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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>ROLE OF DEEP LEARNING STRATEGIES IN DETECTING COVID-19 PNEUMONIA</strong> -
<div>
In this chapter, we will describe the various deep learning strategies used in detecting COVID-19 pneumonia with the help of different models.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/jwgsd/" target="_blank">ROLE OF DEEP LEARNING STRATEGIES IN DETECTING COVID-19 PNEUMONIA</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Vaccination shapes evolutionary trajectories of SARS-CoV-2</strong> -
<div>
The large-scale evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been marked by rapid turnover of genetic clades. New variants show intrinsic changes, notably increased transmissibility, as well as antigenic changes that reduce the cross-immunity induced by previous infections or vaccinations. How this functional variation shapes the global evolutionary dynamics has remained unclear. Here we show that selection induced by vaccination impacts on the recent antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2; other relevant forces include intrinsic selection and antigenic selection induced by previous infections. We obtain these results from a fitness model with intrinsic and antigenic fitness components. To infer model parameters, we combine time-resolved sequence data, epidemiological records, and cross-neutralisation assays. This model accurately captures the large-scale evolutionary dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in multiple geographical regions. In particular, it quantifies how recent vaccinations and infections affect the speed of frequency shifts between viral variants.Our results show that timely neutralisation data can be harvested to identify hotspots of antigenic selection and to predict the impact of vaccination on viral evolution.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.19.500637v1" target="_blank">Vaccination shapes evolutionary trajectories of SARS-CoV-2</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Who believes in conspiracy theories? A meta-analysis on personality correlates</strong> -
<div>
Conspiracy theories are ubiquitous (e.g., 9/11, COVID-19) and can have negative consequences (e.g., prejudice). Thus, there is an increasing need for evidence-based recommendations (e.g. possible target groups) with respect to interventions and prevention measures. Present Bayesian three-level meta-analysis (686 correlations, 127 independent samples) includes a synthesis of the extant literature with respect to 12 personality correlates and their relationship with conspiracy beliefs. On average, people who believe in pseudoscience, suffer from paranoia or schizotypy, are narcissistic or religious/spiritual and have relatively low cognitive ability, are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. Heterogeneity was partially explained by the examined moderators and no strong evidence for publication bias was found. Implications for developing tailored interventions are discussed in the article.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/pfw3x/" target="_blank">Who believes in conspiracy theories? A meta-analysis on personality correlates</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A Pan-respiratory Antiviral Chemotype Targeting a Transient Host Multiprotein Complex</strong> -
<div>
We present a small molecule chemotype, identified by an orthogonal drug screen, exhibiting nanomolar activity against members of all the six viral families causing most human respiratory viral disease, with a demonstrated barrier to resistance development. Antiviral activity is shown in mammalian cells, including human primary bronchial epithelial cells cultured to an air-liquid interface and infected with SARS-CoV-2. In animals, efficacy of early compounds in the lead series is shown by survival (for a coronavirus) and viral load (for a paramyxovirus). The drug target is shown to include a subset of the protein 14-3-3 within a transient host multi-protein complex containing components implicated in viral lifecycles and in innate immunity. This multi-protein complex is modified upon viral infection and largely restored by drug treatment. Our findings suggest a new clinical therapeutic strategy for early treatment upon upper respiratory viral infection to prevent progression to lower respiratory tract or systemic disease.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.17.426875v3" target="_blank">A Pan-respiratory Antiviral Chemotype Targeting a Transient Host Multiprotein Complex</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The First Geographic Identification by Country of Sustainable Mutations of SARS-COV-2 Sequence Samples: Worldwide Natural Selection Trends</strong> -
<div>
The high mutation rates of RNA viruses, coupled with short generation times and large population sizes, allow viruses to evolve rapidly and adapt to the host environment. The rapidity of viral mutation also causes problems in developing successful vaccines and antiviral drugs. With the spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide, thousands of mutations have been identified, some of which have relatively high incidences, but their potential impacts on virus characteristics remain unknown. The present study analyzed mutation patterns, SARS-CoV-2 AASs retrieved from the GISAID database containing 10,500,000 samples. Python 3.8.0 programming language was utilized to pre-process FASTA data, align to the reference sequence, and analyze the sequences. Upon completion, all mutations discovered were categorized based on geographical regions and dates. The most stable mutations were found in nsp1(8% S135R), nsp12(99.3% P323L), nsp16 (1.2% R216C), envelope (30.6% T9I), spike (97.6% D614G), and Orf8 (3.5% S24L), and were identified in the United States on April 3, 2020, and England, Gibraltar, and, New Zealand, on January 1, 2020, respectively. The study of mutations is the key to improving understanding of the function of the SARS-CoV-2, and recent information on mutations helps provide strategic planning for the prevention and treatment of this disease. Viral mutation studies could improve the development of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and diagnostic assays designed with high accuracy, specifically useful during pandemics. This knowledge helps to be one step ahead of new emergence variants.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.18.500565v1" target="_blank">The First Geographic Identification by Country of Sustainable Mutations of SARS-COV-2 Sequence Samples: Worldwide Natural Selection Trends</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Determinants of healthcare employee preference to continue teleworking after the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study using hierarchical regression</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Employee post-pandemic telework preference is an important consideration for navigating post-pandemic work arrangements and can inform organizational planning and workforce management. A cross-sectional survey of employees (n=400, participation rate =36.4%) of a regional health authority who teleworked during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. The most common post-pandemic telework preference was all the time (52%) followed by over half but not all the time (32%) and less than half the time or not at all (16%). Using hierarchical multinomial logistic regression models and less than half the time or not at all as the reference outcome, being a provider of direct patient care and productivity while teleworking were strong determinants of post-pandemic telework preference while two or more weekly teleconference hours, work-life balance and having one or more people over five years of age in the home while teleworking were moderate determinants.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.18.22277694v1" target="_blank">Determinants of healthcare employee preference to continue teleworking after the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study using hierarchical regression</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>COVID-associated pulmonary aspergillosis in immunocompetent patients</strong> -
<div>
Purpose: The opportunistic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus infects the lungs of immunocompromised hosts, including patients undergoing chemotherapy or organ transplantation. More recently however, immunocompetent patients with severe SARS-CoV2 have been reported to be affected by COVID-19 Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis (CAPA), in the absence of the conventional risk factors for invasive aspergillosis. This paper explores the hypothesis that contributing causes are the destruction of the lung epithelium permitting colonization by opportunistic pathogens. At the same time, the exhaustion of the immune system, characterized by cytokine storms, apoptosis, and depletion of leukocytes may hinder the response to Aspergillus infection. The combination of these factors may explain the onset of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompetent patients. Methods: We used a previously published computational model of the innate immune response to infection with Aspergillus fumigatus. Variation of model parameters was used to create a virtual patient population. A simulation study of this virtual patient population to test potential causes for co-infection in immunocompetent patients. Results: The two most important factors determining the likelihood of CAPA were the inherent virulence of the fungus and the effectiveness of the neutrophil population, as measured by granule half-life and ability to kill fungal cells. Varying these parameters across the virtual patient population generated a realistic distribution of CAPA phenotypes observed in the literature. Conclusions: Computational models are an effective tool for hypothesis generation. Varying model parameters can be used to create a virtual patient population for identifying candidate mechanisms for phenomena observed in actual patient populations.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.18.500514v1" target="_blank">COVID-associated pulmonary aspergillosis in immunocompetent patients</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Orally administered niclosamide-based organic/inorganic hybrid suppresses SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> -
<div>
The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global health threat mainly due to the surging cases along with new variants of COVID-19. Though global vaccinations have indeed some effects on the virus spread, its longevity is still unknown. Therefore an orally administrable anti-viral agent against SARS-CoV-2 would be of substantial benefit in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Herein, we repurposed niclosamide (NIC), an FDA approved anthelmintic drug in to MgO, which was further coated with hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) to get the de-sired product called NIC-MgO-HPMC, which has improved anti-SARS-CoV-2 replication in the Syrian hamster model. The inhibitory effect of NIC-MgO-HPMC on SARS-CoV-2 replication leads to the prevention of inflammation as well as lung injury. These data strongly support that repurposed NIC-MgO-HPMC could be highly beneficial for controlling the ongoing pandemic thereby achieving an endemic phase.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.19.500639v1" target="_blank">Orally administered niclosamide-based organic/inorganic hybrid suppresses SARS-CoV-2 infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Discovering host protein interactions specific for SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 is a positive single-stranded RNA virus that interacts with proteins of infected cells at different stages of its life cycle. These interactions are necessary for the host to recognize and block the replication of the virus. Yet, if cells fail to block SARS-CoV-2, host proteins are recruited to translate, transcribe and replicate the genetic material of the virus. To identify the host proteins that bind to SARS-CoV-2 RNA, we adopted the RNA-Protein Interaction Detection coupled to Mass Spectrometry (RaPID-MS) technology, which allows the purification and identification by MS-based proteomics of the proteins associated with a specific RNA of interest expressed in mammalian cells. We specifically investigated proteins associated with the 5’ and 3’ end regions of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. As associations might involve non-physical protein-RNA interactions, we defined a set of reliable protein-RNA interactions by exploiting the predictive power of the catRAPID algorithm that assesses the direct binding potential of proteins to a given RNA region. Among these specific SARS-CoV-2 RNA end interactors, we identified the pseudouridine synthase PUS7 that binds to both 5’ and 3’ ends of viral RNA, which harbor the canonical consensus sequence modified by PUS7. We corroborated our results through SARS-CoV-2 RNA analysis by nanopore direct RNA sequencing. Indeed, these PUS7 consensus regions were found highly modified on viral RNAs, as demonstrated by ionic current features that are significantly different compared to the unmodified in vitro transcribed RNA. Overall, our data map the specific host protein interactions of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and point to a role for cellular pseudouridine synthases and the post-transcriptional pseudouridine modifications in the viral life cycle.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.18.499583v1" target="_blank">Discovering host protein interactions specific for SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Monovalent and trivalent VSV-based COVID-19 vaccines elicit potent neutralizing antibodies and immunodominant CD8+ T cells against diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants</strong> -
<div>
Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) vaccines expressing Spike proteins of Wuhan, Beta and/or Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 were generated and tested for induction of antibody and T cell immune responses in mice. rVSV-Wuhan and rVSV-Delta vaccines and a rVSV-Trivalent (mixed rVSV-Wuhan, -Beta, -Delta) vaccine elicited potent neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against live SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan (USAWA1), Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (B.1.1.529) viruses. Prime-boost vaccination with rVSV-Beta was less effective in this capacity. Heterologous boosting of rVSV-Wuhan with rVSV-Delta induced strong nAb responses against Delta and Omicron viruses, with rVSV-Trivalent vaccine consistently effective in inducing nAbs against all the SARS-CoV-2 variants tested. All vaccines, including rVSV-Beta, elicited a spike-specific immunodominant CD8+ T cell response. Collectively, rVSV vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern may be considered in the global fight against COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.19.500626v1" target="_blank">Monovalent and trivalent VSV-based COVID-19 vaccines elicit potent neutralizing antibodies and immunodominant CD8+ T cells against diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Adjusting non-pharmaceutical interventions based on hospital bed capacity using a multi-operator differential evolution</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Without vaccines and medicine, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing, have been the main strategy in controlling the spread of COVID-19. Strict social distancing policies may lead to heavy economic losses, while relaxed social distancing policies can threaten public health systems. We formulate an optimization problem that minimizes the stringency of NPIs during the prevaccination and vaccination phases and guarantees that cases requiring hospitalization will not exceed the number of available hospital beds. The approach utilizes an SEIQR model that separates mild from severe cases and includes a parameter μ that quantifies NPIs. Payoff constraints ensure that daily cases are decreasing at the end of the prevaccination phase and cases are minimal at the end of the vaccination phase. Using the penalty method, the constrained minimization is transformed into a non-convex, multi-modal unconstrained optimization problem, which is solved using a metaheuristic algorithm called the improved multi-operator differential evolution. We apply the framework to determine optimal social distancing strategies in the Republic of Korea given different amounts and types of antiviral drugs. The model considers variants, booster shots, and waning of immunity. The optimal μ values show that fast administration of vaccines is as important as using highly effective vaccines. The initial number of infections and daily imported cases should be kept minimum especially if the severe bed capacity is low. In Korea, a gradual easing of NPIs without exceeding the severe bed capacity is possible if there are at least seven million antiviral drugs and the effectiveness of the drug in reducing disease severity is at least 86%. Model parameters can be adapted to a specific region or country, or other infectious disease. The framework can also be used as a decision support tool in planning practical and economic policies, especially in countries with limited healthcare resources.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.17.22277729v1" target="_blank">Adjusting non-pharmaceutical interventions based on hospital bed capacity using a multi-operator differential evolution</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Impact of SARS-Cov-2 on Clinical Trial Unit Staff: The EPIC Observational Study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Introduction Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) are a key component of delivering non-commercial and commercial clinical research globally. Within the UK, CTUs are seen as a specialist and independent entity available to all researchers requiring support to setup, conduct and deliver clinical trials. Therefore, an involvement of a CTU is highly recommended by national regulators and positively accepted by funders, especially for drug and/or medical device and/or complex intervention trials. Aim: This study aims to determine the challenges associated with the management of Covid-19 research managed via the CTU workforce, including the challenges associated with quality assurance, trial setup and data management. Additionally, this study will explore the by stander effect on trial staff by way of evaluating the mental and physical health impact. Methods/ Design: This is a mixed methods study. An online novel questionnaire survey study will be conducted among the UK CTU workforce. Quantitative data will be collected using the Qualtrics XM platform. We aim to recruit up to 1,500 CTU staff across the UK workforce. A subgroup sample will be randomly invited to take part in semi-structured interviews. Therefore, this survey will generate both quantitative and qualitative data inclusive of demographic data. Results: The findings will inform current initiatives and identify key themes for prioritising in further research to develop robust approaches to support CTU staff, including the development of a start-re-start framework for CTUs for any future pandemics relevant to developing and delivering communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases-based research. Strengths/Limitations: The validation of the EPIC impact questionnaire used qualitative and quantitative methods which is a strength of the study. However, the study has a single timepoint to obtain data with the secondary outcome measures to be completed at two timepoints as this is an exploratory study attempting to obtain a wider data pool.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.18.22277769v1" target="_blank">Impact of SARS-Cov-2 on Clinical Trial Unit Staff: The EPIC Observational Study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>90K/LGALS3BP Expression is Upregulated in COVID-19 but Does Not Restrict SARS-CoV-2 Infection</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Glycoprotein 90K, encoded by the interferon-stimulated gene LGALS3BP, displays broad antiviral activity. It reduces HIV-1 infectivity by interfering with Env maturation and virion incorporation, and increases survival of Influenza A virus-infected mice via antiviral innate immune signaling. Here, we analyzed the expression of 90K/LGALS3BP in 44 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. 90K protein serum levels were significantly elevated in COVID-19 patients compared to uninfected sex- and age-matched controls. Furthermore, PBMC-associated concentrations of 90K protein were overall reduced by SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo, suggesting enhanced secretion into the extracellular space. Mining of published PBMC scRNA-seq datasets uncovered monocyte-specific induction of LGALS3BP mRNA expression in COVID-19 patients. In functional assays, neither 90K overexpression in susceptible cell lines nor exogenous addition of purified 90K consistently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our data suggests that 90K/LGALS3BP contributes to the global type I IFN response during SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo without displaying detectable antiviral properties.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.18.22277255v1" target="_blank">90K/LGALS3BP Expression is Upregulated in COVID-19 but Does Not Restrict SARS-CoV-2 Infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general population of the Valencian Community (Spain) after the surge of the Omicron BA.1 variant</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background Studies investigating the cumulative incidence of and immune status against SARS-CoV-2 infection provide valuable information for shaping public health decision- making. Methods The current cross-sectional, population-based study, conducted in April 2022 in the Valencian Community (VC), recruited 935 participants of all ages. Anti-SARS-CoV-2-Receptor Binding Domain-RBD- total antibodies and anti-Nucleocapsid (N)- IgGs were measured by electrochemiluminescence assays. To account for past SARS-CoV-2 infection the VC microbiology registry (RedMiVa) was interrogated. Quantitation of neutralizing antibodies (NtAb) against the ancestral and Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 (sub)variants by an S-pseudotyped neutralization assay and for enumeration of SARS-CoV-2-S specific-IFNgamma;-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells by Intracellular Cytokine Staining assay was performed in a subset of participants (n=100 and 137, respectively). Findings The weighted cumulative incidence was 51.9% (95% CI, 48.7-55.1), and was inversely related to age. Anti-RBD total antibodies were detected in 906/931 (97.3%) participants, those vaccinated and SARS-CoV-2-experienced (VAC-ex;=442) displaying higher levels (P&lt;0.001) than vaccinated/naive (VAC-n;(n=472) and non-vaccinated/experienced (UNVAC-ex; n(n=63). Antibody levels correlated inversely with the time elapsed since receipt of last vaccine dose in VAC-n (Rho, -0.52; 95% CI, -0.59 to -0.45; P&lt;0.001) but not in VAC-ex. NtAbs against Omicron BA.1 were detected in 94%, 75% and 50% of VAC-ex, VAC-n and UNVAC-ex groups, respectively, while in 97%, 84% and 40%, against Omicron BA.2. SARS-CoV-2-S-reactive IFNgamma; T cells were detected in 73%, 75%, and 64% for VAC-ex, VAC-n, UNVAC-ex, respectively. Interpretation By April 2022 around half of the VC population had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and due to extensive vaccination display hybrid immunity. The large percentage of participants with detectable functional antibody and T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2, which may be cross-reactive to some extent, points towards lower expected severity than in previous waves.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.19.22277747v1" target="_blank">Cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general population of the Valencian Community (Spain) after the surge of the Omicron BA.1 variant</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Adaptive sentinel testing in workplace for COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Testing and isolation of infectious employees is one of the critical strategies to make the workplace safe during the pandemic for many organizations. Adaptive testing frequency reduces cost while keeping the pandemic under control at the workplace. However, most models aimed at estimating test frequencies were structured for municipalities or large organizations such as university campuses of highly mobile individuals. By contrast, the workplace exhibits distinct characteristics: employee positivity rate may be different from the local community because of rigorous protective measures at workplace, or self-selection of co-workers with common behavioral tendencies for adherence to pandemic mitigation guidelines. Moreover, dual exposure to COVID19 occurs at work and at home that complicates transmission modeling, as does transmission tracing at the workplace. Hence, we developed a bi-modal SEIR model and R-shiny tool that ac-counts for these differentiating factors to adaptively estimate the testing frequency for workplace. Our tool uses easily measurable parameters: community incidence rate, risks of acquiring infection from community and workplace, workforce size, and sensitivity of testing. Our model is best suited for moderate-sized organizations with low internal transmission rates, no-outward facing employees whose position demands frequent in-person interactions with the public, and low to medium population positivity rates. Simulations revealed that employee behavior in adherence to protective measures at work and in their community, and the onsite workforce size have large effects on testing frequency. Reducing workplace transmission rate through workplace mitigation protocols and higher sensitivity of the test deployed, though to a lesser extent. Furthermore, our simulations showed that sentinel testing leads to only a marginal increase in the number of infections even for high community incidence rates, suggesting that this may be a cost-effective approach in future pandemics. We used our model to accurately guide the testing regimen for three campuses of The Jackson Laboratory.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.18.22277434v1" target="_blank">Adaptive sentinel testing in workplace for COVID-19 pandemic</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>Bank of Human Leukocytes From COVID-19 Convalescent Donors With an Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Cellular Immunity</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Generation of a biobank allowing the cryopreservation of leucocytes from COVID19 convalescent donors<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Central Hospital, Nancy, France<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>Generation of SARS-CoV-2-specific T Lymphocytes From Recovered Donors and Administration to High-risk COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Severe COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Coronavirus-2-specific T cells;   Other: standard of care (SOC)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   George Papanicolaou Hospital;   General Hospital Of Thessaloniki Ippokratio<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>Beta-glucans for Hospitalised Patients With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: MC 3x3;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Concentra Educacion e Investigación Biomédica;   Wohlstand Pharmaceutical<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 Randomised, Multi-centre, Double-blind, Phase 3 Study to Observe the Effectiveness, Safety and Tolerability of Molnupiravir Compared to Placebo Administered Orally to High-risk Adult Outpatients With Mild COVID-19 Receiving Local Standard of Care in South Africa</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Molnupiravir 200 mg<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of Witwatersrand, South Africa;   Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of FB2001 in Hospitalized Patients With Moderate to Severe COVID-19 (BRIGHT Study)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: FB2001;   Drug: FB2001 placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Frontier Biotechnologies Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Engaging Staff to Improve COVID-19 Vaccination Response at Long-Term Care Facilities</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Full Intervention;   Other: Enhanced Usual Care<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Kaiser Permanente;   Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute;   Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS)<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>Value of Montelukast as a Potential Treatment of Post COVID-19 Persistent Cough</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Montelukast Sodium Tablets<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Assiut University<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>Topical Antibacterial Agents for Prevention of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Neosporin;   Other: Vaseline<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Yale University;   Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation<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">**NanoMn®_COVID-19 A Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-group, Double-blind Trial to Evaluate the Clinical Efficacy of NanoManganese® on Top of Standard of Care, in Adult Patients With Moderate to Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)** - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pandemic<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Placebo;   Drug: Experimental drug<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Medesis Pharma SA<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Plasma Exchange Therapy for Post- COVID-19 Condition: A Pilot, Randomized Double-Blind Study</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-COVID19 Condition<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Combination Product: Plasma Exchange Procedure;   Other: Sham Plasma Exchange Procedure<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Fundación FLS de Lucha Contra el Sida, las Enfermedades Infecciosas y la Promoción de la Salud y la Ciencia;   IrsiCaixa;   Banc de Sang i Teixits<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 Recombinant COVID-19 Variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated;   Biological: mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna);   Biological: Viral Vector COVID-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   WestVac Biopharma 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>Evaluation of Effectiveness of Proprietary Rehabilitation Program in Patients After COVID-19 Infection</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Rehabilitation<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: Respiratory training with the use of resistance set on respiratory muscle trainer;   Other: Respiratory training without resistance set on respiratory muscle trainer<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Medical University of Bialystok<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>Developing an Integrative, Recovery-Based, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS) Psychotherapeutic Intervention</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: PACS Coping and Recovery (PACS-CR) Intervention<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   VA Office of Research and Development<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>Mineralocorticoid Use in COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   ARDS<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Fludrocortisone Acetate 0.1 MG<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Ain Shams University<br/><b>Completed</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>Recent Progress in the Development of Opaganib for the Treatment of Covid-19</strong> - The Covid-19 pandemic driven by the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to exert extensive humanitarian and economic stress across the world. Although antivirals active against mild disease have been identified recently, new drugs to treat moderate and severe Covid-19 patients are needed. Sphingolipids regulate key pathologic processes, including viral proliferation and pathologic host inflammation. Opaganib (aka ABC294640) is a first-in-class clinical drug targeting sphingolipid metabolism for the…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A computational evaluation of FDA medicines’ ability to inhibit hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase-2 (PHD-2) for acute respiratory distress syndrome</strong> - COVID-19 infection is associated with a significant fatality rate in individuals suffering from severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Among the several possibilities, inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase-2 or prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein 2 (PHD2) in a hypoxia-independent way is a prospective therapeutic target for the treatment of ARDS. Vadadustat, Roxadustat, Daprodustat, Desidustat, and Enarudustat are the available clinical trial inhibitors….</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Targeting the Conserved Sequence of the Substrate for the Proteinase of Severe-Acute-Respiratory-Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Using Nano-Networks: Efficacy, Stability, and No Cytotoxicity</strong> - Herein, we designed a nano peptide that contains three important motifs for targeting the chemotrypsin-like cysteine protease (3CL^(pro)) which is the enzyme responsible for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication. The novel nano peptide contains the Nap Phe-Phe motif that is responsible for peptide self-assembly, an octapeptide (Ser-Ala-Val-Leu-Gln-Ser-Gly-Phe) motif where the enzyme recognizes the substrate and induces enzyme sensitivity, and a tetrapeptide…</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>Inhibiting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Variants: Targeting the Spike and Envelope Proteins Using Nanomaterial Like Peptides</strong> - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused significant death, economic crisis, and the world to almost completely shut down. This present study focused on targeting the novel SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein, which has not been frequently mutating, and the S protein with a much larger peptide capable of inhibiting virus-mammalian cell attraction. In doing so, molecular dynamics software was used here to model six peptides…</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>Complement C3 activation in the ICU: Disease and therapy as Bonnie and Clyde</strong> - Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) often straddle the divide between life and death. Understanding the complex underlying pathomechanisms relevant to such situations may help intensivists select broadly acting treatment options that can improve the outcome for these patients. As one of the most important defense mechanisms of the innate immune system, the complement system plays a crucial role in a diverse spectrum of diseases that can necessitate ICU admission. Among others, myocardial…</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>Application of emetine in SARS-CoV-2 treatment: regulation of p38 MAPK signaling pathway for preventing emetine-induced cardiac complications</strong> - Emetine is one of the most highly potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents ever identified. In addition to having strong anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities, emetine has other valuable therapeutic effects such as strong anti-inflammatory and anti-arterial pulmonary hypertension (APH) properties, which are suitable for the treatment of COVID-19. Its proper concomitant therapeutic effect has led researchers to test this compound in clinical trials to combat COVID-19. However, due to the risks of cardiac…</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 Glycan-Binding Trait of the Sarbecovirus Spike N-Terminal Domain Reveals an Evolutionary Footprint</strong> - The spike protein on sarbecovirus virions contains two external, protruding domains: an N-terminal domain (NTD) with unclear function and a C-terminal domain (CTD) that binds the host receptor, allowing for viral entry and infection. While the CTD is well studied for therapeutic interventions, the role of the NTD is far less well understood for many coronaviruses. Here, we demonstrate that the spike NTD from SARS-CoV-2 and other sarbecoviruses binds to unidentified glycans in vitro similarly to…</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>Molnupiravir for the treatment of COVID-19</strong> - Molnupiravir (MK-4482, EIDD-2801) is a promising broad-spectrum experimental antiviral developed by Merck &amp; Co. It is a nucleoside analogue prodrug that undergoes rapid conversion into nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) by intracellular metabolic processes. NTP inhibits viral polymerase by acting as an alternative substrate. Molnupiravir was initially developed to treat influenza and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) infection as it exerts its antiviral activity by inhibiting RNA-dependent…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Africa: a scoping review</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Our review demonstrated the contextualized and multifaceted reasons inhibiting or encouraging vaccine uptake in African countries. This evidence is key to operationalizing interventions based on facts as opposed to assumptions. Our paper provided important considerations for addressing the challenge of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and blunting the impact of the pandemic in Africa.</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 narrative review on yoga: a potential intervention for augmenting immunomodulation and mental health in COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: This review paves the path for further research on yoga as a potential intervention for enhancing innate immunity and mental health and thus its role in prevention and adjunctive treatment in COVID-19.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>In vitro evolution predicts emerging SARS-CoV-2 mutations with high affinity for ACE2 and cross-species binding</strong> - Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants are creating major challenges in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Being able to predict mutations that could arise in SARS-CoV-2 leading to increased transmissibility or immune evasion would be extremely valuable in development of broad-acting therapeutics and vaccines, and prioritising viral monitoring and containment. Here we use in vitro evolution to seek mutations in SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) that would substantially increase binding to ACE2. We find…</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>Drug repurposing based on a quantum-inspired method versus classical fingerprinting uncovers potential antivirals against SARS-CoV-2</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to identify new antiviral therapeutics at pace, including through drug repurposing. We employed a Quadratic Unbounded Binary Optimization (QUBO) model, to search for compounds similar to Remdesivir, the first antiviral against SARS-CoV-2 approved for human use, using a quantum-inspired device. We modelled Remdesivir and compounds present in the DrugBank database as graphs, established the optimal parameters in our algorithm and resolved the Maximum…</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>Cap-independent translation and a precisely located RNA sequence enable SARS-CoV-2 to control host translation and escape anti-viral response</strong> - Translation of SARS-CoV-2-encoded mRNAs by the host ribosomes is essential for its propagation. Following infection, the early expressed viral protein NSP1 binds the ribosome, represses translation, and induces mRNA degradation, while the host elicits an anti-viral response. The mechanisms enabling viral mRNAs to escape this multifaceted repression remain obscure. Here we show that expression of NSP1 leads to destabilization of multi-exon cellular mRNAs, while intron-less transcripts, such as…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Iron and iron-related proteins in COVID-19</strong> - COVID-19 can cause detrimental effects on health. Vaccines have helped in reducing disease severity and transmission but their long-term effects on health and effectiveness against future viral variants remain unknown. COVID-19 pathogenesis involves alteration in iron homeostasis. Thus, a contextual understanding of iron-related parameters would be very valuable for disease prognosis and therapeutics.Accordingly, we reviewed the status of iron and iron-related proteins in COVID-19….</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Evaluation of apigenin-based biflavonoid derivatives as potential therapeutic agents against viral protease (3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 via molecular docking, molecular dynamics and quantum mechanics studies</strong> - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the pandemic COVID-19 disease that affects human respiratory function. Despite the scientific progression made in the development of the vaccine, there is an urgent need for the discovery of antiviral drugs for better performance at different stages of SARS-CoV-2 reproduction. The main protease (Mpro or 3CLpro) plays a pivotal role in the life cycle of the virus, making it an attractive target for the…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>​​Another Likely Effect of the Roe Reversal: Higher Health-Care Costs</strong> - Abortion bans could lead to more high-risk pregnancies, which could raise the price of providing health care to women. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/another-likely-effect-of-the-roe-reversal-higher-health-care-costs">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The First Images from the James Webb Telescope Are Breathtaking—and Significant</strong> - Reminiscent of Vermeer, but carrying news of the origins of the universe, the photos are just the beginning. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-first-images-from-the-james-webb-telescope-are-breathtaking-and-significant">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Herschel Walker’s Deficits Are Not the Only Cause for Concern</strong> - His Senate candidacy is a clear example of the warping effect that Donald Trump has had on the Republican Party nationally. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/25/herschel-walkers-deficits-are-not-the-only-cause-for-concern">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>​​Britain Unravels in a Heat Wave</strong> - The U.K., like its population, is not built for heat. As temperatures surpassed a hundred and four degrees, schools closed, roads melted, and confusion reigned. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/britain-unravels-in-a-heat-wave">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Justice Neil Gorsuch’s Radical Reinterpretation of the First Amendment</strong> - His opinion in the case of a public-high-school football coach who led prayers on the fifty-yard line privileges religious speech. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/justice-neil-gorsuchs-radical-reinterpretation-of-the-first-amendment">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>RRR is an incredible action movie with seriously troubling politics</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Two figures in white happily crowd-surf on the hands of a huge mass of people." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Q9aTMZJteorNT8K2Mupf8o_wxNw=/175x0:1714x1154/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71154638/Screen_Shot_2022_07_18_at_4.50.55_PM.0.png"/>
<figcaption>
N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan star in <em>RRR</em>, an anti-colonialist Tollywood film that stumbles when it comes to portraying caste. | IMDb
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The Tollywood blockbuster is a hit on Netflix, but it’s casteist politics aren’t so simple.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3vSpfP">
S.S. Rajamouli’s <a href="https://www.polygon.com/22996870/rrr-review-rise-roar-revolt"><em>RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt)</em></a> has <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/06/rrr-indian-film-specialty-preview-1235042579/">taken the world by storm</a>. It’s one of the <a href="https://www.gqindia.com/entertainment/content/baahubali-to-rrr-7-most-expensive-south-films-ever-made">most expensive Indian films</a> ever made, and one of the most <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/30/indian-director-ss-rajamouli-rrr-film-teluga-cinema">successful</a>, becoming the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_Indian_films">fourth-highest-grossing Indian film</a> of all time. Even Netflix, which has been streaming the movie since May, declared it to be the <a href="https://twitter.com/NetflixIndia/status/1539876294493499392">most watched Indian film</a> on its service, viewed over 45 million times globally. <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-netflix-hit-rrr-is-a-political-screed-an-action-bonanza-and-an-exhilarating-musical">Critics love it</a>, and its GIFs and scenes have swept social media. It’s an undeniable slam-dunk of global success. Coming out of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_language">Telugu</a>-language film industry of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_cinema">Tollywood</a> in South India, as opposed to the more popular <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi">Hindi</a>-language industry of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_cinema">Bollywood</a>, this period drama from India’s biggest filmmaker is a cinematic event.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CtU6qp">
Centered on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alluri_Sitarama_Raju">Alluri Sitarama Raju</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komaram_Bheem">Komaram Bheem</a>, two very real Indian freedom fighters from the Telugu regions of Andhra and Telangana respectively, the film is a fantasy of the past. <em>RRR</em> imagines a fictitious, impossible friendship between these two figures of history as they come together and team up to fight the forces of British colonialism in 1920s pre-independence India. And it boasts two superstars of South Indian film — <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Charan">Ram Charan</a> (who plays Alluri Sitarama Raju, also known as Rama Raju) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Rama_Rao_Jr.">N.T. Rama Rao Jr.</a> (who plays Komaram Bheem) as the two leads, both heirs to powerful film dynasties in Tollywood.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cLdc1F">
Rama Raju was an upper-caste man who <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampa_Rebellion_of_1922">helped lead the rebellions and resistance</a> of Adivasis, the Indigenous people, against the British, while Komaram Bheem was an Adivasi icon and a revolutionary from the marginalized Gond people. They’re both key figures in Telugu history, albeit unequally. While Komaram Bheem, as an Indigenous protector of his people, has a lasting legacy, he’s hardly received the same level of sustained adoration as an upper-caste hero like Rama Raju, who was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alluri_Seetarama_Raju_(film)">subject of a classic ’70s film</a>.
</p>
<div>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/37ll9M2c0rfcRBuD2VBHREHho3M=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23884961/RamBheem.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Statues of Rama Raju, left, and Komaram Bheem.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gzc5Xu">
<em>RRR</em> director Rajamouli’s film is part of that legacy, bringing the two heroes together, playing like the apotheosis of his work. His films are full of big emotions, enthralling action set pieces, sweeping gestures, and memorably epic soundtracks. They’re the kind of movies you watch at a theater with a big audience, as people cheer and wolf-whistle. Coming off the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baahubali:_The_Beginning"><em>Baahubali</em></a> duology of sword-and-sorcery epics, which were some of the biggest Indian films of the past decade, <em>RRR</em> is a level-up. It’s a maximalist blockbuster that feels like an ode to much of what we love about the theatrical experience.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MgdjwR">
To a global audience inundated with an endless slurry of corporate superhero content, facing a landscape more and more bound to franchises, shared universes, and IP, the film is an increasingly rare gem of blockbuster filmmaking. It’s devoid of the trademark self-aware, winking irony of most American blockbusters, instead going all-in on sincerity. But most importantly? It’s new. <em>RRR</em>’s influences are not familiar ground for most global audiences. It emerges from a wildly different cultural landscape and filmmaking tradition. Where else can you find a three-hour musical epic with an electrifying and rip-roaring dance battle in defiance of a colonizer’s cruelty?
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F3uCOu">
Where else do you get a ridiculously thrilling title-drop 40 minutes into the film, as though you were watching <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_My_Car_(film)"><em>Drive My Car</em></a>, for an action epic that feels like an event?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RieoQA">
It’s the kind of big movie that reminds you of the sheer power of movies. It’s why so many of the <a href="https://youtu.be/dPU2D5Ftjbw">responses to the film</a> tend to be in the realm of hyperbole, as the film almost invites such a reaction. It’s a film that embodies <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhishma_Pratigna_(1921_film)">the history</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakta_Prahlada_(1932_film)">strength </a>of Telugu cinema when it comes to myth-making.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sMC1RM">
But for all its thrills, <em>RRR</em> also comes with a set of issues that need scrutiny.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oG1pR0">
The film is, certainly, admirably anti-colonialist with its searing hatred for the British Empire and the white man’s burden. Its contempt for the colonizers, with action scenes showcasing tigers and leopards devouring them, is delightful and resonant.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P1u4gv">
But it is also emblematic of a larger current trend in Indian film — <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/amp/reportage/akshay-kumar-role-hindutva-poster-boy">movies that stoke the flames of nationalism</a> in the current India and its troubling political climate. And it is the most successful film of them all to date, reaching a far wider viewership, which is why it matters.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jT7Hfa">
In <em>RRR</em>’s case, the problem is that it is very much a fantasy of the upper-caste Hindu gaze, and all those willing to go along with its hegemony.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jd9bc4">
Now, what do I mean by that? To unpack that, let’s dig into that which has long ruled the fate of India: <a href="https://time.com/6156124/india-hindu-muslim-caste/">the caste system</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="zwpwB7">
Hindutva and the casteist monster
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xtt5Yh">
The caste system has oppressed, and continues to oppress, legions across history. It’s a mechanism by which theological justifications are provided for a horrific hierarchy and inequality, raising up the upper castes and helping them shore up their power, while keeping down all they deem as “lower” than them. It has been historically used <a href="https://idsn.org/caste-discrimination/what-is-caste-discrimination/">to dehumanize people</a>, with evils such as the infamous “untouchability,” denial of access to public services, and prohibitions against inter-caste marriages. Issues such as land ownership and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/8/india-why-justice-eludes-many-dalit-survivors-of-sexual-violence">prosecution of crimes</a> are key struggles informed by the realities of caste. While there has been progress over the past century, the grim prejudices persist.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DCTKEp">
At the top of the order are Brahmins (the priestly class), followed by Kshatriyas (the warrior/ruling class), then Vaishyas (the merchant class), and Shudras (the labor class). Below all of them are the Dalits, whom the system views as “the untouchables.” This hierarchical view of reality is a troubling one. And it extends to how the ruling elite view the Adivasis (the Indigenous people) who exist outside the caste system. They see them as below them and their Brahmanical supremacy.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
<aside id="qfBFxW">
<q>In the modern age, caste privilege is not gone, and neither is casteist discrimination</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tv3njJ">
During the early 20th century, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4408848">this monster met another horrific monster</a>: European fascism. Specifically, the Italian fascism of Mussolini and the Nazism of Adolf Hitler’s Germany. Forged in the flames of vile hatred, this would give birth to a political ideology that now rules over the current modern India: Hindutva, a belief system envisioned by extremist right-wing Hindu political figures and enforced by militant groups like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh">Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS</a>). Its goal is to see India transformed from a secular nation into a Hindu Rashtra/Hindu state. It views the Muslim as the ultimate enemy, a foreign invader and serious threat to their way of life. It conflates conspiracy with history, mythology with reality, and hopes to replace the constitution with something far more regressive and oppressive. This is especially relevant given that India is currently ruled over by the Hindutva RSS political party in the form of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party">Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP</a>). Led by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narendra_Modi">Narendra Modi</a>, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/09/blood-and-soil-in-narendra-modis-india">the modern face of Hindutva</a>, the group won big and came into power in 2014. It represents a terrifying <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/6/28/modis-critics-have-a-precarious-life-in-india">new India</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DFkuQW">
Hindutva is a project that aspires to flatten and reduce myriad diverse groups and people into a generic abstract of the Hindu. It’s useful to ask who benefits here; what is the purpose of this fascist flattening and uniting? Many of the chief architects of this ideology — <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinayak_Damodar_Savarkar">founders</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._S._Moonje">key influencers</a>, or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._B._Hedgewar">the architects</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._S._Golwalkar">leaders of its militant enforcers</a> — were, unsurprisingly, of the highest caste, Brahmins.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FxV5jF">
One of the central texts to Hindutva and its history, <em>We, Or Our Nationhood Defined</em>, makes the ideology’s ties to Nazism explicit. It suggests that India could learn from Nazi Germany and its attempts to <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/amp/history/rss-golwalkar-links-nazism">“keep up the purity of the race and its culture.”</a> Thus, the construction of the Muslim as the enemy, the invader, and the foreign threat, which serves to create a demonized Other against which a “unity” of the abstracted “Hindu” can be built.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lzPlC9">
When you give the people who might rise up against you a common constructed enemy who you outline as below them, you are saying, “Oppress them with us and you too can be part of our glorious hegemony.” Certainly, individuals from marginalized caste backgrounds can be granted power, but only as symbols to inspire other oppressed people into serving the system of oppression itself, which must forever be in place.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VTfHaC">
In the modern age, caste privilege is not gone, and neither is casteist discrimination. Hindutva being a hybrid of casteism and fascism means it is fundamentally an ideology of inequality. Its agents might tokenistically attempt to appeal to marginalized people, and <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/saffronising-ambedkar-sangh-rss">attempt to co-opt radical icons</a>, but <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/we-were-told-non-violence-is-cowardly-bhanwar-meghwanshi-a-dalit-activist-who-quit-the-rss">the reality of it</a> is systemic oppression, just masked a bit differently. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/big-techs-big-problem-also-best-kept-secret-caste-discrimination-rcna33692">Even in America</a>, <a href="https://www.equalitylabs.org/castesurvey/#key-findings">casteism runs wild</a>, though communities attempt to keep the pretense of being post-caste, painting it as an ancient relic. It’s hard to escape upper-caste thinking, no matter where you are.
</p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang">
<aside id="xKTSin">
<q>Since the ascent of Modi and the BJP, the country has descended into a nightmarish climate of fear and oppression</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0E7IIg">
All of which brings us to the current moment in India. Since the ascent of Modi and the BJP, the country has descended into <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdq89/aryan-khan-bail-muslims-bollywood-modi-india">a nightmarish climate</a> of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/can-bollywood-survive-modi/619008/">fear and oppression</a>, wherein <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/04/india-christians-living-in-fear-claims-forced-conversions">religious minorities are under threat</a>, <a href="https://time.com/6103284/india-hindu-supremacy-extremism-genocide-bjp-modi/">Islamophobia is at an all-time high</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/10/1041105988/india-muslim-hindu-interfaith-wedding-conversion">bigotry runs free</a>, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2022/04/23/indias-gautam-adani-passes-warren-buffett-to-become-worlds-5th-richest-person/">rich grow richer</a>, the <a href="https://thewire.in/economy/india-world-inequality-report-poor-affluent-elite-progress">poor grow poorer</a>, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/10/indias-ancient-tribes-battle-to-save-their-forest-home-from-mining">Adivasi lands and rights are violated</a>. History itself is under threat and is in the process of being rewritten, from disinformation in the media to <a href="https://www.thequint.com/south-india/list-of-changes-in-karnataka-textbooks-kannada-rss-hindutva-ideology">alterations to education in schools</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7fhD45">
And <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/26/world/asia/india-activist-arrested-modi-gujarat-riots.html">those who speak up are punished or made examples of</a>. Even <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/can-bollywood-survive-modi/619008/">the arts have come under siege</a>, as an endless parade of <a href="https://scroll.in/reel/1005662/muslim-stereotyping-in-hindi-films-we-cannot-allow-ourselves-to-forget-what-constitutes-us">period pieces</a> display the Muslim invader, the foreign Muslim, the evil Muslim, and other such variants that terrorize the valiant Hindu heroes. Such clear Hindu-washed historicals serving Hindutva talking points are all over Bollywood (consider this year’s biggest Bollywood film, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/q-and-a/what-a-disturbing-new-film-reveals-about-modis-india"><em>Kashmir Files</em></a>, a <a href="https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/">conspiracy-theory spin</a> on history). All this has only fomented and fanned more hatred and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/17/kashmir-files-film-modi-anti-muslim-hate-speech">calls for violence</a> against the oppressed.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LKZ5PY">
This is the context in which <em>RRR</em> was released. And while it might be an exciting romp, the film doesn’t offer any reprieve from the upper-caste vision that brought us here.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QputKt">
The way the caste system operates in the Telugu regions is crucial in this case. It’s slightly different from the conventional setup — divided into Brahmins, followed by a smattering of middle-caste non-Brahmins, and below them, Dalits. Certain non-Brahmins like the land-owning <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamma_(caste)">Kamma</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapu_(caste)">Kapu</a> castes, who dominate the region, are effectively upper-caste. And they’ve long held power over the arts.
</p>
<h3 id="Zpgm2S">
The Brahmanical Hindu fantasy of reality
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cOOFjV">
<em>RRR</em>, in the end, is unable to escape the shackles of this troubling system. S.S. Rajamouli comes from an upper-caste background, a fact that’s evident in his films but is important to note. So does N.T. Rama Rao (NTR). Rajamouli and NTR are of the Kamma caste, while Ram Charan is of the Kapu caste, <a href="https://theswaddle.com/how-tollywoods-two-rival-castes-work-together-to-maintain-political-industry-power/">both of which hold a strong sway in the Telugu states</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eKXNXU">
Rajamouli’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/30/indian-director-ss-rajamouli-rrr-film-teluga-cinema?taid=626d9c515d112f000147b983&amp;">influences</a> are very much the Hindu epics such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana"><em>The Ramayana</em></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata"><em>The Mahabharata</em></a>, as well as the Indian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amar_Chitra_Katha"><em>Amar Chitra Katha</em> comics</a> — largely retellings of classic Hindu epics or stories. The epics, and the comics drawing upon them, largely center on upper-caste heroes, whether the divine <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama">Ram</a> in Ramayana or the mighty <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandava">Pandavas</a> in Mahabharata. These upper-caste champions inhabit Hindu worlds and mythologies that have caste built into them, and as such have very <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2059648">clear political implications</a> and material impact. It is why there has been a <a href="https://raiot.in/the-riddle-of-rama-by-dr-babasaheb-b-r-ambedkar/">long history of critique</a> aimed at these epics. The interpretations, readings, and ideologies drawn from these stories have very real repercussions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X4XlyX">
In the Ramayana, Lord Ram is the avatar of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu">Vishnu</a>, the divine protector who descends to the mortal realm to restore balance to the world. Ram is the ideal man, born into an upper-caste dynasty of kings in Ayodhya, and his reign is seen as the ultimate utopian period of existence. The idea of “Ram Rajya” (Ram’s reign/rule/kingdom), which emerges from the text, is the mythic idealized (Brahmanical) past that Hindutva agents view as their righteous duty to restore. It is the idea of the golden age of the past that has material consequences. It is why the Ramayana and Ram are <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58406194">invoked in many hate crimes</a> committed by Hindutva assailants, with “Jai Shree Ram!” (All Hail Lord Ram!) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/18/hatred-bigotry-and-untruth-communal-violence-grips-india">being uttered amid many cruelties</a>. It is why there’s been a decades-long conflict like <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50065277">the Ayodhya dispute</a>, wherein Hindutva agents have sought to tear down a mosque to build a temple for Ram in its place. Given that these epics have been manipulated and shaped to serve pernicious ideas like the caste system and Hindu nationalism, invoking them requires care, consideration, and serious thought.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KeBWUI">
In that film, the Kalakeyas are dark-skinned, casteless, uncultured, and murderous savages who must be taken down by the “civilized” and fairer-skinned noble Kshatriya heroes of the caste system. Even the language of this obvious racist, colorist caricature is inspired by the southern language of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language">Tamil</a>. And the films are steeped in and reinforce casteist frameworks even in their imaginary fantasy visions. As <a href="https://twitter.com/ssrajamouli/status/253715745589047296">Rajamouli himself posted on social media</a>:
</p>
<div>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pWAQYnqvp0gk8PIunV8Tn-7KJhU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23884971/RajamouliCasteism.jpg"/>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6GhCRY">
It’s every bit as visible in <em>RRR</em>, too. It may not trade in the “demonizing” creed of casteism, but it trades that for the more “benign” and “liberal” vision of the casteist lens. It is why you have Ram uplifted as the “well-educated upper-caste savior with a vision” and Bheem reduced to “uneducated noble savage who must be taught the ‘civilized’ ways.” For all that it claims to be a tribute to two legends, it is one that is deeply unequal.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
<aside id="rmq16Y">
<q>RRR manages to depict Adivasis as compatriots instead of enemies, and seems to think that’s generous enough</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0ZKzEq">
Rajamouli’s work merely reproduces all the worst aspects of his influences and upbringing without ever critically questioning them. It’s an upper-caste boy’s privileged roller-coaster ride, which comes easily to someone who hasn’t had to experience the oppressive realities and horrors of the system. <a href="https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/cinema/rajamouli-post-caste-re-emerges-dont-forget-baahubali-casteism">His work’s deep casteism</a> reinforces a Brahmanical vision of the universe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uTJZ14">
It is why Komaram Bheem, a well-educated man who could read and write, is reduced to an illiterate simpleton, <a href="https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/rrr-baahubali-raavan-how-indian-cinema-stereotypes-adivasis">playing to historic Adivasi stereotypes</a>. It is why you have a scene wherein he exclaims he is but a simple tribal person who did not and could not understand the greater vision of the upper-caste savior Ram. It’s also why the Gonds are framed as a “simple” people, compared to sheep, with Bheem having to ask Ram for the gift of education.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tIE6Vq">
And it is also why, in the end, Bheem’s real revolutionary slogan of <a href="http://adivasiresurgence.com/2016/10/16/komaram-bheem-a-forgotten-adivasi-leader-who-gave-the-slogan-jal-jangal-jameen/">“Jal, Jangal, Jameen,”</a> his iconic contribution, <a href="https://scroll.in/article/944473/jal-jungle-zameen-in-delhi-hundreds-of-adivasis-demand-implementation-of-forest-rights-act">which is vital to Adivasi activism to this day</a>, is altered to be written and inscribed instead by the upper-caste Kshatriya hero Ram. It is, <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/amp/film/rajamouli-dehumanising-gond-rrr">as Gond journalist and critic Akash Poyam described in depth</a>, deeply dehumanizing and appropriative.
</p>
<div class="c-wide-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Jc9hEin1VR7UCPaXxExA_rtlw5Y=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23884986/RRRUnderstand.png"/> <cite>DVV Entertainment/Netflix</cite>
<figcaption>
The Gonds are framed as a “simple” people — Komaram Bheem included — and are reduced to Adivasi stereotypes.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b4cIQG">
<em>RRR</em> manages to depict Adivasis as compatriots instead of enemies, and seems to think that’s generous enough. But the movie still presents Adivasis as, at best, simpletons who aid the journeys of the central, all-important upper-caste heroes. They are people who must be taught, civilized, and guided along by the vision of the upper-caste Hindu hand. All that they are or ever will be is because the upper-caste hero was there to help them along. Perhaps crystallizing that best is the fact that NTR, the upper-caste Hindu (and from the same Kamma caste as Rajamouli), is cast as Bheem, rather than any actual Adivasi performer. This is a fact made all the more bitter given the history of Gond resistance to the land-owning Kamma-Kapu dominance, and Komaram Bheem’s own <a href="http://adivasiresurgence.com/2016/10/16/komaram-bheem-a-forgotten-adivasi-leader-who-gave-the-slogan-jal-jangal-jameen/">anti-landlord politics</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TasfVx">
Every choice made in the film is deeply steeped in and informed by a privileged upper-caste lens and framework that brutally reinforces the invisible Brahmanical hierarchy. That is precisely why its two leads, Ram and Bheem, are reduced to little more than the names and aesthetics of the real historical figures.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tPR6Pd">
At every turn, Rajamouli de-specifies and decontextualizes, only to wrap everything up in his casteist status-quo-affirming lens. His work here is a casteist Hindu wash of history and the independence struggle.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JRHiId">
This is a lens that is in line with Hindutva and very much appealing to it. It’s exactly this kind of convenient upper-caste Hindu viewpoint that helps sustain Hindutva ideology and its material harm. The film may not see Muslims as the demonic enemy to be slain, but it does see them as subservient (much like Bheem and the Adivasis are subservient) to a “Hindu unity” of heroism and fight for freedom. It’s effectively “You can exist so long as it’s within this invisible hierarchy, assimilated, wherein we’re still at the top and all-important.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NyJ20r">
The end credits, which valorize historic heroes of the nation, put a fine, final point on this troubling upper-caste Hindu lens. Nowhere in this lineup of luminaries will you find icons of a secular India such as Mahatma Gandhi or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru">Jawaharlal Nehru</a>, the founders of the nation, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2022/06/godse-cult-gandhi-assassin-india/661154/">whom Hindutva agents are not terribly fond of</a>. And what of Muslim kings like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyder_Ali">Hyder Ali</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipu_Sultan">Tipu Sultan</a>, who also stood against the British and were part of key battles against them? And the presence of Muslim freedom fighters like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saifuddin_Kitchlew">Saifuddin Kitchlew</a>? Not a chance. Do not even expect to see progressive and radical Dalit revolutionaries like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._R._Ambedkar">B.R. Ambedkar</a>, <a href="https://time.com/5770511/india-protests-br-ambedkar/">who stood firmly for the annihilation of caste</a>. You will, however, find the Hindu king <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivaji">Chhatrapathi Shivaji</a> in it, who never even fought the British, but has been co-opted to be a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/world/asia/india-museum-muslims-hindus.html">Hindutva favorite</a>. The credits certainly feel like they’re peddling a curated vision of history and the freedom fight right in line with it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1KNsoD">
<em>RRR</em>’s global success is a thrilling leap for Indian cinema. Its spectacle and stand against the British Empire is deserving of celebration. But it’s important to look at the Indian people not just in relation to their white oppressors. Instead, the complex inner dynamics must be considered and examined, for that is the way to see the Indian people in the film in all their humanity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tD0V13">
And by the time the credits have finished rolling, it’s hard not to see <em>RRR</em> as a product of careless upper-caste Hindu imagination. Its disservice and rewriting toward Bheem and the Gonds cannot go ignored. Its evident hierarchical view and minimization of Muslims in favor of a constructed Hindu “unity” must be noted. Its ideological positioning must be taken into account. And it must be considered for the troublingly casteist fantasy it is.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K9iRlu">
<em>RRR</em> has been described by some as <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/rrr-best-blockbuster-of-the-year-1359387/">revolutionary</a>, and the title itself evokes revolutionary words. But that feels off-mark. Being revolutionary requires a willingness to tear down the oppressive hierarchies and systems that stand in the way of progress. <em>RRR</em> is all too content to blindly uphold them.
</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="MIeqWP"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gRjIjd">
<em>Ritesh Babu is a writer and critic whose work has appeared in Polygon, Panel x Panel, and many more outlets. He likes to spend his time reading postcolonial theory, genre fiction, and far too many sports manga. When not writing about capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism, he can be found talking about food, football, and formalism. He survives off a magical resource known as biryani. </em>
</p></li>
<li><strong>6 battleground state attorney general races to watch in 2022</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nkPkw9Da3Q8XqCStc_MMcLD6L9I=/453x0:4048x2696/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71154394/1328184733.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference on July 11, 2021, in Dallas, Texas. | Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
State attorneys general may decide the future of abortion rights and elections policies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2hcsl6">
Acrimonious debates over the future of abortion and US elections are playing out up and down the ballot in 2022, including in races for state attorneys general.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fWI5Mq">
As their states’ top lawyer, attorneys general can prosecute crimes, issue legal guidance or formal opinions to state agencies, and challenge federal laws and policies in court, among other powers. Their roles have been <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/10/both-republicans-and-democrats-have-weaponized-their-ags/574093/">increasingly weaponized</a> in recent years, with both Republicans and Democrats using them to block national policies set by the opposite party. But they’ve taken on an even greater role since former President Donald Trump tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and since the US Supreme Court struck down <em>Roe v. Wade </em>last month.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dneCec">
Democratic candidates for state attorneys general have vowed not to enforce their states’ anti-abortion laws and protect access, while their Republican opponents want to see maximum enforcement (including, in some cases, prosecution of pregnant people who seek abortions). There’s also a bevy of ultra-right-wing candidates embracing Trump’s 2020 election lies, despite no evidence of widespread fraud, who would have the power to prosecute voters for election crimes if elected and have vowed to use it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LLaq8G">
The following contests are largely in battleground states where voter demographics have historically meant competitive races for statewide offices.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q3KifM">
Here are the races to watch:
</p>
<h3 id="QPSz0G">
Arizona (Republican advantage +2, according to the <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/cook-pvi/2022-partisan-voting-index/state-map-and-list">2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index</a>)
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uzegPZ">
Incumbent Republican Mark Brnovich is term-limited and running for US Senate, and several GOP and Democratic candidates are vying to replace him in a major 2022 battleground state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zd0aqv">
Six Republicans are competing in the August 2 primaries, but Trump’s endorsement might give the edge to Abraham “Abe” Hamadeh, a far-right former Maricopa County prosecutor. Hamadeh has made the former president’s 2020 election lies <a href="https://twitter.com/AbrahamHamadeh/status/1475530885952794625?s=20">central to his campaign</a>, saying that <a href="https://kjzz.org/content/1789967/what-candidates-governor-secretary-state-attorney-general-say-about-2020-election">he would not have certified</a> the results in Arizona despite no evidence of significant fraud.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3U4I0x">
It’s not clear how that might play with the Arizona electorate. While Hamadeh’s focus on the 2020 election might energize GOP primary voters, likely voters in Arizona ranked elections below health care, jobs and the economy, education, infrastructure, and immigration in terms of importance in an April <a href="https://storageccec.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/public/docs/786-2022-Survey-Updated-25032_CCEC_OH_Report.pdf">Clean Elections/Predictive Insights</a> poll.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BEGXZP">
Hamadeh has made immigration a key focus as well, <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/07/06/abe-hamadeh-arizona-attorney-general-primary-2022-candidate/9747331002/">saying</a> that there is an “invasion” at the southern border and that he would use the State War Powers Act to defend against it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jODqgC">
When it comes to reproductive rights, Hamadeh has promised to enforce Arizona’s existing anti-abortion laws: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/arizona-governor-signs-15-week-abortion-ban-into-law-2022-03-30/">legislation</a> passed earlier this year that banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest, and a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/30/1108871251/arizonas-attorney-general-says-pre-1901-abortion-ban-is-enforceable">121-year-old total abortion ban</a>, which only has an exception for when the life of the pregnant person is in jeopardy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="be9gEY">
His opponents are former border security section chief for the US attorney’s office <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/06/17/lacy-cooper-announces-bid-arizona-attorney-general/7739123002/">Lacy Cooper</a>, attorney <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/09/30/rodney-glassman-run-gop-nomination-arizona-attorney-general/5930413001/">Rodney Glassman</a>, former Arizona Supreme Court Justice <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/05/14/retired-justice-andrew-gould-plans-run-arizona-attorney-general/7207590002/">Andrew Gould</a>, Karsten Manufacturing corporate counsel <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/09/08/ping-golf-karsten-manufacturing-business-executive-dawn-grove-running-for-arizona-attorney-general/5772754001/">Dawn Grove</a>, and attorney <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/04/12/tiffany-shedd-announces-2022-bid-arizona-attorney-general/7190617002/">Tiffany Shedd</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n4oxrG">
Whoever wins the Republican nomination will face Democrat Kris Mayes, a former member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, who is running unopposed. She has vowed <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/democrats-hail-mary-is-state-attorney-general-candidates-who-wont-enforce-abortion-laws">not to enforce the state’s anti-abortion laws</a> and that no patient or medical professional will be prosecuted for receiving or providing an abortion on her watch.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8bHLAc">
The vast majority of Arizona voters appear to support abortion rights. A Predictive Insights <a href="https://kjzz.org/content/1783135/poll-most-arizona-voters-want-abortion-remain-legal">poll</a> conducted in May found that 87 percent of Arizonans wanted abortion to remain legal in all or some cases, and three in five said their vote would be very or somewhat impacted by a candidate’s stance on abortion. Another February poll by Change Research found that almost <a href="https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/2022/02/28/new-polling-shows-9-in-10-voters-in-arizona-support-the-freedom-to-decide/">60 percent</a> of respondents were more likely to vote for a candidate who would repeal Arizona’s pre-<em>Roe</em> ban.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fwdFrc">
Those polls were conducted before the Supreme Court’s decision, and it’s possible those numbers have since shifted. But if they stay the same, that’s a good sign for Democrats.
</p>
<h3 id="PsOnZd">
Georgia (<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/cook-pvi/2022-partisan-voting-index/state-map-and-list">Republican advantage +3</a>)
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="usaCHj">
Republican incumbent Chris Carr, who has attracted Trump’s ire for refusing to help overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, defeated the former president’s handpicked challenger John Gordon in the May primary. But he still faces an uphill battle to reelection given that his Democratic opponent Jen Jordan, a state senator representing parts of Cobb and Fulton counties, has recently <a href="https://theatlantavoice.com/2022-elections-jen-jordan-outraises-incumbent-carr-in-ga-attorney-general-race/">outraised him</a>. Democrats are also hoping that having a well-known and funded gubernatorial nominee, Stacey Abrams, at the top of the ticket will have a positive effect down the ballot.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BDvGVG">
Abortion rights in Georgia are on the line in the race. Carr has <a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2022/06/24/what-happens-now-to-georgias-2019-anti-abortion-law/">gone to court</a> to defend a 2019 state law that bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, before many people know they are pregnant. The law’s only exceptions are in cases involving rape and incest when a police report has been filed, where the pregnant person’s life is at risk, and where the fetus has a “profound and irremediable congenital or chromosomal anomaly that is incompatible with sustaining life after birth.” It would allow prosecutors to file <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/hb481-georgia-abortion-ban-criminal-brian-kemp-horrific.html">criminal charges</a> against people who get abortions and target people who miscarry. A federal court blocked the law from going into effect, but that injunction could be lifted now that the Supreme Court has overturned <em>Roe</em>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZHiZLg">
Jordan would take over that case if she wins, and <a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2022/07/18/if-georgias-strict-anti-abortion-law-takes-effect-uneven-prosecutions-could-follow/">has stated</a> that she would not defend the ban, arguing that it violates privacy rights outlined in Georgia’s constitution.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QAMnHz">
Abortion is expected to be a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/7/14/23208518/governor-abortion-midterms-georgia-pennsylvania-michigan-kansas">motivating factor for many Georgia voters</a>: An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll in January showed <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/abortion-ruling-likely-shifts-focus-of-georgia-2022-campaigns/HSAW7MZDJBG5NI76IXY5U4FGLY/">over two-thirds of Georgia voters</a> opposed overturning <em>Roe</em>, including nearly half of Republican voters. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/upshot/polling-abortion-states.html">Other surveys</a> conducted over the past decade have found that a narrow plurality of voters in the state supported abortion being mostly legal.
</p>
<h3 id="QBZjw8">
Michigan (<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/cook-pvi/2022-partisan-voting-index/state-map-and-list">Republican advantage +1</a>)
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="23USBe">
Trump-backed Matt DePerno is expected to be formally nominated to challenge incumbent Democrat Dana Nessel at a party convention in August. Their race is expected to be close; Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is also facing a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/7/14/23208518/governor-abortion-midterms-georgia-pennsylvania-michigan-kansas">tough reelection campaign</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0TV7XI">
DePerno is a divisive figure, even <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23035549/trump-michigan-republican-convention-deperno-karamo">within the Michigan GOP</a>. He has called for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 election results in Antrim County, though a Republican-led state Senate panel already found no evidence of widespread fraud after months of investigation. He’s tied himself to Trump — a strategy that could be risky in Michigan, where only about 20 percent of independents viewed Trump favorably, according to a <a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23406998/January_2022_Michigan_Benchmarking_Survey_REPORT.docx.pdf">January survey</a> by the Glengariff Group.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sLOAEU">
He also <a href="https://twitter.com/dananessel/status/1521331562230472704?lang=en">opposes abortion</a> even in cases of rape, incest, or for a medical emergency, and <a href="https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/06/attorney-general-race-could-impact-michigan-abortion-prosecutions-after-roe.html">has said</a> he would enforce Michigan’s pre-<em>Roe</em> abortion ban, which was first enacted in 1931 and has no exceptions for rape or incest. Though it’s tied up in the courts for now, depending on how judges rule, it could be allowed to go into effect.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u0bRM0">
DePerno’s positions are not in sync with most Michigan voters: According to a Detroit News/WDIV-TV <a href="https://www.clickondetroit.com/decision-2022/2022/07/14/full-wdivdetroit-news-poll-4-biggest-takeaways-from-michigan-voters-heading-into-elections/">poll</a> conducted earlier this month, about 58 percent opposed the Supreme Court’s decision. That same poll found abortion rights are a big motivating issue in Michigan, with 86 percent of respondents saying a candidate’s position on <em>Roe</em> would be important in deciding their vote. <a href="https://www.woodtv.com/news/michigan/polls-show-majority-in-michigan-support-abortion-rights/">Other polls</a> dating back to 2018 (conducted by pollster Bernie Porn and EPIC-MRA) have shown that the majority of Michiganders consistently support abortion rights.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KhxKNX">
Nessel has said that, so long as she remains in office, she will not prosecute people who perform or obtain an abortion. But she has said that she would let county prosecutors enforce the law. “I don’t believe that I have or that I should have the authority to tell the 83 county prosecutors what they can and cannot charge,” she <a href="https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/07/ag-nessel-would-let-local-prosecutors-enforce-michigans-abortion-ban.html">told MLive</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fKTGj6">
Nessel has held a consistent but not insurmountable lead over DePerno. A <a href="https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/michigan/2022/07/13/poll-where-michigan-voters-stand-on-races-for-governor-secretary-of-state-attorney-general/">WDIV/Detroit News poll</a> conducted earlier this month found that Nessel held a nearly 7 percent lead over DePerno, but that could change in the months ahead, given that almost 17 percent of surveyed voters were still undecided. The January Glengariff Group survey found that Nessel was 10 points ahead.
</p>
<h3 id="1TzwXv">
Nevada (<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/cook-pvi/2022-partisan-voting-index/state-map-and-list">Republican advantage +1</a>)
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n0Lipy">
Incumbent Democrat Aaron Ford, the state’s first Black attorney general, is facing a challenge from Sigal Chattah, a far-right Republican. She rose to prominence for suing Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, over <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-education-las-vegas-lawsuits-nevada-c7e1275d8593f08308a1a0fe59591977">masking</a> and <a href="https://news3lv.com/news/local/las-vegas-attorney-files-lawsuit-claims-governors-vaccine-rollout-is-discriminatory">vaccination</a> requirements and <a href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2022/05/20/chattah-black-spar-in-republican-ag-primary/">restrictions on church attendance</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qhbRvl">
Since <em>Roe</em> fell, she has <a href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2022/05/20/chattah-black-spar-in-republican-ag-primary/">vowed to imprison</a> people who get abortions, saying that she believes life begins at the moment a fetal heartbeat can be detected. There are limits to how far she could go, given that a 1990 referendum protects abortions up until 24 weeks of pregnancy in Nevada. But she has proposed pursuing <a href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2022/05/20/chattah-black-spar-in-republican-ag-primary/">sentencing enhancements</a> to allow for incarceration after that point.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LhEaAt">
Ford has said that he would continue to protect abortion access if reelected, but worries that Republicans in the state could still try to “whittle away at it” and “put restrictions on certain activities leading up to it,” he <a href="https://www.ktnv.com/news/unlv-professor-scotus-ruling-has-minimal-legal-impact-in-nevada">told KTNV</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vMSmei">
Chattah’s extreme positions on abortion could alienate socially liberal Nevadans. Some <a href="https://blog.ohpredictive.com/press-releases/majority-of-nevada-voters-call-themselves-pro-choice">90 percent</a> of Nevada voters (including 73 percent of Nevada voters identifying as “pro-life”) believe abortion should be legal under some or all circumstances, according to an October Predictive Insights poll. A Pew survey from 2014 <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/compare/views-about-abortion/by/state/">found similar results</a>, with 96 percent of adults saying they thought it should be legal in some or all circumstances.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xNaD5L">
Her candidacy has also been plagued by scandal: She wrote in a leaked private text exchange that Ford should be hanged from a crane, a comment that she later said was “<a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/ag-candidate-in-feud-with-former-ally-says-text-not-racist-leaked-to-damage-her-2528181/">tongue-in-cheek</a>” and not meant to be racist.
</p>
<h3 id="oeNbM0">
Wisconsin (<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/cook-pvi/2022-partisan-voting-index/state-map-and-list">Republican advantage +2</a>)
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7g5BuC">
The primary in the race for Wisconsin attorney general isn’t until August 9, but abortion has already emerged as a key issue. Incumbent Democrat Josh Kaul has made reproductive rights central to his campaign, <a href="https://www.wpr.org/attorney-general-josh-kaul-questions-enforceability-173-year-old-abortion-ban">saying he won’t direct</a> state Justice Department resources toward enforcing a 173-year-old state abortion ban. He’s also directly challenged the ban in court.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CBhSv2">
The ban makes no exceptions for cases involving rape or incest, but does allow the procedure when the pregnant person’s life is in danger. Under that ban, doctors who perform an abortion could face up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7Nkony">
The Republicans vying to challenge him — former state Rep. Adam Jarchow, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, and attorney Karen Mueller — have all said that they would enforce the ban. But most Wisconsinites seem to oppose it: 58 percent say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a <a href="https://law.marquette.edu/poll/">Marquette University Law School poll</a> conducted just before the Supreme Court’s ruling. Previous Marquette polls conducted over the past decade have consistently shown that about <a href="https://www.nbc15.com/2022/05/03/mu-polls-wisconsin-shows/">6 in 10 Wisconsinites</a> support abortion rights in all or most cases.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WlosIq">
Toney is also seeking to make election fraud a central issue in his campaign, going as far as prosecuting voters for election fraud over <a href="https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/wisconsin-attorney-general-candidate-eric-toney-voters-over-errors/">using their UPS addresses to vote</a>. At the Wisconsin GOP convention in May, Toney <a href="https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/wisconsin-attorney-general-candidate-eric-toney-voters-over-errors/">described himself</a> as “one of the most aggressive prosecutors of election fraud” in the state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KZHaQr">
“We’ve earned the right to have an attorney general that will stand up for us, enforce the rule of law, lock up dangerous criminals and protect the integrity of our elections,” he said. “That is my track record as a district attorney.”
</p>
<h3 id="l8di9R">
Texas (<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/cook-pvi/2022-partisan-voting-index/state-map-and-list">Republican advantage +5</a>)
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2NVQ0B">
Texas isn’t really a battleground state this cycle, but there are cracks showing in the reelection campaign for Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Trump acolyte often at the forefront of legal challenges to national Democrats’ policies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nEz7Ce">
Paxton is a prolific litigator, challenging Democratic policies ranging from the <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2021-07-16/texas-judge-orders-federal-government-to-stop-granting-new-daca-applications">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program</a> to the Biden administration’s latest guidance on <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/15/1111658454/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-biden-administration-over-abortion-guidan">emergency abortions</a>. He <a href="https://lasvegassun.com/news/2022/feb/07/state-ag-races-become-litmus-test-for-gop-election/">led a lawsuit</a> against four states seeking to throw out millions of votes in the 2020 election, bolstering Trump’s election lies. Now that<em> Roe</em> has been overturned, he’s identified <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/29/texas-sodomy-supreme-court-lawrence-paxton-lgbtq/">his next target</a>: the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in <em>Lawrence v. Texas</em>, which prevents states from banning intimate same-sex relationships.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rWunLD">
Paxton has been indicted on <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-05-23/seven-years-later-still-no-trial-for-texas-ag-ken-paxton">charges of securities fraud</a> and is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation for malfeasance in office. But those allegations have been out in the open for years, and he nevertheless won reelection in 2018, albeit by the <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Why-Ken-Paxton-vs-Rochelle-Garza-for-attorney-17234186.php">slimmest margin</a> of any Republican running in Texas that year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yC6YXn">
This time could be different. Nearly 30 percent of likely voters strongly disapproved of Paxton in an <a href="https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/set/ken-paxton-approval-april-2022">April poll</a> by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas. Despite earning an endorsement from Trump, Paxton wasn’t able to avert a runoff against his primary challenger, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush. And he was only leading his Democratic opponent, former ACLU lawyer Rochelle Garza, by <a href="https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/greg-abbott-beto-o-rourke-polls-17302784.php">5 percent</a> in a University of Houston poll that concluded on July 7. Garza had been running behind him by a <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Why-Ken-Paxton-vs-Rochelle-Garza-for-attorney-17234186.php">slightly larger margin</a> in <a href="https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/set/2022-attorney-general-vote-intention-june-2022">previous polls</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e3tAdw">
Texas is a firmly red state, and Republicans have been consistently able to triumph in such close races, with Sen. Ted Cruz eking out a win over Beto O’Rourke and Paxton barely winning reelection in 2018. But Democrats hope a combination of Paxton’s legal troubles and concern about abortion rights will provide just enough momentum for Garza to win.
</p></li>
<li><strong>It’s so hot in Europe that roads are literally buckling</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A bicyclist rides by a hose spraying water onto the road surface of a nearby bridge." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4omc9XC5Bya4sDhmndyWGUB-SXc=/461x0:4156x2771/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71154287/AP22200381680165a.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Workers in Amsterdam spray water on a bridge to prevent metal parts from expanding and jamming the bridge shut, on July 19. Much of Europe is experiencing unprecedented heat that is pushing infrastructure to the breaking point. | Peter Dejong/AP
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The world wasn’t built for this heat.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S4n8QI">
Europe is baking under heat so extreme that it’s causing train tracks to bend and roads to buckle.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xYMOM8">
The <a href="https://www.vox.com/e/23032607">heat wave</a>, which brought record-breaking temperatures to the UK, France, and elsewhere in the past two weeks, is exposing a frightening reality: Much of Europe isn’t built for extreme heat, or for a climate that’s swiftly changing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FSH2sg">
While severe heat waves, fueled by climate change, have become <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2022/6/22/23176860/heat-wave-summer-temperatures-climate-change-us-europe">the new reality of summer</a>, the extreme temperatures now <a href="https://www.vox.com/23268566/europe-heat-wave-uk-france-canicule-spain-wildfire-record-temperature-climate">rolling through Europe</a> seem especially catastrophic. On Tuesday, temperatures in the UK broke the national record, reaching 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.5 degrees Fahrenheit), and the weather agency <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2022/red-extreme-heat-warning">declared</a> its<strong> </strong>first-ever “red warning” for exceptional heat — the highest level of weather warning possible.<strong> </strong>France, meanwhile, saw <a href="https://twitter.com/lachainemeteo/status/1549078455035334659">more than 100</a> record-breaking temperatures across the country in the last week.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sYZGwM">
“Even as a climate scientist who studies this stuff, this is scary,” <a href="https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2022/Expert-Comment/UK-unprepared-for-extreme-heat">said</a> Hannah Cloke, a professor at the University of Reading who studies natural hazards. “We have had heat waves in the UK before,” she added, but the severity of the forecasted heat “is enough to kill people and animals, damage property, and hobble the economy.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5by757">
Part of the problem is that many buildings, highways, and other infrastructure in Europe are old and built with outdated temperature extremes in mind, said Mikhail Chester, an associate professor of engineering at Arizona State University. They simply can’t tolerate the new normal, he said. Hence things like railway fires in London.
</p>
<div id="LmJ0fW">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
Thank you to <a href="https://twitter.com/NetworkRailSE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><span class="citation" data-cites="NetworkRailSE">@NetworkRailSE</span></a> and the London Fire Brigade for responding promptly to a lineside fire this morning and allowing services to safely resume to Victoria <a href="https://t.co/9ZYibliuyF">pic.twitter.com/9ZYibliuyF</a>
</p>
— Steve White (<span class="citation" data-cites="SteveWhiteRail">@SteveWhiteRail</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveWhiteRail/status/1546377940585291781?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2022</a>
</blockquote></div></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y6VQqy">
Cities like Dubai and Phoenix, Arizona, in contrast, can withstand higher temperature extremes because their infrastructure was built more recently and with heat in mind. While these places may face issues related to water and energy usage, 100-degree weather isn’t as big of a problem for them, Chester said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QfSFWn">
It’s important that urban planners and politicians who oversee city budgets recognize that so-called temperate places can get <em>really hot </em>as the climate warms<em>. </em>It’s not just Europe, either. Roughly <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/07/19/heat-wave-warnings-millions-89-fires-rage-us">40 million</a> Americans living around the Great Plains were under heat alerts Tuesday, and last week the Texas power grid <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-power-use-breaks-record-heat-wave-again-with-no-blackouts-2022-07-13/">took emergency measures</a> to avoid heat-related blackouts.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gS3JX0">
“It’s becoming so tough to ignore the reality that stuff just isn’t working as well as it has in the past,” Chester said. “You can’t hide from this.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8Ib9SR">
Images that popped up on social media this week are a warning of what the future holds — and a stark reminder that climate adaptation is essential.
</p>
<h3 id="pRSkko">
The record temperatures warped metal rails and set train tracks on fire
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jv5WzK">
You know it’s hot when steel railroad tracks start to warp.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7wtICy">
This week, soaring temperatures caused steel rails in London to expand and buckle, as temperatures on the tracks reached nearly 120°F, according to Network Rail, an organization that manages the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland, and Wales.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SXlPR6">
“For some of our track, such high temperatures are more than our track is designed to cope with,” the organization <a href="https://www.networkrail.co.uk/stories/why-rails-buckle-in-britain/">explains</a> on its website. “The problem is that when steel rails get hot, they expand, which can cause a buckled rail.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hEMA6N">
In a tweet Monday, Network Rail said it was painting the rails white to keep them as cool as possible during the heat wave.
</p>
<div id="2hOMHr">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
We’ve found a kink in the rail at Vauxhall, London due to extreme heat.<br/><br/> ️ The rail temperature here is over 48 degrees Celsius so we’re painting the rails white to prevent them from getting hotter.<br/><br/>⚠️ Only travel if absolutely necessary!<br/><br/>➡️ <a href="https://t.co/ZQlmnINkx1">https://t.co/ZQlmnINkx1</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/heatwave?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#heatwave</a> <a href="https://t.co/ov2FWgmRrr">pic.twitter.com/ov2FWgmRrr</a>
</p>
— Network Rail (<span class="citation" data-cites="networkrail">@networkrail</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/networkrail/status/1549031491941933062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s7TWI8">
Railways aren’t only bending, but also catching fire under the extreme heat. Early last week, the network <a href="https://twitter.com/NetworkRailSE/status/1546389486376026117?s=20&amp;t=lMIhpcg8fsF4-ACiGbVTXA">shared a photo</a> of its tracks on fire, warning that the heat would be “a serious challenge.”
</p>
<h3 id="Tfnl3g">
It’s also caused roads and runways to buckle
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VuzrAt">
Scorching temperatures can also start to soften or warp roads. Earlier this week, a major road in Cambridge called A14 closed after it developed a large kink from the heat (you can see an image of it <a href="https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/melting-a14-closed-hours-after-24529780">here</a>).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4662BW">
Intense heat can even soften asphalt, Chester, the engineering professor, said. So when you drive a heavy vehicle like a garbage truck or school bus on a road during a severe heat wave, it can cause the road to “rut,” he said, or warp.
</p>
<div id="ogIlYc">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
ℹ️ Update at 17:30 <a href="https://t.co/w7JIVJUois">pic.twitter.com/w7JIVJUois</a>
</p>
— London Luton Airport (<span class="citation" data-cites="LDNLutonAirport">@LDNLutonAirport</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/LDNLutonAirport/status/1549071379009511425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8xHN5g">
Extreme heat can also be a problem for runways (which are basically big roads). On Monday, Luton, a major airport in London, suspended flights after the heat caused a section of runway to “lift,” the airport said on Twitter. (It resumed flights later that day.)
</p>
<h3 id="19HEKc">
Heat-fueled wildfires threaten buildings and transit infrastructure
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XcE7Yy">
Extreme temperatures can suck moisture out of vegetation, turning it into a tinderbox. So it’s no surprise that wildfires have erupted in recent weeks across France, Spain, and the UK, where <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/wildfires-rage-france-spain-heatwaves-sweep-europe-2022-07-16/">tens of thousands</a> of acres have burned, causing transit delays and threatening homes and buildings.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Firefighters dressed in yellow spray water on burning trees and bushes." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hkpv22-Y7HfsS91uTKjw-arRaq4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23887733/GettyImages_1409603369.jpg"/> <cite>Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Firefighters try to control a forest fire in Avila, Spain on July 18. Wildfires have broken out across southern Europe in a heat wave bringing record temperatures to the region.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LJDprD">
Early this week, a passenger on a train traveling through Zamora, Spain, captured a terrifying scene: <a href="https://twitter.com/PacoSeoanePerez/status/1548941269686173696">Outside the window</a> — where the train had temporarily stopped — a bright red wildfire raged near the tracks. Train services in the area were <a href="https://twitter.com/InfoAdif/status/1548940752360800257?s=20&amp;t=EcQz0B0sct6qme8iC6eAKA">suspended</a> for a day and a half because of the fire.
</p>
<div id="ZI1QSL">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="es">
Momentos de pánico en el tren Madrid-Ferrol a la altura de Zamora-Sanabria, 9:30hs. El tren continuó el trayecto tras unos minutos parado. <a href="https://twitter.com/Renfe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><span class="citation" data-cites="renfe">@renfe</span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Adif?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><span class="citation" data-cites="adif">@adif</span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/lavozdegalicia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"><span class="citation" data-cites="lavozdegalicia">@lavozdegalicia</span></a> <a href="https://t.co/YXcuBXlIJQ">pic.twitter.com/YXcuBXlIJQ</a>
</p>
— Francisco Seoane Pérez (<span class="citation" data-cites="PacoSeoanePerez">@PacoSeoanePerez</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/PacoSeoanePerez/status/1548941269686173696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a>
</blockquote>
</div>
<h3 id="MCNAvX">
Air conditioning isn’t standard in much of Europe. Commuters felt the heat.
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hhWCy0">
Air conditioning is <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/london-tube-air-conditioning-map/">relatively rare</a> in most of northern Europe, especially compared to the United States. The same is true of the London Tube — only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/18/world/europe/uk-heat-tube-luton-airport.html">40 percent</a> of the train network has air conditioning, and authorities warned commuters in the British capital to carry water with them if they traveled.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PsiWY1">
As Vox’s Umair Irfan has <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/7/19/20700662/heat-wave-2019-health-new-york-washington">explained</a>, extreme heat is an immense health risk:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qvqc2N">
Extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather phenomena in the world. There are direct health effects like heat stroke, which occurs when body temperature rises to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, leading to organ failure, and heat exhaustion … But high temperatures can also worsen conditions like high blood pressure and can limit the effectiveness of certain medications.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Oqqj52">
European commuters face tough choices. They must either bear the heat and suffer, or avoid (perhaps important) travel. And they need to make that choice because the system was simply not designed for the heat.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="People walk by a sign in a train station that says “avoid travelling - extreme hot weather”" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1Wal1Dqxh-WXAELHlsFbY63e3Rg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23886800/GettyImages_1241976831.jpg"/> <cite>Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Commuters walk by a sign warning them not to travel due to the heat in a London train station on July 18.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Paramedics wearing yellow shirts and black pants lift a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b1RYR7TvTld8NXOhQafZQvutOvI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23886892/GettyImages_1241979455.jpg"/> <cite>Angel Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Paramedics help a patient into an ambulance in Barcelona, Spain on July 18. More than 500 people have died from the heat in Spain.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h3 id="iGaPOc">
To protect vital infrastructure, cut back carbon emissions
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CwYhAD">
Heat waves are a symptom of the larger problem of climate change, and the best way to safeguard our highways, railways, and buildings is to tackle the root cause by lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Climate-fueled disasters are likely to get worse before they get better.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8EheJD">
But emissions reductions take time and money, and there are some things cities can do in the interim, Chester said. The most obvious one is to update infrastructure to reflect the reality of climate change. “We probably need to be designing well past what the minimum regulation tells us, which, by the way, is often based on historical temperatures,” he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l0jXiH">
In other words, architects and civil engineers should be building like it’s, say, 2060, rather than 1960.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="whWgE7">
Revamping infrastructure is expensive, so we should also be turning to other solutions to make cities more resilient, Chester said, such as green infrastructure. Planting trees, for example, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/using-trees-and-vegetation-reduce-heat-islands">could help</a> reduce urban heat islands (though they also require water).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FtENyM">
These solutions are clearly urgent, considering what this week has brought. The start of the summer has been a signal of what’s to come, and there are still two months left.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GAHzZC">
Europe is just the beginning. Heat <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2022/6/22/23176860/heat-wave-summer-temperatures-climate-change-us-europe">waves are the new baseline</a>, and countries around the world will have to decide quickly whether they wish to take real climate action or accept a future of extreme heat and the pain that comes with it. Neither path is easy. Only one will lead to less suffering.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YIlFHf">
</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>Queen’s Pride and Coeur De Lion catch the eye</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mirra, Stamford Bridge, Inyouwebelieve, Sea Lion and Artemis Ignacia please</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Abdullah Shafique steers Pakistan to win over Sri Lanka in first test</strong> - The first test finished not long after Sri Lankan lawmakers chose six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president</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>Shooting World Cup: India end Changwon campaign with most medals</strong> - India had won all five ISSF World Cup stages in 2019, one in the curtailed 2021 season and yet again this year in the first stage in Cairo</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 to tour Zimbabwe for three-match ODI series in August</strong> - Series between India and Zimbabwe is part of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League</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>Kerala High Court adjourns plea of Swapna Suresh to quash cases against her</strong> - Charges of conspiracy with P.C. George</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>Seven die after consuming illicit liquor in Howrah</strong> - The liquor shop owner has been arrested.</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>Middlemen not entrusted to issue title deeds: tahasildar</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kerala High Court adjourns to August hearing in Jesna missing case</strong> - Monitoring of CBI probe sought</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>BSP chief Mayawati asks party leaders to make full preparations for Assembly polls in Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir</strong> - Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati exhorted that without getting distracted by the victory or defeat in elections, the workers and leaders have to persevere in the missionary work.</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>Italian PM Mario Draghi seeks new pact inspired by public support</strong> - Mario Draghi steps back from resigning, calling for a new pact to save his unity government.</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>EU told to prepare for Russian gas shut-off</strong> - Countries urged to cut use by 15% until March, with the target becoming mandatory if Russia halts supplies.</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>Wildfires rage in Greece, Spain and Italy as heatwave moves across Europe</strong> - Though temperatures in the south-west have cooled, fires continue to burn in Greece, Spain and Italy.</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>Russia’s Putin finds keen ally in rare trip to Iran</strong> - For Russia, the Tehran summit was an opportunity to try to show it still has friends and influence.</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 pictures: Western Europe swelters in heatwave</strong> - The continent has faced extreme temperatures that sent heat records tumbling.</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>Review: Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go 2 has a lot of problems, but I like it anyway</strong> - It’s not for everyone and it’s too expensive, but it’s a likable, usable laptop. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1862562">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>BA.5 skyrockets in US, now accounting for 78% of cases</strong> - Cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and even deaths are increasing. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1868065">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>As Microsoft-Activision merger nears, a classic FPS license reappears—for free</strong> - June’s <em>Quake 4</em> giveaway followed by a slew of <em>Heretic</em>, <em>Hexen</em> ports on Windows 10. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1867863">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Recapture the fun of the 1980s game crash with Lego’s $240 Atari 2600 replica</strong> - Set includes 2,532 pieces and flips open to reveal a 1980s living room. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1867900">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Critical flaws in GPS tracker enable “disastrous” and “life-threatening” hacks</strong> - China-based Micodus has yet to patch critical vulnerabilities in MV720 GPS tracker. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1867912">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<li><strong>I only believe 12.5% of the Bible</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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I guess that makes me an eighth-theist
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Dutch_Midget"> /u/Dutch_Midget </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w3kff6/i_only_believe_125_of_the_bible/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w3kff6/i_only_believe_125_of_the_bible/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>I accidentally walked in on my roommate and his girlfriend having sex;</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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fortunately they didn’t see me for almost a half hour.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/YZXFILE"> /u/YZXFILE </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w34oid/i_accidentally_walked_in_on_my_roommate_and_his/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w34oid/i_accidentally_walked_in_on_my_roommate_and_his/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>what kind of dinosaur has the cleanest teeth?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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A Flossiraptor
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Courtesy of my 6-year old.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/kdt05b"> /u/kdt05b </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w38wmq/what_kind_of_dinosaur_has_the_cleanest_teeth/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w38wmq/what_kind_of_dinosaur_has_the_cleanest_teeth/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Millennial old folks homes are gonna be awesome!</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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LAN parties, DnD nights, wheelchair races, having awesome songs from the 2000’s as our golden oldies! It’ll be great, especially if we can line up our work schedules!
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Klondike3"> /u/Klondike3 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w2sd1z/millennial_old_folks_homes_are_gonna_be_awesome/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w2sd1z/millennial_old_folks_homes_are_gonna_be_awesome/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>I gave my wife an orgasm today!</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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She spit it out
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Overall-Pomegranate7"> /u/Overall-Pomegranate7 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w2ui3u/i_gave_my_wife_an_orgasm_today/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w2ui3u/i_gave_my_wife_an_orgasm_today/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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