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CDC tells about 180 fired employees to come back to work

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The nation’s top public health agency says about 180 employees who were laid off two weeks ago can come back to work.

Emails went out Tuesday to some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention probationary employees who got termination notices last month, according to current and former CDC employees.

A message seen by the Associated Press was sent with the subject line, “Read this e-mail immediately.” It said that “after further review and consideration,” a Feb. 15 termination notice has been rescinded and the employee was cleared to return to work on Wednesday. “You should return to duty under your previous work schedule,” it said. “We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused.”

About 180 people received reinstatement emails, according to two federal health officials who were briefed on the tally but were not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It’s not clear how many of the reinstated employees returned to work Wednesday. And it’s also unclear whether the employees would be spared from widespread job cuts that are expected soon across government agencies.

The CDC is the latest federal agency trying to coax back workers soon after they were dismissed as part of President Donald Trump’s and billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting purge. Similar reversals have been made among employees responsible for medical device oversight, food safety, bird flu response, nuclear weapons and national parks.

The Atlanta-based CDC is charged with protecting Americans from outbreaks and other public health threats. Before the job cuts, the agency had about 13,000 employees.

Last month, Trump administration officials told the CDC that nearly 1,300 of the agency’s probationary employees would be let go. That tally quickly changed, as the number who actually got termination notices turned out to be 700 to 750.

With 180 more people now being told they can return, the actual number of CDC employees terminated so far would seem to stand somewhere around 550. But federal health officials haven’t confirmed any specifics.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month pledged “ radical transparency ” at the department, but HHS officials have not provided detail about CDC staff changes and did not respond to emailed requests on Tuesday and Wednesday. An agency spokesman, Andrew Nixon, previously told the AP only that CDC had more full-time employees after the job cuts than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those who received reinstatement emails included outbreak responders in two fellowship programs — a two-year training that prepares recent graduates to enter the public health workforce through field experience and a laboratory program that brings in doctorate-holding professionals.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock celebrated the reinstatements, but said it’s not enough.

“Today’s announcement is a welcome relief, but until all fired CDC employees are restored, our country’s public health and national security will continue to be at risk,” Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.


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Tate brothers fume amid James Uthmeier criminal probe

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Andrew and Tristan Tate are firing back at the DeSantis administration after the state opened a criminal investigation against them.

The fusillade from the brothers, who left Romania last week under the cloud of criminal investigation for human trafficking (allegations they deny), has been constant since Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that his office is using the “full force of law,” including “secured and executed subpoenas and warrants,” against the Tates.

“Absolute communism. I’ve been in America for 5 days. I sat on my laptop and did a podcast. Insanity,” Andrew Tate wrote Tuesday on X.

“I am super disappointed in the United States. This isn’t the America I know. This is a sad sad day for America,” he added. “Trying to find crimes on an innocent man. I’m not afraid. I’m genuinely just disappointed.”

Tristan Tate has been no less defiant.

“I am an American citizen who has been put through hell by a foreign judicial system and I have a totally CLEAN criminal record in every country on earth. You do not tell me I am not welcome in my own country. Ever,” he posted.

Upon their arrival a week ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Uthmeier was seeing “what state hooks and jurisdiction we may have to be able to deal with this” after saying regarding the Tates that “Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct.”

And in his comments earlier this week, the new Attorney General confirmed that the state would “pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable.”

The Tates maintain their innocence, meanwhile, and have strategically used retweets to make their case that the investigation is illegitimate.

“The investigation … is a fishing expedition. It’s a disgrace. If Florida was so concerned about his crimes why haven’t they been investigating him until now, why are they executing search warrants with no probable cause. Pathetic,” reads one from The Quartering.

DeSantis nemesis Roger Stone also made a cameo.

“Listen and learn, Meatball, as the Age of Men returns while you are left carrying the purse of your wife for her soon-to-be-failed gubernatorial ambitions. Ron DeSanctimonious will never be a Top G,” Stone said.

But in the end, DeSantis may succeed in purging the Tates from the state, however momentarily.

“I’m going back to Romania in a few days anyway,” Andrew posted.


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Conservative poll finds Donald Trump popularity at all-time high

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Polling released at a conservative gathering in Washington shows voters shifting in favor of President Donald Trump. Moreover, it finds support for several longtime conservative priorities at an all-time high.

But OnMessage Public Strategies’ Wes Anderson warned attendees of the Rescuing the American Dream summit not to claim victory too quickly.

“Don’t assume that it’s a huge amount of trust and faith that the voters have given our side,” he said. “What they decided is because the other side is crazy, it must be opposed. We still have a lot of work on our side to do to try to capitalize on that.”

The survey found that Trump enjoys positive favorability now, with 50% of voters rating his image positively and 47% seeing him negatively. While that’s just a net of +3, Anderson said that’s the highest rating the Republican leader has enjoyed since he announced his first presidential campaign in 2016.

Stu Sandler, a partner at OnMessage who has managed super PACs supporting U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, said the reason is likely Trump’s focus on a handful of issues polling extremely well across the political spectrum.

That gives Sandler greater confidence than historical trends might suggest about Republicans’ chances in the Midterms. Historically, voters punish the party in power, but he said Democrats have put themselves in a corner with a few key issues.

“Trump is really smartly talking about issues where America is with him,” Sandler said.

A proposal to eliminate taxes on tips, for example, is popular with 65% of voters, and 74% generally support reducing regulations on small businesses.

And on several social issues, Republicans see things trending continuously for the Right. About 69% of voters support Trump’s ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports, which transcends party lines, and 60% ban a ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

Anderson said Republicans were once afraid to touch the issue and Democrats believed that the matter, like same-sex marriage, would ultimately see the public buy in with the Left. But instead, voters are shifting further to the right on transgender topics.

“There are even some slightly left-of-center suburban voters who live in fear that this issue is going to impact their family negatively,” Sandler said.

Meanwhile, the popularity of Republicans is even moving voters on some economic issues that were long unpopular. For example, 54% of voters now feel favorable about lowering corporate tax rates.


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Thad Altman puts his support behind Terry Cronin in HD 32 Special Election

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The Brevard County Commissioner spent decades in the Legislature.

Brevard County Commissioner Thad Altman has made his choice known in a coming House Special Election. The former lawmaker is endorsing Dr. Terry Cronin in the Republican Primary in House District 32.

“For years, I have been a champion for conservative America First policies for the Space Coast and I firmly believe Terry Cronin is the best candidate in this race that can support President (Donald) Trump in Tallahassee,” Altman said.

“For 52 years, Terry has called Brevard County home and I trust him to take his long-time love of our community to the Florida House to fight for lower insurance rates, safer neighborhoods, and better schools for our children.”

Altman, an Indialantic Republican, served in the Legislature himself for more than 20 years. He also won election to the House in a Special Election in 2003, then won a Senate seat in 2008. Altman returned to the House in 2016 after he was termed out of the upper chamber. He served there until last November when he won his seat on the Brevard County Commission. He previously served on the Commission in the 1980s as well.

Cronin embraced Altman’s support.

“Through his time in public service, it is well-known that Commissioner Altman truly understands the needs of Brevard better than anyone,” Cronin said. “I’m thankful to have his support and as I continue throughout this campaign, I look forward to partnering with him as we work together to Make America Great and Keep Florida Free.”

Cronin, a dermatologist, owns the Cronin Skin Cancer Center. He is one of three candidates running in the Special Election to succeed Rep. Debbie Mayfield, who resigned her seat to run in a Special Election in Senate District 19.

Republican Primaries are scheduled in both those Space Coast races on April 1. The winner of the GOP Primary in HD 32 will advance to a June 10 Special General Election.


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