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Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori have split, reports said Thursday, capping two weeks of controversy for the rapper whose once-stellar career has descended into chaos.The pair have separately sought legal advice over a divorce, entertainment website TMZ said, while the Daily Mail reported the 30-year-old architect has agreed to a $5 million payout.The reports come just days after the couple caused a stir with a jaw-dropping red carpet appearance in which Censori paraded naked on the arm of her entrepreneur husband.The viral stunt at the Grammy Awards sparked concerns that the 47-year-old rapper and music producer was coercing his wife, who has frequently been seen semi-nude during their two years of marriage.Days later, West — who now calls himself Ye — went on a days-long rant on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.He called himself a “Nazi” and said he had “dominion over” his wife.”I don’t make her do nothing she doesn’t want to but she definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without my approval,” he wrote in one unpunctuated all-caps post.The account went dark at the end of last week, though it was not clear if it had been pulled by X or voluntarily shut down.West’s Yeezy.com website was yanked this week after it began selling nothing but T-shirts with a swastika on the front.E-commerce provider Shopify said it had removed the site because the retailer had “violated our terms.”On Thursday the URL showed only the apparently handwritten message “Yeezy stores coming soon.”The New York Post said West’s Nazi T-shirt stunt had tipped Censori over the edge.”She’s had enough,” the outlet quoted a source as saying. “The swastika shirt was the last straw. She told him that’s not who she is, and that she can’t be associated with that.”She doesn’t want any part of that circus. He believes that she’ll come back to him, he’s saying that she’s just mad at him, but right now she’s told him that she’s completely done.”The Hollywood Reporter, however, quoted right-wing agitator Milo Yiannopolous, who it said was a rep for the couple, denying the split.”Ye and Bianca are in Los Angeles, about to enjoy Valentine’s Day together. Announcements about their private life will come from them directly, not unsourced rumor in the tabloid press,” he told the outlet.West — who has previously spoken of living with bipolar disorder, but now says he is autistic — was formerly married to reality TV star Kim Kardashian.The couple, who divorced in 2022, have four children.

Since Russia’s invasion three years ago, the United States and its allies have insisted that no decisions on Ukraine can take place without Ukraine. Donald Trump, in a single phone call to Vladimir Putin, shattered that.Trump also called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who acknowledged it was “not very pleasant” that Trump spoke first to the Russian leader and pleaded for US-Ukraine joint efforts before any negotiations.But Trump has hailed a new spirit of cooperation with Putin, speaking of holding a summit with him in Saudi Arabia, as Russia trumpeted the call as a turning point from the international isolation over its invasion of Ukraine.”This is a major reversal. It looks like the US is going from being a major backer of Ukraine to trying to play more the role of neutral arbiter,” said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Former president Joe Biden said he saw little reason to speak to Putin after the Russian leader defied his warnings and invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Ukrainians grumbled that Biden was too slow in decisions on weapons that could have given them a battlefield advantage. With Trump’s return, “Ukraine is now focused not on winning but on not losing the war,” Bergmann said.- ‘Much bigger’ than Ukraine -Russia has long sought direct negotiations with the United States about Ukraine. Before the invasion, Russia urged security guarantees including a rejection of Ukraine’s aspirations to enter NATO, the transatlantic alliance built on collective security guarantees.The Biden administration saw Russia’s stance as a red herring, noting that Putin after the invasion rejected Ukraine’s historical legitimacy. The Biden team said Ukraine should eventually — but not immediately — enter NATO.Setting a different tone, Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said it was unrealistic for Ukraine to enter NATO or regain all its land.Speaking before meeting NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Hegseth denied any “betrayal” of Ukraine and said the United States was “invested and interested in peace.”But David Salvo, a Russia expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said to expect Moscow to inject “poison pills” in any negotiations with the United States, perhaps making demands on the positioning of US forces in Europe.”That’s the fallacy that many Washington run into. They think Ukraine is just about Ukraine for the Russians. But it’s not — it’s much bigger than that,” he said.”Russia is trying to impose maximalist terms on the US not just about Ukraine, but also about the European security architecture,” he said.- A ‘quick fix’? -US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday called Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga. The State Department said Rubio voiced a commitment to “Ukrainian independence and stability” but notably did not say sovereignty or territorial integrity, points repeatedly stressed by the Biden team.Sybiga, on a visit to Paris, accused Russia of seeking another Yalta, referring to the summit by Soviet, US and British leaders on dividing up the post-World War II map.Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, pointing to her country’s long history with Russia, warned against a “quick fix” and said Putin “has no intention to stop his expansionist pursuit.””He will enter talks, enjoy the limelight and take whatever he possibly can without making any genuine concessions,” she wrote on social media.But Bill Taylor, who served twice as the top US diplomat in Ukraine including during Trump’s first term, said that direct US involvement could help avoid a pitfall of diplomacy a decade ago overseen by France and Germany.The Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, which had attempted to stop earlier fighting in Ukraine, put at the negotiating table Russian-backed separatists.”In this upcoming negotiation, it will be the role of the United States to make it very clear where the responsibility for this war lies and how to end it — it is on, in the first instance, the entity that started the war, which is Russia,” he said.He said it would be crucial to involve Ukraine and give it leverage. He pointed to Vice President JD Vance’s meeting Friday in Munich with Zelensky as a positive sign.”If the Americans can play a role in bringing this war to an end in a just and lasting way, we should do that,” Taylor said.

Newly confirmed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday accused US institutions of “stealing the health of our children” and suggested they should meet the same fate as USAID, which President Donald Trump’s administration is working to slash.On his first day in office, RFK Jr. — who has spent decades sowing distrust in vaccines and questioning basic scientific facts — credited divine intervention for his rise to power and immediately fueled concerns that critical health agencies could soon come under attack.At his White House swearing-in ceremony, following a 52-48 Senate confirmation vote largely along party lines, Kennedy grew emotional recalling his first visit to the Oval Office in 1962.He also lavished praise on Trump, saying 20 years of prayers to solve chronic childhood diseases were answered when “God sent me President Trump,” whom he called a “man on a white horse.”Kennedy argued that while USAID was founded by his uncle, slain president John F. Kennedy, with noble intentions, it has since become a “sinister propagator of totalitarianism.” He backed Trump’s recent actions at the humanitarian agency, adding, “we want to do the same thing with the institutions that are stealing the health of our children.”Before the 2024 election, Kennedy vowed to blow up the “corrupt” Food and Drug Administration and called for cuts to the National Institutes of Health, accusing it of overemphasizing infectious diseases at the expense of chronic disease research.- Environment crusader to anti-vaxxer – RFK Jr. was once a celebrated environmental lawyer who sued Monsanto and accused climate-change deniers of being traitors. But for the past two decades he has promoted conspiracy theories linking childhood vaccines to autism and even questioning whether germs cause disease.During heated confirmation hearings, Democrats pointed to Kennedy’s lucrative consulting fees from law firms suing pharmaceutical companies as conflicts of interest. They also highlighted allegations of sexual misconduct and his claims that antidepressants fuel school shootings.Yet it was his shift toward Republican positions — particularly on abortion rights, which he once supported but has since signaled a willingness to restrict — that won over conservatives wary of his liberal past.Ultimately, only one Republican opposed him: former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a childhood polio survivor. Democrats were united in opposition.”I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” said 82-year-old McConnell.Kennedy dismissed the criticism, claiming his views were mischaracterized and insisting he was simply advocating for “common sense” policies.”Vaccines should be tested, they should be safe, everyone should have informed consent,” he said.- Make America Healthy Again -Kennedy found firmer footing with his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda — a play on Trump’s MAGA slogan — emphasizing the need to tackle chronic disease by holding the food industry accountable.Such ideas have broad appeal, though experts question how he will implement them given his fraught relationship with scientific evidence.Kennedy launched an independent presidential bid in 2024, making headlines with bizarre revelations, including claims of recovering from a parasitic brain worm and once decapitating a dead whale.Last year, 77 Nobel Prize winners signed an open letter opposing his nomination, while some of his harshest critics came from within his own family.His cousin Caroline Kennedy, a former diplomat, accused him of being a “predator” who led younger relatives toward drug addiction.”This is a disaster waiting to happen—and it will happen,” Paul Offit, a leading vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia told AFP.Democratic Senator Patty Murray accused Republicans of willful ignorance.”They are choosing to pretend it’s even remotely believable that RFK Jr. won’t use his new power to do exactly what he’s spent decades trying to do — undermine vaccines,” she said, warning he could fire the government’s vaccine advisory committee, which determines which shots must be covered by insurance.

US President Donald Trump inked plans Thursday for sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” that could hit both allies and competitors, in a dramatic escalation of an international trade war that economists warn could fuel inflation at home.Since taking office, Trump has announced a broad range of tariffs targeting some of America’s biggest trading partners, arguing that they would help tackle unfair practices — and in some cases using the threats to influence policy.Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said Thursday he had decided to impose reciprocal duties, telling reporters that US allies were often “worse than our enemies” on trade.”Whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them,” Trump added.In particular, he called the European Union “absolutely brutal” in trade ties with Washington.The levies would be tailored to each US trading partner and consider the tariffs they impose on American goods, alongside taxes seen as “discriminatory,” such as value-added taxes (VATs), a White House official said on condition of anonymity.With the memo Trump signed Thursday, officials including the US trade representative and commerce secretary will propose remedies on a country-by-country basis.Trump’s commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said Thursday that studies should be completed by April 1, and the president could start tariffs as early as April 2.Washington will begin by examining economies with which the United States has its biggest deficits or “most egregious issues,” the White House official added.”This should be a matter of weeks, in a few months,” the official said.- Inflation fears -Ahead of Trump’s Oval Office comments, Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro told reporters: “Major exporting nations of the world attack our markets with punishing tariffs and even more punishing non-tariff barriers.”Besides the EU, the White House also flagged differences in certain US tariff levels with India and Brazil, while noting Japan’s “high structural barriers.”Cost-of-living pressures were a key issue in the November election that saw Trump return to power, and the Republican has promised to swiftly reduce prices.But economists caution that sweeping tariffs on US imports would likely boost inflation, not reduce it, in the near term and could weigh on growth eventually.Trump acknowledged Thursday that US prices “could go up” due to tariffs, but he expressed confidence that they would ultimately ease.- ‘Unfair’ treatment -The White House official said the United States has been “treated unfairly,” saying a lack of reciprocity is a reason behind the country’s “persistent annual trade deficit in goods” which topped $1 trillion last year.One issue US officials pointed out was the EU’s 10 percent tariff on American autos, while the United States charges only 2.5 percent.But Sean Bray, policy director of Tax Foundation Europe, noted that the United States might have higher levies on other products, like a 25 percent rate on light truck imports.Trump also criticized “certain areas of Europe” for a VAT tax of about 20 percent, although some analysts have challenged the characterization that VATs provide unfair trade advantages.Trump’s announcement came shortly before he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, and the US president has since said he expected “wonderful trade deals” with India.Analysts have warned that reciprocal duties could bring a broad tariff hike to emerging market economies such as India and Thailand, which tend to have higher effective tariff rates on US products.Countries like South Korea that have trade deals with Washington are less at risk, analysts believe.New Delhi offered some quick tariff concessions ahead of Modi’s visit, including on high-end motorcycles.Christine McDaniel, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, told AFP that Trump does not appear constrained by World Trade Organization norms.His memo forces countries to renegotiate tariff schedules with Washington, she said, adding that this could turn out well if others come to the table.”But if countries refuse, and the US raises its tariffs, then it is bad for the US” as American importers will face higher prices, said McDaniel, a former official in George W. Bush’s administration. 

Major stock markets mostly rose Thursday on hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine and as US President Trump announced a trade policy shake-up but held off on specific new levies. London was a rare faller owing to sharp losses to share prices of big companies, including Unilever, Barclays and British American Tobacco, on mixed earnings. That overshadowed news that the UK economy surprisingly grew in late 2024.US President Donald Trump’s talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to start negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine “has fostered a risk-on attitude among investors”, said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets.The positive showing “is a result of the potential reduction in geopolitical risks”, he added.Paris and Frankfurt won solid gains. Major US indices joined them, with the S&P 500 winning one percent.Trump unveiled a “fair and reciprocal plan” for trade, ordering a review of tariffs on US goods and directing officials to propose remedies, a step towards potentially wide-ranging tariffs on allies and competitors.But Wall Street was encouraged that the plan did not include immediate levies.Investors are “taking comfort” in the “idea that it’s negotiable and not coming into effect immediately,” said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management.US investors also shrugged off data showing a bigger than expected uptick in US wholesale prices in January, adding to concerns about worsening pricing pressure after Wednesday’s consumer price data also exceeded estimates. Some analysts also noted that the details of Thursday’s US inflation report were less troubling than the headline figures.But the dollar weakened after traders concluded the reciprocal tariffs will “either be tolerable for partners, negotiated away or never implemented,” said Adam Button, currency analyst at ForexLive.Among individual stocks, Nestle surged more than six percent in Zurich after the Swiss food giant posted better-than-expected annual sales.But Deere & Company fell 2.2 percent as it navigates a tough agriculture market with the depressed state of farm income and higher interest rates that make equipment purchases difficult.The company’s revenues fell more than 30 percent last year, while it projected broad-based decline again in 2025.- Key figures around 2150 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 44,711.43 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 1.0 percent at 6,115.07 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 19,945.64 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,764.72 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.5 percent at 8,164.11 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 2.1 percent at 22,612.02 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 39,461.47 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 21,814.37 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,332.48 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0467 from $1.0383 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2586 from $1.2446Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.76 yen from 154.42 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.42 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $71.29 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $75.02 per barrelburs-jmb

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump — and billionaire Elon Musk — at the White House on Thursday, with the two national leaders hailing their close bond despite Trump’s expanding global trade war.”He is a great friend of mine. For a long time we’ve had a wonderful relationship,” Trump said as he greeted Modi in the Oval Office for a visit that he promised would bring “wonderful” trade deals.Modi, trying to build on the bromance that he fostered with Trump in his first term, said that the two had “the same bond, with the same trust and the same excitement.” SpaceX and Tesla tycoon Musk — who has launched an aggressive effort as Trump’s right-hand man to overhaul the US bureaucracy — was in the Oval Office for the talks with Trump.Musk also held a one-on-one meeting with Modi earlier Thursday, in an encounter that drew questions over whether the world’s richest man was meeting the Indian premier in an official or a business capacity. Modi said the meeting was “very good.”The Indian premier posted pictures of himself shaking hands with the beaming Musk, with several children on Musk’s side of the room, and Indian officials on the other.The White House said Trump and Modi hoped to agree on a long-sought US-India trade deal and a new defense partnership, while Trump said they would also sign deals on oil and gas.But Trump had earlier put the leader of the world’s most populous nation on notice over possible tariffs.The meeting came hours after the US president announced reciprocal tariffs on all countries, including India — but New Delhi is hoping to avoid further levies that Trump says are needed to counter the US trade deficit.”India, traditionally, is the highest, just about the highest tariff country. They charge more tariffs than any other country. And I mean, we’ll be talking about that,” Trump told reporters.”India is a very hard place to do business because of the tariffs.”US officials said there had been “early body language” from India but there was a “lot more work to do.” Modi offered quick tariff concessions ahead of his visit, with New Delhi slashing duties on high-end motorcycles — a boost to Harley-Davidson, the iconic US manufacturer whose struggles in India have irked Trump.India has already accepted a US military flight carrying 100 shackled migrants last week as part of Trump’s immigration overhaul, and New Delhi has vowed its own “strong crackdown” on illegal migration.Modi is the fourth world leader to visit Trump since his return, following the prime ministers of Israel and Japan, and the king of Jordan.The Indian prime minister assiduously courted Trump during his first term.The two share much in common, with both campaigning on promises to promote majority communities over minorities and both doggedly quashing dissent.In 2020, Modi invited Trump before a cheering crowd of more than 100,000 people to inaugurate the world’s largest cricket stadium in his home state of Gujarat.Trump could visit India later this year for a summit of the Quad — a four-way grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.burs-dk/bgs

Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor resigned on Thursday after being ordered by the Justice Department to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.Danielle Sassoon, the acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, submitted her resignation to Attorney General Pam Bondi, The New York Times and other news outlets said.Sassoon, 38, a Republican, was named interim US attorney by President Donald Trump’s administration while his nominee for the position, Jay Clayton, undergoes Senate confirmation.Her resignation comes three days after acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove — a former Trump lawyer — ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop the corruption case against Adams, a Democrat.The New York Times said that in addition to Sassoon, two high-ranking members of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, which handles corruption cases, had also resigned.Bove, in a letter to Sassoon obtained by the newspaper, said he had accepted her resignation.”This decision is based on your choice to continue pursuing a politically motivated prosecution despite an express instruction to dismiss the case,” he said.”You lost sight of the oath that you took when you started at the Department of Justice by suggesting that you retain discretion to interpret the Constitution in a manner inconsistent with the policies of a democratically elected President and a Senate-confirmed Attorney General.”The first sitting New York mayor to be criminally indicted, Adams pleaded not guilty in September to charges of fraud and bribery and has rebuffed calls to step down.Adams had asserted he was being punished for his criticism of then-president Joe Biden’s immigration policies.Bove, in an earlier letter to Sassoon asking for the case to be dropped, said the prosecution had “unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to illegal immigration and violent crime.”Trump expressed solidarity with Adams last year, saying he was being prosecuted “for speaking out against open borders.”- ‘Without fear or favor’ -Sassoon, in a letter to Bondi obtained by the Times, said the order to dismiss the case was “inconsistent with my ability and duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor.””I have always considered it my obligation to pursue justice impartially, without favor to the wealthy or those who occupy important public office, or harsher treatment for the less powerful,” she said.A graduate of Yale Law School and a member of the conservative Federalist Society, Sassoon led the high-profile 2023 prosecution of disgraced crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried.The Justice Department, which Trump accused of unjustly prosecuting him, has been the target of a sweeping shakeup since the Republican took office with a number of high-ranking officials demoted or reassigned.Among those sacked were members of the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two criminal cases against Trump.

Donald Trump unveiled an extraordinary vision of a shake-up to the world order Thursday, eyeing a three-way summit with the Russian and Chinese leaders just a day after saying he had agreed with Vladimir Putin to start Ukraine peace talks.With Kyiv and European capitals still stunned by Trump’s surprise call with Putin, the US president also said he would “love” to have Russia back in the G7, from which it was suspended in 2014 after Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.”I think it was a mistake to throw him out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to Putin.Trump — who has cast himself in his second term as a global peacemaker — also said he would consider a summit with Putin and China’s Xi Jinping “when things calm down.””When we straighten it all out, then I want one of the first meetings I have is with President Xi of China, President Putin of Russia. And I want to say, let’s cut our military budget in half.”The US president, who was hosting India’s Prime Minister Nahendra Modi at the White House later Thursday, also called for the three powers to start cutting their nuclear arsenals.”There’s no reason for us to be building brand-new nuclear weapons,” he added.Trump meanwhile insisted the Russian leader wanted a ceasefire with Kyiv, despite President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday warning against trusting the Kremlin leader.”I think he wants peace. I think he would tell me if he didn’t,” Trump said. Trump made his comments after inking plans for sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” that could hit both allies and competitors.- Seismic shift -His remarks on Russia and China mark a seismic shift after more than a decade of US policy which had increasingly cast Moscow into the cold and largely viewed both it and Beijing as adversaries.They will also be viewed with consternation by Ukraine and European allies, who will fear that if they are not at the table of international diplomacy, they could end up on the menu.Trump’s overtures to Putin in particular have caused alarm in Europe, which has viewed its huge neighbor Russia as a major threat since the invasion of Ukraine.Trump revealed Wednesday he expected to meet Putin separately in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine peace talks, in a sudden thaw in relations.In their first confirmed contact since Trump’s return to the White House, the US president said he had held a “highly productive” conversation with his Russian counterpart who ordered the bloody 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Several European nations have questioned Trump’s strategy and warned Washington not to hatch a deal without them.The Trump administration’s talking points on Ukraine have also at times echoed Moscow’s, particularly when it comes to Kyiv’s dream of NATO membership to protect it from Russia.”I believe that’s the reason the war started, because (predecessor president Joe) Biden went out and said that they could join NATO,” said Trump of Russia’s February 2022 invasion.In 2014, Russia was suspended from what was then the G8 after it annexed Crimea and sanctions were imposed on Moscow.In his first term, Trump also called for Russia to be readmitted, but he found little support among other Western countries.

A monster rainstorm was drenching southern California on Thursday, with officials in Los Angeles readying for flooding and landslides in areas burned by last month’s huge wildfires.Heavy rain was falling across a swath of the state, with as much as six inches (15 centimeters) expected in some places, forecasters from the National Weather Service (NWS) said. That volume of water in such a short period of time could create problems in areas ravaged by blazes that killed at least 29 people in January. “There’s a high risk for flooding, especially in and around the road areas and urban areas, as well as an appreciable risk for debris flows,” Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the NWS, told reporters earlier in the week.The agency issued a flash flood watch for the bulk of Los Angeles County.The greatest risk to life and limb was expected to be around the burn scars in Altadena and in the Pacific Palisades areas.Landslides were possible on hillsides where anchoring vegetation had burned away.The heat of the fires also had the effect of baking and hardening the soil, making it less absorbent.Authorities said anyone living near such hillsides should be ready to leave their homes.Workers in Los Angeles have installed thousands of sandbags and concrete barriers in recent weeks to try to limit soil erosion. The NWS said Thursday afternoon and evening would be the most dangerous period.”During those peak periods rain rates between a half and one inch per hour are possible, with localized rates up to 1.2 inches per hour,” the agency said.The incoming storm system is being driven by an “atmospheric river,” a giant corridor of rain that brings billions of gallons (liters) of moisture from the Pacific Ocean.While the immediate flood worries were sparking concerns, southern California badly needs the rain.Until the start of February, there had been no significant precipitation for about eight months.

The Republican-controlled US Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary Thursday, elevating his anti-vaccine advocacy to the highest levels of government despite dire warnings from the medical community.Known widely as “RFK Jr.,” the 71-year-old nephew of the late president John F. Kennedy secured confirmation in a 52-48 vote largely along party lines, becoming the latest contentious addition to President Donald Trump’s cabinet.Kennedy now heads a department overseeing 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget as scientists warn of a potential bird flu pandemic and with declining vaccination rates leading to the resurgence of once-vanquished childhood diseases.World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was quick to offer congratulations on X. Trump has announced the United States, the WHO’s top donor country, will leave the organization — a decision Tedros has urged him to reconsider.Once a celebrated environmental lawyer who sued chemical giant Monsanto and accused climate-change deniers of being traitors, Kennedy has spent much of the past two decades touting conspiracy theories: from linking childhood vaccines to autism and suggesting the Covid virus spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people to casting doubt on whether germs truly cause infectious diseases.Yet it was his shift toward Republican positions — particularly on abortion rights, which he once supported but has since signaled a willingness to further restrict — that won over conservative lawmakers wary of his past.During heated confirmation hearings, Democrats pointed to lucrative consulting fees from law firms suing pharmaceutical companies as glaring conflicts of interest. They also highlighted allegations of sexual misconduct and his claims linking school shootings to antidepressants.Ultimately, only one Republican voted against him: former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a childhood survivor of polio. Democrats were united in opposition.”I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” said the 82-year-old, who is not expected to seek re-election. – Make America Healthy Again -Kennedy found firmer footing when promoting his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda — a play on Trump’s signature MAGA slogan — emphasizing the need to combat the nation’s chronic disease crisis by holding the food industry more accountable.Such ideas have broad appeal, though experts question how he will implement them given his troubled relationship with scientific evidence.Kennedy initially launched an independent presidential bid in 2024, making headlines with a string of bizarre revelations, including a claim that he recovered from a parasitic brain worm and a tale that he once de-capitated a dead whale.Last year, 77 Nobel Prize winners penned an open letter opposing his nomination, while some of his harshest critics came from within his own family. Cousin Caroline Kennedy, a former diplomat, accused him of being a “predator” who led younger relatives down the path of drug addiction.- ‘Disaster waiting to happen’ -“This is a disaster waiting to happen — and it will happen,” Paul Offit, a leading vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told AFP. Democratic Senator Patty Murray accused Republicans of willful ignorance.”They are choosing to pretend it’s even remotely believable that RFK Jr. won’t use his new power to do exactly what he’s spent decades trying to do — undermine vaccines,” she said, warning he could dismantle the government’s vaccine advisory committee, which determines which shots must be covered by insurance.The Senate has approved all of Trump’s cabinet picks so far, underscoring his iron grip on the Republican Party.Among them is Tulsi Gabbard, confirmed on Wednesday as the nation’s spy chief despite past support for adversarial nations including Russia and Syria.Meanwhile, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, cleared a key committee vote Thursday and now awaits final Senate approval.A staunch loyalist, Patel has repeatedly promoted election fraud conspiracies and recently published a book naming 60 Trump critics — dubbed an “enemies list” by Democrats.