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WOND News - VNC News

A man from Villas suspected in a stabbing has been arrested in Mississippi. 26 year old Imani S. Goodman was wanted in connection with a stabbing in Villas on Wednesday, April 3. Police arrived on the scene and found the victim sitting in a car in front of her home, suffering from multiple stab wounds. ... Read more

Mississippi , United-states , Imanis-goodman , Wond , Ond-am , 400am , 400 , Ews-talk , Ews , Alk , Tlantic-city

ABC Politics - WOND

Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- In the summer of 2019, only hours after an Iranian rocket accidentally exploded at one of Iran's own launch sites, senior U.S. officials met with then-president Donald Trump and shared a sharply detailed, highly classified image of the blast's catastrophic aftermath.The image was captured by a U.S. satellite whose true capabilities were a tightly guarded secret. But Trump wanted to share it with the world -- he thought it was especially "sexy" because it was marked classified, one of his former advisers later recalled to special counsel Jack Smith's investigators, according to sources familiar with the former adviser's statements.Worried that the image becoming public could hurt national security efforts, intelligence officials urged Trump to hold off until more knowledgeable experts were able to weigh in, the sources said. But less than an hour later, while at least one of those intelligence officials was in another building scrambling to get more information, Trump posted the image to Twitter."It was so upsetting, and people were really angry," one of Trump's former advisers told investigators, sources said.The public pushback to Trump's post was immediate: Intelligence experts and even international media questioned whether U.S. interests had just been endangered by what Trump did. When pressed about it at the White House, Trump insisted he hadn't released classified information because he had an "absolute right to do" it.While much of Smith's sprawling classified documents investigation has focused on how Trump handled classified materials after leaving the White House, a wide array of former aides and advisers -- including personal valets, press assistants, senior national security officials, and even Trump's briefers from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence -- have provided Smith with firsthand accounts about how Trump allegedly handled and used intelligence while still in office.Those firsthand accounts, as relayed to ABC News by sources, underscore what could be at stake as Trump seeks a return to the White House, and they are coming to light as he is likely on the verge of receiving formal government briefings again as the Republican Party's official nominee in the 2024 presidential election.In interviews with investigators last year, former aides and national security officials who were close to Trump in the White House described a president who could erupt in anger when presented with intelligence he didn't want to hear, who routinely reviewed and stored classified information in unsecured locations, and who had what some former officials described as "a cavalier attitude" toward the damage that could be done by its disclosure, according to sources.A book published on the CIA's website, describing the intelligence community's experience with Trump during his transition to the presidency and then his time in the White House, said that while Trump was "suspicious and insecure about the intelligence process," he still "engaged with it," even as he publicly attacked it.The book also noted that Trump was "unique" among presidents in that, before taking over the White House, "he had no experience handling classified information or working with military, diplomatic, or intelligence programs and operations."'Hand in the woodchipper'As former officials described meetings with Trump to Smith's team, Trump only wanted to listen to new information about certain parts of the world, according to sources.In particular, the sources said, Smith's team was told that Trump was uninterested in hearing about Latin America or countries that he similarly thought were not essential. The sources said witnesses confirmed previous public reporting that Trump referred to such places as "s---hole countries" and suggested the United States should stop welcoming migrants from them.Today, on the presidential campaign trail, Trump continues to rail against migrants from Latin American countries and others who reached the southern border through parts of Latin America.Sources said former officials also told Smith's team that Trump refused to listen to certain briefings related to Russia, saying Trump "absolutely" didn't want to hear about Russian influence operations, and he couldn't be convinced that Russian troops were already operating inside Ukraine -- even as his own administration was publicly calling out their routine incursions into the country's eastern region to support Russian-backed separatists.On the campaign trail, Trump recently insisted that he would have prevented Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 if he were still commander-in-chief.Family of man killed when Chicago police fired 96 times during traffic stop file wrongful death suitAccording to the sources, one of Trump's former advisers joked with Smith's team last year that bringing up Russia during a meeting with Trump was like "stick[ing] my hand in the woodchipper again."In its most recent worldwide assessment, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded that Russia continues to pose a significant threat to U.S. national security and, more broadly, to "rules-based international order."As he has done in public, Trump often privately disagreed with conclusions reached by the U.S. intelligence community, especially related to Russia and Ukraine, choosing instead to rely on unverified claims from other people, sources said that Smith's investigators were told.And sources said former aides confirmed to Smith's investigators previous media reports that Trump almost never read the President's Daily Brief, a report summarizing classified intelligence and analysis on the day's most pressing issues.Trump preferred to receive such summaries verbally, according to sources.Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Trump referred ABC News to a statement by the former president in which he called the classified documents case a "two-tiered system of justice and unconstitutional selective prosecution."A spokesperson for the special counsel declined to comment to ABC News.'Like a junk drawer'Throughout Trump's presidency, many of those who interacted with Trump every day saw him bring classified documents to unsecured locations, raising concerns among some of them, several witnesses told Smith's team, the sources said.As early as 2018, the Office of the Staff Secretary, which manages the documents flowing to the Oval Office, began asking personnel in the White House about documents that had gone missing, including some classified ones, one of Trump's personal valets told investigators, sources said.And at one point, sources said the valet recalled, he even warned the staff secretary's office that classified documents were being taken out of secure locations in white boxes and ending up in all sorts of potentially concerning places.According to the sources, several witnesses told Smith's team that they routinely saw classified documents or classified folders in Trump's White House residence, and that Trump would sometimes store as many as 30 boxes in his bedroom, which one valet said Trump treated "like a junk drawer."While it's not clear how many boxes at any given time in Trump's residence contained documents with classification markings, witnesses said they frequently observed boxes and papers traveling from the Oval Office to his residence that contained classified documents, according to sources familiar with what witnesses have told the special counsel."I did not think that he respected what classified information was," sources quoted one former official as telling investigators.In Trump's first year in office, several media reports described how Trump had allegedly exposed sensitive information: In February 2017, he and Japan's then-prime minister reportedly discussed a response to North Korea's latest ballistic missile test over dinner in a crowded dining room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and then two months later Trump told the Philippines pr

Florida , United-states , White-house , District-of-columbia , Russia , Philippines , Ukraine , Japan , Iran , North-korea , Chicago , Illinois

ABC National - WOND

SimpleImages/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.Here's how the news is developing:Apr 24, 5:17 PMMichael Cohen says he'll stop commenting about TrumpDonald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen vowed to stop making public comments about the former president ahead of his likely testimony in Trump's New York hush money case.On his podcast and on social media, Cohen has frequently commented about the former president's legal troubles. Trump's lawyers have argued that the former president's comments about Cohen -- which prosecutors allege were in violation of the case's limited gag order -- were in response to political attacks by Cohen."Despite not being the gagged defendant, out of respect for Judge Merchan and the prosecutors, I will cease posting anything about Donald on my X (formerly Twitter) account or on the Mea Culpa Podcast until after my trial testimony. See you all in a month (or more)," Cohen said on social media on Wednesday afternoon.Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche devoted a portion of his opening statement on Monday to attacking Cohen's credibility, describing the former lawyer as a "convicted perjurer" and "admitted liar" who has an "obsession with getting Trump."Cohen's testimony is expected to be a key part of the state's case against Trump, as prosecutors attempt to prove that Trump falsified business records as he, Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker engaged in a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election by suppressing negative stories about Trump.Apr 23, 2:34 PMTrump again assails judge for limited gag orderFormer President Trump, addressing reporters after court was adjourned for the day, angrily criticized Judge Merchan and the limited gag order that was the topic of this morning's contempt hearing."We have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional. I'm not allowed to talk but people are allowed to talk about me," Trump said. "So, they can talk about me, they can say whatever they want, they can lie. But I'm not allowed to say that. I just have to sit back and look at why a conflicted judge has ordered for me to have a gag order. I don't think anybody's ever seen anything like this."Shuffling through a thick stack of papers, which Trump said were news articles from the past day and a half, the former president continued his criticism."So, I put an article on it and then somebody's name is mentioned somewhere deep in the article and I ended up in violation of the gag order," he said. "I think it's a disgrace. It's totally unconstitutional."Prosecutors this morning asked the judge to fine Trump $10,000 for what the say are 10 recent violations of the limited gag order, which prohibits Trump from making statements about witnesses, jurors, and lawyers in the case other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.The judge has yet to issue a ruling.-Michael PappanoApr 23, 2:16 PMPecker testifies about Karen McDougal before court ends for day"Karen McDougal was a Playboy model," former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker said, recalling how he learned in June 2016 "that there's a Playboy model who is trying to sell a story about a relationship that she had with Donald Trump for a year."Pecker said he immediately called Trump's then-attorney Michael Cohen to inform him. By then, he was speaking to Cohen "a couple times a week," but that soon changed. Pecker said he and Cohen spoke "much more frequently" about McDougal's claims."Michael was very agitated. It looked like he was getting a lot of pressure to get the answer right away," Pecker said. "He kept on calling, and each time he called he seemed more anxious."Pecker said he assumed "Mr. Trump was asking Michael Cohen, 'Did we hear anything yet?'" Pecker said."Did you ever come to believe that Michael Cohen had spoken with Mr. Trump about McDougal's claims?" prosecutor Josh Steinglass asked."Yes I did," Pecker responded before recounting a phone conversation Pecker said he himself had with Trump."I said I think the story should be purchased and we should buy it," Pecker recalled telling Trump. "Mr. Trump said to me, 'I don't buy stories. Anytime you do anything like this, it always gets out.'"Ultimately, McDougal was paid $150,000 and promised a series of exercise articles in the publication.Following that testimony, court was adjourned.It's expected the jury will hear more on McDougal upon Pecker's return to the witness stand, when court resumes on Thursday.Apr 23, 2:05 PMPecker kept doorman under contract until after electionAccording to former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, Michael Cohen pushed for the National Enquirer to keep doorman Dino Sajudin locked into a contract until after the 2016 election, even though the story Sajudin was shopping about Trump having a love child were untrue."I told Michael Cohen the story was not true. I told him that the doorman is very difficult to deal with," Pecker testified.Cohen had earlier encouraged Pecker to add a $1 million penalty to Sajudin's contract if he broke the agreement and tried to shop around the story."He would breach this agreement and owe American Media a million dollars," Pecker said. "It was basically a lever over him to make sure that wouldn't happen."Cohen encouraged Pecker to keep Sajudin locked in, according to the former publisher."I am going release him one way or the other," Pecker said he told Cohen regarding Sajudin. "He said, 'No, release him after the election.'""When was he released?" prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Pecker."December 9, 2016," Pecker said."After the presidential election?" Steinglass asked."Yes," Pecker responded.Apr 23, 1:48 PMPecker details catch-and-kill deal with Trump Tower doormanFormer National Enquirer publisher David Pecker described the very first story he "caught and killed" pursuant to his agreement with Donald Trump and his then-attorney Michael Cohen: a false story from a Trump Tower doorman in 2015.Trump, sitting at the defense table, shook his head when Pecker laid out the allegation: that "Donald Trump fathered an illegitimate girl with a maid at Trump Tower."Pecker testified that he "immediately called Michael Cohen" when his team got wind of those allegations being shopped by the doorman, Dino Sajudin. Cohen told him it was "absolutely not true" -- but Pecker testified he ultimately moved forward with buying the story to the tune of $30,000."This could be a very big story. I believe that it's important that it should be removed from the market," Pecker said he told Cohen.Asked about Cohen's response, Pecker said: "He said the boss would be very pleased," saying he understood "the boss" to mean Donald Trump.Pecker testified that Cohen later called back to say the story is "absolutely not true" and that Trump "would take a DNA test" -- an apparently new revelation -- but Pecker said it wouldn't be necessary.Pecker conceded that if the story turned out to be true, it "probably would be the biggest sale" for the paper since the death of Elvis Presley.Still, Pecker testified he would have held it until after the campaign was over."I would have published it after the election," Pecker said. "That was the conversation I had with Michael Cohen, and that's what we agreed to."Ultimately, the story turned out to be untru

Hollywood , California , United-states , Trump-tower , New-york , White-house , District-of-columbia , State-of-new-york , Georgia , Manhattan , Pennsylvania , American

ABC Health - WOND

Isabel Pavia/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The overall number of births in the United States dropped in 2023 as teenage births reached a record low, according to new provisional federal data published early Thursday.In 2023, there were 3.59 million births recorded, a 2% decline from the 3.66 million recorded in 2022, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.This follows what has been a general decline since the mid-2010s. Between 2015 and 2020, the number of births fell an average of 2% per year from 2015 to 2020, including a decline of 4% from 2019 to 2020.Births slightly rose, by 1%, from 2020 to 2021, and the number remained generally steady from 2021 to 2022, according to the report.By maternal age, provisional birth rates declined for several age groups including teenagers between ages 15 and 19. For this group, the rate in 2023 was 13.2 births per 1,000 females down 3% from the rate of 13.6 per 1,000 in 2022, another record low for that age group.Aside from an increase in 2006 and 2007, the teen birth rate in the U.S. has been continuously declining since 1991. From 2007 through 2023, rates for younger teens (ages 15-17) and older teens (ages 18-19) declined by 8% and 6% per year, respectively, the report found.Reasons for the decline in teen pregnancy are not clear but the CDC says evidence suggests it's due to a mix of more teens abstaining from sexual activity, and more sexually active teens using birth control.Birth rates also declined for women between ages 20 to 29 and ages 30 to 39. For pre-teens and teens between ages 10 and 14 and women aged 40 and older, rates were relatively unchanged from 2022 to 2023.Additionally, the fertility rate for women between ages 15 and 44 was 54.4 births per 1,000, down 3% from 2022, the report said. Similarly, the fertility rate had been declining from 2014 to 2020, rose from 2020 to 2021, and then began declining again."The total fertility rate in 2023 remained below replacement -- the level at which a given generation can exactly replace itself (2,100 births per 1,000 women)," the report read. "The rate has generally been below replacement since 1971 and consistently below replacement since 2007."When broken down by race/ethnicity, nearly every group saw a decline in the provisional numbers of births with the biggest drop being 5% for American Indian and Alaska Native women. Hispanic women were the only group to see births rise, increasing by 1%, and the number was essentially unchanged for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander women.The report also looked at Cesarean delivery rates and found that in 2023, the overall rate increased to 32.4%, from 32.1% in 2022. According to the report, this is the fourth annual consecutive increase after the rate had been in decline since 2009 and the highest rate since 32.7% in 2013.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

United-states , Alaska , American , Isabel-pavia-getty , Health-statistics , Centers-for-disease , Prevention-national-center , Disease-control , National-center , American-indian , Alaska-native , Native-hawaiian

ABC World - WOND

omersukrugoksu/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday the U.S. had secretly provided Ukraine with a long-range Army Tactical Missile System that can reach deep into Russian-occupied areas -- or even strike more deeply into Russia itself, potentially provoking a response from the Kremlin, though America intends them only for use in occupied territory.The missiles, also known as ATACMS, have a maximum range of 186 miles. Ukraine first used them over the past week, two U.S. officials said.In October, America provided Ukraine with mid-range versions of the ATACMS, which have a minimum range of 43 miles. But Ukraine continued to press the Biden administration to provide longer-range versions.The White House's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that in February, President Joe Biden directed his team to provide Ukraine with a "significant" number of ATACMS missiles for use inside Ukrainian territory -- against Russian invaders.Sullivan said those shipments started moving in March.Biden "quietly directed his national security team to send ATACMS," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Charlie Dietz told ABC News.In mid-March, at a time when Ukraine military aid funding was stalled in Congress and Russia was making incremental gains on the battlefield, the Pentagon cobbled together an emergency $300 million package from savings from contracts to replace existing weapons systems provided to Ukraine.U.S. officials are now acknowledging that the package secretly contained a shipment of ATACMS but it was not disclosed that they were longer range versions of the missiles."When the President approved the provision of ATACMS in February, he asked his team to do so discreetly and they were transferred quietly to Ukraine in order to maintain operational security," Dietz, the Pentagon spokesman, said."We did not announce that we were providing Ukraine with this new capability at the time in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request," Dietz said. "I will defer questions about their potential use to Ukraine since they should speak for their own military operations." (A source close to the commander in chief of the Ukrainian army and a military intelligence source confirm the ATACMS were first used last week in an attack on Crimea.)Sullivan, at the White House briefing, was frank about how the U.S. sees the potential impact of the new weapons."There is no silver bullet in this conflict. One capability is not going to be the ultimate solution," he said. "It is an amalgamation of capabilities that come together and combined with the bravery and skill of Ukraine's fighters that's going to make the difference in this conflict."Retired Gen. Robert Abrams, an ABC News contributor, said ATACMS make a material difference on the battlefield, changing the "geometry" of the fight, but Ukraine's precision and its target judgments are x-factors."It makes a big explosion," Abrams said of the missiles. "So they [the Ukrainians] have a list of what we call high-value targets, things that are most important to the Russian war-making machine. They have to translate that high-value target list to a high-payoff target list.""If they use them right, it can set the Russian campaign back a little," he said.Sullivan was pressed at Wednesday's briefing by ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang on whether the ATACMS could be seen as provocative by Russia, who have warned against their use in the past.He said the Russians have accepted long-range missiles from countries including North Korea."They have used those on the battlefield," he said. "They have used them to attack Ukrainian civilians as well."Two U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News that the longer-range missiles were employed over the last week. One of the officials said the ATACMS were first used in a strike deep into the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed a decade ago, and in another attack on Tuesday near Berdyansk.Officials said the Biden administration previously hesitated in providing the longer-range versions over concerns that it might impact the supply of the missiles that the Pentagon has on hand."Up until recently, and as we have said on many occasions, we were unable to provide long-range ATACMS to Ukraine because of readiness concerns," said Dietz. Sullivan echoed that point as well."But behind the scenes, the Administration has been working relentlessly to address these concerns," Dietz said.More broadly, since Russia's invasion began in 2022, America has temporarily resisted Ukrainian requests for other munitions and aid, including F-16 fighter jets or certain kinds of tanks, with officials saying they were not immediately suited to Ukraine's needs or could escalate the conflict to engulf more of the region.Ultimately, however, the U.S. has continued to supply Ukraine with a wide range of aid in its fight, in part because of Russia's continued onslaught.Russia's use of ballistic missiles, provided by North Korea, seemed to factor into the Biden administration's new willingness to provide Ukraine with long range ATACMs.Ukraine had been desperately requesting air defense systems to counter Russia's increased attacks on Ukrainian cities.Dietz noted on Wednesday how the U.S. "had warned Russia against acquiring North Korean ballistic missiles and against renewing its attacks against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure."Separately on Wednesday, Biden signed a $95 billion aid package that includes military assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.His signature triggered a $1 billion emergency military aid package to Ukraine that included additional air defense systems and artillery ammunition to restore Ukraine's depleted supplies and Bradley fighting vehicles.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Israel , Kremlin , Moskva , Russia , Washington , United-states , Ukraine , Crimean-peninsula , Krym , Avtonomna-respublika , Taiwan , North-korea

ABC Entertainment

Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount + © 2022 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.As reported back in January, nearly a year to the day he was almost killed in a snowplow accident, Jeremy Renner revealed he was back on the set of the Paramount+ show Mayor of Kingstown.Renner suffered more than 31 broken bones and had other serious injuries from the accident, but to this day, his co-stars are as in awe of his recovery as Renner's fans are.Michael Beach plays Kareem Moore in the series and told ABC Audio he was shocked to learn how close Renner came. "Things that he told me that I didn't know that, you know, like the fact that he actually died and they brought him back. I didn't know that," the award-winning actor says.Beach added, "It's remarkable to see what he is doing. And pretty much I don't think ... anyone watching will have any idea. You can't see anything different."Beach continues, "On set, of course, he needs — he needs a little more breaks. He's always got to exercise. He's got to stretch. He's got special chairs to sit in and stuff like that. But, you know, it's so quick ... from his accident — to see the things that he can do is incredible."Beach adds with a laugh, "So, yeah, he really is a superhero, man. He really is."Mayor of Kingstown returns to Paramount+ for season 3 on June 2. Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kingstown , Saint-george , Saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines , Jeremy-rennerrevealed , Michael-beach , Kareem-moore , Viacom-international-inc , All-rights , Wond , Ond-am , 400am , 400

WOND News - VNC News

Replenishment of Sea Isle City beaches is ongoing. Beaches from 83rd to 94th street should be completed within the next week, after which beach-fill will be placed from 83rd to 73rd street. Following work at the south end, beach-filling operations will move downtown, where replenishment will take place between about 29th and 53rd streets. Based ... Read more

Sea-isle-city , Wond , Ond-am , 400am , 400 , Ews-talk , Ews , Alk , Tlantic-city , Inwood , Ew-jersey

ABC National - WOND

Oliver Helbig/Getty Images(FAIRBANKS, Alaska) -- A Douglas C-54 aircraft transporting fuel crashed into a frozen river shortly after takeoff Tuesday in Fairbanks, Alaska, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.Two people were on board the plane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is also investigating the incident.Preliminary information showed that the Part 91 fuel transport flight operated by Alaska Air Fuel crashed into the Tanana River after taking off from Fairbanks International Airport around 10 a.m. local time, officials said."The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire. No survivors have been located," the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement shortly before 2 p.m. local time.The NTSB deployed agents to the scene of the crash and will recover the plane, the agency said.The airport said in a statement that it is cooperating with the investigation.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tanana-river , Alaska , United-states , Fairbanks-international-airport , Fairbanks , Oliver-helbig-getty , National-transportation-safety-board , Aviation-administration , Alaska-department-of-public-safety , National-transportation-safety , Federal-aviation-administration , Alaska-air-fuel

ABC Health - WOND

Thir Sakdi Phu Cxm / EyeEm/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- In a first-of-its-kind procedure, a terminally ill patient has become the first person in the world to undergo a gene-edited pig kidney transplant and also have a mechanical heart pump surgically implanted.Surgeons at NYU Langone Health, in New York City, performed the operation in two steps, the first being the implantation of the heart pump. The second took place days later, with the transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney and the pig's thymus gland -- which makes white blood cells to help the immune system fight disease -- to help prevent rejection.The patient is 54-year-old Lisa Pisano, from New Jersey, who was facing heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, NYU Langone said Wednesday. Due to several chronic conditions, including being on dialysis, she was not a candidate for a heart transplant or a kidney transplant, the hospital said.Additionally, Pisano has high levels of antibodies harmful to human tissue that would make it difficult to find a match for a human kidney transplant, according to the hospital. However, these antibodies were not harmful to gene-edited pig organs."All I want is the opportunity to have a better life," Pisano said in a statement. "After I was ruled out for a human transplant, I learned I didn't have a lot of time left. My doctors thought there may be a chance I could be approved to receive a gene-edited pig kidney, so I discussed it with my family and my husband."The NYU team says it believes this is the first documented case of a patient with a mechanical heart pump receiving an organ transplant of any kind. What's more, this is just the second case of a gene-edited pig kidney transplanted into a living person, and the first with the thymus combined, according to the hospital.The first case occurred last month when a surgical team at Massachusetts General Hospital connected the pig kidney's blood vessels and ureter with those of 62-year-old Richard Slayman, a man living with end-stage kidney disease. The hospital has said he continues to recover well.Pisano's two procedures were performed by separate surgical teams about nine days apart. The first, on April 4, involved the surgical insertion of a device called a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which helps pump blood from the lower left heart chamber to the rest of the body.NYU Langone says it typically is used in patients who are waiting for a heart transplant or are ineligible to receive a transplant. The hospital added that Pisano would only have days or weeks to live without the LVAD.Although end-stage kidney disease typically rules out patients from receiving an LVAD, the novel approach of using a gene-edited pig kidney helped get her approved for the procedure, according to doctors."Without the possibility of a kidney transplant, she would not have been eligible as a candidate for an LVAD due to the high mortality in patients on dialysis with heart pumps," said Dr. Nader Moazami, chief of the division of heart and lung transplantation and mechanical circulatory support for the department of cardiothoracic surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, who was one of the doctors who performed the LVAD surgery."This unique approach is the first time in the world that LVAD surgery has been done on a dialysis patient with a subsequent plan to transplant a kidney. The measure for success is a chance at a better quality of life and to give Lisa more time to spend with her family," Moazami continued.Doctors say the pig kidney has a single genetic modification, to "knock out" the gene that produces a sugar known as alpha-gal. Studies have shown that removing alpha-gal helps prevent rejection of xenotransplanted, or non-human, organs."By using pigs with a single genetic modification, we can better understand the role one key stable change in the genome can have in making xenotransplantation a viable alternative," Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the transplant surgery and is chair of the department of surgery and director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, said in a statement."Since these pigs can be bred and do not require cloning like more complex gene edits, this is a sustainable, scalable solution to the organ shortage. If we want to start saving more lives quickly, using fewer modifications and medications will be the answer," Montgomery said.Pisano's two-step procedure required clearance by NYU Langone's institutional review board and approval from the Food and Drug Administration under its "compassionate use" program, which often allows non-traditional methods to be used when a patient has a serious or life-threatening condition.The xenotransplantation was performed on April 11 and Pisano continues to recover well, the hospital said.Last year, researchers at NYU Langone Health in New York City conducted a two-month study of a genetically engineered pig kidney that had been transplanted into a 58-year-old man who had been declared brain-dead, with his family's consent. The team observed only mild rejection that required intensifying immunosuppression medication to reverse it.Experts have expressed hope that being able to transfer animal organs into human patients will help the future of the organ supply.Currently, more than 103,000 men, women and children are on the national transplant waiting list, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. Each day, 17 people die waiting for a transplant and, every eight minutes, someone is added to the transplant list, according to the HRSA.What's more, many donor organs -- including kidneys -- are needlessly discarded every year, research shows. If these types of transplants for kidneys prove to work and be safe -- this could one day make dialysis unnecessary for the more than 500,000 people in the United States who require it to live, according to the National Kidney Foundation."It is incredible to consider the scientific achievements that have led to our ability to save Lisa's life, and what we are endeavoring to do as a society for everyone in need of a life-saving organ," Montgomery said.However, the edited animal organs bring up questions about if they will work long term, if they are safe and if it is ethical raising animals for human organ transplantation.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

United-states , New-york , New-jersey , Massachusetts , Robert-montgomery , Lisa-pisano , Nader-moazami , Richard-slayman , Human-services , Grossman-school-of-medicine , Services-administration , Langone-health

Brokerages Set Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Price Target at $154.08

Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J – Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year […]

India , United-states , Canada , New-zealand , Australia , America , Kevinc-berryman , Shelettem-gustafson , People-places-solutions , Jacobs-solutions-inc , Analyst-recommendations-for-jacobs-solutions