Lagging in polls, UK Conservatives pitch national service at 18

 Britain's Conservative Party will introduce mandatory national service for 18-year-olds if it wins the national election on July 4, comprising military or community participation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday.

Young adults will be able to choose between spending one weekend a month volunteering over the course of a year, or take up one of 30,000 spaces to spend a year in the armed forces, Sunak said.

The announcement followed Labour Party leader Keir Starmer's comments on Saturday that he was in favour of allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote.

Sunak's Conservatives lag Labour by a wide margin in opinion polls, which have shown little change in fortunes for the prime minister since his surprise election call last Wednesday.

"Britain today faces a future that is more dangerous and more divided. There's no doubt that our democratic values are under threat. That is why we will introduce a bold new model of national service for 18-year-olds," Sunak said in a statement.

The Conservative Party said the proposal would be funded by cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion, and by diverting money from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which existed to reduce regional economic inequality.

Labour politicians derided the announcement.

"The national service we need from our young people is to vote for change on 4th July," said Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester.

Interior minister James Cleverly told broadcasters there would be no criminal sanctions for skipping mandatory service but that people will be compelled to do it, without providing further details.

Asked by the BBC if forcing adults to volunteer was at odds with the Conservative Party's liberal tradition, Cleverly said: "We force people to do things all the time."

He cited compulsory education or training for teenagers until the age of 18 as an example.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/lagging-polls-uk-conservatives-pitch-110145838.html

Watch: Trump Booed, Heckled, Cheered At Rowdy Libertarian Con -- Mocks Party's Poor Performance

 Venturing beyond his typical audience of uniformly-adoring supporters, Donald Trump was showered with boos, heckling but also applause as he addressed the Libertarian National Convention in Washington DC on Saturday night. 

The very idea of his speech was unusual. As the Washington Post's Aaron Blake noted when it was announced weeks ago, "Even for the Libertarian Party, inviting another party's 2024 nominee to speak even as it nominates a candidate to oppose them is something."

Between that dynamic and the fact that Trump's resume is full of items that are repulsive to libertarians, the party's invitation was deeply controversial...as evidenced by this delegate's motion on Friday:

In addition to party delegates, Saturday's crowd also included Trump supporters who bought tickets to the event. When they periodically broke out in chants of "WE WANT TRUMP," libertarians drowned them out with "END THE FED."

There was tension between the camps before Trump even took the stage. Having been dismissed from the convention proceedings, party delegates entered the hall where Trump would be speaking to find that Trump supporters who'd purchased spectator tickets were already in the front rows -- despite previous assurances from party chairwoman Angela McArdle that delegates would get the best seats. Verbal battles escalated into fisticuffs. 

Trump speech attendees exchange blows; controversy over seating privileges caused arguments between convention delegates and Trump supporters who bought tickets (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Trump received wide applause when he spoke in support of various libertarian positions, but each time he told the audience that they must join with him to defeat Biden and the Democrats, boos erupted. The crowd dialed its booing up to 11 when Trump went so far as to say the Libertarian Party should make him their nominee.

Trump responded to the jeers by making fun of the party's lackluster quadrennial showing. "Only if you want to win," he said. "Maybe you don't wanna win. If you wanna lose, don't do [nominate me]. Keep getting your 3% every four years." 

By far, the most sustained applause came when Trump announced that, if elected, he will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who created and ran the Silk Road website from 2011 to 2013. Users flocked to that dark web platform to engage in all manner of secret transactions such as the purchase and sale of illegal drugs. In what many view as a grossly disproportionate sentence, Ulbricht was condemned to a life sentence. 

Many in the crowd held FREE ROSS signs, and chanted the slogan earlier in Trump's speech...and again after he announced his promise: 

He also vowed to ensure a secure future for crypto, to include self-custody, saying "I will keep Elizabeth Warren and her goons away from your Bitcoin." He also vowed to block the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).  

Trump promised libertarians a presence in his administration. "I'm committing to you tonight, that I will put a libertarian in my cabinet, and also libertarians in senior posts," said Trump. Reuters reports that some skeptical members of the audience responded by yelling "BULLSHIT!" 

In a reaction that probably confused Trump and his team, the crowd booed when he touted his nomination from the National Rifle Association, as many libertarians view the NRA as a weak and inconsistent defender of gun rights, with a tendency to pander to police: 

Trump's unusual appearance at the convention is indicative of the perceived tightness of the 2024 race. One of the wildcards contributing to the uncertainty is independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, who himself spoke to the convention on Friday. Kennedy reiterated his promise to pardon Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. He's previously said he would take a look at Ulbricht's case. 

In the RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump is ahead of Biden by 2.4% in a five-way race: 

• Donald Trump: 41.7%
• Joe Biden: 39.3%
• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr: 10.5%
• Cornel West: 1.7%
• Jill Stein: 1.5%

Of course, the national numbers only mean so much -- the election will be decided in seven battleground states. According to new numbers from the Cook Political Report survey, Trump is winning in six and tied in one: 

• Arizona: Trump + 4%
• Georgia: Trump +4% 
• Michigan: Trump +3%
• Nevada: Trump +8%
• North Carolina: Trump +8%
• Pennsylvania: Trump +3%
• Wisconsin: Tied 

One thing's certain: Trump is the most entertaining of the bunch: 

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-trump-booed-heckled-cheered-rowdy-libertarian-convention-ribs-partys-poor

Exact Sciences Focuses Early Cancer Diagnosis, Improved Health Outcomes at ASCO

 

• Data to be presented expands the body of evidence around the predictive and prognostic value of the Oncotype DX^® test in all racial and ethnic groups
• New data showcase Exact Sciences’ commitment to innovation and strategies that expand access to effective cancer screening and diagnostic tools for patients

 Exact Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: EXAS), a leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, will present 10 abstracts highlighting the breadth and depth of the company’s screening and diagnostic portfolio at the American Society of Clinical Oncology^® (ASCO^®) Annual Meeting, taking place May 31 – June 4, 2024, in Chicago, Ill. Presentations will include new data confirming both the predictive and prognostic value of the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score^® test in racially and ethnically diverse patients. Exact Sciences will also present data on its approach to multi-cancer early detection (MCED) across multiple tumor types, plus additional real-world evidence showing optimized screening adherence strategies for the Cologuard^® test as well as high adherence rates for repeat screenings.

“Exact Sciences’ growing evidence shows that earlier and more personalized treatment interventions lead to greater success for people living with cancer. Therefore, effective cancer screening and diagnostic tools are critical to improving patient outcomes,” said Dr. Rick Baehner, Chief Medical Officer, Precision Oncology at Exact Sciences. “These data presented at ASCO support our goal to set new screening and diagnostic standards through rigorous innovation and real-world data collection across cancer care. We are committed to continuing to develop high-quality tests that meet the needs of all patients, regardless of race, age, or ethnicity.”

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/exact-sciences-demonstrates-continued-leadership-in-early-cancer-diagnosis-and-improved-health-outcomes-for-patients-with-multiple-data-presentations-at-asco-/

Innate Pharma Highlights Abstracts Selected for ASCO 2024

 

• Top line results of TELLOMAK Phase 2 trial in mycosis fungoides confirming promising clinical activity of lacutamab
• Two posters on IPH6501, Innate’s second generation ANKET^®, for the treatment of relapsed/refractory CD20-expressing B-cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
• AstraZeneca to present poster on updated results for monalizumab from Phase 2 stage III unresectable NSCLC trial
• Monalizumab SCLC Phase 2 MOZART trial poster

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/innate-pharma-highlights-abstracts-selected-for-asco-2024-annual-meeting/

NATO's Estonia Says Goal Should Be Breakup Of The Russian Federation

 Last week, Russian media took note of the latest provocative statements by Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. She has led Russia's tiny Baltic neighbor into a firm hawkish anti-Moscow position. The country was part of the wave of eastern European nations to join NATO in the mid-2000s during the Bush era.

She's calling for the breakup of the Russian Federation. Kallas proposed during a debate in the country's capital of Tallinn last week that Russia could become much "smaller" as a desired outcome of the Ukraine war.

"Russia’s defeat is not a bad thing because then you know there could really be a change in society," the prime minister told the 17th Lennart Meri Conference, as translated in Russia's RT.

She said that currently the Russian Federation can actually be seen as making up "many different nations" and that they could be naturally broken into separate states.

"I think if you would have more like small nations... it is not a bad thing if the big power is actually [made] much smaller," Kallas asserted.

Despite its small size Estonia has been outspoken over the last several months related to the war. For example it recently appeared to back French President Macron's call for NATO to consider sending Western troops to Ukraine:

The government of Estonia is “seriously” discussing the possibility of sending troops into western Ukraine to take over non-direct combat, “rear” roles from Ukrainian forces in order to free them up to fight on the front, though no decision is imminent, Tallinn’s national security advisor to the president told Breaking Defense.

Of course, these troops would face the possibility of direct attack by Russian aerial forces, even if in the "rear" and far away from front battle lines.

And more recently, there's the potential for a fresh border dispute brewing:

Moscow is looking to test NATO's "resolve" after Kremlin border guards removed buoys that marked Russia's maritime border with Estonia, according to a report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Estonian Police and Border Guard said in a release that Russian law enforcement removed part of the floating border placed in the Narva River overnight Thursday. The buoys are used to mark shipping routes and the border is placed every spring as part of a 2022 agreement between Tallinn and Moscow, Estonian police said.

Such provocations are likely to continue, perhaps as some level of retaliation for Estonian leaders' consistently bold remarks aimed at Moscow.

Political map/states of the Russian Federation...

Source: MapsofIndia.com

There's been a tread of the leaders of pro-West Baltic states increasingly talking 'tough' throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but ultimately they all must rely on strong Western backing, including from Washington.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/nato-country-says-goal-should-be-breakup-russian-federation

Zealand's GLP-1/GLP-2 agonist barely reduces weight at lowest doses

 Zealand Pharma’s GLP-1/GLP-2 receptor dual agonist may have only managed at best an average 4.3% reduction in weight loss when given in low doses, but the Danish company is keen to stress that higher doses are where the drug should prove its worth.

The 54-person phase 2 trial involved administering either 4-mg weekly subcutaneous doses of dapiglutide, a 6-mg dose or placebo over 12 weeks. Participants who received 4 mg saw an average weight loss of 2.9%, barely above the 2.2% seen in the placebo cohort. The 6-mg group saw a slightly larger weight loss of 4.3%. No lifestyle interventions were part of the trial.

Drilling down into the numbers, both missed statistical significance, with the lowest dose hitting a dismal p-value of p=0.483 while the higher dose hit p=0.077. 

The results suggest that the 4-mg and 6-mg doses are at the “lower end of the therapeutic range,” Zealand observed.

Despite the unimpressive data, the biotech was keen to stress that “much higher doses of dapiglutide are being investigated in the ongoing 13-week phase 1b trial,” which is expected to read out its own top-line results in the second half of the year.

“We are encouraged by the reductions in body weight observed in this investigator-led mechanistic trial using low doses of dapiglutide,” Zealand Chief Medical Officer David Kendall, M.D., said in the May 23 release.

“Our ongoing 13-week phase 1b dose-titration trial is currently evaluating higher doses of dapiglutide up to 13 mg, and based on the tolerability profile observed to date, we will seek to investigate even higher doses going forward,” Kendall added. The company is now clearly betting that it can hit efficacy with the higher doses. 

Investors were, however, clearly irked, sending the Danish pharma's shares in European trading down more than 3% in early morning trading CEST time. 

The number of treatment-emergent adverse events, which tended to be gastrointestinal-related, were lower than have been reported from studies of other incretin-based therapies, the company said. None of these events led to patients discontinuing their treatment.

Regardless of yesterday’s results, the attention of investors appears to be elsewhere in Zealand’s pipeline. In a note last week, analysts at Jefferies described an upcoming phase 1b weight loss readout from the biotech’s long-acting amylin petrelintide as the company’s “most-watched catalyst.”

The analysts also homed in on Zealand's survodutide after the Boehringer Ingelheim-partnered glucagon/GLP-1 agonist demonstrated its potential to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis in a phase 2 trial earlier this year. In contrast, dapiglutide only received a cursory mention in the analysts’ highlights.

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/zealands-glp-1glp-2-agonist-barely-reduces-weight-lowest-doses

White House admits Bidenflation is ‘literally’ crushing people

 President Joe Biden’s billion-dollar debt bailouts are inherently unfair and divisive, so much so that even his allies in the White House press corps are beginning to question their propriety.

On Wednesday, Biden’s White House announced another round of student debt forgiveness. This time, Biden announced a $7.7 billion transfer to taxpayers of debt incurred by 160,500 borrowers who are “public service workers like teachers [and] nurses.” In all, Biden has now erased $167 billion in student student debt for 4.75 million people.

While the lucky recipients now face fewer financial obligations, those obligations do not magically disappear when our president snaps his fingers. The money borrowed by those students already went to colleges across the country. The colleges already collected that money, and they’re not giving it back. The federal government has to borrow money to pay back the debts and release students from the obligations they incurred voluntarily. This increases the national debt and means the rest of us will pick up the tab for the interest payments and principal on Biden’s supposed generosity.

Biden’s student bailouts are nothing more than a transfer of wealth from those who already paid their debts, did not borrow, or did not go to college, to those college graduates favored by Biden. This is not Robin Hood robbing the rich to help the poor, it is robbing us all to pay for a privileged few. It is not fair, it is immoral, and NBC’s Peter Alexander wanted an answer.

“Why don’t those individuals who didn’t receive $35,000 in debt cancellation deserve a $35,000 check from other Americans for what other means they would want to use it?” he asked. “People who didn’t go to college, so they’re not getting debt relief, the $35,000 that they don’t get because they didn’t go.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded, “We’re talking about folks who are in debt, who are literally being crushed — literally being crushed because they took a…”

At this point, a separate reporter interjected, “They’re not literally being crushed.”

Jean-Pierre snapped back, “Financially. OK. Is that OK with you?”

It was ignorant of Jean-Pierre to talk of people “literally being crushed,” but she implicitly and unintentionally made a good point about the debt burdens members of the public are facing in Biden’s mismanaged economy. Thanks to high inflation caused by his profligate spending, consumers are paying interest rates at generational highs on mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. According to the Federal Reserve, consumers have accumulated a record $12.8 trillion in housing debt, $1.62 trillion in car debt, and $1.1 trillion in credit card debt.

This is not “literally” crushing anyone, but higher interest rates make life difficult for millions of people, especially those without college degrees. According to the latest Federal Reserve Economic Well-Being survey, inflation has worsened the finances of 65% of people, including 19% who said it was “much worse.” Almost one-fifth of adults, 17%, said they could not pay all their bills in the month before the survey was taken.

With good reason, voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy. They also tell pollsters they trust former President Donald Trump to deliver better economic results. He brought them tax cuts that raised the value of paychecks for all people. Biden is interested in passing out economic benefits only to the most loyal members of the Democratic base.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/3016727/white-house-admits-bidenflation-crushing-people/