Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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Kraft Heinz to Drop Artificial Dyes in US Foods

Move follows government scrutiny and shifting consumer health preferences

(Newser) - Kraft Heinz is pledging to remove all artificial dyes from its US foods by 2027, signaling a major shift as health concerns and government scrutiny put synthetic colors in the spotlight. The company, known for brands like Kraft Mac & Cheese, Heinz ketchup, Jell-O, and Capri-Sun, said it will...

Kennedy's Vaccine Panel Picks Include Vaccine Skeptics

Health secretary names 8 new members to panel he just recently stripped

(Newser) - All those reassuring promises Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made before he was confirmed as President Trump's health secretary appear to have gone up in a puff of smoke, with Kennedy choosing an anti-vaccine activist and other well-known vaccine skeptics to join the CDC's independent vaccine advisory committee, which...

All 17 Members of Panel on Vaccines Are Ousted by RFK Jr.

Move clears way for Trump picks while seeming to reverse a confirmation pledge

(Newser) - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday that he has removed the 17 members of a panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines so that he can install people of his choosing. The move, he said in an oped piece in the Wall Street ...

NIH Staffers Risk Their Careers With Open Letter

Dozens sign name to letter protesting cuts, and hundreds more sign anonymously

(Newser) - More than 300 current and former National Institutes of Health employees have taken the unusual step of publicly protesting deep funding cuts, staff firings, and "policies that undermine the NIH mission." Details:
  • Read the open letter here . It was sent to NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, health secretary
...

Vaccine Official Quits After RFK Jr. 'Blindsides' CDC

He bypassed normal procedure on COVID vaccine recommendations

(Newser) - A top official at the CDC resigned this week after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bypassed normal procedures with an order on the agency's COVID-19 vaccine guidance. Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, who helped oversee CDC vaccine recommendations, announced her resignation to the COVID-19 vaccine work group early Tuesday, according to...

Researchers Predict Lots More Cavities if Fluoride Goes

Study says the ramifications could be expensive

(Newser) - A nationwide ban on adding fluoride to public drinking water could saddle US families with billions in dental bills and result in millions of additional cavities, according to a new study published in JAMA Health Forum . Researchers modeled two scenarios: one in which all public water systems contain optimal...

Kennedy's MAHA Report Has Some Big Gaffes
Kennedy's Health Report
Has Some Serious Gaffes
the rundown
May 30, 2025 7:40 AM CDT

Kennedy's Health Report Has Some Serious Gaffes

Footnotes cite nonexistent studies, apparently the work of artificial intelligence

(Newser) - The Make America Healthy Again commission led by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued an exhaustive report last month prescribing changes for Americans' health. It was crammed with more than 500 footnotes citing studies to buttress its findings—but multiple outlets have found that many of those studies don'...

Feds Cut Key Food Program for Native Americans

Program brought fresh, local food to reservations

(Newser) - After a federal program delivering fresh, local food to Native American reservations was abruptly cut, tribal leaders are scrambling to fill the void, fearing a return to food insecurity and loss of cultural traditions. The USDA has ended its Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program, following a decision...

RFK Jr. Pleads for Ostriches Awaiting Death in Canada

US officials back family in seeking to prevent cull of 400 birds exposed to avian

(Newser) - US officials have offered to assist a Canadian farm fighting to keep its flock of 400 ostriches alive, though a cull may be coming regardless. The Universal Ostrich farm in southeastern British Columbia was ordered to cull its flock after an outbreak of avian flu killed 69 birds in December...

RFK Jr.: Medical Journals 'Are All Corrupt"

He plans to ban government scientists from publishing research in established journals

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy has threatened to bar government scientists from publishing their work in some of the world's most prestigious medical journals. On the Ultimate Human Podcast With Gary Brecka on Tuesday, the US health secretary called the established journals corrupt and said the National Institutes of Health, the...

Kennedy Shifts COVID Policy for Kids, Pregnant Women

CDC will no longer recommend routine vaccinations for healthy members of both groups

(Newser) - It's a big shift for the CDC: The agency will no longer recommend routine COVID shots for "healthy children and healthy pregnant women," health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a video posted on X. The move alters prior CDC guidance that called for vaccination...

MAHA Commission Releases Long-Anticipated Report

It targets over-processed foods, chemicals in the environment, and, unsurprisingly, vaccines

(Newser) - During his election night party, President Trump promised to let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. do whatever he wants to "make America healthy again." With Kennedy as America's top health official, that process is now well underway. The Make America Healthy Again Commission that Trump established after taking...

Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder Arrested at Senate Hearing

Ben Cohen was protesting US support of Israel amid Gaza blockade

(Newser) - Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen was arrested Wednesday at a US Senate hearing, where he interrupted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to protest what's happening in Gaza. Kennedy was addressing a hearing of the health, education, labor, and pensions committee when a group of activists started...

'I Don't Think People Should Take Health Advice From Me'

But giving advice is part of his job, critics say after RFK Jr.'s remarks at House hearing

(Newser) - "I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a testy House hearing on Wednesday. He was responding to a question about vaccines from Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan about whether he would choose to...

'Pulling Back the Curtain' on Autism? Experts Not So Sure

They say RFK Jr.'s plan to do so is flawed, as it doesn't take genetics into account

(Newser) - For many experts, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s promise for "pulling back the curtain" to find autism's causes in a few months is jarring—and unrealistic. That's because it appears to ignore decades of science linking about 200 genes that play a role, and...

Kennedy Orders Change in Vaccine Testing

HHS calls for all new vaccines to undergo placebo testing, and critics are worried

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has for years voiced concerns about vaccine safety, is ordering a notable change to testing at his Department of Health and Human Services. "All new vaccines will undergo safety testing in placebo-controlled trials prior to licensure—a radical departure from past practices," an...

Advocates Sound the Alarm on RFK Jr.'s Potential 'Autism Registry'

NIH apparently planning to bring together private medical records of many Americans

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to uncover the cause of autism within months, and as part of that effort, CBS News reports the National Institutes of Health will be "amassing" the private medical records of Americans in order to study the condition. The outlet says a "disease...

RFK Jr. Promised Autism Answers by September. NIH Says No

NIH pushes back the timeline laid out by HHS secretary

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised that by September, we'd know "what has caused the autism epidemic," but the National Institutes of Health on Tuesday said it won't quite be that quick. "We're going to get hopefully grants out the door by the end...

Kennedy Wants Food Dyes Out of Thousands of Items

Petroleum-based additives would be eliminated by end of next year

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce a ban on certain food dyes that are now used in thousands of items, fulfilling a long-held goal of the Health and Human Services secretary as well as many health advocates. A statement issued Monday said food manufacturers will be prohibited from using...

RFK Jr.: Here's Why Autism 'Dwarfs COVID'

HHS secretary has made multiple controversial comments about autistic kids in recent days

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made multiple headlines in recent days thanks to his controversial comments on autism , most recently on Sunday when he compared autism to the COVID pandemic during an interview on a radio show. "It dwarfs the COVID epidemic and the impacts on our country because...

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