The FDA sent 31 staffers to a Singapore conference during the shutdown, records show, raising questions of optics, spending and the agency's strained resources.

Singapore

Thirty-one employees from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration traveled to Singapore for the International Council for Harmonization conference on November 18-19, while the U.S. government was shut down. The trip, costing more than $250,000, was approved shortly before departure and funded through user fees collected from the medical industry, not taxpayer funds.

The FDA has faced criticism for the timing and expense of the trip, especially as the agency undergoes staff reductions and proposed budget cuts. Internal documents show the decision to attend was handled at the highest levels, with officials defending the trip as mission critical for global drug standards, while watchdog groups and former FDA leaders question the agency's spending priorities.

FDA Singapore trip sparks questions

On the last day of the government shutdown, employees from the Food and Drug Administration boarded planes destined for Singapore, where a global health care conference was convening on November 18 and 19. According to internal FDA documents and invoices CNBC obtained, the delegation was comprised of 31 FDA staffers, ranging from deputy directors to a program coordinator. The trip, which cost more than a quarter of a million dollars, or upwards of $8,000 per person, was approved about one week before they departed on November 12, and before the House of Representatives voted to end the shutdown. The bill is passed, the motion is adopted. The conference venue was a Hotel Ora and Hotel Michael on the Singaporean island of Sentosa. These five-star resorts house a Universal Studios amusement park and an adjoining casino. Luxury shops adorn the property, many rooms overlook this palm tree-lined pool and the resort even has an aquarium on site. The event was the International Council for Harmonization, or ICH, which aims to unify global standards for drug development and approval. In an email, the ICH told us, approximately 500 people attended in person from around the world, from regulators to pharmaceutical industry experts. It also wrote, the FDA is one of the founding members of ICH and helps develop the requirements for safe, effective and high-quality pharmaceuticals. But questions about the trip come as the agency is under fire from all sides. In testimony from May, the FDA's commissioner said the agency made staff cuts to be smart with taxpayer dollars. There have been about nearly 1,900 people involved in the reduction in force, roughly another 1,200-plus involved in the early retirement package. That's roughly a 15 percent reduction. And the Trump administration is proposing an 11.5 percent reduction in budget to the FDA. On top of this, senior leadership has been in upheaval, and former FDA chiefs have publicly questioned the agency's handling of key issues, such as vaccine policy. I think it likely signals a misplacement of priorities. Dylan Hetler-Gaudet is the acting vice president of policy and government affairs at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group that champions government accountability. He says the public perception of attending an international conference in the shadows of a shutdown is not good. I would hope that FDA leadership and the administration would place a higher degree of priority on making sure the organization, the agency is resourced completely, rather than needing to attend specific conferences or events. In a statement to CNBC, an FDA spokesperson said the meeting was mission critical and required approval from center leadership and the chief operating officer. He added attendance in the prior two years ranged from 47 to 49 delegates, and the purpose of the conference was to support global alignment on drug development, approval standards and regulatory science. Taxpayers did not foot the quarter of a million dollar bill, according to the statement. The trip was funded with carryover user fees, money the agency collects from drug, device and other medical product manufacturers for product reviews, inspections and other regulatory work. But an internal letter said that as of October 1st, 2025, the FDA's activities will generally be limited to work that can be funded by user fee carryover and activities that are necessary to address imminent threats to the safety of human life or to protect property. I think safety inspection and scientific research sounds like a much more prudent and mission critical use of funds than does attending a conference, even if the conference is a really important and legitimate conference. The FDA itself seemed to be aware that any travel could be viewed unfavorably. For example, in one document, the agency wrote, due to the optics of business travel conducted during a shutdown, conference approval will be handled by FDA senior leadership on a case by case basis. And whether to send staffers to Singapore was, in fact, a decision that rose to the highest ranks of the FDA. In a November 6 email exchange about the ICH conference obtained by CNBC, the FDA's deputy chief financial officer wrote the agency has agreed to limit in-person participation at conferences, but added the final decision ultimately rests with leadership. In response, a high ranking FDA employee and conference attendee responded that the conference was mission critical and Center for Drug Evaluation Research leadership support has been confirmed for the travel. Those dollars are still public dollars. Those still belong to all of us, the American public. The day after we reached out to the FDA about this story, the agency removed two public website links that outlined its travel policies during a government shutdown. A spokesperson for the FDA told us the agency routinely updates its webpages to ensure information remains accurate and consistent with current policy. We also asked if Commissioner McCary was aware of and approved the trip. The FDA did not respond to our questions about this. For CNBC, I'm Melissa Lee.

The son of filmmaker Rob Reiner was arrested on homicide charges after the director of beloved movies like "When Harry Met Sally ..." and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home, a police official said on Monday.

Los Angeles

Rob Reiner's son arrested after director and wife found dead

A jury found Brian Walshe guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Ana on New Year's Day in 2023 in their Massachusetts home. Legal analyst Jennifer Roman joins with more details.

Boston

Brian Walshe found guilty of first-degree murder in wife's death

Hong Kong's High Court on Monday (December 15) found pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong court finds Jimmy Lai guilty in landmark security trial

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. negotiators are meeting in Berlin. As the U.S. grows increasingly pressed to end the four-year war, the peace negotiations continue, with territorial concessions to Russia remaining the "sticking point" for Ukraine.

Berlin

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy offers to drop NATO bid for security guarantees

Police have released a person of interest who was detained in a shooting at Brown University. Two students were killed and at least nine others were injured in the Saturday attack. Tom Hanson spoke with students about the shooting.

Providence

Police release person of interest in shooting at Brown University

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed abandoning NATO ambitions in exchange for Western security guarantees during peace talks in Berlin. The move marks a major shift as Kyiv seeks to end the war with Russia without ceding territory.

Ukraine offers to drop NATO bid at Berlin peace talks

Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead Sunday in their Los Angeles home, sources told CBS News, in what police called an apparent homicide. Rob Reiner was 78 and Michele Reiner was 68.

Brentwood

Director Rob Reiner and his wife found dead in their L.A. home

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile's presidential run-off, after defeating his leftist opponent.

Santiago

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile’s presidential election

The person of interest authorities took into custody in connection with the shooting at Brown University has been identified as Benjamin Erickson. He's a 24 year old, originally from Wisconsin.

Person of interest identified in Brown University shooting

Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday, as Australia mourned victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years. This video contains graphic images.

Bondi Beach

Father and son behind Bondi mass shooting, Australian police say

Israel has described a deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach as an attack on Jews, after gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event, killing at least 11 people.

Council of the City of Sydney

Israel calls Bondi shooting attack on Jews, urges action on antisemitism

Two gunmen attacked a Hannukah celebration on a Sydney beach Sunday, killing at least 11 people in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitism and terrorism.

Gunmen kill several at Jewish gathering in Sydney's Bondi Beach

Providence police have detained a "person of interest" in connection with the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and another nine people wounded, as the Ivy League school said it had lifted a shelter-in-place order for its campus in Rhode Island.

Police hold person of interest after Brown University shooting

Belarus has freed more than 120 political prisoners in a major thaw in relations with the United States. The releases came in return for Washington lifting sanctions on potash, a key source of revenue for Belarus.

Minsk

Belarus releases 123 prisoners as U.S. lifts sanctions

Washington was still under a state of emergency on Saturday after torrential rains swamped communities. Plus, snow and dangerous cold are falling on some in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Nicole Valdes has more from Washington state.

Deming

Washington under state emergency as rains ease

China's plans for a massive new embassy in the British capital were delayed until January. Construction plans have proven controversial, with some raising espionage concerns. Ramy Inocencio has more from London.

London

Controversial Chinese embassy construction in London delayed

A United Airlines jetliner lost one of its engines during liftoff from Washington's Dulles Airport bound for Tokyo.

Tokyo

United Airlines flight loses engine during liftoff, sparks brush fire

Thailand says there is no ceasefire with Cambodia, and its military will continue fighting until it faces no further threat. That's despite the US president's earlier announcement that both sides had agreed to stop their attacks. Villages along the border are largely empty, except for a handful of volunteer security guards.

Phnom Penh

Fighting continues along Thai-Cambodia border

U.S President Donald Trump has threatened potential land strikes on Venezuela to target an illegal narcotics trade. Trump says the drugs are arriving on U.S shores and that President Nicolas Maduro is behind it. Maduro has denied the claim.

Caracas

Washington considers Venezuela land assault

King Charles III, who shared his cancer diagnosis with the world in February 2024, announced Friday that he would be scaling back his treatment after his doctors have seen success. The monarch also pushed for people to get early screenings, saying, "Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."

King Charles to reduce cancer treatments

Belarus has freed more than 100 political prisoners, including a Nobel Peace Prize winner, in exchange for sanction relief on Belarusian potash, a U.S. statement said on Saturday.

Belarus releases political prisoners as U.S. lifts some sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited troops fending off Russian advances near the embattled city of Kupiansk that Moscow claimed to have captured last month, which Kyiv denies.

Kup'yans'k

Zelenskyy visits troops as Ukraine claims gained ground near key city

In an audacious move, the EU has decided to indefinitely immobilize the Russian sovereign assets, pushing back against external pressure to release the funds before Moscow agrees to pay war reparations to Ukraine.

Brussels

EU locking in Russian assets for good

U.S. House Democrats released new images from the estate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that feature U.S. President Donald Trump and other high-profile people previously linked to Epstein.

Washington

House Democrats release more Epstein estate photos

For the first time, Amnesty International has accused Hamas and its allies of committing crimes against humanity, following an investigation into the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel. The organization found that 1,221 people were killed and said the mass killing of civilians amounted to extermination.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Amnesty accuses Hamas of 'crimes against humanity' for Oct. 7 attack

The “Architects of AI” were named Time's person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with no turning back.

Rise of AI

Time magazine names 'Architects of AI' as person of the year for 2025

Message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 12) asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16 as well as its inclusion in it, calling the law an infringement of free political expression.

Reddit sues to overturn Australian social media ban

As tensions rise with Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump said land operations could start "pretty soon." Sources tell CBS News the administration is also planning more tanker seizures.

Trump says Venezuela land operations could begin 'pretty soon'

One day after capturing an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, the U.S. has sanctioned three of Nicolas Maduro's nephews, along with six other oil tankers.

Trump ramps up pressure on Maduro with new sanctions

The EU has decided to keep the assets of the Russian Central Bank immobilised for the foreseeable future. The ban, which is based on a provision for economic emergencies, pushes back against external attempts to release the €210 billion in assets before Ukraine is compensated.

Breakdown