By Deidre McPhillips, CNN

(CNN) — The measles outbreak in South Carolina — the largest the United States has had in decades — has ended, state health officials announced Monday.

There were nearly 1,000 confirmed cases over about six months, including at least 21 hospitalizations. No new cases associated with the outbreak have been reported in more than 42 days, the state health department said, marking two incubation periods – the time it would take to get sick after being exposed to the virus – without any transmission.

The South Carolina outbreak started in October, contributing to a record-breaking year for measles cases in the US along with the large, deadly outbreak in West Texas. The nation is on track to record even more cases this year, which would again make it the worst year since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000 — a status that is now under threat.

Public health experts have largely attributed the rise in measles cases in the US to falling vaccination rates; more than 90% of the cases in South Carolina — and nationwide — have been among people who had not received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The vast majority are children.

But there is a very early signal that MMR vaccination rates may have ticked up among young children in the US.

Some experts say that hearing about multiple large outbreaks and record numbers of measles cases nationwide — and confronting exposures near home — could have encouraged some hesitant parents to vaccinate their kids, and there’s “cautious optimism” about a potential shift in vaccination trends.

Safe, effective vaccines

South Carolina public health leaders say that increasing vaccination coverage played a significant role in helping to get the outbreak under control.

“Vaccination – combined with other opportunities for good, solid public health work – really can be effective, even against some of the most contagious viruses,” Dr. Brannon Traxler, deputy director and chief medical officer with the South Carolina Department of ​Public Health, said at a news briefing Wednesday.

Along with vaccination, aggressive contact tracing, case investigation and quarantine protocols helped “put a fire break ring around” the outbreak as it burned through the susceptible population, Traxler said. But the response cost the state about $2 million.

The MMR vaccine is highly effective. One dose prevents disease about 93% of the time, and two doses raise that protection to 97%.

In South Carolina, tens of thousands of MMR vaccine doses were administered during the outbreak. Doses administered in Spartanburg County, the center of the outbreak, nearly doubled compared to the previous year, and there was a 31% jump statewide year-over-year. Doses administered to children under 4 had a particularly large spike.

One metric from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that aligns with a broader national trend.

About 97% of 3-year-olds in the US in 2025 had at least one dose of MMR vaccine, compared with 93% of 3-year-olds in 2024, according to data from the CDC’s National Immunization Surveys.

The CDC said in an email to CNN that the increase is “consistent with a return to more typical vaccination patterns” after “disruptions in routine care and increased public distrust due to vaccine m

By Lauren Kent, CNN

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe made history on Sunday by becoming the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours in a competitive race — winning the London Marathon with a jaw-dropping time of 1:59:30. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa also set a new women’s world record.

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

1⃣ Press dinner shooting

The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday, Cole Thomas Allen, is expected to be arraigned in federal court later today. Meanwhile, authorities are combing through the 31-year-old shooting suspect’s social media history and a message that he allegedly sent to family members before the attack as they seek to understand a motive. Read more

2⃣ Severe weather

A multi-day severe weather outbreak is entering what could be its most dangerous phase yet as it heads for the Midwest, including much of Illinois and neighboring states. Widespread tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail are expected to threaten nearly 40 million people across the Mississippi Valley and into the lower Ohio Valley today. Read more

3⃣ King Charles

Britain’s King Charles III is set to arrive in Washington today for a state visit with President Donald Trump, during which he will attend events to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence. Unofficially, though, he will be on a charm offensive, as the “special relationship” between the US and the UK faces a tense year. Read more

4⃣ Iran war

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in Russia today ahead of a meeting with President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict with the US, after the diplomat’s visits with key mediators in Pakistan and Oman over the weekend. Araghchi gave a list of Iran’s “red lines” to be conveyed to the US during his trip to Pakistan, Iranian state media reported, which included “nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.” Read more

5⃣ Fossil fuel profits

For every single second that ticks by this year, the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies are on track to make almost $3,000 in profits, according to a new report. That’s about $12,000 by the time you read this sentence. It marks an increase of nearly $37 million per day compared to companies’ 2025 profits, the analysis by the nonprofit Oxfam International found. Read more

Breakfast browse

Before-after destruction

These aerial satellite images reveal the scale of Israeli destruction in Lebanon.

Roomy airline upgrade

It’s near the bathroom, there’s hardly any room to recline — but now, a new design has turned the last row on the plane into a “semi-private retreat.”

Kingdom of Mourne

The real-life Narnia is an ancient mountain kingdom at the edge of Europe.

Kinky rubber tables and spikes

Read more

Por Kristen Holmes, Casey Tolan, Alayna Treene, John Miller, Holmes Lybrand y Kyung Lah, CNN

Un día después de que un hombre abriera fuego en la cena anual de la Asociación de Corresponsales de la Casa Blanca, las autoridades están examinando un mensaje enviado por el sospechoso del tiroteo, tratando de entender qué lo habría llevado de su vida como un respetado maestro de California a convertirse en un aspirante a homicida.

“Permítanme empezar pidiendo disculpas a todos cuya confianza abusé”, dice una nota que, según las autoridades, fue enviada por el sospechoso, Cole Tomas Allen, un hombre de 31 años de Torrance, California, que trabajaba a tiempo parcial como maestro y también desarrollaba videojuegos, según registros públicos.

La nota, que Allen supuestamente envió a familiares antes del ataque, decía que pretendía atacar a funcionarios de la administración y expresaba su enojo político, al tiempo que señalaba: “No espero perdón”.

Allen tenía tendencia a hacer declaraciones radicales a medida que se involucraba en el activismo de izquierda en Los Ángeles, adquiría armas de fuego y comenzaba a practicar regularmente en un campo de tiro, dijo su hermana a las fuerzas del orden, según la Casa Blanca.

En los últimos días, dijeron las autoridades, esas palabras se convirtieron en acción. Subió a un tren en Los Ángeles y viajó a Chicago y luego a la ciudad de Washington, donde se registró en el hotel del centro que albergaba la cena anual, en la que participaba el presidente Donald Trump y a la que asistían otros altos funcionarios de la administración.

Iba armado con una pistola semiautomática calibre .38 y una escopeta calibre 12, dijeron las autoridades a CNN. Y luego, supuestamente, envió a familiares una declaración escrita en la que se autodenominaba el “Asesino Federal Amistoso” (“Friendly Federal Assassin”) y expresaba sentimientos anti-Trump antes de intentar irrumpir más allá de la seguridad afuera de la cena la noche del sábado.

El sospechoso “alcanzó a disparar un par de veces” e hirió a un agente del Servicio Secreto que llevaba un chaleco antibalas antes de ser detenido rápidamente, dijo a CNN el secretario de Justicia interino Todd Blanche, mientras Trump y otros líderes se apresuraban a ponerse a salvo dentro del salón de baile cercano.

Ahora, las autoridades están revisando la declaración que Cole supuestamente envió y su historial en redes sociales —que Trump ha descrito como “anticristiano”—, hablando con familiares y tratando de saber más sobre qué lo llevó a presuntamente llevar a cabo el violento ataque.

“Todavía estamos tratando de entender un motivo. Según nuestra investigación preliminar, sí parece que el sospechoso estaba apuntando a miembros de la administración”, dijo Blanche.

La nota expuso una serie de quejas en términos generales que podrían orientar a las autoridades hacia ese motivo, incluida la indignación por las condiciones en los centros de detención y lo que parece ser una referencia a Trump como un “traidor”.

El sospechoso del ataque está siendo acusado de dos cargos por uso de un arma de fuego y un cargo por agresión a un agente federal con un arma peligrosa, según la fiscal de Estados Unidos para la ciudad de Washington, Jeanine Pirro, quien no lo identificó públicamente. Blanche dijo que el sospechoso no está cooperando con las autoridades.

Allen asistió al Instituto de Tecnología de California (Caltech) entre 2013 y 2017, según su perfil de LinkedIn, donde participó en la organización Christian Fellowship de la escuela y en su Nerf Club. Fotos de Facebook de 2016 también muestran a Allen en eventos de Christian Fellowship en la escuela.

Como estudiante, Allen también apareció en un reportaje de noticias local en 2017 por desarrollar un prototipo de freno de emergencia para sillas de ruedas.

Se graduó en 2017 con un título en ingeniería mecánica, según su per

By Sarah Owermohle, CNN

(CNN) — When a group of mothers and wellness influencers, including surgeon general nominee Casey Means, was asked to go to the White House this month, some of them assumed a few staffers would hear their grievances about the health risks of weedkillers.

Instead, it turned into a two-hour session in a “jam-packed” room with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and the president himself stopping in, according to Alex Clark, a “Make America Healthy Again” influencer who was among the attendees.

“They just let us talk — they let us get everything off of our chest,” said Clark, who hosts “Culture Apothecary,” a MAHA-themed podcast produced by Turning Point USA.

There was a lot for Clark and the “MAHA moms” in the room to air. Top of mind was the commonly used weedkiller glyphosate and calls to reduce its use and investigate its safety.

On Monday, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could define a long-fought battle over whether one of the most commonly used weedkillers in the United States is safe — an issue that is being seen as a test of how much power the Make America Healthy Again movement can actually hold in Washington.

The lawsuit against Bayer, the makers of Roundup — the brand name for glyphosate — will determine whether people can continue to sue the company over illnesses allegedly caused by its product.

But regardless of the outcome of the case, which is expected to be decided in June, the issue of limiting pesticides has long energized the MAHA base.

Hundreds of protesters are expected to convene in front of the court ahead of the arguments, where more than 30 speakers will rally attendees to push for more pesticide protections.

The roots of a high-profile case

DeWayne “Lee” Johnson, a San Francisco school groundskeeper, was just 42 when he was diagnosed in 2014 with terminal non-Hodgkins lymphoma. For years, he had sprayed the herbicide Roundup around the grounds he maintained, once becoming drenched in liquid after a sprayer he used broke. After that, he began seeing rashes and lesions all over his body.

In 2018, Johnson won a landmark $289 million settlement from Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, which was found liable for his diagnosis.

The man who helped him win was RFK Jr., then an environmental lawyer in California.

Through subsequent court appeals, Johnson’s settlement was reduced to $20.4 million. But it marked the first decision in one of many liability cases that have been mounted against Monsanto, now owned by Bayer.

Although the company has since committed to pay out billions of dollars over claims that it is liable for health harms — including a proposed $7.25 billion settlement in February — Bayer has maintained that Roundup is safe and that its alleged links to cancer are unproved. The company has pointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s review of the product and its label, which makes no mention of cancer.

The case before the Supreme Court will determine whether Americans can bring further cases against Bayer. The plaintiffs are led by a Missouri man who argues he got cancer after regularly using the product.

“It is time for the U.S. legal system to establish that companies should not be punished under state laws for complying with federal warning label requirements,” Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said in a January statement after the court agreed to take up the case.

In a brief filed with the court, US

By Betsy Klein, CNN

(CNN) — “A bad noise.”

That was first lady Melania Trump’s first reaction, according to her husband, to hearing gunshots outside the ballroom where she and President Donald Trump were seated onstage for Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

She straightened, eyes ahead, as law enforcement rushed toward the dias, then crouched under the table before being escorted out of the room to a secure location with the president and his staff.

It marked the first time Melania Trump, who has closely guarded her privacy and independence in her second term, has been alongside her husband when he has been aggressively evacuated by the Secret Service. She has said she learned about the 2024 assassination attempts against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, and at a West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course from watching TV while in a different city from her husband.

“I’ve been through this before a couple of times, and she has not — to this extent. She handled it great,” Donald Trump told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday.

On the eve of her 56th birthday, the first lady — who’s long been concerned about security — recognized the danger she might face, her usual stoicism giving way to a look of surprise and distress.

The president, who had told reporters that it was “a rather traumatic experience” for his wife, was asked Sunday whether she had been scared.

“I don’t want to say, and people don’t like having it said that they were scared, but certainly, I mean, who wouldn’t be when you have a situation like that?” he told CBS.

Trump added that he saw a video of the scene and watched a close-up shot of the first lady’s reaction.

“She looked very upset about what just took place. Why not?” he said.

Melania Trump had been in the room for 18 minutes before that “bad noise.” Seated between her husband and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who’s expecting her second child, she’d been watching mentalist Oz Pearlman — the entertainer for the evening — guess the name of Leavitt’s new baby.

As Pearlman, leaning over between the Trumps, held up name cards in his magic trick, Melania Trump suddenly looked aghast, mouth open, seemingly realizing before those around her that all was not all right.

“I was performing right then for the president, the press secretary and the first lady. It’s kind of like a pivotal moment in the trick when you’re just about to do the reveal — like ‘wow.’ And we hear commotion,” Pearlman recalled Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash.

Roughly two hours later, the first lady, visibly shaken, appeared publicly in the White House briefing room for the first time, joining the president for his remarks to reporters.

After the Butler shooting, she issued a two-page statement calling for unity, love and kindness over politics. On Saturday, the first lady let the president do the talking.

Her team, a source familiar said, is holding up well and grateful to law enforcement for their quick action Saturday night, which was her husband’s first time attending the annual dinner as president, and hers as first lady.

But security has been top of mind for Melania Trump since that Butler incident, underscored in one of the more dramatic moments of her eponymous documentary, “Melania.”

“How does this area get secure?” she asked during a briefing on the inaugura