“Minimal” Gaza Aid Resumes, “Super Sunday” Election Results, Pope And JD Vance

💡 SPOTLIGHT

Social Darwinism, circa 2025 — a chilling German view on RFK Jr.’s health agenda

When you listen to that infamous three-hour podcast in which conspiracy theorist Joe Rogan interviews conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., you’ll want to pause about every 20 seconds. Because at roughly that frequency, Kennedy utters untruths, debunks proven theories, distorts facts, and repeatedly appears to simply make things up: about vaccines whose side effects are supposedly being concealed; about Wi-Fi that supposedly causes cancer; about pesticides that are supposed to make people trans.

Today, a year-and-a-half after the podcast was released, RFK Jr. is the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Amid the largest measles outbreak in the U.S. in decades, he only very timidly calls for vaccination, even though vaccination is the only treatment that truly helps. Instead, he praises treatments that don’t work, such as antibiotics, even though measles is a virus.

Kennedy loves raw milk and wants to “give infectious diseases a break,” despite the measles outbreak and even though avian flu is now circulating in thousands of cattle herds in the U.S. He is currently destroying the U.S. biomedical infrastructure, which the whole world has long envied, and wants to re-investigate the long-since thoroughly disproven link between vaccinations and autism. Probably by an anti-vaxxer.

Is this all just crazy talk? Yes, on the one hand. On the other hand, anyone who dismisses Kennedy as a mere crackpot who simply spouts erratic nonsense is missing the opportunity to ask important questions. They are overlooking the patterns that clearly lie behind his crude statements and decisions.

Of course, there’s a reason why Kennedy is so relatable to the far right today, even coming from someone who spent more than half his life as a Democrat and advocated for many left-wing positions, including calling for higher taxes for the rich and fighting against corporations as an environmental advocate. Kennedy’s worldview, his beliefs, and his view of humanity are clearly rooted in certain ideas. Two of them date back far into history and have the potential to cause great harm. But one of them has at least a kernel of truth.

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a press conference on April 16, the topic was autism. Kennedy, wearing a blue pinstriped suit and a thin tie, walked to the podium, put on reading glasses, and read out some numbers. One in 31 children aged eight has autism, Kennedy declared, which was “shocking” — and in this case, true. […]

— Read the full article by Jakob Simmank for Die Zeit, translated from German by Worldcrunch.

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza lends its front page to the results of the first round of the 2025 presidential election, which gave liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski 30.8% of the vote, just ahead of conservative Karol Nawrocki’s 29.1%, according to exit poll data. With voter turnout at 66.8%, the Warsaw newspaper highlights the decisive role right-wing Sławomir Mentzen’s 15.4% could play in the upcoming runoff.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Israel to resume Gaza aid, Netanyahu acknowledges pressure. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s allies had voiced concern about “images of hunger,” in a video statement posted to social media on Monday, following his announcement that aid to Gaza would resume after a weeks-long blockade. Netanyahu indicated that the aid that would be let in would be “minimal,” but didn’t specify precisely when it would resume. The announcement comes as Israel pursues its military operation in the enclave on Monday, killing at least 20 Palestinians in overnight airstrikes. For more on the consequences of Israel’s blockade on goods in Gaza, check this reportage from Mada Masr, translated from Arabic by Worldcrunch.

• Trump to hold call with Putin to discuss war in Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in a bid to advance ceasefire negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. This comes after direct negotiations last week in Istanbul between delegations from Russia and Ukraine resulted in no concrete commitment to a ceasefire. Follow our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here.

• EU and UK reach new deal ahead of summit. The European Union and the UK reached a tentative 12-year agreement on defense and security, fisheries and youth mobility ahead of a EU-UK summit on Monday, EU officials said. The agreement could pave the way for British firms to participate in large EU defense contracts. The London summit intends to “reset” relations between the UK and the bloc, after Britain left the EU on January 31, 2020. 

• WHO opens annual assembly in wake of U.S. funding cuts. The World Health Organization opened its annual meeting of government ministers and other top envoys on Monday, as the UN health agency faces one of the most serious crises of its 77-year history in the wake of Trump administration funding cuts and plans to withdraw the U.S.

• Pro-European candidate wins tense Romania presidential vote rerun. In a surprise turnaround, the liberal, pro-EU mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, won a tense rerun of Romania’s presidential election on Sunday, beating nationalist opponent George Simion with over 54% of the vote. Turnout rose sharply in the second round, reaching nearly 65%, compared with 53% for the May 4 first round, in which Simion was the leading candidate. The vote came five months after the country’s constitutional court annulled an election over allegations of Russian interference. Meanwhile in Portugal, the incumbent center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) won the most votes in Sunday’s snap parliamentary election, although it fell short of an outright majority. The far-right Chega party received approximately 20% of the vote.

• Senate report shows French government covered up Nestlé water scandal. A French Senate investigation has revealed how the government concealed Nestlé’s use of banned treatments on its mineral waters, including its famous sparkling Perrier brand. Despite EU laws prohibiting such methods, the Swiss multinational food and drink giant admitted last year to using ultraviolet light and filters to purify water — and paid a 2 million euro fine to avoid prosecution. The authors of the report called for further investigation and accountability from the government.

• News Quiz! After two unsuccessful attempts, the city of Landerneau in Brittany beat the world record of the largest gathering of people dressed as which fictional characters?

A. Minions

B. Tintin & Snowy

C. Smurfs

D. Pokémon

[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

19

On Sunday, British climber Kenton Cool reached the 8,849-meter summit of Mount Everest for the 19th time, extending his own record for the most ascents by a non-Sherpa. The 51-year-old, who first summited in 2004, was joined by Nepali guide Dorji Gyaljen, now with 23 climbs. While Cool leads among foreign climbers, the overall record remains with Nepali Sherpa Kami Rita, who has reached the peak 30 times and plans to climb again soon. More peak content here: Elevating The Man Vs. Nature Vs. Climate Debate With Mountaineering Icon Reinhold Messner.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇮🇷 Both Iranian negotiators and U.S. President Donald Trump have stated that they are on the verge of a major deal on Tehran’s nuclear program. But a closer look reveals an old game of bait and switch.
— WORLDCRUNCH

👪 Mother figures don’t always look the same. In the lives of many trans people, that presence comes in the form of a trans mother — a role that is born out of love and chosen care.— EL ESPECTADOR

🇨🇦 The Alberta province is experiencing a surge in separatist sentiment, fueled by long-standing grievances over perceived economic inequities and political underrepresentation in Canada. Concerns are growing that separation could be destabilizing, impractical, and deeply divisive.
— WORLDCRUNCH

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

Pope Leo XIV met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican on Monday, following the formal Mass that inaugurated the pontificate of the first American pope. Vance, a Catholic convert, led the U.S. delegation to the ceremony and was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Vatican said the two sides exchanged views on global conflicts, emphasizing the importance of humanitarian and international law and the need for negotiated solutions. Their meeting marked the first of several private audiences Pope Leo held that day with guests who had traveled to Rome for his inaugural Mass. — Photo: ALESSIA GIULIANI/IPA/ZUMA

📣 VERBATIM

“Joe is a fighter.”

— On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris voiced her support for President Joe Biden following his prostate cancer diagnosis, telling a crowd in Wilmington, Delaware, “Joe is a fighter.” Her remarks came after the White House confirmed that Biden had been experiencing urinary symptoms for several months before a scan revealed a suspicious nodule on his prostate. The cancer, which has since spread to his bones, is still considered treatable. Harris emphasized Biden’s resilience and urged Americans to keep him in their thoughts.