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News, Page 32

Colorado rampage trial judge dismisses three jurors tainted by tweet

The judge in the capital murder trial of Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes dismissed three jurors on Tuesday on the grounds they were tainted by hearing about a prosecutor's message on Twitter. Last week, District Attorney George Brauchler sent a tweet that referred to a videotaped interview a psychiatrist conducted with Holmes, who killed 12 moviegoers and wounded dozens more when he opened fire in a suburban Denver theater in 2012. Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour has repeatedly told jurors not to read media reports or material on social media about the trial and not to discuss the case among themselves or with others.

South Korea reports sixth MERS death, surge in infections

South Korea recorded its sixth death and biggest single day jump in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) infections on Monday, with 23 new cases in the largest outbreak of the potentially deadly virus outside Saudi Arabia. From just four cases two weeks ago, the total number of infections now stands at 87, including six people who have died. The latest fatality was an 80-year-old man who died Monday morning in a hospital in Daejeon, 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of Seoul, the health ministry said.

Protesters clash with police ahead of G7 summit in Bavaria

By Paul Carrel and Michelle Martin GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (Reuters) – Protesters clashed with police in the German resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday as thousands demonstrated against a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) leaders that starts on Sunday at a nearby luxury hotel. Scuffles first broke out as the demonstrators, some throwing bottles, faced off with riot police in a narrow lane of quaint Alpine houses on the edge of the town. Occasional clashes followed as the demonstrators snaked their way back through the town.

More reason for calm than panic in South Korea’s MERS scare

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Sales of surgical masks surge amid fears of a deadly, poorly understood virus. Airlines announce “intensified sanitizing operations.” More than 1,100 schools close and 1,600 people — and 17 camels in zoos — are quarantined.

Despite Obamacare, gap health insurance market explodes

By Beth Pinsker NEW YORK (Reuters) – Despite the promise of coverage through the U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA), the number of people applying for non-compliant, short-term health insurance policies was up more than 100 percent in 2014, according to new data available from companies who broker these policies. This type of health insurance is exactly the kind that the ACA, known commonly as Obamacare, was supposed to upgrade. The government does not count these gap plans as qualifying health insurance, so people who have them are subject to penalties for being uninsured.

About 55 people at Utah homeless shelter suffer food poisoning

By Peg McEntee SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – About 55 people, including some children, fell ill with suspected food poisoning at a homeless shelter in Salt Lake City on the weekend, and authorities were investigating the source of the illness, officials said on Monday. Ambulances and a bus were sent to the shelter on Sunday to take those sickened to local hospitals, where they reported nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, according to Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Jasen Asay. Ilene Risk, an epidemiologist at the Salt Lake County Department of Health, said those who check into Road Home often get food at a nearby soup kitchen and from other such facilities in the city.

Pentagon chief to hold people accountable for anthrax

HAIPHONG, Vietnam (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Sunday that he will find out who was responsible for the mistaken shipments of live anthrax to 11 U.S. states and two countries and will “hold them accountable.”

Genetic glitch can predict response to new class of cancer drugs

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – Patients with colon and other cancers who have a specific defect in genes needed for DNA repair are far more likely to respond to a new class of drugs such as Merck & Co’s Keytruda, which enlist the immune system to attack tumors, a new study has shown. The small study, financed not by Big Pharma but by swimmers who raised charitable donations, tested Keytruda in patients with advanced colon and rectal cancers and found 92 percent of patients with the genetic defect had their disease controlled compared with 16 percent who did not carry the defect. The findings, announced on Friday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, point to a new way to predict who will respond to the treatments, which are known as PD-1 inhibitors and can cost $150,000 a year.

4 Lessons from Luis Lang’s Lost Eyesight

Recently, on the “Dr. America” show, I reported on the now-viral story of Luis Lang, a 49-year-old man from South Carolina who initially opposed Obamacare, and is now facing financial ruin as he suffers some dire health problems, including possible blindness. I made a small donation on his GoFundMe online fundraiser, as did many progressives…