Dan Diamond

Ugh, thanks. Deleted and reposted.

A Battle with My Blood When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.

This is achingly beautiful and almost too painful to read in places (but you still should). The cruelty of cancer, the longing to be with your children — and the twist of fate, being RFK Jr’s cousin as he unwinds U.S. health research.

Top FDA drug regulator raises alarms about expediting approvals Richard Pazdur, who assumed his new role this month, has warned that new Trump administration initiatives could be illegal and pose a risk to public health.

Makary is also pushing to change FDA regs affecting depressants, puberty blockers and psychedelics, seeking to cut career scientists out of decisions, our sources told us.

Pazdur has pushed back, saying career experts must have input.

He has also mused about abruptly retiring.

More in our story→

Pazdur and Makary have disagreed over the commissioner’s plan to reduce the number of research studies needed to justify more drug-related decisions, such as changes to drug labels, two of the people said. Makary has argued his plan to reduce the burden of proof to a single study would allow the agency to more quickly respond to new evidence. Pazdur has countered that multiple studies may be necessary in many cases and would better protect public health. Pazdur has also raised concerns about Makary’s new drug-review program, which has been part of Trump’s push for lower drug prices and efforts to boost domestic manufacturing. Pazdur told colleagues the program — which allows the agency to significantly shorten review times and expedite approvals for treatments that are aligned with the country’s health priorities — is not sufficiently transparent and could be illegal, the people said. The Trump administration has partly leaned on the program as it seeks to strike deals with drug companies to voluntarily cut their prices in exchange for quick drug approvals and other benefits.

Pazdur, a longtime FDA employee, has taken issue with Commissioner Marty Makary's plans to reduce the number of research studies needed to justify more drug-related decisions — with Makary arguing just one study is sufficient.

Also has warned that new Trump drug voucher plan may not be legal.

Top FDA drug regulator raises alarms about expediting approvals Richard Pazdur, who assumed his new role this month, has warned that new Trump administration initiatives could be illegal and pose a risk to public health.

exclusive: Rick Pazdur, the official just tapped by Trump administration to be FDA's top drug regulator has privately warned that some of the agency's new initiatives could be illegal and dangerous.

w @rachelroubein.bsky.social

Elon Musk's Reality Distortion Machine Just Glitched Musk's "maximally truth-seeking" AI briefly revealed what it really is: a tool for manufacturing reality that serves the world's richest man.

"Musk will tweak the prompts. The flattery will become more subtle. The bias will be harder to detect. And millions of people will keep using it, trusting it, letting it shape their understanding of the world."

@parkermolloy.com on the actual danger behind Grok's ludicrous answers.

As noted in February — if Cassidy was worried about the U.S. health secretary undermining trust on vaccine safety, there was a very simple tool he had to affect that.

Instead, he broke a logjam and voted for RFK Jr.

life IS lived forward

unless you die really prematurely and needlessly because of preventable diseases

Anna also asked Cassidy directly: do you regret your vote for RFK Jr?

Cassidy declined to answer, saying “life is lived forward” and he’s focused on vaccine safety.

Cassidy sat with @punchbowlnews.bsky.social today, where Anna Palmer asked if RFK Jr has abandoned his promises to the senator.

Cassidy dodged the question, talking broadly about the tragedy of failing vaccination rates and declining public trust.

Under RFK Jr., CDC promotes false vaccines-autism link it once discredited The CDC’s website now says health authorities ignored evidence of a potential connection between vaccines and autism, despite dozens of studies showing no link.

Story today from the great @lenasun.bsky.social, who tracked down shocked CDC scientists who said they didn’t know the website was changing.

She also summarizes RFK Jr’s efforts to resurrect false claims on autism this year.

RFK Jr’s personal life has been in the spotlight this week. (And, look, I’m a human and a journalist — I get it.)

But what I think deserves more scrutiny: his role as a Cabinet secretary overseeing America’s public health system — with vast authority to affect our daily lives.

RFK Jr had committed to Bill Cassidy, as a condition to win his vote, that he would keep website language.

Cassidy in February: “If confirmed… CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.”

Note the language in second photo.

CDC plans study on vaccines and autism despite research showing no link President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have repeatedly raised the idea that autism could be linked to vaccines.

As we and others have repeatedly reported, credible researchers have said there is no link between vaccines and autism.

Autism and Vaccines QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS PAGE 2 OF 9 | ALL PAGES J For Everyone NOV. 19, 2025 KEY POINTS • 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. • Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.

HHS Research on Plausible Biologic Mechanisms between Vaccines and Autism HHS will evaluate plausible biologic mechanisms between early childhood vaccinations and autism. Mechanisms for further investigation include the impacts of aluminum adjuvants, risks for certain children with mitochondrial disorders, harms of neuroinflammation, and more. * The header "Vaccines do not cause autism" has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.

CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”

#FOX NEWS Log In Watch TV = Trump's 'new' healthcare idea is a painful prescription for working Americans Republican healthcare plan could push millions of Americans into high-cost coverage with massive deductibles By Jessica Schubel OPINION Fox News We all know this saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." That's how I would describe President Donald Trump's latest healthcare idea: sending money "directly to the people so that they can purchase their own, much better healthcare."

Headline you don’t usually see on Fox News:

“Trump’s ‘new’ healthcare idea is a painful prescription for working Americans”

- Biden appointee Jess Schubel, who leads @dayonestrategies.bsky.social

timeline cleanser

dueling messages around the National Mall

Love the “at stake” focus —

Close your eyes, imagine being paralyzed… unable to breathe

Imagine being stuck in a claustrophobic iron lung, to breathe

Maybe we all need to time travel, to appreciate how science & public health save us, every single day?

GOP plans to replace Obamacare have failed. Here’s what lawmakers propose now. Lawmakers are racing toward a mid-December deadline, with Republicans hoping to present side-by-side legislation with Democrats’ plan to extend ACA subsidies.

Repeal Obamacare” has failed. So now what?

— GOP is sprinting to create ACA alternatives (again)

— Economists warn Trump’s plan won’t work

— Democrats say the best, popular path is to just extend expiring ACA subsidies

At stake: millions of people’s health care

w @paigecunningham.bsky.social

AWFUL ANNOUNCING HOME ESPN Search... FOX NBC MORE E Fans rejoice as ESPN reverts back to longstanding NBA box score format

finally understanding all those stories about mass celebrations when they got rid of New Coke

sometimes I think I’m still hip, I’m with it, and then I read something that makes me feel like I’m aging with every word

🤔

Sorry to disappoint! I’ve been working and parenting — with a few small breaks — and I wasn’t aware anyone was waiting on my posts!

And yes, as someone who covered HHS for nearly a decade, the former HHS chief of staff pleading guilty to stealing from the HHS secretary is interesting to me.

The arrest of Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff is getting the headlines

But my phone is suddenly blowing up with messages about Sean McCluskie, who served as HHS chief of staff to Becerra during the Biden years, and was not always a popular figure in the building

The Penny Dies at 232

The whole story is delightfully done and worth your time — if you're in for a penny, you're in for a pound.

The American penny died on Wednesday in Philadelphia. It was 232. The cause was irrelevance and expensiveness, the Treasury Department said. Nothing could be bought any more with a penny, not even penny candy. Moreover, the cost to mint the penny had risen to more than 3 cents, a financial absurdity that doomed the coin. The final pennies were minted on Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia. Top Treasury officials were on hand for its final journey. No last words were recorded. In its heyday, the penny had immense cultural impact. It was the going rate for thoughts. It was a symbol of frugality, saved and/or earned. It could sometimes be pretty and other times arrive from heaven. And how many ideas would never have come to light without a penny dropping?

I love this lede from NYT's Victor Mather on the death of the penny

Trump airport nominee wants to eliminate Dulles ‘people movers’ The unique shuttles, which have been in operation since 1962, have been blamed for delays and accidents. A White House official Tuesday called them “notorious.”

Trump officials are taking aim at Dulles’s “people movers.”

- a Trump nominee to the board overseeing Dulles says he wants to kill the distinctive shuttles

- the White House signaled support for the plan Tuesday, criticizing the “notorious” vehicles

time is a flat circle

FDA plans to tap oncology-expert Pazdur as nation’s top drug regulator Richard Pazdur, a longtime Food and Drug Administration employee, would lead its center that oversees over-the-counter and the majority of prescription drugs.

scoop: RICHARD PAZDUR set to be named FDA's top drug regulator

He'd initially turned down job leading agency's CDER but reconsidered