Author | Lightnews

Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 11h

America is experiencing its highest number of measles cases since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000, with more than 1,500 infections reported across over 40 jurisdictions in 2025. The outbreak is overwhelmingly affecting unvaccinated individuals.

U.S. measles cases continue to climb, with outbreaks across the country

In South Carolina, more than 130 schoolkids are under quarantine after being exposed to measles. Across the U.S., total case counts could be even higher than the official number.

www.npr.org

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Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 12h

Conversion therapy is a medically discredited and harmful practice that increases risks of depression and suicide, particularly among LGBTQ youth. Because therapy is a form of medical treatment, not pure speech, states have the authority to regulate or ban it to protect patients.

Is (Conversion) Therapy Speech? | Science-Based Medicine

The US Supreme Court recently heard a case that could have devastating effects on the standard of care in medicine, and the indicators of where the justices fall are not good. The case is Chiles v S

sciencebasedmedicine.org

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Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 13h

A company’s aim to send 4,000 huge mirrors into space could prove “pretty catastrophic.”

Company's plan to launch 4,000 space mirrors alarms scientists

Reflect Orbital says their light-on-demand idea has generated significant interest from commercial and government customers.

www.space.com

Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 14h

For the first time, scientists ranked the side effects of various antidepressants.

First league table of antidepressant side effects

Find out which to avoid if you are concerned about weight gain.

www.bbc.com

Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 15h

COVID-19 vaccines might make some cancer treatments more effective.

COVID-19 vaccines may help some cancer patients fight tumors

The most widely used COVID-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients by boosting their immune systems to help fight tumors.

apnews.com

Reposted by Washington Area Secular Humanists

Hemant Mehta @friendlyatheist.com · 17h

An Elvis impersonator in Indiana thinks his Google searches equal decades of medical research.

He’s writing public health laws.

In fact, over 400 bills in state legislatures are targeting settled science.

It’s a coordinated campaign against reality.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-republ...

The Republican war on science is rapidly becoming a public health emergency

Republicans at the state level have introduced over 420 anti-science bills, endangering lives while advancing right-wing conspiracy theories

www.friendlyatheist.com

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Reposted by Washington Area Secular Humanists

Hemant Mehta @friendlyatheist.com · 1d

"That ain’t what I asked you to do," said Pastor Marvin Winans after a woman donated "only" $1,235 to his church.

He was demanding at least $2,000.

Don't attend a church like this. Never give them a penny.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pastor-pub...

Pastor publicly shames woman for donating “only” $1,235 to his church

Preacher Marvin Winans' “Day of Giving” turned into a public display of greed and religious manipulation

www.friendlyatheist.com

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Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 16h

Better late than never, the September/October 2025 edition of WASH's bimonthly newsletter WASHline is finally available for download: wash.org/wp-content/u...
Check it out!

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Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 16h

Trump Launches 'Appalling' Assault on Programs for Children With Disabilities | Common Dreams

"No one is forcing Donald Trump to fire the people who make sure students with disabilities can get a good education—he just wants to," said Sen. Patty Murray.

www.commondreams.org

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Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 19h

In this Citations Needed News Brief, Adam and Nima are joined by Matthew Cunningham-Cook to discuss his recent media analysis of "embedded reports" of ICE raids in NYT, ABC, CBS and NBC that prime the public for brutal crackdowns on undocumented immigrants.

News Brief: Media Helps Sell ICE Raids with Zero Dark Thirty Ride-Along Schlock

Citations Needed | October 22, 2025 | Transcript

citationsneeded.medium.com

Reposted by Washington Area Secular Humanists

Rebecca Watson @skepchick.org · 1d

There’s a reason we don’t teach abstinence-only driver’s ed. Let’s talk about the harm Republicans are about to do to comprehensive sex ed 🧪 skepchick.org/2025/10/trum...

Trump’s Gutting Sex Ed. Here’s Why That Matters

Transcript: A little less than two months ago, the Trump administration’s Administration for Children and Families sent a letter to the health departments of 46 states and territories ordering them…

skepchick.org

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Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 1d

Even The Christian Post acknowledges the data trends away from them, particularly among Gen Z women.

Nearly 40% of Gen Z women identify as atheist, agnostic or have no faith: Barna

As they grapple with a profound disconnection from their parents and older adults in general, nearly 40 of young adult women in Generation Z now identify as religiously unaffiliated, according to new

www.christianpost.com

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Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 1d

A recent feature from Religion News Service wonders “Is there religious revival among Gen Z?” There’s certainly no shortage of people pushing that narrative, but as for what the data tells us…?

Is there religious revival among Gen Z?

PITTSBURGH (RNS) — There’s a swell in Christian devotion at the University of Pittsburgh amid claims of national revival, but some researchers say ‘revival’ is too strong a word.

religionnews.com

Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 1d

More efforts to turn conspiracy theory nonsense into law or policy...

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to investigate climate and weather control, and is expected to create a task force that will recommend possible federal action[.]

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Chemtrail? New Conspiracy Theory Takes Wing at Kennedy's HHS - KFF Health News

The idea that airplane vapors are toxic to people or that there are ongoing efforts to intentionally change the climate made the social media rounds. Now, it has found advocates at the Department of…

kffhealthnews.org

Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 1d

AP offers up a wide-angle examination of the nationwide legislative assault on public health.

Anti-science bills hit statehouses, stripping away public health protections built over a century

More than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections – vaccines, milk safety and fluoride – have been introduced in statehouses across the U.S. this year.

apnews.com

Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 1d

A new California law requires that chatbots alert users that these tools are “strictly AI and not human.”

New California law requires AI to tell you it’s AI

If you’re a chatbot you have to tell me.

www.theverge.com

Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 1d

This WiFi system could support protesters when the internet has been shut off.

Can Mesh Networks Survive Large Crowds?

Mesh networks reimagined for protests: Discover how Amigo keeps data flowing even when the internet is shut off.

spectrum.ieee.org

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Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 1d

Could AI surrogates make life-or-death decisions for us?

Should an AI copy of you help decide if you live or die?

Doctors share top concerns of AI surrogates aiding life-or-death decisions.

arstechnica.com

Washington Area Secular Humanists @wash1989.bsky.social · 2d

Alcatraz’s chilling legends of ghosts and phantom sounds may feel supernatural, but science offers another explanation. From eerie architecture to low-frequency sound waves, the real causes behind “haunted” places reveal more about human perception than the paranormal.