Gov. DeSantis is banking on Americans hating immigrants more than high insurance rates | Opinion
Fabiola Santiago – May 12, 2023
He’s got your back on the hate, red Floridians.
For starters, millions of your tax dollars have been designated by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature — no, not to subsidize our skyrocketing home insurance — but to ship planeloads of new immigrants to blue states.
The governor will fish them from the sea, if he has to, for publicity stunts.
His presidential aspirations need shocker headlines — and the oxygen in his $117 billion big government budget only left room for catering to your irrational immigrant-loathing and to fighting Disney World in courts over one opinion contrary to his.
Immigrant-hunting will be as expensive as the well-paid lawyers DeSantis is employing to uphold civil rights violations.
By signing into law a sweeping anti-immigrant bill, DeSantis has built his own wall around the state’s sea and land borders, hoping to outdo Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico effort, wimpy and inefficient by comparison.
The Republican governor and his sycophant Legislature figured out that all they had to do was terrorize people with the ruthless contents of SB 1718 — and asylum-seekers wouldn’t confuse the Sunshine State for a sanctuary.
It’s already working so well that immigrant construction workers in South Florida weren’t showing up to work this week for fear that there would be a round-up and they’d be deported, CBS News Miami reported.
DeSantis calls his mandates “the strongest anti-illegal immigration law in the country to combat Biden’s border crisis.”
Ironically, he’s promoting the message in an explanatory document set in bold red and black lettering — the colors of Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement in Cuba and the Sandinistas’ National Liberation Front in Nicaragua, regimes from which immigrants are fleeing.
The new Florida immigration law, effective July 1, allows random audits of employers suspected of hiring unauthorized immigrant workers — opening the door to ethnic and racial profiling.
All those Hispanic business owners in Miami-Dade and other immigrant-populated communities who voted for DeSantis are being richly rewarded. (There’s a more appropriate verb that starts with an “s,” but I’m not allowed to use it). I don’t feel sorry for these voters. But I do for hard-working undocumented immigrants who aren’t hurting anyone and the families who love them.
The medical field — those providing care and their patients — will also be adversely affected.
If an immigrant without legal status has a medical emergency — a life-threatening illness, is having a baby or had a car accident, makes no difference — the law now requires that hospitals collect data about patients’ immigration status and document the money spent on providing them healthcare.
In addition, no Florida government entity is allowed to issue to immigrants an identification card of any kind, even if they have passports or birth certificates. Can’t get one without proof of legal entry.
People driving without a license is just what we need in Florida. And, nope, relatives can’t drive the undocumented, either, and stay within the law themselves. Drivers can be charged with a third-degree felony for knowingly giving an undocumented migrant a lift to church, school or work.
Do so, and risk being charged as a human smuggler.
In Miami, this means all the Cubans and Venezuelans who love Trump and DeSantis so much — and are housing, hosting, transporting or providing medical care for anyone without the right documentation — now have enforced restrictions to keep in mind.
If they operate as they have until now, on the fly, they become law-breakers.
Then, there’s the tightening of E-Verify, which makes it more difficult than ever for workplaces to hire immigrants.
A federal program for employers to confirm a person’s immigration status, operating since 1996, it became voluntary when President Bill Clinton signed it into law under the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Later required, the program was expanded and made easier to use under President Barack Obama.
Not good enough for DeSantis, who says his state will strictly enforce E-Verify: Employers with 25 or more workers have to put through the system everyone’s immigration status — or face a $1,000 per day fine if an employee is found to be in the country illegally.
All companies, no matter whether they maintain your lawn, paint the walls or put on a new roof, have to comply. So the able-bodied, quick-learning, eager-to-work rafter who just got off the boat can’t work at your house.
No, Florida is no longer a place where immigrants can rebuild — in peace — lives lost to dictatorship, poverty, and violence, while in the process, contributing desperately needed labor to the United States economy.
Without a care for the state’s history (maybe he is a Midwesterner, as he tries to pass off himself in his political pamphlet-styled memoir) DeSantis — with the help of shameless legislators who are the descendants of exiles and other immigrants — has shut the door.
The governor needs your red vote badly to win the Republican presidential primary — and he’s sure that crushing immigrants is the key to voters’ hearts. So much so that he forgot all about the damage those pesky hurricanes and rising seas bring and the ensuing reconstruction.
But no worries about a state dependent on agriculture, tourism and construction, left without immigrant labor.
Write with a smile the big check to the insurance company that, after decades of paying, will tell you when you most need them — as is happening now to the insured in southwest Florida repairing homes destroyed by Hurricane Ian: The fancy door is a decoration and isn’t covered.
Write with a spring in your step the big check to the construction company charging you more because the owner can’t hire cheaper labor.
Your man in Tallahassee has delivered!
Now you can peel your eyes away from the white-world-is-ending Fox News reports from the southern border.
They really are bad for your health. The surge in blood pressure can provoke a stroke — and there won’t be a cheap, undocumented immigrant your family can hire to change your diaper.
This is the new world DeSantis and the Florida GOP have created, one conceived in hatred of The Other who, more often than not, was making our lives better.
Russia acknowledges retreat north of Bakhmut; mercenary boss calls it a ‘rout’
Olena Harmash and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey – May 12, 2023
Ukrainian servicemen ride atop of a tank on a road to the frontline town of Bakhmut
KYIV/KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Ukraine’s battlefield city of Bakhmut after a new Ukrainian offensive, in a retreat that the head of Russia’s Wagner private army called a rout.
The setback for Russia, which follows similar reports of Ukrainian advances south of the city, suggests a coordinated push by Kyiv to encircle Russian forces in Bakhmut, Moscow’s main objective for months during the war’s bloodiest fighting.
It means both sides are now reporting the biggest Ukrainian gains in six months, although Ukraine has given few details and played down suggestions a huge, long-planned counteroffensive had officially begun.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Ukraine had launched an assault north of Bakhmut with more than 1,000 troops and up to 40 tanks, a scale that if confirmed would amount to the biggest Ukrainian offensive since November.
The Russians had repelled 26 attacks but troops in one area had fallen back to regroup in more favourable positions near the Berkhivka reservoir northwest of Bakhmut, Konashenkov said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner forces that have led the campaign in the city, said in an audio message: “What Konashenkov described, unfortunately, is called ‘a rout’ and not a regrouping”.
In a separate video message, Prigozhin said the Ukrainians had seized high ground overlooking Bakhmut and opened the main highway leading into the city from the West.
“The loss of the Berkhivka reservoir – the loss of this territory they gave up – that’s 5 sq km, just today,” Prigozhin said.
“The enemy has completely freed up the Chasiv Yar-Bakhmut road which we had blocked. The enemy is now able to use this road, and secondly they have taken tactical high round under which Bakhmut is located,” said Prigozhin, who has repeatedly denounced Russia’s regular military over the past week for failing to supply his men in Bakhmut.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the situation in the area.
Ukraine typically withholds comment on its operations while they are under way, and the military command has said only that its troops have pushed forward about 2 km near Bakhmut.
A Ukrainian unit said two days ago it had defeated a Russian brigade southwest of the city recapturing a swathe of land, and Prigozhin also said the Russian brigade there had fled.
Prigozhin, whose troops have been fighting to push Ukrainian forces out of Bakhmut’s Western outskirts, has said the north and south flanks, guarded by regular Russian troops, were crumbling. Russia’s defence ministry denies this.
TURNING POINT
In Kostiantynivka, about 20 km (12 miles) southwest of Bakhmut, firefighters were battling a blaze at a house that went up in flames after it was struck by Russian shells.
“It hit the roof and the roof collapsed. My neighbour rushed outside and started shouting, asking for help,” said Oleksandr Lazorka, who lives next door. “We pulled out a blind woman – an elderly, blind woman – from under the rubble and then the fire erupted.”
The 15-month-old war in Ukraine is at a turning point, after six months during which Kyiv kept its troops on the defensive while Russia mounted a winter campaign that brought the bloodiest ground combat in Europe since World War Two but yielded scant gains.
Since the start of this year, Kyiv has received hundreds of new Western tanks and armoured vehicles, holding them back in preparation for a long-awaited counteroffensive to recapture occupied territory.
Ukrainian officials have played down the suggestion that their offensive is already under way: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview this week Kyiv needed more time for equipment to arrive. Prigozhin called that deceptive and said the Bakhmut advances amounted to the start of Kyiv’s campaign.
Moscow has been preparing since last autumn for an expected onslaught, and has built lines of anti-tank fortifications along hundreds of miles of front.
It has begun evacuating civilians who have been living near the conflict zone in Ukraine’s partially occupied Zaporizhzhia province.
“We used to go out and watch (the shelling). Especially at night, you could see the flashes as they launch,” said Lyudmila, a 22-year-old from Kamianka-Dniprovska now in makeshift accommodation in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian port of Berdyansk.
“We’ve had shells land nearby and when it landed the entire sky was red,” she said.
In comments published on Friday, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet said its defences were also being tightened amid a flurry of Ukrainian drone strikes targeting its home base, the Crimean port of Sevastopol.
Zelenskiy, who has been rallying his country for the planned offensive, said in a social media post that “our path ahead is not easy”, but Ukraine was “much stronger now than last year or in any other year of this war for freedom and independence of our country”.
He spoke on Friday with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, thanking him for a promise of long-range cruise missiles. Britain announced the missiles on Thursday, breaking one of the last big Western taboos over weaponry previously deemed to carry too great a risk of provoking Russia.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux, Writing by Peter Graff and Kevin Liffey)
On the front line when Ukraine did the unthinkable in Bakhmut after months of retreat
Roland Oliphant – May 12, 2023
An air defence unit from the 80th Air Assault Brigade in Bakhmut – Heathcliff O’Malley
Usually when a multiple rocket launch system is firing you can count the whooshes out and listen to the rapid drum roll as they land.
Not near Bakhmut on Thursday.
So many weapons were firing at once that outgoing booms and incoming rumbles became impossible to distinguish.
Hell was being unleashed on the other side of the ridge but no one would say who was being hit.
“When it happens you’ll hear about it,” said an officer watching the smoke rise on the horizon when asked to explain what on earth was going on. “But only afterwards.”
It did not take a genius to read between the lines.
After nine months of bloody retreat and strict shell rationing, the Ukrainians had not only begun to push back here. They had unleashed one of the loudest artillery barrages of the war.
The long-waited Ukrainian counter-offensive, or at least a part of it, had begun.
No one announced the beginning of the battle. In fact, Ukrainian authorities are playing this battle down.
While the shells were raining down on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky was telling the BBC that Ukraine was still not ready to take the offensive.
On Friday he acknowledged he had “heard a report from General Syrskyi, whose units had made extraordinary efforts to stop the enemy and even pushed it back in some directions”, but again avoided saying anything referring to an attack.
Russia also on Friday admitted it was coming under attack, claiming it had suppressed Ukrainian offensives along 60 miles of the front line around Bakhmut.
The first signs that something was up came on Tuesday, when the Third Separate Assault Brigade, the latest incarnation of the Azov regiment, attacked Russian lines on the southern edge of the Bakhmut salient.
The following day General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said the Russians had retreated up to 1.2 miles.
It was a respectable but very localised gain that eased pressure on a critical supply road, but on its own meant little.
Then at 2am on Thursday, the 10th Mountain Assault brigade attacked Russian lines near Khromove, a village on the north-western outskirts of the town.
The Russians tried to fight back, firing rockets at Ukrainian tanks and calling in mortars and artillery. But in the end they crumpled.
In a few hours the Ukrainans had advanced about 1,600ft and reinforcements were moving in to consolidate the gains.
It is too early to tell whether this assault on Bakhmut will develop into the main thrust of the much-heralded counter-offensive.
But the fact that the Ukrainians are gaining ground after nine months of exhausting, costly and demoralising urban battle is notable.
And the coordinated assault on both flanks of the attacking Russian force was enough to throw Russia’s pro-war commentariat into panic.
Yevgenny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, declared the Ukrainian counter-offensive “well under way,” and blamed the Russian army for imminent disaster. He added that Russian forces were fleeing and the “front was collapsing”, a possible exaggeration to fuel his growing feud with the Kremlin.
Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov, the Russian ministry of defence spokesman, on Friday denied any Ukrainian breakthrough and said Russian forces in Bakhmut were “regrouping” in more favourable terrain.
He said that up to 40 tanks and more than 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen were involved in “offensive operations” along a front of around 60 miles.
Time will tell who is telling the truth.
Some of Russia’s more sober pro-war battle bloggers confirmed that its 10th Motor Rifle Brigade had retreated from Khromove and Bogdanova.
That matches the Telegraph’s understanding of developments on the Ukrainian side on Thursday morning.
The bloggers, many of whom are close to the military, appeared to be gripped by panic and predicting disasters all along the front.
Some claimed large numbers of Ukrainian troops had been seen on the move in the Kharkiv region and predicted an offensive in the northeast.
Others firmly asserted the next blow would come in the Zaporizhia region, and that river crossing boats were massing on the Dnipro.
Several repeated a rumour, entirely unsourced, that the Ukrainians were firing “chemical shells that cause loss of consciousness when inhaled” near Orikhiv.
Yevgenny Podubny, one of the most popular Russian military bloggers, even reported a Ukrainian breakthrough to Soledar, which Russia captured in January.
That would have been a remarkable development but remains unconfirmed.
It is possible even the Ukrainian generals themselves do not know what they will do next.
An air defence unit from the 80th Air Assault Brigade – Heathcliff O’Malley
They have at least three other possible axes for the grand offensive: against Svatove in the north; towards Melitopol in the south; and across the Dnipro river near Kherson.
The first would cut a critical Russian supply line for forces in Donbas. The second would sever the “land bridge” between mainland Russia and Crimea, turning the prized peninsula into a trap. The third, though risky, would take advantage of weak Russian defences along the river.
Russia’s generals are all too aware of these options, but until the Ukrainians make a firm commitment one way or the other they cannot be sure where to concentrate their defence.
The Ukrainians will exploit that ambiguity to the full, waiting to judge the Russian response in Bakhmut before deciding where to commit more reserves for a breakthrough.
The point is not to kill every Russian in Ukraine, or even to retake every inch of land. But a severe battlefield shock would cause political reverberations in Moscow.
Bakhmut would be a good place for that.
A BMP-2 drives along a road in the Bakhmut area – Heathcliff O’Malley
This week’s attacks on the Russian north and south flanks seem to have been aimed initially at pushing the troops back from the critical supply roads.
But if they go further they could develop into a pincer movement of their own – potentially leading to an encirclement of thousands of Russians committed to the assault on the city.
There are tantalising historic precedents for such a reversal.
In November 1942, Nazi Germany’s sixth army was on the verge of victory in Stalingrad after months of gruelling urban warfare.
A sudden Soviet counter-offensive on the flanks left the Germans themselves surrounded and led to a devastating defeat from which the Nazis never recovered.
A similar encirclement of the Russians at Bakhmut might just provide the kind of shock to cause chaos in Moscow. It is a scenario that many top officials in Kyiv believe is the most likely way to end the war.
It is almost impossible to tell how the battle is actually going at the front.
Images selectively released by Ukrainian units show very close-quarters firefights involving infantry and armoured vehicles working closely together.
Body camera footage released by the Third Assault Brigade showed infantry dismounting from an armoured vehicle before engaging unseen enemies in fields and trench systems.
A grenade lands and explodes close to the man wearing the camera but he appears to be unhurt.
The troops are then seen throwing their own grenades into Russian dugouts as they clear positions.
Another video shows Ukrainians walking past several dead Russians lining a trench. They appear to have been killed by artillery.
A BMP-2 drives along a road in the Bakhmut area – Heathcliff O’Malley
A drone video purportedly filmed during the battle showed Ukrainian infantry and a tank fighting at extremely close quarters with Russians in a treeline.
Those journalists who happened to catch a glimpse of the start of the operation were there by accident.
One Ukrainian news crew who emerged grimy and dazed from the battlefield on Thursday morning had been doing a routine front-line visit when they got swept up in the attack.
Bohdan Kutpiepov, a Ukrainian documentary maker, was on his last day of filming a documentary about a medical unit when he realised he might be witnessing the first day of the spring offensive.
“In just a few hours, I experienced so many emotions that I don’t even want to begin to describe them here,” he wrote on Facebook.
He ended with a photograph of a wounded Ukrainian soldier, a reminder, he said, of the cost of liberation.
The Telegraph happened to be visiting an air defence echelon of the 80th airborne brigade near Chasiv Yar, the heavily shelled town controlling the last supply road into Bakhmut.
Their job is to lurk in camouflaged positions and wait for Russian drones – helicopters and jets don’t dare cross the lines these days – before popping up and zapping them with shoulder-launched rockets.
Most of them had no more idea what was going on under the barrage than we did.
“Is that yours?” I asked Mikhailo, the sergeant from Lviv in charge of a squad carrying shoulder-mounted air defence systems next to me as we watched smoke on the horizon after a particularly loud salvo.
“Nope,” he said, unsmiling. “Not us firing that.”
Something else opened up nearby
“Cannon,” said Mikhailo. A howitzer was clearly concealed in the trees behind us.
Then a heavy machine gun. Someone had spotted a drone.
The 80th is one of the Ukraine army’s most seasoned spearhead infantry units.
While new brigades trained for the coming offensive they, along with other veteran units such as the 93rd and 92nd mechanised brigades, have been holding the line in what has become Ukraine’s Verdun.
The soldiers thought they had arrived around January. Or was it February? Time telescopes in war, and many of them have been in combat since the invasion began.
On verge of being cut off
Back then, almost everyone here – soldiers, civilians, foreign volunteers – considered the Ukrainian position impossible.
Russian flank attacks had made breakthroughs to the north and south, the last remaining supply roads were under heavy fire and were on the verge of being cut altogether.
Chasiv Yar, the last town astride the last road in, was coming under increasingly heavy fire and was being evacuated ahead of the inevitable siege.
Even American officials were urging Ukrainian commanders to get out before they were encircled, according to Pentagon intelligence briefings leaked online.
“I remember that moment. I also thought Bakhmut would have to be given up,” said Mikhailo, the commander of a Strela-10 air defence system hidden in a treeline near the town. “But our guys wouldn’t give up our land.”
Like everyone, they are mostly relying on old Soviet kit, despite high-profile deliveries of Western weapons.
Mikhailo’s Strela was built in 1980, has no radar and relies on the operator’s eyes to spot incoming targets.
That means it cannot work at night and although it can fire in 30 seconds, sometimes it misses targets.
“I’d like a Gepard,” said Mikhailo, referring to a German anti-aircraft system. “It would solve all those problems.”
His commanding officer, who asked to remain anonymous, repeats the request when asked what he needs: “Gepard.”
One man who was caught up in the Ukrainian offensive on Thursday said the Russians had started “answering hard” at the front.
On May 9, the day the first Ukrainian attack began, a Russian grad strike near Chasiv Yar killed Armand Soldin, an Agence France Press reporter on assignment in the area.
The Ukrainian military never comments on its own casualties but everyone knows it has fewer men to lose than Russia.
For months, Ukrainian commanders and soldiers on other parts of the 600-mile front have quietly complained about the vortex of Bakhmut leaving them vulnerable.
The Donbas town has become a black hole with a gravitational pull out of all proportion to its size, sucking up men, weapons and ammunition that other units could also have put to good use.
One artillery man on another part of the frontline told The Telegraph this week that he is still painfully short of shells.
Fortunately, he said, the Russians in his area seem to be in the same predicament, so both sides are avoiding a fight.
But if that changes while most Ukrainian forces are concentrated for assaults elsewhere, his and other under-equipped units may find themselves in serious trouble.
Ukrainian commanders will be hoping the Russians do not have the resources or intelligence to find and exploit those weak points.
And the Russians, too, have a problem with concentration of force. Even their army cannot provide enough men to hold every inch of the front.
But he has also worried about disappointment. Both he and Oleksii Reznikov, his defence minister, have recently warned against inflated expectations.
The concern is that Western countries impatient for a quick end to the war will lose the stomach to continue to support the country if gains are not quick and spectacular.
The possibility of Donald Trump, who has openly questioned support for Ukraine, returning to the White House in 2024 adds to the time pressure.
Four months since Bakhmut seemed doomed, the tide of the battle – and of the war – may be changing here.
Every window in Chasiv Yar has been blown out. One road is still, but barely, open. And the 93rd are still clinging on to a tiny foothold in Bakhmut’s western-most suburbs.
But the attitude of the troops has changed remarkably.
Gone is the sense of impending doom. Instead, there is an indefinable confidence of men who have a feeling it is going to be all right.
“You’re not scared, being here?” asked another Mikhailo in the brigade, as a salvo rolled across the landscape.
“I mean, who isn’t? I’d much rather be sitting at home.” He shrugged and pointed out at the field in front of us. “Don’t film it, but there’s 40 craters there. It was all last week.”
He looked back at the smoke on the horizon. “Yeah, we’re waiting for the offensive. Everyone is waiting.”
Significant El Niño event is almost guaranteed this year, experts warn. And it could be a big one.
Harry Baker – May 12, 2023
A rainbow-colored map of the world showing different sea surface temperatures across the globe.A rainbow-colored map of the world showing different sea surface temperatures across the globe.
The chance of the ocean-warming event known as El Niño hitting this year is now over 90%. It will likely begin in the coming months, and there is a good chance it will persist into 2024 and have a widespread impact, experts have warned.
El Niño, which means “the little boy” in Spanish, is a major climatic event caused by changes to ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean. This heating event is strong enough to trigger major changes in global weather patterns and seriously impact marine ecosystems, especially combined with the effects of human-caused climate change. El Niño, along with its counterpart La Niña, or “the little girl” — a cooling event triggered by changes to the same ocean current system — make up the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.
Experts have suspected that an El Niño event could be on the horizon for some time. And on May 3, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) predicted there was a 60% chance that it would begin between May and July.
But on May 11, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) released its own forecast, which suggested that it is a near certainty that El Niño will begin during the same period. The agency also said there was a 90% chance that El Niño will persist into 2024.
“Keep your eyes peeled on the tropics, and don’t blink,” Nathaniel Johnson, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, wrote in a NOAA blog post. “Conditions are evolving quickly!”
ENSO cycle 101
The ENSO cycle is mainly linked to trade winds in the Pacific Ocean that blow westward along the equator. Normally, this blows warmer surface waters from South America toward Asia, which are in turn replaced by cooler deep ocean waters in a process known as upwelling, according to NOAA.
Cyclone Freddy between Mozambique and Madagascar on March 8. The image was captured by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite.
During El Niño, the trade winds weaken, which leads to reduced upwelling and in turn warmer surface waters. During La Niña, the trade winds are unusually strong, which has the opposite effect. Both events can trigger extreme weather events, such as the potentially record-breaking Cyclone Freddy that battered parts of Africa in February and March.
The periods between El Niño and La Niña events are known as ENSO neutral.
When was the last El Niño?
In the past, El Niño and La Niña events occurred roughly once every two to seven years, according to NOAA. But their appearance has recently become much more erratic due to the effects of climate change: In the last 50 years, the ocean has absorbed nearly 90% of the energy trapped by global warming, which has drastically increased sea surface temperatures, impacting the ENSO cycle.
The last El Niño event occurred between February and August 2019 and was quite weak. Between July 2020 and March 2023, a rare triple-dip La Niña suppressed rising global temperatures.
El Niño events normally last somewhere between nine months and two years but can be longer.
How strong will El Niño be?
It’s unclear exactly how strong this El Niño will become, but NOAA’s predictions suggest there is an 80% chance of at least a moderate El Niño, where sea surface temperatures will rise by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius), and a 55% chance of a strong El Niño, where temperatures will rise by 2.7 F (1.5 C).
Experts are also concerned that recent high sea surface temperatures will make the upcoming El Niño worse. In early April, the average global sea surface temperature was the highest in recorded history.
A map of the U.S. showing the effects of el nino. There is a warm front coming in from NW Canada, a dry patch over parts of NW America and a wet patch over the Southern US from California to Florida.
NOAA will provide more information on how El Niño is progressing in early June.
How will El Niño affect North America?
During El Niño, the weaker trade winds mean more warm water is pushed back east toward the west coast of the Americas. The warmer waters push the Pacific jet stream south of its neutral position, which impacts weather patterns in North America, according to NOAA.
For the northern U.S. and Canada, this can lead to warmer weather than usual, while eastern states often receive less rainfall. For the southern U.S. and northern Mexico, the result is often heavy rainfall, which can cause flooding and landslides.
The WMO expects global temperatures to rise to record levels during the next few years as La Niña’s cooling effect ends and El Niño begins, which could severely impact the lives of millions of people.
Poisonous algae bloom affected major cities and fishing towns in Chile in 2016. Experts said it was linked to high temperatures stemming from the El Niño.
Last month, NOAA said there was a 62% chance that El Niño would develop between May and July. Things have rapidly progressed, and now there is a 90% chance of El Niño forming and persisting into the end of this year, according to NOAA.
These two “siblings” are global climate shifts that are marked by cooler or warmer ocean temperatures and changes in global air currents, which alter weather and storm patterns. La Niña is associated with lower-than-average ocean temperatures, while El Niño is the opposite. Experts have noticed quickly rising ocean temperatures lately, one of the signs of a formation year.
What can we expect now that The Boy is coming to town? Ocean temperatures are going to rise above average. The Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be milder, because storms are more likely to form there during La Niña years. However, storms are more likely to form in the Pacific. In the U.S., the shift brings more rain to southern states and to the East Coast. It also brings warmer temperatures to northern states.
El Niño years are especially hot. This was certainly true in 2016, one of the hottest years on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Scorching temperatures have already pummeled Southeast Asia—just last week, Vietnam recorded its hottest temperature ever. Expect more extreme heat to come this year.
What Is Vitamin D3? And How Is It Different From Plain Ol’ Vitamin D? These and More Questions Answered Here
May Hwang – May 11, 2023
As a woman, prioritizing your health and well-being is essential to living a long and productive life. One way to do this is to ensure your diet includes sufficient vitamins and minerals. At the top of the nutrient list is one vitamin, in particular: vitamin D3. Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D3 is produced naturally in our skin when exposed to sunlight. But let’s be honest. Our modern lives are lived primarily indoors, which means that most of us don’t get as much sun as we should. This is a problem, as vitamin D3 has been linked to several important health benefits, especially for women. Here’s a summary.
Vitamin D3 is also available through certain foods like fatty fish such as salmon or sardines; however, most of us don’t get enough from our diets alone. Thankfully, our bodies produce vitamin D3 naturally when exposed to sunlight. This occurs when 7-dehydrocholesterol (or zoosterol) in our skin is transformed into cholecalciferol, the active form of vitamin D3.
Is vitamin D3 the same as vitamin D?
Vitamin D3 is a form of vitamin D that our bodies can use more efficiently, meaning it’s more bioavailable to us. The other type of vitamin D, known as vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), is a plant-based form that is not as impactful in humans.
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, getting tested for a vitamin D deficiency may be smart. Contact your doctor for advice and a referral to the appropriate testing facility.
People with darker skin: The higher levels of melanin in darker skin tones can make it harder for the body to absorb vitamin D3 from sunlight.
The elderly: As we age, our skin’s ability to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight decreases.
People who don’t get much sun exposure: This can include people who work indoors or wear sunscreen all the time.
Vegans and vegetarians: Animal-based foods are the main dietary source of vitamin D, so vegans and vegetarians need to be particularly mindful of their vitamin D intake.
Women: Female hormones can affect the body’s ability to absorb vitamin D.
It’s important to note that pregnant and nursing women are also at risk since they need extra nutrients to support the health of their babies. If you’re expecting, be sure to talk to your doctor about your vitamin D levels.
What are the benefits of vitamin D for women?
Vitamin D is essential for women for a whole lot of reasons. Here are just a few of the health benefits it provides:
Supports Mental Health
Did you know that vitamin D3 has a powerful impact on your mood? Research has shown that healthy levels of this vitamin can alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety and improve overall mental well-being. This is because vitamin D3 helps trigger the release of feel-good hormones, such as serotonin and dopamine, in the brain.
Bolsters Immunity
Your immune system is your body’s frontline defense against illness, disease, and infection. Luckily, vitamin D3 can help keep your immune system strong, healthy, and ready to fight off anything bad that comes its way. It does this by activating T-cells, which are the cells responsible for attacking and destroying foreign invaders in the body.
Excessively low levels of vitamin D have been associated with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
Promotes Strong Bones and Teeth
As women, we’re at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis than men, which is why it’s so important to make sure you get enough Vitamin D3. It helps with calcium absorption, which is essential for bone health, Without it, calcium can’t be absorbed, leading to softer bones and an increased risk of fractures. It’s also associated with rickets in children, which can cause muscle weakness, and both older adults and children could experience the loss of bone minerals (osteomalacia).
Boosts Fertility
Vitamin D3 is essential for fertility, as it helps regulate your menstrual cycle and ovulation. Low levels of vitamin D3 have been linked to menstrual irregularity, which can make it harder to conceive. Additionally, vitamin D3 helps reduce inflammation, making it easier for the body to maintain a healthy pregnancy.
Improves Cardiovascular Health
Studies have shown that Vitamin D3 can reduce the risk of developing heart disease. By decreasing inflammation, reducing high blood pressure (hypertension), and improving cholesterol levels, this vitamin could be part of your overall wellness plan. Vitamin D3 also helps your body absorb other essential vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium and zinc, which act as antioxidants and protect your arteries from damage.
Reduces the Risk of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a major concern for women worldwide, with nearly 1 in 8 developing it at some point in our lives. Vitamin D3, however, can help reduce risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers believe this vitamin helps suppress the growth of cancer cells in the breast tissue, making it a vital part of breast cancer prevention.
It’s recommended that women get at least 600 International Units (IU) of vitamin D per day. This amount can be obtained through dietary sources such as eggs, fatty fish, or fortified plant-based milk, but the best way to get your daily dose is from exposure to sunlight. Just 15 minutes of sun daily can provide enough vitamin D to meet your needs. If you’re concerned that you have low levels of vitamin D, you can also talk to your doctor about taking a supplement.
Can too much vitamin D be dangerous?
Yes, it is possible to get too much vitamin D. This is called vitamin D toxicity. Overdosing on vitamin D can cause vomiting, dehydration, and even kidney damage in extreme cases. It’s also important to note that some medications can interact with vitamin D, so be sure to talk to your doctor before starting any vitamin D3 supplements.
How can you get more vitamin D?
Here are ten tricks to get you started:
1. Spend time outdoors.
Spend 15 to 20 minutes outside each day, or even better, go for a walk in the sun. As mentioned, you can get your daily dose of vitamin D from just a few minutes of sun exposure.
Look for foods that have been fortified with vitamin D, such as cereal, oatmeal, cod liver oil, and some brands of orange juice. Egg yolks have a smaller amount of vitamin D but have more saturated fat.
4. Take a supplement.
If you’re unable to get enough vitamin D from diet or sunlight, consider taking a dietary supplement. Talk to your healthcare provider about the appropriate amount for you.
When spending time outdoors, be sure to wear sunglasses and sunscreen to protect your eyes and skin from UV (ultraviolet) rays.
7. Check the time of day.
Optimize your sun exposure by going outside around 12 PM. This is when the sun’s rays are most intense, so you can get the most vitamin D in the shortest amount of time.
8. Consider a vitamin D test.
If you want to know exactly how much vitamin D you need, consider getting a vitamin D blood test. This way, you can get an accurate evaluation of your current levels and ensure you meet your daily needs.
9. Monitor sun exposure.
If you’re worried about overexposure to the sun, keep track of how long you spend outside each day. Getting enough sun is important, but it’s also important not to overdo it.
10. Keep a consistent routine.
Try to establish a consistent routine of going outside and getting your daily dose of vitamin D. With this, you can ensure that you’re meeting your recommended amounts daily.
Vitamin D3 and Me
Vitamin D3 plays a vital role in women’s health and well-being. The nutrient is often overlooked, but its benefits are significant. As women, we need to prioritize our health and include Vitamin D3 in our everyday routine. Whether it’s through sun exposure, diet, or supplements, getting adequate amounts of Vitamin D3 is crucial to maintaining healthy bones, a strong immune system, and overall well-being. So, let’s soak up the sun (with sunscreen, of course), eat Vitamin D-rich foods, and supplement as needed to reap the benefits of this sunshine vitamin!
How Much Does Sleep Actually Impact Dementia Risk? Brain Health Experts Explain
Emily Laurence – May 12, 2023
You don’t have to be a health expert to know that sleep (or lack of it) greatly impacts the body. Anyone who’s ever spent the night tossing and turning knows that not getting enough sleep means a day ahead of low energy, feeling cranky, trouble concentrating, and making unhealthy decisions. But not getting enough sleep has more than morning-after effects. A wealth of scientific studies show that consistently not getting enough sleep can be detrimental to long-term health in profound ways.
One that’s especially noteworthy is the connection between lack of sleep and dementia. Scientific studies have found that trouble falling or staying asleep, poor sleep quality and not sleeping long enough can all increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This raises other questions, such as why this connection exists and how much sleep you actually need at night to protect your mind. Here, brain health experts explain everything you need to know.
Why Does Lack of Sleep Increase the Risk of Dementia?
Brain health experts are still attempting to learn what exactly goes on in the brain while we sleep, but there’s no question that the mind needs rest to continue functioning. “While we don’t fully understand the relationship between sleep and dementia, we know there’s a harmful cycle in which poor sleep increases your risk for developing Alzheimer’s or another dementia and, in turn, the dementia is associated with lower quality sleep,” says Dr. Percy Griffin, Ph.D., the Alzheimer’s Association’s Director of Scientific Engagement.
Even though there’s still a lot to learn about what happens while we sleep, Dr. Griffin says what we do know is that sleep is when the brain removes waste materials and also stabilizes memories to hold onto long-term. “Sleep disruptions can impair these processes,” he says.
Dr. Schaefer explains that lack of sleep can cause an accumulation of beta-amyloid and tau, two proteins that build up in Alzheimer’s disease. As both experts explained above, REM sleep is when the brain removes these harmful toxins, preventing buildup. But Dr. Schaefer also points out that dementia is also a risk factor for poor sleep, so the relationship goes both ways. “If the reason for insufficient or poor-quality sleep is sleep apnea, or disturbed breathing during sleep, then the brain may get decreased oxygen which is also a risk factor for dementia,” she says.
Even though scientific researchers don’t know everything that happens inside the brain while we sleep, it’s clear that lack of sleep is detrimental to brain health. So, how much sleep helps protect against increasing the risk of dementia? Research shows that adults should be getting seven or more hours of sleep a night for optimal health. However, it can become harder to get consistent, good sleep as we age.
Reasons Why People Over 50 May Struggle With Sleep
People of any age can struggle with getting enough sleep, but there are certain reasons in particular why people over 50 may have a hard time. “As we age, there are changes to the part of the brain that controls the timing of sleep,” Dr. Griffin says. “These changes affect how long it takes to fall asleep, when you feel tired, and how many times you wake up at night.”
Dr. Schaefer says that common reasons include aches and pain, restless leg syndrome, increased urination or sleep apnea. She adds that there are also certain medications that can disrupt sleep.
People over 50 can also have trouble sleeping for the same reasons anyone else can. Perhaps they have a partner who snores. They may be experiencing anxiety or depression. Or, they work long or unusual work hours, which can impact their sleep.
Tips for Getting Enough Sleep To Protect Your Brain
Since getting enough sleep is crucial for brain health, if you aren’t getting enough, it’s important to take action. Both experts say that figuring out the root cause of your sleep issues is the first step. Then, act accordingly. For example, if you are experiencing aches and pain, restless leg syndrome or other sleep-preventing health ailments highlighted above, it’s important to see your healthcare provider and work together toward finding a solution.
Dr. Schaefer says that practicing good sleep hygiene can also go a long way in improving sleep. This means having a consistent bedtime, not using screens before bed, minimizing caffeine and alcohol, and having a wind-down routine in place that will help you feel relaxed as you power down for the night. “Some over-the-counter products, like low-dose melatonin or magnesium, can help, but one should speak to their primary care provider before starting anything,” she adds.
Not only will being well-rested decrease your risk for dementia, but you’ll find yourself feeling more energized in your day-to-day life too. That will help set you up for other healthy habits, such as eating nutrient-rich foods and exercising regularly—a dementia-preventing domino effect. And it all starts with sleep.
They built a new life near Charlotte after Jan. 6. Now, husband, wife are going to prison.
Michael Gordon – May 11, 2023
Jeff Helsel/Photo courtesyFBI Photo
The owners of “Free Folk Pastures” are no longer free.
Instead, Dale “D.J.” Shalvey and Tara Stottlemyer, who run a regenerative cattle and poultry farm 45 miles north of Charlotte, have become North Carolina’s first husband and wife sentenced to prison for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly of Washington ordered Shalvey and Stottlemyer to serve 41 and eight months, respectively. They will begin their sentences at a later date.
Kelly, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, also ordered both to serve 24 months of supervised release. Stottlemyer will spend the first third of hers on home detention.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Anthony Franks had recommended a 51-month sentence for Shalvey and 18 months for Stottlemyer.
Both pleaded guilty in October to riot-related felony charges: Stottlemyer, obstruction of an official proceeding; Shalvey, obstruction and assault on a police officer.
The couple, the parents of a 2-month-old daughter, moved to North Carolina after taking part in the attack on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters intent on overturning the Republican’s election loss to Joe Biden.
Shalvey was arrested in March 2021; Stottlemyer was charged six months later after the couple had relocated to Catawba County.
In the months since, they have quickly put down roots in Conover.
They leased land from Shalvey’s uncle, who lives in Mooresville, to start their farm.
They got married there six months after the riot.
They buried their newborn son, Josiah, there in January 2022 and gave birth to a daughter, Hope, in mid-March.
They joined a church. They made new friends. In a letter to Kelly seeking leniency for Shalvey, one acquaintance said the couple have quickly become community leaders in their adopted home.
‘Stop the steal’ rally
Now, Shalvey and Stottlemyer, both 38, are set to become the ninth and 10th North Carolinians imprisoned for Jan. 6 crimes, for terms ranging from nine days to 44 months. At least 28 N.C. residents have been federally charged.
Nationwide, more than 1,000 arrests have been made, leading to more than 650 convictions. The Capitol violence has been linked to at least five deaths, injuries to some 140 police officers, and more than $2.8 million in damage to the building.
Shalvey and Stottlemyer, then living in a small town outside of Pittsburgh, drove to Washington on Jan. 6 with a farmer friend from Upstate New York to attend Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, court documents show.
They then joined a throng of Trump supporters, fueled by the outgoing president’s baseless claims of massive election fraud, who marched to the Capitol to stop congressional certification of Biden’s win.
During the growing chaos, Shalvey was caught on camera throwing something that struck a police officer.
Shalvey and Stottlemyer — joined by co-defendant Katharine Morrison of Dansville, N.Y., who received the same sentence as Stottlemyer — entered the Capitol nine minutes after the first breach, Franks said. They roamed the building for more than an hour.
Eventually, the three were among the relatively few rioters who reached the floor of the U.S. Senate. There, they rifled through senators’ desks and photographed documents.
Shalvey also pocketed a letter — which he later destroyed — from U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney to then-Vice President Mike Pence in which the Utah Republican explained his reasoning for finding Trump guilty at his second impeachment trial.
Franks compared Shalvey’s behavior to one of the best-known convicted rioters, “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, who was sentenced in November 2021 to 41 months on an obstruction charge.
Except, according to Franks’ sentencing memo, Shalvey’s actions were “more heinous as they involve assaulting an officer and lying to the FBI regarding the assault and destroying evidence, which included Shalvey’s phone and a note written by Senator Romney.”
While Stottlemyer, garbed in a Trump flag and a teal-colored bicycle helmet, did not take part in the violence, she was alongside Shalvey throughout the riot and participated in the rummaging of the Senate desks, Franks said.
Shalvey’s character
Multiple letters written to the judge by Shalvey’s family, ministers, former college professors and friends spoke to his character and potential; how he overcame a childhood derailed by a drug-addicted mother and an abusive father; how he plans to use the farm to mentor fatherless boys; how he is embarrassed and remorseful for his actions at the Capitol.
Lead defense attorney Cody Cofer of Fort Worth, citing his client’s “complete lack of prior contact with the criminal justice system” prior to Jan. 6, called for home detention, not imprisonment.
“Mr. Shalvey acknowledges the Court must consider a variety of factors and interests beyond the future of a defendant,” Cofer wrote.
“For the Shalveys, the care of (daughter) Hope is the foremost concern. Mr. Shalvey is also burdened by his worry for the animals he loves and losing the land on which his son is buried.
“And all this is in peril because of Mr. Shalvey’s decisions.”
Autoimmune Diseases Are on the Rise in Women — Here’s What To Look Out for and How You Might Treat Them
Deborah Skolnik – May 12, 2023
When your immune system is healthy, it’s like having a personal ninja warrior at your disposal. This ninja is focused on one specific mission: to protect your body from threats such as germs, unhealthy changes in cells, and harmful foreign substances. In some people, though, the immune system becomes confused about whom the enemy is and attacks the body instead. The assault can happen anywhere, from joints and blood vessels to endocrine glands, causing what are known as an autoimmune diseases. More than 24 million Americans have one, and the complications can often be life-threatening.
Even worse, the incidence of autoimmune disorders in the United States is steadily rising. “These issues are becoming the new epidemic,” says internist Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, a fibromyalgia expert in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, and author of From Fatigued to Fantastic! A Clinically Proven Program to Regain Vibrant Health and Overcome Chronic Fatigue. “We’re seeing about a 3 to 9 percent increase per year in autoimmune diseases [with some more on the rise than others]. It’s more than compounding every 25 years,” he shares. These stats are rising the most among women — nearly 80 percent of sufferers are female. It’s a staggering difference that raises an obvious question: Why?
Why Women?
“The answer to that is estrogen,” says Stuart D. Kaplan, MD, chief of rheumatology at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, New York, and a partner in Rheumatology Consultants, LLP, in Hewlett, New York. “It’s been shown that estrogens rev up the autoimmune process,” he shares.- ADVERTISEMENT -https://s.yimg.com/rq/darla/4-11-1/html/r-sf-flx.html
Another potential reason for the gender gap is the chromosomal difference between males and females. “Men have an XY chromosome and women have an XX. A lot of immune genes are on the X chromosome. Because of that, women have kind of a double dose of risk for [immune-related] genetic defects,” Teitelbaum says. Bottom line: While women are at greater risk than men, both sexes are vulnerable to the consequences of an immune system gone rogue.
Common Autoimmune Disorders
The statistics are undoubtedly frightening, but the news isn’t entirely bad. You can at least partially control many of these disorders through medications, which often subdue the immune system. In some cases, there are also ways to feel better without any drugs at all. Currently, more than 80 autoimmune diseases have been identified. Some are very rare, but doctors see the following conditions regularly:
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
In this disorder, the immune system attacks the lining inside the joints, causing inflammation and, over time, bone loss and misshapen joints. RA can also affect other parts of the body, including the eyes, lungs, and heart. RA’s symptoms, which can come and go, include a few you might expect, as well as a few you might not. Sufferers may feel stiffness in their joints that is typically worse in the morning and after physical exertion, and their joints may often be warm, tender, and swollen. Additional red flags — fever, tiredness, and a lack of appetite — can be mistaken for other illnesses.
Treatment
Fortunately, medications can often help alleviate RA’s effects. Doxycycline, an antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties, is an inexpensive treatment, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed for the redness, heat, and swelling. When NSAIDs don’t help or RA is severe, a physician may prescribe a drug called methotrexate (also known as Trexall, Rasuvo, or Otrexup), which can slow the disease’s progression. It’s one of a class of medications known as disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, or DMARDs.
As recently as 2019, a review of research in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences concluded methotrexate is still one of the most efficient RA therapies. Some of the latest drugs to treat RA are a whole new class of DMARDs called biologics. Synthesized or derived from living organisms, they generally target the various immune cells linked to inflammation to try to halt the disease process. Rituximab is one such biologic, a lab-engineered antibody, that’s being used to treat RA alone or with other drugs.
Alternative Therapies
Curamin, a dietary supplement aimed at reducing inflammation, may be beneficial for some RA patients, says Teitelbaum. Among its ingredients is curcumin, an anti-inflammatory chemical found in turmeric. About a half-dozen other herbal remedies have shown promise in addressing RA’s miseries as well, including Indian frankincense or boswellia serrata (another ingredient in Curamin), aloe vera, ginger, and green tea.
Hashimoto’s Disease
When your immune system attacks your thyroid, the gland near the base of your throat becomes inflamed and its functioning can become impaired. “Hashimoto’s is the most common cause of hypothyroid [low thyroid-gland activity],” says Teitelbaum. “If people have symptoms of fatigue, weight gain, achiness, cold intolerance, constipation, or infertility, I will test them. It can be diagnosed with a simple blood test.”
Treatment
A standard thyroid blood panel will often indicate a patient is in the normal range for thyroid function, “but ‘normal’ only means they’re not in the lowest 2 percent of the population,” Teitelbaum says. If a patient is still exhibiting the symptoms of hypothyroidism, he’ll prescribe desiccated thyroids (one brand name is Armour Thyroid) to supplement their body’s natural thyroid hormones. Many doctors prescribe a synthetic thyroid medication called Synthroid, but Teitelbaum contends it doesn’t work well in a significant number of his patients.
Alternative Therapies
Most non-drug therapies for Hashimoto’s don’t yet have a scientific stamp of approval, though traditional treatments such as Chinese medicine (acupuncture and herbs) are being studied. Preliminary studies have found that selenium supplements may lower antibody levels. However, a 2013 review of all existing data, published in the European Thyroid Journal, found more evidence is needed.
Grave’s Disease
This autoimmune disorder is pretty much the opposite of Hashimoto’s: The immune system causes the thyroid to become inflamed in a way that causes it to make too much thyroid hormone. “It’s kind of the difference between feeling slow and sluggish vs. feeling like you’ve had 10 pots of coffee,” Teitelbaum says. “You’re going to seem like a country western song when you have Graves’ disease — your wife leaves, your dog leaves, and you get fired. People are emotional train wrecks.” Beyond anger and irritability, some key symptoms include enlargement of the thyroid gland (called a goiter), trembling hands, a change in menstrual cycles for women, and bulging eyes.
Treatment
It involves taking methimazole, which blocks the overproduction of thyroid hormone. Radioactive iodine therapy is another option. It gradually destroys the overactive thyroid (and then you take something like Synthroid to replace the hormones). Teitelbaum prefers methimazole, however, contending it’s safer and less expensive. Another class of drugs, beta blockers, alleviate some symptoms of Graves’ rather than addressing the excess level of thyroid hormones. In some cases, doctors will recommend surgically removing all or part of the gland.
Alternative Therapies
Dietary changes — following an anti-inflammatory eating style and eliminating any food allergens — can help with some symptoms. Ask your doctor if you should avoid or limit certain foods that contain large amounts of iodine, including seaweed and kelp. It’s also wise to touch base with your healthcare provider about any supplements, multivitamins, or cough syrups you take, because these may contain iodine or interfere with your prescribed medication. Your thyroid modulates your metabolism and has a role in multiple body systems so don’t put off seeking proven treatments.
Multiple Sclerosis
The symptoms of this disorder, which arises when the body’s immune system attacks the protective coating of the body’s nerve cells, are alarming: “You can have a sudden loss of function in one arm, or one leg and numbness,” Teitelbaum says. “I’m not talking about numbness and tingling fingers, but where it’s so numb that you could stick a needle through it and you wouldn’t feel it. You may also have loss of vision in one eye.” If these symptoms flare up and then recede, the condition is called relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (about 85 percent of people with MS have this type, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.)
Treatment
A drug called copolymer-1 has been a leading treatment for MS for the past two decades. It significantly reduces flare-ups in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. Acute attacks can be treated with corticosteroids and a procedure called plasma exchange, in which your blood’s plasma is removed, and the blood cells are combined with a protein solution and returned to the body. There are also biologics effective for relapsing-remitting MS and the primary-progressive form of the disease, which has no remissions.
Alternative Therapies
Beyond drugs, physical therapy can boost patients’ strength and flexibility, and make everyday tasks easier to perform. Doctors also recommend exercise; keeping cool (a rise in body temperature can worsen symptoms) and managing stress through things like practicing yoga and mindfulness, since anxiety can exacerbate MS symptoms. Some research has shown that vitamin D and probiotic supplements can be helpful for some people with MS.
Psoriasis
When one type of white blood cell, called a T-helper lymphocyte, becomes overactive, it produces chemicals that cause the skin (and possibly some other organs and tissues) to become inflamed. This autoimmune disorder can have effects that are both highly visible and hidden. In the skin, the blood vessels widen, and skin cells grow abnormally fast. Usually it takes these cells a month to mature and be shed from the body, but with psoriasis, the process takes only a few days. Instead of falling away, the skin cells accumulate on the surface causing thickened, red, scaly skin. In some cases, these plaques can be itchy, painful, and burning. (Because other organs are also affected by psoriasis, sufferers may experience stiffness, pain, and swelling in the joints and surrounding areas.)
Treatment
A wide variety of therapies can help ease the symptoms of psoriasis or slow its progression. Corticosteroid ointments and shampoos can be applied to plaques or other sensitive areas such as skin folds and the face. Others, including certain types of synthetic vitamin D, may slow cell growth. There are also topical treatments to reduce scaling and itching. (In certain cases, your doctor may prescribe oral or injected medications that have these same effects.) Biologics geared toward psoriasis can produce results quickly by interrupting the T cell actions specifically.
Alternative Therapies
Light therapy, in which the skin is exposed to artificial or natural light, is sometimes used in combination with medications. Weight loss can also be effective: A 2019 study published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found that a low-calorie diet reduced the severity of psoriasis in patients with obesity by at least 75 percent.
Lupus
While many autoimmune diseases seem to attack one specific area of the body, this disease is broader. It creates antibodies that can have widespread effects. “The body is fighting itself, and you can get inflammation of almost every organ,” says Kaplan. “People with lupus will have fevers, rashes, joint pain, inflammation of the kidneys, and sometimes even central nervous system abnormalities.”
Treatment
Because steroids are the most effective anti-inflammatories, they’re often used to treat lupus, especially when it involves a vital organ such as the brain. “If you don’t use high-dose steroids, the person is going to die,” Kaplan explains. “In situations like that, you have no choice, but you always try to taper down the steroids as quickly as you can.” DHEA supplements, a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland, may also help. More commonly recommended medications include OTC anti-inflammatories (such as naproxen and ibuprofen); antimalarial drugs, which can halt flares and possibly extend patients’ lives, and even chemotherapy for severe cases. A biologic called belimumab targets a protein in the disease process.
Alternative Therapies
A 2019 study in the journal Lupusis one of the latest to suggest that healthy lifestyle changes can improve the symptoms and quality of life for lupus sufferers. The trials, which included psychological interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness and psychotherapy, and other interventions such as exercise and electro-acupuncture (the needles are stimulated with a low amount of electricity), had encouraging results. These non-drug-oriented treatments improved some participants’ pain as well as their overall fatigue. Perhaps most important, the interventions lessened the incidence of anxiety and depression.
Whatever your autoimmune condition, it’s important to work with a specialist who will listen to you and your concerns and help you find the best type of treatment. The options should always include lifestyle changes, including physical activity, dietary shifts, stress management, sleep, and more since, besides aiding overall health, these will help control inflammation and improve gut health and other metabolic functions that can impact autoimmune conditions.
A version of this article appeared in our partner magazine, The Complete Guide to Anti-Inflammation.
Justice Elena Kagan was worried about the ethics of accepting bagels from friends, while Clarence Thomas was enjoying expensive vacations paid for by a GOP megadonor: report
Joshua Zitser – May 11, 2023
Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan (l) and Clarence ThomasJoshua Zitser/Insider, Getty Images
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan once turned down a care package of bagels and lox, per Forward.
She was concerned she could be violating the court’s ethics rules for accepting gifts, friends said.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was accepting lavish holidays from a GOP megadonor.
At a time when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was accepting lavish trips paid for by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, fellow Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan was turning down bagels and lox from high school friends, over concerns she could be violating the court’s ethics rules for accepting gifts, according to a new report.
Forward reported that friends who attended Hunter College High School in Manhattan with Kagan in the 1970s wanted to send her a “care package” of bagels, lox, babka, chocolates, and other inexpensive items in February 2021.
However, they later scrapped the idea after Kagan expressed concerns about issues it could pose under the Supreme Court’s rules on gifts and disclosures, per Forward.
“We thought it would be a sign of support to send her some lox, but she was too ethical to take the lox,” said Sarah Schulman, a former school friend, according to the media outlet.
Another Hunter College High School alumnus, Ann Starer, told the Forward that Kagan was touched by the offer but it was “creating more stress for her than it was worth.”
She said that Kagan sent her an email, which reportedly said: “I have to take these ethics and reporting considerations very seriously.”
Kagan’s approach seems to directly contrast with that of Thomas when it comes to accepting gifts.
A series of bombshell ProPublica reports have put Thomas at the center of an ongoing scandal involving Crow, a Texas billionaire.
Under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, are required to file annual financial disclosures that include reporting on gifts received. But they are exempt from disclosing “personal hospitality” they receive, which covers food, lodging, and entertainment.
And unlike the rest of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court is not bound by a code of conduct.
