Trump Administration Plans Major Cuts to USAID Staff Amid Reorganization

A devastating wave of severe weather, including multiple tornadoes, swept through the central United States, resulting in at least 21 fatalities and numerous injuries. The storms, which struck late Friday into Saturday, particularly devastated southeastern Kentucky, where 14 deaths were reported, according to local officials from the Laurel County Sheriff's office. In London, Kentucky, images revealed extensive destruction, with entire neighborhoods obliterated and homes reduced to debris. "You could feel the air sucking," said local resident Leslie Bott, recounting her experience during the tornado. Emergency teams are actively searching the wreckage for survivors as the National Weather Service confirmed a large tornado swept through the area shortly after midnight. More than 700,000 homes and businesses across 12 states lost power, with Kentucky and Missouri being the hardest hit. In St. Louis, seven people were confirmed dead due to a tornado-warned storm that caused significant damage to infrastructure. St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer declared a state of emergency and enforced a curfew in affected neighborhoods. Yesterday's destruction marked one of the worst severe weather events in the region, with further storms anticipated early next week, raising concerns for additional life-threatening conditions, according to forecasters.

The United States has lost its final triple-A credit rating from Moody's, which downgraded it from Aaa to Aa1, citing increasing levels of government debt as a critical factor. This announcement coincided with the failure of President Donald Trump’s flagship spending bill to pass a crucial vote in Congress, highlighting ongoing fiscal challenges. Moody's explained that the prolonged rise in government debt and interest payment ratios has placed the US at a disadvantage compared to similarly rated sovereigns. The agency projects federal deficits to escalate to nearly 9% of GDP by 2035, up from 6.4% last year, primarily driven by higher interest payments and entitlement spending. Consequently, federal debt is expected to reach about 134% of GDP by 2035, compared to 98% in the previous year. Moody's decision echoes similar downgrades from other major ratings agencies, S&P and Fitch, which raised concerns over the US's fiscal management. While Moody's maintained a "stable" outlook, it emphasized a lack of effective measures to reverse the trend of growing annual fiscal deficits.

A nine-and-a-half-month-old baby, KJ Muldoon, from Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, has become the first patient globally to receive a bespoke gene therapy specifically designed for his rare metabolic condition, severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 deficiency. After spending months in a hospital on a restrictive diet, KJ was administered the groundbreaking treatment in February, followed by doses in March and April. According to KJ’s father, Kyle Muldoon, the family extensively researched options before opting for this experimental treatment. Since then, KJ has shown remarkable improvement, allowing him to eat more normally and recover from common illnesses. Experts, including Dr. Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, emphasized that KJ's case represents a critical step towards using gene editing therapies for various rare genetic disorders. Utilizing the CRISPR gene-editing tool, researchers replaced a mutation in KJ’s DNA responsible for his condition. Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a co-author of the study, noted that rapid publication of these results could pave the way for more personalized treatments in the future.