind an LLC or other corporate structure -- if you want to rent-seek, you shouldn't have the protections of a business.
Multifamily is of course a different beast, as individual ownership rarely occurs above very small complexes. Still, capping rent increases at inflation plus minimum-wage increase (we're talking Washington here; it goes up annually) would go a long way toward stabilizing budgeting for renters.
It astounds me how many homeowners who locked in mortgages at $800 at 3% simply refuse to believe there's an affordability crisis in the rental market. "Just make 15% more next year" isn't particularly useful advice in a deteriorating job market.
Corporations and the government are turning the usa into one giant ‘sacrifice zone’
Corporations and the government are turning the USA into one giant ‘sacrifice zone’
“This is not a ‘red state’ or ‘blue state’ problem, this is a working class problem,” TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez says in his 2025 Izzy Award acceptance speech.Maximillian Alvarez (The Real News Network)
What to watch next after ST: Voyager?
Slog AM: Wilson's Lead Grows, SPD Pays Millions in Discrimination Lawsuit, and Shut Up, Pete Buttigieg
Slog AM: Wilson's Lead Grows, SPD Pays Millions in Discrimination Lawsuit, and Shut Up, Pete Buttigieg
The Stranger's morning news roundup.Hannah Murphy Winter (The Stranger)
DOJ Has Lost So Many Lawyers It Might Not Have Enough Left To Help Trump Destroy America
DOJ Has Lost So Many Lawyers It Might Not Have Enough Left To Help Trump Destroy America
First, the Trump administration gutted the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, probably because it was too concerned about protecting constitutional rights. Whoever still remained was “allowed…Techdirt
Animals aren’t fleeing Yellowstone National Park in droves; the claims are baseless
Animals aren’t fleeing Yellowstone National Park
If you saw social media posts saying animals are leaving Yellowstone National Park in droves for mysterious reasons, don’t be fooled.@politifact
Food too expensive? It’s time for public grocery stores
Food too expensive? It’s time for public grocery stores
City-run stores could be an affordable alternative to large, corporate grocery chainsbriarpatchmagazine.com
Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 3x05 "Through the Lens of Time"
Written by: Onitra Johnson & Davy Perez
Directed by: Andi Armaganian
United Airlines halts flight departures across US over 'technology issues'
United halts flight departures across US over 'technology issues'
The technology issues affected flights going to Chicago, Denver, Houston and other major airports.BBC News
Is this happening more and more or is it just reported on more? I feel like in the last few years, I've heard of multiple ground stops from various US airlines due to technology issues.
Hopefully it's not a Crowdstrike-like "technology issue" like Delta dealt with last year. As a traveler during that time, it was a nightmare. Good luck to anyone traveling over the next 24hrs!
Fleet Street Pumping Station
cross-posted from: crazypeople.online/post/591877…
I was in Ottawa today and wanted to make sure I checked this place out.
How 150-year-old technology keeps Ottawa's water flowing
The Fleet Street pumping station just celebrated its 150th birthday, and we got peek inside.Blair Crawford (Ottawa Citizen)
Can we all agree that Julia Louis-Dreyfus is killing it as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine?
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quickenparalysespunk doesn't like this.
I think you mean Contessa Selena Allegra de Meyer.
Seriously though, watch Veep, and if you've already seen it, watch it again. JL-D could play this level of self-justifying narcissist politician in her sleep.
And yes, she is killing it.
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Yes, but she's severely underutilized.
Originally she was supposed to appear in the Black Widow post-credits, but we got her a little early during Falcon & The Winter Soldier.
She also had a brief storyline in Wakanda Forever, but that hasn't really gone anywhere.
The Black Widow setup gave us a Hawkeye storyline that didn't really make sense, but it did get Yelana into the main story.
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier story gave us Thunderbolts.
Thunder is finally when she's really doing things, but that film needed a little more breathing room.
I expect she'll be wayyyy out of her element during Doomsday/Secret Wars. (Plus no need to be secretive when the world is falling apart.)
I hope she gets a chance to really shine in the future.
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'Fantastic Four' Box Office Dive Is a Bad Omen for Marvel's Future - The MCU’s appeal beyond its most hardcore fans is in question after its second-weekend “First Steps” drop
'Fantastic Four' Box Office Dive Is a Bad Omen for Marvel's Future
The 66% drop for Fantastic Four's second weekend at the box office is a bad sign for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Jeremy Fuster (TheWrap)
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They Came From Planet Happiness
existentialcomics.com/comic/61…
They Came From Planet Happiness
A philosophy webcomic about the inevitable anguish of living a brief life in an absurd world. Also Jokeswww.existentialcomics.com
Not crazy about the hed here. There's a strong implication that this is A) full replacement and B) everyone terminated is just going to say, "sure, I'll come back ... surely, there's no chance something like this could happen again."
The net result is fewer positions held by less experienced people. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with entry-level jobs (god knows I've had way more than I should have), but NWS is -- much like a newsroom -- on a set schedule. Education is important, but there's no substitute for experience.
‘She needs to have a democracy to grow up in’: The moms who left Texas to defend its future
Texas Democratic lawmakers who are mothers flee the state to defend its future
Democratic lawmakers fled the state to protest a Trump-backed redistricting plan. For the mothers among them, leaving meant juggling summer milestones, first days of school — and showing their kids what democracy requires.Amanda Becker (19th News)
GitHub CEO delivers stark message to developers: Embrace AI or get out.
GitHub CEO delivers stark message to developers: Embrace AI or get out
Thomas Dohmke wrote that humans are often resistant to change. He said that's okay, but these people should probably find another profession.Alistair Barr (Business Insider)
Eliminators (1986)
MANDROID. MERCENARY. SCIENTIST. NINJA. EACH ONE A SPECIALIST. TOGETHER THEY ARE ELIMINATORS!
A mad scientist uses the body of a downed pilot to build a cyborg he calls Mandroid. He then uses Mandroid as a guinea pig for his time-travel experiments, and, after they prove successful, he decides to send the cyborg to the junk yard. Mandroid is not amenable to this idea, however, and escapes. He sets out to find Nora Hunter, a robotics scientist who might be able to help him get revenge against his maker.
youtube.com/watch?v=8nHhkYtYDI…
Eliminators (1986) - Trailer HD 1080p
Eliminators is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by Peter Manoogian, starring Andrew Prine, Denise Crosby and Patrick Reynolds. The plot centers ar...YouTube
Lol, right?
I love how they didn't even bother to make the prosthetic look like it's in his head, but tacked onto the outside.
Star Trek The Next Generation had better prosthetics at the time, hahaha.
Awesome.
Honestly, the thing I would be most afraid of isn’t landing and being deported: if they simply denied entry to these people and turned them around to where the came from more would be willing to take the chance.
No, what stops people from travelling to the US is the non zero chance that they may rub someone the wrong way, have the wrong social media post, or simply the wring colour skin, and end up incommunicado in a miserable wretched ‘detention facility’ or concentration camp for weeks on end.
Meanwhile Las Vegas is wondering, “Where did all the Canadians go?” 🙄
Steam data reveals PC gamers shifting from Windows to Linux
Steam data reveals PC gamers shifting from Windows to Linux
Steam Hardware & Software Survey results for July 2025 show Linux's market share growing ahead of a potential full SteamOS release for PC.Kosta Andreadis (TweakTown)
Midnitte
in reply to greenfire • • •Similar to Colbert's joke, this is like saying we're going to be explicitly using a Nokia Actionman, instead of a Samsung Z Fold 7.
Why would you deliberately cut science off at the knees for a technology that has proven itself (after decades of research) during a global pandemic?
Just compare the mRNA covid vaccines versus the non-mRNA covid vaccine - the older technology is just an awful product in comparison.
BedSharkPal
in reply to greenfire • • •greenfire
in reply to BedSharkPal • • •TehPers
in reply to greenfire • • •Powderhorn
in reply to TehPers • • •