By TOM MURPHY, Associated Press Health Writer

Pfizer is ending the development of its potential once-daily pill treatment for obesity before venturing into the biggest and most expensive level of clinical testing.

The drugmaker said Tuesday that it would stop studying danuglipron after a participant in one of its trials experienced a possible drug-induced liver injury that ended once the person stopped taking the treatment.

The once-daily version of the pill was in early-stage testing, with researchers trying to figure out the best dose for patients, a spokeswoman said. The company intended to move the drug into late-stage testing, which is generally the last phase of development before a company submits the potential treatment to government regulators for approval.

A company official said in a statement that Pfizer still plans to develop other potential obesity treatments in earlier stages of testing.

Obesity treatments have become one of the more promising and lucrative sectors of drug development for pharmaceutical companies. Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zepbound, for instance, brought in nearly $5 billion in sales in 2024, its first full year on the market.

But leading treatments like Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy are injectable. Drugmakers are eager to develop an easier-to-take pill version for patients who don’t want to deal with needles and daily injections.

Lilly researchers expect to see data this year from studies of a couple potential oral treatments it has developed.

While the drugs have become top-sellers, many patients have had a hard time getting them either due to recently concluded shortages or patchy insurance coverage. Both Lilly and Novo have recently announced price cuts, but the treatments can still cost hundreds of dollars a month, putting them out of reach for some people without coverage.

Pfizer said in late 2023 that it would abandon a twice-daily version of danuglipron that had adavnced to mid-stage testing after more than half the patients in a clinical trial stopped taking it.

A company spokeswoman said the decision announced Monday meant Pfizer would also stop testing danuglipron in combination with other drugs to treat obesity.

Shares of New York-based Pfizer Inc. advanced 12 cents to $22.03 in morning trading Monday.

By DAVID BAUDER, Associated Press Media Writer

President Donald Trump bitterly attacked “60 Minutes” shortly after the CBS newsmagazine broadcast stories on Ukraine and Greenland on Sunday, saying the network was out of control and should “pay a big price” for going after him.

“Almost every week, 60 Minutes … mentions the name ‘TRUMP’ in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend’s ‘BROADCAST’ tops them all,” the president said on his Truth Social platform. He called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr to impose maximum fines and punishment “for their unlawful and illegal behavior.”

The network had no immediate comment.

Related Articles

China’s Xi says there are no winners in a tariff war as he visits Southeast Asia

Wind and solar power opponents make headway in state legislatures

Andreas Kluth: US national security is getting ‘Loomered’

Trump opens window for a deal with Iran but issues warning if things don’t work out

What we know about the Social Security Administration listing thousands of living immigrants as dead

Trump has an ongoing $20 billion lawsuit against “60 Minutes” for how it edited an interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris last fall. The president claims it was edited in a way to make Harris look good, something the newscast denies. But there are ongoing reports that Trump’s lawyers and CBS’ parent company are involved in settlement talks.

Carr and the FCC have launched a parallel investigation of CBS News about the same case, one of several that it has undergone that also involve ABC News, NBC, PBS, NPR and the Walt Disney Co.

Despite the legal battle, “60 Minutes” has been unstinting in its coverage of Trump’s administration since he took office for a second term, particularly correspondent Scott Pelley. He traveled to Ukraine to conduct an interview with that country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the site of a Russian attack where nine children were killed earlier this month.

In the interview broadcast on Sunday, Zelenskyy said he has “100%” hatred for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine, and invited Trump to his visit his country to see what has been done.

Also Sunday, correspondent Jon Wertheim reported from Greenland on what some people in that nation are saying about Trump’s desire to take control.

In his social media message, Trump said “60 Minutes” was no longer a news show but “a dishonest Political Operative simply disguised as ‘News,’ and must be responsible for what they have done, and are doing.”

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A retrial is set to begin Monday for Sarah Palin’s lawsuit claiming The New York Times libeled her in an editorial eight years ago.

The onetime Republican vice presidential candidate and ex-governor of Alaska gets another chance to prove to a federal jury that the newspaper defamed her with the 2017 editorial falsely linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. Palin said it damaged her reputation and career.

The Times has acknowledged the editorial was inaccurate but said it quickly corrected an “honest mistake.”

Related Articles

China’s Xi says there are no winners in a tariff war as he visits Southeast Asia

Wind and solar power opponents make headway in state legislatures

Andreas Kluth: US national security is getting ‘Loomered’

Trump opens window for a deal with Iran but issues warning if things don’t work out

What we know about the Social Security Administration listing thousands of living immigrants as dead

The trial, expected to last a week, comes after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored the case last year. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning.

In February 2022, Judge Jed S. Rakoff in Manhattan rejected Palin’s claims in a ruling issued while a jury deliberated. The judge then let jurors deliver their verdict, which went against Palin.

In restoring the lawsuit, the 2nd Circuit said Rakoff’s dismissal ruling improperly intruded on the jury’s work. It also cited flaws in the trial, saying there was erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction and an erroneous response to a question from the jury.

The retrial occurs as President Donald Trump and others in agreement with his views of news coverage have been aggressive toward media outlets when they believe there has been unjust treatment.

Trump sued CBS News for $20 billion over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with his 2024 opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and also sued the Des Moines Register over an Iowa election poll that turned out to be inaccurate. ABC News settled a lawsuit with Trump over its incorrect claim the president had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.

Kenneth G. Turkel, a lawyer for Palin, did not return a request for comment.

Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the Times, said Palin’s claim stemmed from “a passing reference to an event in an editorial that was not about Sarah Palin.”

“That reference was an unintended error, and quickly corrected. We’re confident we will prevail and intend to vigorously defend the case,” Stadtlander said in a statement.

A man fatally shot in his South St. Paul apartment was a 72-year-old, the medical examiner’s office said Monday.

South St. Paul police responded to a report of a shooting about 8:50 p.m. Friday and found Michael M. Schille in his apartment on 12th Avenue off Thompson Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers located a 36-year-old man at the scene and took him into custody.

“It is believed that the victim and the individual taken into custody were known to each other, that this was not a random act, and that there is no ongoing threat to the community,” South St. Paul police said in a statement Friday night.

The suspect, who is from Hudson, Wis., is being held in the Dakota County jail on suspicion of murder.

Schille died of a gunshot wound to his head, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Related Articles

Suspect Arrested in Arson at Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion, Officials Say

Wisconsin teen charged in parents’ deaths is accused of plotting to kill Trump

What’s driving down gun violence in St. Paul? Solving nonfatal shootings and outreach are helping, officials say

Police say one man dead, another arrested in South St. Paul shooting

Jury deliberates in fatal shootout that followed St. Paul funeral reception