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- [00:00]
Kelly Ripa
Hey there, it's Kelly Ripa. And if you've been listening to my podcast, we are knee deep in season three. And if you haven't heard it, it's time to get on board. After years of interviewing celebs on camera, I finally get to bring you the real conversations that take place when the cameras aren't rolling. Where else are you going to hear Michelle Obama talk about keeping her girls out of Page Six? Hilaria Baldwin's hilarious reaction to Alec running for office, or Jeremy Renner's lucid hallucinations about Jamie Foxx? Nowhere else. It's raw, it's honest, and best of all, it's off camera. And believe me, that's where you get the good stuff. So download. Let's talk off camera with Kelly Ripa now, wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:46]
Yasmin Vasugin
Hey everybody, it's Yasmin Fasugin with here's the scoop from NBC News. We're going to get right into our top story today, taking you into a region that I've covered extensively, Gaza. More than 70 people were killed across Gaza yesterday, including at the Al Baka Cafe in Gaza City, one of the few businesses that was still operating. Palestinians were also killed trying to get humanitarian aid near Khan Younis when Israeli forces opened fire. That is according to the Gaza Health Ministry and witnesses. I went to get food at night.
- [01:18]
Kelly Ripa
I was getting flour and suddenly the.
- [01:19]
Yasmin Vasugin
Missile landed on me.
- [01:22]
Kelly Ripa
I swear, I swear. We are exhausted. I swear I can't.
- [01:28]
Yasmin Vasugin
And amidst all of this, there is a lack of adequate health care. Our team on the ground reports that nearly all the hospitals in Gaza are now damaged or destroyed and health workers are being detained, including Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyah. He was last seen in late December before being taken into Israeli custody. Dr. Abu Safiyah is the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Northern Gaza and has worked with Medglobal, it's a Chicago based nonprofit partnering with local healthcare workers since 2018. Dr. John Kahler is the co founder of MedGlobal and he's been to Gaza. He knows Dr. Abu Safiyeh and he's with us now. Dr. Kaler, thanks for joining us on this. It's good to talk to you today.
- [02:08]
Dr. John Kahler
No problem at all. Thank you for having me.
- [02:10]
Yasmin Vasugin
Talk me through what your organization is doing right now, especially as it relates to Gaza.
- [02:16]
Dr. John Kahler
Well, my organization is called MetGlobal. It is an international medical NGO. We've been in Gaza since 2019. When we set the program up, we were basically helping build out the North Shifa tertiary care hospital with things like Kamalatuan as a feeder hospital for pediatrics, and Nasser Hospital in the south as a secondary hospital to give a tertiary care hospital to the north and the south. We supplied teaching, we supplied supplies, we supplied volunteers. All of that was in 2019 through 2023. Our staff on the ground has been active since October 2023 and have not stopped since then.
- [03:01]
Yasmin Vasugin
What did you see in Gaza?
- [03:03]
Dr. John Kahler
So I've been in a lot of very bad places. I've been in Haiti after the earthquake. I've spent a lot of time in Haiti. I was in Yemen during a cholera outbreak. I was in Aleppo during the siege. And so I thought I was pretty prepared for what I was about to see. Well, I wasn't at all prepared. And that was in January and March of 2024. There was overcrowding, there was destruction, and the march. When I was there, I was permitted to go north to Kamala Luan Hospital because we were setting up a nutrition stabilization center. And while I was there, the road between the south and the north I had taken many, many times when I was in it was completely destroyed. I set up the largest primary healthcare center as well as what are called medical access points. And Both as a 40 year pediatrician, plus as the grandfather of 12 grandchildren, I saw heartbreaking episodes of children needing to be served.
- [04:06]
Yasmin Vasugin
What is it like to go there and treat these kids? And knowing they can't leave, but knowing that you can, it's heartbreaking.
- [04:15]
Dr. John Kahler
I was there when the first evacuation from Khan Yunas happened. There was a line of cars 5km long. But what caught me the most was that I was walking past a garbage dump and there was a family of maybe 6, 7, 8 that were looking in that garbage dump. And for a moment I thought they were looking to try to throw stuff, you know, trying to dispose of stuff, because there's been nothing picked up in almost however many months this is. But it dawned on me what they were literally looking for was a place they could stay. And while I was, while I was walking past, there was this little kid, had to be four or five years old, just came up to me with these beautiful eyes and a wonderful smile and just waved at me, you know, and not infrequently do I wonder whatever happened to that poor little girl. We already know that this is the largest population of children with amputations that's ever been. The social cohesiveness and the communities are being destroyed. So it's heartbreaking.
- [05:21]
Yasmin Vasugin
You speak a lot about Kamal Adwan Hospital. I know the head of Kemal advan Hospital is Dr. Abu Safiya. He has since been taken into detention and is being held in the West Bank. You know him well. Tell me a little bit about him.
- [05:35]
Dr. John Kahler
Well, he's been in detention now for 186 days. We overused the term hero. Dr. Abou Sofia is a hero. There's been three major assaults on the north since October 23rd. Dr. Abu Sophia kept Kamal Alwan Hospital, which was the major pediatric hospital in the north, kept Kamala Hospital open during the first assault, kept it open single handedly. I mean he was literally the only pediatrician in the hospital. The second assault had more people there. And then the third assault in December, they actually destroyed the hospital. It had to be abandoned. And that was when you saw the, the unbelievable iconic picture of him walking up the hill of destruction into a tank. And he's not been seen since the.
- [06:25]
Yasmin Vasugin
What is it like to run a hospital under that type of pressure that Dr. Abu Safiyah was facing?
- [06:33]
Dr. John Kahler
Well, so there's three major problems in addition to all those things you think with the infrastructure, you know, fuel, clean water. But in a hospital, particularly a hospital in a war zone, there are three other major concerns. One is obviously surgical and post surgical care. Second thing is as the destruction goes on and the fewer hospital beds there are, any patient with a chronic illness that would have needed a hospitalization anywhere goes to that hospital. So there's a feeding of non trauma related. And third of all is that people understand the hospitals are supposed to be safe. So in fact then as destruction around the hospital happens, you get an increase in people who are just essentially camping at the hospital because they feel it's going to be safe. All of those things he has to figure out how to deal with.
- [07:28]
Yasmin Vasugin
You talk about the moment in which he was taken into custody, that final video in which he's kind of walking away from the hospital it seems, and walking towards an IDF tank and then subsequently in which he enters that tank. What did that feel like for you as his friend and as his colleague? Watching Dr. Abu Sophia being taken into.
- [07:52]
Dr. John Kahler
Custody, it was like a punch to the chest. To say I cried would be an understatement because I can only anticipate what the outcome of this. He's the most courageous and peaceful man that I've probably ever known personally. So his entire being is a North Star for this struggle. He never gave up hope and I'm sure he still doesn't give up hope. So those of us on the outside who talk about hopelessness and stuff like that are put to shame by someone like Dr. Abu Sofia.
- [08:33]
Yasmin Vasugin
In a statement, Israel has said they are holding Dr. Abu Safiyyah because of involvement in terrorist activities and that he actually held a rank in Hamas. They also say that Kamal Adwan hospital where he worked, was a Hamas stronghold during this war. What do you make of these accusations?
- [08:54]
Dr. John Kahler
That's a common accusation. It's an accusation made against everyone that's arrested. I have no personal knowledge of Dr. Abu Safiyah's participation or work with Hamas. And I have literally no direct observations and never seen, nor have I heard anyone ever see any, any evidence of Kamala one hospital being used as a mass resource.
- [09:19]
Yasmin Vasugin
I know that Dr. Abu Safiyah is not the only one. I know that MedGlobal published a joint letter just last week with Human Rights Watch saying as Of February of 2025, at least 185 healthcare workers remain in Israeli custody, including five members of actually, your team. What does this mean for the ability of healthcare workers in administering care to Palestinians throughout this war and retaining talent, getting people to dedicate their time to you and your work and the work that your organization is doing?
- [09:54]
Dr. John Kahler
Yeah, I mean, it's scary, of course, because these are people that understand that the sanctity of healthcare institutions no longer is there. The privilege that healthcare workers have been given to a large extent around the world has been violated.
- [10:17]
Yasmin Vasugin
Dr. John Kahler, co founder of the nonprofit MedGlobal. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
- [10:21]
Dr. John Kahler
You're welcome. Thank you so much.
- [10:25]
Yasmin Vasugin
All right, we are going to take a quick break and we'll be back in just a minute with a few headlines to close out today's episode. Stay tuned.
- [10:35]
Kelly Ripa
Hey there, it's Kelly Ripa. And if you've been listening to my podcast, we are knee deep in season three. And if you haven't heard it, it's time to get on board. After years of interviewing celebs on camera, I finally get to bring you the real conversations that take place when the cameras aren't rolling. Where else are you going to hear Michelle Obama talk about keeping her girls out of Page Six? Hilaria Baldwin's hilarious reaction to Alec running for office, or Jeremy Renner's lucid hallucinations about Jamie Foxx?
- [11:03]
Dr. John Kahler
J.
- [11:03]
Kelly Ripa
Nowhere else. It's raw, it's honest, and best of all, it's off camera. And believe me, that's where you get the good stuff. So download. Let's talk off camera with Kelly Rippa now, wherever you get your podcasts.
- [11:21]
Dan Snow
So, folks, you might have noticed the weather's changing out there. The sun appears to be out, the days are longer. This is in the Northern hemisphere, of course, and it's got me excited for road trips, days out exploring, and long walks to castles on windswept crags. And if you're looking forward to all that too, I've got the perfect companion podcast to join you on your adventures this summer. I'm Dan Snow, host of the Dan Snow's History Hit Podcast, where I whisk you away into the greatest stories in history. Join me on the high seas as we follow the swashbuckling escapades of Francis Drake. On the Spanish Maine, we unravel the myths of the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. I'll tell you everything you need to know about how the American Revolution started and what it would have taken for you to survive the Black Death in medieval Europe. Brackets, luck. This is the podcast you need if you seek to escape into history. And we can all use a little escape at the moment. Check out Dan Snow's history wherever you get your podcasts.
- [12:26]
Yasmin Vasugin
Welcome back to here's the scoop from NBC News. Let's get to some headlines. After a marathon voting session, the Senate has narrowly passed the president's domestic agenda, which the president calls the Big Beautiful bill. Vice President J.D. vance broke a tie, leaving the vote at 51 to 50, with three Republicans joining the Democrats to oppose the legislation. And no, it is still not over yet. The bill now goes back to the House, with Republicans hoping to send it to the president's desk by July 4th. The Florida Migrant detention facility, informally known as Alligator Alcatraz, opened today with the president and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis taking a tour. The site was built on a remote former airstrip and will hold up to 5,000 detainees, using natural swamp hazards like alligators and pythons as part of its security. It was Fast tracked with DeSantis emergency powers costing $450 million using federal and state money. Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, is reportedly in talks to accept a plea deal that would take the death penalty off the table. Kohberger had pled not guilty, according to a letter sent to victims families by the prosecutor's office. The riposte deal would have Kohberger plead guilty to all charges in exchange for four consecutive life sentences without parole. He would also waive his right to appeal. But the family of victim Killian's office is speaking out, calling the deal, quote, shocking and cruel they argue that sparing Kohberger's life denies justice for their daughter. Prosecutors have not yet publicly confirmed the plea agreement and NBC News has not seen the letter reportedly sent to the victims families. So I have a question for you. Are you tired of those awkward goodbyes and nerve wracking HR meetings? Well, in Japan, a booming industry is here to say bye bye on your behalf. For a few hundred bucks, companies like Momuri, which loosely translates to I can't take it anymore, is going to call your boss, return your laptop and ghost your job so you don't have to. It's basically a breakup text, but outsourced and professional, the service has surged since the pandemic which shook up Japan's rigid work culture. These services are booming as more workers, especially Gen Z, ditch the grind and say no way to unpaid overtime and passive aggressive team lunches. You gotta love those. So the next time you're in a soul sucking Monday meeting, or let's just say a podcast studio, remember, in Japan, freedom is just a phone call and a few yen away. That's going to do it for us. And here's a scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vasugin. I'll see you tomorrow with whatever the day may bring.
- [15:23]
Kelly Ripa
Hey there, it's Kelly Ripa. And if you've been listening to my podcast, we're we are knee deep in season three. And if you haven't heard it, it's time to get on board. After years of interviewing celebs on camera, I finally get to bring you the real conversations that take place when the cameras aren't rolling. Where else are you going to hear Michelle Obama talk about keeping her girls out of Page Six? Hilaria Baldwin's hilarious reaction to Alec running for office, or Jeremy Renner's lucid hallucinations about Jamie Fox? Nowhere else. It's raw, it's honest, and best of all, it's off camera. And, and believe me, that's where you get the good stuff. So download. Let's talk Off Camera with Kelly Rippa now. Wherever you get your podcasts.