Ethel Kennedy, supporter of family legacy, dies at 96
(NYT) — Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and a popular and vital force in the Kennedy political dynasty, died Thursday. She was 96.
Her grandson Joe Kennedy III announced the death on the social platform X, giving the cause as complications of a stroke she had last week. He did not say where she died.
Ethel Kennedy’s passion for politics was so consuming that she was often said to be “more Kennedy than the Kennedys.” Displaying energy and humor, she campaigned tirelessly for her husband and other Kennedys, much of the time while pregnant.
Her 11th and last child was born after her husband’s assassination in 1968 in Los Angeles, as he campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Kennedy never remarried, and her subsequent life was devoted to rearing her children, keeping alive the memory of her husband and working on behalf of the causes he had championed.
One dead, 12 trapped 1,000 feet underground at Colorado mine tourist attraction
(Reuters) — One person was dead and 12 others were trapped 1,000 feet (300 meters) underground on Thursday following an unspecified elevator failure at a former Colorado gold mine that is now a tourist attraction, officials said.
Another 11 people were rescued from the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine attraction in Cripple Creek, Colorado, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told reporters.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ trial set for May
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Sean “Diddy” Combs will stand trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges starting on May 5, a U.S. judge decided during a hearing on Thursday, and the jailed hip-hop mogul blew kisses to his family in the courtroom afterward.
During the hearing before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan federal court, Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo also raised concerns about what he termed improper leaks by federal agents about the case. Prosecutor Emily Johnson called the claim baseless.
Combs, 54, pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to a three-count indictment charging him with using his business empire — including record label Bad Boy Entertainment — to transport women and male sex workers across state lines to take part in recorded sexual performances called “Freak Offs.”
Harris overtakes Trump among suburban voters: Reuters/Ipsos poll
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has erased Republican rival Donald Trump’s advantage in the vast middle of American society: suburban residents and middle-income households, an analysis of Reuters/Ipsos polling shows.
Since President Joe Biden ended his flagging reelection bid on July 21, Vice President Harris has pulled into the lead in both of these large demographic groups, reinvigorating Democrats’ prospects in the Nov. 5 election, though the race remains exceptionally close.
Suburbanites, who make up about half of the U.S. electorate and are as racially diverse as the nation at large, are a key prize. Biden beat Trump in suburban counties by about six percentage points in the 2020 presidential election.
Before Biden dropped out, Trump was leading him 43% to 40% among suburbanites in Reuters/Ipsos polls conducted in June and July, reflecting the Democrat’s struggle to energize supporters.
More than 15M US adults have ADHD, new study estimates
(Reuters) — Roughly 15.5 million U.S. adults have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and most of them struggle with gaining access to treatment for the condition, according to data from a U.S. study released on Thursday.
Only about one-third of those reporting a diagnosis of ADHD said they had received a prescription for a stimulant drug used to treat it in the previous year, researchers reported in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
In addition, nearly three quarters of those with a prescription for a stimulant drug reported difficulty getting it filled because the medication was unavailable.
Worldwide, around 2% to 5% of adults experience ADHD symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. This study provides the first prevalence data on ADHD in U.S. adults since 2003.
The amphetamine drug, commonly sold under the brand name Adderall, is a first-line, or initial option, treatment for adults with ADHD.
Prescribing has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but shortages of this and other stimulant medications have affected patients who rely on it, the study found.
ADHD symptoms typically begin in childhood. In the survey, however, 55% of those with the condition said they had been diagnosed as adults.
Israeli army deliberately killed doctors in Gaza, UN panel says
(TNS) — Israel has carried out a concerted effort to destroy Gaza’s health-care system, including by deliberately killing medical staff in the war zone, a United Nations panel said.
The Israeli military has “deliberately killed, wounded, arrested, detained, mistreated and tortured” health-care personnel and has targeted medical vehicles and facilities amid its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a U.N.-backed commission said in a report out Thursday. Those violations constitute war crimes, it said.
Spokespeople for the Israeli mission to the U.N., as well as the Israeli army and the foreign ministry, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, and the U.N. said Israel didn’t cooperate with the investigation. Israel has previously denied targeting civilian or humanitarian facilities or staff, saying they’ve been endangered because Hamas uses such places as cover.
The commission also found that the Israel Defense Forces deliberately targeted pediatric and neonatal facilities, which has led to “incalculable suffering” especially among women and small children. Those actions could lead to the “the destruction of generations of Palestinian children and, potentially, the Palestinian people as a group,” the panel said.
Republicans appear poised to take control of Senate, new poll shows
(NYT) — Control of the Senate appears likely to flip from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party this fall, as one of the nation’s most endangered Democrats, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, trails his Republican challenger in his bid for reelection, according to a new poll from The New York Times and Siena College.
Tester, who first won election to the Senate in 2006, is winning over moderate and independent voters and running far ahead of the Democrat at the top of the ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris.
But that does not appear to be enough to survive in Montana, a conservative state where former President Donald Trump is ahead by 17 percentage points and where control of the Senate hangs in the balance.
Tim Sheehy, a wealthy Republican businessperson and a former Navy SEAL, leads Tester 52% to 44%, the poll shows.
Democrats currently hold a 51-seat Senate majority. But with Republicans already set to pick up a seat after the retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., who caucuses with Democrats, the party cannot afford to lose additional seats.