| HHS Secretary Tom Price: We won’t let Obamacare ‘implode’ Posted: 30 Jul 2017 10:47 AM PDT  HHS Secretary Tom Price denied that Republicans would allow the ACA to "implode" to force Democrats to cooperate in repealing and replacing the law.
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| Australian Police Foil Plane Terror Plot Posted: 30 Jul 2017 04:48 AM PDT  A plot to bring down an international flight with an explosive device was foiled by police in Australia after a counter terrorism investigation.
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| Ganyard on North Korea missile tests: 'We have to take this seriously' Posted: 30 Jul 2017 09:05 AM PDT  ABC News' Steve Ganyard and president of Ploughshares Fund, Joe Cirincione, discuss what the U.S. can do to combat the North Korea threat after its latest missile test.
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| Suspect in killing of Navajo girl expected to change plea Posted: 30 Jul 2017 04:06 PM PDT  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A suspect is expected to change his plea in the kidnapping, sexual assault and killing of an 11-year-old girl in a remote part of the largest American Indian reservation that prompted an effort to expand the Amber Alert system into tribal communities across the U.S.
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| Van plows into diners on Los Angeles sidewalk Posted: 31 Jul 2017 04:07 AM PDT ![Van plows into diners on Los Angeles sidewalk]( "Van plows into diners on Los Angeles sidewalk") The driver of a van that plowed into a group of people dining on a Los Angeles sidewalk, striking and injuring at least eight people, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of hit-and-run, authorities said. The vehicle knocked down a white picket fence that served as a barrier between diners and pedestrians on the sidewalk. "Everyone was eating, enjoying life and out of nowhere this van ran them over," Courtney Crump said.
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| The D.A.R.E. Jeff Sessions Wants Is Better Than the D.A.R.E. You Remember Posted: 30 Jul 2017 06:00 AM PDT  It would be more than 'just say no'
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| Fire 'Richard Cordray' Lewandowski to New Chief of Staff Posted: 29 Jul 2017 11:35 PM PDT  In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, former Trump Campaign Manager tells Chuck Todd that the new Chief of Staff can start by removing the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Board.
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| Phone calls, dismissal threats: Venezuela pressures state workers to vote Posted: 30 Jul 2017 02:50 PM PDT  By Alexandra Ulmer CARACAS (Reuters) - State workers in Venezuela are receiving frequent phone calls, pressure from bosses and threats of dismissal to ensure they vote in favor of President Nicolas Maduro's controversial new congress on Sunday. The unpopular leftist Maduro is pushing ahead with the election to create a powerful new legislature despite four months of deadly anti-government protests in the oil-rich South American nation, which is reeling from food shortages, runaway inflation and violent crime. Maduro says the 545-seat Constituent Assembly, which will have the power to dissolve all other state institutions, will overcome the "armed insurrection" to bring peace to Venezuela.
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| Hackers breached defences of US voting machines in less than 90 minutes Posted: 31 Jul 2017 03:31 AM PDT  Hackers competed to take control of US voting machines and overcame some of their security defences in less than 90 minutes. One hacking team at the DEF CON cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas 'rick-roll'd' a touchscreen voting machine so it played Rick Astley's 1987 hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up', and another contestant was able to gain full remote control of a notoriously weak device from his laptop. The results of the competition are likely to add to anxieties about the hacking of future US elections and about possible Russian interference in Donald Trump's victory in November.
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| Indian coast guard makes record 1.5 tonne heroin bust Posted: 29 Jul 2017 05:01 PM PDT  India's coast guard announced Sunday it had seized 1.5 tonnes of heroin worth almost $550 million from a merchant ship in what maritime authorities are calling their largest-ever drug bust. The ship was intercepted Saturday off the western state of Gujarat, the coast guard said in a statement. An undisclosed number of suspects were detained for questioning by coast guard officials, police and intelligence agencies.
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| Trump's Base Sticks With Him, Except in the South Posted: 29 Jul 2017 11:42 PM PDT  New polling data shows that changes spotted during the 2016 election might become permanent.
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| 1.3 million Ford Explorers are under investigation for poisoning drivers Posted: 30 Jul 2017 06:00 AM PDT 
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has upgraded a probe into potential carbon monoxide poisoning being caused by Ford Explorers. The NHTSA said it is aware of 2,700 complaints and three crashes potentially linked to carbon monoxide poisoning in the vehicles' cabin.
An initial investigation was opened last year into more than 638,000 vehicles, and the NHTSA has now upgraded that investigation into an "engineering analysis," a necessary step before the agency can force Ford to recall any vehicles. Ford has acknowledged some kind of problem, issued numerous service bulletins, and told Reuters that it has a dedicated team "to investigate reported issues and solve them." It was reported this month that the police department in Austin, Texas, pulled more than 40 Ford Explorers from its fleet after a half-dozen officers reported ill with carbon monoxide poisoning. The NHTSA said the reported injuries include "loss of consciousness, with the majority indicating nausea, headaches, or light-headedness." It should be emphasized that so far, the NHTSA has "no substantive data or actual evidence...supporting a claim that any of the alleged injury or crash allegations were the result of carbon monoxide poisoning." Although working out if a car cabin is full of carbon monoxide might sound like an easy task, the massive number of variables and different driving conditions makes it harden than you'd imagine. For now, the NHTSA has not issued a recall or guidance for owners, but if you've got a Ford Explorer, maybe think about driving with the windows down a little more.
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| Martin Shkreli: jury to consider fate of 'most hated man in America' Posted: 31 Jul 2017 02:00 AM PDT  A jury will begin deliberations on Monday in the trial on securities fraud charges against the entrepreneur Martin Shkreli, who faces up to 20 years in prison. As arguments wrapped up in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Shkreli, known to many as "the most hated man in America", was accused by government prosecutors of telling "lies upon lies" to investors and regarding himself as "above the law". In terminology reminiscent of one of his idols, Donald Trump, Shkreli used Facebook to tell his fans he was the victim of a witch-hunt.
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| Nigeria scaling up Boko Haram fight, seeking abducted oil workers Posted: 30 Jul 2017 07:52 AM PDT ![Nigeria scaling up Boko Haram fight, seeking abducted oil workers]( "Nigeria scaling up Boko Haram fight, seeking abducted oil workers") Nigeria has scaled up its military response to the Boko Haram insurgency and will secure the northeast, the acting president's spokesman said on Sunday, adding that the search for oil workers abducted by suspected members of the jihadist group will go on. Members of an oil prospecting team were kidnapped in the northeast's restive Lake Chad Basin region on Tuesday, prompting a rescue bid that left at least 37 dead including members of the team, rescuers from the military and vigilantes, officials say. Three kidnapped members of the oil team later appeared in a video seen by Reuters on Saturday.
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| Generators Arrive as 10,000 Tourists Evacuate North Carolina Islands Posted: 29 Jul 2017 11:53 AM PDT  A man-made power outage — not an approaching hurricane — forced 10,000 tourists to flee two North Carolina islands
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| How Different Is Obesity From Overweight Posted: 30 Jul 2017 05:00 AM PDT  Noticing that you are gaining weight may not always mean that you are obese.
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| The Latest: US Navy says Iran sea encounter "professional" Posted: 29 Jul 2017 11:01 AM PDT ![The Latest: US Navy says Iran sea encounter "professional"]( "The Latest: US Navy says Iran sea encounter \"professional\"") TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Latest on Iran-US relations (all times local):
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| Apple removes some VPN services from Chinese app store Posted: 30 Jul 2017 07:40 AM PDT  Apple has removed software allowing internet users to skirt China's "Great Firewall" from its app store in the country, the company confirmed Sunday, sparking criticism that it was bowing to Beijing's tightening web censorship. Chinese internet users have for years sought to get around heavy internet restrictions, including blocks on Facebook and Twitter, by using foreign virtual private network (VPN) services. Beijing mandated in January that all developers must obtain government licenses to offer VPNs, leading to the Apple decision.
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| The 12 Most Beautiful Highways for Road Trips Posted: 31 Jul 2017 07:52 AM PDT |
| IS claims attack on Iraq embassy in Kabul Posted: 31 Jul 2017 01:51 AM PDT  The Islamic State group claimed it had attacked the Iraqi embassy in Kabul Monday, as a series of explosions and the sound of gunfire shook the Afghan capital in a continuing assault. A security source told AFP that a suicide bomber had blown himself up outside the Iraqi embassy. Two members of "the Islamic State attack the Iraqi embassy building in the Afghan city of Kabul", said the jihadist group's propaganda agency Amaq without providing further details.
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| Russia shows off its largest warships at Navy Day parade as tensions with West heighten Posted: 30 Jul 2017 06:38 AM PDT  Forty warships and submarines, including two of Russia's largest nuclear-powered vessels, were on show at the Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg on Sunday, the biggest naval show Russia has put up in recent years. Attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the parade was described by the state-run media as "the first principle naval parade in the newest Russia history." The event comes amid heightened tensions with the West, on the heels of the US Senate approving new sanctions against Russia, and is aimed at reminding the rest of the world that Russia is a maritime force the be reckoned with. Defence minister Sergei Shoigu, president Vladimir Putin, and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia at a Navy Day reception Credit: Alexei Nikolsky\\TASS via Getty Images Russia's history is marked by numerous victories of the country's "fearless navy," Mr Putin said at the parade. "The country's status as a mighty maritime power was earned by the courage of seamen and navy officers," he said. "Today the navy not only tackles tasks traditional for it – it also rises to new challenges and contributes to the fight against terrorism and piracy," Mr Putin said at the parade. The event featured the flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet, the nuclear-powered battlecruiser Petr Veliky, and the last of Russia's Soviet-built Typhoon-class nuclear missile submarines, the Dmitry Donskoi. Both were designed in the Soviet Union for long-range, deep-water operations and both are the largest of their kind in the world. The Chuvashia missile boat is seen on Neva river Credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Petr Veliky is an active duty combat vessel. It weighs in at up to a reported 28,000 tons displacement. Dmitry Donskoi, currently not an active duty combat vessel, belongs to the largest class of nuclear missile submarines ever built, the Typhoon class. Those submarines were decommissioned in the 1990s and 2000s. The Donskoi currently serves for testing new submarine-launched nuclear missiles, as well as training new crews. The two legendary vessels paraded alongside newly built ones, such as frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Marakov. There were many other new ships on display, says Andrei Frolov, editor in chief of the Russian magazine Export Vooruzheny ("Arms Export"). "We saw peak concentration of the new vessels, the ones built in the post-Soviet era, and that made this year's parade stand out," Mr Frolov told The Telegaph. A Russian Navy's minesweeper Kovrovets fires missiles Credit: REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov The expert pointed out that this year's Naval Day parade was hardly the first one in Russia's history. There were at least two of them in the 1990s, and several of them in the 2010s in different Russian cities. The scale and the pomp of this year's parade was down to the looming 2018 presidential election and Mr Putin's campaign. "There is no big anniversary or any other memorable date this year" that could warrant such grandeur, he says. In addition, a little more than a week earlier, Mr Putin signed the new naval doctrine that outlines government policies regarding the country's navy up to 2030. According to Mr Frolov, the document mostly consists of "slogans" rather than concrete decisions and is aimed at protecting the navy from potential funding cuts. Russian servicemen take part in the Navy Day celebrations in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol Credit: REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov The government is currently working on the next phase of the State Armament Program, covering 2018-2025, and the navy might fall victim of redistributing funds in favor of aviation and ground forces, Mr Frolov says. "This document is a way of showing the navy that the president is with them," the expert said.
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| Police disrupt plot in Australia to 'bring down an airplane' Posted: 30 Jul 2017 08:05 AM PDT  Australian police disrupted a plot to bring down an airplane and arrested four men in raids on homes in several Sydney suburbs, the prime minister said Sunday.
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| Police Search For Man Who Allegedly Lit His Pregnant Girlfriend on Fire Posted: 30 Jul 2017 01:13 PM PDT  He then fled the scene.
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| Charter Communications says 'no interest' in buying Sprint Posted: 30 Jul 2017 11:53 PM PDT  U.S. cable operator Charter Communications Inc said on Sunday it was not interested in acquiring U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp, leaving the latter's majority owner, SoftBank Group Corp, pondering how to orchestrate a merger. A merger of Charter and Sprint would create a telecommunications powerhouse, providing a one-stop shop for customers looking for internet and mobile phone services, and giving the combined company a stronger footing in creating the infrastructure required for so-called 5G wireless technology. SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son is considering making an acquisition offer for Charter, which has a market capitalization of $101 billion and another $60 billion in debt, as early as this week, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday, in what would be by far the Japanese telecommunications conglomerate's biggest ever deal.
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| White House to Senate: Pass health bill now or else Posted: 30 Jul 2017 04:30 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House stepped up demands Sunday for revived congressional efforts on health care and suggested senators cancel their entire summer break, if needed, to pass legislation after failed votes last week.
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| A Facebook AI Project Developed Its Own Language Posted: 30 Jul 2017 03:19 PM PDT  A recent Facebook research project showed how AI could learn and run on its own.
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| Moroccan king pardons more than a thousand detainees Posted: 29 Jul 2017 06:48 PM PDT  King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Saturday pardoned more than a thousand detainees, some of whom were under arrest for taking part in protests in the troubled northern Rif region, the justice ministry announced. The monarch pardoned a total of 1,178 people, including a number who had joined demonstrations in the northern port city of Al-Hoceima and surrounding area, the ministry said in a statement, issued shortly before King Mohammed made a televised speech to mark 18 years on the throne. The Rif, a predominantly Berber region where Al-Hoceima is located, has been gripped by months of unrest.
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| Who is Charlie Gard, what is the disease he suffered from and what happened in the court case? Posted: 31 Jul 2017 12:14 AM PDT  It has been a heartbreaking legal battle that has captured international attention and drawn offers of support from Donald Trump and the Pope. Now, Charlie Gard has died after his life-support was withdrawn soon after he was moved to a hospice, denying his parents their "final wish" for him to spend his final hours at home. The little boy's parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, had asked for more time with their son after he was transferred from Great Ormond Street Hospital, but High Court judge Mr Justice Francis said doctors could stop providing treatment shortly after 11-month-old arrived at the hospice. Here is everything you need to know about the case. Who is Charlie Gard? Charlie is a 10-month old patient in intensive care at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London. On August 4, 2016, he was born a "perfectly healthy" baby at full term and at a "healthy weight". After about a month, however, Charlie's parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, noticed that he was less able to lift his head and support himself than other babies of a similar age. Chris Gard and Connie Yates with their son Charlie Credit: PA Doctors discovered he had a rare inherited disease - infantile onset encephalomyopathy mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS). The condition causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage. In October, after he had became lethargic and his breathing shallow, he was transferred to the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Why was there a legal fight? Charlie's parents wanted to take him to see specialists in the USA, who had offered an experimental therapy called nucleoside. A crowdfunding page was set up in January to help finance the therapy. Ribbons and hearts tied to trees outside Great Ormond Street Hospital in London by well wishers backing a campaign to allow terminally ill baby Charlie Gard to be treated in America Credit: PA But doctors at GOSH concluded that the experimental treatment, which is not designed to be curative, would not improve Charlie's quality of life. When parents do not agree about a child's future treatment, it is standard legal process to ask the courts to make a decision. This is what happened in Charlie's case. What were the stages of the legal battle? March 3: Great Ormond Street bosses asked Mr Justice Francis to rule that life support treatment should stop. The judge was told that Charlie could only breathe through a ventilator and was fed through a tube. April 11: Mr Justice Francis said doctors could stop providing life-support treatment after analysing the case at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London He concluded that life-support treatment should end and said a move to a palliative care regime would be in Charlie's best interests. Connie Yates leaves the Supreme Court after a panel of three Supreme Court justices on dismissed the couple's latest challenge Credit: PA May 3: Charlie's parents then asked Court of Appeal judges to consider the case. May 23: After analysing the case, three Court of Appeal judges dismissed the couple's appeal two days later. June 8: Charlie's parents then lost their fight in the Supreme Court. Charlie's mother broke down in tears and screamed as justices announced their decision and was led from the court by lawyers. Chris Gard leaves the Supreme Court after it ruled in favour of Great Ormond Street Hospital Credit: PA June 20: Judges in the European Court of Human Rights started to analyse the case after lawyers representing Charlie's parents make written submissions. A European Court of Human Rights spokeswoman said the case would get "priority". "In light of the exceptional circumstances of this case, the court has already accorded it priority and will treat the application with the utmost urgency," she added. Supporters outside the Supreme Court Credit: PA June 27: On Tuesday, European court judges refused to intervene. A Great Ormond Street spokeswoman said the European Court decision marked "the end" of a "difficult process". She said there would be "no rush" to change Charlie's care and said there would be "careful planning and discussion". July 10: Charlie's parents return to the High Court and ask Mr Justice Francis to carry out a fresh analysis of the case. Mr Justice Francis gives them less than 48 hours to prove an experimental treatment works. July 24: Charlie's parents withdraw their request to change the original court order. The baby will have his life support switched off in the next few days. Why was the case back in court? Charlie inherited the faulty RRM2B gene from his parents, affecting the cells responsible for energy production and respiration and leaving him unable to move or breathe without a ventilator. GOSH describes experimental nucleoside therapies as "unjustified" and the treatment is not a cure. The hospital's decision to go back into the courtroom came after two international healthcare facilities and their researchers contacted them to say they have "fresh evidence about their proposed experimental treatment". Charlie's parents have now decided to end their legal battle. Grant Armstrong, the parents lawyer, told the court: "for Charlie it is too late." What did Charlie's parents argue? Richard Gordon QC, who led Charlie's parents' legal team, had told Court of Appeal judges that the case raised "very serious legal issues". Mum of Charlie Gard says five doctors support her 01:33 "They wish to exhaust all possible options," Mr Gordon said in a written outline of Charlie's parents' case. "They don't want to look back and think 'what if?'. This court should not stand in the way of their only remaining hope." Mr Gordon suggested that Charlie might be being unlawfully detained and denied his right to liberty. He said judges should not interfere with parents' exercise of parental rights. Lawyers, who represented Charlie's parents for free, said Mr Justice Francis had not given enough weight to Charlie's human right to life. They said there was no risk the proposed therapy in the US would cause Charlie "significant harm". However, Miss Yates and Mr Gard have now acknowledged that the therapy could not help their son get better. Their lawyer, Grant Armstrong, told the court that the delay in offering treatment to Charlie had meant he had no prospect of getting better. Mr Armstrong said damage to Charlie's muscle and tissue was irreversible. "The parents' worst fears have been confirmed," he said "It is now too late to treat Charlie." Ethics professor: If Charlie Gard was my child I would let him die peacefully 01:22 What did GOSH argue? Katie Gollop QC, who led Great Ormond Street's legal team, suggested that further treatment would leave Charlie in a "condition of existence". She said therapy proposed in the USA was "experimental" and would not help Charlie. "There is significant harm if what the parents want for Charlie comes into effect," she told appeal judges. "The significant harm is a condition of existence which is offering the child no benefit." She added: "It is inhuman to permit that condition to continue." A banner hung on railings outside Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London Credit: PA Ms Gollop said nobody knew whether Charlie was in pain. "Nobody knows because it is so very difficult because of the ravages of Charlie's condition," she said. "He cannot see, he cannot hear, he cannot make a noise, he cannot move." Interventions from Trump and the Vatican While Ms Yates and Mr Gard said they have been boosted by support from US President Donald Trump and the Vatican, a leading expert has described interventions from high-profile figures as "unhelpful". Professor Neena Modi, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said in an open letter that Charlie's situation is "heartbreaking" for his parents, and "difficult" for others including medical staff, but added that even well-meaning interventions from outsiders can be unhelpful. If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2017 The interest of the Pope and Mr Trump in Charlie's case has "saved his life so far", his mother has said. Ms Yates told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on July 10: "Yeah, they have saved his life so far. It turned it into an international issue. "There are a lot of people that are outraged by what is going on. We have got new evidence now so I hope the judge changes his mind." Timeline | Charlie Gard case She said that "sometimes parents are right in what they think" and it is not simply that they do not want to switch off life support. She said the family had seven specialist doctors - two from the US, two from Italy, one from England and two from Spain - supporting them. She added: "We expect that structural damage is irreversible, but I have yet to see something which tells me my son has irreversible structural brain damage." The parents have now acknowledged that the therapy they were seeking could not help their son get better. Their lawyer said the couple felt that continuing their fight would cause Charlie pain.
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| Iranian pilgrims return to haj in Saudi Arabia after boycott last year Posted: 30 Jul 2017 06:48 AM PDT  Nearly 90,000 Iranians are expected to attend the haj in Medina this year, and were due to start arriving on Sunday, after Tehran boycotted the pilgrimage last year amid tensions with Saudi Arabia. Around 800 pilgrims were due to leave Iran on three flights to Medina on Sunday, the director of the haj at Iran's Haj and Pilgrimage Organization, Nasrollah Farahmand told state media. Approximately 86,500 Iranians are expected to attend the haj in total this year and 800 coordinators have traveled to Saudi Arabia to help Iranians during the pilgrimage, he said.
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| Woman Killed On Cruise Ship Mourned Posted: 30 Jul 2017 10:53 PM PDT  Kristy Manzanares' husband was arrested last Tuesday on suspicion of killing his wife on board Alaska-bound Emerald Princess cruise.
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| Nearly 150 smuggled Central American migrants rescued in Mexico Posted: 30 Jul 2017 11:11 AM PDT  Nearly 150 Central Americans being smuggled to the United States were rescued Saturday in Mexico after traveling tightly packed in a poorly ventilated truck. The rescue was initially described by authorities in eastern Veracruz state as a near-tragedy with chilling similarities to an incident last week in Texas in which 10 would-be migrants to the US perished. Authorities said a total of 147 people were found in the town of Tantima in Mexico's Veracruz state.
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| The truth about antibiotics: do you really need to take the full course? Posted: 30 Jul 2017 11:00 PM PDT  James Sutton battled doctors for six weeks to get a ten-day course of amoxicillin for his severe bronchitic chest infection. When he got the antibiotics, they didn't really work and, what's more, he had a major allergic reaction which caused a huge outbreak of hives all over his torso, adding to his misery. "No one seems to know any more what's the right thing to do," says Sutton, a 43-year-old fit and healthy publisher who cycles 18 miles to and from his office every day. "For the past 50 years or more, doctors have been giving us antibiotics and telling us we must make sure we complete the course, then they started rationing them because of antibiotic resistance in the bacteria. Now we're being told that doctors don't really know how to use them either because there hasn't been enough research, and that taking them for too long might be fuelling the rise of infection resistant superbugs." Ten senior scientists trawled medical literature and found that no studies have ever been done to support the 'complete the course' mantra He was referring to last week's report in the British Medical Journal declaring there is absolutely no evidence for the arbitrary lengths of time people are told to take antibiotics, which can range from two to ten days or even longer, and that it might be better for them to stop as soon as they feel better to reduce the global growth of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The report has left many people baffled, and GPs have reported a stream of anxious inquiries from patients who are now unsure whose advice to believe. The report came from a group of 10 senior scientists led by Martin Llewelyn, professor of infectious diseases at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, who have trawled the literature and found no studies have ever been done to support the "complete the course" mantra, which his group says goes against all common sense to stop taking medicines when you're no longer ill, and probably assists the selective development of antibiotic resistant bugs by freeing up space in the body for them to colonise. A group of specialists has called for a change in guidance to prevent people taking pills needlessly Credit: Mike Harrington "There is evidence that in many situations stopping antibiotics sooner is a safe and effective way to reduce antibiotic overuse," the report said. "There are reasons to believe the public will accept that completing the course to prevent resistance is wrong, if the medical profession openly acknowledges that this is so." The BMJ paper repeats a similar publication by Professor Harold Lambert in The Lancet in 1999. "Antibiotic resistance is more likely to be encouraged by longer than by shorter courses," he wrote. It is not clear why the message has taken almost two decades to get through, but it could be that from being a relatively low-level concern, antibiotic resistance and our growing inability to overcome infection, has now become a source of major anxiety. Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies has warned the golden age of effective antibiotics is over Sadly, Professsor Lambert an emeritus professor at St George's hospital medical school, did not live long enough to see his warnings taken seriously. He died in April this year. Only last week, however, a joint report from the European Medicines Agency, Food Safety Authority and Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, showed a worrying increase in resistant superbugs both in humans and in animals destined for meat consumption. Our own chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies has also warned the golden age of effective antibiotics is over. In a speech to the Institute of Actuaries earlier this Spring, she warned that 50,000 deaths a year are already being caused by superbugs in Europe and America. According to a government review published last year, at least 700,000 deaths globally are now caused by treatment-resistant infections, and that number is rising. So what should patients do? James Sutton was so ill he could hardly manage a flight of stairs and had been to the doctors twice before they agreed to give him antibiotics, and it was more than a week after he finished the course before he began to feel any better. In numbers | Antibiotic resistance "Now I'm left wondering if I would have got better on my own anyway, and taking this course of co-amoxiclav (amoxicillin) has just fuelled global antibiotic resistance and triggered an allergy, which means I might not be able to take antibiotics again," he said. While he and other patients may argue that maintaining the status quo without evidence does not make sense, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), which represents Britain's 51,000 family doctors, is sticking firmly to the line that practice should not change until there is evidence. "We cannot advocate widespread behaviour change on the results of just one study," said the RCGP chair Professore Helen Stokes-Lampard. "Recommended courses of antibiotics are not random. They are tailored to individual conditions. The mantra to always take the full course of antibiotics is well-known. Changing this will simply confuse people." Sir Alexander Fleming Credit: Getty She insisted, however, that long courses of antibiotics have been replaced anyway as knowledge has evolved: "Nowadays if a fit, well person comes in with a nasty urinary tract infection, they get a three-day course of antibiotics. That is the standard guidance. Guidance has changed, and it does change quite regularly." In the past few days, however, worried patients have begun queuing up at GP surgeries. "I was very surprised about this publication which goes against everything we have always been told," said Dr Martin Godfrey, a GP in south London. "It has indeed caused a lot of confusion, and we need more definitive guidance about what to say to people. "Lots of patients are now coming in and asking if they should stop taking the tablets because they think they're not doing anything. But the effects of antibiotics do sometimes take a while to kick in, and if people stop taking them too soon, there's a risk of the infection coming back with a vengeance." ABOUT | Antibiotics Dr Godfrey says there is indeed an increase in numbers of people claiming allergies to antibiotics in the same way more of us seem to be allergic to different elements of modern environment, but he warned against making a fuss about minor conditions such as hives. "If you have an antibiotic allergy recorded on your notes, you may not get them when you need them and in general it's worth putting up with something minor to get the benefit of antibiotics." Tim Peto, professor of infectious diseases at Oxford and one of the co-authors of the BMJ study, is also anxious to spell out the position. "We want people to do exactly what their GP tells them, but we want to encourage GPs to give people short courses of antibiotics if they think that's sensible. They might not have done this in the past because of a genuine fear of promoting antibiotic resistance by doing so, but they shouldn't feel pressurised to continue giving people longer courses. Our main message is that." Personalised medicine for everyone may be the answer. "At the moment, we are using antibiotics indiscriminately and hoping they might work," said Professor Colin Garner, a senior pharmacologist who is chief executive of the Antibiotic Research UK network of commercial and university scientists. "We can't even tell if someone has a bacterial infection or a viral one which antibiotics wont work on anyway," he said. "We need DNA fingerprinting so we can analyse infections in one or two hours in the same way we already analyse cancer tumours. That way, we can get the right antibiotic to the right person for the right bug, and do another test afterwards to check its been eliminated." Prof Garner says such technology is expected to become routinely available soon. Whether it can still tackle the new generation of superbugs, however, remains to be seen.
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| British, Belgian royals mark WWI battle centenary in Ypres Posted: 30 Jul 2017 01:45 PM PDT  YPRES, Belgium (AP) — Britain's Prince William and his wife, Kate, on Sunday joined Belgian royals and relatives of soldiers who fought in the Battle of Passchendaele to mark 100 years since the offensive that became a symbol of war's senselessness began.
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| Donald Trump's immigration crackdown 'may have emboldened MS-13 street gang' Posted: 29 Jul 2017 02:13 PM PDT  Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration may be emboldening the transnational street gang MS-13, which the President has vowed to "dismantle, decimate and eradicate". While addressing law enforcement officials on Long Island, New York, the President asserted that previous weak immigration enforcement has allowed the gang to terrorise communities. "And they were all let in here over a relatively short period of time," Mr Trump said.
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| Snake owner calls 911: 'I have a boa constrictor stuck to my face' Posted: 29 Jul 2017 09:58 AM PDT  A snake owner placed a harrowing call to emergency services when her recent rescue wrapped itself around her neck and began biting her face. "I have a boa constrictor stuck to my face," the woman can be heard saying in the 911 call. She later revealed during the call that she had rescued two boa constrictors the day before, adding to her collection of nine — yes nine — ball pythons. Firefighters from the Sheffield Lake Fire Department in Ohio were dispatched to assist the unnamed 45-year-old woman on Thursday, who was found lying in her driveway with a 5-foot boa constrictor around her neck, local CBS affiliate Cleveland 19 reports. SEE ALSO: Uninvited rattlesnake tries to hitch ride on a passing boat, causes panic Cleveland 19 News Cleveland, OH The rescue crew was forced to cut the snaked head off with a pocket knife in order to remove it from the woman's face. She was taken to an area hospital for non life-threatening injuries, and is expected to fully recover from the incident. It's unclear how the constrictor was able to attack the woman, but local reporters discovered an enclosure in the woman's driveway on Friday. Welp. The woman attacked by her pet boa constrictor didn't want to go on camera. This container was in her driveway.https://t.co/gy2L62wTxQ pic.twitter.com/BvEVx445BP — Sia Nyorkor (@TVNewsLady) July 28, 2017 Speaking on the incident, Mayor Dennis Bring said the woman was potentially questioning her pet choices. "I would imagine the bite was very painful so she's gonna have to put up with that while too," Mayor Bring told Cleveland 19. "And now she's gonna have to make a decision on whether she continues to do this." Constrictors kill their prey by stopping the blood flow inside their prey's body — not by asphyxiation, recent research shows. It's unclear if the python that small could have killed the woman, but the mayor credits the fast work of the first responder with saving her life. Adult pythons can grow up to 14 feet in length and are fully are capable of killing a human. WATCH: Glowing beer is a thing thanks to biohacking technology
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| Typhoon injures over 80 in Taiwan, traps dozens Posted: 30 Jul 2017 03:34 AM PDT  A strong typhoon swept across Taiwan on Sunday, injuring more than 80 people, forcing the capital to shut down essential services and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes. Typhoon Nesat, a medium strength typhoon with wind speeds of around 119 km per hour (70 mph), made landfall on Saturday and is expected to lash the island over two days, affecting the south most heavily, according to the Central Weather Bureau. In the capital Taipei, all work and scheduled classes were canceled on Saturday evening and all of Sunday.
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| BMW teases new roadster ahead of Pebble Beach Posted: 31 Jul 2017 02:35 AM PDT  Lots of auto events around the world that started out as something relatively specialized are increasingly being used by major automakers to showcase their new, upcoming production models. BMW has a history of using the sensational Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance event in California to wow crowds and the assembled media with one-off concepts. The car will be revealed on August 17, and BMW grandly claims "the road will never be the same" as a result of it.
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| Exchange of bodies ahead of Syria-Lebanon border plan Posted: 30 Jul 2017 10:24 AM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah and a Syrian affiliate to Al-Qaida exchanged the bodies of dead fighters along the Lebanese-Syrian border on Sunday in the first stage of an agreement to restore order to a contested frontier zone.
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| Two Babies Die in Hot Car Deaths in Phoenix Just One Day Apart Posted: 30 Jul 2017 11:28 AM PDT  Temperatures in Phoenix rose above 100 degrees.
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| Apple Taps LG For iPhones’ OLED Displays Posted: 30 Jul 2017 04:16 PM PDT  A new report is claiming that Apple has invested billions of dollars in LG's OLED displays for its future iPhones.
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| The Final Humiliation of Reince Priebus Posted: 30 Jul 2017 04:40 PM PDT ![The Final Humiliation of Reince Priebus]( "The Final Humiliation of Reince Priebus") Six years ago, a humble party hack from Kenosha, Wisconsin, took on the thankless job of turning around the Republican Party. As he exits the White House—battered, bruised, and humiliated—Reince Priebus argues he accomplished just what he set out to do.
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| Century-old battle in Belgium sums up horrors of World War I Posted: 29 Jul 2017 12:39 PM PDT  YPRES, Belgium (AP) — Dismembered soldiers sucked into cesspools of mud. Shattered tree trunks and the waft of poison gas hovering over the wounded who were awaiting their fates on the scarred soil of Flanders Fields.
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| Pakistan's ex-PM Sharif names brother Shahbaz as successor Posted: 29 Jul 2017 10:08 AM PDT  Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif named his brother Shahbaz, the chief minister of Punjab province, as his successor and nominated ex-oil minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as an interim premier in a defiant speech Saturday. The announcement charts a way forward for Pakistan after the Supreme Court deposed Sharif Friday following an investigation into corruption allegations against him and his family. "I support Shahbaz Sharif after me but he will take time to contest elections so for the time being I nominate Shahid Khaqan Abbasi," Sharif said in a televised speech to his party.
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