NEW: RFK is planning a major vaccine injury initiative, including more research, a clinic at NIH, and a new billing code so doctors can be reimbursed for filing reports of side effects. Experts say more research is needed. But they're wary. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/u...

RFK Jr. Plans Vaccine Injury Initiative, Drawing Wary Eye From Experts (Gift Article)

Vaccine safety experts say more research into the side effects would be welcome yet question whether the health secretary’s effort will be grounded in science.

nytimes.com

Patty Murray wants to know: What comes after Trump and Kennedy? She's plotting a future for public health. I talked to her last week. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/u...

A Public Health-Minded Senator Asks: What Comes After Trump and Kennedy?

Senator Patty Murray, a former chair of the Senate health committee, is forming a group of experts to examine how to insulate the C.D.C. from political interference.

nytimes.com

Kennedy made a quiet, unannounced visit to the NIH yesterday to discuss vaccine safety research. It was his first visit there as secretary. No press. The entire Bethesda campus was encouraged to telework. An email warned of "increased traffic and security," without saying why.

The Trump administration wants to scale back NIH-funded policy research. These researchers argue in @healthaffairs.bsky.social that policy research is not advocacy. It's science, albeit social science, and it saves lives. www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

Health Affairs Journal

healthaffairs.org

In 2003, George W. Bush stunned the world by taking on AIDS in Africa. His program, PEPFAR, has saved 25 million lives. John Donnelly tells the remarkable story in a new book, Lifeline. Join us for a conversation: Friday, 10/2, Politics & Prose, 7 p.m. politics-prose.com/john-donnell...

John Donnelly — Lifeline: The Story of PEPFAR, the Greatest Humanitarian Initiative of Our Time - with Sheryl Gay Stolberg — at Conn Ave

politics-prose.com

My take on yesterday's MAHA Summit: There are now two MAHAs: Corporate, Trump-aligned MAHA and grassroots MAHA, which is being courted by Democrats like @abdulelsayed.bsky.social. He just announced his "Build a Healthier America" agenda. BAHA? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/h...

A.I. Is ‘Better Informed’ Than Doctors, Kennedy Tells Industry-Backed MAHA Summit (Gift Article)

The health secretary, Vice President JD Vance and other top officials addressed a conference sponsored by corporations, including A.I. companies and others with business before the government.

nytimes.com

RFK Jr. says AI can offer patients “a second opinion that is much better informed than any doctor in the country” and has the power to “free us from medical tyranny.” He spoke at an industry-backed MAHA Summit, whose sponsors included AI companies. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/h...

A.I. Is ‘Better Informed’ Than Doctors, Kennedy Tells Industry-Backed MAHA Summit

The health secretary, Vice President JD Vance and other top officials addressed a conference sponsored by corporations, including A.I. companies and others with business before the government.

nytimes.com

BIG MAHA SUMMIT today at Waldorf-Astoria. Vance and RFK Jr. will speak. I was denied a press credential due to. “limited space. “Here I am getting turned away. I’m 5 feet tall. I don’t take up that much space.

ICYMI: "It's a zombified CDC." The agency that was once the world's "undisputed leader in public health" is a skeleton of its former self. by @apoorvanyt.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...

‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission (Gift Article)

The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.

nytimes.com

Idea for a White House commission to control NIH grant approvals seems dead for now. Weekend stories created an uproar on the Hill. Bhattacharya and Vought are trying to sing kumbaya. w/ @by-cjewett.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...

Trump Backtracks on Plan for New Controls on N.I.H. Grants (Gift Article)

Democrats and Republicans in Congress opposed the creation of a commission with the power to veto federal research awards.

nytimes.com

RFK Jr. took $4 million in book advances and $270,000 in gifts from close allies working to advance his agenda. His wife received $210,000 in consulting fees from a MAHA group. Ethics experts are troubled. w/ @by-cjewett.bsky.social Jewett www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...

RFK Jr. Drew $4 Million in Book Advances From Publisher Who Also Monetized MAHA (Gift Article)

A new disclosure also shows $210,000 in consulting fees paid to Cheryl Hines, the health secretary’s wife, by one of several MAHA-affiliated groups capitalizing from his agenda.

nytimes.com

NEW: Jay Bhattacharya and Russ Vought have been fighting for months over White House plan to take control of N.I.H. Grants . It got so bad that Vought refused to meet with Bhattacharya. Things finally blew up on Friday. Now Trump is preparing an EO www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/s...

White House Moves to Take Control of N.I.H. Grants (Gift Article)

Federal officials are drafting an executive order that would place grants under review by an outside panel, the latest effort to redirect billions of dollars in research spending.

nytimes.com

Every woman in America should mourn the loss of Gloria Steinem. She paved the way for all of us -- to hold jobs, to stay at home with kids, to not have kids at all, to be whatever we wanted to be. @kitseelye.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/u...

Gloria Steinem, Personification of the Feminist Movement, Dies at 92 (Gift Article)

She challenged sexist assumptions, helping women develop a sense of self-worth and gain a measure of equality at work, at home and in society at large.

nytimes.com

Okay, so I'm revising my manuscript for a book on public health and politics. I'm reading "The New Public Health," by Hibbert Hill, published in 1913. "Who keeps infectious disease going?" Hill asks. Answer: WOMEN!!!

Meet the top public health physician in Louisiana, the state with the worst health outcomes in the nation. RFK appointed her to a vaccine advisory committee. Public health leaders say she's dangerous. @rosemarywestwood.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/u...

How Louisiana’s New Surgeon General Wants to Transform Public Health (Gift Article)

Dr. Evelyn Griffin is pushing for more emphasis on wellness and prevention. She has also aligned with the MAHA movement in fighting government mandates and questioning the safety of some vaccines.

nytimes.com

The Trump administration bowed to industry in delaying a food safety rule. That made it harder for public health agencies to stop the spread of Cyclospora. 14,000 cases. 740 hospitalizations. 2 deaths. @by-cjewett.bsky.social & Julie Creswell www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/h...

How Cyclospora Evaded the U.S. Food Safety System to Sicken Thousands (Gift Article)

The Trump administration delayed a rule last year that could have sped up the effort to pinpoint the source of the contamination. Critics charge that food safety oversight has eroded overall.

nytimes.com

BREAKING: The Senate Homeland Security votes along party lines to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u...

Senate Panel Holds Fauci in Contempt of Congress

Dr. Anthony Fauci had refused to answer questions at a hearing last week, invoking the Fifth Amendment. Republicans argued that he wasn’t entitled to that protection because he had a presidential pard...

nytimes.com

What do Bobby Kennedy Jr., his son Bobby Kennedy III, and Rand Paul have in common? They each wrote a book criticizing Tony Fauci, and they share the same publisher, Skyhorse, founded by a close RFK Jr. adviser who also runs the MAHA PAC. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...

Spotlight on Fauci Said to Boost Book Sales for Kennedy and His Publisher (Gift Article)

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his son, and Senator Rand Paul have all written books criticizing Dr. Anthony S. Fauci. All were published by a company led by a close Kennedy adviser.

nytimes.com

NEW: After Fauci took the Fifth, Republicans spent three hours battering him with questions as he sat in silence. Here's what we know about their claims. w/ @Ben Mueller www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/h...

What We Know About Dr. Fauci Pleading the Fifth in Senate Hearing on Covid Origins (Gift Article)

In a three-hour Senate hearing this week, Dr. Fauci invoked his constitutional right to stay silent, leaving people confused about many of the issues raised.

nytimes.com

Tidbit from the Fauci diary: RFK Jr's mom and sister invited Fauci to Hyannisport to celebrate July 4, 2020. How times have changed. "They said that they love me and admired me and were so please that the Kennedy family could honor me." How times have changed.

UPDATE: Fauci takes the Fifth. Rand Paul told Fauci there would be "repercussions" for his refusal to answer questions. Fauci's lawyer spoke up, and Paul had security escort the lawyer out of the room. I'm in the room. Follow us live here: www.nytimes.com/live/2026/07...

Trump Live Updates: Fauci Refuses to Answer Senators’ Questions on Covid Origins (Gift Article)

nytimes.com

BREAKING: Fauci takes the fifth.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg@sherylnyt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

There’s a lot in the Fauci diaries. Here’s my take. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...

There’s a lot in the Fauci diaries. Here’s my take. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...

Fauci, in Private Diary, Reflected on Covid’s Origins and His Own Fame (Gift Article)

Private entries, released by a Republican senator, have reignited a furious debate over whether Covid-19 leaked from a lab.

nytimes.com

NEW: CDC changed its autism and vaccines website, yet again -- this time to win Cassidy's vote for Trump's nominee. The site still asserts there is a link, but now carries the words: "Scientists have not identified the root causes of autism." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/h...

Key Republican Senator Says He Will Support Erica Schwartz for C.D.C. Director

Senator Bill Cassidy, who is believed to hold the deciding vote in the Senate health committee for Dr. Erica Schwartz’s confirmation, had declined for days to say whether he would back her.

nytimes.com

New White House plan reimagines American science — more $$ for AI, less for universities and the “life sciences.” Written by Trump’s science adviser, who is a Silicon Valley tech guy, not a scientist. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/u...

Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities

Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.

nytimes.com

After 18 months in office, RFK Jr. will start visiting HHS operating divisions to meet face-to-face with department employees, per internal email. I recently reported he visited CDC just once, after last year’s shooting. “We want to hear your voice,” his chief counselor says.

Ordinarily this would not be news, but…HHS is working to develop vaccines against the current strain of Ebola

SCOOP: A cache of internal emails obtained by @nytimes.com shows how CDC leaders struggled to adjust to life under RFK Jr.: Late-night demands; color-coded spreadsheets; a mad dash to the National Archives for 28 boxes of historical records. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/u...

Inside the C.D.C.’s Mad Scramble to Meet Kennedy’s Demands

nytimes.com

The Great American State Fair, part of Trump's 250th BD party, will have MAHA offerings, including a cooking demonstration by Dr. Oz. But unless you count chips, slaw, or green chile queso, no veggies on the vendor food list. Pizza, corn dogs & fries. www.freedom250.org/media-center...

FOOD SHOWCASES AMERICA’S CULINARY TRADITIONS AT THE GREAT AMERICAN STATE FAIR - Freedom 250

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, the Great American State Fair will bring one of the nation's most beloved traditions to the National Mall...

freedom250.org

SCOOP: A cache of internal emails obtained by @nytimes.com shows how CDC leaders struggled to adjust to life under RFK Jr.: Late-night demands; color-coded spreadsheets; a mad dash to the National Archives for 28 boxes of historical records. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/u...

Inside the C.D.C.’s Mad Scramble to Meet Kennedy’s Demands

nytimes.com