U.S. Health Secretary

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Push for raw milk intensifies across the US, despite illness outbreaks and scientists’ warnings

Backers of raw milk are pushing to make the potentially dangerous product more widely available and easier to obtain, even as a new disease outbreak — one of at least five in the past year — sickens U.S. children.

https://apnews.com/article/raw-milk-legislation-outbreak-02c67adf7845d188c41ab0af06e97869?

ps:Geniuses

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⚡ RFK's revenge

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Getty Images

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his MAHA movement are out for payback, setting their sights on unseating a fierce adversary — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy — in next week's Louisiana primary, Axios' Alex Isenstadt writes. The MAHA PAC and President Trump have endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow to unseat Cassidy in the May 16 primary, where polling shows the senator running third. Why it matters: Kennedy and his supporters view the physician-turned-senator as an avatar for the medical establishment they're determined to upend. Cassidy, who chairs the Senate HELP Committee, was a pivotal vote to confirm Kennedy. But the senator has pushed back on RFK Jr.'s efforts to scale back vaccine recommendations and reshape the CDC. The most recent flare-up came last week, when Cassidy helped torpedo Casey Means' nomination for surgeon general. Means, a health influencer, is a close RFK Jr. ally and a major MAHA figure. She's the sister of Calley Means, a top Kennedy adviser.

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RFK Jr. fires leaders of group that sets guidelines for preventive health screenings In letters dated May 11, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the two leaders of an influential health group which determines when insurance must provide free preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies, for millions of Americans. Read more.

Why this matters: The Department of Health and Human Services already had largely sidelined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which left some long-expected updates on cervical cancer screenings and other topics in limbo.   Kennedy’s letters don’t make clear why he ousted the two leaders from the panel. He praised their service and said he was reviewing task force appointments. An HHS spokesman didn’t respond to questions about why the two were fired. Some health advocates had worried that Kennedy was preparing to replace the expert panel with less experienced political appointees, like he had done with a critical vaccine advisory committee.

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