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Wisdom of the Elders: Why Oldest Animals Are Key to Survival — And Under Threat (Maria)
The author writes, “In the twilight of their lives, the world’s oldest creatures carry the weight of wisdom, experience and resilience. Yet these elders — fish that spawn in abundance, coral that shelters marine life and elephants that guide their herds — are vanishing. The causes are disturbingly familiar: overfishing, habitat destruction, trophy hunting and climate change. A new review led by researchers at Charles Darwin University in Australia lays bare the ecological void left behind when these venerable beings are lost, reports Shreya Dasgupta.”
DOGE-Trolling Ransomware Hackers Demand $1 Trillion (Reader Jim)
From Forbes: “The ransomware group behind the recent DOGE Big Balls threat, using a variant of existing malware known as FOG, and trying to pin responsibility for the attacks on a well-known member of the Department of Government Efficiency team, has just updated its ransom note. As detailed in an April 21 security report by researchers Nathaniel Morales and Sarah Pearl Camiling at Trend Micro, the ransomware now appears to have started trolling DOGE and Elon Musk mercilessly. In reference to the now-infamous Musk demand for federal workers to email DOGE what they had achieved, leaving them fearing for their jobs if they did not comply, the ransom note has been altered to read: ‘Give me five bullet points on what you accomplished for work last week or you owe me a TRILLION dollars.’”
NIH Guts Its First and Largest Study Centered on Women (Dana)
The authors write, “President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be killing much, if not all, of a historic initiative that was the first, and is still the largest, National Institutes of Health (NIH) effort centered on the health needs of women. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) has enrolled tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials of hormones and other medications and tracked the health of many thousands more over more than 3 decades. Its findings have had a major influence on health care. WHI leaders announced yesterday that contracts supporting its regional centers are being terminated in September and that the study’s clinical coordinating center, based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, [will continue operations until January 2026]. They added that the contract terminations for its four main sites ‘will significantly impact ongoing research and data collection … severely limit[ing] WHI’s ability to generate new insights into the health of older women.’”
California Mayor Wants to ‘Purge’ Homeless Population With ‘Free Fentanyl’ (Sean)
From The Daily Beast: “A Southern California mayor said he wants to give his city’s homeless population “all the fentanyl they want” and later called for a federal ‘purge.’ In a February city council meeting, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris responded to a resident’s concern about the city’s handling of its homeless population by saying: ‘What I want to do is give them free fentanyl… I mean, that’s what I want to do. I want to give them all the fentanyl they want.’”
Gen X Was Supposed To Be Peaking. Instead Their Careers and Finances Are Tanking (Mili)
From Quartz: “The Gen X career crisis is having a moment — a viral one. When The New York Times ran a story last month about the wave of mid-career creative professionals hitting obsolescence, it quickly shot to the top of the site’s most-read list. Readers flooded social media with replies, citing the sharp irony of reaching your peak just as your industry flatlines. In the weeks since, a stock market crash has come along to make things worse. Triggered by sweeping tariffs and investor unease, the downturn has sharply eroded retirement savings and reignited recession fears — hitting hardest just as Gen Xers were supposed to be settling into their peak earning years.”
How Broadcast TV Networks Covered Climate Change in 2024 (Laura)
The author writes, “2024 was another year of unprecedented or significant climate impacts, including 27 billion-dollar weather disasters, the second-highest number of billion-dollar weather disasters on record in the US. And the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed in 2022 and allocated a historic $369 billion in climate and energy provisions, continued to help transform the clean energy landscape. Despite these sweeping investments and the growing urgency of the climate crisis, a Media Matters analysis found that corporate broadcast networks aired 12 hours and 51 minutes of climate coverage in 2024 — a 25% decline in volume of coverage from 2023. This reduction in climate coverage from ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox Broadcast Co. occurred amid significant political events, economic shifts, and global conflicts.”
Lexington and Concord at 250: Can We Still Hear the ‘Shot Heard Round the World’? (Al)
From The Bulwark: “On the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, we have an opportunity to revisit the lessons of the American Revolution and why it still matters today. The formation of the American republic was messy, and the founding generation understood its success was never guaranteed. This anniversary — the start of several years of anniversaries commemorating the battles and bloodshed, the sights and scenes of the war — are a good reminder that we still face a messy, uncertain future, one still worth fighting for.”
