In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many American mothers lost faith in the institutions that once shaped their lives. Into that vacuum stepped conservative Christian women influencers who blend religion, polished aesthetics and personal stories to build trust on issues from food dyes and vaccines to transgender athletes and immigration. By appealing to maternal concerns and offering a sense of clarity, many are enlisting their millions of followers as culture warriors. And while these battles are framed in spiritual terms, they’re informing daily choices with real-world implications. “Nothing is politically more powerful than an angry mother,” conservative wellness influencer Alex Clark told RNS.

President Donald Trump and his Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. say they want the government to follow “gold standard” science. Scientists say the problem is that those two are often doing just the opposite by relying on preliminary studies, fringe science or just hunches to make claims, cast doubt on proven treatments or even set policy. Experts say gold standard science is objective, transparent and evolves with new knowledge. Scientists say the process of getting medicines and vaccines to market and recommended in the United States has, until now, typically relied on gold standard science.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia says she is resigning from Congress in January. The once-loyal supporter of President Donald Trump has become a critic more recently. In a more than 10-minute video posted online, Greene explained her decision and said she has “always been despised in Washington” and “just never fit in.” In recent months she has criticized the president for his stance on files related to Jeffrey Epstein, along with foreign policy and health care. Trump branded her a “traitor” and “wacky” and said he would endorse a primary challenge against her next year. Greene said her last day will be Jan. 5.

The Trump administration has revised a website to contradict the scientific consensus that vaccines don't cause autism. The update to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention webpage has outraged public health and autism experts. The Autism Science Foundation said the changes were anti-vaccine rhetoric. Decades of studies have shown no link between vaccines and autism. Former CDC officials have expressed concern, saying the agency's information on vaccine safety can no longer be trusted. The change is the latest move by President Donald Trump's Department of Health and Human Services to foster uncertainty about long-held scientific consensus.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida has been indicted on charges accusing her of stealing federal disaster funds and using the money to aid her 2021 campaign, the Justice Department said Wednesday. The Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Management Agency funds that her family’s health care company had received through a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors said. Some of the money was then used to fund her campaign through candidate contributions, prosecutors say. A phone message left at Cherfilus-McCormick’s Washington office was not immediately returned.

International health experts say Canada is no longer measles-free because of ongoing outbreaks, as childhood vaccination rates fall and the highly contagious virus spreads across North and South America. The loss of the country’s measles elimination status comes more than a year after the highly contagious virus started spreading. Canada has logged 5,138 measles cases this year and two deaths. Both were babies who were exposed to the measles virus in the womb and born prematurely.