C.D.C. Loses Top Officials, and Why Israeli Reservists Aren’t Showing Up for Duty

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Headlines – “C.D.C. Loses Top Officials, and Why Israeli Reservists Aren’t Showing Up for Duty”

Host: Tracy Mumford
Date: August 28, 2025
Publisher: The New York Times

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Overview

This episode covers a series of dramatic events in the United States and abroad:

• The upheaval at the CDC, including the firing of its director and mass resignations of top scientists after a clash with the administration over vaccine policy
• Breaking news about a deadly school shooting in Minneapolis
• Analysis of why increasing numbers of Israeli reservists are declining to report for duty as the Gaza conflict drags on
• Reporting on warehouse robotics and their evolving impact on worker retention

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Major Shakeup at the CDC

[00:02–02:41]

• CDC Director Fired Amid Turmoil:

  • The director, Susan Minares, was ousted by the White House after clashing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his controversial vaccine stance.

  • Tensions peaked when the Department of Health and Human Services posted that Minares was “no longer the director” on social media, despite her insistence that she hadn’t been fired and would not resign.

    “The country’s public health institutions are being systematically dismantled…The attack on Dr. Minares is a warning to every American. Our evidence based systems are being undermined from within.”
    — Minares’s lawyers’ statement [01:29]

• Mass Resignations:

  • Four key CDC officials quit, including vaccine experts and the chief medical officer. This group spearheaded the agency’s response to high-impact health threats: anthrax, mpox, swine flu, COVID, and the opioid crisis.

• Change in Vaccine Eligibility:

  • The federal government restricted access to the latest COVID vaccine. Now, only people over 65, those under 18 (with provider approval), or individuals with at least one high-risk medical condition are eligible.
  • These measures are opposed by national medical groups.

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2. Mass Shooting at Minneapolis Catholic School

[02:41–04:39]

• The Attack:

  • A shooter opened fire during a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church, killing two children (ages 8 and 10) and injuring more than a dozen others.

  • Firsthand survivor accounts highlight the terror and quick actions taken to protect classmates.

    “I just ran under the pew and then I covered my head. My friend Victor saved me…he laid on top of me, but he got hit in the back.”
    — Child survivor [02:58]

  • The attacker, Robin Westman (age 23), was a former student whose mother had worked at the church. She died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

  • Westman had shared disturbing videos online, including violent diary entries.

    “We don’t have a motive at this time…we’re open to any possibilities.”
    — Minneapolis official [03:35]

• Political and Social Context:

  • Mayor Jacob Frey called the event “senseless,” warning against political scapegoating about the shooter’s gender identity.

    “We should not be operating out of a place of hate for anyone. We should be operating from a place of love for our kids. Kids died today. This needs to be about them.”
    — Mayor Jacob Frey [04:23]

• National Response:

  • President Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff.

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3. Israeli Reservists Not Reporting for Duty

[04:56–07:20]

• Context:

  • Upcoming massive Israeli assault on Gaza City requires 60,000 more soldiers.

• Reservist Attrition:

  • The Israeli army is unusual in that up to two-thirds of personnel are reservists balancing civilian lives.

  • Many have spent hundreds of days away from families, leading to exhaustion and high attrition.

  • Estimates from some units show 40–50% absentee rates.

    “Many of them say they’ve spent many hundreds of days in uniform…that means time away from their families, from work, from school…that’s been trying…has also caused this attrition.”
    — Aaron Boxerman [05:42]

• Moral Objections:

  • Some reservists are refusing to serve for ethical reasons, believing the war is no longer justified and puts hostages and civilians at risk.

    “A small but growing minority of soldiers say they are no longer willing to go back and serve in Gaza because they believe the war has become immoral.”
    — Aaron Boxerman [06:33]

  • One captain was sentenced to military prison for refusing to mobilize; he cited endangerment to hostages and Palestinian civilians as his reasons.

• Emergence of Dissent:

  • Fatigue is the dominant reason for non-attendance, but dissent over the war’s goals and conduct is rising inside Israel’s military.

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4. Robots and Retaining Factory Workers

[07:20–End]

• Labor Challenges:

  • U.S. factory and warehouse jobs are hard to staff due to high turnover and injury rates.

• Robotic Solutions:

  • Companies are increasingly renting robots (at ~$23/hr) for the most strenuous, repetitive jobs—stacking, sorting, feeding materials into machines—which reduces worker burnout and turnover.

  • Automation allows human workers to move into less grueling, often better-paid positions.

    “It would be more contentious if robots start taking jobs that people actually like doing.”
    — Startup founder [08:08]

• Example:

  • An Illinois company making detergent pods reassigned workers from box-stacking to technical roles, some with higher pay, after bringing in robots.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• CDC Statement on Evidence-Based Science:

  “…The attack on Dr. Minares is a warning to every American. Our evidence based systems are being undermined from within.” [01:29]

• Minneapolis School Shooting Survivor:

  “My friend Victor saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit in the back.” [02:58]

• Jacob Frey, Mayor of Minneapolis:

  “We should not be operating out of a place of hate for anyone…Kids died today. This needs to be about them.” [04:23]

• Aaron Boxerman, NYT Jerusalem Bureau:

  “Many of them say that they’ve spent many hundreds of days in uniform…that’s been trying for them and has also caused this attrition…” [05:42] “We’ve also started to see discontent and even dissent inside the ranks over how the war is being fought and perhaps its ultimate goal.” [07:01]

• Startup Founder on Robots:

  “It would be more contentious if robots start taking jobs that people actually like doing.” [08:08]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• CDC Crisis & Vaccine Policy: 00:02–02:41
• Minneapolis School Shooting: 02:41–04:39
• Israeli Reservist Attrition & Dissension: 04:56–07:20
• Robots in Warehouses & Worker Retention: 07:20–End

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This episode provides a fast-paced, clear summary of today's biggest breaking stories with context and thoughtful first-person accounts from journalists and those affected. It spotlights the intersection of politics, policy, tragedy, and technological change.

Transcript

[A]

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, August 28th. Here's what we're covering. Over the past 24 hours, the country's top public health agency, the CDC, has been thrown into turmoil as the White House fired its director and multiple top leaders there quit en masse. Tension had been building at the agency for days as the director, Susan Menarez, clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Over his stance on vaccines, which he has a long history of sowing doubt about. Yesterday afternoon, things came to a head when the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the cdc, posted on social media that Manares was, quote, no longer the director, even though her lawyers said she hadn't been fired and wouldn't resign. Then after 9pm The White House put out a statement saying Manares had been terminated and that she was not aligned with, quote, the President's agenda of making America healthy again. For the moment, Minarez is still refusing to step down. In a statement, her lawyers said that the country's public health institutions are being systematically dismantled and that, quote, the attack on Dr. Minares is a warning to every American. Our evidence based systems are being undermined from within. Beyond the showdown with Minares, four other senior officials at the CDC resigned yesterday, including top vaccine Experts and the CDC's Chief Medical Officer. Together they led the agency's response to a wide range of public health threats, including anthrax, mpox, swine flu, Covid and the opioid crisis. Meanwhile, the dramatic shakeup at the CDC came on the same day that the federal government put new restrictions on who can get this year's Covid vaccines over the objections of several national medical groups. Until now, all Americans six months or older were eligible to get vaccinated. Going forward, people will have to fall into one of three categories. They'll have to be over 65 or under 18, but with a medical provider's approval or they'll need to have at least one pre existing condition that puts them at risk. In Minneapolis last night, thousands of mourners gathered after two children were killed and more than a dozen were injured in a mass shooting at a Catholic school.

[B]

I was like two seats away from the stained glass windows. They were like, the shots were like right next to me.

[A]

Survivors told local news that the attack happened as kids and teachers had gathered for the first mass of the year at Annunciation Catholic Church, which also operates a Pre K to 8th grade school.

[B]

I just ran under the pew and then I covered my head My friend Victor saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit in the back.

[A]

Police say the shooter, who had a rifle, shotgun and pistol, barricaded the church doors before opening fire through the windows. The children who were killed were 8 and 10 years old and many others were rushed to the hospital. Authorities identified the attacker as 23 year old Robin Westman and said she died of a self inflicted gunshot wound. Westman is believed to have once been a student at Annunciation and her mother had worked at the church before retiring.

[C]

We don't have a motive at this time. Obviously, we're open to any possibilities at all, so.

[A]

Officials are still investigating what led up to the attack, including looking into videos Westman had posted online. She'd shared dark and violent diary entries and seemed to be fixated on guns, violence and school shooters.

[C]

We've got more guns in this country than we have people and we can't just say that this shouldn't happen again and then allow it to happen again and again beyond that.

[A]

At a press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry called the shooting senseless. He also tried to head off rhetoric from conservative activists who'd quickly seized on the shooter's gender identity. According to court documents, Westman legally changed her name a few years ago because she, quote, identified as female.

[C]

We should not be operating out of a place of hate for anyone. We should be operating from a place of love for our kids. Kids died today. This needs to be about them.

[A]

Following the shooting, President Trump ordered flags across the country to be flown at half staff.

[D]

Israel is currently planning a massive attack on Gaza City. They say that they're going to need at least 60,000 additional soldiers. But my colleagues and I have heard over and over again that many soldiers are no longer able or willing to show up.

[A]

My colleague Aaron Boxerman is a reporter in the Times Jerusalem Bureau. He says the number of Israeli soldiers not showing up for duty is hard to fully assess. The military doesn't release that data. And several reservists the Times talked with said their units are highly motivated to keep fighting. But around a dozen other officers and soldiers described their units as exhausted. And some said that 40 to 50% of the troops in their units aren't showing up. As Israel's devastating war in Gaza nears.

[D]

The two year mark, Israel's army is sort of unusual in the sense that the base of it, up to two thirds according to some estimates, are not professional soldiers. They're reservists who have civilian lives who are not meant to be full time soldiers. But many of them say that they've spent many hundreds of days in uniform in Gaza and Lebanon, in Syria and in the West Bank. That means time away from their families, time away from work, time away from school. And that's been trying for them and has also caused this attrition that we're starting to see in the ranks of the Israeli military. There's another factor at play as well. A small but growing minority of soldiers say that they are no longer willing to go back and serve in Gaza because they believe that the war has become immoral. I spoke to one captain in the reserves who was sentenced to 25 days in a military prison because he refused to mobilize for another round of duty. He told me that he believed that the war was endangering the remaining Israeli and foreign hostages in Gaza, that it was endangering Palestinian civilians, and that it was simply no longer a just war. And so we started to see not just exhaustion over the war, although I think that is still the dominant feeling, but we've also started to see discontent and even dissent inside the ranks over how the war is being fought and perhaps its ultimate goal.

[A]

And finally, there's been a lot of talk about how robots may one day replace people in a lot of jobs. But the Times has been looking at how, in some cases, bringing in a robot can help companies keep their workers, specifically in warehouse and factory jobs. In those industries, companies say hiring and retaining workers is one of their top challenges. The work can be grueling. Injury rates can be high. Some of the jobs have a turnover rate of 100%, leaving managers constantly trying to find and train new employees. But where factories have brought in robots, which they can rent, in some cases for about $23 an hour, they specialize in the kind of backbreaking, repetitive tasks that can burn out and injure human workers. Things like stacking boxes, sorting parts, or feeding material into machines. And staffers may be more likely to stay at a job if you spare them the worst parts of the work. One company in Illinois that makes detergent pods told the Times that after renting three robots, it was able to reassign all the workers who normally would have been stacking boxes on pallets. Some were promoted to more technical jobs with higher pay. The founder of a startup aimed at building and renting out a fleet of robots said, quote, it would be more contentious if robots start taking jobs that people actually like doing. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest updates and the Friday news quiz.