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🏗️ 1 for the road: Construction surrounds White House Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP On the South Lawn, a helipad is being built for Marine One, which has been scorching the grass. "It's got the seal of the White House on it ... in carved granite," President Trump told reporters Monday. "It's really a beautiful thing." Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images On the North Portico, workers yesterday draped tarps around scaffolding on the towering stone columns. The tarps, partially see-through, evoke the ornate stone columns beneath. Trump said on Monday: "We've taken about 150 years of paint off of the columns ... If you don't strip the paint off, it gets worse and worse and worse." (AP) Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP The ballroom, seen here from the Washington Monument, is going up fast. Trump's plans to build a 250-foot-high "Triumphal Arch" in the nation's capital won initial approval yesterday from the National Capital Planning Commission. Members put off a decision on whether a federal law that limits building heights should be applied. Keep reading.

8 men indicted in planned drone and sniper attack on White House UFC cage-fighting show COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Eight men were indicted on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges Thursday for their alleged roles in a thwarted drone and sniper attack on the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House in June. https://apnews.com/article/trump-ufc-show-attack-plot-3b1142773319ce650a916e61901ad35b?

🚲 E-bike injuries surge Data: NEISS. Chart: Brad Jennings/Axios E-bike sales in the U.S. have more than quadrupled over the past five years, but a spike in ownership has also meant a spike in injuries — especially among young people. About 41% of all emergency visits for e-bike injuries in 2024 and 2025 involved patients ages 10 to 19, Axios' Brad Jennings reports from National Electronic Injury Surveillance System estimates.

🦾 AI chip rush Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios Nearly every major AI company is either making or considering making homegrown chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia and cut costs. Reality check: Designing a chip is one thing. Securing the manufacturing capacity, memory and packaging needed to produce it at scale is much harder, Axios' Ina Fried and Madison Mills write. Read on.

🏛️ MAGA figures flock to Charlie Kirk murder hearing Prominent MAGA and conservative figures are descending on a Utah courthouse this week to attend the preliminary hearing for the man accused of murdering Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Axios' Alex Isenstadt and Marc Caputo report. Why it matters: The show of support in Provo underscores that, nearly a year after his assassination, Kirk remains a unifying figure across the Republican Party and the MAGA movement. Among those who have joined Kirk's family members this week in attending hearings for accused killer Tyler Robinson are: Donald Trump Jr. Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R). Conservative influencers Jack Posobiec and Graham Allen. Rush Limbaugh's widow, Kathryn Adams Limbaugh. The latest: Prosecutors are using this week's preliminary hearing to try to persuade a Utah judge there is sufficient evidence to send Robinson to trial on aggravated murder charges, which could lead to the death penalty. Keep reading.

🇨🇳 Pharma's China tradeoff Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The life sciences world is split over how the U.S. should respond to China's quick biotech advances — specifically over whether Washington needs a more protectionist playbook to preserve American dominance, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports. It's both cheaper and faster to do early-stage drug development in China than in the U.S. That reality is now being reflected in the places pharma giants like Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer are spending their money. Zoom in: Skeptics warn that the strategy of rapidly snapping up Chinese-developed experimental drugs is shortsighted or even dangerous. It risks hollowing out the American biotech base, and it won't stop China from eventually competing directly with large pharmaceutical companies. Others take the view that the China work will yield another source of high-quality drugs. "American patients deserve access to groundbreaking new drugs," Atlas Venture partner Bruce Booth wrote in a blog post. "The origins of drugs have never really mattered, nor should they."

AI have-nots and know-nots Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images A staggering class divide now separates how Americans experience artificial intelligence, Axios' Zachary Basu reports: For frontier power-users, AI feels like a revolution: a force capable of conjuring companies, building software and solving complex problems at warp speed. For the average person, it feels more like an evolution: a smarter search bar, a faster inbox, an ambient tech layer that saves time — but not much else. Why it matters: Trillions of dollars in economic value — and the livelihoods of millions of workers — are being staked on a technology that most Americans neither trust nor fully understand. It's a new chapter in America's digital divide — the AI "haves," "have-nots" and "know-nots" — with profound implications for the future of wealth, work and power. 🤖 Zoom in: The newest frontier models are designed for an agentic world of coding, research and cybersecurity that most Americans will never see, let alone operate. OpenAI's Sol and Anthropic's Fable now sit atop the pyramid of elite AI obsession, prized for running long coding and research loops with minimal human intervention. Prominent developers have spent the week personifying the two models — debating their temperaments, work ethics, even their personalities, the way sports fans argue over rival athletes. "My overall feel is that Fable is a 'wise owl' who is very thoughtful and very well spoken," tweeted AI researcher Peter Gostev. "GPT-5.6-Sol is like a rottweiler who will grab the problem by the throat and not let go until it is done." Reality check: The people fluent enough to judge Sol against Fable on a coding benchmark are a tiny slice of the country. For most Americans, those names and metrics mean nothing. Millions of people encounter AI passively or unknowingly — through search summaries, AI-generated content, customer-service bots and invisible features inside apps. Nearly half of U.S. adults now use AI chatbots. But the most common use is basic information search — the same job Google has done for two decades, a world away from autonomous coding agents. OpenAI counts more than 50 million paying subscribers in its weekly ChatGPT user base of more than 900 million. The population running agentic coding tools is a fraction of that fraction. 👀 Between the lines: Even among the elites living the frontier AI revolution, there's a pecking order. Sol began as a restricted preview for OpenAI's trusted partners and select organizations before broader rollout, making early access itself a status marker inside AI circles. Fable was pulled offline globally for nearly three weeks in June under U.S. export controls. Its more powerful sibling, Mythos, remains restricted to a small number of trusted organizations. The result is a hierarchy inside the hierarchy: free users, paid users, power users, preview users and an insider class testing capabilities the rest of the world can only read about. Zoom out: The AI industry ultimately needs broad social permission for the transformation it's selling — more data centers, deeper workplace automation, and AI embedded in schools, government and daily life. Yet as AI adoption has climbed, trust has fallen: 63% of Americans say AI is advancing too quickly, and just 16% expect it to benefit society over the next 20 years, according to Pew Research. The clearest gains are being captured by investors, tech giants and power users, while ordinary Americans are being asked to absorb the disruption to jobs, energy and information feeds. 👓 What to watch: The Trump administration's Labor Department published a national AI literacy framework in February, aimed at helping workers "share in the prosperity that AI will create." OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Amazon helped pool $500 million in June for RAISE US, a workforce retraining initiative led by former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. But basic literacy efforts can only go so far: Frontier users have better tools, earlier access, deeper technical context and hundreds of hours of trial-and-error with systems that change every few weeks.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 10 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial begins In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial begins with John Thomas Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1980s 1985 Two bombs sink the Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace’s flagship vessel 21st Century 2018 Last of Thai soccer team rescued from cave Black History 1893 Pioneering Black doctor performs successful open-heart surgery Crime 1992 The Exxon Valdez captain’s conviction is overturned 1889 “Buckskin” Frank Leslie murders his lover Inventions & Science 1962 U.S. patent issued for three-point seatbelt U.S. Presidents 1850 Millard Fillmore sworn in as 13th U.S. president 1832 Andrew Jackson vetoes re-charter of the Second Bank of the U.S. World War II 1940 The Battle of Britain begins 1943 Allies land on Sicily

Ground Zero's Final Tower Construction crews broke ground yesterday on the final office tower at the new World Trade Center campus, nearly 25 years after the 9/11 attacks destroyed the complex. American Express will be the sole tenant of 2 World Trade Center upon its completion, currently slated for 2031. The 55-story glass tower will accommodate up to 10,000 employees across nearly 2 million square feet of office space (scroll for mock-ups). At 1,226 feet tall, it will stand 550 feet shorter than One World Trade Center, directly to the west. American Express has not disclosed project costs, but New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) expects the development to create 3,200 jobs and generate $6B in economic activity. Officials began soliciting proposals to rebuild the World Trade Center campus eight months after the terror attacks. The first new building, 7 World Trade Center, opened in 2006, and the landmark One World Trade Center opened in 2014. See the reconstruction timeline here.

🏞️ Life in the park Beth's kids at Yosemite in 2011. Photo: Beth Wilder Speaking of readers, we're constantly delighted by our engaged and thoughtful Finish Line audience. Here's a wonderful note we received from reader Beth Wilder of Birmingham, Ala., yesterday in response to our callout for photos taken at America's national parks: "I was raised by an avid outdoorsman, and we spent our family vacations in the 1960s and 1970s traveling in our old Kingswood station wagon to national parks around the country. My husband and I did the same thing with our own children in the late 1990s and 2000s. We bought our kids National Park passports when they were young, and all of them have spent the past 25+ years filling them up." "Little did we know when we visited Yosemite in 2011 that one of our kids would return in 2024 to make the valley his home. He is a park ranger and now works as a crew chief on the Helitack search and rescue team. His dream job, and he's only 32 years old!"

Driving in the Fog (Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.)   View in browser Twice a day, all across the country, the National Weather Service launches a fleet of latex balloons into the stratosphere to collect what’s known as “upper-air data”—detailed measurements of temperature, humidity, and pressure. Before they pop, the balloons collect information that guides the world’s forecasters, and helps the rest of us figure out how to prepare for the days ahead. Lately, though, the NWS has reportedly been sending up fewer balloons than it once did, eroding meteorologists’ confidence in their own predictions. These lapses point to a broader phenomenon. Partly as a result of staffing cuts and funding reductions, government-sourced information has been slowly disappearing. Some organizations have halted surveys and tracking projects; others have deleted archives and databases. Taken together, this new reality risks clouding our understanding of the economy, public health, and the environment—all of which could make it harder to assess the state of the country and the world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which houses the National Weather Service, lost about 15 percent of its staffers last year through layoffs and buyouts. Meteorologists told Politico that those cuts have affected the schedule of NWS weather-balloon launches in the western United States, creating “sizable data holes for crafting severe weather forecasts.” CBS News reported that similar reductions in weather-balloon launches have been happening elsewhere across the country, and that meteorologists now have fewer data to work with. Accurate forecasts are essential in preparing for large-scale disasters; they can even save lives. Alan Gerard, a weather analyst and former NWS meteorologist, emphasized on his Substack earlier this week that although the precise impact of these launch changes remains unclear, “meteorologists’ confidence in the models and their own ability to analyze some situations has been damaged by the lack of upper air data.” (A NOAA spokesperson told me that “the majority of upper air sites are operating on schedule,” that “any sites conducting fewer launches are due to temporary resource or equipment constraints,” and that “NOAA’s weather model performance shows no evidence of overall degradation on any approved launch schedule.”) The administration’s cost-cutting has also affected some of the global data collection that the U.S. used to fund. When the Trump administration pulled funding for some foreign-assistance programs last year (this is estimated to have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide), the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization ended up cutting more than 100 of its programs. Some were focused on monitoring outbreaks of disease and infestation among animals—and among the pests its investments helped track was a parasitic fly called the New World screwworm, which has been disrupting cattle farming in Central America and Mexico over the past few years. Last month, it crossed into the United States, endangering the country’s already dwindling supply of beef. Monitoring alone may not have stopped the screwworm’s spread—and there is no evidence to suggest that U.S. funding cuts led to the current outbreak—but cataloging these flies’ movements has long been a crucial part of prevention. In making certain data private or changing collection methodologies on the orders of the president, this administration is effectively punching holes in the public record. Data.gov removed nearly 3,400 data sets during the first month of Donald Trump’s second term, scrubbing information from the Census Bureau, the Office of Justice Programs, the CDC, and more. The CDC tracks pregnancy risk in the U.S. in an effort to prevent infant mortality; staffing reductions have reportedly made that information inaccessible. Since 1995, the USDA has been tracking the number of American households experiencing food insecurity; the Trump administration discontinued a survey of that data in September, claiming in a press release that this information was “politicized” and “costly” to produce, and did “nothing more than fear monger.” The government’s data are far from infallible (and, as history has shown, can be manipulated). But the cumulative effect of these recent changes is an erosion of public understanding—and potentially of good policy making. The Federal Reserve, for example, bases its interest-rate decisions around the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs data, among other sources. Last year, when the government shutdown delayed the release of that data, then–Fed Chair Jerome Powell likened the experience to “driving in the fog.” It was the first time in 77 years that the BLS failed to release the U.S. unemployment rate. Relying solely on private data, the Fed was forced to cut rates without a comprehensive read of the American labor force. Earlier this year, when the Trump administration axed an online archive called the CIA World Factbook, which compiled information about countries around the world, my colleague David A. Graham wrote that its demise was yet another component of the White House’s broader war on information. “Democracy,” he explained, “requires voters having access to accurate and shared information so that they can assess the claims that the government makes.” When missing balloons magnify inaccuracies in weather forecasts, they lend credence to the idea that the government’s information may be getting more unreliable—and that, just maybe, we don’t need to keep funding NOAA after all. In this way, partial information blackouts can generate more and more distrust in American institutions, creating a vacuum where conspiracy theories can thrive. Transparency may not put a full stop to misinformation, but it can be a powerful remedy. Related: America is losing the facts that hold it together. Donald Trump’s war on reality

💰 AIPAC's next test AIPAC is spending big in Missouri to quash former Rep. Cori Bush's attempted comeback, but Bush's supporters are convinced this time it won't succeed. Why it matters: The left has high hopes that Bush can ride a wave of anti-establishment energy to prevail in her rematch against Rep. Wesley Bell, who ousted her two years ago with AIPAC's help. 📺 United Democracy Project, AIPAC's super PAC, has spent $865,000 on television ads supporting Bell in Missouri's 1st District so far, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact. That makes it the biggest ad spender in the race so far, followed by the center-left New Democrat Coalition's PAC's $500,000 and the Bell campaign's $475,000. Bush's campaign has spent just $30,000 on ads, per AdImpact. No outside groups have spent money in support of her yet. 💥 Flashback: This all bears a striking resemblance to last cycle, when Bush was the incumbent and Bell, then a local prosecutor, was challenging her from the center. AIPAC spent more than $9 million to defeat Bush. 🤔 Yes, but: Usamah Andrabi, a spokesperson for the left-wing group Justice Democrats, which is supporting Bush, said things will be different this cycle. "Since they bought this seat last cycle, AIPAC has become a kiss of death to the politicians they support," Andrabi said. Bush is "the model for so many candidates this cycle of exactly the type of fighter against the corporate establishment that Democratic voters are demanding and electing." The former lawmaker told us: "People are really upset that so much money came into our district and was used to influence who became the representative this Congress." ⏰ There's still time before the Aug. 4 primary for the cavalry to come to Bush's aid as it has for DSA-aligned candidates in Colorado, New York and elsewhere this year. Justice Democrats, which spent $2 million supporting Bush last cycle, "will be doing everything we can to help her take this seat back from AIPAC and deliver it to the people of St. Louis where it belongs," Andrabi said. — Andrew Solender

🌵Dems divided in Arizona The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is baffling fellow Democrats by pouring money into yet another competitive House primary — this time in Arizona. Why it matters: The DCCC has racked up a spotty record in its attempts to intervene in Democratic primaries this cycle, leading some House Democrats to question why they're paying dues to the campaign committee. 🚨 Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who previously criticized the DCCC for intervening in California, told us she is "frustrated" to see the practice in her own backyard. Another House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to criticize leadership, told us, "The DCCC's endorsement, I think, hurts the message." 🗳️ Two primary candidates in California and Maine backed by the DCCC's endorsements and ad spending have already lost their races. The group's big success was in Texas' 35th District primary, in which DCCC-supported sheriff's deputy Johnny Garcia beat sex therapist Maureen Galindo, who had come under fire for antisemitic comments. "If someone has the DCCC's endorsement, I don't think that's very helpful for them. It may even work against them," said the House Democrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 🚗 Driving the news: The DCCC is running a $200,000 joint ad buy with Marlene Galán-Woods in Arizona's 1st District, its largest primary investment to date this year, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The ad states: "We need Democrats willing to actually fight for us, courageous leaders who are going to stand up against MAGA Republicans, leaders like Marlene Galán-Woods." The former journalist and widow of Republican former state Attorney General Grant Woods faces a crowded Democratic primary field, including former state Rep. Amish Shah, the nominee for the seat in 2024. The highly competitive, Phoenix-based battleground seat is currently held by Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), who is retiring to run for governor. 💬 What they're saying: Former Arizona state Sen. Sean Bowie told us he was "surprised" the DCCC threw its support behind Galán-Woods, noting that she is a former Republican and Shah beat her for the nomination two years earlier. "Why her over someone like Amish?" Bowie asked. 📢 What we're hearing: There is lingering resentment between the DCCC and Shah over strategic decisions he made in 2024, several Democratic sources told us. The DCCC found Shah difficult to work with, chafed at his preference for door-knocking over making fundraising calls, and was unhappy with his refusal to run negative ads, the sources said. Zoom out: The DCCC is "hyperfocused on winning general elections," Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) told us, adding that the district is "a must-win seat" to gain the House majority and "regardless of who wins the primary, they're going to have massive support from DCCC." The DCCC referred us to a past statement by its chair, Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), praising Galán-Woods as a "trusted voice who spent 20 years in broadcast journalism speaking truth to power" and "the common-sense fighter Arizonans deserve." — Andrew Solender and Jeremy Duda

A democratic socialist in Wisconsin tests how far left voters want to go in a battleground state Over the last month, Democratic socialists have notched victories in the liberal strongholds of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver. Read More.

How a push to disarm Hezbollah is deepening divisions in Lebanon and raising fears of civil war A deal between Lebanon and Israel was billed as paving the way for peace. But in Lebanon, it is deepening longtime divisions and raising fears of political paralysis or even a return to civil war. Read More.

Pakistani leader vows to press militant crackdown after 42 killed in Balochistan attacks Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to continue operations against militants during a visit Thursday to southwestern Balochistan province, where he condoled with the families of 42 people, mostly security personnel, killed in multiple insurgent attacks this week. Read More.

PepsiCo says economic concerns weighed on customers in North American during recent quarter NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo reported stronger-than-expected revenue in the second quarter despite weaker demand in North America, where it said consumers tightened their budgets as the Iran war caused gas prices to spike. https://apnews.com/article/pepsico-snacks-drinks-revenue-e6c14072c80e1b58a4a284eac13871c2?

South Florida’s Palm Beach airport renamed President Donald J. Trump International WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida airport officially changed its name on Thursday to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport. https://apnews.com/article/trump-airport-florida-palm-beach-ab184b710cac13b1555255140ef6b4d5? ps:How pathetic!!!!!

In a post dated July 4, Asia Joe objected to the idea that people not convicted not criminal court could be restricted as to attending SDA services. A valid question. We have a legal and ethical obligation to protect innocent children that does not depend on a prior criminal conviction. We should not require a criminal assualt on a child prior to taking steps to protect the child. Criminal convictions require a a very high level of proof. Protect of people, children and adults, requires common sense, not a criminal conviction.

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Not just America --------------------------- Americans now spend an average of 35 minutes per day socializing, down from 45 minutes in 2005 Teens aged 15-24 have seen the steepest decline, dropping from 60 to 35 minutes daily Smartphone use, remote work and larger homes with more entertainment options drive the trend Teenagers spend an average of 4.8 hours per day on social media platforms The decline of gathering spaces like libraries, coffee shops and churches compounds the problem The quiet crisis of American social life Americans across all age groups are spending significantly less time socializing than they did two decades ago, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey. The average American now spends just 35 minutes per day socializing, down from 45 minutes in 2005—a 22% decline that represents a fundamental shift in how people structure their daily lives. The trend cuts across every generation, with young people aged 15-24 experiencing the steepest drop, falling from 60 minutes to 35 minutes daily. This transformation carries profound implications for mental health, political polarization and even life expectancy, as researchers document the cascading effects of what some are calling "the anti-social century." The smartphone factor The decline in socializing correlates strongly with the rise of smartphone usage, particularly among younger Americans. Teenagers now spend an average of 4.8 hours per day on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, according to Gallup data. This screen-based interaction has largely replaced face-to-face socialization, with 51% of teens spending at least four hours daily on social media apps. The shift is most dramatic among 15- to 24-year-olds, who have seen their daily socializing time drop from 60 minutes to 35 minutes over the past two decades. Girls spend nearly an hour more on social media than boys, averaging 5.3 hours compared to 4.4 hours daily. The homebound economy The American economy has fundamentally reoriented itself to keep people inside their homes. Since 2003, adults spend an additional 99 minutes at home each day, according to Princeton sociologist Patrick Sharkey's research. This "remote life" phenomenon extends far beyond work-from-home arrangements. Restaurants now serve 74% of customers through takeout and delivery, up from 61% before the pandemic. Solo dining has increased 29% in just two years. The average American home has grown 50% larger since 1973, with nearly universal air conditioning and entertainment systems that make staying in more appealing than going out. The gathering space crisis The decline of third places—spaces outside home and work where people gather—has accelerated dramatically. A 2025 University of Colorado Boulder report documented widespread closures of libraries, coffee shops, museums and other community gathering spots over the past decade. Churches are also closing at unprecedented rates. This loss of communal infrastructure compounds the problem. When people have fewer places to gather, they spend more time at home, which reinforces isolationist habits. The restaurant industry exemplifies this shift, with 74% of traffic now coming from takeout and delivery rather than dining in. The political consequences of isolation Social disconnection carries significant political implications. Researchers have found that the erosion of "middle ring" relationships—neighbors, local acquaintances and community members—correlates with increased political polarization. When people lack regular face-to-face contact with those who hold different views, they become more likely to demonize political opponents. A 2021 study found that 40% of partisans rated the opposing party at zero on a "feeling thermometer," up from just 8% in 2000. Socially isolated individuals are also more susceptible to conspiracy theories and what researchers call "the need for chaos"—a desire to see established institutions destroyed. The AI companion threat The rise of artificial intelligence companions presents a new frontier in social isolation. OpenAI's ChatGPT now features real-time conversational speech that can mimic human interaction with startling accuracy. Character.ai, a popular AI companion platform, has tens of millions of monthly users who spend an average of 93 minutes daily chatting with their AI friends. Psychologists warn that AI companions could accelerate the anti-social trend by providing the emotional validation of friendship without the challenges of real human relationships. Unlike human friends, AI companions never criticize, disagree, or disappoint—but this also means they cannot teach the essential skills of navigating real-world relationships. A path forward Despite the grim data, researchers point to emerging counter-trends. Independent bookstores have grown more than 50% since 2009, often serving as community gathering spaces. Board game cafés are expected to nearly double in business by 2030. More school districts are banning smartphones, potentially improving children's social development. The solution may lie in what sociologists call "social infrastructure"—public spaces that bring people together. Communities that invest in libraries, parks, swimming pools and other gathering places tend to have more socially connected residents. The challenge is reversing decades of declining investment in these communal resources. Reclaiming connection in an age of isolation The data paint a clear picture: Americans are choosing solitude at unprecedented rates, and the consequences extend from individual mental health to the fabric of democracy itself. Yet the trend is not irreversible. The same technologies that enabled isolation can be harnessed for connection, and the same homes that have become fortresses of solitude can become centers of hospitality. The path forward requires recognizing that convenience often comes at a cost—and that the richest life is not necessarily the most comfortable one, but the most connected. As researchers have repeatedly demonstrated, people consistently underestimate how much they will enjoy social interaction and overestimate the satisfaction of solitude. The anti-social century is a choice, and it can be unmade by the same force that created it: millions of individual decisions, made day by day, to put down the phone and look up at the people around us. https://www.naturalnews.com/2026-07-07-americans-are-choosing-solitude-over-social-connection.html

A new study published in the journal Thorax has found that higher vitamin A levels are associated with improved lung function in both children and adults with asthma, while higher vitamin D levels are linked to better lung function and slower biological aging of lung cells in adults. The research analyzed data from nearly 1,200 children in the Genetic Epidemiology of Asthma in Costa Rica (GACRS) study and about 1,000 adults in the Omic Determinants of Longitudinal Lung Function in Asthma (ODOLLFA) study. According to lead author Rinku Sharma, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Mass General Brigham at Harvard Medical School, and senior author Michael McGeachie, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the same institution, the findings add evidence for vitamin A's role in lung health and suggest vitamin D may influence epigenetic aging. Vitamin A is typically linked to eye health, while vitamin D is most closely associated with bone health, but both have been studied for their roles in immune system regulation and cellular growth. Study Design and Methods Researchers used data from two observational studies: the GACRS study involving children and the ODOLLFA study involving adults. They measured participants' vitamin A and D levels alongside lung function tests such as forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). The study also examined epigenetic markers of aging in adults using DNA methylation and microRNA analysis to evaluate biological age compared to chronological age. According to the authors, the analysis controlled for factors including age, sex, body mass index, and smoking history to isolate associations between vitamin levels and lung health outcomes. The researchers noted that vitamins A and D share important biological pathways involved in immune function and tissue maintenance, which is why they were studied together. Key Findings: Vitamin A and Lung Function, Vitamin D and Biological Aging Children and adults with asthma who had higher vitamin A levels showed better lung function, the study reported. The association remained after adjusting for potential confounders. For vitamin D, higher levels were associated with improved lung function in adults and with lower evidence of accelerated epigenetic aging, as measured by DNA methylation clocks. McGeachie told Medical News Today that these findings “reinforce previous research” and that vitamin A appeared to benefit across age groups, while vitamin D’s effects on aging were novel. Sharma added that one of the most exciting findings is that the benefits appear to be partly mediated through epigenetic mechanisms, including microRNAs and DNA methylation. Broader research supports the importance of these vitamins; [1] notes that vitamin D supplementation is used to prevent various diseases, including multiple sclerosis and hypertension, and [2] highlights vitamin A's functions in growth and cell division. Expert Reactions and Limitations Pulmonologist Khaled Abu-Ihweij, MD, of Hackensack Meridian Health, called the results “encouraging” but emphasized the study shows association, not causation, and called for randomized controlled trials. Jimmy Johannes, MD, of MemorialCare, said the study reaffirms known links and adds “molecular markers of aging” as a new dimension, but noted more research is needed on nutrition and lung health. Both experts stressed that no changes in clinical recommendations should be made based on this observational study alone, and that causality must be established. The findings align with broader discussions about nutrition and lung health; for example, [3] describes strategies to improve lung function through diet, including foods like kiwi, tomatoes, and wild-caught fish that reduce inflammation and slow age-related lung decline. Conclusion and Next Steps The researchers plan to investigate how genetic variation interacts with vitamins A and D and epigenetic mechanisms to influence lung health and aging, according to Sharma. “By integrating genetics, epigenetics, and nutrition, we hope to better understand why some individuals benefit more than others and ultimately identify personalized strategies to promote healthy lung aging,” she said. The authors acknowledged the study’s limitations, including its observational design and the inability to prove direct cause-and-effect, but said the findings support further investigation into nutritional strategies for asthma management. The study adds to a growing body of evidence linking vitamins A and D to respiratory health. [4] highlights the importance of optimizing vitamin D levels for overall health, and [5] discusses natural anti-inflammatory supplements as safer alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs for conditions like asthma. https://www.naturalnews.com/2026-07-08-vitamin-a-d-linked-to-better-lung-function.html

A study of adults recruited from primary care clinics found that five minutes of in-person prayer was associated with greater reductions in anxiety and pain compared to listening to music, according to a report on the findings. The research tracked participants for six weeks and found that benefits for anxiety persisted at the final follow-up, officials said. The study adds to a body of literature examining how brief, intentional practices may affect emotional and physical well-being, the report stated. Study Methods and Findings Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a five-minute spoken prayer delivered by a trained volunteer or five minutes of listening to music, according to the study. Researchers measured anxiety and pain levels immediately after the intervention, again at two weeks, and at six weeks. The group that received prayer reported statistically significant improvements in both anxiety and pain scores compared to the music group, the report stated. The effects for anxiety remained present at six weeks, while pain benefits diminished but remained notable, officials said. Previous research on prayer has shown similar patterns. A study examining Muslim prayer among mothers with hospitalized children found that those who prayed three times daily for 10 minutes reported lower anxiety scores on a validated inventory, according to a report on that trial [3]. Another analysis found that individuals who engage in meditation, yoga, or prayer reduce their need for health care services by 43 percent, according to a Massachusetts General Hospital study [2]. Mechanisms and Context The benefits of prayer in the recent study did not appear to depend on participants’ prior religious beliefs or intensity of faith, the analysis indicated. Researchers suggested that prayer’s effects may stem from its ability to slow down thinking, foster reflection, and reduce feelings of isolation, the report stated. Feelings of connection and hope have been linked in prior research to improvements in inflammation, immune function, and pain perception, according to the study’s authors. Broader evidence supports these mechanisms. Studies on spirituality and heart health have found that patients who score higher on spirituality or religious scales have lower mortality due to coronary artery disease or cardiac surgery-related complications, according to a review of the literature [4]. Additionally, focusing on gratitude has been shown to alter the brain in beneficial ways, including triggering the release of mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin and inhibiting the stress hormone cortisol, according to research on gratitude [1]. Broader Implications for Emotional Health The findings add to a growing body of evidence that brief, intentional rituals can affect both psychological and physical health, officials said. Longevity researchers have increasingly cited social connection, purpose, and psychological well-being alongside exercise and nutrition as key health determinants, the report stated. The study’s authors emphasized that similar benefits may be available through other practices such as meditation, gratitude journaling, or spending time in nature. The psychology of prayer has been examined across multiple contexts. A comprehensive review of prayer research notes that prayer can serve as a therapeutic tool across various populations and settings [5]. Another study demonstrated that depressive symptoms and perceived stress can be reduced through practices that foster reflection and connection, according to findings on daily rituals [6]. Conclusion The study provides evidence that a five-minute practice of prayer — or potentially other reflective rituals — may offer measurable reductions in anxiety and pain over several weeks, according to the report. Researchers called for further investigation into the mechanisms and the generalizability of the findings across different populations and settings, officials said. The results suggest that incorporating brief moments of reflection and connection could be a low-cost tool for supporting emotional health, the report stated. https://www.naturalnews.com/2026-07-09-five-minutes-prayer-linked-to-lower-anxiety-pain.html