Dr Anthony Fauci, the former US chief medical adviser, has described a book by News Corp investigative journalist Sharri Markson backing the 'lab leak' theory of Covid-19's origins as a 'bunch of nonsense' in his newly released diaries.
Fauci subpoenaed and diaries published
Fauci, 85, was subpoenaed by Republican senator Rand Paul to appear at a Senate hearing on the origins of Covid-19, where he refused to answer questions, invoking the fifth amendment and accusing Paul of having an 'unhinged obsession' with him. Ahead of Fauci's appearance, Paul published 1,141 pages of Fauci's pandemic-era journal entries. In the entries, Fauci criticised reporting in The Australian newspaper and a book by Markson that claimed a facility in Wuhan was 'immersed in genetically manipulating bat-coronaviruses in perilous experiments'.
Fauci wrote in his private diary that Markson's reporting 'does not make any sense'. But Markson backed her work, saying she 'led the way internationally exposing the role of Anthony Fauci's agency funding 65 projects at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, funnelling the money through EcoHealth Alliance'.
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Neil the elephant seal
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Guardian Essential report
This month's Guardian Essential poll shows signs that One Nation’s primary vote continues to plateau. But Labor can't breathe a big sigh of relief just yet. Guardian Australia political reporter Josh Butler speaks with Guardian columnist and executive director of Essential, Peter Lewis, about the health of the government at the halfway point of Anthony Albanese’s second term as prime minister.
Before bed read
In Sarah Wilson's new book, one page is mostly blank. It's intended as a reprieve, a neutral space 'for you to stare at for a minute while your feelings catch up'. Elle Hunt writes that in I Eat the Stars, Wilson argues that the world as we know it is in collapse – and that we are too late to avoid the worst. But the book also delivers clarity: yes, things are that bad, but there is still plenty to fight for.
