What To Know About Trump's Controversial Surgeon General Pick And Vaccines
Plus: Louvre Director Resigns, 'Scrubs' Makes A Comeback
Laurence des Cars, the former director of the Louvre museum
Au revoir, Madame des Cars! 🍷
The director of the Louvre Museum, Laurence des Cars, resigned on Tuesday. Her tenure as the museum’s first female president has been rocked with controversy over the past few months, including the now-infamous jewelry heist in October. Let’s just say it’s been an interesting few months. 🛵
THEFT: A group of thieves stole a collection of jewelry valued at over $100 million – including some of France’s crown jewels – in a matter of seven minutes, using an electric ladder to break in and escape.
WATER LEAKS: In December, a pipe burst near the “Mona Lisa,” damaging priceless books and revealing the aging infrastructure at the world famous museum.
STRIKES: The museum was forced to close three times as workers asked for higher pay and better maintenance.
TICKET SCHEME: A decade-long ticket fraud scheme was uncovered that reportedly cost the Louvre $12 million, with two museum employees arrested in February.
So much for her plans to revitalize the storied museum, known as the “New Renaissance – Louvre” project. 💔
Claire,
Mo News Intern
🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING
Trump’s Pick For Surgeon General Won’t Rule Out Link Between Vaccines and Autism
President Trump’s pick for the position of Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means, appeared before the Senate on Wednesday, where lawmakers pressed her on her stance on vaccinations, her controversial comments on birth control, and her prior business entanglements.
If confirmed, Means has the potential to become the face of the medical system in the U.S., a position which will give her the power to help influence the American health system to be more in line with the MAHA agenda.
WHO IS DR. MEANS?
Dr. Means is a wellness influencer and entrepreneur. She and her brother, Calley Means, wrote a 2024 book about healthy eating and metabolic health that is widely considered to be the foundational text of the Make America Healthy Again movement.
THE CREDENTIALS: The 38-year-old graduated from Stanford Medical School and ran a functional medicine practice. She is also a long-time and vocal advocate for healthy eating and exercise to a following of nearly a million people on Instagram.
Dr. Means is also an outspoken critic of mainstream medicine. She never finished her medical residency and does not have a medical license to be able to treat patients. She told the Senate Wednesday that she has no plans to renew her license. A chapter of her book is titled, “Trust Yourself, Not Your Doctor.”
President Trump nominated Means to be surgeon general last May. On the same day, the administration withdrew its nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwa, following scrutiny about her credentials.
A CLOSER LOOK: MEANS ON VACCINES
During Wednesday’s Senate Hearing, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) asked Means about her stance on vaccines and whether she thinks they’re tied to rising autism rates among American children.
Means wouldn’t rule out a link between vaccines and autism, but added that she wouldn’t call herself anti-vaccine .
“The reality is that we have an autism crisis that's increasing, and this is devastating to many families, and we do not know, as a medical community, what causes autism… until we have a clear understanding of why kids are developing this at higher rates. I think we should not leave any stones unturned," Means said.
When Cassidy noted there is “a lot of evidence showing that they’re not implicated,” Means said, “I do accept that evidence,” but added that “science is never settled.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed unfounded claims of a possible correlation between childhood vaccines and rising autism diagnoses among children.
Cassidy has publicly disagreed with Kennedy over the CDC’s drastic changes to the childhood vaccine schedule over the last year.
AMERICA AGREES ON VACCINES, SPLIT ON RFK. JR.
Means’s comments come at the American public remains by and large trusting of giving vaccines to children.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll of over 4,000 U.S. adults, which closed on Monday, showed that 84% of respondents believed that vaccines for diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella are safe for children.
BIPARTISAN CONSENSUS: While Democrats (91%) were more likely to support vaccine mandates for schoolchildren than Republicans (65%), a strong majority of both parties said they believed vaccines were safe.
The same poll found that 47% of Republicans said that they believe the federal government should offer fewer vaccines to children, compared to only 12% of Democrats.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11 in January.
BIRTH CONTROL AND BUSINESS PROCEEDINGS
Means was also asked to clarify her stance on birth control pills during the hearing by Sen. Patty Murray (WA-D). Means had made previous comments that Americans "use birth control like candy."
Means said that while she thinks these medicines should be accessible to all women, "doctors do not have enough time for thorough, informed consent conversations."
"Some of the horrifying side effects of birth control that I have mentioned include blood clots and stroke risk in women who have clotting disorders, who are smokers, who have obesity," Means said.
Senators also questioned Means on her past firm stance against pesticides — a fixture for many American farmers — and her past business entanglements.
RFK. Jr. has celebrated Means’s nomination, with many MAHA supporters applauding Means for challenging the medical mainstream.
🚨 ONE THING WE’RE MONITORING
Pentagon And Anthropic Duke It Out In Feud Over AI Use
Anthropic, the maker of the Claude AI platform, is in a high stakes fight with the Pentagon over how its AI can be used. The company already has a two year agreement with the Defense Department worth up to $200 million to use advanced AI for classified systems.
But Anthropic insists on guardrails. It does not want its models used for domestic mass surveillance of Americans or deployed in fully autonomous weapons without a human in the loop.
CEO Dario Amodei has called those uses illegitimate and prone to abuse.
WAR GAMES: That concern is not theoretical. A recent study reported by New Scientist found leading AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google chose to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in 95 percent of simulated war games.
Researchers said the findings were unsettling and warned AI systems may not grasp the stakes of escalation the way humans do.
WHAT ANTHROPIC WANTS:Anthropic says it will work with the military, but only if certain limits are written into its agreements.
No use of its models for domestic mass surveillance of Americans
No deployment in fully autonomous weapons without a human in the loop
Clear usage terms that prevent the Pentagon from overriding safety guardrails at will.
WHAT THE PENTAGON WANTS:
The Pentagon’s position, according to reporting from NBC News, is that models should be available for any lawful military purpose. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has outlined a push for an “AI-first warfighting force” and has threatened to invoke the Defense Production Act or label Anthropic a supply chain risk if it refuses to comply.
The Pentagon has already signed a deal with Elon Musk’s xAI and is nearing one with Google, hoping those agreements increase pressure on Anthropic.
HISTORY AS A GUIDETech companies have clashed with the military over AI guardrails before.
In 2018, Google adopted AI ethics principles after employee protests over Project Maven, a 2017 Defense Department initiative launched during President Donald Trump’s first term to accelerate machine learning in military operations.
Google later revised those principles and dropped its explicit ban on military applications.
OpenAI moved from early caution about military uses to major defense contracts under negotiated terms.
Other firms, including Palantir and NVIDIA, have long partnered with the defense sector without publicly imposing strict ethical prohibitions.
Anthropic’s stance is sharper in tone. It says it will participate, but only with defined limits.
NOW WHAT?Anthropic recently announced a $20 million donation to a group backing AI-focused political candidates, signaling it understands this fight extends beyond contract language. The outcome could shape whether private AI companies retain meaningful control over how their systems are used in war, surveillance and national security.
⏳ THE SPEED READ
🚨NATION
Trump delivers State of the Union address (MO NEWS COVERAGE)
Bill Gates apologizes to staff over Jeffrey Epstein ties (MO NEWS) Larry Summers resigning from Harvard University over Jeffrey Epstein ties (CBS)
Trump trims some tariffs after Supreme Court loss but keeps trade fight alive (FOX)
FBI raids LA Unified School District offices and superintendent’s home (POLITICO)
New York City police investigating after officers were hit with snowballs during a snowball fight (AP)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
Congressman demands investigation after Cuba kills 4 on U.S. boat (AXIOS)
Iran accuses Trump of ‘big lies’ ahead of Geneva talks in face of major US military deployment (AP) while India’s Modi addresses Israel’s Parliament (AP)
Pope Leo XIV to make apostolic journeys to Africa, Spain and Monaco (VATICAN NEWS)
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán stakes his re-election on anti-Ukraine message (NBC)
Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 30 after record rainfall (GUARDIAN)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
Trump announces new retirement plan at State of the Union (AXIOS)
Kalshi reveals insider trading case against editor for MrBeast (NPR)
Discord delays age verification rollout after privacy backlash (MASHABLE)
Shrinking sea ice threatens emperor penguin moulting sites (OCEANOGRAPHIC)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Netflix unveils ‘Pride & Prejudice’ series teaser trailer & release window (DEADLINE)
Karoline Leavitt’s White House photo with Team USA hockey stars ignites online fury over MAGA hat (FOX)
Berlin film festival organizers to hold crisis talks amid Gaza rows (GUARDIAN)
Industry renewed for fifth and final season at HBO (VARIETY)
ICYMI FROM THE 📲
In case you missed it… The popular medical comedy Scrubs is returning to television screens this week, 16 years after the sitcom aired its last episode. 🩺❤️
The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, including best friends and physicians JD (Zach Braff) and Turk (Donald Faison) — who are both returning for the 10th season.
TEAM EFFORT: Critics praised the original series for its zany humor and heart, but they blasted the ninth season, which did not include many members of the original cast. The revival brings back most of the main actors.
The series premieres on ABC today, and will stream the next day on Hulu.