CNN

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally directed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update its website to contradict its longtime guidance that vaccines don’t cause autism, he told The New York Times in an interview published Friday. His comments provide clarity into who directed the CDC’s website change, after many current and former staffers at the agency were surprised to see new published guidance on Wednesday that defies scientific consensus. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic, has upended the public health agencies he oversees and pushed for and enacted changes that have unsettled much of the medical community, which sees his policies as harmful for Americans. “The whole thing about ‘vaccines have been tested and there’s been this determination made,’ is just a lie,” Kennedy said in the interview, which was conducted Thursday. The CDC’s “vaccine safety” page now claims that the statement “vaccines do not cause autism” is not based on evidence because it doesn’t rule out the possibility that infant vaccines are linked to the disorder. The page also has been updated to suggest that health officials have ignored studies showing a potential link. Public health researchers and advocates strongly refute the updated website, saying it misleads the public by exploiting the fact that the scientific method can’t satisfy a demand to prove a negative. They note that scientists have thoroughly explored potential links between vaccines and autism in rigorous research spanning decades, all pointing to the same conclusion that vaccines don’t cause autism. Read more: https://cnn.it/4iftgzn

Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she will be resigning from office in January. She made the announcement in a post on social media just days after her public falling out with President Donald Trump. Read more: https://cnn.it/4pp3fA2

Dolly Parton has had to miss two significant ceremonies as she continues to follow her doctors’ orders amid some “health challenges.” The legendary singer, songwriter and entrepreneur, 79, was unable to attend her recent induction into the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions’ Hall of Fame. That organization and Parton’s Dollywood shared the video she sent instead on social media earlier this week. “I sure wish I could be with you in person today, but you probably heard that I’ve been dealing with a few health challenges this fall, and my doctors told me to take it easy for just a little while,” she said in the video. “I’m truly sorry I can’t be there, but I sure wanted to take the chance to say thank you for this incredible honor.” It happened a day after Parton also skipped picking up her honorary Oscar at the 16th annual Academy Governors Awards. Read more: https://cnn.it/43INjAo

A Washington resident died of complications from an infection with a bird flu strain never before reported in humans, the state Department of Health said on Friday. The patient was an older adult with underlying health conditions who had been hospitalized and undergoing treatment for infection with H5N5 avian influenza. It’s the first reported case of bird flu in a human in the US in nine months and only the second reported human death from the virus in the United States, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the risk to the general public from the virus remains low. Officials continue to monitor others who were in close contact with the person, but no one else has tested positive for bird flu, and no evidence of human-to-human transmission has been found. “The person had a backyard flock of mixed domestic birds,” the Washington State Department of Health said in a statement. “DOH sampling identified avian influenza virus in the environment of the flock, making exposure to the domestic poultry, their environment, or wild birds the most likely source of exposure for this patient.” Read more: https://cnn.it/4a9zzCB

JUST IN: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has paused a ruling that blocked Texas' new congressional maps. https://cnn.it/3KgnIZ2

Isidor and Ida Straus are remembered as two of the highest-profile victims of the Titanic disaster, and among the few first-class passengers to perish. The pair, who were depicted in James Cameron’s Oscar-winning 1997 movie “Titanic,” were offered seats in one of the lifeboats but refused to be separated. The body of Isidor, who co-owned the New York department store Macy’s, was later recovered. His wife’s was never found. Now, well over a century after the world’s most famous maritime disaster, the pocket watch Isidor was wearing at the time has come up for sale. Read more: https://cnn.it/3LTpCzq

Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Friday she will be resigning from office in January. She made the announcement in a post on social media just days after her public falling out with President Donald Trump. The president had rescinded his support for his one-time staunch ally and said he’d support a primary challenge against her. “I have too much self respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” Greene said in a statement. In recent weeks, Greene criticized the president for being too focused on foreign policy and not doing enough with his domestic agenda at home. The two also disagreed on the release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files, which Trump ultimately signed into law after strong resistance. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. Read more: https://cnn.it/4a7yknw

“Every five weeks,” Jimmy Kimmel observed, President Trump “flips out and wants me fired.” It happened again this week, when the president posted on Truth Social, asking why ABC keeps “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on the air. Kimmel responded on Thursday night’s show, pointing out that Trump’s post came at 12:49 a.m., “11 minutes after the show ended on the East Coast.” He said directly to Trump, “Thanks for watching us on TV instead of on YouTube. We appreciate that. And I’ll tell you, it’s viewers like you who keep us on the air, ironically.” Kimmel, whose contract with ABC is coming due in May, then said, “Mr. President, I admire your tenacity. If you’re watching tonight, which I presume you are, how about this: I’ll go when you go, OK? We’ll be a team. Let’s ride off into the sunset together like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan Kid. And until then, if I may borrow a phrase from you: ‘Quiet, piggy.’” Read the full analysis: https://cnn.it/4iiK74y

Texas urged the Supreme Court on Friday to boost President Donald Trump’s effort to help Republicans maintain control of Congress, asking the justices to review a federal court ruling that found the state’s new map is likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The state’s emergency appeal could have enormous consequences for next year’s midterm elections, which will determine control of the House for the final two years of Trump’s presidency. A Democratic majority would likely unleash a string of investigations aimed at the administration and possibly block most of the president’s legislative agenda. Texas asked the Supreme Court to block the lower court ruling by December 1. It also urged the court to quickly step into the case on the merits now and expedite its review. The state said the lower court order had caused “chaos” in its elections. “Campaigning had already begun, candidates had already gathered signatures and filed applications to appear on the ballot under the 2025 map, and early voting for the March 3, 2026, primary was only 91 days away,” Texas officials told the Supreme Court. Read more: https://cnn.it/44fwGfQ

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani held a press conference in the Oval Office after the two met ahead of Mamdani's term. Despite trading political attacks during the campaign, the two had a warm meeting. Tap the link to read more: https://cnn.it/4iiCFq7