What's Happening

Health

RFK Jr. Wants To Tackle Autism — But His Approach Is Far From Popular

What's going on: A plan to create a registry tracking millions of Americans with autism is drawing the reaction you’d expect: backlash. As Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tries to fulfill his promise to find the root causes of autism by September, he’s directed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use federal records, private insurer claims, and even smartwatch and fitness tracker data to keep tabs on Americans’ info. The move comes as RFK Jr. makes autism a central focus of his tenure, calling the disorder an “epidemic” and attributing it to environmental factors and vaccines. (Note: Decades of research dispute those claims.) Last week, he said that autism is “preventable” and that people with the disorder can’t play sports or pay taxes — neither of which is true.

What it means: There’s no doubt that autism diagnoses in the US have increased. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 1 in 31 children were diagnosed as being on the spectrum in 2022 — about five times higher than in 2000. Health experts say improved diagnostic tools and a better understanding of autism could explain the rise in cases. While RFK Jr. did not provide a clear timeline on when the data collection will begin, advocacy groups and critics worry his rhetoric is fueling stigma around autism. Privacy is another concern — even though the NIH promised to keep patient information confidential. Kennedy said having the data readily available would also help agencies with “real-time health monitoring” for Americans dealing with other problems. Because that makes us feel better.

Related: Next on RFK Jr.’s Agenda: Going After Sugar (The Guardian)

Economy

Trump Floats Tariff Cuts As Americans Lose Faith in the Economy

What's going on: President Donald Trump might be having a change of heart in an effort to ease the US’s dysfunctional trade relationship with Beijing and calm the markets. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump may scale back the 145% tariffs levied on Chinese goods earlier this month. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted this week that the trade war with China isn’t sustainable and predicted tensions would ease soon. Trump backed that up Wednesday, saying Beijing is basically “not doing any business with us.” As Trump and China wait to see who blinks first, analysts warn that trade between the two countries could “dry up within months” if the standoff continues. Meanwhile, a dozen states are suing to stop the tariffs, calling them chaotic, illegal — and a tax on American families.

What it means: Some experts say Trump’s shift feels less like a calculated pivot and more like damage control. His aggressive tariffs, combined with public attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, seem to have alarmed Wall Street and triggered warnings from top CEOs about financial chaos and empty shelves. The president now seems to be softening his overall messaging. Meanwhile, confidence in his economic playbook is crumbling. Recent polls put Trump’s economic approval at 37%. And 55% of Americans don’t trust the president to make sound financial decisions, according to a Pew Research Center survey. To top it off, for the first time in over 20 years, most Americans say their financial situation is getting worse. So while the economy might not be in a recession yet, confidence seems to be circling the drain.

Related: Target Faces Fresh Backlash, Calls for a Boycott (AP)

US News

The Bench Is Getting More Dangerous — Especially for Women

What's going on: As the Trump administration continues to clash with the judiciary, concerns about judges’ safety — especially women on the bench — are growing. From 2021 to 2023, serious threats against federal judges more than doubled, and the trend continued into 2024, even as investigations into those threats declined, according to The 19th. With President Trump now calling out judges by name, many say the fear is becoming more tangible. Texas Judge Julie Kocurek, who survived a 2015 shooting by a defendant she sentenced, told The 19th that women judges are more likely to face violence. While hard data is limited, early research backs what many on the bench already know: Your gender can make you more of a target. “In order to do our jobs, we have to feel safe,” Kocurek said. “It goes to the core of our legal system and our democracy.” 

What it means: Judges like Kocurek are speaking out and pitching solutions — including more security and better risk assessments — and they’re beginning to see some traction. Last month, the federal judiciary created its own safety risk assessment task force, following a spike in threats. Among them, a fake bomb scare and a disturbing new tactic, according to Judge Esther Salas: pizzas delivered to judges’ homes, ordered under the name of her murdered son. (He was killed by a lawyer who had appeared in her courtroom.) “I’ve often talked about the violence against the judiciary being a barn fire that’s been burning for some time,” Salas told ABC News, adding she believed leaders in the US were increasingly “throwing fuel on this fire.” 

Related: “Breathtaking in Its Audacity” — Experts Weigh In on Trump’s Increasing Judicial Conflicts (CNN)