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The US health agency has updated its official website to reflect the vaccine skepticism of a senior Trump official, backpedaling on its own years of efforts to combat misinformation on the topic.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Wednesday revised its site with language that muddies its previous scientifically grounded position that immunizations do not cause the developmental disability autism.Years of research demonstrate that there is no causal link between vaccinations and autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders.But Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, has long voiced anti-vaccine rhetoric and inaccurate claims connecting the two — and now has inserted his own views into official US advice.The CDC webpage on vaccines and autism had previously stated that studies show “no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder,” citing a body of high-quality research including a 2013 study from the agency itself.That text reflects medical and scientific consensus.But the changes rebuke it. The website now repeats unfounded information that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”The revised language accuses health authorities of having “ignored” research supporting a link and said the US health department “has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism.”The false theory linking the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism stems from a flawed study published in 1998, which was retracted for including falsified data. Its results have not been replicated and are refuted by subsequent research.- ‘Do not trust this agency’ -The CDC website edits were met with anger, fear and concern by career scientists and other public health figures who have spent years combatting such false information.”The weaponization of the voice of CDC is getting worse,” said Demetre Daskalakis, the former director of the agency’s arm focused on immunization and respiratory diseases, who resigned earlier this year in protest.”This is a public health emergency,” he said on X, saying the site was “updated to cause chaos without scientific basis.” “DO NOT TRUST THIS AGENCY.”Susan Kressly, president of American Academy of Pediatrics, said “we call on the CDC to stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine immunizations.”Pointing to “40 high-quality studies,” she said that “the conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There’s no link between vaccines and autism.”The anti-vaccine advocacy group Children’s Health Defense meanwhile praised the revisions. The organization’s CEO Mary Holland said “thank you, Bobby” on X.Kennedy is the founder and former chairman of the nonprofit.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday evoked the death penalty for Democratic lawmakers who urged the military to refuse illegal orders, calling them traitors and accusing them of sedition.The group of Democratic senators and representatives, who all have military or intelligence service backgrounds, made the comments in a video posted Tuesday on X.They did not specify which orders they were referring to, but Trump’s administration has come under fire for its employment of US forces both at home and abroad.”This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???,” Trump said on Truth Social. He then added in a later post: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”Trump also reposted a message from a user urging him to “hang them” and saying that the first US president, George Washington, would have done the same.The lawmakers behind the message included Senator Mark Kelly, a former member of the Navy and NASA astronaut, and Senator Elissa Slotkin, who served with the CIA in Iraq.The six accused the Trump administration of “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.””Right now, the threats to our constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” they said, adding: “You can refuse illegal orders.”- ‘Not partisan’ -Inside the United States, Trump has ordered the National Guard into multiple US cities, in many cases against the wishes of local officials, in a bid to bring allegedly rampant unrest under control.Abroad, Trump has ordered strikes on a series of alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that have left more than 80 people dead since early September.Experts say the strikes are illegal and amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers.A group of more than 300 former national security officials calling themselves the “Steady State” said in an open letter on Thursday that they strongly supported the six Democrats.They said the principle of military personnel refusing unlawful orders was “not controversial. It is not partisan. It is not new. And it is the bedrock of lawful civilian control of the military.”The White House and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Wednesday both slammed the message from the Democratic lawmakers.Hegseth described it as “Stage 4 TDS,” or “Trump Derangement Syndrome” — a term used by the right to mock the president’s opponents.Trump previously evoked the death penalty in 2023 in relation to his former top US military officer Mark Milley, who became an outspoken critic of the president.After Milley told journalist Bob Woodward that he had secretly called his Chinese counterpart amid tensions after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021, Trump said “in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”

New York’s incoming leftist mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was “ready for whatever happens” when he meets US President Donald Trump in Washington Friday, stressing their shared desire to tackle the cost of living. Trump has previously threatened to deport Uganda-born Mamdani and falsely calls him a communist, but New York’s mayor-elect said Thursday he would “work with anyone to make life more affordable” for residents of the country’s largest city.The mayor-elect noted that tens of thousands of New Yorkers had voted for both Trump and Mamdani over the issue of cost of living, with rents and the cost of essentials higher there than in much of the United States. Democratic socialist Mamdani, elected earlier this month, has positioned himself as part of the resistance against a US president who has pushed the limits of his power, particularly targeting Democrat-run cities.”It’s more critical than ever, given the national crisis of affordability, one that New Yorkers know very well… and the specific challenge many cities are facing in balancing public safety and steps taken by this administration,” Mamdani said.He noted that it was customary for a newly elected New York mayor to meet the US president, and that his staff had reached out to the White House to set up the meeting.Mamdani said that he and Trump had “many disagreements” but that he would “pursue all avenues and meetings that can make our city affordable.”As the first mayoral candidate to surpass the one-million-vote mark in New York since 1969, Mamdani campaigned on pledges of affordable housing and childcare, as well as free rides on city buses and city-run grocery stores. Experts have questioned the financial feasibility of some of Mamdani’s pledges.Anti-immigrant Trump has derided Mamdani’s South Asian name, and threatened to cut federal funding for New York when the Muslim politician takes the reins of New York, which was Trump’s home for decades.Mamdani has not backed down from Trump, calling out the 79-year-old Republican during his victory rally earlier this month.White House meetings have been perilous affairs for leaders who have displeased Trump, with the US president notably attacking the presidents of Ukraine and South Africa during visits to the Oval Office.

A flying piece of cosmic rock or an alien threat? Comet 3I/ATLAS is hurtling through our solar system and captivating scientists and internet users alike, even prompting Kim Kardashian to ask NASA for answers.Questions on whether the comet could actually be an alien spacecraft are coming from sources as varied as the reality TV star, a member of US Congress and a Harvard researcher, as well as from prominent conspiracy theorists.But that theory has been shot down by NASA, which released new images of the comet on Wednesday after the speculation gained traction online.”It’s amazing to see how people are really engaged in the discussion,” said Thomas Puzia, an astrophysicist who led the team at the Chilean observatory that made the discovery.But, “it’s very dangerous and to a certain degree misleading to put speculations ahead of scientific process,” he told AFP in a thinly veiled criticism of another researcher who has been insisting for weeks that the extraterrestrial spacecraft hypothesis cannot be ruled out.”The facts, all of them without exception, point to a normal object that is coming from the interstellar space to us,” he said.He added the comet was “very exceptional in its nature, but it’s nothing that we cannot explain with physics.”- Seeking signs of life –Since its detection in July, the comet has generated intense speculation — unsurprisingly so, given it is only the third interstellar object foreign to our solar system ever discovered to be passing through.The first was the Oumuamua comet, which sparked similar ripples of excitement and debate in 2017.Even then, Harvard Professor Avi Loeb supported the theory that Oumuamua could be a spacecraft, a controversial position he later defended in a book. He has now accused his scientific peers of lacking open-mindedness when it comes to Comet 3I/ATLAS.”Obviously, it could be natural,” he told AFP. “But I said: we have to consider the possibility that it’s technological because if it is then the implications for humanity will be huge.”NASA, however, did not agree.”We want very much to find signs of life in the universe… but 3I/ATLAS is a comet,” said Amit Kshatriya, a senior NASA official, at a press conference on Wednesday.The debate risked overshadowing the very real wonder that 3I/ATLAS represents, according to Puzia who said it offered “an unprecedented insight into an extrasolar system, potentially billions of years older than our own solar system.”- ‘Goosebumps’ -If there is one thing everyone agrees on, it is that 3I/ATLAS is anything but ordinary.The comet holds many mysteries, particularly regarding its origin and exact composition, which scientists hope to unravel through close observation in the coming weeks as it gets closer to Earth.This small, solid body composed of rock and ice from the far reaches of space could help us better understand how “planets might form” or even “how life might form around other stars in the Milky Way Galaxy in different times of the evolutionary history of the galaxy,” according to Puzia.NASA scientist Tom Statler described having “goosebumps” when thinking about the comet’s origins.”We can’t say this for sure, but the likelihood is it came from a solar system older than our own solar system itself,” he said. “It’s a window into the deep past, and so deep in the past that it predates even the formation of our Earth and our Sun.”Unlike the two interstellar objects detected previously and only briefly studied, astronomers have had months to observe 3I/ATLAS.And they hope this is just the beginning, thanks to improving technology for observation and detection.”We should be finding many, many more of them every year,” Darryl Seligman of Michigan State University told AFP.

No country can be allowed to bully another, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday in a jab at the United States which is boycotting the G20 summit of leading economies in South Africa this weekend.Washington has also demanded that South Africa does not issue the traditional joint leaders’ statement after the meeting, where around 40 countries will be present.”It cannot be that a country’s geographical location or income or army determines who has a voice and who is spoken down to,” Ramaphosa told delegates at a curtain-raiser event in a clear reference to Washington.”It basically means there should be no bullying of one nation by another,” he said in an address to a gathering of civil society groups ahead of the November 22-23 summit in Johannesburg.Relations between South Africa and the United States have plummeted this year over a number of foreign and domestic differences.The US embassy confirmed it would not attend the summit in a note to South Africa, saying Pretoria’s G20 priorities “run counter to the US policy views and we cannot support consensus on any documents negotiated under your presidency.”South Africa replied that the United States’ absence from the event negated its role.Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Pretoria would press ahead with a leaders’ declaration. “We will not be told by anyone who is absent that we cannot adopt a declaration or make any decisions at the summit,” he said in an address after Ramaphosa had spoken.”If we do not end up with a declaration, it will not be on the basis that someone who is absent told us,” he said.South Africa chose “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” as the theme of its presidency of the G20, which comprises 19 countries and two regional bodies, the European Union and the African Union. Its members account for 85 percent of global GDP and around two-thirds of the world’s population.Its agenda focuses on strengthening disaster resilience, improving debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing a “just energy transition”, and harnessing “critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development”.This is the first G20 summit to be held in Africa.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva put his “roadmap” from fossil fuels back at the top of UN climate talks in Belem on Wednesday, despite the failure of a bold bid to seal an early deal.Lula flew into the Amazonian city to bring the weight of the presidency to the summit, in a rare late-stage visit by a head of state or government at the annual gathering.COP30 host Brazil released a draft pact on Tuesday and pushed negotiators to work through the night, hoping to get nations to agree on the most disputed points as soon as Wednesday — two days before the conference is scheduled to end.Lula, who has invested political capital into making what he dubbed the “COP of truth” a success, shuttled between rooms to meet with ministers of various negotiating groups.He burst jovially into the evening’s press conference two hours late, singing the praises of Belem and the state of Para, boasting: “From the beginning, I had no doubt that we were going to organize the best COP of all those held so far.”He then returned to his “roadmap” away from oil, coal and gas that he first floated earlier this month, lighting the fuse for the summit’s ambitious tone.”We need to show society that we want this without imposing anything on anyone, without setting deadlines for each country to decide what it can do within its own time, within its own possibilities,” he said. “But we are serious — we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need to start thinking about how to live without fossil fuels.”- No more money -Lula “said clearly the roadmap is what he wants to see coming out of the conference,” Marcio Astrini of Brazil’s Climate Observatory told AFP.”We need to see all this optimism reflected in the final text,” added Greenpeace Brazil.Still, much work remains to reach consensus, not only on the roadmap away from fossil fuels — supported by a coalition of more than 80 countries but opposed by the oil-producing bloc — but also on trade measures and other divisive topics.Negotiators are notably at odds over pressure from the developing world for developed countries to provide more financing to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change and deploy renewable energy.The COP29 summit in Baku last year concluded with developed nations agreeing to provide $300 billion a year in climate finance, a figure criticized by developing countries as woefully insufficient.The EU, where many countries are facing economic headwinds and soaring debt, has led the opposition to demands for more money.”We’re not looking at any increases in adaptation finance,” Irish climate minister Darragh O’Brien said.The EU is also fighting attempts led by China and major developing economies to have language against its tax on imports of carbon-intensive goods such as steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizers.- Grants, not loans -“There should be at least a mention (of trade measures), because they become a disabler instead of an enabler. So, I think they will be mentioned in some way,” Mexican environment minister Alicia Barcena told AFP.Aisha Humera Moriani, Pakistan’s head of delegation, told AFP that “it’s extremely important that we find something on the operationalization of that $300 billion.” She added that most of the funding should boost climate-vulnerable countries’ resilience to extreme weather and a larger share needs to come as grants, rather than loans that further burden poor nations with debt.A new text is expected to be published on Wednesday.COP30 is due to end on Friday, but climate summits regularly run into overtime.In a sign that Brazil wants to stay on schedule, delegates sleeping on two cruise ships serving as floating hotels have been told to vacate their cabins on Saturday morning.

Denton Loudermill Jr. watched every Kansas City Chiefs game at his sister’s house with his family. The Kansas native and his late father were diehard fans.So, when the 2024 Super Bowl champions’ victory parade coincided with the one-year anniversary of his dad’s death, Loudermill thought attending would be healing.He donned a Chiefs-red sweatshirt, matching sweatpants and Jordan sneakers that his sister, Reba Paul, said were the only “flashy” thing about him.By nightfall, images of Loudermill in that same sweatsuit were plastered across social media, with internet sleuths falsely accusing him of a shooting at the parade that killed one and injured 22 others.Many posts, including one amplified by now-Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and state senator Rick Brattin, misidentified Loudermill as “Sahil Omar” — a fictional “illegal immigrant” hoaxers have linked to multiple atrocities.The misinformation sent the father of three into a year-long spiral of paranoia. He lost weight. He developed post-traumatic stress disorder. At the car wash where he worked, he saw customers compare him to photos online.Eventually, Loudermill sought therapy, but he never made his third appointment in April. That morning, he was found unresponsive on his living-room floor. He was 49.An autopsy report said Loudermill died accidentally from cocaine, synthetic marijuana and alcohol. It mentioned PTSD and depression and that he was drinking in excess the previous two days, but said he did not have a history of suicidal thoughts.Loudermill’s sisters, however, trace his passing to the lies that derailed his “simple” life.”He would still be here today had it not been for that,” said Paul, who is pursuing a legal case against Hoskins and Brattin. “It took away his peace.”- ‘Living hell’ – Loudermill was alone at the rally when shots rang out. His brother Quincy and another sister, Stephanie Fairweather, left early.The violence emerged from a dispute, authorities said. Two men and two juveniles were charged.Amid the chaos, officers handcuffed Loudermill and sat him on a curb. Multiple news outlets, including AFP, took photos and videos as he was detained.It emerged that he was only briefly held for moving “too slow” under police direction and was not connected to the shooting.AFP swiftly updated its photo captions to reflect his release and within 24 hours published a fact-check debunking the misinformation about him that was spreading rapidly online.In an X post sharing Loudermill’s picture, US Congressman Tim Burchett announced that one of the shooters had been “identified as an illegal Alien.”Similar claims piled up. Threats followed.”It was just like wildfire,” LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, Loudermill’s attorney, told AFP. “It was a huge injustice to Denton.”Suddenly fearing for his safety, Loudermill told his sister, “They really think I’m out here killing people, killing kids.”He tried to clear his name, telling one interviewer that life was “a living hell” and calling for remorse from the politicians.Burchett deleted his post and clarified that the shooter was not an immigrant, but his correction failed to say Loudermill was not a suspect.Neither Burchett, Hoskins nor Brattin — who also deleted their posts — responded to AFP’s requests for comment.Loudermill also turned to the courts, but the dragging process tormented him.A lawsuit against Burchett collapsed over jurisdictional issues, while suits against Hoskins and Brattin remain ongoing in Missouri.Last month, a judge denied requests by the state lawmakers to dismiss their cases. Paul said the family intends “to fight for our brother until our dying day.”George Washington University’s Mary Anne Franks, a free speech and technology law expert, said social media has made full accountability elusive.”What depresses me about these cases is that even if they’re ultimately successful, the damage is really impossible to undo.”- ‘Is everything OK?’ -In the months after the false accusations started, Loudermill’s sisters agonized as their brother — who once made friends everywhere — grew scared of crowds.”He was always worried about somebody looking at him,” Fairweather said.The day before he died, Loudermill texted his lawyer Saunders: “Is everything OK?”It was their final correspondence.”Imagine having the false accusations you’re illegal, you’re a terrorist, you shot children,” Saunders said. “That’s a lot.”The loss remains heavy on Loudermill’s siblings. Fairweather took time off work due to depression. When they search the shooting online, the false claims about their brother still pop up.

Some of Jim Henson’s most memorable creations go under the hammer in California next week, with the first US auction of puppets and memorabilia from the late entertainer’s decades-long career.Highlights include a pair of shoes worn by the domineering Miss Piggy in a “Muppets” movie, as well as puppets from “Fraggle Rock” and characters from the Netflix series “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.”Fans will have the chance to bid on more than 400 items at the November 25 auction, which is also being held online on the Julien’s Auctions website.”This is the first time ever that you can buy an authorized, authentic piece of Jim Henson Company memorabilia,” said Roy Parker, pop culture specialist at the auction house. Henson, who died in 1990, revolutionized puppetry by making the rigid figures maneuverable, latterly through his Creature Shop, creating now-instantly recognizable characters like Kermit the Frog.He also imagined entire universes that came to life in films like “Labyrinth” (1986) and “The Dark Crystal” (1982). His creations are “very nostalgic, because they remind everybody of their childhood and when they first saw Kermit the Frog up on screen,” said Parker.The auction, which will be held in person in Los Angeles as well as online, commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Jim Henson Company and is expected to raise tens of thousands of dollars.

Fireworks and dancing erupted across Haiti in a reprieve from gang violence as people came together to celebrate their national team punching its ticket to the 2026 World Cup.Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, will be making its first appearance on international football’s biggest stage in more than 50 years, and only its second overall, after qualifying for the tournament on Tuesday night.”We need a national holiday to celebrate it, with schools closed. We need pleasure and joy. Unlock the country and eradicate the gangs,” an ecstatic fan in Port-au-Prince told AFP.But even the gangs joined in on the celebrations that stretched into Wednesday in the capital and other cities such as Cap-Haitien and Miragoane. Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherisier, the UN-sanctioned leader of a gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm (Living Together), was seen in videos posted to social media partying with residents in his neighborhood.Just three days earlier, the gang boss had announced his intention to confront the police as he urged residents of Port-au-Prince to stay indoors. In Haiti’s main city, thousands of people celebrated in the streets to the rhythm of popular songs and chants performed by rara bands, the country’s festive music.Several fans paraded shirtless, waving national flags amid applause and fireworks.”I shouldn’t be out on the street at this hour, but since it’s for Haiti, I’m doing it anyway,” said supporter Widenie Bruno. Because of security concerns stemming from the gang threat in Port-au-Prince, the national team had to play all of its qualifying home matches in the Caribbean island nation of Curacao.It was there that Haiti, known as the Grenadiers, beat Nicaragua 2-0 to clinch their spot in the World Cup, which will be staged in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.  Haitian fans, however, may not be able to travel to the US to watch their team play because, in June, President Donald Trump’s administration included Haiti among 12 countries whose citizens are banned from entering the United States.- ‘So proud’ – Haiti’s qualification brings a moment of relief for a population strained and exhausted by the violence of organized gangs, which control 90 percent of the capital.Those groups, accused of murders, rapes, looting, and kidnappings, have contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis in Haiti, a small nation long burdened by political instability.The situation has worsened since early 2024, when gangs forced the then-prime minister Ariel Henry to resign.But on Tuesday night, everyone in the nation seemed focused on what was happening in Curacao.After the victory against Nicaragua, Haitian fans still had to wait for Costa Rica and Honduras to play to a scoreless draw before they could celebrate what had seemed impossible — Haiti’s first berth in the World Cup since 1974, when West Germany hosted the tournament. Another young fan of the Grenadiers said he planned to party all night long — whatever the cost.”I am so proud of Haiti that I will spend everything tonight,” he said. “I will wake up broke. We will spend the night in the streets.”

Nvidia shares climbed Wednesday after it beat quarterly earnings expectations on fierce demand for its sophisticated chips that power artificial intelligence.The solid results come amid increasing talk among Wall Street analysts of an AI bubble, with all eyes on how Nvidia, the industry’s bellwether company, will weather the doubts.”There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble,” Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said on an earnings call.”From our vantage point, we see something very different.”Jensen reasoned that companies around the world are shifting from classical computing machines and software relying on CPUs to AI-infused systems needing graphics processing units (GPUs) that are Nvidia’s specialty.Add to that software programs rapidly adapting to the AI age and a trend of AI “agents” capable of independently tending to computer work, according to Jensen.”Nvidia is chosen because our singular architecture enables all three transitions across every phase of AI,” Jensen said.”Our customer financing is up to them. We see opportunity to grow for quite some time.”AI is already paying off for internet giants in the form of improved recommendation engines and efficiencies, according to Jensen.”The internet has trillions of pieces of content,” Jensen said.”How could they possibly figure out what to put in front of you and your tiny screen, unless they have really sophisticated recommender systems to do so well — that has gone generative AI.”AI industry rivals have been pouring billions of dollars into Nvidia’s prized GPUs to power the technology despite questions regarding how the investments will pay off.Wedbush analyst Dan Ives referred to Nvidia earnings as a “pop the champagne” moment for the tech sector and a sign that worries of an AI bubble are overstated.- China sales stalled -Nvidia reported profit of $31.9 billion on record-high quarterly revenue of $57 billion, sending shares up more than 5 percent.It also took in some 60 percent more money in the quarter than it did during the same period the prior year, according to earnings figures.”Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out,” Huang said, referring to the latest model of its state-of-the-art hardware.”The AI ecosystem is scaling fast — with more new foundation model makers, more AI startups, across more industries, and in more countries.”Revenue in the current quarter is expected to be $65.0 billion, nearly $3 billion more than forecast by Wall Street analysts.Most of the money brought in during the recently ended quarter came from Nvidia’s unit devoted to GPUs for data centers.Nvidia was valued at more than $4.5 trillion based on the number of outstanding shares.In the period, Nvidia announced strategic partnerships with OpenAI to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of systems for next-generation AI infrastructure, while Anthropic will adopt one gigawatt of compute capacity using Nvidia’s latest systems.Nvidia is caught up in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, where Beijing has responded by expressing national security concerns about Nvidia chips and urging Chinese businesses to rely on local suppliers instead.Sales of H-20 GPUs, which are designed for the Chinese market due to US restrictions on exports of AI chips to that country, tallied only $50 million in the quarter, according to chief financial officer Colette Kress.”Sizable purchase orders never materialized in the quarter due to geopolitical issues and the increasingly competitive market in China,” Kress said on an earnings call.”To establish a sustainable leadership position in AI computing, America must win the support of every developer and be the platform of choice for every commercial business, including those in China.”