About this Florida vaccine story: When they were little - 1 yr and 3 1/2 - my two older boys, who’d had all their shots, got whooping cough. We asked their pediatrician what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been vaccinated. “Oh, they’d have died.”

The NextGen Acela trains, as Amtrak calls them, are faster and lighter than the current fleet. They're scheduled to start revenue service along the Northeast Corridor on Thursday.

My nomination for dumbest urban policy idea of 2025: Melbourne's mayor wants to fine pedestrians who don't "keep left" on the sidewalk. He says the rule is needed before a transit expansion brings 500k people/week into Melbourne. Here's a better idea: **Expand the sidewalks**

"Compared to other modes, [walking and biking were] found to have positive relation with mental and physical health of an urban commuter." doi.org/10.1016/j.jt...

In the bike-friendly Netherlands, cyclists speed down the road without fearing cars. For an American, the prospect is thrilling—and terrifying.

Paris region had 262 road deaths in 2024, a decline from 2023 (though still too high!). By comparison, there were 1,103 road deaths in Illinois, which has a similar population. There were 3x as many pedestrians killed in Illinois as in Paris region, which unquestionably has higher walking rates.

"Of the 121 pedestrians killed in traffic last year, 120 were struck by a car while one person died after being hit by an electric bike, according to city transportation department data."

I'm a boatnerd. When 2008 happened, Great Lakes shipping all but ceased. I remember thinking, watch the boats. That'll tell you where we are. Well, here we are. Once again, shipping has all but creased.

Some good news in transportation policy (for a change): From Virginia to California, states are ready to use Intelligent Speed Assist to prevent habitually reckless drivers from super-speeding. Both Rs and Ds are supportive. Me, in @fastcompany.com 🧵

Yes, public transit is still safer than driving. Much safer. www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-p...

In Bloomberg CityLab, I explained why cities must build cycling *networks* – not just lanes. It’s a lesson that many elected leaders have yet to learn (esp Ontario’s Doug Ford, who is taking a sledgehammer to Toronto's cycling network). 🧵

I'll never understand why many joggers and e-bike riders dress like Johnny Cash - all dark clothing, no lights. Seems like a deathwish considering the rampant speeding and red light running by motorists

People on foot, horseback, bikes and wagons were perfectly safe at uncontrolled intersections, but stop signs were created shortly after the invention of cars because cars are dangerous and drivers are assholes.

Repeat after me - there is no plan. The entire global economy hangs on the whims of one guy. Also, Howard Lutnick promised me all those millions of jobs screwing tiny screws into iPhones were coming back to the United States.

I can't be the only one who thinks it was a missed opportunity for Walker Buehler to not sign with the Texas Rangers #mlb #walkertexasranger #chucknorris

“Too Stupid for Words”: Trump pulls back 20 semi trucks of food from Cleveland’s food bank

Travel to the US is expected to slide by 5%, contributing to a $64 billion shortfall for the travel industry, according to Tourism Economics which had originally forecast a 9% increase in foreign travel, but revised its estimate to reflect “polarizing Trump Administration policies and rhetoric.”

Rewriting history one state at a time. Oklahoma Proposes Teaching 2020 Election ‘Discrepancies’ in U.S. History www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/u...

This isn't going to get the attention of Columbia, but it's at least as bad: the University of Maine is having its funding cut off because the governor of Maine dared to challenge Trump.

Daily threats to the territorial sovereignty of a NATO ally. We're so far past the "immediate presidency-ending scandal for any previous post-WWII president" that we can't even find our way.

London expanded its ultra low emissions zone to its outer boroughs in 2023—limiting what types of cars could enter—and the results have been spectacular in terms of pollution reduction. A huge benefit for public health.

Genuinely wild that Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott is able to talk about cutting Medicare & Social Security from anywhere but a prison cell

What's your favorite movie? And why is it #Hoosiers? #GeneHackman #NormanDale #JimmyChitwood

!!! Trump plans to sign an EO that purports to restrict Public Sector Loan Forgiveness for anyone who works for a nonprofit which does immigration-related that goes against his priorities. This shockingly petty and evil plan will likely be struck down as unlawful. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

I continue to be astounded by how much of the DC media is just credulously providing stenography for Trump — treating the simple fact that Trump LEGALLY can’t achieve what many of his EOs “order” as an aside.

NEW: A searing editorial in the The Kyiv Independent. “It’s time to say it plainly. America’s leadership has switched sides in the war. The American people have not, and they should speak up. “A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn’t Zelensky.” @kyivindependent.com

NEW: When the Trump Admin abruptly cancelled almost all USAID programs, it also refused to pay $2bln the U.S. govt owes **for work that’s been done.** One of the cut-off programs in Syria couldn’t afford security and was robbed by masked men. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Canadian government expected to announce plans for Toronto–Montréal–Québec City high-speed rail tomorrow: www.thestar.com/politics/fed... A very promising project that compares well with high-speed lines in Europe in terms of distance between major cities: www.urban.org/research/pub...

Approval ratings Zelensky 52% Trump 46.8% But after refusing to turn over Ukraine's resources to Trump, Zelensky's has probably gone up to 90%. Ukrainians generally love Zelensky.

A few further thoughts on DOGE accessing the IDRS database at the IRS: I led the Treasury Office of Tax Policy and have spoken to a number of former career and political appointees at Treasury and IRS. None can recall a political appointee ever having access to this database. 1/5

They should have no access to our taxpayer data. They have no use for that in looking for efficiency. This should be illegal on their part to access this data without need.

NEW: Scoop about the architect of the destruction of USAID. Pete Marocco was a USAID official in the first Trump Admin. On a trip to the Balkans, he secretly met with the Serb separatist leader. That was a no-no. Caused a big diplomatic incident. www.propublica.org/article/usai...

The measles outbreak in Texas is reminding me of the public letter Roald Dahl wrote about losing his daughter to measles in 1962, just before the vaccine was publicly available.

"Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War," is worth the 9 episodes on Netflix, especially a few episodes for perspective on current situation in Ukraine.

Hurts is likely but the MVP really should come from the D. Biggest SB smothering since SEA-DEN

Noticed a flapping of wings outside the window to find this #BarredOwl land a branch before moving on. Thanks to terrific Merlin app - didn't know it was more active during the day, usually have heard them at night. #birds #birdsofinstagram #birdphotography #ulstercountyny #catskills #hudsonvalley

ESPN running a segment on the Super Bowl prop bet about the color of the Gatorade that gets dumped on the winning coach and if I heard a friend discuss this we’d be having an intervention.

And also,this is insane

If true, this is the economic ballgame

Pete Alonso is back! #LoveTheMets www.amazinavenue.com/2025/2/5/243...

Defying legal limits of T2 is the false claims of T1 Just say it’s illegal, FFS

"This rabble you're talking about: They do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community."

in less than eight years the NCAA went from banning North Carolina from hosting championships due to its bathroom bill to... this.

Canadian MP Charlie Angus while vowing to call Trump's trade war bluff on CNN just now, "This isn't gunboat diplomacy (laughs). I mean, this is like an Al Capone shakedown in his syphilis phase."

A Storied Newspaper Prepares to Print Its Own Obituary. RIP to the Star Ledger

@jeffstein.bsky.social and WaPo broke this yesterday. NYT advances. This is indescribably bad. “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave representatives of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency full access to the federal payment system late on Friday” www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...

"98% [!] of shareholders voted against an investor proposal from a conservative think tank that urged management to investigate the business risks of its diversity initiatives." -fin-

🤔

In the U.S., there's an aging workforce in our future. That's why we're visiting Cumberland County, Tennessee, where around a third of residents are over 65. Today on Marketplace.