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Author: Leslie Eastman

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Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

We may have entered the next phase of social media evolution, in which the networks will have to change to meet the needs of the American market or dies. One company has had enough of Facebook. CrossFit, the popular fitness and lifestyle program, terminated its relationship with Facebook and Instagram, citing security and privacy concerns.

We have followed the public health crisis is Los Angeles closely, as the homeless population explosion has led to conditions ripe for an outbreak of the disease typhus. The area's NBC4 Investigative Team has also covered the story, and assert that the city wastes tens of millions of dollars per year in clean-up efforts because LA's homeless encampments quickly repopulate once cleaning ends.

Australia’s ruling conservative coalition has scored a stunning upset victory in the country’s general election, defying polls that were predicting an easy progressive win. The Labor Party was focused on climate change and raising taxes, and it appears there were a lot of "quiet Scott voters" who weren't interested in what they were selling.

Citizen activists and conservative politicians have longed for less regulatory burdens on businesses and citizens.

Earlier this year, we reported that the US Department of Transportation (DOT) cancelled millions in grants for the high speed rail project that California Governor Gavin Newsom has substantially scaled back. Newsom has tried fighting this move, arguing that California needed these funds to complete a more limited-scale project than the Los Angeles to San Francisco route originally planned. However, the Trump administration did not buy the argument, so it has officially ended the Obama-era agreement.

Hepatitis A, a virus capable of affecting the liver and causing death, has made a resurgence among adults in the U.S. According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hepatitis A infections have soared nearly 300% in the past few years.
The staggering increase has come despite an effective vaccine and is seen mostly among drug abusers and the homeless, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It looks like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has planned to expand his firm's delivery range. The entrepreneur unveiled a mockup of a lunar lander built by his Blue Origin rocket company. Bezos also announced his support for the Trump administration’s renewed push to establish a lunar outpost in just five years.
The world’s richest man and Amazon.com Inc’s chief executive waved an arm and a black drape behind him dropped to reveal the two-story-tall mockup of the unmanned lander dubbed Blue Moon during an hour-long presentation at Washington’s convention center, just several blocks from the White House.

My son and I often have dinner together and watch FNC's "The Five." This week, one discussion that caught my attention was the response to panelist Juan Williams' assertion that the Republicans do not have any response to climate change. When fellow pundit Greg Gutfeld responded, "Gen. IV Nuclear," Williams went on as if he never heard the remark.

The number of states with measles cases continue to expand during this historic outbreak. The cases climbed past 760 this week.
The number of confirmed U.S. measles cases this year has climbed to 764, more than double the number a year ago and the highest total in 25 years, federal health officials announced Monday. Sixty additional cases were reported last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Most of those were in New York City and its suburbs.