RFK Jr. Defends HHS Overhaul as Democrats Denounce ‘War on Science’

RFK Jr. Defends HHS Overhaul as Democrats Denounce ‘War on Science’

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a defiant defense on Wednesday of his drastic overhaul of federal health agencies, insisting to members of Congress that he had “not fired any working scientists” and was “not withholding money for lifesaving research” despite evidence to the contrary. In back-to-back appearances before …

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Trump Budget Cuts Funding for CDC

Trump Budget Cuts Funding for CDC

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, has said that tackling a chronic disease “epidemic” would be a cornerstone of his Make America Healthy Again agenda, often invoking alarming statistics as an urgent reason for reforming public health in this country. On Friday, President Trump released a proposed budget …

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FDA Layoffs Could Raise Drug Costs and Erode Food Safety

FDA Layoffs Could Raise Drug Costs and Erode Food Safety

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced wide-ranging cutbacks at federal health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, that would eliminate duplicative services and paper pushers. But in interviews with more than a dozen current and former F.D.A. staff members, a different picture emerged of the far-reaching effects of …

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C.D.C. Cuts Threaten to Set Back the Nation’s Health, Critics Say

C.D.C. Cuts Threaten to Set Back the Nation’s Health, Critics Say

The extensive layoffs of federal health workers that began on Tuesday will greatly curtail the scope and influence of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the world’s premier public health agency, an outcome long sought by conservatives critical of its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The reorganization of the …

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Food Safety Jeopardized by Onslaught of Funding and Staff Cuts

Food Safety Jeopardized by Onslaught of Funding and Staff Cuts

In the last few years, foodborne pathogens have had devastating consequences that alarmed the public. Bacteria in infant formula sickened babies. Deli meat ridden with listeria killed 10 people and led to 60 hospitalizations in 19 states. Lead-laden applesauce pouches poisoned young children. In each outbreak, state and federal officials …

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Federal Cuts Prompt Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers

Federal Cuts Prompt Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers

Johns Hopkins University, one of the country’s leading centers of scientific research, said on Thursday that it would eliminate more than 2,000 workers in the United States and abroad because of the Trump administration’s steep cuts, primarily to international aid programs. The layoffs, the most in the university’s history, will …

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Trump Berates Zelensky at White House Meeting: Live Updates

Trump Berates Zelensky at White House Meeting: Live Updates

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday in an explosive televised Oval Office shouting match that ultimately blew up plans to sign a rare minerals deal and signaled a dramatic break in relations between two wartime allies. In a public confrontation unlike …

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Mass Federal Firings May Imperil Pets, Cattle and Crops

Mass Federal Firings May Imperil Pets, Cattle and Crops

Shortly after taking office for the second time, President Trump began making deep cuts to agencies and programs that play critical roles in human health, slashing funding for medical research, halting global health aid and firing scores of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the campaign …

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Pushback to Latest DOGE Demand May Signal Limits for Elon Musk

Pushback to Latest DOGE Demand May Signal Limits for Elon Musk

A clash over Musk’s latest missive Monday could bring a standoff between Elon Musk and huge swaths of the federal government, including Trump-appointed agency leaders. The fate of the latest example of Musk’s brutal management style — having government workers justify their employment by midnight or risk being fired — …

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