This Buy-rated Canadian explorer-developer is working to achieve first mover status in this emerging clean energy space. Find out what all it has done and is doing.

Source: Streetwise Reports 10/28/2024

Sernova Corp. (SVA:TSX.V; SEOVF:OTCQB; PSH:XERTA) and its Cell Pouch technology could be the solution to existing challenges involving the delivery of medical treatments to patients, such as the ones described here.

Diabetic patients in resource-limited settings are having to revert back to one of the less favored, alternative ways to take insulin, via syringes or glass vials, because Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO:NYSE), will stop making its insulin pens, The Guardian reported. Patients generally prefer this method for dosing themselves with insulin, as shown in a 2024 survey, because it is more convenient and more accurate.

Type 1 diabetic patients already are being impacted as Novo stopped supplying its insulin pens to certain regions, South Africa for instance. Patients there have switched back to using glass vials.

In a second situation, Novo Nordisk is working to bring stem cell-based therapies to patients more efficiently and, in seeking a solution, formed a partnership with Evotec SE (EVO:NASDAQ) to develop technologies that will achieve this, noted Evotec is a Germany-based global biotech firm with its own cell therapy and partnered cell types all in preclinical development for various indications, including diabetes, oncology, cardiology, and ophthalmology.

Per the agreement, Novo Nordisk is to provide research and development funding and potentially monetary incentives to Evotec, and Evotec is to develop the desired new technologies. Novo has the option to obtain exclusive rights to use, in a predefined medical indication, the product(s) born out of this collaboration agreement. Novo's areas of focus, along with diabetes, are cardiovascular diseases, rare diseases, growth hormone-related diseases, hemophilia, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and weight management.

Safe, Effective Therapeutic Cell Delivery

Sernova Corp.'s Cell Pouch is a vehicle for delivering various types of therapeutic cells to patients, such as donor islet cells to insulin-dependent diabetics.

When used, the Cell Pouch's containment channels are filled with the appropriate therapeutic cells, and then the device is implanted in the patient. In situ, the cells release therapeutic proteins or hormones the patient's body completely or partially lacks. The device creates a vascularized, organ-like environment that protects the therapeutic cells from immune system attacks, keeping them alive and functioning.

"The Cell Pouch is the most advanced encapsulation device in development," Ventum Capital Markets Analyst Stefan Quenneville wrote in a Sept. 12 research report.

Sernova is testing its Cell Pouch in the clinic, specifically in Type 1 diabetes. In its ongoing Phase 1/2 study, the Canadian company is evaluating the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes with donor islets implanted via the Cell Pouch, with added immunosuppression therapy. Study data so far have shown the Cell Pouch to be safe and well tolerated and the treatment, effective, reported Dr. Joseph Pantginis, analyst at H.C. Wainwright & Co., in a Sept. 12 research report.

Seven patients, all six of Cohort A and one in Cohort B, achieved sustained insulin independence, between 5.5 and 50 months in duration, free of hypoglycemic episodes. Their blood sugar levels were controlled in the nondiabetic range (i.e.,) HbA1c less than 6.5%.

"The Cell Pouch is the most advanced encapsulation device in development," Ventum Capital Markets Analyst Stefan Quenneville wrote.

A Cell Pouch removed from one of the study patients showed it still contained functioning insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin-producing cells. No evidence was seen of detrimental fibrotic tissue, too many T-cells, material degradation, or changes in the device architecture.

"We believe the impressive response rates and observed durability support Sernova's strategy and justify further investigation while positioning the technology for potential commercial success," noted Pantginis.

The results add to an expanding collection of evidence that the Cell Pouch is functioning as it should. The data also support the "impressive" results already reported from this study and help derisk future related trials.

"If Sernova is successful in bringing its functional cure for insulin-dependent diabetes to the stage where it can go into commercial production, the global market for it will be massive," wrote Technical Analyst Clive Maund in a Sept. 16 note.

In another of its programs, Sernova, in collaboration with Evotec, is developing an implantable off-the-shelf, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based islet replacement therapy, Maund reported.

"This partnership provides Sernova a potentially unlimited supply of insulin-producing cells to treat millions of patients with insulin-dependent diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2)," he added.

This partnership was announced on May 17, 2022. You can read more about it in the press release here.

Market Growth Predicted to 2030

The global live cell encapsulation market, encompassing drug delivery, regenerative medicine and cell transplantation, is expected to continue growing through at least 2030, according to Grand View Research. The market's value, US$210.7 million in 2022, is forecasted to increase at a 3.97% compound annual growth rate between that year and 2030.

"If Sernova is successful in bringing its functional cure for insulin-dependent diabetes to the stage where it can go into commercial production, the global market for it will be massive," wrote Technical Analyst Clive Maund.

Along with diabetes, live cell encapsulation is being used to treat neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease, The market research firm noted. Further, it has been proven to be a suitable way to deliver treatment for other types of diseases, including cancer, anemia, heart failure and more.

Several factors are expected to keep driving market growth during the forecast period, Grand View noted. A significant one is the increasing use of live cell encapsulation in regenerative medicine to replace disease or damaged tissues. A related contributor is rising public and private funding and investments in cell and gene therapies.

The advantages of live cell encapsulation in controlled drug delivery are boosting the market, too. They include enhanced therapeutic effects, lowered drug dose, reduced cytotoxicity, improved patient convenience and better patient compliance.

Novel new products and technological advancements are expected to add value to the market as well.

The Catalysts: Progress With Programs

Various potential stock-moving events are slated for Sernova, according to its September 2024 Corporate Presentation.

Two catalysts are expected by Sernova in 2025, related to the company's ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial in Type 1 diabetes. One is results for the remaining Cohort B patients. The other is commencement of Cohort C, who will receive, along with the islet cells, an optimized immune suppression regimen.

Several analysts are bullish on Sernova. One of them is Loe, who rates it as a Speculative Buy. His price target on the life sciences firm implies a 455% return from its current share price.

Next year, Sernova plans to start a Phase 1/2 trial of the regeneratively produced islet cells to result from its partnership with Evotec, delivered via the Cell Pouch to Type 1 diabetes patients.

Other catalysts are expected to come as a result of Sernova advancing its preclinical programs. One is a personalized treatment with patient corrected cells via Cell Pouch for hypothyroidism. Another is a Cell Pouch-delivered, ex vivo lentiviral factor VIII gene therapy for hemophilia, being developed in partnership with the European Haemacure Consortium.

Also, through partnerships, Sernova is developing technologies that would eliminate the need for concurrent immunosuppression during Cell Pouch-delivered cell treatment, a "blue sky objective," Douglas Loe, a Leede Financial Inc. analyst, noted in a Sept. 12 research report.

"Any advances in this regard could be incorporated into future Cell Pouch studies," he wrote. "We do not consider the need for such therapy to be relevant to Cell Pouch function itself."

Analyst: Company is "Very Undervalued"

Several analysts are bullish on Sernova. One of them is Loe, who rates it as a Speculative Buy. His price target on the life sciences firm implies a 455% return from its current share price.

According to H.C. Wainwright's Pantginis, the deepening responses of Type 1 diabetes patients in its Phase 1/2 trial continue to "crystallize Sernova stock's possible upside." The upside reflected in Pantginis' price target is 2,122%. The analyst recommends the company as a Buy.

Ventum's Quenneville also has a Buy on Sernova, and his target price reflects an 826% return on investment. In his report, the analyst highlighted the impressive efficacy and tolerability of the Cell Pouch up to five years post-implantation, as shown in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial data.

"This represents the longest-lasting implanted encapsulation device containing functioning islets without fibrosis," Quenneville wrote.

According to Technical Analyst Maund, Sernova is "very undervalued here given its huge potential" in the Type 1 diabetes market, as indicated on the stock charts. The fundamental outlook for the company is improving, and evidence is strong that a reversal to the upside may be happening. SVA may appreciate significantly soon. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-4790]

"Sernova is therefore viewed as a good stock to accumulate in this area, between the current price and recent lows," Maund wrote on Sept. 16. At that time, Sernova's share price was about the same as it is now.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, about 12.96% of the company is held by insiders and management, and 0.05% by institutions. The rest is retail.

Top shareholders include Tomas Angel with 4.91%, Director Steven Sangha with 4.27%, Betty Anne Millar with 1.32%, Brett Alexander Whalen with 0.87%, and Garry Deol with 0.77%.

Its market cap is CA$83 M. Its 52-week range is CA$0.20−0.82 per share.

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Important Disclosures:

1. Sernova Corp. has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Sernova Corp.
3. Doresa Banning wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor.
4. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.
5. This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

( Companies Mentioned: SVA:TSX.V;SEOVF:OTCQB;PSH:XERTA, )

Source: Streetwise Reports 10/31/2024

Healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) company Treatment.com AI Inc. (TRUE:CSE; TREIF:OTCMKTS; 939:FRA) announced that it has closed a non-brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of CA$1.95 million.

A total of 2,138,766 special warrants of the company were offered at CA$0.75 per special warrant with proceeds of CA$1.6 million. The company also said 466,666 units of the company were offered at CA$0.75 per unit for proceeds of CA$349,999.50.

The company said it intends to use the proceeds for working capital purposes.

"We are very encouraged by the support from our investors with their overwhelming response to the financing and the subsequent over-subscription," Chief Executive Officer Dr. Essam Hamza said. "This money will help expedite our aggressive growth plans over the next year."

Technical Analyst Clive Maund noted on October 9* that the outlook for the company is "outstandingly bright" because it has "positioned itself to revolutionize the healthcare industry using AI and advanced machine learning technologies."

The company "is set to transform the current archaic system so that no longer do patients have to sit for hours in waiting rooms to see a doctor or doctors, and doctors and other healthcare professionals have to suffer a crushing burden of often unnecessary patient visits and tedious repetitive bureaucracy," he wrote. "Treatment AI's platform will take care of most of it."

Healthcare Professionals Worldwide Contribute to AI Engine

Treatment.com AI said it is a company utilizing AI and best clinical practices with a goal to positively improve the healthcare sector and impact current inefficiencies and challenges.

With the input of hundreds of healthcare professionals globally, Treatment.com AI said it has built a comprehensive, personalized healthcare AI engine called the Global Library of Medicine (GLM). With more than 10,000 expert medical reviews, the GLM is designed to provide tested clinical information and support to all healthcare professionals, as well as providing recommended tests (physical and lab), X-rays, and billing codes.

According to the company, the GLM will help healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, and pharmacists) reduce administrative burdens, creating more time for face-to-face patient appointments.

"AI is set to expedite and streamline the healthcare industry, making it vastly more efficient for the benefit of both healthcare professionals and patients," Maund noted.

The Catalyst: A 'Profound Transformation' in the Industry

AI has an important role to play in the healthcare offerings of the future, a 2019 report from the National Center of Biomechanical Medicine listed in the National Library of Medicine said. "In the form of machine learning, it is the primary capability behind the development of precision medicine, widely agreed to be a sorely needed advance in care."

Healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to the technology to address both clinical and administrative challenges. The combination of generative AI, as noted by Appinventiv in September, and operational tools like those developed by Treatment.com AI are driving this transformation.

Generative AI is "catalyzing a profound transformation within the healthcare industry" by generating synthetic data, predicting patient outcomes, and optimizing treatment plans, all of which revolutionize clinical decision-making processes, Appinventiv reported. This aligns with Treatment.com AI's announced collaboration with SPRYT on September 17 whereby integrating SPRYT’s AI receptionist "Asa" with its GLM has the goal of enhancing patient access to healthcare while reducing administrative burdens.

A CBC report from September 16 said real-world applications of AI in healthcare are already showing promising results. Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, co-author of a study on the topic, expressed optimism about AI's ability to "complement clinicians' own judgment and lead to better outcomes for fragile patients."

According to a report by Markets and Markets, the global AI in healthcare market in total was valued at US$20.9 billion this year and will reach an estimated US$148.4 billion by 2029, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.1%.

"The growth of AI in the healthcare market is driven by the generation of large and complex healthcare datasets, the pressing need to reduce healthcare costs, improving computing power and declining hardware costs, and the rising number of partnerships and collaborations among different domains in the healthcare sector, and growing need for improvised healthcare services due to imbalance between healthcare workforce and patients," the report said.

Analyst: A 'Genuine Breakout Soon' for Stock

Maund said its stock charts are also looking "very positive indeed" for the company.

Of particular note is the big upleg late in June and early in July on persistent heavy volume, which broke the price clear above the May high and drove volume indicators steeply higher," the analyst noted. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-10594]

"This is very bullish price/volume action, especially as the volume indicators have not just held up but have actually advanced as the price has reacted back in a normal manner from the early July high to arrive at a support level where it has stabilized above the 200-day moving average in readiness for renewed advance, so the correction looks like a large bull Pennant that, as it is now closing up, promises renewed advance soon," continued Maund, who said holders should stay long and rated the stock a Strong Buy that "is thought worth going overweight on."

"The June-July rally must be classed as a 'preliminary' breakout," he noted. "But that said, the exceptionally bullish price/volume action of recent months does promise a genuine breakout soon that looks set to lead to a sustained and substantial uptrend."

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Sedi.ca, insiders own approximately 8% of Treatment.com AI. Retail investors own the remaining 92%.

The company has 48.84 million outstanding common shares and has 41.3 million free float traded shares.

As of October 31, the market cap is approximately CA$31.75 million. Over the past 52 weeks, the company traded between CA$0.355 and CA$1.11 per share.

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Important Disclosures:

1. Treatment.com AI has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Treatment.com AI.
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.
5. This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

* Disclosure for quotes from the Clive Maund source October 9, 2024

1. For the quote (sourced on October 9, 2024), the Company has paid Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, US$1,500.
2. Author Certification and Compensation: [Clive Maund of clivemaund.com] is being compensated as an independent contractor by Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, for writing the article quoted. Maund received his UK Technical Analysts’ Diploma in 1989. The recommendations and opinions expressed in the article accurately reflect the personal, independent, and objective views of the author regarding any and all of the designated securities discussed. No part of the compensation received by the author was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed.

Clivemaund.com Disclosures

The quoted article represents the opinion and analysis of Mr. Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks cannot be only be construed as a recommendation or solicitation to buy and sell securities.

( Companies Mentioned: TRUE:CSE; TREIF:OTCMKTS;939:FRA, )

Source: Dr. Douglas Loe 10/31/2024

Leede Financial analysts Dr. Douglas Loe and Siew Ching Yeo, in a research report published on October 30, 2024, maintained their Speculative Buy rating on ProMIS Neurosciences Inc. (PMN:TSX; PMN:NCM) with a price target of US$9.50. The report follows ProMIS's presentation of interim Phase I data for PMN310, its Alzheimer's disease (AD) candidate, at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference.

The analysts highlighted the positive safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) data, stating, "We were encouraged (though not overly surprised) to see that the mAb was well-tolerated at all five test doses ranging from 2.5mg/kg-to-40mg/kg." They added, "PK analysis of all of these patient cohorts in this single-ascending dose (SAD) trial suggests that once-monthly dosing may be sufficient to sustain mAb levels both in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid over time."

Regarding dosing efficacy, the analysts noted, "Importantly, ProMIS indicated in the Jul/24 update that even at 2.5mg/kg dosing, PMN310 levels in CSF were over 100x higher than predicted to be necessary to bind to all beta-amyloid oligomers that could accumulate in CSF in diseased patients."

The analysts emphasized the significance of recent industry developments, particularly AbbVie's acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics, stating, "AbbVie's tangible interest in Phase I-stage AD assets shows us that ProMIS could itself be attractive to future suitors if/when it can document direct impact on cognitive impairment in diseased patients."

The report highlighted ProMIS's financial position following its recent equity offering, noting that the company raised US$30.3M with multiple layers of warrant coverage tied to development milestones.

Leede Financial's valuation methodology combines multiple approaches. The analysts explained, "We are maintaining our Speculative Buy rating and one-year PT of US$9.50 on PMN, with our valuation still based on NPV (30% discount rate) and multiples of our F2029 EBITDA/fd EPS forecasts."

They added, "By direct comparison to Aliada's US$1.4B value, PMN shares would notionally be valued on a fully-diluted basis at US$17.65/shr."

In conclusion, Leede Financial's maintenance of their Speculative Buy rating and US$9.50 price target reflects confidence in ProMIS's development of PMN310 and its potential in the Alzheimer's disease market. The share price at the time of the report of US$1.03 represents a potential return of approximately 822% to the analysts' target price, highlighting the significant upside potential if the company's clinical development plans prove successful.

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Important Disclosures:

1. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.
2. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.
3. This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

Disclosures for Leede Financial Inc., ProMIS Neurosciences Inc., October 30, 2024

Important Information and Legal Disclaimers Leede Financial Inc. (Leede) is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). This document is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security or instrument or to participate in any particular investing strategy. Data from various sources were used in the preparation of these documents; the information is believed but in no way warranted to be reliable, accurate and appropriate. All information is as of the date of publication and is subject to change without notice. Any opinions or recommendations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Leede. Leede cannot accept any trading instructions via e-mail as the timely receipt of e-mail messages, or their integrity over the Internet, cannot be guaranteed. Dividend yields change as stock prices change, and companies may change or cancel dividend payments in the future. All securities involve varying amounts of risk, and their values will fluctuate, and the fluctuation of foreign currency exchange rates will also impact your investment returns if measured in Canadian Dollars. Past performance does not guarantee future returns, investments may increase or decrease in value, and you may lose money. Leede employees may buy and sell shares of the companies that are recommended for their own accounts and for the accounts of other clients. Disclosure codes are used in accordance with Policy 3600 of CIRO.

Description of Disclosure Codes 1. Leede and its affiliates collectively beneficially own 1% or more of any class of equity securities of the company as of the end of the preceding month or the month prior to the preceding month if the report was issued prior to the 10th. 2. The analyst or any associate of the analyst responsible for the report or public comment hold shares or is short any of the company's securities directly or through derivatives. 3. Leede or a director or officer of Leede or any analyst provided services to the company for remuneration other than normal investment advisory or trade execution services within the preceding 12 months. 4. Leede provided investment banking services for the company during the 12 months preceding the publication of the research report. 5. Leede expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services in the next three months. 6. The analyst preparing the report received compensation based upon Leede investment banking revenues for this issuer within the preceding 12 months. 7. The director, officer, employee, or research analyst is an officer, director or employee of the company, or serves in an advisory capacity to the company. 8. Leede acts as a market maker of the company. 9. The analyst has conducted a site visit and has viewed a major facility or operation of the issuer. 10. The company has paid for all, or a material portion, of the travel costs associated with the site visit by the analyst.

Dissemination All final research reports are disseminated to existing and potential institutional clients of Leede Financial Inc. (Leede) in electronic form to intended recipients thorough e-mail and third-party aggregators. Research reports are posted to the Leede website and are accessible to customers who are entitled to the firm’s research. Reproduction of this report in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Research Analyst Certification The Research Analyst(s) who prepare this report certify that their respective report accurately reflects his/her personal opinion and that no part of his/her compensation was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views as to the securities or companies. Leede Financial Inc. (Leede) compensates its research analysts from a variety of sources and research analysts may or may not receive compensation based upon Leede investment banking revenue.

Canadian Disclosures This research has been approved by Leede Financial Inc. (Leede), which accepts sole responsibility for this research and its dissemination in Canada. Leede is registered and regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Canadian clients wishing to effect transactions in any designated investment discussed should do so through a Leede Registered Representative.

U.S. Disclosures This research report was prepared by Leede Financial Inc. (Leede). Leede is registered and regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). This report does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities discussed herein. Leede is not registered as a broker-dealer in the United States and is not subject to U.S. rules regarding the preparation of research reports and the independence of research analysts. Any resulting transactions should be effected through a U.S. broker-dealer.

( Companies Mentioned: PMN:TSX; PMN:NCM, )

Source: Dr. David Nierengarten 11/07/2024

TScan Therapeutics Inc. (TCRX:NASDAQ) Phase 1 ALLOHA study, evaluating its lead therapeutic candidates TSC-100 and TSC-101 in hematologic malignancies, showed patients continuing to have a positive response after one year, reported Wedbush analyst Dr. David Nierengarten in a Nov. 5 research note. TSC-100 and TSC-101 are T-cell receptor-engineered T-cell therapies (TCR-Ts).

"We see a catalyst-rich next few months ahead with data building in prominence on stock impact," Nierengarten wrote.

87% Return Potential

Wedbush has a US$10 per share target price on the Massachusetts-based biotech, trading at the time of the report at about US$5.36 per share, noted the analyst. The difference between these figures implies an 87% return potential for investors.

TScan Therapeutics remains rated Outperform.

Durability of Response Data

Nierengarten presented the clinical trial's latest results. As of the July 8, 2024 data cutoff date, in Phase 1 of ALLOHA, 16 patients with hematologic tumors had been administered TSC-100 or TSC-101, and 11 patients had been given a placebo. Median follow-ups had occurred at 5.8 months and 5.3 months, respectively.

At the time, none of the patients in the treatment arm had had a relapse. In the control arm, however, three, or 27% of, the 11 patients had, and the median time to relapse was 159 days. The analyst explained that this is typical for patients receiving a hematopoietic stem cell transplant after reduced-intensity conditioning.

One year out from treatment, five patients were evaluable, and all remained relapse free and minimal residual disease negative at the time. These data underscore the durability of response to this TCR-T treatment, Nierengarten commented. Its safety profile was shown to be favorable still, with no patients experiencing dose-limiting toxicities or adverse events associated with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

"Enrollment continues in dose expansion cohorts, and results could support a registrational trial as early as 2025, pending regulatory feedback," Nierengarten wrote.

On the Horizon

TScan Therapeutics has several catalysts related to its clinical programs on the horizon, which Nierengarten listed.

On Nov. 8 and 9, the company will present preclinical data in the poster sessions at the annual Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer meeting. One poster will show in vitro combinatorial data for T-Plex, TScan's cellular therapy for treating solid tumors. It is comprised of two to three different TCR-Ts that target different tumor antigens on different human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types.

A second poster will detail the expansion of ImmunoBank, the biotech's diverse bank of therapeutic T-cell receptors (TCRs) that recognize diverse targets and are associated with multiple HLA types. The third will depict development of a target agnostic platform to evaluate how TCR-Ts affect primary human tissues.

On Dec. 9, TScan Therapeutics will present updated one-year data from ALLOHA, at the American Society for Hematology Annual Meeting in December.

By year-end, the biotech will announce initial data from administering singleplex therapy, cell therapy engineered using a single TCR, to patients with solid tumors. This treatment is being given to establish safety before administering multiplex therapy, cell therapy engineered from multiple TCRs.

In 2025, TScan Therapeutics will provide long-term duration of response data for multiplex therapy in solid tumors and will potentially commence a registrational trial for TSC-100 and TSC-101.

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Important Disclosures:

1. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.
2. This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

For additional disclosures, please click here.

Disclosures for Wedbush, TScan Therapeutics Inc., November 5, 2024

Analyst Certification We, David Nierengarten, Martin Fan and Dennis Pak, certify that the views expressed in this report accurately reflect our personal opinions and that we have not and will not, directly or indirectly, receive compensation or other payments in connection with our specific recommendations or views contained in this report.

Company Specific Disclosures This information is subject to change at any time. 1. WS makes a market in the securities of TScan Therapeutics, Inc.. 6. WS is acting as a financial advisor for TScan Therapeutics, Inc..

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Centerra Gold Inc. (CG:TSX; CADGF:OTCPK) has received varied analyst ratings following updates to its Q3 2024 financial results and projections. Read more on the latest analyst insights and how Q3 projections have shaped varied ratings for this gold producer.

What does 2011 hold for technology in government?  This is always hard to predict but we must continually be looking forward, researching the trends, separating the potential break through from the fads, and determining what solid technology in our past is now obsolete.  Investments must be sound to maximize the limited, available dollars.  As we [...]

Every year about this time I try to predict the technology trends for local government that will influence how we do business in the coming year.  This year, I am doing something a little different.  I started with an article that covered some of the changes we have seen in the past few years that [...]

Gloria Majiga-Kamoto, an activist from Malawi, is one of six recipients of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize. Majiga-Kamoto has been instrumental in implementing Malawi's ban on thin plastics.; Credit: /Goldman Environmental Prize

For Gloria Majiga-Kamoto, her great awakening to plastic pollution started with goats.

She was working for a local environmental NGO in her native Malawi with a program that gave goats to rural farmers. The farmers would use the goat's dung to produce low-cost, high-quality organic fertilizer.

The problem? The thin plastic bags covering the Malawian countryside.

"We have this very common street food, it's called chiwaya, and it's just really potato fried on the side of the road and it's served in these little blue plastics," Majiga-Kamoto says. "So because it's salty, once the goats get a taste of the salt, they just eat the plastic because they can't really tell that it's inedible. And they die because it blocks the ingestion system — there's no way to survive."

The goats were supposed to reproduce for the program, with the goat kids going on to new farmers. But because of plastic deaths the whole goat chain started falling apart.

"It was a lot of expectation from the farmers waiting to benefit. So you had this farmer who had this one goat and then they lost it. And that means that in that chain of farmers, that's obviously affected quite a number of farmers who won't get their turn."

For Majiga-Kamoto, her experience at the NGO with the plastic-eating goats was the moment it all changed. All of a sudden she started noticing how plastics were everywhere in the Malawian environment and food system — affecting people's livelihoods and health.

The fish in Lake Malawi were eating plastic trash. The country's cows were eating plastic. Researchers found that in one Malawi town 40% of the livestock had plastic in their intestines.

"We're choking in plastics," Majiga-Kamoto says, "And so what it means is that in one way or the other, we as humans are consuming these plastics."

Majiga-Kamoto was also seeing how plastics contributed to the growth of disease. Huge piles of plastic trash were blocking off Malawi's many waterways, creating pungent breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry malaria and for bacteria that cause cholera.

The 30-year-old says she remembers a time when Malawians didn't rely so much on thin, single-use plastic. "I remember back in the day when we'd go to the market and buy things like fish, like dried fish, you'd get it in newspapers."

But thin plastics have taken off in the last decade or so as new manufacturers sprung up in Malawi, selling products like thin plastic bags at cheap prices that made them affordable and accessible even in the most undeveloped parts of the country. A 2019 UNDP funded report found that Malawi produces an estimated 75,000 tonnes of plastic a year, with 80% reportedly single-use plastic. Single-use plastic refers to bags, straws and bottles that can't be recycled, and thin plastic refers to plastic that's under 60 microns in thickness.

The proliferation of this thin plastic waste led to the Malawian government's 2015 decision to ban the production, distribution and importation of single-use thin plastic. But before the ban could go into full effect, Malawi's plastics manufacturing industry filed an injunction at the country's High Court. The ban stalled.

When Majiga-Kamoto and a group of her fellow environmental NGO-workers and activists heard about the injunction they were angry and frustrated. "It sort of caught our interest to say, 'Wait a minute, you mean that there's actually people in our society who think that this is not a problem and that we should actually continue to live this way?'"

Galvanized, Majiga-Kamoto led a group of local environmental activists and NGOs to actually implement the single-use plastics ban, organizing marches on the judiciary where the decision would be decided. She kept her job at her NGO, the Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy, and did this work on her own time.

She rejected the plastic industry's argument that the ban would hurt Malawi's economy — and even debated an industry lobbyist on TV.

Finally in 2019, after multiple injunctions filed by the plastics industry, the High Court ruled in favor of the single-use thin plastic ban. The following year the Malawian government began closing down illegal plastic manufacturers.

Last week Majiga-Kamoto was named one of the six winners of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize for her work on this issue. Michael Sutton, executive director of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, says Majiga-Kamoto's fight with the plastic lobby epitomizes the spirit of the prize. "She mustered the troops, the grassroots communities, to take on the government and big industry and won several times," Sutton says, "She not only won the ban in law, but is now holding the government's feet to the fire to enforce it."

And Majiga-Kamoto isn't letting up her pressure to uphold the single-use plastic ban anytime soon. Although she is trying to get some summer vacation time with her family — that is, if she isn't interrupted.

"I was just at the lake a couple of weeks ago and we were there just enjoying the beautiful lake and along come these pieces of plastic." Three plastic bags floated up closer to her, her son and her niece as they played in the water.

Majiga-Kamoto grabbed for the bags.

"My family was laughing to say, 'You shouldn't be working! You're at the lake!' And I'm like, 'But I can't just leave them in there!'"

Julia Simon is a regular contributor to NPR's podcasts and news desks focusing on climate change, energy, and business news.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Traffic on Interstate 95 was diverted for hours after a group of armed men fled from police near Wakefield, Mass. on Saturday. Massachusetts state police say 11 suspects have been taken into custody.; Credit: Michael Dwyer/AP

Eleven people were taken into custody Saturday after an hours-long standoff with police early Saturday outside Boston.

While police engaged in negotiation, members of the group engaged the public on social media, saying their group was called "Rise of the Moors."

The heavily armed men were said to be driving from Rhode Island to Maine for "training."

The incident started around 1:30 a.m., when state police noticed two cars stopped at the side of I-95 near Wakefield, Mass., apparently out of fuel. As troopers stopped to assist, they noticed that some individuals near the cars had "military-style" gear, and were carrying long guns and pistols, Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason told reporters.

"You can imagine 11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at 2 in the morning certainly raises concerns and is not consistent with the firearms laws that we have in Massachusetts," Mason said.

Police requested backup, and thus began a standoff that lasted several hours. The men refused to lower their weapons, saying that they "don't recognize our laws," police said. Some of the armed men fled into a nearby wooded area, police said, and a portion of I-95 was closed for several hours.

The standoff was broadcast on social media

Around 4 a.m., a man whom the Boston Globe identified as Jamhal Talib Abdullah Bey said he was broadcasting live from I-95 and said that he told police they had nothing to fear.

"I reassured them that we are not sovereign citizens," a man who appeared to be Bey said in a live-streamed video. "I reassured them that we are not Black identity extremists. I reassured them that we are not anti-police. I reassured them that we are not anti-government. I reassured them that these men here will not be pointing guns at them. I reassured them that we are trying to come to a peaceful resolution."

"We're going to our private land to train, which is our Second Amendment right," he said, showing a vehicle he said contained camping equipment.

As police tactical teams brought in armored vehicles to surround the area, and negotiators interacted with the men, they ultimately surrendered. Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan told reporters the suspects were expected to appear in court on Tuesday morning.

State police "don't have any knowledge about this particular specific group" but as state police "it is not unusual for us to encounter people that have sovereign citizen ideologies — I'm not saying that this group does — but we have had those encounters before in the past," Mason said at a Saturday morning press briefing.

"We train to those encounters," Mason continued. "We very much understand the philosophy that underlies that mindset. And we train our officers, actually, at the academy, on these interactions and how to de-escalate those situations, and how to engage with people that have that philosophy and mindset and resolve those situations in a peaceful manner."

The group calls itself "Rise of the Moors"

The same man appearing to be Bey said in a later video: "They keep portraying us as being anti-government, but we're not anti-government at all."

The group's website lists Bey as a leader of the "Rhode Island State Republic and Providence Plantations." According to the site, Bey served in the military for four years, some or all of that time in the Marines, after which he began studying "Moorish Science."

That website, "Rise of the Moors," explains that Moors are not "sovereign citizens" because "sovereignty does not stand alone," but can rather be considered synonymous with "nationality."

"The record show that the Moors are the organic or original sovereigns of this land — America," the FAQ says. "When we declare our nationality as Moorish Americans we are taking back the position as the aboriginal people of the land, to which the sovereign power is vested in."

Bey's group may be associated with the Moorish sovereign citizen movement, which the Southern Poverty Law Center characterizes as an offshoot of the antigovernment sovereign citizens movement. Moorish sovereigns "have come into conflict with federal and state authorities over their refusal to obey laws and government regulations," SPLC writes.

"The Moorish Sovereign movement is a rapidly growing group of people who believe that they belong to a sovereign nation that has a treaty with the US but otherwise operates outside of the federal and state laws," JJ MacNab, a fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, explained on Twitter.

"They rely on an alternative history that borrows from Moorish Science Temple, Black Hebrew Israelism, Nation of Islam, UFO theories, phony Native American tribes, and the pseudo-legal arguments crafted by white supremacist 'patriot' groups in the 1970s," MacNab said.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Three applied research centers at the Charlotte Research Institute will install instrumentation and conduct experiments at the Eco-Complex, an expansion of innovative waste reduction and waste processing technology already underway at the Complex.

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners, at its January 19, 2010 meeting, joined with other local governments across the region in approving the agreement. The main points of the agreement hinged on Concord and Kannapolis modifying their ability, contained in their IBT certificate, to withdraw 10 million gallons of water per day (MGD) from the Catawba River at all times, by significantly limiting withdrawals during times of drought. The agreement limits withdrawals to 6 MGD during times of most severe drought, or �exceptional� drought; 7 MGD during �extreme� drought; 8.5 MGD during �severe� drought; and 9 MGD during �moderate� drought. Further, the agreement restricts Concord and Kannapolis from withdrawing more than 3 MGD from the Catawba until July 1, 2015, and after they first are withdrawing 5 MGD from the Yadkin River.

Commissioner Barger was recognized as �a leader with insight and determination� and a person of �trust, integrity, responsibility, and concern for fellow citizens� in a Distinguished Public Service Award presented to him during the meeting.

Representatives from Public Health�s Women, Infants and Children program will be attending the upcoming Family Fair at Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) April 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to provide information and schedule appointments for families who qualify for WIC assistance.

Do you have any unwanted household products, such as paints, cleansers, solvents, antifreeze, batteries or used motor oils; or electronics like computer equipment, old radios, mobile phones, TVs, VCRs, calculators or copiers? Dispose of them properly, free of charge, on May 7th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Beginning July 1, 2011, computer equipment and televisions will be banned from disposal in North Carolina landfills, under a law passed last year by the General Assembly. Catawba County will provide four one-day electronics recycling collection events in fiscal year 2011-2012, free of charge. All residents of Catawba County will have access to these electronics recycling events, including those who live in the cities and towns in the county.

The facility is now testing biodiesel fuel being produced by several companies in the region and from the harvest of crops growing around the landfill to test which ones grow best in the local climate while producing the best oils for biodiesel.

�Catawba Communities,� a monthly show which will feature information about programs and services provided by local governments, school systems and associated agencies across Catawba County, will premiere on Charter Communications� Government Channel (Channel 3) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at 8:00 p.m.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has released recommendations on widening of Highway 16 South in Catawba County (within the minutes of public meetings). Link to project maps: http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/highway/roadway/hearingmaps_by_county/county/Catawba.html

The United States Environmental Planning Agency (USEPA) has announced that Catawba County will be classified as �attainment� from its current �nonattainment� designation for Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) on December 19, 2011. PM 2.5 (fine particle pollution) refers to tiny particles of droplets in the air that are two and one half microns or less in width. Two and one half microns is about thirty times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba County students in the 4th or 5th grades submitted posters related to the theme �Severe Weather Awareness� and illustrated an example of a natural hazard that affects North Carolina. One poster from each county and one overall winner from all entries were chosen as the winners of the Unifour Area Severe Weather Awareness Week Poster Contest. The winners were announced during Severe Weather Awareness Week with surprise presentations at each winner�s school.

A Catawba County Social Services program that serves as an ongoing, immediate source of food for students who often go hungry, during weekends and extended breaks from school, and a Green Vendor Exhibition designed to shine a spotlight on existing and potential vendors that specialize in providing recycled and environmentally-friendly products and services, have been named winners of 2012 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards.

The agreement would substantially increase the number of items collected for recycling across Catawba County, with further expansion of items collected as needed over time; begin �single stream� collection of recyclable commodities so recycled materials would no longer be required to be separated at curbside; increase Republic Services� investment in Catawba County by $13 million; and protect more than 150 local jobs.

The Western Piedmont Council of Governments has won a national honor for the Western North Carolina Annual Air Quality Conference held at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Budget Office wins national award, for producing budget document judged easy to read and understand, for 25th straight year

Catawba County Public Health has earned reaccreditation from the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board.

Charter Communications' Government Channel for Catawba County will move from Channel 3 to Channel 192 effective January 28, 2014.

Catawba County Board of Commissioners adopts resolution supporting citizen participation in government through elections in Catawba County.

Robin Heilweil, 6, wears a mask while swinging around with her kindergarten class this month at Kenter Canyon School in Los Angeles.; Credit: Sarah Reingewirtz/Los Angeles Daily News/Southern California News Group via Getty Images

New research released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforces an old message: COVID-19 spreads less in schools where teachers and staff wear masks. Yet the study arrives as states and school districts across the country have begun scaling back or simply dropping their masking requirements for staff and students alike.

With the majority of school-age children still too young to qualify for vaccination, Friday's research is the latest salvo in a simmering fight between public health officials and politicians — with parents lining up on both sides.

The new study comes from Georgia and compares COVID-19 infection rates across 169 K-5 schools. Some schools required teachers, staff and sometimes students to wear masks; some did not.

Between Nov. 16 and Dec. 11, researchers found that infection rates were 37% lower in schools where teachers and staff members were required to wear masks. The difference between schools that did and did not require students to wear masks was not statistically significant.

This is one more study showing that masking, among other mitigation efforts, "can reduce infections and ultimately save lives," said Dr. Sean O'Leary, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado and vice chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

O'Leary points to a previous CDC study, of schools in Florida, that also found "a strong association with student mask requirements and lower rates of infections in students."

Like any study, Friday's release comes with caveats. Only 12% of schools invited to share their data did so. And it's always worth remembering: Correlation is not causation. Still, the results offer an important warning to states and school districts that are now lifting their school-based mask requirements, especially for adults: It's safer if you don't.

The latest, and perhaps broadest effort to change schools' masking policies comes from Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Tuesday banning all mask mandates in the state's public schools. After June 4, the order says, "no student, teacher, parent or other staff member or visitor may be required to wear a face covering."

For Abbott, and many opponents of mask mandates, the move is about restoring a balance between safety and freedom. "We can continue to mitigate COVID-19 while defending Texans' liberty to choose whether or not they mask up," he said in announcing the order.

Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, called the move "unconscionable" in a statement. "The governor's new verdict takes a blanket approach to addressing what is still extremely dangerous for some Texans — a return to school unmasked."

And Texas isn't alone. On Thursday, Iowa's Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, also signed a law banning schools from requiring masks. The justification is similar: "I am proud to be a governor of a state that values personal responsibility and individual liberties," Reynolds said in a statement.

"Whether a child wears a mask in school is a decision that should be left only to a student's parents," South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said last week as he issued an executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of school-based mask requirements.

Public health experts have been quick to sound the alarm.

"All along in this pandemic, we have seen the tragic consequences when politics start to play a role in public health decisions. And to me, this kind of maneuver smells like politics — to ban the requirements that are ultimately there to save lives," O'Leary said. "The body of evidence shows us that masks work."

And Dr. Aaron Milstone, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins, likens the banning of mask mandates to having a variable speed limit.

"Unfortunately, with contagious diseases the decisions I make impact someone else," Milstone said. "It would be like saying: You can drive 55 mph if you think that's safe for you, but if someone else thinks they can safely drive 90 mph, their choice may wind up risking your life."

While the CDC recently scaled back its masking guidance for people who are fully vaccinated, the agency also reiterated that schools should continue to require universal masking, at least through the end of the current school year. Though one vaccine has been approved for use for 12- to 15-year-olds, those kids won't be considered fully vaccinated for another month.

Milstone said it's simply too early to talk about schools without masking. "Until vaccines are eligible for all children, it's hard to abandon the practices that we know work the best to prevent the spread of COVID."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, told CNBC this week that it is conceivable the CDC could recommend that middle and high schools be mask-free in the fall — if, that is, enough students 12 years of age and older get vaccinated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit: LA Johnson/NPR

Undergraduate college enrollment fell again this spring, down nearly 5% from a year ago. That means 727,000 fewer students, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse.

"That's really dramatic," says Doug Shapiro, who leads the clearinghouse's research center. Fall enrollment numbers had indicated things were bad, with a 3.6% undergraduate decline compared with a year earlier, but experts were waiting to see if those students who held off in the fall would enroll in the spring. That didn't appear to happen.

"Despite all kinds of hopes and expectations that things would get better, they've only gotten worse in the spring," Shapiro says. "It's really the end of a truly frightening year for higher education. There will be no easy fixes or quick bounce backs."

Overall enrollment in undergraduate and graduate programs has been trending downward since around 2012, and that was true again this spring, which saw a 3.5% decline — seven times worse than the drop from spring 2019 to spring 2020.

The National Student Clearinghouse attributed that decline entirely to undergraduates across all sectors, including for-profit colleges. Community colleges, which often enroll more low-income students and students of color, remained hardest hit by far, making up more than 65% of the total undergraduate enrollment losses this spring. On average, U.S. community colleges saw an enrollment drop of 9.5%, which translates to 476,000 fewer students.

"The enrollment landscape has completely shifted and changed, as though an earthquake has hit the ground," says Heidi Aldes, dean of enrollment management at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, a community college in Minnesota. She says her college's fall 2020 enrollment was down about 8% from the previous year, and spring 2021 enrollment was down about 11%.

"Less students are getting an education"

Based on her conversations with students, Aldes attributes the enrollment decline to a number of factors, including being online, the "pandemic paralysis" community members felt when COVID-19 first hit, and the financial situations families found themselves in.

"Many folks felt like they couldn't afford to not work and so couldn't afford to go to school and lose that full-time income," Aldes says. "There was so much uncertainty and unpredictability."

A disproportionately high number of students of color withdrew or decided to delay their educational goals, she says, adding to equity gaps that already exist in the Minneapolis area.

"Sure, there is a fiscal impact to the college, but that isn't where my brain goes," Aldes says. "There's a decline, which means there are less students getting an education. That is the tragedy, that less students are getting an education, because we know how important education is to a successful future."

To help increase enrollment, her team is reaching out to the high school classes of 2020 and 2021, and they're contacting students who previously applied or previously enrolled and stopped attending. She says she's hopeful the college's in-person offerings — which now make up nearly 45% of its classes — will entice students to come back, and appeal to those who aren't interested in online courses. So far, enrollment numbers for fall 2021 are up by 1%. "We are climbing back," she says.

A widening divide

Despite overall enrollment declines nationally, graduate program enrollments were up by more than 120,000 students this spring. That means there are more students who already have college degrees earning more credentials, while, at the other end of the spectrum, students at the beginning of their higher ed careers are opting out — a grim picture of a widening gap in America.

"It's kind of the educational equivalent of the rich getting richer," Shapiro says. "Those gaps in education and skills will be baked into our economy, and those families' lives, for years to come."

The value of a college degree — and its impact on earning power and recession resilience — has only been reinforced by the pandemic. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans with a college degree were more likely to stay employed during the pandemic, and if they did lose a job, they were more likely to get hired again. Unemployment rates were higher for those without a degree or credential beyond high school.

"Almost all of the income gains and the employment gains for the last decade have gone to people with higher education degrees and credentials," Shapiro says. "Those who are getting squeezed out of college today, especially at community colleges, are just getting further and further away from being able to enjoy some of those benefits."

In the National Student Clearinghouse data, traditional college-aged students, those 18 to 24, were the largest age group missing from undergraduate programs. That includes many students from the high school class of 2020, who graduated at the beginning of the pandemic. Additional research from the Clearinghouse shows a 6.8% decline in college-going rates among the class of 2020 compared to the class of 2019 — that's more than four times the decline between the classes of 2018 and 2019. College-going rates were worse for students at high-poverty high schools, which saw declines of more than 11%.

For the communities and organizations tasked with helping high school graduates transition and succeed in college, the job this year is exponentially harder. Students have always struggled to attend college: "It's not new to us," says Nazy Zargarpour, who leads the Pomona Regional Learning Collaborative, which helps Southern California high school students enroll and graduate from college. "But this year, it's on steroids because of COVID."

Her organization is offering one-on-one outreach to students to help them enroll or re-enroll in college. As part of that effort, Zargarpour and her colleagues conducted research to help them understand why students didn't go on to college during the pandemic.

"Students told us that it's a variety of things, including a lot of just life challenges," she says. "Families being disrupted because of lack of work; families being disrupted because of the challenges of the illness itself; students having to take care of their young siblings; challenges with technology."

The biggest question now: Will those students return to college? Experts say the farther a student gets from their high school graduation, the less likely they are to enroll, because life gets in the way. But Zargarpour is hopeful.

"It will take a little bit of time for us to catch up to normal and better, but my heart can't bear to say all hope is lost for any student ever."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A customer walks behind a sign at a Nordstrom in Coral Gables, Fla., store seeking employees in May.; Credit: Marta Lavandier/AP

Two organizations filed a lawsuit against Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb in an attempt to block the state's push to end pandemic unemployment benefits on June 19.

Indiana Legal Services, an organization providing free legal assistance, and the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis filed the lawsuit on behalf of five unnamed plaintiffs who are set to lose their jobless benefits. The complaint was filed Monday in Marion County Superior Court.

This lawsuit may be the first of its kind that aims to stop states from ending these benefits earlier than Congress mandated.

The unemployment insurance program "has served as a vital lifeline for thousands of Hoosiers," the complaint, reviewed by NPR, says. "By prematurely deciding t0 stop administering these federal benefits, Indiana has violated the clear mandates 0f Indiana's unemployment statute—to secure all rights and benefits available for unemployed individuals."

Indiana is one of 25 Republican-led states that decided to end jobless aid in an effort to get people to return to work. Indiana and seven other states are set to end expanded unemployment benefits as soon as this weekend. This is despite Congress's authorization for extra payments until early September.

Those benefits include the extra $300 a week in federal aid and the special pandemic program for gig workers that allows them to receive jobless benefits. Ordinarily, independent contractors wouldn't be eligible.

Plaintiffs, as well as many other Indiana residents, rely entirely on the unemployment benefits to pay for food and rent and to care for their families, the complaint alleges.

Attorneys in this case are requesting the judge approve a preliminary injunction that would allow people to receive their benefits while the case continues.

Holcomb says it's time to get back to work

Holcomb told The Indianapolis Star that people no longer need unemployment benefits as the state has a plethora of jobs open.

"Eliminating these pandemic programs will not be a silver bullet for employers to find employees, but we currently have about 116,000 available jobs in the state that need filled now," he said.

According to the governor's office, Indiana's unemployment rate has recovered to 3.9% after climbing to 17% at the height of the pandemic.

The lawsuit challenges Holcomb's assertion.

Each of the five plaintiffs say they are unable to return to work due to lingering injuries or disability, health conditions that put them at risk for COVID-19 exposure, dependent children at home and no childcare available, or no positions that are available in their career field.

Workers of color feel the loss of unemployment the most

The National Employment Law Project says ending these jobless benefits early threatens the livelihoods of workers of color the most.

Millions of Americans still heavily rely on jobless aid as the country slowly reopens from pandemic-induced lockdowns, according to the organization.

As of May 22, more than 15.3 million people still needed some form of unemployment benefit—nearly twice the number who received payments when the aid programs began in late March 2020, NELP said.

According to its analysis, over 46% of unemployment insurance recipients in the states ending the programs early are people of color.

"The brunt of the impact will be felt by Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other people of color," NELP says.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with students on Wednesday, ruling that a former cheerleader's online F-bombs about her school is protected speech under the First Amendment.

By an 8-1 vote, the court declared that school administrators do have the power to punish student speech that occurs online or off campus if it genuinely disrupts classroom study. But the justices concluded that a few swear words posted online from off campus, as in this case, did not rise to the definition of disruptive.

"While public schools may have a special interest in regulating some off-campus student speech, the special interests offered by the school are not sufficient to overcome B. L.'s interest in free expression in this case," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court's majority.

At issue in the case was a series of F-bombs issued in 2017 on Snapchat by Brandi Levy, then a 14-year-old high school cheerleader who failed to win a promotion from the junior varsity to the varsity cheerleading term at her Pennsylvania school.

"I was really upset and frustrated at everything," she said in an interview with NPR in April. So she posted a photo of herself and a friend flipping the bird to the camera, along with a message that said, "F*** the school ... F*** cheer, F*** everything."

Suspended from the team for what was considered disruptive behavior, Brandi and her parents went to court. They argued that the school had no right to punish her for off-campus speech, whether it was posted online while away from school, as in this case, or spoken out loud at a Starbucks across the street from school.

A federal appeals court agreed with her, declaring that school officials have no authority to punish students for speech that occurs in places unconnected to the campus.

The decision marked the first time that an appeals court issued such a broad interpretation of the Supreme Court's landmark student speech decision more then a half century ago. Back then, in a case involving students suspended for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War, the court ruled that students do have free speech rights under the Constitution, as long as the speech is not disruptive to the school.

Although Brandi Levy is now in college, the school board in Mahanoy, Pa., appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that disruption can come from outside the campus but still have serious effects on campus. It pointed to laws in 47 states that require schools to enforce anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies.

The high court, however, focused on the facts in Levy's case, concluding that while her posts were less than admirable, they did not meet the test of being disruptive.

"We do not believe the special characteristics that give schools additional license to regulate student speech always disappear when a school regulates speech that takes place off campus," Breyer wrote. "The school's regulatory interests remain significant in some off-campus circumstances."

In a concurring opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote: "If today's decision teaches any lesson, it must be that the regulation of many types of off-premises student speech raises serious First Amendment concerns, and school officials should proceed cautiously before venturing into this territory."

In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the school was right to suspend Levy because students like her "who are active in extracurricular programs have a greater potential, by virtue of their participation, to harm those programs."

"For example, a profanity-laced screed delivered on social media or at the mall has a much different effect on a football program when done by a regular student than when done by the captain of the football team," Thomas wrote. "So, too, here."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Britney Spears arrives for a movie premier in Hollywood, Calif., on July 22, 2019. On Wednesday, the singer asked a judge to end her conservatorship.; Credit: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Britney Spears is asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to end her 13-year conservatorship, saying she is being exploited, bullied and feeling "left out and alone."

Below is a transcript from a leaked audio recording of part of Spears' court statement Wednesday posted on YouTube and verified by NPR.

Britney Spears: I will be honest with you, I haven't been back to court in a long time because I don't think I was heard on any level when I came to court the last time. I brought four sheets of paper in my hands and wrote in length what I had been through the last four months before I came there. The people who did that to me should not be able to walk away so easily. I'll recap: I was on tour in 2018; I was forced to do. My management said if I don't do this tour I will have to find an attorney.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny: Ms. Spears, Ms. Spears. I hate to interrupt you, but my court reporter is taking down what you're saying.

Spears: OK.

Penny: And so you have to speak a little more slowly.

Spears: Oh, of course. Yes. OK. I apologize. Great.

Penny: So we hear and make a record of everything you're saying.

Spears: The people who did this to me should not get away and be able to walk away so easily. Recap: I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do. My management said if I don't do this tour, I will have to find an attorney and by contract my own management could sue me if I didn't follow through with the tour. He handed me a sheet of paper as I got off the stage in Vegas and said I had to sign it. It was very threatening and scary and with the conservatorship, I couldn't even get my own attorney. So out of fear, I went ahead and I did the tour. When I came off that tour, a new show in Las Vegas was supposed to take place. I started rehearsing early, but it was hard cause I'd been doing Vegas for four years and I needed a break in between.

But no, I was told this is the timeline and this is how it's gonna go. I rehearsed four to four days a week, half of the time in the studio and a half of the other time in a Westlake studio. I was basically directing most of the show with my whereabouts, where I preferred to rehearse and actually did most of the choreography, meaning I taught my dancers my new choreography myself. I take everything I do very seriously. There's tons of video with me at rehearsals. I wasn't good. I was great. I led a room of 16 new dancers in rehearsals. It's funny to hear my manager's side of the story. They all said I wasn't participating in rehearsals and I never agreed to take my medication, which my medication is only taken in the mornings, never at rehearsal. They don't even see me. So why are they even claiming that?

When I said no to one dance move into rehearsals, it was as if I planted a huge bomb somewhere and I said, no, I don't want to do it this way. After that, my management, my dancers and my assistant of the new people that were supposed to do the new show all went into a room, shut the door and didn't come out for at least 45 minutes. Ma'am, I'm not here to be anyone's slave. I can say no to a dance move. I was told by my — at the time — therapist, Dr. Benson, who died, that my manager called him and then that moment and told him I wasn't cooperating or following the guidelines in rehearsals. And he also said I wasn't taking my medication, which is so dumb because I've had the same lady every morning for the past eight years give me my same medication and I'm nowhere near these stupid people. It made no sense at all.

There was a week period where they — they were nice to me and they said, "I don't want to do —" And I told them, "I don't want to do the —" They, wait, no — they were nice to me. They said, if I don't want to do the new Vegas show, I don't have to cause I was getting really nervous. I said, "I can wait." It was like, they told me I could wait. It was like lifting literally 200 pounds off of me when they said I don't have to do the show anymore cause it was — I was really, really hard on myself and it was too much.

I couldn't take it anymore. So I remember telling my assistant, "But you know what, I feel weird if I say no. I feel like they're going to come back and be mean to me or punish me or something." Three days later, after I said no to Vegas, my therapist sat me down in a room and said he had a million phone calls about how I was not cooperating in rehearsals and I haven't been taking my medication. All of this was a false. He — he immediately the next day put me on lithium out of nowhere. He took me off my normal meds I'd been on for five years. And lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to. You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, if you stay on it longer than five months. But he put me on that and I felt drunk. I really couldn't even take up for myself. I couldn't even have a conversation with my mom or dad really about anything. I told them I was scared and my doctor had me on — six different nurses with this new medication come to my home, stay with me to monitor me on this new medication, which I never wanted to be on to begin with.

There were six different nurse — nurses in my homes and they wouldn't let me get in my car to go anywhere for — for a month. Not only did my family not do a goddamn thing, my dad was all for it. Anything that happened to me had to be approved by my dad. And my dad only — he acted like he didn't know that I was told I had to be tested over the Christmas holidays before they sent me away when my kids went home to Louisiana. He was the one who approved all of it. My whole family did nothing. Over the two-week holiday, a lady came into my home for four hours a day, sat me down and did a psych test on me. It took forever, but I was — I was told I had to then — after that I got off — Wait.

I was told — I had to then after I got a phone call from my dad saying after I did the psych test with this lady, basically saying I had failed the test or whatever — whatever. "I'm sorry, Britney, you have to listen to your doctors. They are planning to send you to a small home in Beverly Hills to do a small rehab program that we're going to make up for you. You're gonna pay $60,000 a month for this."

I cried on the phone for an hour and he loved every minute of it. The control he had over someone as powerful as me as he loved the control to hurt his own daughter, 100,000%. He loved it.

I packed my bags and went to that place. I worked seven days a week, no days off — which in California, the only similar thing to this is called sex trafficking, making anyone work — work against their will. Taking all their possessions away — credit card, cash, phone, passport card — and placing them in a home where they — they work with the people who live with them. They offer — they all lived in the house with me, the nurses, the 24/7 security. There — there was one chef that came there and cooked for me daily during the weekdays. They watched me change every day, naked. Morning, noon and night. My body — I had no privacy door for my — for my room. I gave eight gallons of blood a week. If I didn't do any of my meetings and work from 8 to 6 at night — which is 10 hours a day, seven days a week, no days off — I wouldn't be able to see my kids or my boyfriend. I never had a say in my schedule. They always told me I had to do this. And ma'am, I will tell you, sitting in a chair 10 hours a day, seven days a week, it ain't fun. And especially when you can't walk out the front door.

And that's why I'm telling you this again two years later, after I've lied and told the whole world I'm OK and I'm happy. It's a lie. I thought I just — maybe I said that enough, maybe I might become happy because I've been in denial. I've been in shock. I am traumatized, you know, fake it till you make it. But now I'm telling you the truth, OK? I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm so angry. It's insane and I'm depressed. I cry every day. And the reason I'm telling you this is because I don't think how the state of California can have all this written in the court documents from the time I showed up and do absolutely nothing. Just hire — with my money — another person to keep — and keep my dad on board. Ma'am, my dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management who played a huge role in punishing me when I said, "No, ma'am, they should be in jail." Their cruel tactics working for Miley Cyrus. If she smokes on joints and stage at the VMAs, nothing is ever done to this generation for doing wrong things. But my precious body, whose work for my dad for the past f***ing 13 years, trying to be so good and pretty. So perfect when he works me so hard, when I do everything I'm told, and the state of California allowed my ignorant father to take his own daughter, who only has a role with me if I work with him. They set back the whole course and allowed him to do that to me? That's given these people I've worked for way too much control.

They also threatened me and said if I don't go, then I have to go to court and it will be more embarrassing me if the judge publicly makes you go, "The evidence we have, you have to go." I was advised for my image. I need to go ahead and just go and get it over with. They said that to me. I don't — I don't even drink alcohol. I — I should drink alcohol, considering what they put my heart through.

Also, the Bridges Facility they sent me to none of the kids — I was doing this program for four months. So the last two months I went to a Bridges Facility. None of the kids there did the — did the program. They never showed up for any of them. You didn't have to do anything if you didn't want to. How come they always made me go? How come I was always threatened by my dad and anybody that persisted in this conservatorship? If I don't do this, what they tell me — enslave me to do, they're going to punish me. The last time I spoke to you about just keeping the conservatorship going and also keeping my dad in the loop made me feel like I was dead. Like I didn't matter. Like nothing had been done to to me. Like you thought I was lying or something. I'm telling you again, because I'm not lying. I want to feel heard and I'm telling you this again so maybe you can understand the depth and the degree and the damage that they did to me back then.

I want changes and I want changes going forward. I deserve changes. I was told I have to sit down and be evaluated — again — if I want to end the conservatorship. Ma'am, I didn't know I could petition the conservatorship to end it. I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn't know that. But honestly, which I don't think I owe anyone to be evaluated. I've done more than enough. I don't feel like I should even be in a room with anyone to offend me by trying to question my capacity of intelligence, whether I need to be in this stupid conservatorship or not. I've done more than enough. I don't owe these people anything. Especially me, the one that is roofed and fed tons of people on tour on the road. It's embarrassing and demoralizing what I've been through. And that's the main reason I've never said it openly. And mainly I didn't want to say it openly because I honestly don't think anyone would believe me. To be honest with you, the Paris Hilton story on what they did to her, at that school, I didn't believe any of it. I'm sorry, I'm an outsider. And I'll just be honest, I didn't believe it. And maybe I'm wrong. And that's why I didn't want to say any of this to anybody, to the public, because people would make fun of me or laugh at me and say, "She's lying. She's got everything. She's Britney Spears." I'm not lying. I just want my life back. And it's been 13 years and it's enough.

It's been a long time since I've owned my money and it's my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested. Again, it makes no sense whatsoever for the state of California to sit back and literally watch me with their own two eyes, make a living for so many people and pay so many people — trucks and buses on tour on the road with me — and be told I'm not good enough. But I'm great at what I do. And I allow these people to control what I do, ma'am, and it's enough, it makes no sense at all. Now, going forward, I'm not willing to meet or see anyone. I've met with enough people against my will. I'm done. All I want is to own my money, for this to end, and my boyfriend to drive me in his f***ing car. And I would honestly like to sue my family, to be totally honest with you.

I also would like to be able to share my story with the world and what they did to me instead of it being a hush hush secret to benefit all of them. I want to be able to be heard on what they did to me by making me keep this in for so long is not good for my heart. I've been so angry and I cry every day. It concerns me I'm told I'm not allowed to expose the people who did this to me. For my sanity, I need you to the judge to approve me to do an interview where I can be heard and what they did to me. And actually, I have the right to use my voice and take up for myself. My attorney says I can't. It's not good. I can't let the public know anything they did to me. And by not saying anything is saying it's OK. I don't know what I said here. It's not OK. I would actually — I don't want to interview. I'd much rather just have an open call to you for the press to hear, which I didn't know today we're doing, so thank you.

Instead of having an interview, honestly, I need that to get it off my heart. The anger and all of it. That — that — that's — that's been happening. It's not fair they're telling me lies about me openly. Even my family. They do interviews to anyone they want on news stations, my own family doing interviews and talking about the situation and making me feel so stupid. And I can't say one thing. And my own people say I can't say anything. It's been two years. I want a recorded call to you — actually, we're doing this now, which I didn't know that we were doing this — until the public knows what they did me. I told my — I know my lawyer Sam has been very scared for me to go forward because he's saying if I speak up, I'm being overworked in that facility, that rehab place that the rehab place will see me. He told me I should keep it to myself. I would personally like to — actually, I know I've had grown with a personal relationship with Sam, my lawyer. I've been talking to him like three times a week now. We've kind of built a relationship, but I haven't really had the opportunity by my own self to actually handpick my own lawyer by myself. And I would like to be able to do that.

I would like to also — the main reason why I'm here is because I want to end the conservatorship without having to be evaluated. I've done a lot of research, ma'am, and there is a lot of judges who do end conservatorships for people without them having to be evaluated all the time. The only times they don't is if a concerned family member says something's wrong with this person and consider an other — otherwise. And considering my family has lived off of my conservatorship for 13 years, I won't be surprised if one of them has has something to say. Go forward and say, "We don't think this should end. We have to help her." Especially if I get my fair serve and turn in exposing what they did to me. Also I want to speak to you about at the moment my obligations, which I personally don't think at the very moment, I owe anybody anything.

I have three meetings a week I have to attend no matter what. I just don't like feeling like I work for the people whom I pay. I don't like being told I have to, no matter what, even if I'm sick, Jodi, the conservator says I have to see my Coach Ken even when I'm sick. I would like to do one meeting a week with a therapist. I've never in — before — even before they sent me to that place, had two therapy sessions. A therapy, one, a therapy session and one therapy session with my — I have a doctor and then a therapy person. What I've been forced to do illegal in my life, I shouldn't be told I have to be available three times a week to these people I don't know.

I'm talking to you today because I feel again, yes, even Jodi is starting to kind of take it too far with me. They have me going to therapy twice a week and a psychiatrist. I've never in the past had — they had me going yeah, twice a week and my doctor goal. So that's three times a week. I've never in the past went to see a therapist more than once a week. It takes too much out of me going to this man I don't know. Number one, I'm scared of people. I don't trust people with what I've been through. And the clever set up of being in what's like, one of the most exposed places in Westlake, which today — yesterday paparazzi showed me coming out of the place, literally crying in there. It's embarrassing and it's demoralizing. I deserve privacy when I go. I deserve privacy when I go and have therapy either at my home, like I've done for eight years — they've always come to my home — or when the Dr. Benson, the guy — the man that died — I went to a place similar to what I went to in Westlake, which was very exposed and really bad. OK, so wait, where was I? It was like, it was identical to Dr. Benson who died. The one who illegally — yes, 100% — abused me by the treatment he gave me to. And to be totally honest with you, I was so —

Penny: Ms. Spears, excuse me for interrupting you. But my reporter says if you could just slow down a little bit because she's trying to make sure she gets everything that you're saying.

Spears: OK, cool.

Penny: And so if you just —.

Spears: OK.

Penny: So that would be great.

Spears: I have been through — and the clever set up in Westlake is identical to Dr. Benson who died, the one who illegally — yes, 100% — abused me by the treatment he gave me. And to be totally honest with you, when he passed away, I got on my knees and thanked God. In other words, my team is pushing — pushing it with me again. I have trapped phobias being in small rooms because the trauma locked me up for four months in that place is not OK for them to send me — sorry, I'm going fast — to that small room like that twice a week with another new therapist I pay that I never even approved. I don't like it. I don't want to do that. And I haven't done anything wrong to deserve this treatment. It's not OK to force me to do anything I don't want to do. By law — by law, Jodi and this so-called team should honestly — I should be able to sue them for threatening me and saying if I don't go and do these meetings twice a week, we — we can't let you have your money and go to Maui on your vacations. You have to do what you're told for this program and then you will be able to go.

But it was very clever. They picked one of the most exposed places in Westlake knowing I have the hot topic of the conservatorship, that over five paparazzi are going to show up and get me crying coming out of that place. I begged them to make sure that they did this at my home so I would have privacy. I deserve privacy. The whole conservatorship from the beginning — once — the conservatorship — the conservatorship from the beginning, once you see someone, whoever it is in the conservatorship, making money, making them money and myself money and working, that whole, that whole statement right there, the conservatorship should end. There should be no — I shouldn't be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money and work for myself and pay other people. It makes no sense. The laws need to change. What state allows people to own another person's money and account and threaten them and saying, "You can't spend your money unless you do what we want you to do." And I'm paying them.

Ma'am, I've worked since I was 17 years old. You have to understand how thin that is for me. Every morning I get up to know, I can't go on somewhere unless I meet people I don't know every week in an office identical to the one where the therapist was very abusive to me. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. And now we can sit here all day and say, "Oh, conservatorships are here to help people." But ma'am, there's a thousand conservatorships that are abusive as well. I don't feel like I can live a full life. I don't — I don't owe them to go see a man I don't know and share him my problems. I don't even believe in therapy. I always think you take it to God.

I want to end the conservatorship without being evaluated. In the meantime, I want this therapist once a week. He can either come to my home — no, I just want him to come to my home. I'm not willing to go to Westlake and be embarrassed by all these paparazzi, these scummy paparazzi laughing at my faces while I'm crying, coming out and taking my pictures as all these white, nice dinners where people drinking wine at restaurants, watching me from these places.

They set me up by sending me to the most exposed places, places. And I told them I didn't want to go there because I knew paparazzi would show up there. They only gave me two options for therapist, and I'm not sure how you make your decisions, ma'am, but this is the only chance for me to talk to you for a while. I need your your help. So if you can just kind of let me know where your head is, I don't really honestly know what to say, but my requests just are to end the conservatorship without being evaluated. I want to petition, basically, to end the conservatorship, but I want to — I want it to be petitioned. And if I don't want to be evaluated, to be sat in a room with people for hours a day like they did me before, and they made it even worse for me after that happened.

So I just — I'm honestly new at this and I'm doing research on all these things. I do know common sense and the method that things can end, it — for people, it has ended without them being evaluated. So I just want you to take that into consider — consideration. I've also done research and wait — also took a year during COVID to get me any self-care methods during COVID. She said there were no services available. She's lying, ma'am. My mom went to the spa twice in Louisiana during COVID. For a year, I didn't have my nails done. No hair styling and no massages, no acupuncture, nothing. For a year. I saw the maids in my home each week with their nails done different each time. She made me feel like my dad does — very similar, her behavior. And my dad, but just a different dynamic. Team wants me to work and stay home instead of having longer vacations. They — they are used to me sort of doing a weekly routine for them and I'm over it. I don't feel like I owe them anything at this point. They need to be reminded they actually work for me. They trick me by sending me to the — OK, I repeated myself there. OK.

Also, I was supposed to be able to have a friend that I used to do AA meetings with. I did AA for two years, I have like, you know — I did three meetings a week and met a bunch of women there. And I'm not able to see my friends that live eight minutes away from me, which I find extremely strange. I feel like they're making me feel like I live in a rehab program. This is my home. I'd like for my boyfriend to be able to drive me in his car. And I want to meet with the therapist once a week, not twice a week. And I want him to come to my home because I actually know I do need a little therapy.

I was told, hold on — I think that's — oh, and I would like to progressively move forward and I want to have the real deal. I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship, I'm not able to get married or have a baby. I have an IUD inside of myself right now, so I don't get pregnant. I wanted to take the IUD out so I could start trying to have another baby. But this so-called team won't let me go to the doctor to take it out because they they don't want me to have children — any more children.

So basically this conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I — I deserve to have a life. I've worked my whole life. I deserve to have a two- to three-year break and just, you know, do what I want to do. But I do feel like there is a crutch here and I feel like I feel open and I'm OK to talk to you today about it. But I — I wish I could stay with you on the phone forever, because when I get off the phone with you, all of a sudden all I hear — I hear all these no's. No, no, no. And then all of a sudden I get — I feel ganged up on and I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone. And I'm tired of feeling alone. I deserve to have the same rights as anybody does by having a child, a family, any of those things. And more so. And that's all I wanted to say to you. And thank you so much for letting me speak to you today.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

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