Extra, Extra

Trans Bans: “The administration’s action is not just a regulatory shift but the latest signal that the federal government does not recognize even the existence of people whose gender identity does not align with their sex at birth.” NYT (Gift Article): Trump Moves to End Gender-Related Care for Minors, Threatening Hospitals That Offer It.

+ Joint Commission: “President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to fast-track the reclassification of cannabis, which would pave the way for the Food and Drug Administration to study its medicinal uses.” (Too bad he didn’t do this in time for last night’s speech, when we all could have used a few hits.)

+ Cool Beancounting: The market is reacting positively to the latest inflation numbers that came in cooler than expected. The data is based on limited information (from a suddenly less than trustworthy source). Let’s hope the good news sticks.

+ Eyes and Ears: People like listening to podcasts. They also like watching them. Like a lot. Basically, people just really want to take their minds off everything with content of any kind. Bloomberg: People Watched 700 Million Hours of YouTube Podcasts on TV in October. Meanwhile, the Oscars are moving to YouTube after a half century on ABC. (I’m beginning to think this internet thing has legs…)

+ You Give Gov a Bad Name: President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted on Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump-Kennedy Center. (When this is over, we’re gonna have a lot of deleting to do…)

+ Not Blinded By Science: Nature has a great collection of The best science images of 2025. (Enjoy them while nature and science are still legal.)