Amna Nawaz:
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have reportedly failed to indict a man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent in Washington earlier this month. Video of the episode went viral on social media and became a flash point in the D.C. federal crackdown.
The Associated Press and other outlets are reporting that a grand jury rejected the felony charge against Sean Charles Dunn. It’s unclear if prosecutors will plan to try again.
The head of the CDC, Susan Monarez, has left the agency just weeks after taking the role. That’s according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC. The longtime government scientist was confirmed by the Senate late last month, after President Trump pulled his first pick — that was former Congressman Dave Weldon — over concerns about his views on vaccines and autism.
Monarez has been overseeing an agency still reeling from a shooting earlier this month at its Atlanta headquarters that left a police officer dead. Also, the CDC’s medical officer and the head of the agency’s vaccine unit both resigned today.
The FDA approved updated COVID-19 vaccines today for the fall and winter seasons, but with new restrictions. The agency approved jabs from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax for those 65 and older, but younger people will need to have at least one underlying medical condition to get a shot, like obesity, and those under 18 can still get vaccinated if a medical provider is consulted.
The FDA also said that Pfizer’s version of the vaccine will no longer be available for kids under 5. The new rules are a change from prior U.S. policy, which recommended annual COVID shots for all Americans 6 months and older.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia says he wants to seek asylum in the U.S. Lawyers for the Salvadoran national told a federal judge today about that request during a hearing into a separate effort to prevent his deportation to Uganda. The 30-year-old was rearrested earlier this week as officials seek to deport him for a second time.
He was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year and then returned to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges. Officials have claimed that he’s part of the dangerous MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia denies this and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Israel said today that the evacuation of Gaza City is inevitable ahead of its planned offensive there. That came as Gaza health officials reported at least 39 deaths today in Israeli attacks. They also said two more people died as a result of Israeli strikes on a hospital earlier this week. That death toll now stands at 22, including journalists, first responders, and others. Israel says it’s investigating the attack and maintains without evidence that six of those killed were militants.
In the meantime, at the U.N.:
