RFK Jr. Endorses Measles Vaccine as CDC Blocks Its Own Research and Apple Patches an FBI Surveillance Tool
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former anti-vaccine activist now leading the Department of Health and Human Services, told the Senate this week that his department advises all children to receive the measles vaccine, offering a firm defense of the MMR shot. The statement represents a notable policy shift as the United States contends with nearly 1,750 confirmed measles cases this year — a dramatic increase attributed to declining vaccination rates. Measles is highly contagious and can cause severe complications including brain damage and death, particularly in young children.
The CDC, meanwhile, blocked publication of an internal report showing COVID vaccines cut hospitalizations by half. HHS cited methodological concerns about the research, even though it had already cleared the agency's own internal scientific review. Separately, two major trials found that Paxlovid speeds recovery from COVID but does not significantly reduce hospitalizations — a nuanced finding that suggests the antiviral has value for symptom management but may not prevent the most serious outcomes driving healthcare system strain.
Apple issued a security update this week patching a flaw that the FBI had been exploiting to extract deleted Signal messages from seized devices. The fix improves user privacy but eliminates a law enforcement tool used in criminal investigations, highlighting the persistent tension between digital privacy protections and investigative capabilities. The revelation that deleted encrypted messages could be recovered also raises questions about how robust the privacy protections users believe they have actually are.
TSMC announced its A13 chip manufacturing process and confirmed it would skip ASML's most expensive extreme ultraviolet lithography machines — a bet that engineering innovation can substitute for the industry's costliest capital equipment. If successful, the approach would reshape cost structures across global semiconductor manufacturing. At a separate industry gathering in Busan, nuclear energy executives framed reactors as essential infrastructure for the AI era, arguing that artificial intelligence's voracious and continuous electricity demands may exceed what intermittent renewable sources can reliably supply.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum is reportedly considering sanctions after CIA agents were killed in an unauthorized drug raid in Chihuahua state, where local authorities had permitted CIA participation without federal approval. The incident illustrates how state-level decisions can compromise international intelligence relationships and trigger diplomatic crises that federal governments on both sides must then manage.