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Biogen receives FDA approval for breakthrough ALS treatment: ‘Pivotal moment in ALS research’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

Cambridge-based Biogen has gotten the green light for a breakthrough ALS treatment that targets a devastating, ultra-rare genetic form of the progressive neurodegenerative disease.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday granted approval of Qalsody for the treatment of ALS in adults who have a mutation in the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene. Biogen’s treatment is the first approved treatment to target a genetic cause of ALS.“For more than a decade, Biogen has been steadfast in our commitment to pursuing treatments for ALS, and I want to thank the scientists as well as the entire ALS community who have all worked tirelessly to bring this first-of-its-kind treatment to people with SOD1-ALS,” said Christopher Viehbacher, Biogen’s president and CEO.About 30,000 people in the U.S. have ALS, according to estimates. SOD1-ALS is diagnosed in about 2% of all ALS cases, with about 330 people in the U.S. living with the disease.The FDA approval for the treatm...

Union Station platform construction project to facilitate better GO Transit service progressing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

Various construction projects at Union Station in Toronto have been going on for well more than a decade, but a project at the south end of the rail hub to boost GO Transit train capacity is now fully underway.CityNews recently toured the $560-million Union Station Enhancement Project to get a behind-the-scenes look at the work being done.Located where the old platforms 24/25 and 26/27, those platforms were removed to make way for a new track alignment. As a result of that realignment, there will be two new, wider platforms.“There’s the potential for trains to come in faster to the station,” Michael O’Brecht, a program integration manager at Metrolinx, said when asked why the new platforms are needed.“We’ll be able to have more passengers come onto the platform in order to get onto the trains, we’ll also be able to potentially add additional trains onto those platforms, and we should increase a lot of the safety issues that we may have throughout ...

Yukon government starts funding 40 hours of paid sick leave

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

WHITEHORSE — Yukon is the first jurisdiction in Canada to provide government-funded paid sick leave with a program targeting workers who are most likely to suffer from taking unpaid time off, Premier Ranj Pillai says. Retroactive to April 1, those without paid sick leave through their employer and who are making less than or equal to $33.94 per hour, will qualify for 40 hours of pay over 12 months covered by the government.Pillai said in an interview on Tuesday that the government-funded program supports the private sector in a tight labour market where the territory has among the lowest unemployment rates in the country.“We just felt, as a government, that it was important for us to show that commitment to the private sector, understanding that the private sector in Canada is going to be where the growth is as we see federal government spending start to slow,” he said. The threshold to qualify represents the average Yukon private-sector wage. Pillai said people who make...

Petition calls for tax deadline extension amid federal worker strike

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

There are calls to extend this year’s tax deadline amid a federal public service strike that some say is making it hard to file on time, but experts are still urging Canadians to make every effort to file by May 1.An online petition by Ottawa accountant Eric Saumure calls on Ottawa to push the filing deadline to June 15, from May 1. The Change.org site had collected more than 25,000 signatures by early afternoon Tuesday.Saumure said the job action has reduced staff for a Canada Revenue Agency help line, forcing some callers to wait hours for advice and possibly jeopardizing their ability to file on time.He said lower-income taxpayers who need help but don’t have an accountant would be most vulnerable.“I kind of see this as if you’re writing an exam in school but the professor just doesn’t let you ask questions,” Saumure said.“And if you make a mistake, there’s a penalty. There’s a financial penalty. And so that’s just not fair for Canadians.”About...

Colorado becomes 1st to pass ‘right to repair’ for farmers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Sitting in front of a hulking red tractor, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Tuesday making Colorado the first state to ensure farmers can fix their own tractors and combines with a “right to repair” law — which compels manufacturers to provide the necessary manuals, tools, parts and software.Colorado, home to high desert ranches and sweeping farms on the low-and-level plains, took the lead on the issue following a nationwide outcry from farmers that manufacturers, such as John Deere, blocked them from making fixes and forced them to wait precious days for an official servicer to arrive — waits that imperiled profits.While their increasingly high-tech tractors or combines sit impotent, a hailstorm could decimate a crop or a farmer could miss the ideal planting window, farmers said.“Farmers have had to wait three or four weeks to get repairs done to equipment when they can do repairs themselves. That’s just unfathomable,” said Bill Midcap, whose son is a fifth-g...

Harry Belafonte mourned by entertainment world, Biden, Obama

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction poured in Tuesday from heads of state, civil-rights leaders and the entertainment world following the death of Harry Belafonte at age 96. As a prominent activist, charismatic singer, Hollywood leading man, Broadway star and trailblazing Black entertainer, Belafonte’s loss was felt across a wide swath of American life. ___“Jill and I are saddened by the passing of a groundbreaking American who used his talent, his fame, and his voice to help redeem the soul of our Nation. Harry Belafonte was born to Caribbean parents in Harlem, New York on March 1, 1927, when segregation was the order of American society. To our Nation’s benefit, Harry never accepted those false narratives and unjust boundaries. He dedicated his entire life to breaking barriers and bridging divides. … Harry Belafonte’s accomplishments are legendary and his legacy of outspoken advocacy, compassion, and respect for human dignity will endure. He will be remembered as a great Am...

Parties need detailed info to drop election candidates on security grounds, MPs hear

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

OTTAWA — Directors from past Liberal and Conservative campaigns told a House of Commons committee Tuesday that concerns raised by national security officials would not necessarily be reason enough for them to drop a candidate from their rosters.They testified Tuesday at a meeting of the procedure and House affairs committee, which is probing the issue of foreign interference in Canadian affairs. Pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government has steadily ramped up amid a string of media reports that alleged, citing anonymous sources, that Beijing tried to influence the outcome of the past two federal elections.One such report, published by Global News, alleged that Toronto MP Han Dong benefited from Chinese foreign interference in his successful bid to become the Liberal candidate for his riding in 2019. The report is cited in a lawsuit he has launched against the company, which stands by its reporting. Jeremy Broadhurst, who serves as a senior adviser to Trudeau and m...

New footage from ‘Dune 2,’ ‘Barbie’ unveiled at CinemaCon

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a starry presentation that included Timothée Chalamet, Oprah Winfrey, Zendaya and a first look at “Dune: Part Two,” “Barbie” was no doubt the brightest star of Warner Bros.’ CinemaCon showcase. In fairness, the neon pink might have given her the advantage. It was a splashy presentation for anxious theater owners in Las Vegas from a studio in transition, with new leadership teams in place to oversee films and create a 10-year plan for iconic DC Comics characters like Superman. Within the past year, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy were selected to lead the studio’s film group while James Gunn and Peter Safran stepped in to head DC Studios.Tuesday evening, CinemaCon attendees will be among the first to see “The Flash” (out June 16) — a film that has been the source of extra scrutiny because of star Ezra Miller’s series of arrests and reports of erratic behavior. Miller, who goes by they/them pronouns, said last year that they were pursuing treatment for “co...

Taliban kill mastermind of suicide bombing at Kabul airport

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Taliban have killed the senior Islamic State group leader behind the August 2021 suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport that left 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans dead, according to the father of a Marine killed in the attack who was briefed Tuesday by military officials.Over the weekend, the U.S. military began to inform families of the 11 Marines, the sailor and the soldier killed in the blast at Abbey Gate during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. And those family members shared the information in a private group messaging chat, according to the mother of another Marine.The account from the families to The Associated Press was confirmed by three U.S. officials and a senior congressional aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that had not yet been made public. The IS leader, whose identity has not yet been released, was killed in southern Afghanistan in early April as the Taliban conducted a series of operation...

Joly ‘concerned’ as Azerbaijan escalates Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Armenia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she’s “deeply concerned” about Azerbaijan escalating a long-running dispute with Armenia over a breakaway province by blocking its main access road.Tensions between the two have spiralled in recent months since the Azerbaijan restricted access to the road that connects Armenia with the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.The area is mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, but is internationally recognized as being part of Azerbaijan.In January, the House foreign-affairs committee heard that Azerbaijan had limited access along the only road into the territory, known as the Lachin corridor, although medical services were still granted access.In her first statement this year about the conflict, Joly says a new checkpoint Azerbaijan installed along the road “clearly undermines the peace process and stability throughout the region.”Canada says both countries need to keep talking and stick with the peace process, which...