The United States opened a new era of human space travel on Saturday as a private company for the first time launched astronauts into orbit, nearly a decade after the government retired the storied space shuttle program in the aftermath of national tragedy, the New York Times reports.
Space X to Launch Astronauts
Today at 4:33 ET — but only if the weather in Florida cooperates — two NASA astronauts plan to strap themselves into a capsule atop a SpaceX rocket and travel to space, Nature reports.
“If the launch succeeds, it will mark a number of firsts in human spaceflight. It will be the first time a private company has flown humans to orbit, and the first time astronauts have launched from US soil since NASA retired the Space Shuttle in 2011. Perhaps most significantly, it is the first time in 17 years that anyone has launched a new type of spaceship to carry humans to Earth orbit.”
You can watch live streams now from both NASA and Space X.
Update: The launch was scrubbed until May 30.
Democrats Lean Into Science
CNN: “Democrats and Republicans with medical backgrounds have long used their MDs to convey competency, compassion and a commitment to service when running for Congress. But Democrats, especially, think the coronavirus pandemic has become a strong proof point in their argument that the defense of science can be a winning campaign message — and some party strategists think that’s given candidates with scientific backgrounds an advantage.”
“They’re drawing contrasts between their candidacies and the GOP — namely the President and the down-ballot Republicans who have mostly stood by him.”
Scientists Overruled In Push to Restart Fever Screenings
“The White House is pushing a return to its failed experiment in relying on temperature screening of air travelers to detect coronavirus despite vehement objections from the nation’s top public health agency,” internal documents obtained by USA Today show.
“The discord underscores the administration’s disregard for science and the diminished standing of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a moment when local governments, businesses and community leaders are seeking direction on how to reopen safely.”
Trump’s Uncle ‘Would Have Been Horrified’
President Trump has long said that he and his uncle, who taught physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and died in 1985, represent a rare breed of “super genius,” benefiting from the same genes, the Washington Post reports.
“A family friend who knew John Trump personally said the scientist would have recoiled at Donald Trump’s claim of scientific knowledge when promoting unproven drugs and other treatments.”
“‘The John Trump I knew would have been horrified,’ said John Van de Graaff, whose father, the famed scientist Robert Van de Graaff, was John Trump’s longtime business partner.”
Flashback Quote of the Day
“I think a pandemic might do it. Something that could affect millions of people indiscriminately and from which you could not insulate yourself even if you were rich.”
— Author Michael Lewis, quoted by the Observer, when asked in December 2019 what it would take for America to want a leader who understood the importance of scientific knowledge.
The Most Anti-Science President In U.S. History
New York Times: “As the nation confronts one of its worst public health disasters in generations, a moment that demands a leader willing to marshal the full might of the American scientific establishment, the White House is occupied by a president whose administration, critics say, has diminished the conclusions of scientists in formulating policy, who personally harbors a suspicion of expert knowledge, and who often puts his political instincts ahead of the facts.”
Said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley: “Donald Trump is the most anti-science and anti-environment president we’ve ever had.”
“Well before winning the presidency, Mr. Trump had publicly questioned science by expressing skepticism about vaccines and suggesting climate change was a hoax fabricated by China. Once in office, Mr. Trump’s administration quickly began work on one of its most far-reaching policies — the systematic downplaying or ignoring of science in order to weaken environmental health and global warming regulations.”
Trump Cuts Funding on Bat-Human Virus Transmission
“The Trump administration abruptly cut off funding for a project studying how coronaviruses spread from bats to people after reports linked the work to a lab in Wuhan, China, at the center of conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic’s origins,” Politico reports.
“Suddenly ending a grant early is an unusual move for the NIH, which typically takes such steps only when there is evidence of scientific misconduct or financial improprieties — neither of which it has alleged took place in this case.”
Biden Will Wear a Mask In Public
Joe Biden told ABC News he would be heeding CDC advice by wearing a mask the next time he goes out in public as a way to mitigate his risk of contracting COVID-19, despite President Trump not following the advice.
Said Biden: “Yes. Look, I think it’s important to follow the science, listen to the experts do what they tell you. He may not like how he looks in a mask but the truth of the matter is that — follow the science. That’s what they’re telling us. So if I go out in public, and I have not gone to commercial places of late I haven’t gone to my local church … but my generic point is that you should follow the science.”
Trump vs. the Scientists
Washington Post: “The high-stakes theater playing out between Trump and one of his top public health officials underscored a tense dynamic in the White House: a squadron of scientists and health experts — including Birx and infectious disease expert Anthony S. Fauci — caught in an uneasy tug-of-war with Trump as they push a worldview grounded in data and evidence in a West Wing where the president has mused about a ‘miracle’ cure.”
“Trump has increasingly minimized and pushed aside many of the top public health and scientific experts in his administration, instead relying on advice from economic advisers and outside voices in the business community who are urging him to prioritize the nation’s economy above all else.”
Trump’s Embrace of Unproven Drugs Defies Science
“At a long-winded White House briefing on Friday, President Trump enthusiastically and repeatedly promoted the promise of two long-used malaria drugs that are still unproven against the coronavirus, but being tested in clinical trials,” the New York Times reports.
Said Trump: “I’m a smart guy. I feel good about it. And we’re going to see. You’re going to see soon enough.”
“But the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, delicately — yet forcefully — pushed back from the same stage, explaining that there was only anecdotal evidence that the drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, may be effective.”
Ranks of Scientists Grow Thin In Trump Administration
Washington Post: “In the first two years of the Trump administration, more than 1,600 federal scientists left government… That represents a 1.5 percent drop, compared with the 8 percent increase during the same period in the Obama administration.”
‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closer to Midnight
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the “Doomsday Clock” to 100 seconds before midnight, the closest it’s ever been to the metaphorical point of the Earth’s destruction.
From the statement: “Humanity continues to face two simultaneous existential dangers—nuclear war and climate change—that are compounded by a threat multiplier, cyber-enabled information warfare, that undercuts society’s ability to respond. The international security situation is dire, not just because these threats exist, but because world leaders have allowed the international political infrastructure for managing them to erode.”
Trump’s War on Science
“In just three years, the Trump administration has diminished the role of science in federal policymaking while halting or disrupting research projects nationwide, marking a transformation of the federal government whose effects, experts say, could reverberate for years,” the New York Times reports.
“Political appointees have shut down government studies, reduced the influence of scientists over regulatory decisions and in some cases pressured researchers not to speak publicly. The administration has particularly challenged scientific findings related to the environment and public health opposed by industries such as oil drilling and coal mining. It has also impeded research around human-caused climate change, which President Trump has dismissed despite a global scientific consensus.”
Graham Blocked Resolution on Turkey’s Genocide
The White House asked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to block the resolution that would have formally recognized Turkey’s genocide of the Armenian people, Axios reports.
Graham was leaving the Oval Office after he joined a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when a senior White House staff asked him to object on the floor to the resolution that had passed the House to avoid upsetting Erdogan.
Trump Pick to Head National Weather Service Withdraws
“Barry Myers, President Trump’s controversial nominee to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has withdrawn from consideration due to health concerns,” the Washington Post reports.
“Myers’ nomination had languished in the Senate since it was first announced in November 2017, due in part to conflict of interest concerns regarding his family’s continued ownership stake in AccuWeather, the private weather forecasting company he led until stepping down on Jan. 1.”
Ohio Moves Bill to Allow Students to Be Wrong on Science
WKRC: “The Ohio House on Wednesday passed the ‘Student Religious Liberties Act.’ Under the law, students can’t be penalized if their work is scientifically wrong as long as the reasoning is because of their religious beliefs.”
“Every Republican in the House supported the bill. It now moves to the Republican-controlled Senate.”
EPA to Limit Science Used In Public Health Rules
“The Trump administration is preparing to significantly limit the scientific and medical research that the government can use to determine public health regulations, overriding protests from scientists and physicians who say the new rule would undermine the scientific underpinnings of government policymaking,” the New York Times reports.
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