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New Alzheimer’s drugs raise hopes and a big question: Who’ll pay for them?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

The Alzheimer’s Association is stepping up public pressure on the Biden administration, hoping to convince the government to pay for a new class of promising but expensive Alzheimer’s drugs.To date, the advocacy group’s campaign has been intense but low-tech, featuring everything from critical statements in the media to a public rally in front of the White House.But the long-term results of the dispute, whatever they turn out to be, won’t be so quaint.About 6.9 million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s, a progressive, deadly disease that’s incredibly expensive to manage, and millions more are expected to be diagnosed as the nation’s population ages up. Many Alzheimer’s patients need years of care as they lose their cognitive abilities, and the three drugs in question, Leqembi, Aduhelm and Donanemab, show signs of slowing that mental decline for a few months to a year – at an annual cost of $25,000 to $30,000.For families of people affected by Alzheimer’s, federal insurance could ...

Ravens to host Commanders for two joint practices in August

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

Just 29 miles separate the Ravens and Washington Commanders, but for a few days this summer the teams will be on the same field.The Ravens announced Thursday that they will host joint practices with the Commanders on Aug. 15-16. The practices will take place at their Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills.It marks the first time the Ravens will host joint training camp practices since 2019 with the Jacksonville Jaguars.The last time the Ravens participated in a joint practice was in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers in South Carolina. A scuffle took place between the teams when Ravens wide receiver Binjimen Victor was hit hard by Panthers defensive back Jaycee Horn following a catch on a crossing route and responded by throwing the ball at Horn.Five days after the Ravens host the Commanders, they will travel to FedEx Field to play Washington on Aug. 21 in what will be their second of three preseason games. Their other two will be at home against the NFC champion Philadelphia ...

San Diego announced as location for MLS expansion team

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

SAN DIEGO — It's official. San Diego is getting a Major League Soccer team.During a news conference Thursday at Snapdragon Stadium, it was announced that San Diego has been selected as the location for the league's 30th team.MLS Commissioner Don Garber was joined by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Sycuan Tribe Chairman Cody Martinez, Mohamed Mansour, chairman of Man Capital and Right to Dream and others at the event.The San Diego expansion team will play at Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley starting in 2025. The stadium is also the home field for the San Diego Wave FC and San Diego State University football.The club will be owned by Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. San Diego Padres star Manny Machado was also announced to be part of the ownership group.“I am grateful for the opportunity to join the San Diego MLS ownership group. I continue to plant roots in this amazing community that means so much to me and build upon my connection with the incredible fans,” said...

2 killed, 2 hurt in Mission Bay crash

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Two people were killed and two people were injured Thursday after a crash in the Mission Bay area, officials confirmed.The crash happened shortly before 9 a.m. near Quivira Avenue and West Mission Bay Drive, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Man accused of killing 2 sisters on Mother’s Day pleads not guilty One person needed to be extricated from a vehicle, officials said.The circumstances that led to the crash are still under investigation and no further information was immediately available regarding that status of those involved in the collision.The roadway is expected to be closed for several hours as San Diego police conduct their investigation.

US greenlights major transmission line for renewable energy in Western states

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. government is greenlighting a proposed multibillion-dollar transmission line that would send primarily wind-generated electricity from the rural plains of New Mexico to big cities in the West. The Interior Department announced its record of decision for the SunZia project Thursday. It comes about a year after an environmental review was completed as part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to clear the way for major transmission projects as it looks to meet climate goals and shore up the nation’s power grid. The SunZia transmission project in New Mexico has been more than a decade in the making. The U.S. Defense Department and others initially raised concerns about the path of the high-voltage lines, prompting the developer to submit a new application in 2021 to modify the route.New Mexico’s renewable energy authority is among those invested in the SunZia project, which would include roughly 520 miles (836 kilometers) of transmissi...

Bank of Canada highlights risk of bank sector stresses, high household debt

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says he has no plans to cut interest rates any time soon, even as higher rates intensify risks associated with household debt and vulnerabilities in the Canadian financial system.“Nobody should expect that interest rates are going to go back down to the very low levels that we’ve seen over the last decade or so,” Macklem told a news conference discussing the central bank’s latest financial system review Thursday.“We’re in a transition period to a world where interest rates are going to be higher than what many people have gotten used to and that transition is going to take a while. And through that transition that creates some risks.”In its annual financial system review, which highlighted the central bank’s concerns around the ability of Canadian households to manage their debt amid that transition, the central bank said it is more concerned than it was a year ago about the risks posed by that debt...

Convoy attack in eastern Congo leaves 4 dead, including 3 park rangers

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Four people were killed in an ambush Thursday in Congo’s Virunga National Park when their convoy of vehicles was attacked by gunmen, according to a statement by local conservation authorities. A further six people were injured, including villagers from the Lubero Territory where the attack took place.The convoy included technical staff for rural development projects working in the park area, according to the North Kivu branch of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN). Three of the dead were “ecoguards” working for the conservation group. The ICCN statement said the attack was carried out by “a group of armed men belonging to the Mai Mai,” a network of local militia groups.Eastern Congo has been wracked by violence from a myriad of armed groups for more than a quarter-century. While much of it has been linked to the struggle for control of the region’s vast mineral wealth, other tensions have stemmed from long-standing inter-communal di...

Trial over Kari Lake’s last challenge to loss in Arizona governor’s race enters 2nd day

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Attorneys for Kari Lake entered a second day Thursday of trying to build a case for the only remaining legal claim in her challenge to the Arizona governor’s race.A judge in suburban Phoenix is allowing Lake a three-day trial to prove county election officials failed to perform higher level signature verifications on mail-in ballots that had been flagged. Maricopa County has a failed process for verifying thousands of ballot signatures that even some of its own workers question, her attorneys argued in court Wednesday.Lake’s lawyers spent most of the trial’s first day showing video and taking testimony from two previous signature screeners who alleged election workers were overwhelmed. Only one of her claims has yet to be dismissed in her case challenging her loss six months ago to Democrat Katie Hobbs.“There’s simply no way to review signatures with respect to procedures,” said Kurt Olsen, one of Lake’s attorneys.The former TV anchor was...

Michigan boy who used slingshot to save sister says he ‘was just lucky’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

ALPENA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 13-year-old Michigan boy who used a slingshot to save his 8-year-old sister from an attempted kidnapping said he was “freaking out” and simply reached for something that could stop the attack. “So I grab my slingshot and open the window and I grab two things — a marble and a gravel rock or something,” Owen Burns told WWTV/WWUP-TV in Cadillac in northern Michigan.Police said Owen struck the 17-year-old assailant in the head and chest, and his sister was able to get away.“I was just lucky. He’s just a big target because he’s not like one Pepsi can,” Owen said.The attempted kidnapping occurred on May 10 outside the family’s home in Alpena Township. Owen’s sister was outside looking for mushrooms.“I say, ‘OK, be careful.’ … And then, boom, something happens,” he recalled.Owen heard a scream while playing video games but figured his sister was just “messing around” with friends. A second scream alarmed him. “So I l...

White House expected to withdraw federal appeals court nomination, in judicial defeat for Biden

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:41:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare judicial defeat for President Joe Biden, the White House is expected to soon withdraw the nomination of Michael Delaney for the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a person familiar with his confirmation process.Delaney’s nomination lacks the needed votes in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been made public. The White House declined to comment. Democrats’ inability to secure the necessary votes both in the committee and on the floor is partly due to concerns over a legal brief on abortion that Delaney signed as deputy attorney general in New Hampshire. The brief defended a parental notification law in the state.Delaney also faced scrutiny of his representation of St. Paul’s School, a private boarding school in New Hampshire that was sued in connection with a sexual assault.Delaney said in written testimony to senators that he did not write t...