Study: Prison COVID-19 Spread Led to Hundreds of Thousands of Community Infections
Thanks to poor management and massive rates of incarceration, people are dying both inside and outside prisons.
Public Health
Deal Reached To Tack $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Package on to Spending Bill
Plus: 1 in 5 prisoners has had COVID-19, Supreme Court won't stop undocumented immigrant exclusion from Census, and more...
California Judge Blocks Enforcement of State and Local Bans on Restaurant Dining in San Diego County
The decision says the government failed to present any evidence of virus transmission in restaurants that follow COVID-19 precautions.
SCOTUS Declines To Let Kentucky Religious Schools Reopen Without Addressing the Constitutionality of Closing Them
The justices emphasized that K-12 schools are currently scheduled to reopen after winter break.
Public Schools Are Losing Their Captive Audience of Children
Pandemic chaos is driving families to flee government institutions in search of education that better suits their needs.
Americans Are in Full Revolt Against Pandemic Lockdowns
Individually and in organized groups, people are pushing back against lockdown orders.
A New Warning That International Pandemic Responses Are Eroding Freedom
Authoritarian-minded officials have found opportunity in public health fears.
Pandemic Lockdown Battles Offer Glimpses of Political Conflicts to Come
Under punitive federalism, localities refuse dictates from above while state and federal officials retaliate.
California's Health Secretary Concedes There Is No Empirical Basis for the State's Ban on Outdoor Dining
The ban is "not a comment on the relative safety of outdoor dining," Mark Ghaly says, but part of the effort to keep people from leaving home.
'I'm Not Sure We Know What We're Doing,' Says a Newly Skeptical California Lockdown Advocate
San Mateo County Health Officer Scott Morrow, who supported last spring's stay-at-home orders, airs his misgivings about reviving that policy.
A Right to a Speedy Jury Trial? Don't Count On It During the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Courts ignore constitutional guarantees while defendants awaiting trial languish in jail.
Are Americans Insufficiently Alarmed by COVID-19?
Press coverage of the pandemic tends to exaggerate risk and ignore encouraging information.
FDA Staff Review Confirms: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Safe and Highly Effective
It is likely to be approved for distribution by the end of the week.
U.S. Media Readers 'Strongly Prefer Negative Stories About COVID-19'
The National Bureau of Economic Research finds that U.S. media coverage of the pandemic is far bleaker than in other countries.
California Churches Stuck in Limbo After Supreme Court Decision
Plus: Congress to vote today on marijuana decriminalization, new study shows bad news for indoor diners, and more...
The Unseen Costs of the COVID-19 Pandemic
We must not ignore the suffering that this pandemic and our collective response to it have inflicted on millions of fellow citizens.
In a Complex World, Politicians Have a Simple Demand: More Power
Circumstances change and the world may grow more complicated, but authoritarians never vary from their demand for more power over our lives.
Paul Krugman Thinks Holding Religious Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Like 'Dumping Neurotoxins Into Public Reservoirs'
The New York Times columnist misconstrues the issues at stake in the challenge to New York's restrictions on houses of worship.
SCOTUS Blocks New York's COVID-19 Restrictions on Houses of Worship, Saying They Are Not 'Narrowly Tailored'
Gov. Andrew Cuomo described his policy as a "fear-driven response," cut by a "hatchet" rather than a "scalpel."
Senseless Restrictions on Outdoor Activities Undermine the Goal of Curbing COVID-19
By arbitrarily foreclosing relatively safe social and recreational options, politicians encourage defiance, resentment, and riskier substitutes.
Instead of Policing Thanksgiving, Governments Should Get Their Own Act Together
Plus: Trump adviser says TikTok ban will happen, Texas to teach birth control in middle school sex ed, and more...
Vaccine Nationalism Threatens Politicized Decisions to Fight a Global Pandemic
If governments stand in the way of vaccine production and distribution for the world market, the costs will be high in lives and in wealth.
More Cops Say They Won't Enforce Coronavirus Curfews
Plus: Biden definitely wins Georgia, Alaskans approve ranked-choice voting, Facebook faces next antitrust lawsuit, and more...
Why the Hell Don't We Have Enough Damned COVID-19 Tests After 8 Months of the Pandemic?
It's not like we didn't know that we had a problem.
Gavin Newsom's French Laundry Outing Crystallizes the Arrogance of COVID-19 Dictators
After violating his own rules, California's governor offers deceitful excuses and announces new restrictions for the little people.
Coronavirus Curfews Are Trending Again, Despite Total Lack of Evidence They Help
Plus: Against the conservative case for antitrust action, New York City shuts down schools again, and more...
A New Prevalence Estimate Suggests the COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rate in Texas Is Roughly 0.4 Percent
That makes the disease much deadlier than the seasonal flu but not nearly as deadly as modelers initially assumed.
Unreasonable Rules Fueled a Black Market in Negative COVID-19 Test Results
Before putting testing rules in place, officials should have considered whether the public would be willing and able to comply.
Rapid At-Home Tests for COVID-19 Finally Get FDA Approval. But People Still Need a Prescription.
Plus: Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejects Trump campaign complaint, new pandemic restrictions in lots of states, and more...
Cuomo's COVID-19 Rules Discriminate Against Religion
The case gives SCOTUS another chance to enforce constitutional limits on disease control measures.
Jews and Catholics Ask Supreme Court To Stop NYC Religious Services Ban
Plus: DOJ argues for right to kill civilians, tech CEOs are back before Congress today, Dolly Parton helped fund COVID-19 vaccine, and more...
Arbitrary COVID-19 Control Measures Will Not Make Americans More Likely To 'Hang in There' Until Vaccines Are Available
Legal responses to this fall's surge in new cases, like last spring's lockdowns, are frequently illogical and unscientific.
Masks Are a Tool, Not a Panacea
They help keep the disease from spreading, but they won't single-handedly keep the COVID-19 numbers from going up.
Justice Samuel Alito Highlights the Legal Issues Raised by 'Previously Unimaginable' COVID-19 Restrictions
When "fundamental rights are restricted" during an emergency, he says, the courts "cannot close their eyes."
Joe Biden's COVID-19 Death Forecast Looks Less Plausible Every Day
So far the president-elect's "expectation" is off by a factor of more than three, which does not bode well for his approach to the pandemic.
Here Come the New Lockdowns
Plus: Hallucinogen decriminalization is trendy, U.S. divorce rate reaches 50 year low, and more...
Will Biden Use the Broad Pandemic-Fighting Powers Originally Claimed by Trump?
Trump claimed the power to issue a national eviction moratorium during COVID. Could that pave the way for the mask mandates Biden clearly wants?
The Economy, Racial Inequality, and COVID-19 Topped Voter Minds
It's the world of the present, not the controversies of the past, that motivated voters.
Bureaucrats Declare War on Learning Pods. They'll Lose.
Flexible education crafted to meet family needs is destined to prevail over failing government schools.
Hey, Teacher! Don't Leave Those Kids at Home
Schools don’t seem to spread the coronavirus much at all.
Why Is Donald Trump So Mad at Anthony Fauci?
The president's COVID-19 adviser is not always right, but at least he is attempting to describe reality.
What Current Data Tell Us About How the Pandemic Could Play Out This Winter
Peaks and valleys, a fall peak, or a slow burn?
New Evidence Suggests Better Treatment Is Contributing to Falling COVID-19 Fatality Rates
Even after adjusting for age and comorbidities, researchers in New York and England found large improvements in patient survival.
White House Says 'President Trump's Coronavirus Response Has Saved Over 2 Million Lives'
That claim is wildly implausible and contradicted by the president's suggestion that COVID-19 was never much of a threat.
A New Round of COVID-19 Restrictions Drives Illinois Eateries to Rebellion
Who could have predicted that intolerable rules won’t be tolerated?
Trump Is Wrong About Military Distribution of a COVID-19 Vaccine
When a coronavirus vaccine is ready, it will be distributed through normal civilian supply chains to your doctor's office and local pharmacy.
Trump and Biden Are Both Misleading Us About COVID-19
The president claims success based on a completely implausible worst-case scenario, while his opponent projects more than 3,700 deaths a day.
A New Study Estimates That COVID-19 Is Responsible for 2.5 Million Years of Life Lost in the U.S.
That is much lower than the toll from unintentional injuries, cancer, or heart disease but higher than the loss attributed to suicide or homicide.
