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☆ US CDC panel recommends Sanofi-AstraZeneca's preventive RSV therapy for babies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Sanofi logo at the company's headquarters during the annual results news conference in Paris, France, February 4, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File PhotoCompanies AstraZeneca PLC FollowSanofi SA FollowAug 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its advisory panel on Thursday recommended use of Sanofi (SASY.PA) and partner AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) antibody therapy to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants and toddlers. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously recommended nirsevimab for preventing lower respiratory tract disease in newborns and infants below eight months of age born during or entering their first RSV season. It also recommended its use in children aged 8-19 months who remain vulnerable to severe RSV disease through their second such season. The therapy, branded as Beyfortus, will be available in the U.S. ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 RSV season, Sanofi said.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, AstraZeneca's, Sanofi, Mrinmay Dey, Mariam Sunny Organizations: Sanofi, REUTERS, Companies AstraZeneca, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Kamala Harris quickly dismissed Ron DeSantis' invite to discuss Florida's controversial education standards: 'There were no redeeming qualities of slavery'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis' invite to discuss Florida's education standards. Harris has slammed Florida for adopting standards that would teach middle schoolers that enslaved people derived some benefits from slavery. "There were no redeeming qualities of slavery," Harris said in Orlando. Ron DeSantis' invitation for her to discuss the state's controversial education standards, furthering a fight between the White House and the state. Harris was responding to DeSantis' invitation for Harris to discuss the standards with Dr. William Allen, who served on an advisory committee that came up with 215-page standards.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Ron DeSantis, Harris, Orlando . Harris, DeSantis, Donald Trump's, It's, Sen, Tim Scott, Byron Donalds, Scott, Donalds, William Allen Organizations: Service, Florida Gov, White, Black, Florida Rep, Trump Locations: Florida, Orlando, Wall, Silicon, Orlando .

☆ Auction sizes set to increase at US Treasury refunding
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Karen Brettell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Treasury earlier this month posted a $228 billion budget deficit for June, up 156% from a year earlier. "They have to grow coupon auction sizes - not just at the August refunding, not just at the November refunding, but also at the February refunding as well, because they are ultimately trying to balance this supply picture between bills vs coupons and this growing financing need," Swiber said. The Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee (TBAC) recommends that bills make up 15-20% of the total marketable debt. The Treasury will release its quarterly borrowing requirement Monday afternoon, and its refunding news comes Wednesday at 0830 ET/1230 GMT. The Treasury surveyed dealers about their opinion on how some details of the program should work ahead of the August refunding.

Persons: Steven Zeng, Meghan Swiber, Swiber, Ben Jeffery, Karen Brettell, Davide Barbuscia, Gertrude Chavez, Dreyfuss, Hugh Lawson Organizations: U.S . Treasury Department, Treasury, COVID, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, BMO Capital Markets, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ RFK Jr. complained about not getting Secret Service protection. The truth is very few candidates do.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lashed out at the Biden administration for not granting him Secret Service protection. "Since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection. Not all campaigns welcome Secret Service protection either. One is that Secret Service protection is covered by taxpayers. Secondly, the presence of Secret Service agents gives any hopeful the aura of being the leader of the free world.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Biden, Kennedy, Long, Robert Kennedy Jr, New York Sen, Alejandro Mayorkas, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, It's, Ben Carson, Donald Trump, BuzzFeed, Sen, John McCain's Organizations: Service, Twitter, NPR, Homeland, DHS, Super Bowl, Agents, United Nations General Assembly, Secret Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York

☆ U.S. Moves to Improve Airplane Bathrooms for People With Disabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Mark Walker | More About Mark Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Transportation Department announced on Wednesday that it had finalized new regulations to require more commercial aircraft to have accessible bathrooms, a long-awaited step to address complaints from disabled travelers about the difficulties of flying. Under the regulations, new single-aisle planes with at least 125 seats will eventually be required to have at least one lavatory large enough for a disabled passenger and an attendant to enter and move around in. Twin-aisle planes are already required to have an accessible lavatory. “Traveling can be stressful enough without worrying about being able to access a restroom,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. In 2016, an advisory committee established by the department called for accessible bathrooms on new, larger single-aisle planes, and the department proposed new regulations last year to carry out that recommendation.

Persons: Pete Buttigieg, Obama Organizations: Transportation Department Locations: Twin

☆ Long after Oppenheimer, the US is still paying benefits to people who were exposed to radiation from nuclear tests
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Decades after Oppenheimer, the US still pays benefits to people exposed to nuclear radiation. Civilians who contracted cancer or other diseases due to nuclear testing also receive benefits. Long after the creation and testing of that first nuclear weapon and the many more tests that followed, Washington is still paying benefits to veterans and civilians exposed to radiation from nuclear bomb tests and cleanups. It was over 40 years after the first nuclear test, codenamed "Trinity," before the risks and dangers were officially recognized. Jeff T. Green/Getty ImagesCurrent VA benefits related to nuclear radiation exposure include cleanups at the Marshall Islands and Palomares, Spain, from a 1966 US Air Force plutonium accident.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's, Robert Oppenheimer, Bill Clinton's, Eileen Welsome's, Markey, Ken Brownell, Francis Lincoln Grahlfs, Brownell, Jeff T Organizations: Manhattan, Service, Los Alamos Laboratory, Trinity, Universal Pictures, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MPI, Manhattan Project, Marshall, Air Force, McMurdo, Manhattan Project's Trinity Locations: Marshall, Wall, Silicon, Nazi Germany, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Washington, Japan, Nevada, Hanford, Palomares, Spain, McMurdo Antarctica, Ukraine

☆ Who was J. Robert Oppenheimer? What you need to know before watching Christopher Nolan's biopic
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Caolán Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Director Christopher Nolan’s latest creation concerns an earlier existential threat, telling the story of the atomic bomb through the lens of its creator, J. Robert Oppenheimer – played by “Peaky Blinders” star Cillian Murphy. ullstein bild Dtl./ullstein bild/Getty ImagesWho was J. Robert Oppenheimer? Oppenheimer is widely considered the father of the atomic bomb. He quickly rose to prominence as an internationally renowned physicist, employed by the US government to create an atomic bomb to quell the threat of Nazi Germany. In the post-WWII era, as the world entered the Cold War, Oppenheimer was suspected by US intelligence of having ties with communists.

Persons: Oppenheimer ”, Christopher Nolan’s, J, Robert Oppenheimer –, “ Peaky, Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr, Kai Bird, Martin J, Sherwin’s Pulitzer, Robert Oppenheimer, ” Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer, Fotosearch, Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, Jennifer Granholm, ” Organizations: CNN, Trinity, Los Alamos National Laboratory, United States Atomic Energy Commission, Manhattan, Institute for, Study, Committee, Atomic Energy Commission, US Department of Energy, ” Locations: New York, Nazi Germany, New Mexico, Alamogordo , New Mexico, Germany, Los Alamos , New Mexico, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Princeton , New Jersey, Spanish

☆ UK relaxes visa rules to attract foreign construction workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Britain has added a number of construction roles to its "shortage occupation list", allowing the building industry to bring in staff from abroad more easily to help employers struggling to fill positions. Bricklayers, masons, roofers, roof tilers, slaters, carpenters, joiners and plasterers will benefit from cheaper visas and more relaxed employment criteria under the changes. Britain is suffering from acute labour shortages in some sectors meaning employers are keen to recruit workers from abroad. The list already includes care workers, civil engineers and laboratory technicians, plus healthcare roles. Those working in a shortage occupation can be paid 80% of the job's usual rate and still qualify for a visa, the government statement said.

Persons: Rishi Sunak's, Sarah Young, William James Our Organizations: Conservative Party, Advisory, European Union, Thomson Locations: Britain, Sunak

☆ Manhattan Project scientists hired Columbia University's football team to lug uranium into the physics lab on campus in the 1940s
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The development of nuclear weapons during World War II was codenamed the Manhattan Project. Nuclear fission experiments were conducted at Columbia University in the late 1930s and early 1940s. But most viewers may not know a surprising detail about the top-secret initiative, codenamed the Manhattan Project. According to a 1993 article about the Manhattan Project in the student publication The Columbia Spectator, the university's administration asked members of the football team, the Columbia Lions, to assist him. But according to The New York Times, the Manhattan Project employed 700 people at Columbia — including the unsuspecting Columbia Lions.

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi's, Franklin D, Roosevelt, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Fermi, Enrico Fermi Organizations: Manhattan, Columbia University, Service, Uranium, Columbia, Manhattan Project, Columbia Spectator, Columbia Lions, Columbia University . Keystone, Pupin, The New York Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, United States, Columbia

☆ Bill Ackman explains why he embraced RFK Jr.'s skepticism on Covid vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Bill Ackman said in 2021 that delaying Covid vaccinations for older Americans "seems like genocide." In fact, he said Kennedy is asking "important questions" about vaccines, raising issues he is interested in learning more about. Several of Ackman's recent tweets about Covid vaccines have stunned and confounded many of his colleagues on Wall Street, according to several people who have known and been allied with him for years. "I listened to RFK on several podcasts and a town hall and thought he raised important issues about vaccines and other issues that were worth learning more about," said Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital. Ackman has pushed his newfound skepticism to his approximately 740,000 followers while saying he is not opposed to vaccines.

Persons: Bill Ackman, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Ackman, Kennedy, it's, Omeed Malik, David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya, Ackman's, Tucker Carlson, Joe Biden, Biden Organizations: Democratic, CNBC, RFK, Pershing, Capital, CDC, FDA, Wall Street, Hamptons . Venture, Trump White House, Fox News Locations: U.S

☆ Agarkar named India's new chairman of selectors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 4 (Reuters) - Former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar has been appointed chairman of India's selection committee, the country's cricket board (BCCI) said on Tuesday. The senior selection committee, led by Chetan Sharma, had initially been sacked in November after India were knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup in the semi-finals in Australia. Agarkar was recently a coach with Indian Premier League side Delhi Capitals but parted ways after this year's tournament. "The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) ... interviewed applicants for the position of one selector in the Men's Selection Committee," the BCCI said in a statement. The 45-year-old played 26 tests for India, 191 one-day internationals and four T20 matches, taking a total of 349 wickets across all formats.

Persons: Ajit Agarkar, Chetan Sharma, Sharma, Agarkar, Shiv Sundar Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil, Sharath, Rohith Nair, Ken Ferris Organizations: BCCI, Indian Premier League, Delhi Capitals, Cricket Advisory, CAC, Thomson Locations: India, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Albert Einstein wrote to the US pleading with the government to build an atomic bomb 80 years ago. Here's what he said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Albert Einstein was famously a pacifist, but he urged the US to develop the atomic bomb. Szilard and two other Hungarian physicists, Edward Teller and Eugene Wigner, who were both refugees, told Einstein of their grave concerns. Einstein and Leo Szilard reenacting the signing of their letter to Roosevelt warning that Germany may be building an atomic bomb. Einstein later said, "Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in developing an atomic bomb, I would have done nothing for the bomb." UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill meets with Roosevelt in the meeting where they finalized plans for an atomic bomb.

Persons: Albert Einstein, —, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Einstein, Alexander Sachs, Alex, Sachs, Leo Szilard, Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner, Leo Szilard reenacting, Cynthia Kelly, Winston Churchill, Warren Buffett Organizations: Manhattan, Service, Atomic Heritage Foundation, New York Times, Jewish, Getty, Geographic, Uranium, Manhattan Project, AP, Gamma, Columbia University Locations: Japan, Nazi Germany, Germany, Hungarian, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, AP Nazi Germany, Keystone, France, United States

☆ Judge Investigated Over His Profane TikTok Videos
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

For two years, a judge in New Jersey used a pseudonym to post TikTok videos of himself lip-syncing lyrics from popular rap songs. In some, he was wearing judicial robes or shown walking through a courthouse, according to the state’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. Others included explicit references to violence, sex and misogyny. On Monday, the court system said it had filed a complaint against the Superior Court judge, Gary N. Wilcox, who will now face a hearing that could lead to discipline ranging from a reprimand to dismissal from the bench. The complaint argues that Judge Wilcox’s decision to post the TikTok videos showed “poor judgment and demonstrated disrespect for the judiciary and an inability to conform to the high standards of conduct expected of judges.”

Persons: Gary N, Wilcox, Wilcox’s, ” Organizations: Judicial, Superior Court Locations: New Jersey, state’s

☆ Opinion: It’s time to bring these US military veterans home
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Opinion Saúl Ramírez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Bartolomé, a US military veteran, has spent the last 15 Fourth of July holidays in Mexico. “It’s a stab in the back.”Between 2013 and 2018, 250 US military veterans were placed in removal proceedings and 92 were deported. Unfortunately, an accurate count of deported veterans is nonexistent, because Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not keep a comprehensive record of removed US veterans. Veterans who did not receive a dishonorable discharge are entitled to a military burial in the United States. As a result, the urgency in addressing noncitizen military members’ precarious situation is particularly palpable now.

Persons: CNN —, he’s, Saúl Ramírez Christopher Smith Bartolomé, ” Bartolomé, ”, “, Joe Biden, Mark Takano, Sen, Alex Padilla, “ I’m, I’m, ‘ I’m, ’, Bartolomé, ‘ Don’t, they’ve Organizations: Harvard University, CNN, US Armed Forces, Pew Research Center, United States, Judiciary, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration, Immigration Services, Department of Defense, Immigration Systems, New, of State, Department of Justice, DHS, of Homeland Security, Committee, Veterans Affairs, Veterans, Los, Twitter, Facebook, Bartolomé Locations: Mexico, United States, Los Angeles

☆ Boris Johnson's rules breach over newspaper job shows need for reform - UK ethics body
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | Thomson Reuters | Sachin Ravikumar Is A Correspondent For Reuters In London Covering General News Across The Uk. Over Nine Years At Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Boris Johnson committed a "clear and unambiguous" breach of rules when he took up a job as a newspaper columnist this month, an ethics body said, calling for reform of a system it said was outdated and ineffective. The committee had already said Johnson had breached the rules by failing to give it proper notice. It went further on Tuesday, calling the breach "unambiguous" and saying it showed the need for reform because current rules only offer guidance and lack clarity in areas such as sanctions. It is up to the government to decide what sanctions, if any, Johnson would face for the breach. In his broader criticism of the existing system, Pickles also said new areas of corruption were not monitored because they weren't envisaged when the rules were created.

Persons: Boris Johnson, Johnson, Eric Pickles, Rishi Sunak's, Lord Pickles, COVID, Pickles, Sachin Ravikumar, Elizabeth Piper, William James Our Organizations: Daily Mail, Business, Thomson Locations: British

☆ A son died, his parents tried to sue. How U.S. courts protect Big Pharma
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +26 min

His parents soon started exploring a lawsuit against Merck, the developer of the blockbuster asthma and allergy drug, Singulair, along with the manufacturer of the generic version their son took. That meant Merck had written the warning label, with federal approval, on the generic version of Singulair that Nicholas England took. But his parents couldn’t sue Merck, either, because their son had never taken its name-brand version of Singulair. The generic drug manufacturer that made the pills England took, Teva Pharmaceuticals, did not respond to inquiries. Since Merck’s patent on Singulair expired in 2012, major generic drug manufacturers have sold millions of prescriptions under the drug’s scientific name, montelukast.

Persons: Nicholas England, Nicholas, Merck, ”, Jennifer England, Nicholas’s, ” Merck, Organon, “, George W, Bush, Daniel Troy, Troy, Medtronic, Nicholas England’s, Adam Zimmerman, ” Zimmerman, Jay Lefkowitz, Ellis, shouldn’t, Bayer, drugmaker Wyeth, Phenegran, Jan Gilpin’s, mumbling, ” Gilpin, ” “, hadn’t, Singulair, Gilpin, Stephane Bissonnette, suicidality, Dr, Judith Kramer, Duke, Robert England, Robert said, Kim Beck Organizations: Merck, U.S, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Reuters, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Big, Corporate America, Corporations, Administration, ”, New, University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, Norfolk, Union Pacific, Federal Railroad Safety, Pacific, GlaxoSmithKline, Monsanto, Bayer, Parent Locations: Virginia, England, U.S, New York, Kirkland, East Palestine , Ohio, Louisiana, Atlanta, Vermont, Wise , Virginia, Wisconsin

☆ Pfizer, GSK RSV shots for older adults may prevent thousands of hospitalizations, CDC analysis says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Vaccinating one million adults ages 65 and above with a single RSV shot from Pfizer or GSK may prevent thousands of hospitalizations over two seasons of the virus, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis. The committee recommended that adults ages 60 and older may receive one dose of Pfizer's or GSK's respiratory syncytial virus shot after consulting their doctor. The analysis also found that vaccinating one million adults in the same age group with one dose of GSK's shot may prevent roughly 2,300 hospitalizations and 23,000 outpatient visits. Each year, RSV hospitalizes 60,000 to 160,000 older adults and kills 6,000 to 10,000, according to CDC data. Last year, cases of RSV – along with Covid and the flu – in children and older adults overwhelmed hospitals across the nation.

Persons: Michael Melgar Organizations: Pfizer, GSK, Centers for Disease Control, University of Michigan, Northern Hemisphere

☆ CDC advisory panel backs use of GSK and Pfizer RSV vaccines in adults 60 and older
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The virus is a common respiratory infection that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but more severe cases in older adults and children. Pfizer and GSK on Wednesday both presented new clinical trial data to the panel, which provided a first glimpse of their shots' durability after one RSV season. That's down from more than 85% at the end of the first season in older adults. For less severe RSV disease, efficacy declined to 67.2% over two seasons from 82% after one season. The shots would help the U.S. combat the upcoming RSV season in the fall after an unusually severe RSV season last year.

Persons: Rochelle Walensky, That's, Michael Melgar, Melgar Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Pfizer, GSK, Food and Drug Administration, CDC, Northern, Seniors Locations: Los Angeles, United States

☆ Pfizer RSV vaccine for older adults is only slightly less effective after 18 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Pfizer 's vaccine that protects adults ages 60 and older from respiratory syncytial virus was slightly less effective after 18 months, according to clinical trial results the company announced Wednesday. The data is from New York-based Pfizer's clinical trial on more than 34,000 older adults over two RSV seasons, or 24 months. The vaccine was roughly 49% effective against the same condition with two or more symptoms after 18 months, according to Pfizer. Anderson said studies are ongoing, and so is research evaluating the shot's efficacy in older adults with weak immune systems. RSV kills 6,000 to 10,000 older adults and hospitalizes 60,000 to 160,000 of them every year, according to the CDC.

Persons: Pfizer's, It's, Annaliesa Anderson, Anderson, Pfizer hasn't Organizations: Pfizer, Northern, That's, Centers for Disease Control, and Drug Administration, GlaxoSmithKline, CNBC, CDC Locations: New York, U.S

☆ GSK says RSV vaccine for older adults provides protection over two seasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday said its vaccine to protect adults ages 60 and older from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, remained effective across two seasons of the disease. The shot was also 78.8% effective against severe RSV disease after two seasons, compared with 94% after one season. The London-based company said high efficacy was similarly maintained in older adults with underlying conditions, who are most at risk of severe RSV. The committee will form a recommendation on when and how often the company's RSV shot — and a vaccine from rival Pfizer — should be administered in the U.S. Pfizer's RSV shot became the second to win approval shortly after.

Persons: —, drugmaker Organizations: GlaxoSmithKline, Northern Hemisphere, GSK, Pfizer, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, U.S, The, Drug Administration Locations: London

☆ Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax gear up for fall Covid vaccine rollout with an important head start
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But facing pressure to deliver new shots by the fall, Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax began development on versions of their vaccines targeting XBB.1.5 months before the FDA's decision. That doesn't include Johnson & Johnson , a once-leading Covid vaccine developer. Moderna expects a minimum of $5 billion in revenue from its Covid vaccine, its only available product. The cash-strapped company won U.S. approval for its Covid vaccine under emergency use just last year due to regulatory and manufacturing delays. The company hopes to rake in $1.06 billion to $1.24 billion in sales of its Covid vaccine this year.

Persons: Novavax, Dr, Melinda Wharton, Johnson Organizations: Chicago Department of Public Health, Southwest Senior Center, The U.S . Food, Pfizer, Moderna, FDA, Centers for Disease Control, National Center, Manufacturers, U.S, Moderna's Locations: COVID, Chicago , Illinois, The U.S, Novavax, U.S

Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowJune 20 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's bid to oust the judge overseeing the criminal case against him over a hush-money payment to a porn star should be rejected, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said in a filing on Tuesday. Trump has a "history of baselessly accusing state and federal judges around the country of bias," prosecutors wrote in opposing Trump's motion for New York state Justice Juan Merchan to remove himself from the case. Prosecutors said the payment was meant to buy her silence about a sexual encounter she claims she had with Trump. They also said "at no point" did Merchan "induce" Weisselberg to cooperate against Trump. Finally, prosecutors said, Trump's history of attacking courts and judges, "makes clear that this motion is based on tactics, not ethics."

Persons: Donald Trump's, Trump, Juan Merchan, Merchan, Allen Weisselberg, Stormy Daniels, Prosecutors, Merchan's recusal, Joe Biden, Karen Freifeld, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Companies Trump Organization, Manhattan District, Republican, Trump Organization, Trump, Democrats, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ Singapore is not looking to regulate A.I. just yet, says the city-state's authority
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"We are currently not looking at regulating AI," Lee Wan Sie, director for trusted AI and data at Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority, told CNBC. It is calling for companies to collaborate in the world's first AI testing toolkit — called AI Verify — that enables users to conduct technical tests on their AI models and record process checks. Google , Microsoft and IBM are among tech giants which have already joined the AI Verify Foundation — a global open-source community set up to discuss AI standards and best practices, as well as collaborate on governing AI. "By creating practical resources like the AI governance testing framework and toolkit, Singapore is helping organizations build robust governance and testing processes," said Smith. Singapore has really sort of positioned itself as almost like the steward in the region of responsible and trustworthy use of AI.

Persons: Nicky Loh, Lee Wan Sie, IMDA, Lee Wan, chatbot ChatGPT, Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Lee, Haniyeh, Brad Smith, Smith, Josephine Teo, Teo, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Stella Cramer, APAC, Clifford Chance's, Clifford Chance, Stella Cramer APAC Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Media Development Authority, CNBC, Tech, IBM, Singapore Airlines, Tesla, U.S, National AI Advisory, Google, Microsoft, Singapore government's, Asia Tech, Singapore's, Communications, European Union, Artificial Intelligence Locations: Bay, Singapore, DataRobot, U.S, China

☆ Ethics body accuses UK's Johnson of new breach for taking newspaper job without vetting
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who quit parliament last week over a finding that he misled lawmakers about COVID lockdown parties, was accused on Friday of a new breach for taking a newspaper columnist job without waiting for required ethics vetting. He called it a "political assassination", in a blistering resignation statement in which he also appeared to take swipes at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Ministers and civil servants who leave office are required to consult an ethics body, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), before taking up new jobs. ACOBA has no enforcement powers, but a new breach of rules could make it harder for Johnson to mount a political comeback. Johnson started his working life in journalism, sacked by the Times newspaper for making up a quote.

Persons: Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Johnson, ACOBA, Elizabeth Piper, Alistair Smout, Peter Graff Organizations: British, Conservative Party, Conservative, Daily Mail, Business, Times, Daily Telegraph, Spectator, Thomson Locations: Westminster, Brussels, Union

☆ FDA advisors recommend that new Covid vaccines target an omicron XBB variant this fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The committee unanimously voted that the new jabs should be monovalent — meaning they are designed to protect against one variant of Covid — and target a member of the XBB family. Those strains of Covid are descendants of the omicron variant, which caused cases to surge to record levels early last year. Advisors also generally agreed that the new shots should specifically target a variant called XBB.1.5. There is also uncertainty about which age groups the FDA and CDC will advise to receive the updated shots this fall. But it's unclear how many Americans will roll up their sleeves to take the updated shots later this year.

Persons: Melinda Wharton, Novavax, John Jacobs, Peter Marks, David Kaslow Organizations: . Food, Centers for Disease Control, Advisors, Pfizer, Moderna, National Center, FDA, CDC, Novavax, omicron Locations: U.S, Novavax

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