Skip to content

Ireland Baldwin Shares Complicated Feelings Around Perez Hilton's Hospitalization After He 'Publicly Humiliated My Family For Years'

Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

Pete Hegseth Dragged After His Elimination Of Mandatory Flu Vaccines For Military Has To Be Nearly Immediately Walked Back Due To Outbreak

Pete Hegseth Dragged After His Elimination Of Mandatory Flu Vaccines For Military Has To Be Nearly Immediately Walked Back Due To Outbreak
John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

After Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in April that he was making the flu shot optional for U.S. military personnel instead of mandatory, a massive flu outbreak at an Air Force base in Texas has reportedly caused the new policy to be walked back for basic trainees.

Amelia Mavis Christnot
By Amelia Mavis ChristnotJun 25, 2026
Amelia Mavis Christnot

Amelia is an Oglala Lakȟóta of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Kanien'kehá:ka of the Haudenosaunee and Métis Navy brat who settled in the wilds of Northern Maine. A member of the Indigenous Journalists Association, she considers herself another proud Maineiac.

See Full Bio
Make us preferred on Google

As of June 22, the Air Force Times reported over 200 members of the United States Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, had fallen ill after MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense, former Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth, had eliminated the mandatory flu vaccine requirement for service members only two months prior.

The New York Times reported Keon McDaniel, a USAF recruit in his sixth week of basic training, died after falling ill, although they were unable to confirm his condition was directly tied to the outbreak of influenza on base.

Hegseth claimed his elimination of vaccine mandates was a way to "restore freedom," but the move is now being cited as another example of Hegseth's dangerous incompetence instead.

Pete Hegseth proudly announced that flu vaccines were no longer required for the military.Predictably, a flu outbreak has descended upon the Air Force’s boot camp. Flu vaccines are again required for all new recruits.

[image or embed]
— Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD (@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 12:38 PM

Hegseth had announced his new policy on April 21.

During his video announcement, the former Fox News host attacked former Democratic President Joe Biden then called his revocation an effort to encourage medical autonomy in the military and a “common sense approach” meant to “restore freedom.”

Now Hegseth's words and actions are once again coming back to bite him.


It was Pete's Hegseth's dumb decision to end required flu vaccines for military trainees. What happened? Massive numbers of recruits came down with the flu! So can we trust Hegseth's dumb decisions not to promote those recommended for promotion by superior officers? NO!HEGSETH IS INCOMPETENT!!
— petluv.bsky.social (@petluv.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 11:02 AM



Even the moderate politics subReddit had a harsh assessment for Hegseth.

r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit


r/moderatepolitics/Reddit

The Pentagon has reinstated the mandatory flu vaccination for new recruits—the population most vulnerable to widespread outbreaks.

The Pentagon announced that all new military recruits entering basic training must once again receive the annual flu vaccine. This comes 2 months after Pete Hegseth ended the military-wide flu vaccine mandate.The decision follows a significant flu outbreak at the Air Force’s basic training center.
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 11:11 AM

According to an October 2025 Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division report that Hegseth seemingly ignored, the mandatory flu vaccination helped protect older service members who often suffer more severely from influenza and assisted in protecting the overall health of the military, especially among new recruits who have the highest rates of flu infections each year.

Latest News

Screenshot of Nicole Kidman; Donald Trump
Donald Trump

The White House Just Ripped Off Nicole Kidman's AMC Ad To Promote MAGA—And Thanks, We Hate It

JD Vance
Viral Post

JD Vance Slammed After Making Fat-Shaming Joke About MAGA Ally In Bizarre Clash Over Burritos

Screenshots of Steve Kornacki
2026 Elections

Steve Kornacki Spilled Water All Over His Computer During Live Primary Coverage—And His Panic Was Palpable

Screenshot of Donald Trump
Donald Trump

Everyone Thinks Trump Just Debuted A New Wig—And The Internet Is Giving It Some Ridiculously Hilarious Names

More from News

Screenshot of Mark Carney; Donald Trump
@sarobertson_/X; Aaron Schwartz/AFP via Getty Images

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Trolls Trump With Perfect 'Conspiracy' Joke After Technical Glitch During Speech

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had people laughing after he made a clever "conspiracy" joke aimed at President Donald Trump after his teleprompter cut out mid-speech on Wednesday.

Carney was addressing the press and supporters as part of his government's pledge to build more rental homes. A press release announced that "over the next three years, Canada’s new government, in partnership with the City of Toronto, will invest over $2.7 billion to build more than 18 housing projects across Toronto."

Keep ReadingShow less
Al-Nassr player Cristiano Ronaldo (2nd L) and Georgina Rodriguez (L) attend the Globe Soccer Dubai Awards 2024.
Waleed Zein/Anadolu via Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo's Fiancée Pens Classy Response After Unedited Bikini Pics Spark Body-Shaming Comments

A relaxing getaway in Mallorca took an unexpected turn after candid, unedited photos of Georgina Rodríguez with Cristiano Ronaldo and his 16-year-old son, Cristiano Jr., aboard a yacht sparked a wave of body-shaming comments.

You can see the paparazzi pics below:

Keep ReadingShow less
Nurse Hadley Vlahos
@nursehadley/TikTok

TikToker Speaks Out About Just How Difficult It Is To Get A Divorce In Mississippi—And Wow

While we're well into the 21st century, it's becoming increasingly difficult in the United States for women to execute what should be basic social rights, like getting a divorce. But states like Mississippi and most of the "Bible Belt" are making it practically impossible for people like Nurse Hadley Vlahos to fully separate from a former partner.

Though Vlahos is known on TikTok and YouTube for being a hospice nurse and wrote about end-of-life care in her New York Times bestselling book, The In-Between with How to Let Go to follow, she's now dedicating much more of her platform to documenting her three-year process of just filing for divorce, not including all that happened in the years before and in the year and a half since.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
C-SPAN

Trump's Bonkers Quip About What He'd Do If He Coached In The WNBA Just Resurfaced—And It's A Doozy

President Donald Trump is raising eyebrows again after a resurfaced clip showed him trying to bring NBA star LeBron James into the debate around transgender athletes while mocking the WNBA.

The WNBA has been at the center of controversy after Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham said she wants "to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.” She called her beliefs "common sense," stressing that "it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category."

Keep ReadingShow less
Billie Eilish
Savion Washington/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Photos Of Billie Eilish From Her Upcoming Movie Just Dropped—And Fans Barely Recognize Her

The latest film adaptation of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is led by Women Talking and Splice director Sarah Polley.

As of March, Billie Eilish was cast in the leading role, Esther Greenwood, who goes through a form of mental burnout and psychosis over the course of the book, with a plot that becomes increasingly unhinged and unreliable.

Keep ReadingShow less