This Andrew Tate Situation is Crazy, Trump Team Passwords & Data Found, RFK Jr. Cutting 10k HHS Jobs
PDS Published 03/27/2025
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Y’all after yesterday, I was like, come on, that’s gotta be it right? Signal gate can’t possibly get any worse than this.
And yet here we are.
With the German newspaper Der Spiegel [Pronounce 00:16] revealing that it did some snooping and was able to obtain personal emails, phone numbers and even passwords connected to Pete Hegseth, Mike Waltz and Tulsi Gabbard. [Headline]
Right, the outlet said it was “particularly easy” to get the defense secretary’s info; all they had to do was go through a commercial provider of contact information primarily used by companies for sales, marketing and recruitment. [Quote]
With reporters getting Hegseth’s Gmail address and a mobile phone number, and then finding the same email, as well as sometimes the password affiliated with it, in over 20 publicly accessible data leaks. [Quote same link, find “over 20”]
And the outlet verified that the email had been used just a few days ago. [Same quote]
With the phone number leading reporters to a WhatsApp account that had apparently only recently been deleted. [Quote same link, find “recently deleted”]
Next up, the outlet used the same commercial provider to find the national security advisor’s contact info.
With that leading reporters to Waltz’s profiles for Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Signal. [Quote same link, find “Microsoft”]
And they also found several passwords for his email address in leaked databases. [Same quote]
With at least the WhatsApp and Signal accounts apparently still in use at the time, because when DER SPIEGEL tried them, the messages were delivered. [Quote same link, find “deactivated”]
With both accounts apparently then being deactivated shortly afterward. [Same quote]
And then lastly, the outlet said Gabbard’s info was the hardest to find, since she had hers blocked on the commercial provider.
But it did track down her email address in over 10 data leaks, one of which also contained a partial telephone number, which, when completed, led to an active WhatsApp account and a Signal profile. [Quote same link, find “10 leaks”]
Now Gabbard’s office told reporters her leaked data is almost a decade old, claiming she hadn’t used the relevant platforms for several years and that she had changed her passwords several times. [Quote same link, find “several years”]
But DER SPIEGEL reported that her private Google account was used as recently as around two weeks ago, and messages to her WhatsApp and Signal accounts were apparently delivered. [Quote same link, find “two weeks”]
So all in all, the outlet says most of the numbers and email addresses are apparently still in use, and they were used to create Dropbox accounts and profiles in apps that track running data. [Quote same link, find “dropbox”]
Though it clarified that it’s unclear whether these are the same phone numbers used for the Signal accounts involved in the war plans — ahem, attack plans.
With it adding that it didn’t try the email passwords to test if they’re still active.
But either way, experts warn that hackers could use the data to launch phishing expeditions, where they convincingly pose as one of these officials.
And then there’s the risk of malware, spyware and political blackmail.
So Der Spiegel concludes, “It is thus conceivable that foreign agents were privy to the Signal chat group in which Gabbard, Waltz and Hegseth discussed a military strike.” [Quote same link]
But Der Spiegel’s not alone; right, the investigative media seems to be having a field day with Trump’s cabinet right now.
Because Wired just revealed that it found what appears to be Mike Waltz’s personal Venmo account, and yes, it was left public. [Headline]
Meaning his entire 328-person friend list was on full display for anyone to analyze and exploit.
With it including accounts that appeared to belong to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, and Walker Barrett, a staffer on the National Security Council, both of whom were in the Signal group chat. [Quote, find “Susie”]
As well as Micah [Meeka] Thomas Ketchel, a senior adviser to Waltz and President Trump. [Quote same link, find “Micah”]
Bret Baier [Bayer] and Brian Kilmeade of Fox News, Brianna Keilar [Kee-lar] and Kristen Holmes of CNN, a cable news producer, a prominent national security reporter, local news anchors and documentarians. [Quote same link, find “Brett”]
As well as the conspiracy theorist Ivan Raiklin [Pronounce], who calls himself “the secretary of retribution” and once created a deep state target list. [Quote same link]
You also apparently have local and national politicians like Congressman Dan Crenshaw and a former mayor of Deltona, Florida. [Quote same link, find “Dan”]
As well as venture capitalists, defense industry executives, lobbyists, and a variety of more ordinary folks such as doctors, real estate agents, and a tailor. [Quote same link, find “tailor”]
With experts especially concerned about those low-level connections because they’re what spies exploit for dirt, like private medical info, for example, as well as patterns, pressure points, or a way in. [Same quote]
And y’all this is just from Waltz’s apparent profile.
If through him you get to Susie Wiles, the account with her name had a 182-person friend list, also completely public, including names like US Attorney General Pam Bondi. [Quote same link, find “Pam”]
Now reportedly, when Wired reached out to the White House for comment, the accounts appearing to belong to Waltz and Wiles both went fully private.
But notably this isn’t the first time Trump’s inner circle’s been exposed like this.
Right, last July, WIRED also found JD Vance’s public Venmo, exposing a network of connections to Project 2025 architects, DOJ officials, Yale Law classmates, wealthy financiers, tech executives, and far-right media figures. [Headline]
And just last month, the American Prospect found Pete Hegseth’s Venmo, which was also public, and included names matching defense executives, lobbyists and Bush-era officials. [Headline]
With both Vance’s and Hegseth’s Venmo accounts since having been deleted.
Now it’s important to note that just because they’re friends with someone on Venmo, that doesn’t necessarily mean they transacted with each other.
Right, it’s possible they just automatically populated their friends list with their phone contacts.
But experts say these sprawling networks of connections to the highest people in the White House are security vulnerabilities in themselves.
Suggesting that the Signal group chat may not have been an isolated “glitch,” as Trump claimed, but rather part of a pattern of sloppiness in his administration.
And it looks like most ordinary people are not buying the White House’s attempts to downplay the scandal.
With a new YouGov poll finding that 74% of Americans, including 60% of Republicans, believe that Signal gate is “serious.” [Quote, find “74”]
However, only about half of people said they believe Trump officials broke the law, including just a fifth of Republicans. [Quote same link, find “48” and “21”]
So in a response befitting the seriousness of the security breach, Trump has reportedly assigned Elon Musk and the DOGE team to assist in the investigation of Signal gate. [Headline]
Because you know, why not?
But naturally many people neither trust nor feel like waiting for the White House to investigate itself, so they’re going straight to the courts.
With the nonpartisan American Oversight organization now suing Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Rubio, Treasury Secretary Bessent and the National Archives and Records Administration. [Headline]
Accusing them of violating the Federal Records Act and Administrative Procedure Act.
With the suit hoping to prevent further unlawful destruction of federal records as well as to compel the recovery of any records created through the unauthorized use of Signal.
With the group’s interim Executive Director saying:
“War planning doesn’t belong in emoji-laden disappearing group chats. It belongs in secure facilities designed to safeguard national interests — something any responsible government official should have known.” [Quote same link]
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s still in frantic defense mode, with different officials lurching back and forth between apologizing for the mistake and insisting they have nothing to apologize for, everyone contradicting each other.
As well as deflecting the blame toward Atlantic editor in chief Jefrrey Goldberg and the media in general, accusing them of an orchestrated misinformation campaign and “witch hunt.”
And putting on a jaw-dropping performance as always, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene got into this spat with a reporter from Sky News yesterday:
[Clip, 00:00 - 00:41]
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Andrew Tate is being accused of attacking his girlfriend during a sexual encounter two weeks ago.
According to TMZ, his girlfriend Bri Stern filed a police report claiming Tate sexually assaulted her on March 11 at the Beverly Hills hotel. []
Telling police that Tate choked her during sex and it got too rough, but he kept going even though she begged him to stop.
Alleging that the more she struggled, the more violent he got and she even felt herself fading into unconsciousness.v
She claims the violence only stopped after Tate was done having sex, and after he fell asleep, she says she took photos of redness and bruising on her face, which TMZ obtained.
Then, claiming that a few days later, she flew to New York for work and visited an ER where she was diagnosed as "post-concussive."
TMZ also says they obtained alleged text screenshots that show Tate saying he wanted to beat and impregnate Stern, despite the fact that she says she does not want that.
With her also saying that she waited to file the police report until now because the Tate brothers just left the states to report to Romanian police, and she did not feel safe enough to file the report until he was out of the country.
The Beverly Hills Police Department did not give a comment on the allegation to TMZ, but Tate’s legal team denied it, telling the outlet:
"Andrew Tate vehemently rejects this outrageous allegation and will relentlessly pursue legal action against anyone involved in spreading this blatant falsehood."[]
"Once again, we witness the media recklessly publishing a one-sided narrative, disregarding the most fundamental facts.”
Claiming the photos TMZ shared were not taken in the Beverly Hills Hotel and noting that in some of them, it does not appear to be night time.
Also suggesting that the text screenshots TMZ published were fake.
Calling Stern’s allegation sensational and saying she spent multiple nights with him but:
"grew angry with him when he did not fly her to New York City on a private jet."
But general responses to this story have mostly been people horrified and upset that he was allowed back to the United States in the first place.[][]
Others condemning the right wing circles who have backed him.[][]
And that is not where the Tate news ends today, because this week, staffers for Ron DeSantis have had to refute some of Tate’s statements to the media.
Right, DeSantis previously said the Tate brothers were not welcome in Florida after they landed there without his knowledge.
And this week, Tate told reporters in Romania:
“I think the governor of Florida was hijacked by the media, the media jumped on him, and he didn’t realize I was an American citizen now he understands he made a mistake. Now there’s been some conversations and everything has been settled and fixed.” (0:05-0:15)
With that comment seemingly suggesting that DeSantis had changed his mind about him or that the criminal investigation that Florida opened into him had been settled.
But that is apparently not the case, with DeSantis’ communications director telling the Tallahassee Democrat:[]
"Nothing of the sort happened, and our position is unchanged.”
With the outlet noting that just last week, the state’s Attorney General said the investigation was still ongoing, explaining on a podcast:
“If we can show that they committed crimes on Florida soil, then we will continue to pursue them, you know, at all costs.” (11:10-11:14)
“Every time these guys open their mouths, it gets them deeper in a hole.” (12:23-12:26)
So that is where we are on this one, and I would love to know any thoughts you have on this situation here.
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Heart-shaped notes were hidden in a pair of socks that attorneys provided for Luigi Mangione.
That is what prosecutors are alleging, arguing this move violated the special treatment Magione was receiving in the first place.
If you need a refresher, he is accused of killing the CEO of United Healthcare and is pleading not guilty.
The case has gotten a ton of attention, and he has a following of supporters who have written him letters and shown up to his court appearances.
He is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, and prosecutors wrote in a new filing that he was given special accommodations for his “fashion needs” by being allowed to change out of his jail-issued clothing during a court appearance last month.[]
Right, his attorneys gave a court officer a bag of clothes for Mangione to wear, and in that bag was a pair of argyle socks wrapped around cardboard.
But according to that filing:
"Secreted in the cardboard were two personal heart-shaped notes, one addressed to an unknown person named 'Joan' and the other to Luigi stating in part 'know there are thousands of people wishing you luck.’”
"In spite of this, the defendant was permitted to wear the argyle socks, which he first changed into and later changed out of because he felt that 'they did not look good.’”
Based on images of the heart-shaped notes, the one apparently addressed to Joan is a thank you note.
And the one to Luigi says that people are rooting for him and encourages him to keep his head high.
You had the AP saying it looks like it is signed K / Free Luigi.[]
Others thinking it looks more like r/FreeLuigi, which is a subreddit devoted to discussing the case.
And the subreddit moderators seems to think it refers to their page, writing:
“There are 37,000 members in the r/FreeLuigi community and any one of them could be the source of the alleged heart shape notes. The moderators of this community have no further comment on this matter.”[]
Though, right now it is not known who wrote or inserted the messages, or if Mangione even received them, right they could have been intercepted first.[][]
We also don’t know who the Joan in question is, with NBC News reporting that a spokesperson for the defense team is named Joan, but it is not clear if it was for her or someone else.
With his attorneys saying the messages were inadvertently included with the clothing, something they argue should be obvious given the fact that one note was not even for him.
And also defending the fact that Mangione was in normal clothes, saying that is not a special accommodation and that many defendants do this.
But prosecutors still say the fact that this note was in the socks is alarming, arguing it is just luck that smuggled items were just paper and not contraband that could harm a court officer.[]
With prosecutors overall claiming that Mangione’s defense team has been egging on the publicity blitz around him.
Arguing that Mangione’s lawyers put him in a green sweater during the court appearance because many of his sympathizers were calling for him to wear the color, with some of the supporters who traveled to the court also wearing green.
CNN also noting that Mangione’s choice to not wear the socks and just do loafers went incredibly viral online. [][][]
And prosecutors believe that his lawyers are encouraging this interest, writing that the defense:
“has on the one hand cried foul when entities outside the People’s control have made public statements or gestures, while on the other has itself fanned the flames of the public attention.”
But his attorney wrote that prosecutors should focus more on:
“Mr. Mangione’s constitutional rights — and less on the color of Mr. Mangione’s sweater.”[]
So there is a lot of back and forth between both sides in this case about the treatment Mangione is receiving, both in court and online.
And I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here.
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Masked men abducted a young woman in broad daylight yesterday in Massachusetts.
Or at least, that’s how some people see it.
The official narrative is that the Trump administration arrested yet another foreign university student for alleged antisemitism-slash-support of Hamas.
Her name is Rumeysa Ozturk (Roo-may-suh Oz-turk), she’s a Turkish citizen, and she’s a doctoral candidate in Tufts University's program for child study and human development.
Also, notably, according to her lawyer, she had a valid student visa.
But in the early evening on Tuesday, when she was reportedly heading out to meet some friends, she was taken into custody near her off-campus apartment in the city of Somerville (Summer-ville).
And the whole thing? It was caught on a nearby security camera.
Right, plainclothes agents reportedly spent almost the whole day staked out in an unmarked SUV.
And when Roo-may-suh finally walks by, a guy in a hoodie goes up to her, gets in her way, and puts his hands on her (BROLL: 0:00-0:13)
(BYTE: 0:13-0:20)
And then more unidentified agents gather around her, all with their faces covered, and less than two minutes later, she’s being loaded into the car (BROLL: 0:21-0:30 & 1:43-1:50).
Notably, at one point, a bystander reportedly asking “Is this a kidnapping?”
To which the agents responded: “We’re the police.”
And the bystander replying: “You don’t look like it. Why are you hiding your faces?” []
And of course, the sentiment that this looks more like a kidnapping or an abduction than a lawful arrest is one we’re seeing from a lot of people (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
And beyond those online reactions, you have the legal director of the A.C.L.U. of Massachusetts saying:
“Nobody should be disappeared from the streets of Somerville — or anywhere in America,”
“The government must immediately release her to her friends and community in Massachusetts.” []
And then the Massachusetts attorney general also announcing her office was “closely monitoring this matter as it develops” – adding:
“The footage of Roo-may-suh’s arrest — a student here legally — is disturbing.”
“Based on what we now know, it is alarming that the federal administration chose to ambush and detain her, apparently targeting a law-abiding individual because of her political views.”
“This isn’t public safety, it’s intimidation that will, and should, be closely scrutinized in court.” []
Now with all, as far as the government’s side of the story?
Well, you have DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin sharing a screenshot of the arrest footage, writing:
“DHS and ICE investigations found Roo-may-suh engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans."
Adding: "A visa is a privilege not a right.”
“Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security." []
But of course, neither she nor anyone else has provided details about these alleged activities.
Notably, however, a group by the name of Canary Mission posted a photo of Roo-may-suh on its website –
Identifying her as a student at Tufts and saying that she “engaged in anti-Israel activism in March 2024.”
And with that, this group? It claims to “document people and groups that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews” – []
But critics claim it’s an Israeli-linked doxxing operation going after Palestine supporters.
And with that, the only “evidence” it provides of Roo-may-suh’s alleged “anti-Israel activism”? []
Screenshots showing that she was one of several authors of an opinion essay published last March in the Tufts student newspaper –
Which criticized university leaders for their response to demands including that they, quote, “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and divest itself from companies with ties to Israel.
And with that, notably, a former professor told the New York Times that she received a message from Roo-may-suh a couple weeks ago asking her to remove pictures of her with friends from the social media account of the lab where they had worked together.
With Roo-may-suh telling the professor she was being doxxed.[]
And with that professor also saying about her former student:
“She is a person who wouldn’t hurt a soul.”
“She is extremely sensitive about human rights, about not hurting people, about diversity. She is a person who wants to include everyone.” []
But with all that, as far as where we’re at with this situation now?
Well, Roo-may-suh’s lawyer says that no charges have been filed against her that she’s aware of.
She also said in her initial statement that she was unaware of her whereabouts and had not been able to contact her. []
But it’s not clear if that’s still the case.
Right, because notably, ICE records show that a person with Roo-may-suh’s name is now being held in a Louisiana detention center. []
Notably, with this after a Judge of the Federal District Court in Massachusetts ordered the government not to move Roo-may-suh out of the state without advance written notice to the court.
And so as of recording, it’s unclear whether the government actually complied, or whether this is another case of the Trump administration seemingly flouting a judge’s authority.
And of course the other bit of broader context with all this is that Roo-may-suh is just one of several students who have been targeted for deportation by the Trump administration.
Right, there’s of course, Mahmoud Khalil (Mawk-Mood Kah-Leel), who was the first, and notably, was a green card holder.
And on that note, immigration officials are also seeking to detain a South Korean-born Columbia student who is a legal permanent U.S. resident that has lived in the country since she was seven years old –
But also decided to exercise what she thought was her right to free speech by participating in pro-Palestinian protests,
Though, notably, in that case, a judge has ruled that she cannot be detained while she fights the move in court.
But then, the Trump administration has also targeted students at Cornell University, Georgetown University, and this week, the University of Alabama.
Right, where immigration officials reportedly detained an Iranian citizen and doctoral student specialized in metallurgical engineering.
Though, as of recording, there’s much less information available about his case.
For example, according to ICE, someone by that name is “in custody” but there’s no information listed for “current detention facility” []
And again, as of now, no statement from DHS as to why he has been arrested or if he’s being charged with anything .
And so we’ll have to see if more information comes out about that, and then just how these all cases ultimately end up.
Go to Ground News to see beyond the headlines and stay fully informed without feeling overwhelmed. Subscribe today through my link for 40% off unlimited access.
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The deportation of migrants to EL Salvador has only just begun.
That’s what Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has said while visiting the country to tour the country’s so-called “Terrorism Confinement Center.”
Which is the controversial mega-prison built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele (Nah-yeeb Boo-keh-leh) as part of his crackdown on gang violence in the country.
And which is now holding 261 alleged gang members recently deported from the U.S. – 137 of whom were Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act. (BROLL: 0:38-0:48)
And with that, as well as being shown around the facility, you had Noem filming a short video for social media threatening to send more immigrants to the facility (BROLL: 7:18-7:25)
“I want to thank El Salvador and their President for their partnership with the United States of America to bring our terrorists here and to incarcerate them and have consequences for the violence that they have perpetrated in our communities. I also want everybody to know, if you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you could face. First of all, do not come to our country illegally. You will be removed and you will be prosecuted. But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people (BYTE: 0:05-0:33).
And so let’s break down that video, what was said, but also to start: just the optics of the whole thing.
Right, she’s speaking to the camera in front of dozens of men tightly packed in a large cage, with many posed shirtless directly behind her – allegedly members of El Savador’s MS-13 and the 18th Street gangs.
And so you have many saying this clearly staged, PR stunt is kind of disturbing.
Right, one person, for example, writing on X “regardless of political ideology, using human beings as background props in propaganda is nasty work.” []
And then, another account simply writing:
“This is vile.” []
With a key bit of context here being that this prison is a brutal fucking place.
Right, exactly what goes on there is unknown, but it’s been reported that inmates are held in windowless cells, sleep on bare metal bunks with no mattresses, and are never allowed outside.
They also reportedly can’t have visitors, and they’re not allowed to receive education.
And notably, last year, a human rights group in the country reported that at least 261 people have died in Salvadoran prisons in general since 2022 – claiming dozens had died as a result of torture, beatings, strangulation.
Of course, even still, there are some people who say that if they are the type of people Noem and others say they are – violent, soulless criminals – it’s hard to feel bad for them.
But of course, as we’ve discussed before, at least those deported by the Trump administration?
Officials haven’t proven that the individuals deported were terrorists, criminals, or gang members or had in any way perpetrated violence against American communities.
In fact, in a sworn filing, an ICE official admitted that MANY of the deported individuals had no criminal records in the U.S.
With him claiming, quote, “the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose" and "demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile." []
Which is the most insane, twisted logic you could imagine, right, seemingly saying they must be terrorists because we don’t have evidence?
And so of course, with all that, several people who say their family members are among those deported also categorically deny that their loved ones were affiliated with any gangs.
And one thing we should talk about with that is the issue of tattoos.
Right, because with all the images we’re shown, you’ll often notice there’s a lot of effort to emphasize the tattoos people have (BROLL: 0:34-0:37).
And actually, the Trump administration has reportedly pointed to tattoos as evidence of gang affiliation.
With law enforcement and immigration officials across the U.S. linking to gang membership tattoos of everything from crowns to trains to clocks, the Illuminati sign, the jersey number 23, and the Jumpman logo. []
And while gang tattoos are certainly a thing, other people, wouldn’t you know, also get tattoos.
And experts say they aren't reliable identifiers that someone’s in a gang.
In fact, that’s reportedly especially true in the case of the Venezuelan gang that has been the focus of the Trump administration.
With one expert saying straight-up:
“Venezuelan gangs are not identified by tattoos.”
“To be a member of one of these Venezuelan organizations, you don’t need a tattoo,”
“You can have no tattoos and still be part of [the gang]. You can also have a tattoo that matches other members of the organization.” []
Now with that, I will say, Trump officials claim they do not solely rely on tattoos for identification, though family members have disagreed.
But moving on to the final big takeaway from the Noem thing, you have multiple outlets suggesting this is a sign the administration might not back down on its policy to ramp up mass deportations with little to no due process –
Which is notable because that may very well be illegal and as a result be setting the stage for an even bigger showdown with the judiciary than we’ve seen so far.
Right, with that, as Noem was being shown around the facility in El Salvador, a federal appeals court in DC upheld a lower court decision to put a temporary injunction on the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants under the law.
Notably, with the two judges who voted in favor also saying the Venezuelan migrants suing the administration were likely to succeed in their case. []
So we’ll have to wait and see what happens with all this, but in the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this whole situation, and also just your reaction to this Kristi Noem visit and video situation.
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[Standard intro:] You could be paying thousands more dollars for a car if you live in the United States now.
[Signal gate follow-up intro:] But while everyone’s losing their shit over Signal gate, Trump’s not slowing down on the policy front.
And this because Trump announced that starting on April 3, he’ll impose a 25% tariff on imported automobiles and auto parts. [Headline and lead B roll into clip]
Which, when you add on the existing 2.5% levy, brings the total to 27.5%. [Same assets]
[Clip, 12:05 - 12:13] Caption: “Cause we’re the piggy bank that everybody steals from, and they’ve been doing it for many years, for decades. So we’re not gonna let it happen.”
Now reportedly vehicles that meet the duty-free requirements of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will only be taxed on the non-U.S. portion of their components. [Quote, find “portion”]
But still, this tariff is expected to dramatically disrupt supply chains snaking through Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia that have been carefully designed over decades for maximum efficiency.
And the American market is heavily dependent on foreign imports, with cars, parts and engines last year totaling a record 474 billion dollars. [Quote same link, find “474”}
So thanks to the new tariff, industry groups say the price of a new car, which is already close to 50,000 dollars, could inflate by more than 10,000 dollars. [Quote same link, find “50,000”]
But Trump reassures us that this short-term pain will be worth it for the long-term gain.
With him promising both a manufacturing boom for the United States and a flood of new tax revenue for the U.S. Treasury.
Two goals which, as some have pointed out, are mutually exclusive.
Because if the tariffs bring manufacturing back, that means companies are evading the tax by doing business domestically.
And if the tariffs bring in tax revenue, that means companies are paying it rather than do production inside U.S. borders.
But anyway, whether his goals are coherent or not, Trump’s leaping even further into the abyss again soon.
Because on Tuesday next week, one day before what he’s been hyping up as “liberation day,” he’s scheduled to announce a reciprocal tariff that has investors chewing their nails in apprehension. [Headline]
Though he told reporters they’ll be surprised by how “lenient” it is, adding that he’s trying to “keep it somewhat conservative.” [Quote]
But then again, he also described the 25% automobile tariff as “very modest,” so his idea of what that means may differ from other people’s. [B roll]
And as we’ve seen before, Trump’s trade policy is liable to sudden and unpredictable swings.
So after imposing 25% tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican goods, he later exempted American car makers, but now this latest move seemingly reverses that.
So just hold on tight, take your Xanax, and stay tuned for your daily dose of good news at the end of the show.
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In a not shocking development from the Trump Administration, it’s being reported that vaccine and pandemic research funding is being scrapped and that it hired a notorious anti-vaxxer to study the links between vaccines and autism.
One of the biggest programs to be hit is called Gavi, which gets money from USAID and helps give vaccines to children abroad.
This is part of a wider set of cuts to USAID, but many fear that undermining Gavi’s efforts will have some of the longest lasting impacts.
Right, it’s credited with successfully fighting diseases like rubella and tuberculosis in developing countries.
And ever since being set up 25 years ago, Gavi is credited with saving the lives of 19 million children. (Probably safe to say that’s objectively a good thing).[]
Fortunately the US doesn’t provide all of its money so it should still be able to function, but it will lose a sizable 13% of its budget from this move.[]
Then closer to home, officials at the Health and Human Services Department are claiming that vaccine research programs are being gutted.
The department allegedly claimed that the end of the COVID-19 Pandemic “...provides cause to terminate Covid-related grant funds.” []
But the reality is that only some of the grant money that was terminated went towards COVID research.
According to a senior National Institute of Health official who spoke to the New York Times, the funding also went to looking at other diseases.
“This includes the antiviral projects designed to cover a wide range of families that could cause outbreaks or pandemics.” []
They went on to say that calling all the research “COVID research” was “a complete inaccuracy and simply a way to defund infectious disease research.”
One program that’s been heavily affected was a program that looked at making a vaccine that covered a wide-range of coronaviruses. []
Remember, they’re a family of viruses that have caused multiple pandemics and COVID-19 was just the latest.
Researchers at Caltech and Rockefeller University were making headway with their research and tests on animals had promising results.
Their method allowed the body to “recognize” certain molecular structures that are unique to coronaviruses.[]
But this defunding has effectively killed that project.
Nine labs across the US had been doing similar work, as well as trying to make better antiviral medications and are now cut off from $577 million in NIH grants.
This shouldn’t be too surprising though since this is the department that’s being run by the anti-vax RFK Jr.
And speaking of anti-vaxxers, officials at the HHS are claiming the agency just hired David Geier to analyze studies done by the CDC in order to examine “links” between vaccines and autism. [Geier pronunciation]
Geier has a long history of promoting the long-discredited claim that the two are linked and even published studies about the topic with his father.
Although calling them studies is a stretch as they’ve all been discredited and redacted from journals.
So this is like hiring Philip Morris to conduct a study into whether cigarettes cause lung cancer.
Geier’s past also has some other black marks, such as the fact that more than a decade ago he got in trouble with Maryland regulators for practicing medicine without a license.
The closest he got to a medical degree was working at his father’s medical practice… although his father eventually lost his license for a variety of reasons.
There’s a real fear now in the medical community that Geier will put his hands on the scales of the study, which will have far reaching consequences considering it’ll be an “official” government study.
That will in turn possibly lead to people avoiding vaccines of all types with disproven links to autism.
Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation put it this way:
“It seems the goal of this administration is to prove that vaccines cause autism, even though they don’t.”
“They are starting with the conclusion and looking to prove it. That’s not how science is done.”
We’ll have to keep an eye on this, but the general sentiment from medical experts is that when the next pandemic hits we’ll once again not be prepared at all.
And on top of that, if these reports come back with a massive anti-vax lean as is expected, we’re likely to see an explosion of diseases that otherwise are rarely a problem in the US.
…Something we’ve kind of seen already with things like measles lately due to efforts by people like RFK Jr. and Geier that claimed the vaccine was linked to autism.
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And for your spot of good news for the day, people with rare conditions are finding treatments thanks to this doctor and his application of AI.
Right, this is Dr. David Fajgenbaum (Fay-gen-bahm) and as a 25 year old med student, he was diagnosed with a rare subtype of Castleman’s disease - which landed him in the ICU. []
He wasn’t responding to any treatments and he went through rounds of chemotherapy that only helped for a little while. []
But between hospitalizations, Dr. Fay-gen-bahm spent weeks testing his own blood and pouring over medical literature to find some treatment - even if it was unconventional.
Saying,
“I had this really clear realization that I didn’t have a billion dollars and 10 years to create some new drug from scratch.” []
Eventually, he came across a generic medication typically given to kidney donation recipients to prevent rejection.
And that medication has kept Dr. Fay-gen-bahm’s Castleman’s disease in remission for more than a decade. []
He went on to become a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and began looking into how drugs can be repurposed or used to treat a condition they weren’t initially created for - which isn’t necessarily a new idea.
And his lab did have some success - it was just a long and hard process because Dr. Fay-gen-bahm’s team had to compare one drug at a time to one disease at a time and it was just too slow. []
So in 2022, Dr. Fay-gen-bahm helped found Every Cure - a nonprofit aimed at using machine learning to compare thousands of drugs and diseases at once.
The platform compares roughly 4,000 drugs against 18,500 diseases and then, for each disease, the drugs will get a score based on the likelihood it will work. []
Then a team of researchers looks through the AI’s predictions for reasonable ideas and they perform lab tests or connect with doctors willing to try the drugs on patients.
And they aren’t alone here - we’re seeing work similar to Every Cure’s being done across the US and around the world.
There’s an institute at the University of Alabama in Birmingham that developed a model that successfully has predicted several treatments.
Like amphetamines typically used to treat ADHD relieved periodic paralysis in children with a rare genetic disorder and a common blood pressure medicine drastically improved the mobility of a pediatric patient with a different neurological condition. []
With the doctor who leads that institute saying,
“If you comb through enough drugs, you eventually find the side effect you’re looking for and then that becomes the main effect.” []
But before you start panicking about AI spitting out whatever and doctors experimenting on patients, there is a lot of physician oversight here.
With Dr. Marinka Zitnik, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School who studies computer science applications in medical research and whose lab also built an AI model for drug repurposing, clarifying that no model is infallible. []
And sometimes the AI does spit out something without having sufficiently strong evidenc
e.
But that’s why there is oversight on everything and there are times when a doctor does decide that an AI-suggested treatment is too risky. []
Other times, the crazy ideas that these AI systems produce are life-saving.
In one case, Dr. Fay-gen-bahm was consulted about a young man named Joseph Coates who was losing his battle with a rare blood disorder called POEMS syndrome.
It had left his feet and hands numb, his heart was enlarged, and his kidneys were failing. []
Joseph had gotten too sick to receive a stem cell transplant - which was one of the only known treatments that could have put him in remission.
And he’d gotten to the point that nothing was working and the only thing Joseph could do was decide whether he wanted to die at home or at the hospital.
But Joseph and his girlfriend had met Dr. Fay-gen-baum at a rare disease summit a year earlier and she reached out to him, begging for his help. []
By the next day, Dr. Fay-gen-baum’s AI model had suggested an unconventional combination of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and steroids and he passed that along to Joesph’s doctor. []
Who, at first, was skeptical.
But nothing else was working and his doctor said, “...someone had to be the first to try.” []
Within a week, Joseph was responding to the treatment and within four months, he was healthy enough for a stem cell transplant.
Which brings to now, just over a year later: Joseph is in remission and the picture of health. []
Now, AI is generally a controversial topic, especially when we’re talking about using it in the medical field.
But according to Every Cure’s co-founder and Dr. Fay-gen-bahm’s medical school classmate Dr. Grant Mitchell, quote,
“This is one example of A.I. that we don’t have to fear, that we can be really excited about. This one’s going to help a lot of people.” []
But I would love to know your thoughts about this in those comments down below.
