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The world’s first gene therapy for sickle cell disease has been approved in Britain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s medicines regulator has authorized the world’s first gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease, in a move that could offer relief to thousands of people with the crippling disease in the U.K.In a statement Thursday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it approved Casgevy, the first medicine licensed using the gene editing tool CRISPR, which won its makers a Nobel prize in 2020.The agency approved the treatment for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia who are 12 years old and over. Casgevy is made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Ltd. and CRISPR Therapeutics. To date, bone marrow transplants, extremely arduous procedures that come with very unpleasant side effects, have been the only long-lasting treatment.“The future of life-changing cures resides in CRISPR based (gene-editing) technology,” said Dr. Helen O’Neill of University College London.“The use of the word ‘cure’ in relation to sickle cell disease or...

Nearly 450 patients at a Massachusetts hospital were potentially exposed to hepatitis and HIV in the past 2 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

(CNN) — Nearly 450 patients at a hospital in Massachusetts could have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV due to improper administration of IV medication within the past two years, according to hospital officials.The possible exposure at Salem Hospital affected patients who were seeking an endoscopy, a type of procedure where a doctor inserts a tubelike instrument into the body for examination, the hospital said in a statement Thursday. The hospital did not provide further details about how the possible exposure may have occurred.Salem Hospital has notified all patients who may have been exposed and tested people for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, which are “standard tests for a potential exposure of this kind,” a hospital spokesperson told CNN in an email.“There is no evidence to date of any infections resulting from this incident,” the hospital said in the statement. “We have determined that the infection risk to patients from this event is extremely small. … We sincerely ap...

Miami Gardens Police spread holiday cheer with ‘Turkeys Instead of Tickets’ event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

The Miami Gardens Police Department is set to host its annual “Turkeys Instead of Tickets” event, adding a festive twist to traffic stops just before Thanksgiving.Taking place Friday at the Walmart Neighborhood Market, located at 3791 NW 167th St. at 9 a.m., officers will conduct traffic stops throughout the city, surprising drivers with turkeys instead of tickets. This initiative aims to express gratitude to the community while fostering positive relationships between law enforcement and residents.

Centrist French senator detained on suspicion he drugged a female MP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

Joël Guerriau, a French senator with the centrist Horizons party, has been detained by police in Paris on suspicion that he drugged a female lawmaker in order to assault her, the public prosecutor’s office said Friday.Answering a written question from POLITICO, the Paris public prosecutor’s office confirmed that Guerriau had been arrested on Wednesday evening, after an unnamed person filed a complaint against him for “administering to a person, without their knowledge, a substance which may alter their judgment or control over their actions in order to commit rape or sexual assault.” The French senator is suspected of “administering ecstasy to a [female] guest, without her knowledge,” and ecstasy was found at his residence in a police raid, the prosecutor’s office said.He remained in custody on Friday morning, and faces up to five years in prison and a €75,000 fine.According to an official at the French Senate, who was granted anonymity to d...

Elon Musk and X can’t escape government oversight, judge rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

(CNN) — A federal judge said Thursday he would not intervene in a dispute between X owner Elon Musk and the Federal Trade Commission in an ongoing agency investigation of the social media giant that has triggered intense public scrutiny.The decision means Musk may be forced to cooperate with federal investigators who are probing X, the company formerly known as Twitter, over business decisions that regulators fear may have jeopardized user security or privacy.The 11-page order by US Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixon denies X’s attempt to invalidate a longtime privacy settlement with the FTC that forms the basis for the investigation. Hixon said the US District Court for the Northern District of California lacks the authority to grant X’s request to overturn the independent agency’s administrative order.For the same reason, Hixon said he could not block the FTC from trying to depose Musk as part of the probe. The ruling could indirectly boost a similar ...

New GLX Tracks To Be Fixed During Nighttime Closures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

The MBTA will shut down service a few hours earlier than usual on the Green Line Extension on more than a dozen nights starting later this month while crews fix tracks that were improperly installed, officials announced Thursday.Nearly a month after MBTA General Manager Phil Eng revealed that rails are too close together on more than two-thirds of the expansion, he laid out details for how workers will address the problems.Trains will stop running on both the Union Square and Medford branches around 8:45 p.m. each night between Monday, Nov. 27 and Sunday, Dec. 10. During that time, shuttle buses will replace trains between North Station and Medford/Tufts, while riders hoping to get to Union Square will instead need to take other bus routes or the Orange Line, which travels to Sullivan Square.Normal Green Line Extension service will resume at the start of each day, except for Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, when buses will replace trains between Lechmere and North Station all day.“The inten...

Help sought to identify person killed on I-5

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office is asking for the public's help in identifying the pedestrian in a fatal collision on the Interstate 5 last month.The pedestrian was struck by a vehicle just north of the Old Town Avenue overcrossing while attempting to cross the northbound lanes of the highway on Oct. 14 at about 8 p.m., according to a county spokesperson.Law enforcement and medical personnel attempted life-saving measures on the pedestrian. However, he was later pronounced dead on the scene.No other details about the crash were immediately available. Driver, passenger killed in I-5 rollover crash A forensic artist created a possible sketch of the John Doe, who was described as a 5'11", roughly 215 pound Hispanic or Middle Eastern man in his 30s or 40s, and two of his unique tattoos. One of the tattoos is believed to read "Margarita" in cursive with a heart above the letter "i." The other tattoo is believed to be a crown over two script letters, the secon...

Dirt bike rider killed in University City crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A dirt bike rider was killed Thursday after colliding with a vehicle in University City, said the San Diego Police Department.Around 8:16 p.m., a 31-year-old man was riding a 2018 KTM eastbound on Governor Drive at a high rate of speed with no lights on, police said. The area was reported to be extremely dark. Are items hanging from rearview mirrors illegal in California? At that same time, authorities said a 66-year-old woman was driving a silver 2005 Lexus SUV westbound on Governor Drive. The woman reportedly did not see any westbound traffic and made a left turn onto Erlanger Street in front of the dirt bike. The dirt bike struck the Lexus, ejecting the rider. SDPD said the man was transported to a local hospital where he later died of his injuries.Alcohol was not determined to be a factor in this collision. SDPD's Traffic Division is investigating. Anyone with information related to the fatal incident is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Bell seeks to appeal CRTC decision allowing carriers’ access to its fibre network

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

BCE Inc. is seeking to appeal a regulatory decision that will allow independent companies to sell internet services to their customers using its fibre network in Ontario and Quebec, saying it is at risk of suffering irreparable harm.The parent company of Bell Canada filed documents with the Federal Court of Appeal late Thursday requesting permission to appeal the CRTC’s temporary ruling, and for a stay of the decision pending the outcome of the court process.“The decision will have far-reaching impacts on Canadians’ access to high-speed internet beyond the interim period in which it is in effect,” the company said in its filings.The CRTC announced on Nov. 6 it would require large telephone companies, namely Bell and Telus Corp., to provide competitors with access to their fibre-to-the-home networks within six months.The regulator said the timeline would allow companies to prepare their networks and develop information technology and billing systems.The move is mean...

New Maldives president is sworn in and vows to remove Indian troops

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

MALE, Maldives (AP) — Mohamed Muizzu was sworn in Friday as the Maldives’ fifth democratically elected president and said he will ensure there is no foreign military presence in the archipelago.Muizzu, who is seen as pro-China, campaigned on a promise to evict Indian military personnel and balance trade, which he said was heavily in favor of India under his predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. “Lines of independence and sovereignty will be drawn clearly. The foreign military presence will be removed,” he said.“I will keep friendships with foreign countries. There won’t be any enmity, with countries close and far away,” Muizzu said.He said the right of the Maldives to lay down such limits should be respected.Muizzu was sworn in by Chief Justice Us Ahmed Muthasim Adnan after his surprise victory in September’s presidential election.The election was seen a virtual referendum on which regional power — China or India — should have the biggest influence on the Indian Ocea...