Crackpots

NBC News reports: In an interview with Fox, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.Kennedy Jr. praised cellphone restrictions in schools and listed health hazards that he said were linked to phone use among children and teens — some backed by scientific research, others less so. Kennedy cited established links between social media use and depression and poor school performance. …

“For younger people, bring in a new system, where part or whole of their payroll tax goes to their own personal retirement accounts. And that way, numerous studies have shown whether you just leave it in CDs, you’d have two to three times the retirement benefits that you get under the current system, and you would own it, not the …

NBC News reports: The child’s grieving parents have given just one on-camera interview, to Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit group founded and led until recently by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the health and human services secretary. In a video that aired online Monday, the young parents stifled sobs, recalling how their unvaccinated daughter got sick from measles, then …

Florida Politics reports: Florida’s Governor is recommending his Surgeon General for yet another job in the Donald Trump administration. Ron DeSantis believes Dr. Joseph Ladapo would be a “fantastic selection” to helm the CDC. The recommendation is timely, as former Congressman Dave Weldon did not move forward in the process due to insufficient support from Senate Republicans. If this feels …

Fast Company reports: Poppers have always operated in a legal gray zone. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cracking down on their production. This week, many major poppers brands began wiping their websites and social media presences. On Friday, Double Scorpio, a popular isobutyl nitrite brand, posted a statement on its website. “Double Scorpio has stopped all operations …

Columbia, South Carolina’s CW affiliate reports: U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace is facing a lawsuit after her speech on the U.S. House floor last month from one of the four men she labeled as “predators.” The Bland Richter Law Firm is representing Brian Musgrave, one of the four men Mace accused of drug and sex crimes in a lawsuit alleging defamation …

The Daily Beast reports: While RFK Jr. recently shifted his stance to concede that vaccinations are actually pretty useful, he has still stopped short of urging skeptics to go and get it. And in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that aired Tuesday night, he appeared to still favor natural immunity through exposure to the virus. “It used to …

Ars Technica reports: Federal health policies and decisions are quickly becoming less transparent under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—despite him telling Health Department employees just last month that he would work with them to “launch a new era of radical transparency.” Since then, Kennedy has axed a public meeting on vaccines—leaving lingering questions about the future of those transparent …

The Guardian reports: Two days after initially downplaying the outbreak as “not unusual,” the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on Friday said he recognizes the serious impact of the ongoing measles epidemic in Texas – in which a child died recently – and said the government is providing resources. The child’s death and the hospitalization of nearly 20 …

Ars Technica reports: Musk tweets branding Dogecoin as “the people’s crypto” and envisioning the token as someday becoming “the standard for the global financial system” actually created a segment of true believers among his followers who, to this day, fully expect Musk to be a kingmaker who will crown Dogecoin as the default “currency of Earth.” It possibly helps that …

The Hill reports: President Trump welcomed Paul Dabbar and Hung Cao as officials in his second administration on Thursday, lauding them for their careers in public service. Dabbar, a former nuclear submarine officer, has been nominated as deputy secretary of Commerce. Cao, a former GOP nominee to serve as a congressman and a senator from Virginia, was nominated to serve …

NBC News reports: As a measles outbreak sweeps through Texas, officially sickening 124 people, mostly unvaccinated children, and hospitalizing 18, anti-vaccine groups are pushing a familiar and false theory: The highly contagious virus is being caused by the vaccine itself. “The narrative is that it’s a failure to vaccinate when we know it is a failing vaccine,” said Sayer Ji, …

The Christian Post reports: A former vice presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential election has been baptized as a Christian after more than a decade of practicing Judaism. In a post on X Tuesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vice presidential running mate for their independent campaign, attorney Nicole Shanahan, announced that she had been baptized as a Christian. Shanahan — …

“There’s some good studies that actually demonstrate that Medicaid coverage is no better than you having no coverage and just going for emergency care to the hospital. Why? Because the reimbursement rates on Medicaid are so low that doctors don’t even take Medicaid. “Good doctors don’t like taking Medicaid because the reimbursement rates are pennies on the dollar of what …

Ars Technica reports: Just days after anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the country’s top health official, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already pulled back some of its efforts to protect Americans with safe, lifesaving vaccines. The agency has indefinitely postponed a public meeting of its vaccine advisory committee and killed a campaign promoting seasonal flu …

Mother Jones reports: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has issued a statement that laid out sweeping plans for his first 100 days in office. Chief among his goals, he wrote, was to combat what he called a “growing health crisis” of chronic disease.  The government, he said, would “assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake …

Time Magazine reports: In an interview just hours after his confirmation as Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined his priorities in response to specific prompts by Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “It’s MAHA time” read a chyron as Kennedy joined the program, later changing to “MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!” Kennedy said, “I’m not going to take …

The New York Times reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine skeptic and former presidential candidate who fled his family’s party and threw his “medical freedom” movement behind President Trump, has been confirmed by the Senate as the nation’s next health secretary. The vote 52-48, capped a remarkable rise for Mr. Kennedy and a curious twist in American politics. He …

CBS News reports: The Senate appears poised to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Thursday, following weeks of questions surrounding whether the controversial nominee would win the Senate’s approval. After all Republicans voted to advance Kennedy’s nomination in a procedural vote Wednesday, the final vote is scheduled for Thursday morning. He …

The Hill reports: The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to end debate on Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a key step that puts him on the precipice of confirmation later this week. The 53-47 vote came as Democrats have been forcing Republicans to use up all debate time on President …