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Jeanine Herbst
From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jeanine Herbst. The Israeli government today approved a plan to expand settlements on the occupied Golan Heights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that strengthening the Golan Heights means strength, strengthening Israel, and is especially important at this time. Since the Assad regime was toppled in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes across that country and carried out incursions past the Golan Heights to the previously demilitarized zone. Meanwhile, Israel has closed its embassy in Dublin over what it calls the anti Israel policy of the Irish government as relations deteriorate over the war in Gaza. And the Israeli military has started withdrawing from parts of southern Lebanon as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. It's supposed to end the deadly conflict, which started last October between the 2. But as NPR's Emily Fang reports, Israeli strikes continue to hit Lebanon.
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Emily Fang
Israel's military said in a statement that it had destroyed some 300 sites in the past week belonging to Hezbollah, the paramilitary organization that is influential in Lebanon. It also said it had, quote, eliminated many terrorists in operations, especially around a Lebanese town called Heam. Heam is also where the Lebanese military started redeploying this past week as part of the ceasefire agreement signed in late November. Leban, Lebanon's defense minister, accused Israel of violating the ceasefire. And the Lebanese health ministry said one person had been killed by an Israeli drone in Chiam the day after the Lebanese army moved in. Emily Fang, NPR News, Beirut, Lebanon.
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Jeanine Herbst
President elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Is due on Capitol Hill this week to meet with senators. Kennedy, as an independent presidential candidate this year, ran on an anti vaccine campaign and his personal lawyer had reportedly filed suit to get the FDA to ruin revoke the polio vaccine that has gotten pushback from Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor. And Piers Franco Ordonez has more.
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Piers Franco Ordonez
Now, Kennedy himself says he doesn't want to take away anyone's choice to take vaccines. But still, McConnell, without naming Kennedy, said any efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are, quote, not just uninformed, they're dangerous. He went on to say that anyone seeking Senate confirmation would, quote, do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts.
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Jeanine Herbst
NPR's Franco Ordonez unidentified drones over the Northeast have led to a lot of speculation and concern, and now Germany says there have been sightings over sensitive military and industrial sites, including a U.S. air Force base. NPR's Rob Schmitz has more.
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Rob Schmitz
The sightings, first reported by Der Spiegel magazine, were made by German security authorities who reported several drones flying over the Ramstein US Air Force Base on December 3rd and 4th. The report also said unidentified drones were seen over facilities belonging to arms maker Rheinmetall. A spokesperson for the U.S. air Force says its Ramstein base is unaffected.
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Jeanine Herbst
NPR's Rob Schmitz. This is NPR News. Humira is one of the biggest blockbuster drugs of the last two decades. It treats things like psoriasis, certain kinds of arthritis and Crohn's disease. NPR Sidney Lupkin reports on a new study that looks at whether patients are switching to lower cost alternatives for complex drugs like Humira.
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Sidney Lupkin
The copies aren't identical like they are for typical generic drugs, but the alternatives are close and they're called biosimilars. In the first year of biosimilar competition for Humira, however, the alternatives didn't win much of the market. Ben Rohm of Harvard Medical School co authored a new study published in the journal JAMA Health forum, finding only 2% of prescriptions were for the biosimilars. When the biosimilars have such difficulty getting traction, what it means is that the next time a big blockbuster drug faces competition, maybe biosimilar makers are less excited to come to market. He says health insurers paid less for Humira even as its manufacturer raised its official list price. Sidney Lupkin, NPR News.
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Jeanine Herbst
In the French territory of Mayotte, the official death toll from Cyclone Chito is at least 11 people, with hundreds injured, according to the island's top government official. But he says it's extremely difficult to get an exact number right now. After the Indian Ocean's island were pummeled pummeled rather, by the intense cyclone yesterday, officials say that death toll could rise to the hundreds. France rushed rescue teams and supplies to its largely poor overseas department in the Indian Ocean that suffered widespread destruction, including at the airport and flattening of neighborhoods. Power is also out in many areas. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.
- [04:57]
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