More Americans are injecting themselves with unapproved chemicals that are pitched as ways to build muscle, rejuvenate skin and extend life.
Behind the trend is the surging popularity of GLP-1 weight loss medications, a class of so-called peptides approved to help users quickly shed pounds.
But the peptides being promoted by influencers, celebrities and wellness gurus are different: Many have never been approved for human use and much of their purported evidence comes from studies in rats and other animals. Several peptides, such as BPC-157 and TB-500, are banned by international sports authorities as doping substances.
The House is speeding toward a vote next week on releasing files related to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a step that comes after months of resistance from Republican leaders.
They have no choice but to allow consideration of the bill after a petition on the measure reached 218 signatures. It comes at a time when new documents are raising questions about Epstein and his associates, including a 2019 email that Epstein wrote to a journalist that said president Donald Trump “knew about the girls.” The White House has accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the Republican president.
Iran seized a marshall islands-flagged oil tanker as it traveled through the narrow Strait of Hormuz on Friday, a U.S. official said, turning the ship into Iranian territorial waters in the first-such interdiction in months in the strategic waterway.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure, though it comes as Tehran has been increasingly warning it can strike back after facing a 12-day war in June with Israel that saw the U.S. strike Iranian nuclear sites.
Megan Farrell can be reached at farr9505@stthomas.edu.
