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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Association between Functional Inhibitors of Acid Sphingomyelinase and Reduced Risk of Intubation or Death in Individuals Hospitalized for Severe COVID-19: results from an observational multicenter study</strong> -
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Several medications commonly used for a number of medical conditions share a property of functional inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), or FIASMA. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggest that the (ASM)/ceramide system may be central to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We examined the potential usefulness of FIASMA use among patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19 in an observational multicenter retrospective study conducted at Greater Paris University hospitals. Of 2,846 adult patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19, 277 (9.7%) were taking a FIASMA medication at the time of their hospital admission. The primary endpoint was a composite of intubation and/or death. We compared this endpoint between patients taking vs. not taking a FIASMA medication in time-to-event analyses adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and medical comorbidities. The primary analysis was a Cox regression model with inverse probability weighting (IPW). Over a mean follow-up of 9.2 days (SD=12.5), the primary endpoint occurred in 104 patients (37.5%) who were taking a FIASMA medication, and 1,060 patients (41.4%) who were not. Taking a FIASMA medication was associated with reduced likelihood of intubation or death in both crude (HR=0.71; 95%CI=0.58-0.87; p&lt;0.001) and the primary IPW (HR=0.58; 95%CI=0.46-0.72; p&lt;0.001) analyses. This association remained significant in multiple sensitivity analyses and was not specific to one FIASMA class or medication. These results show the potential importance of the ASM/ceramide system as a treatment target in COVID-19. Double-blind controlled randomized clinical trials of these medications for COVID-19 are needed.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.22.21252209v1" target="_blank">Association between Functional Inhibitors of Acid Sphingomyelinase and Reduced Risk of Intubation or Death in Individuals Hospitalized for Severe COVID-19: results from an observational multicenter study</a>
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<li><strong>Laboratory-Developed Test for SARS-CoV-2 Using Saliva Samples at the University of California, Riverside</strong> -
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Here we describe a relatively quick, simple, economical and accurate laboratory developed test (LDT) for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in heated and diluted saliva samples without RNA extraction. Our protocol is a variation of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign SHIELD LDT. Differences include chilling of the samples during dilution and using a reduced volume for the qRT-PCR reactions. The level of detection for our LDT is 3125 copies/ml, which compares favorably with other saliva-based tests. Initial validation studies with a limited number of patient samples have demonstrated excellent agreement between results using our LDT and those obtained from external laboratories. The cost of consumables for our test is under $8 and a throughput of 1000 tests/day can be achieved with 3-4 personnel.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.21.21251691v1" target="_blank">Laboratory-Developed Test for SARS-CoV-2 Using Saliva Samples at the University of California, Riverside</a>
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<li><strong>Hydroxychloroquine for SARS-CoV-2 positive patients quarantined at home: The first interim analysis of a remotely conducted randomized clinical trial</strong> -
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ABSTRACT Background Older patients are at risk of increased morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 disease due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). There are few effective treatments for outpatients with COVID-19. Objective To evaluate the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine to reduce time in quarantine for symptomatic ≥40 years-old COVID-19 patients. Design A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Setting Outpatients with polymerase chain reaction confirmed COVID-19 at a University of Pennsylvania affiliated testing center between April 15, 2020 and, July 14, 2020. Participants Out of 5511 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, 1072 met initial eligibility criteria for telephonebased recruitment, but only 34 subjects were able to be randomized. Interventions Hydroxychloroquine 400 mg per twice daily (n=17) or matching placebo (n=17), taken orally for up to 14 days. Measurements The primary outcome was the time to release from quarantine. Secondary outcomes included the participant-reported secondary infection of co-inhabitants, hospitalization, treatment-related adverse events, time to symptom improvement, and incidence of cardiac arrhythmia. Results Amaravadi et al ‐ Trial of hydroxychloroquine for outpatient treatment of COVID‐19 3 The median time to release from quarantine for HCQ-treated vs. placebo-treated participants was 8 days (range 4-19 days) vs. 11 days (4-18 days); z-score +0.58, p=n.s. This did not meet the pre-specified criteria for early termination, however, this study was terminated early due to lack of feasibility. There was no mortality in either study arm. Limitation Since this study was terminated early due to a lack of feasibility, no conclusion can be made about the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 patients 40 years of age or older quarantined at home. Conclusion The design of this remotely conducted study could guide testing of other more promising agents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.22.21252228v1" target="_blank">Hydroxychloroquine for SARS-CoV-2 positive patients quarantined at home: The first interim analysis of a remotely conducted randomized clinical trial</a>
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<li><strong>Early Antibody Responses Associated with Survival in COVID19 Patients</strong> -
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Neutralizing antibodies to the SARS CoV-2 spike proteins have been issued Emergency Use Authorizations and are a likely mechanism of vaccines to prevent COVID-19. However, benefit of treatment with monoclonal antibodies has only been observed in clinical trials in outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 but not in patients who are hospitalized and/or have advanced disease. To address this observation, we evaluated the timing of anti SARS-CoV-2 antibody production in hospitalized patients with the use of a highly sensitive multiplexed bead-based immunoassay allowing for early detection of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. We found that significantly lower levels of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the first week after symptom onset were associated with patients who expired as compared to patients who were discharged. We also developed a model, based on antibody level trajectory, to predict COVID 19 outcome that is compatible with greater antibody benefit earlier in COVID 19 disease.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.21.21252168v1" target="_blank">Early Antibody Responses Associated with Survival in COVID19 Patients</a>
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<li><strong>Epidemiological and Genomic analysis of a Sydney Hospital COVID-19 Outbreak</strong> -
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Early COVID-19 experience in Australia involved clusters in northern Sydney, including hospital and aged-care facility (ACF) outbreaks. We explore transmission dynamics, drivers and outcomes of a metropolitan hospital COVID-19 outbreak that occurred in the context of established local community transmission. A retrospective cohort analysis is presented, with integration of viral genome sequencing, clinical and epidemiological data. We demonstrate using genomic epidemiology that the hospital outbreak (n=23) was linked to a concurrent outbreak at a local aged care facility, but was phylogenetically distinct from other community clusters. Thirty day survival was 50% for hospitalised patients (an elderly cohort with significant comorbidities) and 100% for staff. Staff who acquired infection were unable to attend work for a median of 26.5 days (range 14-191); an additional 140 staff were furloughed for quarantine. Transmission from index cases showed a wide dispersion (mean 3.5 persons infected for every patient case and 0.6 persons infected for every staff case). One patient, who received regular nebulised medication prior to their diagnosis being known, acted as an apparent superspreader. No secondary transmissions occurred from isolated cases or contacts who were quarantined prior to becoming infectious. This analysis elaborates the wide-ranging impacts on patients and staff of nosocomial COVID-19 transmission and highlights the utility of genomic analysis as an adjunct to traditional epidemiological investigations. Delayed case recognition resulted in nosocomial transmission but once recognised, prompt action by the outbreak management team and isolation with contact and droplet (without airborne) precautions were sufficient to prevent transmission within this cohort. Our findings support current PPE recommendations in Australia but demonstrate the risk of administering nebulised medications when COVID-19 is circulating locally.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.17.21251943v1" target="_blank">Epidemiological and Genomic analysis of a Sydney Hospital COVID-19 Outbreak</a>
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<li><strong>50 policies, 1 pandemic, 500,000 deaths: Associations between state-level COVID-19 testing recommendations, tests per capita, undercounted deaths, vaccination policies, and doses per capita in the United States</strong> -
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Background: State health departments have been responsible for prioritizing and allocating SARS-CoV-2 tests and vaccines. Testing and vaccination recommendations in the United States varied by state and over time, as did vaccine rollouts, COVID-19 cases, and estimates of excess mortality. Methods: We compiled data about COVID-19 testing, cases, and deaths, and excess pneumonia + influenza + COVID-19 deaths to assess relationships between testing recommendations, per capita tests performed, epidemic intensity, and excess mortality during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. We compiled further data about state-level SARS-CoV-2 vaccination policies and doses administered during the early months of the vaccine rollout. Results: As of July 2020, 16 states recommended testing asymptomatic members of the general public. The rate of COVID-19 tests reported in each state correlated with more inclusive testing recommendations and with higher epidemic intensity. Higher per capita testing was associated with more complete reporting of COVID-19 deaths, which is a fundamental requirement for analyzing the pandemic. Testing per capita during the first three months was associated with vaccination per capita in the first three months of rollout. Per capita vaccine doses in each state were not associated with adherence to national guidelines. Conclusions: Reported deaths due to COVID-19 likely represent an undercount of the true burden of the pandemic. States that struggled with testing rollout have also frequently struggled with vaccine rollout. Coordinated, consistent guidelines for COVID-19 testing and vaccine administration should be a high priority for state and national health systems.
</p>
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.04.20188326v3" target="_blank">50 policies, 1 pandemic, 500,000 deaths: Associations between state-level COVID-19 testing recommendations, tests per capita, undercounted deaths, vaccination policies, and doses per capita in the United States</a>
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<li><strong>Microbial signatures in the lower airways of mechanically ventilated COVID19 patients associated with poor clinical outcome</strong> -
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Mortality among patients with COVID-19 and respiratory failure is high and there are no known lower airway biomarkers that predict clinical outcome. We investigated whether bacterial respiratory infections and viral load were associated with poor clinical outcome and host immune tone. We obtained bacterial and fungal culture data from 589 critically ill subjects with COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation. On a subset of the subjects that underwent bronchoscopy, we also quantified SARS-CoV-2 viral load, analyzed the microbiome of the lower airways by metagenome and metatranscriptome analyses and profiled the host immune response. We found that isolation of a hospital-acquired respiratory pathogen was not associated with fatal outcome. However, poor clinical outcome was associated with enrichment of the lower airway microbiota with an oral commensal (Mycoplasma salivarium), while high SARS-CoV-2 viral burden, poor anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response, together with a unique host transcriptome profile of the lower airways were most predictive of mortality. Collectively, these data support the hypothesis that 1) the extent of viral infectivity drives mortality in severe COVID-19, and therefore 2) clinical management strategies targeting viral replication and host responses to SARS-CoV-2 should be prioritized.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.23.21252221v2" target="_blank">Microbial signatures in the lower airways of mechanically ventilated COVID19 patients associated with poor clinical outcome</a>
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<li><strong>Beliefs associated with Intentions of Non-Physician Healthcare Workers to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine in Ontario, Canada</strong> -
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Achieving herd immunity of SARS-CoV-2 through vaccines will require a concerted effort to understand and address barriers to vaccine uptake. We conducted a web-based survey of non-physician HCWs, informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework, measuring intention to vaccinate, beliefs and sources of influence relating to the COVID-19 vaccines, and sociodemographic characteristics. Vaccination non-intent was associated with beliefs that vaccination was not required because of good health, lower confidence that the COVID-19 vaccine would protect their family and patients, and that getting vaccinated was a professional responsibility. Vaccination non-intent was strongly associated with mistrust about how fast the vaccines were developed and vaccine safety concerns. Communication directed at non-physician HCWs should be tailored by ethnic subgroups and settings to increase salience. Messaging should leverage emotions (e.g., pride, hope, fear) to capture interest, while addressing safety concerns and confirming the low risk of side effects in contrast to the substantial morbidity and mortality of COVID-19. Emergent data about reduced transmission post-vaccination will be helpful.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.19.21251936v2" target="_blank">Beliefs associated with Intentions of Non-Physician Healthcare Workers to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine in Ontario, Canada</a>
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<li><strong>A Novel Olfactory Self-Test Effectively Screens for COVID-19</strong> -
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Key to curtailing the COVID-19 pandemic are wide-scale testing strategies 1,2 . An ideal test is one that would not rely on transporting, distributing, and collecting physical specimens. Given the olfactory impairment associated with COVID-19 3-7 , we developed a novel measure of olfactory perception that relies on smelling household odorants and rating them online. We tested the performance of this real-time tool in 12,020 participants from 134 countries who provided 171,500 perceptual ratings of 60 different household odorants. We observed that olfactory ratings were indicative of COVID-19 status in a country, significantly correlating with national infection rates over time. More importantly, we observed remarkable indicative power at the individual level (90% sensitivity and 80% specificity). Critically, olfactory testing remained highly effective in participants with COVID-19 but without symptoms, and in participants with symptoms but without COVID-19. In this, the current odorant-based olfactory test stands apart from symptom-checkers (including olfactory symptom-checkers) 3 , and even from antigen tests 8 , to potentially provide a first line of screening that can help halt disease progression at the population level.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.18.21251422v2" target="_blank">A Novel Olfactory Self-Test Effectively Screens for COVID-19</a>
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<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in a University Community: A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Student Return to Campus on Infection Risk Among Community Members</strong> -
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Background Returning university students represent large-scale, transient demographic shifts and a potential source of transmission to adjacent communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods In this prospective longitudinal cohort study, we tested for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in a non-random cohort of residents living in Centre County prior to the Fall 2020 term at the Pennsylvania State University and following the conclusion of the Fall 2020 term. We also report the seroprevalence in a non-random cohort of students collected at the end of the Fall 2020 term. Findings Of 345 community participants, 19 (5.5%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies at their first visit between 7 August and 2 October. Of 625 student participants who returned to campus for fall instruction, 195 (31.2%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies between 26 October and 23 November. Twenty-eight (8.1%) community participants returned a positive IgG antibody result by 9 December. Only contact with known SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals and attendance at small gatherings (20-50 individuals) were significant predictors of detecting IgG antibodies among returning students (aOR, 95% CI: 3.24, 2.14-4.91; 1.62, 1.08-2.44; respectively). Interpretation Despite high seroprevalence observed within the student population, seroprevalence in a longitudinal cohort of community residents was low and stable from before student arrival for the Fall 2020 term to after student departure. The study implies that heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 transmission can occur in geographically coincident populations. Funding The Pennsylvania State University Office of the Provost, Social Science Research Institute, Huck Institute for the Life Sciences, and Clinical and Translational Science Institute; National Institutes of Health.
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.17.21251942v3" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in a University Community: A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Student Return to Campus on Infection Risk Among Community Members</a>
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<li><strong>Population-scale patient safety data reveal inequalities in adverse events before and during COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
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Adverse patient safety events were associated with 110 thousand deaths in the U.S. alone in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has further challenged the ability of healthcare systems to ensure medication safety, and its effects on patient safety remain unknown. Here, we investigate negative outcomes associated with medication use before and during the pandemic. Using a dataset of 10,443,476 reports involving 3,624 drugs and 19,193 adverse events, we develop an algorithmic approach to analyze the pandemic9s impact on incidence of drug safety events by evaluating disproportional reporting relative to the pre-pandemic time, quantifying unexpected trends in clinical outcomes, and adjusting for drug interference. Among 64 adverse events identified by our analyses, we find 54 have increased incidence rates during the pandemic, even though reporting of adverse events has decreased by 4.4% overall. We find clinically relevant differences in drug safety outcomes between demographic groups. Comparing to male patients, women report 47.0% more distinct adverse events whose occurrence significantly increased during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic levels. Out of 53 adverse events with the pre-pandemic gender gap, 33 have increased gap during the pandemic more than would have been expected had the pandemic not occurred. While musculoskeletal and metabolic side effects are disproportionately enriched in women during the pandemic, immune-related adverse events are enriched only in men. We also find the number of adverse events with a higher reporting ratio during the pandemic in adults is higher (16.8%) than in older patients (adjusted for population size). Our findings have implications for safe medication use and public health policy and highlight the role of variation in adverse events for improving patient safety during a public health emergency.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.17.21249988v2" target="_blank">Population-scale patient safety data reveal inequalities in adverse events before and during COVID-19 pandemic</a>
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<li><strong>Modeling the early phase of the Belgian COVID-19 epidemic using a stochastic compartmental model and studying its implied future trajectories</strong> -
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Following the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world, a large fraction of the global population is or has been under strict measures of physical distancing and quarantine, with many countries being in partial or full lockdown. These measures are imposed in order to reduce the spread of the disease and to lift the pressure on healthcare systems. Estimating the impact of such interventions as well as monitoring the gradual relaxing of these stringent measures is quintessential to understand how resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic can be controlled for in the future. In this paper we use a stochastic age-structured discrete time compartmental model to describe the transmission of COVID-19 in Belgium. Our model explicitly accounts for age-structure by integrating data on social contacts to (i) assess the impact of the lockdown as implemented on March 13, 2020 on the number of new hospitalizations in Belgium; (ii) conduct a scenario analysis estimating the impact of possible exit strategies on potential future COVID-19 waves. More specifically, the aforementioned model is fitted to hospital admission data, data on the daily number of COVID-19 deaths and serial serological survey data informing the (sero)prevalence of the disease in the population while relying on a Bayesian MCMC approach. Our age-structured stochastic model describes the observed outbreak data well, both in terms of hospitalizations as well as COVID-19 related deaths in the Belgian population. Despite an extensive exploration of various projections for the future course of the epidemic, based on the impact of adherence to measures of physical distancing and a potential increase in contacts as a result of the relaxation of the stringent lockdown measures, a lot of uncertainty remains about the evolution of the epidemic in the next months.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.29.20142851v2" target="_blank">Modeling the early phase of the Belgian COVID-19 epidemic using a stochastic compartmental model and studying its implied future trajectories</a>
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<li><strong>CoSIR: Managing an Epidemic via Optimal Adaptive Control of Transmission Policy</strong> -
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Shaping an epidemic with an adaptive contact restriction policy that balances the disease and socioeconomic impact has been the holy grail during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the existing work on epidemiological models focuses on scenario-based forecasting via simulation but techniques for explicit control of epidemics via an analytical framework are largely missing. In this paper, we consider the problem of determining the optimal control policy for transmission rate assuming SIR dynamics, which is the most widely used epidemiological paradigm. We first demonstrate that the SIR model with infectious patients and susceptible contacts (i.e., product of transmission rate and susceptible population) interpreted as predators and prey respectively reduces to a Lotka-Volterra (LV) predator-prey model. The modified SIR system (LVSIR) has a stable equilibrium point, an “energy” conservation property, and exhibits bounded cyclic behaviour similar to an LV system. This mapping permits a theoretical analysis of the control problem supporting some of the recent simulation-based studies that point to the benefits of periodic interventions. We use a control-Lyapunov approach to design adaptive control policies (CoSIR) to nudge the SIR model to the desired equilibrium that permits ready extensions to richer compartmental models. We also describe a practical implementation of this transmission control method by approximating the ideal control with a finite, but a time-varying set of restriction levels. We provide experimental results comparing with periodic lockdowns on few different geographical regions (India, Mexico, Netherlands) to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.11.10.20211995v2" target="_blank">CoSIR: Managing an Epidemic via Optimal Adaptive Control of Transmission Policy</a>
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<li><strong>Equity in new active travel infrastructure: a spatial analysis of London’s new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods</strong> -
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In this article we examine equity in new active travel infrastructure in London, UK. We focus on Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes (LTNs) introduced during Covid-19. These mainly involve ‘modal filters’ that restrict through motor traffic from residential streets. Such approaches to traffic management are traditional in the Netherlands, but relatively new in London and other global cities such as Barcelona. LTNs are often controversial, with one criticism being that they are implemented in affluent areas and hence benefit richer residents. London represents an excellent opportunity to investigate the extent to which these rapidly introduced schemes have so far been equitably distributed. We focused on LTNs introduced between March and September 2020 and still present at the end of October 2020. Having generated datasets representing these new LTN locations and their boundary roads, we matched these to Output Areas (OAs, administrative areas containing around 300 residents). We then examined the extent to which LTN implementation was associated with age, ethnicity, disability, employment and car ownership (Census 2011) and small-area deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019). We estimated that 3.7% of all Londoners live inside a new LTN, and 8.8% live within 500m walking distance of a new modal filter. Across London as a whole, people in the most deprived quarter of OAs were 2.7 times more likely to live in or near a new LTN, compared to Londoners in the least deprived quarter. While overall Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people were slightly more likely than White Londoners to live in a new LTN, this varied by ethnic group. Specifically, Black Londoners were somewhat more likely, and Asian Londoners somewhat less likely than White people to live in or near a new LTN. Car-free households were more likely to live in or near a new LTN. Within London’s districts – which lead the implementation of LTNs - there was wide variation, with people in more deprived areas and/or ethnic minorities more likely to live in an LTN in some districts, less likely in others. In the median (‘typical’) district, people in more deprived areas were more likely to live in an LTN than people in less deprived areas, suggesting that, on average, individual districts have prioritised their more deprived areas. However, in the median district, BAME residents were slightly less likely to live in an LTN than White residents. Finally, at the micro level, residents living in LTNs were demographically similar to neighbours living in OAs that touched an LTN boundary road. We conclude that LTN implementation has been broadly equitable at the city level and at the micro level, but not always at the district level. Such metrics should be used in policy and research to monitor and improve the equity of active travel interventions.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/q87fu/" target="_blank">Equity in new active travel infrastructure: a spatial analysis of London’s new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods</a>
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<li><strong>WICO Graph: A Labeled Dataset of Twitter Subgraphs based on Conspiracy Theory and 5G-Corona Misinformation Tweets</strong> -
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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge of misinformation has flooded social media and other internet channels, and some of it has the potential to cause real-world harm. To counteract this misinformation, reliably identifying it is a principal problem to be solved. However, the identification of misinformation poses a formidable challenge for language processing systems since the texts containing misinformation are short, work with insinuation rather than explicitly stating a false claim, or resemble other postings that deal with the same topic ironically. Accordingly, for the development of better detection systems, it is not only essential to use hand-labeled ground truth data and extend the analysis with methods beyond Natural Language Processing to consider the characteristics of the participant’s relationships and the diffusion of misinformation. This paper presents a novel dataset that deals with a specific piece of misinformation: the idea that the 5G wireless network is causally connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have extracted the subgraphs of 3,000 manually classified Tweets from Twitter’s follower network and distinguished them into three categories. First, subgraphs of Tweets that propagate the specific 5G misinformation, those that spread other conspiracy theories, and Tweets that do neither. We created the WICO (Wireless Networks and Coronavirus Conspiracy) dataset to support experts in machine learning experts, graph processing, and related fields in studying the spread of misinformation. Furthermore, we provide a series of baseline experiments using both Graph Neural Networks and other established classifiers that use simple graph metrics as features.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/r2t56/" target="_blank">WICO Graph: A Labeled Dataset of Twitter Subgraphs based on Conspiracy Theory and 5G-Corona Misinformation Tweets</a>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>COVID-19 Antithrombotic Rivaroxaban Evaluation</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Rivaroxaban 10 mg<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz;   Bayer;   Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein;   Hospital do Coracao;   Hospital Sirio-Libanes;   Hospital Moinhos de Vento;   Brazilian Research In Intensive Care Network;   Brazilian Clinical Research Institute<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Safety and Efficacy Study of Human Monoclonal Antibodies, BRII-196 and BRII-198 for the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: BRII-196 and BRII-198;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Brii Biosciences, Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Protecting Native Families From COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing;   Behavioral: COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring System;   Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing and COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring System;   Other: Supportive Services<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Efficacy of Thymic Peptides in the Treatment of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in Honduras</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Thymic peptides<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universidad Católica de Honduras;   Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Improvement of the Nutritional Status Regarding Nicotinamide (Vitamin B3) and the Disease Course of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Dietary Supplement: Nicotinamide;   Dietary Supplement: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Assess the Safety and Immunogenicity of the Coronavac Vaccine Against COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Adsorbed COVID-19 (inactivated) Vaccine<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   D’Or Institute for Research and Education;   Butantan Institute<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate UB-612 COVID-19 Vaccine in Adolescent, Younger and Elderly Adult Volunteers</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: UB-612;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   United Biomedical Inc., Asia;   COVAXX<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>COVID-19 Treatment Cascade Optimization Study</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Testing<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Navigation Services;   Behavioral: Critical Dialogue;   Behavioral: Brief Counseling;   Behavioral: Referral and Digital Brochure<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;   North Jersey Community Research Initiative;   National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD);   University of Michigan<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Adoptive SARS-CoV-2 Specific T Cell Transfer in Patients at Risk for Severe COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Moderate COVID-19-infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: IMP 1,000 plus SoC;   Drug: IMP 5,000 plus SoC;   Drug: IMP RP2D plus SoC;   Drug: SoC<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universitätsklinikum Köln;   ZKS Köln;   MMH Institute for Transfusion Medicine;   Miltenyi Biomedicine GmbH<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Safety and Immunogenicity Study of Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cells) in Healthy Population Aged 18 Years and Above(COVID-19)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: medium dosage inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine;   Biological: high dosage inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., Ltd;   Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., LTD;   Jiangsu Province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<br/><b>Active, not recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate Safety and Immunogenicity of Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cells) in Healthy Population Aged 18 Years and Above(COVID-19)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: medium dosage inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine;   Biological: high dosage inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., Ltd;   Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., LTD;   Jiangsu Province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<br/><b>Active, not recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study to Evaluate a Single Dose of STI-2020 (COVI-AMG™) in Hospitalized Adults With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: COVI-AMG;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety &amp; Efficacy of Low Dose Aspirin / Ivermectin Combination Therapy for Treatment of Covid-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: 3-dayIVM 200 mcg/kg/day/14-day 75mgASA/day + standard of care (intervention 1)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Makerere University;   Ministry of Health, Uganda;   Mbarara University of Science and Technology;   Joint Clinical Research Center<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Safety and Efficacy of FB2001 in Healthy Subjects and Patients With COVID-19 Infection</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: FB2001;   Drug: FB2001 Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Frontier Biotechnologies Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Effect of Prone Position onV/Q Matching in Non-intubated Patients With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: prone position<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Southeast University, China<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication using calcineurin inhibitors: are concentrations required clinically achievable?</strong> - No abstract</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Severe SARS-CoV-2 infection inhibits fibrinolysis leading to changes in viscoelastic properties of blood clot: A descriptive study of fibrinolysis</strong> - BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence indicates towards an association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and procoagulatory state in blood. Thromboelastographic investigations are useful point-of-care devices to assess coagulation and fibrinolysis.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Plant-Derived Food Grade Substances (PDFGS) Active Against Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review of Non-clinical Studies</strong> - Human diet comprises several classes of phytochemicals some of which are potentially active against human pathogenic viruses. This study examined available evidence that identifies existing food plants or constituents of edible foods that have been reported to inhibit viral pathogenesis of the human respiratory tract. SCOPUS and PUBMED databases were searched with keywords designed to retrieve articles that investigated the effect of plant-derived food grade substances (PDFGS) on the activities…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Adverse Outcomes Associated With Corticosteroid Use in Critical COVID-19: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study</strong> - Corticosteroid is commonly used to reduce damage from inflammatory reactions in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aim to determine the outcomes of corticosteroid use in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Ninety six critically ill patients, hospitalized in 14 hospitals outside Wuhan from January 16 to March 30, 2020 were enrolled in this study. Among 96 critical patients, 68 were treated with corticosteroid (CS group), while 28 were not treated with corticosteroids (non-CS group)….</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Family’s Support of Perseverance in Creative Efforts Influences the Originality of Children’s Drawing During the Period of COVID-19 Pandemic?</strong> - This study points out that families’ support of perseverance in creative efforts will increase children’s originality of creative drawing through children’s persistence in information searching. Data analysis based on 134 Chinese young children’s creative drawings and survey supports the above hypothesis. Moreover, children’s exposure to COVID-19 pandemic positively moderates the relationship between supporting perseverance and children’s search persistence, such that high exposure to COVID-19…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on roadside traffic-related air pollution in Shanghai, China</strong> - The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly inhibited global economic growth and impacted the environment. Some evidence suggests that lockdown strategies have significantly reduced traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) in regions across the world. However, the impact of COVID-19 on TRAP on roadside is still not clearly understood. In this study, we assessed the influence of the COVID-19 lockdown on the levels of traffic-related air pollutants in Shanghai. The pollution data from two types of…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Coronavirus Disease-19-Associated Ischemic Stroke: A Novel Avenue in Neuroscience</strong> - Ischemic stroke is one of the catastrophic neurological events that are being increasingly recognized among Coronavirus Disease (COVID)-19 patients. The recent studies have revealed about a possible connection among COVID-19, ischemic stroke, and excessive Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) formation. This paper establishes an overview of coronaviruses and NETs, NETs in pathogenesis of COVID-19 induced-ischemic stroke, and future directions using related recent literatures. NETs are normally…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Antiviral Bafilomycins from a Feces-Inhabiting <em>Streptomyces</em> sp</strong> - A new bafilomycin derivative (1) and another seven known bafilomycins (2-8) were isolated from feces-derived Streptomyces sp. HTL16. The structure of 1 was elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis. Biological testing demonstrated that these bafilomycins exhibited potent antiviral activities against the influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 viruses, with IC(50) values in the nanomolar range, by inhibiting the activity of endosomal ATP-driven proton pumps.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ca(2+)-dependent mechanism of membrane insertion and destabilization by the SARS-CoV-2 fusion peptide</strong> - Cell penetration after recognition of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by the ACE2 receptor, and the fusion of its viral envelope membrane with cellular membranes, are the early steps of infectivity. A region of the Spike protein (S) of the virus, identified as the “fusion peptide” (FP), is liberated at its N-terminal site by a specific cleavage occurring in concert with the interaction of the receptor binding domain of the Spike. Studies have shown that penetration is enhanced by the required binding of…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Interleukin-6 Receptor Inhibition in Covid-19 - Cooling the Inflammatory Soup</strong> - No abstract</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A pilot double-blind safety and feasibility randomised controlled trial of high-dose intravenous zinc in hospitalised COVID-19 patients</strong> - CONCLUSION: Hospitalised COVID-19 patients demonstrated zinc deficiency. This can be corrected with HDIVZn. Such treatment appears safe, feasible and only associated with minimal peripheral infusion site irritation. This pilot study justifies further investigation of this treatment in COVID-19 patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Does remote ischaemic conditioning reduce inflammation? A focus on innate immunity and cytokine response</strong> - The benefits of remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) have been difficult to translate to humans, when considering traditional outcome measures, such as mortality and heart failure. This paper reviews the recent literature of the anti-inflammatory effects of RIC, with a particular focus on the innate immune response and cytokine inhibition. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, the inflammatory hypothesis of cardiac protection is an attractive target on which to re-purpose such novel therapies. A…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Role of IL-6 inhibitor in treatment of COVID-19-related cytokine release syndrome</strong> - Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) may be the key factor in the pathology of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As a major driver in triggering CRS in patients with COVID-19, interleukin-6 (IL-6) appears to be a promising target for therapeutics. The results of inhibiting both trans- and classical- signaling with marketed IL-6 inhibitors (tocilizumab, siltuximab and sarilumab) in severe COVID-19 patients are effective based on several small studies and case reports thus far. In this…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The ORF8 Protein of SARS-CoV-2 Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Mediated Immune Evasion by Antagonizing Production of Interferon Beta</strong> - The open reading frame 8 (orf8) is an accessory protein of SARS-CoV-2. It has 121 amino acids with two genotypes, orf8L and orf8S. In this study, we overexpressed the orf8L and orf8S of SARS-CoV-2 as well as the orf8b of SARS-CoV to investigate their roles in the regulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the inhibition of interferon beta (IFNß) production. We found that the two genotypes of SARS-CoV-2 orf8 are capable of inducing ER stress without significant difference by triggering…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A molecular modelling approach for identifying antiviral selenium-containing heterocyclic compounds that inhibit the main protease of SARS-CoV-2: an in silico investigation</strong> - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, and the situation worsens daily, associated with acute increases in case fatality rates. The main protease (Mpro) enzyme produced by SARS-CoV-2 was recently demonstrated to be responsible for not only viral reproduction but also impeding host immune responses. The element selenium (Se) plays a…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-COV-2 BINDING PROTEINS</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU318004130">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Compositions and methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU317343760">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>稳定的冠状病毒重组蛋白二聚体及其表达载体</strong> - 本发明公开了稳定的冠状病毒重组蛋白二聚体及其表达载体，冠状病毒重组蛋白，由冠状病毒S蛋白S‑RBD、冠状病毒N蛋白的CTD区N‑CTD和将二者偶联的连接子构成。本发明一些实例的冠状病毒重组蛋白，可以形成并维持稳定的二聚体结构，避免单体S‑RBD降解，有利于提高冠状病毒重组蛋白的免疫原性，有望用于制备检测试剂原料、疫苗、抗体、预防或治疗性药物。本发明一些实例的冠状病毒重组蛋白二聚体，具有很好的免疫原性。在疫苗开发领域具有广阔的应用前景。本发明一些实例的表达载体，易于表达冠状病毒重组蛋白二聚体且表达量高。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN318107321">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SELF-CLEANING AND GERM-KILLING REVOLVING PUBLIC TOILET FOR COVID 19</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU318003558">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Deep Learning Based System for the Detection of COVID-19 Infections</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU318003547">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原蛋白的电化学发光免疫检测试剂盒</strong> - 本发明提供一种新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原蛋白的电化学发光免疫检测试剂盒，所述试剂盒至少包含：包被有链霉亲和素的孔板、生物素标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白抗体1、SULFO标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白抗体2、洗涤液、读数液、新冠病毒S蛋白标准品和新冠病毒RBD蛋白标准品。本发明以生物素标记的抗新冠棘突蛋白的抗体1与链霉亲和素板进行连接作为固定相，以新冠S蛋白、RBD蛋白作为参照品，可被SULFO标记的抗体2识别，从而检测新冠抗原的表达情况。该试剂盒能准确灵敏地定量检测不同基质中的新冠S蛋白、RBD蛋白，样品的前处理过程简单，耗时少，可同时检测大量样品。本发明对于大批量样品的新冠病毒疫苗表达抗原的检测具有重要意义。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN317672956">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>陶瓷复合涂料、杀毒陶瓷复合涂料及其制备方法和涂层</strong> - 本发明是关于一种陶瓷复合涂料、杀毒陶瓷复合涂料及其制备方法和涂层。该涂料包括30<sub>99.9%无机树脂、0.1</sub>70%氮化硅、0<sub>10%功能助剂、0</sub>18%无机颜料和0<sub>2%其他功能助剂；无机树脂由有机烷氧基硅烷、有机溶剂和硅溶胶混合、反应，抽醇，添加去离子水获得；有机烷氧基硅烷、有机溶剂和硅溶胶的质量比为1</sub>1.6：0.5~0.8：1。所要解决的技术问题是如何制备一种贮存稳定性好、可常温固化且膜层的物理化学性能优异的涂料；该涂料VOC含量低，具有良好的安全生产性，且涂料成膜过程中的VOC排放很低，利于环保；该膜层的硬度高、柔韧性好，不易开裂，且可以接触性杀灭病毒和细菌；该涂料既可常温固化，也可加热固化，无需现场两个剂型调配，施工方便，成本节约，从而更加适于实用。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN317672744">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 antibodies</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU315792577">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>利用BLI技术检测新型冠状病毒中和性抗体的方法</strong> - 本发明提供一种利用BLI技术检测新型冠状病毒中和性抗体的方法，先将同一浓度的人ACE2蛋白捕获到生物传感器表面上，再将新型冠状病毒棘突蛋白RBD分别与不同浓度的待测中和性抗体预混，再将各混合液分别与捕获到生物传感器表面上的人ACE2蛋白接触，根据基于BLI技术的分子互作仪器检测到的干涉光谱的相对位移强度变化计算抑制率，绘制抑制曲线，计算IC50。本发明操作简单，快速高效，检测全过程无需包被和反复加样、洗板，15min内即可得到实验结果。检测反应在黑色孔板中进行，可实现大批量样品的新冠中和抗体的检测，与传统定性检测不同，通过计算IC50值，可以快速比较不同新冠中和性抗体的抑制能力。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN317346970">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 antibodies</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU315792579">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Republicans Finally Face Merrick Garland—and Act as if They Were the Ones Unfairly Treated</strong> - Ted Cruz’s arrogance is hard to match, but he was not the only Republican whose questioning was, to put it generously, lacking in perspective. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-republicans-finally-face-merrick-garland-and-act-as-if-they-were-the-ones-unfairly-treated">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Awful Uncertainty of the Coronavirus Death Toll</strong> - The new number—half a million Americans dead—is only an approximation of the pandemic’s real effects. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-awful-uncertainty-of-the-coronavirus-death-toll">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Rural Alaskan Towns Leading the Country in Vaccine Distribution</strong> - In Native communities where tribal health organizations are in charge of distributing the vaccine, herd immunity is on the horizon. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-rural-alaskan-towns-leading-the-country-in-vaccine-distribution">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Inside Xinjiang’s Prison State</strong> - Survivors detail the scope of China’s campaign of persecution against ethnic and religious minorities. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/china-xinjiang-prison-state-uighur-detention-camps-prisoner-testimony">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Good, the Bad, and the Embarrassing in America’s COVID-19 Response</strong> - Were Americans too unruly, or did elected officials expect too little of them? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/the-good-the-bad-and-the-embarrassing-in-americas-covid-19-response">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Black Americans have disproportionately suffered from pollution. It’s time for a new policy.</strong> -
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<figcaption>
Environmental justice activist Sharon Lavigne stands outside her home in St. James, Louisiana, on February 23, 2021. | Julie Dermansky for Vox
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Marrying civil rights and environmental protections could close the gap on health disparities caused by industrial polluters.
</p>
<p class="p--has-dropcap" data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fU48x3">
Sharon Lavigne has lived in St. James Parish, Louisiana, a predominantly Black community, all her life. She remembers when the air wasn’t covered with thick gray smog, when the water was still safe to drink, when the gardens were productive and fertile.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BSR6ni">
But now, she says, “we are sick and we are dying.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p7tlDm">
Lavigne has watched her neighbors die from cancer and suffer from respiratory illnesses. About five years ago, she too was diagnosed with pollution-linked autoimmune hepatitis, with tests showing she had aluminum inside her body. The reason for the community’s decline in health, environmentalists say, is a burgeoning fossil fuel industry right in their backyards.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7sT0mj">
Over the past three decades, roughly 150 chemical plants and refineries<strong> </strong>have been building facilities up and down the 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River that straddles New Orleans and Baton Rouge, which includes St. James Parish. According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), <a href="https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/louisiana/2018/02/21/parish-has-highest-cancer-risk-u-s/359883002/">seven out of 10 US census tracts</a> with the country’s highest cancer risk levels from air pollution are located in this corridor, known as “Cancer Alley.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LgjKwb">
So when Lavigne heard that the Taiwanese plastics manufacturer Formosa was going to build <a href="http://www.sunshineprojectla.com/">a $9.4 billion petrochemical complex</a> just two miles from her home, she retired from her teaching job in 2018 and started the faith-based environmental justice group RISE St. James to fight the new development project.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Qb9X8u">
Formosa’s vast 2,400-acre site, currently marked off with fences, sits on two former 19th-century sugarcane plantations and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/18/louisiana-pollution-petrochemical-site-sunshine-project">burial ground for the enslaved</a>, which the company failed to disclose until RISE St. James <a href="https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/graves-enslaved-people-found-proposed-formosa-plastics-site">filed a public records request</a>. Still, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/07/louisiana-formosa-plastics-facility-air-quality-permits-cancer-alley">approved permits</a> last year for Formosa to build the complex of 14 plastics plants, despite the company’s own models revealing that it could more than double the amount of toxic pollutants in the area and emit more of the carcinogenic chemical <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2020/communities-urge-epa-to-embolden-proposed-emission-rule-for-chemical-facilities">ethylene oxide</a> than almost any other facility in the country.
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<p class="caption" data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A view of St. James Catholic Church near a field of oil storage tanks.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WBA8vQ">
The predominantly Black communities of St. James Parish and the rest of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley are not alone in this problem. According to the National Black Environmental Justice Network, Black Americans in 19 states are <a href="https://www.nbejn.com/environmental-justice-statement">79 percent more likely</a> to live with industrial pollution than white people. <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190311152735.htm">Researchers also found</a> that Black people breathe 56 percent more pollution than they cause, whereas white people breathe 17 percent less pollution than they generate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bWr3mb">
Lavigne said industries “come to Black communities because they think no one’s going to say anything. They think no one is going to fight.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3hA2av">
Environmental groups like RISE St. James usually have one ally in their corner when fighting industrial polluters: the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-national-environmental-policy-act">National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)</a>, a bedrock law that requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of proposed infrastructure such as the construction of major highways, prison complexes, airports, pipelines, landfills, and refineries. Passed by Congress in 1969, NEPA, followed by the Clean Air and Water Acts, was part of a broader plan to protect the environment from any point source of pollution or contamination.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PSUbWI">
The law is not perfect, though. Since the link between racism and the environment didn’t click for many in the late 1960s and ’70s, when these environmental laws were created, NEPA’s lack of civil rights protections resulted in the further oppression and exclusion of Black communities across the country. Polluting industries would set up shop in marginalized neighborhoods with no regard to the systemic injustice baked into the fabric of the community,<strong> </strong>and there was little recourse to stop these polluters from doing so.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mSp5VE">
But with the rise of the environmental justice movement in the late 1970s, Black environmentalists and policy experts began floating the idea of stronger environmental policies that draw from the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The idea was to protect historically disadvantaged neighborhoods from racist policies that could exacerbate a community’s social and environmental burdens.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7CvDcU">
“People often forget the legacies of slavery, of Jim Crow segregation and out of that chain, laws that were deeply entrenched within the social structure of the Southern environment that worsened our quality of life,” said Beverly Wright, the founder and executive director of the <a href="https://www.dscej.org/">Deep South Center for Environmental Justice</a>, who has advised President Joe Biden on environmental justice policies. “That legacy resulted in communities that had been inundated with toxic facilities, impacting our health, the value of the homes where people live, causing them to have higher cancer rates, and to eventually be relocated from within the midst of these facilities.”
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2dskjgLQPiAWcgVb3azC6IhH4gU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22328855/602A0189_2.jpg"/>
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A roadside view of Cargill industry on River Road in Gramercy, Louisiana, on February 23, 2021.
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The Sunshine Casino and Truck Plaza along LA-70, also known as the Sunshine Bridge, near the Mississippi River.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gUPnn6">
With a new Democratic administration, activists say now is the time to marry civil rights protections with NEPA.<strong> </strong>Strengthening NEPA — often called the “<a href="https://ceq.doe.gov/">Magna Carta</a>” of environmental laws — by invoking the Civil Rights Act would give underserved populations, like St. James Parish, a greater chance of eliminating the legacy pollution that has choked their communities. Adding these protections, without creating an entirely new policy, wouldn’t be very complicated for the Biden administration to do. It wouldn’t even need the help of Congress.
</p>
<h3 id="NH7nbN">
The birth of the environmental justice movement started with Black people
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cnO3t9">
Environmental injustice — the disproportionate harm that low-income communities and communities of color face from both the causes (fossil fuel pollution) and effects (extreme heat and severe flooding) of climate change — has long been a product of systemic racism.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tn68rh">
For instance, a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/8/1/12/htm">2019 study found that redlining</a>, the government-sanctioned effort to segregate communities of color that began in the 1930s, is a strong indicator of which neighborhoods suffer the most from extreme heat. While white neighborhoods historically received more community investment in clean <a href="https://grist.org/justice/green-space-cities-gentrification-11th-street-bridge-washington-anacostia/">green spaces</a> that help cool the area, Black neighborhoods <a href="https://grist.org/justice/extreme-heat-redlining-portland/">were deprived</a> of resources and slotted next to traffic-choked highways and other industrial infrastructure.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rNlu59">
Fossil fuel companies exploited this segregation. In places like Mossville, Louisiana, a small, unincorporated town founded by formerly enslaved people in 1790, nearly all its Black residents have been <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/planet/2015/07/louisiana-man-takes-stand-against-petrochemical-giant">bought out</a> by the South African petrochemical giant Sasol to build a gargantuan chemical complex. A similar scenario played out in the East End neighborhood of Freeport, Texas, labeled as the “<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Freeport-Segregation-Ordinance-and-Council-minutes-2014.pdf">Negro District</a>” in the 1930s. Housing, residents, and once-thriving businesses in East End <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/east-end-neighborhood-freeport-erased/">have dwindled</a>, a trend recently accelerated as officials voted to use <a href="https://thefacts.com/news/article_ba4edcf4-0e03-57af-bc71-25690af1a233.html">eminent domain</a> to expand the port’s shipping channels to make room for large polluting industrial ships.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HCRSQY">
Such systemic injustices are as old as America. But there’s growing scientific awareness and pushback against these inequities. Environmental lobbying groups had long been <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-green-groups-became-so-white-and-what-to-do-about-it">overwhelmingly white</a>, focusing more on nature conservation and less on community impact. It wasn’t until recently that Big Green groups began to reckon with their racist past. In the wake of last summer’s nationwide protests for racial justice, for example, Sierra Club put out a statement that <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/michael-brune/2020/07/john-muir-early-history-sierra-club">acknowledged the role</a> it played in perpetuating white supremacy in the movement.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oN9yS6">
Meanwhile, environmental justice pioneers such as Wright and Robert Bullard, a professor of environmental policy at Texas Southern University, have put out <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/074823379300900508">academic research</a> on the ties between systemic racism and its environmental impact on vulnerable communities, which has led to more people being educated and involved in making those connections. It wasn’t until Lavigne attended a community advocacy organization meeting in 2017, for instance, that she linked what’s been happening to their environment and public health to industrial pollution in her backyard.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RZK4NY">
“Environmental justice is not a footnote anymore; it’s a headline,” Bullard said. “Over the last four decades working on this, I realized while we’ve been able to make a lot of changes over the years, there’s still a lot of work that still needs to happen — and it needs to happen in warp speed, because we don’t have a lot of time since climate change is with us right now.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bDCLO1">
The modern environmental justice movement is often traced back to 1978, when a private contractor hired by a transformer-manufacturing company discharged a carcinogenic chemical known as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) in 14 counties in North Carolina. In response, alarmed residents<strong> </strong>brought a barrage of complaints and <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/528/276/1765194/">lawsuits</a> against the state and involved parties. This litigation led the state to excavate the 31,000 gallons of soil laced with toxic PCBs, but they needed a place to put it. They chose the small Warren County town of Afton — an overwhelmingly Black, rural, and poor community — as a “suitable” home.
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<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nPc0558P_S-mfP9xQoziuMStyyA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22329175/5c45f02063ed0.image_2.jpg"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=5/39.1/-94.58" target="_blank">Mapping Inequality</a>; public domain</cite>
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The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) map of New Orleans. Neighborhoods color-coded in red, or “red-lined,” alerted loan officers and real estate workers of areas that were considered high-risk, leading to discriminatory lending practices.
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The Marathon Refinery in Reserve, Louisiana, behind the Zion Travelers Cemetery on February 23, 2021.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Uzn3Jg">
Many environmental scientists <a href="https://escholarship.org/content/qt0ft5n1qr/qt0ft5n1qr.pdf?t=mv2j9e">questioned just how suitable the location was</a>. Warren County’s Black community was especially agitated. Afton residents relied on the town’s local wells for drinking water, which could be contaminated by this landfill.<strong> </strong>For six weeks, residents alongside civil rights groups across the country protested the move. Black activists linked their arms and lay on the ground to block the 6,000 dump trucks rolling into their backyards, headed for the newly constructed hazardous waste landfill. Hundreds of protesters were arrested.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WVBZjp">
“The truth of the matter is that the only way that we got communities of color, especially Black folks, involved in the [environmental justice] movement was by making them see that there was a discriminatory aspect or civil rights violation involved,” Wright said. “So when we talk about some communities having cleaner air than others, it’s because of discriminatory policies and for certain it goes directly to civil rights.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uzBehE">
In court hearings, NEPA was a first line of defense for communities fighting the landfill. But North Carolina courts carved out an exception to requirements that the state prepare an environmental impact statement, claiming that formal compliance with the law was unnecessary. It was clear to community members and activists that the decision was more politically motivated than based in science: Majority-white governmental institutions, likely sympathetic to corporate interests, ultimately allowed a Black, poor, rural, and <a href="https://escholarship.org/content/qt0ft5n1qr/qt0ft5n1qr.pdf?t=mv2j9e">politically powerless community</a> to be home to a toxic landfill.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ROnKSi">
Though the residents of Warren County lost and the toxin-laced soil ended up in the landfills, the incident is still studied by environmental researchers as the hallmark of the environmental justice movement. It was the first major environmental disaster in which civil rights groups, environmentalists, and Black residents fought in solidarity against an act of environmental racism, a term unused until much later.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r8mkR8">
Today there continues to be no shortage of polluting facilities and infrastructure — factories, highways, waste incinerators, and refineries — being built and erasing low-income communities of color, especially Black neighborhoods. Historians and environmental experts say regulatory agencies, industry executives, and politicians believe it is easier to build in these communities, since many cannot afford to hire legal expertise, or do not have the means to fight back.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VUSw3L">
“These communities who are affected by disparities in air pollution or just toxic contamination, in general, come from a place of feeling that they are being discriminated against or somehow treated differently from white people,” Wright said.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V3tPA6">
Activists call these places “sacrifice zones,” but industrial giants have underestimated how much these typically segregated Black communities will fight for clean air and water, even if they have to do it on their own.
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Y6XFNc9TLL5H0tGhzEdXAUya6EI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22329118/GettyImages_1164298761_2.jpg"/> <cite>Karla Ann Cote/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
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Protesters march to raise awareness of the high lead levels in city water in Newark, New Jersey, on August 26, 2019.
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/P6Zm3aKWqkH81UQg3E-gB1NFZeI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22329130/GettyImages_1229334693_2.jpg"/> <cite>Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
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Volunteers help distribute water at Asbury United Methodist Help Center in Flint, Michigan, on October 20, 2020.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vrBCp7">
For example, in <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/trumps-nepa-changes-imperil-communities-of-color-advocates-say">Port Arthur, Texas</a>, its predominantly Black residents are <a href="https://www.cidainc.org/who-we-are">challenging the mammoth oil and gas refineries</a> that dot the port’s skyline and cover the area in thick gray smoke. In Philadelphia last year, Black activists led the fight to <a href="https://grist.org/energy/federal-bankruptcy-judge-helps-shut-down-the-largest-oil-refinery-on-the-east-coast/">shut down the largest oil refinery</a> on the East Coast after years of suffering from facility explosions, bad air quality, and pollution-linked asthma and cancer. In Flint, Michigan, the water that the city’s predominantly Black residents had been consuming for years has resulted in serious public health and environmental issues,<strong> </strong>particularly <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/2/15/10991626/flint-water-crisis">lead poisoning,</a> that government officials both exacerbated and tried to ignore. Residents are still fighting for a large class-action settlement and government accountability today.
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<h3 id="nkoGrs">
Why it’s vital to marry two historical policies for environmental justice legislation
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R4nr5Y">
Although NEPA has long been a <a href="https://grist.org/justice/this-50-year-old-policy-is-communities-first-line-of-defense-against-dirty-development-projects-trump-is-about-to-roll-it-back/">vital tool to shield communities</a> from forms of environmental racism, it isn’t a foolproof policy. It requires federal agencies to prepare an environmental impact statement that describes any environmental or public health ramification that a development project would pose; however, what a state or federal agency does with these reports is left entirely to their discretion. This often means that projects often go forth, regardless of community concerns for potential environmental and public health impacts.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EhYG3n">
In most cases, the decision-makers behind the NEPA process also have financial ties to oil and gas lobbyists or the fossil fuel industry. Additionally, the public comment process required under NEPA raises accessibility questions, since state agencies tend to hold hearings far from the proposed site and don’t actively reach out to communities for public input, making it difficult for impacted communities to engage in the review process. These loopholes then make it easier for agencies to approve permits for development projects.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rNApUn">
What is in communities’ favor is that the NEPA process can take years, allowing room for activist protests. This has been a major concern for polluting industries, and it was the driving reason behind the Trump administration’s decision to slash the mandated timeline under NEPA review in 2020. Trump’s environmental agenda focused on weakening, rolling back, and dismantling <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html">more than 100 critical environmental regulations</a>, such as the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and the NEPA.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3emkHH">
His administration’s <a href="https://grist.org/justice/nepa-trump-executive-order-weakens-communities-defense-against-dirty-infrastructure/">overhaul of the Magna Carta environmental policy</a> included narrowing the scope of the environmental review process, limiting consideration of safer project alternatives, and scrapping the requirement to evaluate any project’s contribution to climate change. While Biden might be able to reverse the previous administration’s new rules, another Republican president could undo it again through the same process.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HW6vrm">
That’s why, environmental justice advocates say, vulnerable communities need a stronger policy now.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uiwnQV">
Bullard said that taking an integrative approach toward strengthening environmental regulations such as NEPA to include a racial justice framework is the best way to address the historical neglect in pollution-burdened communities. He and Wright believe the early steps the Biden administration has taken in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/26/biden-environmental-justice-climate/">centering environmental justice</a> across his climate and economic agendas, as well as appointing Michael Regan, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/02/03/epa-regan-hearing/">first Black man</a>, to lead the EPA, creates an urgency to right the wrongs of the previous administration.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pJh0UF">
“As climate policies get pushed out, what often gets lost is the policy framing of climate which has historically been more about dealing with just the science — the parts per million, the greenhouse gases — and not, until the last five to 10 years, the justice framing or equity framing,” Bullard said. “We have to come up with frameworks that would allow the environmental justice part to get lifted up into the climate framework, because it is a racial justice issue.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QA3yjY">
Some policy experts say that applying <a href="https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/title-vi-and-environmental-justice">Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act</a> — which prohibits federally funded entities from discriminating on the basis of race in their programs, policies, and projects — to NEPA would help dismantle the environmental inequities rooted in systemic racism that communities face. Title VI alone outlaws intentional discrimination, which many activists allege happens whenever an industrial facility sets up shop in marginalized communities like Afton and St. James Parish.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tx2DGV">
The task of strengthening NEPA under the Biden administration — including adding back the Trump administration’s removed regulatory requirements and adding a civil rights protection mandate — would fall under the domain of the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/">White House Council on Environmental Quality</a> (CEQ). The council would need to solicit new rule recommendations to the bedrock policy, propose new regulations, gather public comments, and conduct public hearings, which could take roughly a year. Biden’s new offices of environmental justice under the EPA and Justice Department, which he included in his <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/27/fact-sheet-president-biden-takes-executive-actions-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad-create-jobs-and-restore-scientific-integrity-across-federal-government/">sweeping executive order</a> on climate change, could also look into avenues that could solidify and protect these vital changes.
</p>
<div>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WiGlYYVxyfigGW-7olS4fdeJZMQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22329247/GettyImages_1230822023_2.jpg"/> <cite>Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive in the State Dining Room for Biden’s address on climate change at White House on January 27, 2021.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZbrQBna_Eq865fwjTT0zj5cWqvo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22329261/6V5A1675_Edit_2.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
The Mosaic Faustina Ammonia Plant on River Road in St. James, Louisiana, on February 23, 2021.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YofQyb">
In drafting the rules for NEPA to include civil rights protections, CEQ can conduct a Title VI or disparate impact analysis to identify the cumulative<strong> </strong>environmental and health impact of adding another polluting<strong> </strong>facility within a community. If the chosen location is an overwhelmingly Black community already inundated with polluting facilities, for instance, then the state agency shouldn’t be allowed to approve permits to develop another project since it will only compound the area’s underlying environmental and health conditions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cWnFiN">
To enact more permanent change than what can be done through executive action, there are several bills floating around Congress. In February 2020, Democratic Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona and Donald McEachin of Virginia <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5986/all-actions?overview=closed#tabs">introduced</a> a comprehensive bill called the <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/imo/media/doc/EJ%20fact%20sheet_Final%5B7%5D.pdf">Environmental Justice for All Act</a> — which came as a result of community engagement and more than 350 public comments from community members and leaders of the environmental justice movement.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jPi9GX">
The bill strengthens NEPA and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and codifies <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-executive-order-12898-federal-actions-address-environmental-justice">Bill Clinton’s longstanding 1994 executive order</a> that directs federal agencies to identify the disproportionate environmental and human health impacts of any federal actions on low-income communities of color. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has also introduced a separate <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-reintroduces-sweeping-environmental-justice-bill">environmental justice bill</a> that includes reinstating giving individuals the right, under the Civil Rights Act, to bring actions against entities engaging in discriminatory practices.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SbIb8B">
These are effective yet ambitious policies in addressing the environmental harms Black and other marginalized communities often face. But they may take some time for Congress to take up, despite overwhelming support from Democrats and environmental activists. Adding and strengthening NEPA with civil rights protections, though, does not need to go through Congress — just the CEQ review process that Biden could get started on once his nominee to head the CEQ, Brenda Mallory, the <a href="https://www.axios.com/biden-environmental-policy-ceq-brenda-mallory-d5372bed-aa46-4d8a-bf6e-436d85cf7e45.html">first Black woman to lead the office</a>, gets confirmed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4mmdAL">
Bullard is hopeful that Biden will carry out his environmental justice promises: “Knowing the history of the environmental justice movement, it’s very important to see how the climate-framing in this new administration, and the policies as they get moved out, that they have taken that justice lens,” Bullard said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ULn4aN">
Lavigne and the rest of the activists in St. James Parish will continue to hold their ground — and to hold the administration accountable. “Industry will continue to sacrifice Black people’s lives to make billions of dollars off of our community,” Lavigne said. “It’s the new form of slavery. I want President Biden to come down here in Cancer Alley to see what we’re going through.”
</p>
<div class="p-fullbleed-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fa7WV-57KtwaSoZpU0jNQg3v1ec=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22329152/6V5A1695_Edit_2.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A landscape view of CF Industries in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, on February 23, 2021.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6q2YPy">
<a href="https://www.jsdart.com/about">Julie Dermansky</a> is a independent photojournalist and multimedia reporter based in the News Orleans, Louisiana.
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Biden launched airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria to “send a message”</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6Om_QfER502u1ZhvSOwIKwg02Gc=/39x0:4162x3092/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68877697/1303925426.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
President Joe Biden speaks before signing an Executive Order on the economy at the White House on February 24. The next day the US military bombed Syria. | Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
It’s the first known military action of Joe Biden’s presidency.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ap1afX">
President Joe Biden on Thursday launched military airstrikes against two Iranian-backed militias in Syria in retaliation for a recent spate of aggressions, including a rocket <a href="https://www.vox.com/22285495/biden-afghanistan-iraq-taliban-rocket">attack in Iraq last week</a> that injured US troops and killed a Filipino contractor.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kcP4Lc">
In the strike, Biden’s first known military action since taking office, the US hit <a href="https://twitter.com/laraseligman/status/1365127403308212227?s=21">seven targets with seven bombs</a> used by the groups Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada to smuggle weapons. As of now it’s unclear if anyone was hurt or killed, though US officials expect about “a handful of people” may have died, the <a href="https://apple.news/ABA-jPnFZT6OOXYhkPX0OzA">Washington Post</a> reported.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XRmof9">
Politico reported Biden chose the “<a href="https://twitter.com/lithiumheavy/status/1365128438013714432?s=21">middle</a>” option presented to him. The other plans remain unknown.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VXTQBD">
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about sensitive discussions, told me the administration’s thinking behind the airstrikes was that they needed to “send a message that the US will not turn a blind eye to attacks on our forces by Iranian-sponsored militias.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="se1HDl">
Pentagon spokesperson <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2516518/us-conducts-defensive-precision-strike/source/GovDelivery/">John Kirby</a> said the president ordered the “proportionate military response” to send “an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WwruNr">
The strikes occurred around <a href="https://apple.news/APhJdMSU6SR-TkUPAyrd3PQ">6 pm Eastern time</a> and had been planned over several days, according to the <a href="https://apple.news/APhJdMSU6SR-TkUPAyrd3PQ">Wall Street Journal</a>. Biden made the decision this morning, Defense Secretary <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-john-kirby-iran-syria-iraq-c10b1fb0ed653e687bfbf57d04b591b5">Lloyd Austin</a> told reporters on Thursday.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kvjZgL">
“I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit,” the secretary said, noting he advised Biden to launch the strikes. “We’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants” who attacked US troops last week.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LVYYuY">
Some experts are already applauding the president’s decision.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FnyUkj">
“This was a golden move by the Biden administration,” said Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shia militias at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, because it let Tehran know the new American team is willing to strike Iranian-linked targets wherever they operate throughout the Middle East. “This is the administration saying ‘we mean business.’”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="285xTc">
It was also a way of sending that message without angering Iraq, Smyth added, which bristled at US airstrikes on Iranian proxies in Iraq during the Trump administration, seeing them as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Targeting a weapons facility in Syria avoids that problem.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ivft4m">
Others, like the Institute for Policy Studies’ Phyllis Bennis, believe the decision was unnecessarily “provocative and dangerous.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lYBAtN">
“Is this what ‘‘America is Back’ is supposed to mean?” she asked rhetorically.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h0UztN">
The question now is what the retaliatory attack might mean for the Biden administration’s effort to reenter the Iran nuclear deal. Washington agreed to join an informal meeting with Iran brokered by the European Union, but Tehran said it was still “<a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/2/23/22297066/iran-nuclear-deal-zarif-considering-informal-meeting">considering</a>” the offer. It’s possible that the regime might balk at future talks after Biden’s action.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TRzFEn">
Even so, it seems Biden calculated that protecting US troops operating in the Middle East from attacks by Iranian proxies takes priority over that diplomatic process. In so doing, he became the latest president to order a military operation in the Middle East.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CSmiQj">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DJv1X1">
</p>
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</p>
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</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aRkWyK">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sO1Cyr">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y6cM0w">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dyBHk1">
</p></li>
<li><strong>The $15 minimum wage is effectively dead — for now</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s7SGRsQFOkVmC5X9d5nSvYqU7_E=/304x0:5168x3648/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68877432/1162800171.jpg.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
An activist wears a “Fight For $15” T-shirt during a news conference prior to a vote on the Raise the Wage Act in 2019 in Washington, DC. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The Senate parliamentarian says the minimum wage increase can’t be part of the stimulus bill.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vLr2TE">
The $15 minimum wage is effectively dead — for now.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hI3hrQ">
The Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, told senators on Thursday that the policy did not have a significant enough effect on the federal budget to be included as part of the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill. That decision — while one that Democrats could ignore — means there likely won’t be any more action on the minimum wage in the near term.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jKRTge">
Democrats expressed disappointment at the decision.
</p>
<div id="wq1VnU">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
SCHUMER: “We are deeply disappointed in this decision. We are not going to give up the fight to raise the minimum wage to $15 to help millions of struggling American workers and their families. The American people deserve it, and we are committed to making it a reality.”
</p>
— Erik Wasson (<span class="citation" data-cites="elwasson">@elwasson</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/elwasson/status/1365103148424126465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2021</a>
</blockquote></div></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="v6g7rK">
As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a longtime champion of the $15 minimum wage, has previously said, Republican opposition to wage increases makes it unlikely lawmakers would be able to get the proposal through via regular order — which would need 60 votes. Budget reconciliation — the process that Democrats are utilizing to approve Covid-19 relief legislation — would only require 51.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xZbimL">
“Let’s be clear. We are never going to get 10 Republicans to increase the minimum wage,” Sanders previously said. “The only way to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour now is to pass it with 51 votes through budget reconciliation.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EfhPkj">
The parliamentarian’s decision narrows the path for changes to the minimum wage in this Congress: Although Republicans have put forth their <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/2/23/22297538/romney-cotton-10-minimum-wage-proposal">own $10 minimum wage bill</a>, the likelihood of a compromise is exceedingly slim.
</p>
<h3 id="OsY57a">
Democrats could still ignore the parliamentarian
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nmC6xq">
While the parliamentarian has made her decision, Democrats do have one other option: They could ignore her ruling and keep the minimum wage in their legislation anyway. That’s a route many progressives have urged Democrats take — though moderates like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have lobbied against it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CtAVsk">
It’s not a common practice — and it is seen as pretty partisan — but it would mean that Democrats are able to push the minimum wage through now, rather than banking on a compromise that may be a long time coming.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NZadjS">
To do this, Democrats would simply keep the minimum wage in the relief bill, a move that would likely prompt a Republican challenge when the legislation hits the floor. At that time, the presiding officer could overrule that challenge and unless 60 members contest that decision, that ruling would stand.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GcAECd">
Given signals from the White House — and enduring opposition from moderate Democrats — party leaders aren’t expected to use this approach, though they’ll still face pressure from progressives to do so.
</p>
<h3 id="8933B5">
The minimum wage has been stymied, again
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p4r2pw">
The parliamentarian’s decision marks the latest instance of increases to the minimum wage getting stymied yet again.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BKH5Hc">
Currently at $7.25, the federal minimum wage has not increased for more than a decade, even though an overwhelming majority of voters support changes to it. This week, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/2/24/22299029/poll-majority-support-15-minimum-wage-democrats">a new Vox and Data for Progress poll</a> found that 61 percent of likely voters would back a gradual minimum wage increase. In multiple Republican-leaning states, too, voters have supported ballot measures that would raise the minimum wage over time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="laOgCN">
The Raise the Wage Act — which Democrats had pushed to keep in the relief package — would boost the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 over the course of five years, and then peg additional updates to gains in the median wage. According to a Congressional Budget Office report, it had the potential to lift 900,000 people out of poverty and increase the pay of 27 million people.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ePz2lC">
Previously, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/8/16/20807610/raise-the-wage-act-15-minimum-wage-bill">the legislation had been blocked wholesale by Senate Republicans</a>, who’ve expressed concerns about possible job losses and the burden this policy could impose on small business owners. (The Congressional Budget Office also estimates that the measure could cost 1.4 million jobs, though many economists think this figure is overblown.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ivNfLH">
To get around GOP opposition, Democrats had fought for the inclusion of the policy in budget reconciliation — a move that’s been blocked this time around by procedural limitations.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dA5c8X">
<strong>Correction, February 25: </strong>A version of this article was published in error, wrongly stating that the parliamentarian ruled that the minimum wage increase was allowed under budget reconciliation.
</p>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Yusuf Pathan announces retirement from all forms of cricket</strong> - The all-rounder from Baroda played 57 ODIs and scored 810 runs at a strike-rate of 113.60 with two hundreds and three fifties. He also featured in 22 T20Is where he made 236 at a strike-rate of 146.58</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IPL 2021 | BCCI considering 4-5 venues; Mumbai a concern amid COVID surge</strong> - Earlier, there were discussions that Mumbai, with four stadiums - Wankhede, Brabourne, DY Patil and Reliance Stadium, will be a good option to create a single bio-secure bubble and hold the eight-week long tournament</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hima inducted as DSP in Assam, says will continue her athletics career</strong> - The 21-year-old revealed that she had dreamt of becoming a police officer when she was young.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>R. Vinay Kumar announces retirement from first-class and international cricket</strong> - Vinay played one Test, 31 ODIs and 9 T20 Internationals for India; led Karnataka to successive Ranji Trophy titles</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Indian can win against odds in all conditions, a mark of all great teams, says Hayden</strong> - The wickets in Chennai and Ahmedabad came in for sharp criticism during the second and third Test of the ongoing series.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India to supply four more mobile harbour cranes to Iran’s Chabahar port</strong> - In January, India supplied a consignment of two mobile harbour cranes to the Chabahar port having a total contract value of over USD 25 million.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rahul Gandhi’s day out at sea in Kerala</strong> - The Congress leader’s adventures at sea in Kerala was shot by fishing vlogger, Sebin Cyriac, for his channel, Fishing Freaks</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Five Assembly polls to begin March 27, counting of votes on May 2</strong> - Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced the poll schedule on February 26, 2021.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Andhra Pradesh SEC to review poll preparedness from February 27</strong> - A statement released by the SEC office said these meetings would focus on key issues such as implementation of Model Code of Conduct.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | India-Pakistan ceasefire agreement</strong> - Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar takes a look at the recent border developments between India and Pakistan.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Coronavirus: EU urged to adopt ‘vaccine passports’</strong> - Greece and Austria want coronavirus-free tourists this summer, but other EU states have concerns.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Alexei Navalny: Jailed Putin critic ‘moved out of Moscow prison’</strong> - Alexei Navalny’s aides suggest the anti-corruption activist may have been sent to a prison camp.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Shamima Begum cannot return to UK, Supreme Court rules</strong> - The ruling means she will not be able to come back to fight the decision to remove her British citizenship.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>British Airways owner IAG calls for digital health passes</strong> - IAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia, makes a record loss after the pandemic grounds flights.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>North Korea: Russian diplomats leave by hand-pushed trolley</strong> - The diplomats had no choice as Pyongyang has banned trains from leaving as part of Covid measures.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rocket Report: Cornwall says “LOL, no” to space tourism, Korean rocket on track</strong> - “If we were to entertain this it would be quite ridiculous.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1745368">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Review: Thought-provoking sci-fi drama Bliss works on multiple levels</strong> - Is it real, or is it a simulation? And how could you ever be sure? - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1741983">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade leads latest PlayStation game-reveal event</strong> - Plus, closer looks at <em>Deathloop</em>, <em>Returnal</em>, <em>Solar Ash</em>, more. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1745306">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CDC’s VaccineFinder aims to help you find COVID shots—but needs a lot of work</strong> - The site is still ramping up, but aims to be a central, streamlined resource. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1745370">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The genetics of relatively healthy obesity</strong> - A new study finds genes linked to both high fat and indicators of good health. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1745312">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>A boy, his father and his mother are having dinner. But the boy doesn’t want to eat his broccoli.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Eat your broccoli! - says the mother.
</p>
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
No! - exclaims the boy.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The father then leans toward the boy and whispers something in his ear. The boy quickly eats his broccoli and goes into his room.
</p>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
What did you tell him?
</p>
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I told him that if he didn’t ate his broccoli, his dick wouldn’t grow.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The woman then stands up and slaps the man as hard as she can.
</p>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
What was that for? - he asks, confused.
</p>
</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
FOR NOT EATING YOUR BROCCOLI WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD!
</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/dhejejwj"> /u/dhejejwj </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lsqcnh/a_boy_his_father_and_his_mother_are_having_dinner/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lsqcnh/a_boy_his_father_and_his_mother_are_having_dinner/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>I can’t take my dog to the park as all the ducks keep trying to bite him…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
My fault for getting one that’s pure bread.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/PogbaIsGood"> /u/PogbaIsGood </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lsar5g/i_cant_take_my_dog_to_the_park_as_all_the_ducks/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lsar5g/i_cant_take_my_dog_to_the_park_as_all_the_ducks/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>My girlfriend said I’m terrible in bed</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
But it’s unfair to make a conclusion in 17 seconds
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/AnInsaneMoose"> /u/AnInsaneMoose </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lstjc8/my_girlfriend_said_im_terrible_in_bed/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lstjc8/my_girlfriend_said_im_terrible_in_bed/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>My girlfriend asked me to name off all my sexual partners in order</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I probably should’ve stopped when I got to her name
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/dhejejwj"> /u/dhejejwj </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lsipxr/my_girlfriend_asked_me_to_name_off_all_my_sexual/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lsipxr/my_girlfriend_asked_me_to_name_off_all_my_sexual/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>“Doc, I think my son has gonorrhea,” a patient told his urologist on the phone. “The only woman he’s screwed is our maid.” “OK, don’t be hard on him. He’s just a kid,” the doc soothed. “Get him in here right away and I’ll take care of him.”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“But, Doc, I’ve been screwing the maid, too, and I’ve got the same symptoms he has.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Then you come in with him and I’ll fix you both up,” replied the doctor.
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well,” the man admitted, “I think my wife now has it, too.”
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Son of a bitch!” the physician roared. “That means we’ve all got it!”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/YZXFILE"> /u/YZXFILE </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lsoxcf/doc_i_think_my_son_has_gonorrhea_a_patient_told/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/lsoxcf/doc_i_think_my_son_has_gonorrhea_a_patient_told/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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