
Ghana's opposition leader John Mahama officially won the country's election on Monday, easily defeating the ruling party candidate after voters punished the government's economic management and high living costs. Mahama won 56 percent of the votes in Saturday's presidential ballot, compared to the ruling party candidate and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who secured 41 percent, the electoral commission said announcing official results. The landslide comeback for former president Mahama ended eight years in power for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose last term was marked by Ghana's worst economic turmoil in years, an IMF bailout and a debt default. "These eight years have witnessed some of the darkest periods of our governance," Mahama told crowds of supporters blowing horns and whistles in his party office in Accra. "This mandate also serves as a constant reminder of what fate awaits us if we fail to meet the aspirations of our people." Bawumia, a former central banker, had already quickly conceded defeat on Sunday, acknowledging Ghanaians wanted change after the government failed to shake off widespread frustration. Bawumia also said the Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) party had won the parliamentary vote in Saturday's election. Official results for the parliament are still being tallied. Mahama, 66, had previously failed twice to secure the presidency, but in Saturday's election he managed to tap into expectations of change among Ghanaians. He promised to "reset" Ghana, usher in economic revival and renegotiate parts of the country's $3 billion IMF accord. In his acceptance speech, Mahama promised reforms and "severe" measures to bring Ghana back on track. "The journey is not going to be easy... because the outgoing government has plunged our dear nation into the abyss," he said. "I am certain that we shall win the battle." With a history of democratic stability, Ghana's two major parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party politics in 1992. But Ghana's economic woes dominated the 2024 election, after the continent's top gold producer and world's second cacao exporter went through a debt crisis, the default and currency devaluation. Turnout for Saturday election was 60.9 percent, a slide in participation from 79 percent in the 2020 election, results showed. With a slogan "Break the 8" -- a reference to two, four-year terms in power -- Bawumia had sought to take the NPP to an unprecedented third mandate. But he struggled to break from criticism of Akufo-Addo's economic record. While inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other indicators stabilised, economic concerns were still a clear election issue for most Ghanaians. That frustration opened the way for a comeback from Mahama, who first came to the presidency in 2012 when he was serving as vice president and then President John Atta Mills died in office. During campaigning, the former president also faced criticism from those who remember his government's own financial tribulations and especially the massive power blackouts that marred his time in office. bur/pma/givRams at New Orleans Saints: Who has the edge?
Female political appointees, others gang against GBV in GombeNone
How Brazilian police say Bolsonaro plotted a coup to stay in officeAuthored by Jeffrey Sachs via CommonDreams.org, When a nation is very sick, we need multiple and overlapping remedies... America is a country of undoubted vast strengths—technological, economic, and cultural—yet its government is profoundly failing its own citizens and the world. Trump’s victory is very easy to understand. It was a vote against the status quo. Whether Trump will fix—or even attempt to fix—what really ails America remains to be seen. The rejection of the status quo by the American electorate is overwhelming. According to Gallup in October 2024, 52% of Americans said they and their families were worse off than four years ago, while only 39% said they were better off and 9% said they were about the same. An NBC national news poll in September 2024 found that 65% of Americans said the country is on the wrong track, while only 25% said that it is on the right track. In March 2024, according to Gallup , only 33% of Americans approved of Joe Biden’s handling of foreign affairs. At the core of the American crisis is a political system that fails to represent the true interests of the average American voter. The political system was hacked by big money decades ago, especially when the U.S. Supreme Court opened the floodgates to unlimited campaign contributions. Since then, American politics has become a plaything of super-rich donors and narrow-interest lobbies, who fund election campaigns in return for policies that favor vested interests rather than the common good. Two groups own the Congress and White House: super-rich individuals and single-issue lobbies. The world watched agape as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person (and yes, a brilliant entrepreneur and inventor), played a unique role in backing Trump’s election victory, both through his vast media influence and funding. Countless other billionaires chipped into Trump’s victory. Many (though not all) of the super-rich donors seeks special favors from the political system for their companies or investments, and most of those desired favors will be duly delivered by the Congress, the White House, and the regulatory agencies staffed by the new administration. Many of these donors also push one overall deliverable: further tax cuts on corporate income and capital gains. Many business donors, I would quickly add, are forthrightly on the side of peace and cooperation with China, as very sensible for business as well as for humanity. Business leaders generally want peace and incomes, while crazed ideologues want hegemony through war. There would have been precious little difference in all of this with a Harris victory. The Democrats have their own long list of the super-rich who financed the party’s presidential and Congressional campaigns. Many of those donors too would have demanded and received special favors. Tax breaks on capital income have been duly delivered by Congress for decades no matter their impact on the ballooning federal deficit, which now stands at nearly 7 percent of GDP, and no matter that the U.S. pre-tax national income in recent decades has shifted powerfully towards capital income and away from labor income. As measured by one basic indicator, the share of labor income in GDP has declined by around 7 percentage points since the end of World War II. As income has shifted from labor to capital, the stock market (and super-wealth) has soared, with the overall stock market valuation rising from 55% of GDP in 1985 to 200% of GDP today! The second group with its hold on Washingtons is single-issue lobbies. These powerful lobbies include the military-industrial complex, Wall Street, Big Oil, the gun industry, big pharma, big Ag, and the Israel Lobby. American politics is well organized to cater to these special interests. Each lobby buys the support of specific committees in Congress and selected national leaders to win control over public policy. The economic returns to special-interest lobbying are often huge: a hundred million dollars of campaign funding by a lobby group can win a hundred billion of federal outlays and/or tax breaks. This is the lesson, for example, of the Israel lobby, which spends a few hundred million dollars on campaign contributions, and harvests tens of billions of dollars in military and economic support for Israel. These special-interest lobbies do not depend on, nor care much about, public opinion. Opinion surveys show regularly that the public wants gun control, lower drug prices, an end of Wall Street bailouts, renewable energy, and peace in Ukraine and the Middle East. Instead, the lobbyists ensure that Congress and the White House deliver continued easy access to handguns and assault weapons, sky-high drug prices, coddling of Wall Street, more oil and gas drilling, weapons for Ukraine, and wars on behalf of Israel. These powerful lobbies are money-fueled conspiracies against the common good. Remember Adam Smith’s famous dictum in the Wealth of Nations (1776): "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." The two most dangerous lobbies are the military-industrial complex (as Eisenhower famously warned us in 1961) and the Israel lobby (as detailed in a scintillating new book by historian Ilan Pappé). Their special danger is that they continue to lead us to war and closer to nuclear Armageddon . Biden’s reckless recent decision to allow U.S. missile strikes deep inside Russia, long advocated by the military-industrial complex, is case in point. The military-industrial complex aims for U.S. “full-spectrum dominance.” It’s purported solutions to world problems are wars and more wars, together with covert regime-change operations, U.S. economic sanctions, U.S. info-wars, color revolutions (led by the National Endowment for Democracy), and foreign policy bullying. These of course have been no solutions at all. These actions, in flagrant violation of international law, have dramatically increased U.S. insecurity. The military-industrial complex (MIC) dragged Ukraine into a hopeless war with Russia by promising Ukraine membership in NATO in the face of Russia’s fervent opposition, and by conspiring to overthrow Ukraine’s government in February 2014 because it sought neutrality rather than NATO membership. The military-industrial complex is currently—unbelievably—promoting a coming war with China. This will of course involve a huge and lucrative arms buildup, the aim of the MIC. Yet it will also threaten World War III or a cataclysmic U.S. defeat in another Asian war. While the Military-Industrial Complex has stoked NATO enlargement and conflicts with Russia and China, the Israel Lobby has stoked America’s serial wars in the Middle East. Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, more than any U.S. president, has been the lead promoter of America’s backing of disastrous wars in Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria. Netanyahu’s aim is to keep the land that Israel conquered in the 1967 war, creating what is called Greater Israel, and to prevent a Palestinian State. This expansionist policy, in contravention of international law, has given rise to militant pro-Palestinian groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Netanyahu’s long-standing policy is for the U.S. to topple or help to topple the governments that support these resistance groups. Incredibly, the Washington neocons and the Israel Lobby actually joined forces to carry out Netanyahu’s disastrous plan for wars across the Middle East. Netanyahu was a lead backer of the War in Iraq. Former Marine Commander Dennis Fritz has recently described in detail the Israel Lobby’s large role in that war. Ilan Pappé has done the same. In fact, the Israel Lobby has supported U.S.-led or U.S.-backed wars across the Middle East, leaving the targeted countries in ruins and the U.S. budget deep in debt. In the meantime, the wars and tax cuts for the rich, have offered no solutions for the hardships working-class Americans. As in other high-income countries , employment in U.S. manufacturing fell sharply from the 1980s onward as assembly-line workers were increasingly replaced by robots and “smart systems.” The decline in the labor share of value in the U.S. has been significant, and once again has been a phenomenon shared with other high-countries. Yet American workers have been hit especially hard. In addition to the underlying global technological trends hitting jobs and wages, American workers have been battered by decades of anti-union policies, soaring tuition and healthcare costs, and other anti-worker measures. In high-income countries of northern Europe, “social consumption” (publicly funded healthcare, tuition, housing, and other publicly provided services) and high levels of unionization have sustained decent living standards for workers. Not so in the United States. Yet this was not the end of it. Soaring costs of health care, driven by the private health insurers, and the absence of sufficient public financing for higher education and low-cost online options, created a pincer movement, squeezing the working class between falling or stagnant wages on the one side and rising education and healthcare costs on the other side. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans did much of anything to help the workers. Trump’s voter base is the working class, but his donor base is the super-rich and the lobbies. So, what will happen next? More of the same—wars and tax cuts—or something new and real for the voters? Trump’s purported answer is a trade war with China and the deportation of illegal foreign workers, combined with more tax cuts for the rich. In other words, rather than face the structural challenges of ensuring decent living standards for all, and face forthrightly the staggering budget deficit, Trump’s answers on the campaign trail and in his first term were to blame China and migrants for low working-class wages and wasteful spending for the deficits. This has played well electorally in 2016 and 2024, but will not deliver the promised results for workers in the long run. Manufacturing jobs will not return in large numbers from China since they never went in large numbers to China. Nor will deportations do much to raise living standards of average Americans. This is not to say that real solutions are lacking. They are hiding in plain view—if Trump chooses to take them, over the special interest groups and class interests of Trump’s backers. If Trump chooses real solutions, he would achieve a strikingly positive political legacy for decades to come. The first is to face down the military-industrial complex. Trump can end the war in Ukraine by telling President Putin and the world that NATO will never expand to Ukraine. He can end the risk of war with China by making crystal clear that the U.S. abides by the One China Policy, and as such, will not interfere in China’s internal affairs by sending armaments to Taiwan over Beijing’s objections, and would not support any attempt by Taiwan to secede. The second is to face down the Israel lobby by telling Netanyahu that the U.S. will no longer fight Israel’s wars and that Israel must accept a State of Palestine living in peace next to Israel, as called for by the entire world community. This indeed is the only possible path to peace for Israel and Palestine, and indeed for the Middle East. The third is to close the budget deficit, partly by cutting wasteful spending —notably on wars, hundreds of useless overseas military bases, and sky-high prices the government pays for drugs and healthcare—and partly by raising government revenues. Simply enforcing taxes on the books by cracking down on illegal tax evasion would have raised $625 billion in 2021, around 2.6% of GDP. More should be raised by taxation of soaring capital incomes. The fourth is an innovation policy (aka industrial policy) that serves the common good . Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley friends have succeeded in innovation beyond the wildest expectations. All kudos to Silicon Valley for bringing us the digital age. America’s innovation capacity is vast and robust and an envy of the world. The challenge now is innovation for what? Musk has his eye on Mars and beyond. Captivating, yet there are billions of people on Earth that can and should be helped by the digital revolution in the here and now. A core goal of Trump’s industrial policy should be to ensure that innovation serves the common good, including the poor, the working class, and the natural environment. Our nation’s goals need to go beyond wealth and weapons systems. As Musk and his colleagues know better than anybody, the new AI and digital technologies can usher in an era of low-cost, zero-carbon energy; low-cost healthcare; low-cost higher education; low-cost electricity-powered mobility; and other AI-enabled efficiencies that can raise real living standards of all workers. In the process, innovation should foster high-quality, unionized jobs—not the gig employment that has sent living standards plummeting and worker insecurity soaring. Trump and the Republicans have resisted these technologies in the past. In his first term, Trump let China take the lead in these technologies pretty much across the board. Our goal is not to stop China’s innovations, but to spur our own. Indeed, as Silicon Valley understands while Washington does not, China has long been and should remain America’s partner in the innovation ecosystem. China’s highly efficient and low-cost manufacturing facilities, such as Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai, put Silicon Valley’s innovations into worldwide use ... when America tries. All four of these steps are within Trump’s reach, and would justify his electoral triumph and secure his legacy for decades to come. I’m not holding my breath for Washington to adopt these straightforward steps. American politics has been rotten for too long for real optimism in that regard, yet these four steps are all achievable, and would greatly benefit not only the tech and finance leaders who backed Trump’s campaign but the generation of disaffected workers and households whose votes put Trump back into the White House.
Ghana opposition leader Mahama officially wins election
Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara released a statement Friday slamming the "100% false" media reports that suggested he had thrown his final pass for the Hawkeyes. McNamara has been sidelined since sustaining a concussion during the Oct. 26 win against Northwestern. Backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan has started the last two games for the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) but is out with an ankle injury for Saturday's game at Maryland (4-6, 1-6). Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said earlier this week that Jackson Stratton will be the likely starter against the Terrapins if McNamara is unavailable. McNamara's cloudy status prompted speculation on a podcast this week that he was "not mentally ready to play." The podcast hosts from the Des Moines Register and The Athletic also suggested that McNamara -- who played three years at Michigan (2020-22) before transferring to Iowa -- is not "fit to play quarterback in the Big Ten right now." "We don't want to bury his career yet, but it does seem like that interception against Northwestern was his last snap as a Hawkeye," Leistikow said. McNamara, who passed for 1,017 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games this season, released a statement updating his current status. "My status is the same as it's always been -- a proud member of this football team," he said. McNamara said he has not yet been cleared to play. He said he was cleared to practice on Sunday but suffered an "adverse reaction" and was unable to practice this week and therefore unable to travel with the team to Maryland. "I have been working with the University of Iowa doctors and trainers, a concussion specialist focused on vision training, as well as engaging in hyperbaric treatments as frequently as possible," McNamara said. "I have every intention to play versus Nebraska next Friday night and I am confident that my teammates will return from Maryland with a win." Including his time with the Wolverines, McNamara has completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 4,703 yards with 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 34 games. --Field Level MediaWhy finding the suspected CEO killer is harder than you might thinkChicago hosts Columbus after Donato's 2-goal performance
6 Alternatives To The reMarkable 2 E-Ink TabletWhen: 1:05 p.m. Sunday Where: Superdome, New Orleans TV/radio: FOX (Ch. 11)/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 382, 226 Line: Rams by 3.5 Rams: OUT: TE Tyler Higbee (knee), OL KT Leveston (ankle); QUESTIONABLE: OL Alaric Jackson (foot), OLB Nick Hampton (triceps). Saints: OUT: OL Lucas Patrick (calf); QUESTIONABLE: C Erik McCoy (groin), RB Jamaal Williams (groin), DL Tanoh Kpassagnon (Achilles). What’s at stake? With just six games left in the season, the Rams can’t afford to fall two games below .500 as they try to keep their NFC West title hopes alive. Behind the Cardinals and Seahawks by a game in the divisional race, the Rams need to beat the Saints – one of three teams left on their schedule with losing records – to keep within a reasonable striking distance. Who’s better? The Rams, despite their many inconsistencies, are the better, more balanced team. The Saints, after all, fired head coach Dennis Allen midseason as injuries erased the good vibes around New Orleans following a 2-0 start to the season thanks to an explosive offense. Matchup to watch: Saints RB Alvin Kamara vs. Rams’ run defense. The Rams were gashed in a 37-20 loss last week by Saquon Barkley, rushing for an Eagles-record 255 yards as the Rams front didn’t stay gap sound, putting linebackers and defensive backs in difficult positions. They will get an immediate chance at redemption against another high-powered back in Kamara, who is still managing 4.3 yards per carry despite a litany of injuries along the New Orleans offensive line. Rams win if: They convert at least 40% of their third-down opportunities on offense. ... They average more than 4.0 yards per carry behind RB Kyren Williams. ... They can bottle up Saints tight end and utility man Taysom Hill after he exploded for 138 rushing yards in the Saints’ previous game. Fantasy sleeper: WR Tutu Atwell. The fourth-year receiver popped up in the fourth quarter of last weekend’s loss to the Eagles as a reliable option in the Rams’ hurry-up offense. He could see an uptick in usage Sunday, especially following Demarcus Robinson’s Monday arrest for suspicion of DUI . Prediction: Rams 27, Saints 13. Beat reporter’s record: 8-3 for the season; 6-5 against the spread.
Rodgers & Associates LTD grew its stake in shares of NVIDIA Co. ( NASDAQ:NVDA – Free Report ) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,555 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Rodgers & Associates LTD’s holdings in NVIDIA were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in NVIDIA by 884.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 213,127,959 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $26,329,751,000 after purchasing an additional 191,469,114 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in NVIDIA by 854.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 182,622,629 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $22,561,200,000 after purchasing an additional 163,482,580 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in NVIDIA by 870.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 102,422,225 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $12,658,922,000 after purchasing an additional 91,867,031 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in NVIDIA by 1,123.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 92,039,713 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $11,371,255,000 after purchasing an additional 84,515,429 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in NVIDIA by 808.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 82,689,605 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $10,215,474,000 after purchasing an additional 73,589,208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.27% of the company’s stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of NVIDIA from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NVIDIA from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of NVIDIA from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Melius Research upped their price target on shares of NVIDIA from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of NVIDIA from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NVIDIA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.15. NVIDIA Stock Up 2.2 % NASDAQ NVDA opened at $138.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 4.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.67. NVIDIA Co. has a twelve month low of $45.01 and a twelve month high of $152.89. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 54.41, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.66. NVIDIA ( NASDAQ:NVDA – Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The computer hardware maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.12. NVIDIA had a net margin of 55.69% and a return on equity of 114.83%. The business had revenue of $35.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 93.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that NVIDIA Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year. NVIDIA Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. NVIDIA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1.57%. NVIDIA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 28th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the computer hardware maker to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, CEO Jen Hsun Huang sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.76, for a total value of $13,291,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,375,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,459,373,085.80. This represents a 0.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, Director John Dabiri sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $101,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,831,764. This trade represents a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold 2,036,986 shares of company stock valued at $240,602,399 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock. NVIDIA Company Profile ( Free Report ) NVIDIA Corporation provides graphics and compute and networking solutions in the United States, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and internationally. The Graphics segment offers GeForce GPUs for gaming and PCs, the GeForce NOW game streaming service and related infrastructure, and solutions for gaming platforms; Quadro/NVIDIA RTX GPUs for enterprise workstation graphics; virtual GPU or vGPU software for cloud-based visual and virtual computing; automotive platforms for infotainment systems; and Omniverse software for building and operating metaverse and 3D internet applications. Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than NVIDIA Stock Sentiment Analysis: How it Works The Latest 13F Filings Are In: See Where Big Money Is Flowing The How And Why of Investing in Oil Stocks 3 Penny Stocks Ready to Break Out in 2025 What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)? FMC, Mosaic, Nutrien: Top Agricultural Stocks With Big Potential Receive News & Ratings for NVIDIA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NVIDIA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .NEW YORK, Dec. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company” or “Y-mAbs”) (Nasdaq: YMAB), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel radioimmunotherapy and antibody-based therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer, today announced the presentation of CD38-SADA in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) preclinical data and trial in progress posters at the 66 th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition being held on December 7 –10, 2024, in San Diego, California. A poster titled “ CD38-SADA, a S elf- A ssembling and D is- A ssembling Bispecific Fusion Protein for Two-Step Pretargeted Radioimmunotherapy of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma ” characterizes the selective binding of CD38-SADA to DOTA-chelated lanthanide metals and high-avidity binding to CD38, a tumor specific antigen overexpressed across a range of lymphoma cells. Data from this poster demonstrate anti-tumor efficacy of CD38-SADA when used with Lutetium 177 (Lu 177 )-DOTA in a two-step approach to pre-targeted radioimmunotherapy (“PRIT”). Tumor responses in a xenograft mouse model were rapid and dose-dependent, further supporting the clinical development of CD38-SADA PRIT in patients with CD38-positive lymphoid malignancies. “This preclinical analysis provides important insights into the unique pharmacology of CD38-SADA and its therapeutic potential for NHL,” said Brian H. Santich, Ph.D., the lead author and co-inventor of the SADA PRIT technology platform. “The anti-tumor efficacy positively correlated with increasing doses of Lu 177 -DOTA and CD38-SADA, which informed the study design and initial dosing regimen of our Trial 1201 in patients with NHL.” In addition, Y-mAbs presents a trial-in-progress poster from its ongoing Phase 1 (Trial 1201) clinical study evaluating the safety and tolerability of CD38-SADA PRIT with Lu 177 -DOTA in adults with relapsed or refractory NHL. Trial 1201 is a first-in-human, dose-escalation, open-label, multicenter study composed of two parts. Part A includes dose escalation of the CD38-SADA bispecific fusion protein to define the optimal safe dose of the CD38-SADA protein, the administration interval between CD38-SADA and Lu 177 -DOTA, and the Lu 177 -DOTA dose for tumor imaging. In Part B, dose escalation of Lu 177 -DOTA will establish the optimal therapeutic dose of the radioactive payload. For each part, the escalation is based on a 3+3 trial design of 4 planned dose levels. “We are pleased to share the details of this Phase 1 clinical trial, which is investigating a potentially transformative approach to pre-targeted radioimmunotherapy for patients with relapsed and refractory NHL,” said Vignesh Rajah, MBBS, DCH, MRCP (UK), Chief Medical Officer. “This is our second clinical program evaluating the SADA PRIT technology platform and our first in hematological malignancies.” The abstract details are below: Abstract Title: “ CD38-SADA, a Self-Assembling and Dis-Assembling Bispecific Fusion Protein for Two-Step Pretargeted Radioimmunotherapy of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma” Format : Poster Presentation, ID: 1599 Date and Time: Saturday, December 7, 2024, 5:30 PM-7:30 PM Abstract Title: “ CD38-SADA Pretargeted Radioimmunotherapy (PRIT) with Lutetium 177 (Lu177)-DOTA in Adult Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: A First-in-Human Phase 1 Trial” Format : Poster Presentation, ID: 4434.1 Date and Time: Monday, December 9, 2024, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), including Dr. Nai-Kong Cheung, developed the SADA technology for radioimmunotherapy, which is exclusively licensed by MSK to Y-mAbs. Dr. Cheung has intellectual property rights and interests in the technology, and as a result of this licensing arrangement, MSK has institutional financial interests in the technology. About Y-mAbs Y-mAbs is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, radioimmunotherapy and antibody-based therapeutic cancer products. The Company’s technologies include its investigational Self-Assembly DisAssembly (“SADA”) Pretargeted Radioimmunotherapy Platform (“PRIT”) and bispecific antibodies generated using the Y-BiClone platform. The Company’s broad and advanced product pipeline includes the anti-GD2 therapy DANYELZA® (naxitamab-gqgk), the first FDA-approved treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory high-risk neuroblastoma in the bone or bone marrow after a partial response, minor response, or stable disease to prior therapy. About CD38-SADA PRIT CD38-SADA is a bispecific fusion protein that tightly binds to the CD38 antigen and to select radionuclides chelated to tetraxetan (or “DOTA”). CD38-SADA contains a p53-derived domain that drives the self-assembly of CD38-SADA tetramers, which possess four distinct binding sites for CD38. In the first step of pre-targeted radiotherapy, non-radiolabeled-CD38-SADA tetramers are infused and bind with high avidity to CD38-positive tumors, while unbound CD38-SADA disassembles into low molecular weight monomers that are removed by the kidney. The second infusion delivers the “radioactive payload,” which binds to the CD38-SADA on tumor cells for localized irradiation. CD38-SADA PRIT with Lutetium 177 (Lu 177)-DOTA is now under clinical investigation in Trial 1201 (NCT05994157). Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our business model, including financial outlook for 2024 and beyond, including estimated operating expenses, use of cash and cash equivalents and DANYELZA product revenue and sufficiency of cash resources and related assumptions; expectations with respect to the Company’s future financial performance; implied and express statements regarding the future of the Company’s business, including with respect to expansion and its goals; expectations with respect to the Company’s plans and strategies, development, regulatory, commercialization and product distribution plans, including the timing thereof; expectations with respect to the Company’s products and product candidates, including potential territory and label expansion of DANYELZA and the potential market opportunity related thereto and potential benefits thereof, and the potential of the SADA PRIT technology and potential benefits and applications thereof; expectations relating to key anticipated development milestones, including potential expansion and advancement of commercialization and development efforts, including potential indications, applications and geographies, and the timing thereof; expectations with respect to current and future clinical and pre-clinical studies and the Company’s research and development programs, including with respect to timing and results; expectations regarding collaborations or strategic partnerships and the potential benefits thereof; and other statements that are not historical facts. Words such as ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘believe,’’ “contemplate,” ‘‘continue,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ “hope,” ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘might,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘potential,’’ ‘‘predict,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘target,’’ “will,” ‘‘would’,’ “guidance,” “goal,” “objective,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Our product candidates and related technologies are novel approaches to cancer treatment that present significant challenges. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to: risks associated with the Company’s financial condition and need for additional capital; the risks that actual results of the Company’s restructuring plan and revised business plan will not be as expected; risks associated with the Company’s development work; cost and success of the Company’s product development activities and clinical trials; the risks of delay in the timing of the Company’s or its partners’ regulatory submissions or failure to receive approval of its drug candidates; the risks related to commercializing any approved pharmaceutical product including the rate and degree of market acceptance of product candidates; development of sales and marketing capabilities and risks associated with failure to obtain sufficient reimbursement for products; risks related to the Company’s dependence on third parties including for conduct of clinical testing and product manufacture as well as regulatory submissions; the Company’s ability to enter into new partnerships or to recognize the anticipated benefits from its existing partnerships; risks related to government regulation; risks related to market approval, risks associated with protection of the Company’s intellectual property rights; risks related to employee matters and managing growth; risks related to the Company’s common stock, risks associated with macroeconomic conditions, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and sanctions related thereto, the state of war between Israel and Hamas and the related risk of a larger regional conflict, inflation, increased interest rates, uncertain global credit and capital markets and disruptions in banking systems; and other risks and uncertainties affecting the Company including those described in the “Risk Factors” section included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2024, and September 30, 2024, and future filings and reports by the Company. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SADA®, SADA PRIT®, DANYELZA® and Y-mAbs® are registered trademarks of Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc. Investor Contact: Courtney Dugan VP, Head of Investor Relations cdu@ymabs.com
Finnish MP skips Independence Day gala to join nationalist torch march
Ghana's opposition leader John Mahama officially won the country's election on Monday, easily defeating the ruling party candidate after voters punished the government's economic management and high living costs. Mahama won 56 percent of the votes in Saturday's presidential ballot, compared to the ruling party candidate and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who secured 41 percent, the electoral commission said announcing official results. The landslide comeback for former president Mahama ended eight years in power for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose last term was marked by Ghana's worst economic turmoil in years, an IMF bailout and a debt default. "These eight years have witnessed some of the darkest periods of our governance," Mahama told crowds of supporters blowing horns and whistles in his party office in Accra. "This mandate also serves as a constant reminder of what fate awaits us if we fail to meet the aspirations of our people." Bawumia, a former central banker, had already quickly conceded defeat on Sunday, acknowledging Ghanaians wanted change after the government failed to shake off widespread frustration. Bawumia also said the Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) party had won the parliamentary vote in Saturday's election. Official results for the parliament are still being tallied. Mahama, 66, had previously failed twice to secure the presidency, but in Saturday's election he managed to tap into expectations of change among Ghanaians. He promised to "reset" Ghana, usher in economic revival and renegotiate parts of the country's $3 billion IMF accord. In his acceptance speech, Mahama promised reforms and "severe" measures to bring Ghana back on track. "The journey is not going to be easy... because the outgoing government has plunged our dear nation into the abyss," he said. "I am certain that we shall win the battle." With a history of democratic stability, Ghana's two major parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party politics in 1992. But Ghana's economic woes dominated the 2024 election, after the continent's top gold producer and world's second cacao exporter went through a debt crisis, the default and currency devaluation. Turnout for Saturday election was 60.9 percent, a slide in participation from 79 percent in the 2020 election, results showed. With a slogan "Break the 8" -- a reference to two, four-year terms in power -- Bawumia had sought to take the NPP to an unprecedented third mandate. But he struggled to break from criticism of Akufo-Addo's economic record. While inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other indicators stabilised, economic concerns were still a clear election issue for most Ghanaians. That frustration opened the way for a comeback from Mahama, who first came to the presidency in 2012 when he was serving as vice president and then President John Atta Mills died in office. During campaigning, the former president also faced criticism from those who remember his government's own financial tribulations and especially the massive power blackouts that marred his time in office. bur/pma/givTributes were paid to the former Scottish first minister, who died suddenly in North Macedonia in October at the age of 69. A private family funeral has already taken place, with Saturday’s memorial service in Edinburgh held to celebrate his love of Scotland and his commitment to the cause of independence. But while some 500 people, including family, friends and politicians from across the spectrum attended the service at St Giles’ Cathedral, his successor Nicola Sturgeon was not present. A rift between her and Mr Salmond – who she had previously described as her mentor – developed during her term as SNP leader. Ms Sturgeon attended the funeral of Scottish comedian Janey Godley in Glasgow on Saturday morning. Her successor, Mr Swinney, was met with boos as he arrived at the service – held on St Andrew’s Day – with at least one person in the crowd outside on the Royal Mile shouting “traitor”. Mr Salmond stood down as SNP leader and first minister after the 2014 referendum in which Scots voted to stay part of the UK. He helped found and went on to lead another pro-independence party, Alba, with Kenny MacAskill, a long-time friend who served as justice secretary in Holyrood under Mr Salmond. Mr MacAskill, now the acting Alba leader, told the congregation – which included Mr Salmond’s widow Moira as well as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, former Labour first minister Henry McLeish and Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay – that Mr Salmond had been a “giant of man”. Mr MacAskill, who quit the SNP to join Alba, hailed Mr Salmond as “an inspiration, a political genius” and being “most of all a man who had the cause of independence burned into his heart and seared in his soul”. The cause of independence was Mr Salmond’s “guiding light, his north star”, the former justice secretary said, adding that “he came so close to achieving it”. He added: “Those of us who share his dream must conclude that journey on his behalf. That’s the legacy he’d expect and the duty we owe him.” Recalling Mr Salmond’s words from when he stood down as first minister that “the dream shall never die”, Mr MacAskill concluded his address with the words: “Your dream shall be delivered.” Former Conservative Brexit minister and long-time friend of Mr Salmond, David Davis, gave a reading as did former Scottish government minister SNP MSP Fergus Ewing. Scottish folk singer Dougie MacLean performed his famous song Caledonia, while singer Sheena Wellington led mourners in a rendition of Robert Burns’ classic A Man’s A Man For A’ That. Scottish rock duo the Proclaimers were applauded for their performance of Cap in Hand – a pro-independence song which features the line “I can’t understand why we let someone else rule our land, cap in hand”. Brothers Craig and Charlie Reid said: “We’re going to do this for Alex, with love and respect and eternal gratitude for everything you did for our country.” Christina Hendry described her Uncle Alex as a “political giant, a strong leader, a fearless campaigner” but also remembered his as a “dearly loved husband, brother and uncle”. While she said he had been “the top man in Scotland”, he had “always made time for his family”, recalling how he phoned her brother on his birthday – the day after the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 – to apologise for not posting a card “as he’d been busy”, before telling them he would “resigning in 10 minutes”. She told the congregation: “As his family, we always felt loved no matter how far away he was or the time that passed before we saw him next. “We always knew he was standing up for our country, and for that we were grateful.” Ms Hendry continued: “The world will be a much quieter place without Uncle Alex, for Moira, for the wider family and for Scotland. “Uncle Alex passing means a great loss for many. A loss of Scotland’s voice on the international stage. A loss of integrity in Scottish politics. And a great loss to Scotland’s independence movement. “As a family it is likely a loss we will never get over.” Duncan Hamilton KC, who was an SNP MSP after the first Scottish Parliament elections, but also served as a political adviser and legal counsel to Mr Salmond, said the former first minister had “rightly been hailed as one of the greatest Scottish politicians of this, or any, generation”. He told how Mr Salmond took the SNP from being “a fringe act trying to get onto the main stage” to a party of government. “In Scottish politics, his success was both spectacular and unrivalled,” Mr Hamilton said. “Alex Salmond will forever be a pivotal figure in Scotland’s story. He changed a nation. He inspired a country. “History will certainly remember him as a man of talent, charisma and substance. But also as a political leader of courage, vision and intelligence. “He dared to dream. And so should we.” As the service finished the crowd gathered outside applauded and chanted “Alex, Alex” before singing Flower Of Scotland.Omnicom Group has agreed to buy Interpublic Group in a deal, valued at $US13.3 billion ($20.6 billion) excluding debt, that will create the world’s largest advertising company, The Australian Financial Review’s Fareed Sahloul and Mark Bergen report. Under the terms of the agreement announced on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), Interpublic shareholders will receive 0.344 Omnicom shares for each share of Interpublic common stock they own. Led by chief executive officer John Wren, Omnicom serves more than 5000 clients in over 70 countries, according to its website. Its network of agencies includes BBDO, DDB and TBWA. Interpublic is run by CEO Philippe Krakowsky and has about 55,000 employees, its website shows. [Read more] Rupert Murdoch has failed in his attempt to change the terms of a family trust that would have consolidated his son Lachlan’s control over a media empire that spans Fox News, The Wall Street Journal , The New York Post , The Australian and The Daily Telegraph and Sky News Australia, The Australian Financial Review’s Sam Buckingham Jones reported. A Nevada court ruled resoundingly against Mr Murdoch, 93, rejecting his efforts to preserve his media empire’s conservative editorial position. Murdoch and his lawyers had argued that it would be better for the entire family if Lachlan, now the chairman of News Corporation and the executive chairman of Fox Corporation, oversaw the business. The blockbuster lawsuit had pitted Mr Murdoch and Lachlan against the rest of the family – James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod. [Read more] News Corp is edging closer to securing a deal for its pay TV and streaming group Foxtel with the billionaire-backed streaming platform DAZN, potentially taking the company that broadcasts the AFL and the NRL into foreign ownership, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Calum Jaspan . Having put the business up for sale publicly in August, News Corp is in late-stage negotiations with DAZN, a sports streaming business backed by British-Ukrainian billionaire Len Blavatnik. DAZN, which broadcasts the NFL, MMA and UEFA Women’s Champions League in Australia, emerged as the likely buyer for Foxtel after talks broke down between News Corp and US private equity firm Platinum earlier this year over the former’s unrealistic asking price. The deal to sell Foxtel for an undisclosed sum could be completed before Christmas, three sources with knowledge of the deal said. Foxtel’s debt load is about $1.2 billion. The news was first reported by Capital Brief . Sky has struck a crucial content deal with Warner Bros Discovery, the owner of the film studio behind Barbie and HBO shows including Succession, averting a potential crippling exodus of shows as the Hollywood giant prepares the launch of its Max streaming service, The Guardian’s Mark Sweeney reports. Under the deal between Sky’s parent company Comcast and WBD, the ad-supported versions of WBD’s Max and Discovery+ services will be bundled for Sky customers from April 2026. However, it has not been able to launch its full streaming service, Max, because of an existing deal with Sky. Max is scheduled to launch in the UK and Ireland in 2026, after the expiry of the current deal with Sky at the end of next year. [Read more] After months of feverish buzz, musical juggernaut Wicked being nominated in several categories for the 2025 Golden Globes is hardly a surprise, The Daily Telegraph’s Bronte Coy reports. But an unexpected – and fairly significant – snub among the team who brought it from stage to screen has certainly raised some eyebrows. Wicked is up for four awards, including for its stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. It’s also nominated for Best Picture and in the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement categories – making it all the more surprising that the film’s director, Jon M. Chu, didn’t make the cut himself. The full list of nominations was announced by Mindy Kaling and Morris Chestnut on Monday morning, LA time, with drug cartel musical Emilia Pérez leading the entire pack with an impressive 10 nominations. [Read more] Originally valued at $4.7 million, the slippers exceeded that price within seconds of bidding at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, eventually selling to an unidentified buyer for an eye-watering $43 million, ABC reports. After forking out the winning bid and auction house fees, the buyer is expected to pay a total of $50.8 million for the slippers. The aged footwear are one of four remaining pairs worn by Garland during the filming of the 1939 classic film. But these are the only pair that were, up until a few years ago, at large. [Read more] The popular social media app TikTok may soon be banned in the US following a Friday decision from a federal appeals court . Though president-elect Donald Trump came out against shutting down the app on the campaign trail, experts expressed doubts in his ability to halt a ban, The Australian’s Connor Smith reports. Trump could opt not to enforce a ban by telling Apple, Google and TikTok’s other service providers that he will not punish them for keeping TikTok up and running, according to Sarah Bauerle Danzman , an associate professor of international studies at Indiana University Bloomington. But such a move may not keep the lights on at TikTok. “This could set up a legal battle, and the app stores likely do not feel comfortable being in violation of the law even if Trump says he won’t enforce it,” she said. [Read more] The Guardian has published two letters from current and former staff attacking the chair of the Scott Trust, the limited company which owns Guardian Media Group, The Press Gazette’s Dominic Ponsford reports. Scott Trust chair Ole Jacob Sunde wrote an article in The Guardian on Saturday explaining why the Trust has decided to sell The Observer to Tortoise Media, saying the move followed “extensive internal and external consultation”. Some 125 Guardian and Observer staff have signed a letter published by the title today taking issue with this and asking further questions about the sale of The Observer, which was agreed last Thursday. Those signing the letter include star Guardian writers like Simon Hattenstone , Polly Toynbee and Marina Hyde . [Read more]
The union representing Toronto Public Health employees says the city has issued layoff notices to all workers at the The Works safe injection site with the site set to close next spring due to recent legislation from the Ontario government. The safe consumption site at 277 Victoria St. is one of five sites slated to close in the city once the legislation comes into effect next March. The layoffs include four permanent community health officer roles and 29 temporary harm reduction counsellors, CUPE Local 79 President Nas Yadollahi said Monday morning. "By eliminating these positions, the city is dismantling a critical piece of its public health strategy to address the opioid crisis," Yadollahi said at a news conference. "These are the very workers who prevent overdoses, provide essential supports and connect people to the care they need." Yadollahi said the union is calling on the city to instead redeploy these workers "and allow them to perform duties within what is allowed under provincial law." Province to close 5 Toronto supervised drug consumption sites Ontario tables bill to ban some supervised consumption sites Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government fast-tracked legislation that prohibits and closes any sites within 200 metres of a school or daycare, and effectively stops any new sites from opening. The new rules also require municipalities to get the health minister's approval to apply for an exemption from the federal government to launch new supervised consumption sites. WATCH | Impending closure of consumption sites worries health-care workers, advocates: 10 supervised drug consumption sites in Ontario set to close by March 2025 5 days ago Duration 6:42 There is a push to save 10 supervised drug consumption sites in Ontario that are set to be closed because of their close proximity to schools and daycares. Health workers, advocates and users of the sites have warned of a spike in deaths when the sites close by March 31, 2025. Toronto Centre Coun. Chris Moise, chair of chair of the city's board of health, said the board asked the city to maintain funding for the staff positions in its 2025 budget but that Toronto Public Health had to provide layoff notices under the rules of its collective agreements. "It's a procedural process. Because they're unionized employees, we have a collective agreement we have to honour," he said. Moise said the city doesn't want to close its safe injection site at 277 Victoria St. but has no other choice. "This is not something the city wants to do, but we are governed by provincial and federal laws," he said. He said the city will try to find jobs for the workers with the City of Toronto. Front-line workers fear closures will lead to more deaths More than 2,600 Ontarians died last year due to overdoses , the vast majority due to opioid toxicity. At a board of health meeting Monday, dozens of people spoke about their fears that the supervised injection site closures will have devastating impacts for the community. The speakers included Meghan White, a front-line worker at one of the supervised consumption sites slated to close. "Working in the site, I've met individuals who bring such an irreplaceable uniqueness to the world," she told the board. The new provincial legislation has essentially "handed a death sentence" to the clients she works with on a daily basis amidst an overdose crisis that is claiming lives every day," she said. Ford government's opioid strategy outdated, auditor general says 'A lot of interest' for HART hubs, Ontario health minister says, as Sanguen Health urges rethink White said she fears the number of overdose deaths will skyrocket once those sites close. "The grief felt among the community is going to continue to become unbearable." Another frontline harm reduction worker who spoke at the meeting said she's personally lost 24 people to overdoses in recent years, and fears that number will only continue to grow. Marina Classen said living through the overdose crisis has felt like living through a war. "No one should have to bear the weight of that grief and trauma, but the sad thing is I'm one of so many that carry those experiences now," she said. Hannah Jensen, spokesperson for Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, said each drug consumption site slated to close will have the opportunity to turn into a homelessness and addictions recovery treatment (HART) hub funded by the province. In an email, Jensen said the HART hubs will connect people to more comprehensive care than the support services previously provided by supervised consumption sites, including addiction programs, supportive housing and other social services.