New CDC Head Thinks You Should... Test Drugs On Yourself?
Chaos at the CDC. Plus: Why dozens of countries aren't shipping to the US anymore. Texas' unprecedented anti-abortion law. Lots of News That Doesn't Suck. And the News Not Noise Quiz.
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Looks like we are all ready for the weekend. Reporters in the White House press briefing room – which abuts the concrete patio formerly known as the Rose Garden – heard music playing outside the walls. Naturally, White House reporters made inquiries and shared this:
“The White House confirms that the music that can be heard outside the briefing room (currently ‘I Dream a Dream’ from Les Miserables) is indeed the president playing music in the Rose Garden on the new sound system.”
Sure, why not.
President Trump hasn’t been seen publicly since his 3+ hour cabinet meeting on Tuesday so perhaps he wants to make his presence known. Oddly he also has no public schedule all weekend – not even on Labor Day. Are they cooking up a surprise? The White House did release this list of “accomplishments” for the week which includes the President’s success pressuring Cracker Barrel to revert to its old logo.
Yes, Rohan and I are also ready for the weekend.
In today’s newsletter: a week of chaos at the CDC. Breaking news on tariffs plus top headlines. And for subscribers, news that doesn’t suck and the weekly quiz.
Here Are Your Headlines:
Breaking: Just before we hit send a federal appeals court ruled that Trump’s tariffs are illegal. A panel of judges ruled that “tariffs are a core Congressional power” and Trump did not have the authority to impose them. However, they are allowing the tariffs to stay in place while the case proceeds. We expect this to end up at the Supreme Court. Bottom line: they remain in effect for now.
Chaos at the CDC: The nation's health protection agency had what one expert called an “absolute shitshow” of a week. After the CDC's leader was ousted and four senior officials resigned in protest, "everything from outbreaks to data to chronic diseases to injury is in jeopardy,” one expert warned. The health of the country is in the hands of an RFK aide who spent years pushing for people to test drugs on themselves. The opposition of hundreds of experts, lobbyists, and lawmakers has risen to unprecedented levels — and they might be able to stop the spread, so to speak. Here's what you need to know.
New Management: Meet Jim O’Neill, your new acting CDC director. O’Neill has no medical training. He was a speechwriter for George W Bush’s health department, worked at two venture capital firms tied to far-right billionaire Peter Theil, and served as CEO of an anti-aging foundation until he resigned amid a sexual harassment investigation into its co-founder. And he has argued the FDA should lower drug safety requirements so people can test drugs on themselves. “Let people start using them at their own risk,” he said, “but not much risk, of safety.” (A professor of medical ethics and health policy called this “absurd” and “a complete dereliction of duty”.) Oh, he also thinks people should be allowed to sell their organs. During COVID, he promoted the horse dewormer ivermectin (remember that?) and spread conspiracy theories. Read more about him here and here.
Ouster: On Wednesday CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired by an RFK tweet less than a month after being confirmed by the Senate. Her lawyers say only Trump himself can fire her, creating a legal standoff. A White spokesperson says Monarez was “not aligned with the president’s agenda.” Monarez’s lawyers argue she’s being ousted for refusing “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts” and for “protecting the public over serving a political agenda.” It remains unclear if Monarez is actually fired.
Public Walkout: Four top officials resigned in protest. The vaccine chief, Demetre Daskalakis, claims RFK hasn’t received a single briefing from his division while the country suffers its worst measles outbreak in a generation and COVID surges. Daskalakis said he’s “never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.”
Shooting: Recall that on August 8 a gunman fired almost 500 rounds into the CDC’s Atlanta HQ, killing a police officer. The shooter was reportedly aggrieved over ailments he linked to the COVID vaccine. The Trump administration had few words of support after the shooting and morale inside the agency has reportedly plummeted. The next day, the NIH director went on Steve Bannon’s MAGA podcast — not to address the shooting, but to rail against mRNA vaccines.
Pushback: RFK’s actions have prompted resistance even from Republicans. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said there was “no basis” for Monarez’s removal. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who cast the deciding vote to confirm RFK, said recommendations from RFK’s vaccine advisory committee should be “rejected as lacking legitimacy” if the next meeting isn't postponed. Remember, RFK replaced every single member of that panel in June; several of his picks are vaccine skeptics, and one of them — a man with no clinical medical experience who’s called for mRNA vaccines to be banned — is slated to lead the upcoming meeting. Over 750 federal health workers signed an open letter accusing RFK of being a threat to public health; this month an organization with 3,000 health professionals released a report calling for RFK’s removal. “This is an existential threat to public health,” a Yale epidemiologist warned. “I would rather fight and lose than lie down.”
Pop Goes The…: It’s clear from your responses to our Wednesday newsletter that you’re interested in the weird, wanton world of AI. Check out these stats: Four tech giants spent nearly $100 billion on AI equipment and software this quarter. In 2025, this spending added more to GDP growth than all consumer spending combined. As a percentage of GDP, spending on AI infrastructure is already higher than during the dot-com boom — and it’s still growing. How long can this bubble last? What might the fallout be if (when) it finally bursts?
Take-Backsies: The White House will try to revoke nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved spending for foreign aid. How? A legally untested method called a “pocket rescission,” which means waiting until the last moment to cancel funding — so lawmakers don’t have time to stop it before the fiscal year ends. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) called this “a clear violation of the law.” More here.
Cancelled: Trump cancelled former Vice President Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection, ending an extension approved by Biden. This means she loses not only physical security but knowledge of the active threats against her. She’s set to begin a very public book tour this Fall.
Anti-Abortion: Texas lawmakers advanced an unprecedented law to limit access to medication abortion — and let almost anyone sue people nationwide who send abortion pills into the state. The ACLU slammed this as a “bounty-hunting scheme” that “exports Texas’ extreme abortion ban far beyond state borders.”
Gerrymander: Texas Gov. Greg Abott signed into law a new gerrymandered voting map that sent Texas Democrats fleeing. It’s expected to flip up to five House seats from Democrats to the GOP.
Window Shopping Only: Your Shein haul just got pricier. Trump ended the so-called “de minimis” rule that exempted imports worth $800 or less from tariffs and duties. That French perfume? Same. This will have disastrous effects on small businesses, and anyone looking to purchase goods from outside the US. In 2024, almost 1.4 billion packages entered the US under this rule. The response: over 30 countries have temporarily suspended goods shipments to the US. So it’s possible you can’t even find that perfume if you’d want to.
Time and Place: Border patrol agents interrupted 44 firefighters helping contain a blaze in Washington state and detained two believed to be in the US illegally. CBP claims it did not interfere with firefighting. “No one should assume this was necessary or appropriate,” Sen. Patty Murray said.
Bad Host: The Trump administration will deny or revoke visas to Palestinian officials for September’s UN General Assembly. This is highly unusual; the UN specifically requires that foreign officials be allowed to attend “irrespective of the relations” between their governments and the US. The move is likely to draw significant international criticism.
Line Goes Up: Core inflation rose in July to the highest rate since February. Consumer spending also increased slightly.
Details of a Tragedy: The mass shooter who targeted a Minneapolis Catholic school Wednesday, killing two children and injuring over a dozen others, was 23-year-old Robin Westman, who reportedly attended the school. Her motive is unclear. She praised a gun rights influencer and was reportedly obsessed with and venerated mass shooters and shootings. You may have seen from the right-wing media frenzy, she appears to have been a transgender woman. To be clear, the facts imply this played no part in her decision to commit this horrific crime. An analysis of 1,000 mass shootings since 2023 found fewer than 5 were by a transgender person. Another analysis found that 95% of mass shootings since 1982 were “carried out by men with no known history of identifying as trans or nonbinary.”
It’s the Meds? JD Vance seemed to blame psychiatric medication for gun violence. RFK Jr similarly announced studies into antidepressants and “other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence.” There’s no indication the shooter took psychiatric medication, nor evidence she had been diagnosed with mental illness; according to a 2019 study, most school shooters hadn’t taken SSRIs. Another problem? Countries with the highest rate of antidepressant use include Iceland, which hasn’t had a single gun-related murder since 2007, and Australia, which has seen just one mass shooting since gun law reforms were passed in 1996. Is it possible that it’s the guns?
News That Doesn’t Suck
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