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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>Rapid Assessment of the Potential Paucity and Price Increases for Suggested Medicines and Protection Equipment for COVID-19 Across Developing Countries With a Particular Focus on Africa and the Implications</strong> -
<div>
Countries across Africa and Asia have introduced a variety of measures to prevent and treat COVID-19 with medicines and personal protective equipment (PPE). However, there has been considerable controversy surrounding some treatments including hydroxychloroquine where the initial hype and misinformation led to shortages, price rises and suicides. Price rises and shortages were also seen for PPE. Such activities can have catastrophic consequences especially in countries with high copayment levels. Consequently, there is a need to investigate this further.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/vyrqk/" target="_blank">Rapid Assessment of the Potential Paucity and Price Increases for Suggested Medicines and Protection Equipment for COVID-19 Across Developing Countries With a Particular Focus on Africa and the Implications</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Occupational and environmental exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in and around infected mink farms</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Uncontrolled SARS-CoV-2 infections in farmed minks raised immediate concerns regarding human health which initiated intensive environmental investigations. Air sampling was performed in infected mink farms, at farm premises and at residential sites. A range of other environmental samples were collected from minks9 housing units. Inside the farms, high levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were found in airborne dust, on surfaces, and on various other environmental matrices. This warns for occupational exposure which was substantiated by considerable SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in personal air samples. Dispersion of SARS-CoV-2 to outdoor air was found to be limited and SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in air samples collected beyond farm premises, implying a negligible environmental exposure risk for nearby communities. Our occupational and environmental risk assessment is in line with whole genome sequences analyses showing mink-to-human transmission in farm workers, but no indications for direct zoonotic transmission events to nearby communities.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.06.20248760v1" target="_blank">Occupational and environmental exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in and around infected mink farms</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Magnitude, change over time, demographic characteristics and geographic distribution of excess deaths among nursing home residents during the first wave of COVID-19 in France: a nationwide cohort study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Importance: Nursing home (NH) residents are particularly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infections and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lethality. However, excess deaths in this population have rarely been documented. Objectives: The primary objective was to assess the number of excess deaths among NH residents during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The secondary objectives were to determine the number of excess deaths as a proportion of the total excess deaths in the general population and determine whether a harvesting effect was present. Design: We studied a cohort of 494,753 adults (as of March 1st, 2020) aged 60 and over in 6,515 NHs in mainland France. This cohort was exposed to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (from March 1st to May 31st, 2020) and was compared with the corresponding, reference cohorts from 2014 to 2019 (using data from the French National Health Data System). Main outcome and measures: The main outcome was all-cause death. Weekly excess deaths and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were estimated. Result: There were 13,505 excess deaths among NH residents. Mortality increased by 43% (SMR: 1.43). The mortality excess was higher among males than among females (SMR: 1.51 and 1.38, respectively) and decreased with age (SMRs in females: 1.61 in the 60-74 age group, 1.58 for 75-84, 1.41 for 85-94, and 1.31 for 95 or over; Males: SMRs: 1.59 for 60-74, 1.69 for 75-84, 1.47 for 85-94, and 1.41 for 95 or over). We did not observe a harvesting effect (up until August 30th, 2020). By extrapolating to all NH residents nationally (N=570,003), the latter accounted for 51% of the total excess deaths in the general population (N=15,114 out of 29,563). Conclusion: NH residents accounted for about half of the total excess deaths in France during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The excess death rate was higher among males than females and among younger residents than among older residents. We did not observe a harvesting effect. A real-time mortality surveillance system and the identification of individual and environmental risk factors might help to design the future model of care for older dependent adults.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.09.20248472v1" target="_blank">Magnitude, change over time, demographic characteristics and geographic distribution of excess deaths among nursing home residents during the first wave of COVID-19 in France: a nationwide cohort study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Modeling the COVID-19 transmission in Italy: The roles of asymptomatic cases, social distancing, and lockdowns</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The SEIR model of COVID-19 is developed based on the system dynamics approach. Compared with existing models, the model successfully reproduces similar multiple observed outputs such as infected and recovered patients in Italy by July 2020. In doing so, the system dynamics model captures the roles of undocumented cases on the Italian COVID-19 flow. The model also considers two types of measures including behavioral measures and lockdown measures as they are embedded in the model. It is hoped that the model can enhance our understanding of the roles of undocumented cases, so-called asymptomatic cases, and the efficacy of two different policies on the COVID-19 flow. This study concludes that the first policy is important once the number of infected cases is relatively low. However, once the number of infected cases is very high so the society cannot identify infected and disinfected people, the second policy must be applied soon. It is thus this study suggests that relaxed lockdowns lead the second wave of the COVID-19 around the world.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.08.21249273v1" target="_blank">Modeling the COVID-19 transmission in Italy: The roles of asymptomatic cases, social distancing, and lockdowns</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Online search trends and word-related emotional response during COVID-19 lockdown in Italy - Preprint</strong> -
<div>
Italy was the first Western country with numerous COVID-19 infections that underwent a strong lockdown. This represents the first threat-related mass isolation in the history that can be in-depth studied by scientists to understand the side effects of pandemic lockdown in the psychophysical domain. There is increasing evidence that Italian lockdown was associated with larger incidence of stress, anxiety, and mood symptoms. It was thus expected that, at a more basic level, also emotion perception -namely how an individual judges the affective content of common words- changed substantially during lockdown, especially in individuals with high COVID-19 fear and high negative affect. We measured the effects of this long-term isolation and the related pandemic phobia in an online survey on 71 healthy Italian participants. They completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and Fear of COVID-19 Scale and judged valence, arousal, and dominance of words either related or unrelated to COVID-19, as identified by Google search trends. We found that lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic had a substantial impact on participants’ emotional responses. Moreover, emotional judgments changes from normative data varied depending on word type and individuals’ emotional state, revealing early signals of individuals’ mental distress to COVID-19 confinement. Lower valence and dominance judgments were given only to COVID-19-related words by individuals with less negative feelings and COVID-19 fear, but also to COVID-19-unrelated words by individuals with more negative feelings and COVID-19 fear. Moreover, arousal judgments for all words decreased and increased, respectively, for individuals with less and more negative feelings and COVID-19 fear. With respect to more direct but demanding and expensive tools such as surveys and questionnaires, the methods used here allow to measure more conveniently but reliably the emotional alteration and clinical psychiatric risk of population through the analysis of word use in the web and their affective connotation.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/kp5gs/" target="_blank">Online search trends and word-related emotional response during COVID-19 lockdown in Italy - Preprint</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Challenges of e-Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic Experienced by EFL Learners</strong> -
<div>
COVID-19 has disrupted most of the industries in the world. Education is the only industry that is completely transferred to online mode in most countries around the world. Online learning was the best solution for continuing education during the pandemic, especially in tertiary education. This study aims to determine the challenges and obstacles confronted by English language learners (EFL) in Science and Arts College, Alula, Taibah University, Saudi Arabia, during switching to online learning in the second semester of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contribution of this study is to evaluate the learners’ new experiences in online education and to assess the feasibility of the virtual methods of learning. This is achieved by analyzing 184 learners’ responses to the survey-based questionnaire. A descriptive statistical method was used to test the validation of the study. It is found that the main problems that influence and impact online EFL learning during COVID-19 are related to technical, academic, and communication challenges. The study results show that most EFL learners are not satisfied with continuing online learning, as they could not fulfill the expected progress in language learning performance.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/258cd/" target="_blank">Challenges of e-Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic Experienced by EFL Learners</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>In vitro screening of anti-viral and virucidal effects against SARS-CoV-2 by Hypericum perforatum and Echinacea.</strong> -
<div>
Special Infectious Agent Unit in King Fahd Medical Research Center at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has pursed the anti-viral project field to optimize the group of medicinal plants for human-infectious diseases. We have begun virtually in this field since COVID-19 pandemic, besides our divergence in the infectious agents. In this study and based on the previous review, Hypericum perforatum (St. Johns Wort) and Echinacea (gaia HERBS) were tested in vitro using Vero E6 cells for their anti-viral effects against the newly identified Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) through its infectious cycle from 0 to 48 hours post infection. The hypericin (0.9 mg) of H. perforatum and the different parts (roots, seeds, aerial) of two types of Echinacea species (Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia) were examined their efficacy in certain concentration and under light-dependent anti-viral activities to measure the inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA expression of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) gene and the viral load with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and to assess the neutralization of the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding on cell culture assay. Interestingly, the mixture (H.E.) of 100 mg/mL of H. perforatum and Echinacea was tested too on SARS-CoV-2 and showed crucial anti-viral activity competing H. perforatum then Echinacea effects as anti-viral treatment. Therefore, the results of gaia HERBS products, H. perforatum and Echinacea species, applied in this study showed significant anti-viral and virucidal effects in the following order of potency: H. perforatum, H.E., and Echinacea on SARS-CoV-2 infectious cycle; and will definitely required a set up of clinical trial with specific therapeutic protocol based on the outcome of this study.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.11.426295v1" target="_blank">In vitro screening of anti-viral and virucidal effects against SARS-CoV-2 by Hypericum perforatum and Echinacea.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Using image-based haplotype alignments to map global adaptation of SARS-CoV-2</strong> -
<div>
Quantifying evolutionary change among viral genomes is an important clinical device to track critical adaptations geographically and temporally. We built image-based haplotype-guided evolutionary inference (ImHapE) to quantify adaptations in expanding populations of non-recombining SARS-CoV-2 genomes. By combining classic population genetic summaries with image-based deep learning methods, we show that different rates of positive selection are driving evolutionary fitness and dispersal of SARS-CoV-2 globally. A 1.35-fold increase in evolutionary fitness is observed within the UK, associated with expansion of both the B.1.177 and B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 lineages.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.13.426571v1" target="_blank">Using image-based haplotype alignments to map global adaptation of SARS-CoV-2</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Rigid monoclonal antibodies improve detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein</strong> -
<div>
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are the basis of treatments and diagnostics for pathogens and other biological phenomena. We conducted a structural characterization of mAbs against the N-terminal domain of nucleocapsid protein (NPNTD) from SARS-CoV-2 using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Our solution-based results distinguished the mAbs' flexibility and how this flexibility impacts the assembly of multiple mAbs on an antigen. By pairing two mAbs that bind different epitopes on the NPNTD, we show that flexible mAbs form a closed sandwich-like complex. With rigid mAbs, a juxtaposition of the Fabs is prevented, enforcing a linear arrangement of the mAb pair, which facilitates further mAb polymerization. In a modified sandwich ELISA, we show the rigid mAb-pairings with linear polymerization led to increased NPNTD detection sensitivity. These enhancements can expedite the development of more sensitive and selective antigen-detecting point-of-care lateral flow devices (LFA), key for early diagnosis and epidemiological studies of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.13.426597v1" target="_blank">Rigid monoclonal antibodies improve detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Fatal neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2 in K18-hACE2 mice is partially dependent on hACE2 expression</strong> -
<div>
Animal models recapitulating the distinctive features of severe COVID-19 are critical to enhance our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Transgenic mice expressing human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) under the cytokeratin 18 promoter (K18-hACE2) represent a lethal model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the cause(s) and mechanisms of lethality in this mouse model remain unclear. Here, we evaluated the spatiotemporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection for up to 14 days post-infection. Despite infection and moderate inflammation in the lungs, lethality was invariably associated with viral neuroinvasion and neuronal damage (including spinal motor neurons). Neuroinvasion occurred following virus transport through the olfactory neuroepithelium in a manner that was only partially dependent on hACE2. Interestingly, SARS-CoV-2 tropism was overall neither widespread among nor restricted to only ACE2-expressing cells. Although our work incites caution in the utility of the K18-hACE2 model to study global aspects of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, it underscores this model as a unique platform for exploring the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 neuropathogenesis.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.13.425144v1" target="_blank">Fatal neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2 in K18-hACE2 mice is partially dependent on hACE2 expression</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Emergence and Evolution of a Prevalent New SARS-CoV-2 Variant in the United States</strong> -
<div>
Genomic virus surveillance can lead to early identification of new variants and inform proper response during a pandemic. Using this approach, we have identified a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that emerged in the United States (U.S.) early in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and has become one of the most prevalent U.S variants. This new variant within the B.1.2 lineage referred to here as 20C-US, has not yet spread widely to other countries. The earliest 20C-US genomes can be traced to the southern U.S. in late May of 2020. A major early event was the rapid acquisition of five non-synonymous mutations. The changes carried by 20C-US now include mutations to genes involved in virus particle maturation and release, processing of viral proteins, and RNA genome integrity and translation genes, all important for efficient and accurate virus production. In addition, 20C-US has since acquired two new non-synonymous mutations that highlight its ongoing evolution, one of which is a Q677H mutation in the spike protein adjacent to the furin cleavage site. We predict that 20C-US may already be the most dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S. The ongoing evolution of 20C-US, as well as other dominant region-specific variants emerging around the world, should continue to be monitored with genomic, epidemiologic, and experimental studies to understand viral evolution and predict future outcomes of the pandemic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.11.426287v1" target="_blank">Emergence and Evolution of a Prevalent New SARS-CoV-2 Variant in the United States</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>An ancient viral epidemic involving host coronavirus interacting genes more than 20,000 years ago in East Asia</strong> -
<div>
The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has emphasized the vulnerability of human populations to novel viral pressures, despite the vast array of epidemiological and biomedical tools now available. Notably, modern human genomes contain evolutionary information tracing back tens of thousands of years, which may help identify the viruses that have impacted our ancestors -- pointing to which viruses have future pandemic potential. Here, we apply evolutionary analyses to human genomic datasets to recover selection events involving tens of human genes that interact with coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, that likely started more than 20,000 years ago. These adaptive events were limited to the population ancestral to East Asian populations. Multiple lines of functional evidence support an ancient viral selective pressure, and East Asia is the geographical origin of several modern coronavirus epidemics. An arms race with an ancient coronavirus, or with a different virus that happened to use similar interactions as coronaviruses with human hosts, may thus have taken place in ancestral East Asian populations. By learning more about our ancient viral foes, our study highlights the promise of evolutionary information to better predict the pandemics of the future. Importantly, adaptation to ancient viral epidemics in specific human populations does not necessarily imply any difference in genetic susceptibility between different human populations, and the current evidence points toward an overwhelming impact of socioeconomic factors in the case of COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.11.16.385401v2" target="_blank">An ancient viral epidemic involving host coronavirus interacting genes more than 20,000 years ago in East Asia</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Functional and Genetic Analysis of Viral Receptor ACE2 Orthologs Reveals a Broad Potential Host Range of SARS-CoV-2</strong> -
<div>
The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a major global health threat. Epidemiological studies suggest that bats are the natural zoonotic reservoir for SARS-CoV-2. However, the host range of SARS-CoV-2 and intermediate hosts that facilitate its transmission to humans remain unknown. The interaction of coronavirus with its host receptor is a key genetic determinant of host range and cross-species transmission. SARS-CoV-2 uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as the receptor to enter host cells in a species-dependent manner. It has been shown that human, palm civet, pig and bat ACE2 can support virus entry, while the murine ortholog cannot. In this study, we characterized the ability of ACE2 from diverse species to support viral entry. We found that ACE2 is expressed in a wide range of species, with especially high conservation in mammals. By analyzing amino acid residues of ACE2 critical for virus entry, based on structure of SARS-CoV spike protein interaction with human, bat, palm civet, pig and ferret ACE2, we identified approximately eighty ACE2 proteins from mammals that could potentially mediate SARS-CoV-2 entry. Functional assays showed that 44 of these mammalian ACE2 orthologs, including those of domestic animals, pets, livestock, and animals commonly found in zoos and aquaria, could bind SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and support viral entry. In contrast, New World monkey ACE2 orthologs could not bind SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and support viral entry. We further identified the genetic determinant of New World monkey ACE2 that restricts viral entry using genetic and functional analyses. In summary, our study demonstrates that ACE2 from a remarkably broad range of species can facilitate SARS-CoV-2 entry. These findings highlight a potentially broad host tropism of SARS-CoV-2 and suggest that SARS-CoV-2 might be distributed much more widely than previously recognized, underscoring the necessity to monitor susceptible hosts to prevent future outbreaks.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.22.046565v4" target="_blank">Functional and Genetic Analysis of Viral Receptor ACE2 Orthologs Reveals a Broad Potential Host Range of SARS-CoV-2</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Ineffectual AEC1 Differentiation from KRT8hi Transitional Cells without Fibrosis Associated with Fatal Acute Respiratory Failure in COVID-19 ARDS</strong> -
<div>
COVID-19 ARDS is associated with prolonged ventilator dependence and high mortality, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Critical to the pathogenesis of ARDS is injury to the alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) barrier; clinical recovery requires epithelial regeneration. We previously identified a KRT8hi transitional state that regenerating AEC2s adopt during differentiation into AEC1s, the persistence of which may be pathogenic in pulmonary fibrosis. Here, we hypothesize that ineffectual differentiation of transitional cells into AEC1s without fibrosis may underlie ongoing barrier permeability and poor clinical outcomes in COVID-19 ARDS. To test this hypothesis, we examined postmortem lung tissue of COVID-19 ARDS patients. We observed severe epithelial injury, AEC2 proliferation, and abundant transitional cells but ineffectual AEC1 differentiation. Transitional cells were cuboidal, partially spread, or flat and adherent to alveolar septa that were denuded of AEC1s but structurally normal without fibrosis. We conclude that ineffectual AEC1 differentiation from transitional AECs may underlie ongoing barrier permeability and poor clinical outcomes in COVID-19 ARDS. However, in contrast to fibrosis, transitional cells may retain the capacity for AEC1 differentiation with restoration of normal alveolar architecture and function. Novel therapies that promote differentiation of transitional cells into AEC1s may accelerate barrier restoration and clinical recovery in ARDS.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.12.426404v1" target="_blank">Ineffectual AEC1 Differentiation from KRT8hi Transitional Cells without Fibrosis Associated with Fatal Acute Respiratory Failure in COVID-19 ARDS</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Distinct lung-homing receptor expression and activation profiles on NK cell and T cell subsets in COVID-19 and influenza</strong> -
<div>
Respiratory viral infections with SARS-CoV-2 or influenza viruses commonly induce a strong infiltration of immune cells into the lung, with potential detrimental effects on the integrity of the lung tissue. Despite comprising the largest fractions of circulating lymphocytes in the lung, little is known about how blood natural killer (NK) cells and T cell subsets are equipped for lung-homing in COVID-19 and influenza. Using 28-colour flow cytometry and re-analysis of published RNA-seq datasets, we provide a detailed comparative analysis of NK cells and T cells in peripheral blood from moderately sick COVID-19 and influenza patients, focusing on the expression of chemokine receptors known to be involved in leukocyte recruitment to the lung. The results reveal a predominant role for CXCR3, CXCR6, and CCR5 in COVID-19 and influenza patients, mirrored by scRNA-seq signatures in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage from publicly available datasets. NK cells and T cells expressing lung-homing receptors displayed stronger phenotypic signs of activation as compared to cells lacking lung-homing receptors, and activation was overall stronger in influenza as compared to COVID-19. Together, our results indicate migration of functionally competent CXCR3+, CXCR6+, and/or CCR5+ NK cells and T cells to the lungs in moderate COVID-19 and influenza patients, identifying potential common targets for future therapeutic interventions in respiratory viral infections.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.13.426553v1" target="_blank">Distinct lung-homing receptor expression and activation profiles on NK cell and T cell subsets in COVID-19 and influenza</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>Dexamethasone for COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Dexamethasone<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University of Oklahoma<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 of ORTD-1 in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 Related Pneumonia</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: ORTD-1 low dose;   Drug: ORTD-1 mid dose;   Drug: ORTD-1 high dose;   Other: Vehicle control<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Oryn Therapeutics, LLC<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>Rapid Diagnosis of COVID-19 by Chemical Analysis of Exhaled Air</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: Performance evaluation (sensitivity and specificity) for COVID-19 diagnosis of the Vocus PTR-TOF process<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Hospices Civils de Lyon<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>IMUNOR® Preparation in the Prevention of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: IMUNOR<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University Hospital Ostrava<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate MVC-COV1901 Vaccine Against COVID-19 in Adult</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19 Vaccine<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: MVC-COV1901(S protein with adjuvant);   Biological: MVC-COV1901(Saline)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp.<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>The Safety and Efficacy of Pyronaridine-artesunate (Pyramax® or Artecom®)in COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Artecom® (pyronaridine-artesunate);   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Shin Poong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of BGE-175 in Participants ≥ 60 Years of Age and Hospitalized With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) That Are Not in Respiratory Failure</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: BGE-175;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   BioAge Labs, Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of Two Different Strengths of the Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine ERUCOV-VAC</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Vaccine<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: ERUCOV-VAC;   Other: Placebo Vaccine<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Health Institutes of Turkey;   TC Erciyes University<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of Ramdicivir and Baricitinib for the Treatment of Severe COVID 19 Patients</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Covid19;   Covid-19 ARDS<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Remdesivir;   Drug: Baricitinib;   Drug: Tocilizumab<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   M Abdur Rahim Medical College and Hospital;   First affiliated Hospital Xi'an Jiaoting University<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Antiseptic Mouth Rinses to Reduce Salivary Viral Load in COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Betadine© bucal 100 mg/ml;   Drug: Oximen® 3%;   Drug: Clorhexidine Dental PHB©;   Drug: Vitis Xtra Forte©;   Drug: Distilled Water<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana;   Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz;   Hospital Universitario General de Villalba;   Hospital Universitario Infanta Elena;   Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca;   Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia;   Dentaid SL<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>The Effect of Deep Breathing Exercise on Dyspnea, Anxiety and Quality of Life in Patients Treated for COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Deep Breathing Exercise with Triflo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Ankara 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>RU Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) mAbs in Healthy Volunteers</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: C144-LS and C-135-LS<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Rockefeller University<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pilot Study of Cefditoren Pivoxil in COVID-19 Patients With Mild to Moderate Pneumonia</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Cefditoren pivoxil 400mg<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Meiji Pharma Spain S.A.<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>The Influence of Covid-19 on the Audio-vestibular System</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: Audio-Vestibular evaluation<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   HaEmek Medical Center, Israel<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of COVID-19 Outbreak in Hospital Departments of Bamako, Mali</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Diagnostic Test: SARS-CoV-2 screening by molecular biology;   Diagnostic Test: Serological screening<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France<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>Enfuvirtide, an HIV-1 fusion inhibitor peptide, can act as a potent SARS-CoV-2 fusion inhibitor: an in silico drug repurposing study</strong> - Regarding the urgency of therapeutic measures for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the use of available drugs with FDA approval is preferred because of the less time and cost required for their development. In silico drug repurposing is an accurate way to speed up the screening of the existing FDA-approved drugs to find a therapeutic option for COVID-19. The similarity in SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1 fusion mechanism to host cells can be a key point for Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 entry into host...</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 analysis of the inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease by some active compounds from selected African plants</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: In our study, most of the active phytocomponents of the investigated plants exhibited relative inhibitory potentials against Mpro of SARS-CoV-2 and preferred pharmacological features when compared with hydroxychloroquine. These findings indicate these compounds are potentially antiviral candidates against SARS-CoV-2.</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>Combination and tricombination therapy to destabilize the structural integrity of COVID-19 by some bioactive compounds with antiviral drugs: insights from molecular docking study</strong> - Recently, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic virus has been spreading throughout the world. Until now, no certified drugs have been discovered to efficiently inhibit the virus. The scientists are struggling to find new safe bioactive inhibitors of this deadly virus. In this study, we aim to find antagonists that may inhibit the activity of the three major viral targets: SARS-CoV-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (6LU7), SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (6VYB), and a host target human angiotensin-converting...</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>Statins as inhibitors of voltage-gated potassium channels Kv1.3 in cancer cells</strong> - Voltage-gated potassium channels are integral membrane proteins selectively permeable for potassium ions and activated upon change of membrane potential. Voltage-gated potassium channels of the Kv1.3 type were discovered both in plasma membrane and in inner mitochondrial membrane (mito Kv1.3 channels). For some time Kv1.3 channels located both in plasma membrane and in mitochondria are considered as a potentially new molecular target in several pathologies including some cancer disorders....</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Antiviral activity of lambda-carrageenan against influenza viruses and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2</strong> - Influenza virus and coronavirus, belonging to enveloped RNA viruses, are major causes of human respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the broad spectrum antiviral activity of a naturally existing sulfated polysaccharide, lambda-carrageenan (λ-CGN), purified from marine red algae. Cell culture-based assays revealed that the macromolecule efficiently inhibited both influenza A and B viruses with EC(50) values ranging from 0.3 to 1.4 μg/ml, as well as currently circulating...</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>Mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 polymerase stalling by remdesivir</strong> - Remdesivir is the only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The active form of remdesivir acts as a nucleoside analog and inhibits the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2. Remdesivir is incorporated by the RdRp into the growing RNA product and allows for addition of three more nucleotides before RNA synthesis stalls. Here we use synthetic RNA chemistry, biochemistry and cryo-electron microscopy to establish the molecular mechanism of...</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies using a vesicular stomatitis virus possessing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the CRNT for COVID-19 is a convenient assay system that can be performed in a BSL-2 laboratory with high specificity and sensitivity for evaluating the occurrence of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.</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 network-based model to explore the role of testing in the epidemiological control of the COVID-19 pandemic</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Although testing could effectively inhibit the spread of infectious diseases and epidemics, our results indicated that it requires a huge daily testing volume. Thus, it is highly recommended that testing be adopted in combination with measures such as wearing masks and social distancing to better manage infectious diseases. Our research contributes to understanding the role of testing in epidemic control and provides useful suggestions for the government and individuals 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>Biological characteristics and biomarkers of novel SARS-CoV-2 facilitated rapid development and implementation of diagnostic tools and surveillance measures</strong> - Existing coronavirus named as a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has speeded its spread across the globe immediately after emergence in China, Wuhan region, at the end of the year 2019. Different techniques, including genome sequencing, structural feature classification by electron microscopy, and chest imaging using computed tomography, are primarily used to diagnose and screen SARS-CoV-2 suspected individuals. Determination of the viral structure, surface proteins,...</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>Evaluation of certain medicinal plants compounds as new potential inhibitors of novel corona virus (COVID-19) using molecular docking analysis</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 is a new strain of coronavirus that appeared in China in December 2019, in recent years, great progress has been made in developing new antiviral drugs, and natural products, are important sources of potential and new antiviral drugs. The present study aimed to assess some biologically active compounds present in medicinal plants as potential COVID-19 inhibitors, using molecular docking methods. The Docking study was performed by Molecular Operating Environment software (MOE). About...</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>Proposed Mechanisms of Targeting COVID-19 by Delivering Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Exosomes to Damaged Organs</strong> - With the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the world has been facing an unprecedented challenge. Considering the lack of appropriate therapy for COVID-19, it is crucial to develop effective treatments instead of supportive approaches. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as multipotent stromal cells have been shown to possess treating potency through inhibiting or modulating the pathological events in COVID-19. MSCs...</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>Quantum chemical studies on molecular structure, AIM, ELF, RDG and antiviral activities of hybrid hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19: molecular docking and DFT calculations</strong> - Structure-activity relationships for hydroxychloroquine compound and its derivatives resulted in a potent antiviral activity. Where hydroxychloroquine derivatives showed an apparent efficacy against coronavirus related pneumonia. For this reason, the current study is focused on the structural properties of hydroxychloroquine and hydroxychloroquine sulfate. Optimized structures of these molecules have been reported by using DFT method at B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory. Te geometric were determined...</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 trimeric human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as an anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent</strong> - Effective intervention strategies are urgently needed to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a membrane-bound carboxypeptidase that forms a dimer and serves as the cellular receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). ACE2 is also a key negative regulator of the renin-angiotensin system that modulates vascular functions. We report here the properties of a trimeric ACE2 ectodomain variant, engineered using a structure-based...</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>Upregulation of DUSP6 impairs infectious bronchitis virus replication by negatively regulating ERK pathway and promoting apoptosis</strong> - Elucidating virus-cell interactions is fundamental to understanding viral replication and identifying targets for therapeutic control of viral infection. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway has been shown to regulate pathogenesis during many viral infections, but its role during coronavirus infection is undetermined. Infectious bronchitis virus is the representative strain of Gammacoronavirus, which causes acute and highly contagious diseases in the poultry farm. In this...</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Repurposing existing drugs: identification of SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitors</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since its emergence, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only distressed medical services but also caused economic upheavals, marking urgent the need for effective therapeutics. The experience of combating SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV has shown that inhibiting the 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) blocks the replication of the virus. Given the well-studied properties of FDA-approved drugs,...</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>COVID-19 CLASSIFICATION RECOGNITION METHOD BASED ON CT IMAGES OF LUNGS</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU314054415">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A traditional Chinese medicine composition for COVID-19 and/or influenza and preparation method thereof</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU313300659">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Covid 19 - Chewing Gum</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU313269181">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>STOCHASTIC MODEL METHOD TO DETERMINE THE PROBABILITY OF TRANSMISSION OF NOVEL COVID-19</strong> - The present invention is directed to a stochastic model method to assess the risk of spreading the disease and determine the probability of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN313339294">link</a></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Fahrzeuglüftungssystem und Verfahren zum Betreiben eines solchen Fahrzeuglüftungssystems</strong> -
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Die Erfindung betrifft ein Fahrzeuglüftungssystem (1) zum Belüften einer Fahrgastzelle (2) eines Fahrzeugs (3), mit einem Umluftpfad (5). Die Erfindung ist gekennzeichnet durch eine wenigstens abschnittsweise in einen Umluftansaugbereich (4) des Umluftpads (5) hineinreichende Sterilisationseinrichtung (6), wobei die Sterilisationseinrichtung (6) dazu eingerichtet ist von einem aus der Fahrgastzelle (2) entnommenen Luftstrom getragene Schadstoffe zu inaktivieren und/oder abzutöten.</p></li>
</ul>
<img alt="embedded image" id="EMI-D00000"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"></p>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=DE313868337">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The use of human serum albumin (HSA) and Cannabigerol (CBG) as active ingredients in a composition for use in the treatment of Coronavirus (Covid-19) and its symptoms</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU313251184">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The use of human serum albumin (HSA) and Cannabigerol (CBG) as active ingredients in a composition for use in the treatment of Coronavirus (Covid-19) and its symptoms</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU313251182">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>"AYURVEDIC PROPRIETARY MEDICINE FOR TREATMENT OF SEVERWE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS 2 (SARS-COV-2."</strong> - AbstractAyurvedic Proprietary Medicine for treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)In one of the aspect of the present invention it is provided that Polyherbal combinations called Coufex (syrup) is prepared as Ayurvedic Proprietary Medicine , Aqueous Extracts Mixing with Sugar Syrup form the following herbal aqueous extract coriandrum sativum was used for the formulation of protek.Further another Polyherbal combination protek as syrup is prepared by the combining an aqueous extract of the medicinal herbs including Emblica officinalis, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia belerica, Aegle marmelos, Zingiber officinale, Ocimum sanctum, Adatoda zeylanica, Piper lingum, Andrographis panivulata, Coriandrum sativum, Tinospora cordiofolia, cuminum cyminum,piper nigrum was used for the formulation of Coufex. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN312324209">link</a></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mund-Nasen-Bedeckung</strong> -
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
</p><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Mund-Nasen-Bedeckung (1), wobei die Mund-Nasen-Bedeckung (1) mindestens an einem Ohr eines Trägers magnetisch befestigbar ist.</p></li>
</ul>
<img alt="embedded image" id="EMI-D00000"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"></p>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=DE313866760">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Haptens, hapten conjugates, compositions thereof and method for their preparation and use</strong> - A method for performing a multiplexed diagnostic assay, such as for two or more different targets in a sample, is described. One embodiment comprised contacting the sample with two or more specific binding moieties that bind specifically to two or more different targets. The two or more specific binding moieties are conjugated to different haptens, and at least one of the haptens is an oxazole, a pyrazole, a thiazole, a nitroaryl compound other than dinitrophenyl, a benzofurazan, a triterpene, a urea, a thiourea, a rotenoid, a coumarin, a cyclolignan, a heterobiaryl, an azo aryl, or a benzodiazepine. The sample is contacted with two or more different anti-hapten antibodies that can be detected separately. The two or more different anti-hapten antibodies may be conjugated to different detectable labels. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU311608060">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The House Impeaches Trump Again, but Most Republicans Stick with Him</strong> - The House debate on Wednesday demonstrated that, with ten honorable exceptions, the House Republican caucus is populated with full-on Trumpers. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-house-impeaches-trump-again-but-most-republicans-stick-with-him">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Trump’s Been Unplugged. Now What?</strong> - The platforms have acted, raising hard questions about technology and democracy. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/big-tech-unplugs-trump">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Bitter Fruits of Trump’s White-Power Presidency</strong> - The events of January 6th make clear a growing unity between the Republican Party and white supremacists. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-bitter-fruits-of-trumps-white-power-presidency">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Trump Impeachment II Was Just as Awful as the Original</strong> - Not even an insurrectionist mob in the Capitol can divorce the House G.O.P. from the departing President. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trump-impeachment-ii-was-just-as-awful-as-the-original">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Amy Coney Barrett Should Recuse Herself from Big Oil’s Supreme Court Case</strong> - The Justice’s father, who was an attorney for Shell for decades, could have direct knowledge of how the company managed climate threats. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/amy-coney-barrett-should-recuse-herself-from-big-oils-supreme-court-case">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Abolish the lame-duck period</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2Ikm3OPBWFRj980aPkRN-Sudd94=/0x0:2667x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68666432/GettyImages_1230426310.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One on January 4. | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
America’s long lame-duck period gave Trump supporters months to plan a violent uprising. It needs to end.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NBWVF9">
On October 19, 2015, Canadians voted to end nearly a decade of Conservative Party government and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/results-2015/">elect a new government led by Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau</a>. Just over two weeks later, on November 4, Trudeau was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT1l5kesjKA">sworn in as prime minister</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hU8pqy">
Five years earlier, a very similar series of events played out in Great Britain. On <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/British-general-election-of-2010">May 6, 2010</a>, Britain held its most recent election where control of its government changed partisan hands — voters tossed out the incumbent Labour Party government and replaced it with a coalition led by the Conservative Party’s David Cameron. Just five days after the election, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/Politics/david-cameron-britains-prime-minister/story?id=10618544">Cameron became prime minister</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KhFhsA">
Modern democracies, in other words, can and do transfer power very rapidly — and much faster than the two and a half months that separate President-elect Joe Biden’s election on November 3, 2020, and his inauguration on January 20, 2021, the official transition date established by the 20th Amendment. French President Emmanuel Macron <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2017/may/07/french-presidential-election-emmanuel-macron-marine-le-pen">won election on May 7, 2017</a>, and was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-39912708">sworn in just one week later</a>. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won his election on May 16, 2014. He <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/hindu-nationalist-narendra-modi-sworn-in-as-indias-prime-minister/2014/05/26/d6f9ba54-25a6-48ac-9693-932132416cf6_story.html">became prime minister just 10 days later</a>. Japan’s Abe Shinzo, the last Japanese politician to preside over a transition of partisan rule, also took office <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetimes.co.uk%2Farticle%2Fshinzo-abe-sworn-in-as-japanese-prime-minister-c7q7kxwvx66&amp;referrer=vox.com&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F22224850%2Fabolish-lame-duck-trump-biden-capitol-insurrection-constitution-20th-amendment" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">10 days</a> after his <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20745165">party won an election</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Oxw90L">
The dangers of a long lame-duck period have come into stark relief in the wake of last week’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/1/6/22217307/thousands-trump-supporters-stormed-us-capitol-evacuate">storming of the US Capitol</a>. America’s lame-duck period gave insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22221285/trump-online-capitol-riot-far-right-parler-twitter-facebook">two full months to plan the putsch</a> that briefly occupied the Capitol and forced lawmakers to flee in terror — and they were egged on this entire time by a president who encouraged them to <a href="https://www.vox.com/22218446/capitol-police-mob-trump-storming-washington-dc">stage a “wild” protest</a> while lawmakers formally certified Biden’s victory on January 6.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vqm4Au">
Meanwhile, as the sitting president, Trump retained command and control over both federal law enforcement and US military forces that eventually<strong> </strong>helped secure the Capitol. For unclear reasons, the Pentagon was reportedly <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/1/6/22217587/national-guard-dc-trump-supporters-storm-capitol">slow to approve emergency requests</a> to send troops to regain control of the building. And, for as long as Trump is president, the nation’s capital will need to rely on the Trump administration to protect against future violence.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UhiAuV">
Even before Trump seemed to cheer on a violent attempt to overthrow Biden’s incoming government, the lame-duck president spent the post-election period <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/12/23/22197066/trump-pardons-russia-investigation-republicans-george-papadopoulos-duncan-hunter-chris-collins">doling out pardons to his cronies</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medal-of-freedom-devin-nunes-jim-jordan/">handing out medals to his most sycophantic loyalists</a> in Congress. While Trump’s abuse of the pardon power has been particularly egregious, it’s hardly unprecedented. President George H.W. Bush <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/24/bush-pardons-iran-contra-felons-dec-24-1992-1072042">pardoned several former officials involved in the Iran-Contra scandal</a> more than a month after he lost his bid for reelection. President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother, as well as <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1862257_1862325_1862324,00.html">wealthy fugitive Marc Rich</a>, during his final days in office.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uneesK">
American history is replete with examples of outgoing presidents who <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/11/worst-presidential-transition-1892-harrison-cleveland.html">actively sabotaged their successor</a> during the lame-duck period — sometimes in the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/11/09/transition-hoover-fdr-trump-biden/">middle of a historic crisis</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PxuM5Z">
The United States, in other words, pays an enormous price for its long lame-duck period. There’s no good reason the US cannot join Canada, Britain, France, India, Japan, and other nations in transitioning swiftly to a new administration after a presidential election.
</p>
<h3 id="f55Cns">
Why we have a lame-duck period
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Lm4LQn">
In 1984, Sens. Claiborne Pell (D-RI) and Charles<strong> “</strong>Mac” Mathias (R-MD) proposed a constitutional amendment that would have moved Inauguration Day from January 20 to November 20 — around two weeks after the presidential election. A long lame-duck period, Mathias said at the time, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/25/us/campaign-notes-earlier-inauguration-of-president-proposed.html">made sense during the horse-and-buggy days of our republic</a>,” but it no longer did<strong> </strong>in an age when newly elected officials can travel quickly from their home states to Washington, DC.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NSffmc">
Among other reasons for such an amendment, Pell noted that the long interregnum between presidents can harm US foreign policy because neither the outgoing nor the incoming president can effectively negotiate with international leaders during this period. As Pell wrote in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/21/opinion/lame-and-dead-ducks.html">1982 op-ed</a>, while the memory of the Iran hostage crisis was still fresh, “neither President Carter nor President-elect Ronald Reagan possessed the real authority required to deal with the situation” during Carter’s lame-duck period. Reagan did not yet have any formal power to speak for the United States, and Iranian leaders knew that Carter was on the way out.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N9byAw">
The idea that there should be a long waiting period between an election and the day when newly elected officials take office, Princeton politics professor Keith Whittington explained in 2018, stems from an era when “<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-the-simple-reason-why-its-so-hard-to-abolish-lame-duck-legislative-sessions-2018-12-11">citizen-legislators were often farmers as well as politicians</a>, and the legislative calendar needed to be organized in a way that did not interfere with the necessities of planting and harvesting.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aXRVc9">
In a largely agrarian society, winter was an ideal time for farmers to conduct business and prepare for the growing season. So the government’s calendar accommodated this reality. While Congress determined that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/13/politics/us-presidential-election-november/index.html">federal elections should take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November</a> back in 1845, prior to the ratification of the 20th Amendment, newly elected members of Congress and presidents would <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xx/interps/153">take office the following March 4</a> — thus giving them the entire winter to get their affairs in order before traveling to the capital.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PUOMg5">
In a nation without railroads, airplanes, telephones, or the internet, moreover, considerable time was needed to complete the formal process of choosing a president. After voters cast their ballots, word of how many votes were counted for each candidate often had to be <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-is-inauguration-day-on-january-20">brought to a central location by horse and buggy</a>. And once all the ballots were tallied, members of the Electoral College needed to be informed of their appointment. And those members had to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxii">gather within their respective states</a> — again, frequently traveling by horse and buggy — to get to this meeting.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Rty08O">
After the electors cast their ballots, records of their votes had to travel to Washington, and members of Congress had to also travel back to Washington to formally certify the results — or to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxii">choose a president from among the top candidates</a> if none of those candidates received a majority of the electoral votes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HpcSSP">
And looming over all of this was the fact that the new president needed to form a government, often corresponding with potential Cabinet secretaries via letters that took days or weeks to arrive.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZPHPjl">
As the country developed new methods of travel and communication, the law evolved with it, but only to a limited degree.<strong> </strong>In 1933, the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxx">20th Amendment</a> became part of the Constitution. That amendment changed the date when new members of Congress would be sworn in from March 4 to January 3, and it moved the date for presidential inaugurations to January 20.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eOPrDb">
While the 20th Amendment explicitly provides for a period of about two months when deposed lawmakers will remain members of Congress, it was in its time celebrated as an end to lame-duck lawmaking. A New York Times article announcing the ratification of this amendment proclaimed that “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1933/01/24/archives/39-states-ratify-amendment-ending-lame-duck-terms-missouri-is-36th.html">39 States Ratify Amendment Ending ‘Lame Duck’ Terms</a>.” That same article predicted that the likelihood that Congress would continue to do work in the period immediately after an election, at least barring an emergency that forced the president to convene a special session of Congress, was “<a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/01/24/105112940.html?pageNumber=6">one chance in a thousand</a>.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="liPI7P">
As legal scholar John Copeland Nagle wrote in a <a href="https://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/45/4/Articles/45-4_Nagle.pdf">2012 article</a> criticizing lame-duck lawmaking, “the universal understanding of those involved with the Amendment could not imagine that Congress would meet after Election Day and before January 3, citing the difficulties of winter travel and the distractions of the holidays.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eNo4RV">
As recently as the 1930s, in other words, the United States remained disconnected enough that the prospect of lawmakers traveling to Washington in the post-election period was unimaginable even to some of the most sophisticated political observers in the country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V6UKbr">
But we no longer live in such a world. Lame-duck congressional sessions are now a regular feature of the post-election period. Presidents can travel across the country in mere hours, and communicate with potential appointees whenever they want.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3p6ocA">
There’s also one other way that the United States in 2021 does not resemble the United States in the 1930s. An array of federal laws now <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22979.pdf">allows major party presidential candidates to create a formal transition team prior to the election</a>. Such a law could be expanded to ensure that potential Cabinet secretaries and other close aides to a presidential candidate are fully briefed and prepared to assume their new role the minute an election is held.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X6sRIF">
America’s long lame-duck period, in other words, is a relic of an era when the nation needed a considerable amount of time simply to choose a president — much less to allow that president to take office with a full array of lieutenants and advisers ready to go.
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fzFmUh">
As we learned during the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/11/6/21534594/joe-biden-wins-2020-presidential-election">long week while ballots were still being counted</a> in the 2020 election, the country would probably still need a few days or even a couple of weeks to finalize the election and to swear in the new president. New members of Congress, similarly, might require a little bit of time to hire staff and prepare to do their jobs.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IL1LD3">
As Whittington <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-the-simple-reason-why-its-so-hard-to-abolish-lame-duck-legislative-sessions-2018-12-11">writes</a>, “if the new legislature were to be called into session immediately after Election Day, it would find itself disorganized and understaffed and effectively unable to conduct public business for weeks.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sIAJSH">
But there’s simply no reason this process should take two months.
</p>
<h3 id="yi5fKS">
Three disastrous presidential transitions before Trump
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G1XSQn">
The biggest danger from a substantial lame-duck period is that an outgoing president will use their final months in office to sabotage their successor — something that’s happened several times even before Trump’s disastrous transition to the Biden administration.
</p>
<h4 id="wYcqzb">
<ol style="list-style-type: decimal">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">James Buchanan to Abraham Lincoln
</li></ol></h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3I4fd0">
Easily the most tumultuous presidential transition in American history was the pre-Civil War <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/james-buchanan-why-is-he-considered-americas-worst-president/">transition from President James Buchanan to President Abraham Lincoln</a>. Seven slave states seceded from the Union while Buchanan was a lame duck. And, while Buchanan purported to be a unionist who opposed secession, he refused to do much of anything to preserve the Union.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2p9DBK">
“How easy would it be for the American people to settle the slavery question forever and to restore peace and harmony to this distracted country,” Buchanan claimed in a <a href="http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/james-buchanan/state-of-the-union-1860.php#:~:text=All%20that%20is%20necessary%20to,the%20slavery%20existing%20among%20them.">lame-duck address to Congress</a>. “All that is necessary,” according to the outgoing president, was for the slave states “to be let alone and permitted to manage their domestic institutions in their own way.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iNUyFG">
Among other things, Buchanan denied that he had the power to use force to protect federal forts and garrisons in the traitorous states, so he <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/10/worst-presidential-transition-1860-abraham-lincoln-james-buchanan.html">allowed Southern militias to seize control of many such forts</a> — and of the armaments therein. His hands-off approach gave the Confederacy months to form a government and to begin to organize a military.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k1tlp0">
A civil war was probably inevitable once Southern states began seceding. But those states were better organized and far better prepared to wage a war of treason in defense of slavery due to Buchanan’s ineptitude.
</p>
<h4 id="RPDZwr">
<ol start="2" style="list-style-type: decimal">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Benjamin Harrison to Grover Cleveland
</li></ol></h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZFm5Bp">
The transition from President Benjamin Harrison to President Grover Cleveland in 1888-89 wasn’t as calamitous as the transition from Buchanan to Lincoln — how could it be? But Harrison and many of his fellow Republicans spent much of the lame-duck president’s final days in office sabotaging the economy and actively discouraging investment in the United States.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J9FldF">
As Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson recounts in <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=s-JzAgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA133&amp;lpg=PA133&amp;dq=%22national+Treasury+Department+had+been+retained+especially+to+manufacture+apprehension%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=oWLiI_6QA5&amp;sig=ACfU3U1Ie2D64cEfO1aTVhKZw0Luj6gO7g&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiIyK6K6JTuAhVPMlkFHTcECFAQ6AEwAHoECAEQAg#v=onepage&amp;q=%22national%20Treasury%20Department%20had%20been%20retained%20especially%20to%20manufacture%20apprehension%22&amp;f=false"><em>To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party</em></a>, after Harrison’s loss to Cleveland, Republican-aligned newspapers featured apocalyptic warnings about how Democratic proposals such as a lower tariff and an easier monetary policy would bring about economic ruin. “It remains for the wise man to endeavor so to arrange his personal affairs that he will suffer least from the threatened affliction,” warned the Chicago Tribune.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZXeKwO">
Numerous investors, foreign and domestic, believed these newspapers and started pulling their money out of the market.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gX1Tnm">
Harrison, meanwhile, ignored pleas from banking titan J.P. Morgan and others to reassure these investors. By mid- to late February, the stock markets were in free fall. And yet Treasury Secretary Charles Foster commented publicly that the administration’s only job was to “avert a catastrophe” until Cleveland took over on March 4. As the markets collapsed, Foster spent his last several days in office sitting for his official portrait.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N95phc">
By the time Cleveland finally took office, the financial sector was in a full-scale panic, and the economy slipped into an economic depression. Then, having worked to sabotage the economy, Republicans ran in the 1894 midterms on the message that <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/11/worst-presidential-transition-1892-harrison-cleveland.html">Cleveland’s Democrats had tanked the economy</a>. And it worked! Democrats <a href="https://www.history.com/news/midterm-elections-biggest-landslide-republicans-grover-cleveland">lost more than 100 House seats</a> in the worst midterm defeat in American history.
</p>
<h4 id="yg0Mxv">
<ol start="3" style="list-style-type: decimal">
<li><a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21563753/2020-election-trump-biden-transition-fdr-hoover">Herbert Hoover to Franklin D. Roosevelt</a>
</li></ol></h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RbjFcH">
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal represented a sea change in American governance. Before the New Deal, the kind of activist government favored by Roosevelt was widely viewed by American elites as not just unwise <a href="https://archive.thinkprogress.org/a-history-of-republicans-calling-democrats-socialists-777bcd2b7a6d/">but illegitimate and unconstitutional</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xoAPl4">
One person who shared this disdain for Roosevelt’s plans was his predecessor, President Herbert Hoover. Hoover <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/09/10/the-most-consequential-elections-in-history-franklin-delano-roosevelt-and-the-election-of-1932">lost the 1932 election in a landslide</a>, largely due to his listless response to the Great Depression, but he spent his lame-duck period <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/11/09/transition-hoover-fdr-trump-biden/">pressuring Roosevelt to abandon the New Deal policies</a> that the incoming president promised to enact if elected.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NZdYGg">
In a <a href="https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-franklin-d-roosevelt/">letter</a> delivered to Roosevelt during the final weeks of Hoover’s presidency, for example, Hoover warned that bank failures could result unless Roosevelt publicly abandoned his plans and pushed for austerity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c5MsTC">
Roosevelt was unmoved by these pleas, but it is likely that the testy transition from Hoover to Roosevelt played a significant role in the states’ decision to ratify the 20th Amendment and reduce the length of the lame-duck period for all future presidents. As Yale law professor Akhil Amar writes in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Constitution-Akhil-Reed-Amar/dp/0812972724" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>America’s Constitution: A Biography</em></a>, when Congress proposed this amendment,
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jb51iC">
Everyone knew that President Herbert Hoover was unlikely to be reelected in November. Yet everyone also understood that the soon-to-be-lame-duck president would remain in power for four months after being repudiated, with no mandate (and perhaps little inclination) to do anything, despite the widespread view that immediate action was needed to pull the country out of its Depression.
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R2ln0V">
Twenty-eight states voted to ratify the amendment in January 1933 alone, as the lame-duck president hatched failed schemes to get Roosevelt to abandon his campaign promises.
</p>
<h3 id="w9ya3I">
It may be possible to form a consensus around a swift presidential transition in 2021
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="94YPa0">
The Constitution is nearly impossible to amend — amendments <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlev">require three-quarters of the states to agree</a>, which means that any amendment that is opposed by a meaningful political faction within the United States is all but certain to fail.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pCm0lZ">
Yet it might<strong> </strong>be possible to build the overwhelming consensus necessary to amend the Constitution and eliminate the long lame-duck period. Democrats, having lived through a brutal transition from Trump to Biden, are likely to see the wisdom of such an amendment. Republicans, meanwhile, don’t have anything immediate to lose from a shorter lame-duck period, because such an amendment couldn’t possibly be ratified fast enough to shorten Trump’s term. Republicans even might have something to gain if the amendment took effect during a Democratic administration because it would cut the length of that administration.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JlDllc">
If something like the Pell-Mathias amendment, which would have moved Inauguration Day to November 20, were to become law in 2021, the most immediate loser could be Joe Biden. Such an amendment would cut two months off his term and could potentially allow a Republican to take office two months early if a GOP presidential candidate prevails in 2024. Alternatively, the amendment could be written to take effect after the 2028 or 2032 election, so that lawmakers asked to ratify the amendment would have no way of knowing which party would benefit when it took effect.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="551ucC">
Realistically, Congress would probably need to spend some time consulting with state election officials and other experts, regarding just how fast the states could certify congressional and presidential elections, before it decided just how much to cut the lame-duck period. But it should go without saying that a losing president should not be allowed to spend months plotting to undermine their successor.
</p>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>America’s biggest retirement community stars in a new doc that plays like dystopian fiction</strong> -
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<img alt="A large group of senior citizens in cheerleaders’ costumes stand in a triangle formation." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Psm66kuvnC9cIsCcf6dKDRL9OJ4=/0x0:1200x900/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68666343/villages1.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Cheerleaders at The Villages, America’s largest retirement community. | Magnolia Pictures
</figcaption>
</figure></li>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
How a 20-something director made a stunning, uncanny film about The Villages.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AoVlNz">
The Villages seems like a place right out of a movie. It’s America’s largest retirement community, a sprawling, gated complex straddling three counties in Florida about 70 miles north of Orlando, and well known for <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/2017/10/05/still-booming-with-retirees-the-villages-gives-trump-gop-edge-in-florida/">its role in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential win</a>. As of 2019, the Villages had more than 120,000 residents, as well as a long list of clubs for them to join and activities to participate in: synchronized swimming, golf cart “drill team,” theater, religion, cocktail parties. Shops, restaurants, and a public square modeled after an idealized version of an American small town main street give the Villages a Disney-esque air. For some, it feels like a dream: a positive and peaceful place to retire and be among like-minded people, all of whom want to kick back, have fun, and live a happy life.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zn84V4">
But as with any planned community — like a college, for instance — there are plenty of people who can’t, for whatever reason, buy into the fantasy. They may be lonely, or ill, or feel adrift in a world that is very thoroughly <em>designed</em>, but seemingly not for them. And those people live at the Villages, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SkdzqK">
Lance Oppenheim was 22 when he first visited the Villages, hoping to make a college thesis film about the place. He ended up crafting the documentary <em>Some Kind of Heaven</em>, a stunning directorial debut and the kind of work that far more experienced directors would be proud to have made. (Darren Aronofsky signed on as executive producer.) Equal parts dark comedy, loving character study, and suburban melodrama, it’s visually startling, funny, and moving.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nKAgRD">
<em>Some Kind of Heaven</em> follows several subjects: Reggie, who is experimenting with psychedelics, and his long-suffering wife, Anne; Barbara, who is looking for love after her husband died; and Dennis, who is living out of a van while looking for a wealthier woman with whom he might strike up a relationship. Following these people through months of their lives, the film at times feels like a dreamscape, like a journey through their mental and emotional landscapes, rather than just an observational film. It’s clear that the relentless positivity of the Villages takes its toll on residents, but it’s also a glimpse into an idealized version of America, and the fantasy at its core.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<pre><code> &lt;img alt="A man floats on a mat in a pool, smoking a cigarette." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SC-WK0a0KNB7SmRoq20QVmijj9g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22233456/villages4.jpg" /&gt;
&lt;cite&gt;Magnolia Pictures&lt;/cite&gt;
&lt;figcaption&gt;People compare The Villages to the carefree life of a college student.&lt;/figcaption&gt;</code></pre>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mACnPd">
To put it mildly, I was bowled over by the film, which made me think about what makes people want to live in an idealized version of America and what communities like the Villages will look like in the future. Ahead of its release, I spoke with Oppenheim about gaining access to the Villages in the first place, living with rodeo clowns, choosing the suburban melodrama as a formal and thematic touchpoint, and what he learned about the elderly from making <em>Some Kind of Heaven</em>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CCxzvH">
<strong>So how did you end up making a documentary at the Villages? And did you have an idea of what it would actually be about going in? </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kQNiHN">
The more I spent time there, the more I realized that you couldn’t just shoot a vérité documentary — you know, just become a fly on the wall — for a few obvious reasons. One of them was that I stuck out like a really sore thumb. Anytime I would go anywhere, people would be like, “Whose grandson is that with that camera?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eUqzq7">
But I also wanted to make something that spoke to the spirit of the place. In my mind, the Villages is a place where the reality that [you and I] belong to seemingly does not exist. They have their own newspaper that prints only the good news. They have a radio station that only plays the hits from the ’50s and the ’60s. There’s this deliberate gulf that they’ve created between their world and ours. So I wanted to make a film that could speak not just narratively to that idea, but also stylistically, that could riff off the reality of the place and the reality distortion effects. Not that this is a work of fiction — everything in it is real — but the way we’re framing things. There are reaction shots. I wanted to kind of do things that could play with the form that still spoke to the artifice of the place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sLS69X">
The four people I follow in the film are not representative of every person who lives there. It’s a city of 120,000 people. It’s hard to find one person who can embody everybody. I was looking for people who were on the margins, who didn’t exist inside of the same marketing brochure that everyone else did. When you train a camera on the Villages, all you really see is artifice. So I wanted to find real people, with real problems, in an unreal place. I thought if I could look at the world through their point of view, the place would come alive in a different way, and it could feel more like the films that I grew up loving. Like <em>Edward Scissorhands</em>, the way suburbia looks there. Or how suburbia looks in Todd Haynes’s <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/04/shut-in-movie-club-safe-coronavirus"><em>Safe</em></a>. I was thinking more narratively about that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yZWAsc">
But when I first got there, I just was chasing an initial curiosity. I don’t think I was like, “This is the film I’m gonna make and this is how I’m gonna do it.” It was a pretty organic blossoming as I was figuring it all out.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q4n5xG">
<strong>Many different kinds of connotations were hitting me at once while I was watching it. I felt like I was watching sci-fi, or a movie very obviously shot on a Hollywood backlot. Their whole town feels like a movie backlot, and it’s strange to look at. Did you know anyone when you got there? </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JbJYgK">
I’m from Florida, but I grew up like four and a half hours away. I was hoping that my grandparents would know someone there, and they didn’t. So I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have a natural entry point. I asked all of my friends, “Does anyone know anyone who lives there?” I knew it was a gated community, so I ended up just going on Airbnb and looking around. And I found hundreds of pages with people renting full houses or renting rooms, and I was like, “Oh, my God, this is amazing.” I was searching at that point for whoever seemed like the most entertaining Airbnb host.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xk0oKM">
I found these two retired rodeo clowns who were renting a room of their house. I lived with them for, you know, several weeks before we started shooting, just so I could get my foot in the door there and understand what the place was like. They were great. I gave them five stars on Airbnb. They gave me a 200-page packet of every club that exists [at the Villages]. From there, I started emailing people, and calling people, and showing up uninvited to places. Every time I would go to a club, I would introduce myself, like, “Hello, I’m a filmmaker, I don’t really know what I’m doing here, I’m trying to make a film, I don’t know what it’s gonna be about. The only way I can figure it out is if you tell me your stories. If you’re interested, please talk to me; if you’re not, that’s totally, totally cool.” It blossomed out from there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jd9nAO">
But it was interesting — I only learned like midway through my stay that the wife had leukemia, and they were trying to pay for the medical bills they normally couldn’t afford. There’s an absurdist quality to this world, and there’s a dark, grounded realism. But when you see it in the context of all the revelry, the constant amusement, the pressure to have fun all the time — I was like, there’s something interesting in that contrast between those two things.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ef7B02">
<strong>Whole genres of film have revolved around suburban life in America, and often they use the 1950s or 1960s as a touchpoint, as you said. The Villages is basically the same thing, recreated by people who actually want to live in that reality for the rest of their lives. And it seems like the dark underside is strikingly similar to what those movies often show. There’s the person who feels like they’re on the outside, the person who’s looking for love, the person who’s addicted to drugs. In this manufactured environment, all of those character types are so clear. </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7xQ21z">
<strong>But one thing you do especially well in the film is use images to create comedy and irony. You use wide shots, for instance, that look at people cheerleading or driving around in golf carts for a “drill team,” and it’s just inherently funny to watch. How did you go about getting those images just right? </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nfgpxD">
A lot of the movies we were looking at, movies I grew up loving, were films that attempted to explore some form of suburban life. When you think of the similarities between the “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/ronald-reagan-morning-in-america-campaign-1984/2018/09/10/e42baddc-b525-11e8-ae4f-2c1439c96d79_video.html">Morning in America</a>” ad that Reagan put out, and the opening of <a href="https://www.criterion.com/films/29144-blue-velvet"><em>Blue Velvet</em></a> — stuff like that really stuck in my mind when I was growing up. There’s a video on YouTube that was one of the reasons I wanted to go make this film. It’s called “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip_N6c5gaKo">Come Visit the Villages</a>.” It felt like all of those movies put together, an unironic channeling of those films. I wonder if the people who actually were contracted to make the videos were like, “We need to do it just like that.”
</p>
<div id="Foud83">
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 75%;">
</div>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CvJVYS">
So the visual language emerged organically from the setting of the world there. But I wanted to make something that was able to engage or inhabit that marketing material landscape, down to sometimes using some of the shots that I would see in their marketing material videos. And then find ways to basically invert it, or turn it inside out. Seeing something a little wider, and then punching in on a little detail that seems off. Or looking at someone who, in a place where everyone is supposed to be having the best time of their lives, is having the worst time of their life. I was always looking for moments of disconnect.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QNKuji">
There’s a lot of obvious ways you can make a film about the Villages. We finished this film in 2019; obviously, [a film could explore] all the political stuff going on there. There’s also a film that focuses more on institutions, maybe more of a <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/5/3/16184642/frederick-wiseman-films-list-best-titicut-high-school-central-park-jackson-heights-welfare-streaming">[Frederick] Wiseman</a> film, that could be done there, too. I feel like I attempted to make [a Wiseman<strong>-</strong>style film] when I first got there, looking at the institutions of the place, but I realized very quickly that I wouldn’t have the access I needed to do that kind of film.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8EDxw5">
I wanted to do something that was different from journalism. I wanted to do something more novelistic, invest in the interior lives of people in a way you would see more in a narrative film or in a novel. That’s how we thought about the visual language. I was looking at the color palette of <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fculture%2Frichard-brody%2Fdouglas-sirks-glorious-cinema-of-outsiders&amp;referrer=vox.com&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F22225786%2Fsome-kind-of-heaven-villages-documentary-interview-review" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Douglas Sirk</a> movies. I was looking at the photographs of <a href="http://larrysultan.com/">Larry Sultan</a>. He has a series called “<a href="https://brooklynrail.org/2004/07/art/larry-sultans-the-valley">The Valley</a>.” He was doing behind-the-scenes work on porn sets in the in the ’70s and ’80s, riffing off the lighting fixtures and stuff that were set up [on the porn sets]. There’d be a shot that was already set up by the porn director, and he would go in behind the scenes and use their same light fixtures, maybe turn things around a little bit, and take these amazing behind-the-scenes images that call into question the entire fantasy of porn. I liked those ideas of how to do something a little bit subversive, while still making something that any Villages resident could see and say, “Oh, this looks so familiar<em>.” </em>Something that kind of could delight both worlds.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="of6Afi">
<strong>I was thinking about what it must be like to shoot there. On the one hand, your youthfulness might lead people to let their guard down because they are talking to someone who’s “just a kid.” But on the other hand, especially in a place that’s so famously conservative, you hauling a camera around might mark you as someone to distrust. </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HHhlz9">
When I first started making this film, it was my college thesis. So I was going there under the understanding that this is my thesis film, and I’m a college student. Then I kept going back. I felt like a child actor. One thing that was interesting about it was that I was a similar age to the age that everyone in the Villages was trying to return to. Someone in the film says that [moving to the Villages] is like returning back to college. That’s the structure of the place — finding your flock when you join a club. Finding fulfillment within a collective unit, rather than through something you do individually. That rang true to my college experience in a lot of the same ways — it gave me a lot of stress and existential anxiety.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xYXHp0">
I think the relationships I formed with the main subjects may have come from the fact that I was younger. I was an unexpected outsider to be arriving on their doorstep. And they realized that I was doing everything in my power to not make a film that was criticizing them, or judging them, or doing anything like that. It felt like age didn’t really matter anymore.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l0qiPJ">
I told them this when we were making the film, but the film we wanted to make wasn’t about elderly people. It was just about people. All too often, I feel like movies about the elderly defang them. They make them look like they’re going on these simple, inoffensive adventures. Not that <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/12/14/18139403/mule-review-clint-eastwood-cartel"><em>The Mule</em></a> is a tentpole of cinematic greatness, but I do feel like very few movies [about elderly people] are like that film. I see [my subject] Dennis like Clint Eastwood’s character in that movie — he’s kind of a trickster, and he uses his age to convince people to give him things.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<pre><code> &lt;img alt="An elderly man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a fishing cap stands outside a van." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wDzk_boPObIBVcddFAaCTWMMfvc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22233459/villages3.jpg" /&gt;
&lt;cite&gt;Magnolia Pictures&lt;/cite&gt;
&lt;figcaption&gt;Dennis, who lives in his van in the Villages.&lt;/figcaption&gt;</code></pre>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UlzVQY">
When it comes to politics, the Villages is a conservative Mecca. Even the marketing materials, the syntax, is so conservative. The idea of trying to recreate an America of a different time. How white the place is. We never followed a character who was talking about Trump, and erased [Trump] from the edit ... I wanted to make something that didn’t explicitly mention Trump, that hopefully could be more timeless, but I also didn’t want to make something that was apolitical. So I hope that when people see it, they’ll be able to engage more with the ideas behind why this demographic would be obsessed with something like that, rather than making a more explicit political portrait, the kind you kind of see a lot in the news.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GnaVhe">
<strong>That’s a powerful thought — that the nostalgia they’re putting themselves into is a purposeful bubble. I guess that’s why the movie also feels like it’s playing with the line between what’s utopian and what’s dystopian. To me, it looks very dystopian. I can’t imagine wanting to live there. But other people look at it and see it as utopian, the way they might spend their whole lives trying to recreate their college experience.</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JNjE8Y">
There’s “The Villages” TV [channel, which only plays good news], and when we were trying to decompress and watch it, it really felt like we were in a dystopia. It was very weird. There were scenes where I felt like I was living in a Paul Verhoeven world. You’re totally right: So many people, I think, are attracted to live there because they want to be told what to do and how to live. If you’re able to relinquish any sense of your own individual self to live in this collective bubble, I’m sure, there is probably some kind of euphoria that I don’t personally think I would feel<strong> </strong>if I were to live there.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="05m8mv">
But it’s interesting to think of this as a deeply American phenomenon, too. The images they’re trying to recreate are of a specific time and of a specific sort of American heritage. People trying to be patriotic in a certain way. But I also think it’s this desire to isolate yourself in this picture-perfect paradise, and not think about the consequences that would have on your family or your own mental health. Those are the types of questions that initially drew me to make this film in the first place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hqNQJ9">
I wonder if it’s also a Floridian desire. So many people are moving here, especially retirees, but also people who are motivated by a desire to escape to warmer climates and be in the sun. The whole thing with “Florida man” is that there are people who obviously spend too much time in the sun, and their brain chemistry has been completely mixed up. They’ve just been here too long.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PT5ZL9">
When I was thinking about making this film, I made a short film about a retiree who had been living exclusively on Royal Caribbean cruise ships for the past 20 years. There were similar qualities there. For him, it was a utopia. This floating city, where people were doing, like, Sexiest Man competitions, and eating giant hot dogs and spilling ketchup all over their faces. For him, that was home. For me, as an outside observer, it was easy to be like, “Wow, this would be my worst nightmare.” So there were some elements of this here, too: How do I make something that can soberly show some of these things while resisting the urge to condemn or judge? That’s probably one of the easiest things you can do in a documentary — make someone look foolish, you know?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h7z2tV">
<strong>Yes. And as you said, it’s especially easy to do that with elderly people. We’re just not good at dealing with or even looking at aging in America. Do you feel like you learned anything about older people as you made the film that you weren’t expecting to learn?</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TZvV1f">
I feel like if I hadn’t, then I would have made something I wouldn’t have been proud of. Going into it, I initially saw it as being the lengths people, especially the elderly, will go to in an attempt to transcend the downsides of aging. The whole idea of “graceful aging” is not a real thing. I don’t really think there is a way to gracefully do it. If you’re lucky enough to get to that age, and you’ve lived a long life, it’s really brutal. You lose all your friends, you lose your spouse, you lose your sense of self. If you’re not physically able at that point in time, then you’re just kind of waiting. So I do understand why so many people there are very protective of this space, a world in which they can do all those things before they’re infirm and they can’t go out anymore.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lrGet8">
The one thing, which may seem really trite or simple — growing up around my grandparents, they appeared to me as older sort of wise elders who had tons of life experience to impart. And they did. But the thing that I learned here is that you can grow older, but you don’t necessarily grow wiser. There’s something kind of interesting in seeing an 84-year-old guy who’s still acting like he’s a 24-year-old bachelor, and in his mind, he’s still completely the same person. Even when you’ve arrived at those final few chapters of life, it’s totally okay if your life is still just as much of a hot mess as it is when you’re in your 20s. A lot of shit in life is not going to be figured out, ever. It may be a depressing thing. Some audiences who are older who see this film see that as a tougher thing to swallow. Younger audiences find it more hopeful, which is interesting, rather than despair about it.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<pre><code> &lt;img alt="A woman stands in front of a giant painted mural depicting a lush green scene." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wLhcmkNbBbO_Sqgfn2Evz-M2BF8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22233463/villages2.jpg" /&gt;
&lt;cite&gt;Magnolia Pictures&lt;/cite&gt;
&lt;figcaption&gt;Barbara, one of the residents of the Villages, has not had the experience she’d hoped for there.&lt;/figcaption&gt;</code></pre>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BQcdDM">
I’m curious what the Villages will look like after the baby boomers are no longer with us. Will they be forced to recreate another era, like the ’80s or something? Will a younger generation even want to live inside of like an imaginary paradise that reminds them of the nostalgia of the past? Maybe. We’re doing it all online already. So many people are obsessed with Y2K and the nostalgia of early internet days.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jp93rn">
The unfortunate thing about Covid-19 is that a lot of younger people are like, “Oh, it’s only the old people that are getting this thing! Whatever!” It’s unfortunate that that’s how we are treating an entire group of people. The <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/11/19/20963757/what-is-ok-boomer-meme-about-meaning-gen-z-millennials">Ok, Boomer</a> thing was another thing; it’s obviously fun to poke fun at people sometimes, when you have different beliefs than an older generation. But it’s still an entire group, an entire body of people. So hopefully, after we come out of this, there will be large-scale kinds of reforms to the ways in which nursing homes work and assisted living centers work. That’s the other thing the pandemic has shown us — how fragile and not great a lot of those systems that we’ve been kind of relying on for so many years really are.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FCgqC9">
<em>This conversation has been edited and condensed.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i7uWcN">
Some Kind of Heaven<em> premieres in limited theaters and video on demand on January 15. For a full list of digital and on-demand platforms where the movie will be available to rent, </em><a href="https://www.somekindofheaven.com/watch-at-home/"><em>see the </em>Some Kind of Heaven<em> website</em></a><em>.</em>
</p>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The seat of American democracy looks like a city under occupation</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fsT2tmrGNRV6Q74tjkc5vQ-EbYE=/0x0:2667x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68665000/AP_21013625054052.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Members of the National Guard secure the perimeter around the Capitol building on January 13. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
</figcaption>
</figure></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A Vox reporter spent the day outside the newly fortified Capitol. Here’s what it looks like.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="THonlC">
The heart of America’s capital looks like occupied territory.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yJXBYt">
After the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22217039/capitol-attack-trump-rally-election-biden-explained">President Donald Trump-incited insurrection of the Capitol</a> last week, a massive force is protecting the building and its surroundings from another possible attack. A sprawling black fence encircles the entire perimeter of the building and its nearby surroundings, with armed National Guard members, Capitol Police, and Secret Service agents standing sentinel on both sides.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ae7b57">
Their <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/congress-electoral-college-tally-live-updates/2021/01/13/956458463/20-000-national-guardsmen-will-be-deployed-for-inauguration-d-c-official-says">mandate</a>, it appears, is to ensure a peaceful transition of power through President-elect Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day. However, many members of the National Guard on duty I spoke to — all on the condition of anonymity to enable them to speak freely and avoid retribution — said they haven’t received any concrete orders regarding when they will leave Washington, DC.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="L8psDo">
Until they do, they go about their jobs, staying overnight in nearby hotels or trying to catch a few winks on <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/1/13/22228851/impeachment-capitol-national-guard-trump-protest">the floor of the Capitol building</a>, waiting to hear when they can go home — which they expect will be after Biden is sworn in.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SweOF5">
What’s clear, though, is that their presence has brought downtown Washington, DC, to a grinding halt.
</p>
<div id="TRtSvb">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
Fencing around the Capitol extends for AWHILE <a href="https://t.co/qTIwPpN5o5">pic.twitter.com/qTIwPpN5o5</a>
</p>
— Alex Ward (<span class="citation">@AlexWardVox</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexWardVox/status/1349432615443574793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2021</a>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BCwpav">
Local police have set up a perimeter throughout the city using flares and parked police cars multiple blocks from the National Mall. Trucks belonging to the DC National Guard have obstructed main roads into the downtown area. Regular vehicle traffic gets shooed away; when a vehicle is allowed to enter the protected space, it must first go through a designated checkpoint for a security sweep.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jZaM7j">
All of this has made it hard to access the seat of American power and greatest symbol of democracy, which typically is open to the public. In normal times, one could go inside the Capitol and legislative offices at will — a symbol of how open the nation’s political system is. Now, it’s hard to get within a few blocks of the Capitol complex without law enforcement or troops staring you down.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0T0IXV">
Views of the temporary situation differ. I overheard a white woman on her bicycle say what she was seeing and experiencing was “cray-cray,” a slang term for “crazy.” A Black man also rode by blasting N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police,” though it’s unclear if the song was meant as a protest.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E4rC5Z">
Officer Wendell (she wouldn’t give me her first name), a member of the local DC Police force who was guarding an area outside the fence, told me, “This is a normal day for us.” After all, the city often hosts high-profile, high-security events. The only thing on her mind, which she repeated often and requested it appear in this piece, was her planned retirement on April 10.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="knnbjH">
The heavy security presence seems to be working. The usually busy streets are empty, and few people are actually around the Capitol, except to take pictures or videos of what’s happening.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<pre><code> &lt;img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GYiFcksN1pF6GywS9jpYZKKmo_8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22234212/GettyImages_1230554997.jpg" /&gt;
&lt;cite&gt;Andres Reynolds-Caballero/AFP via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
&lt;figcaption&gt;Members of the US National Guard arrive at the US Capitol on January 12.&lt;/figcaption&gt;</code></pre>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FCNBJ4">
One member of the Pennsylvania National Guard on duty inside the fence said that right now, “things are slow, very slow,” and that local law enforcement and everyday Capitol staff could handle themselves without any real assistance. (As I approached him and his colleagues, they were discussing their joy over ordering lunch on UberEats.) But, the Guard member made sure to note, they’re all in town “just in case — and you know what I mean.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1nBbmH">
Indeed. That “just in case” is the potential for another attack on the Capitol. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/capitol-breach-driver-of-violence.html">Intelligence</a> indicates armed militia groups and far-right extremists are planning to target the inauguration, which will take place on the building’s western platform. The hope, at least for one member of Virginia’s National Guard, is that his and his fellow troops’ presence helps stave off that possibility.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZGIExl">
“We don’t need Americans killing Americans,” he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gTsYSe">
It’s hard to imagine a crowd of people actually getting through the barrier and overcoming the large force in place. It’s arguably the most heavily guarded area in the city, perhaps even more so than the White House. If anyone tries to fight their way through, chances are high they’ll fail.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G1pd0h">
In that sense, having the Capitol area on lockdown is a good idea — it ensures the safety of lawmakers, staff, and eventually Biden’s inauguration dais. In another sense, it’s a bad look for American democracy that it can’t switch from one administration to another without calling in armed reinforcements.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U7GeZX">
“It’s not ideal,” said a Pennsylvania National Guard member, “but we’re here now, and we got a job to do.”
</p>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Andy Murray tests positive for COVID-19 before Australian Open</strong> - The three-time Grand Slam champion is isolating at home near London.</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>TN’s N. Jagadeesan scores half-century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament</strong> - Tamil Nadu secured its third victory in 15.1 overs.</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>With or without injuries, the eleven that India will put up will be the best eleven on ground: Rathour</strong> - Rathour's comment on playing XI was pretty telling where he put up a brave front, stating that all who would take the field deserve to play for India</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>Gavaskar is entitled to his opinion but it doesn't affect me: Tim Paine</strong> - Paine tried to unsettle Ravichandran Ashwin by sledging the Indian spinner and Gavaskar promptly termed it “unbefitting of national team captain.”</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>I see only Ashwin getting to 800 wickets: Muralitharan</strong> - Muralitharan feels Nathan Lyon, who plays his 100th Test from Friday, “may be not good enough to reach that far.”</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>Befitting reply if any ‘superpower’ hurts national pride: Rajnath Singh</strong> - India never wanted conflict with any nation and preferred to maintain peace and friendly ties with its neighbours, says Rajnath Singh</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>Comedian Faruqui, in jail for two weeks, seeks bail</strong> - Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, arrested by Indore police nearly two weeks ago for allegedly hurting religious sentiments during a show, has now mo</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>Naeem Akhtar found unconscious in sub-jail room, hospitalised</strong> - Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and former minister Naeem Akhtar, 68, was found unconscious in a sub-jail room in Srinagar and was shifted to a</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India deplores ‘false assertions’ in UK Parliament Kashmir debate</strong> - The debate was organised by backbench British MPs at Westminster Hall in the House of Commons on January 13, 2021</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CBI books several of its officers for corruption, misuse of official position</strong> - The CBI has booked several of its officers in a case of alleged misuse of official position and corruption in favouring companies accused of bank fr</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>Italy political crisis erupts over EU Covid spending</strong> - Prime Minister Conte's government is torpedoed by ex-PM Renzi pulling ministers from his party out.</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>Belgian king's car hit during riots over death in police custody</strong> - Violence breaks out as hundreds gather at a police station over the death of a 23-year-old in custody.</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>New ferry switches route over Brexit</strong> - The Stena Embla was to sail between Belfast to Liverpool but moves in a "Brexit busting move".</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>Irish PM apologises over mother and baby homes</strong> - Micheál Martin apologised for the "profound and generational wrong" to survivors of the homes.</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>Scottish seafood exports to EU delayed for further five days</strong> - The transport company that handles most of the trade to EU countries has blamed delays in getting the right paperwork.</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>SpaceX hot fire tests its Starship vehicle three times in four hours</strong> - "Today at SpaceX is about practicing Starship engine starts." - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1735018">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CDPR CEO blames “in-game streaming” for Cyberpunk’s console problems</strong> - Native next-gen versions pushed back to second half of 2021 amid patching work. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1735005">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Filing: Amazon warned Parler for months about “more than 100” violent threats</strong> - Parler's volunteer mods allegedly had a backlog of more than 26,000 posts. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1734842">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hackers used 4 zero-days to infect Windows and Android devices</strong> - Boobytrapped websites are used by attackers to infect people who visited them. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1734975">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AT&amp;T kills off the failed TV service formerly known as DirecTV Now</strong> - AT&amp;T TV Now folded into AT&amp;T TV, which finally gets a no-contract option. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1734930">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Hopefully it translates well from Russian</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A wife gave birth to a redhead child. It was obviously not her husband's as he had black hair. She asked the doctor to help cover it up. Doctor stepped out of the room to talk to the husband. "How often do you have sex with your wife" he asked the husband. "About once every 3 months" husband replied. "Well, then go see what your rusty cock made"
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/cygnusx8"> /u/cygnusx8 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwx2my/hopefully_it_translates_well_from_russian/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwx2my/hopefully_it_translates_well_from_russian/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>I had a friend who worked in a sex toy warehouse. He was killed when a pallet of dildos dropped from a lift and smashed him...</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
...hit him like a ton of pricks.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/patchy72"> /u/patchy72 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwsdju/i_had_a_friend_who_worked_in_a_sex_toy_warehouse/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwsdju/i_had_a_friend_who_worked_in_a_sex_toy_warehouse/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Of all the inventions of the last 100 years...</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
the dry erase board has to be the most remarkable
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/qd0_0bp"> /u/qd0_0bp </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwplm5/of_all_the_inventions_of_the_last_100_years/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwplm5/of_all_the_inventions_of_the_last_100_years/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Did you hear the one about the guy who fucked a chicken?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A man named Steve just turned 30, and was still a virgin.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He decided that it was finally time to change that, and decided to drive down to the nearest brothel, a good 4 hours away.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
When he arrived and asked the owner for a lady to accompany him, he was told “Unfortunately, all of our ladies are booked up tonight. But for just $5, you can go to the back room and fuck a chicken”.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Seeing as he drove all this way, Steve decided to take the offer, fucked the chicken, and drove home.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The next day, feeling unaccomplished, he decides to drive down to the brothel again to make up for the night before.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
When he arrives, he is told once again that all of the ladies are booked for the night. Instead of a chicken, the owner offered to let him watch two dwarfs have sex in the back room for $5. Once again, he accepts the offer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He enters the room to see two dwarfs having sex, with a few other spectators. After some time passes, he turns to the man next to him and says “is it just me, or is this kind of weird”?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The man replies “You think THIS is weird? Yesterday we watched a guy fuck a chicken”!
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Barlos519"> /u/Barlos519 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwqerp/did_you_hear_the_one_about_the_guy_who_fucked_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwqerp/did_you_hear_the_one_about_the_guy_who_fucked_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A man goes to the doctor</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“DOCTOR I NEED HELP!“ he says.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The doctor asked curiously “why are you shouting?“
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“I DON’T KNOW, I’VE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS, CAN YOU FIND THE REASON?“ the man shouts back.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
So the doctor examines the man, and after a while concludes that somehow, the man’s large penis is causing the shouting, he says so and the man agrees to a reduction procedure.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
But after a while, the man finds himself lacking in the bedroom department and goes back to the doctor and asks him to stitch the rest of his penis back on.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“NO I THREW IT AWAY!“ the doctor shouts.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/69_prcnt_immersive"> /u/69_prcnt_immersive </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwu5qq/a_man_goes_to_the_doctor/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/kwu5qq/a_man_goes_to_the_doctor/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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