U.S. approves J&J drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment

(Reuters) – U.S. health regulators have approved a new Johnson & Johnson drug for patients with tuberculosis who do not respond to other treatments, the company said.The drug is the first in 40 years to tackle the disease using a new mechanism of action, according to J&J. The drug blocks an energy-producing enzyme that tuberculosis bacteria need to survive.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

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Canadian job creation seen sharply lower in December

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada‘s job market is expected to slow markedly in December to reflect the sluggish economy and employers’ fears about the U.S. fiscal crisis following outsized gains of over 50,000 jobs in two of the previous three months.The median forecast in a Reuters poll is for the economy to add just 5,000 jobs in the month, with forecasts ranging from a loss of 20,000 positions to a gain...

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Can Samsung survive without Android?

Samsung (005930) is the world’s top Android smartphone vendor by a staggering margin. Aside from LG (066570), which managed a small $ 20 million profit from its mobile division last quarter, no other global Android vendor can figure out how to make money selling Android phones. Meanwhile, Samsung posted a $ 6 billion profit on $ 47.6 billion in sales in the third quarter, thanks largely to record...

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Biden, McConnell 'jump-start' stalled talks

Vice President Joe Biden looks on as President Barack Obama announces the nomination of Senator John Kerry as Secretary …Merry Cliffmas Eve?Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday pursued behind-closed-doors efforts to avoid the “fiscal cliff” with just hours to halt painful automatic income tax hikes from biting into American paychecks.McConnell...

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List: No love for ‘fiscal cliff,’ ‘spoiler alert’

DETROIT (AP) — Spoiler alert: This story contains words and phrases that some people want to ban from the English language. “Spoiler alert” is among them. So are “kick the can down the road,” ”trending” and “bucket list.”A dirty dozen have landed on the 38th annual List of Words to be Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness. The nonbinding, tongue-in-cheek decree...

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Year in Review: Meningitis Outbreak Still a Challenge

As part of the Year in Review series, MedPage Today reporters are revisiting major news stories and following up with an analysis of the impact of the original report, as well as subsequent news on the topic. Here’s what’s happened with the fungal meningitis outbreak since we published our first report.The fungal meningitis outbreak that made headlines in the fall was “unprecedented,” in the words...

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Suspected US drone kills 3 al-Qaida men in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Three al-Qaida militants were killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike in southern Yemen, Yemeni security officials said, the fourth such attack this week and a sign attacks from unmanned aircraft are on the upswing in the country.The officials said the three men were hit as they were riding in a Land Cruiser in el-Manaseh village on the outskirts of Radda in Bayda province. Dozens...

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NASA Sets Record with Ion Thrusters Test

NASA has completed a 43,000 hour stress test — a record for ion thrusters — on a new rocket propulsion system that could extend future space travel to farther reaches of the solar system.Developed by NASA’s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster Project, the 7-kilowatt ion thruster can burn 10-12 times longer than the conventional chemical thrusters used today. Though not practical for manned-spaceflight, the...

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Obama boasts support of American people in ‘fiscal cliff’ fight

As Congress races to pass legislation before the Jan. 1 "fiscal cliff" deadline, President Barack Obama in an interview which aired Sunday publicly touted the support of the American people for the plan he offered to Republicans."We have put forward not only a sensible deal, but one that has the support of the majority of the American people including close to half of Republicans," the president told...

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Hot spots draw believers, but not doomsday

As the sun rose from time zone to time zone across the world on Friday, there was still no sign of the world’s end — but that didn’t stop those convinced that a 5,125-year Mayan calendar predicts the apocalypse from gathering at some of the world’s purported survival hot spots.Many of the esoterically inclined expected a new age of consciousness — others wanted a party. But, in some places said to...

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