Pandemic

The internet watchdog Stanford Internet Observatory launched a wide-scale effort during the pandemic to scrub social media platforms of disfavored COVID-related views regardless of whether the posts were true, according to the latest installment of the “Twitter Files.” Internal emails unveiled on Friday by journalist Matt Taibbi show how the…

At the height of the global pandemic, the Pentagon in August 2021 decreed that all U.S. troops must get the COVID-19 vaccine, then launched a logistical push to get the shot to every service member stationed anywhere in the world. Last December, amid heightened clashes over the vaccine mandates and…

The changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our society are still being felt, and so are the changes that it has had on our language. A close up photo of a page from a dictionary. Credit: Joshua Hoehne / Unsplash This month marks the beginning of my third…

A very Irish-American president finally got to experience the most Irish presidential tradition after years of pandemic restrictions canceled the annual St. Patrick's Day toast in the Capitol with Irish leadership. President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., took the opportunity to flex their shared Irish heritage at Friday's…

Popcorn in a movie theater. Photo: Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images The box office is showing signs of life again after a stagnant few years due to the pandemic and patrons are returning to a revamped movie theater experience. The big picture: Hundreds of theaters have shuttered since the…

From Lululemon’s meteoric rise to the endless wave of Chinese athleisure brands like Particle Fever and Maia Active, women’s activewear has surged in popularity over the past few years. It’s a generational response to the global fitness trend, with experienced and first-time gym-goers alike hitting the exercise floor to participate in…

On the campaign trail, then-candidate Joe Biden promised to reform the country’s immigration system by undoing many of the policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.  Now, more than two years into President Biden’s term, his administration is reportedly considering reinstating the practice of detaining families that cross the U.S.…

South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare has released its report on the conduct of temporary telemedicine during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. FINDINGS According to the report, over 25,000 medical institutions provided remote treatment to 13.79 million people from February 2020 to January 2023. Of the 36.61 million…

This is the fourth article in “Recovery” — a series of reports on how communities across China are attempting to move on from three years of strict pandemic-control measures. Read part 1, part 2, and part 3.  For several days in mid-January, Zheng Chengyang cruised along Route 13 in Laos,…

With the never-ending prospect of a recession looming, it seems the one true certainty is that we all need to make peace with living with uncertainty. But uncertainty breeds anxiety. At the onset of the pandemic, many of us responded to our anxieties by cutting back on spending. But as…