The Economist honors cancer immunotherapy pioneer James Allison

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University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

2013 Innovation Award for bioscience goes to MD Anderson scientist

HOUSTON For basic science research that opened a completely new approach for treating cancer, The Economist has named James Allison, Ph.D., professor and chair of Immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, as its 2013 Innovations Award winner in Bioscience.

Allison identified an immune checkpoint molecule that turns off T cells white blood cells that are the attack dogs of the immune system before they can mount a successful response to tumors that they are primed to destroy.

An antibody that blocks that immune checkpoint molecule, unleashing a T cell attack, became the first drug to ever extend survival for patients with late-stage melanoma. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ipilumumab (Yervoy) for treatment of metastatic melanoma in 2011.

"The approval of ipilimumab in 2011 represents the culmination of years of research by Dr Allison into tumor immunotherapy," said Tom Standage, Digital Editor at The Economist and chairman of the panel of 30 judges. "We are delighted to recognize his pioneering achievement in the fight against cancer."

The Economist is a 170-year-old weekly news publication based in London with a circulation of 4.5 million worldwide. Its Innovation Awards recognize significant contributions in eight fields: Bioscience, Computing and Telecommunications, Consumer Products, Energy and Environment, Process and Services, Social and Economic, No Boundaries and Corporate.

"I'm honored to receive this award, which recognizes the increasing importance of immune therapy in the treatment of cancer due to the efforts of many scientists, clinicians and patients willing to participate in clinical trials," Allison said.

The adaptive immune system routinely identifies, destroys and remembers infections and abnormal cells. Yet cancer cells evade or suppress immune attack, largely frustrating efforts to develop vaccines and other immune therapies against tumors.

Drug treats immune system, not specific tumor

"Immune checkpoint blockade treats the immune system, not the tumor, so we expect this approach to work across many types of cancer," Allison said. In addition to melanoma, ipilumumab has been effective in clinical trials against prostate, kidney, lung and ovarian cancers.

Allison's basic science research on T cell biology uncovered the receptor on these cells used to recognize and bind to antigens abnormalities that mark defective cells or viruses and bacteria for attack.

He also found that T cells require a second molecular signal to launch a response after they've bound to an antigen. And he identified a molecule called CTLA-4 that acts as an off switch to inhibit activated T cells from attacking.

This led to development of ipilumumab to block CTLA-4. In clinical trials against stage 4 melanoma, the drug extinguished the disease in 20 percent of patients for up to 12 years and counting.

Since arriving at MD Anderson in November 2012, Allison founded and directs an immunotherapy platform to cultivate, support and test new development of immunology-based drugs and combinations. MD Anderson's Moon Shots program, designed to accelerate the conversion of scientific discoveries into clinical advances that reduce cancer deaths, taps the expertise of the immunotherapy platform.

Allison earned his doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin in 1978, joining MD Anderson's faculty after his postdoctoral fellowship. He left MD Anderson for the University of California, Berkeley and later moved to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and has won many honors for biomedical research, including the first AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in April 2013.

Allison will receive his award at a ceremony in London on Dec. 3.

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

7-Nov-2013

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]


Share

Contact: Scott Merville
smerville@mdanderson.org
713-792-0661
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

2013 Innovation Award for bioscience goes to MD Anderson scientist

HOUSTON For basic science research that opened a completely new approach for treating cancer, The Economist has named James Allison, Ph.D., professor and chair of Immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, as its 2013 Innovations Award winner in Bioscience.

Allison identified an immune checkpoint molecule that turns off T cells white blood cells that are the attack dogs of the immune system before they can mount a successful response to tumors that they are primed to destroy.

An antibody that blocks that immune checkpoint molecule, unleashing a T cell attack, became the first drug to ever extend survival for patients with late-stage melanoma. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ipilumumab (Yervoy) for treatment of metastatic melanoma in 2011.

"The approval of ipilimumab in 2011 represents the culmination of years of research by Dr Allison into tumor immunotherapy," said Tom Standage, Digital Editor at The Economist and chairman of the panel of 30 judges. "We are delighted to recognize his pioneering achievement in the fight against cancer."

The Economist is a 170-year-old weekly news publication based in London with a circulation of 4.5 million worldwide. Its Innovation Awards recognize significant contributions in eight fields: Bioscience, Computing and Telecommunications, Consumer Products, Energy and Environment, Process and Services, Social and Economic, No Boundaries and Corporate.

"I'm honored to receive this award, which recognizes the increasing importance of immune therapy in the treatment of cancer due to the efforts of many scientists, clinicians and patients willing to participate in clinical trials," Allison said.

The adaptive immune system routinely identifies, destroys and remembers infections and abnormal cells. Yet cancer cells evade or suppress immune attack, largely frustrating efforts to develop vaccines and other immune therapies against tumors.

Drug treats immune system, not specific tumor

"Immune checkpoint blockade treats the immune system, not the tumor, so we expect this approach to work across many types of cancer," Allison said. In addition to melanoma, ipilumumab has been effective in clinical trials against prostate, kidney, lung and ovarian cancers.

Allison's basic science research on T cell biology uncovered the receptor on these cells used to recognize and bind to antigens abnormalities that mark defective cells or viruses and bacteria for attack.

He also found that T cells require a second molecular signal to launch a response after they've bound to an antigen. And he identified a molecule called CTLA-4 that acts as an off switch to inhibit activated T cells from attacking.

This led to development of ipilumumab to block CTLA-4. In clinical trials against stage 4 melanoma, the drug extinguished the disease in 20 percent of patients for up to 12 years and counting.

Since arriving at MD Anderson in November 2012, Allison founded and directs an immunotherapy platform to cultivate, support and test new development of immunology-based drugs and combinations. MD Anderson's Moon Shots program, designed to accelerate the conversion of scientific discoveries into clinical advances that reduce cancer deaths, taps the expertise of the immunotherapy platform.

Allison earned his doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin in 1978, joining MD Anderson's faculty after his postdoctoral fellowship. He left MD Anderson for the University of California, Berkeley and later moved to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and has won many honors for biomedical research, including the first AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in April 2013.

Allison will receive his award at a ceremony in London on Dec. 3.

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/uotm-teh110713.php
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Sony confirms five devices will get Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade, 4.3 to roll out to ten next month

After taking a week to crunch the numbers, look at the data points and put together some fancy pie charts (we assume), Sony's finally ready to reveal its initial firmware upgrade plans. Five devices in the lineup made the cut to receive Android 4.4 KitKat at a to-be-determined future date, and ten ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/iV1y5oFjv-4/
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Kerry heading to Geneva in sign of Iran progress

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif waits for the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif waits for the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman arrives prior to the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

A general view shows participants before the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, left, speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, right, during a photo opportunity prior the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

White House press secretary Jay Carney pauses during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Carney answered questions on negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program, and the ongoing rollout of the new health care law. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

GENEVA (AP) — Iran's chief nuclear negotiator signaled progress at talks with six world powers Thursday on a deal to cap some of his country's atomic programs in exchange for limited relief from sanctions stifling Iran's economy, saying the six had accepted Tehran's proposals on how to proceed.

U.S. officials said Secretary of State John Kerry will fly to Geneva on Friday to participate in the negotiations — a last-minute decision that suggests a deal could be imminent.

A senior State Department official traveling with Kerry in Amman, Jordan, said the secretary would come to Geneva "to help narrow differences in negotiations." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information about the Geneva visit.

Even if an agreement is reached, it would only be the start of a long process to reduce Iran's potential nuclear threat, with no guarantee of ultimate success.

Still, a limited accord would mark a breakthrough after nearly a decade of mostly inconclusive talks focused on limiting, if not eliminating, Iranian atomic programs that could be turned from producing energy into making weapons.

Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, told Iranian state TV that the six — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — "clearly said that they accept the proposed framework by Iran." He later told CNN that he thinks negotiators at the table are now "ready to start drafting" an accord that outlines specific steps to be taken.

Though Araghchi described the negotiations as "very difficult," he told Iranian state TV that he expected agreement on details by Friday, the last scheduled round of the current talks.

The upbeat comments suggested that negotiators in Geneva were moving from broad discussions over a nuclear deal to details meant to limit Tehran's ability to make atomic weapons. In return, Iran would start getting relief from sanctions that have hit its economy hard.

U.S. officials said Kerry will travel to the Geneva talks after a brief stop in Israel, where he will hold a third meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spoken out against any limited deal that would allow the Iranians sanctions relief.

In Geneva, Kerry is expected to meet Friday with the European Union's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the schedule.

The talks are primarily focused on the size and output of Iran's enrichment program, which can create both reactor fuel and weapons-grade material suitable for a nuclear bomb. Iran insists it is pursuing only nuclear energy, medical treatments and research, but the United States and its allies fear that Iran could turn this material into the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

President Barack Obama, in an interview with NBC on Thursday, described any sanctions relief as "modest" but said core sanctions against Iran would remain in place.

"Our job is not to trust the Iranians," Obama said. "Our job is to put in place mechanisms where we can verify what they're doing and not doing when it comes to their nuclear program."

International negotiators representing the six powers declined to comment on Araghchi's statement. Bur White House spokesman Jay Carney elaborated on what the U.S. calls a "first step" of a strategy meant to ultimately contain Iran's ability to use its nuclear program to make weapons.

An initial agreement would "address Iran's most advanced nuclear activities; increase transparency so Iran will not be able to use the cover of talks to advance its program; and create time and space as we negotiate a comprehensive agreement," Carney told reporters in Washington.

The six would consider "limited, targeted and reversible relief that does not affect our core sanctions," he said, alluding to penalties crippling Tehran's oil exports. If Iran reneges, said Carney, "the temporary, modest relief would be terminated, and we would be in a position to ratchet up the pressure even further by adding new sanctions."

He described any temporary, initial relief of sanctions as likely "more financial rather than technical." Diplomats have previously said initial sanction rollbacks could free Iranian funds in overseas accounts and allow trade in gold and petrochemicals.

Warily watching from the sidelines, Israel warned against a partial agreement that foresees lifting sanctions now instead of waiting for a rigorous final accord that eliminates any possibility of Iran making nuclear weapons.

At a meeting with U.S. legislators in Jerusalem, Netanyahu spoke of "the deal of the century for Iran." While divulging no details, he said the proposed first step at Geneva "will relieve all the (sanctions) pressure inside Iran."

The last round of talks three weeks ago reached agreement on a framework of possible discussion points, and the two sides kicked off Thursday's round focused on getting to that first step.

Thursday's meeting ended about an hour after it began, followed by bilateral meetings, including one between the U.S and Iranian delegations. EU spokesman Michael Mann said the talks were "making progress."

Before the morning round, Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, met with the EU's Ashton, who is convening the meeting. Asked afterward about the chances of agreement on initial steps this week, Zarif told reporters: "If everyone tries their best, we may have one."

After nearly a decade of deadlock, Iran seems more amenable to making concessions to the six countries. Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, has indicated he could cut back on the nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions.

Despite the seemingly calmer political backdrop, issues remain.

Iranian hardliners want a meaningful — and quick — reduction of the sanctions in exchange for any concessions, while some U.S. lawmakers want significant rollbacks in Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for any loosening of actions.

_____

Associated Press Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report. AP writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Nasser Karimi in Tehran also contributed.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-11-07-Iran-Nuclear-Talks/id-06d9351f7e6e414eb79371e92e4f3c63
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Taylor Swift Gives Some Love to Her Fans

She won three awards at the 2013 CMA Awards on Wednesday (November 6), and Taylor Swift didn't forget to give her loyal fans a loving shout-out backstage.

From a press room at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, the 23-year-old said, "For me when I think about them, and I think about my fans as a group. I think about the little things. I think about the letters that I get from classrooms, and the YouTube videos of some little girl opening up her Christmas present and it's tickets to my show. And I think of young girls learning lessons on guitar."

The "22" singer continued, "Sometimes I'll sit in a position where I can watch people leave the shows and I'll look at the shirts that they made and the signs and some people will cover themselves in Christmas lights so I can see them from the stage. I know that's creepy but I just like to watch."

Taylor also responded to the apparent hatred spewing from pop queen Lady Gaga's fans, saying, "I just feel so proud that my fans are always nice to other fans," she added. "They don't say hateful things. They don't say they're going to set people on fire or anything. They're not sending death threats to other people."

Reports state that after Lady Gaga began a feud with "E! Fashion Police" hostess Kelly Osbourne, Gaga's "Little Monsters" sent her hateful messages. The 27-year-old responded to her fans, writing, "Monsters, please just focus on the positive of tonight's performance and do not send any hateful messages. I don't support it. #SpreadLove."

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FDA to ban artery-clogging trans fats

FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2012, file photo, Alexes Garcia makes cinnamon rolls for student's lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. The rolls are made using apple sauce instead of trans fats. Heart-clogging trans fats have been slowly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant menus in the last decade as nutritionists have criticized them and local governments have banned them. The Food and Drug Administration is now finishing the job as they announce Nov. 7, 2013, that it will require the food industry to gradually phase out trans fats, saying they are a threat to the health of Americans.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2012, file photo, Alexes Garcia makes cinnamon rolls for student's lunch in the kitchen at Kepner Middle School in Denver. The rolls are made using apple sauce instead of trans fats. Heart-clogging trans fats have been slowly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant menus in the last decade as nutritionists have criticized them and local governments have banned them. The Food and Drug Administration is now finishing the job as they announce Nov. 7, 2013, that it will require the food industry to gradually phase out trans fats, saying they are a threat to the health of Americans.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Heart-clogging trans fats have been slowly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant menus in the last decade. Now, the Food and Drug Administration is finishing the job.

The FDA announced Thursday it will require the food industry to gradually phase out artificial trans fats, saying they are a threat to people's health. Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the move could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths each year.

Hamburg said that while the amount of trans fats in the country's diet has declined dramatically in the last decade, they "remain an area of significant public health concern." The trans fats have long been criticized by nutritionists, and New York City and other local governments have banned them.

The agency isn't yet setting a timeline for the phase-out, but it will collect comments for two months before officials determine how long it will take. Different foods may have different timelines, depending how easy it is to find a substitute.

"We want to do it in a way that doesn't unduly disrupt markets," said Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner for foods. Still, he says, the food "industry has demonstrated that it is, by and large, feasible to do."

Though they have been removed from many items, the fats are still found in processed foods, including in some microwave popcorns and frozen pizzas, refrigerated doughs, cookies, biscuits and ready-to-use frostings. They are also sometimes used by restaurants that use the fats for frying. Many larger chains have phased them out, but smaller restaurants may still get food containing trans fats from suppliers.

Trans fats are widely considered the worst kind for your heart, even worse than saturated fats, which also can contribute to heart disease. Trans fats are used both in processed food and in restaurants, often to improve the texture, shelf life or flavor of foods. Diners shouldn't be able to detect a taste difference if trans fats are replaced by other fats.

To phase them out, the FDA said it had made a preliminary determination that trans fats no longer fall in the agency's "generally recognized as safe" category, which is reserved for thousands of additives that manufacturers can add to foods without FDA review. Once trans fats are off the list, anyone who wants to use them would have to petition the agency for a regulation allowing it, and that would likely not be approved.

The fats are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to make it more solid, which is why they are often called partially hydrogenated oils. The FDA is not targeting small amounts of trans fats that occur naturally in some meat and dairy products, because they would be too difficult to remove and aren't considered a major public health threat on their own.

Scientists say there are no health benefits to trans fats and say they can raise levels of so-called "bad" cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease — the leading cause of death in the United States.

Many companies have already phased out trans fats, prompted by new nutrition labels introduced by FDA in 2006 that list trans fats and an by an increasing number of local laws that have banned them. In 2011, Wal Mart pledged to remove all artificial trans fats from the foods the company sells by 2016.

As a result of the local and federal efforts and many companies' willingness to remove them, consumers have slowly eaten fewer of the fats. According to the FDA, trans fat intake among American consumers declined from 4.6 grams per day in 2003 to around one gram per day in 2012.

Dr. Leon Bruner, chief scientist at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, said in a statement his group estimates that food manufacturers have voluntarily lowered the amount of trans fats in food products by 73 percent.

The group, which represents the country's largest food companies, did not speculate on a reasonable timeline or speak to how difficult the move may be for some manufacturers. Bruner said in a statement that "consumers can be confident that their food is safe, and we look forward to working with the FDA to better understand their concerns and how our industry can better serve consumers."

FDA officials say they have been working on trans fat issues for around 15 years — the first goal was to label them — and have been collecting data to justify a possible phase-out since just after President Barack Obama came into office in 2009.

The advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest first petitioned FDA to ban trans fats nine years ago. The group's director, Michael Jacobson, says the move is "one of the most important lifesaving actions the FDA could take."

He says the agency should try to move quickly as it determines a timeline.

"Six months or a year should be more than enough time, especially considering that companies have had a decade to figure out what to do," Jacobson said.

___

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-11-07-FDA-Trans%20Fats/id-26773dba998a47c388bc1d3b1148cead
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US to lose vote at UNESCO, incurs debts

PARIS (AP) — American influence in culture, science and education around the world is facing a high-profile blow Friday as the U.S. is stripped of its voting rights at the world's cultural agency, UNESCO. And it would cost the U.S. hundreds of millions of dollars to win this voice back.

The U.S. hasn't paid its dues to the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in three years, in protest over the decision by world governments to make Palestine a UNESCO member in 2011.

Under UNESCO rules, the U.S. has until Friday morning to resume funding, or it automatically loses its vote.

The suspension of U.S. contributions, which account for $80 million a year — 22 percent of UNESCO's overall budget — brought the agency to the brink of a financial crisis and forced it to cut American-led initiatives such as Holocaust education and tsunami research over the past two years.

It has worried many in Washington that the U.S. is on track to becoming a toothless UNESCO member with a weakened voice in international programs fighting extremism through education, and promoting gender equality and press freedoms.

"We won't be able to have the same clout," said Phyllis Magrab, the Washington-based U.S. National Commissioner for UNESCO. "In effect, we (now won't) have a full tool box. We're missing our hammer."

The UNESCO tension has prompted new criticism of U.S. laws that force an automatic funding cutoff for any U.N. agency with Palestine as a member.

The agency may be best known for its program to protect the cultures of the world via its Heritage sites, which include the Statue of Liberty and Mali's Timbuktu.

But its core mission, as conceived by the U.S., a co-founder of the agency in 1946, was to be an anti-extremist organization. In today's world, it tackles foreign policy issues such as access to clean water, teaches girls to read, works to eradicate poverty, promotes freedom of expression and gives people creative thinking skills to resist violent extremism.

Among UNESCO programs already slashed over funding shortages is one in Iraq that was intended to help restore proper water facilities. Another was a Holocaust and genocide awareness program in Africa to teach about non-violence, non-discrimination and ethnic tolerance, using the example of the mass killing of Jews during World War II.

This loss is a particular blow to the U.S., since Holocaust awareness was one of the areas the country aggressively promoted in the agency's agenda when it rejoined in 2002 after an 18-year hiatus, during which the U.S. had withdrawn from the organization over differences in vision.

The concern over UNESCO is resonating in the U.S. Congress.

"The United States must not voluntarily forfeit its leadership in the world community," Rep. Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, told The Associated Press in an email.

With efforts by President Barack Obama to get the money restored having failed or stalled, Ellison plans to introduce legislation in Congress to overturn what he calls the "antiquated" laws that automatically halted the flow of funds to the agency from November 2011.

The Obama administration has proposed language to amend the legislation, but it remains on the table amid recent U.S. budget setbacks.

For some it's a question of sooner rather than later, with the U.S. racking up arrears to UNESCO of some $220,000 a day, which it will have to pay back if it ever wants to fill the empty chair and get back the vote.

"Paying off three years is manageable, but it indeed becomes much more difficult if you allow many years to pass and the bill gets larger and larger and larger," said Esther Brimmer, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international organizations.

The Palestinian Ambassador to UNESCO, Elias Sanbar, said other countries are beginning to make up for the U.S. shortfall.

"Is this in the interest of the U.S., to be replaced?" he asked.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova lamented the changes that are not only seeing America silenced within her organization but also bringing UNESCO financially to its knees.

"I regret to say that I'm seeing, in these last two years . a declining American influence and American involvement," Bokova told The Associated Press.

"I can't imagine how we could disengage with the United States at UNESCO. We are so intertwined with our message. . What I regret is that this decision became so divisive and triggered this suspension of the funding," she added.

Bokova said she accepts political reality and would find ways for UNESCO to continue its work, despite a 2014 budget that's down by an estimated $150 million.

Some fear this debacle is just the tip of the iceberg, and worry about more serious consequences, if Palestine joins other agencies such as the World Health Organization.

___

Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

• Society & Culture
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-lose-vote-unesco-incurs-debts-191117521.html
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'RoboCop' Trailer Accuses America Of Robo-Phobia

The sci-fi remake brings the futuristic police officer back to Detroit.


By Kevin P. Sullivan

Source:
http://www.mtv.comhttp://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1717037/robocop-new-movie-trailer.jhtml

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