Edward Helmore

US health secretary went for dip in Rock Creek, which officials report is toxic due to bacteria and pathogens

The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has revealed that he went swimming with his children in a Washington DC creek that authorities have said is toxic due to contamination by an upstream, ageing sewer system.

The “Make America healthy again” crusader attracted attention for the Mother’s Day dip in Dumbarton Oaks Park with his grandchildren Bobcat and Cassius, which he posted about on X. He was also accompanied by relatives Amaryllis, Bobby, Kick and Jackson.

On Monday evening the airport had far fewer than the 14 controllers agreed on between the union and regulators

New Jersey’s Newark Liberty airport, one of three major airports serving New York City, had just three air traffic controllers on duty on Monday, which was well short of the 14 called for and forced air regulators to delay arriving flights for up to seven hours.

The air traffic controller shortfall, first reported by the New York Times, comes amid a growing number of problems for the hub. In a little more than a week, Newark has suffered three communications blackouts, rendering the control tower unable to track or communicate with planes for up to 90 seconds.

Number of child deaths is highest in 15 years and cumulative hospitalization rate is highest since 2010-2011

At least 216 children have died of influenza in the US during the last flu season in what the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said was classified as the first high severity season overall and for all age groups since 2017-2018.

That number marks the highest pediatric death toll in 15 years; the previous high reported for a regular (non-pandemic) season was 236 pediatric deaths in the 2009-2010 season, according to the CDC. More recently, 207 pediatric deaths were reported during the 2023-2024 season.

White House axed grants even as college agreed to demands including ceding control of Middle East studies department

New York’s Columbia University is slated to cut 180 staffers whose work was supported by federal grants that have now been revoked by the Trump administration, the college’s acting president, Claire Shipman, announced on Tuesday.

“We have had to make difficult choices and unfortunately, today, nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants, will receive notices of non-renewal or termination,” Shipman said in a lengthy notice posted on Columbia’s website.

Group demands university cut ties with Boeing over company’s military contracts with Israel

More than two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Monday night at the University of Washington in Seattle after they occupied an engineering building and set dumpsters on fire.

The protest group, called Super UW, occupied the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building to demand that the university sever its ties with Boeing, as the aerospace company has military contracts which the students say “are used by Israel in their US-funded genocide of Palestinian people”.

President also says he sees himself as leaving office at the end of his current term and not seeking a third one

Donald Trump said “I don’t know” when asked if he needed to uphold the US constitution when it comes to giving immigrants the right of due process as he gave a wide-ranging TV interview broadcast on Sunday.

At the same time the US president also said he saw himself as leaving office at the end of his current term and not seeking a third one – something he has not previously always been consistent on even though a third term is widely seen as unconstitutional.

A new lawsuit seeks to examine ransom notes linked to the 1932 kidnap and murder of the transatlantic aviator’s son

HL Mencken, the prominent journalist and critic, once called it the “greatest story since the Resurrection”. Though it has been 93 years since the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case merged crime, fame and mass media together, the enduring mystery of the crime still holds fascination for many in the US.

The case was shocking. The transatlantic aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh suffered the kidnapping and murder of their 20-month-old baby son on 1 March 1932. Now a new lawsuit filed in New Jersey – where the crime played out – seeks to force the state police to allow mitochondrial DNA testing on envelopes used to send a series of ransom notes.

Tech giant exceeded expectations for three quarters in a row, but it is expected to report slowest revenue growth rate since 2022

Amazon reported strong first-quarter earnings for the 2025 fiscal year on Thursday after the New York stock exchange closed – results that will be seen in the context of consumer resilience in the face of Donald Trump’s tariff wars.

Amazon reported $1.59 in earnings-per-share (EPS) and revenue of $155.67bn. Analysts had estimated that the company’s EPS would come in at $1.36 on revenue of $155bn. In particular focus: Amazon’s advertising business, which grew 19% in the first quarter of 2025, handily exceeding analyst expectations as well. The company has exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for the previous two quarters. At the close of the first quarter last year, the company reported earnings of $0.98 per share on sales of $143bn. In spite of the growth, shares dropped in after-hours trading.