The COVID-19 Pandemic Keeps Proving Deadly to Liberty
As the pandemic rages on, nominally free countries are sliding down a path blazed by authoritarian regimes.
Public Health
Massachusetts Abandons Its Puzzling Public Health Distinction Between Casinos and Video Arcades
A week after being sued over his arbitrary COVID-19 policy, Gov. Charlie Baker says he will allow arcades to reopen.
Los Angeles Bans Halloween Trick-or-Treating Over Coronavirus Fears
Public health authorities are cracking down on a holiday activity where the age group least at risk of COVID-19 walks around outside wearing masks.
Today's Deadline for Seeking FDA Approval of Vaping Products Means Small Businesses Have To Pray for Bureaucratic Flexibility
The industry's fate depends on the whims of an agency charged with deciding what is "appropriate for public health."
No, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Didn't Spawn 250,000 Coronavirus Cases
Plus: FDA meddles more in vaping market, GOP lawmakers take aim at social media (again), and more...
Are Video Arcades More Dangerous Than Casinos During a Pandemic?
A federal lawsuit argues that the distinction drawn by Massachusetts is unconstitutional.
Andrew Cuomo Says 4,000-Person NYPD Social-Distancing Taskforce Needed Before He'll Allow Indoor Dining in NYC
New York City restaurants have been excluded from the reopening of dining rooms in the rest of the state.
Is Sweden's COVID-19 Policy 'Relatively Rational' or 'Calamitous'?
If the goal is minimizing the death toll over the long run, it is too soon to say.
Let Volunteers Expose Themselves to COVID-19 To Speed Up a Vaccine
"Economists are accustomed to thinking about tradeoffs," says economist and Nobel laureate Alvin Roth. "It appears that at least in some parts of the ethics community, they are not."
How Are Social Media Companies Supposed To Handle Government-Sponsored Misinformation?
Plus: Joseph Kennedy losing in Massachusetts, the White House is preparing an eviction moratorium, and more...
CDC Data Confirm That Young People Face a Negligible Risk of Dying From COVID-19
The risk for the elderly is much higher, probably largely because of preexisting medical conditions.
Trump Promotes the Outlandish Claim That COVID-19 Has Killed a 'Minuscule' Number of Americans
The assertion, which contradicts the president's own warnings about the virus, is based on a misinterpretation of CDC data.
The U.S. Prison System Has Reached 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths
The infection and death rates have surpassed those of the general population.
Do Legal Restrictions Account for the Downward Trend in New COVID-19 Cases?
The New York Times thinks so, but the data do not fit that hypothesis very well.
The Fed Sees Lingering Economic Pain From the Pandemic and the Lockdowns
The danger of the virus can’t be considered to the exclusion of the need for jobs and prosperity.
A Vote for Joe Biden Is a Vote for a National Mask Mandate, Says Biden
Plus: Emoji law, food trucks, and more...
Are the Democrats Right That We Are Seeing an 'Epidemic of Gun Violence'?
The rhetoric may not be accurate, but it is definitely useful.
Citing a Dubious Study, This Congressman Wants the FDA To Ban E-Cigarettes As a COVID-19 Hazard
The study suggests that vaping raises your risk of catching the disease, but only if you stop.
Rejecting Biden's Threat of a Nationwide Mask Mandate, Trump Suddenly Respects Limits on Presidential Power
Both major parties defend the Constitution only when it's convenient.
Media Alarmism Is Making It Difficult To Assess School Reopening
Kids do not catch or spread or suffer from coronavirus at the same rate as adults, no matter what your newspaper is telling you this week.
Not All COVID-19 Tracking Apps Respect Privacy, But Some Pass the Test
New apps can work as surveillance techniques for the government. They can also serve as anonymous health tools for people hoping to return to normal life.
Without 'Much More Aggressive Shutdowns,' The New York Times Warns, COVID-19 Could Kill 'Well Over a Million' Americans
That scenario seems highly implausible based on what we know about the epidemic.
COVID-19 and the Tragedy of the Open Access Health Commons
Why libertarians (and everybody else) should socially distance, wear masks and get vaccinated.
Los Angeles Will Shut Off People's Utilities For Hosting Parties, Not For Failing To Pay Their Utility Bills
Mayor Eric Garcetti's plan to shut off utility service to violators of bans on private gatherings poses grave civil liberties and due process concerns.
Nashville Promised a Crackdown on Mask-Defying Partiers. Then They Arrested a Homeless Man with a Drug and Drinking Problem.
This is what it looks like when you get the police involved in public health issues.
Newly Identified COVID-19 Cases Are Falling in Sunbelt States Where They Spiked This Summer
The trend means we should see declining daily deaths in the coming weeks.
De Blasio Orders Creation of Coronavirus Checkpoints To Interrogate Visitors to New York City
The city’s contact-tracing efforts don’t appear to be going well, so prepare for more top-down mandates with confusing justifications.
Trump's Naked Megalomania Continues a Bipartisan Trend
Will his blunt self-aggrandizement reinvigorate concerns about presidents who exceed their powers?
Why Americans Fear the COVID-19 Vaccine
Government failure eroded public trust. Fact-based persuasion and brutal honesty about scientific uncertainty are the only way to win it back.
Australia Imposes Curfews, Closes Internal Borders To Slow COVID-19 Pandemic.
Will the U.S. be next?
Linda Greenhouse Thinks COVID-19 Rules That Favor Casinos Over Churches Raise No Constitutional Issues Worth Considering
The former New York Times SCOTUS reporter does not seem to understand the arguments she is criticizing.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Tells Retailers To Call the Cops on Customers Who Don't Wear Masks
Armed agents of the state shouldn't be enforcing mask mandates.
Miami Police Setting Up 'Mask Traps,' Issuing $100 Fines to People Wearing Masks Improperly
The theoretical case for government mask mandates has to be weighed against the reality of their enforcement.
There Is More Than One COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rate
The wide range of estimates reflects real variations as well as methodological differences.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Wants President Donald Trump To Impose a Nationwide Face Mask Mandate
Whitmer's argument is short on facts and legal reasoning.
Kentucky Couple Reportedly Placed Under House Arrest After Failing To Sign COVID-19 Quarantine Notice
Elizabeth Linscott, who tested positive for COVID-19, says she objected to the wording of the health department's isolation orders.
COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Is About To Really Rev Up
Cheap, rapid antigen tests may be on the way—and the FDA has finally approved test pooling.
Daily COVID-19 Deaths in the U.S. Continue to Rise
Meanwhile, the case fatality rate is still falling.
This Health Care Law Bars Competition And Drives Up Prices, Even as a Pandemic Rages
During COVID-19, many states have rolled back their “certificate of need” laws. Now is the time to abolish them.
The Pandemic Is a Lucrative Revenue Opportunity for Incompetent Politicians
If there's one thing at which governments have excelled during this crisis, it's been collecting fines from anybody who steps out of line.
A Pandemic of Surveillance
Americans are increasingly monitored, and COVID-19 health concerns aren’t improving the situation.
COVID-19 Deaths Are Now Rising in the U.S., but Case Fatality Rate Continues To Fall
We are starting to see the fatal consequences of the recent infection surge.
Churches, Which Account for 0.02% of COVID-19 Cases, Are a 'Major Source' of Infection, The New York Times Says
The paper's claim reflects the same arbitrary distinction between religious and secular activities that churches are challenging in court.
Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Manipulators Are More Likely To Engage in 'Virtuous Victim Signaling,' Says Study
Plus: Protesters sue over alleged mistreatment by arresting officers, a new ruling on robocalls, and more...
As COVID-19 Cases Surge, Daily Deaths and the Case Fatality Rate Continue To Fall
Expanded testing, a younger mix of patients, and improved treatment help explain the seemingly contradictory trends.
Post-Pandemic Americans May Be Done With Taking Orders
Governments overplayed their hands with mandates that they are losing the ability to enforce.
Is the COVID-19 Pandemic Self-Flattening, or Will It Grind Relentlessly on?
Stanford epidemiological model predicts self-flattening while MIT forecasts continued epidemic growth.
