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Thousands of severely obese patients are facing severely delayed treatment with what’s been called the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss jabs – because the NHS rollout has been mismanaged and underfunded, according to Sky News research.The Latest News from the UK and Around the World | Sky News
Five commercial fishermen from Alaska and Washington have been indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of conspiring to illegally harvest more than 10,000 pounds of halibut over a four-year period near Yakutat.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the fishermen, Jonathan Pavlik, 43, of Yakutat; Vincent Jacobson, 51, of Yakutat; Kyle Dierick, 36, of Yakutat; Michael Babic, 42, of Cordova; and Timothy Ross, 58, of Washington, each face federal charges under the Lacey Act, a law that prohibits illegal wildlife trafficking.
Prosecutors say the five men, all experienced commercial fishermen, took part in a conspiracy between 2019 and 2023 to violate halibut fishing rules tied to Individual Fishing Quotas, a system designed to sustainably manage halibut harvests in Alaskan waters.
The indictment alleges that Pavlik conspired separately with each of the other defendants to land halibut without being on board their vessels for the full duration of the fishing trips, a violation of federal regulations.
The indictment alleges that Pavlik, Jacobson, Dierick, Babic, and Ross intentionally falsely reported that the halibut caught was creditable to their respective Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) permit balances, which is a permit any individual commercially fishing for halibut in the waters off Alaska is required to have. Pavlik and the three co-conspirators are responsible for over 10,700 pounds of illegally harvested halibut.
In a separate incident last fall, Pavlik allegedly sold over 9,600 pounds of illegally caught halibut that was fished aboard a vessel called the Bad Intentions and then transferred to another vessel, New Era, in an effort to conceal its origin before landing it for sale.
Pavlik faces 14 felony charges, including four counts of conspiracy, five counts of unlawful sale, and five counts of false labeling under the Lacey Act. Jacobson, Dierick, Babic, and Ross each face one count of conspiracy.
If convicted, each defendant could face up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 per count. Court appearances are scheduled in the coming weeks before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew M. Scoble in Anchorage.
The investigation was led by NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement, Alaska Division, with support from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Brickey and Mac Caille Petursson are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in a court of law.
Trail Mix, the nonprofit trail stewardship organization based in Juneau, celebrated the long-awaited reconnection of the historic Treadwell Ditch Trail over the weekend.
The 13.3-mile trail now stretches continuously from Eaglecrest to South Douglas, featuring 65 bridges and 25 culverts.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Blueberry Hills Dan Moller Trail parking lot, featuring remarks from agency partners and Trail Mix staff.
A larger public celebration happened Saturday at Savikko Park’s log shelter, with exhibits discussing the trail’s history and the work that led to its restoration.
“Last year, we installed the final bridge as part of this grant that we have through Alaska Department and fish and game, and it reconnected the Treadwell ditch for the first time in over 100 years.” said Trail Mix’s executive director Meghan Tabacek “it’s, it’s really a huge milestone, and the community loves the ditch. It feels really good to build a trail that we know people in Juneau love”
The Treadwell Ditch Trail was originally used to divert water for mining operations.
Trail Mix manages over 250 miles of trail in the region, with only three crews to maintain them.
“One of the biggest challenges, is logistics.” Said Tabacek “You know, you can’t drive a truck with all the pieces you need onto a trail.”
Volunteers play a crucial role in supporting Trail Mix’s mission. The organization has hosted near-weekly volunteer events throughout the summer and recently surpassed 1,200 volunteer hours. Their goal is 2,000 hours by season’s end.
“We are just so blown away with our volunteers, it’s just been really, really incredible watching people in Juneau show up.” Tabacek said.
By: Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon
A longtime Alaska fisher who was sentenced in May to a year in jail for illegally exporting crab, much of it disease infected, has now been ordered to pay $1.18 million in penalties for unrelated water pollution charges.
Corey Potter and the companies he managed — the vessel Knot EZ, Aleutian Tendering LLC and the Alaska Tendering Company LLC — were ordered to pay the combined penalty in a default judgment issued on Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason.
The penalty was for repeated discharges of oily bilge water, which violated the Clean Water Act, according to court documents.
Potter had not responded to the charges, which were detailed in a complaint filed on Oct. 24, or appeared in court on the case, according to the U.S. Coast Guard and federal prosecutors. That triggered the default judgment by Gleason.
Potter’s previous case concerned thousands of pounds of king crab he and his partners harvested in Southeast Alaska and took directly to Washington state. Alaska law requires that all crabs commercially harvested in waters off Alaska be landed and processed within the state. Part of the reason for that is to ensure quality and marketability.
Instead, a significant percentage of the catch that Potter and his associate brought to Washington state was infected with bitter crab syndrome. The parasitic disease, which is linked to warming waters, kills crabs and makes their meat unpalatable, though not toxic to humans.
The water pollution case against Potter is separate. It stems from a Coast Guard rescue of the Knot EZ, which was sinking in Kodiak Harbor in July of 2022. The Knot EZ operated as a tender, a vessel that delivered fish from harvesters to processors, according to court documents.
Guardsmen who responded to the Knot EZ’s distress call discovered that the vessel had an illegal discharge system that was pumping oily bilge water directly into the sea, according to the complaint. Crew members hired by Potter admitted that the illegal bypass system was used daily, according to the complaint.
The vessel was declared to be unfit for service, and subsequent investigation discovered a long-running pattern of such violations in past fishing seasons as well, according to the complaint.
While neither Potter nor his companies responded to the Clean Water Act charges, a public defender representing him in the crab case asked for leniency, based on his age and on the financial hardships he has already endured. Potter, 64, “has been reduced to relying upon family for assistance and has no viable means to support himself,” said the defense presentencing memorandum in that case, which was filed on May 6.
NOTN- The last two defendants in a six-person drug trafficking conspiracy pleaded guilty last week to charges stemming from a multi-state operation that funneled fentanyl and heroin into Alaska, federal prosecutors said..
According to court documents, Semaj Brown, 34, and Brandon Garrett, 46, both of Anchorage, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Julio Juarez, 32, of Anchorage, Marcelino Juarez, 30, of Anchorage, Shane Murphy, 43, of Wasilla, and Gustavo Sebastian Lopez-Chavez, 24, a Mexican national illegally residing in the U.S., to purchase fentanyl and heroin in California and transport the substances to Alaska through the mail or in checked airline baggage.
According to officials, the group trafficked at least 36 kilograms of fentanyl and about 10 kilograms of heroin.
The investigation culminated on Aug. 22, 2024, when U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents intercepted a suspicious parcel in Anchorage. A search warrant revealed more than two kilograms of fentanyl powder inside.
Days later, law enforcement conducted a controlled delivery, ultimately arresting Marcelino Juarez and Brown after observing them collect and transport the package. Garrett was detained in a separate vehicle nearby.
Authorities later linked Brown and Murphy to a July 2024 trip to Los Angeles, where they allegedly sourced additional fentanyl and heroin, including from Lopez-Chavez.
On July 6, airport security at Los Angeles International Airport seized a suitcase bound for Anchorage containing about one kilogram of heroin and two kilograms of fentanyl, when Murphy and Brown arrived in Alaska, they noted that the suitcase did not arrive.
Lopez-Chavez was arrested in Los Angeles on Nov. 14, 2024. At the time, he was carrying roughly 23 kilograms of fentanyl, along with cash and counterfeit immigration documents.
The Juarez brothers and Brown were identified as known gang members by the Stockton, California, Police Department.
All six defendants have now pleaded guilty. Marcelino and Julio Juarez entered pleas in July; Murphy pleaded guilty in April; Lopez-Chavez pleaded guilty in June; and Garrett was indicted in March before pleading last week.
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced within the next three months. Marcelino Juarez, Brown, Murphy, Lopez-Chavez and Garrett face between 10 years to life in prison. Julio Juarez faces between 15 years to life in prison due to a prior conviction in California for attempted murder, for which he served 11 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI Anchorage Field Office and the Alaska High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task forces, with assistance from multiple agencies across Alaska and California.
U.S. Attorneys Tom Bradley, Jack Schmidt, and Bill Reed are prosecuting the case.
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We have sad news to report from the world of television:
Loni Anderson — the actress best known for her role on WKRP In Cincinnatti and her tumultuous marriage with Burt Reynolds — has passed away.
The beloved star was 79 years old.
Loni Anderson’s publicist announces death of beloved star
News of Anderson’s passing comes courtesy of a statement from her family, issued via her publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan:
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement,” said the statement issued Sunday night.
No cause of death was revealed.
A career on screen and in the tabloids
In addition to her acting career, Anderson is widely remembered for her tumultuous marriage to the late screen legend Burt Reynolds.
Though the relationship ended on hostile terms in 1994, Anderson spoke fondly of her famous ex during the dedication of a bust at his grave in 2021.
“I think back to the beginning of our relationship, it was so, oh, gosh, tabloidy. We were just a spectacle all the time. And it was hard to have a relationship in that atmosphere. And somehow, we did it through many ups and downs,” she recalled at the time.
The actress went on to describe the birth of their son, Quinton Reynolds, as “the best decision that we ever made in our entire relationship.”
Anderson accumulated dozens of film and television credits over the course of her 50 years in the industry and worked continuously until 2023.
She is survived by her two children and her husband, musician Bob Flick.
Our thoughts go out to Loni Anderson’s loved ones during this enormously difficult time.
Loni Anderson Cause of Death; TV Legend Passes Away at 79 was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Many Democrats are betting on a blue wave next year to help them regain favor with disenchanted voters and claw back some control in Washington — but several key indicators are turning into warning signs instead.
Recent polling shows Democrats are still struggling to regain their footing with voters who lurched right in 2024, and that’s compounded by growing gaps in fundraising, an increasing number of messy primaries and a congressional map that Republicans are redrawing to make it harder for Democrats to win.
“I don’t see a blue wave,” said Matt Taglia, the senior director of Emerson College polling, a non-partisan group that routinely administers political opinion surveys. “It’s more like a blue trickle.”
Still, as Democrats go on offense during the August recess, they are trying to juice up a blue wave by stoking backlash to the policies enacted under a Republican trifecta. They’ve tried rolling out a variety of playbooks already, on President Donald Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, tariffs and economic woes that could come from the megabill.
Democrats are placing so much stock in a wave midterm election partly because it could help them stymie Republicans in Congress and chart a path into the 2028 presidential election and beyond. Some Democrats acknowledge the party doesn’t yet have the momentum it needs to gin up a blue wave, but they say they’re confident it’ll come by early 2026.
“There’s a lot of angst about the Democratic Party writ large. I totally hear that. But you have evidence of people on the Democratic side pretty motivated to come out and vote,” said Neera Tanden, the president and CEO of the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress who served as former President Joe Biden’s domestic policy advisor. “I think the midterm election will be about who is angrier.”
And Courtney Rice, a spokesperson for the party’s House campaign arm, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, emphasized the resolve to create a wave election next year: “It’s clear that Democrats are on a path back to the House majority come 2026.”
Republicans reject the idea that Democrats can overcome their hurdles by 2026.
“Vulnerable House Democrats are sitting on our turf,” said Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “They’re getting blown out of the water in the money race, they’re eating their own in messy primaries, the Democrat Party’s approval ratings are at rock bottom, they are consistently on the wrong side of wildly popular issues, and they’ve completely lost touch with hardworking Americans.”
Here’s a look at the headwinds that could put the legitimacy of the blue wave in question.
The polls don’t yet look good for Democrats
Even as Trump’s approval has tanked, about 63 percent of voters hold negative views of Democrats, marking a three-decade nadir for the party, according to a recent poll released by The Wall Street Journal. And Democrats’ projected wins are modest: Separate polls conducted by Emerson Collegeand YouGovshow that in a generic matchup between the parties, they are ahead by just 2 percentage points.
That suggests Democrats are having trouble capitalizing on what they say is Republicans’ shaky handling of economic and foreign policy.
Around this time in 2017 — ahead of Democrats’ monster 2018 blue wave year in which they gained a net of 41 House seats — Democrats were up about 6 percentage points in the generic ballot, noted Taglia, the Emerson pollster.
That doesn’t mean the blue wave dream is dead. Election Day is still 15 months away, and that same Emerson poll shows about a quarter of voters are currently undecided on the congressional ballot. Americans could start feeling the impacts of the megabill and other marquee policies like mass deportations well into campaign season, which could offer Democrats an opportunity to win back some voters who swung right in 2024.
“If we get to March of next year and we still see Democrats at 2 or 3 points up in the generic ballot, that is alarm bells for them,” Taglia said. “They’re going to want to be at least 4 points up. For their ideal result, probably more like 6 points … Then you’re starting to look a little bit like a blue wave.”
Redistricting could bite into Democrats’ opportunities
Texas Republicans unveiled a new congressional map Wednesday that, if enacted, would carve out five additional red-leaning districts. Those efforts, done at the behest of Trump, could throw a monkeywrench in Democrats’ plans to reclaim the House.
Now Democrats are trying to reforge relationships with voters in four newly created majority-Hispanic districts in Texas who swung right in 2024.
“Donald Trump and Texas Republicans are playing a dangerous game, and we’re ready to defeat now-vulnerable Republicans next November,” said CJ Warnke, a spokesperson for House Majority PAC, Democrats’ top House super PAC. “We’re bringing the full weight of our operation to the Lone Star State to make this backroom deal backfire and take back the House in 2026.”
Republicans also hope to squeeze out a few more red districts in other states. Control of the House hinges on razor-thin majorities, and those redistricting efforts alone could significantly stymie Democrats’ ability to retake the chamber.
Some Democratic governors, including California’s Gavin Newsom and New York’s Kathy Hochul, have threatened retaliatory gerrymandering crusades ahead of midterms, though it’s unclear how feasible these efforts will be because those states have ceded redistricting power to independent commissions, unlike Texas. Those states would have to rely on voter referenda or court orders to claw back this power, and they only have until early 2026 to pull it off.
Tanden says she’s optimistic California can counter Texas’s gerrymandering by 2026. “If someone was like, ‘while Trump is president we’re going to get rid of the commission,’ people would be down with that.”
Democrats are facing down messy primaries
House Democrats are facing crowded primaries across the map.
Some in the party worry that months of fighting over intraparty tactics or thorny issues like Israel’s war in Gaza could splinter voters and drain resources that could be used in the general election.
Democratic infighting over the idea of challenging incumbents has roiled the Democratic National Committee, where former Vice Chair David Hogg lost his position amid consternation over his plan to primary “asleep at the wheel” Democrats.
Democratic leaders have begun to worry that contentious primaries could derail the party’s path to retake the House, and House Majority PAC has threatened to intervene in primaries if it sees it as necessary to reclaim the House.
Republicans, meanwhile, have tried to clear their fields. Trump asked a number of ambitious Republicans to stand down last month rather than risk months of infighting, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s prepared to intervene in primaries that could produce nominees who would likely lose in November.
But Democratic strategists who spoke with POLITICO insist these races can also energize their voting base ahead of general elections against Republicans.
Julian Mulvey, a Democratic media consultant, said the busy primaries could help Democrats sharpen their knives before the general election. “You may think that you’re saving energy, resources, but if you’re not putting forward your best fighters and they’re not able to sharpen up their attacks, sharpen up their defenses, you’re not actually helping Democrats,” he said.
Others say Democratic primaries this cycle aren’t shaping up to be the kind of ideological clashes that can leave voters feeling burned heading into the general election. There aren’t many candidates who stand far from their median voters and would put the party at risk of losing a seat, said Ian Russell, a Democratic strategist: “It means you don’t have a bunch of wounds that need to be healed in the party.”
Democratic fundraising is still lackluster
Republicans have generally raised more money than Democrats this year, particularly in the House battlegrounds.
In campaign finance reports filed Thursday, Congressional Leadership Fund, the top House GOP super PAC, revealed it had raised over $32.7 millionin the first six months of the year — about $11.5 million more than its Democratic rival, House Majority PAC.
It’s a reflection of the shaky relationship between Democrats and donors who have become rancorous over infighting among party leadership and discordant messaging. And it’s turned the fundraising narrative upside-down: House Democrats have usually crushed Republicans in the money race because of strong online fundraising.
Democrats insist they can catch up by early next year because the GOP front-loaded fundraising through joint fundraising committees that pool funds for dozens of members. Because those groups tend to rely on large national donors, that rate of fundraising may be less sustainable for individual candidates.
For DCCC-targeted House Republicans, about 30 percent of fundraising in the first half of the year came through joint fundraising committees, compared to just four percent for NRCC-targeted House Democrats, according to a POLITICO analysis.
Tanden is hopeful there “will be a fair amount of resources for Democratic units,” and pointed to Roy Cooper’s recently announced bid for North Carolina Senate, which broke fundraising records in its first 24 hours.
Warnke, the House Majority PAC spokesperson, said money cannot overcome negative optics from GOP policies.
Republicans’ “tariffs are raising prices on American families, and they are hiding from their constituents because of their deeply toxic budget,” he said. “No amount of money will salvage their chances at reelection.”
Jessica Piper contributed to this report.
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