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San Antonio Walmart: Driver arrested in connection with nine human trafficking victims
A man believed to be the driver of a truck carrying up to 100 suspected illegal immigrants in Texas is expected to be charged in relation to the deaths of nine of the occupants. Sixty-year-old Florida native James Matthew Bradley Jr was identified by the US Attorney's office as the driver, and was arrested in connection with the incident which occurred in San Antonio. Federal prosecutors say he will be charged on Monday, however according to Reuters, the local US Attorney’s Office would not confirm whether Mr Bradley was the truck driver who was arrested.
Hopes for future HIV cure revived as South African child becomes third in remission
A South African child born with HIV has surprised experts by appearing to be effectively cured of the AIDS virus after just a year of treatment followed by eight and a half years drug-free. Patients with HIV would normally need to stay on antiretroviral (ART) drugs for the rest of their lives to keep AIDS at bay. But this child, still off treatment and now almost 10 years old, has no signs of the disease. This and other recent, isolated cases of remission have given additional hope to the 37 million people worldwide infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Yet experts urged caution, saying the case is extremely rare does not suggest a simple path to a cure. Prince Harry and Rihanna get tested for HIV 00:52 "It's a case that raises more questions than it necessarily answers," said Linda-Gail Bekker, president of the International AIDS Society (IAS), which is holding a conference in Paris this week. "It does raise the interesting notion that maybe treatment isn't for life. (But) it's clearly a rare phenomenon." The child, whose name and gender were not disclosed, was part of a clinical trial in which researchers were investigating the effect of treating HIV-positive babies in the first few weeks of life, and then stopping and starting the ART medicines whilst checking whether their HIV was being controlled. The United Nations HIV/AIDS agency said last week that 19.5 million people - more than half of the 37 million patients with HIV - are now on treatment. The vast majority of patients with HIV suffer an increase in the amount of the virus circulating in the body if they stop treatment, but this child was different, the South African researchers said. Naomi Campbell 'stands in solidarity' with millions of women on World AIDS day 00:27 "To our knowledge, this is the first case of sustained virological control from a randomized trial of ART interruption following early treatment of infants," they said in a summary of findings presented at the IAS conference on Monday. The baby contracted HIV from its mother. Treatment with ART started when it was almost nine weeks old but was interrupted at 40 weeks when the virus had been suppressed, and the child was monitored regularly for any signs of relapse. "At age 9.5 years, the child was clinically asymptomatic," the researchers said. Sharon Lewin, an HIV expert at the University of Melbourne and co-chair of the IAS's HIV Cure and Cancer forum, said the case threw up possible insights into how the human immune system can control HIV replication when treatment is interrupted. Yet in terms of the scientific search for a cure for HIV and AIDS, she told Reuters, it appeared only to confirm previous reports of similarly rare cases. "We know that very rarely, people who have had treatment and stopped it are then able to control the virus." The HIV/AIDS pandemic has killed around 35 million people worldwide since it began in the 1980s.
California crews hold wildfire in check, let more residents go home
California authorities battling a massive wildfire near Yosemite National Park lifted evacuation orders on Sunday for more residents but said firefighters may need almost two more weeks to fully contain the blaze. The Detwiler Fire was 45 percent contained, a slight improvement from Saturday, after burning 76,250 acres (30,857 hectares) and more than 130 structures, including 63 homes, since it broke out on Monday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. Evacuation orders were lifted by midday Sunday for much of the historic gold rush era town of Coulterville and nearby areas as firefighters completed firelines to contain the blaze, Cal Fire said in a statement.
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