Benjamin Hall, Author at Cactus three

Why ‘Fetal Personhood’ Is Roiling the Right

04

Mar

Health

Why ‘Fetal Personhood’ Is Roiling the Right

As I.V.F. grew in popularity, so did the concerns of its opponents. Standard practice involves creating multiple embryos, which are screened for genetic abnormalities, and the ones that appear healthiest can be transferred. Extra embryos are often frozen; by one count, there are a million and a half frozen embryos in the United States. After a designated time period, they may be donated to science or destroyed, just as the Catholic Church feared.The anti-abortion movement won a partial victory for protecting life at conception in 2001, when President George W. Bush banned the use of federal funds for embryonic stem…

Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaving NBC for Amazon Prime, Warner Bros. Discovery: Sources

04

Mar

By Benjamin Hall

New miscellaneous

Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaving NBC for Amazon Prime, Warner Bros. Discovery: Sources

The biggest name in NASCAR is on the move.Dale Earnhardt Jr. is leaving NBC and heading to racing newcomers Amazon Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, sources briefed on his decision told The Athletic.Earnhardt is expected to take this season off and then resume his broadcasting career in 2025 when WBD Sports and Amazon begin their coverage.The move figures to give WBD Sports and Amazon instant credibility when they start their series. Each will have five races a season. WBD Sports’ races will be broadcast on TNT, streamed on Max and have a Bleacher Report component. NASCAR complements WBD…

The Paradox at the Heart of Elon Musk’s OpenAI Lawsuit

04

Mar

By Benjamin Hall

Science and Technology

The Paradox at the Heart of Elon Musk’s OpenAI Lawsuit

It would be easy to dismiss Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI as a case of sour grapes.Mr. Musk sued OpenAI this week, accusing the company of breaching the terms of its founding agreement and violating its founding principles. In his telling, OpenAI was established as a nonprofit that would build powerful A.I. systems for the good of humanity and give its research away freely to the public. But Mr. Musk argues that OpenAI broke that promise by starting a for-profit subsidiary that took on billions of dollars in investments from Microsoft.An OpenAI spokeswoman declined to comment on the suit. In…

The I.R.S.’s Taxpayer Experience Officer Says Open Your Mail Already

03

Mar

By Benjamin Hall

Investments and Business

The I.R.S.’s Taxpayer Experience Officer Says Open Your Mail Already

The Internal Revenue Service is on a charm offensive, as long as you don’t earn too much money.After a multiyear pandemic pause, the agency is rebooting its collection efforts, hammering home its intent to chase down high earners who owe the most. On Thursday, the I.R.S. said it was sending letters to over 25,000 people with more than $1 million in income who had not filed tax returns since 2017.Everyone else, the agency insists, is going to benefit from the $80 billion that the agency won via the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed in 2022. The year before that,…

U.S. Makes First Airdrop of Aid Into Gaza

02

Mar

By Benjamin Hall

New miscellaneous

U.S. Makes First Airdrop of Aid Into Gaza

The United States made its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Saturday in partnership with Jordan, as the Biden administration tries to prevent a greater humanitarian disaster amid frustration with Israel.U.S. planes conducted the airdrop along with the Jordanian Air Force, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Saturday.The airdrops contribute “to ongoing U.S. government efforts to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to the people in Gaza,” the statement said. “We are conducting planning for potential follow-on airborne aid delivery missions.”Three U.S. Air Force cargo planes airdropped 66 pallets over southwest Gaza, according to a U.S. official.…

C.D.C. Shortens Isolation Period for People With Covid

02

Mar

By Benjamin Hall

Health

C.D.C. Shortens Isolation Period for People With Covid

Americans with Covid or other respiratory infections need not isolate for five days before returning to work or school, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday, a striking sign of changing attitudes toward the coronavirus.People with respiratory illnesses may resume daily activities if they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of medications and if their symptoms are improving, agency officials said. Acknowledging that people can be contagious even without symptoms, the C.D.C. urged those who end isolation to limit close contact with others, wear well-fitted masks, improve indoor air quality and practice…