Vox: Dr. Anthony Fauci, explained

Dr. Anthony Fauci has become one of the most recognizable faces of the United States’ coronavirus response, as a member of the Coronavirus Task Force and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But it was an earlier crisis that shaped his career — and that’s crucial to understand his position today.

As the above video shows, Dr. Fauci’s involvement in the AIDS crisis, from the virus’s discovery to the present day, has affected the course of his career and the way the disease is treated around the world. That history, in turn, informs how we learn about and treat the coronavirus today.

In addition to scientific progress, AIDS also necessitated bureaucratic changes in the government response to the disease. By negotiating these challenges, Dr. Fauci secured his place in the public health system and changed how AIDS was treated.

Wisecrack Edition: How FAKE SCIENCE Can Fool You

If you internet, you may have heard the rumor that coronavirus is caused by 5G technology, and you may have laughed at the people dumb enough to believe it. But here's the thing: we're all more susceptible to pseudoscience than we like to think. And there's a perfectly good reason why. Let's find out in this Wisecrack Edition: How Fake Science Can Fool You.

VICE: Inside the Newly Reopened, Socially Distanced Strip Clubs of America

Groups of ethnically diverse patrons aren’t standing in line but rather in clumps, strategically placed six feet away from other groups. And while venues such as Trails used to have strict dress codes regarding hats and facial coverings, everyone in line has their face covered. Some wear medical grade N95 masks. Some wear makeshift Western-style bandanas. A large majority wear high-end ski balaclavas, a subtle nod to a ski season that was abruptly cut short due to the pandemic.

A bouncer in an N95 mask pulls double duty, checking IDs before taking temperatures. (Those with temperatures above 99 are denied entry.) Once all members of a group pass the temperature scan, the group is escorted to a table as the bouncer recites the rules of the new world [...]

Inside Trails, the LED lights surrounding the stage shine extra bright due to the absence of patrons sitting around the “tip rail” (the counter immediately next to the stage). At the end of each performance, a masked employee dutifully uses a Swiffer to remove the dollar bills from the stage (where they will then be counted and handled by a separate gloved employee) while another sterilizes the performing area in preparation for the next masked dancer. [...]

Morgan, the bartender, estimates that the club is about 60 percent fuller than usual, a similar approximation provided by staff at Trails.

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Today in Focus: Reopening Mississippi: America's poorest state begins lifting lockdown

The US southern state of Mississippi is the country’s poorest. It went into the coronavirus crisis with high levels of poverty and poor health outcomes. But following the period of lockdown and orders for residents to stay at home, the state’s governor Tate Reeves has eased restrictions - despite evidence that the rate of infections has not yet hit its peak.

The Guardian’s Oliver Laughland travelled to the Mississippi coastal resort of Biloxi where he tells Mythili Rao he found the lockdown has hit hardest those working in low paid jobs in the tourism industry. One restaurant worker describes how the loss of work meant he has had to rely on the charity of his neighbours and local food banks. But despite growing numbers of cases, people are flocking back to the beach and increasingly breaching recommendations of minimum social distancing. The state is reopening, but at what cost?

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Ministry Of Ideas: Climate of Denial

Human-caused climate change is real and growing in impact. Yet many Americans see climate change as a belief that they can opt out of. Two belief structures are to blame: American Protestantism and postmodernism.

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