23 May 2026
RTO: unnecessary office space
RTO: Sure is odd how employers like to spend loads of money on unnecessary office space, isn’t it?
Or is it…
Fidelity Just Ended Hybrid Work. Is This the Start of a New RTO Wave?The financial institution joins the growing ranks of employers flexing their power in an unstable job market. BY KAYLA WEBSTER, STAFF EDITOR Apr 29, 2026 - Inc. Full RTO mandates are not popular with workers of any generation. Gallup conducted a study in 2025 asking workers if they’d like to return to working in an office five days a week. Of those who said “yes,” 6 percent were Gen-Zers, 4 percent Millennials, 9 percent Gen-Xers, and 10 percent Baby Boomers. The youngest generation in the workforce overwhelmingly prefers the hybrid style of work (71 percent).
A few people in the Linkedin comments thread suspect exactly my first thought: this bank is doing it to soft layoff a bunch of people to avoid being on the hook for severance or unemployment payments, and or delay looking financially troubled. One person said: “Companies love to pile on QoL rollbacks to get people to bail on their own. It’s like they don’t really appreciate nurtured talent anymore, because it gets expensive as employees gain tenure and raises. Easier to pull in a crop of newbies who will work for chicken scratch, trained by the AI-driven onboarding that they only had to pay for once.” And there was of course one person in the thread whose comment got met with zero response, which is typical on Linkedin for awful comments, few will be willing to tell someone they sound like a fool. This dude was saying there’s no reason for remote work since, “the pandemic is over” and claimed everyone working remotely is “lazy” and a Return to Office mandate will make them “rage quit”. Yes, this fella thinks everyone working from home at the jobs they have that put food on the table and pay the bills, are just lazy and “rage quit” from jobs in banking that actually can be hybrid or remote work positions. There are always fools like this in every RTO discussion, of course, but what was extra amusing about this guy is that his profile said “cybersecurity professional”.
I think we should be doing the opposite of this trickle down economics bs, and actually approach this from the other direction, and instead of giving corporate welfare to “job creators”, we should mandate all separations and terminations, for whatever reason, no matter which side makes the decision, need to be taxed in some way on a scale for size, for any company. That way it would take some of the incentive away from pushing people out by shady means. Put some friction in there. We don’t need more job-lock.
🗞️ In the news
F.D.A. Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe The agency’s scientists and data contractors reviewed millions of patient records for studies that were pulled back before release. By Christina Jewett Reporting from Washington May 5, 2026 The New York Times Dr. Caleb Alexander, a drug safety and methodology expert at Johns Hopkins University, reviewed both studies at the request of The Times and said that “no study answers every question” but “there is nothing inherently problematic regarding these reports.” “It’s too bad that these haven’t seen the full light of day,” Dr. Alexander said in an email. “They provide useful information regarding the most commonly used COVID-19 vaccines.” Jeffrey Morris, director of the University of Pennsylvania biostatistics division, who also reviewed the study drafts at the request of The Times, said the studies were generally well done. “I think if there’s any critique,” he said, “it’s that they don’t do enough of these studies with the resources they have.” Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, a former high-ranking National Institutes of Health official and chief executive of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said that F.D.A. leaders withdrawing papers from publication is a “pretty active act of sabotage.” “This black box of decision making around data suppression should be having people very alarmed and very worried,” said Dr. Marrazzo. She filed a whistle-blower complaint against the N.I.H., was fired by Mr. Kennedy and has since sued the agency, claiming that she was ousted for objecting to its policies. By contrast, Mr. Kennedy’s team has had lower standards for releasing information critical of vaccines.
Reuters - Fake rumors, real killings: Inside Congo’s deadly health misinformation crisis By Jessica Donati, Fiston Mahamba and Rachael Kennedy May 7, 20262:05 AM EDT Updated May 9, 2026 GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 7 (Reuters) - In Tshopo, a northeastern Congolese province blanketed in rainforest, rumours rippled through villages late last year claiming a mysterious illness had caused men’s genitals to atrophy. Within days, testimonials proliferated on social media that amplified the imaginary threat, triggering a real-life panic that turned deadly before the government could react. Angry mobs attacked and killed four health workers conducting vaccination research in an episode that took place in October, four officials and a survivor told Reuters - a deadly example of the rising danger posed by online health misinformation in Africa. The violence has since spread to other parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In all, at least 17 killings related to the atrophy rumour have been reported, including the health workers, according to the WHO-led Africa Infodemic Response Alliance, which monitors fake health information. Reuters could not independently verify the other deaths. In Congo, misinformation “really led to death and murder,” said the Nairobi-based alliance’s director Elodie Ho. “It started in communities. It spread into social media and local media. It was amplified by those actors.” An examination of over a dozen video testimonials by the news agency, one of them viewed hundreds of thousands of times, found that churches helped spread the rumours in Tshopo. Overseas accounts and local news media also played a role.
US Doctor caring for ebola patients infected with ebola.
US doctor infected with Ebola critically ill but says he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ Dr. Peter Stafford is currently hospitalized in Berlin. By Alex Ederson, David Brennan, Youri Benadjaoud, and Mary Kekatos May 21, 2026, 2:02 PM ABC NEWS Dr. Peter Stafford contracted the disease while working with patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was evacuated to Germany to receive specialty care and is currently hospitalized at Charite University Hospital in Berlin. “Before I was evacuated I was feeling really concerned I wasn’t going to make it, and now I’m cautiously optimistic,” Stafford said in a press release from Serge, the international Christian missionary group that employs him.
KFF - Is The U.S. Stepping Up In The Fight Against Ebola? Authors: Josh Michaud and Jennifer Kates Published: May 21, 2026Ongoing effects of foreign assistance funding freeze and cuts. Alongside the dissolution of USAID, in early 2025 the Trump administration implemented a freeze on all foreign assistance funding for a period last year. As a consequence, partner organizations report that they had to fire staff and cease many disease prevention and detection activities, including Ebola-focused activities in Uganda and DRC. While certain activities resumed, the underlying system itself was largely dismantled
My letter to reps:
I have heard that the doge people dismantled the US federal employees that deal with ebola and that there are still funding freezes related to ebola response. I expect my representatives to make sure public health is funded, that we are protected, and that our resources are used to prevent further spread of outbreaks of preventable infectious diseases.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.
Marty Makary out for not being ghoulish enough.
ARS TECHNICA - FDA chief resigns after Trump admin forced approval of fruity e-cigs Makary reportedly spent his year bucking Trump admin and making industry enemies. Beth Mole – May 12, 2026 5:26 PM Makary’s insiders said the former Johns Hopkins University cancer surgeon resigned after Trump forced his hand on authorizing fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. Makary had reportedly been resisting the sign-offs out of concern that the kid-friendly flavors could again entice youth use and addiction—something public health officials and experts have for years worked to combat. But Makary’s stance was in conflict with Trump’s “save vaping” campaign promise—and with the tobacco industry’s interests.
Even pandemic minimizer Marty Makary couldn’t bring himself to endorse kid enticing flavoured e-cigarettes.
A Quick Note About Makary’s Firing Posted on May 14, 2026 by mike the mad biologist The upshot of this is the next FDA commissioner likely will be worse: more pliant to Trump et alia, and also more willing to push the Republican Party’s traditional theocratic agenda.
It’s time to speak up for vaccines by submitting a public comment.
The FDA VRBPAC public comment period is open until May 27, 2026.
You do not need to write anything elaborate. Just send the message that you want your vaccines.
