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No Plans to Close Schools in the Event of Mpox Outbreak, CDC Says
Since the World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency on Aug. 14, familiar fears of school shutdowns have ricocheted across social media, striking a nerve with U.S. students who remember all too well the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.
“I’M NOT MISSING SENIOR YEAR BC OF MONKEYPOX,” 1 million views.
In another, a remix of “Forever Young” plays as the text “2024: ‘did you see they shut down some schools,’” appears on the screen. The video has more than 8 million views. “I swear if it’s another lockdown I’ll cry,” someone replied in the comments.
Kids “have been through this before,” said Dr. Michelle Taylor, director and health officer of the Shelby County Health Department in Memphis, Tennessee. “They don’t want to go through it again.”
There is no evidence that the mpox virus is mutating or spreading in a way that would prompt school closures. “Based on the science, I just don’t believe that’s going to happen.”
WHO Launches Global Monkeypox Strategy, Including Strategic Vaccinations
The World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a global strategy to halt the transmission of mpox, formerly called monkeypox. The plan, announced on Aug. 26, will entail a “strategic vaccination” campaign.
The United Nations health agency, which declared a public health emergency of international concern two weeks ago, said that the plan will last six months — September 2024 to February 2025 — and will receive $135 million in funding.
“Strategic vaccination” efforts will target people at the highest risk such as “close contacts of recent cases and healthcare workers, to interrupt transmission chains,” the agency said.
The WHO plan will focus on “implementing comprehensive surveillance, prevention, readiness, and response strategies; advancing research and equitable access to medical countermeasures like diagnostic tests and vaccines; minimizing animal-to-human transmission; and empowering communities to actively participate in outbreak prevention and control,” according to a statement.
Police Pushback on NFL Facial Recognition Policy Could Spread Beyond Vegas
Biometric Update.com reported:
Las Vegas police continue to refuse to recognize the NFL’s new facial recognition-based access management policy, citing concerns about the collection of officers’ biometric data.
The Associated Press reports that Las Vegas Police Protective Association President Steve Grammas spent an hour prior to the August 23 preseason game at the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium explaining to the NFL that “officers would wear only wristbands to gain entry and not subject themselves to photo identification or any kind of biometrics.”
“They didn’t like it, but they didn’t have a choice,” Grammas told the AP. “We told them what we were going to do.”
The NFL’s new system will see Wicket’s face authentication deployed at all 30 of the league’s stadiums this coming season.
The scrimmage between police and the NFL over facial biometrics looks set to expand across the league.
KSNV Las Vegas notes comments from Grammas indicating that “police departments in other cities with NFL teams including Houston and Denver are closely following Metro’s response to the demand for biometrics.”
Experts Warn AI Could Generate ‘Major Epidemics or Even Pandemics’ — but How Soon?
Experts researching advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are now warning that AI models could create the next “enhanced pathogens capable of causing major epidemics or even pandemics.”
The declaration was made in a paper published in the journal Science by co-authors from Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University and Fordham University, who say that AI models are being “trained on or [are] capable of meaningfully manipulating substantial quantities of biological data.
“Voluntary commitments among developers to evaluate biological models’ potential dangerous capabilities are meaningful and important but cannot stand alone,” the paper continued.
“But as with any powerful new technology, such biological models will also pose considerable risks.
Because of their general-purpose nature, the same biological model able to design a benign viral vector to deliver gene therapy could be used to design a more pathogenic virus capable of evading vaccine-induced immunity,” researchers wrote in their abstract.
Controversial California AI Regulation Bill Finds Unlikely Ally in Elon Musk
With a make-or-break deadline just days away, a polarizing bill to regulate the fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry from progressive state Sen. Scott Wiener has gained support from an unlikely source.
Elon Musk, the Donald Trump-supporting, often regulation-averse Tesla CEO and X owner, this week said he thinks “California should probably pass” the proposal, which would regulate the development and deployment of advanced AI models, specifically large-scale AI products costing at least $100 million to build.
The surprising endorsement from a man who also owns an AI company comes as other political heavyweights typically much more aligned with Wiener’s views, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, join major tech companies in urging Sacramento to put on the brakes.
“This is a tough call and will make some people upset,” Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk to the public.”
North Carolina Court Says Speedway Can Sue Top Health Official Over COVID-19 Closure
A North Carolina racetrack shuttered briefly for defying state gathering limits during the pandemic can sue the top health regulator on allegations that Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration violated the constitutional rights of its operators by trying to make an example out of it, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The justices agreed unanimously that counterclaims that Ace Speedway in Alamance County and its owners filed seeking financial damages can continue, agreeing with a Court of Appeals panel in 2022 and a trial judge that refused to throw them out.
That lawsuit was filed weeks after a judge in 2020 helped enforce then-Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen‘s order to stop the track from holding events unless they complied with Cooper’s statewide executive order that included crowd-size limits.
But the Supreme Court agreed the speedway’s attorney made plausible legal claims that the state infringed on rights for people to enjoy “the fruits of their own labor” and conducted ”unlawful selective enforcement” of its order against the speedway.
The substance of those claims have yet to be judged in court.
California Colludes With Big-Tech to Wield Control Over Local Newsrooms, Incorporate AI
California has announced the first-ever “partnership” with Google and Meta (Facebook’s parent company) to fund local newsrooms and launch a government artificial intelligence program.
With a price tag of $250 million — $175 million from taxpayers and $55 million from Google — this program will provide direct financial support to newsrooms.
The deal emerged as a settlement between Big Tech and the state government after California Democrats threatened to impose fees on platforms that profit from news content.
The multi-million-dollar fund will be managed by the UC Berkeley School of Journalism and disbursed to newsrooms over five years, with annual approvals required.
Critics have warned about the dangers of government and social media giants sponsoring the news.
“This is beyond Orwellian,” said Dan Schneider, the vice president of a free speech department at the Media Research Center (MRC).
“With a tiny portion of its annual revenue, Google is going to use every reporter and news outlet to remake society in its own warped image.”
Amazon Must Face D.C.’s Antitrust Lawsuit, Appeals Court Rules
An appeals court in Washington, D.C. revived the district’s lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc on Aug. 22, saying it plausibly claimed the online retailer’s pricing policies illegally stifle competition.
Amazon is currently seeking dismissal of another case involving similar claims by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and more than a dozen states.
Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle said the company disagrees with the appeals court ruling and looks forward to proving its policies benefit consumers.
“Just like any store owner who wouldn’t want to promote a bad deal to their customers, we don’t highlight or promote offers that are not competitively priced,” he said.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb welcomed the court’s ruling in a statement.
“We will continue fighting to stop Amazon’s unfair and unlawful practices that have raised prices for District consumers and stifled innovation and choice across online retail,” he said.
Top US University Sued by the Government for Failing to Keep Classified Data Secure
Georgia Tech and its cybersecurity lab did not want to install an antivirus.
The U.S. government is suing the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) for allegedly not complying with cybersecurity standards that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) sets for contract awardees — and then lying about it.
The CCFI says GIT’s Astrolavos Lab, which works on cybersecurity issues affecting national security, did not develop, or implement, a cybersecurity plan compliant with DoD standards, on time.
It was only introduced in 2020, and even then it was poorly executed, since not all endpoints were included.
Furthermore, the institute, and the lab, failed to install antivirus solutions on all its endpoints, and when it was time to submit an assessment score in December 2020 — both organizations gave themselves a score of 98.
“Deficiencies in cybersecurity controls pose a significant threat not only to our national security, but also to the safety of the men and women of our armed services that risk their lives daily,” said special agent-in-charge Darrin K Jones, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office.
