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Klietmann: Inflation Reduction Act puts cancer drugs in jeopardy

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

An obscure component of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will jeopardize patients’ access to an entire class of medicines that could be key to beating cancer and reversing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions.It’s crucial that Congress acts to fix this structural defect — and soon. Our policy environment should encourage drug companies to pursue the most promising potential treatments and cures, no matter what form they take. Unfortunately, the hastily written IRA is doing just the opposite.Here’s the crux of the issue. The IRA permits the federal government to impose draconian price caps on a range of prescription drugs covered under Medicare. However, the law exempts newly approved medications from price setting for a specified number of years to allow drug makers time to recoup their upfront R&D investments.Small molecule drugs — which are chemical compounds, usually pills — are exempt from Medicare pri...

Eliza takes a stand in ‘My Fair Lady’ revival

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

“My Fair Lady” is a bold investigation of gender roles, sexual politics, clashing cultures, and privilege. It also features the endlessly romantic and dreamy musical number “I Could Have Danced All Night.”The musical has always worked at an odd balancing act. It’s part subversive piece of art, part sweet-and-magical bit of popcorn. In 2018, director Bartlett Sher put his thumb on the scale tipping his revival of “My Fair Lady” toward the subversive – the touring production of the show plays April 18-30 at the Citizens Bank Opera House.“Audiences might remember the show in a more romantic light or remember it as a really offensive piece because they’ve seen an iteration where [main character] Eliza [Doolittle] is being abused,” Madeline Powell, who plays Eliza, told the Herald. “In Bartlett’s version of this play, his biggest goal was to give Eliza agency… he was really intentional about restoring George Bernard Shaw’s original Eliza.”Both Shaw’s 1913 play “Pygmalion” and “My Fair La...

Lowry: Women’s sports suffer in Title IX expansion

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

Decades from now, when scholars are debating how the executive branch jumped the rails of any legislative accountability or rational rules, the new Biden administration Title IX edict should be the prime exhibit.It is a sweeping expansion of regulatory power, not in the service of the original goal of the underlying statute, but in opposition to it.This is brazen even for the Biden administration of the student loan forgiveness program and the rent moratorium.The new draft rule forbids blanket bans on transgender athletes competing in sports against athletes of their adopted gender, but allows, in theory, more narrowly tailored prohibitions. This is being portrayed as a moderate, compromise approach to the issue. It is nothing of the sort. The more fundamental issue, though, is that it lacks any foundation in the law.Congress passed Title IX ensuring equal access “on the basis of sex” and President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972. The idea that Nixon and leaders...

Michel: Who pays what, and where your taxes go

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

The annual tax-filing ritual sends Americans across the country scrambling to gather documents and brace for the inevitable confusion that results. For a lucky few, it can be a straightforward process. But tax filing can be a complicated and time-consuming ordeal for many, particularly for lower-income taxpayers. As we reconcile our tax bills, it’s natural to wonder: who pays taxes, and what do they fund?You’re not alone if Tax Day triggers fear and confusion. Even Americans who use tax software or an accountant face a seemingly endless list of questions.This is because politicians on both sides of the aisle get carried away with designing new tax programs without considering how the whole system works when families file their taxes. As a result, the United States has at least six sets of rules on how a child might qualify a family for tax benefits, 15 programs targeted at higher education, 18 tax-advantaged savings accounts and 14 deductions for people who itemize. The task of mere...

Editorial: Power grid security is America’s Achilles’ heel

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

This week marks 10 years since unknown assailants attacked a power substation in Metcalf, California, that continues to serve as a harbinger about the vulnerability of the nation’s electric infrastructure.That’s 10 years without the level of investment needed to upgrade, modernize and secure the nation’s power systems; 10 years without this perilous threat to American security even being a primary point of concern among those tasked with the nation’s well-being.Federal and state officials, in concert with electric organizations and power companies, must do better. Addressing the grid’s vulnerability should be a national priority as the number of attacks increases and the likelihood of a prolonged catastrophe grows larger.On the evening of April 16, someone — or perhaps more than one person — severed several fiber-optic communication lines serving Silicon Valley. Then, over about 20 minutes, the assailant(s) fired 120 shots that damaged 17 transformers at a remote substation, causing...

Dear Abby: Overwhelmed young adult needs a break

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

Dear Abby: I am 20 years old and dating a Marine. I work at a hospital, and I also have a part-time job. I recently rented an apartment near where my boyfriend is staying, and I’m busting my butt to be independent. My boyfriend struggles because he’s got a lot going on as well and doesn’t earn that much money. I’m the breadwinner right now and, honestly, I’m just tired. I work way too hard, and I’m really stressed. Life is hard, and I genuinely feel like I can’t catch a break. Any advice? –Overwhelmed in VirginiaDear Overwhelmed: This is the life you have chosen, and you are doing all you can. Carrying so much stress is bad for your emotional and physical health. Your boyfriend may not be making much money now, but he isn’t broke. It may be time to step back and review your finances and his, and whether you should continue to be the breadwinner. Things may get easier as your boyfriend gains rank and more seniority in the military...

Japanese PM unhurt after blast shakes port he was visiting

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed after an explosion at a western port on Saturday, NHK television reported, and a suspect was apprehended for allegedly throwing the explosive.Kishida was visiting the Saikazaki port in Wakayama prefecture to cheer his ruling party’s candidate in a local election. The explosion occurred just before he was to begin his speech, NHK said. No injuries were reported in the incident and Kishida was taken to Wakayama prefectural police headquarters, it added.The incident comes only nine months after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while delivering a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. The assassination shocked the nation and a subsequent investigation found holes in Abe’s security and led to reinforcement of Japan’s police security measures.The latest attack also comes as a series of Group of Seven ministerial meetings begins this weekend ahead of the May 19-21 summit that Kishida will host ...

Abortion bans raise fears inside GOP about backlash in 2024

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — As a new election season begins, the Republican Party is struggling to navigate the politics of abortion.Allies for leading presidential candidates concede that their hardline anti-abortion policies may be popular with the conservatives who decide primary elections, but they could ultimately alienate the broader set of voters they need to win the presidency. The conflict is unfolding across America this week, but nowhere more than Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law one of the nation’s toughest abortion bans late Thursday. If the courts ultimately allow the new measure to take effect, it will soon be illegal for Florida women to obtain an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most realize they’re pregnant.Even before he signed the law, DeSantis’ team was eager to highlight his willingness to fight for, and enact, aggressive abortion restrictions. The Florida governor’s position stands in sharp ...

Bostonians remember deadly marathon bombing 10 years later

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A decade after two homemade bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the city will mark the somber occasion Saturday with prayers for those who died and activities demonstrating the community’s resilient spirit.Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who was making her first run for City Council when the bombing happened, will join families who lost love ones to lay a wreath at memorial sites. A brief ceremony will be held later in the day at the finish line of marathon, where bells will ring followed by a moment of silence.The 127th running of the Boston Marathon takes place Monday.“I have since spoken with many, many community members, families who have been forever impacted and who carry that trauma with them to this day,” Wu said, recalling how people streamed into her campaign office that day with a sense of “confusion and fear and shock about what was happening.”“The whole world saw Boston pull together in that moment and, to this day, we still car...

Timberwolves dominate Thunder to punch ticket to playoffs, set up first-round series with Denver

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:26:10 GMT

For one of the first times all season, the Timberwolves controlled a contest for four quarters Friday at Target Center.What a fine time to do it. In a do-or-die play-in contest, the Wolves “did” for 48 minutes, downing up-and-coming Oklahoma City in convincing fashion. Minnesota suffocated the Thunder defensively en route to a 120-95 victory in Minneapolis to secure the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.After a rollercoaster 82-game campaign — plus two more play-in contests — Minnesota will meet top-seeded Denver in the first round, with Game 1 set for 9:30 p.m. Sunday in Denver. For the first time since 2004, the Timberwolves have qualified for the playoffs in consecutive seasons.“We’re certainly happy and proud. The season was a tough one in a lot of ways,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We felt all season we were a playoff team no matter what the circumstances were. Very pleased the guys continued to fight through...