RFK Jr.

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AAP Splits With CDC on COVID Vaccine Guidance for Kids

American Academy of Pediatrics still strongly recommends COVID shots for those up to 2 years

(Newser) - ]For the first time in 30 years, the American Academy of Pediatrics is substantially diverging from US government vaccine recommendations, the AP reports. The group's new COVID-19 recommendations—released Tuesday—come amid a tumultuous year for public health, as vaccine skeptics have come into power in the new Trump...

Cheryl Hines: Caroline Kennedy's Criticism Made Me Angry
Cheryl Hines:
Caroline Kennedy's
Criticism Made Me Angry
in case you missed it
Aug 16, 2025 12:57 PM CDT

Cheryl Hines: Caroline Kennedy's Criticism Made Me Angry

And she's none too happy with Caroline's son, either

(Newser) - Cheryl Hines has mystified many with her transition from beloved star of a show about California liberals to friend of President Trump. The actor delves into her marriage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and how she feels about all the controversy now surrounding her in an interview with the Wall ...

RFK Jr. Pulls $500M in Vaccine Development Funding

HHS announces funding cuts related to mRNA vaccine research

(Newser) - The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu, the AP reports. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a statement Tuesday that 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines...

Pope Leo Is Winning the Newsmakers Popularity Contest

Pontiff tops Gallup list of prominent US, world figures, with 57% favorable approval rating

(Newser) - Sorry, Volodymyr—Pope Leo XIV is a bit more popular than you. Gallup has a new survey out listing the favorability ratings for more than a dozen prominent US and world luminaries, and the new pontiff comes in at No. 1, with a 57% favorable rating (11% unfavorable, 31% no...

Top Medical Orgs Booted From CDC's Vaccine Work Groups

AMA, American Academy of Pediatrics among those whose experts have been disinvited

(Newser) - US health officials have told more than a half dozen of the nation's top medical organizations that they'll no longer help establish vaccination recommendations. The government told the organizations on Thursday via email that their experts are being disinvited from the workgroups that have been the backbone of...

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...

'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...

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...

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...

FDA's Top Vaccine Scientist Is Out, Citing RFK Jr.'s 'Lies'

Dr. Peter Marks says HHS secretary 'doesn't care about the truth'

(Newser) - The Food and Drug Adminstration's top vaccine regulator has stepped down from his role, and it's reportedly because he was forced out by the Trump administration via Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reports the Washington Post . Sources tell the paper that Marks was offered...

Steep Cuts to FDA, CDC Workforces Announced

Kennedy says new round of 10K layoffs is part of 'dramatic restructuring'

(Newser) - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the department's workforce is shrinking by around a quarter in a "dramatic restructuring." In a Thursday press release , Kennedy said 10,000 jobs are being cut as "part of this most recent transformation." Combined with...

LGBTQ Activists Call New HHS Guidance 'Deeply Concerning'

Health Secretary RFK Jr. issues new guidance recognizing only 2 sexes: male and female

(Newser) - The Department of Health and Human Services has synced up with the Trump administration's push against transgender protections , releasing new guidance on Wednesday that states the US government recognizes only two sexes: male and female. The new "sex-based definitions" assert that "an individual human is either female...

Feds Giveth Accidental Pink Slips, Taketh Them Away

Chaos abounds as multiple federal agencies accidentally fire staffers amid DOGE cuts

(Newser) - Last week, the Energy Department had to scramble to rehire nuclear energy specialists for the National Nuclear Security Administration, after it mistakenly told hundreds of staffers at the agency they'd lost their jobs. That's not the only incident of head-count slashing gone awry throughout the government at the...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Confirmed as Health Secretary

Mitch McConnell is the only 'no' vote among Republicans

(Newser) - The Senate on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Trump's health secretary, per the AP . Republicans fell in line behind Trump despite hesitancy over Kennedy's views on vaccines, voting 52-48 to elevate the scion of one of America's most storied political—and Democratic—families to...

Senate Panel Backs RFK Jr. for Health Secretary

His nomination now goes to the full Senate

(Newser) - A Senate panel advanced the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next health secretary on Tuesday morning, reports the New York Times . In the closely watched vote by the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy prevailed in a 14-13 result along party lines, per the Hill . The pivotal vote...

Martha Moxley's Mother Never Quit Seeking Justice for Her

Conviction of Michael Skakel, whose defenders included his cousin RFK Jr., was overturned

(Newser) - Dorthy Moxley, who fought for decades to bring her teenage daughter's killer to justice in a roller-coaster Connecticut murder case that held the nation's attention for years, has died. She was 92. John Moxley said his mother died Tuesday at her home in Summit, New Jersey, of complications...

McConnell Bristles at 'Dangerous' Noise Over Polio Vaccine

GOP senator, who had polio as a kid, seems to hint that RFK Jr. should 'steer clear' of anti-vax moves

(Newser) - Mitch McConnell pushed back Friday after it was revealed that an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, petitioned the FDA two years ago to halt the polio vaccine in the US pending further study. Axios reports that the 82-year-old Senate...

Trump: Maybe RFK Jr. Could Look Into Vaccine-Autism Link

Both have a history of promoting the long-debunked claim

(Newser) - Assuming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as President-elect Trump's Health and Human Services secretary, it appears he may be utilizing that role to delve into the idea—long-debunked—of a connection between vaccines and autism. Kennedy has long pushed the theory, and Trump has done the same since...

Trump Canceled 'Make America Healthy Again' Event

He pulls out of health-themed town hall with RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, in yet another cancellation

(Newser) - Donald Trump has nixed another debate with rival Kamala Harris, canceled various interviews , and even pulled out of an NRA rally in the final lead-up to Election Day. Now, another cancellation to throw onto the pile: A virtual "Make America Healthy Again" town hall that the former president was...

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