Tracy Mumford (2:39)

Michael Grimbaum is a media correspondent at the Times. He says that President Trump hailed Carr as a, quote, warrior for free speech when he appointed him. But in the role, Carr has leveraged the power of the FCC to crack down on speech that he finds offensive.

Michael Grimbaum (2:55)

Carr is actually the author of the Project 2025 chapter on media regulation, and he himself is an ideologue. I think he would be upfront about his conservative viewpoints and what he has contended in public appearances is that there's a liberal bias in the American media and that the FCC has done little to combat that, that national networks have a stranglehold over the programming that millions of Americans see and hear. And he has stated that his goal at the FCC is to create some what he considers more balance in that programming. But of course, what is in the public interest and what is considered politically fair is often in the eye of the beholder.

Democratic Lawmaker (3:44)

This is just despicable, disgusting and against Democratic values.

Tracy Mumford (3:49)

The decision to pull Kimmel's show set off a wave of criticism from Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who warned that the whole situation was like something out of what he called a dictator's playbook.

Democratic Lawmaker (4:02)

That is not what democracies do, that is what autocracies do. And it doesn't matter whether you agree with Kimmel or not, he has the right to free speech.

Tracy Mumford (4:11)

Kimmel is the second late night host in recent months to lose his slot. CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert show in July. The network cited financial reasons, but critics have claimed it was an attempt to stay on the good side of the fcc, whose approval it needed for a major merger. Colbert, like Kimmel, has been a frequent critic of President Trump.

Susan Menarez (4:38)

I want to be clear. Today should not be about me. Today should be about the future of trust in public health.

Tracy Mumford (4:49)

On Capitol Hill yesterday, Susan Menarez, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a stark warning, saying that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is ignoring science and putting public health at risk. Manaras was fired by Kennedy this summer after clashing with him over vaccines in a private meeting, which she shared new details about in testimony to the Senate.

Susan Menarez (5:12)

Health Committee, he called CDC the most corrupt federal agency in the world. He said that CDC employees were killing children and they don't care. He said that CDC employees were bought by the pharmaceutical industry.

Tracy Mumford (5:26)

Manara said Kennedy is particularly focused on the CDC's current immunization recommendations for kids, which protect against 16 diseases like polio, whooping cough and hepatitis B. She said Kennedy, who has spent years promoting baseless claims about the dangers of vaccines, told her he wants to change that guidance, going against long standing medical consensus. The panel that makes those recommendations meets today and tomorrow. Earlier this year, Kennedy fired all of the members of the panel, replacing them with his own picks, several of whom share his skepticism of vaccines. If the vaccine Advisory Panel makes recommendations to change the childhood vaccine schedule, should the American people have confidence in that decision? No. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician and one of the few Republicans who've publicly criticized Kennedy, said the health secretary is undermining the legitimacy of the government's public health guidance and that if the panel stops recommending some of the immunizations, Americans could have a harder time getting the shots for their kids since insurance might not cover them. For now, a trade group representing several major health insurance companies said their health plans will continue to cover the existing recommendations at least through the end of next year. In response to questions, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said that the committee will not change its recommendations without sound evidence and that any decision will ultimately be approved by the CDC's new acting director, Jim O'. Neill. O' Neill is a former Silicon Valley executive who has previously criticized vaccine mandates. He has no medical or scientific training.

Jerome Powell (7:19)

Today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to lower our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point.

Tracy Mumford (7:25)

The Federal Reserve has now lowered interest rates for the first time this year. The central bank had been holding them steady month after month as a way of keeping inflation in check. But the chair of the Fed, Jerome Powell, said yesterday that the Fed was acting on a new concern.

Jerome Powell (7:40)

So what's different now? What's different now is that you see a very different picture of the risks.

Tracy Mumford (7:45)

To the labor market, powell said. The Fed is closely monitoring what some economists have called ominous signs in that labor market unemployment has edged up and job growth slowed sharply this summer. Lowering interest rates could be a balm for that, by encouraging companies to borrow money, making them more likely to expand their payroll. Powell described the drop in rates as a risk management move. The rate drop comes as President Trump has tried to exert power over the Fed, a traditionally independent institution. He's repeatedly berated Powell for not dropping rates sooner and attempted to oust one of the Fed's governors, Lisa Cook, over claims of fraud. Just hours before the Fed's meeting, a new Trump appointee to the board, Stephen Myron, was sworn in. His appointment is an unorthodox arrangement since Myron says he's just taking a temporary leave of absence from a role he has at the White House, meaning while he's at the Fed, Trump is still technically his boss.

Josh Shapiro (8:52)

I'm going to address you this evening concerning a critical incident that has rocked the community here in York county in Pennsylvania.

Tracy Mumford (9:00)

Authorities say three police officers were fatally shot yesterday while trying to serve a warrant in a rural part of the state. Two other officers were seriously injured.

Josh Shapiro (9:09)

I can confirm that the shooter is dead.

Tracy Mumford (9:12)

The shooting took place a little after 2pm on a quiet country road a couple miles outside of an old mill town. Officers were there following up on what authorities described as a domestic related investigation. They gave few other details. Studies have shown that domestic violence related calls are among the most dangerous situations for police officers. A federal report found that those kinds of calls were responsible for the highest number of police fatalities. Pennsylvania's governor Josh Shapiro joined authorities at the press conference announcing the officers deaths.

Josh Shapiro (9:46)

This kind of violence isn't okay. We need to do better as a society. We need to help the people who think that picking up a gun, picking up a weapon is the answer to resolving disputes so we don't have to deal with tragedies like this.

Tracy Mumford (10:09)

And finally, did you understand a word of that?

Political Commentator (10:12)

Our universal translators must be malfunctioning.

Tracy Mumford (10:14)

The idea of headsets that can instantly translate any language, importing preferences and calibrating virtual environments or glasses, with a virtual assistant built in, ready to help. All of that used to be the domain of science fiction and experimental devices, but the tech giants Apple and Meta are now both trotting out their own versions. Apple's newest earbuds use artificial intelligence for real time translations. Times tech columnist Brian Chen just used them to catch up with a friend who talked all about what he'd done this summer in Spanish, a language Brian doesn't speak. Brian says he then reviewed the transcript with his friend afterwards and other than a few minor mistakes, the headphones gave a solid translation. And yesterday Meta unveiled new smart glasses. They've had a version of these on the market for a few years that can take photos and videos, but the latest ones have a tiny built in screen that can display apps. They also have a built in AI assistant who responds to voice commands and can see what you're looking at through a camera.

Brendan Carr (11:18)

There we go.

Tracy Mumford (11:19)

Uh oh. Tricky thing is that when CEO Mark Zuckerberg tried to show off the glasses yesterday, demonstrating how they could look up a barbecue sauce recipe or take a video call, they didn't quite work. I don't know what to tell you guys. Zuckerberg laughed it off, saying they tell us not to do live demos. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest and the Friday News quiz.