UK police arrest two men and a woman on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence
UK police arrest two men and a woman on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence
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West Coast states issue joint vaccine recommendations ahead of CDC advisers meeting
SEATTLE — Four Democratic-led Western states announced joint recommendations Wednesday about who should be vaccinated for seasonal respiratory viruses, including the flu and COVID-19, saying the Trump administration has jeopardized public health by politicizing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii early this month formed the West Coast Health Alliance in an effort to combat what they describe as the “weaponization” of federal health agencies to advance antivaccine policies, despite decades of scientific research showing that vaccines are safe and effective.
Their recommendations follow those of major medical organizations and came a day before a panel of CDC advisers were due to begin meeting to review recommendations for some vaccines, including COVID.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading antivaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official, fired the entire 17-member panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices. Former CDC chief Susan Monarez told senators on Wednesday she was fired after 29 days on the job after refusing Kennedy’s demands that she sign off on changes to the childhood vaccination schedule without data to back up the changes.
“Public health leaders warn these moves dismantle independent, science-based oversight and inject politics into decisions that protect Americans’ health — undermining the CDC’s credibility at a moment when trust and clarity are most needed,” the West Coast Health Alliance said Wednesday.
In a written statement Wednesday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon criticized the effort.
“Democrat-run states that pushed unscientific school lockdowns, toddler mask mandates, and draconian vaccine passports during the COVID era completely eroded the American people’s trust in public health agencies,” Nixon said. “HHS will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.”
The recommendations from the West Coast Health Alliance include that all residents older than 6 months get a flu vaccine and that all babies receive protection from RSV. Among those who should receive the COVID vaccine are children 6 months to 23 months old; all adults over 65, and everyone younger than 65 who has risk factors or is in contact with people with risk factors; anyone pregnant or planning a pregnancy; and “all who choose protection.”
Kennedy’s moves have prompted debate and action in the states. Florida has taking steps to become the first state to get rid of school vaccine mandates, with some states looking to follow its lead. Others are promising to protect vaccines for children and adults.
Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey governor has said the state is requiring insurance carriers to cover vaccinations recommended by its public health department, regardless of whether they are endorsed by the federal government. Her state is also leading a bipartisan coalition of eight Northeast states that met over the summer to discuss coordinating vaccine recommendations.
In New Mexico, pharmacists have received the go-ahead to administer COVID-19 shots based on state health department guidelines rather than just the federal government’s immunization advisory committee.
Pennsylvania’s pharmacy board voted this month to protect the availability of COVID-19 vaccines for those most in need and to make it accessible across the state, at the urging of Gov. Josh Shapiro. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson have directed health officials to make sure residents are able to be vaccinated against the virus.
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WATCH: 'Oh my God!': Orcas attack, sink another boat
A wild scene played off the coast of Portugal where orca whales were seen attacking and sinking yet another boat.
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Starbucks workers sue over company’s new dress code’s costs to them
Starbucks workers in three states took legal action against the coffee giant Wednesday, saying it violated the law when it changed its dress code but refused to reimburse employees who had to buy new clothes.
The employees, who are backed by the union organizing Starbucks’ workers, filed class-action lawsuits in state court in Illinois and Colorado. Workers also filed complaints with California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency. If the agency decides not to seek penalties against Starbucks, the workers intend to file a class-action lawsuit in California, according to the complaints.
Starbucks didn’t comment directly on them Wednesday, but the company said it simplified its dress code to deliver a more consistent experience to customers and give its employees clearer guidance.
“As part of this change, and to ensure out partners were prepared, partners received two shirts at no cost,” the company said Wednesday. Starbucks refers to its employees as “partners.”
The dress code sparked a strike at 75 U.S. stores in May soon after it went into effect, with more than 1,000 workers protesting the new policy, according to Starbucks Workers United, which represents workers at 640 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores. The union said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining but isn’t a party to the suits.
The new dress code requires all workers in North America to wear a solid black shirt with short or long sleeves under their green aprons. Shirts may or may not have collars, but they must cover the midriff and armpits.
Employees must wear khaki, black or blue denim bottoms without patterns or frayed hems or solid black dresses that are not more than 4 inches above the knee. The dress code also requires workers to wear black, gray, dark blue, brown, tan or white shoes made from a waterproof material. Socks and hosiery must be “subdued,” the company said.
The dress code prohibits employees from having face tattoos or more than one facial piercing. Tongue piercings and “theatrical makeup” are also prohibited.
Starbucks said in April that the new dress code would make employees’ green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers. It comes as the company is trying to reestablish a warmer, more welcoming experience in its stores.
Before the new dress code was imposed, Starbucks had a relatively lax policy. In 2016, it began allowing employees to wear patterned shirts in a wider variety of colors to give them more opportunities for self-expression.
The old dress code was also loosely enforced, according to the Colorado lawsuit. But under the new dress code, employees who don’t comply aren’t allowed to start their shifts.
Brooke Allen, a full-time student who also works at a Starbucks in Davis, California, said she was told by a manager in July that the Crocs she was wearing didn’t meet the new standards and she would have to wear different shoes if she wanted to work the following day. Allen had to go to three stores to find a compliant pair, which cost her $60.09.
Allen has spent an additional $86.95 on clothes for work, including black shirts and jeans.
“I think it’s extremely tone deaf on the company’s part to expect their employees to completely redesign their wardrobe without any compensation,” Allen said. “A lot of us are already living paycheck to paycheck.”
Allen said she misses the old dress code, which allowed her to express herself with colorful shirts and three facial piercings.
“It looks sad now that everyone is wearing black,” she said.
The lawsuits and complaints filed Wednesday allege that Starbucks’ dress code violates state laws that require companies to reimburse workers for expenses that primarily benefit the employer. Colorado law also prohibits employers from imposing expenses on workers without their written consent, according to that lawsuit. The plaintiffs seek damages on behalf of all Starbucks workers in those states, whether or not their stores are unionized.
Multiple plaintiffs, like Allen, said they requested reimbursement from Starbucks to conform to the dress code but were denied. Gilbert Cruz, an employee in Aurora, Illinois, requested $10 for the cost of removing a nose piercing.
Worker-led lawsuits in state courts are a shift in tactics in the multi-year effort to unionize Starbucks’ stores.
Starbucks Workers United has filed hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks with the National Labor Relations Board.
But the board’s ability to hear cases has been curtailed under President Trump. He fired an NLRB member in the spring, leaving the board without the quorum it needs to decide cases.
Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021. The company and union have yet to reach a contract agreement, despite agreeing to return to the bargaining table in February 2024.
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Ohio State University launches initiative requiring that students study AI
Columbus, Ohio — College freshmen Ashlee Croll and Brooklyn Baldwin are part of something new this fall at Ohio State University that will infuse artificial intelligence lessons into every major.
“As a bio major, you have to take a lot of hard science classes, math classes,” Croll told CBS News. “So, there’s going to be struggles along the way that, you know, I’m not going to be able to access a tutor all the time. So I think AI will be a little helpful in that.”
The goal of the initiative, AI Fluency, is that students, beginning with the class of 2029, will graduate and be fluent in both their major and AI.
“I hope that they learn how to use it effectively for, you know, brainstorming, for organizing thoughts, but they don’t replace, sort of, their critical thought with it,” said Kevin Richards, an assistant language professor at OSU.
Beginning this year, all freshmen are required to take a course in generative AI and multiple workshops aimed at real-world applications to help them master the technology.
In the last decade, the number of job listings asking for AI skills has soared by 619% in the United States, according to a recent analysis from the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. In the last year alone, the number of AI-themed job postings has increased by 103%, Brookings found.
“It’s a thing that really helps you do your job better,” Luis von Ahn, CEO of Duolingo, the popular app that teaches foreign languages, told CBS News. “…Having something in your resume that says something about AI would give you an advantage, because a lot of our work is being done this way.”
Von Ahn says AI hasn’t replaced any full-time positions at Duolingo. However, he explains that it took the company more than a decade to create its first 100 courses. By using AI, it has created nearly 150 new ones in the last year alone.
“It allows us to go faster and it allows us to create, you know, high-quality content just at a much higher pace,” von Ahn said.
Many Americans remain skeptical of AI. In a new survey of U.S. adults released by the Pew Research Center on Wednesday, 53% of respondents said they believed that AI will worsen people’s ability to think creatively.
OSU is hoping that threading AI into its curriculum will help its students’ resumes stand out. Baldwin is tentatively optimistic it will give her an advantage when she enters the workforce.
“There’s a lot I didn’t know about before taking this class,” Baldwin said. “And if there’s other college students that haven’t been offered a class like this, and haven’t been told about these new AI tools, then maybe have a leg up in that sense.”
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Possible military helicopter crash in Washington state near Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Authorities were responding late Wednesday night to the scene of an apparent military helicopter crash in the vicinity of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
The Thurston County Sheriff office said in a statement that deputies were dispatched after getting “reports of a possible helicopter crash in the Summit Lake area” and “located what is believed to be the scene.”
“We have been advised that the military lost contact with a helicopter in the area, and we are working closely with JBLM to deploy any resources needed to assist,” the office said.
There was no word on how many people were on board or their fate.
CBS News has reached out to the base for details and confirmation that one of its aircraft was the one that went down.
— This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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Shohei Ohtani open to position change to help Dodgers’ bullpen – Orange County Register
LOS ANGELES — The options for Shohei Ohtani moving forward seem endless, like numbers on a lottery ticket or building a pie at a pizza joint with dozens of toppings.
Ohtani told members of the Japanese media on Tuesday that he is willing to do whatever the Dodgers need in October, even if that means vacating his designated hitter spot to pitch in relief and then move to the outfield later in the same game.
That kind of pitching move would eliminate the designated hitter spot for the team for the rest of the game.
It is a move that would help a beleaguered bullpen, but the playoffs are about taking down innings from the pitchers. Even though Ohtani’s starts have been limited to five innings maximum (to this point), that would be more than a one- or two-inning relief appearance.
With how the bullpen has been performing lately, the Dodgers would seem to be in a spot where anything is on the table for the playoffs.
So is Ohtani in the outfield a possibility?
“No,” Manager Dave Roberts said.
He winked when he said it.
Is an altered role a real possibility?
“It’s something we’re all talking about,” Roberts said when asked specifically if the three-time league MVP has more value as a starter or a reliever in the playoffs.
“I don’t know if it’s a pipe dream, but it’s very commendable from Shohei,” Roberts said. “… There’s a lot of variables, but to know that he can potentially run out there, it’s great. Maybe just in theory. But again, I love him for even throwing that out there.”
Considering wild scenarios has become mandatory with the Dodgers’ season-long bullpen struggles. In consecutive losses to the Phillies to open this week’s series, the bullpen gave up 13 of the 14 Philadelphia runs, including nine in Tuesday’s game after Ohtani had pitched five no-hit innings as the starter.
Entering Wednesday’s game, the Dodgers’ 4.30 ERA from the bullpen was 20th in the major leagues.
“I think before the results, (there) has to be confidence,” Roberts said. “I was thinking about this last night. The offense went through it recently, where we couldn’t find a way to get hits, to score runs, and there was some confidence (issues), some pressing. And I think right now our bullpen is going through it.
“So it’s just kind of trying to reset a mentality, a mindset. It’s not like the talent has now dissipated.”
A WILL AND A WAY
The Dodgers hope to get catcher Will Smith back from his hand contusion before the regular season ends, but there is no guarantee. What the club does know is that Smith will not be ready to come off the injured list when his minimum stint ends Saturday.
Smith isn’t even scheduled to face live pitching as part of his rehab until next week.
“You’re talking about not doing anything in progression of throwing, hitting as we sit here on Wednesday (and) that won’t happen through the weekend,” Roberts said. “So I think the earliest that would start to happen would be when we’re in Arizona.”
There is a similar feel to last season when first baseman Freddie Freeman was struggling with an ankle injury late in the season before he carried the team offensively by the time the World Series arrived.
“Once you get to (the playoffs), it’s kind of, it is what it is, and you just got to go,” Roberts said. “So I think that right now we’re trying to buy as much time as we can to put him in the best spot physically. But yeah, I don’t think he’s going to be 100 percent (in October).”
The Dodgers have not ruled out keeping Smith on the injured list through the end of the regular season.
HELP COMING
Right-hander Brock Stewart, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins to help the bullpen, could make his return from the injured list Saturday. He is scheduled to pitch Thursday in a minor-league rehab outing.
Roberts also offered that Kyle Hurt could make his season debut next week since he is close to a full recovery from Tommy John surgery. But Hurt has made just four career major-league appearances.
“We might have some tough decisions to make,” Roberts said. “But yeah, we’re getting close to the end, and certainly to get those two guys … in major league games I think would certainly be helpful. I know for certain that Brock will be in major-league games.”
MAJOR HONOR
The Dodgers named outfielder Eduardo Quintero and right-hander Christian Zazueta as their Minor League Outfielder and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
Quintero, a 20-year-old native of Venezuela, batted .293 with 19 home runs and 69 RBIs in 113 games combined at two Class-A affiliates: Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes.
Zazueta, 20, from Mexico, also played for Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes this season, going a combined 7-2 with a 2.41 ERA over 17 starts and had 81 strikeouts in 67⅓ innings.
TAKING IT SLOW
Third baseman Max Muncy was held out of the starting lineup for the third time in four games after he was hit in the back of the helmet by a pitch Saturday at San Francisco. Kiké Hernandez started at third in all three games.
“(Muncy) was still a little fuzzy (Tuesday) but fine, and today feels better,” Roberts said. “So I think for me, I just wanted to give him an extra day.”
UP NEXT
Giants (RHP Logan Webb, 14-10, 3.34 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 11-8, 2.66 ERA), Thursday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
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Shohei Ohtani open to position change to help Dodgers’ bullpen – Press Enterprise
LOS ANGELES — The options for Shohei Ohtani moving forward seem endless, like numbers on a lottery ticket or building a pie at a pizza joint with dozens of toppings.
Ohtani told members of the Japanese media on Tuesday that he is willing to do whatever the Dodgers need in October, even if that means vacating his designated hitter spot to pitch in relief and then move to the outfield later in the same game.
That kind of pitching move would eliminate the designated hitter spot for the team for the rest of the game.
It is a move that would help a beleaguered bullpen, but the playoffs are about taking down innings from the pitchers. Even though Ohtani’s starts have been limited to five innings maximum (to this point), that would be more than a one- or two-inning relief appearance.
With how the bullpen has been performing lately, the Dodgers would seem to be in a spot where anything is on the table for the playoffs.
So is Ohtani in the outfield a possibility?
“No,” Manager Dave Roberts said.
He winked when he said it.
Is an altered role a real possibility?
“It’s something we’re all talking about,” Roberts said when asked specifically if the three-time league MVP has more value as a starter or a reliever in the playoffs.
“I don’t know if it’s a pipe dream, but it’s very commendable from Shohei,” Roberts said. “… There’s a lot of variables, but to know that he can potentially run out there, it’s great. Maybe just in theory. But again, I love him for even throwing that out there.”
Considering wild scenarios has become mandatory with the Dodgers’ season-long bullpen struggles. In consecutive losses to the Phillies to open this week’s series, the bullpen gave up 13 of the 14 Philadelphia runs, including nine in Tuesday’s game after Ohtani had pitched five no-hit innings as the starter.
Entering Wednesday’s game, the Dodgers’ 4.30 ERA from the bullpen was 20th in the major leagues.
“I think before the results, (there) has to be confidence,” Roberts said. “I was thinking about this last night. The offense went through it recently, where we couldn’t find a way to get hits, to score runs, and there was some confidence (issues), some pressing. And I think right now our bullpen is going through it.
“So it’s just kind of trying to reset a mentality, a mindset. It’s not like the talent has now dissipated.”
A WILL AND A WAY
The Dodgers hope to get catcher Will Smith back from his hand contusion before the regular season ends, but there is no guarantee. What the club does know is that Smith will not be ready to come off the injured list when his minimum stint ends Saturday.
Smith isn’t even scheduled to face live pitching as part of his rehab until next week.
“You’re talking about not doing anything in progression of throwing, hitting as we sit here on Wednesday (and) that won’t happen through the weekend,” Roberts said. “So I think the earliest that would start to happen would be when we’re in Arizona.”
There is a similar feel to last season when first baseman Freddie Freeman was struggling with an ankle injury late in the season before he carried the team offensively by the time the World Series arrived.
“Once you get to (the playoffs), it’s kind of, it is what it is, and you just got to go,” Roberts said. “So I think that right now we’re trying to buy as much time as we can to put him in the best spot physically. But yeah, I don’t think he’s going to be 100 percent (in October).”
The Dodgers have not ruled out keeping Smith on the injured list through the end of the regular season.
HELP COMING
Right-hander Brock Stewart, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins to help the bullpen, could make his return from the injured list Saturday. He is scheduled to pitch Thursday in a minor-league rehab outing.
Roberts also offered that Kyle Hurt could make his season debut next week since he is close to a full recovery from Tommy John surgery. But Hurt has made just four career major-league appearances.
“We might have some tough decisions to make,” Roberts said. “But yeah, we’re getting close to the end, and certainly to get those two guys … in major league games I think would certainly be helpful. I know for certain that Brock will be in major-league games.”
MAJOR HONOR
The Dodgers named outfielder Eduardo Quintero and right-hander Christian Zazueta as their Minor League Outfielder and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
Quintero, a 20-year-old native of Venezuela, batted .293 with 19 home runs and 69 RBIs in 113 games combined at two Class-A affiliates: Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes.
Zazueta, 20, from Mexico, also played for Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes this season, going a combined 7-2 with a 2.41 ERA over 17 starts and had 81 strikeouts in 67⅓ innings.
TAKING IT SLOW
Third baseman Max Muncy was held out of the starting lineup for the third time in four games after he was hit in the back of the helmet by a pitch Saturday at San Francisco. Kiké Hernandez started at third in all three games.
“(Muncy) was still a little fuzzy (Tuesday) but fine, and today feels better,” Roberts said. “So I think for me, I just wanted to give him an extra day.”
UP NEXT
Giants (RHP Logan Webb, 14-10, 3.34 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 11-8, 2.66 ERA), Thursday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
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Protester found not guilty of assault despite official’s testimony
A protester was acquitted Wednesday of charges that he assaulted a federal agent during widespread protests against immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, just hours after one of the faces of President Trump’s enforcement policies took the stand to testify against him.
U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino — the brash agent who led a phalanx of military personnel into MacArthur Park this summer — was called as a witness Wednesday in a federal misdemeanor assault case against Brayan Ramos-Brito, who was accused of striking a federal agent.
Bovino, who flew in to testify from Chicago, the latest city targeted for an immigration enforcement surge, said he witnessed the alleged assault committed by Ramos-Brito in Paramount on June 7.
Bovino was questioned by the defense about previous comments he made referring to undocumented immigrants as “scum.”
The jury came back with the acquittal after a little over an hour of deliberations.
The case could prove to be an ominous bellwether for embattled acting U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, who has struggled to win indictments against those charged with committing crimes while protesting aggressive immigration enforcement in Southern California.
Prosecutors originally brought a felony charge against Ramos-Brito, which was reduced to a misdemeanor.
During the two-day trial, a number of videos were displayed showing a Border Patrol agent shove Ramos-Brito, but none clearly illustrated his alleged attack on the agent.
Outfitted in his green Border Patrol uniform, Bovino was the lone Border Patrol agent to testify that he witnessed Ramos-Brito drag his arm back and strike an agent with an open palm in the chest.
Ramos-Brito and his attorneys declined to comment after the verdict, but were seen celebrating the acquittal in the downtown federal courthouse. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
On a cross-examination, federal public defender Cuauhtemoc Ortega questioned Bovino about being the subject of a misconduct investigation a few years ago and receiving a reprimand for referring to undocumented immigrants as “scum, filth and trash.”
Bovino said he was referring to “a specific criminal illegal alien” — a Honduran national who he said had raped a child and reentered the United States and had been caught at or near the Baton Rouge Border Patrol station.
“I said that about a specific individual, not about undocumented peoples, that’s not correct,” he said.
Ortega pushed back, reading from the reprimand, which Bovino signed, stating that he was describing “illegal aliens.”
“They did not say one illegal alien,” Ortega said. “They said you describing illegal aliens, and or criminals, as scum, trash and filth is misconduct. Isn’t that correct?”
“The report states that,” Bovino said.
Since June, more than 40 people have been charged with a range of federal offenses, including assaulting officers and interfering with immigration enforcement, at either downtown protests or the scene of immigration raids throughout the region this summer, the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. said this week.
Ramos-Brito’s case was the first to go to trial.
In closing arguments, Ortega accused the Border Patrol agent at the center of the case of lying and Bovino of “trying to cover up for him.” He cited Bovino’s past reprimand as evidence that he harbors bias.
But prosecutors pushed back on that, with Asst. U.S. Atty. Patrick Kibbe arguing that the defense “wants you to believe that there’s some grand conspiracy against Ramos-Brito. These officers don’t know him.”
Kibbe acknowledged that Bovino’s prior statements were unprofessional.
“Does it have anything to do with what he saw on June 7? No,” Kibbe said. “This is not about immigration enforcement… it’s about whether the defendant struck Agent Morales.”
A juror who spoke to a Times reporter outside court said Bovino’s testimony had “no impact” on their decision. The lack of video evidence in the case led him to vote not guilty, the juror said.
The case centered around a protest outside the Paramount Business Center, across the street from Home Depot.
Already tensions were high, with federal officials raiding a retail and distribution warehouse in downtown L.A. in early June, arresting dozens of workers and a top union official.
At the Paramount complex, which houses Homeland Security Investigation offices, protesters began arriving around 10 a.m on June 7. Among them was Ramos-Brito.
Several videos played in court Tuesday showed Ramos-Brito and another man cursing at Border Patrol agents and stepping inches from their faces with balled fists. At one point, Ramos-Brito approached multiple Border Patrol agents who appeared to be Latino and said “you’re a f— disgrace if you’re Mexican.”
Kibbe said that while many protesters were “passionately” demonstrating, Ramos-Brito crossed a line by striking U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jonathan Morales.
“There’s a constitutional right to protest peacefully. It is a crime to hit a federal officer,” Kibbe said.
Federal public defender M. Bo Griffith, however, said Ramos-Brito was the victim of an assault, not the other way around.
Both social media and body-worn camera footage played in court clearly show Morales shove Ramos-Brito first, sending him flying backward into the busy intersection of Alondra Blvd. While footage shows Ramos-Brito marching back toward the agent with his fists balled, no angle clearly captures the alleged assault.
Aside from Morales, three other agents took the stand Tuesday, but none said they saw Ramos-Brito hit Morales. None of the agents who testified were outfitted with body-worn cameras that day, according to Border Patrol Asst. Chief Jorge Rivera-Navarro, who serves as chief of staff for “Operation At Large” in Los Angeles.
Some of the Border Patrol agents swarming L.A. in recent months come from stations that don’t normally wear body-worn cameras, according to Navarro. He testified that he has since issued an order that led to cameras being distributed to agents working in L.A.
The clash that led to the assault charge started when Ramos-Brito stepped to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Eduardo Mejorado, who said he repeatedly asked Ramos-Brito to move to the sidewalk as the protest was blocking traffic. Video shows Mejorado place his hand on Ramos-Brito’s shoulder twice, and the defendant swatting it away.
At that point, Morales, a 24-year veteran of the Border Patrol, said he thought he needed to step in and de-escalate the situation between his fellow agent and Ramos-Brito. He did so by shoving Ramos-Brito backward into the intersection, according to video played in court. Morales said Ramos-Brito then charged at him while cursing and threw a punch at the upper part of his chest and throat.
On cross-examination, Griffith confronted Morales and Mejorado with inconsistencies between descriptions of the event they previously gave to a Homeland Security Investigations officer and their testimony in court. It was not the first time such a discrepancy affected the case.
Federal prosecutors previously dropped charges against Jose Mojica, the other protester who was arrested alongside Ramos-Brito, after video footage called into question the testimony of an immigration enforcement agent.
According to an investigation summary of Mojica’s arrest previously reviewed by The Times, Mejorado claimed a man was screaming in his face that he was going to “shoot him,” then punched him at the Paramount protest. The officer said he and other agents started chasing the man, but were “stopped by two other males,” later identified as Mojica and Ramos-Brito.
Video played in court Tuesday and previously reported by The Times shows that sequence of events did not happen. Ramos-Brito and Mojica were arrested in a dog pile of agents after Ramos-Brito allegedly struck Mojica. There was no chase.
Questioned about Mojica’s case in July, a Homeland Security spokesperson said they were unable to comment on cases “under active litigation.”
Defense attorneys said Ramos-Brito sustained multiple contusions on his face, neck and back and had cuts and scrapes on his body from being dragged across the pavement later.
According to his attorneys, Ramos-Brito’s only prior interaction with law enforcement was for driving without a license.
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As Prop. 50 fight intensifies, Newsom and others rally their base
The multimillion-dollar jousting over redrawing California’s congressional districts to boost Democrats and counter President Trump was on full display in recent days, as both sides courted voters less than a month before ballots begin arriving in mailboxes.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, national Democratic leaders including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and a slew of political influencers held an hours-long virtual rally Tuesday afternoon, urging Californians to support Proposition 50 in the Nov. 4 special election. Speakers framed the stakes of the ballot measure as nothing short of existential — not just for Democratic interests, but also for democracy.
“It’s all at stake. This is a profound and consequential moment in American history. We can lose this republic if we do not assert ourselves and stand tall at this moment and stand guard [for] this republic and our democracy. I feel that in my bones,” Newsom said Tuesday afternoon.
If passed, Proposition 50 would gerrymander the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats, bolstering the fates of several Democrats in vulnerable swing districts and potentially cost Republicans up to five House seats.
California’s congressional districts are drawn by a voter-approved independent commission once a decade after the U.S. census. But Newsom and other state Democrats proposed a rare mid-decade redrawing of the districts to increase the number of Democrats in Congress in response to similar efforts in GOP-led states, notably Texas.
Tuesday’s virtual rally, which was emceed by progressive influencer Brian Tyler Cohen, was a cross between an old-school money-raising telethon and new media streaming session. Popular podcasters and YouTubers such as Crooked Media’s Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor (alumni of former President Obama’s administration), Ben Meiselas of MeidasTouch and David Pakman shared the screen with political leaders, with an on-screen fundraising thermometer inching higher throughout.
Cohen argued that people like him had been “begging” Democrats to fight Trump. And now elected officials had done their part by getting Proposition 50 on the ballot, he said, urging viewers to donate to support the effort.
Warren argued that Trump was a “would-be king” — but if Democrats could retake control of either house of Congress, that would be stopped, she posited.
“And if we have both houses under Democratic control,” Warren continued, “now we are truly back in the game in terms of making our Constitution work again.”
The exhaustive list of speakers represented the spectrum of the modern left, with standard-bearers such as Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, alongside rising stars including Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.). A number of California delegates, including Sen. Alex Padilla and Reps. Ted. Lieu, Robert Garcia, Pete Aguilar, Jimmy Gomez and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, also spoke.
The event had been scheduled to take place Sept. 10 but was postponed after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier that day.
Jessica Millan Patterson, the former leader of the California Republican Party and chair of an anti-Proposition 50 committee, accused Newsom of “scrambling for out-of-touch messengers to sell his scheme.”
“For Gavin Newsom, it’s all distraction and deflection. Instead of addressing the $283 million price tag taxpayers are stuck with for his partisan power grab, he’s hosting a cringeworthy webinar packed with DC politicians, out-of-state influencers, and irrelevant podcasters, all lining up to applaud his gerrymandered maps,” Millan Patterson said in a statement Tuesday.
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who championed the creation of the independent redistricting commission while in office and has campaigned to stop gerrymandering across the nation after his term ended, forcefully denounced Proposition 50 on Monday.
“They are trying to fight for democracy by getting rid of the democratic principles of California,” Schwarzenegger told hundreds of students at an event celebrating democracy at the University of Southern California. “It is insane to let that happen.”
The former governor, a Trump foe who has prioritized good governance at his institute at USC, said the effort to dismantle the independent commission’s congressional districts to counter Trump are anti-democratic.
“They want to get rid of it under the auspices of we have to fight Trump,” Schwarzenegger said. “It doesn’t make any sense to me because we have to fight Trump, [yet] we become Trump.”
And on the morning of Sept. 10, opponents of the ballot measure rallied in Orange County, speaking about how redrawing congressional districts would dilute the voice of communities around the state.
“We’re here because Prop. 50 poses a serious threat to Orange County’s voice, to our communities and to our taxpayers. This measure is not about fairness. It’s about power grab,” said Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen during a rally at the Asian Garden Mall in Little Saigon, a Vietnamese hub in Westminster. “And it comes at the expense of our taxpayers, our small businesses and our minority communities.”
She noted that Little Saigon would be grouped with Norwalk in Los Angeles County if the ballot measure passes.
“Ask anybody in this area if they even know where Norwalk is,” Nguyen said.
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Abandoned Hawthorne mall must be redeveloped or razed by next summer
Hawthorne city officials are fed up with the owners of long-vacant Hawthorne Plaza and have obtained a permanent court injunction requiring them to either redevelop or demolish it by August 2026.
The sprawling mall, once the pride of the South Bay city in Los Angeles County, has been empty for two decades. It is so decrepit that it has served as a post-apocalyptic setting for music videos by stars such as Drake, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
Its derelict presence has long been a source of complaints among residents, and last week the city acted by securing the injunction. It follows a nuisance abatement action brought by the town “after years of inaction by the property’s owners, the Charles Co., and its affiliate M&A Gabaee,” the city said in a statement.
Mark Gabaee, listed as the owner by real estate data provider CoStar, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The main entrance to Hawthorne Plaza in January 1997.
(Bob Chamberlin/The Los Angeles Times)
The mall on Hawthorne Boulevard, which closed in 1999, has been a source of ongoing community concern due to trespassing, graffiti, trash and safety issues, the city said.
“Redevelopment of the site is considered critical to the economic recovery of the City’s downtown and will also provide relief to surrounding neighborhoods,” the city said.
It was a long fall for the mall, which opened in 1977, featuring performances by the Hawthorne High School Band and a local Boy Scout color guard. It had its own mascot, named “Nate Hawthorne,” The Times reported.
At its peak, Hawthorne Plaza had 130 stores, but by 1997, only 73 remained.
It still looked like a proper mall when scenes from the 2002 movie “Minority Report” starring Tom Cruise were filmed there, but it later took on a vacant, broken and graffiti-covered appearance that made it appealing to music video makers and trespassing dead-mall enthusiasts.
The Los Angeles Board of Commissioners of Building and Safety voted last month to declare buildings in another formerly beloved mall owned by the Charles Co. a nuisance. City Councilman Adrin Nazarian supported the nuisance declaration for Valley Plaza in North Hollywood, which dates to the 1950s and was severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
“Once, this shopping center was a source of pride to our community,” Nazarian said. “Now it’s become a blight on the neighborhood and a constant danger to the public.”
Charles Co. co-founder and co-managing partner Arman Gabaee was sentenced in2022 to four years in prison for bribing a Los Angeles County official in what prosecutors described as one of the biggest corruption cases in L.A. history.
He admitted giving a county official dozens of cash payoffs during furtive meetings in cars, restaurants and men’s rooms while reaping lucrative real-estate leases in return.
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Rams’ Sean McVay shakes off plantar fascia tear – Press Enterprise
LOS ANGELES — As he walked toward the lectern for his Wednesday press conference, Rams head coach Sean McVay seemed steady on his feet, no sign of the torn plantar fascia he suffered in his left foot during Sunday’s win over the Tennessee Titans.
“I feel good,” McVay said. “It’s actually better.”
McVay said he had been experiencing some restriction with his foot prior to Sunday. Then when he ran down the sideline to call a timeout, he felt a pop in his heel.
The coach will not require surgery on the torn tendon, saying that tearing the tendon is what surgeons do during the procedure to accelerate healing.
“It was temporarily painful but it actually feels a lot better now. So it’s a positive that I tore my plantar fascia,” McVay said jovially. “No issues for me. I did have to hop down there, I got the damn timeout even on one leg. I’m telling you it was because of the pure twitch that thing just snapped. So I’m back, I’m ready to go.”
Rams add to secondary
The Rams made a roster move to address cornerback after Ahkello Witherspoon was placed on injured reserve Monday with a broken clavicle, signing free agent Tre Brown to the active roster.
A former fourth-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks, Brown’s first two seasons in the NFL were largely derailed by injuries. But in 2023 when he was able to stay healthy, Brown recorded six passes defended, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
“Physical, stout at the point of attack, has good short-space quickness and lateral agilities,” McVay said. “So there’s a familiarity having gone against him when he’s in Seattle and then I think he brings some speed to the perimeter where he can do some different things. Hopefully he can potentially help us on special teams.”
The Rams still figure to rotate between Emmanuel Forbes, Cobie Durant and Darious Williams as their primary cornerbacks, with second-year player Josh Wallace also contributing.
Injury report
Rams left guard Steve Avila (ankle sprain) and defensive lineman Braden Fiske (oblique) did not practice Wednesday ahead of the Rams’ Week 3 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Both were on the sidelines rehabbing with the training staff.
Tight end Colby Parkinson was a limited participant Wednesday as he continues to recover from an AC sprain in his left shoulder. Parkinson worked out on the Nissan Stadium field prior to Sunday’s win over the Titans, running sprints and routes while catching passes from a member of the training staff. He ultimately was inactive in Week 2. Without Parkinson, the Rams’ usage of 12-personnel sets dropped from 24 snaps in Week 1 to 14 against the Titans.
Rams receiver Davante Adams and right tackle Rob Havenstein each received veteran rest days Wednesday.
Originally Published:
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I & I Brewing in Chino is closing – Press Enterprise
This one stings.
Oh, we knew it was coming when I & I Brewing held what was likely its last big concert back in April.
We knew the brewery would likely close in September when the lease was up.
We just can’t believe it’s actually happening.
The Chino brewery will close its doors Saturday, Sept. 20.
The brewery, which opened in 2012, turned out to be a great place to hang out, meet new friends, drink some tasty beers and catch the occasional reggae concert.
I’ve been a fan pretty much since they opened in a tiny taproom that could hold about four people before being crowded.
The brewery eventually moved to a larger space nearby that could accommodate more people … and host those concerts.
But now it’s over.
The brewery is expected to be open 1-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, through Saturday.
One final concert featuring SGV Vibes is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.
However, the brewery will live on.
Metabolic Brewing Co., which opened last year in Ontario, announced this week it will be taking over the space as its second location.
For now, I & I Brewing is at 5135 Edison Ave., Suite 1.
Thompson Brewing turns eight
Things are a little happier over at Thompson Brewing Co. in Riverside, which is celebrating its eighth anniversary Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19 and 20.
The event will feature music both days, raffles on Friday and a Golden Ticket hunt and a sundae bar on Saturday.
Of course, there will also be delicious Thompson Brewing food and drinks.
On Sunday, Sept. 21, the brewery will host a Back to the ’80s Pups and Brews.
From noon-2 p.m., the brewery will give out free pup cups (dog-friendly desserts) and free printed photos of your pup.
Dressing your dog in ’80s attire is optional, but encouraged. (Now where did I put those doggie leg warmers?)
Attendees can register on Eventbrite for a free goodie bag for their pup.
For updates, visit the brewery’s Instagram page, @thompsonbrewingco.
Weekend hours are 5-10 p.m. Friday, noon-9 p.m. Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
Thompson Brewing is at 9900 Indiana Ave., Suite 7.
Now in Colton
Recently, I noticed activity at the former Colton Taco Joe’s at 1431 E. Washington St.
Eventually a sign went up for Chick-N-Falafel.
The Mediterranean restaurant serves, well, chicken and falafel, in a variety of ways, along with beef shawarma.
Wraps, burritos, bowls and plates are among the options.
The restaurant also offers something I’ve never seen here in the Inland Empire, koshari, an Egyptian dish made with rice, pasta and black lentils and topped with a tomato sauce.
Hours are 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily.
Mountains update
Frequent contributor Kevin emailed me a little while ago with some restaurant happenings in the Crestline area.
He notes that the The A Restaurant (a former A&W Restaurant) had reopened in August.
Now going by A Burger, the restaurant offers a little history on its website.
Mountain dwellers likely have stories of its late former owner, Liz, who appears to have been quite a colorful character. (You can read some of them here.)
A Burger is at 24075 Lake Drive.
Also, Kevin mentioned that El Jefe’s Little Kitchen food truck is now parked regularly at the Lake Gregory Trading Company Antique and Craft Mall at 23987 Lake Drive, Crestline.
And finally, Krispy Krunchy Chicken has opened inside the Crestline Market Shell, 23735 Lake Drive.
Thanks for the updates!
Engine trouble forces Northrop Grumman to delay supply delivery to International Space Station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A newly launched supply ship has run into engine trouble that is preventing it from reaching the International Space Station.
Northrop Grumman’s capsule rocketed into orbit Sunday from Florida aboard SpaceX. But less than two days later, the capsule’s main engine shut down prematurely while trying to boost its orbit.
The Cygnus capsule was supposed to dock Wednesday, delivering more than 11,000 pounds (5,000 kilograms) of cargo. But NASA said everything is on hold while flight controllers consider an alternate plan.
This marked the debut of Northrop Grumman’s newest, extra large model, known as Cygnus XL, capable of ferrying a much bigger load.
The shipment includes food and science experiments for the seven space station residents, as well as spare parts for the toilet and other systems.
Northrop Grumman is one of NASA’s two cargo suppliers to the space station. The other is SpaceX. Russia also provides regular shipments to the 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) orbiting lab, with the latest delivery arriving over the weekend.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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What a possible Fed rate cut would mean for your finances
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the first time in nine months. Since the last cut, progress on inflation has slowed while the labor market has cooled. That means Americans are dealing with both high prices and a challenging job market.
The federal funds rate, set by the Federal Reserve, is the rate at which banks borrow and lend to one another. While the rates that consumers pay to borrow money aren’t directly linked to this rate, shifts in Fed policy affect what people pay for credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and other financial products.
The Fed has two goals when it sets the rate: one, to manage prices for goods and services, and two, to encourage full employment. This is known as the “dual mandate.” Typically, the Fed might increase the rate to try to bring down inflation and decrease it to encourage faster economic growth and more hiring. The challenge now is that inflation is higher than the Fed’s 2% target but the job market is weak, putting the Fed in a difficult position.
“The dual mandate is always a balancing act,” said Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at personal finance site NerdWallet.
Here’s what to know:
For prospective homebuyers, the market has already priced in the rate cut, which means it’s “unlikely to make a noticeable difference for most consumers at the time of the announcement,” according to Bankrate financial analyst Stephen Kates.
“Much of the impact on mortgage rates has already occurred through anticipation alone,” he said. “(Mortgage) rates have been falling since January and dropped further as weaker-than-expected economic data pointed to a cooling economy.”
Still, Kates said a declining interest rate environment will provide some relief for borrowers over time.
“Whether it’s a homeowner with a 7% mortgage or a recent graduate hoping to refinance student loans and credit card debt, lower rates can ease the burden on many indebted households by opening opportunities to refinance or consolidate,” he said.
For savers, falling interest rates will slowly erode attractive yields currently on offer with certificates of deposit (CDs) and high-yield savings accounts.
Right now, the best rates on offer for each have been hovering at or above 4% for CDs and at 4.6% for high-yield savings accounts, according to DepositAccounts.com.
Those are still better than the trends of recent years, and a good option for consumers who want to earn a return on money they may want to access in the near-term. A high-yield savings account generally has a much higher annual percentage yield than a traditional savings account. The national average for traditional savings accounts is currently 0.38%.
There may be a few accounts with returns of about 4% through the end of 2025, according to Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com, but the Fed cuts will filter down to these offerings, lowering the average yields as they do.
Americans have faced steeper auto loan rates over the last three years after the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate starting in early 2022. Those are not expected to decline any time soon. While a cut will contribute to eventual relief, it might be slow in arriving, analysts say.
“If the auto market starts to freeze up and people aren’t buying cars, then we may see lending margins start to shrink, but auto loan rates don’t move in lockstep with the Fed rate,” said Bankrate analyst Stephen Kates.
Prices for new cars have leveled off recently, but remain at historically high levels, not adjusting for inflation.
Generally speaking, an auto loan annual percentage rate can run from about 4% to 30%. Bankrate’s most recent weekly survey found that average auto loan interest rates are currently at 7.19% on a 60-month new car loan.
Interest rates for credit cards are currently at an average of 20.13%, and the Fed’s rate cut may be slow to be felt by anyone carrying a large amount of credit card debt. That said, any reduction is positive news.
“While the broader impact of a rate reduction on consumers’ financial health remains to be fully seen, it could offer some relief from the persistent budgetary pressures driven by inflation,” said Michele Raneri, vice president and head of U.S. research at credit reporting agency TransUnion.
“These savings could contribute to a reduction in delinquency rates across credit card and unsecured personal loan segments,” she said.
Still, the best thing for anyone carrying a large credit card balance is to prioritize paying down high-interest-rate debt, and to seek to transfer any amounts possible to lower APR cards or negotiate directly with credit card companies for accommodation.
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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
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Another beachfront stilt house collapses into the surf on the Outer Banks
BUXTON, N.C. — A beachfront stilt home along the Outer Banks in North Carolina has collapsed into the surf, bringing the total number of houses claimed by the Atlantic Ocean to 12 in the past five years.
The two-story, wood-shingled home at the north end of Hatteras Island collapsed Tuesday afternoon, littering the sand with nail-studded debris. The house was unoccupied, said Mike Barber, a spokesman for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
“Seashore staff are out today, cleaning up the beach to the south of the collapse site,” Barber said in an email Wednesday. He said the homeowner has also hired a contractor to “work primarily near the house collapse site to remove the bulk of the remaining house structure and nearby debris associated with the collapse.”
The previous 11 home collapses since May 2020 were all in the tiny village of Rodanthe, the eastern-most point in North Carolina, and made famous by novelist Nicholas Sparks. During the state’s recent brush with Hurricane Erin, many locals were watching two beachfront houses there, but they survived the surf.
The latest house to succumb was less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the famed Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was moved 2,900 feet (884 meters) inland in 1999 to save it from erosion.
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Kennedy’s vaccine committee plans to vote on COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox shots
NEW YORK — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisory committee meets this week, with votes expected on whether to change recommendations on shots against COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox.
The exact questions to be voted on Thursday and Friday in Atlanta are unclear. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to questions seeking details to a newly posted agenda, although the department announced five additional appointments to the committee Monday.
Some public health experts are worried that the votes will — at a minimum — raise unwarranted new questions about vaccines in the minds of parents.
Perhaps even more consequential would be a vote that restricts a government program from paying for vaccines for low-income families.
“I’m tightening my seat belt,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccines expert.
The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how already-approved vaccines should be used. CDC directors have almost always accepted those recommendations, which are widely heeded by doctors and guide vaccination programs.
Kennedy, a leading antivaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official, fired the entire 17-member panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.
Here’s a look at the three vaccines being discussed:
Before Kennedy was health secretary, ACIP would typically vote in June to reaffirm recommendations for shots against respiratory viruses that sicken millions of Americans each fall and winter.
This past June, Kennedy’s ACIP voted to recommend flu shots for Americans but was silent on COVID-19 shots.
Before that meeting, Kennedy announced he was removing COVID-19 shots from the CDC’s recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. The move was heavily criticized by doctors’ groups and public health organizations, and prompted a lawsuit by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups.
Days after Kennedy’s announcement, CDC officials said families could still get the 2024-2025 version of COVID-19 shots for their kids in consultation with their doctors. That clarification meant shots would still be covered by the federal government’s Vaccines For Children program, which pays for shots for families who lack money or adequate health insurance coverage. It’s now responsible for roughly half of childhood vaccinations in the U.S. each year.
As with flu shots, however, there are new COVID-19 formulations each fall, to account for changes in which strains are circulating. The committee has not yet voted on whether to recommend this season’s COVID-19 shots or whether those shots should be covered by the VFC program.
Further complicating the picture: When the FDA last month licensed this fall’s COVID-19 shots, the agency took the unusual step of narrowing their use for healthy younger adults and children.
If the ACIP simply follows that, and if there is no additional clarifying language from the CDC, then “that would take away access for roughly half of America’s kids,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The pediatricians group urges that vaccinations continue for all children ages 6 months to 2 years.
Hepatitis B can cause serious liver infections. In adults, the virus is spread through sex or through sharing needles during use injection-drug use.
But the virus also can be passed to a baby from an infected mother, and as many as 90% of infected infants go on to have chronic infections.
A hepatitis B vaccine was first licensed in the U.S. in 1981. In 2005, the ACIP recommended a dose within 24 hours of birth for all medically stable infants who weigh at least 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms).
Infant vaccinations are stressed for women who have hepatitis B or, crucially, who have not been tested for it. The infant shots are 85% to 95% effective in preventing chronic hepatitis B infections, studies have shown.
Newborn hepatitis B vaccinations are considered a success, and no recent peer-reviewed research shows any safety problem with giving kids the shots on their first day of life, Schaffner said.
But Kennedy’s ACIP members suggested in June they wanted to revisit the guidance.
Schaffner noted that health officials used to rely on screening mothers before birth but that many cases were missed.
“There were lots of failures,” he said. “And so there were continuing transmissions from mother to child.”
Chickenpox was once a common childhood annoyance, causing an itchy skin rash and fever.
But the highly contagious virus can also lead to complications such as skin infections, swelling of the brain and pneumonia. Severe cases are more common among teens and adults who get it for the first time. The virus — called varicella — also can reactivate later in life and cause the painful illness called shingles.
The government first recommended that all children get a chickenpox vaccine in 1995, leading to a dramatic drop in cases and deaths.
In 2005, a combination MMRV shot — measles, mumps, rubella and varicella — was licensed. The CDC initially recommended that doctors and parents use the combo shot over separate MMR and varicella injections.
But within a few years, studies showed children who got the combo shot more often developed a rash, fever and — in rare instances — seizures after vaccination compared with children who got separate shots.
In 2009, the ACIP changed its recommendation, removing the preferential language and saying either the combination shot or separate shots were acceptable for the first dose.
Today, most pediatricians suggest separate doses for the first shot, but give the combined shot for the second dose, pediatrics experts say.
Again, there’s no new evidence about harms from MMRV shots, said O’Leary, of AAP.
Why revisit it now?
“This version of the ACIP is an orchestrated effort to sow distrust in vaccines,” O’Leary said.
Meanwhile, HHS officials on Monday announced five new committee members — bringing the roster to 12.
The new members are:
— Hillary Blackburn, a pharmacist and podcaster who HHS officials said is director of medication access and affordability for AscensionRx.
— Dr. Evelyn Griffin, an obstetrician and gynecologist based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
— Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who with his wife operates a medical missionary organization called For Hearts and Souls. He appeared at a 2024 congressional hearing at which he said an increase in cardiovascular disease in older teens and young adults should be attributed to vaccines.
— Dr. Raymond Pollak, a transplant specialist based in Skokie, Illinois.
— Catherine Stein, a Case Western Reserve University disease researcher. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked with an Ohio anti-vaccine group and argued that case counts were inaccurate and that the coronavirus was not as dangerous as health officials portrayed.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Students at Utah Valley University return to campus a week after Charlie Kirk shooting
Students at Utah Valley University are returning to campus on Wednesday, one week after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was killed while holding an outdoor event at the university.
Hope Ledkins, a first-year student at Utah Valley University, told ABC News returning to class is a “very sad, very somber feeling.”
“This doesn’t happen in Orem, Utah,” Ledkins said. “To have something like this happen, people just feel really mixed up about it.”
People gaze down at the site where Charlie Kirk was shot, above which hangs an American flag, at Utah Valley University, Sept. 15, 2025, in Orem, Utah.
Jesse Bedayn/AP
As students return to campus, law enforcement continues to investigate Tyler Robinson, 22, who is accused of assassinating Kirk at the university on Sept. 10.
Robinson was formally charged with aggravated murder on Tuesday, with prosecutors announcing the intent to seek the death penalty. He was also charged with felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced.
Robinson made a short first court appearance on Tuesday.
Alleged Charlie Kirk shooter Tyler Robinson make his first court appearance in Utah.
State of Utah/District Court
Prosecutors on Tuesday offered more insight into the killing and Robinson’s alleged discussions with family and his roommate in the wake of the shooting.
After his father recognized Robinson in photographs released by authorities, the suspect met with his parents and “implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn’t go to jail and just wanted to end it,” the charging documents said.
His parents then asked their son why he committed this crime, to which he said “there is too much evil and the guy [Charlie Kirk] spreads too much hate,” according to the charging documents.
Exactly what Robinson was allegedly referring to by “hate” was not clear. Investigators noted that Robinson’s mom told them that her son allegedly began having a relationship with his roommate, who is transitioning, and had begun leaning to the left more politically, becoming “more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” but the document does not indicate the relevance of those stances nor whether Kirk’s remarks about those issues were a motivating factor.
Gray said he would let a judge determine whether the statements allegedly made by Robinson constituted a confession. On Tuesday, he declined to comment on whether Robinson has been cooperating or spoken to investigators.
Prosecutors also revealed text messages between the suspect and his roommate.
Utah Attorney Jeff Gray outlines formal charges against Tyler Robinson in the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, September 16, 2025.
KTVX
On the day of the shooting, the roommate received a text message from the 22-year-old that said, “drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard,” charging documents said.
The roommate found a note underneath Robinson’s keyboard that said, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” according to charging documents.
Workers replace grass in the Utah Valley University courtyard where political activist Charlie Kirk was shot, on September 15, 2025 in Orem, Utah.
Chet Strange/Getty Images
Prosecutors also revealed additional conversations between the suspect and his roommate after the shooting.
“I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” one of the messages read.
Robinson’s roommate asked how long he had been planning this attack, to which he said “a little over a week I believe,” according to charging documents.
People walk around the site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University last week, Sept. 17, 2025, in Orem, Utah.
Jesse Bedayn/AP
As the suspect remains in custody without bail, FBI Director Kash Patel said a “number of individuals” are currently being investigated who are linked to the suspect’s Discord, a group chat messaging platform where Robinson allegedly confessed he was the shooter two hours before he was taken into custody.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all…It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” one of the messages read.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Patel said “a lot more” than 20 people are linked to Robinson and that the FBI is looking into “anyone and everyone involved in the Discord chat.”
Robinson’s next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.
ABC News’ Jaclyn Lee contributed to this report.
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Travelers ranked these airports the best in North America
J.D. Power has released its annual rankings for the best airports in North America.
The findings are based on more than 30,000 flyer surveys from U.S. or Canadian residents.
Key metrics included in the survey were:
- How easy it is to travel through an airport
- Level of trust or confidence in an airport
- Facilities
- Airport staff
- Departure and arrival experiences
- Food and retail
Airports that incorporate food and local brands to create a “genuine sense of location” see a big boost in their scores and how much people spend while they are there, according to J.D. Power’s rankings report.
Best airport winners
The survey divided the airport rankings based on number of travelers.
The biggest airports – ones called “mega” airports – are defined as those with at least 33 million passengers per year. Large airports have between 10 and 32.9 million passengers per year and medium airports have 4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was the top scoring mega airport for the second consecutive year, followed by Detroit and Phoenix.
In the large airport category, John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, beat out Tampa International Airport and Dallas Love Field.
Among medium airports, for the fourth year in a row, Indianapolis International Airport ranks highest. Indianapolis is routinely ranked as one of the best airports in the U.S.
It is followed by Southern California’s Ontario International and Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
Overall, mega airports tend to lag behind smaller ones because passengers are more likely to hit longer wait times and experience bigger crowds.
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OpenAI says it is rolling out new safety measures for ChatGPT users under 18
OpenAI announced Tuesday that it is directing teens to an age-appropriate version of its ChatGPT technology as it seeks to bolster safeguards amid a period of heightened scrutiny over the chatbot’s safety.
Users of the chatbot identified as under the age of 18 will automatically be directed to a version of ChatGPT governed by “age-appropriate” content rules, OpenAI said in a statement. This under-age edition includes protection policies such as blocking sexual content and — “in rare cases of acute distress” — law enforcement to ensure a user’s safety, according to the company.
“The way ChatGPT responds to a 15-year-old should look different than the way it responds to an adult,” the company said in the announcement.
OpenAI also said it is introducing parental controls, such as enabling parents to link their account to their teen’s account, manage chat history, set blackout hours and more. The safeguards will be available by the end of September.
The announcement comes just days after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a probe into the potential negative effects of AI chatbot companions on children and teens. OpenAI said that it’s prioritizing “making ChatGPT helpful and safe for everyone, and we know safety matters above all else when young people are involved.
A spokesperson for OpenAI recently told CBS News that it’s prioritizing “making ChatGPT helpful and safe for everyone.”
Before the FTC probe, OpenAI indicated that it would introduce extra safety protections for vulnerable users and teens, after the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine of California, who died by suicide in April, sued the company late last month. Raine’s family allege that ChatGPT led their teen to commit suicide.
It’s unclear how OpenAI plans to indentify users’ ages, however, it stated that if ChatGPT is unsure about someone’s age, or has incomplete information, it will default to the under-18 version.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment.
Other tech companies have taken similar steps to shield teen users from inappropriate content. YouTube, for example, announced a new age-estimation technology that will track the types of videos users watch and how long they’ve had their account to verify if they are under the age of 18.
According to an April Pew Research Center report, parents are generally more worried about the mental health of teenagers than are teens themselves. Among those parents who are at least somewhat concerned about teen mental health, 44% said social media had the biggest negative impact on adolescents.
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Trump greeted by King Charles as he begins U.K. state visit in shadow of Epstein scandal
Small protest against Trump’s visit held outside BBC headquarters
A few hundred people gathered outside the BBC television network’s headquarters in London on Wednesday to protest against President Trump’s state visit to the U.K.
One woman, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, held a sign that showed Mr. Trump’s face and another that said: “The Statue of Taking Liberties.”
One man said even though Mr. Trump might not see the protest during his visit, his own conscience demanded that he come out in defiance anyway.
Anhelina Shamlii/CBS News 
In 2018, it was estimated that over 100,000 people protested against Mr. Trump’s first state visit to the U.K., and demonstrators unfurled a large balloon depicting Mr. Trump as an orange baby.
Today, that large balloon is in a museum, but a number of the protesters were carrying miniature versions.
By Haley Ott and Ramy Inocencio
Trump to see U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer later today
President Trump has not yet met with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his state visit.
The two leaders are set to see one another, however, at the state banquet at Windsor Castle, on Wednesday evening, The Guardian newspaper reported.
The leaders will meet again on Thursday at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence, where they’re expected to view the Winston Churchill archives held at Chequers and then hold a bilateral meeting.
U.S. tech firms set to announce major U.K. investments
Nvidia, Microsoft and Google were among the U.S. tech companies to announce major investments in the U.K. as part of a “Tech Prosperity Deal” to be announced during Mr. Trump’s second state visit to Britain, boosting ties in AI, civil nuclear energy and quantum computing, according to the Reuters new agency.
Nvidia said it was sending over 120,000 graphics processing units across the U.K., as well as working to deploy up to 60,000 Grace Blackwell Ultra chips to U.K.-based Nscale, which will partner with OpenAI and Microsoft to create the U.K.’s largest supercomputer, according to the Reuters news agency.
Microsoft said it would invest the equivalent of $30 billion in the U.K. for the supercomputer and to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in Britain, Reuters reported.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will be participating in the state visit, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reported to also be attending.
“This is the week that I declare that the U.K. will be an AI superpower,” Huang told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. Huang, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who also spoke with the BBC on Wednesday, lauded Britain as one of the most promising environments for tech start-ups in the world.
U.K. military welcome for Trump state visit is largest in living memory
The military ceremony at Windsor Castle to welcome President Trump on Wednesday is the largest one staged for a U.K. state visit in living memory, The Associated Press reported.
Some 1,300 members of the British Armed Forces and 120 horses were taking part in the ceremonial welcome in Windsor.
There will also be a joint U.S.-U.K. military flypast, which is the first to take place during a state visit, the AP said.
“The joint flypast by U.K. and US F-35 aircraft is a demonstration of the strength of the U.K.-U.S. defense and security relationship,” the U.K. defense ministry said, according to the AP.
Royal carriages arrive at Windsor Castle
The carriages are now arriving at Windsor Castle, where President Trump and the first lady will join King Charles and Queen Camilla on a dais, flanked by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The U.S. and British national anthems are being played and a Guard of Honor will give a Royal Salute.
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS 
Mr. Trump and King Charles will inspect the Guard of Honor, then the King and Queen will lead Mr. Trump and the First Lady into the castle.
Trump and royals ride state carriages to Windsor Castle
President Trump and the first lady Melania joined King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales in a carriage procession to Windsor Castle.
The carriages will take the group through the Windsor estate. The first carriage will carry Mr. Trump and King Charles. The second will carry the first lady and Queen Camilla.
Toby Melville/REUTERS 
In the third carriage, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel with Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
A fourth carriage will transport other officials on Mr. Trump and the first lady’s teams.
As the procession began, the national anthems of both the U.S. and the U.K. were played by British military bands.
The route is lined by British military forces.
Trump greeted by Prince William and Kate as he and first lady arrive in Windsor
President Trump and first lady Melania arrived Wednesday at the British royal family’s sprawling Windsor estate, west of London, where they were greeted upon disembarking from the presidential Marine One helicopter by Prince William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales.
AARON CHOWN/POOL/AFP/Getty 
Marco Rubio arrives in Windsor ahead of the Trumps
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived at Windsor Castle by car on Wednesday, not long before President and first lady Trump were due to touch down on the grounds of the royal estate by helicopter.
Rubio shook hands with staff before joining other officials to wait for Mr. Trump’s royal welcome. The British news agency PA said security in the area was at peak levels, with two sniper positions visible on a distant roof.
London’s Metropolitan Police said 1,600 officers would be deployed in central London on Wednesday, including 500 officers assisting from other forces, according to The Associated Press. At least 50 protest groups were expected to demonstrate against Mr. Trump’s visit.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan criticizes Trump on the eve of his state visit
Ahead of President Trump’s state visit to the U.K., London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged Britons to reject “the reactionary populists and nativists who are exploiting economic concerns, the atomisation of modern life and a growing distrust of political and media institutions — something we have seen in countries across Europe and, of course, in the U.S.”
In an opinion piece for The Guardian newspaper, Khan, who’s long been a vocal critic of Mr. Trump, said the U.S. president “and his coterie have perhaps done the most to fan the flames of divisive, far-right politics around the world in recent years.”
Khan said that six years after Mr. Trump’s first state visit, the Trump administration’s “scapegoating minorities, illegally deporting U.S. citizens, deploying the military to the streets of diverse cities… aren’t just inconsistent with Western values – they’re straight out of the autocrat’s playbook.”
Khan said that while he understood the U.K. government needed to be “pragmatic” and maintain ties with the U.S., “it’s also important to ensure our special relationship includes being open and honest with each other. At times, this means being a critical friend and speaking truth to power — and being clear that we reject the politics of fear and division. Showing President Trump why he must back Ukraine, not Putin. Making the case for taking the climate emergency seriously. Urging the president to stop the tariff wars that are tearing global trade apart. And putting pressure on him to do much more to end Israel’s horrific onslaught on Gaza, as only he has the power to bring Israel’s brazen and repeated violations of international law to an end.”
What’s in store for President Trump’s second state visit to the U.K.
President Trump and the first lady will be flown Wednesday by helicopter roughly 20 miles from central London, where they spent the first night of their visit at the U.S. ambassador’s official residence, Winfield House, to Windsor Castle, in time for lunch. After being greeted by the future king, Prince William, and his wife Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, they will join King Charles III and Queen Camilla for lunch.
Later in the day Mr. Trump will lay a wreath at the crypt of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in Sept. 2022, before attending a musical performance and honorary military flyover at Windsor.
The night will be capped by a formal state banquet, hosted by the monarch.
Protesters greet Trump in the U.K. with massive images of Epstein
The protest group Led By Donkeys projected an enormous video onto the walls of Windsor Castle Tuesday night, hours before President Trump was due to arrive at the royal residence, depicting what it called “the story of Trump and Epstein.” A video shared by the group on social media included the narration, carried over loudspeakers in Windsor, detailing Mr. Trump’s previous ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender.
The Thames Valley Police confirmed in a statement that four people were arrested in connection with the demonstration.
Mark Kerrison/In Pictures/Getty 
“We take any unauthorized activity around Windsor Castle extremely seriously,” the force said in a statement. “Our officers responded swiftly to stop the projection and four people have been arrested. We are conducting a thorough investigation with our partners into the circumstances surrounding this incident and will provide further updates when we are in a position to do so.”
“I love it,” Trump declares as he lands in the U.K.
President Trump landed at London’s Stansted Airport on Tuesday evening for his second state visit to the U.K. The President made his way to the official central London residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K., called Winfield House, where he was asked by journalists how it felt to be back.
“I love it. I love Turnberry, I love Aberdeen, I love a lot of things here… they warm my heart, I want to tell you. They’re very special,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump has golf courses near Turnberry and Aberdeen in Scotland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty 
When asked if he had a message for King Charles III, Mr. Trump said: “We’re going to see him tomorrow, and he’s been a friend of mine for a long time. And everybody respects him and they love him.”
Spirit Airlines flight warned to move farther from Air Force One over Long Island: “Pay attention. Get off the iPad.”
Air traffic controllers urgently and repeatedly ordered the pilots of Spirit Airlines flight 1300 to turn away from Air Force One Tuesday over Long Island, New York. The Spirit flight was traveling from Fort Lauderdale to Boston as Air Force One was carrying President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and many others to a state visit to the United Kingdom.
“Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right,” an air traffic controller radioed according to recordings from liveatc.net. “Pay attention, Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right. Spirit 1300 turn 20 degrees right, now. Spirit wings 1300 turn 20 degrees right, immediately.”
Preliminary flight data from flightradar24.com indicates the Spirit Airbus A321 and Air Force One were flying parallel to each other eight miles apart, and were 11 miles apart when they were on the closest path where they could converge.
After the Spirit pilots acknowledged the transmission the controller clapped back, “Pay attention. Spirit 1300 traffic off your left wing by six mi– or eight miles, 747. I’m sure you can see who it is. Keep an eye out for him — he’s white and blue.”
“Safety is always our top priority,” a Spirit Spokesman told CBS News late Monday. “Spirit Airlines flight 1300 followed procedures and Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions while en route to Boston and landed uneventfully (in Boston).”
Spirit pilot responses were inaudible due to static on the ATC audio, but the planes were never at what the FAA would consider an unsafe distance, though they clearly got closer than controllers wanted them to be.
The FAA issued a statement saying, “Preliminary investigation shows aircraft maintained the required separation.”
Controllers quipping shortly after, “Pay attention. Get off the iPad.”
CBS News has reached out to the White House about this incident.
It was first spotted by an aviation tracker on social media, @xjonnyc.
— Ryan Sprouse, Katie Krupnik, and Sarah Ploss contributed to this report.
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Mixed use project, with nearly 1,600 homes approved to replace South Coast Plaza Village – Orange County Register
After three years of review, the Santa Ana City Council voted in favor of of South Coast Plaza’s redevelopment project proposal for The Village on Sunflower Avenue.
“Our city needs quality economic development and that’s what this project will deliver,” Santa Ana Councilmember Phil Becerra said in support of the proposal to replace the aging South Coast Plaza Village on the north side of Sunflower Avenue.
The unanimous vote was held at a public hearing Tuesday night, Sept. 16, in the first of two council meetings, with a final vote expected on Oct. 7. The project previously received unanimous support from the city’s Planning Commission in August, which recommended the City Council approve the project proposed by South Coast Plaza and its owners, the Segerstrom family.
“The Sergerstrom family only wants to build timeless quality, and they’re going to build what they think they can deliver, nothing more and nothing less,” said Justin McCusker, senior executive at South Coast Plaza.
Envisioned as a mixed-use urban community village with retail and commercial space at ground levels and residential towers up to 25 stories tall, The Village would replace the 17.2 acre shopping center known as South Coast Plaza Village, located across Sunflower Avenue from South Coast Plaza.
The proposal the council supported builds 1,583 homes, 80,000 square feet of retail and 300,000 square feet of office space, as well as 14 acres of parks and open space, with around 7.5 acres accessible to the public.
With South Coast Plaza and the Sergerstrom Center for the Arts nearby, the property lies at the busy corner of Bear Street and South Plaza Drive. It is considered a major entry point to one of Orange County’s most prominent shopping and cultural art scenes.
At the hearing Tuesday, at least 200 members from the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters and LiUna! Laborers’ Local 652 filled up the rows of seats to show support and spoke in favor of The Village construction at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The project is part of a transformation underway of the city’s south Bristol Street corridor, where Related Bristol’s redevelopment of the neighboring shopping centers was approved last year as one of Santa Ana’s largest redevelopment projects in history.
Developers say it will take roughly a decade to complete the project, with construction for the Village estimated at up to 20 years.
A 42-acre, two-block development, the neighboring Related Bristol project will replace two aged shopping centers on Bristol Street, across from South Coast Plaza. It will feature nearly 4,000 apartment units, 13 acres of parks space, a 250-room hotel, a 200-unit senior living tower, and up to 350,000 square feet of restaurants and shops, including a grocery store.
For both projects, developers opted to pay the city an in-lieu fee instead of including affordable housing onsite. Related Bristol will be paying $18 million into the fund, and an estimated $7.1 million will come from The Village to support the construction of affordable homes elsewhere in the city.
The city would also receive a $9.3 million community benefit payment for The Village project, with the City Council deciding where funds are allocated. Related California, the developers behind the Related Bristol project, will pay $22 million in community benefits.
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