Latest news with #Mercier
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Long-lasting HIV prevention shot heads toward approval
June 6 (UPI) -- A new vaccine to prevent HIV is expected to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this month. If approved, the shot -- lenacapavir -- would be given twice a year and could be a big step forward in the fight against HIV. Drugmaker Gilead Sciences tested the shot in a study of women and girls. None of the participants who received the injections got HIV. That early success helped boost Gilead's stock by 73% over the past year, The Wall Street Journal reported. "We know it's challenging to take a daily pill for prevention, and we see an incredible opportunity here," said Johanna Mercier, Gilead's chief commercial officer Right now, more than 400,000 people in the United States use pills to prevent HIV, The Wall Street Journal added. These medications are referred to as PrEP, short for pre-exposure prophylaxis. Gilead expects the number of users to top 1 million by the next decade. Many people already say they'd prefer a shot over daily pills. In one survey of more than 500 PrEP users, 95% said they would switch to a long-acting injection. Sales of other long-acting options, like the shot Apretude from GSK, have risen sharply - up 63% in the past year. Even with strong results, Gilead faces several hurdles. One is reaching the people who need PrEP the most. Black Americans represent 39% of new HIV cases but only 14% of current PrEP users. Many people still face stigma or lack insurance coverage, which can limit access. Gilead says reaching underserved groups is a top goal. Most current PrEP users have commercial insurance, but Medicaid will be key for expanding access to lower-income communities. Another concern: Some experts worry the new shot may simply replace current Gilead products, like the daily pill Descovy, which now holds about 40% to 45% of the market. But Gilead says the shot should help expand the overall number of people using PrEP in both the U.S. and abroad. "We're thinking globally about the public health impact we can have," Mercier said. The company is working with governments and health groups in the United Kingdom and low-income countries to raise awareness and make these products more available. More information The National Institutes of Health has more on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
UPI
3 days ago
- Health
- UPI
Long-lasting HIV prevention shot heads toward approval
June 6 (UPI) -- A new vaccine to prevent HIV is expected to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this month. If approved, the shot -- lenacapavir -- would be given twice a year and could be a big step forward in the fight against HIV. Drugmaker Gilead Sciences tested the shot in a study of women and girls. None of the participants who received the injections got HIV. That early success helped boost Gilead's stock by 73% over the past year, The Wall Street Journal reported. "We know it's challenging to take a daily pill for prevention, and we see an incredible opportunity here," said Johanna Mercier, Gilead's chief commercial officer Right now, more than 400,000 people in the United States use pills to prevent HIV, The Wall Street Journal added. These medications are referred to as PrEP, short for pre-exposure prophylaxis. Gilead expects the number of users to top 1 million by the next decade. Many people already say they'd prefer a shot over daily pills. In one survey of more than 500 PrEP users, 95% said they would switch to a long-acting injection. Sales of other long-acting options, like the shot Apretude from GSK, have risen sharply - up 63% in the past year. Even with strong results, Gilead faces several hurdles. One is reaching the people who need PrEP the most. Black Americans represent 39% of new HIV cases but only 14% of current PrEP users. Many people still face stigma or lack insurance coverage, which can limit access. Gilead says reaching underserved groups is a top goal. Most current PrEP users have commercial insurance, but Medicaid will be key for expanding access to lower-income communities. Another concern: Some experts worry the new shot may simply replace current Gilead products, like the daily pill Descovy, which now holds about 40% to 45% of the market. But Gilead says the shot should help expand the overall number of people using PrEP in both the U.S. and abroad. "We're thinking globally about the public health impact we can have," Mercier said. The company is working with governments and health groups in the United Kingdom and low-income countries to raise awareness and make these products more available. More information The National Institutes of Health has more on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Alfred Dreyfus, unjustly convicted of treason, gets redemption after 130 years
Antisemitism is (unfortunately) nothing new, but making good on it after more than a century certainly is. People these days may not be familiar with the name Alfred Dreyfus, but the little-known artillery officer's conviction for treason in 1899 still divides French politics. In a surprise move, however, France is making amends for a notorious act of political extremism. In June 2025, French lawmakers unanimously backed a promotion for Alfred Dreyfus. His new rank is brigadier general. France24 called the legislation 'a symbolic step in the fight against antisemitism in modern France.' Late 19th-century relations between Germany and France were surprisingly warm, despite the absolute ass kicking the Germans delivered during the Franco-Prussian War. But that doesn't mean the two sides weren't spying on each other. The French were desperate to get any intelligence they could from the German embassy in Paris. After inserting one of their agents into the embassy housekeeping staff, they acquired a document addressed to the German military attaché, Maximilian von Schwartzkoppen. The paper contained only one piece of sensitive military information: a note about the hydraulic compressed air brakes on a French artillery piece. It prompted France's general staff to look for the source of the leak. War Minister Gen. Auguste Mercier, already criticized in the press for his incompetence, was seeking an easy target on which to pin the blame. Considering the content of the message, he began to scrutinize the artillery officers in the general staff. That's how he stumbled upon Capt. Alfred Dreyfus. There was nothing really extraordinary about Alfred Dreyfus. He was from a well-to-do family in Alsace, which emigrated to Switzerland and then Paris after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. His experience in the war led him to the elite École Polytechnique military academy. By 1882, he was a respected artillery officer. But he was just the easy target Mercier was looking for. As an Alsatian, he could be portrayed as a German sympathizer. Most importantly, he was Jewish in an antisemitic society looking for a scapegoat. The army claimed the handwriting on the artillery note belonged to Dreyfus (it did not). When he was called in to confess to Mercier, he refused and was arrested for conspiring with the enemy. After a secret, two-day trial, Dreyfus was convicted and his rank was cancelled. He was to be publicly degraded, which meant his medals, epaulettes, sword, and other symbols of his position would be ceremoniously ripped away from him. He was then shipped off to the Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana. The only problem was that Lt. Col. Georges Picquart, head of French intelligence services, learned who the real spy was: a counterintelligence officer named Maj. Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy. The French press, which was torn between wild antisemitism and anti-government conspiracies, had a field day with the revelation that Esterhazy was sending letters to the German embassy and that his handwriting matched the original note. Still, despite all the evidence, the army acquitted the real spy, who not only wrote ten years' worth of letters about how much he hated France, but also promptly moved to England and later confessed. Picquart was driven out of the French army for his troubles. Dreyfus was eventually retried and somehow convicted again. After the second conviction, he was offered a pardon if he accepted guilt, an offer he accepted just to end his ordeal. The backlash sparked a culture war from which the French far right never recovered, forever separated church and state in France, and led many Jewish Europeans to believe that only a Jewish state could protect them – the seeds of the Zionist movement were planted. Both trials caught the world's attention, but the story doesn't end there. In 1906, Alfred Dreyfus was reinstated, promoted to major, and served in World War I. He served in artillery supply and fought at the Battle of Verdun. He died in 1935, having retired from the military with the Legion d'Honneur and a Croix de guerre. Despite his later history, the Dreyfus Affair, as it became known, remains a divisive issue in French politics. The act of posthumously promoting him to general is seen as a kind of reparation in a country that houses the largest Jewish population outside of Israel itself.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Michigan men sentenced for possessing Molotov cocktails, leading officers on Northwest Arkansas pursuit
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Two Michigan men have pleaded guilty in Washington County and been sentenced after they led officers on a multi-state chase in February 2024, according to court documents. Robert Cory Mercier, 21, and Trenton Johnson, 21, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of explosives. Johnson entered his plea on May 6, and Mercier entered his the following day. Johnson was sentenced to 10 years of probation under the condition that he would testify against Mercier in future proceedings if needed. The fleeing charge against Johnson was nolle prossed, meaning he was no longer prosecuted on that charge. Mercier was sentenced to 10 years in prison with two years suspended. He is currently being held in the Benton County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond for theft by receiving, fleeing and criminal use of a prohibited weapon charges. Tontitown police chief relives high-speed chase, flipping crash Both were arrested on Feb. 7, 2024, after Tontitown police say the two men led officers on a chase through Northeast Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas. According to a press release from Tontitown police, multiple officers assisted outside agencies with a high-speed pursuit as it neared Tontitown. A Tontitown officer, later identified as Chief Corey Jenison, performed a tactical vehicle intervention (TVI), which ended the chase. Speeds during the pursuit exceeded 120 mph, according to TPD. Officers found firearms and improvised flammable devices, commonly called 'Molotov cocktails,' inside the allegedly stolen U-Haul van following the chase, according to the release. Mercier is set to appear in court in Benton County for his charges on June 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Half of Ukraine's EU accession clusters already screened, says bloc
The process of screening Ukrainian legislation for compliance with EU law as part of accession negotiations has reached the halfway mark. The report on Cluster 1, Fundamentals, has been submitted to the EU Council, while reports on Cluster 2, Internal Market, and Cluster 6, External Relations, are expected by the end of June. The screening process is set to conclude in autumn 2025. Source: Guillaume Mercier, spokesperson for the European Commission, at the request of a European Pravda correspondent Details: Mercier stated that as part of the EU-Ukraine accession negotiations, the European Commission's screening report on Cluster 1 is complete. Reports on Clusters 2 and 6 will be submitted to the EU Council by the end of Poland's EU presidency in June, with three additional reports on the remaining clusters expected by the end of 2025, during Denmark's presidency. "Since the opening of accession negotiations, Ukraine has demonstrated remarkable commitment, moving forward steadily on key reforms, despite war raging. The Commission has delivered the fastest screening process to date – we are over half-way through, and the process should be finalised in autumn 2025," Mercier noted. "For the opening of negotiations on Cluster 1, the Council is now in the driving seat – and there is a consensus among 26 EU Member States [out of 27] to move ahead to open negotiations on Cluster 1," he said. In response to a question about Hungary's ongoing blockade of the opening of Cluster 1, Fundamentals, in Ukraine accession talks, and possible ways to overcome the Hungarian veto, the spokesperson emphasised: "The Commission is working with the Polish Presidency to identify solutions". "We must also address the particular concerns in certain Member States. This is why the Commission has personally invested energy to facilitate discussions between Hungary and Ukraine regarding the position of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine," said Mercier. He added that "all sides involved need to show good faith and willingness to reach compromises, this is in the EU's DNA". The European Commission spokesperson also mentioned the screening process for other clusters, which is ongoing in parallel. "To this day, we have achieved the screening of half of the clusters (Cluster 1 screening report has been submitted to the Council on 16 January 2025; the reports for Cluster 2 and Cluster 6 will reach the Council still during the Polish Presidency; the screening for the remaining Clusters will be finalised and the reports will reach the Council by the end of 2025, during the Danish Presidency)," he told European Pravda. He also explained that the screening process itself "will continue until autumn 2025". "Given the speed of the screening, the Commission is of the opinion that all clusters could be open this year, pending the approval from the Member States," Mercier concluded. Background: Earlier, sources told European Pravda that Moldova could open the first cluster in negotiations with the EU before Ukraine. In particular, Moldova will have completed the screening of four of the six clusters by the end of May 2025. As for Ukraine, Budapest has blocked the opening of the first negotiating cluster. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has publicly voted against Ukraine's membership in the EU in a Hungarian poll. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
