Joseph Choi 최명훈

CMS Administrator and VP JD Vance announce a "moratorium" on Medicaid funding to Minnesota

As the hearing winds down, it’s just Cassidy alone on the bench intensely questioning Casey Means about hepatitis B vaccination.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) tells Means that her past use of "magic mushrooms" is concerning, when she heard an "internal voice" whisper to her.
"I believe what I would say as a private citizen is in many cases different than what I would say as a public health official," Means said.

One hour into Casey Means's confirmation hearing she has said she is "supportive" of vaccines, defended past comments demonizing hormonal birth control and said she was unaware of the legal issues of a company she promoted on social media in exchange for $10,000

Learning this morning that the conductor of one of the small string orchestras in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance was Giancarlo Guerrero, formerly of the Nashville Symphony. I was fortunate enough to have performed with him a few times when I was younger.

What about that same-sex show with the scary Russian and the Asian-Canadian? Oh and they're on opposing sides.

Screenshot of tweet from Huberman that reads: “The other is that dog breeds w/different shaped heads are predictive of their demeanor and intelligence. And while I don’t! believe in Phrenology I now do pay some attention to how the shapes of peoples heads relates to their intellect and steadiness, or lack thereof.”

In response to announcement that he will be a new CBS contributor, Andrew Huberman tweeted “I’ve always gone issue-by-issue on health & science, spoken to experts w/a range of takes & presented where I see the center of (data) mass pointed. I’ll do the same with @CBSNews”. In Sept he posted this:

YouTube video by Katie Phang Saint Paul Mayor SLAMS Trump Over UNHINGED TAKEOVER

Saint Paul @mayorher.bsky.social is defending against the occupation of the Twin Cities. Just 3 days into her tenure, Renee Nicole Good was murdered, and now Alex Pretti.

We discuss ICE targeting the Hmong and other AANHPI communities & how Minnesotans are fighting back.

youtu.be/jQmK-M6-x_k?...

NBC: Why did administration officials jump to conclusions on Pretti before an investigation had even been conducted?

LEAVITT: This has obviously been a very fluid and fast moving situation

thehill.com/homenews/sta...

I commend my colleague @niallstanage.bsky.social for doing his job as a journalist and speaking truth to power. Having worked in the same newsroom as him for 5 years, I know him to be the furthest thing from a “hack.”

LEAVITT: Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?

REPORTER: Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed her unjustifiably

LEAVITT: Oh, ok. So you're a biased reporters with a biased opinion. You're a left-wing hack.

www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/defaul...

Though RFK Jr. said in 2025 he would end the "war on saturated fats" with new dietary guidelines, the update issued on Wednesday keeps guidance that sat fats be 10 percent or less of daily diet.
"Intake of saturated fat should be limited to less than 10 percent of calories per day"

Flu-like illness does automatically mean the flu. The common cold, COVID-19, whooping cough, RSV and measles present similar symptoms.

Doctors visits for flu-like illness are at an all-time recorded high (8.2%). They were close behind at the start of 2025 (7.8%) but before that the last time we approached these levels was in 2009 during the swine flu pandemic (7.7%).
thehill.com/policy/healt...

Stand Up For Science: Politicizing the Childhood Vaccine Schedule Will Cost Lives Washington, D.C. — Stand Up For Science strongly condemns Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary O’Neill’s reported decision to overhaul the U.S. childhood immunization schedule, yet another dangerous escalation in HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s agenda to politicize children’s health and undermine American public health. First, the “peer” countries cited as models differ in fundamental ways. Many are significantly smaller in population and geography and have universal health care systems with strong primary-care access and follow-up. When it comes to public health, these are critical distinctions. We must meet our health where it is, not where we want it to be.

Second, when a vaccine is already known to be safe and effective, it is unethical to withhold it from children for the sake of “placebo-controlled randomized trials.” For diseases like RSV, hepatitis A and B, dengue, and meningococcal disease (ACWY and B), the ethical standard is to compare schedules against existing protocols, not to deny proven protection. Calling placebo trials the “gold standard” in this context is unscientific and a violation of globally accepted research ethics. We will not mince words. Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, this change will lead to preventable illness, death, and devastation for American families. Congress must act now to impeach and remove Secretary Kennedy.

Statement from Stand Up For Science: Politicizing the Childhood Vaccine Schedule Will Cost Lives.

"Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, this change will lead to preventable illness, death, and devastation for American families. Congress must act now to impeach and remove Secretary Kennedy."

RFK Jr., CDC, in seismic shift, reduce number of recommended vaccines for children
thehill.com/policy/healt...
by Nathaniel Weixel

Corporation For Public Broadcasting Is Dissolved After 58 Years Of Service

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been dissolved, ending its 58 years as the primary funder for PBS, NPR and local TV and radio stations

No one supports a war in Venezuela btw

Moulton: "The parallels with Iraq are unmistakeable. Bush said there was WMD in Iraq. Turns out that was a lie. Trump just made up fentanyl being WMD, which doesn't even come from Venezuela, just to justify this war. We said this wasn't about regime change, but it is."

Moulton: "When we had briefings on Venezuela, we asked, 'Are you going to invade the country?' We were told no. 'Do you plan to put troops on the ground?' We were told no. 'Do you intend regime change in VZ?' We were told no. So in a sense, we have been briefed, we've just been completely lied to"

MLex Guild on Instagram: "It’s Strike Day, tell your friends" 25 likes, 1 comments - mlexguild on December 15, 2025: "It’s Strike Day, tell your friends".

Today our colleagues at @mlexguild.bsky.social are going on strike in protest of more than two years of negotiating without management agreeing to a fair contract. The Hill Guild stands in solidarity with the reporters of MLex US and FTC Watch.

www.instagram.com/reel/DSSWr7t...

ACIP passes recommendation to change hepatitis B vaccination guidance 8-3.
"This has a great potential to cause and I simply hope that the committee will accept its responsibility when this harm is caused and I vote no," Joe Hibbelin as he gave the final vote.

Things going great at ACIP this morning

Yesterday's newsletter, with a top post by Nathaniel Weixel
thehill.com/newsletters/...

Somehow on the day that new Epstein emails are released and the federal government is poised to reopen soon, the Overnight Health newsletter on a potential high-THC hemp ban is leading on The Hill's front page.

As Dan notes here, it was relatively easy to confirm who this man wasn’t. It took me less than 30 minutes to confirm he wasn’t a pharmaceutical exec. Even easier not to misidentify him.

A man collapsed in the Oval Office. The internet got the story wrong. A case study in how bad information can spread — and how hard it is to correct it.

Worthwhile read from Dan Diamond on yesterday’s saga of Gordon, the man who fainted in the Oval Office yesterday and isn’t an executive for Novo Nordisk.

dandiamond.substack.com/p/a-man-coll...

Schumer's closing message to GOP on this offer: "Just say yes"