OH, GOODY: Florida confirms first sexually transmitted Zika case in 2017.

Florida health officials have reported the state’s first sexually transmitted Zika case in 2017.

The Florida Department of Health confirmed the case in Pinellas County on Tuesday, and said there was no evidence that transmission through mosquitoes took place anywhere in Florida.

The infected resident’s partner recently traveled to Cuba and was ill with symptoms consistent with Zika, health officials said in a statement. They said both individuals tested positive for Zika.

The news release said health officials have notified mosquito control and that appropriate “mosquito reduction activities” were taking place.

“It is important to remember Zika can also be transmitted sexually and to take precautions if you or your partner traveled to an area where Zika is active. If the department identifies an area where ongoing transmission of Zika is taking place, we will notify the public immediately,” officials said.

The 21st Century isn’t turning out as I’d hoped.

CANNIBALISM: Jalisco New Generation Cartel reportedly makes new members eat flesh of victims.

DOING THE JOB JOURNALISTS, AND THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, WON’T DO: Judicial Watch uncovers more classified materials in Huma Abedin’s emails. “It’s always important to remember that despite whatever the U.S. government decides to do about Hillary Clinton’s (mis)handling of classified materials while she was secretary of state, Judicial Watch has been pursuing its own investigation, filing FOIA requests and, when those go unanswered, filing lawsuits demanding the release of documents.”

TEACH WOMEN NOT TO RAPE! (CONT’D): Unspoken abuse: Mothers who rape their sons.

PAUL KRUGMAN ON ELECTION NIGHT: “If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.”

CNBC, just now: “The Dow Jones industrial average notched another milestone on Wednesday, breaking above 22,000 for the first time.”

Yes, stocks will take a dive someday, because sooner or later they always do. But Krugman’s claim was that Trump’s election was so uniquely awful that they might “never” recover. Like most of Krugman’s claims, that was bullshit.

MEGAN FOX: Guys, Let’s Talk About What Women ‘Should’ Look Like, Mmmmkay?

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Yes, it’s not like women ever express opinions on how men should look, or act, or dress, or talk, or . . .

DEMOCRACY DIES IN VICTIMHOOD. Hot take: Trump using the term “paddy wagon” is offensive to Irish-Americans, James Mulvaney, adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former deputy commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights moans in the Washington Post, (link safe; goes to Hot Air) including this embarrassing moment:

Two years ago, I complained to the New York Times about the appearance of “paddy wagon” in a crossword. Puzzle editor Will Shortz dismissed my objections, writing: “The Irish are not a group that’s discriminated against in the U.S.”

That’s generally true. But each use of the phrase “paddy wagon” evokes a time when they were.

As Allahpundit writes in response, “You know you’re in deep left field when the New York Times is telling you to sack up, snowflake.”

Read the whole thing – while imagining how painful it must be to be inside Mulvaney’s skull when he clicks past a Batman rerun on cable TV and sees Chief O’Hara.

Which brings us to this very much related column by Aaron Clarey on “The Pettiness of the Left:” “Understand this and understand this well about leftists.  They are miserable people who will waste their entire, precious lives being envious of what others have instead of appreciating what they have. And when the day comes that they’re on their death bed, all they will have to point to is a life of whining, complaining, hatred, and jealousy. A worse punishment does not exist.”

No. There is another.

HONESTLY, THIS SEEMS LIKE A GOOD IDEA: Trump Announces Immigration Reform With Merit-Based System for Green Cards.

The proposed legislation, dubbed the RAISE Act, would create a merit-based system for issuing green cards, rather than allowing more low-wage workers into the country. During a speech, Trump praised the proposal as a way to reduce American poverty, save taxpayers “billions of dollars,” and reduce competition for American workers.

The RAISE Act, which stands for “Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act,” was crafted by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) and would block new immigrants from receiving welfare as well.

Both Cotton and Trump pushed the legislation as a way of putting American workers first. According to Trump, the current immigration system has hurt American workers, particularly immigrants and minorities who have to compete with foreign labor.

Put an end to rampant H1-B visa abuse and you’ll do a lot for Silicon Valley worker bees, too.

UPDATE: Even the NYT has to acknowledge the facts: Even among Democrats, 75% think it’s important for immigrants to speak English.

OH: MS-13 doesn’t fear Trump, rival gangs or the police – but they are terrified of La Sombra Negra.

DOESN’T EVERYTHING? Mediterranean diet works better for wealthy people, study finds.

The team investigated other possible explanations for this healthy diet disparity. The findings showed that the wealthier participants ate less meat and consumed more fish and whole grains than those with lower incomes.

The more affluent people also ate a greater variety of fruits and vegetables, which provided more antioxidants and other essential nutrients. The researchers concluded that food quality may be as important for health as how much people eat and how often.

“Money may provide access to a larger variety of foods typical of the Mediterranean diet, such as fruits and vegetables, thus obtaining more adequate intake of essential nutrients,” said the study’s leader, Giovanni de Gaetano.

The broader lesson is that if you want people to be healthier, let them grow richer.

IN “AS-JUMPED” CONDITION: The Actual James Bond Barrel-Roll AMC Hornet Is Heading to Auction.

AT AMAZON, save big in Automotive.

Plus, deals in Vitamins and Dietary Supplements.

AMERICA’S LONGEST WAR: Opium Revenue in Afghanistan Nearly Doubles Among Eradication Efforts, Addiction Crisis.

ALSO, BINOCULARS ARE SO EXPENSIVE THESE DAYS: Residents fuming over sex-crazed hotel guests. “Grannies and other residents of a Lower East Side public-housing building say they’ve been getting an X-rated eyeful since Ian Schrager’s fancy Public hotel opened next door in June — because its guests keep having sex in view of their homes.”

I suspect that this is actually a PR operation from the hotel.

I HOPE THIS MEANS THEY’LL BE BUILDING AFFORDABLE, SAFE, ZERO-CARBON THORIUM NUCLEAR REACTORS*: California Goes All In – 100 Percent Renewable Energy By 2045.

*But I doubt it.

AS MY MOTHER ONCE SAID, BIG BOOBS NEVER REALLY GO OUT OF STYLE: Boobs are back in a big way.

THANKS, OBAMA: Trump says Al-Qaeda received US weapons intended for Syrian rebels.

The CIA program was begun by intelligence officials during the Barack Obama administration in an effort to push Bashar al-Assad to the negotiating table. The Washington Post first reported its termination last month.

But Trump disputed the accounts of US officials quoted by The Washington Post who said he decided to cancel the program ahead of a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July. Rather, Trump said the decision was made by “people, not me.”

“That was not something that I was involved in, other than they did come and they suggested,” Trump told Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Gerard Baker in a July 25 interview whose transcript was released by Politico today. “It turns out it’s … a lot of Al-Qaeda we’re giving these weapons to.”

This seems to have been widely known at the time, except at CIA and the Obama White House.

ELITES? YOU KEEP USING THAT WORD. CNN’s Zakaria Admits Trump Won Because People Were Tired of Cultural Elites.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Moderate Drinking Tied to Lower Diabetes Risk.

DEAR DEMOCRATS: What if this is as good as it gets?

AT AMAZON, summer deals on Bras.

And this isn’t a “tactical bra,” exactly, but it’s something.

FOLLOW THE MONEY? Tillerson spurns $80 million to counter ISIS, Russian propaganda.

It is highly unusual for a Cabinet secretary to turn down money for his department. But more than five months into his tenure, Tillerson has not issued a simple request for the money earmarked for the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, $60 million of which is now parked at the Pentagon. Another $19.8 million sits untouched at the State Department as Tillerson’s aides reject calls from career diplomats and members of Congress to put the money to work against America’s adversaries.

The $60 million will expire on Sept. 30 if not transferred to State by then, current and former State Department officials told POLITICO.

The struggle over the money is a case study in Tillerson’s approach to managing the State Department and the frustration it is engendering among American diplomats. Current and former U.S. officials call it the latest example of a severe slowdown in department decision-making; of Tillerson’s reliance on a coterie of political aides who distrust State’s career staffers; and a casualty of President Donald Trump’s intention to slash State’s budget, which has Tillerson looking for ways to reshape the department and spend less money, not more.

Tillerson’s distrust of his own department is well-founded, although he isn’t helping matters with his own staffing problems. But surely America’s freedom-loving press will rise to the challenge of countering Russian propaganda.

LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Dean Kamen Opens Organ-Building Institute.

MARY KATHARINE HAM: This Vanity Fair Lionization Of The Press Is Why Everyone Hates The Press.

The press thinks it’s just observing, but it’s also a character in this drama. It has a picture of itself, honed by none other than Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, speaking truth to power and bringing down a presidency for the good of the American people. During Democratic administrations, the kind that don’t beg for bringing down, the Redfords and Hoffmans of the press are content to take a few years quietly indulging in some small, indy projects, playing an important but smaller role in our democracy. When a Republican president is elected, however, they’re back to big-budget summer blockbusters all day every day.

What is this “Vanity Fair” feature, after all, if not a standard “Vanity Fair” feature usually reserved for an A-list box-office star? The press is happy to be that invigorated, energetic star again, now that America has elected the kind of power to whom it loves to speak truth. There they are, auditioning for “All the President’s Men” in their tasteful Anne Klein dresses and schlumpy suits. At least we are spared the wide ties and plaid pants.

I used to say during Obama’s presidency, one good reason to elect a Republican is because the press might care about abuse of federal power again and actually report on it. Trump gives them plenty to work with and Americans to be wary of. But I’d prefer they go about it with the recognition that not everything’s an 11 or necessarily a conspiracy, and with self-reflection instead of self-congratulation.

But the press must congratulate itself, after having so thoroughly broken faith with the public who will no longer do that for them.

WHY THE SPACEX FALCON HEAVY ROCKET JUST MIGHT WORK.