Triggered Tesla Owners, Lonely Eugenicists, and the Search for the Perfect Italian Cookie. From The Barbed Wire.

Hi friends, welcome back! I’m Olivia, the editor in chief of The Barbed Wire. As always, it’s been a helluva week in Texas.

A Tesla owner in Dallas is suing a man for allegedly keying his beloved Model X to the tune of $1 million — so think twice before vandalizing your asshole neighbor’s Tesla, because it may cost you!

Speaking of Tesla, Elon Musk endorsed the secretive pro-natalist conference in Austin that featured eugenicists and race science enthusiasts last weekend; it was attended by all of your least favorite conspiracy theorists and white supremacists — and included matchmaking! Surprisingly, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was not at the natalist conference, perhaps because he was busy encouraging Texas parents to pump their kids full of toxic levels of Vitamin A? 

Finally, Isobella Jade delivered us a much-needed palette cleanser, as she documented her homesick hunt for the perfect Italian cookies in Houston.

RFK Jr. Peddled Vitamin A as a Measles Remedy. Now Texas Children Have Been Treated for Toxicity.

Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock said fewer than 10 children hospitalized with measles had heightened levels of vitamin A, which had caused abnormal liver function.

By Angela Lim

As measles continues to spread in West Texas, so does medical disinformation. 

Children were treated for toxic levels of vitamin A after infamous vaccine skeptic — and Health and Human Services Secretary — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommended the supplement as a measles remedy earlier this month, Texas Public Radio first reported.

Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock said it admitted fewer than 10 pediatric patients for measles who also had heightened levels of vitamin A, which had caused abnormal liver function. All patients were unvaccinated, according to a statement from the hospital. The Texas Department of State Health Services has reported 327 measles cases as of March 25.

Kennedy asked that the CDC’s measles guidance be updated to support the use of vitamin A, according to TPR — despite the fact that toxic levels of vitamin A can lead to severe organ damage in the liver, bones, central nervous system, and skin, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

In a Fox News opinion article on March 2, Kennedy also promoted the "administration of vitamin A under the supervision of a physician for those with mild, moderate, and severe infection." He cited studies that found vitamin A to help "dramatically reduce measles mortality" in children.

In a statement to The Barbed Wire, Covenant Children’s Hospital recommended that the public seek medical advice before trying any new treatment regimen. The patients who were admitted to the hospital reported using vitamin A to cure and prevent measles, according to Dr. Lara Johnson, pediatric hospitalist and chief medical officer of Covenant Health-Lubbock Service Area.

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