A man with deadly brain cancer that had spread to his spine saw his tumors shrink and, for a time, completely vanish after a novel treatment to help his immune system attack his disease — another first in this promising field.

Richard Grady, 50, was the first person to get the treatment dripped through a tube into a space in the brain where spinal fluid is made, sending it down the path the cancer traveled to his spine.

He had “a remarkable response” that opens the door to wider testing, said Dr. Behnam Badie, neurosurgery chief at City of Hope, a cancer center in Duarte, Calif., where Grady was treated.

The case is reported in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.

Grady had some of his blood cells, called T cells, removed and genetically modified to turn them into specialized soldiers to destroy cancer, a treatment called CAR-T cell therapy.

Grady had surgery to remove three of his largest tumors. Then he got six weekly infusions of the cells through a tube into his brain, where the biggest one had been. No cancer recurred there, but the remaining tumors continued to grow, new ones appeared, and cancer spread to his spine.

Doctors decided to place a second tube in his brain, into a cavity where spinal fluid is made, and putting the cells there. After the 10th treatment, “we saw all the tumors disappear,” Badie said.

New tumors, though, have emerged in different spots in his brain and spine, and he is getting radiation treatment. But his response to immunotherapy lasted more than seven months, and “for him to live more than a year and half” after starting it is amazing for a situation where survival often is measured in weeks, Badie said.

Man suspected of ties to Berlin attacker is detained in Germany

BERLIN — German prosecutors said Wednesday that they have detained a Tunisian man they think may have been involved in last week's truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.

The 40-year-old, who wasn't identified, was detained in Berlin during a search of his home and business, federal prosecutors said.

The man's telephone number was saved in the cellphone of Anis Amri, a fellow Tunisian believed to have driven a truck into the market on Dec. 19. Amri, 24, was killed in a shootout with Italian police near Milan early Friday.

Twelve people died and dozens more were injured in the truck attack. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.

Prosecutors have until Thursday evening to determine whether the case against the man is strong enough for them to seek a formal arrest warrant.

Obama designates Nevada, Utah monuments despite objections

SALT LAKE CITY — President Barack Obama designated two national monuments Wednesday at sites in Utah and Nevada that have become key flash points over use of public land in the U.S. West, marking the administration's latest move to protect environmentally sensitive areas in its final days.

The Bears Ears National Monument in Utah will cover 1.35 million acres in the Four Corners region, the White House said. In a victory for Native American tribes and conservationists, the designation protects land considered sacred and is home to an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings.

It's a blow for state Republican leaders and rural residents who say it will add another layer of unnecessary federal control and close the area to new energy development.

French woman who shot, killed allegedly violent mate pardoned

PARIS — A French woman who was convicted of shooting and killing her allegedly violent husband was granted a presidential pardon on Wednesday in a case that drew attention to the issue of domestic abuse.

Two hours after President Francois Hollande pardoned her, Jacqueline Sauvage, 69, was seen leaving a prison southeast of Paris in a sedan after spending more than three years behind bars.

Two different juries sentenced Sauvage to 10 years in prison for fatally shooting her husband, Norbert Marot, three times in the back with a rifle in 2012.

During the trials in 2014 and 2015, Sauvage said her husband had beaten her for 47 years. The couple's adult daughters also claimed Marot abused them. Neither Sauvage nor the daughters ever filed a complaint against him.

U.S. senator: Russia can expect strong sanctions

RIGA, Latvia — Russia can expect hard-hitting sanctions from United States lawmakers if an investigation proves that Moscow interfered in the presidential election, a U.S. senator said Wednesday during a visit to Latvia.

The Kremlin has been accused of interfering in the campaign that made Republican Donald Trump the president-elect. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said lawmakers from both parties remain skeptical of the denials that have come from the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I predict there will be bi-partisan sanctions coming that will hit Russia hard, particularly Putin as an individual,” Graham said. He didn't elaborate on possible sanctions.

Graham said Wednesday that “Russia is trying to break the back of democracies all around the world.”

Blasts injure more than 30 at Philippines boxing match

MANILA, Philippines — More than 30 people were wounded when two bombs exploded while they who were watching a boxing competition in a central Philippine town as part of an annual Roman Catholic festival, officials said Thursday.

The wounded were brought to a hospital in Hilongos following the Wednesday blasts of what initially appeared to be cellphone-detonated homemade bombs, regional army spokeswoman 1st Lt. Cherry Junia said.

Police said investigators were trying to identify the attackers.

Philippine forces have been placed on alert amid offensives in the country's south against Muslim militants, including Abu Sayyaf gunmen and armed sympathizers of the Islamic State group who have targeted the capital, Manila, and other urban centers in the past.

Food-stamp fraud: Seth Jeffs, a high-ranking polygamous leader, was released from jail Wednesday after pleading guilty in a multimillion-dollar food-stamp fraud case, the second of 11 defendants to accept a plea deal in the crackdown on the sect based along the Utah-Arizona border. He had served six months in jail.

Ramsey brother: The older brother of JonBenet Ramsey is suing CBS and others for $750 million, saying his reputation was ruined after a TV series concluded he killed his 6-year-old sister two decades ago. In the lawsuit, Burke Ramsey claims the defendants conspired to defame him for publicity and profit.