Florida's measles (mis)management

Plus royal scandals and springy hotels [View this email in your browser]( [The Week Evening Review]( Florida's measles outbreak, North Korea's forced labor export, and royal scandals around the world   Good evening, We are in a grim confluence of flu season, cold season, norovirus season (if you are really unlucky) and measles season (if you are in Florida). Officials in the Sunshine State are conducting a "dangerous experiment" with a disease that "we thought belonged in a bygone era," say public health experts. If the peak of various transmissible diseases is enough to have you dreaming of spring, Catherine Garcia has hotels in Vietnam and Morocco that can make your warmer-weather travel dreams come true. Summer Meza The Week Digital     Talking Points What Florida is — and isn't — doing to curb the measles Florida has a measles problem. There are eight diagnosed cases of the highly contagious virus in the state. Experts usually prescribe isolation and vaccination and urge unvaccinated children to stay home from school for 21 days if exposed. Not Joseph Ladapo, the state's surgeon general. Last week, he said Florida is "deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance." That is alarming to public health officials, NBC News said. The measles virus is "like a heat-seeking missile," said one expert. Unvaccinated people have a 90% chance of getting sick if exposed. "It is freedom trumps public health, freedom trumps protection," said Dr. Paul Offit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Florida is conducting a dangerous experiment, Daniel Engber said at The Atlantic. Ladapo has "chosen to lower the guardrails" against a sometimes deadly disease. "So what happens now?" 'Go-to doctor for vaccine deniers'During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ladapo was hired by Gov. Ron DeSantis and became the "go-to, Ivy League-educated doctor for vaccine deniers," The Miami Herald said. The surgeon general should have told families to "get your children vaccinated — now!" Instead, DeSantis and Ladapo have ensured that vaccine skepticism "gained force." "The measles vaccine is considered one of the greatest public health triumphs of the last century," Kiera Butler said at Mother Jones. The triumph is now threatened. To curb the spread of measles, 95% of the population must be immune, either from vaccination or prior infection. But in Broward County, Florida, just 91.7% of kindergartners are fully vaccinated, part of a trend of falling vaccination rates nationwide. This means we may see more outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. It is not sufficient to defer to parental decisions when the virus makes a "Petri dish" of schools, The Palm Beach Post said. "Parental rights is one thing; responding to a dangerous public health crisis is a different matter entirely." Vaccine rates are fallingFlorida isn't the only place where measles cases are on the rise. The virus is spreading globally, PBS NewsHour said, despite "widespread availability" of vaccines. While all state schools require vaccines, some have "adopted or expanded exemptions" for families with religious or philosophical objections. Despite Ladapo's advice, Florida families probably want to isolate their unvaccinated children if they are exposed, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials said to Axios. That might be disruptive, but "imagine how much more disruptive it would be if measles takes hold again … across the entire nation."     QUOTE OF THE DAY "You don't leave the parade [until] you get kicked out." President Andrés Manuel López Obrador explained why he won't shut down his social media accounts after YouTube censored one of his videos in which he exposed a New York Times journalist's phone number. He alleged that the platform has been "taken over by conservatives."   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   Today's Big Question Why does North Korea send workers overseas? North Korea is often considered the most secretive nation on Earth. But while the country infamously does not allow its citizens beyond its borders, it also sends many forced laborers overseas. In China, according to an investigation by The New Yorker, many companies "rely on a vast program of forced labor from North Korea." The country's forced labor program reportedly began in the mid-2010s, and since then, "North Koreans have been sent to Russia, Poland, Qatar, Uruguay and Mali." Unlike most things surrounding North Korea, this labor is well-documented. North Korean workers abroad supply products from textiles and garments to seafood. Despite North Korea's secrecy, there is no end in sight to its workers being sent overseas, typically against their will. What did the commentators say?For North Korea, "renting out its workers to other countries allows the Kim regime to fund its prohibited nuclear and missile programs, as well as pay for imported luxury goods," said Foreign Policy. To siphon this money, North Korea "mandates that overseas workers' salaries be deposited into government-controlled accounts, of which workers receive only a small fraction." While workers may covet these jobs at first, once they arrive, they find the jobs "come with a hidden cost," Ian Urbina said for The New Yorker. Managers confiscate their passports and force them to sign multiyear contracts. At least 100,000 of these workers have been forcibly sent to China in recent years. The workers, mostly women, encounter "all sorts of hidden fees and then all sorts of abuses that occur at the factories," Urbina said to NPR. North Korea appears to look the other way, given that the increasing number of laborers has netted the regime "billions of dollars a year," Choe Sang-Hun said in The New York Times. What next?The United Nations has been trying for years to shut down North Korea's overseas program, imposing sanctions and restricting products that are commonly made using this labor. The United States has prohibited importing any goods "produced or manufactured wholly or in part" by North Korean laborers. The U.S. has also been "levying fines on companies that import goods tied to these workers," The New Yorker said, and "China is supposed to enforce the sanctions in a similar manner." Despite this, tens of thousands of North Korean forced laborers remain under contract in China, Russia and elsewhere.     Statistic of the day 40: The rounded percentage of TikTok users that are in their 30s and 40s. This marks a dramatic shift away from Gen Z users on the social media app. People ages 35 to 49 are also more likely to upload on TikTok than people ages 18 to 34. Pew Research Center   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   The Explainer Modern royal scandals from around the world While the British royal family dominates headlines, over 40 other countries in the world have monarchies, and many have been embroiled in scandal. Take these four countries, for instance. The NetherlandsThe royal consort from 1948 to 1980 as husband to Queen Juliana, Prince Bernhard made headlines in 1976 when it was reported that he accepted a $1.1 million bribe from aircraft company Lockheed Martin to "promote the sale of [Lockheed's] aircraft" to the Dutch military, The Washington Post said. Bernhard was the inspector general of the Dutch armed forces and carried considerable influence over government purchases. The scandal cast a shadow over him for the rest of his life. Saudi ArabiaWhile it is believed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered the execution of his political opponents, the de facto ruler has also reportedly arrested many members of the Saudi elite, including his own family. There was a period between 2018 and 2019 during which bin Salman locked up "hundreds of royal relatives and wealthy Saudi businessmen in a Ritz-Carlton hotel," The New York Times said. He has consistently pushed back against allegations of human rights violations. Spain The former king of Spain, Juan Carlos has seen numerous investigations into his financial wrongdoings. This includes his alleged involvement in a "high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia," BBC said, plus a corruption scandal involving his daughter’s husband and a "controversial elephant hunting trip the monarch took during Spain's financial crisis.” It was also recently alleged that Juan Carlos' daughter-in-law, now Queen Letizia, cheated on her husband, King Filipe. United Arab EmiratesThe disappearance of Princess Latifa bint Mohammed is the ultimate royal drama. The daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, Latifa made headlines in 2018 when she escaped the UAE on a yacht. "For more than half her life, Latifa had been devising plans to flee her father," The New Yorker said. Dubbed the Fugitive Princess of Dubai, Latifa was recaptured but eventually left the country again and is now believed to be living in Europe.     Poll watch The majority of Americans rank immigration as the most pressing issue in the U.S., according to a new Gallup poll. The poll surveyed 1,016 adults and found 28% felt immigration was the most important issue, followed by the government and the economy. Immigration topped the list for the first time since 2019.     INSTANT OPINION Today's best commentary 'China's electric vehicles are going to hit Detroit like a wrecking ball'Robinson Meyer in The New York TimesAmerica's Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — are in "big trouble," says Robinson Meyer. They're getting "outmaneuvered and missing their goals for electric vehicle sales" as a "new crop of Chinese automakers," especially EV and plug-in hybrid specialist BYD, prepare to "flood the global market" with affordable EVs. The good news: If foreign companies can achieve the goal of "making electric cars popular and cheap," U.S. automakers can do it too, with "grit and good-faith effort." 'Donald Trump's con-man hustle for the Black vote is not going to work'Eugene Robinson in The Washington PostFormer President Donald Trump told South Carolina Black conservatives his indictment on 91 felony charges was like the "historic discrimination" African Americans have faced, says Eugene Robinson. This "con-man hustle for the African American vote is cringeworthy," and it won't work. Remember how he advocated the "racist 'birther' conspiracy theory" against Barack Obama? "In election after election, the African American vote has been fool's gold" for Republicans because they have "faced African Americans with cluelessness or outright hostility." 'Is Wisconsin going sane?'Bill Lueders in The Bulwark"Wisconsin may be stepping back from the abyss," says Bill Lueders. The clearest sign is that the "GOP-dominated state legislature has approved, and the state's Democratic governor, Tony Evers, has signed into law, new voter boundaries," making more legislative districts competitive. The old GOP-gerrymandered maps gave Republicans huge legislative majorities even when Democrats won statewide. Now Democrats could win a majority if they get more votes. "What a concept." This "tiny act of courage" could spread.     Picture of the day Russian repression Oleg Orlov, the co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization "Memorial," stands behind glass after being taken into custody during a trial for repeatedly discrediting the Russian military in Moscow, Russia. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP     Good day 🩺 … for New York medical school hopefuls. Ruth Gottesman, the widow of a Wall Street financier, donated $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, with instructions that the money be used to cover tuition for all students going forward. Gottesman was a former professor at Einstein, where she studied learning disabilities. The gift was one of the largest charitable donations to an educational institution in the U.S., said The New York Times.     Bad day 🪤 … for Family Dollar stores. The discount store's parent company was hit with a $41.6 million fee for using a rodent-infested warehouse to distribute food, cosmetics and medical devices to more than 400 stores throughout the south. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration discovered "live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine, and odors, and evidence of gnawing and nesting" at the company's distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas.     Puzzles [Daily crossword]( Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes [sudoku]( and [codewords](. [Play here](     The Week recommends [Spring forward at these 3 delightful hotels]( Ready to put the drudgery of winter behind you? Step into warmer weather at one of these three hotels. Capella Hanoi in Hanoi, VietnamDescribed as an "eternal celebration of opera in the Roaring '20s," this Art Deco hotel houses swinging lounges and 47 rooms lined with memorabilia paying homage to beloved opera singers, composers and performances. Guests gather in the 24-hour Living Room lounge, where live jazz plays and bartenders pour cocktails mixed with locally distilled gin and rum. Leinster Hotel in Dublin, IrelandOpening on March 7, the Leinster boasts 55 rooms and suites, each with a distinctive design. The rooms are all about pattern and texture play, with velvet couches and toile wallpaper. It is a stone's throw from Merrion Square, where you will find gardens, two museums and Georgian townhouses. Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is opening his first-ever restaurant in Ireland at the Leinster, where guests will dine on an outdoor terrace with views of Dublin. Riad Dar Anika in Marrakech, MoroccoIn the heart of the Medina of Marrakech stands Riad Dar Anika. This boutique hotel is known for impeccable service. Who doesn't want to be greeted with tea and sweets upon arrival? Special touches like stained-glass windows and lamps, ornate murals and four-poster beds dazzle throughout the property’s 12 rooms, while guests can access a pool, hammam, rooftop terrace and restaurant. Plus, a quick walk gets you to palaces, monuments and Marrakech's main square, Jemaa el-Fnaa. [Read more](     WORD OF THE DAY crackgate An epidemic of unexplainable cracks appearing on Apple Vision Pros, a complaint that has recently gained traction on the Vision Pro Subreddit     In the morning Tomorrow, you can read about California's controversial new plan to address its homelessness crisis: banning encampments. And we will have highlights from the top newspaper front pages and your daily dose of good news. Thanks for reading, Summer     Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Harold Maass, Scott Hocker, Justin Klawans, Kelsee Majette, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Anahi Valenzuela and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek. Image credits, from top: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images / Alamy; AFP via Getty Images; Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images; The Cove Eleuthera   © Future US, Inc • [theweek.com]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Privacy Policy]( The Week is published by Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.