Extra, Extra
A Perfect Ebola Storm: “In both cases, the news has been not only frightening but also confusing, even to scientists. The hantaviruses didn’t seem to be acting like hantaviruses, and the Ebola viruses weren’t behaving like Ebola viruses.” The Viruses Causing New Outbreaks Are Much Less Familiar to Science. Is climate a factor? From The New Yorker: Our Warming Planet Is a Petri Dish for New and Deadly Microbes. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing an ongoing conflict and Ebola at the same time. And war isn’t the only factor hindering the response. Vox (Gift Article): This is what happens when you defund Ebola prevention.
+ Divine Divers: “After a week of squeezing through the dangerous, mazelike cave network, divers Mikko Paasi and Norrased Palasing emerged from its muddy waters Wednesday to find a cause for hope. There, huddled on a rock, their headtorches still illuminated, were five villagers who had been trapped, missing — unknown if alive or dead — for eight days inside the flooded caves in Laos.” Many of the rescuers were part of the Thai cave rescue in 2018. Like then, locating the villagers is only the first step. They still need to get them out. 5 villagers stuck in a flooded cave for more than a week found alive in Laos.
+ Bluster’s Last Stand: “Responding to a question from a reporter about the possibility that a deal might include a pact between Iran and Oman, a U.S. ally on the other side of the strait, to jointly control the waterway, President Trump rejected the notion: ‘Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that. They’ll be fine.'” Here’s the latest bluster about a potential deal with Iran. While the ceasefire is mostly holding between the US and Iran, the same is not true when it comes to Hezbollah and Israel. Meanwhile, the US will need years to replenish stockpiles of advanced weapons used in Iran war, new analysis finds. (Bad news for our defense, good news for weapons manufacturers.)
+ Adding Gruel to the Fire: “A combination of factors including bad weather, tariffs and a dwindling cattle herd are already pushing up grocery prices at an above-average pace. In April, they rose by the most in nearly four years, and economists say the impact of the Iran war and a potential El Niño weather pattern will only add to pressures into 2027.” Americans Are About to Pay Even More at the Grocery Store.
+ Get the Scoop: This is my kind of climate activism. Why an Ice Cream Cone is an Easy Environmental Win.
