Archive for August 2025

The 186th Executive Order, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking , replaces the long-established practice of federally funded research grants being decided by a peer review panel by placing the final decision on grants in the hands of “senior appointees” named by the president (or cabinet secretaries, who are themselves named by the president). These political apparatchiks “shall not ministerially ratify or routinely defer to the recommendations of others in reviewing funding… but shall instead use their independent judgement” to ensure that the research grants “advance the national interest”.

Singer said one of the reasons corporate media likely isn’t properly reporting on price hikes is that reporters are being fed press releases or statements from industry spokespeople and not properly interrogating the information. As the number of reporters has declined over the past few decades, the number of public relations specialists has exploded. In 2023, there were more than 308,000 PR specialists nationwide, compared to just 49,800 reporters, according to government data.

Bradley Chambers, a social work manager from Douglas, was chosen for the role after impressing judges with his passion for poetry, knowledge of different forms and his desire to bring a storytelling approach to the year ahead.

Long COVID affects about 6% of people with COVID, with more than 200 symptoms recorded. For some, it lasts a few months. For “long haulers” it stretches into years. The size of the problem is hard to measure, because symptoms vary from person to person. This has led to debate about what long COVID really is, what causes it, and even whether it’s real. But mounting evidence shows long COVID is very real and serious. Studies confirm it reduces quality of life to levels seen in illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s disease.

AI is rapidly transforming how information is created and shared during crises. In emergencies, this can amplify fear, misdirect resources and erode trust at the very moment clarity is most needed. Building safeguards through education, policy, fact-checking and accountability is essential to ensure AI becomes a tool for resilience rather than a driver of chaos.

Jeanne Theoharis speaks with Lerone A. Martin about the white Christian legacy of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI.

As a scholar of rhetoric and the mother of an autistic child, in the language of MAHA I hear a disregard for the humanity of people with disabilities and a shift from supporting them to blaming them for their needs. Such language goes all the way up to the MAHA movement’s highest-level leader, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.