Extra, Extra
Bombshell: The fallout from the Signal scandal (and the refusal to admit it’s a scandal) continues. NYT (Gift Article): Signal Chat Leak Angers U.S. Military Pilots. “‘The whole point about aviation safety is that you have to have the humility to understand that you are imperfect, because everybody screws up. Everybody makes mistakes,’ said Lt. John Gadzinski, a former Navy F-14 pilot who flew combat missions from aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. ‘But ultimately, if you can’t admit when you’re wrong, you’re going to kill somebody because your ego is too big.'” Plus, Israel, who supplied some of the intel has complained privately to U.S. officials that Waltz’s text has become public. And, Private Data and Passwords of Senior U.S. Security Officials Found Online. And, Mike Waltz’s Venmo account showed his contacts — even after bombshell report on secret Signal chat. (There’s one other aspect to the story worth noting. The guys who thought it would be cool to plan an attack on Signal and lie about afterwards are the same guys who now make decisions about who to bomb and when to bomb them.)
+ RFK’Od: “The Trump administration Thursday announced a major restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that will cut 20,000 full-time jobs.” If only those firings were merit based… Some measles patients in West Texas show signs of vitamin A toxicity, doctors say, raising concerns about misinformation. Oh, and remember how Fentanyl addiction was the big issue causing us to close borders and harangue Canada. Well, “the Department of Health and Human Services has abruptly canceled more than $12 billion in federal grants to states that were being used for tracking infectious diseases, mental health services, addiction treatment and other urgent health issues.”
+ Vax Attacks: Stat: Vaccine critic’s apparent selection to head HHS autism study shocks experts. “The apparent choice of David Geier — who does not have a medical degree and who was disciplined by the State of Maryland’s Board of Physicians for practicing medicine without a license — to conduct a study looking for the link that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long asserted exists, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, struck many as a surreal choice.” (Meanwhile, measles is like…)
+ Tariffs, Ands, and Buts: If tariffs are supposed to make America great, why are American companies taking hits every time a new one is announced? GM, Ford stocks reel after Trump announces 25% auto tariffs on foreign-made vehicles, certain parts. (Don’t worry. Not all US carmakers are being hurt.)
+ We Need to Have a Tuft Conversation: “An international student in a graduate program at Tufts University was taken into federal custody on Tuesday outside an off-campus apartment building, according to the university’s president and an attorney representing the student.” You may not agree with her positions. And the Gaza protests that helped elect Trump may have been among the most counterproductive in history. But thinking that is different from wanting someone arrested. And as Timothy Snyder explains: “If you accept that non-citizens have no right to due process, you are accepting that citizens have no right to due process. All the government has to do is claim that you are not a citizen; without due process you have no chance to prove the contrary.”
+ No Mas Hamas: “Thousands of Palestinians marched between the wreckage of a heavily destroyed town in northern Gaza on Wednesday in the second day of anti-war protests, with many chanting against Hamas in a rare display of public anger against the militant group.”
+ Duke It Out: Don’t worry. Some universities are fighting back against powerful entities. HBO’s ‘White Lotus’ went ‘too far’ using Duke apparel in scene, school says.
