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"RFK, Jr pulls vaccine funding."

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By Siddharth Karthikeyan August 06, 2025

In the news today: U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces cuts to vaccine development projects using mRNA technology; Florida prepares to build a second immigration detention center; and Colombia stirs up a decades-old border controversy with Peru. Also, the lasting popularity of Elvis in Romania. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a news conference on Tuesday in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) POLITICS RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a statement Tuesday that 22 projects to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted. Read more.

Why this matters: Infectious disease experts say the mRNA technology used in vaccines is safe, and they credit its development during the first Trump administration with slowing the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Future pandemics, they warned, will be harder to stop without the help of mRNA. Kennedy’s decision to terminate the projects is the latest in a string of decisions that have put the longtime vaccine critic’s doubts about shots into full effect at the nation’s health department.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump threatens federal takeover of DC after attack on former DOGE worker Federal judge rules Trump administration cannot reallocate billions meant for disaster mitigation Trump administration dismisses all Democrats on a federal board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances Several states consider redrawing congressional maps after Texas kicks off fight Texas Republicans could have a hard time enforcing threats against Democrats who left Trump EPA says it will defend tough lead pipe rule from Biden, but details to come   Trump administration wants to end abortion coverage through Veterans Affairs Palantir books its first $1 billion in quarterly sales and dodges DOGE axe Confederate statues in DC area to be restored and replaced in line with Trump’s executive order Primary results: Mary Sheffield to face Solomon Kinloch in November election for Detroit mayor Crucial exemption allows majority of Canadian and Mexican goods to be shipped to US without tariffs   WATCH: Trump's envoy meets Putin ahead of Russia-Ukraine peace deadline Trump's pursuit of meeting with Chinese leader reveals the complex web of US-China relations Modi and Trump once called each other good friends. Now the US-India relationship is getting bumpy Trump says he knew nothing about Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer   Epstein’s ex, Ghislaine Maxwell, doesn’t want grand jury transcripts released Company advised by Trump sons said it hoped to benefit from fed money, then took it back Trump takes an unexpected walk on the White House roof to survey new projects Trump says Vance is ‘probably’ heir apparent to his MAGA movement   Trump says ‘I’d like to run’ for president again U.S. NEWS Florida prepares to build a second immigration detention center to join ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ' administration is apparently preparing to build a second immigration detention center, awarding at least one contract for what’s labeled in state records as the “North Detention Facility.” Read more.

Why this matters: The site, at a Florida National Guard training center near Jacksonville called Camp Blanding, would add to the capacity at the state’s first detention facility in the Everglades. President Donald Trump has touted the facility’s harshness and remoteness as fit for the “worst of the worst.” The state agency that built the Everglades facility has awarded a $39,000 contract for a portable emergency response weather station and two lightning sirens for what’s been dubbed the “North Detention Facility,” according to the state’s public contract database. Civil rights advocates and environmental groups have filed lawsuits against the Everglades facility, where detainees allege they’ve been forced to go without adequate food and medical care and been barred from meeting with their attorneys.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ 3 African nations have agreed to take deportees from the US. What we know about the secretive deals Justice Department releases new list of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions Violent crime in the US dropped 4.5% last year, FBI data shows WORLD Colombia accuses Peru of fully annexing a disputed island in the Amazon river Colombian President Gustavo Petro stirred up a decades-old border controversy with Peru on Tuesday by accusing it of fully annexing an Amazon river island that has been administered by Peru for decades, but whose legal status is in dispute. Read more.

What to know: Peru maintains it owns Santa Rosa Island based on treaties about a century old, but Colombia disputes that ownership because the island had not yet emerged from the river at the time. The island faces Leticia, a Colombian city used by many tourists as the launching point for trips into the Amazon rainforest. “The Peruvian government has just appropriated it by law,” Petro wrote on X, adding that Peru’s actions could block Leticia’s access to the Amazon river. Like many rivers, the Amazon changes its course slowly over time, and erosion or changes in the weather can create or submerge islands.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Amazon deforestation surges in Colombia, reversing historic gains Peru seizes record 4-ton mercury shipment in fight against illegal gold mining After taking back land in Colombia, Indigenous prepare their youth to safeguard it ADVERTISEMENT IN OTHER NEWS READ Hiroshima 80th anniversary: Japan’s aging atomic bomb survivors speak out against nuclear weapons Tennessee execution: Inmate noted intense pain during lethal injection without deactivating defibrillator Flash floods: 4 killed and dozens missing as rescuers search for survivors in India Separatist leader: Bosnian Serb President Dodik removed from office by Bosnian election authorities Chikungunya outbreak: Thousands ill as China deploys drones to hunt down insect breeding grounds Ion Iliescu dies: Romania’s first president after the 1989 revolution was 95 Today in History: In 1991, the World Wide Web made its public debut WATCH Navajo Nation: 4 killed in medical transport plane crash ‘Driving blind’: Gaza truck drivers describe what it's like delivering aid Quake aftermath: Multiple volcanoes wake up in Russia Close encounter: Bear charges at Seattle Kraken player and mascot during promo shoot A CHANGE OF PACE Tudor Lakatos strikes a pose in Bucharest, Romania, in June. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A teacher fights discrimination against the Roma people, one Elvis song at a time Tudor Lakatos is fighting discrimination against Romania’s Roma minority through the music of Elvis Presley. He performs unique versions of Elvis’ hits in a mix of Romani, Romanian and English. But don’t call him an Elvis impersonator. Lakatos says he “channels” Elvis as a way to connect with people from both communities and provide a role model for Roma children.

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