Family first: What foster care needs to succeed in India
A former wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills is accused of intentionally infecting a woman, and others, with an incurable STD, according to a new lawsuit. In the lawsuit, the woman says Eric Moulds kept quiet about having herpes during their monthslong romantic relationship in 2023. After they exchanged messages over Instagram in January 2023, Moulds offered her “an all-expenses paid trip” and flew her out to see him in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a complaint filed Dec. 10 in New York State Superior Court. They began a sexual relationship during this trip, the complaint says. Moulds, as a Buffalo Bills player from 1996 to 2005, played in the NFL’s Pro Bowl three times and has a football training facility in Charlotte, according to the Buffalo News, which first reported on the lawsuit. According to the complaint, the woman continued to visit Moulds, who paid for her flights, until November 2023, which was the last time they were intimate and had unprotected sex. Moulds never told her that he had herpes, the complaint says. Instead, his pregnant fiancée did when she contacted the woman in December 2023 and suggested that she get tested for STDs “because she, along with other women whom (Moulds) had relationships with, had been transmitted diseases by him,” according to the complaint. The woman, who didn’t know Moulds had been in a relationship with his fiancée for eight years, tested positive for herpes simplex virus type 2 that month, the complaint says. The woman, of Erie County, New York, is suing Moulds, who lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on claims of negligence and for purposefully giving her an STD. Moulds hasn’t been officially served with the lawsuit as of Dec. 12, but is aware of it, according to his attorney Frank LoTempio III. “We are in the process of preparing a response and possibly a motion to dismiss,” LoTempio told McClatchy News via email on Dec. 12. “We will be fully defending this action against him.” According to the lawsuit, Moulds first reached out to the woman over Instagram in 2018 and they would occasionally message each other before reconnecting over the social media platform in January 2023. After her herpes diagnosis, the complaint says the woman learned Moulds “also engaged with multiple women besides (her) via social media.” He’s accused of targeting “single mothers who were Buffalo Bills fans living in Western New York.” According to the complaint, Moulds used his “celebrity status” as an NFL star to meet women online and initiate sexual conversations before later offering “all-expenses-paid invitations to see him in person to convert the online relationship into (an) intimate sexual relationship.” The woman isn’t the first to similarly sue Moulds, the complaint says. Moulds is accused of giving other women herpes and paying them to drop lawsuits they filed against him, according to the complaint, which says he had them sign non-disclosure agreements. The woman suing him now says she hadn’t been intimate with anyone else throughout her relationship with Moulds. “In the wake of another potential lawsuit, (Moulds) offered money in an attempt to buy her silence,” the complaint says. The woman seeks an unspecified amount in damages with her lawsuit. The herpes simplex virus 2 can lead to recurring “painful blisters or ulcers” in the genital area, according to the World Health Organization. Though incurable, the disease’s symptoms can be treated. Most people who have herpes don’t experience symptoms or only have mild symptoms, the WHO says online. “(Moulds’) conduct was outrageous and extreme as it put his own sexual desires over (the woman’s) permanent health,” the complaint says.
An Israeli airstrike flattened a multistory building in central Gaza, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens more, according to Palestinian medical officials, after strikes Thursday across the Gaza Strip killed at least 28 others. The latest deadly strike hit the urban Nuseirat refugee camp just hours after U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem that the recent ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for a potential deal to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the deadly strike in Nuseirat. Israel says it is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine in some of the hardest-hit parts of the territory. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the latest: DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, Palestinian medics said, just hours after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser raised hopes about a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. Photos from the scene of the blast that circulated on social media showed a completely collapsed building with people walking through its mangled and charred remains, smoke rising from piles of belongings strewn over the rubble. Officials at two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Awda Hospital in the north and al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, reported they received a combined total of 25 bodies from an Israeli strike on a multistory residential building in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. Palestinian medics also reported that over 40 people, most of them children, were receiving treatment at the two hospitals. The al-Aqsa Hospital said that the Israeli attack also damaged several nearby houses in Nuseirat. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the deadly strike. Israel is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. food agency is trying to deal with massive needs in Syria not only from escalating war-related food insecurity and an upsurge in displaced people fleeing Lebanon but also the dramatically new environment following the ouster of Bashar Assad, a senior U.N. official says. “It’s a triple crisis and the needs are going to be massive,” said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, in an interview with The Associated Press late Wednesday. The WFP estimated that 3 million people in Syria were “acutely food insecure” and very hungry. However, that estimate was made before the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon pushed many Syrian refugees back to their home country, plus the instability caused by the overthrow of Assad. Due to funding cuts, the WFP had been targeting only 2 million of those people, he said. Because WFP has been working in Syria during the 13-year civil war, he said, it has pre-positioned food in the country. It has 500 staff in seven offices nationwide and has operated across conflict lines, across borders, and with all different parties, he said. Skau said Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel group now in control of Syria, has promised to provide security for WFP warehouses. Humanitarian aid supplies had been looted at U.N. warehouses in the disorder after Assad fell. “We’re not really up and running in Damascus because of the continued kind of uncertainty there,” he said. WFP initially thought of relocating non-essential staff but the situation in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, has been “quite calm and orderly," he said. In the short term, Skau said, “what we’re seeing is that markets are disrupted, the value of the currency dropped dramatically, food prices are going up, transport lines don’t work,” and it’s unclear who will stamp required papers for imports and exports. This means that a bigger humanitarian response is needed initially, he said, but in the next phase, the U,N. will be looking at contributing to Syria’s recovery, and ultimately the country will need reconstruction. Skau said he expects a new funding appeal for Syria and urged donors to be generous. JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday that Israel’s ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for another deal to end the war in Gaza. He plans to travel next to Qatar and Egypt — key mediators in the ceasefire talks — as the Biden administration makes a final push on negotiations before Donald Trump is inaugurated. Sullivan said “Hamas’ posture at the negotiating table did adapt” after Israel decimated the leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and reached a ceasefire there. “We believe it puts us in a position to close this negotiation,” he said. Sullivan dismissed speculation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was waiting for Trump to take office to finalize a deal. He the U.S. believes there are three American hostages still alive in Gaza, but it’s hard to know for sure. He also said “the balance of power in the Middle East has changed significantly” since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, especially with the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally of Hezbollah and Iran. “We are now faced with a dramatically reshaped Middle East in which Israel is stronger, Iran is weaker, its proxies decimated, and a ceasefire that is new and will be lasting in Lebanon that ensures Israel’s security over the long term,” he said. KHIAM, Lebanon — An Israeli strike killed at least one person Thursday in the Lebanese border town of Khiam, the Health Ministry said, less than a day after Israeli troops handed the hilltop village back to the Lebanese army in coordination with U.N. peacekeepers, Khiam is the first Lebanese town Israel has pull out of since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants began two weeks ago, and marks an important test of the fragile truce . Lebanon's Health Ministry and state news agency did not provide details on who was killed, and did not report airstrikes elsewhere on Thursday. The Israeli military said an airstrike targeted Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, without saying if the strike was in Khiam. Lebanese troops deployed in the northern section of the town on Thursday morning and were coordinating with U.N. peacekeepers to finalize Israel’s withdrawal before fully entering into other neighborhoods. An Associated Press reporter who visited Khiam on Thursday observed widespread destruction, with most houses reduced to rubble. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, with collapsed walls and debris scattered across the streets. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, sharply criticized Israel for striking the town less than 24 hours after the Lebanese army returned, saying it was “a violation of the pledges made by the parties that sponsored the ceasefire agreement, who must act to curb Israeli aggression.” The truce was brokered by the U.S. and France. Israel has previously said the ceasefire deal allows it to use military force against perceived violations. Near-daily attacks by Israel during the ceasefire, mostly in southern Lebanon, have killed at least 29 people and wounded 27 others. Khiam, which sits on a ridge less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the border with Israel, saw some of the most intense fighting during the war. The Lebanese army was clearing debris and reopening roads in the northern section of the town. Civilian access to other areas remained challenging as the army clears roads and works alongside the U.N. peacekeepers to ensure the area is free of unexploded ordnance. AQABA, Jordan -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging the many players in Syria to avoid taking any steps that could lead to further violence. Blinken spoke to reporters in Jordan on Thursday shortly after meeting King Abdullah II as he opened a trip in the region to discuss Syria's future after former President Bashar Assad's ouster. Blinken will next visit Turkey, a NATO ally and a main backer of Syrian rebel groups. Blinken called this “a time of both real promise but also peril for Syria and for its neighbors.” He said he was focused on coordinating efforts in the region “to support the Syrian people as they transition away from Assad’s brutal dictatorship” and establish a government that isn’t dominated by one religion or ethnic group or outside power. Blinken was asked about Israel’s incursion into a buffer zone that had been demilitarized for the past half century. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the move is temporary and defensive, but also indicated Israel will remain in the area for a long time. Blinken declined to say whether the U.S. supports the move, but said the U.S. would be speaking to Israel and other partners in the region. “I think, across the board, when it comes to any actors who have real interests in Syria, it’s also really important at this time that, we all try to make sure that we’re not sparking any additional conflicts,” he said. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, arrived in Damascus on Thursday, according to Turkish media reports. Kalin was seen arriving at the Umayyad Mosque to pray, surrounded by a large crowd, according to video shown on Turkish television. The visit is highly symbolic. Turkish officials, who supported the opposition against Syria’s government, had predicted at the start of the civil war in 2011 that President Bashar Assad’s government would fall, allowing them to pray at the Umayyad Mosque. JERUSALEM — Paraguay reopened its embassy in Jerusalem Thursday, becoming one of a small handful of nations to recognize the city as Israel’s capital and marking a diplomatic victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s international isolation has increased as the war in Gaza drags on, and Paraguay was the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that kickstarted the war. The United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Kosovo, and Papua New Guinea are among the few countries with Jerusalem embassies. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 but it wasn’t recognized by the international community, and most countries run their embassies out of Tel Aviv. Spirits were high at the ceremony marking the embassy’s inauguration Thursday, with Netanyahu and Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar lavishing praise on Paraguayan President Santiago Pena. “My good friend Santiago,” said Netanyahu, addressing Pena. “We’re a small nation. You’re a small nation. We suffered horrible things but we overcame the odds of history...we can win and we are winning.” Paraguay had an embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, under Former President Horacio Cartes. That embassy was moved back to Tel Aviv by Cartes’ successor, Mario Abdo Benitez, prompting Israel to close its embassy in Asuncion. Saar said Israel and Paraguay shared a “friendship based not only on interests but also values and principles.” He and the Paraguayan foreign minister, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, signed a series of bilateral agreements and Saar said he would soon visit Asunción with a delegation from the Israeli private sector. “Israel is going to win and the countries we are standing next to Israel, we are going to win," Pena said. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is renewing calls for Syria’s new leadership to respect women and minority rights, prevent extremists from gaining new footholds in the country and keeping suspected chemical weapons stocks secure as he makes his first visit to the Mideast since the weekend ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad . Making his 12th trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted lasted year but amid fresh concerns about security following the upheaval in Syria, Blinken emphasized Thursday to Jordan’s King Abdullah II U.S. “support for an inclusive transition that can lead to an accountable and representative Syrian government chosen by the Syrian people,” the State Department said. Blinken also repeated the importance the outgoing Biden administration puts on respect for human rights and international law, the protection of civilians and stopping terrorist groups from reconstituting. Blinken met with the monarch and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Aqaba before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on the situation in Syria and the urgency of securing a long-elusive deal to release hostages and end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Abdullah told Blinken that “the first step to reach comprehensive regional calm is to end the Israeli war on Gaza." GENEVA — The U.N. envoy for Syria is calling on authorities to save evidence from detention centers that were a hub of “unimaginable barbarity” that Syrians have faced for many years and cooperate with international investigators looking into such crimes. Geir Pederson referred to new images from the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital, Damascus, after President Bashar Assad fled Syria as armed groups stormed in to overthrow his government over the weekend. “The images from Saydnaya and other detention facilities starkly underscore the unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured and reported for years,” Pedersen said in a statement. Documentation and testimonies “only scratch the surface of the carceral system’s horrors,” he added. Pedersen urged authorities to cooperate with U.N. bodies like an independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which was created in 2011, and an independent group known as the IIIM that was set up five years later to also compile evidence of crimes. ROME — Leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations offered their full support for an inclusive political transition in Syria and invited all parties to preserve the country’s territorial integrity. In a message released by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office, the leaders said they were ready to support a transition that “leads to a credible government, inclusive and not sectarian, that guarantees respect for the state of law, universal human rights, including rights for women, (and) the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities.” The leaders also underlined the importance that ousted President Bashar Assad’s government is held responsible for crimes, citing “decades of atrocities.” They said they would also cooperate with groups working to prohibit chemical weapons “to secure, declare and destroy” remaining chemical arms in Syria. Italy currently holds the rotating presidency of the G-7, which also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it struck Hamas militants in two locations in the southern Gaza Strip who planned to hijack aid convoys. Palestinian Health officials had earlier said that the two strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid deliveries. The committees have been organized in cooperation with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza. It was not possible to independently confirm either account of the strikes, which occurred overnight into Thursday. Israel has long accused Hamas of hijacking humanitarian aid deliveries, while U.N. officials have said there is no systemic diversion of aid . U.N. agencies and aid groups say deliveries are held up by Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid and movement within Gaza, as well as the breakdown of law and order more than 14 months into the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel has repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, which maintained internal security before the war. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza, said a U.N. convoy of 70 trucks carrying humanitarian aid in southern Gaza “was involved in a serious incident,” resulting in just one of the trucks reaching its destination. It did not provide further details on the incident but said the same route had been used successfully two days earlier. Israel’s offensive, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, leaving the territory heavily reliant on international food aid. DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend, overthrowing President Bashar Assad and ending his family’s 54-year rule. As video emerged online of Timmerman on Thursday, he was initially mistaken by some for Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago. In the video, Timmerman could be seen lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house. A group of men in the video said he was being treated well and would be safely returned home. The Biden administration is working to bring Timmerman home, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Aqaba, Jordan, without offering details, citing privacy. Timmerman later gave an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV network, saying he had illegally crossed into Syria on foot from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle seven months ago, before being detained. He said he was treated well in detention but could hear other men being tortured. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Jordan on his 12th visit to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year and his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad that has sparked new fears of instability in a region wracked by three conflicts despite a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. Blinken was meeting in Aqaba with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Thursday before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on Friday. The meetings will focus largely on Syria but also touch on long-elusive hopes for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Blinken is the latest senior U.S. official to visit the Middle East in the five days since Assad was deposed as the Biden administration navigates more volatility in the region in its last few weeks in office and as President-elect Donald Trump has said the U.S. should stay out of the Syrian conflict. Other include national security adviser Jake Sullivan and a top military commander who traveled there as the U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes to prevent the Islamic State militant group from reconstituting and prevent materiel and suspected chemical weapons stocks from falling into militant hands. Blinken “will discuss the need for the transition process and new government in Syria to respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance, prevent Syria from being used as a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that chemical weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed,” the State Department said. The U.S. would be willing to recognize and fully support a new Syrian government that met those criteria. U.S. officials say they are not actively reviewing the foreign terrorist organization designation of the main Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, which was once an al-Qaida affiliate, but stressed they are not barred from speaking to its members. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces will remain in a Syrian buffer zone until a new force on the other side of the border can guarantee security. After the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israeli forces pushed into a buffer zone that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war. The military says it has seized additional strategic points nearby. Israeli officials have said the move is temporary, but Netanyahu’s conditions could take months or even years to fulfill as Syria charts its post-Assad future, raising the prospect of an open-ended Israeli presence in the country. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Thursday that Assad’s overthrow by jihadi rebels created a vacuum on the border. “Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th style attacks,” it said, referring to Hamas’ 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there. “That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border.” The statement added that “this deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed.” The buffer zone is adjacent to the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. The international community, except for the United States, views the Golan as occupied Syrian territory. JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Thursday that the attacker who fatally shot a 12-year-old Israeli boy in the occupied West Bank overnight turned himself in to authorities. The attacker opened fire on a bus near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, critically wounding the boy, who hospital authorities pronounced dead in the early morning. Three others were wounded in the attack, paramedics said. The shooting took place just outside Jerusalem in an area near major Israeli settlements. JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government has evacuated 37 citizens from Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government, officials said Thursday. The evacuees were taken by land from Damascus to Beirut, where they boarded three commercial flights to Jakarta, said Judha Nugraha, director of citizen protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The Indonesian Embassy in Damascus said all 1,162 Indonesian citizens in Syria were safe. Indonesian Ambassador to Syria Wajid Fauzi said the situation in Syria has gradually returned to normal. “I can say that 98% of people’s lives are back to normal, shops are open, public transportation has started running,” Fauzi said, adding that most Indonesian nationals living in Syria had chosen to stay. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medical officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip, including seven children and a woman. One of the strikes overnight and into Thursday flattened a house in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at the hospital’s morgue. Two other strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid convoys . The committees were set up by displaced Palestinians in coordination with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. The Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis received the bodies and an AP reporter counted them. The hospital said eight were killed in a strike near the southern border town of Rafah and seven others in a strike 30 minutes later near Khan Younis. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved resolutions Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban . The votes in the 193-nation world body were 158-9 with 13 abstentions to demand a ceasefire now and 159-9 with 11 abstentions to support the agency known as UNRWA. The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group . General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly. Israel and its close ally, the United States, were in a tiny minority speaking and voting against the resolutions.
Brian Odom has made an impact in a short time at UNT, which is turning to him to save year as DC
Five Ways to Explore NASA’s Portfolio of Technologies with TechPort 4.0The BJP-led Mahayuti coalition has achieved a historic victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, securing or leading in over 230 of the 288 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alone has won or is leading in 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has taken the lead in 57 seats, and the NCP helmed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is set to capture 41 seats. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has extended his congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this significant triumph. He stated, "The public has placed their trust in the leadership of PM Modi." Sharma also expressed gratitude to Rajasthan voters for supporting the BJP in recent by-elections, emphasizing the party's commitment to Rajasthan's development and welfare. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari echoed this sentiment, highlighting the confidence within Mahayuti regarding their majority but acknowledging the unprecedented nature of the victory. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini praised PM Modi's vision and policies, attributing their success to the Maharashtra people's appetite for development under Modi's leadership. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), in stark contrast, have managed only 48 leads. (With inputs from agencies.)Scientists are using COVID-19 vaccine technologies to develop better vaccines against influenza viruses, including H5N1 bird flu. The research could make annual flu jabs much more effective. H5N1 bird flu cases have US authorities — and other nations monitoring its outbreak — on high alert. More than 60 human H5N1 infections have been confirmed in the US, mostly among agricultural workers close to infected cattle and birds. At time of writing, more than 123 million poultry have been infected across all US states, in addition to 865 dairy herds. On Wednesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first "severe" case of H5N1 had hospitalized a person in Louisiana. California governor Gavin Newsom also declared a state of emergency to address the spread of the virus. Almost all cases of H5N1 in people are due to exposure to live or dead animals and no human-to-human transmission has been recorded. To ensure readiness for potential transmission between people , scientists are testing new vaccine technologies to protect against emerging diseases. New research may have found a breakthrough new method for creating more effective vaccines against influenza viruses . The study, published December 19 in the journal Science, demonstrated a new way to improve the effectiveness of the annual flu shot. Our immune systems are "biased" towards certain flu viruses The new study aimed to understand why seasonal flu vaccine effectiveness is only between roughly 40-66% . There are many strains of influenza circulating at any time and health authorities constantly monitor their spread to create targeted seasonal vaccines. The final jab in the arm usually contains four selected flu strains, but the body rarely develops a good response to each. Part of the problem is that people’s immune systems often produce antibodies tailored to a specific influenza subtype — not necessarily the specific ones put into the vaccine . "For a long time, people thought that individual flu strain preference [subtype bias] was something you couldn’t do anything about," Mark Davis, an immunologist at Stanford University, US, who led the study. But Davis’ team found the real reason for these immune biases — we inherit them our parents via our genes. In an initial analysis of twins and newborns, around three-quarters of people with no previous exposure to influenza were found to have biased immune responses to specific flu strains. Boosting seasonal flu shot effectiveness Davis’ team then sought to "unbias" the immune system so it could respond better to different types of influenza strains. Their new vaccine technology combines key molecules from different flu strains into a single compound. The immune system recognizes its preferred molecule, then recruits other "helper" immune cells to build defenses to all strains in the combination. Although only tested in lab dishes so far, Davis said their vaccine platform could push the effectiveness of flu vaccines from its around 66% "into the nineties." The current flu vaccines don't give equal protection to all the influenza viruses it contains, so "you’ve got to make a vaccine that has all the major variables in it," Davis said. New methods could improve flu vaccines Isabelle Bekeredjian-Ding, director of the University of Marburg’s Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene in Germany, said the research sheds light on "something that, at least in vaccinology, has not been fully understood." “The real highlight of the paper is that it can describe the [immune] cell properties that are needed to produce specific types of immune responses," said Bekeredjian-Ding, who was not involved in the research. A drawback of Davis’ study was that it was lab-based, meaning the vaccine has not yet been trialed in humans. Davis said their next task is to convince manufacturers that adopting their method is the way for forward in vaccine development. After that, the new vaccines will need to go through rigorous testing in clinical trials to ensure they are safe and effective. Only then can they become available for widespread use. Is another pandemic brewing? The current bird flu situation To play this audio please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 audio Testing COVID technologies to target H5N1 Meanwhile the CDC has completed a study of an H5N1 vaccine using the mRNA technology used to create COVID-19 vaccines . The study, published in Science Translational Medicine , tested a prototype H5N1 mRNA vaccine in ferrets. Vaccinated ferrets, even those with severe symptoms, overcame H5N1 infection, but unvaccinated ferrets did not. The measure is a milestone in pre-pandemic preparation, said Bin Zhou at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, USA, who led the study. The vaccine is yet to be tested in humans, but Zhou thinks similar results could be expected in human trials. “We can say that the mRNA is a promising platform... If there is a pandemic then we’re prepared for that part, unlike COVID-19 at the beginning where we didn’t have anything prepared for the vaccine,” Zhou said. Edited by: Fred Schwaller Fight against avian flu involves vaccinating birds in zoos To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Sources Coupling antigens from multiple subtypes of influenza can broaden antibody and T cell responses. Published by Vamsee Mallajosyula, Saborni Chakraborty et al. in Science. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adi2396 An influenza mRNA vaccine protects ferrets from lethal infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus. Published by Masato Hatta, Yasuko Hatta et al in Science Translational Medicine. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.ads1273
From 'Aspie supremacy' to vaccines: The toxic autism politics of Trump's second administrationThe Chicago Bulls conclude a three-game homestand on Friday when they host Eastern Conference counterpart Charlotte Hornets, with both returning to action after lengthy breaks. Both Charlotte and Chicago last played on Sunday, going on hiatus the following four days due to their eliminations from the NBA Cup. The Hornets finished 0-4 in East Group A, and the Bulls went 2-2 in Group C. Charlotte resumes competition coming off a win, however, having snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 113-109 defeat of Indiana on Sunday. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 26 points, including a pair of crucial free throws with seven seconds remaining that sealed the victory. The win was Charlotte's first since losing guard LaMelo Ball to a calf strain. Ball was on a tear with four straight games scoring between 32 and 50 points before sustaining the injury in the fourth quarter of the Hornets' Nov. 27 loss to Miami. Ball is averaging 31.1 points and 6.9 assists per game, both team highs. He is expected to remain out for Friday's contest, though the Charlotte Observer reported on Wednesday that he is "inching closer" to a return. No LaMelo Ball means there will not yet be an on-court reunion of brothers, as Chicago has had Lonzo Ball in the lineup for five of its last six games after his return from a nearly three-year absence. Lonzo Ball scored a season-high nine points and dished four assists in a 132-123 loss to Indiana on Dec. 6 For Charlotte, compounding the absence of LaMelo Ball is that the team has also been without Tre Mann, his backup at point guard. Mann has been sidelined since Nov. 23 with disc irritation in his back. "Our performance staff do a really good job of developing the most thoughtful plans they can," Hornets coach Charles Lee told reporters, as his team deals with a rash of injuries that also includes forward Miles Bridges. "And every injury has different boxes you have to check off." Each injury requires lineup adjustments, too. Vasilije Milic has fulfilled starting point guard duties over the last six games with Ball and Mann out, and Milic has scored at least 13 points in four of them. Chicago comes into Friday's contest a loser in its last two before its four days off, dropping decisions to Indiana and a 108-100 final to Philadelphia on Sunday. Zach LaVine, who is averaging a team-leading 22.1 points per game for the season, scored 32 and 30 in the two home defeats. LaVine's individual performance was reminiscent of a five-season stretch in Chicago before the foot injury that limited him to 25 games a season ago. The two-time All-Star averaged at least 23.7 points per game each of the five campaigns prior to last year. "There might be a game where I may need to go out there and try and lead the team offensively, but this year has been more about spurts," LaVine told the Chicago Sun-Times of him taking on a more reserved scoring role. "I don't think that's the style of play that we're playing right now." Chicago's second-leading scorer for the season, big man Nikola Vucevic (21 ppg), had muted scoring performances of 13 points in each of the two recent defeats. He previously scored 39 points in a Dec. 5 win over San Antonio. Vucevic is shooting a career-best 64.2 percent on 2-point attempts this season. Conversely, Charlotte's defense is giving up 55.8 percent shooting from inside the 3-point arc, an area for the Bulls to potentially exploit. --Field Level MediaPrincess Beatrice’s stepson Wolfie’s surprising school life revealedHaryana governor reviews Int’l Gita Mahotsav preparations
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