FDA moves to ban sales of menthol cigarettes
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a plan to ban sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes in the U.S., a measure many public health experts hailed as the government’s most meaningful action in more than a decade of tobacco control efforts. The blueprint for the ban will be published as a proposed regulation in the May 4 Federal Register and will be open for public comments for at least 60 days, then finalized with possible revisions. It is expected that it will take a least a year to go into effect. Tobacco companies are likely to contest the rule in court.
Moderna asks FDA to authorize vaccine for children younger than 6
Moderna said Thursday that it had asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its coronavirus vaccine for children younger than 6, making it the first manufacturer to do so. An official at the company said it would finish submitting data to regulators by May 9. The development steps up pressure on federal regulators to authorize a vaccine for the nation’s youngest children. Parents of the roughly 18 million youngest Americans have been increasingly vocal about their frustration with delays, and members of Congress have been asking the FDA why it cannot move faster.
Dozens of wild horses killed by mystery disease at Colorado facility
A federal wild horse facility in Colorado is under quarantine and veterinarians are on site conducting tests after at least 85 horses have died from an “unknown yet highly contagious” disease, the Bureau of Land Management said. The bureau, which is in charge of caring for the nation’s wild horses, said in a news release Monday that 57 had died since the outbreak began over the weekend in Cañon City. By Wednesday evening, 28 more deaths were recorded. It’s the second time in recent weeks that the bureau had to shut down a facility because of a widespread illness among horses.
Climate change will accelerate viral spillovers, study finds
Over the next 50 years, climate change will drive thousands of viruses to jump from one species of mammal to another, according to a study published in Nature on Thursday. The shuffling of viruses among animals may increase the risk that one will jump into humans and cause a new pandemic, the researchers said. Scientists have long warned that a warming planet may increase the burden of diseases. But climate change might also usher in entirely new diseases, by allowing pathogens to move into new host species. The researchers were not able to say exactly which viruses would move between which species.
Extreme heat pummeling India and Pakistan is about to get worse
The heat wave that has been pummeling India and Pakistan for weeks is expected to intensify over the weekend. It may be weeks before the region’s annual monsoon sweeps in to provide relief. Heat-related watches were in effect Thursday afternoon for all but a few of India’s 28 states. Forecasters said that March was the hottest month the country has witnessed in over a century. The National Weather Forecasting Center said temperatures in some states were 10 degrees Fahrenheit or more above normal in some areas. In most of neighboring Pakistan, government forecasters said this week that a high pressure system would likely keep temperatures above normal through Monday.
Turkey’s leader lands in Saudi Arabia, seeking to ease tensions
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey arrived in Saudi Arabia for his first visit in nearly five years Thursday, capping his efforts to improve ties with the kingdom at a time of economic distress at home and to ease years of tensions over the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Erdogan landed in Jiddah on Thursday night and met with King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi ruler, according to images published by Turkish state news media. Before departing for Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said the trip was part of Turkey’s efforts to promote peace, dialogue and diplomacy in the region.
NATO explores ways to help defend Sweden and Finland even before they formally join
NATO is exploring ways to reinforce security for Finland and Sweden should they ask to join the alliance, even in the period before the other 30 member countries ratify their membership, officials said. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, the two Nordic countries have said they are likely to seek NATO membership but have not formally done so. The ratification process takes time, and the countries cannot count on NATO to come to their military aid until it is completed. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday said he had discussed with Finland and Sweden ways to make arrangements before they are covered by the group’s security guarantee.
In El Salvador, the president cracks down on civil liberties, and is beloved for it
More than 18,000 Salvadorans have been imprisoned in recent weeks, after a spike in killings in March led the government to declare a state of emergency, suspending key civil liberties guaranteed in the constitution and allowing children as young as 12 to be tried as adults for gang affiliation. Human rights groups have denounced the actions as violations of fundamental freedoms. But most Salvadorans have grown weary of the gangs that terrorize them. Much of the Salvadoran public is relieved that President Nayib Bukele is cracking down, even if he is also undermining the fragile democracy their country has struggled to build over the past three decades.
By wire sources
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