Short Takes – 4-4-25

National Security Agency and Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh ousted. WashingtonPost.com article (free). Pull quote: “The named acting NSA director is Lt. Gen. William J. Hartmann, who was the Cyber Command deputy, one of the officials said. Sheila Thomas, who was the executive director at the NSA, was named acting deputy, the official said.” Very little information in the story, but I suppose that is to be expected with the NSA.

House Republicans bash Senate’s Trump agenda blueprint: ‘This is offensive’. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Lending Johnson a boost, Florida voters on Tuesday sent two Republicans to the House, filling empty seats vacated by GOP lawmakers following November’s elections. The development gives GOP leaders a slightly larger cushion, and the Speaker said he was “elated” after swearing in the new pair on Wednesday.”

Significant New Use Rules on Certain Chemical Substances (24-4.5e). Federal Register, EPA notice of proposed rulemaking. Summary: “EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for certain chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs) and are also subject to an Order issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA. The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is proposed as a significant new use by this rulemaking to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification initiates EPA's evaluation of the conditions of that use for that chemical substance. In addition, the manufacture or processing for the significant new use may not commence until EPA has conducted a review of the required notification, made an appropriate determination regarding that notification, and taken such actions as required by that determination.” Comments due May 5^th, 2025.

Shingles is awful, but here’s another reason to get vaccinated: It may fight dementia. APNews.com article. Pull quote: “Stanford’s Geldsetzer took advantage of “a natural experiment” in Wales, which opened shingles vaccinations with an age limit: anyone 80 or older on Sept. 1, 2013, was ineligible but those still 79 could squeeze in. Comparing seniors who just met or just missed that cutoff would mimic a research study that randomly assigned otherwise similar people to be vaccinated or not.”