The Philip DeFranco Show - Cardi B Assault Situation is CRAZY, RFK CDC Director Firing Scandal, Minneapolis Shooting Updates, &

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

As Promised! Your DeFranco x Terry Moran Interview: https://youtu.be/GFv9sofZUZ4 You’re 30 seconds away from being debt free with PDS Debt. Get your free assessment and find the best option for you at https://PDSDebt.com/defranco Go to https://sundaysfordogs.com/phil to get 50% off your first order of Sundays for Dogs! https://BeautifulBastard.com Grab your new Tees, crewnecks, and tanks rn! LISTEN TO THE SHOW iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-defranco-show/id1278424954 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ESemquRbz6f8XLVywdZ2V WATCH/LISTEN TO MY NEW PODCAST w/ JB Pritzker Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CePXwDrvdQTes844wflKp?si=55a6b6049c4841ed Youtube: https://youtube.com/acw?sub_confirmation=1 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-good-faith-with-philip-defranco/id1827016835 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY 📸Instagram: https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco  🐦Twitter: https://twitter.com/phillyd  🎵TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@philipdefranco  TODAY’S STORIES 00:00 - Conservatives & Liberals at War over Minneapolis Shooter’s Gender Identity 05:34 - Cardi B’s Court Appearance Spark Memes 08:26 - Sponsored by PDS Debt 09:23 - Republicans Investigating Wikipedia Over “Bias" 14:32 - Mexican Senators Come To Blows After Debate About U.S. Cartel Intervention  17:36 - Sponsored by Sundays 18:29 - CDC Director Susan Monarez Fired  23:01 - FDA Approved New COVID Shots — But Only For Select Groups of People 25:46 - Trump's Autocratic Takeover of America with Terry Moran THE TEAM Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino   ———————————— #DeFranco  #CardiB #RFK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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of the day has a fresh lineup. Pick any two breakfast items for $4. New four-piece French toast sticks, bacon or sausage wrap, biscuit or English muffin sandwiches, small hot coffee, and more. Limited time only at participating Wendy's taxes extra. This Cardi v. Assault trial has now gone off the rails, where the RFK, CDC, Susan Menares firing is crazy and the fallout so scary. You've got Mexican politicians throw them punches over the U.S. military going into Mexico. There's a Republican censorship campaign on Wikipedia that the mainstream media isn't covering. And we've got big updates on the shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School. We're talking about all of that and even more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco's show

you daily dive into the news. And actually, you're getting a double dose today. Because I also just dropped a new episode of my In Good Faith podcast. And today I had a conversation with journalist and former ABC News correspondent Terry Moran. And I've got links in the description so you can watch or listen on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, all the goodness. But we have a lot to talk about today. Starting with this. We need to talk about Minneapolis. Because yesterday's shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School, it devastated the community of Minneapolis. It left some families permanently changed, and we're starting to get more information about what happened and why. Now, starting with what we already knew is that 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. Two kids, aged 8 and 10 were killed, and another 17 were injured with 14 of those being children, as well as the other three being elderly parishioners. But the shooter, ultimately taking their own life behind the church. As far as updates around the victims, it looks like all of the 17 injured are expected to pull through. With that, several of them required surgery, and as a last night, five children and one of the adults remain in critical condition. And you're saying that as they're getting treatment in the area hospitals, you've had tons of people all coming out to grieve and show their support.

Multiple vigils taking place last night in and around Minneapolis, and many of them also calling for stricter gun control and an end of violence that is seemingly so distinctly American. Then as far as a shooter, you've seen more information getting revealed and confirmed as investigators keep digging. Right, the shooter's identity was confirmed yesterday during an afternoon press conference by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara. And we were able to sneak that in to yesterday's show before we went live. We know that the shooter 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 the shooter was a former student of Annunciation Catholic

and a member of the church, and their mother was also reportedly working there as an administrative assistant in the business office for five years before retiring back in 2021. But then all of that brings us to the big question that is yet to be answered. Why did they open fire on a church filled with young kids? And while the precise motive is still being investigated, what we do know is 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. And these posts reportedly consisted of a 10-minute-long video shot on a cell phone camera, showing a cache of weapons, ammo, and loaded magazines that had phrases like

killed Donald Trump and Where Is Your God Now, along with racist and anti-Semitic language. Also, in the video, the person recording who we notably never see the face-up, apologizes to their family and ads, I regret everything. I didn't ask for life, you didn't ask for death. With an another video, though, was reportedly 20 minutes long, showing two journals. And at the end of that video, the person recording reportedly flipped to a sketch layout of the Annunciation Church and stabbed a knife into it saying they'll upload a video on the day. Additionally, another piece of the conversation that's 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 her mom 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 outlages avoiding the use of pronouns altogether when reporting on Westman in the shooting. But this element has 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 Bobert, for example, saying 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 that, as you saw the likes of Elon Musk responding to a similar tweet from Christy Nome, I'm simply saying there is a clear pattern here.

However, at the same time, you also saw Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry trying to get in front of this snowball, with him urging the public yesterday to avoid scapegoating the trans community because of the actions of a single person. I have heard about a whole lot of hate that's being directed at our trans community. Anybody 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. Now, like I said earlier, the precise motive for the shooting, it's still being investigated. But the FBI director, Cash Patel, said on Twitter that they are specifically investigating this as an act of domestic terrorism and as a hate crime against Catholics. But then also, in addition to that, we've seen this, once again, renewing the conversation around gun violence prevention with, for example, Mayor Jacob Frye saying in an interview this morning, Right now we have a city that is united in grief and we have a city that is going to be united in action because the truth is that there needs to be changed so that we don't have another mayor in another month and a half talking about a tragedy that happened in their city.

People who say that 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 that, in fact, does not happen again. You know, we are seeing other lawmakers and advocate groups echoing that, pressing for change and action and prevention, but also, one, with this being America in general,

and two, the makeup of Congress being what it is right now, real change on this front, for many, it seems very, very unlikely. Even in the wake of this horrific tragedy. And, well, of course, with all this, again, I want to say our hearts go out to the victims and their families and the staff and just everyone caught up in this whole terrible, awful situation. In the meantime, for everyone, I'd love to know your thoughts, reactions, and opinions here.

But then next up today, you may have missed this because, understandably, we're looking at the other dumpster fire. But I want to take a second to talk about Cardi B, because she 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? They're wigs. Do you have any affiliation at this time with a gang?

Your fingernails, can you show them to us? for all of us to see. How long are those fingernails? I said, bitch, get the fuck on 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. Why were you concerned? Because I'm pregnant, and this girl's about to fucking beat my ass. Hello.

Hello. I'm here. You said she's bigger than you? Is that correct? Absolutely. How do you know that? I mean, look. Did you call her fat?

No. I was calling her a bitch. So those are just a few of the highlight clips from the trial, which are just going incredibly viral online as the case plays out. And as for what this is even about, you had a security guard accusing Cardi of assaulting her in 2018 at an OBGYN's office in Beverly Hills and seeking $24 million in damages. And according to the security guard,

she was working at a building where Cardi had a medical appointment, and she was doing rounds when she said, saw Cardi get off the elevator and said out loud, wow, it's Cardi B. And she claims that this upset Cardi, she felt like 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, that's not how it went down. With her claiming that she was frustrated because she believes that the guard was recording her

and while they had a heated exchange and went chest to chest, she maintains it never got 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. Did you ever touch Imani Ellis's face or nose with your finger? No. She couldn't get a scratch from me, because that didn't touch her. 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 Miss Ellis with Cardi's fingernails? Objection calls for respect while you were there. Over.

No. Did you hear Cardi B? used the end. N-word. You know what I mean by the N-word? Yeah, no. Right, and so this trial, it's playing out both in real court and in the court of public opinion. With the latter, definitely more amused than anything, not just by the lawyers asking about Cardi's hair and nails, but Cardi's overall demeanor throughout all of it. With many saying it feels like an S&L skit and that her next project should just be doing comedy. But of course, this is a real trial that will have a real outcome, and we're going to have to wait to see how it plays out. And in the meantime, I'd love to

know your thoughts. And then there's more we've got to dive into, but first, for one minute, let me say congratulations. You made a payment and somehow owe more than yesterday. Welcome to the fun rigged game of debt. That's how the system keeps you stuck. Credit card companies, banks, lenders, are all set up to profit off of your stress. But today's sponsor, PDS debt, they flip the script to help you get unstuck. Whether it's credit card bills, personal loans, or medical expenses, they help you get out from under it all. No minimum credit score, no judgment, just a real personalized plan made by humans who actually get your situation. I mean, think about it. Hundreds of thousands of people have already worked with PDS debt to break free from

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So scan that thing and take the first step. But then, you know, next up from that in the news, 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 also, you have many arguing this is just a veiled attempt to censor one of the biggest sources of information in America and docs its volunteer editors. And actually, the investigation was outlined in a letter yesterday to the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia, sent by Republican representatives 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 then 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, quote, when intentional, egregious, or highly suspicious patterns of conduct on topics of sensitive public interest are brought to attention. Or with the lawmakers also explicitly saying that they want to better, their understanding of the individuals caught engaging in prohibited behavior. 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 and efforts to manipulate information on the Wikipedia platform for propaganda. With them then going on to cite two different examples. But the first being an Anti-Defamation League report from March, alleging that at least 30 Wikipedia editors had orchestrated a year-long scheme to introduce anti-Semitic narratives, anti-Israel bias, and misleading information and violation of the platform's policies. And you had 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 anti-Semitism and promoting pro-Hamas perspectives. Now, notably here at the time, you had a spokesperson for the Wikimedia Foundation denying the allegations while also condemning anti-Semitism 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-deformation League's data. Also accusing the ADL of misrepresenting Wikipedia as well, established guidelines, policies, and enforcement mechanisms that effectively address the issues outlined in the report and its recommendations. In claiming that Wikipedia would have been able to allay some

of the concerns raised if the group had actually contacted Wikipedia before publishing. But then beyond that, you also had some people speculating that the ADL report was an act of retribution against Wikipedia. And that, 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 ADL is 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 unretracted regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Now notably, that designation is just for those

specific topics. Where Wikipedia still lists the ADL as generally reliable on other issues. But the move, it 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 Israel Palestine. Where with many experts, advocates on the left, and progressive Jewish groups slamming the ADL for changing its definition of anti-Semitism in a way that inflates anti-Israel sentiments with being racist. against Jews and skews data on hate crime, 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 this is 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. But the only other report that the Republican representative 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 acts, which, of course, the Republicans failed to mention in their letter. And then notably, with all this,

you had the lawmakers making a series of specific requests for their investigation, asking for information on coordinated efforts by what they called 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 then also, very importantly, they 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. 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 that Israel is taking. Others have also raised concerns about the fact that the lawmakers are asking for identifying information about Wikipedia editors, with some people saying they're going to docks or otherwise target them. But also, you had plenty of people saying this is part of a broader effort by Republicans to crack down on Wikipedia that goes beyond just Israel. And recently, we've seen an increasing number of tax from people on the right who claim that Wikipedia is biased. And you've got folks like Elon Musk repeatedly slamming Wikipedia claiming it's become woke.

And in fact, 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. And, you know, all in all, it would be a massive deal if the right was successful in censoring or bringing major changes to Wikipedia because it's such a key source of information for so many people all over the world. With numerous experts saying this is part of Trump and the rights broader crackdown on access to information and saying it could have devastating consequences. So then actually, next up in the news, we got to talk about the question, is the U.S. military about to go into Mexico? Because that is what you see many Mexican politicians fearing right now, while others are openly calling for. And the situation has caused some serious tensions in the Mexican legislature to the point that, I mean, we actually saw pushes and punches being thrown around yesterday. And I mean, the session, it was already tense.

Things really kicked off when Lili Teilz of the Conservative Pan Party moved to ratify her calls for U.S. intervention in Mexico to fight cartels. And actually, to give a better idea of her stance, you just need to hear what she said on Fox News last week. The help from the United States to fight the cartels in Mexico is absolutely welcome. And that is how the majority of Mexicans feel. The only ones who don't like that President Trump is sending help in trying to support Mexicans against the cartels are the narco politicians. That includes President Shinebaum.

But that then prompting the ruling Morena Party to claim that all of Pan wanted U.S. military intervention into Mexico, which comes off as borderline treasonous to many Mexicans. But then where things really went off the rails was when Morena also accused the opposition pre-party of pushing for USAID as well. The Supreme Members, they wanted a chance to speak on the floor to deny those accusations. but they were denied over and over by Senate President Herardo Fernandez Noronia. So in the session ended, we saw President Pre Alejandro Moreno approached Noronia and demand an explanation. The Noronia, telling him to chill because the national anthem was being sung, and so Moreno waited a few minutes before once again confronting Noronia. And that is when this happened.

And it's hard to see in the footage, but it wasn't just Noronia that got hit either. Reportedly, a cameraman at the scene was knocked over and punched by another pre-member. And the same guy also got a punch in on Noronia. And one member of the ruling Morena party, and yes, I know it's confusing because it's almost exactly the same as Morano tried to intervene and had to get out of there to avoid being injured. And then after things calmed down, Noronia spoke about the incident at a news conference and denied that as much of a confrontation saying, what confrontation he hit me and said, I'm going to kill you. The menatting that he was going to file a complaint for the assault as well as demand compensation

for the cameraman's equipment that was damaged. Right. And then online, he had Mexicans mostly joking about the incident with memes like Senator Fighter and the style of street fighter. All while, obviously, the big question is still whether talk about U.S. intervention in Mexico is serious or not. Trump has been suggesting it over and over as far back as February when they listed a bunch of cartels as terrorist groups. And also, earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that those designations would let the U.S. target the cartels and dadding. 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. You have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply drug-dealing organizations. However, the current Mexican government's not happy with the idea with President Claudia Scheinbaum insisting that Mexico would not accept the participation of U.S. military forces on our territory. Although there, many are saying based on America's past military actions, it doesn't seem like the U.S. actually cares if the country were intervening in, cares or not. And then we've got to dive even deeper into the news. But first, let me say, if your dog, you know, they could read the ingredients in their food, they'd probably call a lawyer. Chicken byproduct, meal flavor. I mean, that's not dinner. That's a cry for help.

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Actually, next up today, we've got to talk about this CDC chaos, because it's not going to affect just you. It's going to affect everyone you know and care about. It's just a matter of when. And the chaos is even more than usual, with the agency's director being 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 the experts, is really bad news for health in America. And so where we should start us with the director, her name is Susan Monaris. She took over as the agency's acting director back in January.

And then Trump named her the official nominee after withdrawing his first choice for the position back in March. And then on July 31, she was sworn in as the first ever CDC director confirmed by the Senate, which only became a requirement for the position back in 2023. And now since that was only a month ago, she's also making history as the shortest serving director in the life of the 79-year-old agency. All while, it's been a very busy month. I mean, on August 8, 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 that were working at the CDC, sending a letter to Health and Human Services, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking him to stop spreading misinformation. Right, because RFK, even though he contests this at times, despite there being video and audio evidence, has a long history of anti-vaccine advocacy. He even 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. 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 the HHS canceled the meeting and called her to Washington, D.C. And then, according to reporting, Kennedy and one of his top advisors pushed her to fire her senior staff by the end of this week. Right, and then, according to reports, he and other officials as well as lawyers for the administration grilled Monara as about whether she would support rescinding certain approvals for coronavirus vaccines. But she reportedly wouldn't commit to change a coronavirus vaccine policy without consulting her advisors. With that, said to prompt Kennedy to urge her to resign for, quote, not supporting President Trump's agenda. She then refused, however, and tried to get help from Republican Senator Bill Cassidy. Right, notably he is the chairman of the Senate's Health Committee,

and he only voted to confirm Kennedy after saying that he had been assured that vaccines would be But then that reportedly just pissed Kennedy off even more, and administration officials told Menara's that she could either resign or be fired. And what you saw is that last night, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on social media that, quote, she is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But notably, she never resigned and she'd never been told that she had been fired, at least, according to a statement from her lawyers. With her lawyers accusing Kennedy of weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk and adding, When CDC director Susan Menares refused to rubber stamp unscientific, reckless directives, and by her dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda.

For that, she has been targeted. And then, as far as a response to her White House spokesperson saying, as her attorney's statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Menares is not aligned with the president's agenda of making America healthy again. With a spokesperson then going on to say that 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, As a presidential appointee, Senate-confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her. And saying, for this reason, we reject the notification Dr. Minares has received as legally deficient, and she remains as CDC director. And so as far as that specific situation, we're going to have to see where it ultimately ends up,

but legal action definitely seems to be on the table. It also wouldn't be the first high-level wrongful termination lawsuit just this week. I mean, just today, you had Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook suing Trump over his efforts to fire her. That attempt to fire being a move that's been described as an unprecedented effort to interfere on the Fed's independence. But then also, going back to the state, CDC, what's perhaps even more scary is that while the director, you know, she's fighting her termination, a lot of very qualified people are now 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 for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. And regarding 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. He also said, 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 you can pause

to read the whole thing. It's definitely worth your time. But also a truly key thing here is the loss of all these top-level people, it's a straight-up disaster, according to public health experts. But for example, one professor behind the vaccine integrity project saying, The loss of experience 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 a key point to keep in mind about everything we've just talked about is it's just some of what's got people worried. Rick's RFK Jr. just announced that the agency has approved the new COVID booster shots for the fall.

But the vaccines are only approved for people 65 and older or anyone with certain health conditions. Which is actually a drastic break from the previous policy that unless you were a newborn baby under six months, get the shot no matter what your health was like. So now if you're thinking of prevention and you're healthy and not a senior citizen, you're kind of shit out of luck. Though technically, you can still get the vaccine. It's just a question of if you can afford it, get a doctor's prescription and find a pharmacist willing to give it to you. And all of that is it's up in the air right now whether insurance companies are actually going to continue covering the shots. And if they don't, you might have to fork over as much as $150 or more to get vaccinated. Right. And that is doctors and pharmacists might be wary about

giving the shot off label, not least because of beer or legal liability. I mean, for pharmacists especially, 19 states require them only to administer vaccines recommended by the CDC. And the agency's vaccine advisory committee, which is scheduled to convene next month, has been purged of legit scientists and filled with skeptics handpicked by RFK. So you've got many saying it seems unlikely that they'll make a broad recommendation, especially if they follow the FDA's elite. But regardless, experts fear that all the confusion and complexity around vaccine access is going to deter people from even trying. Because there's all these questions swirling around. It will my insurance cover it? Will my local pharmacy supply? Will I have to bring documentation to prove I have a health condition?

And then also if I have to pay for it is the risk of contracting COVID worth of $150 price tag based off of how much money I have in my bank right now. And so with all that, you had a biologist telling the AP, this makes things much more complicated. And when things get complicated, we see vaccine uptake go down, which I say isn't good because Americans' vaccination rates are already way too low, about 23% for adults and 13% for children. Right, and that is you have experts pointing to a summer COVID wave that's claiming more than 100 lives every week. And while it's definitely low, you have people saying, well, we're bracing for the late fall and winter surge. And on that note, you have preliminary data estimating that 40, 7,500 Americans died from COVID-related causes last year. Just that, why 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. Noting people who are not going to be able to get the vaccine if they want it and saying, you're going to see an increase in the number of individuals that are hospitalized or that potentially could die. Though that as 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.

But you know, right now, we're looking at a future where we may not even have have certain vaccines to approve or disapprove, because RFK has canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants to develop new mRNA vaccines. And with all this, I'll say insurance trade groups have said that their members will continue covering the vaccine, especially since major health groups have contradicted the CDC's anti-vax guidance.

But also there, I'll say it's unclear which insurers will cover it, which won't at Medicaid, which is run by RFK's HHS, usually just follows the CDC. But then also I'll add here the list to health problems that would make you eligible under the FDA's new authorization. It is surprisingly broad. It includes things like asthma, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, a history of smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle. But for now, we'll have to wait to see how this is going to play out.

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. Or with the CDC news we covered earlier, even with the 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. And while their full podcast together, it just dropped right before this episode. I got links in the description on the outro card of the same. 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 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 that what it is? Or do you think that's taking it too far? Or we even pass that question? Yeah, that's what it is. I do think the fundamental challenge for every American right now is to look at what's happening and name it. Okay, 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 as a reporter was in 1998, 99.

And I've been there probably 12, 15 times since then. And 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 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 the walls closed in. I could feel it in my colleagues and friends in Russia that 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 did the same thing. Your life gets smaller, is what one of my Polish friends said to me, 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 strong man, right? not under the Constitution, but beyond the boundaries of the Constitution. What president ever thought 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 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 strong man would, all right, 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're watching.

But that is where you dive into the news ends, at least where today. Definitely click or tap right here to watch or listen to my new podcast with Terry Moran. It ended up being one of my favorite episodes. I think you'll love it. Also, for more news that you need to know that you might have missed, you can click or tap right here for more PDS. And hey, I've even got links to both in the description down below, Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube, wherever you want to get filled in, you can. But no matter what, thank you for watching. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here next time.