U.S. arrests of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants plummet

 The number of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border dropped off dramatically from December to January following new rules that expel them back to Mexico, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

U.S. authorities encountered a daily average of just 115 migrants from those countries over a week-long period ending on Jan. 24, down from an average 3,367 in the week to Dec. 11, a 97% drop, DHS said on Wednesday.

The department attributed the decrease to the expansion of a public health order known as Title 42, which was first implemented by Republican former President Donald Trump to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as expanded legal pathways to enter the United States.

On Jan. 5, the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden announced that migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua would be expelled to Mexico without the chance to seek U.S. asylum under Title 42. Mexico had previously accepted mostly Mexicans, some Central Americans and, more recently, Venezuelans.

Reuters reported last week that overall border arrests dropped in January following the new policies.

Biden, who intends to seek reelection in 2024, has struggled both operationally and politically with record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

His move to expand the Trump-era program has angered some immigration advocates and Democratic lawmakers who point to his pledge to reverse the Republican's hardline border policies.

Biden's administration has coupled the expulsions with new legal pathways for migrants who enter by air and who have U.S. sponsors. Under the new program, up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela may enter the United States per month with a two-year temporary humanitarian "parole."

About 1,700 people from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua have arrived in the United States through the program in recent weeks, with thousands more approved for travel, a senior administration official said on Wednesday during a call with reporters. Venezuelans have been eligible for such entry since October.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-arrests-cuban-haitian-nicaraguan-212143564.html

Myanmar opium cultivation surging under military rule - UN report

 Opium cultivation in military-ruled Myanmar jumped 33% last year, reversing a six-year downward trend in the strife-torn country, a United Nations report said on Thursday.

The growth was "directly connected" to the political and economic turmoil in Myanmar since the military took power in a coup nearly two years ago, an official at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.

"Economic, security and governance disruptions that followed the military takeover of February 2021 have converged, and farmers in remote, often conflict-prone areas... have had little option but to move back to opium," said Jeremy Douglas, the UNODC's regional representative.

Myanmar's economy has declined since the coup, with the kyat currency plummeting against the dollar and food and fuel prices spiralling upwards.

"Without alternatives and economic stability it is likely that opium cultivation and production will continue to expand," warned UNODC Myanmar country manager Benedikt Hofmann.

The cultivated area in 2022 expanded by a third to 40,100 hectares (99,000 acres), while the average estimated yield rose 41% to nearly 20 kg (44 lb) per hectare, the highest value since the UNODC started keeping records in 2002, the report said.

The eastern Shan State, which borders China, Thailand and Laos, saw the biggest increase in cultivation, at 39%.

The 2021 report primarily used satellite data to determine cultivated area.

The value of opium produced annually in Myanmar can reach up to $2 billion, with much of the drug smuggled out to neighbouring countries and on to the global market, the report added.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/myanmar-opium-cultivation-surging-under-041457383.html

EU wants to send more migrants away as irregular arrivals grow

 European Union ministers on Thursday sought ways to curb irregular immigration and send more people away as arrivals rose from pandemic lows, reviving controversial ideas for border fences and asylum centres outside of Europe.

EU border agency Frontex reported some 330,000 unauthorised arrivals last year, the highest since 2016, with a sharp increase on the Western Balkans route.

"We have a huge increase of irregular arrivals of migrants," Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told talks among the 27 EU migration ministers. "We have a very low return rate and I can see we can make significant progress here."

Denmark, the Netherlands and Latvia were among those to call for more pressure through visas and development aid towards the roughly 20 countries - including Iraq and Senegal - that the EU deems fail to cooperate on taking back their nationals who have no right to stay in Europe.

Only about a fifth of such people are sent back, with insufficient resources and coordination on the EU side being another hurdle, according to the bloc's executive.

The ministerial talks come ahead of a Feb. 9-10 summit of EU leaders who will also seek more returns, according to their draft joint decision seen by Reuters.

"The overall economic malaise makes countries like Tunisia change from a transit country to a country where locals also want to go," said an EU official. "That changes things. But it's still very manageable, especially if the EU acts together."

'WALLS AND FENCES'

That, however, is easier said than done in the bloc, where immigration is a highly sensitive political issue and member countries are bitterly divided over how to share the task of caring for those who arrive in Europe.

The issue has become toxic since more than a million people crossed the Mediterranean in 2015 in chaotic and deadly scenes that caught the bloc off guard and fanned anti-immigration sentiment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/eu-wants-send-more-people-050221859.html

Biden to court wealthy donors as he preps 2024 campaign

 U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a number of fundraisers with wealthy Democratic donors in coming weeks as part of his expected bid to return to the White House in 2024, according to three sources familiar with the plans.

Biden and the Democratic National Committee will host fundraisers in New York and Philadelphia next week that coincide with official presidential visits touting legislative successes. Then, the pace and volume of the fundraisers are expected to accelerate in March, the three sources said.

"We have been told to expect fundraising to ramp up in the March and April time frame," said one donor who helped Biden raise money in 2020 and is committed to doing the same this time around.

Biden has yet to officially say he is running for re-election, but he is expected to announce his bid in the weeks after the State of the Union speech scheduled for February 7.

The fundraising kickoff will focus on high-dollar donors as the campaign seeks to raise a war chest of a better part of a billion dollars, for what is expected to be the most expensive presidential campaign in history.

Biden's campaign in 2020 was the first presidential candidate in history to raise over $1 billion, as he battled Republican Donald Trump.

The Democratic National Committee will also need to raise money to help defend a tough congressional map in 2024 that includes defending Senate seats in Ohio, West Virginia, Arizona and Montana.

Outside groups raised another $580 million for Biden in 2020. Aides are divided over whether to rely on a super-PAC this time around for outside help, and, if so, which one, sources tell Reuters.

Biden will need to turn to the same Wall Street and tech industry donors his administration has sometimes demonized, and who have at times felt ignored and passed over for international ambassadorships.

The upcoming fundraising effort represents an early test of enthusiasm for a Biden re-election effort, and an early endurance test for an 80-year-old president who will have to balance the rigors of the White House with that of the campaign trail.

In 2020, the COVID pandemic forced Biden to stay off the campaign trail and raise money through virtual fundraisers. This time around, Biden will be forced to run a more traditional campaign that includes a mix of official presidential duties, campaign stops and fundraising events.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/biden-court-wealthy-donors-preps-131555460.html

FDA OKs Abbott Spinal Cord Stimulation for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

  Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Proclaim™ XR spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system to treat painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), a debilitating complication of diabetes. The Proclaim XR SCS system can provide relief to DPN patients in need of alternatives to traditional treatment approaches, such as oral medication. People who receive therapy from the Proclaim XR SCS system will also be able to use Abbott's NeuroSphere™ Virtual Clinic, a connected care app that allows people to communicate with a physician and receive treatment adjustments remotely.

Roughly 34.2 million Americans, or 10.5% of the U.S. population, have diabetes.³ Diabetic neuropathy, one of the complications of diabetes, is a type of damage seen predominately in nerves running to the feet.⁴ During their lifetime, approximately 50% of adults with diabetes will develop peripheral neuropathy, which may include symptoms such as pain and numbness in the legs, feet and hands.⁵

Currently, there are no disease modifying treatments for DPN, only symptom management and behavioral modifications to mitigate further nerve damage that can result from high blood sugar (glucose) levels.⁶ Spinal cord stimulation is a non-opioid approach that has been used for more than 50 years to help manage chronic pain and is proven to be more effective than conventional medical management in the treatment of this type of chronic pain.^1,2 As a global leader in diabetes care, Abbott is committed to bringing life-changing solutions, including diagnostics, nutritionals, medicines and medical devices such as spinal cord stimulation to help better the lives of people living with diabetes.

Approved for the treatment of chronic pain in 2019, the Proclaim XR SCS system now offers DPN patients relief from chronic pain by delivering low amounts, or doses, of stimulation. Unlike other SCS systems that require frequent charging sessions to maintain therapy, the Proclaim XR SCS system provides hassle-free pain relief with a battery that lasts up to 10 years at low-dose settings.^§ People experiencing DPN can engage with their healthcare provider to be referred to a pain management specialist or spine surgeon to discuss the details of this treatment to determine the best course of care.  

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/fda-approves-abbott-s-spinal-cord-stimulation-for-people-living-with-painful-diabetic-peripheral-neuropathy/

F-Star: Buyer doesn't see deal feasible

 F-star Therapeutics plunged  on a report that the buyer of the company doesn't expect a favorable outcome from Chinese regulators.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3928469-f-star-therapeutics-tumbles-on-report-buyer-doesnt-expect-cfius-approval

DexCom started at Outperform by Wolfe

 Target $121

https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=DXCM&p=d