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RFK Jr. spreads vaccine misinformation during congressional testimony

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RFK Jr. spreads vaccine misinformation during congressional testimony


U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on President Donald Trump’s 2026 health care agenda, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 4, 2025.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doubled down on false claims about vaccines during his Senate testimony on Wednesday, as senators grilled him on his sweeping changes to immunization policy and federal health agencies.

Kennedy said he supports a statement made by a newly appointed member of a key government vaccine panel that mRNA vaccines pose a dangerous risk to people. Numerous studies have demonstrated that shots using mRNA technology, including Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, are safe and effective, and serious side effects have happened in extremely rare cases.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., noted that the committee member Dr. Retsef Levi has said that evidence is mounting that mRNA vaccines cause “serious harm, including death, especially among young people,” apparently referring to a post pinned on Levi’s X account. Kennedy appointed Levi to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine recommendations and insurance coverage.

Kennedy said he wasn’t aware of Levi’s comments, but added, “I agree with it.”

Kennedy’s comments before the Senate Finance Committee come after he repeatedly promised the panel in January that he would do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it more difficult or discourages people from taking vaccines. Since then, he has canceled funding for mRNA shot development and made other vaccine policy changes that could limit access to immunizations, including gutting the CDC vaccine panel and dropping Covid shot recommendations for certain groups.

His comments also follows a leadership shakeup at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The White House last week fired CDC Director Susan Monarez, and four senior agency officials resigned shortly after, with some of them citing the politicization of the agency and a threat to public health. In an opinion piece on Thursday, Monarez accused Kennedy of “a deliberate effort to weaken America’s public-health system and vaccine protections.”

Kennedy touted skepticism around Covid vaccines, despite evidence of their safety and effectiveness. 

“We were told again and again the vaccines would prevent transmission, they prevent infection. It wasn’t true. They knew it from the start,” Kennedy said.  

He also said he does not know how many people died of Covid and whether the vaccines prevented deaths from the virus.

“I would like to see the data and talk about the data,” Kennedy said.

But data is readily available from dozens of studies. One paper in August estimates that Covid vaccines saved more than 2 million lives, mostly among older adults, worldwide between 2020 and October 2024. 

The CDC website also says that Covid vaccines from the 2023 to 2024 season reduced the risk of severe illness from Covid by almost 70% in the first two months after vaccination in adults ages 18 and older, with protection gradually decreasing over time.

Those shots also decreased the risk of hospitalization due to Covid by around 50% in the first two months of vaccination in that same population. The Covid vaccines showed similar benefits in older adults.

Kennedy also defended his decision to fire all 17 previous members of the CDC vaccine panel, saying he didn’t politicize the committee.

“What we did is we got rid of the conflicts of interest. … We depoliticized and put great scientists on it from a very diverse group,” the HHS secretary said. “They are very, very pro-vaccine.”

But a new analysis published last month from USC researchers found that conflicts of interest on that panel had been at “historic lows for years” before Kennedy restacked it with new members, some of whom are widely known vaccine critics.



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Stock market today: Which are top gainers and losers on NSE & BSE on May 25? Check list

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Stock market today: Which are top gainers and losers on NSE & BSE on May 25? Check list


Stock market rallied sharply on Monday, with the Sensex soaring more than 1,000 points and the Nifty reclaiming the 24,000 mark, as easing geopolitical tensions in West Asia and falling crude oil prices boosted investor sentiment globally.The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,073.61 points, or 1.42 per cent, to close at 76,488.96, while the NSE Nifty 50 surged 312.40 points, or 1.32 per cent, to settle at 24,031.70.The rally came after optimism grew around a possible agreement between the United States and Iran, following remarks by US President Donald Trump over the weekend that a deal was “largely negotiated”.

Nifty50 top gainers

Company Name Current Price (Rs) Price Change % Change
Eicher Motors 7,414 433.00 ↑ 6.20% ↑
Adani Ent. 2,850 132.00 ↑ 4.88% ↑
Bajaj Finance 941.90 25.40 ↑ 2.77% ↑
Tata Motors PV 373.25 9.90 ↑ 2.73% ↑
L&T 4,033 107.00 ↑ 2.72% ↑
HDFC Bank 786.85 20.10 ↑ 2.62% ↑
Eternal 247.67 5.72 ↑ 2.37% ↑
Bajaj Finserv 1,807 41.40 ↑ 2.35% ↑
Kotak Bank 392.85 8.71 ↑ 2.27% ↑
Shriram Finance 961.95 21.00 ↑ 2.23% ↑

Sensex top gainers

Company Name Current Price (Rs) Price Change % Change
Bajaj Finance 941.90 25.40 ↑ 2.77% ↑
L&T 4,033 107.00 ↑ 2.72% ↑
HDFC Bank 786.85 20.10 ↑ 2.62% ↑
Eternal 247.67 5.72 ↑ 2.37% ↑
Bajaj Finserv 1,807 41.40 ↑ 2.35% ↑
Kotak Bank 392.85 8.71 ↑ 2.27% ↑
ICICI Bank 1,292 27.50 ↑ 2.18% ↑
SBI 969.60 20.40 ↑ 2.15% ↑
Axis Bank 1,311 25.80 ↑ 2.01% ↑
Titan Company 4,159 79.40 ↑ 1.95% ↑

Nifty50 top losers

Company Name Current Price (Rs) Price Change % Change
Max Healthcare 1,001 -22.40 ↓ -2.19% ↓
ONGC 284.95 -5.06 ↓ -1.75% ↓
Hindalco 1,100 -9.61 ↓ -0.87% ↓
Nestle India 1,414 -9.50 ↓ -0.67% ↓
Bajaj Auto 10,491 -58.50 ↓ -0.56% ↓
Infosys 1,169 -6.00 ↓ -0.52% ↓
TCS 2,308 -9.11 ↓ -0.40% ↓
Tata Consumer 1,187 -4.60 ↓ -0.39% ↓
HUL 2,197 -7.10 ↓ -0.33% ↓
Sun Pharma 1,841 -4.00 ↓ -0.22% ↓

Sensex top losers

Company Name Current Price (Rs) Price Change % Change
Infosys 1,169 -6.00 ↓ -0.52% ↓
TCS 2,308 -9.11 ↓ -0.40% ↓
HUL 2,197 -7.10 ↓ -0.33% ↓
Sun Pharma 1,841 -4.00 ↓ -0.22% ↓
Kwality Wall’s 26.33 -0.06 ↓ -0.19% ↓

Oil prices tumble as Iran deal hopes rise

Investor confidence improved as markets increasingly priced in the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran, which could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and ease global energy supply concerns.According to news agency ANI, market expert Ponmudi R said optimism surrounding a potential US-Iran agreement revived risk appetite across global markets.“Investor sentiment improved significantly after Donald Trump stated over the weekend that a deal was ‘largely negotiated’, encouraging markets to increasingly price in the possibility of a near-term diplomatic resolution,” he said.He added that markets would look for the “successful implementation of a lasting peace agreement and the credible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz”.Brent crude prices dropped sharply below the $100 per barrel mark and were trading around $98 per barrel, down more than 5 per cent during the session.The Indian rupee also recovered strongly, gaining 48 paise to trade at Rs 95.21 against the US dollar after recent weakness.

Banking stocks lead market rally

Financial stocks led the gains on Dalal Street. Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv and Kotak Mahindra Bank emerged among the top Sensex gainers.Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank rose 2.73 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank advanced 2.02 per cent, as per ANI. Nifty Auto climbed 1.66 per cent and Realty gained 1.54 per cent.However, FMCG stocks remained under pressure. Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.

Global markets gain amid improving sentiment

Asian markets also ended higher on Monday amid improving global risk appetite. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.76 per cent, while Taiwan’s weighted index jumped 3.15 per cent.European markets were trading in positive territory, while US markets had settled higher on Friday.Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,440.47 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.



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PSX gains over 2,500 points as US-Iran peace hopes fuel bullish rally | The Express Tribune

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PSX gains over 2,500 points as US-Iran peace hopes fuel bullish rally | The Express Tribune


KSE-100 surges past 170,000 intraday on strong institutional buying, easing geopolitical tensions


KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended strong bullish momentum on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index hovered around 170,423.30 points at 1:24pm, up 2,579.06 points or 1.54% in intraday trade.

During the session, the benchmark index touched an intraday high of 171,519.26 points, while the day’s low was recorded at 170,161.66 points. Market participation remained strong, with traded volume reaching 125.96 million shares and total traded value standing at Rs11.75 billion.

Read: PSX gains 2,248 points in mixed week

Investor sentiment remained upbeat amid reports of a likely peace agreement between the United States and Iran, which boosted confidence across regional markets and improved risk appetite among investors. 

Analysts said the rally was driven by aggressive institutional buying and renewed optimism over easing geopolitical tensions following progress in US-Iran negotiations.

The previous close of the KSE-100 index was 167,844.24 points.



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Oil prices slide on hopes of US-Iran peace deal

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Oil prices slide on hopes of US-Iran peace deal



Trump said on Saturday that an agreement would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, without giving further details.



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