jollibet casino
NoneThe team that President-elect Donald Trump has selected to lead federal health agencies in his second administration includes a retired congressman, a surgeon and a former talk-show host. All could play pivotal roles in fulfilling a political agenda that could change how the government goes about safeguarding Americans' health — from health care and medicines to food safety and science research. In line to lead the Department of Health and Human Services secretary is environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine organizer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Trump's choices don't have experience running large bureaucratic agencies, but they know how to talk about health on TV . Centers for Medicare and Medicaid pick Dr. Mehmet Oz hosted a talk show for 13 years and is a well-known wellness and lifestyle influencer. The pick for the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Marty Makary, and for surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, are frequent Fox News contributors. Many on the list were critical of COVID-19 measures like masking and booster vaccinations for young people. Some of them have ties to Florida like many of Trump's other Cabinet nominees: Dave Weldon , the pick for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represented the state in Congress for 14 years and is affiliated with a medical group on the state's Atlantic coast. Nesheiwat's brother-in-law is Rep. Mike Waltz , R-Fla., tapped by Trump as national security adviser. Here's a look at the nominees' potential role in carrying out what Kennedy says is the task to “reorganize” agencies, which have an overall $1.7 trillion budget, employ 80,000 scientists, researchers, doctors and other officials, and effect Americans' daily lives: The Atlanta-based CDC, with a $9.2 billion core budget, is charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats. Kennedy has long attacked vaccines and criticized the CDC, repeatedly alleging corruption at the agency. He said on a 2023 podcast that there is "no vaccine that is safe and effective,” and urged people to resist the CDC's guidelines about if and when kids should get vaccinated . The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past 50 years, and that 100 million of them were infants. Decades ago, Kennedy found common ground with Weldon , 71, who served in the Army and worked as an internal medicine doctor before he represented a central Florida congressional district from 1995 to 2009. Starting in the early 2000s, Weldon had a prominent part in a debate about whether there was a relationship between a vaccine preservative called thimerosal and autism. He was a founding member of the Congressional Autism Caucus and tried to ban thimerosal from all vaccines. Kennedy, then a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, believed there was a tie between thimerosal and autism and also charged that the government hid documents showing the danger. Since 2001, all vaccines manufactured for the U.S. market and routinely recommended for children 6 years or younger have contained no thimerosal or only trace amounts, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine. Meanwhile, study after study after study found no evidence that thimerosal caused autism. Weldon's congressional voting record suggests he may go along with Republican efforts to downsize the CDC, including to eliminate the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which works on topics like drownings, drug overdoses and shooting deaths. Weldon also voted to ban federal funding for needle-exchange programs as an approach to reduce overdoses, and the National Rifle Association gave him an “A” rating for his pro-gun rights voting record. Kennedy is extremely critical of the FDA, which has 18,000 employees and is responsible for the safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs, vaccines and other medical products, as well as overseeing cosmetics, electronic cigarettes and most foods. Makary, Trump’s pick to run the FDA, is closely aligned with Kennedy on several topics . The professor at Johns Hopkins University who is a trained surgeon and cancer specialist has decried the overprescribing of drugs, the use of pesticides on foods and the undue influence of pharmaceutical and insurance companies over doctors and government regulators. Kennedy has suggested he'll clear out “entire” FDA departments and also recently threatened to fire FDA employees for “aggressive suppression” of a host of unsubstantiated products and therapies, including stem cells, raw milk , psychedelics and discredited COVID-era treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Makary's contrarian views during the COVID-19 pandemic included questioning the need for masking and giving young kids COVID-19 vaccine boosters. But anything Makary and Kennedy might want to do when it comes to unwinding FDA regulations or revoking long-standing vaccine and drug approvals would be challenging. The agency has lengthy requirements for removing medicines from the market, which are based on federal laws passed by Congress. The agency provides health care coverage for more than 160 million people through Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, and also sets Medicare payment rates for hospitals, doctors and other providers. With a $1.1 trillion budget and more than 6,000 employees, Oz has a massive agency to run if confirmed — and an agency that Kennedy hasn't talked about much when it comes to his plans. While Trump tried to scrap the Affordable Care Act in his first term, Kennedy has not taken aim at it yet. But he has been critical of Medicaid and Medicare for covering expensive weight-loss drugs — though they're not widely covered by either . Trump said during his campaign that he would protect Medicare, which provides insurance for older Americans. Oz has endorsed expanding Medicare Advantage — a privately run version of Medicare that is popular but also a source of widespread fraud — in an AARP questionnaire during his failed 2022 bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania and in a 2020 Forbes op-ed with a former Kaiser Permanente CEO. Oz also said in a Washington Examiner op-ed with three co-writers that aging healthier and living longer could help fix the U.S. budget deficit because people would work longer and add more to the gross domestic product. Neither Trump nor Kennedy have said much about Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income Americans. Trump's first administration reshaped the program by allowing states to introduce work requirements for recipients. Kennedy doesn't appear to have said much publicly about what he'd like to see from surgeon general position, which is the nation's top doctor and oversees 6,000 U.S. Public Health Service Corps members. The surgeon general has little administrative power, but can be an influential government spokesperson on what counts as a public health danger and what to do about it — suggesting things like warning labels for products and issuing advisories. The current surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, declared gun violence as a public health crisis in June. Trump's pick, Nesheiwat, is employed as a New York City medical director with CityMD, a group of urgent care facilities in the New York and New Jersey area, and has been at City MD for 12 years. She also has appeared on Fox News and other TV shows, authored a book on the “transformative power of prayer” in her medical career and endorses a brand of vitamin supplements. She encouraged COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, calling them “a gift from God” in a February 2021 Fox News op-ed, as well as anti-viral pills like Paxlovid. In a 2019 Q&A with the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation , Nesheiwat said she is a “firm believer in preventive medicine” and “can give a dissertation on hand-washing alone.” As of Saturday, Trump had not yet named his choice to lead the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research through grants to researchers across the nation and conducts its own research. It has a $48 billion budget. Kennedy has said he'd pause drug development and infectious disease research to shift the focus to chronic diseases. He'd like to keep NIH funding from researchers with conflicts of interest, and criticized the agency in 2017 for what he said was not doing enough research into the role of vaccines in autism — an idea that has long been debunked . Associated Press writers Amanda Seitz and Matt Perrone and AP editor Erica Hunzinger contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. This story has been corrected to reflect that the health agencies have an overall budget of about $1.7 trillion, not $1.7 billion. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week!
Middle East latest: Syrians celebrate Assad's fall as US seeks a peaceful political transitionIn a surprising turn of events, OpenAI’s highly anticipated Sora video generation tool was leaked online by a group of artists protesting the company’s alleged exploitation of their unpaid labor and lack of transparency. The leak, which occurred on November 14, 2023, via a project on the AI development platform Hugging Face, allowed public access to Sora’s capabilities despite its intended exclusivity to early testers. This incident has ignited a debate about ethical considerations in AI development, particularly concerning the treatment of artists and the potential misuse of their creative work. The group responsible for the leak, calling themselves “Sora PR Puppets,” claims that OpenAI engaged hundreds of artists to test Sora without providing any compensation. They further allege that OpenAI misrepresented Sora’s capabilities and imposed restrictions on testers, requiring them to obtain approval before sharing any generated content. This alleged lack of transparency and control over their own work fueled the artists’ frustration, leading them to take matters into their own hands. What is Sora? Sora is a powerful AI model developed by OpenAI that can generate realistic and creative videos from text prompts. It represents a significant advancement in AI video generation technology, capable of producing high-quality videos with impressive detail and coherence. Some of its touted capabilities include: The Leak and Its Implications The leaked version of Sora, accessible through a frontend interface on Hugging Face, allowed users to generate 10-second video clips with a resolution of up to 1080p. While OpenAI swiftly disabled access to the leaked version, numerous users had already shared examples of the tool’s output on social media. This temporary access provided a glimpse into Sora’s potential, showcasing its ability to generate impressive visuals, albeit with some limitations and occasional inconsistencies. The leak has raised several critical questions about OpenAI’s practices and the broader implications of AI in the creative industry: OpenAI’s Response OpenAI has acknowledged the leak and the concerns raised by the artists. In a statement, the company emphasized its commitment to responsible AI development and expressed a willingness to engage with the artist community. However, they have also defended their use of early testers, stating that it is a crucial part of the development process and that testers are informed about the nature of their participation. The Future of Sora and AI in the Creative Industry The Sora leak has undoubtedly cast a shadow over OpenAI’s efforts to revolutionize video generation. It remains to be seen how the company will address the concerns raised by the artists and regain their trust. The incident serves as a reminder that the development of AI tools must be guided by ethical principles and respect for the contributions of human creators. Moving forward, the creative industry needs to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by AI. Finding a balance between technological advancement and the protection of artists’ rights will be crucial for ensuring a sustainable and equitable future for all stakeholders. My Perspective As someone who has been closely following the development of AI in the creative field, I find the Sora leak to be a significant event. It highlights the growing tension between technological innovation and ethical considerations. While I am excited about the potential of AI to enhance creativity, I also believe that it is essential to address the concerns of artists and ensure that they are not exploited in the process. I believe that open communication and collaboration between AI developers and the creative community are crucial for finding solutions that benefit everyone. This includes establishing fair compensation models for artists involved in AI development, ensuring transparency in data usage, and providing creators with control over their work. The Sora leak is a wake-up call for the AI industry. It is a reminder that technological progress must go hand in hand with ethical responsibility and respect for human creativity. Additional Insights: The leak of OpenAI’s Sora video generator by a group of protesting artists has brought to the forefront critical questions about ethics, transparency, and the future of creative work in the age of AI. This incident serves as a reminder that technological advancements must be accompanied by responsible practices and a commitment to protecting the rights and interests of human creators. As AI continues to evolve, it is imperative for developers, artists, and the broader community to engage in open dialogue and collaboration to ensure a future where AI empowers creativity rather than exploiting it.
Federal prosecutors seek records from company that deployed AI weapons scanner on NYC subway
- Previous: jollibee online delivery
- Next: 9jili
