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Aggies win school's first NCAA volleyball title
Texas A&M won its first NCAA volleyball championship after sweeping Kentucky, one of three No. 1 seeds the Aggies beat in the tournament,.
Beau Greaves - how far can darts' rising star go?
Rising darts star Beau Greaves begins her World Championship campaign against 22nd seed Daryl Gurney on Friday.
Broncos vs Jaguars Week 15: Keys to victory
Who would’ve thought that at the beginning of the season we’d be able to say that with a win and certain losses on Sunday, the Broncos can secure the top seed in the AFC? Honestly I was hoping we’d be able to clinch a playoff spot, but there is so much more at stake here. […]
‘14 strong.’ Gritty Kentucky volleyball faces program’s second-ever Final Four
No. 1 seed Kentucky volleyball is two wins away from becoming the most-decorated team in program history.
Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 to Developers
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming just a few days after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.
CFP power rankings: Ohio State is No. 1, Texas A&M better than its No. 7 seed
SportsLine college football betting expert Thomas Casale ranks the 12 College Football Playoff teams
Mirelo raises $41M from Index and a16z to solve AI video's silent problem
Mirelo, a German startup that is building AI to add synced sound effects to videos, has raised a $41 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.
NFL Week 15 INSTANT reactions: what's next for Chiefs, AFC dark horse contenders, Broncos take 1-seed
What Rams need to keep #1 seed
How the Rams could either stranglehold the 1-seed or nearly fall out of the playoffs entirely
KSL.com Sports' Pro Football Pick'em Week 15 preview
With four weeks left in the NFL regular season, the playoff picture is starting to look clearer but many teams still control their path and the seeding is still up for grabs.
NFC playoff standings, Philadelphia Eagles' rooting guide for Week 15
With the Sunday and Monday night Week 15 games set to begin in just hours, here is who fans should root for with the Eagles looking to move back into the No. 1 seed
iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
The New WHO Pandemic Treaty and Global Health Governance: Incorporating Common but Differentiated Responsibilities into PABS - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
On May 20, 2025, the World Health Assembly unanimously adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, an international treaty designed to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The product of three years of arduous negotiations, the treaty marks a new era of global cooperation in public health. However, core aspects of the agreement remain unresolved—notably the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) System, which is intended to ensure equitable access to pandemic-related materials and benefits. To support the successful implementation of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be formally incorporated into the negotiating agenda of the PABS annex. Introduction For the first time, an international treaty has enshrined the principle of “One Health,” the compelling idea that the health of animals, humans, and the environment all contribute to pandemic risks. SARS (2003), H1N1 (2009–10), Ebola (2014–16), and COVID-19 all emerged through zoonotic spillover from animal hosts—respectively, civets, hogs, and bats. Together, they underscore the need for a coordinated, cross-sectoral approach. The Pandemic Agreement responds to this call, requiring state parties to acknowledge the ecological interplay and commit to a comprehensive “One Health” strategy. Specifically, Article 5 charges governments to address “the drivers of pandemics and the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease at the human-animal-environment interface,” including wild animal markets, deforestation, and antibiotic overuse. Yet the effectiveness of this “One Health” vision depends equally on the free flow of scientific information and data among countries and institutions. Just as environmental and animal health factors have been neglected in past global frameworks, so too has data sharing been marginalized, despite its centrality to timely detection and response. The Pandemic Agreement takes an important step by requiring governments to enhance data collection and cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO). However, these provisions will remain aspirational without a robust Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex. The PABS system will determine whether countries and researchers can rapidly exchange pathogen samples and genetic data while ensuring equitable access to resulting research and development, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. Without such mechanisms, the treaty’s promise to operationalize “One Health” and strengthen global preparedness will risk becoming largely symbolic, echoing earlier failures to translate shared principles into coordinated action. Equity Concerns When the 2025 Health Assembly adopted the Pandemic Agreement, it left the difficult question of access to pathogens and the sharing of resulting benefits to be addressed in a separate agreement. Negotiations on this separate agreement, PABS, are now underway in Geneva. Yet governments remain divided over fundamental questions of equity between the countries that primarily contribute to the system and those that primarily draw from it—and consequently benefit. For example, wildlife in countries bordering the equator is likely to produce PABS materials, but companies in Europe are likely to use them to develop lucrative products. The most likely contributor countries are likely to be those biodiverse countries around the equator, such as Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia, where the number of human-mammalian viral host interactions is large. Conversely, countries most likely to benefit from this material are those with the technology, investors, and infrastructure to capitalize on genomic data, such as the United States, EU member states, and Japan. This imbalance reflects a broader pattern seen in prior international frameworks. Now, as in the past, the wealthiest countries in the world (a useful heuristic is membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)) disproportionately benefit from systems in which pathogens and genomic sequencing data are contributed to a common source. Under the International Agreement on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the “Plant Treaty” or “Seed Treaty”) and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework, companies from Europe and North America disproportionately withdraw biological samples and data for development into lucrative medical products. Their governments and companies have both statutory and contractual claims to the products that those companies correspondingly produce. PABS appears poised to follow the same pattern. The text calls for strong language on access to pathogens and associated data, but the corresponding benefits that should flow to poorer countries are couched in equivocal or non-binding language. Common but Differentiated Responsibilities To address these inequities, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be formally incorporated into the negotiating agenda of the PABS annex. Common but differentiated responsibilities are often a feature of climate change negotiations. The basic principle is that, even though all countries should reduce carbon emissions, governments that became rich and powerful through massive carbon emissions (e.g., France, the United Kingdom, the United States) should have a greater obligation to address the resulting crises. Applied to PABS, it would require that governments hosting and supporting companies developing lucrative products carry greater obligations toward the cost of running the PABS system; share benefits or final medical products; and transfer technology to help countries worldwide develop their own capacities to innovate and manufacture vaccines during an emergency. For example, an annex could mandate that any company based in an OECD country that withdraws PABS material would be obligated to donate the resulting diagnostics, therapeutics, or vaccines to the WHO during a public health emergency or pandemic. Questions remain about how robust those donations would be, but the principle is that they should deliver highly significant lifesaving benefits to be equitably shared. Theoretically, this approach mirrors the PIP Framework, in which companies withdrawing influenza samples are required to pay half of the operating costs. In practice, however, the framework has fallen short. The PIP Framework Secretariat has struggled to secure payments from companies, with companies often disagreeing over how much is owed. Additionally, without another pandemic influenza to test the strength of the agreement during a public health emergency, corporate compliance with sharing mechanisms remains unknown. Even if these limitations did not characterize the PIP Framework, partially paying for operating expenses does not address the inequity in access to genetic data and pathogen samples that left less developed countries last in line for COVID-19 vaccines (and, before them, H1N1). Common but differentiated responsibilities would go further, addressing governments’ legitimate grievances regarding information sharing. It would make withdrawals of PABS material and resulting products more transparent, building trust across the board. Enforcement and Enduring Success A key implication of this approach is that the governing mechanism of the PABS must have real enforcement authority. The WHO Pandemic Agreement delegates its core governance responsibilities to a Conference of the Parties (COP)—a governing body composed of one representative from each participating government, similar to those established under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The proposed WHO Pandemic Agreement COP is charged with oversight functions but ultimately possesses no real authority to compel a government to take any action it does not wish to take. The text does not give the COP the ability to, for example, sanction a party that does not comply with either textual obligations or PABS provisions. In other words, there are no effective mechanisms in place to ensure compliance. Perhaps just as significant, establishing a meaningful enforcement mechanism within the PABS system would strengthen the WHO’s credibility and its ability to ensure compliance across global health governance. By setting a precedent for accountability, such a mechanism could enhance the organization’s authority not only within the Pandemic Agreement but also in enforcing the revised International Health Regulations and other frameworks for public health emergencies. Conclusion The PABS annex can—and should—be different. It should establish clear responsibilities for funding as well as for sharing the diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines that result from contributions to the system. The system, in turn, must include a dedicated body empowered to hold governments and the corporations they sponsor accountable for their responsibilities before, during, and after pandemics. Doing so would restore trust in the broader agreement, which was eroded as commitments were repeatedly diluted while parties scrambled to meet their own self-imposed deadlines during the Pandemic Agreement negotiations. A robust PABS Annex would cement a grand social bargain. Wealthier countries and their corporations would gain unimpeded access to scientific information essential for developing and manufacturing lifesaving medical products. As such, they would stand to gain considerable economic benefit. Yet that privilege must be matched with responsibility. The grand bargain must include not only the right to innovate, but also the duty to ensure that innovation serves all. As medical products are developed and produced through collective contributions, every person must have equal access. All human beings deserve an equitable chance to survive—to save their own life, the lives of their families, and the well-being of their communities. … Sam Halabi, JD, MPhil, is the Bette Jacobs Endowed Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Health and the Director of the Center for Transformational Health Law at Georgetown Law. He serves as the co-lead for the WHO’s Working Group on Regulatory Consideration on AI and Health’s training workstream. He earned his JD from Harvard, his MPhil from Oxford, and undergraduate degrees from Kansas State University. Lawrence Gostin, LLD (Hon.), JD, BA, is University Distinguished Professor and Founding Director and Timothy and Linda O’Neill Professor of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. He is the author of Global Health Security: A Blueprint for the Future (Harvard University Press, 2021); Global Health Law (Harvard University Press, 2014); Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (University of California Press, 3rd ed., 2016); Public Health Law and Ethics: A Reader (University of California Press, 3rd ed., 2018); Law and the Health System (Foundation Press, 2014); Principles of Mental Health Law & Practice (Oxford University Press, 2010). He also directs the WHO Collaborating Center at Georgetown University. Image Credit: United States Mission Geneva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tulare County Economic Forecast: Cities sprouting business seeds
Editor’s note: The Business Journal published its 2026 Regional Economic Forecast issue on Nov. 28. This is one of those stories. From the grand opening of mom-and-pop shops in the revitalized downtown Tulare region to
Broncos vs Packers preview: Denver hunts for statement win
The Broncos enter their Week 15 game against Green Bay on a 10-game winning streak. A Denver win against one of the top NFC teams could solidify the top seed.
Seed funding | Latest US politics news from The Economist
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Thoughts on Notre Dame and the CFP after Championship Saturday
Notre Dame football will find out its fate later today with the College Football Playoff and here are three thoughts ahead of the seedings.
Chinese scientists develop promising stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s
New biotech allows ‘seeds’ planted in the brain to differentiate into new nerve cells, reshaping its neural network.
NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Michigan takes over No. 1 national seed
Bracketology: Michigan earns No. 1 national seed after run at Players Era
Usher and Big Sean invest $1M in entertainment production facility for Detroit youth
Usher and Big Sean have come together to invest in an entertainment production facility that will benefit Detroit youth. They've invested $1 million in the Detroit Entertainment Innovation Incubator, which will offer a virtual production studio, a creators lounge, and mentorship and seed funding to people ages 14 to 24.
Cowboys can secure NFC No. 1 overall seed if not-so-crazy scenario plays out
Dallas would have to pull upset over the Lions on Thursday, then win out. After that, things get very interesting.
NFL playoff picture: How Cowboys-Lions impacts NFC seeding and wild-card race
Latest 2025 NFL playoff picture and standings update with which teams are in, out or still alive.
Seedy K’s GameCap: Arkansas
In my pregame prep, I refreshed my memory about some truly important mileposts, battles of note against Arkansas in decades past. The Good: Scooter or Charles one or the other or both following a shot to beat the Razorbacks in Knoxville in the Dream Game Chaser game. The Bad: The season ending loss to Arkansas […]
Packers WR Christian Watson Makes Bold Proclamation About NFC North
Christian Watson declares, "We're coming for that spot," as the Green Bay Packers target the NFC North lead and top NFC seeding against a surging Chicago Bears team.
Rams upset by Panthers; Chargers win, but Justin Herbert is injured
The Rams are no longer the top seed in the NFC after losing, while the Chargers win, but Justin Herbert breaks his left hand.
Rams still hold dominant advantage for 1-seed
Despite loss to Panthers, Rams will still probably earn the NFC’s top seed
Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas and Pitt earn top seeds in NCAA volleyball tournament
Nebraska lost just one set in 20 Big Ten matches and just seven sets in a regular season that included 12 wins against ranked teams.