Army officials lift female boxing ban
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army cadets Kiana Stewart and DeAdre Harvey squared off in a boxing ring at the U.S. Military Academy this month, circling each other with their gloves up. Watching classmates already had suffered bloody noses, but the women stayed aggressive, bouncing on the balls of their feet while delivering the occasional jab.
The female cadets are part of a first at West Point: women who must box. Beginning this fall, West Point officials shifted from banning female students from taking the course to requiring it for all approximately 1,000 students in the Class of 2020. The move follows the Pentagon’s historic decision last year to fully integrate women into all combat roles for the first time, and allowing women to box marked the fall of one of the last barriers to women being allowed to do anything they are qualified to in the U.S. military.
Osgood joins morning show
NEW YORK — Jane Pauley is becoming a morning television host again — this time at a much more relaxed pace. CBS said Sunday she will replace Charles Osgood as anchor of the “Sunday Morning” telecast.
The bow-tied Osgood told viewers at the end of his last telecast after 22 years that Pauley would replace him. She’s been a contributor to the show since 2014.
Alternative to Humira
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Friday approved the first alternative version of the second-best selling drug in the world, Humira, the blockbuster injection used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
The Food and Drug Administration cleared a nearcopy of the drug, dubbed Amjevita, developed by Amgen Inc. Regulators approved the drug for more than a half-dozen conditions listed on the original drug’s label, including severe psoriasis and Crohn’s diseases.
E. Coli breakout
ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control says a multistate outbreak of E.coli has sickened seven people, sending five to the hospital.
The CDC said Saturday the outbreak of E. coli, which can cause intestinal illnesses, likely is linked to beef products from Adams Farms Slaughterhouse in Athol, Massachusetts.
People from 1 year old to 74 years old have become sick. They’re from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. No deaths have been reported.
Also in the nation ...
The battle over President Barack Obama’s signature climate change policy, a push to transform the nation’s electricity system, will move to the courts this week . ... Electricity was restored to most of Puerto Rico by Saturday following a rare, island-wide blackout caused by a power plant fire, the territory’s power utility said Saturday. Less than 20,000 clients remained without power in some parts of San Juan and other urban areas . ... Texas escalated its fight with the Obama administration over refugee resettlements on Wednesday, threatening to pull out of the federal resettlement program if the state’s plan to limit the number of refugees it accepts and to receive additional security assurances is not approved . ... Three weeks after one of its rockets exploded while on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, SpaceX said Friday it is narrowing in on the possible cause, pinpointing a “large breach” in a helium system in the rocket’s second-stage fuel tank.