Short Takes – 8-5-25

Analysis: The Trump administration’s assault on climate action. ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: “Overall, the announcements made last week provide a clear picture of how the administration intends to avoid addressing climate change and cripple the responses started by previous administrations. Outside of the policy arena, it will question the science and use partisan misinformation to rally its supporters for the fight. But it recognizes that these approaches aren't flying when it comes to the courts.”

What to know about chikungunya virus, as U.S. travel alerts issued. Axios.com article. Pull quote: “The CDC level 2 alerts advise travelers to affected regions to take enhanced precautions such as using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants and staying in places with air conditioning or that have screens on the windows and doors.”

Police nationwide are embracing a new first responder: Drones. WashingtonPost.com article (free). Pull quote: “DFRs are also widely deployed for low-priority calls, like about a suspicious person walking near private property. Sometimes the drones help police realize it’s unnecessary to send an officer to the scene in-person. In nearly 20 percent of incidents where the Chula Vista department has deployed a DFR, the agency has canceled officer response after the drone’s arrival, according to English.”

Space hurricanes are real — and they wreak more havoc than we thought. Space.com article. Pull quote: “So how do space hurricanes form under such calm conditions? The study suggests that, instead of entering through the usual "front door," energy from the solar wind sneaks in through the magnetic "lobes" at the back of Earth's magnetosphere. This process, called lobe reconnection, sends energy straight into the polar cap. There, it sets up circular flows of plasma and electric currents, creating a swirling storm — a space hurricane — right above the pole.”

EO 14323: Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil. Federal Register.

EO 14324: Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries. Federal Register.