HHS cancels $766M in funding for Moderna to develop MRNA vaccine against bird flu
The Trump administration said it was cancelling $766 million in funding for a Moderna vaccine contract that was supposed to help pay for the development of a shot that would protect people against different flu viruses that could cause pandemics, including the H5N1 bird flu.May 29, 2025
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Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Trump is running out of time to crush Iran's nuclear ambitions
As President Trump works to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, the Islamic Republic is feverishly building up its offensive military capabilities. The most recent International Atomic Energy Agency report says Tehran has been producing enough 60 per cent enriched uranium to make one nuclear weapon every month and now has enough material to build ten bombs. It would take no more than two weeks to further enrich this to the 90 per cent required to achieve weapons-grade. It seems likely that the pace of enrichment has if anything increased since nuclear negotiations began. The IAEA board is due to meet today and may vote on a noncompliance resolution against Iran. Logically, this would lead to snapback UN sanctions under the 2015 Obama nuclear deal, unless Tehran starts to comply with IAEA inspections which it has failed to do up to now. Snapback wouldn't necessarily happen immediately and no doubt the European signatories would coordinate with the White House given Trump's live negotiations. The president gave the ayatollahs two months to reach a deal, threatening military action if not. That two months is up now and all proposals have apparently been rejected. Iran's nuclear programme threatens the world and especially the Middle East, with Sunni Arab countries viewed as sworn enemies in Tehran's maniacal eyes. But Israel is most immediately in Khamenei's cross-hairs with his repeated guarantees to annihilate it. It is the only country other than the US that is capable of damaging Iran's nuclear project, but is now on the horns of a dilemma. Israel can hardly attack while its number one ally is in negotiations on exactly this issue. And if Trump eventually agrees a deal which does not fully dismantle nuclear production facilities – which is a distinct possibility – it will be faced with a decision on whether to go ahead anyway against Trump's likely desire. Israel is also certain to face obstruction from European leaders who will cravenly do what they can to avoid conflict no matter the consequences. If Trump's negotiations grind to a halt and snapback sanctions are imposed, they will no doubt demand that these are given a chance to work and meanwhile Israel should refrain from attacking. Such vacillation can be more easily swept aside than hard objections from the US, from which Israel would anyway need support including with potentially large retaliation from Iran. On that subject, Tehran's ballistic missile stockpiles have been severely depleted by two major attacks against Israel last year, the IDF's strikes against Iranian ballistic missile production facilities and by export of missiles to Russia to attack Ukraine. But Iran is not sitting on its hands over that challenge any more than it is over uranium enrichment. Earlier this year it took delivery of shipments of ammonium perchlorate from China and has reportedly ordered thousands of tons more, expected to arrive in the coming months. This is an essential component for solid fuel ballistic missiles, including nuclear armed missiles. As well as direct use against Israel, Iran will also send missiles to Lebanon to rebuild Hizballah and to its other proxies in Iraq and Yemen to attack Israel and potentially US forces in the region. All this means the time for effective military action is now. Iran will do everything it can to spin out talks with the US, doing its best to lead the negotiators along while manipulating Europeans to throw a lifeline. As well as building up its offensive capabilities, it will be trying to replace its Russian-supplied air defences shattered by an IDF counterstrike last October. It will also be further hardening and dispersing its nuclear facilities. Trump needs to understand that, even if a deal is agreed, it won't be worth the paper its written on. Tehran has repeatedly breached the terms of Obama's deal as well as its obligations under the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty. Whatever obfuscation it comes up with, Iran will not voluntarily surrender its nuclear weapons programme. All these negotiations will therefore achieve is to obstruct and delay the inevitable. It is imperative that the US now gives a green light to Netanyahu to do what he has to do, and provide him with whatever support he needs. The consequences of failure to act go beyond Iran's nuclear capabilities. Trump's moves will also be measured in Moscow and Beijing. Anything other than a hard line with Tehran will be taken as a sign of weakness. It will encourage Putin to continue to refuse to negotiate over Ukraine, believing the cost to be low. And it will show Xi that even the most bullish and unpredictable president the White House has seen for many years may not stand in the way of his own imperial ambitions. Ultimately, deterrence comes down to demonstrable political will. If a (not yet) nuclear armed state can't be prevented from endangering the world by the American superpower, then what hope is there for anyone deterring two nuclear states.
NBC News
4 hours ago
- NBC News
Sen. Cory Booker says he won't accept campaign donations from Elon Musk
Sen. Cory Booker on Sunday said that he would not accept campaign donations from tech mogul Elon Musk but urged the former Trump advisor to "get involved right now in a more substantive way" in Democrats' push against the sweeping GOP-backed spending bill. "This bill is disastrous for our long-term economy," Booker told NBC News' "Meet the Press." "This is an American issue, and I welcome Elon Musk not to my campaign. I welcome him right now, not to sit back and just fire off tweets, get involved right now in a more substantive way, in putting pressure on Congress people and senators to not do this." Asked directly whether he would ever accept campaign funding from Musk, Booker said, "I would not accept money from Elon Musk for my campaign, but I would be supportive of anybody, including Elon Musk, putting resources forward right now to let more Americans know," about the bill. Booker's remarks come as other Democrats, like California Rep. Ro Khanna, have floated welcoming Musk into the Democratic party after a feud between President Donald Trump and the Tesla and SpaceX CEO exploded into public view last week. "We should ultimately be trying to convince him that the Democratic Party has more of the values that he agrees with,' Khanna told Politico last week after Musk and Trump fired off a series of social media posts online criticizing each other. The falling out started after Musk called the budget bill a "disgusting abomniation" in a post on X. In subsequent posts on Truth Social, the president accused Musk of "wearing thin" and said "he just went crazy." Musk later accused Trump of " ingratitude" in another post on X after he spent $250 million boosting Trump's campaign in 2024 and accused Trump of links to deceased sex offender Jeff Epstein in a now-deleted post. On Saturday, in a phone call with NBC News, Trump said he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk after their public spat. The president also responded to a direct question about what might happen if Musk decided to financially support Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections, days after Musk wrote in a post on X,"In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people," appearing to refer to Republicans who voted for the GOP-backed spending bill in the House. 'If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that,' Trump told NBC News, adding that there could be "serious consequences." In May, House Republicans passed a sweeping domestic policy bill called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that extends tax cuts passed in the first Trump administration, increases funding for border security and eliminates federal taxes on tips and overtime pay. The bill has also drawn scrutiny from Democrats for slashing funding for Medicaid and some food stamps while implementing work requirements for Medicaid, which provides healthcare for low income Americans. Musk and some Senate Republicans have blasted the bill for estimated effects it could have on the federal debt and deficit, though Trump and House Republicans have downplayed those concerns. "More Americans have to understand that if this bill passes, average Americans are going to see their costs skyrocket as this president again pushes legislation that is indicative of his chaos, corruption and cruelty towards Americans," Booker said on Sunday.
Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Elon Musk's dad says he's 'not a good politician' and Trump row 'was a mistake'
Elon Musk's dad Errol claimed his son was prepared to admit he had 'made a mistake' after lashing out against US President Donald Trump during their public fallout Elon Musk's father has arrived in Moscow to speak at a forum organised by Vladimir Putin 's closest aides. This comes after key Kremlin associates offered political asylum to his son - the world 's richest man - in the wake of his spectacular bust-up with Donald Trump. Errol Musk, 79, said there was PTSD in the White House, while also likening the ugly breakup to a marriage going wrong. He told Putin-controlled media: 'So at the moment, Elon is inclined to say that he's made a mistake.' Musk Snr added: 'Trump will prevail. He's the president, he was elected as the president. ' Elon made a mistake, I think, but he's tired, he's stressed. Five months of continuous stress, continuous, continuous stress, stress, stress. 'And then in the end, it's just him and Trump left... They still don't know what to do, so they fight with each other until they can come to normal conditions.' Suggesting his son was out of his depth in Washington's febrile politics, he told pro-Putin media outlet Izvestia: "They've been under a lot of stress for five months, a lot of stress for five months." Errol - a South African businessman - also predicted: "It's just a small thing. It'll be over tomorrow." And speaking to Tsargrad TV - owned by mogul Konstantin Malofeev, seen as linked to Russian military intelligence - Errol said: 'Elon with Trump and the new administration, they took over a somewhat broken United States, broken by the previous administration, with intent, evil intent. 'They've had five months at least of intense repair work, removing all the spurious opposition, all the crazies and so on. They've been under a lot of stress. 'Recently a new bill was put out - and Elon is still in the 'Let's get everything right' mode. He said, 'No, we must not include in such a bill more of this Democrat stupid schemes and money for them, it's not right'. 'But unfortunately, he doesn't realise that in order to get their votes in the Senate and the Congress, Trump has to do that... In order to take something, you have to give. 'So they had an argument about that, and as they are all suffering from a bit of PTSD, a post-traumatic stress disorder over the last few months, they started hitting out at each other. They are the only two people left in the arena, Trump and Elon, and all they were used to was fighting with the opposition 'So they took to each other, which is understandable. It happens in marriages, it happens in partnerships, it happens a lot. And people have to understand that at the moment, Elon is having second thoughts. 'He's not a great politician, he is still learning, he's a great tech innovator and so forth. But his politics is, as I've said before, is a swimming pool with no bottom, it's a swimming pool with no sides." Errol is set to speak at the Future Forum 2050, organised by Malofeev as well as Putin ideologist Alexander Dugin. A key speaker is Kremlin veteran foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, a war hardliner. Earlier Putin crony Dmitry Medvedev - formerly Russian president and prime minister - offered to mediate in the Trump-Musk row. He said on X: 'We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment. Don't fight, guys!' He also offered asylum to Musk. 'Elon @elonmusk, don't be upset! You are respected in Russia. If you encounter insurmountable problems in the US, come to us and become one of us,' he said. Senior lawmaker Dmitry Novikov also told state media Russia could offer asylum to Musk 'if he needs it'.
