A couple in a Seoul shopping district in April 2020. | Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images After May 6, facilities like parks, museums, and schools are set to gradually reopen. South Korea will take new steps to relax social distancing on May 6, in yet another sign that the country that once had one of the worst … Read more
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the US Capitol in April 2020. | Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images Congressional leaders rejected Trump’s offer for special test kits as the country lags behind on testing capacity. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have declined an offer from the Trump administration to be … Read more
President Trump at the White House on May 1. | Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images Why Trump’s purge of US watchdogs is “a war on accountability.” President Donald Trump’s purge of officials who question his leadership continues — this time targeting another watchdog, one who accurately described America’s dearth of medical supplies and tests as the country … Read more
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses his country from his Ottawa residence. | Dave Chan/AFP/Getty Images “You don’t need an AR-15 to bring down a deer,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Thirteen days after the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a nationwide ban on military-style assault weapons Friday. “These … Read more
Nathan Nichols offered to pause rent for his Portland, Maine tenants due to the coronavirus pandemic. | Courtesy of Nathan Nichols We should all do what we can to make people’s lives easier right now. It’s why pausing a month’s rent was an easy choice. I made my very first social media post on any … Read more
White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Deborah Birx points to a model that estimates coronavirus cases and deaths in the US on March 31. | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images A model that the White House has relied on has come under fire for its flawed projections. How many people are likely to die in … Read more
Mindy Kaling’s Met Gala Challenge entry just won Instagram today Update, May 1st, 2020, 3:35 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to add Mindy Kaling’s Met Gala Challenge entry. When you think of show-stopping red carpet fashion, you think of Billy Porter. Who could forget his motorized hat at the 2020 Grammys, his tuxedo … Read more
The Food and Drug Administration has granted an emergency use authorization to remdesivir, an antiviral drug, to treat Covid-19. | Ulrich Perrey/AFP via Getty Images Recent studies showed mixed results about remdesivir’s effectiveness in treating the new coronavirus. The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted an emergency use authorization to remdesivir, an experimental … Read more
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images In the time of coronavirus, essential workers can hold effective protests even without huge attendance. Essential workers at major companies like Amazon, Instacart, and Target across the United States on Friday protested for better safety protections, working conditions, and pay during the coronavirus pandemic. The event attracted considerable media attention … Read more
Newsweek reported that the Wuhan Institute of Virology (above) was engaged in gain-of-function research. While their research did not concern the novel coronavirus, the pandemic has many people rethinking such research. | Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images The pandemic should make us question the value of gain-of-function research. Earlier this week, Newsweek and … Read more