Month: December 2013

By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – California will have an extra two months to reduce crowding in its prison system, a panel of three federal judges ruled on Wednesday, in the latest twist in a decades-long dispute over conditions and medical care for inmates. California prisons have been in the national spotlight for the past year as officials wrestled with crowding and concerns about the state's use of long-term solitary confinement for prisoners with suspected gang ties, which led to a hunger strike this year. The state has been under court orders to reduce inmate numbers since 2009, when the same panel ordered it to relieve overcrowding that several courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have said was to blame for inadequate medical and mental-health care. California Governor Jerry Brown has repeatedly said he believes that the state has fixed its problem.

By Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said on Tuesday it has invested 320.8 million euro ($442.4 million) to acquire a 15 percent stake in nursing home operator Orpea as it bets on the French company’s growth prospects in Europe and overseas. CPPIB, one of Canada’s top pension fund managers with over C$192.8 billion ($181.70 billion) in assets under management, is buying the shares from Orpea’s founder Jean-Claude Marian and Santé Finance et Investissement. The pension fund has also agreed to underwrite a 100 million euro equity issue by Orpea. “We are de-risking the deal for the company and that speaks to our conviction around the company’s growth opportunities and our desire to back them by providing capital beyond just buying a part of the founder’ stake,” said Scott Lawrence, the head of Relationship Investments at CPPIB, in an interview.

(Reuters) – An advisory panel of medical experts voted on Wednesday to recommend that U.S. health regulators approve an experimental stroke-prevention device made by Boston Scientific Corp The panel voted 13 to 1 that the benefits outweigh the risks of the Watchman device. The committee advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the Watchman for the prevention of ischemic stroke and systemic embolism in patients with a dangerous cardiac rhythm known as atrial fibrillation. People with atrial fibrillation, the most common type of arrhythmia, are five times more likely to suffer a stroke than those without the condition. The FDA typically follows the recommendations of its expert advisory panels, but is not obligated to do so.

By Irene Klotz SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – NASA is assessing a problem with one of two cooling systems aboard the International Space Station, a potentially serious but not life-threatening situation, officials said on Wednesday. The system automatically shut itself down after detecting abnormal temperatures, said NASA spokesman Josh Byerly at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Repairs may require a spacewalk, Byerly said.

U.S. regulators announced new guidelines on Wednesday to phase out the use of antibiotics as a growth enhancer in livestock, in an effort to stem a surge in human resistance to these drugs. The Food and Drug Administration said the antibiotics could still be used to treat illnesses in animals raised for meat, but should otherwise be pared back over the next three years under a program to keep them out of the human food supply. It said two of the biggest purveyors of these antibiotics, Eli Lilly & Co and Zoetis Inc, had agreed to narrow their use. Doctors and hospitals have become increasingly worried by new strains of bacteria that cannot be controlled by a wide range of current antibiotics.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's planned phase-out over the next three years of some antibiotics used in animal production could have a minimal immediate impact on cattle, pork and chicken production, said economists and traders. FDA on Wednesday outlined a proposal that would help reduce the use of some antibiotics in animal production to counter bacterial resistance to those drugs when they are prescribed for humans. In its statement on Wednesday, the agency did not specify which antibiotics would be targeted. * It appears FDA aims to halt or curtail the use of antibiotics for weight gain, Chicago-based Daniels Trading commodities broker Craig Turner told Reuters.

I was a boxer. Now I'm a fighter. I fight every day, I fight for my kidney brothers and sisters. I fight to be healthy, I fight to be positive. I fight kidney disease.

(Reuters) – The Michigan legislature on Wednesday approved a proposal that would make it the ninth state to prohibit insurance companies from offering abortions unless women pay a fee in addition to the premium. The proposal, which was brought before the legislature as an initiative petition organized by Right to Life of Michigan, an anti-abortion group, was approved in the House and Senate, both of which have Republican majorities. Under Michigan’s constitution, such voter initiatives become law 90 days after the current session ends, without the need for Governor Rick Snyder’s signature. Snyder said in a letter to constituents the bill went too far because it treated situations involving rape and incest as elective abortions, and interfered with the private insurance market.