Brian Wasik
@brianrwasik.bsky.social
Virologist. Evolutionary biologist.
Reposted by Brian Wasik
I am not exaggerating: Removing this webpage warning against fake autism "treatments" will kill autistic people.
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...
FDA Removes Warning Page About Dangerous Autism Treatments
Autism researchers question motivations for latest HHS changes, including the new IACC
www.medpagetoday.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:35 AM
I am not exaggerating: Removing this webpage warning against fake autism "treatments" will kill autistic people.
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/au...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
a congressional foreign policy leader from a bygone era, lee hamilton always seemed driven by a commitment to the public interest, government accountability, and honesty. RIP.
Lee H. Hamilton, a Foreign Policy Power in Congress, Dies at 94
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:16 AM
a congressional foreign policy leader from a bygone era, lee hamilton always seemed driven by a commitment to the public interest, government accountability, and honesty. RIP.
Reposted by Brian Wasik
the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades
Reposted by Brian Wasik
Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.
February 4, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.
Reposted by Brian Wasik
A large CAVA bag stuffed with what it says is $50,000 for White House Border Czar Tom Homan.
It’s been reported Homan took bribery money when he was recorded by the FBI accepting a bag full of $50,000 in cash.
“ICE GTFO OF MN”
Minneapolis February 4, 2026
It’s been reported Homan took bribery money when he was recorded by the FBI accepting a bag full of $50,000 in cash.
“ICE GTFO OF MN”
Minneapolis February 4, 2026
February 4, 2026 at 11:07 PM
A large CAVA bag stuffed with what it says is $50,000 for White House Border Czar Tom Homan.
It’s been reported Homan took bribery money when he was recorded by the FBI accepting a bag full of $50,000 in cash.
“ICE GTFO OF MN”
Minneapolis February 4, 2026
It’s been reported Homan took bribery money when he was recorded by the FBI accepting a bag full of $50,000 in cash.
“ICE GTFO OF MN”
Minneapolis February 4, 2026
Reposted by Brian Wasik
I've been working on this one for a while. It's about how we got here, and where we're going. I hope you'll read it to the end. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
February 4, 2026 at 8:55 PM
I've been working on this one for a while. It's about how we got here, and where we're going. I hope you'll read it to the end. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
The big tech founder whose 417-foot, $500 million superyacht needs a 256-foot, $75 million superyacht to "shadow" it -- because the bigger yacht lacks a helipad -- had to cut his paper's newsroom almost in half, for reasons
NEWS: The cuts were so severe that at least one department head asked to leave The Post rather than be included in the planning.
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:05 PM
The big tech founder whose 417-foot, $500 million superyacht needs a 256-foot, $75 million superyacht to "shadow" it -- because the bigger yacht lacks a helipad -- had to cut his paper's newsroom almost in half, for reasons
Reposted by Brian Wasik
Too many people on Bluesky think that relentless expressions of despair are a sign of intellectual sophistication.
February 4, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Too many people on Bluesky think that relentless expressions of despair are a sign of intellectual sophistication.
Reposted by Brian Wasik
weird to me that there's a whole class of people on here who will see this and immediately run to their keyboards to announce that it would terrify them, personally, out of voting. have some self respect
🚨BREAKING: Steve Bannon said Tuesday that the federal government is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to patrol polling stations during this year’s midterm elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 4, 2026 at 8:14 PM
weird to me that there's a whole class of people on here who will see this and immediately run to their keyboards to announce that it would terrify them, personally, out of voting. have some self respect
Reposted by Brian Wasik
I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.
Reposted by Brian Wasik
NEW: NEW: HHS is working on an AI tool to analyze VAERS—a database of vaccine injury claims to which anyone can make submissions—and "generate hypotheses." This is from @emilymullin.bsky.social:
HHS Is Making an AI Tool to Create Hypotheses About Vaccine Injury Claims
Experts worry Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Health Department will use an internal AI tool to analyze vaccine injury claims in a way that furthers his anti-vaccine agenda.
www.wired.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:49 PM
NEW: NEW: HHS is working on an AI tool to analyze VAERS—a database of vaccine injury claims to which anyone can make submissions—and "generate hypotheses." This is from @emilymullin.bsky.social:
Reposted by Brian Wasik
This one feels like an empty threat that's supposed to get into your head. Don't let your brain do propaganda for Trump's goobers, they don't have the horses to do this.
🚨BREAKING: Steve Bannon said Tuesday that the federal government is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to patrol polling stations during this year’s midterm elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:26 PM
This one feels like an empty threat that's supposed to get into your head. Don't let your brain do propaganda for Trump's goobers, they don't have the horses to do this.
Reposted by Brian Wasik
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
February 4, 2026 at 5:11 PM
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
Reposted by Brian Wasik
Striking from new Quinnipiac poll:
*Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33
*Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe
Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)
*Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33
*Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe
Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)
February 4, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Striking from new Quinnipiac poll:
*Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33
*Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe
Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)
*Voters prefer path to legalization over deportations for most undocs by 59-34. Among independents it's 61-33
*Majority says Trump on immigration is making America less safe
Again, there's broad rejection of the whole project, not just ICE tactics (see below)
Reposted by Brian Wasik
NEW: A government attorney who was detailed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota is no longer on that detail after telling a judge “this job sucks” and asking to be held in contempt so she could get 24 hours of sleep: www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Attorney for government tells judge in ICE case: 'This job sucks'
Julie Le made the remark while she was representing the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota, where federal officers are conducting a massive immigration crackdown.
www.nbcnews.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:30 PM
NEW: A government attorney who was detailed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota is no longer on that detail after telling a judge “this job sucks” and asking to be held in contempt so she could get 24 hours of sleep: www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
"In 1974, Harald zur Hausen suggested that human papilloma virus (HPV) could give rise to cervical cancer. His work led to the development of a vaccine against the disease."
via nobelprize.org for #WorldCancerDay.
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
via nobelprize.org for #WorldCancerDay.
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
February 4, 2026 at 1:10 PM
"In 1974, Harald zur Hausen suggested that human papilloma virus (HPV) could give rise to cervical cancer. His work led to the development of a vaccine against the disease."
via nobelprize.org for #WorldCancerDay.
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
via nobelprize.org for #WorldCancerDay.
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
We love them so much we send masked men with guns to terrorize them for not thinking exactly like us. That's love you see. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Q: Pope Leo cited Matthew 25:35 to critique Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda. How would you respond to Pope Leo in scripture?
MIKE JOHNSON: Sovereign borders are biblical and right and just. It's not because we hate the people on the outside. It's because we love the people on the inside.
MIKE JOHNSON: Sovereign borders are biblical and right and just. It's not because we hate the people on the outside. It's because we love the people on the inside.
February 4, 2026 at 12:33 PM
We love them so much we send masked men with guns to terrorize them for not thinking exactly like us. That's love you see. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
Remarkable: Trump's planned migrant prison camps are hitting deep resistance in red areas. In Virginia's partly rural Hanover (+26 Trump) opposition is intense. GOP leaders in other states are opposed.
Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Trump’s New “Prison Camp” Threat Unleashes Fury Even in MAGA Country
The next phase of ICE’s big ramp-up: a nationwide network of vast detention facilities. But guess what? Even parts of Red America are saying no.
newrepublic.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Remarkable: Trump's planned migrant prison camps are hitting deep resistance in red areas. In Virginia's partly rural Hanover (+26 Trump) opposition is intense. GOP leaders in other states are opposed.
Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Voters are rejecting mass deportations big time. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2060...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
I personally do not think some rich man should be able to buy an institution like this like a toy and then break it when he doesn’t want to play with it anymore. bsky.app/profile/benm...
New: Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray and HR Chief Wayne Connell tell employees to stay home for a zoom webinar ahead of “significant actions across the company.” Widely expected layoffs are scheduled to begin today.
February 4, 2026 at 11:53 AM
I personally do not think some rich man should be able to buy an institution like this like a toy and then break it when he doesn’t want to play with it anymore. bsky.app/profile/benm...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
"To this day [I] regard the war...as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."
—President Ulysses S. Grant on the Mexican-American War, in which he fought with distinction
—President Ulysses S. Grant on the Mexican-American War, in which he fought with distinction
Trump accused of distorting history of Mexican-American War to justify heavy hand in Latin America
apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump accused of distorting history of Mexican-American War to justify heavy hand in Latin America
Historians and observers have accused the Trump administration trying to rewrite American history to justify its own foreign policy decisions toward Latin America by posting a “historically inaccurate...
apnews.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:59 AM
"To this day [I] regard the war...as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."
—President Ulysses S. Grant on the Mexican-American War, in which he fought with distinction
—President Ulysses S. Grant on the Mexican-American War, in which he fought with distinction
Reposted by Brian Wasik
Seems real bad that the end point of ~25 years of War on Terror architecture is an agency of thin-skinned goons who will send armed men to your house if you email the government asking for compassion on behalf of someone else.
newrepublic.com/post/206088/...
newrepublic.com/post/206088/...
DHS Hunts Down 67-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Who Criticized Them in Email
The Department of Homeland Security is using a little-known tool to go after its critics.
newrepublic.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:18 AM
Seems real bad that the end point of ~25 years of War on Terror architecture is an agency of thin-skinned goons who will send armed men to your house if you email the government asking for compassion on behalf of someone else.
newrepublic.com/post/206088/...
newrepublic.com/post/206088/...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
🦅 What’s driving the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) across Europe?
Using machine learning and wild bird ecology, a new study from @L_Brierley & colleagues reveals a shift towards year-round risk in cold, low-lying regions of NW Europe.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Using machine learning and wild bird ecology, a new study from @L_Brierley & colleagues reveals a shift towards year-round risk in cold, low-lying regions of NW Europe.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ecology and environment predict spatially stratified risk of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b in wild birds across Europe - Scientific Reports
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) represents a threat to animal and human health, with the ongoing H5N1 outbreak within the H5 2.3.4.4b clade being one of the largest on record. However, it rem...
www.nature.com
February 4, 2026 at 11:32 AM
🦅 What’s driving the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) across Europe?
Using machine learning and wild bird ecology, a new study from @L_Brierley & colleagues reveals a shift towards year-round risk in cold, low-lying regions of NW Europe.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Using machine learning and wild bird ecology, a new study from @L_Brierley & colleagues reveals a shift towards year-round risk in cold, low-lying regions of NW Europe.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
Under RFK, Jr., the CDC's authority has crumbled: it is no longer updating dozens of health databases, and has abandoned vaccine guidelines. But states and governors are trying to fill the void, @laurenjyoung.bsky.social writes @scifri.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/stat...
A ‘shadow CDC’ is scrambling to fill gaps in public health data
Dozens of routinely updated CDC databases have gone quiet. Here’s what states and medical societies are doing to preserve U.S. public health
www.scientificamerican.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Under RFK, Jr., the CDC's authority has crumbled: it is no longer updating dozens of health databases, and has abandoned vaccine guidelines. But states and governors are trying to fill the void, @laurenjyoung.bsky.social writes @scifri.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/stat...
Reposted by Brian Wasik
There are approximately 1000 research groups on the #NIH campuses, including Steve Rosenberg's research group, which develops groundbreaking T-cell therapies for cancer.
Effectively all of those groups were suddenly prohibited from buying any (!) supplies last year.
That is on the leadership.
Effectively all of those groups were suddenly prohibited from buying any (!) supplies last year.
That is on the leadership.
BHATTACHARYA: I do not believe patients' care was disrupted. If there were disruptions, it's the responsibility of the researchers, not the NHS
HASSAN: That is an unacceptable and outrageous response. You can make an edict - 'Don't disrupt care!' - but that can be a very complicated thing
HASSAN: That is an unacceptable and outrageous response. You can make an edict - 'Don't disrupt care!' - but that can be a very complicated thing
February 3, 2026 at 10:45 PM
There are approximately 1000 research groups on the #NIH campuses, including Steve Rosenberg's research group, which develops groundbreaking T-cell therapies for cancer.
Effectively all of those groups were suddenly prohibited from buying any (!) supplies last year.
That is on the leadership.
Effectively all of those groups were suddenly prohibited from buying any (!) supplies last year.
That is on the leadership.
Reposted by Brian Wasik
Sigh
There are so many gullible reporters (aka stenographers) who have no expertise in the longstanding antics of the anti-vaccine lobby
Such reporters haven’t learned about Wakefield & the kooky unsubstantiated trope that vaccine *combinations* cause autism
Such reporters need a different beat
There are so many gullible reporters (aka stenographers) who have no expertise in the longstanding antics of the anti-vaccine lobby
Such reporters haven’t learned about Wakefield & the kooky unsubstantiated trope that vaccine *combinations* cause autism
Such reporters need a different beat
February 4, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Sigh
There are so many gullible reporters (aka stenographers) who have no expertise in the longstanding antics of the anti-vaccine lobby
Such reporters haven’t learned about Wakefield & the kooky unsubstantiated trope that vaccine *combinations* cause autism
Such reporters need a different beat
There are so many gullible reporters (aka stenographers) who have no expertise in the longstanding antics of the anti-vaccine lobby
Such reporters haven’t learned about Wakefield & the kooky unsubstantiated trope that vaccine *combinations* cause autism
Such reporters need a different beat