President Trump will be on cable T.V. tonight (Tuesday) in a town hall for an hour from Iowa

 Tonight at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT with a replay at 11 p.m. PT), President Donald Trump will appear on the FOX News channel for another town hall from Iowa – his third on the channel since last June.

Once again, the venue is Sean Hannity’s prime time program.

Hannity has described himself as a friend of Donald Trump’s for more than three decades. Since he is no longer welcome on CNN or MSNBC, the former president therefore is limited to FOX News for interviews short or long, where he prefers the non-confrontational approach favored by his old friend Sean Hannity.

I reported on the previous two 2023 Hannity-Trump town halls here, here, and here.

A live audience will attend the town hall, in Davenport, Iowa, which will be recorded earlier today for broadcast in prime time. A FOX News Media news release emailed to this author described the town hall thusly, noting that it will:

Cover the state of the country and the 2024 presidential election, among other topics.

Following President Trump’s first town hall of the 2024 election season, last May 10 on CNN, which witnessed him jousting for over an hour with CNN’s prime time star-to-be Kaitlan Collins, Trump is apparently considered a permanent persona non grata on that channel as he is in perpetuity on MSNBC. So, it’s FOX News or nothing for the former president and leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in terms of reaching a national television audience.

I hope that Hannity, or one of the questioners from the audience of voters, will ask President Trump about the recent spate of orchestrated comments – in the media and by failed politicians like former Rep. Liz Cheney – that the re-election of President Trump next year will result in a fascist takeover of the U.S. government and the end of democracy here.

In the opening “angle” of her FOX News program last evening, Laura Ingraham focused on the “Phony Democracy Defenders” (including Liz Cheney, whose book attacking Trump and many other Republicans is being published today) and their latest attacks on President Trump. It’s eight minutes and 40 seconds of excellent reporting and commentary that is well worth watching here.

Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran journalist who has covered national politics and the politics and economics of health care, popular culture, and media for over five decades. He is a regular contributor to the BBC Radio and Television. His most recent interview on BBC Radio in the UK can be listened to here. His web page with links to his work is http://peter.media. 

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/12/president_trump_will_be_on_cable_tv_tonight_tuesday_in_a_town_hall_for_an_hour_from_iowa.html

AI could judge if user is of porn-watching age under new UK guidance

 Britain proposed new age-check guidance on Tuesday to protect children from accessing pornography online, including a suggestion to use AI-based technology to see if a viewer looks to be of legal age.

The government's newly passed Online Safety Act requires sites and apps that display or publish pornographic content to ensure that children are not normally able to encounter pornography on their service. The legal age to watch porn in Britain is 18 or over.

On average children first see online pornography at 13, while nearly a quarter come across it by age 11, and one in 10 as young as 9, a 2021-2022 study by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England showed.

"Regardless of their approach, we expect all services to offer robust protection to children from stumbling across pornography, and also to take care that privacy rights and freedoms for adults to access legal content are safeguarded," media regulator Ofcom CEO Melanie Dawes said.

The regulator described its suggestion on facial age estimation as using AI to analyse a viewer's features. That would likely require taking a selfie on a device and uploading it.

The watchdog said its proposed guidance also included photo identification matching, requiring a user to upload a photo ID such as passport or driving licence to prove their age, and credit chard checks.

Another suggestion was open banking, whereby users can consent to their bank sharing information with online porn sites to confirm they are over 18.

The Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market think tank, said mandatory age verification threatened user privacy and would expose users to breaches and abuse by increasing the amount of sensitive data held by third parties.

The regulator said weaker methods such as self-declaration of age, online payment methods that do not require a person to be 18, and disclaimers or warnings, would no longer meet the standards in its new guidance.

Ofcom said it expects to publish its final guidance in early 2025.

https://news.yahoo.com/ai-could-judge-user-porn-000321752.html

Former PM Boris Johnson to defend record and conduct at UK COVID inquiry

 Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a much-anticipated appearance before an inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday with his personal reputation and that of the Conservative government at stake.

The inquiry has already heard damaging testimony about Johnson's handling of the crisis, including claims of government incompetence, backstabbing and misogyny, his reluctance to lock down, and how he was confused by the science. He was said to have asked at one point if blowing a hair-dryer up his nose could kill the virus.

Johnson will face two days of questioning in what are likely to be the most emotionally charged sessions of the official investigation so far into why Britain ended up with one of the world's highest death tolls during the pandemic.

Families of some of those who died from COVID-19 plan to confront Johnson outside the inquiry building over claims that he told colleagues he would prefer to see people die in large numbers rather than order a second lockdown.

The testimony could also be embarrassing for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was finance minister at the time, with previous evidence shown to the inquiry describing how, like Johnson, he reportedly favoured letting people die rather than ordering another lockdown over fears for the economy.

The pandemic killed more than 230,000 people in Britain and infected many millions more.

Johnson, prime minister for three years between 2019 and 2022, resigned in disgrace after reports that he, and other officials, had been present at alcohol-fuelled gatherings in Downing Street during 2020 and 2021 when most people in Britain were forced to stay at home.

Some Conservatives leaders fear the inquiry will further dent support for the governing Conservatives, who are already heavily trailing the opposition Labour Party in polls in the run-up to an election expected next year.

The public inquiry is examining the government's response to the virus that shut large parts of the economy.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/former-pm-boris-johnson-defend-000243407.html

PTC Updates on Regulatory Activities for Translarna in Duchenne

 As planned, PTC has submitted the briefing document as part of the re-examination of the initial Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) negative opinion on the renewal of the conditional marketing authorization of Translarna in Europe. The re-examination procedure will focus only on the renewal of the existing conditional marketing authorization. The procedure is expected to last until late January 2024, when an opinion will be provided by CHMP. This opinion will then be sent for adoption by the European Commission, within the following 67 days.

In the United States, PTC recently participated in a Type C meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss a potential path to a resubmission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for Translarna. The discussion focused on the totality of evidence collected to date from the Translarna clinical trials and the STRIDE registry. Based on the discussion, FDA suggested that PTC request a follow-up meeting to align on the specific contents that could support a potential NDA filing. PTC expects this meeting will occur in the first quarter of 2024.

"PTC continues to work to secure global registrations that will enable access to Translarna for patients with nmDMD worldwide," said Matthew B. Klein, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of PTC. "The data collected to date demonstrate the short-and long-term benefits of Translarna on key functional aspects of disease, including ambulatory and neuromuscular function. In Europe, we believe we can address the concerns raised by the CHMP in its initial negative opinion on the renewal of Translarna conditional authorization. In the U.S., we look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with FDA on the contents of a potential NDA resubmission."

About Translarna™ (ataluren)
Translarna (ataluren), discovered and developed by PTC Therapeutics, is a protein restoration therapy designed to enable the formation of a functioning protein in patients with genetic disorders caused by a nonsense mutation. A nonsense mutation is an alteration in the genetic code that prematurely halts the synthesis of an essential protein. The resulting disorder is determined by which protein cannot be expressed in its entirety and is no longer functional, such as dystrophin in Duchenne. Translarna, the tradename of ataluren, is licensed in multiple countries including Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the European Economic Area for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD) in ambulatory patients aged 2 years and older. Ataluren is an investigational new drug in the United States.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ptc-therapeutics-provides-updates-on-translarna-regulatory-activities-302006665.html

Climate Grifters Want $2.4 Trillion Per Year, Much More Taxes To "Solve" Global Warming

 Global warming grifters at the COP28 climate summit were focused on phasing out petrol vehicles and fossil fuel power plants. 

They were met with a differing perspective when Sultan Al Jaber, the president of COP28, said there was "no science" supporting the idea that eliminating fossil fuels will curb global warming. 

Jaber's comment is a welcoming sign. However, that did not stop discussions from other attendees who discussed the need for billions of dollars, if not trillions, in 'green' tech investment by developed countries to defeat climate change. 

Coinciding with COP28, Reuters said a new report was published that estimated developed and emerging countries would need a whopping $2.4 trillion a year to cap emissions. 

"The world is not on track to realize the goals of the Paris Agreement. The reason for this failure is a lack of investment, particularly in emerging market and developing countries outside China," said co-author Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Stern said, "The central challenge is to accelerate and implement the fostering and financing of this investment from a range of sources."

In a news conference, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, a leading figure in global discussions about mobilizing climate finance, urged countries to increase climate spending and even consider adding new green taxes to boost climate funding.  

Mottley suggested that a worldwide 0.1% tax on financial services could generate $420 billion, while a 5% tax on the 2022 global oil and gas industry profits would have produced $200 billion.

"The planet needs global governance not in a big stick way, but in a simple way of us cooperating with each other to be able to work with the institutions that we have," she added.

The climate change swindle is nothing new, as elites have ripped off taxpayers around the world for decades. 

It comes as the latest green bubble is imploding under the weight of high interest rates, elevated inflation, and waning demand. 

And how convenient COP28 is located in the Saharan Desert. Meanwhile, in Germany...

And Europe... 

Some elites who push climate doom fail to admit El Nino has been responsible for drought and heat worldwide this past summer. 

In August, a total of 1,609 scientists and professionals from around the world signed the declaration dismissing the existence of a climate crisis and insisting that carbon dioxide is beneficial to Earth. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/climate-grifters-want-trillions-more-taxes-solve-global-warming

Ultrasound Ablation Effective in Controlling Prostate Cancer Long-Term

 Results from a long-term follow-up of the pivotal TACT trial showed that MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) was effective and durable in men with localized prostate cancer.

The median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level at 5 years was 0.63 ng/mL -- a 90% reduction from the median PSA at baseline, reported Scott Eggener, MD, of the University of Chicago, during the Society of Urologic Oncologyopens in a new tab or window annual meeting.

Biochemical recurrence-free survival and overall survival rates at 5 years were 86% and 99%, respectively.

"For many men, the results oncologically and functionally are durable," Eggener told MedPage Today. "Obviously with more time, there are going to be patients who fall off from a cancer standpoint, but the side effect profile is more or less maintained, and there are some patients who required salvage therapy, but that rate was relatively low."

Eggener emphasized that the study evaluated TULSA as whole-gland therapy, "but is now being evaluated, offered, and applied for people with focal therapy."

TULSA uses ultrasound to thermally coagulate tissue under real-time MRI guidance. Feedback from closed-loop MRI thermometry automatically controls treatment parameters to match tissue response in the prescribed ablation volume.

"While the pivotal study represents early experience with TULSA, the risk of failure is mitigated by modern protocols," Eggener and colleagues noted. "Such protocols include best practices for screening for intraprostatic calcifications that can lead to undertreatment, refined strategies for device positioning, and thermal dose escalation to address undertreatment that is visible on intraprocedural imaging."

At 5 years, 92% of patients recovered pad-free continence, and 87% preserved erections sufficient for penetration.

"The continence data from the very beginning has been very strong," Eggener said. As for the erectile function data, he pointed out that while the majority of men maintained their baseline erections, there is a subset of men when TULSA is applied as whole-gland therapy -- as it was in this trial -- who will have new erectile dysfunction requiring medications or other interventions.

"But the key piece for reporting it and for talking to patients is that TULSA is largely being applied as focal therapy now," he pointed out. "So, by definition when it is applied as focal therapy, there is an extraordinarily high likelihood that the rates of erectile dysfunction will be lower than reported for whole-gland therapy."

Eggener said that the ongoing randomized phase III CAPTAIN trialopens in a new tab or window of radical prostatectomy versus focal TULSA, which was informed by TACT, is enrolling.

"Emphasizing that it was whole-gland therapy, the early signs as far as gland decrease and PSA went above and beyond the expectations for our primary endpoint," he added. "Ultimately, where we're going to get the best data is head-to-head against standard of care."

The phase II TACT studyopens in a new tab or window took place across 13 sites in five countries and included 115 men with organ-confined prostate cancer who underwent a single whole-gland TULSA treatment that spared the prostatic urethra and urinary sphincter.

Results from the study at 1 yearopens in a new tab or window showed effective tissue ablation and PSA reductions, with low rates of toxicity and residual disease.

At baseline, patients' median age was 65, and median PSA was 6.3 ng/mL. Most of the men (72 0f 115) had ≥Grade Group 2 disease. Of the included men, 25 had received salvage treatment: 10 underwent prostatectomy, 11 received radiotherapy, three received androgen deprivation therapy, and one underwent surgery and received radiation, all without unexpected complications.

As for safety, there were no grade ≥4 adverse events (AEs), rectal injury, or fistula. Grade 3 AEs occurred in nine men with resolution before 1 year, and in two men with onset and resolution in the second year, including genitourinary infection, stricture, retention, urethral calculi, pain, urinoma, and lower urinary tract symptoms.

Disclosures

The TACT study was funded by Profound Medical.

Eggener reported no conflicts of interest.

Primary Source

Society of Urologic Oncology

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowEggener S, et al "Pivotal study of MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) of localized prostate cancer: 5-year follow-up" SUO 2023; Poster #197.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/suo/107680

Safety trial of high dose nicotinamide riboside in Parkinson’s

 

Haakon Berven, 

Simon Kverneng, 

Erika Sheard, 

Mona Søgnen, 

Solveig Amdahl Af Geijerstam, 

Kristoffer Haugarvoll, 

Geir-Olve Skeie, 

Christian Dölle & 

Charalampos Tzoulis 

Abstract

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) replenishment therapy using nicotinamide riboside (NR) shows promise for Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. However, the optimal dose of NR remains unknown, and doses exceeding 2000 mg daily have not been tested in humans. To evaluate the safety of high-dose NR therapy, we conducted a single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase I trial on 20 individuals with PD, randomized 1:1 on NR 1500 mg twice daily (n = 10) or placebo (n = 10) for four weeks. The trial was conducted at the Department of Neurology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. The primary outcome was safety, defined as the frequency of moderate and severe adverse events. Secondary outcomes were tolerability defined as frequency of mild adverse events, change in the whole blood and urine NAD metabolome, and change in the clinical severity of PD, measured by MDS-UPDRS. All 20 participants completed the trial. The trial met all prespecified outcomes. NR therapy was well tolerated with no moderate or severe adverse events, and no significant difference in mild adverse events. NR therapy was associated with clinical improvement of total MDS-UPDRS scores. However, this change was also associated with a shorter interval since the last levodopa dose. NR greatly augmented the blood NAD metabolome with up to 5-fold increase in blood NAD+ levels. While NR-recipients exhibited a slight initial rise in serum homocysteine levels, the integrity of the methyl donor pool remained intact. Our results support extending the dose range of NR in phase II clinical trials to 3000 mg per day, with appropriate safety monitoring. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT05344404.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43514-6