BOBBY’S BAD MEDICINE

RFK Jr. is dangerously undermining America’s ability to respond to public health threats, former officials warned today, as fresh data shows vital vaccine coverage is already slipping.

• Capitol Hill debates on public health were once a sleepy affair. Nowadays, they’re political fireworks: Accusations, denials, and dark warnings — all about just how much peril Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is creating with his anti-science, anti-vax, MAHA-style magical thinking.

• Two former officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rang the alarm bell as loudly as they could today, in a passionate Senate hearing. Susan Monarez was Kennedy’s hand-picked CDC director until he fired her after a titanic clash over vaccine policy, when she was less than a month into the job. Today, she shared her side of that story — along with a warning that Kennedy’s assault on vaccine science is putting the country in serious jeopardy.

• Monarez told senators that Kennedy fired her because she refused to go along with two of his key demands: That she fire career CDC officials responsible for setting vaccine recommendations, and that she agree to approve changes to vaccine policy with no scientific input.

• “He said if I was unwilling to do both, I should resign,” Monarez said of a contentious late-August meeting with RFK. “Even under pressure I could not replace evidence with ideology or compromise my integrity.” Monarez added that RFK demanded she meet with his anti-vax allies, including Aaron Siri, an attorney who lobbied to revoke government approval of… wait for it… the polio vaccine.

Monarez described RFK Jr. as angry and conspiratorial in their most contentious meeting on August 25th.

• Kennedy slammed the CDC as “the most corrupt organization in the world" and said CDC employees were killing children “and they don’t care,” according to Monarez. RFK also became enraged when he discovered Monarez had told leading senators that the secretary was asking her to take actions that weren’t supported by scientific evidence, Monarez said.

• While MAGA-fueled vaccine misinformation rages, childhood vaccination rates are dipping to dangerously low levels. Childhood vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella have tipped well below 95% in two-thirds of counties that collect MMR vaccine information, according to an NBC News investigation released this week. That’s under the threshold needed to prevent measles from spreading in the community. Two children died and hundreds were hospitalized in a recent measles outbreak in Texas, the worst outbreak in America in more than 30 years.

• The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice is set to meet tomorrow, where it’s expected to recommend a delay in Hepatitis B vaccines for infants. Experts credit the “birth dose” with a 70% reduction in perinatal hepatitis transmission, which can lead to chronic liver disease. CDC officials Wednesday said they were aware of no new data justifying a change in recommendation — but Kennedy has stacked the panel with members who question the safety of vaccines.

• MAGA vaccine conspiracies are also leading to real-world violence. In August, a man steeped in anti-vax propaganda fired 180 rounds into CDC’s Atlanta headquarters, sending employees fleeing and killing a police officer, David Rose. Monarez said RFK, Jr. did not speak to her for days afterward, even as employees were fearing for their safety. “He did not call me,” she told senators.

“I believe preventable diseases will return — and I believe that we will have children harmed by things that we know they do not need to be harmed by,” Monarez warned. “The stakes are not theoretical.”

WHAT ELSE?

The EU proposed new sanctions on Israel as its forces continued their assault on Gaza City. The measure would increase tariffs on Israeli goods, and sanction some right-wing settlers along with two senior members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The tough new measures may not be approved, however, due to lack of consensus among EU member countries.

Four people were arrested for projecting an image of Donald Trump and his longtime friend, the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on the exterior of Windsor Castle ahead of Trump’s state visit.

Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s — yes, that Jerry — quit his namesake company after 47 years, saying his independence to speak out on social justice issues has been stifled by parent company Unilever. “It was always about more than just ice cream,” Jerry wrote in an emotional farewell letter. Shoutout to a real one, Jerry. (This newsletter once asked you amazing readers to pitch ideas for an imaginary ice cream flavor, and you sent in Peachful Protest, Fudge the System, and Constitutional Crunch.)

FBI Director Kash Patel had another day of bonkers testimony on Capitol Hill. This time he falsely claimed that federal court orders prevent him from releasing Epstein files, and refused to say whether he discussed Donald Trump’s appearances in the files with Attorney General Pam Bondi. He also caused Krispy Kreme shares — which he owns — to spike, after calling them a “good investment.” Do they serve Krispy Kreme donuts at the Norse warriors’ dining hall in Valhalla, Kash?

Even if TikTok gets American owners, it will still keep its old Chinese algorithm, under the tentative deal arranged by Trump, Chinese officials said this week. U.S. officials have called that algorithm a security threat, given the app’s widespread use and ability to sway public thinking… So the point of forcing its Chinese owners to sell a majority stake is, at best, in question. Great work, Donald! Master dealmaker at work!

A senior Trump official used the same mortgage practices that the Trump administration has used to target political opponents, according to Bloomberg News. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly listed two homes as primary residences. Bessent’s lawyer told Bloomberg the paperwork was all done properly. Still, could this embarrassing moment, just maybe, explain why Bessent reportedly threatened to punch Trump’s top mortgage official, the guy widely known for digging into these records, in his “fucking face”?

The Federal Reserve moved to cut the benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, an expected response to weakening jobs numbers and tariff-fueled upticks in inflation. Trump has been pressuring Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut rates. Powell also signaled the central bank is likely to do more rate cuts in the near future.

Light at the End of the Email…

The new @whitehouse TikTok account has largely turned into an anti-Trump message board as haters bombard the comments with reactions like “most corrupt president ever.”

Awkward: Fox founder Rupert Murdoch was slated to attend the UK state dinner honoring Donald Trump Wednesday. Weird to discuss Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book, all over poached salmon!

A Virginia woman who won a $150,000 lottery prize earlier this month donated the entire jackpot to charity. Carrie Edwards, of Winchester, said she wanted to “bless others” with the gifts, which included $50,000 each to a dementia charity, a food equity organization, and a relief organization for military families and veterans. You’re an inspiration, Carrie.