CASS COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect in connection with a three vehicle accident near Kansas City.

Just before 5:30 p.m. Sept 15, sheriff deputies responded to the area of 195th Street on Route D in Belton regarding a three-vehicle accident, according to the Cass County Sheriff.

The driver of a pickup truck had struck a semi and another vehicle. The vehicles sustained heavy damage. Deputies conducted standardized field sobriety tests for the driver of the pickup truck. He was placed into custody --- and has been identified as 37-year-old Justin Sherman of Amoret, Missouri.

 Sherman has been charged with two felony counts of Property Damage - 1st Degree, a felony for Leaving the Scene of an Accident - Property Damage Exceeding $1,000 and a misdemeanor for Driving While Intoxicated. 

Sherman is being held on a$50,000 bond, according to the sheriff's office.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758127542818.png" alt="Sherman photo Cass Co." />
                        <figcaption>Sherman photo Cass Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>CASS COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect in connection with a three vehicle accident near Kansas City.</p><p>Just before 5:30 p.m. Sept 15, sheriff deputies responded to the area of 195th Street on Route D in Belton regarding a three-vehicle accident, according to the Cass County Sheriff.</p><p>The driver of a pickup truck had struck a semi and another vehicle. The vehicles sustained heavy damage. Deputies conducted standardized field sobriety tests for the driver of the pickup truck. He was placed into custody --- and has been identified as 37-year-old Justin Sherman of Amoret, Missouri.</p><p> Sherman has been charged with two felony counts of Property Damage - 1st Degree, a felony for Leaving the Scene of an Accident - Property Damage Exceeding $1,000 and a misdemeanor for Driving While Intoxicated. </p><p>Sherman is being held on a$50,000 bond, according to the sheriff's office.</p>

Driver charged with felony for leaving 3-vehicle crash near KC

BROWN COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an incident in northeast Kansas.

Just before 10a.m. September 10, a sheriff's&nbsp;deputy was on routine patrol and noticed plywood scattered on U.S. 36 highway just south of Hiawatha that appeared to have been lost off of a vehicle going to the landfill, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.&nbsp;

&nbsp; A vehicle description was passed on to landfill employees by the deputy , and the suspect vehicle and occupants were made available for questioning when the deputy arrived.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 

Upon conclusion of the investigation, the driver of the vehicle, 31-year-old&nbsp; Edubiel Vega Gonzalez of&nbsp; Dawson, Nebraska was arrested on requested charges of Driving While License Cancelled, Suspended or Revoked&nbsp; and also cited for&nbsp; Littering&nbsp; The passengers in the Gonzalez vehicle were directed to clean the debris from the roadway.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758144874411.png" alt="Gonzalez photo Brown County" />
                        <figcaption>Gonzalez photo Brown County</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>BROWN COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an incident in northeast Kansas.</p><p>Just before 10a.m. September 10, a sheriff's&nbsp;deputy was on routine patrol and noticed plywood scattered on U.S. 36 highway just south of Hiawatha that appeared to have been lost off of a vehicle going to the landfill, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp; A vehicle description was passed on to landfill employees by the deputy , and the suspect vehicle and occupants were made available for questioning when the deputy arrived.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p>Upon conclusion of the investigation, the driver of the vehicle, 31-year-old&nbsp; Edubiel Vega Gonzalez of&nbsp; Dawson, Nebraska was arrested on requested charges of Driving While License Cancelled, Suspended or Revoked&nbsp; and also cited for&nbsp; Littering&nbsp; The passengers in the Gonzalez vehicle were directed to clean the debris from the roadway.</p>

Sheriff: Suspect with no drivers license dumped trash on Kan. highway

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely beginning Wednesday after comments that he made about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-shooting-suspect-things-to-know-dcde3f792f4d6636d44fb9f4fa53569c">Charlie Kirk's killing</a>&nbsp;led a group of ABC-affiliated stations to say it would not air the show.

<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jimmy-kimmel">Kimmel, the veteran late-night comic</a>, made several comments about the reaction to Kirk's assassination on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday and Tuesday nights, including that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”

ABC, which has aired Kimmel's late-night show since 2003, moved swiftly after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show starting Wednesday. Kimmel's comments about Kirk's death “are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division. Nexstar operates 23 ABC affiliates.

There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. ABC's statement did not cite a reason for why his show was preempted.

President Donald Trump celebrated ABC's move on the social media site Truth Social, writing: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”

He also targeted two other late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and said they should be canceled too, calling them “two total losers.” In July,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-end-8bad9f16f076df62c0ffc50e9c8adbab">after CBS canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,”</a>&nbsp;Trump wrote on his social media platform: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” Like Colbert, Kimmel has been consistently been critical of Trump and many of his policies.

In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel said that “we hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Authorities say Tyler Robinson, 22, who is charged with killing Kirk, grew up in a conservative household in southern Utah but was enmeshed in “leftist ideology.” His parents told investigators he had turned politically left and pro-LGBTQ rights in the last year.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/charlie-kirk-shooting-news#00000199-3e68-d49f-a99f-3fef75fe0000">Utah records</a>&nbsp;show he was registered as a voter, but not affiliated with either political party. His voter status is inactive, meaning&nbsp;<a href="https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title20A/Chapter2/20A-2-S505.html?v=C20A-2-S505_2025050720250507">he did not vote</a>&nbsp;in two regular general elections. He told his transgender partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

Kimmel's show pulled as audience waited for taping

An audience was lined up outside the theater where “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” tapes when they were told Wednesday’s show was canceled.

“We were just about to walk in — interestingly enough, they waited to pull the plug on this right as the studio audience was about to walk in,” Tommy Williams, a would-be audience member from Jacksonville, Florida, told The Associated Press outside the theater. “They didn’t tell us what had happened. They just said that the show was canceled.”

Williams said he was worried someone had been injured — until he saw that ABC had announced nearly at the same time online that the preemption was indefinite. Williams hadn’t been aware of Kimmel’s comments on Kirk, but sought them out after the announcement.

“They didn’t really seem to justify the means. It seemed to be a bit extreme. And it wasn’t like insulting to, it really had nothing to do with Charlie Kirk at all. He didn’t even mention anything ill about Charlie Kirk — it was about the shooter,” Williams said.

What Kimmel said on his show and reaction to it

Kimmel said that Trump's response to Kirk's death “is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?” He also said that FBI chief Kash Patel has handled the investigation into the killing “like a kid who didn't read the book, BSing his way through an oral report.”

He returned to the topic on Tuesday night, mocking Vice President JD Vance's performance as guest host for Kirk's podcast.

He said Trump was “fanning the flames” by attacking people on the left. “Which is it, are they a bunch of sissy pickleball players because they're too scared to be hit by tennis balls, or a well-organized deadly team of commandos, because they can't be both of those things.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, called Kimmel’s comments on Kirk some of the “sickest conduct possible” in an interview Wednesday morning with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson.

“There are calls for Kimmel to be fired. I think you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this,” Carr said.

Carr said it appeared to be an “intentional effort” to mislead the public that Charlie Kirk’s assassin was a right-wing Trump supporter.

The conservative group interest group Center for American Rights cited Carr’s comments in lodging a complaint Wednesday against ABC in addition to a prior complaint from early September accusing ABC of political bias. They wrote in the complaint that Kimmel showed a “reckless indifference or willful defiance of facts” and asked the commission to take ABC off air, if ABC did not take Kimmel off air first.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the administration for “using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression” in a post on X.

The move comes as the president, his administration and political party have stepped up their effort to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kirk-trump-cancel-culture-assassination-4d69649e382ea46d8dcf794150a1d3c9">police speech about Kirk’s death.</a>&nbsp;Vance earlier this week urged Americans to turn in fellow citizens who mocked the assassination. It is also the latest effort by the administration to use its power to lean on the media. Carr has launched investigations of outlets that have angered Trump and the president has sued numerous media organizations for negative coverage.

CBS said this past summer that it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-end-8bad9f16f076df62c0ffc50e9c8adbab">canceling Colbert’s show</a>&nbsp;at the end of this season for financial reasons, although some critics have wondered if his stance on Trump played a role. Soon after the cancellation, the FCC approved CBS parent company Paramount's long-pending deal with Skydance. ABC parent company Disney is currently awaiting regulatory approval for ESPN's acquisition of the NFL Network.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758149830141.png" alt="Image ABC" />
                        <figcaption>Image ABC</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>NEW YORK (AP) — ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely beginning Wednesday after comments that he made about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-shooting-suspect-things-to-know-dcde3f792f4d6636d44fb9f4fa53569c">Charlie Kirk's killing</a>&nbsp;led a group of ABC-affiliated stations to say it would not air the show.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jimmy-kimmel">Kimmel, the veteran late-night comic</a>, made several comments about the reaction to Kirk's assassination on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday and Tuesday nights, including that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”</p><p>ABC, which has aired Kimmel's late-night show since 2003, moved swiftly after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show starting Wednesday. Kimmel's comments about Kirk's death “are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division. Nexstar operates 23 ABC affiliates.</p><p>There was no immediate comment from Kimmel, whose contract is up in May 2026. ABC's statement did not cite a reason for why his show was preempted.</p><p>President Donald Trump celebrated ABC's move on the social media site Truth Social, writing: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”</p><p>He also targeted two other late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and said they should be canceled too, calling them “two total losers.” In July,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-end-8bad9f16f076df62c0ffc50e9c8adbab">after CBS canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,”</a>&nbsp;Trump wrote on his social media platform: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” Like Colbert, Kimmel has been consistently been critical of Trump and many of his policies.</p><p>In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel said that “we hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”</p><p>Authorities say Tyler Robinson, 22, who is charged with killing Kirk, grew up in a conservative household in southern Utah but was enmeshed in “leftist ideology.” His parents told investigators he had turned politically left and pro-LGBTQ rights in the last year.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/charlie-kirk-shooting-news#00000199-3e68-d49f-a99f-3fef75fe0000">Utah records</a>&nbsp;show he was registered as a voter, but not affiliated with either political party. His voter status is inactive, meaning&nbsp;<a href="https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title20A/Chapter2/20A-2-S505.html?v=C20A-2-S505_2025050720250507">he did not vote</a>&nbsp;in two regular general elections. He told his transgender partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”</p><h2>Kimmel's show pulled as audience waited for taping</h2><p>An audience was lined up outside the theater where “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” tapes when they were told Wednesday’s show was canceled.</p><p>“We were just about to walk in — interestingly enough, they waited to pull the plug on this right as the studio audience was about to walk in,” Tommy Williams, a would-be audience member from Jacksonville, Florida, told The Associated Press outside the theater. “They didn’t tell us what had happened. They just said that the show was canceled.”</p><p>Williams said he was worried someone had been injured — until he saw that ABC had announced nearly at the same time online that the preemption was indefinite. Williams hadn’t been aware of Kimmel’s comments on Kirk, but sought them out after the announcement.</p><p>“They didn’t really seem to justify the means. It seemed to be a bit extreme. And it wasn’t like insulting to, it really had nothing to do with Charlie Kirk at all. He didn’t even mention anything ill about Charlie Kirk — it was about the shooter,” Williams said.</p><h2>What Kimmel said on his show and reaction to it</h2><p>Kimmel said that Trump's response to Kirk's death “is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?” He also said that FBI chief Kash Patel has handled the investigation into the killing “like a kid who didn't read the book, BSing his way through an oral report.”</p><p>He returned to the topic on Tuesday night, mocking Vice President JD Vance's performance as guest host for Kirk's podcast.</p><p>He said Trump was “fanning the flames” by attacking people on the left. “Which is it, are they a bunch of sissy pickleball players because they're too scared to be hit by tennis balls, or a well-organized deadly team of commandos, because they can't be both of those things.”</p><p>FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, called Kimmel’s comments on Kirk some of the “sickest conduct possible” in an interview Wednesday morning with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson.</p><p>“There are calls for Kimmel to be fired. I think you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this,” Carr said.</p><p>Carr said it appeared to be an “intentional effort” to mislead the public that Charlie Kirk’s assassin was a right-wing Trump supporter.</p><p>The conservative group interest group Center for American Rights cited Carr’s comments in lodging a complaint Wednesday against ABC in addition to a prior complaint from early September accusing ABC of political bias. They wrote in the complaint that Kimmel showed a “reckless indifference or willful defiance of facts” and asked the commission to take ABC off air, if ABC did not take Kimmel off air first.</p><p>FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the administration for “using the weight of government power to suppress lawful expression” in a post on X.</p><p>The move comes as the president, his administration and political party have stepped up their effort to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kirk-trump-cancel-culture-assassination-4d69649e382ea46d8dcf794150a1d3c9">police speech about Kirk’s death.</a>&nbsp;Vance earlier this week urged Americans to turn in fellow citizens who mocked the assassination. It is also the latest effort by the administration to use its power to lean on the media. Carr has launched investigations of outlets that have angered Trump and the president has sued numerous media organizations for negative coverage.</p><p>CBS said this past summer that it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-colbert-late-show-cbs-end-8bad9f16f076df62c0ffc50e9c8adbab">canceling Colbert’s show</a>&nbsp;at the end of this season for financial reasons, although some critics have wondered if his stance on Trump played a role. Soon after the cancellation, the FCC approved CBS parent company Paramount's long-pending deal with Skydance. ABC parent company Disney is currently awaiting regulatory approval for ESPN's acquisition of the NFL Network.</p>

ABC suspends Kimmel's late-night show over remarks about Charlie Kirk’s death

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s public health system is headed to a “very dangerous place” with Health Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-f-kennedy-jr">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;and his team of anti-vaccine advisers in charge, fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Susan Monarez warned senators on Wednesday.

Describing extraordinary turmoil inside the nation's health agencies, Monarez and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Chief Debra Houry described exchanges in which Kennedy or political advisers rebuffed data supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

Monarez, who was fired after just 29 days on the job following disagreements with Kennedy, told senators deadly diseases like polio and whooping cough, long contained, are poised to make a comeback in the U.S.

“I believe preventable diseases will return, and I believe we will have our children harmed by things they don’t need to be harmed by,” Monarez said before the Senate health committee.

Monarez said she was ordered by Kennedy to resign if she did not sign off on new vaccine recommendations, which are expected to be released later this week by an advisory panel that Kennedy has stocked with medical experts and vaccine skeptics. She said that when she asked for data or science to back up Kennedy’s request to change the childhood vaccination schedule, he offered none.

She added that Kennedy told her “he spoke to the president every day about changing the childhood vaccination schedule.”

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the powerful health committee, listened intently as Monarez and Houry described conversations with Kennedy and his advisers.

“To be clear, he said there was not science or data, but he still expected you to change schedule?” Cassidy asked.

Cassidy carefully praised President Donald Trump for his commitment to promoting health policies but made it clear he was concerned about the circumstances surrounding Monarez's removal.

Houry, meanwhile, described similar exchanges with Kennedy's political advisers, who took an unprecedented role in preparing materials for meetings of the CDC's advisory vaccine panel.

Ahead of this week's meeting of the panel, Houry offered to include data around the hepatitis B shot that is administered to newborns to prevent spread of the deadly disease from the mother. She said a Kennedy adviser dismissed the data as biased because it might support keeping the shots on the schedule.

"You’re suggesting that they wanted to move away from the birth dose, but they were afraid that your data would say that they should retain it?" Cassidy asked.

During the Senate hearing, Democrats, all of whom opposed Monarez's nomination, also questioned Kennedy's motives for firing Monarez, who was approved for the job unanimously by Republicans.

“Frankly, she stood up for protecting the well-being of the American people, and for that reason she was fired,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats.

Monarez said it was both her refusal to sign off on new vaccination recommendations without scientific evidence and her unwillingness to fire high-ranking career CDC officials without cause that led to her ousting.

Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-senate-cdc-3a5a090fc9d9f547377203fe5c61ffa2">has denied</a>&nbsp;Monarez’s accusations that he ordered “rubber-stamped” vaccine recommendations but has acknowledged he demanded firings. He has described Monarez as admitting to him that she is “untrustworthy,” a claim Monarez has denied through her attorney.

While Senate Republicans have been mostly loath to challenge Trump or even Kennedy, many of them have expressed concerns about the lack of availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the health department’s decisions to scale back some childhood vaccines.

Others have backed up Kennedy’s distrust of the nation’s health agencies.

Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, a doctor, aggressively questioned Monarez about her “philosophy” on vaccines as she explained that her decisions were based on science. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Trump was elected to make change and suggested Monarez's job was to be loyal to Kennedy.

“America needs better than this,” Tuberville said.

The Senate hearing was taking place just a day before the vaccine panel starts its two-day session in Atlanta to discuss shots against COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox. It’s unclear how the panel might vote on the recommendations, though members have raised doubts about whether hepatitis B shots administered to newborns are necessary and have suggested COVID-19 recommendations should be more restricted.

The CDC director must endorse those recommendations before they become official. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jim-oneill-cdc-kennedy-trump-vaccines-58fd24f678bf46ea6ec96a2b09f85ff4">Jim O’Neill</a>, now serving as the CDC’s acting director, will be responsible for that.

“I'm very nervous about it,” Monarez said of the meeting.

Associated Press writers Mike Stobbe in New York and Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758119416377.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
                        <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s public health system is headed to a “very dangerous place” with Health Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-f-kennedy-jr">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;and his team of anti-vaccine advisers in charge, fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Susan Monarez warned senators on Wednesday.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RogerMarshallMD</a> admonishes Susan Monarez: “You are the problem.” <a href="https://t.co/4ow5WxO992">pic.twitter.com/4ow5WxO992</a></p>&mdash; HHS.gov (@HHSGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/HHSGov/status/1968340321500311721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Former CDC Director Susan Monarez delivers her opening statement: &quot;Today should not be about me. Today should be about the future of trust in public health.&quot; <br><br>Ms. Monarez details her time at the CDC and her firing from the agency. <a href="https://t.co/a45ZiXGZ0n">pic.twitter.com/a45ZiXGZ0n</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1968328090288881978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Describing extraordinary turmoil inside the nation's health agencies, Monarez and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Chief Debra Houry described exchanges in which Kennedy or political advisers rebuffed data supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccines.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry opening statement. <a href="https://t.co/5bK99PFZQY">pic.twitter.com/5bK99PFZQY</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1968328629521105280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Monarez, who was fired after just 29 days on the job following disagreements with Kennedy, told senators deadly diseases like polio and whooping cough, long contained, are poised to make a comeback in the U.S.</p><p>“I believe preventable diseases will return, and I believe we will have our children harmed by things they don’t need to be harmed by,” Monarez said before the Senate health committee.</p><h2>Monarez describes her firing by RFK</h2><p>Monarez said she was ordered by Kennedy to resign if she did not sign off on new vaccine recommendations, which are expected to be released later this week by an advisory panel that Kennedy has stocked with medical experts and vaccine skeptics. She said that when she asked for data or science to back up Kennedy’s request to change the childhood vaccination schedule, he offered none.</p><p>She added that Kennedy told her “he spoke to the president every day about changing the childhood vaccination schedule.”</p><p>Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the powerful health committee, listened intently as Monarez and Houry described conversations with Kennedy and his advisers.</p><p>“To be clear, he said there was not science or data, but he still expected you to change schedule?” Cassidy asked.</p><p>Cassidy carefully praised President Donald Trump for his commitment to promoting health policies but made it clear he was concerned about the circumstances surrounding Monarez's removal.</p><p>Houry, meanwhile, described similar exchanges with Kennedy's political advisers, who took an unprecedented role in preparing materials for meetings of the CDC's advisory vaccine panel.</p><p>Ahead of this week's meeting of the panel, Houry offered to include data around the hepatitis B shot that is administered to newborns to prevent spread of the deadly disease from the mother. She said a Kennedy adviser dismissed the data as biased because it might support keeping the shots on the schedule.</p><p>"You’re suggesting that they wanted to move away from the birth dose, but they were afraid that your data would say that they should retain it?" Cassidy asked.</p><h2>Critical vaccine decisions are ahead</h2><p>During the Senate hearing, Democrats, all of whom opposed Monarez's nomination, also questioned Kennedy's motives for firing Monarez, who was approved for the job unanimously by Republicans.</p><p>“Frankly, she stood up for protecting the well-being of the American people, and for that reason she was fired,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats.</p><p>Monarez said it was both her refusal to sign off on new vaccination recommendations without scientific evidence and her unwillingness to fire high-ranking career CDC officials without cause that led to her ousting.</p><p>Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-senate-cdc-3a5a090fc9d9f547377203fe5c61ffa2">has denied</a>&nbsp;Monarez’s accusations that he ordered “rubber-stamped” vaccine recommendations but has acknowledged he demanded firings. He has described Monarez as admitting to him that she is “untrustworthy,” a claim Monarez has denied through her attorney.</p><p>While Senate Republicans have been mostly loath to challenge Trump or even Kennedy, many of them have expressed concerns about the lack of availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the health department’s decisions to scale back some childhood vaccines.</p><p>Others have backed up Kennedy’s distrust of the nation’s health agencies.</p><p>Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, a doctor, aggressively questioned Monarez about her “philosophy” on vaccines as she explained that her decisions were based on science. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Trump was elected to make change and suggested Monarez's job was to be loyal to Kennedy.</p><p>“America needs better than this,” Tuberville said.</p><p>The Senate hearing was taking place just a day before the vaccine panel starts its two-day session in Atlanta to discuss shots against COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox. It’s unclear how the panel might vote on the recommendations, though members have raised doubts about whether hepatitis B shots administered to newborns are necessary and have suggested COVID-19 recommendations should be more restricted.</p><p>The CDC director must endorse those recommendations before they become official. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jim-oneill-cdc-kennedy-trump-vaccines-58fd24f678bf46ea6ec96a2b09f85ff4">Jim O’Neill</a>, now serving as the CDC’s acting director, will be responsible for that.</p><p>“I'm very nervous about it,” Monarez said of the meeting.</p><p>——</p><p>Associated Press writers Mike Stobbe in New York and Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed.</p>

🎥 Kan. U.S. Senator admonished fired CDC Chief: “You are the problem.”

Kansas City Chief All-Pro Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is celebrating a milestone birthday.&nbsp; On social media, the Chiefs sent a special message from his friends and family.

<p>Kansas City Chief All-Pro Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is celebrating a milestone birthday.&nbsp; On social media, the Chiefs sent a special message from his friends and family.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/PatrickMahomes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@patrickmahomes</a>, your friends and family have a message for you ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/lOM8folZB8">pic.twitter.com/lOM8folZB8</a></p>&mdash; Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1968373858773463079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 See who honored Patrick Mahomes on a milestone birthday

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point Wednesday and projected it would do so twice more this year as concern grows at the central bank about the health of the nation's labor market.

The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and it lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, had kept their rate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-powell-trump-rates-99d90bab1ba2faa0fc5d4a6106125da7">unchanged this year</a>&nbsp;as they evaluated the impact of tariffs, tighter immigration enforcement, and other Trump administration policies on inflation and the economy.

Yet the central bank’s focus has shifted quickly from inflation, which remains modestly above its 2% target, to jobs, as hiring has grounded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-economy-unemployment-trump-firing-f686eab61f7d6b702ca10b12b0250498">nearly to a halt</a>&nbsp;in recent months and the unemployment rate has ticked higher. Lower interest rates could reduce borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans, and business loans, and boost growth and hiring.

“In this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment appear to have risen,” Powell said at a press conference following the Fed's two-day meeting.

Fed officials also signaled that they expect to reduce their key rate twice more this year, but just once in 2026. Before the meeting, investors on Wall Street had projected five cuts for the rest of this year and next. Stocks wavered a bit as Powell took questions from reporters. The S&amp;P 500 ticked down 0.1% as of 3:40 p.m. ET.

Just one Fed policymaker dissented from the decision: Stephen Miran, who President Donald Trump appointed and was confirmed by the Senate in a rushed vote late Monday just hours before the meeting began. Miran preferred a larger half-point cut, but Powell told reporters there wasn't “very much support” for the bigger-size cut among Fed officials.

Many economists had forecast there would be additional dissents, and the meeting's outcome suggests that Powell was able to patch together a show of unity from a committee that includes Miran and two other Trump appointees from his first term, as well as a Fed governor, Lisa Cook, whom Trump is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-cook-trump-e9933d518af5155250bebbdc29fd3f2b">seeking to fire</a>.

Still, there were still significant differences among the 19 officials on the Fed's rate-setting committee about where the Fed should go next. Seven policymakers indicated they don't support any further cuts, while two supported just one more and 10 favor at least two more. One official — likely Miran — indicated that they would support several large cuts to bring the Fed's rate to 2.9% by year's end. Fed officials submit their forecasts of future rate moves anonymously.

Powell said the wide divergence reflects the uncertain outlook for the economy, given that inflation remains stubborn even as hiring has stumbled.

“There are no risk-free paths now,” Powell said. “It's not incredibly obvious what to do.”

The Fed is facing both a challenging economic environment and threats to its traditional independence from day-to-day politics. At the same time that hiring has weakened, inflation remains stubbornly elevated. It rose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-trump-federal-reserve-fabecefa501709184895bf73b3dc698a">2.9% in August</a>&nbsp;from a year ago, according to the consumer price index, up from 2.7% in July and noticeably above the Fed’s 2% target.

It’s unusual to have weaker hiring and elevated inflation, because typically a slowing economy causes consumers to pull back on spending, cooling price hikes. Powell suggested last month that sluggish growth could keep inflation in check even if tariffs lift prices further.

Separately, Trump’s attempted firing of Cook is the first time a president has tried to remove a Fed governor in the central bank’s 112-year history, and has been seen by many legal scholars as an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-trump-powell-cook-interest-rates-65f53b88f35f6fd4c670ce43efd6d852">unprecedented attack</a>&nbsp;on the Fed’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-powell-trump-independence-5c2ec1a37dc4aca6a59544f8b4513a45">independence</a>. His administration has accused Cook of mortgage fraud, but the accusation has come in the context of Trump’s extensive criticism of Powell and the Fed for not cutting rates much faster and steeper.

An appeals court late Monday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-cook-trump-56e36badb0d1e9752e306fd6609747bd">upheld an earlier ruling</a>&nbsp;that the firing violated Cook’s due process rights. A lower court had also previously ruled that Trump did not provide sufficient justification to remove Cook. Also late Monday, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-miran-trump-70a09bdf2e10839f35e1596cafe5c415">Senate voted to approve</a>&nbsp;Miran’s nomination, and he was quickly sworn in Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, Trump said Fed officials “have to make their own choice” on rates but added that “they should listen to smart people like me.” Trump has said the Fed should reduce rates by three full percentage points.

When asked what the signs would be that the Fed is no longer functioning independent of political pressure, Powell said, “I don’t believe we’ll ever get to that place. We’re doing our work exactly as we always have now.”

The Fed’s move to cut rates puts it in a different spot from many other central banks overseas. Last week, the European Central Bank left its benchmark rate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/european-central-bank-interest-rates-lagarde-d4618467d6e89764d61c9ef52756790d">unchanged</a>, as inflation has largely cooled and the economy has seen limited damage, so far, from U.S. tariffs. On Friday, the Bank of England is also expected to keep its rate on hold as inflation, at 3.8%, remains higher than in the United States.

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point Wednesday and projected it would do so twice more this year as concern grows at the central bank about the health of the nation's labor market.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fed Chair Powell: &quot;In support of our goals and in light of the shift in the balance of risks, today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to lower our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FOMC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FOMC</a> <a href="https://t.co/HFoopj40DY">pic.twitter.com/HFoopj40DY</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1968383292446498969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and it lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, had kept their rate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-powell-trump-rates-99d90bab1ba2faa0fc5d4a6106125da7">unchanged this year</a>&nbsp;as they evaluated the impact of tariffs, tighter immigration enforcement, and other Trump administration policies on inflation and the economy.</p><p>Yet the central bank’s focus has shifted quickly from inflation, which remains modestly above its 2% target, to jobs, as hiring has grounded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-economy-unemployment-trump-firing-f686eab61f7d6b702ca10b12b0250498">nearly to a halt</a>&nbsp;in recent months and the unemployment rate has ticked higher. Lower interest rates could reduce borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans, and business loans, and boost growth and hiring.</p><p>“In this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment appear to have risen,” Powell said at a press conference following the Fed's two-day meeting.</p><p>Fed officials also signaled that they expect to reduce their key rate twice more this year, but just once in 2026. Before the meeting, investors on Wall Street had projected five cuts for the rest of this year and next. Stocks wavered a bit as Powell took questions from reporters. The S&amp;P 500 ticked down 0.1% as of 3:40 p.m. ET.</p><p>Just one Fed policymaker dissented from the decision: Stephen Miran, who President Donald Trump appointed and was confirmed by the Senate in a rushed vote late Monday just hours before the meeting began. Miran preferred a larger half-point cut, but Powell told reporters there wasn't “very much support” for the bigger-size cut among Fed officials.</p><p>Many economists had forecast there would be additional dissents, and the meeting's outcome suggests that Powell was able to patch together a show of unity from a committee that includes Miran and two other Trump appointees from his first term, as well as a Fed governor, Lisa Cook, whom Trump is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-cook-trump-e9933d518af5155250bebbdc29fd3f2b">seeking to fire</a>.</p><p>Still, there were still significant differences among the 19 officials on the Fed's rate-setting committee about where the Fed should go next. Seven policymakers indicated they don't support any further cuts, while two supported just one more and 10 favor at least two more. One official — likely Miran — indicated that they would support several large cuts to bring the Fed's rate to 2.9% by year's end. Fed officials submit their forecasts of future rate moves anonymously.</p><p>Powell said the wide divergence reflects the uncertain outlook for the economy, given that inflation remains stubborn even as hiring has stumbled.</p><p>“There are no risk-free paths now,” Powell said. “It's not incredibly obvious what to do.”</p><p>The Fed is facing both a challenging economic environment and threats to its traditional independence from day-to-day politics. At the same time that hiring has weakened, inflation remains stubbornly elevated. It rose&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-trump-federal-reserve-fabecefa501709184895bf73b3dc698a">2.9% in August</a>&nbsp;from a year ago, according to the consumer price index, up from 2.7% in July and noticeably above the Fed’s 2% target.</p><p>It’s unusual to have weaker hiring and elevated inflation, because typically a slowing economy causes consumers to pull back on spending, cooling price hikes. Powell suggested last month that sluggish growth could keep inflation in check even if tariffs lift prices further.</p><p>Separately, Trump’s attempted firing of Cook is the first time a president has tried to remove a Fed governor in the central bank’s 112-year history, and has been seen by many legal scholars as an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-trump-powell-cook-interest-rates-65f53b88f35f6fd4c670ce43efd6d852">unprecedented attack</a>&nbsp;on the Fed’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-powell-trump-independence-5c2ec1a37dc4aca6a59544f8b4513a45">independence</a>. His administration has accused Cook of mortgage fraud, but the accusation has come in the context of Trump’s extensive criticism of Powell and the Fed for not cutting rates much faster and steeper.</p><p>An appeals court late Monday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-cook-trump-56e36badb0d1e9752e306fd6609747bd">upheld an earlier ruling</a>&nbsp;that the firing violated Cook’s due process rights. A lower court had also previously ruled that Trump did not provide sufficient justification to remove Cook. Also late Monday, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-miran-trump-70a09bdf2e10839f35e1596cafe5c415">Senate voted to approve</a>&nbsp;Miran’s nomination, and he was quickly sworn in Tuesday morning.</p><p>On Tuesday, Trump said Fed officials “have to make their own choice” on rates but added that “they should listen to smart people like me.” Trump has said the Fed should reduce rates by three full percentage points.</p><p>When asked what the signs would be that the Fed is no longer functioning independent of political pressure, Powell said, “I don’t believe we’ll ever get to that place. We’re doing our work exactly as we always have now.”</p><p>The Fed’s move to cut rates puts it in a different spot from many other central banks overseas. Last week, the European Central Bank left its benchmark rate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/european-central-bank-interest-rates-lagarde-d4618467d6e89764d61c9ef52756790d">unchanged</a>, as inflation has largely cooled and the economy has seen limited damage, so far, from U.S. tariffs. On Friday, the Bank of England is also expected to keep its rate on hold as inflation, at 3.8%, remains higher than in the United States.</p>

🎥 Federal Reserve finally announces good news on interest rates

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/mike-stobbe">MIKE STOBBE</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — 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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acip/downloads/agendas/draft-posted-2025-09-12-508.pdf" target="_blank">agenda</a>, 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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-director-susan-monarez-50dfbec849b53b4593755d2e6e616687">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>&nbsp;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,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-cdc-acip-vaccines-3790c89f45b6314c5c7b686db0e3a8f9">fired</a>&nbsp;the entire 17-member panel earlier this year and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-acip-vaccine-committee-9f58e1f004075b081718ff078de88d76">replaced it</a>&nbsp;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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-acip-flu-vaccine-thimerosal-c5696bbc19f345323153d5336cb5e798">recommend flu shots</a>&nbsp;for Americans but was silent on COVID-19 shots.

Before that meeting, Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccine-pregnant-women-children-70c358cad726e57d680234c3ecdec926">announced</a>&nbsp;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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuit-vaccines-kennedy-95a1aa23c3f015f7a35a570f5ef8da36">lawsuit</a>&nbsp;by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups.

Days after Kennedy’s announcement,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccines-cdc-kennedy-fd6ab0c7303a4a1698b319885a02ef54">CDC officials said</a>&nbsp;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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vaccines-covid-shots-fda-kennedy-pfizer-children-9ce19908ae7afb354732aa162fd28532">licensed</a>&nbsp;this fall’s COVID-19 shots, the agency took the unusual step of narrowing their use for healthy younger adults and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccine-kids-what-to-know-5ddb5e3e92b12a6f5044dc229e19590d">children</a>.

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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5903a1.htm" target="_blank">changed its recommendation</a>, 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.

“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.

— 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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-p0kFdcVkA" target="_blank">hearing</a>&nbsp;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,&nbsp;<a href="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/20484834-stein-hb-624-testimony" target="_blank">she worked with</a>&nbsp;an Ohio anti-vaccine group and argued that case counts were inaccurate and that the coronavirus was not as dangerous as health officials portrayed.

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.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756320895304.png" alt="Photo courtesy Pfizer" />
                        <figcaption>Photo courtesy Pfizer</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/mike-stobbe">MIKE STOBBE</a></p><p>NEW YORK (AP) — 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.</p><p>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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acip/downloads/agendas/draft-posted-2025-09-12-508.pdf" target="_blank">agenda</a>, although the department announced five additional appointments to the committee Monday.</p><p>Some public health experts are worried that the votes will — at a minimum — raise unwarranted new questions about vaccines in the minds of parents.</p><p>Perhaps even more consequential would be a vote that restricts a government program from paying for vaccines for low-income families.</p><p>“I’m tightening my seat belt,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccines expert.</p><p>The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, makes recommendations to the director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-director-susan-monarez-50dfbec849b53b4593755d2e6e616687">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>&nbsp;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.</p><p>Kennedy, a leading antivaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-cdc-acip-vaccines-3790c89f45b6314c5c7b686db0e3a8f9">fired</a>&nbsp;the entire 17-member panel earlier this year and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-acip-vaccine-committee-9f58e1f004075b081718ff078de88d76">replaced it</a>&nbsp;with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.</p><p>Here’s a look at the three vaccines being discussed:</p><h2>COVID-19</h2><p>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.</p><p>This past June, Kennedy’s ACIP voted to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-acip-flu-vaccine-thimerosal-c5696bbc19f345323153d5336cb5e798">recommend flu shots</a>&nbsp;for Americans but was silent on COVID-19 shots.</p><p>Before that meeting, Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccine-pregnant-women-children-70c358cad726e57d680234c3ecdec926">announced</a>&nbsp;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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuit-vaccines-kennedy-95a1aa23c3f015f7a35a570f5ef8da36">lawsuit</a>&nbsp;by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups.</p><p>Days after Kennedy’s announcement,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccines-cdc-kennedy-fd6ab0c7303a4a1698b319885a02ef54">CDC officials said</a>&nbsp;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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Further complicating the picture: When the FDA last month&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vaccines-covid-shots-fda-kennedy-pfizer-children-9ce19908ae7afb354732aa162fd28532">licensed</a>&nbsp;this fall’s COVID-19 shots, the agency took the unusual step of narrowing their use for healthy younger adults and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccine-kids-what-to-know-5ddb5e3e92b12a6f5044dc229e19590d">children</a>.</p><p>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.</p><p>The pediatricians group urges that vaccinations continue for all children ages 6 months to 2 years.</p><h2>Hepatitis B</h2><p>Hepatitis B can cause serious liver infections. In adults, the virus is spread through sex or through sharing needles during use injection-drug use.</p><p>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.</p><p>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).</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>But Kennedy’s ACIP members suggested in June they wanted to revisit the guidance.</p><p>Schaffner noted that health officials used to rely on screening mothers before birth but that many cases were missed.</p><p>“There were lots of failures,” he said. “And so there were continuing transmissions from mother to child.”</p><h2>MMRV</h2><p>Chickenpox was once a common childhood annoyance, causing an itchy skin rash and fever.</p><p>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.</p><p>The government first recommended that all children get a chickenpox vaccine in 1995, leading to a dramatic drop in cases and deaths.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>In 2009, the ACIP&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5903a1.htm" target="_blank">changed its recommendation</a>, removing the preferential language and saying either the combination shot or separate shots were acceptable for the first dose.</p><p>Today, most pediatricians suggest separate doses for the first shot, but give the combined shot for the second dose, pediatrics experts say.</p><p>Again, there’s no new evidence about harms from MMRV shots, said O’Leary, of AAP.</p><p>Why revisit it now?</p><p>“This version of the ACIP is an orchestrated effort to sow distrust in vaccines,” O’Leary said.</p><h2>HHS announces new committee members</h2><p>Meanwhile, HHS officials on Monday announced five new committee members — bringing the roster to 12.</p><p>The new members are:</p><p>— Hillary Blackburn, a pharmacist and podcaster who HHS officials said is director of medication access and affordability for AscensionRx.</p><p>— Dr. Evelyn Griffin, an obstetrician and gynecologist based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.</p><p>— 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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-p0kFdcVkA" target="_blank">hearing</a>&nbsp;at which he said an increase in cardiovascular disease in older teens and young adults should be attributed to vaccines.</p><p>— Dr. Raymond Pollak, a transplant specialist based in Skokie, Illinois.</p><p>— Catherine Stein, a Case Western Reserve University disease researcher. During the COVID-19 pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/20484834-stein-hb-624-testimony" target="_blank">she worked with</a>&nbsp;an Ohio anti-vaccine group and argued that case counts were inaccurate and that the coronavirus was not as dangerous as health officials portrayed.</p><p>___</p><p>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.</p>

Kennedy's vaccine committee to vote on COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox shots

PROVO, Utah (AP) —Authorities released new information Tuesday indicating that the 22-year-old Utah man accused in the fatal shooting of conservative activist&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-tyler-robinson-court-death-penalty-f541df08a936e06497ee2342296bc398">Charlie Kirk</a>&nbsp;did a fair amount of planning before the attack on a college campus.

Tyler Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and other crimes. He appeared briefly Tuesday before a judge by video from jail. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray earlier said he would file a notice to seek the death penalty and that Robinson would remain jailed without bond.

<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26098852-tyler-robinson-indictment/">Click here to read the full indictment&nbsp;</a>

The judge said he would appoint a lawyer for Robinson.

Charging documents show that a note was left under Robinson’s keyboard saying he planned to kill Kirk and that those plans had been developed over a week’s time.

Kirk, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-shooting-utah-university-republicans-8357c3d102de09e3320fde761258131a">confidant of President Donald Trump</a>, was fatally shot Sept. 10 during a speaking engagement on the Utah Valley University campus.

Robinson is “believed to have targeted Charlie Kirk based on Charlie Kirk’s political expression and did so knowing children were present and would witness the homicide,” Gray said. After Kirk was shot, “Robinson hid the gun, discarded the clothing he wore when he fired the rifle and told his roommate to delete incriminating text messages and not talk to police.”

Robinson, of Washington, Utah,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-cox-robinson-assassination-aef9fe8dc82d218a36d078536717d95d">was arrested</a>&nbsp;last week.

Here’s what we’ve learned about the case and evidence:

Robinson confessed to his romantic partner

Gray said Robinson’s DNA was found on the trigger of the gun used to kill Kirk. The weapon was his grandfather’s rifle, which Robinson’s father told investigators was a gift.

Robinson texted his partner that he wanted to go back to the campus to retrieve the rifle, but never did.

Following the shooting and in text messages, Robinson also told his partner — whom he lived with — that Kirk was targeted because he “had enough of his hatred.”

“Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Robinson texted.

Gray told reporters Tuesday that a note Robinson left for his partner stated: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

Robinson split from family on political views

Moments before Kirk was shot, he was taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.

A Christian father of two, he demonstrated a combative new approach to conservatism that openly criticized racial justice movements, the news media and LGBTQ+ rights. Critics said his views perpetuated racist, anti-immigrant and anti-feminist ideas.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has described Robinson’s roommate as a transgender person. Gray said the partner has been cooperating with investigators.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-tyler-robinson-court-death-penalty-f541df08a936e06497ee2342296bc398">Robinson’s mother told investigators</a>&nbsp;that their son had turned left politically in the last year and became more supportive of gay and transgender rights after dating someone who is transgender, Gray said.

Robinson’s dating choice prompted several conversations with his family, especially between Robinson and his father. They had different political views, and Robinson told his roommate in a text message that his dad had become a “diehard MAGA” since President Donald Trump was elected.

State records show Robinson is registered to vote but is not affiliated with a political party and is listed as inactive, meaning he did not vote in the two most recent general elections.

Robinson confronted by family about killing

Robinson’s mother first recognized him when authorities released a photo of the suspect in the killing. That led his parents to confront him, at which time Robinson said he wanted to kill himself. The family persuaded him to meet with a family friend who is a retired sheriff’s deputy, who convinced Robinson to turn himself in.

Investigators had spoken to Robinson’s relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family’s home in Washington, about 240 miles (390 kilometers) southwest of Utah Valley University, where the shooting took place.

Robinson grew up around St. George, in the southwestern corner of Utah, between Las Vegas and natural landmarks including Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.

He became a member of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mormonism">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a>, known widely as the Mormon church, at a young age, church spokesperson Doug Andersen said.

Robinson has two younger brothers, and his parents have been married for about 25 years, according to social media posts.

Like many in that part of Utah, the family frequently spent time outdoors — boating, fishing, riding ATVs, zip-lining and target shooting. A 2017 post shows the family visiting a military facility and posing with assault rifles. A young Robinson is seen smiling as he grips the handles of a .50-caliber heavy machine gun.

It was unclear what caused Robinson’s personal politics to shift to the left.

It was also unclear how Robinson went unnoticed on the day of the shooting. Authorities have not said whether his partner would be charged.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758060123042.png" alt="Robinson during his first court appearance on Tuesday -Image from video provided by Utah State Courts" />
                        <figcaption>Robinson during his first court appearance on Tuesday -Image from video provided by Utah State Courts</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>PROVO, Utah (AP) —Authorities released new information Tuesday indicating that the 22-year-old Utah man accused in the fatal shooting of conservative activist&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-tyler-robinson-court-death-penalty-f541df08a936e06497ee2342296bc398">Charlie Kirk</a>&nbsp;did a fair amount of planning before the attack on a college campus.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758049682220.png" alt="Text message between Tyler Robinson and his roommate and romantic partner, according to the Utah County Attorney" />
                        <figcaption>Text message between Tyler Robinson and his roommate and romantic partner, according to the Utah County Attorney</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Tyler Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and other crimes. He appeared briefly Tuesday before a judge by video from jail. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray earlier said he would file a notice to seek the death penalty and that Robinson would remain jailed without bond.</p><p><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26098852-tyler-robinson-indictment/">Click here to read the full indictment&nbsp;</a></p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray announces charges filed against Tyler James Robinson in the death of Charlie Kirk including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice.&quot;<br><br>He also announces his intent to seek the death penalty. <a href="https://t.co/LqlpmMMR7O">pic.twitter.com/LqlpmMMR7O</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1968018452431380491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The judge said he would appoint a lawyer for Robinson.</p><p>Charging documents show that a note was left under Robinson’s keyboard saying he planned to kill Kirk and that those plans had been developed over a week’s time.</p><p>Kirk, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-shooting-utah-university-republicans-8357c3d102de09e3320fde761258131a">confidant of President Donald Trump</a>, was fatally shot Sept. 10 during a speaking engagement on the Utah Valley University campus.</p><p>Robinson is “believed to have targeted Charlie Kirk based on Charlie Kirk’s political expression and did so knowing children were present and would witness the homicide,” Gray said. After Kirk was shot, “Robinson hid the gun, discarded the clothing he wore when he fired the rifle and told his roommate to delete incriminating text messages and not talk to police.”</p><p>Robinson, of Washington, Utah,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-cox-robinson-assassination-aef9fe8dc82d218a36d078536717d95d">was arrested</a>&nbsp;last week.</p><p>Here’s what we’ve learned about the case and evidence:</p><h2>Robinson confessed to his romantic partner</h2><p>Gray said Robinson’s DNA was found on the trigger of the gun used to kill Kirk. The weapon was his grandfather’s rifle, which Robinson’s father told investigators was a gift.</p><p>Robinson texted his partner that he wanted to go back to the campus to retrieve the rifle, but never did.</p><p>Following the shooting and in text messages, Robinson also told his partner — whom he lived with — that Kirk was targeted because he “had enough of his hatred.”</p><p>“Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Robinson texted.</p><p>Gray told reporters Tuesday that a note Robinson left for his partner stated: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”</p><h2>Robinson split from family on political views</h2><p>Moments before Kirk was shot, he was taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.</p><p>A Christian father of two, he demonstrated a combative new approach to conservatism that openly criticized racial justice movements, the news media and LGBTQ+ rights. Critics said his views perpetuated racist, anti-immigrant and anti-feminist ideas.</p><p>Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has described Robinson’s roommate as a transgender person. Gray said the partner has been cooperating with investigators.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-tyler-robinson-court-death-penalty-f541df08a936e06497ee2342296bc398">Robinson’s mother told investigators</a>&nbsp;that their son had turned left politically in the last year and became more supportive of gay and transgender rights after dating someone who is transgender, Gray said.</p><p>Robinson’s dating choice prompted several conversations with his family, especially between Robinson and his father. They had different political views, and Robinson told his roommate in a text message that his dad had become a “diehard MAGA” since President Donald Trump was elected.</p><p>State records show Robinson is registered to vote but is not affiliated with a political party and is listed as inactive, meaning he did not vote in the two most recent general elections.</p><h2>Robinson confronted by family about killing</h2><p>Robinson’s mother first recognized him when authorities released a photo of the suspect in the killing. That led his parents to confront him, at which time Robinson said he wanted to kill himself. The family persuaded him to meet with a family friend who is a retired sheriff’s deputy, who convinced Robinson to turn himself in.</p><p>Investigators had spoken to Robinson’s relatives and carried out a search warrant at his family’s home in Washington, about 240 miles (390 kilometers) southwest of Utah Valley University, where the shooting took place.</p><h2>What do we know about Robinson?</h2><p>Robinson grew up around St. George, in the southwestern corner of Utah, between Las Vegas and natural landmarks including Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.</p><p>He became a member of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mormonism">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a>, known widely as the Mormon church, at a young age, church spokesperson Doug Andersen said.</p><p>Robinson has two younger brothers, and his parents have been married for about 25 years, according to social media posts.</p><p>Like many in that part of Utah, the family frequently spent time outdoors — boating, fishing, riding ATVs, zip-lining and target shooting. A 2017 post shows the family visiting a military facility and posing with assault rifles. A young Robinson is seen smiling as he grips the handles of a .50-caliber heavy machine gun.</p><p>It was unclear what caused Robinson’s personal politics to shift to the left.</p><p>It was also unclear how Robinson went unnoticed on the day of the shooting. Authorities have not said whether his partner would be charged.</p>

What we've learned about the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/matt-obrien">MATT O’BRIEN</a>

Parents whose teenagers killed themselves after interactions with artificial intelligence chatbots testified to Congress on Tuesday about the dangers of the technology.

“What began as a homework helper gradually turned itself into a confidant and then a suicide coach,” said Matthew Raine, whose 16-year-old son Adam died in April.

“Within a few months, ChatGPT became Adam’s closest companion,” the father told senators. “Always available. Always validating and insisting that it knew Adam better than anyone else, including his own brother.”

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-chatbots-selfharm-chatgpt-claude-gemini-da00880b1e1577ac332ab1752e41225b">Raine’s family sued OpenAI</a>&nbsp;and its CEO Sam Altman last month alleging that ChatGPT coached the boy in planning to take his own life.

Megan Garcia, the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III of Florida,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chatbot-ai-lawsuit-suicide-teen-artificial-intelligence-9d48adc572100822fdbc3c90d1456bd0">sued another</a>&nbsp;AI company, Character Technologies, for wrongful death last year, arguing that before his suicide, Sewell had become increasingly isolated from his real life as he engaged in highly sexualized conversations with the chatbot.

“Instead of preparing for high school milestones, Sewell spent the last months of his life being exploited and sexually groomed by chatbots, designed by an AI company to seem human, to gain his trust, to keep him and other children endlessly engaged,” Garcia told the Senate hearing.

Also testifying was a Texas mother who sued Character last year and was in tears describing how her son’s behavior changed after lengthy interactions with its chatbots. She spoke anonymously, with a placard that introduced her as Ms. Jane Doe, and said the boy is now in a residential treatment facility.

Character said in a statement after the hearing: “Our hearts go out to the families who spoke at the hearing today. We are saddened by their losses and send our deepest sympathies to the families.”

Hours before the Senate hearing, OpenAI pledged to roll out new safeguards for teens, including efforts to detect whether ChatGPT users are under 18 and controls that enable parents to set “blackout hours” when a teen can’t use ChatGPT. Child advocacy groups criticized the announcement as not enough.

“This is a fairly common tactic — it’s one that Meta uses all the time — which is to make a big, splashy announcement right on the eve of a hearing which promises to be damaging to the company,” said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, a group advocating for children’s online safety.

“What they should be doing is not targeting ChatGPT to minors until they can prove that it’s safe for them,” Golin said. “We shouldn’t allow companies, just because they have tremendous resources, to perform uncontrolled experiments on kids when the implications for their development can be so vast and far-reaching.”

The Federal Trade Commission said last week it had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ftc-chatbot-ai-e78fcc72520f56a4eff90df7ad6220c0">launched an inquiry</a>&nbsp;into several companies about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions.

The agency sent letters to Character, Meta and OpenAI, as well as to Google, Snap and xAI.

In the U.S., more than 70% of teens have used&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-companion-generative-teens-mental-health-9ce59a2b250f3bd0187a717ffa2ad21f">AI chatbots for companionship</a>&nbsp;and half use them regularly, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/talk-trust-and-trade-offs_2025_web.pdf" target="_blank">a recent study</a>&nbsp;from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly.

Robbie Torney, the group’s director of AI programs, was also set to testify Tuesday, as was an expert with the American Psychological Association.

The association issued a health advisory in June on adolescents’ use of AI that urged technology companies to “prioritize features that prevent exploitation, manipulation, and the erosion of real-world relationships, including those with parents and caregivers.”

<p>By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/matt-obrien">MATT O’BRIEN</a></p><p>Parents whose teenagers killed themselves after interactions with artificial intelligence chatbots testified to Congress on Tuesday about the dangers of the technology.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After its chatbot introduced a teenage boy to self-mutilation, <a href="https://twitter.com/character_ai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@character_ai</a> offered his mother $100 in damages<br><br>See that? Zero regard for human life by these Big Tech companies. <br><br>Another kid destroyed = just another casualty on the way to their next payout <a href="https://t.co/eSXMRvHfyS">pic.twitter.com/eSXMRvHfyS</a></p>&mdash; Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1968062910825107752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This mother - whose son was coached to commit suicide by an AI chatbot - just revealed that Character AI REFUSES to hand over her son&#39;s last words to its chatbot<br><br>Why? Because the company is using that conversation to train its models &amp; shield itself from accountability <a href="https://t.co/QyhLuQmt3N">pic.twitter.com/QyhLuQmt3N</a></p>&mdash; Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1968059493494952318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Meta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Meta</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/OpenAI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OpenAI</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/character_ai?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@character_ai</a>, and the rest of Big Tech—<br><br>Stop exploiting our kids. <br><br>If your products are so great and so safe, then come defend your chatbots under oath. <br><br>Right now, it’s an open invitation. But it can be a subpoena <a href="https://t.co/Gz6En2ikFu">pic.twitter.com/Gz6En2ikFu</a></p>&mdash; Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1968061663380443550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>“What began as a homework helper gradually turned itself into a confidant and then a suicide coach,” said Matthew Raine, whose 16-year-old son Adam died in April.</p><p>“Within a few months, ChatGPT became Adam’s closest companion,” the father told senators. “Always available. Always validating and insisting that it knew Adam better than anyone else, including his own brother.”</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happening Now: Sen. Josh Hawley&#39;s opening remarks at the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing examining the harm of AI chatbots for children. <a href="https://t.co/p4aFWWgfON">pic.twitter.com/p4aFWWgfON</a></p>&mdash; The Alliance for Secure AI (@secureainow) <a href="https://twitter.com/secureainow/status/1968029849010008280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>___</p><p>EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.</p><p>___</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-chatbots-selfharm-chatgpt-claude-gemini-da00880b1e1577ac332ab1752e41225b">Raine’s family sued OpenAI</a>&nbsp;and its CEO Sam Altman last month alleging that ChatGPT coached the boy in planning to take his own life.</p><p>Megan Garcia, the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III of Florida,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chatbot-ai-lawsuit-suicide-teen-artificial-intelligence-9d48adc572100822fdbc3c90d1456bd0">sued another</a>&nbsp;AI company, Character Technologies, for wrongful death last year, arguing that before his suicide, Sewell had become increasingly isolated from his real life as he engaged in highly sexualized conversations with the chatbot.</p><p>“Instead of preparing for high school milestones, Sewell spent the last months of his life being exploited and sexually groomed by chatbots, designed by an AI company to seem human, to gain his trust, to keep him and other children endlessly engaged,” Garcia told the Senate hearing.</p><p>Also testifying was a Texas mother who sued Character last year and was in tears describing how her son’s behavior changed after lengthy interactions with its chatbots. She spoke anonymously, with a placard that introduced her as Ms. Jane Doe, and said the boy is now in a residential treatment facility.</p><p>Character said in a statement after the hearing: “Our hearts go out to the families who spoke at the hearing today. We are saddened by their losses and send our deepest sympathies to the families.”</p><p>Hours before the Senate hearing, OpenAI pledged to roll out new safeguards for teens, including efforts to detect whether ChatGPT users are under 18 and controls that enable parents to set “blackout hours” when a teen can’t use ChatGPT. Child advocacy groups criticized the announcement as not enough.</p><p>“This is a fairly common tactic — it’s one that Meta uses all the time — which is to make a big, splashy announcement right on the eve of a hearing which promises to be damaging to the company,” said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, a group advocating for children’s online safety.</p><p>“What they should be doing is not targeting ChatGPT to minors until they can prove that it’s safe for them,” Golin said. “We shouldn’t allow companies, just because they have tremendous resources, to perform uncontrolled experiments on kids when the implications for their development can be so vast and far-reaching.”</p><p>The Federal Trade Commission said last week it had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ftc-chatbot-ai-e78fcc72520f56a4eff90df7ad6220c0">launched an inquiry</a>&nbsp;into several companies about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions.</p><p>The agency sent letters to Character, Meta and OpenAI, as well as to Google, Snap and xAI.</p><p>In the U.S., more than 70% of teens have used&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-companion-generative-teens-mental-health-9ce59a2b250f3bd0187a717ffa2ad21f">AI chatbots for companionship</a>&nbsp;and half use them regularly, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/talk-trust-and-trade-offs_2025_web.pdf" target="_blank">a recent study</a>&nbsp;from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly.</p><p>Robbie Torney, the group’s director of AI programs, was also set to testify Tuesday, as was an expert with the American Psychological Association.</p><p>The association issued a health advisory in June on adolescents’ use of AI that urged technology companies to “prioritize features that prevent exploitation, manipulation, and the erosion of real-world relationships, including those with parents and caregivers.”</p>

🎥 Parents testify before Congress about the danger of artificial intelligence

ANDERSON COUNTY —One person was critically injured in a grain cart incident on Tuesday in Anderson County.

 At approximately 11:35 a.m. Tuesday the Anderson County Communications Center received a call reporting a subject trapped in a grain cart in rural Anderson County, west of Garnett, according to the. Sheriff's office.

Deputies, EMS, and Garnett Rescue were dispatched at 11:37 a.m. Based on initial reports, Anderson County EMS requested an air ambulance be placed on standby. By 11:44 a.m., the Anderson County Sheriff, Undersheriff, a Sheriff’s Sergeant, and the County Fire Coordinator were on scene. At 11:45 a.m., Sheriff’s Office personnel entered the grain cart, recognized the patient was experiencing a life-threatening emergency, and immediately applied a tourniquet to control severe bleeding.

At 11:48 a.m., the Anderson County EMS Director and an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance arrived. A minute later, Garnett Rescue personnel arrived with a rescue truck. Together, law enforcement, EMS, and fire/rescue developed and executed a plan to safely extricate the patient.

By 11:56 a.m., the patient was freed from the grain cart and transported to the Anderson County Hospital helipad via ALS ambulance, receiving advanced care en route. The ambulance arrived at the helipad at 12:09 p.m., where the flight crew transferred the patient to a medical helicopter, which arrived within five minutes.

By 1:01 p.m., the patient was receiving definitive care at a Level 1 Trauma Center in the Kansas City metro—just 1 hour and 26 minutes after the initial 911 call.

“This incident highlights the importance of rapid and accurate information flow,” said Chelsey D’Albini, Anderson County Communications Center Director. “Our dispatchers coordinated multiple agencies, requested the air ambulance, and ensured resources were mobilized quickly. That early coordination was a critical link in the chain of survival.”

Sheriff Wes McClain praised the collaboration: “This was true teamwork. From deputies jumping in to provide immediate aid, to EMS and rescue personnel coordinating the extrication and transport, everyone had one mission—save a life. Today’s response proves the strength of our emergency system in Anderson County.”

Anderson County EMS Director Troy Armstrong commended the quick action of law enforcement and the seamless teamwork: “The Sheriff’s Office deputies made a lifesaving decision by applying a tourniquet in those first critical minutes. That intervention, combined with rapid extrication by rescue and advanced care by EMS, ensured this patient had the best possible chance of survival. I couldn’t be prouder of the collaboration that occurred today.”

• Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans under age 45.

• Patients injured in rural areas are 50% more likely to die from their injuries than those in urban areas, largely due to time and distance to advanced care.

• The quick recognition, response, and activation of a regional trauma system can mean the difference between life and death.

Today’s outcome underscores the value of training, interagency cooperation, and a pre-identified trauma system in Anderson County.

<p>ANDERSON COUNTY —One person was critically injured in a grain cart incident on Tuesday in Anderson County.</p><p> At approximately 11:35 a.m. Tuesday the Anderson County Communications Center received a call reporting a subject trapped in a grain cart in rural Anderson County, west of Garnett, according to the. Sheriff's office.</p><p>Deputies, EMS, and Garnett Rescue were dispatched at 11:37 a.m. Based on initial reports, Anderson County EMS requested an air ambulance be placed on standby. By 11:44 a.m., the Anderson County Sheriff, Undersheriff, a Sheriff’s Sergeant, and the County Fire Coordinator were on scene. At 11:45 a.m., Sheriff’s Office personnel entered the grain cart, recognized the patient was experiencing a life-threatening emergency, and immediately applied a tourniquet to control severe bleeding.</p><p>At 11:48 a.m., the Anderson County EMS Director and an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance arrived. A minute later, Garnett Rescue personnel arrived with a rescue truck. Together, law enforcement, EMS, and fire/rescue developed and executed a plan to safely extricate the patient.</p><p>By 11:56 a.m., the patient was freed from the grain cart and transported to the Anderson County Hospital helipad via ALS ambulance, receiving advanced care en route. The ambulance arrived at the helipad at 12:09 p.m., where the flight crew transferred the patient to a medical helicopter, which arrived within five minutes.</p><p>By 1:01 p.m., the patient was receiving definitive care at a Level 1 Trauma Center in the Kansas City metro—just 1 hour and 26 minutes after the initial 911 call.</p><p>“This incident highlights the importance of rapid and accurate information flow,” said Chelsey D’Albini, Anderson County Communications Center Director. “Our dispatchers coordinated multiple agencies, requested the air ambulance, and ensured resources were mobilized quickly. That early coordination was a critical link in the chain of survival.”</p><p>Sheriff Wes McClain praised the collaboration: “This was true teamwork. From deputies jumping in to provide immediate aid, to EMS and rescue personnel coordinating the extrication and transport, everyone had one mission—save a life. Today’s response proves the strength of our emergency system in Anderson County.”</p><p>Anderson County EMS Director Troy Armstrong commended the quick action of law enforcement and the seamless teamwork: “The Sheriff’s Office deputies made a lifesaving decision by applying a tourniquet in those first critical minutes. That intervention, combined with rapid extrication by rescue and advanced care by EMS, ensured this patient had the best possible chance of survival. I couldn’t be prouder of the collaboration that occurred today.”</p><p>Rural Trauma Facts</p><p>• Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans under age 45.</p><p>• Patients injured in rural areas are 50% more likely to die from their injuries than those in urban areas, largely due to time and distance to advanced care.</p><p>• The quick recognition, response, and activation of a regional trauma system can mean the difference between life and death.</p><p>Today’s outcome underscores the value of training, interagency cooperation, and a pre-identified trauma system in Anderson County.</p>

One airlifted to hospital after Kansas grain cart emergency

WINDSOR, England (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was greeted by royalty, military honor guards and mounted troops in red and gold as he arrived at Windsor Castle on Wednesday to begin a two-day state visit to Britain as the guest of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/king-charles-iii">King Charles III</a>.

Prince William and his wife Catherine met the president’s Marine One helicopter as it landed in the private Walled Garden on the vast castle estate, walking the president and first lady Melania Trump over to be greeted by the king and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/queen-camilla">Queen Camilla</a>.

The guests traveled to the castle in a procession of horse-drawn carriages, past ranks of soldiers, sailors and aviators, as military bands played the U.S. and British national anthems. The king and president chatted in the Irish State Coach during the short journey to the castle quadrangle, where Trump, accompanied by Charles, inspected an honor guard of soldiers in red tunics and bearskin hats.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758111550138.png" alt="Image courtesy White House" />
                        <figcaption>Image courtesy White House</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WINDSOR, England (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was greeted by royalty, military honor guards and mounted troops in red and gold as he arrived at Windsor Castle on Wednesday to begin a two-day state visit to Britain as the guest of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/king-charles-iii">King Charles III</a>.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">VIDEO OF THE DAY (so far…)<br>This is what President Trump came for…<br>A ride in a carriage with a King to a castle 🐴 👑 🏰 <br>Behind them Queen Camilla and First Lady Melania Trump. <br>Next carriage Prince &amp; Princess of Wales with the US Ambassador to UK, Warren Stephens 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/NmWr0U9LTG">https://t.co/NmWr0U9LTG</a> <a href="https://t.co/o1rOSig2DE">pic.twitter.com/o1rOSig2DE</a></p>&mdash; Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) <a href="https://twitter.com/chrisshipitv/status/1968289144964366776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a>, together with Their Majesties, make their way into Windsor Castle.🇺🇸🇬🇧 <a href="https://t.co/u9gzZ2rr8o">pic.twitter.com/u9gzZ2rr8o</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968283385597726991?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and His Majesty The King proceed with the Inspection of the Guard of Honor at Windsor Castle<br><br>🇺🇸🇬🇧 <a href="https://t.co/Z4Ox6bnd4q">pic.twitter.com/Z4Ox6bnd4q</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968281249728094397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> — alongside <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> and Their Majesties — salutes as The Star-Spangled Banner is played at Windsor Castle.<br><br>GOD BLESS AMERICA! <a href="https://t.co/oVxw5mUYcw">pic.twitter.com/oVxw5mUYcw</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968280183175344138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">📍Windsor Castle <br><br>🇺🇸 🇬🇧 <a href="https://t.co/T1nt0iVeo7">pic.twitter.com/T1nt0iVeo7</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968280883456299460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Star-Spangled Banner is played for <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> upon their arrival at Windsor Castle with Their Majesties. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/4wcie2Nt3L">pic.twitter.com/4wcie2Nt3L</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968278962691588144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WHAT A SIGHT! Carriages for <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a>, and Their Majesties arrive at Windsor Castle in a remarkable welcome for the unprecedented second state visit of President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸🇬🇧 <a href="https://t.co/NAgxH5XAia">pic.twitter.com/NAgxH5XAia</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968278594318483482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Carriage procession to Windsor Castle for <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a>, courtesy of Their Majesties. 🇺🇸🇬🇧 <a href="https://t.co/YAVzp2EjbS">pic.twitter.com/YAVzp2EjbS</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968277732061794451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a>, together with Their Majesties, proceed to Windsor Castle in Carriages 🇺🇸🇬🇧 <a href="https://t.co/DiYsOaRDmM">pic.twitter.com/DiYsOaRDmM</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968274993445568913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> are greeted at Victoria House by Their Majesties The King and the Queen 🇺🇸🇬🇧 <a href="https://t.co/HVZQfQVxKl">pic.twitter.com/HVZQfQVxKl</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1968274332628689052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Prince William and his wife Catherine met the president’s Marine One helicopter as it landed in the private Walled Garden on the vast castle estate, walking the president and first lady Melania Trump over to be greeted by the king and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/queen-camilla">Queen Camilla</a>.</p><p>The guests traveled to the castle in a procession of horse-drawn carriages, past ranks of soldiers, sailors and aviators, as military bands played the U.S. and British national anthems. The king and president chatted in the Irish State Coach during the short journey to the castle quadrangle, where Trump, accompanied by Charles, inspected an honor guard of soldiers in red tunics and bearskin hats.</p><p>The day of royal pageantry is the highlight of the president’s unprecedented second state visit to Britain. And it's on a scale designed to impress the grandeur-loving president, involving some 120 horses and 1,300 troops, including the largest guard of honor in living memory.</p><p>It’s a spectacle with a purpose: to bolster ties with a world leader known for a love of bling at a time when his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-imperialism-canada-panama-greenland-b4b53445dee97398b498b79eab54d49b">America First policies are putting pressure on trade</a>&nbsp;and security arrangements globally.</p><p>Trump arrived in London late Tuesday and said he loved being back in the United Kingdom, calling it a “very special place.” Asked if he had a message for Charles, he said the king was a longtime friend of his and well-respected.</p><p>The backdrop for day one is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/royal-family-windsor-burglary-b5a5d08666739169e3f720473e71f601">Windsor Castle</a>, an almost 1,000-year-old royal residence with gilded interiors, crenelated towers and priceless artworks. A gigantic royal standard, the flag used for official celebration days, flew from the castle’s Royal Tower as the king and queen prepared for the Trumps to arrive by helicopter from London, where they spent Tuesday night at the U.S. ambassador’s residence.</p><p>The prospect of a visit to the castle has seemed to enchant Trump, who ditched his trademark bluster and described the invitation as “a great, great honor.”</p><p>“I think that also is why he seems so visibly excited about the second meeting, because it isn’t an invitation given to (just) anyone,” said George Gross, an expert on the British monarchy at King’s College London.</p><h2>From pomp to politics</h2><p>While Britain’s royals long ago gave up political power, their history, tradition and celebrity give them a cachet that means presidents and prime ministers covet an invitation to join them. That makes the invitations, handed out at the request of the elected government, a powerful tool to reward friends and wring concessions out of reluctant allies.</p><p>No U.S. president, or any other world leader, has ever had the honor of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/king-charles-trump-state-visit-67c610327fca8e99818c7f5980a9cfb3">second U.K. state visit</a>. That won’t be lost on a president who often describes his actions with superlatives and has made no secret of his fondness for Britain’s royals.</p><p>After a day of royal pomp, Trump will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uk-trump-state-visit-starmer-334930dc7a467118b5551c6e4ec3d1db">hold talks Thursday</a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/keir-starmer">Prime Minister Keir Starmer</a>, who will tout a new U.K.-U.S. technology deal. The British government hopes the deal, and billions in investment from U.S. tech firms, will help show that the trans-Atlantic bond remains strong despite differences over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">Ukraine</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uk-starmer-palestinian-state-israel-gaza-recognition-bf50123e56404382ca0f7cfbd4161d14">Middle East</a>&nbsp;and the future of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nato">NATO</a>.</p><p>Starmer also hopes to avoid awkward questions about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jeffrey-epstein">Jeffrey Epstein</a>. Days before the state visit, Starmer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uk-mandelson-epstein-fc3f953112ac10108e1109920fd9dca0">fired Britain’s ambassador to the U.S.,</a>&nbsp;Peter Mandelson, over the envoy’s past friendship with the convicted sex offender.</p><p>On Tuesday, the campaign group Led By Donkeys projected&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/images-of-trump-and-epstein-projected-on-windsor-castle-as-us-president-visits-uk-6b004c3ab53247078795780c5c4bf7b1">an image of Trump and Epstein</a>&nbsp;on a tower at Windsor Castle, a reminder of the president’s relationship with the disgraced financier. Police said they arrested four people over the stunt.</p><h2>State banquet</h2><p>After a private lunch and a visit to an exhibit of documents and artwork illustrating the ties between Britain and the U.S., it will be time for the glitz and glamour of a state banquet.</p><p>Tiaras and medals will be on display as up to 160 guests gather around a 50-meter (165-foot) long mahogany table set with 200-year-old silver to honor the president. Charles will deliver a speech, then the king and president will offer toasts.</p><p>Trump won’t, however, have the chance to address a joint session of Parliament&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/france-macron-state-visit-uk-king-charles-8ffb448b0fabe1c913d63329efb3cc6a">as French President Emmanuel Macron did</a>&nbsp;in July during his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/britain-france-macron-state-visit-royals-2a8b136d78f5693fb3a6afe50a2bf7ef">state visit</a>, because the House of Commons is in recess.</p><h2>Protection from protests</h2><p>Most state visits are staged in London, against the grand backdrop of Buckingham Palace and the broad, flag-lined boulevard known as The Mall. But this one is taking place in the confines of Windsor, a historic town of just over 30,000 people about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of central London.</p><p>That makes it easier to control protests and protect the president at a time of increased international tensions, especially after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-shooting-suspect-things-to-know-dcde3f792f4d6636d44fb9f4fa53569c">fatal shooting</a>&nbsp;of Trump ally Charlie Kirk last week in Utah. British police have mounted a massive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uk-trump-windsor-arrest-drone-198b524f0762845dce0a4f6156a849c7">security operation</a>&nbsp;to ensure the president’s safety.</p><p>When Trump was in London on his first state visit in 2019, he was met by thousands of protesters who filled the streets outside the Houses of Parliament as a balloon shaped like a giant,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-united-states-government-8f5de6a976af473788bf74389df782dc">diaper-wearing baby Trump</a>&nbsp;floated overhead.</p><p>Historian Robert Lacey, a consultant on the Netflix television series “The Crown,” said Windsor is also a more “photogenic setting” for a state visit than London.</p><p>“Buckingham Palace has got its balcony, it’s got its façade,” he said. But “inside it’s very dreary and it’s currently being renovated, which is one reason why Mr. Trump will not be staying there. Windsor is a proper castle.”</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/9/1758111089407.png" alt="Trump" />
                        <figcaption>Trump</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>___</p>