Science, Policy, and Other News that Caught My Eye

Or blew my mind the week of April 13th - April 19th

Greetings, SciLight readers. Another week with a barrage of troubling news – this week was particularly horrifying. Honestly overwhelming. A constitutional crisis in the making. Below is just a smattering of news items that caught my attention and disrupted my equanimity this past week. What caught your eye? Tell us in the comments.

And be sure to scroll down for some fun news. Because we can all use some levity in these challenging times.

· There you have it….Trump’s New Way to Kill Regulations: Because I Say So - The New York Times

· And he doesn’t give a hoot about what we the people might say about regulatory rollbacks Trump orders sweeping rollback of environmental rules without public input - The Daily Climate

· Another step towards dictatorship….Trump suggests media outlets be deemed illegal

· Opinion | The Supreme Court failed to check Trump's autocracy

· Three former U.S. presidents denounce Trump in a two-week stretch - The Washington Post

· Corporate Clemency: How Trump Is Halting Enforcement Against Corporate Lawbreakers - Public Citizen

· Trump's education cuts threaten innovation | Starting Point With federal money, universities helped make America great.

· He’s not kidding around. This is bad…. Trump administration asks IRS to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status - The Washington Post

· He doesn’t care about, struggling families either ….Trump Administration Severs ‘Lifeline’ for Families Struggling to Pay Utility Bills - Inside Climate News

· Breaking down the recent Executive Order upending marine conservation -- Not Even the Ocean is Free from Trump

· The Kleptocracy Presidency - The Atlantic

· Oops….Homeland Security mistakenly tells Boston lawyer to self-deport

· Trump plan would slash State Dept. funding by nearly half, memo says - The Washington Post. Targets spending on humanitarian assistance, global health and international organizations such as the U.N. and NATO.

· “Threats to US biomedical research grants are coming thick and fast — and so are the lawsuits.’ NIH cuts triggered a host of lawsuits: Nature’s guide to what’s next

· HIV, Trans Health, and Covid Research Targeted by Trump Cuts to NIH | Scientific American

· And read more here: How the United States became a science superpower — and how quickly it could crumble

· EPA stalls civil rights enforcement as pollution complaints pile up - EHN

· In Trump Attack on Harvard, Punishment Before Proof - The New York Times

· But with consequences. Harvard finds Trump’s funding freeze is real and immediate as extraordinary confrontation continues - The Boston Globe

· And then there’s this. Trump Officials Blame Mistake for Setting Off Confrontation With Harvard - The New York Times

· RFK, Jr. Is Wrong about Cause of Rising Autism Rates, Scientists Say The Real Reason Autism Rates Are Rising | Scientific American

· Replacing Federal Workers with Chatbots Would Be a Dystopian Nightmare – The dangers of replacing the human workforce with machines.

· U.S. intelligence contradicts Trump rationale for mass deportations - The Washington Post

· Supreme Court says it will consider Trump’s birthright citizenship ban - The Washington Post

· Appeals court excoriates Trump administration in illegal deportation case - The Washington Post

· MAHA… not. Ultra-processed foods researcher leaves NIH, alleges censorship - The Washington Post

Good News

· Climate funding frozen by Trump must be released, judge rules in sweeping injunction - The Daily Climate

· Harvard Says It Will Not Comply With Trump Administration’s Demands

Read the Administration’s demands here.

· A practical guide to courage in Trump’s age of fear. So You Want to Be a Dissident? | The New Yorker

And Just for Fun or Entertainment

· The 10,000 -year history of gum

· Watch elephants form an ‘alert circle’ amid the San Diego earthquake - The Washington Post

· Astronomers Detect a Signature of Life on a Distant Planet - The New York Times

That’s it for today - Thank you so much for reading SciLight!

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