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Friday, December 1, 2023

38 Lawmakers Leaving Congress In 2024 (Twice As Many Democrats As Republicans)

 by Mark Tapscott via The Epoch Times,

Nearly 40 Congressional lawmakers aren't seeking reelection in 2024... and most of them are Democrats...

Twenty-one House Democrats are opting out of another term compared to 11 Republicans. On the Senate side, six senators, four Democrat and two Republican, said they're leaving public office, and one has opted to pursue a state governorship.

In comparison to the 38 lawmakers departing Congress so far this cycle, only 24 lawmakers retired before the 2022 election. Twenty-seven had done so before the 2020 election and 31 in 2018, according to Ballotpedia.

A spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which serves the same purpose for House Democrats as the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) does for House Republicans, didn't respond to The Epoch Times' request for comment.

David Carlucci, a veteran New York state Democratic legislator and campaign consultant with a growing client list, described the wave of Democratic departures as partly attributable to "a normal confluence of events that happens where you have members leaving Congress."

"Usually, the party that is not in power, you find that there are resignations from Congress," he said. "If you are in power and you have chairmanships, you stick it out."

Mr. Carlucci cautioned against ascribing too much significance to the retirement imbalance, noting that, for example, three of the 21 departing Democrats are members of the California delegation and are announced candidates for the Senate seat of the deceased former Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

House Democrats rally on the East Steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 13, 2023. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The three include Reps Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Ms. Porter is serving her third term in the House, while Mr. Schiff and Ms. Lee are long-serving veterans of 11 and 12 terms, respectively. Mr. Schiff and Ms. Lee represent safe Democratic districts, while Ms. Porter's district is competitive, being targeted by both the NRCC and the DCCC in 2024.

Republicans have a ready explanation for the imbalance of retirees that's centered on Mr. Biden's mounting problems with voters.

“A civil war in their caucus over support for Israel, a historically unpopular president, and an inexperienced [House Minority] leader in Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) begs the question, why stay? Combine that with the climb out of the minority getting steeper by the day, House Democrats are smart to make a mad dash for the exits,” NRCC national press secretary Will Reinert told The Epoch Times.

The NRCC is the command center of GOP efforts to defend and expand the party's narrow four-seat majority in the November 2024 elections.

Courtney Parella, communications director for the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), told The Epoch Times that Democrats are "looking for the exits," thanks to “a historically unpopular president, a toxic and damaging agenda, and an unfavorable political environment."

Ms. Parella said that "as Democrats continue to lose some of their top fundraisers in the House, several now-open seats have quickly become even better pickup opportunities for Republicans and remain pivotal to growing the majority in 2024.”

 

(L–R) Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Rep. Pete Aguilar, (D-Calif.), and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) arrive as the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its last public meeting in the Canon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 19, 2022. (Photo by Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)

The CLF is a political action committee that describes itself as "the only outside group to have the endorsement of the entire House Republican leadership."

"The CLF supports Republican candidates for the House of Representatives and counters the efforts of well-funded left-wing groups seeking to elect liberals to Congress," it stated.

Mr. Carlucci said the increasing partisan rancor in Congress specifically and more generally throughout American politics is a factor that's motivating representatives to opt out of reelection bids.

"I think there is something to the fact that politics is changing. It's always changing but now more rapidly than ever. We have seen the decorum in Congress degraded, at least to us watching it through cable TV. I'm sure there have always been side comments and digs, but now it has spilled over to a former Speaker of the House elbowing a colleague or a sitting senator challenging a witness to fight in a Senate hearing," he said.

Mr. Carlucci referred to recent incidents in the Capitol in which former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was alleged to have elbowed Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) in the back and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) challenged a union leader during a Senate hearing to make good on his previously tweeted threats of physical violence.

Mr. Carlucci also suggested that in the case of long-serving members, there's a growing incentive "after a distinguished career to pack it in because the style of politics now is one where the electorate does not really reward results; it's much more driven by the theater."

Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) talks to reporters inside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 2, 2023. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

National Republican strategist Jimmy Keady said a significant factor in the retirement imbalance is that Democrats are having difficulty recruiting quality candidates.

“Candidate quality matters for all levels of government. What we are seeing is a Democratic Party with a deficiency of quality candidates who can win in highly competitive races. Instead of recruiting from the outside, the Democratic Party is having to recruit from their own ranks, jeopardizing their control of competitive districts across the country,” Mr. Keady told The Epoch Times.

“We just saw this in Virginia where Del. Kim Taylor was a key recruit for Virginia Republicans, and she won reelection in a Biden+11 district. Republicans are focused on pulling leaders outside of the beltway to run in these districts, and based on retirements so far, Democrats are going to have a hard time keeping up."

In addition to Mr. Schiff, Ms. Lee, and Ms. Porter, House Democrats leaving to pursue Senate seats include Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Colin Allred (D-Texas), David Trone (D-Md.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Andy Kim (D-N.J.).

Other House Democrats who are retiring to pursue another political office include Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.), who hopes to be elected state attorney general; Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.); a Virginia gubernatorial candidate; Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), who's running for mayor of Houston; and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) who's seeking the presidency.

 

Members-elect of the 118th Congress leave the House Chamber after three ballots failed to elect a new speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 3, 2023. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Retiring House Democrats who aren't seeking other offices include California Reps. Anna Eshoo, Grace Napolitano, and Leo Cardenas; Michigan Rep. Dale Kildee; Virginia Rep. Jennifer Wexton; Washington Rep. Derek Kilmer; Maryland Rep. John Sarbanes; and Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer.

House Republicans who are departing to seek a different political office include Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), both of whom are Senate candidates, and Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), who's a candidate for state attorney general.

Retiring House Republicans include Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, Reps. Kay Granger and Michael Burgess of Texas, and Reps. Brad Wenstrup and Bill Johnson of Ohio. New York's Rep. George Santos is expected to be expelled from Congress imminently as a result of a scathing House Ethics Committee report.

Senate Democrat retirees include Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Tom Carper of Delaware, LaPhonza Butler of California, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Republican Senate retirees include Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Mike Braun of Indiana, who's running for governor of the Hoosier state.




 

2nd approval to Eli Lilly's drug for type of blood cancer

 Eli Lilly said on Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave a second approval for its drug Jaypirca, which is used to treat a form of blood cancer.

The company said the health regulator gave the new approval to the drug for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many of certain white blood cells.

Jaypirca was first given accelerated approval by the FDA on Jan. 27 for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a rare type of blood cancer that starts in white blood cells and spreads to other parts of the body.

MCL is a more aggressive form of cancer compared to CLL, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The drug aims to treat adults with CLL after at least two lines of therapy.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-fda-gives-second-approval-230851630.html

CENTENE: ARIZONA COMPLETE HEALTH GETS STATEWIDE LTC MEDICAID CONTRACT

  Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), a leading healthcare enterprise committed to helping people live healthier lives, announced today that its subsidiary, Arizona Complete Health, the largest Medicaid health plan in Arizona, has been selected by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) – Arizona's single state Medicaid agency – to provide managed care for the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS). The program supports nearly 26,000 Arizonans who are elderly and/or have a physical disability (E/PD) with physical and behavioral healthcare, as well as provides pharmacy benefits.

The ALTCS-E/PD contract will begin on Oct. 1, 2024, and is a three-year term with four optional one-year extensions, for a total of seven possible contract years.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/centene-subsidiary-arizona-complete-health-awarded-statewide-long-term-care-medicaid-contract-302003741.html

Semaglutide and Tirzepatide may reduce alcohol consumption in individuals with obesity

 Alcohol use disorder (AUD) contributes significantly to global mortality. GLP-1 and GLP-1/GIP agonists have been authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to manage obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Animal studies have reported that GLP-1 agonist molecules can effectively reduce alcohol intake; however, scientific evidence on the impact of GLP-1/GIP agonists on alcohol intake is scarce.

About the study

In the present study, researchers investigated whether semaglutide or tirzepatide medications reduced alcohol intake and the impact of the self-reported effects of alcohol among those consuming the medicines (intervention group) compared to those who were not (control group).

The researchers conducted two studies to investigate the impact of glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists on alcohol consumption. The first research entailed scanning Reddit social media deliberations about GLP-1 agonist medications with a machine-learning-based attribution mapping technique to identify the main themes and alcohol-related postings.

The researchers visualized optimal clusters using the Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) approach and a random forest (RF)-based binary classifier to comprehend the underlying characteristics and their weights.

The second research included a survey of 153 individuals with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher who drank alcohol and self-documented using tirzepatide or semaglutide for at least 30 days.

The researchers evaluated the subjects’ previous and current self-reports related to alcohol use and its effects. The researchers used the validated remote timeline followback (TLFB) instrument to assess inter-individual variations in alcohol intake.

The team also utilized the binomial distribution of binge drinking to assign individuals a binge drinking score of 0 or 1 (five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women).

Furthermore, they investigated ways in which the impact of alcohol use was altered among individuals who were prescribed tirzepatide or semaglutide in comparison to those who were not.

Results

The study examined social media comments about medicine, diabetes, obesity, weight loss, healthcare, and pharmacy. Diabetes, weight, dosage, insurance, and pharmacy were the most weighted features. The majority of alcohol-related entries were over-enriched in two clusters: "weight loss and obesity" (n=439) and "medication effects" (n=826).

In total, 962 individuals made 1,580 alcohol-related contributions, with 72% addressing decreased urges, decreased consumption, and other negative repercussions of drinking. Most positive correlations observed between clusters showed a rise in concurrent talks related to all identified themes.

The most noteworthy negative association was observed between "medication effects," "insurance and coverage," and "dose-related" talks, showing a trend away from discussing the effects of drugs and toward seeking information about dosages and obtaining medications via insurance.

The research participants were predominantly white women in their forties, educated for an average of 15 years, and had a BMI of approximately 35. Tirzepatide or semaglutide participants reported median doses of 7.50 mg, whereas the median dose for Wegovy or Ozempic participants was 1.0 mg.

Participants drank much more alcohol on weekends compared to weekdays, and those with obesity taking tirzepatide or semaglutide consumed significantly less alcohol and showed lower probabilities of binge drinking than their non-diabetic or non-obese peers.

AUD Identification Test (AUDIT) scores reduced when individuals began taking their current dose of Tirzepatide or Semaglutide, and drinks per episode of frequent usage decreased dramatically after participants started taking their medication.

There was no dose-dependent change in average drinks or AUDIT scores in the drug groups, although there was a visible downward trend in the Tirzepatide group.

The repeated measures analysis demonstrated a statistically significant main-time impact on stimulative and sedative effects before and during drug administration. The control group differed considerably from the current time point for both drugs, but not from before commencing each medication. The findings indicate that when taking these drugs, the consequences of alcohol intoxication, notably the stimulative and sedative effects, were minimized.

Conclusions

Overall, the study findings provided initial real-world evidence of lowered alcohol intake among obese individuals receiving tirzepatide or semaglutide medicines, showing potential efficacy for AUD treatment among obese individuals.

Furthermore, individuals using Semaglutide or Tirzepatide had a lower mean number of drinks, binge drinking, AUDIT score, and the sedative/stimulating effects of alcohol. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that GLP-1 agonist medicines cause a decrease in alcohol consumption.

Further research, including randomized controlled trials, is required to investigate the therapeutic potential of GLP-1 agonists and GIP/GLP-1 combination medicines for treating AUD.

Journal reference:

Appeals court partially stops Biden rollback of fed funded abortion curb

 A divided federal appeals court struck down some Biden administration rules regarding the Title X family planning program, but will continue to allow health providers who refer patients for abortion to apply for federal funding. 

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit panel in a 2-1 ruling on Thursday granted a preliminary injunction that blocks the Biden administration from rolling back a Trump-era restriction requiring recipients of Title X grants to maintain “strict financial and physical separation” between the grant recipient and any entity providing abortions. 

The restriction means that family planning clinics like Planned Parenthood must have different buildings, staff and billing systems if they want to provide abortions and still receive federal funding. Those providers must foot the bill for the separate services. 

Though limited, the ruling likely creates confusion around the future of the program in states where providers for low-income patients are already stretched thin. 

Judge Joan Larsen, appointed by President Trump, was joined in the majority by Judge Amul Thapar, another Trump appointee. 

Judge Karen Nelson Moore, appointed by former President Clinton, concurred with the majority’s conclusion on the referral rule, and dissented on the separation provision.  

But the injunction only applies in Ohio, even though 11 other GOP-led states joined the lawsuit. According to the court, Ohio was the only state to show it was harmed by the Biden administration’s rule change — the state said it lost one-fifth of its Title X funds in 2022, due to Planned Parenthood resuming its participation in the program, and taking some of those government grants.

The court also left intact a provision of the rule that requires Title X projects make abortion referrals upon request. 

Title X is the only federal program that provides money for family planning services. Title X funds thousands of providers across the country offering contraception, cancer screenings and other services to millions of low-income women and men.  

Advocates argue Title X disproportionately serves Black, Latino and Indigenous patients, as well as patients with low incomes and those who live in rural areas. 

In 2019, the Trump administration changed the rules of the program by disqualifying family planning clinics that provided abortions in the same location. It also effectively prohibited clinics that referred patients for abortions from receiving federal funding.  

The changes decimated the program. 

After the rules took effect, about one-quarter of nearly 4,000 providers left the program, including Planned Parenthood affiliates, who served about 40 percent of the program’s patients. 

As a result, several states were left with no Title X providers. The number of patients served fell from 3.9 million in 2018 to 1.5 million in 2020, according to health policy research group KFF. 

Reproductive health advocacy groups had mixed reactions. 

Planned Parenthood Action Fund called it “yet another attack on reproductive freedom” following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

But Clare Coleman, President and CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), called the ruling a “win for the Title X” program. 

“This ruling is surprisingly good news, albeit with some unclear implications for Ohio and the network down the road,” Coleman said in a statement. 

“The bottom line is that today’s decision keeps the Biden administration’s rule fully in effect and has no immediate impact on the full network – that should bring welcome relief for patients and providers alike.” 

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4337874-appeals-court-partially-stops-biden-rollback-family-planning-restrictions/

EMA's safety committee recommends label update for certain decongestants

 The European Medicines Agency's (EMA) safety committee on Friday recommended changes to product information for all medicines that contain the ingredient pseudoephedrine to address safety concerns related to neurological and heart-related side effects.

The health regulator started a review of decongestant medicines for cold and flu in February, after reports of conditions affecting blood vessels in the brain in some patients who took pseudoephedrine-containing medicines.

The committee recommends inclusion of risks related to the neurological conditions in the product information and warns it should not be used in certain patients with high blood pressure.

Pseudoephedrine is a drug used alone or in combination with other medicines to treat a blocked nose due to cold, flu or allergy.

Makers of pseudoephedrine-containing drugs include Reckitt Benckiser, McNeil Products Ltd and Organon & Co.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/emas-safety-committee-recommends-label-133914462.html

US says it's ready to 'pause' sanctions relief for Venezuela unless further progress seen

 The White House said on Friday it was prepared to "pause" sanctions relief for OPEC member Venezuela in coming days unless there is further progress on the release of Venezuelan political prisoners and "wrongfully detained" Americans.

Speaking after a deadline for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to meet certain commitments, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. welcomed an announcement on Thursday that opposition presidential candidates barred from public office would be able to appeal to Venezuela’s highest court.

But he said the Venezuelan government needed to do more or else Venezuela would risk a U.S. freeze on some relaxed sanctions unveiled in mid-October in response to a deal between Maduro and the country’s opposition on holding a 2024 presidential election.

Any “snapback” of partially lifted U.S. sanctions would mark a major shift from President Joe Biden's new approach toward Venezuela.

In the most significant lifting of tough Trump-era sanctions, Washington issued a six-month general license authorizing U.S. transactions with Venezuela’s vital oil and gas sector and a second license authorizing operations of state gold mining company Minerven. It also removed a U.S. prohibition on secondary-market trading of Venezuelan sovereign bonds.

Washington had vowed to reverse that sanctions relief unless the Venezuela's Socialist government took steps by the end of November to release political prisoners and three Americans it considers unlawfully jailed, and also lift public-office bans on opposition candidates.

U.S. DEMANDS

Thursday’s announcement by the Venezuelan government and opposition, which opened a path that could enable opposition politicians to run, appeared to satisfy one of Washington’s chief demands.

“It's welcome news,” Kirby said. “We are, however, deeply concerned about the lack of progress on the release of wrongfully detained U.S. citizens and Venezuelan political prisoners.”

“So we're going to continue to be actively engaged here in diplomatic efforts on those particular issues, and we're prepared to take action in the coming days to pause certain sanctions relief, unless further progress is made,” he added.

Kirby did not specify which of the sanctions-easing measures could be put on hold if Maduro fails to comply.

Reflecting skepticism in some quarters about the likely extent of any new U.S. action, two sources in Washington said earlier this week that the administration may respond initially by just reinstating sanctions on state-run Minerven.

The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If the U.S. deems Maduro's actions insufficient, it faces a decision on whether to reignite tensions with Venezuela when Washington is grappling with major foreign policy crises, principally the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Under the appeals process announced late on Thursday, candidates can file petitions to the court between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15.

The winner of the opposition's presidential primary, Maria Corina Machado, is among those barred from office.

The Venezuelan government released five political prisoners in October but there have been no releases since.

It also holds at least three Americans who the U.S. government says are wrongfully detained.

https://news.yahoo.com/us-says-ready-pause-sanctions-203613413.html