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Today is Friday, September 5th. We'll tell you about an especially heated hearing on Capitol Hill as senators from both parties grilled Health Secretary RFK Jr. Also President Trump's new name for the Defense Department and the storms that could impact parts of the US Starting today. Plus, we're remembering a fashion icon explaining how American Eagle's been doing since its controversial ad campaign and telling you how a 9 year old skipped the lemonade and found a sweeter way to make his neighbors smile. Those stories and even more news to know coming up. Welcome. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in around 10 minutes. Fast, fair, fun and on the go. I'm Erica. Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. You ready? Let's do this. It's being called perhaps the most combative congressional hearing of the year so far. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Was questioned by a bipartisan Senate committee and and senators on both sides of the aisle raise concerns about the direction he's taking with the CDC and American vaccine policy. Right away, RFK Jr. Defended his actions, saying the adjustments he made were necessary in the face of what he called a chronic disease crisis in the US his testimony actually came the same day the Wall Street Journal published an op ed from the last CDC director, Susan Monarz. In that op ed, Monorez says she refused to give blanket approval to future vaccine recommendations from his handpicked immunizations committee and that she got in trouble for insisting all recommendations be based on data, not ideology. Well, RFK Jr said none of that is true. He says he wanted her fired because when he asked if she was trustworthy, she said no. At one point, Kennedy told lawmakers he did not know how many Americans died from COVID 19 and did not know whether the vaccine helped since he says there was data chaos. A Democratic senator raised his voice at that point asking, quote, how can you be that ignorant? And a couple of Republicans told Kennedy he was undermining President Trump, specifically the Successes of the COVID 19 vaccine program the president launched in his first term. They pointed out how most of the vaccines developed under Operation Warp Speed were based on MRNA technology. Now RFK junior Has decided to end the federal government's work on developing more MRNA vaccines for flu, Covid and other infectious diseases. In response, Kennedy asked whether lawmakers actually wanted him to answer questions or if they just wanted to give speeches. After the hearing, President Trump said he didn't watch, but that he heard the health secretary did very well. Kennedy's next test comes later this month when his immunization Committee members are meeting to talk about vaccines for COVID 19, hepatitis B, measles, and more. Stay tuned. President Trump plans to rename the Department of Defense. He's set to sign an executive order to instead call it the Department of War. It was actually called that when the US Constitution took effect in the 18th century, not and then it was renamed after the end of World War II. But Trump has said the US had an unbelievable history of victory under the old name, so he wants it back. Technically, he can't do that without an act of Congress. So the executive order will make the Department of War the agency's secondary name. Still, the White House plans to use it for official correspondence and public communications. Pete Hegseth is also planning to change his title to the Secretary of War. This will be Trump's 200th executive order since taking office. As thousands of National Guard troops patrol Washington, D.C. the city's government is fighting back in court. Washington, D.C. sued the Trump administration yesterday over the troops deployment, saying it's unconstitutional and illegal. Critics have been saying that for weeks now, warning Trump's actions could end up sparking tensions between the military and civilians. The White House responded, calling the lawsuit nothing more than another attempt to undermine the president's highly successful operations. Either way, the case could help set the standards for when the National Guard can and should be used to help fight crime in the U.S. as we've mentioned, President Trump is also talking about sending troops into cities like Chicago, Baltimore, and New Orleans. It seems Alligator Alcatraz won't have to close after all. Remember last month we told you a federal judge ordered the first state run immigration detention facility to be dismantled? Well, this week, an appeals court decided to put that order on hold. So Alligator Alcatraz will be able to keep holding migrants and more migrants are allowed to be sent there, at least for now. But. But lawyers are expected to keep going through the appeals process. The original ruling said the government did not consider the environmental impacts of building the facility. And now environmental organizations say the fight is not over. Meanwhile, the White House announced another new tool in its immigration crackdown. It says the agency in charge of issuing citizenship visas and green cards is now forming its own police force of armed agents who can make arrests. U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services is getting ready to train several hundred law enforcement agencies to look for fraud in immigration applications and arrest the immigrants or lawyers who file. Until now, the USCIS was purposely kept separate from immigration enforcement so immigrants could feel comfortable submitting their personal information to the government and showing up for their interviews. But Even before this new force was announced, agents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement under President Trump have been arresting immigrants at their interviews. So Trump officials say the new agents should not make much of a difference for most immigrants who make legitimate requests, just those who lie on their applications. To be Continued Two severe storms could impact parts of the US over the next few days. First, there's Tropical Storm Lorena. It's expected to move into northwestern Mexico soon, and it could bring some heavy rain and flash flooding to the American Southwest today and tomorrow. Flood watches are in effect for parts of California and Arizona. Also forming in the Pacific Ocean is Hurricane Kiko that as of early this morning is a major Category 3 storm. Forecasters believe it will weaken as it moves into cooler waters, but Hawaii could still end up seeing dangerously high surf and strong winds next week. On the other side of the country, September is historically known as the most active month of Atlantic hurricane season, and hurricane activity is expected to pick up in the weeks ahead. More news still coming up, but first, this episode is brought to you by Quints. When I think about pieces that make my life a little easier, both in my closet and when I'm traveling, and Quint's comes to mind. I have their washable silk tank, for example. It looks elegant enough to wear to dinner, but it's also practical. I can toss it in the wash and it still looks great. It's that perfect balance of polished and easy. I also have their Carry on suitcase and it's become my go to for trips. It's sturdy, stylish and honestly feels like something I should have paid much more for, but it was a fraction of the price. This is what I love about Quince. They have everything from 100% Mongolian cashmere starting at $50 to wool sweaters and coats that look designer level to beautiful accessories. And by partnering directly with ethical top tier factories and cutting out the middlemen, they deliver luxury quality pieces at half the price of similar brands. Keep it classic and cozy this fall with long lasting staples from quince Go to quince.comnewsworthy for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q U I N C E.comnewsworthy to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com/newsworthy now back to the news. President Trump hosted dozens of the biggest names in tech at the White House last night. We're talking about the leaders of Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Google, OpenAI and so on. One notable exception was Tesla X and SpaceX leader Elon Musk who was once one of Trump's closest allies. Musk wrote on social media simply that he could not attend. At the dinner, President Trump explained all the ways the government is making the US More welcoming to technology development, like making sure there's enough energy to meet the power demands of data centers, lowering business taxes, and more. Then he went around the table, asking each executive to talk about their plans to expand in the US earlier in the day, first lady Melania Trump hosted many of the same executives at a White House event focused on artificial intelligence. She said teaching students AI literacy from an early age is key to American success, and she encouraged the tech leaders to expand AI responsibly. The leader of another prestigious university has stepped down. Northwestern's president, Michael Schill resigned in the face of White House pressure. The Trump administration has been criticizing the university over its handling of last year's campus protests. Northwestern had nearly $800 million in federal research money frozen, impacting hundreds of scientific projects and more than 400 jobs. The university has been trying to negotiate with the White House to release that funding. It's not clear if Shell's resignation has anything to do with those negotiations, but in announcing his resignation, Schill did say the university is facing serious and often painful challenges and that it's critical to protect the university's research mission. The White House just says it looks forward to working with a new leader, but Schill will stay on as president until a new one is chosen. The world is saying goodbye to an iconic fashion designer who was known for styling a list celebrities and bringing power suits to America. Giorgio armani died at 91 years old in Milan. He debuted his first collection in 1975 at 40 years old, determined to make an alternative to heavy, bulky suits that were trendy at the time. So he came up with a more streamlined design that really took off in the 1980s. Armani was also widely credited as one of the first designers to recognize and harness the value of the red carpet by offering his services to rising stars. Over time, his name became synonymous with luxury, and his business empire was worth billions. He actually worked up until his final days. Following news of Armani's death, tributes have been pouring in from other fashion and entertainment megastars like Donatella Versace, Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Morgan Freeman and many more. The American Eagle campaign that went viral this summer seems to have been hugely successful despite or perhaps because of backlash. It's the one featuring actress Sydney Sweeney and the good jeans tagline. The company says it was always about jeans, as in denim. But critics say it was clearly a play on the word genes, as in genetics. And since Sweeney is white with blonde hair and blue eyes, it sparked conversations about race and beauty standards as well as backlash to what's known as woke American culture. Well now American Eagle reports it saw record breaking numbers after the ad launched. The so called Sydney jacket she wore in the ad sold out in one day and the Sydney jeans sold out in a week. Plus, the company says items in her curated Sid's Picks shop are performing four times better than its other women's items. After revealing all that yesterday, American Eagle shares spiked 34%. Now the company says Sweeney will stay on as part of the team in the second half of the year and the Good Genes campaign will keep going with some new elements. Well, that's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Feel Good Friday when we bring you one extra feel good or positive news story before the weekend. But first, a quick break to thank our sponsor. So we're working to settle into our new back to school morning routine. But what hasn't changed is that enjoying my coffee from trade is one of the best parts of my mornings. My own little ritual just for me. Trade makes it so easy to have cafe quality coffee at home, whether it's the smooth cold brew on the days that still feel like summer or a warm mug as fall starts to bring those cool cloudy mornings. In fact, trade works with more than 50 top roasters around the country. So not only am I getting this high quality delicious coffee, but also I'm supporting local roasters around America. I love that you can even take a quiz in under a minute to get personalized recommendations. And if your first bag is not quite right, trade will replace it for free until they get it perfect. I've said it before, but I think it's so telling. My husband only started drinking coffee and making it part of his mornings too after I started raving about the coffee from trade. And right now Trade is offering 50% off a one month trial at drinktrade.comnewsworthy that's drinktrade.comnewsworthy to get 50% off half off one month drinktrade.comnewsworthy now back to Feel Good Friday. Nine year old Ethan Wargo in Sycamore, Illinois has been spending his summer offering compliments. Complimentary running what he calls a compliment stand. It's kind of like a lemonade stand. But instead of charging for drinks, he's offering kind words for free. Every morning he sets up a little table and offers personalized compliments and encouragement to anyone who stops by, from praising their clothes to liking a unique name, to offering an enthusiastic you can do it to a neighbor who is nervous about a new job. He got the idea from a graphic novel he likes that has a free insult stand. He said that inspired him to offer the opposite. His kindness went a bit viral online, leading to more visitors. So far, he estimates he's given compliments to at least 60 people, many of whom have come back multiple times. It also led to a local news story, which led to some national news stories, and he's even received some small tips and donations from visitors. But for Ethan, it's just about making people smile. As he put it. It makes people feel good, and it also makes me feel good, too. Thank you so much for listening today. We'll be back tomorrow with our special edition Saturday Episod. We're discussing the current housing market, including what some call an affordability crisis, and we're explaining what Congress might do about it. Then we'll be back on Monday with the latest news to know. For now, have a great week.
