After 18 months in office, RFK Jr. will start visiting HHS operating divisions to meet face-to-face with department employees, per internal email. I recently reported he visited CDC just once, after last year’s shooting. “We want to hear your voice,” his chief counselor says.

Ordinarily this would not be news, but…HHS is working to develop vaccines against the current strain of Ebola

SCOOP: A cache of internal emails obtained by @nytimes.com shows how CDC leaders struggled to adjust to life under RFK Jr.: Late-night demands; color-coded spreadsheets; a mad dash to the National Archives for 28 boxes of historical records. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/u...

The Great American State Fair, part of Trump's 250th BD party, will have MAHA offerings, including a cooking demonstration by Dr. Oz. But unless you count chips, slaw, or green chile queso, no veggies on the vendor food list. Pizza, corn dogs & fries. www.freedom250.org/media-center...

SCOOP: A cache of internal emails obtained by @nytimes.com shows how CDC leaders struggled to adjust to life under RFK Jr.: Late-night demands; color-coded spreadsheets; a mad dash to the National Archives for 28 boxes of historical records. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/u...

ok it's not the Knicks parade or the Obama center opening, but great new #WTHealth pod up! Panelists @laurenweberhp.bsky.social, @annaedney.bsky.social, and @sherylnyt.bsky.social; plus @mfcannon.bsky.social and Liz Fowler on the employer tax exemption: kffhealthnews.org/podcast/what...

NEW: Major posts are vacant. Waves of scientists are gone. Ebola looms. My look at how RFK Jr. manages HHS: “If the C.E.O. lacked deep expertise in the company’s business and the leaders of its most important divisions were missing, investors would revolt." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/u...

Why the lack of US leadership could make this Ebola outbreak one of the worst ever. @apoorvanyt.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Barney Frank was one of a kind. I remember him as outspoken, irascible, cutting, funny, pointed, smart, and most of all unafraid. Lovely obituary by my @nytimes.com colleague @kitseelye.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/u...

NEW: RFK Jr. has appointed a temporary Surgeon General -- without Senate confirmation -- and granted her the authority to issue advisories. Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos "will take on the honorific title Director of Health Communications for the Office of the Surgeon General."

SCOOPLET: The FDA says it is studying the safety of the abortion pill Mifepristone. But the study hasn't started & has been held up for months by bureaucratic delays at HHS, per 2 people familiar. + Trump is mum & in a political bind. w/ @pambelluck.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/u...

BREAKiNG: Cassidy Lost His Primary www.nytimes.com/2026/05/16/u...

With some trepidation, I agreed to be interviewed by @brindabee.bsky.social and her team at Why Should I Trust You on what it is like to cover RFK Jr. and MAHA in these polarized times. These are my honest, albeit imperfect, reflections. Please be kind. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

SCOOP: RFK Jr.'s top spokesman, Rich Danker, quit in protest over Trump admin's vaping policy -- one day after FDA chief Makary resigned for the same reason. NOW VACANT at HHS: Surgeon General. CDC director. FDA commissioner. Asst. Sec for Public Affairs www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/u...

Ok, eating my words. Marty Makary has resigned under pressure as FDA commissioner. @by-cjewett.bsky.social has the scoop: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/u...

Poul Thoreson is accused of diverting CDC grant money to buy cars, houses, etc. Funds were to study possible connections between vaccines and autism. Thoreson was extradited to US, faces charges stemming from 2011 indictment. #IDsky #pediatrics #ethics #Medsky

SCOOP: RFK Jr. is driving a vast inquiry into vaccine safety, despite his recent silence on the topic. Public health experts fear the findings will be misused. Kennedy has long wanted "sufficient science" to lay the groundwork for lawsuits. w/@by-cjewett.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/h...

Who wants to bet that Makary survives? I may eat these words, it's just a hunch, but this feels like a trial balloon. Something tells me the FDA commissioner is being hung out to dry -- but not pushed out the door. @by-cjewett.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/u...

Fascinating historical dive into how a 1976 SCOTUS case cleared the way for billionaires to elect Trump. @dannyhakim.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/u...

BLOCKBUSTER from @by-cjewett.bsky.social on how FDA blocked publication of studies finding Covid & Shingles vaccine are safe www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/u...

The unseen work of public health... "Armed with data from the medical examiner’s office, the county’s public health epidemiologist determined that dealers were selling cychlorphine cheaply, on its own or mixed into fentanyl and methamphetamine.... " By Jan Hoffman www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/h...

Three hard-right MAGA congresswomen saw a culture of sexual abuse on Capitol Hill. They called it out and helped push their colleagues, the alleged perpetrators, out the door. @anniekarni.bsky.social @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/u...

NEWS: The NIH whistleblower @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social, who was put on paid leave in November after criticizing the Trump administration’s cuts to medical research, has been reinstated — without explanation. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/u...

Trump's new pick for Surgeon General is a breast cancer imaging specialist, Fox News commentator & wellness podcaster. She backs vaccines, but wants them to be optional. She was also a teenage mom. w/ Dani Blum www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/u...

BREAKING. Trump withdraws Casey Means nomination for Surgeon General. In an interview, she said, "There is a really positive cultural movement happening right ....I genuinely believe in my heart" that Trump admin is committed to MAHA goals. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/u...

Uhhhh, the Trump administration wants U of Pennsylvania to turn over a list of Jews on campus? www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/u...

How the Trump administration dismantled independent science at the EPA: A doctor and expert in lung health has been reassigned to a finance office. An epidemiologist has a new job issuing permits to handle hazardous waste. . By Lisa Friedman www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/c...

MAHA voters, furious at Trump, may stay home in November. Said one MAHA conservative: “Republicans would be stupid, moronic, to let these voters just slip through our fingers." Big MAHA protest outside SCOTUS on Monday ”https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/us/politics/maha-voters-midterms.html

SCOTUS will hear a case about the weedkiller glyphosate on Monday. Big MAHA protest planned. The Trump administration backs Bayer, the weedkiller's maker, reversing a position taken by Biden. Here's a great primer from Hiroko Tabuchi @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/c...

NEW: MAHA PAC promises to raise $100 million to elect "Trump-endorsed" Republicans, but raised just $1.2 million through February. MAHA leaders warn voters may stay home: “Republicans would be stupid, moronic, to let these voters just slip through our fingers." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/u...

Kennedy, on the Hill this week, is pushing back against Democrats who say he has "blood on his hands" from the measles outbreak. @by-cjewett.bsky.social and I looked at the facts. From Tuesday's hearing: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/u...

NEW: Spending on new medical research by the National Institutes of Health has fallen roughly $1 billion behind the pace of years past, delaying thousands of scientific projects. @benjmueller.bsky.social @irenatfh.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/s...

UNSUNG HERO: Iris Long was an unlikely AIDS activist. A married chemist from Queens, she barely knew any gay people. She joined ACT UP to use her expertise to fight for treatments. May her memory be a blessing. By Richard Sandomir, w/ a small assist from me. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/h...

How is RFK Jr. affecting the midterms? Democratic doctors are running for office. A pediatrician in South Carolina, where measles is rampant, drew cheers by pledging to "lead the charge to impeach and remove RFK Jr." Smart take by Nina Agrawal www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

Takeaway from a dizzying week of RFK Jr. testimony: Kennedy appears to have changed his tune on vaccine policy. Will that mean a shift in policy, or is he just "a wolf in sheep's clothing?" w/ @apoorvanyt.bsky.social @by-cjewett.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/u...

NEW: Trump, seeking to firm up his alliance with RFK's base, met privately for 20 minutes in the Oval with MAHA leaders, who also talked strategy with Stephen Miller & Susie Wiles. Casey Means's stalled nomination also came up. MAHA wants her confirmed. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...

Trump, who is in danger of losing MAHA moms in the midterms, will meet with them privately at the White House today. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...

Coming soon to an iPhone near you.

Spotted in Safeway

Kennedy’s Vaccine Agenda Hits Roadblocks, Diminishing His Clout Surgeon General nominee is stalled. CDC is officially leaderless. A judge says Kennedy overstepped his bounds. My latest in @nytimes.com on RFK’s no good terrible horrible very bad month. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/u...

Proud to work for @nytimes.com , a news organization willing to go it alone to defend freedom of the press. This is an important victory for the First Amendment. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/b...

NEWS: The NIH just announced a $150 million investment in developing alternatives to animal testing. Here's my @nytimes.com piece about how a GOP strategist and cat lover pushed MAGA to embrace animal rights. (Hint: it involves Fauci and "transgender mice") www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/u...

BREAKING: All Kennedy vaccine changes and all ACIP decisions are blocked by a federal court, and the panel cannot meet as planned this week. @apoorvanyt.bsky.social “This is a significant victory for public health, evidence-based medicine," a lawyer for AAP said. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/h...

SCOOP: A confidential report to ACIP calls for sweeping changes in how Covid vaccine injuries are tracked and treated. ACIP is expected to consider it this week. The authors cite a survey from a GOP-leaning pollster headlined "Killer Jab?" w/ @apoorvanyt.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/h...

🧪 🎁 🔗 , from @sherylnyt.bsky.social “When Anthony Bellotti, a Republican strategist and devoted cat owner, set out to defend animal rights, he deployed a game plan designed to enlist conservatives to the cause…” www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/u...

My kids learned about nonviolent protest from Colman McCarthy. He was a legend at their high school and in Washington more broadly. We remember him. May his memory be for a blessing. Colman McCarthy, 87, Journalist Who Waged Peace in the Classroom, Dies www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/b...

NEW: How MAGA embraced animal rights. A GOP strategist called NIH studies government waste, attacked Tony Fauci & warned of "transgender mice." PETA met with RFK. Lara Trump & Laura Loomer are on board. An Oregon primate center may close. Scientists are rattled. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/u...

NEWS: RFK Jr. persuaded "dozens" of medical schools to teach nutrition. Draft curriculum inspired by Casey & Calley Means. Some schools skeptical. "We said ... teach whatever you want, but you need to teach nutrition.” w/ @alanblinder & @alicecallahan.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/u...

Someone has laid down an Epstein Walk of Shame in Farragut Square. The stars point toward the White House.

What a read. I recognize it is behind a paywall, but even non-subscribers can access a limited number of STAT articles per month. For subscribers and non-subscribers alike, I recommend this profile of Stanley Plotkin as one to set aside for a quiet moment, read slowly, and share widely.