President Biden approved a secret strategy in March to prepare the United States for possible coordinated nuclear confrontations with China, Russia and North Korea. / The New York Times [+] Condoleezza Rice: US-China relations badly need new procedures and lines of communication to prevent an accidental catastrophe. / Foreign Affairs Political influence
China and the United States are making progress, albeit limited, in cutting reliance on coal. / Semafor At this point of the year, global wildfire burn is about the highest it's been since 2012. / Sustainability by numbers See also: A fashion designer's rain-harvesting hats, and a
Even as the GOP publicly lambastes Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, some Republican mayors in Ohio say it's making local energy projects possible. / Semafor A researcher at a US agency developing moonshot health therapies suggests replacing brain tissue as a way to treat stroke victims—and eventually
US officials say that Israel has done all it can militarily against Hamas in Gaza, and any further actions will only risk harming civilians. / The New York Times [+] See also: How Israel's finance minister is using obscure policy to connect a new West Bank settlement with Jerusalem. / The
The World Health Organization says the spread of mpox is a global public health emergency—the second such declaration in two years. / STAT Jess Craig: It remains unclear if the new designation will have any impact on mpox vaccine availability. / Vox Advice on when you should get your next Covid
Scientists discover "seismic signals" of liquid water on Mars. / BBC News China is building a massive wall of solar panels to fight desertification. / Semafor Analysts explain why Harvard canceled its solar geoengineering project. / The Verge Is carbon offsetting just greenwashing? I.e., "a mechanism that allows polluters
David Wallace-Wells explains why we shouldn't be applying lessons learned from Covid to bird flu. / The New York Times [+] A British couple compares photos of a Swiss glacier taken in 2009 and 2024. / Kottke Demand in the United States for avocados is encouraging deforestation in Mexico. / Bloomberg
Experts say Covid can now be considered endemic, although it may take another decade to reach the predictability associated with other endemic diseases. / NPR "The CDC has likely been violating federal law for years by systematically deleting lower-level employees' emails, a federal judge ruled Friday." / Politico
A deep dive into a US court's ruling that warrantless searches of incoming travelers' devices at the border are unconstitutional. / The Dissenter How a prominent anti-abortion doctor in San Antonio somehow became the rural representative for Texas's maternal mortality committee. / The Texas Tribune "
Doctors say it doesn't work, but Olympic athletes swear drinking a Coke after emerging from the polluted Seine helps "flush out anything inside of us." / The Wall Street Journal [+] Gyms depend on members not showing up—that's now a problem because new fitness trends
