As India-Pak Tensions ‘Ease’, These Are The Countries Holding The World’s Nuclear Arsenal
India and Pakistan, currently experiencing a ceasefire after clashes along their disputed border, have caught global attention as the two neighbors are both armed with nuclear weapons.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), each nation owns around 170 nuclear warheads.
As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, India has added 8 nuclear warheads to its arsenal since January 2023, increasing from 164 warheads to 172. North Korea and China also expanded their arsenals in this time period, bringing their total figures to an estimated 50 warheads and 500 warheads, respectively.
Currently, there are estimated to be 9,585 nuclear warheads in military stockpiles for potential use across nine countries, with Russia and the U.S. accounting for 8,088 of these.
There are also an estimated 2,536 retired warheads that are yet to be dismantled.
The two European nuclear powers, France and the UK, together have 515 operational nuclear warheads.
“86 47” – Former FBI Director Comey Posts-Then-Deletes Creepy Threat Aimed At Trump
Former FBI Director James Comey posted a photo of sea shells arranged into the numbers “86 47” on his Instagram account today, before shortly deleting the post.
The immediately preceding post shows Comey lounging at the beach while pretending to read his own crime novel, his presence at the beach lending to the fact that this was not a hack.
Many are blasting Comey for issuing a not-so-thinly-veiled threat at sitting President Donald Trump, including the President’s son and Congressman Andy Biggs:
Just James Comey causally calling for my dad to be murdered.
And here is his explanation for the ‘shells’ and the deletion…
…you simply cannot make this shit up!!!
And we screen-grabbed this before it was deleted too – oh the inspiration…
Runs in the family…
As covered previously in a ZeroHedge piece titled “From Epstein To Diddy: Spotlight Shines On James Comey’s Prosecutor Daughter”, Comey’s offspring smell a little swampy as well. From the piece:
In a thinly covered news story from December that’s suddenly relevant again (read on), New York Prosecutor Maurene Comey –whose father James Comey famously refused to prosecute Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information & then participated in the Russia collusion hoax – joined the prosecution against Combs. The younger Comey has previously worked as lead prosecutor on both the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, as well as that of former Epstein cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione.
…
Maurene Comey becamse a US attorney in the Southern District of New York in 2015.
In 2019, when she was just 30-years-old, Comey became one of the lead prosecutors in the Jeffrey Epstein case before he was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019.
Two years later, she became one of three lead prosecutors in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s partner in crime and daughter of suspected Mossad operative Robert Maxwell.
Before becoming a US attorney, Comey clerked for US District Court chief judge Loretta Preska of the SDNY – who notably oversaw a long-running defamation case filed by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell.
Comey was also involved in the case ofNicholas Tartaglione, a former NYPD officer who was convicted of killing four men in 2016, and who was briefly Epstein’s cellmate in the Manhattan Metro Correctional Center. Tartaglione claims to have helped Epstein after ‘finding him unconscious’ (and totally not trying to kill him) prior to Epstein’s actual death.
In 2016, Tartaglione suspected a man named Martin Luna had stolen money from him – for which “Tartaglione tortured Martin and then forced one of Martin’s nephews to watch as he strangled him to death with a zip-tie,” according to a statement by the US Attorney’s Office.
Two days after Epstein’s death, NY Times reporter James B Stewart, who had spent 90 minutes with Epstein a year prior, wrote “The overriding impression I took away from our roughly 90-minute conversation was that Mr. Epstein knew an astonishing number of rich, famous and powerful people, and had photos to prove it. He also claimed to know a great deal about these people, some of it potentially damaging or embarrassing, including details about their supposed sexual proclivities and recreational drug use.
And so, whether this is just a case of ‘it’s a small world’ or something a little (or a lot) less innocent, James Comey’s daughter is now involved in a second case where high-profile celebrities and politicians may have been secretly filmed engaging in sexual activity with minors.
Comey’s deep state tentacles make the cryptic Instragram post that much more unsettling. Might there be some hints in Comey’s shitty novel? Donald Barr’s Space Relations anyone?
Montana Becomes Latest State To Ban Lab-Grown Meat
On Tuesday, Montana State Governor Greg Gianforte announced that he had signed a bill into law banning the manufacturing and sale of lab-grown meat.
“So-called “lab-grown meat” has no place in Montana,” Gov. Gianforte wrote on X, adding, “By signing HB 401 into law, I am proud to defend our way of life and the hardworking Montana ranchers who produce the best beef in the world.”
So-called “lab-grown meat” has no place in Montana.
By signing HB 401 into law, I am proud to defend our way of life and the hardworking Montana ranchers who produce the best beef in the world. pic.twitter.com/INc2WuAvNI
— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) May 13, 2025
Montana is now the fifth state in the nation to pass legislation prohibiting lab-cultivated proteins. The push comes after concurrent Biden-era policies that simultaneously created a loophole for safety testing while prioritizing lab-cultivated proteins as “Climate-Friendly” ahead of labeling requirements.
Not exactly a drug, but not necessarily food harvested in nature, in 2019, Congress directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a formal agreement delineating each agency’s responsibilities for regulating lab-made or “cellular-cultivated” meat.
By early 2021, the Biden administration prioritized lab-made meat products as a “Climate-Smart” Agricultural alternative, promising a fast track to manufacturers Good Meat Inc and the Bill Gates-backed Upside Foods.
While the USDA does not regulate processed food, the agreement stipulated that the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) would be handed off regulatory oversight “at the point of harvest.”
Bureaucratic translation: The USDA’s regulatory role would be limited to “labeling and sanitation.”
While sanitation seems fairly straightforward, it’s the labeling requirement – which has yet to materialize – that has state lawmakers pumping the brakes.
Since early 2020, FSIS has gone round-after-round with “stakeholders” about what to call this petri-dish creation. During the last round of “name the thingamajig” stakeholders warned the FSIS that transparent labeling would “hamper innovation,” and “violate the First Amendment.”
To-date, the USDA has not fulfilled its regulatory role, according to the delineated agreement. To be fair, the FDA didn’t exactly uphold its end of the bargain either with fast-tracked “No Questions” approvals.
Some employees are comparing the lab-grown meat startup, Upside Foods, to Theranos.
“Are we the next Theranos?” asks one former employee. “People are being lied to, but no one is going to die. Ideally.”
Even as whistleblowers were equating lab-made meats to the next Theranos, the “Big 4” meat packers began rapidly investing billions to replace ranchers with biotech.
With the FDA’s blessing and zero red tape requiring transparent labeling, companies like JBS, Tyson, and Cargill have quickly begun producing lab-grown beef, cultured chicken, pork, fish, sausages, burgers, meatballs, and other prepared foods.
While some argue that state-level bans harm the free market, local lawmakers see them as part of a larger fight to preserve Western values.
“Agriculture is our state’s number one industry, and this bill takes a clear stand to protect our ranchers and our food supply,” Montana State Rep. Braxton Mitchell said. “We won’t let synthetic products with misleading labels undercut the hard work of Montana’s farm and ranch families.”
* * *
We’ve launched a “Rancher-Direct” e-commerce platform to secure access to clean, American-raised beef sourced from independent ranchers across the country.
Hillary Clinton can’t help herself when it comes to President Trump, posting on X Wednesday “No one gives someone a $400 million jet for free without expecting anything in return. Be serious,” in reference to Trump’s acceptance of a luxury Boeing 747 from Qatar’s royal family.
Everyone quickly pointed out the hypocrisy, given the Clinton Foundation’s history of accepting substantial donations from Arab states, including Qatar, during her tenure as Secretary of State.
The Clinton Foundation has received over $40 million from Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and even accepted a $1 million gift from Qatar in 2011 without informing the State Department, despite Clinton’s agreement to disclose such contributions for review.
No one gives someone a $400 million dollar jet for free without expecting anything in return. Be serious.
Respondents noted that Clinton’s post, comments closed as ever, reopened scrutiny of her own ethical lapses, with many pointing out that she’s the last person who should be commenting on this matter.
The Uranium One scandal was also referenced, with claims that Clinton facilitated a deal benefiting Russian interests after donations to her foundation, further fueling accusations of double standards.
If there was ever a topic that Hillary Clinton specifically should stay out of it’s suspicious foreign transactions that have the stink of “pay for play” about them https://t.co/DXAHTsWvh5
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) May 14, 2025
Excellent point, @HillaryClinton. No one knows this better than you.
To use a random example in support of your assertion, let’s look at foreign government contributions to the Clinton Foundation while you held positions of influence in government vs. contributions after you… https://t.co/iXP3KCH2lWpic.twitter.com/3kD8G5WdqV
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Lethal Lidar: Volvo SUV’s Infrared Beam Fries Smartphone Camera
High-powered lidar systems—commonly used in autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles—emit infrared laser beams to map their environments. While invisible to the human eye, these beams can damage smartphone camera sensors, as one Reddit user recently discovered the hard way.
Reddit user Jeguetelli recently shared a video on the r/Volvo subreddit showing a smartphone camera’s image sensor being fried after filming the front-mounted lidar sensor on the Volvo EX90—a fully electric, seven-seat luxury SUV that serves as Volvo’s flagship entry into the electric vehicle market.
“Never film the new Ex90 because you will break your cell camera.Lidar lasers burn your camera,” Jeguetelli wrote.
Auto blog The Drivepointed out, “It should be said that the risk here is inherent to lidar technology, and has nothing to do with Volvo’s specific implementation on the EX90. In fact, earlier this year, the automaker even issued a warning against directing external cameras at the vehicle’s lidar pod for the very reasons discussed.”
— Interesting things (@awkwardgoogle) May 14, 2025
Volvo’s website states:
Lidar light waves can damage external cameras: Do not point a camera directly at the lidar. The lidar, being a laser based system, uses infrared light waves that may cause damage to certain camera devices. This can include smartphones or phones equipped with a camera.
“Would this damage your car’s backup camera, if a LIDAR equipped car tailgates you?” one Redditor asked.
Another person said, “Thank god for Apple Care.”
The ongoing debate in the tech world centers on LiDAR vs. cameras—a big divide in the race toward fully autonomous vehicles, especially when comparing Tesla’s camera-only approach to rivals embracing LiDAR.
Elon Musk famously called LiDAR a “crutch,” arguing that camera vision powered by advanced AI is sufficient for FSD.
“In my view, it’s a crutch that will drive companies to a local maximum that they will find very hard to get out of.” Musk said several years ago, adding, “Perhaps I am wrong, and I will look like a fool. But I am quite certain that I am not.”
The Counterargument: Tesla’s competitors argue that LiDAR provides critical redundancy and reliability, especially for safety-critical applications like robotaxis.
The proliferation of LiDAR sensors on vehicles should come with a public service warning: avoid pointing smartphone cameras at these devices emitting infrared laser beams—they can permanently damage image sensors.
Also, will LiDAR risk burning camera sensors on Tesla vehicles?
Meta Stumbles: Delays Release Of Flagship “Behemoth” AI Model Over Performance Concerns
A new report from The Wall Street Journal hit the wires late Thursday during the U.S. cash session, revealing that Meta is reportedly delaying the release of its flagship AI model, “Behemoth,” due to internal concerns over its performance and mounting questions about its multibillion-dollar splurge in AI investments.
Initially slated for an April release around Meta’s inaugural AI conference (LlamaCon) for developers, Behemoth has been pushed to late in the second half of this year.
The delays come as Meta has publicly claimed that Behemoth outperforms competitors like OpenAI and Google on certain benchmarks. People familiar with the delays say Behemoth has faced “training challenges.”
Since Meta’s first Llama model was released in early 2023, 11 of the 14 original researchers from the company’s Fundamental AI Research Team have left.
Meanwhile, Meta disclosed in its latest earnings report that it had raised its capital expenditure forecast to between $64 billion and $72 billion, up from a previous range of $60 billion to $65 billion—a significant portion of that increase earmarked for AI infrastructure.
This development mirrors delays at other major AI labs, including OpenAI and Anthropic, suggesting that progress in large language models has slowed.
“Right now, the progress is quite small across all the labs, all the models,” Ravid Shwartz-Ziv, an assistant professor and faculty fellow at New York University’s Center for Data Science, told WSJ.
In markets, Meta shares are down a little more than 2% – coming into resistance after a multi-week 37% run.
DHS Reportedly Requests 20,000 National Guard Troops For “Interior Immigration Enforcement”
Democrats had no concern for due process when millions of third-world illegal aliens, including violent criminals and terrorists, invaded the U.S. with help from far-left NGOs. But now, as the Trump administration ramps up mass deportations, suddenly, this same army of left-wing lawmakers is screaming “due process” to delay deportations and clog up the courts. Their legal resistance is seen in federal courts, where remnants of the Biden-Harris regime still cling to power through far-left activist judges hell-bent on obstructing the mandate the American people handed Trump: deport criminal illegal aliens.
The Left didn’t care about due process while America was being invaded by illegal aliens, so don’t let them fool you now. Their concern is not due process, their concern is preventing deportations — the final step in the due process for illegal aliens. pic.twitter.com/CZx5TPInCl
A new report from The New York Times, citing officials with direct knowledge of the plans, says the Department of Homeland Security has requested over 20,000 National Guard troops from the Defense Department to support the president’s mass deportation plans for criminal illegal aliens.
If approved, this would mark the first time National Guard members have been used for interior migrant enforcement operations in the U.S.
Here’s more from the NYT:
Lawyers at the Pentagon were reviewing the request with “interior immigration enforcement,” according to a Defense Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. It was unclear what role state National Guard members would play and whether they would be involved in rounding up people for deportation, the official said.
The move only suggests that the Trump administration is preparing to ramp up mass deportations and fulfill the mandate the American voter gave him: restore national security through the deportation of criminal illegal aliens.
Last month, on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I’m doing what I was elected to do, remove criminals from our Country, but the Courts don’t seem to want me to do that,” adding, “We cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years.”
Vice President JD Vance called the battle between the Trump administration and leftist activists federal judges a “fake legal process” that is the “ratification of Biden’s illegal migrant invasion.”
Consider that Joe Biden allowed approximately 20 million illegal aliens into our country. This placed extraordinary burdens on our country–our schools, hospitals, housing, and other essential services were overwhelmed. On top of that, many of these illegal aliens committed…
“The judicial process is for Americans. Immediate deportation is for illegal aliens,” Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller recently said.
What we’re witnessing in the federal courts from far-left judges amounts to a subversion of the popular mandate—an orchestrated campaign of lawfare that, in effect, could be viewed as a soft coup through the judiciary. When these activist judges repeatedly obstruct or delay lawful executive orders backed by a clear electoral mandate, it’s no longer about legal oversight—it’s about undermining the will of the people.
In Wednesday’s episode of The Peter Schiff Show, Peter unpacks the Federal Reserve’s recent decision to hold rates steady, dissecting Jerome Powell’s latest press conference for its contradictions and disconnect from the economic realities faced by Americans. He also critiques ongoing trade policy blunders and warns that political posturing could lead the U.S. into a major economic downturn.
Well as expected [last week], the federal reserve left interest rates unchanged. The fed funds target remains between 4.25 and 4.5%. You know, I think this was one of the most hawkish press conferences that I’ve seen Powell participate in. You wouldn’t really know that by the reaction in the stock market. Stock market kind of, you know, just ignored what Powell said. The bond market did get a boost as you would expect.
First of all, in the prepared remarks, one of the interesting comments– or more lie than comment– is that Powell said that inflation expectations remain well anchored and the Fed’s job is to make sure they stay that way. Now, I don’t know what world Powell is living in, you know, kind of like the Baghdad Bob world from the Gulf War because inflation expectations left the 2% anchor a long time ago. I mean, hasn’t Powell been paying attention to any of the Michigan numbers that have been coming out on inflation expectations that show, I think, one year expectations with a six handle and five year expectations have got at least a four handle? So we’re nowhere near 2%.
Peter is quick to highlight how the Fed’s optimistic portrayal of the economy doesn’t match the underlying risks. He questions how Powell can call the current situation “a great place” when real economic indicators tell a different story:
How is Powell describing the economy as being in a great place? How is he saying that inflation is in a great place? How was he saying that the labor market is in a great place? It doesn’t sound like a great place to me. I mean, a great place would be that the odds of higher inflation are going down, right, not where the odds are going up… That would be a good place, but when you’re admitting that the odds of higher inflation are going up, that’s pretty far from a great place.
Turning from monetary policy to international trade, Peter addresses the persistent uncertainty around trade negotiations with China. He suggests that China would be wise to reduce its reliance on American consumers, who are increasingly unable to afford the goods they import:
But I don’t have a lot of optimism for these China trade talks. And in fact, what I think the Chinese may finally be doing is the right thing. They’ve been resisting doing the right thing for a long time because there’s always some short-term pain. Because the biggest mistake that China made, and I’ve been talking about this for decades now, was hitching its cart to our wagon. They tried to service the US consumer, supply the US consumer with goods, without recognizing that the US consumer was broke and really couldn’t afford to pay for the goods.
Peter concludes with a critique of protectionist policy, using a recent proposal by Donald Trump as a case study in economic misunderstanding. He points out the self-defeating nature of a proposed 100% tariff on foreign-made films—a move that threatens an industry where the U.S. actually excels internationally:
Probably the most ridiculous thing that the president said this week wasn’t even during that interview. It was on a post on Truth Social out of the blue. Trump posts, ‘I’m going to impose a hundred percent tariff on movies filmed outside the United States.’ A hundred percent tariff, right? First of all, the movie industry, Hollywood motion pictures, that’s one of our industries that we have a trade surplus. We export a lot more movies than we import. So movies, the motion picture industry, Hollywood entertainment, that is not a problem that Donald Trump needs to fix.
Trump Touts 1.4 Trillion Investment In AI, Tech From UAE In Final Mideast Stop
After the several massive announcements and deals to come out of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, developments during the last leg of the US President’s Gulf tour in United Arab Emirates actually seem a bit humdrum by comparison.
But the visuals and spare no expenses official welcome and ceremonial events have certainly been interesting…
Among the more notable statements has been Trump’s touting a 1.4 trillion… yes that’s trillion… investment in AI and other tech sectors from the Emirates.
The White House had previewed this longtime in the works deal as related to artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductors, energy and manufacturing.
Further, Emirates Global Aluminum will “invest in the first new aluminium smelter in the United States in 35 years, which would nearly double US domestic aluminium production.”
The White House said that Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signed agreements that would “generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion”.
The agreements are said to include a $96bn deal with Qatar Airways to buy up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aeroplanes, and a statement of intent for $38bn in investments at Qatar’s Al Udeid Airbase and other air defence capabilities.
A meeting is scheduled for later today of US, Turkish and Syrian officials to discuss details of Trump’s announced dropping of sanctions against Syria.
Trump’s three-country tour of the Gulf state region will conclude in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
Amid lots of awards ceremonies, accolades, and a state dinner…
The President of the United Arab Emirates just gave President Trump a special award.
Trump has also been filling in more details of fresh arms deals inked with Qatar. “Yesterday we signed an agreement for Qatar to purchase $42bn-worth of the finest American military hardware including THAAD missile batteries,” he said Thursday while speaking to US troops at Al Udeid airbase.
The commander-in-chief further detailed that the deal includes “Pegasus refueling aircraft, Desert Vipers, light armored vehicles, amphibious combat vehicles, the MQ-9B and the Sky Guardian drones.”
A rare trip to the country’s Grand Mosque…
By the way, this is the first time the UAE’s Grand Mosque has been closed to the public. They did it to show respect for President Trump.pic.twitter.com/gdxNdMOU49
As for Qatar, the president says he’s still ready to accept a donated jet from the tiny oil and gas rich country, a flying palace of a future Air Force One, which Dems have been warning would be a violation of the US Constitution’s prohibition on foreign gifts. Certainly he’ll come back to Washington awaiting immense controversy and backlash from the corporate media and his political enemies.
RFK Jr. just walked into Congress and took down his biggest critics in one fell swoop.
This was a masterclass.
A dentist congressman came out swinging on fluoride. By the time Kennedy finished, he realized he picked the wrong fight.
Then, a Democrat tried to accuse Kennedy of politicizing children’s health—but he got emotional, broke through the noise, and completely flipped the script on her.
If you watch one thing today, make it this. Kennedy just took the MAHA agenda to the next level.
Right out of the gate in his first major congressional hearing as HHS Secretary, Kennedy laid out a sweeping plan to reshape HHS from the ground up.
Here’s what’s on deck:
Ending “gain-of-function experiments and research based upon radical gender ideology”
A full-scale crackdown on fentanyl and drug addiction
$94 billion toward better food, fitness, and childcare
FDA action to remove toxic chemicals from the food supply
Slashing wasteful NIH projects
Merging mental health and addiction programs for faster, better care
Giving local leaders more power to fix problems in their own communities
A major upgrade to Head Start, the early education program for low-income children
“We intend to make the Trump HHS not just the most effective, but also the most compassionate in U.S. history,” Kennedy said.
Right out of the gate in his first major congressional hearing as HHS Secretary, Kennedy laid out a sweeping plan to reshape HHS from the ground up.
Here’s what’s on deck:
• Ending “gain-of-function experiments and research based upon radical gender ideology”
Then came a tense back-and-forth with Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who tried to pin him down on tobacco prevention funding. Kennedy didn’t just answer—he flipped the entire narrative.
DeLauro asked, “Do you commit to following the law, again, fully obligating those funds so that we can help adults who want to quit using tobacco and prevent teens from becoming addicted?”
Kennedy fired back: “Allow me to answer that by pointing out the absolute cataclysmic disorganization of this agency. Under your oversight, for 40 years, we had nine separate offices of Women’s Health.”
And he didn’t stop there.
“When we consolidate them, the Democrats say we’re eliminating them. We’re not. We’re still appropriating the 3.7 billion, but we’re not keeping all nine. We had eight separate offices for minority health. We eliminated one. We had 27 HIV offices.”
DeLauro tried to interrupt—“Okay, let me just. I’m going to—”
But Kennedy kept rolling: “We had 59 behavioral health programs.”
At that point, DeLauro backed off: “I’m well over time.”
Then came a tense back-and-forth with Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who tried to pin him down on tobacco funding. Kennedy didn’t just answer—he flipped the entire narrative.
DeLauro asked, “Do you commit to following the law, again, fully obligating those funds so that we can help… pic.twitter.com/QHceNdH2xu
One of the most jaw-dropping moments came when Rep. Mike Simpson, a dentist, tried to challenge Kennedy on fluoride—and instantly regretted it.
“We better put a lot more money into dental education because we’re going to need a whole lot more dentists [if we ban fluoride],” Simpson said.
The rebuttal was too easy for Kennedy.
“We now know that virtually all the benefit [from fluoride] is from topical, and we can get that through mouthwashes. We can get through fluoridated toothpastes.”
Then came the line that hit hard:
“The National Toxicity Program issued a report in August, a meta review of all the science that now exists on fluoride, and showed a direct inverse correlation between fluoride exposure dose and lower IQ.”
“Which is an issue that we all have to be concerned with. We want high IQ kids right now,” Kennedy added.
One of the most jaw-dropping moments came when Rep. Mike Simpson, a dentist, tried to challenge Kennedy on fluoride—and instantly regretted it.
“We better put a lot more money into dental education because we’re going to need a whole lot more dentists [if we ban fluoride],”… pic.twitter.com/dPta9V8TCu
Later, Rep. Steny Hoyer demanded answers on HHS budget cuts—but Kennedy was ready with numbers and a blunt dose of reality.
“We’re spending $2 trillion a year that we don’t have!”
He followed up: “When you’re spending $2 trillion more than you have, you have to make cuts.”
Hoyer pressed again. Kennedy stayed firm.
“The cuts that were done were cuts that were to duplication, to redundancy, to streamlining,” he said. “We increased our workforce 70% in four years. So we were going back to the 2019 levels.”
Later, Rep. Steny Hoyer demanded answers on HHS budget cuts—but Kennedy was ready with numbers and a blunt dose of reality.
“We’re spending $2 trillion a year that we don’t have!”
He followed up: “When you’re spending $2 trillion more than you have, you have to make cuts.”… pic.twitter.com/WKZ1GCZuPY
Then came a moment of visible deflation from Rep. Mark Pocan, who tried—repeatedly—to get Kennedy to endorse vaccines.
“If you had a child today, would you vaccinate that child for measles?” Pocan asked.
Kennedy didn’t bite.
“What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,” he said. “I think what we’re going to try to do is to lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits accurately as we understand them.”
Pocan pressed again: “Can you talk about chickenpox?”
Kennedy exposed a reality Pocan didn’t want to hear:
“Again, I don’t want to give advice. I can tell you in Europe, they don’t use the chickenpox vaccine specifically because the preclinical trial shows that when you inoculate the population for chickenpox, you get shingles in older people, which is more dangerous.”
Desperate for something, Pocan asked, “Polio?”
“Again, I don’t want to be giving advice,” Kennedy replied.
Pocan backed off with a clear look of disappointment: “That’s fair. No, that’s fair. Like I said, I was not doing it as a gotcha…”
Then came a moment of visible deflation from Rep. Mark Pocan, who tried—repeatedly—to get Kennedy to endorse vaccines.
“If you had a child today, would you vaccinate that child for measles?” Pocan asked.
One of the most shocking revelations came when Kennedy pointed to corruption inside NIH as the reason we still don’t have a cure for Alzheimer’s.
“For 20 years, because of utter corruption and fraud, we were directing Alzheimer’s research to one hypothesis, and any other hypothesis was shut down,” he said.
“We should have the cure for Alzheimer’s today. We don’t have it PURELY because of corruption at NIH. And we are going to have it quickly.”
Rep. Lois Frankel attacked Kennedy’s use of HHS funds, characterizing it as Elon Musk randomly plugging numbers into a computer to make decisions.
Kennedy fired back, taking offense at that false narrative.
“Everything that you said was essentially dishonest,” he told her.
Rep. Lois Frankel attacked Kennedy’s use of HHS funds, characterizing it as Elon Musk randomly plugging numbers into a computer to make decisions.
Kennedy fired back, taking offense at that false narrative.
Later, Kennedy clashed with Rep. DeLauro once more. This time, he let loose.
“Look at our children, they’re the sickest children in the world,” he said passionately.
Kennedy delivered a direct blow to DeLauro, noting he succeeded where she failed.
“Congresswoman DeLauro, you say that you’ve worked for 20 years on getting food dye out. Then give me credit!” he exclaimed. “I got it out in 100 days.”
He then closed with a call to unity:
“So, let’s work together and do something that we all believe in, which is have healthy kids in our country for God’s sake. There’s no such thing as Republican children or Democratic children. There’s just kids, and we should all be concerned with them.”
Later, Kennedy clashed with Rep. DeLauro once more. This time, he let loose.
“Look at our children, they’re the sickest children in the world,” he said passionately.
Kennedy delivered a direct blow to DeLauro, noting he succeeded where she failed.
