Jew-Hatred And Its Excuses

This case shows how normalized Jew-hatred and Jew-killing is now.

I'm willing to bet that the father (who claims she was merely playing an online fantasy game) is an antisemite himself.  "Hicks" perfectly describes these parents, and I think the daughter sure fooled them.

The first article is straightforward. Notice that the second article is all about this family, and not about the Jews who would have been murdered. 

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North Carolina woman, Harris County juvenile accused of plotting attack on Congregation Beth Israel. The Houston synagogue, the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas, and an affiliated school were closed Wednesday based on guidance from the Houston Police Department.

4-23-26: "A North Carolina woman and a juvenile in Harris County have been arrested and charged with crimes for allegedly plotting to "kill as many Jews as possible" by driving a vehicle through the Congregation Beth Israel in Houston, according to court documents and the FBI.

"Angelina Hicks, 18, was arrested in Davidson County, North Carolina, on Wednesday and has been charged with felony conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon, according to jail records. As of Thursday, Hicks was being held in the Davidson County Jail on a $10 million bond.

"The Houston Police Department (HPD) confirmed in a Thursday statement that a 16-year-old had been charged in Harris County with conspiracy to commit capital murder in connection with the alleged plot. HPD said the Alief ISD Police Department assisted in the arrest.

“At this time there is no other known credible threat,” HPD said in its statement.

"According to court documents, Hicks is accused of planning an attack against the Congregation Beth Israel on April 21, 2028. Court documents describe the alleged plot as a conspiracy “to kill as many Jews as possible by driving through a congregation at a synagogue."

"Hicks is also accused in court documents of having planned the attack with two other co-conspirators referred to as “Teegan” and “Angel.” The last names of alleged co-conspirators were not known as of Thursday, and it was not immediately clear if the juvenile charged in Harris County is one of the alleged co-conspirators mentioned in court documents. In a news release, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office said other alleged co-conspirators had been identified outside of North Carolina.

"The FBI Charlotte Field Office in North Carolina said it began investigating Hicks on Tuesday after it received a tip that Hicks was “believed to be targeting members of the Jewish community for [a] potential act of violence.”

“A fast-moving, multistate FBI investigation led to the arrests of one adult and one juvenile accused of planning an attack at a Jewish Day School in Houston, Texas,” the Charlotte FBI office said in a statement. “The joint FBI multistate investigation is ongoing.”

"On Wednesday afternoon, the Congregation Beth Israel — the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas — sent a statement to its members saying it had closed for the day based on the guidance of the Houston Police Department and would reopen on Thursday. The statement also said The Shlenker School — an elementary school associated with the congregation — was also closed.

"We are grateful for local law enforcement and for the support of our local and national security partners throughout the day," Rabbi David Lyon said in a statement. "We appreciate your patience, flexibility, and care for one another as we worked through this situation with diligence and thoughtfulness."

"Hicks’ defense attorney was not immediately available for comment Thursday."

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N.C. teen charged in alleged Houston synagogue plot was playing online 'fantasy game,' parents say.  The parents of Angelina Han Hicks say their daughter had no means to carry out the attack she is accused of plotting.

"HOUSTON — The parents of an 18-year-old Lexington, North Carolina, woman charged in connection with an alleged plot to attack a Houston synagogue say their daughter had no means or intention to carry out any attack, describing the online activity that led to her arrest as nothing more than fantasy role-play.

"Angelina Han Hicks was arrested on Wednesday by the Davidson County Sheriff's Office and faces two felony conspiracy counts after investigators alleged she and co-conspirators planned a mass-casualty attack at Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Houston. A juvenile was separately charged in Harris County, Texas.

"Her father, Dannie Hicks, speaking in an interview recorded shortly after the arrest to KHOU 11 News sister station WFMY, pushed back on the allegations.

"It's ludicrous. It's a fantasy game. And that's the way she looked at it as a fantasy game online," Dannie Hicks said.

"He questioned how his daughter could have carried out any real-world attack.

"It wasn't no dagone terror attacks. How in the world would you pull something like that off? She don't drive. She ain't got a car. She don't have guns. She don't know how to use a gun. She never shot a gun. How's she gonna get to Texas? It's nuts what they've done to her," Dannie Hicks said.

"Hicks' father said the charges have upended the family. He and her mother are older, he said, and deal with medical issues. Hicks had been living with them and, by their account, rarely left home on her own.

"She never left us more than a day or two at a time, and that was with adults, not no teenagers," her mother said.

"The family described Hicks as a well-liked, trouble-free teenager who was weeks away from graduating from Valley Regional Academy and was enrolled in a dual-enrollment program at a local community college.

"She was supposed to graduate in two weeks," her father said.

"Her parents also raised concerns about the conditions of her detention. Hicks is being held at the Davidson County Detention Center, where bond was set at $10 million secured.

"Her father described a recent phone call with her.

"She told us, fearing for her safety. In the situation she's in, they won't let us bring her any clothes. She don't have socks. She don't have underwear. She wears the same jumpsuit, and they don't wash them," Dannie Hicks said.

"He said she is being held in a cell with minimal bedding.

"She's in a cell with no blanket, no pillow, a towel for a blanket, and no pillow, and a thin mattress. I didn't know it was that bad. I had no idea," Dannie Hicks said.

"Her father also noted that Hicks takes high-powered medication and suggested that could be a factor in whatever she may have said or done online. He said the family is not tech-savvy and had no insight into the gaming platforms she used.

"She loves playing these fantasy video games on Roblox. That's what started her out with," he said, adding, "We're not up on the technology of these computers and gaming platforms and all that. We don't know nothing about them."

"The FBI Charlotte Joint Terrorism Task Force opened its investigation Tuesday after a tip came in to a North Carolina law enforcement agency. Agents and Davidson County detectives went to the family's Lexington home, where investigators say they found evidence of the alleged plot.

"Hicks is scheduled to appear in Davidson County District Court on May 13. The Davidson County Sheriff's Office has noted that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The joint FBI investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective H. Hall at 336-242-2105."

Schumer Shanda

In Yiddish, "shonda" means shame or disgrace. This word describes Senator Schumer, who actually stated that "nobody respects" ICE and Customs & Border Patrol in America.

He's wrong. Americans, except for criminals, murderers, and illegal aliens and their supporters, like and respect ICE and Border Patrol, who are doing heroic work to remove dangerous aliens and to protect Americans.

What I don't respect are Democrats who openly badmouth our country; who let Americans get attacked and killed by illegals who shouldn't be in our country at all; and who protect these menaces.  The Democrats are supposed to represent the people. Unfortunately, they have become so radical that the only people they represent have no business being here.

Argus Hamilton Quips

Here's the latest round-up of humorous takes on the news by Argus Hamilton, including these items:

"Tom Cruise agreed Friday to be in Top Gun 3 if he's allowed to do his own stunts. In his 2015 Mission Impossible movie, Cruise hung onto the wing of a U.S. military cargo jet as it took off and made it onto the plane. Thousands of Iranians are converting to Scientology this week hoping they can do the same thing."

"President Trump marked the day after Tax Day Thursday with a speech in Las Vegas where he touted the benefits of all the tax cuts in his Big Beautiful Bill passed last year. Citizens who would cheat on their taxes just disgust me. This is not the world I want to raise my 99 dependents in."

"The White House launched a probe into the mysterious disappearance of eleven top scientists with defense and space security clearances. They have knowledge and access to America's top secrets and there's no trace of them. It makes me wonder what they could've possibly done to anger the Clintons."  

War On Jews In The U.K.Isn't O.K.

This 4-20-26 column is by Brendan O'Neill, Chief Political Writer at Spiked. Will this soon be happening in Dearborn, MI as well?

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England’s Jews are being terrorised, and the left is silent. Synagogues are being firebombed. Jews have been murdered. Where the hell is the anger?

"When does cowardice become complicity? I wondered this on Sunday morning when my bike ride through Woodcock Park in Harrow was interrupted by a vast stretch of police tape. It was jarring to see this leafy enclave with its trickling brook turned into a crime scene. But I knew two things right away: first, that the target would have been the synagogue that sits on the edge of the park; and second, that the chattering class’s response to this latest brutalising of England’s Jews would be as meek and quiet as this park normally is. 

"I was right on both counts. A quick Google confirmed that, overnight, the Kenton United Synagogue had been targeted for fiery destruction. A bottle containing ‘accelerant’ was hurled through a window. More simply, a synagogue was firebombed, in London, in 2026. Mercifully, the homemade device of fascist terror failed to ignite and the synagogue suffered only a little smoke damage. Then came the next act in the anti-Semitic drama, the one that follows with baleful predictability every outrage against our Jewish compatriots: the snivelling, gutless silence of ‘the virtuous’.

"We need to speak plainly: England’s Jews are being terrorised and the left is silent. Jews are being subjected to a campaign of fascist-style animus and so-called anti-fascists are saying fuck all. The world’s oldest racism has burst back to bloody life and ‘anti-racist’ influencers either haven’t noticed, don’t care, or they like it. How else to explain their craven self-gagging in the face of racist violence? ‘We would have hidden Jews in the attic’, these preening ‘progressive’ moralists love to say, when the only thing in their attics are Palestine flags, spare keffiyehs and placards saying ‘Zionism is cancer’. 

"The situation could not be more serious. The attempted burning of Kenton United Synagogue was the third violent assault on a Jewish institution in London in a week. There was also the attempted firebombing of the Finchley Reform Synagogue on Wednesday. In the dead of night, two people in balaclavas hurled petrol-filled bottles at it. Thankfully, the damage was minimal. Then on Friday, a man placed a bag containing three bottles of flammable liquid outside the former offices of Jewish Futures in Hendon, a Jewish educational charity. They failed to fully ignite. And it was only last month that four Jewish ambulances were destroyed in Golders Green in a fiery act of racial hatred. And only last year that two Jews were slain on Yom Kippur in the Islamist atrocity at the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester.

"The events of the past week, those three attempted incinerations, leave no doubt: a campaign of terror is underway against the Jews of Britain. The message of these Nazi-like arsonists is as clear as it is sick: you aren’t safe here. In the suburbs where you live, in your educational institutions, even in your places of worship, we will find you. This is a violent crusade to strip our Jewish citizens of their sense of security, to plunder them of the thing every British citizen should enjoy – the feeling that we belong, that we are safe. These petrol-pouring lowlifes want nothing less than to make life intolerable for the Jews of this kingdom.

"Worse, there are suspicions the Islamic Republic is involved in this violent rebirth of anti-Jewish persecution. A group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has claimed responsibility for some of the anti-Semitic arson in the UK and other attacks on Jews in Europe. It is thought to be a proxy or at least a fanclub of the tyranny in Tehran. After the failed burning of the synagogue in Kenton this weekend, the Metropolitan Police said it is ‘alive’ to the ‘threat of Iranian state aggression in the UK’.

"Think about this: it is possible British Jews are being terrorised at the behest of a foreign regime. It is possible the Islamist theocracy in Iran is engaged in a war of attrition against Jews in Hendon, Kenton, Finchley. If the Iranian link is substantiated, the government’s response should be the immediate closure of the Iranian Embassy and the expulsion of all Iranian diplomats. No quarter whatsoever can be given to regimes that encourage militant racists to take up arms against Jewish Britons. As for that sickly, suicidal Islamo-left alliance that makes excuses for, or outright cheers, the Islamic Republic and its ‘axis of resistance’ – they are now completely morally indistinguishable from Oswald Mosley and his mob who did fascism’s bidding in Britain.

"The brainless apologists for Tehran among Britain’s affluent faux-socialist classes will say: ‘It was only a few makeshift petrol bombs. And they didn’t ignite.’ Yet those three dreamt-of fires will have made Jews across London feel fretful. Is their synagogue next? Will the next bag of accelerants catch fire? That’s terrorism’s mission – to terrorise. What’s more, the explosion of Jew hate in Australia after 7 October 2023 also started with the ‘low-level’ intimidation of synagogues, including firebombings. And we know how things ended there. It is at the very start that the Islamo-fascist menace must be quashed, before it leads to more than smoke damage, and to the harming of more than bricks and mortar.

"I am now at the point where I find the ‘progressive’ silence in the aftermath of these attacks more unnerving than the noise of the violence itself. Anti-Jewish savagery is tragically to be expected from the Islamic Republic and its simps in the West. It’s the cowardice of the cultural elite that feels truly foreign, truly unsettling. A whole week of terror against Jews in London and the government just issues a few perfunctory comments while the media elites briefly wring their hands before getting back to the Mandelson scandal. Where’s the anger? Where’s the righteous fury of those liberals who said everything from Brexit to Trump was ‘like the 1930s’ yet who now seem so soullessly unfazed by literal firebombings of synagogues?

"As for the left, their claim to oppose racism lies in the gutter where it belongs. It has been exposed as a gross lie by their own wordless timidity as synagogues are targeted with fire. These people got angrier over the Supreme Court ruling saying men aren’t women than they did over a week of anti-Semitic arson in London. I don’t know what we’re meant to call an activist class that shows more interest in the right of men to piss wherever they fancy than it does in the right of Jews to live in safety. But I know it’s not anti-fascist.

"The terrorisers in our midst are not only goading England’s Jews – they’re goading all of us. They’re laying down a gauntlet alongside their petrol bombs, to see if Britain will stand with its Jews or betray them. And right now we are failing, badly. Civil society sleeps. The government is too busy saving its own arse to save British Jewry. And ‘progressives’ just carry on with their one-eyed, unhinged demonisation of the Jewish State and everyone who supports it, effectively hanging a target sign around the necks of Britain’s Jews. There is a moment in which silence becomes complicity. When moral nonchalance helps to normalise savagery. When our collective failure to speak out is viewed by the fascist enemy as permission for further violence. We’ve reached that moment."

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Brendan O’Neill is spiked’s chief political writer and host of the spiked podcast, The Brendan O’Neill Show. Subscribe to the podcast here. His latest book – After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation – is available to order on Amazon UK and Amazon US now. And find Brendan on Instagram: @burntoakboy.   

Public Health Isn't The Same

What a sorry state of affairs!  People had better use their brains when it comes to getting vaccinated, because being gullible and listening to these anti-science "doctors" doesn't work.

I remember seeing Marty Makary offer his opinions on Fox News during the start of the pandemic and thinking "What a quack! I'd never listen to him!", so when I saw he had been appointed head of the FDA, I knew it wouldn't end well.

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The Death of Public Health.  
Robert F, Kennedy Jr, the nation’s #1 public health official, isn’t interested in public health.

By Dr. Paul Offit, Apr 21, 2026

"During the recent measles outbreak, the largest in more than 30 years, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to clearly recommend the measles vaccine, saying instead that it was a “personal decision,” and that parents should “do their own research.” Similarly, during her recent confirmation hearing for United States Surgeon General, Casey Means was questioned by Senator William Cassidy (R, La). “You’re the nation’s doctor,” said Cassidy. “Would you encourage [a mother] to have her child vaccinated!” “I’m not an individual’s doctor,” Means said. “And every individual needs to talk to their doctor before putting a medication in their body.” In June 2025, Marty Makary, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said that COVID vaccines for pregnant women should be a “personal choice”, even though every other country in the world recommended the COVID vaccine during pregnancy due to a higher risk for severe disease.

"It doesn’t end there. On January 5, 2026, RFK Jr. reduced the number of routinely recommended vaccines from 18 to 10. For vaccines that protected against influenza, COVID, and rotavirus, parents were urged to speak with their doctors—to make an individual choice. (On March 16, 2026, in a ruling by a federal court in Boston, RFK Jr.’s revised schedule was invalidated.)

"What’s happening? Why are public health officials moving away from making recommendations for the public? The origin of this change might be rooted in the first two years of the COVID pandemic. In 2020, during the first year on the pandemic, we didn’t have anything to stop a virus that was killing hundreds of people a day and could be spread asymptomatically. We didn’t have antivirals until October, monoclonal antibodies until November, and vaccines until December. All we could do was restrict travel, close businesses, shutter schools, and mask, isolate, quarantine, test, and social distance. During the second year of the pandemic, when we had vaccines to prevent COVID, people couldn’t go anywhere without their vaccine cards. They couldn’t go to their favorite bar or restaurant or sporting event or place of worship without proof of vaccination. Some people were fired from their jobs for refusing to get vaccinated. For many, this was seen as massive government overreach and energized what has been called the “medical freedom movement.” Indeed, a headline in the New York Times declared, “How Health Freedom Became a Winning Rally Cry.”

"As expressed in the comments of RFK Jr., Casey Means, and Marty Makary, the medical freedom movement focuses on the individual not the community—the opposite of public health. In an article titled “Ethics and Social Value Judgments in Public Health,” ethicists from Yale University distinguished public health from medical freedom. “Public health policies,” they wrote, “are population oriented. Because individual health affects the health of others, public health measures regulate individual behavior to achieve population health goals. All raise questions about how individual autonomy and freedom should be balanced against public health interests…which respects individuals’ sovereignty over their bodies and actions as long as their actions do not harm others.”

"The medical freedom movement fails to recognize that it often limits the freedom of others. For example, a parent who is afraid to send a child to school where many of the students are unvaccinated. Or immune compromised children who depend on those around them to for protection. The question then becomes “Freedom for whom?” Is it your right, in the name of medical freedom, to catch and transmit a potentially fatal infection—and in so doing, take away the freedom of others?

"In Four Essays on Liberty, Isaiah Berlin sums it up best. “Liberty for the wolves,” he wrote, “is death to the lambs.”

Holocaust Denial is Alive and Well in 2026

It just never stops. Look at this 4-19-26 headline from the New York Post. The Holocaust was "exaggerated"?  What gives these hateful conspiracy theorists the right to say such things? Do they believe that evil happens to everyone but the Jewish people?

One thing is sure about the Holocaust and antisemitism: we Jews have never used it as an excuse. 

(Funny how nobody ever tells blacks to "just move on" from slavery and reparations, even though 6 million slaves were NOT exterminated.)

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Survey shows shocking number of Long Islanders believe Jews need to just ‘move on’ from ‘exaggerated’ Holocaust 

"Nearly a third of Long Island residents don’t believe the Holocaust should be required teaching and suggest Jews just “move on” from the “exaggerated” genocide, according to a shocking new survey.

"The survey of roughly 400 Long Islanders revealed that a disturbing number of Nassau and Suffolk county residents believe Holocaust deaths have been exaggerated, with even more outright opposing the horror be part of required curriculum in schools.

“The survey is intended to provide a roadmap for all of us — regardless of faith or ethnicity — because indifference or ignorance of how the Holocaust occurred threatens everyone,” said Steven Krieger, a Long Island-based real-estate developer who helped fund the study conducted by national conservative pollster McLaughlin Associates.

The survey’s disturbing findings were released on the anniversary of the liberation of the infamous Buchenwald concentration camp. AP

"The findings — released on the anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp — reveal that roughly 15% of respondents either straight-up believe the Nazi’s genocide was exaggerated to some extent or refused to answer the question.

"About 30% said they don’t believe that Holocaust education should be required to be taught in public schools and that Jews should collectively “move on.”

"The survey comes as antisemitism has surged to the highest levels ever recorded nationwide, according to the Anti-Defamation League — a trend that Jewish advocates link in part to the war in Gaza and now Lebanon, claiming a growing number of Americans are conflating the Israeli government’s actions with Jewish people as a whole.

“The government of Israel does not represent all Jewish people, but what we are seeing is a conflation of the two where people automatically associate all Jews with the actions of Israel, and I believe that is causing real antisemitism from extremists whose gripe is really with a foreign government,” an activist from Jewish Voices for Peace told The Post after viewing the survey.

"Gloria Sesso, president of the Long Island Council for Social Studies, which co-sponsored the survey, said, “It is inconceivable that there are those who would propose that Jews ‘move on’ from the Nazi’s Final Solution.”

"She said it is “irresponsible” to suggest the Holocaust is not relevant for classrooms and that the results of this survey should be a wake-up call for educators across the region, especially during a time where hateful online influencers, such as the “Groypers,” are taking over young people’s feeds.

Charred bodies were recovered from the human ovens at Buchenwald after liberation. ASSOCIATED PRESS

"World War II only gets covered for about 90 minutes of class time in New York state, leaving plenty of room for hateful misinformation to flood their timelines without challenge, according to various experts on the state curriculum.

"Dr. Bill Tinglin, an educator and author of the Holocaust book, “One of Humanity’s Darkest Hours,” called the poll’s disturbing findings dangerous.

“The world must remember,” Tinglin said.

“Future generations must understand where hatred begins and what happens when it goes unchallenged — hatred grows strongest where ignorance lives,” he said, adding that it is vital to teach young students these lessons early on."

Dr Ruth Report, 4-19-26

Here's the latest always-anticipated report on COVID and other respiratory viruses,  by Dr. Ruth Ann Crystal. 

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Dr. Ruth Report, 4/19/26
Ruth Ann Crystal MD

Respiratory Illnesses in the United States:

As of Friday, April 17, 2026:

• RSV activity is elevated, but has peaked in most regions.

• Influenza A activity is low and Influenza B activity is medium, but is trending downward.

• COVID activity is low in most places in the United States with some pockets that are higher. Overall, COVID levels are the lowest that they have been in several years.

Regional wastewater levels for COVID, RSV, Flu A, Flu B:

From: https://data.wastewaterscan.org/

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COVID

Wastewater levels of SARS-CoV-2 are at their lowest in almost 3 years, but there are still about 200,000 new COVID infections daily across the states with 1 in 226 people currently infected.

From: https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/activity-levels.html

COVID BA.3.2

As Ryan Hisner posted, “BA.3.2’s propensity for children is undeniable at this point.” JAMA had a new article this week on the BA.3.2 (Cicada) SARS-CoV-2 Variant.

Acute COVID

4/9/26 J of Physiology: SARS‐CoV‐2 targets mitochondria, exacerbating COVID‐19 pneumonia https://buff.ly/7g8fM0q

A review from the University of Cambridge looks at the biochemical processes in which SARS-CoV-2 disrupts mitochondrial function in lung cells, leading to impaired energy production and increased inflammatory responses that can worsen pneumonia severity. “Emerging studies suggest even after the active infection is resolved, residual viral proteins, particularly SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, may linger and continue to cause damage to the mitochondria by increasing oxidative stress and disrupting energy metabolism” in Long COVID.

From: https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1113/JP290297

4/10/26 BioRxiV (UC Irvine): Phagocytic Clearance of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid- and RNA-Containing Immune Complexes Drives Inflammatory Cytokine Production and Endothelial Dysfunction https://buff.ly/N7h6hCs

University of California Irvine scientists found that immune complexes (ICs) containing SARS-CoV-2 RNA + nucleocapsid (N) protein + human anti-N antibodies induce inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in monocytes which can lead to endothelial vascular dysfunction, severe COVID infection, and possibly Long COVID inflammatory and vascular complications.

4/10/26 Nature (Mt Sinai): Unveiling alternate pathways for SARS-CoV-2 infection via extracellular vesicle-mediated transfer of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 https://buff.ly/qaDZc2B

Icahn School of Medicine (Mount Sinai) scientists found that lung epithelial cells can transfer ACE2 and TMPRSS2 receptors via extracellular vesicles to macrophages, endothelial cells, and pericytes. These receptors enable SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells that would otherwise be resistant to the virus.

4/16/26 Journal of Virology: HuR enhances SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein translation through the genomic 5′-UTR, by promoting polypyrimidine tract-binding protein binding https://buff.ly/vQGzTRQ

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks the host protein HuR which boosts early production of viral proteins and simultaneously suppresses structural protein translation. Blocking HuR reduced viral RNA levels, decreased growth of the virus, and made cells significantly more sensitive to Remdesivir. Therefore, HuR may be a potential antiviral target.

4/6/26 Mucosal Immunology: Differential effects of SARS-CoV-2-targeted infection of ATII, club cells, and macrophages on lung immunopathology and antiviral responses https://buff.ly/Alf6sr4

A mouse study showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection in different lung cell types leads to different immune responses. Infection of club cells triggered early antiviral defenses and caused only mild damage, while infection of ATII cells led to higher viral loads and moderate inflammation. When macrophages were infected along with ATII cells, the combined effect caused severe lung injury, increased viral burden, and prolonged tissue damage, suggesting that interactions between cell types play an important role in COVID severity.

3/30/26 Frontiers in Immunology: Thymidine phosphorylase promotes SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-driven lung tumor development https://buff.ly/OIOu8Td

Marshall University researchers analyzed 166,807 patients and found a statistically significant increase in lung cancer risk among COVID survivors, particularly in smokers, Mouse studies showed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein activates the enzyme TYMP, triggering fibrosis, and inflammation. TYMP may be a target for prevention.

Pregnancy

4/13/26 Nature: SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first trimester leads to profound immune dysregulation at the maternal-fetal interface despite limited virus detection in placental tissues https://buff.ly/Yc9Awdx

Chinese research teams studying 761 first trimester pregnancies found that SARS-CoV-2 was rarely detectable in placental tissues, but it triggered strong immune activation, including elevated cytokines and widespread interferon signaling at the maternal-fetal interface. The infection disrupted key signaling pathways and cell communication in trophoblasts, suggesting that immune dysregulation rather than direct viral invasion may drive adverse pregnancy sequelae.

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Long COVID

4/11/26 Journal of Translational Medicine: Immune dysregulation in prolonged Long-COVID: lymphocytes emerge as key mediators of persistent inflammation, exhaustion and cytotoxicity https://buff.ly/sFO33ry

Latvian researchers performed single cell immune profiling on 9 female patients who had been hospitalized with acute COVID October 2020 to January 2021 consisting of 3 Long COVID patients with cardiovascular symptoms, 3 Long COVID patients with pulmonary complications, and 3 patients who did not develop Long COVID. Long COVID patients had persistent alterations in T cells, natural killer cells, and B cell signaling up to 1.5 to 2 years after infection, with increased expression of exhaustion and cytotoxicity genes. The study also identified distinct early interferon responses in patients who later developed Long COVID, suggesting that lymphocyte dysfunction begins during acute infection and may predict long term disease risk.

4/15/26 PLOS One: Acute SARS-CoV-2 viral load and systemic inflammation are associated with neuropsychiatric and musculoskeletal symptoms in long COVID https://buff.ly/ebQ8GB6

Scientists from Dow University in Pakistan studied 300 COVID patients and found that 59% had persistent Long COVID symptoms at 10 months, with higher acute infection viral load and systemic inflammation strongly linked to ongoing neuropsychiatric and musculoskeletal symptoms.

4/11/26 BMC Medicine: Acute COVID-19 severity and impaired cognitive function up to 32 months after diagnosis: an observational study https://buff.ly/9sDg5wv

In a European study of 153,841 people, non-hospitalized patients with acute COVID infection who felt sick enough to stay in bed for 1-6 days or more than 7 days, had 2x to 3x higher prevalence of impaired cognitive function 18 to 32 months after COVID diagnosis.

4/16/26 (7/2026 issue) J of Neurological Sciences: The neuropsychiatric features of Long COVID in older adults and the potential association with neuroinflammation: Preliminary observations in a small cohort https://buff.ly/8fZwbQG

Stony Brook University in New York studied 24 older adults and found that those with Long COVID had significantly higher levels of depression and fatigue compared to controls, with a subset of 6 patients showing increased neuroinflammation on PET imaging. These preliminary findings suggest that persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms in older adults may be linked to ongoing brain inflammation, though the small sample size limits generalizability.

From: https://www.jns-journal.com/article/S0022-510X(26)00197-8/abstract

4/13/26 Nature Reviews Neurology: Understanding the long-term neurological effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection https://buff.ly/5glOL0I

A review from the UK “summarizes the spectrum of neurological and psychological symptoms that occur following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection,” looking at evidence for underlying mechanisms. In addition, they discuss ongoing and completed large-scale treatment trials. Long COVID’s most persistent effects center on the nervous system, including cognitive impairment, fatigue, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression, with growing evidence that neurological and psychiatric symptoms interact bidirectionally and may share underlying biological mechanisms.

4/13/26 Nature (Melbourne, Australia): Divergent inflammatory and neurology-related protein levels in long COVID following primary and breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections https://buff.ly/d6SdzTa

Scientists from Melbourne, Australia analyzed 182 plasma proteins in 57 participants and found that Long COVID was associated with a distinct and persistent inflammatory and neurologic protein signature months after infection. Booster vaccination or breakthrough infection did not reproduce or worsen this pattern, suggesting that the immune response to re-exposure differs from the initial infection and may not drive Long COVID.

4/13/26 Nature: Site-specific wastewater-based surveillance in early detection of COVID-19 new cases and prediction of mass testing outcomes in long-term care facilities https://buff.ly/6tWjcKU

A study from the University of Alberta of 9 long term care facilities found that wastewater surveillance detected new COVID cases approximately 3 days before clinical confirmation and correctly predicted 85% of negative mass testing outcomes. Wastewater testing may be a faster and less invasive approach to outbreak monitoring in vulnerable settings.

4/13/26 (June 2026) International Immunopharmacology: Aminopeptides ameliorate long COVID symptoms in immunocompromised rheumatic patients through immune reconstitution https://buff.ly/5JlRmZM

Researchers from Beijing, China studied 171 immunocompromised patients with rheumatic disease and found that oral aminopeptides from bovine spleen taken for 3 months was associated with improvement in Long COVID symptoms, particularly fatigue. In addition, they found increased T cell counts and markers of immune recovery.

4/12/26 JACC Advances: Post-COVID Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia: Prevalence, Overlap, and Clinical Characteristics https://buff.ly/08MnHhe

A study of 270 Long COVID patients referred for tachycardia showed that postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or a combined dual diagnosis of POTS and inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) were more common diagnoses than IST alone in Long COVID. IST patients were more likely to have high blood pressure, while POTS patients showed higher rates of cognitive impairment, fainting, and nausea.

From: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772963X26001201

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Measles

As of April 16, 2026, 1,748 confirmed measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026.

The South Carolina outbreak remains at 997 measles cases, with no new measles cases since March 17.

The Utah measles outbreak continues to spread with 75 new cases in the last 3 weeks and 602 cases since this outbreak started in 2025.

From: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resources/us-measles-tracker

Government Health News

4/1/26 CIDRAP: Trump nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, to head CDC

From: Unbiased Science

Other news

4/16/26 NPR receives $113 million in charitable gifts https://buff.ly/p80D5df

NPR announced two of the largest donations in its history, totaling $113 million, following Congress’s elimination of all federal public media funding. Philanthropist Connie Ballmer contributed $80 million, the largest gift ever from a living donor to NPR, while another anonymous donor gave $33 million.

4/2026 Cleveland Clinic: Woman Undergoes First in World Transvaginal Robotic-Assisted Dual Kidney Transplant https://buff.ly/Ev5Uvi4

Cleveland Clinic surgeons performed the world’s first robotic transvaginal dual kidney transplant in June 2025, placing two donor kidneys through an incision in the posterior vaginal wall with minimal post operative pain and a faster recovery. The dual kidney technique allows transplant of two marginal donor kidneys placed on one side of the body, preserving the other side for any future need.

4/14/26 Nature Genetics (USC): Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of severe pregnancy nausea and vomiting https://buff.ly/PaP3bNM

Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is a severe form of pregnancy nausea and vomiting that causes dehydration requiring hospitalization and affects about 2% of pregnancies. Dr. Marlena Fejzo from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and colleagues analyzed DNA from 10,974 women with hyperemesis gravidarum and 461,461 controls across diverse ancestries. They identified 10 genetic loci, including 6 new ones, linking the condition to pathways in appetite regulation, insulin signaling, and brain plasticity. These findings build on GDF-15 biology as a cause for HG.

4/1/26 JACC: GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Exposure During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes https://buff.ly/XA1CwQ6

A systematic review and meta-analysis shows that “GLP-1 RA exposure [during pregnancy] was associated with improved maternal and preterm birth outcomes, with no significant increase in congenital malformations or overall adverse fetal outcomes.”

4/9/26 NPR: 710,000 fewer babies were born last year in U.S. compared with two decades ago https://buff.ly/N7uACMg

The U.S. fertility rate has reached historic lows, with annual births dropping by 710,000 compared to figures from twenty years ago. Teen pregnancy rates have plunged to new lows and many women are delaying motherhood to their 30s and 40s. People are having fewer children, a shift that could permanently transform the global economy.

4/14/26 Cell Metabolism: The weight-loss-independent hepatoprotective benefits of semaglutide are orchestrated by intrahepatic sinusoidal endothelial GLP-1 receptors https://buff.ly/WyS7g1W

Scientists at the University of Toronto found that Semaglutide provides direct protection to the liver by activating specific GLP-1 receptors located on intrahepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells. This mouse study demonstrates that the medication successfully reduces hepatic fat accumulation, fibrosis, and inflammation through specialized pathways, showing that the drug has metabolic benefits independent of weight loss alone.

From: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1550413126001051

4/14/26 Nature: Unexpected detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis DNA in US-born patients in putative association with clinical syndromes https://buff.ly/XDaMA8Z

Boston University researchers used a new ultrasensitive molecular test and unexpectedly detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in up to 16% of respiratory samples from predominantly U.S.-born patients hospitalized at two Boston hospitals, despite negative standard cultures. The findings suggest hidden TB burden in low-incidence urban settings. Notably, all three patients with sickle cell acute chest syndrome, a life-threatening complication, tested positive for TB DNA, pointing to a potential overlooked association.

4/1/26 JAMA Psychiatry: Patients Use AI—Clinicians Should Ask How https://buff.ly/q0JaY40

More than 5 million U.S. youth, including 13% overall and 22% of those aged 18 to 21, have used AI for mental health advice, with nearly half of adults with mental health conditions also turning to these tools. Patients are using AI for emotional support, psychoeducation, and processing experiences, sometimes outside or instead of care, highlighting the need for clinicians to routinely screen for AI use to ensure safe integration with treatment.

4/3/26 Guardian: Nuns who broke back into their Austrian convent ‘are step closer to being able to stay’ https://buff.ly/Epj37zP

Austrian nuns Sisters Bernadette, Regina, and Rita, all in their 80s, are getting closer to being able to stay in their convent after the Vatican signaled it supports the idea in principle. The sisters had a locksmith come to break back into their convent last September after being moved to a care facility against their wishes. Nothing is final yet, but the three have now been invited to Rome, for a possible meeting with Pope Leo.

Sister Rita, Bernadette and Regina back in their convent

Have a great week,

Ruth Ann Crystal MD

COVID Mistakes Worth Avoiding

Here's a good article by Beth Ann Mayer that should be handed out to patients in every doctor's office. It's just common sense, but too many people seem to be lacking common sense.

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The Common Mistake That Increases Your Risk of Catching COVID Twice This Season. Four doctors agree: This COVID mistake is worth avoiding.

Apr 19, 2026 8:25 AM EDT

Key points:  

• COVID-19 still poses risks, especially to vulnerable populations, despite life largely returning to normal.
• One action in particular increases risk of COVID reinfection, especially with emerging variants.
• Doctors advise vaccination, good hygiene, testing and staying home when sick to prevent spread.

"Back in the spring of 2020, we dreamt of a day when COVID would be gone. The reality is that isn’t how the virus played out, and we now live with it. Life has long returned to normal since those dark days six years ago, but that doesn’t mean doctors want people to wave off the virus.

“While it is not as deadly as it was early in the pandemic, COVID-19 can still result in hospitalizations and even death among older individuals and those with significant comorbidities, such as those with advanced lung, heart, liver or kidney disease and those who are immunocompromised,” explains Dr. Jimmy Johannes, MD, a pulmonologist and critical care medicine specialist at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center.

"COVID-19 also doesn’t go away once winter ends, though that is typically when hospitalizations and infections peak.

“We tend to talk more about COVID during flu season because respiratory viruses spread more easily in the colder months,” says Dr. Mike Richardson, MD, a family physician. “We continue to see cases and even outbreaks in the spring and summer. It can circulate year-round, but we typically see higher peaks in the fall and winter.”

"Dr. Richardson says that one of the biggest mistakes he sees people make is understimating COVID.

“I often see COVID trigger prolonged breathing issues in people who had asthma earlier in life. This is not just a week or two of symptoms,” Dr. Richardson explains. “Recovery can take months. The challenge is that it is hard to predict who will be affected this way. Because of that uncertainty, the best strategy is still to avoid getting infected in the first place.”

"Doctors say that there’s another common mistake that increases your risk of getting COVID twice this season. Here’s what it is and the simple way to avoid it.

Not getting vaccinated can raise your risk of getting COVID-19 twice in a season.

“Because COVID mutates around our immune response to prior exposure, it is very important to get the best, most up-to-date vaccine for the best protection against infection,” explains Dr. Linda Yancey, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston.

"Another physician agrees. “Skipping vaccination leaves your immune system less prepared to recognize and fight the virus,” explains Dr. Raj Dasgupta, MD, the chief medical advisor for Sleepopolis. “Vaccines strengthen the body’s immune memory, so unvaccinated individuals have a higher risk of reinfection, especially with evolving variants that partially escape immunity from past infections.”

"Indeed, a not-new but previously dormant variant, Cicada, is currently under surveillance by the CDC and other major health organizations. The new variant matters, whether you’ve gotten COVID this season or not.

“COVID-19 reinfections can happen,” Dr. Johannes notes. “While an infection can protect against another infection, waning immunity over weeks to months and the possibility of changing variants can lead to reinfection, especially for those with a weakened immune system. The COVID-19 vaccine can reduce the risk of getting COVID-19 infection and reinfection.”

"In fact, JAMA Network Open research suggests that reinfection risk is higher among people who remained unvaccinated than in those individuals who rolled up their sleeves.

"Now, doctors agree that the COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t prevent reinfection or infection (though it can). “In the best-case scenario, vaccination helps prevent infection altogether,” Dr. Richardson explains. “If you do get infected, it can reduce the severity of symptoms and lower the risk of spreading it to others. It is not perfect protection, but it is a strong and effective layer of defense.”

"Your primary care doctor can advise you on the best frequency for COVID-19 boosters based on your health and risk factors.

"Doctors say a multi-layered approach is still best for avoiding COVID-19 infections and reinfections (and protecting your community). Besides staying up to date on vaccinations, doctors advise people to:

• Wash your hands. Dr. Johannes calls good hand hygiene “probably the most practical and reliable way to reduce the risk of getting COVID-19 infection.”
• Get tested. Dr. Johannes suggests getting tested if you suspect you have COVID-19, especially if you’re at a higher risk for severe illness, such as because of your age or underlying conditions. “Testing for COVID-19 early and seeking treatment with an antiviral treatment, such as Paxlovid, can reduce the severity of illness and reduce the risk of complications or hospitalization,” Dr. Johannes says.
• Stay home if you’re sick. Remember, we’re all on the same team. Sometimes, you need to return to a life that isn’t normal to protect others. “Don’t ignore early symptoms and continue normal activities, spend extended time in enclosed spaces when transmission risk is high or return to work or social settings too soon when you are still symptomatic and have a fever,” Dr. Richardson says.

"In short, get vaccinated. And if you feel sick? Stay home and rest up. If you are sick and coughing or sneezing, wearing a mask can also help reduce transmission until you are no longer contagious."

Links To Articles On Antisemitism

At Elder of Ziyon, there's a link dump from yesterday on the subject of Jew-hatred.  Of course we Jews read these articles, but it's too bad the perpetrators of these antisemitic acts, and their enablers, don't read them and maybe learn something about themselves from them. (But I doubt it.)

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04/16 Links Pt2: The Holocaust began with words and then ordinary people normalising hate – the same pattern we see today; Israel Memorial Day 2026: 170 soldiers killed, 79 victims of terror

Fired For Faking COVID Vaccine Paperwork

Better late than never. This wasn't a "mistake", as he says; it was a deliberate attempt to bypass COVID safeguards. Think of the damage he may have caused by his selfishness.

As seen at ESPN, by Associated Press 4-15-26:

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Swiss hockey coach fired over false COVID vaccine paperwork

"ZURICH -- A Swiss hockey coach who admitted he used a certificate falsely claiming he'd been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get around China's travel restrictions for the 2022 Winter Olympics has been fired.

"In a statement late Monday, head coach Patrick Fischer said he made a "serious mistake in this matter" by traveling to Beijing with the Switzerland men's team using false paperwork.

"The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation initially supported him, saying the case was closed because he had admitted to his mistake. But that changed Wednesday with news of his dismissal.

"The case is legally closed but has triggered a public debate about values and trust, which ​the federation takes very seriously," federation president Urs Kessler said ​in a statement.

"From today's perspective, our initial assessment -- that the matter was ‌concluded -- ⁠was too short-sighted. This is about values and respect, that are fundamental to Swiss Ice Hockey and which Patrick Fischer did not uphold in 2022."

"Fischer had said before he was fired that "I'm very sorry if I've disappointed people with this situation."

"I was in an extraordinary personal crisis because I didn't want to be vaccinated," he added. "At the same time I certainly didn't want to let my team down at the Olympic Games."

"Swiss public broadcaster SRF said it confronted Fischer with documents showing he was fined nearly 39,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) by local authorities in 2023 for document forgery after buying the certificate on social media. SRF said he went public with his admission shortly after.

"Switzerland hosts the world championship next month. Fischer was already due to step down after that.

"Jan Cadieux, Switzerland's former under-20 coach who had already been announced as Fischer's replacement beginning next year, will take over in the new job immediately, the federation said.

"Fischer was one of Switzerland's most successful hockey coaches. He'd been in the post since 2015 and took the team to three Olympics as well as winning three world championship silver medals.

"His team reached the quarterfinals at the 2022 Olympics, where COVID-19 testing was a requirement and the NHL stayed away because of the pandemic.

"Ahead of the 2022 Olympics, China had some of the strictest COVID-19 rules in the world. It insisted any athletes heading to the Games had to either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or sit out a three-week quarantine in a hotel, as Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kummer did."