Friday, August 29th, 2025 - RFK Jr.’s CDC mess; Trump’s railroad takeover; “De minimis” loophole shut; "Sandwich Thrower” charged with misdemeanor

Morning Announcements

Betches

News, Daily News, News Commentary, Politics

4.7 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s Headlines: Newly confirmed CDC director, Susan Monarez, was “officially removed” by HHS Secretary RFK Jr.—even though she insisted only the president can fire her, making The CDC mess even messier. Meanwhile, RFK Jr’s ally Jim O’Neill has been tapped as acting director, prompting dozens of CDC staff in Atlanta to walk out in protest. Over at the Surface Transportation Board, Trump is trying to oust a Democratic member just as the board weighs a huge merger between Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific that could essentially create one mega-railroad controlling freight across the U.S. At the same time, Trump is also closing the “de minimis” loophole, meaning imported packages under $800 will now get slapped with tariffs ranging from 10–50%—and several countries, including Japan, Germany, and Mexico, say they’ll stop sending packages here altogether. In Minneapolis, police gave more details about the horrific school shooting that killed two children and injured 18 others. Officials say the gunman plastered his weapons with over 100 hate slogans and had been openly posting about his plans for weeks, though law enforcement somehow missed it. And in DC, the infamous “sandwich thrower” who hurled lunch at a federal agent during Trump’s new troop patrols has been charged only with a misdemeanor after prosecutors couldn’t get a felony indictment. Truly, the first time a ham sandwich wasn’t indicted. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: The Guardian: CDC in crisis: who are the top officials resigning or being forced out? | Trump administration NBC News: Trump administration live updates: White House taps Kennedy deputy as acting CDC director; Fed governor Lisa Cook sues over removal Axios: Massive CDC walkout erupts amid internal chaos Bloomberg: Trump Moves To Fire Rail Regulator WIRED: The Duty-Free Loophole Is Closing. What That Means for You—and Your Packages NBC News: Minneapolis shooting live updates: Shooter 'wanted to watch children suffer' as 120 shell casings are recovered, officials say AP News: DC man seen throwing sandwich at agent charged with misdemeanor after grand jury declines indictment Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:31.3	Today is Friday, August 29th, and you're listening to The Morning Announcements presented
0:36.1	by Betches Media. I'm your host,
0:38.2	Sammy Sage, and the morning announcements is your daily five-minute breakdown of the headlines
0:42.3	that isn't a megaphone for the loudest voices, but a magnifying glass for the most important news.
0:48.3	This episode is brought to you by Built Rewards. By now, if you're a listener of this podcast,
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1:11.2	by going to join built.com slash morning. That's j-o-in-b-l-t.com slash morning.
1:21.4	The situation at the CDC remains highly problematic, and I have some reporting from yesterday to clarify.
1:28.6	The newly confirmed CDC director Susan Menares had been officially removed by Health and Human
1:33.7	Services Secretary RFK Jr. after she said she would not resign unless the president himself
1:39.0	fires her, asserting that RFK Jr. may not have the authority to do so. So she's like Schrodinger's CDC director.
1:47.5	Meanwhile, the administration has already announced a new acting CDC director,
1:52.2	a deputy of RFK Jr. named Jim O'Neill.
1:55.1	And Jim O'Neill will actually continue working in that role as deputy,
	...

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