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- The top 25 stories curated by editors and fellow readers!
Editor's Pick |
| Work UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect charged with first-degree murder  The suspect escaped the scene and fled on foot, later by ebike, to Central Park. After several days of a search in New York City, Mangione was found and reported to police while in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on 9 December. Police found Mangione in possession of a firearm suppressor, a mask consistent with that worn by the gunman, a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching the ID the man used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, and a handwritten document. |
| Work Amazon and the Endangered Future of the Middle Manager  Amazon CEO Andy Jassy delivered one of 2024's major job headlines with his five-day office mandate, but there's a bigger tech organizational shakeup at work. |
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| Work Pfizer's 2025 forecast meets expectations and leaves room for debate  Financial analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected earnings per share of $2.89 and sales of $63.2 billion. In a note to clients Monday, Akash Tewari, an analyst at Jefferies, wrote that the consensus among fund managers (the “buy side”) was actually lower, with a forecasted dilute earnings per share of $2.50 to $2.70. |
| Work Sanofi is the latest drug company to sue HHS over payment terms for 340B hospitals  In its lawsuit, Sanofi argued that the program is rife with waste and abuse. The program was created three decades ago to help hospitals and clinics care for low-income and rural patients. Drug companies that want to take part in Medicare or Medicaid must offer their medicines at a discount — typically, 25% to 50%, but sometimes higher — to participating hospitals and clinics. |
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| Work Gene-edited pig kidney transplanted into a third person, moving xenotransplants closer to trials  Looney said she is eagerly awaiting being able to travel again and spend more time with her family and grandchildren. She also has another goal for her post-transplant life: “I want to go to Disneyworld,” she said, through laughter. |
| Work Pharmalittle: We're reading about Congress reining in PBMs, Sanofi suing HHS, and more  After two years of haggling, Congress has nearly reached a deal to rein in pharmacy benefit managers |
| Work Gameto says first baby born using new stem-cell tech  The company, which raised $33 million in a series B in May, is expecting to launch a Phase 3 trial in early 2025, pending the go-ahead from the FDA. If it goes forward, it would be the first pivotal trial of induced pluripotent stem cells in the U.S. |
| Work What Marty Makary will do at the FDA & what taxi drivers can teach scientists  Today's health news includes what to know about Marty Mackary, Trump's pick for FDA head, plus a study on taxi drivers and Alzheimer's. |
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| Work PBMs face scrutiny from all sides, and analyzing Marty Makary's road to the FDA  Sarah Owermohle reports on the administration’s health care initiatives, federal health policy, and its intersection with politics and the courts. She joined STAT in 2022 after covering health policy at Politico. She is also the co-author of the free, twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter. |
| Work FDA deputy commissioner Namandje Bumpus to leave agency  Namandjé Bumpus, principal deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, is leaving the agency. Commissioner Robert Califf shared the news with staff Tuesday morning, according to an email reviewed by STAT. |
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| Work Bipartisan task force sets health AI oversight priorities for the next Congress  The task force’s recommendations come at a time when a new administration and Congress prepare to enter Washington. Though many anticipate President-elect Donald Trump’s “AI czar” David Sacks and the Trump administration will advocate for lessening AI regulation, the report outlines several areas where Congress should consider guardrails to make sure patients are protected while encouraging adoption of AI. |
| Work Republicans show no signs of blocking Trump's health secretary pick RFK Jr. so far  Rachel Cohrs Zhang reports on the intersection of health policy and business in Washington. She covers Capitol Hill, lobbying, and federal agencies. Her primary areas of focus are the pharmaceutical and hospital industries. She is also the co-author of the free, twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter. |
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| Work Retiring at 62 with $1 Million in a Roth IRA: Will $2,250 Monthly Social Security Be Enough?  Are you a financial advisor looking to grow your business? SmartAsset AMP helps advisors connect with leads and offers marketing automation solutions so you can spend more time making conversions. Learn more about SmartAsset AMP. |
| Work Mark Cuban Calls Healthcare Pricing 'Horrific'- Says Hospitals and Doctors Are 'Sub Prime Lenders' Forced To Raise Prices To Cover Losses  What's more, Cuban intends to publish his company's direct contracts, ensuring transparency in pricing. His ultimate vision? A health care system where businesses contract directly with providers, cutting out unnecessary intermediaries and reducing costs for everyone involved. |
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| Work Why I Recently Bought More Shares of This Beaten Down 8%-Yielding Dividend Stock  Matt DiLallo has positions in Medical Properties Trust and has the following options: short March 2025 $4 puts on Medical Properties Trust. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. |
| Work Bitcoin Rally Leaves the World's Original Crypto ETFs Behind  While this year’s net flows for Canadian Bitcoin ETFs will be negative, Rincon of TD sees more tailwinds on the way for the crypto ETF industry with incoming changes at the US Securities and Exchange Commission that could lead to more types of ETFs. |
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| Work Robert Kiyosaki Warns Baby Boomers Will Be 'Biggest Losers'- Suggests Kids 'Nudge' Parents To Sell Their Homes, Stocks And Bonds 'Now'  Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partnered with Amazon, Walmart & Target announces the deadline to invest this year is 12/20. – Last Chance to get 4,000 of its pre-IPO shares for just $0.26/share! |
| Work Ask an Advisor: After My Spouse Dies, Do I Qualify for a Full Step-Up in Basis on Our Home, or Just the $250k Capital Gains Exemption?  Please note that Brandon is not an employee of SmartAsset and is not a participant in SmartAsset AMP. He has been compensated for this article. Some reader-submitted questions are edited for clarity or brevity. |
| Work Nuon helps companies deploy their software into their customers' cloud accounts | TechCrunch  “If you think about the last 17 years of software, everything has been built for SaaS,” Morehouse said. “We believe the next 17 years of software is going to be built for bring-your-own cloud. It’s going to be AI first. It’s going to be designed to run in the customer’s cloud first.” |
| Work Exclusive: Focused Energy buys two of the world's most powerful lasers for its fusion quest | TechCrunch  Today, Focused Energy’s main challenge is building things quickly enough, Mercer said. “We set our target for 2035. It’s mostly conditioned on, how quickly can we start to move towards laser manufacturing at scale?” he said. “Even putting a traditional power plant on the grid in a 10-year time frame is an ambitious process today.” |
| Work Popular LatAm digital payment service AstroPay launches multi-currency wallet | TechCrunch  AstroPay itself has teams in multiple markets, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, India, Peru, Spain, the U.K., and Uruguay. “The team is a reflection of that company we’re building as well. So we are 320 people and we’re spread out around the world,” Sacal said. |
| Work Slip Robotics snags $28M for its bots that can load a truck in five minutes | TechCrunch  He said Slip Robotics didn’t try to scale too soon, kept quiet, and focused on developing its robotics platform. That approach appears to have paid off. The company, once less than a dozen people, has now grown to about 50 employees. Importantly, he noted, Slip Robotics now has 10 commercial customers and hundreds of bots in the field. |
| Work Grammarly acquires productivity startup Coda, brings on new CEO | TechCrunch  Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University. |
| Work Commonwealth Fusion Systems just picked its first commercial site partly because of its proximity to Washington, DC | TechCrunch  While CFS has its eyes on Sparc and Arc today, Needham said the company is already beginning to think about what comes after those. “Because of all the work we’ve done, we found a lot of great sites,” Needham said. “Our objective as a company is not to build a fusion power plant. It’s to build thousands.” |
| Work AI boom masks fundraising struggles for non-AI startups | TechCrunch  Founders of non-GenAI startups must feel like “in high school, and they didn’t get invited to the cool party,” Hirsch said, adding that they often have a good business, but nobody cares. |
| Work A comprehensive list of 2024 tech layoffs | TechCrunch  Alyssa Stringer was formerly the Audience Development Manager for TechCrunch. She previously worked for HW Media as Audience Development Manager across HousingWire, RealTrends and FinLedger media brands. Prior to her experience in audience development, Alyssa worked as a content writer and holds a Bachelor’s in Journalism at the University of North Texas. |
| Work The DOJ wants a Perplexity executive to testify in its Google antitrust case | TechCrunch  Perplexity also says that while it has agreed to provide copies of licensing agreements “related to AI training,” Google wants all of Perplexity’s licensing agreements and that it has asked Google to “meet and confer” about this. |
| Work Trump sues Iowa newspaper over election poll claiming Harrisa??s lead  This all comes as last week, ABC News, which is owned by Walt Disney, agreed to pay $15m to a foundation and museum to be established by Trump as part of a settlement in yet another defamation lawsuit that the president-elect had launched. |
| Work Trump lashes out at judge who refused to dismiss business fraud conviction a?? as it happened  "But look, as we hold our loved ones close this holiday season, we as a nation, must renew our commitment to end ⦠gun violence, both mass shootings, and everyday, gun violence that touches so many." |
| Work Amazon workers across US gear up to strike this week, days before Christmas  Spokesperson Eileen Hands said in a statement: “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union.” |
| Work New York tax preparer called a??the Magiciana?? charged for tax fraud of $145m  When Alvarez was charged on 15 April - tax day - this year, IRS special agent in charge Thomas Fattorusso said that while Alvarez was known as the magician, "he can't say abracadabra and make these charges disappear", and that his arrest "was no magical illusion". |
| Work US Bureau of Prisons pays a??historica?? $115m to survivors of staff sexual abuse  "The [BoP] is dedicated to appropriately addressing the consequences of sexually abusive behavior at FCI Dublin. The [BoP] remains committed to rooting out unlawful behavior and holding accountable those who violate their oath of office," she said. |
| Work Expert witness condemns claims by Lucy Letbya??s lawyer  Evans said police should be able to complete their investigation "without any distractions", as should Lady Justice Thirlwall, who is chair of the public inquiry into the events surrounding Letby's crimes. |
| Work PSNI and Met policea??s unlawful spying on journalists may be tip of the iceberg  In a witness statement to the tribunal in May, Det Supt Brian Foster, the head of PSNI's anti-corruption unit, was unapologetic: "The operation above was last conducted in March 2023. It has been suspended until the conclusion of the tribunal proceedings but it is a valuable tool and may be used again." |
| Work Young terrorism suspects could avoid prosecution in plan for diversion scheme  “The government should be stepping up to fix this by properly funding the officers our communities need – not passing the buck to local police chiefs to put up people’s council tax instead.” |
| Work Avanti West Coast workers to strike on New Yeara??s Eve  Avanti says it is assessing how much impact strikes will have but spokesperson says disruption will be a??significanta?? |
| Work Pollution exposure linked to mental health hospital admissions, says study  Between 1% and 2% of the UK population have bipolar disorder in their lifetime, with similar figures for schizophrenia. It is estimated that about 5% of people in the UK have a personality disorder at any one time. |
| Work Lloyds advert banned for making false environmental claims  “Reducing the environmental impact of our business remains a fundamental part of our strategy and we will continue to work alongside customers, the government, and the market to reach net zero by 2050 or sooner.” |
| Work a??Ankara is getting what it wantsa??: how ErdoA?ana??s balancing act in Syria paid off  "Post-Assad Syria grants Turkey a lot of leverage and HTS can use all the help it can get," she says. The group is seeking to avoid isolation and will use Turkey's input to ensure they eventually gain recognition from the international community, she adds. But in the interim, Turkey remains their gateway to the outside world. |
| Work Middle East crisis: UN envoy to Syria warns conflict is not over amid a??significant hostilitiesa?? a?? as it happened  Israeli forces have detained at least 12 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank since last night, the Palestinian Authority's Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society said. |
| Work Killing of Russian general cements SBUa??s reputation for abrupt vengeance  Tuesday's more sophisticated assassination of Kirillov will be celebrated in Kyiv as a textbook success. The SBU's formal name is the Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy. It is now jokingly known as the "service of god", a play in Ukrainian on the initials SBU. The agency has cemented its reputation as an outfit that administers its own form of brutal extrajudicial justice. It is an abrupt and swift form of vengeance, delivered as if from the heavens. |
| Work The chemical weapon accusations against the general killed in Moscow  “The analyses by the OPCW designated laboratories, conducted separately and independently from one another, confirm that the grenade and soil samples collected from the trench contain the riot control agent 2-Chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile known as CS,” the body reported. Under the chemical weapons convention signed by Russia, it added, “the use of riot control agents as a method of warfare is prohibited”. |
| Work Friedrich Merz lashes out at Greens as German election campaign starts  “Whoever wants to lead a government has to be able to bring varying interests together” and get past his own “self-importance”, Habeck said. “That will determine his future success.” |
| Work Spain introduces bill to combat online fake news  Fighting disinformation is part of the government’s plan for “democratic renewal”, launched earlier this year after a judge began investigating Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, for alleged corruption and influence peddling. |
| Work a??Bad deal for taxpayersa??: huge losses from NSW forest logging, reports reveal  "This is just another piece of evidence to show that native forest logging in New South Wales is economically unviable. We know that it's ecologically unsustainable, and we know that the forestry corporation has been losing money on its hardwood division for the last decade." |
| Work Australians making record $295,000 median profit on home sales, report shows  Owen said units had always had a higher chance of making a loss, which was attributed to supply factors and the fact that units are the preferred investment dwelling, with low maintenance, lower price points and generally higher rental yields. |
| Work Push to stop NSW hospitals opting out of abortions as healthcare a??desertsa?? exposed  "I think it's important that there be greater clarity about the role that regional-based hospitals play in providing access to abortion services, and pathways for women need to be more clearly delineated," Shilbury said. |
| Work Federal budget $27bn in the red and wona??t return to balance for a decade, Myefo forecasts  Ahead of the release, Labor boasted that it has improved the budget by a cumulative $200bn over the six years to 2027-28 inherited from the Coalition, despite $8.8bn of "unavoidable spending" in the mid-year update and $16.3bn in changes to payments and programs. |
| Work Buruli ulcer: researchers warn of flesh-eating bacteria in NSWa??s south coast that can cause disfigurement  Researchers said the many similarities in wildlife composition and insect presence between coastal Victoria and southern NSW made it likely NSW health authorities were facing progressive expansion of ulcer-endemic areas. |
| Work Australia news live: Alan Jones to plead not guilty after eight new indecent assault charges; second Vanuatu earthquake  “As you plan for the future, remember that there are many pathways to university, regardless of your Atar. If you need guidance or support, UAC is here to help you explore your options and take the next step with confidence.” |
| Work Lawyer accused of being Chinese spy in UK loses legal challenge  Lee’s human rights were also not infringed by the issue of the interference alert, the tribunal ruled. “The public interest in the protection of national security outweighs the interference with C1 [Lee’s] right to respect for private life,” it said. |
| Work Honda and Nissan to start talks on potential mega-merger  Nissan said in a statement: “The content of the report is not something that has been announced by either companies. As announced in March of this year, Honda and Nissan are exploring various possibilities for future collaboration, leveraging each other’s strengths. If there are any updates, we will inform our stakeholders at the appropriate time.” |
| Work Laboura??s review of UK-China relations on hold until after chancellor visits Beijing  On Monday the Chinese embassy in London accused some MPs of having a "twisted mentality towards China" and said "anti-China clamours" were an attempt to "smear China, target against the Chinese community in the UK and undermine normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK". |
| Work Vanuatu earthquake: death toll expected to rise as second quake plunges nation into state of emergency  While a first case was dismissed by the supreme court last week, the former prime minister Ishmael Kalsakau has announced they are appealing that judgment – which was due to be heard before Christmas. |
| Work a??Several hundreda?? North Korean troops killed fighting Ukraine, says US official  "I would certainly anticipate ⦠there could be remaining authority that would transition and be available for the next administration to use," the official said on condition of anonymity. |
| Work Canadaa??s turmoil is harbinger of diplomatic havoc in second Trump term  After Freeland's exit, Trump also attacked her, describing the former minister as "totally toxic" during the Nafta renegotiation and said that "she will not be missed". |
| Work Cyclone Chido: many missing in Mayotte as death toll rises in south-east Africa  He said the storm needed to trigger improvements for people living in Mayotte’s slums: “We are overpopulated so, if there is no long-term solution, unfortunately what is happening now will be multiplied in the coming years.” |
| Work UK government denies rift with Mauritian PM over Chagos Islands deal  Ministers in the UK have said that uncertainty over the islands’ legal status threatened the base’s operation and that the deal had support from across the US security system. Joe Biden’s administration has offered its public backing to it. |
| Work Cambridge Analytica scandal still lingering on as Meta settles with Australian users  In a statement, Meta displayed no contrition and said the settlement was more or less a business decision. "We settled as it is in the best interest of our community and shareholders that we close this chapter on allegations that relate to past practices no longer relevant to how Meta’s products or systems work today," a spokesperson told The Guardian. The case took four years to resolve largely because Meta claimed it wasn't technically doing business in Australia, but that argument was finally slapped aside by the nation's highest court. |
| Work The Audi Q6 E-Tron is an OLED dream machine  The problem? That's a huge premium over the starting price of Audi's most comparable gas-powered machine, the Q5, which can be had for as little as $45,400. Is the Q6 worth the extra cost? I wouldn't necessarily spring for the sportier SQ6, but even the base Q6 offers far more power and tech than the Q5, plus lower running costs and a lack of maintenance. Despite the similar name, it's in a different class. Sure, it's a bit of a splurge, but I'd rather have the even-numbered one in my garage. |
| Work Get a free $20 Amazon gift card when you buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro  According to our review, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds have no issue hitting its advertised battery life. With ANC on, they can last six hours, and the charging case provides an additional 20 hours of ANC-on usage. We also counted it among the best wireless earbuds in 2024. |