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MAHA Leaders Warn Trump, RFK Jr. Over Inaction on mRNA Vaccines
Some leaders in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement on Sept. 21 warned President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over their inaction regarding messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, including vaccines against COVID-19.
“While the centerpiece of the MAHA and health freedom agenda has been removal of mRNA shots, you have failed to take decisive action on this front despite overwhelming credible evidence to the harm of this technology,” the activists said in an open letter to Trump and Kennedy.
“Instead, your policies related to mRNA technology are neutered and self-defeating, putting pregnant women and children at risk, misleading parents and eroding their rights, and failing to help those harmed by vaccines.”
CDC’s Teen Behavior Report Focuses on Nutrition, Downplays Sex and Drug Use
A biennial report on teen health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focused this year on high schoolers playing sports and making healthier food choices — priority areas for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The CDC on Monday published the results of its latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which queried high school students nationwide in 2025. The survey offers the most robust snapshot of teen health in the U.S., including their mental health, social media and substance use, physical activity, sleep behaviors and dietary habits. Past reports noted a rise in sexual violence against teen girls and a high share of opioid use among high schoolers. Under Kennedy’s leadership, the new report emphasized that more high schoolers in 2025 ate fruits and vegetables daily and drank water at least three times per day compared with 2023.
Fifty-eight percent of students also played on a sports team in 2025, up from 52% two years prior. Dr. Jennifer Shuford, CDC’s chief medical officer, said the findings “align with the Make America Healthy Again initiative led by President Trump and Secretary Kennedy,” which has emphasized the link between chronic disease in children and poor diet and sedentary lifestyles. Kennedy this year restored the presidential fitness test in public schools and released new dietary guidelines that limit ultraprocessed food consumption.
Texas Governor Orders Halt to New Data Centers Weeks After Issuing Moratorium
One month after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on Texas data center approvals pending an audit, overnight the governor doubled down and ordered the state’s environmental watchdog to withhold permits for new data centers until an audit of risks to the power grid is complete. No authorizations can be given until the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot, completes its review, Abbott said in a statement on Monday.
This matters a lot for the US data center rollout because as the chart from Apollo below shows, Texas is home of one-fifth of the US’s data center pipeline in terms of IT power capacity, by far the largest of any single state. In his statement, Abbott said that data center projects must prove they can cover all electrical infrastructure costs, use no water needed by local communities, and result in lower bills for households. The governor also said he would work with state legislators to eliminate any financial incentives for the hubs.
The governor is doubling down on an effective moratorium on new AI hubs amid concern that the vast sites are compromising the state grid and water resources. The proliferation of data centers is set to be a key issue in midterm elections in November, with President Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for expansion coming up against mounting public concern, mostly due to soaring power bills.
Bill Cassidy Urges FDA Nominee to Reject Trump’s Vaccine Claim
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration must acknowledge that Trump’s claim that the measles vaccine is lethal is “absurd” when she appears before his committee later this week.
“I need to hear that she understands that calling the measles vaccine lethal is absurd, and we need radical honesty,” Cassidy (R-La.) said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” when asked what he needs to be persuaded during Dr. Heidi Overton’s confirmation hearing later this week.
Overton stood alongside Trump in the Oval Office last month as he falsely described the MMR vaccine as “quite lethal,” as well as linked it to autism and signed an executive order changing the schedule of childhood vaccinations. Cassidy previously railed against the order, calling it “nonsensical,” and said Overton’s involvement was “almost disqualifying.” Cassidy doubled down Sunday and urged Overton to explain whether she would challenge vaccine misinformation from Trump if confirmed.
EPA Win in ‘Forever Chemicals’ Case Creates a Regulatory Roadmap
A recent federal court opinion upholding the classification of two “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances reveals much about the EPA’s future authority, the path from designation to liability, and the practical steps businesses should be taking now.
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit confirmed the EPA’s designation of PFOA and PFOS in Chamber of Commerce v. EPA on Aug. 18, rejecting challenges that the agency exceeded its statutory authority and conducted a legally deficient rulemaking process.
The DC Circuit held that the requirement under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act that a substance “may present substantial danger” doesn’t require the EPA to prove with certainty that harm will occur before designating a substance as hazardous.
Trump Says He’s Renaming AI to ‘Super Intelligence’
Artificial intelligence, the super technology with humanlike capabilities, will be referred to by the United States as “super intelligence,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
Trump made the announcement during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly after he and the White House polled the public on X and Truth Social about potential alternative names.
“From this point forward, all of United States documents, and hopefully the world’s, will be changed to use the much more accurate term ‘super’ as opposed to ‘artificial.’ So it’s super intelligence,” Trump said.
It’s unclear when the change will take place or how it will be implemented.
In social media polls, Trump floated other alternative names such as “extreme intelligence” and “superior intelligence.”
