FDA vaccine chief leaving agency after less than 3 months
Dr. Vinay Prasad 'did not want to be a distraction' and was stepping down from his role as the FDA's top vaccine regulator 'to spend more time with his family,' a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement late Tuesday.
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CBS News
25 minutes ago
- CBS News
Pan-Mass Challenge ends first day in Bourne with cheers, celebration
A community of champions came together this weekend to take part in the Pan-Mass Challenge to find a cure for cancer. "I'm not a doctor so I can't cure cancer, but this is my way of doing something for those who can," Brenda Williams, from Team MAPFRE Insurance, said. From Sturbridge to Provincetown and all cities and town in between, more than 6,500 riders pedaled with purpose for the two-day event. One hundred percent of every rider-raised dollar goes to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to accelerate research and treatment. This year's riders come from 12 countries and 47 states and territories. Many are riding in honor of or in memory of a loved one with cancer. More than 1,000 riders and volunteers are also cancer survivors or patients themselves. At the water stop in Lakeville, pedal partners gathered with pediatric patients being treated at the Jimmy Fund Clinic who have come to cheer on the team. Tilly, 6½, was diagnosed with cancer when she was 2 years old. She has an inoperable tumor in her spine. "Go PMC," she shouted. The family has been part of the PMC long before she was diagnosed. "We cheered the riders on 10 years ago, when Tilly had no affiliation, and now, we cheer for them riding because we are now affected by cancer as well," Tilly's mom, Clair Storck, said. Tilly's dad, Josh Danoff, is proud of his daughter. "We were able to start a fund for Tilly at Dana-Farber that does research on spinal cord tumors, so the money that is raised goes to her fund," he said. This year is Chris Kay's third PMC. He and his team at M&T Bank crossed the finish line in Bourne. "Both my parents and all of my siblings suffered from cancer, and we lost a few of them. You know, I was riding for their courage." The ride will continue on Sunday to Provincetown
San Francisco Chronicle
26 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Smithsonian denies White House pressure to remove Trump impeachment references
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House did not pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation 'in the coming weeks,' the museum said Saturday. The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. 'We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that 'a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments,' but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum on Saturday did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called 'Limits of Presidential Power.' The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. 'The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation,' the statement said. 'It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard.' Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice — in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for 'incitement of insurrection,' a reference to the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory.
NBC News
27 minutes ago
- NBC News
Smithsonian will again include Trump in impeachment exhibit in 'coming weeks'
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will include President Donald Trump in an exhibit focused on presidential impeachments after the removal of a placard noting Trump's two impeachments sparked concerns this week over the White House's influence on the institution. In a statement on Saturday, the Smithsonian detailed its decision to remove the Trump placard from the "Impeachment" section of an exhibit titled "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden," saying the decision was not influenced by politics, but rather the conditions of the placard. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a 25-year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the Smithsonian's Saturday statement read. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." The "Impeachment" section of the exhibit "will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect all impeachment proceedings in our nation's history," the Smithsonian said. The Washington Post was the first to report on the changes to the exhibit. According to the Post, the Trump references were removed from the exhibit after the Smithsonian undertook a content review following pressure from the White House and accusations of partisan bias. In its statement, the Smithsonian said "we were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit." 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden' exhibit was created in 2000 and hasn't been formally updated since 2008, a spokesperson for the Smithsonian told NBC News on Thursday. In lieu of an update, which the museum indicated would be costly, the Smithsonian in 2021 affixed a placard noting Trump's two impeachments to the exhibit. 'It was intended to be a short-term measure to address current events at the time, however, the label remained in place until July 2025," the spokesperson said Thursday. Because the exhibit, which also covers Congress and the Supreme Court, hadn't been updated since 2008, the museum decided to restore the 'Impeachment' section of the gallery 'back to its 2008 appearance," the spokesperson said at the time. The decision to remove the Trump label drew criticism from lawmakers, particularly as Trump has sought to exert his influence over the Smithsonian, which encompasses 21 museums, nine research centers and a zoo. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday accused Trump of attempting to "rewrite history." "He is censoring the American History Museum. It's Orwellian. It's downright Orwellian. It's something you'd see in an authoritarian regime," Schumer said. "Here's my message to the president: no matter what exhibits you try to distort, the American people will never forget that you were impeached not once, but twice." Trump has called for a reimagining of the Smithsonian, accusing the cultural institution in March of coming 'under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology' and signing an executive order to 'restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.' In that order, Trump directed Vice President JD Vance to work with the Smithsonian's Board of Regents to "remove improper ideology" from the museums. Trump also barred spending on exhibits or programs "that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy." Last week, artist Amy Sherald said she withdrew her exhibit from the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery after concerns were raised about a portrait she featured of a transgender woman dressed like the Statue of Liberty. "I was informed by the National Portrait Gallery that concerns had been raised internally about the museum's inclusion of a portrait of a trans woman titled Trans Forming Liberty. These concerns led to discussions about removing the work from the exhibition," Sherald said in a statement. "I cannot in good conscience comply with a culture of censorship, especially when it targets vulnerable communities." A spokesperson for the Smithsonian refuted Sherald's characterization of the incident, arguing that that the artist was not asked to remove the painting, but rather the museum wanted to contextualize the portrait through a video featuring differing opinions of it. "The Smithsonian strives to foster a greater and shared understanding. By presenting and contextualizing art, the Smithsonian aims to inspire, challenge and impact audiences in meaningful and thoughtful ways. Unfortunately, we could not come to an agreement with the artist," the spokesperson said.
