Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
Senators grilled R.F.K. Jr. on vaccinesHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a defiant defense of his vaccine policy today during a fiery Senate hearing, responding at times with clear disdain for the senators, public health data and the Centers for Disease Control. Here are five takeaways. The hearing before the Senate Finance Committee suggested that Kennedy is on uncertain ground even with some Republicans. Several, including two doctors — Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Barrasso of Wyoming — were particularly tough in their questioning, especially when it came to Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism. Cassidy, who voted to confirm Kennedy on the condition that he wouldn’t disrupt access, said at the hearing: “Effectively, we’re denying people vaccine.” “You’re wrong,” Kennedy shot back. The health secretary was there to defend his department’s proposed 2026 budget. But the hearing descended into a free-for-all over Kennedy’s decision to fire the director of the C.D.C. He told senators that he dismissed her because she responded “no” when he asked her if she was “trustworthy.” In one contentious exchange with Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, Kennedy said he did not know how many Americans had died of Covid and whether the vaccines prevented Covid-related deaths. “The problem is they didn’t have the data,” he said. The senator replied: “You are sitting as secretary of health and human services. How can you be that ignorant?” Related: Two former leaders of the National Institutes for Health said in whistle-blower complaints that “hostility” toward vaccines had taken hold in the upper ranks of the agency.
D.O.J. opens criminal inquiry into Fed governorThe Justice Department opened a fraud investigation into Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor President Trump is trying to fire. Cook is accused of mortgage fraud because she claimed two different homes as her primary residence on separate mortgage applications around the same time. The criminal investigation was instigated by Ed Martin, a hyperpartisan Trump loyalist who leads the Justice Department’s vaguely defined weaponization task force. Federal prosecutors have begun issuing subpoenas, one of the people briefed in the investigation said. The Trump administration, led by Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has scrutinized the mortgage applications of several political adversaries of the president. Today, the investigative news site ProPublica reported that at least three Trump cabinet members also have claimed multiple primary residences on mortgage applications. In other Fed news, Stephen Miran, Trump’s pick to become a Fed governor, said that he would only temporarily leave his position as a top economic adviser to the president if he is confirmed. In other economic news, the tractor maker John Deere said that sales were down and that higher metal tariffs would cost the company $600 million.
China’s most ambitious cyberattack yetA sweeping hack by a group known as Salt Typhoon targeted more than 80 countries and may have stolen information from nearly every American. The yearslong, coordinated assault infiltrated major telecommunications companies. Security officials warned that the stolen data could allow Chinese intelligence services to track targets including politicians, spies and activists.
Giorgio Armani dies at 91An instinctive empire builder, Giorgio Armani came to fashion by happenstance. He wanted to be a movie director, got a temporary job as a photographer and window dresser in Milan, and was promoted to buying supervisor. It wasn’t until he was 40 that he struck out on his own and rewrote the rules of fashion. Armani became a household name by adapting a Neapolitan custom: softening the internal structure of a man’s suit to reveal the body and giving ’80s men a sensual silhouette. That look found favor among C-suite women as well, making an Armani suit the default uniform of authority. He died today in Milan, 45 minutes from his birthplace. Our chief fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, explains how he changed the look of the chief executive and the celebrity. For more: Look back at his life in photos and read Guy Trebay’s 2024 interview. More top news
Meet the new ‘S.N.L.’ cast membersThe talent pipeline for “Saturday Night Live” has evolved over the decades. Now comedy clubs and improv groups aren’t the only farm leagues for Lorne Michaels — there’s YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Of the five people joining the cast, the most familiar face to “S.N.L.” fans is Ben Marshall, a member of Please Don’t Destroy, a comedy trio that’s been making video shorts for the show. You might recognize the other four from your socials — or more traditional media like “The Tonight Show.”
A work of decadesIn 2006, Kiran Desai won the Booker Prize for “The Inheritance of Loss.” Ever since, she’s led a solitary life, spending nearly two decades of uninterrupted work on her third novel. The result is “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” out Sept. 23. The book spans continents, unearths decades of family history and explores globalization, colonialism and identity. “Artistic loneliness,” Desai said, “can be exquisite.” Related: Here are 21 nonfiction books and 27 novels to look forward to this fall. Dinner table topics
Cook: Turn your random leftovers into a cheesy frittata. Watch: “Preparation for the Next Life” is a sweetly melancholic love story about a Uyghur woman and an American soldier. Read: “The Arrogant Ape” argues that other animals have feelings (so we’re not that special). Sip: Get to know 10 California winemakers. Wear: These flashy fall looks will get you past the velvet rope. Visit: Our critic recommends 14 art shows worth traveling for. Buy: Wirecutter calls carbon-steel pans “near perfect.” Play: Today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and |
