Southern Snowstorm, Depression Drug, and the Origin of 'OMG'

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Historic Snowstorm

A rare winter storm swept across the southern US yesterday, bringing record-breaking snowfall to multiple states along the Gulf Coast and prompting first-ever blizzard warnings in areas like Lake Charles, Louisiana. As of this writing, at least 10 people have died from exposure to the cold or crashes on icy roads.

The highest snowfall total recorded was 10.5 inches in Rayne, Louisiana, a modern-day record (though the area may have received 20 inches in 1895). New Orleans received its biggest snowfall based on modern records; and both Pensacola, Florida, and Mobile, Alabama, shattered 130-year records. The storm caused widespread travel disruptions, with airports in Houston halting operations and more than 2,200 flights canceled across the country. States of emergency have been declared in Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi as the region battles dangerous travel conditions and power outages.

Winter weather events in the region are rare, typically occurring only once or twice per generation, and require a specific meteorological combination: an Arctic jet stream positioned over the Plains and a low-pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico. See one-day snowfall records by US county here.

Birthright Citizenship 

Twenty-two attorneys general and a group of immigration organizations led by the American Civil Liberties Union have filed lawsuits challenging an executive order that attempts to ban birthright citizenship. 

President Donald Trump signed the order Monday to end the 157-year-old immigration practice that has granted US-born children citizenship regardless of their parents’ legal status. The lawsuits argue Trump's order violates a longstanding interpretation of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment, formed in an 1898 Supreme Court decision. The US is one of 33 countries and two territories providing unrestricted birthright citizenship. Legal analysts say Trump's order is unlikely to take effect next month as planned with the measure tied up in court.

Separately, Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the alt-right Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, founder of the antigovernment Oath Keepers militia group, were released from prison yesterday. The two are among more than 1,500 people Trump pardoned in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol storming. See all of Trump's executive actions here. 

Meanwhile, a judge blocked the Justice Department from releasing the portion of special counsel Jack Smith's report related to Trump's classified documents case.  

Depression Nasal Spray

The Food and Drug Administration approved pharma giant Johnson & Johnson's nasal spray Spravato yesterday, making it the first approved standalone drug therapy for treatment-resistant depression. 

Roughly a third of the 21 million American adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder (see overview and statistics) do not respond to at least two standard treatments for the condition. Participants in clinical trials of Spravato showed relief from symptoms—including persistent sadness, low energy, and suicidal ideation—as quickly as 24 hours after receiving the drug, weeks faster than typical oral antidepressants. The nasal spray—approved in 2019 for use in tandem with oral drugs—saw over $750M in sales last year, and Johnson & Johnson expects that number to approach $5B annually. 

Because the drug—whose generic name is esketamine—is derived from ketamine, a hallucinogen used for anesthetic purposes, its use is restricted to clinics where the patient is monitored for two hours. More than 3,000 treatment centers in the US are currently certified to dispense it.

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