Why do some people attract mosquitoes? Clues are emerging Phys.org
Buddhist cult welcomes humanoid robot “Gabi” at Buddhist altar ceremony Yonhap News
‘Think twice before posing with a hand sign’: Expert warns of fingerprint theft The Straits Times
Abandonment of Values Massimo Mazzucco (translated by GeoPolitiQ)
Why do people still take cruises? Experts say convenience and value outweigh health risks, CBC
hantavirus
Thursday, May 14th. Key developments in the past 24 hours regarding the MV Hondius Andean hantavirus situation include:
Current number of cases
European public health authorities are currently reporting:
Total 11 items
8 confirmed
2 Highly likely
1 case is inconclusive
3 deaths total
The point is, it’s not new…
— Roger Seheult, MD (@RogerSeheult) May 14, 2026
Argentina rushes to uncover source of hantavirus infection, New York Times
Another Californian has been exposed to hantavirus in a deadly cruise ship outbreak, authorities have announced to the Los Angeles Times. “The newly identified passenger disembarked the MV Hondius cruise ship before the outbreak was known, briefly returned to California, and then traveled internationally again. He is currently residing in the Pitcairn Islands.”
How the CDC’s hantavirus response became a PR crisis. Or maybe it’s a public health crisis, not a PR problem, that the CDC is hoping for the best plan. Even if hantavirus doesn’t become a pandemic.
Hantavirus doesn’t spread easily, but authorities may be downplaying the risk New York Times
Surprisingly, even at the National Quarantine Center, where people have come into contact with hantavirus, surgical masks are only used when people who are still in quarantine come into contact with medical staff. If one of them gets infected, we’ll know why. pic.twitter.com/8et7yl6btO
— Dr. Caroline Orr Bueno (@RVAwonk) May 14, 2026
Climate/Environment
Hantavirus is a story of climate change HEATED
Back to the Future: Wood fuel combustion leaves traces of lead in ambient air Nature
Lessons for living in the Anthropocene (from the world’s most pessimistic climate writer) LitHub
pandemic
Where is the new coronavirus? Infection control, emergency management, safety, and general concepts
Encitrelvir for Covid-19 Post-Exposure Prophylaxis in Household Contacts New England Journal of Medicine
toilet
Intense precipitation reduces land water storage Nature
Explosive device discovered and detonated in Mobile Reservoir WALA
China?
Reading between the lines of what was said in China during the Xi Jinping and Trump summit meeting
The Chinese government is preparing to put US-China relations first and name it “New China Literacy.”
President Xi denies supplying weapons to Iran at Beijing meeting: Trump TRT World. As with his claim that 200 planes are on order for Boeing’s program, there is no confirmation from the Chinese side.
China FM reacts to whether Chinese and US leaders will discuss Iran during exchanges on major international and regional issues, including the situation in the Middle East China Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Global Times
From Mr. Xi to Mr. Trump: No to Taiwan, yes to business, beware of the Thucydides trap George Chen
US policy on Taiwan unchanged after Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing: Rubio Focus Taiwan
How the Hormuz crisis threatens oil prices on Taiwan’s power grid
Tensions rise at Trump-Xi summit, clashes erupt over media access, Secret Service standoff
India
Justice Department may drop Gautam Adani fraud charges over $10 billion US investment scheme EconoTimes
PM Modi abandons protectionism in India in favor of free trade Bloomberg
India’s market access challenges in the FTA with the EU The India Forum
Unresolved Challenges in US-India Semiconductor Cooperation Carnegie India
syrakistan
Israel kills at least one Palestinian child a week in West Bank: UNICEF regurgitates
Leaked documents show deep ties between Cisco Systems and Israeli security state drop site
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sues New York Times over Al Jazeera article about rape of Palestinian
old blighty
Weasel Street resigns over Starmer’s leadership challenge — see his resignation letter The Canary
discord in europe
Warsaw denies reports of halting US military deployment to Poland Note from Poland
US expected to overtake Norway’s maritime administration to become Europe’s largest gas supplier
It doesn’t matter what Europe’s GDP is Ian Welsh
Fighting Monks London Book Review
Africa
The price of survival: a country called Africa
Ivory Coast rushes to quell cocoa farmers’ protests as unpaid beans rot and West Africa crisis spirals
Or Canada
Vancouver mayor says he uses 11 AI agents to carry out work, slams ‘misinformation’ CBC
A new war that’s not so cold war
Rutte asks for triple aid to Ukraine Nordic Times
Bail set at $3.2 million for former Zelenskiy aide in corruption case RT
How a stray Ukrainian drone forced Latvia’s prime minister to resign France 24
Russia continues to attack U.S. companies in Ukraine. The White House is silent. new york times
Human Rights Group Urges Poland to Stop Facilitating US Deportations to Ukraine Memo from Poland
south of the border
CIA director visits Havana as US tensions rise TeleSur
Cuba says it has used up all its fuel reserves: ‘Absolutely nothing’ El Pais
The third day of a general strike in Bolivia demanding the resignation of neoliberal President Rodrigo Paz.
All major highways were blocked by demonstrators. The long procession of indigenous people heads towards the capital, with more people joining them as they pass through each town and village. pic.twitter.com/FQxNDTQtP6
— Ollie Vargas (@Ollie_Vargas_) May 14, 2026
spook country
How Tulsi Gabbard’s secret unit fell apart: After-action report
republican funhouse
A week before Primary Blue Apple aims to derail Thomas Massey over hush money scandal
Democrats are the worst
Jim Crow and Lord Voldemort’s Similar Practices (Or Why the Democratic Party Isn’t Harry Potter) Black Agenda Report
VA Democratic government vetoes collective bargaining rights expansion – Chicago Democrats rescind, tip wage phase-out – Los Angeles Democrats vote to postpone minimum wage increase Payday Report
Green New Deal advocate AOC absent from New York over weakening climate change law Politico
imperial collapse watch
Pentagon begins new framework agreement to acquire 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles, defeating defenses
brick countries
Iran and UAE clash at BRICS foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi TRT World
police state surveillance
Contracts show ICE’s planned detainee labor at warehouse site slated as short-term facility Project Saltbox
FBI Insider: Kash Patel ‘inflates statistics’ to increase arrest record MS Now
big brother is watching you
Houston Greenlights installs AI traffic surveillance cameras from NRG as neighbors cry Big Brother
accelerationist
Elon Musk vs. Sam Altman fight is distracting The Guardian
antitrust law
Your mattress was intentionally made worse. Your mattress was intentionally made worse.
A.I.
Internet of Shit: AI poop analysis app offers user poop database for sale 404 Media
“Maha”
FDA Commissioner Marty McCulley resigns over e-cigarette policy conflict Quartz
basil
US Senate Banking Committee Passes Advancement of CLARITY Act Coin Telegraph
class war
Military sniper forced out of job due to drones WSJ
Overworked AI agent turns Marxist, researchers discover Wired
Rights require money Aeon
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