Category Archives: Progress

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has revealed there have been no offers from Man United for Alvaro Morata. Shaka Hislop breaks down the latest surrounding Alvaro Morata's potential move to Man United.

Manchester United are making progress in their pursuit of Alvaro Morata but have yet to agree a fee with Real Madrid, sources have told ESPN FC.

Manager Jose Mourinho has identified Morata as the striker he wants to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

There is still hope a deal could be secured before United head to the United States for their preseason tour on July 9.

Sources have told ESPN FC that agreeing personal terms should be straightforward because of Morata's willingness to move to Old Trafford.

There had been a fear that uncertainty surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo could force Madrid to stall on any deal for the Spain international.

But reports in Spain suggest Ronaldo will now stay at the Bernabeu while Marca, which has close ties to president Florentino Perez, reported that the Spanish champions are set to push on with a bid for Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe.

French newspaper L'Equipe reported on Friday that Zinedine Zidane, once Mbappe's idol, called the striker to convince him to join Madrid said they were ready to sell one of their "BBC" stars to make room for him.

Mbappe's arrival would further limit opportunities for Morata, who made only 14 La Liga starts last season.

The striker, who returned to Real Madrid last summer after two seasons at Juventus, scored 20 goals in 43 appearances last term.

There has been no offer for him from Chelsea, who are also in the market for a striker with Diego Costa set to depart and have been linked with Everton's Romelu Lukaku.

United also have an interest in Andrea Belotti, although Torino have said a 100 million buyout clause in his contract -- only available to clubs outside Italy -- must be met before the 23-year-old is allowed to leave.

Rob is ESPN FC's Manchester United correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @RobDawsonESPN.

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Manchester United making progress in pursuit of Alvaro Morata - sources - ESPN FC

LONDON

With snipers on the roof and armored vehicles surrounding the Council building, Europes leaders met in Brussels with security topping the summit agenda. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said leaders had agreed on greater cooperation in intelligence sharing and defense spending.

We are spending half of the military budget of the U.S. but our efficiency is 15 percent. So there is room for improvement and thats exactly what we decided today, Juncker said.

Migrants issue

Outside a band of refugees called Syrians Got Talent aimed to send a musical message to EU leaders that they should stand up for migrant rights.

Not all of Europe shares that sentiment. The EU is taking legal action against Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic for refusing to accept refugee quotas.

More than 81,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in 2017, and close to 2,000 have died so far.

French President Emmanuel Macron, attending his first EU summit, said Europe would look to address the causes of the crisis.

He said it is a long-term challenge whose long-term solution is to stabilize Africa, and the near and Middle East.

WATCH: EU agrees to defense cooperation

Optimism in the EU

Despite the challenges there is a renewed optimism in the bloc, says Professor Anand Menon of the U.K. in a Changing Europe program at Kings College London.

And the Eurozones growing again. So all that looks good, Menon said. But what I would say is the fundamental structural problems that confront the European Union, whether its the migration crisis, whether its the Eurozone crisis, whether its the problem of democratic backsliding in countries like Hungary and Poland, are no nearer being solved than they were last year. And they will come back again.

Britains exit from the bloc was also discussed. EU leaders described Prime Minister Theresa Mays offer on the future rights of European citizens living in Britain as below expectations, signaling tough negotiations ahead.

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EU Agrees to Defense Cooperation, Little Progress on Migration ... - Voice of America

As an HIV researcher and clinician, I have seen firsthand the viruss disproportionate devastation of sexual minorities, the poor and many people of color. Nevertheless, steady research progress during recent years has allowed us to envision and work toward the end of the epidemic . Until recently, our efforts were effectively guided by the first-ever National HIV/AIDS Strategy, released seven years ago next month.

But the gains we made can easily be lost, and they are in grave danger. The Trump Administration and some Congressional leaders have chosen to abdicate governments responsibility for the poor and disadvantaged and devalue the health of the American public. They have proposed stripping Medicaid from millions of low-income people, leaving them without access to healthcare or other essential services. They want to bar federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides women with HIV and STD prevention services. And they've hampered efforts to develop cures and improve prevention and treatment by proposing to cut funds for research.

MORE : 6 Resigned from Trump's HIV/AIDS Advisory Board. Heres Why One Doctor Stayed

Even actions that may not seem directly related to health would have a large impact, like slashing funding for federal housing programs, education, food assistance and other social welfare programs, and reinstating previously failed policies that harm public health, like incarcerating drug users instead of treating them and promoting abstinence-only sex education programs. Since January, each new policy announcement has threatened our fragile success in beating the HIV epidemic.

My hope is that we can make the nation great for everyone rather than returning to the days when it was great for only a few. If the Administration and the Congress do not reverse the direction we are headed, Americas prognosis is grim.

The HIV and public health communities have our work cut out for us. Here's how to get started:

The annual number of new HIV infections in the U.S. fell by 18% from 2008 to 2014, saving treatment costs of $14.9 billion. The percentage of people with an HIV diagnosis who are effectively treated increased to 55%. The uninsured rate among people with HIV dropped by 6% in states that expanded Medicaid, and the percentage of people with HIV who were effectively treated in these states increased significantly after just one year.

Unprecedented research advances over the last three decades have driven our progress, resulting in more effective and less toxic treatment. There is now overwhelming evidence that effective treatment keeps people with HIV healthy and reduces their risk of transmitting the virus to near zero. On the prevention front, considerable evidence supports the effectiveness of interventions, such as syringe exchange and comprehensive sexual education, and new tools, such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, known as PrEP .

The Trump Administration and members of Congress can still make a course correction and prevent national public health crises on a number of fronts, including HIV, opioid addiction and hepatitis C. Rather than leaving millions of Americans without health care coverageincluding many who count on the Medicaid programpolicymakers should work with healthcare providers, patient advocates and others to reduce healthcare costs and build on, rather than reverse, the gains of the last few years. They should prioritize the health, wellbeing and education of the most vulnerable when making federal funding decisions and abandon their resurrection of policies that have failed in the past and sabotage public health.

MORE : 4 Ways the Senate Health Care Bill Would Hurt Women

We cannot turn back; 45% of people diagnosed with HIV are still not effectively treated for it. More than 200 U.S. counties are at risk for serious HIV outbreaks linked to injection drug use. Research indicates that as many as one in two black gay men could be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. We need strong political leadership at all levels and activism to educate those in power about whats at stake.

Adimora is professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). The views expressed in this commentary are her own and do not necessarily represent those of PACHA.

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How the Trump Administration Is Reversing Progress on HIV | Time ... - TIME

In 2009, a large group of Mitchell residents dedicated more than 3,000 hours to craft a roadmap for the future called Focus 2020. Fast forward to 2017 and Mitchell has accomplished much of what the community plan hoped to see achieved by 2020, leaving the city in need of a new plan to continue moving Mitchell forward.

"It's time that we as a community make new goals," said Mitchell City Administrator Stephanie Ellwein.

A request from Ellwein will arise in this fall's budget hearings for 2018 to establish a larger community visioning session to keep the city's wheels in motion, which Ellwein said would likely be preceded by a city strategic planning effort. Once the city's narrowed its ideas, the community visioning process would be a similar collaborative effort to the one that took place eight years ago.

And Ellwein believes another planning effort will keep the city on track toward a better future.

"Anything to continue moving forward as a community," Ellwein said about another community planning effort.

Dreaming big

The recommendations of Focus 2020 ranged from large to small, from the hope to minimize algae at Lake Mitchell within 20 years to a plan to televise Mitchell City Council meetings.

The city has made progress or completed many of the smaller items like televising City Council meetings or improving the area at the west end boat dock at Lake Mitchell, but the city also attempted to tackle some of the larger efforts.

The city also dove head-first into a lake improvement plan, kicking off the effort with a $73,725 study from water quality specialists Fyra Engineering that could ultimately lead to a full-scale lake restoration effort.

Both Ellwein and City Council President Jeff Smith see lake restoration as a priority, particularly in the wake of a massive algae bloom that led to the city discouraging contact with the lake, but what's next?

Smith said the city is in good shape, but he said the city can always aspire for more.

"I think we're doing pretty good, but you can always hope and wish and dream," Smith said.

Smith is simultaneously dreaming big and focusing on the small stuff, hoping to improve Mitchell in every way, just like Focus 2020 aimed to do eight years ago.

From City Hall's perspective, many of the major tasks the municipal government hoped to achieve in its capacity are already completed or underway. Ranging from Lake Mitchell studies to a $4.7 million Corn Palace investment and the expansion of the Hitchcock Park tennis courts, the city of Mitchell has been able to check off many of the boxes created through the Focus 2020 visioning process.

'Next big project'

But after thinking long and hard about the different aspects of the community that need improvement, Smith's eyes were drawn to North Capital Street.

"As far as the community is concerned, to be quite honest with you, I think the next big project really should be our high school," Smith said. "We've got a very good education system in Mitchell and we've got very good facilities besides one, and that's the high school."

While the Mitchell Board of Education was recently hesitant to say when the Mitchell High School should be replaced, instead collectively saying a new high school is worth considering, Smith sees replacing the 55-year-old school as a critical measure toward making the community more attractive to businesses and workers.

Smith acknowledged the Mitchell School District has a plan for the project in the future, but the timeframe of 10 to 15 years might be too far down the road.

"I would really like to see if the community would be willing to step that up and maybe pay for it sooner than later," Smith said. "And I know it's going to take some opt-out, and I know that's kind of a dirty word."

An opt-out would raise property taxes to generate more money for the district, and Smith said he'd be interested in knowing whether the community would be willing to speed up the construction of a new high school through the opt-out approach.

Smith said it's no secret that Mitchell's high school is the worst of the larger-sized schools in the state, and the economic benefits alone would have an impact on the city of approximately 15,000.

"I really feel what that's going to do is that would be the biggest asset to try to attract and retain our young families," Smith said. "... We've done a lot, and I don't want to just harp on the school, but in reality, that's one of the biggest features that families look at when they move to a community."

With Smith eyeing a new high school as a priority, fellow Councilman Marty Barington hopes to double down on the restoration of Lake Mitchell mentioned in the Focus 2020 plan.

A recommendation in Focus 2020 set the timeline for Lake Mitchell water quality improvements at 20 years, leaving approximately 12 years for the city to rectify its algae problem if it hopes to beat the goal set in the community visioning process. But Barington said the issues at the lake have persisted for so many years that it's getting "ridiculous."

"It's sad to see where the lake is today, and I know that is sort of a huge priority when Fyra comes out with their answer," Barington said. "And we know that answer is going to come with a huge dollar sign."

Barington said his goal is to determine how the city will pay for the lake restoration recommendations, and he's looking to take an aggressive approach at addressing the lake's algae problem.

As for short-term priorities on the lake, Barington wants to find out if the lake can actually be saved or whether it can be stabilized. He also hopes to learn how much better the lake could get if the city invests in a long-term restoration project. And with a community visioning process possibly on the horizon, Barington said nearly everywhere he goes in Mitchell he gets asked about the lake.

"I've never been hit so many times on Lake Mitchell," Barington said. "... I mean, it's just absolutely the worst level that we've seen."

Funding new facilities

While Lake Mitchell and a new high school may steal the spotlight in the long-term, Mitchell's two longest-tenured councilmen have other ideas to improve the city of Mitchell.

Barington's sights are set on more indoor activity centers in city limits, giving area athletes a place to practice and play when South Dakota's unpredictable weather makes outdoor recreation difficult.

With only a few months of quality weather in Mitchell, Barington said the addition of more indoor basketball courts and other multipurpose facilities would bring Mitchell up to speed with other South Dakota communities.

"We've definitely invested in our outdoor grounds quite a bit, and I think we need to start focusing on things that can be used more during that winter time," Barington said.

He suggested a "fieldhouse" type setting that could be used for various sports when the recently improved Pepsi-Cola Soccer Complex, Cadwell Sports Complex and Hitchcock Park tennis courts are covered in snow. A new facility, or facilities, would also help solve the shortage of basketball courts in city limits, according to Barington.

Barington's vision could be achieved in part by a renovation to the Mitchell Recreation Center. At Thursday's special meeting of the Mitchell Parks and Recreation Board, a possible $4 million renovation to the facility was mentioned, although no formal recommendation was made to move forward with the project.

With Barington looking at new quality of life facilities, Smith is looking at adding places for young families to live.

With a few "unattractive" mobile homes in Mitchell, Smith suggested possibly sprucing up a mobile home community while also adding more starter homes for families.

"Somehow I think we're going to have to try to balance some type of public program with some private industry," Smith said about a public-private housing partnership.

Mitchell Area Development Corporation's Executive Director Bryan Hisel agreed that housing is always a need, which ties into his priorities to recruit and retain workers to the Mitchell area. But perhaps Hisel's biggest and boldest vision for Mitchell is the addition of a new business and industry park.

"We've never really had a park area where all of the infrastructure, or most of it, was in," Hisel said. "... And that really lets both local companies and new firms grow and expand, and I think that's a priority that should probably be in the mix."

But where does the industrial park go?

Hisel doesn't know, but he said it will require a significant portion of land that isn't in a residential neighborhood.

And that's why Hisel sees value in the broad discussions with business leaders, city officials and the public to determine the best solutions for the city of Mitchell.

Although some of these goals may be lofty, Hisel said working together as a community to come to a consensus is necessary in moving Mitchell forward.

"It's really the only way to do it," Hisel said.

Read the rest here:

Mitchell's successful planning initiative paves way for more progress - Daily Republic

ATLANTA

Braves slugger Freddie Freeman says his broken left wrist is healing much faster than expected.

After undergoing a CT scan and meeting Friday with team physician Dr. Gary Lourie, Freeman was told his wrist is 80-90 percent healed, up from 50 percent last week.

The improvement led Freeman to move up the timetable of his return from July 14, the day after the All-Star break against Arizona, to July 6 at NL East-leading Washington.

"They're all pretty shocked it got to that point, too, especially with me stressing it the last couple of days catching balls and all that stuff," he said. "It's actually great news."

Freeman's prognosis was a surprise, though maybe not as much as his announcement Wednesday that he's moving from first to third base to keep Matt Adams in the lineup.

Even so, Lourie's report was encouraging enough that Freeman was cleared to swing a bat for the first time since getting hit by a pitch on May 17. Freeman hopes to begin a three- to four-game rehab assignment next weekend.

"Everybody's been saying they really didn't think I was going to be back in eight to 10 weeks," he said. "Obviously I had a different mindset going in to it. But we're just at two days over five weeks right now so I'm pretty ecstatic with how the recovery has gone."

Freeman's adjustment to third base is a work in progress.

He met Thursday with close friend and former teammate Chipper Jones, the longtime star who manned the position for most of his 18-year big league career. Jones said the biggest adjustments would be throwing from different angles and mastering throws on slow rollers.

"I feel comfortable," Freeman said. "I'm not going to tell you that I feel like I do at first base. I definitely don't. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but I don't feel out of place. That's all I can ask for now, and the work has gone good."

Freeman, who last year finished sixth in NL MVP voting, said that he's being fitted for a custom guard to cover his wrist when batting. He led the NL with 14 homers when he was injured.

More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

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Freeman reports quick progress from broken wrist - Atlanta Journal Constitution

U.S. President Donald Trump is taking a new approach in trying to get Israel and the Palestinians to sign a peace deal.

He sent two negotiators with no international diplomatic experience to meet with both sides.

The team that traveled to Jerusalem and the West Bank was led by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior aide. Also taking part was Jason Greenblatt, an assistant to the president in charge of international negotiations.

Kushner, 36, is a former New York real estate businessman and newspaper publisher. Greenblatt also has a background in real estate. For many years, he also worked as the chief lawyer in the Trump Organization. In that position, he oversaw large business deals for the company.

For the past 50 years, the United Nations and many U.S. presidents have tried but failed to bring about lasting peace in the Middle East.

These efforts included many rounds of negotiations involving Israeli and Palestinian officials. Experienced diplomats and international negotiators led the talks, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former World Bank president James Wolfensohn and longtime diplomat Dennis Ross.

The first major success in Arab-Israeli peace talks came in 1978, under the leadership of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords in Washington, D.C.

Egypt and Israel had been in a state of war.

The Camp David Accords led to a formal peace treaty signed between the two nations in 1979. And Sadat and Begin received the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.

Every American president since has launched their own Middle East peace efforts.

In the Trump administrations approach, Kushner and Greenblatt will bring their business experience to the negotiating table.

A spokesman for Kushner recently told Politico he had the presidents goals in mind as he put together his team.

Jared brought in people he trusts, and they are embracing the fact that they are not career diplomats but great listeners with deal-making experience who can try a new approach.

Guy Ziv is a professor at American University and an expert in Israeli-Palestinian relations. He says the Trump administrations approach is much different than past efforts.

It's different in the sense that Trump has assigned the most difficult, the most intractable conflict to individuals with next to no experience and very little knowledge on the issues.

Trump has said that he considers a possible peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians the ultimate deal. He made a visit to the region last month. He appeared to have started a good working relationship with both sides.

Many issues have prevented a peace agreement. Among them are disputes over borders and competing claims to Jerusalem. Others include the future of millions of displaced Palestinians and demands for more economic opportunities for Palestinians.

Ziv says he does not agree with the argument that, since previous negotiations by experienced diplomats have not led to an agreement, a completely new approach is needed.

I'm very skeptical in this regard because we're dealing, as I said, with some of the most difficult, complex issues that take years to learn. And they're getting a crash course on something that takes years to learn.

He added that when it comes to actual policy, not much has changed from the Obama administration.

Despite all the rhetoric, we are not seeing a different approach on any of the specifics. The (American) embassy (in Tel Aviv) is not being relocated (to Jerusalem). The administration is maintaining longstanding U.S. support for a two-state solution.

The two-state solution would create an independent Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel.

Ziv added that the Trump administration is also expressing opposition to new Jewish settlements in the West Bank. This issue has long been a major dispute between the two sides.

Shortly before Kushner arrived in Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted a photo of construction work being done on a new settlement. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the move a serious escalation designed to set back peace efforts.

During his trip, Kushner first met in Jerusalem with Netanyahu, who is a friend of his fathers. He then held talks with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

After the talks, the White House said in statement that Netanyahu and Abbas had reaffirmed their commitment to the goal of getting a lasting peace agreement.

However, the statement also said that establishing peace will take time. It added that U.S. officials urged both sides to do everything possible to create an environment conducive to peacemaking.

Professor Ziv said he believes the only way a peace agreement will have a chance is if the Trump administration is willing to put pressure on both sides.

Without a massive amount of pressure at the highest level, I don't think you're going to see any progress on the Israeli-Palestinian front.

Im Bryan Lynn.

And I'm Caty Weaver.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from VOA News, the Associated Press and Reuters. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

framework n. basic structure of something

approach n. way of doing something

embrace v. gladly accept something

intractable adj. not easily managed

opportunity n. chance to do something

crash course n. class in which a lot of information is taught in a very short period of time

rhetoric language intended to influence people

escalation n. a rise or increase in activity

forge v. create something

conducive adj. make something possible of likely to happen

massive adj. large amount

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Can Trump's Non-Diplomatic Team Make Progress in Middle East? - Voice of America

Common Dreams

Welcome to the 'Second Tier': US Failing Big League on Social Progress Common Dreams Released by the Social Progressive Imperative (SPI), the 2017 Global Social Progress Index reveals that the U.S. ranks 17th in the world when it comes to promoting the general welfare, coming in behind its Canadian neighbor to the north and far behind ... The US is 'flatlining' in social progress compared to countries like Canada and GermanyBusiness Insider 2017 Social Progress Index Reveals Actionable Insights for Decision Makers, Social Entrepreneurs, and Engaged ...Skoll Foundation Worldwide decline in personal rights hampers social progress, study showsHumanosphere The NonProfit Times -IcelandReview -TVNZ all 24 news articles »

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Welcome to the 'Second Tier': US Failing Big League on Social Progress - Common Dreams

ST. LOUIS Lawyers involved in the 2016 consent decree between Ferguson and the Justice Department said at a quarterly status hearing in federal court Thursday that they were making progress toward a series of reforms of municipal court and police practices, but almost a dozen citizens who also spoke said they were frustrated and impatient with the extent of that progress.

Amy Senier, a Justice Department lawyer, told U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry, who is overseeing the consent decree, the team had been hard at work. Senier said lawyers were developing a framework for recruiting and retaining a diversified and well-trained police force, for ensuring police accountability and setting guidelines for police use of force. But she said the team still faces challenges, namely the transparency of the process, including a city website that needs improvement.

We believe we are all working together in good faith, she said.

Apollo Carey, Fergusons city attorney, told Perry that since August 2014, the city has waived $1.8 million in fines, dismissed or dropped about 39,000 municipal court cases and signed up 1,381 people to perform community service instead of paying fines.

Carey said the city was still trying to figure out how to reconcile the consent decrees requirements for body cameras and in-car cameras with a voter initiative on the same subject that differs in technical ways.

He said the civilian review board will be going on police ride-alongs and receive training on use of force simulators to aid it in reviewing complaints.

Half of the citizens who spoke at the hearing expressed their frustration with the Neighborhood Policing Steering Committee, established by the consent decree to provide input to police and the city on law enforcement issues.

Speakers said membership had dropped precipitously because of disputes over how the group is to be run. Others questioned the money being spent by the court-appointed monitor of the consent decree, complained of the lack of openness of the process, and bemoaned a series of deadlines that have been missed.

It doesnt sound like a very functional group, Perry said later to a Justice Department lawyer, who said that lawyers would work to make the process more efficient.

One Ferguson resident did praise the efforts.

The consent decree was prompted by protests following the 2014 death of Michael Brown, and a Justice Department investigation that harshly criticized Fergusons police and municipal court.

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Complaints come with some progress on Ferguson consent decree - STLtoday.com

The death of the rap artist Prodigy (Albert Johnson, half of the duo Mobb Deep) at only 42 this week, after a lifetime of suffering from sickle cell disease, was a reminder of the devastating cost of the sometimes fatal genetic disorder and of the failure to cure it.

It has been 61 years since the discovery of the mutation responsible for sickle cell, which affects about 100,000 people in the U.S., and 30 years since scientists found a compensatory mutation one that keeps people from developing sickle cell despite inheriting the mutant genes.

Last year, when STAT examined the lack of progress, scientists and hospital officials were frank about one reason for it: Other genetic disorders, notably cystic fibrosis, attracted piles of money that led to cures, but sickle cell strikes the wrong kind of people, including African-Americans, and so has historically been starved for funds.

The genetic mutation that causes sickle cell allows red blood cells to cramp up in a way that impedes their flow through blood vessels. Those who have the condition can suffer anemia, infections, fatal organ failure, tissue damage, strokes, and intense pain.

In healthy people, blood cells are round and flexible. But in people with sickle cell disease, blood cells are deformed and cause a range of health problems. Video by Hyacinth Empinado/STAT

In the last 12 months, there have been glimmers of progress against the disease. There are huge numbers of drug companies finally putting money into this, said Dr. Mitchell Weiss, chairman of hematology at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, who is developing a genome-editing approach, using CRISPR-Cas9, to cure sickle cell. As for the National Institutes of Health, the chief funder of basic biomedical research, I wouldnt say NIH is showering [sickle cell research] with money, but theyre trying to help.

READ MORE: Weve known for 50 years what causes sickle cell disease. Wheres the cure?

CRISPR, by making genome-editing easier than ever, is responsible for much of the hope surrounding sickle cell.

On Friday, at a meeting of the European Hematology Association in Madrid, scientists at CRISPR Therapeutics and their academic collaborators will present preliminary results of a study using it to create the compensatory mechanism that protects some sickle cell patients. Basically, that mechanism keeps the body producing fetal hemoglobin, which ordinarily vanishes soon after birth. But even in sickle cell patients, fetal hemoglobin is normal rather than deformed like adult hemoglobin. Scientists have identified several genetic routes to keeping fetal hemoglobin turned on, and even to turning it on again after the body has turned it off in infancy.

CRISPR Therapeutics does not reveal which gene it targeted, but the results were promising. Starting with blood-forming cells from both healthy volunteers and sickle cell patients, it created CRISPR-Cas9 molecules targeting regions of DNA involved in the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch. An impressive 85 percent of cells were successfully edited, which kept fetal hemoglobin production humming. Result: Scientists re-created genetic variants linked to high [fetal hemoglobin] levels in blood-forming cells from both healthy donors and those with sickle cell, the company said in a summary of the study. It compared how well different DNA edits increased production of fetal hemoglobin in red blood cells in lab dishes, getting 25 percent to 45 percent in the cells taken from six sickle cell patients.

The scientists then put the edited cells into lab mice, finding that they homed in on the bone marrow, as they would have to do in a patient to effect a cure. They also measured what are called off-target effects, or edits of genes that werent intended, and found none at the more than 5,000 sites deemed most likely to have them.

CRISPR Therapeutics said it had used several editing strategies to turn on production of fetal hemoglobin, underlining the accelerating progress in taking that approach to develop a cure. Weiss, for instance, is trying to turn on fetal hemoglobin by tapping into the very complicated genetics of fetal hemoglobin.

Cells have molecules that act like Victorian lamplighters: They roam the genome, turning genes on and off. One such lamplighter (in biology-speak, a transcription factor) is called BCL11A; it turns off production of fetal hemoglobin. Weiss is not targeting BCL11A itself (other scientists are considering that); rather, he is using CRISPR to disrupt where BCL11A lands. Just as a lamplighter cant turn off a light he cant reach, so BCL11A cant turn off a gene it cant reach. Expected result: Fetal hemoglobin stays on and patients have enough healthy hemoglobin to compensate for the sickled kind.

READ MORE: One boys cure raises hopes and questions about gene therapy for sickle cell disease

After making progress with this approach editing cells in lab dishes, Weiss said, he and his colleagues hope to launch a clinical trial in three to four years, using money raised by St. Jude but, so far, they have no commercial partner. At Boston Childrens Hospital, Dr. David Williams said he hopes to open his clinical trial, also using gene therapy to target sickle cell, this summer, and is just waiting on final safety testing of the virus that will be used to deliver the therapy.

An even more basic approach to curing sickle cell targets the causative mutation directly. The most encouraging human data so far have come from a genetic therapy being tested by Cambridge, Mass.-based Bluebird Bio. In March, the company reported that a boy who received the gene therapy in October 2014, when he was 13, had been able to stop taking medication that helps alleviate symptoms and has not needed to be hospitalized with a sickle cell crisis (as Prodigy was in the days before he died). Nor has he suffered the crushing pain or bone and tissue damage that results from the inability of sickled blood cells to carry oxygen.

Bluebird uses viruses to carry the healthy hemoglobin gene into blood-making bone marrow cells taken from patients, which is the original form of gene therapy. If healthy genes insert into the DNA of enough cells, which are infused back into the patient, the marrow makes enough healthy blood cells to cure sickle cell.

With the sudden surge of activity, said Dr. Charles Abrams of the University of Pennsylvania and past president of the American Society of Hematology, people say were within 10 years of reaching the goal of a cure, and maybe less.

This article is reproduced with permission from STAT. It was first published on June 21, 2017. Find the original story here.

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Prodigy's death shines light on slow progress against sickle cell ... - PBS NewsHour

In the two years since the Veterans Affairs Department announced its goal of closing all cybersecurity material weaknesses, the effortsdetailed in the latest audit report from the agencys inspector general seem to be making a difference.

While VA fell short of its ultimate objective of cybersecurity not being a material weakness in 2017the 18th year in a row auditors rated it that way the Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) said in its response to the IGs Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) report to Congress that it has made significant progress across all 33 recommendations, and is asking the IG to close 18 of them.

For example, the IG says VA continued to struggle with ensuring systems had an up-to-date authority to operate (ATO).

Specifically, process deficiencies allowed certain system authorizations to operate to expire and allowed other systems to be reauthorized by an official without the proper authority, the IG stated.

Sponsored Content - Download our Executive Briefing to learn how agency and industry experts are hoping to reduce insider threats.

But VAs chief information officers office says its Enterprise Cybersecurity Strategy Team (ECST) has updated its processes and is nowusing the ongoing authorizations approach as required by the Office of Management and Budget in the Circular A-130 update issued last fall.

By the end of calendar year 2016, systems requiring an ATO were updated to reflect the new AO, OI&Ts response stated. Updated assessment and authorization (A&A) policy and process to redefine roles and responsibilities of VAs authorizing officials (AO), and AO procedures, which will allow for oversight of systems throughout their full lifecycle. Office of Cyber Security Policy and Compliance (OCSPC) conducts routine, regularly scheduled briefings with the AO prior to issuance of ATOs on systems within their purview.

The system authorization process has been a problem at VA for some time. Back in 2013, former VA chief information security officer Jerry Davis claimed VA was rubber stamping ATOs in order to get them completed before they expired.

After several congressional hearings and the turnover of the CIO, VAs new leadership promised to fix the long-standing cyber problems. Former VA CIO Laverne Council said when she took over the role in 2015 that her intention was to get rid of the more than two dozen cyber weaknesses over the next two years.

She created a cyber strategy, the ECST and eight domains to address the biggest problem areas.

The cyber team is playing a major role in nearly every initiative to close the IGs recommendations.

Deputy Inspector General Linda Halliday said in an email to Federal News Radio that her office will continue to review VAs progress in improving its cyber posture.

When the OIG receives evidence of appropriate corrective action, we will generally close that recommendation, Halliday said. As VA provides documentation to support the corrective actions taken on any recommendation, we will review it and make the determination on whether we can close that recommendation. Further, we continue to assess VAs progress in implementing corrective actions and their ability to sustain improvements impacting VA information security posture during our annual FISMA review in the following year.

One area where VA says it has made progress has been a long-time challenge around password management.

Over the past two years, the ECST has implemented technology to enforce password policies, mandated the use of smart identity cards and initiated single sign-on capabilities.

VA has enhanced password monitoring policies via credentialed, predictive scans and remediation processes on OI&T systems. Routine system scans are completed by the Network and Security Operations Center (NSOC). Enterprise Discovery Scans (EDS) are conducted on a quarterly basis to detect password vulnerabilities across the enterprise, OI&T told auditors. In order to improve organizationwide availability of security data, VA has enhanced the reporting of scan results and has published results with historical data on the Nessus Enterprise Web Tool (NEWT). VA is using NEWT dashboards to monitor password vulnerabilities and show trends based on the results of EDS scans. Scan results are shared with users in the enterprise who have been granted access to NEWT.

Another major problem the IG pointed out was the lack of visibility into their networks and therefore failure to identify numerous high-risk security incidents, including malware infections that were not remediated in a timely manner. Specifically, we noted these issues at three major data centers and two VA medical centers.

The CIOs office said it expects to complete the national deployment of an enterprisewide security incident and event management toolby June 30.

VAs OI&T said it is currently receiving logs from across the enterprise to include centralized logging from devices owned and managed by field operations to include Windows and Linux servers, and network infrastructure devices (routers/switches). Other log sources such as domain controllers, Domain Name Services (DNS), and ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) systems are now also included in the centralized logging repository, which helps to enrich the data lake and enhance data available for event monitoring, correlation processes and incident response. Currently, only failed logon events are being collected for infrastructure devices.

VA OI&T also expects to complete a related effort by June 30 to track and make sure patches and vulnerabilities are closed in a timely manner.

VA has an enterprise-wide scanning program performed by the NSOC on a scheduled and ad-hoc basis (when needed or requested). Results of the scans are rolled into NEWT for analysis and reporting. The analysis tool provides an enterprise view to the terminal device level (specific Internet Protocol), the offices response stated. NEWT coverage has been expanded to include Cisco and Red Hat Enterprise Linux scan results as well as trending and historical remediation efforts. VA implemented DbProtect, a database scanning tool, to gain enterprise level access and insight to the many databases that exist in the organization.

VA told the IG it expects to close eight of the remaining recommendations no later than Sept. 30 and then five more by Dec. 31.

Read more from the original source:

VA fails cyber audit for 18th straight year, but progress is evident - FederalNewsRadio.com