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Toronto Sun
7 days ago
- Health
- Toronto Sun
White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.'s MAHA report
Published May 29, 2025 • 2 minute read Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as Education Secretary Linda McMahon listens during a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / AP WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House will fix errors in a much-anticipated federal government report spearheaded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which decried America's food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Kennedy's wide-ranging 'Make America Healthy Again' report, released last week, cited hundreds of studies, but a closer look by the news organization NOTUS found that some of those studies did not actually exist. Asked about the report's problems, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the report will be updated. 'I understand there was some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed and the report will be updated.' Leavitt told reporters during her briefing. 'But it does not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government. Kennedy has repeatedly said he would bring 'radical transparency' and 'gold-standard' science to the public health agencies. But the secretary refused to release details about who authored the 72-page report, which calls for increased scrutiny of the childhood vaccine schedule and describes the nation's children as overmedicated and undernourished. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Leavitt said that the White House has 'complete confidence' in Kennedy. HHS did not immediately have comment. NOTUS reported on Thursday morning that seven of the more than 500 studies cited in the report did not appear to have ever been published. An author of one study confirmed that while she conducted research on the topics of anxiety in children, she never authored the report listed. Some studies were also misinterpreted in the MAHA report. The problematic citations were on topics around children's screen time, medication use and anxiety. Kennedy's MAHA report had already been stoking concerns among Trump loyalists, including farmers who criticized how the report characterized the chemicals sprayed on U.S. crops. The report is supposed to be used to develop policy recommendations that will be released later this year. The White House has requested a $500 million boost in funding from Congress for Kennedy's MAHA initiative. Toronto & GTA Toronto Maple Leafs World Columnists Columnists
Newsweek
28-05-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
Dr. Oz's Plan to Save 400 Ostriches Rejected by Farm Owners' Daughter
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Dr. Mehmet Oz' offer to provide sanctuary to 400 ostriches facing death in Canada due to bird flu has been rejected. Katie Pasitney, whose parents own Universal Ostrich Farm, said they are not interested in moving the flock, although she said her family is grateful for the support. "We want to keep this in Canada," she told CBC News. Why It Matters In January, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered the birds be killed after 69 of the same flock at Universal Ostrich Farm in the West Kootenays died from the highly infectious virus. The farm has been fighting the order in court. A judge dismissed a challenge this month that sought to stop the order. The U.S. is currently dealing with one of the largest outbreaks of avian flu in decades which sent egg prices soaring. The CFIA has said it believes some 14 million domestic birds in Canada have been hit by the disease. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, attends a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington.... Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, attends a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. More Jacquelyn Martin/AP What To Know Pasitney confirmed she spoke with Oz on Monday, echoing a New York Post report quoting him as saying he offered to relocate the nearly 400 ostriches to his ranch. "It's not like we're looking at transporting our ostriches anywhere, but I think what the message is (about) the growing support across the States," she said. "Even people like Dr. Oz want to be involved and (want to) see these animals live — even offering his 900-acre ranch in Florida." Pasitney added that New York billionaire businessman and radio host John Catsimatidis connected her with both Oz and Kennedy. "He's well connected and he's very passionate about this cause," she said. Kennedy wrote a public letter to CFIA president Paul MacKinnon last week, arguing that the birds should be spared, as there was "significant value" in studying their immune response to avian flu. However, on Monday, the agency stated in response to a question about Kennedy's letter that the "humane depopulation" of the flock would proceed. It added that dates and plans would not be shared publicly due to privacy protections for producers. Catsimatidis issued his own press release on Tuesday, calling on MacKinnon to stop the planned cull. "We're calling for a temporary halt and an independent review. Let the U.S. FDA and veterinary scientists evaluate these birds — don't destroy them before humane alternatives are considered," he said. "Dr. Oz is standing by to assist. We're not asking for miracles, just common sense and compassion." Protesters have also gathered at the farm to try to prevent the cull, while Universal Ostrich Farm filed an appeal on Monday in Vancouver, seeking a "stay of the execution and enforcement" of the culling order. The appeal argues that the Federal Court "made multiple reversible errors" when it upheld the agency's decision to cull the ostrich herd earlier this month. It claims the court "took an unduly narrow" view of the agency's mandate under the Health of Animals Act, wrongly concluded that expert reports were unnecessary, failed to fully consider the consequences of the cull decision, and did not properly determine if the agency's denial of further testing of the animals was reasonable. The appeal also alleges that the farm's lawyers in the Federal Court judicial review proceedings provided "ineffective assistance" that "amounted to incompetence, and resulted in a miscarriage of justice." It states that "prior counsel had a financial stake in the destruction of the appellant's ostriches, resulting in a blatant conflict of interest." Lee Turner, one of the farm's former lawyers, denied these allegations on Monday, stating he "certainly did not" have a conflict of interest and that his co-counsel, Michael Carter, did a "remarkable job with the short window of time that he had." What People Are Saying Dr. Oz, speaking to The Post, said: "It's not just about ostriches," Oz said. "It's about all the birds. I'd rather the scientists make the determination—not bureaucrats. We found out what happened during the COVID pandemic, when the bureaucrats made all the decisions." Catsimatidis told The Post on Monday: "I'm thrilled. Bring the ostriches to Dr. Oz in Florida where they will be safe. I agree with RFK and Dr. Oz that the ostriches aren't sick." Upholding the cull, Canadian Federal Court Justice Russel Zinn said, according to a May 13 CBC report: "Personal losses must be weighed against the broader public interest in protecting public health and maintaining trade stability. Avian influenza is a virus capable of causing serious harm to both animals and humans, with significant implications for Canada's poultry businesses and international trade status. To combat threats like this virus, Parliament has authorized the CFIA to act decisively, making swift decisions with far-reaching consequences, often under conditions of scientific uncertainty." What Happens Next The fate of the ostriches hangs in the balance.
Yomiuri Shimbun
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yomiuri Shimbun
COVID Vaccines Are No Longer Recommended for Healthy Children and Pregnant Women, Kennedy Says
The Associated Press Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon attend a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women — a move immediately questioned by several public health experts. In a 58-second video posted on the social media site X, Kennedy said he removed COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for those groups. No one from the CDC was in the video, and CDC officials referred questions about the announcement to Kennedy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. No other details were released, and HHS officials did not immediately respond to questions about how the decision was made. Some doctors and public health leaders called the move concerning and confusing. 'There's no new data or information, just them flying by the seat of their pants,' said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. U.S. health officials, following recommendations by infectious disease experts, have been urging annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older. The idea of changing the recommendations is not completely out of the blue. As the COVID-19 pandemic has waned, experts have increasingly discussed the possibility of focusing vaccination efforts on people 65 and older — who are among those most as risk for death and hospitalization. A CDC advisory panel is set to meet in June to make recommendations about the fall shots. Among its options are suggesting shots for high-risk groups but still giving lower-risk people the choice to get vaccinated. But Kennedy, a leading anti-vaccine advocate before becoming health secretary, decided not to wait for the scientific panel's review. He said that annual COVID-19 booster shots have been recommended for kids 'despite the lack of any clinical data' to support that decision. Some physicians and public health leaders expressed concern that HHS officials disregarded a scientific review process that has been in place for decades, in which experts — in public meetings — review current medical evidence and hash out the pros and cons of policy changes. 'It's a dangerous precedent. If you can start doing that with this vaccine, you can start doing that with any vaccine you want — including mumps-measles-rubella,' said Osterholm, referring to another vaccine that Kennedy has voiced doubts about. He and others said the announcement raises an array of questions, including whether health insurance companies will keep covering COVID-19 vaccinations and how hard it will be now for people who want the shots to get them. 'The reason we give vaccines to healthy people is to keep them safe,' said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. More than 1.2 million people have died in the U.S. from COVID-19, most of them elderly. But children haven't been spared: The coronavirus has been the underlying cause in more than 1,300 childhood deaths since the pandemic began, according to CDC data. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health, appeared in the video with Kennedy. Earlier this year, during the nomination process, Kennedy gave assurances to wavering Republicans that he would not alter the federal vaccine schedule. But since then, Kennedy and other Trump administration appointees have made big changes to the system for approval and use of vaccines. They added restrictions to a recent vaccine approval. Last week, the FDA announced routine COVID-19 vaccine approvals will be limited to seniors and younger people with underlying medical risks, pending new research for healthy adults and children. Among the confusion created by Tuesday's announcement, experts said, was the implication that the coronavirus isn't dangerous to pregnant women. During the height of the pandemic, deaths of women during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth soared to their highest level in 50 years. Indeed, pregnancy was on the list of health conditions that would qualify someone for a COVID-19 vaccination under FDA's new guidance 'framework' announced last week. Vaccination has been recommended for pregnant women, in part, because it's a way to pass immunity to newborns who are too young for vaccines and are vulnerable to infections. 'To say that they are not at any risk is simply incorrect,' said Dr. Sean O'Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said: 'The science has not changed. It is very clear that COVID infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability, and it can cause devastating consequences for families.'
New York Post
27-05-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Trump admin no longer recommending COVID vaccine for healthy kids, healthy pregnant women
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend that healthy children and pregnant women receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the Trump administration announced Tuesday. 'Last year, the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot despite the lack of any critical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children,' Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a video posted online. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary added that 'there's no evidence that healthy kids need it today and most countries have stopped recommending it for children.' President Donald Trump speaks as US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. looks on during a MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) Commission Event in the White House in Washington, DC, on May 22, 2025. AFP via Getty Images A pregnant woman receives a vaccine for the coronavirus disease. REUTERS The move comes one week after top health officials signaled that they planned to tighten access to the COVID-19 booster shot, which is still recommended for elderly and at-risk populations.
Japan Today
23-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU and 25% penalties on smartphones as his trade war intensifies
President Donald Trump attends a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) By JOSH BOAK President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25% tariff on smartphones unless those products are made in America. The threats, delivered over social media, reflect Trump's ability to disrupt the global economy with a burst of typing, as well as the reality that his tariffs have yet to produce the trade deals he is seeking or the return of domestic manufacturing he has promised voters. The Republican president said he wants to charge higher import taxes on goods from the EU, a long-standing US ally, than from China, a geopolitical rival that had its tariffs cut to 30% this month so Washington and Beijing could hold negotiations. Trump was upset by the lack of progress in trade talks with the EU, which has proposed mutually cutting tariffs to zero even as the president has publicly insisted on preserving a baseline 10% tax on most imports. 'Our discussions with them are going nowhere!' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States.' Speaking later in the Oval Office, Trump stressed that he was not seeking a deal with the EU and might delay the tariffs if more companies invested in the United States. 'I'm not looking for a deal,' Trump told the reporters. 'We've set the deal. It's at 50%.' Trump's tariffs against Europe had been preceded by a threat of import taxes against Apple for its plans to continue making its iPhone in Asia. Apple now joins Amazon, Walmart and other major U.S. companies in the White House's crosshairs as they try to respond to the uncertainty and inflationary pressures unleashed by his tariffs. 'I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,' Trump wrote. 'If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.' Trump later clarified his post to say that all smartphones made abroad would be taxed and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the end of June. 'It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,' Trump said. 'Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair.' The statements by Trump is critical in that he suggests the company itself would bear the price of tariffs, contradicting his earlier claims as he rolled out a series of aggressive tariffs over the past several months that foreign countries would shoulder the cost of the import taxes. In general, importers pay the tariffs and the costs are often passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices. In response to Trump's tariffs on China, Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month that most iPhones sold in the U.S. during the current fiscal quarter would come from India, with iPads and other devices being imported from Vietnam. After Trump rolled out tariffs in April, bank analysts estimated that a $1,200 iPhone would if made in America jump in price anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500. Stocks sold off after Trump's postings, with the S&P 500 index down roughly 0.5% in Friday afternoon trading. The markets have developed a hair trigger sensitivity to the U.S. president's statements, often slumping when he announces high tariffs and rallying when he retreats from those threats. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to provide some clarity on Trump's postings in a Friday interview on the Fox News show 'America's Newsroom.' Bessent said the EU has a 'collective action problem' because its 27 member states are being represented by 'this one group in Brussels,' such that the 'underlying countries don't even know what the EU is negotiating on their behalf.' The Treasury secretary said he was not in a White House meeting this week that Cook attended, but he also spoke with the Apple CEO this week. Bessent said the goal was to have Apple bring more of its computer chip supply chain into the U.S. The core of Trump's argument against the EU is that America runs a 'totally unacceptable' trade deficit with the 27 member states. Countries run trade deficits when they import more goods than they export. From the vantage point of the EU's executive commission, trade with the U.S. is roughly in balance if both goods and services are included. As a global center for finance and technology, the U.S. runs a trade surplus in services with Europe. That offsets some of the trade gap in goods and puts the imbalance at 48 billion euros ($54 billion). German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the EU's executive commission has his country's full support in working to 'preserve our access to the American market.' 'I think such tariffs help no one, but would just lead to economic development in both markets suffering,' Wadephul said in Berlin. 'So we are still counting on negotiations, and support the European Commission in defending Europe and the European market while at the same time working on persuasion in America.' Trump aides have said the goal of his tariffs was to isolate China and strike new agreements with allies, but the president's tariff threats undermine the logic of those claims. Not only could the EU face higher tariffs than China, but the bloc of member states might have been better off by establishing a broad front with China and other countries against Trump's trade policy, said German economist Marcel Fratscher. 'The strategy of the EU Commission and Germany in the trade conflict with Trump is a total failure,' Fratscher, the head of the German Institute for Economic Research, said on X. 'This was a failure you could see coming — Trump sees Europe's wavering, hesitation and concessions as the weaknesses that they are.' Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the 50% tariffs on Europe are most likely a 'negotiating ploy' by Trump. She said Trump seems to believe that negotiations operate by going to a 'threat point' that could risk self-harm just to demonstrate how serious he is, in hopes that doing so would produce an agreement. But Lovely said that in the long-run Trump's approach 'suggests that the U.S. is an unreliable trading partner, that it operates on whim, not on rule of law.' Trump has run hot and cold on his relationship with Apple, a sign that currying favor with him might not necessarily shield a company from his anger. He has essentially told companies such as Walmart to 'eat' the costs of his tariffs instead of raising prices, even though doing so could squeeze profits and cause layoffs. He now appears to deploying a similar degree of pressure to force Apple to accept the higher costs of relocating its supply chains. Trump had previously created an exemption on electronics imported from China to help companies such as Apple, something he could now remove. He also threatened separate 25% import taxes on computer chips and could have the tariffs schedule rewritten in ways that could expose Apple products to the taxes. Until recently, the U.S. president repeatedly bragged about the $500 billion that Apple in February pledged to invest domestically as part of its development of artificial intelligence technologies. But he publicly turned against the company last week while speaking in Qatar. 'I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,' Trump told the audience. 'I said to him, 'My friend, I treated you very good. You're coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you're building all over India. I don't want you building in India.'' Analysts have been skeptical that Apple could quickly shift device manufacturing to the U.S., mainly because it has spent decades embedding complex supply chains in China to feed the factories. But it also has the challenge of grappling with 'the unpredictable nature of the current U.S. administration,' said Ben Wood, chief analyst at UK-based research firm CCS Insight. 'At any moment, things can change overnight, making it extremely difficult for companies such as Apple to plan their business,' Wood said. 'It seems that despite the best efforts of the Apple leadership team to lobby the U.S. administration to treat the iPhone more favorably, a curveball can come out of nowhere and derail any plans they have in place.' AP writers Paul Wiseman, David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
