Flying squirrel-inspired drone with foldable wings demonstrates high maneuverability TechXplore
Big investors borrow against private equity holdings amid cash crunch FT
Climate/Environment
Carbon majors and the scientific case for climate liability Nature
Oil Spill in Mississippi Delta Marshland Continues Maritime Executive
Oil spill response languishes as Louisiana reorganizes its oversight agencies Louisiana Illuminator. From April 10, still germane.
Climate change narrowing gap between fire seasons in eastern Australia and western North America Down to Earth
The New Jersey fire signals a new era for the Northeast Grist
New Residents Are Flocking to These Tourist Destinations—Despite the Risk of Wildfires Realtor
Water
Iraq facing worst drought in history as water resources dwindle and climate crisis intensifies Bne Intellinews
Pandemics
China suggests Covid-19 originated in US in response to Trump allegation The Independent. Here’s the full text of China’s white paper on Covid-19 prevention, control and origins tracing.
Director of National Intelligence Gabbard:
“We are working with Jay Bhattacharya, the new NIH Director, as well as Secretary Kennedy…looking at the gain-of-function research…in…the Wuhan lab that…was US funded…and…resulted in…a pandemic”https://t.co/mQ0A8JwGVQ
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) May 1, 2025
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U.S. maternal deaths doubled during COVID-19 pandemic, among other findings in new study Brown University
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Tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest disease, could be America’s next outbreak The Hill
Active tuberculosis case confirmed in student at Dillard High School South Florida Sun Sentinel
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Air filters in classrooms reduce sick days by more than 10 per cent New Scientist
Denial of Airborne Infection: A Review Psychology Today
China?
‘For a better life’: CIA releases videos to lure disgruntled CCP officials to spy on China The Guardian
Bipartisan SHIPS Act Aims to Counter China’s Maritime Dominance with 250-Ship Fleet Expansion gCaptain
COSCO and Seaspan Place Large Orders Despite Threat of U.S. Port Fees Maritime Executive
How Trump’s tariff chaos is bringing China’s ‘trade circle of friends’ closer South China Morning Post
Huawei the Hydra Kyle Chan, Phenomenal World
Trump threatens massive new China sanctions over Iranian oil Axios
China backs off peak Iranian crude buys, but a steep drop looks unlikely Kpler
European Disunion
Europe pushing delusional US-style rearmament plan Responsible Statecraft
Irish journalist and RT correspondent Chay Bowes reportedly arrested in Romania The Journal
O Canada
There are 3 steps Carney must take to get a truce from Trump CBC
Trimming F-35 order could antagonize Trump as security and trade talks get under way: analysts The Globe and Mail
DND set to consider only U.S.-supplied night-vision binoculars Ottawa Citizen
Old Blighty
This is a message to the fly-tippers blighting our towns and villages:
For too long, your actions have gone unpunished. That ends now.
We’ll use drones and new tech to identify your vehicle. Then we’ll crush it.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 30, 2025
Syraqistan
Gaza humanitarian aid ship bombed by drones in waters off Malta The Guardian
Israel prison authorities deliberately move sick detainees around to spread diseases in prisons, rights group says Middle East Monitor
The unbearable task of reporting on Gaza while my colleagues get killed around me Mohammed R Mhawish
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Fourth round of US–Iran nuclear talks postponed for ‘logistical reasons’ The Cradle
Is Donald Trump Only Trying to Derail Negotiations with Iran? Larry Johnson
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Pentagon May Have Drawn on Anonymous Social Media Accounts in Planning Deadly Yemen Attack Drop Site
Civilians Casualties Reach 500 in Trump Bombing Campaign Yemen Data Project
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Israel bombs Syria hours after controversial Israeli Druze leader appeals for ‘action’ Middle East Eye
The UK Private Security Boom in Syria under Al Qaeda Regime – Part 1 Vanessa Beeley, UK Column
New Not-So-Cold War
US-Ukraine “Resources Deal”, Negotiations Tanked, Will Trump Return to Biden Policies on Ukraine Conflict? Russia Preparing for War with NATO.The Real Politick with Mark Sleboda
Vladimir Putin the Blessed News Forensics
F-16s Pulled From U.S. Boneyard Are Being Delivered To Ukraine For Spare Parts The War Zone
Exploding Cargo. Hacked GPS Devices. Spoofed Coordinates. Inside New Security Threats in the Skies. Vanity Fair. Wild stuff. Implies that Russia is to blame for January 29 collision of American Airlines jet with Army Black Hawk helicopter over DC.
Spook Country
National Endowment for Democracy Is Now Erasing Disclosure Data Jack Poulson and Lee Fang
“Liberation Day”
SPOOKED BY TRADE WARS, TRUMP OFFICIALS HOARD SUPPLIES: ‘IT WOULD BE STUPID NOT TO!’ Rolling Stone
Hospitals begin to grapple with tariff fallout Axios
Tariffs are Already Stalling the Economy Apricitas Economics
General Motors to deploy ‘Covid playbook’ to offset $5bn tariff hit FT
Trump 2.0
Trump’s national security adviser sent to UN amid ideological tensions Semafor
‘It’s like hanging on to a freaking bullet train’ Diplomatic, by Laura Rozen
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Trump vs. America’s National Parks Can We Still Govern?
The Trump administration’s push to privatize US public lands Grist
Dozens of homeless people living in national forest evicted by US Forest Service AP
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Before Trump Broke Democracy, the System Weakened It Americas Undoing.
For example:
COVID-19-related institutional betrayal associated with trauma symptoms among undergraduate students PLOS One
MAHA
RFK Jr Says Vaccine Contains ‘Aborted Fetus Debris’ Newsweek
RFK Jr. Bets $500 Million on Universal Vaccines in Shift From Covid-19 Funding WSJ
NIH cancels participation in Safe to Sleep campaign that decreased infant deaths STAT
DOGE
‘There’s Never Been a More Blatant Corporate Incursion Into the Public Sector Than DOGE’ FAIR
Tesla board is reportedly floating replacing Elon Musk as CEO Elektrek
Musk says DOGE, ‘a way of life,’ will continue Semafor
Democrats en déshabillé
lol the Zombiecrats are polling even lower than Trump, their “playing dead” strategy working as brilliantly as one would expect. Even funnier is the idea that their shit polling would be a “wakeup call”–you can’t wake up the dead, even the walking dead!https://t.co/1XmeApl7vN
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) May 1, 2025
Immigration
Corporations Exploiting Migrant Labor Left Unscathed by Trump Crackdown Lee Fang. As we wrote about here.
ICE Can’t Erase What Lelo Juarez Built Labor Notes
Police State Watch
Last night the police at UCLA charged into students with batons in hand, arresting several, for attempting a public screening of “The Encampments” documentary on the one-year anniversary of the UCLA encampment.
“On behalf of BreakThrough News, we condemn this grotesque… pic.twitter.com/dbWdiMMwe0
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) May 1, 2025
The Friendly Skies
Trump wants ‘one great big beautiful contractor’ for FAA modernization work The Air Current
AI
Zuckerberg explaining how Meta is creating personalized AI friends to supplement your real ones: “The average American has 3 friends, but has demand for 15.” pic.twitter.com/Y9ClAqsbOA
— Roman Helmet Guy (@romanhelmetguy) April 30, 2025
Healthcare?
The Medicaid You Don’t Know You’re On: How Rebranding Hides Threats to Your Care HEALTH CARE un-covered
Utah Farmers Signed Up for Federally Funded Therapy. Then the Money Stopped. ProPublica
Guillotine Watch
Rise of the rentiers: Inheritance flows in % of national output have increased strongly in advanced economies, with a particularly massive increase in Italy. Inheritance is very important for wealth accumulation.
Source: Economist via @pat_kaczmarczyk pic.twitter.com/Tg4xFSzCa5
— Philipp Heimberger (@heimbergecon) April 30, 2025
Our Famously Free Press
The drip-drip of slanted Gaza reporting erodes our sense of right and wrong Jonathan Cook
Antitrust
Settling price-fixing lawsuits is simply the cost of doing business for corporate giants. While McDonald’s gets a payout, @Reuters reported that cattle producers who sold directly to the meatpackers lost billions from this scheme. They get the short end of the stick as always. https://t.co/qx4BrGJi3W
— Farm Action (@FarmActionUS) May 1, 2025
Imperial Collapse Watch
Faltering California High-Speed Rail Pushes Private Funding To Fill Massive $7-$11 Billion Funding Gap California Globe
The Bezzle
The View from Here Air Mail. “Donald and Melania Trump’s foray into crypto may be the biggest financial scandal in presidential history—and it’s happening in plain sight.”
Class Warfare
The Trump Tariffs and the U.S. Labor Movement MR Online
1st unionized Whole Foods workers accuse grocer of wrongful terminations Supermarket News
To Posterity SAAG
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
