A plea to stay engaged
Drug use drops among young people, vaccine evidence stays strong, political crises, and the climate clock keeps ticking
This will be a short introduction. A lot has happened this week. So much that it can feel impossible to hold it all at once: troops deployed against civilian protesters in the U.S., a deadly plane crash, and a new conflict in the Middle East with still-unclear consequences. When the news becomes too much, the instinct to disengage is valid and, sometimes, necessary. If that’s where you are, take the space you need.
But this is also a plea to return and engage. Not with everything, but with something. Pick a cause you care about —climate change, gender equity, racial justice, science, human rights, housing, what’s happening in your neighborhood, you name it— and stay connected to it. Engagement gives us agency, a voice, and a chance to shape what happens next. Disengagement leaves us to live with the outcomes of decisions made without us. Now more than ever, your attention, your engagement, and your voice matter.
With that, let’s dive into what might not have made the headlines this week:
Drug deaths drop among the young in the U.S.
There’s been a drop in fatal overdoses among young people in the U.S., particularly Gen Z. New CDC data shows deaths among those aged 20 to 29 have fallen by nearly half. For years, fentanyl drove an unprecedented surge in overdoses, killing more than 230,000 Americans under 35 over the past decade. In 2021 alone, 31,000 young people died of overdoses. Last year, that number had dropped to around 16,700.
Teenagers, too, are seeing sharp improvements. Fentanyl-related deaths in that group had seemed stuck at catastrophic levels, up to 2,000 annually. But in 2023, teen overdose deaths declined by 40%. Researchers cite several reasons: wider distribution of Narcan, more accessible addiction care, weaker fentanyl supplies, and reduced risky behavior among teens since the pandemic.
Experts say one quiet driver may be behavioral: more teens and young adults are choosing to abstain from drugs and alcohol. A University of Michigan study found teen substance abstinence hit its highest levels in 2024. Still, many worry that momentum could stall, especially as federal health programs face funding cuts and grants supporting harm reduction efforts come under threat.
Interested in more? NPR - Drug deaths plummet among young Americans as fentanyl carnage eases
Colombian presidential candidate survives shooting
Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot three times at a campaign event in Bogotá last Saturday. The 39-year-old, who recently declared his bid for the 2026 presidential election, remains in critical but stable condition, according to hospital officials. Authorities arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene, who was injured in a pursuit by police.
The attack has rattled the country and drawn strong reactions from across the political spectrum. Uribe’s Centro Democrático party called it a direct threat to Colombian democracy. President Gustavo Petro also condemned the attack, calling it “an act of violence not only against his person, but also against democracy.”
Uribe is a high-profile right-wing critic of Petro and comes from a prominent political lineage. His grandfather was former president Julio César Turbay Ayala, and his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a failed rescue from a Medellín Cartel kidnapping. The incident has raised concerns about a return to Colombia’s violent political past.
Interested in more? The Guardian - Assassination attempt in Colombia sparks fears of return to bloody past: ‘It’s a devastating moment’
Spain’s Prime Minister under pressure as corruption scandal grows
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is facing a political fallout after a major corruption scandal implicated senior figures in his Socialist Party. Sánchez publicly apologized this week and said he had been wrong to trust party secretary Santos Cerdán, who is now under investigation for allegedly helping to steer public contracts in exchange for kickbacks. A court has also called on former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and his ex-adviser to testify.
Despite the turmoil, Sánchez ruled out early elections, saying his minority coalition government would continue until 2027. The Socialists currently govern with support from smaller parties after the conservative Popular Party won the most votes in 2023 but failed to form a coalition. Sánchez has led the Spanish government since 2018.
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo is calling for Sánchez to resign, accusing him of trying to survive politically at any cost. Thousands rallied in Madrid last weekend with banners reading “mafia or democracy.” Sánchez, in turn, accused the conservatives of launching a smear campaign and vowed to carry on.
Interested in more? El País - Spain’s Pedro Sánchez scrambles to hold government coalition together after top aide is implicated in corruption scandal
New studies affirm vaccine benefits for older adults
New studies show that enhanced vaccines continue to deliver strong protection for older adults. These findings arrive at a politically charged moment, as some public figures and health authorities have begun to question vaccine safety and accuse regulators of corruption. Yet the data is clear: the health benefits of vaccines remain robust and well-documented.
The CDC has long recommended high-dose flu vaccines for people over 65, and recent research found that these versions reduce hospitalizations by up to 18% compared to the standard shot. The updated formulations include higher levels of antigen or adjuvants to boost an immune response.
RSV vaccines, recently available for people over 60, are also showing promising results. Data shows they are 75% effective in preventing severe illness, emergency care visits, and hospitalizations. The risk of side effects remains low, with fewer than a dozen cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome per million doses.
One additional finding is that shingles vaccines may also reduce dementia risk, though the link is still being studied.
Older adults continue to show high levels of trust in vaccines. More than 80% report confidence in shots for flu, pneumonia, shingles, and MMR. Even for COVID-19 vaccines, which face more public skepticism, two-thirds of seniors remain supportive.
Interested in more? NYT - Many Older People Embrace Vaccines. Research Is Proving Them Right
UN warns 1.5°C climate threshold likely to be breached by 2029
The UN’s weather and climate agency issued a warning: there is now a 70% chance that average global temperatures between 2025 and 2029 will exceed the 1.5°C limit set in the Paris climate accords. That threshold, long seen as a key line to avoid runaway climate impacts, may soon be crossed.
The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, set targets to keep warming “well below” 2°C, and ideally under 1.5°C, relative to pre-industrial levels. However, with emissions still rising and fossil fuel use largely unchecked, those goals are slipping out of reach. The UN predicts that each of the next five years will likely fall between 1.2°C and 1.9°C above the baseline.
While a single year above 1.5°C doesn’t mean the target is permanently lost, crossing that threshold over a five-year average would mark a new phase in the climate crisis. Even small temperature increases can fuel more severe heatwaves, floods, droughts, and accelerate the melting of ice caps, sea ice, and glaciers worldwide.
Interested in more? Le Monde - UN warns 1.5°C global warming threshold likely to be breached by 2029
That’s it for this week. If any of these stories stood out, feel free to share this edition and pass it along to someone else who might find it interesting.
As always, I’d love to hear from you, whether that is thoughts, tips, or even just something that caught your attention this week.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next Sunday!
Any views expressed in this space are solely my own and do not reflect those of my current or former employers, or any institution I’ve been affiliated with.