Page 4 - aruba-today-20240408

A4 U.S. NEWS
Monday 8 april 2024
Weather is the hot topic as eclipse spectators stake out their spots

in U.S., Mexico and Canada

By MARCIA DUNN day. Even if clouds obscure altogether, and holding
AP Aerospace Writer the covered-up sun, “it will onto “a considerable ray
MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — still go dark. It’s just about of hope.”
Eclipse spectators staked sharing the experience with Farther north, in Buffalo,
out their spots across three other people,” he added. New York, Jeff Sherman
countries Sunday, fervently In Cleveland, the eclipse flew in from Somerville,
hoping for clear skies de- persuaded women’s Final Massachusetts, to catch his
spite forecasts calling for Four fans Matt and Sheila second total solar eclipse.
clouds along most of the Powell to stick around an After seeing the U.S. coast-
sun-vanishing route. extra day after Sunday’s to-coast eclipse in 2017,
North America won’t see game. But they were de- “now I have to see any one
another coast-to-coast to- bating whether to begin that’s nearby, he said.
tal solar eclipse for 21 years, their drive home to Missouri Kluft also enjoyed clear
prompting the weekend’s Valley, Iowa, early Monday skies for the 2017 eclipse,
worry and mad rush. in search of clearer skies in Oregon, and rolled into
Monday’s extravaganza along the eclipse’s path. Mesquite wearing the T-
stretches from Mexico’s Pa- Gabriel Kauffman, 4, and his brother, Theodore, 6, demonstrate “We’re trying to be flex- shirt from that big event. As
cific beaches to Canada’s a total solar eclipse at a NASA booth at the Great Lakes Science ible,” Powell said. for Monday’s cloudy fore-
rugged Atlantic shores, with Center in Cleveland, on Sunday, April 7, 2024. They live in Even the eclipse profession- cast across Texas, “at least
15 U.S. states in between. Baltimore and came to the Cleveland area to see the eclipse als were up in the air. I’ll be around people who
“I have arrived in the path with relatives. Eclipse mapmaker Michael are like-minded.”
of totality!” Ian Kluft an- Associated Press Zeiler had a perfect record Dicey weather was also
nounced Sunday after- have the day off. The land “Wish it was going to be ahead of Monday, see- predicted almost all the
noon after pulling into Mes- surveyor plans to “witness sunny like today,” he said. ing 11 out of 11 total solar way to Lake Erie, despite
quite from Portland, Ore- history” from home with his “But cloudiness? Hopefully, eclipses after successfully Sunday’s gorgeous weath-
gon, a 2,000-mile (3,200-ki- wife and their 3-year-old it still looks pretty good.” relocating three of those er. The only places prom-
lometer) drive. daughter, Nati. Near Ennis, Texas, to the times at the last minute for ised clear skies along Mon-
A total eclipse happens “Hopefully, she’ll remem- south, the Range Vintage better weather. day’s narrow 115-mile-wide
when the moon lines up ber. She’s excited, too,” he Trailer Resort was also “We are the complete op- (185-kilometer-wide) cor-
perfectly between Earth said following breakfast at packed, selling out of spots posite of tornado chasers, ridor of totality were New
and the sun, blotting out Dos Panchas Mexican Res- more than a year ago. always seeking clear skies,” England and Canada.
the sunlight. That means a taurant. “I booked it instantly, then Zeiler said in an email over Like everywhere else, the
little over four minutes of Inside the jammed res- I told my wife, ‘We’re go- the weekend. This time, weather was the hot topic
daytime darkness east of taurant, manager Adrian ing to Texas,’” Gotham, though, he was staying put at the Buffalo Naval and
Dallas in Mesquite, where Martinez figured on staying England’s Chris Lomas said in Fredericksburg, Texas, Military Park on Sunday.q
locals like Jorge Martinez open Monday. from the trailer resort Sun- with his family, 10 of them

Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated

approval, a study finds

By CARLA K. JOHNSON if we don’t know whether It’s unclear how much can-
AP Medical Writer they work or not.” cer patients understand
The U.S. Food and Drug Ad- The program was created about drugs with acceler-
ministration’s accelerated in 1992 to speed access to ated approval, said study
approval program is meant HIV drugs. Today, 85% of co-author Dr. Edward Cliff
to give patients early ac- accelerated approvals go of Harvard Medical School.
cess to promising drugs. But to cancer drugs. “We raise the question:
how often do these drugs It allows the FDA to grant Is that uncertainty being
actually improve or extend early approval to drugs conveyed to patients?”
patients’ lives? that show promising initial Cliff said.
In a new study, research- results for treating debilitat- Drugs that got accelerated
ers found that most cancer ing or fatal diseases. In ex- approval may be the only
drugs granted accelerated change, drug companies option for patients with rare
approval do not demon- are expected to do rigor- or advanced cancers, said
strate such benefits within ous testing and produce A sign for the Food and Drug Administration is displayed outside Dr. Jennifer Litton of MD
five years. better evidence before their offices in Silver Spring, Md., on Dec. 10, 2020. Anderson Cancer Center
“Five years after the initial gaining full approval. Associated Press in Houston, who was not in-
accelerated approval, you Patients get access to volved in the study.
should have a definitive drugs earlier, but the trad- for a full approval. cal benefit in confirmatory It’s important for doctors
answer,” said Dr. Ezekiel eoff means some of the The new study found that trials. to carefully explain the evi-
Emanuel, a cancer spe- medications don’t pan between 2013 and 2017, The research was published dence, Litton said.
cialist and bioethicist at the out. It’s up to the FDA or there were 46 cancer drugs in the Journal of the Ameri- “It might be shrinking of tu-
University of Pennsylvania the drugmaker to withdraw granted accelerated ap- can Medical Association mor. It might be how long
who was not involved in disappointing drugs, and proval. Of those, 63% were and discussed at the Ameri- the tumor stays stable,” Lit-
the research. “Thousands sometimes the FDA has de- converted to regular ap- can Association for Cancer ton said. “You can provide
of people are getting those cided that less definitive proval even though only Research annual meeting the data you have, but you
drugs. That seems a mistake evidence is good enough 43% demonstrated a clini- in San Diego on Sunday. shouldn’t overpromise.”q