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Rand Paul equates mandatory vaccinations with "giving up liberty"

Sen. Rand Paul. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), an ophthalmologist, equated government-mandated vaccinations to "giving up on liberty for a false sense of security" at a Senate Health Committee hearing on Tuesday.

"I'm not here to say don't vaccinate your kids. If this hearing is for persuasion I'm all for the persuasion. I've vaccinated myself and I've vaccinated my kids. For myself and my children I believe that the benefits of vaccines greatly outweigh the risks, but I still don't favor giving up on liberty for a false sense of security."
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)

Details: The hearing sought to address the role vaccines play in preventable disease outbreaks, and included witnesses such as Ethan Lindenberger, who had himself inoculated at 18 against his parents' wishes. At chairman Lamar Alexander's (R-Tenn.) prompting, the hearing also addressed the now-retracted 12-person study published in 1998 that is partly responsible for the ongoing false belief that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism.

Go deeper: Long-term measles vaccine study shows no link with autism — again

Go deeper

Rebecca Falconer
Updated 2 hours ago - Technology

Twitter sues Texas AG Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at February's Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Twitter on Monday filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), saying that his office launched an investigation into the social media giant because it banned former President Trump from its platform.

Driving the news: Twitter is seeking to halt an investigation launched by Paxton into moderation practices by Big Tech firms including Twitter for what he called "the seemingly coordinated de-platforming of the President," days after they banned him following the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Senate retirements could attract GOP troublemakers

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Sen. Roy Blunt's retirement highlights the twin challenge facing Senate Republicans: finding good replacement candidates and avoiding a pathway for potential troublemakers to join their ranks.

Why it matters: While the midterm elections are supposed to be a boon to the party out of power, the recent run of retirements — which may not be over — is upending that assumption for the GOP in 2022.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Stef W. Kight
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Congressional diversity growing - slowly

Data: Brookings Institution and Pew Research Center; Note: No data on Native Americans in Congress before the 107th Congress; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

The number of non-white senators and House members in the 535-seat Congress has been growing steadily in the past several decades — but representation largely lags behind the overall U.S. population.

Why it matters: Non-whites find it harder to break into the power system because of structural barriers such as the need to quit a job to campaign full time for office, as Axios reported in its latest Hard Truths Deep Dive.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow