内容摘要：Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill requiring Apple and Alphabet’s Google to verify the age of users of their app stores, putting the second most populous state in the United States at the centre of a debate over whether and how to regulate smartphone use by children and teenagers.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill requiring Apple and Alphabet’s Google to verify the age of users of their app stores, putting the second most populous state in the United States at the centre of a debate over whether and how to regulate smartphone use by children and teenagers.

since assuming his post in mid-February. There is essentiallya gag order in place

preventing Centers for Disease Control officials from discussing the spread of strains of bird flu among animals and humans working in the poultry industry. When pressed at a May 14 congressional hearing about his work as HHS secretary to gut the agency,that he would still “probably” vaccinate his children “for measles” in 2025. Yet in that same hearing, Kennedy again cast doubt on the MMR vaccine, a hint towards his ableist stance against people with autism. This while the US, and especially the state of Texas,are amid one of the worst measles outbreaks in the past 50 years

. So far there have been over 1,000 cases, predominantly of unvaccinated children, two of whom have died.This renewed commitment to limit federal government resources dedicated towards the health and safety of all Americans has eugenics and longtermism written all over it. The work of Musk and Kennedy, in particular, have undermined the role of the federal government in the public eye. Their reluctance to help people in need and their belief that those with physical and intellectual disabilities (particularly those who are elderly or autistic) are a drain on economic resources are all part of a view that many Americans are expendable, even unto death.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, thousands ofChina processes some 90 percent of the world’s rare earth minerals and instituted export controls in April to counter Trump’s “

” tariffs in April, triggering alarm among US companies.Last week, for instance, Ford temporarily closed a factory in Chicago which makes utility vehicles after one of its suppliers ran out of a specialised rare earth magnet.

In most new cars, especially elevate vehicles (cars with robotic technology allowing them to “climb” over obstacles), these high-tech magnets are used in parts which operate brake and steering systems, and power seats and fuel injectors.The restrictions on the supply of rare earth minerals provide Beijing with a strategic advantage in future negotiations, as it can limit supplies of crucial technologies for US industry.