Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 - NIH funding fight;, Flu surge & Measles outbreak; Collins backed RFK Jr.; Bannon pled guilty; US teacher freed

Today’s Headlines: A judge ruled the Trump administration broke the law by withholding NIH grants, which fund critical medical research. This is one of many lawsuits challenging Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE team’s actions. Flu cases are spiking, hospitals are full, and measles outbreaks are popping up as vaccination rates drop. Senator Susan Collins backed RFK Jr. for Health Secretary despite his controversial vaccine stance. Trump fired the head of the Office of Government Ethics, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem asked the IRS to help ICE crack down on undocumented workers. Steve Bannon pled guilty to fraud but got off with a conditional sentence. On a positive note, American teacher Marc Fogel was finally released from Russian detention after three years. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: NY Times: Judge Rules That Trump Administration Defied Order to Unfreeze Billions in Federal Grants WA Post: Flu is surging nationwide, with 24 million cases so far  NBC News: Fifteen cases of measles reported in small West Texas county with high rate of vaccine exemptions Press Herald: Sen. Susan Collins will support RFK Jr. as US health secretary  CNN: Trump removes top government ethics czar WA Post: Dept. of Homeland Security wants IRS to help with immigration enforcement  NBC News: Steve Bannon pleads guilty in New York 'We Build the Wall' case NBC News: Marc Fogel, American teacher held in Russia for 3.5 years, back in U.S. after release Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage alongside Bridget Schwartz and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices