Capitol Police arrest 155 people at healthcare demonstrations – The Hill (blog)

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Capitol Police on Wednesday arrested approximately 155 people protesting an effort by Senate Republican leaders to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Police responded to reports of demonstrations in the Senate office buildings, warning protesters to cease and desist. Those that didn't, Capitol Police said in a statement, were arrested and charged with "Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding."

Four protesters were also charged with resisting arrest, according to Capitol Police.

Protesters targeted the offices of GOP senators, as Republican leaders in the chamber push for a vote on a measure that would simply repeal ObamaCare.

That measure is unlikely to pass a vote in the Senate. It is unanimously opposed by Democrats, and some Republicans have voiced deep misgivings about repealing the law without immediately replacing it.

A proposalto repeal and immediately replace the ACA was effectively killed on Monday, after key Republicans announced that they would not support the measure.

The Congressional Budget Office released its assessment of the repeal bill on Monday, estimating that it would increase the number of uninsured by some 32 million people by 2026.

That prompted President Trump to call on GOP lawmakers to simply repeal the existing law and pass a replacement plan down at some point in the future.

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Capitol Police arrest 155 people at healthcare demonstrations - The Hill (blog)

Gore calls for single-payer healthcare – The Hill

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Former Vice President Al GoreAl GoreAl Gore warns Democrats about accusing Trump of treason Overnight Energy: GOP moves to reform Endangered Species Act Budowsky: Dems need council of war MORE called for a single-payer healthcare system this week amidthe collapse of the Senate GOP's plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

The private sector has not shown any ability to provide good, affordable healthcare for all, Gore said Tuesday at an event atBorough of Manhattan Community College in New York,The Huffington Postreported.

I believe we ought to have single-payer healthcare.

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Gore, a Democrat, didn't include single-payer healthcare in the platform for his unsuccessful 2000 presidential bid against George W. Bush.

Gore has spoken about such a system before. In 2002, he said he"reluctantly" had come to the conclusion that an effort to "begin drafting" a national single-payer healthcare plan was necessary.

I think weve reached a point where the entire healthcare system is in impending crisis, Gore said at the time. I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we should begin drafting a single-payer national health insurance plan.

Republicans are looking to plot a path forward after opposition from GOP senatorssunk a plan to repeal and replace former President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaObama sends well wishes to McCain: 'Cancer doesn't know what it's up against' John McCain diagnosed with brain cancer House votes to streamline pipeline reviews MORE's signature healthcare law this week.

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Gore calls for single-payer healthcare - The Hill

Conway: GOP senators ‘will be held accountable’ for health care votes – Fox News

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Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway told Fox News' "Hannity" Wednesday night that Republican senators "would be held accountable" if they voted against repealing ObamaCare.

"Any Republican Senator who votes against a motion to proceed [on repeal] is basically saying, 'were proceeding with ObamaCare,'" Conway told host Sean Hannity. "If you dont like the bill, do what [Texas Sen.] Ted Cruz did ... He offered an amendment. If you dont like it ... go to the Senate floor and say how to improve it."

Conway spoke to Fox News hours after President Trump told senators to stay in session until an ObamaCare repeal bill is sent to his desk.

"The presidents done his job. He ran successfully on repealing and replacing ObamaCare," she said. "The House bill got passed and he is waiting right behind me, in his office, pen in hand, ready to sign it."

Conway also addressed the controversy over a previously undisclosed conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Germany earlier this month, calling the reaction "over the top."

"Any description of this as an undisclosed, secret, second, furtive meeting is complete nonsense." she said. "This is what leaders do. They talk to each other. They talk to each other in sit downs for two hours and 15 minutes ... And they also talk to each other when their spouses are seated next to the world leaders [at dinner]. So this is just another attempt to bring Russia into the conversation."

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Conway: GOP senators 'will be held accountable' for health care votes - Fox News

Pharmacogenomics Is Ushering in a New Era of Personalized Prescriptions – Healthline

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Genetic testing and DNA blood sampling are providing medical professionals with ways to personalize drugs they give to their patients for a number of ailments.

Each of us metabolizes drugs in different ways because everyone has genetic variations.

For some, that can mean an otherwise effective prescription can pose unknown, even life-threatening risks.

Now, you can help protect yourself with DNA test kits that will tell you if you might have a genetic risk for certain diseases.

In April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for the first time the direct-to-consumer marketing of a home DNA test kit.

Available from the company 23andMe, it allows consumers to test for 10 diseases, including Parkinsons, Alzheimers, and some rare blood diseases.

Genetic testing and the flourishing field of pharmacogenomics which studies how a persons genes affect the way they respond to drugs, such as beta-blockers or statins is making a revolutionary age of individualized medicine possible.

Dr. Richard Weinshilboum, whom some have called the father of pharmacogenomics, has been a pioneer in this field of research for three decades.

Hes also an internist, professor of medicine and pharmacology, as well as co-medical director of the pharmacogenomics program at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine.

I work on cancer, and when you say genetic testing the public goes immediately to cancer, Weinshilboum told Healthline. But with pharmacogenomics, youre talking about all of medicine.

The concept of pharmacogenomics is more than 50 years old, he said, and the whole idea of genetic diagnosis is one big mix master bowl. Genetic testing is the result of the Human Genome Project, and all of this research is a race to the starting line.

Weinshilboum grew up in a small town in southern Kansas, where the town doctor, a general practitioner, lived next door.

He gave most of his patients placebos and most of them got better, he said. Today, with DNA sequencing and pharmacogenomics, were entering the age of personalized medicine, where each patient will eventually receive the right drug at the right dosage.

Although Weinshilboums work is with cancer, he said individualized medicine has the potential to benefit people with everything from diabetes to depression.

The genomic revolution has immediate implications that will basically affect everyone everywhere, said Weinshilboum.

His work focuses on three clinical goals: maximizing drug efficacy, selecting responsive patients, and avoiding adverse drug reactions.

Two dramatic cases involving a newborn baby and a woman illustrate the dangers of genetic variation and adverse reactions to drugs.

Weinshilboum cited a deadly 2005 case in Canada:

A woman in Toronto delivered a normal baby boy, but the baby was not thriving. She had been prescribed Tylenol with codeine for post-delivery episiotomy pain. She breastfed her newborn, but he was not feeding well. Her baby died at 12 days old, Weinshilboum recounted.

Codeine must be metabolized into morphine before it can begin to relieve pain, Weinshilboum said.

Tests of the mothers milk revealed she had a genetic variation that caused her body to create a greater than normal volume of morphine when it processed the codeine, he said. The morphine in her milk caused her baby to stop breathing.

About 5 percent of women have this genetic defect. Women with this genetic abnormality who take codeine while breastfeeding expose their infants to high, possibly even toxic levels of morphine through their breast milk.

The other case occurred in 2009, when Karen Daggett of Minnesota and her husband, while visiting Florida, went on a Valentines Day date.

While on their date, she felt dizzy and nearly passed out. Prescription medicines she had been taking for an irregular heartbeat had accumulated in her body to a toxic level. She was rushed to an emergency room.

I had been on various blood pressure meds and beta-blockers since my mid 30s and Im 71 now, Daggett told Healthline.

Daggetts only warning came when she had ended up in the emergency room the year before.

I had experienced milder symptoms as long as 40 years ago, but by the time I arrived at an ER, I would be back in normal heart rhythm, so nothing was documented or recorded, she said.

Emergency physicians gave Daggett two additional medications, and she was placed in intensive care with a racing heart and extremely high blood pressure.

They changed my meds again and within two days I was back in ER with the same symptoms, so they cut the drug in half, she said. I felt so miserable I went to Mayo Clinic, where I underwent a heart ablation in December 2008. [Ablation scars or destroys heart tissue that triggers or sustains an abnormal heart rhythm.] I was then put on the normal post-ablation medications, five of them, and joined a Lipitor [lipid-lowering statin] drug study.

Daggett still felt really weak and terrible, but thought that was a temporary result of the surgery.

Then back to that 2009 trip to Florida Daggett was treated for four days without success and then taken to the Mayo Clinic where she underwent nine days of tests.

Her primary physician, Dr. Lynne Shuster, worked with her Mayo cardiologist, Dr. Hon-Chi Lee. They took Daggett off all meds and tried new ones that would be processed through her kidneys, not her liver.

Still, the physicians didnt find any answers.

Then Shuster ordered pharmacogenomic testing, trying to discover if something in Daggetts genetic makeup was affecting the way she processed medications.

Dr. Shuster thought outside the box, Daggett said. They found an enzyme that metabolizes many, many drugs, including cardiac drugs, but was genetically missing in me. What a gift.

Daggetts family has since learned that 23 members of her family, covering four generations, have some variation of the liver enzymatic deficiencies, she said.

Daggett, who has been taking a safer heart medication since her genetic testing at the Mayo Clinic in early 2009, goes back for a yearly checkup.

Wherever she travels, Daggett carries with her a briefcase with her blood work files, in case she ever has to visit a physician.

Most important is that I am alive to see two great grandbabies, and to share this information with others, in the hope that they can avoid the pain and fear I experienced, she said. I raised eight children and have 23 grandkids. I am hopeful that this pain has had a purpose. I am alive because of Mayo Clinic Research. For that I am forever grateful.

Dr. Alan Wu, medical director of the pharmacogenomics lab at the University of California, San Francisco, educates physicians and students about the value of pharmacogenomic tests, and of performing clinical studies that demonstrate the value of this type of testing.

We are currently performing a study on Plavix, an antiplatelet drug used after patients have undergone angioplasty, he told Healthline. Individuals who are poor metabolizers for this pro-drug have higher rates of restenosis [recurring abnormal narrowing of an artery or valve after corrective surgery] and myocardial infarction [heart attack].

There is an alternate [on patent] antiplatelet drug that can be used, however it is costs more than Plavix, he added. Because individuals who are Asian or Pacific Islander have a much higher incidence of poor metabolism than Caucasians, this test is particularly relevant here.

What are the limitations of pharmacogenomic testing?

The costs are considerably higher than for other types of clinical laboratory tests such as a complete blood count or a blood glucose exam, Wu said.

There are also privacy concerns for performing genetic testing.

Wu said pharmacogenomic testing refers to predicting the efficacy and toxicity avoidance of a particular drug on a particular individual.

Because it does not diagnose genetic diseases, there is no stigma associated with testing, he said. It is akin to revealing that someone has a peanut allergy. The current limitation is convincing doctors to order these tests.

Pharmacogenomic tests have another important use besides testing for heart disease, cancer, and depression.

Specialists are increasingly using the testing for pain management.

Many of the medications used for analgesia are not effective for individuals who are poor metabolizers, Wu said. Other pharmacogenomics tests can be used for psychiatric patients on antidepressive medications. Newer tests are being discovered each year.

The Mayo Clinic got involved in the test business in 2014, when it founded OneOme with Invenshure, a Minneapolis-based incubator and venture catalyst.

In the interest of full disclosure, Weinshilboum pointed out that he was one of the company founders, and that Mayo invested in the enterprise.

OneOme is a genomics interpretation company that uses Mayos considerable knowledge in pharmacogenomics. Their test, RightMed, is a take-home, physician-ordered analysis that sells for $249.

The test analyzes an individuals DNA to predict their response to medications.

OneOme can run the genotype test for sequence variants in several of the more common genes that can alter drug response, Weinshilboum said. The company also supplies a report for the physician that separates drugs into those the patient can take in the usual FDA-approved dose, and those that might not work, or which could result in an adverse reaction in that particular patient. But I should emphasize that the report is meant for the physician to use to treat the patient.

The results of pharmacogenomics testing can be integrated into a patients electronic medical record.

DNA does not change, so you dont have to repeat the test, Weinshilboum said. The information follows patients wherever they go, and can serve as a lifelong resource for making effective prescription decisions.

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Restoring Cognitive Function for Alzheimer’s Disease – UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences News

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Researchers in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics are studying genetic and epigenetic factors in Alzheimers disease to develop novel ways of restoring function to patients in the later stages of the neurodegenerative disorder.

While most research on Alzheimers has focused on early diagnosis and treatment, the new study is focusing on finding novel ways to restore cognitive function and will utilize studies in mouse models carrying gene mutations for familial Alzheimers (where more than one family member has the disease) and in human stem cell-derived neurons from Alzheimers patients.

The work involving preclinical research to unravel genetic and epigenetic factors that cause Alzheimers is funded by a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Healths National Institute on Aging. Zhen Yan, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, is principal investigator.

Epigenetic factors can change gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence which in turn affects how cells read the genes. Such changes may profoundly impact human health.

We hypothesize that Alzheimers is produced by a combination of genetic risk factors and environmental factors, such as aging, that induce the dysregulation of specific epigenetic processes that lead to impaired cognition, Yan says.

The research will explore how epigenetic changes that accompany Alzheimers disease also might help identify a much sought-after biomarker for the disease, which could allow for novel treatment.

Numerous clinical trials in recent years have focused on reducing amyloid beta plaque in the brain. So far, such efforts havent yet translated into improving cognitive function, Yan says.

Our research, by contrast, will target synaptic function, which is at the root of cognitive function, she explains. Our hypothesis is that this approach will have a more fundamental effect.

Yan and her colleagues will investigate aberrant histone methylation, an epigenetic process that affects the expression of genes encoding key proteins that allow for signals to be transmitted between neurons.

When this process is dysregulated in Alzheimers disease, neuronal signaling doesnt function properly, leading to cognitive impairment.

Even though Alzheimers patients can often easily remember something that happened 20 years ago, the later stages of the disease are characterized by a growing inability to recall recently learned information.

That kind of short-term working memory, Yan explains, is dependent on excitatory transmission in the frontal cortex, mediated by glutamate receptors.

At the later stages of the disease, we know that there is a loss of glutamate receptors that are crucial for learning and memory, she says. When these receptors lose the ability to communicate, there is a loss of cognition.

Our research will try to restore gene expression in these glutamate receptors using epigenetic tools, with the ultimate goal of restoring cognitive function.

Jian Feng, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, is a co-investigator on the grant titled A Novel Epigenetic Mechanism for Alzheimers Disease.

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Restoring Cognitive Function for Alzheimer's Disease - UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences News

McCaskey grad writes new book on CRISPR and genome engineering – LancasterOnline

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Before Sam Sternberg was part of the scientific breakthrough of the century, he was one of the winners of Lancaster Countys science and engineering fair.

CRISPR can be explained as a find-and-replace tool, Sternberg said in a Common Hour talk at Frankin & Marshall College last year. It can find misspelled sequences of DNA that cause genetic mutations and replace them with the right sequences.

Sternberg did his doctoral research in a laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, where Doudna made this important discovery. Since then, researchers have been fighting in court over the patent for genetic engineering with CRISPR.

After Sternberg finished his graduate work, he focused on co-writing the book about the CRISPRs discovery to bring the story to an audience beyond the science community.

Doudnas memoir is partly an attempt to sustain her voice in the debate over Crisprs practical and less-practical uses and partly an effort to secure her legacy, Bloomberg writes.

Some reviewers say they would have liked more discussion on the ethics of genetic engineering, especially on genes that are inheritable.

Doudna and Sternberg predict that within a generation there will be little left untouched by CRISPR, says a review from Science." As such, its impossible not to wonder if the motivation behind the book is to stake Doudnas claims on the technology or if, perhaps, it is meant to serve as a preemptive mea culpa for unleashing a technology that will irrevocably alter life on Earth.

There are many compelling reasons for why this is a worthy contribution for any booklist, but for Berkeley the justification is even richer. UC Berkeley has been ground zero for this entire technology, with contributions from others around the world. Secondly, the ramifications of this technology are so widespread that only a campus with broad excellence in all areas is adequate to engage the range of implications that this technology offers. UC Berkeley Library

Though the authors note that science involves both competition and collaboration, they avoid discussion of the myriad conflicts that exist in this exciting new fieldan absence that makes the rosy picture presented in this otherwise excellent book just a bit too unbelievable. Publishers Weekly

The larger purpose of A Crack in Creation, clearly, is to show that Doudna is the true hero of CRISPR. And ultimately, despite the book's flaws, I'm convinced. Nominators and the Nobel Committee will need to read this book. But CRISPR binge-watchers like me still await a truly satisfying account one that is insightful, candid and contextualized. Nature

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Chris R. Badman – Lincoln Journal Star

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December 17, 1969 - July 14, 2017

Chris R. Badman, age 47, South Bend, formerly of DeWitt, passed away on July 14, 2017. Born Dec. 17, 1969, in Lincoln, to Randall and Marjorie (Bergmeier) Badman. Chris was a 1988 graduate of Tri County High School and earned a Bachelor of Science in Genetic Engineering from the University of Kansas. He most recently worked as a clinical field specialist at Natera. Chris had many hobbies including hunting, fishing, golfing, wakeboarding, snowboarding and was a licensed pilot. He loved all music, coaching sports, booze cruises, Husker football and KU basketball. He was an amazing father, son, and big brother who loved life and shared kindness and acceptance to all he met. His smile and love of adventure will be missed.

Survivors include his sons, Braxton Russell Badman and Trevin Cole Badman of Eagle; parents, Randy & Marge Badman of DeWitt; sister, Jennifer (Jenni) Badman Alley and niece, Matilda (Mattie) Alley of Olathe, Kan.; the mother of his sons, Amy Klasek Badman of Eagle; special friend, Michelle Grummert of Lincoln; uncles, Steven Melon Bergmeier and wife Teresa and Michael Tubby Bergmeier and wife Troy all of DeWitt; and a host of extended family and friends. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Russell & Evelyn Badman and Arnold & Loretta Bergmeier; uncle, Allen Bergmeier and wife Sharon.

A celebration of life will be 3 p.m. Friday, July 21, at Trinity Lutheran Church, DeWitt. Family prayer service will be 2:45 p.m. Friday at the church. Burial of ashes will take place at a later date at Oak Grove Cemetery. There will be no viewing as cremation has taken place. A register book will be available from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with family greeting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Venrick-Griffiths-Hovendick Chapel in DeWitt. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions suggested to the Chris Badman Memorial Fund for the creation of a scholarship with the funeral home in charge. Online register book and video tribute at ghchapel.com.

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Chris R. Badman - Lincoln Journal Star

Philly biotech’s first-ever gene therapy progresses with FDA – Philly.com

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Philadelphia drug developer Spark Therapeutics said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration has accepted its biologics license application and granted priority review for its lead drug candidate to treat rare inherited blindness.

If approved, the treatment would be the first gene therapy for a genetic disease in the United States.

Sparks treatment, called voretigene neparvovec, streams genes directly into the eyes retina. It has been granted priority review by the FDA because it treats a medical condition where no adequate therapy exists, the company said.

The time frame for possible approval is about six months, around Jan. 12, 2018.

Spark was spun out of Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, based on decades of research led by Katherine A. High, Sparks co-founder, president, and chief scientific officer.

Its really an exciting moment for medicine, said Spark chief executive officer Jeffrey D. Marrazzo, noting that an FDA panel last week reviewed an experimental T-cell immune therapy being developed by Novartis and the University of Pennsylvania to treat acute lymphocytic leukemia. The original study for the CAR-T cell technology was conductedat Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, he said.

Spark does not have confirmation, but expects that the FDA may convene an advisory meeting of medical experts in the fall to consider the companys data from three clinical trials, which enrolled 41 participants.

In a late-stage Phase 3 study, 93 percent (27 of 29 participants) had vision improvement and saw restoration of aspects of their functional vision, Marrazzo said.

No serious side effects were reported with the gene therapy itself. Two side effects were reported among 41 participants, due to the surgery, which is an injection in the eye. One participant lost visual acuity, or sharpness of vision. A second participant got a bacterial infection in the eye after the injection.

Patients in an earlier Phase 1 trial have been followed now for four years and continue to maintain their original vision improvement, he added. About 3,500 patients in the U.S. and five large European markets live with the disease. About half, or 1,750, are in the U.S.

Sparks treatment injects particles that are a copy of a normally functioning gene into the back of each eye.

Marrazzo said its too early to set a price. The company hopes the treatment will be a onetime injection, and not a lifetime of treatments, and thus deserves an appropriatepayment.

Were doing a lot of work trying to figure out value of this type of treatment, which could be indicated for restoring sight in kids and adults who otherwise are going to progress to complete blindness, Marrazzo said. Were looking at other rare disease products which are chronically delivered, and whats the value in not having to chronically deliver something for a rare disease.

Spark officials have met with health-care payers, including most large commercial health insurers, to discuss the companys clinical data with the goal of ensuring that patients can have access to the treatment, Marrazzo said. Theres a lot of work still in front of us, but Im very confident and pleased with where we are today in the process.

Spark is also developing treatments for hemophilia A and hemophilia B and for a hereditary retinal degeneration disease, choroideremia, whichusually manifests during childhood in males as night blindness and a reduction of visual field.

Sparks stock closed up $1.29 on Monday, or 2.17 percent, to $60.65.

Published: July 17, 2017 12:22 PM EDT

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CAR-T gene therapy for leukemia clears FDA hurdle – Wsaw – WSAW

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(CBS) -- A panel of cancer experts has voted unanimously in favor of a leukemia treatment which could be the first gene therapy available in the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 10-0 on Wednesday to recommend approval of the treatment developed by the University of Pennsylvania and Novartis Corp. The one-time treatment would be for children and young adults with advanced leukemia.

The therapy could be the first of a wave of treatments custom-made to target a patient's cancer. Called CAR-T, it involves removing immune cells from a patients' blood, reprogramming them to create an army of cells to recognize and destroy cancer and injecting them back into the patient.

The FDA is not required to follow the panel's recommendation but often does.

"It's a pretty amazing new treatment," Dr. David Agus, director of the USC Norris Westside Cancer Center and CBS News medical contributor, said on "CBS This Morning." "They take the white [blood] cells out of a child with cancer, they send them to [a lab in] New Jersey, and they put in a gene to reprogram these cells to attack the cancer."

The vote came after lengthy discussion and impassioned pleas from the fathers of two young patients whose lives were saved by the therapy. The one-time leukemia treatment would be for children and young adults with the most common form of childhood cancer, known as ALL.

"Our daughter was going to die and now she leads a normal life," said Tom Whitehead, of Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. His daughter Emily, now 12, was the first child to receive the experimental therapy, five years ago. "We believe when this treatment is approved, it will save thousands of children's lives around the world."

In a key test, results were far better than chemotherapy and even newer types of cancer drugs. Of the 52 patients whose results were analyzed, 83 percent had complete remission, meaning their cancer vanished. Most patients suffered serious side effects. Eleven patients died, four from side effects and seven from their leukemia.

The FDA is expected to decide whether to approve the Novartis treatment in the next few months. The drugmaker is seeking approval to use the treatment for patients aged 3 to 25 with a blood cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia whose disease has spread or failed to respond to standard treatment. That happens to more than 600 patients in the U.S. each year. At that point, they have limited options all more toxic than the CAR-T therapy and survival chances are slim. ALL accounts for a quarter of all cancers in children under age 15.

After decades of setbacks and disappointments in efforts to fix, replace, or change genes to cure diseases, several companies are near the finish line in a race to bring CAR-T and other types of gene therapy to patients. Kite Pharma also has a CAR-T therapy under FDA review and Juno Therapeutics and others are in late stages of testing.

In March, CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reported on the results of a clinical trial in which 101 patients with advanced lymphoma who had failed previous therapy received the Kite Pharma CAR-T treatment. About eight months after a single treatment, 39 percent of patients had no evidence of cancer.

"That's actually quite remarkable knowing that at best only one out of 10 of these patients could have complete disappearance of their lymphoma with standard chemotherapy," said Dr. Frederick Locke, who helped lead the trial.

CAR-T therapy starts with filtering key immune cells called T cells from a patient's blood. In a lab, a gene is then inserted into the T cells that prompts them to grow a receptor that targets a special marker found on some blood cancer cells. Millions of copies of the new T cells are grown in the lab and then injected into the patient's bloodstream where they can seek out and destroy cancer cells. Doctors call it a "living drug" permanently altered cells that continue to multiply in the body to fight the disease.

During the patient testing, the whole process took about 16 weeks on average, which can be too long a wait for some desperately ill patients, the FDA advisers noted during Wednesday's meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland. Drug company officials said they can now produce a treatment and get it to a patient in about three weeks.

Novartis said in a statement after the vote that it has long believed CAR-T therapy could "change the cancer treatment paradigm."

"It is encouraging to see the FDA panel's recommendation and continued momentum behind this innovative therapy," said the Penn team's leader, Dr. Carl June.

The cost of CAR-T therapy is likely to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it's only given once. Typically, cancer patients take one or more drugs until they stop working, then switch to other drugs, so treatment and side effects can go on for years.

The treatment's short-term side effects, including fever and hallucinations, are often intense as the body's revved-up immune system goes on the attack. The long-term side effects of the treatment are unknown. It's also unclear if patients whose cancer goes into remission will be cured or will have their cancer return eventually. The FDA panel recommended that patients who get the treatment be monitored for 15 years.

Other biotech and pharmaceutical companies are developing types of gene therapy to treat solid cancers and rare gene-linked diseases. A few products have been approved elsewhere one for head and neck cancer in China in 2004 and two in Europe, most recently GlaxoSmithKline's Strimvelis. That was approved last year for a deadly condition called severe combined immunodeficiency and launched with a $670,000 price tag.

UniQure's Glybera was approved for a rare enzyme disorder. It was used only once in five years, likely due to its $1 million-plus price tag, so uniQure is pulling it from the market.

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CAR-T gene therapy for leukemia clears FDA hurdle - Wsaw - WSAW

The Smartphone Is Eventually Going to Die, and Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook Are Racing to Kill It – Futurism

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The Rise of Smartphones

These are the quiet times.

From April toJune, techs biggest companies all held their annual mega-events, laying out their grand visions for the next 12 months or so.

Facebook kicked it off in late April with itsF8 conference, followed byMicrosoft Build, then theGoogle I/O conference, andApples Worldwide Developers Conferencefinished things off. Amazon doesnt really hold events, but it unveiled two new Amazon Echo smart speakers during that period for good measure.

And things will get exciting again, sooner than you know it. This Fall, Apple is expected to reveal a10th-anniversary iPhone, Google will likely reveal arevamped Pixel smartphone, and Microsoft is expected to hold another one of its regular late-October Surface computer press conferences.

In the meantime, theres not much to do but reflect on what weve learned so far this year about the future of tech. And beyond the hype and the hyperbole, were starting to see the very earliest stages of a battle for the next phase of computing.

Because while Apple and Google may dominate the smartphone market today, technologies like augmented reality present whole-new platforms where theres no clear winner. So Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook, having missed out on owning a mobile platform, are doing their damndest tohasten the end of the smartphone and the end of Apple and Googles duopoly, while theyre at it.

Every major technological shift has created big opportunities for the few entrepreneurs who see it coming early in the seventies, Apple and Microsoft made big bets that the PC would be a much bigger market than gigantic room-sized mainframes, while themainframe industry decried the PC itself as a fad. We see who won that one.

Similarly, Microsoft didnt fully realize the potential of smartphones, until well after Google and Apple proved them wrong. Now, Googles Android is the most popular operating system in the world, full stop. And the iPhone has propelledApple torecord profits and to the status asthecompany to beat in tech.

Well, it seems like time is a flat circle. Right now, were seeing the earliest growing pains of augmented reality and virtual reality tech that overlays the digital world onto ourhuman senses. It means information, projected into your eyes and ears, as you need it. Why carry a phone when Netflix and WhatsApp are floating in front of you?

Some call it a fad, or just something thats too new and untestedto be considered a real threat to the smartphone. And yet, theres a veritable arms race to build these augmented reality platforms of the future.

Amazons Alexa is primarily thought of as a digital voice assistant, but having a virtual person tell you the time and weather definitely qualifies as augmented reality. Microsoft has its reality-bending HoloLens hologram goggles.Facebookand Snapchat have both built augmented reality straight into the camera. Even Google-backed startupMagic Leap thinks its yet-to-released goggles have a shot at becoming a new platform.

The net result is arace to build whatever is going to do the smartphone what the PC did to the mainframe. What these companies all have in common is that they missed the boat on building smartphone operating systems of their own. Now, its on them to build whatever comes next.

Apple and Google are well aware of the threat and are not standing still.

Apple has ARkit, a system for building augmented reality into iPhone apps, using the phones built-in camera. Its technologically robust enough and easy enough to use that developers love it, givingApple a nice foothold in augmented reality. If and whenApple releases smart glasses, those apps will come right over.

Google has various augmented reality effortsin the works, including Project Tango. And although the first version of the Google Glass headset flopped, if Google figures out how to revamp the device, it will have a vehicle to extend Android into the AR realm.

In a weird way, going on the defensive like this almost gives Apple a perverse incentive to replace the iPhone: IfApple can build the next great hardware platform itself, it means that Amazon cant do it with Alexa, and Microsoft cant do it with HoloLens.

In the meantime, as we appreciate all the new hardware and software goodies coming out later this year, keep the perspective that everything were seeing now is the first salvo in a computing war that will rage forthe next decade and beyond.

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The Smartphone Is Eventually Going to Die, and Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook Are Racing to Kill It - Futurism

Elon Musk Scraps Solar Roof Idea for New Tesla Model – Futurism

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In Brief Elon Musk told the National Governors Association meeting that the solar roof for the Model 3 (or any car) was not practical and was an idea that would be "scrapped." As of now, a car's roof is not big enough to make this efficient with current technologies.

In November 2016, Elon Musk said that the upcoming Tesla Model 3 would incorporate the technology of the new solar roof. However, on July 15 at the National Governors Association meeting, Musk squelched the idea in his remarks. When asked about the solar roof, he indicated that he would scrap that idea which requires some very complicated engineering. He explained:

I really thought about this. I pushed my team. Is there some way we can do it on the car? Technically, if you have some sort of transformer-like thing that will pop out of the trunk like a hardtop convertible that ratchets solar panels over the car. . .and provided you are in the sun, that would be enough to generate 20 to 30 miles a day of electricity. Its a difficult way to do it.

As Electrek reports, the issue with the concept of solar panels that cover the top of cars is that they are rarely efficient enough to be worthwhile. Furthermore, their functionality varies based on your location. Even the Prius solar roof is really mostly a ventilation system, not a significant source of backup power for the car. In the end, the idea of a retractable array in the trunk is a complicated solution that would, at most, add 20 to 30 miles per day.So, unfortunately, it looks like we wont be seeing the solar roof option on the Model 3, at least not now.

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Buzz Aldrin: It’s Time for Humans to Start Looking at Other Planets to Live On – Futurism

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Chasing the Unknown

Buzz Aldrin is an acclaimed astronaut, engineer, and (of course) the second human being to ever walk on the Moon. Over the years, he has inspired entire generations to look beyond the bounds of Earth and pursue the unknown. As Aldrin previously noted, human beings are meant to be inquisitive. Were meant to be achievers. And to this end, Aldrin has dedicated his life to advancing humanity through discovery, creating explorers and scientists alike in the process.

Most recently, Aldrin helped to create a virtual reality (VR) experience that allows people to travel to Mars. As one of the few individuals who has ever had the privilege of stepping onto an astronomical body besides Earth, Aldrin is able to expertly assist in conveying the experience of space travel to the everyday individual and, in so doing, take people (virtually) farther than they have ever gone before.

In a recent interview with Futurism,Aldrin weighed in on just how important it is for us, as humans, to take this next step in journeying into the final frontier, One of the things that makes space exploration so exciting is that the possibilities are endless. Mars is the next actionable step for us we have never been closer to knowing and exploring another planet. Plus, I believe that Mars has realistic potential for colonization.

Aldrin continued by noting that, in order to make humanitys future on Mars a reality, we will need to start garnering interest and making plans for tomorrow today: Now is the time to start thinking seriously about what life on Mars might look like in the future. I believe we can have the first Human Martians at Mars by 2040.

Obviously, a virtual journey to Mars isnt exactly the same as a real Martian excursion; however, such technologies can, in some small way, help bring people to the stars who otherwise might not ever have the opportunity. In this respect, the VR experience is truly valuable. As Aldrinnotes, We have a long way to go before trips to space are widely affordable for everyone. Luckily AR/VR technology is here now.

Aldrin continued by asserting that, more than just showing people what the voyage to Mars will be like,this type of experience is an integral part of encouragingpeople to get excited about science and exploration. And in todays society, where denialism and sensationalism dominate many conversations, a genuine interest in science is more crucial than ever. Aldrin believes that exploring the vast recesses of space can help in this regard because, as he asserts, space travel is a great unifierit captures our collective imagination, encourages our curiosity, and inspires our creativity.

To this end, Aldrin thinks that it is through these small pushes in the right direction that humans will finally make it to other worlds. Because we are, at the end of the day, wanderers: It is in our nature to explore. We, as a species, are curious and want to see whats over the next hill, see how fast we can go. It was only 66 years from the point that the Wright brothers flew to us flying rockets to the Moon.

If this VR voyage sounds like something that would interest you,Aldrinand Terry Virts,the former commander of the ISS, are teaming up withOmaze, a donation-based experience platform, to offer one winner (and a friend) a chance to celebrate the Apollo 11 anniversary as VIPs at the ShareSpace gala. You will get to hang out with the pair and experience Aldrins virtual Mars experience. Best of all, this effort supports The ShareSpace Foundation, which is a nonprofit dedicated togetting kids involved with STEM.

In the words of the Carl Sagan,Human beings are a curious, inquisitive, exploratory species. I think that has been the secret of our success as a species. Aldrin embodies this exploratory quest and, through AR and VR, he wants to spark that curiosity and need to explore in all.

Of course, no one is positive when the first human footsteps will leave their mark on the Martian surface, but the quest to get us there is how we will continue to advance as a species.and it isnt just astronauts and rocket scientists who can (and should) participate in this great journey. Whether virtually or through other means of education and involvement,it is now possible for us all to engage our minds, hearts, and exploratory imaginations. Its a race we must run together.

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Google Glass Is Back, and It’s No Longer Meant for Everyone – Futurism

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In Brief Google's iconic Glass is now back, but this time the wearable is not meant for the average consumer. Alphabet's X division has refocused the device for optimal use in the workplace, and already, the reboot is poised to be more successful than the original. A Clearer Vision

When Google Glass debuted back in 2012, it generated so muchhype that people expected it to usher in a new era of wearable technologies. Sadly, the hype was short-lived as people realized that Glass wasnt what they thought it could be.

Despite officially shutting down the Glass website in 2015, Google didnt exactly pull the plug on the project, and now, Glass is backwith a new mission.

The reboot comes from X, the moonshot branch of Googles parent company, Alphabet. The eyeglass-like wearable is now called Glass Enterprise Edition, and according to the Glass website, its nowa hands-free device, for hands-on workers.

Workers in many fields, like manufacturing, logistics, field services, and healthcare, find it useful to consult a wearable device for information and other resources while their hands are busy, Jay Kothari, project lead for Glass, wrote in a blog announcement. Thats why weve spent the last two years working closely with a network of more than 30 expert partners to build customized software and business solutions for Glass for people in these fields.

This work-focused version of Glass was a product of time and smart choices. Despite the original Explorer Edition not landing a core market, it did find traction in a number of work environments.

We first saw signs of Glass potential for businesses in the Glass Explorer days, explained Kothari. As we said when we graduated, wed been seeing incredible developments with Glass in the workplace.

While Alphabet continued to supply companies likeBoeing, General Electric, DHL, and AGCO with the Glass Explorer, they also started adjusting the lenses to focus on just one market.

For these businesses, using the Enterprise Edition has worked out pretty well. Employees are now working smarter, faster, and safer because they have the information they need right in their line of sight,AGCOs Peggy Gulick told Kothari.

By pivoting away from the consumer market, Glass may just have found a way to rewrite its legacy.

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Elon Musk: Unregulated AI Could Be The Biggest Risk We Face as a Civilization – Futurism

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In Brief When serial entrepreneur Elon Musk spoke to U.S. governors on Saturday, he urged them to create regulations to cover the development of artificial intelligence. Musk, who has previously warned of the risks of AI, thinks it could lead to the end of human civilization if left unregulated. A Fundamental Risk

As a guest speaker at the 2017 National Governors Association Summer Meeting, entrepreneur and innovator Elon Musk covered a number of topics, including artificial intelligence (AI). During his talk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and founder urged the U.S. governors present on Saturday to set up regulations for the development of AI.

Musk is very familiar with the topic of AI, as hes spoken about it a number of times. To be clear, heisnt afraid of AI itself. What scares him is what could happen if AI is left unchecked. In fact, he calls it potentially the biggest risk we face as a civilization.

One solution, he said, is early regulation. Normally, the way regulations are set up is a whole bunch of bad things happen, theres a public outcry, and after many years, a regulatory agency is set up to regulate that industry, said Musk. It takes forever. That, in the past, has been bad but not something which represented a fundamental risk to the existence of civilization. AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.

Several of the governors asked Musk how it would be possible regulate an industry thats so new, and he replied that the first step is getting a firm grasp onit: The first order of business would be to try to learn as much as possible, to understand the nature of the issues. Thats what Musk has been doing through his non-profit AI research company OpenAI.

Musks isnt the only initiative with the goal of ensuringAI is ethical, but even if these all fail, the serial entrepreneur has a few other potential plans of action against rogue AI.

One isNeuralink,which would give humanity the ability to keep up with AI by essentially incorporating the technology into ourselves. Another isSpaceXs plan to reach Mars. If successful, this would ensure humanitys survivalby giving us a potential second homein case AI takes over the Earth.

While theres still time, however, Musk is pushing for proactive regulation. Until people see robots going down the street killing people, they dont know how to react because it seems so ethereal, he told the governors. AI is a rare case where I think we need to be proactive in regulation instead of reactive. Because I think by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, its too late.

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The Next Sexual Revolution Is Going to be All About Technology – Futurism

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Disclaimer: Futurism only supports products that we trust and use. This post is in partnership with Abundance 360, and Futurism may get a small percentage of sales. Want to take a class with Peter Diamandis? Click here to learn more!

Sex is one of the most powerful, fundamental human drives. Its caused wars, and built and destroyed kingdoms. It occupies a significant percentage of most peoples thoughts. As such, its worth a conversation about how exponential technologies will change our relationship with sex.

Dating in past generations was local and linear. You had access to a small number of potential mates based on where you lived, where you went to school and your social status. In the 1960s, over 50% of marriages globally, and 95% of marriages in India, were arranged. Today that number has dropped to less than 15% (globally). In 1960, the median age at first marriage for the bride was 20 and the groom was 23 years old. Today, the median age is closer to 29 for women and 30 for men. A cultural shift is happening, and its changing the game. Dating has gone digital. As such, it has gone from local and linear to global and exponential. Today, 40 million Americans use online dating services (thats about 40% of the single population in the U.S.), driving the creation of a $2.4 billion online dating industry.

These services transcend geography and social strata. People are matched from around the world. Between 1995 and 2005, there was exponential growth among heterosexual couples meeting online. (See the green line in the chart below.)

For same-sex couples, the online dating trend has been even more dramatic, with more than 60% of same-sex couples meeting online in 2008 and 2009 (see the green line in the chart above).

The implications of this are staggering. Besides moving the marriage age back, there are a number of sociological effects such as decision fatigue, gamification of dating, and the commoditization of people that will start to have population-level effects as mating behaviors change. And this is just the beginning.

In the very near future, we will see machine learning / artificial intelligence-based matchmakers that will find the perfect match for you based upon everything from your genomics to your psychographics. Once youre on a date, your augmented reality glasses will give you real-time dating info, calling up any info you want to know, as you need to know it. Perhaps you want to understand how she/he is feeling about you, and your AR camera is watching her pupillary dilation and capillary flushing. Like all technology, these applications are double-edged swords. My hope is that this tech actually increases the number of successful, meaningful relationships in the world and, in turn, has a net positive impact. But while dating is one side of the coin, sex is another and the implications of exponential technology on sex can be shocking.

Today, sex has been digitized; as such, it has been dematerialized, demonetized and democratized. Sex, in the form of pornography, is free, available to anyone with an internet connection and pervasive across many platforms. In 2015, just one pornography website reported that their users watched over 4.3 billion hours of porn (87 billion videos) that year. The proliferation of internet connectivity, online video players and streaming, mobile phones, and advertisement delivery networks have propelled pornography into a $97 billion industry. This is causing a number of negative social phenomena. More than half of boys and nearly a third of girls see their first pornographic images before they turn 13. In a survey of hundreds of college students, 93% of boys and 62% of girls said they were exposed to pornography before they turned 18. Pornography is influencing everything from how teens language and frame sexuality to how and why they pierce certain body parts to what they expect to give and receive in intimate relationships, says Jill Manning, Ph.D, Witherspoon Institute.

In Japan, a growing population of men report that they *prefer* having virtual girlfriends over real ones (i.e. they believe they are dating virtual avatars that they largely control). 45%of Japanese single women, and 25 %of Japanese single men aged 16 to 24 claim they arent even interested in sexual contact. Given these trends, unless something happens to boost Japans birth rate, its population will shrink by a third between now and 2060. In other words, there is serious concern of significant UNDERpopulation. But again, this is only the beginning as virtual reality (VR) becomes more widespread, one major application will inevitably be VR porn. It will be much more intense, vivid, and addictive and as AI comes online, I believe there will be a proliferation in AI-powered avatar and robotic relationships, similar to those characters depicted in the movies Her and Ex Machina.

VR porn promises to offer a virtual world filled with more sex, better sex, endless sex, and new varieties of sex. The dark secret, however, is that the further a user goes into that fantasy world, the more likely their reality is to become just the opposite. Many psychologists believe that VR porn may numb us to sexual desire and pleasure in the real world, leading to less and less satisfying sex. For many, VR (as well as other exponential technologies such as robotics, sensors and A.I.) will act as a complete replacement for intimacy and human relationships, as it is more easily accessible, cheaper, on-demand, and, well, controllable. As the father of two five-year-old boys, this is really concerning to me. That said, are there upsides too? Perhaps a bit of intimacy (if even technological) for those who are infirmed, aged, crippled and thereby alone. We shall see. One thing is for sure: as with every technology in history, from the printing press to VHS and the internet, pornography will be on the front line funding the advance of technology.

This is the sort of conversation we explore in my digital communitycalled Abundance 360. The program is highly selective. If youd like to be considered, apply here.

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Freedom Caucus to try to force vote on Obamacare repeal – Politico

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House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows says that his group wants to delay the traditional August recess until work is accomplished on health care, the debt ceiling and tax reform. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP

House conservatives are launching a late effort to force their colleagues to vote on an outright repeal of Obamacare.

Leaders of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday evening will jump-start a process intended to force the measure a mirror of the 2015 repeal proposal that President Barack Obama vetoed to the floor as early as September.

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The idea, sources say, is to create pressure on GOP leaders in the House and Senate ensuring Republicans dont give up on their seven-year campaign promise.

There's no reason we should put anything less on President Trump's desk than we put on Obama's, said Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.). "President Trump wants to sign repeal it's time Congress send it to him."

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Their effort is unlikely to result in a bill landing on Donald Trumps desk many Republicans have rejected calls to eliminate the core of Obamacare without having a comprehensive replacement plan ready. But if the group garners enough signatures to trigger the floor vote, it would force many mainstream and moderate Republican lawmakers into the uncomfortable position of rejecting a repeal measure they backed just two years ago.

Meadows and Jim Jordan will have the backing of conservative outside groups, like Club for Growth and FreedomWorks. The Club and activist group Tea Party Patriots launched a website Wednesday called Obamacare Repeal Traitors to pressure senators who opposed the latest GOP efforts to replace Obamacare. The senators defections have all but derailed Republican efforts to replace the 2010 health care law.

The Freedom Caucus strategy begins with a technical push to force the 2015 repeal measure to the House floor. Meadows and Jordan are seeking a discharge petition, which would enable them to bypass House leaders to put the bill up for a vote. To begin that process, the lawmakers plan to file a special rule Wednesday evening to consider the proposal. That rule will sit in the Rules Committee for at least seven business days.

After seven days, lawmakers can file a discharge petition, which requires signatures from at least half the House 218 members to bring the bill to the floor. Theyre unlikely to succeed, but the effort would quickly identify which Republicans rescinded their support for the 2015 bill.

The group could receive some support from conservatives in the Republican Study Committee, who talked during a Wednesday meeting about asking GOP leaders to allow them to vote on a repeal-only bill before recess.

The push by House conservatives has grown more urgent in light of the apparent failure by the Senate to adopt an Obamacare replacement plan. The House narrowly passed its own version in May, but Senate efforts collapsed this week, after moderates rejected the plans deep reductions in Medicaid funding.

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In Suu Kyi’s Myanmar, concern rises over press freedom – ABC News

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In the old, military-ruled Myanmar, it would not have been a surprising scene: three journalists, bound together in chains, raising shackled hands in unison and speaking out against their repressive government.

But this moment, captured on video by a local news organization, the Democratic Voice of Burma, was not from another era. It was recorded Tuesday, and it underscores how little has changed in the Southeast Asian country since the party led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and longtime opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi won elections a year and a half ago.

"Just look at these chains. This is what we get for being journalists," said Lawi Weng, one of three reporters detained by the military on June 26 for covering a drug-burning ceremony organized by an ethnic rebel group in the northeast.

"How can we say this is democracy?" Weng asked before entering a police van headed back to jail after a brief court hearing in Shan state's Hsipaw township.

The reporters each face three years in prison for violating the nation's Unlawful Associations Act, which was designed to punish people who associate with or assist "illegal" groups in this case, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, one of more than a dozen small rebel armies that control patches of territory in the north and east. The rebels burned a cache of narcotics to mark the United Nations' International Day Against Drug Abuse.

Members of various rebel groups, along with their sympathizers and some aid workers, have been prosecuted under the Unlawful Associations Act. But rarely, if ever, have journalists many of whom travel regularly to zones controlled by the Ta'ang and other insurgent groups.

It's unclear why these journalists were singled out. Suu Kyi's government, which is struggling to broker a nationwide cease-fire with the country's rebel armies, simply says they broke the law and should have informed security forces before visiting a conflict zone.

The arrests, combined with the prosecution of critics who have spoken out against the nation's military and civilian authorities, have surprised many who thought Suu Kyi's rise would herald a new era of freedom of expression.

Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years under house arrest during the nation's long era of military rule, and she was praised worldwide for leading the struggle for democracy. Although her administration is officially in charge, the military still wields most power.

Shawn Crispin, Southeast Asia representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Suu Kyi's administration continues to use "antiquated laws to threaten and imprison journalists."

"Reporters are still being targeted for reprisals and imprisoned for their reporting," Crispin said. "Frankly, that's not what we thought an Aung San Suu Kyi-led government would condone or promote. It's been massively disappointing."

The New York-based press freedom group, which has called for the reporters to be released, had hoped the administration would "prioritize amending or scrapping these draconian provisions," Crispin said. "To our dismay, they've chosen to use them to suppress criticism instead."

Since Suu Kyi's party swept elections in November 2015, at least 67 lawsuits have been filed under the controversial Telecommunications Law, which had been employed by the former military governments to punish dissent and prosecute those who took part in the pro-democracy struggle.

The law targets anyone "extorting, coercing, restraining, wrongfully defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening to any person."

At least a dozen people have been charged so far, according to the Telecom-Law Research Team, an independent research group. Several suits have involved alleged insults against Suu Kyi, among them a woman now serving a six-month jail term for criticizing her on social media.

In addition to Lawi Weng, who works for the Irrawaddy media outlet, the two other journalists detained after crossing into rebel territory in Shan state are Aye Nai and Pyae Bone Naing, both from the Democratic Voice of Burma.

Their court appearances have repeatedly been changed without notice, fueling speculation authorities want to minimize media coverage.

Charles Santiago, a Malaysian lawmaker who chairs the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said that "covering developments in conflict areas is already dangerous work."

"Journalists shouldn't have to add to their list of worries the possibility that the military might imprison them based on a century-old law that clearly wasn't intended to apply to them and should have been repealed altogether long ago," he said.

Speaking after their court appearance Tuesday, journalist Aye Nai said Democratic Voice of Burma reporters had traveled repeatedly to other rebel zones controlled by insurgent groups like the Kachin, the Karen and other minorities fighting for greater autonomy.

They had not been charged before, and should not be now, he said.

The government has reached provisional cease-fires with many of the rebel groups. The Ta'ang are among several still fighting, however, along with allies Kachin Independence Army and the Shan State Army-South.

"The government that was elected by the people should ... amend these laws," Aye Nai said. And even though they have detained us, "the belief we have in media will never fade away. We (will) do our job."

Pitman reported from Bangkok, Thailand.

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In Suu Kyi's Myanmar, concern rises over press freedom - ABC News

Freedom to adopt – Opinion – Jerusalem Post – The Jerusalem Post mobile website

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A rainbow coloured placard in the colors of the LGBT flag [Illustrative]. (photo credit:REUTERS)

LGBT activists plan to demonstrate Thursday against a recent government statement describing LGBT relationships as unusual and deeming LGBT people unsuitable to adopt children. We are against the states discriminatory position. They should be allowed to adopt as is any other couple.

The LGBT community was rightly incensed at this challenge to the equality of rights in our modern society. After we were exposed to another narrow-minded and low government act, the Israeli LGBT association declared in a public statement, we choose not to remain silent.

This is timely, for the accusatory statement was contained in a report submitted in preparation for a High Court hearing of a petition submitted by the Association of Israeli Gay Fathers and the Israel Religious Action Center of the Reform Movement.

The petition aims to secure the rights of same-sex couples to adopt children in an entirely equal way as the customary practice, where both parents are full guardians of the child.

Present illogical regulations recognize only one person as the legal guardian of the child, and not the gay couple.

This petition for equal rights comes against the background of mounting attacks on Jewish LGBT activists abroad for the crime of Zionism. The clear and undeniable nexus of anti-Zionism and antisemitism means that Israels treatment of its own gay community is another target that must be defended by the state.

Israel cannot ignore the insulting fact that three Jewish participants in Chicagos recent Dyke March who were carrying rainbow flags emblazoned with the Star of David were expelled from the event, because they were supporters of Israel.

LGBT activism teaches all of us, gay or not, the importance of inclusiveness. An egregious example of this is occurring in Britain, where a Jewish school risks closure for refusing to teach LGBT issues.

According to an Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services and Skills) report, the school contravenes the Equality Act 2010, which makes it mandatory for British schools to educate on a range of protracted characteristics, including age, disability, race, sex and sexual orientation. This means that pupils have a limited understanding of the different lifestyles and partnerships that individuals may choose in present-day society.

LGBT Jews abroad say its increasingly difficult to be pro-Israel. According to Idit Klein, executive director of Keshet, an LGBT Jewish organization, the tensions over Israel in the broader LGBT community also exist within the LGBT Jewish community. Conversations over Israel have become increasingly touchy, because people have overlapping identities.

Theres an extra layer of identification as a group that experiences injustice, so that adds a layer of intensity, the Keshet leader said. It makes it a struggle to enable people to be in one space together. I havent figured it out and nor has anyone else.

Except, perhaps, in Israel, where more than 200,000 people packed Tel Avivs streets for this years annual LGBT Pride Parade, making it the largest-ever pride parade in the Middle East and Asia, according to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality.

The Tel Aviv event included an impromptu protest by gay activists. We are not protesting the gay pride parade, we are participating in the parade as protesters, said Noa Bassel, an organizer with Pinkwashing Israel. What we are protesting against is the PR that Israel carries out using the gay community, and we claim abuse and that [Israel is] not giving us our rights and is portraying itself as liberal and democratic when it essentially is not.

Discrimination will continue as long as there are homophobic politicians. A case in point is Bayit Yehudi MK Moti Yogev, who tweeted that a Jewish family is a father and mother who naturally bring life into the world.

This understandably sparked the outrage of LGBT rights activists and accusations of homophobia from Zionist Union MK Omer Bar-Lev.

One politician who should champion this years upcoming Jerusalem Pride Parade as a teaching moment is Mayor Nir Barkat, who should reconsider his announced decision not to participate. Israels capital should be led from above by its mayor, not from below by a minority of the city council. He should lead the march on the second yahrzeit of the murder of 16-year-old Shira Banki by a religious fanatic at the 2015 parade.

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"Humans of Freedom Fest": Portraits from the Largest Annual Gathering of Libertarians – Reason (blog)

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Editor's note: FreedomFest, held every July in Las Vegas, is the largest annual gathering of libertarians in the country. Today is the first day of the four-day long conference, which is being headlined in its 10th year by William Shatner, John Stossel, Greg Gutfeld, and others. Taking inspiration from the site Humans of New York, Reason is happy to offer Humans of FreedomFest, a series of portraits and brief interviews with various attendees. This is the first installment.

Sarah Rose Siskind, Reason

"This hand and this tattoo is in more pictures with celebrities than anybody else's hand or tattoo. I've got the most famous GOP tattoo."

Are you the black sheep of the family?

"Oh yeah. My dad was a Marine and a Democrat. And he was one of those guys who voted because of my mom, so his vote wouldn't be canceled out. I've been a conservative and a hippie for most of my life."

Sarah Siskind, Reason

"My dad couldn't make it to this year's [FreedomFest], so I came with [my cousin's Jaden's] family. I earned my money so I could come."Roy Lee (above, right)

You earned your money so you could come?

"I work. I do a little bit of flooring. Construction. I'm helping pay for gas. Paying for food."

"Our parents teach us to be individuals."Jaden

Sarah Rose Siskind, Reason

What is your most controversial opinion?

"Among the general public? Eliminating the Federal Reserve. Among libertarians? I'm not a huge open-borders guy. There's a joke that if you get five libertarians in a room, you'll get 10 opinions."

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AT&T Aspire grants Meridian Freedom Project $15000 for high school programs – Meridian Star

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The AT&T Aspire Foundation has awarded the Meridian Freedom Project a grant of $15,000 to support local Freedom Project programs that will provide primarily low-income 9th to 11th-grade students with academic support, college preparation, and a college immersion program to bolster high school success and help create a roadmap for post-secondary education.

The AT&T Aspire Foundation works to bring together AT&T employees, nonprofits and community members to help equip students with the skills they need to lead the digital, global economy. AT&T is investing in innovative education organizations, tools and solutions, said C.D. Smith, regional director of AT&T Mississippi, in a statement.

Founded in 2014 and located in downtown Meridian, the mission of the Meridian Freedom Project is to grow a corps of academically capable, socially conscious, and mentally disciplined young leaders in Meridian, Mississippi.

The MFP is a year-round leadership development program that serves students from Meridian Public Schools, grades sixth-eleventh, by providing rigorous academic support, health and fitness training, character development, and opportunities for creative expression and academic travel. With this grant from AT&T Aspire, the Freedom Project will continue to grow its high school programming, focusing on building literacy skills, providing increased opportunities for college and academic travel, and helping students get on and stay on the pathway to college.

The City of Meridian is eager to see the fruits of the seeds planted through this partnership between the Freedom Project and AT&T Aspire when the first group of Freedom Fellows graduates from high school in two years, said Meridian Mayor Percy Bland in a statement.

The Meridian Freedom Project is a sponsored program of Meridian Community College and operated in partnership with The Montgomery Institute. To learn more, please visit http://www.themeridianfreedomproject.org.

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