Daily Archives: June 24, 2017

As an HIV researcher and clinician, I have seen firsthand the viruss disproportionate devastation of sexual minorities, the poor and many people of color. Nevertheless, steady research progress during recent years has allowed us to envision and work toward the end of the epidemic . Until recently, our efforts were effectively guided by the first-ever National HIV/AIDS Strategy, released seven years ago next month.

But the gains we made can easily be lost, and they are in grave danger. The Trump Administration and some Congressional leaders have chosen to abdicate governments responsibility for the poor and disadvantaged and devalue the health of the American public. They have proposed stripping Medicaid from millions of low-income people, leaving them without access to healthcare or other essential services. They want to bar federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides women with HIV and STD prevention services. And they've hampered efforts to develop cures and improve prevention and treatment by proposing to cut funds for research.

MORE : 6 Resigned from Trump's HIV/AIDS Advisory Board. Heres Why One Doctor Stayed

Even actions that may not seem directly related to health would have a large impact, like slashing funding for federal housing programs, education, food assistance and other social welfare programs, and reinstating previously failed policies that harm public health, like incarcerating drug users instead of treating them and promoting abstinence-only sex education programs. Since January, each new policy announcement has threatened our fragile success in beating the HIV epidemic.

My hope is that we can make the nation great for everyone rather than returning to the days when it was great for only a few. If the Administration and the Congress do not reverse the direction we are headed, Americas prognosis is grim.

The HIV and public health communities have our work cut out for us. Here's how to get started:

The annual number of new HIV infections in the U.S. fell by 18% from 2008 to 2014, saving treatment costs of $14.9 billion. The percentage of people with an HIV diagnosis who are effectively treated increased to 55%. The uninsured rate among people with HIV dropped by 6% in states that expanded Medicaid, and the percentage of people with HIV who were effectively treated in these states increased significantly after just one year.

Unprecedented research advances over the last three decades have driven our progress, resulting in more effective and less toxic treatment. There is now overwhelming evidence that effective treatment keeps people with HIV healthy and reduces their risk of transmitting the virus to near zero. On the prevention front, considerable evidence supports the effectiveness of interventions, such as syringe exchange and comprehensive sexual education, and new tools, such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, known as PrEP .

The Trump Administration and members of Congress can still make a course correction and prevent national public health crises on a number of fronts, including HIV, opioid addiction and hepatitis C. Rather than leaving millions of Americans without health care coverageincluding many who count on the Medicaid programpolicymakers should work with healthcare providers, patient advocates and others to reduce healthcare costs and build on, rather than reverse, the gains of the last few years. They should prioritize the health, wellbeing and education of the most vulnerable when making federal funding decisions and abandon their resurrection of policies that have failed in the past and sabotage public health.

MORE : 4 Ways the Senate Health Care Bill Would Hurt Women

We cannot turn back; 45% of people diagnosed with HIV are still not effectively treated for it. More than 200 U.S. counties are at risk for serious HIV outbreaks linked to injection drug use. Research indicates that as many as one in two black gay men could be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. We need strong political leadership at all levels and activism to educate those in power about whats at stake.

Adimora is professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). The views expressed in this commentary are her own and do not necessarily represent those of PACHA.

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How the Trump Administration Is Reversing Progress on HIV | Time ... - TIME

LONDON

With snipers on the roof and armored vehicles surrounding the Council building, Europes leaders met in Brussels with security topping the summit agenda. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said leaders had agreed on greater cooperation in intelligence sharing and defense spending.

We are spending half of the military budget of the U.S. but our efficiency is 15 percent. So there is room for improvement and thats exactly what we decided today, Juncker said.

Migrants issue

Outside a band of refugees called Syrians Got Talent aimed to send a musical message to EU leaders that they should stand up for migrant rights.

Not all of Europe shares that sentiment. The EU is taking legal action against Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic for refusing to accept refugee quotas.

More than 81,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in 2017, and close to 2,000 have died so far.

French President Emmanuel Macron, attending his first EU summit, said Europe would look to address the causes of the crisis.

He said it is a long-term challenge whose long-term solution is to stabilize Africa, and the near and Middle East.

WATCH: EU agrees to defense cooperation

Optimism in the EU

Despite the challenges there is a renewed optimism in the bloc, says Professor Anand Menon of the U.K. in a Changing Europe program at Kings College London.

And the Eurozones growing again. So all that looks good, Menon said. But what I would say is the fundamental structural problems that confront the European Union, whether its the migration crisis, whether its the Eurozone crisis, whether its the problem of democratic backsliding in countries like Hungary and Poland, are no nearer being solved than they were last year. And they will come back again.

Britains exit from the bloc was also discussed. EU leaders described Prime Minister Theresa Mays offer on the future rights of European citizens living in Britain as below expectations, signaling tough negotiations ahead.

Read more:

EU Agrees to Defense Cooperation, Little Progress on Migration ... - Voice of America

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has revealed there have been no offers from Man United for Alvaro Morata. Shaka Hislop breaks down the latest surrounding Alvaro Morata's potential move to Man United.

Manchester United are making progress in their pursuit of Alvaro Morata but have yet to agree a fee with Real Madrid, sources have told ESPN FC.

Manager Jose Mourinho has identified Morata as the striker he wants to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

There is still hope a deal could be secured before United head to the United States for their preseason tour on July 9.

Sources have told ESPN FC that agreeing personal terms should be straightforward because of Morata's willingness to move to Old Trafford.

There had been a fear that uncertainty surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo could force Madrid to stall on any deal for the Spain international.

But reports in Spain suggest Ronaldo will now stay at the Bernabeu while Marca, which has close ties to president Florentino Perez, reported that the Spanish champions are set to push on with a bid for Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe.

French newspaper L'Equipe reported on Friday that Zinedine Zidane, once Mbappe's idol, called the striker to convince him to join Madrid said they were ready to sell one of their "BBC" stars to make room for him.

Mbappe's arrival would further limit opportunities for Morata, who made only 14 La Liga starts last season.

The striker, who returned to Real Madrid last summer after two seasons at Juventus, scored 20 goals in 43 appearances last term.

There has been no offer for him from Chelsea, who are also in the market for a striker with Diego Costa set to depart and have been linked with Everton's Romelu Lukaku.

United also have an interest in Andrea Belotti, although Torino have said a 100 million buyout clause in his contract -- only available to clubs outside Italy -- must be met before the 23-year-old is allowed to leave.

Rob is ESPN FC's Manchester United correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @RobDawsonESPN.

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Manchester United making progress in pursuit of Alvaro Morata - sources - ESPN FC

In 2009, a large group of Mitchell residents dedicated more than 3,000 hours to craft a roadmap for the future called Focus 2020. Fast forward to 2017 and Mitchell has accomplished much of what the community plan hoped to see achieved by 2020, leaving the city in need of a new plan to continue moving Mitchell forward.

"It's time that we as a community make new goals," said Mitchell City Administrator Stephanie Ellwein.

A request from Ellwein will arise in this fall's budget hearings for 2018 to establish a larger community visioning session to keep the city's wheels in motion, which Ellwein said would likely be preceded by a city strategic planning effort. Once the city's narrowed its ideas, the community visioning process would be a similar collaborative effort to the one that took place eight years ago.

And Ellwein believes another planning effort will keep the city on track toward a better future.

"Anything to continue moving forward as a community," Ellwein said about another community planning effort.

Dreaming big

The recommendations of Focus 2020 ranged from large to small, from the hope to minimize algae at Lake Mitchell within 20 years to a plan to televise Mitchell City Council meetings.

The city has made progress or completed many of the smaller items like televising City Council meetings or improving the area at the west end boat dock at Lake Mitchell, but the city also attempted to tackle some of the larger efforts.

The city also dove head-first into a lake improvement plan, kicking off the effort with a $73,725 study from water quality specialists Fyra Engineering that could ultimately lead to a full-scale lake restoration effort.

Both Ellwein and City Council President Jeff Smith see lake restoration as a priority, particularly in the wake of a massive algae bloom that led to the city discouraging contact with the lake, but what's next?

Smith said the city is in good shape, but he said the city can always aspire for more.

"I think we're doing pretty good, but you can always hope and wish and dream," Smith said.

Smith is simultaneously dreaming big and focusing on the small stuff, hoping to improve Mitchell in every way, just like Focus 2020 aimed to do eight years ago.

From City Hall's perspective, many of the major tasks the municipal government hoped to achieve in its capacity are already completed or underway. Ranging from Lake Mitchell studies to a $4.7 million Corn Palace investment and the expansion of the Hitchcock Park tennis courts, the city of Mitchell has been able to check off many of the boxes created through the Focus 2020 visioning process.

'Next big project'

But after thinking long and hard about the different aspects of the community that need improvement, Smith's eyes were drawn to North Capital Street.

"As far as the community is concerned, to be quite honest with you, I think the next big project really should be our high school," Smith said. "We've got a very good education system in Mitchell and we've got very good facilities besides one, and that's the high school."

While the Mitchell Board of Education was recently hesitant to say when the Mitchell High School should be replaced, instead collectively saying a new high school is worth considering, Smith sees replacing the 55-year-old school as a critical measure toward making the community more attractive to businesses and workers.

Smith acknowledged the Mitchell School District has a plan for the project in the future, but the timeframe of 10 to 15 years might be too far down the road.

"I would really like to see if the community would be willing to step that up and maybe pay for it sooner than later," Smith said. "And I know it's going to take some opt-out, and I know that's kind of a dirty word."

An opt-out would raise property taxes to generate more money for the district, and Smith said he'd be interested in knowing whether the community would be willing to speed up the construction of a new high school through the opt-out approach.

Smith said it's no secret that Mitchell's high school is the worst of the larger-sized schools in the state, and the economic benefits alone would have an impact on the city of approximately 15,000.

"I really feel what that's going to do is that would be the biggest asset to try to attract and retain our young families," Smith said. "... We've done a lot, and I don't want to just harp on the school, but in reality, that's one of the biggest features that families look at when they move to a community."

With Smith eyeing a new high school as a priority, fellow Councilman Marty Barington hopes to double down on the restoration of Lake Mitchell mentioned in the Focus 2020 plan.

A recommendation in Focus 2020 set the timeline for Lake Mitchell water quality improvements at 20 years, leaving approximately 12 years for the city to rectify its algae problem if it hopes to beat the goal set in the community visioning process. But Barington said the issues at the lake have persisted for so many years that it's getting "ridiculous."

"It's sad to see where the lake is today, and I know that is sort of a huge priority when Fyra comes out with their answer," Barington said. "And we know that answer is going to come with a huge dollar sign."

Barington said his goal is to determine how the city will pay for the lake restoration recommendations, and he's looking to take an aggressive approach at addressing the lake's algae problem.

As for short-term priorities on the lake, Barington wants to find out if the lake can actually be saved or whether it can be stabilized. He also hopes to learn how much better the lake could get if the city invests in a long-term restoration project. And with a community visioning process possibly on the horizon, Barington said nearly everywhere he goes in Mitchell he gets asked about the lake.

"I've never been hit so many times on Lake Mitchell," Barington said. "... I mean, it's just absolutely the worst level that we've seen."

Funding new facilities

While Lake Mitchell and a new high school may steal the spotlight in the long-term, Mitchell's two longest-tenured councilmen have other ideas to improve the city of Mitchell.

Barington's sights are set on more indoor activity centers in city limits, giving area athletes a place to practice and play when South Dakota's unpredictable weather makes outdoor recreation difficult.

With only a few months of quality weather in Mitchell, Barington said the addition of more indoor basketball courts and other multipurpose facilities would bring Mitchell up to speed with other South Dakota communities.

"We've definitely invested in our outdoor grounds quite a bit, and I think we need to start focusing on things that can be used more during that winter time," Barington said.

He suggested a "fieldhouse" type setting that could be used for various sports when the recently improved Pepsi-Cola Soccer Complex, Cadwell Sports Complex and Hitchcock Park tennis courts are covered in snow. A new facility, or facilities, would also help solve the shortage of basketball courts in city limits, according to Barington.

Barington's vision could be achieved in part by a renovation to the Mitchell Recreation Center. At Thursday's special meeting of the Mitchell Parks and Recreation Board, a possible $4 million renovation to the facility was mentioned, although no formal recommendation was made to move forward with the project.

With Barington looking at new quality of life facilities, Smith is looking at adding places for young families to live.

With a few "unattractive" mobile homes in Mitchell, Smith suggested possibly sprucing up a mobile home community while also adding more starter homes for families.

"Somehow I think we're going to have to try to balance some type of public program with some private industry," Smith said about a public-private housing partnership.

Mitchell Area Development Corporation's Executive Director Bryan Hisel agreed that housing is always a need, which ties into his priorities to recruit and retain workers to the Mitchell area. But perhaps Hisel's biggest and boldest vision for Mitchell is the addition of a new business and industry park.

"We've never really had a park area where all of the infrastructure, or most of it, was in," Hisel said. "... And that really lets both local companies and new firms grow and expand, and I think that's a priority that should probably be in the mix."

But where does the industrial park go?

Hisel doesn't know, but he said it will require a significant portion of land that isn't in a residential neighborhood.

And that's why Hisel sees value in the broad discussions with business leaders, city officials and the public to determine the best solutions for the city of Mitchell.

Although some of these goals may be lofty, Hisel said working together as a community to come to a consensus is necessary in moving Mitchell forward.

"It's really the only way to do it," Hisel said.

Read the rest here:

Mitchell's successful planning initiative paves way for more progress - Daily Republic

U.S. President Donald Trump is taking a new approach in trying to get Israel and the Palestinians to sign a peace deal.

He sent two negotiators with no international diplomatic experience to meet with both sides.

The team that traveled to Jerusalem and the West Bank was led by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior aide. Also taking part was Jason Greenblatt, an assistant to the president in charge of international negotiations.

Kushner, 36, is a former New York real estate businessman and newspaper publisher. Greenblatt also has a background in real estate. For many years, he also worked as the chief lawyer in the Trump Organization. In that position, he oversaw large business deals for the company.

For the past 50 years, the United Nations and many U.S. presidents have tried but failed to bring about lasting peace in the Middle East.

These efforts included many rounds of negotiations involving Israeli and Palestinian officials. Experienced diplomats and international negotiators led the talks, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former World Bank president James Wolfensohn and longtime diplomat Dennis Ross.

The first major success in Arab-Israeli peace talks came in 1978, under the leadership of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords in Washington, D.C.

Egypt and Israel had been in a state of war.

The Camp David Accords led to a formal peace treaty signed between the two nations in 1979. And Sadat and Begin received the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.

Every American president since has launched their own Middle East peace efforts.

In the Trump administrations approach, Kushner and Greenblatt will bring their business experience to the negotiating table.

A spokesman for Kushner recently told Politico he had the presidents goals in mind as he put together his team.

Jared brought in people he trusts, and they are embracing the fact that they are not career diplomats but great listeners with deal-making experience who can try a new approach.

Guy Ziv is a professor at American University and an expert in Israeli-Palestinian relations. He says the Trump administrations approach is much different than past efforts.

It's different in the sense that Trump has assigned the most difficult, the most intractable conflict to individuals with next to no experience and very little knowledge on the issues.

Trump has said that he considers a possible peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians the ultimate deal. He made a visit to the region last month. He appeared to have started a good working relationship with both sides.

Many issues have prevented a peace agreement. Among them are disputes over borders and competing claims to Jerusalem. Others include the future of millions of displaced Palestinians and demands for more economic opportunities for Palestinians.

Ziv says he does not agree with the argument that, since previous negotiations by experienced diplomats have not led to an agreement, a completely new approach is needed.

I'm very skeptical in this regard because we're dealing, as I said, with some of the most difficult, complex issues that take years to learn. And they're getting a crash course on something that takes years to learn.

He added that when it comes to actual policy, not much has changed from the Obama administration.

Despite all the rhetoric, we are not seeing a different approach on any of the specifics. The (American) embassy (in Tel Aviv) is not being relocated (to Jerusalem). The administration is maintaining longstanding U.S. support for a two-state solution.

The two-state solution would create an independent Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel.

Ziv added that the Trump administration is also expressing opposition to new Jewish settlements in the West Bank. This issue has long been a major dispute between the two sides.

Shortly before Kushner arrived in Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted a photo of construction work being done on a new settlement. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the move a serious escalation designed to set back peace efforts.

During his trip, Kushner first met in Jerusalem with Netanyahu, who is a friend of his fathers. He then held talks with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

After the talks, the White House said in statement that Netanyahu and Abbas had reaffirmed their commitment to the goal of getting a lasting peace agreement.

However, the statement also said that establishing peace will take time. It added that U.S. officials urged both sides to do everything possible to create an environment conducive to peacemaking.

Professor Ziv said he believes the only way a peace agreement will have a chance is if the Trump administration is willing to put pressure on both sides.

Without a massive amount of pressure at the highest level, I don't think you're going to see any progress on the Israeli-Palestinian front.

Im Bryan Lynn.

And I'm Caty Weaver.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from VOA News, the Associated Press and Reuters. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

framework n. basic structure of something

approach n. way of doing something

embrace v. gladly accept something

intractable adj. not easily managed

opportunity n. chance to do something

crash course n. class in which a lot of information is taught in a very short period of time

rhetoric language intended to influence people

escalation n. a rise or increase in activity

forge v. create something

conducive adj. make something possible of likely to happen

massive adj. large amount

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Can Trump's Non-Diplomatic Team Make Progress in Middle East? - Voice of America

ATLANTA

Braves slugger Freddie Freeman says his broken left wrist is healing much faster than expected.

After undergoing a CT scan and meeting Friday with team physician Dr. Gary Lourie, Freeman was told his wrist is 80-90 percent healed, up from 50 percent last week.

The improvement led Freeman to move up the timetable of his return from July 14, the day after the All-Star break against Arizona, to July 6 at NL East-leading Washington.

"They're all pretty shocked it got to that point, too, especially with me stressing it the last couple of days catching balls and all that stuff," he said. "It's actually great news."

Freeman's prognosis was a surprise, though maybe not as much as his announcement Wednesday that he's moving from first to third base to keep Matt Adams in the lineup.

Even so, Lourie's report was encouraging enough that Freeman was cleared to swing a bat for the first time since getting hit by a pitch on May 17. Freeman hopes to begin a three- to four-game rehab assignment next weekend.

"Everybody's been saying they really didn't think I was going to be back in eight to 10 weeks," he said. "Obviously I had a different mindset going in to it. But we're just at two days over five weeks right now so I'm pretty ecstatic with how the recovery has gone."

Freeman's adjustment to third base is a work in progress.

He met Thursday with close friend and former teammate Chipper Jones, the longtime star who manned the position for most of his 18-year big league career. Jones said the biggest adjustments would be throwing from different angles and mastering throws on slow rollers.

"I feel comfortable," Freeman said. "I'm not going to tell you that I feel like I do at first base. I definitely don't. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but I don't feel out of place. That's all I can ask for now, and the work has gone good."

Freeman, who last year finished sixth in NL MVP voting, said that he's being fitted for a custom guard to cover his wrist when batting. He led the NL with 14 homers when he was injured.

More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

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Freeman reports quick progress from broken wrist - Atlanta Journal Constitution