14 h. ago Experts send stark warning with case of 'human plague' reported – as patient fell ill 'camping'

Public health officials were left in shock as a case of the human plague was detected in one patient who went on holiday, as they rush to warn people of the potential danger

Events

33 h. ago Bernie Sanders demands that RFK Jr step down as health secretary

Vermont senator says Kennedy is endangering the health of the American people as head of the US health departmentBernie Sanders has joined in on growing public calls for Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to resign, after recent chaos across US health agencies.In an op-ed published in the New York Times on Saturday, the Vermont senator accused Kennedy of “endangering the health of the American people now and into the future”, adding: “He must resign.” Continue reading...

Society

55 h. ago Trump aide defends Robert F Kennedy Jr over CDC chaos, calling him ‘crown jewel of this administration’ – US politics live

Stephen Miller baselessly claims CDC experts ‘weren’t actually very knowledgable about public health’ as he defends health secretaryA visit to Taiwan by two US senators has drawn criticism from China, which claims the island as its own and objects to any contact between officials of the two sides.The chair of the Senate armed services committee, Roger Wicker, and the Nebraska senator Deb Fischer arrived in Taipei on Friday for a series of high-level meetings with senior Taiwanese leaders to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy in lieu of formal diplomatic relations with the self-governing island democracy.A thriving democracy is never fully assured and we’re here to talk to our friends and allies in Taiwan about what we’re doing to enhance worldwide peace. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago White House picks Kennedy deputy Jim O’Neill to replace fired CDC chief

Deputy health secretary chosen as agency’s interim director after firing of Susan MonarezWho’s who in the CDC crisis?The White House has chosen a deputy of Robert F Kennedy Jr to serve as the acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a decision that comes as the standoff over the firing of director Susan Monarez has deepened, with Monarez’s lawyers claiming she will not depart unless Donald Trump himself removes her.A White House official confirmed to the Guardian that Jim O’Neill, currently the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), had been selected to temporarily lead the public health agency, giving Kennedy an ally in his efforts to overhaul US vaccine policy. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago RFK Jr ally chosen to lead CDC as departing officials hit out at vaccine messaging – live

Deputy health secretary Jim O’Neill will become interim CDC director as staffers rally for officials who quitBorder czar Tom Homan said that there will be a “ramp up” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) operations in Chicago, and other Democratic-led cities, after Labor Day.He added:You’re going to see a ramp up of operations continue in New York, operations continuing in LA...Portland, Seattle, all these sanctuary cities that refuse to work with ICE, where we know public safety threats are being released every day into this country. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago CDC officials who quit in protest lead call to ‘get politics out of public health’

Staffers gather in Atlanta to applaud senior leaders who resigned after CDC chief Susan Monarez was firedWho’s who in the CDC crisis?Senior CDC vaccine research and public health leaders who resigned in protest told hundreds of supporters across the street from the campus on Thursday that the Trump administration needs to “get politics out of public health”.The agency is reeling from the firing of the CDC chief, Susan Monarez, but Monarez, who was confirmed as CDC chief just a month ago, has refused to be removed. Three senior leaders – Debra Houry, Demetre Daskalakis and Daniel Jernigan – resigned shortly after in protest, citing the alleged spread of misinformation under the Trump administration and political interference in their work. The staffers cheered and applauded them at the event on Thursday. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago 'If there's a terrible tragedy': JD Vance says he's ready for presidency ... in 2025

Vice President JD Vance said he's ready to be president should the worst happen to President Donald Trump, but reassured the public that the president was in good health.

Events

3 d. ago RFK Jr ally reportedly chosen to lead CDC as departing officials hit out at vaccine messaging – live

Report says deputy health secretary Jim O’Neill to become interim CDC director as staffers rally for officials who quitBorder czar Tom Homan said that there will be a “ramp up” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) operations in Chicago, and other Democratic-led cities, after Labor Day.He added:You’re going to see a ramp up of operations continue in New York, operations continuing in LA...Portland, Seattle, all these sanctuary cities that refuse to work with ICE, where we know public safety threats are being released every day into this country. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago CDC leaders who quit say ‘get politics out of public health’, hitting out against RFK Jr’s anti

Daniel Jernigan, Debra Houry and Demetre Daskalakis – who resigned from public health organization - hailed as heroes in demonstration outside CDC HQBorder czar Tom Homan said that there will be a “ramp up” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) operations in Chicago, and other Democratic-led cities, after Labor Day.He added:You’re going to see a ramp up of operations continue in New York, operations continuing in LA...Portland, Seattle, all these sanctuary cities that refuse to work with ICE, where we know public safety threats are being released every day into this country. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago CDC officials escorted from headquarters as chaos engulfs public health agency

Three top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been escorted off the public health agency's Atlanta campus as the White House tries to remove its leader

Politics

3 d. ago CDC officials resign en masse over RFK Jr’s policies they warn will lead to deaths of children and vulnerable adults

‘America is going to be far less healthy, far less safe, and when the next global health emergency hits, we’ll knock on CDC’s door and no one will be there,’ warns one leading public health expert

Events

3 d. ago Departures roil the CDC leadership. What's next for the agency?

Operations at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in jeopardy after the ousting of the CDC director and the resignation of several high-profile agency leaders

Politics

3 d. ago Bernie Sanders condemns ousting of CDC chief Susan Monarez as ‘outrageous’ – US politics live

Vermont senator weighs in after Monarez issues statement refusing to step down, plunging public health agency into chaosA notable feature of Cook’s lawsuit against the president, her lawyers have listed Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the board as defendants.They underscore that while the president has the right to remove a governor of the board “for cause”, Donald Trump only cited a referral letter from Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which alleges that Cook made false statements on a mortgage agreement.The claims made in Director Pulte’s referral letter are unsubstantiated allegations that about conduct that predates her [Cook’s] Senate confirmation, and Governor Cook has never been given an opportunity to address them. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Fired CDC chief Susan Monarez refuses to step down, defying White House

Susan Monarez says only Trump can remove her as four other senior CDC leaders quit over political interferenceUS politics live – latest updatesA standoff over the firing of the Susan Monarez, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has deepened, with Monarez’s lawyers claiming she will not depart unless Donald Trump himself removes her.Monarez, an infectious disease specialist who was confirmed as CDC chief just a month ago, was fired on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services, which gave no reason for the departure. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago The Latest: White House says CDC director is fired, agency leaders resign

The director of the nation’s top public health agency is challenging a White House announcement that she's been fired, and several other top leaders of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have resigned, saying President Donald Trump’s administration is putting politics in the way of keeping Americans safe

Events

3 d. ago CDC chief Susan Monarez refuses to resign amid ‘targeted’ ousting – US politics live

Monarez issues statement saying she had ‘neither resigned nor received notification’ of her termination from the White House, plunging public health agency into chaosSenator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an Independent, who serves as the ranking member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, said that Robert F. Kennedy’s attempt to fire Susan Monarez was “outrageous”.“The Sen. HELP Committee must hold a hearing with Kennedy & the CDC Director as soon as possible. Vaccines save lives. Period,” Sanders added. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago CDC erupts in chaos after ousted chief Susan Monarez refuses to resign

Lawyers for Monarez say she was ‘targeted’ for ‘protecting the public’ by not endorsing ‘unscientific’ ordersThe US’s top public health agency was plunged into chaos on Wednesday after the Trump administration moved to oust its leader Susan Monarez, appointed less than a month ago, as her lawyers said she would not resign and that she was being “targeted” for her pro-science stance.Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was ousted on Wednesday evening, according to a statement from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that offered no explanation its decision. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago CDC director Susan Monarez ousted after less than one month in the job

Shortly after nation’s top public health agency announced Monarez’s departure, three senior CDC officials resignedTop CDC officials resign as director pushed – US politics liveUS officials announced the departure of the director of the nation’s top public health agency, after less than one month in the job, in a move that prompted a wave of other high-profile resignations at the agency on Wednesday.“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people,” the US Department of Health and Human Services wrote in a statement posted on social media. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago CDC director Susan Monarez is out after less than a month on the job, federal officials say

The director of the nation’s top public health agency is out after less than one month in the job

Politics

4 d. ago The unlikely alliance pressing Trump to regulate Pfas on US farms: ‘This is a basic human right’

A group of farmers, bikers, truckers and scientists from the political left and right are working to bring attention to the health risks of using toxic sludge as fertilizerAn unlikely alliance of farmers, bikers, truckers, a detective and scientists from across the political spectrum are working to pressure the Trump administration and Republican leadership to rein in the use of toxic sewage sludge as fertilizer on the nation’s farmland.Sludge often teems with Pfas, or “forever chemicals”, which present a health risk to farmers and the public, and have destroyed farms and contaminated water across the country. The issue has touched the groups’ lives in different ways, highlighting its broad risks to health. Continue reading...

Politics