Day: December 19, 2024

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By Ed Silverman
Dec. 19, 2024
Pharmalot Columnist, Senior Writer
Most of the formularies run by some of the largest health plans in the U.S. generally provide “fair access” to 11 treatments for several serious diseases, although transparent coverage information is often lacking for some medicines, a new analysis has found.
Almost uniformly, the 11 formularies made the drugs available fairly when judged on three criteria: eligibility based on clinical data, restrictions placed on prescribers, and step therapy, which requires patients to try other medicines before insurers approve a prescription. The formularies are run by health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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But only 81% of the formularies scored well on a fourth criterion: cost-sharing, which is the portion of expenses paid by insured individuals. Although there is a caveat: This particular metric was based on a subset of just three drugs that were deemed to be fairly priced based on a cost-effectiveness assessment — the Mounjaro type 2 diabetes treatment, and the Wegovy and Qsymia obesity drugs.
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Ed Silverman
Pharmalot Columnist, Senior Writer
Ed Silverman, a senior writer and Pharmalot columnist at STAT, has been covering the pharmaceutical industry for nearly three decades.
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By Jesse Whittock
International TV Co-Editor
Here’s the trailer for Shared Custody, the Spanish-language Disney+ comedy-drama series from Javier Fesser.
The eight-part show, from Fremantle-owned producer The Immigrant, is due to launch globally on January 24, 2025, as Campeones (Champions) and Camino director Fesser’s first foray into TV. We first revealed news of the show in July.
The trailer sees leads Lorena López (The Long Shadows, The House) and Ricard Farré (Good Manners, Polònia) coming to terms with their mutually-agreed separation, and their commitment to remaining friendly for the sake of their five-year-old daughter.

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For differing reasons, they’re forced to move back in with their respective parents, but things don’t go to plan. At one point in the trailer, which does not have English subtitles, Adriana Ozores’ character walks in on her son while he’s on the toilet, as the living situation becomes worse and worse and places strain on López and Farré’s uncoupled pair.

The show was written and created by Juanjo Moscardó Rius, who created the Goya-nominated A Shitty Therapy, and María Mínguez (Vivir dos Veces). Fesser, winner of a Goya for Best Director for his film Camino and a Best Film award for Campeones, directs the series in the first work that he has not directly written.
The series marks the first out of Spain for The Immigrant, which is behind films such as the Crystal Bear-winning Adolfo and ViX series Ella Camina Sola and Todo lo que Fuimos, which we revealed news of in October 2023. 
Speaking to Deadline earlier this year, The Immigrant co-founder Camila Jiménez-Villa recalled how they approached Fesser, who is known for very carefully selecting his films.
“It was the first time he had directed somebody else’s material — he is notoriously difficult to attach to projects,” she said. “We weren’t aware of that when we reached out, which was probably a good thing. One of the most rewarding things has been talking to Javier after the shoot had finished and hearing it was among the most amazing experiences of his life and that not writing it gave him lots of freedom as a director. It was beautiful.”
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The debate over Bitcoin’s fixed supply has been reignited by a video from BlackRock, raising questions about the possibility of changing the 21 million unit cap. This discussion has sparked varied reactions within the crypto community, highlighting the importance of this feature for bitcoin.
In a recent video, BlackRock explained that Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million units, a characteristic often highlighted as one of the main advantages of the cryptocurrency as a store of value. However, the video also contained a disclaimer stating that there is “no guarantee” that this limit will not change in the future.
Michael Saylor, chairman of MicroStrategy, reposted the video, emphasizing the importance of this fixed cap for the scarcity and value of BTC. Some critics have suggested that this disclaimer might indicate an imperfect understanding of Bitcoin’s immutable nature by BlackRock.
The question of whether Bitcoin’s supply can be modified depends on the very definition of “Bitcoin.” According to Super Testnet, changing the supply would require a consensus among community members, including node operators, core developers, miners, and investors. Such a change would likely entail a hard fork of the blockchain, creating a new chain with different rules.
However, it emphasizes that even if this is theoretically possible, the resulting new chain would no longer be considered Bitcoin. “The inflation cap is a defining characteristic of Bitcoin,” he stated, referring to Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper.
The idea of an uncapped supply could have profound implications for Bitcoin. The scarcity of BTC is often cited as a key reason for its appeal as a store of value. If this scarcity were to be called into question, it could affect investor perceptions and the value of the crypto.
In summary, although BlackRock’s video has reignited the debate over Bitcoin’s fixed supply, it is unlikely that this fundamental characteristic will be changed without significant consensus within the community. The immutable nature of Bitcoin remains one of its main strengths, and any attempt to alter this feature would likely meet considerable resistance.
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Le monde évolue et l’adaptation est la meilleure arme pour survivre dans cet univers ondoyant. Community manager crypto à la base, je m’intéresse à tout ce qui touche de près ou de loin à la blockchain et ses dérivés. Dans l’optique de partager mon expérience et de faire connaître un domaine qui me passionne, rien de mieux que de rédiger des articles informatifs et décontractés à la fois.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
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Teehee’s Comedy Club will soon be moving into the former Spaghetti Works space on Court Avenue.
Des Moines’ Board of Adjustment voted unanimously Wednesday to allow Teehee’s co-owners AJ Simmons and Dave Boelman operate an entertainment venue at 310 Court Ave. The ground floor of the historic building — which the restaurant occupied from 1978 to 2023 — has sat on the market for over a year.
After Teehee’s closed its Walnut Street spot in June with plans for a new location, rumors circulated that it was eyeing the long-vacant spot.
With multiple parties interested, including longtime Des Moines bar owner Larry Smithson, it seemed Teehee’s may have missed its chance. But now, Simmons and Boelman have a formal agreement to purchase the space.
The pair presented plans to the city that include a small kitchen, a bar and two stages. On a good night, they expect to have some live music in addition to comedy, with two shows on a small stage and two on a larger one. They’ll invest about $4.1 million in the acquisition and remodeling of the old Spaghetti Works, preserving the sign, woodwork and stained glass.
Simmons said the new club will create roughly 20 full-time jobs.
“It will increase traffic in the best way, in terms of driving patrons to other bars and restaurants. It’ll add vibrancy. And it’ll be something different, which is desperately needed on Court Avenue,” said board member Heather Ann Roe, owner of the KIN jewelry shop in the East Village.
The proposal is a far shot from Smithson’s plan, which the Board of Adjustment rejected in October. It called for the revival of his East Village party bar Big Lars. Neighbors roundly denounced the idea, asking instead for a restaurant or a more family-friendly entertainment option.
“We’re not there to sell Jell-O shots,” Simmons said. “We’re here to put on great shows and enrich our community.”
Simmons, a local comedian, and Boleman, an accountant with a passion for the scene, bought the Teehee’s business in 2022. When they decided to leave their leased location on Walnut Street this past summer, they had plans to open in a new one as early as January.
Now, it everything goes perfectly, Teehee’s could reopen on Court Avenue in June.
“It’s a lot of money,” Boleman explained, a million dollars of which he’s self-funding. “At the end of day, I had to get right in my head the financial commitment I was making, and I had to enlist my bank and ask how it was going to come together.”
Boleman said that while he and Simmons don’t have all of their financing identified, they’ll do what it takes to get the job done.
“We’re both chomping at the bit,” he said.
Two months after the Board of Adjustment rejected Smithson’s request to open a bar in the former restaurant, effectively ending his bid to buy it, Smithson showed up at Wednesday’s meeting to tell the board that he wanted Teehee’s to be held to the same standards he was.
“I see comedy as a crutch to get by,” he said, pointing to the city’s proposed requirement that he make at least 51% of his revenue from food sales if he bought Spaghetti Works. “This is just purely a bar, period.”
Smithson added that he saw nothing in Simmons and Boleman’s proposal that was better than his plans for a bar with games and giant beer pong.
Addison Lathers covers growth and development in Des Moines. Reach her at 608-931-1761 or alathers@registermedia.com, and follow her on X at @addisonlathers

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Government shutdown nears after Trump and Musk kill compromise  The Washington Post
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THE DECODER
Artificial Intelligence: News, Business, Research
The latest version of Pinokio brings major improvements to the open-source AI model browser and installation tool. Version 3.0 introduces a customizable interface, better package management, and the ability to automate browser interactions.
Users can now fully customize the interface using CSS code, changing how the start page, app pages, and terminal look. The developer, who goes by “cocktail peanut,” says they’ll release more themes soon.
Pinokio 3.0 now uses UV as its native package manager for Python, which the developer calls the best option available. UV will soon replace pip in Gepeto as well, which should make installing new packages much faster.
The update also makes it easier to manage installed apps by showing how much disk space each one uses. When something goes wrong, users now get helpful error messages instead of the cryptic “ENOENT: File not found” notifications they used to see.
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A new JSON manipulation API lets users edit structured JSON files directly through their Pinokio scripts. Since the scripts themselves are written in JSON, developers can set, delete, or read values – and even modify the scripts themselves.
The update also brings browser automation through Playwright integration. This means Pinokio scripts can now do more than just launch apps – they can control them directly in the browser, automating complex web-based workflows.
To make the platform easier to use, Pinokio now includes setup wizards that help users configure environment variables right in their scripts. The team has also built Hugging Face API support directly into the platform, making it fully compatible with the Hugging Face command-line interface.
The update fixes several technical problems, including port conflicts that happened when web servers were already running on port 80. MacOS users will also see better compatibility thanks to automatic CPU fallback when there are issues with Apple’s Metal platform. The developers also solved problems with duplicate files showing up in the system.
Pinokio is a free, open-source tool that works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Users have embraced it as an easy way to run open-source AI models like SDXL, Flux, and Whisper on their own computers. The platform also works well alongside specialized LLM tools including GPT4All, Ollama, and LM Studio.
Over the past few months, volunteers have steadily expanded Pinokio’s capabilities, making it one of the most practical solutions for running AI models locally. Users can get their models up and running without wrestling with complicated terminal commands or managing libraries manually.
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The 2024 World Conference on Traditional Medicine will be co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the National Health Commission of China, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM), and the Beijing Municipal Government. The event will take place in Beijing, China, from 3 to 4 December 2024 and will serve as an opportunity to improve global access to traditional and complementary medicine and its integration into healthcare systems worldwide.
Diversity, Inheritance and Innovation: Traditional Medicine for All
The conference will be a pivotal platform to enhance dialogue and collaboration among international experts, policy-makers, health workers, and traditional medicine practitioners. It will help advance progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all. Discussions will also align with the Global Strategy for Traditional Medicine (2025–2034), which WHO will present at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in May 2025.
 
Objectives
The conference will focus on several key objectives:
The two-day event will include a series of panel discussions and sessions covering diverse topics such as evidence-based traditional medicine, advanced technologies, AI applications in traditional medicine research, and the standardization and safety of herbal medicines. Keynote speakers will address critical issues related to regulation, integrative medicine, and the role of traditional medicine in primary healthcare.
 
A Global Gathering for Health Leaders
With representatives from all WHO regions, the conference will gather governmental health leaders, Nobel laureates, health workers, researchers, and public health officials. Participants will engage in collaborative discussions aimed at shaping the future of traditional medicine and its contribution to the highest attainable standard of health and well-being for all communities.

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The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk’s news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.Read More
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