Hawaii Governor, a Doctor, Blames Kennedy for Measles Deaths in Samoa
The New York Times
Gov. Josh Green battled a measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children. President Trump wants Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a vaccine skeptic, as his health policy chief.
It was a spasm of tragedy on a remote Pacific island that only a few months later was overshadowed by a global pandemic. But to Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii, the measles outbreak on neighboring Samoa that killed 83 people, mostly babies and children, was a preventable catastrophe wrought by the man President Trump now wants to steer American health policy.
In December of 2019 Dr. Green, an emergency medical physician and Hawaii’s Democratic lieutenant governor at the time, rounded up a medical team and thousands of vaccine doses and flew to Samoa to help. Last month he flew to Washington aiming to alert lawmakers from both parties about the role Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mr. Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary and a longtime vaccine skeptic, played in the Samoa outbreak.
Mr. Kennedy’s confirmation hearings are on Wednesday and Thursday before two Senate committees, which will then vote on whether his nomination advances to the full Senate.
Democrats are attempting to leverage Mr. Kennedy’s connection to the Samoa outbreak to build opposition to his nomination. Dr. Green recently appeared in an ad by a liberal advocacy group, 314 Action, saying, “R.F.K. Jr. had spread so much misinformation that the country stopped vaccinating, and that caused a tragic and fatal spread of the measles.”
In an interview on Monday, Dr. Green said that based on his conversations so far, if the full Senate vote was taken anonymously, “R.F.K. Jr. would be defeated 70-30 or worse.” At the same time, he said, “the political climate has everyone under great pressure to go with the president, or be labeled disloyal.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. In the past he has blamed Samoa’s measles outbreak on “an Indian-manufactured MMR vaccine,” referring to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Caroline Kennedy stepped out of the shadows and onto social media to assail her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on the eve of his Senate hearing.
Lorne Michaels reportedly dislikes when “Saturday Night Live” cast members break character. But over 50 seasons, it’s become one of the show’s signature moves — one that usually delights the audience.
Gov. Josh Green battled a measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children. President Trump wants Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a vaccine skeptic, as his health policy chief.
The Trump administration sought to pause federal dollars to some grantees as it tries to uproot policies like diversity, equity and inclusion. Schools and universities worried important programs could be halted.
Jeal Sutherland, of Colonie, N.Y., hatched a deadly scheme with a convicted killer who was an F.B.I. informer, court documents say.
The former Trump adviser, who faces trial in March, said that he was singled out for his politics. He took aim at the district attorney in much the way the president has.
These parents believe in home-schooling and distrust food and drug companies. In Kennedy, they see “a bull in the china shop.”
The city laid out a series of proposals to reduce cancer deaths by 20 percent, and deaths from heart- and diabetes-related ailments by 5 percent, over the next five years.
In a special session on Monday, leaders seemed to be declaring their independence from a governor who has wielded so much power that legislative sessions have become largely predictable rubber stamps.
There were no Situation Room meetings and no quiet calls to de-escalate a dispute with an ally. Just threats, counterthreats, surrender and an indication of the president’s approach to Greenland and Panama.
A special session that began on Monday pairs disaster aid with two priorities for both the president and Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee: tougher immigration laws and school vouchers.
Thomas J. Mascia scattered casings around and then shot himself in the leg in a bid for attention, prosecutors said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, an unabashed fan of the Buffalo Bills, was perhaps never more popular than on Sunday in downtown Albany.
The 14th Amendment overturned the 1857 decision that denied citizenship to Black people. Scholars say President Trump’s proposal betrays that history.
The bishop asked President Trump publicly to “have mercy,” electrifying some liberal churchgoers in an era dominated by conservative versions of Christianity.
Even more than in his first term, President Trump has mounted a fundamental challenge to the norms and expectations of what a president can and should do.
The decision by federal prosecutors came at a time when President Trump was rolling back protections for transgender people.
Many commuters continue to oppose the new tolling program in New York City even as some drivers and bus riders are spending less time trapped in traffic.