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<title>15 April, 2023</title>
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<title>Covid-19 Sentry</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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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>Gender Responsivity of Family Planning Cadres in Family Resilience Counseling during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Ajibarang Subdistrict</strong> -
<div>
The Covid-19 pandemic has decreased resilience, particularly the socio-psychological aspects of many families, including the Ajibarang Subdistrict. This can be seen from the many cases of domestic violence and child marriage occurring in this part of the Banyumas Regency. In order not to continue, this condition needs to be prevented immediately through counseling activities that are appropriate in material and right on target, for both women and men. In other words, counseling must be gender-responsive. In this case, Family Planning Cadres in the village and RW levels play a vital role in helping family planning counselors take preventive measures. Therefore, it would be interesting to study the gender responsivities of family planning counselors. This study aimed to gather information about (1) the phenomenon of family resilience in their area and (2) the gender responsivity of family resilience counseling conducted in the subdistrict. By applying a descriptive qualitative approach, this study gathered data through questionnaires and direct discussions. The data were analyzed using interactive methods. The results showed that during the Covid-19 pandemic, there were a large number of divorced and married children. While counseling was provided to address this issue, the target clients were mostly females. Among the many reasons, cadres only partially understood the concept of gender and never attended training for gender-perspective counseling.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/d3eak/" target="_blank">Gender Responsivity of Family Planning Cadres in Family Resilience Counseling during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Ajibarang Subdistrict</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Determination of the factors responsible for host tropism of SARS-CoV-2-related bat coronaviruses</strong> -
<div>
Differences in host ACE2 genes may affect the host range of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses (SC2r-CoVs) and further determine the tropism of host ACE2 for the infection receptor. However, the factor(s) responsible for determining the host tropism of SC2r-CoVs, which may in part be determined by the tropism of host ACE2 usage, remains unclear. Here, we use the pseudoviruses with the spike proteins of two Laotian SC2r-CoVs, BANAL-20-236 and BANAL-20-52, and the cells expressing ACE2 proteins of eight different Rhinolophus bat species, and show that these two spikes have different tropisms for Rhinolophus bat ACE2. Through structural analysis and cell culture experiments, we demonstrate that this tropism is determined by residue 493 of the spike and residues 31 and 35 of ACE2. Our results suggest that SC2r-CoVs exhibit differential ACE2 tropism, which may be driven by adaptation to different Rhinolophus bat ACE2 proteins.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.13.536832v1" target="_blank">Determination of the factors responsible for host tropism of SARS-CoV-2-related bat coronaviruses</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A scoping review on the use and acceptability of preprints</strong> -
<div>
Background: Preprints are open and accessible scientific manuscript or report that has not been submitted to a peer reviewed journal. The value and importance of preprints has grown since its contribution during the public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funders and publishers are establishing their position on the use of preprints, in grant applications and publishing models. However, the evidence supporting the use and acceptability of preprints varies across funders, publishers, and researchers. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore the current evidence on the use and acceptability of preprints by publishers, funders, and the research community throughout the research lifecycle. Methods: A scoping review was undertaken with no study or language limits. The search strategy was limited to the last five years (2017-2022) to capture changes influenced by COVID-19 (e.g., accelerated use and role of preprints in research). The review included international literature, including grey literature, and two databases were searched: Scopus and Web of Science (24 August 2022). Results: 379 titles and abstracts and 193 full text articles were assessed for eligibility. Ninety-eight articles met eligibility criteria and were included for full extraction. For barriers and challenges, 26 statements were grouped under four main themes (e.g., volume/growth of publications, quality assurance/trustworthiness, risks associated to credibility, and validation). For benefits and value, 34 statements were grouped under six themes (e.g., openness/transparency, increased visibility/credibility, open review process, open research, democratic process/systems, increased productivity/opportunities). Conclusions: Preprints provide opportunities for rapid dissemination but there is a need for clear policies and guidance from journals, publishers, and funders. Cautionary measures are needed to maintain the quality and value of preprints, paying particular attention to how findings are translated to the public. More research is needed to address some of the uncertainties addressed in this review.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/nug4p/" target="_blank">A scoping review on the use and acceptability of preprints</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The balance of risks and benefits in the COVID-19 “vaccine hesitancy” literature: An umbrella review</strong> -
<div>
Background: “Vaccine hesitancy” (VH) has been described as a “threat to global health”, especially in the COVID-19 era. Research on VH indicates that the concerns of vaccine recipients with the balance of risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, which involve safety and effectiveness considerations (hereafter “safety concerns”), are a leading driver of VH. However, what explains these concerns is underexplored. Goal: We conducted a qualitative umbrella review following PRISMA guidelines and informed by a critical perspective to examine how the safety concerns of COVID-19 vaccine recipients are addressed in the VH literature. Methods: We searched PubMed, the Epistemonikos COVID-19 platform (COVID-19 L. OVE), and the WHO Global Research on COVID-19 Database. We included 49 refereed reviews examining VH in any population involved with COVID-19 vaccination decisions for themselves or as caretakers, with no methodological, quality, temporal, or geographic restrictions, and were published in English, excluding those that authors did not identify as “systematic”. Two reviewers completed article screening and data extraction and synthesis. Thematic synthesis was used to identify themes and frequencies were calculated to assess the strength of support for themes. Disagreements were resolved through full team discussion. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (ID CRD42022351489) and partially funded by a SSHRC grant (# 435-2022-0959). Findings: All reviews assumed that VH was a major barrier to ending the COVID-19 crisis. With vaccines assumed to be “safe and effective”, recipients’ safety concerns were downplayed. Evidence incompatible with “VH-as-a-problem”, whenever mentioned, was dismissed as “misinformation”. Informed consent was either not discussed or was presented as a potential threat to “vaccine confidence”. We observed no differences regardless of study population, methodology, or other study characteristics. Limitations are discussed. Conclusions: Neglecting or dismissing vaccine recipients’ safety concerns contributes to the problem that research on COVID-19 VH purports to address. It also undermines the implementation of informed consent, critical to ethical medical and public health research, policy, and practice. The scant attention to bioethical considerations in current COVID-19 VH research is concerning.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/r9xs7/" target="_blank">The balance of risks and benefits in the COVID-19 “vaccine hesitancy” literature: An umbrella review</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 NSP5 Antagonizes MHC II Expression by Subverting Histone Deacetylase 2</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 interferes with antigen presentation by downregulating MHC II on antigen presenting cells, but the mechanism mediating this process is unelucidated. Herein, analysis of protein and gene expression in human antigen presenting cells reveals that MHC II is downregulated by the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, NSP5. This suppression of MHC II expression occurs via decreased expression of the MHC II regulatory protein CIITA. This downregulation of CIITA is independent of NSP5’s proteolytic activity, and rather, NSP5 delivers HDAC2 to the CIITA promoter via an IRF3-dependent mechanism. Here, HDAC2 deacetylates and inactivates the CIITA promoter. This loss of CIITA expression prevents further expression of MHC II, with this suppression alleviated by ectopic expression of CIITA or knockdown of HDAC2. These results identify a mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 can limit MHC II expression, thereby delaying or weakening the subsequent adaptive immune response.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.02.10.528032v2" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 NSP5 Antagonizes MHC II Expression by Subverting Histone Deacetylase 2</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The airborne transmission of viruses causes tight transmission bottlenecks</strong> -
<div>
The transmission bottleneck describes the number of viral particles that found an infection in a new host. Previous studies have used genome sequence data to suggest that transmission bottlenecks for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 involve few viral particles, but the general principles underlying these bottlenecks are not fully understood. Here we show that, across a broad range of circumstances, tight transmission bottlenecks arise as a consequence of the physical process underlying airborne viral transmission. We use a mathematical model to describe the process of infectious particles being emitted by an infected individual and inhaled by others nearby. The extent to which exposure to particles translates into infection is determined by an effective viral load, which is calculated as a function of the epidemiological parameter R0. Across multiple scenarios, including those present at a superspreading event, our model suggests that the great majority of transmission bottlenecks involve few viral particles, with a high proportion of infections being caused by a single viral particle. Our results provide a physical explanation for previous inferences of bottleneck size and predict that tight transmission bottlenecks prevail more generally in respiratory virus transmission.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.14.536864v1" target="_blank">The airborne transmission of viruses causes tight transmission bottlenecks</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 selectively induces the expression of unproductive splicing isoforms of interferon, class I MHC and splicing machinery genes</strong> -
<div>
Splicing is a highly conserved, intricate mechanism intimately linked to transcription elongation, serving as a pivotal regulator of gene expression. Alternative splicing may generate specific transcripts incapable of undergoing translation into proteins, designated as unproductive. A plethora of respiratory viruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), strategically manipulate the host’s splicing machinery to circumvent antiviral responses. During the infection, SARS-CoV-2 effectively suppresses interferon (IFN) expression, leading to B cell and CD8+ T cell leukopenia, while simultaneously increasing the presence of macrophages and neutrophils in patients with severe COVID-19. In this study, we integrated publicly available omics datasets to systematically analyze transcripts at the isoform level and delineate the nascent-peptide translatome landscapes of SARS-CoV-2-infected human cells. Our findings reveal a hitherto uncharacterized mechanism whereby SARS-CoV-2 infection induces the predominant expression of unproductive splicing isoforms in key IFN signaling genes, interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), class I MHC genes, and splicing machinery genes, including IRF7, OAS3, HLA-B, and HNRNPH1. In stark contrast, cytokine and chemokine genes, such as IL6, CXCL8, and TNF, predominantly express productive (protein-coding) splicing isoforms in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We postulate that SARS-CoV-2 employs a previously unreported tactic of exploiting the host splicing machinery to bolster viral replication and subvert the immune response by selectively upregulating unproductive splicing isoforms from antigen presentation and antiviral response genes. Our study sheds new light on the molecular interplay between SARS-CoV-2 and the host immune system, offering a foundation for the development of novel therapeutic strategies to combat COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.12.536671v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 selectively induces the expression of unproductive splicing isoforms of interferon, class I MHC and splicing machinery genes</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on postpartum mothers in London, England: An online focus group study</strong> -
<div>
Aims: The postpartum/postnatal period is widely acknowledged as a time when mothers require greater levels of support from multiple sources. However, stay-at-home orders commonly known as “lockdown” deployed in some countries to limit COVID-19 transmission reduced access to support. In England, many postpartum mothers navigated household isolation under intensive mothering and expert parenting culture. Examining the impact of lockdown may reveal strengths and weaknesses in current policy and practice, revealing opportunities to improve maternal experience and wellbeing. Subject and Methods: We conducted an online focus group involving 20 mothers living in London, England, with “lockdown babies,” following up on our earlier survey on social support and maternal wellbeing. We thematically analysed focus group transcripts, and identified key themes around Lockdown Experience and Determinants of Lockdown Experience. Results: Participants raised some positives of lockdown, including fostering connections and protection from external expectations, but also raised many negatives, including social isolation, institutional abandonment, and intense relationships within the household. Potential reasons behind variations in lockdown experience include physical environments, timing of birth, and number of children. Our findings reflect how current systems may be “trapping” some families into the male-breadwinner/female-caregiver family model, while intensive mothering and expert parenting culture may be increasing maternal stress and undermining responsive mothering. Conclusions: Facilitating partners to stay at home during the postpartum period and establishing peer/community support instead of reliance on professionals may promote positive postpartum maternal experience and wellbeing.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/r7enw/" target="_blank">The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on postpartum mothers in London, England: An online focus group study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Evaluation of mRNA-LNP and adjuvanted protein SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a maternal antibody mouse model</strong> -
<div>
Maternal antibodies (matAbs) protect against a myriad of pathogens early in life; however, these antibodies can also inhibit de novo immune responses against some vaccine platforms. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) matAbs are efficiently transferred during pregnancy and protect infants against subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infections. It is unknown if matAbs inhibit immune responses elicited by different types of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Here, we established a mouse model to determine if SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific matAbs inhibit immune responses elicited by recombinant protein and nucleoside-modified mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) vaccines. We found that SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-LNP vaccines elicited robust de novo antibody responses in mouse pups in the presence of matAbs. Recombinant protein vaccines were also able to circumvent the inhibitory effects of matAbs when adjuvants were co-administered. While additional studies need to be completed in humans, our studies raise the possibility that mRNA-LNP-based and adjuvanted protein-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have the potential to be effective when delivered very early in life.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.12.536590v1" target="_blank">Evaluation of mRNA-LNP and adjuvanted protein SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a maternal antibody mouse model</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen-specific B cell and antibody responses in pre-vaccination period COVID-19 convalescent males and females with or without post-covid condition</strong> -
<div>
A significant proportion of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection develop lingering symptoms for months, even years after their infection, a condition now known as Post-COVID Condition (PCC). The underlying pathophysiology of PCC is not known. The wide spectrum of symptoms encompassing various organ systems and the detection of viral transcripts and antigens in tissues other than lungs raise the possibility that PCC may be associated with aberrant immune response to the viral antigens. Here, we studied the antibody and B cell responses to the spike protein and the RBD domain in PCC patients who experienced mild COVID-19 disease during the early stages of COVID-19 pandemic in the pre-vaccination era. Our results suggest that the immune responses to the spike antigen may be altered in those who develop PCC.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.13.535896v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen-specific B cell and antibody responses in pre-vaccination period COVID-19 convalescent males and females with or without post-covid condition</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Resolving a Guanine-Quadruplex Structure in the SARS-CoV-2 Genome through Circular Dichroism and Multiscale Molecular Modeling.</strong> -
<div>
The genome of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is made up of a single-stranded RNA fragment that can assume a specific second-ary structure, whose stability can influence the virus ability to reproduce. Recent studies have identified putative guanine quadruplex sequences in SARS-CoV-2 genome fragments that are involved in coding for both structural and non-structural proteins. In this contribution, we focus on a specific G-rich sequence referred as RG-2, which codes for the non-structural protein 10 (Nsp10) and assumes a parallel guanine-quadruplex (G4) arrangement. We provide the secondary structure of the RG-2 G4 at atomistic resolution by molecular modeling and simulation, validated by the superposition of experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectrum. Through both experimental and simulation approaches, we have demon-strated that pyridostatin (PDS), a widely recognized G4 binder, can bind to and stabilize RG-2 G4 more strongly than RG-1, another G4 forming sequence that was previously proposed as a potential target for antiviral drug candidates. Overall, this study highlights RG-2 as a valuable target to inhibit the translation and replication of SARS-CoV-2 paving the way towards original therapeutic approaches against emerging RNA viruses.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.13.536758v1" target="_blank">Resolving a Guanine-Quadruplex Structure in the SARS-CoV-2 Genome through Circular Dichroism and Multiscale Molecular Modeling.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF E-LEARNING (A REVIEW DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC)</strong> -
<div>
In the past few years, e-learning is emerging as a global platform in the continuation of studies. E-learning has revolutionized the entire education system by providing flexibility and easy access to lectures anytime and anywhere, especially during covid-19 pandemic after which face-to-face learning was no longer possible. Although people were aware about e-learning and its usage but it got more prominent after COVID-19 pandemic. So, e-learning became a necessity for continuing education. This present study attempts to analyze the difficulties, benefits, and drawbacks of both educators and students by implementing these technologies as well as alternative solutions. This study discusses numerous prospects made possible by the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasizes the requirement for developing suitable methods to handle such an unanticipated crisis in the future. The problems faced by learners were a poor internet connection, a lack of electricity, a lack of interest, and a lack of desire. This study also suggests the government take the lead in assisting students who have limited access to the internet and technology, which are essential for participation in online classes, while also encouraging students to participate more actively in e-learning, particularly in context of the serious pandemic. To this purpose, various suggestions have been offered that could help academic institutions overcome these challenges and preserve academic quality during turbulent times.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/un5g8/" target="_blank">PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF E-LEARNING (A REVIEW DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC)</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the survival of kidney transplant recipients: a national observational study in France.</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background During the pandemic period, healthcare systems were substantially reorganized for managing COVID-19 cases. The corresponding changes on the standard care of persons with chronic diseases and the potential consequences on their outcomes remain insufficiently documented. This observational study investigates the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic period on the survival of kidney transplant recipients (KTR), in particular in those not hospitalized for COVID-19. Methods We conducted a cohort study using the French national health data system which contains all healthcare consumptions in France. Incident persons with end stage kidney disease between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2020 who received a kidney transplant were included and followed-up from their transplantation date to December 31, 2021. The survival of KTR during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods was investigated using Cox models with time-dependent covariates, including vaccination and hospitalization events. Findings There were 10,637 KTR included in the study, with 324 and 430 deaths observed during the pre-pandemic (15,115 person-years of follow-up) and pandemic periods (14,657 person-years of follow-up), including 127 deaths observed among the 659 persons with a COVID-19-related hospitalization. In multivariable analyses, the risk of death during the pandemic period was similar to that observed during the pre-pandemic period (hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval]: 0.92 [0.77-1.11]), while COVID-19-related hospitalization was associated with an increased risk of death (HR: 10.62 [8.46-13.33]). In addition, pre-emptive kidney transplantation was associated with a lower risk of death (HR: 0.71 [0.56-0.89]), as well as a third vaccine dose (HR: 0.42 [0.30-0.57]), while age, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases were associated with higher risks of death. Interpretation Considering persons living with a kidney transplant with no severe COVID-19-related hospitalization, the pandemic period was not associated with a higher risk of death.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.05.23288113v2" target="_blank">Direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the survival of kidney transplant recipients: a national observational study in France.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Should Health Communication During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Emphasize Self- or Other-Focused Impacts of Mitigation Behaviors? Insights from Two Message Matching Studies</strong> -
<div>
Mask-wearing, social distancing, and vaccination remain effective ways to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Yet, many hesitate to enact some or all these preventive behaviors. We created three persuasive messages—framed to promote benefits to either 1) oneself, 2) close-others, or 3) distant-others—to determine whether the effectiveness of these messages varied based on personality differences (specifically independent/interdependent self-construal and chronic construal level). In two online experiments (N = 862), we measured individual differences and showed participants one of the three messages. Consistent interactions between interdependent self-construal and message conditions showed that those high in interdependent self-construal responded most positively to the self-focused messages promoting mask-wearing, social distancing, and COVID-19 vaccination. Those low in interdependent self-construal responded most negatively to the self-focused messages. Although no interaction effect was observed for independent self-construal, and inconsistent evidence emerged for construal level, other-focused messages performed either better or equally well to the self-focused messages for most participants and may thus be promising for future public health communication efforts.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/2ysn5/" target="_blank">Should Health Communication During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Emphasize Self- or Other-Focused Impacts of Mitigation Behaviors? Insights from Two Message Matching Studies</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Combination treatment of persistent COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients with remdesivir, nirmaltrevir/ritonavir and tixegavimab/cilgavimab</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Little data exists to guide the treatment of persistent COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients. We have employed a unique protocol combining tixegavimab/cilgavimab, and short-term combination antivirals including remdesivir. Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis of persistent COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients. Response was assessed by symptom resolution, declining C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and increasing SARS-CoV-2-PCR cycle-threshold (Ct) values. Results: Fourteen patients were included, including 2 kidney transplant recipients, 11 with B-cell lymphoproliferative disease, treated with anti-CD20 or ibrutinib, and 1 with rheumatoid arthritis, treated with anti-CD20. Median Ct-value was 27 (interquartile range (IQR):24-32). All patients received tixegavimab/cilgavimab and a 5-day course of remdesivir. Eleven also received nirmaltrevir/ritonavir and one received molnupiravir. Median follow-up was 45 days (IQR:12-89). Eleven patients had complete responses including symptom resolution, decrease in CRP, and increase in Ct values (all with either a negative PCR or Ct value&gt;30 on day 4-16). Three patients had a partial response with relapses requiring re-admission. One had died, and two responded to prolonged antiviral treatments. Conclusions: A combination of monoclonal antibodies with antivirals has led to complete resolution of persistent COVID-19 in most severely-immunocompromised patients. Controlled studies will further direct the treatment of these patients, while more effective antivirals are urgently needed.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.07.23288144v1" target="_blank">Combination treatment of persistent COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients with remdesivir, nirmaltrevir/ritonavir and tixegavimab/cilgavimab</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>Effectiveness and Safety of Quinine Sulfate as add-on Therapy for COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults in Indonesia ( DEAL-COVID19 )</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Standard of Care + Quinine Sulfate;   Drug: Standard of Care<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universitas Padjadjaran;   National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia;   Prodia Diacro Laboratories P.T.<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>Safety and Efficacy of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosomes in Treating Chronic Cough After COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Long COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: MSC-derived exosomes<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Huazhong University of Science and Technology;   REGEN-αGEEK (SHENZHEN) MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.<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>Efficacy and Safety of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir for Treating Omicron Variant of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Omicron Variant of COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Xiangao Jiang<br/><b>Completed</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 Nasal Treatment for COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Optate;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Indiana 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>To Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Meplazumab in Treatment of COVID-19 Sequelae</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Meplazumab for injection;   Other: Normal saline<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Jiangsu Pacific Meinuoke Bio Pharmaceutical Co Ltd<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>Clinical Study for the Efficacy and Safety of Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b in Adult COVID-19 Patients With Comorbidities</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Ropeginterferon alfa-2b;   Procedure: SOC<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   National Taiwan University Hospital<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>Assessment of Immunogenicity, Safety and Reactogenicity of a Booster Dose of Various COVID-19 Vaccine Platforms in Individuals Primed With Several Regimes.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: SCB-2019/Clover;   Biological: AstraZeneca/Fiocruz;   Biological: Pfizer/Wyeth<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   D’Or Institute for Research and Education;   Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation<br/><b>Active, not recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Tailored COVID-19 Testing Support Plan for Francophone African Born Immigrants</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID19 Testing<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: FABI tailored COVID-19 testing pamphlet;   Behavioral: Standard COVID-19 home-based test kit<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Texas Woman’s University;   National Institutes of Health (NIH)<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>Complementary Self-help Strategies for Patients With Post-COVID-19 Syndrome</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Complementary self-help strategies in addition to treatment as usual;   Other: Treatment as usual<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Universität Duisburg-Essen<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Understand the Effect and Safety of the Study Medicine PF-07817883 in Adults Who Have Symptoms of COVID-19 But Are Not Hospitalized.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: PF-07817883;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   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>Traditional Chinese Medicine or Low-dose Dexamethasone in COVID-19 Pneumonia</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: conventional western medicine treatment;   Drug: Dexamethasone oral tablet;   Other: Traditional Chinese medicine decoction<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   China-Japan Friendship 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>Efficacy of Lactobacillus Paracasei PS23 for Patients With Post-COVID-19 Syndrome</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Dietary Supplement: PS23 heat-treated<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Mackay Memorial Hospital;   Bened Biomedical Co., Ltd.<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>Inpatient COVID-19 Lollipop Study</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Diagnostic Test<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Device: Lollipop<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University of Wisconsin, Madison<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>Exploring the Effect of Video Interventions on Intentions for Continued COVID-19 Vaccination</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Vaccine Refusal;   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Informational Video;   Behavioral: Altruistic Video;   Behavioral: Individualistic Video<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sir Mortimer B. Davis - Jewish General Hospital<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>Effectiveness of Testofen Compared to Placebo on Long COVID Symptoms</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Long Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Testofen;   Drug: Microcrystalline cellulose<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   RDC Clinical Pty Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Synthesis, cytotoxicity, and pharmacokinetic evaluations of niclosamide analogs for anti-SARS-CoV-2</strong> - Niclosamide, an oral anthelmintic drug, could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 virus replication through autophagy induction, but high cytotoxicity and poor oral bioavailability limited its application. Twenty-three niclosamide analogs were designed and synthesized, of which compound 21 was found to exhibit the best anti-SARS-CoV-2 efficacy (EC(50) = 1.00 μM for 24 h), lower cytotoxicity (CC(50) = 4.73 μM for 48 h), better pharmacokinetic, and it was also well tolerated in the sub-acute toxicity study in…</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>Characterization of the induction kinetics and antiviral functions of IRF1, ISG15 and ISG20 in cells infected with gammacoronavirus avian infectious bronchitis virus</strong> - Coronavirus infection induces a variety of cellular antiviral responses either dependent on or independent of type I interferons (IFNs). Our previous studies using Affymetrix microarray and transcriptomic analysis revealed the differential induction of three IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), IRF1, ISG15 and ISG20, by gammacoronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) infection of IFN-deficient Vero cells and IFN-competent, p53-defcient H1299 cells, respectively. In this report, the induction kinetics…</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>In-silico approaches for identification of compounds inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease</strong> - The world has witnessed of many pandemic waves of SARS-CoV-2. However, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection has now declined but the novel variant and responsible cases has been observed globally. Most of the world population has received the vaccinations, but the immune response against COVID-19 is not long-lasting, which may cause new outbreaks. A highly efficient pharmaceutical molecule is desperately needed in these circumstances. In the present study, a potent natural compound that could…</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>AI-Driven Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Fragment-like Inhibitors with Antiviral Activity <em>In Vitro</em></strong> - SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19 and is responsible for the current global pandemic. The viral genome contains 5 major open reading frames of which the largest ORF1ab codes for two polyproteins, pp1ab and pp1a, which are subsequently cleaved into 16 nonstructural proteins (nsp) by two viral cysteine proteases encoded within the polyproteins. The main protease (Mpro, nsp5) cleaves the majority of the nsp’s, making it essential for viral replication and has been successfully targeted…</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>Inhaled Lipid Nanoparticles Alleviate Established Pulmonary Fibrosis</strong> - Pulmonary fibrosis, a sequela of lung injury resulting from severe infection such as severe acute respiratory syndrome-like coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is a kind of life-threatening lung disease with limited therapeutic options. Herein, inhalable liposomes encapsulating metformin, a first-line antidiabetic drug that has been reported to effectively reverse pulmonary fibrosis by modulating multiple metabolic pathways, and nintedanib, a well-known antifibrotic drug that has been widely…</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>Molecular insights into the inhibition mechanism of harringtonine against essential proteins associated with SARS-CoV-2 entry</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has recently posed a serious threat to global public health. Harringtonine (HT), as a small-molecule antagonist, has antiviral activity against a variety of viruses. There is evidence that HT can inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells by blocking the Spike protein and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). However, the molecular mechanism underlying the inhibition effect of HT is largely elusive. Here, docking and all-atom…</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>Neutralization of the new coronavirus by extracting their spikes using engineered liposomes</strong> - The devastating COVID-19 pandemic motivates the development of safe and effective antivirals to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with infection. We developed nanoscale liposomes that are coated with the cell receptor of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19. Lentiviral particles pseudotyped with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 were constructed and used to test the virus neutralization potential of the engineered liposomes. Under…</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>3-Arylidene-2-oxindoles as GSK3β inhibitors and anti-thrombotic agents</strong> - Development of novel agents that prevent thrombotic events is an urgent task considering increasing incidence of cardiovascular diseases and coagulopathies that accompany cancer and COVID-19. Enzymatic assay identified novel GSK3β inhibitors in a series of 3-arylidene-2-oxindole derivatives. Considering the putative role of GSK3β in platelet activation, the most active compounds were evaluated for antiplatelet activity and antithrombotic activity. It was found that GSK3β inhibition by…</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>Sphingosine Kinases Promote Ebola Virus Infection and Can Be Targeted to Inhibit Filoviruses, Coronaviruses, and Arenaviruses Using Late Endocytic Trafficking to Enter Cells</strong> - Entry of enveloped viruses in host cells requires the fusion of viral and host cell membranes, a process that is facilitated by viral fusion proteins protruding from the viral envelope. These viral fusion proteins need to be triggered by host factors, and for some viruses, this event occurs inside endosomes and/or lysosomes. Consequently, these ‘late-penetrating viruses’ must be internalized and delivered to entry-conducive intracellular vesicles. Because endocytosis and vesicular trafficking…</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>Low Peripheral B-Cell Counts in Patients With Systemic Rheumatic Diseases Due to Treatment With Belimumab and/or Rituximab Are Associated With Low Antibody Responses to Primary COVID-19 Vaccination</strong> - Background: Immunosuppressive agents inhibit COVID-19 vaccine antibody (Ab) responses in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases. Rituximab may fully block Ab responses when B cells become undetected. The effect of detected but low number of B cells due to treatment with a B-cell agent (belimumab and/or rituximab) has not been established. Purpose: We sought to examine whether there is an association between a low number of B cells due to treatment with belimumab and/or rituximab and impaired…</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>Impulsive Neural Control to Schedule Antivirals and Immunomodulators for COVID-19</strong> - New SARS-CoV-2 variants escaping the effect of vaccines are an eminent threat. The use of antivirals to inhibit the viral replication cycle or immunomodulators to regulate host immune responses can help to tackle the viral infection at the host level. To evaluate the potential use of these therapies, we propose the application of an inverse optimal neural controller to a mathematical model that represents SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in the host. Antiviral effects and immune responses are considered as…</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>Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Activity of <em>Ampelozizyphus amazonicus</em> (Saracura-Mirá): Focus on the Modulation of the Spike-ACE2 Interaction by Chemically Characterized Bark Extracts by LC-DAD-APCI-MS/MS</strong> - Traditional medicine shows several treatment protocols for COVID-19 based on natural products, revealing its potential as a possible source of anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. Ampelozizyphus amazonicus is popularly used in the Brazilian Amazon as a fortifier and tonic, and recently, it has been reported to relieve COVID-19 symptoms. This work aimed to investigate the antiviral potential of A. amazonicus, focusing on the inhibition of spike and ACE2 receptor interaction, a key step in successful…</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>Papaverine: A Miraculous Alkaloid from Opium and Its Multimedicinal Application</strong> - The pharmacological actions of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids are quite substantial, and have recently attracted much attention. One of the principle benzylisoquinoline alkaloids has been found in the unripe seed capsules of Papaver somniferum L. Although it lacks analgesic effects and is unrelated to the compounds in the morphine class, it is a peripheral vasodilator and has a direct effect on vessels. It is reported to inhibit the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine…</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>Repurposing FIASMAs against Acid Sphingomyelinase for COVID-19: A Computational Molecular Docking and Dynamic Simulation Approach</strong> - Over the past few years, COVID-19 has caused widespread suffering worldwide. There is great research potential in this domain and it is also necessary. The main objective of this study was to identify potential inhibitors against acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) in order to prevent coronavirus infection. Experimental studies revealed that SARS-CoV-2 causes activation of the acid sphingomyelinase/ceramide pathway, which in turn facilitates the viral entry into the cells. The objective was to inhibit…</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>Exploring the Potential Medicinal Benefits of <em>Ganoderma lucidum</em>: From Metabolic Disorders to Coronavirus Infections</strong> - Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom that has been traditionally used in Chinese medicine for centuries. It has been found to have a wide range of medicinal properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting effects. Recent research has focused on the potential benefits of G. lucidum in treating metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, as well as its possible role in preventing and treating infections caused by the coronavirus. Triterpenoids are a major group…</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>The Privacy-Minded Social Network at the Center of the Classified-Document Leak</strong> - A young National Guardsman posted hundreds of secret government files to a private Discord group. Then they sat there for months unnoticed. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-privacy-minded-social-network-at-the-center-of-the-classified-document-leak">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bob Lee’s Murder and San Francisco’s So-Called Crime Epidemic</strong> - The killing of a tech executive reveals the cycle of outrage that puts enormous pressure on progressive district attorneys. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/bob-lees-murder-and-san-franciscos-so-called-crime-epidemic">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>All Gaffes Are Not Created Equal: Biden vs. the Almighty Trump</strong> - On a week when the 2024 contrast could not be clearer. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/all-gaffes-are-not-created-equal-biden-vs-the-almighty-trump">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What’s Behind the Bipartisan Attack on TikTok?</strong> - A hundred and fifty million Americans are on TikTok. Evan Osnos and Chris Stokel-Walker discuss why politicians are so keen to ban the app. Plus, Broadway’s new comedy of white wokeness. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/whats-behind-the-bipartisan-attack-on-tiktok">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Is the Trump Indictment a “Legal Embarrassment”?</strong> - Analysts have argued that the case, which was put down by previous prosecutors, sets a dangerous precedent in American politics. That might be naïve. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/is-the-trump-indictment-a-legal-embarrassment">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>These adorable tiny owls are thriving in the most unlikely place</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A burrowing owl standing on dead grass." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9B6uXMJKSRvsx6CM04FvjXceoiE=/235x0:3991x2817/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72182874/B88A0177_copy__1_.0.jpeg"/>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Plot twist: Humans have accidentally helped save some animals, for once.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T3zdEb">
<strong>In the last decade, I’ve spent hundreds of hours</strong> hiking through forests and wetlands, across prairies and mountains, often looking for wildlife. In all that time, I’ve seen just two owls I can remember — a barred owl in an Iowa woodland and a great horned owl in New York City’s Central Park.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="32uYzb">
Even experienced birders have a hard time spotting these iconic avian predators. Owls have superb camouflage, often appearing identical to tree bark or a bank of fresh snow. Many of them are nocturnal, hunting for mice and frogs by moonlight. And they fly noiselessly, seldom flapping a pair of wings that has <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/the-silent-flight-owls-explained#:~:text=They%20have%20large%20wings%20relative,feathers%20serves%20as%20a%20silencer.">built-in silencers</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="msP2Wl">
I am not an experienced birder, or even a regular one (I only saw the owl in Central Park because a friend pointed it out to me). Yet during a short week last month, I saw dozens of owls. I had no binoculars and no scope, but it didn’t matter. They were everywhere.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="axwM8T">
In March, I was in Southern California for a story about the Imperial Valley, a farming region wedged between the Salton Sea and the Mexico border. I was there to talk with farmers about the shrinking Colorado River; it waters their crops, including nearly all of the veggies Americans eat between November and March. But the local fauna caught my attention, too. On the ground near almost every farm I visited, I saw small, brown birds called burrowing owls.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NtaP4N">
Few owl varieties are more adorable than the burrowing owl. They are tiny, no larger than a child’s shoe; they can look a bit mean, like a cartoon villain; and they live like rodents in underground burrows, laying eggs many feet under the dirt.
</p>
<div class="p-fullbleed-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A burrowing owl in flight, silhouetted against the sky." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Z_jvxefhUnWBPNF7w81hvnyJbNQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24575266/B88A0373.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dFntWs">
I was surprised to see so many of them here. Burrowing owls are a threatened species, declining across much of North America, and the Imperial Valley is one of the most ecologically transformed parts of the country. Neat rows of lettuce, carrots, and alfalfa have replaced the native desert habitat. Researchers have long known that, globally, farming is considered one of the greatest drivers (if not <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/our-global-food-system-primary-driver-biodiversity-loss">the greatest driver</a>) of wildlife declines.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PuKxXu">
Yet as I drove around the valley, little owl heads ducked into burrows. I’d catch the flash of their bright yellow eyes while touring farms. The owls appear to be thriving.
</p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="An owl peering out of a burrow, with a canal and a field visible in the background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vZLVGQ1pnWNRWoFNCGJV5j-YwEI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24575165/B88A0320_copy.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ceTZaE">
What allows owls to flourish here, in a highly developed landscape, while human activities elsewhere put them and so many other threatened species at risk?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="74K1bX">
Questions like this are important as environmental advocates seek to stem the ongoing biodiversity crisis. Roughly <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/">1 million</a> animal and plant species are threatened with extinction worldwide and <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/more-half-us-birds-are-decline-warns-new-report#:~:text=North%20America%20Has%20Lost%20More,50%20Years%2C%20New%20Study%20Says">more than half</a> of US birds are in decline. Perhaps, I thought, these owls could teach us that conserving nature isn’t just about protecting humanless habitats — remote jungles and national parks — but looking for ways to sustain the ecosystems where we live and work.
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="cwOJpw"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vfOM3s">
<strong>The burrowing owl was once widespread</strong> in the Western Hemisphere, abundant in deserts and other open areas from southwestern Canada and the American West down to the southernmost reaches of South America. But as human developments gobbled up more and more land, the birds began to vanish.
</p>
<div class="c-wide-block">
<div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A canal carries water from the Colorado River into California’s Imperial Valley." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-iQLny7KFPtNYtpMn-yBBPfgmiQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577010/a_canal_just_outside_of_calexico_copy.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A lettuce farm in the Imperial Valley." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n5H-lUJxmEe5Ra19IZHCJKgNrxo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24586003/vessey_romaine_lettuce_copy.jpg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A cabbage farm in the Imperial Valley." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CzwIbEoJl9KNO6hxIf5E0Fzxb_c=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24586034/sprinkler_s_on_vessey_s_cabbage_farm__2__copy__1_.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A herd of sheep on a farm in Brawley, California, in the Imperial Valley." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BWIPIEnJjcaIMCgmftwsdGPvDFA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24576996/sheep_on_pasture_in_brawley_copy.jpg"/>
</figure>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y107dk">
The survival of burrowing owls essentially depends on two things: burrows and food.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FrWNR9">
They don’t dig into the ground themselves but instead occupy tunnels dug by ground squirrels, prairie dogs, or other critters. The owls move in once the burrow is vacant or by forcefully evicting its resident (by eating it).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1UtbU6">
When it comes to food, these raptors aren’t picky. They’ll eat insects, rodents, lizards, and small(er) birds. Sometimes the owls will <a href="https://news.ufl.edu/archive/2004/09/scientists-burrowing-owls-use-dung-to-fish-for-beetles.html">scatter feces</a> around their burrows in order to attract and ultimately consume dung beetles.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A burrowing owl standing on dead grass." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GBYkLmd5M2fBwntl7n-oAC8A5tI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24575118/Owl1_forstory.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kxSfEw">
In recent decades, though, owls have had a hard time fulfilling those needs.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5fqznd">
Ranchers, farmers, and other landowners often kill burrowing rodents that eat crops and dig up the ground, creating a shortage of suitable holes. Growing cities and suburbs have paved over much of their habitat. Meanwhile, the US, Canada, and other countries have waged a war on crop-eating insects like grasshoppers, leaving the owls (and countless other animals) with less food.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="puKkxh">
Populations of burrowing owls have plummeted across much of their range. In the last 50 years, they’ve declined “dramatically” in Canada, where they’re now federally endangered, according to one <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-52/issue-2/JRR-16-109.1/Spatial-and-Temporal-Patterns-In-Population-Trends-and-Burrow-Usage/10.3356/JRR-16-109.1.full">2018 study</a>. US populations have fallen as well, according to the <a href="https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/specl19v4.html">North American Breeding Bird Survey</a>, though not as precipitously.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C7Vjqm">
“They’ve declined in most of their native areas,” said Courtney Conway, an avian ecologist at the University of Idaho.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2s5rNF">
Owls in eastern Washington state and parts of coastal and central California have been especially hard hit, Conway said. In California, they’re dubbed a “<a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/SSC">species of special concern</a>,” a vague category for species that are not officially endangered but still at risk.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BhmTcR">
Then there’s the Imperial Valley, which is in some ways an exception to this trend. While there were always burrowing owls in the valley, Conway said, they only occurred in low densities before humans developed the region, when it was an open desert. The growth of farmland caused their population to balloon.
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="kvy0DO"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AypCRD">
<strong>It almost never rains in the Imperial Valley.</strong> Crops only grow here because of the Colorado River, an iconic feature of the American West that lies 60 miles east along the Arizona border. A large channel known as the All American Canal carries water to the valley, which then enters a series of smaller channels that run alongside farms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2f0gYn">
Those farmside channels are key to the region’s burrowing owl abundance.
</p>
<div class="c-wide-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A burrowing owl in flight with a canal and a green field behind it." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8tm_0xLxEodDL-to8g1YuF7MCgo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24575179/B88A0334_copy.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V8AIcm">
The banks are made of relatively loose dirt, which makes them easy for animals to burrow into. I saw holes everywhere while driving along the channels last month — and some of the resident excavators. Most of the burrows are dug by round-tailed ground squirrels, rodents about the size of a chipmunk. (As I drew near them, the rodents would chirp rather adorably and dart underground.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s4JvQs">
Dirt banks along channels and roads make for great squirrel burrows, and those burrows make perfect nesting grounds for owls, Conway said.
</p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A ground squirrel peering out of a burrow beside a concrete canal." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tuDztpjtSPF4XTuAXE4XSHS1Aok=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577619/B88A0241_copy.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YLHFl9">
The other secret to this owl oasis is food. The Colorado River fills the Imperial Valley with water, allowing farmers to grow crops, such as produce and forage grasses, year-round. That provides a steady source of sustenance for ground squirrels but also for a range of other critters that burrowing owls eat, such as beetles. “The animal life there is very rich because we’re putting huge amounts of water onto a desert,” Conway said, adding that agriculture has been “a boon to burrowing owls.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Vc0lZ5">
Population data for burrowing owls is a bit spotty, but the region does appear to be a stronghold for the species, according to Conway and the Imperial Irrigation District (IID), a regional water and electric utility that monitors the birds. The Imperial Valley has one of the highest concentrations of burrowing owls anywhere in North America, Conway said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qTTwiR">
Surveys commissioned by IID every few years from 2007 to 2020 indicate that there are somewhere between 7,000 and 11,000 owls along IID-operated channels — and the bird population is stable. These numbers are most certainly underestimates for the Imperial Valley because they don’t cover habitat across the entire region. “It’s a healthy population,” said Stevie Sharp, an environmental specialist at IID.
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="We0gzC"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2fXM7j">
<strong>Farmers I spoke to in the Imperial Valley</strong> don’t have particularly strong feelings toward burrowing owls. They mostly let them be. And while growers do trap and kill some ground squirrels, eradication efforts haven’t been severe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I87C8N">
Perhaps that’s another reason why these owls are so abundant here: Farmers tolerate them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hDRBzX">
(A complicated, 20-year-old water agreement between districts in Southern California also requires the IID to conserve the owls, such as by avoiding construction during certain times of the year.)
</p>
<div class="p-fullbleed-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A burrowing owl standing atop of clump of dirt, outlined against a green field." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sLHCbuOrJKqaMTzUtM_vQhuOyGU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24577903/B88A0371_copy__1_.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J1gRO1">
The owls certainly benefit farmers, too, by preying on pests that might otherwise eat their crops, Conway said. It’s a good example of how maintaining at least some semblance of an ecosystem has value. Plants provide food for ground squirrels which provide homes for owls which provide free pest control.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LBLFgx">
The future of the region’s owl population is uncertain, and some data from the Breeding Bird Survey suggests it may be smaller than it was 25 years ago. Some experts also fear that any changes to farmland could cause declines, said Peter Bloom, a zoologist who was involved in some of the IID-commissioned surveys. If farmers are pushed to use less water as the Colorado River’s shortage worsens, for example, some of them may stop growing alfalfa. Hays tend to attract the insects that owls like to eat, he said.
</p>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A burrowing owl." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bT8UZD0ylz2_k6MV4MLlMhUpjI8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24575133/B88A0220_copy.jpeg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SRxoHO">
But it’s clear that farmland has tremendously benefited them. And this point is worth emphasizing: While human activities often unravel ecosystems and the life they sustain, sometimes they form new ones that support important and even threatened species. This is especially true when farmers <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2022/8/15/23301352/inflation-reduction-act-farms-climate-wildlife">are paid</a> to invest in projects that help restore some native ecosystem features.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mRARyK">
All kinds of wild animals can flourish in human-dominated landscapes. A large and healthy population of river otters is living <a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/23180428/river-otters-iowa-restoration">among farmland in Iowa</a>, for example, which is perhaps the most ecologically disturbed state in the country. Even tiny patches of grass near airports <a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/23433773/bell-bowl-prairie-grassland-illinois-rockford-airport">can sustain important species</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xDasO6">
This isn’t an attempt to glorify human development. Farms and cities are a big part of the problem; they’re why burrowing owls are rare in other parts of the continent. Rather, it’s an important reminder that wild animals can live alongside us if they can meet their basic needs and we let them be. Ultimately, there’s only so much land that we can envelop in parks and reserves, so we should conserve wildlife wherever we find it.
</p></li>
<li><strong>What doing other people’s taxes taught me about our broken tax code</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A volunteer tax preparer helps a client." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sErt6PuVTih-cIker6pH3fWeplI=/0x0:1609x1207/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72182800/1089007826.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Julianna Chow, left, helps Rob Liberman with his taxes at the Boulder, Colorado, public Llibrary in 2002. Chow was a VITA volunteer, like me. | Jon Hatch/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Our tax system is impenetrable, needlessly complex, and intrusive about our personal lives.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ayKKwB">
I love taxes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c18ZEd">
I relish doing my own taxes; I wake up every New Year’s like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlJtfbk1eRs">Ned Flanders</a>, eager to fill out my 1040 as soon as possible and impatient that I don’t have my W-2 yet. But it’s more than that. I cut my teeth as a reporter on the budget battles of Obama’s first term, much of which hinged on the fate of Bush’s tax cuts, set to expire in 2010 and then again in 2012.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QTyAUv">
Even earlier, when I was in middle school, I remember my mom ordering me to go to bed when I was staying up late on my lime green iBook trying to draft a new tax code; the problem wasn’t that I was up too late but that I was getting too angry at the state of the tax code and she thought I could use some rest.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RtIZuq">
So it’s probably unsurprising that I wound up volunteering for VITA: the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers">Volunteer Income Tax Assistance</a> program, an IRS-led endeavor in which local nonprofits provide tax preparation services free of charge. The services are aimed at people with limited English, disabilities, and/or income below $60,000. That’s obviously a lot of people, and the office gets busy, particularly as the mid-April deadline approaches.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GWR1GG">
I’ve volunteered for four years now; some of my VITA colleagues have been at this for decades. It’s immensely rewarding, but it’s also changed the way I think about, and write about, the tax code.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MPd9Dd">
Reporting on congressional fights about taxes gives you an excellent view of why the code is the way it is from policymakers’ point of view. That’s a good vantage point for understanding how the code came to be, but a bad one for understanding how well the code is working.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="L8ANYf">
If a 23-year-old office cleaner were to ask me to explain why she can’t get the earned income tax credit (EITC), the main tax provision meant to help working people near the poverty line, I could recall my old reporting and say that it’s because she’s too young and has no kids; childless people didn’t get the EITC at all until 1993 — and then only because Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) cut a deal with skeptics who worried about it going to college students with rich parents — but only those 25 and over.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MAQonH">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KRELWW">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="a2MptL">
That, however, doesn’t explain why it’s fair or appropriate for her to not get the help she’d get if she were two years older.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JvOfWK">
That’s a small example — and a fictional one; I’m not going to violate anyone’s privacy by discussing specific tax situations — but there are some larger lessons I’ve gathered too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YANYyn">
I should be clear that these are my views and I speak for none of my fellow VITA volunteers or the wonderful organization itself. I’m just offering my own take on what policymakers could do to make life easier for our clients.
</p>
<h3 id="4IQG3C">
You gotta withhold
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FQoSRE">
The return you want to be handed as a tax preparer, the easiest possible one to deal with, is a “one W2.” That means a taxpayer who has one job, where they’re classified as a normal employee, get paid a wage from which taxes are withheld, and has no other income.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WuaJ0U">
These returns are easy; you just type the W2 into TaxSlayer, the software VITA uses, and you’re basically good.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qm6l8V">
Many returns aren’t “one W2”s, and often due to no fault of the taxpayer. The most common scenario is <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/gig-economy-tax-center">gig economy work</a>. Typically, employers like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, etc. do not treat their workers as normal employees, do not withhold income or payroll tax, and do not issue W-2s.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="80vsDN">
Instead they <a href="https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/tax-information/">issue</a> <a href="https://www.lyft.com/driver/taxes/us">1099</a>-<a href="https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/Common-Dasher-Tax-Questions?language=en_US">NECs</a> (non-employee compensation), for the income they paid to their workers as independent contractors. I’ve also increasingly seen people bringing in 1099-NECs totaling well into the five figures from what sound like pretty normal jobs in retail or food service or janitorial work that one would think should provide W-2s.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nUzIo1">
Almost without fail, this approach winds up screwing workers. 1099-NEC workers tend to come in without having withheld any of their income to pay either income or self-employment tax during the year. We often learn together that they owe thousands of dollars to the IRS, plus perhaps a penalty because they didn’t make quarterly tax payments like they were supposed to.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xNDrBX">
This has to stop. It’s not fair to ask workers in disproportionately low-paying jobs to sock away hundreds or thousands of dollars a month for tax payments when they’re living paycheck to paycheck. If the government is going to claim that money in taxes, it should enforce stricter withholding rules on companies with large independent contractor workforces so workers aren’t surprised every April.
</p>
<h3 id="JZR5hS">
We need to decide what a child is
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="btt6GY">
On its face, deciding who counts as a child and who doesn’t seems like an easily solvable problem, but it’s actually not — and it’s hugely consequential.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CrUReV">
There are at least three definitions of “child” for tax purposes. One definition allows parents or guardians to claim a larger EITC. A different definition allows a child’s parent or guardian to claim head-of-household filing status, which offers advantages relative to filing as a single person. Then there’s the definition of a “child” for the purposes of the child tax credit (CTC), which takes up to $2,000 per child off families’ tax bills.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vfnqBQ">
These are overlapping but not identical categories, and I’ve seen no small amount of confusion from preparers and taxpayers struggling to figure out if a kid is a child for CTC and<em> </em>head-of-household purposes, or just one of the two, etc.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jMshNZ">
This sounds preposterous, I know, but just look at the decision tree the IRS provides to VITA volunteers to figure out if a child qualifies for the EITC, just one of the three definitions above:
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yId4xB">
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Earned Income Tax Credit qualifying child test. It’s six steps long" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ae5tTM10Ncg-bJc_b1fTGH2m2H0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24583414/image1.png"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4012.pdf" target="_blank">VITA/TCE Volunteer Resource Guide</a></cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IOOwed">
This is from <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4012.pdf">the 4012</a>, the tax volunteer’s bible. On page 176, you can find the equivalent table for the child tax credit; on page 52, the one for head-of-household status.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C5xizZ">
The differences are subtle, but significant. If a child is 18 and married? Eligible for the EITC, but not the CTC or HOH (but you could get the ADC — the Additional Dependent Credit, a whole different tax credit!). Eighteen and unmarried? Then HOH is on the table but not CTC (don’t forget about ADC though).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Pj5IfX">
This is … ridiculous. It’s marginally less ridiculous thanks to the Trump tax cuts, which consolidated the child tax credit and “personal exemptions” for dependent children into one enlarged credit. But that just wiped the frosting off a moldy cake. You have to throw the whole cake in the trash.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LpW32W">
The minimalist approach to fixing this would be to rewrite the law so that any child who qualifies their parent or guardian for the EITC also counts for HOH and CTC.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nCFGuH">
A better, more ambitious approach would be to try to <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/option-reform-income-tax-treatment-families-and-work">consolidate these various benefits for families with kids</a>. There are various ways to do this. The easiest would be to follow the <a href="https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/tlaib-omar-garcia-introduces-end-child-poverty-act-cut-child-poverty-nearly">End Child Poverty Act</a> and replace the child tax credit and the child portion of the EITC with a single monthly check for all children (though even that bill falls short because it doesn’t end head-of-household status). If policymakers are worried that such a benefit would discourage work, they could replace all three provisions with a phased-in monthly check based on the previous year’s earnings.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="adkSwG">
Whatever your views on the optimal underlying policy here, there’s no reason why the presentation and implementation have to be this complicated.
</p>
<h3 id="mruuur">
The government would like to know about your marriage
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DKLMKT">
Being a tax preparer means asking total strangers about some of the most intimate aspects of their personal lives, repeatedly.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Nrl0uR">
Even in a simplified world where the government sent out checks for each child in the mail (as happens in <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/27/15388696/child-benefit-universal-cash-tax-credit-allowance">much of the rich world</a>), the government would still need to know where to send that check, and would need a test to determine which adult or adults in a child’s life should get it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wk777c">
Along those lines, the government also demands to know about marriage. The whole income tax code is organized around marital status: Your marriage or lack thereof determines what filing status you can choose.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V7zBTo">
Filing status determines what standard deduction you can claim and when different tax brackets kick in, which for many tax filers is the most important factor in how much they pay. If you’re married, you can file jointly with your spouse, or separately — but <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf#page=24">the code is set up to heavily penalize you</a> if you file separately.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QtuHun">
In reality, life is messy. Sometimes people get married and drift apart. The tax code makes some allowances for this, but the EITC, for instance, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p596.pdf#page=5">requires people to either be legally separated or live apart for the last six months of the year</a> to claim the credit while married filing separately. If you move out in July and your spouse won’t grant a legal separation? Or you live in a state where <a href="https://www.justia.com/family/divorce/legal-separation-in-divorce-laws-50-state-survey/">legal separations aren’t allowed</a>? Tough luck — either you file with your spouse anyway or you don’t get the credit.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Kfnr4z">
These situations are hard enough to live through; it’s worse when you have to explain to a stranger preparing your taxes (like me!).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HG2tLW">
More generally, joint filing creates a strange system where some filers are heavily penalized, and others rewarded, for getting married. A <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/racial-disparities-income-tax-treatment-marriage">Tax Policy Center study</a> from earlier this year estimated that 43 percent of married couples pay more in taxes (averaging $2,064) for being married; another 43 percent pay less (averaging $3,062). For only 14 percent of taxpayers does marriage make no difference. In general, the bonuses go to couples with unequal earnings, such as those where one partner doesn’t work, while those with equal earnings are penalized.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EPWfB2">
In practice, it’s a factor pushing women out of the workforce. This has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272708000303">found</a> in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24439984">numerous</a> <a href="https://academic.oup.com/restud/article-abstract/79/3/1113/1535631">high-quality</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0927537114000517">studies</a> across <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.p20171063">numerous</a> <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10797-013-9283-y">countries</a>. One <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/institute-working-papers/are-marriage-related-taxes-and-social-security-benefits-holding-back-female-labor-supply">recent paper</a> estimated that in the US, eliminating joint filing would increase married women’s participation in the labor force by more than 20 percentage points until age 35; the effect diminishes a bit with age but remains large. Given that there are <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2021/demo/age-and-sex/2021-age-sex-composition.html">about 11 million married women under 35 in the US</a>, that implies some 2.2 million more workers, which could have significant positive economic ramifications.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aj4ZmM">
<a href="https://researchdatabase.minneapolisfed.org/downloads/cv43nw997"></a>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K3x92u">
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Bb0r98">
The solution is to get the tax code out of the marriage business. Most rich countries have abandoned joint tax filing altogether: A <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/be/Documents/tax/TaxStudiesAndSurveys/Personal-income-tax-return-study_EN_2017.pdf#page=11">2017 survey from Deloitte</a> found that 62 percent of countries surveyed, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and all of Scandinavia, require that individuals pay taxes on their own and disallow joint filing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SbcA5i">
Eliminating joint returns, and moving to a system where everyone has the same filing status, would create winners and losers, but it would treat couples equally regardless of earnings, and it would make life vastly simpler for the millions of Americans who do not fit neatly into the IRS’s categories.
</p>
<h3 id="op8COI">
Should this really be in the tax code?
</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A photo showing students on a sunny college campus." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lwG5ZS19snpAr3VuAR_-jtp06to=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24583424/1235588015.jpg"/> <cite>Terry Pierson/The Press-Enterprise via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Should benefits for students like these ones at UC Riverside be administered through taxes, or through financial aid?
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f7ojyQ">
The main tax credits we deal with in VITA are the EITC and CTC, which have their complexities (see above).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ufHTcp">
After that, the most common are the education credits: the refundable American opportunity tax credit (AOTC), which covers four years of undergraduate college education, and the lifetime learning credit (LLC).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YoNOGc">
These credits have <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4012.pdf#page=232">subtle differences</a> that become important: The AOTC, for instance, bars students with felony drug convictions from collecting the credit, which the LLC does not; but the AOTC can also be used for the cost of books and materials that are helpful but not explicitly required for classes, which the LLC cannot.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oItebV">
This is all a significant headache for affected taxpayers — and I can say from experience that asking, “Have you been convicted of a drug-related felony?” does not become an easier question to ask the more you ask it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cUeGp6">
A common proposal from higher ed wonks is to <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w22127/w22127.pdf#page=26">fold these credits into an increase in the value of Pell Grants</a>, which are a <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-economic-case-for-doubling-the-pell-grant/">well-targeted program aimed at students from families with low incomes</a> and which don’t require a complex tax return to receive. That’s a very good idea, and one worth applying to a number of other less-used provisions too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YGi2g9">
The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc602">child and dependent care credit</a> (CDCC, not to be confused with the similarly named, much larger child tax credit) is a <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2023/02/13/with-federal-child-care-legislation-abandoned-its-up-to-states-to-help-working-families/">mess</a>. This is a credit meant to defray the cost of child care, nannies, preschool, and related services.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C98g6g">
Most clients I work with who have kids in day care are not eligible for it because you have to owe income taxes to get it, and most low-income people don’t owe income taxes; they file to get “refundable” credits that people who don’t owe can receive. One solution would be to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/6/3/5776044/rich-parents-get-the-biggest-child-care-tax-breaks">make the CDCC fully refundable</a> — but a better one would be to remove this complication from the tax code entirely.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fUBurQ">
The leading Democratic proposal on child care, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1360/text">Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) Child Care for Working Families Act</a>, would offer funds to state-run programs that provide subsidies directly, so people can get the money when they need it to pay child care bills, rather than at the end of tax season.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="igJDTG">
That plan <a href="https://www.vox.com/22744837/house-senate-democrats-build-back-better-child-care">has its own problems</a>, but it gets that part right. Not everything has to be in the tax code.
</p>
<h3 id="vFeME7">
A world without tax filing
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z2gRCS">
If you add up the suggestions above, you get a vastly simpler tax code. Indeed, they put you in a good position to implement a system in which very few people have to file income taxes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P9O0rB">
In a 2019 paper, <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jeffreyliebman/files/liebman_ramsey_independent_taxation.pdf">economists Jeffrey Liebman and Daniel Ramsey</a> ran through the changes the US would have to make to adopt this system of exact-withholding. Under this approach, used by the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/income-tax/how-you-pay-income-">UK</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/opinion/filing-taxes-in-japan-is-a-breeze-why-not-here.html">Japan</a>, and <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-other-countries-use-return-free-filing">others</a>, “the majority of taxpayers do not need to file tax returns. Instead, these countries use withholding systems in which the correct amount of tax is withheld during the year.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HUVS1t">
That could be us — so why isn’t it? They offer four big aspects of the US tax code that prevent it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QOh4nG">
The first is the complex system of benefits for families with children. Creating a simple monthly child benefit would solve that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IlA8JT">
The second is that capital income like interest and stock capital gains aren’t “taxed at the source”: your broker doesn’t automatically tax, say, 30 percent of the proceeds from selling stock and send it to the IRS. Creating a flat tax on capital imposed at the source would eliminate filing requirements for most people with this kind of income.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xoMLm3">
Third is the numerous deductions in the tax code. Most of these, like the mortgage interest or charitable deductions, don’t come up much in VITA because it’s almost always more advantageous for clients to claim a standard deduction — but things like the education credits do come up, and removing them would simplify our clients’ lives.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qCOzhT">
Fourth and most important is eliminating joint returns and moving to individual-based taxation. Joint filing makes precise withholding much more difficult because employers would need to know the earnings of each of their employees’ spouses in order to withhold correctly. If everyone’s taxed as an individual, then eliminating joint filing wouldn’t mean couples would have to file two returns: They’d have to file zero because precise withholding would be possible.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5JTArh">
In this kind of world, VITA wouldn’t necessarily run out of clients. Even in a world where Uber and DoorDash got better about withholding, we’d still have some clients with complex self-employment situations that they’d need help with.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ywbebu">
But our client base would be much, much, much smaller. Nothing would make me happier than to know the IRS made our clients’ lives easier so that my colleagues and I don’t have to. If the system became more functional, our obsolescence would be a happy development.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Is Twitter finally dying?</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A drawing of a gravestone with the etching “R.I.P.” and a blue bird sitting atop it." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/St91JPXSnNjTB0iUJvs_Q9TQ9i0=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72182742/Twitter_dying.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Dion Lee / Vox
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
After an extraordinarily chaotic past few weeks, the slow death of Twitter seems to be speeding up.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1dS13G">
It’s been a year since Elon Musk <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/4/14/23024962/elon-musk-twitter-43-billion-private-analysis">initiated</a> his takeover of Twitter. The six months since he actually <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/10/27/23424938/elon-musk-own-twitter-deal-closes-what-will-change-superapp-layoffs-free-speech-parag-agrawal">took charge</a> can only be characterized as chaotic, and quietly, in early April, Musk <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-11/twitter-becomes-x-corp-as-musk-advances-everything-app-hopes#xj4y7vzkg">merged Twitter with a new shell company called X Corp</a>. In other words, Twitter Inc. no longer exists.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DsNvG8">
Musk painted a rosy picture in an April 12 <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65248196">interview with the BBC</a>. He said that Twitter is thriving with “record high usage” and that, despite some “compute glitches here and there,” the “site is doing really well,” advertisers who initially fled the platform after his takeover have mostly returned, and the company is on track to make a profit by next quarter. Musk also scoffed at the idea that he had destroyed Twitter, saying that predictions that the platform would “cease to exist” have “turned out to be false.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ab7MWf">
To some extent, what Musk was saying is true: Twitter did not implode overnight in a catastrophic technical meltdown, as some of the more <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/17/twitter-archive-tweets-company-shuts">skeptical critics of Musk’s reign</a> had warned.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BJjSNx">
So Twitter isn’t dead. But it’s getting there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eikbH9">
If you’re on Twitter today, you’re likely experiencing a feed that is more frequently broken, more random, and more unhinged. The site has seen a sustained uptick in outages and bugs. Many users are complaining about seeing more <a href="https://time.com/6251833/twitter-for-you-page-tiktok/">content in the new For You</a> feed that they don’t want to see. There are active <a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/170176/twitter-suspends-white-supremacist-nick-fuentes">neo-Nazis on the platform</a>. And just this week, NPR and PBS, two major news outlets with over 10 million combined followers, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/12/1169269161/npr-leaves-twitter-government-funded-media-label">stopped using the platform</a>, saying they had lost faith in Musk’s decision-making after he slapped a “government-funded media” label on the accounts.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NaZ9IH">
Some people on Twitter, especially Musk’s dedicated fan base, are embracing Musk’s shake-up. But there’s no denying that Twitter today is a more unreliable experience than it was before Musk took over. Musk has justified his many controversial moves by saying that he’s doing it in the name of <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/23042878/elon-musk-twitter-free-speech">free speech</a>: to remove power from check mark-touting “media elites” and distribute it to everyone else, no matter how abhorrent their views.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZZ175X">
The problem is, Musk’s plan doesn’t seem to be working as well as he’s saying. Twitter’s web traffic dropped by nearly 8 percent last month compared to the year before, and has been dropping for the past three months year over year, according to new estimates from data intelligence firm SimilarWeb. This directly contradicts Musk’s claims that usage is up. In terms of Twitter’s main line of income, advertising, outside data also conflicts with Musk’s claims that all is well. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/10/tech/twitter-top-advertiser-decline/index.html#:~:text=Companies%20as%20wide%2Dranging%20as,took%20over%20in%20October%202022.&amp;text=Twitter%2C%20which%20eliminated%20much%20of,to%20a%20request%20for%20comment.">Multiple</a> <a href="https://adage.com/article/marketing-news-strategy/wendys-national-roast-day-moves-twitter-tiktok/2486516">reports</a> over the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/126219c4-5ac0-4c8b-996c-307c24a4cd61">past few months</a> have shown that top brands are continuing to leave the platform since Musk took over.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ISBqXC">
Vox spoke with over half a dozen current and former Twitter employees, advertising and marketing experts, and users about the current state of the company. Many of those who worked at Twitter said the platform was only alive because of the technical strength and reputation it’s built over the past 17 years.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="35MPkx">
“You can blow both engines on a jet, and the jet is still going to glide,” said one former Twitter employee of seven years, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fear of professional repercussions. They added, however, that people should worry about Twitter’s recent privacy bugs, including <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/10/twitter-circle-bug-not-private/?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABy0AfBBm8GDfeNhzCt54eDxlJcH83MMEl1h6SilbMPIuiOFojt5Z7gANiYe8tGma-ZDWwVcfceBU7KKoLvBUx0Q7_n0PoGLZU218O8snRRELsWdhaX85OP_YvTKfhml03LJlduYirAZUq6oP_istK-TXLlyvVAEgZvjIEWVgWOH">one that affected Twitter Circles</a>, a feature that’s supposed to send certain tweets only to specific users. Instead, these tweets were made public.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PcYFV5">
“If there are ways the product is breaking apart behind the scenes in ways you don’t see,” the former employee said, “then that’s a really, really bad sign.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0zxlRp">
Any attempts to write the eulogy for Twitter, though, are still premature. Musk <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/teslas-elon-musk-keeps-proving-the-naysayers-wrong-2020-03-11">has a way of defying odds</a>. And despite a batch of contenders like <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23683140/artifact-substack-notes-twitter-competitors">Substack and Artifact</a>, there still isn’t a competing platform that’s seeing the kind of hypergrowth it would need to truly overtake Twitter. That’s partly because some of Twitter’s biggest power users, including journalists, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/12/2/23488678/twitter-journalists-quitting-elon-musk-mastodon-post">just can’t seem to quit the platform</a>, so it’s not clear where the new digital town square will be. Another issue is that, in the era of TikTok, the world seems to have moved on from <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/12/6/23496363/twitter-mastodon-hive-musk-replacement">text-based social media apps</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JUVoc8">
How exactly Twitter is losing its relevance and maybe dying is complicated. How it has managed to survive Musk’s chaotic reign, however, feels downright mysterious.
</p>
<h3 id="1gCJaF">
The basics: Twitter by the numbers
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="83UyWn">
There are two basic questions you can ask to assess the viability of any for-profit social media platform: Are people using it? And is it making money?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2ngk9N">
On the first question, Musk says that Twitter’s usage is at an all-time high of 8 billion minutes per day. But those assertions aren’t supported by outside <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/twitter-users-down-democrats-elon-musk">estimates</a>, which — although not exact — suggest that Twitter is actually less popular than before Musk took over.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="07nnpV">
Twitter had a 7.7 percent decline in traffic in March compared to the year before, according to SimilarWeb data, which marks the third month in a row of year-over-year traffic decline. The analytics firm also recorded a 3.3 percent drop in Twitter’s unique web page visitor count year over year in March; on Twitter’s Android app, average daily active users were down 9.8 percent in March year over year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZiiLwz">
Those numbers aren’t necessarily devastating — and Twitter was already <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-where-did-tweeters-go-twitter-is-losing-its-most-active-users-internal-2022-10-25/">losing users even before Musk took over</a> — but they’re in stark contrast to the “better than ever” user numbers Musk keeps citing.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/h9K3cfw8J0P38h53QmpRrrs14hs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24586552/GettyImages_1244262469.jpg"/> <cite>Twitter account of Elon Musk/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Elon Musk bringing a sink into Twitter’s offices on his first official day as owner. Musk tweeted the picture and wrote “let that sink in!”
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q2sLrl">
Part of the disparity between Musk’s numbers and those of third parties could be explained by how they’re being measured. Even if traffic is down, engagement — that is, how much people are interacting with content on Twitter — may be higher. Musk has also said he cares most about “<a href="https://twitter.com/alexeheath/status/1605452043262386177?lang=en">unregretted user minutes.</a>” This novel metric, which Musk may or may not have made up, refers to minutes that people spend on the platform that they think was time well spent.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ruNJPl">
Of course, since Twitter is no longer a public company, it doesn’t have to share the details of its user numbers on a regular basis. That means only Musk and Twitter have direct access to internal numbers on user engagement and time spent. So outside estimates of these metrics aren’t a perfect reflection of the size and growth of Twitter’s base. Nevertheless, these third-party statistics raise serious doubts about Musk’s claim that Twitter usage is at an all-time high.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XMl8hR">
On the question of whether Twitter is making money, the company has two main forms of income — advertising and subscriber revenue — neither of which seem to be doing great.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z08tJ5">
Over half of Twitter’s top advertisers from before Musk’s acquisition were still no longer advertising with the company as of last month, according to data from intelligence firm SensorTower by Pathmatics. Many of these advertisers are primarily <a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/3/23/23651151/twitter-advertisers-elon-musk-brands-revenue-fleeing">worried about Musk’s volatile online presence</a>, including his tweets promoting conspiracy theories. In his recent BBC interview, Musk said that advertisers are “mostly coming back,” without naming which ones.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2ofi35">
Later this month, Musk will speak to advertisers at a major marketing conference run by advertising giant MMA, where he’ll also be <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/11/elon-musk-twitter-nbcuniversal-sales-chief-linda-yaccarino-give-the-guy-a-minute-1235170436/">interviewed by influential</a> NBCUniversal ad exec Linda Yaccarino. This could be a chance for Musk to ease the concerns of the brands that have fled and try to convince them that business is back to normal. Privately, though, advertisers are reportedly worried about Musk’s presence at the conference, and some have raised concerns about his “racist rhetoric,” <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/04/06/2023/before-meeting-with-elon-musk-top-advertisers-privately-debate-his-racist-rhetoric">according to news outlet Semafor</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S2BDzj">
If Musk isn’t able to woo back advertisers, he’ll need subscribers for Twitter Blue, a recently revamped subscription plan that charges users for blue verification check marks and other perks, like having their tweets featured more prominently.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HY9EXZ">
That’s going to be challenging. The latest metrics show that only 0.2 percent of Twitter users are paying for Twitter Blue. Twitter Blue did have an estimated 116,000 confirmed signups on the web in March, up 138 percent from the month before, according to SimilarWeb. Still, that’s not nearly enough to make up for the lost money in advertising dollars.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nNzPkw">
Musk has been working on a plan to push more people to the paid checkmarks, however. On April 20 — or 4/20, a reference to the old weed joke and possibly <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1026872652290379776?lang=en">his favorite number</a> — Musk says Twitter will finally <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/11/4/23438917/twitter-verifications-blue-check-elon-musk">revoke checkmarks</a> from all verified users who don’t currently pay for Twitter Blue. Many notable users and newsrooms, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/twitter-musk-blue-checks-new-york-times-338cb27ac4ae5d1186613104c23fd8c8">including the New York Times</a>, have said they don’t plan to dish out the fee of $8 a month per employee and $1,000 per month for their organizations’ checkmarks.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JEj9DO">
Convincing Twitter users to pay for something they used to get for free is a tough pitch.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NKAq80">
“I’m skeptical that Twitter Blue will become an important source of monetization and generally believe that social media platforms can’t rely on subscriptions as their primary revenue mechanic,” Eric Seufert, an industry analyst for Mobile Dev Memo, said in a Twitter DM.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Nr8u63">
But the real sign of Twitter dying may lie beyond the pure metrics. It’s in how much more unpleasant it is for many users to spend time on the platform.
</p>
<h3 id="sLCjWG">
The user experience: More glitches, more Nazis, and more random content
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wfzZgF">
There’s another, more subjective way to judge whether a social media app is dying or not: the quality of a user’s experience.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5GGb9l">
This is a harder metric to quantify, and there’s a mix of opinions about these kinds of changes to Twitter. However, there are some clear ways that Twitter as a product has suffered under Musk’s leadership.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y7tRiR">
For example, Twitter used to be a place for people, especially journalists, to gather for major news moments. But this month’s Trump arrest <a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/4/5/23671478/donald-trump-arrest-twitter-arraignment-social-media">was an underwhelming moment on the platform</a>, garnering far fewer tweets than past Trump moments on Twitter, like when the former president was diagnosed with Covid. That may be because Musk has been making the platform less journalist-friendly. But it might just be that Twitter is harder to use.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kuqDmT">
There’s been a string of notable outages that make Twitter a less reliable app, technically speaking. While Twitter has always had crashes, they’ve been more frequent lately. In February, Twitter experienced <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/technology/twitter-outages-elon-musk.html#:~:text=In%20February%20alone%2C%20Twitter%20experienced,on%20the%20rise%2C%20NetBlocks%20said.">four site outages, according to the New York Times</a>. And even when the site isn’t completely down, there are often major significant feature glitches, like earlier this week when many Twitter users were temporarily <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1646356797408661504">unable to reply to tweets on the web</a>.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Elon Musk smiling and laughing, wearing a tuxedo and white tie." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OAWurUp3xsxexoLy1VcP4-qnLA4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24586557/GettyImages_1395059297.jpg"/> <cite>John Shearer/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Elon Musk at the Met Gala in May 2022, looking happy, before he bought Twitter.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LtWN35">
Musk has also made some controversial changes to Twitter’s core design. A big one involved changing the site’s primary feed from a list of only users you follow to a feed that also shows more algorithmically suggested content from users you don’t follow. It’s called the For You feed, similar to TikTok’s homepage. While some people like the change, others find it harder to keep up with the users they actually follow and care about.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cDz6Uk">
“Before, I would get more feeds from people and topics that I tend to visit more often,” Nalan Yurtsever, a resident pathologist at Northwell Health who mainly uses Twitter to keep up with academics in her field, said in a DM. “I feel like it has gotten worse. I spend less time on it now because it is less relevant.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UQ4AAJ">
Other users complain that it’s harder to separate fact from fiction because, thanks to the changes to Twitter Blue, anyone can now buy verification and a blue check mark.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q399Xv">
Another major concern about users’ day-to-day experience is hate speech.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mijC7U">
In November, Musk started granting “general amnesty” to thousands of accounts that were previously banned for hate speech, violence, or misinformation. Unsurprisingly, several outside reports show that hate speech has been on the rise. Slurs against Black Americans increased from an average of 1,282 times to 3,876 times a day since Musk took over, according to a report from <a href="https://counterhate.com/blog/the-musk-bump-quantifying-the-rise-in-hate-speech-under-elon-musk/">the Center for Countering Digital Hate</a> published in December. And antisemitic tweets doubled from June 2022 to February 2023, according to research from the Institute of Strategic Dialogue.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d7j8S6">
Musk has insisted, including in his recent BBC interview, that those reports are false and that hate speech is declining at Twitter. Nevertheless, Twitter approved and verified a user with <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/debug/twitter-blue-user-n-word-verified-account/">the n-word in his username</a> this week. That was after the company allowed several well-known, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/neo-nazi-andrew-anglin-twitter-rife-misogyny-1234671105/">self-avowed neo-Nazis</a> back on the platform.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lN8OqR">
It’s still hard to say exactly how much this hate speech gets seen. It’s possible that, as Musk has previously claimed the platform would do, Twitter has down-ranked people who produce hate speech so that even if there are more instances of hate speech, those tweets are viewed less often.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rhjvCm">
Overall, there are certainly users who like the changes Musk has made to Twitter’s feed and content moderation policies. Many of them tend to fit into one of a handful of categories: Musk’s dedicated fans, people who were previously suspended from Twitter, and people with interests that align with Musk’s follower base, like crypto and Tesla.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YH6fn8">
So one could argue that, over time, we won’t see Twitter die completely but rather shrink to fit a user base that’s more niche.
</p>
<h3 id="BNlHRy">
Why Twitter may be dying but isn’t dead yet
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UXlCgG">
Despite all of Twitter’s problems, it’s still kicking — and there are a few major reasons for that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4w2voR">
For one, Musk has successfully drawn attention to Twitter by creating drama around his own actions. Each week seems to bring a new publicity stunt, like when Musk changed the logo on Twitter’s app and website to a doge icon or when he altered the sign outside Twitter headquarters to read “Titter.” Musk’s recent spur-of-the-moment interview with the BBC drew in more than 3 million listeners on Twitter Spaces; <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/fox-news-viewership-crushes-msnbc-cnn-110-straight-week-among-both-total-viewers-primetime">for comparison, about 2 million people watch</a> Fox News during primetime.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kAlN37">
In other words, Musk is a master troll.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7kQPir">
And while Musk’s antics alienate many users, some conservatives have celebrated his leadership at Twitter, seeing him as someone who liberated the company from what they saw as overly strict content moderation policies. In fact, in the days after Musk’s takeover, conservative accounts saw their <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/27/23045005/conservative-twitter-follower-boost-musk-acquisition-data">follower counts go up</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PilODI">
There are also a few signs of hope for Twitter on the advertising front. Despite the broader brand exodus, a handful of major companies, including McDonald’s, Disney, and Apple, continue to spend on the platform.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="The sign on the Twitter building in San Francisco has a clock, the word “@Twitter,” and the blue bird logo." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ilsDcOFs_26_8Sw74w1RvAnucbc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24586554/GettyImages_1251763316.jpg"/> <cite>Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, where Elon Musk said he sleeps sometimes.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9KlTpJ">
But by far, the main reason Twitter is still alive is because there is <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/12/6/23496363/twitter-mastodon-hive-musk-replacement">no viable competitor</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CKIH15">
The decentralized network Mastodon, for one, has attracted many journalists. But unlike Twitter, it runs on a collection of disparate, interconnected servers, which makes it difficult for the average user to navigate. The popular newsletter platform Substack has recently emerged as another Twitter competitor — Musk also recently banned the company on Twitter — but it’s not clear how much time Substack users will want to spend on a feed when they’re used to reading writers they follow in their inbox. Then there’s Artifact, a startup created by Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom that’s still in its early stages. Even Meta is reportedly working on a <a href="https://www.platformer.news/p/meta-is-building-a-decentralized">text-based social network</a>, though we still don’t have many details about how it would work.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BMJQT5">
“Twitter is unique. News breaks on Twitter. Culture happens on Twitter,” said advertising executive Lou Paskalis, chief strategy officer of Ad Fontes Media, who has tried other alternatives like Post News. Paskalis says he’s still clinging to Twitter despite the recent changes to the platform and Musk’s “carelessness with the things most important to advertisers and beloved by heavy users of the platform.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9hZktY">
If we want to understand the future of Twitter, we can look to what we know about its new parent company: X. The move was unannounced and unexplained, but it’s related to Musk’s long-stated plans of turning Twitter into an “everything” app, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/23171541/leaked-transcript-elon-musk-first-meeting-twitter-employees">similar to WeChat in China</a>, that will be used to do things like make payments, order food, and hail rides.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VkVboF">
Wharton marketing professor Patti Williams, who studies people’s opinions about companies, thinks the move may have something to do with Musk appealing to his base. Musk has “shaken” Twitter’s reputation, she said, and is disrupting the trust it had with journalists and their audiences. But that’s just one type of audience. For all of the news junkies, culture makers, and politicos he alienates, Musk might be gaining more diehard users, including Tesla enthusiasts, coders, crypto traders, and gamers.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pNwIgm">
In essence, Musk is jeopardizing the strength of Twitter’s brand, but he’s also building a new one in the process.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zcLlHm">
“There’s a lot of value in the Twitter name,” said Williams. “But only if Twitter aspires to what it has been.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dGBh7f">
So, is Twitter dying? The answer is, the old Twitter is already dead. We’re all living in Musk’s more chaotic, drama-filled, polarizing Twittersphere now.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LVStn6">
What’s uncertain is what the new Twitter — or X or whatever Musk calls it — will ultimately look like. And whether it will survive.
</p></li>
</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>Time And Tide waits for no one in the Nilgiris 2000 Guineas</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>IPL 2023, DC vs RCB | Kuldeep-inspired DC spin attack restricts RCB to 174/6</strong> - In pursuit of their first win of the tournament, bottom-placed DC found the going tough after inserting RCB in</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>Anirudh adds another bronze</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>Pain-free Bumrah begins rehab; Iyer to undergo back surgery next week</strong> - The BCCI also gave an update on Shreyas Iyer and said the batter would undergo surgery for his lower back issue next week</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>Pakistan thumps New Zealand in captain Babar’s 100th T20</strong> - Pakistan celebrated the 100th Twenty20 of its all-format captain Babar Azam with a thumping 88-run win over a weakened New Zealand in the first game of five-match series on Friday</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>Congress nominates candidates for Arsikere, Hassan</strong> - Former JD(S) MLA K.M. Shivalinge Gowda to contest on Congress ticket in Arsikere</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>Endowments commissioner takes oath as ex-officio member of TTD board</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>TTD gets donation of ₹1 crore</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>Explained | Why is there concern about the tiger population in the Western Ghats?</strong> - As Project Tiger celebrates 50 years, what is the National Tiger Conservation Authority reporting on the health of the 53 reserves which are home to the big cat?</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>Ahead of the Supreme Court’s verdict on ‘Sena versus Sena’, speculation over fresh political alignments in Maharashtra gathers pace</strong> - The NCP’s history of intrigue with the ruling BJP, and recent contrarian stands on certain issues with other parties in the Opposition MVA alliance, keeps its allies on tenterhooks</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>France pension reforms: Macron signs pension age rise to 64 into law</strong> - President Macron makes the unpopular reforms law despite widespread protests in Paris and other cities.</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>Beatriz Flamini: Athlete emerges after 500 days living in cave</strong> - Beatriz Flamini spent two birthdays in the cave, and kept busy drawing and knitting woolly hats.</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: Pentagon leaks reveal Russian infighting over death toll</strong> - US documents suggest Russian officials disagreed over how casualties were being counted.</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: In Kyiv, top officials shrug off US documents leak</strong> - Officials in Kyiv tell the BBC recent leaks of US intelligence didn’t reveal any important information.</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>Joe Biden in Ireland: President says Mayo is ‘part of my soul’</strong> - The US president was addressing a huge crowd at a homecoming event in County Mayo, ending his trip to Ireland.</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>Dealmaster: Best cheap office chair deals</strong> - The ergonomic, affordable alternatives to Herman Miller and Steelcase chairs. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1931867">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SCOTUS preserves access to abortion pill—for 5 days</strong> - It’s unclear how the high court will ultimately rule on the matter. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1932127">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>After a sharp sales slump, report details some of Apple’s future Mac lineup</strong> - Apple is looking to boost sales after a significant post-pandemic bust. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1932101">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hype grows over “autonomous” AI agents that loop GPT-4 outputs</strong> - AutoGPT and BabyAGI run GPT AI agents to complete complex tasks iteratively. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1929067">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Green light go: SpaceX receives a launch license from the FAA for Starship</strong> - “So far they’ve done what they need to do with regard to environmental impact.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1931432">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 do you call a bear with no teeth?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A gummy bear
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
My 8 year old daughter told me this joke
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/-Putt_Blug-"> /u/-Putt_Blug- </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12mitu8/what_do_you_call_a_bear_with_no_teeth/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12mitu8/what_do_you_call_a_bear_with_no_teeth/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>If you buy a man a plane ticket, he will fly for a day…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
If you push a man out of a plane, he will fly for the rest of his life
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Never_Apologise"> /u/Never_Apologise </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12m1m6z/if_you_buy_a_man_a_plane_ticket_he_will_fly_for_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12m1m6z/if_you_buy_a_man_a_plane_ticket_he_will_fly_for_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How many Germans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Just one. They are a very efficient people.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Additional-Theme-532"> /u/Additional-Theme-532 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12mk7kl/how_many_germans_does_it_take_to_screw_in_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12mk7kl/how_many_germans_does_it_take_to_screw_in_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>My wife asked me “Why don’t you treat me like you did when we were first dating?”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
So I brought her to a Wayans brothers movie, snuck in some vodka in a water bottle and asked her for a handy in the back row
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Czarben"> /u/Czarben </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12m1q1g/my_wife_asked_me_why_dont_you_treat_me_like_you/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12m1q1g/my_wife_asked_me_why_dont_you_treat_me_like_you/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I was at the bar in the International Airport when a small Chinese guy comes in, stands next to me, and starts drinking a beer. I asked him, “Do you know any of those martial arts, like Kung-Fu, or Karate?” He says “No, why in the hell would you ask? Is it because I am Chinese?”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“No”, I said, “It’s because you’re drinking my beer, you little fucker.”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Liv1ng-the-Blues"> /u/Liv1ng-the-Blues </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12lyh6p/i_was_at_the_bar_in_the_international_airport/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/12lyh6p/i_was_at_the_bar_in_the_international_airport/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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