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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>Scientifically led response plan for future global open-source initiatives related to emergency intervention.</strong> -
<div>
The modern era of interconnectedness and rapid technological advancements has ushered in a new paradigm of collaborative problem-solving. Open-source initiatives stand at the helm of this paradigm, driving a culture of shared innovation to tackle global challenges. The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the pivotal role of open-source solutions, especially in times of emergency interventions. This guide is designed to assist governmental bodies and organizations in understanding, supporting, and leveraging open-source initiatives to effectively respond to future emergencies. It encapsulates valuable insights and actionable recommendations derived from a thorough examination of past open-source engagements, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/3nvus/" target="_blank">Scientifically led response plan for future global open-source initiatives related to emergency intervention.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multi-center trial sub-study for the clinical effects of paridiprubart treatment in hospitalized critically ill patients with COVID-19 ARDS</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality is predominantly due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). There are currently limited treatment options for ARDS, a life-threatening condition with different etiologies, secondary to inflammation-induced lung injury. Paridiprubart is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4), a key player in ARDS pathophysiology. Methods: This was a prespecified sub-study of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of paridiprubart in COVID-19 patients with ARDS receiving invasive mechanical ventilation and additional organ support. Efficacy outcomes were 28- and 60-day all-cause mortality, and improvement in COVID-19 severity and ventilation-free days at 28-days post-treatment. Results: Thirteen (13) and twenty (20) patients received paridiprubart and placebo, respectively. The groups were comparable for demographics and baseline parameters, except for higher kidney failure incidence and use of immune modulators and antivirals, and lower corticosteroids use in the paridiprubart group. Mortality at 28-days post-treatment was 7.7% (1/13) in the paridiprubart group versus 40.0% (8/20) for placebo (OR=0.125; 95% CI, 0.013-1.160; P=0.067; P[bootstrap]=0.011). 60-day mortality was 23.1% (3/13) in paridiprubart-treated patients and 45.0% (9/20) in placebo patients (OR=0.367; 95% CI, 0.077-1.749; P=0.208; P[bootstrap]=0.162). Mean survival time was 55.78 days for paridiprubart recipients compared to 41.44 days for placebo patients (HR=0.386; 95% CI, 0.077-1.436; P=0.156; P[bootstrap]=0.083). Although not statistically significant, results for other efficacy measures favored paridiprubart. Incidence of adverse events was similar in both groups. Conclusions: In COVID-19 patients with ARDS requiring invasive ventilation and organ support, paridiprubart was efficacious in preventing mortality and improving clinical outcomes, with no safety concerns.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.21.23295853v1" target="_blank">A Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multi-center trial sub-study for the clinical effects of paridiprubart treatment in hospitalized critically ill patients with COVID-19 ARDS</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Genomic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern under in vitro neutralising selection pressure following two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine</strong> -
<div>
Aims: To explore viral evolution during in vitro neutralisation using next generation sequencing, and to determine whether sera from individuals immunised with two doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine (BNT162b2) are as effective at neutralising the SARSCoV2 variant of concern (VOC) Delta (B 1.617.2) compared to the earlier lineages Beta (B.1.351) and wildtype (lineage A.2.2) virus. Methods: Using a live virus SARSCoV2 neutralisation assay in Vero E6 cells we determined neutralising antibody titres (nAbT) in 14 participants (vaccine naive (n=2) and post second dose of BNT162b2 vaccination (n=12), median age 45 years [IQR 29 to 65], median time after second dose = 21 days [IQR 19 to 28] against three SARSCoV2 strains: wild-type, Beta and Delta. The determination of nAbT was performed by visual inspection of cytopathic effect (CPE) and inhouse quantitative reverse transcriptase real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTqPCR) to confirm SARS-CoV-2 replication. A total of 110 representative samples including inoculum, neutralisation breakpoints at 72 hrs, negative and positive controls underwent genome sequencing using the Respiratory Viral Oligo Panel version 2 (RVOP) (Illumina Inc. (San Diego, United States of America)) viral enrichment and short read sequencing using (Illumina Inc. (San Diego, United States of America)),(Figure 1). Results: There was a significant reduction in nAbT observed against the Delta and Beta VOC compared with wildtype, 4.4 fold (p = &gt;0.0006) and 2.3 fold (p = 0.0140), respectively (Figure 2). Neutralizing antibodies were not detected in one vaccinated immunosuppressed participant nor the vaccine naive participants (n=2). The highest nAbT against the SARS-CoV-2 variants investigated was obtained from a participant who was vaccinated following SARSCoV2 infection 12 months prior (Table S1). Limited consensus level mutations occurred in the SARS-CoV-2 genome of any lineage during in vitro neutralisation, however, consistent minority allele frequency variants (MFV) were detected in the SARS-CoV-2 polypeptide, spike (S) and membrane protein. Discussion: Significant reductions in nAbT post vaccination were identified, with Delta demonstrating a 4.4 fold reduction. The reduction in nAbT for the VOC Beta has been previously documented, however, limited data is available on vaccine evasion for the Delta VOC, the predominant strain currently circulating worldwide at the time. Studies in high incidence countries may not be applicable to low incidence settings such as Australia as nAbT may be significantly higher in vaccine recipients previously infected with SARSCoV2, as seen in our cohort. Monitoring viral evolution is critical to evaluate the impact of novel SARSCoV2 variants on vaccine effectiveness as mutational profiles in the sub-consensus genome could indicate increases in transmissibility, virulence or allow the development of antiviral resistance.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.24.558921v1" target="_blank">Genomic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern under in vitro neutralising selection pressure following two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>p38-MAPK is prerequisite for the synthesis of SARS-CoV-2 protein</strong> -
<div>
The inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38-MAPK) by small molecule chemical inhibitors was previously shown to impair severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication, however, mechanisms underlying antiviral activity remains unexplored. In this study, reduced growth of SARS-CoV-2 in p38- knockout Vero cells, together with enhanced viral yield in cells transfected with construct expressing p38, suggested that p38-MAPK is essential for the propagation of SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 was also shown to induce phosphorylation (activation) of p38, at time when transcription/translational activities are considered to be at the peak levels. Further, we demonstrated that p38 supports viral RNA/protein synthesis without affecting viral attachment, entry, and budding in the target cells. In addition, we demonstrated that long-term culture of SARS-CoV-2 in the presence of p38 inhibitor SB203580 does not easily select resistant viral mutants. In conclusion, we provide mechanistic insights on the regulation of SARS-CoV-2 replication by p38 MAPK.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.27.559660v1" target="_blank">p38-MAPK is prerequisite for the synthesis of SARS-CoV-2 protein</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Comparative Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Antigenicity across Assays and in Human and Animal Model Sera</strong> -
<div>
The antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 requires ongoing monitoring to judge the immune escape of newly arising variants. A surveillance system necessitates an understanding of differences in neutralization titers measured in different assays and using human and animal sera. We compared 18 datasets generated using human, hamster, and mouse sera, and six different neutralization assays. Titer magnitude was lowest in human, intermediate in hamster, and highest in mouse sera. Fold change, immunodominance patterns and antigenic maps were similar among sera. Most assays yielded similar results, except for differences in fold change in cytopathic effect assays. Not enough data was available for conclusively judging mouse sera, but hamster sera were a consistent surrogate for human first-infection sera.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.27.559689v1" target="_blank">Comparative Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Antigenicity across Assays and in Human and Animal Model Sera</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Development of a mutant aerosolized ACE2 that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 in vivo</strong> -
<div>
The rapid evolution of variants of SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for new therapies to prevent disease spread. SARS-CoV-2, like SARS-CoV-1, uses the human cell surface protein angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as its native receptor. Here, we design and characterize a mutant ACE2 that enables rapid affinity purification of a dimeric protein by altering the active site to prevent autoproteolytic digestion of a C-terminal His10 epitope tag. In cultured cells, mutant ACE2 competitively inhibits lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with spike from multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants, as well as infectious SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the protein can be nebulized and retains virus-binding properties. We developed a system for delivery of aerosolized ACE2 to K18-hACE2 mice and demonstrate protection by our modified ACE2 when delivered as a prophylactic agent. These results show proof-of-concept for an aerosolized delivery method to evaluate anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents in vivo and suggest a new tool in the ongoing fight against SARS-CoV-2 and other ACE2-dependent viruses.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.26.559550v1" target="_blank">Development of a mutant aerosolized ACE2 that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 in vivo</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.86: less neutralization evasion compared to XBB sub-variants</strong> -
<div>
The continual emergence and circulation of new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants have caused a great challenge for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic control. Recently, Omicron BA.2.86 was identified with more than 30 amino acid changes on the spike (S) protein, compared to Omicron BA.2 or XBB.1.5. The immune evasion potential of BA.2.86 is of great concern. In this study, we evaluated the neutralizing activities of sera collected from participants and mice. Participants were divided into five groups according to their vaccination (inactivated vaccine, protein subunit vaccine ZF2001 or ZF2202-A) and infection (Omicron BF.7/BA.5.2) status. ZF2202-A is ZF2001 vaccine's next-generation COVID-19 vaccine with updated bivalent Delta-BA.5 RBD-heterodimer immunogen. BALB/c mice were immunized with XBB.1.5 RBD-homodimer, BA.5-BA.2, Delta-XBB.1.5 or BQ.1.1-XBB.1.5 RBD-heterodimers protein vaccine candidates for evaluating the neutralizing responses. We found that Omicron BA.2.86 shows stronger immune evasion than BA.2 due to &gt;30 additional mutations on S protein. Compared to XBB sub-variants, BA.2.86 does not display more resistance to the neutralizing responses induced by ZF2001-vaccination, BF.7/BA.5.2 breakthrough infection or a booster dose of ZF2202-A-vaccination. In addition, the mouse experiment results showed that BQ.1.1-XBB.1.5 RBD-heterodimer and XBB.1.5 RBD-homodimer induced high neutralizing responses against XBB sub-variants and BA.2.86, indicating that next-generation COVID-19 vaccine should be developed to enhance the protection efficacy against the circulating strains in the future.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.26.559580v1" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.86: less neutralization evasion compared to XBB sub-variants</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A supervised Bayesian factor model for the identification of multi-omics signatures</strong> -
<div>
Motivation: Predictive biological signatures provide utility as biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis, as well as prediction of responses to vaccination or therapy. These signatures are iden-tified from high-throughput profiling assays through a combination of dimensionality reduction and machine learning techniques. The genes, proteins, metabolites, and other biological analytes that compose signatures also generate hypotheses on the underlying mechanisms driving biological responses, thus improving biological understanding. Dimensionality reduction is a critical step in signature discovery to address the large number of analytes in omics datasets, especially for multi-omics profiling studies with tens of thousands of measurements. Latent factor models, which can account for the structural heterogeneity across diverse assays, effectively integrate multi-omics data and reduce dimensionality to a small number of factors that capture correlations and associations among measurements. These factors provide biologically interpretable features for predictive model-ing. However, multi-omics integration and predictive modeling are generally performed independent-ly in sequential steps, leading to suboptimal factor construction. Combining these steps can yield better multi-omics signatures that are more predictive while still being biologically meaningful. Results: We developed a supervised variational Bayesian factor model that extracts multi-omics signatures from high-throughput profiling datasets that can span multiple data types. Signature-based multiPle-omics intEgration via lAtent factoRs (SPEAR) adaptively determines factor rank, emphasis on factor structure, data relevance and feature sparsity. The method improves the recon-struction of underlying factors in synthetic examples and prediction accuracy of COVID-19 severity and breast cancer tumor subtypes. Availability: SPEAR is a publicly available R-package hosted at https://bitbucket.org/kleinstein/SPEAR.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.25.525545v2" target="_blank">A supervised Bayesian factor model for the identification of multi-omics signatures</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Intracellular trafficking of furin enhances cellular intoxication by recombinant immunotoxins based on Pseudomonas exotoxin A</strong> -
<div>
Furin is a mammalian serine protease with important roles in cellular homeostasis and disease. It cleaves and activates numerous endogenous and exogenous substrates, including the SARS-CoV-2 viral spike protein and protein toxins such as diphtheria toxin and Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE). Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are toxin conjugates used as cancer therapeutics that connect tumor-directed antibodies with toxins for targeted cell killing. RITs based on PE have shown success in treating a variety of cancers, but often suffer from safety and efficacy concerns when used clinically. We have explored furin as a potential limiting factor in the intoxication pathway of PE-based RITs. Although the furin has widely recognized importance in RIT intoxication, its role is incompletely understood. Circumstantial evidence suggests that furin may act as a transporter for RITs in addition to its role of activation by cleavage. Here, we describe the creation of a CRISPR-engineered furin-deficient HEK293 cell line, {triangleup}Fur293. Using {triangleup}Fur293 and derivatives that express mutant forms of furin, we confirm the importance of furin in the PE RIT intoxication pathway and show that furin trafficking has a significant impact on RIT efficacy. Our data support the hypothesis that furin acts as a transporter during RIT intoxication, and suggest furin as a target to improve the effectiveness of RITs.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.31.542721v2" target="_blank">Intracellular trafficking of furin enhances cellular intoxication by recombinant immunotoxins based on Pseudomonas exotoxin A</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>ISARIC COVID-19 Clinical Data Report: 10 January 2023</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
ISARIC (International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infections Consortium) partnerships and outbreak preparedness initiatives enabled the rapid launch of standardised clinical data collection on COVID-19 in Jan 2020. Extensive global participation has resulted in a large, standardised collection of comprehensive clinical data from hundreds of sites across dozens of countries. Data are analysed regularly and reported publicly to inform patient care and public health response. This report, our 18th and final report, is a part of a series published over 3 years. Data have been entered for 945,317 individuals from 1807 partner institutions and networks across 76 countries. The comprehensive analyses detailed in this report includes hospitalised individuals of all ages for whom data collection occurred between 30 January 2020 and up to and including 10 January 2023, AND who have laboratory-confirmed SARS-COV-2 infection or clinically diagnosed COVID-19. For the 845,291 cases who meet eligibility criteria for this report, selected findings include: o Median age of 57 years, with an approximately equal (50/50) male:female sex distribution o 29% of the cohort are at least 70 years of age, whereas 6% are 0-19 years of age o The most common symptom combination in this hospitalised cohort is shortness of breath, cough, and history of fever, which has remained constant over time o The five most common symptoms at admission were shortness of breath, cough, history of fever, fatigue/malaise, and altered consciousness/confusion, which is unchanged from the previous reports o Age-associated differences in symptoms are evident, including the frequency of altered consciousness increasing with age, and fever, respiratory and constitutional symptoms being present mostly in those 40 years and above o 15% of patients with relevant data available (845,291) were admitted at some point during their illness into an intensive care unit (ICU), which has decreased from 19% during the 3 years of ISARIC reporting o Antibiotic agents were used in 37% of patients for whom relevant data are available (802,241), a significant reduction from our previous reports (80%) which reflects a shifting proportion of data contributed by different institutions; in ICU/HDU admitted patients with data available (64,669), 90% received antibiotics o Use of corticosteroids was reported in 25% of all patients for whom data were available (809,043); in ICU/HDU admitted patients with data available (64,713), 71% received corticosteroids o Outcomes are known for 762,728 patients and the overall estimated case fatality ratio (CFR) is 22% (95%CI 21.9-22), rising to 36% (95%CI 35.6-36.1) for patients who were admitted to ICU/HDU, demonstrating worse outcomes in those with the most severe disease We thank all the data contributors for their ongoing support.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.17.20155218v17" target="_blank">ISARIC COVID-19 Clinical Data Report: 10 January 2023</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>ER-export and ARFRP1/AP-1-dependent delivery of SARS-CoV-2 Envelope to lysosomes controls late stages of viral replication</strong> -
<div>
The beta-coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Coronaviral Envelope (E) proteins are pentameric viroporins that play essential roles in assembly, release and pathogenesis. We developed an inert tagging strategy for SARS-CoV-2 E and find that it localises to the Golgi and to lysosomes. We identify sequences in E, conserved across Coronaviridae, responsible for ER-to-Golgi export, and relate this activity to interaction with COP-II via SEC24. Using proximity biotinylation, we identify host-cell factors that interact with E and identify an ARFRP1/AP-1 dependent pathway allowing Golgi-to-lysosome trafficking of E. We identify sequences in E that bind AP-1, are conserved across beta-coronaviruses and allow E to be trafficked from Golgi to lysosomes. We show that E acts to deacidify lysosomes and by developing a trans-complementation assay, we show that both lysosomal trafficking of E and its viroporin activity are necessary for efficient viral replication and release.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.30.450614v2" target="_blank">ER-export and ARFRP1/AP-1-dependent delivery of SARS-CoV-2 Envelope to lysosomes controls late stages of viral replication</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Administration and Scoring Errors on The Woodcock Johnson IV Tests of Achievement:Before and During COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
Eighty Woodcock–Johnson IV Tests of Achievement protocols from 40 test administrators were examined to determine the types and frequencies of administration and scoring errors made. Non-critical errors (e.g., failure to record verbatim) were found on every protocol (M = 37.2). Critical (e.g., standard score, start point) errors were found on 98.8% of protocols (M = 15.3). Additionally, a series of paired samples t-test were conducted to determine differences in total, critical, and non-critical errors pre- and during-COVID-19. No statistic differences were found. Our findings add to a growing body of research that suggests that errors on norm-referenced tests of achievement are pervasive. However, the frequency of errors did not appear to be affected by COVID-19 stressors or social distancing requirements. Implications of these findings for training and practice are discussed. Suggestions for future research are also provided.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/drpxb/" target="_blank">Administration and Scoring Errors on The Woodcock Johnson IV Tests of Achievement:Before and During COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A Comparison of Special Education Students’ Triennial Norm-Referenced Academic Achievement Before and During COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
Despite growing evidence for learning loss due to COVID-19, there is little research examining this phenomenon using norm-referenced tests (NRTs) or with special educations students. Using a repeated-measures design with 96 fourth through 12th grade students previously identified as eligible for special education services, the present study attempted to measure learning loss using W Difference Scores gathered from triennial evaluations using the Woodcock Johnson IV Tests of Achievement. Findings revealed that participants fell further behind proficiency expectations in the areas of decoding, spelling, and math calculation skills. Academic proficiency was found to differ markedly from normative expectations for typical same-age peers across tests, both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. While academic proficiency was more like that of a clinical sample of students with learning disabilities, moderate to large differences in the sample means of most tests suggest that COVID-19 has had a negative impact on academic achievement.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/3bwxh/" target="_blank">A Comparison of Special Education Students’ Triennial Norm-Referenced Academic Achievement Before and During COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Recruitment, Consent and DNA Sample Acquisition in a U.S. Precision Health Cohort During the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Aim: The Yale Generations Project (YGP) is a precision health cohort initiative that began enrollment in New Haven Connecticut USA in July 2019. In March 2020, after nine months of operation, pandemic restrictions prompted abrupt changes to staff availability as well as changes to the projects recruitment, consenting, and sample acquisition. This manuscript describes the successful addition of remote recruitment, consenting, and DNA sampling to YGP workflows during the initial 27-months of pandemic restrictions ending June 30, 2022. Methods: The initial YGP protocol established face-to-face workflow for recruiting, consenting and peripheral blood collection. A telemedicine consent protocol was initiated in April of 2020, and a remote saliva collection was established in October of 2020. De-identified data was extracted from YGP dataset and reported here. Results: At the completion of YGPs initial 36 months (9-months pre-pandemic and 27-months pandemic) YGP enrolled N=4949 volunteers. There were N=1,950 (216.7 per month) volunteers consented pre-pandemic and N=2,999 (111.1 per month) during pandemic. The peak consenting month was February 2020 with N=428. DNA sample acquisition peaked in the pre-pandemic month of February 2020 with N=291 peripheral blood draws, and in the pandemic period the peak DNA acquisition month was November 2020 with N=176 (N=68 peripheral blood draws and N=108 saliva samples). Conclusion: The YGP successfully transitioned from pre-pandemic recruiting, consenting and sample acquisition model that was exclusively face-to-face, to pandemic model that was predominantly remote. The added value of remote recruiting, consenting, and sampling has led to plans for an optimized hybrid model post-pandemic. Keywords: genomics, precision health, COVID-19, cohort
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.25.23289158v1" target="_blank">Recruitment, Consent and DNA Sample Acquisition in a U.S. Precision Health Cohort During the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Analysis of Potential Risk Factors of COVID-19 Based on Variants: Omicron, Delta, and Alpha</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed which affects the risk of COVID-19 infection for specific subgroups. We focused on the subgroups based on the factors (sex, age, and vaccination) and COVID-19 strains (Alpha, Delta, and Omicron). Past studies focused on analyzing these factors based on one geographic region or one COVID-19 strain. Therefore, there is a need to understand these factors9 association with risk of COVID-19 infection through analyzing data from various geographic regions and strains. The association between COVID-19 strains and the factors was assessed through chi-square test and odds ratio tests. Sex, vaccination, age had a significant association with testing positive for the COVID-19 strains of interest in most geographies. The biggest difference was unvaccinated individuals have 3.14 higher odds of getting Alpha than vaccinated individuals in Canada. These findings provide insights into the groups that are more susceptible to contracting specific strains of COVID-19.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.26.23295911v1" target="_blank">Analysis of Potential Risk Factors of COVID-19 Based on Variants: Omicron, Delta, and Alpha</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>ACTIV-6: COVID-19 Study of Repurposed Medications - Arm G (Metformin)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: Placebo;   Drug: Metformin<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Susanna Naggie, MD;   National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS);   Vanderbilt University Medical Center<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>SA55 Injection: a Potential Therapy for the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: SA55 Injection;   Other: Placebo for SA55 injection<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinovac Life Sciences 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>A Study to Assess the Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Efficacy of HH-120 for the Treatment of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: HH-120;   Drug: placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Huahui Health<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>Psychosomatic, Physical Activity or Both for Post-covid19 Syndrom</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Exercise Therapy;   Behavioral: Psychotherapy<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Hannover Medical School;   Health Insurance Audi BKK;   occupational health service Volkswagen AG;   Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Investigate the Prevention of COVID-19 withVYD222 in Adults With Immune Compromise and in Participants Aged 12 Years or Older Who Are at Risk of Exposure to SARS-CoV-2</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: VYD222;   Drug: Normal saline<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Invivyd, Inc.<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>Omicron BA.4/5-Delta COVID-19 Vaccine Phase I Clinical Trial</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Omicron BA.4/5-Delta strain recombinant novel coronavirus protein vaccine (CHO cells);   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biologic Pharmacy Co., Ltd.;   Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention<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>Non-pharmacological and TCM-based Treatment for Long COVID Symptoms</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Long Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Acupuncture and TCM-based lifestyle management<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   The Hong Kong Polytechnic University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Cell Therapy With Treg Cells Obtained From Thymic Tissue (thyTreg) to Control the Immune Hyperactivation Associated With COVID-19 (THYTECH2)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Allogeneic thyTreg 5.000.000;   Biological: Allogeneic thyTreg 10.000.000<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañon;   Instituto de Salud Carlos III<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>SA55 Novel Coronavirus Broad-spectrum Neutralizing Antibody Nasal Spray in Health People</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: SA55 nasal spray<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinovac Life Sciences 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>A Bioequivalence Trial of Fasting Single Oral STI-1558 Capsule in Healthy Chinese Subjects</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: STI-1558<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Zhejiang ACEA Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mind Body Intervention for Long COVID</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Long COVID;   Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19;   COVID Long-Haul<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: Mind Body Intervention #1<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Stellate Ganglion Block With Lidocaine for the Treatment of COVID-19-Induced Parosmia</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Parosmia<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Procedure: Stellate Ganglion Block;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Lawson Health Research Institute<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety of Simultaneous mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine With Other Childhood Vaccines in Young Children</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Fever After Vaccination;   Fever;   Seizures Fever<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine;   Biological: Routine Childhood Vaccinations<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Duke University;   Kaiser Permanente;   Columbia University;   Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati;   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<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>SA55 Injection Phase II Study in the Treatment of Mild/Moderate COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Infection of Upper Respiratory Tract Caused by 2019-nCoV<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: SA55 Injection<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinovac Life Sciences 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>Amantadine Therapy for Cognitive Impairment in Long COVID</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Long COVID;   Post-COVID19 Condition;   Post-Acute COVID19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Amantadine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Ohio State University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pupillographic Analysis of COVID-19 Patients: Early and Late Results After Recovery</strong> - CONCLUSION: PDs were significantly larger in COVID-19 patients in all light intensities in the 1^(st) month after COVID-19. However, pupillary dilation was transient, and no significant difference was found in the 6^(th) month. We suggest that the transient pupillary dilation may be secondary to the autonomic nervous system dysfunction and/or optic nerve and visual pathways alterations following 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>An In Silico Design of Peptides Targeting the S1/S2 Cleavage Site of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein</strong> - SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, invades host cells via its spike protein, which includes critical binding regions, such as the receptor-binding domain (RBD), the S1/S2 cleavage site, the S2 cleavage site, and heptad-repeat (HR) sections. Peptides targeting the RBD and HR1 inhibit binding to host ACE2 receptors and the formation of the fusion core. Other peptides target proteases, such as TMPRSS2 and cathepsin L, to prevent the cleavage of the S protein. However, research has…</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>microRNA-185 Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Infection through the Modulation of the Host’s Lipid Microenvironment</strong> - With the emergence of the novel betacoronavirus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), there has been an urgent need for the development of fast-acting antivirals, particularly in dealing with different variants of concern (VOC). SARS-CoV-2, like other RNA viruses, depends on host cell machinery to propagate and misregulate metabolic pathways to its advantage. Herein, we discovered that the immunometabolic microRNA-185 (miR-185) restricts SARS-CoV-2 propagation by…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Protective versus Pathogenic Type I Interferon Responses during Virus Infections</strong> - Following virus infections, type I interferons are synthesized to induce the expression of antiviral molecules and interfere with virus replication. The importance of early antiviral type I IFN response against virus invasion has been emphasized during COVID-19 as well as in studies on the microbiome. Further, type I IFNs can directly act on various immune cells to enhance protective host immune responses to viral infections. However, accumulating data indicate that IFN responses can be harmful…</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 SARS-CoV-2 Macrodomain-1 to Restore the Innate Immune Response Using In Silico Screening of Medicinal Compounds and Free Energy Calculation Approaches</strong> - Among the different drug targets of SARS-CoV-2, a multi-domain protein known as NSP3 is a critical element of the translational and replication machinery. The macrodomain-I, in particular, has been reported to have an essential role in the viral attack on the innate immune response. In this study, we explore natural medicinal compounds and identify potential inhibitors to target the SARS-CoV-2-NSP3 macrodomain-I. Computational modeling and simulation tools were utilized to investigate 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>Mannose-Binding Lectins as Potent Antivirals against SARS-CoV-2</strong> - The SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells is mainly mediated by the interactions between the viral spike protein (S) and the ACE-2 cell receptor, which are highly glycosylated. Therefore, carbohydrate binding agents may represent potential candidates to abrogate virus infection. Here, we evaluated the in vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of two mannose-binding lectins isolated from the Brazilian plants Canavalia brasiliensis and Dioclea violacea (ConBR and DVL). These lectins inhibited SARS-CoV-2…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Atovaquone and Pibrentasvir Inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 Endoribonuclease and Restrict Infection In Vitro but Not In Vivo</strong> - The emergence of SARS-CoV-1 in 2003 followed by MERS-CoV and now SARS-CoV-2 has proven the latent threat these viruses pose to humanity. While the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has shifted to a stage of endemicity, the threat of new coronaviruses emerging from animal reservoirs remains. To address this issue, the global community must develop small molecule drugs targeting highly conserved structures in the coronavirus proteome. Here, we characterized existing drugs for their ability to inhibit 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>Synthetic Frog-Derived-like Peptides: A New Weapon against Emerging and Potential Zoonotic Viruses</strong> - Given the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), zoonoses have raised in the spotlight of the scientific community. Animals have a pivotal role not only for this infection, but also for many other recent emerging and re-emerging viral diseases, where they may represent both intermediate hosts and/or vectors for zoonoses diffusion. Today, roughly two-thirds of human infections are derived from animal origins; therefore, the search for new broad-spectrum antiviral molecules is…</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>Natural Antibodies Produced in Vaccinated Patients and COVID-19 Convalescents Recognize and Hydrolyze Oligopeptides Corresponding to the S-Protein of SARS-CoV-2</strong> - The S-protein is the major antigen of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, against which protective antibodies are generated. The S-protein gene was used in adenoviral vectors and mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. While the primary function of antibodies is to bind to antigens, catalytic antibodies can hydrolyze various substrates, including nucleic acids, proteins, oligopeptides, polysaccharides, and some other molecules. In this study, antibody fractions with affinity for RBD and S-protein (RBD-IgG and S-IgG)…</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>Riding the Omicron BA.5 Wave: Improved Humoral Response after Vaccination with Bivalent Omicron BA.4-5-Adapted mRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients</strong> - Hemodialysis patients faced an excess morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the effect of second-generation mRNA vaccines against Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants of SARS-CoV-2 on humoral immunity. The study population comprised 66 adult hemodialysis patients who have encountered four SARS-CoV-2 antigen contacts through vaccination or infection. We assessed their humoral response using an anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain IgG antibody assay (S-RBD-ab),…</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 Bivalent Booster in Pregnancy: Maternal and Neonatal Antibody Response to Omicron BA.5, BQ.1, BF.7 and XBB.1.5 SARS-CoV-2</strong> - Our study was to investigate the effects of bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccination during pregnancy on neutralizing antibody (Nab) levels in maternal blood (MB), transplacental transmission in umbilical cord blood (CB), and efficacy against Omicron SARS-CoV-2 subvariants including BA.5, BF.7, BQ.1, and XBB.1.5. We collected MB and CB from 11 pregnant participants during baby delivery and detected Nab inhibition by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Nab inhibition was 89-94% in MB and…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Humoral Immunity in Immunosuppressed IBD Patients after the Third SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: A Comparison with Healthy Control Subjects</strong> - CONCLUSION: Even after the third vaccination, immunosuppressed IBD patients exhibited diminished humoral immunity compared to healthy controls, especially those on anti-TNF therapy. Cases of penetrating infections led to considerably higher antibody levels in IBD patients under anti-TNF therapy compared to uninfected patients. Further investigation through prospective studies in immunosuppressed IBD patients is needed to determine whether this effectively safeguards against future infections or…</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>Stand Up to Stand Out: Natural Dietary Polyphenols Curcumin, Resveratrol, and Gossypol as Potential Therapeutic Candidates against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated collaborative drug discovery efforts in academia and the industry with the aim of developing therapies and vaccines that target SARS-CoV-2. Several novel therapies have been approved and deployed in the last three years. However, their clinical application has revealed limitations due to the rapid emergence of viral variants. Therefore, the development of next-generation SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic agents with a high potency and safety profile remains a high…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Antiviral Effect of 5’-Arylchalcogeno-3-aminothymidine Derivatives in SARS-CoV-2 Infection</strong> - The understanding that zidovudine (ZDV or azidothymidine, AZT) inhibits the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2 and that chalcogen atoms can increase the bioactivity and reduce the toxicity of AZT has directed our search for the discovery of novel potential anti-coronavirus compounds. Here, the antiviral activity of selenium and tellurium containing AZT derivatives in human type II pneumocytes cell model (Calu-3) and monkey kidney cells (Vero E6) infected with SARS-CoV-2, and their…</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>Development of Masitinib Derivatives with Enhanced M<sup>pro</sup> Ligand Efficiency and Reduced Cytotoxicity</strong> - Recently, a high-throughput screen of 1900 clinically used drugs identified masitinib, an orally bioavailable tyrosine kinase inhibitor, as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Masitinib acts as a broad-spectrum inhibitor for human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 and several of its variants. In this work, we rely on atomistic molecular dynamics simulations with advanced sampling methods to develop a deeper understanding of masitinib’s mechanism of M^(pro) inhibition. To improve the inhibitory…</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>Joe Biden’s Visit to a U.A.W. Picket Line Was a Powerful Political Gesture</strong> - By joining striking workers in Michigan, the President sent a message that can’t be delivered from a White House lectern. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/joe-bidens-visit-to-a-uaw-picket-line-was-a-powerful-political-gesture">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Is Trump Just an Ordinary Republican Now?</strong> - The former President’s rhetoric during his recent trip to Iowa wasn’t any tamer, but he no longer sounds distinct from his G.O.P. rivals. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/is-trump-just-an-ordinary-republican-now">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Soccer Players Re-Started Spain’s #MeToo Movement</strong> - A journalist describes the history of feminist activism in Spain and why the World Cup controversy marks a new phase. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-soccer-players-restarted-spains-metoo-movement">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Peter Daou’s Theory of Election Interference—by Democrats</strong> - The former Clinton aide, now running the third-party Presidential campaign of Cornel West, on his recent political awakening. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/peter-daous-theory-of-election-interference-by-democrats">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>“Thank You for Speaking While I’m Interrupting”: The Crosstalk Chaos of the Second Republican Debate</strong> - The event, which was billed as a chance for Donald Trump’s rivals to change their fortunes, only reinforced the confusion and aimlessness of their candidacies. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/thank-you-for-speaking-while-im-interrupting-the-crosstalk-chaos-of-the-second-republican-debate">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>The US power grid quietly survived its most brutal summer yet</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Electrical transmission towers at a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&amp;amp;E) electrical substation during a heatwave in Vacaville, California, on September 6, 2022." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2G6eIGf6PUVPUstZ2BwSx9XPI9k=/309x0:3864x2666/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72696728/GettyImages_1243006998.0.jpeg"/>
<figcaption>
The US power grid managed to survive its highest demand day ever. | Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Despite record power demand, the grid largely avoided blackouts. Don’t take this for granted. 
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zjK8J8">
With little acknowledgment and no applause, the power grid across the continental United States this summer quietly pulled off what may have been its most impressive feat ever.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zawfun">
On July 27, the US power grid served nearly 15 million megawatt-hours of electricity across the lower 48 states, about 1.6 times the electricity produced by every nuclear power plant in the world on a given day. It kept lights, fans, and air conditioners running in every home, office, factory, school, hospital, and store on one of the hottest days ever. For comparison, the average daily electricity use in 2022 across the whole country was roughly <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/use-of-electricity.php">11 million MWh</a>. At 6 pm ET, US energy demand reached an all-time high hourly peak of 741,815 MWh.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Graph of power demand in the US over summer 2023." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/f_TT9PIhtow3UsWBlEpYBnzt7Zw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24957438/Screen_Shot_2023_09_26_at_9.28.03_AM.png"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.eia.gov/electricity/gridmonitor/expanded-view/electric_overview/US48/US48/ElectricityOverview-2/edit" target="_blank">Energy Information Administration</a></cite>
<figcaption>
Power demand in the US reached a record high in July this year.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="djqZua">
It’s even more remarkable when you consider the context: July 27 was just the Mount Everest in a month of Himalayan demand peaks. July 2023 was the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-clocks-july-2023-as-hottest-month-on-record-ever-since-1880">hottest month</a> on the planet since at least 1880, possibly the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/07/20/earth-hottest-month-july-climate/">hottest in 100,000 years</a>. The US, being a country on Earth, burst through <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/if-things-go-%E2%80%9Cnormal%E2%80%9D-most-us-locations-will-have-their-hottest-day">numerous temperature records</a>. In Death Valley, California, temperatures reached <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/07/the-scorching-summer-of-2023-reaches-mind-blowing-high-temperatures/">127.7 degrees Fahrenheit</a>.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Graph of hourly power demand in July 2023." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CqHh8OIfzTKys-BIEJXhVacH1pA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24957446/Screen_Shot_2023_09_26_at_1.09.45_PM.png"/> <cite>Energy Information Administration</cite>
<figcaption>
High temperatures pushed power demand up every day in July, reaching a record peak on July 27.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x7Fl4z">
Weeks of relentless heat all day and even <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/extreme-heat-texas-night-impacts-health-rcna91740">through the night</a> sent millions of Americans indoors where they devoured electrons as they desperately tried to cool off.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VdySPs">
“It really has been pushing the grid into uncharted territory with these record levels of demand,” said <a href="https://www.hvacinformed.com/people/mark-olson.html">Mark Olson</a>, manager for reliability assessments at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a power industry nonprofit that works to keep the grid running smoothly.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ydKY2E">
When temperatures reach extremes, in both hot and cold directions, it creates a ravenous appetite for energy. “It really is the determining factor for what kind of stress the grid was placed under,” Olson added. “And so we saw, certainly, this summer, many areas were put under unprecedented levels of stress.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tc2Bjt">
At the same time, the scalding weather evaporated some of the electricity supply as <a href="https://www.powermag.com/hot-weather-how-to-maintain-power-plant-readiness-and-reliable-operation/">generators struggled to cool off</a>, <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114008/ampdf">transmission lines</a> moved less power, and <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2017/mit-study-climate-change-effects-large-transformers-1205">transformers faced overheating risks</a>. And this all happened on a power grid that isn’t getting any younger. More than 70 percent of transmission lines are <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/18/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administration-advances-transmission-buildout-to-deliver-affordable-clean-electricity/#:~:text=New%20and%20upgraded%20transmission%20lines%20deliver%20electricity%20to%20where%20it's,waves%2C%20and%20other%20extreme%20weather.">more than 25 years old</a>, and aging hardware has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/17/why-americas-outdated-energy-grid-is-a-climate-problem.html">raised reliability worries for years</a>, even outside of extreme weather.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="53lCGw">
NERC warned in May that this combination of factors would put most of the US at an <a href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/most-of-us-faces-elevated-risk-of-summer-blackouts-extreme-heat-nerc/650531/">elevated risk of blackouts</a> over the summer. “The assessment finds that, while resources are adequate for normal summer peak demand, if summer temperatures spike, [grid operators] may face supply shortages during higher demand levels,” according to <a href="https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_SRA_2023.pdf">NERC’s May outlook</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3KygKJ">
Prolonged power outages during this summer’s heat waves would have been devastating. Global average temperatures are rising due to <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate">climate change</a> from burning <a href="https://www.vox.com/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a>, increasing the frequency, duration, and severity of <a href="https://www.vox.com/22538401/texas-heat-wave-weather-definition-record-temperature-climate-change">heat waves</a>. During such high temperatures, cooling is not a luxury but a <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/23067049/heat-wave-air-conditioning-cooling-india-climate-change">necessity for survival</a>. A June heat wave in India with temperatures reaching 113°F led to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-uttar-pradesh-bihar-heat-wave-deaths-273cbb7bd51a9e617e32240671b63c5a">power outages</a>, forcing hospitals to go without air conditioning and fans. The heat <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/19/carried-26-bodies-more-deaths-in-north-india-amid-extreme-heat">killed close to 170 people</a>. The <a href="https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/northwest/topic/2021-northwest-heat-dome-causes-impacts-and-future-outlook">2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest</a> contributed to <a href="https://washington.edu/news/2023/04/06/washington-states-2021-heat-wave-contributed-to-159-excess-injury-deaths-over-three-weeks/">159 deaths</a> and led to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-government-and-politics-business-environment-and-nature-6a66be20ed86ad18ed131156c9f7a517">rolling blackouts</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1pw1eO">
An outage during a future heat wave would be even worse. A study published earlier this year in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c09588"><em>Environmental Science and Technology</em></a> examined a blackout scenario in Phoenix, Arizona, during a major heat wave. The researchers estimated that this scenario would kill close to 13,000 residents and require nearly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/23/climate/blackout-heat-wave-danger.html">800,000 people</a> to seek emergency medical care.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A National Powerline crew works during a heat wave in Phoenix, Arizona, US, on Thursday, July 20, 2023" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b2PSACRBaCrGF-EyKgE1ure63XA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24957527/GettyImages_1546717774.jpeg"/> <cite>Caitlin O’Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Crews in cities like Phoenix, Arizona worked to keep power flowing through the hottest times of year.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3BwZU2">
Fortunately, nothing that dire happened in the US this year. Hundreds of thousands of utility customers in places like Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana did <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/20/1183149235/power-outages-continue-across-the-southern-u-s-as-a-heat-wave-grips-texas">lose power for several days due to damage from intense storms</a>, leaving them without cooling as high temperatures set in over the summer. But for the most part, the heat itself did not lead to major blackouts, despite the intense strain on the grid.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i0WsN8">
Is this a victory? Or is it a near-miss catastrophe?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PP71f3">
“Sure. It’s great that there have not been outages,” said Doug Lewin, a power grid analyst and author of the <a href="https://www.douglewin.com/">Texas Energy and Power Newsletter</a>. “They landed the plane, but there’s warning lights all over the place. You wouldn’t want to take that plane into the air again unless you actually fixed it up.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="B7wLlB">
Grid operators and utilities did anticipate that this summer would be a scorcher and took some steps to prepare. But while the lights stayed on, the situation still turned dicey as power companies issued <a href="https://qz.com/pjm-emergency-power-heat-wave-electricity-climate-1850681561">emergency energy conservation alerts</a> to their customers.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gq1Pg7">
Forecasters now warn that <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/environment/2023/08/14/2024-will-be-even-hotter-than-2023--nasa-says#:~:text=Next%20year%20is%20likely%20to,Space%20Studies%20in%20New%20York.">next year will be even hotter</a>. And while the US is heading into cooler autumn weather, the power grid in parts of the country remains in a precarious state as heating needs bring new pressures on the power grid. The tests are only getting harder. “As climate scientists are quick to point out, it’s not going to get better,” Lewin said. “We really have to get prepared for summers that are worse than this one.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="99XTOo">
The higher stakes question is whether the lessons from this year will help the power grid better handle the next one. That the US power system withstood its highest demand period ever is a feat of engineering and planning, but also a matter of luck. It’s not something anyone can afford to take for granted.
</p>
<h3 id="aJoW4f">
How the US power grid survived its toughest challenge yet
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2Svhov">
Though we talk about “the grid” as a monstrous monolithic machine, it’s actually a mosaic of different energy systems. There are three major power grids across the continental US broken down further into regional transmission operators who route electrons mobilized by moving air, rushing water, photons from the sun, fragments of atoms, and the residues of lives lived millions of years ago.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SZ5GHz">
Which makes it all the more remarkable that in this huge, complicated structure, very little buckled under the record-breaking temperatures this year.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NQQV6N">
A big reason was that grid operators anticipated that blackout risks would be unusually high this year. NERC’s <a href="https://www.nerc.com/news/Headlines%20DL/Summer%20Reliability%20Assessment%20Announcement%20May%202023.pdf">summer reliability assessment</a> looked at how much power could be put on the grid through June, July, and August, accounting for energy supplies, maintenance downtime, and unexpected shutdown scenarios. They also forecasted what kinds of weather conditions would materialize in the warm months, as well as the impacts of long-running <a href="https://www.vox.com/23292669/drought-2022-power-energy-grid-lake-mead-climate-heat-hoover-dam">problems like drought</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2J9eFP">
“It’s not a prediction of what will happen, but it is an analysis of conditions that could happen, and then serves as a warning to industry and stakeholders,” Olson said. “When we looked at more severe scenarios like extreme demand levels or low resource conditions like what happens when gas-fired generators are forced offline for outages or low-wind scenarios, we found more parts of the grid geographically were at risk than in past summers.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b8NN0o">
Of course, this summer was not a normal one. Signs of an exceptionally hot season, like a brewing <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate/23738846/el-nino-2023-weather-heat-wave-climate-change-disaster-flood-rain">El Niño</a> weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, also materialized early.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VMynam">
The warnings gave grid operators time to prepare. They were able to refine their energy usage forecasts, procure extra electricity generation, and model expected wind and <a href="https://www.vox.com/solar-energy">solar power</a> output. In the runup to heat waves, operators also ensured that power plants rescheduled any planned outages and dispatchable backup power was ready. They also reached agreements with neighboring power grids to purchase power in case there were any shortfalls.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="US Military Honor Guard marches past solar panels for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for an energy resilience project at the Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) in Los Alamitos, California, on August 11, 2023." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XUt9PfNyIPoKInLCiWRkOtKxEcA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24957552/GettyImages_1592915243.jpeg"/> <cite>Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
New installations of renewable energy helped bolster power supplies as demand reached record highs.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xuKzjs">
Another factor was the oodles of new cheap <a href="https://www.vox.com/renewable-energy">renewable energy</a> added to the grid. Last year, renewable sources like wind and solar power made up <a href="https://electrek.co/2023/02/08/renewables-supplied-nearly-75-of-new-us-electrical-generating-capacity-in-2022/">74 percent of new utility-scale generating capacity</a> in the US. Solar is poised to make up <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=55419">more than half of new power capacity</a> this year, more than 29 gigawatts. The US power grid as a whole has about <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/06/outdated-us-energy-grid-tons-of-clean-energy-stuck-waiting-in-line.html">1,250 GW of generating capacity</a>. Solar and wind power helped <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/solar-power-texas-heat-wave/">cushion the blow of intense heat waves</a> during the hottest times of day in many parts of the country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hzHxxz">
On the other side of the equation, grid operators and power utilities leaned on their customers too. Instead of just pumping more electrons into power lines, they created incentives in some markets for offices, factories, and homes to dial down their power use during challenging times. This is a tool called <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/8/7/20754430/renewable-energy-clean-electricity-grid-load-flexibility">demand response</a>, and it’s becoming a more important way to balance energy needs. During especially dire times, people also responded to emergency alerts to limit power usage by turning down unnecessary appliances.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PGHK85">
The US power system thus managed to stay on its feet in the scorching heat, but it was getting woozy and uncomfortably close to blacking out. “I think we’ve seen a number of instances this summer of conclusive evidence that we’re operating near our limits,” Olson said.
</p>
<h3 id="PDzXZ4">
And then there’s Texas, America’s postcard from the future
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pYgQZE">
The Lone Star State deserves its own mention because more than 90 percent of its demand is met with its internal grid that has few connections to outside states, effectively turning Texas into an island. This grid, powered by more than 11,000 generators, is run by the nonprofit Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or <a href="https://www.ercot.com/">ERCOT</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7GMZpi">
While <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate/23780315/south-heat-wave-jet-stream-louisiana-texas-climate-el-nino">Texas baked in the same heat</a> as much of the rest of the country, it couldn’t count on its neighbors for help. ERCOT had to issue several emergency appeals to customers asking them to cut back on power use to protect the grid, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-power-grid-heat-emergency-alert-de76bc9fe6fd16e97ab6fc8d0c165065">including earlier this month</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V6czvH">
Texas is the largest oil and gas producer in the US. It’s also the state with the most wind energy, and this year, it’s on track to add <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=55419">more solar than any other state</a>, nearly double what California is installing. In fact, wind and sunlight patterns in Texas <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/1/7/18167351/texas-energy-solar-wind-renewables-ercot">complement each other exceptionally well</a>, smoothing out variability when the wind slows or when clouds pass overhead. In 2022, Texas generated more than <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/23577512/texas-clean-energy-wind-solar-natural-gas-ercot-blackout">40 percent of its electricity</a> from zero-emissions sources: nuclear, wind, and solar.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vh8dLp">
It’s odd then that a state with so much energy still ended up scrounging for power and asking customers to step up. These alerts and appeals began to frustrate Texans. “ERCOT’s popularity is not super high, so when they ask people to reduce, I see this all over Facebook and Twitter online, people saying, ‘No, like, I’m making it colder in my house. You guys figure this out,’” Lewin said. “People get angry.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Texas flag in front of electrical transmission towers." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DG9OsDczCRloysB-7aY3DZXwRvM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24957492/GettyImages_1408059052.jpeg"/> <cite>Brandon Bell/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
ERCOT, the Texas power grid operator, issued several energy conservation alerts this year as temperatures reached record highs.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wMyJTz">
Part of the reason that Texas sometimes struggles to make enough electricity is that it has a freewheeling power market with fewer interventions from regulators than those in other states. The priority is to sell electricity in real time at the lowest possible cost, with little backup margin, although that’s starting to change. Spurred by the 2021 blackout in Texas from <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/2/16/22284140/texas-blackout-outage-winter-storm-uri-ercot-power-grid-cold-snow-austin-houston-dallas">Winter Storm Uri</a> that cut off power to 4 million customers and <a href="https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2022-02-15/one-year-later-many-question-the-official-number-of-deaths-linked-to-the-texas-blackout">killed at least 246 people</a>, ERCOT implemented rules to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/26/us/texas-energy-grid-ercot.html">encourage more reserve power on its grid</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IFbD9T">
Still, there is a lot of untapped potential for increasing reliability in Texas and in much of the rest of the country. According to Lewin, one of the biggest opportunities is mandating more energy efficiency. “Not just conservation, not just asking people to sweat in their homes, but actually replace old HVACs, put in more insulation,” Lewin said. “All of that would make the grid more reliable.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pJvWGd">
Though the Texas grid is unique, many other parts of the country will likely follow its trends: more extreme heat, growing populations, rising energy demand, fast-blossoming renewables. Texas is also leading in new clean technologies like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/12/carbon-capture-texas-worlds-biggest-will-it-work">carbon capture</a> and <a href="https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/texas-position-lead-hydrogen-energy-economy-new-report-says">hydrogen production</a> that, while they do have massive energy requirements, can help address climate change. Energy may be abundant in Texas, but it’s still a challenge to get it where it needs to go. “I often refer to ERCOT as kind of a postcard from the future,” Lewin said.
</p>
<h3 id="AAuH9t">
The power grid has more obstacles ahead this year and into the future
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ho8Mvz">
Even with temperatures now dropping, there are still challenges for the power grid. Late-season <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/san-francisco-bay-area-heat-wave-forecast-18387607.php">heat waves remain a possibility</a> in states like California and could increase the chances of a blackout like they did <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/23340991/power-demand-response-blackout-consumer-climate-change-california-texas-cop27">last year</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UpRSIY">
Electricity production is also likely to face constraints in the coming months. Shorter days mean less solar power is available. Many utilities also schedule repairs and upgrades for power plants in the winter. Most power plants in the US require water for cooling and for making steam to spin their turbines, but huge swaths of the country are still facing severe drought conditions. That could impair electricity production.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Map of US power plants facing drought conditions. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DJsTwuXL_byTCIJeyMgB6XPuk_g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24957454/u.s._power_plants_in_drought__power_plants_09_27_2023.png"/> <cite><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.drought.gov/sectors/energy" target="_blank">National Integrated Drought Information System</a></cite>
<figcaption>
Water is essential for thermal power plants. Many plants in the Great Plains and the South are facing severe drought conditions.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HWIMEo">
Meanwhile, electricity use is growing during the winter as more electric cars, water heaters, stoves, and furnaces plug in. “As electrification is taking hold, we’re seeing those winter peak demands increasing,” Olson said. <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate/23738846/el-nino-2023-weather-heat-wave-climate-change-disaster-flood-rain">El Niño</a> is likely to drive a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/25/weather/el-nino-winter-us-climate/index.html">milder winter</a> in the US than is typical, but a sudden cold snap could still cause outages.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YqKyY4">
The extreme heat this year also exposed flaws in the conventional wisdom around grid reliability, namely that coal, oil, and gas are dependable stalwarts and that wind and solar are too mercurial to be useful. Fossil fuel infrastructure experienced <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-23/extreme-heat-linked-to-22-methane-plumes-in-texas#xj4y7vzkg">equipment failures</a> amid the high temperatures and extreme heat <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/7/3/22560691/power-grid-climate-change-heat-wave">impaired both conventional and renewable generators</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CCNsQE">
“The idea that we need more coal and gas to supplement renewables I think is being shown to be a myth that is being propagated by certain fossil fuel interests and their political allies,” said <a href="https://joshuabasseches.com/">Joshua Basseches</a>, an assistant professor of public policy and environmental studies at Tulane University. “I think it’s starting to change, but it has a long way to go.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sDqE2g">
2023’s super-hot summer also raised the salience of scrutinizing decisions about the future of the power grid and the people who make them. “Transmission organizations and independent system operators have an accountability problem,” Basseches said. The people who decide where to build power lines, what sources should provide electricity, what energy storage mechanisms are necessary, and how to distribute the costs are overseen by the federal government, but they aren’t elected by the people most directly affected by their choices.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bDLUn5">
“That’s why you hear people calling for ‘energy democracy,’ this idea that there should be more voices at the table,” Basseches said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Usn939">
It’s critical to plan now for the next time temperatures reach the far ends of the thermometer. The decisions made now will shape whether we can stay comfortable in the next chill or scorcher, or whether we’ll be left in the dark.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Republicans’ thin corruption case against Joe Biden, explained</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Hunter Biden and Joe Biden stand next to each other, both with arms crossed." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zcCLi27owHyn41xgyYPeUXpMhdA=/176x0:2825x1987/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72696660/GettyImages_520751670.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Kris Connor/WireImage
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The House is having its first impeachment hearing. What they don’t have is proof of their allegations.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="42wZWh">
Whatever you may think about the impeachments of <a href="https://www.vox.com/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> and Bill Clinton, they were at least impeached for things they verifiably did.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VmvPRT">
But <a href="https://www.vox.com/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> may become the first president to be impeached entirely because of an unproven theory.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AB5EG3">
Republicans, and allies of Donald Trump in particular, have spent five years searching for the proof that will vindicate their long-held assertion that Joe Biden was corruptly in cahoots with his son, Hunter — being paid off by foreign interests and skewing US policy to support them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S2tmCu">
Yet while much has emerged about<a href="https://www.vox.com/22992772/hunter-biden-laptop"> Hunter’s sordid personal life and dubiously ethical behavior</a>, Republicans have been unable to hang anything significant on his father.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rY51DS">
Don’t take it from me. Take it from Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/15/congressman-ken-buck-biden-impeachment/"> wrote this month</a>: “What’s missing, despite years of investigation, is the smoking gun that connects Joe Biden to his ne’er-do-well son’s corruption.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eNjv1T">
Of course, the GOP’s impeachment effort isn’t really about what the evidence shows — it’s political. What’s really behind this is that the hard right has been demanding aggressive action against Biden, Trump wants payback for his own two impeachments, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy is struggling to hold off threats to his speakership. The evidence is largely beside the point.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2TPhyB">
Still, some of Buck’s GOP colleagues assert that, actually, they’ve found a ton of damning information on Joe Biden — in their own investigation, and from the infamous abandoned “<a href="https://www.vox.com/22992772/hunter-biden-laptop">laptop</a>” containing Hunter’s emails and messages, around which a sort of oppo research industrial complex has sprung up on the right.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hRrzrG">
But their grand corruption theories hinge either on uncorroborated or outright discredited accusations from questionable figures, or on Hunter throwing his father’s name around in private. The hard proof that Joe was in on Hunter’s schemes remains lacking.
</p>
<h3 id="P0jmHA">
What we know of Joe and Hunter Biden’s financial relationship
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r7VKx0">
For nearly his entire adult life, Hunter Biden has been in the business of being Joe Biden’s son — first as a lobbyist, and then in the more opaque world of advising and consulting for high-paying foreign clients.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9pv4UN">
Viewed in isolation, it seems like one of many examples of a politician’s relative cashing in on his name. But Republicans argue there’s more to the story — their grand theory is that, really, Joe and Hunter were actively in business together, with Joe helping Hunter’s clients in exchange for a large share of the loot.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QrK7hZ">
But the picture that’s emerged from the investigation so far doesn’t exactly seem impeachment-worthy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7CYfOm">
As far as Joe’s relationship with Hunter’s business partners, the investigation has revealed the following: the vice president occasionally spoke to some of Hunter’s business associates at<a href="https://www.cnn.com/factsfirst/politics/factcheck_464235f1-0381-4afb-87ec-743d0bb66eba"> golf outings</a> and<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/07/hunter-bidens-laptop-april-16-2015-dinner/"> dinner events</a>. Sometimes he called Hunter to say hello during Hunter’s business meetings, and Hunter put him on speakerphone, but<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/03/hunter-biden-associate-says-joe-biden-never-talked-business-on-calls/70521880007/"> Joe wouldn’t talk business</a>. Officials in Biden’s office forwarded<a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/30/1000-emails-exchanged-between-hunter-bidens-firm-and-vp-office/"> information about White House events</a> to Hunter. Joe once<a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/biden-wrote-college-rec-for-son-of-chinese-exec-tied-to-hunter/"> wrote</a> a college letter of recommendation for the son of a Chinese executive in business with Hunter.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ML66QR">
How about the money? Republicans point to a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-text-biden-fork-over-half-his-salary-resurfaces-new-democrat-talking-point">January 2019 text</a> from Hunter to his daughter (typos included):
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l2sAfT">
I love all of you. But I don’t receive any respect and thats fine I guess -works for you apparently. I Hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family Fro 30 years. It’s really hard. But don’t worry unlike Pop I won’t make you give me half your salary.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uHSbkt">
But did Joe actually make Hunter give him half his salary?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UL37sj">
In the laptop material, there are many resentful tirades from Hunter about how much he does for his family and how unappreciated he is, often laden with exaggerations and persecution fantasies (usually coming when family members were trying to get him off drugs).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UeU7vr">
There is evidence of some intermingling of Joe’s finances with Hunter’s. Eric Schwerin, who Hunter had hired to help with his finances in the mid-2000s, also<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/oversight-dems-admit-hunter-business-partner-handled-bidens-finances-throughout-vp-tenure"> assisted Joe Biden</a> with managing his finances when he was vice president. Hunter covered some expenses for Joe, like<a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/09/hunter-biden-frequently-covered-family-expenses-texts-reveal/"> home repairs</a> and<a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/12/joe-biden-may-have-shared-in-hunters-profits-emails-show/"> cell phone bills</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="24iwhn">
And Hunter claimed in another text that his dad had long used one of his bank accounts. “My dad has been using most lines on this account which I’ve though the gracious offerings of Eric [Schwerin] have paid for past 11 years,” he<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-erupts-2018-text-hunter-biden-claiming-hed-paid-dads-bills-past-11-years"> texted in 2018</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aVF7dQ">
But there’s no documentation of anything remotely near half Hunter’s (sizable) income, or any sort of set percentage, going to Joe. The covering of expenses that’s been documented seems to have been more informal — Hunter, the highest-earning Biden, picking up the tab for his dad, or setting some bills on autopay.
</p>
<h3 id="UhmMBt">
Burisma and the firing of Ukraine’s prosecutor general
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tt3DY3">
Many GOP theories of Joe Biden’s corruption center around Hunter’s work for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma — which you may remember being<a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/9/30/20883584/trump-impeachment-whistleblower-ukraine"> discussed quite a bit</a> during the first <a href="https://www.vox.com/trump-impeachment-inquiry">impeachment of Donald Trump</a> back in 2019.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="71YIGL">
Hunter served on the board of Burisma and was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by the company starting in 2014. By that point, the first phase of Ukraine’s conflict with <a href="https://www.vox.com/russia">Russia</a> had begun, and the US government was providing aid — but US officials had concerns about corruption in the Ukrainian government. So the US, and specifically Vice President Biden, pressured Ukraine’s president to fire the nation’s prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin — which he did.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sq1WzE">
In recent years, Shokin has been telling a very different story. He asserts he was forced out because he was <em>investigating</em> corruption — Burisma’s corruption. That’s the only reason Vice President Biden urged his firing, he says: to protect Hunter and Burisma.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0f8YsK">
But Shokin’s story seems plainly false.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kL3I8K">
Shokin was appointed prosecutor general in February 2015, and US officials indeed initially had high hopes he’d be a reformer, since he was moving to set up an anti-corruption office. But in July of that year, that anti-corruption office investigated two of Shokin’s prosecutor appointees, including his former driver, and found millions in<a href="https://www.congress.gov/116/meeting/house/110331/documents/HMKP-116-JU00-20191211-SD440.pdf"> diamonds</a> and cash in their homes. Shokin then “went to war” trying to destroy the new office, in an attempt “to destroy anybody connected with that effort,” US State Department official<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-the-transcript-of-george-kents-full-testimony-in-the-impeachment-probe"> George Kent</a><a href="https://twitter.com/awprokop/status/1193741647353450496"> has testified</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Iv6EJp">
So the US soured on Shokin. In September 2015, Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt<a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Remarks-by-US-Ambassador-Geoffrey-Pyatt-at-the-Odesa-Financial-Forum-on-September-24-2015-ukraine.pdf"> gave a speech</a> denouncing “corrupt actors within the prosecutor general’s office,” alluding to the diamond prosecutor affair. Pyatt also criticized certain prosecutors for working corruptly with Mykola Zlochevsky — the founder of Burisma — to help him regain $23 million that had been frozen abroad (though this had happened before Shokin’s appointment).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="C397Ue">
By November 22, 2015, the official position of the US government was that Shokin had to go, according to a<a href="https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-08/VPBidenTPUkraineMeetingShokin.pdf"> State Department document</a> meant to prep Biden for an upcoming trip to Ukraine, which stated:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OPjunY">
The time is ripe for President Poroshenko to reanimate his reform agenda. You should recommend that he give a state of the nation speech to the Rada in which he reenergizes that effort and rolls out new proposed reforms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dktiDQ">
There is wide agreement that anti-corruption must be at the top of this list, and that reforms must include an overhaul of the Prosecutor General’s Office including removal of Prosecutor General Shokin, who is widely regarded as an obstacle to fighting corruption, if not a source of the problem.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3hsX8M">
During his December 2015 trip, Biden privately told Ukraine’s president that the US would not provide a new tranche of loan guarantees unless Shokin was fired, and<a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/12/09/remarks-vice-president-joe-biden-ukrainian-rada"> publicly stated</a> that Shokin’s office “desperately needs reform.” On February 11, 2016, Biden called Ukraine’s president — and, a few days later,<a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-shokin-prosecutor-resigns/27555979.html"> Shokin’s ouster was announced</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1d5oP4">
Now, it does indeed seem that, concurrently with all this, Burisma became increasingly concerned about legal jeopardy it faced from Shokin’s office — and tried to get Hunter to help.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3S9jRi">
On November 2, 2015, a Burisma executive<a href="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/07/1440/810/Biden-Pozharskyi1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1"> emailed Hunter about a plan</a> to hire a US lobbying firm to advocate for Zlochevsky to US officials, who they hoped would then intervene with Ukrainian officials on his behalf. “The ultimate purpose,” the executive wrote, would be “to close down for any cases/pursuits against [Zlochevsky] in Ukraine.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9uuOHQ">
Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter who also served on Burisma’s board, has testified that another exchange took place at a December 4, 2015 board meeting. According to Archer,<a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2023/08/republicans-oversell-archers-testimony-about-hunter-and-joe-biden/"> executives told Hunter</a> they were concerned about pressure they were getting from Ukrainian investigators, and asked if Hunter could help with that pressure. Later, Archer said, he was told that Hunter had called “DC” to try and help. But by this point the US had already concluded that Shokin had to go for its own reasons, as shown in the <a href="https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-08/VPBidenTPUkraineMeetingShokin.pdf">State Department document</a> dated two weeks earlier.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fGOnLG">
Then, on February 2, 2016, the prosecutor general’s office<a href="https://www.kyivpost.com/post/10691"> seized Zlochevsky’s property</a> — just two weeks before Shokin’s ouster. After Shokin was gone, the <a href="https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/T51-Exhibit-312B-Contact-with-Ukrain-GP-Attachment-07.10.2016_Redacted.pdf">investigation continued</a>, but eventually, prosecutors cut a settlement deal that <a href="https://www.kyivpost.com/post/10044">activists criticized as too lenient</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MUDUdP">
Again, though, there’s no evidence that the US policy of pushing for Shokin’s ouster was meant to protect Burisma. As many US officials testified back during the Trump impeachment inquiry, the US government had concluded Shokin was corrupt for other well-documented reasons, and wanted him gone.
</p>
<h3 id="G38sQF">
The totally unsubstantiated claim of a Burisma bribe
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SlFffx">
We’re not finished with Burisma just yet.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XS3mvf">
In June 2020, a confidential FBI informant <a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fd_1023_obtained_by_senator_grassley_-_biden.pdf">reported back to the Bureau</a> about some conversations he’d allegedly had with Zlochevsky several years back. According to the informant, Zlochevsky claimed that in addition to paying $5 million to Hunter Biden, he’d also paid $5 million to “another Biden.” An<a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fd_1023_obtained_by_senator_grassley_-_biden.pdf"> FBI document</a> summarizing the informant’s claims reads:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BfPdMx">
Zlochevsky stated he didn’t want to pay the Bidens and he was “pushed to pay” them… Zlochevsky responded he did not send any funds directly to the “Big Guy” (which CHS [confidential human source] understood was a reference to Joe Biden)… Zlochevsky responded it would take them (investigators) 10 years to find the records (i.e. illicit payments to Joe Biden).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5BxeCG">
… Zlochevsky said he had a total of “17 recordings” involving the Bidens; two of the recordings included Joe Biden, and the remaining 15 recordings only included Hunter Biden. CHS reiterated that, per Zlochevsky, these recordings evidence Zlochevsky was somehow coerced into paying the Bidens to ensure Ukraine Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin was fired.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P28pUK">
Obviously, if Zlochevsky had secretly agreed to pay <em>Joe</em> Biden $5 million while he was vice president, that would be a huge scandal. But did it actually happen?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V3EXuj">
Currently, there’s not a shred of evidence that it did happen. Of course, Zlochevsky did say it was done so amazingly secretly that it will be impossible to find, which is… convenient.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wuzfnl">
Here’s another problem. The FBI document states that the informant had already briefed the Bureau on one of these talks with Zlochevsky several years ago. Back then, though, the informant didn’t mention any salacious bribe claims. Only years later, well after Trump had publicly been trying to make Biden and Burisma a huge scandal, and that the Justice Department<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d617dc21b3f0db0553dd2a52206fcb75"> was investigating it,</a> did the informant “recollect” these juicy Zlochevsky claims.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lL5wQp">
Another issue is that the informant says he barely knew Zlochevsky, so this level of purported candor may seem odd. “CHS explained it is very common for business men in post-Soviet countries to brag or show-off,” the document reads.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f1v9Oo">
In any case, all we have here is a claim. No evidence has emerged to prove that claim true.
</p>
<h3 id="SlHOjl">
The Chinese energy deal (“10 held by H for the big guy ?”)
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9TX6UG">
Hunter’s other big business deal that Republicans have been trying to tie to Joe involves a Chinese energy company, CEFC, which was trying to expand its business in the US and seeking political connections.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XLdVL5">
In 2017, Hunter and his associates discussed setting up a new company to handle their proposed deal with CEFC. A <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/15/emails-reveal-how-hunter-biden-tried-to-cash-in-big-with-chinese-firm/">now-infamous email</a> sent by one of those associates lays out a proposed equity split, including 20 percent for Hunter, 10 percent for Hunter’s uncle Jim Biden, and “10 held by H for the big guy ?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="12IEKL">
Tony Bobulinski, who was involved in talks over this proposed deal, has since said that “the big guy” was Joe Biden, and that he was led to believe that the then-former vice president was deeply involved.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KVNvdY">
Yet Bobulinski cannot confirm this for sure. By his own account, he only briefly met Joe Biden once, when Hunter introduced him at a conference where Joe was speaking. Bobulinski has said Joe appeared to be aware that Hunter was working on a deal with Chinese businessmen, but did not claim to be involved himself and did not discuss any business (though Joe <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/27/hunters-biz-partner-tells-all-on-meeting-with-joe-biden-goodwin/">did urge him</a> to “Keep an eye on my son and brother,” he’s claimed).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nJ5yHr">
That version of the CEFC deal did not come together. But Hunter and Jim cut Bobulinski out and continued talks with the company. By July 2017, an executive for CEFC<a href="https://nypost.com/2022/10/18/bidens-5m-china-loan-part-of-pay-to-play-scheme-sen-grassley/"> messaged Hunter that</a>, “based on their trust on BD family” — the Biden family — they would give them a $5 million interest-free loan.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kcGYrI">
But the money was slow showing up. A few days later, Hunter<a href="https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/116192/documents/HHRG-118-JU00-20230712-SD005.pdf"> messaged back</a>, “I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.” He continued in a threatening vein: “I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SevNQr">
It reads like a shakedown, and indeed, the Chinese company<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-biden-linked-account-received-5-million-days-threatening-messages-sitting-here-father"> would send over $5 million</a> a few days later. Was Hunter actually speaking on behalf of his father, as he appeared to imply, or again simply throwing his name around without his knowledge? When these messages emerged, an attorney for Hunter<a href="https://twitter.com/AlexThomp/status/1672380537640558592"> said that</a> “any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QZAqzl">
The deal proved to be ill-fated. One CEFC associate<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/business/cefc-biden-china-washington-ye-jianming.html"> was arrested in the US</a> in November 2017, and charged with trying to bribe government officials in Chad and Uganda. Then, in early 2018, the tycoon behind CEFC, Ye Jianming, was detained in China under corruption suspicions, and<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-business-tycoons-executives-who-disappeared-public-view-2023-02-21/"> has not been seen publicly since</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5Zus8N">
All of this is extremely messy and shady on Hunter’s part. It’s clear Hunter Biden wanted people to think his father was deeply involved in his dealings.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KO7gqn">
But again, evidence of Joe Biden’s actual involvement is absent.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ghkImZ">
As with GOP assertions about the fired Ukrainian prosecutor and the Burisma bribe, the Joe Biden-China connection remains a supposition lacking proof.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Aj9WSb">
And if they can’t turn up that proof, then this impeachment effort will be proceeding based on the imaginings of Republican House members, rather than on verifiable conduct by the president of the United States.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Net neutrality is back, but it’s not what you think</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel at a net neutrality rally in 2017." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7JBgO3Vf33In0MAZLEObQh6ksAA=/0x0:2667x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72696565/GettyImages_892296952.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Jessica Rosenworcel at a net neutrality rally in 2017. Rosenworcel is now the FCC chair and just moved to restore net neutrality. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
It’s a lot more than Verizon treating all broadband traffic equally.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q5zlEd">
Five years after net neutrality’s (temporary) demise, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is set to fulfill the <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22747883/fcc-chair-rosenworcel-sohn-biden-commissioner-net-neutrality">Biden administration’s vision</a> of re-implementing the Obama-era policy. That means the effort to reclassify broadband internet from an information service to a common carrier, subject to increased oversight and regulations just like phone companies, is back, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p88dgS">
The agency <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/commissioner-anna-gomez-being-sworn-commissioner-fcc">just got</a> its third Democratic commissioner, Anna Gomez, after waiting nearly two years for the Senate to confirm a Biden appointment (a previous Biden nominee, Gigi Sohn, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/07/gigi-sohn-fcc-nominee-withdraws-00085918">withdrew in March</a>). The 2–2 deadlock that prevented the agency from making any politicized changes has now been broken, and FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel clearly doesn’t want to waste any more time. Net neutrality, which she’s a longtime proponent of, is first on the agenda.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VX3dx1">
Rosenworcel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_kVkxQ5DCA&amp;ab_channel=FederalCommunicationsCommission">announced plans to restore the policy</a> on Tuesday, saying that the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/12/14/16771910/trump-fcc-ajit-pai-net-neutrality-repeal">Trump-era repeal</a> of net neutrality “put the agency on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of the public. It was not good then, but it makes even less sense now.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xoAmSH">
“Today we begin a process to make this right,” she said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3M9qKf">
And so begins the next battle in a years-long war that has spawned <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/12/15960484/net-neutrality-day-of-action-protest">mass protests</a>, one (likely soon to be two) agency reversals, and <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/opinion-granting-part-and-denying-part-mozilla-corp-v-fcc">major</a> <a href="https://law.stanford.edu/2022/05/05/isps-drop-legal-fight-against-california-net-neutrality-law/">lawsuits</a> — and was <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/20/23800161/gigi-sohn-fcc-nomination-dark-money-campaign-net-neutrality-profile">part of the reason</a> why the FCC under President Biden didn’t have its full complement of five commissioners until now. It’s also the subject of a well-moneyed campaign from telecommunications companies, who like to frame net neutrality as simply forcing broadband providers to treat all traffic equally, something they say they already do (which <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/verizon-throttled-fire-departments-unlimited-data-during-calif-wildfire/">isn’t entirely true</a>), and argue that there’s no need to mandate it. But net neutrality — or, to be more exact, the reclassification of internet service providers that makes net neutrality possible — is about a lot more than that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IIqsy7">
CNN Business <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/tech/fcc-net-neutrality-internet-providers/index.html">refers to</a> net neutrality as a “third rail of broadband policy” because it’s somehow become a controversial, politicized issue. That makes it harder for the average person to know exactly what net neutrality is and what it would mean for them. Net neutrality’s opponents, which include most Republicans and the telecommunications companies whose services would be governed by the rule, say it will subject internet service providers to overburdensome regulations and stuffy government oversight, which will stymy innovation and competition in an industry that already provides great service (some <a href="https://www.allconnect.com/blog/united-states-ranks-27th-in-global-internet-connectivity">might disagree</a> with that assessment) to the American people. Proponents, including most Democrats, consumer advocates, and internet services <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-12-14/netflix-is-less-noisy-defender-of-net-neutrality-as-vote-arrives">like Netflix</a>, say that the internet has become a vital and necessary part of American life and should be classified accordingly under the FCC’s purview, just like the telegraph and telephone services that came before it were.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9naIVJ">
“There is a misinformation campaign associated with net neutrality,” Tom Wheeler, the chair of the FCC when net neutrality was first passed, told Vox. He added that it distracts from “the broader question, which is that it is absolutely absurd that there would be no public interest oversight of the most important network of the 21st century.”
</p>
<h3 id="EwEMJL">
The long fight to oversee the internet like the telephone
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KvNyAF">
Net neutrality — or network neutrality, if you want the longhand — means that internet service providers like Verizon and Comcast must treat all traffic equally. They can’t speed up traffic to some sites or slow it down (or block it) to others. They can’t charge extra to visit sites or services, nor can they give any sites or services priority. This is how our phone lines work; carriers can’t charge extra or block calls to different carriers without cause, for example. And while internet service providers have largely done the same, without net neutrality there’s nothing <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-california%E2%80%99s-net-neutrality-law-here-stay">on a federal level</a> requiring that they do. The FCC, however, can’t require net neutrality from internet service providers if broadband isn’t classified as a common carrier under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/chapter-5/subchapter-II">Title II</a> of the Telecommunications Act. We know this because when the agency tried to issue net neutrality rules in the past, Comcast and Verizon sued to stop it, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/technology/07net.html">they</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/technology/appeals-court-rejects-fcc-rules-on-internet-service-providers.html">won</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wh0Hxc">
After that, the FCC moved to reclassify high-speed internet under Title II. In 2015, it did so with the <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-open-internet-order">Open Internet Order</a>. Then Trump took office and put Ajit Pai in charge of the FCC, where he quickly set about undoing net neutrality. He accomplished that in 2018 with the <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/02/22/2018-03464/restoring-internet-freedom">Restoring Internet Freedom Order</a>, which re-reclassified broadband internet from a Title II carrier back to an information service under a “light-touch regulatory scheme” with a few transparency requirements.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tHRNul">
Now the FCC wants to reclassify broadband — actually, this would re-re-reclassify broadband — and has the votes to do it. It might seem like 2015 again, but a lot has happened in the intervening years, Rosenworcel said, that only helps make the case that broadband needs to be a common carrier.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7S7hPS">
The pandemic “made it crystal clear that broadband is no longer nice-to-have; it’s need-to-have for everyone, everywhere,” she said. “It is not a luxury. It is a necessity. It is essential infrastructure for modern life. … Yet even as our society has reconfigured itself to do so much online, our institutions have failed to keep pace. Today, there is no expert agency ensuring that the internet is fast, open, and fair.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4Rv2dY">
There may be no greater example these days of the internet’s importance and the need for real regulation than the war in Ukraine. The success of some Ukrainian military operations <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/officials-worry-about-ukraines-reliance-on-elon-musks-starlink-2023-7">is dependent</a> on internet service, yet a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/world/europe/elon-musk-starlink-ukraine.html">mercurial business owner</a> has the sole authority to pick and choose where and when it’s available.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xPskku">
“We should not have to live with broadband as a ‘best efforts’ service where your internet provider decides whether or not to invest in needed maintenance and upgrades,” Harold Feld, a senior vice president for consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, told Vox.
</p>
<h3 id="whsA8o">
“For the purpose of promoting safety of life and property”
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="afzXsq">
So, what, exactly, does it mean to be a Title II carrier besides the net neutrality part? Primarily, it gives the FCC more oversight and authority. As Rosenworcel said, it means that technology that has become as — if not more — important than the phone will have the kind of agency oversight that many other essential industries and services have had for a long time. It’ll give the FCC the ability to make privacy rules, ensure that people have access to internet services, require more transparency and accountability from providers, and regulate rates (though the FCC expressly said it would not do this <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/03/fcc-chair-new-internet-service-rules-not-even-close-to-utility-regulation/">back in 2015</a> and it will likely do the same now). The FCC will be able to act sooner and more thoroughly on national and cybersecurity issues, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O7s5tR">
“If you do not have authority over broadband networks, then how do you deal with what happens when there’s an effort to weaponize those networks by adversaries?” Wheeler asked. “How do you deal when those networks trample on the privacy rights of their users? How do you deal with the fact that every single cyberattack at some point in time goes across a public network? If you don’t have jurisdiction over those networks, how can you put protections in place?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T1dW6A">
Republicans, unsurprisingly, have labeled the move a power grab that will make internet service worse and more expensive; Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said in a statement, “FCC Democrats simply want control. They desperately want to micromanage providers’ pricing and terms of service, and collect billions in <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/general/universal-service-fund">new USF taxes</a> at the expense of investment, economic growth, and consumer choice.” (Again, the new FCC rules are likely to say that the agency won’t regulate rates, just as they did in 2015.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FsAmII">
But you can judge for yourself if America’s broadband internet is the best it can possibly be, with the choice, service, access, and investment that a crucial technology can and should have. Ending net neutrality back in 2018 may not have destroyed the internet, like some net neutrality supporters <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/ending-net-neutrality-will-destroy-everything-makes-internet-great-ncna823301">thought</a> it <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-net-neutrality-20171122-story.html">would</a>, but did it make it any better? Do we want a future where access to a vital service is controlled by relatively few companies, governed by even fewer rules?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S5bdfZ">
“We didn’t invent the FCC because it was a boring Tuesday in 1934 and FDR said ‘I know what will perk things up!’” Feld said. “We did it, in the words of <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/151">Section 1</a> of the Communications Act, ‘for the purpose of the national defense, for the purpose of promoting safety of life and property,’ and to ensure to all people of the United States the best communication network possible.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VoYooE">
“We need an internet that works predictably and reliably so we can get on with our lives,” he added.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="verCCL">
Assuming the re-re-reclassification goes through — the process will likely take several months — we can expect it to be challenged in the courts and possibly even by a future Republican Congress (which basically <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/03/for-sale-your-private-browsing-history/">overruled</a> the FCC’s attempt to make privacy rules during the short window when broadband was a Title II carrier). So if and when the FCC finalizes the return of net neutrality, we won’t know for sure that rule is, in fact, final. History shows us that it may not be, but something has to stick sometime, right?
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Brave Beauty pleases</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>Ravishing Form, River Of Gold and Serai 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>First electric two-wheeler race set to be held during IMRC fourth round</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>IOC disappointed with IOA for not appointing CEO despite repeated reminders</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>Hangzhou Asian Games | Shooting a gold, taming a bronze as India adds to the medal tally</strong> - Anush Agarwalla continued his winning form in equestrian, adding an individual bronze in the Dressage event to the team gold a day earlier</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>ED summons TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee again on Oct. 3; MP claims day coincides with party rally</strong> - The ruling party of West Bengal claimed that the BJP is afraid of the TMC’s programme in New Delhi and is trying to scuttle the people’s voice.</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>Kannur man charged under KAAPA, banned from entering district</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>TTD to distribute Gita books to students; plans to build choultries every 25 km on the way to Tirumala</strong> - Devotees travelling on foot via Vellore and Periyapalam will be allowed to stay overnight in the dormitories in these choultries and also cook food</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>Ex-servicemen to take out rally on October 8</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>Students, teachers injured as bus overturns in Belagavi district</strong> -</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>Nagorno-Karabakh state will cease to exist in January, says leader</strong> - The head of the ethnic Armenian enclave formally ends its struggle for independence.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How distress call to BBC led to rescue of six women trapped in refrigerated lorry in France</strong> - A woman spoke to us from inside the refrigerated lorry in France, saying they were struggling to breathe.</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>Russians queue up to see Barbie film despite sanctions</strong> - Moscow’s culture ministry says Barbie is “not in line” with Russian values. Cinemagoers don’t seem to mind.</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>Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenians rush to help ‘brothers and sisters’</strong> - Every hour, the number of people fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh climbs even further.</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>Germany cracks down on neo-Nazi sect Artgemeinschaft for targeting children</strong> - The authorities say Artgemeinschaft used Nazi-era books “to raise new enemies of the constitution”.</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>The dairy industry is trying to outlaw plant-based “milk” labels—again</strong> - The FDA previously found that no one is confused about where almond milk comes from. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1971754">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>“Unprecedented” youth climate trial demands action from 32 European governments</strong> - Youth suing: “I’m forced to stay inside,” and “things are getting worse.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1971711">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is home after a year in space</strong> - His mission was originally supposed to last six months. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1971409">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Musk’s X spreads more disinformation than rival social networks, EU says</strong> - Twitter/X left voluntary alliance but is “not off the hook,” EU official says. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1971598">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>We finally know for sure what a trilobite ate</strong> - Tens of thousands of fossils later, we’ve found a trilobite with a full stomach. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1971629">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A good looking man walked into an agent’s office in Hollywood and said “I want to be a movie star.”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Tall, handsome and with experience on Broadway, he had the right credentials.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The agent asked, “What’s your name?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The guy said, “My name is Penis van Lesbian.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The agent said, “Sir, I hate to tell you, but in order to get into Hollywood, you are going to have to change your name.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
"I will NOT change my name!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The van Lesbian name is centuries old.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I will not disrespect my grandfather by changing my name. Not ever."
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The agent said, "Sir, I have worked in Hollywood for years.. you will NEVER go far in Hollywood with a name like Penis van Lesbian!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I’m telling you, you will HAVE TO change your name or I will not be able to represent you."
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“So be it! I guess we will not do business together” the guy said and he left the agent’s office.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
FIVE YEARS LATER… The agent opens an envelope sent to his office.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Inside the envelope is a letter and a check for $50,000.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The agent is awe-struck, who would possibly send him $ 50,000? He reads the letter enclosed:
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
"Dear Sir, Five years ago, I came into your office wanting to become an actor in Hollywood, you told me I needed to change my name.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Determined to make it with my God-given birth name, I refused.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
You told me I would never make it in Hollywood with a name like Penis van Lesbian.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
After I left your office, I thought about what you said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I decided you were right.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I had to change my name.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I had too much pride to return to your office, so I signed with another agent.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I would never have made it without changing my name, so the enclosed check is a token of my appreciation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Thank you for your advice.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Sincerely,
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Dick van Dyke
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/orgasmic2021"> /u/orgasmic2021 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16uaala/a_good_looking_man_walked_into_an_agents_office/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16uaala/a_good_looking_man_walked_into_an_agents_office/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Teacher gave her class this assignment: ask your parents to tell you a story with a moral at the end of it.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<strong>Teacher gave her class this assignment: ask your parents to tell you a story with a moral at the end of it.</strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Following day the kids came back and one by one go through their stories.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
There were all the regular things - never too old to learn, never give up, no crying over spilled milk, stuff like that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Next kid up gives this presentation: “My daddy told a story about my Grampa. He was a pilot flying a combat mission and he only got halfway back when his plane got hit bad.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“He had to jump out and parachute down to enemy territory, but all he had was a glass flask of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“He drank the whiskey on the way down so the bottle wouldn’t break and when he landed he was surrounded by four enemy soldiers.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Grams shoots two of them right away and keeps firing at the other two until he runs out of bullets, he stabs one of them with the knife but then the blade breaks, so he busts the whisky bottle and kills him with that, and then he strangles the last one to death with his bare hands.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The teacher was appalled - “Good God! What kind of moral did your daddy say came from that horrible story?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Kid says: “Dad said it was this – whenever Grampa’s drinking, stay the hell away from him.”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/HAL-says-Sorry"> /u/HAL-says-Sorry </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16u1jd9/teacher_gave_her_class_this_assignment_ask_your/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16u1jd9/teacher_gave_her_class_this_assignment_ask_your/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Man takes his wife golfing</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
An old man goes golfing every weekend. His wife always complains about his going and leaving her alone. So one weekend he says “Why don’t you come with me and I’ll teach you how to play.” She agrees and on the first hole, a par 4 with a dog leg, she asks “ok, what do I do?” He says “you see that flag way down there with that patch of green around it? You have to hit the ball on to that patch of grass close to the flag.” So she swings and hits an amazing drive. The ball lands 3 feet from the hole. The man says “That was incredible! Great shot!” His wife asks “So what do I do now?” So he says, “Well now you have to hit it into that hole.” The wife says “Well why didn’t you tell me that to begin with?”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/matjaxon"> /u/matjaxon </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16u47pj/man_takes_his_wife_golfing/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16u47pj/man_takes_his_wife_golfing/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A few years ago I was studying abroad…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
…in Egypt. I was attending a beautiful university in the capital city, having a wonderful time.
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One day I had a pretty important test to take, and I stayed up way too late cramming for it. I slept terribly and woke up with a crick in my neck and pain all throughout my back and shoulders.
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During the test I kept stretching and shifting, trying to get comfortable. The professor overseeing the test noticed and came toward me. I was afraid he might think I was trying to cheat by pretending to stretch to look around at other students’ tests.
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Instead, when he got to me he grabbed both sides of my head and started to twist and shake my neck in all directions. I thought he was trying to kill me, but then he let go and I realized that all the pain was gone.
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After the test, I came up to his desk and asked in astonishment, “Hey, how did you do that??”
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“Well,” he said, “I AM a Cairo proctor.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/NorepinephrineFiend"> /u/NorepinephrineFiend </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16u64ff/a_few_years_ago_i_was_studying_abroad/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16u64ff/a_few_years_ago_i_was_studying_abroad/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A man was walking along a street, and happened to notice a sex shop.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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‘We have something for everyone!’, the sign read.
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His curiosity piqued, he walked in. The shopkeeper greeted the man, and offered a variety of toys. The man said, ‘I am married, but you know, we don’t really do it frequently’.
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The shopkeeper said, ‘I have just the thing for you.’
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Couple of moments later, he arrives with a box. The man peered in, and saw a big frog. ‘Are you messing with me?’
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The shopkeeper said, ‘No sir, not at all! This is a special frog that is well trained to give blowjobs. In fact, if you are not satisfied, you can bring it back tomorrow, and I’ll refund the money.’
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The man thought, ‘What the hell. Pack it.’
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Later that night at about 3 in the morning, his wife was awakened by a lot of ruckus in the kitchen. She went into the kitchen to find his husband with a large frog. Naturally, she asked, ’What the hell is going on?
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The husband says, ‘Well. If I can teach this thing how to cook, you’re out of here tomorrow.’
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Jabberwockkk"> /u/Jabberwockkk </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16tq7za/a_man_was_walking_along_a_street_and_happened_to/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/16tq7za/a_man_was_walking_along_a_street_and_happened_to/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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