The Fauci Diary Isn't What They Are Telling You
PDS Published 07/28/2026
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You daily dive into the news, starting with this.
Let's talk about this Fauci diaries scandal.
Because you have MAGA, again, calling for the head of Anthony Fauci after Senator Rand Paul released more than a thousand pages of Fauci's personal diary from during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of his investigation into whether the COVID-19 virus might have leaked from a Chinese laboratory and whether, as Paul claims, Fauci lied to Congress about the diary.
It doesn't actually provide the evidence that Paul and many others seem to think that it does. Instead, it largely shows that he thought he was dealing with a fast-moving crisis that science was struggling to keep up with.
But—and it is a big but—that is not to say that it paints Fauci in a positive light. You have it showing that he may have lied about some things, and he at times appeared obsessed with his own fame.
And so with all this, you have some MAGA personalities calling for his imprisonment, some supporters calling for his death, all while he is now set to testify before Congress in what is definitely going to be a heated hearing tomorrow.
But also, if you're not aware, scientists still have not definitively concluded where the virus originated.
And so the debate over whether it may have leaked from a Chinese laboratory, either accidentally or on purpose, has still been raging all this time.
And you have much of the conversation focusing on the question of whether the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which Fauci led for nearly 40 years, had funded so-called gain-of-function research at a lab in Wuhan.
Gain-of-function research that basically involves messing with the genetic makeup of viruses to study them better and ultimately prevent pandemics.
You also have a hypothetical risk there that a super-powered virus could get out and can't be stopped.
Now, Fauci repeatedly insisted that his institute never funded this type of research in China and that the most likely origin of COVID-19 was in nature.
Meanwhile, you've had people like Rand Paul claiming otherwise and arguing that, as a result, Fauci might bear personal responsibility for millions of COVID-19 deaths in the United States and around the world.
Then this week, you had Paul announcing that his years-long investigation into the origins of the virus uncovered that Fauci kept this diary.
Now, Paul claiming that what Fauci wrote privately and what he told the country are two different stories.
And he said that he was releasing Fauci's entries from December 2019 through December 2022, which is more than 1,100 pages.
While Rand Paul hasn't explained how he got this diary, it's typewritten, so it looks like Fauci may have taken notes on his work computer, possibly for his memoir, which was published in 2024.
You've got Paul and others arguing that it shows Fauci was lying about the origin of the virus, pointing to what he wrote on January 26, 2020, which was:
"We know the market was not the source. It was the amplifier."
With that appearing to reference the Wuhan fish market that had early on been thought to be a key site for the start and spread of the virus.
But what Paul didn't point out is that Fauci followed that up by writing:
"Having said that, somewhere the virus jumped from animals to humans."
And Rand also notably didn't explain that all this is exactly consistent with statements made by Fauci around the same time. That includes at a scientific conference the same weekend and in an interview with USA Today less than a month later, when he used the exact same language, describing the market as an amplifier of something that was already going on.
Also, he failed to mention that just a few days later, Fauci still described claims that the virus had been deliberately or accidentally released in Wuhan as conspiracy theories that, so far, lacked evidence.
Though then, also very notably, in that same entry, Fauci said that he had heard from experts who believed that certain mutations of the virus could not have occurred naturally.
And he said that he had suggested getting a larger group of experts together to carefully look at this.
That meeting then took place the next day over a conference call.
And Fauci said in emails at the time that if they found evidence of a lab leak, they would have to alert appropriate authorities, including the FBI.
Then also, after the meeting, he wrote in his diary that only two of the 11 other scientists on the call were convinced that the virus had occurred naturally, whereas:
"The rest felt that deliberate insertion was possible."
Paul also pointed to this entry to argue the scientific establishment was more divided than Fauci later publicly claimed, writing this was never a 50/50 room.
But there, you've seen pushback.
People saying scientists were armed with little information and refusing to rule out a possibility. That is not the same as saying they believed that theory or had solid evidence to support it.
Then noting that the consensus that eventually emerged among those virologists was for natural animal-to-human transmission as the most likely origin.
You had one from Tulane University telling NPR that there's just no actual evidence for the lab leak theory, and also noting that no one, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology, had a precursor virus similar enough to the COVID-19 virus to create the pathogen that ultimately caused the pandemic.
In fact, the scientists who initially told Fauci that they thought the virus might have come from a lab, prompting that whole conference call, later said that more extensive analysis and new data led them to conclude they didn't believe any type of laboratory-based scenario was plausible.
And Fauci, while he publicly downplayed the possibility of a lab leak from the very beginning, did consistently refuse to make definitive statements.
For example, expressing his view in a 2021 entry, writing:
"Had only said that the very high likelihood is that the virus originated naturally from an animal reservoir jumping to a human."
Then adding:
"However, over the past couple of days, given the amount of speculation about the possibility of a lab leak, I have been saying that no one is 100% certain of the origin, including me. And so I am calling for a thorough investigation."
That, in calling for an investigation, is merely to put to rest the extraordinary amount of speculation and conspiracy theories.
Going on to say:
"However, this is being interpreted as Fauci flip-flopping again. The far right is really amazing in their distortion of reality."
Now, with that, not everyone in the executive branch agreed with Fauci.
The FBI assessed as far back as 2021 that the virus most likely emerged in a lab incident in Wuhan.
You also had Fauci writing at the time:
"The FBI has no idea what they're talking about. The reasons that they give do not make any sense."
Also, in January 2025, you had the CIA becoming the second intelligence agency to come out in favor of the lab leak hypothesis.
But even they acknowledged that the finding was made with low confidence.
And ultimately, there was no smoking gun there.
And there was also no evidence that Fauci had solid information that, with all this, he had withheld or lied about.
You can definitely still have something to criticize about the handling of the situation. This is just kind of how it is right now.
It is also true that there are other things that Fauci may actually have been less than honest about.
And so, in that 2022 interview, for example, you had Fauci saying they had nothing to do with school closures during the pandemic.
But in March of 2020, he wrote in his diary that he had convinced Mayor Bill de Blasio to close city schools.
And he also said that California Governor Gavin Newsom had decided to close the schools in California, as well as the bars and restaurants, based on Fauci's suggestion.
Though notably, while Fauci has also gotten a lot of the blame for mask mandates, he actually wrote in his diary that he really had a problem defending the ultra-conservative approach of the CDC regarding the wearing of masks outdoors.
Then, when the policy did change, you had him writing:
"Radical right-wing maniacs who blamed me for the rigidity of the CDC recommendations will probably not realize at all that it was me that triggered this change."
Also, you had Fauci writing about his relationship and interactions with Trump.
Sometimes he described it very positively.
But ultimately, he painted a picture of a kind of doddering, distracted old man—even back then. But this was more than five years ago.
And so, for example, you had him writing what he described as a disturbingly rambling discussion with Trump, saying he kept talking about TV ratings and hydroxychloroquine and influenza and virtually everything else.
As I was trying to keep him on track, saying:
"I insisted through the rambling and lack of attention span that the post explicitly say that this is not a quarantine."
You also had another entry saying that Trump still didn't understand the pandemic, and he described Trump at one point as acting even more erratically.
And of course, just after the 2020 election, he wrote:
"He is still insisting the GOP won the election completely. Alternate universe. Kelly, Graham, McConnell, Ted Cruz—all prostituting themselves by supporting Trump's baseless claims. Heading toward a constitutional crisis."
Then adding a week later:
"COVID will surge. 138,000 new infections yesterday. He has no interest at all in the pandemic. He is focusing on blocking Biden from being POTUS. He is embarrassing the USA. However, 72 million people voted for him. Difficult to understand. Craziness has overtaken part of our country."
With all that, you had Fauci also deriding what he called the "entire extreme right-wing Republican group in the House and Senate," having "completely sold their soul to the infinitely lying ex-President Trump."
Him then also describing efforts from Paul and other lawmakers to question Fauci over what he viewed as conspiracy theories as:
"An amazing and unbelievable waste of our time while cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to soar."
Then also, as far as public perception, besides the misrepresented claims about his view of the virus's origin, you've also got a lot of right-wing media focusing on his apparent excitement over becoming so well-known and admired.
You had him writing proudly about his interactions with celebrities like Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
He saved copies of favorable press coverage, and he noted numerous interviews and media appearances that he had made.
He even once wrote that he had achieved the "Fauci Five" by appearing on all five major Sunday morning TV news shows.
You had him literally writing in one entry:
"The public adulation of me has been amazing."
And another saying:
"It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked-about person in the country and one of the most recognizable in the world."
That's led to more criticism for many, including from Paul, who posted an AI-generated image of Fauci as a teenage girl writing in a diary, while also saying in another post:
"While America buried loved ones, Anthony Fauci was counting headlines that doted over him."
And then, of course, this also sparked backlash from the wider right wing and MAGA.
For example, Health Secretary RFK Jr. blaming the media for building up Fauci and other experts that he accused of media malpractice.
Saying:
"They told us all we had to trust the experts. And he was the expert that they elevated. And anybody who did not give complete blind faith to these expert opinions, which we now know were lies, was marginalized, vilified, demonized, and canceled."
You also had people like Ben Shapiro taking Paul's claims at face value, saying:
"As it turns out, Fauci knew pretty much all along that the origins of COVID were, in fact, not related to a wet market. Now again, COVID was almost certainly a leak from the Wuhan laboratory. Everyone knows this. Fauci was the bad guy—not because bad guys know they're being bad, but because they think they're lying for a higher purpose."
"Fauci was lying because he thought that he was, quote-unquote, doing the right thing, and it just happened to align with his personal interests."
And then with all of that, you had people like former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene saying that Fauci needs to face consequences for his alleged crimes, writing:
"I'll say it again. Fauci belongs in prison. So many lives were destroyed..."
Though notably there, she added:
"Especially from Trump. He loves the COVID vaccines. He saved millions of lives from Operation Warp Speed."
Which then makes the blame game even more interesting.
Because with all this, you have people not just talking about investigations or prosecution, but you have accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers between them saying things like:
"Doctor Fauci should be given the death penalty after receiving his fair trial."
"Anthony Fauci must be hung on live television."
And actually, with all that, I'll say among other things that are in those diary entries, Fauci also expressed concerns about threats to him and his family.
There was the possibility that he could be targeted by the Justice Department.
Paul has already repeatedly referred Fauci for criminal prosecution, but Biden issued a so-called preemptive pardon.
However, Fauci is still scheduled to testify under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which is chaired by Rand Paul.
And he argues that the pardon won't protect him from charges based on any lies that he tells.
So we're going to have to see what happens there, how it goes down, how Fauci responds to the many questions that he's set to face about this diary, and whether Paul actually finds a way to get charges.
But in the meantime, I gotta hear your initial thoughts, reactions, and where you think this is going to go in those comments down below.
And then there's even more that we gotta dive into in just a minute.
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But first, let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, one thing that I've learned after years of covering the news is that often, actually, the biggest disagreements aren't stemming from what happened, but how the story got framed.
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Know what I'm talking about? It's how much the food at Zohran Mamdani's city-run grocery stores is going to cost when they open their doors.
Because if you haven't been following this story, Mamdani plans to open one in each of New York City's five boroughs, and he's already selected locations for two of them in the Bronx and Queens. He actually hopes to have the first two open their doors by the end of next year, with the rest opening before the mayor's first term ends.
In a press conference yesterday announcing the plan, he said the stores will sell a collection of basic goods for 30% below typical retail prices.
No exceptions.
No gimmicks.
With that number being chosen because, apparently, food prices nationwide have gone up by just over 30% since 2019.
So these stores are essentially going back to pre-pandemic prices.
You've got the city projecting that they'll cut New Yorkers' average grocery bill by 15%.
So about $90 a month, or roughly $1,000 a year.
For many, that 30% discount is the difference between an evening spent around the dinner table with family or working another double shift to make ends meet.
And they're arguing that there's a need for this.
With Mamdani citing a survey from late last year that found that more than 40% of New York City families can't afford weekly food costs.
Granted, he says the prices will be reevaluated each year, but that's arguably more stable than private grocers, whose prices go up and down on a weekly basis.
That means no weekly fluctuations nor sticker shock at the checkout.
Like we talked about at the beginning, they're focusing on the most basic goods that people need to survive.
This set of goods will include all fresh produce, meat and seafood, along with 20 other essential items like cheese, milk, and eggs.
Now, immediately with this, you had criticism rolling in.
For example, the New York Post called the plan vague, citing a random West Harlem resident who said:
"It's stupid. What kind of bread? I'm not letting them choose what kind of bread I eat. I'm not taking anything other than what I want. I won't eat mayonnaise unless it's Hellmann's."
Which I will say—that went from zero to "don't fuck with my mayonnaise" so fast.
But I should also note that the city is not the one that's actually going to be picking which brands get sold.
Because Mamdani is inviting private operators to bid for the chance to run these stores.
So the city will cover the rent, maintenance, and property taxes, as well as dictate the mission, standards, and store requirements.
Then the private operator will handle the day-to-day stuff like sourcing products, stocking shelves, assuring quality, and hiring staff.
If you know how to run a grocery store and you want to do more to help your fellow New Yorkers, I encourage you to head to GroceryNYC.
Also, as far as the staff, they'll receive family-sustaining wages and benefits, and they'll be allowed to organize a union if they want.
While you have all of this sounding really nice on paper, you then have critics arguing it is not going to work in practice.
With some predicting that local stores will shut down, the government stores will become the only option, shelves will go empty, rationing will start, and you'll see daily rushes, hoarding, and lines around the block.
Meanwhile, you have others imagining a near-apocalyptic catastrophe, with supply chains breaking down, people panicking and fleeing, the government trying to box them in with an exit tax, and those who remain stopping work, hoarding goods, and turning on their neighbors as the city descends into chaos.
But also, I will say, as far-fetched as that specific picture may seem, there is reasonable concern at the heart of it.
New York's local bodegas and corner stores are not sitting pretty on mountains of cash.
They often get by with really small profit margins, like one to two percent.
So you do have many small business owners worried that if the city starts undercutting them by 30%, they just won't be able to survive.
"We're hardly paying rent, utility bills, employees, and we're just getting by. Imagine them coming to open another business. It's going to be harder for us to compete with the government. Imagine that. And 30%?"
Now, in his defense, you have Mamdani saying that they're only going to be discounting these basic goods, and they're not even going to sell stuff like alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, or cannabis.
All of which, he says, drives revenue for the bodegas.
Plus, New York is home to some 13,000 bodegas anyway.
So it's doubtful that just five new stores are going to cause economic devastation.
That's as he says these specific locations that his administration has selected can accommodate the competition.
"When you are speaking about a dense neighborhood, there is more than enough market for both existing grocers as well as one city-run grocery store."
The city already operates subsidized markets, for example at Essex Street Market, and those are operating near multiple grocers and multiple bodegas.
And we have not seen harm to local stores or operators.
In fact, Mamdani argues that making the city generally more affordable enables working-class people to stay there, and that actually means more customers for private grocers and bodegas—not less.
But that is also if the stores actually serve the people they're meant to.
So some are asking:
What if people take advantage of the discounted items by reselling them somewhere else at a profit?
Well, in response to that, the city's plan includes a free membership card program that will track sales and block excessive bulk purchases.
But then still, you have others saying:
"Well, what about the cost? Isn't this going to mean higher taxes?"
Yeah.
I mean, there's really no way around it.
It's going to cost the city around $70 million to get the stores up and running.
That's out of the city's $125 billion budget.
But still, that's just to get the stores open.
The city doesn't yet have estimates on how much it's going to cost to keep them operating since it will depend on a lot of factors.
Regardless, in theory, it should amount to a downward redistribution of wealth, with richer people's tax dollars subsidizing a discount for poorer people's groceries.
And, of course, whether you like that or not will often depend on your philosophical views.
But there, I'll say, if you look at the comments in the New York City subreddit, they are largely negative.
You've got a lot of folks basically echoing the same objections you just heard:
That the stores are going to hurt local businesses.
That there will be shortages.
That the quality will decrease.
Then, for the conservative faction, this whole thing apparently stinks like the totalitarian nightmares of the 20th century.
"This has never been tried anywhere except Cuba and the USSR."
"This is socialism and communism at its finest."
But here I'll say, you don't actually have to look to just Cuba or Russia for examples of state-owned supermarkets.
You can actually stay right here in the United States.
Because it's actually been tried in several places, like Baldwin, Florida, and Erie, Kansas, where the towns' only local grocery stores closed.
So the government stepped in to fill the gap.
And actually, even in New York City, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia created city-owned markets less than a century ago.
As Mamdani pointed out, he did so because he believed in a simple definition of the task of government:
"To make people's lives better."
But also, with all this, it is worth noting that those two stores I mentioned in Florida and Kansas ended up closing down in 2024 for financial reasons.
But then again, it doesn't guarantee failure.
In New York City, it's not a struggling small town.
You have this huge, prosperous city.
So we're going to have to see how the experiment plays out.
Though also, when these stores open, managing the money is not going to be their only challenge.
Because without a doubt, there is going to be a battle over the perception of all of this.
And you just know that if there is a single banana that is bruised or maybe a little bit too brown, Fox News, the New York Post, Ben Shapiro—they're going to plaster that shit all over social media.
So really, whether these stores are objectively good or not, once again, we're going to have to wait to see.
They're also going to have to fight against a right-wing propaganda machine that is already, before they're even a thing, trying to make them look terrible.
The groundwork has already been laid.
"Zohran stores are probably going to give you plastic slop, disgusting, emulsified guar gum garbage."
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And then also, while you've got Mamdani dealing with this, on the other side of things, you have Trump again finding himself unable to escape a very big skeleton in his closet.
The Epstein files.
Because we might just end up getting more documents pending a decision from a judge this week.
That's because over the weekend, a federal judge ruled that the DOJ has to turn over a set of redacted or withheld Epstein documents to the court by Thursday for review.
These documents reportedly include emails sent to Epstein about women and girls where the sender's name was redacted, as well as FBI notes about Trump and other documents.
Now, you've got that stemming from a case where independent journalist Katie Phang sued the DOJ for concealing those records.
So now you've got this judge asking the DOJ to provide documentation proving that the redacted names are, in fact, the names of victims.
In the case of one specific file named "Potential Co-Conspirators," the DOJ has to prove that the redacted names are those of law enforcement personnel involved in the investigation.
But also, people are most interested in these emails because they include some of the most questioned parts of the files.
Like one from a redacted sender who told Epstein:
"Thank you for a fun night. Your littlest girl was a little..."
And another where someone told Epstein:
"I found at least three very good young girls, but we were so tired..."
We'll cover up this week. Meet this one.
Not the beauty queen, but we both like her a lot.
Then also one where someone's complaining to Epstein about the articles in Reuters and The Guardian, writing:
"The key are the 14 to 15-year-old girls. I am a sexual pervert because I say they are now of a reproductive age. My heart goes out to you, brother. Being called a sexual pervert is no fun. Hope you are fine and more than well protected."
You might remember that when the files were first released, there was a ton of outrage that these individuals were redacted.
Because people felt these were just incredibly disturbing messages, and the public had a right to know who wrote them.
And in fact, the reporter suing the DOJ, Katie Phang, says this is really about the overarching big question that we all know the answer to:
"What are you hiding, Donald Trump? What are you hiding, Trump DOJ? And what are you hiding, Todd Blanche, personal lawyer for convicted felon Donald Trump?"
As far as what comes next, after the DOJ turns these files in this week, the federal judge will look at them unredacted to decide if they should be released.
And that's actually something that could have a fast turnaround because, according to Forbes, he could rule anytime after Thursday.
Or, if he wants, he could provide up to a 60-day delay.
Then also, something very crucial about this timeline is that the files are due to the court on Thursday, which is also a very big day for the DOJ for another reason.
That's when the Senate Judiciary Committee is currently scheduled to hold a vote on Todd Blanche's confirmation.
Though that could be such a mess that it gets postponed.
There, you've got Epstein survivors urging senators to vote against it, arguing that he's mishandled this case enough and that he shouldn't be officially confirmed as Attorney General.
Where they're putting most of their focus is with Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn because you've had both expressing doubts about Blanche for a few reasons, especially regarding the Anti-Weaponization Task Force.
But then also, the Epstein files have actually come up, with Tillis saying that he would not advance the nomination unless Blanche met with Epstein's survivors.
And when that meeting did take place, you had one survivor writing an op-ed calling it:
"A box-checking exercise to secure Tillis' vote."
Saying Blanche offered no meaningful explanation for how the redaction failures happened, who approved the release, or what steps he would take to prevent survivors from being exposed.
Adding:
"We were told to take our information to the FBI. We have already done that. Telling us to start over was not a plan for accountability."
There was no attempt to work with survivors.
It was another way to dismiss them.
And you then had her arguing that the country needs an Attorney General who can listen to survivors and hold predators accountable.
Then making this plea to Tillis specifically, saying:
"If your support for his confirmation depends on his ability to treat survivors of human trafficking and sexual assault with honesty and respect, then you and every senator should vote no on Blanche for Attorney General."
This matters because if Blanche cannot get Tillis' or Cornyn's support, he's in trouble.
Well, personally, I'm not going to hold my breath here.
We'll have to wait to see what comes from the vote.
Then also, I'll say it seems like now, after months of Trump being able to dodge the issue by pointing to the war, the midterms, or any of his side shows, the Epstein files are back in the news cycle.
And for a number of reasons.
Including just last night while speaking in Michigan, you had him getting heckled while hitting his usual talking points about the economy and tariffs.
"It was causing tremendous problems for your jobs. But now all of that is changing because I placed historic tariffs on foreign producers and manufacturers, including a 25% tariff on foreign automobiles."
Crowd: "He's a communist!"
Trump: "He's a communist. Thank you. He's a communist. We're running against communists now. I didn't even hear the guy."
Also, in recent weeks, there have been headlines about Epstein associates dying, the files, and Trump's efforts to suppress them.
Coming up at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, an actor also made a massively viral rant suggesting that Trump was a pedophile.
"The Epstein files. The fucking Epstein files. Don't you want to see what's in there so that we can hold people accountable? These fucking rapists—we're just cool with it? That bitch has the keys to the nuclear codes. He's, like, all up into 13-year-olds. Like, dude... what? Go to jail."
And so it appears that it is back in the cultural conversation.
People still want answers.
They don't want the keys jangled to distract them.
They want someone to be held accountable.
But as far as whether that can happen with the people who are in power right now, that seems, I will say, unlikely in my opinion.
And then there's more we're going to dive into in just a minute.
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But then, from that, for your final block of today's show, I am going to cram some more news you need to know down your throat like I'm making some foie gras.
First up, you've got the big news that starting next year, you're going to be able to get Peacock with your YouTube Premium subscription.
And apparently, it's going to come at no extra cost.
Because you have YouTube and NBCUniversal finally striking a deal after their shaky negotiations last year.
There, you had NBC even warning that they were considering going dark on YouTube TV if they couldn't land the right deal.
Well, they eventually worked something out to patch things over.
We really weren't sure how that was going to play out for the long term.
But now you've got this multi-year deal working for both sides.
For NBC, they get better distribution for Peacock.
And for YouTube, they get an extra boost to their Premium package, adding perks like more live sports content and access to Universal Studios content.
So that's why some are saying this appears to be where the streaming world is heading:
Programmers trying to reach as many people as possible, even if that means dipping into audiences they don't own.
There are some big numbers here.
YouTube has over 125 million Premium subscribers, while Peacock has around 48 million.
So adding access to Peacock is the next step in making YouTube Premium a more competitive entertainment bundle.
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You've got Mitch McConnell, who is definitely 100% alive and issuing the statements that they say he is.
Though apparently, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, he has two options: prove that he can actually do the job or resign.
And that, of course, is because McConnell has been M.I.A. for more than 40 days at this point due to health issues.
Yesterday, you had the Capitol physician saying that he still hasn't been cleared to leave rehab.
That's left the rest of the country stuck on a roller coaster we can't get off.
So you had Beshear saying:
"President Trump is stuck in a war of his own making. Prices continue to rise, and Americans' voting rights are being threatened, all while McConnell is absent and refuses to communicate clearly and directly with the people he represents."
Because what we've heard from McConnell's office in the last few weeks has been unclear, to say the least.
You've gotten some updates, but really they've all been written statements, often accompanied by awkward photos.
And that, of course, has raised some red flags.
His office also released a statement earlier this month saying that he initially kept quiet about this most recent episode because people his age:
"Hesitate to share the vulnerabilities that come with growing older."
To that, you had Beshear saying:
"I understand anyone's desire for privacy, but when you run for office and serve as one of your state's U.S. senators, you willingly give up much of your personal privacy. That's the deal, and we all know it when we run."
So now, with this letter, Beshear is also calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to get to the bottom of McConnell's medical situation and let the American people know what is really going on.
And if he isn't fit to serve, Beshear says they should start the process to replace him.
But then also in the news, you had Japan just getting hit by a massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake.
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But then also in the news, you had Japan just getting hit by a massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake, collapsing historic landmarks, trapping people in damaged buildings, and sending shockwaves across the region.
The tremor reportedly hit at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometers, meaning that the surface shaking was extremely intense.
I mean, you're looking at a maximum JMA Intensity 7, which is the highest level on Japan's seismic scale.
And the footage we're getting is crazy.
Parts of the historic 400-year-old Kumamoto Castle saw stone walls collapse in a massive dust cloud over the area.
Meanwhile, you had local authorities warning of severe structural damage across multiple towns.
Though things like key infrastructure and the nuclear power plants are reportedly fine.
But in Kashima, for example, a section of the Aeon Mall reportedly collapsed, triggering fires and sending emergency crews racing to search for survivors.
It's actually because of massive collapses like this that, right now, we don't know how many deaths or injuries there have been.
You had a local official saying that between 20 and 30 employees at the mall have not yet been contacted.
And some officials, speaking anonymously, are saying that they expect there to be a significant number of deaths.
That's as you've got locals trying to get to their hometowns to check on loved ones, who are facing additional problems as transit has shut down.
You've got bullet trains being suspended.
Even slower transportation options are facing backups because at least one freight train was derailed.
Also, some good news here is that an initial tsunami advisory for one-meter waves along the nearby coastlines was officially lifted after two hours, with no major waves recorded.
But still, officials are warning that strong, hazardous aftershocks remain a major concern over the coming days.
Right now, rescue operations are actively underway.
Anyway, the Prime Minister is stating that life safety is the government's top priority.
But then, last up today, let's end on something kind of light—but still interesting.
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Arizona State University just turned content creation into an official degree.
So it's not just a class.
It's a full four-year bachelor's degree requiring at least 120 credits.
And yes, it includes general education requirements.
So it's the real deal.
You've got them teaching content strategy, personal branding, audience analytics, and other tools that are meant to give students what they need to start a career.
And for their capstone project, instead of writing a paper, they'll choose a platform, develop a content strategy, and build a full online brand.
You've got all of this happening as content creation has become a multi-billion-dollar industry.
It's really only been getting more valuable with ad spending, creator tools, and all the recent developments.
You even have studies finding that more than half of Gen Z is looking to join that industry.
So you're seeing reports framing this program as a way for the university to keep up with the flow of entrepreneurship.
Because soon, the highest-earning businesses could be personal brands instead of just random startups.
And on top of that, you've got people saying that the program also highlights another industry shift because it's housed under Arizona State University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Then also, it just goes to show how much the lines between journalism and content creation are blurring.
Research shows that people actually go to social media for news more than they go to things like television or online news websites.
Of course, rightly, there are concerns because, you know, just because you have a camera and a lot of followers does not mean that you're a journalist.
And I also will stress there, while I've had many young journalists come to me and say I inspired them to go that route, I personally do not consider myself one.
You know, I'm just a guy doing a little newsy-news thing.
Which, on that note, thank you so much for watching another one of my newsy-news shows.
And actually, if you're not 100% filled in, I just put out another really interesting news video.
Let's call it a bonus.
We dive into what's very likely going to be a horrific problem if you take generic weight-loss drugs.
It's crazy.
It's why you had some stocks plunging.
A lot of people are just really uncertain about the future.
You can check it out by clicking or tapping the screen, or I've got links in the description and the top pinned comment.
I love your faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
