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  • Genetics Played Role in Blood Clots Linked to COVID-19 Shots

    Genetics Played Role in Blood Clots Linked to COVID-19 Shots

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    Rare but deadly blood clots tied to Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 shots were caused by an autoimmune reaction that some people are predisposed to, researchers found, a discovery that they say will shape development of future vaccines.

    Adenovirus-based vaccines, like the J&J and AstraZeneca shots that were later pulled from the market, contain a component that, in genetically susceptible people, can trigger the production of unusually structured antibodies against a protein involved in blood clotting, scientists said Wednesday in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers plan to identify the culprit and then try to remove it using genetic engineering.

    Read More: How COVID-19 Vaccines and Infections Are Tweaking Our Immunity

    An extremely similar deleterious antibody response occurs in susceptible patients after infection with adenoviruses, which often infect the airways and lead to cold-like symptoms, the study found. It’s not known how many people may be susceptible to the complication, said Tom Gordon, head of immunology at Flinders University in South Australia, whose molecular sleuthing led to the finding.

    The immune reaction linked to the shot is “a new disease,” he said in an interview. Hematologists and intensive care specialists are likely to spot more cases as they become familiar with it, he said.

    “It’s a kind of autoimmunity where we know the trigger,” said immunologist James McCluskey, assistant vice chancellor of the University of Melbourne, who wasn’t involved in the research. “That’s unusual. In most cases we never get a handle on the trigger.”

    Vaccines withdrawn

    Out of more than 18 million people who received the single-dose J&J vaccine, 60 cases of the clotting disorder were reported and nine people died, according to the Yale School of Medicine. 

    A small number of clot-related deaths tied to the AstraZeneca vaccine led to its withdrawal or restriction in Denmark, Norway and other countries in 2021. The complication occurred in about 2-3 people per 100,000 vaccinated with the Astra shot under age 60 in Australia, where it hasn’t been available since March 2023. The European Commission withdrew the marketing authorization for the immunization in March 2024.

    “AstraZeneca welcomes any further examination of the possible underlying mechanism of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), given that, despite extensive investigation, we do not yet understand the mechanism that can in very rare cases be a trigger for TTS,” a spokesperson for the company said.

    J&J also said it supports research that helps guide development of safe and effective vaccines. 

    Read More: The Miracle Workers: Vaccine Scientists Are TIME’s 2021 Heroes of the Year

    “More data are needed to fully understand potential factors that may be associated with this rare event, including its potential relationship with adeno- and other viruses, to draw appropriate conclusions about the underlying pathogenesis,” the company said in an email. 

    Both shots played an important role in vaccine programs during the early stages of the pandemic. One analysis found the Astra vaccine saved an estimated 6.3 million lives in 2021.

    The mRNA vaccines made by the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE partnership and Moderna Inc. were later found to be more effective at protecting against Covid and have been updated to tackle more recent virus variants.

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    Jason Gale / Bloomberg

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  • How Inhaling Wildfire Smoke Can Affect You in the Long Term

    How Inhaling Wildfire Smoke Can Affect You in the Long Term

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    Wildfires burning in Canada started sending smoke across the border on Sunday and into the week, prompting U.S. officials to issue air quality warnings in several northern states—and experts say people should be prepared to experience more air quality alerts this summer.

    Parts of Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin suffered from poor air quality on Sunday and Monday because of smoke from wildfires continuing to burn in British Columbia and Alberta. While skies in the U.S. mostly cleared by Tuesday, experts say they’re expecting another active wildfire season this summer. 

    Last summer was Canada’s most devastating wildfire season on record, and researchers found that it was also the worst season in recent history for smoke exposure per U.S. resident. 

    “We still think that last year was pretty extreme, kind of an anomaly, but we do expect an above average year (this year) in terms of air quality alerts,” says David Brown, an air quality meteorologist at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

    Brown urged people to be aware and cautious because of the danger that inhaling wildfire smoke poses.

    “Wildfire smoke can really affect everyone,” Brown tells TIME. “Prior to these really bad two summers, air quality has kind of been … an issue that probably only affects a small percentage of the population. But these impactful wildfire smoke events really can have impacts on everyone, so everyone kind of has to pay closer attention to the weather and air quality.”

    Fine particles in wildfire smoke—known as PM2.5 because they have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers—are so small that they can enter your lungs and even your bloodstream, according to Craig Czarnecki, the outreach coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Air Management Program. 

    The average person could experience relatively mild symptoms after breathing in these particles, like a scratchy throat and itchy eyes, Brown explains. But for children, older people, and people with pre-existing heart or respiratory conditions, breathing in these particles can cause more significant symptoms—for instance, it could exacerbate a person’s asthma. In extreme cases, some people with pre-existing heart conditions have experienced heart attacks or heart palpitations.

    Read More: What Wildfire Smoke Does to the Human Body

    A 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found an association between smoke from Canadian wildfires and an increase in the number of people being treated for asthma-related symptoms in emergency departments in New York City.

    The study shows that “wildfire smoke is a public health threat,” according to Kai Chen, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Public Health and lead author of the study. But the effect of wildfire smoke on asthma is “just one piece” of the impact wildfire smoke can have on people’s health, Chen says.

    Research also shows that exposure to wildfire smoke could have long-term impacts. A working paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research found that, as climate change increases the prevalence and intensity of wildfires, wildfire smoke exposure could lead to nearly 28,000 deaths a year by 2050 —a 76% increase from estimated average deaths between 2011 and 2020.

    Other studies show that long-term exposure to PM2.5 can impair children’s lung development and increase the risk of developing lung cancer or heart disease.

    When officials issue air quality alerts, people should limit their exposure to the wildfire smoke, reduce exertion, and keep an eye out for potential symptoms, like coughing or shortness of breath, Brown and Czarnecki advise. Wearing an N95 mask might be helpful if people are going to be outside for extended periods of time, Czarnecki adds.

    “When we have advisories like this, the best way to prevent breathing particles during smoke events is to stay indoors,” Czarnecki says.

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    Chantelle Lee

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  • Russia’s Putin to Visit Xi in China

    Russia’s Putin to Visit Xi in China

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    BEIJING — Russian President Vladimir Putin will make a two-day state visit to China this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

    Putin will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his visit starting on Thurday, it said.

    The Kremlin in a statement confirmed the trip and said Putin was going on Xi’s invitation. It said that this will be Putin’s first foreign trip since he was sworn in as president and began his fifth term in office.

    Read More: How China’s Economic Crisis Is Worsened by the War in Ukraine

    The two continent-sized authoritarian states, increasingly in dispute with democracies and NATO, seek to gain influence in Africa, the Middle East and South America. China has backed Russia’s claim that President Vladimir Putin launched his assault on Ukraine in 2022 because of Western provocations, without producing any solid evidence.

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    Associated Press

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  • First Person to Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Dies

    First Person to Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Dies

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    BOSTON — The first recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died nearly two months after he underwent the procedure, his family and the hospital that performed the surgery said Saturday.

    Richard “Rick” Slayman had the transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in March at the age of 62. Surgeons said they believed the pig kidney would last for at least two years.

    The transplant team at Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement it was deeply saddened by Slayman’s passing and offered condolences to his family. They said they didn’t have any indication that he died as a result of the transplant.

    The Weymouth, Massachusetts, man was the first living person to have the procedure. Previously, pig kidneys had been temporarily transplanted into brain-dead donors. Two men received heart transplants from pigs, although both died within months.

    Slayman had a kidney transplant at the hospital in 2018, but he had to go back on dialysis last year when it showed signs of failure. When dialysis complications arose requiring frequent procedures, his doctors suggested a pig kidney transplant.

    In a statement, Slayman’s family thanked his doctors.

    “Their enormous efforts leading the xenotransplant gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and our memories made during that time will remain in our minds and hearts,” the statement said.

    They said Slayman underwent the surgery in part to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive.

    “Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever,” the statement said.

    Xenotransplantation refers to healing human patients with cells, tissues or organs from animals. Such efforts long failed because the human immune system immediately destroyed foreign animal tissue. Recent attempts have involved pigs that have been modified so their organs are more humanlike.

    More than 100,000 people are on the national waiting list for a transplant, most of them kidney patients, and thousands die every year before their turn comes.

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    Associated Press

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  • Switzerland’s Nemo Wins 68th Eurovision Song Contest

    Switzerland’s Nemo Wins 68th Eurovision Song Contest

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    MALMO, Sweden — Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with “The Code,” an operatic ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing their nongender identity.

    Nemo beat Croatia’s Baby Lasagna to the title by winning the most points from a combination of national juries and viewers around the world.

    The victory in the Swedish city of Malmo followed a turbulent year for the pan-continental pop contest that saw large street protests against the participation of Israel that tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza.

    Hours before the final, Dutch competitor Joost Klein was expelled from the contest over a backstage altercation that was being investigated by police.

    The 68th Eurovision Song Contest finally got down to musical business Saturday in the Swedish city of Malmo after days of protests and offstage drama that have tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza.

    A raucous Croatian rocker, a nonbinary Swiss performer with a soaring voice and — contentiously — a young Israeli singer with a powerful ballad were among acts from 25 countries vying for the continent’s musical crown.

    Before the final, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through Malmo to oppose the participation of Israel. Separately, Dutch contender Joost Klein was expelled from the contest over a backstage altercation that is being investigated by police.

    Competition organizer the European Broadcasting Union said a female member of the production crew had made a complaint against the 26-year-old Dutch singer and rapper, who had been a favorite of both bookmakers and fans with his song “Europapa.”

    Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters that collectively fund and broadcast the contest, said that as Klein came offstage after Thursday’s semifinal, he was filmed without his consent and in turn made a “threatening movement” toward the camera.

    The broadcaster said Klein didn’t touch the camera or the camera operator, and called his expulsion “disproportionate.”

    The protests and dissent overshadowed a competition that has become a campy celebration of Europe’s varied — and sometimes baffling — musical tastes and a forum for inclusiveness and diversity with a huge LGBT following.

    The competitors performed in front of a live audience of thousands and an estimated 180 million viewers around the world. Each contestant had three minutes to meld catchy tunes and eye-popping spectacle into performances capable of winning the hearts of millions of viewers. Musical styles ranged across rock, disco, techno and rap — sometimes a mashup of more than one.

    The winner will be decided by Eurovision’s famously complex system of jury and public votes, with each act hoping to escape the humiliation of getting “nul points” — zero points.

    The contest returned to Sweden, home of last year’s winner, Loreen, a half-century after ABBA won Eurovision with “Waterloo” — Eurovision’s most iconic moment. ABBA did not appear in person in Malmo, though their digital “ABBA-tars” from the “ABBA Voyage” stage show did.

    A trio of former Eurovision winners — Charlotte Perrelli, Carola and Conchita Wurst — came onstage to sing “Waterloo” as votes were being cast and counted.

    Sweden’s entry, identical twins Marcus and Martinus, opened the competition with their optimistically named song “Unforgettable,” followed by Ukrainian duo alyona alyona & Jerry Heil with “Teresa & Maria,” a powerful tribute to their war-battered country.

    After German balladeer Isaak and Luxembourg chanteuse Tali, Israeli singer Eden Golan took the stage to a wall of sound — boos mixed with cheers — to perform the power ballad “Hurricane.” Golan has shot up the odds table through the week, despite the protests that her appearance has drawn.

    Eurovision organizers ordered a change to the original title of her song, “October Rain” — an apparent reference to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the war in Gaza.

    The show was typically eclectic Eurovision fare: Lithuania’s Silvester Belt was an affable young crooner, while Estonia’s 5Miinust x Puuluup offered a pop-zombie folk hybrid featuring the talharpa, a traditional stringed instrument. Greek singer Marina Satti and Armenia’s Ladaniva both merged folk song and dance elements with power pop, while Britain’s Olly Alexander offered upbeat dance track “Dizzy.”

    Contenders also included the goofy 1990s nostalgia of Finland’s Windows95man, who emerged from a giant onstage egg wearing very little clothing. Ireland’s gothic Bambie Thug summoned a demon onstage and brought a scream coach to Malmo, while Spain’s Nebulossa boldly reclaimed a term used as a slur on women in “Zorra.”

    The favorites included Swiss singer Nemo — who would be the first nonbinary Eurovision winner if the operatic song “The Code” tops the voting — and Croatia’s Baby Lasagna. His song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” is a rollicking rock number that tackles the issue of young Croatians leaving the country in search of a better life.

    Though Eurovision’s motto is “united by music,” this year’s event has proven divisive.

    Tensions and nerves were palpable in the hours before the final. Several artists were absent from the Olympics-style artists’ entrance at the start of the final dress rehearsal, though all appeared at the final.

    The announcers due to read the results for Norway and Finland both dropped out at the last minute, citing external events.

    Powerhouse French singer Slimane cut short his ballad “Mon Amour” at the dress rehearsal to give a speech urging people to be “united by music, yes — but with love, for peace.” He did not repeat the speech during the evening final.

    Several competitors made reference to peace or love at the end of their performances.

    Pro-Palestinian protesters argue that Israel shouldn’t be allowed to take part amid a war that has killed almost 35,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

    Thousands of people marched for the second time this week on Saturday through Sweden’s third-largest city, which has a large Muslim population, to demand a boycott of Israel and a cease-fire in the seven-month war.

    A smaller group gathered outside the Malmo Arena before the final, with some shouting “shame” at arriving music fans, and facing off with police blocking their path. Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those escorted away by police.

    Loreen, last year’s Eurovision champion, said world events were “traumatizing,” but urged people not to shut down the “community of love” that is Eurovision.

    “What heals trauma … Does trauma heal trauma? Does negativity heal negativity? It doesn’t work like that,” she told The Associated Press. “The only thing that heals trauma for real — this is science — is love.”

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    JILL LAWLESS / AP

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  • Putin Reappoints Mikhail Mishustin as Russian Prime Minister

    Putin Reappoints Mikhail Mishustin as Russian Prime Minister

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    MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday reappointed Mikhail Mishustin as the country’s prime minister after the previous stint on the job during which the low-key technocrat has shown a distinct lack of political ambitions.

    In line with Russian law, Mishustin, 58, who held the job for the past four years, submitted his Cabinet’s resignation on Tuesday when Putin began his fifth presidential term at a glittering Kremlin inauguration.

    Mishustin’s reappointment was widely expected by political observers, who noted that Putin has appreciated his skills and low political profile. Mishustin, the former head of Russia’s tax service, has steered clear of political statements and avoided media interviews during his previous tenure.

    Read More: Do Russians Believe Putin’s Propaganda?

    The speaker of the parliament’s lower house, Vyacheslav Volodin, announced that Putin has submitted Mishustin’s candidacy to the State Duma, which will hold a session later Friday to consider it.

    Under the constitutional changes approved in 2020, the lower house approves the candidacy of the prime minister, who then submits candidacies of Cabinet members.

    Mishustin’s approval is a mere proforma in the Kremlin-controlled parliament.

    Read More: History Makes Clear the Risks of Appeasing Putin

    Mishustin and other technocrats in the Cabinet were credited for maintaining a relatively stable economic performance despite bruising Western sanctions.

    Most Cabinet members are also expected to keep their jobs and their reappointments are expected shortly.

    The fate of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared uncertain, however, after last month’s arrest of his top associate, Timur Ivanov.

    Ivanov, who served as deputy defense minister in charge of multibillion military construction projects, was arrested on bribery charges and was ordered to stay in custody pending official investigation.

    The arrest of Ivanov was widely interpreted as an attack on Shoigu and a possible precursor of his dismissal despite his close personal ties with Putin.

    Shoigu was widely criticized for Russian military’s setbacks in the early stage of the fighting in Ukraine. He faced scathing attacks from mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who launched a brief attempted march on Moscow last June to demand the ouster of Shoigu and the chief of the General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov.

    After Prigozhin’s death in a suspicious air crash two months after the rebellion that was broadly widely seen as a Kremlin revenge for his mutiny, Shoigu appeared to shore up his position, but Ivanov’s arrest, seen as part of Kremlin’s political infighting, again exposed Shoigu’s vulnerability.

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    Associated Press

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  • Over 321,000 U.S. Kids Lost Parent to Drug Overdose

    Over 321,000 U.S. Kids Lost Parent to Drug Overdose

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    More than 321,000 children in the U.S. lost a parent to a drug overdose from 2011 to 2021, an alarming figure that shows the nation’s obligation to “comprehensively address the needs of individuals, families and communities” when tackling the growing overdose crisis, experts say.

    A new study published Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA Psychiatry found that the rate of children who lost a parent to an overdose more than doubled in that decade span, jumping from 27 to 63 children per 100,000. In total, the study estimates that 321,566 children in the U.S. lost a parent to a drug overdose in that time span. And while the rates of loss increased consistently each year across all demographics examined in the study, people of color were disproportionately affected by this trend.

    The highest number of deaths were among white parents, but children of American Indian or Alaska Native parents experienced the highest rates of loss, the study found. Children with young Black parents between the ages of 18 and 25 experienced the highest increase in the rate of loss each year.

    The study was conducted by researchers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

    Nearly 650,000 people between the ages of 18 and 64 died of a drug overdose from 2011 to 2021, but this was the first national study to estimate the number of children who lost a parent in that span, according to a press release about the study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Researchers used data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health and the CDC National Vital Statistics System to conduct the study.

    “It is devastating to see that almost half of the people who died of a drug overdose had a child,” Nora Volkow, the director of NIDA, said in the press release. “No family should lose their loved one to an overdose, and each of these deaths represents a tragic loss that could have been prevented.”

    Researchers said that the study highlighted the need for holistic health care to treat people who struggle with substance abuse and the importance of providing prevention resources to help families break generational cycles of substance abuse.

    “These data illustrate that not only are communities of color experiencing overdose death disparities, but also underscore the need for responses to the overdose crisis moving forward to comprehensively address the needs of individuals, families and communities,” Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, the leader of SAMHSA, said in the NIH’s press release.

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    Chantelle Lee

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  • Miss USA Noelia Voigt Resigns

    Miss USA Noelia Voigt Resigns

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    Current Miss USA Noelia Voigt announced Monday that she was stepping down from the role to focus on her mental health.

    Voigt, who represented Utah and became the first Venezuelan-American to be crowned Miss USA in Sept. 2023, announced the “very tough decision to resign” in an Instagram post.

    “I realize this may come as a large shock to many,” Voigt, 24, said in the caption of her post. “Never compromise your physical and mental well-being. Our health is our wealth. A million thank you’s to all of you for your constant and unwavering support. Time to write the next chapter.”

    In her post, Voigt reflected on her favorite moments during her time as Miss USA, including working with the world’s largest cleft-focused organization Smile Train and being an advocate for anti-bullying, dating violence awareness and prevention, and immigration rights and reform.

    Read More: America’s Age Old Mental Health Crisis

    “Eternal gratitude fills my heart when I think about the platform I was given to make a difference, the feeling of achieving a lifelong dream, and connecting with people all over the world, just as I said I would do on the Miss USA stage,” she said in her statement. “Deep down I know that this is just the beginning of a new chapter for me, and my hope is that I continue to inspire others to remain steadfast, prioritize your mental health, advocate for yourself and others by using your voice, and never be afraid of what the future holds, even if it feels uncertain.”

    Miss USA thanked Voigt for her service in a statement released on Facebook, adding that the organization wished her the best in her future endeavors.

    “We respect and support Noelia’s decision to step down from her duties,” Miss USA said in the statement. “The well-being of our titleholders is a top priority, and we understand her need to prioritize herself at this time.”

    The organization added that it would soon announce Voigt’s successor.

    Voigt was previously an interior design student, and hoped to establish her own design firm and host a TV show to help families “in need of a home makeover,” according to the Miss USA website. She also wrote a children’s book about anti-bullying, called Maddie the BRAVE.

    The Miss USA pageant has been around for over 70 years. Former President Donald Trump previously owned the Miss Universe Organization, which includes the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. Trump sold the Miss Universe Organization in 2015, after he had made a series of derogatory comments about Mexicans that prompted broadcasters NBC and Univision to cut ties with him and the pageants, according to Rolling Stone.

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    Chantelle Lee

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  • Hamas Accepts Cease-Fire Proposal for Gaza, but Israel’s Stance Still Uncertain

    Hamas Accepts Cease-Fire Proposal for Gaza, but Israel’s Stance Still Uncertain

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    (JERUSALEM) — Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza.

    It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signaling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza’s population, are sheltering.

    An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed.

    An American official also said the U.S. was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international negotiators or something else. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as a stance was still being formulated.

    Details of the proposal have not been released. Touring the region last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal, and Egyptian officials said it called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.

    Hamas had been seeking changes in the language to guarantee its key demand of an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal in return for the release of all its hostages, according to Egyptian officials. It was not immediately known if any changes were made.

    Palestinians in Rafah erupted in cheers after the Hamas announcement, hoping it meant the invasion would be averted — though that remained unclear.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have repeatedly rejected a trade-off for an end to the war in return for the hostages’ release, vowing to keep up their campaign until Hamas is destroyed.

    Netanyahu said Monday that seizing Rafah, which Israel says is the last significant Hamas stronghold in Gaza, was vital to ensuring the militants can’t rebuild their military capabilities and repeat the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

    The United States has repeatedly said that Israel shouldn’t attack the town, President Joe Biden spoke Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reiterated U.S. concerns about an invasion of Rafah. Biden said a cease-fire with Hamas is the best way to protect the lives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to a National Security Council spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the call before an official White House statement was released.

    Read More: For Biden, This Moment Is Bigger Than Gaza

    The looming operation has raised global alarm. Aid agencies have warned that an offensive will worsen Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe and bring a surge of more civilian deaths in an Israeli campaign that in nearly seven months has killed 34,000 people and devastated the territory.

    Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli army spokesman, said about 100,000 people were being ordered to move from parts of Rafah to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi, a makeshift camp on the coast. He said that Israel has expanded the size of the zone and that it included tents, food, water and field hospitals.

    It wasn’t immediately clear, however, if that material was already in place to accommodate the new arrivals.

    Around 450,000 displaced Palestinians already are sheltering in Muwasi. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, said it has been providing them with aid. But conditions are squalid, with few bathrooms or sanitation facilities in the largely rural area, forcing families to dig private latrines.

    After the evacuation order announcement Monday, Palestinians in Rafah wrestled with having to uproot their extended families once again for an unknown fate, exhausted after months living in sprawling tent camps or crammed into schools or other shelters in and around the city. Few who spoke to The Associated Press wanted to risk staying.

    Mohammed Jindiyah said that at the beginning of the war, he had tried to hold out in his home in northern Gaza after Israel ordered an evacuation there in October. He ended up suffering through heavy bombardment before fleeing to Rafah.

    He’s complying with the order this time, but was unsure now whether to move to Muwasi or another town in central Gaza.

    “We are 12 families, and we don’t know where to go. There is no safe area in Gaza,” he said.

    Sahar Abu Nahel, who fled to Rafah with 20 family members including her children and grandchildren, wiped tears from her cheeks, despairing at a new move.

    “I have no money or anything. I am seriously tired, as are the children,” she said. “Maybe it’s more honorable for us to die. We are being humiliated.”

    Israeli military leaflets were dropped with maps detailing a number of eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to evacuate, warning that an attack was imminent and anyone who stays “puts themselves and their family members in danger.” Text messages and radio broadcasts repeated the message.

    UNRWA won’t evacuate from Rafah so it can continue to provide aid to those who stay behind, said Scott Anderson, the agency’s director in Gaza.

    “We will provide aid to people wherever they choose to be,” he told the AP.

    The U.N. says an attack on Rafah could disrupt the distribution of aid keeping Palestinians alive across Gaza. The Rafah crossing into Egypt, a main entry point for aid to Gaza, lies in the evacuation zone. The crossing remained open Monday after the Israeli order.

    Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, condemned the “forced, unlawful” evacuation order and the idea that people should go to Muwasi.

    “The area is already overstretched and devoid of vital services,” Egeland said. He said that an Israeli assault could lead to “the deadliest phase of this war.”

    Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,700 Palestinians, around two-thirds of them children and women, according to Gaza health officials. The tally doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes, and hundreds of thousands in the north are on the brink of famine, according to the U.N.

    Tensions escalated Sunday when Hamas fired rockets at Israeli troops positioned on the border with Gaza near Israel’s main crossing for delivering humanitarian aid, killing four soldiers. Israel shuttered the crossing — but Shoshani said it wouldn’t affect how much aid enters Gaza as others are working.

    Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on Rafah killed 22 people, including children and two infants, according to a hospital.

    The war was sparked by the unprecedented Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel in which Hamas and other militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. After exchanges during a November cease-fire, Hamas is believed to still hold about 100 Israelis captive as well the bodies of around 30 others.

    ___

    Mroue reported from Beirut. Samy Magdy in Cairo and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed.

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    SAM MEDNICK, JOSEF FEDERMAN and BASSEM MROUE / AP

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  • Here’s What We Know About Kate Middleton’s Net Worth

    Here’s What We Know About Kate Middleton’s Net Worth

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    Kate Middleton’s life changed significantly when she married Prince William in 2011, having met while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

    Now Princess of Wales and next in line to be Queen, Kate married into a generationally wealthy family whose working members get official expenses covered by proceeds from their vast land holdings, and she and her husband have only gotten wealthier during their marriage. 

    It’s not possible to determine the exact net worth of a royal, but CelebrityNetWorth pegs Kate’s current net worth at an estimated $10 million. Her husband’s net worth, calculated by the same source, is $100 million—an estimate that doesn’t appear to include a private estate reportedly worth more than $1 billion.

    Before she got married, Kate was already relatively well-to-do. Her family inherited a trust fund that in 2014 was worth more than £3 million ($3.7 million), according to the Daily Mail.

    When Kate was born, her father, Michael, was a flight dispatcher and her mother, Carole, was a flight attendant. Five years after welcoming Kate, Michael and Carole started a business called “Party Pieces.” The family grew wealthy enough to send their three children to a prestigious private school, Marlborough College, and buy an apartment in London and the family’s home—a manor in Berkshire.

    The party business grew into a successful enterprise that was valued at £30 million ($37 million) at the time of the royal wedding, according to the Evening Standard. However, the business reportedly lost more than £1 million ($1.3 million) during the pandemic. Per a statement filed via Companies House, an agency of the British government, Party Pieces Holdings Limited had acquired £2.6 million ($3.2 million) in debt by 2023, leading to the sale of the business.

    Before getting married, Kate worked for her parents’ business and as an accessory buyer for the apparel brand Jigsaw.

    Kate is now a working royal, which means she spends her time in public engagements as a patron to charities and representative for the country and Crown. She gets her official living, travel, and household expenses covered by what is called the Sovereign Grant. 

    Each year, the royal family gives profits from its vast holdings under the Crown Estate to the U.K. government, but gets paid back a proportion in the form of the Sovereign Grant. Historically, the proportion was 15%, but that amount was raised to 25% in 2017 for 10 years to cover renovations at Buckingham Palace. However, the government announced it would be cut to 12% starting this year because of new profits from offshore wind farms on the Crown Estate.

    In the most recent financial year, the royal family received £86 million ($109 million) from the Sovereign Grant, according to an annual report published in June 2023. That equals out to £1.29 ($1.63) per person in the U.K., according to the royal website. A core grant of £51.8 million ($65 million) funds official travel, property maintenance, and household operating costs.

    However, the Sovereign Grant doesn’t cover Kate and other royals’ security costs, which is paid for by the taxpayer, with the cost not disclosed.

    Kate and William, along with their three children—George, Charlotte, and Louis—make use of three homes—Kensington Palace in London, Anmer Hall in Norfolk, and Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Castle estate. The Guardian reported that Anmer Hall was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II, while the couple pays rent on Adelaide Cottage.

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    Mallory Moench

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  • Asia Heatwave: Why a Thai Village Paraded a Cartoon Cat

    Asia Heatwave: Why a Thai Village Paraded a Cartoon Cat

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    Desperate times call for desperate measures, and across Asia, communities are responding to an extreme and deadly heat wave, which has battered the region since last month and has left few options for residents and governments to cope, in creative and even superstitious ways.

    One city in the Philippines has rolled out free mobile showers, while in Vietnam, municipal authorities reportedly looked into the possibility of enlisting the help of a man who claimed he could pray for precipitation. In Thailand, a village in the central province of Nakhon Sawan resorted earlier this week to a rain-calling ritual that involved parading a Japanese manga cat.

    According to Thai media, some 200 residents of the province’s Phayuha Khiri district conducted a traditional hae nang maew, or “female cat parade.” The ceremony has agricultural roots dating back hundreds of years ago in which farmers would hold a procession with a nang maew (female cat), carried in either a basket or cage, across the village as planting season approaches. Because of cats’ aversion to water, traditionally the captive cat is splashed with water with the belief that its cries will augur rainfall.

    While in the past, real cats have been used, amid increasing concerns about animal abuse, Hello Kitty dolls and other lifeless alternatives have been subbed in instead in recent years.

    The Thai villagers this week used plushies of Doraemon—a cartoon blue, male, robotic cat of Japanese origin popularized by its eponymous manga and anime. It’s not the first time Doraemon has played the central part in the rain-calling ritual. Doraemon, which first appeared in 1969, has become a beloved icon in the Southeast Asian country and has often been spotted over the years in Buddhist shrines and temples.

    But Doraemon’s powers in this regard are likely limited, as Thailand’s dry weather conditions aren’t expected to let up until at least mid-May, as the rainy season’s start is delayed. Meanwhile, as climate change continues to push global temperatures upward, meteorological experts warn that the country’s sweltering summer heat that once would ease around June may now and in the future last through October.

    Read More: How to Monitor and Stay Safe in Extreme Heat, Using the CDC’s New HeatRisk Tool

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    Chad de Guzman

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  • A Wild Orangutan Used a Medicinal Plant to Treat a Wound

    A Wild Orangutan Used a Medicinal Plant to Treat a Wound

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    (WASHINGTON) — An orangutan appeared to treat a wound with medicine from a tropical plant— the latest example of how some animals attempt to soothe their own ills with remedies found in the wild, scientists reported Thursday.

    Scientists observed Rakus pluck and chew up leaves of a medicinal plant used by people throughout Southeast Asia to treat pain and inflammation. The adult male orangutan then used his fingers to apply the plant juices to an injury on the right cheek. Afterward, he pressed the chewed plant to cover the open wound like a makeshift bandage, according to a new study in Scientific Reports.

    Previous research has documented several species of great apes foraging for medicines in forests to heal themselves, but scientists hadn’t yet seen an animal treat itself in this way.

    “This is the first time that we have observed a wild animal applying a quite potent medicinal plant directly to a wound,” said co-author Isabelle Laumer, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany.

    The orangutan’s intriguing behavior was recorded in 2022 by Ulil Azhari, a co-author and field researcher at the Suaq Project in Medan, Indonesia. Photographs show the animal’s wound closed within a month without any problems.

    Scientists have been observing orangutans in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park since 1994, but they hadn’t previously seen this behavior.

    “It’s a single observation,” said Emory University biologist Jacobus de Roode, who was not involved in the study. “But often we learn about new behaviors by starting with a single observation.”

    “Very likely it’s self-medication,” said de Roode, adding that the orangutan applied the plant only to the wound and no other body part.

    It’s possible Rakus learned the technique from other orangutans living outside the park and away from scientists’ daily scrutiny, said co-author Caroline Schuppli at Max Planck.

    Rakus was born and lived as a juvenile outside the study area. Researchers believe the orangutan got hurt in a fight with another animal. It’s not known whether Rakus earlier treated other injuries.

    Scientists have previously recorded other primates using plants to treat themselves.

    Bornean orangutans rubbed themselves with juices from a medicinal plant, possibly to reduce body pains or chase away parasites.

    Chimpanzees in multiple locations have been observed chewing on the shoots of bitter-tasting plants to soothe their stomachs. Gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos swallow certain rough leaves whole to get rid of stomach parasites.

    “If this behavior exists in some of our closest living relatives, what could that tell us about how medicine first evolved?” said Tara Stoinski, president and chief scientific officer of the nonprofit Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, who had no role in the study.

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    CHRISTINA LARSON / AP

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  • Texas Veterinarian Helped Crack the Mystery of Bird Flu in Cows

    Texas Veterinarian Helped Crack the Mystery of Bird Flu in Cows

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    The first calls that Dr. Barb Petersen received in early March were from dairy owners worried about crows, pigeons and other birds dying on their Texas farms. Then came word that barn cats — half of them on one farm — had died suddenly.

    Within days, the Amarillo veterinarian was hearing about sick cows with unusual symptoms: high fevers, reluctance to eat and much less milk. Tests for typical illnesses came back negative.

    Petersen, who monitors more than 40,000 cattle on a dozen farms in the Texas Panhandle, collected samples from cats and cows and sent them to Dr. Drew Magstadt, a friend from college who now works at the veterinary diagnostic laboratory at Iowa State University.

    The samples tested positive for a bird flu virus never before seen in cattle. It was the first proof that the bird flu, known as Type A H5N1, could infect cows. As of Wednesday, 36 U.S. herds had confirmed infections, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.

    “It was just a surprise,” recalled Petersen. “It was just a little bit of disbelief.”

    At the same time, on almost every farm with sick animals, Petersen said she saw sick people, too.

    “We were actively checking on humans,” Petersen said. “I had people who never missed work, miss work.”

    So far, two people in the U.S. have been confirmed to be infected with H5N1, most recently a Texas dairy worker linked to the cattle outbreak, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About two dozen people have been tested and about 100 people have been monitored since the virus appeared in cows, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a CDC respiratory diseases official, told reporters Wednesday.

    Daskalakis said CDC has seen no unusual flu trends in areas with infected cows, but some experts wonder if anecdotal reports of sick workers mean more than one person caught the virus from the animals.

    Petersen said some workers had symptoms consistent with flu: fever and body aches, stuffy nose or congestion. Some had conjunctivitis, the eye inflammation detected in the Texas dairy worker diagnosed with bird flu.

    Dr. Gregory Gray, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, has been taking samples from livestock and people on two Texas farms. On farms with confirmed cattle infections, there have also been reports of mild illnesses among the workers, he said.

    His research has been difficult. Many workers are reluctant to be tested. That may be because they have limited access to health care or fear divulging private health information.

    Without confirmation, no one knows if the sick workers were infected with the bird flu virus or something unrelated, Gray said.

    “They seem to be linked in time and space, so one would say it’s biologically plausible,” said Gray.

    Some of the workers who fell ill sought treatment and were offered oseltamivir, an antiviral drug sold under the brand name Tamiflu, Petersen said.

    Some farm workers who were exposed to infected animals or people were offered the medication, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said. State health officials are responsible for evaluating and providing treatment, according to federal guidelines.

    Health officials in Texas provided Tamiflu to the person known to be infected with H5N1 and household members, plus two people on a second dairy farm who tested negative but were exposed to infected animals, said Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services. He said he wasn’t sure if others had been offered the antiviral.

    Farmers have been hesitant to allow health officials onto their land, said Dr. Kay Russo, a Colorado veterinarian who consulted about the outbreak with Petersen.

    “This particular disease is looked at as a scarlet letter,” Russo said. “It has this stigma associated with it right now.”

    Russo called for wider testing of cattle, people and milk.

    “We do not know what we do not measure,” she said. “Unfortunately, the horse left the barn and took off a lot faster than we were able to mobilize.”

    Gray worries that a recent federal order requiring testing of all lactating dairy cows moving between states could hinder cooperation even further. All labs that conduct tests must report positive results to the Agriculture Department. But many farmers may simply decide against testing, hoping to outlast the outbreak, he said.

    The reluctance of workers and farmers to allow testing is “greatly hampering” understanding of how the virus spreads, how large the outbreak is now and how quickly it may grow, Gray said.

    “It’s a negative, very negative, effect,” he said.

    Petersen said she understands workers’ and farmers’ fears. She praised the farmers who had been willing to let her gather the first samples that confirmed the outbreak and reflected on what the results could mean.

    “You immediately think about the cows, the people that care for them and the families that have these farms,” she said. “You’re thinking about the big picture, long term. Your mind starts to go down that entire path of concern.”

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    JONEL ALECCIA / AP

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  • NYPD Officers Enter Columbia University Campus After Protesters Occupy Building

    NYPD Officers Enter Columbia University Campus After Protesters Occupy Building

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    (NEW YORK) — Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.

    Demonstrators had occupied Hamilton Hall hours earlier after setting up an encampment earlier in the month.

    Students had defiantly set up tents again after police cleared an encampment at the university on April 18 and arrested more than 100 people. The students had been protesting on the Manhattan campus since the previous day, opposing Israeli military action in Gaza and demanding the school divest from companies they claim are profiting from the conflict.

    Protests have spread to campuses from California to Massachusetts as May commencement ceremonies near, putting added pressure on schools to clear protesters.

    More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested over the last two weeks on campuses in states including Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey, some after violent clashes with police in riot gear.

    “Walk away from this situation now and continue your advocacy through other means,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised the Columbia protesters on Tuesday afternoon. “This must end now.”

    The White House condemned the standoffs at Columbia and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where protesters had occupied two buildings until officers with batons intervened overnight and arrested 25 people. Officials estimated the northern California campus’ total damage to be upwards of $1 million.

    President Joe Biden believes students occupying an academic building is “absolutely the wrong approach,” and “not an example of peaceful protest,” said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

    Other colleges have sought to negotiate agreements with the demonstrators in the hopes of having peaceful commencement ceremonies. As cease-fire negotiations appeared to gain steam, it wasn’t clear whether those talks would inspire an easing of protests.

    Northwestern University notched a rare win when officials said they reached a compromise with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus near Chicago to allow peaceful demonstrations through the end of spring classes.

    The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.

    Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests as antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.

    On Columbia’s campus, protesters locked arms early Tuesday and carried furniture and metal barricades to Hamilton Hall, among several buildings that were occupied during a 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest. Demonstrators called the building Hind’s Hall, honoring a young girl who was killed in Gaza under Israeli fire.

    Despite the chaos overnight, NYPD brass said officers wouldn’t enter Columbia’s campus without the college administration’s request or an imminent emergency.

    The takeover came hours after protesters had shrugged off an earlier ultimatum to abandon a tent encampment Monday or be suspended — restricted from all academic and recreational spaces, allowed only to enter their residences, and, for seniors, ineligible to graduate.

    Mahmoud Khalil, a lead negotiator before talks with the administration broke down over the weekend, was among the suspended students. His suspension letter — which he shared with The Associated Press — said he had refused to leave the encampment after prior warnings, but Khalil said he had abided by the university’s demand to vacate the encampment on the campus lawn by the Monday afternoon deadline.

    Columbia spokesperson Ben Chang said in a statement that anyone occupying Hamilton Hall risked being expelled from the university for escalating the protest “to an untenable situation — vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances.”

    Occupying protesters have insisted they will remain in Hamilton Hall until the university agrees to three demands — divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.

    The Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors said faculty’s efforts to help defuse the situation have been repeatedly ignored by the university’s administration despite school statutes that require consultation. The group warned of potential conflict between police officers nearby and protesters on campus.

    “We hold University leadership responsible for the disastrous lapses of judgment that have gotten us to this point,” the chapter said in a statement late Tuesday. “The University President, her senior staff, and the Board of Trustees will bear responsibility for any injuries that may occur during any police action on our campus.”

    Ilana Lewkovitch, a self-described “leftist Zionist” student at Columbia, said it’s been hard to concentrate on school for weeks, amid calls for Zionists to die or leave campus. Her exams have been punctuated with chants of “say it loud, say it clear, we want Zionists out of here” in the background, she said.

    Lewkovitch, who identifies as Jewish and studied at Columbia’s Tel Aviv campus, said she wished the current pro-Palestinian protests were more open to people like her who criticize Israel’s war policies but believe there should be an Israeli state.

    Adams claimed Tuesday that the Columbia protests have been “co-opted by professional outside agitators.” The mayor didn’t provide specific evidence to back up that contention, which was disputed by protest organizers and participants.

    NYPD officials made similar claims about “outside agitators” during the huge, grassroots demonstrations against racial injustice that erupted across the city after the death of George Floyd in 2020. In some instances, top police officials falsely labeled peaceful marches organized by well-known neighborhood activists as the work of violent extremists.

    ___

    Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press journalists around the country contributed to this report, including Karen Matthews, Jim Vertuno, Hannah Schoenbaum, Sarah Brumfield, Stefanie Dazio, Christopher Weber, Carolyn Thompson, Dave Collins, Makiya Seminera, Philip Marcelo and Corey Williams.

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    CEDAR ATTANASIO, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and JONATHAN MATTISE / AP

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  • Immigrant From Laos Who Has Cancer Is $1.3B Powerball Winner

    Immigrant From Laos Who Has Cancer Is $1.3B Powerball Winner

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    (SALEM, Ore.) — One of the winners of a historic $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.

    Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, of Portland, told a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery that he and his wife, Duanpen, would split the prize evenly with a friend who chipped in $100 to buy a batch of tickets with them, Laiza Chao. They are taking a lump sum payment, $422 million after taxes.

    “I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” he said, adding that he’d “find a good doctor for myself.”

    He said that as a cancer patient, he wondered, “How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?”

    After they bought the shared tickets, Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Saephan and said, “We’re billionaires.” It was a joke before the actual drawing, he said, but the next day it came true.

    The winning Powerball ticket was sold in early April at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months. The Oregon Lottery said it had to go through a security and vetting process before announcing the identity of the person who came forward to claim the prize.

    Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous. Winners have a year to claim the top prize.

    The jackpot has a cash value of $621 million before taxes if the winner chooses to take a lump sum rather than an annuity paid over 30 years, with an immediate payout followed by 29 annual installments. The prize is subject to federal taxes and state taxes in Oregon.

    The $1.3 billion prize is the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history, and the eighth largest among U.S. jackpot games, according to the Oregon Lottery.

    The biggest U.S. lottery jackpot won was $2.04 billion in California in 2022.

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    CLAIRE RUSH / AP

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  • Transgender Care Coverage Policies Ruled Discriminatory in West Virginia and North Carolina

    Transgender Care Coverage Policies Ruled Discriminatory in West Virginia and North Carolina

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    (CHARLESTON, W.Va.) — West Virginia and North Carolina’s refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory, a federal appeals court ruled Monday in a case likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-6 in the case involving coverage of gender-affirming care by North Carolina’s state employee health plan and the coverage of gender-affirming surgery by West Virginia Medicaid.

    “The coverage exclusions facially discriminate on the basis of sex and gender identity, and are not substantially related to an important government interest,” Judge Roger Gregory, first appointed by former President Bill Clinton and re-appointed by former President George W. Bush, wrote in the majority opinion.

    The ruling follows a decision earlier this month by 4th Circuit judges that West Virginia’s transgender sports ban violates the rights of a teen athlete under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools.

    Like with the transgender sports law ruling, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his office planned to appeal Monday’s health care case decision.

    “Decisions like this one, from a court dominated by Obama- and Biden-appointees, cannot stand: we’ll take this up to the Supreme Court and win,” Morrisey said in a statement.

    After the ruling, West Virginia plaintiff Shauntae Anderson, a Black transgender woman and West Virginia Medicaid participant, called her state’s refusal to cover her care “deeply dehumanizing.”

    “I am so relieved that this court ruling puts us one step closer to the day when Medicaid can no longer deny transgender West Virginians access to the essential healthcare that our doctors say is necessary for us,” Anderson said in a statement.

    A spokesperson for North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell, whose department oversees the state’s health plan, said the agency was still reviewing the decision Monday but would have a response later.

    During oral arguments in September, at least two judges said it’s likely the case will eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Both states appealed separate lower court rulings that found the denial of gender-affirming care to be discriminatory and unconstitutional. Two panels of three Fourth Circuit judges heard arguments in both cases last year before deciding to intertwine the two cases and see them presented before the full court.

    In June 2022, a North Carolina trial court demanded the state plan pay for “medically necessary services,” including hormone therapy and some surgeries, for transgender employees and their children. The judge had ruled in favor of the employees and their dependents, who said in a 2019 lawsuit that they were denied coverage for gender-affirming care under the plan.

    The North Carolina state insurance plan provides medical coverage for more than 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees, lawmakers and their dependents. While it provides counseling for gender dysphoria and other diagnosed mental health conditions, it does not cover treatment “in connection with sex changes or modifications and related care.”

    In August 2022, a federal judge ruled West Virginia’s Medicaid program must provide coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender residents.

    An original lawsuit filed in 2020 also named state employee health plans. A settlement with The Health Plan of West Virginia Inc. in 2022 led to the removal of the exclusion on gender-affirming care in that company’s Public Employees Insurance Agency plans.

    During September’s oral arguments, attorneys for the state of North Carolina said the state-sponsored plan is not required to cover gender-affirming hormone therapy or surgery because being transgender is not an illness. They claimed only a subset of transgender people suffer from gender dysphoria, a diagnosis of distress over gender identity that does not match a person’s assigned sex.

    Before offering pharmaceutical or surgical intervention, medical guidelines call for thorough psychological assessments to confirm gender dysphoria before starting any treatment.

    West Virginia attorneys said the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has declined to issue a national coverage decision on gender-affirming surgery.

    State lawyers said West Virginia’s policy is not a case of discrimination, either, but of a state trying to best utilize limited resources. West Virginia has a $128 million deficit in Medicaid for the next year, projected to expand to $256 million in 2025.

    Unlike North Carolina, the state has covered hormone therapy and other pharmaceutical treatments for transgender people since 2017.

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    LEAH WILLINGHAM / AP

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  • Israeli Leaders Concerned About Possible ICC Arrest Warrants Over War in Gaza

    Israeli Leaders Concerned About Possible ICC Arrest Warrants Over War in Gaza

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    Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appear increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may issue arrest warrants against the country’s officials for actions taken in the war between Israel and Hamas. 

    On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X that “Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense… While the ICC will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and officials of all democracies fighting savage terrorism and wanton aggression.”

    Israel Katz, the Foreign Minister of Israel, said that the potential warrants could provide a “morale boost” to Hamas but would be unlikely to impact the most senior members of Israeli leadership, according to the Associated Press. “We expect the court (ICC) to refrain from issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli political and security officials,” Katz said. “We will not bow our heads or be deterred and will continue to fight.”

    The ICC’s prosecutor Karim Khan has not confirmed the possibility of imminent arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. In October after the war broke out, Khan promised his office would scrutinize the actions of all military parties engaged in the war. “The message is that any person with their finger on the trigger of a gun or controls a missile, has certain responsibilities. My Office will look closely to see whether those responsibilities are being adhered to or not,” he said in a statement. 

    Any arrest warrants would need to be approved first by a panel of judges. Approximately 60% of the world’s countries accept the ICC’s jurisdiction, but the U.S. and Israel are not among them. While Israel has not accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC, the state of Palestine has, which means the court still claims jurisdiction over the West Bank and Gaza. Arrest warrants could complicate Israeli officials’ abilities to travel to countries like the U.K., Canada, France, and Germany that accept ICC jurisdiction. 

    Read More: ​​What International Law Can’t Achieve in Gaza and Ukraine

    More than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died since the Israel Hamas war began, the majority of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health. 1,200 Israelis died in the Oct. 7 attack, and another 200 were taken hostage by Hamas.

    The International Criminal Court was established in 2002 in the aftermath of the genocides in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. It differs from the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ), which this year oversaw a case about whether or Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, because it holds specific individuals to account. The ICJ, on the other hand, deals with disputes between state actors.

    Read More: What to Know About South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel

    In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the unlawful deportation of children during the Russia-Ukraine war, though it has yet to be enforced. Other notable figures that the ICC has issued arrest warrants for include Omar Al Bashir, the former president of Sudan, for his role in the Darfur genocide, and former Libyan head of state Muammar Gaddafi for crimes against humanity committed during the Libyan civil war.

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    Anna Gordon

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  • Iraqi Authorities Investigate Killing of TikTok Star

    Iraqi Authorities Investigate Killing of TikTok Star

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    BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities on Saturday were investigating the killing of a well-known social media influencer, who was shot by an armed motorcyclist in front of her home in central Baghdad.

    Ghufran Mahdi Sawadi, known as Um Fahad or “mother of Fahad,” was popular on the social media sites TikTok and Instagram, where she posted videos of herself dancing to music and was followed by tens of thousands of users.

    An Iraqi security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, said that the assailant opened fire as Sawadi parked her Cadillac in front of her house on Friday, killing her, then took her phone and fled the scene.

    The killing took place in Zayoona, the same neighborhood where a prominent Iraqi researcher and security expert Hisham al-Hashimi was gunned down in 2020. Before the U.S. invasion of 2003, the neighborhood was home to military leaders and considered a prestigious area in Baghdad. In recent years, many militia leaders have taken up residence there.

    Sawadi isn’t the first prominent social media figure to be gunned down in central Baghdad. Last year, Noor Alsaffar or “Noor BM,” a transgender person with a large social media following, was also fatally shot in the city.

    A neighbor of Sawadi who identified himself only by his nickname, Abu Adam or “father of Adam,” said he came out to the street after hearing two shots fired and saw “the car’s door open and she was lying on the steering wheel.”

    “The woman who was with her (in the car) escaped, and security forces came and sealed off the entire area, and they took the victim’s body and towed her car,” he said.

    In Iraq, the role of social media influencers has broadened from promoting beauty products and clothing to government projects and programs. Official government invitations classify these influencers as key business figures at sports, security and cultural gatherings.

    Videos featuring a prominent influencer during the 93rd anniversary on Thursday of the Iraqi air force’s founding sparked a backlash, with many criticizing the Ministry of Defense for allowing them to record and publish videos from sensitive military sites. The ministry defended itself, saying that in the era of social media, like defense ministries worldwide, it uses influencers alongside traditional media to communicate with the public.

    Last year, an Iraqi court sentenced Sawadi to six months in prison for posting several films and videos containing obscene statements and indecent public behavior on social media as part of a recent push by the Iraqi government to police morals.

    Separately on Saturday, the Iraqi parliament passed an amendment to the country’s prostitution law — widely criticized by human rights groups — that would punish same-sex relations with a prison term ranging from 10 to 15 years. A previous version of the law would have imposed the death penalty.

    The law also bans any organization that promotes “sexual deviancy,” imposing a sentence of at least seven years and a fine of no less than 10 million dinars (about $7,600).

    The acting parliamentary speaker, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, said in a statement that the vote was “a necessary step to protect the value structure of society” and to “protect our children from calls for moral depravity and homosexuality.”

    Rasha Younes, a senior researcher with the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said the law’s passage “rubber-stamps Iraq’s appalling record of rights violations against LGBT people and is a serious blow to fundamental human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination.”

    A report released by the organization in 2022 accused armed groups in Iraq of abducting, raping, torturing, and killing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people with impunity and the Iraqi government of failing to hold perpetrators accountable.

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    ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA / AP

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  • Biden Administration Tightens Gun Export Rules: What to Know

    Biden Administration Tightens Gun Export Rules: What to Know

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    To curb the use of U.S.-made civilian guns in crimes and human rights abuses abroad, the Biden administration will require exporters to better vet their customers and tighten sales to 36 countries deemed “high-risk” for illicit diversion of semiautomatic firearms, according to people briefed on the plan.

    The new regulations—the most sweeping in decades—also cut the length of export licenses from four years to one and give the State Department greater authority to block sales. The Commerce Department on Friday is scheduled to release the 150-page regulation, which agency officials have outlined to advocacy groups and policymakers on Capitol Hill.

    The plan resulted from the department’s review of its support for the U.S. gun industry—a process that began after a Bloomberg News investigation last year linked record civilian gun exports to higher rates of gun crime in countries including Guatemala, Brazil and Canada. A Commerce Department spokesman declined to comment on the new regulations when contacted on Thursday.

    During the past decade, Republican and Democratic administrations alike pitched U.S.-made guns as a retail product in some of the most violence-prone countries in the world. The investigation documented how legally exported weapons had been used in crimes ranging from a 2022 massacre at a preschool in Thailand to the assassination last August of the leading presidential candidate in Ecuador.

    In late October, the Biden administration announced a 90-day freeze of many U.S. firearms exports so it could consider revising the regulations. The new measure is set to become public six months into the freeze.

    Gun rights advocates have called the policy review an “assault on American firearms industry” that would cost U.S. manufacturers and exporters hundreds of millions in lost sales a year. Their supporters in Congress have pressed the administration to end the freeze, vowing to overturn any new restrictions on such exports.

    “The rule will simply shutter small businesses all across America by cutting them off from the export market, resulting in the loss of good paying jobs,” Larry Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said in an email Thursday night. The new regulations will “do nothing to improve national security,” he added.

    The measure falls short of President Biden’s campaign promise to return oversight of gun exports to the State Department, which regulated foreign gun sales until March 2020. It will now lead an inter-agency review process that will examine any export applications involving potential human rights concerns.

    Those reviews will include any application to export U.S. guns to countries that the State Department has identified as a risk for human-rights abuses and arms trafficking. The new rules require Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s department to evaluate commercial export license applications to those countries with a presumption of denial rather than the current presumption of approval.

    The list of countries deemed high risk includes many where the influx of U.S.-made weapons have been linked to widespread violence, including Vietnam, Jamaica, Indonesia and Pakistan as well as countries in the Organization of American States, which includes much of Central and South America.

    But the high-risk list omits several places where U.S. guns have been tied to violent gangs or human rights violations, such as Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

    For gun exporters, the new regulations not only narrow the potential market, they require more screening of customers and more expense. Exporters must renew export licenses every year and will be required to file more thorough purchase orders in many countries. They also must collect copies of passports or national ID cards from gun dealers and other customers who are overseas. 

    The new rules also aim to make it easier for federal regulators to scrutinize exports of the most dangerous weapons by creating distinct trade categories for semiautomatic firearms and the components used to create them. Those products had been classified in a catchall group that included everything from hunting rifles to antique collectibles. 

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    David Kocieniewski / Bloomberg

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  • Athens Blanketed by Orange Haze Due to Sahara Dust Storm

    Athens Blanketed by Orange Haze Due to Sahara Dust Storm

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    Dust clouds from the Sahara desert in North Africa have blown across the Mediterranean Sea and turned Greece’s sky orange on Tuesday. Historic landmarks in the country’s capital Athens, including the ancient citadel of Acropolis, were blanketed in orange dust.

    One image, taken from the famous Tourkovounia hills that bisect the city of Athens, shows a man in a face mask taking a photo of the Mars-like view of the city. A second man on a bike can be seen nearby.

    Another image shows several people sitting on a cliff, having made the journey to the Tourkovounia hills by car and motorcycle to catch a glimpse of the unusual view. You can see the city’s ancient architecture covered under an orange glow.

    A man takes a photograph of the city of Athens from the Tourkovounia hills, as southerly winds carry waves of Saharan dust to the city.Angelos Tzortzinis—Getty Images
    Getty Greece Car Orange
    Clouds of dust blown in from the Sahara covered Athens and other Greek cities on April 23, 2024, in one of the worst such episodes to hit the country since 2018, officials said. Angelos Tzortzinis—Getty Images

    While the orange-covered scenes might look striking, dust clouds from the Sahara do come with health risks, especially for people with asthma or underlying health conditions. The CDC recommends staying indoors as much as possible when Saharan dust is concerned, since exposure can increase your risk for respiratory disorders and cardiovascular events. 

    “It’s one of the most serious episodes of dust and sand concentrations from the Sahara since March 21-22, 2018, when the clouds invaded the island of Crete in particular,” Kostas Lagouvardos, a weather research director at the Athens Observatory said, per The Guardian.

    The winds that blew the Sahara dust to Greece also appear to be causing an increase in wildfires. There were 25 brush fires reported by the country’s national first responders, the Hellenic Fire Department, on Tuesday. The skies are expected to clear up later in the day on Wednesday, as winds blow the dust away.

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    Anna Gordon

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