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Happening Today: Catalonia, Workplace Shooting, Cancer Care, Weinstein Co.

What to Know

  • Catalonia's leader threatened to explicitly declare independence if no talks with the central government were offered
  • Cancer patients increasingly are having their cancer care guided by gene tumor boards
  • Channing Tatum is no longer developing a film with The Weinstein Co. that dealt with a boy dealing with the aftermath of sexual abuse

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Spain Calls Cabinet Meeting After Catalan Leader's Threat

Catalonia's leader threatened to explicitly declare independence if no talks with the central government were offered. Spain then called a special Cabinet session to be held over the weekend to activate measures to take control of Catalonia's semi-autonomous powers. Catalan president Carles Puigdemont's warning came in a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy with minutes to spare before the expiration of a deadline set by the central government for him to backtrack on his calls for secession. Spain's government quickly responded with a statement saying it was calling a special Cabinet session in which it would trigger the process to activate Article 155 of Spain's Constitution. It allows for central authorities to take over the semi-autonomous powers of any of the country's 17 regions, including Catalonia. The Cabinet meeting will "approve the measures that will be sent to the Senate to protect the general interest of all Spaniards," the statement said.

U.S. Rep. Calls Trump a “Liar,” Niger Attack His “Benghazi”

Calling Trump a "liar," U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson fiercely defended her statements over his call with a fallen U.S. soldier's widow. She is also demanding answers on the Niger attack in which her constituent and three other soldiers died, saying it will be "Mr. Trump's Benghazi." Wilson gave several interviews in which she discussed Trump's call and also detailed the exemplary service of U.S. Army Sgt. La David Johnson, a Miami Gardens native. Trump has been under heavy criticism after Wilson recounted her version of the conversation. Wilson said Trump had to be aware that there were multiple people who could have heard the conversation between him and Myeshia Johnson, the pregnant widow. Wilson, Wilson's driver, the limousine driver, Johnson's aunt and uncle, Myeshia, and a U.S. Army official were all present in the car at the time of the call, Wilson recounted.

Suspect in Shootings in Maryland, Delaware Captured

A gunman who allegedly shot five people inside his workplace in Edgewood, Maryland, killing three, has been apprehended in Delaware, police said. The suspect is also accused of shooting a sixth person more than 50 miles away in Wilmington, Delaware. Radee Labeeb Prince, 37, was captured on foot along Four Seasons Parkway near Clover Mill Drive in Newark, Delaware, police said. He shot five of his co-workers at a granite company about 25 miles northeast of Baltimore, police said. Three of them died. Harford County police identified them as Bayarsaikhan Tudev, 53; Jose Hidalgo Romero, 34, of Aberdeen, Maryland; and Enis Mrvoljak, 48, of Dundalk, Maryland. Prince then drove to Wilmington, where he shot a man in the head and the body at a used car lot, police said. Police received a tip Prince had been seen walking toward a Newark school from an SUV. Officers convened on the area and took him into custody. During a brief foot chase, Prince threw down a gun, officials said.

Ultra-Personal Therapy: Gene Tumor Boards Guide Cancer Care

Doctors were just guessing a decade ago when they gave Alison Cairnes' husband a new drug they hoped would shrink his lung tumors. Now she takes it too, but the choice was no guesswork. Sophisticated gene tests suggested it would fight her gastric cancer, and they were right. Cancer patients increasingly are having their care guided by gene tumor boards, a new version of the hospital panels that traditionally decided whether surgery, radiation or chemotherapy would be best. These experts study the patient's cancer genes and match treatments to mutations that seem to drive the disease. "We dissect the patient's tumor with what I call the molecular microscope," said Dr. Razelle Kurzrock, who started a board at the University of California, San Diego, where Cairnes is treated. It's the kind of care many experts say we should aim for — precision medicine, the right drug for the right person at the right time, guided by genes. There are success stories, but also some failures and many questions.

Channing Tatum No Longer Developing Sexual Abuse Drama With Weinstein Co.

Channing Tatum is no longer developing a film with The Weinstein Co. that dealt with a boy dealing with the aftermath of sexual abuse. Tatum writes on Instagram that he will not be developing anything with Harvey Weinstein's former company, which has been embroiled in sexual harassment scandals over the past two weeks. The film was to be based on author Matthew Quick's book "Forgive Me Leonard Peacock." Quick also wrote "Silver Linings Playbook," which The Weinstein Co. developed into a film that would win star Jennifer Lawrence an Oscar. Tatum writes that now is a time to be reminded of the healing message of the book and says that this is an opportunity for real change. He calls for an elimination of abuse from creative culture.

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