A federal judge on Monday restarted the Revolution Wind offshore energy project, handing the Trump administration another setback in its efforts to halt the wind farm under construction in waters off Rhode Island.
Several Senate Republicans are seeking to rein in President Trump's plans for Venezuela amid concerns the president may deploy thousands of U.S. troops to South America.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) warned on Monday that the Department of Justice's criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell better be "real" and "serious" to avoid undermining the independence of the central bank and rattling the world's financial markets.
President Donald Trump issued a stark warning on Monday, saying the U.S. would be "screwed" if the Supreme Court overturns his authority to impose tariffs.
As the Hubble Space Telescope faces the end of its mission, experts predict that it could reenter Earth's atmosphere earlier than predicted.
How Herd Immunity Works (February 2025)
historyofvaccines.org
... Herd immunity works like a chain reaction. Imagine a virus as a fire: if too many people are "flammable" (susceptible), the fire spreads quickly. But if enough people are "fireproof" (immune), the flames die out. This protects vulnerable groups like newborns, elderly individuals, or people with weakened immune systems who can't get vaccinated. ...
So how do we know the approximate level of vaccination needed for herd immunity? Math.
The math behind herd immunity starts with a number called R0 (pronounced "R-naught" and sometimes referred to as the "basic reproductive number"). R0 tells us how contagious a disease is. For example:
- - - Measles has an R0 of about 15 (one person infects 15 others).
- - - COVID-19's original strain had an R0 of 2"3.
To calculate the herd immunity threshold, scientists use the formula: 1 " (1/R0).
For measles (R0=15), this means 1 " (1/15) = 1 - 0.067 = 0.933, or about 93% immunity needed.
If fewer people are immune, the disease keeps spreading.
For original COVID, herd immunity was achievable at around 66% immunity, but variants and people's hesitance in getting vaccinated made it a difficult goal to achieve. ...
Axios Explains: Inside ICE's superpowers (June 2025)
www.axios.com
... The images of masked, heavily armed immigration agents snatching people off the streets and taking them away in unmarked cars have shocked many Americans " and led to a simple question: Is all of this legal?
It is -- at least for now.
Why it matters: Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created after the 9/11 attacks, its agents have operated with vastly more enforcement power, less transparency and fewer guardrails than local police.
- - - ICE's rules were designed largely to give the agency broad leeway in helping the FBI identify and arrest domestic terror suspects.
- - - Now the Trump administration is using that power to go after unauthorized immigrants " potentially millions of them " with a frequency and aggressiveness that has sent ripples through communities nationwide.
Zoom in: Under Trump, critics say, ICE has become the closest thing the U.S. has to a secret police force.
- - - ICE agents aren't required to wear body cameras, can cover their faces, don't have to provide badge numbers or identify themselves, can arrive in unmarked cars and don't need a warrant from a judge to detain someone.
- - - Like those with other federal enforcement agencies, they can ignore rules that govern local police departments, particularly those local agencies with histories of abuse or that operate under court-imposed restrictions on racial profiling.
- - - In some cases, ICE agents can even arrest U.S. citizens -- but they aren't supposed to place them in immigration detention units. Even so, a few U.S. citizens have been detained in recent ICE raids because of agents' mistakes or negligence. ...
@#22 ... -90% vaccinated?
isn't that were are now? ...
It looks that way. 90%
That seems to be the low end, the very low end, for herd immunity.
But there is a need to get back to at least 95% vaccinated to attain real herd immunity.
Measles Resurgence and the Fragility of Herd Immunity: Implications for Pediatric Infectious Disease Practice
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
... Because measles requires vaccination coverage above 90%-95% to prevent transmission, even a 5% exemption rate can undermine herd immunity and enable outbreaks of this highly contagious virus. ...
We currently seem to be, as your comment notes, around 90% vaccination rate.
And now we are seeing outbreaks of measles in a country that had once been declared free of measles.
What might occur if we continue the trend and go below that 90% vaccination rate?
@#63 ... Was the message "play stupid games win stupid prizes"? ...
No.
The message to me seems to be more along the lines of ...
~We are Pres Trump's private militia, protected by his lawyers, a.k.a. the DoJ.
Don't f--k with us.~