By Lauren Kent, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration plans to redirect $2 billion in funding intended for global health programs to cover the cost of closing the US Agency for International Development (USAID), according to a copy of the notification obtained by CNN.

The funds would be pulled from money that Congress appropriated for health programs tackling malaria, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, nutrition, global health security, HIV/AIDS and more, two federal health policy experts told CNN. Roughly $1.2 billion originally intended for foreign development assistance would also be redirected.

Instead, the administration aims to use those billions to pay for things like legal costs, pending invoices and asset sales in the wake of its abrupt dismantling of USAID.

Last year, the Trump administration temporarily froze nearly all foreign aid and canceled thousands of aid work contracts, as it dismantled USAID and folded the few remaining programs under the State Department.

In total, the US government told Congress that it has reserved more than $19.1 billion to pay for USAID closeout costs, most of which is money coming from previously terminated USAID contracts, according to the notification obtained by CNN that was sent on April 20. The notification to Congress was first reported by Devex.

A group of 17 Senate Democrats is demanding that the administration reverse the budget notification “and put the funds to their intended use to save lives and advance U.S. interests as directed by Congress last year.”

“The Administration should immediately begin using these foreign assistance funds to deliver results for the American people. There is no reason for this FY25 funding to be withheld to cover the wasteful costs this Administration has incurred because it chose to dismantle USAID,” the senators argued in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought and acting USAID administrator Eric Ueland.

CNN reached out to the State Department and OMB for comment on the proposal to redirect the funds. A State Department spokesperson confirmed receiving CNN’s questions but did not respond to them.

Redirecting funding meant for global health programs could result in tens of thousands of people dying and thousands getting sick, health policy experts told CNN.

A $2 billion reduction in funding could lead to an estimated 121,000 preventable deaths from tuberculosis, and at least 47,600 preventable deaths from malaria, according to analysis by the Health Security Policy Academy think tank, based on the current allocation plan for the money. And those are just two of the many program areas that would face effective cuts.

The effective funding cut to nutrition programs could lead to the loss of lifesaving nutrition for 22.9 million children under the age of 5 and of safe childbirth facilities for more than 5.7 million women, one source who

By Adam Cancryn, Sarah Owermohle, CNN

(CNN) — When President Donald Trump needed a new pick for surgeon general last May, he turned to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for advice.

“Bobby really thought she was great,” Trump told reporters the day after choosing Casey Means, a close Kennedy ally and outsized voice in the Make America Healthy Again movement. “I don’t know her. I listened to the recommendation of Bobby.”

But nearly a year later, when Means’ candidacy stalled and Trump eventually selected Nicole Saphier to replace her, Kennedy played little role in the conversation.

Instead, Saphier came up as one of a host of options drawn up by White House officials, people familiar with the process said. The radiologist and Fox News contributor has no prior substantial relationship with Kennedy and a lengthy history of criticizing him and some of his policies.

It’s the latest sign that, after a year of letting Kennedy “go wild” on health care, as Trump promised ahead of the election, the president and his top aides are shortening the leash in the run-up to the midterms — and imposing tighter political constraints on the HHS secretary even at the risk of alienating the legion of followers he brought into the Republican Party.

The shifting dynamics have strained the White House’s relationship with MAHA voters who largely sided with him in the 2024 election. And they have raised fresh questions within Trump’s orbit about how far he must go to please a movement that some now doubt has lived up to its claim that it would be a major national political force within the GOP.

“I hate to say it, but I think they’re a little bit overrated,” said one Trump adviser. “To some extent, MAHA has always been a paper tiger.”

The MAHA-MAGA rift

The White House in recent weeks chose candidates with more conventional health backgrounds to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and serve as surgeon general, departing from Kennedy’s efforts at the beginning of his tenure to fill HHS’ top ranks with close allies and anti-establishment skeptics.

Trump aides have also reined in HHS’ controversial efforts to remake vaccine policies and overhaul medical research in favor of shifting to broader-appeal topics like lower drug prices and improving health insurance. In one damaging episode, Trump sided with major agricultural corporations over Kennedy and MAHA activists by seeking to accelerate domestic production of a controversial weedkiller.

That recalibration ahead of the midterms has raised fears among Kennedy’s close allies that he is being marginalized inside the administration, opening a fresh rift within the nascent MAGA-MAHA alliance.

On one side, some Trump aides and advisers have increasingly bristled over the demands from MAHA influencers on personnel and policy decisions. Those allies contend that MAHA has complicated efforts to fill key vacancies and make headway on issues critical to the midterm elections. They blame Kennedy and his allies in particular for advancing controversial vaccine policies that damaged the administration’s standing with some GOP lawmakers and proved broadly unpopular with the public.

Leaders of the MAHA movement, in turn, are vocally warning the White House that it risks losing an influential bloc of voters in November if it fails to prioritize their concerns. Their case got a boost last week, when House lawmakers scrapped a provision in a sweeping agricultural bill that would have effectively shielded pesticide makers from health-related lawsuits.

The alleged harms of pestic

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

America’s appetite for weight-loss drugs is transforming a small Danish city into an unlikely hub of economic growth. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, is pouring billions into its facility in Kalundborg, fueling rapid development in the once-quiet community.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ Hantavirus outbreak

About 150 passengers are still on board a cruise ship grappling with a deadly hantavirus outbreak. Three confirmed cases and five suspected cases have been reported, and officials expect that count to grow. The vessel is now headed for Spain’s Canary Islands as officials race to trace the victims’ contacts. Read more.

WATCH: Why Andes virus is trending

2⃣ Peace talks

Iran is expected to respond today to the US proposal to end the war, a source told CNN. President Donald Trump has touted “very good talks” with Iran over the last 24 hours. But he also issued a new threat, saying the bombing would intensify if Iran doesn’t agree to a deal. Read more.

3⃣ Market rebound

The US stock market has rebounded to record highs amid the war with Iran — and it’s not alone. Stock indexes in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan have also surged after steep declines in March. So what’s fueling the rally? Read more.

4⃣ Small businesses

Mom-and-pop shops across the US are being squeezed by a growing list of pressures. From tariffs and high interest rates to expensive health insurance and surging energy bills, many small business owners say it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay afloat. Read more.

5⃣ White House ballroom

President Trump is defending the new estimated cost of around $400 million for his White House ballroom, saying on social media Wednesday the building is “approximately twice the ​size, and a far higher quality, than the original ⁠proposal.” Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are trying to tack on $1 billion in taxpayer funds for “security enhancements” for the project. Read more.

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Por Jacqui Palumbo, CNN

Generalmente, no se puede sentar en las obras de arte de un museo. Pero en una galería del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Chicago —que actualmente está ambientada para parecerse a un bar de karaoke, completo con bola de discoteca, escenario y una rockola— tres sillas de plástico, tapizadas con el rostro de la superestrella puertorriqueña Bad Bunny, te esperan para que descanses entre canciones.

Como parte de la exposición “Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón”, las sillas son obra de la artista Edra Soto, quien transforma los objetos de su infancia y el diseño y la arquitectura cotidianos de Puerto Rico en obras de arte y espacios que evocan la vida en la pequeña isla. Ha montado ventiladores de caja plana que mantienen frescas a las familias con formas de cruces cristianas; ha interpretado las coloridas y omnipresentes verjas de hierro que delimitan el hogar y la calle en esculturas imponentes; y ha colocado pequeñas mirillas en sus esculturas que revelan discretas fotos de casas puertorriqueñas en su interior.

“Todos estos objetos tienen sus raíces en el hogar”, dijo en una videollamada desde su casa en Chicago, explicando que siempre piensa en ellos “de una manera que va más allá de su función asignada”.

En conjunto, sus obras suelen crear espacios contemplativos y, últimamente, ha profundizado más en lo espiritual, con su propia educación católica influyendo en el atrio “tipo tabernáculo” que es central en su exposición actual en el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Kemper en Kansas City, así como en su más reciente exposición en el Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico.

Su serie de sillas de Bad Bunny, entonces, o “sillas BB”, hechas durante el último año y medio, son quizás representativas de un tipo diferente de devoción, ya que el cantante puertorriqueño ha alcanzado niveles asombrosos de fama. (Su álbum de 2022, “Un verano sin ti”, es el álbum más reproducido en la historia de Spotify en sus 20 años de existencia). En “Dancing the Revolution”, él aparece varias veces en la muestra, que está dedicada a la historia visual y el poder político de la música y el baile caribeños. La exposición surgió tras el verano de 2019, cuando protestas masivas por años de corrupción gubernamental llevaron a la renuncia del gobernador Ricardo Rosselló; manifestaciones en las que Bad Bunny se convirtió en una figura central al pausar su gira para unirse al movimiento. En una fotografía monumental de la exposición, él se yergue sobre la multitud en San Juan ondeando la bandera puertorriqueña, evocando “La Libertad guiando al pueblo” de Delacroix, explicó la curadora Carla Acevedo-Yates durante un recorrido por la exposición.

Para Soto, le ha impresionado la manera inteligente y significativa en que Bad Bunny se comunica con los puertorriqueños; literalmente, como recordó su aparición en las noticias locales el año pasado, donde presentó las principales noticias e incluso el pronóstico del tiempo. Sus “sillas BB”, tapizadas con telas piratas que muestran al cantante con gafas de sol y cortes de cabello rapados, han sido un guiño irónico tanto a la silla plástica blanca omnipresente en la isla como a la profunda conexión del artista con su hogar. Además de sus apariciones en el Museo Kemper y el MCA de Chicago, las dispuso sobre un pedestal con ventiladores de caja en la feria de arte EXPO Chicago el año pasado, atrayendo multi

CNN en Español

En Argentina circula una cepa clave y agresiva del hantavirus. Publican presunta nota de suicidio de Jeffrey Epstein. ¿Se acerca un memorando para el fin de la guerra? Esto es lo que debes saber para comenzar el día. Primero la verdad.

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• Escucha las 5 cosas de CNN

Ted Turner fue el inconformista y filántropo de los medios que fundó CNN, una cadena pionera de 24 horas que revolucionó las noticias televisivas. El empresario de Atlanta, nacido en Ohio y famoso por su carácter franco, construyó un imperio mediático que abarcó la primera superestación de cable y canales populares de películas y dibujos animados, además de equipos deportivos profesionales como los Braves de Atlanta.

• Ted Turner: el rock star de las noticias, las 24 horas del día
• “Las noticias serán la estrella”: la arriesgada apuesta de Ted Turner para lanzar CNN

Estados Unidos e Irán estarían cerca de firmar un acuerdo sobre un breve memorando para poner fin a la guerra, según una fuente regional familiarizada con las negociaciones, aunque funcionarios del Gobierno de Trump ya advirtieron que las conversaciones se truncaron en el último momento en ocasiones anteriores. Se espera que Irán entregue el jueves su respuesta a los mediadores, dijo una fuente regional a CNN.

• Trump está atrapado por su propia estrategia mientras lucha por encontrar una salida de Irán. Análisis
• El Proyecto Libertad fue un fracaso. ¿Qué pasa con los 1.600 barcos atrapados en el estrecho de Ormuz?
• Los funcionarios de la Reserva Federal están cada vez más preocupados por la guerra con Irán

Entre los varios hantavirus que circulan en Argentina, país desde donde zarpó el crucero que registra cinco infecciones confirmadas y tres casos bajo sospecha de la enfermedad, está el virus Andes que protagoniza el brote de la nave, según confirmó la OMS, y tiene la excepcional particularidad de ser transmisible entre humanos.

• Gobiernos de España y Canarias se enfrentan por la decisión de recibir al crucero afectado por un brote de hantavirus

La Corte Internacional de Justicia (CIJ) inició el lunes una serie de audiencias para abordar la disputa entre Guyana y Venezuela, enfrentadas en un conflicto territorial histórico por el Esequibo. La tensión entre ambos países llegó hasta el principal órgano judicial de la ONU, en La Haya. Estos son los argumentos de ambos países.

Un juez federal