“Merck announced Friday that an experimental pill it developed to treat covid-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by nearly half in a clinical trial.
An independent board of experts monitoring the trial recommended the study be stopped early because of the positive results, a significant and telling step in a pharmaceutical study.
Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said in a news release they would apply for emergency use authorization for the drug, molnupiravir, in the United States as soon as possible. It would be the first antiviral pill for covid-19.
A simple, easy-to-prescribe pill that prevents mild and moderate cases of covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, from turning into dire episodes has been one of the missing pieces of the medical armamentarium to fight the virus.” Read more at Washington Post
“The looming government shutdown has been averted. Both the House and the Senate voted yesterday in favor of a continuing resolution, which will keep the government funded through December 3. President Biden signed it into law. The bill also provides funding for resettlement of Afghan refugees and aid for areas affected by storms and wildfires. While the stopgap bill was a win of sorts, Democratic leaders were dealt a major blow when progressives defied fierce pressure from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and refused to pass a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, following through on their promise to dig in their heels if a companion $3.5 trillion spending bill covering health care, education and social programs was not addressed at the same time.” Read more at CNN
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia in Washington yesterday.Jason Andrew for The New York Times
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a long night of frantic negotiations, Democrats were unable to reach an immediate deal to salvage President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion government overhaul, forcing leaders to call off promised votes on a related public works bill. Action is to resume Friday.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi had pushed the House into an evening session and top White House advisers huddled for talks at the Capitol as the Democratic leaders worked late Thursday to negotiate a scaled-back plan that centrist holdouts would accept. Biden had cleared his schedule for calls with lawmakers, but it appeared no deal was within reach, particularly with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
Manchin refused to budge, the West Virginia centrist holding fast to his earlier declaration that he was willing to meet the president less than halfway — $1.5 trillion.
‘I don’t see a deal tonight. I really don’t,’ Manchin told reporters as he left the Capitol.
Deeply at odds, the president and his party are facing a potentially embarrassing setback — if not politically devastating collapse of the whole enterprise — if they cannot resolve the standoff over Biden’s big vision.
At immediate risk was a promised vote on the first piece of Biden’s proposal, a slimmer $1 trillion public works bill that is widely supported but has faltered amid stalled talks on his more ambitious package. Progressives were refusing to back the roads-and-bridges bill they view as insufficient unless there’s progress on Biden’s broader plan that’s the heart of the Democratic agenda. With support, leaders canceled a promised Thursday night vote, and said the House would be back in session Friday.” Read more at AP News
“Several states are seeing very high compliance rates -- and increased vaccination rates -- as vaccine mandate deadlines approach. But there’s also plenty of pushback. Some public school teachers in New York asked the Supreme Court to block the New York City vaccine mandate for in-person staff that is set to go into effect this afternoon. Similar disputes over vaccine mandates are playing out elsewhere, like Brazil, where so-called vaccine passports have become highly divisive in Rio de Janeiro. In Europe, some EU nations are lagging heavily behind their highly vaccinated neighbors. Countries like Romania and Bulgaria are said to have all the vaccines they need, but political instability and misinformation have contributed to vaccine hesitancy and low vaccination rates (33% and 22%, respectively). Overall, nearly three-quarters of EU adults are fully vaccinated.” Read more at CNN
“AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Friday will consider whether Texas can leave in place the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S., which since September has banned most abortions and sent women racing to get care beyond the borders of the nation’s second-largest state.
A lawsuit filed by the Biden administration seeks to land the first legal blow against the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8, which thus far has withstood an early wave of challenges — including the U.S. Supreme Court allowing it to remain in force.
‘Abortion care has almost completely stopped in our state,’ Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, a Texas abortion provider, told the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee during a hearing over abortion access Thursday.” Read more at AP News
“Three Democratic congresswomen shared their abortion experiences with a House panel, including Cori Bush of Missouri, who said she got pregnant after being raped as a teenager.” Read more at New York Times
“The U.S. Supreme Court term that starts Monday with a 6-3 conservative majority will rule on a number of divisive issues including abortion, guns, religion and federal regulation.” Read more at Bloomberg
“In a combative speech, Justice Samuel Alito defended recent Supreme Court ‘shadow docket’ rulings, including one on abortion.” Read more at New York Times
“The Supreme Court agreed to hear a campaign finance law case brought by Senator Ted Cruz.” Read more at New York Times
“The Biden administration can continue to expel migrant families with children under Title 42, the controversial Trump-era public health provision. That was the decision of a federal appeals court, which put on hold a lower court order that would block such expulsions. The Justice Department has defended the use of Title 42, saying border facilities are not equipped to handle major influxes of migrants amid a pandemic. The Department of Homeland Security has also released new priority-based immigration enforcement guidelines that step back from a more aggressive approach taken under the Trump administration. The department will now prioritize certain undocumented immigrants for arrest and deportation, including terrorism suspects, someone with serious criminal conduct or recent unlawful border-crossers.” Read more at CNN
“The Drug Enforcement Administration has seized more than 1.8 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and made more than 800 arrests in a two-month sweep to curb counterfeit medications containing the synthetic opioid. Such pills are contributing to the US opioid crisis and are thought to be responsible for about three-quarters of the more than 93,000 fatal drug overdoses in the US last year. 2020 was the deadliest on record for drug overdoses, and health experts attribute that in part to mental health crises fueled by the pandemic. The Biden administration has promised to address the growing crisis and has proposed historic funding to do so in its fiscal year 2022 budget request.” Read more at CNN
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears and her attorney successfully drove her father from the conservatorship that has run the singer’s life and controlled her money, but they say they are not done scrutinizing him and the actions he took over the past 13 years.
After a Los Angeles Superior Court judge suspended James Spears as conservator, attorney Mathew Rosengart said his legal team would perform a ‘top-to-bottom’ examination of his behavior now that they have access to years of books and records. Some allegations, he added, could bring a “hard look” from law enforcement.
‘Jamie Spears and others are going to face even more serious ramifications for his misconduct,’ Rosengart said Wednesday outside court.
But legal acts may pose problems too. Experts say some of the allegations that have emerged have exposed the shortcomings of the conservatorship system, which gives conservators vast control over people deemed mentally incapable of making major life decisions, as Britney Spears was found to be in 2008.
‘There are safeguards in place,’ said Sarah Wentz, a probate attorney who works on many conservatorship cases. ‘I think the failings in this case show us where they can be manipulated. I am disappointed in our system.’
Few of the allegations against James Spears, which range from mismanagement of funds to fierce control of his daughter’s every move, have been publicly proven. His attorneys say they range from unsubstantiated to impossible, and that he only ever acted in her best interest.” Read more at AP News
“On Friday, some mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service will begin to take longer to get to recipients because of new standards added by the agency. The USPS will ‘implement new service standards for First Class Mail and Periodicals,’ a spokesperson told USA TODAY. The changes mean an increased time-in-transit for mail traveling long distances, such as from New York to California. But most first-class mail, or standard-sized letters and flats, as well as periodicals, will be unaffected by the changes, according to USPS. The changes are part of the Postal Service's much-criticized, 10-year strategic plan, which was announced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in March.” Read more at USA Today
“South Dakota Governor Kristi L. Noem, announced Thursday that she would stop working with former Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, after allegations surfaced that he had sexually harassed a donor at a dinner they both attended in Las Vegas.
The actions follow a decision by former president Donald Trump, conveyed through a spokesman, to cut ties with Lewandowski, his 2016 campaign manager and the current head of a Trump-affiliated fund-raising effort, after a donor accused Lewandowski of repeatedly groping her and making unwanted sexual comments at an event last weekend that Noem also attended.
Lewandowski had become one of Noem’s political advisers in recent months, traveling the country with her to attend donor and Republican National Committee events as she laid the groundwork for a potential presidential campaign effort in 2024. He also helped to write her speeches, according to people familiar with the work who were not authorized to speak publicly. The two were often seen at dinners and private events together.
‘Corey was always a volunteer, never paid a dime (campaign or official),’ Ian Fury, Noem’s communications director, said in a statement Thursday. ‘He will not be advising the governor in regard to the campaign or official office.’” Read more at Boston Globe
“Fact check: Let's clear up a few things
The claim: A ‘driving tax’ proposed by President Joe Biden would cost Americans 8 cents per mile. Our rating: False The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package in Congress includes a voluntary pilot program to study whether a per-mile user fee could help improve roads and maintain the Highway Trust Fund.
The claim: Podcast host Joe Rogan lost his Spotify deal when he announced he was taking the anti-parasitic medicine ivermectin after testing positive for COVID-19. Our rating: False
The claim: Rinsing your nose with xylitol or hydrogen peroxide can kill viruses and decrease spread. Our rating: Partly false. The effectiveness of xylitol as a nasal rinse in humans has not been proven in studies. And experts say hydrogen peroxide should not be used as a nasal rinse since it can lead to injury.
The claim: A photo shows Draymond Green of the NBA's Golden State Warriors wearing a T-shirt with an aggressively pro-vaccine message. Our rating: Altered.” Read more at USA Today
“Disney World celebrates 50th anniversary
The public had never seen anything quite like it: On Oct. 1, 1971, the imaginary world of Disney came alive with the opening of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Mickey Mouse led the first lucky visitors – a local family – into the Magic Kingdom while beloved characters danced and sang. Setting the stage for what would become the East Coast vacation destination, Maestro Arthur Fiedler conducted the 60-nation World Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood star Bob Hope led the dedication of the Contemporary Resort, and ‘Music Man’ Meredith Willson conducted the grand opening parade’s marching band. On Friday, the resort celebrates its 50th anniversary with the official debut of two new fireworks shows. The celebration will continue for 18 months.” Read more at USA Today
“In an inevitable but notable coda to one of Hollywood’s highest-profile legal actions in years, Scarlett Johansson and Disney have settled the actress’s lawsuit against the company, the parties said Thursday.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Johansson in July had sued Disney in Los Angeles County Superior Court for releasing her Marvel film “Black Widow” that month simultaneously on its Disney Plus Premier Access platform, where it could be purchased for $30. The actress alleged that the shift violated her contract by potentially limiting ticket sales, depriving her of maximum bonuses from theatrical revenue that can reach as high as $30 million to $40 million. It was a rare display of a studio and one of its top stars facing off in public.
‘I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” Johansson said in a statement.’ Read more at Washington Post
“For years, they did not speak about what they endured, at least not publicly. They were afraid of losing their spots on the field, losing their jobs, maybe losing the entire league — one that they were told, again and again, was the best women’s soccer league in the world.
But this year, the players of the National Women’s Soccer League started to speak up in a summer of reckoning that led Thursday to high-profile players and other prominent figures calling for dramatic change.
The players’ union demanded an end to ‘systemic abuse plaguing the NWSL’ in the wake of reporting from The Athletic that an NWSL coach, the North Carolina Courage’s Paul Riley, had sexually coerced multiple players, as well as reporting by The Washington Post about verbal and emotional abuse by the former coach of the Washington Spirit. Riley denied the allegations to The Athletic.
In both cases, former NWSL players did something they had never done before: they went on the record to detail the abuse they said they had experienced. And on Thursday, a long list of NWSL players, including stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, offered angry criticism of a league they said had failed to protect players.
‘Men, protecting men, who are abusing women,’ Rapinoe wrote on Twitter Thursday of the NWSL. ‘Burn it all down. Let all their heads roll.’
‘NWSL, it’s time to get your s--- together,’ Becky Sauerbrunn, the captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, said in a statement on Twitter. ‘To be where we are today is unacceptable. The league and every club have to do better.’
The Athletic reported that the league, including NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird, had been told repeatedly about some aspects of Riley’s behavior and had not taken action, allowing him to remain in his position. On Thursday, Morgan posted images to Twitter that showed one of the victims, Sinead Farrelly, reporting she had been a victim of ‘inappropriate conduct’ by Riley to Baird in April. Riley was terminated following The Athletic’s story.” Read more at Washington Post
“Gun maker Smith & Wesson is moving its corporate headquarters. The company will leave Massachusetts for Texas, joining other firearms manufacturersthat have moved from the mid-Atlantic and Northeast to Southern states with looser gun laws.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Accounting and consulting giant PwC will allow all 40,000 of its U.S. client services employees to work virtually — and live anywhere they want in perpetuity, Reuters scoops.” Read more at Axios
“A Yale professor resigned as head of a prestigious program, saying conservative donors were inappropriately trying to influence academic content.” Read more at New York Times
“Lives Lived: Carlisle Floyd composed operas that explored the passions and prejudices of the South, drawing on the Great Depression and the aftermath of the Civil War. He died at 95.” Read more at New York Times
“Over a year after Supreme Court Associate Justice Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, the New-York Historical Society is remembering the icon in a new exhibit ‘Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’ that runs Friday through Jan. 23. The traveling exhibit, which was organized by the Skirball Cultural Center, is based on a popular Tumblr account and bestselling book with the same title.
‘Notorious RBG’ highlights Ginsburg's strides in protecting civil rights and fostering equal opportunity for Americans by using photos, documents, interactive galleries, artifacts, contemporary art and more.
Click here to see more images from the "Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg" exhibit.” Read more at USA Today
“The British police officer who murdered Sarah Everard, 33, after falsely arresting her in March was sentenced to life in prison.” Read more at New York Times
“Ethiopia is expelling seven senior United Nations officials after the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs warned last month that hundreds of thousands could be facing famine in the country. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the officials were ‘meddling in the internal affairs of the country.’ Ongoing conflict in the Tigray region has led to a humanitarian crisis, and UN humanitarian affairs leaders have said there is a ‘de facto humanitarian aid blockade’ preventing needed supplies from reaching some of the estimated 5.2 million people affected. UN leaders have sharply criticized the Ethiopian government for its role in the crisis and requested the government facilitate access for food and supplies. The Ethiopian government has denied blocking such aid.” Read more at CNN
“The Philippines prepares for the departure of President Rodrigo Duterte today as the filing period officially opens for the May 2022 presidential election. How far the country will ultimately veer from his leadership once his single term ends is an open question.
The decision is complicated by the fact that despite his term limit, Duterte isn’t planning to leave the political stage. His PDP-Laban party has already nominated him to run as vice president, a position he says he wants in order to finish his war on drugs, but which critics say is more about shielding himself from prosecution or even as a backdoor to the presidency.
If trends from recent opinion polls hold, Duterte won’t need to run at all to stay close to the presidential palace. His daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, is the current frontrunner. Although she has recently said she would rather run for reelection as mayor of Davao, where she is hugely popular, that hasn’t stopped speculation over her candidacy. Her spokesperson said on Friday she ‘continues to listen to the pulse of the Filipino people’ after a new poll showed her as the top choice for president….
Manny Pacquaio, the former world champion boxer turned senator, is hoping to disrupt the family affair after he was nominated by a PDP-Laban faction, but he’s not the only big name running. Isko Moreno, a former movie star turned mayor of Manila is also expected to file his candidacy on Monday.
Leni Robredo, the sitting vice president, was nominated by the opposition 1Sambayan coalition on Thursday but has yet to commit to running. While Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., the son of dictator Ferdinand Sr., is also expected to run and came second to Duterte-Carpio in a Thursday poll.
Duterte-Carpio is hoping to ride a popular wave begun by her father, who despite international condemnation of his war on drugs, has remained popular with the public. His approval rating has been helped by steady economic growth during his tenure and although buffeted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Philippines is one of only two Southeast Asian economies to escape a downgrade when the Asian Development Bank issued its growth forecast on Wednesday.
The drug war. Whatever avenue he chooses to embrace, Duterte has good reason to want to stay close to power. In September, the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into Duterte’s war on drugs, which human groups estimate has killed as many as 30,000 people. Duterte’s government has said it will not cooperate with any international inquiry, but the next government may not feel the same way.
China pressure. Whoever wins, they will have to find a way to balance the relationship with two global powers with which it has complex histories: China, its biggest trading partner (and South China Sea rival), and the United States, its former colonizer and close military ally.
On Thursday, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he had been urged by a former Chinese ambassador not to strengthen the terms of a U.S.-Philippine mutual defense treaty, established in 1951, as such a move would be deemed provocative by Beijing. Lorenzana has pushed for the treaty to also cover ‘gray zone’ threats, including the hundreds of boats that make up China’s maritime militia.
Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, in April questioned whether it’s a defense relationship the Biden administration should spend much time on improving. ‘Before reviving alliance relationships, the administration should ensure that the ties are worth reviving,’ Bandow wrote. ‘That with the Philippines is not.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Germany’s kingmakers meet. The leaders of the two parties holding the balance of power in a future German government meet for further talks to align their positions ahead of upcoming coalition negotiations with larger parties. With the Social Democrats (SDP) and Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) holding roughly the same amount of seats in parliament but unlikely to enter into coalition together again, the Green Party and Free Democrats have a chance to exert a power beyond their smaller seat totals.
The FDP and Greens will hold separate talks with the Social Democrats on Sunday, while the CDU/CSU meet the FDP on Sunday and the Greens on Tuesday.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“PARIS — A French court Thursday sentenced Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president, to a year of house arrest for illegally financing his failed 2012 reelection campaign by wildly exceeding France’s strict electoral spending limits.
Sarkozy, 66, was president from 2007 to 2012, and although he is no longer active in politics and continues to be dogged by multiple legal entanglements, he is still an influential voice on the French right. Shortly after the verdict, his lawyer announced that Sarkozy would appeal the conviction, which puts the sentence on hold and leaves him free.” Read more at Boston Globe
“KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Outsiders have long profited from Africa’s riches of gold, diamonds, and even people. Digital resources have proven no different.
Millions of internet addresses assigned to Africa have been waylaid, some fraudulently, including through insider machinations linked to a former top employee of the nonprofit that assigns the continent’s addresses. Instead of serving Africa’s internet development, many have benefited spammers and scammers, while others satiate Chinese appetites for pornography and gambling.
New leadership at the nonprofit, AFRINIC, is working to reclaim the lost addresses. But a legal challenge by a deep-pocketed Chinese businessman is threatening the body’s very existence.
The businessman is Lu Heng, a Hong Kong-based arbitrage specialist. Under contested circumstances, he obtained 6.2 million African addresses from 2013 to 2016. That’s about 5% of the continent’s total — more than Kenya has.
The internet service providers and others to whom AFRINIC assigns IP address blocks aren’t purchasing them. They pay membership fees to cover administrative costs that are intentionally kept low. That left lots of room, though, for graft.
When AFRINIC revoked Lu’s addresses, now worth about $150 million, he fought back. His lawyers in late July persuaded a judge in Mauritius, where AFRICNIC is based, to freeze its bank accounts. His company also filed a $80 million defamation claim against AFRINIC and its new CEO.
It’s a shock to the global networking community, which has long considered the internet as technological scaffolding for advancing society. Some worry it could undermine the entire numerical address system that makes the internet work.” Read more at AP News
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