“The new acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced changes to the recommended vaccination schedule for adults against COVID-19 and for kids against chickenpox. … The CDC is now recommending that children under the age of 4 no longer get a combination vaccine that protects against four diseases: the chickenpox (also known as varicella), measles, mumps and rubella. Instead, the CDC now recommends two separate shots, one just against chickenpox, and the other that protects against measles, mumps and rubella. The CDC has also now officially lifted its recommendation that adults under age 65 get the updated COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC now says the decision on whether an adult under age 65 gets a COVID-19 vaccine should be based on ‘individual-based decision-making’ in consultation with health professionals like a physician, nurse or pharmacist.” (10/06/25)
“U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut issued an order Oct. 5 barring any National Guard troops from any state from deploying to Portland to perform federal duties. The order comes after Oregon and the city of Portland filed a motion Oct. 5 asking the court to block the federalization of California National Guard troops in Portland. The U.S. military reassigned around 200 California National Guard troops to Portland after Immergut on Oct. 4 blocked the federal government’s deployment of 200 Oregon National Guard troop to Portland. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced the move and amended lawsuit Oct. 5, which added California as a party in the suit.” (10/05/25)
“Semiconductor maker AMD will supply its chips to artificial intelligence company OpenAI as part of an agreement to team up on building AI infrastructure, the companies said Monday. OpenAI will also get the option to buy as much as a 10% stake in AMD, according to a joint statement announcing the deal. It’s the latest deal for the ChatGPT maker as it races to beef up its AI computing resources. Under the terms of the deal, OpenAI will buy the latest version of the company’s high performance graphics chips, the Instinct MI450, which is expected to debut next year. The agreement calls for supplying 6 gigawatts of computing power for OpenAI’s ‘next generation’ AI infrastructure, with the first batch of chips worth 1 gigawatt to be deployed in the second half of 2026.” (10/06/25)
“Israel said it deported on Monday campaigner Greta Thunberg and another 170 activists from an international flotilla it prevented last week from delivering aid to Gaza, sending them to Greece and Slovakia. Earlier, Swiss and Spanish activists from the flotilla said they were subjected to inhumane conditions during their [abduction] by Israeli [pirates]. Monday’s expulsions brought the total number deported to 341, from 479 detained.” (10/06/25)
“The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal of the criminal conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein. The court’s action ends Ms. Maxwell’s attempt to overturn her conviction, meaning her only chance of an early release from prison is likely to be clemency from President Trump, with whom she used to socialize in the Florida and New York party scenes. Ms. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 on federal charges related to facilitating the crimes of Mr. Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Federal prosecutors have opposed her release.” (10/06/25)
“The home of South Carolina Circuit Court judge Diane Goodstein was set on fire after she had reportedly received death threats. State law enforcement is investigating the house fire on Edisto Beach which began at around 11:30 a.m. E.T. on Saturday, sources told local news outlet FITSNews. Goodstein was reportedly not at home at the time of the fire, but at least three members of her family, including her husband, former Democratic state senator Arnold Goodstein, and their son, have been hospitalized with serious injuries. … Law enforcement have not disclosed whether the fire is being investigated as an arson attack. … Last month, Goodstein had temporarily blocked the state’s election commission from releasing its voter files to the Department of Justice, a decision that was openly criticized by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon and later reversed by the state Supreme Court.” (10/06/25)
“Scientists Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for ‘their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance,’ the award-giving body said on Monday. This year’s prize ‘relates to how we keep our immune system under control so we can fight all imaginable microbes and still avoid autoimmune disease,’ said Marie Wahren-Herlenius, a rheumatology professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.” (10/06/25)
“A Colorado case going before the U.S. Supreme Court this week could set nationwide precedent for whether states can bar licensed medical professionals from performing the widely discredited practice of conversion therapy on LGBTQ+ kids. On Tuesday, the conservative-majority court will hear oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a case brought by Colorado Springs counselor Kaley Chiles, who alleges the state’s ban on conversion therapy for minors violates her First Amendment rights. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office will argue that trying to change a young patient’s sexual orientation or gender identity is substandard medical care, and that greenlighting such care under the umbrella of free speech would ‘open Pandora’s box’ to a litany of licensed professional malpractice. Nearly half of U.S. states have prohibited the practice of conversion therapy on minors.” (10/05/25)
“The head of the U.N. refugee agency suggested Monday that President Donald Trump’s America has carried out deportation practices that violate international law, and criticized a wider ‘backlash’ in some countries against migrants and refugees. Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, used a speech to lament that drastic funding cuts and shortages have forced his agency, UNHCR, to slash nearly 5,000 jobs this year, or nearly a quarter of its workforce. The cuts may not be finished, he said. ‘This was certainly not an easy year for any of us,’ Grandi told the opening of UNHCR’s executive committee. ‘But remember, please: There has never been an easy year to be a refugee – and there never will be.’ He did cite some bright spots and praised the Trump administration-led peace efforts in Congo, where conflict has displaced millions of people.” (10/06/25)
“Georgian prosecutors on Monday charged five opposition figures with attempting to overthrow the government, after protests on Saturday culminated in clashes between police and demonstrators in the capital of the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million. Georgian opposition supporters rallied in central Tbilisi on Saturday, with some leaders promising a ‘peaceful revolution’ on the day of local elections that were boycotted by the largest opposition blocs. Minutes before polls closed, a smaller group of protesters attempted to seize the presidential palace, before being repelled by riot police using gas and water cannon. The charges against the five men carry a maximum prison sentence of nine years. Officials have said the protests represented an attempt to seize power.” (10/06/25)
