Author: Lance Garrison
May 16, 2024 – Multiple U.S. agencies are working to contain the recent bird flu outbreak among cattle to prevent further spread to humans (beyond one case reported in early April) and use what we learned before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic to keep farm workers and the general public safe. Fingers crossed, the bird flu will be contained and peter out. Or the outbreak could continue to spread among dairy cattle and other animals, threatening the health and livelihoods of farmers and others who work with livestock.Or the virus could change in a way that makes it easier to infect…
It was the pictures of Palestinians swimming and sunning at a Gaza beach that rubbed Yehuda Shlezinger, an Israeli journalist, the wrong way. Stylish in round red glasses and a faint scruff of beard, Mr. Shlezinger unloaded his revulsion at the “disturbing” pictures while appearing on Israel’s Channel 12.“These people there deserve death, a hard death, an agonizing death, and instead we see them enjoying on the beach and having fun,” complained Mr. Shlezinger, the religious affairs correspondent for the widely circulated right-wing Israel Hayom newspaper. “We should have seen a lot more revenge there,” Mr. Shlezinger unrepentantly added. “A…
The North Yorkshire Council in England has been in the hot seat recently for its changes to street signs — not because of anything on them, but rather because of something left off. One street in the town of Harrogate was rendered as St. Marys Walk. No apostrophe. Outrage ensued.The problem, punctilious observers argued, was that the nearby church is and always will be St. Mary’s — with an apostrophe, thank you very much — and leaving that bit of punctuation out of the name of the road obscures that vital and historical connection. Plus it’s just plain ignorant.St. Marys…
To the Editor:Re “In Rare Remarks, Thomas Denounces Public Scrutiny Facing His Family” (news article, May 12):At a recent judicial conference, Justice Clarence Thomas complained bitterly about “the nastiness and the lies” about him and his wife, Ginni, in the last few years.And yet, these are the facts: He accepted lavish gifts from powerful friends and failed to report them. His wife was indisputably involved in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the duly elected new one. But somehow to report these facts, and to criticize the Thomases for their behavior, is nasty…
In The Times, J Wortham studied Brittney Griner’s technique and admired “the way she lifts the ball over the rim and into the net as gently as if she were returning a lost child to a parent.” (Ann Davenport, Olmué, Chile, and Kate Kavanagh, Concord, Mass.) In a subsequent profile of the actress Jean Smart, J distilled Smart’s character in the show “Hacks”: “Deborah is a workaholic on the verge of bitter, someone who grew tired of being cut and so became a knife.” (Karen Kasnetz, Bedminster, N.J., and Donald Jurney, Amesbury, Mass.)In The Arizona Republic, Ed Masley appraised a…
In 1918, an influenza virus jumped from birds to humans and killed an estimated 50 million to 100 million people in a world with less than a quarter of today’s population. Dozens of mammals also became infected.Now we are seeing another onslaught of avian influenza. For years it has been devastating bird populations worldwide and more recently has begun infecting mammals, including cattle, a transmission never seen before. In another first, the virus almost certainly jumped recently from a cow to at least one human — fortunately, a mild case.While much would still have to happen for this virus to…
It’s a question that has eaten away at me these past months. Was it the shock of such a violent crime in peaceful Vermont? Was it that my friends and I went to well-known American colleges? Did the timing of our shooting during a holiday weekend play a role? I’m sure it did, but to me, the determining factor is the reframing of the crime: Instead of settlements, the Oslo Accords or the intifada, the conversation around our shooting involved terms such as “gun violence,” “hate crimes” and “right-wing extremism.” Instead of being maimed in Arab streets, we were shot…
Donald Trump’s onetime fixer Michael Cohen takes the stand again Thursday in the hush-money trial of his old boss. In this interview, Andrew Weissman, a law professor and former prosecutor, argues that Mr. Trump’s lawyers are dropping the ball in building an alternative narrative.Below is a lightly edited transcript of the audio piece. To listen to this piece, click the play button below.Patrick Healy: I’m Patrick Healy, deputy editor of New York Times Opinion, and it’s no surprise that the story I’m paying attention to the most this week is Trump’s trial in Manhattan.And like everyone else, I’m trying to…
All of her past selves showed up, in role and in costume, to help celebrate the many ways she has evolved and the many ways she and her collaborators have explored and expressed gender throughout the years. It was a beautifully inclusive, encouraging spectacle. If history is a guide, the social and artistic ramifications of her performance will extend well beyond the numbers and long after her tour.Madonna’s 1985 Virgin Tour, her debut, included only 40 shows in North America and grossed about $5 million. But its impact on young lives is immeasurable. The young women and girls in her…
Noem certainly shot Cricket on her own, but other passages suggest some pettier motivations. For example, Noem uses the Cricket story to needle President Biden about his own dog, Commander, who was removed from the White House after biting Secret Service agents. “A dog who bites is dangerous and unpredictable (are you listening, Joe Biden?),” Noem writes. She reiterates the point in her final chapter when, in a burst of optimism, Noem lists her Day 1 priorities should she become president in 2025. “The first thing I’d do is make sure Joe Biden’s dog was nowhere on the grounds (‘Commander,…