Experts in the News

Evidence is growing that deforestation causes disease outbreaks by changing animal carriers' behavior. Peter Hotez, fellow in disease and poverty, comments in Smithsonian Magazine: http://bit.ly/1tib92r.

The U.S. petroleum trade deficit shrank to a seasonally adjusted $3.13 billion in April, the Census Bureau said on June 3. That left the shortfall at its smallest since 1999. Kenneth B. Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies, comments in Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1rbV0tk

For about 1.6 billion people across every continent, the most important month of the year begins this week. "It's a period of spiritual development rather than celebration," research scholar A.Kadir Yildirim told the Houston Chronicle. "The real celebration comes at the end of the month with Eid, a feast of three days."

As Venezuela's government reduces the workweek to two days to save money and cuts off imports to avoid bankruptcy, the country has only one major overseas asset left: a refining company in Houston called Citgo, the Houston Chronicle reports.

"They are heavily leveraging Citgo because they want the cash," said Francisco Monaldi, fellow in Latin American energy policy.

Houston Chronicle (subscription required): http://bit.ly/1O7ymNV

The nation’s uninsured rate continues to fall even as premiums rise for health plans on exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new report co-authored by experts Vivian Ho and Elena Marks. The authors comment in Forbes: http://onforb.es/1PjCqLn.