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Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States plans to commit $55 billion to Africa over the next three years, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday. The money will go to “a wide range of sectors to tackle the core challenges of our time,” and is being distributed in close partnership with Congress, Sullivan said. Much of the funds appear to come from previously announced programs and budgets. Here is what the White House has said so far about where the $55 billion will go: HEALTH The Biden-Harris administration has invested and committed to provide nearly $20 billion in health programs in the Africa region, the White House said on Tuesday. That includes $11.5 billion to address HIV/AIDS; more than $2 billion to combat malaria; more than $2 billion in support of family planning and reproductive health as well as maternal and child health; and more than $2 billion to address the health, humanitarian, and economic impacts of COVID-19. The administration also plans to ask Congress for $4 billion for healthcare workers in Africa, investing $1.33 billion annually from 2022 to 2024. CLIMATE CHANGE Since January 2021, the administration has invested and plans to provide at least $1.1 billion to support African-led efforts in conservation, climate adaptation, and energy transitions. These funds include U.S. International Development Finance Corporation investments into Malawi’s Golomoti JCM Solar Corporation, and a Climate Action Infrastructure Facility. NEW TRADE AND INVESTMENT U.S. President Joe Biden highlighted $15 billion in trade and investment partnerships and deals at the summit on Wednesday, the White House said. They include a $500 million memo of understanding between U.S. and African Export-Import banks to support diaspora engagement and a new “Clean Tech Energy Network” that supports $350 million in deals. WOMEN’S PARTNERSHIPS Vice President Kamala Harris made new commitments to advance women’s economic participation in Africa, the White House said. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced $358 million of new investments for women’s initiatives and the State Department will launch a program for green jobs for women with an initial $1 million investment. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons and Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday said they have charged eight individuals in a securities fraud scheme, alleging they reaped about $114 million from by using Twitter and Discord to manipulate stocks. The eight men allegedly purported to be successful traders on the social media platforms and then engaged in a so-called “pump and dump” scheme by hyping particular stocks to their followers with the intent to dump them once prices had risen, according to prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it has filed related civil charges against the defendants in the scheme, claiming that seven of the defendants used Twitter and Discord to boost stocks. It said the eighth was charged with aiding and abetting the scheme with his podcast. “Securities fraud victimizes innocent investors and undermines the integrity of our public markets,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. The individuals charged were Texas residents Edward Constantinescu, Perry Matlock, John Rybarczyk and Dan Knight, along with California residents Gary Deel and Tom Cooperman, Stefan Hrvatin of Miami and Mitchell Hennessey of Hoboken, New Jersey. Matlock pleaded not guilty following his arrest on Tuesday, according to a court filing. His attorney did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Rybarczyk and Deel did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The others could not immediately be reached. (Reporting by Chris Prentice and Nate Raymond; Editing by Mark Porter and Lisa Shumaker) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Twitter Inc suspended a bot account tracking its owner Elon Musk’s private jet, the account’s operator Jack Sweeney said in a tweet on Wednesday. The Twitter account tracked movements of Musk’s private jet using data available in the public domain. Later in the day, Sweeney’s Twitter account was also suspended. Musk said in a tweet in November that his commitment to free speech “extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk”. Sweeney, a 20-year-old student at the University of Central Florida, who also operates similar bot accounts tracking Musk’s jet on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram, tweeted on Saturday that Ella Irwin, Twitter’s vice president of trust and safety, requested that the account be filtered and less visible to users. Twitter and Sweeney did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. In previous media interviews, Sweeney said he turned down a $5,000 offer from Musk in 2021 to shut down the bot account. Separately, Twitter accounts tracking the jets of billionaire tech entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have also been suspended. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Eva Mathews; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shounak Dasgupta) View the full article

Published by Miami Herald MIAMI — Ghislaine Maxwell calls a Tallahassee federal prison home, but the convicted sex trafficker’s secrets are still being closely guarded. A federal court in New York on Monday night unsealed the latest batch of documents from her 2015 defamation lawsuit brought by victim Virginia Giuffre. Like many of the most recent releases of unsealed documents from the suit — the last came out in May — the latest round of documents are short on new revelations, and still contain page-after-page of black ink, blotting out key names and entire conversations, keeping the secrets of Maxwell and her ex-boy… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine @madonna/Instagram Madonna teased fans with a nearly nude photoshoot on Tuesday, December 13. “Express yourself, don’t repress yourself,” the Queen of Pop wrote alongside a series of provocative pictures on her Instagram Story. @madonna/Instagram The first seductive snap featured curve-hugging high waisted booty shorts and Madonna’s basically exposed breasts. MADONNA FACES FAN BACKLASH AFTER APPEARING UNRECOGNIZABLE IN STRANGE NEW VIDEO The 64-year-old remained topless as she used two very small emojis to just barely cover her nipples. She appeared to be feeling herself as she softly smirked at the camera and held her hands above her head to give fans a full view of her stripped down body. @madonna/Instagram Madonna’s nude frenzy didn’t stop there, however, as she followed up her topless photo with a lingerie selfie and an image of herself sprawled across a bed naked, showing off her entire bare behind. MADONNA DITCHES PANTS, ROCKS FISHNET STOCKINGS & BUSTIER BODYSUIT AT MIAMI ART BASEL EXHIBIT HONORING HER ‘SEX’ BOOK Fans have had more than enough of the “Material Girl” singer’s bizarre “attention-seeking” behavior, as they let the mother-of-six feel their wrath in the comments section of her most recent Instagram post. MEGA “For god sake get a grip. Why are you destroying your legacy. I’ve been on this journey with you and supported you since 1983, but I’m now at the point where as a fan I just don’t get you anymore. Stop trying to be young. REALITY check no teenagers know who you are. Embrace your amazing legacy and fans as we are still here,” one longtime admirer roared in disapproval. Another user chimed in with hopeful prayer, stating, “You need to seek and find Jesus, Fame and Money no matter how much or little of it you have, it does not bring Peace or Joy. Only Jesus does. I’ve been a fan since the ’80s and your recent behavior is not only concerning its ruined you legacy and legend. Im saying this not to put you down but out of genuine concern. Hope you find peace and come to terms with growing old. We all have to let go of some of the things we enjoyed in our younger years. .” @madonna/Instagram Although a majority of users continue to beg Madonna to quit flaunting her body every chance she gets, other supporters believe the pop icon should be able to proceed as she pleases. “I think it’s very funny that you say you are fans [but are] criticizing her. She was part of my whole life. We both lost our youth. Only people who lost their beauty, their youth know how much it hurts. I believe it’s just worry, but had she accepted her wrinkles and worn these clothes and necklaces you would have judged her anyways. So please mind your own business,” a fan wrote as they jumped to the “Hung Up” singer’s defense. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Back at it! Britney Spears let it all hang out when she took to Instagram on Tuesday, December 13, to share a video of herself dancing topless in the shower. In the now-deleted video clip, the 41-year-old wore nothing but a pair of red bikini bottoms as she danced around to LL Cool J‘s “Doin’ It.” “41 and finally expressing my freedom has never felt better!!! Learning to love myself has become my passion this year… I’d rather be in my skin than wear my skin!!!” the “Toxic” songstress captioned the post. Some of Spears’ fans were concerned for her well-being, with one writing, “With videos like this watch out the conservatorship may make a come back.” On the other hand, another fan defended the pop star. “Understand that this woman was under control for over a decade. She finally has control over what she posts. If you don’t like what she posts, unfollow. That’s it,” they wrote. mega As OK! previously reported, the blonde babe’s quirky behavior has been making headlines. First, she gushed about her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, despite publicly feuding earlier this year. “It’s my b-day but you’re my heart so I’m thinking about you … congratulations on being so brave, inspiring, and showing guts and glory in your show !!! You ain’t alone … if anybody knows what that feels like … I get it My baby sister !!! I love you !!!” she captioned a photo of Jamie Lynn, 31, playing a guitar and sitting down near a counter top via Instagram. While some believed Spears’ Instagram account had been hacked, her husband, Sam Asghari, made it clear that she’s doing just fine. “Social media can be traumatizing. Sometimes it’s good to take a break,” the handsome hunk said. “She has her voice and is a free woman. I have respect for her privacy and I protect it at all times.” FANS BEG FOR BRITNEY SPEARS TO RECEIVE A ‘WELFARE CHECK’ AFTER ELLEN DEGENERES REMINISCES ON POP STAR’S EARLY DAYS mega “I’ve always respected and supported her privacy with everything I’ve had,” he added. “I ask of you supportive and protective fans to do the same.” Daily Mail reported on the photos of Spears. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Rebel Wilson admits kissing Charlotte Gainsbourg on screen “opened her heart up” to the idea of dating women. The actress – who stars opposite Gainsbourg in ‘The Almond and the Seahorse’ – has reflected on how she reassessed her own sexuality after they locked lips in the new movie, which came shortly before she met her now-fiancee Ramona Agruma. She told The Hollywood Reporter: “I had kind of had a situation with a woman before, not a sexual relationship and we hadn’t kissed or anything. “But then the kiss with Charlotte came up. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal or anything. “Then, weirdly through kissing her in my professional life I thought, well, maybe I should do that for real in my personal life and see how it goes, which I did.” The shoot took place in 2021 before meeting Ramona by the end of the year, and Rebel credits the movie – and her subsequent “experience” – with becoming more open. She added: “If I hadn’t had the experience with Charlotte or the experience with the other woman, I don’t know if I would have ever met Ramona. “Having those experiences opened my heart up to it as a possibility. I’m grateful for those two experiences. It changed my love life completely. It’s such an awesome thing.” The 42-year-old star revealed she knows other actresses who have had similar experiences. She explained: “I have another actress friend who had to kiss a woman in a show and then she became a lesbian for a bit. [Laughs] And another actress I know here in America, the same thing happened. “There’s a couple that I know of actually. It’s something I hadn’t thought of before because I had only dated men. I’ve watched shows about lesbians, like ‘The L Word’, but it just never occurred to me. “I just thought I liked those shows. But kissing Charlotte was a big thing for me. I was so nervous that day because she’s so cool and I was really stressed. “But it was great. Yeah, I don’t think I would have been open to Ramona without those experiences, and she’s just an amazing partner.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, was forced to flee his California home this week after Elon Musk leaked the ex-employee’s PhD thesis to the public, RadarOnline.com has learned. The shocking development comes just weeks after Musk officially took over Twitter in October, and Roth marked Musk’s latest target after the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX founder previously targeted Dr. Anthony Fauci. Mega According to Daily Mail, Roth, 34, and his 44-year-old partner, Nicholas Madsen, were forced to leave their $1.1 million San Francisco Bay Area home over safety fears after Roth began receiving an influx of threats. The threats reportedly came after Musk posted part of Roth’s 2016 University of Pennsylvania PhD thesis to Twitter in which the former Twitter censor advocated for letting underage LGBTQ+ members use dating apps. “Looks like Yoel is arguing in favor of children being able to access adult Internet services in his PhD thesis,” Musk wrote on Saturday alongside a snippet of Roth’s thesis. Although Musk implied Roth advocated for child sexualization, the 34-year-old’s 2016 thesis seemingly advocated for age-appropriate versions of apps like Grindr to help underage LGBTQ+ members find support in their communities. Mega As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Roth was one of the few Twitter executives to temporarily remain at the company after Musk officially took over on October 27. Although Roth ultimately departed his role at Twitter shortly after Musk’s $44 billion acquisition, both Roth and Musk spoke highly of one another at the time. “I want to be clear that I support Yoel,” Musk tweeted in late October. “My sense is that he has high integrity, and we are all entitled to our political beliefs.” “I think one of things that is tricky about Elon, in particular, is that people really want him to be the villain of the story, and they want him to be unequivocally wrong and bad, and everything he says is duplicitous,” Roth said in his own post after his departure in November. “I have to say that wasn’t my experience with him.” Mega Musk’s recent attack against Roth also came shortly before the 51-year-old Twitter CEO disbanded the platform’s Trust and Safety Council – a council Roth once oversaw – on Monday night. According to an email leaked by members of the recently dissolved council, Musk disbanded the board because Twitter is “reevaluating how best to bring external insights” and the council is “not the best structure to do this.” “Our work to make Twitter a safe, informative place will be moving faster and more aggressively than ever before and we will continue to welcome your ideas going forward about how to achieve this goal,” the email added. View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Candace Owens said that she “definitely” discriminates against certain people and suggested “society would be safer” if more people did the same. On Monday, the right-wing commentator began her podcast defending her right to discriminate against transgender and nonbinary people. “I discriminate! I feel like I want to get that off my chest,” the Daily Wire host said at the start of episode 58 of the Candace Owens Podcast. “I’m already feeling lighter,” she added after her initial statement. Owens went on to blame the left for turning terms such as “discrimination” into a “dirty word” — which is… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP US President President Joe Biden smiles during a signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, in a major victory for same-sex couples in the United States Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a bill granting federal protections to same-sex marriage, with a large crowd of guests gathered at the White House to celebrate the legislative milestone. Biden — who as vice president took a public stand in favor of same-sex unions well before they became legal throughout the United States in a 2015 Supreme Court decision — touted the landmark law as a rights victory. “America takes a vital step toward equality, for liberty and justice, not just for some, but for everyone,” he said during the signing ceremony Tuesday afternoon. “Love is love. Right is right. Justice is justice,” he said. After the US Supreme Court — now significantly more conservative — overturned longstanding abortion rights last June, lawmakers from the left and right came together to prevent any subsequent move to curb same-sex marriage rights. The legislation’s final adoption by Congress last week marked a rare show of bipartisanship in deeply divided Washington. In celebration, Biden gathered with a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the White House grounds, along with advocates and plaintiffs in marriage equality cases across the country, as Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” roared from the speakers. Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay US senator, said she was “overcome with joy” at the signing of the law, which she helped draft in Congress. “Today, we are making history and making a difference for millions of Americans,” she said in a statement. Growing support The legislation, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday, “will give peace of mind to millions of LGBTQI+ and interracial couples who will finally be guaranteed the rights and protections to which they and their children are entitled.” Jean-Pierre herself made history as the first openly gay White House press secretary. Hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing the unions throughout the United States. Public acceptance has grown dramatically in recent decades, with polls now showing a strong majority of Americans supporting same-sex marriage. Some conservatives and the religious right remain opposed. The new Respect for Marriage Act does not mandate states to legalize same-sex marriage but does require them to recognize a marriage so long as it was valid in the state where it was performed. It repeals previous legislation defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and also protects interracial couples by requiring states to recognize legal marriages without regard to “sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.” In the House of Representatives, 39 Republicans joined a united Democratic majority in supporting the bill, while 169 Republicans voted against. It was previously adopted in the evenly split Senate by 61 votes to 36. True colors Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden believes “there is much more work to be done to protect LGBTQI+ individuals across the country.” She recalled that the 80-year-old Democrat was among the first American political leaders to publicly support same-sex unions at the highest levels of government. Back in 2012, Biden caused a stir by candidly declaring his support for same-sex unions — when Barack Obama’s White House was still looking for the best way to make the president’s position official as he sought reelection to a second term. Following his own presidential election in 2020, Biden tapped Pete Buttigieg to become his transport secretary — the first openly gay person to be confirmed by the Senate to a cabinet post. Beyond marriage, the Biden administration has taken a strong stance in support of LGBTQ rights — notably towards the transgender community whose push for greater rights has become a US political flashpoint. The administration has introduced gender-neutral passports — allowing people who identify neither as male nor female to select the gender “X” — and it lifted a ban on transgender people serving in the military, introduced under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. Pop icon and LGBTQ rights advocate Cyndi Lauper, who sang at Tuesday’s White House ceremony, said she was pleased that the concerns of so many American families have been eased with the new law. “We can rest easy tonight because our families are validated and because now we’re allowed to love who we love,” she said. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on Tuesday at a jubilant celebration that featured U.S. singer Cyndi Lauper performing “True Colors” in front of thousands of supporters on the White House lawn. The new law provides federal recognition to same-sex marriages, a measure born out of concern that the Supreme Court could reverse its legal support of such relationships. Cheers erupted from the crowd as Biden signed the bill. “Marriage is a simple proposition. Who do you love? And will you be loyal to that person you love? It’s not more complicated than that. The law recognizes that everyone should have the right to answer those questions for themselves,” Biden said. “Today’s a good day.” The event featured performances by pop icons Lauper and British singer Sam Smith. “Well, this time, love wins,” Lauper said before starting to sing. Made famous by her 1983 song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” Lauper, 69, said the act offered peace of mind to families like hers and Americans nationwide. “We can rest easy tonight because our families are validated and because now we’re allowed to love who we love, which sounds odd to say, but Americans can now love who we love,” Lauper, an activist on LGBT issues who has been married to actor David Thornton since 1991, told reporters at a briefing prior to the performance. Addressing the crowd before the signing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the bill promoted equality. “Everyone deserves to bask in the magical blessing of building a union with the person you love,” she said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, whose daughter and her wife are expecting a child, called it “a day of jubilation.” (Reporting by Steve Holland, Andrea Shalal, Katharine Jackson; Editing by Howard Goller and Josie Kao) View the full article

Published by The Philadelphia Inquirer This year was a big one for name-brand pop stars, and out-of-the-blue success stories — some of which made songs from the not-so-recent past ever present in the here and now. The best-of song list below contains its fair share of superstars like Harry Styles and Kendrick Lamar along with personal favorites, Philly standouts and 2022 discoveries of mine, some of which will hopefully also be new to you, dear reader and listener. The tracks are numbered, but not ranked. The 28 songs are sequenced as a playlist below. Feel free to hit shuffle though, I won’t be offended. 1. Steve Lacy, “Bad Habit”… Read More View the full article

Published by uInterview.com Grant Wahl, the journalist who died while covering the World Cup on Saturday, had an aortic aneurysm, his family revealed. He collapsed in his seat at Lusail Stadium during the match between Argentina and the Netherlands and emergency service workers took him out on a stretcher. His death resulted from a rupture in a blood vessel leading to the heart, according to an autopsy of Wahl, who was 49 at the time of death. IN MEMORIAM 2022: 100 GREAT CELEBRITIES WHO DIED THIS YEAR! Wahl’s wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, publicly confirmed his cause of death amid speculation that it was due to vaccine compl… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet The hate crime mass shooting during a drag show at Club Q, a Colorado Springs nightclub that catered to LGBTQ people and their friends and families, left five people dead, 25 people injured, and a suspect with 305 criminal charges. Club Q co-owner Matthew Haynes testified before Congress Wednesday, telling lawmakers that LGBTQ people are being “slaughtered and dehumanized,” as he read a few excerpts from what he says are the “hundreds” of messages of hate he received in the wake of the attack. On December 1, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security published its latest terrorism threat report, and … Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Janet Jackson has announced her first tour in four years. Her ‘Together Again’ gigs will mark her 50 years in entertainment and the singer, 56, told fans she could not “wait” to see them again when she announced it on Instagram on Monday. (12.22.22) Revealing she was going back on the road in April 2023 in North America, as well as cities including New York, Atlanta, Austin and Seattle, she said in a video: “You guys, I miss you so much, I am so excited to see you. You guys have no idea, I’ve missed you so much, so much, and I can’t wait to be with you. I’m so excited.” ‘Together Again’ will also marks the 25th anniversary of her ‘Velvet Rope’ album and 30 years since the release of her 1993 record ‘Janet’. Ludacris, 45, will also join the tour as a special guest. Janet’s last album was ‘Unbreakable’ released in 2015, and she last toured from September to November of 2019 for the ‘Janet Jackson: A Special 30th Anniversary Celebration of Rhythm Nation’ shows. Janet, who has had 10 US number one hits, and estimated global record sales of 100 million, will start her new tour on April 14 in Hollywood at the Hard Rock Live Arena and end on June 20 at Portland, Oregon’s Moda Center. She has recently been focusing on family after having a son in 2017 with husband Wissam Al Mana. Tickets for her upcoming tour go on sale from Friday December 16 at 11am local time on LiveNation.com. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nate Raymond (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Monday allowed New York to restrict the carrying of firearms on private property under a new law adopted in wake of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun rights. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold a judge’s order from last month that barred officials from enforcing part of the new law making it a felony to carry a gun on private property without the property owner’s express consent. It marked the latest instance of the New York-based federal appeals court staying a ruling that had blocked large parts of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, passed this year by the Democratic-led state legislature. The law was enacted after the Supreme Court in June struck down the state’s strict gun permitting regime and declared for the first time that the U.S. Constitution protects a person’s right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense. The new law made obtaining a firearms license more difficult as of Sept. 1 and barred firearms from a long list of “sensitive” public and private places. Two firearms owners and two gun rights groups including Firearms Policy Coalition sued to challenge a provision that made it a felony for a licensed gun owner to possess a firearm on any private property unless the property owner allowed it with a sign or by giving express consent. U.S. District Judge John Sinatra, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump in Buffalo, in a Nov. 22 decision concluded that provision violated the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.” Sinatra said the provision was unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s gun rights precedents and would “interfere with the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens who seek to carry for self-defense outside of their own homes.” (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio) View the full article

Published by WINgg Valorant developers have just confirmed a popular ship between two popular agents, Raze and Killjoy. There have been some hints in Valorant lore as of late that Raze and Killjoy are romantically involved. But it was never explicitly stated nor confirmed. That all changed on December 11, however. Raze and Killjoy are both very outspoken and sarcastic agents on the roster and a lot of interactions between the two have been very fiery. Killjoy can be heard telling her partner that she’s good at “driving people crazy” in one interaction, showing their spicy dynamic. Another voice line has Raze ask… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Natalie Grover LONDON (Reuters) -Increased drug resistance in bacteria causing bloodstream infections, including against last-resort antibiotics, was seen in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, a World Health Organization report based on data from 87 countries in 2020 showed. The overuse and/or misuse of antibiotics has helped microbes to become resistant to many treatments, while the pipeline of replacement therapies in development is alarmingly sparse. High levels (above 50%) of resistance have been reported in bacteria that typically cause life-threatening bloodstream infections in hospitals such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter spp, report authors highlighted on Friday. These infections often require treatment with ‘last-resort’ antibiotics, drugs that are used when all other antibiotics fail. About 8% of bloodstream infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae grew resistant to a vital last-resort group of drugs called carbapenems, the report said. Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remain very high, but last-resort antibiotics are only just starting to lose potency, said Dr Carmem Pessoa-Silva, the lead for WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System, in a media conference. The message of hope, she said is, “we have a very narrow window of opportunity…for responding to the threat.” While there is a concerted push to limit the unbridled use of antibiotics, the pace of new research remains grim. The effort, cost and time it takes to get an antibiotic approved and the limited return on investment have deterred drugmakers, as treatments must be priced cheaply and are designed to be used as little as possible to limit drug resistance. As a result, the lion’s share of antibiotic development is taking place in a handful of labs of small biopharma companies as a majority of their larger counterparts focus on more lucrative markets. Only a few big pharmaceutical companies remain in the space — including GSK and Merck — down from more than 20 in the 1980s. A landmark global analysis published earlier this year found that 1.2 million people died in 2019 due to antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, making AMR a leading cause of death worldwide, higher than HIV/AIDS or malaria. “Political commitment (on AMR) must now urgently move from aspiration into action,” said Thomas Cueni, director general at International Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. The authors of the WHO report said more research is needed to identify the reasons behind the jump in AMR in the period studied, and to what extent it is linked to the accelerated use of antibiotics during the pandemic. AMR rates also remain difficult to interpret due to insufficient testing and weak laboratory capacity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, the authors wrote. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Arun Koyyur) View the full article

Published by The Seattle Times SEATTLE —The Archdiocese of Seattle has paid nearly $2.3 million since August to settle five claims brought by people who alleged they were sexually abused decades ago by clergy and parish school personnel. The settlements, for allegations of abuse occurring in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s, were announced by the archdiocese in November. Three of the five cases involve alleged perpetrators who have since died. They are the only individuals named in an archdiocesan news release. The settlements, collectively totaling $2,285,000, are the latest of more than 450 cases the archdiocese has paid more … Read More View the full article

Published by PsyPost A new study has uncovered a link between high levels of Catholic collective narcissism and acceptance of myths about child sexual abuse. The findings, which were published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, could help inform efforts to combat prejudice against underaged victims of sexual abuse. “Even though sexual relations between priests and minors have taken place inside the Catholic Church for centuries, the Catholic hierarchy was not always prone to fight against pedophilia in an official way,” said study author Marta Marchlewska, an associate professor and the head of the Poli… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Cher‘s mother, Georgia Holt, passed away at the age of 96-years-old. The “Turn Back Time” singer took to social media on Saturday, December 10, to confirm the heartbreaking news to friends and followers. “Mom is gone,” she wrote, followed by a sad face emoji. mega Celebrities and fans alike immediately flooded to the comments section to offer their condolences to the 76-year-old superstar during this difficult time. ‘SHE’S JUST NOT INTO MEN HER AGE’: CHER’S NEW ROMANCE WITH MUCH YOUNGER ALEXANDER EDWARDS HAS GIVEN HER A ‘BOOST’ Hillary Clinton replied, “So sorry for your loss, my friend. Sending you all the in the world,” while Perez Hilton said, “My deepest condolences. The biggest hug to you and your family! Your mother was a gem!” “It doesn’t matter how old we are… or they are, there’s nothing like losing your mother,” Wonder Woman voice actress Susan Eisenberg commented. “So very sorry for the loss of your amazing Mom.” mega Holt’s tragic passing comes three months after she was hospitalized with pneumonia. Cher updated her followers on her mother’s health in September, writing: “Sorry I’ve Been Mia. Mom’s Been Sick Off & On. She Just Got Out Of Hosp. She Had Pneumonia.” CHER REPORTEDLY SUING EX-HUSBAND SONNY BONO’S WIDOW OVER ROYALTIES, SEEKING AT LEAST $1 MILLION IN DAMAGES Two years prior, the multi Grammy Award winner opened up on the struggles of the pandemic and the steps she was taking to protect her elderly mother from Covid, including testing frequently and masking up. mega “We have a little bubble that we’ve had all this time,” she explained at the time. “We wear masks, and there’s not very many of us. It’s my sister, my brother-in-law, my mom, my assistant. And we stay far apart from each other.” “I have to be careful too because I have asthma,” she continued of their precautions. “I have different health problems.” Holt was born in Arkansas in 1926 and later became known as a singer, songwriter and actress. Other than Cher, she is survived by her daughter Georganne LaPiere, her grandchildren Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman, as well as her longtime partner, Craig Spencer. Cher spoke to People in 2020 on her mother’s health during the pandemic. View the full article

Published by uInterview.com On Monday morning, Selenis Levya and George Lopez‘s daughter, Mayan Lopez, announced the 2023 Golden Globe nominations. Mayan stepped in for George after the comedian tested positive for Covid-19. Dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin was the most nominated film of the year, receiving eight nods. Biopic Elvis, the popular sci-fi movie Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Steven Spielberg‘s coming-of-age drama, The Fabelmans, all followed close behind with several nominations. >WATCH KERRY CONDON’s uINTERVIEW NOW! As far as the TV portion of the awards, satirical drama The White Lotus, Quinta… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk (L) and Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease expert and chief medical advisor to the US president Washington (AFP) – The White House on Monday condemned billionaire Elon Musk’s call for Anthony Fauci, the US infectious disease expert who is a hate figure for many on the right, to be prosecuted over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. “These are incredibly dangerous, these personal attacks that we are seeing,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, in response to the weekend tweet by Musk that subsequently went viral. “They are disgusting and they are divorced from reality,” she said. Musk, the owner of Twitter, took to the site Sunday to urge punishment for Fauci, who led the government’s approach to the pandemic when it hit the country in early 2020. “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” Musk said, tauntingly playing on the growing practice for people to indicate their preferred gender pronouns. Musk also posted a meme showing Fauci telling US President Joe Biden, “Just one more lockdown, my king,” in apparent criticism of the coronavirus mitigation measures initially taken in parts of the country in the first year of the pandemic. Conservatives including former president Donald Trump have made Fauci a focus of their criticisms of the government campaign to battle Covid, and he has faced death threats and had a security team assigned to protect him. “These personal attacks that we’ve been seeing are dangerous on Dr. Fauci and other public health professionals as well,” said Jean-Pierre. “Dr. Fauci has served under seven Republican and Democratic presidents. We cannot forget that…. His work on infectious disease from HIV Aids to COVID has saved countless lives,” she said. “We are fortunate, I should say, that he has devoted his career and his life and his exceptional talent to America’s public health.” Republican lawmakers have pledged to grill Fauci when they take control of the House of Representatives in January, after locking horns repeatedly with the top immunologist over Covid vaccines, mask mandates and other pandemic-related issues. Fauci, 81, is due to step down this month from his roles in government as Biden’s chief medical advisor, as well as director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, which he has headed since 1984. In what was likely his final White House appearance in November, Fauci slammed the proliferation of bad health advice online and said the most difficult thing he had to deal with while helming America’s fight against Covid was the country’s polarization along political lines. View the full article

Published by uPolitics.com New Twitter owner Elon Musk declared on Sunday, “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” simultaneously swiping at the famous immunologist and offending Queer advocates. Musk made the jab on his social media site, where he has a history of lambasting Covid protocols and the expansion of pronoun use. Musk’s jab at Dr. Anthony Fauci was preempted by new CDC guidance to resume masking in public. “Truth resonates,” Musk tweeted on Monday, implying the outrage around his tweet indicates his accuracy. The tweet has 1.1 million likes and 176,000 retweets. “Elon, please don’t mock and promote hate toward al… Read More View the full article