Science, Policy, and Other News that Caught My Eye
Or blew my mind the week of May 18th - May 24th
Greetings, SciLight readers,
Good Grief!... It’s come to this: Live updates: Trump administration revokes Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students - The Washington Post and more here. But Harvard fights back (here, here), and a judge blocked Trump efforts to bar international students at Harvard.
Below is a smattering of news items that caught my attention or 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.
· Judge strikes down Trump’s order targeting Jenner & Block law firm - The Washington Post
· Trump orders the government to stop enforcing rules he doesn’t like - The Washington Post
· Supreme Court allows Trump to fire independent officials for now - The Washington Post
· Trump Is Destroying a Core American Value. The World Will Notice.
· Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades
· Trump Isn’t the First Politician to Sell the Office
· NASA shutters iconic New York climate lab as Trump slashes Earth science budget - The Daily Climate
· Trump swings budget ax at USGS biology research | Science | AAAS
· Can NIH-funded research on racism and health survive Trump’s cuts?
· Trump confronts South African president, pushing claims of genocide. FALSE claims and painful to watch, though I did enjoy South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s comment: “I’m sorry, I don’t have a plane to give you.”
· Trump Justice Dept. considers removing key check on lawmaker prosecutions - The Washington Post
· Supreme Court allows Trump to strip protections from some Venezuelans | AP News
· Kristi Noem says habeas corpus lets Trump 'remove people from this country' - The Washington Post
· Opinion | Courts should use civil contempt against the Trump administration - The Washington Post
· The U.S. Under Trump: Alone in Its Climate Denial - The New York Times… very scary
· RFK slams processed foods, pesticides, vaccines as harmful to kids in sweeping MAHA report. Read full report here.
· The Decline and Fall of Elon Musk - The Atlantic
· Check out the graphics. See the Dramatic Consequences of Vaccination Rates Teetering on a ‘Knife's Edge’
· WHO signs international pandemic treaty; RFK Jr. denounces it - The Washington Post
Good News
· Judge Blocks Trump Effort to Bar International Students at Harvard - The New York Times
· Judge denies Trump effort to shut down U.S. Institute for Peace - The Washington Post
· Judge Finds U.S. Violated Court Order With Sudden Deportation Flight to Africa - The New York Times
· Surgeons Perform First Human Bladder Transplant - The New York Times
And Just For Fun Or Entertainment
· Do look up: how science and international cooperation closed the ozone hole
· NIST set its new atomic clock in motion, and it’s astoundingly precise - The Washington Post
· Bear cub rescued from woods is being raised by humans dressed as bears - The Washington Post
· Building an LLM for Dolphin Chatter Dolphin Gemma Could Enable AI Communication with Dolphins | Scientific American
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