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<title>31 October, 2023</title>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>To Sit Quietly in a Room Alone: The Psychology of Social, Material, and Sensation Seeking Input</strong> -
<div>
External input is any kind of physical stimulation created by an individual’s surroundings that can be detected by the senses. The present research established a novel conceptualization of this construct by investigating it in relation to the needs for material, social, and sensation seeking input, and by testing the consequences of these needs for psychological functioning during long- and short-term input deprivation. It was established that the three needs constitute different dimensions of an overarching construct (i.e., need for external input), that the needs for social and sensation seeking input have negative consequences for people’s experiences of long-term input deprivation (i.e., COVID-19 restrictions), and that the need for material input negatively predicts the experiences of short-term input deprivation (i.e., sitting in a chair without doing anything else but thinking). Overall, this research established a novel construct that has fundamental implications for experiences and actions in a range of different contexts.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/zpf6b/" target="_blank">To Sit Quietly in a Room Alone: The Psychology of Social, Material, and Sensation Seeking Input</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Epitope mapping of SARS-CoV 2 RBDs by hydroxyl radical protein footprinting reveals the importance of including negative antibody controls.</strong> -
<div>
Epitope mapping methods using hydroxyl radical protein footprinting (HRPF) are currently hampered by high initial cost and complex experimental setup. Here we set out to present a generally applicable method using Fenton chemistry for mapping of epitopes and paratopes in a standard laboratory setting. Furthermore, the described method illustrates the importance of controls on several levels when performing mass spectrometry-based epitope mapping. In particular, the inclusion of negative antibody controls has not previously been widely utilized in epitope mapping by HRPF analysis. In order to limit the false positives, we further introduced quantification by TMT labelling, thereby allowing for direct comparison between sample conditions and biological triplicates. Lastly, up to six technical replicates were incorporated in the experimental setup in order to achieve increased depth of the final analysis. Both binding and openings of regions on receptor binding domain (RBD) from SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein, Alpha and Delta variants, were observed. The negative control antibody experiment, combined with the high overlap between biological triplicates, resulted in the exclusion of 40% of the significantly changed regions, including both binding and opening regions. The identified binding region agrees with the literature for neutralizing antibodies towards SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein. The presented method is an easily implementable technique for the analysis of HRPF in a generic MS-based laboratory. The high reliability of the data was achieved by increasing the number of technical and biological replicates combined with negative antibody controls.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.27.564378v1" target="_blank">Epitope mapping of SARS-CoV 2 RBDs by hydroxyl radical protein footprinting reveals the importance of including negative antibody controls.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Colloidal aggregation confounds cell-based Covid-19 antiviral screens</strong> -
<div>
Colloidal aggregation is one of the largest contributors to false-positives in early drug discovery and chemical biology. Much work has focused on its impact on pure-protein screens; here we consider aggregations role in cell-based infectivity assays in Covid-19 drug repurposing. We began by investigating the potential aggregation of 41 drug candidates reported as SARs-CoV-2 entry inhibitors. Of these, 17 formed colloidal-particles by dynamic light scattering and exhibited detergent-dependent enzyme inhibition. To evaluate antiviral efficacy of the drugs in cells we used spike pseudotyped lentivirus and pre-saturation of the colloids with BSA. The antiviral potency of the aggregators was diminished by at least 10-fold and often entirely eliminated in the presence of BSA, suggesting antiviral activity can be attributed to the non-specific nature of the colloids. In confocal microscopy, the aggregates induced fluorescent puncta of labeled spike protein, consistent with sequestration of the protein on the colloidal particles. Addition of either non-ionic detergent or of BSA disrupted these puncta. These observations suggest that colloidal aggregation is common among cell-based anti-viral drug repurposing, and perhaps cell-based assays more broadly, and offers rapid counter-screens to detect and eliminate these artifacts, allowing the community invest resources in compounds with true potential as a Covid-19 therapeutic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.27.564435v1" target="_blank">Colloidal aggregation confounds cell-based Covid-19 antiviral screens</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Deciphering the code of viral-host adaptation through maximum entropy models</strong> -
<div>
Understanding how the genome of a virus evolves depending on the host it infects is an important question that challenges our knowledge about several mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions, including mutational signatures, innate immunity, and codon optimization. A key facet of this general topic is the study of viral genome evolution after a host-jumping event, a topic which has experienced a surge in interest due to the fight against emerging pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2. In this work, we tackle this question by introducing a new method to learn Maximum Entropy Nucleotide Bias models (MENB) reflecting single, di- and tri- nucleotide usage, which can be trained from viral sequences that infect a given host. We show that both the viral family and the host leave a fingerprint in nucleotide usages which MENB models decode. When the task is to classify both the host and the viral family for a sequence of unknown viral origin MENB models outperform state of the art methods based on deep neural networks. We further demonstrate the generative properties of the proposed framework, presenting an example where we change the nucleotide composition of the 1918 H1N1 Influenza A sequence without changing its protein sequence, while manipulating the nucleotide usage, by diminishing its CpG content. Finally we consider two well-known cases of zoonotic jumps, for the H1N1 Influenza A and for the SARS-CoV-2 viruses, and show that our method can be used to track the adaptation to the new host and to shed light on the more relevant selective pressures which have acted on motif usage during this process. Our work has wide-ranging applications, including integration into metagenomic studies to identify hosts for diverse viruses, surveillance of emerging pathogens, prediction of synonymous mutations that effect immunogenicity during viral evolution in a new host, and the estimation of putative evolutionary ages for viral sequences in similar scenarios. Additionally, the computational framework introduced here can be used to assist vaccine design by tuning motif usage with fine-grained control.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.28.564530v1" target="_blank">Deciphering the code of viral-host adaptation through maximum entropy models</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Inhalation Delivered RNA Aptamer for Therapeutics against SARS-CoV2</strong> -
<div>
The continual emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases has led to a pressing need for the development of swift and targeted therapeutic interventions. SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, is a prime example of such a rapidly spreading virus. The global crisis caused by this virus has propelled researchers to explore and adopt novel techniques in the hopes of effectively combating its spread. One such innovative approach is the use of aptamers–single-stranded RNA molecules that can bind targets with high specificity.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.28.564096v1" target="_blank">Inhalation Delivered RNA Aptamer for Therapeutics against SARS-CoV2</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>NK cell-monocyte crosstalk underlies NK cell activation in severe COVID-19</strong> -
<div>
NK cells in the peripheral blood of severe COVID-19 patients exhibit a unique profile characterized by activation and dysfunction. Previous studies have identified soluble factors, including type I interferon and TGF{beta}, that underlie this dysregulation. However, the role of cell-cell interactions in mediating changes in NK cell function during COVID-19 remains unclear. To address this question, we combined cell-cell communication analysis on existing single-cell RNA sequencing data with in vitro primary cell co-culture experiments to dissect the mechanisms underlying NK cell dysfunction in COVID-19. We found that NK cells are predicted to interact most strongly with monocytes and that this occurs via both soluble factors and direct interactions. To validate these findings, we performed in vitro co-cultures in which NK cells from healthy donors were incubated with monocytes from COVID-19+ or healthy donors. Co-culture of healthy NK cells with monocytes from COVID-19 patients recapitulated aspects of the NK cell phenotype observed in severe COVID-19, including decreased expression of NKG2D, increased expression of activation markers, and increased proliferation. When these experiments were performed in a transwell setting, we found that only CD56bright CD16- NK cells were activated in the presence of severe COVID-19 patient monocytes. O-link analysis of supernatants from transwell co-cultures revealed that cultures containing severe COVID-19 patient monocytes had significantly elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines as well as TGF{beta}. Collectively, these results demonstrate that interactions between NK cells and monocytes in the peripheral blood of COVID-19 patients contribute to NK cell activation and dysfunction in severe COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.27.564440v1" target="_blank">NK cell-monocyte crosstalk underlies NK cell activation in severe COVID-19</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Characterization of Unique Pathological Features of COVID-Associated Coagulopathy: Studies with AC70 hACE2 Transgenic Mice Highly Permissive to SARS-CoV-2 Infection</strong> -
<div>
COVID-associated coagulopathy seemly plays a key role in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are poorly understood, largely due to the lack of suitable animal models that recapitulate key clinical and pathological symptoms. Here, we fully characterized AC70 line of human ACE2 transgenic (AC70 hACE2 Tg) mice for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We noted that this model is highly permissive to SARS-CoV-2 with values of 50% lethal dose and infectious dose as ~ 3 and ~ 0.5 TCID50 of SARS-CoV-2, respectively. Mice infected with 105 TCID50 of SARS-CoV-2 rapidly succumbed to infection with 100% mortality within 5 days. Lung and brain were the prime tissues harboring high viral titers, accompanied by histopathology. However, viral RNA and many inflammatory mediators could be readily detectable in other organs, suggesting the nature of a systemic infection. Lethal challenge of AC70 hACE2 mice caused acute onset of leukopenia, lymphopenia, along with an increased neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Importantly, infected animals recapitulated key features of COVID-19-associated coagulopathy, including significantly elevated levels of D-dimer, t-PA, PAI-1, and circulating NETs, along with activated platelet/endothelium marker. Immunohistochemical staining with anti-PF4 antibody revealed profound platelet aggregates especially within blocked veins of the lungs. ANXA2 is known to interact with S100A10 to form heterotetrametric complexes, serving as coreceptors for t-PA to regulate membrane fibrinolysis. Thus, our results revealing elevated IgG type anti-ANXA2 antibody production, downregulated de novo ANXA2/S100A10 synthesis, and reduced AnxA2/S100A10 association in infected mice support an important role of this protein in the pathogenesis of acute COVID-19. In summary, we showed that acute SARS-CoV-2 infection of AC70 hACE2 Tg mice triggered a hypercoagulable state coexisting with ill-regulated fibrinolysis, accompanied by dysregulation of ANXA2 system, which might serve as druggable targets for development of antithrombotic and/or anti-fibrinolytic agents to attenuate pathogenesis of COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.30.564680v1" target="_blank">Characterization of Unique Pathological Features of COVID-Associated Coagulopathy: Studies with AC70 hACE2 Transgenic Mice Highly Permissive to SARS-CoV-2 Infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Spatiotemporal dynamics and epidemiological impact of SARS-CoV-2 XBB lineages dissemination in Brazil in 2023</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The SARS-CoV-2 XBB is a group of highly immune-evasive lineages of the Omicron VOC that emerged by recombining BA.2-descendent lineages and spread worldwide during 2023. In this study, we combine SARS-CoV-2 genomic data (n = 11,065 sequences) with epidemiological data of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) cases collected in Brazil between October 2022 and July 2023 to reconstruct the space-time dynamics and epidemiologic impact of XBB dissemination in the country. Our analyses revealed that the introduction and local emergence of lineages carrying convergent mutations within the Spike protein, especially F486P, F456L, and L455F, propelled the spread of XBB* lineages in Brazil. The average relative instantaneous reproduction numbers of XBB<em>+F486P, XBB</em>+F486P+F456L, and XBB<em>+F486P+ F456L+L455F lineages in Brazil were estimated to be 1.24, 1.33, and 1.48 higher than that of other co-circulating lineages (mainly BQ.1</em>/BE<em>), respectively. Despite such a growth advantage, the dissemination of these XBB</em> lineages had a reduced impact on Brazils epidemiological scenario concerning previous Omicron subvariants. The peak number of SARI cases from SARS-CoV-2 during the XBB wave was approximately 90%, 80%, and 70% lower than that observed during the previous BA.1<em>, BA.5</em>, and BQ.1* waves, respectively. These findings revealed the emergence of multiple XBB lineages with progressively increasing growth advantage, yet with relatively limited epidemiological impact in Brazil throughout 2023. The XBB*+F486P+F456L+L455F lineages stand out for their heightened transmissibility, warranting close monitoring in the months ahead.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.30.23297466v1" target="_blank">Spatiotemporal dynamics and epidemiological impact of SARS-CoV-2 XBB lineages dissemination in Brazil in 2023</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>An efficient approach to nowcasting the time-varying reproduction number</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Estimating the instantaneous reproduction number (Rt) in near real-time is crucial for monitoring and responding to epidemic outbreaks on a daily basis. However, such estimates often suffer from bias due to reporting delays inherent in surveillance systems. A fast and flexible Bayesian methodology is proposed to overcome this challenge by estimating Rt while taking into account reporting delays. Furthermore, the uncertainty associated with the nowcasting of cases is naturally taken into account to get a valid uncertainty estimation of the nowcasted reproduction number. The proposed methodology is evaluated through a simulation study and applied to COVID-19 incidence data in Belgium.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.30.23297251v1" target="_blank">An efficient approach to nowcasting the time-varying reproduction number</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Trade unions and mental health during an employment crisis. Evidence from the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Trade union presence within a workplace could potentially affect employees9 working conditions and in turn health. We assessed the relationship between union (presence and membership) at the individual level and mental health in the context of COVID-19 employment disruptions. Methods: We analysed panel data from Understanding Society collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (49,915 observations across 5,988 respondents) to assess the relationship between union presence and membership and a validated epidemiological measure of common mental disorders (CMD), the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire with a score of &gt;/4 indicating probable anxiety/depression, referred to as caseness. A mixed-effect log-linear model assessed effect heterogeneity across time and industries, with average marginal effects (AME) indicating effect differences between groups. Findings: In our sample, 49.1% worked in a unionised workplace, among which 53.8% were union members. Caseness prevalence was higher during the pandemic (25.4%) compared to pre-pandemic (18.4%). Working in a workplace with a trade union was associated with modest protection against CMD risk; (AMEpre-pandemic:0.010, 95%CI:-0.007; 0.027), (AME-pandemic:-0.002, 95%CI:-0.019; 0.016)]. Similarly, for union membership [(AMEpre-pandemic:0.016, 95%CI:-0.007; 0.039), (AMEpandemic:-0.010, 95%CI:-0.023; 0.020)]. Industry level heterogeneity exists in the relationship between union presence and membership and mental health. Interpretation: Trade union presence may have a protective effect on workers mental health in periods of crisis, such as during a pandemic. Within unionised workplaces, trade union membership further mitigated the negative effects of the pandemic on mental health. Collective negotiation within workplaces may be protective in periods of uncertainty, benefiting all workers and not only those unionised. Funding: Medical Research Council, Chief Scientist Office, European Research Council, Belgian National Scientific Fund (FNRS).
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.30.23297780v1" target="_blank">Trade unions and mental health during an employment crisis. Evidence from the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Predictive factors of non-pharmacological measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 contagion: A cross-sectional study in a large adult Spanish sample from PSY-COVID study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The objective of the study was to identify the factors that predicted the intention to carry out coronavirus infection prevention behaviors in the Spanish population during the first wave of the pandemic, a time when the vaccines were in the development phase and the containment of the pandemic. depended on non-pharmacological measures. An observational study was carried out based on an online form that contained evaluation instruments for possible predictor variables of 7 prevention behaviors, based on non-probabilistic sampling of the adult Spanish population. Self-efficacy and outcome expectations related to COVID-19 preventive behaviors, as well as the interaction of perceived severity with both personal vulnerability and actual adherence, appeared as the main predictive variables of the intention to carry out preventive behaviors against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Slight but significant differences were observed in behavioral intentions between Spanish autonomous communities, probably linked to the differences in the impact of the pandemic in each territory. It is necessary to implement consistent communications that allow for the development of appropriate expectations and encourage adherence to preventive behaviors, as well as recognizing regional disparities in preventive behaviors and their causes, to promote compliance.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.30.23297748v1" target="_blank">Predictive factors of non-pharmacological measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 contagion: A cross-sectional study in a large adult Spanish sample from PSY-COVID study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Serological markers and Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC): A rapid review of the evidence</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC) is highly heterogeneous, often debilitating, and may last for years after infection. The etiology of PCC remains uncertain. Examination of potential serological markers of PCC, accounting for clinical covariates, may yield emergent pathophysiological insights. Methods: In adherence to PRISMA guidelines, we carried out a rapid review of the literature. We searched Medline and Embase for primary observational studies that compared IgG response in individuals who experienced COVID-19 symptoms persisting ≥12 weeks post-infection with those who did not. We examined relationships between serological markers and PCC status and investigated sources of inter-study variability, such as severity of acute illness, PCC symptoms assessed, and target antigen(s). Results: Of 8,018 unique records, we identified 29 as being eligible for inclusion in synthesis. Definitions of PCC varied. In studies that reported anti-nucleocapsid (N) IgG (n=10 studies; n=989 participants in aggregate), full or partial anti-Spike IgG (i.e., the whole trimer, S1 or S2 subgroups, or receptor binding domain, n=19 studies; n=2606 participants), or neutralizing response (n=7 studies; n=1123 participants), we did not find strong evidence to support any difference in serological markers between groups with and without persisting symptoms. However, most studies did not account for severity or level of care required during acute illness, and other potential confounders. Conclusions: Pooling of studies would enable more robust exploration of clinical and serological predictors among diverse populations. However, substantial inter-study variations hamper comparability. Standardized reporting practices would improve the quality, consistency, and comprehension of study findings.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.30.23297455v1" target="_blank">Serological markers and Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC): A rapid review of the evidence</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>How feasible is it to mobilize $31 billion a year for pandemic preparedness and response? An economic growth modelling analysis</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Covid-19 has reinforced the strong health and economic case for investing in pandemic preparedness and response (PPR). The World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) propose that low- and middle-income governments and donor countries should invest $31.1 billion each year for PPR. We analyse, based on the projected economic growth of countries between 2022 and 2027, how likely it is that low- and middle-income country governments and donors can mobilize the estimated funding. Methods: We modelled trends in economic growth to project domestic health spending by low- and middle-income governments and official development assistance (ODA) by donors for years 2022 to 2027. We modelled two scenarios for countries and donors, a constant and an optimistic scenario. Under the constant scenario we assume that countries and donors continue to dedicate the same proportion of their health spending and ODA as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national income (GNI), respectively, as they did during baseline (the latest year for which data are available). In the optimistic scenario, we assume a yearly increase of 2.5% in health spending as a share of GDP for countries and ODA as a share of GNI for donors. Findings: Our analysis shows that low-income countries would need to invest on average 37%, lower-middle income countries 9%, and upper-middle income countries 1%, of their total health spending on PPR each year under the constant scenario to meet the World Bank WHO targets. Donors would need to allocate on average 8% of their total ODA across all sectors to PPR each year to meet their target. Conclusions: The World Bank WHO targets for PPR will not be met unless low- and middle-income governments and donors spend a much higher share of their funding on PPR. Even under optimistic growth scenarios, low-income and lower-middle income countries will require increased support from global health donors. The donor target cannot be met using the yearly increase in ODA under any scenario. If the country and donor targets are not met, the highest-impact health security measures need to be prioritized for funding. Alternative sources of PPR financing could include global taxation (e.g., on financial transactions, carbon, or airline flights), cancelling debt, and addressing illicit financial flows. There is also a need for continued work on estimating current PPR costs and funding requirements in order to arrive at more enduring and reliable estimates.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.29.23297740v1" target="_blank">How feasible is it to mobilize $31 billion a year for pandemic preparedness and response? An economic growth modelling analysis</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Caregivers’ Perceptions of COVID-19 Educational Disruptions 1 on Children with 2 Developmental Language Disorder and Typically Developing Peers</strong> -
<div>
Purpose: Understanding the experiences of families of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) during COVID-19 educational disruptions is essential for designing responsive supports during pandemic recovery efforts and beyond. This qualitative study describes the experiences of families of first- and second-grade children with DLD during the pandemic as compared to the experiences of families of typically developing (TD) peers. Method: A conventional content analysis approach was used to analyze caregivers’ written responses to open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of COVID-19 educational disruptions. Responses were analyzed separately by group: caregivers of children with DLD (n = 23) and caregivers of TD children (n = 22). Results: Four categories of caregiver responses were generated for each group: impacts on children, remote learning challenges, impacts on caregivers, and protective factors. For both groups, concerns about the child’s well-being and literacy learning were most prevalent, and more prevalent than concerns about oral language. Most caregivers in each group described negative impacts of educational disruptions on their child. As compared to caregivers of TD children, caregivers of children with DLD reported higher rates of remote learning challenges and more negative impacts on literacy learning, speech and/or language, and education in general. DLD caregivers also shared fewer positive comments and comments related to protective factors.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/u4fe7/" target="_blank">Caregivers’ Perceptions of COVID-19 Educational Disruptions 1 on Children with 2 Developmental Language Disorder and Typically Developing Peers</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Making ends meet: spatial and socio-economic variations during the 2020- 2021 Covid-19 Lockdown in South Africa</strong> -
<div>
To mitigate the ravages of Covid-19, governments across the world imposed limitations on human movement from early 2020 onwards. In South Africa, as elsewhere, such limitations were framed as aiming to achieve a delicate balance between saving lives and livelihoods. One way to test the impact on livelihoods is to look at various socio-economic metrics, and their spatial patterns over time. We draw on data from the UJ-HSRC national Covid-19 Democracy Survey, a weighted, nationally representative sample (n = 38 785), collected from April 2020 to July 2021. Data from four iterations of the survey are used. We assess changes in the socio- economic and psycho-social conditions experienced by the adult population in South Africa, indicative that the experience of socio-economic distress far exceeded the epidemiological impact of the pandemic. Whereas infection rates during this peak period of the pandemic reached about 5% of the population, with provincial variation between 2% and 7%, experience of hunger and/or fear affected more than one-third. We find that feelings of fear were dominant in those areas where livelihoods were most affected by the pandemic, ostensibly caused by uncertainties related to job and income losses reported by a large number of respondents in the economic hubs of the country. Regarding economic distress, results indicated decreases in the large metropolitan areas of Johannesburg and Cape Town, but increases in other parts of the country. The results are significant in providing insight to changing distress levels, which is important for planning for distress relief allocation efforts.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/r8xup/" target="_blank">Making ends meet: spatial and socio-economic variations during the 2020- 2021 Covid-19 Lockdown in South Africa</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>Lithium Long COVID Dose-finding Study</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Dietary Supplement: Lithium <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: State University of New York at Buffalo <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>Preoperative Educational Videos on Maternal Stress Whose Children Received Congenital Heart Disease Surgery: During COVID-19 Panic</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19; Educational Videos; Maternal; Uncertainty; Anxiety; Depression; Congenital Heart Disease; Children <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: Preoperative educational videos plus routine education; Other: Preoperative routine education <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Chung Shan Medical University <br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pharmacokinetics and Safety of GST-HG171 Tablets in Subjects With Impaired and Normal Renal Function</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 Pneumonia <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: GST-HG171 Tablets <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Fujian Akeylink Biotechnology 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>Pharmacokinetics and Safety of GST-HG171 Tablets in Subjects With Impaired and Normal Liver Function</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 Pneumonia <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: GST-HG171 Tablets <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Fujian Akeylink Biotechnology Co., Ltd. <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>Evaluation of Concordance Between Exhaled Air Test (eBAM-CoV) and RT-PCR to Detect SARS-CoV-2</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: SARS-CoV-2 Infection; COVID-19; Coronavirus <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: eBAM Cov Testing <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes; University of Nimes; brains’ laboratory sas, FRANCE <br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study to Safety, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of EG-COVII in Healthy Adult</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: EG-COVII <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: EyeGene 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>Pharmacokinetics and Bioequivalence of Aterixen 100 mg Tablets and Aterixen 100 mg Film-coated Tablets in Healthy Volunteers</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Viral Infection COVID-19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Aterixen <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Valenta Pharm JSC <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>Long COVID Brain Fog: Cognitive Rehabilitation Trial</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID; Brain Fog; Cognitive Impairment; Cognitive Dysfunction; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Speed of Processing Training; Behavioral: In-lab Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Training; Behavioral: In-lab Brain Health Training; Behavioral: Transfer Package; Behavioral: Follow Up Phone Calls; Behavioral: Vocational Rehabilitation; Behavioral: Peer Mentoring <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Alabama at Birmingham; National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation 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>Paradoxical Response to Chest Wall Loading in Mechanically Ventilated Patients</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: ARDS; COVID-19; Mechanical Ventilation Pressure High; Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Diagnostic Test: Manual loading of the chest wall <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: HealthPartners Institute <br/><b>Withdrawn</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 Practical RCT of TCM in the Treatment of LCOVID and Analysis of Syndrome Types and Medication Characteristics.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Drug: Traditional Chinese medicine treatment; Drug: Western medicine treatment <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Chinese University of Hong Kong <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>Immunogenicity of Concomitant Administration of COVID-19 Vaccines With Influenza Vaccines</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: COVID-19; Influenza; Vaccine Reaction; Contaminant Injected <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Biological: Omicron-containing COVID-19 vaccine; Biological: influenza vaccine <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: Catholic Kwandong University; Korea University Guro Hospital <br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Narrative Intervention for Long COVID-19 (NICO)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID; Long Covid19 <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Behavioral: Narrative Intervention for Long COVID-19 (NICO) <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Colorado, Denver <br/><b>Active, not recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Home-Based Respiratory Muscle Strength Training Program for Individuals With Post-COVID-19 Persistent Dyspnea</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Post-COVID-19 Syndrome; Dyspnea <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: Respiratory Muscle Strength Trainers <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of South Florida <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>Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training in Post-Covid Syndrome</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Cardiovascular Abnormalities; Post-COVID-19 Syndrome; Physical Exercise <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Other: Inspiratory muscle strength training <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: D’Or Institute for Research and Education <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>Inspiratory Muscle Training in People With Long COVID-19- A Pilot Investigation.</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>: Long COVID <br/><b>Interventions</b>: Device: PrO2 <br/><b>Sponsors</b>: University of Bath; Swansea 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>Superior anti-pulmonary viral potential of Natrialba sp. M6-producing surfactin and C50 carotenoid pigment with unveiling its action modes</strong> - CONCLUSION: This study declared the promising efficacy of Sur as an efficient pharmacological treatment option for these pulmonary viruses and considered as guide for further in vivo research.</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>Identifying the Potential of miRNAs in <em>Houttuynia cordata</em>-Derived Exosome-Like Nanoparticles Against Respiratory RNA Viruses</strong> - INTRODUCTION: Pathogenic respiratory RNA viruses, including influenza A virus (IAV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2, are major causes of causes of acute respiratory infection globally. Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles containing miRNAs have shown substantial cross-kingdom regulatory effects on both viral and human transcripts. Houttuynia cordata (H. cordata), a traditional Chinese medicine frequently used to treat respiratory diseases. However, the role of H….</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>Hypercapnia increases ACE2 expression and pseudo-SARS-CoV-2 entry in bronchial epithelial cells by augmenting cellular cholesterol</strong> - Patients with chronic lung disease, obesity, and other co-morbid conditions are at increased risk of severe illness and death when infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Hypercapnia, the elevation of CO(2) in blood and tissue, commonly occurs in patients with severe acute and chronic lung disease, including those with pulmonary infections, and is also associated with high mortality risk. We previously reported that hypercapnia increases viral replication 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>Clinical and Immunological Impacts of Latent Toxoplasmosis on COVID-19 Patients</strong> - Background Parasites are well-known immune-modulators. They inhibit some aspects of the immune system to ensure persistence inside the host for a long time; meanwhile, they stimulate other immune aspects to assure the survival of the host. Wide variations in the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among developed and developing countries were reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parasitic infections, including Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), were claimed to contribute to such…</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>IgG antibody levels against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in mother-child dyads after COVID-19 vaccination</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 mRNA vaccines induce high anti-SARS-CoV-2 S titers in pregnant women, which can inhibit the binding of ACE2 to protein S and are efficiently transferred to the fetus. However, there was a rapid decrease in antibody levels at 2 to 3 months post-partum, particularly in infants.</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>Neurotoxic effects of chloroquine and its main transformation product formed after chlorination</strong> - Pharmaceutical transformation products (TPs) generated during wastewater treatment have become an environmental concern. However, there is limited understanding regarding the TPs produced from pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment. In this study, chloroquine (CQ), which was extensively used for treating coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infections during the pandemic, was selected for research. We identified and fractionated the main TP produced from CQ during chlorine disinfection 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>Development of Pan-Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Agents through Allosteric Inhibition of nsp14/nsp10 Complex</strong> - SARS-CoV-2 nsp14 functions both as an exoribonuclease (ExoN) together with its critical cofactor nsp10 and as an S-adenosyl methionine-dependent (guanine-N7) methyltransferase (MTase), which makes it an attractive target for the development of pan-anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs. Herein, we screened a panel of compounds (and drugs) and found that certain compounds, especially Bi(III)-based compounds, could allosterically inhibit both MTase and ExoN activities of nsp14 potently. We further demonstrated…</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>Unraveling bioactive metabolites of mangroves as putative inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and RBD proteins: molecular dynamics and ADMET analysis</strong> - COVID-19 is a deadly pandemic caused by Corona virus leading to millions of deaths worldwide. Till today no medicine was available to cure this disease. This study selected 262 potential bioactive natural products derived from mangroves to inhibit the main protease (Mpro) and receptor-binding domain (RBD) protein of the COVID-19 virus. All the ligands were subjected to Adsorption Digestion Metabolism Excretion and Toxicity (ADMET) predictions and docking studies using AutodockVina. Among all 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>Immunogenicity of Co-Administered Omicron BA.4/BA.5 Bivalent COVID-19 and Quadrivalent Seasonal Influenza Vaccines in Israel during the 2022-2023 Winter Season</strong> - Vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza provides the best defense against morbidity and mortality. Administering both vaccines concurrently may increase vaccination rates and reduce the burden on the healthcare system. This study evaluated the immunogenicity of healthcare workers in Israel who were co-administered with the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 bivalent COVID-19 vaccine and the 2022-2023 quadrivalent influenza vaccine. SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody titers were measured via microneutralization…</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>Longitudinal Analysis of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses and Breakthrough Infection following BNT162b2/BNT162b2/BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1/ChAdOx1/BNT162b2 Vaccination: A Prospective Cohort in Naive Healthcare Workers</strong> - Assessing immune responses post-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is crucial for optimizing vaccine strategies. This prospective study aims to evaluate immune responses and breakthrough infection in 235 infection-naïve healthcare workers up to 13-15 months after initial vaccination in two vaccine groups (108 BNT/BNT/BNT and 127 ChAd/ChAd/BNT). Immune responses were assessed using the interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay, total immunoglobulin, and neutralizing activity through surrogate…</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>RSL3 Inhibits Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Replication by Activating Ferroptosis</strong> - Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly contagious coronavirus that induces diarrhea and death in neonatal piglets, resulting in substantial economic losses to the global swine industry. The mechanisms of PEDV infection and the roles of host factors are still under exploration. In this study, we used the ferroptosis pathway downstream target activator (1S,3R)-RSL3 compound as a starting point, combined with the interactions of N-acetylcysteine and deferoxamine, to elucidate 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>Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Analysis of the 3CL Protease Inhibitor Ensitrelvir in a SARS-CoV-2 Infection Mouse Model</strong> - The small-molecule antiviral drug ensitrelvir targets the 3C-like protease of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study evaluated its inhibitory effect on viral replication in a delayed-treatment mouse model and investigated the relationship between pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters and pharmacodynamic (PD) effects. SARS-CoV-2 gamma-strain-infected BALB/c mice were orally treated with various doses of ensitrelvir starting 24 h post-infection. Effectiveness was…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Viral Entry Inhibitors Protect against SARS-CoV-2-Induced Neurite Shortening in Differentiated SH-SY5Y Cells</strong> - The utility of human neuroblastoma cell lines as in vitro model to study neuro-invasiveness and neuro-virulence of SARS-CoV-2 has been demonstrated by our laboratory and others. The aim of this report is to further characterize the associated cellular responses caused by a pre-alpha SARS-CoV-2 strain on differentiated SH-SY5Y and to prevent its cytopathic effect by using a set of entry inhibitors. The susceptibility of SH-SY5Y to SARS-CoV-2 was confirmed at high multiplicity-of-infection,…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Ubiquitin-Proteasome System Facilitates Membrane Fusion and Uncoating during Coronavirus Entry</strong> - Although the involvement of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) in several coronavirus-productive infections has been reported, whether the UPS is required for infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) infections is unclear. In this study, the role of UPS in the IBV and PEDV life cycles was investigated. When the UPS was suppressed by pharmacological inhibition at the early infection stage, IBV and PEDV infectivity were severely impaired. Further study showed…</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>Extracellular Vesicles as a Translational Approach for the Treatment of COVID-19 Disease: An Updated Overview</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a global pandemic in the years 2020-2022. With a high prevalence, an easy route of transmission, and a long incubation time, SARS-CoV-2 spread quickly and affected public health and socioeconomic conditions. Several points need to be elucidated about its mechanisms of infection, in particular, its capability to evade the immune system and escape from neutralizing antibodies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are phospholipid…</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>An International Student on Lockdown During the Shooting in Lewiston, Maine</strong> - “When I saw how my American peers reacted and how I reacted, the contrast just blew my mind,” Alan Wang, a senior at Bates College, said. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/as-told-to/an-international-student-on-lockdown-during-the-shooting-in-lewiston-maine">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Some Lasting Lessons from a Dramatic Week at Trump’s Civil Trial</strong> - Among them: the former President is trying to undermine the court system, and prosecutors shouldn’t put too much faith in Michael Cohen. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/some-lasting-lessons-from-a-dramatic-week-at-trumps-civil-trial">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Speaker Who?: The Rise of a G.O.P. Nobody in Trump’s House</strong> - On the election of Mike Johnson. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/speaker-who-the-rise-of-a-gop-nobody-in-trumps-house">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Teachers Who Oppose Tests</strong> - In the nineties, New York began requiring aspiring educators to take an exam. Thousands of people later claimed that the test was racially biased. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-education/the-teachers-who-oppose-tests">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What the U.A.W. Won</strong> - In forcing the Big Three automakers to pay higher wages and make other concessions, the union demonstrated the enduring power of organized labor. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-the-uaw-won">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>From Amityville to Annabelle, the Warrens on film are a lie</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A black-and-white photograph of American ghost hunters Lorraine and Ed Warren with a cityscape in the background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j5ncRAUiihzFU848DcntYFYjpHY=/0x0:2976x2232/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72812762/1081467114.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Ghost hunters Lorraine and Ed Warren may not have been the wholesome religious examples of pop culture fame. | Russell McPhedran/Fairfax Media via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The onscreen version of exorcists Ed and Lorraine Warren is a far cry from their real-life counterparts.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P2mX7J">
The reputation of cute cuddly exorcists Ed and Lorraine Warren has grown outsized in 21st-century pop culture. That’s mainly thanks to the juggernaut <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/6/10/11874598/the-conjuring-2-review-scarier-than-original"><em>Conjuring</em> franchise,</a> loosely based on their lives, with Vera Farmiga playing Lorraine and Patrick Wilson playing Ed. Then there’s the equally popular franchise spinoff series <em>Anabelle</em>, based on the Warrens’ creepy doll, and <em>The Nun</em>, based on a fan-favorite demonic entity from the previous films. There’s also the 2009 hit horror flick <em>A Haunting in Connecticut</em> and a number of bestselling books that depict the Warrens as the first and often last line of defense against the supernatural.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f4iKzX">
Alas, none of that is real.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IZFb0n">
Not Ed and Lorraine! you might say. Not the sweet, demon-shooing soulmates who chased evil across the US throughout the ’70s and ’80s! They were pure hearts! They were in love! They cleansed the Amityville Horror!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GzT9bY">
Actually, they didn’t. Like many of the Warrens’ stories, reports of their involvement in the alleged Amityville hauntings were greatly exaggerated. In fact, while their skills at exorcism are debatable, their skill at self-promotion remains unmatched.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oFDUiu">
That leaves us with two very different portraits of the Warrens today. In one corner, you have the gentle, soulful story of the Warrens as popularized by the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/6/10/11874598/the-conjuring-2-review-scarier-than-original"><em>Conjuring</em></a> cinematic universe. In popular culture, the Warrens are lovable, wise, and courageous, the type of happily married couple anyone would want to be friends with.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p9RSZo">
In the other corner, you have the portrait of the Warrens as championed by skeptics and other doubters: a pair of conniving, reality-distorting, shamelessly grandiose self-promoters and sham psychics running a long-term con job. The recently released Netflix documentary <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28810493/"><em>The Devil on Trial</em></a> takes up this point of view. While the narrative remains fully credulous about all things demonic, the Warrens are ultimately depicted as swindlers who preyed on vulnerable families in order to sell their own story for fame and fortune.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3OpDAw">
Not only that, but even after his death in 2006, Ed Warren <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/war-conjuring-disturbing-claims-behind-a-billion-dollar-franchise-1064364/">stands accused</a> of grooming and entering into a sexual relationship with an underaged girl, allegedly with his wife’s full awareness and complicity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O6LyEB">
So who were the Warrens and how did we come to know them so well and not at all?
</p>
<h3 id="7GR3Ce">
The Warrens had a hand in some of the most famous alleged supernatural events of the 20th century (emphasis on “alleged”)
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qYHnEt">
Ed and Lorraine Warren were both raised in the Catholic church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. By the time they met as teenagers in 1944, she had already fully embraced her identity as a purported psychic medium, and he had gained a deep interest in the paranormal after having grown up in a house he <a href="https://www.courant.com/2021/06/02/the-true-story-of-connecticut-paranormal-investigators-ed-and-lorraine-warren-who-are-behind-the-conjuring-3-and-many-other-popular-horror-films/">reportedly</a> believed was haunted. After fighting in World War II, Ed studied art in college, but wound up using his talent to fuel his rapidly deepening paranormal interests instead. Together with Lorraine, he would show up at an allegedly haunted house, paint a picture of the house, and then gift the artwork to the homeowners as a pretext to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/obituaries/lorraine-warren-dead.html">negotiate</a> his way inside. Once they’d been welcomed in, Lorraine would often commune with the spirits, and the couple’s reputations as demonologists and ghost hunters began to grow.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aLlBek">
In 1952, the Warrens created the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), which still exists today. (The New England Skeptical Society, formed in 1996, would <a href="https://theness.com/index.php/hunting-the-ghost-hunters/">become</a> one of the Warrens’ staunchest critics.) The emphasis on research helped the Warrens gain credibility in an era when interest in all things occult was growing rapidly. As their son-in-law Tony Spera <a href="https://tonyspera.com/about/">writes</a> on his website, “If you had nobody that would listen or help, you turned to the Warrens.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A man holds a crucifix toward the camera while four people cower behind him." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3LrqWtVZbWEn1CvNWT6U9aTT4vs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25045815/b565a194_1f6f_4e22_9bd3_3a301b1b9fce.jpeg"/> <cite>Warner Bros.</cite>
<figcaption>
Vera Farmiga as Lorraine Warren and Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren in <em>The Conjuring</em> (2013).
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f6avIP">
Among the reported 10,000 alleged paranormal cases the Warrens investigated over their many decades of activity were a handful that made them famous — in no small part because they made sure to capitalize on their involvement afterward through book deals and publicity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jCaSrg">
For instance, although the Warrens were among many paranormal enthusiasts who took part in investigating the Amityville incident, they were among the most celebrated, and their participation regularly features in the prevailing pop culture narrative around it. In case you need a refresher: In 1974, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/22/the-amityville-horror-house-is-for-sale-five-bedrooms-3-5-bathrooms-and-one-bloody-history/">famously creepy</a> farmhouse in Amityville, Long Island, saw a brutal family annihilation when a young man living there, Ronnie DeFeo, murdered his parents and four siblings. Despite popular myth, DeFeo never claimed to be possessed though he did unsuccessfully plead insanity at his trial. Two years later, the Lutz family bought the (dramatically discounted) house, lived in it for a grand total of 28 days, and then abruptly left, claiming the place was the site of a malevolent haunting. One night during the frenzied aftermath of their exit, the Warrens visited the site and took a series of time-lapse photos of the scene, including one famous, very obviously fake <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Ghosts/comments/v1oswl/has_this_image_taken_inside_of_the_amityville/">photo</a> of, supposedly, a ghost of one of the murdered DeFeo children. (The man seen in the photo is generally believed to be Paul Bartz, an assistant of the Warrens; for a thorough debunking, see this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgS-NWfJtZc">detailed YouTube video</a> by a skeptic.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2cUPqJ">
The twist: The Lutzes <a href="https://amityvillemurders.com/the-haunting/lutz-vs-weber.html">made it all up</a> to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/09/16/the-calamityville-horror/3daedbf6-10e5-46cd-945c-faf52dc4db17/">get rich</a>. The alleged Amityville haunting has been repeatedly debunked and widely accepted as a hoax by just about everyone who attended the incident except the Lutzes and the Warrens, who <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/shock-docs-lorraine-warren-inside-amityville-horror-house-exclusive-video/">insisted</a> over <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/movie-talk/ghost-hunter-lorraine-warren-tells-us-one-haunted-050927065.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACWB6H0tZFfWJtIlU5WQ9Uv3nZ-AhZeRKsnN0hDBzkmjO1ZPPV0EOdTyMIVB4Kh3IDyLFUseSh0PU9gFq1abKhN83-k0T0OhGtdXHLR9o7PYL-dZyfp-itOxJ_zgzimFwmBwnTZag3mX1a_DBexaD00ExdgHDPbtnusz0A3nqnB1">the years</a> that Amityville was the most haunted location they’d ever visited. They profited considerably from their devotion to the narrative; they served as story <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-aug-26-me-warren26-story.html">consultants</a> on 1982’s <em>The Amityville Horror 2</em> (a prequel about the DeFeo murders) and of course on <em>The Conjuring 2</em>, which references their Amityville exploration. Most significantly, the notoriety of Amityville helped boost their visibility and made them the go-to experts for all things paranormal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nJRbl0">
Several other purported hauntings and exorcisms became indelibly associated with the Warrens. The 1991 made-for-TV film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102007/"><em>The Haunted</em></a>, in which they feature as characters, adapts their version of the <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/life/2022/10/the-haunting-in-pennsylvania-the-smurls-the-warrens-and-pittstowns-very-own-amityville-horror.html">alleged paranormal case of the Smurl family</a>. Their bestselling 1992 book <em>In a Dark Place</em>, co-written with author Ray Garton, describes their investigation into the alleged event that became the basis for the 2009 horror film <em>The Haunting in Connecticut</em>. In that incident, the focal family, the Snedekers, claimed to be seeing the ghosts of people whose bodies had formerly passed through their home, which had once been a mortuary. Eventually this evolved into demonic possession. However, according to a highly cynical interview Garton reportedly did with <em>Horror Bound</em> magazine, which was later <a href="https://www.psican.org/index.php/pop-culture/757-andrea-perron-interview?start=4">republished</a> on the Paranormal Studies &amp; Inquiry Canada website, the Warrens not only knew the whole thing was likely a hoax, but told Garton to invent whatever details he liked to sell the story:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CPP9Cn">
As I gathered all the necessary information for the book, I found that the accounts of the individual Snedekers didn’t quite mesh. They just couldn’t keep their stories straight.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0fAL16">
I went to Ed with this problem. “Oh, they’re crazy,” he said. “Everybody who comes to us is crazy. Otherwise why would they come to us? You’ve got some of the story – just use what works and make the rest up. And make it scary. You write scary books, right? That’s why we hired you. So just make it up and make it scary.”
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pXtJ6i">
Garton further insinuates in that interview that the Warrens switched their specialty from ghosts to demons purely because of the popularity of <em>The Exorcist</em>:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7IfB96">
Back when I was reading about the Warrens, they were ghost hunters. Every house they investigated had at least one ghost, and there was always a spooky story behind it. But after <em>The Exorcist</em> was so wildly popular, first as a novel and then as a movie, Ed and Lorraine stopped encountering ghosts and began to uncover demon infestations. And it seems that wherever they went, people were being sexually molested by demons. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VNTnNc">
Then there’s the infamous “devil made me do it” trial, the subject of the new Netflix documentary and the basis for the third <em>Conjuring</em> movie (actually titled: <em>The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It</em>), in which the Warrens participated in the alleged 1980 exorcism of a young boy named David Glatzel. During the event, which took place during the early years of <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained">Satanic Panic</a>, a participant named Arne Johnson, the boyfriend of Glatzel’s older sister, challenged the demon to enter him — after which he allegedly became possessed and subsequently shot and killed his landlord, Alan Bono. In the following murder trial, the defense tried to claim demonic possession. The court refused to allow the defense, however, and Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter. The Warrens walked away from it all with another bestselling book: 1983’s <em>The Devil in Connecticut</em>.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A grainy snapshot of an older couple and a young teen boy smiling for the camera in a wood-paneled room. The woman is holding a small black dog that is snarling at something off-camera." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Jfm-WZ_4ETB2CrRBMES4Df9bBfo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25045821/The_Devil_on_Trial_00_55_47_12.png"/> <cite>Netflix</cite>
<figcaption>
The Warrens with David Glatzel.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ct9nY1">
This is all head-turning, to be sure, but the Glatzel family has subsequently been deeply divided over the events. David, who was 11 at the time, maintains that he was really possessed, and his older sister married Johnson and stayed with him until <a href="https://readysteadycut.com/2023/10/17/the-death-of-debbie-glatzel-explained/">her death</a> in 2021. Meanwhile, his older brother, Carl Glatzel, has consistently claimed over the years that the family faked and exaggerated incidents while the Warrens incited and encouraged them in pursuit of fame and wealth. In 2007, <a href="https://www.religionnewsblog.com/19687/devil-in-connecticut">he sued</a> the Warrens, claiming the book was made of “complete lies” and that the Warrens “concocted a phony story about demons in an attempt to get rich and famous at our expense.” The suit, which was ultimately <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-0d4fc4a1f69b1f7211b3c0c1d2fd0029">dismissed</a>, <a href="https://casetext.com/case/glatzel-v-brittle-no-dbcv-08-4008461-s-oct">claimed</a> that the Warrens depicted his real-life skepticism as antagonism brought on by Carl’s own demonic possession, a characterization that has followed him around ever since. In the new Netflix documentary, he blames them for tearing his family apart.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PmgL3P">
And on it goes. <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ed-lorraine-warren-controversies/christopher-shultz">Every major incident</a> the Warrens have been involved with over the years has ultimately been thoroughly debunked, assuming supporting evidence was ever provided to begin with. In several cases, the Warrens claimed to have video or photographic evidence that never materialized. In one 1990 incident, Ed Warren <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmnVuREGsPo">described</a> “film I took” of a female spirit supposedly haunting a cemetery. The film was never made public, and the spirit allegedly turned out to be the work of a woman named Judith Penney, who was <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/war-conjuring-disturbing-claims-behind-a-billion-dollar-franchise-1064364/">reportedly</a> wearing a white bedsheet over her head.
</p>
<h3 id="QYzTei">
Judith Penney’s alleged relationship with Ed Warren underscores that the troubling difference between reality and fantasy was the real inescapable horror all along
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K3PQwE">
The counter-argument to all of this essentially goes like this: The Warrens did profit from books and public appearances, yes, but they never charged for investigating cases, they gave some of the profits of their books to the families impacted by the cases, and they didn’t make that much money. They seemed to believe in what they were doing, even if they exaggerated a little. Plus, even the skeptics who investigated them <a href="https://theness.com/index.php/hunting-the-ghost-hunters/">commented</a> on how nice they both were. Surely such nice people can’t be scammers, right?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8jh6OU">
Yet underlying all of this debate, and undermining all of the Warrens’ supporters, is a much darker cynicism surrounding who the Warrens were — particularly the difference between their public and private faces.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Prkfvf">
Judith Penney, who is sometimes described as Ed’s “assistant” or his “liaison,” has alleged that beginning in the early ’60s, Ed Warren, then in his 30s, began grooming her. In 1963, when she was 15, Penney claimed Warren moved her into the Warrens’ house in Bridgeport and commenced a full-blown sexual affair, with Lorraine’s full consent, that lasted until just a few years before Ed’s death in 2006.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZvRdt8">
Penney’s alleged relationship with Warren came to light in 2017 via <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/war-conjuring-disturbing-claims-behind-a-billion-dollar-franchise-1064364/">the Hollywood Reporter</a>, which was critical of both the Warrens and the <em>Conjuring</em> franchise for continuing to valorize the Warrens after the allegations of Ed Warren’s predatory behavior first came to light in 2014. Both Warner Bros. and the Warren family have painted Penney as a vulnerable elderly woman being manipulated by bad actors into fabricating claims as part of lawsuits filed by various greedy parties against the <em>Conjuring</em> franchise. (Lorraine never commented on the allegations and passed away in 2019.) However, there seems to be some proof: Penney was reportedly arrested for delinquency because she moved in with Warren (though it seems no investigation into Warren for sexual predation was initiated), and her presence in the house gets a nod in a 1980 book about the Warrens, <em>The Demonologist</em>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tSxLOi">
The alleged grooming lies at the heart of the conflict between the Warrens on paper and the Warrens in pop culture: The billion-dollar <em>Conjuring</em> franchise relies on the public’s affection for the Warrens as characters, yet that affinity stems from a belief in their real-life purity and wholesome sincerity that gets harder to sustain as we learn more about them. For instance, Lorraine Warren’s presentation as a chaste, deeply devout Catholic often catalyzes the cinematic rousting of the demonic on screen; yet in reality, Penney alleged, Lorraine was not only fully complicit in Ed’s abuse of her, but coldly pressured her into getting an abortion. Further, Penney alleged, Ed was both physically and verbally abusive to Lorraine throughout the marriage. “If you know any part of the truth, portraying them as heroes is reprehensible,” wrote feminist author Jude Doyle in his <a href="https://judedoyle.medium.com/lets-kill-off-the-conjuring-a0b9eaa38e0e">succinct takedown</a> of the pair in 2021.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9c2YQs">
In other words, the public’s love for the fictional Warrens fuels growing interest and awareness in the real Warrens — which then, ironically, makes interest and awareness in the fictional Warrens harder to sustain. Not that Warner Bros. isn’t trying. Though the <em>Conjuring</em> films have increasingly leaned away from relying too heavily on the Warrens as central figures — witness spinoffs from <em>The Nun</em> to <em>Annabelle</em> — they still typically rely on the Warrens as spiritual guideposts. As Bethy Squires <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2023/09/the-conjuring-and-nun-ii-demons-ranked.html">recently wrote</a> for Vulture, “All this weight on the suspension of disbelief makes The Conjuring–verse one of the most politically and metatextually rich franchises in film history. It has the vibe of religious propaganda but the craven commercialism of Warner Bros. Discovery. Absolutely fascinating.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A large doll with heavy makeup and two pigtails." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hF-CZ4XGMNMoYOAtzuq2UfIStF8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25045825/annabelle.jpeg"/> <cite>Warner Bros.</cite>
<figcaption>
The cinematic Annabelle doll, modeled after the one infamously stored in the Warrens’ <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.ctinsider.com/living/article/Ed-Lorraine-Warren-Occult-Museum-Annabelle-CT-17430532.php" target="_blank">museum of evil artifacts</a>.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pNpBzG">
The current Warren legacy, primarily carried forward by their son-in-law Spera, also goes a step beyond religiosity. On his website, in his summary of the Warrens’ appeal, he writes, “In a world that scoffs at ghosts and laughs at the unusual, the Warrens deliver a contrary message. That message is this: The fairy tale is true. The devil exists. God exists.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q5i5X5">
The key phrase here isn’t about the devil or God, but rather the fairy tale. Even as Spera purports to usher fans into a world of supernatural terror, he knows that all of this is heightened, romanticized lore — not just folklore, but the story of the Warrens themselves as a couple of truth-seeking soulmates. The “fairy tale” here isn’t just that you can be purged of your mental illnesses with a mere sprinkling of holy water and some Latin, but that in a world full of doubters, you, too, might possibly find a higher calling and purpose alongside your spiritual other half.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qNNjry">
This is all part of the lie the Warrens were so adept at selling. Whether you believe Penney’s version of the truth or not, and whether you believe in the Warrens’ sincerity or not, the preponderance of evidence suggests that the Warrens repeatedly fabricated claims of the paranormal where no evidence could ever be substantiated. (In case it needs stating, demons aren’t real.) Then they used those claims to gain fame and fortune.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mDabj6">
And sure, perhaps they were doing it all as part of a glorified — and lucrative — religious fixation, spiritual roleplay with relatively harmless intentions. Yet as Judith Penney’s claims and the <em>Devil on Trial</em> documentary make clear, there are real people on the other side of those “harmless” intentions who are still troubled decades later by the chaos the Warrens fomented. Carl Glatzel, for instance, claims the Warrens made him the demon-possessed villain of their narrative of the Glatzel-Johnson incident simply because he tried to insist that the whole thing was a hoax — that is, “simply because I had a sane voice and knew the story was false since the beginning.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QXTYEq">
Now, with pop culture happily passing along the myth of the Warrens, it gets harder and harder to speak the truth amid the lies.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Why Norway — the poster child for electric cars — is having second thoughts</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A lone Tesla is seen at a large charging station in a mountainous area." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IuXIPRksaSUEyjQw419fcDlXFlY=/671x0:6076x4054/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72812627/GettyImages_1266808482.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A Tesla charging station in Skei, Norway. The country has the world’s highest rate of electric car adoption. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Electric cars are crucial, but not enough to solve climate change. We can’t let them crowd out car-free transit options.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9KgggJ">
OSLO, Norway — With motor vehicles generating <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-transport">nearly a 10th</a> of global CO2 emissions, governments and environmentalists around the world are scrambling to mitigate the damage. In wealthy countries, strategies often revolve around electrifying cars — and for good reason, many are looking to Norway for inspiration.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cqO6m0">
Over the last decade, Norway has emerged as the world’s undisputed leader in <a href="https://www.vox.com/electric-vehicles">electric vehicle</a> adoption. With generous government incentives available, <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2023/10/04/norways-evs-at-a-record-93-share/">87 percent</a> of the country’s new car sales are now fully electric, a share that dwarfs that of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/european-union">European Union</a> (<a href="https://alternative-fuels-observatory.ec.europa.eu/general-information/news/european-ev-market-analysis-strong-growth-continues-plug-vehicle#:~:text=Last%20month's%20plugin%20vehicle%20share,for%20BEVs%20alone)%20as%20well.">13 percent</a>) and the United States (<a href="https://electrek.co/2023/06/23/car-wars-ford-gm-stellantis-gain-most-us-ev-market-share/#:~:text=Electric%20vehicle%20sales%20broke%20another,expected%20to%20accelerate%20from%20here.">7 percent</a>). Norway’s muscular EV push has garnered headlines in outlets like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/business/energy-environment/norway-electric-vehicles.html">the New York Times</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/22/how-do-we-make-the-move-to-electric-cars-happen-ask-norway">the Guardian</a> while drawing praise from the <a href="https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/how-did-norway-go-electric">Environmental Defense Fund</a>, the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/norway-electric-vehicle-energy-transport/">World Economic Forum</a>, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “I’d like to thank the people of Norway again for their incredible support of electric vehicles,” he <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1609312363530031107?lang=en">tweeted</a> last December. “Norway rocks!!”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bAgKrg">
I’ve been writing about transportation for the better part of a decade, so all that fawning international attention piqued my curiosity. Does Norway offer a climate strategy that other countries could copy chapter and verse? Or has the hype outpaced the reality?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hqrE0v">
So I flew across the Atlantic to see what the fuss was about. I discovered a Norwegian EV bonanza that has indeed reduced emissions — but at the expense of compromising vital societal goals. Eye-popping EV subsidies have flowed largely to the affluent, contributing to the gap between rich and poor in a country proud of its <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/norway-best-country-to-live_n_5a6059c7e4b046f0811d0235">egalitarian social policies</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eOg957">
Worse, the EV boom has hobbled Norwegian cities’ efforts to untether themselves from the automobile and enable residents to instead travel by transit or bicycle, decisions that do more to reduce emissions, enhance road safety, and enliven urban life than swapping a gas-powered car for an electric one.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="a96PrF">
Despite the hosannas from abroad, Norway’s government has begun to unwind some of its electrification subsidies in order to mitigate the downsides of no-holds-barred EV promotion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k4TWXe">
“Countries should introduce EV subsidies in a way that doesn’t widen inequality or stimulate car use at the expense of other transport modes,” Bjørne Grimsrud, director of the transportation research center TØI, told me over coffee in Oslo. “But that’s what ended up happening here in Norway.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8ECHEG">
And it could happen in other countries, too, including in the United States, where transportation is the single <a href="https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/carbon-pollution-transportation">largest source of greenhouse gas emissions</a>. The federal government now <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/7/28/23281757/whats-in-climate-bill-inflation-reduction-act">offers tantalizing rebates</a> to Americans in the market for an electric car, but nothing at all for more climate-friendly vehicles like e-bikes or golf carts (nor a financial lifeline for <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23653855/covid-transit-fares-buses-subways-crisis">beleaguered public subway and bus systems</a>).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WORwv1">
Ending the sales of gas-powered cars, as Norway is close to doing, is an essential step toward addressing climate change. But <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-09-electric-vehicles-wont-climate.html">a 2020 study</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-00921-7">found</a> that even the most optimistic forecasts for global EV adoption would not prevent a potentially catastrophic 2 degree Celsius rise in global temperatures. Reducing driving — not just gas-powered driving — is crucial.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xhuU92">
As the world’s EV trendsetter, Norway’s experience offers a bevy of lessons for other nations seeking to decarbonize transportation. But some of those lessons are cautionary.
</p>
<h3 id="MWqvDL">
How Norway fell in love with the electric car
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EhEyHE">
At first glance, Norway’s EV embrace might seem odd. The country lacks a domestic auto industry and its <a href="https://wits.worldbank.org/CountrySnapshot/en/NOR/textview">dominant export</a> is, of all things, fossil fuels. Nevertheless, Norway’s unique geography and identity helped put it at the vanguard of car electrification.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5bCkBB">
Historically, Norway has been mostly rural; as recently as 1960, <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=NO">half the nation’s population</a> resided in the countryside. But as the postwar economy <a href="https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-economic-history-of-norway/#:~:text=In%201958%20the%20country%20also,era%20of%20the%20Norwegian%20economy.">boomed</a>, Norwegians migrated to cities, and especially to their fast-growing, sprawling suburbs (much as Americans did at the time). They also fell hard for the automobile.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HB0XUp">
“The car was this genius idea for Norwegians,” Ulrik Eriksen, author of the book <a href="https://respublica.no/produkter/et-land-pa-fire-hjul-pocketutgave/"><em>A Country on Four Wheels</em></a>, told me over dinner in Oslo, after stashing his cargo e-bike. “Because there is plenty of land, cars opened up urban space for people to live in, letting more of them get sizable single-family homes.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nhQCgo">
Norway embarked on a road-building binge, constructing bridges over fjords and boring tunnels through mountains to connect downtowns with new neighborhoods on the urban fringe. As Norwegian cities expanded, public transit took a back seat. Bergen, for instance, shuttered its extensive tramway service in the 1960s, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10153833913929582">dumping</a> some of the trams into the North Sea.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A strip of land with houses and roads surrounded by ocean and mountains." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n5-ZTxt4J9ASMdcYWZyVEgej3iY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25045766/GettyImages_1753190518.jpg"/> <cite>Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Reine, a village in the Lofoten, an archipelago in northern Norway connected to the country’s mainland through road bridges.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kKLJVy">
Those decisions cast a long shadow: Norway still has <a href="https://www.odyssee-mure.eu/publications/efficiency-by-sector/transport/public-transport.html">one of Europe’s lowest rates</a> of public transportation usage and a higher <a href="https://www.ssb.no/en/transport-og-reiseliv/landtransport/statistikk/bilparken">car ownership rate</a> than Denmark and Sweden, its <a href="https://www.acea.auto/figure/motorisation-rates-in-the-eu-by-country-and-vehicle-type/#:~:text=The%20European%20Union%20counts%20567,Romania%20the%20lowest%20(396).">Scandinavian</a> neighbors. “Most Norwegian cities now have more of a car-centric, American approach toward transportation than a multi-modal, European one,” Eriksen said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NDodAs">
Norway’s city residents often own an automobile even though they seldom use it, Oslo-based urban planner Anine Hartmann told me. “Norwegians identify as coming from the place where their parents or grandparents come from,” she said. “Many people have a car to return to that place or simply to visit a cabin in the country.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NNyRzB">
By the 1990s, the automobile was Norway’s indispensable vehicle. It was then that Norwegian entrepreneurs launched two early electric car startups, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=354034161752740">Buddy</a> and <a href="https://www.lanemotormuseum.org/collection/cars/item/think-city-2011/">Think</a>. Though their models were clunky and inefficient by today’s standards, the companies spurred excitement that Norway could become a global hub of EV production. Seeking to give the carmakers a tailwind, the Norwegian government exempted EVs from the country’s steep taxes on car purchases, which today add <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-26/norway-pulls-the-plug-on-ev-tax-incentives-and-subsidies">an average of $27,000</a> to each sale. Even better, EV owners — who at the time were few and far between — <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/03/11/288611696/norway-takes-the-lead-in-electric-cars-with-generous-subsidies">would not pay</a> for tolls, parking, or ferries (over all those fjords) anywhere in the country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8PZzgN">
Norway’s dreams of becoming a global hub of EV manufacturing quickly fizzled when the companies ran into financial problems. (This summer, I spotted a tiny, aged Buddy squeezed into an Oslo parking spot, dwarfed by SUVs on either side.) But the incentives remained on the books; since few people were buying EVs, their cost was negligible.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A small, two-door red car parallel parked with a large SUV in front" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/c5jdTjx_9Vkor58EMxwEORjOqSY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25045640/signal_2023_10_30_144311_002.jpeg"/> <cite>David Zipper for Vox</cite>
<figcaption>
An old Buddy car (right) parked in Oslo.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DAT91A">
That changed as the global EV market improved in the mid-2010s, with carmakers like Tesla offering stylish, high-performance models that attracted more buyers. Norway’s EV policies were now championed as a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/17/business/international/norway-is-global-model-for-encouraging-sales-of-electric-cars.html">centerpiece</a> of the national effort to slow climate change in an economy whose electricity is already clean, produced largely from hydropower. “We want people to buy electric cars,” Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg <a href="https://www.motor.no/bilavgifter-elbil/a-kjope-elbil-er-det-viktigste-du-kan-gjore-for-a-fa-ned-klimautslippene/116270">said</a> in 2019. “It is the most important thing you can do personally and privately to help reduce climate emissions.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N2onee">
As EV models improved, Norwegians began to realize how valuable the cost savings from government incentives could be, particularly for urban commuters. After an already discounted EV purchase, owners’ ongoing expenses were minimal because Norwegian electricity is inexpensive (due to abundant hydropower), and EVs were exempt from tolls, parking, and ferries. EV owners were even <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6914728">invited to drive in bus-only lanes</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0fr6ws">
Hundreds of thousands of Norwegians responded to the government’s invitation to buy an EV, seemingly saving money and the planet in one fell swoop. But not every EV purchase replaced a gas guzzler; Grimsrud noted that the Norwegians owned <a href="https://robbieandrew.github.io/EV/img/carsperperson.svg">10 percent more cars per capita</a> at the end of the 2010s than they did at the decade’s outset, in large part due to the EV incentives. “The families who could afford a second or third car ran off to the shop and bought one,” he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P9Ea8i">
Norway’s incentives have unquestionably reshaped the country’s car market and reduced carbon emissions. EVs’ share of new vehicle sales surged from <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/03/11/288611696/norway-takes-the-lead-in-electric-cars-with-generous-subsidies">1 percent in 2014</a> to <a href="https://insideevs.com/news/675163/norway-plugin-car-sales-june2023/#:~:text=New%20passenger%20plug%2Din%20car,more%20substantial%20growth%20over%202022">83 percent today</a>. Around <a href="https://elbil.no/om-elbil/elbilstatistikk/elbilbestand/">one in four</a> cars on Norwegian roads is now electric, and the country’s surface transportation emissions <a href="https://miljostatus.miljodirektoratet.no/tema/klima/norske-utslipp-av-klimagasser/klimagassutslipp-fra-transport/">fell 8.3 percent</a> between 2014 and 2023.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GNItm9">
The national government seems ready to declare victory. “When it comes to electrical vehicles, I’m quite proud,” Cecilie Knibe Kroglund, Norway’s state secretary for transportation, told me at the Oslo headquarters of the Ministry of Transport. “My main lesson is that incentives work. We have succeeded at a large scale.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iGK320">
But not everyone shares her enthusiasm. Although the EV rush has reduced tailpipe emissions, it has also entrenched car dependence, which inflicts other kinds of damage. “Climate change gave Norway an opportunity to change how we travel,” said Eriksen. “I worry we had this once-in-a-generation chance to fix our transportation network, and we blew it.”
</p>
<h3 id="7b7DrD">
EV subsidies fueled car sales, but Norway’s cities want fewer cars
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T0k6yC">
As electric car sales picked up throughout the 2010s, Norway placed few constraints on its EV incentives. Wealthy Norwegians could buy as many high-end EVs as they liked, receiving a full package of subsidies on each one. Luxury carmakers like <a href="https://www.porsche.com/uk/aboutporsche/e-performance/magazine/taycan-norway/#:~:text=Drivers%20who%20opt%20for%20electric,case%20with%20fossil%2Dfueled%20cars.%22">Porsche</a> advertised Norway’s promotions in their marketing materials.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ofyRSa">
Although the EV policies were fueling a car-buying frenzy for affluent residents, they offered little to those of limited means. Many low-income Norwegians do not own a car: In Bergen, for instance, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692322001983#bb0440">67 percent of households in the lowest income quartile</a> go without one. One recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2022.103489">study</a> found the likelihood that a Norwegian household would purchase an EV rose 26 percent with each 100,000 Norwegian Krones (around $11,000) in annual income, suggesting that electrification subsidies — which ballooned to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-26/norway-pulls-the-plug-on-ev-tax-incentives-and-subsidies">$4 billion in 2022</a>, equivalent to 2 percent of the national budget — have redistributed resources toward the rich.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sKNpkV">
Meanwhile, EV incentives have undermined the shift away from automobiles that Norwegian city officials, like <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/european-cities-look-to-phase-out-cars-in-transportation-revolution-213150583.html">their counterparts throughout Europe</a>, are increasingly encouraging. “Everyone agrees that 100 percent of cars should be electric. That’s not the question,” Tiina Ruohonen, a climate advisor to the mayor of Oslo, told me. “The real question is whether you really need to own a car in Oslo.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e1Ogmm">
Over the last decade, Oslo has joined Bergen, Trondheim, and Stavanger (Norway’s four largest cities) in <a href="https://www.oecd.org/climate-action/ipac/practices/norway-s-zero-growth-goal-for-major-urban-areas-3cc592d3/">committing</a> to meet all future trip growth through transit, biking, and walking — not cars. Seeking to reduce driving, Oslo has <a href="https://www.nrk.no/osloogviken/byradet-i-oslo-har-fjernet-4221-parkeringsplasser-for-a-bygge-sykkelveier-1.16438843#:~:text=Byr%C3%A5det%20i%20Oslo%20har%20fjernet%204221%20parkeringsplasser%20i%20Oslo%20til,vil%205000%20plasser%20v%C3%A6re%20borte.&amp;text=Mange%20mener%20at%20Oslo%20ikke,rundt%20i%20byen%20p%C3%A5%20tohjuling">removed over 4,000 parking spots</a> since 2016 while also building bike lanes, <a href="https://thecityfix.com/blog/how-oslo-achieved-zero-pedestrian-and-bicycle-fatalities-and-how-others-can-apply-what-worked/">widening</a> sidewalks, and adjusting traffic patterns to reduce through traffic. Those efforts helped the city achieve a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/how-helsinki-and-oslo-cut-pedestrian-deaths-to-zero">remarkable milestone</a> in 2019: For a full year, not a single pedestrian or cyclist was killed in a crash.
</p>
<div class="c-float-left">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A narrow, curving street in an urban area with pedestrians and a cyclist visible, but no cars." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3cekv1jDMfJ_PfzJl5W-842aII8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25045774/IMG_4103.jpg"/> <cite>David Zipper for Vox</cite>
<figcaption>
A street in Oslo’s city center.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ams1Qr">
Walking and biking through Oslo helped me understand how it became so safe. The few motor vehicles I encountered within the city center moved carefully through streets thronged with pedestrians (some blocks are entirely car-free). Traffic typically moved at the speed of my e-bike; my one moment of anxiety came when a passing streetcar startled me as I gazed at Oslo’s picturesque harbor.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RYfhwD">
Many local leaders recognize that reducing car dependence will enhance urban life. “I am certain that when people imagine their ideal city, it would not be a dream of polluted air, cars jammed in endless traffic, or streets filled up with parked cars,” Hanne Marcussen, Oslo’s former vice mayor of urban development, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90294948/what-happened-when-oslo-decided-to-make-its-downtown-basically-car-free">told Fast Company</a> in 2019.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hyzGe9">
But there are inherent conflicts between cities’ efforts to limit driving and the Norwegian government’s promotion of EVs. Oslo’s elimination of street parking and creation of pedestrian-only streets, for instance, nudge Norwegians away from driving, but they also diminish EVs’ usefulness.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fcRNy0">
“The way to get people to buy EVs is to make them easy and cheap to use,” said Eriksen. “But cities don’t want driving cars to be easy and cheap.” A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692322001983">recent study</a> of EV subsidies in Bergen underscores those tensions, finding that promoting EV adoption hampers cities’ ability to build dense neighborhoods that shorten trips and strengthen transit.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HI0yLT">
The effect of EV adoption on public transportation has been a particular concern for Norway’s cities because boosting transit ridership has been a linchpin of local mobility strategies. Bergen, for instance, <a href="https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/bergen-light-rail/#:~:text=A%20light%20rail%20system%20was,%2Fh%20and%2030km%2Fh.">opened its first light rail line</a> in 2010, and Trondheim <a href="https://www.trondelagfylke.no/nyhetsarkiv/metrobuss-og-nytt-kollektivsystem-i-trondheim/">overhauled its bus fleet</a> in 2019. But because generous EV incentives make driving cheaper, they make public transportation relatively less cost-competitive.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wbEetw">
Worse, EV promotions have shrunk the funding available to invest in transit improvements because Norwegian public transportation budgets are <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&amp;type=pdf&amp;doi=0777b852f63e54fead099f7b85016fa58c5fca4c">partly funded</a> through the road tolls that the national government exempted EV owners from paying. As more Norwegians purchased EVs, transit revenue fell, <a href="https://www.nrk.no/osloogviken/elbiler-gir-milliardsvikt-i-bompengeinntektene-1.14553461">threatening major investments</a> like a <a href="https://www.lifeinnorway.net/problems-mounting-for-oslo-t-bane-extension-to-fornebu/">new metro line</a> in Oslo. “One of my primary concerns is that because we are subsidizing EVs through the cheaper toll roads, we don’t have the money to pay for big transit infrastructure projects,” said Eivind Trædal, an Oslo city councilmember who until a few weeks ago led the city’s council’s environment and transportation committee.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rsFHdT">
National officials, for their part, have stuck to pro-EV messaging and refrained from discouraging driving. Despite its generous incentives for electric cars, the Norwegian government provides no discounts for those buying e-bikes or e-cargo bikes (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oslo-electric-bike-offer-2017-2#:~:text=Oslo%20is%20giving%20residents%20%241%2C200%20to%20buy%20electric%20bikes&amp;text=The%20grants%20are%20designed%20to,the%20trunk%20of%20a%20car.">Oslo</a> and <a href="https://www.bergen.kommune.no/innbyggerhjelpen/vann-vei-og-trafikk/kjoretoy/sykkel/tilskudd-til-kjop-av-elsykler-og-el-lastesykler-for-privatpersoner-varen-2023">Bergen</a> offer limited programs for residents). The country’s current 12-year <a href="https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/national-transport-plan-2022-2033/id2863430/?ch=6">National Transport Plan</a> includes initiatives to catalyze the adoption of zero-emissions vehicles, but none to reduce car trips.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BTYDFY">
Trædal said that politics led the Norwegian government to downplay reducing transportation emissions through transit, biking, and walking — all of which produce<a href="https://t.co/XvYNN8y7KQ"> significantly fewer emissions</a> than driving an EV. “Nobody’s mad about getting a cheaper new car, right?” he shrugged. “It’s politically easier to just give them car subsidies.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ggxD1c">
When I asked Kroglund, the country’s transportation state secretary, if Norway’s government seeks to reduce total kilometers driven, she said it does not. “We don’t have a specific goal [to reduce driving],” she told me. “Of course, we would like to get more people on public transportation and bikes. But that is more something that cities work on.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ye0fmR">
But national policy decisions inevitably affect local transportation efforts — and sometimes undermine them. Last October, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration opened <a href="https://teknomers.com/en/today-the-new-motorway-opens-on-the-e39-between-bergen-and-os-news-vestland/">E39</a>, a four-lane highway into Bergen that the city had opposed due to concerns that it would increase driving. Those fears proved justified. Lars Ove Kvalbein, a Bergen city adviser on sustainable mobility, told me that before E39 opened, 30 percent of those traveling into the city from the south had used a car, but after the highway opened that share jumped to 40 percent.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FhmhIg">
“E39 was part of a national plan that smashed all the positive local plans to pieces,” he said.
</p>
<h3 id="f6j99k">
Other countries can avoid repeating Norway’s mistakes
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rdxMf2">
In the last few years, Norway has begun to confront the tensions within its push for car electrification. In 2017, the country began requiring EV owners to pay for <a href="https://www.dagsavisen.no/rogalandsavis/nyheter/2016/09/19/elbilparkering-kan-koste-penger/">parking</a>, <a href="https://elbil.no/english/norwegian-ev-policy/">road tolls, and ferries</a>, although they still receive a discount. As of this past January, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-26/norway-pulls-the-plug-on-ev-tax-incentives-and-subsidies#xj4y7vzkg">only the first $45,000 of a new EV’s purchase price is tax-free</a>. Buyers of the largest (and often priciest) EVs must also pay <a href="https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2022/11/21/5-insights-from-norways-2023-tax-proposal/">an additional fee that scales with vehicle weight</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VMmepl">
“The argument is to make the tax system more fair,” said transportation state secretary Kroglund, “and not give benefits for things that are unnecessary for the transition to EVs.” As a result of the new policies, Norwegian sales of some high-end EVs, like the enormous Chinese Hongqi SUV, have <a href="https://www.elbil24.no/nyheter/brastopp-i-salget-na-setter-de-ned-prisene/79365848">collapsed</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OnosUF">
Looking to the future, TØI’s Grimsrud hopes that Norway’s next 12-year National Transport Plan <a href="https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/transport-og-kommunikasjon/nasjonal-transportplan/id2475111/">beginning in 2025</a> will include a goal of limiting total driving, which could restrain highway expansion plans and direct more investment toward transit. “If you start with a national goal for reducing transportation emissions, it will force you to focus more on public transportation and less on road construction,” he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xOQe9U">
For other countries, a clear Norwegian lesson is that a focus on reducing transportation emissions through electric car adoption can worsen inequality. Capping the price of eligible vehicles and limiting the number of EVs that a household can purchase tax-free are intuitive moves that Norway took only belatedly.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ec84Mu">
At the same time, Norway offers a warning about the dangers of promoting EVs at the expense of modes that are more beneficial to the environment as well as urban life. The national government’s decision to subsidize electric cars but not e-bikes makes no sense from a climate perspective, although the United States Congress made the <a href="https://slate.com/business/2022/07/climate-bill-manchin-schumer-senate-ebikes-evs-cars.html">same mistake</a> when it passed the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/8/8/23296951/inflation-reduction-act-biden-democrats-climate-change">Inflation Reduction Act</a> last year. At a minimum, countries should ensure that EV adoption does not deplete resources needed for public transportation investments, as has happened in Norway and could occur in the US, since EVs reduce gasoline tax revenues, a portion of which funds American transit.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ilBfRU">
With frequent bus and rail service, walkable city centers, and expanding networks of bike lanes (including, in Bergen, the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-21/how-norway-built-the-world-s-coolest-bike-tunnel">longest purpose-built bike tunnel in the world</a>), Norwegian cities are far ahead of American peers in providing viable alternatives to driving. Nevertheless, over the last decade, US cities have taken significant steps forward: Bike share programs are now a fixture, and new bus rapid transit lines have emerged in places like Madison, Richmond, and Washington, DC. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/13/nyregion/14th-street-cars-banned.html">New York City</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/market-street-san-francisco-car-free-now/index.html">San Francisco</a> have even experimented with making major thoroughfares car-free. But if local initiatives aren’t matched with supportive federal policies, Norway’s experience suggests that an influx of electric vehicles can hinder efforts to escape the automobile’s urban stranglehold.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wf7qXC">
“The mistake is to think that EVs solve all your problems when it comes to transport,” said Ruohonen, the Oslo mayoral adviser. “They don’t.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OGKKq9">
<em>The reporting of this story was supported by the Heinrich Boll Foundation through a Transatlantic Media Fellowship. Lucas Peilert provided research assistance.</em>
</p>
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</p></li>
<li><strong>“History repeating itself”: How the Israel-Hamas war is fueling hate against Muslims and Jews</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A close-up on a hand holding an electric candle." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BEgk_otNlPJfEN7UDrzdlslw-dA=/258x0:4371x3085/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72812543/1741987669.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Community members attend a vigil at the Prairie Activity and Rec Center for 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadea al-Fayoume on October 17, 2023, in Plainfield, Illinois. | Scott Olson/Getty Images
</figcaption>
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There’s a surge in reports of assaults, vandalism, harassment, and intimidation.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SHqPIb">
Deadly violence in the Middle East is spurring attacks and heightening fear in Muslim, Jewish, and Arab (especially Palestinian) communities across the United States.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MWP3WQ">
In Illinois, about a week after <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/10/10/23911661/hamas-israel-war-gaza-palestine-explainer">Hamas</a> militants attacked <a href="https://www.vox.com/israel">Israel</a>, a landlord stabbed his tenants, 6-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume and his mother Hanaan Shahin, more than two dozen times for being Muslim, <a href="https://apps.myocv.com/blog/a52660433/pressReleases">according to the police</a>. Only the mother survived and <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/illinois-man-stabbing-palestinian-child-1834854">told a relative</a> that the landlord yelled “you Muslims must die!” as he choked her.
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Police opened a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/home-invasion-suspect-yells-free-palestine-while-being-arrested-in-studio-city/">hate crime investigation</a> this week after a man in Los Angeles was yelling “free Palestine,” “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-10-25/home-invasion-suspect-reportedly-threatened-to-kill-jewish-family-in-studio-city-yelled-free-palestine">kill Jews</a>,” “brown people matter,” and “Israel kill people,” and kicked in the back door of a Jewish family’s home and entered.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oxmM2U">
Israel’s airstrikes in the past three weeks have killed more than 8,000 Palestinians, most of them women and minors, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-10-29-2023-de1a7d660ba2f6d80b3d7aeaae5bb0f3">Gaza Health Ministry</a>. Hamas’s attack killed more than 1,400 Israelis, and the group is still holding about 200 people hostage, according to the Israeli government. As the war continues, law enforcement officials expect hate crimes reports to only increase: The FBI warned last week that “the volume and frequency of threats to Americans, especially those in the Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities in the United States, have increased, raising our concern that violent extremists and lone offenders motivated by or reacting to ongoing events could target these communities.”
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At the Pennsylvania state Capitol, a man pulled up to a pro-Palestine protest, <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/news/2023/10/man-who-pulled-gun-shouted-slurs-at-pro-palestinian-demonstrators-on-capitol-steps-arrested.html">yelled out anti-Muslim and racist slurs</a>, and pointed a gun at rallygoers from his car. In <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-10-11/man-arrested-in-possible-hate-crime-at-fresno-bakery-is-also-a-suspect-in-synagogue-vandalism">California</a>, synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses have been vandalized since the start of the war. Flyers with <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/anti-semitic-flyers-appear-across-orange-county-community/">anti-Jewish rhetoric</a> — including “Jews wage war on American freedoms!” — were placed on vehicles across Orange County.
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A man in Illinois was <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-lombard-hate-crime-charge-20231019-2xhvmc5cyneynkkqbzz4e25mka-story.html">charged with a hate crime</a> after threatening to shoot two Muslim men and yelling slurs at them. A Muslim all-girls school was on “soft-lockdown” after receiving a “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/islamic-school-threat/">threatening hate letter</a>” that applauded the killing of al-Fayoume and included “racist, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim language, and discussed killing Muslims and Palestinians.”
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Owners at a New York City Palestinian restaurant, who publicly <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CyM7VxctRiQ/">called for an end</a> to what they deemed Israel’s “apartheid,”<strong> </strong>disconnected the restaurant’s phone over threatening voicemails. The restaurant <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2023/10/17/23921525/ayat-east-village-online-harassment-palestinian">has received nonstop one-star reviews</a> since the start of the conflict; a man entered the dining room in the past week, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-muslim-jewish-hate-crimes-3528a67cdf4e6799355be0da9a3c0634">shouting “terrorist”</a> at the workers. College campuses have become breeding grounds for a host of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/10/18/university-israel-hamas-college-tensions/">antisemitic</a> and anti-Muslim acts, leaving students fearful that they are unprotected from intimidation and possible violence.
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The FBI’s national hate crimes data is reported on a yearly basis, and the agency has not released specific numbers about the increases they’ve seen in threats and hate crimes against Palestinians, Jews, or Muslims have risen in the past few weeks. Even so, the FBI’s <a href="https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/hate-crime-statistics">latest hate crimes report</a>, released on October 16, showed that hate crimes were already on the rise in the past year.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="81oKqn">
Hate crimes increased by 7 percent in 2022 compared to 2021. Anti-Jewish attacks, the second highest hate crimes category after anti-Black, rose to 1,124 incidents. There were 158 reported anti-Muslim incidents and 92 reported anti-Arab incidents.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E5mWom">
The numbers are an <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/why-america-fails-at-gathering-hate-crime-statistics">undercount</a>. Many police departments <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/03/19/doj-police-departments-decline-report-hate-crimes">opt out</a> of submitting hate crime data to the FBI, and it remains difficult for officers to <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/4/10/15183902/hate-crime-trump-law">prove that a reported crime was motivated by bias</a>. Fear and distrust of law enforcement among victims of certain populations, such as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/02/17/its-hard-to-prove-any-hate-crime-but-for-muslim-victims-its-especially-tough/">Muslim communities</a>, leads to underreporting. Nevertheless, the number of incidents represents the highest number recorded since the FBI began collecting this information in 1991.
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One expert told Vox that the current uptick in today’s anecdotal reports can be explained by “scapegoat theory,” the idea that certain marginalized groups should be blamed for various societal conditions or events.
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“I won’t be surprised if there’s a spike in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents during this period,” said <a href="https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/frank-pezzella">Frank S. Pezzella</a>, an associate professor of criminal justice at John Jay College and author of the book <em>Hate Crimes Statutes: A Public Policy and Law Enforcement Dilemma</em>. “When these kinds of world events take place, whether here or abroad, people feel strongly about them. And when people have strong beliefs, they act out. They look at people in their neighborhoods and blame them for what is happening in the Middle East, or they <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/3/25/21190655/trump-coronavirus-racist-asian-americans">blame all Asian people for what started in Wuhan, China</a>.”
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There might be an uptick in hate crimes right now, which one expert said could lead to a longer-running increase. “These kinds of spikes in hate crimes are unlike 20 years ago because they are elongating,” said <a href="https://www.csusb.edu/hate-and-extremism-center/about-us/our-people">Brian Levin</a>, the founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. “We aren’t only seeing a higher number occur but that increase is resilient and plateaus for longer. Or, after a period when hate crimes have gone down, we sometimes see them reignite like a wildfire.”
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<h3 id="0IPok3">
Antisemitism was already on the rise
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In a midtown Manhattan subway station after the onset of the war, a man <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/woman-punched-in-face-in-anti-semitic-attack-at-midtown-manhattan-subway-station-nypd/4782978/">punched a woman in the face</a> and told her it was because “you are Jewish.” Several Jewish synagogues in Utah are “<a href="https://ksltv.com/592646/kol-ami-synagogue-and-jewish-organizations-say-theyre-evacuating-for-bomb-threat/">on high alert</a>” after receiving threats in the past two weeks. A rabbi in Salt Lake City interrupted his synagogue’s service to evacuate the congregation after receiving a <a href="https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/synagogue-evacuated-after-bomb-threat">bomb threat by email</a>. Swastikas and pentagrams have popped up at Jewish businesses and on public property, forcing some to remove their mezuzahs, a piece of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah that some Jewish people put on the doorframe of their homes. Jewish schools have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/10/21/jewish-schools-threats-security/">increased security</a> out of fear.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LReZcd">
On October 24, the Anti-Defamation League, the main source for tracking antisemitic incidents (assault, vandalism, and harassment), released a <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/adl-records-dramatic-increase-us-antisemitic-incidents-following-oct-7">statement</a> that said there were 312 antisemitic incidents between October 7 and 23, 190 of which were directly linked to the war in Israel and Gaza. For comparison, the organization received reports of 64 incidents during the same period last year.
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An ADL spokesperson told Vox that the count includes 49 incidents of vandalism, 10 instances of assault, and 253 incidents of harassment, which includes 108 anti-Israel rallies in which the organization found “explicit or strong support for Hamas and/or violence against Jews in Israel.”
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Antisemitism was already on the rise before October 7. The FBI’s latest data confirmed the antisemitism trends that the ADL has recorded in recent years, Jonathan Greenblatt, the organization’s CEO, said in a <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/adl-fbi-data-reflects-deeply-alarming-record-high-number-reported-hate">statement</a>.
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By the ADL’s count, which includes criminal and noncriminal acts of violence against Jews, there were a total of <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/report/audit-antisemitic-incidents-2022">3,697 antisemitic incidents</a> in 2022, the highest number recorded since the ADL’s data tracking began in 1979. Assaults, considered the most serious offenses, increased by 26 percent that year. While Jews make up just 2 percent of the US population, antisemitic hate crime incidents accounted for 9.6 percent of all hate crimes recorded by the FBI.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rpgbt3">
In the past few years, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/6/2/22455622/anti-semitism-israel-gaza-hamas-new-york-los-angeles-2021">experts have disagreed about <em>why</em> hate crimes against Jews have surged</a>,<strong> </strong>a debate that hinges in part on how such crimes are defined and categorized — in the past, the ADL has been <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/6/2/22455622/anti-semitism-israel-gaza-hamas-new-york-los-angeles-2021">criticized for characterizing</a> some <a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/the-adl-doubles-down-on-opposing-the-anti-zionist-left">anti-Israel statements</a> as antisemitic.<strong> </strong>The ADL’s data for 2022 found that antisemitic harassment made up the bulk of the reported incidents, with 2,298 incidents, followed by vandalism, with 1,288 incidents. Antisemitic assaults made up 111 of the reported hate crimes and 107 of them were perpetrated without the use of a deadly weapon. There was one fatality, according to the data.
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Other acts that have drawn attention and controversy — notably people <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2023/10/25/kidnapped-from-israel-posters-artist/71304720007/">tearing down fliers</a> of Israeli hostages — are not classified as hate crimes or antisemitic incidents by either the ADL or the FBI. An ADL spokesperson told Vox that the organization did not include the tearing down of Israeli hostage posters as acts of violence or antisemitism in its latest count since it is “still determining whether that meets our criteria.”
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When asked whether the FBI was investigating the tearing down of posters as a hate crime the spokesperson told Vox, “Not all acts of hate are hate crimes. For us, there needs to be a threat of violence or violence associated with the act for it to reach the federal level.”
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“Pulling down a flier, that’s just not a hate crime. But it is emotional. If I were leading a police department, I’d want to get people to not do that, because invariably, there will be fights that happen as a result,” Pezzella said. “If someone snatches a flier, and then someone hits them for doing so, [the altercation] borders on the line of bias motivation.”
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There is some evidence that antisemitism increases with flare-ups in the Middle East, and that this has been the case for some time. “We have seen anti-Jewish hate crimes go up to decade and or multi-year highs fairly consistently when there’s violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians,” Levin said. Using FBI data, Levin found that in March 1994, there was a spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes from 79 incidents to 147 a month after an American Israeli extremist <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2014/2/24/remembering-the-ibrahimi-mosque-massacre">opened fire on Palestinian Muslims praying</a> in a mosque, killing 29 of them.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Sv0Nd1">
In October 2000, anti-Jewish hate crimes in the US increased from 81 to 204 after a series of <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-10-01/ty-article/.premium/israeli-arabs-to-mark-anniversary-of-october-2000-riots/0000017f-e78f-d62c-a1ff-ffff4e040000">mass protests</a> by Palestinians in Israel. There were surges in antisemitic incidents in May 2021 in cities with large Jewish populations such as New York and Los Angeles after <a href="https://www.vox.com/22440330/israel-palestine-gaza-airstrikes-hamas-updates-2021">fighting broke out</a> between Israel and Hamas over Israel’s threats to evict Palestinian families from East Jerusalem.
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The FBI <a href="https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/Y2023/PSA231026.pdf">announced</a> that “foreign adversaries” are trying to “take advantage of the conflict.” For example, on October 19, an ISIS media posting urged followers to “target the Jewish presence all over the world…especially Jewish neighborhoods in America and Europe,” and specifically encouraged attacks on Jewish temples, nightclubs, and economic interests and against “Jewish and Crusader” embassies, according to the FBI.
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<h3 id="b9Xeb5">
Anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian racism reports hark back to the post-9/11 period
</h3>
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The Boston police department has <a href="https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2023/10/11/cair-ma-vandalism-sign-palestinian-cultural-center-boston/">opened an investigation</a> after someone reportedly sprayed the word “Nazis” on a sign for the Islamic Seminary of Boston and the Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace in Allston, Massachusetts.
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The Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is <a href="https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-cleveland-seeks-hate-crime-probe-after-vehicular-assault-on-palestinian-american-by-driver-shouting-kill-all-palestinians-long-live-israel/">calling for state and federal law enforcement</a> to open a hate crimes investigation into an alleged vehicular assault on a Palestinian American man. According to the victim, the driver of the car yelled, “Kill all Palestinians” and “Long live Israel!” The car swerved at him and the driver shouted, “Die!” when he hit him and took off.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2kvsP0">
Dearborn, Michigan, one of the country’s largest Arab communities, has experienced several threats of violence. Police <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2023/10/12/threat-against-palestinian-americans-leads-to-arrest/71159059007/">arrested a man</a> in connection with a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-muslim-jewish-hate-crimes-3528a67cdf4e6799355be0da9a3c0634">social media post</a> in which he was seeking companions to “go to Dearborn &amp; hunt Palestinians.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tsAxpV">
The violence abroad has created violence and fear in the US for Palestinians and Muslims, and for Arabs in general, as well as people incorrectly perceived to be a member of those groups, including <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/10/17/sikh-teenager-turban-new-york-city-attack/71211131007/">Sikhs</a>. Sikh men, who grow long beards and wear turbans as part of their <a href="https://www.vox.com/religion">religion</a>, Sikhism, sometimes get mistaken as Muslim and have faced <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/15/us/sikh-hate-crime-victims/index.html">anti-Muslim violence</a> as a result.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k279gw">
Hate crimes against these communities remain underreported. The University of California Berkeley’s Othering &amp; Belonging Institute, which tracks anti-Muslim discrimination worldwide, released a US study in 2021 that found that <a href="https://belonging.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/2021-10/Islamophobia%20Through%20the%20Eyes%20of%20Muslims.pdf">55 percent of those who faced Islamophobia</a> said they did not report it to authorities.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="p4DjNA">
CAIR has said it has received <a href="https://www.cair.com/press_releases/video-cair-report-on-spike-in-complaints-reported-bias-incidents-since-10-7-featured-on-cbs-evening-news/">774 complaints and reported bias incidents</a> against Muslims between October 7 and October 24. CAIR says the number is the highest recorded since 2015, when <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/12/7/9867900/donald-trump-muslims">Donald Trump called for a</a> “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
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<a href="https://www.aclu.org/bio/abed-a-ayoub">Abed Ayoub</a>, the national executive director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), told the Associated Press that the organization has received more than 100 reports that include threats, verbal harassment, intimidation, and physical attacks since October 7. In one case the organization has highlighted, a Palestinian American family received death threats at their home and business, with callers stating “we’ll kill all you Palestinians” and “we’ll kill your family.” Following the threats, the family believes <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-palestinian-family-experiencing-threats-home-business-wake-recent-violence-israel-gaza-strip/">someone fired a bullet</a> through their living room window.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rLHWD4">
“It’s very reminiscent of the early days of post-9/11, where people didn’t want to go outside, they didn’t want to send their kids to school,” Ayoub said. “They’re just worried about being in public and being approached.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Uwmy71">
After the al-Qaeda terrorist organization attacked the Twin Towers and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Muslims and Arab Americans faced an unprecedented amount of hate and violence in the US. They received death threats and were harassed as mosques were burned down. Those perceived as Muslim were beaten and held at gunpoint. The number of assaults against Muslims rose significantly between 2015 and 2016, amid <a href="https://www.vox.com/21506029/trump-violence-tweets-racist-hate-speech">President Trump’s rise</a>, and surpassed the 2001 peak. Anti-Muslim intimidation, or reasonable fear of bodily harm, made up the bulk of the incidents followed by assault, and then property damage and vandalism.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l1V0Ss">
Post-9/11 surveillance has left <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/post-9-11-surveillance-has-left-a-generation-of-muslim-americans-in-a-shadow-of-distrust-and-fear">Muslims distrustful and fearful</a> of law enforcement and counterterrorism efforts that have targeted them. A few days after Hamas’s attack on Israel and as Israel began striking Gaza, the ADC <a href="https://twitter.com/aayoub/status/1712518244798509270">said</a> that it fielded reports that federal law enforcement had visited mosques and questioned and detained Palestinians in the US. In one report, the FBI allegedly visited a Texas mosque to ask about “<a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/13/palestinians-muslims-fbi/">troublemakers</a>” in the community. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security did not respond to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/13/palestinians-muslims-fbi/">the Intercept’s</a> questions about the visits.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GlEVQj">
“We’re seeing a lot of Palestinian students threatened with violence and anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic messages,” said Radhika Sainath, a senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal, an organization that represents individuals who face consequences for speaking publicly about Palestinian rights. According to Sainath, the organization has received “a tsunami of requests for help.” They’ve received over 250, more than the number of requests they received in all of 2022.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yVeB2y">
Stereotypes seem to be fueling the incidents. “The stereotyping we are seeing right now are the classic anti-Palestinian or anti-Arab tropes,” Sainath said. “That Palestinians are all terrorists. That they want to kill babies and that they’re rapists. That they’re not people who have feelings and deserve empathy, human rights, and to live in equality. People are spreading the idea that [Arabs and Palestinians] are scary in some ways.”
</p>
<h3 id="mOT9Dn">
Is it possible to break the cycle of hate?<strong> </strong>
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AWWZA0">
In response to the reported increase in violence, the protests that have erupted nationwide, and heightened fear, the FBI and other law enforcement bodies <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/15/world/middleeast/threats-jewish-muslim-americans-israel-attack.html">have launched plans</a> to increase surveillance across a variety of communities.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BPKE9c">
“In recent years, there have been several events and incidents in the United States that were purportedly motivated, at least in part, by the conflict between Israel and HAMAS. These have included the targeting of individuals, houses of worship, and institutions associated with the Jewish and Muslim faiths with acts of physical assault, vandalism, or harassment,” the FBI said in a <a href="https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2023/PSA231010">statement</a>. The FBI did not release numbers about the threats, but said many were made online and that many turned out not to be credible.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XEkm8s">
<a href="https://www.vox.com/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a> acknowledged the concerns on <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1712512081449091175">X</a>, formerly known as Twitter. “VP and I spoke with our national security teams to discuss ongoing steps to protect the homeland, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim communities, following the attacks in Israel,” he wrote. In a recent Oval Office address, he stated that Americans could “not stand by and stand silent” in the face of such hate. Biden <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/27/muslim-leaders-criticize-biden-over-palestinian-death-toll-remarks-00123985">met with Muslim American leaders</a> about how to combat anti-Muslim sentiment at the White House on Thursday in a meeting that was not on his public calendar. Muslim and Arab American leaders have criticized the president, saying that he seems <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-increases-outreach-muslim-arab-americans-face-criticism-is-rcna121897">indifferent to Palestinian civilians</a>, as he pledges support for Israel. Biden spoke to Jewish leaders about antisemitism on October 11.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GCTn3d">
The rhetoric of the US leadership can have a major impact, according to Levin. “Civics matters now. When [President] Bush spoke about tolerance for Muslims six days after 9/11, we saw that hate crimes dropped precipitously the next day,” he said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ewZmMG">
National and local organizations are calling for greater governmental and community support, as the upcoming <a href="https://www.vox.com/2024-elections">2024 presidential election</a> is expected to keep surges in hate crimes elevated.
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“With antisemitic incidents up across the board in nearly every category we track, a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach is needed to address these disturbing trends,” said Greenblatt. In May, Biden launched the country’s first <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/U.S.-National-Strategy-to-Counter-Antisemitism.pdf">national strategy</a> to combat the rise in antisemitism. In September, the administration <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/28/biden-civil-rights-act-antisemitism">announced</a> that it would use the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit antisemitism and Islamophobia in federally funded programs and activities.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wjVkEw">
“What we have to do now is make sure that structures for coordination within faith communities are maintained,” Levin said. People must also be aware of where to report hate crimes, Levin said, citing that some states, including <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/05/09/what-theyre-saying-state-and-community-leaders-praise-launch-of-new-hotline-and-resource-network-to-combat-hate-across-california/">California</a> (833-8-NO-HATE) and <a href="https://www.ny.gov/programs/hate-crimes-task-force">New York</a> (1-888-392-3644 or text “HATE” to 81336), have hate crimes hotlines. “Police departments all across the country must make sure they have plans for houses of worship, community centers, and protests.”
</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>PAK vs BAN | Pakistan bowlers bundle out Bangladesh for 204</strong> - During the match, Shaheen Shah Afridi became the fastest Pakistani bowler to take 100 ODI wickets.</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>Julio, Fondness Of You, Galahad, Champions Way and Shamrock excel</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>Australia says it won’t bid for 2034 FIFA World Cup; Saudi Arabia likely to host</strong> - The chances of Australia hosting the 2034 event appeared unlikely after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) backed the Saudi bid on October 5</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>With 300 international caps on a 13-year-old journey, Vandana Katariya enters an exclusive club</strong> - Vandana Katariya has been indispensable to Indian women’s hockey for more than a decade.</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>Watch | How are Olympic host cities selected?</strong> - A video on how host cities are selected for the Olympic Games</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>Teacher at tuition centre booked for beating Class VI student</strong> - He was caned for not completing his homework; teacher has been booked under Section 324 of IPC and Juvenile Justice Act</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>LSGD stipulates limits to appointment of experts in local body planning committees</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>Here are the big stories from Karnataka today</strong> - Welcome to the Karnataka Today newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories to follow today. Curated and written by Nalme Nachiyar.</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>Onion prices expected to rule high this festive season, say traders in Tiruchi</strong> - Price of small onions is in the range of ₹80-₹50 a kg in the wholesale market in Tiruchi; the sharp rise in the price is attributed to slump in arrivals from Karnataka and Maharashtra</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>IMD predicts warmer November amid intensifying El Nino conditions</strong> - The latest global forecasts indicate that the El Nino conditions are likely to continue during the season.</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>Paris police shoot woman at station after threats</strong> - The woman, who was reportedly heard making threats to blow herself up, is in critical condition.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Alexei Kuzmichev: Sanctioned Russian tycoon detained in France</strong> - Putin-ally Alexei Kuzmichev was held as French police carried out raids on his properties.</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>Princess Leonor, Spain’s future queen, turns 18 and swears oath</strong> - At a formal ceremony, the future queen promises to uphold the constitution.</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>Women’s Ballon d’Or: Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati wins award for first time</strong> - Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati wins the Women’s Ballon d’Or for the first time after international and club success.</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>US rejects Putin claim that West organised anti-Jewish airport mob</strong> - Hundreds stormed an airport in southern Russia on Sunday ahead of the arrival of a flight from Israel.</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>Why you should take your 3DS along for a “StreetPass Halloween”</strong> - 12 years later, a community of thousands keeps Nintendo’s social network alive. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1979887">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A giant battery gives this new school bus a 300-mile range</strong> - The Type-D school bus uses a 387 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1980011">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Apple introduces new M3 chip lineup, starting with the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max</strong> - Apple’s three most important Mac chips are getting refreshed at once. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1979517">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Apple overhauls MacBook Pro lineup with M3 chips and a new entry-level option</strong> - The exterior is mostly the same, but there’s a new low-end option in town. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1979527">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Apple’s cheaper 14-inch MacBook Pro is killing the old 13-inch version</strong> - The M2 MacBook Pro was the last gasp of 2016-era MacBook design. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1979621">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>Southern Charm</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Two informally dressed ladies happened to start up a conversation during an endless wait in the LAX airport.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The first lady was an arrogant California woman married to a wealthy man. The second was a well mannered elderly woman from the South.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
When the conversation centered on whether they had any children, the California woman started by saying, “When my first child was born, my husband built a beautiful mansion for me.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The lady from the South commented, “Well, isn’t that precious?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The first woman continued, "When my second child was born, my husband bought me a beautiful Mercedes-Benz..
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Again, the lady from the South commented, “Well, isn’t that precious?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The first woman continued boasting, "Then, when my third child was born, my husband bought me this exquisite diamond bracelet.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Yet again, the Southern lady commented, “Well, isn’t that precious?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The first woman then asked her companion, “What did your husband buy for you when you had your first child?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“My husband sent me to charm school,” declared the Southern lady.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Charm school?” the first woman cried, “Oh, my God! What on earth for?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The Southern lady responded, “Well for example, instead of saying”Who gives a shit?" I learned to say,
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well, isn’t that precious”.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/JBYTuna"> /u/JBYTuna </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17k9p7f/southern_charm/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17k9p7f/southern_charm/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Two mischievous boys, aged 8 and 10, are known for causing all sorts of trouble in their town. Their mother, hoping to discipline them, asks a preacher to speak to them. The preacher agrees, but he asks to see the boys individually.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The preacher, a huge man with a booming voice, sits the younger boy down and asks sternly, “Do you know where God is, son?”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The boy’s mouth drops open, he doesn’t respond but sits there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open. So the preacher repeats the question in an even sterner tone, “Where is God?!”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The boy lowers his gaze but does not answer. The preacher raises his voice further, shakes his finger in the boy’s face, and bellows, “Where is God?!”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The boy screams and runs directly home and dives into his closet, slamming the door behind him.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
When his older brother finds him in the closet, he asks, “What happened?” “Why are you shaking?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Gasping for breath, the younger brother replies, "We are in BIG trouble this time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
​
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
​
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
GOD is missing, and they think we did it!
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/tribhuz"> /u/tribhuz </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17k0m9l/two_mischievous_boys_aged_8_and_10_are_known_for/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17k0m9l/two_mischievous_boys_aged_8_and_10_are_known_for/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Doctor: “The results are back and you’ve got a triple dose: Gonorrhoea, Chlamydia and Onomatopoeia”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Patient: “What’s onomatopoeia?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Doctor: “I’m afraid it’s exactly what it sounds like”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/thebigchil73"> /u/thebigchil73 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17k611o/doctor_the_results_are_back_and_youve_got_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17k611o/doctor_the_results_are_back_and_youve_got_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A man is about to walk into a bar, when a num holding a sign that reads “alcohol is evil” stops him.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The nun tells him about the evils of alcohol, "alcohol is evil! Alcohol is the devils tool!
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Then, the nun says something that really effected the man. “What would your parents think!” The man explains how both his parents have passed away, and how he’s not sure what they would think.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The nun keeps going on about the evils of drinking. “Your parents are cursing your name from hell!” The man is fed up with this nun, so he asks her: “well how do you know how bad alcohol is? Have you even ever had a drink before?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well, I guess I have never tried it.” The nun admits, so the man offers her a deal, he’ll buy her a drink, and if she doesn’t like it he’ll never drink again.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The nun agrees to the deal and enters the bar with the man. The man asks her what she would like to drink, so she asks him what ladies usually drink. The man answers gin.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
So he buys her a drink, and she admits she likes it. And tells the man she’s leaving to repent for her sins. The man explains to the bartender about how weird that encounter with the nun was.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“That fucking nun at it again?” The barkeep replies.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/RetardedGuava"> /u/RetardedGuava </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17jtva4/a_man_is_about_to_walk_into_a_bar_when_a_num/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17jtva4/a_man_is_about_to_walk_into_a_bar_when_a_num/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>At a public beach, a man decides to take a swim</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
As the water reaches his waist, he suddenly feels a hand grab him by the balls. A voice asks, “Plus two or minus two?” Startled, the man quickly replies, “Plus two!” The hand releases him. He rushes to the shore and checks his pants to find he now has four balls.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Determined to fix the situation, he re-enters the water. Once again, the mysterious hand grabs his now four balls and the voice asks, “Plus four or minus four?”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/webMacaque"> /u/webMacaque </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17k1psq/at_a_public_beach_a_man_decides_to_take_a_swim/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/17k1psq/at_a_public_beach_a_man_decides_to_take_a_swim/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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