Long-term Ozempic costs and benefits: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/ozempic-what-its-like-to-take-for-years-rcna93921 . While it’s interesting that people lost weight on Ozempic without exercise, this is not a prescription for health. These people typically retain fat on their internal organs, a weight situation which some refer to as “skinny-fat”. You cannot remain healthy without regular exercise.
Texas infant deaths increase under strict abortion law: https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/20/health/texas-abortion-ban-infant-mortality-invs/index.html . The right quickly attacked CNN: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/cnn-misleads-on-texass-infant-mortality-rate/ . So who’s “right”? The author of the National Review article, Michael J. New, has a Masters in statistics from Stanford (impressive) and a PhD in political science, also from Stanford (hmm …). He is an associate professor of business at Catholic University (hmmm …).
Mr. New focuses his research on abortion (uh-oh), and published two articles on the Texas law on November 2022, “The Texas Heartbeat Act Has Already Saved Thousands of Lives” and “Texas’ Gain: The Lifesaving Impact of the Texas Heartbeat Act” (bias is apparent): https://lozierinstitute.org/team-member/michael-j-new/ . (The Charlotte Lozier Institute’s focus is developing and publishing “statistics for life”.) Mr. New is certainly entitled to his opinions, although the New Republic should have disclosed his biases. But who is right?
The CNN article reports that Texas infant deaths increased 11.5% in 2022, quoting Texas government statistics. Mr. New (he is not a full professor) does not dispute this fact, but argues that a better statistic is the infant mortality rate (I agree). He states that his analysis shows that rate increased 6.6%, and while this “may be a cause for concern”, it is not the “dramatic” increase reported by CNN. This is an incredibly blatant lie, and Mr. New certainly knows it.
Mr. New just skips over the fact that CNN’s reporting is correct, and that the 6.6% figure he gives, which is indeed a cause for concern, is not comparable to CNN’s total death figure of 11.5%. But much worse, Mr. New intentionally fails to mention this part of the CNN article: “The increase in deaths could partly be explained by the fact that more babies are being born in Texas. One recent report (https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/06/health/texas-abortion-law-births/index.html ) found that in the final nine months of 2022, the state saw nearly 10,000 more births than expected prior to its abortion ban – an estimated 3% increase.” So this comment directly implies the underlying mortality rate has increased by 8.25% (1.115/1.03 = 1.0825).
That is, the CNN article implies an infant mortality increase of 8.25%, and it documents its sources for this calculation. That is quite close to Mr. New’s calculation of 6.6%, for which he provides no details. CNN is transparent and it has not misled its readers. Mr. New’s criticism is false and he undoubtedly knows it. He is the one who misleads. The New Republic has failed its readers by publishing Mr. New’s intentional lie.
Cocaine-filled cheese wheels seized at Mexican border: https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/23/us/cocaine-cheese-seized-texas-border/index.html . Apparently, the cheese had an exceptional nose …
WSJ: US drug companies’ tax moves could push Europe into recession: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-u-s-drug-companies-could-tip-europe-into-recession-aa6f34cf . One conclusion you could draw here is that a global minimum corporate tax is a really good idea.
WSJ: Chinese reduce investment flow to the West: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-money-flees-the-western-world-673d9bbb . Um, no one in their right mind is buying New York luxury hotels anymore. The dollar is quite strong right now, discouraging foreign investors.
WSJ: US power grid holding so far: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-power-grid-withstands-the-heat-so-far-30e70a9c . Solar and wind are bringing more power on line, and batteries are increasing storage capacity.
WSJ: Anchor Brewing employees attempt to purchase the company: https://www.wsj.com/articles/anchor-brewing-company-union-employees-oldest-craft-brewer-ebb4853d .
Orange Julius holds wide leads in Iowa, South Carolina: https://thehill.com/homenews/4114163-trump-holds-wide-leads-in-iowa-south-carolina-polls/ . This is why the other candidates are now focusing on New Hampshire: https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-republican-president-2024-pence-trump-cee250b2171b68c2da79b1bbb8454deb . As Joe Biden says his high school coach told him, “Good luck with your senior year.” The only things that can stop OJ’s nomination are death or the special prosecutor. I’m rooting for the special prosecutor …
French swimming phenom breaks world record by more than a second: https://apnews.com/article/leon-marchand-world-championships-japan-olympics-world-record-b5344e0684578bf40e0216f60612dbff . Any time a world record is broken by more than a second, it’s a big deal.
Brian Harman wins British Open by 6 strokes: https://sports.yahoo.com/harman-eyes-british-open-breakthrough-122107876.html . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/sports/golf/british-open-2023-brian-harman-7ac02fa2 .