All Federal Grants Suspended; What RFK Jr. Faces at Hearings; China Denies Lab Leak

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The White House budget office ordered a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government. (Washington Post)

The acting NIH director told scientists that clinical trials could continue, despite a pause in communications about their work. (NBC News)

Senior officials at U.S. Agency for International Development, including leaders overseeing global health aid, were put on paid leave in response to what an official characterized as resistance to President Donald Trump’s policy. (New York Times)

Have the Trump administration’s changes at federal health agencies affected you? Contact MedPage Today here to tell your story.

Here’s what Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead HHS, might face in his nomination hearings this week. (KFF Health News)

The Wall Street Journal‘s editorial board came out in opposition to Kennedy. (The Hill)

Kennedy said he’s open to seizing drug patents in a closed-door meeting with Senate Finance Committee staffers. (Politico)

Heart disease remains a leading cause of death, fueled by increases in risk factors like obesity and high blood pressure. (Circulation)

The shortage of immediate-release mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall) to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder may have prompted a scramble towards alternative stimulants for kids. (American Academy of Pediatrics)

Trump said he would consider rejoining the World Health Organization, but said that they “would have to clean it up.” (Reuters)

China says it’s “extremely unlikely” that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a lab leak, as the CIA recently said. (The Hill)

While a bird flu pandemic in humans is not inevitable, recent developments seem worrisome. (New York Times)

The first U.S. outbreak of H5N9, a strain of bird flu rarer than H5N1, was reported on a California duck farm. (Reuters)

An infectious disease expert warned that windblown bird poop may transit the virus. (CBS News)

In South Carolina, bird flu is being blamed for soaring eggs prices of $9 a dozen. (The Post and Courier)

Acting HHS head Dorothy Fink, MD, said the agency will review government programs to ensure taxpayer dollars aren’t being used for elective abortions.

Trump signed executive orders to reinstate military service members who were dismissed for not getting vaccinated and eliminate “gender radicalism” in the military. (ABC News)

A cancer patient had her arm suddenly amputated. Her open-casket funeral for the arm went viral. (USA Today)