Cardi B Assault Situation is CRAZY, RFK CDC Director Firing Scandal, Minneapolis Shooting Updates
PDS Published 08/28/2025
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Yesterday’s shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School devastated the community of Minneapolis, leaving some families permanently changed and we’re starting to get more information about what happened and why.
Starting with a quick recap for those who missed our previous coverage about this:
Yesterday morning, a 23 year old by the name of Robin Westman opened fire through the window of the pre-K to 8th grade Annunciation Catholic School during morning mass meant to mark the first week of school.
2 children, ages 8 and 10, were killed and another 17 people were injured - with 14 of those being children as well and the other 3 being elderly parishioners.
The shooter also took their own life behind the church. []
For the update regarding the victims, it looks like all of the 17 injured are expected to pull through.
Though several of them required surgery and as of last night, 5 children and one of the adults remain in critical condition. []
And as they’re getting treatment in area hospitals, you’ve had tons of people all coming out to grieve and show their support.
With multiple vigils taking place last night in and around Minneapolis and many of them also calling for stricter gun control and an end to this violence that is seemingly so distinctly American.
As for the shooter, we’ve seen more information revealed as investigators keep digging.
The shooter’s identity was confirmed yesterday during an afternoon press conference by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara - we managed to sneak that update in right before we went live with yesterday’s show.
We know that Westman had no previous criminal history and obtained all the weapons they had at the time of the shooting legally - which included a shotgun, a rifle, and a pistol. []
It was also revealed that Westman was a former student of Annucation Catholic and a member of the church.
And their mother also reportedly worked there as an administrative assistant in the business office for 5 years before retiring back in 2021. []
Which brings us to the big question that has yet to be answered - why did Westman open fire on a church filled with young kids?
A precise motive is still being investigated but we do know that something like a manifesto was posted on the shooter’s YouTube channel, scheduled to go live as the shooting happened - though it was quickly taken down.
These posts reportedly consisted of a ten-minute long video shot on a cell phone camera showing a cache of weapons, ammo, and loaded magazines that had phrases like “Kill Donald Trump” and “Where is your God now?” along with racist and antisemitic language. []
And in this video, the person recording - who we notably never saw the face of - reportedly apologized to their family and added,
“I regret everything. I didn’t ask for life. You didn’t ask for death.” []
The other video was reportedly 20 minutes long andshowed two journals. []
And at the end of that video, the person recording reportedly flipped to a sketched layout of the Annunciation church and stabbed a knife into it.
Saying they’ll upload a video “on the day.” []
Another piece of the conversation that has emerged since our coverage yesterday is the speculation surrounding Westman’s gender identity.
In yesterday’s press conference, the shooter was referred to as a man but reports quickly emerged that Robin actually changed their name from Robert at 17 years old.
With their mother signing off on the document at the time - saying that Robin, quote, “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.” []
However, their identity at the time of the shooting remains unclear - with most outlets avoiding the use of pronouns altogether when reporting on Westman and the shooting.
But this element has, you can imagine, captured the attention of both the internet and politicians.
Especially after the 2023 Covenant School shooting - which was committed by a trans man.
With the likes of Lauren Boebertsaying things like,
“Democrats will rush to try to use today’s tragedy in Minneapolis as a pretext to disarm law-abiding Americans. I’ve yet to see a single Democrat acknowledge the pattern of transgender violence in our country. Today’s demonic killer was a mentally disturbed man who “identified” as a woman. It’s time to stop coddling insane people in our country. It’s costing the lives of our children.”
And Elon Musk responded to a similar tweet from Kristi Noem - simply saying,
“There is a clear pattern here.”
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey (Fry), however, tried to get in front of this snowball - urging the public yesterday to avoid scapegoating the trans community because of the actions of one person.
[2:27-3:05 “I have heard about a whole lot of hate that's being directed at our trans community. Anybody who is using this as an- using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community or any other community out there has lost their sense of common humanity. We should not be operating out of a place of hate for anyone. We should be operating from a place of love for our kids. Kids died today. This needs to be about them.”]
And it’s also important to mention that Westman reportedly had no previous history of mental illness, either.
Now, like I said earlier, the precise motive for the shooting is still being investigated.
But the FBI Director Kash Patel said on Twitter that they are specifically investigating this as an act of domestic terrorism and as a hate crime against Catholics.
And we’ve seen this once again renew the conversation about gun violence prevention - with mayor Jacob Fry saying in an interview this morning,
[1:10-1:29 “Right now, we have a city that is united and we have a city that is going to be united in action. Because the truth is that there needs to be change, so that we don’t have another mayor in another month and a half, talking about a tragedy that happened in their city.”]
[2:24-2:43 “People who say, ‘This is not about guns,’ you got to be kidding me. This is about guns. We do need to take action, there are other countries around the world, where horrific acts have taken place like this; and then they step up to make a change, so in fact it does not happen again.”]
And we’re seeing other lawmakers and advocate groups echoing that - pressing for change and action and prevention.
But this is America - real change on this front seems unlikely, even in the wake of this horrific tragedy.
Because this isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation, in these circumstances and the worst part is that it probably won’t be the last.
With that, I’m going to again say that our hearts go out to the victims and their families and the staff and just everyone caught up in this terrible, awful situation.
And we’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for more updates
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So, Cardi B is currently in court for a civil suit, and it’s going something like this:
“Yesterday you had black hair, short hair, today it’s blonde and long, which one is your real hair? Or are they both real?”
“[laughing] They’re wigs!” (0:00-0:13)
“Do you have any affiliation at this time with a gang?” (0:28-0:32)
“Your fingernails, can you show them to us for all of us to see? How long are those fingernails?” (0:44-0:50)
“I said bitch, get the fuck out of my face, why are you in my face, why are you recording me? Ain’t you supposed to be security?”“Tell it to her now. Go ahead. Say it again.”“Objection your honor.”
“you want me to say it to her face?”
“I want you to tell it to her face what you said on that day.” (0:07-0:18)
“Why were you concerned?”“Because I am pregnant and this girl is about to fucking beat my ass. Hello?”
“Hello! Hello, I’m here.” (12:42-12:54)
“You said she’s bigger than you, is that correct?”
“Absolutely.”
“how do you know that?” “I mean, look.” (13:27-13:35)
“Did you call her fat?”
“No, I was calling her a bitch.” (14:11-14:14)
So those are just some highlight clips from this trial, which are going incredibly viral online as the case plays out.
As for what it is even about, a security guard has accused Cardi of assaulting her in 2018 at a OBGYN’s office in Beverly Hills and is seeking $24 million in damages. []
According to the security guard, she was working at a building where Cardi had a medical appointment and was doing rounds when she saw Cardi get off the elevator and said out loud, “Wow, it’s Cardi B.”[]
And she says this upset Cardi, she felt she had been called out in public, and it prompted her to curse at the guard, threaten her job, spit on her, take a swing at her, and scratch her cheek with her fingernail.
But according to Cardi, this is not how it went down, with her claiming she was frustrated because she believes the guard was recording her, and while they had a heated exchange and went chest to chest, she maintains it was never physical.
“Did you ever threaten to get her fired?”
“No.”“And I want to be very, very clear, did you ever spit on Mrs. Ellis?”“No.”“Did you ever call Ms Ellis the N word? Apologies.”“No.”(43:58-44:13)
“Did you ever touch Emani Ellis's face or nose with your finger?”“No.” (0:11-0:15)
“She couldn’t get a scratch from me because I didn’t touch her.” (17:17:17:20)
And so far, a receptionist at the office who intervened did back some of this up:
“At any point in that confrontation did Cardi B cut Ms. Ellis with Cardi’s finger nails…”
“objection, calls for speculation…”“....while you were there?”“Overruled.”“no.” (9:47-9:59)
“Did you hear Cardi B use the n word? you know what I mean by the n word?”“yeah, no.” (10:09-10:16)
So this trial is playing out both in the real courts and in the court of public opinion.
That latter of which is more amused than anything, not just by the lawyers asking about Cardi’s hair and nails, but Cardi’s overall demeanor throughout this.
People thinking it seems like an SNL skit and that her next project should just be doing comedy.[][]
But of course, it is a real trial that will have a real outcome, and we will have to wait to see what that is.
But I would love to know your thoughts on what we have seen so far.
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This is a really big deal, but almost no mainstream media outlets are covering it.
Republicans are investigating Wikipedia over what they claim are coordinated campaigns to inject bias into entries.
But many people argue this is just a veiled attempt to censor one of the biggest sources of information in America and dox its volunteer editors.
Right, and specifically, the investigation was outlined in a letter yesterday to the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia, sent by Republican Reps. James Comer and Nancy Mace.
And in the letter, the Republicans wrote that this inquiry was part of a broader investigation of, quote:
“the efforts of foreign operations and individuals at academic institutions subsidized by U.S. taxpayer dollars to influence U.S. public opinion.”
With them going on to request records regarding volunteer editors who violated Wikipedia’s platform policies.
Asking whether the Wikimedia Foundation has taken steps “to thwart intentional, organized efforts to inject bias into important and sensitive topics.”
And inquiring if the nonprofit takes steps to hold editors accountable “when intentional, egregious, or highly suspicious patterns of conduct on topics of sensitive public interest are brought to attention.”
With the lawmakers also explicitly saying that they want to “better” their understanding “of the individuals caught engaging in prohibited behavior.”
Right, and as far as where the allegations of bias are coming from, you have the committee members arguing that there have been “multiple studies and reports” on “efforts to manipulate information on the Wikipedia platform for propaganda.”
And specifically, they went on to cite two different examples.
The first being an Anti-Defamation League report from March alleging that at least 30 Wikipedia editors had orchestrated a years-long scheme “to introduce antisemitic narratives, anti-Israel bias, and misleading information” in violation of the platform’s policies.
With the ADL claiming that the editors had engaged in a “coordinated campaign to manipulate Wikipedia content” in order to smear Israel and highlight criticism of the country.
While simultaneously “downplaying Palestinian terrorist violence and antisemitism” and promoting “pro-Hamas perspectives.”
Now, notably here, at the time, a spokesperson for the Wikimedia Foundation denied the allegations while condemning “antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
Arguing that a preliminary review of the report found “troubling and flawed conclusions that are not supported by the Anti-Defamation League's data.”
Accusing the ADL of misrepresenting “Wikipedia’s well-established guidelines, policies, and enforcement mechanisms that effectively address the issues outlined in the report and its recommendations.”
And claiming that Wikipedia would have been able to “allay some of the concerns raised” if the group had actually contacted Wikipedia before publishing.
But, beyond that, you also had some people speculahing that the ADL report was an act of retribution against Wikipedia.
And this because, about a year earlier, editors for the English version of the online encyclopedia voted to add the ADL to a public list of sources whose information cannot be trusted on certain topics.
Labeling the organization as “generally unreliable regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and related antisemitism due to, quote:[]
“significant evidence that the ADL acts as a pro-Israeli advocacy group and has repeatedly published false and misleading statements as fact, un-retracted, regarding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.”
Now, notably, that designation is just for those specific topics — Wikipedia still lists the ADL as “generally reliable” on other issues. []
But the move also came at a time when the group was already facing several controversies that had prompted widespread concerns about its credibility in the wake of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
With many experts, advocates on the left, and progressive Jewish groups slamming the ADL for changing its definition of antisemitism in a way that conflates anti-Israel sentiments with being racist against Jews and skews data on hate crimes. []
Accusing the group of censoring free speech, undermining other civil rights groups, and generally moving toward the right to appease Trump, among other complaints.
But, of course, on the other side, you had the ADL and some other Jewish groups condemning Wikipedia and accusing the platform of fostering anti-semitism.
And now, those allegations appear to be at the center of this new Congressional investigation.
Right, the only other report the Republican representatives cited in their letter was an analysis from the Atlantic Council that found that pro-Russia actors were using Wikipedia to push pro-Kremlin propaganda in order to train AI tools.
But that article was part of a broader project that tracked how pro-Russian forces had created a network of fraudulent news portals to pollute content on a number of different platforms — not just Wikipedia.
With that notably also including X — which, of course, the Republicans failed to mention in their letter.
Right, and with all this, you have the lawmakers making a series of specific requests for their investigation.
Asking for information on coordinated efforts by “nation state actors” and “academic institutions” to edit or influence content on the platform.
As well as asking for insights on Wikipedia’s editorial policies and protocols on bias, and how they enforce violations of those policies by editors and others.
But, VERY importantly, they also requested that Wikipedia hand over personal identifying information of its editors who have been subject to actions by Wikipedia’s dispute resolution panel.
With the requested information including “names, IP addresses, registration dates,” and user activity logs.
Right, so with this, you have tons of people online raising concerns that Republicans are trying to censor Wikipedia.[][][][]
With many specifically saying it’s an attempt to censor information about Palestine on the platform or any content that could be seen as harmful to Israel — like articles that describe the very real actions Israel is taking.
Others also raised concerns about the fact that the lawmakers are asking for identifying information about Wikipedia editors, with some people saying they are going to dox or otherwise target them.[][]
But some people argued that this is part of a broader effort by Republicans to crack down on Wikipedia that goes beyond just Israel.
Right, recently, we have seen an increasing number of attacks from people on the right who claim that Wikipedia is biased.
This including major voices like Elon Musk, who has repeatedly slammed the site, claiming it's become woke.
And earlier this year, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for D.C. accused Wikipedia of spreading “propaganda” and threatened to pull its non-profit status.
Right, and it would be a massive deal if the right is successful in censoring or bringing major changes to Wikipedia because it is such a key source of information for so many people all over the world.
So taking that away or dramatically changing it would have devastating consequences, especially because many experts see this as part of Trump and the right’s broader crackdown on access to information.
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Is the US military going into Mexico?
That’s what many Mexican politicians fear, while others are openly calling for it.
The situation has caused some serious tensions in the Mexican legislature to the point that we saw pushes and punches being thrown around yesterday.
The session was already tense, but things really kicked off when Lily Tellez (teh-yez) of the conservative PAN party moved to ratify her calls for US intervention in Mexico to fight cartels.
To get a better idea of her stance, you just need to hear what she said on Fox News last week:
“The help of the United States to fight the cartels and Mexico is absolutely welcome. And that is how the majority of Mexicans feel. The only ones who don’t like President Trump sending help to fight against the cartels are the Narcopoliticians. aThat includes President Sheinbaum.”
That prompted the ruling Morena party to claim that all of PAN wanted US military intervention into Mexico -- which comes off borderline treasonous to many Mexicans.
But where things really went off the rails was when Morena also accused the opposition PRI (pree) party of pushing for US aid as well.
PRI members wanted a chance to speak on the floor to deny those accusations but were denied over and over by Senate President Gerardo Fernandez Noroña. (Hair-rar-doe Fernandez No-ro-nya)
So when the session ended we saw President of PRI Alejandro Morv eno approach Noroña and demand an explanavtion.
Noroña told him to chill because the national anthem was being sung, so Moreno waited a few minutes before once again confronting Noroña.
And that’s when this happened. [video] [possibly better angle]
It’s hard to see in that footage, but it wasn’t just Noroña that got hit either. [other footage]
Reportedly a cameraman at the scene was knocked over and punched by another PRI member -- this same dude also got a punch in on Noroña.
One member of the ruling Morena party -- and yes that’s confusing because it’s almost exactly the same as MorenO -- tried to intervene but had to get out of there to avoid being injured.
After things calmed down Noroña spoke about the incident at a news conference at denied it was much of a confrontation, saying:
“What confrontation? He hit me and said, ‘I’m going to kill you.’”
He added that he was going to file a complaint for the assaults as well as demand compensation for the cameraman’s equipment that was damaged.
Online Mexicans mostly joked about the incident with memes like “Senator Fighter” in the style of Stvreet Fighter.
Obviously the big question is still whether talk about US intervention in Mexico is serious or not.
Right, Trump has been suggesting it over and over as far back as February when they listed a bunch of cartels as terrorist groups.
Then earlier this month Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that those designations would let the US “target” the cartels and adding: [read, but will try to find a video]
"It allows us to now target what they're operating and to use other elements of American power, intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, whatever ... to target these groups if we have an opportunity to do it.”
“We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply drug dealing organizations."
However, the current Mexican government is not happy with the idea, with President Claudia Sheinbaum insisting that Mexico "would not accept the participation of U.S. military forces on our territory."
Although based on America’s past military actions, it doesn’t seem like we care if the country were intervening in cares or not.
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It is chaos at the CDC right now – I mean, even more than usual.
Right, the agency’s director has been fired after just weeks on the job, and while she’s refusing to step down, top officials are resigning en masse.
And all of it, according to experts, is bad news for health in America.
But starting with the director, her name is Susan Monarez (mo-nar-ez).
She took over as the agency’s acting director in January.
Trump then named her the official nominee after withdrawing his first choice for the position in March.
And on July 31st, she was sworn in as the first-ever CDC director confirmed by the Senate, right, which only became a requirement for the position in 2023.
And since that was only a month ago, she’s now also making history as shortest-serving director in the life of the 79-year-old agency.
Though, notably, it’s been a busy month.
Right, on August 8th, a man who blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him suicidal opened fire on the CDC headquarters – killing a police officer and then himself.
You then had hundreds of CDC employees getting fired.
And you also had 750 HHS employees – including people working at the CDC – sending a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and asking him to stop spreading misinformation.
Right, because RFK, of course? He has a long history of anti-vaccine advocacy.
And in fact, he once called the COVID-19 vaccine the “deadliest vaccine ever made.”
And now his distaste for vaccines has seemingly played a role in the director’s dismissal.
Right, because at some point in the midst of all this chaos, she reportedly scheduled an “all hands meeting” to address employees’ concerns – but higher-ups at HHS cancelled the meeting and called her to Washington DC. []
And then, according to reporting by the Washington Post, Kennedy and one of his top advisers pushed her to fire her senior staff by the end of this week. []
And what’s more, he and other officials as well as lawyers for the administration grilled Mo-nar-ez about whether she would support rescinding certain approvals for coronavirus vaccines. []
But she reportedly wouldn’t commit to changing coronavirus vaccine policy without consulting her advisers.
And that prompted Kennedy to urge her to resign for “not supporting President Trump’s agenda.” []
She refused, however, and tried to get help from Republican Senator Bill Cassidy.
Right, he’s the chairman of the Senate’s health committee, and he only voted to confirm Kennedy after saying he had been assured vaccines would be protected.
But that reportedly just pissed off Kennedy even more and administration officials told Mo-nar-ez that she could either resign or be fired.
And last night, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on social media that “...[she] is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” []
But notably, she never resigned, and she had never been told that she had been fired – at least according to a statement from her lawyers –
Who accused Kennedy of “weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk” and added:
“When CDC Director Susan Mo-nar-ez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted.”
And you actually had a White House spokesperson responding to that by claiming:
“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Mo-nar-ez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again.”
With him then going on to say that since she refused to resign, she has been terminated. []
To which her lawyer then responded by confirming that she has received notification of her termination – but also adding:
And so we’ll have to see where this ultimately ends up – but legal action definitely seems on the table.
And it wouldn’t even be the first high-level wrongful termination lawsuit this week.
Right, just today, you had Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook suing Trump over his efforts to fire her – a move that has been described as an unprecedented effort to interfere in the Fed’s independence.
But back to the CDC, what’s perhaps even more scary is that while the director is fighting her termination? A lot of very qualified people are leaving by choice.
With at least four top-ranking officials resigning this week, including the agency’s deputy director;
the director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology;
the head of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases;
and the head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
And that last one? He actually posted his resignation letter online, writing:
“I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.”[]
And also saying:
“Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.”
And there’s even more there that’s worth reading if you’re interested, but notably, you have public experts saying the loss of all these top-level people? It’s a straight up disaster.
With one professor behind the Vaccine Integrity Project saying:
“The loss of experienced, world-class infectious disease experts at CDC is directly related to the failed leadership of extremists currently in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services.”
“They make our country less safe and less prepared for public health emergencies.” []
And of course, with that, a key point to keep in mind is that everything we’ve just talked about? It’s just some of what’s got people worried.
Right, RFK has also cut $500 million in contracts focused on developing mRNA vaccines.
He fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with his own picks, including several vaccine skeptics.
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Although RFK’s causing havoc at the CDC, over here at the FDA he actually did something surprisingly good. [Image]
With him announcing that the agency just approved the new COVID booster shots for the fall! [B roll, 26:11, and play audio of people cheering]
… Oh wait, hold on a second, I’m just checking my notes here, and there’s a caveat. [Play record scratch]
The vaccines are only approved for people 65 and older or anyone with certain health conditions. [Quote, find “65”]
Which is a drastic break from the previous policy that unless you were a newborn baby under six months, you could get the shot, no matter what your health was like. [Image]
So now, if you’re healthy and not a senior citizen, you’re shit out of luck, though technically you still can get the vaccine.
Right, if you can afford it, get a doctor’s prescription, and find a pharmacist willing to give it to you, then you’re golden.
But it’s totally up in the air right now whether insurance companies will continue covering the shots, and if they don’t, you may have to fork over as much as 150 dollars or more to get vaccinated. [Image and Quote, find “150”]
Also, doctors and pharmacists might be wary of giving the shot off-label, not least because of fear or legal liability. [Image]
Right, for pharmacists especially, 19 states require them only to administer vaccines recommended by the CDC. [Quote, find “Nineteen”]
And the agency’s vaccine advisory panel, which is scheduled to convene next month, has been purged of legit scientists and replaced with skeptics handpicked by RFK.
So it seems unlikely that they’ll make a broad recommendation, especially if they follow the FDA’s lead.
But regardless, experts fear all the confusion and complexity around vaccine access will deter people from even trying.
Because there’s all these questions swirling around — will my insurance cover it? Will my local pharmacy supply it? Will I have to bring documentation to prove I have a health condition?
And if I have to pay for it, is the risk of contracting Covid worth the 150-dollar pricetag?
So you have a virologist telling the AP, “This makes things much more complicated, and when things get complicated we see vaccine uptake go down.” [Quote]
Which is not good because Americans’ vaccination rates are already way too low — about 23% for adults and 13% for children. [Quote, find “23”]
Meanwhile, we’re currently going through a summer COVID wave that’s claiming more than 100 lives every week. [Image and Quote, find “100”]
And that’s low; right, we’re still bracing for the late fall and winter surge.
With preliminary data estimating that 47,500 Americans died from COVID-related causes last year. [Quote, find “47,500”]
So you have the president of the Infectious Disease Society of America telling NPR:
“I'm worried that this puts the entire American population at risk for severe COVID disease and the complications associated with it. People who are not going to be able to get the vaccine if they want it. And you're going to see an increase in the number of individuals that are hospitalized or that potentially could die.” [Quote]
But of course RFK has a much different perspective, with him posting on X:
“The American people demanded science, safety, and common sense. This framework delivers all three.” [Post]
And if what he and the anti-vax movement believed was true, restricting vaccine access arguably would be common sense.
Right, they’ve been claiming for years that the vaccine is a deadly bioweapon that’s killed countless people.
[Clip, 00:05 - 00:08] Caption: “They are biological weapons of mass destruction.”
[Clip, 01:37 - 01:45] Caption: “Dead. Dead. Dead. Murder. Your government murdering you. Murdering you with loving liberalness.”
[Fourth clip, 00:00 - 00:09] Caption: “Taking things that are genetically modified organisms and we’re injecting them into little kids’ arms. We just shoot them right into the vein.”
[Clip, 00:03 - 00:06] Caption: “It is the deadliest vaccine ever made.”
So in the future, we may not even have certain vaccines to approve or disapprove.
Because RFK’s cancelled hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants to develop new MRNA vaccines.
Now thankfully for COVID in particular, there are a few silver linings to this news from the FDA.
First, many people have built up immunity since the pandemic thanks to past vaccinations and infections.
But still, experts reccomend getting the booster anyway, and there are more reasons for taking it than just preventing death or serious illness.
Maybe you have vulnerable family members, maybe you can’t afford to take off work, or maybe you’re afraid of suffering long COVID.
And of course newborn babies just came into the world, so they have little to no immunity.
And in May, the CDC pulled its reccomendation for pregnant women and young children.
Then the second silver lining is that insurance trade groups have said their members will continue covering the vaccine, especially since major health groups have contradicted the CDC’s anti-vax guidance.
But it’s still unclear which insurers will cover it and which won’t, and Medicaid, which is run by RFK’s HHS, usually just follows the CDC.
And then thirdly, the list of health problems that would make you eligible under the FDA’s new authorization is surprisingly broad.
Right, I won’t go through the whole thing, but they include stuff like asthma, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, a history of smoking and a sedentary lifestyle. [Quote, find “asthma”]
So if you wanna get the vaccine, start puffing on cigs, chowing down bacon cheeseburgers and acting real sad for your therapist.
Oh, and stop moving around. No walking, no running, just lie in bed all day or sit on the couch at most.
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But then actually, finally today, while we wait, I have one more thing for you.
And it relates back to this idea of Trump consolidating more and more power
with the CDC.
New as we covered earlier, even with a Wikipedia and FDA stories,
to an extent, I mean, most any story we cover these days.
And that because this morning I had a conversation
with journalist and former ABC news correspondent Terry Moran
while their full podcast together. I just dropped right before this episode.
I got links in the description and the actual card of this video.
You can watch or listen on YouTube,
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, all the places I wanted to include where I asked him this
do you see what we're we're dealing with right now from this administration?
As I mean, I know Bill Maher mentioned it a long time ago, kind of this
slow roll, coup, this, authoritarian power grab.
Is is that what it is, or do you think that's, taking it too far?
That or even past that question?
Yeah, that's what it is, Joe.
I do think the fundamental challenge for every American right now
is to look at what's happening and name it.
Okay, I know I've covered I've been in 86 countries around the world.
I've seen countries slip into autocracy
in the Balkans, in Hungary, in Poland, in Russia.
The first time I visited Russia was first time I as a reporter was in 1998 99.
And I've been there probably 12, 15 times since then.
And you can you could feel that Putin was the author of all this.
One of the most important facts
to remember in the 21st century is that Vladimir Putin was a lawyer.
He doesn't need the thugs in the basement of the, of, of the Gulag, right?
He can do it with law and twisting the meaning of law
and bringing the force of whatever power he's got through that misapplication
or twisting of the law to look like what he's doing is normal.
And that was closed in.
I could feel it in my colleagues and friends in Russia that they
they started being worried for me that I would speak at,
that I would get in an argument.
And they certainly didn't if certain people were around
Poland, the same thing you get, your life gets smaller is what one of my Polish
friends said to me when, when a government that is autocratic takes over.
I mean, look at how Trump brings the hammer of federal power
down on anyone he doesn't like, on any institution who displeases him.
You tell me what that is.
I think that's somebody who wants to be the strongman, right?
Not under the Constitution, but beyond the boundaries of the Constitution.
What president ever thought of of going after
news, media, universities, law firms, demanding
they do personal work for him if they don't get their ship in order?
As he sees as he sees it, what we're seeing is no question
what other countries have seen a lot what our founding fathers
predicted would happen that a great strongman would
would are not great in the good sense, but great in the power sense, right?
Trump is the most dominant figure of our age around the world.
Don't underestimate him.
He is a world historical figure
and he is the man that we were warned about by the founders
that democracies fall when a man who can captivate the populace
wants to exercise the power that's there in the government,
and that is what we'll watch.
But that is where you dive into the news ends, at least for today.
Definitely click or tap right here
to to watch or listen to my new podcast with Terry Moran,
and ended up being one of my favorite episodes.
I think you'll love it.
Also, for more news, you need to know that you might have missed.
You can click or tap right here for more PDFs.
And hey, I've even got links to both in the description down below.
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube wherever you want to get filled in.
You can't. No matter what. Thank you for watching.
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