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Schumer: Republicans have been in touch about health care – Politico – Politico

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Schumer said he was all for the concept of a bill advanced by Rep. Thomas Reed that would mandate roughly $7 billion in federal cost-sharing subsidies. | Getty

ALBANY, N.Y. Sen. Chuck Schumer said Monday he has heard from 10 of his Republican colleagues in response to his call for a bipartisan approach to health care legislation.

No one thought Obamacare was perfect it needs a lot of improvements, Schumer (D-N.Y.) said after an unrelated news conference at Albany Medical Center. Were willing to work in a bipartisan way to do it. What we objected to was just pulling the rug out from it and taking away the good things that it did: Medicaid coverage for people with parents in nursing homes, for opioid treatment, for kids with disabilities, pre-existing conditions.

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The so-called skinny repeal bill, which would have removed some of Obamacares least popular provisions, failed early Friday in a 51-49 vote. According to The New York Times, Schumer told Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, that he was committed to a legislative effort in regular order to improve the health care system. McCain cast an unexpected and decisive "no" vote.

Schumer said he was all for the concept of a bill advanced by Rep. Thomas Reed (R-N.Y.) that would mandate roughly $7 billion in federal cost-sharing subsidies that reduce out-of-pocket costs for poor consumers. Schumer, the Senate's minority leader, said he wasnt sure whether legislation would emerge in a big bill or take several steps.

Well, well have to wait and see. The first step is to try and stabilize the system that means the cost-sharing which would reduce premiums and increase coverage. Both Democrats and Republicans Sens. [Tim] Kaine and [Tom] Carper and [Susan] Collins have talked about re-insurance plans, so the most severe cases go into a separate insurance fund, and that reduces costs, Schumer said. Those are immediate things, but in the longer term, Republicans have some ideas, we have some ideas, and well sit down and try to hash them out as Congress should do.

Senate GOP sees no path on health care, despite Trump prods – ABC News

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Top Senate Republicans think it's time to leave their derailed drive to scrap the Obama health care law behind them. And they're tired of the White House prodding them to keep voting until they succeed.

Several GOP leaders said Monday that at least for now, they saw no clear route to the 50 votes they'd need to get something anything recasting President Barack Obama's health care statute through the Senate. Their drive crashed with three disastrous Senate votes last week, and their mood didn't improve after a weekend of tweets by President Donald Trump saying they "look like fools" and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney using TV appearances to say they should continue voting.

Mulvaney has "got a big job, he ought to do that job and let us do our jobs," No. 2 Senate GOP John Cornyn of Texas said. He also said of the former House member, "I don't think he's got much experience in the Senate, as I recall."

"It's time to move onto something else, come back to health care when we've had more time to get beyond the moment we're in," said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, another member of the GOP leadership. Asked about threats by conservative groups to attack GOP lawmakers who abandon the fight, Blunt said, "Lots of threats."

While the leaders stopped short of saying they were surrendering on an issue that's guided the party for seven years, their remarks underscored that Republicans have hit a wall when it comes to resolving internal battles over what their stance should be.

Yet even the White House's focus turned Monday to a new horizon: revamping the tax code.

White House legislative director Marc Short set an October goal for House passage of a tax overhaul that the Senate could approve the following month. Plans envision Trump barnstorming the country to rally support for the tax drive, buttressed by conservative activists and business groups heaping pressure on Congress to act.

On health care last week, Republican defections led to the Senate decisively rejecting one proposal to simply erase much of Obama's statute. A second amendment was defeated that would have scrapped it and substituted relaxed coverage rules for insurers, less generous tax subsidies for consumers and Medicaid cuts.

Finally, a bare-bones plan by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., rolling back a few pieces of Obama's law failed in a nail-biting 51-49 roll call. Three GOP senators joined all Democrats in rejecting McConnell's proposal, capped by a thumbs down by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Republican, Democratic and even bipartisan plans for reshaping parts of the Obama health care law are proliferating in Congress. They have iffy prospects at best.

Republicans can push something through the Senate with 50 votes because Vice President Mike Pence can cast a tie-breaking vote. But rather than resuming its health care debate, the Senate on Monday began considering a judicial nomination.

In the House, 43 Democratic and Republican moderates proposed a plan that includes continuing federal payments that help insurers contain expenses for lower-earning customers. It would also limit Obama's requirement that employers offer coverage to workers to companies with at least 500 workers, not just 50.

But movements by House centrists seldom bear fruit in the House, where the rules give the majority party ironclad control, and Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., offered little encouragement.

"While the speaker appreciates members coming together to promote ideas, he remains focused on repealing and replacing Obamacare," said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong.

Trump has threatened anew in recent days to cut off the payments to insurers, which total $7 billion this year and are helping trim out-of-pocket costs for 7 million people.

Those payments to insurers have some bipartisan support because many experts say failing to continue them or even the threat of doing so is prompting insurers to raise prices and abandon some markets.

Obama's statute requires that insurers reduce those costs for low-earning customers. Kristine Grow, spokeswoman for the insurance industry group America's Health Insurance Plans, said Monday that halting the federal payments would boost premiums for people buying individual policies by 20 percent.

"I'm hopeful the administration, president will keep making them," said No. 3 Senate Republican leader John Thune of South Dakota. "And if he doesn't, then I guess we'll have to figure out from a congressional standpoint what we do."

Senate health committee chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said his panel will hold hearings in coming weeks about how to steady roiled health insurance markets.

Hoping to find some way forward, health secretary Tom Price met with governors and Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy. Among those attending was Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who's been trying to defend his state's expansion of Medicaid, the health insurance program for poor people, against proposed GOP cuts.

Cassidy and Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., have proposed converting the $110 billion they estimate Obama's law spends yearly for health insurance into broad grants to states.

Associated Press writer Bob Christie in Phoenix, Arizona, contributed to this report.

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Senate GOP sees no path on health care, despite Trump prods - ABC News

5 things for Tuesday, August 1: Trump, Scaramucci, Venezuela, climate, health care – CNN International

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

1. President Trump President Donald Trump dictated a misleading statement for his son in response to a news report that Donald Trump Jr. hadmet with a Russian lawyer during the campaign,the Washington Post reported. Team Trump's original plan was to issue a truthful statement, but then Trump personally decided to have the statement say Trump Jr. had met with the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, to discuss the adoption of Russian children by Americans. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred CNN to Trump's outside counsel for a response to the story. Attorney Jay Sekulow issued a statement, saying, "Apart from being of no consequence, the characterizations are misinformed, inaccurate and not pertinent." 2. White House The general is in -- and the Mooch is out. And so goes another zany day at the White House. Trump's new chief of staff, John Kelly, was sworn inMonday, and the retired US Marine Corps general made it clear bytossing out Communications Director Anthony Scaramuccithat he wants to run a tighter ship. Scaramucci blazed quite a trail during his 10 days on the job, engineering the ouster of former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (whom he accused of leaking) and crudely taking on presidential advisor Steve Bannon in one of the most colorful interviews in White House history. Scaramucci leaves behind a small treasure trove of memorable lines (late night talk show hosts are devastated), but in the end, sources say, his profile was just getting too big for the Trump White House. CNN's Chris Cillizza says the way Kelly, who'd been Trump's secretary of homeland security,handled Scaramucci may mean he's more of a boss than we thought. The way the White House is now being restructured, everyone on staff will report to him, including Ivanka and Jared. 3. Venezuela A pair of leading opposition leaders have been rounded up in Venezuela. Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were taken from their homes, their families said on Twitter. Their removal follows Sunday's controversial election establishing a new legislative body made up entirely of President Nicolas Maduro's supporters. This new national assembly will have the power to rewrite the country's constitution. The election has been denounced worldwide, and the US Treasury Department hit Maduro with sanctions after the vote. 4. Climate change Two studies say the Earth is going to warm 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. If the studies' grim predictions are correct, we might not even recognize this planet by 2100. Rising sea levels, super droughts, mass extinctions, extreme weather and the melting of the Arctic would mean life as we know it would change dramatically. Researchers say the best way to avoid all of that is for governments to enact changes in public policy that lead to a serious reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 5. Health care The GOP effort to kill Obamacare may be over, but there's still a desire to make improvements to our health care system. So lawmakers are looking at possible fixes to the health care law, and this time it's a bipartisan effort. About 40 House Republicans and Democrats -- who go by the very catchy name of the Problem Solvers Caucus -- have endorsed an outline of ideas aimed at making urgent fixes to Obamacare. Their ideas include mandatory funding for cost-sharing reduction payments, creating a stability fund, repealing the medical device tax and tweaking the employer mandate. None of this has been put into any bills yet, but it's a start. BREAKFAST BROWSE

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5 things for Tuesday, August 1: Trump, Scaramucci, Venezuela, climate, health care - CNN International

Mark Cuban sees a model for fixing health care and he didn’t find it in the United States – CNBC

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Billionaire Mark Cuban has proposed scrapping insurance companies from the U.S. health-care system and instead using federal funds to boost medical staff numbers and make care more widely accessible.

In a series of tweets late Sunday, which appeared to advocate parts of the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS), the tech titan and philanthropist weighed in on President Donald Trump's beleaguered health-care reform agenda, saying that insurance companies were draining U.S. funds with "artificial" and inflated costs.

"Dear politicians. Let me ask a question. If every person in our country had health insurance, would we be any healthier?" Cuban posited in the first in a series of tweets.

He then went on to criticize the U.S. system, which relies on individual health insurance policies, and claimed that eradicating the role of private insurers could reduce costs by 50 percent or more. This would bring the U.S. system closer in line with the U.K.'s NHS or Australia's Medicare, which are largely state-funded.

"No chance a system where you give an ins (insurance) comp $, then beg them to spend it among limited options is the way to optimize our healthcare," Cuban insisted.

Cuban proposed that if he were in the president's shoes he would repeal Barack Obama-era insurance subsidies and instead use the funds to double medical school capacity and offer needs-based grants to increase staff numbers.

"Single Payer is not the solution," Cuban stated in his final tweet, saying that the current system feeds directly into the hands of inadequate insurance companies. Single-payer health insurance refers to a system in which a single public body organizes health-care financing, but the delivery of care remains mostly in private hands.

The U.K.'s NHS system, though widely commended, is not without its troubles, however, as it struggles to manage growing patient numbers with increasingly tight funding and falling staff numbers.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.

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Mark Cuban sees a model for fixing health care and he didn't find it in the United States - CNBC

For Indian doctors, it’s written in the genes not stars – Economic Times

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

BENGALURU: When five-year-old Chathura Corea from Sri Lanka landed in India for cancer treatment, his physician Sachin Jadhav got a genetic test done on his blood sample before starting any kind of treatment. Corea had been diagnosed with a very rare form of blood cancer called Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukaemia (JMML). After a genetic test, Jadhav concluded that a simple chemotherapy would not suffice and the kid needs a bone-marrow transplant".

The (genetic) test helped me identify what line of treatment to give providing maximising the chance of cure and in planning treatment better, says Jadhav, who has partnered with Bengaluru-based MedGenome Labs which provides genetic tests for a range of ailments like cancer, metabolic diseases, eye diseases, neurological and prenatal disorders.

Increasingly , doctors like Jadhav are asking patients to take genetic tests to identify 'faulty' genes in treating genetic diseases better.

MedGenome has seen the number of samples triple for genetic tests in of samples triple for genetic tests in the last one year.

We now get about 600-800 samples a month, said VL Ramprasad, COO of MedGenome Labs. The uptake is primarily due to increased awareness among clinicians in India who see a scope for better results and efficient treatment, he said.

Another lab, Stand Life Sciences has also seen a similar spike in the number of samples received.Strand has seen a 250% growth in the number of samples last year, and we have done about 5,000 samples this year, said cofounder Vijay Chandru. The science behind these tests is straight forward: everything about us -the length of our hair, the colour of our eyes, the complexion of our skin is coded onto the DNA -which also has hidden hints of the possible disease one might get. Scientists analyse the genetic code and figure out what mutation causes a specific disease. As the awareness among doctors increases, revenues have been surging. MedGenome revenues have doubled every year. The lab's revenues have grown from $4 million in 2015 to $16.5 million in 2017.

At this point, we are just scratching the surface, says Chandru of Strand life sciences, adding, The addressable market is 500,000 people according to India Council of Medical Research (ICMR) report. Say , 20% people can afford the tests... 100,000 peo ple could be tested. Right now, only 5,000 people are being tested.

These genetic tests cost about Rs 30,000- 40,000 for a single test. Only 2% of Indian population is covered by insurance. Hence, affordability is another bottleneck in the widespread adoption of genetic tests, said Chirantan Bose, VP of Clinical services at Medgenome.

Aside from providing insights to clinicians for better diagnosis, the milestone for genetic tests is `targeted therapy' for specific diseases. For instance, precision medicine in the treatment of cancer when the drug hits only the cancer cells and not the entire body (like in chemotherapy). Genetic testing paves way for precision medicine. Consumers too want to dig into their genes to know more about their family history , lifestyle tendencies and information about their ancestry .

Mapmygenome provides a report on 100 different conditions including inherited and acquired genetic health risks. The firm's product, Genomepatri, has found massive traction and the number of samples have tripled over the samples we received last year, says Anu Acharya, cofounder of Mapmygenome, adding that demand was not just coming from metros but even from tier-II towns across India.

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For Indian doctors, it's written in the genes not stars - Economic Times

CRISPR Pioneer Zhang Preaches Extra Caution In Human Gene Editing – Xconomy

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Xconomy Boston

A leading genome-editing researcher is urging extra caution as drug companies race to turn the landmark technology he helped create into human medicine.

In a paper published today in Nature Medicine, Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and colleague David Scott argue that researchers should analyze the DNA of patients before giving them experimental medicines that alter their genes with the breakthrough technology CRISPR. The suggestion, among others in the paper, stems from a deeper look at the wide array of subtle differences in human DNA.

Zhang is a key inventor of CRISPR-Cas9, which describes a two-part biological system that slips into the nucleus of cells and irreversibly alters DNA. One part is an enzyme, natures molecular scissors, which cuts DNA. The second part is a string of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that guides the enzyme to the proper spot. In five years since its invention, CRISPR-Cas9 has become a mainstay of biological research, and researchers including Zhang (pictured above) have moved quickly to improve upon its components. His work is at the center of a long-running patent battle to determine ownership of the technology.

Zhang and Scotts recommendation taps into a long-running debate in the gene-editing field about off-target effectsthe fear of misplaced cuts causing unintended harm. Most recently, the FDA took up a similar issue at a meeting to assess a type of cell therapy, known as CAR-T, for kids with leukemia. The FDA highlighted the risk that the cells, which have certain genes edited to make them better cancer fighters, may cause secondary cancers long after a patients leukemia has been cured. (FDA advisors unanimously endorsed the therapys approval nonetheless.)

Some researchers say there should be near certainty that gene altering techniques wont go awry before testing in humans, caution that stems in part from gene therapy experiments in the U.S. and Europe nearly 20 years ago that killed an American teenager and triggered leukemia in several European boys.

While no medicine is risk-free, other researchers say the tools to gauge risk have improved.

Andy May, senior director of genome engineering at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub in San Francisco, calls Zhang and Scotts recommendation for patient prescreening a good discussion point, but the danger is someone will pick up on this and say you cant push forward [with a CRISPR drug] until everyone is sequenced.

Its an extremely conservative path to take, says May, who until recently was the chief scientific officer at Caribou Biosciences, a Berkeley, CA-based firm in charge of turning the discoveries of UC Berkeleys Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues into commercial technology. (May was also a board member of Cambridge, MA-based Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA), which has exclusive license to use Caribous technology in human therapeutics.)

Berkeley is leading the challenge to Zhangs CRISPR patents and last week filed the first details in its appeal of a recent court decision in favor of Zhang and the Broad Institute.

Zhang sees prescreening as a form of companion diagnostic, which drug companies frequently use to identify the right patients for a study. A whole genome sequencewhich costs about $1,000could filter out patients unlikely to benefit from a treatment or at higher risk of unintended consequences, such as cancer. In the long run, it could also encourage developers to create more variations of a treatment to make genome-editing based therapeutics as broadly available as possible, said Zhang.

Its well known that human genetic variation is a hurdle in the quest to treat genetic diseases either by knocking out disease-causing genes or replacing them with healthy versions. But Zhang and Scott use newly available genetic information to deepen that understanding. In one Broad Institute database with genetic information from more than 60,000 people, they find one genetic variation for every eight letters, or nucleotides, in the exomethat is, the sections of DNA that contain instructions to make proteins. (There are 6 billion nucleotides in each of our cells.) The wide menu of differences is, in effect, an open door to misplaced cuts that CRISPRs enzymes might be prone to.

Zhang and others are working on many kinds of enzymes, from variations on the workhorse Cas9, to new ones entirely. He and Scott found that the deep pool of genetic variation makes some forms of the Cas enzyme more likely than others to go awry, depending on the three-nucleotide sequence they lock onto in the targeted DNA.

Zhang and Scott write that CRISPR drug developers should avoid trying to edit DNA strings that are likely to have high variation. In their paper, they examine 12 disease-causing genes. While more common diseases, such as those related to high cholesterol, will contain higher genetic variation because of the broader affected population, every gene, common or not, contains regions of high and low variation. Zhang and Scott say developers can build strategies around the gene regions they are targeting.

For example, going after a more common disease might require a wider variety of product candidates, akin to a plumber bringing an extra-large set of wrenches, with finer gradations between each wrench, to a job site with an unpredictable range of pipe sizes.

CRISPR companies say they are doing just that. We have always made specificity a fundamental part of our program, says Editas Medicine CEO Katrine Bosley. Zhang is a founder of Editas (NASDAQ: EDIT), which has exclusive license to the Broads Next Page

Alex Lash is Xconomy's National Biotech Editor. He is based in San Francisco.

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CRISPR Pioneer Zhang Preaches Extra Caution In Human Gene Editing - Xconomy

We Need to Talk About Genetic Engineering | commentary – Commentary Magazine

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

What began as a broad-based and occasionally sympathetic conduit for anti-Trump activists has evolved into a platform for the maladjusted to receive unhealthy levels of public scrutiny. The cycle has become a depressingly familiar. A relatively obscure member of the political class achieves viral notoriety and becomes a figure of cult-like popularity with some uncompromising display of opposition toward the president only to humiliate themselves and their followers in short order.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is not the first to be feted by liberals as the embodiment of noble opposition to authoritarianism. In May, the Center for American Progress blog dubbed her the patron saint of resistance politics. Left-leaning viral-politics websites now routinely praise Waters as a Trump-bashing resistance leader, the Democratic rock star of 2017, and an all-around badass for her unflagging commitment to trashing the president as a crooked and racist liar, the Daily Beast observed. Waters was even honored by an audience of tweens and entertainers at this years MTV Movie Awards. Even a modestly curious review of Waters record would have led more cautious political actors to keep their distance. Time bombs have a habit of going off.

Zero hour arrived late Friday evening when Waters broke the news of a forthcoming putsch. Mike Pence is somewhere planning an inauguration, the congresswoman from California wrote. Priebus and Spicer will lead the transition. That sounds crazy, but its a familiar kind of crazy.

Anyone who has followed the congresswomans career knows she has a history of making inflammatory assertions for the benefit of her audience. It only takes a cursory google search to discover that, in her decade in politics, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has named her the most corrupt member of Congress four times and the misconduct of her chief of staff ensnared her in a House Ethics Committee probe. The Resistance is willing to overlook a plethora of flaws and misdeeds as long as their prior assumptions are validated.

This is not the first time its own heroes have undercut The Resistance.

National Reviews Charles C. W. Cooke recently demonstrated why Louise Mensch, formerly a prominent poster child for The Resistance, has a habit of seeing Russians behind every darkened corner. They are responsible for riots in Missouri, Democratic losses at the polls, and Anthony Weiners libido. In Menschs imagination, a secret Republican Guard is mere moments away from dispatching this administration amid some species of constitutional coup. Cooke also noted that Mensch was elevated to unearned status as a celebrity of the Resistance by the anti-Trump commentary class desperate for what she was selling.

Menschs star has faded, but not before she managed to embarrass those who invested confidence in her sources. Those who embraced her should have been more cautious in the process. Menschs British compatriots long ago caught onto her habit of lashing out at phantoms. A prudent political class would have given her a wide berth.

25-year-old Teen Vogue columnist Lauren Duca became a sensation last December when her article accusing the president of gas lighting the nation went viral. She was festooned with praise for her work from forlorn Democratsculminating in a letter of praise from Hillary Clintonand soon found herself the subject of fawning New York Times profiles and delivering college commencement addresses without any apparent effort to vet her work.

Duca, too, became a source of bias-confirming misinformation for the left. Cute pic of Trump getting tired of winning, she tweeted with the image of an airplane going down in flames. The tweet was quickly deleted, but not before it provided a means by which the pro-Trump right could credibly undermine her integrity.

Attributable only to a plague mass hysteria, liberal Trump opponents collectively determined last December that a paranoid, 127-tweet rant was a work of unpatrolled genius. That diatribe was the work of Eric Garland, a self-described D.C. technocrat based in Missouri whos now infamous game theory polemic was an example of what he calls his spastic historical and political narratives.

Journalists and political activists who surveyed his work declared it not just compelling anti-Trump prose but near historic in its brilliance. It was anything but. Laced with profanity, exaggerated misspellings to caricature his political opponents, and an offensively indiscreet application of the caps lock, Garland threaded 9/11, Al Gore, Hurricane Katrina, Edward Snowden, and Fox News to tell the tale of how Americas sovereignty was repeatedly violated. The Resistance abandoned its better judgment.

It wasnt long before Garland had humiliated anyone who ever treated him as a credible political observer. Rupert Murdoch is a threat to Western Civilization and a Russian operative, he wrote. I WONT BE THE FIRST GARLAND OF MY LINE TO SPILL BLOOD FOR AMERICA AND THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY AND NEVER THE LAST, YOU F***ERS. This kind of hyperventilating excess came as no surprise to anyone who didnt read his manic thread through tears as they struggled to come to terms with the age of Trump.

If Democrats hope to strike a favorable contrast with a lackadaisical White House, theyre not well served by surrounding themselves with reckless people. Too often, the faces of The Resistance wither in the spotlight. A serious movement attracts serious opposition. A frivolous, self-gratifying movement, well, doesnt.

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We Need to Talk About Genetic Engineering | commentary - Commentary Magazine

Can genetic modification turn annual crops into perennials? – Genetic Literacy Project

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

The last several decades have witnessed a remarkable increase in crop yields doubling major grain crops since the 1950s. But a significant part of the world still suffers from malnutrition, and these gains in grains and other crops probably wont be enough to feed a growing global population.

These facts have put farmers and agricultural scientists on a quest to squeeze more yield from plants (and livestock), and how to make these yield increases more sustainable. The best land is already taken and could be altered by climate changes, so new crops may have to be grown in less hospitable locations, and the soils and nutrition in existing lands need to be better preserved.

Several methods are being used to boost yields with less fertilizer or pesticides, including traditional combination techniques, marker-assisted breeding, and, of course, trans- and cis-genic modifications.

One way to get more food from a plant is through another genetic switch. It may be possible to genetically, either through hybridization, mutagenesis, or genetic engineering to alter a plant so that it transforms from an annual (one you have to replant every year) to a perennial (which you plant once and can thrive for many years).

This video from Washington State University discusses some advantages of perennial crops:

Most staples, like corn, wheat, sorghum and other grains are annuals. About 75 percent of US and 69 percent of global croplands are cereal, oilseed and legumes, and all of those are annuals, said Jerry Glover, plant geneticist at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, and John Reganold, a geneticist at Washington State University. This means, they wrote:

They must be replanted each year from seed, require large amounts of expensive fertilizers and pesticides, poorly protect soil and water, and provide little habitat for wildlife. Their production emits significant greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change that can in turn have adverse effects on agricultural productivity.

Perennials, meanwhile, have longer growing seasons and more extensive roots, making them more productive, and more efficient at capturing nutrients and water from the soil. Replanting isnt necessary, reducing pesticide and fertilizer use, and reducing the need to use tractors and other mechanical planters in fields. Erosion also can be reduced. Its been estimated that annual grains can lose five times more water and 35 times more nitrate than perennial grains. All plants at one time were perennials, and breeders and farmers concentrated on breeding new annuals that could meet a farmers (and consumers) needs.

Now, the table has turned. Genetics may make the annual-to-perennial transformation easier. The switch to perennials is not a new avenue of research, but its been a rocky road. Scientists in the former USSR and the US tried to create perennial wheat in the 1960s, but the offspring plants were sterile and didnt deliver on desired traits. Since then, scientists worldwide have looked at deriving perennials from annual and perennial parents using molecular markers tied to desirable traits (and the genes responsible for them). This technique, and knowing the genotypes of more and more plants, has made it possible to combine desirable genes with traditional and genetic engineering methods to find these desirable perennial plants.

Glover has pointed out that molecular markers tied to desirable traits (higher yields, disease resistance, etc.) can allow for faster breeding by determining the sources of plant variation, and that plant genomics has facilitated the combination of genes without having to field test over years at a time. Genetic modifications can also help spur this along.

Andrew Paterson, head of the plant genome laboratory at the University of Georgia, has studied for years the development of perennial sorghum one of the top five cerealon the planet. Sorghums drought resistance has made it useful as a grain and biomass source in degraded soil, and a perennial version (which has happened spontaneously twice) could reduce drought losses even to other crops. Patersons genetic analysis of wild perennials and cultivated annuals has shown the genes involved in perennial ism and offered DNA markers for more precise breeding.

Techniques like CRISPR/Cas9, which can precisely edit, insert or delete genes at specific locations, are being studied for their possible role in transforming perennials, but a few challenges remain. Chung-Jui Tsai at the University of Georgia, recently showed that CRISPR could be used to alter genes in existing perennials (like fruit and nut trees, for example), once some hurdles like frequent polymorphisms and other variations could be overcome.

Still others are not so optimistic about using genetic modification to enact the perennial-annual switch. First, the whole field would require much more research funding than currently exists, Glover warns. Then, as Paterson told Brooke Borel in her article in Popular Science, perennial traits are much more complicated than those currently addressed by genetic engineering. We dont really know all of the genes involved, not yet:

We dont actually have any of the genes in hand. We know where they are in the genome and we are working on their locations more and more finely, but there arent any of these genes that we can yet point to the specific gene among the 30,000 or so in sorghum. Even if they did know the exact genes, most GMOs that are currently available only insert a single new trait rather than information from multiple genes. The technology isnt yet able to handle something so complicated as perennialism.

Andrew Porterfieldis a writer, editor and communications consultant for academic institutions, companies and non-profits in the life sciences. He is based in Camarillo, California. Follow@AMPorterfieldon Twitter.

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Can genetic modification turn annual crops into perennials? - Genetic Literacy Project

Understanding the basics of Genetically-Modified Organisms – NIGERIAN TRIBUNE (press release) (blog)

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Genetic modification, also known as genetic engineering, is a technologically advanced way to select desirable traits in crops. While selective breeding has existed for thousands of years, modern biotechnology is more efficient and effective because seed developers are able to directly modify the genome of the crop. Plants that are genetically engineered (GE) have been selectively bred and enhanced with genes to withstand common problems that confront farmers. These include strains of wheat that are more resistant to drought, maize that can survive pesticides, and cassava that is biofortified with additional nutrients. In addition to resistance-based attributes and biofortification, some GM crops can produce higher yields from the same planted area. GM crops have the potential to strengthen farming and food security by granting more certainty against the unpredictable factors of nature. These resistances and higher yields hold great promise for the developing world and for global food security. Yet, controversy remains over access to this biotechnology, corporation patents on certain plant strains, and claims regarding the safety and quality of GM foods as compared to non-GM foods.

Why are seed developers genetically modified organisms? Genetic modification can protect crops against threats to strong yields, such as diseases, drought, pests, and herbicides used to control weeds, and therefore improve the efficiency of food production. While farmers have been selectively breeding plants for centuries, genetic engineering allows new traits to be developed much more quickly. Utilising traditional selective breeding can take multiple growing seasons to develop and test a new variety. Genetic engineering is more precise than conventional hybridisation and therefore is less likely to produce unexpected results. For example, mutagenic breeding is not considered genetic engineering, yet it exposes plant material to radiation or chemicals to create varieties with new traits.

GMOs seem to be in the news a lot lately. Is the GMO process new? GMOs are in the news a lot right now, but not because they are new. They have actually been in our food supply for nearly 20 years. Farmers have been using hybridisation and mutation breeding of crops to improve their resistance to pests or environmental conditions for decades. But scientists began to sufficiently understand the genetic makeup of certain plants to be able to modify genes that would strengthen the plants ability to resist new pests or diseases and thus improve yields so that farmers began planting GMO crops in the mid-1990s.

What are the effects of genetic modification on the environment? In order to feed a world population that is expected to top 9 billion by 2050 and to do so in ways that do not harm the environment, farmers will need to roughly double current production levels on about the same amount of land. Genetically modified crops are more efficient and therefore use less agricultural inputs to produce the same amount of food. From 1996-2012, without GM crops the world would have needed 123 million more hectares of land for equal crop production. GM technology reduced pesticide use by 8.9 per cent in the period from 1996- 2011. Because genetically modified crops require less ploughing and chemical usage, GM technology can reduce fossil fuel and CO2 emissions. Genetic engineering can therefore help to ameliorate the effects of agriculture on the environment. Farming accounted for 24 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 and 70 percent of freshwater use. Additionally, scientists are developing GM crops that are resistant to flood, drought, and cold, which improves agricultural resistance to climate change. GM crops also allow for greater use of no-till cultivation, which helps with carbon sequestration, soil erosion prevention, and better soil fertility.

How are GM crops related to nutrition and food security? Genetic modification can improve the nutritional profile of food and therefore serves as a key element in reducing global rates of malnutrition. For instance, golden rice is enhanced with beta-carotene and therefore provides a dose of vitamin A, a nutrient lacking in many diets around the world. Vitamin A deficiency leads to the death of nearly 700,000 children each year, so golden rice is a crucial initiative in reducing malnutrition. Additionally, in India, using BT corn led to the consumption of more nutritious foods, including fruits, vegetables, and animal products because of increased incomes. Another study in India showed that each hectare of BT cotton increased caloric intake by 74 calories per person per day and that 7.93 per cent of households using BT cotton were food insecure as opposed to 19.94 per cent of those using non-GM cotton.

What is the scientific consensus of the impact of GM foods on humans? From 2003-13, 1,783 studies showed no human or environmental dangers from genetically engineered crops, with a study concluding that the scientific research conducted thus far has not detected any significant hazard directly connected with the use of GM crops. The European Commission released a meta study of 50 research projects and found that the use of biotechnology and of GE plants per se does not imply higher risks than classical breeding methods or production technologies. One study in 2013 suggested that consumption of GM foods affected the health of lab animals, but the studys publication was subsequently pulled and its findings undermined because of digressions from standard scientific research principles.

Why use genetic engineering if other methods are just as effective at boosting productivity? Genetic engineering research has focused on overcoming problems that affect productivity, such as disease, weeds, and pests. When crops can avoid disease, weeds, and pests, crop yield is enhanced. Genetic modification is only one of the tools that farmers can use to boost productivity, and it does not eliminate the need for other advances such as hybridization, agricultural chemicals, and farm machinery. Rather, genetic modification is a technologically advanced application of biotechnology that works in conjunction with other modern agricultural practices. Dr Rose Maxwell Gidado is the Country Coordinator for Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB).

Many dont know honey exportation is a goldmine NAQS boss

Prices of grains will fall soon

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Understanding the basics of Genetically-Modified Organisms - NIGERIAN TRIBUNE (press release) (blog)

Transient gene therapy may help youngsters with a premature ageing syndrome – Cosmos

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

A rose will bloom, it then will fade. Alas, not so for those afflicted with Hutchison-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS). Their lives skip the blooming stage. Within a few months of birth their growth is stunted and they begin to show the hallmarks of ageing. Their skin loses its elasticity and their hair falls out. As teenagers they resemble tiny, gnomish octogenarians, with prominent eyes, pinched noses, receding jaws and veins protruding through thin transparent skin. The average age of death is 13 usually from a heart attack or stroke.

Cardiologist John Cooke is trying to help those with the disease by at least slowing the ageing and stiffening of their blood vessels. His approach involves rejuvenating this tissue by delivering transient gene therapy using messenger RNA for a gene called telomerase. Since messenger RNA does not hang around, the technique avoids the pitfalls of gene therapy, like inadvertently triggering cancer.

The results of his research, published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, show the successful rejuvenation of cells in the test tube from youngsters with HGPS.

It brings tears to my eyes to see these kids but despite the fact theyre trapped in the body of an 80-year-old, he says. Theyre not bitter. They are intelligent and hopeful. They want to count the stars.

The efforts of Cooke and colleagues based at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas wont just benefit children with progeria; there are potential pluses for most of us who are also likely to die of heart disease.

The cells of those afflicted with HGPS have a shortened life span. Compared to normal cells, they multiply fewer times before becoming senescent cells that are no longer able to rejuvenate through dividing. The fault lies with the worn-down tips of their chromosomes, known as telomeres. In normal cells, the telomeres are much longer.

This is all a consequence of the LMNA mutation that is the underlying cause of HGPS. It impairs the way DNA is housed in the nucleus, buckling the appearance of the nucleus and also meaning the DNA cannot be properly maintained particularly the vulnerable ends, which fray. Cells with seriously frayed telomeres become senescent. They no longer divide or respond to the environment in a normal way, and ooze inflammatory factors. In the case of the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels, Cooke says, this means they dont line up against the shear stress and they become stickier, attracting plaque.

For several years Cooke has wondered whether it might be possible to restore ageing endothelial cells to a more youthful state by repairing the telomere ends not just in youngsters with HGPS but everybody.

The enzyme telomerase is designed to do this job; but delivering a hard copy of the gene to the cells is probably a bad idea: cancer cells often rely on activating telomerase.

So Cooke opted for giving the cells a soft copy the messenger RNA that carries the same information as the gene but doesnt hang around. It is sort of like a flimsy photocopy of an important manuscript.

The just-published study was a proof of concept. The Houston researchers took skin cells from 17 youngsters with HGPS aged one to 14 and grew out cells called fibroblasts. (Its much harder to extract endothelial cells that line the blood vessels). In 12 of the patients, the fibroblasts showed abnormally short telomeres. Five of the younger patients (aged eight years or less) had normal length telomeres something that surprised the researchers. When the scientists added the messenger RNA of the telomerase gene, the cells with short telomeres kicked back into replicating again. On the other hand, the cells that had normal length telomeres showed no response.

The study suggests that the delivery of the telomerase messenger RNA is able to rejuvenate fibroblast cells. It presumably might do the same for the endothelial cells and blood vessels of youngsters with HGPS. The next step, Cooke says, is to work on techniques to deliver the telomerase messenger RNA into the body, perhaps using nanoparticles.

Chiesi dumps uniQure’s hemophilia B gene therapy – FierceBiotech

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Chiesi has cut its ties to uniQures hemophilia B gene therapy. The split gives uniQure full rights to AMT-060 but leaves it without a partner to cofund R&D as it closes in on the start of a pivotal trial.

Italian drugmaker Chiesi picked up the rights to commercialize AMT-060 in certain markets in 2013 as part of a deal that also gave it a piece of Glybera, the gene therapy that made history by coming to market in Europe only to flop commercially. Chiesi backed out of the Glybera agreement earlier this year and has now completed its split from uniQure by terminating the hemophilia B pact.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands-based uniQure framed the termination as it reacquiring the rights to AMT-060, rather than Chiesi dumping the program. But as the deal will see money transfer from Chiesi to uniQure and the former stated a shift in priorities prompted it to sever ties to AMT-060, it seems clear the Italian drugmaker wanted to exit the agreement.

That leaves uniQure facing the prospect of taking AMT-060 into a pivotal trial without the financial support of a partner. Chiesi and uniQure have evenly shared R&D costs since 2013. The loss of the support of Chiesi will add $3 million to uniQures outlay this year, although the Dutch biotech still thinks it has enough cash to take it into 2019.

After a trying time on public markets dotted with stock drops following unfavorable comparisons to Spark Therapeutics rival hemophilia B program, uniQure is less well equipped to raise more money than in the past. But uniQure CEO Matthew Kapusta spun the regaining of full rights to the gene therapy as a boost for the company.

We believe uniQure is better positioned to accelerate the global clinical development plan, maximize shareholder return on our pipeline and take advantage of new potential opportunities related to the program, Kapusta said in a statement.

If the potential opportunities are to include a deal covering AMT-060, uniQure must persuade a potential partner of the merits of its asset. UniQure has sought to focus attention on the durable clinical benefits associated with AMT-060 but investors have fixated on Sparks clear advantage in terms of Factor IX activity.

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BioNews – Gene therapy reverses muscular dystrophy in dogs in … – BioNews

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

A safe and effective gene therapy treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in dogs has been demonstratedby researchers from France and the UK.

The gene therapy significantly increased the muscle strength of dogs naturally affected by DMD, improving their ability to walk, run and jump.

'This is very encouraging, as current treatments for muscular dystrophy are merely palliative and patients are under constant medical care throughout their life,' saidDr John Counsell, who was not involved in the study but works at the Gene Transfer Technology Group at University College London.

DMD is a rare, progressive disease affecting all muscles of the body, including the heart and diaphragm. It is caused bymutationsin the dystrophingene, which leads to a deficiency of dystrophinprotein. Dystrophin is important in supporting the muscle fibres during contraction; without it, the muscle fibres become damaged and eventually die.

As it is one of the largest human genes, it is technically challenging to insert the entire dystrophin gene into a viral vector, as is usually done for gene therapy. For this reason, the researchers in this study developed a gene therapy that delivers a smaller but functional version of the dystrophin gene (called micro-dystrophin). This was packaged into a non-pathogenic virus called an adeno-associated virus (AAV).

Twelve dogs with DMD received a single dose of the micro-dystrophin gene therapy and were monitored for up to two years. The researchers observed an increased amount of dystrophin protein in the dogs'muscles and a stabilisation of clinical symptoms in most of the dogs. There were no serious immune reactions to the gene therapy.

'The studies in dogs have been spectacular and exceeded our expectations,' said Professor George Dickson, who led the research at Royal Holloway University of London. My team has worked for many years to optimise a gene therapy medicine for DMD, and now the quite outstanding work of colleagues in France, in Genethon, in Nantes and in Paris has taken us close to clinical trials in DMD patients.'

In a separate study, a group of researchers from the US developed a micro-dystrophin gene therapy using a different type of AAV vector. They tested this in a recently established, severe DMD mouse model that is thought to be more like the human condition than the commonly used mdx mouse.

15 weeks after AAV injection, the researchers detected an increased amount of dystrophin protein in the mouse muscles. There were also improvements in muscle function and a reduction in muscle scarring and inflammation.

Whilst evaluating cardiac function, the researchers unexpectedly found pathological changes in the hearts of control mice, which meant that they were similar to the DMD hearts. For this reason, they could not evaluate the effect of the micro-dystrophin gene therapy on cardiac function and concluded that the mouse was not a good model for DMD-associated cardiomyopathy.

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BioNews - Gene therapy reverses muscular dystrophy in dogs in ... - BioNews

Hemophilia B Gene Therapy AMT-060 Moves to Large-scale Production, Says UniQure – Hemophilia News Today

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Pharmaceutical firm uniQure N.V. has developed an optimized large-scale process to manufacture its lead gene, therapydate, to treat hemophilia B. This new platform will allow the Dutch company to boost production of its AMT-060 gene therapy at its Lexington, Massachusetts, facility, in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices guidelines.

This should enable uniQure to meet the requirements of both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) by early fall, the companys CEO, Matt Kapusta, said in a press release.

We have made significant progress over the past several months to now be in a position where we have developed a commercial-scale process and are evaluating our completed batches to assess comparability, Kapusta said. We look forward to finalizing this work in anticipation of meetings with regulators to further discuss plans to advance our hemophilia B program into a pivotal study next year.

AMT-060 gene therapy is based on a viral vector to deliver a therapeutic form of human factor IX gene, or FIX. This potential therapy is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 trial (NCT02396342) in patients with severe hemophilia B and advanced joint disease.

The trials most recent long-term resultsshow that AMT-060 is safe and well tolerated, while reducing annual spontaneous bleeding rates by 84 percent to an average of 0.5 annual bleeds after gene transfer.

These results were subject of an oral presentation, Updated Results from a Dose-escalation Study in Adults with Severe or Moderate-severe Hemophilia B Treated with AMT-060 (AAV5-hFIX) Gene Therapy: up to 1.5 Years Follow-up, given during the 26th Biennial Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasisin Berlin. A summary appears in the meetingsbook of abstracts.

Based on the trials results, the FDA granted AMT-060 its breakthrough therapy designation in January 2017.The EMA awarded the gene therapy its PRIME designation in April 2017.In addition, uniQure says it will extend its new manufacturing platform to production ofAMT-130 to treat Huntingtons disease.

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Hemophilia B Gene Therapy AMT-060 Moves to Large-scale Production, Says UniQure - Hemophilia News Today

Spark submission brings first gene therapy for genetic disease closer – The Pharma Letter (registration)

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

US biotech firm Spark Therapeutics has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European

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Spark submission brings first gene therapy for genetic disease closer - The Pharma Letter (registration)

Gene Therapy Treats Muscular Dystrophy in Dogs, Provides Hope … – Wall Street Pit

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

HomeHealthGene Therapy Treats Muscular Dystrophy in Dogs, Provides Hope for Humans

July 29, 2017 WSP

There is new hope for human patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Results released in the journal Nature Communications describe a promising gene therapy performed on dogs. Twelve Golden Labrador dogs were subjected to a breakthrough gene therapy technology and, after two years, the dogs are healthy and appears to be illness-free. Researchers are optimistic about the implication of this study on humans.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (or DMD) is a hereditary condition characterized by muscle weaknesses and muscle degeneration. Among nine types of muscular dystrophy, DMD is the most severe and life-threatening. Dystrophin protein is vital for muscles to function properly and the absence of this protein makes muscles fragile and easily damaged. At early stages, DMD will affect muscles in the shoulder, upper arms, thighs and hips that are vital to movement and balance. Patients experience muscle weaknesses by age 4 and then start losing the ability to walk by age 12. Later on, DMD will weaken the heart and respiratory muscles. For DMD cases, the average life expectancy is 26 years, with only a few patients living beyond 40.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy was named after French neurologist Guillaume Benjamin Amand Duchenne who described the illness in the 1860s. It was only in 1986 that researchers discovered a specific gene in the X chromosome that is responsible for normal dystrophin production. If a human has inherited the mutated or defective gene, that human can be ill with DMD or be a carrier of the defective gene.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects 1 in 5,000 boys at birth but is rare among girls. Girls, which have XX composition, are less likely affected than boys with XY composition as the dystrophin gene is located in the X chromosome. When a young girl inherits a defective dystrophin gene from one parent, she will be DMD-free if she gets a normal gene from her other parent or DMD-affected if she gets another defective gene. However, a DMD-free girl with a defective gene is still a carrier and can pass that gene to her children. On the other hand, it only takes one defective gene for boys to be affected with DMD.

There are no cures for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Drugs, physical therapy and corrective surgery have been the primary tools for dealing with DMD but researchers are now pursuing newer technologies as possible treatment routes. The team of researchers from Genethon, the AFM-Telethon laboratory, INSERN (UMR 1089, Nantes) and the Royal Holloway of University of London collaborated for a promising gene therapy study conducted on twelve Golden Labrador dogs. The dogs were injected one-time with a gene for microdystrophin, a compressed version of dystrophin. Microdystrophin gene is used instead of dystrophin gene as the latter is too large to fit into a carrier virus that will be injected into a dogs body.

Golden Labrador dogs are chosen for this study as these breed is prone to DMD. Injecting the microdystrophin gene is expected to restore a dogs ability to normally produce dystrophin protein. The chosen dogs were not expected to live beyond six months but they are still alive two years since the study commenced. The dogs have shown improved ability to walk, run and jump. Buoyed by these positive results, researchers hope their study will pave the way in starting human clinical trials in the near future.

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Gene Therapy Treats Muscular Dystrophy in Dogs, Provides Hope ... - Wall Street Pit

The World’s First Functional Laser Weapon is Ready to Protect You – Futurism

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

In Brief The United States Navy has announced that the LaWS laser defense system is up and running. The weapon is designed to take out drones and ships and has future potential in missile defense.

The U.S. Navy has announced that the worlds first functional laser weapon is ready for action. The weapon, known as the Laser Weapons System (LaWS), can be found mounted on the USS Ponce, which is currently deployed in the Persian Gulf.

The weapon was designed to strategically take out flying unmanned vessels. It alsohas the ability to surgically destroy engines of manned watercraft without endangering the lives of any onboard personnel. The Geneva Convention restricts the use of laser weapons against humans, but the high precision of the laser could allow it to target a ships engine without the use of missiles. That type of precision weapon work is something that you dont really get with conventional weapons because there tends to be more collateral damage, Inez Kelly, a U.S. Naval Forces Central Command science adviser, told CNN.

This technology could be the beginning of replacing missiles for the purpose of destroying enemy targets. On top of sparing lives, the cost comparison of a single shot from LaWS and a missile is astounding: while missiles can cost up to millions of dollars, a single LaWS round only costs about one dollar.

The weapon is currently only approved for drones and water vessels, but the Navy is alsotesting other applications under the cover of classified status, of course.

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The World's First Functional Laser Weapon is Ready to Protect You - Futurism

The UAE Will Launch Its First Mission to Mars in 2021 – Futurism

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

In Brief The United Arab Emirates Space Agency has finally unveiled the first of its missions to Mars: sending a probe to study the planet's atmosphere. This plan puts in motion a major goal of the space agency since its foundation back in 2014.

While, in the United States, NASAs plans to go to Mars are in financial trouble, other nations seem to be stepping up their own goals for the Red Planet. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency has finally announced its plans to send a probe to Mars. The Al Amal (which means Hope in Arabic) Probe is set to reach the Mars orbit by 2021, which is the 50th anniversary of the UAEs independence.

The objectives of the mission are to build highly qualified UAE human resources in the field of space technology, to develop knowledge, scientific research and space applications that benefit mankind, to create a sustainable knowledge-based economy, to promote diversification and encourage innovation, the announcement said.

The probe will study the Martian atmosphere to understand how it developed into its current state. This mission would be taking us to another level so it would be adding to the level of Science or knowledge about Mars and its atmosphere to the scientific community, Salem Humaid AlMarri, assistant director general for Scientific and Technology Affairs, told EuroNews. This knowledge, the UAE Space Agency hopes, will help us to better protect the Earths atmosphere.A crucial part of UAEs Al Amal mission, which already has a total funding of $5.44 billion, is academic progress. Working with scientists from the University of Colorado, the Al Amal teams are expected to learn everything they need to construct the space probe.

Disclosure: The Dubai Future Foundation works in collaboration with Futurism and is one of our sponsors. This post was not paid for or edited by DFF.

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The UAE Will Launch Its First Mission to Mars in 2021 - Futurism

House Freedom Caucus member calls for Mueller resignation – Washington Examiner

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., is calling for the resignation of Robert Mueller, the special counsel for the Russia investigation, and says Mueller has a conflict of interest because he's close friends with former FBI Director James Comey.

Franks, a member of the House Freedom Caucus who sits on the Judiciary Committee, said another major problem is that members of Mueller's team donated to Hillary Clinton's campaign last year.

"Bob Mueller is in clear violation of federal code and must resign to maintain the integrity of the investigation into alleged Russian ties," Franks said. "Those who worked under them have attested he and Jim Comey possess a close friendship, and they have delivered on-the-record statements effusing praise of one another."

"No one knows Mr. Mueller's true intentions, but neither can anyone dispute that he now clearly appears to be a partisan arbiter of justice. Accordingly, the law is also explicitly clear: he must step down based on this conflict of interest," Franks said.

"Already, this investigation has become suspect reports have revealed at least four members of Mueller's team on the Russia probe donated to support Hillary Clinton for President, as President Trump pointed out. These obviously deliberate partisan hirings do not help convey impartiality," Franks said. "Until Mueller resigns, he will be in clear violation of the law, a reality that fundamentally undermines his role as Special Counsel and attending ability to execute the law."

In recent weeks, the drumbeat from Trump supporters against Mueller has intensified. Some have speculated that Trump may fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions after a series of disparaging statements due in large part to his recusal from the investigation, and push for Mueller's ouster from the investigation.

Trump has repeatedly labeled the investigation a "witch hunt" and has maintained that he committed no wrongdoing.

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House Freedom Caucus member calls for Mueller resignation - Washington Examiner

Trump Taps LGBTQ-Rights Opponent Sam Brownback as Religious Freedom Ambassador – NBCNews.com

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback gives a presentation on Thursday March 5, 2015, during a breakfast at the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis. Chris Neal / Topeka Capital-Journal via AP

In addition to Trump's tweets stating transgender people will not be able to serve "

An Unpopular Governor

Brownback is the country's second-least popular governor (behind Chris Christie of New Jersey), according to the

I havent seen any editorial or commentary expressing regret that hes leaving, Burdett Loomis, professor of political science at the University of Kansas, told NBC News. Most people are saying 'good riddance.'"

He is going to be known for his extreme and large-scale tax cuts. They failed objectively. And after four and half years, a legislature filled with more moderate Republicans and more Democrats overturned almost all his tax policies, Loomis explained. Hes also gutted the government. A lot of people have quit. He just doesnt believe in government sort of like Trump.

Of his appointment to the Office of International Religious Freedom, Loomis called it a reward for a failed governorship. To me, this seems like the most consolation of consolation prizes. Most people dont even know this position exists.

I think its highly symbolic, he added. In the past 15 years, Loomis noted Brownback has become even more religiously conservative. He has moved from conventional to Midwest Protestantism to a sort of Evangelical Christianity to becoming a member of

He is utterly anti-abortion. Hes never seen an anti-abortion bill he wont sign in a second, and he is a believer in traditional marriage, Loomis said. His religious beliefs definitely affect his policy decisions.

Brownbacks LGBTQ Track Record

As a congressman, Brownback actively

Then in 2016, Brownback signed

Equality Kansas, a group dedicated to ending LGBTQ discrimination in the state, said Brownback is "unsuited to represent American values of freedom, liberty, and justice" and urged Kansas senators, Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, not to confirm him in the position.

"Since his inauguration in January of 2011, LGBT Kansans have faced near-annual assaults on our liberties and our dignity in the name of 'religious freedom,'" the organization said in a

Professor Loomis said the idea of Brownback being an ambassador for religious freedom is "staggering."

As with many of Trumps appointees, hes appointed someone who needs to be fairly open about religion and human rights, but instead its someone who is fairly closed about it," Loomis added.

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

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Trump Taps LGBTQ-Rights Opponent Sam Brownback as Religious Freedom Ambassador - NBCNews.com

After life without parole: 2 held for decades savor freedom – Concord Monitor

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Danzig

Its just a few blocks from the house Earl Rice Jr. left behind as a teenager to the places he remembers. But after more than four decades in prison, he has ground to cover.

Skirting Franklin Streets neatly trimmed lawns in long strides, and praising the glories of the afternoon heat, he reaches the park where he and his brothers used to go sledding. Across 18th, kids, laughing and shouting, bound down school steps. Rice slows, taking it all in.

For 43 years Im behind a wall or some kind of a fence with guard towers ... and then you come out here, he says. I can imagine what Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong and them felt like going to the moon, because thats what it seems like. Im on a different planet!

Rice, jailed at 17 for a purse-snatching that took a womans life, is 61 now. He is one of dozens of inmates sentenced to life in prison without parole for crimes committed as juveniles who have been released since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such mandatory sentences amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Courts must recognize teens incomplete brain development and their potential to change, the justices found.

Rice walked out of a Pennsylvania prison in September to find his fiancee at the gate, a father waiting to take him in and a daughter who now calls each day to say, Good morning, Daddy.

Others, though, have confronted less welcoming realities.

When John Hall was released from a Michigan prison in February after nearly 50 years behind bars, he had $1.37 in his pocket. At 67, he carried his lifes possessions in a few boxes: a small TV and a photo album filled with faded newspaper clippings and pictures of himself in white satin boxing trunks, from his fighting days as Kid Hall. With no family to greet him, he was met by his lawyer and volunteers who brought him to his first home a Detroit rescue mission.

I dont think you can find anyone who really can describe how it feels to be free ... but Im always thinking about my future and sleeping in the streets and not having a chance to even get in the fight for the life that I want, Hall said then. The world has moved past me.

In the weeks since, Hall has joined Rice in embracing a truth the Supreme Court justices never addressed.

Juvenile offenders can take responsibility for their crimes. Judges and parole boards can assess how they have changed. But to make it at 60-something in a world that has tossed aside most of what you knew as a teenager, it takes something more.

By 17, Earl Rice had spent a year in a juvenile detention facility. The oldest son in a family of nine children, he was raised by a homemaker and a maintenance worker. His fathers sideline as a jazz organist kept him away nights an absence the elder Rice, 89, says he regrets. Rice Jr., by his own account, was ornery as hell, known to police for stealing cars and break-ins.

In September 1973, Rice went to a party in West Chester, Pa., his hometown before moving to Wilmington. When he left around 2 a.m. with another teen, they spotted a woman walking down the street.

Ola Danenberg had just left the Moose Lodge, where shed been listening to a country band with friends. She was 62 and the grandmother of three, cleaned dorms at the local college, and was looking forward to retiring to her hometown in eastern Tennessee. She didnt drive. So that night, like most, she set out for home on foot.

Rice and his friend ran toward her, and Rice snatched her purse. As he took off down an alley, he says he looked back to see Danenberg fall to her knees.

Two days later, hearing police were looking for him, Rice went to the police station and confessed to robbery. Thats when detectives told him Danenberg had hit her head on the sidewalk and died. They charged him with murder.

It was like being hit in the gut by a Joe Frazier left hook. ... I couldnt fathom the idea of being responsible for somebodys death, Rice recalls.

Danenbergs family still mourns.

She loved us so much. We were her life, says Charlene Peterson, who was 15 when Rice killed her grandmother. I want him to know how he hurt us, what he took away from us.

Hall, too, was frequently in trouble as a teen, engaging in petty theft and skipping school. He worried his mother, Bessie, who worked seven days a week cooking and cleaning other peoples homes.

In January 1967, when he was 17, Hall and a friend saw Albert Hoffman at a bus stop in Detroit one night. They dragged him into an alley, then beat and robbed him of his watch and some money; his wife told police Hoffman had gone out to cash his Social Security and veterans pension checks.

Hoffman, a former Army sergeant who served in World War I, died of his injuries on his 73rd birthday.

The friend was never arrested, but Hall was convicted of murder. A half-century later, he still cringes when he remembers the judges words at sentencing: Youre unfit, youre a throwaway, youre a predator and you should be put away for the rest of your life.

Everything was a blur and everything was moving so fast, Hall says. But when I looked at my mothers face ... it was a look that Id never seen before. It was a hurt look ... a helplessness.

In prison, he got into his first fight early. Two inmates pulled Hall into a bathroom and stabbed him in the neck, where he still has a scar.

If they had let me go two weeks after I was there, I would have never ever done anything wrong again, because thats when you realize its for real, he says in his deep rasp. There aint nothing worth your freedom. Nothing.

Years passed with few visitors. He wanted to do his time, he says, without leaning on family for help. His mother made eight trips to see him before her death in 1983. But her words helped him keep going. As long as theres life, theres hope, shed told him. Youve got a chance.

And so he kept busy, taking college courses, earning an associate degree, deciding that even if he never got out, he could be a better man. Still, he dreamed of having a family of his own, a good job and a nice home. He befriended newly arrived inmates, savoring every detail they provided about life outside. But nothing could prepare him for the changes hed encounter, starting with his first day of freedom in February.

Hall, whod grown up in the era of the transistor radio, was handed a cellphone so he could share a FaceTime call with his stepsister in Georgia. This is just like Star Trek, he said with a wide grin as he stared at the face he hadnt seen in more than 30 years.

But anxiety soon set in. Back home in Detroit, he puzzled over 10 for $10 signs at grocery stores that touted special deals. He was alarmed when he heard gunshots outside at 2 a.m. Seeing homeless people, he worried constantly about becoming one of them. Sometimes hed shake and ask, What am I going to do? says June Walker, who runs a prison ministry that provided clothes, housing and friendship.

Hall was determined and eager to work, but job prospects didnt pan out. Quickly, as Hall figured out small things how to ride the bus, how to use a cellphone his confidence steadied. After a month in the mission, Walker arranged for him to move into a halfway house. He set up his little prison TV in the bedroom corner.

I have it as a reminder of where I came from, he said.

On Rices first day in prison, an inmate he knew from home warned: Youre a young kid. Youre in here with some dangerous dudes.

Not two hours after that conversation, Rice remembers, this guy came up to me and he said, Damn, fresh meat in the jail, and I turned around and I hit him as hard as I could and I kept hitting him until he was down on the ground, and I made sure he stayed down.

Years later, another inmate came at him with a knife in the prison yard. That convinced Rice he might well die without changing himself.

Even so, more than a decade passed in prison before he came to terms with his responsibility for Danenbergs death. When his legal appeals ran out, he blamed his lawyer for giving up on him. The attorneys letter back was a turning point.

Im sorry you feel that way, the lawyer wrote, according to Rice. Its not that Im quitting and throwing your life away. You did that when you grabbed Mrs. Danenbergs purse.

He was dead on, Rice says.

In 1992, Rice was one of three inmates who intervened when dozens of prisoners surrounded four guards and began throwing punches. He took classes in refrigeration. He cared for dying inmates in the prison hospice. He spoke regularly to at-risk teens and law students, in part to learn how to interact with people other than inmates and guards, in the hope that hed one day live free.

His siblings and parents, a daughter born to a former girlfriend and her children were all regular visitors, as was Doreen St. John, Rices girlfriend in middle school. The couple married in a prison wedding, then divorced, and now plan to marry again.

I fell back in love with him, just seeing him, being with him, St. John says.

When she picked him up last fall from the state prison in Graterford, Pa., Rice asked her to gun the engine.

I didnt want to look back and see the walls at all, he says.

Juvenile lifers in Pennsylvania and Michigan get re-entry training before leaving prison, focused on subjects like budgeting and anger management. The Pennsylvania Prison Society has been pairing them with mentors, often former inmates, who assist as the lifers are released to halfway houses and beyond; Michigans appellate defenders office provides similar help.

Rice spent a month at a Philadelphia halfway house. He was granted 12-hour passes to walk around the city with other parolees. He tried his first cheesesteak, learned to use a touchscreen to place a food order at a convenience store. In October, he moved back to his fathers house in Wilmington and settled in to a bedroom lined with his fathers jazz tapes and records.

Father and son often take to the porch, talking a shared loved of music. In the middle of many nights, Rice heads to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich just because he can.

He applied, without luck, for warehouse jobs and realized he needed computer skills even to fill out an application. So on Thursdays and Fridays, he takes free computer classes at the Department of Labor.

You dont breathe and live and eat and sleep something for all them years that you want, that you crave, that you pray to happen, and then when it happens, be intimidated by it, he says.

His first weekend back, five generations of family from great aunts to grandchildren gathered in a grove along Brandywine Creek to throw him a cookout. It had been more than four decades since a judge allowed Rice a moment to hold his newborn daughter, Crystal, just after he was convicted. Now, as music floated over the grass, Crystal Twyman walked over to her father.

Ive never danced with my daddy before, she said.

Rice, who went by Big Earl in prison, has arms thick with muscle from pumping weights in the yard, and a loud laugh. But talking about those closest to him, he often turns quiet.

For years and years, I didnt have to worry about anybody but Earl Rice, he recalls telling St. John. So when I do something bullheaded, keep talking to me. ... I am listening, but you got to keep on hammering.

In April, Halls prison ministry friend, June Walker, drove him to see his 81-year-old stepsister in Georgia. On the 13-hour drive from Michigan, he talked about making it a quick trip, not wanting to burden his family.

But when Hall entered the house, he found his own picture on the wall. Generations of family he didnt even know embraced him, calling him Uncle John. Relatives put together a photo album for him, and one tucked a $100 bill inside. His stepsister offered him a permanent room in her home. He thanked her but declined.

Back in Detroit, they spoke regularly. You shouldnt have to feel youre a failure because youve been to prison, she told him.

Hall began acknowledging his limitations. I want to live like a grown man lives in a free society, he says. But it got to be too much for me in a world that Im already behind in.

He began to think maybe he didnt have to go it alone.

Before dawn on a Saturday in May, Hall carried his few belongings to Walkers car, and they drove again to Georgia. This time, it was a one-way trip for him.

When they arrived, about 35 members of Halls extended family were waiting with a home-cooked meal. One of the youngest, a 2-year-old, told Walker, Youre not taking away my Uncle John again.

Hall plans to take some classes in Georgia, do some fishing and get acquainted with the family he never knew. Hed like to counsel teens, too, hoping he can do some good.

A mans life was lost. Thats what I dont forget, he says. Thats why I want to contribute, so maybe I can prevent one of those youngsters from going out there and doing what I did or even thinking about it.

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After life without parole: 2 held for decades savor freedom - Concord Monitor

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