THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—A newly released email suggests that the nation’s top vaccine regulator encouraged Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins to leverage billions in scientific research dollars to study COVID vaccine side effects—but they never followed through on her request.

In the spring of 2021, Janet Woodcock, then head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), wrote to the leaders of the National Institutes of Health—the country’s leading funder of medical science—to encourage a study into reports she had received of adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination.

Woodcock had received many of these reports from “healthcare professionals,” she wrote in the email released by Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and obtained from Fauci’s government email.

“The symptoms do not fit together into a distinctive syndrome and most are not easily quantifiable or evaluated with standard laboratory testing,” she wrote in the May 27, 2021 correspondence. “Clearly during mass vaccination you will get a lot of psychological reactions and it is hard to sort these things out. But the peoples’ main complaint is that no one takes them seriously, no one knows how to treat them, and there is no effort to study this.”

Woodcock said that these studies should be undertaken even if the vaccine makers would not support them.

“I doubt the industry would support, for obvious reasons,” she wrote in the email. “But my experience is, that if you let a problem fester, then it will come back to bite you later and you are not prepared.”

Woodcock was an FDA official for 37 years and cultivated a reputation for being friendly to the pharmaceutical industry and industry-backed patient groups. Yet she apparently recognized the importance of studying vaccine side effects outside of the context of the pharmaceutical companies’ clinical trials.

Woodcock warned that the existing safety surveillance systems at both the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were not be sophisticated enough to adequately detect and describe some side effects.

“These problems are not the sort that a system like VAERS would be able to detect, or even a more sophisticated population-based active followup [sic] such as CDC has, or a medical record based system such as BEST [an FDA safety surveillance system],” she said.

Despite the roughly $5.5 billion in research dollars that Fauci steered as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, it’s not clear the sort of study Woodcock suggested was ever conducted.

An April investigation by Johnson first revealed that another top FDA official, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Peter Marks, brushed off warnings from a safety data expert that FDA systems could be inadequately sensitive and missing statistically significant side effects. Marks said the analysis could “create erroneous conflicts that feed in to anti-vaccination rhetoric,” per Johnson’s report.

Fauci and Collins did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An email requesting comment from Marks sent through Eli Lilly, where he now serves as senior vice president of molecule discovery, did not receive an immediate response. An email requesting comment from Woodcock sent through Every Cure, a patient advocacy group with Woodcock on the board, did not receive an immediate response.

Regarding Woodock’s email, Fauci noted to Collins that “we cannot ignore her” and suggested alerting then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

“Janet [Woodcock] asks what we think of this? We cannot ignore her. We should probably bring in CDC and see what Rochelle [Walensky] thinks,” he wrote.

Johnson’s office noted in a press release that it’s not clear whether she ever was.

When Republicans retook control of the Senate in 2025, Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul gained the chairmanship of the key the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) and began the process of compelling testimony and subpoenaing records. Johnson simultaneously also became chair of the HSGAC’s chief investigative subcommittee.

Originally published by The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) said “it’s time” to abolish the Electoral College to have direct election of the president and vice president. Partial transcript as follows: ED O’KEEFE: Well, what I’m curious about is what-

The post Gov. Beshear: ‘It’s Time’ to Abolish the Electoral College appeared first on Breitbart.

This Sunday, following the ridiculous effort by Margaret Brennan to defend Anthony Fauci and attack the administration over the change in the vaccine schedule, the Trump team have embargoed CBS from administration participation.  No officials gave CBS any time at all. Dept of Justice Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press to debate […]

The post Sunday Talks: AG Todd Blanche -vs- DSA Advocate Kirsten Welker appeared first on The Last Refuge.

The Democratic Socialists of America website called deceased Cuban dictator Fidel Castro a “stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination,” while denouncing Secretary of State Marco Rubio as genocidal.

In a tribute to Castro on what would have been his 100th birthday Thursday, the DSA website commemorated the “historic significance of both this day and the man.”

The fast-growing socialist organization that’s made strong inroads in Democratic Party primary elections over the past year, said that they have “a long history of solidarity with the Cuban people, their revolution, and their self-determination.”

The DSA statement said that it used the Castro commemoration to “recommit ourselves to acting in solidarity with the Cuban people,” and to “opposing Marco Rubio’s genocidal war against the Cuban people and US imperialism writ large.”

They blasted the Trump administration but directed particularly strong criticism toward Rubio.

“The Trump Administration, under the leadership of Marco Rubio, is waging an indiscriminate war against the Cuban people and killing women, children, and babies by illegally blockading critical resources from the Caribbean nation. By intentionally imposing conditions calculated to kill a civilian population, Marco Rubio is leading a genocide,” the DSA statement read. 

DSA then listed a series of demands.

• an end to the genocidal blockade
• an end to all threats of military violence against Cuba
• an end to all imperialist aggression against Cuba
• the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba
• reparations payments to be made to Cuba for the trillions of dollars in damages the blockade has cost the Cuban people 
• the prosecution of Marco Rubio for crimes against humanity

Other socialists also praised Castro this week including online influencer Hasan Piker who declared in a recent video, “I love [Vladimir] Lenin, I love Fidel Castro and I love Che Guevara. They are genuinely —- heroes.”

Social media users heaped criticism on the DSA for praising Castro and said that it was shameful for the organization to tout human rights while praising a brutal dictator.

Others called them anti-American.

Guy Benson at Fox News called the DSA “depraved commies.”

The State Department recently reported that Cuba has been a major source of far-Left activism and even terrorism in the United States and around the world since Castro came to power.

In a July report titled “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism,” the State Department explained how the small island nation has mastered spreading ideology as its chief export.

“To mistake Cuba’s poverty for harmlessness is to misunderstand the threat entirely,” the report argued. “Its material weakness was never the measure of its danger. Its power was always ideological, subversive, and parasitic—and it has proven remarkably durable, outlasting the Soviet empire that helped build it and grafting itself onto every new enemy of the United States that has arisen since.”

Rubio himself wrote on X Friday that Castro, “was a complete failure at everything except destroying Cuba and impoverishing, jailing and murdering his own people.

Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez, R-Fla., responded to Rubio, saying that Castro was a “serial-killer” who destroyed what was good about Cuba.

“Those who praise Castro belong with him in the ash heap of history!” he wrote.

Despite praising Castro, the DSA has reportedly said that it rejects “authoritarian visions of socialism.”

President Donald Trump scored a big victory Friday after an Obama-appointed judge cleared the way for immigration officials to end temporary legal protections for thousands of Somali nationals living in the United States.

The post Obama-Appointed Judge Defers to Supreme Court Ruling, Gives Trump a Somali Deportation Win appeared first on Breitbart.

Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said President Donald Trump does not communicate the economic pain of everyday Americans well. Partial transcript as follows: BACON: But I think with the- he started out this whole war with, “This

The post GOP Rep. Bacon: Trump Doesn’t Communicate Voters’ Economic Pain Well appeared first on Breitbart.

Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb (D) said the United States is “not a purely capitalistic society.” Partial transcript as follows: ED O’KEEFE: Part of the reason why we wanted to have someone like you here,

The post Democratic Socialist Candidate Rabb: U.S. ‘Is Not a Purely Capitalistic Society’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents teamed up with the Mexican Navy to seize nearly seven tons of cocaine during operations in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chiapas, Mexico. Officials estimate the street value of the drugs to be more than $120 million (USD).

The post EXCLUSIVE: U.S.-Mexico Team Up to Seize Seven Tons of Cocaine in Pacific Operations appeared first on Breitbart.

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said President Donald Trump views servicemembers as “toys” and props to show off strength. Partial transcript as follows: GALLEGO:  Well, I’m glad they’re resolving their problems now, but where was the leadership

The post Gallego: Trump Views Servicemembers as ‘Toys’ to Show Off appeared first on Breitbart.

Three federal agencies gathered in San Diego on Wednesday to announce a new “treatment first” approach aimed at addressing California’s long-running homelessness crisis.

Since 2016, California has followed a “housing first” model after then-Gov. Jerry Brown required state-funded homelessness programs to incorporate its core components. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)  jointly rolled out a different strategy. 

HUD Secretary Scott Turner exclusively told the Daily Signal the program pairs treatment with housing to build self-sufficiency among people experiencing homelessness.

“It’s not just treatment. What they’re used to is just housing. This is a totally different mindset. It’s treatment with housing. They have to go together. You can’t just house people and then leave them. That’s how you create a homeless industrial complex,” Turner said. “People literally getting placed inside of houses that are addicted to drugs and dying in that house because of housing first.”

“We are literally this continuum of care. It’s all in the name. You house them. You continue to treat them. You get them transformed, and then you get them to a life of self-sufficiency,” Turner added. “Again, there’s going to be pushback because people don’t want change. People don’t want transformation. People want the status quo.”

The administration describes the new approach as a first-of-its-kind toolkit that offers communities “practical and proven strategies to help Americans transition from homelessness and addiction to recovery and self-sufficiency.”

According to the toolkit, about 75% of homeless people struggle with addiction and an estimated 78% face mental illness. The framework outlines a seven-step process that includes street-level engagement, recovery-oriented housing, partnerships with faith-based and community organizations, and special attention to families and children.

The goal is for street outreach to move people into recovery programs, then through structured housing, employment, and independence, with clear accountability for results. The toolkit cites organizations already using similar methods, including Haven for Hope, Helping Up Mission, and The Mission at Kern County.

Haven for Hope published a 15-year review showing that 65% of people needed only one stay. Among those single-stay clients, more than 90% did not return to homelessness at the one-, five-, and 10-year marks. Housing retention after exit was roughly 92% to 94% still housed at 12 months.

In California, The Mission at Kern County reported placing 216 people into permanent housing in 2025 and celebrating 32 program graduates. In one job-training cohort with local partners, 90% of graduates received a job offer within 30 days and 82% remained employed later.

When asked what success would look like, Turner told the Daily Signal it would involve “public-private partnerships, faith-based entities coming together, private people coming together to attack homelessness by treatment, not just housing them.” 

“One at a time, one woman, one man, one family at a time. Get them off the streets. Treat their mental illness, drug addiction, domestic violence, prostitution, sex trafficking, whatever it may be,” Turner said. “Hit those head-on with industry experts, practitioners, the best of the best around the country, who are willing and able to do this. That’s who created our toolkit, along with HHS, us, and ONDCP.”

“The more people that you get healed and transformed out of mental illness, out of drug addiction, and to a life of self-sustainability, as you heard from the testimonies here today, it is possible,” Turner added. “There are many out here who have gone through treatment, housing, transformation, and now living their lives, getting their families back. That’s success. That’s what we’re after. Every waking moment that God gives us, that’s what we want to do.”

Under Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state has heavily promoted the housing first approach and spent an estimated $37 billion on housing and homelessness-related programs since the 2019-20 fiscal year, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. The total includes major programs such as HHAP, Homekey, and Encampment Resolution Funding.

During the announcement, Turner told the Daily Signal he had not heard from the Newsom administration when asked about pushback as the announcement has just been rolled out.

“I’m not worried about pushback. Now I’m pushing back with policies. So no, I haven’t talked to them yet. But I don’t need to talk to them. What I need to do is get the right people at the table, the right partners at the table that want to be here to bring transformation, that want to help our most vulnerable people in our country as it pertains to homelessness,” Turner said. 

“So if Gov. Newsom, if Mayor [Karen] Bass, if they want to come to the table and talk about transformation, if they want to talk about treatment first and not housing first, I would welcome them,” Turner continued. “Them and anyone else that wants to join and do the right thing.”

A spokesperson for Newsom told the Daily Signal the administration’s work since 2019 has produced the “largest drop in unsheltered homelessness in 16 years,” citing “the Trump administration’s own data.”

“California’s work since 2019 to address homelessness and address a mental health crisis created under former Gov. Ronald Reagan has resulted in the largest drop in unsheltered homelessness in 16 years,” spokesperson Tara Gallegos stated. 

Despite Newsom previously citing a 9% decrease in unsheltered homelessness between 2024 and 2025, HUD’s full report released in July showed the actual decline was about 6.8%. Compared with when Newsom took office in 2019, unsheltered homelessness has risen roughly 6.8%, from 108,432 to 115,583 by 2025. 

Overall homelessness in the state has increased about 20% during his tenure, climbing from 151,278 in 2019 to 181,934 in 2025, according to HUD Point-in-Time counts.