Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng confirmed on Thursday the presence of US Army Special Forces soldiers in Kinmen, a group of islands that are controlled by Taiwan but located just off the coast of mainland China.
Some parts of the Kinmen islands are just 2.5 miles away from the mainland Chinese city of Xiamen. The presence of US troops on the islands was first reported by Taiwanese media last month.
Chiu confirmed the highly provocative deployment when asked about a new report from the US outlet SOFREP that said US Green Berets have taken up “permanent positions” as military advisors in Kinmen. The US soldiers are also deployed in Penghu, a Taiwanese-controlled archipelago about 30 miles west of the main island of Taiwan and 70 miles east of mainland China.
The SOFREP report said the US Green Berets were stationed at the Taiwanese Army’s amphibious command centers. The deployment was carried out under provisions in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which called for the US to create a comprehensive training program for the Taiwanese military.
The new collaboration includes the US troops training Taiwanese forces on the Black Hornet Nano, a compact military drone. Chiu said the presence of the US Green Berets was a “learning opportunity” for Taiwan’s military.
The US has significantly increased its military and diplomatic support for Taiwan in recent years, ratcheting up tensions with China. Last year, the US deployed around 200 troops to Taiwan, marking the largest known US military presence on the island since the US pulled its troops out after Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979.
The US also recently began providing Taiwan with unprecedented military aid. Since 1979, the US has always sold weapons to Taiwan but never financed the purchases or provided arms free of charge until last year.
Biden Embraces Schumer’s “Good Speech” Which Blasted Netanyahu
President Biden has endorsed Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s blistering Thursday speech that targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wherein he said Israel under Netanyahu could become a “pariah”.
Biden said Friday that Schumer had made a “good speech”. The president was asked about the Senate floor remarks during an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office. It was the first time Biden weighed in: “He expressed serious concerns, shared not only by him but by many Americans,” Biden continued.
Biden also noted that his staff had been notified ahead of time of the content of the speech, meaning the White House had time to pressure Schumer out of it if it wanted to, or at least get him to tone down the criticisms.
As the AP noted, “The Democratic president did not repeat Schumer’s appeal for Israel to hold elections, a step that would likely end Netanyahu’s tenure because of mounting discontent with his leadership.”
But at the same time Secretary of State Antony Blinken while in Europe tried to calm fears that the US-Israeli relationship is collapsing. “That’s actually the strength of the relationship, to be able to speak clearly, candidly and directly,” he told reporters in reaction to Schumer’s address.
The full Schumer speech, a transcript of which can be viewed here, included the below fierce condemnations aimed directly at Netanyahu:
“However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.
He has put himself in coalition with far-right extremists like Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir, and as a result, he has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has also weakened Israel’s political and moral fabric through his attempts to co-opt the judiciary. And he has shown zero interest in doing the courageous and visionary work required to pave the way for peace, even before this present conflict.
As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me:
The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”
Again, this was a key part of the very speech which Biden on Friday hailed as “good”. It also comes a week after Biden was caught on a hot mic saying he would have a “come to Jesus” meeting with Netanyahu.
Kirby was later asked to elaborate on Biden calling Schumer’s speech “good” – but the NSC spokesman didn’t say much…
Q: What did Biden find “good” about Schumer’s anti-Netanyahu speech?
According to Axios, Schumer’s words were felt as a political earthquake inside Israel. The speech “landed like an earthquake Thursday, delivering a huge shock to the already tense U.S.-Israel relationship” as well as created “more political space for other Democratic members of Congress to publicly voice their criticism of the Israeli government amid the ongoing war in Gaza,” Axios wrote.
Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist, was fired by Mass General Brigham in November 2021 over noncompliance with the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate after his requests for exemptions from the mandate were denied, according to one document. Mr. Kulldorff was also placed on leave by Harvard Medical School (HMS) because his appointment as professor of medicine there “depends upon” holding a position at the hospital, another document stated.
Mr. Kulldorff asked HMS in late 2023 how he could return to his position and was told he was being fired.
“You would need to hold an eligible appointment with a Harvard-affiliated institution for your HMS academic appointment to continue,” Dr. Grace Huang, dean for faculty affairs, told the epidemiologist and biostatistician.
She said the lack of an appointment, combined with college rules that cap leaves of absence at two years, meant he was being terminated.
Mr. Kulldorff disclosed the firing for the first time this month.
“While I can’t comment on the specifics due to employment confidentiality protections that preclude us from doing so, I can confirm that his employment agreement was terminated November 10, 2021,” a spokesperson for Brigham and Women’s Hospital told The Epoch Times via email.
Mass General Brigham granted just 234 exemption requests out of 2,402 received, according to court filings in an ongoing case that alleges discrimination.
The hospital said previously, “We received a number of exemption requests, and each request was carefully considered by a knowledgeable team of reviewers.”
“A lot of other people received exemptions, but I did not,” Mr. Kulldorff told The Epoch Times.
Mr. Kulldorff was originally hired by HMS but switched departments in 2015 to work at the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which is part of Mass General Brigham and affiliated with HMS.
“Harvard Medical School has affiliation agreements with several Boston hospitals which it neither owns nor operationally controls,” an HMS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. “Hospital-based faculty, such as Mr. Kulldorff, are employed by one of the affiliates, not by HMS, and require an active hospital appointment to maintain an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School.”
HMS confirmed that some faculty, who are tenured or on the tenure track, do not require hospital appointments.
Natural Immunity
Before the COVID-19 vaccines became available, Mr. Kulldorff contracted COVID-19. He was hospitalized but eventually recovered.
That gave him a form of protection known as natural immunity. According to a number of studies, including papersfrom the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, natural immunity is better than the protection bestowed by vaccines.
Other studies havefound that people with natural immunity face a higher risk of problems after vaccination.
Mr. Kulldorff expressed his concerns about receiving a vaccine in his request for a medical exemption, pointing out a lack of data for vaccinating people who suffer from the same issue he does.
“I already had superior infection-acquired immunity; and it was risky to vaccinate me without proper efficacy and safety studies on patients with my type of immune deficiency,” Mr. Kulldorff wrote in an essay.
In his request for a religious exemption, he highlighted an Israel study that was among the first to compare protection after infection to protection after vaccination. Researchers found that the vaccinated had less protection than the naturally immune.
“Having had COVID disease, I have stronger longer lasting immunity than those vaccinated (Gazit et al). Lacking scientific rationale, vaccine mandates are religious dogma, and I request a religious exemption from COVID vaccination,” he wrote.
Both requests were denied.
Mr. Kulldorff is still unvaccinated.
“I had COVID. I had it badly. So I have infection-acquired immunity. So I don’t need the vaccine,” he told The Epoch Times.
Dissenting Voice
Mr. Kulldorff has been a prominent dissenting voice during the COVID-19 pandemic, countering messaging from the government and many doctors that the COVID-19 vaccines were needed, regardless of prior infection.
He spoke out in an op-ed in April 2021, for instance, against requiring people to provide proof of vaccination to attend shows, go to school, and visit restaurants.
“The idea that everybody needs to be vaccinated is as scientifically baseless as the idea that nobody does. Covid vaccines are essential for older, high-risk people and their caretakers and advisable for many others. But those who’ve been infected are already immune,” he wrote at the time.
Mr. Kulldorff later co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for focused protection of people at high risk while removing restrictions for younger, healthy people.
Harsh restrictions such as school closures “will cause irreparable damage” if not lifted, the declaration stated.
The declaration drew criticism from Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who became the head of the CDC, among others.
In a competing document, Dr. Walensky and others said that “relying upon immunity from natural infections for COVID-19 is flawed” and that “uncontrolled transmission in younger people risks significant morbidity(3) and mortality across the whole population.”
“Those who are pushing these vaccine mandates and vaccine passports—vaccine fanatics, I would call them—to me they have done much more damage during this one year than the anti-vaxxers have done in two decades,” Mr. Kulldorff later said in an EpochTV interview. “I would even say that these vaccine fanatics, they are the biggest anti-vaxxers that we have right now. They’re doing so much more damage to vaccine confidence than anybody else.”
Surveys indicate that people have less trust now in the CDC and other health institutions than before the pandemic, and data from the CDC and elsewhere show that fewer people are receiving the new COVID-19 vaccines and other shots.
Support
The disclosure that Mr. Kulldorff was fired drew criticism of Harvard and support for Mr. Kulldorff.
The termination “is a massive and incomprehensible injustice,” Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, an ethics expert who was fired from the University of California–Irvine School of Medicine for not getting a COVID-19 vaccine because he had natural immunity, said on X.
“The academy is full of people who declined vaccines—mostly with dubious exemptions—and yet Harvard fires the one professor who happens to speak out against government policies.” Dr. Vinay Prasad, an epidemiologist at the University of California–San Francisco, wrote in a blog post. “It looks like Harvard has weaponized its policies and selectively enforces them.”
A petition to reinstate Mr. Kulldorff has garnered more than 1,800 signatures.
Some other doctors said the decision to let Mr. Kulldorff go was correct.
“Actions have consequence,” Dr. Alastair McAlpine, a Canadian doctor, wrote on X. He said Mr. Kulldorff had “publicly undermine[d] public health.”
Visualizing The Explosive Growth Of AI-Powered Fraud
Former U.S. president Donald Trump posing with Black voters, President Joe Biden discouraging people from voting via telephone or the Pope in a puffy white jacket: Deepfakes of videos, photos and audio recordings have become widespread on various internet platforms, aided by the technological advances of large language models like Midjourney, Google’s Gemini or OpenAI‘s ChatGPT.
As Statista’s Florian Zandt details below,with the right prompt fine-tuning, everyone can create seemingly real images or make the voices of prominent political or economic figures and entertainers say anything they want. While creating a deepfake is not a criminal offense on its own, many governments are nevertheless moving towards stronger regulation when using artificial intelligence to prevent harm to the parties involved.
Apart from the main avenue of deepfakes, creating non-consensual pornographic content involving mostly female celebrities, this technology can also be used to commit identity fraud by manufacturing fake IDs or impersonating others over the phone. As Statista’s chart based on the most recent annual report of identity verification provider Sumsub shows, deepfake-related identity fraud cases have skyrocketed between 2022 and 2023 in many countries around the world.
For example, the number of fraud attempts in the Philippines rose by 4,500 percent year over year, followed by nations like Vietnam, the United States and Belgium. With the capabilities of so-called artificial intelligence potentially increasing even further, as is evidenced by products like AI video generator Sora, deepfake fraud attempts could also spill over into other areas.
“We’ve seen deepfakes become more and more convincing in recent years and this will only continue and branch out into new types of fraud, as seen with voice deepfakes”, says Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, Sumsub’s Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, in the aforementioned report.
“Both consumers and companies need to remain hyper-vigilant to synthetic fraud and look to multi-layered anti-fraud solutions, not only deepfake detection.”
Andre Gordon, Suspect In 3 Falls Township Murders, Captured After Trenton Barricade, Showdown With Police
The man accused of killing three people during a violent rampage in Falls Township, Pennsylvania Saturday morning before barricading himself inside a Trenton home has finally been captured, Fox29 reports citing officials.
It all began on Viewpoint Lane in Falls Township just before 9 a.m. when Falls Township police responded to reports of a shooting. There, police say Andre Gordon Jr., 26, forced his way into the home and fatally shot two people and fled in a stolen vehicle that was carjacked in Trenton earlier in the morning.
The victims have been identified as his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon. Three other people, including a minor, were inside the home and able to hide, according to Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn.
He then drove to a home on Edgewood Lane around 9 a.m. where authorities say he forced his way inside and shot and killed 25-year-old Taylor Daniel – the mother of his two children. Authorities say four other people were inside that home and one person was injured after they were struck by Gordon with a rifle.
After fleeing that scene, around 9:15 a.m. police say he carjacked a 44-year-old male driver at gunpoint outside a Dollar General on Bristol Pike in Morrisville. He fled that scene in the driver’s dark gray Honda CRV.
A short time later, authorities confirmed that Honda was found unoccupied in Trenton and that SWAT teams were converging on a nearby home to search for Gordon.
Police had believed Gordon barricaded himself inside a home near the 100 block of Miller Street in Trenton where the carjacked vehicle was found. Authorities say they received information that Gordon may have taken multiple people hostage inside.
Police later confirmed the home’s residents had been taken to safety with no injuries. Gordon was taken into custody around 5 p.m.
By mid-afternoon, officers surrounded the house on a taped-off block, calling to Gordon through a loudspeaker and trying to persuade him to come out.
“Andre, get away from the windows. If you would like to surrender, dial 911 now,” one message went.
Police determined later that Gordon was not in the house on Phillips Avenue.
According to police, it is believed that Gordon knew all of the victims who were fatally shot. He is also believed to currently be homeless and has ties to Trenton, New Jersey. Authorities believe he has ties to the home police had surrounded.
Officials said they couldn’t yet speak to a motive for the attacks. While Gordon had had some minor brushes with the law, they were “nothing that would indicate that anything like this would happen,” Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney said at a news conference.
A shelter-in-place order was sent to residents in Falls Township by phone and by mobile alert around 9:30 a.m. and was lifted by 12:30 p.m.
The Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade was canceled as a result of the shelter-in-place, and several local businesses in the area also closed temporarily.
Governor Josh Shapiro noted he was informed of the shooting and said on X that he directed Pennsylvania State Police to work with local law enforcement, and to provide whatever support they might need.
Vitamin D, or the “sunshine vitamin,” is considered both a fat-soluble vitamin and a hormone because it can be obtained nutritionally, and our skin can synthesize it through sunlight exposure. It is integral to various bodily functions.
Primarily recognized for enhancing calcium absorption, vitamin D plays a role in maintaining bone and dental health, supporting the immune system, regulating cell growth, influencing mood, and preventing conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency?
Vitamin D deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency, affecting people of all ages globally. In the United States, nearly one-quarter of individuals have insufficient or deficient vitamin D blood levels, which can impact bone and overall health. Approximately 50 percent of children between ages 1 and 5 and 70 percent aged 6 to 11 experience vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D deficiency often arises due to insufficient sunlight exposure, inadequate dietary intake, and the skin’s inability to produce it. Also, natural foods typically do not provide enough vitamin D to prevent deficiency, making sunlight exposure a crucial factor.
Most people with vitamin D deficiency experience no symptoms. For others, common symptoms may include:
Fatigue: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to fatigue in uncontrolled trials, and treatment with the vitamin has been shown to improve the condition in blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trials. Individuals with persistent and severe vitamin D deficiency may encounter symptoms linked to secondary hyperparathyroidism, including fatigue. Secondary hyperparathyroidism is when the parathyroid excretes too much hormone due to low calcium levels.
Bone and muscle pain: A mild but prolonged vitamin D deficiency can result in chronic hypocalcemia (low calcium) and hyperparathyroidism, with symptoms such as bone pain and muscle aches.
Muscle weakness and cramps (spasms): Increased levels of vitamin D in the bloodstream have been linked to enhanced muscle strength, physical activity, and the capability to ascend stairs, while lower concentrations are associated with a higher risk of falls among older people. Muscle spasms, particularly in infants, can be an early indication of rickets due to low blood calcium levels resulting from severe vitamin D deficiency.
Mood changes: According to a systematic review, about a third of the studies indicated inadequate vitamin D levels were associated with depression. Others suggested supplementing with it was helpful if combined with exercise or along with other nutritional supplements.
Bone loss: Vitamin D deficiency can cause bone loss as it impairs calcium absorption, leading to decreased calcium levels in the blood. Specifically, insufficient vitamin D limits the body’s ability to absorb only 10 percent to 15 percent of dietary calcium, whereas with normal vitamin reserves, absorption typically ranges from 30 percent to 40 percent.
Other symptoms and signs of deficiency may include:
Rickets: Rickets affects children’s bones, causing them to become soft and weak, potentially leading to deformities. Symptoms and signs include bone pain, reluctance to walk, skeletal deformities such as bowed legs, thickening of joints, dental issues, delayed growth, and fragile bones prone to fractures in severe cases.
Osteoporosis: Vitamin D deficiency can result in secondary hyperparathyroidism, leading to bone loss, osteoporosis, fractures, mineralization defects, and long-term risks of osteomalacia. Osteoporosis may cause intense back discomfort, diminished stature, or deformities in the spine, such as a bent or hunched posture.
Osteomalacia: This is similar to rickets but can happen at any age. Characterized by bone softening, osteomalacia is primarily linked to vitamin D issues negatively affecting calcium absorption. Its symptoms and signs include bone fractures, muscle weakness, and widespread bone pain, particularly in the hips.
What Are the Health Benefits of Vitamin D?
When you eat food or supplements containing vitamin D, your body undergoes two processes to activate it. First, in the liver, vitamin D is converted to calcidiol (25-hydroxyvitamin D). After that, the kidneys further transform it into calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D).
Calcitriol encourages the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the small intestine. It also works with parathyroid hormone to enhance calcium transport, which is essential for maintaining proper calcium and phosphorus levels.
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in calcium absorption, essential for strong bones and teeth. It also supports muscle and nerve function, facilitating movement and communication within the body. In addition, vitamin D is vital for the immune system, as it helps defend against infections.
Bone health: Vitamin D helps with the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, promoting bone mineralization and bone mineral density. A meta-analysis of 12 studies involving over 42,000 individuals aged 65 and above discovered that the prevention of nonvertebral fractures with vitamin D is dependent on the dosage. A higher dose of about 500 to 800 international units (IU) resulted in a reduction of hip fractures by 18 percent and nonvertebral fractures by 20 percent for people aged 65 years or older. However, in another study involving over 25,000 generally healthy midlife and older adults, supplementing with vitamin D3 did not lead to a significantly lower risk of fractures compared to a placebo. Of note, though, patients in this study had no controlled calcium supplementation.
Muscle and nerve function: Vitamin D may contribute to increased muscle strength by preserving muscle fibers, potentially reducing the risk of falls, a prevalent issue associated with significant disability and mortality in older individuals. Research also suggests that vitamin D plays a vital role in essential neurological functions such as cell growth, development, nerve support, protection, signal transmission, and adaptability.
Immune system support: Vitamin D contributes to a healthy immune system. The vitamin D receptor is present in immune cells, allowing vitamin D to act locally in the immune system. The vitamin can influence both the innate and adaptive immune responses and its deficiency is linked to higher autoimmunity risk and increased vulnerability to infections. Moreover, vitamin D exhibits strong anti-inflammatory effects.
Other health benefits of vitamin D include:
Pregnancy support:Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy has also been associated with a reduction in the risks of small-for-gestational-age babies, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and gestational diabetes.
Mood regulation
Insulin level regulation: Vitamin D has been shown to lower blood glucose levels and enhance insulin sensitivity in people with diabetes.
Weight loss: Vitamin D plays a role in preventing the formation of fat cells by influencing specific molecules, such as vitamin D receptors.
Dental health: Research highlights a link between alveolar bone density, osteoporosis, tooth loss, and periodontal disease risk. Several reports suggest a significant connection between periodontal health and vitamin D intake.
Vitamin D Prevents Certain Conditions
In addition to the aforementioned bone-related and mental medical conditions, an adequate level of vitamin D can potentially prevent or lower the risk of certain diseases, including:
Certain types of cancer: Animal and lab studies suggest that vitamin D may inhibit tumor development and slow the growth of existing tumors in various organs, including the breast, ovary, colon, prostate, and brain. Human epidemiological studies demonstrate that higher serum levels of vitamin D are linked to significantly slower progression of certain cancers, particularly colorectal cancer. The anti-cancer effects of vitamin D may also extend indirectly through its anti-inflammatory properties.
Heart disease: Maintaining optimal vitamin D levels may have potential cardiovascular health benefits, according to one recent study. Both deficiency and insufficiency of vitamin D were linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including stroke, heart disease, heart attack, and heart failure. However, excess vitamin D was not associated with increased CVD risk.
Immune-related diseases: Sufficient vitamin D levels may help prevent or treat immune-related diseases.
Asthma: A meta-analysis discovered that taking vitamin D supplements helped adults with mild-to-moderate asthma who were also deficient in vitamin D to reduce their asthma exacerbations by 30 percent. However, this benefit was not observed in individuals with higher baseline vitamin D levels.
Atherosclerosis: Vitamin D’s anti-inflammatory properties appear promising in lessening atherosclerosis, as insufficient levels lead to increased production of pro-inflammatory markers, disrupting the balance in the inflammatory response. In atherosclerosis, vitamin D suppresses the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which play a significant role in the development of the disease.
Type 2 diabetes:One study suggested a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance decreases with the supplementation of vitamin D.
Autoimmune diseases: Extensive research indicates a potential connection between vitamin D deficiency and the development of autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D deficiency has been noted in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, with an inverse relationship to disease activity, suggesting a role in the disease’s pathogenesis. Similar observations exist for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren’s syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Research also indicates there is a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis in individuals with higher levels of vitamin D.
Cognitive decline: Research has consistently established a connection between cognitive impairment, dementia, and a lack of vitamin D.
Mortality: As per a meta-analysis of 18 studies involving 57,311 subjects, daily intake of vitamin D supplements was associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality rates.
What Are the Types of Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is not a single chemical but a group of compounds. The two major types of vitamin D are D2 and D3. Vitamin D2 and D3, collectively known as vitamin D, share nearly identical functions, yet neither becomes active until the body performs its transformative process.
1. Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol)
Vitamin D2 comes from plants and fungi and is created when ergosterol is exposed to radiation. It is found in some plant-based foods and used in vitamin D supplements.
2. Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol)
The body naturally produces a form of vitamin D from a widespread cholesterol variant called 7-dehydrocholesterol, mainly through exposure to sunlight. UVB energy from sunlight plays a crucial role in converting this precursor into vitamin D3. It is also found in some animal-based foods, such as fatty fish, egg yolks, and liver.
Vitamin D3 is commonly available in animal-based supplements. It is often considered more effective than D2, possibly due to its stronger connection with the vitamin D binding protein. This increased affinity may result in slower clearance of vitamin D3, leading to longer-lasting concentrations of 25(OH)D in the blood compared to D2.
What Is the Recommended Amount of Vitamin D?
The required daily amount of vitamin D varies based on an individual’s age. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin D is designed to meet the daily requirements for maintaining healthy bones and normal calcium metabolism in individuals with minimal sun exposure.
The recommended daily intake of vitamin D can vary among different organizations, such as the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine, or IOM), which is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation (BHOF) (formerly known as National Osteoporosis Foundation, or NOF), and the Endocrine Society.
The NAM RDA guideline below is also recommended by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NAM considers these intake amounts adequate to achieve a vitamin D blood level of 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L), which they believe is sufficient for most people. In addition, according to the Endocrine Society, ensuring a consistent elevation of the blood level of 25(OH)D above 75 nmol/L may necessitate a daily intake of at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D.
The following table compares the recommended daily vitamin D amounts by the NAM and NIH, BHOF, and the Endocrine Society.
What Types of Vitamin D Supplements Are Available?
Vitamin D supplements are available in three types: vitamin D2, vitamin D3, and calcidiol. However, calcidiol is considered a medication, and it may be prescribed for individuals with health conditions causing malabsorption, such as cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, or liver disease, which impairs the synthesis of calcidiol from typical vitamin D supplements.
Vitamin D2 vs. D3 Supplements
Vitamin D2 supplements are created by subjecting a plant sterol to ultraviolet energy, resulting in the production of vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 is usually generated through the irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol derived from lanolin obtained from sheep’s wool. Individuals who abstain from all animal-derived products can ask manufacturers about supplement sourcing and processing methods.
Ongoing debate surrounds the preference for vitamin D3 over D2 to increase blood levels. A meta-analysis suggests that D3 supplements tend to raise and maintain vitamin D levels more effectively than D2. Many experts favor vitamin D3 due to its natural production in the body and its presence in foods containing the vitamin.
One study involving 15,716 participants compared four treatment options for vitamin D deficiency, including vitamin D2 injection, vitamin D3 injection, a combination of vitamin D2 injection with a D2 tablet, and a combination of vitamin D3 injection with a D2 tablet. All treatments led to a significant increase in serum vitamin D within 12 weeks, with the vitamin D3 injection alone showing the highest increase. The findings suggest that using vitamin D3 in injectable form is the most effective option for restoring severe vitamin D deficiency, outperforming the injectable form of vitamin D2 and D2 tablets. However, the study did not address the effects of a vitamin D3 tablet/capsule, which is still generally better absorbed than oral vitamin D2.
Different Forms of Vitamin D Supplements
Vitamin D2 and D3 supplements can be obtained over the counter or by prescription in the United States. They come in various strengths, including 400, 800, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 50,000 IU, with the latter requiring a prescription.
For adults, the general recommendation is a daily supplement containing 800 IU. Older individuals may still experience vitamin D deficiency at this intake level, so they might need to increase the dosage per their doctor’s instructions. In addition, all infants and children are advised to take a vitamin D supplement containing 400 IU starting shortly after birth.
As vitamin D is fat-soluble, it is most effectively absorbed when consumed with a meal or snack containing some fat.
Vitamin D supplements are also available in various forms, including:
Capsules/softgels
Tablets
Liquid drops
Gummies
Sprays
Injections
What Are the Dietary Sources of Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is found naturally in a few foods, and most dietary intake in the United States comes from fortified foods supplemented with vitamin D.
Vitamin D2
Many plant-based milks (e.g., soy, almond, and oat) and plant-based yogurts are fortified with vitamin D2. One cup of various soy, almond, and oat milk brands is fortified with 100 to 144 IU of vitamin D.
Some mushrooms naturally contain vitamin D2, and certain commercially sold ones have higher levels of D2 because they are intentionally exposed to high amounts of ultraviolet light. Half a cup of raw, sliced white mushrooms exposed to UV light contains 366 IU of vitamin D.
Vitamin D (both D2 and D3) is supplemented in various breakfast cereals. One serving of ready-to-eat cereal is fortified with 10 percent of the daily value (DV) for vitamin D (80 IU).
Some orange juice brands, margarine, and other food items are fortified with vitamin D2.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 is obtained from animal products, with oily fish, fish oils, eggs, and dairy serving as the best dietary sources. The amount of vitamin D in an animal’s tissues is influenced by its diet.
Most of the U.S. cow’s milk supply is fortified with approximately 120 IU of vitamin D3 per cup, and infant formula is fortified. However, foods derived from milk, such as cheese and ice cream, are typically not fortified. Rich sources of vitamin D3 include fatty fish such as trout, salmon, tuna, and mackerel, as well as fish liver oils. In addition to vitamin D3, animal-based foods often contain calcidiol, also known as 25(OH)D. Research suggests that calcidiol is around five times more effective than the parent vitamin in increasing serum 25(OH)D concentrations.
Examples of foods containing vitamin D3 include:
Fish oil: 1 tablespoon of cod liver oil (1,360 IU per serving)
Trout: 3 ounces of cooked farmed rainbow trout (645 IU per serving)
Salmon: 3 ounces of cooked sockeye salmon (570 IU per serving)
Sardines: Two drained sardines, canned in oil (46 IU per serving)
Cow’s milk: 1 cup of 2 percent milk fortified with vitamin D (120 IU per serving)
What Are the Other Sources of Vitamin D?
Unfortunately, we can obtain vitamin D from only diet, sun exposure, and supplementation. The belief that tanning beds can provide sufficient vitamin D is just a myth because tanning bed bulbs mainly emit UVA light, while vitamin D synthesis requires UVB light. Hypervitaminosis D (excessive vitamin D levels in the body) is a potential risk in a small proportion of tanning beds with UVB light. It’s not known if this is due to less heating of the skin in some facilities. Also, catching sunlight in a sunny office or while driving in a car won’t contribute to obtaining vitamin D, either, because window glass completely blocks UVB ultraviolet light.
Sunlight consists of two types of ultraviolet radiation: UVA and UVB. Although UVB is essential for the skin’s vitamin D synthesis, it can cause sunburn and contribute to cell damage linked to cancer. UVA also damages the skin and accelerates aging. To safeguard against sun damage and skin cancer, limit exposure during peak hours (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), wear protective clothing such as a wide-brimmed hat and long-sleeved garments, and use sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher when too much exposure is unavoidable, ensuring it’s broad-spectrum for UVA and UVB protection.
Given the appropriate conditions, exposing the arms and legs to sunlight for 10 to 15 minutes a few times weekly can produce almost all the necessary vitamin D.
In addition to the aforementioned factors, elements affecting how much vitamin D your body makes include smog and other types of air pollution, season, and cloud cover. For instance, people living north of the 37-degree-latitude line, the imaginary line connecting Richmond, Virginia, and San Francisco, cannot obtain sufficient UVB exposure during winter to produce adequate vitamin D.
What Is the Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency?
Blood 25(OH)D levels (combined vitamin D2 and D3) are a good indicator of vitamin D stores in the body and show a strong connection with symptoms and signs of deficiency. Blood tests measuring vitamin D, calcium, and phosphate levels can confirm a deficiency.
High-Risk Populations
Certain disorders, hereditary conditions, and medications may impact vitamin D absorption or conversion of vitamin D to its active form, thus contributing to deficiency.
The following risk factors put someone at higher risk of deficiency:
Limited outdoor activity: Older adults and those residing in institutions may not have easy access to the outdoors.
Inflammatory bowel diseases
Celiac disease
Cystic fibrosis
Surgery: People who undergo bariatric or gastric bypass surgery for weight loss and those with sections of the small intestine removed (resection) are at higher risk.
Darker skin: Less vitamin D is produced during sun exposure in darker skin compared to lighter skin, as the melanin in darker skin blocks and absorbs sunlight before it can initiate vitamin D production.
Excessive sunscreen use
Malabsorption disorders
Age: As people age, their skin’s 7-dehydrocholesterol levels (which play a crucial role in the synthesis of vitamin D) decrease, accompanied by changes in the skin. Older people are also more prone to spending extended periods indoors.
Certain medical conditions: Some conditions can hinder the body’s ability to synthesize or absorb sufficient vitamin D.
Lactose intolerance: Milk is usually fortified with vitamin D.
Vegan or vegetarian diets
To address vitamin D deficiency, increasing consumption of vitamin D-rich foods is often insufficient, prompting doctors to recommend supplements. The available forms of vitamin D supplements include vitamins D2 and D3 and calcidiol. The prescribed dosage varies based on factors such as severity, age, weight, and pregnancy status. The following table contains the suggested average daily dosages. The levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D, in the blood are used to measure vitamin D status.
Tide Shift: Philadelphia Officer Says Criminals Will Be Prosecuted Once Again
The tide is turning in lawless progressive cities after leftist radicals in city halls have pushed disastrous social justice reforms and defunded the police that have sparked crime wave after crime wave.
According to one Philadelphia Police Department officer, the mayor, the commissioner, and the governor are no longer tolerating the soaring thefts and out-of-control crime that have transformed some parts of the metro area into third-world-like conditions.
Philadelphia has joined the other large Blue Cities of sidewalks full of fentanyl drug addict zombies.
Brought to you from open borders and China pic.twitter.com/z7BzTUiO7f
Philadelphia, US-
Disturbing new footage shows homeless drug addicts lying on the streets, surrounded by tents and scattered trash in #Kensington#Philadelphia neighborhood.
I feel bad for these unfortunate people. pic.twitter.com/uDQZZv7VJQ
If we had to guess, maybe the shift in policing is because progressive policies have been one of the biggest failed social experiments this nation has ever seen. Law-abiding Americans across cities demand a return to law and order after half a decade of crime chaos. And these leftist politicians are getting the message as some are up for re-election.
In a video interview posted by X user Wall Street Apes, a Philadelphia police officer explains that law and order is returning but will be an uphill battle.
“The mayor, the commissioner and the governor said we gonna do something about the theft. They passed new legislation that they’re going after people.”
“That’s not gonna happen anymore. Not the city of Philadelphia. You’re gonna get prosecuted, and it’s gonna be a felony. It ain’t gonna be on misdemeanor.”
Interviewer: “Can you say something to the youth, please, about all this morning?”
Officer “Well, all I have to say to the youth is put down the gun because if you come here with a gun, the chances are you’re not gonna make it home. I hate to say it like that, but we have to keep it real. This is killing us. I’ve never seen it like this before, where young people shoot up a bus depot station, 40 rounds, and shoot innocent people. Something must be done.
I say this to the parents. Go in your children’s room, tear it apart and find that gun. Because when they kill somebody, that’s on you. You can’t say, well, my child ain’t you know what your children are doing. It is your job.
That’s your house. You own it. You are the commander in that chief in that house. Go to your children’s house your room and look for these weapons. Stop it before it’s too late.
Either you’re burying your child, or you’re going up to prison every month, visiting your child. It takes a community to stop this. It’s not just on the police department.
That’s why we are out there. But it’s not all about locking people up. You have to educate these people. You have to educate these young people. Guns is not the way.
But there’s a group of them that believe in robbing and stealing and killing. And those are the ones we have to capture and put away. “
Watch the full interview here:
Philadelphia Officer Says The City Is No Longer Putting Up With The Crime Wave
“The mayor, the commissioner and the governor said we gonna do something about the theft. They passed new legislation that they’re going after people”
Though windmills and solar panels get the headlines, the big energy topic in Washington is electric transmission. Whether it is Congress’s newfound interest in permitting reform, the U.S. Department of Energy’s new Grid Deployment Office, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) upcoming final rule on transmission planning and cost allocation, how to build and pay for long-range transmission to connect generators to customers is considered the final piece in the quest to meet net-zero goals.
Like so many issues in Washington, the need for more transmission lines is accepted without question and the costs are not considered. But for American consumers, especially low-income and elderly, as well as small businesses and energy intense manufacturers, building new transmission lines could result in much higher monthly bills and leave them on the hook for stranded assets.
Traditionally, high-voltage transmission lines, consisting of 150-foot lattice towers crossing the landscape for hundreds of miles, were planned for by local utilities to meet their customers’ energy needs and subject to approval by state public utility commissions. But public policy goals to promote renewables are changing how the grid is being developed.
Over the past few years, States established renewable energy mandates; Congress enacted over $1 trillion in taxpayer subsidies for renewable energy; and President Biden issued an executive order setting net-zero goals for electricity generation by 2035. To fulfill these policies, the grid needs new high-voltage transmission lines—lots of them—and they will be expensive.
According to the “Net-Zero America” analysis published by Princeton researchers, achieving net zero goals with 100% wind and solar by 2050 will require an additional $3.5 trillion in capital spending for new transmission lines. If net-zero goals are pursued with a mix of renewables, nuclear, and natural gas generation (which may include carbon capture), then a significant portion of this transmission investment would be unnecessary. Furthermore, a balanced resource mix of dispatchable and renewable resources would enhance grid reliability without overbuilding renewables or transmission.
Contributing to the cost is that renewable projects are often built far away from where the electricity will be consumed. For example, the Midwest is a great place to build windmills, but long-distance transmission lines are needed to deliver their electricity to big population centers on coasts. Not only are these lines capital intensive, but they also require purchasing or condemning private property to site them. Adding insult to injury, many of these transmission lines will not serve the people whose land is used.
Renewable power developers see the potential for selling their electricity in higher priced power systems near urban centers, while also being able to harvest generous taxpayer subsidies. But having to pay for transmission cuts into profits. Furthermore, property owners impacted by the transmission lines are objecting. The solution: a wave of lobbyists and special interests pressing policy makers to eliminate permitting barriers and to socialize the $3.5 trillion cost of building new transmission lines to more Americans.
In response, FERC is engaged in a rulemaking to change transmission planning and cost allocation. Among the proposals is requiring grid planners to consider factors like “geographic zones”, such as wind potential in the Midwest; state and federal “public policy goals”; and “trends” in technology. If adopted, these factors would provide more subjective ways to justify building big, expensive, long-range transmission projects that would be paid for by a broader number of Americans.
With public concerns about costs, transmission advocates now argue that more transmission is needed for grid reliability. Yet, the threat of blackouts is the result of the very net-zero policies that now require more transmission. For example, Maryland’s recent decision to shut down the Brandon Shores coal plant will cause customers across 12 states and the District of Columbia to pay $796 million for new transmission projects to support reliability.
Customers may also be left paying for transmission projects that are no longer needed. New technology, such as small modular nuclear reactors that can be built at existing power plants that already have transmission access, may negate the need for new transmission lines to serve renewable generators. The current push for transmission reform may be another expensive example of Washington trying to solve yesterday’s problem. This is not mere speculation, since 2008 customers have paid $250 million for the PATH transmission line that crossed three states, even though it was never built and never served customers.
It is time for policy makers to reaffirm that the electric grid exists to serve customers, not developers and investors. Transmission planning and cost allocation should be driven by the needs of customers and overseen by the state regulators who are best suited to protect their citizens. At a time when inflation is making its tougher from families and businesses to thrive, imposing additional costs for transmission buildouts for special interests makes little sense.
Bernard L. McNamee was a Commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2018-2020.
Hertz CEO Out As Firm Seeks Traction After Big EV Bet Goes Bust
CEO Stephen Scherr’s barely two-year ride with Hertz came to a screeching halt on Friday. In his wake, he leaves a company still working to recover from a big bet on electric vehicles gone bad. It will do so under new CEO Gil West, whose previous posts include executive roles at Delta Air Lines and the Cruise unit of General Motors.
Scherr, who came on board in February 2022 after 30 years at Goldman Sachs, ushered the company through its emergence from bankruptcy. Hertz’s EV push began in the previous year, with a splashy move to order 100,000 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. After taking the reins of the Estero, Florida-headquartered company, Scherr doubled down on the green vision, committing to purchased another 65,000 EVs from Polestar, a Swedish company.
Traveling in the US. @Hertz has rows & rows of EVs that no-one wants to rent. They claimed I booked one when I didn’t. Gold member & they mess me around like this.
I refused the EV & eventually I got a real car. What a hassle.
Go woke. Go broke. Rethinking my loyalty to Hertz.
In December 2023, Hertz emphatically demonstrated that its massive EV push just wasn’t working out, throwing 20,000 EVs into the used-car market to start a systematic liquidation planned to extend through 2024. “The company expects to reinvest a portion of the proceeds from the sale of EVs into the purchase of internal combustion engine vehicles to meet customer demand,” Hertz said at the time, adding, “The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs.”
The resale of fleet cars is a key driver of rental car companies’ profitability. On that front, Tesla threw a wrench in Hertz’s financials by aggressively slashing prices across its product line, crushing the resale values of not only Teslas, but the entire EV market. Top-selling EV’s saw their secondary-market prices plunge by almost a third in 2023.
Poor resale value isn’t the only EV liability biting Hertz — the company also pointed to the high cost of collision repairs. “For context, collision and damage repairs on an EV can often run about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle,” Scherr noted in an October third-quarter conference call.
Then there’s the issue of consumer demand. It’s fair to assume that mostrental car customers don’t want their first EV experiment to come on a business or vacation trip, where they may be in an unfamiliar area and unenthused about spending 20 minutes at a recharging station on the way to the airport, to say nothing of the hassle of figuring out how the whole EV-thing works.
@Hertz Any help available? I’m on day three of rental and still can’t get help. I was given an EV (that I didn’t want) that can’t fast charge. The employee laughed when I called and said they know. I’m driving to and from the hospital every day and knew a car I can fuel up. 🙏
In a statement issued Friday, Hertz vice chair Tom Wagner said, “We are appreciative of Stephen’s contribution over the last two years, including on a number of key strategic initiatives.”
“The jungle is dark but full of diamonds, Willy. One must go in to fetch a diamond out.”
I’ve been thinking about that line from Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, Death of a Salesman, as I watch prominent men risk prison or disgrace to enrich themselves.
Look at the news.
Sen. Bob Menendez, former Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is indicted for acting as a foreign agent to benefit Egypt.
Manuel Rocha, a former Ambassador to Cuba, will plead guilty to charges he conspired to act as an agent of Cuba.
Two years ago, former Marine Corps General John Allen resignedfrom his post as president of Brookings Institution amid a DOJ investigation into whether he illegally lobbied on behalf of the nation of Qatar.
DOJ dropped the charges but, in 2023, Congress released findings that 77 general officers and admirals had taken high-paying gigs with foreign countries. The list included former Defense Secretary James Mattis (UAE), former NSA chief Keith Alexander (Singapore, Saudi Arabia) and former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster (Japan).
Go back to 2015 and you’ll be reminded that then-Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas allegedly pressured DHS officials to approve visa requests on behalf of powerful friends in business, entertainment and politics.
I get it; there’s an edge in this game, too.
Mayorkas and the generals played close to the edge. Menendez played too close to the edge (at minimum). Rocha obviously went over the edge.
The bigger question is … why?
At an age when most Americans re-discover the soapy drama of daytime television, the politicians and generals venture deeper into the jungle.
Taking one more free trip.
Looking for one more big payday.
Something short of the law should restrain their greed. Call it shame, stigma, patriotism, or even self-discipline. Call it common morality.
The generals and military bigshots are most troubling. They made their names in an institution that demanded fidelity to the military ethos. Duck your duty to stand post, and you betray your comrades. Lie to your commanding officer, and you perhaps put an operation at risk. Sit back at the command post while your troops walk patrol, and be labeled a coward by yourself and others.
When Allen, Mattis, McMaster and the rest served as officers, much of what they could have done, they didn’t do. Their restraint enhanced their character. Their high moral standards made them leaders, and formed the basis for their credibility to ask young Americans to kill or be killed in combat.
But as generals transition to civilian life, apparently, they discover what can be gained by switching sides and corrupting into your opposite. The opportunity to become sandwich-board twirlers for foreign governments is turning once-virtuous leaders into human directionals for money, attention and other regime goodies.
Because the generals sold out, they’re not special anymore.
No more duty, honor, country.
No more honor, courage, commitment.
The generals are hunting diamonds now, and we should treat them accordingly.
Citizen Soldier believes in life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
