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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who heads the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has announced eight new members to the CDC’s independent vaccine advisory committeesome who are critical of vaccinesafter firing the entire group, prompting questions and concerns. Kennedy said the new members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will be at ACIP’s upcoming meeting on June 25 to June 27, which is slated to discuss vaccine recommendations for the HPV vaccine (which the CDC has deemed safe, and prevents cervical cancer and 90% of cancers caused by HPV in females), and of course the COVID-19 vaccine. Those new members are: Joseph R. Hibbeln, Martin Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Robert W. Malone, Cody Meissner, James Pagano, Vicky Pebsworth, and Michael A. Rosssome of whom are either close allies of RFK Jr. or vaccine skeptics, according to the BBC. Kulldorff, an epidemiologist and biostatistician, helped write the Great Barrington Declaration, which questioned lockdowns and other public health measures early in the COVID-19 pandemic, per National Public Radio; while Malone worked on mRNA technology for the COVID-19 vaccine early on, then became a critic and made false claims about the shot, also per NPR. Wednesday’s move comes just days after Kennedy fired all 17 sitting members of the ACIP, which makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy, and clinical need for the shots, advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the vaccine schedule and required coverage of immunizations. While Kennedy justified the firings, saying in a Wall Street Journal op-ed the panel of esteemed pediatricians, epidemiologists, immunologists, and other physicians was plagued with conflicts of interest, that’s questionable. As Fast Company has previously reported, Kennedy has a long history of repeatedly making false claims that have been debunked, and railing against or ranting about vaccines, medical drugs, the health system, and our nations food. RFK Jr. also has no medical degree, breaking with long-standing tradition for the health secretary post, and his nomination was the latest in a string of controversial picks by Trump for his second term.
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E-Commerce
Oracle investors are on cloud nine today as the stock reached record heights. The companys fourth quarter earnings results beat expectations yesterday and projected even more gains in cloud infrastructure. After rising nearly 8% in after-hours trading following the earnings release Wednesday evening, Oracle (ORCL) has continued to rise throughout the day on Thursday. The stock reached an all-time record of $202.04 at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, and has been steady since then. Oracle’s financial results for the fourth quarter showed $15.9 billion in total revenue, up 11% from the previous quarter. The net income for the quarter was $3.4 billion, with earnings per share of $1.19. Growth in Oracles cloud infrastructure revenue was particularly strong, jumping 52%, and it shows no signs of slowing in fiscal year 2026. The companys cloud infrastructure sales are projected to grow over 70% next fiscal year. Today, Oracle got the ball rolling by announcing a multi-year cloud infrastructure contract with Seekr, an artificial intelligence company. FY25 was a very good yearbut we believe FY26 will be even better as our revenue growth rates will be dramatically higher, Oracle CEO Safra Catz said on the companys Q4 earnings call. Oracle is well on its way to being not only the worlds largest cloud application companybut also one of the worlds largest cloud infrastructure companies. These powerful growth projections have also helped propel Oracle stock upward today, helping to boost the big tech sector and the S&P 500 along with it. Oracle has a market capitalization of $563 billion as of midday Thursday.
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E-Commerce
It hits at a certain time in the afternoon, when a familiar craving strikes. You walk to the kitchen. The satisfying sound of a can cracking, the hiss of bubbles. Its time for a fridge cigaretteor as you might know it, a can of Diet Coke. Earlier this week, TikTok user @reallyrachelreno posted: Overheard someone call Diet Coke a fridge cigarette and nothings been more true to me since. The video, which has since been viewed 3.5 million times, shows her cracking open a cold one in the sun. The caption: Time for a crispy ciggy in the summer. (ICYMI: The term crispy is used to describe a Diet Coke chilled to perfectionbonus points if served with pebbled ice and a lemon wedge.) @reallyrachelreno time for a crispy ciggy in the summer @Diet Coke #fyp #dietcoke Cruel Summer – Taylor Swift For many, the comparison is spot-on. Wow, thats so real. It just takes the edge off, one person commented. I gauge how hard my day is to determine if I get a little fridge cigarette, another added. In a follow-up video, @reallyrachelreno cleared up a few things based on the comments. According to her analysis: Diet Coke equals Parliaments, regular Coke equals Marlboro Reds, and Coke Zero equals American Spirits. Any other diet soda equals menthol (disparaging). Full-fat Coke in a glass bottle? Thats a cigar. In recent years, Diet Coke has made a noticeable comeback. Gen Zs version of the smoke break is the “Diet Coke break.” On TikTok, Diet Coke recipes go viral. Gen Z is obsessed with Diet Coke, Snaxshot writer Andrea Hernández noted in a recent newsletter. What is now being dubbed as fridge cigarettes has earned a cultural cachet without Coca-Cola having to do anything . . . but focus on delivering on taste and product. According to Hernández, Coca-Cola has held onto its position as the number one soda in the U.S. by tapping into nostalgia. After all, what captures the sweet nostalgia of summer better than a crisp can of Diet Coke in the sun? @hauskris the @Diet Coke break origin story – yall arent ready for whats next #dietcokebreak #middaydietcokebreak #dietcoke #narratortrend #narratorsvoice #originstory #storytelling #dietcokerecipe #dietcokeforlife Got To Be Real (s performed by Cheryl Lynn) – Pop Music Workshop Alongside the rise of the fridge cigarette, actual cigarettes have also crept back into pop culture, as The New York Times reported. In her hit single Headphones On, Addison Rae sings: Guess I gotta accept the pain / Need a cigarette to make me feel better. In What Was That, Lorde recalls: I remember saying then, This is the best cigarette of my life / Well, I want you just like that. Its a sign of the times. Clean Girl is out. Cigarettes are cool again. And in a world full of prebiotic soda and protein water, sometimes all you really want is a crispy fridge cigarette to take the edge off.
Category:
E-Commerce
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