ReportWire

Tag: Health

  • Trump administration says lower prices for 15 Medicare drugs will save taxpayers billions

    [ad_1]

    NEW YORK — Pharmaceutical companies have agreed to slash the Medicare prices for 15 prescription drugs after months of negotiations, reductions that are expected to produce billions in savings for taxpayers and older adults, the Trump administration said.

    But the net prices it unveiled for a 30-day supply of each drug are not what Medicare recipients will pay at their pharmacy counters, since those final amounts will depend on each individual’s plan and how much they spend on prescriptions in a given year.

    Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the deals as part of the administration’s efforts to address affordability concerns among Americans. The Medicare drug negotiation program that made them possible is mandated by law and began under President Joe Biden’s administration.

    “President Trump directed us to stop at nothing to lower health care costs for the American people,” Kennedy said in a statement Tuesday evening. “As we work to Make America Healthy Again, we will use every tool at our disposal to deliver affordable health care to seniors.”

    The announcement marks the completion of a second round of negotiations under a 2022 law that allows Medicare to haggle over the price it pays on the most popular and expensive prescription drugs used by older Americans, bringing the total number of negotiated drug prices to 25. The new round of negotiated prices will go into effect in 2027. Reduced prices for the inaugural round of 10 drugs negotiated by the Biden administration last year will go into effect in January.

    The latest negotiated prices apply to some of the prescription medications on which Medicare spends the most money, including the massively popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. Some of the other drugs involved in the negotiations include Trelegy Ellipta, which treats asthma; Otezla, a psoriatic arthritis drug; and various drugs that treat diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome and different forms of cancer.

    Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said the administration delivered “substantially better outcomes for taxpayers and seniors in the Medicare Part D program” than the previous year’s deals.

    Under the first round of Medicare price negotiations, the Biden administration said the program would have saved about $6 billion on net covered prescription drug costs, or about 22%, if it had been in effect the previous year. The Trump administration said its latest round would have saved the government about $8.5 billion in net spending, or 36%, if it had been in effect last year.

    It’s unclear exactly how much money the newly announced deals could save Medicare beneficiaries when they are buying prescription drugs at the pharmacy because those costs are determined by various individual factors.

    A new rule that kicked off this year also caps out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000, giving some relief to older adults affected by high-cost prescriptions. The administration said estimated out-of-pocket savings for Medicare beneficiaries with drug plans is about $685 million.

    Spencer Perlman, director of health care research at Veda Partners, said the Trump administration’s improved outcomes probably resulted from the mix of drugs being negotiated and lessons learned from the first year of negotiations.

    Net drug prices are proprietary, he said, but “if we take the administration at their word, I think it demonstrates that they have secured meaningful price concessions for seniors, meaning the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is working as intended.”

    The GLP-1 weight-loss drugs that were part of the negotiations have been especially scrutinized for their high out-of-pocket costs. Yet it’s still unclear to what extent Medicare beneficiaries who want to use the drugs to treat obesity will be able to do so.

    Medicare has long been prohibited from paying for weight-loss treatments, but a separate deal recently announced between the Trump administration and two pharmaceutical companies included plans for a pilot program that will expand coverage for the drugs to additional high-risk obese and overweight people.

    The Trump administration this year has also negotiated several unrelated deals with drug companies to lower the cost of their products for the wider population.

    Pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, have sued over the Medicare drug negotiations enabled by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and remain opposed to them.

    “Whether it is the IRA or MFN, government price setting for medicines is the wrong policy for America,” Alex Schriver, senior vice president of public affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, said in a statement. “These flawed policies also threaten future medical innovation by siphoning $300 billion from biopharmaceutical research, undermining the American economy and our ability to compete globally.”

    Next year, Medicare will negotiate prices for another round of 15 drugs, including physician-administered drugs for the first time.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Trump Administration Says Lower Prices for 15 Medicare Drugs Will Save Taxpayers Billions

    [ad_1]

    NEW YORK (AP) — Pharmaceutical companies have agreed to slash the Medicare prices for 15 prescription drugs after months of negotiations, reductions that are expected to produce billions in savings for taxpayers and older adults, the Trump administration said.

    But the net prices it unveiled for a 30-day supply of each drug are not what Medicare recipients will pay at their pharmacy counters, since those final amounts will depend on each individual’s plan and how much they spend on prescriptions in a given year.

    Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the deals as part of the administration’s efforts to address affordability concerns among Americans. The Medicare drug negotiation program that made them possible is mandated by law and began under President Joe Biden’s administration.

    “President Trump directed us to stop at nothing to lower health care costs for the American people,” Kennedy said in a statement Tuesday evening. “As we work to Make America Healthy Again, we will use every tool at our disposal to deliver affordable health care to seniors.”

    The announcement marks the completion of a second round of negotiations under a 2022 law that allows Medicare to haggle over the price it pays on the most popular and expensive prescription drugs used by older Americans, bringing the total number of negotiated drug prices to 25. The new round of negotiated prices will go into effect in 2027. Reduced prices for the inaugural round of 10 drugs negotiated by the Biden administration last year will go into effect in January.


    Price negotiations apply to drugs treating diabetes, asthma, cancers and more

    The latest negotiated prices apply to some of the prescription medications on which Medicare spends the most money, including the massively popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. Some of the other drugs involved in the negotiations include Trelegy Ellipta, which treats asthma; Otezla, a psoriatic arthritis drug; and various drugs that treat diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome and different forms of cancer.

    Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said the administration delivered “substantially better outcomes for taxpayers and seniors in the Medicare Part D program” than the previous year’s deals.

    Under the first round of Medicare price negotiations, the Biden administration said the program would have saved about $6 billion on net covered prescription drug costs, or about 22%, if it had been in effect the previous year. The Trump administration said its latest round would have saved the government about $8.5 billion in net spending, or 36%, if it had been in effect last year.

    It’s unclear exactly how much money the newly announced deals could save Medicare beneficiaries when they are buying prescription drugs at the pharmacy because those costs are determined by various individual factors.

    A new rule that kicked off this year also caps out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000, giving some relief to older adults affected by high-cost prescriptions. The administration said estimated out-of-pocket savings for Medicare beneficiaries with drug plans is about $685 million.

    Spencer Perlman, director of health care research at Veda Partners, said the Trump administration’s improved outcomes probably resulted from the mix of drugs being negotiated and lessons learned from the first year of negotiations.

    Net drug prices are proprietary, he said, but “if we take the administration at their word, I think it demonstrates that they have secured meaningful price concessions for seniors, meaning the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is working as intended.”


    Medicare recipients can’t get GLP-1 drugs for obesity, but the administration is making changes

    The GLP-1 weight-loss drugs that were part of the negotiations have been especially scrutinized for their high out-of-pocket costs. Yet it’s still unclear to what extent Medicare beneficiaries who want to use the drugs to treat obesity will be able to do so.

    Medicare has long been prohibited from paying for weight-loss treatments, but a separate deal recently announced between the Trump administration and two pharmaceutical companies included plans for a pilot program that will expand coverage for the drugs to additional high-risk obese and overweight people.

    The Trump administration this year has also negotiated several unrelated deals with drug companies to lower the cost of their products for the wider population.

    Pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, have sued over the Medicare drug negotiations enabled by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and remain opposed to them.

    “Whether it is the IRA or MFN, government price setting for medicines is the wrong policy for America,” Alex Schriver, senior vice president of public affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, said in a statement. “These flawed policies also threaten future medical innovation by siphoning $300 billion from biopharmaceutical research, undermining the American economy and our ability to compete globally.”

    Next year, Medicare will negotiate prices for another round of 15 drugs, including physician-administered drugs for the first time.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • House OKs protections for hospital workers

    [ad_1]

    BOSTON — Beacon Hill lawmakers are moving to increase protections for health care workers in response to skyrocketing acts of violence against nurses and other hospital staff in recent years.

    A proposal approved by the state House of Representatives last week would set new criminal charges specifically for violence and intimidation against health care workers and require hospitals and state public health officials to establish new standards for dealing with security risks at medical facilities.

    This page requires Javascript.

    Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

    kAm&?56C E96 =68:D=2E:@?[ 2?J@?6 H9@ 4@>>:ED “3@5:=J :?;FCJ” 282:?DE 2 962=E9 42C6 H@C<6C 4@F=5 36 492C865 2?5 7246 FA E@ 7:G6 J62CD AC:D@? 2?5 Sd[___ 😕 7:?6D] %9@D6 492C865 H:E9 “D6C:@FD” 3@5:=J :?;FCJ 4@F=5 =2?5 @776?56CD 😕 AC:D@? 7@C FA E@ `_ J62CD[ 2D H6== 2D Sd[___ 😕 7:?6D]k^Am

    [ad_2]

    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

    Source link

  • RFK Jr. says he’s following ‘gold standard’ science. Here’s what to know

    [ad_1]

    The message is hammered over and over, in news conferences, hearings and executive orders: President Donald Trump and his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., say they want the government to follow “gold standard” science.

    Scientists say the problem is that they are often doing just the opposite by relying on preliminary studies, fringe science or just hunches to make claims, cast doubt on proven treatments or even set policy.

    This week, the nation’s top public health agency changed its website to contradict the scientific conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism. The move shocked health experts nationwide.

    Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who resigned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in August, told reporters Wednesday that Kennedy seems to be “going from evidence-based decision making to decision-based evidence making.”

    It was the latest example of the Trump administration’s challenge to established science.

    U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during the Western Governors’ Association meeting Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rebecca Noble)

    In September, the Republican president gave out medical advice based on weak or no evidence. Speaking directly to pregnant women and to parents, he told them not to take acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. He repeatedly made the fraudulent and long-disproven link between autism and vaccines, saying his assessment was based on a hunch.

    “I have always had very strong feelings about autism and how it happened and where it came from,” he said.

    At a two-day meeting this fall, Kennedy’s handpicked vaccine advisers to the CDC raised questions about vaccinating babies against hepatitis B, an inoculation long shown to reduce disease and death drastically.

    “The discussion that has been brought up regarding safety is not based on evidence other than case reports and anecdotes,” said Dr. Flor Munoz, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital.

    During the country’s worst year for measles in more than three decades, Kennedy cast doubt on the measles vaccine while championing unproven treatments and alleging that the unvaccinated children who died were “already sick.”

    Scientists say the process of getting medicines and vaccines to market and recommended in the United States has, until now, typically relied on gold standard science. The process is so rigorous and transparent that much of the rest of the world follows the lead of American regulators, giving the OK to treatments only after U.S. approval.

    This April 1, 2025 photo shows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention building in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, file)

    This April 1, 2025 photo shows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention building in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, file)

    Gold standard science

    The gold standard can differ because science and medicine is complicated and everything cannot be tested the same way. That term simply refers to the best possible evidence that can be gathered.

    “It completely depends on what question you’re trying to answer,” said Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious disease physician and Stanford University researcher.

    What produces the best possible evidence?

    There are many different types of studies. The most rigorous is the randomized clinical trial.

    It randomly creates two groups of subjects that are identical in every way except for the drug, treatment or other question being tested. Many are “blinded studies,” meaning neither the subjects nor the researchers know who is in which group. This helps eliminate bias.

    It is not always possible or ethical to conduct these tests. This is sometimes the case with vaccine trials, “because we have so much data showing how safe and effective they are, it would be unethical to withhold vaccines from a particular group,” said Jessica Steier, a public health scientist and founder of the Unbiased Science podcast.

    Studying the long-term effect of a behavior can be impossible. For example, scientists could not possibly study the long-term benefit of exercise by having one group not exercise for years.

    Instead, researchers must conduct observational studies, where they follow participants and track their health and behavior without manipulating any variables. Such studies helped scientists discover that fluoride reduces cavities, and later lab studies showed how fluoride strengthens tooth enamel.

    But the studies have limitations because they can often only prove correlation, not causation. For example, some observational studies have raised the possibility of a link between autism risk and using acetaminophen during pregnancy, but more have not found a connection. The big problem is that those kinds of studies cannot determine if the painkiller really made any difference or if it was the fever or other health problem that prompted the need for the pill.

    Real world evidence can be especially powerful

    Scientists can learn even more when they see how something affects a large number of people in their daily lives.

    That real-world evidence can be valuable to prove how well something works — and when there are rare side effects that could never be detected in trials.

    Such evidence on vaccines has proved useful in both ways. Scientists now know there can be rare side effects with some vaccines and can alert doctors to be on the lookout. The data has proved that vaccines provide extraordinary protection from disease. For example, measles was eliminated in the U.S. but it still pops up among unvaccinated groups.

    That same data proves vaccines are safe.

    “If vaccines caused a wave of chronic disease, our safety systems — which can detect 1-in-a-million events — would have seen it. They haven’t,” Scott told a U.S. Senate subcommittee in September.

    The best science is open and transparent

    Simply publishing a paper online is not enough to call it open and transparent. Specific things to look for include:

    — Researchers set their hypothesis before they start the study and do not change it.

    — The authors disclose their conflicts of interest and their funding sources.

    — The research has gone through peer review by subject-matter experts who have nothing to do with that particular study.

    — The authors show their work, publishing and explaining the data underlying their analyses.

    — They cite reliable sources.

    This transparency allows science to check itself. Dr. Steven Woloshin, a Dartmouth College professor, has spent much of his career challenging scientific conclusions underlying health policy.

    “I’m only able to do that because they’re transparent about what they did, what the underlying source resources were, so that you can come to your own conclusion,” he said. “That’s how science works.”

    Know the limits of anecdotes and single studies

    Anecdotes may be powerful. They are not data.

    Case studies might even be published in top journals, to help doctors or other professionals learn from a particular situation. But they are not used to making decisions about how to treat large numbers of patients because every situation is unique.

    Even single studies should be considered in the context of previous research. A new one-off blockbuster study that seems to answer every question definitively or reaches a conclusion that runs counter to other well-conducted studies needs a very careful look.

    Uncertainty is baked into science.

    “Science isn’t about reaching certainty,” Woloshin said. “It’s about trying to reduce uncertainty to the point where you can say, ‘I have good confidence that if we do X, we’ll see result Y.’ But there’s no guarantee.”

    Doing your own research? Questions to ask

    If you come across a research paper online, in a news story or cited by officials to change your mind about something, here are some questions to ask:

    — Who did the research? What is their expertise? Do they disclose conflicts of interest?

    — Who paid for this research? Who might benefit from it?

    — Is it published in a reputable journal? Did it go through peer review?

    — What question are the researchers asking? Who or what are they studying? Are they making even comparisons between groups?

    — Is there a “limitations” section where the authors point out what their research cannot prove, other factors that could influence their results, or other potential blind spots? What does it say?

    — Does it make bold, definitive claims? Does it fit into the scientific consensus or challenge it? Is it too good or bad to be true?

    ___

    AP Medical Writers Lauran Neergaard in Washington and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • More people are addicted to marijuana, but fewer of them are seeking help, experts say

    [ad_1]

    Megan Feller smoked pot several times a day and couldn’t eat, sleep or function without it. But at the time, she didn’t see the need to reach out for help.

    “I didn’t think cannabis was a big deal,” the 24-year-old said. “It was really socially accepted.”

    This attitude is common. As more states legalize marijuana, use has become more normalized and products have become more potent. But fewer of those who are addicted seek help for it.

    Megan Feller arranges bouquets for a Halloween party at her apartment in Edina, Minn. on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

    Pot use among young adults reached historic levels in recent years, according to a federally supported survey. Daily use even outpaced daily drinking, with nearly 18 million Americans reporting in 2022 that they use marijuana every day or nearly every day, up from less than 1 million three decades earlier.

    Studies show a corresponding increase in cannabis use disorder — when people crave marijuana and spend lots of time using it even though it causes problems at home, school, work or in relationships. It’s a condition that researchers estimate affects about 3 in 10 pot users and can be mild, moderate or severe.

    And it’s an addiction — despite the common misconception that that’s not possible with marijuana, said Dr. Smita Das, an addiction psychiatrist at Stanford University.

    Meanwhile, the drug’s widespread acceptance has fueled a stigma about seeking treatment, said Dr. Jennifer Exo of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Minnesota.

    “There’s this pervasive belief that you can’t become addicted, it can’t actually be a problem,” she said. “It has to do with this myth that cannabis is safe, natural and benign.”

    Stronger weed, bigger problems

    While pot isn’t as harmful as harder drugs, frequent or heavy use has been linked to problems with learning, memory and attention as well as chronic nausea, vomiting and lung problems among those who smoke it. Some evidence has also linked it to earlier onset of psychosis in people with genetic risk factors for psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.

    And today’s pot is not the same as that of the past.

    Many people recall older relatives who “smoked a few doobies and ate some food and fell asleep,” Exo said. “But it’s absolutely different.”

    In the 1960s, most pot that people smoked contained less than 5% THC, the ingredient that causes a high. Today, the THC potency in cannabis flower and concentrates sold in dispensaries can reach 40% or more, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Teens are often vaping potent marijuana concentrates, Exo said, rather than eating brownies made with cannabis flower or taking a hit from a bong.

    More access to marijuana, rising ER visits

    Pot is also increasingly available. Though it’s still a federal crime to possess it, 24 states allow recreational use by adults and 40 allow medical use as of late June, the National Conference of State Legislatures said. Dispensaries abound and more people are able to keep pot at home.

    Research links the legalization of recreational marijuana with rising emergency room visits for “acute cannabis intoxication,” in which patients may experience a rapid heartbeat or feel dizzy, confused or paranoid.

    A study last year focused on Michigan found that legalization was associated with an immediate increase in the rate of ER visits for this condition among people of all ages, especially middle-aged adults.

    Das said increased access to cannabis, along with a growing number of cannabis products and with higher potency all contribute to rising ER visits. Edibles such as gummies can pose a particular problem because they take a little while to kick in so people may keep taking more because they don’t yet feel the drug’s effects.

    “Then, suddenly, they’re suffering from cannabis toxicity,” she said.

    Why treatment is often overlooked

    Feller first tried pot at 16 and quickly went from smoking the plant to using vape cartridges that were easy to hide in her pocket. Soon, she could barely get by without it.

    “I would wake up every morning for years, and until I smoked weed, I would throw up,” she said. Instead of trying to get high, she used it “to make these other symptoms go away.”

    Feller was also drinking a lot and her parents sent her to a treatment center when she was around 18. It didn’t help because she wasn’t ready to get well. After her mother died, her substance use worsened.

    At 22, Feller entered Hazelden on her own — but only to get sober from alcohol, which she did.

    She kept using pot on and off, then finally sought treatment for cannabis use disorder and has been sober from marijuana for almost a year.

    “I’m so much happier now,” she said. “I don’t feel, like, shackled to a substance.”

    Such treatment is often overlooked, said Brian Graves, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University.

    He and his colleagues published a study this year showing that the share of people who got treatment for cannabis use disorder from their nationally representative sample dropped from 19% in 2003 to 13% in 2019. An earlier study also found a marked decline and pointed to reasons that include “expanding cannabis legalization and more tolerant attitudes.”

    Experts said people need to be educated that pot, like alcohol, can be misused and can cause real harm.

    “Another important piece is helping people understand the risk before they start,” Exo said, “and then to feel safe enough to say, ‘Hey, I need help managing this.’”

    Many people wait until their marijuana use causes problems in multiple parts of their lives before they seek treatment — if they ever do.

    “If you’re changing your life because of weed, there might be an issue,” Feller added. “There are resources to get help and you are not alone.”

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • They relied on marijuana to get through the day. But then days felt impossible without it

    [ad_1]

    BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — For the past several years, 75-year-old Miguel Laboy has smoked a joint with his coffee every morning. He tells himself he won’t start tomorrow the same way, but he usually does.

    “You know what bothers me? To have cannabis on my mind the first thing in the morning,” he said, sparking a blunt in his Brookline, Massachusetts, apartment. “I’d like to get up one day and not smoke. But you see how that’s going.”

    Since legalization and commercialization, daily cannabis use has become a defining — and often invisible — part of many people’s lives. High-potency vapes and concentrates now dominate the market, and doctors say they can blur the line between relief and dependence over time so that users don’t notice the shift. Across the country, people who turned to cannabis for help are finding it harder to put down.

    Overall, alcohol remains more widely used than cannabis. But starting in 2022, the number of daily cannabis users in the U.S. surpassed that of daily drinkers — a major shift in American habits.

    Researchers say the rise has unfolded alongside products that contain far more THC than the marijuana of past decades, including vape oils and concentrates that can reach 80% to 95% THC. Massachusetts, like most states, sets no limit on how strong these products can be.

    Doctors warn that daily, high-potency use can cloud memory, disturb sleep, intensify anxiety or depression and trigger addiction in ways earlier generations didn’t encounter. Many who develop cannabis use disorder say it’s hard to recognize the signs because of the widespread belief that marijuana isn’t addictive. Because the consequences tend to creep in gradually — brain fog, irritability, dependence — users often miss when therapeutic use shifts into compulsion.

    How a habit becomes an addiction

    Miguel Laboy smokes a joint on Oct. 3, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    Laboy, a retired chef, began seeing a substance-use counselor after telling his doctor he felt depressed, unmotivated and increasingly isolated as his drinking and cannabis use escalated.

    Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.


    Follow on
    WhatsApp

    Naltrexone helped him quit alcohol, but he hasn’t found a way to quit marijuana. Unlike alcohol and opioids, there is no FDA-approved medication to treat cannabis addiction, though research is underway.

    Laboy, who first smoked at 18, said marijuana has long soothed symptoms tied to undiagnosed ADHD, childhood trauma and painful experiences — including cancer treatment and his son’s death. Through decades in restaurant kitchens, he considered himself a “functional pothead.”

    Lately, though, his use has become compulsive. After retiring, he began vaping 85% THC cartridges.

    Miguel Laboy, a daily cannabis user, vapes, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    Miguel Laboy, a daily cannabis user, vapes, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    “These days, I carry two things in my hands: my vape and my cellular — that’s it,” he said. “I’m not proud of it, but it’s the reality.”

    Cannabis eases his anxiety and “settles his spirit,” but he’s noticed it affects his concentration. He hopes to learn to read music, but sustaining focus at the piano has grown difficult.

    He’s seen an addiction psychiatrist for six months, but he hasn’t been able to cut back. The medical system doesn’t seem equipped to help, he said.

    “They’re not ready yet,” Laboy said. “I go to them for help, but all they say is, ‘Try to smoke less.’ I already know that — that’s why I’m there.”

    Younger users describe a similar slide — one that begins with relief and ends somewhere harder to define.

    Brain fog becomes ‘your new normal’

    Kyle, a college student, smokes cannabis out of a bong, Oct. 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    Kyle, a college student, smokes cannabis out of a bong, Oct. 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    Kyle, a 20-year-old Boston University student, says cannabis helps him manage panic attacks he’s had since high school. He spoke on the condition that only his first name be used because he buys cannabis illegally.

    In the Allston apartment he shares with fraternity brothers, they have a communal bong.

    When he’s high, Kyle feels calm — and able to process anxious thoughts and feel a sense of gratitude. But that clarity has become harder to reach when he’s sober.

    “I think I was able to do that better a year ago,” he said. “Now I can only do it when I’m high, which is scary.”

    He said the brain fog and feeling of detachment develop so gradually they become “your new normal.” Some mornings, he wakes up feeling like an observer in his own life, struggling to recall the day before. “It can be tough to wake up and go, ‘Oh my God, who am I?’” he said.

    Still, he doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.

    Kyle says cannabis helps him function — more than seeking professional treatment would. Doctors say that ambivalence is common: many people feel cannabis is both the problem and the solution.

    A dream turns into a nightmare

     

    This April 22, 2016, file photo shows a marijuana bud at a medical marijuana facility in Unity, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

    Anne Hassel spent a month in jail and a year on probation for growing cannabis in the 1980s. She cried when Massachusetts’ first dispensaries opened — and left her physical therapy career to get a job at one.

    Within a year, though, “my dream job turned into a nightmare,” she said.

    Hassel, 58, said some consultants pushed staff to promote high-potency concentrates as “more medicinal,” downplaying their risks. After trying her first dab — a nearly instantaneous, “stupefying” high — she began using 90% THC concentrate several times a day.

    Her use quickly became debilitating, she said. She lost interest in things she once loved, like mountain biking. One autumn day, she drove to the woods and turned back without getting out. “I just wanted to go to my friend’s house and dab,” she said. “I hated myself.”

    Anne Hassel, a former cannabis user, rides her motorcycle, Nov. 6, 2025, in Chicopee, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    Anne Hassel, a former cannabis user, rides her motorcycle, Nov. 6, 2025, in Chicopee, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    She didn’t seek formal treatment but recovered with the help of a friend. Riding her green motorcycle — once named “Sativa” after her favorite strain — has helped her reconnect to her body and spirit.

    “People don’t want to acknowledge what’s going on because legalization was tied to social justice,” she said. “You get swept up in it and don’t recognize the harm until it’s too late.”

    Community for those who want to leave

    Online, that realization unfolds daily on r/leaves, a Reddit community of more than 380,000 people trying to cut back or quit.

    Users describe a similar push-pull — craving the calm cannabis brings, then feeling trapped by the fog. Some write about isolation and regret, saying years of smoking dulled their ambition and presence in relationships. Others post pleas for help from work or doctors’ offices.


    SLIDESHOW: The every day high

    cannabis ad

    An advertisement for a cannabis delivery company is seen on a public trash bin, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    miguel Laboy at dispensary

    Miguel Laboy shops at a cannabis dispensary, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    cannabis product

    A customer holds a package containing one gram of cannabis purchased from a dispensary, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    cannabis product

    A package of fruit-flavored cannabis gummies is displayed at a dispensary, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    cannabis buds

    A gram of cannabis is seen, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    cannabis buds

    Miguel Laboy plays the keyboard after smoking cannabis, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)


    Together, they paint a portrait of dependence that is quiet and routine — and difficult to escape.

    “When people talk about legalizing a drug, they’re really talking about commercializing it,” said Dave Bushnell, who founded the Reddit group. “We’ve built an industry optimized to sell as much as possible.”

    What doctors want people to know

    Dr. Jordan Tishler, a former emergency physician who now treats medical cannabis patients in Massachusetts, said low doses of THC paired with high doses of CBD can help some patients with anxiety. Many products have high levels of THC, which can worsen symptoms, he said.

    “It’s a medicine,” he said. “It can be useful, but it can also be dangerous — and access without guidance is dangerous.”

    Miguel Laboy rolls a joint Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    Miguel Laboy rolls a joint Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

    Dr. Kevin Hill, an addiction director at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who specializes in cannabis use disorder, said the biggest gap is education, among both consumers and clinicians.

    “I think adults should be allowed to do what they want as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else,” but many users don’t understand the risks, Hill said.

    He said the conversation shouldn’t be about prohibition but about balance and informed decision-making. “For most people, the risks outweigh the benefits.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson Leaves Hospital After Treatment for Neurological Disorder

    [ad_1]

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson has been released from a Chicago hospital where he was treated for a rare neurological disorder, his son said Tuesday.

    The 84-year-old civil rights leader was discharged Monday from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, his son and family spokesperson Yusef Jackson said.

    In 2013, Jackson, who now receives round-the-clock care at home, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The diagnosis was changed last April to progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, a neurodegenerative disorder which can have similar symptoms to Parkinson’s.

    Yusef Jackson thanked “the countless friends and supporters who have reached out, visited and prayed for our father,” as well as the medical and security staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

    “We humbly ask for your continued prayers throughout this precious time,” Yusef Jackson said.

    A protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the two-time presidential candidate and internationally known founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition was hospitalized Nov. 14.

    Visitors included former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, fellow civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton and television court arbitrator Judge Greg Mathis.

    After announcing his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017, Jackson continued to work and make public appearances, including at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In 2023, he stepped down as leader of Rainbow/PUSH, which he began as Operation PUSH in 1971, but continued going to the office regularly until a few months ago.

    His family says that Jackson uses a wheelchair, struggles to keep his eyes open and is unable to speak. Relatives, including his sons, Illinois U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr., a former Illinois congressman seeking reelection, have been caring for him in shifts.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Texas Summer Camp Owners Prepare for More Mental Health Issues Among Youth After July Floods

    [ad_1]

    Texas officials are requiring youth camps to have weather alert systems, mandated emergency preparedness plans, and various communication methods to help children and their families feel safe when they return this summer. But one thing is still missing from the state plan that some camp leaders say would ensure complete safety at all camps — initiatives to address the mental health of those returning to a place of tragedy.

    After the devastating July 4 Hill Country floods that killed at least 137 people, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, those who are expected to return to Texas camps this summer could be dealing with the fear of the water, extreme emotions during weather events, consistent nightmares, and more.

    One of the primary challenges in addressing the mental health needs of campers, staff and their families is that they are spread out across the state, only coming together during the summer. Resources have been poured into Texas Hill Country for flood victims, but for campers and their families who might live miles away, this does little to help.

    Camp owners say this is why camps should be better prepared for their return.

    “I am in 100% support of engaging in the physical safety, but I think it has distracted a little bit from the importance of focusing on other aspects of wellness,” Brandon G. Briery, chief program officer at Centerpoint-based Camp Camp, said.

    State lawmakers over the summer passed House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 requiring camps to address various safety measures including emergency preparedness plans and communication systems, but they gave no guidance to camps on how to serve the mental health needs of campers and staff.

    Keli Rabon, a Houston mother whose sons survived the flood at Camp Junta, told lawmakers three weeks after the Hill Country flood during a committee hearing in Kerrville, that for her family the storm wasn’t over. She said her son scans every room for higher ground, checks the weather constantly and battles nightmares of water dripping from the ceiling, and she has been struggling to find the mental health resources to help him.

    “I have asked the camp. I have asked FEMA. The answer is the same: ‘Sorry, we don’t know what to tell you. You are in Houston,’” Rabon said demanding that mental health care be a central, funded part of the state’s disaster response. “… I shouldn’t have to rely on a Facebook group of volunteers to find trauma care for my children.”

    Sens. Pete Flores of Pleasanton and Charles Perry of Lubbock, who were committee chair and vice chair of the flood investigation committee and authors and co-sponsors of SB 1 and HB 1, did not respond to interview requests about mental health resources. Gov. Greg Abbott ’s office forwarded questions about mental health resources for camps to Texas Health and Human Services, which did not provide information by the story’s publication.

    Even before the flood, the mental wellness of campers and staff had been a growing concern for camp leaders. As youth mental health has declined across Texas and the country over the past six years, camp directors have reported multiple campers coming in with signs of anxiety and other mental illnesses, and staff — usually college students and young adults — with signs of depression and other more severe mental health problems.

    Briery, whose six-year term on the state’s Youth Camp Program Advisory Committee ended in August, said he and several others had been advocating for the state’s camp licensing board to consider adding higher-level training requirements for staff to address mental health concerns. He said a work group had been created around the topic and was supposed to convene after the summer camp season ended, but the July 4 flood put those plans on hold — right when it was needed most.

    “While the physical safety of our camp community is what’s on everyone’s top of mind right now after the events of July, we have to look at the entire person’s safety, and that includes mental wellness,” Briery said.

    When news about the tragedy at Camp Mystic reached Laity Lodge Youth Camp in Leakey, it was like the world had been turned upside down. Laity staff members mourned the deaths as if they were their own while they answered the anxiety-riddled questions of their young campers. The portion of the East Frio River that butts up against them — a source of joy for so many of them before it was shuttered for the rest of the summer — became a grim reminder of the tragedy that unfolded just 36 miles away.

    “When I think of the summer, it is split into two parts. Pre-flood and post-flood, because everything felt so different. There was this heaviness afterwards,” said Blayze Sykes, the camp supervisor for Laity Lodge.

    Kaplow said each year, more Texas children are becoming survivors of natural disasters, creating a generation of weather anxiety-filled youth.

    A study of the Greater Houston area from 2019 to 2023 found that successive weather disasters and events had an effect on emergency department visits for depression and anxiety. It found distinct seasonal patterns, with specific periods, consistently showing higher demand for mental health services.

    Weather-related mental illness can be complex to diagnose in children at first glance because their actions mirror ADHD symptoms, Kaplow said. Children affected with weather-related trauma may be hypervigilant, which might appear as though they are easily distracted.

    Other signs can range from a student exhausted at their desk in the classroom to obvious signs of crying or becoming aggressive toward other peers.

    “It’s not enough to intervene in the immediate aftermath. We want to make sure people recognize that this will be a long-term effort to help kids heal,” said Kaplow.

    While camp can’t be the replacement for professional mental health treatment, studies have found that well-structured mental health programs at camps can counter struggles regarding depression, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, and difficulty forming positive peer relationships in young people.

    “The time is now. Suppose there were ever a time to give attention to mental well-being at camp, to create an environment where it thrives. In that case, it’s now,” said Cary Hendricks, executive director of Laity Lodge Camping Programs.


    One approach to integrating mental health into camps

    Families seeking to disconnect their children from technology have long turned to summer camps to help them immerse in nature. Mental health experts have also promoted the benefits of nature-focused camps for children’s emotional well-being.

    But, what happens when the outdoors becomes the reason for grief?

    “We know, and frankly, take it for granted that so many camps are in the outdoors and therefore have that kind of restorative benefit for campers and staff. The events of July 4 reminded us that those elements are also hazardous and destructive,” said Laurie Pearson, the senior director of innovation and learning for the American Camp Association.

    Camps across Texas are wrestling with trying to maintain the summer-camp feel of the past for campers and staff who are now very aware of the dangers that surround them.

    “I know we have already had campers signed up who have experienced very traumatic things, so that is where we are focused on. What can we do?” said Meg Clark, owner of Camp Waldemar.

    Pearson said the CampWell program, a skills-based training course on building resilience, teaches staffers and campers how to regulate their emotions, like fear and anxiety, using methods such as breathing exercises, activities, conversation, and other non-medical means.

    Camps who go through CampWell training try to create a safe, supported and connected environment among staff who can then model and teach relevant skills to campers. This in-person program evaluates a camp’s culture, including its training and screening processes and programs, to ensure it promotes mental and physical well-being.

    Fifteen camps in Texas began implementing the CampWell program earlier this year. Little did these camp directors know how necessary this training would be for staff later that summer, when the flood required them not only to deal with their own emotions but also to address the emotions of hundreds of young campers who had a slew of questions about what happened. Those who went through the training said it helped them by teaching them emotional regulation techniques like breathing exercises and confidence building.

    Sykes said in the months after the flood, the CampWell program has helped Laity’s staff build their own community of support.

    “Looking back at it, the greatest resource we had was each other,” Sykes, staff manager at Laity Bird Lodge campgrounds, said.

    Hendricks said lawmakers have the opportunity to lay the foundation for a better future for youth mental health, and it should start with youth summer camps.

    “The same way that the state requires us to do proper lifeguard training and food services, what if mental health were equally as important, and what if camps were required to do some mental well-being training? We would love to see that future,” he said.

    Jessica Shuran Yu contributed reporting.

    This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • ByHeart Baby Formula From All Lots May Be Contaminated With Botulism Bacteria, Tests Show

    [ad_1]

    Tests of ByHeart infant formula tied to a botulism outbreak that has sickened dozens of babies showed that all of the company’s products may have been contaminated.

    Laboratory tests of 36 samples of formula from three different lots showed that five samples contained the type of bacteria that can lead to the rare and potentially deadly illness, the company said Monday on its website.

    “Based on these results, we cannot rule out the risk that all ByHeart formula across all product lots may have been contaminated,” the company wrote.

    At least 31 babies in 15 states who consumed ByHeart formula have been sickened in the outbreak that began in August, according to federal and state health officials. In addition, other infants who drank ByHeart formula were treated for botulism in earlier months, as far back as November 2024, although they are not counted in the outbreak, officials said.

    Clostridium botulinum type A, the type of bacteria detected, can be unevenly distributed in powdered formula. Not all babies who ingest it will become ill, though all infants under age 1 are at risk, medical experts said.

    ByHeart recalled all of its formula nationwide on Nov. 11. However, some product has remained on store shelves despite the recall, according to state officials and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Parents and caregivers should stop feeding the formula to babies immediately and monitor the children for symptoms, which can take up to 30 days to appear.

    Infant botulism occurs when babies ingest spores that germinate in their intestine and produce a toxin. Symptoms include constipation, difficulty sucking or feeding, drooping eyelids, flat facial expression and weakness in the arms, legs and head. The illness is a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment.

    At least 107 babies nationwide have been treated for botulism with an IV medication known as BabyBIG since Aug. 1, health officials said. In a typical year, less than 200 infants are treated for the illness.

    Consumers who bought ByHeart on the company’s website on or after Aug. 1 can receive a full refund, an expansion of its previous policy, the company said.

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • They relied on marijuana to get through the day. But then days felt impossible without it

    [ad_1]

    BROOKLINE, Mass. — For the past several years, 75-year-old Miguel Laboy has smoked a joint with his coffee every morning. He tells himself he won’t start tomorrow the same way, but he usually does.

    “You know what bothers me? To have cannabis on my mind the first thing in the morning,” he said, sparking a blunt in his Brookline, Mass., apartment. “I’d like to get up one day and not smoke. But you see how that’s going.”

    Since legalization and commercialization, daily cannabis use has become a defining — and often invisible — part of many people’s lives. High-potency vapes and concentrates now dominate the market, and doctors say they can blur the line between relief and dependence over time so that users don’t notice the shift. Across the country, people who turned to cannabis for help are finding it harder to put down.

    Overall, alcohol remains more widely used than cannabis. But starting in 2022, the number of daily cannabis users in the U.S. surpassed that of daily drinkers — a major shift in American habits.

    Researchers say the rise has unfolded alongside products that contain far more THC than the marijuana of past decades, including vape oils and concentrates that can reach 80% to 95% THC. Massachusetts, like most states, sets no limit on how strong these products can be.

    Doctors warn that daily, high-potency use can cloud memory, disturb sleep, intensify anxiety or depression and trigger addiction in ways earlier generations didn’t encounter. Many who develop cannabis use disorder say it’s hard to recognize the signs because of the widespread belief that marijuana isn’t addictive. Because the consequences tend to creep in gradually — brain fog, irritability, dependence — users often miss when therapeutic use shifts into compulsion.

    Laboy, a retired chef, began seeing a substance-use counselor after telling his doctor he felt depressed, unmotivated and increasingly isolated as his drinking and cannabis use escalated.

    Naltrexone helped him quit alcohol, but he hasn’t found a way to quit marijuana. Unlike alcohol and opioids, there is no FDA-approved medication to treat cannabis addiction, though research is underway.

    Laboy, who first smoked at 18, said marijuana has long soothed symptoms tied to undiagnosed ADHD, childhood trauma and painful experiences — including cancer treatment and his son’s death. Through decades in restaurant kitchens, he considered himself a “functional pothead.”

    Lately, though, his use has become compulsive. After retiring, he began vaping 85% THC cartridges.

    “These days, I carry two things in my hands: my vape and my cellular — that’s it,” he said. “I’m not proud of it, but it’s the reality.”

    Cannabis eases his anxiety and “settles his spirit,” but he’s noticed it affects his concentration. He hopes to learn to read music, but sustaining focus at the piano has grown difficult.

    He’s seen an addiction psychiatrist for six months, but he hasn’t been able to cut back. The medical system doesn’t seem equipped to help, he said.

    “They’re not ready yet,” Laboy said. “I go to them for help, but all they say is, ‘Try to smoke less.’ I already know that — that’s why I’m there.”

    Younger users describe a similar slide — one that begins with relief and ends somewhere harder to define.

    Kyle, a 20-year-old Boston University student, says cannabis helps him manage panic attacks he’s had since high school. He spoke on the condition that only his first name be used because he buys cannabis illegally.

    In the Allston apartment he shares with fraternity brothers, they have a communal bong.

    When he’s high, Kyle feels calm — and able to process anxious thoughts and feel a sense of gratitude. But that clarity has become harder to reach when he’s sober.

    “I think I was able to do that better a year ago,” he said. “Now I can only do it when I’m high, which is scary.”

    He said the brain fog and feeling of detachment develop so gradually they become “your new normal.” Some mornings, he wakes up feeling like an observer in his own life, struggling to recall the day before. “It can be tough to wake up and go, ‘Oh my God, who am I?’” he said.

    Still, he doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.

    Kyle says cannabis helps him function — more than seeking professional treatment would. Doctors say that ambivalence is common: many people feel cannabis is both the problem and the solution.

    Anne Hassel spent a month in jail and a year on probation for growing cannabis in the 1980s. She cried when Massachusetts’ first dispensaries opened — and left her physical therapy career to get a job at one.

    Within a year, though, “my dream job turned into a nightmare,” she said.

    Hassel, 58, said some consultants pushed staff to promote high-potency concentrates as “more medicinal,” downplaying their risks. After trying her first dab — a nearly instantaneous, “stupefying” high — she began using 90% THC concentrate several times a day.

    Her use quickly became debilitating, she said. She lost interest in things she once loved, like mountain biking. One autumn day, she drove to the woods and turned back without getting out. “I just wanted to go to my friend’s house and dab,” she said. “I hated myself.”

    She didn’t seek formal treatment but recovered with the help of a friend. Riding her green motorcycle — once named “Sativa” after her favorite strain — has helped her reconnect to her body and spirit.

    “People don’t want to acknowledge what’s going on because legalization was tied to social justice,” she said. “You get swept up in it and don’t recognize the harm until it’s too late.”

    Online, that realization unfolds daily on r/leaves, a Reddit community of more than 380,000 people trying to cut back or quit.

    Users describe a similar push-pull — craving the calm cannabis brings, then feeling trapped by the fog. Some write about isolation and regret, saying years of smoking dulled their ambition and presence in relationships. Others post pleas for help from work or doctors’ offices.

    Together, they paint a portrait of dependence that is quiet and routine — and difficult to escape.

    “When people talk about legalizing a drug, they’re really talking about commercializing it,” said Dave Bushnell, who founded the Reddit group. “We’ve built an industry optimized to sell as much as possible.”

    Dr. Jordan Tishler, a former emergency physician who now treats medical cannabis patients in Massachusetts, said low doses of THC paired with high doses of CBD can help some patients with anxiety. Many products have high levels of THC, which can worsen symptoms, he said.

    “It’s a medicine,” he said. “It can be useful, but it can also be dangerous — and access without guidance is dangerous.”

    Dr. Kevin Hill, an addiction director at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who specializes in cannabis use disorder, said the biggest gap is education, among both consumers and clinicians.

    “I think adults should be allowed to do what they want as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else,” but many users don’t understand the risks, Hill said.

    He said the conversation shouldn’t be about prohibition but about balance and informed decision-making. “For most people, the risks outweigh the benefits.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis follows science and steady funding to a broader mission

    [ad_1]

    Marc Buoniconti said his father, the late NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, explained the secret to the success of their nonprofit and its fundraising efforts simply: “We’re just not good listeners.”

    In the 40 years since Marc Buoniconti, then a college football linebacker at the Citadel, was paralyzed during a routine tackle, they have been told countless times that it was a problem that couldn’t be fixed. The Buonicontis didn’t listen.

    Instead, through the fund that bears their name, they have helped raise more than $550 million for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and improved the lives of millions with spinal cord and brain injuries.

    “The Buoniconti Fund has lasted because we’re relentless,” Marc Buoniconti recently told The Associated Press. “We never give up. When we see a challenge, we face it head-on and don’t stop until we find a solution. It’s that determination, that refusal to quit that’s kept us going all these years.”

    That drive has also led The Miami Project to expand its work beyond curing paralysis. Its research center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine now also studies neurological diseases and disorders including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and it is testing the brain-computer interface implant from Elon Musk’s technology company Neuralink.

    Dr. Barth A. Green, chairman of The Miami Project, who co-founded the organization in 1985 with Nick Buoniconti, says the most surprising developments from the center have been the broadest ones.

    “Every operating room in the world that puts people to sleep monitors their nervous system for safety,” Dr. Green said. “That was all developed at The Miami Project.”

    Therapeutic hypothermia, where the body is cooled after an injury to protect the brain and spinal cord, is another widely used treatment developed at the center.

    Dr. Green said that before Buoniconti’s accident he had been working on helping those who had been paralyzed for 20 years. Yet there wasn’t a hub for that work until The Miami Project was established.

    It provided a home for him and “thousands of scientists and researchers in Miami and around the world, who were equally engaged by the opportunity to change people’s everyday quality of life and their opportunities to have more function and a better opportunity to be mobile and do things they never dreamt they could before.”

    Miami Project Scientific Director W. Dalton Dietrich III said gathering those people from a variety of disciplines – neuroscientists, researchers, clinicians, biomedical engineers – into one building has led to unexpected advances.

    “Not one particular treatment is going to cure paralysis,” Dietrich said. “So I’ve tried to look at other disciplines to bring into the project to help us achieve that goal.”

    One new, multidisciplinary area, neuromodulation, is “something we never thought about five years ago,” Dietrich said. “It’s just an exciting area where you can stimulate these residual circuits after brain injury or spinal cord injury in patients and they start moving their limbs.”

    The Buoniconti Fund’s support for the center helps accelerate research in these areas by funding early trials. That, in turn, makes it easier to eventually receive grants from government agencies like the National Institutes of Health or the Department of Defense, Dietrich said.

    Marc Buoniconti says “it’s hard to put into words” seeing so many people rally behind him and the millions of others who have been paralyzed.

    “What started as a promise to help me walk again became a mission to help millions,” he said. “Every resource, every dollar, every hour given is a testament to the belief that we can change lives.”

    Mark Dalton, chairman and CEO of Tudor Investment Corp., said that belief resonated with him and made him want to get involved with The Buonicontis even before he met them.

    “I had tremendous admiration for him as a father who was never going to give up on finding a cure for what ailed his son,” Dalton said. “And his son was a representation of millions of other people.”

    Once he learned more about The Miami Project, Dalton said he was impressed by its science-driven approach. Its setting on a university campus was also important to the former chairman of the board of trustees at Denison and Vanderbilt universities.

    “They put the line in the water,” said Dalton, who now chairs the Buoniconti Fund’s biggest annual fundraiser, The Great Sports Legends Dinner. “They hooked me. I’m all in.”

    That’s a common feeling around The Miami Project, which counts legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus and Grammy winner Gloria Estefan among its supporters. And it’s something Marc Buoniconti says he does not take for granted.

    He hopes The Miami Project’s work will continue to expand.

    “My biggest dream is for our researchers to find a way to fully repair the nervous system,” Buoniconti said. “When we do that, we’ll change the entire landscape for paralysis and so many other neuro conditions. We’ll give so many people their lives back. That’s what keeps me going, and that’s what makes every struggle to this point worth it.”

    _____

    Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • An exercise for balance, control and core engagement – Today’s Tip

    [ad_1]

    Shoshana shows us an exercise that’s all about balance, control and core engagement.

    [ad_2]

    6abc Digital Staff

    Source link

  • House OKs protections for hospital workers

    [ad_1]

    BOSTON — Beacon Hill lawmakers are moving to increase protections for health care workers in response to skyrocketing acts of violence against nurses and other hospital staff in recent years.

    A proposal approved by the state House of Representatives last week would set new criminal charges specifically for violence and intimidation against health care workers and require hospitals and state public health officials to establish new standards for dealing with security risks at medical facilities.

    This page requires Javascript.

    Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

    kAm&?56C E96 =68:D=2E:@?[ 2?J@?6 H9@ 4@>>:ED Q3@5:=J :?;FCJQ 282:?DE 2 962=E9 42C6 H@C<6C 4@F=5 36 492C865 2?5 7246 FA E@ 7:G6 J62CD AC:D@? 2?5 Sd[___ 😕 7:?6D] %9@D6 492C865 H:E9 QD6C:@FDQ 3@5:=J :?;FCJ 4@F=5 =2?5 @776?56CD 😕 AC:D@? 7@C FA E@ `_ J62CD[ 2D H6== 2D Sd[___ 😕 7:?6D]k^Am

    [ad_2]

    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

    Source link

  • The ultimate editor-approved holiday gift guide

    [ad_1]

    Know someone who lives in their kitchen. These delicious proof tools make mealtime simpler and make great gifts. I’m going to show you three amazing products, ones we’ve tested, we just love, and they’re unbelievably versatile. First, this warming mat is great for holiday parties and buffets and costs about $40 on Amazon. The temperature, set the timer for it to shut off. This is *** must, must have, especially if you’re doing *** lot of cooking. It’s it’s the holidays and you’ve got big pots and you don’t have much space. If you’re always on the go, check out NutriBullet’s $70 portable rechargeable blender. You can even use your laptop to charge it. You’re at your desk the middle of the day. You’re like, you know what, it’s smoothie time. And what is totally awesome is you don’t have to lug around this the base, the base and just take this. It’s done, boom. Finally, this space saving collapsible steamer and strainer from Williams Sonoma costs just under $30. It pops open like this, and you can either use it to steam or you can fully immerse whatever food you want to cook. Give the gift of self-care. Women’s Health has you covered with gift suggestions that are equal parts relaxing and thoughtful. We have curated *** few of our favorite gifts and products that will make an amazing present for anyone in your life that needs *** little extra rest or relaxation, and don’t we all? First up, the $19 Beauty Sleep fabric spray from Laundreist. Put it on your pillow for *** calming effect before bed. This is *** very light scent that is made to help you relax and ease stress and fall asleep faster. There’s also an active wear version that is great for refreshing gym clothes. Next, Nodpod’s $38 weighted sleep mask. So *** lot of sleep masks, when you wrap them around your head. They can be kind of uncomfortable when you’re laying on your back or on your side. This one really takes away that whole issue. And for *** soft, luxurious splurge, Brook Lennon’s super plush robe starts at $95. The Women’s Health editors are obsessed with this robe because it is really like stepping into *** five-star spa when you get out of the shower. Shopping for someone who loves their home, look no further than these Good Housekeeping approved gifts. The three gifts that we’ve chosen here today for the home are award winners and editor favorites from Good Housekeeping for 2025. 1st, something practical and perfect for anyone with *** green thumb. These $14 Fiskers pruning and gardening shears. This pair of shears from Fisker’s cuts easily. Through stems and branches whether you’re pruning house plants or pruning shrubs outside, we love that they’re easy to lock and unlock and that they come with *** lifetime guarantee. Next, *** gift that brings peace of mind, the $75 smoke and carbon monoxide detector from Kitty is Ring App enabled and connects to your smartphone. The detector will ping your phone at the first sight of danger. And simultaneously sound an alarm through all of the connected detectors in your home. And for the home cook who loves *** clean countertop, the KitchenAid Go cordless kitchen vacuum costs about $89. They’re your batch cooking on Sundays like me or baking for the holidays. We all know what *** mess the kitchen counter and stove can look like after this vacuum gets into every corner and crevice and makes kitchen clean up quick and easy. Looking for something special for the beauty lovers in your life? Cosmopolitan has you covered. Cosmo Beauty editors test products all year long. We’re always researching, reviewing, swiping, swatching all of the newest beauty launches. Let’s start small and affordable with *** perfect stocking stuffer. These $9 lip balms from EELF come in tons of colors. You can use them on your own or layered over ***. Lip pencil for *** fun lip combo, but really great stocking stuffer at $9. You can’t go wrong. Next, Dazzle Dry’s fast track mini kit for $39 you’ll get salon quality nails at home. So on average, you’ll get 10 days out of *** Dazzle Dry Manny. You can do it at home. It’s inexpensive, but the best part is it dries in literally 5 minutes for that fresh from the salon blowout. Multi-stylers are having *** major moment. The T3 Air is *** splurge at $250 but that’s half the price of *** Dyson Airwrap. So there’s one base, and then there’s all these interchangeable parts. This is the blow dryer, round brush, really good for *** bouncy blowout, and then two interchangeable curling wands, super easy to use, works on all hair types, and also comes in three really cute colors. Shopping for the outdoorsmen or woman in your life, Men’s Health has *** few solid picks to choose from. all year long at Men’s Health, our team is testing the latest and greatest in new gear. Like these tumblers, Arctic has been one of Men’s Health’s top cooler brands for years. Now they have *** $20 to $25 happy hour collection. What I love about these is that they’re. Insulated, that means that anything you’re putting into them, whether it’s wine or coffee or even an old fashioned, doesn’t take on that tinny metallic taste for camping trips, the $40 Coast voice control lantern is *** great find. Now these things can operate with *** button press, but you can also activate this little one here and say coast red. And it changes for you and for *** sensible splurge, the Amaze Fit Active 2 smartwatch costs about $100. *** lot of guys on staff have these, including myself. Set up is *** cinch. It’s incredibly easy to navigate and it has *** 160+ workout mode so you can specialize it to whatever kind of active guy in your life.

    The ultimate editor-approved holiday gift guide

    Our experts from Good Housekeeping, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan and Delish share their top holiday gift picks.

    Updated: 12:38 PM PST Nov 24, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ


    National Consumer Producer

    Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? We teamed up with editors from Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Good Housekeeping and Delish to round up thoughtful, top-tested gifts for everyone on your list. Cosmopolitan-approved gifts for the beauty lover For an easy stocking stuffer, check out e.l.f.’s Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balms, which come in a variety of colors for $9. “You can use them on your own or layered over a lip pencil for a fun lip combo,” said Lauren Balsamo, beauty director at Cosmopolitan. If you are shopping for someone who loves doing their nails at home, Dazzle Dry’s Fast Track Mini Kit offers long-lasting polish that dries super fast. “It’s inexpensive, but the best part is it dries in literally five minutes,” Balsamo said. For a beauty splurge, the T3 Aire 360 multi-styler includes interchangeable attachments for blowouts, curls and more. It’s “super easy to use, works on all hair types, and comes in three really cute colors,” Balsamo said.Men’s Health-approved outdoor gifts If you are shopping for someone who loves the outdoors, RTIC’s Happy Hour Collection includes insulated tumblers that keep drinks cold. “What I love about these is that they’re ceramic insulated,” said Paul Kita, deputy editor at Men’s Health. “Whether it’s wine or coffee or even an old fashioned, it doesn’t take on that tinny metallic taste.” For campers, the Coast EAL35R voice-controlled lantern is a hands-free lighting option that responds to simple commands. “If a guy in your life loves camping but he doesn’t like getting up off of the camp chair, this is the gift for him,” Kita said.For a tech-forward gift, Amazfit’s Active 2 Adventure Smartwatch offers easy setup, crisp visibility in bright light and more than 160 workout modes. “A lot of guys on staff have these, including myself,” Kita said. “You can specialize it to whatever kind of active guy’s in your life.” Cozy gifts backed by Women’s Health To elevate a bedtime routine, The Laundress Beauty Sleep Fabric Spray adds a light, calming scent to bedding and pajamas. “This is a very light scent that is made to help you relax and ease stress and fall asleep faster,” said Abigail Cuffey, executive editor at Women’s Health. There is also an activewear version that is great for refreshing your gym clothes. For a comfort-focused gift, the Nodpod weighted sleep mask provides gentle pressure similar to a weighted blanket. “It just feels like a weighted hug on your face and on your eyes at night,” Cuffey said.If you want to splurge, Brooklinen’s Super-Plush Robe brings spa-level softness to everyday routines. “It is really like stepping into a five-star spa when you get out of the shower,” Cuffey said. Home gifts approved by Good Housekeeping For plant lovers, Fiskars’ pruning shears make trimming stems and branches easy thanks to their sturdy construction and smooth locking mechanism. “We love that they’re easy to lock and unlock and that they come with a lifetime guarantee,” said Elspeth Velten, Good Housekeeping’s editor in chief. To add safety and peace of mind at home, Kidde’s smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector connects to a phone and links with other alarms in the house. “The detector will ping your phone at the first sight of danger and simultaneously sound an alarm,” Velten said.For quick cleanups, the KitchenAid Go cordless kitchen vacuum tackles crumbs on counters, stoves and tight corners. “This vacuum gets into every corner and crevice and makes kitchen cleanup quick and easy,” Velten said. Foodie gifts loved by Delish For holiday hosting, the rollable FYY warming mat keeps dishes warm for hours without taking up extra space. “This is a must-must-have, especially if you’re doing a lot of cooking … and you don’t have much space,” said Robert Seixas, senior food director at Delish.For the smoothie lover, the is rechargeable, travel-friendly and great for keeping at your desk. “You can even use your laptop to charge it,” Seixas said.For an inexpensive tool that saves cabinet space, the Williams Sonoma Silicone Steamer Basket is collapsible, making storage easy. “You can either use it to steam or fully immerse whatever food you want to cook,” Seixas said. Need holiday recipe ideas to go with your new kitchen tools? Explore the new Delish app for endless cooking inspiration.

    Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? We teamed up with editors from Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Good Housekeeping and Delish to round up thoughtful, top-tested gifts for everyone on your list.

    Cosmopolitan-approved gifts for the beauty lover

    For an easy stocking stuffer, check out e.l.f.’s Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balms, which come in a variety of colors for $9. “You can use them on your own or layered over a lip pencil for a fun lip combo,” said Lauren Balsamo, beauty director at Cosmopolitan.

    If you are shopping for someone who loves doing their nails at home, Dazzle Dry’s Fast Track Mini Kit offers long-lasting polish that dries super fast. “It’s inexpensive, but the best part is it dries in literally five minutes,” Balsamo said.

    For a beauty splurge, the T3 Aire 360 multi-styler includes interchangeable attachments for blowouts, curls and more. It’s “super easy to use, works on all hair types, and comes in three really cute colors,” Balsamo said.

    Elf Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm

    Dazzle Dry Fast Track Cherry Mini Kit

    Men’s Health-approved outdoor gifts

    If you are shopping for someone who loves the outdoors, RTIC’s Happy Hour Collection includes insulated tumblers that keep drinks cold. “What I love about these is that they’re ceramic insulated,” said Paul Kita, deputy editor at Men’s Health. “Whether it’s wine or coffee or even an old fashioned, it doesn’t take on that tinny metallic taste.”

    For campers, the Coast EAL35R voice-controlled lantern is a hands-free lighting option that responds to simple commands. “If a guy in your life loves camping but he doesn’t like getting up off of the camp chair, this is the gift for him,” Kita said.

    For a tech-forward gift, Amazfit’s Active 2 Adventure Smartwatch offers easy setup, crisp visibility in bright light and more than 160 workout modes. “A lot of guys on staff have these, including myself,” Kita said. “You can specialize it to whatever kind of active guy’s in your life.”

    Happy Hour Lowball Tumbler

    RTIC Happy Hour Pint Tumbler

    Coast EAL35R Voice Control Lantern

    Cozy gifts backed by Women’s Health

    To elevate a bedtime routine, The Laundress Beauty Sleep Fabric Spray adds a light, calming scent to bedding and pajamas. “This is a very light scent that is made to help you relax and ease stress and fall asleep faster,” said Abigail Cuffey, executive editor at Women’s Health. There is also an activewear version that is great for refreshing your gym clothes.

    For a comfort-focused gift, the Nodpod weighted sleep mask provides gentle pressure similar to a weighted blanket. “It just feels like a weighted hug on your face and on your eyes at night,” Cuffey said.

    If you want to splurge, Brooklinen’s Super-Plush Robe brings spa-level softness to everyday routines. “It is really like stepping into a five-star spa when you get out of the shower,” Cuffey said.

    Laundress Beauty Sleep Fabric Spray

    Laundress Activewear Fabric Spray

    Brooklinen Super-Plush Robe

    Home gifts approved by Good Housekeeping

    For plant lovers, Fiskars’ pruning shears make trimming stems and branches easy thanks to their sturdy construction and smooth locking mechanism. “We love that they’re easy to lock and unlock and that they come with a lifetime guarantee,” said Elspeth Velten, Good Housekeeping’s editor in chief.

    To add safety and peace of mind at home, Kidde’s smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector connects to a phone and links with other alarms in the house. “The detector will ping your phone at the first sight of danger and simultaneously sound an alarm,” Velten said.

    For quick cleanups, the KitchenAid Go cordless kitchen vacuum tackles crumbs on counters, stoves and tight corners. “This vacuum gets into every corner and crevice and makes kitchen cleanup quick and easy,” Velten said.

    Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears

    Kidde Ring App Enabled Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector

    KitchenAid Go™ Cordless Kitchen Vacuum

    Foodie gifts loved by Delish

    For holiday hosting, the rollable FYY warming mat keeps dishes warm for hours without taking up extra space. “This is a must-must-have, especially if you’re doing a lot of cooking … and you don’t have much space,” said Robert Seixas, senior food director at Delish.

    For the smoothie lover, the is rechargeable, travel-friendly and great for keeping at your desk. “You can even use your laptop to charge it,” Seixas said.

    For an inexpensive tool that saves cabinet space, the Williams Sonoma Silicone Steamer Basket is collapsible, making storage easy. “You can either use it to steam or fully immerse whatever food you want to cook,” Seixas said.

    Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender

    Williams Sonoma Silicone Steamer Basket

    williams-sonoma.com

    $29.95

    Need holiday recipe ideas to go with your new kitchen tools? Explore the new Delish app for endless cooking inspiration.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • The ultimate editor-approved holiday gift guide

    [ad_1]

    Know someone who lives in their kitchen. These delicious proof tools make mealtime simpler and make great gifts. I’m going to show you three amazing products, ones we’ve tested, we just love, and they’re unbelievably versatile. First, this warming mat is great for holiday parties and buffets and costs about $40 on Amazon. The temperature, set the timer for it to shut off. This is *** must, must have, especially if you’re doing *** lot of cooking. It’s it’s the holidays and you’ve got big pots and you don’t have much space. If you’re always on the go, check out NutriBullet’s $70 portable rechargeable blender. You can even use your laptop to charge it. You’re at your desk the middle of the day. You’re like, you know what, it’s smoothie time. And what is totally awesome is you don’t have to lug around this the base, the base and just take this. It’s done, boom. Finally, this space saving collapsible steamer and strainer from Williams Sonoma costs just under $30. It pops open like this, and you can either use it to steam or you can fully immerse whatever food you want to cook. Give the gift of self-care. Women’s Health has you covered with gift suggestions that are equal parts relaxing and thoughtful. We have curated *** few of our favorite gifts and products that will make an amazing present for anyone in your life that needs *** little extra rest or relaxation, and don’t we all? First up, the $19 Beauty Sleep fabric spray from Laundreist. Put it on your pillow for *** calming effect before bed. This is *** very light scent that is made to help you relax and ease stress and fall asleep faster. There’s also an active wear version that is great for refreshing gym clothes. Next, Nodpod’s $38 weighted sleep mask. So *** lot of sleep masks, when you wrap them around your head. They can be kind of uncomfortable when you’re laying on your back or on your side. This one really takes away that whole issue. And for *** soft, luxurious splurge, Brook Lennon’s super plush robe starts at $95. The Women’s Health editors are obsessed with this robe because it is really like stepping into *** five-star spa when you get out of the shower. Shopping for someone who loves their home, look no further than these Good Housekeeping approved gifts. The three gifts that we’ve chosen here today for the home are award winners and editor favorites from Good Housekeeping for 2025. 1st, something practical and perfect for anyone with *** green thumb. These $14 Fiskers pruning and gardening shears. This pair of shears from Fisker’s cuts easily. Through stems and branches whether you’re pruning house plants or pruning shrubs outside, we love that they’re easy to lock and unlock and that they come with *** lifetime guarantee. Next, *** gift that brings peace of mind, the $75 smoke and carbon monoxide detector from Kitty is Ring App enabled and connects to your smartphone. The detector will ping your phone at the first sight of danger. And simultaneously sound an alarm through all of the connected detectors in your home. And for the home cook who loves *** clean countertop, the KitchenAid Go cordless kitchen vacuum costs about $89. They’re your batch cooking on Sundays like me or baking for the holidays. We all know what *** mess the kitchen counter and stove can look like after this vacuum gets into every corner and crevice and makes kitchen clean up quick and easy. Looking for something special for the beauty lovers in your life? Cosmopolitan has you covered. Cosmo Beauty editors test products all year long. We’re always researching, reviewing, swiping, swatching all of the newest beauty launches. Let’s start small and affordable with *** perfect stocking stuffer. These $9 lip balms from EELF come in tons of colors. You can use them on your own or layered over ***. Lip pencil for *** fun lip combo, but really great stocking stuffer at $9. You can’t go wrong. Next, Dazzle Dry’s fast track mini kit for $39 you’ll get salon quality nails at home. So on average, you’ll get 10 days out of *** Dazzle Dry Manny. You can do it at home. It’s inexpensive, but the best part is it dries in literally 5 minutes for that fresh from the salon blowout. Multi-stylers are having *** major moment. The T3 Air is *** splurge at $250 but that’s half the price of *** Dyson Airwrap. So there’s one base, and then there’s all these interchangeable parts. This is the blow dryer, round brush, really good for *** bouncy blowout, and then two interchangeable curling wands, super easy to use, works on all hair types, and also comes in three really cute colors. Shopping for the outdoorsmen or woman in your life, Men’s Health has *** few solid picks to choose from. all year long at Men’s Health, our team is testing the latest and greatest in new gear. Like these tumblers, Arctic has been one of Men’s Health’s top cooler brands for years. Now they have *** $20 to $25 happy hour collection. What I love about these is that they’re. Insulated, that means that anything you’re putting into them, whether it’s wine or coffee or even an old fashioned, doesn’t take on that tinny metallic taste for camping trips, the $40 Coast voice control lantern is *** great find. Now these things can operate with *** button press, but you can also activate this little one here and say coast red. And it changes for you and for *** sensible splurge, the Amaze Fit Active 2 smartwatch costs about $100. *** lot of guys on staff have these, including myself. Set up is *** cinch. It’s incredibly easy to navigate and it has *** 160+ workout mode so you can specialize it to whatever kind of active guy in your life.

    The ultimate editor-approved holiday gift guide

    Our experts from Good Housekeeping, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan and Delish share their top holiday gift picks.

    Updated: 3:38 PM EST Nov 24, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ


    National Consumer Producer

    Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? We teamed up with editors from Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Good Housekeeping and Delish to round up thoughtful, top-tested gifts for everyone on your list. Cosmopolitan-approved gifts for the beauty lover For an easy stocking stuffer, check out e.l.f.’s Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balms, which come in a variety of colors for $9. “You can use them on your own or layered over a lip pencil for a fun lip combo,” said Lauren Balsamo, beauty director at Cosmopolitan. If you are shopping for someone who loves doing their nails at home, Dazzle Dry’s Fast Track Mini Kit offers long-lasting polish that dries super fast. “It’s inexpensive, but the best part is it dries in literally five minutes,” Balsamo said. For a beauty splurge, the T3 Aire 360 multi-styler includes interchangeable attachments for blowouts, curls and more. It’s “super easy to use, works on all hair types, and comes in three really cute colors,” Balsamo said.Men’s Health-approved outdoor gifts If you are shopping for someone who loves the outdoors, RTIC’s Happy Hour Collection includes insulated tumblers that keep drinks cold. “What I love about these is that they’re ceramic insulated,” said Paul Kita, deputy editor at Men’s Health. “Whether it’s wine or coffee or even an old fashioned, it doesn’t take on that tinny metallic taste.” For campers, the Coast EAL35R voice-controlled lantern is a hands-free lighting option that responds to simple commands. “If a guy in your life loves camping but he doesn’t like getting up off of the camp chair, this is the gift for him,” Kita said.For a tech-forward gift, Amazfit’s Active 2 Adventure Smartwatch offers easy setup, crisp visibility in bright light and more than 160 workout modes. “A lot of guys on staff have these, including myself,” Kita said. “You can specialize it to whatever kind of active guy’s in your life.” Cozy gifts backed by Women’s Health To elevate a bedtime routine, The Laundress Beauty Sleep Fabric Spray adds a light, calming scent to bedding and pajamas. “This is a very light scent that is made to help you relax and ease stress and fall asleep faster,” said Abigail Cuffey, executive editor at Women’s Health. There is also an activewear version that is great for refreshing your gym clothes. For a comfort-focused gift, the Nodpod weighted sleep mask provides gentle pressure similar to a weighted blanket. “It just feels like a weighted hug on your face and on your eyes at night,” Cuffey said.If you want to splurge, Brooklinen’s Super-Plush Robe brings spa-level softness to everyday routines. “It is really like stepping into a five-star spa when you get out of the shower,” Cuffey said. Home gifts approved by Good Housekeeping For plant lovers, Fiskars’ pruning shears make trimming stems and branches easy thanks to their sturdy construction and smooth locking mechanism. “We love that they’re easy to lock and unlock and that they come with a lifetime guarantee,” said Elspeth Velten, Good Housekeeping’s editor in chief. To add safety and peace of mind at home, Kidde’s smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector connects to a phone and links with other alarms in the house. “The detector will ping your phone at the first sight of danger and simultaneously sound an alarm,” Velten said.For quick cleanups, the KitchenAid Go cordless kitchen vacuum tackles crumbs on counters, stoves and tight corners. “This vacuum gets into every corner and crevice and makes kitchen cleanup quick and easy,” Velten said. Foodie gifts loved by Delish For holiday hosting, the rollable FYY warming mat keeps dishes warm for hours without taking up extra space. “This is a must-must-have, especially if you’re doing a lot of cooking … and you don’t have much space,” said Robert Seixas, senior food director at Delish.For the smoothie lover, the is rechargeable, travel-friendly and great for keeping at your desk. “You can even use your laptop to charge it,” Seixas said.For an inexpensive tool that saves cabinet space, the Williams Sonoma Silicone Steamer Basket is collapsible, making storage easy. “You can either use it to steam or fully immerse whatever food you want to cook,” Seixas said. Need holiday recipe ideas to go with your new kitchen tools? Explore the new Delish app for endless cooking inspiration.

    Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? We teamed up with editors from Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Good Housekeeping and Delish to round up thoughtful, top-tested gifts for everyone on your list.

    Cosmopolitan-approved gifts for the beauty lover

    For an easy stocking stuffer, check out e.l.f.’s Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balms, which come in a variety of colors for $9. “You can use them on your own or layered over a lip pencil for a fun lip combo,” said Lauren Balsamo, beauty director at Cosmopolitan.

    If you are shopping for someone who loves doing their nails at home, Dazzle Dry’s Fast Track Mini Kit offers long-lasting polish that dries super fast. “It’s inexpensive, but the best part is it dries in literally five minutes,” Balsamo said.

    For a beauty splurge, the T3 Aire 360 multi-styler includes interchangeable attachments for blowouts, curls and more. It’s “super easy to use, works on all hair types, and comes in three really cute colors,” Balsamo said.

    Elf Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm

    Dazzle Dry Fast Track Cherry Mini Kit

    Men’s Health-approved outdoor gifts

    If you are shopping for someone who loves the outdoors, RTIC’s Happy Hour Collection includes insulated tumblers that keep drinks cold. “What I love about these is that they’re ceramic insulated,” said Paul Kita, deputy editor at Men’s Health. “Whether it’s wine or coffee or even an old fashioned, it doesn’t take on that tinny metallic taste.”

    For campers, the Coast EAL35R voice-controlled lantern is a hands-free lighting option that responds to simple commands. “If a guy in your life loves camping but he doesn’t like getting up off of the camp chair, this is the gift for him,” Kita said.

    For a tech-forward gift, Amazfit’s Active 2 Adventure Smartwatch offers easy setup, crisp visibility in bright light and more than 160 workout modes. “A lot of guys on staff have these, including myself,” Kita said. “You can specialize it to whatever kind of active guy’s in your life.”

    Happy Hour Lowball Tumbler

    RTIC Happy Hour Pint Tumbler

    Coast EAL35R Voice Control Lantern

    Cozy gifts backed by Women’s Health

    To elevate a bedtime routine, The Laundress Beauty Sleep Fabric Spray adds a light, calming scent to bedding and pajamas. “This is a very light scent that is made to help you relax and ease stress and fall asleep faster,” said Abigail Cuffey, executive editor at Women’s Health. There is also an activewear version that is great for refreshing your gym clothes.

    For a comfort-focused gift, the Nodpod weighted sleep mask provides gentle pressure similar to a weighted blanket. “It just feels like a weighted hug on your face and on your eyes at night,” Cuffey said.

    If you want to splurge, Brooklinen’s Super-Plush Robe brings spa-level softness to everyday routines. “It is really like stepping into a five-star spa when you get out of the shower,” Cuffey said.

    Laundress Beauty Sleep Fabric Spray

    Laundress Activewear Fabric Spray

    Brooklinen Super-Plush Robe

    Home gifts approved by Good Housekeeping

    For plant lovers, Fiskars’ pruning shears make trimming stems and branches easy thanks to their sturdy construction and smooth locking mechanism. “We love that they’re easy to lock and unlock and that they come with a lifetime guarantee,” said Elspeth Velten, Good Housekeeping’s editor in chief.

    To add safety and peace of mind at home, Kidde’s smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector connects to a phone and links with other alarms in the house. “The detector will ping your phone at the first sight of danger and simultaneously sound an alarm,” Velten said.

    For quick cleanups, the KitchenAid Go cordless kitchen vacuum tackles crumbs on counters, stoves and tight corners. “This vacuum gets into every corner and crevice and makes kitchen cleanup quick and easy,” Velten said.

    Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears

    Kidde Ring App Enabled Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector

    KitchenAid Go™ Cordless Kitchen Vacuum

    Foodie gifts loved by Delish

    For holiday hosting, the rollable FYY warming mat keeps dishes warm for hours without taking up extra space. “This is a must-must-have, especially if you’re doing a lot of cooking … and you don’t have much space,” said Robert Seixas, senior food director at Delish.

    For the smoothie lover, the is rechargeable, travel-friendly and great for keeping at your desk. “You can even use your laptop to charge it,” Seixas said.

    For an inexpensive tool that saves cabinet space, the Williams Sonoma Silicone Steamer Basket is collapsible, making storage easy. “You can either use it to steam or fully immerse whatever food you want to cook,” Seixas said.

    Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender

    Williams Sonoma Silicone Steamer Basket

    williams-sonoma.com

    $29.95

    Need holiday recipe ideas to go with your new kitchen tools? Explore the new Delish app for endless cooking inspiration.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Antonei Csoka: Aging Is Not Something We Have to Accept as Inevitable

    [ad_1]

    SHARYL ATTKISSON: Leading the charge are visionary scientists whose work is transforming theory into tangible advances.

    Visionary scientist David Sinclair has popularized supplements that boost levels of a crucial coenzyme, potentially delaying age-related decline.

    At the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, researcher Eric Verdin explores how metabolic shifts can extend healthy years.

    Maria Blasco of Spain’s National Cancer Research Center focuses on telomeres, a piece of DNA at the end of animal chromosomes protecting them from degradation.

    Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is leading a study testing the diabetes drug metformin as an anti-aging agent.

    And Vadim Gladyshev at Harvard is investigating rejuvenation by reprogramming or “resetting” cells without turning them cancerous.

    As researchers work to crack the code on aging and how to slow or stop it, there’s a philosophical and scientific divide: Is aging a natural, programmed part of life, or a treatable condition akin to a disease that can be “cured”?

    ANTONEI CSOKA: I see aging as a kind of great challenge to humanity. It’s not something that we have to accept as inevitable.

    SHARYL ATTKISSON: Antonei Csoka is an associate professor at Howard University who studies the cell and molecular biology of aging.

    Do you see it as an illness, a disease, a common process that could be reversed?

    ANTONEI CSOKA: Great question. So I actually call it a meta-disease, in the sense that it is the cause behind almost every other disease. So it’s like the molecular damage, the DNA mutations, the telomere loss, even the epigenetic changes accumulate over lifespan and lead to these diverse diseases. But they’re all really being caused by aging. So it’s like the generative mechanism behind all of them. It’s the cause and the diseases are the effect.

    SHARYL ATTKISSON: Whatever the theory, advances are arriving at breakneck speed. And there’s been an explosion in the practice of medicine surrounding aging and longevity.

    Csoka says he hopes we’re on the cusp of virtual immortality.

    Do you think in your lifetime we’ll be seeing people live to what age, you know, more people living to 120?

    ANTONEI CSOKA: I think it’s quite possible. Yeah. I think we’re actually in an incredibly unique time. Like maybe a time that only happens once in human history. And that time is where the people alive today could determine whether they live a very long time, you know, potentially like, you know, extreme long old age, you know, a thousand years, for example.

    SHARYL ATTKISSON: You think that’s possible that people can live a thousand years?

    ANTONEI CSOKA: Yeah, I do. Yeah. I don’t think there’s any like, biological law that, that denies that possibility. But in the past, you know, people dreamed of, of immortality and the fountain of youth and so on, but it was basically impossible. Like the, the science didn’t exist. And in the future, I think it will be solved. Like it will be, you know, say a hundred years from now, the aging will be fully understood and potentially fully reversible. So we’re kind of in a very unique, very unique sliver of time.

    [ad_2]

    Antonei Csoka, Full Measure

    Source link

  • These 6 Kitchen Tools Can Make or Break Your Thanksgiving Dinner

    [ad_1]

    It’s the start of Thanksgiving week, the time when home cooks across America suddenly recognize the daunting task ahead.

    More than 90% of people in the U.S. celebrate the food-centric holiday and more than 1 in 4 attend meals that include more than 10 other people, according to the Pew Research Center.

    Under that kind of pressure, what host wouldn’t want the best tools to make sure the holiday dinner goes off without a hitch?

    With that in mind, we asked national food safety experts which kitchen devices and aids are essential to ensure a safe and tasty Thanksgiving meal.

    Here are their top four suggestions for aids that can make or break your holiday dinner, plus two bonus tips for after the meal:

    Our panel of experts unanimously agreed that an instant-read digital thermometer is vital to making sure roast turkey and other dishes reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) to eliminate the risk of food poisoning from germs like salmonella and Campylobacter.

    “This is non-negotiable,” said Darin Detwiler, a Northeastern University food safety expert. “A reliable thermometer ensures you’re not guessing, because guessing is not a food safety strategy.”


    Color-coded cutting boards

    In the hustle of a holiday kitchen, the risk of cross-contamination is real. That’s when germs from one food, such as raw turkey, may be spread to other foods, such as fresh vegetables or fruits.

    It’s best to use dedicated cutting boards for each type of food, and color-coding — red for meat, yellow for poultry, green for veggies — can help, said Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University.

    “I try not to use wooden cutting boards,” said Kowalcyk, noting that they can retain bacteria that thrive and grow to large enough quantities to cause illness.

    As an emergency medicine doctor who has stitched up many Thanksgiving injuries, Dr. Tony Cirillo urges home cooks to make sure their kitchen knives are sharp.

    A sharp knife cuts cleanly, while a dull knife requires more pressure that can cause dangerous slips, said Cirillo, a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians.

    Pulling a hot turkey out of the oven is tricky, especially if the pan you cook it in is flimsy, Cirillo added. Use a sturdy metal roasting pan or, in a pinch, stack two foil roasting pans together for strength.

    “I’m a big fan of double-panning,” Cirillo said. “Dropping the turkey is generally not good on Thanksgiving.”

    Just as important as getting food to the table is making sure it doesn’t sit out too long, said Don Schaffner, a food safety expert at Rutgers University.

    Use a cooking timer or clock alarm to make sure to pack away leftovers within two hours to prevent bacterial growth that can cause illness.

    And when you’re storing those leftovers, make sure to put them in shallow containers, Schaffner said.

    Measure using a ruler — or even the short side of a credit card — to make sure that dense foods like stuffing and sweet potatoes reach a depth of no more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) to allow for quick and complete cooling in the refrigerator.

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

    [ad_2]

    Associated Press

    Source link

  • Jason’s legacy finds a seat outside his favorite school

    [ad_1]

    PEABODY — Many of 14-year-old Jason Bernard’s happiest memories were at the Captain Samuel Brown Elementary School down the street from his house. Now, a bench in his memory will forever sit outside of the school.

    Jason’s family, friends, city officials and other community members dedicated the bench on Saturday morning—two days before he would have turned 15.

    This page requires Javascript.

    Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

    kAmy2D@? 5:65 3J DF:4:56 😕 |2J 27E6C 36:?8 3F==:65 3J 4=2DD>2E6D 2E E96 w:88:?D |:55=6 $49@@=] w6 H2D 😕 6:89E9 8C256[ =@G65 EC24< 2?5 23@G6 2==[ =@G65 9:D 7C:6?5D 2?5 72>:=J]k^Am

    kAm“%9:D 😀 2 962GJ[ 962GJ 8C:67[ 2 H6:89E E92E H6 2C6 42CCJ:?8[ 2?5 6G6CJ D:?8=6 @?6 @7 J@F 96C6 😀 42CCJ:?8 :E H:E9 FD[” 9:D D:DE6C[ r6=J #@D2C:@[ D2:5 2E E96 565:42E:@?] “(6 2C6 9@?@C65 E@ D66 E96 DFAA@CE @7 D@ >2?J A6@A=6]”k^Am

    kAm$96 H2D ;@:?65 3J E96:C A2C6?ED[ D:3=:?8D 2?5 @E96C 72>:=J >6>36CD[ H9@ DE@@5 2C@F?5 E96 36?49 D:=6?E=J 4CJ:?8[ 2?5 @7E6? 6>3C24:?8] qFE E96J 92G6 EFC?65 E96:C =@DD :?E@ 2 8@2= E@ AC@E64E @E96C 49:=5C6?]k^Am

    [ad_2]

    By Caroline Enos | Staff Writer

    Source link

  • Katherine Schwarzenegger Commends Tatiana Schlossberg’s Terminal Cancer Essay

    [ad_1]

    Katherine Schwarzenegger publicly supported her cousin Tatiana Schlossberg after she revealed her terminal cancer diagnosis.

    Schwarzenegger, 35, took to Instagram on Sunday, November 23, to share several screenshots of the essay Schlossberg penned for The New Yorker which was published one day prior and detailed her battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

    “This is a profound piece written by my extraordinary cousin, Tatiana. It’s been shared by many and should be read by all. I have only tears and anger reading that this is her reality. She has lived this experience with so much grace and I am in awe of her as a human, mother, wife, daughter, writer and fighter,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “I am and continue to be grateful for all the doctors and nurses helping her and encourage you to read her words about how the state of the country, the cuts and uncertainty, impacts and terrifies those in medicine and receiving treatment like Tatiana has been over the past year and a half, and continues to receive. Praying for and loving her and her family.”

    The post comes after Schwarzenegger’s mother, Maria Shriver, publicly supported Schlossberg via her own Instagram tribute.


    Related: Tatiana Schlossberg Calls Out Cousin RFK Jr. While Announcing Her Cancer

    Tatiana Schlossberg condemned her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his vaccine skepticism while announcing her terminal cancer diagnosis. The environmental reporter, 35, shared the heartbreaking news in a New Yorker essay on Saturday, November 22, that she’d been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and had been given one year to live by her doctors. […]

    Schlossberg is the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg and a cousin of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. Her essay noted that she learned of her cancer diagnosis after giving birth to her second child, a daughter, in May 2024. Schlossberg and her husband, George Moran, also share a 3-year-old son.

    Schlossberg has been given one year to live.

    GettyImages-2244968812-Katherine.jpg

    Katherine Schwarzenegger     John Nacion/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust

    Shriver, who is a niece of the late U.S. president John F. Kennedy, shared similar praise for Schlossberg within her online own tribute. “If you can only read one thing today, please make take the time for this extraordinary piece of writing by my cousin Caroline’s extraordinary daughter Tatiana,” Shriver, 70, wrote. “Tatiana is a beautiful writer, journalist, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. This piece is about what she has been going through for the last year and a half. It’s an ode to all the doctors and nurses who toil on the frontlines of humanity. It’s so many things, but best to read it yourself, and be blown away by one woman’s life story.”

    Shriver continued, “Let it be a reminder to be grateful for the life you are living today, right now, this very minute.”

    In Schlossberg’s essay, she noted that her doctor had noticed an imbalance in her white blood cell count, however initially put it down to labor and delivery complications. Further investigation later determined that she in fact has “a rare mutation called Inversion 3.”

    GettyImages-1172628181-tatiana.jpg

    Tatiana Schlossberg     Craig Barritt/Getty Images for New York Magazine

    She recalled, “I did not — could not — believe that they were talking about me. I had swum a mile in the pool the day before, nine months pregnant. I wasn’t sick. I didn’t feel sick. I was actually one of the healthiest people I knew. I regularly ran five to ten miles in Central Park.”

    Schlossberg continued, “I had a son whom I loved more than anything and a newborn I needed to take care of. This could not possibly be my life.”

    [ad_2]

    Kristie Lau-Adams

    Source link

  • Move. Cheer. Dance. Do the wave. How to tap into the collective joy of ‘we mode’

    [ad_1]

    With a runway of smoking-hot coals laid out before them, residents in San Pedro Manrique, Spain, steel themselves as thousands of onlookers cheer them on. The crowd roars when they walk across the fire, sometimes carrying another person on their back.

    Although the walkers and the crowd perform very different roles during the annual June ritual, they report similar feelings: an ineffable feeling of togetherness, as if the entire group becomes one, said Dimitris Xygalatas, a cognitive anthropologist at the University of Connecticut, who witnessed the Spanish ritual years ago as a researcher.

    He has experienced similar feelings in a stadium while chanting and cheering together with 30,000 fans of his hometown soccer team. Both are instances of collective effervescence, said Xygalatas, author of “Rituals: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living.”

    It’s that feeling that happens when people engage together in a meaningful activity that sparks positive emotions. Such as when you get goose bumps at a concert, feel the rush of adrenaline in group exercise classes or get swept up in religious festivals.

    Recently, collective effervescence has been referred to as “we mode,” and it’s something that can be cultivated to improve your life, said Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford University health psychologist.

    “When you are connected through shared positive emotion, expressions often act as this aerosolized joy, where you catch other people’s smiles, laughter, their physical expressions,” McGonigal said. “It becomes contagious.”

    When hearts beat as one

    “We mode” has also been called physiological synchrony, and McGonigal calls it “collective joy.” The concept was documented more than a century ago by French sociologist Emile Durkheim, who described cultural effervescence after studying aboriginal Australian societies.

    Xygalatas’ research has focused on measuring it in various group activities. To quantify “autonomic responses,” he has fitted people with heart monitors and electrodes and extracted thousands of stills from videos to analyze facial expressions.

    He found that people’s physiological responses synchronize during exciting events. The heartbeats of sports fans who attend a game, for instance, sync up, while those of fans watching the same game on TV don’t. Fans at the game also have higher levels of endorphins, which have been linked to bonding, he said.

    On a basic level, collective rituals involve meeting and connecting with people, which is a key to psychological well-being, Xygalatas noted.

    “If we all dress alike and we move alike and we feel alike, we express the same emotions that trigger mechanisms in our brain,” Xygalatas said. “There’s a fundamental need for synchrony.”

    Activities that create ‘we mode’

    What kinds of activities should you look for to tap into “we mode”? McGonigal, who has studied the science of emotion and wrote “The Joy of Movement” about the emotional benefits of exercise, named these criteria:

    The activity must be in person. McGonigal noted that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people who tried to recreate positive interactions online found it more difficult than in person.

    “If you’re not physically present with people, a lot of the signals that create the shared state, they just aren’t there,” she said.

    It also helps to make noise and move your body, whether you cheer, applaud, move, dance or sing. McGonigal said you’re more likely to feel this kind of collective joy when you’re dancing with people than when you’re sitting in a theater watching a dance performance.

    Also, try to let go of shame or self-consciousness, and get into the activity. Passive observers don’t get the same effect, McGonigal said.

    “You’ve got to do the wave at the sporting event,” she said. “If you’re at a group exercise class, and your instructor is like, ‘Can I get a whoop, whoop?’ You gotta whoop, whoop.”

    ___

    Albert Stumm writes about wellness, food and travel. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com

    [ad_2]

    Source link