- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
- Germany pledges security inquest into Christmas market attack
- Death toll in Brazil bus crash rises to 41
- Joshua bout only fight left for beaten Fury says promoter Hearn
- Odermatt stays hot to break Swiss World Cup wins record
- Neville says Rashford's career at Man Utd nearing 'inevitable ending'
- Syria's new leader vows not to negatively interfere in Lebanon
- Germany pledges security inquest after Christmas market attack
- Putin vows 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack
- Understated Usyk seeks recognition among boxing legends
- France awaits appointment of new government
Trump defends health pick RFK Jr over vaccine stance
Donald Trump defended his nomination of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy for health secretary as the US president elect offered up debunked data linking vaccines and autism in his first post-election news conference on Monday.
Kennedy, one of the most contentious appointees Trump has announced for his cabinet, needs Senate confirmation to take up the position in January and faces an uphill climb due to his longstanding reputation as a conspiracy theorist who promotes health misinformation.
Trump was asked by reporters at his beachside club in Florida to respond to criticism that Kennedy's enmity for inoculations could lead to children being harmed. He called his nominee a "highly respected man who has run an incredible company."
"I think he's going to be much less radical than you would think," Trump said. "I think he's got a very open mind, or I wouldn't have put him there."
Trump added that he himself had been against mandating the Covid-19 shot in schools during the 2020 pandemic and appeared open to the possibility that vaccines cause autism -- a widely debunked claim that stems from a retracted British study from the 1990s.
"We're going to look into finding why is the autism rate so much higher than it was 20, 25, 30 years ago?" he said.
"I mean, it's like, it's 100 times higher. There's something wrong, and we're going to try finding that."
While autism is indeed diagnosed much more frequently now than in the past, research suggests that the increase is due to changes to diagnostic criteria, increased awareness and better screening.
Multiple studies have uncovered no evidence of a connection between vaccination and autism.
Trump's own record on vaccines is spotty.
During his first term, he oversaw Operation Warp Speed, calling the landmark mission to create a Covid-19 shot in record time "one of the greatest miracles of the ages."
And on Monday he told reporters he was a "big believer" in the polio vaccine.
But Trump began publicly musing about a link between vaccines and autism a decade before his first term in office.
He was asked Monday if schools should force children to get shots and he responded that he was "not a big mandate person" and suggested he had been against vaccine requirements during the pandemic.
During a wide-ranging press conference, Trump also vowed to work with Kennedy -- known as RFK Jr -- to reduce America's sky-high prescription drug costs by eliminating "middlemen" who had got "rich as hell."
Trump ordered a $35-per-month cap on insulin in his first term for some welfare recipients but it was President Joe Biden that made the restriction permanent and vastly expanded its beneficiaries by signing a law.
Kennedy, who has said he does not plan to take vaccines off the market, is set to meet with at least 25 Republican senators this week and can afford to lose only three in total in his confirmation hearing early next year if Democrats all vote against him.
P.Stevenson--AMWN