RFK Jr.'s Top Ranks Rocked by Personality Clashes
Kennedy's chief of staff, Heather Flick Melanson, and his deputy chief of staff for policy, Hannah Anderson, are no longer working for the secretary, according to people familiar with the matter. The departures came Tuesday after months of personality clashes between the two women and Kennedy's longtime aide Stefanie Spear, who was press secretary for his presidential campaign and now serves as deputy chief of staff and a senior counselor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
9 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Muslim leaders increase security after vandalism reports at Texas and California mosques
After a spate of vandalism reports involving graffiti at a few mosques in Texas and California, Muslim leaders there have stepped up existing efforts to keep their sacred spaces and community members safe. The incidents and subsequent hypervigilance add to what many American Muslims say has already been a charged climate amid the fallout in the U.S. from the Israel-Hamas war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza. The war started in October 2023 with a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel. 'The past two years have been extremely difficult for American Muslims,' said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. A constant stream of images showing the death, destruction and ongoing starvation in Gaza has taken a toll, said Mitchell, as has a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry in the U.S. He pointed to one of the most egregious examples of that bigotry: After the war started, an Illinois man killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American Muslim boy and wounded his mother in a hate-crime attack. Worry and frustration The recent vandalism reports have left some worried and frustrated — but not entirely surprised. 'Since October 2023, we've definitely seen rise in Islamophobia,' said Rawand Abdelghani, who is on the board of directors of Nueces Mosque, one of the affected mosques in Austin, Texas. 'Anti-Palestinian, anti-immigrant, all of that rhetoric that's being said … it has contributed to things like this happening.' Nueces security footage showed someone, their face partially covered, spray-painting what appears to be Star of David symbols at the property. CAIR Austin said similar incidents were reported at two other Austin mosques. They all seemingly happened on the same night in May, in what the group described as part of 'a disturbing pattern of hate-motivated incidents.' It called for increased security patrols and protective measures. Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR Austin operations manager, called them an intimidation attempt. Less than two weeks earlier, someone had spray-painted graffiti at the Islamic Center of Southern California, including the Star of David on an outer wall there, center spokesperson Omar Ricci said. 'In light of what's going on within Palestine and the genocide in Gaza, it felt like an attack,' said Ricci, who's also a reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer. Some specifics remained unresolved. The LAPD said it opened a vandalism/hate crime investigation and added extra patrols, but added it has neither a suspect nor a motive and noted that nonreligious spaces were also targeted. The Austin Police Department did not respond to Associated Press inquiries. Nueces had already increased its security camera use following three incidents last year, including someone throwing rocks at the mosque, Abdelghani said. After the May vandalism, it also added overnight security, she added. Nueces serves many university students and is considered a 'home away from home,' Abdelghani said. It's where they learn about their faith, meet other Muslims and find refuge, including during tense times, like when some students got arrested amid campus protests last year, she added. CAIR says that in 2024, its offices nationwide received 8,658 complaints, the highest number it has recorded since its first civil rights report in 1996. It listed employment discrimination as the most common in 2024. The group says last year, U.S. Muslims, along with others of different backgrounds, 'were targeted due to their anti-genocide … viewpoints.' Referencing former President Joe Biden, the CAIR report said that for 'the second year in a row, the Biden-backed Gaza genocide drove a wave of Islamophobia in the United States.' Israel has strongly rejected allegations it's committing genocide in Gaza, where its war with Hamas has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. The initial Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed some 1,200 people, while about 250 were abducted. Tensions in multiple spaces The war has fueled tensions in myriad U.S. settings. After it started, Muslim and Jewish civil rights groups reported a surge of harassment, bias and physical assaults reports against their community members. Pew Research Center in February 2024 found that 70% of U.S. Muslims and nearly 90% of U.S. Jews surveyed say they felt an increase in discrimination against their respective communities since the war began. More recently, leaders of U.S. Jewish institutions have called for more help with security after a firebomb attack in Colorado on demonstrators showing support for Israeli hostages in Gaza that left one person killed and others injured, as well as a fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Politically, the conflict loomed over last year's presidential election, leaving many pro-Palestinian U.S. voters feeling ignored by their own government's support for Israel. It has roiled campuses and sparked debates over free speech and where political rhetoric crosses into harassment and discrimination. There've been bitter disagreements, including among some Jewish Americans, about exactly what the definition of antisemitism should cover, and whether certain criticism of Israeli policies and Zionism should be included. That debate further intensified as President Donald Trump's administration sought to deport some foreign-born pro-Palestinian campus activists. The Islamic Center of Southern California has been targeted before, including vandalism in 2023 and separate threats that authorities said in 2016 were made by a man who was found with multiple weapons in his home. Incidents like the latest one cause concern, Ricci said. 'People see that it's not going to take very much to spark something in the city,' he said. 'There's a lot of emotion. There's a lot of passion' on both the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli sides. Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said 'if people think they can get away with graffiti, then the next step is to firebomb a mosque or even go attack worshippers.' Opening doors and receiving support Al-Marayati and others praised how many have shown support for the affected Muslim communities. 'The best preparation is what we did in Los Angeles and that's to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies and be there for one another,' he said. In Texas, a gathering at Nueces brought together neighbors and others, including Christians and Jews, to paint over the vandalism, clean up the property and garden, Zayan said. 'It was beautiful,' she said. 'It's really important to open your doors and open your heart and invite people and to rebuild this trust and connection,' she said. 'For non-Muslims, it was a great opportunity for them to show their love and support. They really wanted to do something.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Fox News
10 minutes ago
- Fox News
'Where's the patriotism?!': Dems' Gen Z summit earns ridicule
'Fox & Friends Weekend' hosts react to Democrats hosting a Gen Z summit amid their struggle to retain young male voters.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ontario hospitals are doing more with less, but at a cost
Ontario hospitals have become experts at efficiency in recent years, in part because they have had to. But that has come at a cost, according to a new report from the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA). Among those costs are record waits in emergency departments, a growing number of hospitals facing deficits, and a weakening capacity to deal with surges in demand, according to Anthony Dale, president and CEO of the OHA. Given rising health system pressures, the current situation is not sustainable, says the OHA. 'Over time, the strain on the sector has left hospitals with little ability to expand to manage surges in demand — be it the increasing needs of the population, or the next pandemic,' the report titled: Ontario Hospitals — Leaders in Efficiency warns. Ontario ranks the lowest in Canada when it comes to per capita spending on hospitals. The province spends $1,935 per person. The average spent by other provinces is $2,209. It would cost Ontario $4.4 billion a year to fund Ontario hospitals at that rate, according to the report. Ontario's relatively low per capita spending is often pointed to by critics as a sign that the government is failing to properly support health care, but the Ontario Hospital Association sees some positives in the numbers. Its new report notes that Ontario hospitals have achieved good results for patients while also achieving high levels of efficiency. While there is room for improvement and a clear need for reinvestment, Ontario's health system overall performs well in comparison to other provinces,' according to the report. Hospitals in Ontario have accommodated the 'growing and aging population while facing a shortage of beds' by reducing the need for hospitalizations through greater use of less-invasive, same-day procedures and outpatient services, along with other innovations and quality improvements, according to the report. As a result, the average length of hospital stay in Ontario (in 2023-24) was 6.8 days, the lowest in Canada. The Canadian average was 7.3 days, with Alberta recording an average of 8.0 days and Manitoba recording an average of 10.1 days. But there are limits to how much and how fast lengths of hospital stays can be reduced, warns the report, noting a shortage of home and community care may contribute to a longer stay for some patients. By some key measures, Ontario hospitals outperform hospitals in other provinces, despite the per capita funding differences. Ontario hospitals perform among the best in the country according to a measure that reflects whether hospitals are successful in reducing patient deaths and improving care. By other measures that track how well hospitals are doing, though, there are signs that some improvements could be slipping. Ontario had seen improvement in hospital readmission rates (the percentage of patients who return to the hospital for any reason within a specific time — usually 30 days — after being discharged) until 2022-2023, but rates increased in 2023-2024, giving Ontario a below-average performance. The number of patients who received emergency hip fracture surgery within 48 hours has improved recently in Ontario, but remains below average compared to other provinces. Delaying hip fracture surgery can increase a person's risk of death. The report notes that it will take an investment in a range of health services to maintain the kind of care required. That includes increased and coordinated home care, rehabilitation, long-term care and primary care. Dale said hospitals are proud of their efficiency, 'but you can't count on continuing to harvest significant efficiencies from the hospital sector. We need to turn the page.' Without change, he said, 'the system will find it harder and harder to meet the full needs of the population that expects access to care. Let's stop focusing on a single-minded obsession with efficiency. We have to look at this in a different way'. That includes more funding for innovation as well as giving hospitals a better long-range picture of how big their budgets will be. Additional hospital beds and staffing support will help hospitals, the report says. 'However, what will shape the health system to meet future needs is further investment in research and innovation to change the way hospitals work. It's a necessary next step toward adaptability and to ensure the delivery of both efficient and high-quality care to Ontario's growing and aging communities.' Join us! The Ottawa Citizen is hosting an exclusive food and beverage tasting event where you can try bites from some of the city's best restaurants and sample beverages from breweries and wineries. Meet the chefs and try their signature dishes with members of the Citizen news team. Learn more about Ottawa Citizen Best Restaurants and buy a ticket here. Related Egli: Two nights in hospital showed me we need to do better for our health-care system 'A tax on sick people': Ottawa hospitals have record-breaking year for parking revenue
