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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>What Are the Kids Doing? Exploring Young Children’s Activities at Home and Relations with Externally Cued Executive Function and Child Temperament</strong> -
<div>
Time in less-structured activities is associated with children’s developing executive function, but it is unclear why. Prior research suggests less-structured time specifically benefits self-directed executive function, by allowing children to practice making choices. We tested another hypothesis: that less-structured time also benefits externally- cued executive function, which develops earlier than self-directed executive function, theorizing that less-structured time can provide children with opportunities to acquire knowledge that supports emerging control skills. Caregivers of 93 3- to 5-year-olds reported their child’s activities on a typical day at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and children completed a widely-used cued executive function task, the Dimensional Change Card Sort. Time and variety in less-structured activities predicted successful switching on the card sort, controlling for age, family income, caregiver education, and verbal knowledge. Caregivers were more involved in less-structured versus structured activities. Children’s temperament, as rated by caregivers, predicted how they spent their time. Findings provide a more nuanced picture of how less-structured time and executive function are related, consistent with less-structured time affording opportunities for children, particularly those higher in effortful control, to acquire diverse knowledge that supports engaging control in various ways.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/nw3qa/" target="_blank">What Are the Kids Doing? Exploring Young Children’s Activities at Home and Relations with Externally Cued Executive Function and Child Temperament</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Intranasal immunization with a vaccinia virus vaccine vector expressing pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike fully protected mice against lethal challenge with the heavily mutated mouse-adapted SARS2-N501YMA30 strain of SARS-CoV-2</strong> -
<div>
The Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant has been designated a variant of concern because its spike protein is heavily mutated. In particular, Omicron spike is mutated at 5 positions (K417, N440, E484, Q493 and N501) that have been associated with escape from neutralizing antibodies induced by either infection with or immunization against the early Washington strain of SARS-CoV-2. The mouse-adapted strain of SARS-CoV-2, SARS2-N501YMA30, contains a spike that is also heavily mutated, with mutations at 4 of the 5 positions in Omicron spike associated with neutralizing antibody escape (K417, E484, Q493 and N501). In this manuscript we show that intranasal immunization with a pre-fusion stabilized Washington strain spike, expressed from a highly attenuated, replication-competent vaccinia virus construct, NYVAC-KC, fully protected mice against disease and death from SARS2-N501YMA30. Similarly, immunization by scarification on the skin fully protected against death, but not from mild disease. This data demonstrates that Washington strain spike, when expressed from a highly attenuated, replication-competent poxvirus, administered without parenteral injection can fully protect against the heavily mutated mouse-adapted SARS2-N501YMA30.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.06.471483v1" target="_blank">Intranasal immunization with a vaccinia virus vaccine vector expressing pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike fully protected mice against lethal challenge with the heavily mutated mouse-adapted SARS2-N501YMA30 strain of SARS-CoV-2</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>No evidence of fetal defects or anti-syncytin-1 antibody induction following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination</strong> -
<div>
The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccination on pregnancy and fertility has become a major topic of public interest. We investigated two of the most widely propagated claims to determine 1) whether COVID-19 mRNA vaccination of mice during early pregnancy is associated with an increased incidence of birth defects or growth abnormalities, and 2) whether COVID-19 mRNA-vaccinated human volunteers exhibit elevated levels of antibodies to the human placental protein syncytin-1. Using a mouse model, we found that intramuscular COVID-19 mRNA vaccination during early pregnancy at gestational age E7.5 did not lead to differences in fetal size by crown-rump length or weight at term, nor did we observe any gross birth defects. In contrast, injection of the TLR3 agonist and double-stranded RNA mimic polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, or poly(I:C), impacted growth in utero leading to reduced fetal size. No overt maternal illness following either vaccination or poly(I:C) exposure was observed. We also found that term fetuses from vaccinated murine pregnancies exhibit high circulating levels of anti-Spike and anti-RBD antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 consistent with maternal antibody status, indicating transplacental transfer. Finally, we did not detect increased levels of circulating anti-syncytin-1 antibodies in a cohort of COVID-19 vaccinated adults compared to unvaccinated adults by ELISA. Our findings contradict popular claims associating COVID-19 mRNA vaccination with infertility and adverse neonatal outcomes.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.07.471539v1" target="_blank">No evidence of fetal defects or anti- syncytin-1 antibody induction following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination</a>
</div></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Production of novel Spike truncations in Chinese hamster ovary cells</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 Spike is a key protein that mediates viral entry into cells and elicits antibody responses. Its importance in infection, diagnostics, and vaccinations has created a large demand for purified Spike for clinical and research applications. Spike is difficult to express, prompting modifications to the protein and expression platforms to improve yields. Alternatively, Spike receptor binding domain (RBD) is commonly expressed with higher titers, though it has lower sensitivity in serological assays. Here, we improve transient Spike expression in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. We demonstrate that Spike titers increase significantly over the expression period, maximizing at 14 mg/L at day</div></li>
</ul>
<ol start="7" type="1">
<li>In comparison, RBD titers peak at 54 mg/L at day 3. Next, we develop 8 Spike truncations (T1-T8) in pursuit of a truncation with high expression and antibody binding. The truncations T1 and T4 express at 130 mg/L and 73 mg/L, respectively, which are higher than our RBD titers. Purified proteins were evaluated for binding to antibodies raised against full-length Spike. T1 has similar sensitivity as Spike against a monoclonal antibody and even outperforms Spike for a polyclonal antibody. These results suggest T1 is a promising Spike alternative for use in various applications.
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.06.471489v1" target="_blank">Production of novel Spike truncations in Chinese hamster ovary cells</a>
</div></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><strong>A proteomic perspective and involvement of cytokines in SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> -
<div>
Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus results in manifestation of several clinical observations from asymptomatic to multi-organ failure. Biochemically, the serious effects are due to what is described as cytokine storm. The initial infection region for COVID-19 is the nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal region which is the site where samples are taken to examine the presence of virus. We have earlier shown that several defensin genes are down regulated in cells from this region in patients who tested positive in the RTPCR test. We have now carried out detailed proteomic analysis of the nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swab samples collected from normal individuals and those tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RTPCR, involving high throughput quantitative proteomics analysis. Several proteins like annexins, cytokines and histones were found differentially regulated in the host human cells following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Genes for these proteins were also observed to be differentially regulated when their expression was analyzed. Majority of the cytokine proteins were found to be up regulated in the infected individuals. Cell to Cell signaling interaction, Immune cell trafficking and inflammatory response pathways were found associated with the differentially regulated proteins based on network pathway analysis.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.06.471525v1" target="_blank">A proteomic perspective and involvement of cytokines in SARS-CoV-2 infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Characterization of the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 Membrane Protein and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) as a Potential Therapeutic Target</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 is an emerging virus from the Coronaviridae family and is responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this work, we explored the previously reported SARS-CoV-2 structural membrane protein (M) interaction with human Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA). The M protein is responsible for maintaining virion shape, and PCNA is a marker of DNA damage which is essential for DNA replication and repair. We validated the M PCNA interaction through immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence co-localization, and a PLA assay. In cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 or transfected with M protein, using immunofluorescence and cell fractioning, we documented a reallocation of PCNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and the increase of PCNA and {gamma}H2AX (another DNA damage marker) expression. We also observed an increase of PCNA and {gamma}H2AX expression in the lung of a COVID-19 patient by immunohistochemistry. In addition, the inhibition of PCNA translocation by PCNA I1 and Verdinexor led to a reduction of plaque formation in an in vitro assay. We, therefore, propose that the transport of PCNA to the cytoplasm and its association with M could be a virus strategy to manipulate cell functions and may be considered a target for COVID-19 therapy.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.06.471464v1" target="_blank">Characterization of the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 Membrane Protein and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) as a Potential Therapeutic Target</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The cellular characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in virus-infected cells using Receptor Binding Domain- binding specific human monoclonal antibodies.</strong> -
<div>
A human monoclonal antibody panel (PD4, PD5, PD7, SC23 and SC29) was isolated from the B cells of convalescent patients and used to examine the S protein in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. While all five antibodies bound conformational- specific epitopes within SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein, only PD5, PD7, and SC23 were able to bind to the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD). Immunofluorescence microscopy was used to examine the S protein RBD in cells infected with the Singapore isolates SARS-CoV-2/0334 and SARS-CoV-2/1302. The RBD-binders exhibited a distinct cytoplasmic staining pattern that was primarily localised within the Golgi complex and was distinct from the diffuse cytoplasmic staining pattern exhibited by the non-RBD binders (PD4 and SC29). These data indicated that the S protein adopted a conformation in the Golgi complex that enabled the RBD recognition by the RBD-binders. The RBD-binders also recognised the uncleaved S protein indicating that S protein cleavage was not required for RBD recognition. Electron microscopy indicated high levels of cell-associated virus particles, and multiple cycle virus infection using RBD-binder staining provided evidence for direct cell-to-cell transmission for both isolates. Although similar levels of RBD-binder staining was demonstrated for each isolate, the SARS-CoV-2/1302 exhibited slower rates of cell-to-cell transmission. These data suggest that a conformational change in the S protein occurs during its transit through the Golgi complex that enables RBD recognition by the RBD-binders, and suggests that these antibodies can be used to monitor S protein RBD formation during the early stages of infection.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.06.471528v1" target="_blank">The cellular characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in virus-infected cells using Receptor Binding Domain-binding specific human monoclonal antibodies.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Metabolic dysregulation induces impaired lymphocyte memory formation during severe SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> -
<div>
Cellular metabolic dysregulation is a consequence of COVID-19 infection that is a key determinant of disease severity. To understand the mechanisms underlying these cellular changes, we performed high-dimensional immune cell profiling of PBMCs from COVID-19-infected patients, in combination with single cell transcriptomic analysis of COVID-19 BALFs. Hypoxia, a hallmark of COVID-19 ARDS, was found to elicit a global metabolic reprogramming in effector lymphocytes. In response to oxygen and nutrient-deprived microenvironments, these cells shift from aerobic respiration to increase their dependence on anaerobic processes including glycolysis, mitophagy, and glutaminolysis to fulfill their bioenergetic demands. We also demonstrate metabolic dysregulation of ciliated lung epithelial cells is linked to significant increase of proinflammatory cytokine secretion and upregulation of HLA class 1 machinery. Augmented HLA class-1 antigen stimulation by epithelial cells leads to cellular exhaustion of metabolically dysregulated CD8 and NK cells, impairing their memory cell differentiation. Unsupervised clustering techniques revealed multiple distinct, differentially abundant CD8 and NK memory cell states that are marked by high glycolytic flux, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cellular exhaustion, further highlighting the connection between disrupted metabolism and impaired memory cell function in COVID-19. Our findings provide novel insight on how SARS-CoV-2 infection affects host immunometabolism and anti-viral response during COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.06.471421v1" target="_blank">Metabolic dysregulation induces impaired lymphocyte memory formation during severe SARS-CoV-2 infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Identifying protein sites contributing to vaccine escape via statistical comparisons of short-term molecular dynamics simulations</strong> -
<div>
The identification of viral mutations that confer escape from antibodies is crucial for understanding the interplay between immunity and viral evolution. We describe a molecular dynamic (MD) based approach that scales well to a desktop computer with a high-end modern graphics processor and enables the user to identify protein sites that are prone to vaccine escape in a viral antigen. We first implemented our MD pipeline to employ site-wise calculation of Kullback- Leibler divergence in atom fluctuation over replicate sets of short-term MD production runs to compare influenza hemagglutinin rapid motions in the presence and absence of three well-known neutralizing antibodies. Using this simple comparative method applied to motions of viral proteins, we successfully identified in silico all previously empirically confirmed sites of escape in hemagglutinin, predetermined via selection experiments and neutralization assays. After this validation of our computational approach, we identified potential hot spot residues in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the presence of COVOX-222 and S2H97 antibodies. We identified sites in the antigen- antibody interface with strong dampening of fluctuation that may indicate potential antibody escape due to single mutations. Many of these sites were found to match known sites of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. The determination of single sites with large effect on antigen-antibody binding interfaces is crucial to discriminating neutral variants from potential escape variants. In summary, we provide a cheap, fast, and accurate in silico method to identify and quantify potential hot spots of functional evolution in antibody binding footprints.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.06.471374v1" target="_blank">Identifying protein sites contributing to vaccine escape via statistical comparisons of short-term molecular dynamics simulations</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Reduced Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant by Vaccine Sera and monoclonal antibodies</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Due to numerous mutations in the spike protein, the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern Omicron (B.1.1.529) raises serious concerns since it may significantly limit the antibody-mediated neutralization and increase the risk of reinfections. While a rapid increase in the number of cases is being reported worldwide, until now there has been uncertainty about the efficacy of vaccinations and monoclonal antibodies. Our in vitro findings using authentic SARS- CoV-2 variants indicate that in contrast to the currently circulating Delta variant, the neutralization efficacy of vaccine-elicited sera against Omicron was severely reduced highlighting T-cell mediated immunity as essential barrier to prevent severe COVID-19. Since SARS-CoV-2 Omicron was resistant to casirivimab and imdevimab genotyping of SARS-CoV-2 may be needed before initiating mAb treatment. Variant-specific vaccines and mAb agents may be required to treat Omicron and other emerging variants of concern.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.07.21267432v2" target="_blank">Reduced Neutralization of SARS- CoV-2 Omicron Variant by Vaccine Sera and monoclonal antibodies</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Brain Networks Associated With COVID-19 Risk: Data From 3,662 Participants</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Our behavioral traits, and subsequent actions, could affect the risk of exposure to the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). The current study aimed to determine whether unique brain networks are associated with the COVID-19 infection risk. Methods: This research was conducted using the UK Biobank Resource. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans in a cohort of general population (n=3,662) were used to compute the whole-brain functional connectomes. A network-informed machine learning approach was used to identify connectome and nodal fingerprints that are associated with positive COVID-19 status during the pandemic up to February 4th, 2021. Results: The predictive models successfully identified 6 fingerprints that were associated with COVID-19 positive, compared to negative status (all p values &lt; 0.005). Overall, lower integration across the brain modules and increased segregation, as reflected by internal within module connectivity, were associated with higher infection rates. More specifically, COVID-19 positive status was associated with 1) reduced connectivity between the central executive and ventral salience, as well as between the dorsal salience and default mode networks; 2) increased internal connectivity within the default mode, ventral salience, subcortical and sensorimotor networks; and 3) increased connectivity between the ventral salience, subcortical and sensorimotor networks. Conclusion: Individuals are at increased risk of COVID-19 infections if their brain connectome is consistent with reduced connectivity in the top-down attention and executive networks, along with increased internal connectivity in the introspective and instinctive networks. These identified risk networks could be investigated as target for treatment of illnesses with impulse control deficits.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.01.21254709v2" target="_blank">Brain Networks Associated With COVID-19 Risk: Data From 3,662 Participants</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>THE NOVEL CORONA VIRUSIN THE DYNAMICS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM: DISRUPTIONS AND CONNECTIONS</strong> -
<div>
As a novel actor of International Relations, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID19) has created major upshots on the evolution of the contemporary International System: In the level of International Health (the WHO and States have been in discord and continuous verbal fracas); in terms of the International Economy (the economic crisis, the recession, etc.); on the aspect of International Security (increased activity of non-state armed groups); and finally, in terms of the ambiance of international society, it creates a new competition: the Vaccine Race. This paper examines and discusses these numerous facets and impacts of COVID19 on the international society and concludes that the novel virus, far from being just “flu”, has created fundamental alterations of disruptions and connections in the international society.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/mb2f9/" target="_blank">THE NOVEL CORONA VIRUSIN THE DYNAMICS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM: DISRUPTIONS AND CONNECTIONS</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA antibodies before the launch of COVID-19 vaccination in Kazakhstan.</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: COVID-19 exposure in Central Asia appears underestimated and SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence data are urgently needed to inform ongoing vaccination efforts and other strategies to mitigate the regional pandemic. Here, we assessed the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody-mediated immunity in a heterogeneous cohort of public university employees in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Methods: Asymptomatic subjects (n=100) were recruited prior to their first COVID-19 vaccination. Questionnaires were administered to capture a range of demographic and clinical characteristics. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected for SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR testing. Serological assays were performed to detect spike (S)-reactive IgG and IgA and to assess virus neutralization. Pre-pandemic samples were used to validate the assay positivity thresholds. Results: Anti-S IgG and IgA seropositivity rates among SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative participants (n=100) were 42% (95% CI [32.2-52.3]) and 59% (95% CI [48.8-69.0]), respectively, and 64% (95% CI [53.4-73.1]) of the cohort tested positive for at least one of the antibodies. Anti-S IgG titres correlated with virus neutralization activity, detectable in 49% of the tested subset with prior COVID-19 history. Serologically confirmed history of COVID-19 was associated with Kazakh ethnicity and self-reported history of respiratory illness since March 2020. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 exposure in this cohort is ~15-fold higher compared to the reported all-time national and regional COVID-19 prevalence. Continuous serological surveillance is critical for understanding the COVID-19 transmission dynamics and should be nationally implemented to better inform the public health response in Central Asia.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.09.03.21262885v2" target="_blank">Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA antibodies before the launch of COVID-19 vaccination in Kazakhstan.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Rapid initiation of nasal saline irrigation to reduce severity in high-risk COVID+ outpatients: a randomized clinical trial compared to a national dataset observational arm</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Importance: SARS-CoV-2 enters the nasopharynx to replicate; mechanical debridement with nasal irrigation soon after diagnosis could reduce morbidity and mortality. Objective: To determine whether initiating nasal irrigation after COVID-19 diagnosis reduces hospitalizations and death, and whether irrigant composition impacts severity. Design: Unblinded randomized clinical trial of two nasal irrigation protocols in outpatients PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2, nested in a prospective case:cohort using laboratory-confirmed cases in the CDC COVID-19 Case Surveillance dataset. Setting: Single-lab community testing facility associated with the emergency department (ED) in Augusta, GA. Participants: A consecutive sample of outpatients 55 years and older were contacted from daily COVID-19+ lab reports between September 24 and December 21 of 2020. Patients without supplemental oxygen use or cognitive barriers agreeing to same- day irrigation initiation were remotely consented. Among 826 screened, 321 were unable to be reached, 132 were ineligible, 294 refused participation, and 79 participants were enrolled. Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned adding 2.5 mL povidone-iodine 10% or 2.5 mL sodium bicarbonate to 240ml of isotonic nasal irrigation twice daily for 14 days. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was hospitalization or death from COVID-19 within 28 days of enrollment by daily self-report confirmed with phone calls and hospital records, compared to the CDC Surveillance Dataset covering the same time. Secondary outcomes compared symptom resolution by irrigant additive. Results: Seventy-nine participants were enrolled (mean [SD] age, 64 [8] years; 36 [46%] women; 71% Non-Hispanic White). Analyzed by intention-to-treat, by day 28, COVID-19 symptoms resulted in 1/42 hospitalizations in those irrigating with alkalinization, 0/37 in the povidone-iodine group, (1.27%) and no deaths. Of nearly three million CDC cases, 9.14% were known to be hospitalized, with an additional 1.5% mortality in those without hospitalization data. The total risk of hospitalization or death (10.6%) was 8.4 times that of enrolled patients (SE=2.74; P=.006). 62 completed daily surveys (78%), averaging 1.8 irrigations/day. Eleven had irrigation complaints, and four discontinued. There were no significant differences by additive. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2+ participants initiating nasal irrigation were over 8 times less likely to be hospitalized than the national rate.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.16.21262044v3" target="_blank">Rapid initiation of nasal saline irrigation to reduce severity in high-risk COVID+ outpatients: a randomized clinical trial compared to a national dataset observational arm</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>SARS-CoV-2 Transmission and Impacts of Unvaccinated-Only Testing in Populations of Mixed Vaccination Status</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
In populations with mixed vaccination status, testing programs focused on only the unvaccinated population are being enacted to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 spread. However, it is not well understood how viral spread occurs in mixed-status populations, including the possible benefits of unvaccinated-only testing. Here, we analyze a model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in which a variable fraction of the population is fully vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are proactively tested for infection, while varying transmission rates, vaccine effectiveness (VE) parameters, and prior infection rates. This analysis reveals principles of viral spread in communities of mixed vaccination status, with implications for testing policies. As vaccination rates increase, the proportions of infections occurring in unvaccinated individuals and the amount of transmission driven by the unvaccinated both decrease, such that at ~65-75% vaccine coverage, most infections are vaccine breakthroughs, and at ~76-83% vaccine coverage, most community spread is driven by breakthrough infections, under baseline mRNA VE assumptions. These ranges shift lower with waning VE and higher with boosted VE. In highly vaccinated communities proactive unvaccinated-only testing had little impact on community spread. Instead, the benefits of weekly unvaccinated-only testing were restricted to regimes with high or moderate ongoing transmission due to lower vaccination rates and strongly depended on near-perfect test compliance. By evaluating a wide range of scenarios, this work finds broadly that resources devoted to routine unvaccinated-only testing could be reallocated when vaccine coverage is sufficiently high.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article- html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.10.19.21265231v2" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2 Transmission and Impacts of Unvaccinated-Only Testing in Populations of Mixed Vaccination Status</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"><strong>Using MOST to Optimize an Intervention to Increase COVID-19 Testing for Frontline Essential Workers</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   COVID-19 Testing<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Motivational interviewing</li>
</ul>
<ol start="1001" type="I">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">counseling;   Behavioral: Text messages (TMs) and quiz questions (QQs);   Behavioral: Peer education;   Behavioral: Access to COVID testing<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   New York University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Australian Phase 2/3b Study to Assess Effectiveness of a Protein-based Covid-19 Vaccine (Spikogen)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Spikogen/Covax-19<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
Vaxine Pty Ltd;   Australian Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Institute;   Cinnagen<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>COVID-19 Administration of Single-Dose Subcutaneous Anti- Spike(s) SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibodies Casirivimab and Imdevimab in High-Risk Pediatric Participants Under 12 Years of Age</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: casirivimab+imdevimab<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals<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>GlowTest COVID-19 Antigen Home Test Kit QRI Use Study</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid 19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: GlowTest COVID-19 Antigen Home Test<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Arion Bio;   CSSi Life Sciences<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>Efficacy of Different COVID-19 Vaccine Combinations in Inducing Long-term Humoral Immunity [PRIBIVAC]</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Homologous mRNA booster vaccine;   Biological: Heterologous mRNA booster vaccine;   Biological: Non-mRNA booster vaccine A;   Biological: Non- mRNA booster vaccine B;   Biological: Non-mRNA booster vaccine C<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Tan Tock Seng Hospital;   A*Star;   Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School;   KK Women’s and Children’s 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>Study of GRT-R910 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Boost Vaccine in Healthy Volunteers</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: GRT-R910 booster 113 days after prime;   Biological: GRT-R910 booster 28 days after prime<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Gritstone Oncology, 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>Inhaled Recombinant Non-immunogenic Staphylokinase vs Placebo in Patients With COVID-19 - FORRIF Trial</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Recombinant nonimmunogenic staphylokinase;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Supergene, LLC;   Russian Academy of Medical Sciences<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of COVID-19 Vaccine, Inactivated in Healthy Population Aged From 3 to 11 Years</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine,Inactivated<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinovac Biotech Co., Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of Immunogenicity Equivalence of a Homologous Third Dose of Covid-19 (Recombinante) Vaccine</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Covid -19 (recombinante) vaccine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   The Immunobiological Technology Institute (Bio-Manguinhos) / Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz)<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>Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of a Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail for the Prevention of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: ADM03820;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
Ology Bioservices;   Enabling Biotechnologies (EB)<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>Communities Fighting COVID-19!</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: COVID-19 Testing Home-based (Aim 1);   Other: COVID-19 Testing Mobile (Aim 1);   Other: COVID-19 Testing Mobile Approach 1 (Aim 2);   Other: COVID-19 Testing Mobile Approach 2 (Aim 2)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   San Diego State University;   National Cancer Institute (NCI)<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>Usefulness of DORNASE in COVID-19 on HFNO</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Procedure: inhalations<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
University Medical Centre Ljubljana<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>Phase Ⅱ and Ⅲ Trial of a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine LYB001</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: LYB001;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Yantai Patronus Biotech Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant Protein RBD Fusion Dimer Vaccine Against the Virus That Cause COVID-19, Known as Severe Acute Respiratoy Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Acute Respiratory Disease<br/><b>Interventions</b>:  <br/>
Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine HIPRA;   Biological: Cominarty (Pfizer-BioNtech)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
Hipra Scientific, S.L.U;   Laboratorios Hipra, S.A.;   National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Vietnam<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>Immunogenicity and Safety of a Booster Vaccination With a Recombinant Protein RBD Candidate Vaccine Against the Virus That Cause COVID-19, Know as Severe Acute Respiratoy Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Healthy Adults Volunteers Fully Vaccinated</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Acute Respiratory Disease<br/><b>Interventions</b>:  <br/>
Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine HIPRA;   Biological: Cominarty (Pfizer-BioNtech)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:  <br/>
Hipra Scientific, S.L.U;   Laboratorios Hipra, S.A.<br/><b>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>Efficacy of anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in systemic autoimmune disorders: induction of high avidity and neutralising anti-RBD antibodies</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: These data show that double-dose vaccination induced in patients with SARDs anti-RBD IgG and IgA antibodies in amounts not significantly different from controls, and, most interestingly, characterised by high avidity and endowed with neutralising activity.</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>Amino Acid Metabolism is Significantly Altered at the Time of Admission in Hospital for Severe COVID-19 Patients: Findings from Longitudinal Targeted Metabolomics Analysis</strong> - The heterogeneity in severity and outcome of COVID-19 cases points out the urgent need for early molecular characterization of patients followed by risk-stratified care. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the fluctuations of serum metabolomic profiles of COVID-19 patients with severe illness during the different disease stages in a longitudinal manner. We demonstrate a distinct metabolomic signature in serum samples of 32 hospitalized patients at the acute phase compared to 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>Safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac) in inadvertently vaccinated healthy children</strong> - Twenty-seven children aged seven months to 5 years were inadvertently vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, the CoronaVac (Sinovac, China), an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, in two different cities of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. After the event, these children were monitored by local pediatricians and serum samples were collected at the first visit and 30 days after vaccination and tested for SARS-CoV-2 S1 serology with Ortho total IgG anti-S1 protein and Cpass, an ACE2 receptor binding domain…</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>QSAR, molecular docking, molecular dynamics and MM-GBSA approach for identification of prospective benzotriazole- based SARS-CoV 3CL protease inhibitors</strong> - The 3CL Protease of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), responsible for viral replication, has emerged as an essential target for designing anti-coronaviral inhibitors in drug discovery. In recent years, small molecule and peptidomimetic inhibitors have been used to target the inhibition of SARS-CoV 3CL Protease. In this study, we have developed 2D and 3D Quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models on 3CL protease inhibitors with good predictive capability to…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Isolation and characterization of ACE-I inhibitory peptides from ribbonfish for a potential inhibitor of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2; an in-silico analysis</strong> - Recently, multi-functional fish peptides (FWPs) have gained a lot of attention because of their different biological activities. In the present study, three Angiotensin-I Converting Enzyme (ACE-I) inhibitory peptides [Ala-Pro-Asp-Gly (APDG), Pro-Thr-Arg (PTR), and Ala-Asp (AD)] were isolated and characterized from ribbonfish protein hydrolysate (RFPH) and described their mechanism of action on ACE activity. As per the results peptide PTR showed ≈ 2 and 2.5-fold higher enzyme inhibitory activity…</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>Dataset of functional connectivity during cognitive control for an adult lifespan sample</strong> - We provide functional connectivity matrices generated during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during different tasks of cognitive control in healthy aging adults. These data can be used to replicate the primary results from the related manuscript: Reconfiguration and dedifferentiation of functional networks during cognitive control across the adult lifespan (Rieck et al., 2021). One-hundred-forty-four participants (ages 20-86) were scanned on a Siemens 3T MRI scanner while they were…</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>Expression of plasma IFN signaling-related miRNAs during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and its association with RBD-IgG antibody response</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Our present results suggested that the expression level of ISR-miRNAs was not only associated with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection but also with RBD-IgG antibody response at the recovery phase of COVID-19. Future studies should be performed to explore the biological significance of ISR-miRNAs in SARS-CoV-2 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>Telacebec (Q203): Is there a novel effective and safe anti-tuberculosis drug on the horizon?</strong> - High prevalence and stronger emergency of various forms of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), including the multidrug- resistant (MDR-TB) as well as extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB) ones, caused by variously resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogens, make first-line anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) agents therapeutically more and more ineffective. Therefore, there is an imperative to develop novel highly efficient (synthetic) agents against both drug-sensitive-TB and DR-TB. The exploration…</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>Opportunities for Drug Repurposing of Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors: Potential Uses in Inflammation, Infection, Cancer, Neuroprotection, and Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention</strong> - Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are safe and widely used for a variety of indications including depressive disorders, anxiety, and chronic pain. Besides inhibiting the serotonin transporter, these medications have broad- spectrum properties in many systems. Their roles have been studied in cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and infectious processes. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of drug repurposing of medications already in use. We conducted a narrative review of current…</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>Highly synergistic combinations of nanobodies that target SARS-CoV-2 and are resistant to escape</strong> - The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants threatens current vaccines and therapeutic antibodies and urgently demands powerful new therapeutics that can resist viral escape. We therefore generated a large nanobody repertoire to saturate the distinct and highly conserved available epitope space of SARS-CoV-2 spike, including the S1 receptor binding domain, N-terminal domain, and the S2 subunit, to identify new nanobody binding sites that may reflect novel mechanisms of viral neutralization. Structural…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Complement inhibition: A possible therapeutic approach in the fight against Covid-19</strong> - The complement system, as a vital part of innate immunity, has an important role in the clearance of pathogens; however, unregulated activation of this system probably has a key role in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury, which is induced by highly pathogenic viruses (i.e. influenza A viruses and severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS] coronavirus). The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is the causal agent for the ongoing global pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), has…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Detecting SARS-CoV-2 Orf3a and E ion channel activity in COVID-19 blood samples</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: We developed a cell-free test that can detect Orf3a/E channel activity of SARS-CoV-2 in blood samples from COVID-19-infected individuals, confirming a hypothesis that the virus spreads to the heart via blood circulation.</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>Interfering viral-like particles inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication</strong> - No abstract</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>Comparative assessment of favipiravir and remdesivir against human coronavirus NL63 in molecular docking and cell culture models</strong> - Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) mainly affects young children and immunocompromised patients, causing morbidity and mortality in a subset of patients. Since no specific treatment is available, this study aims to explore the anti-SARS- CoV-2 agents including favipiravir and remdesivir for treating HCoV-NL63 infection. We first successfully modelled the 3D structure of HCoV-NL63 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) based on the experimentally solved SARS-CoV-2 RdRp structure. Molecular docking…</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>Azvudine is a thymus-homing anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug effective in treating COVID-19 patients</strong> - Azvudine (FNC) is a nucleoside analog that inhibits HIV-1 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Recently, we discovered FNC an agent against SARS-CoV-2, and have taken it into Phase III trial for COVID-19 patients. FNC monophosphate analog inhibited SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 coronavirus with an EC(50) between 1.2 and 4.3 μM, depending on viruses or cells, and selective index (SI) in 15-83 range. Oral administration of FNC in rats revealed a substantial thymus-homing feature, with FNC triphosphate…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>REAL-TIME REST BREAK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR WORKPLACE</strong> - The present invention relates to a real-time rest break management system for workplace that comprises of a work desk, wherein first portion is incorporated with a biometric unit 4 for authenticating first user, and a second portion with a telescopic panel 2 associated with a weight sensor 6 and timer unit 7 calculating weight of head/hand manifesting user presence and their resting time period is mounted with an inflated cushion 5, an interactive primary display unit 1 attached over desk enables user to set first/second threshold time for sleeping/taking break, further linked with a tracking interface keeping track of activities and a vibrating unit crafted inside the cushion 5 which is linked to a secondary display unit 8 of second user, giving them access to actuate vibrating unit generating impulses to wake first user when threshold time period is exceeded by the first user. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN342791215">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>P2P 네트워크를 이용한 내장된 화상회의 시스템</strong> - 본 발명은 P2P 네트워크를 이용한 내장된 화상회의 시스템에 관한 것으로, 상태표시부(1), 영상송출부(2), 제어부(3), 광고부(4), 입력부(5)를 포함한다. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=KR342781397">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A DOORBELL SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND RECORDING A PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA OF A PERSON</strong> - AbstractTitle: A doorbell system for monitoring and recording a physiological data of a person The present invention provides a doorbell system 500 for monitoring and recording a physiological data of a person. The doorbell system 500 having a transmitter module 100 and a receiving module 200. The transmitter module 100 is having a TOF sensor module 110, an ultrasound detector 120, and an infrared detector 130. Further, a speech recognition system 150, a facial recognition system 160, and a temperature detector 190 are provided for recognizing speech, face, and temperature of the person by comparing pre-stored data. A controlling module 180 is set with a predefined commands for communicating with the transmitter module 100 and receiving module 200. The collected facial and speech data is compared and matched with the pre-stored data then the temperature detector 190 triggers and the door opens when the captured body temperature of the person is matched within the predefined range of temperature.Figure 1 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340503637">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A study of contemporary trends in investing patterns, household savings, and economic investment.</strong> - Because household savings and household investments are intertwined and interdependent, they are discussed briefly in this paper. Household savings account for more than half of a country’s capital formation, which fluctuates due to a variety of economic factors such as inflation and interest rates. Households should gradually shift their savings and investments from physical assets to financial assets to avoid a sudden change in wealth. They should also save and invest using a variety of platforms. Trends in investing and saving will be easier to track and measure this way. This year’s domestic saving rate in India is 2.3 percent lower than last year’s and 1.2 percent lower than the year before. Since 2011, general domestic savings have been steadily declining, with the trend continuing into the following year. According to official data, the GDP in 2020 shrank by 23.9%, the least in previous years and the least since the Covid-19 pandemic in previous years. As a result, the information presented in this paper is drawn from and evaluated from other sources - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340502149">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>靶向刺激体液免疫和细胞免疫的新冠病毒mRNA疫苗</strong> - 本发明公开了一种靶向刺激体液免疫和细胞免疫的新冠病毒mRNA疫苗。本申请的第一方面提供一种分离的DNA分子组合，该DNA分子组合包括第一DNA分子和第二DNA分子和第三DNA分子中的至少一种。通过第一DNA分子以及第二DNA分子和/或第三DNA分子的组合，利用第一DNA分子最终合成的mRNA诱导高滴度的交叉中和抗体，利用第二DNA分子和/或第三DNA分子最终合成的mRNA诱导新冠病毒特异性的细胞毒性T淋巴细胞，从而高效地同时激活相对独立的体液免疫应答和细胞免疫应答，应对新冠病毒在流行传播过程中产生的突变毒株所引发的突破性感染。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN343418093">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2抑制剂在制备治疗和/或预防冠状病毒感染药物中的用途</strong> - 本发明公开了跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2抑制剂在制备治疗和/或预防冠状病毒感染药物中的用途。本发明通过亲和垂钓及活性导向分离获得3种化合物，证实该类化合物可以直接地与跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2结合，KD&lt;13μM，且能够显著抑制跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶2的催化活性。在细胞水平上可以有效的抑制新型冠状病毒SARS‑CoV‑2假病毒入侵，表明该类化合物对于制备治疗和/或预防病毒感染药物具有非常积极的作用。化合物1 化合物2 化合物3。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN343418164">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PROLIPOSOMAL DRY POWDER INHALER OF REMDESIVIR</strong> - The present invention is related to Proliposomal Dry Powder Inhaler of Remdesivir and its method thereof for the treatment of viral infections such Coronaviridae (including COVID-19 infection). - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN342291904">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Use of Diminazene Aceturate, Xanthenone, ACE 2 activators or analogs for the Treatment and therapeutic use of COVID-19 on human patients.</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU340325322">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>ACTIVE RIDER SAFETY SYSTEM FOR TWO WHEELERS</strong> - The present invention relates to an active rider safety system for two wheelers comprising, a protective case equipped by a user for riding, where the case is integrated with multiple piezoelectric sensor that determines fastening of the case by user, a processing unit linked to the sensor, where the unit detects absence of case upon fetching data from the sensor below a threshold value and thereby terminates operation of ignition by stopping a coupled motor operated via a radio frequency module, an alcohol detection sensor that detects presence of alcohol and send data to processing unit, a temperature sensor that measures temperature of the user, an accelerometer sensor that activates upon ignition us tuned on to determine presence of a crash and a navigation module that via communication module sends location of user to pre saved users and concerned authorities. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN340503361">link</a></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Medizintechnische Haltevorrichtung und Haltevorrichtungs-Kit jeweils zum Halten von allgemeinmedizinischen, chirurgischen oder diagnostischen Einrichtungen oder Instrumenten sowie deren Verwendung insbesondere zur Datenerfassung</strong> -
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Medizintechnische Haltevorrichtung (10) eingerichtet zum Halten von allgemeinmedizinischen, chirurgischen oder diagnostischen Einrichtungen oder Instrumenten, insbesondere Diagnose-Einrichtungen oder -instrumenten für den Mund-/Rachenraum aus der folgenden Gruppe: Spatel (1), Abstrich-Einrichtung (2), Lichtquelle (3), Kamera (4); wobei die Haltevorrichtung (10) aufweist:</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">einen Kontaktbereich (15) zum manuellen Kontaktieren der Haltevorrichtung (10) durch einen Nutzer;</li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">wenigstens eine mit dem Kontaktbereich (15) verbundene Haltekupplung (11, 12, 13) zum reversiblen Kuppeln, insbesondere form- und/oder kraftschlüssigen Kuppeln, der jeweiligen Einrichtung oder des Instruments; dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der Kontaktbereich (15) eine Mindest-Längserstreckung (x15) von 20cm aufweist, wobei die wenigstens eine Haltekupplung (11, 12) an einem Längs-Ende des Kontaktbereichs (15) angeordnet ist, und wobei der Kontaktbereich</li>
</ul>
<ol start="15" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">zumindest teilweise aus Kupfer besteht oder Kupfer als Oberflächenmaterial/-werkstoff aufweist, wobei die medizintechnische Haltevorrichtung (10) eingerichtet ist zum Kuppeln einer/der Kamera im Kontaktbereich, insbesondere bei Verwendung einer Kamera mit einem Gehäuse mit integrierter Kuppelfunktion.</li>
</ol>
<img alt="embedded image" id="EMI-D00000"/>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=DE343577678">link</a></li>
</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>As Omicron Spreads, Jerome Powell Is in the Hot Seat</strong> - With inflation and the new coronavirus variant buffeting the economy, the Federal Reserve chair is attempting a feat that Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke failed spectacularly to pull off. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/as-omicron-spreads-jerome-powell-is-in-the-hot-seat">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Accidental Revolutionary Leading Belarus’s Uprising</strong> - How Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya came to challenge her country’s dictatorship. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/13/the-accidental-revolutionary-leading-belaruss-uprising">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Ultra-Nationalist Éric Zemmour Makes a Bizarre Bid for the French Presidency</strong> - The far-right leader’s campaign carries alarming echoes of Vichy France. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-ultra-nationalist-eric-zemmour-makes-a-bizarre-bid-for-the-%20french-presidency">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Tragic Misfit Behind “Harriet the Spy”</strong> - The girl sleuth, now the star of a TV show, has been eased into the canon. In the process, she’s shed the politics that motivated her creation. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/the-tragic-misfit-behind-harriet-the-spy">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Millions of Tons of Carbon Emissions That Don’t Officially Exist</strong> - How a blind spot in the Kyoto Protocol helped create the biomass industry. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/the-millions-of-tons-of-carbon-emissions-that-dont-%20officially-exist">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Facebook still won’t give up Instagram for Kids</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/-hbCEx62il9uXCWi15DTBFRNYNk=/747x0:6720x4480/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70247862/1237103637.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri testifying at a Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. | Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
</figcaption></figure></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Even under serious political pressure, the company insists its products aren’t inherently harmful for young users.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KFcOFt">
Following damaging internal leaks that showed <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-
show-11631620739">Instagram can negatively impact teens’ mental health</a>, Instagram said it would halt its plan to build a version of its app for kids. But on Wednesday, the company revealed it hasn’t ruled out making an “Instagram for Kids” one day.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hCy9Mm">
At a Senate hearing on Instagram’s impact on children and teens on Wednesday, when Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) asked Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri if he would commit to permanently stopping development of Instagram for Kids, Mosseri responded:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GQ2Op7">
What I can commit to you today is that no child between the ages of 10 to 12 — should we ever manage to build Instagram for 10- to 12-year-olds — will have access to that without explicit parental consent.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="e9ZiB4">
In other words, Mosseri was saying that Instagram may still build a product for kids, despite facing months of heavy public outrage and political pressure to abandon those plans.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gF2h7T">
The exchange reveals a deeper takeaway from the hearing: Instagram — and its parent company Meta (formerly Facebook) — do not seem to believe their product is harmful enough to children and teens that it needs radical change.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="skTJzA">
That’s in spite of internal company research leaked by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, which showed that one in three teenage girls who felt bad about their bodies said Instagram made them feel worse. The research also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-
toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739">showed that 13 percent of British teenage users and 6 percent of American teenage users</a> who had suicidal thoughts traced the desire to kill themselves to Instagram.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0gia7w">
While Mosseri struck a thoughtful and serious tone at the hearing when discussing topics like teen suicide, he minimized his company’s own research that showed Instagram can contribute to teenage depression and denied that Instagram is addictive.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3oxPdw">
His answers seemed to do little to reassure the remarkably bipartisan group of US lawmakers at the hearing, who say they believe Instagram is damaging teenagers’ mental health. These lawmakers say they are committed to passing legislation that could force Facebook and other tech companies to change their businesses to better protect children.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aI1rs6">
Instagram’s impact on teenage mental health has become a lightning rod in larger conversations about regulating social media, at a time when a growing proportion of the US public is increasingly distrustful of major tech companies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DegCzI">
But Facebook and Instagram continue to downplay this harm.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OiIftY">
When Blumenthal asked Mosseri if he supports legislation to outlaw social media apps <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/23/social-media-addiction-gambling">that are designed to be addictive for certain users</a>, Mosseri replied, “Senator, respectfully, I don’t believe the research suggests that our products are addictive. Research actually shows that on 11 of 12 difficult issues that teens face, teens who are struggling said that Instagram helps more than harms.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PcZZTM">
“We can debate the meaning of the word ‘addicted,’ but the fact is that teens who go to the platform find it difficult and maybe sometimes impossible to stop,” said Blumenthal.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sV4YjS">
Another illustrative moment in the two-and-a-half-hour hearing was a back-and-forth between Mosseri and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). While Cruz has used past hearings about social media to promote partisan concerns about alleged conservative censorship, this time the legislator stayed focused on the issue of children’s mental health.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vo5K7l">
When Cruz pressed Mosseri about the internal research about Instagram’s harm to teenagers with body image issues and suicidal thoughts, Mosseri again argued that on the whole, Instagram made life better for teens.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3Y47v7">
“If we’re going to have a conversation about the research, I think we need to be clear about what it actually says. It actually showed that one out of three girls who suffer from body image issues find that Instagram makes things worse, and that came from a slide with 23 other statistics where more teens found that Instagram makes things better,” said Mosseri.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fUxrdk">
In a later exchange, Mosseri said that social media platforms like Instagram have “helped important movements like body positivity to flourish. … It has helped diversify the definitions of beauty, and that’s something that we think is incredibly important.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YlKUgZ">
These defenses didn’t seem to soften lawmakers’ stances.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jVtg9i">
“I’m a mom; I’m a grandma. … I have a 12- and 13-year-old grandson. I’m talking to parents all the time,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) at a press conference after the hearing. “And we know that [in] the vast number of stories that we are hearing, so many of the parents mentioned the adverse impact” of social media.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XrgGN8">
Blackburn called Mosseri’s assertion that Instagram does more good than harm to teen users “astounding,” and said that “really sounded removed from the situation.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4XDqId">
This all makes it clear that Facebook has lost significant trust with lawmakers. Whatever goodwill the company might have had on Capitol Hill a decade ago, when Facebook was still in its infancy and thought of by many as a universal social good, has been drastically diminished after years of controversy over the company’s struggles with privacy, hate speech, and other harmful content on its platforms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PVzdJY">
“Big Tech loves to use grand, eloquent phrases about bringing people together, but the simple reality and why so many Americans distrust Big Tech is: You make money,” said Cruz.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="shI1ua">
It’s still too soon to say if Congress will actually pass legislation to force Facebook and other social media companies to fundamentally change their businesses to better protect teens and other users. Right now, there are several bills out to create stronger privacy laws, to establish penalties for Facebook if it allows damaging content to surface, and to mandate that Facebook must share more data with outside researchers to assess the harms of its products. So far, none of these bills have passed or are even close to passing.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cqpZ20">
But this hearing reaffirmed how Democrats and Republicans are in increasing lockstep that something must be done on the topic of how social media can harm teens.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LLZIrd">
Jim Steyer, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Common Sense Media, which promotes safe technology and media for children and families, has long advocated for Congress to pass legislation that would better protect children on the platform by safeguarding their privacy and other measures. He said that even though Congress hasn’t moved quickly enough, he thinks Wednesday’s hearing is a sign that momentum is building for real legislation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QP9GGl">
“We’ve seen this movie way too many times before when it comes to Facebook and Instagram — and it’s time for action by Congress on a bipartisan basis period, full stop,” he said. “But I do think it’s going to happen now.”
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Wait, is Russia going to invade Ukraine?</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/Wnn1pZjTl3bDtUvWsF6l9GRmEkY=/0x0:2323x1742/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70246476/AP21337620588416.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A Ukrainian soldier walks under a camouflage net in a trench on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on December 3. | Andriy Dubchak/AP
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A Russian troop buildup at Ukraine’s border threatens to intensify a long-running conflict.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SILoAh">
A troubling buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border has Kyiv, Washington, and pretty much everyone else asking if Russia is about to invade Ukraine — again.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X529dD">
The US and its allies, including Ukraine, are trying to forestall that scenario, most recently in a <a href="https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1468268999851089921?s=20">two-hour video call Tuesday</a> between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zxqyyr">
During the call, Biden told Putin the “US and our allies would respond with strong economic and other measures” if Russia pursued military escalation, according to the White House, and called for a return to diplomacy. To be clear, a military option is not among the “other measures,” as Biden said Wednesday sending US troops unilaterally was “<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/08/sending-us-
combat-troops-to-ukraine-not-in-the-cards-right-now-biden-says-523938">not in the cards right now</a>.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mJ6uqi">
The Kremlin’s readout largely <a href="https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1468309358249488388?s=20">blamed Ukraine for the crisis</a>, and NATO, for cooperating with Kyiv. It wanted guarantees against NATO’s eastward expansion, something the US, and NATO, will never give.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lHj21i">
The call is far from a resolution, but the hope is that it will at least delay any dramatic action. Ahead of the meeting between the two leaders, US intelligence officials <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russia-ukraine-
invasion/2021/12/03/98a3760e-546b-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html">warned</a> that Russia was planning a major military offensive into Ukraine, launching as many as 175,000 troops into the country as soon as early next year. Russia had already been amassing troops and equipment along parts of Ukraine’s border, placing about 70,000 troops there, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russia-ukraine-
invasion/2021/12/03/98a3760e-546b-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html">according to a recent US estimate</a>. Ukrainian officials put the number higher, at <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-warns-putin-strong-
response-if-russia-invades-ukraine-n1285523">more than 90,000</a>. These troop <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/satellite-images-show-russian-troop-buildup-sparking-invasion-
fears-2021-12">buildups</a> had intensified fears that Russia would invade<strong> </strong>Ukraine, throwing the region into conflict and the European continent into deep crisis.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xmvo2I">
In 2014, Russia <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/03/17/crimea-six-years-after-illegal-annexation/">seized the Crimean Peninsula</a> from Ukraine and aided a rebellion in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, where pro-Russia separatists now control breakaway parts of Donetsk and Luhansk. A peace process in 2014 and 2015, <a href="https://www.gmfus.org/download/article/14875">known as the Minsk agreement</a>, was never fully implemented, and hostilities turned into this simmering conflict that still has, in seven years, killed more than 14,000 people.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cezXbN">
This tenuous status quo has prevailed for years, and though a terrible result, especially for those in and near the fighting, it maybe wasn’t the worst outcome possible. Russia could keep Ukraine on edge because of constant unrest in eastern Ukraine, and Ukraine could get aid and attention from Western countries because of Russia’s aggression.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nPL6XC">
“That was, to a large extent, the conventional wisdom,” said Olga Oliker, the program director for Europe and Central Asia with the International Crisis Group. “When Russia poured troops into the neighborhood, it led to this realization of, ‘Oh, maybe they’re not so happy with the situation as it is.’”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OjtypT">
Troops are definitely in the neighborhood, though Putin has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-
denies-ukraine-invasion-plans-amid-concerns-over-troop-buildup-2021-11">denied</a> any intention of launching an attack. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/russian-envoy-says-moscow-wont-
invade-ukraine-unless-provoked-01636682769">said</a> last month that Moscow “never planned, never did, and is never going to do it unless we’re provoked by Ukraine, or by somebody else.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0ezUfq">
That may also depend on what Russia interprets as a provocation. Putin sees Ukraine’s closer cooperation with the West, specifically NATO, as leading toward an unacceptable outcome for Moscow: Ukraine’s potential membership in the alliance. Preventing Ukraine’s incorporation into Western organizations like NATO, but also the European Union, was part of the motivation for Russia’s incursions into Ukraine in 2014, said Sarah Pagung, an associate fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. “But what we’ve actually seen over the last years is Ukraine, as a consequence of the Crimean annexation, more intensively pursued the path of Western integration,” she said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pwcOKh">
None of these dynamics are entirely new, though experts said there are a few factors that might explain why Ukraine-Russia tensions are spiraling right now, including Russia’s dissatisfaction with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s continued orientation toward NATO, and a sense that the West is preoccupied.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A man wearing
camouflage gear and a helmet, standing in a trench." src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/pxdL6cE2TKgRy7MEe5eoXYUpNcA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23073674/AP21340548034040.jpg"/> <cite>Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP</cite>
<figcaption>
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits troops in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on December 6.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="brarEh">
War isn’t inevitable, and it would come with significant costs to Russia, too. But there are also tactics short of a full-on war that could still cause havoc for Ukraine. But what happens next, and the possible outcomes, remain uncertain.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fPaiHh">
“The problem is we don’t know what Putin wants, and this is really the bottom line,” said Alexander Motyl, an expert in Soviet and post-Soviet politics at Rutgers University Newark. “Is he testing? Is he invading? Is he teaching the Ukrainians a lesson? We don’t know. And so it’s hard to do anything, because we don’t know what [Putin] wants, and we don’t know how far he’s willing to go.”
</p></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="Wefmxz">
What has changed that Russia is building up troops on the Ukrainian border?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wbUcYY">
The current Ukraine-Russia crisis is a continuation of 2014, which itself was linked to a deep-rooted historical narrative in Russia held by<strong> </strong>Putin and many Russian elites.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5Yxlwe">
“Their No. 1 objective is to reestablish as much of the old empire as it could — Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia,” said Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis. “I think this is part of the legacy that President Putin sees for [himself].”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LYaZFY">
Ukraine is central to this vision. Culturally and economically, Putin sees Ukraine as tied to Russia. Putin used his hot vax summer to publish an article about how Ukrainians and Russians “<a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181">were one people — a single whole</a>,” according to an English translation posted on the Kremlin’s website. For him, the ex-Soviet Republic is not really a sovereign state but belongs to Russia, or at least would if not for the meddling from outside forces (read: the West) that have created a “<a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181">wall</a>” between the two.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NN6yxV">
“Step by step, Ukraine was dragged into a dangerous geopolitical game aimed at turning Ukraine into a barrier between Europe and Russia, a springboard against Russia,” <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181">Putin wrote</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6yTrNA">
This issue of Ukraine being a “springboard” for military action<strong> </strong>against Russia is also unacceptable to Putin. He wants to recreate a “sphere of influence” for Moscow, and Ukraine is the buffer between it and NATO. As Ukraine moves closer to the West, that buffer crumbles.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E8dWRw">
“The reason there’s a war in Ukraine has a lot to do with Russia’s perception of the post-Cold War order in Europe, this notion that Western states have been moving closer and closer to Russia’s borders, and indeed, gobbling up its natural sphere of influence,” Oliker said. “Ukraine’s the front line on that.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/ghoXR_I4vQZxgB52TaIVLVEEE24=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23073721/AP21341506532478.jpg"/> <cite>Andriy Dubchak/AP</cite></p>
<figcaption>
Ukrainian soldiers walk at the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on December 7.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2srtLX">
But recent political developments within Ukraine, the United States, Europe, and Russia help explain why tensions are flaring at this moment.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IX7bHr">
Among those developments are the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48007487">2019 election of Ukrainian president Zelensky</a>. In addition to the other thing you <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/9/24/20882359/trump-impeachment-ukraine-
president-zelensky">might remember Zelensky for</a>, he promised during his campaign he would <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/06/ukraine-peace-talks-russia-war-donbass/">seek a solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine</a>. He said that would include <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/ukraine-
president-volodymyr-zelenskiy-gives-putin-one-year-strike-deal-end-war">dealing with Putin directly</a> to resolve the conflict. Russia, too, likely thought it could get something out of this: a potentially malleable Zelensky who might be more open to Russia’s point of view. That includes Russia’s desire to have Ukraine reincorporate separatist regions back into the country and hold elections, as outlined in the Minsk agreement. That sounds like something Ukraine would want until you recognize Russia has since effectively <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/08/27/in-the-donbass-
russias-newest-citizens-prepare-to-vote-a74912">taken over those breakaway regions</a>, and so it would really be, as one expert said, a “Trojan horse” for Moscow to wield influence and control Ukraine.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aoGivn">
Such a concession would be politically untenable for Zelensky based on the current situation on the ground, which forced Zelensky to take a tougher line on Russia and turn to the West for help. Beyond partnerships with NATO, Zelensky has <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/ukraine-president-says-nation-is-ready-to-join-nato">even talked openly about joining NATO</a>. For Putin, pining for his estranged brothers, this confirmed his worst fears.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n2tWmv">
“In getting to the point [where] Zelensky was calling for outright membership in NATO and crossing what Russia has long viewed as one of their red lines — I think that does help to explain why Russians felt an impetus to threaten far greater and new use of direct military force,” said Zachary Witlin, a senior analyst with the Eurasia Group.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jcViEm">
Just because Zelensky is asking when Kyiv gets itself into NATO does not actually mean Ukrainian membership is a realistic possibility. NATO and member states within NATO like the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-
room/statements-releases/2021/09/01/joint-statement-on-the-u-s-ukraine-strategic-partnership/">US</a> and <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/uk-signs-deal-to-help-boost-ukraines-navy-in-the-face-of-increased-threat-from-
russia-12470490">Great Britain</a> are cooperating with Ukraine on security, they’re helping in training and reforms, and providing (<a href="https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/delivery-of-turkish-drones-to-ukraine-continue-as-planned-
official-169867">or sellin</a>g) military equipment. But a close partnership is not the same as membership, as it doesn’t come with the obligation of mutual defense, and the NATO countries don’t exactly want to sign themselves up for a potential war with Russia.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9ymGyX">
Of course, NATO will never <em>say </em>Ukrainian membership is off the table because this is what Putin wants. Putin asked President Biden for legal guarantees that NATO wouldn’t expand eastward or put weapons systems in Ukraine during their call Tuesday; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/07/world/biden-putin#here-are-five-takeaways-from-the-biden-putin-call">US officials said they would never make such assurances</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dz4F7W">
Still, Ukraine’s closer cooperation with NATO is undeniable, said Ruslan Bortnik, director of the Ukrainian Politics Institute. “Putin and Kremlin understand that Ukraine will not be a part of NATO,” Bortnik said. “But Ukraine became an informal member of NATO without a formal decision.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SRb2WO">
That may have left Russia feeling as though it had exhausted all of its political and diplomatic tools to bring Ukraine back into the fold. “Moscow security elites feel that they have to act now because if they don’t, military cooperation between NATO and Ukraine will become even more intense and even more sophisticated,” Pagung, of the German Council on Foreign Relations, said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EhLzHY">
This is also not the first time Putin has signaled that he is prepared to ramp up pressure on Ukraine. In the spring of 2021, Russia began <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/russian-and-ukrainian-spring-2021-war-scare">gathering forces and equipment near parts of the Ukrainian border</a> under the guise of “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/world/europe/russia-
ukraine-troops.html">readiness exercises</a>.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/PxkUgJ72wXlXnptI-lZEF87Tqoo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23073736/AP21078784564449.jpg"/> <cite>AP</cite>
<figcaption>
People adjust a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin attached to a balloon during an anniversary celebration of the 2014 Crimean annexation in Sevastopol, Crimea, on March 18.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VJSNfJ">
Experts said this current buildup is a continuation of that, though Putin’s troop buildup also looked very much like a signal to the new administration in Washington, with a specific message to the White House that it should not underestimate, or forget about, Moscow’s ability to cause mayhem.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SNiZ0a">
Putin more or less got his wish, in the form of a <a href="https://www.vox.com/22535041/biden-putin-summit-geneva-navalny-nuclear">summit in Geneva with the new US president</a>. Not long after plans for the get-together were announced, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22535041/biden-
putin-summit-geneva-navalny-nuclear">Putin began drawing down some of the troops on the Ukrainian border</a>. But Putin’s own perspective on the US has also shifted, experts said, with things like the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal (which Moscow would know something about) and the US’s domestic turmoil revealing signs of fragility. “Instead of being fear-driven by the fear that America is strong and will come after them, now they’re opportunity-driven: they think that America is weak, and maybe in the spring we have just missed the chance,” said Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eFL4zb">
All of this may make Russia feel a bit opportunistic. The United States is distracted by its domestic agenda and wants to focus on China. Europe is dealing with its own internal crises, like a <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/01/poland-crisis-european-union-immigration-democracy-
law/">rebellious Poland</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polish-belarus-border-migrant-crossings-
decrease-tension-remains-2021-12-06/">tensions with Belarus</a>, a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/13/business/uk-
eu-northern-ireland-protocol-article-16-intl-gbr-cmd/index.html">hangover from Brexit</a>, and a <a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/regions/europe/">surging coronavirus wave</a>. Germany <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/12/8/22810520/germany-government-olaf-scholz-chancellor-greens-fdp">has a new chancellor</a>; France <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/how-france-pivoted-to-the-right/">has elections soon</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N4aM4A">
Those distractions, combined with Ukraine’s resistance and affinity for NATO, may embolden Putin. Some experts noted Putin has his own domestic pressures to deal with, including the coronavirus and a struggling economy, and he may think such an adventure will boost his standing at home, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/8/29/6082769/one-chart-why-putin-invading-ukraine">just like it did in 2014</a>. “There may be a sense of now or never,” Motyl said. “We recapture this place, which shouldn’t have been independent in the first place. Perhaps they made a mistake, and we need to rectify that.”
</p>
<h3 id="JfVz1c">
So what happens now?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J2J0Fn">
Biden and Putin didn’t come to a real resolution over Ukraine during their Tuesday meeting. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/08/russia-talks-of-rapid-ukraine-
discussions-after-biden-putin-summit">said Wednesday</a> that the two leaders did agree to talks to discuss this “complex, confrontational situation.” The White House readout said that the two sides would follow up, and the US “would do so in close cooperation with its allies.” Biden spoke to US allies after the Putin call, and is speaking Thursday to Zelensky.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/VGgweFV_6MqPAL25vHmq4x7l8TQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23073695/AP21341641794893.jpg"/> <cite>Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP</cite>
<figcaption>
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with President Joe Biden via videoconference in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi, Russia, on December 7.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ahdsq5">
US and NATO officials have <a href="https://twitter.com/idreesali114/status/1466058435934527490?s=20">repeatedly indicated</a> they’re not interested in a head-to-head military conflict with Russia over Ukraine, which means the US and its allies are most likely looking at some sort of economic pressure on Russia.<strong> </strong>Some reporting suggests that any Russian provocation would <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-has-understanding-with-germany-shut-nord-stream-2-pipeline-if-
russia-invades-2021-12-07/">effectively kill Nord Stream 2</a>, the gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany that’s not yet up and running. Biden <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57180674">had waived sanctions against Nord Stream 2 in the spring</a>, a concession, in part, to its ally Germany but something Russia also saw as a win. Experts said there are other sanction options that could put pressure on Russia, such as cutting Russia off from SWIFT, the international payments system.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zWEDBL">
“I will look you in the eye and tell you, as President Biden looked Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/07/politics/biden-putin-call-ukraine/index.html">National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OwWJKd">
But tens of thousands of Russian troops are still at Ukraine’s borders, an undeniable threat. “The problem with these concentrations of troops is that this can come also as an embarrassment for Putin if he does not get anything of the sort out of it,” said Andreas Umland, a Kyiv-based analyst for the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Qo1ifJ">
And that something is not necessarily all- out war. Russia has already invaded Ukraine and is supporting separatists in Donbas (though it denies it). The heightened tensions mean Ukraine is also on high alert, and its military may be stretched as it tries to fend off a possible attack. Russia could take advantage and try to expand the conflict in eastern Ukraine. “The fact is, Putin can try to destabilize the Ukrainians by inflicting more casualties and trying to escalate. And from there, I can see, ‘Okay, can I go further? Or will the West react?’” Gressel said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aLYuTL">
This may even be the more likely scenario, and experts in the US, Europe, and Ukraine that I spoke to do not think war is inevitable, though it is undeniably a very dangerous situation. Putin’s ultimate goal is to get Ukraine to do what he wants, and what he wants is for Ukraine to come back under its influence and control. But even a large-scale evasion might not achieve that, and it would come with extreme costs for Russia. Russia could ultimately outmatch Ukraine’s military, but it would not be a bloodless fight. Russian soldiers would die — despite <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/02/russia-ukraine-
liberated/">Putin’s propaganda that suggests Ukraine would welcome Russia as its liberator</a>. A war with Ukraine could lead to an occupation, an insurgency, and the destruction of the country. No rational leader would attempt that, Motyl said. “And the answer to that is: But is Putin rational?”
</p>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Supreme Court appears really eager to force taxpayers to fund religious education</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization" src="https://cdn.vox-
cdn.com/thumbor/SV2AVwXN-p6XCDKvJZUPcgixiBc=/381x0:6524x4607/1310x983/cdn.vox-
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70245737/1236931870.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Reproductive rights and anti- abortion protesters rally outside the US Supreme Court before the start of oral arguments in <em>Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization</em> on December 1, 2021. | Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
</figcaption></figure></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Carson v. Makin appears likely to end in another transformative victory for the religious right.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZiSx0L">
At an oral argument held Wednesday morning, all six members of the Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed majority appeared likely to blow a significant new hole in the wall separating church and state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R2HXb6">
The case is <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/carson-v-makin/"><em>Carson v. Makin</em></a>; the question is whether the state of Maine is required to subsidize religious education; and the majority’s answer appears, at least under certain circumstances, to be yes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5OAgha">
Under current law, as Justice Elena Kagan noted during Wednesday’s argument, the question of whether to fund religious education is typically <a href="https://www.vox.com/22807738/supreme-court-carson-makin-maine-school-vouchers-religious-liberty-free-exercise-
right-tax">left up to elected officials</a>. Maine’s legislators decided not to do so when they drafted the state’s unusual tuition voucher program that’s at issue in <em>Carson, </em>and is meant to ensure that children in sparsely populated areas still receive a free education.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2ebStH">
The overwhelming majority of Maine schoolchildren attend a school designated by their local school district. But a small minority — <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-1088/197324/20211022151803212_Brief%20of%20Respondent%2010%2022%2021.pdf">fewer than 5,000</a> students, according to the state — live in rural areas where it is not cost-effective for the state to either operate its own public school or contract with a nearby school to educate local students. In these areas, students are provided a subsidy, which helps them pay tuition at the private school of their family’s choice.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PsxWiN">
The issue in <em>Carson</em> is that only “nonsectarian” schools are eligible for this subsidy. Families may still send their children to religious schools, but the state will not pay for children to attend schools that seek to inculcate their students into a religious faith.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y2IsHY">
All six of the Court’s Republican appointees appeared to think that this exclusion for religious schools is unconstitutional — meaning that Maine would be required to pay for tuition at pervasively religious schools. Notably, that could include schools that espouse hateful worldviews. According to the state, one of the plaintiff families in <em>Carson</em> wants the state to pay for a school that requires teachers to sign a contract stating that “the Bible says that ‘<a href="https://www.vox.com/22807738/supreme-court-carson-makin-maine-school-vouchers-religious-liberty-free-exercise-
right-tax">God recognize[s] homosexuals and other deviants as perverted</a>’” and that “[s]uch deviation from Scriptural standards is grounds for termination.’”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="y4oNLa">
In the likely event that these plaintiffs’ families prevail, that will mark a significant escalation in the Court’s decisions benefiting the religious right — even if the Court limits the decision narrowly to Maine’s situation.<strong> </strong>Shortly after Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation gave Republicans a 6-3 supermajority on the Supreme Court, the Court handed down a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/12/2/21726876/supreme-court-religious-liberty-revolutionary-roman-catholic-diocese-cuomo-
amy-coney-barrett">revolutionary decision</a> holding that people of faith may seek broad exemptions from the laws that apply to anyone else. But the Court has historically been more reluctant to require the government to tax its citizens and spend that money on religion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IHqcIz">
That reluctance may very well be gone.
</p>
<h3 id="WrPGBc">
The Court’s conservative majority wants to redefine what constitutes religious “discrimination”
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Db0iUU">
The purpose of Maine’s exclusion for sectarian schools, according to Christopher Taub, the lawyer given the unfortunate task of defending that exclusion against a hostile Supreme Court, is to ensure that the state remains “neutral and silent” on questions of religion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zRMASm">
For many years, the Constitution was understood to <em>require</em> this kind of neutrality. As the Court held in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3620075287275437211"><em>Everson v. Board of Education</em></a><em> </em>(1947), “no tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n6f3hG">
<em>Everson</em> was effectively abandoned by the Court’s decision in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=127516650659374253"><em>Zelman v. Simmons-Harris</em></a> (2002), in which a 5-4 Court upheld a pilot program in Ohio that provided tuition vouchers funding private education — including at religious schools. But <em>Zelman</em>, as Kagan pointed out today, merely held that states “could” fund religious education if they chose to do so. Nothing in that decision prevents states from adopting the same neutral posture toward religion that was once required by cases like <em>Everson</em>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F3hPG2">
On Wednesday, however, several members of the Court’s Republican-appointed majority questioned whether religious neutrality is even possible, and suggested that Maine’s efforts to remain neutral on questions of religion are themselves a form of discrimination against people of faith.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x3uNgN">
Chief Justice John Roberts, for example, proposed a hypothetical involving two private schools. One of these schools teaches its religious beliefs openly and explicitly, and it also teaches a particular set of religious values in the process. The other school might eschew explicit references to God or to a holy text, but it teaches a different value system that is motivated by religious beliefs. If the state funds the latter school but not the former one, Roberts asked, why is it not drawing “distinctions based on doctrine”?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GczMdf">
Justice Samuel Alito, meanwhile, offered the Fox News version of Roberts’s argument. Maine’s law, Alito noted, does not contain explicit exemptions for private schools that teach white supremacy or critical race theory, but it does explicitly exempt religious schools from its tuition program. The implication was that Maine is discriminating against religion and in favor of critical race theory.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hf5roF">
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, meanwhile, offered the most direct version of this argument that neutrality toward religion is the same thing as discrimination. “Discriminating against all religions” is still unlawful discrimination, Kavanaugh told Taub — a position that is difficult to square with the text of the First Amendment, which prohibits laws “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment">respecting an establishment of religion</a>.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YtN1jC">
It should be noted that Roberts and Kavanaugh are, while both very conservative, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/12/1/22811837/supreme-court-roe-wade-abortion-doomed-jackson-womens-health-dobbs-barrett-
kavanaugh-roberts">most moderate members</a> of the Court’s six-justice conservative bloc. So if both of these justices vote against Maine, it’s hard to imagine how the state finds five votes to sustain its law.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="23SsOR">
That said, there is an off chance that the Court will dismiss this case. Early in the oral argument, Justice Clarence Thomas pointed to the fact that his Court may not have jurisdiction to hear the <em>Carson</em> case.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mf8a4e">
Under <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10150124802357408838&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=6&amp;as_vis=1&amp;oi=scholarr"><em>Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife</em></a><em> </em>(1992), federal courts may not hear a lawsuit unless the injury alleged by the plaintiffs can be “redressed by a favorable decision.” But, according to Maine, both of the plaintiff families want to send their children to schools that might refuse state funds even if such funds are offered to them — because Maine forbids all entities that receive state subsidies from <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-1088/191423/20210903155751180_Brief%20for%20Petitioners.pdf">discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SKt32h">
Even if the Court were to order Maine to provide tuition subsidies to religious schools, in other words, the plaintiffs in <em>Carson</em> might wind up with nothing, because their preferred schools could choose to keep their anti-LGBTQ policies intact instead of receiving state subsidies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vf0w2o">
Nevertheless, even if the Court does ultimately decide to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction, that will only delay a reckoning over public funding for religious institutions. Eventually, some lawyer will find a school that is willing to accept state funding. And when that happens, there will likely be at least five votes on the Supreme Court to hand that lawyer a victory.
</p>
<h3 id="vdReZe">
The justices are likely to place some limits on its decision in <em>Carson</em>, but it’s not yet clear how they will justify those limits
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="alE4lO">
Although the six conservative justices showed little sympathy for Maine’s position — or for existing law — on Wednesday, some of them did suggest that there should be some limits on a decision forcing states to fund religion.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="69dLqq">
Roberts, for example, suggested that he might strike down a program that gave money directly to religious institutions in order to fund religious programs, rather than providing tuition grants to parents who then turn that money over to a religious school. Suppose that a state has a program that funds building construction at private schools, Roberts suggested at one point, but that also provides that the money cannot be used to build a chapel. He appeared to be suggesting that such an exclusion for chapel construction is permissible.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HuwTJ9">
Similarly, Kavanaugh asked Michael Bindas, the lawyer challenging Maine’s program, whether religious families are entitled to tuition vouchers merely because their state funds ordinary public schools. Bindas denied that tuition vouchers are required under these circumstances, pointing to a line in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-1195_g314.pdf"><em>Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue</em></a> (2020) stating that “<a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/6/30/21308204/supreme-court-
separation-church-state-espinoza-montana-school-religion">a State need not subsidize private education</a>.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vqm0VQ">
But it’s hard to draw a principled line between a Court decision requiring Maine to fund religious education as part of its existing private school tuition program and a decision requiring all states with a public school system to fund religious education.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b4kcrh">
In his brief, Bindas argues that policies that require religious families to “<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-1088/191423/20210903155751180_Brief%20for%20Petitioners.pdf">choose between their religious beliefs and receiving a government benefit</a>” are unconstitutional. But if the Constitution does not permit states to force families to choose between receiving a free education and a religious one, then then it’s unclear why this rule wouldn’t threaten <em>any</em> public school system.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lHrY1t">
Traditional public education, where students attend a government-run school for free, is a government benefit. All families who send their children to private, religious schools choose to forgo this government benefit. So, under the rule articulated in Bindas’s brief, every state may be required to pay for private tuition at religious schools.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XSnvEG">
In any event, the Court <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/12/7/22821274/texas-gerrymandering-justice-department-lawsuit-voting-
rights-act-supreme-court-biden">has previously drawn unprincipled lines</a> that are difficult to square with legal texts and existing doctrines. So if five justices are bothered by the possibility that ordinary public school districts may be required to fund religious education, they could simply declare that such a thing is not required and leave it at that. Proponents of a wall of separation between church and state can take some minor comfort in that fact.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NC1sXL">
At the very least, however, the Court appears likely to hand down a transformative decision rethinking much of its approach to religion — and to force at least some states to fund religious education in the process.
</p>
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</p>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Vijay Hazare Trophy | Atharva’s unbeaten 164 blows away Andhra Pradesh</strong> - Atharva Taide made a mockery of the chase as he blasted 15 boundaries and five sixes</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>Smriti Mandhana ideal choice to lead India after Mithali Raj retires: Shantha Rangaswamy</strong> - Former captain Shantha Rangaswamy feels “excellent performer” Mandhana “should be given the opportunity to lead the country”</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>Ashes Test | Head, Warner help Australia to 196-run lead at stumps on day two</strong> - David Warner set up the Australian innings with 94 runs, while Travis Head extended the lead with an unbeaten century</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>What India searched on Google and posted on Twitter in 2021</strong> - Social media giants release list of topics that trended on their websites</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>Cummins &amp; Co. rip through England</strong> - Skipper takes a five-for while Starc and Hazlewood scalp two each</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>Parliament passes Bill to enhance status of six more institutes of pharma education, research</strong> - The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Thursday with a voice vote.</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>Actor Jacqueline Fernandez appears before ED on day 2</strong> - The agency suspects she is a “beneficiary” of the proceeds.</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>No solution to Naga political issue if AFSPA not repealed: NSCN (I-M)</strong> - Emboldened by law, soldiers treating Nagas as sub-humans, it says</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>Opposition protests government’s move to extend tenures of CBI, ED directors; terms it ‘arbitrary’</strong> - Moving a statutory resolution for disapproval of the Ordinances, Congress MP Manish Tewari said those were “arbitrary, capricious” and an “exercise of power”.</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>Helicopter crash: Investigators fly drones to gather evidence</strong> - Foggy weather slows down pace of probe; pall of gloom in Kattery village</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>Russia Ukraine: Sending US troops not on table - Biden</strong> - The US president says a Western response to a Russian invasion would not include boots on the ground.</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>British waste dumped in Romania</strong> - A BBC investigation has uncovered British waste being illegally shipped to Romania and dumped.</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>Netherlands to buy Rembrandt Standard Bearer self-portrait</strong> - The Dutch government puts aside €150m for the 1636 work, currently owned by the Rothschild family.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Germany’s Olaf Scholz takes over from Merkel as chancellor</strong> - Olaf Scholz is sworn in as chancellor, leading a three-party coalition after 16 years of Merkel rule.</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>Bayern Munich 3-0 Barcelona: Barca out of Champions League and drop down to Europa League</strong> - Barcelona lose to Bayern Munich to miss out on a Champions League last-16 place and drop down into the Europa League.</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>Malicious NPM packages are part of a malware “barrage” hitting repositories</strong> - People’s trust in repositories make them the perfect vectors for malware. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1818997">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Revisiting the “Tsar Bomba” nuclear test</strong> - Sixty years after the historic detonation, a historian offers a fresh interpretation. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1811168">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Apple won’t have to allow iPhone apps to use third-party payments tomorrow after all</strong> - The status quo will stay in place until an appeal has been resolved. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1818893">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Tor is under threat from Russian censorship and Sybil attacks</strong> - Tor Project leaders disconnect rogue nodes and call on volunteers to bypass censorship. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1818891">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Stadia finally launches on LG TVs, shows off the greatness that could’ve been</strong> - Solid stuff, but it comes well after Google began winding Stadia’s concept down. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1818828">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>A Guys sits down in restaurant and orders a bowl of chili</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The waitress says, “Sorry, but the guy next to you got the last bowl”.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He looks over and sees that the guy’s finished his meal, but the bowl of chili is still full. He asks, “Are you going to eat that chili?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The other guy says, “No. Help yourself”.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
He slides the bowl of chili over and starts to eat. When he gets about half way down, his spoon hits something. He looks down sees a dead mouse and immediately pukes all the chili back into the bowl.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The other guy says, “Yeah, that’s about as far as I got, too”.
</p>
</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/nikan69"> /u/nikan69 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rc0wgx/a_guys_sits_down_in_restaurant_and_orders_a_bowl/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rc0wgx/a_guys_sits_down_in_restaurant_and_orders_a_bowl/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>I only recently found out that Albert Einstein was a real person..</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
All this time I thought he was only a theoretical physicist
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Comsicwastaken"> /u/Comsicwastaken </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rc5psq/i_only_recently_found_out_that_albert_einstein/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rc5psq/i_only_recently_found_out_that_albert_einstein/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Three gay men are at the crematorium</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
All three are mourning the recent death of their husbands and discussing their plans for scattering the ashes.
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The first, a pilot, says that he will scatter his husband’s ashes from the sky in the private plane that they built together.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The second, a sailor, says that he will scatter the ashes at sea, because their love of the sea kept them together during difficult times.
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The third, a cook, says that he intends to mix his husband’s ashes into a bowl of chili and eat it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The two other men look at him in horror and disgust. The pilot asks “why would you eat a bowl of chili with your husband’s ashes in it?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The cook says “So he can tear up my ass one last time”
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/atgr"> /u/atgr </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rca8ga/three_gay_men_are_at_the_crematorium/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rca8ga/three_gay_men_are_at_the_crematorium/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A woman got her nipple pierced right in front of me at a bar last night.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
On a completely unrelated note, I really suck at darts.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Prossdog"> /u/Prossdog </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rbz903/a_woman_got_her_nipple_pierced_right_in_front_of/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rbz903/a_woman_got_her_nipple_pierced_right_in_front_of/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A Politician Dies And Has To Spend Just ONE Day In Hell</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A politician dies and ends up standing in front of the pearly gates. Saint Peter looks at him for a second, flicks through his book, and finds his name.
</p>
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“So, you’re a politician…”
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“Well, yes, is that a problem?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Oh no, no problem. But we’ve recently adopted a new system for people in your line of work, and unfortunately you will have to spend a day in Hell. After that however, you’re free to choose where you want to spend eternity!”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Wait, I have to spend a day in Hell?!” says the politician. “Those are the rules,” replies St Peter, clicks his fingers, and WOOMPH, the guy disappears. He awakes, curled up with his hands over his eyes, knowing he’s in Hell. Cautiously, he listens for the screams, sniffs the air for brimstone, and finds… Nothing. Just the smell of, is that fabric softener? And cut grass, this can’t be right?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Open your eyes!” says a voice. “C’mon, wakey wakey, we’ve only got 24 hours!” Nervously, he uncovers his eyes, looks around, and sees he’s in a hotel room. A nice one too. Wait, this is a penthouse suite… And there’s a smiling man in a suit, holding a martini. “Who are you??” The politician asks.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well, I’m Satan!” says the man, handing him the drink and helping him to his feet. “Welcome to Hell!”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Wait, this is Hell? But… Where’s all the pain and suffering?” he asks.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Satan throws him a wink. “Oh, we’ve been a bit misrepresented over the years, it’s a long story. Anyway, this is your room! The minibar is of course free, as is the room service, there’s extra towels next to the hot-tub, and if you need anything, just call reception. But enough of this! It’s a beautiful day, and if you’d care to look outside…”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Slightly stunned by the opulent surroundings, the man wanders over to the floor-to-ceiling windows through which the sun is glowing, looks far down, and sees a group of people cheering and waving at him from a golf course.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“It’s one of 5 pro-level courses on site, and there’s another 6 just a few minutes drive out past the beach and harbour!” says Satan, answering his unasked question.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
So they head down in the lift, walk out through the glittering lobby where everyone waves and welcomes the man, as Satan signs autographs and cheerily talks shop with the laughing staff. And as he walks out, he sees the group on the golf course are made up of every one of his old friends, people he’s admired for years but never met or worked with, and people whose work he’s admired but died long before his career started. And out of the middle of this group walks his wife, with a massive smile and the body she had when she was 20, who throws her arms around him and plants a delicate kiss on his cheek. Everyone cheers and applauds, and as they slap him on the back and trade jokes, his worst enemy arrives, as a 2 foot tall goblin-esque caddy. He spends the day in the bright sunshine on the course, having the time of his life laughing at jokes and carrying important discussions, putting the world to rights with his friends while holding his delighted wife next to him as she gazes lovingly at him.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Later, they return to the hotel for dinner and have an enormous meal, perfectly cooked. As everyone is falling about laughing and flinging bread sticks at each other, his wife whispers in his ear… And they return to their penthouse suite, and spend the rest of the night making love like they did on their honeymoon. After hours of passion, the man falls deep into the 100% Egyptian cotton pillows, and falls into a deep and happy sleep… and is woken up by St Peter.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“So, that was Hell. Wasn’t what you were expecting, I bet?” “No sir!” says the man. “So then,” says St Peter. “You can make your choice. It’s Hell, which you saw, or Heaven, which has choral singing, talking to God, white robes, and so on.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well… I know this sounds strange, but on balance, I think I’d prefer Hell,” says the politician. “Not a problem, we totally understand! Enjoy!” says St Peter, and clicks his fingers again.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The man wakes up in total darkness, the stench of ammonia filling the air and distant screams the only noise. As he adjusts, he can see the only light is from belches of flame far away, illuminating the ragged remains of people being tortured or burning in a sulphurous ocean. A sudden bolt of lightning reveals Satan next to him, wearing the same suit as before and grinning, holding a soldering iron in one hand and a coil of razor-wire in the other. “What’s this??” He cries. “Where’s the hotel?? Where’s my wife??? Where’s the minibar, the golf-courses, the pool, the restaurant, the free drinks and the sunshine???”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Ah”, says Satan. “You see, yesterday, we were campaigning. But today, you voted.”
</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ChequeMateX"> /u/ChequeMateX </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rbp2gb/a_politician_dies_and_has_to_spend_just_one_day/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/rbp2gb/a_politician_dies_and_has_to_spend_just_one_day/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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