Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has named eight people to serve on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-guts-cdc-vaccine-panel-retiring-all-17-members?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Guts+CDC+Vaccine+Panel%2C+‘Retiring’+All+17+Members" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a highly influential vaccine panel he gutted</a> earlier in the week. 
The new members include Dr. Robert Malone, who worked on early research for mRNA vaccine technology and is a vocal critic of the mRNA COVID vaccines, as well as other medical experts who took dissenting positions from the medical establishment during the COVID pandemic.
Kennedy announced on X Wednesday evening that the eight new members are &#8220;highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians.&#8221;
&#8220;All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations.&#8221;
In addition to Malone, who&#8217;s the most well-known, the other members include Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln, Martin Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Dr. Cody Meissner, Dr. Michael A. Ross, Dr. James Pagano, and Vicky Pebsworth.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
On Monday, I took a major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines by reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). I retired the 17 current members of the committee. I’m now repopulating ACIP with the eight new members who will attend ACIP’s…
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/1932899858920120692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
Kennedy noted Malone&#8217;s work on mRNA vaccine technology, specifically his &#8220;foundational research in the late 1980s on lipid-mediated mRNA delivery, which laid the groundwork for later developments in mRNA-based therapeutics.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thank you for the honor of serving my country in this way, <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a>. I will do my best to serve with unbiased objectivity and rigor. <a href="https://t.co/mO0a3eGcjb">https://t.co/mO0a3eGcjb</a>
— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RWMaloneMD/status/1932901388360847477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
Dr. Martin Kulldorff, another panelist, is an epidemiologist who co-authored the pandemic-era Great Barrington Declaration, which criticizes lockdown restrictions, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-advisory-panel-names/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-advisory-panel-names/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>. Additionally, Dr. Cody Meissner opposed COVID vaccine requirements for children and spoke out against masking them.
Kennedy said the new eight members will attend a scheduled ACIP meeting on June 25, which is set to discuss the COVID vaccine.
Explaining his reasoning for gutting the panel on Monday, Kennedy wrote in the Wall Street Journal that ACIP had lost the trust of the American people, effectively becoming a &#8220;rubber-stamp&#8221; for all vaccines while ignoring safety concerns and conflict of interest rules. 
RFK Jr. wrote that ACIP has “never recommended against a vaccine—even those which were later withdrawn for safety reasons,&#8221; adding that the panel “failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women.” 
ACIP is highly influential. The panel meets a few times a year and makes recommendations to the CDC, thereby basically setting the childhood vaccine schedule and other vaccine-related recommendations, like flu shots and COVID vaccines. ACIP also heavily influences which vaccines are covered by both public and private insurance.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-guts-cdc-vaccine-panel-retiring-all-17-members?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Guts+CDC+Vaccine+Panel%2C+‘Retiring’+All+17+Members" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RFK Jr. Guts CDC Vaccine Panel, ‘Retiring’ All 17 Members</a>

RFK Jr

RFK Jr. Names New Members To Vax Board, Including Critics Of COVID Measures

Covid vaccine

COVID-19

COVID-19 Vaccine

Department of Health and Human Services

Health

Health and Human Services

Politics

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

vaccine

Vaccines

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> is reportedly set to reinstate service members discharged from the military under the Biden administration’s COVID vaccine mandate. 
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-reinstate-service-members-discharged-not-getting-covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> reported Monday morning that Trump plans to sign an executive order allowing those pushed out the door to return to the military at their previous rank with back pay and benefits. Under President Joe Biden, more than 8,000 service members were booted because they chose not to get the COVID jab. 
&#8220;The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Defense to reinstate all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine and who request to be reinstated,” a White House fact sheet obtained by Fox News says. 
&#8220;From 2021 to 2023, the Biden Administration and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discharged over 8,000 troops solely due to their COVID-19 vaccination status,&#8221; it adds. &#8220;After the vaccine mandate was repealed in 2023, only 43 of the more than the 8,000 troops dismissed elected to return to service under the Biden Administration and Secretary Austin.&#8221;
During his inaugural address last week, Trump promised he would hire back the discharged service members and give them back pay. 
&#8220;This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay,&#8221; Trump said shortly after swearing in as president. 
The Biden administration’s military vaccine mandate ended in January 2023 after Republicans in Congress led an effort to repeal it as part of the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act. 
“The end of President Biden’s military COVID vaccine mandate is a victory for our military and for common sense,” then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-house-leader-kevin-mccarthy-the-covid-vax-mandate-on-our-military-is-ending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time. “Last week, I told the president directly: it’s time to end the COVID vaccine mandate and rehire our service members.”
An <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/senate-passes-defense-spending-bill-rescinding-covid-vaccine-mandate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">effort</a> led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) to add an amendment to the repeal that would have rehired those discharged over the mandate failed. 
In addition to the military, the Biden administration issued a vaccine mandate for federal workers and all employers with at least 100 employees, who had the option to be tested weekly instead. The vaccine-or-test rule for large businesses was struck down in a 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court in January 2022.

Floridians Get COVID-19 Vaccine At FEMA Vaccination Site In Miami Area

Trump To Reinstate Service Members Kicked Out Over COVID Vax

Donald Trump

Executive

Executive Orders

Lloyd Austin

Military

U.S. Military

Vaccine Mandate

House lawmakers released their final comprehensive report on COVID on Monday detailing how government officials misled the public about the origins of the pandemic. 
The <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12.04.2024-SSCP-FINAL-REPORT.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">520-page report</a> from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic covered everything from school closures to gain-of-function research to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/fauci-unmasked" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Fauci</a>’s leadership of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The release of the report comes after the committee spent two years conducting over 30 transcribed interviews and depositions, holding 25 hearings and meetings, and going over over one million pages of documents. 
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a distrust in leadership. Trust is earned,” Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) wrote in a letter accompanying the report. “Accountability, transparency, honesty, and integrity will regain this trust. A future pandemic requires a whole of America response managed by those without personal benefit or bias. We can always do better, and for the sake of future generations of Americans, we must. It can be done.”
One of the key findings of the report was that COVID likely originated and leaked out of a lab, a view that was once banned by Facebook but now echoed by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covid-likely-leaked-from-wuhan-lab-senate-gop-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Republicans</a> and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-responds-to-u-s-energy-departments-revised-wuhan-lab-leak-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Energy</a>. The report said that COVID “likely emerged because of a laboratory or research related accident.”
The report noted that public officials from both China and the United States tried to hide facts that might confirm the lab leak theory. “The Chinese government, agencies within the U.S. Government, and some members of the international scientific community sought to cover-up facts concerning the origins of the pandemic,” the report said. 
For example, the lawmakers said that Fauci prompted the writing of an academic paper to undermine the lab leak theory in early 2020. The paper, known as “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pandemic-origins-subcommittee-suggests-fauci-prompted-doctors-to-draft-paper-to-disprove-lab-leak-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that it was not plausible for the virus to come from a lab. 
The lawmakers further concluded that the NIH funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. According to the report, this research was facilitated by the EcoHealth Alliance and Peter Daszak, who the government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hhs-moves-to-defund-ecohealth-alliance-says-action-needed-to-protect-the-public-interest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved to bar</a> from future federal funding earlier this year. 
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The report accused former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of “medical malpractice,” saying that he acted to publicly cover “up the total number of nursing home fatalities in New York.”  The panel previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-panel-refers-andrew-cuomo-to-doj-for-criminal-prosecution-over-covid-testimony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made a criminal referra</a>l against Cuomo for allegedly lying about his knowledge of a report that was used to defend a New York policy that placed COVID patients in nursing homes.
Additionally, the report was critical of the Biden administration&#8217;s vaccine mandate, which was later struck down by the Supreme Court. The lawmakers wrote that the government was currently failing &#8220;to efficiently, fairly, and transparently adjudicate claims for the COVID-19 vaccine injured.&#8221;
Other findings of the report were that lockdowns of schools caused significant learning challenges for children and that pandemic aid was plagued by fraud and waste. Wenstrup wrote that the lockdowns were overly strict and broad and caused &#8220;predictable anguish and avoidable consequences.&#8221;
“Just a few short years ago, arguing that COVID came from a Chinese lab and that lockdowns &amp; authoritarian measures didn’t work would get you censored and kicked from social media,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said of the report. “This report will stand as a warning for future generations of what NOT to do.”

White House Coronavirus Task Force Holds Daily Briefing

‘What Not To Do’: Final House Report Finds Gov Misled Public About COVID

Anthony Fauci

House Oversight Committee

Pandemic

Wuhan Institute of Virology

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has become the second state attorney general to sue the pharmaceutical company Pfizer over the COVID vaccine the company provided.
On Monday, Kobach announced the lawsuit at a press conference in Topeka.
“Pfizer made multiple misleading statements to deceive the public about its vaccine at a time when Americans needed the truth,” Kobach <a href="https://www.kwch.com/2024/06/17/kansas-ag-kris-kobach-suing-pfizer-misleading-kansans-covid-vaccine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The lawsuit <a href="https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/2024-06-15-pfizer-complaint-(002).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">states</a>, “Pfizer misled the public that it had a ‘safe and effective’ COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine was safe even though it knew its COVID-19 vaccine was connected to serious adverse events, including myocarditis and pericarditis, failed pregnancies, and deaths. Pfizer concealed this critical safety information from the public.”
Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine was effective even though it knew its COVID-19 vaccine waned over time and did not protect against COVID-19 variants,” the lawsuit continues. “Pfizer concealed this critical effectiveness information from the public. Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine would prevent transmission of COVID-19 even though it knew it never studied the effect of its vaccine on transmission of COVID-19. To keep the public from learning the truth, Pfizer worked to censor speech on social media that questioned Pfizer’s claims about its COVID-19 vaccine. &#8230; Pfizer must be held accountable for falsely representing the benefits of its COVID- 19 vaccine while concealing and suppressing the truth about its vaccine’s safety risks, waning effectiveness, and inability to prevent transmission.”
Pfizer <a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/kansas-attorney-general-sues-pfizer-over-covid-vaccine-company-responds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released the following statement</a> in response to the lawsuit:
<blockquote>
We are proud to have developed the COVID-19 vaccine in record time in the midst of a global pandemic and saved countless lives. The representations made by Pfizer about its COVID-19 vaccine have been accurate and science-based. The Company believes that the state’s case has no merit and will respond to the suit in due course.
Pfizer is deeply committed to the well-being of the patients it serves and has no higher priority than ensuring the safety and effectiveness of its treatments and vaccines. Since its initial authorization by FDA in December 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to more than 1.5 billion people, demonstrated a favorable safety profile in all age groups, and helped protect against severe COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalization and death.
Patient safety is our number one priority, which is why we follow diligent safety and monitoring protocols.
</blockquote>
Last November, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Pfizer.

US-NEWS-KAN-GUN-RIGHTS-AMENDMENT-KC

Kansas AG Files Lawsuit Against Pfizer Over COVID Vaccine

Kansas

Lawsuit

Pfizer

Six Killed In Mass Shooting At A Prive School In Nashville

The Truth About The Covenant School Shooting Is Finally Coming Out. And It’s Exactly What We Thought.

The Truth About The Covenant School Shooting Is Finally Coming Out. And It's Exactly What We Thought.

COVID

Drugs

Nashville

Opinion

Readers Pass

School Shooting

Transgender

Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher got into a bit of a verbal sparring match with &#8220;Family Guy&#8221; creator Seth MacFarlane over the COVID-19 vaccines and mandates, arguing that the United States had failed to recognize the value of natural immunity.
The discussion came about during the latest episode of Maher&#8217;s podcast, &#8220;Club Random,&#8221; and Maher posited that pushing the vaccine on everyone — even those who had already contracted the virus — was &#8220;powerful stupid.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🔥 Bill Maher &amp; Seth MacFarlane Get Into a HEATED Debate Over the COVID Vaccine
“Djokovic didn’t need it. Aaron Rodgers didn’t need it…You completely want to shut your eyes to the fact that there are repercussions to all medical interventions including a vaccine!” <a href="https://t.co/bafg4BmvBF">pic.twitter.com/bafg4BmvBF</a>
&mdash; Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1740895343825264641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Why are doctors wrong about so much?&#8221; Maher asked.
MacFarlane protested that doctors were right about a lot of things as well, but Maher pushed back.
&#8220;Very often, people who aren&#8217;t doctors have been righter about things,&#8221; Maher continued, and when MacFarlane asked for an example, he went straight to the handling of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States.
&#8220;I would think — this country did not allow for natural immunity to be considered. And I know this is a subject dear to your heart. Like, even if you had the disease, you still had to get a vaccine. That’s powerful stupid. They don’t do that in Europe,&#8221;Maher explained.
MacFarlane objected, pointing to the number of people who have contracted the virus multiple times and arguing that there was no real &#8220;natural immunity&#8221; to be had. &#8220;Don’t you know people have had COVID four or five times? I do. That’s not natural immunity. There’s no immunity there.&#8221;
&#8220;Probably because you&#8217;ve had too many vaccines,&#8221; Maher replied, and noted that because of the way vaccines work, mass vaccination could have resulted in large swaths of the population whose immune systems were under increased stress.
MacFarlane pushed back, saying that vaccination reduced the risk of hospitalization and death.
&#8220;But that&#8217;s assuming that all people are alike,&#8221; Maher said. &#8220;And that is one of the giant fallacies in your way of thinking, we are not all alike.&#8221;
He went on to argue that it was the wrong decision for the vaccine to be pushed on everyone — even those who were not considered high risk.
&#8220;[Novak] Djokovic didn’t need it. Aaron Rodgers didn’t need it,&#8221; Maher continued over MacFarlane&#8217;s objections. &#8220;You completely want to shut your eyes to the fact that there are repercussions to all medical interventions including a vaccine!&#8221;

Houston Rockets v Los Angeles Lakers

Bill Maher Spars With Seth MacFarlane Over COVID Vax Mandates: ‘Djokovic Didn’t Need It’

Bill Maher Spars With Seth MacFarlane Over COVID Vax Mandates: 'Djokovic Didn't Need It'

Bill Maher

Seth MacFarlane

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-army" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Army</a> sent letters earlier this month to nearly 2,000 former service members fired under the Biden administration’s COVID <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vaccine-mandate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vaccine mandate</a> telling them how to correct their military records and pointing them to recruiters if they wished to return to the military. 
The letter <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-covid-vaccine-mandate-reversal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> sent out before Veteran’s Day and told the fired soldiers that they could change the characterization of their dismissal from the military because of the expiration of the COVID vaccine mandate. The letter also pointed the former soldiers to recruiters if they hoped to rejoin the military. 
“As a result of the rescission of all current COVID-19 vaccination requirements, former Soldiers who were involuntarily separated for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination may request a correction of their military records from either or both the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) or the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR),” a <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-covid-vaccine-mandate-reversal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> from Brig. Gen. Hope Rampy, Army Director of Personnel Management said. 
Rampy said that &#8220;individuals can request a correction to military personnel records, including regarding the characterization of discharge.&#8221; 
Over 8,400 service members <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/13/pentagon-back-pay-troops-covid-vaccine-mandate-00077902" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were</a> kicked out of the military due to the vaccine mandate while thousands more had their requests for religious exemptions rejected. According to Task and Purpose, 8,945 soldiers, 10,800 airmen and guardians, 4,172 sailors, and 3,717 Marines were denied religious exemptions. 
The Army, which has struggled to meet recruiting goals in recent years, also suggested that the former service members could return to the military.
&#8220;Individuals who desire to apply to return to service should contact their local Army, US Army Reserve (USAR) or Army National Guard (ARNG) recruiter for more information,&#8221; Rampy said. 
A spokesperson said that the letters were required to be sent out after Congress pushed the Pentagon to revoke the mandate. 
“As part of the overall COVID mandate rescission process mandated by Congress, the Army this month mailed the letters to approximately 1,900 individuals who had previously been separated. The letter provides information to former service members on how to request a correction of their military records,” a spokesperson <a href="https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/military-letters-sent-ex-servicemembers-fired-over-covid-vax-mandate#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Just the News. 
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In response to the letter, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said that the Army should provide the fired service members with back pay and an apology.
“Maybe an apology and back pay would be appropriate as well … Or even an admission that it was a really stupid and misguided policy. Will [the DOD] finally be transparent with their data on vaccine injuries in DMED?” Johnson <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRonJohnson/status/1726987565323125109" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> to X. 
The Army <a href="https://apnews.com/article/army-recruiting-overhaul-college-job-hunting-cc2d8200467f3920e333197e42eee2ea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> short 15,000 recruits in 2022 and is on track to be short of recruits again this year.

A Healthcare Worker Prepares a Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine.

U.S. Army Sends Letter To Soldiers Fired Under Biden’s COVID Vaccine Mandate

Ron Johnson

U.S.

U.S. Army

Longtime Howard Stern listeners grimaced when the shock jock cried, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/f-your-freedom-howard-stern-latest-celeb-to-blast-unvaccinated-say-hospitals-shouldnt-treat-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“F*** their freedom”</a> to anyone who didn’t take the COVID vaccine. Radio’s legendary bad boy took the government’s side, casting liberty in the circular file.
Fans figured the man who famously fought the FCC to tell fart jokes on his terms couldn’t sink any lower. Think again.
Stern recently came out of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1813-how-howard-stern-avoided-cancellation-member-exclusive">closet as woke</a>, a descriptor that completes his transformation from radio rebel to progressive scold.
<blockquote>“To me, the opposite of woke is being asleep …and if woke means I can’t get behind [former President Trump], which is what I think it means, or that I support people who want to be transgender, or I’m for the vaccine — dude, call me woke as you f&#8212;ing want … I am woke, motherf&#8212;er. And I love it.”</blockquote>
It’s a stunning about-face given his decades of raucous radio and ability to capture the Id of the nation. And he had no other option, at least if he wanted to keep cashing those sweet SiriusXM checks.
<div id="attachment_623685" style="width: 865px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-623685" class="size-large wp-image-623685" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-56514317-855x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK - JANUARY 03: Radio personality Howard Stern presides over the NASDAQ opening bell January 3, 2006 in New York City. Stern will begin his new show on the Sirius satellite radio network January 9th. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)" width="855" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-56514317-855x576.jpg 855w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-56514317-300x202.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-56514317-768x518.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-56514317.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 855px) 100vw, 855px" />Mario Tama/Getty Images</div>
Stern’s transformation didn’t happen overnight. The talk show titan slowly let go of his sexually outrageous banter, a shift that coincided with growing older. Even hardcore Stern fans might flinch at the 60-something star (he’s 69 now) ogling girls young enough to be his granddaughter.
Everyone grows up. Even the so-called King of All Media (a name he gave himself, and it more or less stuck).
He mended fences with longtime frenemies like Rosie O’Donnell and Kathie Lee Gifford and shared how extensive therapy allowed him to evolve.
The broadcaster doubled down on his signature interviews, leaning into satellite radio’s ability to broadcast indefinitely without a commercial break.
The new, improved Howie had some perks, including a second look from the mainstream media.
Reporters loathed Stern for years, incorrectly predicting his career implosion and framing stories about him in the most negative light possible. He raged against the press portrait on air, but he seemed to draw strength from his enemies.
It was Stern against the world, and his listeners had his back.
<div id="attachment_623695" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-623695" class="size-large wp-image-623695" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-466193925-800x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: Howard Stern speaks onstage at &quot;Howard Stern's Birthday Bash&quot; presented by SiriusXM, produced by Howard Stern Productions at Hammerstein Ballroom on January 31, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM)" width="800" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-466193925-800x576.jpg 800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-466193925-300x216.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-466193925-768x553.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/GettyImages-466193925.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM</div>
Except Stern started to like it when the media reconsidered his work and legacy. He earned sympathetic notices after opening up about both therapy and a cancer scare. <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/howard-stern-reveals-cancer-scare-trump-regrets-details-a-dishy-new-book-1208773/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The press even feted him</a> when he produced a tome of his best celebrity interviews, “Howard Stern Comes Again.”
He began hobnobbing with celebrities, not berating them from his SiriusXM perch.
Other elements of his broadcast persona morphed as well. His politically ambiguous nature shifted to the Left, becoming both predictable and erratic. He fawned over both Hillary Clinton and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, figures with closets chock full of skeletons.
The old, straight-shooting Stern became a watered-down Rachel Maddow, subservient to liberal power. Suffice it to say he rages against former President Donald Trump, despite the fact that he once regularly invited him into his studio for ribald chats.
The worst part of Stern 2.0? The man who fought for free speech suddenly went silent as Cancel Culture roared into the public’s consciousness. Few were better positioned to address the issue, at least on paper.
Stern had his satellite radio perch, which gave him more freedom than most broadcasters have. He knew the cultural landscape well, having fought to say what he wanted, when he wanted <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4695519" target="_blank" rel="noopener">during the 1990s</a>.
And few talk show hosts knew the comedic mindset better than Stern. He worked for decades alongside comic firecrackers like Artie Lange and Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling. Plus, every significant comedian passed through Stern’s studio over the years, including Jerry Seinfeld, Conan O’Brien, and more.
There’s a catch, though.
Stern’s radio career teems with “problematic” material. Skit after skit. Song parody after song parody. Stern dressed in blackface, used racially insensitive words (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRXPVw9R9bg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even the “n-word”)</a>, and embraced minority stereotypes for yuks.
Day after day. Month after month. Year after year.
And that doesn’t hint at his decades of objectifying women, aggressively coaxing them to remove their clothes in-studio and reveal their most intimate feelings.
All of it on air to titillate the listener and, to use the Left’s language, strip women of their agency. Literally and figuratively.
The mob swiftly came for stars with far less offensive legacies.
Kevin Hart lost the Oscar hosting gig for a single monologue deemed homophobic. “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon did an on-air struggle session after his 20-year-old blackface sketch resurfaced following the George Floyd protests.
Stern trumps them all.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Homeless Jeopardy</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Lesbian Dial-a-Date</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Black Jeopardy</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Guess Who’s the Jew (with Kurt Waldheim, Jr.)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Regular treks to “The Homo Room” with Out of the Closet Stern </li>
</ul>
Any single sketch could get him canceled, let alone an entire career full of inappropriate material.
The <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/howard-stern-blackface-trump-bullying/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">woke mob knocked on Stern’s studio door</a> three years ago, weeks after Floyd’s death. Stern confessed to his thought crimes, claimed he renounced his old material and, shrewdly, blamed Donald Trump, Jr. for pushing the old material to the surface.
Next, he brought up his new, woke bona fides.
<blockquote>“I’m not a hater … I’m excited about gay rights, telling you not to beat up gay people. I’m excited about the changes that are coming out of Black Lives Matter. I think real change might be in the air,” he said before one more odd Trump attack. “If you solve the pandemic, then we can review all my old shows.”</blockquote>
And it worked.
The mob moved on to other targets. They haven&#8217;t gone after him since, and likely never will. The woke mob turns on fellow wokesters last.
Stern still could resist the woke siren song, the cultural movement that essentially devalues his legacy. He could renounce traditional media and go rogue, broadcasting via freer speech platforms like Rumble or follow Joe Rogan to the podcasting realm.
He’d make much less money there, though, and the media’s love for him would evaporate in a New York minute.
Stern made a calculated choice and went woke instead, shattering his legend in the process. 

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Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@HollywoodInToto</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Celebrity Sightings In New York City – May 09, 2019

Howard Stern 2.0: Why The Notorious Shock Jock Had No Choice But To Go Woke

Cancel Culture

Celebrities

Howard Stern

Woke Culture

Wokeness

The federal government spent nearly two billion dollars of taxpayer money on promoting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID vaccination</a> around the world, according to a new report from the U.S. Agency for International Development. 
According to a <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/USAID_COVID_GVAX_Capstone_Executive_Summary_082423_FINAL_508.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> released on Thursday by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/usaid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USAID</a>, the U.S. government spent $1.8 billion on promoting global COVID vaccination, and partnered with 120 different countries to donate 688 million COVID vaccination doses after launching “Global Vax” in December 2021.
“Global VAX demonstrated that a concerted push of technical support, diplomatic engagement, and funding can support countries to rapidly increase access to and confidence in vaccines in the midst of an evolving health emergency,” an executive summary of the report said. 
The effort encompassed USAID, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Department, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department. 
The report added that government agencies were going to maintain international partnerships
“As the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, U.S. government agencies sustain partnerships around the world to save lives, strengthen health security and pandemic preparedness, promote social and economic progress, and support countries to achieve their goals for health and development,” the report said. 
Prior to launching the Global Vax program in December 2021, the U.S. had already sent <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-ship-4-mln-covid-19-vaccine-doses-nigeria-566-mln-south-africa-2021-07-28/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">millions of doses</a> of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines to South Africa and Niger. 
The release of the report followed comments by USAID Administrator Sammantha Power on Wednesday suggesting that countries use religious leaders to push people into getting the COVID vaccine. 
“If you are trying to get people to take a COVID vaccine, you may not, in that particular community, have resources to fund a pop-up clinic, but you can engage a faith leader for free,” Power said. 
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Power’s comments echoed the government&#8217;s domestic strategy where then National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-federal-government-used-evangelical-leaders-to-spread-covid-propaganda-to-churches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed for evangelical ministers</a> to use their “credibility” to promote the COVID vaccine. 
The vaccine, which was initially marketed as highly effective, faced backlash after the Biden administration attempted to implement an aggressive mandate and some medical experts <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covid-vaccine-brings-higher-heart-risk-little-benefit-to-young-men-medical-expert-warns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> the efficacy of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. 
High-profile figures like X owner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-claims-he-had-major-side-effects-from-second-covid-booster-shot-felt-like-he-was-dying" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> and radio host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-says-she-regrets-getting-covid-vax-opens-up-about-autoimmune-issue-after-booster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megyn Kelly</a> have said that they regret taking the vaccine and had medical complications after taking the shot.

Chicago’s Roseland Community Hospital Administers Covid Vaccinations To Hospital Staff

New Report Shows How Much Money U.S. Government Spent On Promoting COVID Vaccine Abroad

Foreign Policy

Moderna

USAID

World

Tennis great <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-stays-with-you-novak-djokovic-back-in-australia-after-dramatic-detention-deportation-over-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Novak Djokovic</a> made history on Sunday when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in three sets to win the U.S. Open, scoring him his 24th major championship, tying the record for the most Grand Slam singles titles.
Djokovic, who has refused to take the COVID vaccine, was notably banned from entering the U.S. last year due to a Biden administration vaccine rule, keeping the athlete from competing in the U.S. Open last year.
&#8220;To make history [in] this sport is just something truly remarkable and special, obviously, in every possible way, in every possible meaning of the word,&#8221; Djokovic said after winning the Open, <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/38373910/novak-djokovic-beats-daniil-medvedev-win-2023-us-open-24th-major-title" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to ESPN. &#8220;It&#8217;s hard to describe the words.&#8221;
&#8220;I never imagined that I would be here standing with you talking about 24 Slams,&#8221; the 36-year-old continued. &#8220;I never thought that would be the reality. But the last couple of years, I felt I have a chance, I have a shot for history, and why not grab it if it&#8217;s presented?&#8221;
Djokovic, who said he had already contracted and recovered from the virus, has chosen not to get <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vaccinated</a> against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a>. This led to the dramatic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/novak-djokovic-loses-visa-appeal-deported-from-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detainment and deportation</a> of the tennis star from Australia, rendering him unable to defend his Australian Open title in 2021. Later, he was banned from New York for the 2022 U.S. Open, similarly over his vaccination status.
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“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for [the] US Open,” he said at the time on social media. “Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you soon tennis world!”
Djokovic spoke about what happened to him about a year after the Australia incident. “Obviously what happened 12 months ago was not easy for me, for my family, team, anybody who is close to me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It’s obviously disappointing to leave the country like that.”
“You can’t forget those events,” Djokovic continued. “It’s one of these things that stays with you for I guess the rest of your life. It’s something that I’ve never experienced before and hopefully never again. But it is a valuable life experience for me and something that as I said will stay there, but I have to move on.”
The athlete has been open about what he&#8217;s willing to give up for his personal medical choices, specifically tennis championships.
“That is the price that I’m willing to pay,” Djokovic <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60354068" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the BBC. “Because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I’m trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can.”
“I was never against vaccination,” he added, “but I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-stays-with-you-novak-djokovic-back-in-australia-after-dramatic-detention-deportation-over-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It ‘Stays With You’: Novak Djokovic Back In Australia After Dramatic Detention, Deportation Over Vaccine</a>

2023 US Open Championships Day 14

Novak Djokovic Comes Back To Win U.S. Open After Biden Vax Policy Ban Last Year 

Novak Djokovic

Tennis

U.S. Open

US Open

Journalist and podcaster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-others-blasts-newsweek-for-slamming-critics-of-article-referencing-women-as-non-men" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megyn Kelly</a> said she regrets getting the COVID vaccine and additional booster shots after she recently “tested positive for an autoimmune issue.” 
Kelly, 52, has long been outspoken about her opposition to vaccine requirements for children, but she decided it would be best to get the shot herself. The conservative commentator said Wednesday that she realized it was a mistake to get the COVID shots after talking to her doctor when she tested positive for an autoimmune issue at her annual physical. 
&#8220;I regret getting the vaccine even though I am a 52-year-old woman because I don&#8217;t think I needed it,&#8221; Kelly said. &#8220;I think I would have been fine. I&#8217;ve gotten COVID many times and it was well past when the vaccine was doing what it was supposed to be doing.&#8221;
“I went to the best Rheumatologist in New York, and I asked her, do you think this could have to do with the fact that I got the damn booster and then got COVID within three weeks? And she said ‘yes.’ Yes,” Kelly continued. “I wasn&#8217;t the only one she&#8217;d seen that with.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Megyn Kelly on Why She Regrets Getting the COVID Vaccine After Developing &quot;Autoimmune&quot; Issue" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uNR_ikpm2VU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
In October 2022, Kelly was <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/megyn-kellys-anti-vax-lies-are-a-threat-to-public-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> for spreading “anti-vax lies” after she <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly/status/1582854900836290560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1582854900836290560%7Ctwgr%5E8da69c2dba3b48394c9da7e45bfba1fa5dc96baf%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybeast.com%2Fmegyn-kellys-anti-vax-lies-are-a-threat-to-public-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> that children were “dying” from myocarditis and &#8220;other injuries&#8221; after getting vaccinated against COVID. In the tweet, Kelly went on to slam the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for adding the COVID vaccine to the children’s vaccination schedule. 
“HOW DARE THE CDC ADD THIS TO ITS LIST OF SCHOOL VACCINATIONS? Don’t listen,” Kelly warned last year. “Be very careful w/ your teenage boys in [particular] but girls too. These are not honest brokers. This is dangerous!”
The former Fox News host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scary-of-kids-dying-megyn-kelly-slams-cdc-after-they-add-covid-vaccine-to-kids-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last year that she initially believed the vaccine “was a miracle,” but she was “upset” by government overreach and wanted more information about any health risks associated with getting the COVID vaccine.
“The vaccines and the information about the damage that the vaccines are doing versus their efficacy is dark,” Kelly said. “Why is it being buried? Why can’t we talk about it?”
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“You can’t trust the American health services; they have only one mission, which is to push their vaccines on us,” she added.
The federal government continues encouraging Americans to get the vaccine and additional boosters. President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-request-more-funding-for-new-covid-vaccine-recommended-that-everybody-get-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last month that he would ask Congress for additional funding for developing a new COVID vaccine.
“It will likely be recommended that everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before or not,” the president said.

Megyn Kelly

Megyn Kelly Says She Regrets Getting COVID Vax, Opens Up About Autoimmune Issue After Booster

Biden Admin

Media

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers attended the US Open on Sunday night and appeared to praise tennis star Novak Djokovic’s refusal to get the COVID vaccine. 
Rodgers, who has received criticism in the past for his own actions regarding the COVID jab, was in attendance watching Djokovic in Queens, New York. Djokovic is competing in his first US Open in two years because he refused to get the shot. 
In an Instagram story Sunday night, Rodgers <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/09/04/aaron-rodgers-praises-novak-djokovics-anti-vaxx-stance-in-post-from-us-open/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> a photo of Djokovic preparing to serve the ball with the caption, “Bucket list … being able to witness the greatness of [Djokovic] in person at [Arthur Ashe Stadium]. He also included a hashtag that said “#novaxdjokovic” and had placed a red line through the Moderna logo – a biotech company that produces COVID vaccines – in an advertisement that can be seen behind the tennis star. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Aaron Rodgers went to watch Novak Djokovic play at the US Open and dropped a banger IG story <a href="https://t.co/EpVgtw6yHS">pic.twitter.com/EpVgtw6yHS</a>
&mdash; OutKick (@Outkick) <a href="https://twitter.com/Outkick/status/1698736833734050237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Djokovic, who is from Serbia, is considered one of the <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/rankings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best</a> tennis players of all time but was denied entry into the United States in 2022 for the US Open. At the time, international air travelers were required to show <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/world-no-1-djokovic-finally-can-play-in-u-s-again-after-biden-ends-vaccine-requirement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proof</a> of vaccination against COVID before being allowed to enter the country. 
Earlier this year, just weeks before the COVID rule was rescinded, Djokovic was <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/35795350/novak-djokovic-pulls-indian-wells-eve-draw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forced to withdraw</a> from the Indian Wells tournament in California because the Department of Homeland Security denied his COVID vaccine waiver request, ESPN reported. 
“The reason why I was not here for two years, I have zero regret on that. I’m just glad to be back,” Djokovic <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/15/sport/novak-djokovic-cincinnati-open-tennis-spt-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CNN</a> last month upon arriving for the US Open. “I’ve had plenty of success on American soil with Indian Wells, Miami, obviously Canada and here, [I’ve] won many times at these Masters 1,000 events, all of them. Of course, the U.S. Open as well being the pinnacle of the hard-court season. I’m just excited.”
For his part, Rodgers has also made headlines for his refusal of the COVID vaccine. In 2021, Rodgers was asked whether he was vaccinated against COVID, to which he replied that he was “immunized.” The former Green Bay Packer said he is allergic to one of the ingredients in the Pfizer and Moderna shots. 
&#8220;They were doing this, I called it a witch hunt, where they were asking every single player ‘are you vaccinated?’” Rodgers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aaron-rodgers-blasts-medias-vaccine-witch-hunt-in-chat-with-joe-rogan-reveals-immunized-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> podcast host Joe Rogan last year. “I had come to the conclusion that I was going to say, ‘I’ve been immunized,’ and if there was a follow-up, then talk about my process,” he said. “But I thought there was a possibility that, I say I’m immunized, maybe they understand what that means, maybe they don’t, maybe they follow up. They didn’t follow up.”
Instead of getting injected with a vaccine, Rodgers said he &#8220;looked into other options which included an immunization process through holistic doctor. I researched and talked to probably a dozen different MDs. I found a protocol that I felt like was the best available.”
Research on the relatively new COVID vaccines is still being conducted. According to one leading medical expert, young men <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-100-colleges-are-still-enforcing-vaccine-mandates-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">face an elevated risk</a> of heart inflammation after vaccination, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-100-colleges-are-still-enforcing-vaccine-mandates-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
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Dr. Marty Makary, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and an oncology surgeon at the school’s affiliated hospital, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covid-vaccine-brings-higher-heart-risk-little-benefit-to-young-men-medical-expert-warns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> a study from Cedars Sinai that found a 30% increase in heart attack deaths among adults between the ages of 25 and 44 during the first two years of the COVID pandemic. While the uptick could result from the virus itself, Makary, speaking to The Daily Wire&#8217;s “Morning Wire” podcast in February, said there’s evidence that the vaccine could be to blame.
“We did not see the uptake before the vaccine was rolled out, but young people were primarily affected around that same time, as well,” Makary told “Morning Wire.&#8221; &#8220;The state of Florida did their own study, looking at heart attacks after the vaccine in particular, and found that there was an 81% increase in sudden death from heart attacks in the months following the vaccine compared to baseline rates. So many people do believe that the vaccine is one of the causes of heart problems in young people.”
Amanda Prestigiacomo contributed to this report.

Aaron Rodgers US Open

Aaron Rodgers Appears To Show Support For ‘Novax’ Djokovic’s COVID Vaccine Stance At US Open

Aaron Rodgers

Sports

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