Month: October 2022

Police said on Sunday that a missing Michigan family of four, who went missing for nearly a week after the father called 911 and exhibited paranoid behavior, have been found safe in Wisconsin. Police found the Cirigliano family in the city of Steven’s Point, Wisconsin at around 11 a.m. Sunday. Authorities saying they interviewed all family members and determined they were safe.

The family has lived in Fremont, Michigan — a town of around 4,500, about 35 miles north of Grand Rapids — for four years, and prior to that they lived in the Jasper County area of South Carolina. The Fremont Police Department said in a statement: “The Fremont Police Department would like to thank you for all the helping locating the Cirigliano Family. They family was successfully located in Wisconsin.” Authorities added: “They are still of the opinion that people are after them, but the elements of the investigation do not meet the criteria for protective custody. The family member that was requiring full-time care is being cared for by other family members.”

The family — Anthony “Tony” John Cirigliano, 51, his wife Suzette Lee Cirigliano, 51, as well as their two sons, Brandon Michael Cirigliano, 19, and Noah Alexander Cirigliano, 15 — “unexpectedly” left their house in Fremont, about 45 miles north of Grand Rapids, on Oct. 16. Both sons are autistic, authorities said. The family’s cellphones had all been turned off and they left behind their pets as well as Suzette’s elderly mother, who has dementia and requires full-time care. The grandmother, who lives with them, was found disoriented in the neighborhood on Oct. 17 and police were unable to reunite her with the family. She is now being cared for by other relatives, according to Fremont Police.

Early last Sunday — the last day other family members had heard from the family — Anthony Cirigliano had exhibited paranoid behavior, according to state police. He called 911 and when officers arrived he “was talking about issues or information that he had regarding the Sept. 11th attacks.”  At the time, officers talked with Cirigliano at length after concern about his mental well-being, and they made contact with Suzette and looked at the two boys to make sure they were OK.

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Former prime minister Boris Johnson pulled out of the contest to become Britain’s next leader on Sunday, saying he had the support of enough lawmakers to progress to the next stage but “it would simply not be the right thing to do”.

In a statement, Mr Johnson said: “I led our party into a massive election victory less than three years ago – and I believe I am therefore uniquely placed to avert a general election now. I believe I am well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024 – and tonight I can confirm that I have cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a seconder, and I could put my nomination in tomorrow. There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members – and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday. But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.”

He said he had reached out to both Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt because he had “hoped that we could come together in the national interest – we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this. Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds. I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt remain in the contest, which closes at 14:00 BST on Monday.  Mr Sunak has the backing of 147 MPs, while Ms Mordaunt has 24. Candidates need the support of at least 100 MPs to go forward in the ballot.

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British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday after just six weeks in office, following weeks of controversy following a reversed economic plan that sent the pound plunging and the government into chaos. Having been formally appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 6 just days before the monarch’s death, Truss now becomes the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.

Complaints about Truss and her plans grew louder over the past weeks, not only from her opponents but fellow Conservatives as well, escalated further after a blunt resignation letter from ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman was shared.  On Wednesday Truss assured Parliament during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session that she was a “fighter, not a quitter;” but just day later Truss quit, saying in a brief speech outside No. 10 Downing St.: “We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance, and we set out a vision for a low tax, high growth economy — that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit … I recognize that given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to his majesty the king to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party. I will remain as prime minister until a successor is chosen.”

A leadership contest is now underway to decide the next head of the ruling Conservative Party, who will by default become the next prime minister, and will conclude in the next week. The opposition Labour Party called for an immediate national election. Some are calling for Truss’s predecessor, Boris Johnson, to return just months after resigning under pressure from his own party amid a wave of scandals. Johnson’s former finance minister, Rishi Sunak, is a favorite to replace Truss; he came second to Truss in the race to succeed Johnson.

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Missing Princeton University student Misrach Ewunetie was found dead Thursday, six days after she vanished on her way home from an event. Police confirmed that the 20-year-old’s body was found near the edge of the Ivy League campus. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday afternoon that an employee discovered her body “outside on the Facilities grounds” near the tennis courts. Prosecutors said in a statement: “There were no obvious signs of injury and her death does not appear suspicious or criminal in nature.”

The high-achieving student was last seen near the Scully Hall dorm building around 3 a.m. on Oct. 14. Her brother said her phone had pinged near an off-campus housing complex about a 30 minute walk from her dorm before it went silent. Police scoured the housing complex three times with no luck, and school officials had sent out multiple alerts urging anyone with information on her disappearance to come forward.

Ewunetie’s family, who are originally from Ethiopia and now live in Ohio, alerted authorities on Saturday after they learned she’d missed an appointment for her US citizenship application. The family reported “they had not heard from her in several days,” and asked that officers perform a wellness check.

Police are urging anyone with information in the case to contact the Department of Public Safety at 609-258-1000.

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President Biden is awarding $2.8 billion in Energy Department grants from his bipartisan infrastructure law to 20 manufacturing and processing companies in 12 states. The White House said that the Biden Administration is also launching the “American Battery Materials Initiative,” described as a new effort to mobilize government to help industry create a reliable and sustainable supply of critical minerals for EV’s and electric power. These efforts are part of a strategic Biden administration plan to make half of all new vehicles sold in the United States in 2030 electric.

The White House said in a statement: “Together, these actions will improve America’s energy independence, strengthen national security, support good-paying jobs across battery supply chains, and lower costs for working families. This market transformation is expected to increase demand for critical minerals such as lithium and graphite used in EV batteries. Today’s announcements demonstrate how the United States is poised to meet this challenge while growing our economy and creating high-quality union jobs in the battery supply chain.” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm added: “Producing advanced batteries and components here at home will accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to meet the strong demand for electric vehicles, creating more good-paying jobs across the country.” 

The White House touted that President Biden’s economic agenda efforts have already “ignited a domestic manufacturing boom with companies announcing over $100 billion in EV, battery and EV charging investments here in the United States.” According to the White House, EV sales have tripled since Biden has been in office.

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On Wednesday, advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended taking Makena, a drug for preventing premature births, off the market due to doubts about the drug’s effectiveness. Makena was fast-tracked 11 years ago to cut the risk of preterm birth, a leading cause of infant mortality.

The 14-1 vote by the FDA’s Obstetrics, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee was taken after a hearing to determine  whether the drug was effective, whether trial data support its approval and whether the drug should remain available on the market.  Peter Stein, the director of the FDA’s Office of New Drugs at the Center For Drug Evaluation and Research said in closing remarks at the hearing: “Hope is a reason to keep looking for options that are effective, whether we find them here or elsewhere … Hope is not a reason to take a drug that is not shown to be effective, or keep it on the market.”

A 2003 study cited by CovisPharma, the maker of Makena, showed Black newborns are more than twice as likely to die as White newborns when born before 37 weeks. Covis argued that pulling the drug from the market would hurt Black women. In a statement earlier this year about the drug, Covis Pharma said it wanted to work with the FDA to do more research on Makena.

Formally taking Makena off the market will be left to the FDA, which could make its decision within a few months. If FDA follows the advisory committee’s advice, it would be the first time in a decade that a fast-tracked drug would be pulled from the market.

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