The contracts are being canceled and redirected “because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” RFK said.
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| “To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous.” |
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday that 22 mRNA vaccine development contracts are being canceled and redirected “because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”
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Crime is dropping across the board in the United States, according to new statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to seek judicial orders declaring “runaway Democrats” as having vacated their elected office if they do not return to the state House by Friday, when it reconvenes. He asked a court to remove a top Democrat shortly after.
- The Brazilian Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest as he undergoes trial over an alleged plot to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election results.
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🍵 Health: Hair loss is a sign of internal imbalances. Natural medicine can help reverse it.
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☀️ Good morning! It’s Wednesday. Thank you for reading the Morning Brief, an exclusive newsletter for Epoch Times subscribers. 👋 New to Morning Brief? Subscribe. 🎧 Prefer to listen? Get the podcast. |
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| Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor |
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Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Committee, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) |
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday that 22 mRNA vaccine development contracts are being canceled and redirected “because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”
The 22 projects are worth nearly $500 million. The HHS said the decision “follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.”
“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” Kennedy said in a statement. “We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
As part of the wind-down, the government award to Moderna/UTMB for an mRNA-based H5N1 vaccine will be canceled. Contracts with Emory University and Tiba Biotech will also be terminated. Pre-award solicitations from Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, CSL Seqirus, Gritstone, and others will be canceled or rejected.
Some final-stage contracts will be permitted to continue, but no new mRNA-based projects will be initiated, according to HHS.
“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions,” Kennedy said. (More) More Politics: |
- What to know about 7-OH, the synthetic opioid derived from kratom facing an FDA ban.
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First, there was Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz.” Now, there will soon be Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer,” as Gov. Mike Braun becomes the second governor to partner his state with the federal government to continue the mass removal of illegal immigrants by expanding detention bed space.
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President Donald Trump said Vice President JD Vance is “most likely” the leading contender to carry the MAGA torch in 2028, calling him “probably favored” to become the Republican presidential frontrunner.
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Democratic officials rallied in Chicago on Tuesday behind more than 50 Texas House Democrats who left their state last week to block a GOP-led redistricting plan they say could help Republicans flip up to five congressional seats.
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President Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 5 establishing a task force to coordinate preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.
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Crime is dropping across the board in the United States, according to new statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI released its annual crime report on Tuesday. The data shows a broad decline in crime across the United States in 2024.
Violent crime fell by 4.5 percent nationwide in 2024 compared to 2023 estimates. Property crime dropped more sharply, by 8.1 percent, during the same period. The agency also highlighted a 14.9 percent year-over-year decrease in murder and non-negligent manslaughter.
Jeff Asher, a criminal justice data analyst and co-founder of AH Datalytics, said in a blog post that the reported violent and property crime rates fell to their lowest levels since the 1960s in 2024. The FBI defines violent crime to include murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The report, according to the FBI, compiles data from over 16,000 law enforcement agencies, or about 86 percent of all agencies, across the country. It is based on more than 14 million reported criminal offenses in 2024 that were submitted to the bureau through the National Incident-Based Reporting System and the Summary Reporting System.
In the past, critics have said the federal crime statistics are based on flawed or incomplete data, which makes comparing current and past trends more difficult. As a candidate, President Donald Trump said in 2024 that figures that showed a decline in crime were “fake.” “It’s a lie. It’s fake news,” Trump said in a 2024 interview with Time magazine. “The FBI fudged the numbers.” Asher said that the statistics are estimates based on reported crimes. Those estimates are likely to be updated in the following year’s report.
“Not every crime is reported to law enforcement, and not every agency reports crime to the FBI every year,” Asher said. (More) More U.S. News: |
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After scores of executives warned white-collar workers that artificial intelligence is poised to take their jobs, Joseph Briggs, head of global economics research at Goldman Sachs, noted that AI is already having a measurable impact on joblessness among young tech workers.
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Laws demanding internet users provide proof of age are sprouting up around the world. In the United States, at least 24 states have already passed laws requiring pornography sites to verify users’ ages. How does age verification work in practice? What are the loopholes? And how might it reshape the internet? Here’s what the experts say.
- A statue of a Confederate general toppled during the 2020 riots over the death of George Floyd will be reinstalled at Washington’s Judiciary Square, the National Park Service announced on Aug 5.
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Two Chinese nationals have been arrested in southern California for allegedly exporting tens of millions of dollars’ worth of “sensitive microchips” to China in violation of export controls, federal prosecutors said.
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Tesla’s European sales slumped sharply in July, with steep drops in Germany and Britain underscoring the electric‑vehicle maker’s deepening challenges in two of the region’s most important markets.
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Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes gestures during a hearing at Brazil's Supreme Court after ordering house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia on August 5, 2025. (Sergio Lima/AFP via Getty Images) |
The Brazilian Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest as he undergoes trial over an alleged plot to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election results.
In issuing the order, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Bolsonaro had failed to comply with restraining orders imposed on him last month, which had blocked the former president from using social media and contacting foreign officials.
Moraes’s latest order barred Bolsonaro from using a cell phone or receiving visitors while under house arrest, with the exception of his lawyers and people who the court has authorized.
Bolsonaro’s spokesperson said police seized his cell phone following the house arrest order on Monday. His lawyers denied claims that Bolsonaro breached any court order and said they intend to appeal the ruling.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs condemned the house arrest order and accused Moraes of using Brazil’s institutions to silence political opposition and threaten democracy. “Putting even more restrictions on Jair Bolsonaro’s ability to defend himself in public is not a public service. Let Bolsonaro speak,” the department stated on social media.
The department stated that the U.S. government “will hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct,” but did not specify what actions might be taken in response.
Bolsonaro faces trial over charges related to an alleged plot to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election results. Prosecutors alleged that Bolsonaro and several others attempted to carry out a coup d’état, which allegedly included a plan to assassinate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro has denied the allegations and any wrongdoing. (More) More World News: |
- Explainer: Why didn’t Canada get a trade deal with the U.S.?
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Russia said it will no longer abide by self-imposed restrictions on the deployment of intermediate-ranged missiles.
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A variety of international sanctions are in place against Iran’s nuclear project and missile program, but undercutting the effectiveness of these restrictions is the extensive and longstanding assistance Tehran is receiving from Chinese nationals.
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Chinese state outlets have for weeks touted “major breakthroughs” in extreme-ultraviolet lithography—the light-etching machines that make the world’s most advanced chips and the main choke point in Beijing’s semiconductor push. Yet industry insiders, engineers, and analysts say the fanfare is wildly premature.
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An Australia-based Uyghur group is probing retail giant Kmart on its knowledge about products potentially linked to forced labor camps in China.
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A driverless train of the AZD company named Edita takes passengers for a ride near Kopidlno, Czech Republic, on Aug. 5, 2025. (Jan Flemr/AFP via Getty Images) |
📸 Day in Photos: Landslide in India, Hiroshima Bombing Anniversary, Overturned Boat in Bali (Look) 🇺🇲 American Thought Leaders: How Clay Clark Helped Small Businesses Survive—and Thrive—During the Pandemic and Beyond (Watch)
🎙️ Podcast: Who Owns Your Local Hospital? Lawmakers Seek Answers—The Report (Listen) ✍️ Opinion |
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How Accurate Are the Jobs Numbers?—by Jeffrey A. Tucker (Read)
- International Energy Agency Policies Hurt Africans—by Brenda Shaffer (Read)
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AI Against the Humanities—by Mark Bauerlein (Read)
- The EU’s Deal With the US Is Positive and Realistic—by Daniel Lacalle (Read)
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🎵 Music: 100 Days of Mozart: Day 7 - Symphonies, Part 1 (Listen) |
Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock |
“A patient came to me devastated with what was going on with her hair, and who could blame her?” Susan Cucchiara, a naturopathic doctor and owner of Naturally Sue Wellness, told The Epoch Times. Fortunately, the patient’s story took a positive turn. After just a few months on a natural medicine routine, her self-healing mechanisms kicked into gear. The woman had been diagnosed with alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that causes significant hair loss. Previously, her physician had recommended corticosteroid injections into the scalp—a common treatment in conventional medicine.
However, the injection doesn’t fix the root cause of the patient’s hair loss, Cucchiara said.
At the time, the patient was experiencing significant stress, had a history of smoking, and maintained a poor diet. Laboratory tests ordered by Cucchiara revealed elevated levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone. As she suspected, further testing for Hashimoto’s-related antibodies came back positive. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune thyroid condition.
Treatment began with dietary adjustments. This involved eliminating substances known to negatively affect thyroid function, such as gluten and dairy, restoring key nutrients essential to thyroid health, and supporting other bodily systems involved in autoimmune regulation. Cucchiara also guided the patient in managing her stress levels.
After several rounds of treatment over the course of about six months, the patient’s alopecia areata had resolved.
“Every patient is different. Some may take longer, and some may take quicker,” Cucchiara said. (More)
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Thanks for reading 🙏 Have a wonderful day! |
—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li. |
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