## RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That.

Authored by propublica.org

RFK Jr. promised to identify the causes of autism but has eliminated parts of his agency actively investigating them and has cut millions in funding for autism research.

Conflicting Priorities: RFK Jr. helps lead an administration that is reversing regulations on pollution and chemicals, including some linked to autism.

Just three weeks earlier, she’d been finalizing her fourth major paper on the topic when Kennedy eliminated her entire division.

Kennedy has also overseen tens of millions of dollars in cuts to federal funding for research on autism, including its environmental causes.

He remains skeptical of the scientists who have been funded by his own agency to study the neurodevelopmental condition.

Hertz-Picciotto, an environmental epidemiologist based at the University of California, Davis, was a pioneer in the search for the causes of autism.

It also began dismantling its Office of Research and Development, which has funded research into the environmental conditions contributing to autism. »

### 'It's like being in Greece': The US neighbourhood where cars are banned

Authored by bbc.com

In Tempe, Arizona, Culdesac is reimagining US cities for people, not cars – and inviting travellers to explore its plazas, paseos and Mediterranean-inspired design.

When Sheryl Murdock walks to her apartment in Culdesac – the US' first modern car-free neighbourhood built from scratch – she feels transported to a Mediterranean island.

She meanders down narrow pathways between low-slung white buildings crisscrossed with fairy lights, passing pops of colour from cheerful murals and magenta bougainvillea. »

### U.S. sends three warships toward the coast of Venezuela, Maduro mobilises 4.5 million militia members

Authored by latinamericareports.com

As per Reuters, the deployed American ships are the USS Graverly, USS John Dunham, and the USS Sampson.

Last week, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the seizure of assets worth $700 million USD from the Venezuelan head of state.

In response to the increased U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, President Maduro announced a plan to mobilise 4.5 million militia members across the country. »

### ‘They stole my face’: Streamer claims The First Descendant ads used AI to make it look like he’s promoting it

Authored by videogameschronicle.com

A streamer has claimed that ads promoting Nexon game The First Descendant are using AI to make it look like he’s promoting them.

Over the weekend a series of ads promoting the game appeared on TikTok via the official The First Descendant account.

They stole my face/reactions from my most viral video and used AI to change what my mouth says and a voice that isn’t mine. »

### A new moon discovered orbiting Uranus is so small, you could walk it in two hours

Authored by yahoo.com

Roll out the cosmic welcome mat for our solar system’s newest resident: a never-before-seen moon orbiting Uranus.

The moon, which was first seen by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on Feb. 2, joins a busy neighborhood of 28 other known moons around Uranus.

The Webb telescope’s observations of Uranus are giving scientists better insight into one of the more mysterious planets in our solar system. »

## In pictures

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