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A new treatment nearly halves the risk of disease progression or death from a less common form of breast cancer that hasn’t seen major drug advances in over a decade, researchers reported Monday.Results from the study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, are expected to be submitted to regulators and could soon establish a new first-line therapy for people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer — the advanced stage of a form that comprises 15–20 percent of all breast cancer cases.HER2-positive cancers are fueled by an overactive HER2 gene, which makes too much of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 that helps cancer cells grow and spread.Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body live around five years.”Seeing such a striking improvement was really impressive to us — we were taking a standard and almost doubling how long patients could have their cancer controlled for,” oncologist Sara Tolaney, chief of the breast oncology division at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told AFP.The current standard of care, known as THP, combines chemotherapy with two antibodies that block growth signals from the HER2 protein. The new approach uses a drug called trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), an antibody attached to a chemotherapy drug.- ‘Smart bomb’ -This “smart bomb” strategy allows the drug to target cancer cells directly. “You can bind to the cancer cell and dump all that chemo right into the cancer cells,” explained Tolaney.”Some people call them smart bombs because they’re delivering chemo in a targeted fashion — which is how I think we’re able to really increase efficacy so much.”Common side effects included nausea, diarrhea and a low white blood cell count, with a less common effect involving lung scarring.T-DXd is already approved as a “second-line” option — used when first-line treatments stop working. But in the new trial, it was given earlier, paired with another antibody, pertuzumab.In a global trial led by Tolaney, just under 400 patients were randomly assigned to receive T-DXd in combination with pertuzumab, thought to enhance its effects.A similar number received the standard THP regimen. A third group, who received T-DXd without pertuzumab, was also enrolled — but those results haven’t yet been reported.- 44 percent risk reduction -At a follow-up of 2.5 years, the T-DXd and pertuzumab combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 44 percent compared to standard care.Fifteen percent of patients in the T-DXd group saw their cancer disappear entirely, compared to 8.5 percent in the THP group.Because this was an interim analysis, the median progression-free survival — meaning the point at which half the patients had seen their cancer return or worsen — was 40.7 months with the new treatment, compared to 26.9 months with the standard, and could rise further as more data come in.Tolaney said the results would be submitted to regulators around the world, including the US Food and Drug Administration, and that future work would focus on optimizing how long patients remain on the treatment, particularly those showing complete remission.”This represents a new first-line standard treatment option for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer,” said Dr. Rebecca Dent, a breast cancer specialist at the National Cancer Center Singapore who was not involved in the study

A man yelling “free Palestine” used incendiary devices to torch protesters rallying in support of Israeli hostages, injuring at least eight people in the US state of Colorado on Sunday.The FBI said it was investigating the incident as a “targeted terror attack” and identified the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman. He was booked into the county jail just before midnight on multiple felony charges, according to county records. His bond has been set at $10 million.Police in the city of Boulder said it was too early to determine a motive for the attack, which took place shortly before 1:30 pm (1930 GMT) at a demonstration outside a mall.The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said the “violent antisemitic attack” occurred at Sunday’s “Run for Their Lives” event, a weekly gathering of the Jewish community in solidarity with hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, sparking the war in Gaza.FBI agent Mark Michalek told reporters the attack happened at a “regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event.””Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary into the crowd,” he said, adding that “the suspect was heard to yell: ‘Free Palestine!'”Boulder Police said that eight victims, four men and four women aged between 52 and 88, were transported to hospitals.Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told reporters that “at least one victim was very seriously injured, probably safe to say critical condition.”The suspect was also injured before being taken into custody, Redfearn said.- Molotov cocktails -In one video that purportedly shows the attack, a shirtless man holding clear bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns.He can be heard screaming “End Zionists!” and “They are killers!” towards several people in red T-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground.Other images showed billowing black smoke.Boulder resident Alexis Cendon said he felt “very, very scared” after hearing about the attack near his workplace.Sunday’s attack occurred during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. It comes almost two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect, who shouted “Free Palestine,” was arrested.Boulder Police Chief Redfearn insisted it was “way too early to speculate motive,” but FBI chief Kash Patel described the attack as “a targeted terror attack.”Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser labeled it “a hate crime.””People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences,” Weiser said.White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted on X that the suspect was a foreign national who “illegally overstayed (his) visa.”Fox News and CBS both cited US officials as saying Soliman was an Egyptian national.  The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the incident.- ‘Burning the streets’ -Israel’s top diplomat Gideon Saar condemned Sunday’s “terrible antisemitic terror attack targeting Jews in Boulder.”Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon also voiced outrage.”Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border — it is already burning the streets of America,” he said in a statement.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also described the Boulder incident as a “targeted terror attack,” while Attorney General Pam Bondi termed it “a horrific anti-Semitic attack.”Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle expressed revulsion.”Tonight, a peaceful demonstration was targeted in a vile, antisemitic act of terror,” top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “Once again, Jews are left reeling from repeated acts of violence and terror.”Several organizations also decried the violence.”This is an attack on all of us — and we will not stay silent,” the Israeli-American Council said in a statement.

A man yelling “Free Palestine” used a makeshift flamethrower to torch protesters rallying in support of Israeli hostages, injuring at least eight people in the US state of Colorado on Sunday.The FBI said it was investigating the incident as a “targeted terror attack” and identified the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman.Investigators said the man had been taken into custody, but provided no further details about him. Police in the city of Boulder were cautious in presuming a motive.The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said the “violent antisemitic attack” occurred at Sunday’s “Run for Their Lives” event, a weekly gathering of the Jewish community in solidarity with hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, sparking the war in Gaza.”This attack happened at a regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event,” FBI agent Mark Michalek told reporters.”Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary into the crowd,” he said, adding that “the suspect was heard to yell: “Free Palestine!”Boulder Police said eight victims, four men and four women aged between 52 and 88, were transported to hospitals.Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told reporters that “at least one victim was very seriously injured, probably safe to say critical condition.”The suspect was also injured before being taken into custody, Redfearn said.- Molotov cocktails -In one video apparently of the attack, a shirtless man holding clear bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns.He can be heard screaming “End Zionists!” and “They are killers!” towards several people in red T-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground.Other images showed billowing black smoke.Boulder resident Alexis Cendon said he felt “very, very scared” after hearing about the attack near his workplace.”We are in a country in the first world, so these things (are) not supposed to happen,” he told AFP.Sunday’s attack occurred during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. It comes almost two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect who shouted “Free Palestine” was arrested.Asked if it was a terror attack against the protesters, Boulder Police Chief Redfearn insisted it was “way too early to speculate motive” behind the violence, which took place shortly before 1:30 pm (1930 GMT).There had initially been reports of a possible second perpetrator, but Redfearn stressed that “at this point, we do not believe that there is an additional suspect at large.”FBI chief Kash Patel described Sunday’s incident as “a targeted terror attack,” while Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser labeled it “a hate crime.””People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences. Hate has no place in Colorado,” Weiser said.White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted on X that the suspect was a foreign national who “illegally overstayed (his) visa.”The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the incident.- ‘Antisemitic attack’ -Israel’s top diplomat Gideon Saar condemned Sunday’s “terrible antisemitic terror attack targeting Jews in Boulder.”Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon also voiced outrage.”Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border — it is already burning the streets of America,” he said in a statement.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the Boulder incident as a “targeted terror attack,” while Attorney General Pam Bondi said “FBI agents are on the ground in Colorado following what appears to be a horrific anti-Semitic attack.”Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle expressed revulsion.”Tonight, a peaceful demonstration was targeted in a vile, antisemitic act of terror,” top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “Once again, Jews are left reeling from repeated acts of violence and terror.Several organizations also decried the violence.”Our community was targeted in a violent, antisemitic attack,” the Israeli-American Council said in a statement.”This is an attack on all of us — and we will not stay silent.”

President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration tactics, sweeping tariffs and nationalist policies may be a turn-off for many would-be European tourists to the United States, but the data paints a more nuanced bigger picture.The number of visitors to the United States from Western Europe in March fell by 17 percent from the same month a year earlier, but then picked up 12 percent in April, according to the US tourism office.The German Travel Association (DRV) said the number of Germans going to the United States dropped 28 percent in March, but then bounced back by 14 percent in April. The association’s spokesperson, Torsten Schaefer, said that Easter holidays fell later this year than in 2024, which might have impacted the figures.”There’re practically no requests in recent months to change or cancel reservations,” Schaefer said. However, he noted “a rise in queries about entry requirements into the United States”.At the end of March, several European countries urged their nationals to review their travel documents for the United States, following several mediatised cases of Europeans being held on arrival then deported.Anecdotally, there are signs of Europeans opting not to visit Trump’s America.”The country I knew no longer exists,” said Raphael Gruber, a 60-year-old German doctor who has been taking his family to Cape Cod in Massachusetts every summer since 2018.”Before, when you told the immigration officer you were there for whale-watching, that was a good reason to come. But now, they are afraid of everything that comes from outside,” he told AFP.Referring to invasive electronic checks at the US borders, he added: “I don’t want to buy a ‘burner’ phone just to keep my privacy”.In Britain, Matt Reay, a 35-year-old history teacher from Northamptonshire, said he had scratched the United States off his list, preferring to go to South America, where his “money would probably be better spent”.”It feels like, to be honest, that there’s a culture that’s built in the US in the last kind of 12 months, where as a foreign visitor, I don’t really feel like I’m that welcome anyway,” he said.Reay said he felt “insulted” by both Trump’s tariffs on British exports to the United States and comments by Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, about Britain as “a random country”.Trump’s public belittling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House visit in February was also “outrageous”, he said.According to the US tourism office, however, the number of British visitors to the United States in April rose 15 percent year-on-year, after a 14 percent drop in March.Oxford Economics, an economics monitoring firm, attributed the March decline partly to the Easter dates this year, along with a stronger US dollar at the time that made the United States a more costly destination.But it mainly pointed to “polarising rhetoric and policy actions by the Trump administration, as well as concerns around tighter border and immigration policies”.- Cheaper flights -Didier Arino, head of the French travel consultancy Protourisme, said April traffic to the United States might have picked up because European airlines were offering discounted flights.”You can find flights, especially for New York, at 600 euros ($680),” he said.In Germany, Muriel Wagner, 34, said she was not putting off a summer trip to Boston to see a friend at Harvard — a US university in a legal and ideological struggle with Trump’s administration.”I’ve been asked if the political situation and trade war with the US has affected our trip,” the PhD student said in Frankfurt. But “you can’t let yourself be intimidated”, she said, adding that she was keen to discuss the tensions with Americans on their home turf.Protourisme’s Arino said that, as “the mood has sunk” regarding the United States, potential tourists were rethinking a visit.On top of the “the financial outlay, being insulted by the US administration for being European, that really robs you of the desire” to go there, he said.He estimated that the “Trump effect” would cut the number of French tourists going to the United States this year by a quarter.A body representing much of the French travel sector, Entreprises du Voyage, said the number of French visitors to America dropped eight percent in March, and a further 12 percent in April. It estimated that summer departures to the United States would drop by 11 percent.According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, covering major tourism operators, the US tourism sector — already reeling from Canadians and Mexicans staying away — could lose $12.5 billion in spending by foreign visitors this year.kap-lep-ajb-zap/jbo/rmb/js

Six elderly people were injured Sunday when a man used a makeshift flamethrower to attack demonstrators in the US state of Colorado as they demanded the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.The FBI called the assault a “targeted terror attack,” identifying the suspected perpetrator, who has been taken into custody, as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, but providing no further details about him.The White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, posted on X that the man was a foreign national who “illegally overstayed (his) visa.”Police in the city of Boulder were cautious in presuming a possible motive for the attack, which multiple sources said was committed against Jews during a peaceful gathering.The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said on X that the attack occurred at Sunday’s “Boulder Run for Their Lives” event, a weekly gathering of the Jewish community in support of the hostages seized during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.”This attack happened at a regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event,” FBI agent Mark Michalek confirmed to reporters.”Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary into the crowd,” he said, adding that “the suspect was heard to yell: “Free Palestine!”- Molotov cocktails -In one video apparently of the attack, a shirtless man holding clear bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns.He can be heard screaming “End Zionists!” and “They are killers!” towards several people in red t-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground.Other images showed billowing black smoke.The six people injured were aged between 67 and 88, and had all be transported to local hospitals, Michalek said.Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn told reporters that “at least one victim was very seriously injured, probably safe to say critical condition.”The suspected perpetrator had also been injured before being taken into custody, Redfearn said.He hailed the bravery of the responding officers, who “immediately ran into a chaotic situation where a man was throwing Molotov cocktails and using other devices to hurt people.”Asked if it was a terror attack against the protesters, Redfearn insisted it was “way too early to speculate motive” behind the violence, which took place shortly before 1:30 pm (1930 GMT).There had initially been reports of a possible second perpetrator, but Redfearn stressed that “at this point, we do not believe that there is an additional suspect at large.””We’re fairly confident we have the lone suspect in custody.”FBI chief Kash Patel immediately described Sunday’s incident as “a targeted terror attack,” while Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser labeled it “a hate crime.””People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences. Hate has no place in Colorado,” Weiser said. The White House said President Donald Trump has been briefed on the incident.- ‘Antisemitic attack’ -Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, voiced outrage at the incident.”Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border — it is already burning the streets of America,” he said in a statement.”Make no mistake — this is not a political protest, this is terrorism.”US Secretary of State Marco Rubio like Patel described the incident as a “targeted terror attack,” while lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle expressed revulsion at Sunday’s tragedy and said they were praying for the victims’ recovery.”Tonight, a peaceful demonstration was targeted in a vile, antisemitic act of terror,” top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “Once again, Jews are left reeling from repeated acts of violence and terror.Several organizations also decried the apparent hate-fueled violence.”Our community was targeted in a violent, antisemitic attack,” the Israeli-American Council said in a statement.”This is an attack on all of us — and we will not stay silent.”The Boulder violence comes almost two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect who shouted “Free Palestine” was taken into custody by police.

China said Monday it “firmly rejects” US claims that it had violated a sweeping tariffs deal, as tensions between the two economic superpowers showed signs of ratcheting back up.Beijing and Washington last month agreed to slash staggeringly high tariffs on each other for 90 days after talks between top officials in Geneva.But top Washington officials last week accused China of violating the deal, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying Beijing was “slow-rolling” the agreement in comments to “Fox News Sunday”.China hit back Monday, saying Washington “has made bogus charges and unreasonably accused China of violating the consensus, which is seriously contrary to the facts”. “China firmly rejects these unreasonable accusations,” its commerce ministry said in a statement.US President Donald Trump said last week that China had “totally violated” the deal, without providing details.Beijing’s commerce ministry said it “has been firm in safeguarding its rights and interests, and sincere in implementing the consensus”.It fired back that Washington “has successively introduced a number of discriminatory restrictive measures against China” since the Geneva talks.The ministry cited export controls on artificial intelligence chips, curbs on the sale of chip design software and the revocation of Chinese student visas in the United States.”We urge the US to meet China halfway, immediately correct its wrongful actions, and jointly uphold the consensus from the Geneva trade talks,” the ministry said.If not, “China will continue to resolutely take strong measures to uphold its legitimate rights and interests,” it added.- Trump-Xi talks? -US officials have said they are frustrated by what they see as Chinese foot-dragging on approving export licences for rare earths and other elements needed to make cars and chips.But Washington’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looked to ease the pressure on Sunday, saying the two sides could arrange a call between their respective heads of state to resolve their differences.”I’m confident… this will be ironed out” in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Bessent said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”.He added, however, that China was “withholding some of the products that they agreed to release”, including rare earths.On when a Trump-Xi call could take place, Bessent said: “I believe we will see something very soon.”China has been less forthcoming, and the commerce ministry’s statement on Monday did not mention any planned conversations between the two leaders.The Geneva deal was “an important consensus reached by the two sides on the principle of mutual respect and equality, and its results were hard-won”, the ministry said.It warned Washington against “going its own way and continuing to harm China’s interests”.Global stocks finished mixed on Friday after Trump made his social media post accusing Beijing.The Hong Kong stock exchange was down around 2 percent shortly after opening on Monday.

They’ve lost count of how many times they’ve been arrested, but even with a combined age of 180 years, American couple Joseph and Joyce Ellwanger are far from hanging up their activist boots.The pair, who joined the US civil rights rallies in the 1960s, hope protesting will again pay off against Donald Trump, whose right-wing agenda has pushed the limits of presidential power.”Inaction and silence do not bring about change,” 92-year-old Joseph, who uses a walker, told AFP at a rally near Milwaukee in late April.He was among a few hundred people protesting the FBI’s arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping an undocumented man in her court evade migration authorities. By his side — as always — was Joyce, 88, carrying a sign reading “Hands Off Hannah.”They are certain that protesting does make a difference, despite some Americans feeling despondent about opposing Trump in his second term. “The struggle for justice has always had so much pushback and difficulty that it almost always appeared as though we’ll never win,” Joseph said.”How did slavery end? How did Jim Crow end? How did women get the right to vote? It was the resilience and determination of people who would not give up,” he added.”Change does happen.”The couple, who have been married for more than 60 years, can certainly speak from experience when it comes to protesting. Joseph took part in strategy meetings with Martin Luther King Jr — the only white religious leader to do so — after he became pastor of an all-Black church in Alabama at the age of 25. He also joined King in the five-day, 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, which historians consider a pivotal moment in the US civil rights movement.Joyce, meanwhile, was jailed for 50 days after she rallied against the US military training of soldiers from El Salvador in the 1980s. Other causes taken up by the couple included opposing the Iraq war in the early 2000s.”You do what you have to do. You don’t let them stop you just because they put up a blockade. You go around it,” Joyce told AFP.- ‘We’ll do our part’ -Joseph admitted he would like to slow down, noting the only time he and his wife unplug is on Sunday evening when they do a Zoom call with their three adult children. But Trump has kept them active with his sweeping executive actions — including crackdowns on undocumented migrants and on foreign students protesting at US universities.The threats to younger protesters are particularly concerning for Joyce, who compared those demonstrating today to the students on the streets during the 1960s. “They’ve been very non-violent, and to me, that’s the most important part,” she said.Joyce also acknowledged the couple likely won’t live to see every fight to the end, but insisted they still had a role to play.”We’re standing on the shoulders of people who have built the justice movement and who have brought things forward. So, we’ll do our part,” she said.Joyce added that she and Joseph would be protesting again on June 14 as part of the national “No Kings” rally against Trump.”More people are taking to the streets, we will also be in the street,” she said.

Disney’s family-friendly “Lilo & Stitch,” a live-action remake of the 2002 animated film, won the North American box office for a second week in a row, taking in another $63 million, industry estimates showed Sunday. So far, its worldwide take is at a whopping $610 million, Exhibitor Relations said.Maia Kealoha (as Lilo), Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B. Vance and Zach Galifianakis star, while Chris Sanders again provides the voice of the chaos-creating blue alien Stitch.”Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” — the latest, and ostensibly last, in the hugely successful Tom Cruise spy thriller series based on a 1960s TV show — took second place with $27.3 million in the United States and Canada.The Paramount film has made another $231 million overseas, which should help offset its massive production budget, reportedly at $400 million.Debuting in a disappointing third place was Sony’s “Karate Kid: Legends,” a sequel featuring Ralph Macchio — the star of the original 1984 classic — and action flick icon Jackie Chan, along with Ben Wang in the title role. It made $21 million at the domestic box office and another $26 million overseas.”‘Legends’ is trying to invigorate the story with a new Kid — again — but business is not strong,” said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. In fourth place was Warner Bros. and New Line’s horror film “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” at $10.8 million.And another horror film, “Bring Her Back,” debuted in fifth place with $7.1 million.”This is a very good opening for an original horror movie that cost only $4.5 million to make,” said Gross.Rounding out the top 10 were:”Sinners” ($5.2 million)”Thunderbolts” ($4.8 million)”Friendship” ($2.6 million)”The Last Rodeo” ($2.1 million)”J-Hope Hope on the Stage” – live tour broadcast ($940,000)

Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the 2024 campaign trail.The New York Times reported Friday that the billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems.The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January.In a post Saturday on X, Musk said: “To be clear, I am NOT taking drugs! The New York Times was lying their ass off.”He added: “I tried ‘prescription’ ketamine a few years ago and said so on X, so this not even news. It helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven’t taken it since then.”Musk first dodged a question about his drug use at a bizarre farewell appearance Friday with Trump in the Oval Office in which the Tesla and SpaceX boss sported a noticeable black eye as he formally ended his role as Trump’s main cost-cutter at DOGE, which fired tens of thousands of civil servants.News of the injury drew substantial attention as it came right after the Times report on his alleged drug use. The daily recalled erratic behavior such as Musk giving an enthusiastic Nazi-style salute in January of this year at a rally celebrating Trump’s inauguration.Musk said he got the injury while horsing around with his young son, named X, when he told the child to hit him in the face.”And he did. Turns out even a five-year-old punching you in the face actually is…” he added, before tailing off.Later Friday, when a reporter asked Trump if he was aware of Musk’s “regular drug use,” Trump responded: “I wasn’t.” “I think Elon is a fantastic guy,” he added. Musk has previously admitted to taking ketamine, saying he was prescribed it to treat a “negative frame of mind” and suggesting his use of drugs benefited his work.

In a Los Angeles theater, a trench coat-wearing Neo bends backwards to dodge bullets that spiral over the viewer’s head, as the sound of gunfire erupts from everywhere.This new immersive experience is designed to be a red pill moment that will get film fans off their couches at a time when the movie industry is desperate to bring back audiences. Cosm, which has venues in Los Angeles and Dallas, is launching its dome-style screen and 3D sets in June with a “shared reality” version of “The Matrix,” the cult 1999 film starring Keanu Reeves as a man who suddenly learns his world is a fiction.”We believe the future will be more immersive and more experiential,” said Cosm president Jeb Terry at a recent preview screening.”It’s trying to create an additive, a new experience, ideally non-cannibalistic, so that the industry can continue to thrive across all formats.”Cinema audiences were already dwindling when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, shuttering theaters at a time when streaming was exploding.With ever bigger and better TVs available for the home, the challenge for theater owners is to offer something that movie buffs cannot get in their living room.Prestige projects like Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” or Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer” increasingly opt for the huge screens and superior film quality of IMAX.But Cosm and other projects like it want to go one step further, collaborating with designers who have worked with Cirque du Soleil to create an environment in which the viewer feels like they are inside the film.For filmmakers, it’s all about how you place the cameras and where you capture the sound, said Jay Rinsky, founder of Little Cinema, a creative studio specializing in immersive experiences.”We create sets like the Parisian opera, let the movie be the singer, follow the tone, highlight the emotions… through light, through production design, through 3D environments,” he said.The approach, he said, felt particularly well suited to “The Matrix,” which he called “a masterpiece of cinema, but done as a rectangle.”For the uninitiated: Reeves’s Neo is a computer hacker who starts poking around in a life that doesn’t quite seem to fit.A mysterious Laurence Fishburne offers him a blue pill that will leave him where he is, or a red pill that will show him he is a slave whose body is being farmed by AI machines while his conscious lives in a computer simulation.There follows much gunfire, lots of martial arts and some mysticism, along with a romance between Neo and Trinity, played by the leather-clad Carrie-Anne Moss.”The Matrix” in shared reality kicks off with a choice of cocktails — blue or red, of course — which are consumed as the audience sits surrounded by high-definition screens.Shifting perspectives place the viewer inside Neo’s office cubicle, or seemingly in peril.”They’re sometimes inside the character’s head,” said Rinsky. “The world changes as you look up and down for trucks coming at you.”The result impressed those who were at the preview screening.”It just did feel like an experience,” influencer Vince Rossi told AFP. “It felt like you’re at a theme park for a movie almost.”