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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>Behind the Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy</strong> - The G.O.P. has gone from being a disciplined party of limited government to a party of anti-government protest to, now, a party of performative verbiage. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/behind-the-humiliation-of-kevin-mccarthy">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Benedict XVIs Most Powerful Influence on the Catholic Church Came Before He Was Pope</strong> - For more than two decades, as a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger repeatedly refused to let Catholics question Church doctrine. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/benedict-xvis-most-powerful-influence-on-the-catholic-church-came-before-he-was-pope">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Israels New Far-Right Government Means for Palestinians</strong> - Critics fear that Benjamin Netanyahus hard-line coalition will damage the countrys democracy and inflame tensions in the West Bank and Gaza. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/qanda-with-raja-shehadeh">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Profound Defiance of Daily Life in Kyiv</strong> - In the capital, Ukrainians track the trajectory of Russian missiles on smartphone apps, but refuse to be defeated by fear. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-profound-defiance-of-daily-life-in-kyiv">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kevin McCarthy Is Not the Only Loser in the House G.O.P.s Speaker Mess</strong> - Notes from a historic debacle on Capitol Hill. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/kevin-mccarthy-is-not-the-only-loser-in-the-house-gops-speaker-mess">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>The FDA could soon approve a new Alzheimers drug. Does this one actually work?</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6QJ5QkLicdGSXMwrp0IF2gmNjsk=/604x0:3900x2472/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71830629/GettyImages_1229653334a.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A nursing home resident in Krailling, Germany, plays the game “Memory” in 2020. | Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A promising new Alzheimers treatment must escape the shadow of its controversial predecessor.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fexK06">
A new <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22577776/alzheimers-disease-dementia-symptoms-aduhelm-drug">Alzheimers</a> medication appears to be on the verge of approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. But such a major milestone, given the present paucity of effective treatments, has been complicated by fresh revelations about the FDAs prior controversial approval of an Alzheimers drug — and lingering concerns among some experts that the hype could once again get out ahead of the science.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WE2zK0">
The federal agency is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/02/health/lecanemab-fda-decision-expected/index.html">expected to make a decision by Friday</a> about whether to grant accelerated approval to lecanemab, an intravenous injection developed by the Japanese biopharma company Eisai and the American manufacturer Biogen. Accelerated approval can be granted to new drugs with promising preliminary clinical trial results that meet an unmet medical need.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OTByAc">
There is reason for optimism, with the signs that patients who received the drug in clinical trials experienced less cognitive decline than those who did not. An effective drug would be a godsend for the more than 6 million people with Alzheimers and their families, a breakthrough after many decades of false starts and disappointments in finding a real treatment to slow the diseases uniquely devastating deterioration of a persons sense of self.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NV2PHp">
But lecanemabs quest for approval is shadowed by the previous approval of another Alzheimers drug to get accelerated approval: aducanemab, sold as Aduhelm. During aducanemabs development, clinical trials were halted at one point because analysts had concluded any further investigation was futile: The drug did not work. Nevertheless, in 2021, the FDA approved the drug over the objections of its own scientific advisers and <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22577776/alzheimers-disease-dementia-symptoms-aduhelm-drug">to the bafflement of doctors and patients alike</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kFPDdo">
A recent <a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24339017/Final_Aduhelm_Report_12.29.22.pdf">House report on the drugs approval</a>, released in late December, revealed the extent of the FDA and Biogens cooperation in pushing the drug to market. Two months after the clinical trials were halted in 2019, a Biogen executive and a senior FDA official met at a pharma conference and decided Biogen would push ahead with seeking approval. What followed was highly unusual coordination between a private company and its regulators, who met dozens of times to review Biogens data and even cooperated on briefing documents for the FDA scientific advisers who would give a final recommendation on approval.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ycbnNu">
Usually, in those documents, the opinions of the applying company and the FDA regulators are kept separate. But this time, any distinction was muddled, according to the House report, with the FDA even asking Biogen to insert FDA-drafted language into the companys section of the report.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6XWIpN">
“The findings in this report raise serious concerns about FDAs lapses in protocol and Biogens disregard of efficacy and access in the approval process for Aduhelm,” the House committee wrote. “The criticism surrounding Aduhelms approval may have been avoided had FDA adhered to its own guidance and internal practices.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qklqPO">
After the FDAs scientific advisers pointed to the lack of clear evidence that aducanemab slowed the development of dementia, as well as signs of serious side effects, Biogen and its FDA partners switched gears and sought accelerated approval instead — which has a lower threshold for approval. Biogen just needed to show that the drug did reduce the amount of amyloid plaque in a patients brain, not that the reduction then in fact stalled the decline in cognition. Company and FDA staff worked together to produce a statistical analysis that demonstrated the desired result, despite federal officials saying previously that they would not use such a secondary metric to authorize an Alzheimer drugs approval.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TRPmRl">
Accelerated approval was granted for aducanemab — for which Biogen initially planned to charge $56,000 — in July 2021. But the drugs momentum post-approval quickly slowed. Major health care institutions said they would not administer the drug, given the lack of empirical support for its effectiveness. Eventually, Medicare, which had been <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22524608/new-alzheimers-drug-cost-fda-approval-biogen">expected to be the largest purchaser of the drug</a>, said it would generally not cover aducanemab except in a clinical trial setting. That has led to minimal patient uptake over the last 18 months.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fwjDZx">
The approval of this breakthrough treatment purported to meaningfully improve the prognosis for Alzheimers patients instead became a major embarrassment for the pharmaceutical company that had developed it and the federal regulators who approved it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y0isjF">
Now the FDA is looking at another treatment.
</p>
<h3 id="aadKk7">
The important differences — and the similarities — between lecanemab and aducanemab
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wABnX7">
The leading theory of Alzheimers disease has been, in brief, that the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain disrupts normal brain functions and leads to its telltale dementia. But some experts have challenged that hypothesis and accused drug companies and academia of overlooking other avenues for trying to treat the disease. Lecanemab, the new drug coming up for approval, and aducanemab are both premised on the so-called amyloid hypothesis and target those plaques in the hope of alleviating dementia symptoms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q4ZBOA">
The evidence for lecanemabs effectiveness is stronger than aducanemabs. The results of its clinical trials published this week in <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2212948">the <em>New England Journal of Medicine</em></a> show that the patients who were given the drug over 18 months saw less cognitive decline using a broad measure of dementia compared to patients given a placebo.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="20DaCf">
That has made Eisai, Biogen, and the Alzheimers advocacy community optimistic that the FDA will ultimately sign off on its accelerated approval.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MspFpS">
“We believe, based on the totality of positive data from clinical trials of this treatment, that the FDA should approve. Peer-reviewed, published results show lecanemab will provide patients in the earliest stages of Alzheimers more time to participate in daily life and live independently. It could mean many months more of recognizing their spouse, children and grandchildren,” Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimers Associations chief science officer, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/02/health/lecanemab-fda-decision-expected/index.html">said in a statement to CNN</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P0ry4a">
Some experts have urged caution given the relatively small size of the measured effect, however, with the editors of the <em>Lancet</em> <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02480-1/fulltext">writing</a> in December that “whether lecanemab is the game changer that some have suggested remains to be seen.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lYGzZe">
Like aducanemab, this new drug is probably best targeted to people in the early stages of the disease. And like aducanemab, there have been reports of serious side effects, including a number of deaths, <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-tie-third-clinical-trial-death-experimental-alzheimer-s-drug">as <em>Science</em> reported last month</a>, though the exact interaction in those fatalities remains unclear.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="njtybl">
I asked doctors and social workers who work with Alzheimers patients about their perception of the new drugs approval, so soon after the disastrous aducanemab saga. Alison Lynn, director of social work at the Penn Memory Center, told me that shed heard from excited caregivers and patients.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tvdaVi">
But the clinical staff has concerns. “Our docs seem very optimistic about the more promising data on lecanemab, but cautiously so,” she said. “Some of the concerns from the debacle with Aduhelm remain the same, even with better data.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MabDNe">
Concerns about equitable access are paramount. Will Medicare cover this drug, unlike aducanemab? If not, access could be limited to the very wealthy, given <a href="https://www.eisai.com/news/2022/news202248.html">an estimated price between $9,200 and $35,600</a> for an annual course of treatment. Ideally, patients would receive a brain scan for amyloid plaque before receiving lecanemab, but that procedure is typically not covered by Medicare and can cost upward of $20,000 out of pocket. Patients will still need to go to a hospital to receive the injection every two weeks, which presents another barrier to access for people who struggle with dementia.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qmzoaf">
“What will we do when someone with more advanced dementia comes in and asks for this drug even though the data really only supports early-stage use?” Lynn said. “Basically, there are concerns about the logistics and ethics of access.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RiJXZv">
The approval of a new Alzheimers treatment should be cause for celebration. And there is good reason to believe that lecanemab will prove to be more successful than aducanemab.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mt2qCF">
But recent events also give good reason to be cautious. That is the unfortunate legacy of aducanemab for future Alzheimers drugs: It is a shadow from which they must escape.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Putins so-called Christmas ceasefire, explained</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KrJV9UEftSa1qSXScbvMV9WqBrM=/0x0:6607x4955/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71829286/1246012901.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with the head of Russias Karachay-Cherkessia Republic (not pictured) during their meeting in Moscow on January 5, 2023. | Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
This 36-hour unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine is really a propaganda move.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5ZIgzV">
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/01/05/world/russia-ukraine-news#it-was-unclear-if-ukraines-military-would-heed-putins-call-for-a-brief-cease-fire">a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine</a>, timed for the Orthodox Christmas, a move that at least one Ukrainian official derided as a <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-ukraine-dismisses-putin-truce-164450412.html">“propaganda gesture”</a> that will likely do little to foster real negotiations or otherwise change the trajectory of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/russia-invasion-ukraine">war</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y6XF3Z">
Putin ordered the Russian military to obey a temporary ceasefire <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70330">“along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine,”</a> according to a statement from the Kremlin. The halt in Russian fighting is supposed to last from noon on Friday, January 6, until midnight on Saturday, January 7, in observance of the Orthodox Christmas holiday. The Kremlin cited a speech from <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/01/05/patriarch-kirill-calls-for-orthodox-christmas-ceasefire-in-ukraine-a79875">Patriarch Kirill</a>, the firebrand head of the Russian Orthodox Church <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-patriarch-kirill-dying-ukraine-sins/32052380.html">who has been a full-throated supporter of both Putin and the invasion of Ukraine</a>, as the reason for the decision. “As a large number of Orthodox Christians reside in the area of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire to allow them to attend church services on Christmas Eve as well as on Christmas Day,” <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70330">said the Kremlins statement</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wamcf1">
A pause in the fighting after months of an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/world/europe/ukraine-russia-himars-makiivka.html#:~:text=The%20strike%20by%20the%20HIMARS,refused%20to%20acknowledge%20serious%20losses.">increasingly bloody conflict</a> would typically be a welcome development, but this announcement has largely been dismissed by Ukraine and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/5/russia-ukraine-live-nato-warns-against-underestimating-russia">some of its Western partners</a> as an obvious political ploy. A top Ukrainian official, Mykhailo Podolyak, <a href="https://twitter.com/Podolyak_M/status/1611028379771482118?s=20&amp;t=t8vRZJSjV6GDMMp13SZ5Jw">wrote on Twitter</a> that the “Russian Federation must leave the occupied territories - only then will it have a temporary truce. Keep hypocrisy to yourself.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jZp45z">
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also cynical, accusing Russia of trying to use the ceasefire to regroup in eastern Donbas. “They now want to use Christmas as a cover, albeit briefly, to stop the advances of our boys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition, and mobilized troops closer to our positions,” <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/5/russia-ukraine-live-nato-warns-against-underestimating-russia">Zelenskyy said</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tW4YdN">
Both Ukraine and Western officials have good reason to be skeptical of Putins announcement. Beyond Russias spotty record of committing to ceasefires, this truce is more a propaganda move for a domestic audience than a genuine gesture of goodwill toward Ukraine.
</p>
<h3 id="6vZMK5">
This is a pretty fake Christmas ceasefire
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2pzOkm">
Putins announcement is trying to achieve a few things.<strong> </strong>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="42o8ZR">
For one, it tries to make Putin, who continues to oversee this brutal invasion, seem like a good guy to the Russian public, giving brave Russian soldiers a break and extending an olive branch in the spirit of Christmas — one that Ukraine has signaled it will reject.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zU0g0M">
Support for the war in Ukraine <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/world/europe/ryazan-russia-support-ukraine-war.html">still appears pretty strong among the Russian public</a>, so Putin doesnt necessarily need a huge boost, but this ceasefire still lets Putin solidify the spin that the Kremlin is not the aggressor here. It also feeds strongly into Putins <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/world/europe/putin-ukraine-genocide.html">baseless propaganda</a> on why he prosecuted this invasion in the first place. “Its more likely a domestic signal to ensure continued support from the Orthodox Church and in line with the broader (false) narrative that Russia is fighting this war out of a humanistic interest to protect people of their shared religion and race from persecution,” said Margarita Konaev, a research fellow at Georgetowns Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="otQeee">
To help justify and make a moral case for the invasion, Putin has relied on the support of the Russian Orthodox Church, and its leader <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/01/05/patriarch-kirill-calls-for-orthodox-christmas-ceasefire-in-ukraine-a79875">Kirill</a>, both of which have claimed ethnic Russians are being targeted in Ukraine. Ukraine has, in recent months, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/world/europe/zelensky-ukraine-orthodox-church.html">cracked down on the Russian Orthodox Church within the country</a>, scrutinizing it for being an arm of the Kremlins influence operations. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has traditionally been subordinate to that in Moscow, but the relationship strained in the years leading up to Russias full-scale war, with an <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/moscow-calls-independent-ukrainian-church-us-backed-provocation-/4611972.html">independent church forming</a>. The war has since <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/05/28/1101921353/orthodox-church-in-ukraine-has-decided-to-cut-ties-with-russia">forced many Ukrainian Orthodox leaders to officially cut ties</a>. The Orthodox Church in Ukraine allowed its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/07/orthodox-church-of-ukraine-allows-worshippers-to-celebrate-christmas-on-25-december">worshippers to celebrate Christmas on December 25</a> rather than January 7 this year because of what is widely perceived to be the Russian Orthodox Churchs complicity in the Ukraine war. The timing of Putins ceasefire seems intended to bolster the relationship between the Kremlin and Kirill, but also appeal to Russias worshippers and call attention to another split between Moscow and Kyiv.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UGVdMZ">
The ceasefire also helps to obscure from the Russian people what Russia is actually doing in Ukraine. Putin is framing the ceasefire as a way to keep Ukrainians safe so they can gather together, without fear of violence, as if Putin suddenly cares about civilians. Moscow has spent the past few months engaged in a ruthless <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/11/18/23460933/ukraine-infrastructure-strikes-russia-blackouts-war">bombing campaign targeting critical civilian, residential, and energy infrastructure</a>, which has continued to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/zelenskiy-power-shortages-persist-nearly-9-million-ukrainians-without-2022-12-26/">leave millions of Ukrainians without power in some of the coldest months of the year</a>. Russia launched one of its biggest strikes just days before the new year, and also unleashed a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/12/31/russian-missiles-strike-kyiv-new-year">barrage on New Years Eve.</a> “I think its to whitewash what Russia is doing and show the comparison — put in peoples heads domestically: Were going to have this ceasefire so people can attend church — as if Ukrainians are going to bomb a church, which doesnt happen,” said Olga Lautman, a researcher and senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4KvBQg">
Biden pointed out this <a href="https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1611070267559665676?s=20&amp;t=m0QhwS94psXZKgk2Sxqkow">discrepancy — bombings in late December</a>, only to take a pause now — in a brief statement Thursday. He added, of Putin: “I think hes trying to find some oxygen.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xg86pq">
And this is likely true, too: Russia might just need a break. Its military has suffered heavy losses on the battlefield, including a recent attack in the Donestk where Ukraine claimed to have killed scores of Russian fighters. (The exact toll is unclear, but even <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/02/1146556299/russia-ukraine-donetsk-attack">Russia has said the number dead is greater than 80 soldiers.</a>) The battle in the eastern city of Bakhmut is <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/02/1146556299/russia-ukraine-donetsk-attack">increasingly bloody for both sides</a>, but even Russia has admitted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/03/ukraine-wagner-leader-counts-cost-as-russian-offensive-stalls-in-bakhmut">things are bleak</a>. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Putin-allied oligarch and head of the Wagner Group — a mercenary force that Russia is relying on heavily in Bakhmut — said its fighters are facing heavy casualties for very small gains. Reports of <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/vladimir-putin-russia-army-struggling-low-morale-ukraine-isw-b1048882.html">low morale among Russian troops</a> have persisted for months, and Lautman said Moscow may need “to reorganize and stabilize the front lines.” Zelenskyy, of course, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/putin-ceasefire-orthodox-christmas-1.6704833">has alleged the same</a>. The timing just happens to work out.
</p>
<h3 id="pnjoNQ">
One ceasefire wont do much to change the course of the war
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CQ9i4c">
Putin will fulfill some domestic political goals with this proposed ceasefire, whether or not Russian forces follow through.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mU8PmX">
Moscow has a bit of a track <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/Syria-Russia-air-strikes-Idlib-ceasefire">record of violating ceasefires</a>. Last year, for example, Ukrainian officials said <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-05-06/mariupol-city-council-says-car-hit-during-evacuation-attempt-one-ukrainian-fighter-killed">Moscow continued its attacks</a> on Mariupol despite its promise to allow for a humanitarian corridor for evacuations and aid. Just because Russia says its going to stop fighting for Christmas doesnt mean it actually will. Konaev also pointed out that violence can sometimes intensify ahead of ceasefires as sides try to secure better positioning.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2CruL4">
What does seem clear is that Russias ceasefire announcement is divorced from any legitimate effort to seek a lasting ceasefire or conduct some sort of outreach for negotiations. Both Russia and Ukraine have rejected calls for talks of late, including an overture just this week from <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/5/russia-announces-cease-fire-on-orthodox-christmas">Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan</a>,<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/16/erdogan-russia-ukraine-grain-deal-black-sea"> </a>who has helped broker deals like the one to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/16/erdogan-russia-ukraine-grain-deal-black-sea">help ship Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Kh4O15">
In a call with Erdogan this week, Putin reportedly told the Turkish leader that yes, the Kremlin was open to real dialogue with Kyiv — that is, if Ukraine <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/jan/05/russia-ukraine-war-live-no-rational-reason-west-hasnt-sent-tanks-says-zelenskiy-as-allies-offer-armoured-vehicles-instead?page=with:block-63b6bef58f084f5e7540c343#block-63b6bef58f084f5e7540c343">“takes into account the new territorial realities.”</a> In other words, Ukraine accede its territory that Russia has captured or illegally annexed as a precondition for negotiations, something Moscow has demanded repeatedly. The Ukrainian government has always said this is<strong> </strong>untenable. Now, Kyivs steady battlefield gains and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/05/germany-tanks-ukraine-russia-war">continued support from the West</a> have made it even more committed to a full-on military victory that would push Russia out of its territory.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jBqj3E">
On the same day that Putin promised a “Christmas truce,” the United States and Germany <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/05/biden-ukraine-bradley-vehicles-tanks-00076549">agreed to send armored combat vehicles to Ukraine</a> — something <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/9/17/23355120/ukraine-wants-more-weapons-can-europe-provide">Kyiv has wanted for a while</a>, in addition to high-tech tanks. (France has also committed to sending <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/05/biden-ukraine-bradley-vehicles-tanks-00076549">infantry-fighting vehicles this week</a>.) Berlin is chipping in a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-olaf-scholz-germany-84fc07af2356d8d02adec2e987d06c0a">Patriot missile defense system</a> after Washington gifted Zelenskyy one during his <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/21/23520639/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-biden-congress">visit to Washington last year</a> — along with another <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/zelenskyy-visits-washington-to-meet-with-biden-and-address-congress-amid-plea-for-more-aid">couple of billion in security assistance</a>, and ultimately another <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-patriot-missiles-new-45b-aid-package-for-ukraine/6889446.html">$45 billion in aid approved by Congress</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SrWuA7">
These are signals of digging in, rather than a breakthrough. Fighting in Ukraine has not slowed as anticipated in winter. Putin has admitted to the Russian public they should <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/world/europe/putin-russia-ukraine-war.html">be prepared for a long battle in Ukraine</a>. This ceasefire may serve the narrative Putin needs to wage that long battle, but it will do little to influence the trajectory of a war now inching close to the one-year mark.
</p></li>
<li><strong>The stalled effort to elect a House speaker</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aOBrjin1t8mCj4-zyNPIuWwgrcs=/330x0:5606x3957/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71828499/1454437547.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
US Representative-elect Brian Mast (R-FL) delivers remarks in the House Chamber during the third day of elections for speaker of the House at the US Capitol Building. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Rep. Kevin McCarthy just lost his seventh house vote. Will his concessions be enough to convince Republican hardliners?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l1W2Gh">
Nearly a third day has passed and the US Congress remains undecided on a speaker of the House, making <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/3/23537373/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-vote">Republican Kevin McCarthys</a> now seventh-round loss for votes even more concerning.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P2rM4H">
Republicans remain unable to agree on the necessary votes to elect McCarthy or any other candidate. Democrats, on the other hand, have unanimously voted on New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. As Voxs Ben Jacobs shares, there are <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/4/23539597/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-vote-result">four ways to settle the current stymied situation</a>: McCarthy makes a concession or concedes, the stalemate continues, or Republicans and Democrats decide on a “unity candidate” — the last of which seems far from probable.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PCbTJ8">
This is the first time in 100 years that Congress has required<strong> </strong>more than one ballot to elect a speaker. With McCarthy now losing his seventh ballot, more substantial issues could persist.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I5TAUe">
“The speakership chaos could well presage a catastrophic collapse of American governance over the debt ceiling and funding issues this year — or at least a very tense situation until a deal can be worked out,” <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/4/23537063/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-debt-ceiling">writes Voxs Andrew Prokop</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rlAI16">
Thursday evening, McCarthy offered <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/5/23540554/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-offer-republicans-concessions">concessions</a> that seem promising, but its unclear whether the Republicans who held their votes are genuinely considering any alternatives.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FgKwbz">
In an effort to gain influence on legislation and weaken the office of the speaker, a small group of far-right GOP House members are putting a wrench in their partys ability to complete its first task as the newly GOP-led House.
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Balor, Watchmystars, Phoenix Surprise and Augusto shine</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Wall Street and Rasputin catch the eye</strong> -</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>FA Cup 2022/23: What is the history, third-round schedule, and prize money of the worlds oldest national football cup competition?</strong> - More FA Cup action is on the cards starting this coming week, with many Indian fans following their favourite teams on TV or smartphones.</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>Aus vs SA 3rd Test | Rain washes out Day 3, dampening Australia's hopes of series sweep</strong> - After rain and bad light delays across he first two days of the third Test between Australia and South Africa, consistent rain on day three meant no play was possible at all</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>Harry Kane says World Cup penalty miss against France will haunt him for rest of his life</strong> - In England's 2-1 defeat to France at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, captain Kane scored their first goal from the spot but blazed his effort over the bar when presented with a second chance to pull them level</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>Lokayukta holds meeting in Shivamogga</strong> - Promises action against government officers accused of dereliction of duty</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>Highway to be constructed to link northeastern part of Mizoram with Manipur: CM</strong> - The Centre has sanctioned ₹31 crore for the construction of the Khawlian-Daido-Vawngkawt road on the Mizoram-Manipur border.</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>Telangana allowed to raise ₹37,650 crore OMBs during the current fiscal, says Union Finance Ministry</strong> - Permission given for raising ₹9,572 crore OMBs for the remaining period of this fiscal</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>Crime Branch to probe Nayana Suryas death</strong> - Move comes against the backdrop of demands by filmmakers friends to revive the probe</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>My Space</strong> -</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Kyiv rejects Putins Russian Orthodox Christmas truce</strong> - The 36-hour Orthodox Christmas ceasefire is “a cover” to stop the Ukrainian advance, Zelensky 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>Nagorno-Karabakh: Empty shops and blockade pile pressure on Armenians</strong> - Supplies have stopped coming in because of a blockade of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.</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>Gianluca Vialli: Former Chelsea, Juventus, Sampdoria and Italy striker dies aged 58</strong> - Former Chelsea striker and manager Gianluca Vialli, who played 59 times for Italy, dies at the age 58.</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>Pope praises wise, tender Benedict at solemn burial</strong> - Former Pope Benedicts funeral takes place at the Vatican, as Francis celebrates Mass with pilgrims.</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>Ales Bialiatski: Nobel Prize-winning activist stands trial in Belarus</strong> - Ales Bialiatski been held without trial since he was arrested during anti-government protests in 2021.</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>Theres more than one way to mummify a dinosaur, study finds</strong> - Exceptionally preserved duck-billed hadrosaur had bite marks and gashes in its skin. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1908002">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>NYC schools block ChatGPT, fearing negative impact on learning</strong> - Network ban comes amid “concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1907928">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>First LastPass, now Slack and CircleCI. The hacks go on (and will likely worsen)</strong> - Dont expect victims to be forthcoming. Their alerts conceal more than they reveal. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1908184">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Android one-ups Apples satellite SOS with general-purpose satellite SMS</strong> - Qualcomm packs traditional Iridium satellite compatibility into a normal phone. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1908115">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ram shows off its first fully electric pickup truck at CES, due 2024</strong> - Ram went for futuristic styling for its first full-size EV pickup. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1908112">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>My girlfriend asked me who my favorite vampire was…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I told her it was the dude from Sesame street
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
She said, “He doesnt count.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I said, “Oh I assure you, he does.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
(obligatory cake day joke)
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/CplRicci"> /u/CplRicci </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1045bcw/my_girlfriend_asked_me_who_my_favorite_vampire_was/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1045bcw/my_girlfriend_asked_me_who_my_favorite_vampire_was/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A priest goes to see his Bishop and asks if he would hear his confession</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Of course,” the Bishop said and took out his rosary. “And what do you have to confess?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well Your Grace I used profane language,” the priest says, shifting a bit in obvious embarrassment.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“I understand,” the Bishop says. “And under what circumstance did you use the profanity?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well Your Grace I was playing golf and I stepped up to the tee on a par four and I hit what is probably the best drive of my life. Long and straight as an arrow,” the priest replied.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well surely there was no cause to blaspheme then?” the Bishop said with a frown.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Well no,” the priest said, “but as it flew down the fairway it hit an overhead wire and dropped down only a hundred yards away.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Ah,” said the Bishop. “So thats when you blasphemed.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“No Your Grace,” the priest said. “You see when it hit the ground a gopher popped up, grabbed the ball and started running away with it toward the woods.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Oh so that is what made you curse,” the Bishop said with a nod.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“No Your Grace because just as he was about to get to the woods a great owl swooped down and grabbed him in his talons and started to fly away.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Okay so that is when you used a profanity,” The Bishop said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“No sir, you see as the owl flew off with the gopher, the gopher dropped the ball from the sky and it landed on the green and rolled to just two feet away from the hole.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The Bishop looked at the priest carefully and said, “You missed the fucking putt didnt you?”
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/cjinbarrie"> /u/cjinbarrie </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/104f0hl/a_priest_goes_to_see_his_bishop_and_asks_if_he/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/104f0hl/a_priest_goes_to_see_his_bishop_and_asks_if_he/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What did the 0 say to the ten?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Thanks for reading my joke.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Musicferret"> /u/Musicferret </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1046ou5/what_did_the_0_say_to_the_ten/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1046ou5/what_did_the_0_say_to_the_ten/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mother Superior gathers all 100 nuns in the chapel.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Im afraid we have some bad news,” the Mother Superior says. “It appears one of you has been sneaking out and sinning behind the chapel walls.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
99 nuns gasp, 1 nun giggles.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“We know this because we found a used condom just outside the gates.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
99 nuns gasp, 1 nun giggles.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“And,” Mother Superior continues, “the condom was broken.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
1 nun gasps, 99 nuns giggle.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/dr_olfin"> /u/dr_olfin </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/104p2l9/mother_superior_gathers_all_100_nuns_in_the_chapel/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/104p2l9/mother_superior_gathers_all_100_nuns_in_the_chapel/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I accidentally sent a dick pic to everyone in my address book.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Not only was it embarrassing, it also cost a fortune in stamps.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/eman2top"> /u/eman2top </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/104bfbe/i_accidentally_sent_a_dick_pic_to_everyone_in_my/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/104bfbe/i_accidentally_sent_a_dick_pic_to_everyone_in_my/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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