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RFK Jr. Rips Journalist Over Report He Has ‘Checked Out’
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday slammed a New York Times report alleging that some say he appears to be “checked out” from official duties during department meetings and has surrounded himself with political appointees who share his viewpoint. In a post on social platform X, Kennedy said his day-to-day actions are publicly available on his calendar and pointed to an unspecified “unprecedented list of accomplishments” as proof of his success as HHS secretary.
“The fact that you have minimal access to decision makers leaves you covering trivia and relying on your own capacity for invention,” Kennedy wrote, responding to the reporting by Sheryl Gay Stolberg published Sunday. “Btw. When I took this job, the building was empty. About 90% of the employees were not coming to work.
I changed that, but your newspaper never covers my reforms. Nor did you cover the fact that my predecessor almost never showed up for work here during his four years in office,” he added, referring to former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. Kennedy also lambasted Stolberg’s citation of anonymous employees, “some of whom I fired or who quit to avoid being fired.”
ByHeart Factory Inspection Fails to Explain Botulism in Formula
Federal inspectors found no evidence that ByHeart Inc.’s infant formula production process caused a botulism outbreak that sickened dozens of babies, according to a new report that pointed to contaminated ingredients as a more likely culprit.
The inspection report posted Thursday by the US Food and Drug Administration examined the Iowa factory where ByHeart’s formula was made. The report said it’s more likely raw ingredients were the source of the outbreak than the manufacturing equipment and storage practices of the Blendhouse facility in Allerton, Iowa.
The outbreak discovered last year led to 48 babies hospitalized with confirmed or suspected botulism. None of the infants died, though botulism can lead to lasting complications. ByHeart recalled all of its formula in November and shut down production during the outbreak investigation. ByHeart, which said it makes formula with organic ingredients that closely mimic breast milk, made up about 1% of all infant formula sold in the US, the FDA has said.
CDC and Florida at Odds Over Hantavirus Cruise Ship Passenger’s Quarantine
Florida health officials are pushing back at quarantine guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius exposed to the deadly Andes hantavirus. One American who was on the cruise ship says she’s stuck in the middle and unable to leave federal quarantine.
“I’m being held hostage in this power struggle between a state and the federal government,” said Angela Perryman, 47, who has been at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit since May 11. “I don’t think there has been a day since I’ve been here that I didn’t cry,” she said.
Perryman said that health officials previously told passengers that they would be able to leave federal quarantine by the end of May and spend the rest of their 42-day quarantine under home supervision. The first five went home June 1. Like all Americans aboard the cruise ship, Perryman has tested negative for the Andes virus.
FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization to Treat Dogs, Cats With Screwworm
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for the use of nitenpyram tablets for treating puppies, dogs, cats and kittens with New World screwworm. It is the first generic animal drug authorized for screwworm treatment.
“The U.S. government is moving aggressively to contain and eliminate New World screwworm,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “Today’s authorization is the latest HHS action to strengthen our response.”
The FDA said it has reason to believe, based on scientific evidence, that nitenpyram may be effective in treating screwworm in dogs and cats and that the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks. The move is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to combat screwworm, which has recently been documented in the U.S.
The FDA Just Approved a New Depression Treatment — and It Doesn’t Involve Medication
Would you zap your brain to treat depression? In December, the Food and Drug Administration cleared a device that uses mild electrical currents to stimulate the brain, marking a shift in how the condition could be treated. Known as transcranial direct-current stimulation, or tDCS, the technology is designed for at-home use, potentially offering a more accessible alternative to traditional therapies, according to The New York Times.
The approval applies to a headset made by Swedish company Flow Neuroscience, which has been studying the approach for years. While tDCS itself has existed for more than two decades and has been available in England since 2019, the FDA’s decision gives the treatment new legitimacy in the U.S., where it had largely existed on the fringes of wellness products.
“It legitimizes the therapy itself as a medical therapy, and not just something sold online for wellness or enhancement,” Anna Wexler, an assistant professor of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania who studies do-it-yourself brain stimulation, told the Times.
