Jay Bhattacharya's Rise: A Lesson in Science and Freedom

Four years back, Jay Bhattacharya was shunned by colleagues at Stanford and silenced on social media for his views on the pandemic. He's come a long way since then. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated him to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If approved, this could be a big win for science and academic freedom. Why? Because the NIH funds a ton of research. Bhattacharya could use this power to push for changes in how universities handle scientific debates. Meanwhile, a lawsuit by No Labels showed some dirty tricks by Democratic allies. They planned to "shun" and "stigmatize" the group, even going as far as trying to link them to racism and extremism. It's like they wanted to control who could run in elections. CBS News didn't cover itself in glory during the VP debate. They let one candidate off easy while interrupting the other. Then, they edited an interview with Kamala Harris to make her look better. Not a great look for fair and balanced reporting. Some argue that moving federal workers out of Washington could save money and make agencies less political. But DC insiders might fight this. Young people, known as Gen Z, seem to like Donald Trump more than expected. A survey showed that 56% of them are excited or optimistic about his presidency. Life's been tough for them with COVID and the rising cost of living, so maybe they're looking for a change.