Trump’s Secret Flight; Primary Election Results; Fauci’s Texts About Miscarriage, Vaccines; U Michigan Drops Grades For Freshmen

**Jill Wagner** (0:04)
This is your camera, that's your second camera. I don't know what to talk.

**Donald Trump** (0:07)
All right, hey, hey, everybody.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (0:08)
Still getting used to the studio here.
Jill is pointing out where the cameras are. It's like that Netflix meme, like getting ready for my documentary about how to be a podcaster, and then going on paternity leave, and then forgetting how to be a podcaster. Anyway, I digress, this is a long way of saying, today is Wednesday, August 12th. You're listening or watching the Monews podcast, I'm Moshe Oinounou.

**Jill Wagner** (0:28)
And I'm Jill Wagner, this is the place where we bring you just the facts.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (0:33)
And where we read all the news and read between the lines, so you do not have to. Today is a big day, Solar Eclipse Day, the only solar eclipse of 2026, Jill.

**Jill Wagner** (0:40)
Which I should note for a little behind the scenes, it took me a while to get you to care about this day.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (0:45)
Well, the reason why I don't care that much is if you look at who's getting totality today, it's Northern Greenland, the western tip of Iceland, and parts of Northern Spain.
So a lot of those regions don't have people in them, though in a major part of Spain there, they will get totality today. And I'm told there are people in Spain.

**Jill Wagner** (1:05)
Yes.
There is a partial solar eclipse, though, that will be visible in a much wider area. About 230 million people will be able to see 90 percent totality. Most major cities in Europe will see at least 90 percent, including Madrid, London, and Paris. And even in places in North America, we will get to see a partial solar eclipse.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (1:28)
Yeah. If you're in Fairbanks, Alaska, you're in luck. You're going to get a 37 percent totality eclipse up there. Otherwise, in the lower 48, Boston gets 16 percent totality, New York, 9 percent, Toronto, 8 percent, Philly, 7 percent. You get the point. That's why I was not that excited about it, because we just had that big eclipse, right, that like most of the US saw.
So again, this happens between 1 PM and about 2:45 PM Eastern time today. So New Yorkers get excited for 9 percent totality. But it's really, if you happen to be Northern Spain today, or Western Iceland or Northern Greenland, where there's some real excitement. But I guess even for London, Madrid, and Paris, it's a big deal. Spain, by the way, has not gotten an eclipse since the early 20th century. So it's been 120 years for Spain.

**Jill Wagner** (2:13)
But Moshe, we do want to mention even with partial solar eclipse, regardless of the percentage of totality, a percentage that would be covered of the sun or uncovered.
Experts say you still absolutely need to wear certified solar eclipse glasses if you want to look at the sun directly. And that is because the visible sliver still emits concentrated intense solar radiation that can permanently burn your retina.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (2:41)
So basically the rule of thumb on normal days is don't look straight at the sun.
So that includes tomorrow. Even with like, it's a partial eclipse. Thank you for that advice. I imagine a lot of eye doctors are nodding in agreement right now, being like, yes, the glasses, guys, the glasses.

**Jill Wagner** (2:58)
You do forget sometimes, though.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (3:00)
Yeah, you get excited.

**Jill Wagner** (3:02)
All right, now to the headlines. Election results from six states who held primaries on Tuesday.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (3:08)
Some big results from Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Carolina. And we'll tell you whether progressives and democratic socialists continue their surge across the Midwest.

**Jill Wagner** (3:16)
First, it was Dr. Fauci's diary. Now it's his texts. Messages sent between Fauci and other federal health officials discussed the potential risks and benefits of the COVID vaccine for pregnant women, including a theoretical increase in the possibility of miscarriage. These texts, of course, from the height of the COVID pandemic.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (3:37)
Right. This is just as the vaccine was being rolled out. Gibson's gotten data that shows that ultimately the vaccine was safe for pregnant women. But we'll tell you what was going on behind the scenes during that time.

**Jill Wagner** (3:47)
A follow up to the story we first told you about yesterday, former US. Marine Robert Gilman. He has now been released from detention in Russia. An elaborate decoy operation for President Trump when he flew out of Turkey for the NATO summit amid a threat Iran was trying to assassinate him.

**Mosheh Oinounou** (4:05)