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Republican National Committee officially allows candidates to participate in unsanctioned debates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

(CNN) — The Republican National Committee said Friday that it has no party-sponsored presidential debates scheduled for January and that GOP candidates are free to participate in any forum or debate of their choosing.“We have held four successful debates across the country with the most conservative partners in the history of a Republican primary. We have no RNC debates scheduled in January and any debates currently scheduled are not affiliated with the RNC,” the RNC’s Committee on Presidential Debates said in a statement. “It is now time for Republican primary voters to decide who will be our next President and candidates are free to use any forum or format to communicate to voters as they see fit.”CNN announced Thursday it will host two Republican presidential primary debates next month in Iowa and New Hampshire – the states that hold the first contests in the race for the 2024 GOP nomination. ABC News and WMUR-TV will also hold a Republican presidential primary debate in Manchest...

UNLV students won’t return for in-person classes this semester after shooting that killed 3

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Students and faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas will not be returning to campus this semester for in-person classes after a gunman killed three professors, the university’s president announced Friday, saying final exams next week have been canceled.“Given the physical and emotional trauma that the university community has endured, and because of the impact to campus facilities, we have decided that faculty and staff should continue to work remotely through the end of the calendar year,” President Keith Whitfield said in a letter to students and staff.Police have said that 67-year-old Anthony Polito walked into UNLV’s business school around lunchtime Wednesday and fired shots as he roamed the top three floors, where faculty offices are located.A fourth victim, a 38-year-old visiting professor, was wounded and hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.After police killed him in a shootout, Polito was found to be carrying nine magazines for a ...

BSO search for missing 17-year-old girl in Tamarac

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

The Broward Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Unit is seeking the public’s help in finding a missing 17-year-old girl. Kaelah Tyndale was last seen on Monday, at around 6:30 p.m. near the 7600 block of Westwood Drive in Tamarac.She was last seen wearing a purple shirt, black leggings and brown sandals.Tyndale stands at 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs around 150 pounds, has brown hair and black eyes.Anyone with information on Tyndale’s whereabouts is urged to contact BSO Detective Leonard Charla at 954-321-4274 or at the BSO non-emergency number 954-764- HELP (4357).

Massachusetts to get pounded by strong storm: Heavy rain, damaging winds, flooding, power outages possible

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

A strong December storm is expected to blast the region at the end of the weekend, likely causing some headaches for the Monday morning commute.But you won’t need to bust out your snow shovels and snow blowers quite yet.The multi-hazardous system from Sunday night through Monday will likely pound Massachusetts with strong winds and soaking rains during the unseasonably warm storm. Power outages will be possible.Coastal flooding is also a concern, along with dangerous marine conditions.“It will be a rather strong system coming into the region Sunday into Monday,” Kyle Pederson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald on Friday.“Right now, it’s looking like it will be a pretty strong wind event for eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island,” he added.Wind gusts could hit 60 mph along the coast, with 40 mph wind gusts for inland areas.The potential for thunderstorms could lead to more damaging wind gusts, spa...

Gene therapies for sickle cell disease approved

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

Regulators on Friday approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease that doctors hope can cure the painful, inherited blood disorder that afflicts mostly Black people in the U.S.The Food and Drug Administration said the one-time treatments can be used for patients 12 and older with severe forms of the disease. One, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, is the first approved therapy based on CRISPR, the gene editing tool that won its inventors the Nobel Prize in 2020. The other is made by Bluebird Bio and works differently.“Sickle cell disease is a rare, debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder with significant unmet need,” the FDA’s Dr. Nicole Verdun said in a statement announcing the approvals. “We are excited to advance the field especially for individuals whose lives have been severely disrupted by the disease.”The two gene therapies are the first approved in the U.S. for sickle cell. The FDA has previously OK’d 1...

Italian cookies are a holiday treat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

By Carla Vigos | Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnistItalian families have certain traditions, and a lot of them circle around food. If you ever go to an Italian wedding on the East Coast, you would be amazed by the cookie table. Unless you have seen it, you could not fathom how many cookies and how much variety there is.Carla Vigos — Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist(Courtesy photo)Italian Angel Cookies are simple to make – perfect for the busy holiday season, says Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist Carla Vigos.(Photo by Jeff Sinclair)Show Caption of ExpandIn my Italian family, my mother would start making her cookies for the holiday season during the first part of December. She would make Italian cookies that would be decorated with icing and candy sprinkles, fig cookies called cuccidati, butter balls, and pizzelles, traditional Italian waffle cookies.Family and friends would share their cookies, and all would benefit. Traditionally, I make a variety of cookies, and so ...

Biden wants states to ensure Obamacare plans cover enough doctors and hospitals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

Julie Appleby | (TNS) KFF Health NewsThe Biden administration plans to push states to boost oversight of the number of doctors, hospitals and other health providers insurers cover in Obamacare plans, under rules proposed in November.The annual regulatory proposal, known as the payment parameters rule, also seeks to expand access to adult dental coverage in Affordable Care Act marketplaces and would require states to hold open enrollment periods for Obamacare plans at the same time of year. It’s likely one of the last major ACA policy efforts of President Joe Biden’s first term — and, if he loses reelection, could represent his final touches on the landmark health program created when he was vice president.Biden has been a staunch supporter of Obamacare and has taken steps during his own first term in the White House to expand the program through rules and legislation, including measures that increased premium subsidies. In part because of those subsidies, enrollment has increased st...

Many autoimmune disease patients struggle with diagnosis, costs, inattentive care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

Andy Miller | KFF Health News (TNS)After years of debilitating bouts of fatigue, Beth VanOrden finally thought she had an answer to her problems in 2016 when she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder.For her and millions of other Americans, that’s the most common cause of hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, doesn’t produce enough of the hormones needed for the body to regulate metabolism.There’s no cure for Hashimoto’s or hypothyroidism. But VanOrden, who lives in Athens, Texas, started taking levothyroxine, a much-prescribed synthetic thyroid hormone used to treat common symptoms, like fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, and sensitivity to cold.Most patients do well on levothyroxine and their symptoms resolve. Yet for others, like VanOrden, the drug is not as effective.For her, that meant floating from doctor to doctor, test to test, and treatment to treatment, spending about $5,000 a year.“I look and act lik...

Rainmaker: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour first ever to hit $1B mark

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the first tour to cross the billion-dollar mark, according to Pollstar’s 2023 year-end charts.Not only was Swift’s landmark Eras Tour the No. 1 tour both worldwide and in North America, but she also brought in a whopping $1.04 billion with 4.35 million tickets sold across 60 tour dates, the concert trade publication found.Pollstar data is pulled from box office reports, venue capacity estimates, historical Pollstar venue ticket sales data, and other undefined research, collected from Nov. 17, 2022 to Nov. 15, 2023.Representatives for the publication did not immediately clarify if they adjusted past tour data to match 2023 inflation in naming Swift the first to break the billion-dollar threshold.Pollstar also found that Swift brought in approximately $200 million in merch sales and her blockbuster film adaptation of the tour, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” has reportedly earned approximately $250 million in sales...

San Diego police sergeant injured, suspect killed after shootout in 4S Ranch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:33 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A report of a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a 4S Ranch shopping center Thursday night erupted into a shooting that killed a suspect and left a sergeant with the San Diego police department in "serious" condition.Authorities were alerted to a possible stolen vehicle around 10 p.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Officers were able to locate the vehicle in the 10500 block of 4S Common Drive around 11:30 p.m.When SDPD arrived on scene, the suspect was reportedly inside the Ralph's grocery store at the shopping center. Officers attempted to contact the suspect, but SDSO says he ran out of the store. Beware of San Diego ‘jury duty’ scammers While outside of the store, authorities say the suspect fired at least one round at the SDPD officers and struck the sergeant in the head. According to SDSO, multiple responding officers then returned fire, striking the suspect and undisclosed number of times.The suspect fell to the ground after being shot...