Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 5d

The Houston toad, once common across southeast Texas, is now so endangered that its best shot at survival involves assisted reproduction and some very determined humans.

It’s weird, hopeful, kind of beautiful — and it just might be working.

@vox.com: www.vox.com/the-highligh... @longreads.com

Inside the audacious mission to bring a rare toad back from the brink

The amphibian “IVF clinic” fighting to save the first amphibian ever afforded federal protections.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 6d

Wildfires aren’t just getting bigger. They’re getting massively more expensive.

A new study shows the most destructive fires are happening more often, fueled by climate change, urban sprawl, and decades of fire suppression.

@umairfan.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4635...

The surging price tag of wildfires, in one chart

Wildfires are getting worse — and a lot more expensive for the rest of us.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 6d

@umairfan.bsky.social

Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 6d

The surging price tag of wildfires, in one chart

Wildfires are getting worse — and a lot more expensive for the rest of us.

Umair Irfan for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4635...

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 7d

We lost a great today 😢

@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4634...

Listen to Jane Goodall’s final — and urgent — message

Her final interviews are essential listening for everyone.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 7d

That price shock from your latest power bill wasn't a one-off — electricity prices are way, way up, and aren't coming down any time soon. Are we headed toward an energy crisis?

Umair Irfan spoke with energy experts to find out: www.vox.com/climate/4632... @vox.com

Your expensive power bill is part of an alarming trend

Here’s why you shouldn’t panic. Yet.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 20d

Here's a gift link: www.vox.com/climate/4608...

Inside Texas’s grand laboratory of dangerous mosquitoes

While the rest of the country turned a blind eye to ancient disease threats, these scientists leaned in.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 20d

RFK Jr's sycophantic Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will decide today and tomorrow whether to delay shots like the hepatitis-B vaccines for children.

@dylanlscott.bsky.social explains how this could be a breaking point: www.vox.com/health/46185... @vox.com

RFK Jr.’s biggest disruption yet to vaccine policy is coming

Kennedy’s support is fracturing. The childhood vaccine schedule could break it.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

www.vox.com/climate/4181...

Meet the Oropouche virus. It may be visiting your city soon.

Beware of the biting midge.

www.vox.com

Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

www.vox.com/climate/4608...

Inside Texas’s grand laboratory of dangerous mosquitoes

While the rest of the country turned a blind eye to ancient disease threats, these scientists leaned in.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

www.vox.com/climate/4603...

Your guide to identifying the 7 most dangerous mosquitoes in the US

There are more than 200 mosquito species in the country — but just a few to worry about.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

www.vox.com/climate/4603...

Mosquitoes at the US southern border reveal a frightening reality about climate change

This small Texas city is leading the country’s response.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

His reporting also highlights how fragile US public health capacity has become, just as the risks are accelerating. To help readers understand these threats, he’s also built a practical guide: how to identify the seven mosquito species that matter most for disease in the US.

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

Our climate correspondent Umair Irfan has been tracing this shift from multiple angles. His field reporting from Texas, where researchers are running one of the country’s most advanced mosquito surveillance systems, shows how close we are to outbreaks slipping past our defenses.

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

Already, West Nile is entrenched across much of the country. Dengue, chikungunya, and even malaria are beginning to take root again.

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

Most of us think of mosquitoes as little more than a summer nuisance. But climate change, urban sprawl, and global travel are reshaping their reach—and the range of the diseases they carry.

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 21d

At @vox.com's climate desk, we’ve spent the past few months digging into a threat that’s easy to swat away in the moment — but increasingly harder to escape: the rise of mosquito and other vector-borne diseases in the United States.

You can find all of our stories here: www.vox.com/climate/4616...

The great mosquito resurgence

Climate change is rewriting America’s map of disease — through bug bites.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 23d

In case you missed it: Great feature from our team @vox.com. West Nile, malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases are on the rise in the US. Umair's reporting will help you stay vigilant.

Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · Sep 8

Today @vox.com is rolling out something special from climate correspondent Umair Irfan. Recently, we went to southern Texas to dig into an unsettling story: how climate change—and the ways we’ve built our cities—is giving mosquito-borne diseases new footholds in the US. www.vox.com/climate/4603...

The US is on the verge of a mosquito-borne disease crisis

This small Texas city is leading the resistance.

www.vox.com

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · 29d

Parents — and anyone trying to make sense of vaccines right now — are facing mixed messages from the government and leading doctors.

Our new guide offers answers, and we’ve made it free to read as a public service.

@dylanlscott.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/health/46052...

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · Sep 8

Don't miss it! And stayed tuned for our third installment of the project — publishing next week.

Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · Sep 8

Our guide includes helpful cards, like this one, as a quick reference: www.vox.com/climate/4603...

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · Sep 8

The project also includes a field guide to the seven mosquito species most dangerous to humans — a practical resource you can return to again and again. This is for anyone who’s ever wondered what kind of mosquito just landed on their arm whether it could be harmful. www.vox.com/climate/4603...

Your guide to identifying the 7 most dangerous mosquitoes in the US

There are more than 200 mosquito species in the country — but just a few to worry about.

www.vox.com

1

Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · Sep 8

He landed in Brownsville, Texas, a city right on the border, that’s become a frontline in this fight. Brownsville isn’t just vulnerable—it’s also leading the resistance, building one of the country’s most sophisticated surveillance efforts to get ahead of these threats
www.vox.com/climate/4603...

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Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · Sep 8

Today @vox.com is rolling out something special from climate correspondent Umair Irfan. Recently, we went to southern Texas to dig into an unsettling story: how climate change—and the ways we’ve built our cities—is giving mosquito-borne diseases new footholds in the US. www.vox.com/climate/4603...

The US is on the verge of a mosquito-borne disease crisis

This small Texas city is leading the resistance.

www.vox.com

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Reposted by Paige Vega

Paige Vega @paigeblank.bsky.social · Sep 4

🚨 Major scoop from @vox.com's @dylanlscott.bsky.social 🚨

RFK Jr. has had a really bad couple of weeks.

But now, it gets worse.

Today, we're breaking the story that Kennedy’s HHS and the White House have buried a major federal study on American alcohol consumption. www.vox.com/health/46008... 🧵👇

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