News From Around the Web
#1 Florida Plans to End All State Vaccine Mandates, Including for Schools - James Oliphant and Julie Steenhuysen for Reuters, Aaron Siri, Patrick Bet-David, Claudio Burghi A./Eric Daugherty, JULIE DONUTS/Larry Cook, The Watchdog/Ron Desantis, Prematurely Gray/The Washington Post, and Ballot Courier/Sen. Bernie Sanders on X
Florida plans to end all state vaccine mandates, including for students to attend schools, the state's surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, announced on Wednesday, a move public health experts warned could trigger severe outbreaks among children, tourists, and those with compromised immune systems. Ladapo, along with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, cast the issue of vaccination as one of personal choice. "Every last one of the them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," Ladapo said at a press conference in Tampa. "Who am I as a government or anyone else, or who am I as a man standing here now...#2 States to Launch West Coast Health Alliance for Vaccine, Public Health Guidance - Jackie Kent for KOMO News, Governor Bob Ferguson, Jason Rantz on Seattle Red, Stella Escobedo, Jo Oregon, and Governor Newsom Press Office on X
Washington is among the West Coast states that will come up with their own vaccine and immunization guidelines amid the Trump administration's mass firings of doctors and scientists at the FDA and CDC. Washington, Oregon, and California are joining forces for the West Coast Health Alliance, picking up where state leaders believe the federal government is now lacking when it comes to vaccines. It's still early in the process, but the goal is for the states to make immunization recommendations on public health issues, specifically concerning COVID-19. The states said they want to make sure, when it comes to public health, that people are protected by science and not politics... More than 1,000 current and former employees of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are demanding Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resign, following his ousting of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other actions they say are “compromising the health of the nation.” “Should he decline to resign, we call upon the President and U.S. Congress to appoint a new Secretary of Health and Human Services, one whose qualifications and experience ensure that health policy is informed by independent and unbiased peer-reviewed science. We expect those in leadership to act when the health of Americans is at stake,” states a letter by the group of former and current employees, sent to Kennedy and members of Congress on Wednesday... Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he is "reserving judgment," while other Republicans expressed skepticism of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s job as HHS secretary following a recent CDC shake-up. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the chair of the health committee, is holding his cards close to the vest, declining to elaborate after he said he will conduct “oversight” of the country's top health official and a recent shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cassidy, a doctor who has been supportive of vaccines, is in a delicate position as the top Republican on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, who provided a pivotal vote to confirm Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he secured assurances about vaccines. Cassidy is also running for re-election next year. Cassidy declined Tuesday to say whether he regrets his vote for Kennedy or whether he has confidence in him after Kennedy triggered CDC Director Susan Monarez's removal, leading to a spate of resignations by top CDC employees who accused Kennedy of undermining an influential vaccine committee... Fed up with Democratic stalling, Senate Republicans are preparing to expedite the confirmation process before their next recess. Democrats "will tell you privately they know it's broken, but they can't bring themselves to fix it," Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said Wednesday. Senators emerged from a conference-wide discussion Wednesday afternoon united on moving forward with en bloc confirmation votes for non-Cabinet nominees, while discussions continue about judiciary positions. En bloc allows batches of nominees to be voted on simultaneously. That's similar to a proposal introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in 2023. But her plan capped the number of nominees in any bloc at 10... In his own fashion, President Donald Trump helped CBS News join the transparency bandwagon. You could see it after White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe interviewed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on “Face the Nation” Sunday. Guest host O’Keefe was fine — better than the usual host, Margaret Brennan. It’s the editing of a question and answer about a deported Salvadoran national that set off social media — and gave Noem the perfect opportunity to bash the once-hallowed network... Right-wing US media network Newsmax is suing Fox News over what it claims are anticompetitive tactics to suppress competition, teeing up a legal battle in the American conservative news space. The lawsuit, filed in a Florida federal court, accuses Fox News of using its market power to coerce TV providers to restrict competing right-leaning channels. "Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can't attract viewers," a Fox News spokesperson said... Paramount is preparing to shell out as much as $200 million for Bari Weiss’ buzzy media venture, The Free Press — and hand her the keys to help steer CBS News — in a move that’s rattling an already shaken news division still reeling from the $8 billion Skydance-Paramount mega-merger. Weiss, the former New York Times opinion page editor who launched The Free Press in 2022, is reportedly in line for a senior editorial role at CBS News as part of a deal that would fold her outlet into the new Paramount, according to the Puck newsletter. Paramount declined to comment, but Puck media reporter Dylan Byers pegged the potential purchase price between $100 million and $200 million, with sources saying the talks are in their final stages... A federal judge in Boston ordered the Trump administration on Wednesday to unfreeze nearly $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard. “All freezes and terminations of funding to Harvard made pursuant to the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters on or after April 14, 2025, are vacated and set aside,” U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs said in the order. The 84-page order conceded that Harvard has been "plagued by antisemitism" in recent years and should "have done a better job of dealing with the issue," but it said that "there is, in reality, little connection between the research affected by the grant terminations and antisemitism." Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is facing a GOP-led censure resolution on Wednesday after her fiery remarks at a pro-Palestinian conference. Tlaib spoke at the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit over the weekend, when she condemned both Democrats and Republicans for supporting Israel as its military campaign in Gaza continues. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., who introduced the measure, accused Tlaib of "vilifying her colleagues, endangering the lives of Jewish people, and celebrating terrorism."
#3 More Than 1,000 HHS Staff Call On RFK Jr. To Resign - Nathaniel Weixel for The Hill, Charlie Kirk, John Strand, MAGA Voice, Ian Jaeger/LOTUS, Armstrong Williams, and ABC News on X
#4 Key GOP Senator Declines to Elaborate on Planned ‘Oversight’ of RFK Jr. After CDC Exodus - NBC News, Liberty Kat/Chris "Law Dork" Geidner/U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., Aj Bowen, Chief Nerd, Camus, Bloomberg/llusTA, Rafi Farber/Edward Dowd, and Jean Moore on X
#5 Senate Republicans Rally Around Batch Votes for Trump Nominees - Stef W. Kight for Axios, Ryan Wrasse/Leader John Thune, National Review, @Chicago1Ray, Steve Ferguson, Right Pulse News, and Eric Daugherty on X
#6 CBS News Edits a Political Interview With Liberal Bias. Again- Debra J. Saunders for Las Vegas Review Journal, Paul Bond, Tucker Carlson News, Stephen L. Miller, New York Post, The Daily Signal, The Real Doctor of Common Sense, and Newsmax on X
#7 Newsmax Sues Fox News in Battle of Right-Wing TV Networks - Danielle Kaye for BBC News, Dennis Kneale, Anna Langlois, Steve Ferguson, David Folkenflik, and Washington Examiner on X
#8 Paramount in Talks to Buy Bari Weiss’ Free Press for up to $200M, Give Her Senior Editorial Role at CBS News - Ariel Zilber for New York Post, Yashar Ali, The "Right" View, elizabeth, Twill625#, and MILO on X
#9 Judge Orders Trump Administration to Unfreeze Nearly $2.2 Billion in Federal Grants to Harvard - Gary Grumbach and Marlene Lenthang for NBC News, Jefferson City News Tribune, Woodrow Williams, Derek W. Black, Angry Blue Bird, and TAG24 News/Adam Klasfeld on X
#10 Rashida Tlaib Hit With House Censure Threat, Accused of ‘Celebrating Terrorism’ in Pro-Palestinian Speech - Elizabeth Elkind for Fox News, Fearless45, The Big Oy, Frank/Farm Girl Carrie, Red, bamagirl, and Mike Kirby on X
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