Chaos At The CDC As Leaders Challenge RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Policies
Plus: Minnesota Shooting Update: 20 Victims, Gunman "Obsessed" With Killing Children
Good evening,
Get ready for the busiest Labor Day travel weekend ever recorded in the sky. TSA expects to screen more than 17 million passengers between today and Wednesday, Sept. 4 — nearly 10% more than last year during this period. Saturday will be the crunch point, with almost 3 million people expected to fly in a single day.
As nearly every newscast might tell you Friday: Pack your patience.
The good news? Travelers will catch a bit of a break, financially: domestic flights are 6% cheaper, hotel rates are down 11%, and rental car prices are 3% lower compared to last Labor Day.
Plus, this is also the first holiday weekend under TSA’s new shoe policy, where most passengers can keep their shoes on through security (unless you’re still waiting for a REAL ID).
Mo News Team
PS: We’ll be moving all Instagram coverage this long weekend — Friday through Monday — to our Premium Instagram page. Use discount code: WORKIT for 15% an annual membership. Join Premium today.
🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING
Massive CDC Shakeup As Leaders Push Back On RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Policy
The Trump administration fired Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday — just weeks into the job — after she resisted pressure to alter vaccine policy and fire senior staff.
White House officials said she was “not aligned” with Trump’s agenda.
Her attorneys wrote: "She chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted.”
Now, a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Jim O’Neill, will reportedly serve as the CDC’s acting director.
At least four other top CDC officials subsequently quit, many citing Kennedy’s undermining of vaccines and accusing him of putting politics and her personal opinions ahead of science. The move has raised fresh concerns about the independence of the nation’s top public health agency.
RFK WEIGHS IN
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the moves on Fox News Thursday, saying, “The agency is in trouble and we need to fix it … some people should not be working there anymore.”
He accused the CDC of spreading “misinformation” during the COVID pandemic on testing, masking, and school closures, and criticized the agency’s priorities, including faulting it for promoting vaccines as top medical advances.
According to a study published by The Lancet in 2024, vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives worldwide since 1974 – the vast majority of those infants.
The exodus of top CDC leaders has fueled fears that Kennedy’s allies will further weaken vaccine recommendations. The former officials accused public health decisions of being politicized, not being based on medical data, and putting Americans at risk.
THAT’S ALREADY STARTED
In June, Kennedy ousted all members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with vaccine skeptics. The panel guides adult and childhood vaccine schedules. Its next meeting in September could determine who should get the updated COVID shot and if some patients must pay $140 for the vaccine, out of pocket.
The CDC will be looking at the Food and Drug Administration’s new COVID vaccine policy this week that limits free shots.
The FDA is limiting approval to people ages 65+ or those who have underlying health conditions like asthma, cancer, heart or lung problems, obesity, depression, pregnancy, a history of smoking, or physical inactivity.
Before this change, the CDC recommended annual COVID shots for everyone 6 months and older.
Healthy adults and young people who still wish to get a vaccine must now consult a doctor. However, some medical professionals may be reluctant to recommend the vaccines for "off-label" use.
Federal health officials argue the changes are justified because the COVID national emergency is over and they believe most people already have some level of immunity. They also raise doubts about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.
Critics, including senior U.S. health officials, say the move reflects Kennedy's long-standing opposition to vaccines and his goal of limiting access without scientific backup.
BIGGER PICTURE
Distrust in public health continues to have real-world impacts. The 2024-2025 school year saw the lowest vaccination rates among U.S. kindergartners in at least a decade, as vaccination exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to CDC data.
Mo News talked with economist and parenting data expert Emily Oster for our July Premium workshop, which looked at overall public health trends, the rise of MAHA, wellness culture, and the data behind all of it.
She explained why public trust in health advisories dropped during COVID, when officials made confident claims one day — only to reverse them the next.
🎧 Watch or listen to the full workshop by becoming a Mo News Premium member to access all of our sessions.
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🚨 ONE THING TO UPDATE
Shooter Was “Obsessed With The Idea Of Killing Children,” Left Behind 20 Victims At Minneapolis School Mass
The Annunciation Catholic School gunman left “hundreds of pages of writings” revealing he idolized notorious mass shooters and was “obsessed with the idea of killing children,” acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson said Thursday.
Authorities have identified 20 victims of Wednesday's shooting, including two children who died, along with 15 kids ages 6 to 15 and three adults in their 80s who were injured. Everyone injured is expected to survive, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
As of Thursday morning, nine of the victims remain at Hennepin County Medical Center — six in stable condition, two in serious condition, and one child in critical condition, according to interim CEO Thomas Klemond. The child in critical condition is “touch and go," he said. Three children are also still being treated at Children’s Minnesota, a Minneapolis trauma hospital.
MORE ON THE SHOOTER
The gunman, a former student at Annunciation, left behind writing detailing the plan, their mental state, and an “indiscriminate hate” for everyone — except notorious mass shooters — Thompson said Thursday, adding that the shooter’s main goal was “to watch children suffer."
The shooter appeared to get the three firearms used in the attack legally and did not have a criminal record.
THE RESPONSE
The attacker was unable to get into the church during Wednesday morning's Mass because the doors were locked, saving many lives, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara.
O'Hara praised officials at the Annunciation Catholic School church for its protocols, which forced the shooter to instead fire through the windows from outside the building. The gunman reportedly visited the church previously and sketched out the floor plan, which was published in a now-deleted video on YouTube prior to the attack.
“I would also say that the training that the kids did, surprisingly, paid off,” Hennepin’s EMS director Martin Scheerer said Thursday. “They all laid on the floor. They covered each other up. That was key.”
Scheerer said one child “took a shotgun blast to his back” while shielding another.
⏳ THE SPEED READ
🚨NATION
FBI director calls Minneapolis school shooting 'barbaric' domestic terrorism with anti-religious motives (FOX)
Bowser says federal police surge has reduced crime in DC, but ‘north star’ is protecting city’s autonomy (CNN)
Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention facility to be empty 'within a few days,’ according to rabbi. (NPR)
Trump administration plans to limit how long foreign students can study in the US (POLITICO)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
Major Russian attack includes rare strikes on the center of Kyiv, killing at least 21 (AP)
Israel carries out dramatic strike in Yemen with aim of wiping out Houthi leadership (TIMES OF ISRAEL)
Protesters throw stones at Argentina’s Milei over corruption allegations linked to sister (GUARDIAN)
First deportees arrive in Rwanda as part of a deal with Washington, D.C. (AFRICA NEWS/AP)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
US economy grows 3.3% in second quarter, government says, in second estimate of April-June growth (AP)
New Jersey’s American Dream mall hit with lawsuit for selling clothes on Sunday (FOX)
Nike to lay off about 1% of corporate staff in its latest effort to refocus the business (CNBC)
Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs sickens 95 people, CDC says (NBC)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Cardi B testifies she didn’t touch security guard who’s suing her, alleging assault (AP)
Saturday Night Live cast members announce exit ahead of Season 51 (E!)
Daniil Medvedev fined $42.5K for US Open outburst, racket abuse (ESPN)
YouTube TV, Fox reach short-term extension to prevent blackout as football season starts (CNBC)
ICYMI FROM THE 📲
In case you missed it… Anne Hathaway went viral after tripping on set of The Devil Wears Prada sequel in NYC. She laughed at herself Thursday on Instagram, comparing it to her Princess Diaries fall: “Twenty years later, still falling for you...”