US nears deal to fund Moderna's bird flu vaccine trial, FT reports
May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is nearing an agreement to fund a late-stage trial of Moderna'smRNA bird flu vaccine, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, as the outbreak spreads in dairy cows.
Moderna told Reuters it was in discussions with the government on advancing its vaccine candidate, but did not confirm the funding, saying it has nothing further to add.(
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Federal funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) could come as soon as next month and would include a promise to procure doses if late-stage trials are successful, the FT report said, citing people close to the discussions.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
Moderna is testing the experimental shot, mRNA-1018, against several strains of the virus - including the currently circulating H5N1 variant. It said dosing in an early-to-mid stage study of the vaccine was completed, and it expects data soon.(
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Shares of the company have risen about 40% since April 1, when the second known human case of bird flu in the United States was reported. The stock was up about 3% at $151.25 in premarket trading on Thursday.
The United States has a stockpile of bird flu vaccines matched with the strain currently circulating, as well as antivirals that could be used to treat human infections. For a major epidemic or a pandemic, however, the country would have to considerably scale up stock.
Mets expected to DFA Jorge Lopez after he throws glove into stands, calls Mets 'worst' team in MLB
The New York Mets have underperformed in 2024, and one of the team's top relievers has seemingly had enough. Following a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, finishing off a sweep of the Mets, 2022 All-Star Jorge Lopez had this to say about his team.(
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OUCH! The worst team in MLB? It doesn't matter how bad your team is playing, you can't say that.
Lopez's emotions were obviously running high during this interview. Lopez had been ejected from the game for arguing a check swing call with the third base umpire. After the ejection, Lopez threw his glove into the stands in frustration, which manager Carlos Mendoza deemed "unacceptable."(
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Lopez ended the day having pitched just 0.1 innings, surrendering two earned runs on two hits and one walk.
The Mets will DFA Lopez, according to multiple reports.(
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All things Mets: Latest New York Mets news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
While the decision makes sense given what Lopez did and said, it's still a little shocking considering the success Lopez has had this season. In 2024, Lopez has posted a 3.12 ERA. He is one of only two relievers on the team to have pitched at least 20 innings while maintaining an ERA under 3.50.(
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When a player is DFA'd (Designated for Assignment), he is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster. The team then has seven days to either return the player to the 40-man roster, place them on waivers, trade them, release them, or send them down to the minor leagues.(
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Given Lopez's strong start to 2024, it would not be a shock for him to find a new team quickly should the Mets decide to place him on waivers or release him outright.(
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Record-wise, no. The Mets have a better record than the Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, and Chicago White Sox, with the White Sox having the worst record in baseball at 15-41.
Rough seas over the weekend broke four U.S. Army ships free of their moorings and damaged the temporary pier the Army had built to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.(
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Army engineers are working to put the pier back together, and Defense Department officials hope it will be operational again in about a week.
The temporary pier that the U.S. military constructed and put in place to provide much-needed humanitarian aid for Gaza has broken apart in rough seas, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.(
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The latest calamity to befall the pier endeavor punctuated a particularly grim several days in Gaza, where Israeli forces have ramped up attacks on the city of Rafah just two days after carrying out a deadly strike that killed dozens of people.(
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“Unfortunately, we had a perfect storm of high sea states, and then, as I mentioned, this North African weather system also came in at the same time, creating not an optimal environment to operate,” Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon deputy press secretary, said at a news conference.
Army engineers are working to put the pier back together and Defense Department officials hope that it “will be fully operational in just a little over a week,” she said.(
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In early March, President Biden surprised the Pentagon by announcing that the U.S. military would build a pier for Gaza. Defense officials immediately predicted that there would be logistical and security issues.(
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In the days after the pier became operational on May 17, trucks were looted as they made their way to a warehouse, forcing the U.N. World Food Program to suspend operations. After officials beefed up security, the weather turned bad. American officials had been hoping that the sea surges would not start until later in the summer.
On Saturday, heavy seas forced two small American military vessels that were part of the pier operation to beach in Israel. On Sunday, part of the pier broke off completely, including a wider parking area for dropping off supplies transported by ship, officials said. That part will have to be reconnected.(
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The pier is now being removed from the coast of Gaza to be repaired after getting damaged in the rough seas, Ms. Singh said. Over the next two days, it will be pulled out and taken to Ashdod, in southern Israel, for repairs.
Terrifying video shows 2 women's ordeal as they face violent Texas tornado: ‘I'm shaking, the car’s still shaking’
A terrifying video being recorded by two women shows the moment a tornado crossed the road while they were driving near Valley View, Texas.(
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A terrifying video being recorded by two women shows the moment a tornado crossed the road while they were driving near Valley View, Texas. The duo survived, but the storm killed several people.
Valenia Gill and Brenda Proctor Dance were returning after attending a singer/songwriter show when they faced the ordeal. 15 minutes after the show, rain began blowing sideways and wind sounded across their vehicle.
The terrifying video(
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In the video, one can hear the hail pelting the car. “(Expletive)’s flying everywhere,” Gill says in the clip, as chunks of debris flew past the headlights.
“My ears are popping, too, from the pressure,” Gill says. “Look at the sign shaking.”
Soon the road signs start flapping violently. As visibility out of the car window worsens, Gill stops the car.
“Oh my God,” one of the women can be heard repeating.
“We’re right in the middle of the tornado, Brenda. What do I do?” Gill shouts. “The car is shaking.”
The video shifts right, left and down as the horrifying tornado wildly rocks the car. The car, we’re in it (the tornado), Brenda,” Gill yells, with the movement making the video blurry. “I can’t do anything.”
Cover your head,” a distressed Dance says. “Cover your head.”(
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The sound of the wind in the video is frightening, and power flashes light up the roadway with the power poles being disassembled. “It’s got my car, I know,” Gill says. “We’re still shaking, my ears are popping.”
The wind seems to become slightly slower, but still loud enough to scare the women. “Okay, okay,” Gill said, sounding terrified. “I don’t want to go anywhere yet. I’m shaking, the car’s still shaking.”(
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In the background, one can hear the sirens or emergency vehicles. When a car pulls around them, a power line can be seen down across the street. As the car drives away, one of them says, shocked, “Are they going?”
Three missionaries, including American couple, killed by gang in Haiti
American missionaries Davy and Natalie Lloyd were killed in Haiti on Thursday, May 23, family members said.
Missions in Haiti
Three missionaries, including a married couple from the US, were killed in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Thursday evening.Davy and Natalie Lloyd “were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed,” Natalie Lloyd’s father, Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker, said in a Facebookpost. “They went to Heaven together.”(
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Mission director Jude Montis, 45, was also killed. All three worked for Missions in Haiti, Inc., which has been operated by Davy Lloyd’s parents for more than two decades, according to the group’s website.
Davy Lloyd, 23, had a “love for Haiti,” his father David Lloyd told CNN. “His first language was Creole. He used to tell us when he was little that someday he was going to be a missionary in Haiti.”(
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He and Natalie Lloyd, 21, were ambushed as they left church in Port-au-Prince on Thursday evening, according to David Lloyd.Davy was taken to the house tied up and beat. The gang then took our trucks and loaded everything up they wanted and left,” a post on Missions in Haiti’s Facebook page said.Three hours later, the organization posted that the three missionaries “were shot and killed by the gang about 9 o’clock this evening. We all are devastated.”(
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Local emergency response service Haitian Emergency Response Operations (HERO) assisted in coordinating and managing the operation to retrieve the bodies and transport the remains of the American couple to a hospital morgue.(
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“Please pray for my family we desperately need strength. And please pray for the Lloyd family as well,” Baker said on social media early Friday. “I have no other words for now.”
New Taiwanese president calls on China to stop its threats
The new Taiwanese president urges China to cease its threatening behavior, emphasizing the importance of peaceful relations and dialogue for regional stability.In her address, President [President's Name] emphasized that Taiwan seeks to foster positive relations with China based on mutual respect and understanding. She highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region and called on China to engage in meaningful dialogue to address differences and build trust. The president reiterated Taiwan's commitment to upholding its sovereignty and democratic values while advocating for peaceful resolution of disputes through diplomacy and dialogue.President [President's Name] underscored that continued threats from China only serve to escalate tensions and undermine the prospects for peaceful coexistence. She reiterated Taiwan's firm stance on defending its sovereignty and reiterated the island's commitment to maintaining regional stability through dialogue and cooperation. Additionally, she called on the international community to support Taiwan's efforts to pursue peaceful relations with China while respecting its democratic rights and freedoms.
Kelly Clarkson Sets the Record Straight on Ozempic Rumors Amid Weight Loss Journey
Kelly Clarkson revealed that she did not use Ozempic to help her lose weight, but instead used another medication that helps break down sugars in her body.Kelly Clarkson is definitely feeling stronger—but it's not because of that medication.
The "Since U Been Gone ''singer addressed recent rumors surrounding her weight loss, revealing she did not use Ozempic—a medication intended to treat type 2 diabetes that has become popular in Hollywood for dropping pounds.
"My doctor chased me for like two years and I was like, 'No, I'm afraid of it. I already have thyroid problems,'" she explained on the May 13 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show "Everybody thinks it Ozempic. It's not."
Instead, Kelly confessed she has been using a different medication to help her slim down after she weighed in at 203 pounds at her heaviest point.
"It's something else," she noted of the unnamed treatment, "but it's something that aids in helping break down the sugar—obviously my body doesn't do it right."
As Kelly explained ''I ended up having to do that, because my blood work got so bad." She was prompted to begin her weight loss journey after watching a performance of herself and not recognizing who she was watching on screen.
"We were in my house in New York like watching," the 42-year-old said, "and then all of a sudden I paused and I was like, 'Who the f--k is that?' I swear to god, it sounds insane."She added, You see it. And you're like, ‘Well, she about to die of a heart attack.'"
Kellywho finalized her divorce from Brandon Blackstock in 2022—added that those in her inner circle also didn't notice her body changing over time.
"I looked at my manager who's known me for over 15 years," the TV host recalled, "and she was like, 'I know I'm kind of shocked as you.' And I think because your people are with you the whole time, so it's gradual. You don't even realize."
However, there's one other part of her health journey Kelly wanted to set the record straight on. The American Idol alum felt many were concerned her size meant she was "miserable and depressed," but she explained it was nothing of the sort, even joking that she was "was riding high with someone" and living her best life.
The "Because of You ''singer has been candid about her transformation as of late, noting she was further motivated to improve her health and change her diet after she was diagnosed as pre-diabetic.
"I eat a healthy mix. I dropped weight because I've been listening to my doctor—a couple years I didn't," she told People in January "And 90 percent of the time I'm really good at it because a protein diet is good for me anyway."
And while Kelly didn't use for her weight loss, keep reading to find out what other stars have said about the diabetes medication.
Gaza war: Palestinians flee as Israeli forces go back into Jabalia
A UN agency said the operations in northern Gaza had "created more displacement and fear for thousands of families"
Fierce fighting has been reported in Jabalia in northern Gaza, after the Israeli military went back into areas where it said Hamas had regrouped.
Residents who fled said they had seen tanks advancing towards Jabalia's refugee camp, which has come under heavy bombardment since Saturday.
Palestinian armed groups also said they were battling troops in the camp.
Meanwhile, the UN has said 360,000 people have fled Rafah, in the south, since an offensive began a week ago.
The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of the eastern third of the city, which is swollen with more than a million Palestinians taking refuge.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel that a full-scale offensive in Rafah might provoke "anarchy" without eliminating Hamas.
His comments echoed briefings to Israeli media by unnamed senior Israeli military figures, who said Hamas's resurgence in northern Gaza was due to a lack of a specific plan from Israel's government for the "day after" the war.
The military scaled down operations in the north in January after declaring that it had "dismantled" Hamas's battalions there. But that left a power vacuum in which the group has been able to rebuild.
An estimated 300,000 people trapped in the devastated region are also experiencing a "full-blown famine" due to a lack of aid deliveries, according to the head of the World Food Programme.
UN hopes for Gaza's new Western Erez aid crossing
Gaza war weighs heavily on Israel's memorial day
Crack in US-Israel alliance for first time in decades
Residents who were filmed fleeing Jabalia on foot on Monday morning said they had decided to leave after seeing tanks advance into the area.
"We don't know where to go. We have been displaced from one place to the next," one woman told Reuters news agency. "We are running in the streets. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw the tank and the bulldozer."The military wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad - which are both proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK, US and other countries - said their fighters were targeting Israeli forces in and around Jabalia camp with mortars, anti-tank missiles and machine-guns.
Hamas-affiliated Safa news agency also reported clashes between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli tanks east of Jabalia camp's market, near several UN-run schools which were being used as shelters by civilians.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa meanwhile reported that two people were killed in Israeli strikes on homes in Jabalia camp on Monday and that a number of other people were killed in a strike in Jabalia town.
It also cited ambulance crews as saying the bodies of 20 civilians had so far been recovered in Jabalia and taken to Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
On Sunday, the IDF said troops had begun an operation in Jabalia the previous evening "based on intelligence information regarding attempts by Hamas to reassemble its terrorist infrastructure and operatives in the area".
It came after civilians there were told to evacuate to western Gaza City.
The IDF also said it was operating in the Zeitoun area, in eastern Gaza City, to "eliminate terrorists and dismantle terrorist infrastructure".
Safa reported that Zeitoun was hit by Israeli shellfire on Monday morning.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, said the bombardment and evacuation orders had "created more displacement and fear for thousands of families" in northern Gaza.
Unrwa also warned that the civilians affected, like the estimated 360,000 who have fled Rafah in the past week, had "nowhere safe to go".
After seven months of war in Gaza, Israel has insisted victory is impossible without taking Rafah and eliminating the last remaining Hamas battalions. But UN and Western powers have warned that an all-out assault could lead to mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe.
Gaza war: Palestinians flee as Israeli forces go back into Jabalia
.Residents who fled said they had seen tanks advancing towards Jabalia's refugee camp, which has come under heavy bombardment since Saturday.
Palestinian armed groups also said they were battling troops in the camp.
Meanwhile, the UN has said 360,000 people have fled Rafah, in the south, since an offensive began a week ago.
The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of the eastern third of the city, which is swollen with more than a million Palestinians taking refuge.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel that a full-scale offensive in Rafah might provoke "anarchy" without eliminating Hamas.
His comments echoed briefings to Israeli media by unnamed senior Israeli military figures, who said Hamas's resurgence in northern Gaza was due to a lack of a specific plan from Israel's government for the "day after" the war.
The military scaled down operations in the north in January after declaring that it had "dismantled" Hamas's battalions there. But that left a power vacuum in which the group has been able to rebuild.
An estimated 300,000 people trapped in the devastated region are also experiencing a "full-blown famine" due to a lack of aid deliveries, according to the head of the World Food Programme.
UN hopes for Gaza's new Western Erez aid crossing
Gaza war weighs heavily on Israel's memorial day
Crack in US-Israel alliance for first time in decades
Residents who were filmed fleeing Jabalia on foot on Monday morning said they had decided to leave after seeing tanks advance into the area.
"We don't know where to go. We have been displaced from one place to the next," one woman told Reuters news agency. "We are running in the streets. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw the tank and the bulldozer."
The military wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad - which are both proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK, US and other countries - said their fighters were targeting Israeli forces in and around Jabalia camp with mortars, anti-tank missiles and machine-guns.
Hamas-affiliated Safa news agency also reported clashes between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli tanks east of Jabalia camp's market, near several UN-run schools which were being used as shelters by civilians.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa meanwhile reported that two people were killed in Israeli strikes on homes in Jabalia camp on Monday and that a number of other people were killed in a strike in Jabalia town.
It also cited ambulance crews as saying the bodies of 20 civilians had so far been recovered in Jabalia and taken to Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
On Sunday, the IDF said troops had begun an operation in Jabalia the previous evening "based on intelligence information regarding attempts by Hamas to reassemble its terrorist infrastructure and operatives in the area".
It came after civilians there were told to evacuate to western Gaza City.
The IDF also said it was operating in the Zeitoun area, in eastern Gaza City, to "eliminate terrorists and dismantle terrorist infrastructure".
Safa reported that Zeitoun was hit by Israeli shellfire on Monday morning.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, said the bombardment and evacuation orders had "created more displacement and fear for thousands of families" in northern Gaza.
Unrwa also warned that the civilians affected, like the estimated 360,000 who have fled Rafah in the past week, had "nowhere safe to go".
After seven months of war in Gaza, Israel has insisted victory is impossible without taking Rafah and eliminating the last remaining Hamas battalions. But UN and Western powers have warned that an all-out assault could lead to mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe.
There have been desperate scenes in Rafah since the IDF said last Monday that it was beginning a "precise operation against Hamas" in eastern Rafah.
On Saturday, flyers were dropped ordering residents to evacuate more eastern neighbourhoods, including those close to the city centre.
Unrwa's deputy Gaza director Scott Anderson, who is based in western Rafah, told the BBC on Monday that the Israeli operation now extended "about a third of the way across Rafah" and encompassed the old town.
He said he could hear explosions and air strikes, and that the fighting had affected the operations of hospitals and many of Unrwa's facilities in Rafah refugee camp, including a primary healthcare facility.
Palestinian media reported that four people, including a child, were killed on Monday in an Israeli air strike on a home in the Brazil neighbourhood, which is just south-east of the camp.
Hamas's military wing also said it had targeted Israeli forces east of Rafah.
Many people sheltering in central and western areas that are not subject to evacuation orders have also been leaving out of fear that the Israeli operation will soon expand into a large-scale offensive.
Ghada el-Kurd, a mother-of-two, told the BBC on Monday that she had recently fled to Deir al-Balah in Gaza's Middle Area - the seventh time she has been displaced during the war.
She said the streets of Deir al-Balah were "full of sewage" and that the destruction of homes and infrastructure was "huge, not like Rafah".
She added: "I'm lucky enough to have a home, but most other people are living in tents and are [suffering from] the heat, a lack of water and a lack of food."
Deir al-Balah is part of the IDF-designated "expanded humanitarian area", which stretches north from the coastal strip of al-Mawasi to the city of Khan Younis and Gaza's Middle Area.
The IDF has told evacuees they will find field hospitals, tents and aid supplies there, but Mr Anderson of Unrwa said it lacked the necessary infrastructure.
In al-Mawasi, he explained, "everything that people have access to has to be trucked in... that includes food, water, moving solid waste".
"For people who are displacing to Khan Younis it is very similar... That is still recovering from the Israeli operation that took place a few months ago."
Mr Anderson also appealed to Israel and Hamas to agree to the creation of "fixed corridor" that would allow UN lorries to move safely in and out of the nearby Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel - a key entry point for aid.
Israel said it had reopened the crossing last Wednesday after closing it for four days due to Hamas rocket fire which killed four Israeli soldiers. But the UN said it was too dangerous to collect aid because of the hostilities in eastern Rafah.
The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has also been closed since Israeli troops took full control of the Palestinian side last Tuesday.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Hamas accused Israel of "escalating their brutal massacres in various areas of the Gaza Strip".
The UN said that one of its staff was killed and another injured when their vehicle was struck in Rafah on Monday.
Both worked for the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement, adding that the "Secretary-General condemns all attacks on UN personnel and calls for a full investigation". The UN did not state who was responsible for the attack.
The IDF confirmed it received a report from the UNDSS saying that two of the organisation's workers were injured in the Rafah area on Monday.
It said: "An initial inquiry conducted indicates that the vehicle was hit in an area declared an active combat zone. The IDF had not been made aware of the route of the vehicle."
It added that, according to a report the IDF received, a worker from the UNDSS was receiving medical treatment at the European Hospital near the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden's top national security official Jake Sullivan told reporters he does not believe what is happening in Gaza is a genocide.
However, he went on to say that the US believes "Israel can and must do more to ensure the protection and wellbeing of innocent civilians".
The US was "using the internationally accepted term for genocide, which includes a focus on intent" to reach this assessment, he added.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the group's cross-border attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage.
More than 35,090 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
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