Latest news with #NationalInstituteofAllergyandInfectiousDiseases
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Birthday Military Parade Just Took Another Sinister Turn
As the Army transports military equipment to the nation's capital in preparation for next week's military parade in honor of its 250th birthday—and Trump's 79th—one tank transporter carried a sinister, graffitied message: 'Hang Fauci & Bill Gates.' A video of that transporter was shared by the Army's official X account and was viewied nearly 700,000 times after it was left up for 24 hours. It has subsequently been taken down and disavowed: 'That statement does not align with Army values,' Steve Warren, an Army spokesperson, told The Washington Post, which first reported on the graffiti. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, rose to prominence as a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force during the Covid pandemic. His leadership and deference to science made him a villain of the right, resulting in him being placed under investigation by the GOP and receiving countless 'credible death threats.' Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has also long been the center of right-wing ire and conspiracy theories. While it's not clear who is responsible for the graffiti, it is deeply troubling to see a call for the murder of two high-profile, politically liberal civilians on an Army vehicle and on the Army's official account. It underscores the charged political environment that surrounds the Trump administration. The parade itself—scheduled for June 14—will be a massive, resounding demonstration of the military's power and loyalty to Trump.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Health
- Straits Times
NIH scientists speak out over estimated $12 billion in Trump funding cuts
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Gateway Center is seen in the rain in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Anna Culbertson, a former employee at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sits for a portrait in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Jenna Norton, an employee at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, sits for a portrait in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Ian Morgan, an employee at the National Institute for General Medical Sciences, sits for a portrait in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases employee Jenna Norton, National Institute for General Medical Sciences employee Ian Morgan and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases former employee Anna Culbertson sit for a portrait in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Dozens of scientists, researchers and other employees at the U.S. National Institutes of Health issued a rare public rebuke Monday criticizing the Trump administration for major spending cuts that 'harm the health of Americans and people across the globe,' politicize research and 'waste public resources.' More than 60 current employees sent their letter to NIH director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and members of Congress who oversee NIH. Bhattacharya is scheduled to testify Tuesday at the U.S. Senate appropriations committee about his agency's budget. Overall, more than 340 current and recently terminated NIH employees signed the letter, about 250 of them anonymously. In their letter, NIH staff members said the agency had terminated 2,100 research grants totaling about $9.5 billion and an additional $2.6 billion in contracts since President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20. The contracts often support research, from covering equipment to nursing staff working on clinical trials. These terminations "throw away years of hard work and millions of dollars" and put patient health at risk, the letter said. NIH clinical trials "are being halted without regard to participant safety, abruptly stopping medications or leaving participants with unmonitored device implants." Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees NIH, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. In prior remarks, Bhattacharya has pledged support for Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again agenda, and he has said that means focusing the federal government's "limited resources" directly on combating chronic diseases. At his Senate confirmation hearings in March, Bhattacharya said he would ensure scientists working at NIH and funded by the agency have the necessary resources to meet its mission. NIH is the world's largest public funder of biomedical research and has long enjoyed bipartisan support from U.S. lawmakers. The Trump administration has proposed cutting $18 billion, or 40%, from NIH's budget next year, which would leave the agency with $27 billion. Nearly 5,000 NIH employees and contractors have been laid off under Kennedy's restructuring of U.S. health agencies, according to NIH staff. Dr. Jenna Norton, a program director within NIH's division of kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases, was one of 69 current employees who signed the letter as of early Monday. She said speaking out publicly was worth the risk to her career and family. "I am much more worried about the risks of not speaking up," Norton said. "There are very real concerns that we're being asked to do likely illegal activities, and certainly unethical activities that breach our rules." About 20 NIH employees who were recently terminated as probationary workers or "subject to reductions in force" added their names to the letter. In the letter, Norton and other NIH employees asked Bhattacharya to restore grants that were delayed or terminated for political reasons, where officials ignored peer review to "cater to political whims." They wrote that Bhattacharya had failed to uphold his legal duty to spend congressionally appropriated funds. One program director at the NIH's National Cancer Institute, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said she has repeatedly been asked to cancel research grants for no valid reason and in violation of agency rules. She said she fears she could become the target of lawsuits from grantees challenging those decisions. Dr. Benjamin Feldman, a staff scientist and core director at NIH's Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said he and other researchers want to work with Bhattacharya on reversing the cuts and restoring the NIH as a "beacon for science around the world." "This is really a hit to the whole enterprise of biomedical research in the United States," Feldman said. Dr. Ian Morgan, a postdoctoral fellow at the NIH, signed the letter and said he has heard from university researchers about patients losing access to novel cancer treatments in clinical trials due to the uncertainty over NIH funding. He also worries about the long-term effect from gutting NIH's investment in basic science research that can lead to lifesaving treatments years later. The NIH employees, based in Bethesda, Maryland, named their dissent the "Bethesda Declaration," modeled after Bhattacharya's Great Barrington Declaration in 2020 that called on public health officials to roll back lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our hope is that by modeling ourselves after the Great Barrington Declaration that maybe he'll see himself in our dissent," Norton said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kash Patel claims ‘breakthrough' in Fauci COVID origins probe
FBI Director Kash Patel said in an interview this week that his agency made a 'breakthrough' as it continues to investigate former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key player in the U.S.'s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, Patel cautioned Fauci's critics from expecting too much. 'We just had a great breakthrough this week on Fauci,' Patel told podcaster Joe Rogan in an episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience' released Friday, explaining the FBI had recovered phones used by Fauci early in the pandemic. 'They had always been looking for phones and devices he used while he was back in Trump one [the first Trump administration] during COVID, and nobody had found it until two days ago.' 'Everybody listening to us shouldn't jump to the conclusion [that] everything's in there,' he added. 'Maybe it's deleted, maybe it's not, but at least we found it, and at least now we can tell people that we have been looking because it is of public importance.' President Trump and his allies have long accused Fauci of misleading the government on its handling of the pandemic and hiding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Former President Biden granted Fauci a preemptive presidential pardon before Trump took office in January to shield the retired doctor from prosecution. Trump blasted the move at the time. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) a year earlier called for Fauci to be jailed over the origins of the COVID-19 virus. Paul and others claim Fauci played a role in the outbreak through lab research in China and accused Fauci of causing 'between 10 [million] and 20 million' deaths from the pandemic. Fauci last year defended himself before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, arguing that he always followed the best science available and never suppressed evidence of a potential 'lab leak.' He told lawmakers at the time that another million people would have died without government interventions, though he conceded, 'how long you kept them going is debatable.' Biden's pardon covers any offenses from Jan. 1, 2014, to the end of Biden's term related to Fauci's service as NIAID director, a member of the White House's COVID-19 task force or as chief medical adviser to the president. 'We think that there was definite foul play, but my opinion is irrelevant,' Patel said. 'It only matters what I can show the American people and prove.' 'That's what we're working on [but] that's why I don't run out there and say 'Look, we're gonna get this guy, we're 100 percent gonna get him,'' Patel added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Kash Patel claims ‘breakthrough' in Fauci COVID origins probe
FBI director Kash Patel said in an interview this week that his agency made a 'breakthrough' as it continues to investigate former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key player in the U.S.'s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, Patel cautioned that Fauci's critics from expecting too much. 'We just had a great breakthrough this week on Fauci,' Patel told podcaster Joe Rogan in an episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience' released Friday, explaining the FBI had recovered phones used by Fauci early in the pandemic. 'They had always been looking for phones and devices he used while he was back in Trump one [the first Trump administration] during COVID, and nobody had found it until two days ago.' 'Everybody listening to us shouldn't jump to the conclusion (that) everything's in there,' he added. 'Maybe it's deleted, maybe it's not, but at least we found it and at least now we can tell people that we have been looking because it is of public importance.' President Trump and his allies have long accused Fauci of misleading the government on its handling of the pandemic and hiding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Former President Biden granted Fauci a preemptive presidential pardon before Trump took office in January to shield the retired doctor from prosecution. Trump blasted the move at the time. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called a year earlier for Fauci to be jailed over the origins of the COVID-19 virus. Paul and others claim Fauci played a role in the outbreak through lab research in China and accused Fauci of causing 'between 10 and 20 million' deaths from the pandemic. Fauci last year defended himself before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, arguing that he always followed the best science available, and never suppressed evidence of a potential 'lab leak.' He told lawmakers at the time that another million people would have died without government interventions, though he conceded, 'how long you kept them going is debatable.' Biden's pardon covers any offenses from Jan. 1, 2014, to the end of Biden's term related to Fauci's service as NIAID director, a member of the White House's COVID-19 task force or as chief medical adviser to the president. 'We think that there was definite foul play, but my opinion is irrelevant,' Patel said. 'It only matters what I can show the American people and prove.' 'That's what we're working on (but) that's why I don't run out there and say 'Look, we're gonna get this guy, we're 100 percent gonna get him,'' Patel added.
Scroll.in
26-05-2025
- Health
- Scroll.in
Sensational claims with a grain of truth: Why it is easy to fall for health misinformation
In today's digital world, people routinely turn to the internet for health or medical information. In addition to actively searching online, they often come across health-related information on social media or receive it through emails or messages from family or friends. It can be tempting to share such messages with loved ones – often with the best of intentions. As a global health communication scholar studying the effects of media on health and development, I explore artistic and creative ways to make health information more engaging and accessible, empowering people to make informed decisions. Although there is a fire hose of health-related content online, not all of it is factual. In fact, much of it is inaccurate or misleading, raising a serious health communication problem: Fake health information – whether shared unknowingly and innocently, or deliberately to mislead or cause harm – can be far more captivating than accurate information. This makes it difficult for people to know which sources to trust and which content is worthy of sharing. Allure of fake health information Fake health information can take many forms. For example, it may be misleading content that distorts facts to frame an issue or individual in a certain context. Or it may be based on false connections, where headlines, visuals or captions don't align with the content. Despite this variation, such content often shares a few common characteristics that make it seem believable and more shareable than facts. For one thing, fake health information often appears to be true because it mixes a grain of truth with misleading claims. For example, early in the Covid-19 pandemic, false rumors suggested that drinking ethanol or bleach could protect people from the virus. While ethanol or bleach can indeed kill viruses on surfaces such as countertops, it is extremely dangerous when it comes into contact with skin or gets inside the body. Another marker of fake health information is that it presents ideas that are simply too good to be true. There is something appealingly counterintuitive in certain types of fake health information that can make people feel they have access to valuable or exclusive knowledge that others may not know. For example, a claim such as ' chocolate helps you lose weight ' can be especially appealing because it offers a sense of permission to indulge and taps into a simple, feel-good solution to a complex problem. Such information often spreads faster because it sounds both surprising and hopeful, validating what some people want to believe. Sensationalism also drives the spread of fake health information. For instance, when critics falsely claimed that Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the president at the time, was responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, it generated a lot of public attention. In a study on vaccine hesitancy published in 2020, my colleagues and I found that controversial headlines in news reports that go viral before national vaccination campaigns can discourage parents from getting their children vaccinated. These headlines seem to reveal sensational and secret information that can falsely boost the message's credibility. The pull to share The internet has created fertile ground for spreading fake health information. Professional-looking websites and social media posts with misleading headlines can lure people into clicking or quickly sharing, which drives more and more readers to the falsehood. People tend to share information they believe is relevant to them or their social circles. In 2019, an article with the false headline ' Ginger is 10,000x more effective at killing cancer than chemo ' was shared more than 800,000 times on Facebook. The article contained several factors that make people feel an urgency to react and share without checking the facts: compelling visuals, emotional stories, misleading graphs, quotes from experts with omitted context and outdated content that is recirculated. Visual cues like the logos of reputable organisations or photos of people wearing white medical coats add credibility to these posts. This kind of content is highly shareable, often reaching far more people than scientifically accurate studies that may lack eye-catching headlines or visuals, easy-to-understand words or dramatic storylines. But sharing content without verifying it first has real-world consequences. For example, studies have found that Covid-19-related fake information reduces people's trust in the government and in health care systems, making people less likely to use or seek out health services. Unfounded claims about vaccine side effects have led to reduced vaccination rates globally, fueling the return of dangerous diseases, including measles. , such as false claims about cinnamon being a treatment for cancer, has caused hospitalisations and even deaths. The spread of health misinformation has reduced cooperation with important prevention and treatment recommendations, prompting a growing need for medical professionals to receive proper training and develop skills to effectively debunk fake health information. Play How to combat it In today's era of information overload in which anyone can create and share content, being able to distinguish between credible and misleading health information before sharing is more important than ever. Researchers and public health organisations have outlined several strategies to help people make better-informed decisions. Whether health care consumers come across health information on social media, in an email or through a messaging app, here are three reliable ways to verify its accuracy and credibility before sharing: Use a search engine to cross-check health claims. Never rely on a single source. Instead, enter the health claim into a reputable search engine like Google and see what trusted sources have to say. Prioritise information from established organisations like the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United Nations Children's Fund or peer-reviewed journals like The Lancet or Journal of the American Medical Association. If multiple reputable sources agree, the information is more likely to be reliable. Reliable fact-checking websites such as and Snopes can also help root out fake information. Evaluate the source's credibility. A quick way to assess a website's trustworthiness is to check its 'About Us' page. This section usually explains who is behind the content, their mission and their credentials. Also, search the name of the author. Do they have recognised expertise or affiliations with credible institutions? Reliable websites often have domains ending in .gov or .edu, indicating government or educational institutions. Finally, check the publication date. Information on the internet keeps circulating for years and may not be the most accurate or relevant in the present context. If you're still unsure, don't share. If you're still uncertain about the accuracy of a claim, it's better to keep it to yourself. Forwarding unverified information can unintentionally contribute to the spread of misinformation and potentially cause harm, especially when it comes to health. Questioning dubious claims and sharing only verified information not only protects against unsafe behaviors and panic, but it also helps curb the spread of fake health information. At a time when misinformation can spread faster than a virus, taking a moment to pause and fact-check can make a big difference.
