PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The campus of Butler Hospital is awash in fall colors as the sun moves toward the horizon, on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 7. The shift of nurses, doctors and patients is on the move, the daily changing of the caretakers, as ConvergenceRI struggled on trekking poles to reach the main entrance, on time for an interview with Dr. Linda Carpenter, M.D. One of the pioneering neuroscience researchers at Butler Hospital, Dr. Carpenter is the lead clinical trial researcher on a new, take-home device (Relivion) created by Neurolief to treat major depressive disorder, a chronic and recurring condition that afflicts millions. The interview took place in Dr. Carpenter’s office at Butler Hospital, a portal into a space defined by stylish design and acute attention to detail. Dr. Carpenter is wearing a turquoise scarf that depicts the brain’s synapse structure, replete with dendrites and axons depicted in black. Two days before the interview, former President Donald Trump had been elected the 47th President of the United States, as if the entire nation had been victimized by a mass psychosis where facts no longer seemed to matter. That evening, members of the Rhode Island Senate would convene in a caucus that replicated a medical intervention, as Senators endorsed the continued leadership of Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, despite indications that his chronic health conditions had taken a severe toll. Earlier this summer, ConvergenceRI had conducted an interview with Dr. Carpenter, “Listening to what your brain is telling you,” following her being awarded the Clinical Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Society Gold Medal. Dr. Carpenter serves as director of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Clinic and Neuromodulation Research Facility at Butler Hospital, a division of Care New England. ConvergenceRI: I am amazed at the latest work, which seems to be just remarkable, in terms of its groundbreaking nature of treatment: The idea that people can have a take-home device that can help them with their treatment of drug-resistant depression. The treatment moves forward in such a way that it may help patients to overcome everything from long-term depression to migraines. CARPENTER: Right. The particular device that we are talking about today which is the subject of clinical trial that we just finished, is the same device that they have already gotten approved for migraines, but the stimulation pattern that it gives for depression is different. You would use this device [taking off her glasses to put on the device to model it], they may look the same, but the stimulation of the prescription , if you will, would be different for migraine than it is for depression. But, it is incredibly exciting, because we don’t yet have any FDA-approved home-use devices for depression. ConvergenceRI: My first question to you is, “How would I be able to get one of these devices?” How would I qualify? Are the clinical trials’ hurdle now over? CARPENTER: The clinical trial was conducted at multiple sites around the country, and I think we also had an Israeli site [the Relivion corporate headquarters are based in Israel with a facility in Florida]. The clinical trial proved the efficacy [of the device] by randomizing people in active or sham, right? The data demonstrated a superior outcome for the people who had active [devices]. At this point, the whole package of results has gone to the FDA, maybe about a month ago. And, they are processing it. Before the FDA started this trial, they gave this company what is known as a “breakthrough designation,” to help them get onto a fast track for going through the regulatory process, because they identified a need for patients with treatment-resistant depression to have [access to a device] at home. Many of [the patients] can’t come to our clinic five days a week for TMS [transcranial modulation stimulation], or they can’t come in for ECT [electro-convulsive therapy]; you would have to have someone drive [the patient] here and then drive them home. The FDA identified the need and put [the firm] on fast track. The company expects, and I don’t work for the company, but I think they expect to receive FDA approval in early 2025. And then, when that happens, they can commercially market the device. Now, how will that work? I don’t know. This is the first of its type, There are a couple different of ways that this can go. It could be that you come to your doctor’s office, they supervise you using it a couple of times until they are confident that you can use it properly. And then you take home the device, use it, come back, check in every two or three or four weeks, something like that. There is also this question of durable medical equipment, which is out of my wheelhouse and how it would work. Which is where you are a clinic and you actually sell the device to the patient. You have a stock of them. I don’t know what the business model will look like. What I do know is that it’s a prescription device . So, you will have to be monitored by a doctor. It doesn’t mean that it has to be a psychiatrist. You could go to a primary care doctor. But, when it first rolls out, because it is FDA-approved for people who have not gotten better with at least one anti-depressant medication, it will b prescribed typically by a psychiatrist at first, I think. And as broadly as it can be disseminated, that would be great. Because the goal would be to reach all of those patients who can’t come to a specialty clinic. And there are a lot of those. If you think about, when we talk about treatment resistant depression, basically about a third of patients don’t get better with standard anti-depressant treatment. And, that’ a huge number; it’s millions of patients, [looking it up on her computer]. There are some 21 million patients with depression, 9 million being treated with anti-depressants, and 3 million meet this criteria for treatment resistant depression if they don’t get better with a standard anti-depressant. We are looking to find and implement a treatment that would be more convenient and accessible – and I am very excited about that. ConvergenceRI: For me as the journalist, the question is: How could I get one of these devices and write about it, and perhaps become part of the follow-up. The goal would be, that as much as a scientific endeavor, I think that for people to understand what is going on, it might be helpful to have a journalist who can write about the experience and share that... CARPENTER: ...It would be fantastic. ConvergenceRI: ...in a comprehensive fashion, I am willing to raise my hand... CARPENTER: ...And volunteer? ConvergenceRI: I would volunteer to become a patient, or whatever is required, to do this, because I think for all the studies you can do, having someone to actually talk about it in a cogent fashion is intriguing to me. CARPENTER : Yes. You can go onto the company’s website and get a prescription for the migraine device. And, I don’t how you do that, I just noticed this (Relivion website for migraine) today, and I think you can purchase it and have it sent to you, and it would be very similar. You would get the experience of what it is like; they have a prescription and then there are accessories. ConvergenceRI: Would that come from through my primary care physician? CARPENTER: I was just looking to see if you could get a prescription under the migraine indication. The trial would go on for 60 days. This is a brand new website, (there is a listing, “Getting started. Telehealth and find a doctor.”) You might b able to interact with this website and get one for a migraine, with a telehealth physician. It looks like they give you ways to do that. ConvergnceRI: I will consider following up with that. From what you have described, it seems like it is a major breakthrough in treatment, with the possibility that this device will be something that will change the way that depression is treated. And perhaps conditions that are linked to depression, such as obsessive compulsive behavior. CARPENTER: Well, we haven’t tested those other indications. But I think you have the right idea. And, in fact, here are a number of devices, if you just Google them, you can find them. But the difference between this and those [other devices] is that they haven’t been put through large, randomized control trials, which takes a lot of time and a lot of money. ConvergenceRI: Have you gone through Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III clinical trials? CARPENTER: The clinical trials design are not the same for drugs as they are for devices. This would be a device that they tested it in an early pilot study. And, they have done all their safety testing before they came to this clinical trial. And, then, I guess, after FDA approval, this is all that will likely be needed according to the FDA to get the clearance. And then, after the clearance, there will be a lot of questions we need to address. We studied this, with people using it every day, active or sham, for a period of eight weeks. And then, what happened in this clinical trial, at the end of eight weeks, you got to crossover and go to active, if you had gotten the sham, and if you had already got active for eight weeks, you could, continue with eight more weeks of active. There were a number of questions built into [the study]. One, if you aren’t all the way better by eight weeks, and you keep going, will you get more people into remission? And, the answer to that question was yes, because more people kept getting better. And the other question was: If you had sham for the first eight weeks, and now you get the real device, can you replicate that the same percent of people were getting better, and we did. But some of the questions we haven’t answered are: OK, we’ve had people using the device for up to 16 weeks, what does the maintenance look like? Do you stop using it? Do you continue to use it? Do you continue to use it less often? How long will it last? Is it something that you are going to pick up when you start to slip and your [depressive] symptoms start to come up again? As soon as the FDA approval happens, then those will be next types of studies that we are doing. And also, we will be doing more mechanism of action studies. To do scans, before and after treatment, to look at how is it changing connections in the brain, and the way it does. ConvergenceRI: How has it changed your life? You have spent a large amount of time working on this, to see it come to creation. To now have a device that is sitting on front of you on your desk, and it seems to work, what is that like for you as a researcher, as a neuroscientist? CARPENTER: It is really exciting. I am very big on “the bench to bedside.” Getting all the way to implementation is something that I really, really enjoy. You know, a few of the hurdles that lay ahead are that this is a small, start-up company that is looking for a big company such as Pfizer to buy them and co-license it to help facilitate the next bunch of clinical trials that need to happen to answer all these additional questions. A lot of this is now in the hands of the device manufacturer, to take the next big steps to help get the device out there. I’m thrilled to be able to talk about it. I am thrilled to know that it works and to recommend it. But, access is so important. And, like all these other new treatments, if people can’t afford them, if health insurance doesn’t cover it... There needs to be access. I am just really hopeful that the pieces fall into place and that they are taken care of, because that is not [the focus of] my work. My work is the scientific work. To get it to implementation, so I can see patients using it. And not just in my clinical trials. We want people to be able to be use it; I think that will take some time. To answer your question directly, there is a little bit of antsy-ness about wanting to keep moving forward, and doing the next thing, to get their money and to get their companies and their commercial model all built. But, it’s exciting. It’s exciting to have been a part of designing the trial to help pick the sites, and make sure that it was conducted with scientific rigor. And to have good data. Because, you know, there are a number of devices out there. Congess passed a law in 1972 that said the FDA will regulate medical devices. And, ever since then, all the biomedical devices go through FDA. But, there were a bunch of devices on the market before 1972. And they were grandfathered in. They have been able to market themselves legally, without ever doing clinical trials, So there are all these devices that patients can get that they advertise for depression or for anxiety or pain, or to improve your dreaming, or something. But they just don’t have the science behind them. Psychiatrists and other physicians tend not to prescribe them; patients sometimes find them and ask, “Will you sign this form I got online?” But they haven’t really been incorporated into the mainstream of treatment because they haven’t had the science. So now, we have the first one with the science. And that is really exciting. I would like to see it become used as a regular treatment for depression. ConvergenceRI: What does it feel like for you to be able to help direct the first of its kind device with the promise of something to be so helpful to people, who are often struggling to get by day-today? CARPENTER: It feels great. It feels really great. We all want to do something, you work with patients, and you are experiencing their suffering, and the disabling nature of the depression. And, the problems with side effects. And, the burdens on families and the economy. It feels great to have something. It will feel greater when I can go, here you are. There are so many people who were involved with the device. I didn’t design it; I didn’t invent it. And, the company did really elegant work in putting it together. It has a really elegant interaction with your smart phone that walks you through how to use it, that checks to make sure that the device is on right, and that sends the information to the cloud that I can look at on a dashboard to see if the patient is using the device safely. But, you know, we are not completely at the finish line until it is disseminated. ConvergenceRI: Let me go back and ask about what is actually happening in the brain with the device. And please correct me if I get this wrong. The idea is what you are working with is the way that the brain can reconfigure the way that the synapses and the neurons fire, essentially that there is a learned pattern that takes place, so if you fire the sequence enough times, it becomes the learned pattern in the brain, and it doesn’t go back to all of the intermediate steps. It goes from A to F, without having gone through B, C, D, and E to get to F. What the device seems to be doing is retraining , if that is the right “verb” to use, to get the neurons to fire differently. CARPENTER: Right. ConvergenceRI: To take the “memories” that are contained, if “memory” is the right word, of what gets lost in the translation of the firing of the synapse. Is that accurate? CARPENTER: That’s a good way to think about it. Think about it like a computer. The computer has all these different parts that have to interact and, if one part breaks down, then the other parts might go around that part. This part might have the control of that part, like a circuit board. Think of depression like a circuit board. And just like you said, A, B, C, and D. And the circuits are connected by synapses, neurons and synapses, right? And so, like you said, if the part of the reward center and joy is turned off and not coming on, and the fear center and anxiety is on when it shouldn’t be, and the top control isn’t telling the others this isn’t the time to be anxious. This isn’t the time to be turned off, this isn’t the time to be attending – all those different signals. So, we know that there are these functional changes in the brain when someone is depressed. And, by and large, you can see when people get better, although depression has a lot of different versions, right? There are a lot of different versions of depression. If you look at all the different symptoms, and there are lot of different ways that it can look. But, in general, if you think about circuit pathology , that the circuit Is not working properly... ConvergenceRI: Circuit pathology? CARPENTER: Yes. Again, if I have a lot of anxiety in my depression, then my amygdala, its connections to other things are not being regulated. We want our brain to say, “Oh yes, be fearful,” when it is appropriate to be fearful, when you are in a terribly dangerous situation. But not when you are trying to relax, and your reward center should be able to turn on when you experience certain things. And so, negative old memories should stay put, and not come in and re-evaluate what is happening in the present, The question of how the device’s treatment for depression works to fix that is unanswerable. How does psychotherapy fix that? How does ECT fix that? How does medication fix that? What we know is where the device has its actions. Or where EMS has its actions. Or what Prozac sticks to on the molecule, right? And what we know about this device is that it stimulates some peripheral nerves, branches of nerves called the trigeminal nerve in the front and branches of these nerves in the back, and these are right underneath your skin, these nerves are stimulated in this synchronous way, carrying messages down to the brain stem. And, this goes up through a bunch of connections, the solitary tech nucleus, the hypothalamus, and gets into the nodes, as you will, of the circuit. How that fixes the regulation is the question. ConvergenceRI: Am I asking the right questions? CARPENTER: Oh, yes, I think they are great questions. ConvergenceRI: Thanks. Trying to translate what you are saying into language that people can understand, that’s part of the problem. I think I get some of it. But I am very much in awe of what it takes to translate what is happening, and the way that you then see it. There is clearly a difference between causation and correlation. CARPENTER: Just think about Prozac’s impact on the serotonin uptake inhibitors And people said: It sticks on this little thing on the cell and it causes more serotonin to be in the cell. It’s not like we’re all down a quart of serotonin; it still is changing the circuits and how they talk to each other. And sometimes, we act like we know exactly how a treatment works. How does psychotherapy work? And that is really a retraining right? Forcefully creating new habits. ConvergenceRI: How tied into other senses is this work? With psychotherapy, you have to listen. In terms of drug intake, it is all about modulating how we respond to pleasure, versus things that are not pleasurable, and the wirings that enable that to happen. CARPENTER: That’s the black box, the wiring that enables it to happen. So, that when a pleasant thing happens, joy, dopamine, the reward circuit is firing. You see your grandchild, you see your friend. You have a good thing happen. The common bottom line seems to be getting all those different functional areas of the brain to coordinate properly, particularly with top-down control, turning off things that are not appropriate and allowing things that are. When reward circuits are down, people feel apathetic, they feel no interest in things, no drive to pursue things. The last step is making the symptoms go away. Each of the treatments we talked about has a different way of approaching it.Black Friday deals are everywhere right now, and many of the major streaming services will probably announce special promotions to entice new customers soon, too. If you’re thinking about “cutting the cord,” or switching from a traditional cable provider to a streaming service , this might be a good time to try it. “The deals that will be coming out will be attractive to new subscribers and most likely will be basic plans with ads,” Chad Gammon, an Iowa-based certified financial planner, said in an email interview. While some streaming services might also offer deals on plans without ads, Gammon, who owns Custom Fit Financial, said they’ll come at a higher cost. So keep an eye out for the deals, but make sure you look at the terms and conditions, too. Some streaming services will roll out their Black Friday prices in the coming days — and some have already started offering deals. For example, ESPN+ is running a promotion offering 12 months for the price of nine, as long as subscribers choose the annual plan. That deal is good through Dec. 2. Last year’s Black Friday deals can be a good indication of what’s to come. "Past Black Friday deals, like Hulu's $1.99/month offer, really show the range of savings,” Clay Cary, a senior trends analyst at CouponFollow, said in a prepared statement. “More often than not, bundles like Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ tend to give the most value if your household uses multiple platforms," Cary said. We contacted these services about their Black Friday plans. Disney+ said there are no deals to announce quite yet. Hulu and ESPN+ did not respond to requests for information. While you’re waiting for the deals to drop, consider the different streaming plans, your budget, and whether one service can give you all the programming you want. Streaming services present themselves as cheaper alternatives to cable companies with long contracts, poor service, lots of commercials and expensive monthly contracts. But do they make good on that promise? You might think you’re scoring a great streaming service deal only to realize it’s for the version with ads. Pay attention to other details, too. A streaming service might offer a seasonal deal, but on a plan that limits the number of devices that can stream at once, and video quality can vary. Crackdowns on password sharing have also hit the streaming world hard and frustrated many consumers — and the alternatives aren’t great. “Paid-sharing options, like Netflix's, haven't been popular because they feel like an extra charge without added value,” Cary said. “For budget-conscious viewers, these changes could push them toward free ad-supported services instead.” If you were hoping to cut ties with your cable provider, you might have to think twice. You’ll still need the internet to use your streaming service. Many households bundle cable and internet costs, so if you cut cable, you will need to get a price for an internet-only plan. If multiple people in your household are streaming at once, you might find your old internet speed isn’t cutting it. A boost in internet speed will cost more, so you’ll need to adjust your budget accordingly. If you’re a sports fan with kids in the house and a spouse who likes shows from premium channels, you might have to sign up for three different streaming services to get all the content you want. Signing up for multiple streaming services can get pricey and can also be a real headache. Gammon described this as “subscription fatigue,” where people subscribe to multiple services and end up not using them because they can’t find which programs are on which streaming service. To stay within your budget, Cary said consumers should focus “on platforms that align with what you actually watch rather than trying to subscribe to everything.” The excitement of scoring a cheap deal won’t last forever. “When promotional deals lapse, prices can spiral upward alarmingly, doubling in some cases,” Cary said. “To avoid such surprises, set a reminder before the discounted rate expires to review your subscription,” he said. Before signing up, ask yourself: How do streaming services fit into my budget? In a 50/30/20 budget , streaming services fit squarely into the 30% wants category, alongside travel, entertainment and dining out. If your budget is tight, check your current memberships, because some major retailers offer significant discounts or free subscriptions on streaming services. For example: While most of these offers are for base-level plans with ads, tapping into existing benefits is a low-stakes way to try out one of these platforms. More From NerdWallet Amanda Barroso writes for NerdWallet. Email: abarroso@nerdwallet.com . The article Black Friday Streaming Deals: Read the Fine Print First originally appeared on NerdWallet.
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Charleston Southern grabs late lead, stuns host MiamiNEW DELHI: If Manomhan Singh is remembered as the finance minister who ushered in economic reforms, he was also the PM under whose watch UPA govt launched many landmark social sector initiatives - from right to information to right to education and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The concept for the initiatives didn't come from within govt, but from National Advisory Council, headed by Sonia Gandhi, with civil society activists as members. Not surprisingly, the schemes' credit was also taken by Gandhi and her team. The flagship schemes were backed by legislation, with RTI and NREGA being the first ones to be enacted in 2005. Singh's first term also saw the introduction of OBC quotas in education, a move pushed by then HRD minister Arjun Singh, which was resisted by several of his cabinet colleagues before they fell in line. The quota announcement, which set off protests, was followed by govt announcing an expansion in the number of seats in educational institutions. Towards the end of UPA's first term, Centre also announced a mega farm loan package, seen to be a key factor in enabling the coalition return to power in 2009. And, when it returned to office, it enacted RTE and followed it up with the land acquisition act, and Right to Food or the National Food Security Act . While the land law is seen to be a major stumbling block for industries, something that NDA sought to reverse in its first term but was forced to abandon the plans, NFSA was never fully implemented. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword .
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NoneFaraday Future Secures $30 Million Financing to Strengthen the Company’s Core Business and Continued Ramp-Up of the Faraday X (FX) StrategyWall Street stocks surged to fresh records Wednesday on hopes about easing US monetary policy, shrugging off political upheaval in South Korea and France. All three major US indices scored records, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing above 45,000 for the first time.Shaboozey ’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” rebounds a spot to No. 5 on Billboard ’s Country Airplay chart (dated Nov. 30). In the Nov. 15-21 tracking week, the hit drew 22.9 million in audience, according to Luminate. See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Of the 30 weeks that the track by the Virginian has been on Country Airplay, 18 have been inside the top five, including seven weeks at the pinnacle beginning in early August. It ties Post Malone’s fellow 2024 crossover hit “I Had Some Help” (featuring Morgan Wallen) for the sixth-longest stay in the top five since the chart launched in 1990. Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” holds the record (24 weeks, 2022-23). Hubbard Broadcasting Seattle operations manager and KPNW pd Scott Mahalick says that “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has become entrenched at the format “because Shaboozey is so passionate about country music. At the end of the day, it’s an upbeat summer record that is fun and non-political. The listeners have spoken – they love it.” After the 58th Annual Country Music Association Awards were held on Wednesday (Nov. 20) in Nashville, here’s a look at some of the night’s biggest winners and how their latest singles are faring on Country Airplay. Morgan Wallen , entertainer of the year: “Lies Lies Lies,” which led the Nov. 23 list, ranks at No. 4 (24 million impressions, down 21%), followed by “Love Somebody” (No. 12; 16.2 million, up 23%). Lainey Wilson , female vocalist of the year: “4x4xU” (No. 20; 10 million, up 7%). Chris Stapleton , male vocalist of the year, single of the year, song of the year (both “White Horse”): “Think I’m in Love With You” (No. 21; 10 million, up 2%). Cody Johnson , album of the year ( Leather ): “I’m Gonna Love You” (with Carrie Underwood ) (No. 27; 6.4 million, up 15%). Megan Moroney , new artist of the year: “Am I Okay?” (No. 31; 4.7 million, up 4%).
Wall Street stocks surged to fresh records Wednesday on hopes about easing US monetary policy, shrugging off political upheaval in South Korea and France. All three major US indices scored records, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing above 45,000 for the first time. "The market at this point is looking for excuses to go up, and there's not really anything that might work against that narrative," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. "Over the last couple of days, it's managed to ignore all sorts of inconvenient things and decided that the situation in France doesn't matter for them," Sosnick said of the stock market. "The situation in Korea doesn't matter." South Korea's stock market fell less than feared and the won rebounded from earlier losses after President Yoon Suk Yeol swiftly reversed a decision to impose martial law. In Europe, Paris stocks managed to advance as France's government faced looming no-confidence votes. Late Wednesday in Paris, French lawmakers voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier after just three months in office, pushing the country further into political uncertainty. For the first time in over sixty years, the National Assembly lower house toppled the incumbent government, approving a no-confidence motion that had been proposed by the hard left but which crucially was backed by the far-right headed by Marine Le Pen. "Political turmoil in both France and South Korea provide a uncertain backdrop for global markets, with the likely removal of both Barnier and Yoon bringing the potential for both countries to find a fresh direction," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets. Thomas Mathews, head of Asia-Pacific markets at Capital Economics, said the losses in Seoul could have been "much worse" had the president not aborted his plan. "Rarely does a combined sell-off in a country's stocks, bonds and currency feel like a relief rally," he said. Oil prices turned lower after surging around 2.5 percent Tuesday, mainly after the United States sanctioned 35 companies and ships it accused of involvement with Iran's "shadow fleet" illicitly selling Iranian oil to foreign markets. Major producers at the OPEC+ grouping led by Saudi Arabia and Russia were set to meet Thursday to discuss extending output limits. Back in New York, major indices were led by the Nasdaq, which piled on 1.3 percent to finish at a third straight record. Wednesday's gains came after payroll firm ADP said US private-sector hiring in November came in at a lower-than-expected 146,000 jobs, while a survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed weaker sentiment than expected in the services sector. But the lackluster data boosts expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month. At a New York conference, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell refrained from tipping his hand, but he "didn't say anything that would scare the market," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. O'Hare noted that Wednesday's gains were led by large tech names such as Nvidia and Microsoft, which are major AI players. The boost followed strong results from Salesforce, which was the biggest gainer in the Dow with an 11 percent jump. New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 45,014.04 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 6,086.49 (close) New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 19,735.12 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,335.81 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,303.28 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.1 percent at 20,232.14 (close) Seoul - Kospi Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 2,464.00 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 39,276.39 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 19,742.46 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,364.65 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0510 from $1.0509 on Tuesday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2702 from $1.2673 Dollar/yen: UP at 150.56 yen from 149.60 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.71 from 82.92 pence Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.8 percent at $72.31 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.0 percent at $68.54 per barrel burs-jmb/jgc
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Charleston Southern grabs late lead, stuns host Miami
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, widely regarded as the architect of India’s economic reform program and a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, has died. He was 92. Singh was admitted to New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences late Thursday after his health deteriorated due to a “sudden loss of consciousness at home,” the hospital said in a statement. “Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to the Medical Emergency” at 8:06 p.m., the hospital said, but “despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 p.m.” Singh was being treated for “age-related medical conditions,” the statement said. A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh became one of India’s longest-serving prime ministers for 10 years and leader of the Congress Party in the Parliament's Upper House, earning a reputation as a man of great personal integrity. He was chosen to fill the role in 2004 by Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi . But his sterling image was tainted by allegations of corruption against his ministers. Singh was reelected in 2009, but his second term as prime minister was clouded by financial scandals and corruption charges over the organization of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This led to the Congress Party’s crushing defeat in the 2014 national election by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Narendra Modi . Singh adopted a low profile after relinquishing the post of prime minister. Prime Minister Modi, who succeeded Singh in 2014, called him one of India’s “most distinguished leaders” who rose from humble origins and left “a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years.” “As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives,” Modi said in a post on the social platform X. He called Singh’s interventions in Parliament as a lawmaker “insightful” and said “his wisdom and humility were always visible.” Rahul Gandhi, from the same party as Singh and the opposition leader in the lower house of the Indian Parliament, said Singh’s “deep understanding of economics inspired the nation” and that he “led India with immense wisdom and integrity.” “I have lost a mentor and guide. Millions of us who admired him will remember him with the utmost pride,” Gandhi wrote on X. The United States offered its condolences, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying that Singh was “one of the greatest champions of the U.S.-India strategic partnership.” “We mourn Dr. Singh’s passing and will always remember his dedication to bringing the United States and India closer together,” Blinken said. Born on Sept. 26, 1932, in a village in the Punjab province of undivided India, Singh’s brilliant academic career took him to Cambridge University in Britain, where he earned a degree in economics in 1957. He then got his doctorate in economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962. Singh taught at Panjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics before joining the Indian government in 1971 as economic advisor in the Commerce Ministry. In 1982, he became chief economic adviser to the Finance Ministry. He also served as deputy chair of the Planning Commission and governor of the Reserve Bank of India. As finance minister, Singh in 1991 instituted reforms that opened up the economy and moved India away from a socialist-patterned economy and toward a capitalist model in the face of a huge balance of payments deficit, skirting a potential economic crisis. His accolades include the 1987 Padma Vibhushan Award, India’s second-highest civilian honor; the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress in 1995; and the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year in 1993 and 1994. Singh was a member of India’s Upper House of Parliament and was leader of the opposition from 1998 to 2004 before he was named prime minister. He was the first Sikh to hold the country’s top post and made a public apology in Parliament for the 1984 Sikh Massacre in which some 3,000 Sikhs were killed after then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh bodyguards. Under Singh, India adopted a Right to Information Act in 2005 to promote accountability and transparency from government officials and bureaucrats. He was also instrumental in implementing a welfare scheme that guaranteed at least 100 paid workdays for Indian rural citizens. The coalition government he headed for a decade brought together politicians and parties with differing ideologies that were rivals in the country’s various states. In a move hailed as one of his biggest achievements apart from economic reforms, Singh ended India’s nuclear isolation by signing a deal with the U.S. that gave India access to American nuclear technology. But the deal hit his government adversely, with Communist allies withdrawing support and criticism of the agreement growing within India in 2008 when it was finalized. Singh adopted a pragmatic foreign policy approach, pursuing a peace process with nuclear rival and neighbor Pakistan. But his efforts suffered a major setback after Pakistani militants carried out a massive gun and bomb attack in Mumbai in November 2008. He also tried to end the border dispute with China, brokering a deal to reopen the Nathu La pass into Tibet, which had been closed for more than 40 years. His 1965 book, “India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth,” dealt with India’s inward-oriented trade policy. Singh is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters. Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.ASX avoids Christmas trading blunder as markets set for soft open