Regulators clear capsules for adults who face risks from C diff, bacteria that can cause nausea, cramps and diarrhea
US health officials have approved the first pill made from healthy bacteria found in human waste to fight dangerous gut infections – an easier way of performing so-called fecal transplants.
The treatment from Seres Therapeutics provides a simpler, rigorously tested version of stool-based procedures that some specialists have used for more than a decade.
Continue reading...David Gianforte, who uses he/they pronouns, said they urged father Greg to stand up against ‘unjust, immoral’ legislation
The son of the Republican governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, met their father in his office to lobby him to reject several bills that would harm transgender people in the state, the Montana Free Press reported.
David Gianforte told the paper they identify as non-binary and use he/they pronouns – the first time they disclosed their gender identity publicly. They told the outlet they felt an obligation to use their relationship with their father to stand up for LGBTQ+ people in the state.
Continue reading...Zooey Zephyr will be able to vote remotely, however the decision has drawn protests that brought the legislature to a halt
Montana Republicans have barred the transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the statehouse floor for the rest of the session after she told colleagues they would have “blood on your hands” if they voted to ban gender-affirming medical care for trans children.
Under the terms of the punishment, Zephyr will still be able to vote remotely but will be unable to participate in debates for the remainder of the 90-day legislative session. The Democratic representative had been forbidden from speaking for the past week over her comments, which Republicans said violated decorum.
Continue reading...Advice columnist says former president ‘shattered my reputation’ and says alleged attack left her unable to enjoy romantic life
The advice columnist E Jean Carroll told a New York jury on Wednesday that Donald Trump raped her, leaving her unable to have a romantic relationship, and then “shattered my reputation” by denying the attack occurred.
Carroll testified in her civil lawsuit seeking damages for battery – after Trump allegedly sexually assaulted her in a New York department store changing room in 1996 – and for defamation, after he accused her of lying and perpetrating a hoax when she went public with her accusations in a book.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
Continue reading...Yoon Suk-yeol meets Joe Biden in Washington amid concerns in South over North’s nuclear buildup
The US and South Korea have reaffirmed their alliance, agreeing that nuclear-armed submarines would resume port visits and threatening a “swift, overwhelming and decisive response” to any North Korean nuclear attack, including retaliation in kind by the US.
The South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, said that response would include US nuclear weapons, making explicit an element of the alliance that normally remains unspoken.
Continue reading...New letter sent to Congress attempts to paint Trump’s retention of classified-marked documents at Florida home as inadvertent
Donald Trump’s lawyers in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation found the 15 boxes the former president returned to the National Archives a year after the end of his presidency mostly contained briefings for calls with foreign leaders, according to a new letter they sent to Congress.
The majority of the letter – seen by the Guardian and earlier reported by CNN – served to characterize Trump’s retention of classified-marked documents as inadvertent, and due to White House staffers sweeping all documents into boxes during a chaotic departure at the end of the administration.
Continue reading...Only Republican governor Kevin Stitt stands between Richard Glossip and the death chamber, with lethal injection set for 18 May
Richard Glossip, a death row prisoner in Oklahoma who has insisted he is innocent since he was convicted of murder 25 years ago, has been denied clemency even though the state’s Republican attorney general made an unprecedented appeal to spare his life.
The pardon and parole board voted by 2-2 on Wednesday to deny Glossip, 60, clemency in the face of exceptional resistance from Republican politicians in Oklahoma who have joined forces to try and stop his execution going ahead. As things now stand, only the Republican governor Kevin Stitt stands between Glossip and the death chamber, with lethal injection set for 18 May.
Continue reading...Oldest president to seek re-election tackles issue a day after officially kicking off his 2024 bid
Senate Democrats have demanded answers from the supreme court after a series of reports indicating at least two justices have relationships with parties interested in the court’s decisions that they did not disclose.
But the Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, said on the floor today that the court continues to have his confidence:
Continue reading...Entertainment giant wants court to overturn governor’s efforts to exert control over Walt Disney World theme parks in Orlando
Disney sued Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and presumed challenger for the Republican presidential nomination, on Wednesday, saying he had subjected it to “a targeted campaign of government retaliation”.
The entertainment giant wants a court to overturn state efforts to exert control over Walt Disney World in Orlando. The lawsuit was filed within minutes of a DeSantis-appointed oversight board voting to override agreements made in February that allowed the company to expand the theme park and maintain control over neighboring land.
Continue reading...Abby Grossberg alleges she was subject to bullying, sexism and antisemitism while working on the former host’s prime-time show
Tucker Carlson’s abrupt departure from Fox News sent shock waves through the American political and media landscapes and immediately many US pundits linked it to the huge settlement the rightwing channel had just reached with Dominion Voting Systems.
Carlson, as a far-right provocateur, had been instrumental in the channel’s airing of conspiracy theories around the 2020 election that had often put Dominion’s voting machines at the heart of false claims of ballot rigging.
Continue reading...While seasonal floods aren’t unusual for the national park, this spring could see a deluge from winter snowpack melt
Most of Yosemite valley – the tourist center of the famed national park – will close this weekend as warming temperatures threaten the region with a surge in snowmelt that’s expected to push the Merced River beyond its banks. Forecasters have warned that runoff from California’s historic snowpack, set high along the peaks of the Sierra Nevada range, could cause widespread flooding.
“Downslope there will be problems,” said the National Weather Service meteorologist David Spector, adding that the area around the Pohono Bridge just east of the park’s central entrance would reach flood stage by Friday. “Only parts of the valley are expected to be impacted for now,” he said. “But it may become worse by Sunday or Monday.”
Continue reading...Dennis Barnes’s offers from 125 colleges and universities approach a national record
A high school student in Louisiana has received more than $9m in scholarship offers, an amount that leaves him at least close to clinching what is believed to be a US record.
Dennis Barnes has been offered aid from 125 colleges and universities, after maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 4.98, among other academic accomplishments, at International high school in New Orleans.
Continue reading...Redmond-based company exceeded analysts’ estimates, driven by its cloud computing and Office software businesses
Microsoft Corp beat Wall Street’s quarterly revenue and profit estimates on Tuesday, driven by growth in its cloud computing and Office productivity software businesses, and the company said artificial intelligence products were stimulating sales.
The company forecast that revenue in its main segments for the current quarter would match or top Wall Street targets.
Continue reading...Democrats and activists applaud state for new legislation, which includes a ban on the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles
Washington’s Governor Jay Inslee signed a trio of bills meant to prevent gun violence on Tuesday – one banning the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles, one imposing a 10-day waiting period on firearms purchases, and one clearing the way for lawsuits against gun makers or sellers in certain cases.
A crowd of gun-control activists and Democratic lawmakers broke into cheers as he signed the measures, which he said would not solve all gun violence but would save lives.
Continue reading...Guaidó lands in Miami after failed bid to attend summit hosted by leftwing president, with return to Venezuela looking unlikely
Venezuela’s best-known opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, has touched down in the United States after being unceremoniously ejected from Colombia while attempting to gatecrash a summit about the political future of his crisis-stricken homeland.
Guaidó shot to fame in early 2019 and for a brief moment looked poised to topple Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, with the support of dozens of foreign governments including the US, UK and Brazil.
Continue reading...Ispace loses communication with Hakuto-R lunar lander, ending a mission that began more than four months ago
A Japanese startup attempting the first private landing on the moon has lost communication with its spacecraft and said that it assumes the lunar mission had failed.
Ispace said that it could not establish communication with the uncrewed Hakuto-R lunar lander after its expected landing time, a frustrating end to a mission that began with a launch from the US more than four months ago.
Continue reading...Chart-topping calypso singer who supported US civil rights movement and African initiatives dies of congestive heart failure
Harry Belafonte, the singer, actor and civil rights activist who broke down racial barriers, has died aged 96.
As well as performing global hits such as Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), winning a Tony award for acting and appearing in numerous feature films, Belafonte spent his life fighting for a variety of causes. He bankrolled numerous 1960s initiatives to bring civil rights to Black Americans; campaigned against poverty, apartheid and Aids in Africa; and supported leftwing political figures such as Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.
Continue reading...In addition to making his campaign official, Joe Biden announced key members of its staff.
As co-chairs, he named Democratic house representatives Lisa Blunt-Rochester, Jim Clyburn, Veronica Escobar and Jeffrey Katzenberg, senators Chris Coons and Tammy Duckworth as well as Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s up-and-coming governor.
Continue reading...Police in New Orleans have issued an arrest warrant for former UFC star Nate Diaz after a brawl in the city on Saturday night.
The 38-year-old faces a charge of of second-degree battery after video spread on social media of Diaz apparently choking YouTube personality Rodney Petersen unconscious during a fight in the city’s popular Bourbon Street.
Continue reading...Fani Willis, investigating whether Trump illegally meddled in 2020 election, urges ‘heightened security’ for when decision is made
The prosecutor in Atlanta investigating whether Donald Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia said on Monday she expects to announce charging decisions in the case this summer and urged “heightened security”.
Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis wrote in a letter to local sheriff Pat Labat that she expects to announce the decisions some time between 11 July and 1 September. She said she wanted to give Labat time to coordinate with local, state and federal agencies “to ensure that our law enforcement community is ready to protect the public”.
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