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Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi has full FDA approval now and that means Medicare will pay for it

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease.The Food and Drug Administration endorsed the IV drug, Leqembi, for patients with mild dementia and other symptoms caused by early Alzheimer’s disease. It’s the first medicine that’s been convincingly shown to modestly slow Alzheimer’s cognitive decline. Japanese drugmaker Eisai received conditional approval from the FDA in January based on early results suggesting Leqembi worked by clearing a sticky brain plaque linked to the disease.The FDA confirmed those results by reviewing data from a larger, 1,800-patient study in which the drug slowed memory and thinking decline by about five months in those who got the treatment, compared to those who got a dummy drug.“This confirmatory study verified that it is a safe and effective treatment for patien...

Railroad industry sues to block limit on crew sizes that Ohio imposed after E. Palestine derailment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The railroad industry has sued to block a new minimum crew-size requirement that Ohio imposed after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine in February. The new rule was part of a $13.5 billion state transportation budget that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed in March. It mandated a two-person crew for freight trains and required that the wayside detectors used to help spot problems be installed in shorter intervals of 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 kilometers) apart, with oversight from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, among other provisions. The railroad industry said one-person crews “have been used safely for decades,” as well as that Ohio lacks the authority to impose a two-person minimum. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on June 29, a day before the rule was set to take effect, the Association of American Railroads argued that federal law broadly gives federal agencies exclusive jurisdiction t...

Florida parents charged in death of toddler left in car overnight after Fourth of July party

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — A toddler died after her parents left her in a hot car overnight following a Fourth of July party in Florida, authorities said Thursday. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Lakeland couple Joel and Jazmine Rondon have been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. Authorities said the Rondons accidentally left the 18-month-old girl in her car seat while they removed their two other children and unloaded their vehicle after arriving home from the Independence Day celebration. Joel Rondon discovered his toddler unresponsive in the car the following morning. She was declared dead at a hospital. The couple submitted to drug tests, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Joel Rondon tested positive for methamphetamines, marijuana and alcohol. His wife was positive for marijuana and alcohol. An autopsy ruled the toddler’s cause of death as hyperthermia. The couple was arrested Thursday. It was not immediately clear if the Rondons, both 33, have ...

DeSantis raised $20 million in the 6 weeks since announcing his presidential run, his campaign says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis raised $20 million in the first six weeks after he announced his run for president, his campaign said Thursday.The formidable haul for DeSantis indicates a well of support despite a glitchy campaign launch on Twitter back in May. Still, polling shows he’s in a distant second place for the 2024 Republican nomination behind former President Donald Trump.Trump’s campaign said Wednesday he raised $35 million during the second quarter of the year, nearly double what he raised during the first three months of the year. Trump’s fundraising has exploded since he was indicted in New York and Florida, and he faces additional investigations that could further juice his ability to raise money. DeSantis has maintained a busy schedule of fundraising and campaigning in early primary states and beyond amid a deepening rivalry between him and Trump. He sparked controversy last week with a video slamming Trump for his past support of gay and transgender peo...

Nearly 200K Montreal hydro clients without power after transmission line problem

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

MONTREAL — Nearly 200,000 electricity clients have lost power in Montreal after an issue with a Hydro-Québec transmission line.The provincially owned electric utility says a protection mechanism was tripped on one of its high-voltage transmission lines just north of Montreal, triggering the widespread outage.Spokesperson Caroline Des Rosiers says authorities are investigating what happened and aren’t ruling out high temperatures in southern Quebec as the cause.She says the utility will be able to restore service soon and that affected clients should have power back by the end of the afternoon or early evening.As of 4 p.m. about 218,000 clients were without power across the province, including more than 197,000 in Montreal.Montréal—Trudeau International Airport says some of its operations are disrupted due to what it called a major electrical failure. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2023.The Canadian Press

John Berylson, owner of English soccer team Millwall, dies in car crash at age 70

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — John Berylson, an American businessman known for his enthusiastic ownership of the English soccer team Millwall, has died. He was 70.His death, the result of a car crash in Massachusetts on Tuesday, was announced by the second-division London team, which said Berylson presided over some of the greatest moments in Millwall’s history since first becoming involved with the club in 2006.Team captain Shaun Hutchinson described Berylson as “an example on the perfect way to run a football club.”“He really did love the club. He had so much time for every single person whether it be fans or the players, shook everyone’s hand, came across and individually spoke to every single player before every game,” Hutchinson said in a video posted to Twitter by the team.Police and rescue workers received a report of a car crash in Falmouth, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Boston, just before 8 a.m. Tuesday.Police said the 2019 Range Rover was traveling south when it lost con...

Connecticut lawmaker attacked after Muslim service says Hartford police downplayed assault

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut lawmaker who was attacked last month while leaving a Muslim prayer service accused police in Hartford of downplaying the assault and called Thursday for a federal investigation of the department’s handling of violent crimes, especially against women.Rep. Maryam Khan, the first Muslim member of the Connecticut House, wore a sling on her right arm at a news conference and was surrounded by friends, family and fellow state legislators as she gave a harrowing account of her ordeal. She called the attack much more violent and shocking than how it was described in a police report. Khan said she was later diagnosed with a concussion and is now awaiting an MRI after losing feeling in her right arm and shoulder. She recalled having to convince emergency responders at the scene that she was physically injured and emotionally traumatized.“All I keep thinking in these last few days is what happens to women in the city of Hartford that call the police w...

Crown and defence seek life, 15 years without parole, for deadly B.C. mass stabbing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — Crown and defence lawyers have jointly suggested a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years for the man who stabbed a woman to death and injured several other victims at a North Vancouver, B.C., library two years ago.Yannick Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, several charges of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault over the March 2021 mass stabbing.Crown lawyers and Bandaogo’s defence team have told a sentencing hearing they agree on the recommended non-parole period, although Justice Geoffrey R.J. Gaul may still decide on a different term.Victim impact statements have concluded at the British Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster, with the mother-in-law of the lone victim killed in the attack calling Bandaogo a “monster” who stole from her son a life with the woman he loved.She told the court her son and the victim had been planning to build a life together in Canada, and her dea...

NASCAR's Street Race was a moment in Chicago sports history

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

CHICAGO — A year of planning, preparations, and debate, a first in the long, proud history of Chicago sports. Like others in the city's history, it had its bumps in the road, though it was water that would be the bain of this most unique event that was announced in July 2022. There were as many detractors for these two days of stock car racing as their were supporters, but in the end mother nature would have her say.Both races were shortened, events surrounding it were canceled, as Chicago endured a deluge that nearly made it a three-day event instead of two. In the end, however, the shots of colorful stock cars racing around the track along with the skyline emerging from the clouds to have a sunny finish Sunday did leave a positive impression of NASCAR's first downtown venture. WGN News Now has this lookback in pictures & video of the weekend that was at the first-ever NASCAR Chicago Street Race.Drivers are getting their first chance to take to the @NASCARChicago course today.....

New plankton exhibit at Shedd Aquarium brings 'bottom of food chain' to forefront

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:24 GMT

CHICAGO — The Shedd Aquarium is debuting a brand new exhibit of its tiniest creatures. Called "Plankton Revealed," the exhibit centers around the culturing of microscopic plankton that provide food for many species throughout the aquarium.  Visitors will get a magnified look at the tiny organisms, to see how they live.  Around Town visits the Shedd Aquarium Shedd Aquarium's Rachel Zak says the new exhibit is a way to bring the "bottom of the food chain" to the forefront. "Without the tiny, tiny, microscopic phyto, or algae, without that phytoplankton, you could not have those tiny little creatures and from those tiny little creatures, you could not have baby fish, and from baby fish, you could raise bigger fish and bigger fish all the way up to sharks and whales," Zak said. "So it really is this tiny, tiny concept with a giant impact."Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines"Planton revealed" is also the Shedd's first bilingual display with Spanish translations throughout. The exh...