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