Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled Wednesday on Capitol Hill, where he talked about measles, vaccines, fluoride and more.USA TODAY Education Reporter Zach Schermele discusses why the Trump administration's policies could jeopardize the tens of billions of dollars foreign students bring to colleges and cities.Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused a House Democrat of defending a terrorist after he suggested she was ignoring a court order to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported.Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova has been charged with smuggling as she fights deportation.USA TODAY Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn takes a look at a wave of legislation targeting diversity, equity and inclusion that's moving through Republican-controlled statehouses.Why are woodpeckers attacking cars?Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to [email protected] Transcript available hereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What happened during RFK Jr.'s contentious hearing?
Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Thursday, May 15th, 2025. This is The Excerpt. Today we break down a fiery hearing over health and RFK Jr. 's plans, plus international college students bring billions to the U.S. That may change, and how Republican state houses are joining Trump's fight to root out DEI. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
defended the president's proposed cuts to top health agencies as committee members in the House and Senate peppered him with questions on a number of health topics and spending. Many questions revolved around the secretary's response to a measles epidemic, which last week crossed the 1,000 cases mark in the U.S., the largest single outbreak in 25 years.
The outbreak has also recently spread to both Mexico and Canada. If you had a child today, would you vaccinate that child for measles?
For measles? Um, Probably for measles. What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant. I have directed Jay Bhattacharya to the science so that everybody can make that decision. But I don't want to seem like I'm being evasive. Yeah. But I don't think people should be taking advice, medical advice from me. Right, no, I got that.
Chapter 2: What are RFK Jr.'s views on vaccines?
And I'm not asking you to give them medical advice, but would you vaccinate your child for measles? I think if I answer that question directly, that it will seem like I'm giving advice to other people, and I don't want to be doing that. I want people to make up their mind. But that's kind of your jurisdiction because CDC does give advice.
That was Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan from Wisconsin. When pressed on whether he would vaccinate his children for chickenpox and polio, Kennedy once again dodged the question and said he didn't want to be giving advice. Republican Rep.
Mike Simpson from Idaho, a dentist, expressed concerns to Kennedy about the fluoride issue, noting that the Food and Drug Administration, an agency of the HHS, announced it had begun removing ingestible fluoride supplements for children. Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in water, soil, and air, and has been demonstrated to prevent dental cavities and tooth decay.
For decades, it's been added to community water supplies and dental products like toothpaste. Utah has become the first state to remove fluoride from its drinking water, a ban that went into effect earlier this month. Florida and Ohio are also considering bans.
Chapter 3: Why is fluoride being debated in Congress?
Congressman also criticized the decision by the National Institutes of Health, which Kennedy oversees, to cut programs that research critical medical issues like maternal health, Alzheimer's treatment, and youth mental health. You can read more with a link in today's show notes. International students bring billions to the U.S., but that may be changing.
I spoke with USA Today education reporter Zach Shermaly to learn more. Hello, Zach. Hey, Taylor. Thanks for having me. Thanks for hopping on. So just starting here, kind of backtracking a little bit. What actions have we seen really from the Trump administration as it pertains to foreign students?
There have been a lot of actions, and I'll try and tick through a couple of them here. So in March, college officials started checking a federal immigration database that they have to use often. It's called the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, or SEVIS database, and they were really alarmed
to see that the Department of Homeland Security was beginning to quietly remove the records of what ultimately became thousands of foreign students. At first, it wasn't really clear why the students' records were being terminated, but Then the Trump administration later revealed in a court battle that those names of students were being cross referenced with a separate criminal database.
So in some cases, students were being targeted simply for being involved in minor traffic violations. On April 16th, the Department of Homeland Security also threatened to impede Harvard University's ability to enroll students from abroad. And that would be a really unprecedented move that could devastate that campus if the White House moved forward with it.
What's wild is that amid all of that uncertainty at Harvard, that Ivy League school actually allowed international students in the undergraduate college to accept admissions offers from other schools in other countries in case something happened with their immigration status if they came to the U.S.
interesting we'll get to other countries here in a second zach but i i just i'm curious how much money do international students bring to the country and to these schools it's quite a bit right right and american colleges and universities have really long been the most sought after studying destinations for students across the globe hundreds of thousands come to the u.s annually to enroll in both undergraduate programs and graduate programs
In the 2023 to 2024 school year alone, more than 1.1 million foreign students contributed more than $43 billion to the U.S. economy. That's according to the Association of International Educators. That same association also estimates that they supported more than 378,000 jobs.
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Chapter 4: How do international students impact the U.S. economy?
So just in terms of how big a deal this might be, losing this block of students for the university, Zach, I mean, it seems like a massive deal.
Yeah, I don't think it's entirely understood by most folks that university budgets and research and teaching programs really rely heavily on the uninterrupted flow of international student enrollments. Unlike domestic students, international students are more likely to pay full tuition prices.
Chapter 5: What actions has the Trump administration taken regarding foreign students?
Also, when you think about science, technology, engineering and math graduate programs, STEM focused programs for fields like computer science, for instance, the number of foreign students typically outweighs the number of domestic students. And that dynamic in many cases makes it possible for U.S. born students to enroll in programs that they wouldn't otherwise be able to at certain schools.
You mentioned other countries earlier, Zach. I mean, are other countries stepping in to try and maybe lure international students to their own schools? Of course, this has always happened, but even more so in this moment.
The short answer is yes. So for scientists hoping to study in the U.S., the European Union has a clear message, which is come here instead. And colleges are worried that if the Trump administration continues on with some of its policies surrounding immigration and cuts to federal research funding, that students are going to take that leap.
The first week of May, for instance, some of the European Union's most high profile leaders gathered at the Sorbonne, which is the most prominent university in Paris, to launch a new initiative called Choose Europe for Science. It's about a 500 million euro investment meant to attract foreign researchers and college students.
It wasn't lost on the president of the European Commission that that program really stands in stark contrast to some of the cuts that the Trump administration is moving forward with. She called that a, quote, gigantic miscalculation.
Strong words. We'll see where this conversation goes next. Zach Shurmley covers education for USA Today. Thank you, Zach. Thanks, Taylor. Higher education is not alone in pushing back against the Trump administration's immigration policies. Another fiery hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday involved Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
She accused a House Democrat of defending a terrorist after he suggested she was ignoring a court order to return a Salvadoran immigrant who was mistakenly deported. Representative Dan Goldman asked Noem at a House Homeland Security Committee meeting what she had done to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. after his removal in March as an alleged member of MS-13.
Garcia denies gang membership and had an immigration court order protecting him from deportation, which the administration acknowledged was an administrative error. Meanwhile, Harvard scientist Ksenia Petrova has been charged with smuggling as the Russian national fights for her freedom from immigration detention.
The government contends that Petrova failed to declare biological material when arriving at Boston's Logan International Airport in February. In the lawsuit, the government asked a U.S. judge to dismiss Petrova's case and deport her to her native Russia.
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Chapter 6: What controversy surrounds Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem?
Well, for years, diversity initiatives have come under fire in red states, and we've seen legislation that mentions DEI or critical race theory. In fact, we did a USA Today analysis of data and found that in 2022, those terms appeared for the first time in bills introduced in 12 states.
And since then, we've seen dozens of bills targeting universities and state governments drafted by anti-DEI think tanks and foundations. And this was all very much in response to DEI initiatives embraced after George Floyd's murder in 2020 and designed to redress historic patterns of discrimination and exclusion in the workplace.
Trump took on DEI at the end of his first term, and he seized on this issue during his presidential campaign. And Just hours after taking the oath of office, he issued his first executive order targeting DEI.
Well, Jessica, in response, some blue states are rolling out bills defending DEI. How are they pushing back?
Well, Democrats are worried that anti-DEI legislation will harm local and state government workers and the communities they serve. So they're advancing pro-DEI measures and amendments to anti-DEI legislation. They're also pushing back against what they say is a false narrative from Republicans that merit-based hiring and DEI are mutually exclusive.
DEI is not about giving advantages to people because of their gender or skin color. but making sure people are considered on objective criteria. In other words, their true merits and aren't denied equal access to opportunities because of their identity. And that's essentially their argument.
Folks can find more with a link in today's show notes. Jessica Gwynn is a senior reporter with USA Today. Thanks as always, Jessica.
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Chapter 7: Who is Ksenia Petrova and what are the charges against her?
Thanks so much for having me, Taylor.
Why would a woodpecker peck something other than wood? Residents in some communities are dealing with an unexpected crime wave. Woodpeckers damaging their car's mirrors and windshields. One woman in Ohio, Stephanie Gallucci, told the Columbus Dispatch of the USA Today Network that one of the birds took out multiple car windows in her family.
Elsewhere in Massachusetts, multiple outlets reported that more than 20 vehicles have sustained damage in the town of Rockport. Woodpeckers usually hammer on wood, making their distinctive noise, to proclaim their territory and to signal potential mates, according to allaboutbirds.com.
They typically stop in the springtime once the breeding season started, and other reasons for the hammering include to excavate a nest or place to roost, to feed on insects inside the wood, or to store food.
Jim McCormick, a wildlife photographer and specialist, told the dispatch that woodpeckers may drum on reflective surfaces like car mirrors or metal because they think the reflection is a rival, and that is more prevalent during mating season. The metal makes the drumming louder and more aggressive sounding.
If you have any pesky woodpecker stories of your own, shoot us an email at podcasts at usatoday.com. We also have that address in today's show notes. And coming up later today, you've probably heard a lot about Project 2025 over the past year. But where are conservatives with its realization? And how does their execution differ from historically conservative aims in the past?
I think what really sets this apart is the willingness to use government and use the power of government in ways that previous conservatives resisted. And in particular, that means empowering the executive branch and the president, which is something that a lot of conservatives have been wary of for really all of American history.
That was author David Graham, a staff writer with The Atlantic and author of a new book, The Project, on bookshelves now. David recently sat down with my colleague Dana Taylor to talk all things Project 2025. You can hear that conversation right here today, beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio.
If you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. And you can always find us by email at podcasts at usatoday.com. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of the excerpt from USA Today.
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