| This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a routine immunization of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. "Are YOU supportive of these onesies?" is a truly bizarre question to shout during a Senate confirmation hearing. But Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wasn't grilling Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about any ordinary onesies. He was pointing to onesies printed with anti-vax slogans — "Unvaxxed Unafraid" and "No Vax. No Problem." — that, as of this afternoon, are still available for purchase on Children Health Defense's website, the nonprofit Kennedy started in 2015.  Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg Although Kennedy explained he is no longer affiliated with the organization (he recently stepped down as chairman), he couldn't outright condemn the baby clothing. During his opening remarks, he said he vaccinated his own children, but he was recorded in 2023 podcast saying, "there's no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective." Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon pushed him on this: "Are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine or did you lie on all those podcasts?" RFK Jr.'s answer? The comment was taken out of context. The non-answers continued: When prodded on the measles outbreak in Samoa in 2019 that killed 83 people — many of them children — and hospitalized nearly 1,900 more, Kennedy said: "I went to Samoa in June of 2019. The measles outbreak started in August. So, clearly I had nothing to do with the measles." The continuous weaving and bobbing around questions gets to the heart of what Lisa Jarvis says in her latest column: "Kennedy's habit of distorting the science to fit his own biases about vaccines is enough to disqualify him for this job. It poses a clear and present danger to the public, putting the lives of children and the most vulnerable at risk," she writes. Already, one in four Republican parents are delaying their kid's routine immunizations. Who knows what this chart will look like a year from now if Kennedy lands the job: There's no denying that the discourse surrounding RFK Jr.'s appointment is deeply political and at times ridiculous. But beyond all the theatrics, Americans need to step back and ask: Is this really the right person for the job? When Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana threw Trump's nominee a softball question about Medicaid basics, Kennedy incorrectly claimed that "most people who are on Medicaid are not happy" because "the premiums are too high, the deductibles are too high." But, by and large, Medicaid patients don't have premiums or copays. Medicare patients do. A person who is that unfamiliar with the basic components of healthcare coverage in this country is not capable of Making America Healthy Again. We deserve better. My editor pointed out that I've written about DeepSeek for three days now, which is funny because it's felt like three years! Anyway, yeah, OpenAI claims to have receipts that DeepSeek cheated, using OpenAI's technology to train its own model. If true, this would be capital J Juicy!!! It kinda feels like Silicon Valley's version of the It Ends With US saga: Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI are investigating whether data output from OpenAI's technology was obtained in an unauthorized manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, according to people familiar with the matter … Such activity could violate OpenAI's terms of service or could indicate the group acted to remove OpenAI's restrictions on how much data they could obtain.
Matt Levine's reaction is kind of amazing: "Ahahahahaha I can't believe that they used OpenAI's work to train their AI model! How rude!" Regardless of whether the allegations of intellectual property theft turn out to be real, the Chinese startup has raised a number of pie-in-the-sky questions: Like, say, do we really need a nuclear renaissance? Investors are no longer bullish about the future of utility companies, judging by this chart from John Authers: If DeepSeek's model is as efficient as it alleges, Liam Denning notes "it may cause Big Tech, and the investors backing it, to rethink the scale or, at least, the timing of their giant capex plans for AI." This realization arrives at a rather tricky time for the tech industry, since earnings season is just kicking off. Dave Lee says "investors will want to know why a Chinese startup could match the performance of top US-made AI at a mere fraction of the cost" and "companies are under pressure to use their words to settle the mood." I wonder how many of those executives will consult ChatGPT and DeepSeek as they prepare their remarks? On one hand, Goldman Sachs is the Golden Child of DEI. When CEO David Solomon took the job in 2018, he said promoting women to leadership positions was one of his top priorities. And he's still saying stuff like that today: But on the other hand, Goldman Sachs has never had a woman CEO, chair, president or CFO and only three out of the 17 newly-appointed executives on its management committee are women. It's an alarming juxtaposition, writes Beth Kowitt: "Goldman still purports to care about diversity, even when it would be easier to back away under the cover of the anti-woke pressures roiling corporate America. And yet the company has still made little progress." "Those who have come close to cracking the Goldman glass ceiling have left, often after encountering one of the usual factors that stymie women as they climb the corporate ladder," she writes: "having their work undermined by male colleagues, being passed over for promotion despite being highly qualified or being appointed to an impossible job that set them up for failure." And so, these women end up leaving for greener pastures, like president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland or chief strategy officer at Cloudflare — both roles now held by former Goldman employees. But judging by Solomon's 26% pay increase last year, I don't imagine he's missing them all that much. Perhaps you've seen Taylor Swift's look — yours, for $68,000! — from the Chiefs game this past weekend. I, for one, was not a fan. I'm sorry, her jacket looked someone vomited Louis Vuitton logos all over it!! But fashion is subjective, and Bernard Arnault needs the quiet luxury trend to die if he wants LVMH to keep growing. Andrea Felsted says his fashion empire's "outperformance wasn't as spectacular as that of Cartier-owner Cie Financiere Richemont SA, or even troubled British brand Burberry Group Plc, which both trounced expectations." Last week, Trump asked Saudi Arabia to make oil cheaper. "In private, the response from OPEC+ is dismissive, but also guarded; no one wants to cross Trump," Javier Blas writes. "But behind closed doors, there's been a flurry of meetings and consultations among the member states. I don't believe OPEC+ can resist the pressure forever." The US standoff with Iran can be solved with a new strategy. — Bloomberg's editorial board Florida Republicans showed how to stand up to an authoritarian. — Mary Ellen Klas Crypto enthusiasts are co-opting the debanking debate. Don't be fooled. — Paul J. Davies Colombia's president showed how not to face Trump. — Juan Pablo Spinetto Trump, Xi and Putin share a common mindset. That's scary. — Andreas Kluth Trump doesn't need to bully the Fed to get lower interest rates. — Jonathan Levin Britain's war on NIMBY time-wasters is worth it. — Matthew Brooker The global economy is entering a more risky era. — Allison Schrager I don't envy the UK climate change chief's job. — Lara Williams A pop-star sex scandal shows the death throes of old Japan. — Gearoid Reidy Trump plans to send 30,000 migrants to Guantanamo Bay. The White House is inundated with media requests and condom questions. Starbucks baristas will misspell your name again. If Mona Lisa's roommates could talk. The anti-Vail movement is alive and well. Justin Trudeau's "dark and ambient" son. Sephora is the new Chuck E. Cheese. Notes: Please send apolitical onesies and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and find us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads. | 
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