Dawn Argues The Measles Fight Is Backfiring On Shapiro

The Cut Sheet opens with RFK Jr. challenging Shapiro’s claims as we head toward the next hour. We begin the 8 AM hour with an old Josh Shapiro COVID-era video in which he says police can enforce restrictions on gatherings, and the phrase “Yes, you can” immediately becomes the crew’s target. From there we return to the Lancaster newborn, the measles antibodies, the coroner’s findings and questions surrounding the state’s handling of the announcement. We then bring the Ellen Greenberg case back into the discussion: her 2011 death, 20 stab wounds, the change from a homicide ruling to suicide, the review by the attorney general’s office during Shapiro’s tenure and allegations raised over his connections. Dawn credits 6ABC’s Annie McCormick for continuing to pursue the Greenberg story. The cut sheet shifts to Bill Maher, who jokes about Trump renaming Lake Ontario before the crew draws a distinction between comedy programs and news programs. Byron Donalds joins Maher after his Florida GOP gubernatorial primary win, and a confrontation with Molly Jong-Fast over measles and illegal immigration becomes the centerpiece. Donalds points to vaccination rates among people entering the country and outbreaks at immigration facilities; the crew then pushes back on Jong-Fast’s state references before Maher’s criticism of the war with Iran starts another argument. Jong-Fast’s claim that major social platforms helped kill local news sends Dawn and Tony into a long discussion of what happened to local television. We talk about national ownership, network branding, the shrinking role of sports, wall-to-wall weather coverage, political opinion from anchors and why the audience should know when a broadcaster is reporting facts versus giving an opinion. The conversation eventually crashes into Tony eating an English muffin with peanut butter, Dawn’s limited sleep, bananas and assorted morning-show food problems. After the commercial gap, the crew returns with bodycam footage from Oklahoma City showing deputies serving an eviction before a man attacks them with a makeshift flamethrower made with an aerosol can and lighter.