Meet the Democrat Taking on RFK Jr.
Representative Jake Auchincloss' interest in science and health runs in the family. His father was a top official at the National Institutes of Health and served as acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after Anthony Fauci left government. Auchincloss' mother used to lead one of the nation's premier cancer centers.
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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Speed of improvement in cancer survival rates ‘slowing', say experts
Progress in cancer survival rates in the UK has 'slowed down', experts have warned. The news comes as a study suggests survival between the most and least deadly types of the disease is wider than ever before. A national cancer plan was 'essential' to 'bring cancer survival trends back towards the best in the world', researchers said. The study, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and funded by Cancer Research UK, analysed long-term trends in the cancer survival index (CSI) for adults across England and Wales from 1971 to 2018. Using records from the National Disease Registration Service for England and the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, experts estimated net survival for up to 10 years after diagnosis for around 10.8 million people. They found that in 2018, the CSI for all cancers combined a decade after diagnosis was 49.8%, higher than the CSI at one year for those diagnosed in 1971/72. Researchers hailed the figure as 'remarkable', but warned that the 'speed of improvement in survival has slowed down'. In the five years from 2000/01 to 2005/06, the 10-year CSI rose by 4%, from 41.2% to 45.2%. But between 2010/11 and 2015/16, the rise was 1.4%, from 47.9% to 49.3%. There were also major gaps in survival when it came to different cancer types. For example, 10-year survival for testicular cancer was 97%, compared with 4.3% for pancreatic cancer. Screening programmes had bolstered survival rates for cancers in the breast, bowel and cervix, according to Cancer Research UK. But survival for other types, such as stomach, lung and brain cancer, had increased by only a small amount in the past 50 years. Writing in the Lancet Regional Health – Europe, researchers warned this slowdown for individual cancers implied a 'system-wide challenge'. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: 'Thanks to research, most patients today are far more likely to survive their cancer than at any point in the past. 'But the reality is that this progress is slowing – and for some cancers, it never got going in the first place.' The Government launched a call for evidence to help shape a national cancer plan in February. The blueprint aims to outline actions to transform how the disease is treated in a bid to reduce deaths. Ms Mitchell said: 'The upcoming National Cancer Plan for England must include commitments to spot more cancers earlier, as well as backing research into new treatments so that each patient, regardless of their diagnosis, can hope for more moments with the people they love.' Michel Coleman, a professor of epidemiology and statistics at LSHTM, said: 'Since I began my career in cancer research, I've seen substantial increases in survival for most types of cancer. 'Our understanding of cancer biology has expanded, effective screening programmes have been introduced, and new treatments have been developed. Allowing this trend to stall will have devastating consequences. 'This study was only possible because of data on millions of patients from cancer registries in England and Wales. 'It's vital that the Government provides the political and financial support to ensure we maintain this crucial data. Without these, the Government will be flying blind on cancer control. 'The National Cancer Plan is a chance to improve NHS cancer pathways and reap the benefits of new research – the Government must take it.' Cancer Research UK is calling for the national cancer plan to slash waiting times for diagnosis and treatment, saying some patients face unacceptable delays. The plan should also improve early diagnosis of cancer, with plans to boost participation in existing screening programmes and a commitment to rolling out lung cancer screening fully in England by 2029. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'We are prioritising cancer care as we turn around more than a decade of neglect of our NHS. 'We're already seeing progress, with 95,000 more people having cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days between July 2024 and May 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. 'The National Cancer Plan will set out how we will improve survival rates further and address the variation between different cancer types.'
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
US grand jury indicts one of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders and one of his friends
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted one of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders and a U.S. citizen accused of conspiring with him to violate U.S. sanctions and fund gang activities in the troubled Caribbean country, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday. Jimmy Chérizier, best known as 'Barbecue,' is a leader of a gang federation called Viv Ansanm that the U.S. designated as a foreign terrorist organization in May. Chérizier lives in Haiti, and the United States is offering up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Chris Landberg, a senior U.S. State Department official, said Chérizier's 'reign of terror and mass violence against Haiti must end.' But Jake Johnston, author of 'Aid State' and international research director at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, questioned the government's reason for offering a bounty. 'This is a guy who is giving international media interviews regularly. I don't think the issue is being able to find him,' Johnston said, adding that the indictment doesn't represent a threat to Chérizier since he lives in Haiti. 'It's hard to see how it'll have much of an effect.' A policeman turned gang leader Chérizier is a former elite police officer who was fired in December 2018 and was later accused of organizing large-scale massacres in the slums of Grand Ravine in 2017, in La Saline in 2018 and in Bel-Air in 2019. More than 100 people were killed in the massacres, which Chérizier has denied organizing. 'Haiti is a hotspot right now … there is incredible violence going on there,' U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Tuesday, calling La Saline killings 'notorious because (Chérizier) both planned and participated' in the slaughter. In June 2020, Chérizier created the ' G9 Family and Allies,' an alliance that grew from nine gangs in lower Delmas and the Cite Soleil and La Saline slums to include more than a dozen gangs, according to a U.N. Security Council report. The alliance was blamed for the killings of some 145 people in Cite Soleil and the rape of multiple women. In December 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department issued civil sanctions against Chérizier and others accused of being involved in the massacres. The G-9 alliance later became part of the Viv Ansanm gang federation created in September 2023 that saw the merging of Haiti's two biggest gangs that were once bitter enemies: G-9 and G- Pèp. Since then, the federation has taken control of 90% of Port-au-Prince. It launched multiple attacks on key government infrastructure in February 2024 and raided Haiti's two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. It also forced Haiti's main international airport to close for nearly three months. The surge in violence led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was locked out of his country while on an official visit to Kenya. The gang federation continues to attack once peaceful communities in Port-au-Prince, and it is accused of helping gangs in Haiti's central region. 'We want to change everything' Also indicted is Bazile Richardson, whom officials say is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti who grew up with Chérizier and lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Both are accused of leading a 'wide-ranging conspiracy' by directly soliciting money transfers from members of the Haitian diaspora to raise funds for Chérizier's gang activities in Haiti, according to the indictment. It stated that the money was used to pay the salaries of gang members and buy weapons from illegal dealers in Haiti. Most of the firearms are smuggled in from the U.S. since Haiti does not produce weapons. According to the indictment, there are two other unnamed co-conspirators from Haiti who live in New York and Massachusetts, and five others who live in Haiti. Chérizier could not be immediately reached for comment. It was not immediately clear if Richardson had an attorney. The indictment noted that Chérizier and Richardson have acknowledged the sanctions against Chérizier, adding that the alleged conspiracy began around December 2020 and continued through January of this year. One voice memo that an unidentified co-conspirator in Haiti allegedly sent to Richardson stated: 'If I have backup, we will take the power, and you will be able to come back to your country. You will need to serve in the new government.' Richardson forwarded the alleged memo to Chérizier in June 2022, nearly a year after former President Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence. Another person identified only as a Haitian co-conspirator allegedly sent a voice memo to Richardson saying, 'we want to start a revolution in Haiti and are trying to collect funds.' Part of the plan was to have 1,000 individuals give $20 each or 1 million Haitians abroad give $1 each, as well as collect money from 1,000 people for each of Haiti's 10 regions, according to the indictment. 'With this money, they can buy pick-up trucks, weapons, ammunition, clothing to include T-shirts, boots and hats. We want to change everything in Haiti,' according to one alleged voice memo. In June 2021, Chérizier held a press conference announcing the start of a revolution. A crackdown on violence The indictment comes as gang violence continues to surge in Haiti's capital and beyond, with gunmen kidnapping an Irish missionary and seven other people, including a 3-year-old, from an orphanage earlier this month. The office of Haiti's prime minister did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the indictment. Johnston said the broader strategy in the fight against gangs remains unclear. 'It does seem like there's sort of an escalatory framework happening both in Haiti and the U.S.,' he said. 'Where does that actually go?' Darren Cox, acting assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said the bureau's Miami office is leading the effort to apprehend Chérizier. 'The FBI is focused more than ever on crushing violent crime,' Cox said. 'There is no safe haven for them, or the people like them.'
Bloomberg
14 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
DC Crackdown Done Outside Local Jurisdiction: Mayor Dyer
Republican Mayor Jerry Dyer of Fresno, California, shares his thoughts on President Trump deploying the National Guard on Washington, D.C. and whether or not the President is distracting local police. He shares that the deployment was done outside the request of the local police department, and states that both federal and local governments need to work cooperatively to keep people safe. Mayor Dyer speaks with Joe Mathieu on the late edition of Bloomberg's 'Balance of Power.' (Source: Bloomberg)
