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Alex McCourt

@admccourt.bsky.social
248 followers 354 following 12 posts

Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. JD/PhD/MPH. Views my own. he/him/his

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Reposted by Alex McCourt
I Travel Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 23/09/2026
“The Department of Health and Human Services informed congressional appropriators earlier this year that it was moving about $12 million from its Office of Minority Health to help cover the ballooning cost of security for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
wsj.com
Exclusive | RFK Jr.’s Enhanced Security Was Funded With Money From Minority Health Office
The cost of the health secretary’s security grew from roughly $10 million in fiscal year 2025 to $17 million in fiscal year 2026.
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Jake Charles @jacobdcharles.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I’m not exaggerating when I say that the second proposal here is a raw violation of VanDyke’s oath to uphold the Constitution. The 10th Amendment & federalism be damned if one state has a gun law that others don’t. The full dissent is worse & VanDyke writes alone again bc no one joins tantrums.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Protect trans kids.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 09/09/2026
NEW: Our analysis found that from 2020 to 2025, the rate of deaths involving ectopic pregnancies nearly doubled compared with the previous six-year period. The uptick was steeper in states with abortion bans.
propublica.org
Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans.
With prompt and appropriate medical care, experts say, people shouldn’t die from an ectopic pregnancy. Women in Texas and Oklahoma have sued over delays in care, which, coupled with our new analysis, ...
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Professa Murray @kalimurray.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
As I keep explaining to my students: federal judges have law clerks who pull the motion and immediately begin pulling the cites to read them. So, you will find an AI cite pretty quickly. The same thing is happening in law review land as well.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Administrative Burdens: Policymaking by Other Means (2018)
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Annals of Epidemiology @annalsofepi.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Gun Violence Exposure Linked to High Blood Pressure A newly published article found black adults in areas with more shootings had twice the odds of high blood pressure. Findings also demonstrate cardiovascular consequences of gun violence exposure. doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 31/07/2026
ICE detains Hopkins public health researcher as agency expands airport arrests
buff.ly
ICE detains Hopkins public health researcher as agency expands airport arrests
A Johns Hopkins public health researcher and former Fulbright scholar was detained by immigration agents while boarding a domestic flight this week, the university confirmed, as the Trump administration...
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 13/07/2026
There is still time to submit your comment and tell the government that you don't want US research to be completely destroyed by politicians meddling in individual grants. You can submit your comments here: www.regulations.gov/commenton/OM...
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
There's no sugar-coating Slaughter. It's an enormously important ruling (far more important than the other three decisions #SCOTUS handed down today). It's a huge win for Trump/the executive. And it's going to have massive ramifications for the functioning of the government long after Trump is gone.
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Alex McCourt @admccourt.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
🧵 Great and thorough thread on Wolford v. Lopez
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 27/05/2026
1/ At 17 weeks pregnant, Emily Waldorf was suddenly faced with a life-threatening situation: Her baby’s foot was dipping out of her cervix. Doctors told her the longer her cervix stayed open, the higher her risk of infection. They knew how to treat her. There was one issue … 🧵
A woman with shoulder-length dark hair wearing a reddish-brown corduroy jumpsuit.
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
I have no words. Actually I do. Just not today. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
reuters.com
American Bar Association votes to eliminate DEI rule for law schools
A longstanding diversity and inclusion requirement for U.S. law schools is teetering amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration and Republican states.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
As someone pointed out to me offline, this is a really funny typo in Alito’s mifepristone dissent: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
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Melissa Murray @profmmurray.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
There is not enough discussion of the EEOC's lawsuit against @nytimes.com for discriminating against a white man. Here's a gift link. Let's get into it.🧵 www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/b...
nytimes.com
U.S. Sues The New York Times, Claiming Discrimination Against a White Man
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
“Nearly half (48.6%) of investigators with equity-related terminations were BIPOC and 60.0% of investigators with gender-related terminations were SGM… 20.5% of investigators with institutional terminations (for purported antisemitism) were Jewish.” www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Targeted termination of scientific grants and minoritised researcher status in a national survey: a cross sectional analysis
Grant terminations targeting health research for BIPOC and SGM communities have disproportionately targeted the careers of BIPOC, SGM, and female researchers and researchers from disadvantaged backgro...
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Alex McCourt @admccourt.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
I’m struggling to find words for how callous, horrible, and unsettling this is.
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Rodger Sherman @rodger.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
I have highlighted the most important paragraph of the story about the newest executive order about college sports
"Multiple lawyers who work with colleges and their athletes told ESPN they believe that judges would rule the president's order to be unconstitutional and unenforceable if challenged in court."
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Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Adam means that she is the daughter of immigrants, but it is worth emphasizing that *every* U.S. citizen who has not been naturalized is a birthright citizen, either by the 14th Amendment or by statute.
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Matt Ford @mford.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Imagine spending the first few weeks of your child’s life suing the Social Security Administration so your baby won’t be deported.
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Jake Charles @jacobdcharles.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
One thing we shouldn’t forget is that, despite the revisionist literature that’s been pumped out in the last few months, it was demonstrably false to proclaim there was “an entire literature” supporting the anti view when Wurman said that 14 months ago.
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Maggie Astor @maggieastor.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Over the past year, pediatricians have seen a surge in parents who might once have been persuaded to accept vaccines but are now staunchly opposed, and parents who were fully on board but now are unsure. It'll take more than a court ruling to reverse that. From me and Dani Blum:
nytimes.com
Doctors Say Court Ruling Can’t Undo Kennedy’s Vaccine Damage
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Jake Charles @jacobdcharles.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
🧵This morning the Supreme Court hears oral argument in US v. Hemani, over the federal ban on gun possession by illegal drug users. I'll live-post here. w/ several 2nd Am scholars, I filed an amicus brief arguing lawmakers can make categorical judgments. ⬇️ www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
supremecourt.gov
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 26/02/2026
1. Numerous transgender people in Kansas are reporting that the state has sent them a letter demanding the immediate surrender of drivers licenses. Those driving could be arrested, charged, and see privileges revoked. Subscribe to support our journalism. www.erininthemorning.com/p/kansas-sen...
Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses
"The legislature did not include a grace period."
ERIN REED
FEB 25, 2026
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5
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Share
Kansas Sate Capitol // farzinvousoughian
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Putting aside (but don’t) plausible claims of bad faith abt the Wurman brief, a deeper issue is it helps show why Originalism is a terrible approach STRUCTURALLY. In short: caselaw is a fairly self-contained body of stuff, so willful misuse of cases is easy for lawyers to catch. History? No.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting.
2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value.
3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE.
4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on.
5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle."
6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground.7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack.
8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video.
9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk.
10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun.
11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him.
12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes.13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times.
14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him.
15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1.
16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground.
17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building.
18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bearwitness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values.
I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct.

Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.
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Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS @dimitridrekonja.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Alex from our time working together, while he was in nursing school. Later, he moved to ICU, working as a nurse to support critically ill Veterans. He had such a great attitude. We’d chat between patients about trying to get in a mountain bike ride together. Will never happen now
Alex Pretti from his early days working at the VA
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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 24/01/2026
Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara says that the victim was a 37-year-old white man and US citizen with no criminal record and that he was a legally permitted gun owner.
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Jake Charles @jacobdcharles.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
At 10am ET, the Supreme Court hears argument in Wolford v. Lopez, a Second Amendment challenge to a new Hawaii law that switches the default rule & disallows guns on private property absent consent. I won't live-post the whole arg, but I'm going to spotlight what seems important in this thread. 🧵
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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 16/01/2026
In hiding... in the United States. Families are in hiding in the United States. Government gangs are forcing families into hiding in the United States of America.
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Clint Smith @clintsmithiii.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
"A doctor at the scene attempted to help the woman who was shot, but was kept away by federal agents. When an ambulance finally arrived, it was blocked from reaching her by law-enforcement vehicles, and paramedics had to reach her on foot."
theatlantic.com
A Deadly Shooting in Minnesota
A federal immigration agent’s killing of a woman driving an SUV fits into a tragic pattern.
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Patrick Monahan @pattymo.com · 29/12/2025
Sauron was not only evil, he got distracted and his defenses failed
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Again, from Michael Grynbaum, here is Sharyn Alfonsi's full email. It must be read:
News Team,
Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier.
I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity.
Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct.
In my
view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.
We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.
If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, wehave effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient.
If the standard for airing a story becomes
"the government must agree to be interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast.
We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.
These men risked their lives to speak with us.
We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.
CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones.We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it.
When it fails to air without a credible
explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of "Gold Standard" reputation for a single week of political quiet.
I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight.
Sharyn
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Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Medicare has stopped paying physicians due to the shut down. Standing right on the third rail www.statnews.com/2025/10/15/c...
statnews.com
Medicare payments to doctors paused as government shutdown drags on
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing Medicare payments to doctors, as negotiations tied to the government shutdown drag on.
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Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions @jhucgvs.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
The Center has a new policy roadmap to assist Minnesota legislators in reducing gun violence in the state. Read about the new guide: publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-g...
publichealth.jhu.edu
Saving Lives in Minnesota: Policies to Reduce Gun Violence | Center for Gun Violence Solutions
The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Bloomberg School of Public Health has released a new roadmap to help assist Minnesota legislators in reducing gun violence in the state.
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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion. As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Do your mental health a favor and turn this on for today. You really don't want to watch this. It is awful.
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Baltimore Banner @thebaltimorebanner.com · 28/08/2025
Jury awards $62M to Baltimore in lawsuit against firearms dealer over sale of ghost guns
buff.ly
Jury awards $62M to Baltimore in lawsuit over sale of ghost guns
Baltimore City described the award against Hanover Armory as the largest verdict against a gun dealer in American history.
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Lindsay Wiley @lindsaywiley.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted," her attorneys wrote. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
pbs.org
Susan Monarez ousted as CDC director after less than a month as other agency leaders resign
Her departure coincided with the resignations of at least three top CDC officials. The list includes Dr. Debra Houry, the agency's deputy director; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, head of the agency's National C...
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
this picture of a mom shoes off sprinting to the Mpls school: www.startribune.com/minneapolis-... By Richard Tsong-Taatarii for @startribune.com, which should be a go-to source for anyone following
A parent runs toward the school after the shooting Wednesday at Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
If you care about the government trying to make sure that kids don't choke to death on their toys, read Law Dork tonight:
lawdork.com
How a Lafufu in a shot glass tells a stark story about the dangers of this moment
It's a serious story about the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, truly. Also: Tuesday at Law Dork, a discussion with California A.G. Rob Bonta.
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Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions @jhucgvs.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Core faculty member at the Center, @admccourt.bsky.social outlines four key policy recommendations to help policymakers strengthen Firearm Purchaser Licensing laws. 📘 Read the full Firearm Purchaser Licensing Model Policy Guide: publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/defaul...
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
The man who attacked the CDC fired more than 180 shots into the campus
huffpost.com
Man Fired 180 Shots, Shattering 150 Windows, In CDC Attack
Bullets pierced "blast-resistant" windows, and it could take weeks or even months to repair the damage, agency officials said.
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public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
this is a picture of CDC parents waiting to be reunited with their children at 11:00pm after 5 hours of lockdown
BREAKING NEWS
FAMILIES REUNITE WITH CHILDREN AFTER SHOOTING
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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
At an event commemorating the 200th birthday of the United States, a sitting Supreme Court Justice was invited to celebrate "the memory of the Founders and the document they drafted in Philadelphia." Justice Thurgood Marshall declined
 I cannot accept this invitation, for I do not believe that the mean-
 ing of the Constitution was forever "fixed" at the Philadelphia Con-
 vention. Nor do I find the wisdom, foresight, and sense of justice
 exhibited by the framers particularly profound. To the contrary, the
 government they devised was defective from the start, requiring sev-
 eral amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation
 to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for
 the individual freedoms and human rights, that we hold as funda-
 mental today. When contemporary Americans cite "The Constitu-
 tion," they invoke a concept that is vastly different from what the
 framers barely began to construct two centuries ago
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Pandemic preparedness in the US has been leveled a crippling blow with the cancellation of multiple #BARDA contracts to help develop mRNA vaccines. No other vaccine platform produces vaccine so quickly; without mRNA, Americans will have a long wait for pandemic vax. www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...
statnews.com
Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research
Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news that RFK Jr. has shut the door in U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research.
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Bridget Dooling @bridgetdooling.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
I’ve got a paper on whether the govt can lawfully outsource its reasoning to AI for rulemaking. TL;DR nope!
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