The Gates Foundation is cutting up to 500 jobs, or roughly 20% of its staff, over the next several years, and it has opened an external review of engagement with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing a memo.
The organization started by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his then-wife in 2000 is one of the world's biggest funders of global health initiatives. Bill Gates is the chair and board member of the foundation.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other, he continued.
The Southern Poverty Law Center is facing an investigation and potential criminal charges by theJustice Department, apparently stemming from its past use of paid informants, the organization's interim CEO said in a statement Tuesday.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
"For 55 years, the Southern Poverty Law Center has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multi-racial democracy where we can all live and thrive," SPLC interim CEO Bryan Fair said in the statement.
"We are therefore unsurprised to be the latest organization targeted by this administration. They have made no secret of who they want to protect and who they want to destroy," the statement said.
Fair did not elaborate in the statement on how the SPLC was alerted to the DOJ inquiry, though he said, "the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups."
Fair, in the statement, outlined the organization's history in explaining why the SPLC for years used informants to infiltrate far-right and domestic extremist groups, and denied any criminal wrongdoing on the part of the SPLC.
He also sought to frame the criminal inquiry as a continuation of the Trump Justice Department's efforts to crack down on groups opposed to the administration's policies.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned from Congress on Tuesday, 30 minutes before she wasscheduled to appear before an ethics panelover her alleged theft of $5 million in taxpayer money to fund her political ambitions.
“After careful reflection and prayer, I have concluded that it is in the best interest of my constituents and the institution that I step aside at this time,” the Florida Democrat informed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns from Congress just minutes before House Ethics Committee was to sanction her.ZUMAPRESS.com
“I remain committed to supporting a smooth transition and ensuring continuity of service for the district.”
With her departure, Republicans hold a narrow 217-213 majority over Democrats in the lower chamber. The letter was expected to be read on the House floor later Tuesday afternoon.
One independent, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), changed his registration from the Republican Party earlier this year, but continues to caucus with them.
In a separate statement, the congresswoman accused the House Ethics Committee of not engaging in a “fair process” while its investigative subcommittee looked into her purported pilfering of COVID-19 relief funds.
The bipartisan 10-member panel voted to find her “guilty” of at least 25 counts related to the stolen Federal Emergency Management Agency funds on March 27, following a rare public hearing that stretched from the day before into the early morning hours.
Cherflus-McCormick’s name placard at the House Ethics Committee hearing on April 21, 2026.REUTERS
Cherfilus-McCormick had failed congressional bids in 2018 and 2020 — but won a January 2022 special election in Florida’s deep-blue 20th Congressional District to replace the late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.).
Before then, she had triumphed in a Democratic primary by just five votes over her next-closest competitor in November 2021.
During those campaigns, $5.7 million in government funding was funneled to a consulting firm “wholly owned” by Cherfilus-McCormick between March 2021 and October 2022, before it was voluntarily dissolved, a House ethics report determined in January.
Of that sum, a total of $3.6 million reached Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign coffers, according to ethics investigators.
The contributions were made via personal loans — which were illegal, in some cases — or donations from her siblings who also had links to a health care company that doled out the federal funds.
Defense attorney William Barzee proclaimed her innocence in the hearing and claimed that Cherfilus-McCormick had a legitimate “profit-sharing” agreement with her relatives who ran the company, Trinity Health Care.
“This is a family business,” he told lawmakers, rejecting sharp questions about the Democrat’s failure to provide documentation and saying the Cherfilus-McCormick arrangements were made “orally” or with “a handshake.”
The funding was supposed to be transferred from FEMA to a Florida government agency to health care firms statewide helping with COVID jab registration.
“The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense,” Cherfilus-McCormick claimed.
Her statement also warned about the dangers of setting a new precedent in seeking to “punish people before due process is complete.”
Cherfilus-McCormick is also facing a federal trial over the alleged theft.
Federal prosecutors indicted her on 15 counts in November 2025 for splurging the millions of taxpayer dollars on her political campaigns and even some luxuries such as a 3.14-carat yellow diamond ring.
She faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted of all charges following the February 2027 trial.
“By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself. I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt,” she added.
“I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished. Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district.”
“We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is a dangerous path, and one that should concern every American, regardless of party,” she declared, adding that the “fight is far from over.”
A combination regimen for kidney cancer treatment based on MSD's Welireg has failed a phase 3 trial, denting the company's plans to move the drug into the frontline setting.
The phase 3 LITESPARK-012 trial is testing triplet therapy with oral HIF-2 alpha inhibitor Welireg (belzutifan) given alongside MSD's PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Eisai's multikinase inhibitor Lenvima/Kisplyx (lenvatinib) in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common form of kidney cancer.
Another cohort was also comparing a coformulation of pembrolizumab with MSD's experimental CTLA4 inhibitor quavonlimab plus Lenvima to Keytruda/Lenvima alone, but neither of the triple-drug regimens was able to improve progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to the control treatment.
Keytruda plus Lenvima has been approved as a first-line therapy for advanced RCC since 2021, while Welireg was cleared in 2023 for RCC patients previously treated with PD-1/L1 and VEGF-targeted therapies.
Originally launched to treat rare disease von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome in 2021, extending Welireg's label into RCC has made the drug one of MSD's fastest-growing products, with sales rising 41% to $716 million in 2025 and previously tipped to cross the $1 billion threshold this year.
The setback in LITESPARK-012 dents the prospects for Welireg, as well as the pembrolizumab/quavonlimab combination codenamed MK-1308A. MSD – known as Merck & Co in the US and Canada – said the results "deepen our understanding" of advanced RCC, while Eisai said the study at least reinforced the central role of Keytruda/Lenvima in previously-untreated patients with this form of cancer.
MSD and Eisai have other shots on goal for Welireg, however, and have already filed for FDA approval of a Welireg/Lenvima dual regimen in advanced RCC that has progressed despite prior PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor treatment, based on the results of the LITESPARK-011 trial, with a decision due in October.
Doublet therapy with Welireg and Keytruda extended PFS when compared to Keytruda plus placebo in the adjuvant setting in the LITESPARK-022 trial, while MSD is also comparing Welireg to Exelixis' follow-up to multikinase inhibitor Cabometyx (cabozantinib) – zanzalintinib – as a treatment delivered after adjuvant use of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the LITESPARK-033 trial.
The prospects for MK-1308A now look decidedly rocky, as the advanced RCC indication is the only one listed in MSD's R&D pipeline, and LITESPARK-012 is the only phase 3 trial recorded for the coformulation. However, some phase 2 studies remain active, according to the clinicaltrials.gov registry.
Moderna, Revolution Medicines and Zymeworks record wins in melanoma, lung and breast cancers, while BeOne swings and misses at head and neck cancer.
The American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting is in full swing, featuring some of the latest developments in biopharma’s most dynamic therapeutic area. Experts from all over the world have congregated in the San Diego Convention Center to present cutting-edge research that could push the field forward and potentially change clinical practice.
BioSpace rounds up some of the most interesting presentations here.
Moderna presents “competitive” first-line data for melanoma antigen therapy
Moderna’s investigational antigen therapy mRNA-4359, when used alongside Merck’s anti-PD-1 blockbuster Keytruda, elicited an 83% overall response rate (ORR) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic melanoma who hadn’t been exposed to prior treatments.
Two patients in the Phase 1/2 study achieved a complete response (CR)—the total absence of any signs of remaining cancer—while eight experienced partial responses, according to an oral presentation at AACR. Disease control rate hit 92%.
“The encouraging data looks competitive to approved 1L options offering a differentiated off-the shelf-approach,” Jefferies analysts told investors in a Monday note.
In terms of competition, the firm pointed to Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdualag—a combination of the anti-LAG-3 antibody relatlimab and the pharma’s PD-1 blocker Opdivo—which according to its label generated an ORR of 43% and a CR of 16%. Opdualag was approved in 2022 for unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Jefferies also referred to Regeneron’s Libtayo plus fianlimab, a combo regimen that in a Phase 2 study demonstrated an ORR of 57%.
MRNA-4359 plus Keytruda has been granted the FDA’s fast track designation for unresectable or metastatic melanoma, Moderna said in a news release on Friday. The company “is targeting a potential drug launch by 2028,” Jefferies added in its note.
Revolution updates lung cancer data after epic pancreatic cancer win
Following its knockout late-stage victory in pancreatic cancer, Revolution Medicines presented a detailed breakdown of Phase 1 data for its lung cancer drug zoldonrasib at AACR.
The results showed a 52% confirmed ORR with a 93% disease control rate. This outcome “decreased slightly” from a prior readout, analysts at Leerink Partners told investors in a Monday note, pointing to an April 2025 readout that showed a 61% ORR. “This data cut included more patients,” Leerink said by way of an explanation, “and a longer follow-up time.”
The study, dubbed RMC-9805-001, also found that median progression-free survival (PFS) reached 11.1 months, with 48% of patients being free of disease progression at 12 months. Overall survival rate were not yet mature by the time of the AACR readout, but the study hit an estimated survival rate of 73% at 12 months, “suggesting encouraging early survival outcomes,” according to a Monday press announcement.
Zoldonrasib is a tri-complex inhibitor that works by binding to and creating a complex with cyclophilin A, in turn selectively blocking the active form of a certain cancer-causing RAS mutant. Around 29% of all RAS cancers are linked to this specific genetic anomaly, according to Revolution’s release, with no approved targeted therapy. Aside from lung cancer, the biotech is also studying zoldonrasib in pancreatic cancer and other solid tumors.
‘Encouraging’ win for Zymeworks, BeOne and Jazz’s bispecific backs cutting chemo in early breast cancer
A neoadjuvant course of Zymeworks’ bispecific antibody zanidatamab can help minimize or eliminate the need for chemotherapy in patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer.
“Strategies are needed to de-escalate treatment” in these patients, according to the abstract of an investigator-initiated trial presented at AACR. At six weeks, zanidatamab treatment before surgery significantly reduced tumor size and volume, as measured by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging.
Six patients achieved a pathologic complete response, while four had limited residual cancer burden.
These results are “encouraging but early,” Leerink analysts wrote on Monday, noting that zanidatamab’s activity “appeared enriched in patients with HER2+” tumors. Zymeworks is advancing zanidatamab along with BeOne Medicines and Jazz Pharmaceuticals for a variety of malignancies, including gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, biliary tract cancer and different types of breast cancer.
Zanidatamab is a bispecific antibody that targets two sites on the HER2 protein. This mechanism of action facilitates the immune system’s anticancer response, in turn preventing the tumor’s growth and triggering its death. The drug was approved by the FDA in 2024 for unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive biliary tract cancer, for which it is marketed as Ziihera.
BeOne’s experimental Tevimbra combos show no added benefit over PD-1 monotherapy
BeOne is proposing a clutch of cancer combination regimens based on its PD-1 inhibitor Tevimbra—but data presented at AACR did not show improved efficacy over monotherapy.
In a Phase 2 study, BeOne combined Tevimbra with the anti-TIM-3 antibody surzebiclimab and/or the anti-LAG-3 therapy alcestobart. The biotech treated 160 patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Over a median follow-up of 13.1 months, ORR reached 27.5% in patients on Tevimbra plus surzebiclimab and those given all three therapies. Participants on Tevimbra plus alcestobart had an ORR of 25%. Meanwhile, Tevimbra monotherapy yielded an ORR of 27.5%—not significantly different than the three investigational arms.
Clinical benefit rate and disease control rate were likewise comparable across all four study groups.
While the combo arms didn’t show added benefit over Tevimbra monotherapy, the discussant during the data presentation “did point out that this was a heterogenous population and there might be more benefit in the PD-L1 low tumors,” Leerink Partners wrote in an investor note on Monday.
Ukraine is ready to send its four minehunters docked in Portsmouth, the United Kingdom, to assist a British and French-led mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, The Times reported on Tuesday, citing a Ukrainian military source.
According to the report, Kiev is ready to help its allies as much as possible in the Middle East amid fears that US President Donald Trump might side with Russia and turn against Ukraine.
"We are ready to offer everything. There are four minehunters, all in Portsmouth. They can't go to Ukraine because, first of all, they would be target number one, and secondly, because of the Montreux convention," the source said, referring to the 1936 agreement regulating the transit through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and allowing Turkey to close the straits for foreign warships at wartime.
