Authored by Brendon Fallon & Lynn Xu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

For decades, cholesterol screening has focused on a familiar set of numbers—LDL (“bad” cholesterol), HDL (“good” cholesterol), and triglycerides. When these values fall within the “normal” range, many people are reassured that their heart risk is low.

An LDL particle with its apo-B protein (blue). Apo-B particle count may offer a more accurate indication of atherosclerotic risk.JUAN GAERTNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images

However, according to leading preventive cardiologist Dr. Seth J. Baum, that reassurance can sometimes be misleading.

In a recent episode of “Vital Signs,” Baum explained that a largely inherited cholesterol-related particle—lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a)—can quietly raise the risk of heart attack, stroke, and aortic valve disease, even in people whose standard cholesterol tests look perfectly fine.

“Lp(a) explains a lot of heart disease we used to call bad luck,” Baum said. “It’s not bad luck—it’s biology we weren’t measuring.”

What Is Lipoprotein(a)?

Lipoprotein(a) is structurally similar to LDL cholesterol, but with an added protein called apolipoprotein(a). This extra component makes the particle particularly harmful because it promotes plaque buildup, inflammation, and abnormal clot formation within blood vessels.

Unlike LDL cholesterol—which is strongly influenced by diet, exercise, and medications—Lp(a) levels are determined primarily by genetics. They remain relatively stable throughout life and are largely unaffected by lifestyle changes.

Because of this, Baum and other preventive cardiologists often refer to Lp(a) as “genetic cholesterol.” It is inherited, invisible on routine lipid panels, and easily overlooked—yet clinically powerful.

How Common Is High Lp(a)?

Elevated Lp(a) is not rare. Large population studies and expert consensus estimate that more than 20 percent of people worldwide—roughly one in five adults—have Lp(a) levels high enough to increase cardiovascular risk. In the United States, this translates to approximately 64 million adults.

That prevalence rivals or exceeds that of many conditions routinely screened for in primary care. Yet most Americans have never had their Lp(a) measured.

Baum said that this gap in testing helps explain why some people develop heart disease at young ages or despite healthy lifestyles.

“I see patients who’ve been told for years their cholesterol is fine,” he said. “Then they have a heart attack at 45. When we finally check Lp(a), the story suddenly makes sense.”

Normal Cholesterol Doesn’t Always Mean Low Risk

One of Baum’s central messages is that cholesterol numbers must be interpreted in context, not in isolation.

Lp(a) acts as a risk amplifier. When it is elevated, other risk factors—such as mildly high LDL, borderline blood pressure, insulin resistance, or smoking—become more dangerous in combination. The artery is not only accumulating plaque faster, but plaque is also more inflamed and more prone to forming clots. Two people with identical LDL levels may have very different outcomes, depending on their Lp(a) levels.

This helps explain why traditional risk calculators sometimes fail, particularly in people with heart attacks or strokes at unusually young ages, strong family histories of cardiovascular disease, or heart disease that seems disproportionate to lifestyle.

In Baum’s view, overlooking Lp(a) in these situations represents a major blind spot in prevention.

The Test Most People Never Get–But Probably Should

Because Lp(a) rarely changes over time, testing is usually only needed once. The result can meaningfully alter how clinicians assess risk and guide prevention—even before Lp(a)-specific drugs become widely available.

Lp(a) results may be reported in different units, but many experts consider levels greater than or equal to 50 mg/dL (or approximately 100 to 125 nmol/L, depending on the assay) to be clinically significant.

Importantly, high Lp(a) is not a diagnosis. It does not mean a heart attack is inevitable. Rather, it signals that cardiovascular prevention should be more proactive and individualized. “Lp(a) doesn’t act alone—it stacks on top of everything else,” Baum said.

He describes Lp(a) as a “triple threat” because it promotes plaque formation, enhances blood clotting, and intensifies vascular inflammation. “Inflammation is clearly involved in plaque progression and heart attacks,” he noted, explaining why Lp(a) carries risk beyond LDL alone.

Despite this, Baum estimates that only about 1 percent of the population has ever been tested for Lp(a). “The reason most doctors cite for not testing is that we don’t yet have an approved therapy to lower it,” he said. “But that’s not a good reason not to know the risk.”

Plaque builds silently over decades. “In the vast majority of patients with high cholesterol or Lp(a), you don’t see anything on physical exam,” he said. “You usually don’t see anything until there’s a heart attack or stroke.”

A Practical Prevention Plan

A common misconception is that high Lp(a) leaves patients powerless. Baum strongly disagrees. “You can’t change your genes, but you can absolutely change how aggressively you manage everything else.”

Lower LDL More Than Average

When Lp(a) is elevated, Baum often targets lower LDL or apoB levels than standard recommendations. Even modest LDL elevations can be more harmful in the presence of high Lp(a), so tolerance for “borderline” values is reduced.

Treat Risk Factors as Additive

Rather than viewing blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and lifestyle habits separately, Baum said that they compound one another.

With high Lp(a):

Mild hypertension matters more
Smoking carries greater danger
Poor sleep, inactivity, and metabolic dysfunction become more consequential

This cumulative perspective explains why clinicians may recommend earlier or more intensive intervention—even when no single risk factor appears extreme.

Use Imaging to Clarify Risk

Baum highlighted the value of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring, a specialized CT scan that detects and measures calcified plaque in the coronary arteries—the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle.

Unlike blood tests, which estimate risk indirectly, CAC scoring provides direct visual evidence of atherosclerosis. A higher calcium score reflects a greater plaque burden and a higher likelihood of future cardiovascular events.

In people with elevated Lp(a) but otherwise uncertain risk, CAC can help determine whether genetic risk has already translated into physical disease. A positive CAC score suggests that plaque has begun to form, strengthening the case for earlier and more aggressive prevention. A CAC score of zero indicates no detectable calcified plaque at the time of testing and may allow for a more individualized approach, particularly in younger patients.

CAC does not replace blood testing, Baum said, but adds clarity when lab results and clinical history leave risk uncertain—helping tailor prevention to the person, not just the numbers.

Screen Your Family

Because Lp(a) is inherited, Baum strongly encourages cascade screening—testing close relatives once an elevated level is identified. “The youngest person in the family is often the one who shows up first with an event.”

Family-wide screening—including siblings, parents, and children—can improve early detection and prevention.

Advanced Options and Emerging Therapies

For patients with prior cardiovascular events and very high Lp(a), lipoprotein apheresis may be an option in specialized centers.

Lipoprotein apheresis is a blood-filtering procedure that removes atherogenic lipoproteins—particles that promote artery-clogging plaque. These include LDL cholesterol and Lp(a), the structural protein found on particles most responsible for atherosclerosis. It is currently available at about 50 centers in the United States.

“We can literally remove these particles from the blood every two weeks, and hopefully reduce the risk of another event.”

Several Lp(a)-lowering drugs are now in late-stage clinical trials, some showing 80 percent to 90 percent reductions in Lp(a) levels. Baum expects FDA-approved therapies in the coming years, though he cautions that outcome data—not just lab results—will determine their ultimate value.

Baum’s Top 3 Recommendations

After decades of treating patients with both typical and unexplained heart disease, Baum said that effective prevention begins not with fear, but with awareness, engagement, and early action. His top recommendations are practical steps anyone can take to better understand—and reduce—their cardiovascular risk.

1. Be Your Own Advocate

“The most important aspect of cardiovascular prevention is taking it seriously and advocating for yourself.”

That starts with asking questions, understanding your family history, and requesting appropriate testing—especially when something doesn’t add up. Knowing whether Lp(a) or apoB is elevated can reveal risks that routine cholesterol panels miss.

2. Work With a Knowledgeable Physician

Even with a trusted doctor, it’s reasonable to have a proactive conversation about cardiovascular risk. Baum encourages patients to ask about Lp(a) and apoB testing, particularly if there is a family history of early heart disease or unexplained events.

Patients with similar LDL levels may require very different treatment intensity depending on their genetic risk, imaging results, and overall clinical picture.

3. Talk to Your Family

When genetic risk is involved, one test result can help protect an entire family. Because Lp(a) is inherited, identifying it in one person often leads to early detection—and prevention—in siblings, parents, or children.

Lp(a) helps explain why heart disease sometimes strikes people who seem to be doing everything right. It is common, inherited, and invisible on standard tests—but no longer ignorable.

A single blood test can uncover hidden risk and reshape prevention for decades.

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” Baum said. “Lp(a) is one of the most important things we’ve been missing.”

A lot has changed over the past 72 hours.

For Venezuelans, the events will have been particularly momentous. In a rapid attack, U.S. special forces entered the compound of now-deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and abducted both him and his wife, before flying them to the United States. The operation was accompanied by U.S. airstrikes targeting multiple sites in the capital of Caracas, with at least 80 people reportedly killed. Maduro is now in New York and is set to face trial today on drugs and weapons charges.

The capture has prompted a wide range of international reactions, from condemnation in Moscow to support from Argentina, where President Javier Milei is an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump. Among Venezuelans, both inside the country and within the diaspora, responses have been mixed, combining relief and celebration at the fall of Maduro with deep uncertainty over what will follow.

Although the abduction of Maduro was unexpected, the United States’ intervention in Venezuela is hardly the first in the region’s history.

As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have experienced direct U.S. involvement, though to varying degrees.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Among these are Mexico, which was invaded in 1846 during the Mexican-American war following the U.S. annexation of Texas. Panama was invaded in 1989, when Washington sought to depose the country’s de facto ruler, General Manuel Noriega. Cuba was invaded and occupied by U.S. forces in 1898, during the Spanish-American War and later became the site of the failed U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.

Elsewhere, U.S. involvement took different forms.

In Guatemala, the CIA orchestrated Operation PBSuccess in 1954, a covert coup that overthrew the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz. In Chile, the United States supported the military coup that deposed President Salvador Allende in 1973.

Other countries experienced more indirect forms of involvement.

During the 1970s, the U.S. supported Operation Condor, a regional campaign of coordinated political repression carried out across Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay with Brazil, Peru and Ecuador joining later.

Many of the areas shown in blue on this map are not sovereign states, but rather territories and dependencies of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France.

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

Gold prices are poised to climb to fresh record highs by the end of the year, with Morgan Stanley forecasting the bullion at $4,800 per ounce by the fourth quarter of 2026, as falling interest rates, central bank buying, and persistent geopolitical risk continue to drive demand for the traditional safe-haven asset.

In a research note on Jan. 5, the bank said the precious metal’s rally is being underpinned by a combination of macroeconomic and policy shifts, including an expected easing cycle by the U.S. Federal Reserve, a change in leadership at the Federal Reserve, and sustained purchases by central banks and investment funds.

Bullion has already delivered a historic run. Spot gold touched an all-time high of $4,549.71 per ounce on Dec. 26, 2025, and finished the year up 64 percent, marking its strongest annual performance since 1979.

Safe-Haven Demand Reignited

Gold prices jumped again this week after the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by U.S. military forces heightened geopolitical uncertainty across energy and financial markets. Analysts say such flashpoints have revived safe-haven buying at a time when many investors were already positioned defensively.

“The situation around Venezuela has clearly reactivated safe-haven demand, but it comes on top of existing concerns about geopolitics, energy supply, and monetary policy,” said Alexander Zumpfe, a precious metals trader at Heraeus Metals Germany.

Investors typically seek gold during periods of economic and political stress, as the yellow metal tends to perform well in low-interest-rate environments, when the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset declines.

Morgan Stanley said in its note that recent events in Venezuela were likely to reinforce gold’s appeal as a store of value, though it did not cite the developments as a formal input into its $4,800 forecast.

JPMorgan Chase also recently raised its gold price outlook, forecasting the metal at $5,000 an ounce by the fourth quarter of 2026 and $6,000 in the longer term.

“While this rally in gold has not, and will not, be linear, we believe the trends driving this rebasing higher in gold prices are not exhausted,” Natasha Kaneva, head of Global Commodities Strategy at JPMorgan, said in a Dec. 18 note, citing continued diversification into gold by central banks and investors, as trade uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical risk fuel safe-haven demand.

Analysts at ING also see more upside for gold. In a Jan. 6 note, the bank said gold purchases by central banks and expectations for further Fed rate cuts are underpinning the precious metal.

Fed Policy, Dollar Outlook Key Drivers

Morgan Stanley’s latest projection represents a sharp upgrade from its prior outlook. In October 2025, the bank lifted its 2026 gold forecast to $4,400 per ounce, citing expectations of U.S. rate cuts, a weaker dollar, and strong institutional inflows.

“Investors are watching gold not just as a hedge against inflation, but as a barometer for everything from central bank policy to geopolitical risk,” Amy Gower, Morgan Stanley’s metals and mining commodity strategist, said in the October note.

“We see further upside in gold, driven by a falling U.S. dollar, strong ETF buying, continued central bank purchases, and a backdrop of uncertainty supporting demand for this safe-haven asset.”

Gold also recently overtook U.S. Treasuries as a share of global central bank reserves for the first time since 1996, with Morgan Stanley characterizing this development as a “powerful signal” that investors are confident in the yellow metal’s long-term value.

Exchange-traded funds backed by physical gold have posted record inflows, signaling interest from both institutional and retail investors.

“Even non-professional buyers, or retail investors, are joining the rush for gold,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in the October note, adding that the demand for gold is further underpinned by expectations for a weaker dollar and a broader shift away from dollar-denominated assets.

The U.S. dollar ended 2025 down around 9 percent, marking its worst performance since 2017.

Silver, Copper Also in Focus

While gold remains Morgan Stanley’s top commodity pick, the bank also highlighted strength across other metals markets.

For silver, analysts said 2025 marked the peak of a structural supply deficit, with China’s new export licence requirements adding to upside risks. Silver surged 147 percent last year, its strongest annual gain on record, driven by a combination of industrial demand, investment inflows, and tight supply.

“Investor appetite remains strong, as silver-backed ETFs continue to attract inflows,” ING analysts said in a recent note, describing the 2026 outlook as “constructive,” underpinned by firm industrial demand from solar panels and battery technologies alongside sustained investment flows.

In base metals, Morgan Stanley said it favors aluminum and copper, both of which face ongoing supply constraints amid rising demand. Aluminum supply remains tight outside Indonesia, while signs of renewed U.S. buying have pushed prices higher.

Copper prices have also surged on the London Metal Exchange, with three-month copper hitting a record $13,387.50 per tonne this week. Morgan Stanley said U.S. import demand and persistent mine disruptions are keeping global markets tight heading into 2026.

Nickel was another standout, gaining 5.8 percent to $17,980 a tonne, its highest level since October 2024. Morgan Stanley said supply disruption risks in Indonesia are supporting prices, though it cautioned that much of the risk may already be priced in.

North Korea announced that it had successfully carried out a test of a hypersonic missile on Sunday – coming within 24 hours following the Trump-ordered US military raid on Caracas to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

According to a statement released by North Korean state media, “A sub-unit under a major firing strike group of the Korean People’s Army conducted a missile launching drill on January 4.” The timing is unmistakably meant as a signal and warning to Washington, and to America’s staunchest allies in the region.

The statement continued, “The drill was conducted as part of the operational evaluation of the sustainability, effectiveness, and operation of the DPRK’s war deterrent while evaluating the readiness of the hypersonic weapon system, verifying and confirming its capability for fulfilling mission and developing the missile soldiers’ firing capability.”

Pyongyang framed it as a nuclear preparedness test, though thankfully there was no actual live test of a nuclear warhead, which hasn’t happened in some time.

The missile test was overseen by Kim Jong-un, who said, “To be honest, our such activity is clearly aimed at gradually putting the nuclear war deterrent on a highly developed basis.”

Importantly, Kim – who has long headed up a country Washington has dubbed a ‘rogue state’ – indirectly referenced the fresh US overthrow of Venezuela’s Maduro. He stressed: “The reason why it is necessary is exemplified by the recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events.”

Internationally, most countries allied with the US and Europe see Kim as even ‘worse’ than Maduro – though of course the huge difference in the situation is Kim’s possession of nukes. The United States doesn’t dare try and start ‘invasions’ of nuclear-armed powers.

Kim has often reflected in speeches on the lessons of Iraq and Libya – where the US and West overthrew Saddam and Gaddafi. Had they possessed a nuclear capability, he argues, they would have never been removed and killed. Of course, he’s right from a strategic point of view – and the leadership of Iran is no doubt nervously taking all this in too.

As for the fresh Venezuela case, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry did make clear the country’s stance on the issue, in its statement saying:

“The incident is another example that clearly confirms once again the rogue and brutal nature of the US which the international community has so frequently witnessed for a long time.”

“The Foreign Ministry of the DPRK strongly denounces the U.S. hegemony-seeking act committed in Venezuela as the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty and as a wanton violation of the UN Charter and international laws with respect for sovereignty, non-interference and territorial integrity as their main purpose.”

While the pace of North Korean missile tests has slowed of late, this latest follows a series of tests which marked an uptick late last year, including the launch of a long-range strategic cruise missile and testing of a newly developed anti-aircraft system.

Some past war-mongering from the Left, a longtime bipartisan orientation:

September, 2024. Rachel Maddow: Putin, Maduro, Trump, Kim Jong Un, and Xi Jinping are all the same.

Maddow: “They want no one anywhere to think it is possible let alone desirable to throw a strong man out.”

Nice call Madcow. pic.twitter.com/IH8hhu0VOF

— MAZE (@mazemoore) January 4, 2026

During the first Trump administration, Kim met the US president on a series of occasions. While historic, it didn’t lead to the kind of breakthrough on ‘de-nuclearization’ that Washington and Seoul were hoping for, and Pyongyang has gone back to being on the extreme defensive.

Authored by Randy Tatano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”

It’s what Catholics say at the beginning of confession.

But few priests have listened to the kind of sins like those Father Pat Madden has heard.

That’s because his “parish” (if you want to call it that), consists of the men on Alabama’s death row.

Father Pat, as he’s known in the area, recently retired after 42 years from St. Maurice Church in Brewton, Alabama. But he continues to preach the gospel, celebrate Mass, and minister to those facing execution at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.

Father Pat Madden. Randy Tatano

He’s been visiting the Catholics in prison as a volunteer at Holman and nearby Fountain Correctional since 2002, but in September he had a new experience. “I’ve been doing the regular ministry for a long time, but it’s only been about a year now that I’ve really dealt with a prisoner who had an execution date and wanted me to be there in the execution chamber.”

In this case, Geoffrey Todd West was the inmate who wanted spiritual guidance. He was convicted in the 1997 capital murder of Margaret Parrish Berry, a store clerk who was the mother of two sons. At the time, prosecutors called this an execution-style killing as Berry was shot in the back of the head while lying on the floor. West was 21 at the time.

And, at the age of 50, he turned to God.

Though it is common for prisoners to claim they’ve found religion in an effort to get parole or a reduced sentence, Father Pat says this wasn’t the case for West. “There were no appeals left. He had no incentive, legally, to develop a deeper spiritual life. This was personal, a way in which to be reconciled with the family that he had committed that murder to and also to his family and himself.”

West started coming to Father Pat’s services about a year ago.

“He was interested in getting more deeply spiritual in his life and helping him to survive the experience of death row life. Later on, after I met him, that’s when he received his date to be executed. During that time, he had become Catholic, studied about the church, and joined the church.” While the specifics of confessions are sealed by the Catholic Church, Father Pat says West showed remorse for his actions. He baptized West this spring.

In Alabama, the condemned prisoner has a choice as to the method of execution: electrocution, lethal injection, or nitrogen hypoxia. West chose the latter. He would breathe pure nitrogen which would deprive his body of oxygen.

And, on Sept. 25, 2025, Father Pat Madden would be with him until the end.

11 a.m.: Father Pat arrives at the prison and meets with West and family members. They talk and pray until lunch arrives. The prisoner’s last meal request: quesadillas from Taco Bell. They all have lunch and continue their visit.

3:30 p.m.: West says goodbye to his parents and family members who leave. Father Pat and West’s lawyers remain.

4:20 p.m.: West is taken to his death row cell.

4:30 p.m.: Father Pat is taken to West’s cell. They spend the next hour talking and praying. “And that was a good time together of prayer, and he was able to really be in a better place.” He administers the Last Rites to West.

Approximately 6 p.m.: Father Pat is taken to a place few members of the clergy have been. “I was brought into the execution chamber. And we had talked earlier about the process of how the gas works and how this is his choice to be gassed and to die.” The priest and prison guards are the only ones in the chamber along with West. “We had eye contact during that time. And I often made a motion of pointing to heaven. He’s all strapped in, with each arm out, his legs together and wrapped with a sheet. He was very secure, and they had the gas mask on when I was brought in.”

While family members and media are allowed to witness the execution from an adjoining room, West could not see them through the one-way glass in the chamber. So he locked eyes with Father Pat. “He could see me through the whole thing. And I think that, for me, that’s what my job was. To be a prayer partner and somebody who was in the chamber that he could look at and know I represented his family. I think that gave him some peace and some comfort.”

The execution took about 20 minutes. Father Pat says West remained calm through it all. He didn’t cry, didn’t look scared. “There was no fighting or thrashing. He allowed it to happen, and he just went to sleep. So he would be taking some breaths, as he was unconscious, and that would slow down and slow down, and eventually, nothing.”

After the execution, Father Pat went home and watched a little TV to take his mind off what he had just seen. But the memory of what he experienced will linger. “I’ve got that image of him there, laying dead on the gurney with his arms out, and that’ll stay with me. But having that other experience of providing comfort to him, that’s where I’m going to put all my energy.”

So, is West in paradise or condemned to eternal damnation after breaking the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”? Father Pat has some thoughts on that. “I’d say that there’s two kinds of experiences when somebody commits murder. There’s a person who is caught up in drugs or whatever, some addiction. And then there’s those that really have evil and selfish intent to harm others and to kill others. That’s a whole different thing. But everything lays in God’s heart and hand. At one point, Geoffrey was talking about how he looked forward going to heaven and just sitting in the lap of God, being alone with God and letting God take care of his sins, his crimes, and all the things he’s regretting over through his life. And, you know, that healed him, and he was looking forward to that.”

Opinions on capital punishment have always been strong and divided. As it turns out, the son of the victim did not want to see West executed. Depending on your point of view, this story has elements of justice or compassion, remorse or closure, confession or forgiveness. But from Father Pat’s perspective, he’s simply fulfilling his duty as a priest, and leaving the final judgment up to God.