Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Introduction Despite the existence of effective medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including methadone and buprenorphine, overdose deaths remain high. In 2020, Medicare began covering methadone for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), and separate federal policy changes expanded MOUD access via telemedicine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about national trends in methadone and buprenorphine dispensing across commercial and Medicare Advantage (MA) payers, especially by patient characteristics. Methods A retrospective repeated cross-sectional study was conducted using 2019–2024 data from Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database to examine quarterly methadone and buprenorphine dispensing rates per…

It’s easy to make fun of the hip abductor machine. It involves sitting down, pressing your knees against the pad, and pushing the legs apart. It’s the ultimate “don’t you dare maintain eye contact” kind of exercise. There is no barbell bending, no plates crashing, and that is enough for some to label it a fluff exercise and move on. Then there is the “functional” crowd. Critics argue the machine has little carryover to anything that matters. Then the hip abductor machine gets pushed into the same corner as its relative, the hip adduction machine. But muscles don’t care about…

The ongoing White House construction contributed to radio problems that kept air traffic controllers from hearing calls warning that President Donald Trump’s helicopter was getting ready to take off, so they cleared an airline jet to take off just as Marine One took to the air earlier this month, federal investigators said Thursday. The week before the president’s helicopter got too close to that Envoy Air jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, air traffic controllers and Marine One pilots met to discuss controllers not receiving the standard three-minute warning call ahead of Marine One flights, according to a preliminary…

NABATIEH DISTRICT, Lebanon — At the entrance to Zawtar Gharbieh in southern Lebanon, Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) troops are stationed under a tree, stopping anyone attempting to pass through.The country’s military recently regained control of the area after Israeli troops occupying parts of southern Lebanon agreed to withdraw, part of a “pilot zone” model proposed under U.S.-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel.Under the framework agreement, Israel would withdraw from two initial pilot zones in occupied areas once they have been verifiably cleared of Hezbollah weapons and fighters. A verification mechanism has yet to be determined, and so far Israel has…

A modern destroyer is no longer just a fast warship carrying a few big guns. Think of it more like a floating weapons network, part missile battery, part radar station, part submarine hunter, and part command center. That makes identifying the US Navy’s most powerful destroyer surprisingly complicated.The obvious answer might be the largest ship. But size alone can be misleading.The U.S. Navy operates destroyers designed around different priorities, and two ships with similar dimensions can have very different strengths. One may excel at detecting and intercepting ballistic missiles. Another may be built around stealth and long-range strike. A third…

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s fight for national survival has captured the world’s imagination. This has generated widespread international admiration, but it has also fueled a more troubling trend. Over the past four-and-a-half years, it has become increasingly commonplace to treat Ukrainians as superheroes who are capable of enduring any hardship. By celebrating Ukrainian resilience as an almost superhuman quality, the international community risks obscuring the much less glamorous reality that Ukrainians are actually ordinary people who have endured extraordinary violence for far too long. Their determination to survive amid Russia’s brutal invasion should…

Road to UFC returns for its fifth season with the semifinal round, bringing together the 16 MMA prospects who emerged from May’s opening bouts. Representing the Asia-Pacific region, these rising fighters will battle for a spot in the tournament finals and a chance to earn a coveted place on the UFC roster. The semifinal action will feature bouts across the strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions, with the event set to take place on Friday, August 28, at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China. The Road to UFC Season 5 semifinals will be headlined by a special non-tournament…

At a ceremony in Lévis, Québec, Davie Shipbuilding announced that it has secured a historic contract from the Government of Canada to build six Program Icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). Davie press release The fixed-price contract, valued at $11.3 billion, marks a decisive step in the renewal and expansion of Canada’s Arctic fleet under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Construction of the first vessel will begin in 2027, with all vessels being delivered throughout the 2030s. Through this contract, the Government of Canada has demonstrated vision and decisive leadership by adapting contractual approaches to meet today’s strategic, economic,…

News August 27, 2026 Dan Taylor Technology Editor Military Embedded Systems Stock image FORT BLISS, Texas. Lockheed Martin demonstrated an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled battle management prototype designed to integrate data from multiple integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) systems planned for Guam, the company announced in a statement. The Guam Defense System Battle Manager Suite combines information from multiple sensors and weapon systems into a common air picture and uses AI-based analytics to provide operators with fire-direction recommendations, the statement reads. During the demonstration, the prototype processed hundreds of tracks and generated recommendations for responding to identified threats, according to…

KYIV, Ukraine — The Department of Defense has awarded a contract worth almost $11 million to X-Bow Systems, a New Mexico-based rocket manufacturer, under a program aimed at developing a new anti-ballistic weapon for less than $750,000 a shot — roughly a fifth the cost of its top-tier equivalent, the Patriot missile.First issued one year ago, the government’s original solicitation from the Missile Defense Agency’s Rapid Response Small Launcher Technology program called on tenders that could “rapidly demonstrate very low cost, modular interceptor designs to counter ballistic and hypersonic threats.”Two companies, Northrop Grumman and L3Harris’ Aerojet Rocketdyne, have long held…