{
  "id": 5429576,
  "title": "Reports: RFK Jr. ordered measles deaths deletion; CDC still secretly counts them",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/reports-rfk-jr-ordered-measles-deaths-deletion-cdc-still-secretly-5429576",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-03T22:13:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ars Technica",
    "slug": "ars-technica",
    "url": "https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/09/reports-rfk-jr-ordered-measles-deaths-deletion-cdc-still-secretly-counts-them/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two measles deaths were recently deleted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's public data, following instructions from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The deaths, of a newborn and a child, were originally reported last week by health officials in Pennsylvania. The state's measles outbreak has resulted in 540 cases, with 119 occurring in the past week alone. Despite CDC staff reviewing the information and confirming the deaths were measles-related, Schwartz personally erased the deaths from the agency's website without objection.",
  "summary": "CDC staff had already accepted the measles death reports when RFK Jr. meddled.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Ars Technica Health",
        "title": "Reports: RFK Jr. ordered measles deaths deletion; CDC still secretly counts them",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/reports-rfk-jr-ordered-measles-deaths-deletion-cdc-still-secretly",
        "published": "2026-09-03T22:13:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}