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Korean crisis in abeyance - now let's hope Trump goes easy with the tariffs, says ALEX BRUMMERHumacyte (HUMA) Faces Class Action Lawsuit After FDA Inspection Reveals Manufacturing Issues – Hagens BermanSen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss the Department of Government Efficiency’s plans to cut spending. Republicans have big plans for spending cuts next year, but some GOP lawmakers are doubting Congress can muster the momentum for significant changes. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom President-elect Trump tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory panel on cutting spending and the national debt, were on Capitol Hill Thursday for a series of meetings with lawmakers on how Congress and the White House can work together to achieve that goal. And while that advisory panel is chiefly aimed at what executive actions Trump could take, lawmakers are conceding that significant, lasting change must be achieved through legislation. And some Republicans are skeptical they can get there. "The problem’s in that room," said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., referring to other GOP lawmakers who met with Musk and Ramaswamy. GOP SENATORS ‘VERY IMPRESSED’ WITH MUSK, RAMASWAMY DOGE FRAMEWORK AMID MEETINGS ON CAPITOL HILL Trump announced Nov. 12, 2024, that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would be leading the Department of Government Efficiency. (Getty Images) "These guys, you know, they talk real tough," but they did not vote in ways he believed showed they were serious about cutting spending. "You don’t see a lot of that. Now, when is that going to start? Is it going to start just because Elon and Vivek [address us]?" Burchett asked. "I just worry about us losing steam. ... We’ve got to get some guts, and people have got to hold us accountable." REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS Retiring Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., told Fox News "a lot of members" stood up to suggest ways to "save money" during Thursday afternoon’s brainstorming session with Republicans and the DOGE duo. "One would think more of them would have been willing to vote, cast votes on the floor of the House in order to do those things early," Bishop added. The DOGE discussions have opened up longstanding wounds within the House GOP, whose members spent a significant amount of the 118th Congress battling among themselves over how to navigate government funding and other fiscal issues. The national debt recently surpassed $36 trillion. Rep. Chip Roy questioned whether fellow Republicans have the "spine" to pass spending overhauls. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) A senior House GOP aide expressed optimism about the new goal but added that Musk and Ramaswamy were "swinging for the fences." "The hard part is once they find the stuff to cut, I think it’s Congress who has to do the actual cutting, right?" the aide said. Another senior GOP aide said, "The mission of DOGE is worthy and absolutely necessary, but nothing is going to change . We aren’t going to cut spending like we [have to] to get our fiscal house in order, and we aren’t going to slash waste at any significant level." US NATIONAL DEBT HITS A NEW RECORD: $36 TRILLION Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, also skeptical, told Republicans at Thursday's meeting they needed to "grow a spine" to actually move meaningful spending cuts. "I've said to my colleagues, ‘If you can't print money, if, literally, it was banned today, what would you do?’ You would do what you do for your home budget. You would say, 'Well, we can't take a vacation here. I can't get a fancy new car because I need to get braces for my child,'" Roy told WMAL radio host Larry O’Connor. "We don't ever do that, and, until we do, all of the DOGE waste-cutting in the world won't help. We’ve got to do both. We need the waste-cutting, but we need Congress to grow a spine." MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT President-elect Trump tapped Musk and Ramaswamy to lead DOGE. (Brandon Bell) Some Republicans are skeptical of having Musk and Ramaswamy lead the charge. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "They had no game plan — a wish list that they’re giving to Santa and the American people that will never be even remotely accomplished," one GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital of Thursday's meeting. The GOP lawmaker called DOGE a "magical department that has been erected out of thin air," and pointed out its logo was heavily inspired by a cryptocurrency known as "dogecoin" that Musk has backed. "They’re going to run into a brick wall called ‘members of Congress who know how to do our job,’" the lawmaker said. Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News. Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
WASHINGTON — As president-elect Donald Trump rattles his closest neighbours with threats of tariffs, he is also firming up the team of loyalists to put his plans into action. Trump’s team to lead his trade agenda and the American economy include trade lawyers, former advisers and Wall Street executives who have all expressed favourable views of tariffs. “He’s choosing a lot of people who are going to be loyal to him and his ideas,” said Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont. “And that probably will lead to a lot more volatility than even we saw in the first term.” On Tuesday evening, Trump picked Jamieson Greer to be U.S. trade representative. The president-elect said Greer played a key role in the first Trump administration imposing tariffs on China and negotiating the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. If confirmed, Greer will oversee the trade pact’s review in 2026. “Jamieson will focus the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on reining in the country’s massive trade deficit, defending American manufacturing, agriculture, and services, and opening up export markets everywhere,” Trump said in a statement. Greer was the chief of staff to former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer as the trilateral agreement was being crafted to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was torn up last time Trump entered office. Greer’s nomination came the day after Trump said he will impose a 25 per cent import tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico. He has also announced an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from China. Trump said the tariffs against Canada and Mexico would remain in place until both countries stop people and drugs, in particular fentanyl, from illegally crossing the border into the U.S. A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report suggested Trump’s previous pledge to impose a 10 per cent levy would take a $30-billion bite out of the Canadian economy. More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S. and trade comprises 60 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Some economists have warned across-the-board duties would cause inflation in the U.S., even though Trump campaigned on lowering costs for Americans. Greer was deeply involved in Trump’s original sweeping tariffs on China and subsequent negotiations on the U.S.-China Phase 1 trade agreement, online biographies say. In testimony about China’s trade agenda at a House trade subcommittee last year, Greer said he believes “good fences make good neighbours, and trade enforcement is an important part of establishing those fences.” On Tuesday, Trump also tapped Kevin Hassett to be the director of the White House National Economic Council. The role will be key in fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to fix the U.S. economy. His announcement said Hassett will also “ensure that we have fair trade with countries that have taken advantage of the United States in the past.” Hassett served during the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and the president-elect has called him a “true friend.” The latest nominations round out an economic team that includes hedge fund executive Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary and Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Wall Street investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, who was tapped for commerce secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Lutnick would oversee a sprawling cabinet agency and Trump’s tariff agenda. He has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s tariff plans. In an CNBC interview in September he said tariffs are “an amazing tool for the president to use — we need to protect the American worker.” Lebo said as Trump prepares to return to office he is removing any person who could prove to be a guardrail or check on his power. “These are people aligned with Trump,” Lebo said. “More and more aligned with his campaign rhetoric.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024. — With files from The Associated Press Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
Buffalo (10-2) at Los Angeles Rams (6-6) Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, FOX BetMGM NFL odds: Bills by 3 1/2. Against the spread: Bills 8-4; Rams 5-7. Series record: Bills lead 9-5. Last meeting: Bills beat Rams 31-10 in Inglewood, Calif. on Sept. 8, 2022. Last week: Bills beat San Francisco 35-10; Rams beat New Orleans 21-14. Bills offense: overall (10), rush (11), pass (17), scoring (2). Bills defense: overall (11), rush (18), pass (8), scoring (T-6). Rams offense: overall (18), rush (26), pass (11), scoring (20). Rams defense: overall (25), rush (28), pass (15), scoring (21). Turnover differential: Bills plus-17; Rams plus-3. WR Amari Cooper. He has so far played a valuable bit role since being acquired in a trade with Cleveland. He’s scored a TD and made a highlight reel play last weekend by making a one-handed catch and, before getting tackled, lateraled the ball back to Josh Allen to set up the quarterback’s passing and receiving TD. Cooper’s getting healthier after being hampered by a left wrist injury, and is expected to play a larger role in the passing attack down the stretch. LB Omar Speights. Little was expected of Speights as an undrafted free agent out of LSU, but he has quickly established himself as a promising piece of the Rams young defense. Speights had a career-high 10 tackles versus the Saints and was constantly around the ball. Los Angeles will need him to maintain that level of activity against Buffalo’s high-powered offense. Rams offensive line vs. Bills defensive line. Keep QB Matthew Stafford upright, and open up holes for RB Kyren Williams. It’s a pretty simple formula for the Rams, and they executed it well in New Orleans, letting Williams rush for 104 yards while Stafford was only sacked twice. Buffalo has two disruptive ends in Gregory Rousseau (6 1/2 sacks, 15 tackles for loss) and A.J. Epenesa (5 sacks), so keeping them in check will be a challenge. The Bills are also proving to be sturdier in stopping the run in recent weeks, though there was statistical regression last week with San Francisco reduced to keeping the ball on the ground in heavy snowfall. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid resumed practicing, though on a limited basis, after missing two games with a knee injury. He is listed as questionable. ... Rookie WR Keon Coleman (right wrist) is questionable after being limited in practice all week. He sat out the last three games. ... Starting S Taylor Rapp is good to go after landing on the injury report this week with a shoulder/neck injury. ... Rookie DT DeWayne Carter (left wrist) is in position to be activated off IR barring a setback. ... Stafford sprained his ankle against the Saints, but he doesn't expected to be limited by the injury and didn't have a designation on Friday's report. ... Rams LT Alaric Jackson is expected to play through a foot injury. ... OLB Jared Verse should play despite rolling his ankle in practice Thursday. ... TE Tyler Higbee, who sustained a serious knee injury in the NFC wild-card game at Detroit, won’t make his season debut this week despite getting in three full practices. The Bills thumped the Rams at SoFi Stadium in the 2022 season opener, heralding a miserable defense of its Super Bowl title for Los Angeles. ... Buffalo has won three straight in the series, scoring 30 points or more in each of those victories. The Bills have already clinched their fifth straight AFC East title, and look to catch the Kansas City Chiefs (11-1), whom they beat last month, for the conference’s top seed. ... Buffalo is 20-2 in regular-season games played in December and January since 2020. ... The Bills have won seven straight since losing consecutive road games at Baltimore and Houston. They’re one win from matching the franchise’s second-longest streak set first in 1990 and again spanning the 2023-24 seasons. The team record is 11, spanning the 1963-64 seasons. ... Buffalo has at least 10 wins through 12 games for the fifth time in team history and first since 1991. ... Allen has a record of 30-5 when he doesn’t commit a turnover. His two lost fumbles and five interceptions account for all seven of Buffalo’s giveaways this season. And he’s 43-27 overall when committing a turnover. ... With 107 yards rushing, including a career-high 65-yard TD run last weekend, RB James Cook topped 100 yards for the fifth time in his career. Cook has four TDs in his past three games and 12 overall (including one receiving) this season. His 11 TDs rushing are the most by a Bills player since LeSean McCoy had 13 in 2016. ... Edge rusher Von Miller’s 127 1/2 sacks lead active players and rank 17th overall, a half-sack behind Rickey Jackson. ... Buffalo has forced at least one takeaway in each game this season, including three forced fumbles against the 49ers. ... The Rams haven’t forced a turnover in their past two games. They had seven takeaways in the three games prior to this stretch. ... Williams earned his second 100-yard game of the season against the Saints. The 6.9 yards per carry average was Williams’ best of the season. ... Since getting ejected in the first half in Seattle, WR Puka Nacua has 30 receptions for 394 yards and two touchdowns over the past four games. He had five catches for 56 yards and a score versus the Saints, his seventh game with at least 50 yards and a touchdown. ... Stafford threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns in the Superdome, the second time in the past seven games the Rams won with Stafford not passing for 200 yards. They did that just twice in Stafford’s first 46 games with the team. ... CB Cobie Durant had two tackles for loss against New Orleans, the first time in his three-year career having multiple negative stops without a sack. ... After starting 16 for 19 on field goals, rookie PK Joshua Karty has missed his past two attempts. He did not attempt a field goal against the Saints, with coach Sean McVay choosing to go for it on fourth-and-4 from the New Orleans 25-yard line in the second quarter. Williams has put together consecutive solid outings, with at least 70 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles and Saints. The one part of his game that still hasn’t resurfaced is as a passing game option, where Williams has one grab for 9 yards over the past three games. Williams is too useful as a receiver to not get him involved there, so expect McVay to dial up some calls, to the benefit of those in point-per-reception formats. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Canada didn't live up to its values on immigration in recent years, Carney says
BIG TEN THIS WEEK
Governance watchdog National Integrity Action (NIA) is calling for the Government to urgently move towards implementation of the Code of Conduct for Parliamentarians and enacting the Political Code of Conduct in law, with criminal sanctions for breaches. The NIA made the call in a media statement on Wednesday in which it condemned recent racially charged remarks by members of parliament Everald Warmington and Juliet Cuthbert Flynn. It said the MPs' comments "aim to divide Jamaica along racial lines and are disparaging and disrespectful to all Jamaicans." In endorsing similar condemnation by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, the NIA said such remarks diminish the contributions made by all groups to Jamaica. "Politicians who incite racism – or any other form of discrimination - should be unequivocally condemned. Their actions undermine social cohesion, fuel division and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. It's essential to emphasise that such behaviour is unacceptable and goes against the principles of equality and respect for all individuals. Parliamentarians are responsible for promoting unity and inclusivity, not division and hatred," the NIA stated. It called for the Government to promptly publish the Code of Conduct for Parliamentarians for public feedback and provide a timeline for its implementation. It also suggested an urgent review of the bill to embody the Political Code of Conduct in law be conducted as one approach to strengthening the code, with criminal sanctions for breaches. "As we enter the election season, the public must be protected from divisive and disparaging campaigns. These situations continue to test the wisdom of merging the Office of the Political Ombudsman with the Electoral Commission of Jamaica," the NIA asserted. NIA is also calling for Prime Minister Andrew Holness to address and publicly rebuke the named parliamentarians. Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com .
WEC Energy's CEO Scott Lauber sells $677,998 in stockJonah Goldberg Among elites across the ideological spectrum, there's one point of unifying agreement: Americans are bitterly divided. What if that's wrong? What if elites are the ones who are bitterly divided while most Americans are fairly unified? History rarely lines up perfectly with the calendar (the "sixties" didn't really start until the decade was almost over). But politically, the 21st century neatly began in 2000, when the election ended in a tie and the color coding of electoral maps became enshrined as a kind of permanent tribal color war of "red vs. blue." Elite understanding of politics has been stuck in this framework ever since. Politicians and voters have leaned into this alleged political reality, making it seem all the more real in the process. I loathe the phrase "perception is reality," but in politics it has the reifying power of self-fulfilling prophecy. Like rival noble families in medieval Europe, elites have been vying for power and dominance on the arrogant assumption that their subjects share their concern for who rules rather than what the rulers can deliver. Political cartoonists from across country draw up something special for the holiday In 2018, the group More in Common published a massive report on the "hidden tribes" of American politics. The wealthiest and whitest groups were "devoted conservatives" (6%) and "progressive activists" (8%). These tribes dominate the media, the parties and higher education, and they dictate the competing narratives of red vs. blue, particularly on cable news and social media. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Americans resided in, or were adjacent to, the "exhausted majority." These people, however, "have no narrative," as David Brooks wrote at the time. "They have no coherent philosophic worldview to organize their thinking and compel action." Lacking a narrative might seem like a very postmodern problem, but in a postmodern elite culture, postmodern problems are real problems. It's worth noting that red vs. blue America didn't emerge ex nihilo. The 1990s were a time when the economy and government seemed to be working, at home and abroad. As a result, elites leaned into the narcissism of small differences to gain political and cultural advantage. They remain obsessed with competing, often apocalyptic, narratives. That leaves out most Americans. The gladiatorial combatants of cable news, editorial pages and academia, and their superfan spectators, can afford these fights. Members of the exhausted majority are more interested in mere competence. I think that's the hidden unity elites are missing. This is why we keep throwing incumbent parties out of power: They get elected promising competence but get derailed -- or seduced -- by fan service to, or trolling of, the elites who dominate the national conversation. There's a difference between competence and expertise. One of the most profound political changes in recent years has been the separation of notions of credentialed expertise from real-world competence. This isn't a new theme in American life, but the pandemic and the lurch toward identity politics amplified distrust of experts in unprecedented ways. This is a particular problem for the left because it is far more invested in credentialism than the right. Indeed, some progressives are suddenly realizing they invested too much in the authority of experts and too little in the ability of experts to provide what people want from government, such as affordable housing, decent education and low crime. The New York Times' Ezra Klein says he's tired of defending the authority of government institutions. Rather, "I want them to work." One of the reasons progressives find Trump so offensive is his absolute inability to speak the language of expertise -- which is full of coded elite shibboleths. But Trump veritably shouts the language of competence. I don't mean he is actually competent at governing. But he is effectively blunt about calling leaders, experts and elites -- of both parties -- stupid, ineffective, weak and incompetent. He lost in 2020 because voters didn't believe he was actually good at governing. He won in 2024 because the exhausted majority concluded the Biden administration was bad at it. Nostalgia for the low-inflation pre-pandemic economy was enough to convince voters that Trumpian drama is the tolerable price to pay for a good economy. About 3 out of 4 Americans who experienced "severe hardship" because of inflation voted for Trump. The genius of Trump's most effective ad -- "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" -- was that it was simultaneously culture-war red meat and an argument that Harris was more concerned about boutique elite concerns than everyday ones. If Trump can actually deliver competent government, he could make the Republican Party the majority party for a generation. For myriad reasons, that's an if so big it's visible from space. But the opportunity is there -- and has been there all along. Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch: thedispatch.com . Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!AudioEye Announces Launch of Secondary Offering of Common Stock by Selling Stockholders
NIA calls for stronger rules of conduct for politicians after MPs' racial remarksNigeria’s electoral process is improving with each election, according to the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. Soludo, the National Leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), acknowledged that while there were shortcomings, each electoral phase has shown notable progress. He made this remark on Friday in Abuja during the party’s first National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting since the recent Supreme Court decision recognizing Mr. Sly Ezeokenwa as the National Chairman of APGA. The Anambra governor commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of the late Biafran warlord Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, as a minister. Mrs. Ojukwu, a former ambassador, now serves as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Speaking further, Soludo said: “Our electoral process is improving. I say this because I have been a participant and observer. “We witnessed what happened in 1999, 2003, 2007, and subsequent elections. What I can confidently say is that our electoral process is getting better with each election.” Regarding the Supreme Court’s judgment on the APGA leadership crisis, Soludo remarked: “No matter what we may think of our judicial system, with all its imperfections, I had no doubt that after the madness, sanity would prevail.” ALSO READ: UK: Five things you didn’t know about Storm Darragh He praised the judiciary for upholding justice and the rule of law, adding that the party is ready to collaborate with progressive minds to reposition Nigeria. Earlier, Ezeokenwa announced an amnesty for genuine party members willing to join the new rebuilding process. He also expressed gratitude to Soludo for consistently supporting APGA. Among other resolutions, the NEC appointed additional members to the Board of Trustees, subject to ratification at the next national convention. Besides Soludo, Bianca Ojukwu, and Ezeokenwa, other notable attendees included Sen. Eyinnaya Abaribe and Hon. Alex Ikwueche. Get real-time news updates from Tribune Online! Follow us on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive stories and interviews, and much more. Join our WhatsApp Channel now
WESTPORT, Conn., Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Portage Biotech Inc. (“Portage” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: PRTG), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company with a portfolio of novel multi-targeted therapies for use as monotherapy and in combination, today reported its financial results for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2024. “We are continuing to explore multiple strategic alternatives to further unlock shareholder value. These may include finding a partner for one or more of our assets, a sale of our company, a merger, restructurings (both in and out of court), a company wind down, further financing efforts, or other strategic actions,” said Dr. Ian Walters, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Portage. “The ADPORT-601 trial is paused for further patient accrual pending additional financial resources, and we are analyzing the data. We also continue our collaborations with numerous experts to further understand the biology and utility of our product candidates,” continued Dr. Walters. Financial Results for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2024 The Company incurred a net loss of approximately $1.4 million during the three months ended September 30, 2024 (the “Fiscal 2025 Quarter”), compared to a net loss of approximately $5.2 million during the three months ended September 30, 2023 (the “Fiscal 2024 Quarter”), representing a $3.8 million decrease quarter-over-quarter. Operating expenses, including research and development (“R&D”) costs and general and administrative (“G&A”) expenses, were $1.6 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter, down from $5.9 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter, a decrease of $4.3 million, as detailed below. R&D costs decreased by approximately $3.5 million, or approximately 83%, from approximately $4.2 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to approximately $0.7 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter. The decrease was primarily attributable to the winding down of clinical trial costs (principally CRO-related), which decreased by approximately $1.6 million, from $2.0 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to $0.4 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter, as activities ramped down throughout the period since we made the decision to pause enrollment in our sponsored clinical trials in the third and fourth quarters of Fiscal 2024. Manufacturing-related costs decreased by $0.9 million, from $1.0 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to $0.029 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter. These decreases reflect the winding down of clinical activity and manufacturing-related costs resulting from our decision to discontinue our sponsored clinical trial for the iNKT program and pause further patient accrual to our sponsored adenosine program. R&D non-cash share-based compensation expense decreased from $0.4 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to nil in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter. Payroll-related expenses decreased by $0.1 million, from $0.37 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to $0.24 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter, due to the resignation of two employees in January 2024. Additionally, consulting fees decreased by approximately $0.2 million from $0.25 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to $0.03 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter, to reflect the decrease in activity period-over-period. Finally, licensing fees decreased by approximately $0.1 million due to licensing fees paid to the licensor of certain intellectual property utilized in the iNKT clinical trial in Fiscal 2024 Quarter compared to nil in Fiscal 2025 Quarter as the iNKT clinical trial was discontinued in the latter half of Fiscal 2024. G&A expenses decreased by approximately $0.8 million, or approximately 48%, from approximately $1.7 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to approximately $0.9 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter. Professional fees decreased by $0.4 million, from $0.8 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to $0.4 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter. Payroll-related expenses decreased by $0.1 million from $0.2 million in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter to $0.1 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter. The decrease in professional fees and payroll-related expenses is due to the accrual of the monthly fees and payments for the entire second quarter in the first quarter for a consultant and employee in connection with certain Retention Agreements entered into on July 22, 2024. Additionally, G&A non-cash share-based compensation expense decreased by $0.2 million due to the continued vesting of stock options, partially offset by recording all share-based compensation expense as G&A expenses as the result of the discontinuation of the iNKT trial and the pause of further patient accrual in the adenosine program. Finally, directors’ fees decreased by $0.1 million in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter, compared to the Fiscal 2024 Quarter, as all directors, except for two directors who resigned in April 2024, waived their fees in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter. The primary reasons for the quarter-over-quarter differences in the Company’s pre-tax items of income and expense were the $0.9 million net gain from the settlement and release of obligations and liabilities under the Master Services Agreement between iOx and Parexel partially offset to some extent by the $0.7 million non-cash loss from the change in the fair value of certain warrants accounted for as liabilities, issued in connection with a private placement offering in October 2023, both in the Fiscal 2025 Quarter, and a non-cash loss from the increase in the fair value of the deferred purchase price payable to the former Tarus shareholders and the deferred obligation for the iOx milestone, totaling $0.1 million, in the Fiscal 2024 Quarter. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $1.8 million and total current liabilities of approximately $0.9 million. About Portage Biotech Inc. Portage is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company with a portfolio of multi-targeted therapies to extend survival and significantly improve the lives of patients with cancer. The Company has made the decision to discontinue its sponsored trial for its the invariant natural killer T-cell (iNKT) program and pause further patient accrual to its sponsored adenosine trial program (ADPORT-601 trial) for its potentially best-in-class adenosine antagonists PORT-6 (adenosine 2A inhibitor) and PORT-7 (adenosine 2B inhibitor). The Company is exploring strategic alternatives, which may include finding a partner for one or more of its assets, a sale of the company, a merger, restructurings, both in and out of court, a company wind down, further financing efforts or other strategic actions. For more information, please visit www.portagebiotech.com or find us on LinkedIn at Portage Biotech Inc. Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding about the Company’s information that are forward-looking in nature and, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations and those statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words "believe," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," “will,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “continue,” or similar expressions or variations on such expressions are forward-looking statements. For example, statements regarding the Company's plans to continue exploring strategic alternatives, which may include finding a partner for one or more of its assets, a sale of the company, a merger, restructurings (both in and out of court), a company wind down, further financing efforts, or other strategic actions, the Company’s expectation to replace one patient in the ADPORT-601 trial, and the Company’s plans to continue its collaborations with numerous experts to further understand the biology and utility of its product candidates are forward-looking statements. As a result, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, but are not limited to: the Company's plans and ability to develop and commercialize product candidates and the timing of these development programs; the Company's clinical development of its product candidates, including the results of current and future clinical trials; the benefits and risks of the Company's product candidates as compared to others; the Company's maintenance and establishment of intellectual property rights in its product candidates; the Company's ability to obtain financing in the future to cover its operational costs and progress its plans for clinical development, its estimates regarding its capital requirements, and its ability to continue as a going concern; the Company’s estimates of future revenues and profitability; the Company's estimates of the size of the potential markets for its product candidates; its selection and licensing of product candidates; and other factors set forth in “Item 3 - Key Information-Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended March 31, 2024 2024 and “Business Environment – Risk Factors” in the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the Three and Six Months ended September 30, 2024 filed as Exhibit 99.2 to the Company’s Form 6-K. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. The forward- looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Investor Relations: ir@portagebiotech.com Media Relations: media@portagebiotech.com ---tables to follow--- PORTAGE BIOTECH INC. Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (U.S. Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited) PORTAGE BIOTECH INC. Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Financial Position (U.S. Dollars in thousands) (Unaudited)WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has assembled a team of medical contrarians and health care critics to fulfill an agenda aimed at remaking how the federal government oversees medicines, health programs and nutrition. On Tuesday night, Trump nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health, tapping an opponent of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates to lead the nation's top medical research agency. He is the latest in a string of Trump nominees who were critics of COVID-19 health measures. Bhattacharya and the other nominees are expected to play pivotal roles in implementing Robert F. Kennedy Jr's sprawling “Make America Healthy Again,” agenda , which calls for removing thousands of additives from U.S. foods, rooting out conflicts of interest at agencies and incentivizing healthier foods in school lunches and other nutrition programs. Trump nominated Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services , which oversees NIH and other federal health agencies. The new health priorities bear little resemblance to those of Trump’s first term, which focused on cutting regulations for food, drug and agriculture companies. “You’re hearing a very different tune as we head into this new Trump administration,” said Gabby Headrick, a nutrition researcher at George Washington University’s school of public health. “It’s important that we all proceed with caution and remember some of the public health losses we saw the first time.” Trump's nominees don't have experience running large bureaucratic agencies, but they know how to talk about health on TV . Centers for Medicare and Medicaid pick Dr. Mehmet Oz hosted a talk show for 13 years and is a well-known wellness and lifestyle influencer. The pick for the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Marty Makary, and for surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, had been frequent Fox News contributors. Some of them have ties to Florida like many of Trump's other Cabinet nominees: Dave Weldon , the pick for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represented the state in Congress for 14 years. Here's a look at how the nominees may carry out Kennedy's plans to “reorganize” agencies, which have an overall $1.7 trillion budget, employ 80,000 scientists, researchers, doctors and other officials: The National Institutes of Health, with a $48 billion budget, funds medical research through grants to scientists across the nation and conducts its own research. Bhattacharya, a health economist and physician at Stanford University, was one of three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an October 2020 letter maintaining that lockdowns were causing irreparable harm. The document — which came before the availability of COVID-19 vaccines — promoted “herd immunity,” the idea that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. Protection should focus instead on people at higher risk, the document said. “I think the lockdowns were the single biggest public health mistake,” Bhattacharya said in March 2021 during a panel discussion convened by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Great Barrington Declaration was embraced by some in the first Trump administration, even as it was widely denounced by disease experts. Then- NIH director Dr. Francis Collins called it dangerous and “not mainstream science.” His nomination would need to be approved by the Senate. Kennedy has said he would pause NIH's drug development and infectious disease research and shift its focus to chronic diseases. He also would like to keep NIH funding from researchers with conflicts of interest. In 2017, he said the agency wasn't doing enough research into the role of vaccines in autism — an idea that has long been debunked . The Atlanta-based CDC, with a $9.2 billion core budget, is charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats. Kennedy has long attacked vaccines and criticized the CDC, repeatedly alleging corruption at the agency. He said on a 2023 podcast that there is "no vaccine that is safe and effective,” and urged people to resist the CDC's guidelines about if and when kids should get vaccinated . The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past 50 years, and that 100 million of them were infants. Decades ago, Kennedy found common ground with Weldon , who served in the Army and worked as an internal medicine doctor before he represented a central Florida congressional district from 1995 to 2009. Starting in the early 2000s, Weldon had a prominent part in a debate about whether there was a relationship between a vaccine preservative called thimerosal and autism. He was a founding member of the Congressional Autism Caucus and tried to ban thimerosal from all vaccines. Since 2001, all vaccines manufactured for the U.S. market and routinely recommended for children 6 years or younger have contained no thimerosal or only trace amounts, with the exception of inactivated flu vaccine. Meanwhile, study after study found no evidence that thimerosal caused autism. Weldon's congressional voting record suggests he may go along with Republican efforts to downsize the CDC, including to eliminate the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which works on topics like drownings, drug overdoses and shooting deaths. Kennedy has been extremely critical of the FDA, which has 18,000 employees and is responsible for the safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs, vaccines and other medical products, as well as overseeing cosmetics, electronic cigarettes and most foods. Makary, Trump’s pick to run the FDA, is a professor at Johns Hopkins University, a trained surgeon and a cancer specialist. He is closely aligned with Kennedy on several topics . Makary has decried the overprescribing of drugs, the use of pesticides on foods and the influence of pharmaceutical and insurance companies over doctors and government regulators. Kennedy has suggested he'll clear out “entire” FDA departments and also recently threatened to fire FDA employees for “aggressive suppression” of a host of unsubstantiated products and therapies, including stem cells, raw milk , psychedelics and discredited COVID-era treatments like hydroxychloroquine. Makary's contrarian views during COVID-19 included questioning the need for COVID-19 vaccine boosters in young kids. The agency provides health care coverage for more than 160 million people through Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, and also sets Medicare payment rates for hospitals, doctors and other providers. With a $1.1 trillion budget and more than 6,000 employees, Oz has a massive agency to run if confirmed — and an agency that Kennedy hasn't talked about much. While Trump tried to scrap the Affordable Care Act in his first term, Kennedy has not taken aim at it yet. The Biden administration on Tuesday revealed a new plan to force Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound for many Americans who are obese. Kennedy has opposed the idea , saying government-sponsored insurance programs should instead expand coverage of healthier foods and gym memberships. Trump said during his campaign that he would protect Medicare, which provides insurance for older Americans. Oz has endorsed expanding Medicare Advantage — a privately run version of Medicare that is popular but also a source of widespread fraud . Kennedy doesn't appear to have said much publicly about what he'd like to see from the surgeon general. The nation's top doctor has little administrative power but can influence what counts as a public health danger and what to do about it — suggesting things like warning labels for products and issuing advisories. The current surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, declared gun violence as a public health crisis in June. Trump's pick, Nesheiwat, is employed as a New York City medical director with CityMD, a group of urgent care facilities. She also has appeared on Fox News and other TV shows, authored a book on the “transformative power of prayer” in her medical career and endorses a brand of vitamin supplements. Associated Press writers Mike Stobbe, Amanda Seitz, Carla K. Johnson, Matthew Perrone and Erica Hunzinger contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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