FundMECFSResearch

The worst flu season in 15 years has left hundreds of thousands of Americans hospitalized while straining physicians' offices and emergency departments.

Why it matters: The virus is causing more severe complications and hitting young children especially hard.

"The two predominant strains that are circulating right now are known to be more severe and have more severe outcomes, especially in high-risk patients," said Carol McLay, president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

Turns out having multiple infections run around wild does not “strengthen” our immune system. Who would have thought /s

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week to end the federal procurement of paper straws. 

The order, which claims that paper straws are “nonfunctional” and says it wants to end the “forced use” of them, immediately undoes part of a Biden-era initiative to eliminate single-use plastics, including straws, in all government operations by 2035. More broadly, Trump instructed White House staff and “relevant agencies” to issue a “national strategy to end the use of paper straws” within 45 days. The strategy would aim to eliminate all executive branch policies “designed to disfavor plastic straws” and address the federal government’s contracts with states and and other entities “that ban or penalize plastic straw purchase or use.”

Recent content policy announcements by Meta pose a grave threat to vulnerable communities globally and drastically increase the risk that the company will yet again contribute to mass violence and gross human rights abuses – just like it did in Myanmar in 2017. The company’s significant contribution to the atrocities suffered by the Rohingya people is the subject of a new whistleblower complaint that has just been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

On January 7, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a raft of changes to Meta’s content policies, seemingly aimed at currying favor with the new Trump administration. These include the lifting of prohibitions on previously banned speech, such as the denigration and harassment of racialized minorities. Zuckerberg also announced a drastic shift in content moderation practices – with automated content moderation being significantly rolled back. While these changes have been initially implemented in the US, Meta has signaled that they may be rolled out internationally. This shift marks a clear retreat from the company’s previously stated commitments to responsible content governance.

Context:

"He who saves his Country does not violate any Law," Trump, a Republican, proclaimed on his Truth Social network. The White House did not respond to a request for more details.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-if-it-saves-country-its-not-illegal-2025-02-16/

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/24266678

I'm thinking this should be marked NSFW...

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/37890627

https://www.fiftyfifty.one/

You cannot access reddit without either an account, or turning off your VPN. Effectively meaning that it’s difficult to access reddit privately, as they can either track you with IP or with account.

Even alternative frontends like RDX for reddit by @overdevs@lemmy.world don’t solve this issue.

I can’t believe more people haven’t left because of that.