Israel due to get billions of dollars more in US weapons despite Biden pause

 Billions of dollars worth of U.S. weaponry remains in the pipeline for Israel, despite the delay of one shipment of bombs and a review of others by President Joe Biden's administration, concerned their use in an assault could wreak more devastation on Palestinian civilians.

A senior U.S. official said this week that the administration had reviewed the delivery of weapons that Israel might use for a major invasion of Rafah, a southern Gaza city where over 1 million civilians have sought refuge, and as a result paused a shipment of bombs to Israel.

Washington has long urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government not to invade Rafah without safeguards for civilians, seven months into a war that has devastated Gaza.

Congressional aides estimated the delayed bomb shipment's value as "tens of millions" of U.S. dollars.

A wide range of other military equipment is due to go to Israel, including joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS), which convert dumb bombs into precision weapons; and tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters.

Risch said those munitions were not moving through the approval process as quickly as they should be, noting some had been in the works since December, while assistance for Israel more typically sails through the review process within weeks.

Biden administration officials have said they are reviewing additional arms sales, and Biden warned Israel in a CNN interview on Wednesday that the U.S. would stop supplying weapons if Israeli forces make a major invasion of Rafah.

Israel's assault on Gaza was triggered by an Oct. 7 attack by Islamist Hamas militants, which by its tallies killed 1,200. The subsequent Israeli bombardment has killed some 35,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and displaced the majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people.

Separately, Representative Gregory Meeks, top Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, has put a hold on an $18 billion arms transfer of package for Israel that would include dozens of Boeing Co. F-15 aircraft while he awaits more information about how Israel would use them.

Biden's support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability for the president, particularly among young Democrats, as he runs for re-election this year. It fueled a wave of "uncommitted" protest votes in primaries and has driven pro-Palestinian protests at U.S. universities.

None of those weapons agreements are part of a spending package Biden signed last month that included about $26 billion to support Israel and provide humanitarian aid.

Risch and Meeks are two of the four U.S. lawmakers - the chair and ranking member of Senate Foreign Relations and chair and ranking member on House Foreign Affairs - who review major foreign weapons deals.

'FINGERNAILS'

Netanyahu issued a video statement on Thursday saying Israelis "would fight with their fingernails" in an apparent rebuff of Biden.

Republicans accused Biden of backing down on his commitments to Israel. "If the Commander-in-Chief can’t muster the political courage to stand up to radicals on his left flank and stand up for an ally at war, the consequences will be grave," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a Senate speech.

Ten other Senate Republicans held a press conference to announce a non-binding resolution condemning "any action by the Biden Administration to withhold or restrict weapons for Israel."

White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Israel was still getting the weapons it needs to defend itself. "He's (Biden's) going to continue to provide Israel with the capabilities that it needs, all of them," Kirby said.

Some Congressional Democrats welcomed Biden's action.

Senator Chris Murphy, the Democratic chair of the Foreign Relations Mideast subcommittee, cited concern about Rafah.

"I do not think it is our strategic or moral interest to help Israel conduct a campaign in Rafah that is likely to kill thousands of innocent civilians and not likely impact Hamas' long-term strength in a meaningful way," he told Reuters.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/israel-due-billions-dollars-more-192835236.html

'US asylum change aims to speed up some rejections at Mexico border'

 The Biden administration is set to tighten access to asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border via a new regulation that could be issued as soon as Thursday, four sources familiar with the matter said, in a targeted move aimed at reducing illegal crossings.

The regulation would require migrants to be assessed at an initial asylum screening stage to see whether they should be barred from asylum and quickly deported, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss internal government planning. They added that the measure appeared limited in scope.

The migrants would be assessed for asylum bars related to criminality and security threats, two of the sources said.

The new regulation would improve efficiency by screening asylum seekers earlier in the process to determine whether they should be barred, one of the sources, a U.S. official, told Reuters. It would be issued as a proposed regulation and finalized at a later date, the official said.

U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat seeking another four-year term in the Nov. 5 election, has struggled with record numbers of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since taking office in 2021. Former President Donald Trump, Biden's Republican challenger, has criticized Biden for rolling back more restrictive Trump-era policies.

The Biden administration has considered a more sweeping move to block asylum seekers and migrants at the border using a federal statute deployed by Trump in his travel bans, but is not immediately planning to take that step, the sources said.

Biden implemented new asylum restrictions last year, but their effectiveness has been limited by a lack of resources to process arriving migrants.

The regulation expected to be issued this week could potentially mean thousands of people would be more quickly deported from the U.S. per year, two of the sources said, a relatively small number compared with the total number caught crossing illegally.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-set-tighten-asylum-access-190933339.html

NeuroPace earnings call Q&A

 Q: Can you provide some additional color on what assumptions are being factored into your current guidance range based on the commercial experience you saw in 1Q? A: Joel Becker, CEO of Neuropace, explained that the guidance considers the strong performance across product lines and includes various ongoing activities such as organizational expansion and care activities. Despite some headwinds, particularly in the replacement cycle, the guidance reflects a comprehensive view of expected business performance for the year.

Q: You maintained the same guidance range for the year despite a strong Q1. Is there anything in Q2 that's giving you pause about potentially raising the guidance range? A: Joel Becker, CEO, stated that the guidance issued reflects both Q1 performance and projections for the rest of the year. The company remains cautious due to some expected headwinds, despite the strong start in Q1.

Q: Could you give more details on the new prescribers? Are they from existing sites with new users, or are they entirely new sites? A: Joel Becker, CEO, indicated that new prescribers come from both existing and new centers, with a significant portion being new users at centers where Neuropace is already present.

Q: What drove the gross margin beat this quarter, and why not raise the gross margin guide for the year? A: Rebecca Kuhn, CFO, attributed the improved gross margin to increased production and sales of RNS units, which allowed fixed overhead costs to be spread over more units. Contributions from a biotech collaboration also positively impacted the margins.

Q: Can you discuss the progress and expectations for the pilot programs under Project Care? A: Rebecca Kuhn, CFO, detailed that the pilot programs involve professional education and commercial activities aimed at integrating RNS therapy into new centers. Metrics to track progress include the development and execution pipeline for each center, focusing on education, patient identification, and implant rates.

Q: How should we think about the cadence of revenue throughout the year, given the strong start in Q1? A: Joel Becker, CEO, noted that while the company does not guide quarterly, certain periods like summer and end-of-year holidays could impact revenue cadence. However, various business activities might offset these seasonal effects.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/neuropace-inc-npce-q1-2024-074740801.html

Missouri cuts off Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood

 Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed a bill Thursday that kicks Planned Parenthood in the state off Medicaid funding.

The bill, which is expected to go into effect later this year, makes it unlawful for any public funds to be sent to any abortion facility or “any affiliate or associate of such abortion facility.”

Missouri now joins Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas, according to Planned Parenthood, as states that have blocked the organization from receiving Medicaid funding.

Republicans in Missouri have tried for years to block Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, even after the organization stopped performing abortions in the state.

Since the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade, abortion has been almost completely banned in Missouri with limited exceptions under a so-called trigger law that took effect shortly after the Supreme Court decision.

Planned Parenthood clinics in the state have continued to operate, providing patients with services like contraceptive care, STI testing, cancer screenings and wellness checks, the Missouri Independent reported.

Missouri Planned Parenthood locations are affiliated with clinics in Kansas and Illinois, neighboring states with less restrictive abortion laws. Republicans argue no money should go to Planned Parenthood in Missouri because people at the Missouri locations could advise people to travel to other states to get abortion services.

“Our administration has been the strongest pro-life administration in Missouri history,” Parson said in a statement. “We’ve ended all abortions in this state, approved new support for mothers, expecting mothers, and children, and with this bill, ensured that we are not sending taxpayer dollars to abortion providers for any purpose.”

Democrats and abortion advocates have argued that the bill will target the state’s most vulnerable population, and those who used Planned Parenthood for services other than abortion.

The St. Louis and southwest Missouri chapter of Planned Parenthood said the bill would restrict access to nonabortion-related care to low-income people in the state.

“Just like [Missouri’s] abortion ban, ‘defunding’ is about power & control; it’s part of the fight to make sure Missourians — not politicians — control their bodies, lives, & futures!” the chapter posted online.

The chapter said its clinics remain open at this time. Planned Parenthood Great Plains CEO and President Emily Wales told the Missouri Independent that Missouri’s clinics have been without Medicaid reimbursements for two years and have offset the costs through private fundraising.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains covers Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Nearly 1 in 5 of Planned Parenthood’s Missouri patients are on Medicaid, the outlet reported.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4653967-missouri-cuts-off-medicaid-funds-from-planned-parenthood/

'Johnson: Biden may have had ‘senior moment’ with Israel military aid remarks'

 Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he hopes President Biden was having a “senior moment” when he threatened to withhold weapons from Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proceeded with an invasion into Rafah in southern Gaza.

Johnson, in a wide-ranging interview with Politico — which will air in full on a forthcoming episode of its “Playbook Deep Dive” podcast — suggested Biden’s comments violated what the Speaker understood to be promises from the president to secure Johnson’s support for the $95 billion emergency foreign aid package.

“I hope — I believe he’s off script,” Johnson said. “I don’t think that’s something that staff told him to say. I hope it’s a senior moment, because that would be a great deviation in what is said to be the policy there.”

On whether he felt betrayed by Biden’s threat, he said, “I got to say that I do, yeah.”

His comments come after Biden warned in a CNN interview that he would delay sending Israel offensive weapons, such as bombs and artillery shells, if Israeli forces launched an invasion of Rafah, laying down a clear line amid outcry over the conflict in Gaza.

“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem,” Biden said Wednesday evening.

The White House fiercely pushed back on Johnson’s suggestion that he was having a “senior moment,” pointing to examples of other officials in the administration pushing the same talking points, even before Biden’s CNN interview.

“That’s simply false. In fact, senior administration officials had already made multiple public statements about Rafah similar to the president’s, including that we are also ensuring Israel gets every dollar appropriated in the supplemental,” a White House spokesperson, Andrew Bates, said in a statement responding to Johnson’s interview.

“For example, hours before the president’s interview, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gave congressional testimony that aligned with him,” Bates continued.

Johnson told Politico that Biden’s remarks added to his concern about reports that the U.S. had paused shipments of heavy bombs to Israel.

“And my reaction honestly was, ‘Wow, that is a complete turn from what I have been told even in, you know, recent hours,’” Johnson said. “I mean, 24 hours ago it was confirmed to me by top administration officials that the policy’s very different than what he stated there. So I hope that’s a senior moment.”

The Speaker said, however, that he was assured by Biden administration officials that reports of weapons being cut off were not accurate and did not violate Johnson’s agreement with the president.

“My concern was we got word about these, you know, this shipment of munitions being delayed. And that was a great concern to us, because I got commitments from top administration officials before we passed the supplemental package for the aid to Israel that that would not happen,” Johnson said to Politico.

He added that he was told “in writing and verbally” that there was “no delay in the delivery of weapons to Israel, because it’s so desperately needed.”

Johnson said the White House told him the delayed munitions were from “earlier weapons tranches” and had “nothing to do with the supplemental package that you all passed.”

The White House knocked the Speaker while touting the President’s record on Israel, in the statement Thursday.

“To be fair, we understand the Speaker has a lot to keep up with,” Bates said. “Joe Biden is the only president in our history to have ordered the American military to actively defend Israel from a foreign attack, and the only president to have literally stood with Israel — on Israeli soil — during wartime.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4653455-mike-johnson-joe-biden-weapons-delivery-delay-israel/

Waters backs FDIC chair after sexual harassment report

The top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee blasted a third-party investigation of sexual harassment and misconduct at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), arguing it focuses disproportionately the agency’s current Democratic leader and not enough on his Republican predecessors.

In a Thursday statement, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) acknowledged cultural deficiencies at the FDIC, highlighted in the report by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, but effectively stood up for FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg as he faces bipartisan pressure to resign.

“The Cleary report places the focus for ‘tone at the top’ solely on the Democratic chair under whose leadership the agency received the most favorable ratings from its employees, while it completely ignores the activities of the two previous Republican Chairs,” Waters said in a Thursday statement.

Waters also described the contents of the report as “troubling,” saying it “affirms that the FDIC needs to change its policies and programs to improve its workplace culture — particularly in the area of anti-sexual harassment.”

Waters’ support for Gruenberg puts her at odds with some of her colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee, notably Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Financial Institutions subcommittee.

On Tuesday, Foster called for Gruenberg’s resignation, saying that he was “appalled” and “deeply disturbed” by the accounts of widespread sexual harassment and discrimination documented in the report.

Numerous Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate have already called for the departure of Gruenberg, a 20-year veteran of the FDIC who has held multiple positions within the agency.

Sexual harassment and a culture of intimidation have been problems at the FDIC for years, documented as far back as 2014 in a report by the regulator’s inspector general published in 2020.

A survey referenced in that report found that 9 percent of FDIC respondents had experienced sexual harassment between 2014 and 2016, a lower number than the government-wide average at 14 percent.

The roughly 500 individuals who reported harassment to Cleary Gottlieb from the agency’s workforce of 5,280 full-time employees puts the prevalence of sexual harassment in line with recent historical standards.

The 2020 inspector general report found that the FDIC had not set up an acceptable sexual harassment prevention program, a void that appears not to have been filled in the years since.

Cleary Gottlieb did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Waters’ criticisms of the firm’s investigation.

Former FDIC Chairs Jelena McWilliams, who led the agency when the 2020 inspector general report was released, and Sheila Bair did not respond to requests for comment.

https://thehill.com/business/4653986-maxine-waters-backs-fdic-chair-after-sexual-harassment-report/

'Brain worms are more common than you think'

Yes, it’s possible to have a worm living in your brain — in fact, it’s far more common than you might think, said Dr. David Hamer, a professor of global health and medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health, who also directs a travel clinic at Boston Medical Center.

Brain worms became a topic of public fascination Wednesday after the The New York Times reported that presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was mistakenly diagnosed with a brain tumor after scans picked up abnormalities that turned out to be “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” he reportedly said in a 2012 deposition reviewed by The New York Times.

Though the article did not name the parasite involved, two doctors told the Globe the most likely culprit is T. solium, a pork tapeworm that is by far the most common brain worm.

Over the course of his 30 year career, Hamer said he has treated about 20 patients suffering from a condition called cysticercosis, a parasitic disease caused by T. solium, which accounts for the vast majority of brain worms requiring medical attention.

RFK Jr’s brain worm came to light after he experienced memory loss and mental fogginess. After brain scans revealed a dark spot, doctors diagnosed Kennedy with brain cancer and scheduled surgery at Duke University Medical Center. While packing for the hospital, however, he received a call from a doctor in New York who convinced Kennedy he’d been misdiagnosed, and actually had a dead worm in his brain, the Times reported.

In an interview with the Times, Kennedy said he had recovered from the memory loss and fogginess and had no aftereffects from the parasite.

Cysticercosis is caused by the eggs of pork tapeworms. In most cases, someone eats food contaminated with the eggs, the eggs hatch and “sort of migrate through the body, ending up in muscles or in the brain, said Hamer.

The immune system then attacks the parasites and forms cysts around them that range in size from a couple millimeters to a couple centimeters. That can lead to irritation of the brain, which can potentially lead to seizures.

The condition is common in Latin America, where it is believed to be among the most common causes of seizures.

“It can form multiple cysts,” he said. “Some people’s brains almost look like Swiss cheese with lots of holes and there can be a fair amount of inflammation. And after many years, the parasite in there dies and the cyst will degenerate and become calcified. And at that point there’s no need for treatment.”

Medical treatment usually consists of a two-drug anti-parasitic regimen, and steroids to reduce the inflammation that usually occurs when the parasites die. Even without treatment, the parasites usually die out on their own, causing the cyst to calcify, a process that is often harmless. The condition rarely causes long-term damage.

In one famous case, an outbreak occurs in an Ashkenazi Jewish community in Manhattan, most of whom did not eat pork. The infection was eventually traced back to a Latin American domestic worker in one of the households, who had failed to wash their hands prior to preparing produce.

The disease, says Hamer, could cause the symptoms described by RFK Jr., depending on “what part of the brain it landed in and how much local inflammation there was.”

Though less common, other parasites are also a possibility. They include a flat worm contracted through wading into or swimming in some fresh water sources, predominantly in Brazil, but also in Africa and Asia. It usually infects the intestines, the liver and the bladder, and its eggs can migrate to the brain. Another type of worm is passed on by infected slugs, which shed the parasite in slime that sometimes gets onto vegetables consumed by humans and can then make its way to the brain. It can cause meningitis and has led to outbreaks in China, Southeast Asia and Hawaii. The most fatal is a brain-eating amoeba that is often contracted in warm fresh water, ingested through the nose, and often leads to encephalitis that is almost always fatal.

https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/08/brain-worm-rfk-jr-parasitic-infection-not-uncommon/