Today’s edition of quick hits.
* That the year isn’t even over yet makes this news noticeably worse: “The United States has now recorded more cases of measles in 2026 than in any other year since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000, a grim sign that the country may be headed toward a new era in which the disease regularly sickens thousands every year.”
* An intensifying cyclospora problem: “Federal health officials on Friday said they have linked cases of a diarrhea-causing parasite tied to shredded lettuce to an additional four states, expanding the scope of the largest U.S. outbreak of cyclospora. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak first tied to Taco Bell restaurants now includes Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Previously the agency’s investigation included five states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.”
* Meanwhile: “Approximately 1.5 million dozen white and brown cage-free eggs have been recalled due to potential salmonella contamination.”
* A lawsuit worth watching: “Two small businesses sued the Trump administration on Friday over the latest tariffs it has imposed around the world, touching off another legal battle that could redefine President Trump’s powers to wage a global trade war.”
* No rush: “Paramount said on Friday that it had agreed to halt its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until next June at the latest while a judge considers a lawsuit from state attorneys general who sued to block the deal. The delay throws into doubt the future of a deal that would remake Hollywood.”
* In related news: “The former ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent Cecilia Vega on Thursday described pressure from executives at CBS News to insert what she said was political bias into three segments that aired this year. Ms. Vega was among three of the show’s correspondents to be fired this spring and is now the third to go public with claims of executives’ interfering in the show’s reporting.”
* These immigrants’ fears are well grounded: “A federal refugee resettlement office is quietly launching an effort to interview hundreds of Afghan immigrants living in the United States, raising alarms among refugee groups who worry the information they collect could be used for future immigration enforcement.”
* Doesn’t Trump want to go to the moon and Mars? “Workforce cuts are putting NASA’s plans to send astronauts to the moon and, eventually, Mars, at risk, according to a new audit from the government’s top watchdog. NASA shed 4,000 of its permanent staff last year, an overhaul officials said is now impacting 70% of its major projects. The agency has felt the cuts throughout its headquarters and in each of its centers across the country, the Government Accountability Office found in a report released on Thursday.”
Have a safe weekend.
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