NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The pharmaceutical manufacturer Amgen announced on Tuesday that an experimental obesity drug helped patients lose an average of up to 20 percent of their weight in a year. The drug, using the brand name MariTide, is given by injection once a month, compared with once a week for other obesity drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro that are already on the market. The data came from a clinical trial involving nearly 600 people. It was a Phase 2 trial, testing effectiveness as well as safety. The drug still must go through additional clinical trial phases involving many more patients, and then receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before being sold to patients. The company has yet to set a price for the drug. Amgen also did not provide detailed data, that will come in later in a peer-reviewed study and will be presented at a meeting, the company said. Instead, to meet requirements of the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, it provided so-called top-line data that could affect its stock price, said The New York Times in its report about the development. Jeffrey Flier, a diabetes and obesity researcher at Harvard, was quoted as saying the results were "promising," adding that MariTide "could be a future player in a highly competitive market."Miriam wanted to be a pro golfer. Instead, she’s an executive on a $26,000 salarySix men linked to Juventus and France midfielder Paul Pogba go on trial Tuesday, accused of blackmail, attempted extortion of millions of euros and holding the player at gunpoint. The case at the Paris criminal court has shocked the French football world — all the more so because the alleged perpetrators include three childhood friends and Pogba’s own brother Mathias. Tuesday’s trial comes on top of professional woes for Pogba, whose career has struggled since France’s spectacular 2018 World Cup win when he scored against Croatia in the Moscow final. He suffered through repeated injuries that led to his 2022 departure from Manchester United, returning to Juventus where he remained in and out of treatment. The Turin club this month cancelled his contract following his suspension until March 2025 for doping. The six defendants in Paris are accused of attempting to squeeze 13 million euros ($13.5 million) out of Pogba. Mathias was the one to go public in the case, publishing a video on social media in August 2022 promising revelations about his younger brother that were “likely to be explosive”.
WASHINGTON D.C., DC — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad is a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East. Biden spoke at the White House hours after after rebel groups completed a takeover of the country following more than a dozen years of violent civil war and decades of leadership by Assad and his family . Biden said the United States was monitoring reports of the whereabouts of Assad, with Russian state media saying he had fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally. The outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump were working to make sense of new threats and opportunities across the Middle East. Biden credited action by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria's backers — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. He said “for the first time” that they could no longer defend Assad's grip on power. “Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East," Biden said, after a meeting with his national security team. Trump said Sunday that Assad had fled because close ally Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, “was not interested in protecting him any longer.” Those comments on Trump's social media platform came a day after he used another post to decry the possibility of the U.S. intervening militarily in Syria to aid the rebels, declaring, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT." The Biden administration said it had no intention of intervening. The U.S has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the opposition-held northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Biden said he intended for those troops to remain, adding that U.S. forces on Sunday conducted “precision air strikes" on IS camps and operations in Syria. U.S. Central Command said the operation hit more than 75 targets. “We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try and take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its credibility, and create a safe haven," Biden said, using a different acronym for the group. "We will not let that happen.” The Syrian opposition that brought down Assad is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham , which the U.S. says is a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaida, although the group says it has since broken ties with al-Qaida. “We will remain vigilant,” Biden said. “Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses.” He added that the groups are “saying the right things now.” “But as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions,” Biden said. A senior Biden administration official, when asked about contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders after Assad's departure, said Washington was in contact with Syrian groups of all kinds. The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the situation and spoke on condition of anonymity, also said the U.S. has focused over the past several days on chemical weapons that had been controlled by the Assad government, aiming to ensure they were secured. Still, Assad's fall adds to an already tense situation throughout much of region on many fronts — including Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and its fragile cease-fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Like Biden, Trump, who takes office in five-plus weeks, made a connection between the upheaval in Syria and Russia's war in Ukraine , noting that Assad's allies in Moscow, as well as in Iran, the main sponsor of Hamas and Hezbollah, “are in a weakened state right now.” Vice President-elect JD Vance , a veteran of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, wrote on own social media Sunday to express skepticism about the insurgents. “Many of ‘the rebels’ are a literal offshoot of ISIS. One can hope they’ve moderated. Time will tell,” he said, using another acronym for the group. Trump has suggested that Assad's ouster can advance the prospects for an end to fighting in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022. The president-elect wrote that Putin's government “lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine” and the Republican called for an immediate cease-fire, a day after meeting in Paris with the French and Ukrainian leaders . Daniel B. Shapiro, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said the American military presence will continue in eastern Syria but was “solely to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and has nothing to do with other aspects of this conflict.” “We call on all parties in Syria to protect civilians, particularly those from Syria’s minority communities to respect international military norms and to work to achieve a resolution to include the political settlement,” Shapiro said. “Multiple actors in this conflict have a terrible track record to include Assad’s horrific crimes, Russia’s indiscriminate aerial bomb bombardment, Iranian-back militia involvement and the atrocities of ISIS," he added. Shapiro, however, was careful not to directly say Assad had been deposed by the insurgents. “If confirmed, no one should shed any tears over the Assad regime,” he said. As they pushed toward the Syrian capital of Damascus, the opposition freed political detainees from government prisons. The family of missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice renewed calls to find him. “To everyone in Syria that hears this, please remind people that we’re waiting for Austin,” Tice’s mother, Debra, said in comments that hostage advocacy groups spread on social media. "We know that when he comes out, he’s going to be fairly dazed & he’s going to need lots of care & direction. Direct him to his family please!” Tice disappeared in 2012 outside Damascus, amid intensification of what became a civil war stretching more than a decade. "We’ve remained committed to returning him to his family,” Biden said at the White House. "We believe he’s alive, we think we can get him back but we have no direct evidence to that yet. And Assad should be held accountable.” The president added: “We have to identify where he is." The U.S. has no new evidence that Tice is alive but continues to operate under the assumption that he is, according to a U.S. official. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, added that the U.S. will continue to work to identify Tice's whereabouts and to try to bring him home . ___ Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Manama, Bahrain, and Aamer Madhani and AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.It’s a daunting reality for Democrats: Republican Donald Trump's support has grown broadly since he last sought the presidency. In his defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris , Trump won a bigger percentage of the vote in each one of the 50 states, and Washington, D.C., than he did four years ago. He won more actual votes than in 2020 in 40 states, according to an Associated Press analysis. Certainly, Harris’ more than 7 million vote decline from President Joe Biden’s 2020 total was a factor in her loss, especially in swing-state metropolitan areas that have been the party’s winning electoral strongholds. People are also reading... But, despite national turnout that was lower than in the high-enthusiasm 2020 election, Trump received 2.5 million more votes than he did four years ago. He swept the seven most competitive states to win a convincing Electoral College victory, becoming the first Republican nominee in 20 years to win a majority of the popular vote. Trump cut into places where Harris needed to overperform to win a close election. Now Democrats are weighing how to regain traction ahead of the midterm elections in two years, when control of Congress will again be up for grabs and dozens of governors elected. There were some notable pieces to how Trump's victory came together: Though Trump improved across the map, his gains were particularly noteworthy in urban counties home to the cities of Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia, electoral engines that stalled for Harris in industrial swing states Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Harris fell more than 50,000 votes — and 5 percentage points — short of Biden's total in Wayne County, Michigan, which makes up the lion's share of the Detroit metro area. She was almost 36,000 votes off Biden's mark in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and about 1,000 short in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. It wasn't only Harris' shortfall that helped Trump carry the states, a trio that Democrats had collectively carried in six of the seven previous elections before Nov. 5. Trump added to his 2020 totals in all three metro counties, netting more than 24,000 votes in Wayne County, more than 11,000 in Philadelphia County and almost 4,000 in Milwaukee County. It’s not yet possible to determine whether Harris fell short of Biden’s performance because Biden voters stayed home or switched their vote to Trump — or how some combination of the two produced the rightward drift evident in each of these states. Harris advertised heavily and campaigned regularly in each, and made Milwaukee County her first stop as a candidate with a rally in July. These swings alone were not the difference in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but her weaker performance than Biden across the three metros helped Trump, who held on to big 2020 margins in the three states' broad rural areas and improved or held steady in populous suburbs. Trump's team and outside groups supporting him knew from their data that he was making inroads with Black voters, particularly Black men younger than 50, more concentrated in these urban areas that have been key to Democratic victories. When James Blair, Trump's political director, saw results coming in from Philadelphia on election night, he knew Trump had cut into the more predominantly Black precincts, a gain that would echo in Wayne and Milwaukee counties. “The data made clear there was an opportunity there,” Blair said. AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 120,000 voters, found Trump won a larger share of Black and Latino voters than he did in 2020, and most notably among men under age 45. Democrats won Senate races in Michigan and Wisconsin but lost in Pennsylvania. In 2026, they will be defending governorships in all three states and a Senate seat in Michigan. Despite the burst of enthusiasm Harris' candidacy created among the Democratic base when she entered the race in July, she ended up receiving fewer votes than Biden in three of the seven states where she campaigned almost exclusively. In Arizona, she received about 90,000 fewer votes than Biden. She received about 67,000 fewer in Michigan and 39,000 fewer in Pennsylvania. In four others — Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin — Harris won more votes than Biden did. But Trump's support grew by more — in some states, significantly more. That dynamic is glaring in Georgia, where Harris received almost 73,000 more votes than Biden did when he very narrowly carried the state. But Trump added more than 200,000 to his 2020 total, en route to winning Georgia by roughly 2 percentage points. In Wisconsin, Trump's team reacted to slippage it saw in GOP-leaning counties in suburban Milwaukee by targeting once-Democratic-leaning, working-class areas, where Trump made notable gains. In the three largest suburban Milwaukee counties — Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha — which have formed the backbone of GOP victories for decades, Harris performed better than Biden did in 2020. She also gained more votes than Trump gained over 2020, though he still won the counties. That made Trump's focus on Rock County, a blue-collar area in south central Wisconsin, critical. Trump received 3,084 more votes in Rock County, home of the former automotive manufacturing city of Janesville, than he did in 2020, while Harris underperformed Biden's 2020 total by seven votes. That helped Trump offset Harris' improvement in Milwaukee's suburbs. The focus speaks to the strength Trump has had and continued to grow with middle-income, non-college educated voters, the Trump campaign's senior data analyst Tim Saler said. “If you're going to have to lean into working-class voters, they are particularly strong in Wisconsin,” Saler said. “We saw huge shifts from 2020 to 2024 in our favor.” Of the seven most competitive states, Arizona saw the smallest increase in the number of votes cast in the presidential contest — slightly more than 4,000 votes, in a state with more than 3.3 million ballots cast. That was despite nearly 30 campaign visits to Arizona by Trump, Harris and their running mates and more than $432 million spent on advertising by the campaigns and allied outside groups, according to the ad-monitoring firm AdImpact. Arizona, alone of the seven swing states, saw Harris fall short of Biden across small, midsize and large counties. In the other six states, she was able to hold on in at least one of these categories. Even more telling, it is also the only swing state where Trump improved his margin in every single county. While turnout in Maricopa County, Arizona's most populous as the home to Phoenix, dipped slightly from 2020 — by 14,199 votes, a tiny change in a county where more than 2 million people voted — Trump gained almost 56,000 more votes than four years ago. Meanwhile, Harris fell more than 60,000 votes short of Biden's total, contributing to a shift significant enough to swing the county and state to Trump, who lost Arizona by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2020. The biggest leaps to the right weren't taking place exclusively among Republican-leaning counties, but also among the most Democratic-leaning counties in the states. Michigan's Wayne County swung 9 points toward Trump, tying the more Republican-leaning Antrim County for the largest movement in the state. AP VoteCast found that voters were most likely to say the economy was the most important issue facing the country in 2024, followed by immigration. Trump supporters were more motivated by economic issues and immigration than Harris', the survey showed. “It’s still all about the economy," said North Carolina Democratic strategist Morgan Jackson, a senior adviser to Democrat Josh Stein, who won North Carolina’s governorship on Nov. 5 as Trump also carried the state. “Democrats have to embrace an economic message that actually works for real people and talk about it in the kind of terms that people get, rather than giving them a dissertation of economic policy,” he said. Governor’s elections in 2026 give Democrats a chance to test their understanding and messaging on the issue, said Democratic pollster Margie Omero, whose firm has advised Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the past and winning Arizona Senate candidate Ruben Gallego this year. “So there’s an opportunity to really make sure people, who governors have a connection to, are feeling some specificity and clarity with the Democratic economic message,” Omero said. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
First 12-team CFP set: Oregon seeded No. 1, SMU edges Alabama for final spot
Advertisement 2 This advertisement has not loaded yet. Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Advertisement 3 This advertisement has not loaded yet.A student participates in an outdoor activity focusing on mental health at Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School in Zhangqiu District of Jinan, east China’s Shandong Province, Oct. 23, 2024. — Xinhua photo JINAN (Nov 27): Zhao Ruiqi (pseudonym) had always been carefree until a phone call one day turned her world upside down. “I was told that my mom had passed away,” said the 17-year-old student at Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School in east China’s Shandong Province. “She had been diagnosed with cancer back when I was in grade seven, but she had been optimistic and was receiving treatment. I didn’t expect to lose her so early.” The news was a severe blow to Zhao, and she struggled with her mental health. Luckily, she was not alone. Li Wenhao, a peer supporter, was on hand to help her to step out of the shadow of grief. “She once told me that mom would be sad in heaven seeing me in such a state,” Zhao recalled. Li also introduced her to the school counselor, and gradually the fog dissipated. She was no longer jolted awake by nightmares, and could concentrate on her studies again. By the time of the end-of-term exams, she was finding her feet again. Peer supporter Li Wenhao (centre) participates in an outdoor activity focusing on mental health at Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School in Zhangqiu District of Jinan, east China’s Shandong Province, Oct. 23, 2024. — Xinhua photo The peer support scheme at Zhao’s school is part of an adolescent mental health and development program jointly launched by China’s National Health Commission (NHC), the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). A survey by the Institute of Psychology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2022 showed that of more than 30,000 students aged between 10 and 16 they polled, nearly 15 percent were at risk of developing depression. “Young people’s mental health is related to the future of the country and the nation,” said Li Nan, adolescent development program officer with the UNICEF. “Through this project, we hope to strengthen the linkage between medical institutions and schools, and promote the mental health and all-round development of adolescents.” The program, carried out from 2021 to 2025 in 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, is scheduled to eventually cover 300 schools. Peer supporter Shi Hongfei (centre) participates in a group discussion with classmates during a mental health class at Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School in Zhangqiu District of Jinan, east China’s Shandong Province, Oct. 24, 2024. — Xinhua photo Shi Hongfei, 16, is one of the many students who volunteered to become a peer supporter. He told Xinhua that he had a friend in junior high school who suffered with depression. “He was the one who initially opened my eyes to issues surrounding mental health. I have always wanted to learn more,” Shi said. Shi’s classmate, Wu Heyuan (pseudonym), had transferred to Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School in March this year. He found it hard to adapt to the new workload and struggled to make new friends. It wasn’t long before it all became too overwhelming, and the 11th-grader began showing signs of depression. During one PE lesson, Shi chatted with Wu while they played basketball. “I reassured him that exams were used to check for any academic issues. Once the exams finished, it is a time to look ahead.” Shi describes being a peer supporter “a highlight” of his life so far. “I can not only help other people, but also learn how to get along with people better,” he said, smiling. “The experience has given me real insight into life, improved my interpersonal skills, increased my sense of responsibility and taught me how to express myself more accurately,” said Li Wenhao. When peer supporters like Shi and Li encounter problems they find difficult, they can take the students in need to the school counselor, or seek advice for themselves. Li Jinghao (back, right) and Song Yeming (back, second right) share their emotional feelings during a mental health class at Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School in Zhangqiu District of Jinan, east China’s Shandong Province, Oct. 23, 2024. — Xinhua photo Li Nan noted that the experts involved in the program have developed peer support tool kits that enable teenagers to play an active role. School counselor Zhao Peng trained the 58 peer supporters at Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School. “Peer support is an important part of the discovery and prevention of mental health problems among youngsters. It means that those in need can be offered help in time,” he said. In addition to peer support, experts have also devised “mental health service packages.” This standardized curriculum has been designed to help teens better understand themselves, control their emotions, be kind to themselves, appreciate others and solve problems. Close to 1,500 students in grade seven and eight in the school attend lessons using the packages once every two weeks, including 14-year-olds Li Jinghao and Song Yeming, who both agreed that the lesson is useful. Li shared that one highlight was learning how to make plans so that she could organize her time better. She even shared her newfound knowledge with her parents. “My mom can be hot-tempered. So, I gave her tips on how to control her temper, which I learned in class, such as asking her to stop and take a deep breath,” she said. Song used to feel self-conscious because of her dark skin. “But our teacher reminded us that everyone is unique,” she said, adding that the class has helped her be more optimistic. “I take joy from the little things: Seeing the small flowers by the road and grass after the rain, the puddles on the ground and shining water beads on a spider web.” Zhao Peng recalls classmates struggling with mental health issues in primary and middle school, not to mention the stress he felt due to the Gaokao, the college entrance exam. “If we had been given help back then, we might be better off now,” he said. He graduated from university in 2000, when some schools in China were beginning to pay attention to students’ mental health. He soon secured a job at Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School, where he started a magazine focusing on mental health. The school began offering mental health as a subject around 2013, however, classes were sporadic. Zhao took it upon himself to find engaging content for the lesson. “With the mental health service packages our lesson is more standardized,” said the teacher, who is now also a teaching researcher with the education and sports bureau of the Zhangqiu District. Last year, nearly 5,000 teenage students in 18 schools of 10 provinces across China were polled in a randomized controlled trial, among whom close to 90 percent considered the lesson helpful. Luo Xiaomin, an associate researcher with the National Center for Women and Children’s Health of NHC, explained that the curriculum was devised over seven years by national and international experts, and 329 schools had signed up to use it as of September this year. “In addition, the adolescent mental health and development program has boosted multi-sectoral collaboration and led to the introduction of policies,” she said. In 2023, the Ministry of Education and 16 other departments released a specialized action plan on student mental health from 2023 to 2025. The initiative aims to foster collaboration among schools, families, society, and relevant authorities in promoting student well-being. According to Kong Gang, vice director of Zhangqiu maternal and child health center, last year they worked with more than 70 students referred by schools. They now collaborate with the Shandong provincial mental health center, and will transfer any students that they do not have the capacity for through a “green channel” so that they can receive timely treatment. Kong has seen the dark side of overlooked teenage mental health issues: a friend’s child committed suicide, which is why he is a proponent of the adolescent mental health and development program. “If through our work we can avoid a tragedy and save a family, we are making a great contribution to society,” he said. School counselor Zhao Peng gives a training class for peer supporters at Zhangqiu No. 4 Middle School in Zhangqiu District of Jinan, east China’s Shandong Province, Oct. 22, 2024. — Xinhua photo Thinking of her mom, Zhao recalled. “She had a great passion for life. My mom loved to record important moments. I used to tell her that when I grow up, I could earn money and take her to travel and see the world.” For now, she sees her future in journalism. “That’s a job that would allow me to travel to the places I want to see for my mom,” she said. — XinhuaPARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced a new government Monday, after the previous Cabinet collapsed in a historic vote prompted by fighting over the country's budget. The government, put together by newly named Prime Minister Francois Bayrou , includes members of the outgoing conservative-dominated team and new figures from centrist or left-leaning backgrounds. Coming up with a 2025 budget will be the most urgent order of business. The new government enters office after months of political deadlock and crisis and pressure from financial markets to reduce France’s colossal debt. Macron has vowed to remain in office until his term ends in 2027, but has struggled to govern since snap elections in the summer left no single party with a majority in the National Assembly. Since his appointment 10 days ago, Bayrou has held talks with political leaders from various parties in search of the right balance for the new government. Some critics on Monday were angry at Bayrou for consulting with Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, and some argue the government looks too much like the old one to win lawmakers’ trust. Former Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned this month following a no-confidence vote prompted by budget disputes in the National Assembly , leaving France without a functioning government. Le Pen played a key role in Barnier’s downfall by joining her National Rally party’s forces with the left to pass the no-confidence motion. Bayrou will need support from moderate legislators on the right and left to keep his government alive. Banker Eric Lombard will be finance minister, a crucial post when France is working to fulfill its promises to European Union partners to reduce its deficit, estimated to reach 6% of its gross domestic product this year. Lombard briefly worked as an adviser to a Socialist finance minister in the 1990s. Bayrou has said he supports tax hikes championed by his predecessor, but it’s not clear how the new government can find the right calculation for a budget that satisfies a majority of lawmakers angry over spending cuts. Hard-right Bruno Retailleau stays on as interior minister, with responsibility for France’s security and migration policy. Sebastien Lecornu, who has been at the forefront of France’s military support for Ukraine, remains defense minister, while Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who has traveled extensively in the Mideast in recent weeks, also retains his post. Among new faces are two former prime ministers. Manuel Valls will be minister for overseas affairs, and Elisabeth Borne takes the education ministry.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) — Marcus Johnson scored 20 points as Bowling Green beat Aquinas (Michigan) 87-62 on Monday. Johnson went 8 of 10 from the field (3 for 5 from 3-point range) for the Falcons (5-7). Derrick Butler scored 18 points and added five rebounds. Jamai Felt had 13 points and shot 5 of 6 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line. Jadakiss Lewis led the Saints in scoring, finishing with 15 points and two steals. Caden Pokorzynski added 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Bowling Green led 43-25 at halftime, with Johnson racking up 15 points. Butler scored a team-high 13 points after intermission. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .