In a speech last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed kids with autism will “never pay taxes, hold a job,” play sports or participate in the arts.

Departed staffers include people who booked complex international trips to remote Indian pharmaceutical plants, lab scientists who tested food samples for contamination, and communication specialists who alerted the public to urgent safety recalls.

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, was the only “no” vote among Republicans, mirroring his stands against Trump’s picks for the Pentagon chief and director of national intelligence.

In a contentious confirmation hearing to be the nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. struggled to answer questions about how he would reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on health and his stated policy initiatives could have far-reaching effects on public health, including on policies in Illinois. Kennedy has often encouraged healthier food consumption for Americans — a goal Illinois Democrats could support. But Kennedy holds other views at odds with science.

Trump's choices don't have experience running large bureaucratic agencies, but they know how to talk about health on TV.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give President-elect Donald Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.

A brand new water treatment facility that takes wastewater and creates high-grade fertilizer comes online for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District in Stickney.