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Japan’s Kobayashi Pharmaceutical now probing 80 deaths over possible link to benikoji red yeast supplement

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Tokyo — Japanese health supplement maker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said Friday it was probing 76 more deaths possibly linked to its tablets containing red yeast rice, meant to lower cholesterol. It deepens a scandal that erupted earlier this year when the company said it was looking into five deaths potentially linked to the over-the-counter products after dozens of customers reported kidney problems.

Fermented with a mould culture, red yeast rice, or “benikoji,” has been used in food, alcoholic drinks and folk medicines for centuries around East Asia.

“Even if the direct cause of hospitalisation or death was not kidney-related disease, it has become clear that there are a variety of cases, including cases in which benikoji-related products may have caused harm somehow and had some indirect impact,” a Kobayashi statement said.

Of the five initial deaths under investigation, the company said it now knows one did not consume red yeast rice.

“We have received 1,656 inquiries from individuals who have sought medical attention, and have 76 cases under investigation over (a causal) connection to the deaths,” in addition to the original four, it said.

Japan Drug Supplement Recall
Akihiro Kobayashi, President of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., left, bows during a press conference in Osaka, Japan, March 22, 2024. 

Chiaki Ueda/AP


On March 22, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said it was recalling three kinds of tablets containing benikoji. It later said it had detected a potentially toxic acid produced by the mould at one of its factories, and government officials inspected the firm’s facilities.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is a household name in Japan, offering a wide range of health-related products, and the scandal has been top news in the country.

On Friday, Kobayashi said it would work to identify the exact cause and scope of the health damage — including whether organs other than kidneys were harmed.

Top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday that the health ministry had previously ordered the company to file a daily report on its probe, and demanded more details earlier this month after the number of deaths under investigation didn’t change.

“But until today, it had not reported the specific number of cases under investigation, and it is extremely regrettable,” Hayashi told reporters.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has said it also sold red yeast rice to around 50 other firms in Japan and two in Taiwan.

Taiwanese companies preventively recalled 154 products containing red yeast rice in the wake of the scare, the island’s health authorities said earlier this year.



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Russia says Ukraine fired 6 U.S.-made ATACMS missiles at Bryansk as Moscow warns such strikes risk world war

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Zhytomyr, Ukraine — Exactly 1,000 days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Russia’s defense ministry accused Ukrainian forces on Tuesday of firing six U.S.-made and -supplied ATACMS missiles at the Russian region of Bryansk. If confirmed, it could be the first time Ukrainian troops had taken advantage of President Biden easing restrictions over the weekend on Ukraine’s use of the U.S.-made missiles to strike targets deeper inside Russian territory.

Ukraine’s military said it hit a Russian weapons depot in Bryansk overnight, but it didn’t say what weapons were used. U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday that U.S.-supplied ATACMS had been used on targets inside Russia.

In a statement carried by state media, Russia’s Defense Ministry said the military had shot down five ATACMS fired by Ukraine and damaged another. The reports said fragments had fallen at or near a military facility and that some of the debris had ignited a fire, but the ministry said there was no damage or casualties.

Range of ATACMS missiles
An infographic shows the range and other details of the U.S.-made ATACMS missiles supplied to Ukraine.

Murat Usubali/Anadolu/Getty


The strike in Bryansk came hours after another Ukrainian residential neighborhood was left charred and smoking. Ukrainian officials said 10 people were killed Monday in a Russian drone and missile attack on the southern city of Odesa. 

The strike came a day after another strike on the power grid in Odesa, which also destroyed several homes.

With Mr. Biden finally granting Ukraine the long-sought permission to fire ATACMS — which have a range of about 190 miles — deeper into Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s forces had a new option to retaliate for the latest carnage.

Aftermath of Russian shelling of Odesa on November 18, 2024
People look at an apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike in Odesa, Ukraine, Nov. 18, 2024.

Ukrinform/NurPhoto/Getty


Russia, however, has accused the U.S. of adding fuel to the fire. 

In September, President Vladimir Putin warned that if the U.S. allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS inside his country, it would mean the U.S. and its NATO allies were at war with Russia.

Putin has yet to respond directly to Mr. Biden’s weekend decision, but lawmakers in Moscow fumed over the move on Monday, including a senator who called it “a very big step toward the beginning of the third world war.”

Neither side has confirmed its death tolls during the war, but Ukraine’s military has paid a steep price for trying to defend the country from the invasion, with around 70,000 troops believed to have been killed. More than 100,000 soldiers from Russia — a country with a population more than three times larger than Ukraine’s — have been killed, according to U.S. officials.


Russia condemns Biden’s decision to let Ukraine fire missiles deep into Russia

02:18

Col. Maksym Balagura, a special forces commander in Ukraine’s state border guard, acknowledged the vast size discrepancy when asked by CBS News if his country was short on manpower, saying it “isn’t possible to compare Russia and Ukraine… Their country is 10 times the size of ours, and of course they have more manpower.”

But with the grueling ground and air war showing no signs of letting up, Russia’s military has already been bolstered by more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers, according to Ukrainian, South Korean and U.S. officials.

Zelenskyy warned Tuesday that the North Korean contingent supporting Russia’s forces could grow to 100,000, as the two Western adversaries deepen their security ties.

contributed to this report.



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Bodycam shows Las Vegas man who called 911 for help killed by police in his home

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A family is demanding answers after a Las Vegas father was shot and killed in his own home after calling police to report a potential home invasion.

Newly released police bodycam video shows Brandon Durham, 43, struggling with an alleged intruder over a knife in the early hours of Nov. 12. The intruder, later identified as Alejandra Boudreaux, 31, was wearing a red hoodie, while Durham was shirtless, the video shows. Durham’s 15-year-old daughter was home at the time, but was not at the scene, officials said. 

Las Vegas police said Officer Alexander Bookman entered the home and ordered the pair to drop the knife before firing his weapon, police said. Durham was struck and fell to the floor. Bookman then fires five more rounds, the video shows.

screenshot-2024-11-19-at-9-14-31-am.png
Alejandra Boudreaux and Brandon Durham.

CBS Mornings


Durham was pronounced dead at the scene. Now, his family is pushing for answers. 

“He called the police for safety and instead, he was brutally murdered,” his daughter Isabella said in a news conference. 

“Someone needs to explain to me why my son is not here with us today,” added Durham’s mother. 

Bookman is on paid leave while the Las Vegas Metro Police Department investigates whether he acted appropriately or should face criminal charges. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told Durham’s family the investigation could take 30 to 90 days, according to CBS affiliate KLAS.

screenshot-2024-11-19-at-9-13-41-am.png
Brandon Durham.

CBS Mornings


“Every time a police officer used force, he has to be able to articulate why he used that force,” Felipe Rodriguez, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former detective sergeant for the NYPD, told CBS News. “And even if he did use one round, you know, how is it that he was, you know, he continued shooting after the person was down in such a rapid succession? It’s going to have a lot of explaining.” 

Boudreaux was arrested and faces multiple charges, including one count of home invasion with a deadly weapon, a count of assault with a deadly weapon, a count of performing an act of willful or wanton disregard of safety resulting in a person’s death, and one count of child abuse, according to police

Boudreaux and Durham knew each other and had a sexual relationship, according to an arrest report obtained by KLAS 8. Boudreaux told detectives she intended to have police kill her on the day of the home invasion, the station reported, and Boudreaux has refused to appear at two court hearings. 



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Russian strikes continue in Ukraine, marking 1,000 days since the invasion

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Russian strikes continue in Ukraine, marking 1,000 days since the invasion – CBS News


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It’s been 1,000 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. A day after the U.S. approved Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles against Russia, a Russian strike killed seven people in the country’s Sumy region. The U.S. gave permission for the missiles to be used on targets deep inside Russia, with some having a range of close to 200 miles.

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