Noninvasive: Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center announced today that it will be the first cancer center on the Gulf Coast to use new, more precise technology to treat brain tumors and many benign conditions of the head. The Leksell Gamma Knife Icon stereotactic radiosurgery system will be installed this fall, and will be used to treat brain metastases, brain tumors and other central nervous system conditions. Unlike similar procedures, the Gamma Knife Icon does not require a rigid frame to be surgically attached to a patient’s skull for accuracy. The device has an onboard CT imaging system as well as pinpoint image fusion and motion tracking technologies. The cancer center says the treatment is noninvasive with no incision, pain, lengthy recovery time or hospital stay. It can sometimes serve as an effective alternative to surgery. Read more.
No rate hike: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged today and signaled it still plans two rate increases this year. Reuters reports the Federal Reserve expects the U.S. job market to strengthen after a recent slowdown, but lowered its economic growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017. The U.S. Central Bank indicated it would be less aggressive in tightening monetary policy after the end of this year. Fed policymakers gave no indication of when they might raise rates, though their projections leave the door open to an increase next month. “The pace of improvement in the labor market has slowed,” the Federal Reserve says in a statement, adding that “economic activity will expand at a moderate pace and labor market indicators will strengthen” even with gradual rate increases. Read the full story.
At half staff: With his tenure in office marked by terror attacks and mass shootings, President Barack Obama has ordered the lowering of the nation’s flags to half-staff more often than any president in history, according to a USA Today analysis of presidential proclamations. Obama has issued 66 proclamations to fly the flag at half-staff since 2009, compared to George W. Bush’s 58 and Bill Clinton’s 50. Annual observances such as Memorial Day and Pearl Harbor day have contributed to that total, as do the deaths of notable public figures. But Obama’s presidency is distinguished by the frequency of national tragedies. Presidential scholars say Obama’s use of such proclamations show an evolution of the presidential “soft power” as comforter in chief into a more formal and visible display of national sorrow. Read the full story.
