Google is under fire due to its controversial plan to release millions of mosquitoes carrying bacteria in two U.S. states. Critics are calling it one of the largest open-air biological experiments in the nation’s history.

Supported by Alphabet, Google’s parent company, this initiative seeks federal approval to annually release 32 million genetically modified mosquitoes in California and Florida, starting in 2027.

If the plan is greenlit, the two-year program would see a total of 64 million mosquitoes introduced into these environments.

The project’s goal is to curb populations of mosquitoes that spread diseases by utilizing what researchers refer to as ‘good bugs’—male mosquitoes infected with a naturally occurring bacterium known as Wolbachia.

When these infected males mate with wild female mosquitoes, the females still produce eggs, but these eggs do not develop into larvae, effectively decreasing the mosquito population over time.

While the method has been around for decades, many Americans are outraged by the prospect of releasing millions of mosquitoes into the wild, with some declaring: ‘This must be stopped.’

Even elected officials have joined the criticism, with Tennessee Republican Rep Tim Burchett questioning why a technology company was involved in releasing millions of mosquitoes, warning against interfering with nature.

‘Why does Google have 32 million mosquitoes? Have we not learned our lesson with Kudzu, Sparrows, Black Birds [and] Asian Carp? Should I go on?’ Burchett wrote on X. ‘Don’t mess with the balance of nature.’

Google is facing backlash over plans to release millions of bacteria-infected mosquitoes in two states (stock)

Burchett was referring to several infamous introductions of non-native species that spread far beyond their intended use and caused significant ecological disruptions after being introduced by humans.

One X user posted: ‘I want everyone to stop and ask what interest Google has in releasing mosquitoes.

‘They’re a tech company. Not an environmental group. Not a non-profit. Not a government. A tech company.’

Another wrote: ‘There should be public consensus before anything like this is done. It’s dangerous.’

While another shared: ‘Playing God will not end well for anyone; they need to stop trying to manipulate nature and leave it as God intended it to be.’

Google’s involvement comes through Verily, a life sciences company owned by Alphabet.

In 2016, Verily launched the Debug Project, an effort aimed at reducing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases by suppressing populations of Aedes aegypti, an invasive species responsible for transmitting viruses such as Zika, dengue and chikungunya.

The current proposal targets Aedes aegypti, a human-biting mosquito known for spreading dangerous diseases including Zika, dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya.

The aim is to reduce populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes using what researchers describe as ‘good bugs’ – male mosquitoes carrying a naturally occurring bacterium called Wolbachia (stock)

According to the Debug team, roughly 40 percent of the world’s population is at risk from diseases spread by the insect, which has expanded across tropical, subtropical and even some temperate regions around the globe.

Researchers breed millions of Wolbachia-carrying males in specialized facilities before separating them from females, which are capable of biting and spreading disease.

The goal is to dramatically reduce, and potentially eliminate, local populations of Aedes aegypti.

The proposal has also drawn comparisons to a controversial mosquito project backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

While Gates did not directly release mosquitoes, his foundation funded research involving mosquito-control technologies, including projects carried out by British biotech firm Oxitec.

In 2021, Oxitec released genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys to combat disease-spreading Aedes aegypti, marking the first approved release of its kind in the US.

The project sparked fierce backlash and fueled a wave of conspiracy theories online.

Some claimed the mosquitoes were part of a covert effort to reduce the human population, secretly deliver vaccines or mRNA technology through bites, or serve as a tool for broader government and corporate control.

Others argued that suppressing mosquito populations could disrupt ecosystems and food chains, reflecting growing distrust of public health initiatives, Big Tech and billionaire-backed scientific projects in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not everyone opposes the proposal, however. ‘Wolbachia has been used in mosquito control programs for years with promising results,’ one X user posted.

‘Healthy skepticism is fine, but it’s worth separating science fiction fears from evidence-based public health strategies.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Debug for comment.

MILWAUKEE — As the Giants suffered their most significant defeat in a season riddled with challenges, their situation took an even darker turn.

In San Francisco’s 16–2 thrashing at the hands of the Brewers on Monday, Landen Roupp, typically their standout starting pitcher, struggled unexpectedly. Manager Tony Vitello later disclosed the root cause of Roupp’s uncharacteristic performance.

Roupp was dealing with back issues.

“His back was tightening up,” Vitello explained. “It wasn’t his usual performance, but he was also not at his peak physically. I think that had some influence on his game today.”

Despite conceding a season-high of eight earned runs over just four innings, Roupp minimized concerns about any long-term effects or the injury’s impact on his pitching display.

“Obviously when you’re not feeling good, it’s always in the back of your head,” Roupp said. “So that could’ve had something to do with it, but either way, I’ve got to compete better.”

Roupp required 96 pitches just to make it through four, threw only half of them for strikes and matched his season-high with five bases on balls. He spotted Milwaukee seven runs immediately after the Giants took an early 2–0 lead and continued to labor from there.

“Guys put up two early, and I kind of just slapped them in the face,” Roupp said.

It might seem like managerial malpractice to leave a pitcher out there laboring like Roupp was, ailing and all, but Vitello can only act on the information at his disposal.

Roupp, a tough competitor in the mold of Logan Webb, said the back bothered him for most of the day but only informed the coaching staff after he came out of the game.

“I think it just built up as the pitch count built up,” Vitello said. “I don’t think he was at risk of anything crazy.”

Still, there’s no such thing as a minor issue for a player who has dealt with back problems in the past. Roupp said this was “definitely less serious” than the injury that kept him off the mound in the minors for the entire second half of the 2023 season.

Back then, Roupp was dealing in his first full season at Double-A, making 10 starts with a 1.74 ERA. He had tossed 3 ⅓ shutout frames in his 10th start of the year when a disc slipped in his lower back on June 30. It ended up being the last pitch he threw that season.

“When I got hurt in ‘23, it was pretty bad,” Roupp said. “I think I’ll be fine.”

Vitello was also confident Roupp would be able to manage the issue moving forward.

“You’re going to have to rip the ball out of his hand,” Vitello said. “He’s never going to want to come out of the game.”

However, the manager made a strikingly similar proclamation regarding Webb, right before the Giants’ workhorse ace landed on the injured list for the first time in his career.

The good news is that Webb is back and will get the ball again on Wednesday, which obviously would help the Giants withstand a minimum of 15 days without Roupp if it’s ultimately determined that he needs to take some time to get right.

The pitcher who initially took Webb’s rotation spot, Trevor McDonald, is already occupying the slot vacated by Tyler Mahle when he hit the IL on Friday with a strained hamstring.

If Roupp is forced to miss starts, the Giants have some options at Triple-A Sacramento, though none as attractive as their former top prospect Kyle Harrison, who will oppose them Tuesday.

Carson Whisenhunt had strung together six strong starts in a row — a 1.62 ERA in 33 1/3 innings — before getting hit around the last time he took the mound. Carson Seymour, who appeared in 16 games last season, including three starts, nearly made the team out of spring training and has a respectable 4.04 ERA in 11 outings, including a 42:17 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Blade Tidwell earned the Opening Day roster spot instead and pitched well enough out of the bullpen that the Giants sent him to Triple-A to get stretched out as a starter, but he still only threw 82 pitches in his last outing and has a 6.75 ERA in six games.

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Jill Biden has opened up about her ongoing tension with Nancy Pelosi, following the ex-House Speaker’s role in encouraging a Democratic push to sideline President Joe Biden from the 2024 presidential race.

During a challenging June 2024 debate against Donald Trump, where Joe Biden faced difficulties in articulating his points clearly, key Democratic figures, including Pelosi, publicly called for Biden to step down from the race.

Jill Biden, 74, described the incident as both a public and private betrayal, revealing that Pelosi, 86, had also privately advocated for Biden’s withdrawal from the race in July 2024.

Speaking in an interview with the Wall Street Journal about her upcoming memoir, Jill mentioned that while President Biden and Pelosi have recently reconciled, she herself has not yet been able to move past the incident.

The former President and Nancy Pelosi encountered each other at the funeral of Kennedy descendant Tatiana Schlossberg in January, marking their first meeting following the dispute.

Jill credited her husband for magnanimously leaving his pew to shake her hand during the ‘sign of peace’ ritual of the Mass.

But Jill pointedly revealed that faced with the same opportunity to make amends just feet away, she hadn’t sought out Pelosi. 

‘I haven’t actually seen her to make up with her or not make up with her. I didn’t even see her in the church,’ Jill said.

Jill herself has not forgiven Pelosi or gone out of her way to make up with the former House Speaker

Jill (promoting her book this morning on MS NOW) has since published her memoir, View from the East Wing, in which she reflects on Biden’s presidency and its impact on their family

Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. Representative and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 3, 2024

The former first lady insists she’s ready to let it go given Joe’s recent cancer diagnosis: ‘That’s what I’ve learned through this cancer diagnosis … Life’s so short. Why live with the anger and the pain of it all? I mean, move on. Let’s move on.’ 

Biden and Pelosi worked closely for decades, dating back to his Senate years in the 1980s while she was rising in House Democratic leadership.

The two built a tight political alliance during the Obama era, coordinating on major legislation when Biden was vice president and Pelosi was speaker, with their families also maintaining close ties as part of Washington’s Democratic elite. 

But in a major turning point after Biden’s disastrous June 2024 debate against Donald Trump, Pelosi declined to state that she endorsed him.

‘It’s up to the President to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,’ Pelosi said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Biden, 83, was diagnosed in May 2025, four months after leaving office, with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

Jill has since published her memoir, View from the East Wing, in which she reflects on Biden’s presidency and its impact on their family. 

The book is generating significant controversy among former Biden aides after Jill said she feared Biden was having a ‘stroke’ or had been ‘drugged’ during the Trump debate, where he struggled to speak and string together coherent arguments.

Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg is seen at the funeral of her daughter Tatiana Schlossberg on January 5, 2026 in New York City

Joe Biden and John Kerry (right) at the funeral of Tatiana Schlossberg on January 5, 2026 in New York City

‘Is this a stroke? I felt like we were watching an AI hologram of the man we knew, and the hologram was glitching. Has he been drugged?’ Jill writes in View From the East Wing.

She remembers thinking: ‘Oh God – will people watching assume this is how he is all the time?’

Biden appeared frail and repeatedly lost his train of thought as he slurred his way through the infamous June 2024 clash with Trump, a watershed moment that triggered Democratic allies to openly question his fitness for office.

It wasn’t just his supporters who saw disaster: Joe himself admitted he’d suffered a primetime car crash in front of the voting public, Jill reveals.

As Biden walked off stage, he confessed to her: ‘I really f***ed up, didn’t I?’

”Yes, you did,’ I whispered back,’ Jill writes.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are set to convene on Tuesday to strategize on their next steps following the Justice Department’s decision to adhere to a court order temporarily halting a $1.776 billion settlement fund. This fund was originally established to compensate political allies of former President Donald Trump.

Prior to the Memorial Day recess two weeks ago, some GOP senators expressed strong opposition to the settlement. They are now seeking further clarification from the administration regarding the fund’s future, which has the potential to benefit Trump supporters involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach. Meanwhile, sources close to Trump suggest he is reconsidering whether to proceed with the fund altogether.

In the midst of this controversy lies a legislative proposal intended to finance Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies for the next three years. The legislative process stalled when Republicans abruptly adjourned without passing the bill. This was after Democrats threatened to propose amendments that would either eliminate or reduce the judgment fund, putting Republicans in a position to publicly declare their stance on the issue, thus jeopardizing funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.

Upon returning to Washington on Monday evening, Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed uncertainty about the progress of the immigration spending bill this week.

“To be determined,” he remarked to reporters.

The extraordinary standoff comes after Trump announced the fund with no heads up to lawmakers as part of a settlement to resolve his lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. When word of the settlement broke, the Senate was navigating tricky passage of the immigration legislation with an added $1 billion in White House security costs – including for Trump’s ballroom project.

Furious, Senate Republicans jettisoned the White House security money from the bill and made clear they would not pass the legislation at all unless the White House made major changes to the settlement.

“I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves,” Thune told reporters Monday, referring to the fund.

He said Republicans will have a better idea of how to proceed after they meet for their weekly conference lunch on Tuesday.

Senators say they need more ‘explicit’ commitment

The Justice Department said it would comply with a ruling Friday from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who temporarily halted the fund for two weeks. The judge scheduled a June 12 hearing for arguments on whether to extend her order.

The department said in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the ruling but would comply.

Republican senators weren’t satisfied. They said Monday evening that they need more detail from the administration on what happens after that deadline before deciding next steps.

“It’s pretty clear that the president has to say very explicitly that there’s not going to be a weaponization fund,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Lankford said Trump administration officials “need to say what they actually mean.”

“They need to say, we’re setting this whole thing aside,” Lankford said.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that if the settlement is “completely pulled, then I’m satisfied. But I haven’t heard anybody say that.”

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said the administration already has to abide by the court decision, “that’s in the Constitution. I have to know more about their position.”

“Right now, the reconciliation bill looks like a broken arm with the bones sticking out,” Kennedy said. “It won’t move this week, in my opinion, unless we have some resolution on the weaponization account.”

Senators issue ultimatum to Justice Department

The outrage of the fund came to a head last month at a closed-door meeting between senators and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas described on a recent episode of his podcast as “one of the roughest meetings I’ve seen in my entire time in the Senate.”

GOP senators had been discussing several ways that they could curb the fund, including limiting who can receive payouts, changing the makeup of the commission in charge of settlement decisions, adding some sort of judicial review for applicants or scrapping the fund altogether.

Amid the backlash, a person familiar with the matter, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the president’s thinking, said Monday that Trump was reconsidering whether to move forward with the fund. But the president has not said publicly what he intends to do.

Also complicating matters is Trump’s campaign-year push to defeat GOP lawmakers whom he sees as disloyal, including some of Thune’s most reliable Republican votes in the narrow 53-47 Senate. Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Cornyn of Texas both lost reelection bids in May after Trump endorsed their primary opponents, and it’s unclear how supportive they’ll be of the president’s agenda going forward.

“I think it’s hard to divorce anything that happens here from what’s happening in the political atmosphere around us,” Thune said before the Senate left town.

Sydney Sweeney has reignited speculation about a possible rift with Zendaya after noticeably leaving out her “Euphoria” co-star in a collection of photos from the show’s third season.

After the season finale aired on Sunday, Sweeney shared a series of behind-the-scenes images on Instagram, spotlighting several of her fellow stars from the popular HBO series.

The photos showcased Sweeney with cast members such as Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie, and Maude Apatow. She even included a picture featuring the late Eric Dane. However, Zendaya’s absence was strikingly apparent.

In her caption, Sweeney wrote, “it’s called… acting,” seemingly addressing those who have critiqued her provocative portrayal of Cassie Howard.

While many fans took to the comments to applaud Sweeney’s performance, some couldn’t help but notice and comment on Zendaya’s exclusion from the photo set.

“there’s no photo in this slideshow w zendaya im confused …” one wrote.

“Zendaya doesn’t like [Sweeney] because of her values,” another fan theorized.

But others argued that Sweeney and Zendaya — who played Rue Bennett — “barely had any scenes together” and that’s why they didn’t have any behind-the-scenes pics.

In November 2025, the Daily Mail reported that Sweeney and Zendaya were “locked in a bitter feud” that stemmed from their differing political views.

Sweeney is a registered Republican voter and caused controversy with her American Eagle denim campaign that some critics accused of being Nazi propaganda with racist undertones.

According to the outlet, Zendaya refused to do press with Sweeney for “Euphoria” Season 3 and the two allegedly refused to stand next to each other at events.

When Sweeney was missing from a “Euphoria” cast photoshoot back in March, this added more fuel to the rumors. However, Page Six was told the shoot in question was filmed during production when Sweeney happened to be shooting a scene, which is why she is not included in the video.

But the following month, the ladies appeared to avoid each other at the season premiere — which allegedly came as no surprise to some of their colleagues.

“‘Euphoria’ bosses are all too aware the pair do not get along. There were tensions way back … Their paths barely crossed during the making of Season 3,” an insider alleged to the Sun.

“During the press tour, any interactions between the pair are being kept to a minimum to avoid any awkward encounters on camera. There is a complete ban on ­journalists asking about tensions between Zendaya and Sydney.”

According to the source, their dispute stemmed from Sweeney having “the hots” for Tom Holland and being “flirty with him” when he came to set.

“That did not go down well with Zendaya. They have not really hung out socially since then,” they claimed.

The insider also noted, “It’s a bit of a headache because Zendaya doesn’t want to be associated with a Trump supporter.”

Later that month, “Euphoria” cast member Jessica Blair Herman shut down the feud rumors between Zendaya and Sweeney, insisting that everyone on set got along.

“They really did, and I’m not just saying that,” she said on “Good Day New York.”

“Really, they’ve created this beautiful working relationship and everyone wants to do the work, to come in and do the job.”

Either way, the two stars might not have to work together again as the Season 3 finale appears to have been the HBO show’s end.

The Minnesota GOP convention drew attention recently when it observed a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd six years ago.

During the convention, Christopher Rocco, a delegate hailing from St. Paul, introduced the contentious 30-second observance after the event had already begun with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

“I apologize because I know you asked me not to do this. I’d like to suspend the rules for a moment of reflection for Derek Chauvin,” Rocco announced to those gathered, as captured by audio recordings from the conference.

Rocco further asserted that Chauvin, who was found guilty of pressing his knee onto Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, should be granted a “state retrial” and a “federal pardon.”

In response, convention chairman, State Representative Danny Nadeau, expressed evident surprise at the proposal before presenting the motion to the delegates for consideration.

‘I said I preferred – I’ll tell you what. I’m gonna put it to the body. I’m gonna let the body vote. If you would like to have a short 30 seconds stand in silence for Derek Chauvin, all say aye,’ he said.

A loud ‘aye’ erupted from the crowd, the audio, first published by the Minnesota Reformer, showed. A quieter round of ‘nays’ replied after Nadeau asked ‘opposed?’ The moment of silence then took place. 

In a video on his YouTube Channel Rocco’s Had Enough, the delegate defended his motion and peddled a conspiracy theory about the cause of Floyd’s death.

A Minnesota GOP delegate proposed a controversial 30-second moment of silence for Derek Chauvin after Saturday’s convention opened with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Delegates are seen standing pledge as the proceedings began on Saturday

Derek Chauvin, left, was convicted of killing George Floyd, right, after kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020. Chauvin is currently serving a two-decade sentence for murder and federal civil rights violations

‘It was me at the Minnesota GOP convention this weekend that brought the motion uh before the body to have a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin,’ Rocco told viewers.

‘Not because he died, but because the moment you were silent on injustice is the moment that you are complicit in injustice.’

He then went on to blast the Democrats and his own Republican party for the response to Floyd’s murder six years ago.

He accused Democrats of needing a ‘sacrifice for their altar of power’ ahead of the 2020 election, which Donald Trump ultimately lost to Joe Biden.

‘Derek and the other officers were the spark. Floyd was the fuse,’ he said, before going on to call Floyd a career criminal who died of an overdose.

Floyd’s cause of death was ruled as ‘cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression’ by the county coroner. Footage of Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck as Floyd shouted ‘I can’t breathe’ stunned the world and set off riots across the US, while also turbocharging DEI measures across many public and private bodies. 

He then defended standing in support of the killer and condemned the Republicans who criticized his actions.

‘You liberals want to know why someone spoke out for Derek Chauvin? It’s because he doesn’t have a voice,’ Rocco said.

Footage captured by a bystander on May 25, 2020, shows Chauvin’s expression as he knelt on Floyd’s neck and killed him

Christopher Rocco, the delegate from St Paul who proposed the motion, defended his actions in a YouTube video, before peddling a debunked conspiracy theory Floyd’s cause of death

‘And for a party that claims to speak for the voiceless, you shame yourself with your silence. I’m not ashamed of the stand that I made. I was raised to fight injustice, not encourage mob rule to stoke it.’ 

Nadeau told the Reformer that Rocco had approached him beforehand and he asked him not to make the motion.

The chairman claims he told Rocco it was a  ‘very divisive issue’ and that it was ‘not the time or the place.’

He added that while he was careful not to interject his personal opinions when moderating the convention, but personally ‘would never offer such a motion.’

‘I don’t question even remotely whether he was rightfully convicted,’ Nadeau added. 

The moment of silence for Chauvin has been met with criticism from across the political aisles. 

Democrat Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Sunday issued a statement branding the tribute as ‘disturbing’ and ‘disrespectful.’

‘To honor the man convicted of murdering George Floyd – days after the very anniversary of that terrible day – is an act of profound cruelty to the Floyd family and to every Minnesotan who believes in accountability under law,’ Ellison said. 

Convention chairman state Rep. Danny Nadeau, pictured during the conference in Duluth, said he asked Rocco not to make the motion

Delegates gather at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center on Saturday for the second day of the GOP conference

Democrat state representative Jamie Long echoed Ellison’s remark, writing in a post on X: ‘The MN GOP opened their convention with a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin. Not for those we lost to gun violence. Not for soldiers killed overseas. 

‘To a literal convicted murderer. Disgusting.’

A Minnesota GOP spokesperson told KSTP that the motion ‘was not a statement from party leadership.’

‘A moment of silent prayer should not be mischaracterized as an official policy position, platform statement, or message from the Republican Party of Minnesota,’ the spokesperson said. ‘It was a floor action taken by delegates, not leadership.’ 

Kendall Qualls, who has been endorsed by the GOP for Minnesota governor, deflected when asked about the incident in an interview with WCCO.

‘I don’t know. That was probably not the venue to do that, or the timing to do that,’ he told radio host Chad Hartman.

Qualls then added: ‘I do have my own concerns about the trial itself and the condition of Derek Chauvin, how he was treated.’