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Getting large amounts of people to join research studies, however, can be a different story. “Clinical trials testing new medications are usually not difficult to enroll and people are generally willing to travel to the researcher’s office multiple times in order to participate,” Dr. David Bernstein, vice chair of medicine for clinical trials at Northwell Health in Manhasset, New York, told ABC News.

From tackling diseases to improving transport, technology like data and artificial intelligence has unleashed a wave of opportunities, but those still exclude society's most vulnerable citizens, according to a leading human rights researcher. The "digitisation of information" impacts every sector in society but not everyone benefits equally, said Carly Kind, head of the Ada Lovelace Institute, a British-based research body named after the British mathematician and computer pioneer. "We see huge power imbalances in terms of who governs, hoards and uses data, and in what ways," said Kind, who previously led a European Commission-funded project on data governance and privacy regulation.

A man who was considered a suspect in the heist of about $500 million worth of artwork from a Boston museum has been released from prison. The Boston Globe reports that David Turner was freed on Wednesday after serving 21 years for his role in the 1999 planned armed robbery of an armored car. According to court records, FBI agents told Turner he was a suspect in the 1990 heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and could receive leniency if he returned the stolen masterpieces.

NEW YORK -- Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein's estate are considering setting up a program to resolve claims filed by women who said they were abused by the financier, who killed himself in August while facing federal sex trafficking charges.The plan was disclosed in a court filing Tuesday by a lawyer for one of Epstein's accusers, who is suing the estate in federal court in Manhattan. The filing said lawyers for Epstein's estate had informed plaintiffs that they were planning to disclose details of a "claims resolution program" to a court in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the mysteriously wealthy Epstein had his will filed shortly before his death.The estate has retained the services of longtime mediator and attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who specializes in planning and overseeing restitution funds. His associates Camille Biros and Jordana Feldman also have been tapped, with Feldman eventually administering the restitution plan. Feinberg and Biros will serve as consultants in helping to formulate the program, the victim compensation experts confirmed Wednesday evening. Biros has been an architect of programs to provide restitution to victims of the Roman Catholic Church abuse scandal. Feldman most recently played a critical role in overseeing the administration of the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund.But the proposal from lawyers for the estate, which is valued at about $577 million, is already facing resistance.Bradley Edwards, the lawyer for the accuser, said in the court filing that his client "does not believe that the use of any alternative dispute resolution should stay or modify the course of litigation in this matter."A lawyer for the estate wrote to one accuser's lawyer and described the proposed program as "voluntary," according to emails reviewed by The New York Times. Even so, the accuser's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, objected to the plan's being put together without consulting with the accusers and their lawyers."Settlement, after all, is a two-way street," Kaplan said in an emailed response, which was also sent to lawyers for other accusers. She said it was "astonishing" that the lawyers for Epstein's estate planned to go to court in the Virgin Islands without first discussing the plan."In fact, it feels very much like a continuation of his crimes and abuse after his death," she wrote.The emails were later included in a public court filing Wednesday afternoon.David Brodie, another accuser's lawyer, said that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the possible resolution program but that there were many questions about how claims would be handled."These women have already endured horrific abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and have waited many years for justice," he said. "To turn their personal experiences over to one person selected by Jeffrey Epstein's estate to make a binding decision (which may not be disputed) could be a process that may exacerbate the victimization of these brave women."Bennet Moskowitz, the lawyer hired by Epstein's estate to handle lawsuits by the accusers, did not respond to requests for comment on the emails or the proposed resolution program.The executors of Epstein's estate, Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, also did not respond to a request for comment. Indyke was Epstein's longtime lawyer in New York, and Kahn was an accountant for some of his companies.In the weeks since Epstein's death, lawsuits against the estate have been piling up.On Tuesday, three new lawsuits were filed in Manhattan federal court by Epstein's accusers, including separate lawsuits filed by two sisters -- Annie Farmer and Maria Farmer.Their lawyer, David Boies, said he anticipated filing lawsuits on behalf of at least one other woman and called a settlement program "a positive step" toward resolving the claims. "But it is only the first step," he added.Until last month, Boies' firm represented one of Epstein's most outspoken accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, in a defamation lawsuit against former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. A federal judge disqualified the firm, saying its lawyers might have to appear as witnesses in the litigation.Some accusers are taking advantage of a new law in New York that allows child victims of sexual abuse to file claims for damages many years later. Many of Epstein's accusers said they were abused more than a decade ago.New York law also permits crime victims to file lawsuits seeking damages within a year of the termination of a criminal case against the defendant. The clock on such claims started Aug. 29, when federal prosecutors dismissed a sex-trafficking indictment against Epstein after his suicide at the Manhattan Correctional Center.If a claims resolution program is formed, it's possible that dozens of women could seek monetary damages. When Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida state court to a charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor, it was estimated in court filings that he had engaged in sexual activity with at least 30 underage girls.Last month, representatives from the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan met with some of Epstein's accusers and their lawyers to discuss the status of the investigation since Epstein's death. Lawyers familiar with the meetings said investigators told the women that they were looking at pursuing charges against people who may have helped Epstein and have been lining up potential witnesses.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

The European Union law enforcement agency says police across the continent have concluded a two-year investigation into a “massive” criminal network that was using trucks to smuggle migrants into western Europe. Europol said Thursday that police in Romania detained four suspected members of the gang, which smuggled nearly 580 people from outside Europe through the Romanian city of Timisoara and then westward. Numerous migrants have lost their lives in recent years after being crammed into tractor-trailers, without sufficient air or water, for the journey across Europe.

Young Iraqis have been out in their thousands since mass anti-government protests kicked off on Oct. 1 in the capital and then quickly spread to the country's south. More than 300 people have been killed as security forces have responded to the mostly peaceful demonstrations by firing live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear-gas canisters directly at the bodies of protesters. Above him, hundreds of young men manned barricades made of concrete blocks, iron sheets and tires, locked in a stalemate with security forces directly across from them.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday unveiled a new fraud charge against lawyer Michael Avenatti, accusing him of lying to a client as part of his alleged effort to extort Nike Inc. The prosecutors also dropped two counts of conspiracy against Avenatti from the case, which was first made public in March, according to a superseding indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan. "I am extremely pleased that the two counts alleging I engaged in a conspiracy against Nike have just been dismissed by Trump's DOJ," Avenatti wrote on Twitter, referring to the U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump.

BIHAC, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Authorities in northwestern Bosnia are threatening a curfew in two large local migrant camps to press the central government to relocate people to other parts of the country. The local government in the region bordering Croatia says a “full blockade” of the badly congested Bira and Miral camps will start Friday and continue until the situation is resolved.

"Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice hasn't lived under the same roof as her husband in years, and in an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America" she admits that she's not sure if she ever will again. Explaining that she suspects her husband may have been unfaithful to her during their 20-year marriage, she added that the two are currently living very separate lives. Teresa resides in the U.S. with the couple's four daughters, while Joe is currently in Italy, awaiting a final ruling on a possible deportation.

A Mississippi couple whose home was partially gutted in a fire is now facing fines and jail time for temporarily living in an RV while they dealt with insurance. WAPT-TV reports the couple’s temporary home violated their Madison homeowner’s association code. Pam Navari says they parked the RV in their driveway as they fought their insurance company over the settlement claim amount for the Christmas Eve fire.

The official story is also contradicted by video of that victim, reviewed by Reuters and reported here for the first time, that was obtained by investigators at Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly. The 82-second clip shows the young man sitting shirtless and unarmed in a storage room inside his home, under police interrogation about a nearby car theft, begging officers to spare his life. "Brother," says Jose Arevalo, a 29-year-old shop worker who had been convicted of robbery earlier this decade but avoided legal trouble since.

Investigators released a series of phone intercepts on Thursday which they said revealed Moscow's influence over pro-Russian rebels accused of downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine five years ago. MH17 was shot out of the sky on July 17, 2014, over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The joint investigation team (JIT) has said a missile that hit the airplane originated from Russia's Kursk military base, not far from the Ukrainian border.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that a U.S. proposal for Ankara to get rid of the Russian S-400 missile defences it purchased is not right and an infringement of sovereign rights, according to broadcaster NTV. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Erdogan to walk away from the purchase of the S-400 systems, the parts of which began arriving in Turkey in July. Erdogan told reporters after his meeting with Trump that he saw a much more positive approach to the F-35 issue from Trump.

Cisco Systems Inc fell 5.6% after the network gear maker said current-quarter revenue would fall 3% to 5% amid declining global spending on its routers and switches, some of which are made in China. A 16-month trade war between the world's two biggest economies has disrupted supply chains and hit economic growth.

The official story is also contradicted by video of that victim, reviewed by Reuters and reported here for the first time, that was obtained by investigators at Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly. The 82-second clip shows the young man sitting shirtless and unarmed in a storage room inside his home, under police interrogation about a nearby car theft, begging officers to spare his life. "Brother," says Jose Arevalo, a 29-year-old shop worker who had been convicted of robbery earlier this decade but avoided legal trouble since.

The dollar recovered from earlier lows as weak economic data and concern about whether Beijing and Washington will reach a trade deal burnished its appeal as a safe haven. Demand for safe-haven assets also helped the yen and the Swiss franc, but the dollar's rebound was more pronounced after it faltered in late Asian trading. A dollar index measuring it against six other currencies rose 0.05% to 98.424, just shy of a one-month high of 98.447 tested overnight.

The state of Georgia executed on Wednesday a man convicted of capital murder for the 1994 shooting death of a convenience store clerk during a bungled robbery in which he and two accomplices got away with a case of beer. Ray Cromartie, 52, who has long denied that he pulled the trigger in the killing, was executed by lethal injection at 10:59 p.m. EST at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, the state's department of corrections said. The Trump administration proposed a regulation on Wednesday that would bar most asylum seekers from applying for a work permit if they entered the United States illegally.

Pro-democracy protesters paralyzed parts of Hong Kong for a fourth day on Thursday, forcing schools to close and blocking highways, as students built campus barricades and stockpiled weapons and the government dismissed rumors of a curfew. Thousands of students hunkered down on several campuses, surrounded by piles of food, bricks, petrol bombs, arrows with heads wrapped in cladding, catapults and other homemade weapons.

Walt Disney Co shares soared to a record high after the entertainment firm said its new streaming service, Disney+, had been met with "extraordinary consumer demand," reaching 10 million sign-ups in its first day. The strong performance, which added $18 billion to its market capitalization, appears to establish Disney as a leading player in the streaming wars that pit it against industry leader Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc's Prime Video service, Apple Inc's Apple TV+ and AT&T Inc's forthcoming HBO Max service. Bushfires raging across Australia's east coast destroyed two buildings on a rural property owned by Russell Crowe, the Oscar-winning actor said on Twitter on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Johnson & Johnson's Remicade, a blockbuster drug that treats autoimmune disorders, has steadily lost market share among patients enrolled in the Canadian province of Quebec's public drug program, even after a court ruling reinstated full coverage in January, a Reuters analysis of government data shows. The plan's administrator stopped covering Remicade, J&J unit Janssen's version of the drug infliximab, for some new patients in February 2017, in favor of cheap near-copies called biosimilars, mainly Pfizer Inc's version of infliximab, called Inflectra.