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<title>26 December, 2023</title>
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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>The base media formulation impacts the efficiency of ex-vivo erythropoiesis of primary human hematopoietic stem cells</strong> -
<div>
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a disruption in the supply of the widely used erythroid differentiation media product, Iscove’s Modified Dulbecco’s Medium, manufactured by Biochrom AG. IMDM is a critical component of ex vivo erythropoiesis protocols used to generate genetically modified red blood cells for the study of malaria host factors. Therefore, we set out to identify the best alternative IMDM product for efficient erythroid differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into enucleated red blood cells for use in our research. We tested other IMDM products, including I2911 (from Millipore Sigma), P04-20450 (from Pan Biotech) and EP-CM-L0216 (from ElabScience Technologies) which are all marketed specifically as replacements for the Biochrom AG product. We found that while FG0465, I2911, and P04-20450 were all sufficient for ex-vivo erythropoiesis, FG0465 IMDM was superior to other products tested in supporting maximal erythroid cell proliferation and enucleation.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.24.573281v1" target="_blank">The base media formulation impacts the efficiency of ex-vivo erythropoiesis of primary human hematopoietic stem cells</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Motorhomes as a Housing Alternative for the Indonesian Millennial Generation</strong> -
<div>
Motorhomes/campervans are a long-standing fad that is currently making a resurgence in all parts of the world. Because of the versatility of the motorhome, this lifestyle has grown in popularity, not only among hippies, but also among families who wish to have fun or live a nomadic (moving) existence, especially with the rapid rise of the Internet of Things. We can learn from the Covid-19 pandemic that work and study can be done anywhere, whether at home, in recreational spaces, in third rooms, and so on. Motorhomes can now be purchased at reasonable costs. Furthermore, the motorhome can be customized to meet your specific demands and functions. Motorhomes can be created from simple automobiles using any car foundation, such as an MPV, Van, SUV, Middle Size Bus, Full Size Bus, or even a sedan, rather than full size RVs with big proportions and luxurious equipment. The purpose of this study is to define the motorhome/campervan concept and its potential as an alternative housing type. Furthermore, the potential is fairly large for Indonesian millennials, who appear to have a lot of issues on housing ownership mostly because the affrodability (economic) aspect and also considering the raising on nomadic and flexible lifestyle. Motorhomes are an excellent option to economical housing since they are mobile, have flexible layouts, and provide a comfortable living space especially for Youth Indonesia’s Millenial who’s carving for a unique experience.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/x4zgq/" target="_blank">Motorhomes as a Housing Alternative for the Indonesian Millennial Generation</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>CompHEAR: A Customizable and Scalable Web-Enabled Auditory Performance Evaluation Platform for Cochlear Implant Sound Processing Research</strong> -
<div>
Objective: Cochlear implants (CIs) are auditory prostheses for individuals with severe to profound hearing loss, offering substantial but incomplete restoration of hearing function by stimulating the auditory nerve using electrodes. However, progress in CI performance and innovation has been constrained by the inability to rapidly test multiple sound processing strategies. Current research interfaces provided by major CI manufacturers have limitations in supporting a wide range of auditory experiments due to portability, programming difficulties, and the lack of direct comparison between sound processing algorithms. To address these limitations, we present the CompHEAR research platform, designed specifically for the Cochlear Implant Hackathon, enabling researchers to conduct diverse auditory experiments on a large scale. Study Design: Quasi-experimental. Setting: Virtual. Methods: CompHEAR is an open-source, user-friendly platform which offers flexibility and ease of customization, allowing researchers to set up a broad set of auditory experiments. CompHEAR employs a vocoder to simulate novel sound coding strategies for CIs. It facilitates even distribution of listening tasks among participants and delivers real-time metrics for evaluation. The software architecture underlies the platform's flexibility in experimental design and its wide range of applications in sound processing research. Results: Performance testing of the CompHEAR platform ensured that it could support at least 10,000 concurrent users. The CompHEAR platform was successfully implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and enabled global collaboration for the CI Hackathon (www.cihackathon.com). Conclusion: The CompHEAR platform is a useful research tool that permits comparing diverse signal processing strategies across a variety of auditory tasks with crowdsourced judging. Its versatility, scalability, and ease of use can enable further research with the goal of promoting advancements in cochlear implant performance and improved patient outcomes.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.22.573126v1" target="_blank">CompHEAR: A Customizable and Scalable Web-Enabled Auditory Performance Evaluation Platform for Cochlear Implant Sound Processing Research</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Long Covid Perspectives: history, paradigm shifts, global challenges</strong> -
<div>
The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most devastating health disasters in recorded history. In addition to the significant death toll, the pandemic is leaving behind a long tail of prolonged disease and disability. The long-term symptoms, clinical signs and sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection are collectively known as Long Covid – a patient-made term that was created and gained consistency in just a few months in Spring to Summer 2020. Long Covid was openly recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in August 2020, following intense advocacy by Covid-19 survivors. Long Covid has been described as the first illness identified, named and defined by patients finding one other on social media such as Twitter. As a disease entity named and defined collectively by patients, Long Covid has the potential to change knowledge building in medicine, while centring patient expertise within the biomedical community. This paper will, first, explore the rise of Long Covid as patient-made term, clinical entity and collective, grassroots, international advocacy–research movement in early 2020 and beyond. This happened while people with Covid-19 suffered abandonment and lack of care in the pandemic’s disaster context. Second, I will discuss some key paradigm shifts triggered by this ground-breaking patient-driven, collective advocacy–research, while sketching links with earlier patient movements, such as around HIV/AIDS. Then, I will explore the role of Long Covid advocacy–research in our digital era. This advocacy took place during a pandemic when digital spaces such as Twitter and Facebook were often the only arenas available to Covid-19 survivors. Moreover, I will raise some pressing issues around epistemic injustice in relation to the use of patient-produced data and the recognition of patient contributions to knowledge. Finally, I will address the need to fully acknowledge the nature, scope, and severity of Long Covid, which are detailed in thousands of scientific publications, including in relation to the ongoing spread of SARS-CoV-2.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/u3bfy/" target="_blank">Long Covid Perspectives: history, paradigm shifts, global challenges</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Genomic analysis of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bacteremia reveals genetic features associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
Genomic analyses of bacterial isolates are necessary to monitor the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence determinants. Herein, we provide a comprehensive genomic description of a collection of 339 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from patients with bacteremia between 2014 and 2022. Nosocomial acquisition accounted for 56.6% of episodes, with vascular catheters being the predominant source of infection (31.8%). Cases of fatality (27.4%), persistent bacteremia (19.5%) and diagnosis of septic emboli (24.2%) were documented. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed a 140% increase of the episodes of S. aureus bacteremia per year, with a concomitant increase of the cases from nosocomial origin. This prompted us to investigate the existence of genetic features associated with S. aureus isolates from the COVID-19 pandemic. While genes conferring resistance to {beta}-lactams (blaI-blaR-blaZ), macrolides (ermA, ermC, ermT, mphC, msrA) and aminoglycosides (ant(4')-Ia, ant(9)-Ia, aph(3')-IIIa, aph(2'')-Ih) were prevalent in our collection, detection of the msrA and mphC genes increased significantly in pandemic S. aureus isolates. Similarly, we observed a higher prevalence of isolates carrying the genes encoding the Clumping Factors A and B, involved in fibrinogen binding. Of note, macrolides were extensively used as accessory therapy for COVID-19 and fibrinogen levels were usually elevated upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, our results reveal a remarkable adaptation of the S. aureus isolates to the COVID-19 pandemic context and demonstrates the potential of whole-genome sequencing to conduct molecular epidemiology studies.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.22.572975v1" target="_blank">Genomic analysis of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bacteremia reveals genetic features associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Virion morphology and on-virus spike protein structures of diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants</strong> -
<div>
The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants with increased fitness has been accompanied by structural changes in the spike (S) proteins that are the major target for the adaptive immune response. Single-particle cryo-EM analysis of soluble S from SARS-CoV-2 variants has revealed this structural adaptation at high-resolution. The analysis of S trimers in situ on intact virions has the potential to provide more functionally relevant insights into S structure and virion morphology. Here, we characterized B.1, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Kappa, and Mu variants by cryo-electron microscopy and tomography, assessing S cleavage, virion morphology, S incorporation, "in-situ" high-resolution S structures and the range of S conformational states. We found no evidence for adaptive changes in virion morphology, but describe multiple different positions in the S protein where amino acid changes alter local protein structure. Considered together, our data is consistent with a model where amino acid changes at multiple positions from the top to the base of the spike cause structural changes that can modulate the conformational dynamics of S.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.21.572824v1" target="_blank">Virion morphology and on-virus spike protein structures of diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) era impact on incidence of sudden deaths due to Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack) in States and Union Territories of India- A cross-sectional comparative study (2018-2022)</strong> -
<div>
Background-COVID-19 pandemic increased the risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease). There is lack of comparative assessment on the incidence of sudden death due to MI during and before COVID-19. This study aimed to quantify this assessment. Another quest to start this study is that several studies have reported COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis/cardiomyopathy. Methods and results-This study was based on NCRB data from all states and UTs of India who died suddenly due to MI between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2022. 5 coastal states of India accounts for about 70 % of all MI cases related sudden death. The base year 2018 is having least whereas the last year 2022 is having the largest number of total new MI cases related mortality detected in one individual year. The largest and noteworthy percent change in sudden death due to MI in males is found in 2022 when it increased by 14.26% (is it due to delayed cardiomyopathy due to COVID-19 or its due to Vaccine? This will be a matter of research in coming era). This study revealed that there is 25.80 percent increase in total number of new MI cases related mortality in 2022 in comparison to pre-COVID-19 year of 2018. There is an overall increase of 11.24 percent in sudden death due to MI cases in males during the COVID-19 period. The Male-Sudden death due to Myocardial Infarction increased during COVID-19 year 2022 by 26.71 percent in comparison to 2018 pre- COVID-19 year. Conclusion-Sudden death due to MI increased during COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/dcr9a/" target="_blank">The SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) era impact on incidence of sudden deaths due to Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack) in States and Union Territories of India- A cross-sectional comparative study (2018-2022)</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>MixOmics Integration of Biological Datasets Identifies Highly Correlated Key Variables of COVID-19 severity.</strong> -
<div>
BackgroundDespite several years since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, challenges remain in understanding the factors that can predict the severity of COVID-19 disease and complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection. While many large-scale Multiomic datasets have been published, integration of these datasets has the potential to substantially increase the biological insight gained allowing a more complex comprehension of the disease pathogenesis. Such insight may improve our ability to predict disease progression, detect severe cases more rapidly and develop effective therapeutics. MethodsIn this study we have applied an innovative machine learning algorithm to delineate COVID-severity based on integration of paired samples of proteomic and transcriptomic data from a small cohort of patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection with differential disease severity. Targeted plasma proteomics and an onco-immune targeted transcriptomic panel was performed on sequential samples from a cohort of 23 severe, 21 moderate and 10 mild COVID-19 patients. We applied DIABLO, a new integrative method, to identify multi- omics biomarker panels that can discriminate between multiple phenotypic groups, such as the varied severity of disease in COVID-19 patients. ResultsAs COVID-19 severity is known among our sample group, we can train models using this as the outcome variable and calculate features that are important predictors of severe disease. In this study, we detect highly correlated key variables of severe COVID-19 using transcriptomic discriminant analysis and multi-omics integration methods. ConclusionsThis approach highlights the power of data integration from a small cohort of patients offering a better biological understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving COVID-19 severity and an opportunity to improve prediction of disease trajectories and targeted therapeutics.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.14.557558v2" target="_blank">MixOmics Integration of Biological Datasets Identifies Highly Correlated Key Variables of COVID-19 severity.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in wastewater: an assessment of nine computational tools using simulated genomic data</strong> -
<div>
Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) is an important epidemiological and public health tool for tracking pathogens across the scale of a building, neighbourhood, city, or region. WBS gained widespread adoption globally during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic for estimating community infection levels by qPCR. Sequencing pathogen genes or genomes from wastewater adds information about pathogen genetic diversity which can be used to identify viral lineages (including variants of concern) that are circulating in a local population. Capturing the genetic diversity by WBS sequencing is not trivial, as wastewater samples often contain a diverse mixture of viral lineages with real mutations and sequencing errors, which must be deconvoluted computationally from short sequencing reads. In this study we assess nine different computational tools that have recently been developed to address this challenge. We simulated 100 wastewater sequence samples consisting of SARS-CoV-2 BA.1, BA.2, and Delta lineages, in various mixtures, as well as a Delta-Omicron recombinant and a synthetic novel lineage. Most tools performed well in identifying the true lineages present and estimating their relative abundances, and were generally robust to variation in sequencing depth and read length. While many tools identified lineages present down to 1% frequency, results were more reliable above a 5% threshold. The presence of an unknown synthetic lineage, which represents an unclassified SARS-CoV-2 lineage, increases the error in relative abundance estimates of other lineages, but the magnitude of this effect was small for most tools. The tools also varied in how they labelled novel synthetic lineages and recombinants. While our simulated dataset represents just one of many possible use cases for these methods, we hope it helps users understand potential sources of noise or bias in wastewater sequencing data and to appreciate the commonalities and differences across methods.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.20.572426v1" target="_blank">Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in wastewater: an assessment of nine computational tools using simulated genomic data</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Deciphering Abnormal Platelet Subpopulations in Inflammatory Diseases through Machine Learning and Single-Cell Transcriptomics</strong> -
<div>
Introduction: The transcriptional heterogeneity of activated platelets, play a significant role in contributing to negative outcomes in sepsis, COVID-19, and autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Despite this, our understanding of these heterogeneous platelet responses remains limited. In this study, we aim to investigate the diverse transcriptional profiles of activated platelets in these diseases, with the goal of deciphering this platelet heterogeneity for new therapeutic strategies to target abnormal and pathogenic platelet subtypes. Materials and methods: We obtained the single cell transcriptional profiles of blood platelets from patients with COVID-19, sepsis, and SLE. Utilizing machine learning algorithms, Deep Neural Network (DNN) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB), we discerned the distinct transcriptomic signatures indicative of fatal versus survival clinical outcomes. Our methodological framework incorporated source data annotations and platelet markers and used SingleR and Seurat for detailed profiling. Additionally, we implemented Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) for dimensionality reduction and visualization, aiding in the detection of various platelet subtypes and their correlation with disease status and patient outcomes. Results: Our study identified distinct platelet subpopulations that are associated with disease severity. We demonstrated that alterations in platelet transcription patterns can exacerbate endotheliopathy, potentially heightening the risk of coagulation in fatal patients. Moreover, these changes can also influence lymphocyte function, indicating a more extensive role for platelets in inflammatory and immune responses. Conclusions: Enhanced transcriptional heterogeneity in activated platelets is linked to adverse outcomes in conditions such as sepsis, COVID-19, and autoimmune diseases. The discovery of these unique platelet subpopulations paves the way for innovative therapeutic strategies targeting platelet activation, which could potentially improve patient outcomes.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.20.572680v1" target="_blank">Deciphering Abnormal Platelet Subpopulations in Inflammatory Diseases through Machine Learning and Single-Cell Transcriptomics</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Persistence of an infectious form of SARS-CoV-2 post protease inhibitor treatment of permissive cells in vitro</strong> -
<div>
Reports have described SARS-CoV-2 rebound in COVID-19 patients treated with nirmatrelvir, a 3CL protease inhibitor. The cause remains a mystery, although drug resistance, re-infection, and lack of adequate immune responses have been excluded. We now present virologic findings that provide a clue to the cause of viral rebound, which occurs in ~20% of the treated cases. The persistence of an intermediary form of infectious SARS-CoV-2 was experimentally documented in vitro after treatment with nirmatrelvir or another 3CL protease inhibitor, but not with a polymerase inhibitor, remdesivir. This infectious intermediate decayed slowly with a half-life of ~1 day, suggesting that its persistence could outlive the treatment course to re-ignited SARS-CoV-2 infection as the drug is eliminated. Additional studies are needed to define the nature of this viral intermediate, but our findings point to a particular direction for future investigation and offer a specific treatment recommendation that should be tested clinically.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.20.572655v1" target="_blank">Persistence of an infectious form of SARS-CoV-2 post protease inhibitor treatment of permissive cells in vitro</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Humoral immune responses to the monovalent XBB.1.5-adapted BNT162b2 mRNA booster</strong> -
<div>
Continued SARS-CoV-2 evolution and immune escape necessitated the development of updated vaccines, and a monovalent vaccine incorporating the XBB.1.5 variant spike protein is currently being rolled out. Amidst the emergence of the highly mutated BA.2.86 lineage and against the backdrop of pronounced immune imprinting, it is important to characterize the antibody responses following vaccination, particularly in the elderly. Here, we show that the monovalent XBB.1.5-adapted booster vaccination substantially enhanced both binding and neutralising antibody responses against a panel of variants, including BA.2.86, in an older population with four or more previous vaccine doses. Furthermore, neutralizing antibody titers to XBB.1.5 and BA.2.86 were boosted more strongly than titers to historical variants were. Our findings thereby suggest increased vaccine induced protection against both antigenically matched variants, as well as the more distant BA.2.86 variant, and support current vaccine policies recommending a monovalent XBB.1.5 booster dose to older individuals.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.21.572575v1" target="_blank">Humoral immune responses to the monovalent XBB.1.5-adapted BNT162b2 mRNA booster</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Appraising the decision-making process concerning COVID-19 policy in postsecondary education in Canada: A critical scoping review protocol</strong> -
<div>
Responses to COVID-19 in Canadian postsecondary education have overhauled usual norms and practices, with policies of unclear rationale implemented under the pressure of a public health emergency. However, despite the unprecedented nature of these policies and their dramatic impact on millions of lives, the decision-making process leading to them has not been documented or appraised. Drawing from macro and micro theories of public policy, specifically the critical tradition in policy studies exemplified by Carol Bacchi’s approach “What is the problem represented to be” (WPR), we will conduct a scoping review of COVID-19 policies in Canadian postsecondary education, guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for scoping reviews and by the team-based approach of Levan and colleagues. Data will include diverse and publicly available documents to capture multiple stakeholders’ perspectives on the phenomenon of interest, and will be retrieved from university, newsletter, and legal websites through combinations of search terms adapted to specific data types. Two reviewers will independently screen, chart, analyse and synthesize the data and disagreements will be resolved through full team discussion. By identifying, summarizing, and appraising the evidence, our review should inform practices that can contribute to effective and equitable public health policies in postsecondary institutions moving forward.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/u3e28/" target="_blank">Appraising the decision-making process concerning COVID-19 policy in postsecondary education in Canada: A critical scoping review protocol</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in primary human nasal cultures demonstrates Delta as most cytopathic and Omicron as fastest replicating</strong> -
<div>
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was marked with emerging viral variants, some of which were designated as variants of concern (VOCs) due to selection and rapid circulation in the human population. Here we elucidate functional features of each VOC linked to variations in replication rate. Patient-derived primary nasal cultures grown at air-liquid-interface (ALI) were used to model upper-respiratory infection and human lung epithelial cell lines used to model lower-respiratory infection. All VOCs replicated to higher titers than the ancestral virus, suggesting a selection for replication efficiency. In primary nasal cultures, Omicron replicated to the highest titers at early time points, followed by Delta, paralleling comparative studies of population sampling. All SARS-CoV-2 viruses entered the cell primarily via a transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2)-dependent pathway, and Omicron was more likely to use an endosomal route of entry. All VOCs activated and overcame dsRNA-induced cellular responses including interferon (IFN) signaling, oligoadenylate ribonuclease L degradation and protein kinase R activation. Among the VOCs, Omicron infection induced expression of the most IFN and IFN stimulated genes. Infections in nasal cultures resulted in cellular damage, including a compromise of cell-barrier integrity and loss of nasal cilia and ciliary beating function, especially during Delta infection. Overall, Omicron was optimized for replication in the upper-respiratory system and least-favorable in the lower-respiratory cell line; and Delta was the most cytopathic for both upper and lower respiratory cells. Our findings highlight the functional differences among VOCs at the cellular level and imply distinct mechanisms of pathogenesis in infected individuals.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.24.553565v2" target="_blank">Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in primary human nasal cultures demonstrates Delta as most cytopathic and Omicron as fastest replicating</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Integrated histopathology, spatial and single cell transcriptomics resolve cellular drivers of early and late alveolar damage in COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
The most common cause of death due to COVID-19 remains respiratory failure. Yet, our understanding of the precise cellular and molecular changes underlying lung alveolar damage is limited. Here, we integrate single cell transcriptomic data of COVID-19 donor lungs with spatial transcriptomic data stratifying histopathological stages of diffuse alveolar damage (DAD). We identify changes in cellular composition across progressive DAD, including waves of molecularly distinct macrophages and depleted epithelial and endothelial populations throughout different types of tissue damage. Predicted markers of pathological states identify immunoregulatory signatures, including IFN-alpha and metallothionein signatures in early DAD, and fibrosis-related collagens in organised DAD. Furthermore, we predict a fibrinolytic shutdown via endothelial upregulation of SERPINE1/PAI-1. Cell-cell interaction analysis revealed macrophage-derived SPP1/osteopontin signalling as a key regulator during early DAD. These results provide the first comprehensive, spatially resolved atlas of DAD stages, highlighting the cellular mechanisms underlying pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic pathways across alveolar damage progression.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.20.572494v1" target="_blank">Integrated histopathology, spatial and single cell transcriptomics resolve cellular drivers of early and late alveolar damage in COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<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>A Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of a Combined Modified RNA Vaccine Candidate Against COVID-19 and Influenza.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Influenza; COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Influenza and COVID-19 Combination A; Biological: Licensed influenza vaccine; Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine; Biological: Influenza and COVID-19 Combination B; Biological: Placebo <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: BioNTech SE; Pfizer <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>Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) in Post-COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome; Fatigue <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: Transcranial pulse stimulation Verum; Device: Transcranial pulse stimulation Sham <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Medical University of Vienna; Campus Bio-Medico University <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>Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of “Formosa 1-Breath Free (NRICM101)” in Subjects With the Symptoms of COVID-19 or Influenza-like Disease</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Influenza Viral Infections; COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Formosa 1-Breath Free (NRICM101); Drug: Placebo control drug <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: China Medical University Hospital; Tian-I Pharmaceutical,. Co. Ltd.; China Medical University, China; Qualitix Clinical Research Co., Ltd. <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 Phase 3 Clinical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety and Immunogenicity of Booster Vaccination With Recombinant COVID-19 (XBB) Trimer Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 (XBB) Trimer Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell); Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell); Biological: Placebo <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.; WestVac Biopharma (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. <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>Restoring Energy With Sub-symptom Threshold Optimized Rehabilitation Exercise for Long COVID</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long Covid19; Exercise Intolerance, Riboflavin-Responsive <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Restoring Energy with Sub-symptom Threshold Aerobic Rehabilitation Exercise; Behavioral: Light Stretching/Breathing Exercises <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Columbia University; New York University <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 Pilot Study of Liraglutide (A Weight Loss Drug) in High Risk Obese Participants With Cognitive and Memory Issues</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Multiple Sclerosis; Long COVID; Long Covid19; Obese; Obesity; Obesity, Morbid; Acute Leukemia in Remission <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Liraglutide Pen Injector [Saxenda]; Other: Medication Diary <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Chicago <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>EXERCISE TRAINING USING AN APP ON PHYSICAL CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTION INDIVIDUALS WITH POST-COVID-19 SYNDROME</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Exercise; Behavioral: Control <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Nove de Julho <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 Phase 1 Trial of Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent Protein Vaccine （CHO Cell）LYB002V14 in Booster Vaccination</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19 Vaccine <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: 30μg dose of LYB002V14; Biological: 60μg dose of LYB002V14; Biological: placebo <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Guangzhou Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.; Yantai Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd. <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>COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Against Recurrent Infection Among Lung Cancer Patients and Biomarker Research</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 Recurrent; Lung Cancer; Vaccination; Antibody; Chemotherapy; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Any Chinese government-recommended COVID-19 booster vaccine <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Peking Union Medical College Hospital <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>IMMUNERECOV CONTRIBUTES TO IMPROVEMENT OF RESPIRATORY AND IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSE IN POST-COVID-19 PATIENTS.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long Covid19; Dietary Supplements; Respiratory Tract Infections; Inflammation <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Dietary Supplement: Nutritional blend (ImmuneRecov). <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Federal University of São Paulo <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>Physical Activity Coaching in Patients With Post-COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Self-monitoring; Behavioral: Goal setting and review; Behavioral: Education; Behavioral: Feedback; Behavioral: Contact; Behavioral: Exercise; Behavioral: Report; Behavioral: Social support; Behavioral: Group activities; Behavioral: World Health Organization recommendations for being physically active <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Alcala; Colegio Profesional de Fisioterapeutas de la Comunidad de Madrid <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>Study on Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome in Improvement of COVID-19 Rehabilitated Patients by Respiratory Training</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome, Dyspnea, Incentive Spirometer <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: breathing training <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Tri-Service General Hospital <br/><b>Active, not 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 Porcine Deltacoronavirus Entry and Replication by Cepharanthine</strong> - Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is an emerging swine enteropathogenic coronavirus (CoV) that mainly causes acute diarrhea/vomiting, dehydration, and mortality in piglets, possessing economic losses and public health concerns. However, there are currently no proven effective antiviral agents against PDCoV. Cepharanthine (CEP) is a naturally occurring alkaloid used as a traditional remedy for radiation-induced symptoms, but its underlying mechanism of CEP against PDCoV has remained elusive. The…</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 denosumab exert a protective effect against COVID-19? Results of a large cohort study</strong> - CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that denosumab may be safely continued in COVID-19 patients. RANK/RANKL inhibition seems associated with a reduced incidence of symptomatic COVID-19, particularly among the elderly.</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>Intranasal murine pneumonia virus-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induces mucosal and serum antibodies in macaques</strong> - Next-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are needed that induce systemic and mucosal immunity. Murine pneumonia virus (MPV), a murine homolog of respiratory syncytial virus, is attenuated by host-range restriction in nonhuman primates and has a tropism for the respiratory tract. We generated MPV vectors expressing the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (MPV/S) or its prefusion-stabilized form (MPV/S-2P). Both vectors replicated similarly in cell culture and stably expressed S. However, only S-2P was…</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>Efficacies of S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and GSNO reductase inhibitor in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induced acute lung disease in mice</strong> - The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which initially surfaced in late 2019, often triggers severe pulmonary complications, encompassing various disease mechanisms such as intense lung inflammation, vascular dysfunction, and pulmonary embolism. Currently, however, there’s no drug addressing all these mechanisms simultaneously. This study explored the multi-targeting potential of S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and N6022, an inhibitor of GSNO reductase (GSNOR) on markers…</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>Comparative transcriptome analysis of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and HCoV-229E identifying potential IFN/ISGs targets for inhibiting virus replication</strong> - INTRODUCTION: Since its outbreak in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has spread rapidly across the world, posing significant threats and challenges to global public health. SARS-CoV-2, together with SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, is a highly pathogenic coronavirus that contributes to fatal pneumonia. Understanding the similarities and differences at the transcriptome level between SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, as well as MERS-CoV is critical for developing effective strategies against these viruses.</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>Venomous gland transcriptome and venom proteomic analysis of the scorpion Androctonus amoreuxi reveal new peptides with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity</strong> - The recent COVID-19 pandemic shows the critical need for novel broad spectrum antiviral agents. Scorpion venoms are known to contain highly bioactive peptides, several of which have demonstrated strong antiviral activity against a range of viruses. We have generated the first annotated reference transcriptome for the Androctonus amoreuxi venom gland and used high performance liquid chromatography, transcriptome mining, circular dichroism and mass spectrometric analysis to purify and characterize…</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>Targeting the tissue factor coagulation initiation complex prevents antiphospholipid antibody development</strong> - Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in primary or secondary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) are a major cause for acquired thrombophilia, but specific interventions preventing autoimmune aPL development are an unmet clinical need. While autoimmune aPL cross-react with various coagulation regulatory proteins, lipid-reactive and COVID-19 patient-derived aPL recognize the endo-lysosomal phospholipid lysobisphosphatidic acid (LBPA) presented by the cell surface expressed endothelial protein C receptor…</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>Tissue factor binds to and inhibits interferon-α receptor 1 signaling</strong> - Tissue factor (TF), which is a member of the cytokine receptor family, promotes coagulation and coagulation-dependent inflammation. TF also exerts protective effects through unknown mechanisms. Here, we showed that TF bound to interferon-α receptor 1 (IFNAR1) and antagonized its signaling, preventing spontaneous sterile inflammation and maintaining immune homeostasis. Structural modeling and direct binding studies revealed binding of the TF C-terminal fibronectin III domain to IFNAR1, which…</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>Avian coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus Beaudette strain NSP9 interacts with STAT1 and inhibits its phosphorylation to facilitate viral replication</strong> - Avian coronavirus, known as infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), is the causative agent of infectious bronchitis (IB). Viral nonstructural proteins play important roles in viral replication and immune modulation. IBV NSP9 is a component of the RNA replication complex for viral replication. In this study, we uncovered a function of NSP9 in immune regulation. First, the host proteins that interacted with NSP9 were screened. The immune-related protein signal transducer and activator of transcription…</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>Cholesterol depletion inhibits rabies virus infection by restricting viral adsorption and fusion</strong> - Rabies is an ancient zoonotic disease caused by the rabies virus (RABV), and a sharp increase in rabies cases and deaths were observed following the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that it still poses a severe public health threat in most countries in the world. Cholesterol is one of the major lipid components in cells, and the exact role of cholesterol in RABV infection remains unclear. In this study, we initially observed that cellular cholesterol levels were significantly elevated in RABV…</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>Clinical utility of quantitative immunoassays and surrogate virus neutralization tests for predicting neutralizing activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.5 variants</strong> - Developing new antibody assays for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants is challenging. SARS-CoV-2 surrogate virus neutralization tests (sVNT) targeting Omicron BA.1 and BA.5 have been devised, but their performance needs to be validated in comparison with quantitative immunoassays. First, using 1749 PRNT-positive sera, we noticed that log-transformed optical density (OD) ratio of wild-type (WT) sVNT exhibited better titer-correlation with plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) than % inhibition…</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 Antiviral Activity of the Lectin Griffithsin against SARS-CoV-2 Is Enhanced by the Presence of Structural Proteins</strong> - Although COVID-19 transmission has been reduced by the advent of vaccinations and a variety of rapid monitoring techniques, the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself has shown a remarkable ability to mutate and persist. With this long track record of immune escape, researchers are still exploring prophylactic treatments to curtail future SARS-CoV-2 variants. Specifically, much focus has been placed on the antiviral lectin Griffithsin in preventing spike protein-mediated infection via the hACE2 receptor…</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>Cholesterol 25-Hydroxylase Suppresses Swine Acute Diarrhea Syndrome Coronavirus Infection by Blocking Spike Protein-Mediated Membrane Fusion</strong> - Swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) is an emerging porcine intestinal coronavirus that can cause acute diarrhea, vomiting, rapid weight loss, and high mortality in newborn piglets. Cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) is a molecular mediator of innate antiviral immunity and converts cholesterol to 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC). Previous studies have reported that CH25H and 25HC have an antiviral effect against multiple viruses. However, the interplay between SADS-CoV infection and…</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>Tetherin Restricts SARS-CoV-2 despite the Presence of Multiple Viral Antagonists</strong> - Coronavirus infection induces interferon-stimulated genes, one of which encodes Tetherin, a transmembrane protein inhibiting the release of various enveloped viruses from infected cells. Previous studies revealed that SARS-CoV encodes two Tetherin antagonists: the Spike protein (S), inducing lysosomal degradation of Tetherin, and ORF7a, altering its glycosylation. Similarly, SARS-CoV-2 has also been shown to use ORF7a and Spike to enhance virion release in the presence of Tetherin. Here, we…</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 Functional Implications of Broad Spectrum Bioactive Compounds Targeting RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase (RdRp) in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Future risk mitigation and treatment strategies against forthcoming SARS-CoV-2 variants should consider targeting RdRp proteins instead of surface proteins.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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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>Colorado’s Top Court Kicked Trump Off the Ballot. Will the Supreme Court Agree?</strong> - A legal scholar analyzes how the nine Justices are likely to view the blockbuster decision. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/colorados-top-court-kicked-trump-off-the-ballot-will-the-supreme-court-agree">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>When Americans Are the Threat at the Border</strong> - Many people charged with trafficking in Tucson are U.S. citizens, suffering from the same problems of poverty and addiction that plague the rest of the country. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/when-americans-are-the-threat-at-the-border">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Netanyahu’s Right-Wing Critics See Israel’s Future</strong> - Danny Danon, the former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, believes there’s no path forward for a Palestinian state. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-netanyahus-right-wing-critics-see-israels-future">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>An Unpermitted Shooting Range Upends Life in a Quiet Town</strong> - Residents of Pawlet, Vermont, were accustomed to calm and neighborly interactions. Then a new resident moved in. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/one-mans-war-against-a-small-towns-rules">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Disturbing Impact of the Cyberattack at the British Library</strong> - The library has been incapacitated since October, and the effects have spread beyond researchers and book lovers. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/the-disturbing-impact-of-the-cyberattack-at-the-british-library">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>It’s okay to be optimistic about the economy next year</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Stack of US $1 bills with bills flying away on yellow shelf, green background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5b0WtxHJoZbL8tKzoKDo5tV7oqg=/250x0:2015x1324/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72998228/GettyImages_684115386.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Pssst … there’s a case for feeling good about money in 2024. | PM Images via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A recession didn’t come in 2023 and it might not in 2024, either.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BwC1l7">
I’m going to throw out a wild idea here: What if the <a href="https://www.vox.com/economy">economy</a> is good in 2024? I know, I know, <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/2023/11/8/23951098/economy-inflation-prices-job-market-sticker-shock">prices are still too high</a>. Everybody hates everything so much that we’ve coined the term “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/17/business/economy/tiktok-biden-economy.html">vibecession</a>.” The pandemic fallout is still reverberating. But hear me out — maybe it would be neat to head into the new year without all the doom and gloom.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dIX2my">
There is a case for hope here. I mean, look at what happened in 2023. We came into the year with the lowest of expectations. <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2023/8/8/23823982/economist-prediction-2023-recession-jason-furman">Tons of economists</a>, including <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/20/economy/larry-summers-fed-recession/index.html">some big names</a>, thought a major downturn was inevitable in the United States. Many people were sure the Federal Reserve’s fight to get inflation down would mean a significant spike in unemployment; the logic was preordained. In fall 2022, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-17/forecast-for-us-recession-within-year-hits-100-in-blow-to-biden?sref=qYiz2hd0">ran a headline</a> forecasting a 100 percent chance of a recession within a year.
</p>
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<div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GCLoGb">
As it turns out, there’s never a 100 percent chance of anything. That surefire 2023 recession <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/12/18/recession-economy-inflation/">never came</a>. Despite the negative sentiment around the economy — sentiment that <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2023/08/02/are-we-finally-exiting-the-vibecession/">mayyybe is starting to turn around</a> — things this year were really good. Inflation came down. The jobs market stayed strong. Consumers, in aggregate, kept spending. The US economy grew at a surprisingly strong rate. After a tough 2022, <a href="https://www.vox.com/stock-market">stock market</a> investors had a solid time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LLrDpr">
“2023 wasn’t supposed to happen,” said <a href="https://stayathomemacro.substack.com/">Claudia Sahm</a>, the founder of Sahm Consulting and a former economist at the Federal Reserve. “For inflation to come down that much, unemployment’s been below 4 percent for the longest stretch since the 1960s, and growth — inflation-adjusted consumer spending is just knocking it out of the park.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vuWE7N">
There definitely are worse ways to head into 2024.
</p>
<h3 id="pUJ0Ii">
Come over here, let me tell you a nice little story about next year
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kQFA0q">
The US economy is not out of the woods. We haven’t yet reached that coveted “<a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/23614066/inflation-soft-landing-economy-recession">soft landing</a>,” where inflation gets back to the Fed’s 2 percent target without tipping the economy into recession. That outcome does seem possible — I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but there’s some room for optimism.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="Otspk1">
<q>The stock market is feeling really excited about the year ahead — arguably, maybe a little too excited </q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oblh9s">
Predictions obviously can be wrong — again, see 2023 — but many economists feel quite positive looking ahead. Goldman Sachs sees just 15 percent odds of a recession over the next 12 months and thinks the economy is on its “<a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/the-us-economy-is-on-its-final-descent-to-a-soft-landing.html">final descent</a>” to a soft landing. Bank of America <a href="https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2023/11/bofa-global-research-calls-2024--the-year-of-the-landing--.html">is making a similar call</a>. The Fed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/business/economy/jerome-powell-soft-landing.html">likes what it’s seeing</a> and is hoping for more of it in 2024. It’s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/13/fed-interest-rate-decision-december-2023.html">anticipating</a> three interest rate cuts next year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4XO87y">
“It should be a good year. Probably not as good as 2023,” said <a href="https://www.moodysanalytics.com/about-us/subject-matter-experts/mark-zandi">Mark Zandi</a>, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. (Seriously, by most traditional economic measures, the 2023 economy was very good.) He pointed out that he wasn’t among the group expecting a recession this past year — when you’re on the right side of a bet, you may as well enjoy it — but that even he wasn’t anticipating this. “The big surprise was the supply side of the economy. Productivity growth revived and labor force growth surged, so that allowed the economy to grow a lot more and still get inflation back in the bottle.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U6wEX3">
Inflation is on track to continue to cool. That doesn’t mean prices will go back to where they were in 2019, though <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/06/walmart-ceo-doug-mcmillon-talks-about-deflation.html">they may decline</a> in some areas. If the labor market stays robust, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/23998805/pandemic-excess-savings-us-economy-recession">wages should keep rising</a>, too, and at a pace faster than inflation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ymUB2c">
“Wage growth for all income groups is stronger than the rate of inflation, so people’s real purchasing power should improve. They should feel a lot better about the buying power of their income a year from now than they do today,” Zandi said. The relief will be most welcome for low-income households, he added, which are under the most pressure right now.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9SxgK2">
Even though the Fed hasn’t cut interest rates yet, they’ve started to fall in some areas in anticipation of what’s ahead. Mortgage rates are back under 7 percent, which has inspired some <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/12/14/mortgage-rates-7-percent/">hopefulness</a> around <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/homebuilder-sentiment-rises-more-expected-mortgage-rates-fall">the housing market</a>. The stock market is feeling excited about the year ahead — arguably, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/business/economy/markets-federal-reserve-stocks-bonds.html">maybe a little too excited</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HDhXgc">
After the Fed’s latest interest rate decision and Fed Chair Jay Powell’s news conference, “markets got a little giddy,” Sahm said. In the subsequent days, some Fed members <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/feds-williams-pushes-back-market-expectations-rate-cuts-2023-12-15/">tried to temper</a> some of that giddiness, to limited effect, as <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s-p-500-eyes-record-high-as-rate-cut-hopes-underpin-sentiment-9ec6a772">investors remain pretty amped</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="L28Xa8">
This nice little story has to come with some buts
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O3hQaZ">
Nothing is guaranteed in life, and certainly not a good economy. Even if the US avoids recession in 2024, someday, there will almost certainly be a recession. It’s just the way the business cycle goes. There are plenty of risks that could put a recession on next year’s agenda.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F4O9v8">
Some economists still think a downturn is likelier than not. <a href="https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/what-we-think/bios.html?drawer=5#tabs-16582f12f6-item-fccb08a7c5-tab">Andrew Patterson</a>, senior international economist at Vanguard, has a base case that the US and other developed markets will see mild recessions likely in 2024. Even if the US economy doesn’t turn completely negative, he anticipates some <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/2/7/23587641/economy-jobs-inflation-recession-labor-federal-reserve">job loss</a>. “Fed policy [needs to] bring inflation fully back down to 2 percent, and we believe that is going to require some labor market loosening,” he said. “That’s going to come with some pain.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7qvvjL">
Larry Summers, former treasury secretary and one of the pre-2023 doomsayers, told <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/59fff67e-b136-4435-89e1-2400b90f4b83">the Financial Times</a> that it’s “premature” to call this a soft landing, given where inflation is. “We may soft land on the aircraft carrier, but the landing may be hard, and we may overfly,” he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WftXAB">
The main risk for 2024 is the Fed. It might keep interest rates too high for too long, pushing the economy under, or it could cut them too early, allowing inflation to take off again and necessitating even harsher hikes later. It could confuse markets with its decisions. “They’re threading a difficult needle,” Zandi said. “I think the odds of a mistake are certainly receding, but we’re not across the finish line.”
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="AatlKt">
<q>“Definitely by this time next year, we’re either landed, or we’re in a recession”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AmCCuz">
There could be dangers lurking elsewhere that observers don’t see yet, such as an issue in the banking system. <a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/23634433/silicon-valley-bank-collapse-silvergate-first-republic-fdic">Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse</a> earlier this year, which was <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/2023/3/14/23640065/silicon-valley-bank-collapse-fdic-interest-rates-federal-reserve">related to the Fed’s interest rate hikes</a>, felt like it came out of nowhere, even though it didn’t. If the past few years have taught us anything, the economy can also take big hits from really uncontrollable forces, like the pandemic and <a href="https://www.vox.com/russia">Russia</a>’s Ukraine war. A sudden change in oil prices is always a possible risk, too. “Nothing does more damage to the economy than higher oil prices very quickly,” Zandi said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RKFAFh">
There is also the fact that inflation coming back down without a recession would be a unique scenario. For inflation to come down fully to 2 percent while maintaining a strong labor market and avoiding broader macroeconomic weakness would be quite unprecedented, Patterson said. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility,” he added. “It’s not our base case by any means. But it is also something that we’re keeping an eye on.”
</p>
<h3 id="POW82w">
Honestly, maybe we just kind of need a hopeful nice story sometimes
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XFKO1L">
The US economy is far from perfect. Increases in the cost of living are painful, and even before this latest bout of inflation, things were far from great. Higher interest rates to fight inflation have made things worse. There’s no denying that people say they <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/11/20/23964535/labor-market-employment-inflation-sentiment-economy-bad-polls">do not feel good</a> about the state of affairs, macroeconomically speaking, even if their spending says otherwise, and many admit that, personally, they’re doing okay. We’re in a weird and far-from-ideal economic scenario.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6SYcZQ">
Still, it might be nice to at least try to be modestly optimistic. If objectively good things keep happening for long enough, maybe people will start to feel it more, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VY738H">
In 2023, we sort of turned a corner on inflation. Turning that corner took too long, but it happened, nonetheless. “I understand why people are angry. I’m just happy that more people have paychecks, the paychecks are bigger, and they’re out there spending,” Sahm said. She thinks that by the middle of next year, we should know whether we’ve gotten a soft landing or not. “Definitely by this time next year, we’re either landed, or we’re in a recession,” she said. Let’s all aim for the former.
</p></li>
<li><strong>The lasting impact of The Color Purple</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Two young Black girls in white dresses sitting in a tree." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xk-nWKfye8G6y2OVB2c9ThcVPtI=/354x0:2147x1345/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72996833/the_color_purple_zz_231018_01_14d998.0.jpeg"/>
<figcaption>
Young Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and Nettie (Halle Bailey) in <em>The Color Purple</em>. | Warner Bros.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The Color Purple is a melodrama — and the new movie musical keeps its traditions alive.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DeabjQ">
Going to see <em>The Color Purple,</em> Blitz Bazawule’s 2023 musical adaptation of Gary Griffin’s 2004 Broadway musical adaptation of director Steven Spielberg’s 1985 movie adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 novel — what a mouthful — was a rich experience of seeing several texts built and layered upon each other. And the movie theater itself provided a communal experience, especially for Black women, for whom this tale may be our seminal melodrama.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A4feFM">
Every time one of the famous lines appeared — like powerfully indignant “All my life I had to fight!” delivered by Sofia (Danielle Brooks) or the more offensive ones like Mister’s father grumbling, “You let a ho in yo house,” the crowd burst into laughter or claps or affirming cries of “Yes!” and “Mmmhmm … That’s right!” When young Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and Nettie (Halle Bailey) said in unison, “Us have one heart,” the loving murmurs through the theater were audible. It was a diverse crowd, but the people who clearly knew the lines — and, more importantly, <em>felt</em> the lines — were pretty much all Black, and most of them were women.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n29M2q">
<em>The Color Purple</em> is the story of Celie, a dark-skinned Black girl living in Georgia during the early 1900s. Celie is raped by her father and forced to bear two children, then endure being separated from both them and her beloved younger sister, Nettie, as she struggles in an abusive relationship with her husband, Mister. Along the way, Black women show her the way to empower herself, and by the end of the story, she is free and transformed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vWb3LZ">
This latest version of<em> The Color Purple</em> is a different work from the Broadway show before it, and the film before that and the book before that, because every adaptation is its own unique piece of art, fulfilling its own purpose and often even appealing to different communities. But because of the strong cultural presence<em> The Color Purple</em> has in the Black community — particularly among Black women — the musical’s power was undeniable, all of us recognizing the same themes and beloved characters we grew up with. <a href="https://americanstudies.columbia.edu/people/racquel-gates">Racquel Gates</a>, an associate professor of film at Columbia University, tells Vox that <em>The Color Purple </em>is, for Black women, our foundational pop culture text. Knowing the beats and quotes of the Spielberg film by heart can start in early childhood. “I saw it when I was about 6 years old — I was probably too young to be seeing it — and my most vivid memory is of my friends and I talking about it at school,” she said. The musical feels like a gift to Black women like Gates, an homage to one of the most impactful movies of our lives, a celebration of the joy and community we found in it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WWsXdo">
When I logged on to Zoom to speak with <a href="https://pma.cornell.edu/samantha-noelle-sheppard">Samantha N. Sheppard</a>, associate professor of cinema and media studies at Cornell University, about<em> The Color Purple</em> and why Black people love to laugh along with it, I was wearing two pigtails, my go-to hairstyle on casual days. Sheppard chuckled warmly and said, “You got your cute li’l Celie braids in.” I laughed back, the loving jest reminiscent of my childhood, when quotes from <em>The Color Purple </em>were more common in my mother’s Black American family than Bible quotes.
</p>
<div>
<aside id="D4YDzo">
<q>“I think people have a hard time sitting with a movie featuring traumatic events still being ultimately a story about love, sisterhood, family, and connection.”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i5FGxb">
As it is for many Black women, <em>The Color Purple</em> was one of my earliest memories, despite the original movie coming out in 1985, 10 years before my birth. The adults quoted the movie all the time, screaming “Celie! Nettie!” anytime they reunited with a sister, or a cousin, or a best friend. Or they yelled out Sofia’s exclamation — “I’s married now!” — when a man finally proposed or just to express the joy of creating a new family. Or maybe they craned their necks and uttered Squeak’s “Harpo, who dis woman?” when someone not in our in-group showed up looking unusual. And sometimes, we’d say, “All my life I had to fight.” On good days, it was just to be funny. On worse days, it was to mask genuine pain, a way to smile through the wrongdoing either a white person or a Black man — even one in our own family — had done to us.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j5N2ZW">
It might seem strange to others that Black people find so much joy in a movie that includes incest, rape, family separation, domestic violence, and white terrorism. But Sheppard says this tendency isn’t a random phenomenon. There is a deep reason why, to us, it makes perfect sense.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wH070P">
Gates says the key is understanding the genre of the text at hand. “<em>The Color Purple</em> is a melodrama, and it’s operating within the realm of a melodrama,” she says. “I think that that has become increasingly harder for audiences to sort of read and to decipher. So if you see<em> The Color Purple</em> through an overly simplistic, straightforward representational analysis, all you can say is ‘The characters aren’t positive.’ But if you read it through [the lens of] melodrama, where you understand that the guts of the movie are being worked out in the interpersonal conflicts and drama, that gives you a very different and correct reading of the film, which is the one that Black women audiences have always had of that film.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pM2B6S">
In other words, this is why when we went to see the musical, all the Black women were laughing and everyone else seemed a bit befuddled, wondering why we were laughing at a woman saying she’d kill her husband before she let him beat her. But that’s because, for us, it’s not about the beating. It’s about the strength Sofia showed, the bond she and Celie made that day, the redemptive arc Harpo embarks on later. “I don’t think the movie’s about pain,” Sheppard says. “I think people have a hard time sitting with a movie featuring traumatic events still being ultimately a story about love, sisterhood, family, and connection.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EO7vZF">
She continued, “And we can see that in how we use the movie to lovingly joke, like I said to you about your braids. It’s a way to say, ‘Oh, are you like me? Are you a Black girl like me?’” Both the musical and the experience of watching it are full of these moments, Black women and girls coming together to ask that question of each other, receiving a resounding yes. Even in the iconic scene where Sofia confronts Celie (Fantasia Barrino) for telling Harpo (Corey Hawkins) to beat her into submission, Sofia finds sympathy and common ground with Celie. The iconic lines of “All my life I had to fight” and “I loves Harpo — God knows I do — but I’ll kill him dead before I let him beat me” turn into a Black feminist anthem about standing up and saying “Hell naw” to abusive men in our lives, engaging and empowering the entire theater.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Two Black women approach each other on an enormous early 20th-century musical stage." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MMHHegLB07kJRUYZRUcktPK-68M=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25179382/TCP_T2_0048_copy.jpg"/> <cite>Warner Bros.</cite>
<figcaption>
Celie (Fantasia Barrino) and Shug’s (Taraji P. Henson) relationship is central to <em>The Color Purple</em>.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UtKdMW">
It almost felt like church. Even though it was the first time we were all hearing this song, we knew its message. We knew its power. When Sofia sings, “Sick and tired of how woman still treated like a slave,” there was an exhale, because Black women know all too well the double oppression of race and gender. And that is what<em> The Color Purple</em>, in all its iterations, is about. Alice Walker is not just a novelist, but an intellectual giant who explored feminist and womanist theory (although unfortunately, she has recently<a href="https://www.salon.com/2023/03/10/alice-walker-defends-jk-rowlings-terf-views-in-new-essay/"> supported J.K. Rowling amid criticism</a> of the <em>Harry Potter</em> author’s anti-trans statements). In <em>In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens</em>, Walker wrote, “To me, the black black woman is our essential mother, the blacker she is the more us she is and to see the hatred that is turned on her is enough to make me despair, almost entirely, of our future as a people.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X1V3oH">
Through this one quote, one can see the political philosophy that undergirds the movie and the musical. Celie is a dark-skinned woman made to believe she is worthless. And the people in her life who believe this malicious fiction — most notably her husband, Mister — come to ruin as long as they hold on to this hatred. A true reunion with family and culture isn’t possible until they radically transform, an idea captured by Whoopi Goldberg’s iconic hoodoo curse on Mister in the original movie: “Until you do right by me, everything you think about is gonna crumble. Until you do right by me, everything you even think about gonna fail.” After Mister’s repentance, that return is signified by Nettie’s travels to Africa and coming home with Celie’s long-lost children, who are now Africans due to their move with their missionary adoptive parents, who hired Nettie. As an aside, this is a brilliant inversion of the pain of the trans-Atlantic trade of enslaved people — African children returning to their Black Southern mother, crossing the Atlantic to be reunited, not separated. But this ending is only possible because those around Celie have started to release themselves from the bondage of hating Black women. Walker’s message is clear, and extended through the songs of the musical: We will not be free until we embrace, love, and support the Black woman.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="a1vJuj">
The book has so many layered discussions within it, but the musical is almost a clarifying accompaniment to the text of the 1985 movie and the book, making explicit the themes of friendship, heartbreak, desire, and awakening through song. Often musicals can feel more obscuring than revealing, lyrics packed with metaphor replacing straight dialogue, but this musical somehow does the opposite. It reaffirms what Black women have always known — the true meaning of this story.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="xJsLLL">
<q>Walker’s message is clear, and extended through the songs of the musical: We will not be free until we embrace, love, and support the Black woman</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="smBpok">
When the original film came out in 1985, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/27/us/blacks-in-heated-debate-over-the-color-purple.html">some planned to boycott</a> it over protests of its portrayal of Black men. Celie’s father was raping her and getting her pregnant, her husband was a cheater who beat her constantly, his son Harpo was bumbling and a bit unaware — evoking minstrel tropes, people said — and the grandfather was cranky and deeply misogynistic. And there was valid criticism over whether Spielberg, a white man, could direct the film while showing the full range of Blackness and avoiding tropes. For instance, the scene where Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) is shaving Mister (Danny Glover) after he hits her and considering slitting his throat, juxtaposed with her children — now in Africa — receiving their tribal markings. Bazawule, a Black director, notably changes this in the 2023 film to simply a moment when Celie considers killing Mister, without the implications of violence in sacred African traditions. Gates also points out that while the movie’s opposition, claiming it was an unfair portrayal of Black men, was rooted in misogyny, there are valid questions about what Spielberg chose to leave out or put in.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TZw58k">
“In the novel, there’s talk of how Mister liked to sew as a little boy and how he was punished for that by his dad,” Gates says. “There’s a lot in the novel that I think fleshes out his character that doesn’t show up in the movie.” Although the musical still doesn’t include it, Colman Domingo’s portrayal of Mister almost gives it that full humanity that Spielberg’s movie is missing. Domingo is an intensely talented actor, able to embody almost any character and inject meaning into a single glance or body movement. His Mister is an homage to Danny Glover’s, but it’s also a portrayal with a wider range of possibilities.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JOL1OI">
By the end of the movie, we had all cried and laughed until we felt full. I can’t say what <em>The Color Purple</em> means to people who aren’t Black, because all I’ve ever known is a Black reading of the book, the film, and now this movie musical. But I will say, to anyone confused about why Black women laugh so much about a movie that on the surface seems dark, remember the scene when Sofia is released from prison. Once perfectly executed by Oprah Winfrey and played beautifully by Danielle Brooks here, Sofia is quiet, refusing to eat or talk after being tortured for years in prison. The feisty spirit of the woman who once used to drag Harpo around by the ear, tell Mister off, and encourage Celie to fight back has been broken. But when she hears Celie stand up to Mister for the first time and take her life back, she slowly starts to laugh, her laughter rising and crashing upon everyone like a wave as she fills her plate and eats voraciously, saying, “Sofia’s back now.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0LsNOq">
It’s a moment that I’ve remembered my whole childhood, a moment that encapsulates why we laugh with <em>The Color Purple </em>— never at it. Because for Black people, especially Black women, laughter is how we heal. Laughter is how we find our way back — back home, back to each other, and back to ourselves.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Lo7yzi">
The Color Purple <em>is out in theaters now.</em>
</p></li>
<li><strong>The best ways to help homeless people</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A person stands speaking to people sitting wrapped in blankets on a city sidewalk." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/m7iILug3q4inBRAI6b_u5sPH01E=/0x0:5333x4000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72996780/1441243773.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A Red Cross volunteer brings hot food and blankets to people during the night service to assist the homeless on November 13, 2022, in Catania, Italy.  | Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
And not just at the holidays
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yLQPAc">
I’ve been covering <a href="https://www.vox.com/homelessness">America’s homeless crisis at Vox</a> all year. Last month, a reader reached out to ask what practical step they could take to help the people they see sleeping on the streets, besides giving time to food drives and occasionally handing out a drink on their walk from the store. “I often feel helpless to enact change,” the reader said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J5pEqj">
I had some ideas but decided this was an important question to answer thoroughly, including challenging my initial assumptions about what would be most helpful. So I reached out to leading national and local experts on homelessness to get their thoughts. Their ideas represent a range of approaches, including helping individuals while working to change the system. Crucially, they encouraged doing both: Individual actions reinforce system-level change, and vice versa. A world where nobody donates blankets and socks to people experiencing homelessness is also one where political advocacy will struggle to make change.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zLFkvr">
This is a time of year when people might be especially focused on helping others and when freezing temperatures in much of the country make it particularly unsafe for people to sleep outside. But it’s not the only time of year that it’s important. Scorching temperatures can be dangerous in their own right, and the lack of affordable housing is a year-round issue.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DTRqQ2">
Here are some of the best ways to help the unhoused, and not just during the holiday season:
</p>
<h3 id="o71T9l">
<ol type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Show kindness to those living on the street
</li></ol></h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mYliAf">
While not possible or advised in all circumstances, generally speaking, do not overlook simple and basic acts of kindness for those living without stable housing. “Look them in the eye when you walk by,” suggests Natalie Hogg, a board member and volunteer for <a href="https://www.standupforkids.org/">StandUp for Kids</a>, a youth homelessness nonprofit. “Stopping to ask how they are — being ‘seen’ and feeling like they matter means everything.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UY285o">
Some national experts, like Jesse Rabinowitz with the <a href="https://homelesslaw.org/">National Homelessness Law Center</a>, say the best thing someone could do on an individual level is to give people cash. “That enables folks to make their own choices, without red tape,” he told Vox. “People are the best experts in what they need.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lvBcan">
If you aren’t carrying cash, consider cash gift-card equivalents, like a <a href="https://www.visa.ca/en_CA/pay-with-visa/cards/gift-cards.html#:~:text=The%20Visa%20Gift%20card%20is%20a%20prepaid%20card%20welcome%20everywhere,of%20your%20friends%20and%20family.">Visa gift card</a> or a gift card that allows someone to buy food and spend time inside somewhere, like a Starbucks, McDonald’s, or Subway, so they can get warm.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="22pNWB">
Beyond giving people cash or gift cards, certain items can be particularly helpful to carry around and distribute. Donald Whitehead, the executive director of the <a href="https://nationalhomeless.org/">National Coalition for the Homeless</a>, told me he aims to do one “random act of kindness” each week and carries blankets and socks around with him to hand out. Rabinowitz, with the National Homelessness Law Center, adds that hand-warmers and hats are particularly helpful to distribute during the winter, while water and frozen water bottles are go-to needed items in the summer.
</p>
<h3 id="AgHPIb">
<ol start="2" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Donate to local shelters and nonprofits
</li></ol></h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gmu2fr">
Donating your resources to local shelters and nonprofits working to help those without housing is another great option. (You can use this tool from the Department of Housing and Urban Development <a href="https://www.hud.gov/findshelter">to find shelters</a> in your community.) Homeless shelters often need clothing, sleeping bags, tech equipment, backpacks, and other items. Calling them to see what they might need is a smart first step.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bI44zY">
Or consider making in-kind donations to local homeless advocacy and support groups. Hogg, with StandUp for Kids, said their chapters often need items like travel-size hygiene products, first aid items, bus passes, new and gently used clothing, office supplies, storage space, and non-perishable food.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hNIuk2">
Donating money — especially on a recurring basis — can also make a big difference. “Most don’t know that individual giving can be very important to nonprofits big and small because these gifts are unrestricted, meaning we can allocate the money wherever we see fit,” said James C. Durrah II, with <a href="https://www.miriamskitchen.org/">Miriam’s Kitchen</a>, a group working to end homelessness in Washington, DC. An “unrestricted” donation means that groups can use the money for all sorts of expenses they may have, including overhead, programming, events, and supplies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ryoW1V">
If recurring donations are not possible for your budget right now, advocates suggest considering one-time donations or donating through your workplace, where your employer might be able to match your contribution. Cassidy O’Lear, a staffer with <a href="https://familypromise.org/">Family Promise</a>, an organization focused on family homelessness, suggests launching your own fundraising campaign online, through Facebook or GoFundMe. “When you hear the word ‘fundraiser,’ images of formal dinners may come to mind,” she told Vox. “But with a virtual peer-to-peer campaign, you can bring people together to support those in need without tickets or tuxedos.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2sglYe">
Whitehead, with the National Coalition of the Homeless, stressed the value of donations, especially as of late. “We’re seeing flat funding for a lot of programs at the federal level,” he said. “Donations are down, but supporting nonprofits that can help guide people through homelessness is extremely important.”
</p>
<h3 id="bo94VI">
<ol start="3" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Volunteer
</li></ol></h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bITTq2">
While there exist a host of opportunities to volunteer around major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, many local nonprofits have programs and recurring events that rely on volunteers year-round. At Miriam’s Kitchen in DC, for example, they manage a meal program five days a week, twice a day, that is largely run by volunteers. Finding ways to fit volunteering into hectic schedules can be tough, <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23969939/volunteering-charity-nonprofit-busy-time-remote-work-schedule-skills">but there are practical ways to do it</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VS7z1Q">
The staff who work at homeless nonprofits and shelters are typically very adept at finding ways to leverage the unique skill sets and interests of their volunteers. Maybe you’re tech-minded and can help an advocacy group improve its website. Maybe you have marketing skills or event-planning expertise. Or maybe you are interested in mentorship and the staff can connect you with homeless youth looking for guidance, support, or even academic tutoring. Getting in touch and starting a conversation is a great place to start.
</p>
<h3 id="yNiv0e">
<ol start="4" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Advocate politically<strong> </strong></li>
</ol></h3></li>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uSbUfm">
Nearly all the experts I contacted stressed the importance of using your voice to engage politically, on both the national and local levels, to help end the crisis of homelessness. That could take the form of writing to elected officials asking them to create more housing, or showing up to your local city council meeting where they’re discussing zoning to make this ask directly. Louis Chicoine, the CEO of Abode, a supportive housing organization in California, said people could also travel to the offices of their elected officials to ask why they have not done more to end homelessness, and prioritize voting for those with policy ideas dedicated to creating enough affordable housing for all Americans.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Mys22M">
If you contact a local elected official, don’t feel like you need to call with a specific policy recommendation. Making a call just to express concern about the homeless crisis and the shortage of affordable housing goes a long way, said Rabinowitz, of the National Homelessness Law Center. “Small minorities of very vocal constituents can have an outsized impact on local government,” he said. “People should be vocal on <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/5/7/18528014/fear-social-media-nextdoor-citizen-amazon-ring-neighbors">sites like Nextdoor</a> when their neighbor is saying something terrible about people experiencing homelessness. They should email their representative, comment on their Facebook page.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YUfc23">
Beyond engaging with public officials, remember that you can make a difference by educating your circle of family, friends, and coworkers. “Most people aren’t aware that every year, 2.5 million children experience homelessness in the US,” said O’Lear, with Family Promise. “You can take to social media to raise awareness.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="77qajN">
This crisis won’t be solved overnight. But there’s a lot each of us can do that would make a difference, both in the long run and right now.
</p>
</ul>
<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>Zenata and Kings Return impress</strong> -</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>Contractor, Forest Fragrance, Rodney, Days Date, and Own Legacy impress</strong> -</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>IND vs SA 1st Test, Centurion | India reach 91/3 at lunch against South Africa</strong> - India were in a spot of bother at 24 for three before Virat Kohli (33 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (31 not out) rode on luck to stabilise the visitors’ innings with unbeaten 67 runs for the fourth wicket</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>Hockey India names 34 probables for women’s national camp</strong> - The Olympic Qualifiers are set to be played in Ranchi from January 13-19 in which India are placed in Pool B along with New Zealand, Italy and the United States of America.</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>Afghanistan unlikely to give nod for Mujeeb, Naveen and Farooqi to participate in IPL 2024</strong> -</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>A.P. Chief Minister inaugurates Aadudam Andhra sports festival</strong> - Encouraging the youth to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and identifying young talent are the two primary objectives behind launching this State-wide initiative, says Jagan Mohan Reddy; over 34 lakh youth sign up to take part in the event</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>13 years later, Hindi auto-captioning launched for YouTube</strong> - Automated subtitles could open up millions of Hindi language videos to viewers who are hearing impaired; the feature was first launched for English in 2010</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>Collector inspects development works at tribal villages in the Nilgiris</strong> -</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>Pained by attempts to ‘demean’ constitutional institutions, says Vice-President Dhankhar</strong> -</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>Delhi court extends by two days ED custody of three Vivo-India executives</strong> - The accused were produced before the court on the expiry of their three-day ED custody granted earlier</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>Russia confirms damage to warship in Black Sea</strong> - The Ministry of Defence says the ship was struck by Ukrainian aircraft carrying guided missiles.</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>Ukraine denies Russian capture of key town near Donetsk</strong> - The completely destroyed town of Mariinka is seen as a gateway to the Russian-held city of Donetsk.</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>France murders: Man held after mother and children killed in Meaux</strong> - Prosecutors launch a murder inquiry after the bodies of a woman and her four children are found.</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>Ukraine war: The frontline city Russia could seize again</strong> - People in Kupiansk say they “live in fear of death” as Ukrainian troops run low on ammunition.</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: Russian opposition leader reappears in Arctic penal colony</strong> - Mr Navalny confirms his arrival on social media after his team were unable to contact him for weeks.</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>People can tell what you want to know when you shake wrapped Christmas gifts</strong> - We can tell if it’s about how many objects are inside, or the shape of those objects. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1992537">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The 20 most-read stories of 2023</strong> - Dinosaurs, AI, the Sony Walkman, wheel sizes, and more in our year-end countdown. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1991951">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Film Technica: Our favorite movies of 2023</strong> - This year, big superhero franchises mostly faltered and made room for fresh original fare. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1984993">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Corvids seem to handle temporary memories the way we do</strong> - Birds show evidence that they lump temporary memories into categories. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1992736">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PAX Unplugged 2023: How indie devs build and sell board games and RPGs</strong> - Tabletop is bigger than ever. What’s it like trying to get your game out there? - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1992547">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What grows 10X it’s size when stimulated? the teacher asked her 6 year old students</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Mary raises her hands" That is not a question you ask first graders. I will tell the principal and she will get you fired“. The teacher ignored her and turned to the rest of the class.” What grows 10X its size when stimulated?" “The pupils” Billy says. The teacher turned to Mary and said. There’s 2 things I’d like to tell you 1. You have a dirty mind 2. You’ll be very disappointed one day!
</p>
</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/1HotCanadian"> /u/1HotCanadian </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qxzob/what_grows_10x_its_size_when_stimulated_the/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qxzob/what_grows_10x_its_size_when_stimulated_the/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The teacher asked the class to use the word “fascinate” in a sentence.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Molly put up her hand and said, “My family went to my granddad’s farm, and we all saw his pet sheep. It was fascinating.”<br/> The teacher said, “That was good, but I wanted you to use the word ‘fascinate,’ not ‘fascinating’.”<br/> Sally raised her hand. She said, “My family went to see Rock City and I was fascinated.”<br/> The teacher said, “Well, that was good Sally, but I wanted you to use the word ‘fascinate’.”<br/> Little Johnny raised his hand, but the teacher hesitated because she had been burned by Little Johnny before. She finally decided there was no way he could damage the word “fascinate,” so she called on him.<br/> Johnny said, “My aunt Carolyn has a sweater with ten buttons, but her tits are so big she can only fasten eight!”<br/> The teacher sat down and cried.
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/My_Balls_Itch_123"> /u/My_Balls_Itch_123 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qz0p9/the_teacher_asked_the_class_to_use_the_word/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qz0p9/the_teacher_asked_the_class_to_use_the_word/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>11 yr old nephew told me this.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A bus full of 50 ugly people crashed and everyone died and went to heaven. Saint Peter decided that since their deaths were so violent, he would grant them all one wish before going to heaven. The first person wished to finally be attractive, and the last person on line started to giggle. The second person wanted to be attractive also, and again the last person giggled. This continued until finally, it was the gigglers turn to make his wish. Saint Peter turned to him and just had to ask what was so funny. The last person then used his wish to make them all ugly again.
</p>
</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/fancypig0603"> /u/fancypig0603 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qyqhl/11_yr_old_nephew_told_me_this/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qyqhl/11_yr_old_nephew_told_me_this/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A poor farmer has two sons; a smart one and a dumb one.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
One day he goes to his smart son and he tell him “Bring this duck to the market and sell it for 5 dollars. If you sell for any extra go ahead and take that to the whorehouse on your way back home.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
So the son goes to the market with the duck, manages to sell it for 7 dollars and promptly goes to the whorehouse and spends the extra 2 dollars he had earned and gets home by the end of the day.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
About a month later the farmer needs a few extra bucks so he decides to use the same plan with his sons. For some reason this time he can’t find his smart son so he goes to the dumb son and says again “take this duck to the market and sell it for 5 dollars. Any extra you earn you can go spend at the whorehouse on the way home.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The dumb son leaves carrying the duck but after getting a couple miles out he gets horny and forgets what he was sent to do so he turns the truck straight to the whorehouse. Upon arrival the lady running the place asks him how he expects to pay and he says “well I got this duck.” The lady thinks it over and decides there’s no harm in getting paid a duck for a couple minutes. So she takes him into the next room and they have wild amazing sex. After they finish she says to him “Wow that was fantastic. Can we please do this again? I’ll even let you keep the duck.” And he happily agrees.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Now tired he goes to drive back home. On the drive the duck gets spooked and flies out the window, directly into the path of a semi. The semi driver immediately pulls over and so does the son. The driver says “Oh my god I’m so sorry I killed your duck, it all happened in a flash. Please take 15 dollars for your troubles.” And the son happily agrees and goes on his way.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Once he arrives home his father asks him how much money he got. The son proudly empties his pocket and shows his father the 15 big ones. The farmer is stunned and asks him exactly what happened that day. The son says “Well, I got a fuck for a duck, a duck for a fuck, and 15 bucks for a fucked up duck!”
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Buddy2269"> /u/Buddy2269 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qtg9r/a_poor_farmer_has_two_sons_a_smart_one_and_a_dumb/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qtg9r/a_poor_farmer_has_two_sons_a_smart_one_and_a_dumb/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A man and a woman have just finished their 20th wedding anniversary and headed up to the bedroom for lovemaking.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
As they get down to business the women realized that throughout their entire marriage she’s never seen her husband naked. She turns on the lamp. She is shocked to see a strap on dildo on her husband. She looks her husband in the eyes and screams " Explain the dildo" Her husband looks back and answers " I will, if you explain the kids".
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/1HotCanadian"> /u/1HotCanadian </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qywah/a_man_and_a_woman_have_just_finished_their_20th/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18qywah/a_man_and_a_woman_have_just_finished_their_20th/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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