Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
That is why today I am signing a new executive
order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya,
and numerous others. But we will not allow people to
enter our country who wish to do us harm, and
nothing will stop us from keeping America safe.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You're listening to the forty seven Morning Update with Ben ferguson.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Good Thursday morning. Welcome, it is the forty seven Morning Update,
and we've got three big stories for you that you
do not want to miss this morning. First up, RFK
Junior's Health in Human Services has canceled the Maderna's seven
hundred and sixty six million dollar vaccine contract line. They
say the technology actually may not be safe for you
(00:47):
at all. Also, the Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino coming
out and saying there's some big stories that we're still
looking into. You remember the cocaine at the White House,
or the leaking of the twenty two Supreme Court decision
when it came to Roe v. Wade and the Washington
pipe bomb incident just the day before January the seventh, Well,
(01:09):
all of these are now being investigated again by the FBI.
I'll have those details, and finally President Trump, yet again
proving he wasn't joking when he said he was going
to be looking at where your tax dollars are going.
This time, he says it's time to cut off the
funding to Harvard, and Harvard is now fighting back. We'll
(01:29):
have that and how much money it could save you.
In just a second, it's the forty seven Morning Update
and it starts right now, story number one. There's no
other way to describe it but a major victory for
American taxpayers. The US Department of Health and Human Services
under Secretary RFK. Junior, has canceled a seven hundred and
(01:49):
sixty six million dollar contract with Maderna that was intended
to fund the development of an mRNA base vaccine targeting
pandemic influenza viruses, including the H five in one bird
flu The funding, awarded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and
(02:10):
Development Authority known as BARDA, comprised one hundred and seventy
six million granted in July of twenty twenty four and
five hundred and ninety million in January of twenty twenty five.
The cancelation occurred despite Modernay reporting positive interim results from
early stage trials involving three hundred healthy adults, which demonstrated
(02:32):
they claimed a robust immune response and favorable safety profile.
That's obviously coming from the company. Well, when the announcement
came through, this is what it sounded like on MSNBC.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Administration has canceled a contract with Maderna for the development
of a bird flu vaccine for humans or Angelica Peebles
joins us now with more and you could conject sure
a lot of things about this between RFK Junior and
Vaccines and mRNA. What's behind all this?
Speaker 5 (03:08):
Yeah, good morning, Joe. So this is just the latest
in a string of events that we've seen related to
COVID vaccines over the last week. And what's happening here
is that the Trump administration is canceling a more than
seven hundred million dollar contract with Maderna to develop a
bird flu vaccine and other pre pandemic influenza viruses. And
so what's really notable about this is that obviously we've
(03:30):
seen this, you know, we've seen bird flu tearing through
birds and also dairy cows and the risk to humans.
And so what we saw on the Biden administration is
that they really ramped up this work and they were
helping to fund They were going to fund a phase
through trial to see if we could use mRNA for
a bird flu vaccine if it indeed spills over to humans.
(03:51):
And now the cancelation of this vaccine is quite a surprise.
Maybe not a surprise now, because we had been hearing
rumblings about this for the past few months. But you know,
we just saw this this contract ramp up right before
the last administration left, and now you have the Trump
administration saying that they felt like, after a rigorous review,
we concluded that the continued investment in Maderna's H five
(04:13):
and one mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable.
And they're saying that it's not just about efficacy, it's
about safety. And so it's interesting to hear them really
casting doubt on just the safety and the efficacy of
mRNA vaccines as a whole.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
You go back to what the HHS official stated in
that decision, and you would think the media would have
spent more time on this, saying, following a comprehensive review,
they concluded that continued investment in Maderna's H five in
one and m r NA vaccine was not scientifically or
(04:51):
ethically justifiable. Now, concerns were raised about the safety and
testing rigor of the mr NA technology, and the emphasized
the need for safety number one, integrity number two, and
public trust in medical advancements, something that all disappeared because
of the quote COVID vaccine. Remember when they promised you
(05:14):
if you got it, you were going to stop the
spread and you didn't have to worry about getting COVID nineteen.
Well that never happened, and we all know we were
lied to. Now this move also aligns with Secretary Kennedy's
long standing skepticism towards RNA vaccines. Since assuming his roll
in February, Kennedy has inputed several policy changes reflecting those views,
(05:37):
including rolling back COVID nineteen vaccine recommendations, as we mentioned yesterday,
for healthy children and pregnant women, something that's been celebrated
by quite a few Americans. Now, to be clear, no
one has banned vaccines. This is going back to giving
you the choice and a choice that many Americans had
(06:00):
taken away from them during the COVID lockdowns. Now, story
number two, there were some pretty big stories in the
past administration that literally got swept under the rug. And
there are stories that Democrats, certainly those in power, were
really hoping they'd never have to worry about again. That's
part of the reason why they were propping up Joe Biden,
even though they knew he wasn't even the president of
(06:21):
the United States of America. He had a massive cognitive decline.
But hey, when you're doing what they're doing, why not
keep the charades going. Well, The FBI Deputy Director Dan
Bongino has come out and said that quote, the bureau
is now looking at several of those cases involving quote
potential public corruption. Cases the FBI could look at are
(06:46):
the Washington pipe bomb incident, a White House cocaine discovery.
You may remember that story, and also the minor leaking
of the twenty twenty two Supreme Court decision that overturned
Rov Wade. Yes, the FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino saying
that the bureau is looking at launching investigations into these
(07:09):
cases a potential public corruption Bongino said, quote shortly after
squaring in, the FBI Director Cash Mattel, and I evaluated
a number of cases of potential public corruption that understandably
have garnered public interests. Bongino a former Secret Service agent
and you may know him from his podcasts. Note that
they made the decision to either reopen or push additional
(07:32):
resources and investigative attention to these cases. One case they're
looking to target is the FBI investigation to the alleged
pipe bomb left near the Democratic and Republican National Committee
buildings in Washington, d C. The day before the January
sixth capital breach, he said. The FBI said in twenty
(07:53):
twenty four that a five hundred thousand dollars reward is
still an effect for information leading to the arrest of
the pipe bomb suspect. Earlier in twenty twenty five, the
former assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field
Office told CNN that officials are seeking quote, new leads,
saying maybe alliances have changed or relationships have changed, and
(08:14):
it's time to report on the suspect. Is what he
said to the outlet at the time, saying tips from
the public really have been very helpful, but as I mentioned,
we're still trying to identify the suspect, so we're trying
to release a little more information such that maybe it
will jog somebody's memory. Other cases that warn't more resources
include one involving the discovery of cocaine in the White
(08:37):
House in July of twenty twenty three, as well as
the massive leak of the Supreme Court decision that overturned
Roe v. Wade in June of twenty twenty two, saying
it this way, quote, I receive requests briefings on these
cases weekly, and we are making progress. If you have
any investigative tips on these matters that may assist us,
(08:59):
then please kind of tact the FBI. Also in his
ex posts, Bongino said he and Patel have conducted one
media interview together, which was with Fox News, as you know,
a few days ago, saying quote, we decided early on
to limit our media footprint overall in order to keep
the attention on the work being done. We have chosen
(09:19):
to communicate in writing on this platform to fill some
of the inevitable information vacuum, saying quote, I try to
read as much of your feedback as possible, but the
workday is busy, and my office is a sensitive compartment
and information facility with limited phone access and response to
feedback both positive and negative. From our interview last week,
(09:41):
we will be releasing more information which will further clarify
answers to some of the questions asked in the interview.
One thing is for sure, they are definitely going for
more transparency. But for the liberals out there that may
have been committing crimes, guess what you may have thought
you got away with it, and apparently with this administration,
you may be very wrong.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
And lastly, story number three.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
It's a pretty simple idea. If you hate the United
States of America, why should we let you come to
America's universities, especially if you're advocating for violence against Jewish
students or even American students. Well, the Trump administration has
now intensified its actions against Harvard University by directing federal
(10:25):
agencies to cancel or redirect contracts worth approximately one hundred
million dollars now. This move follows earlier measures, including the
freezing of over two point six billion in federal research grants,
citing concerns over the university's policies and campus climate. Now,
(10:46):
the aspects of the policy change are actually very simple.
The reallocation of resources is number one. The administration's decision
aims to redirect substantial federal funds to institutions that align
more closely with its policy objectives, potentially benefiting trade schools
and other educational entities. They also say there's an emphasis
(11:10):
on accountability. By scrutinizing Harvard's use of federal funds, the
administration underscores the importance of accountability and also adherence to
national standards and higher education institutions. And then the promotion
of diverse educational opportunities. The potential redistribution of funds, of
White ausay may enhance vocational and technological training programs, offering
(11:34):
countless students alternative pathways to successful careers without the traditional
university route and or going to an Ivy League school.
There's also the encouragement of institutional self reliance. The funding
cuts may prompt elite universities, they say, to seek greater
financial independence, foster innovation efficiency, and management resources. Now these
(11:58):
actions are marking legal challenges as the universities are angry
over what's happening. But at the end of the day,
the White House also says this comes down to another issue,
and that is, are we actually encouraging students from around
the world to come to the US that love America?
And that want to be a part of the process,
(12:19):
or are tax dollars going to students that actually hate America?
And that brings up the State Department pausing visa interviews
as Trump moves to cancel Harvard's last federal contracts. Here's
more of that story as CNN freaked out over it news.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
And a major escalation in the Trump administration's fights against
America's universities. The State Department pausing all new student visa
application interviews, and while that pauses in place, the government
is developing new guidance for social media screenings of foreign
students who want to study in the US. This causes
the White House moves to cancel all remaining federal contracts
with Harvard. To senior administration officials Telsea and then that
(13:00):
those contracts are worth about one hundred million dollars. This
on top of more than two billion dollars in grants
the administration froze last month, and on Monday, the President
th rent to give that money to trade schools. Here's
Harvard's president in an interview that was taped before news
broke about those latest contract cancelations.
Speaker 7 (13:20):
I don't know fully what the motivations are, But I
do know that there are people who are fighting a
cultural battle. I don't know if that is what is
driving the administration. They don't like what's happened to campuses,
and sometimes they don't like what we represent.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
The Harvard president right there, going on MPR, which the
President's also trying to defund, complaining about the motives of
the Trump administration. You can't make it up. Donald Trump
doesn't care, by the way, and he's moving forward with
protecting him, America's interests and your tax dour.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update
with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever
you're listening to this podcast right now and for more
in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast
and we will see you back here tomorrow