The federal government is ending its recommendation that every infant receive a hepatitis B vaccination at birth, the most substantive change to the childhood immunization schedule yet under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Instead, the Trump administration is leaving the question to “individual decision-making,” according to new guidelines recommended by the US Advisory […]

The Supreme Court reinstated a Texas gerrymander that is expected to give Republicans five additional seats in the US House on Thursday evening, after a lower federal court struck that gerrymander down. As is often the case in politically contentious cases, the justices appear to have voted entirely along party lines, with only the Court’s […]

The world’s second-largest fur producer is saying goodbye to fur. On Tuesday, Poland passed a law to phase out fur farms over the next eight years — a major blow to the global fur industry. In 2023, fur farmers in the Central European nation killed some three million foxes, minks, raccoon dogs, and chinchillas for […]

If you’re lucky enough to enjoy a warm slice of cherry pie this holiday, you should probably thank this bird.  It’s an American kestrel, the smallest falcon in North America, which is roughly the size of a blue jay. And in some parts of Michigan — the nation’s tart cherry capital — this bird helps […]

The world is a much better place than it used to be, especially for young children.  Insecticide-treated mosquito nets and novel treatments have made malaria much less deadly for millions of kids. Many countries now have the tools and techniques they need to nurse even very premature babies back to health. And the stupendous rise […]