Month: March 2022

Congress could soon send a bill to the president’s desk that would limit the cost of the life-saving drug insulin to 35 35 a month – a move that could significantly reduce and control the cost of out-of-pocket medication for millions of American diabetics.

The House approved the bill in a 232-193 vote on Thursday, with 12 Republicans joining all Democrats in support.

The bill is now in the Senate, and could be raised in the upper house in a matter of weeks if a bipartisan agreement is reached.

Experts say it costs less than 10 10 to make it, yet American families still pay hundreds of dollars per bottle of insulin, including insurance.

At present, insulin for patients can cost from $ 334 to $ 1,000 a month, according to a report by the 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 37.3 million people in the United States have diabetes, which is about 11% of the US population. Of the approximately 40 million people who have diabetes – about 25% or 7.4 million Americans need insulin. Many people with diabetes are given insulin because their body does not make insulin (type 1 diabetes) or does not use insulin properly (type 2 diabetes).

The bill to cap the cost of insulin was originally part of President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” domestic policy agenda, but since that huge chunk of legislation is stuck in the Senate, lawmakers decided to move unilaterally to this separate bill specifically addressing insulin. .

House Majority Leader Stanny Hoyer told reporters Wednesday that it was “unforgivable” that people were being charged extra for “life-saving and life-saving drugs that cost more.” [have] Has not increased and the cost of research has been eliminated long ago. “

Dan Kildi, a Democratic Republican from Michigan, one of the authors of the House Bill, said, “It’s objectionable that a drop of insulin can cost up to $ 1,000, when it costs just a few dollars to make a drug.”

According to the text of the bill, the cost-sharing amount for a one-month supply of insulin, starting in 2023, will be lower: $ 35, or 25% of the value of a plan in question. The bill does not lower the overall value of insulin; This will probably transfer more of the cost to insurers and employers.

Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.

DALLAS – A Texas woman who said her 3-year-old son was killed in a road-raid shooting has been arrested on child abuse charges, police said Thursday.

Lakravivan Monique Washington, 26, left a handgun in her Sport Utility car where it was accessible to her 2-4 year old children, who were unrestrained, according to a Dallas Police affidavit.

The investigation began Monday when Washington brought his son, Jalexas Washington, to the Medical City of Dallas Hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. The baby died, and the mother told police that she had been shot by an unidentified man during a road-rage shooting.

Investigators found no evidence of road-rage shooting at the mother’s location. But they found a handgun in the glove compartment of Washington’s car, so that no child was disturbed, the affidavit said.

In a follow-up interview, Washington told police that her children were climbing to the front from the back seat when she heard two gunshots and saw her son injured, according to the affidavit.

An autopsy revealed that there was a powder burn around the boy’s wound. This indicates that he was shot at close range and that a roadside shooting was canceled, the affidavit said.

If convicted, he could face up to two years in Washington state prison. He was jailed in Dallas County on Thursday on a 25,000 bond. The court recorded a list of lawyers for him.

WASHINGTON – The House on Thursday passed a bill limiting the monthly cost of insulin for insured patients to $ 35, part of an election-year push by Democrats to reduce the price of prescription drugs amid rising inflation.

Experts say the law, which passed 232-193, would provide significant relief for privately insured patients for the Schimper plan and for those with Medicare enrollment to face rising out-of-pocket costs for their insulin. Some can save hundreds of dollars annually, and all insured patients will benefit from an estimated monthly cost for insulin. The bill will not help the insured.

But affordable insulin will now serve as a political vehicle to rally Democrats and force Republicans who oppose it to vote uncomfortably before the medium term. To pass the law in Congress, 10 Republican senators must vote in favor. Democrats have admitted they have no answer as to how this will happen.

“If 10 Republicans are able to access affordable insulin among the American people, that’s a good question to answer for 10 Republicans,” said Dan Kildi, D-Mitch, co-editor of the House Bill. “Republicans also get diabetes. Republicans die of diabetes. “

Opinion polls have consistently shown support across party lines for congressional action to limit drug spending.

But Republican Kathy McMurray Rogers, R-Wash, complained that the law was only “a small part of a larger package around government price controls for prescription drugs.” Critics say the bill would raise premiums and fail to target pharmaceutical intermediaries seen as contributors. High list price for insulin.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says Democrats could strike a deal on prescription drugs if they drop their bids to approve Medicare for price negotiations. “Do Democrats really want to help seniors, or will they have campaigning problems?” Grassley says.

The Insulin Bill, which will take effect in 2023, introduces a provision in President Joe Biden’s Social and Climate Act for a more comprehensive prescription drug package.

In addition to a similar 35 cap on insulin, Biden Bill will allow Medicare to bargain for the price of various drugs, including insulin. It will penalize drug makers who raise prices faster than inflation and modify the benefits of Medicare prescription drugs to limit out-of-pocket costs for those listed.

Biden’s agenda was passed in the House only to be postponed in the Senate because Democrats could not reach a consensus. Party leaders have not given up hope of reintroducing the law and keeping its drug price controls largely intact.

The idea of ​​a $ 35 monthly cost cap for insulin actually has a two-way genealogy. The Trump administration created a voluntary option for Medicare enrollees to get insulin at 35 35, and the Biden administration has continued to do so.

In the Senate, Maine Republican Susan Collins and New Hampshire Democrat Jean Shaheen are working on a bipartisan insulin bill. Georgia Democratic Sen. Rafael Warnak has introduced similar legislation in the House Bill in support of New York Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Stunned by criticism that Biden’s economic policies are encouraging inflation, Democrats are redoubled in their efforts to show people how to help them spend. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that inflation rose 6.4% in February compared to a year earlier, the largest increase year-on-year since January 1982.

But experts say the House bill will not help the uninsured, who face the most out-of-pocket costs for insulin. Also, people with diabetes often take insulin as well as other medications. This is done to treat diabetes itself, often associated with other serious health conditions. House law will not help with those costs. Collins says he is looking for ways to help uninsured people through his bills.

About 37 million Americans have diabetes and an estimated 6 million to 7 million use insulin to control their blood sugar. It is an old medicine, refined and improved over the years, the price of which has risen steadily.

Steep list prices do not reflect the rate at which insurance plans are negotiated with manufacturers. But the prices on that list are used to calculate the cost-sharing amount that patients owe. Patients who are unable to reduce or avoid their insulin dose have a strategy born out of depression, which can lead to serious complications and even death.

Sherry Glide, an economist at New York University, said the insulin market is a “complete disaster” for many patients, especially those with lazy insurance plans or no insurance.

“This would make personal insurance much more attractive for people with diabetes,” said Glide.

Skippy Foods has announced the voluntary withdrawal of some peanut butter products due to the possibility that a limited number of jars may contain small pieces of stainless steel from pieces of production equipment, according to a statement from the Food and Drug Administration.

Withdrawals include a limited number of Skipy Reduced Fat Cream Peanuts, Skipy Reduced Fat Chunky Peanut Butter Spreads, and a limited number of Skipy Creamy Peanut Butter mixed with plant proteins. Withdrawn items used as of early May 2023.

The products were sold in 18 states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and New York.

To date there have been no consumer complaints and all retailers receiving damaged products have been notified.

Skippy brand peanut butter or any other size, variety or package of peanut butter spread is not included in this recall.

“From our family to you, we want you to know that we take the quality of our products very seriously and apologize to our fans for this situation,” Skippy said in a statement. “Our company is committed to product quality and will continue to invest in our processes to ensure the quality and health of our products.”

Sasha Pejnik of ABC News contributed to this report.

TRIPOLI, Libya – The United States on Thursday returned smuggled artefacts to Libya as the oil-rich Mediterranean country struggles to preserve its heritage amid years of war, unrest and instability.

Among the items returned are two sculptures from the ancient city of Siren dating to the 4th century BC.

According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Libya, a “woman with a veiled head” was previously in the hands of a private collector of other illegal works of art. The other, a Hellenic bust, has been in the New York Metropolitan Museum since 1998, the statement said. Libyan antiquities officials displayed both at a reception in the country’s capital, Tripoli.

Libyan antiquities authorities have thanked American officials and law enforcement agencies for the returned items and said they look forward to future cooperation. The embassy credits the work of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Homeland Security Investigation Officers for retrieving the patterns.

A statement from the embassy said, “Although these antiquities were smuggled into the United States by traffickers, legal efforts have been successful in repatriating them.”

Libya boasts of many ancient Greek and Roman structures, the main museum in its capital Tripoli and other museums across the country have a wealth of antiquities, although its archeological sites have been looted for decades.

Libya has been in turmoil since the fall and assassination of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. The country has for many years been divided between rival administrations in the East and the West, each supported by militias and foreign governments. .

Large-scale fighting has only stopped in the past year, but Libyans have not yet been able to unite under a single political leadership, despite strenuous efforts by the United Nations.

The Greeks settled Sirin near the modern city of Shahat in the 4th century BC, which later became part of the Roman Empire. The United Nations added siren to its list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1982, and it has been classified as a particularly endangered place since 2016 due to neglect and looting.

Washington Governor Jay Insley on Thursday signed into law a law that would create a first-country statewide alert for missing indigenous peoples.

The law creates a system similar to the Amber Alert and the so-called Silver Alert, which is used in many states for missing children and vulnerable adults, respectively.

The system will notify law enforcement if any indigenous people are reported missing. It will also place messages on the Highway Reader Board and on radio and social media, and provide information to the media.

The law seeks to address a crisis of missing Indigenous peoples – especially women – across Washington and the United States. Although it includes missing men, women and children, the law provides a summary of public testimony stating that “the crisis began as a women’s problem and remained primarily a women’s problem.”

A 2021 report by a government surveillance agency found that the actual number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the United States remained unknown due to reporting problems, mistrust of law enforcement, and judicial conflicts. But according to a summary of the current 2021 study by the National Congress of American Indians, Native American women face nearly three times the homicide rate of white women as a whole – and up to 10 times the national average in certain places. More than 80% have experienced violence.

According to a study conducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle, Washington, more than four times as many indigenous women are missing as white women, but in many of these cases there is little or no media attention.

A precautionary measure will help alleviate some of the problems surrounding the investigation of missing Indigenous peoples by allowing better communication between Indigenous, local and state law enforcement agencies and creating a way for law enforcement to identify such cases for other agencies. The law includes the definition of “missing endangered person” for indigenous peoples as well as children and vulnerable adults with disabilities or memory or cognitive impairments.

This measure is the latest step taken by the state to address this issue. The Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force is working to coordinate a statewide response, and its first meeting took place in December. The first report is expected in August.

Many states, from Arizona to Oregon to Wisconsin, have taken recent steps to address the crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women. Efforts include funding for better resources for tribal police to create new databases specifically targeting missing tribal members. Hopi and Las Vegas Piot are among the tribal police agencies that use Amber Alert to track down indigenous children.

In California, the Eurob Tribe and the Sovereign Bodies Institute, an Aboriginal-led research and advocacy group, in their most recent work uncovered a total of 18 cases of missing or killed Native American women in the past year – a number they consider a huge understatement. Approximately 62% of these cases are not listed in the state or federal database for missing persons.

GREENVILLE, SC – A student was shot and taken to hospital after shooting another student at a middle school in South Carolina on Thursday, authorities said.

Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said the teenage shooter was taken into custody near Tanglewood Middle School shortly after the shooting in front of the school.

“He was in hiding. He was a young man, probably not understanding the consequences of what had just happened,” the sheriff told a news conference. “I don’t think he knew what to do without leaving school.

A police officer at the school called during the shooting and requested an emergency backup around 12:30 p.m., and more than 200 deputies and other law enforcement officers rushed to the school, Lewis said.

Greenville County School spokesman Tim Waller said in a statement that the student’s condition was unknown.

Schoolchildren are being taken to nearby Brookwood Church where parents can pick them up, Waller said.

Helicopter footage from WYFF-TV showed dozens of officers lining up more than two dozen buses outside the school. Some students were slowly getting on the bus.

Deputies are still investigating the shooting and don’t know why it happened, said Greenville County School Superintendent Bark Royster.

“I’m not sure that after a thorough and thorough law enforcement investigation anyone will really know what’s going on in the mind of the young man who did this rash,” Royster said.

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to overturn Idaho’s new abortion law.

The law prohibits abortion after heart activity is detected in a fetus, which occurs at about six weeks of gestation. Many women do not know at six weeks that they are pregnant.

According to court documents, the case was filed in the Supreme Court of Idaho on behalf of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky and Dr. Caitlin Gustafson, a healthcare provider who performed abortions at planned parent clinics.

The bill, which goes into effect April 22, was signed by the governor last week, making Idaho the first law model since the Texas abortion ban.

“It should be clear to everyone that the Idaho state legislature deliberately abandoned the rule of law when they passed the six-week abortion ban. Admittedly, this was wrong, “said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in a press release.

Under the plan, the law would allow fetal fathers, grandparents, siblings, uncles or aunts to sue a medical provider who performs the procedure and can collect at least $ 20,000 in rewards for successful claims filed within four years of an abortion. Fatherhood.

The law’s “enforcement process and substance are clearly unconstitutional, so much so that the Idaho Attorney General’s Office has expressed an opinion on the matter, and the governor has emphasized similar concerns when signing,” the lawsuit states.

In a letter to Janice McGuinness, Lieutenant Governor and President of the State Senate, Idaho Governor Brad Little, criticized the bill, saying, “I express my solidarity with all Idaho people who want to save the lives of preterm infants.”

He then added, “Although I support the pro-life policy in this law, I fear that the fancy civil enforcement mechanism will in a short time prove to be both unconstitutional and unconstitutional.”

The plan calls for a parental court to rule that the bill is “illegal and unenforceable” and to bar Idaho courts from pursuing civil cases as the bill allows.

Without the intervention of the court, the law will be enforced, according to the lawsuit, which “destroys the constitutional law of this state and the lives of its citizens.”

“The abortion ban explicitly infringes on patients’ right to privacy. It unjustly and illegally transfers law enforcement to private citizens, violates the separation of powers and allows the plaintiff to sue without violating Idaho’s constitution,” Planned Parenthood said.

Rebecca Jibron, interim CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, added: Compromises rights and our health and safety. “

The lawsuit seeks emergency relief by April 21 to prevent the implementation of the abortion ban before it becomes law.

“Unless the abortion ban is lifted, the Idahoans will see in real time that their government deprives them of the rights they have vowed to protect. Everyone deserves to make their own decisions about their bodies, their families and their lives – and we’re going to make that a reality.” To continue to fight, “said McGill Johnson.

JERUSALEM AND LONDON – The deadly shootings in Israel have raised renewed fears that the security situation is deteriorating as Palestinians approach the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

On Tuesday, a gunman opened fire on civilians on BRAC Street, a town just outside Tel Aviv, killing five people, including an Israeli police officer, before firing on a suspect.

Tuesday’s killing marks the third in a series of unprovoked attacks identified by Israeli authorities as terrorism in just eight days, a wave of violence that has killed 11 people and raised concerns among political leaders and analysts about further attacks.

On Thursday morning, two Palestinians were killed and seven others were injured in an Israeli army operation in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. In response to Jenin’s attack, the head of Islamic Jihad has ordered all forces to be on high alert.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who warned of escalating violence in Israel just 24 hours before Benny BRAC’s shooting, condemned the attack.

“We strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack on Beni Brack in Israel, which killed five innocent people,” Blinken said. “It comes after two more recent terrorist attacks in Hadera and Bey Sheva in Israel. This violence is unacceptable. Israelis – like people all over the world – should be able to live in peace and without fear. Our hearts go out to the families of those killed in the attack. “

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has vowed to respond strongly to recent terrorist attacks.

“Israel is facing a wave of murderous Arab terrorism,” he said. “My heart goes out to the families of those who lost loved ones tonight, and I pray for the well-being of the injured. The security forces are working. We will. No, we will win. “

Nine Israelis and two Ukrainians have been killed in three separate attacks by authorities since March 22. Earlier attacks were carried out by Arab nationals. The suspect on Tuesday was a Palestinian, a resident of the occupied West Bank, who was living in Israel illegally.

Hamas, the militant group in charge of the Gaza Strip, has described the latest attack as “heroic” but has not officially claimed responsibility. Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the killing of Israeli citizens and warned against retaliation targeting the Palestinian people.

In response to the violence, 3,000 Israeli police will be deployed in Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan, according to Israeli TV Channel 12.

On Wednesday, Bennett announced new security measures and called on all licensed Israelis to start carrying weapons, adding to the tense situation.

This is the highest number of casualties since 2015. Different then, however, when most of the attacks were identified as “lone wolf” knife attacks on Jerusalem and the West Bank, the latest attack in Israel was carried out boldly in large cities in the center of the country using automatic weapons.

The second of a trio of recent attacks took place in Hedra, led by two men reported to have received training in Syria. The apparent rise of some Islamic State groups’ sleeper cells, their ability to carry out such attacks and their ability to infiltrate the Palestinian community inside Israel and find recruits to carry out such attacks, marks a change in the security situation, analysts say.

The attacks came as a surprise to many observers, with some noting that issues that came to the fore during the conflict between Israel and Gaza in May 2021 remained unresolved.

Inheriting Arab states normalizing relations with Israel, there is a perception among analysts that hopes for a peace deal are fading – and without that hope there is a threat of more violence.

Israel’s “Nationality Bill”, enacted in 2018, which redefined Israel as a nation-state for the Jewish people, has also proved controversial for the estimated 2 million Arabs living abroad and at home. There are fears that the increase could spark violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank and lead to a repeat of the 2021 war.

And it charges days like Wednesday to commemorate Earth Day or Saturday, the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, and does not address complaints, which could tip the scale towards a new wave of violence.

Conner Finagan of ABC News contributed to this report

The Justice Department has charged nine anti-abortion protesters with conspiracy to obstruct access to a woman’s reproductive health facility in Washington, D.C. in October 2020, according to a sealed complaint on Wednesday afternoon.

Prosecutors say Lauren Handy, Jonathan Darnell, J. Smith, Paula Harlow, Jean Marshall, John Heinz, Heather Idoni, William Goodman and Joan Bell all attacked the anonymous health center on October 22, 2020 and set up a blockade to prevent patients from receiving it. Did. Abortion and other reproductive health services.

All have been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit civil rights and obstruction of clinic access. If convicted, each could face up to 11 years in prison. Attorneys for each defendant were not listed in their court docket until Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police Department raided a home where Handy, a prominent anti-abortion activist who had previously faced state charges for protesting a similar clinic in Michigan, told WUSA. In Michigan, the allegations were dropped due to lack of evidence.

Police said they were working on a tip that contained bio-hazardous material in the home.

Authorities found five fetuses in the home, the department said. “After further investigation, MPD found five fetuses inside a residence at the location,” the MPD said in a statement. “The embryos were collected by the DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.”

Handy told WUSA that he hoped the expedition would “sooner or later.”

According to the complaint, everyone went to DC to take part in the blockade on Handy’s instructions. The team calls themselves Red Rose Rescue; During their demonstrations at the clinic, they usually hand out red roses to the women in the clinic’s waiting room.

According to the complaint, Handy called the clinic a few days before their protest, telling them that he had a woman named Hazel Jenkins who needed care and made an appointment for the morning of October 22, according to the complaint.

While at the DC Clinic, prosecutors said protesters blocked two doors using their bodies, furniture, chains and ropes while broadcasting their activities live on Facebook.

Darnell started the livestream by saying, “We have people physically interfering with their bodies so that women can’t enter the clinic to kill their children,” the complaint said.