U.S. Energy Department Endorses Lab Leak Theory of COVID-19's Origins
The push to label the lab leak thesis a racist conspiracy theory now looks even more foolish.
Health
State Lawmakers Help Farmers by Improving Consumer Access to Raw Milk
The raw milk restoration is underway.
The Big Myth Is Full of Recycled Anti-Capitalist Cheap Shots
A new entrant in the anti-neoliberalism genre fails to land any blows.
Social Media Making Kids Depressed? Send Them Outside To Play
When society criminalizes outdoor independence, it makes smart phone addiction more likely.
More Immigration Leads to Better Nursing Home Care, Says New Paper
Immigrants have a proven ability to address a mounting need for the aging American population. Politicians crafting immigration policy ignore this at their own peril.
Paul Krugman Says Social Security Is Sustainable. It's Really Not.
Krugman sees benefit cuts as "a choice" but believes that implementing a massive tax increase on American employers and workers would be "of course" no big deal.
FTC Investigating, but Not Thwarting, Amazon Acquisition of One Medical
Since the Federal Trade Commission didn't sue in time, the deal went through. But will FTC Chair Lina Khan keep trying to attack Amazon for its bigness?
The Answer to Population Decline Is More Immigration
Politicians' go-to fixes like child tax credits and federal paid leave are known for creating disincentives to work without much impact on fertility.
My New SCOTUSblog Article on the Loan Forgiveness Cases Currently Before the Supreme Court
The article explains the broader issues at stake in these cases, and why the Court would do well to rule against the administration.
Facebook Says Noting the CDC's Scientific Misrepresentations 'Could Mislead People'
The social media site slapped a warning on a column in which I criticized the CDC for exaggerating the evidence supporting mask mandates.
L.A. Plans To Scrap Its Genuinely Good Outdoor Dining Program and Replace It With Rules, Fees, and Paperwork
The L.A. City Council saw a good thing happening and decided government wasn't involved enough.
Supreme Court Cancels Oral Argument in Title 42 "Public Health" Expulsion Case
The move makes it more likely that Title 42 expulsions of migrants will end in the near future.
'Patient Zero' Is Not Hate Speech
Reason talks with the transgender historian who used the term to describe a revolutionary gender-affirming treatment for teens.
Reason Files FOIA Lawsuit Against Bureau of Prisons for Inmate Death Records
Reason reported in 2020 on allegations of fatal medical neglect inside two federal women's prisons. The Bureau of Prisons heavily redacted reports that would show if women died of inadequate care.
Social Security and Medicare Cuts Are Coming, Whether Politicians Do It or Not
As legislators refuse to act, benefits will be cut without any possibility of sheltering those seniors who are poor.
U.S. Will Add $18.8 Trillion in New Debt by 2033
Plus: Age verification for social media, a bill to ban cannabis "gatherings," and more...
The Argument That 'America Has Gone Too Far in Legalizing Vice' Ignores the Cost of Prohibition
Is it just to punish the many for the excesses of the few?
We Need New Laws To Protect People in Pain
The CDC’s revised prescribing guidelines retain an anti-opioid bias and do nothing to reverse the harmful policies inspired by the 2016 version.
Under No Circumstances Did Joe Biden Save Social Security
Plus: a listener question on prohibition and a lightning round on the editors' favorite Super Bowl moments
Across the Globe, Government Health Care Systems Are Failing Us
By restricting private health care choices, the NHS and other beloved single-payer systems were doomed from the start.
The Fight To Criminalize Opioid Prescribing
Over 88 percent of opioid overdose deaths now involve either heroin or fentanyl. Targeting prescriptions is not an efficient way to address mortality.
The New York Times Warns That Freedom of Speech 'Threatens Public Health' and 'Democracy Itself'
The paper is unfazed by First Amendment objections to the Biden administration's crusade against "misinformation" on social media.
Biden's Drug Price Controls Will Kill More Patients in the Long Run
And increase total health care costs to boot.
Remembering the Great Pizza Funeral of 1973
Fifty years ago, dozens of people gathered in Ossineke, Michigan, for one of the strangest funerals in American history
The Fight Over the Debt Ceiling Is Just Beginning
Legislators will increasingly argue over how to spend a diminishing discretionary budget while overall spending simultaneously explodes.
Will Litigation Over Title 42 "Public Health" Migrant Expulsions Soon Become Moot When Biden Ends the Covid Emergency?
If so, Title 42 expulsions might finally end. But it's not a done deal yet.
Biden's Anti-Vaping Policies Undermine Cancer Moonshot
To reduce cancer deaths, Biden should stop restricting safer nicotine alternatives.
Disability Rights Group Challenges California Law That Forces the Mentally Ill Into Court-Ordered Treatment
"On its face, the CARE Act violates essential constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection while needlessly burdening fundamental rights to privacy, autonomy and liberty," the petition states.
Marc Andreessen on A.I., Crypto, Nietzsche, and Why We Need More Elon Musks
The venture capitalist and prognosticator on his hopes for the future and his fears about the present.
Migrating Americans Seek Lower Taxes and Greater Freedom
There are many reasons people move, but overburdening your citizens is a good way to lose them.
A Scientific Review Shows the CDC Grossly Exaggerated the Evidence Supporting Mask Mandates
The analysis found that wearing masks in public "probably makes little or no difference."
White House Opposes Congressional Effort To End COVID Vaccine Mandate for Foreign Travelers
More than four months after President Joe Biden declared the pandemic to be over, the White House is fighting efforts to lift lingering and nonsensical COVID rules.
Masks Make 'Little or No Difference' on COVID-19, Flu Rates: New Study
The Cochrane Library's review of masking trials should sound the death knell for mask mandates everywhere.
A Federal Judge Says the Ban on Gun Possession by Cannabis Consumers Is Unconstitutional
The government argued that marijuana users have no Second Amendment rights because they are dangerous, unvirtuous, and untrustworthy.
Kentucky's Governor Shields Medical Marijuana Users From Prosecution
Gov. Andy Beshear issued a conditional pardon aimed at protecting people who use marijuana for medical purposes from criminal prosecution.
Children Lost One-Third of a Year of Learning During the Pandemic, Analysis Finds
"The COVID-19 learning deficit is likely to affect children's life chances through their education and labour market prospects," the analysis' authors argue.
Democrats Say They Support Green Energy. Why Do Their Policies Say Otherwise?
If you look closely, you'll find a lot of contradictions.
COVID Stimulus Spending Played 'Sizable Role' in Inflation
Fiscal stimulus during the pandemic contributed to an increase in inflation of about 2.6 percentage points.
More Cracks in the FTC's Aggressive Antitrust Plans, as Court Refuses To Ban Meta From Buying V.R. Fitness App
Plus: Trump teases new avenues of authoritarianism, interest rates raised again, and more...
COVID Made Us Sick, But Government Responses Crippled Our Liberty
Report author: “The COVID-19 pandemic was a catastrophe for human freedom.”
Jennifer Sey Keeps Getting Canceled for Speaking Up
"I think the Democratic Party has severely underestimated how many people like me there are," says the 1986 USA Gymnastics national champion.
How Does California Define COVID-19 'Misinformation'? Judges Disagree, but Doctors Are Expected To Know.
One federal judge thought the state's new restrictions on medical advice were clear, while another saw a hopeless muddle.
A Federal Judge Blocks California's Ban on Medical Advice That Promotes COVID-19 'Misinformation'
U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb says the law is unconstitutionally vague.
Social Security Is on the Brink of Collapse. The GOP Won't Touch It.
In 1950, there were more than 16 workers for every beneficiary. In 2035, that ratio will be only 2.3 workers per retiree.
For-Profit Nursing Homes Had Less Severe Lockdowns, Lower Fatality Rates During Pandemic
A new paper from Mercatus shows how profit motive helped some nursing homes navigate COVID-19 better than others.
