3 h. ago US health secretary and agency sued by 23 states and DC over $11bn funding cut

Lawsuit alleges department’s ending of wide array of grants is ‘unlawful’ and poses ‘serious harm to public health’Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia are suing the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, alleging the abrupt terminations of $11bn in public health funding were “harmful” and “unlawful”.The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Rhode Island, says that in March 2025, HHS unexpectedly ended a wide array of grants supporting immunizations, infectious disease tracking, mental health and substance abuse services. The federal government justified the cuts by claiming that the funds were “no longer necessary” because their “limited purpose” had ended along with the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading...

Society

12 h. ago National Grid offered me a staggering amount of money after my salon was hit by a power cut

James Parker couldn't believe his luck when the energy firm wrote to him a fortnight ago to say he was entitled to the whopping amount.

Events

15 h. ago US health agency layoffs gut mine safety, infertility and smoking programs

Thousands lost jobs as sweeping cuts reshape public health, leaving experts and lawmakers scrambling From experts in mine safety to smoking and infertility – mass layoffs hit branch after branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s plan to downsize nearly a quarter of the 82,000-person workforce took effect.Even as the sprawling nature of layoffs became apparent on Tuesday, a complete accounting was elusive. Layoffs were undertaken with few public details, with even apoplectic congressional lawmakers left in the dark. Continue reading...

Politics

29 h. ago Here's where jobs and programs are being cut at the nation's top health agencies

Thousands of people at the nation’s top health agencies were laid off Tuesday

Society

34 h. ago Thousands of US health agency workers laid off in overhaul led by RFK Jr

Trump administration begins reducing Health and Human Services workforce as Kennedy plans up to 10,000 job cutsThousands of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees across the country are being dismissed on Tuesday as the Trump administration begins implementing its workforce-reduction plan, which could ultimately remove 10,000 staff members from the department through forced layoffs.The job cuts mark the first tangible impact of the health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s departmental overhaul announced last week, landing just days after Donald Trump moved to strip collective-bargaining rights from workers at HHS and other federal agencies. Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago Thousands of workers at nation's health agencies brace for mass layoffs

As they readied to leave work Monday, some workers at the Food and Drug Administration were told to pack their laptops and prepare for the possibility that they wouldn’t be back

Politics

59 h. ago Ancient disease in UK spike and may become 'untreatable' – map shows infections near you

The UK Health Security Agency says data shows a rise in antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea cases - meaning cases are much harder to treat. The interactive map shows cases across the country

Politics

64 h. ago Mystery salmonella outbreak alert as 50 sickened, 10 hospitalised with poisoning

Genetic tests have revealed in all cases the infection were caused by the rare Salmonella Blockley strain, which the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned is particularly severe.

Events

4 d. ago Brits told 'stay at home' as virus at 'highest ever levels' from start of Spring

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that the number of patients admitted to hospital with the bug in the week ending March 24 was 903, up from 1,160 in the previous week

Politics

4 d. ago ‘No one came’: Myanmar volunteers dig with bare hands to save earthquake victims

The military junta is calling for foreign aid but agencies and rescuers must navigate crumbling roads, an overwhelmed health system and ongoing fighting• Scramble to free survivors as death toll passes 1,600 after Myanmar earthquakeThe children at Bright Kids nursery in Kyaukse, a town south of Mandalay, were taking a nap when the earthquake struck on Friday afternoon. The two-storey building collapsed with dozens of children aged between two and four trapped inside. For hours, rescuers sifted through the rubble, searching desperately for survivors.“We were clearing the building using diggers and rescuing people with manual tools,” said Thar Nge, a volunteer. They needed better equipment – metal cutters and generators – but made use of what they had. Thar Nge helped carry a four-year-old girl to safety. She pleaded, over and over, for him to save her, he said. He held a bottle of water to her mouth before her dusty body was freed. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Red alert as cases of illness caught by UK holidaymakers soar

UK Health Security Agency chiefs said people should 'take precautions' against disease which can cause serious health problems

Events

8 d. ago Bird flu 'pandemic' warning as UK health boss says virus has dangerous 'potential'

Richard Peabody, director of epidemic and emerging infections at the UK Health Security Agency, has warned that bird flu has the potential to become a 'future pandemic'

Events

8 d. ago UK could lose low TB status amid rising cases, officials warn

It comes as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published its first annual report detailing the infectious diseases impacting England.

Events

8 d. ago UK experts urge prioritising research into 24 types of deadly pathogen families

UK Health Security Agency’s tool highlights viruses and bacteria, many not yet seen in the country, that could pose biosecurity riskDeadly disease-causing organisms from pathogen families that include bird flu, plague and Ebola pose a threat to health in the UK and should be prioritised for research, government experts have said.The first tool of its kind from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) lists 24 types of viruses and bacteria where a lack of vaccines, tests and treatment, changes due to the climate crisis or growing drug resistance pose a biosecurity risk. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago This is the dessert linked to NHS listeria outbreak that has killed three patients

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed it has been investigating five linked cases including one in Wales

Science

1 week ago South Carolina's public health chief wants to look ahead. Critics want to blame him over COVID

The doctor who would be the first director of South Carolina’s newly organized health agency has a vision of reducing infant mortality, fighting childhood cancers and reducing drug overdoses

Science

1 week ago What is Listeria? Symptoms and causes of deadly bacteria linked to hospital ice cream deaths

UK Health Security Agency and Food Standards Agency investigating cases linked to the same strain of listeria infection

Events

2 w. ago Parents put on high alert over rash linked to 'highly infectious' illness

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a warning after cases were reported, caused by the same bacteria as strep throat

Events

2 w. ago Three die in listeria outbreak linked to NHS hospital and care home desserts

The UK Health Security Agency has found a match for the outbreak strain in a particular type of dessert supplied to the NHS.

Events

2 w. ago Liz Kendall unveils UK benefits cuts set to leave many sick and disabled worse off

Welfare secretary announces changes aimed at cutting bill by up to £5bn in face of opposition from Labour MPsUK politics live – latest updatesLiz Kendall, the welfare secretary, has faced down angry Labour MPs to unveil drastic cuts to the UK’s benefits system that will leave many sick and disabled claimants worse off.The measures, which the government argues are needed to “fix the broken benefits system” and balance the nation’s books, are expected to cut £5bn from the benefits bill by the end of the decade. Continue reading...

Politics