Abortion Pills Are Very Safe and Effective, yet Government Rules Still Hinder Access

Ever since it was approved in 2000 as an abortion pill, mifepristone has been regulated as if it were a dangerous substance. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration required doctors to be specially certified to prescribe it. Patients had to sign an agreement confirming that they had been counseled on its risks. Most onerously, the … Read more

Spurred by pandemic, U.S. government will revisit federal policies on risky virus research | Science

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. government is revisiting its oversight of experiments that involve modifying pathogens in ways that might make them more harmful to people. Yesterday, White House officials and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) asked an expert advisory board to undertake a swift, broad review of the agency’s … Read more

Covid-19 news: Trust in UK government fell in 2021, study finds

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong and Alex Wilkins Britain’s health secretary Sajid Javid, prime minister Boris Johnson and chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak NEIL HALL/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 24 February Trust that … Read more

Petition calls for US government release of UFO videos

A new petition calls for the United States government to release to the public all unclassified videos of unidentified flying objects (UFOS), or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as they have recently been rebranded. Initiated on Feb. 10 by Adam Goldsack of the United Kingdom, the petition is hosted on the Change.org website. “The radical ‘transmedium’ technology … Read more

Mike Cannon-Brookes: Can a tech billionaire squash Australia’s coal industry by buying it?

Frustrated with the Australian government’s inaction on climate change, software king Mike Cannon-Brookes is trying to buy several big coal plants so he can shut them down in favour of renewables Environment | Analysis 22 February 2022 By Alice Klein Open-cast coal mining in Hunter Valley, Australia PETER HARRISON/Getty Images Mike Cannon-Brookes, the third-richest person … Read more

Cryptocurrency crimes have got too big for the US government to ignore

As more money pours into cryptocurrency crimes and scams, government agencies are increasingly cracking down, as the launch of dedicated Department of Justice and FBI enforcement teams demonstrates Technology | Analysis 18 February 2022 By Chris Stokel-Walker Bitcoin is just one of many cryptocurrencies Shutterstock/Coyz0 Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have continued to rise in profile, … Read more

Historic sea level rise predicted by NASA and government task force

As climate change continues to progress, so will its effects. In a new collaborative report, NASA and other U.S. government agencies have found that sea levels will rise up to a foot by 2050.  The report, which comes from a sea level rise task force that includes a number of government agencies including NASA as … Read more

Australia Just Listed The Iconic Koala as ‘Endangered’ in Several States

Australia officially listed koalas across a swathe of its eastern coast as “endangered” on Friday, with the marsupials fighting to survive the impact of bushfires, land-clearing, drought and disease.   Conservationists said koala populations had crashed in much of eastern Australia over the past two decades, warning that they were now sliding towards extinction. Environment … Read more

UK Net Zero Strategy: Government still won’t say how much CO2 its plan will save

For the third time, the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has refused a request to release key details about its Net Zero Strategy Environment 21 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Climate protesters in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021 Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images The UK government has declined for a third time to … Read more

Energy bills: What can the UK government do to avoid a cost of living crisis?

By Adam Vaughan Protesters demand action on fuel poverty in London in November 2021 Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The shock of rising energy bills due to sky-high wholesale gas prices has already squeezed UK household budgets, disrupted industrial plants and triggered the collapse of 28 energy suppliers including Bulb. Now the issue is … Read more