Boat Strike Inquiry

Plus: Hep B vaccines, national parks nonsense, Trump involvement in Netflix deal, and more...

What happened on September 2? Over the weekend, top Democrats called for the release of classified materials pertaining to the U.S. military's September 2 boat attack.

"Democrats and Republicans have offered starkly different descriptions of the video, which was seen by some members of Congress but has not been made public," reports The New York Times. "Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said it was 'simply not accurate' that the video of the Sept. 2 strike on the boat carrying 11 individuals showed the survivors trying to flip a capsized boat, rescue its cargo and continue trafficking drugs, as Republicans in Congress have maintained." That boat strike in particular was controversial because, when members of the U.S. military detected survivors, they struck again to ensure they killed everyone in sight.

"Military officials have argued that the follow-up strike was lawful because the two survivors could have been trying to communicate with other alleged drug traffickers to rescue them," reports the Times. "But legal experts have said that second strike could be a war crime, citing the laws of armed conflict that forbid targeting enemies who have been shipwrecked and are out of the fight."

"It seems pretty clear they don't want to release this video because they don't want people to see it, because it's very, very difficult to justify," said Smith on one of the weekend news shows.

President Donald Trump said last week he would have "no problem" making the video public. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on the other hand, said he might object to that, claiming that it could "compromise sources and methods."

Follow up: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "vaccine advisory panel voted Friday to change the recommendation for when children should get their first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine," reports CBS. "Instead of a first dose within 24 hours of birth—as the CDC has advised for more than 30 years—the panel voted to recommend delaying it until a child is 2 months old for children born to mothers who test negative for the virus."

As I've written previously, this is a welcome change for parents worried about overly broad public health guidance. American mothers who receive prenatal care—so nearly all of them—already get tested in pregnancy for Hepatitis B, which is spread through infected blood or bodily fluids (sex, needles, and the like).

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., spent a fair bit of their December meeting arguing over this issue. Recommendations from ACIP go to the CDC director for approval. Though public health decisions like these are left to the states, ACIP's recommendations matter to insurance companies: Private insurers tend to be forced to cover the recommended vaccines. If birth doses of the Hep B vaccine are no longer recommended, it's possible that insurer coverage could change. (The panel has not recommended that children forego the Hep B shot altogether, just that it is delayed until the two-month appointment versus given within the first few hours of birth.)

I can understand people feeling that universalized public health approaches are the best way to ensure no at-risk child slips through the cracks and contracts a terrible disease. At the same time, it is a bit crazymaking to have your child be given shots that they specifically don't need when they are all of 12 hours old, all for the sake of the greater good. I am personally happy to have this specific recommendation changed.

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Scenes from New York: Get outta here, Chi Ossé.

Ossé, a councilmember (formerly mine) who represents a lot of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, had mounted a primary challenge against Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and hoped to win the Democratic Socialists of America's endorsement and (apparently activated) bloc of voters.

Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani "took the unusual step of lobbying the Democratic Socialists of America, the small but increasingly influential leftist group that helped power his campaign, not to back Mr. Ossé, an ally," reports The New York Times. Mamdani "argued that a race against Mr. Jeffries would be a messy distraction that could undermine his mayoralty."

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QUICK HITS

• Dare I make a prediction? This year's Webathon might possibly out-fundraise our record-setting 2023. Your generosity has been so touching—do I lose Randian points when I say things like generosity and touching?—but perhaps the most touching thing has been READING ALL THE GREAT THINGS YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ROUNDUP! Give here if you feel inclined! Know that each positive comment brings a tear of gratitude to my 36-weeks pregnant eyes (and that each negative comment takes me weeks to emotionally recover from in my current state).
• "Donald Trump Jr. criticized corruption in Ukraine and suggested Sunday that his father may walk away from the country if it doesn't make peace with Russia," reports Politico. 
• "The National Park Service will offer free admission to U.S. residents on President Donald Trump's birthday next year—which also happens to be Flag Day—but is eliminating the benefit for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth," reports the Associated Press. Of course, we could pursue park self-sufficiency and have every parksgoer pay more, and pay every time they visit, and stop subsidizing via the federal budget (which would incidentally allow parks to perhaps stay fully operational during government shutdowns), but instead we're apparently gonna do a little freakout about this Trump move.
• Formerly, H1-B visa holder physicians were a huge part of health care provision in rural areas of the United States. Now that the administration upped the fees they must pay—seemingly to make it harder for foreign nationals to come work here, and to give a leg up to American workers—rural areas are struggling with worsened physician shortages.
• "Trump says he will be 'involved' in vetting Netflix-Warner deal," reports The Washington Post. I'm sorry, but isn't this the absolute last thing we want presidents spending time on?