FiCAS announces crypto ETP, first of its kind – CoinJournal

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FiCAS launches actively managed Bitcoin ETP called Bitcoin Capital Active ETP on Switzerlands SIX exchange

FiCAS, the Swiss crypto asset investment firm, recently issued the worlds first actively managed exchange-traded crypto product on the SIX exchange.

FICAS has introduced a Bitcoin Capital Active ETP (BTCA), which includes Bitcoin and the top 15 altcoins on the market.

Ali Mizani Oskui, the founder of FiCAS, has an astonishing crypto trading record. Mizani started trading crypto in 2013, with his crypto fund outperforming Bitcoins value by 110% between 2015 and 2018.

The moment Bitcoin peaked in value in Q4 of 2017, he immediately switched to a cash position and the fund came out with a return of over 90 times.

In a media release Mizani stated:

Based on our in-depth trading and analytical experience, actively managing our underlyings allows us to preempt and react to market movements through the discretionary buying and selling of crypto assets to steer risk-adjusted return.

The release detailed the investment strategy that FiCAS uses: Technical and fundamental analysis, proprietary algorithms and quant signals and the trading experience of the team.

BTCA currently charges a management fee of 2%, while WisdomTree Bitcoin ETP charges 0.95%.

FiCAS Chairman, Dr Mattia Rattaggi, expressed that at this time investors are looking for alternative assets to invest in due to all-time low interest rates. BTCA fulfils this demand with an automated managing mechanism and a low-risk strategy.

Rattaggi also mentioned the impact such a technology will have upon the industry and how a discretionary ETP could be better for crypto rather than the traditional passive ETP.

Rattaggi thinks that:

Time will tell how this innovation will impact the industry. Arguably, an actively managed, discretionary ETP may be better suited for the still nascent cryptocurrency markets, because it focuses on active risk management more than in a systematically-driven passive ETP

In the past, many investors remained hesitant when it came to crypto investment, since it was largely unregulated, volatile and a fairly new industry.

However, European countries are steadily introducing and implementing new crypto and blockchain regulations, and as a result, the crypto market could see an influx of new investors.

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FiCAS announces crypto ETP, first of its kind - CoinJournal

Liberty University won’t require COVID-19 test for returning students this fall – Lynchburg News and Advance

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Campus gyms will operate at 75% capacity and venue spaces will be capped at 1,000 people in accordance with current state restrictions. Convocation, a thrice-weekly campus assembly, will be streamed online at the start of the semester.

Campus Community, a weekly worship event normally held in the 10,000-seat Vines Center, will take place over two services at Thomas Road Baptist Church to allow for social distancing. Face coverings are required during the start and end of the service but are not mandatory during the praise and worship portions.

Social distancing requirements, which call for at least six feet of separation between individuals in most places on campus, will be enforced by campus security personnel and other employees, the plan states.

Libertys draft plan also outlines certain triggers that would force the school to transition to online-only education or to shutter much of campus.

Among the criteria that would lead to a shutdown include a government order, a lack of available testing or a lack of space to quarantine sick students. Liberty plans to house quarantining students at a former university-owned hotel located a few miles north of campus.

According to the plan, if 5% of Libertys total on-campus population including students, staff and faculty test positive for COVID-19, the school will suspend in-person instruction in favor of online education. If 15% become infected, Liberty will close the campus and dismiss students. Students unable to return home will be allowed to remain in campus dorms.

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Liberty University won't require COVID-19 test for returning students this fall - Lynchburg News and Advance

W.N.B.A. Preview: With Sabrina Ionescu, the Liberty Hit Refresh – The New York Times

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Indiana Fever Coach Marianne Stanley smiled when she saw her teams season schedule.

The first matchup is against the Washington Mystics, the defending W.N.B.A. champions and her old squad.

I dont know if that was by design by the league or what perhaps but yes, Im very familiar with Washington, obviously, but its exciting, Stanley said. I told our team, you know you only get to be a champion if you play the champion, and so the path for our growth and to the playoff and championship rounds is to play teams like Washington. What better way to start the season?

Stanley, a member of the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., who had been a Mystics assistant coach since 2010, is now at the helm of a solid mix of proven veterans and young, promising talent.

But dont call it a rebuild. This team is looking to compete now.

They certainly have the pieces: Returning veterans, including Candice Dupree, Teaira McCowan and Victoria Vivians back after sitting out last season with an A.C.L. tear and a backcourt featuring Kelsey Mitchell, Erica Wheeler and Tiffany Mitchell. Also on tap is the 2020 No. 3 overall pick, Lauren Cox, and guard Julie Allemand.

But an uphill climb awaits: Their last winning season was 2015, they havent reached the postseason since 2016 and they finished last year ranked fourth in the East at 13-21.

Regardless, Stanley remains focused.

We want to establish a culture of winning and a culture of players playing hard and playing together. I would expect you will see us improve each time we go out there, she said. Thats what good teams do, what championship teams do.

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W.N.B.A. Preview: With Sabrina Ionescu, the Liberty Hit Refresh - The New York Times

Reflecting on Liberty Global’s (NASDAQ:LBTY.A) Share Price Returns Over The Last Five Years – Yahoo Finance

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While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTY.A) share price up 20% in a single quarter. But that can't change the reality that over the longer term (five years), the returns have been really quite dismal. In fact, the share price has declined rather badly, down some 57% in that time. So is the recent increase sufficient to restore confidence in the stock? Not yet. But it could be that the fall was overdone.

View our latest analysis for Liberty Global

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

We know that Liberty Global has been profitable in the past. On the other hand, it reported a trailing twelve months loss, suggesting it isn't reliably profitable. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.

Arguably, the revenue drop of 12% a year for half a decade suggests that the company can't grow in the long term. That could explain the weak share price.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

earnings-and-revenue-growth

Liberty Global is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. You can see what analysts are predicting for Liberty Global in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

Investors should note that there's a difference between Liberty Global's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Liberty Global hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of -51% exceeds its share price return of -57%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.

Liberty Global shareholders are down 13% for the year, but the market itself is up 9.9%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 8.6% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. You could get a better understanding of Liberty Global's growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

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Reflecting on Liberty Global's (NASDAQ:LBTY.A) Share Price Returns Over The Last Five Years - Yahoo Finance

Financial Insights and Technical Data on The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) – Invest Million

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The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) has seen some recent movement in the marketplace and its common shares finished trading at $18.13 yesterday. Traders are starting to take notice of BATRA as the common shares traded as high as $18.50 and as low as $17.65 in the prior trading day.

The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) average trading volume is 95.89K. However, in the prior trading day The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) exchanged 466,742 shares. The First support level on BATRA is $17.78 and the First upside resistance level on BATRA is $29.90. BATRA 50day moving average is $19.73 and BATRA 200 day moving average is $22.10.

The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) most recent performance has been specified by the recent movement in BATRA common shares. BATRA has performed -2.74% over the past month, BATRA has performed -10.60% over the past 3 months and BATRA has shown -37.22% over the past year. The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) has a 12 month range of $13.59 to $30.16. The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) is trading 33.41% from its 12 month low and -39.89% from its 12 month high. The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) is showing a 1.47% short float showing the quantity short in the float.

BATRA has 51.00M shares outstanding and 38.05M shares in the float. The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) presently has a market cap of $18.83B and income of 47.00M. The EPS next quarter for BATRA is -1.52 and projected EPS next year is 24.70%. The market cap of The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) at $18.83B represents how many Traders own shares of BATRA and is calculated off the last price ($18.13) of BATRA and the quantity of shares outstanding (51.00M) with The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA).

The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) has aggregate cash (mrq) of 321M, aggregate cash per share (mrq) of 6.27, aggregate debt of BATRA remains at 694M and aggregate debt/equity (mrq) is 162.53. . The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) operational cash flow (ttm) is 49M, BATRA leveraged free cash flow (ttm) is -15.12M.

BATRA is trading -3.82% below (bearish) its SMA20, -11.77% below (bearish) its SMA50 and -25.19% below (bearish) its SMA200.

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Financial Insights and Technical Data on The Liberty Braves Group (BATRA) - Invest Million

Mostly Outdoor Restaurant and Bar Arrives in Liberty Station – Eater San Diego

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Outdoor dining space has never been more essential for a restaurants survival, so a new eatery and bar scheduled to grand open Wednesday, July 29 in Liberty Station has a leg up since more than half of its footprint is dedicated to patio service.

The Presley replaces Fireside by The Patio, one of the former properties owned by local businesswoman Gina Champion-Cain, who pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding investors out of $400 million. Redesigned by Good Time Design, the hospitality group behind Moonshine Beach, Moonshine Flats, and The Blind Burro, the 3,400-square-foot restaurant features three bars and greenery-filled outdoor lounges that have been spaced with socially-distanced seating that includes several swing benches.

Named for Good Time Design CEO Tyler Hauters seven-year-old daughter, The Presley is geared to be a hangout for all ages, with plans to offer boozy Sunday brunch as well as live music. Executive chef Todd Nashs menu ranges from flatbreads, sandwiches, and salads to dishes such as everything-crusted seared ahi, mussels with linguica and lobster broth, and grilled pork prime rib flatbreads, sandwiches, and salads while drinks from John Amato include a Dole Whip mimosa, frozen gin fizz, and classic lava flow.

It will start off operating Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

2855 Perry Rd Bldg 8 , San Diego, CA 92106 (619) 432-2100

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Mostly Outdoor Restaurant and Bar Arrives in Liberty Station - Eater San Diego

Immigration Hawk Kris Kobach’s Senate Campaign Is Heavily Supported by Peter Thiel – Reason

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Kris Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state, is seeking the GOP nomination to replace retiring Republican Pat Roberts in this year's race for Roberts' U.S. Senate seat. And he has to thank for his campaign's viability an $850,000 investment from controversial tech billionaire Peter Thiel.

"I think the money that that super PAC is putting into the raceprimarily through this one rich guyis absolutely the lifeblood of the pro-Kobach campaign at this moment," Patrick Miller, a political scientist at the University of Kansas, told Recode. "You take that money away and Kobach doesn't have a lot of campaign left."

That Thieloften identified, including by himself, as a libertarianis dedicating himself to a candidate whose primary obsession is immigration restriction is a further sign of the tumultuous swirl of hypernationalism pushed by and surrounding Thiel (and discussed at length in a story in the August/September issue of Reason, now available online to subscribers).

Unnamed friends of Thiel tell Recodethat Thiel "has a really strong preference for people who stick their middle finger up to the status quo and conventional wisdom. There is nobody who I think was more obviously sticking his middle finger up at conventional wisdom quite like Kris Kobach."

Thiel back in 2016 shook up some of his libertarian fans by becoming a Trump delegate and hyping him onstage at the Republican National Convention. Thiel went on to become a poster boy for the new conservative nationalism and has been reported to be disappointed in the president lately and so far sitting out this presidential race.

Thiel had, however, reportedly began donating to immigration-restrictionist causes at least as far back as 2008, and over the years he's given to a wide variety of GOP candidates and PACs, including $2 million to a Carly Fiorina PAC.

Thiel's interest in Kobach is likely rooted in the same reasons he was enthusiastic about Trump. Kobach was one of the minds behind Trump's Muslim registry and his unrepentant anti-immigration views mark him as perhaps Trumpier than Trump. (Kobach believes COVID-19 death numbers are being manipulated up to harm the president, for one.) Trump endorsed Kobach in his failed attempt to become governor of Kansas in 2018, and Thiel began funding Kobach during that race. Fellow disillusioned Trump superfan and immigration-hater Ann Coulter co-hosted a Kobach fundraiser in Thiel's New York apartment.

Recodereports that Thiel has "cut at least three successive checks to [a pro-Kobach PAC called Free Forever], the most recent for a half-million dollars last month." The PAC has "spent more than four times what Kobach's campaign itself has spent on television and radio adsThe heavy amount of mailers sent by the PAC have run the gamut of attacking [Republican challenger Roger] Marshall as 'anti-American' for being insufficiently tough on immigration, alleging that he voted to fund 'Rosie O'Donnell summer camp,' 'global warming musicals,' and 'transgender plays,' and promising that Kobach will 'stop the next Ruth Bader Ginsburg.'"

Thiel's other candidate donations this year are going to another super immigration hawk, and advocate of sending in federal troops to quell protesters, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton.

Kobach is also one of the leading voices claiming American elections are rife with fraud and had his attempt to fight it when he was Kansas' secretary of state overturned in 2018 by a federal judge who questioned the reality of the problem Kobach was allegedly solving.

The primary election for the U.S. Senate seat Kobach is vying for will be held on August 4.

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Immigration Hawk Kris Kobach's Senate Campaign Is Heavily Supported by Peter Thiel - Reason

Why Cornel West is hopeful during the pandemic and anti-racism protests – Vox.com

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Since this summers racial justice protests began filling the streets, the one public figure Ive wanted to talk to more than anyone else is Cornel West.

A professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard, hes one of the most prominent and provocative Black intellectuals alive. Hes known for calling out racism, predatory capitalism, and unjust policies wherever he sees them. And judging by his new podcast, The Tight Rope (co-hosted by Tricia Rose), I was sure hed have a sharp analysis of the twin epidemics pummeling America today: white supremacy and Covid-19.

So I was thrilled when West agreed to come on Future Perfects limited-series podcast, The Way Through, which is all about mining the worlds rich philosophical and spiritual traditions for guidance that can help us through these challenging times.

West and I talked about some potential tools for dealing with white supremacy and Covid-19. We discussed Black liberation theology, which took off in the 1960s and emphasized that Gods primary concern is for people who are being oppressed. West is a Christian whos steeped in that theology.

But West is also steeped in a bunch of secular philosophical traditions from Marxism to existentialism to pragmatism so I asked him what those traditions can teach us about how to handle our current crises.

We covered questions like: Is the pandemic weakening or strengthening white supremacy? Whats the difference between optimism and hope and why does West say hes not optimistic but is hopeful?

By the end of this talk, I felt more hopeful myself. You can hear our full conversation in the podcast here. A partial transcript, edited for length and clarity, follows.

Subscribe to Future Perfect: The Way Through on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Dr. West, weve been through some really hard months. How would you diagnose the crisis that we see convulsing American life?

Youve got an empire that is experiencing spiritual decay and moral decline driven by greed, especially in high places, and hate being used as a divisive way of pitting citizens against one another. And then youve got corruption not just in the White House, but corruption really throughout our institutions.

So then when the pandemic hit, we began to see just the raw reality of the empire and the indifference towards the vulnerable. You began to see the health care system and all of its frailty, which my dear brother Bernie Sanders was pointing out with such courage just a few months ago during the campaign. You began to see the wealth inequality, the white supremacy, the male supremacy that the Me Too movement pointed out. You began to see the ways in which precious trans people are devalued, and gays and lesbians are dishonored. You just began to see the ugliness.

But you also see resilience. People in the streets. People waking up. Some people even recognizing, lo and behold, America is an empire! Its not just a democratic experiment. Its a democratic experiment against the backdrop of imperial expansion, especially a dispossession of land of indigenous peoples, the enslavement of Africans, white brothers who are working with no property these chickens are all coming home to roost at the same time.

Thats what I meant when I said we are witnessing America as a failed social experiment. Our conception of ourselves as being so exceptional is being shattered. Our conception of ourselves as somehow being innocent is being radically called into question.

There are different faith traditions and philosophies we can draw on for wisdom in a moment like this. Lets start by talking about Black liberation theology, which drew on the thought of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and others. Your friend Dr. James Cone, the theologian who founded Black liberation theology in the 1960s, described this theology as an interpretation of the Christian gospel from the perspectives of people who were at the bottom in society, the lowest racial and economic groups. And he encouraged Americans to reimagine Jesus as black. He drew parallels between the crucifixion of Jesus and the lynching of black Americans.

So talk to me about Black liberation theology and the role you think it can play in todays fight for racial justice. Can it provide the spiritual scaffolding for this movement?

It can certainly be one dimension in the leaven in the loaf. In the Democratic loaf.

I think in order to understand Jim Cone, weve got to go back to Hebrew scripture, because Hebrew scripture itself was one of the great moments in the moral evolution of the species. Unlike the Greeks, unlike empires and dynasties, Hebrew scripture comes along and says to be human is to spread hesed steadfast love, lovingkindness to the orphan, the widow, the motherless, the fatherless, the poor, the persecuted, the oppressed. And that I am going to be a God of the oppressed, of a hated people, a haunted people, of Jews under vicious domination and oppression. But I make a covenant with you: Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with thy God.

Jesus comes right out of that prophetic Judaism that was at work in that covenant.

James Cone then comes along in the most barbaric century, the 20th century. Hundreds of millions of folks killed by Hitler, Stalin, European colonialism. Cone comes along and says, lo and behold, there is also an oppressed people in the midst of the American empire who have made a covenant with a God, who have fallen in love with a Palestinian Jew named Jesus.

And this Jesus, when he makes his way from Galilee into Jerusalem, what does he do? He weeps for Jerusalem. And he runs the money changers out of the temple.

Serious business. You dont see that on the walls of churches. No, not that Jesus. No, you get a domesticated, deodorized Jesus. Thats the Constantinian Christianity that becomes Christianity as a state religion. But the Jesus that Cone is talking about is running out the greedy, the indifferent, the callous, the powerful who are using their wealth and power to oppress poor people.

He says, now look at it from the vantage point of African slaves in the United States. Look at it from the vantage point of Negroes under Jim Crow. Look at it from the vantage point of Black folk under the new Jim Crow.

You have a very class-conscious race analysis compared to a lot of mainstream intellectuals, including Black intellectuals. Do you think the current protest movement is spending enough time talking about class?

Well, it depends on who you talk to, my dear sister. Anytime I get a chance to speak, I always make the connection between police power and police murder on the one hand with Wall Street power and Wall Street crimes on the other. So that you get the connection between white supremacy on the ground, and predatory capitalism, especially the financial services class, especially the oligarchs and plutocrats. So I love your question. This class question is in no way a luxury.

Youve written a lot about what it means to be an intellectual, especially a Black intellectual. But theres so much anti-expert, anti-intellectual sentiment in the US. So what role do you see for intellectuals now in responding to the pandemic and the protests?

I want to point out that America has always been a profoundly anti-intellectual civilization. Richard Hofstadter pointed this out with great, profound insight in his classic, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life. Remember, there he draws a distinction between intelligence and intellect. He says Americans love intelligence because its a manipulative function that allows them to do well, especially in the marketplace. Intelligence is something to be used as a calculating orientation, to make discerning insights to make more money for upward mobility, for the American dream.

Intellect is an interrogation of the most basic assumptions and presuppositions. So intelligence makes immediate evaluations, intellect evaluates the evaluations. Thats how Hofstadter puts it.

Theres never been space in American civilization, in American empire, for serious intellectual presence. Never. Thats why our greatest novelists, like Melville nobody cares. It is hard for any intellectual to gain a footing.

And of course, for Black intellectuals it becomes even more challenging. Enslaved Africans were not even allowed to learn how to read and write. When we do emerge with the word, the question becomes, can we be as empowering as the musicians? The intellectuals who have been most effective in American culture, its been much more the musicians than academicians. Because the musicians have been able to couch stories, narrative, ideas, visions in forms that everyday people in a business civilization can take in and be empowered.

Whereas the academicians, were so worried about our ranking and what tradition were going be promoting vis--vis other traditions intellectually that we cant dig deep inside of our own selves and give of ourselves in such a way that our fellow citizens will look at an intellectual and say, my God, I need that intellectual the way my mother needed Louis Armstrong.

So part of this is on the intellectuals themselves, to step out of purely ivory tower concerns and adopt more of a pragmatic approach. I know you yourself are steeped in the American tradition of pragmatism in philosophy, which really tries to focus on the social, cultural, and economic concerns, not just more abstract epistemology and metaphysics. But youre also steeped in so many other different philosophical schools like existentialism and Marxism. Im curious which philosophy you think has the most value to offer us all right now.

I think we have to be jazz men and jazz women. We have to be improvisational. We have to recognize that the abstract has its role to play, the academy has its role to play, but theres a whole host of other dimensions that have their role to play.

See, I believe in engaging the public. I think its no accident that when you look at Ralph Waldo Emerson, he is the great Democratic public intellectual of the 19th century, and he is the godfather of the American pragmatism that you talked about, that I tried to talk about 30-some years ago in American Evasion of Philosophy.

So is it pragmatism that you would hold up as the philosophy has the most to offer us right now?

No, because pragmatism has its blind spots. When youre jazz-like, none of these schools ever provide enough. They all fall short. You need existentialism because youve got to deal with death, dread, despair, and disappointment. You dont get that from pragmatists. John Dewey on death? Dont hold your breath!

Marxism is indispensable as an analysis of capital, but Marxism on where do you go when your mama dies? Karl dont have too much to say about that! Every school of thought has its own limitations. And the question becomes accenting the best in each one.

Well, existentialism really emphasizes that its up to each of us to make choices and take responsibility for our lives, to make our own meaning in a world that doesnt come with meaning inherent in it. What do you think that that philosophy can teach us about how to handle this moment?

Richard Wright, the first great Black literary figure that the white mainstream had to take notice of, was an existentialist at a very deep level. And for him, it was always about digging deep and finding out who you are, manifested in the choices that you make, and then owning those choices. Being responsible, being accountable.

Its the exact opposite of what you see when you look at a neo-gangster like Trump. He thinks he can live his whole life with no answerability. Say and do anything he wants and get away with it.

So existentialism at its best reminds us: responsibility, accountability, answerability at the center.

Do you think that responsibility in our current situation is inevitably going to have to do with solidarity, both in terms of social distancing to prevent the pandemic from spreading, and in terms of solidarity of protest, maybe allyship between non-Black Americans and Black Americans?

Oh, absolutely. You have to have solidarity all the way down. And for me, its just fundamental human solidarity.

Im not sure I like the language of allies. Was John Brown an ally for the Black Freedom Movement? The brother gave his life and his sons. Calling him an ally kind of belittles his sacrifice. Rabbi [Abraham Joshua] Heschel was not an ally to Martin Luther King Jr. They were two brothers, one from the Jewish tradition, the other from a Black church tradition. They came together as human beings in the name of integrity, honesty, decency. Heschel says, I want to be a decent human being, and I understand that in my Jewish tradition to be decent is to be in solidarity with people who are suffering. Not just Black. Could be indigenous people. Could be the goyim. Whoever it is. Its a human decision that youre making.

It sounds like you really believe in the power of broad coalitions. Let me ask you this, though. Is the pandemic weakening or strengthening white supremacy?

Its both. On the one hand, it is revealing just how ugly the combination of predatory capitalism driven by Wall Street greed and the collapse of so much of civic life is. And so people are not just polarized, theyre also gangsterized. Well, one of the long traditions in America is, if youre going to join a gang for protection, white supremacy is waiting for you. And so we see an increase of white supremacist activity.

The white supremacy being decreased is this just beautiful, majestic, marvelous militancy of brothers and sisters of all colors, especially young brothers and sisters. And more and more largely vanilla. They have been Afro-Americanized by the music that they listen to. Theyve also awakened in terms of the lies that their parents have told them about America, about Black people and so forth.

Weve got both happening simultaneously. And thats what makes our turbulent times such fascinating times to live in.

One profound feature of our culture is this libertarian strain in American thought, this focus on individual freedoms, liberties, and autonomies. Has that hampered our pandemic response, in terms of people refusing to wear masks and all that?

Its Janus-faced. Its a good thing and its a bad thing. You can see the relation between certain Emersonian strands of being nonconformist and a deep distrust of the elites because they might be lying to you. But you have to be discerning. If the elites tell you the Earth is flat and youre distrustful, then that can be a good thing. If they tell you its round and youre distrustful, youve got to back off because the evidence is overwhelming, right? So it can go either way.

I have strong libertarian inclinations. Thats why I believe that Rush Limbaugh, hes got a right to be wrong. I fight for his right to be wrong. Libertarian sensibilities, I think, can be very important. Strong support of civil liberties is crucial.

But when it takes the form of I dont believe Dr. Fauci, I dont believe the CDC, and so forth well, no, theres evidence here. Libertarianism cant just go off into fantasy. Youve got to be tied to certain kinds of evidential forms of credibility.

In the wake of the pandemic and the protests, a lot of people are wondering how we can make lasting, substantive progress in this country. How do we make it so that the US doesnt just return to status quo around race in a year from now?

We have yet to have a serious discussion of what the status quo was. We havent had a discussion about the Obama administration. The Obama administration looks so wonderful in contrast to the neo-fascist gangster in the White House. But it was not wonderful at all. Not in terms of the bailout Wall Street made big money. The child poverty rate was still high. Still dropping drones in Afghanistan.

Yes, Obama was better, but better in relation to what?

It sounds like youre saying that if we want to see lasting change of the status quo, we first have to really interrogate what was that status quo all along. And that might mean getting into some, as John Lewis would say, good trouble, necessary trouble, by questioning even those on the left.

And questioning ourselves.

Lets close by talking about the importance of hope versus optimism. You define optimism as rational and evidence-based, whereas for you, hope is an act of courage and imagination that looks beyond what the existing circumstances tell us we can expect. So for you, what roles do hope and optimism play in this situation, where the pandemic requires an emphasis on evidence, but so much feels unknowable and demands this very high level of hope from us?

Well, we must accent the crucial role that science must play. Scientific temperament, not just scientific method, because the method can become dogmatic, too. But the temperament is forever Socratic, forever questioning. So science must play a fundamental role. But there are certain issues that science itself is relatively helpless about.

And that has to do with the meaning of life. Why is there something rather than nothing? Why not commit suicide tomorrow? Why do you love in this way? Why are you so attached to your mama when you know shes wrong on so many issues, but youd take a bullet for her in a heartbeat? You dont measure your mama based on scientific evidence. Its visceral, its not just cerebral. So we have to be able to acknowledge the roles that each one of these play.

Optimism for me has never been an option. Because theres too much suffering in the world. Think of all the African bones and bodies at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean with the slave trade. And Jewish brothers and sisters in the concentration camps. And Dalits in India. None of that can generate an optimism for me, ever.

But hope is something else, you see, because hope is not spectatorial. Its participatory. Youre already in the mess. Youre in the funk. What are you going to do? Hope is a verb as much as a virtue. Hope is as much a consequence of your action as it is a source of your action, as Roberto Unger always said. So that hope is something that you find in your immersion. And you decide youre going to fight till the end. No matter what.

When you say hope is also a consequence of your action, do you mean that by choosing to act now in this incredibly stressful time with integrity, with accountability, with responsibility, our actions themselves can nurture and fuel hope in us?

Thats eloquently put. Thats exactly right. Hope is about everybody trying to contribute to the push, the motion, the momentum, the movement for something bigger than them thats better. The good, the beautiful. If youre not in motion, youre a spectator.

Well, it doesnt seem to me like youre being a spectator these days. You and Professor Tricia Rose have a new podcast, The Tight Rope.

Thats true. Its truth-telling, witness-bearing, justice-seeking but also joy, because theres joy in what we do. You got to find joy in spreading hesed. If its always just a negative burden, youre not going to be a long-distance runner. No, were talking about a joy that will sustain you over against the grain, until the worms get your body.

And this particular podcast is an attempt to broaden the discourse, get beyond the two-party dialogue, get beyond the liberal versus conservative but also keep track of the centrality of the arts, the moral, the spiritual, the beautiful. We need to lift each other up.

Sign up for the Future Perfect newsletter and well send you a roundup of ideas and solutions for tackling the worlds biggest challenges and how to get better at doing good.

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Why Cornel West is hopeful during the pandemic and anti-racism protests - Vox.com

Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine Opens and Welcomes Its First Class of Future Physician Leaders and Health Equity Advocates -…

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"All of us at the school are excited to welcome 50 phenomenal students who are compassionate, mission-driven, collaborative, and very smart and are poised to become the next generation of leaders in medicine," said Mark Schuster, MD, PhD, Founding Dean and Chief Executive Officer of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. "As our nation grapples with a devastating pandemic, long overdue attention to social injustice, and entrenched disparities in health and health care, we are excited to train students who will become outstanding clinicians and skilled advocates for patients and communities. I am thrilled about our incoming class as well as the faculty and staff who have come together to participate in their education."

The school's curriculum is built on the three pillars of biomedical science, clinical science and health systems science. Students will learn in an environment that reflects the changing demographics of America and the multi-faceted health care issues facing society. The school has woven equity, inclusion, and diversity into all aspects of its design. Student well-being is built into the school's fiber with a dedicated course focused on supporting well-being and building resilience skills; sessions with a clinical psychologist; and robust academic support. This is all accomplished in a variety of settings, from the technology-enhanced classrooms in its new education building, to clinical settings that span in scale from large hospitals and outpatient facilities to community-based, federally qualified health centers.

"We proudly welcome the inaugural class to our innovative new medical school that reflects Kaiser Permanente's deep commitment to providing high-quality, affordable health care and improving the health of our members and the communities we serve," said Gregory Adams, Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. "I believe these students will be inspired by Bernard Tyson's legacy as they gain the knowledge, skills and passion tobecome future physician leaders and health equity advocates who will help our diverse communities thrive."

Students will be immersed in the clinic starting in week three of school as they learn from Permanente Medical Group physician preceptors and their care teams. Students will follow patients over time in longitudinal integrated clerkships spanning their first two years of medical school, in Kaiser Permanente's groundbreaking integrated health care system, now in its 75th year, and one of the nation's highest-performing health care organizations that excels in patient-centered care and population health.

"Integrating the students into our KP care teams will provide them with an innovative learning environment and a unique platform to practice Permanente Medicine which emphasizes patient-centered, equitable, compassionate, high quality, evidence-based care," said Edward Ellison, MD, executive medical director and chairman of the Board, Southern California Permanente Medical Group; Co-CEO, The Permanente Federation. "Our physicians and care teams look forward to welcoming the students and embracing, supporting, educating, and empowering the next generation of physicians as healers, change agents, and leaders."

Plans for the school began more than a decade ago, and formal development was put in motion by the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Boards of Directors in 2015. The school's Board of Directors was first convened in September 2016. After former Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson unexpectedly passed away in November 2019, the school's board renamed the school after Tyson to honor his deep commitment to the school, and his tireless work on behalf of health equity and the health of communities.

"The board is thrilled with the caliber and diversity of the student body matriculating to the school, and by the promise of these individuals to become the types of physicians that our country so ardently needs," said Holly Humphrey, MD, President of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and Chairperson of the school's Board of Directors. "The confluence of these talented people and the school's imaginative and forward-thinking curriculum will be exciting to experience."

Last year, the school announced full tuition waivers for its first five classes entering 2020 through 2024, for all four years of their education. In the school's final lead-up to opening, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the school to be creative and adapt to the new environment. These included the need to recruit the first class of admitted students virtually, refine the curriculum to support a hybrid approach, with some parts taught in person, following public health guidelines such as distancing and masking, and other parts taught virtually, and implement strict health, safety, and facility cleaning standards. The school will integrate COVID-19 into its case-based curriculum by examining the biology of the virus itself, addressing clinical implications of COVID-19 as it presents, and integrating it into the context of racial and ethnic disparities, public health surveillance, vaccine development and delivery, and the impact of the economy on health.

Prospective students for the school's second class can submit their primary application by October 1, 2020. For more information, visit the school's admissions web page at https://medschool.kp.org/admissions.

About the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine

The Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine is devoted first and foremost to offering an outstanding, forward-thinking medical education. Its curriculum is built on the three pillars of Biomedical Science, Clinical Science, and Health Systems Science. Students will thinkbroadly about the ways care can be more effective for everyone and learn how to advocate for better health in homes, school, workplaces, neighborhoods, and society at large. The school will incorporate many of the most innovative and effective educational practices available today and will give students the opportunity to learn from the physicians and care teams in Kaiser Permanente's integrated health care system.This approach will provide future physicians with the knowledge and skills to play key roles in the transformation of healthcare in our nation and help people from all backgrounds and settings thrive. Learn more at medschool.kp.org.

Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine Fact Sheet

Located in Pasadena, California 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles the school is centered in a modern, newly constructed 80,000-square foot, four-story building designed for active learning, collaboration, and a technologically advanced education. The new medical education building was designed by the Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign with input from the City of Pasadena Design Commission.

Other features of the school include:

Learn more at medschool.kp.org

Contact Winston Chang [emailprotected] 626.726.1994

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org

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Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine Opens and Welcomes Its First Class of Future Physician Leaders and Health Equity Advocates -...

Laughter is the best medicine – Morganton News Herald

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I missed it again. So did the rest of America.

July 1s unofficial International Joke Day came and went without fanfare.

Thats regrettable, because we could all use a good belly laugh right now which gave me an idea.

The other day, after hearing more doom-and-gloom news while driving, I said to the Apple CarPlay app on my trucks stereo, Hey, Siri, tell me a joke.

Siri, Apples voice-activated digital assistant, replied, My cat ate a ball of yarn. She gave birth to mittens.

Thats an awfully corny joke but I laughed so hard, I accidentally steered my truck onto some roadside gravel.

When you laugh like that, its impossible to be angry or to dwell on whatever personal or business challenge may hang over your head.

A belly laugh is an antidote to the self-seriousness thats one of the greatest afflictions of modern times.And with a pandemic killing thousands and crippling the economy, plus protests and social unrest, we need belly laughs more than ever.One psychologist suggests practicing laughing with a friendbecause utter seriousness can drive us to despair.

Social media gives everyone a platform to share thoughts, which is good. But some self-serious people get awfully huffy with others who disagree with or challenge their thinking. Theyre so serious and so certain that those who disagree with them are wrong, even evil, that they demonize their detractors.

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Laughter is the best medicine - Morganton News Herald

Medicine supplies stretched and must be boosted ahead of possible second wave of coronavirus, MPs warn – Evening Standard

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Stockpiles of medicines need to be boosted ahead of a possible second wave of coronavirus, MPs have warned.

In a report examining the economic impact of Covid-19, the Commons International Trade Committee said the typical six-month "buffer stock" of supplies needs to be increased.

It found that UK trade in essential goods like pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and food had mainly managed well in the crisis, but more action was needed.

MPs on the committee said: "UK supply chains in these critical sectors have largely held up during the pandemic, despite spikes in demand, disruption to production and freight, and export bans in some countries.

"While UK supply chains for medicines have proved to be resilient, they can only be stretched so far.

"The Government must ensure that buffer stock of medicines (which typically only lasts up to six months) is being replenished in case of a further pandemic wave."

Committee chairman and SNP MP Angus MacNeil said dealing with the economic impact of coronavirus was a matter of "intimidating complexity".

He said: "The question now facing trade policymakers is not only how to help economies respond to the damage caused by Covid-19 but also how to better prepare for a similarly dire scenario in the future.

"It is a task of intimidating complexity and seeing it through will require political dexterity.

"Ensuring supply-chain resilience and access to essential goods needs smart solutions that avoid falling into the trap of short-sighted protectionism.

"At the same time, the Department for International Trade must ensure it provides the right support to UK businesses as they rebuild, as well as leading international efforts to respond to this disease through co-ordinated trade policy. Their successes and failures will affect us all."

The committee also called for the Government to consider adjusting intellectual property provisions to allow for compulsory licensing of therapeutic drugs or vaccines against Covid-19.

MPs said this could be a means of ensuring they can be made available as quickly, widely and cheaply as possible.

The committee called on the Department for International Trade (DIT) to "improve communication" about how it can support exporters to recover from the pandemic.

The report expressed "concern" about the lack of a co-ordinated international trade plan early in the pandemic.

MPs said this was in contrast to what happened in the 2008 financial crisis and called on the Government "to act to ensure that temporary disruptions do not become permanent barriers to trade".

The MPs also urged transparency, stating: "The committee calls on the Government to be as open as possible about the measures it is considering to address supply chain vulnerabilities.

"It asks for clarity about how the Government will balance national security with its ambition to be a global champion of free trade.

"The report calls on DIT to step up its efforts in helping inward investors.

"The committee also calls on the Government to set out its approach to investment agreements in light of issues raised by the pandemic.

"Following concerns about predatory investors taking advantage of the devaluation of assets in the pandemic, the committee asks the Government to set out how it will strike a balance between screening investment for security concerns and promoting inward investment."

A Government spokeswoman said the Department for International Trade was leading a review, called Project Defend, aimed at strengthening supply chains for critical goods.

She added: "Medical supplies are critical to the Government's response to coronavirus and the department's global team has worked around the clock to support the continued flow of medical supplies and equipment and other essential goods into the UK.

"The Department for Health and Social Care is doing everything possible to prepare for all scenarios and protect NHS patients including building a stockpile of crucial medicines."

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Medicine supplies stretched and must be boosted ahead of possible second wave of coronavirus, MPs warn - Evening Standard

Community-Based Genetic Screening Could Boost Population Health – HealthITAnalytics.com

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July 28, 2020 -Community-based genetic screening could enhance population health by identifying individuals at high risk for three inherited conditions known to cause cancer and increased risk for heart attack and stroke, a study published in Nature Medicine revealed.

Three inherited genetic conditions breast and ovarian cancer, Lynch syndrome, and familial hypercholesterolemia are termed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tier 1 (CDCT1) genetic conditions, researchers noted. For these conditions, early identification and intervention can have a meaningful impact on clinical actionability and public health.

Researchers behind the Healthy Nevada Project, a community-based population health study combining genetic, clinical, environmental, and social data, started notifying consenting participants who have certain genetic variants that predispose them to CDCT1 genetic conditions.

Initial results from nearly 27,000 participants showed that 90 percent of carriers of the CDCT1 genetic conditions were not previously identified in a clinical setting. This finding supports the use of population genetic screening to identify at-risk carriers not identified during routine care.

Our first goal was to deliver actionable health data back to the participants of the study and understand whether or not broad population screening of CDC Tier 1 genomic conditions was a practical tool to identify at-risk individuals, said Joseph Grzymski, PhD, the principal investigator of the Healthy Nevada Project, a research professor at the Desert Research Institute (DRI), chief scientific officer for Renown Health and lead author of the study.

Now, two years into doing that, it is clear that the clinical guidelines for detecting risk in individuals are too narrow and miss too many at-risk individuals.

Within the group of 26,906 participants the researchers studied, 358 (1.33 percent) were genetic carriers for CDCT1 genetic conditions. However, only 25 percent of those individuals met clinical guidelines for genetic screening. Additionally, more than 20 percent of the carriers already had a diagnosis of disease relevant to their underlying genetic condition.

Were at a point now where its possible to do clinical-grade genetic screening at population-scale, said James Lu, M.D. PhD, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Helix and senior co-author of the study.

What this study demonstrates is the potential impact of doing so. By making genetic screening available more broadly, we can help the millions of Americans who are unaware that they are living at increased risk for highly actionable, genetic conditions take action.

Most significantly, the researchers found that of the 273 participants who were carriers of the CDCT1 genetic conditions and had clinical record information, only 22 individuals showed any previous suspicion of their underlying genetic conditions.

For the first time, we are providing information at the individual level so study participants can make lifesaving changes to reduce their risk based on their genetics, said Anthony Slonim, MD, DrPH, FACHE, president and CEO of Renown Health and co-director of the Project study.

Were conducting research on the community level to develop leading-edge research on health determinants for entire neighborhoods, states and eventually, the country. Returning these results allows us to understand the prevalence of genetically programmed diseases and illnesses that we have here in Nevada and ensure we are providing the best prevention and care plans. For the individual, the return of results can be lifechanging.

Launched in 2018, the Healthy Nevada Project is a collaboration between Renown Health and Desert Research Institute (DRI). Recently, the initiative began incorporating COVID-19 data from consenting participants. Using the studys online survey tools, a population health research team asked participants about their COVID-19 experiences.

In a 13-question online survey, researchers asked participants about possible exposure or risks of COVID-19, such as recent travel, attendance at large public events, and whether individuals have experienced symptoms of the virus.

We've had over 14,000 participants respond as of Monday, said Joseph Grzymski, PhD, an associate research professor at the Desert Research Institute (DRI), Chief Science Officer for Renown Health, and principal investigator of the Healthy Nevada Project.

The data that our participants have provided us, in less than a week, has allowed us to discover risk factors within communities and take action to live longer, healthier lives. That's what makes the Healthy Nevada Project so exciting for all of us.

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Community-Based Genetic Screening Could Boost Population Health - HealthITAnalytics.com

American Heart Association sets genetic testing guidelines for cardiovascular disease – ModernHealthcare.com

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The American Heart Association has developed guidelines for cardiovascular practitioners who may be looking to incorporate genetic testing into the care of patients with inherited cardiovascular diseases.

In a scientific statement published in the journal Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine on Thursday, researchers and clinicians on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine; the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and the Council on Clinical Cardiology said that genetic testing could be useful in the management of a variety of cardiovascular conditions, including cardiomyopathies, arrhythmic disorders, thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections, and familial hypercholesterolemia (FH).

However, not all cardiovascular practitioners are fully aware of the utility and challenges of incorporating genetic test results into the care of patients and their families, the authors noted. The statement they released summarized current best practices with respect to genetic testing and its implications for the management of these diseases.

For example, the authors wrote, "Genetic testing typically should be reserved for patients with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of an inherited cardiovascular disease, or for individuals at high a priori risk resulting from a previously identified pathogenic variant in their family." This involves rigorous, disease-appropriate phenotyping, and a comprehensive family history that spans at least three generations. If these two elements together establish or strongly suggest an inherited cardiovascular disease, then the next step is to identify the most appropriate person for genetic testing.

Next, the authors said, if the decision is made to proceed with genetic testing, the clinician should decide what scope of genetic testing should be performed. The choice of testing ranges from targeted sequencing of a single gene or a few genes most likely to be involved in the disease, to large gene panels that include limited-evidence genes, to unbiased exome or genome sequencing that queries all genes. While a clinician's inclination might be to test all genes possible, this may not increase the likelihood of clinically actionable results in adult patients, the authors noted.

Further, expanded test panels may increase the number of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) that are identified. And in the case of exome or genome sequencing, expanded testing may increase the chance of picking up secondary or incidental findings that are not relevant to the disease in question, which can lead to confusion.

"Providers should also be aware that genetic testing might not reveal a cause or confirm a diagnosis of the patient's disease because the yield of genetic testing for any inherited cardiovascular disease remains less than 100%, usually much less than 100%," the authors wrote.

If testing is performed, the experts said, clinicians must also be aware of how they plan to return results to patients. This should be done in the presence of a genetic counselor, so that the patient has a full understanding of the implications of the results for their health.

The authors also noted the possibility for secondary or incidental findings from genetic testing. Secondary or incidental findings are becoming particularly relevant because patients are increasingly undergoing genetic testing with exome or genome sequencing in order to maximize the chance of identifying causal pathogenic variants and because costs between gene panels and exomes or genomes are narrowing.

The current recommendation is that patients should be notified of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in any of the 59 genes deemed medically actionable by the ACMG, if they have not opted out of receiving these results, the AHA experts said. However, VUS are not typically returned when discovered as incidental findings. Importantly, 30 of the ACMG 59 genes are related to cardiovascular diseases.

"The field of clinical genetics is in rapid flux. We anticipate that this scientific statement will need to be updated to reflect new advances in the field and new disease-specific guidelines, expert consensus documents, and other statements that are published," the authors wrote. "Reliable classification of variants identified in genetic testing will remain a preeminent challenge for the practice of clinical genetics. Ongoing efforts by ClinGen to refine gene-specific variant classification criteria will be critical, as will laboratory-based functional platforms to reliably interpret variants in a medium-throughput or high-throughput fashion."

This story first appeared in our sister publication, Genomeweb.

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American Heart Association sets genetic testing guidelines for cardiovascular disease - ModernHealthcare.com

Ivy Brain Tumor Center and BridgeBio Pharma’s QED Therapeutics Announce Dosing of First Patient in Investigator-Initiated Phase 0/2 Clinical Trial of…

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PHOENIX and SAN FRANCISCO, July 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute announced today that the first patient has been dosed in an investigator-initiated Phase 0/2 clinical trial of infigratinib in recurrent high-grade glioma driven by FGFR genetic alterations. Infigratinib is an investigational, orally administered, FGFR1-3 selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor being developed by BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBIO) affiliate company QED Therapeutics, Inc.

The investigator-initiated Phase 0/2 trial is designed to confirm drug effects within days of exposure, and only to continue dosing when the drug is active in a patients own tumor. The primary objective of the Phase 0 arm is to assess how effectively infigratinib can cross the blood-brain barrier the most significant obstacle to developing new, effective therapies for aggressive brain tumors like glioblastoma. Patients with successful tumor penetration will receive infigratinib long-term in a Phase 2 expansion arm of the trial. The primary endpoint of the expansion phase is progression-free survival rate at six months. The study will also measure how well infigratinib is impacting its molecular target in each patients tumor.

FGFR (fibroblast growth factor receptor) genetic alterations have been shown to spur growth in malignant tumors. Five to seven percent of glioblastoma patients tumors are driven by FGFR signaling. During the trial screening process, the patients tumor tissue from prior surgery will be tested for the FGFR-TACC3 fusion gene or mutations in FGFR1 and FGFR3 genes. Patients with tumors that have these fusions or mutations are eligible for this study.

In the preclinical studies, our pharmacokinetics program at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center tested seven FGFR inhibitors for their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Infigratinib was one of the most promising agents, said Shwetal Mehta, Ph.D., deputy director of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center.

Infigratinib was previously tested in an uncontrolled Phase 2 study for recurrent high-grade gliomas, said Nader Sanai, M.D., director of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center. The results were intriguing, but inconclusive. This Ivy Phase 0/2 trial seeks to provide direct biological evidence of drug effects in individual patients, allowing us to understand which glioblastoma patients may benefit from infigratinib.

The launch of this investigator-initiated trial is an exciting step in the study of infigratinib for patients with recurrent, high-grade glioma, said Susan Moran, M.D., M.S.C.E., chief medical officer of QED Therapeutics. We anticipate this study being conducted by the Ivy Center will generate valuable information on the ability of infigratinib to reach brain tumors, which is a critical first step in evaluating whether infigratinib, alone or in combination, could potentially provide a therapeutic option for patients with this dire disease.

For additional information on this Phase 0/2 trial in recurrent high-grade glioma, including eligibility criteria, visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04424966.

About Ivy Brain Tumor Center

Ivy Brain Tumor Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ is a non-profit translational research program that employs a bold, early-phase clinical trials strategy to identify new treatments for aggressive brain tumors, including glioblastoma. The Ivy Centers Phase 0 clinical trials program is the largest of its kind in the world and enables personalized care in a fraction of the time and cost associated with traditional drug development. Unlike conventional clinical trials focusing on single drugs, its accelerated trials program tests therapeutic combinations matched to individual patients. Learn more at IvyBrainTumorCenter.org. Follow the Ivy Brain Tumor Center on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About QED Therapeutics, Inc.

QED Therapeutics, an affiliate of BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on precision medicine for FGFR-driven diseases. Our lead investigational candidate is infigratinib (BGJ398), an orally administered, FGFR1-3 selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has shown activity that we believe to be meaningful in clinical measures, such as overall response rate, in patients with chemotherapy-refractory cholangiocarcinoma with FGFR2 fusions and advanced urothelial carcinoma with FGFR3 genomic alterations. QED intends to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) with the United States Food and Drug Administration for second and later-line cholangiocarcinoma in 2020. QED Therapeutics is also evaluating infigratinib in clinical studies for the treatment of achondroplasia. We plan to conduct further clinical trials to evaluate the potential for infigratinib to treat patients with other FGFR-driven tumor types and rare disorders.

For more information on QED Therapeutics, please visit the Company's website at http://www.qedtx.com.

About BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.

BridgeBio is a team of experienced drug discoverers, developers and innovators working to create life-altering medicines that target well-characterized genetic diseases at their source. BridgeBio was founded in 2015 to identify and advance transformative medicines to treat patients who suffer from Mendelian diseases, which are diseases that arise from defects in a single gene, and cancers with clear genetic drivers. BridgeBios pipeline of over 20 development programs includes product candidates ranging from early discovery to late-stage development. For more information visit bridgebio.com

BridgeBio Pharma Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained herein other than statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements, including statements relating to expectations, plans, and prospects regarding QED Therapeutics clinical development plans, clinical trial results, timing, completion and outcomes of clinical trials, including this investigator-initiated trial, the competitive environment, the success of QED Therapeutics collaboration with the Ivy Brain Tumor Center and its impact on QED Therapeutics clinical development strategy, and the clinical and therapeutic potential of infigratinib. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, QED Therapeutics ability to initiate and continue its planned clinical trials of infigratinib, its ability to advance infigratinib in clinical development, the timing and success of any such continued clinical development, and the Ivy Brain Tumor Centers ability to initiate and enroll its investigator-initiated clinical trial of infigratinib and the nature of QEDs interactions with regulatory authorities. Moreover, QED Therapeutics operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment in which new risks emerge from time to time. These forward-looking statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of QED Therapeutics management as of the date of this release and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to QED Therapeutics as of the date hereof, and QED Therapeutics disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

MEDIA:Ivy Brain Tumor CenterMelinda LangdonDirector, Marketing and Communications(623) 297-1317melinda.langdon@ivybraintumorcenter.org

QED Therapeutics Ian StoneCanale Communications619-849-5388ian@canalecomm.com

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Ivy Brain Tumor Center and BridgeBio Pharma's QED Therapeutics Announce Dosing of First Patient in Investigator-Initiated Phase 0/2 Clinical Trial of...

Black Diamond Therapeutics Granted Fast Track Designation by the FDA for BDTX-189 for the Treatment of Adult Patients with a Solid Tumor Harboring an…

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and NEW YORK, July 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDTX), a precision oncology medicine company pioneering the discovery and development of small molecule, tumor-agnostic therapies, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation to BDTX-189 for the treatment of adult patients with solid tumors harboring an allosteric human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) mutation or an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or HER2 Exon 20 insertion mutation who have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory treatment options. BDTX-189, an orally available, irreversible small molecule inhibitor, is the Companys lead product candidate designed to selectively inhibit the activity of a broad range of previously unaddressed oncogenic driver mutations of the ErbB kinases in EGFR and HER2.

While targeted therapies, such as kinase inhibitors, have transformed the treatment of cancer, only a small percentage of patients with metastatic cancer have tumors with genetic profiles that could make them eligible for an approved precision oncology medicine. The FDAs decision to grant Fast Track designation is an important recognition of BDTX-189s potential to treat patients with currently unaddressed oncogenic mutations in EGFR and HER2, said David M. Epstein, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Black Diamond Therapeutics. We look forward to working closely with the FDA as we continue to enroll and dose patients in the MasterKey-01 trial, our Phase 1/2 clinical study of BDTX-189, as part of our mission to discover and develop novel, tumor-agnostic, precision oncology therapies for genetically defined cancers.

The FDA's Fast Track designation provides the potential for an expedited review of new product candidates intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions with high unmet need, allowing important new drugs to become available more quickly to patients suffering from these conditions.Benefits of Fast Track designation include enhanced interaction with the FDA, as well as potential eligibility to obtain accelerated approval and priority review at the time of a New Drug Application (NDA) filing if relevant criteria are met. More information about FDA Fast Track designation can be found at http://www.fda.gov/patients/fast-track-breakthrough-therapy-accelerated-approval-priority-review/fast-track.

About MasterKey-01

MasterKey-01 (NCT04209465) is a combined Phase 1/2 open-label, two-part, multicenter study to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and anti-tumor activity of BDTX-189, in adult patients with advanced solid tumors who have no standard therapy available or for whom standard therapy is considered unsuitable or intolerable. Part A is a Phase 1, first-in-human, open-label dose escalation study, comprised of initial single-patient, accelerated titration cohorts followed by multiple-patient cohorts utilizing a Bayesian design. Part A is designed to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose and schedule in up to 88 patients with allosteric human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) or HER3 mutation; epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or HER2 exon 20 insertion mutation; HER2 amplified or overexpressing tumor; or, EGFR exon 19 deletion or L858R mutation. Part B is a Phase 2, open-label, multicenter basket study designed to determine antitumor activity and safety in adult patients with solid tumors that have an allosteric HER2 mutation or EGFR or HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations using next-generation sequencing. This part will utilize a Simon 2-stage design and enroll up to 100 patients in four cohorts: 1) non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR or HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations; 2) breast cancer with an allosteric ErbB mutation; 3) solid tumors (except breast) with S310F/Y mutation; and, 4) other tumors harboring allosteric ErbB mutations not included in cohorts 1-3.

About BDTX-189

BDTX-189 is an orally available, irreversible small molecule inhibitor that is designed to block the function of an undrugged family of oncogenic proteins defined by driver mutations across a range of tumor types, and which affect both of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the tyrosine-protein kinase, ErbB-2, or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). These mutations include extracellular domain allosteric mutations of HER2, as well as EGFR and HER2 kinase domain exon 20 insertions, and additional activating oncogenic drivers of ErbB. The ErbB receptors are a group of receptor tyrosine kinases involved in key cellular functions, including cell growth and survival. BDTX-189 is also designed to spare normal, or wild type EGFR, which we believe has the potential to improve upon the toxicity profiles of current ErbB kinase inhibitors.

Currently, there are no medicines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to target all of these oncogenic mutations with a single therapy.

About Black Diamond

Black Diamond Therapeutics is a precision oncology medicine company pioneering the discovery of small molecule, tumor-agnostic therapies. Black Diamond targets undrugged mutations in patients with genetically defined cancers. Black Diamond is built upon a deep understanding of cancer genetics, protein structure and function, and medicinal chemistry. The Companys proprietary technology platform, Mutation-Allostery-Pharmacology (MAP) platform, is designed to allow Black Diamond to analyze population-level genetic sequencing data to identify oncogenic mutations that promote cancer across tumor types, group these mutations into families, and develop a single small molecule therapy in a tumor-agnostic manner that targets a specific family of mutations. Black Diamond was founded by David M. Epstein, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Buck, Ph.D., and, beginning in 2017, together with Versant Ventures, began building the MAP platform and chemistry discovery engine.For more information, please visit http://www.blackdiamondtherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential of Fast Track designation to accelerate development and approval of BDTX-189, the Companys future plans or expectations for BDTX-189, including expectations regarding the success of its current clinical trial for BDTX-189 and future plans or expectations for the Mutation-Allostery-Pharmacology platform. Any forward-looking statements in this statement are based on managements current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include: the success, cost, and timing of the Companys product candidate development activities and planned clinical trials, the Companys ability to execute on its strategy, regulatory developments in the United States, the Companys ability to fund operations, and the impact that the current COVID-19 pandemic will have on the Companys clinical trials, supply chain, and operations, as well as those risks and uncertainties set forth in its 2019 annual report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its other filings filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Contacts:

For Investors:Natalie Wildenradtinvestors@bdtherapeutics.com

For Media:Kathy Vincent(310) 403-8951media@bdtherapeutics.com

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Black Diamond Therapeutics Granted Fast Track Designation by the FDA for BDTX-189 for the Treatment of Adult Patients with a Solid Tumor Harboring an...

Everything you need to know if you have plans to travel to the Bahamas – Insider – INSIDER

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The Bahamas are home to 700 islands, some of the world's best beaches, delicious seafood, and deep turquoise water. Each year, millions of visitors travel to the country to explore its tropical atmosphere.

Like many other places, the Bahamas' tourism sector has been devastated by the coronavirus, and the country has been trying to figure out how to welcome back visitors without putting the health of its citizens at risk.

The Bahama's government thought it had made the right decision when it started welcoming international visitors on July 1, but after three weeks of being reopened, the country experienced a surge in coronavirus cases.

At the time of writing, the Bahamas has had 382 coronavirus cases and 11 confirmed deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker.

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced on July 19 that borders would be closed to US visitors, but that decision was quickly reversed. US tourists will now be allowed into the country, but not without stipulations.

Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. Pola Damonte/Getty Images

The biggest change is a mandatory 14-day quarantine for incoming travelers, which was first reported by The Nassau Guardian.

The quarantine will take place in a government facility at the visitor's own expense, according to the government's emergency order. Once the 14 days are over, the traveler will be tested for COVID-19 at their own expense.

This also means that incoming visitors will not be asked to bring a negative coronavirus test upon arrival, which was a previous requirement when entering the Bahamas.

The reasoning for the change was to create a "uniform stand of treatment for all visitors," according to a statement released by Attorney General Carl Bethel.

Additionally, international travel into or out of Grand Bahama, which is the Bahama's northernmost island, is prohibited.

The only way to get around the 14-day quarantine is if incoming visitors arrive via a private or chartered aircraft.

After the 14 days are up, visitors are free to explore the island. Glowimages/Getty Images

The government has placed a curfew on the island from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day.

Beyond remaining 6 feet apart and wearing masks in public spaces, tourists will also find many attractions closed. Casinos, bars, clubs, theaters, and museums remain closed, while restaurants, hotels, gyms, spas, and tourist attractions are operating at limited capacities.

A 19-page outline of what incoming visitors should expect can be found on The Office of the Prime Minister's website.

Acadia National Park in Maine. Joesph Sohm/Shutterstock

Travelers are itching to explore and get out of the house. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends avoiding all nonessential international travel during this time.

Consider exploring a nearby city or an unfamiliar state. Domestic travel across the US has been on the rise, and the tourism industry has witnessed an increased interest in road trips, RV rentals, and domestic trips.

For those determined to get on a plane, there are around 30 countries welcoming US visitors. However, travelers should do research beforehand to understand what policies are in place, as countries have a wide range of reopening plans and different requirements from incoming visitors.

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Everything you need to know if you have plans to travel to the Bahamas - Insider - INSIDER

You Can Still Visit The Bahamas If You Arrive By Private Jet – Forbes

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The big news is the Bahamas is closing its border to commercial airline flights from most countries, including the U.S., at midnight today. However, that doesnt mean you cant fly to the Bahamas from its biggest market for visitors.

In making the announcement, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said there is an exception for private jet arrivals. However, the exemption comes with several requirements.

Heres what you need:

When you apply for the visa, youll need to upload your test. Exemptions for American vacationers include children under 10 years old and your flight crew, if they will be in the country for less than 24 hours.

Despite a ban on airline fights from the United States, private jet arrivals are still welcome.

Once you are there, youll need to comply with rules about mask wearing. The penalty for disobeying them includes a fine of $250 or up to a month in jail, or both!

Rules on wearing masks include when you are at the airport, checking into or out of your hotel, until you are seated in a restaurant, and other places such as taxi lines. You dont have to wear a face mask at the beach, but you do need to when you arrive and depart. While exercising you need to have a mask visible, but you only need to wear it before and after.

Creating a bubble for private jet arrivals makes sense. Average spend per private jet arrival is over $80,000, excluding refueling and other airport fees and services. Passengers arriving on the airlines average spending about $1,500 per head. In other words, one private jet delivers as much revenue into the local economy as over 50 people arriving a commercial flight.

The Bahamas isnt alone in looking to attract private jet arrivals. A top official from the Tourism Authority of Thailand recently said plans call for a travel bubble that would allow private jet travelers to visit without quarantine restrictions. A recent analysis by European private jet operator GlobeAir showed the risk of COVID-19 exposure is 30 times lower for private fliers.

One private aviation provider may have a jump on the Bahamas exemption. Earlier this week, Virginia-based charter and jet card broker Paramount Business Jets announced a partnership allowing its customers to complete at-home COVID-19 testing.

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You Can Still Visit The Bahamas If You Arrive By Private Jet - Forbes

PLP gravely concerned about healthcare strain in GB – EyeWitness News

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis said yesterday the health constraints in Grand Bahama amid a continued rise in coronavirus cases presents a grave concern.

We have for quite a while been expressing our distress about the state of the healthcare and healthcare infrastructure in Grand Bahama, led by Dr [Michael] Darville, Davis said in response to questions from Eyewitness News.

Most services since Dorian have been delivered under tents.

We know that I was advised by the prime minister when I spoke to him on Friday they were seeking alternative venues to house the hospital, [but] whether that was completed, we do not know yet.

We are keeping an eye on it. We are concerned about it because where would those persons be or go?

The facility as we speak is already overwhelmed and the facilities here in New Providence are likely to be soon overwhelmed.

A record 65 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in The Bahamas yesterday, pushing the total to 447.

Of the new cases, 29 were recorded in New Providence, 21 in Grand Bahama, eight in Guana Cay, six in Moores Island and one case in Abaco.

There have been 211 cases on Grand Bahama and 180 cases in New Providence since the outbreak.

On Monday, healthcare professionals expressed concerns that the healthcare infrastructure on the island could be maxed out if an influx of patients require hospitalized care.

A total of 12 people remain hospitalized.

In Grand Bahama, 422 people were quarantine as of July 23.

In response to the surge, the competent authority implemented a two-week lockdown on Grand Bahama, which will end on August 7 at 5am.

Shortage

As it relates to his constituency, Davis, the member of Parliament for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, said as of two weeks ago Rum Cay had one test kit and there was uncertainty there were any test kits in San Salvador.

Meanwhile, PLP Deputy Leader Chester Cooper asserted Exuma has a shortage of test kits and personal protective equipment (PPEs).

He suspected similar challenges exist on other Family Islands.

He urged the government to address these constraints to protect frontline workers and the public.

With respect to Exumas three confirmed cases, Cooper said his office has been in touch with them and all were fairing well.

As the number of cases climb daily, the government has increased restrictions, including a nightly curfew from 7pm to 5am and three consecutive weekend lockdowns.

Additionally, inter-island travel will require a negative COVID-19 diagnostic test and quarantine for 14 days

Yesterday, Davis questioned how the policy prevents the spread of the virus.

It also demonstrates complete misunderstanding of our country, he said.

We are an archipelago with many islands, with cays surrounding it.

Say for example, I am in Treasure Cay. I am going to go to Green Turtle Cay, which is a ferry trip from the mainland. Do I need to have a COVID test to take a ferry from the mainland of Abaco to one of the cays?

He continued: So, thats what makes a nonsense of the whole process.

According to the order, travel is permitted between Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins and Long Cay without restrictions.

Davis also accused the government of failing to protect frontline workers, and said the PLP has received persistent complaints about a shortage of personal protective equipment.

The government has maintained there is sufficient personal protective gear to keep frontline workers protected.

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PLP gravely concerned about healthcare strain in GB - EyeWitness News

Protest at Office of Bahamas PM; rejecting plan to detain illegal Haitians on Ragged Island – Magnetic Media

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#Nassau, Bahamas July 24, 2020 Ragged Islanders today staged a socially distanced protest at the Office of the Prime Minister in Nassau, confirming their outrage with the decision to detain intercepted Haitian migrants at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force base on the island.

During House of Assembly debate on Thursday, Chester Cooper, the Member of Parliament for the island called the decision a ridiculous plan which should be reversed.

I protest it in the strongest possible terms and I ask the government to reverse this plan forthwith, because the people of Ragged Island have started wondering why you despise them so.

This is contemptuous and I ask you to reverse it because the people of Ragged Island will not take kindly to it.

Communication from the Defence Force explained, they jointly foiled a human smuggling operation.

On Tuesday 21 Ju1y just before 10:00 a.m., HMBS P-44 coxswained by Chief Petty Officer Acadia Smith, located the 27-foot, white cabin cruiser anchored just off the northeastern point of Great Isaacs, north of Bimini, where it had run aground. When it became evident that a migrant smuggling operation was underway, the vessel and its occupants12 females (1 pregnant), 9 males and 2 infants, all believed to be of Haitian descent, were detained.

Unmoved by the promised to repatriate the group as soon as is possible, Ragged Islanders demonstrated with placards conveying a string of compelling messages.

Placards decried: First you deem Ragged Island inhabitable. Now Dumping Ground and another which read: Keep Ragged Island Covid FREE.

Islanders, who remain displaced due to Hurricane Irma are reportedly incensed by a decision to detain illegal migrants in their home island and are restating their desperate desire to return home.

Additionally, the government clinic on Ragged Island remains out of commission since the storm in September 2017. The Member of Parliament used his time in parliament to outline the many reasons the Government must find an alternative detainment plan for the 21 Haitians, which includes children and a pregnant woman.

If it is the intention to land temporarily and then deport, this is a terrible place to do it because the logistics are horrible, he continued.

There is no bus, there are no vans. There are no proper facilities at the defense force base at Gunpoint.

It is said the migrants are temporarily detained at the Defence Force base on Ragged Island.

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Protest at Office of Bahamas PM; rejecting plan to detain illegal Haitians on Ragged Island - Magnetic Media

New Health Minister examines COVID-19 progression in The Bahamas – Magnetic Media

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#NASSAU, The Bahamas July 23, 2020 New Minister of Health the Hon. Renward Wells said looking at COVID-19 pandemic evolving in The Bahamas, the nation recorded 104 cases from 15th March to 7th of this month.

However, Minister Wells explained that in startling contrast, from the 8th of July to 22nd July, the nation confirmed 114 cases of COVID-19.

Let me put it another way.During the four months that our borders were closed, only 104 COVID-19 caseswere confirmed. In the two-week period since the opening of the borders, thenumber of positive cases have more than doubled, the Minister said during hisContribution to the Debate to Extend Emergency Orders in the House of Assembly,Thursday, July 23, 2020.

As of last evening, we have115 active cases, 13 of whom are hospitalised. To date, we have carried out 3,759tests for COVID-19 in country.

He explained that the countryscases are distributed among the following islands: Grand Bahama (73), NewProvidence (32), Bimini (4), Berry Islands (4), and Cat Island (2).

We are aware of other caseswhich will be included in our official numbers today as a part of our COVID-19data and Dashboard.

Minister Wells added, Insummary, the majority of our new cases are directly or indirectly as a resultof Bahamians and residents international travel.

He stated that these are the indicators that provide the basis for the decision of the Competent Authority to extend the Emergency Order to September 30th.

BIS Press Release By Llonella Gilbert

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New Health Minister examines COVID-19 progression in The Bahamas - Magnetic Media