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Gene therapies for sickle cell disease approved

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

Regulators on Friday approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease that doctors hope can cure the painful, inherited blood disorder that afflicts mostly Black people in the U.S.The Food and Drug Administration said the one-time treatments can be used for patients 12 and older with severe forms of the disease. One, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, is the first approved therapy based on CRISPR, the gene editing tool that won its inventors the Nobel Prize in 2020. The other is made by Bluebird Bio and works differently.“Sickle cell disease is a rare, debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder with significant unmet need,” the FDA’s Dr. Nicole Verdun said in a statement announcing the approvals. “We are excited to advance the field especially for individuals whose lives have been severely disrupted by the disease.”The two gene therapies are the first approved in the U.S. for sickle cell. The FDA has previously OK’d 1...

Italian cookies are a holiday treat

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

By Carla Vigos | Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnistItalian families have certain traditions, and a lot of them circle around food. If you ever go to an Italian wedding on the East Coast, you would be amazed by the cookie table. Unless you have seen it, you could not fathom how many cookies and how much variety there is.Carla Vigos — Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist(Courtesy photo)Italian Angel Cookies are simple to make – perfect for the busy holiday season, says Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist Carla Vigos.(Photo by Jeff Sinclair)Show Caption of ExpandIn my Italian family, my mother would start making her cookies for the holiday season during the first part of December. She would make Italian cookies that would be decorated with icing and candy sprinkles, fig cookies called cuccidati, butter balls, and pizzelles, traditional Italian waffle cookies.Family and friends would share their cookies, and all would benefit. Traditionally, I make a variety of cookies, and so ...

Biden wants states to ensure Obamacare plans cover enough doctors and hospitals

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

Julie Appleby | (TNS) KFF Health NewsThe Biden administration plans to push states to boost oversight of the number of doctors, hospitals and other health providers insurers cover in Obamacare plans, under rules proposed in November.The annual regulatory proposal, known as the payment parameters rule, also seeks to expand access to adult dental coverage in Affordable Care Act marketplaces and would require states to hold open enrollment periods for Obamacare plans at the same time of year. It’s likely one of the last major ACA policy efforts of President Joe Biden’s first term — and, if he loses reelection, could represent his final touches on the landmark health program created when he was vice president.Biden has been a staunch supporter of Obamacare and has taken steps during his own first term in the White House to expand the program through rules and legislation, including measures that increased premium subsidies. In part because of those subsidies, enrollment has increased st...

Many autoimmune disease patients struggle with diagnosis, costs, inattentive care

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

Andy Miller | KFF Health News (TNS)After years of debilitating bouts of fatigue, Beth VanOrden finally thought she had an answer to her problems in 2016 when she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder.For her and millions of other Americans, that’s the most common cause of hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, doesn’t produce enough of the hormones needed for the body to regulate metabolism.There’s no cure for Hashimoto’s or hypothyroidism. But VanOrden, who lives in Athens, Texas, started taking levothyroxine, a much-prescribed synthetic thyroid hormone used to treat common symptoms, like fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, and sensitivity to cold.Most patients do well on levothyroxine and their symptoms resolve. Yet for others, like VanOrden, the drug is not as effective.For her, that meant floating from doctor to doctor, test to test, and treatment to treatment, spending about $5,000 a year.“I look and act lik...

Rainmaker: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour first ever to hit $1B mark

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the first tour to cross the billion-dollar mark, according to Pollstar’s 2023 year-end charts.Not only was Swift’s landmark Eras Tour the No. 1 tour both worldwide and in North America, but she also brought in a whopping $1.04 billion with 4.35 million tickets sold across 60 tour dates, the concert trade publication found.Pollstar data is pulled from box office reports, venue capacity estimates, historical Pollstar venue ticket sales data, and other undefined research, collected from Nov. 17, 2022 to Nov. 15, 2023.Representatives for the publication did not immediately clarify if they adjusted past tour data to match 2023 inflation in naming Swift the first to break the billion-dollar threshold.Pollstar also found that Swift brought in approximately $200 million in merch sales and her blockbuster film adaptation of the tour, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” has reportedly earned approximately $250 million in sales...

San Diego police sergeant injured, suspect killed after shootout in 4S Ranch

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A report of a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a 4S Ranch shopping center Thursday night erupted into a shooting that killed a suspect and left a sergeant with the San Diego police department in "serious" condition.Authorities were alerted to a possible stolen vehicle around 10 p.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Officers were able to locate the vehicle in the 10500 block of 4S Common Drive around 11:30 p.m.When SDPD arrived on scene, the suspect was reportedly inside the Ralph's grocery store at the shopping center. Officers attempted to contact the suspect, but SDSO says he ran out of the store. Beware of San Diego ‘jury duty’ scammers While outside of the store, authorities say the suspect fired at least one round at the SDPD officers and struck the sergeant in the head. According to SDSO, multiple responding officers then returned fire, striking the suspect and undisclosed number of times.The suspect fell to the ground after being shot...

Dog stolen during break-and-enter in Etobicoke, images released

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

Toronto police are notifying the public of a dog stolen during a break-and-enter in Etobicoke this week.Authorities said the animal was stolen from a residence in the Station Road and Stanley Avenue area on Wednesday.The dog’s name is Juju, and it is described as a three-year-old Yorkie mix with a curly tail. Photos of Juju have been released. No other information was provided.Anyone who has seen Juju or anyone with information is asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-2222.STOLEN DOG:Station Rd & Stanley Ave -a dog by the name of Juju was stolen during a break and enter on Dec 6 – the dog is a 3 year old yorkie mix with a curly tail– anyone who has seen this dog, or anyone with information, contact police 416-808-2222#GO2811354^se pic.twitter.com/ZEkYQBMeSc— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) December 8, 2023

2 of 4 suspects identified in Best Buy Scarborough robbery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

Police have identified two of four suspects wanted in connection with a brazen daytime robbery in Scarborough in which an off-duty police officer was stabbed.The incident took place at the Best Buy store on Progress Avenue near the eastbound Highway 401 ramp just after 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.Police say three men and a woman entered the store, selected an item and began to leave without paying for it when an off-duty officer intervened. The officer was stabbed in the wrist before the suspects made their getaway in a blue Toyota Sienna van. They were last seen fleeing northbound on Brimley Road before turning west onto Highway 401.Duty Insp. Chris McCann said the officer was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated. The officer is expected to require surgery at a later date for the injury.On Friday investigators identified two of the suspects as 38-year-old Jeremy Ruscitti of Toronto and 47-year-old Jim Dimce Kaluzovski of Keswick. Both are facing a number of charges including...

Bulgarian parliament again approves additional military aid to Ukraine

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s parliament on Friday approved the provision of additional military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.A majority of 147 lawmakers in the 240-seat chamber voted in favor of supplying Ukraine with portable anti-aircraft missile systems and surface-to-air missiles of various types intended to bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, the state-run BTA news agency reported.Military experts said the missiles, which are either defective or redundant, cannot be repaired in Bulgaria, but Ukraine has the needed facilities to fix them or use them for spare parts.Some 55 lawmakers from pro-Russian groups in parliament voted against sending the aid, underscoring the divisions in the Balkan country over helping Ukraine counter Russia’s invasion.Bulgaria, once a member of the now-defunct Warsaw pact, joined NATO in 2004, but still maintains stocks of Soviet-designed weapons.In addition, parliament on Friday approved the use of Bulgarian airspace for training...

LGBTQ+ activists in Minnesota want prosecutors to treat the killing of a trans woman as a hate crime

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — LGBTQ+ activists in Minnesota want prosecutors to treat the killing of a trans woman in Minneapolis as a hate crime, and they want lawmakers to strengthen legal safeguards to protect a community that’s disproportionately the target of violence.Savannah Ryan Williams, 38, was shot in the head at close range last month. Prosecutors this week charged Damarean Kaylon Bible, 25, with second-degree murder. He remains jailed with bail set at $1 million and his next court date set for Jan. 9. His attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.According to the criminal complaint, Bible told police he walked past Williams at a bus shelter near a light-rail station about 5 a.m. on Nov. 29 and that she asked him if he wanted sex. Bible said he began to feel “suspicious” as she performed oral sex on him in a courtyard several blocks away, and that he shot her in the head from just inches away. The complaint says Bible later told his father from jail th...