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Search continues for 12th suspect in ambush at Alvarado ICE detention facility

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(ALVARADO, Texas) — The FBI is searching for a 12th person the agency says was involved in the ambush of law enforcement officers at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, last week.

Benjamin Hanil Song, a former United States Marine Corps reservist, has been charged in connection with his role in the shooting of an Alvarado police officer at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday.

Song is accused of joining 10 others in an organized attack against officers at the Prairieland Detention Center just after 10:30 p.m., on July 4. Officials say he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Song has been charged with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

A group of individuals dressed in black, military style clothing began shooting fireworks toward the detention center, then spraying graffiti on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot at the facility, according to officials.

“Correctional officers called 911 to report suspicious activity. An Alvarado police officer responded to the scene and, upon exiting his vehicle, the officer was shot in the neck by a defendant positioned in nearby woods. Another alleged assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Thursday.

The injured officer was treated and released following the shooting.

Song allegedly purchased four of the guns that were found in connection with the shooting, including two AR-style rifles found at the scene, according to officials.

“One of the abandoned rifles at the scene had a binary trigger, used to ‘double’ a regular rate of fire, allowing a shooter to fire more rapidly than a standard semiautomatic gun,” the sheriff’s office said.

Ten assailants who were charged in a criminal complaint on Monday fled from the detention center, but were apprehended by additional responding officers.

Song was not found, but cellphone location data indicated his phone was within several hundred meters of the Prairieland Detention Center the day of the ambush until the next morning, according to the sheriff’s office.

An 11th suspect, Daniel Rolando-Sanchez Estrada, is the husband of one of the attackers, and was arrested on charges of conspiracy to tamper with evidence while attempting to execute a search warrant, according to ICE’s account on X. He allegedly had “insurrectionist propaganda” at his home titled “Organizing for Attack! Insurrectionary Anarchy,” ICE said.

On July 6, a vehicle registered to Song was found on the same block of another suspect’s residence.

The 10 others charged in Monday’s complaint include Cameron Arnold, Savanna Batten, Nathan Baumann, Zachary Evetts, Joy Gibson, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Seth Sikes, Elizabeth Soto and Ines Soto.

If convicted, Song faces up to life in prison.

“We are committed to apprehending Song and are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. If you have any information, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI or you can submit a digital tip to fbi.govprairieland,” FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock, said in a statement Thursday.

A blue alert — which are issued for at-large suspects when a police officer has been seriously injured or killed — was also issued late Wednesday for Song by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Lawyers say whistleblower’s texts bolster claim that Emil Bove suggested defying court orders

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Attorneys for a fired DOJ official-turned-whistleblower released a series of emails and texts Thursday that they say bolster claims that Emil Bove — a top Trump appointee to the Justice Department now in line for a powerful judicial appointment — repeatedly suggested defying orders from courts to enforce the administration’s immigration policies.

The messages, from former immigration attorney Erez Reuveni, provide a real-time look at the internal scramble among top Justice Department and other administration officials as they sought to defend the legality of several rushed deportation efforts that have since become the subject of high-stakes legal challenges.

According to lawyers for Reuveni and Senate Democrats who released the messages, they also provide clear support for Reuveni’s initial whistleblower disclosure, which came just a day before Bove was set to appear for his confirmation hearing for a seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to the complaint, Reuveni said that in a March 14 meeting on the eve of the administration carrying out its initial wave of deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, Bove remarked that DOJ “would need to consider telling the courts “f— you” in response to any order that sought to enjoin the removals.

In a series of texts released by Reuveni from March 15 — the day that U.S. District judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to turn around two planes carrying migrants deported under the AEA before they arrived in El Salvador, Reuveni said, “This doesn’t end with anything but a nationwide injunction” before adding, “And a decision point on f— you.”

“It’s a question if drew gets out without a sanction,” another attorney replied, an apparent reference to Drew Ensign, a career DOJ official who was tasked with defending the administration’s AEA deportations in the Boasberg case.

Later in the evening, Reuveni again texted, “guess its find out time on the f— you,” an apparent reference, again, to Bove’s alleged remark.

While it’s unclear what impact the texts could have on Bove’s nomination, they could ultimately serve to provide Judge Boasberg with evidence to carry out his contempt proceedings against the Trump administration, which are currently on hold by a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel.

The texts also provide insight into the Justice Department’s initial deliberations regarding the administration’s resistance to returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family and attorneys deny.

In one email, Reuveni argued that by defying an order to bring Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador, the administration risked “making very bad law here that jeopardizes many far more important initiatives of the current administration over one person.”

The messages also suggest that before Abrego Garcia’s case became the subject of nationwide attention, officials from the State Department and DHS appeared more than willing to facilitate his return — a sharp contrast to remarks from officials like Stephen Miller, who has repeatedly questioned Abrego Garcia’s character and labeled him a “terrorist.”

“I agree he should be brough back to the US if El Sal will release him back to us, and we should take steps to help ensure his safety in the meantime,” one State Department official said in an email.

“I’m with Erez, we want to make sure everyone knows this gentleman is alright if it takes us time to get el sal to send him back,” a DHS lawyer replied.

During his confirmation hearing, Bove vigorously disputed Reuveni’s whistleblower complaint and denied he ever instructed department officials to defy court orders. When pressed, however, on whether he ever made the remark about potentially having to tell the courts, ‘f— you,’ Bove responded he could not recall making such a statement.

In a statement Thursday responding to Reuveni’s release of the messages, Attorney General Pam Bondi described him as “a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame” in order to sink Bove’s nomination.

“As Mr. Bove testified and as the Department has made clear, there was no court order to defy, as we successfully argued to the DC Circuit when seeking a stay, when they stayed Judge Boasberg’s lawless order,” Bondi said. “And no one was ever asked to defy a court order. This is another instance of misinformation being spread to serve a narrative that does not align with the facts.”

Tree limb fatally injures child at Southern California summer camp

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(CALABASAS, Calif.) — A large oak tree limb fell on a group of kids attending summer camp in Southern California, fatally injuring one child, officials said.

The incident occurred at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas on Wednesday afternoon, authorities noted. Children attending Camp Wildcraft — an art and nature camp based in Los Angeles — were gathering at the end of the day under a large oak tree for shade when they “heard cracks and suddenly a very large branch fell on top of them,” according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

Five people were injured during the incident — an 11-year-old girl with a broken leg, a 5-year-old boy with cuts and a head laceration, a 22-year-old man with abrasions to his head and a 73-year-old man who sustained a concussion, the sheriff’s department said in a statement. An 8-year-old boy who was critically injured was transported to a local hospital and later pronounced deceased, according to the department.

The branch, which officials estimate fell on up to nine kids, was around 25 to 30 feet long, the department said.

The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, the operators of the land where the incident occurred, said in a statement they are “devastated by the tragic loss” and they are closely working with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and other officials to “understand exactly what happened, and we are fully committed to supporting a thorough and transparent investigation.”

“Words cannot express the depth of our sorrow,” the recreation and conservation authority said.

It remains unclear how the oak tree branch fell.

“My heart is with everyone impacted by the tragic situation at King Gillette Ranch. We are actively working to provide all possible support. We hold everyone involved in our thoughts and pray for their safety,” L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement on X.

Officials said they will continue to look into the incident, which they noted is now an accidental death investigation.

Oak trees are protected in the city of Calabasas due to the Oak Tree Ordinance, which requires “reforestation, registration and preservation of all healthy oak trees, unless reasonable and conforming use of a property justifies the removal, transplanting, altering and/or encroachment in the oak tree’s protected zone,” according to the city’s website.

The ordinance also states that any person or entity that “owns, controls or has custody or possession of any real property within the city shall maintain all oak trees and scrub oak habitat located thereon in a state of good health pursuant to the Oak Tree Preservation and Protection Guidelines.”

ABC News’ Jennifer Watts and Kayna Whitworth contributed to this report.

Federal judge blocks Trump’s EO on birthright citizenship after SCOTUS ruling

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in New Hampshire has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing its executive order on birthright citizenship.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante certified a challenge on Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union as a class action lawsuit and granted a preliminary injunction.

The ruling from Judge Laplante comes after the Supreme Court curtailed judge’s ability to issue nationwide injunctions but left a door open for challengers to seek relief by filing class action lawsuits.

The lawsuit, which was filed last month in New Hampshire was brought on behalf of pregnant immigrants, two immigrant parents and their infants.

“This ruling is a huge victory and will help protect the citizenship of all children born in the United States, as the Constitution intended,” said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrant’s Rights Project, who argued the case. “We are fighting to ensure President Trump doesn’t trample on the citizenship rights of one single child.”

Judge Laplante’s order includes a seven-day stay to allow the Trump administration to appeal.

How Trump’s megabill affects student loans, school choice

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending megabill could alter aspects of K-12 and higher education in the coming years, according to education advocates on both sides of the aisle.

After a monthslong process on Capitol Hill, the highly anticipated law will significantly reform the student loan process and broaden school choice options for families and the education community at large.

Here’s how the new law, which also brings massive cuts to government benefits such as Medicaid and increases funding for immigration enforcement, potentially changes education for millions of Americans.

Student loans

The megabill pushed through several House Republican policies aimed at reforming higher education — including with student loans.

The new law terminates all current student loan repayment plans for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026. They will be replaced with two separate plans: a standard repayment plan and a new income-based repayment plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan, according to the text of the megabill.

The Department of Education released a statement that said these new plans are currently impacted by legal challenges, urging borrowers on the Biden-era Income Driven Repayment plans to consider enrolling in an income-based repayment plan.

With this new process, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, a Republican, said he believes struggling borrowers will receive the assistance needed to repay loans without saddling taxpayers with that burden.

The new law also establishes loan limits for parent borrowers and terminates graduate and professional plus loans — designed to help graduate and professional students pay for school — for their degrees and certificates.

Earlier this year, Education Secretary Linda McMahon applauded the megabill for simplifying the “overly complex” repayment process and reducing borrowing amounts to “help curb rising tuition costs.”

The Student Borrower Protection Center, which focuses on eliminating the burden of student debt, denounced the provisions in the bill. Aissa Canchola Bañez, the center’s policy director, described it as a crushing blow to millions of Americans already struggling to cover college costs.

“This bill is a dangerous attack on students, working families and communities across the country,” she said, adding that it is “shredding the student loan safety net, weakening protections and pushing millions of students and families into the riskier and more expensive private student loan market.”

National Parents Union President Keri Rodrigues warned the new policies in Trump’s megabill are leading to a “difficult moment for American families.”

Rodrigues fears a $65,000 lifetime limit on Parent PLUS loans — which provide money to parents for their children to attend college — could eliminate a pathway to “economic mobility.”

“It’s going to mean a lot of hardship for kids and for families across the country,” she said.

School choice

Conservatives are celebrating the law as it continues to deliver on a long-standing pledge from the Trump administration to give power to parents and reduce education bureaucracy in Washington through universal school choice — something McMahon has pushed to see expanded nationwide.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy’s Educational Choice for Children Act tax credit, a provision included within the megabill, provides a charitable donation incentive for individuals and businesses to fund scholarship awards for students to cover expenses related to K-12 public and private education starting in 2027.

Republican Rep. Adrian Smith, who co-sponsored the House legislation, told ABC News it removes the “politics” from school-funding formulas that haven’t served students’ best interests.

“Students deserve the opportunity to succeed in the setting which best meets their needs, and this investment will open new doors for millions of American families,” Smith said.

Tommy Schultz, CEO of the conservative American Federation for Children, noted the change is a monumental step toward every state achieving school choice.

“AFC will work to ensure that governors and state leaders listen to their constituents and bring educational freedom to every state in the nation, and to as many families as possible,” Schultz said in a statement to ABC News. “We will continue to fight to ensure that this tax credit scholarship is well-implemented and expanded as soon as possible.”

Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono is a staunch opponent of the president’s education policies and the Republican tax credit, saying it strips public schools of its resources and enriches wealthy families.

“What [the ECCA] does is it is yet another big tax break for rich people who can afford to contribute these kinds of funds — so mainly the people who will take advantage of this will be kids who are already going to private schools,” Hirono explained.

“Not much of a choice,” she quipped.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten also slammed the bill for promoting a “massive and unprecedented transfer of wealth from everyday people to billionaires.”

“It writes a permanent school voucher scheme into the tax code that would redirect billions of dollars each year to private schools — even as our public schools, which educate 90 percent of all students, remain woefully underfunded,” Weingarten said in a statement to ABC News.

Despite the public school debate, Sen. Cassidy and education advocates argue no child should be “trapped” in a failing school.

Dr. Eva Moskowitz is the CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, the highest-performing free public charter school network in New York City, and told ABC News that it’s time to move on from the public education “monopoly.”

“We have a solution right in front of us: high-performing charter schools and a scholarship program for the private school choice,” Moskowitz said. “This is the most concrete, pragmatic, thing we can do today to impact hundreds of thousands of children.”

Heavy rain floods roads in Boston

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(BOSTON) — A “considerable” flash flood warning was issued in Boston on Thursday morning as heavy rain pounded the city and areas to the south.

Four to 6 inches of rain fell in the towns of Canton, Quincy and North Scituate.

Rainfall rates reached up to 2 inches per hour.

Massachusetts State Police said flooding inundated Interstate 93. Police asked drivers to avoid the area around Exit 3.

The flood warning expired at 11:15 a.m. ET. Light rain remains, but is expected to move out to sea in the coming hours.

Judge to hear DOJ’s deportation plan for Abrego Garcia if he’s released from custody

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A court hearing over the next steps for accused MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia resumes Thursday in Maryland.

Abrego Garcia, who was brought back to the U.S. from detention in El Salvador to face charges of human smuggling in Tennessee, is expected to be released on bond as he awaits trial.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis heard arguments from Abrego Garcia’s legal team, which is seeking to have their client transferred from Tennessee to Maryland.

Government attorneys say the administration’s plan, should Abrego Garcia be released on bond, is to deport him to a third country.

Judge Xinis on Monday ordered the government to produce witnesses with personal knowledge of what Abrego Garcia’s deportation plan would look like.

During Thursday’s hearing, government officials are expected to “address, among other topics, the asserted lawful bases for detention, the nature and timing of any notice to be provided to Abrego Garcia, the location of any proposed custody or transfer, and the procedural steps Defendants intend to pursue,” the judge wrote in her order.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who had been living with his wife and children in Maryland, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he denies.

He was brought back to the U.S. last month to face charges in Tennessee of allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. while he was living in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty.

Late Wednesday, Justice Department attorneys said in a court filing that they had sought to have the case dismissed by agreeing to not deport Abrego Garcia to El Salvador without first winning court approval and pledging to follow procedures before sending him to a third country — but that Abrego Garcia’s attorneys had rejected those terms.

Rubio, Lavrov meet after Russian barrage on Kyiv

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged from a 40-minute meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday with an acknowledgment that talks between Moscow and Kyiv for peace in Ukraine have not progressed much.

Rubio said he shared President Donald Trump’s “disappointment and frustration” with his Russian counterparts as the president has expressed distrust in Russian President Vladimir Putin and reversed his administration’s pause on weapons to Ukraine.

“We get a lot of bull**** thrown at us by Putin,” Trump said at the White House on Tuesday. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

The president is “disappointed and frustrated that there’s not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict,” Rubio said.

Hours before Rubio’s scheduled meeting with Lavrov, their first face-to-face since February, Russia launched a “massive combined strike” of 18 missiles and 400 drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The attacks killed two and injured 16, and followed 10 days of drone strikes, which have often broken single-night records — and have marked a shift as Russia continues its summer offensive.

Trump said earlier this week that he was “very unhappy” with Moscow’s latest attacks on Kyiv — and said he is “looking at” an effort by congressional GOP to impose greater sanctions on Russia.

“As has been pointed out, we’ve seen an acceleration of attacks,” Rubio said. “I think it’s probably the largest drone attack in a city close to the Polish border, actually. So it’s a pretty deep strike.”

“I don’t want to overpromise,” he said about talks, citing Russia’s offensive.

Rubio said Russia brought a “new and different approach” to the negotiating table Thursday, but he tempered expectations about a development toward peace.

“I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees peace,” he said.

The bilateral talks between the nations’ top diplomats — held on the sidelines of a summit for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia — come after Trump said Tuesday he approved the transfer of defensive weapons to Ukraine because Putin is “killing too many people.”

The announcement appeared to reverse a Pentagon-ordered pause last week on some munitions scheduled for Ukraine. Rubio said it was “mischaracterized” in the press and was merely a “pause, pending review” of munitions that were both defensive and offensive.

“Generally speaking, aid to Ukraine continues along the schedule that Congress appropriated,” Rubio said.

Meanwhile, momentum on Capitol Hill for a bill to sanction Russia’s energy industry is building.

After Trump said he was looking at the package “very closely,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday “there’s a lot of interest in moving it.”

Rubio said that “we told [the Russians] that the moment would come where something like this could happen,” adding that Trump would need “flexibility” on enforcement of the sanctions regime.

Rubio wouldn’t say whether that moment had arrived, saying it was a question for the president.

Woman guilty of stowing away on flight from New York to Paris set to be sentenced

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Svetlana Dali — the woman found guilty of stowing away on a Delta flight from New York to Paris last year — is set to be sentenced on Thursday after a Brooklyn jury convicted her of a federal stowaway charge in May.

Dali, a Russian citizen and U.S. permanent resident who most recently lived in Philadelphia, has already been in jail the past seven months, which federal prosecutors said was sufficient as her sentencing guidelines range is zero to six months in prison.

“Stowaway travel is a serious offense that endangers both the offender and other air passengers. Deterrence is particularly important in stowaway cases, as publicized incidents encourage copycat behavior that threatens the safety of air travel and undermines the integrity of airport security systems,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum that noted agreement with the defense.

Dali sneaked onto overnight Delta Flight 264 traveling from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France on Nov. 26, 2024, without having a ticket and deliberately bypassed multiple boarding pass and identification checkpoints.

In a video obtained by ABC News, Dali can be seen walking up to gate B38 at Terminal 4 while other passengers have their boarding passes and passports checked for the Paris flight. After gate attendants assisted a separate group of customers and ushered them toward the jet bridge, Dali followed immediately behind, the video shows.

Once aboard, she went straight into one of the plane’s bathrooms and hid there with her bags for several hours to avoid detection, prosecutors said. When a flight attendant noticed, Dali faked vomiting to excuse her lengthy time in the bathroom.

After a flight attendant asked for her name and boarding pass, Dali gave two fake names and failed to produce any boarding pass or identification, prosecutors said. Alarmed, the flight attendant told Dali to sit in a seat reserved for flight crew as the plane came in for landing.

Dali was flown back to the United States on Dec. 4, 2024. Authorities had attempted to fly her back sooner, but she was twice unable to be transported due to her disruptive behavior, prosecutors said.

During a two-hour law enforcement interview, Dali admitted to flying as a stowaway and intentionally evading airport security officials and Delta employees so that she could travel without buying a ticket.

After being released from custody in early December 2024, Dali allegedly cut off her ankle monitor and traveled to Buffalo, where she tried unsuccessfully to cross over the Peace Bridge into Canada on a bus on Dec. 16, 2024. She has been in custody ever since.

Prosecutors believe Dali attempted to fly as a stowaway on two earlier occasions.

Two days before sneaking onto the Delta flight in New York, Dali snuck into a secure area at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. Once inside the terminal, she hid inside a bathroom for a lengthy period to avoid detection. She also appeared to try to access a Jet Blue flight by getting in the boarding line but was turned away by gate agents.

In February 2024, Customs and Border Protection agents discovered Dali hiding in a bathroom within a secure area of the Miami International Airport. She claimed she had arrived on an Air France flight and was waiting for her husband but CBP found no records of her on any Air France flight that day.

Dali, who pleaded not guilty, took the witness stand during her trial. She admitted she did not have a boarding pass when she walked onto the flight.

Instead, Dali said she walked through to “where the people were boarding the flights and then I just walked into the airplane.”

House Democrats demand answers from CDC over recent changes to vaccine advisory panel

July 10, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — House Democrats on the Oversight Committee are calling for an urgent briefing with staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), demanding answers over recent moves that have taken place among the agency’s vaccine advisory panel, ABC News can exclusively report.

House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia and Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Ranking Member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi sent a letter on Thursday morning to CDC chief of staff Matthew Buzzelli, expressing concern over the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Recently, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 sitting members of the ACIP and replaced them with hand-selected members, some of whom have expressed vaccine-skeptic views.

During the first meeting with the new members a few weeks later, the ACIP refused to recommend certain flu vaccines with thimerosal, said it would be examining the child immunization schedule — including whether babies needed to receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth — and heard a presentation from “the former president of Secretary Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization,” according to a copy of the letter viewed by ABC News.

Although not named in the letter, this is in reference to Lyn Redwood, a former president of the Children’s Health Defense, a group founded by Kennedy that pursues anti-vaccine causes.

“Oversight Committee Democrats write to understand how these appointees were selected, whether their decisions align with science, and what potential conflicts of interest may be compromising our public health system,” the letter reads.

Garcia and Krishnamoothi also expressed concern over the failure to vote on recommendations for an updated COVID-19 vaccine before the fall, despite the vote initially being listed on the agenda, as well as concern over potential influence from Kennedy beyond selecting new members for the panel.

Reportedly, a CDC document was removed from the meeting materials for last month’s ACIP meeting before the meeting began. The document allegedly found there was no link between the preservative thimerosal in flu vaccines and autism. Kennedy has previously, and falsely, suggested a connection between the two.

The congressional members called for a briefing with CDC staff by Thursday, July 17, and certain information and documents by Thursday, July 24. These include: communications and documents related to the ACIP meeting held last month and the selection of the new ACIP members; a detailed description of how and why each member was selected; and communications between any individual at HHS or CDC with any of the seven new members between Jan. 20 and June 25

“Secretary Kennedy has repeatedly put his personal political ideology ahead of public health and safety, without regard for genuine scientific evidence,” the letter reads. “His efforts have drawn serious criticism from even Republican public health experts … These attacks on the independent scientific public health process will make Americans sicker.”

The letter comes just a few days after major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, filed a lawsuit against the HHS and Kennedy over what they called “unlawful, unilateral vaccine changes.”

The organizations accused the HHS and Kennedy of intentionally taking away vaccines, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, and unjustly replacing the entire ACIP.

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