House members got their first opportunity Thursday to grill Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as he kicked off a marathon series of seven congressional hearings in seven days with back-to-back hearings in the Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees.
In the two appearances, his first before Congress in 2026, Kennedy defended his record in leading the nation’s health agency as Democrats sought to push back against proposed budget cuts and changes to vaccine policy.
Kennedy faced a very different political environment from the one in which he appeared before Congress seven months ago, when his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement seemed to be at its most politically powerful.
Kennedy and his allies last year overhauled the childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots while also shaking up key leadership positions across health agencies.
But with an eye on the 2026 midterm elections, the White House wants Kennedy to stop talking about vaccines and focus on other MAHA “wins.”
House Democrats will introduce six articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday accusing him of abuse of power, war crimes and other serious wrongdoing.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Tuesday signed a Joint Declaration on Enhanced Defense and Security Cooperation, deepening bilateral ties in air defense, drones, electronic warfare, maritime security and joint defense production.
The US military said it killed four more people in a boat strike in the eastern Pacific ocean on Tuesday, marking the third deadly attack on vessels in the region in four days.
Peter Magyar, Hungary’s newly elected opposition leader, said Monday that Ukraine alone must determine the conditions of any peace settlement with Russia, while also opposing Kyiv’s accelerated path toward European Union membership.
President Trump says the U.S. military began a blockade of Iranian ports on Monday, drawing threats of retaliation from Iran, after talks between the U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement over the weekend.
Two immigration judges who ruled against the Trump administration in the deportation cases of pro-Palestinian university students have been fired by the Department of Justice.
The UK Royal Navy may be forced to request military support from France to intercept Russian vessels in British waters as the fleet struggles to meet operational commitments, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday, April 12.
In one of Europe’s most consequential elections of the year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded to the party led by Péter Magyar, ending his run as Hungary’s leader after more than 16 years.
