Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a plan Wednesday to use medical data and records from people on Medicaid and Medicare to help study autism although experts say it’s unlikely to help reveal the condition’s root causes. The program will involve a data sharing agreement between the National Institutes of Health, the government’s health research arm, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has access to claims data from nearly 150 million Americans across the country. “We’re using this partnership to uncover the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases,” Kennedy said in a statement. The agreement will be “consistent with applicable privacy laws to protect Americans’ sensitive health information,” the HHS statement said.

Rep. Elise Stefanik gained fame in December 2023 for her grilling of the presidents of Ivy League universities in congressional hearings on the vicious antisemitism that broke out on university campuses following the October 7 massacre. The presidents’ outrageous responses, including refusing to unequivocally say that calling for the genocide of the Jewish people violates their institutions’ code of conduct, led to the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill. On Wednesday, Stefanik questioned several university presidents, including Haverford College President Wendy Raymond, whose responses seemed scripted.

(AP) – A deadly midair coll

WATCH: CCTV cameras capture a drone crashing into a field in Gujranwala, Pakistan. No injuries were reported.

UPDATE: An NYPD bus transporting arrested pro-Palestinian protesters has departed Columbia University. Additional arrests were made inside Butler Library, bringing the total number taken into custody to approximately 75.

Air traffic controllers are grappling with nearly 1,000 technical malfunctions each week — a crisis expected to worsen unless the federal government invests in a complete overhaul of the outdated systems in place, according to a former FAA executive and multiple airline industry sources who spoke to The NY Post.
This alarming revelation follows a communications and radar failure that lasted for 90 seconds at Newark Liberty International Airport, leading to widespread flight delays and cancellations that extended well beyond the initial incident.
The April 28 disruption was traced back to a burnt copper wire. In the aftermath, five employees from the FAA’s control center in Philadelphia reportedly took up to 45 days of “trauma leave,” as reported by CNN.

BUFFALO (AP) — Amid attacks on federa

Five Jewish men wearing yarmulkes suffered an antisemitic incident this week at a bowling alley in Antwerp near the Jewish Quarter, Ynet reported. When they arrived at their bowling, they discovered the large lit screen over their lane stated “5 Joden” [Jews] under “Reservation.” After a complaint was filed, the bowling company fired the two employees responsible for the incident, who were also found to have expressed pro-terror views on social media. Tzvi Grosskopf, a community activist in Antwerp, said that the Belgian Jewish organization JID, which works to combat antisemitism, contacted the company about the incident.

President Trump has withdrawn his nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general just a day before she was scheduled to appear before the Senate for her confirmation hearing. Instead, he announced a new pick who, in his words, embodies the ideals of his “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared the news: “I am pleased to announce that Dr. Casey Means, will be nominated as our next Surgeon General of the United States of America,” he wrote. While Nesheiwat will reportedly still take a role within the Department of Health and Human Services, that role has not yet been defined.