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The world’s first gene therapy for sickle cell and thalassemia has been approved

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 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 on 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 dise...

Cleanup crews work to reopen businesses after heavy winds impact Hollywood Beach

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

Overnight winds, waves and wet weather affected Hollywood Beach.In the past, hurricanes and tropical storms have affected. Hollywood Beach. But on Thursday, after heavy rainfall impacted parts of South Florida, the scene on the broadwalk was similar. 7News cameras captured people struggling to cross the broadwalk as heavy winds pushed water and sand.Cleanup crews were at the scene to try and get businesses reopened after chairs and table tops were buried under sand.

Environmental concerns spark study for major Brevard County causeway

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) — A major causeway in Brevard County is under scrutiny as environmental experts push for a study to address climate concerns. The bridge in question, accused of negatively impacting the ecosystem it sits on, is now the focal point of efforts aimed at improving water circulation, water quality, clarity, and seagrass recovery.To tackle these concerns, county leaders are exploring the possibility of funding a $750,000 study to replace the causeway across the Banana River.

EU wards off Russian tech investment via its startup fund

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

LISBON — The European Union’s €10 billion startup fund has introduced new rules allowing it to exclude co-investments from countries like Russia in sensitive technologies in Europe, the president of the fund’s board has said. “Russian co-investors are totally banned,” Michiel Scheffer, who chairs the board that advises the European Innovation Council (EIC), told reporters at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon Wednesday.Under the fund’s rules, startups must arrange a co-investor before the EIC can acquire a minority stake for up to €15 million. In October, in new guidelines, the European Commission asked the EIC to be on the alert for foreign investors joining the ticket of startups developing sensitive technologies like microchips.The new policy corresponds with a wider effort by the EU to maintain control of strategic assets in its economy. The bloc previously drafted rules preventing sensitive technology from being exported to certain countries,...

Scottish minister blames £11K iPad bill on his kids watching football

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

LONDON — A senior Scottish government minister has blamed a £11,000 data roaming charge — incurred on a parliamentary iPad — on his sons watching football.The Scottish National Party’s under-fire Health Secretary Michael Matheson made the admission in the Scottish Parliament Thursday, as he came under pressure for the huge bill he ran up while on holiday in Morocco last year.The expense from his parliamentary iPad was initially met by the Scottish Parliament, which was told by Matheson that the device was only used for work. He has since paid the money back after the Scottish media reported on the charges last week. As the pressure for an explanation grew, Matheson told Scottish lawmakers Thursday that he was not aware that other family members had used the device until last Thursday. He explained that his failure to come clean about this in a statement last Friday or in response to questions from journalists earlier this week was down to a desire to protect his family “...

EU takes Greece to court over failure to update flood risk maps

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

The European Commission Thursday launched legal action against Greece for failing to update its flood risk and flood hazard maps as required under EU law.According to the EU executive, Greece failed to update the maps by March 2020 as stipulated in the bloc’s 2007 Floods Directive, making it the only member country to fail to comply. The Greek government initially said it would fulfil its obligations under the EU law by June 2023, but before summer said it couldn’t comply before the end of the year, the Commission said, citing the delay as a key reason for taking the country to court.The EU executive stressed that the maps are “key instruments” for flood prevention and risk management, as “they help raise awareness about areas at risk of flooding and help communities develop strategies for reducing these risks.” They can also be used by civil protection, firefighters and first responders to “plan emergency responses” and “support...

George Santos announces he won’t seek reelection following damning Ethics Committee report

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

(CNN) — Republican Rep. George Santos announced he will not seek reelection to the House next year, following the Ethics Committee’s release of its long-awaited report on Thursday, concluding that there is “substantial evidence” that the New York congressman used campaign funds for personal purposes.The report said Santos engaged in “knowing and willful violations” with regard to financial disclosure statements filed with the House, and “knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission.”A statement from the committee accompanying the report said the panel unanimously voted to adopt the report. The committee said it uncovered additional “uncharged and unlawful conduct” by Santos that go beyond the criminal allegations already pending against him, and would immediately refer these allegations to the Justice Department for further investigation.The panel concluded Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit ever...

Big Month Shows Sports Betting Is Growing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

People in Massachusetts wagered more than $571.76 million on sporting events that took place in October, pumped another $794.1 million into slot machines and risked an untold amount on casino table games. All that gambling activity translated into about $39 million in tax revenue for the state, the Mass. Gaming Commission said Wednesday.The state’s slots parlor and resort-style casinos (Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor in Everett) generated $96.67 million in gross gaming revenue last month, and the physical sportsbooks at those facilities plus eight online sports betting platforms raked in a cumulative $59.18 million in taxable sports wagering revenue. Casino gambling yielded $27.23 million in tax revenue for the state last month and sports betting added nearly $11.79 million, totaling roughly $39.02 million for the state.Sports bettors wagered more money on October sporting events ($571.76 million) than for events in any other mon...

Ravens step into prime time as rival Bengals come to Baltimore: ‘This feels like a playoff game in November’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson called the all-black uniforms Baltimore will wear for its “Thursday Night Football” showdown against the division rival Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium “sexy.” Linebacker Roquan Smith said the motif brings to mind a “death row” defense. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. told The Baltimore Sun, “My daddy always said when the lights is on, it’s time to perform.”Whatever hyperbole or emotions come to the fore, the Ravens’ prime-time showdown against the AFC North foe has all the trappings of a huge game, from uniform selection, to being under the lights as the NFL’s stand-alone contest, to a battle between superstar quarterbacks Jackson and Joe Burrow leading a pair of teams with Super Bowl aspirations.“They’ll be excited to play,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of his players. “It’s a big deal.”Added Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callah...

Internet, phone networks collapse in Gaza, threatening to worsen humanitarian crisis

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:37:17 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN and KAREEM CHEHAYEB (Associated Press)KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Internet and telephone services collapsed across the Gaza Strip on Thursday for lack of fuel, the main Palestinian provider said, bringing a potentially long-term communications blackout even as Israel signaled its offensive could next target the south of the territory, where most of the population has taken refuge.Meanwhile, Israeli troops for a second day searched Shifa Hospital in the north for traces of Hamas. They displayed guns they say were found hidden in one building, but have yet to release any evidence of the central Hamas command center that Israel has said is concealed beneath the complex. Hamas and staff at the hospital, Gaza’s largest, deny the allegations. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.The communications breakdown threatens to worsen the severe humanitarian crisis in southern Gaza, where Israeli airstri...