By ALI SWENSON

NEW YORK (AP) — Drugs that treat Type 2 diabetes, HIV and arthritis are among 15 new medications chosen for a Medicare drug price negotiation program that allows the federal government to haggle directly with drug manufacturers, the Trump administration said Tuesday.

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The drugs selected include some of the medications on which Medicare spends the most money. That means the deals negotiated this year have the potential to deliver significant savings to taxpayers when they go into effect in 2028.

“For too long, seniors and taxpayers have paid the price for skyrocketing prescription drug costs,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement Tuesday. “Under President Trump’s leadership, CMS is taking strong action to target the most expensive drugs in Medicare, negotiate fair prices, and make sure the system works for patients — not special interests.”

The federal government had until Feb. 1 to announce its list of 15 drugs. The negotiations take place under a 2022 law that allows Medicare to haggle over the price it pays on the most popular and expensive prescription drugs used by older Americans.

The government already has negotiated prices for 25 prescription drugs covered by Medicare, including the massively popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. This year’s negotiations mark the third round of the program and would mean a total of 40 drugs with lower prices for Medicare enrollees.

This year also marks the first time drugs payable under Medicare Part B are eligible for inclusion in the program. Medicare Part B drugs are outpatient prescriptions, such as medications infused or injected at a doctor’s office. Retail prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D are also eligible, as they were in past years.

The newly announced drugs up for negotiation include the popular Type 2 diabetes drug Trulicity and an HIV medication called Biktarvy. The neurotoxin Botox, frequently used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, will also have its price negotiated, but only for Medicare-covered uses, such as treating migraines or overactive bladders.

Among the other drugs selected are treatments for psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, chronic lung disease, depression and various cancers.

Over the past year, some 1.8 million Medicare Part B or Part D enrollees used the 15 drugs, according to the Trump administration. They accounted for about 6% in total Part B and Part D spending, CMS said.

CMS also stated that one Type 2 diabetes drug, whose price was previously negotiated under the program, Tradjenta, will undergo renegotiation.

AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan called Tuesday’s announcement a “significant step forward.”

“Older Americans across the political spectrum consistently say that lowering drug prices is a top priority, and we thank the Administration for protecting Medicare’s ability to meet that need,” she said in a statement.

The leading trade association for pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, criticized the law that put the program into effect, the Inflation Reduction Act, and argued policymakers wanting to lower costs should instead rein in insurers and third-party pharmacy benefit managers.

“The IRA continues to show why government price setting is the wrong approach for Americans,” PhRMA Executive Vice President of Policy and Research Elizabeth Carpenter said in a statement.

CMS in November announced negotiated drug prices for 15 drugs that would go into effect in 2027. Reduced prices for the first 10 drugs negotiated by the Biden administration in 2024 went into effect at the start of this year.

The full list of new medications that will be negotiated this year under the program includes: Anoro Ellipta, Biktarvy, Botox and Botox Cosmetic, Cimzia, Cosentyx, Entyvio, Erleada, Kisqali, Lenvima, Orencia, Rexulti, Trulicity, Verzenio, Xeljanz and Xeljanz XR and Xolair.

By JESSE BEDAYN

A NASA research plane malfunctioned and had to touch down in Texas without landing gear on Tuesday, sliding across the runway on its belly and sending plumes of flame behind it, a video posted to social media showed.

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The crew landed the plane at Ellington Airport, southeast of Houston, and are “all safe at this time,” NASA said in a post on X. The federal space agency added that there was “mechanical issue” that will be investigated.

The aircraft with its distinct thin fuselage is the NASA WB-57. The plane with two crew seats is capable of flying for about 6 1/2 hours at high altitudes — beyond 63,000 feet.

Video shows the plane slowly descending toward the runway, then touching down with a jolt, its wings bouncing as yellow fire and white smoke bursts from beneath it. It steadily slides down the track, the flames bursting and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The aircraft begins to slow before the video ends.

Local news footage from KHOU 11 shows the plane at a stop, the cockpit hatch open, fire trucks flashing nearby and emergency responders working around the black nose of the aircraft.

The NASA WB-57 has flown research missions since the 1970s and continues to be an asset for the scientific community, according to the agency’s website.

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and HAVEN DALEY

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A 77-pound mountain lion set off a scramble Tuesday as it wandered through San Francisco’s wealthy Pacific Heights neighborhood before finally being captured as onlookers safely peered from their home windows or stood across the street.

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Dozens of officials worked to capture and tranquilize the male cat after warnings were issued advising people to slowly back away if they encountered it.

The wild cat was first seen Monday morning.

Roxanne Blank was being dropped off outside her home around 3 a.m. Monday, when she saw the big cat nonchalantly walking down the streets and going up her apartment stoop, about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) from where the animal was caught Tuesday.

“I thought it was a dog at first, but then I saw the tail and realized that it’s not a dog. Then it tripped the light sensor, and that’s when I saw its face and was like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s a mountain lion!’” Blank said Tuesday.

She said she calmly pulled out her phone and began recording as the mountain lion “locked eyes” with her for over five minutes.

“We were just staring at each other, but I felt really calm, and I felt like maybe the mountain lion was calm,” she said. “I just stood there in awe of like, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe this is happening to me.’”

A few minutes later, the wild cat began walking down the stairs and took off running when Blank’s dog started barking from inside her apartment, Blank said. She then called 911.

Madrey Hilton took video of the animal later Monday morning and alerted authorities, she told the San Francisco Chronicle.

CORRECTS BYLINE TO DAVID PITT NOT ROXANNE BLANK – This photo provided by Roxanne Blank shows a mountain lion walking down stairs, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in San Francisco. (David Pitt via AP)

The mountain lion was found Tuesday hiding in a garden between two apartment buildings, San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Mariano Elias said. Authorities shot the feline with tranquilizers three times “to make sure it was completely unconscious,” Elias said. “They covered his eyes and bound its paws, just to make sure it wasn’t going to run anywhere.”

Veterinarians with the San Francisco Zoo then examined the cat before it was placed in a cage. It will undergo further testing to ensure it is healthy and then released to the wild, Elias said.

The 2-year-old male cougar was tagged and last spotted in Saratoga, about 50 miles south of San Francisco, he said. Cougars, mountain lions, panthers and pumas are the same cat species — puma concolor, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance website.

Mountain lion sightings are rare in San Francisco, where coyotes abound.

In 2020, a young mountain lion was spotted sleeping in a planter box along a normally busy street and looking at his reflection in the glass of an office tower in downtown San Francisco. The animal was later safely captured and released into the wild.

Experts say the animals come up along the Pacific coast from the hills south of the city, but eventually find their way back to the wilderness.

Angela Yip, a spokesperson for the city’s Animal Care and Control, said there was no threat to the public.

Mountain lions also live in Los Angeles, one of the world’s only megacities of 10 million-plus, where large felines thrive by breeding, hunting and maintaining territory within urban boundaries.

Carlos Almendarez, who lives with his family across the street from where the mountain lion was caught in San Francisco, said the wild cat was all everyone was talking about in his neighborhood, but that didn’t deter him or his running club from going on a run Tuesday morning.

“It probably would had been a smarter idea to not go on a run, but we were in a group, so I figured it would be safe,” said Almendarez, who is from Los Angeles.

“In LA, mountain lions are local celebrities,” he said. “Here I’ve seen coyotes right in front of the building, in the park, on the sidewalk, but I had never heard of mountain lions.”

The Big Ten shared Tuesday the dates for the conference’s football schedule in 2026.

The Gophers, of course, maintain their primary rivalries with Iowa and Wisconsin, while adding an intriguing road trip to Washington on Sept. 26. The U has only one bye week this fall, down from two in previous years, and will alternate home and away games all season.

The marquee road trip to play the Huskies will be their Big Ten opener on Sept. 26. It’s the U’s first visit to Seattle since 1976 and the early fall date will give Gopher fans a chance to enjoy the Pacific Northwest and Husky Stadium. Perhaps some fans will be able to partake in their tradition of sail-gating on Lake Washington, with shores that lap up to the stadium.

Minnesota returns to Huntington Bank Stadium for its Big Ten home opener against Michigan on Oct. 3. Former Utah head coach Kyle Wittingham takes over the Wolverines after Sherrone Moore was fired amid scandal.

The U will then head to Purdue on Oct. 10, and the Boilermakers have Minnesota transfer Fame Ijeboi as its potential top tailback for the game at Ross-Ade Stadium.

The Gophers’ only bye week comes on Oct. 17, which will give them added time to prepare for Iowa on Oct. 24 in Minneapolis. But both sides to the rivalry will have extra preparations; the Hawkeyes also have a bye. The U has lost Floyd of Rosedale in nine of the last 10 games since 2015.

A trip to reigning national champion Indiana follows on Oct. 31. So, with Iowa, that two-game pairing represents the toughest stretch on the U’s schedule in 2026.

Minnesota will play a reigning national champion for a third straight season, after playing Ohio State a year ago and Michigan in 2024.

On Nov. 7, Minnesota will host UCLA for the first time since 1977 and will then fly east to play Penn State and new Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell on Nov. 14. It’s the U’s first visit to Happy Valley since Minnesota was picked for their their annual “white out” game in 2022.

The Gophers will host Northwestern on Nov. 21 and will look to keep Paul Bunyan’s Axe for a third straight year. Minnesota hasn’t done that since they won four in a row over the Badgers from 1984-88.

Minnesota opens its season with FCS-level Eastern Illinois on Sept. 3, followed by an SEC matchup with Mississippi State on Sept. 12 and a MAC opponent in Akron on Sept. 19. Each game is in Minneapolis.

The Mississippi State game will be the first time the U will host an Southeastern Conference opponent since Vanderbilt in 1959 (a 20-6 win).

The U will open its season on a Thursday, which has become a tradition since 2012, and then is scheduled to play on 11 Saturdays. Minnesota still might have a game on a Friday night, but that won’t be known until a later date.

Gophers 2026 football schedule

Sept. 3 — Eastern Illinois
Sept. 12 — Mississippi State
Sept. 19 — Akron
Sept. 26 — at Washington
Oct. 3 — Michigan
Oct. 10 — at Purdue
Oct. 17 — bye
Oct. 24 — Iowa
Oct. 31  — at Indiana
Nov. 7 — UCLA
Nov. 14 — at Penn St.
Nov. 21 — Northwestern
Nov. 28 — at Wisconsin

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