MILWAUKEE — Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 54 points and tied the game by hitting two free throws with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter of the 76ers’ 123-114 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.
Maxey’s previous career high was a 52-point performance in a 133-126, double-overtime victory over San Antonio on April 7, 2024. He also had nine assists and played over 46½ minutes.
Maxey, who entered Thursday averaging a league-high 40.3 minutes, had played 39 minutes one night earlier in a 121-112 home loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Milwaukee’s Ryan Rollins scored 32 points to match a career high and also had a career-best 14 assists. The Bucks have lost four of their last five games.
Neither team had its former league MVP available.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, the MVP in 2019 and 2020, got hurt Monday at Cleveland and is expected to miss about two weeks. The Bucks labeled it a left groin strain Monday but have since specified that it’s a left adductor strain.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, who won the award in 2023, missed a sixth straight game due to an issue with his right knee.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse watches his team during the first half of their win against the Bucks.
The Sixers (9-6) scored the first five points in overtime on a three-pointer from Justin Edwards — who scored just two points in regulation — and a basket from Maxey.
Milwaukee (8-8) got the margin down to 113-112 on a driving layup from Rollins with 1 minute, 43 seconds remaining, but Quentin Grimes hit a three-pointer 20 seconds later and Philadelphia stayed ahead by at least two the rest of the way.
Milwaukee trailed 94-87 midway through the fourth quarter but rallied to take the lead on Myles Turner’s three-pointer with 14.8 seconds remaining.
The Sixers tied the game with seven seconds left when Maxey drove into the lane, drew a foul, and hit his free throws. Rollins missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Paul George added 21 points for Philadelphia. Bobby Portis had 19 and Kyle Kuzma 17 for Milwaukee.
The Sixers return home Sunday to host the Miami Heat (1 p.m., NBCSP) at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
City principals — working without a contract for nearly three months — showed up in force Thursday night to urge the Philadelphia School District to take their demands more seriously.
Dozens of administrators waved signs and chanted as their union president addressed the school board.
From the #phled school board meeting – members of CASA, the district’s principals’ union, showed up in force. pic.twitter.com/Xnl5jbIXLl
“When is it time for the district to give back to those who consistently have your front and back?” asked Robin Cooper, president of the principals union. “We get pushed to the background with no mention of our blood, our sweat, and tears in the ongoing transformation of our beloved district.”
Cooper said the district was “negotiating in bad faith.”
CASA — the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, Teamsters Local 502 — represents just under 1,000 principals, assistant principals, climate managers, and other workers.
The union can’t strike, but Cooper and CASA members have ratcheted up public pressure. On Tuesday, many union representatives attended a City Council hearing, prompting Council members to ask Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. why CASA still has no contract.
Watlington and board president Reginald Streater both said they cannot comment on negotiations in public.
“You are valued, and we’re going to get this done,” Watlington told Cooper and members of CASA.
But Cooper was clearly frustrated, and skeptical. At the last negotiating session, held this week, CASA presented multiple proposals, but the district countered with the same offer it put on the table previously.
CASA’s current contract expired Aug. 31, as did pacts with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and School Police Association of Philadelphia — but those two unions reached deals that included raises.
The main sticking points for CASA, Cooper said in an interview, include issues related to wages.
“First-year people are making what senior people make,” said Cooper.
Robin Cooper, president of the city’s principal union, speaks at the monthly school board meeting on Aug. 21.
The union also takes issue with the fact that some workers have to take pay cuts to become administrators — the district’s senior career teachers earn more than assistant principals are paid.
“You can’t have a promotion and make less,” said Cooper, who said she believes that after agreeing to PFT and school police deals, the district “came to the table with whatever was left over.” She also takes issue with the school board paying millions to outside contractors but not settling with CASA.
Her members will continue to show up to work, Cooper said, but CASA isn’t finished showing its muscle.
“I’m not one to be bullied,” said Cooper.
No facilities master plan, but community pushback over what’s to come
In other school board happenings, officials did not present a facilities master plan — expected to include school closings — this month, as originally planned.
Watlington said earlier this week he was extending the timeline to gather more public input around four emerging themes: strengthening K-8 schools, reinvesting in neighborhood high schools, reducing school transitions, and expanding access to 5-12 criteria-based schools.
“We’re committed to not fumbling the football on the 2-yard line,” Watlington told the board Thursday night.
Still, members of the public said they wanted no school closings at all.
“Public education is not a business,” said Deborah Grill, a retired district educator and member of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools. “It is a civic obligation. The school district is not a business to be rightsized.”
The school system has 70,000 excess seats, a large number of old buildings in poor condition, and some schools that are overcrowded. Officials have said they will close schools — but also order colocations and other repurposing, as well as new construction and major renovations — not to save money, but to offer students citywide a more equitable and better education.
Paul Brown, a psychologist in the district, said schools are still dealing with the fallout of mass building closures in 2013.
“We need to keep our schools open,” Brown said. “The goals of efficiency should not come at the expense of our most vulnerable.”
Seeking a better wellness policy
The board also heard impassioned testimony about its wellness policy, which was to be considered at Thursday’s meeting, but was temporarily withdrawn.
Watlington has said he agrees that children should be able to use the bathroom, but said policy shouldn’t dictate it, that it should be left to schools to work out how best to handle things. At a board hearing earlier this month, he also pushed back on parents’ statements that some children wear diapers to school because they fear having accidents without guaranteed bathroom access.
Inella Ray, a Lift Every Voice board member, told the board and Watlington that “we do not want our stories dismissed as lies. Girls wear Depends because they cannot always change their pads. And we must believe them.”
Parents will not “scapegoat, report or target teachers,” Ray said.
“When harm occurs across dozens of schools, it is a policy and leadership issue, not a teacher problem,” Ray said.
A 36-year-old man was hospitalized in stable condition after he was found with a gunshot injury inside a building used as a recording studio late Thursday afternoon in Cherry Hill, authorities said.
Shortly before 4:15 p.m., Cherry Hill police responded to a report of a shooting on the 1200 block of South Union Street and found the injured man, authorities said.
The man was transported to Cooper University Hospital.
Police reported no arrests and no other details were released.
Philadelphia police are investigating two reported sexual assaults possibly involving the same Temple University student, school officials said Thursday.
In a statement, Temple officials said the university “has received two credible reports” alleging sexual assault, “one during a social event in a residence hall and a second incident at an off-campus location, potentially involving the same suspect who was positively identified yesterday.”
The university has placed “a student of interest” on interim suspension pending investigations by the Philadelphia Police Department, Temple’s Department of Public Safety, and the university, the statement said.
While suspended, the student is prohibited from being on campus or in university buildings or classes, according to the statement signed by Jennifer Griffin, the university’s vice president for public safety and chief of police, and Jodi Bailey Accavallo, vice president for student affairs.
“As these investigations are ongoing,” the statement said, “we strongly encourage students with information or otherwise in need of support regarding any concerns of sexual misconduct to contact” Temple Police at 215-204-1234 or police@temple.edu, the Title IX coordinator at 215-204-3283 or titleix@temple.edu, or the Dean of Students Office at 215-204-7188 or dos@temple.edu.
Students and other members of the university community or members of the public can also submit an anonymous report at helpline.temple.edu.
There is a thought process out there in the ether that A.J. Brown at 28 is not the same player he was just last year or the season prior, when he had 106 catches and 1,456 yards.
What would he say to those who believe that?
“I guess Saquon ain’t the same player either then,” Brown responded Thursday with a laugh. “All right. But I don’t got no comment about that. I don’t care about that.”
The Eagles’ star receiver has made it clear in recent weeks — and recent seasons — what he cares about. He wants to win, and the Eagles have done a lot of winning, but he wants to be a bigger part of the victories.
He’s on pace to come up shy of his 2024 numbers in both catches and yards, and he played just 13 games last season.
He caught seven passes for 49 yards. He has been held under 50 yards six times this season. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined, he had just seven such games.
The 8-2 Eagles have continued to find ways to win even as their offense has sputtered. Getting the passing game back on track should be a little bit easier Sunday in Dallas against a team that is one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.
“It’s something we’re continuing to work at each and every day, trying to be on the same page and be where we need to be at the right time,” Brown said Thursday when asked if the Eagles were closer to finding answers against the zone.
Brown attempts to catch the football against Detroit Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin last Sunday.
Could more crossing routes, which Brown is running fewer of this season, be an answer to zone? And why isn’t he running more of them?
“Yes, I think so,” Brown said. “I think it’s really a time and spacing thing. I think the second half of that question is a question” for offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
Overall, as an offense, Brown said the Eagles were “close” to finding their footing.
“I think we are,” he said. “I think that’s the mindset to have. I think it’s really just cleaning up those mistakes. It’s not about being close; it’s really just finishing drives.”
The latest drama surrounding the Eagles emerged when the Athletic reported over the weekend that “multiple offensive players have grown frustrated with Jalen Hurts’ approach this season.”
Asked about that report Thursday, Brown replied: “Ask me about Dallas. Thank you.”
Brown catches a pass short of the first down on Sunday against the Lions.
Brown was later asked if he watches what other receivers are doing. Dallas’ passing game has flourished, and George Pickens is second in the NFL with 908 yards. CeeDee Lamb has played in just seven games to Brown’s nine, but Lamb has 557 yards to Brown’s 457.
Brown said he doesn’t pay attention.
Why?
“It gets me upset,” he said. “So I stay away from it.”
It was clarified to him that the question was more from a skill set perspective, as in what makes Lamb, for example, so good?
“No, the only person I’m really watching is Julio Jones,” Brown said.
Brown has long talked about Jones being his favorite receiver, and the two played together in Tennessee and with the Eagles. The two still talk often, Brown said, though he declined to share what those conversations have been about recently.
In soccer as in life, sometimes more than one thing happens at once. Right now, the Union have so many things happening that your head could end up on a swivel.
There’s the rest of the team’s preparations to resume the playoffs on Sunday vs. New York City FC at Subaru Park (7:55 p.m., FS1, Fox Deportes, Apple TV) after three weeks without a game.
There’s the fact that next year’s schedule was announced Thursday with three rounds of this year’s playoffs still to go. (Early schedule releases are good, but this one took almost everyone by surprise.)
And on top of all of that, there are the epic swings of emotions that two of the Union’s stalwart players experienced while playing for their national teams.
Andre Blake’s Jamaica came up painfully short of qualifying for next year’s World Cup, with ties at Trinidad and home vs. Curaçao. The first made the second game a must-win, but the Reggae Boyz could only manage a scoreless tie while hitting the post three times.
Those results sentenced Jamaica to March’s inter-continental playoffs in Mexico that will clinch two of the six remaining World Cup tickets. Blake and company will play Oceania runner-up New Caledonia, and the winner will play Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo for a Cup berth.
At the same time, Danley Jean Jacques’ Haiti reached the world game’s biggest stage for the first time since 1974. Despite not being able to play a true home game for years because of domestic unrest, Les Grenadiers beat Costa Rica 1-0 and Nicaragua 2-0. When tradition-rich Costa Rica and Honduras played a scoreless tie on Tuesday, Les Grenadiers clinched first place in their group.
Even better, Tuesday was Haiti’s national holiday, celebrating its centuries of independence from France.
HAITI ARE ROLLING OVER NICARAGUA 🔥
Doing everything they can to qualify for the World Cup 👊
“I’m very proud to have qualified my country for a World Cup,” Jean Jacques said at Thursday’s Union practice, speaking in his native French. “It feels good, and I think it makes all Haitian people in general feel good.”
Unfortunately, the 25-year-old midfielder was suspended from the finale because of yellow card accumulation, so watched from the stands of Haiti’s neutral-ground “home” in Curaçao. But he was able to take part in the celebrations.
“It was a bit stressful, because I wanted to play, I wanted to give everything for my country,” Jean Jacques said. “But I was confident in my teammates. I knew they would do the rest of the work. I had done the most I could, and I was very confident that my teammates would get it done.”
Because Haiti’s game finished before Costa Rica-Honduras, the team didn’t know at its final whistle whether it had qualified. So they all waited on the field, following the other game on mobile phones. TV cameras were still rolling and captured the joy when the news came across.
“Representing Haiti means many things,” Jean Jacques said. “You have to give your heart. Every time I represent Haiti, I try to give my maximum, I try to give everything for my country. I don’t want to come up short for my country — I try to give my maximum, and I feel very, very good to represent Haiti.”
Some players documented their celebrations on Instagram, and fans flooded their comments to celebrate. There were also great scenes in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and throughout the Haitian diaspora across North America.
“It had been a long time since Haiti qualified for a [men’s] World Cup, and now we’ve done it,” Jean Jacques said. “I think they [at home] are proud, and I hope they will stay behind us and push us and give us strength. They will help us in the future, because I think we have more to give.”
Coincidentally, Jean Jacques isn’t the only player on Haiti’s team with ties to Philadelphia. Outside back Duke Lacroix, 32, is an Ocean County, N.J., native who played his college soccer at Penn from 2011-14.
HAITI GRAB ALL THREE POINTS IN STYLE 👊@FCDallas' Louicius Don Deedson finishes off a lovely ball from Duke Lacroix 🇭🇹 pic.twitter.com/rePwXSmThS
Lacroix has played professionally ever since in the U.S. second-division USL Championship, for a range of teams. At his current home, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, he has many teammates with Union ties, including Matt Real and Anthony Fontana.
“He told me that he spent some time here, and about the city,” Jean Jacques said of Lacroix. “He said it’s a nice city and I’m in a good club. … I can say he’s a good player who plays strong, is very serious, and works hard.”
It’s also a coincidence that Jean Jacques’ closest friend on the Union, Olivier Mbaizo, was the first player to make a World Cup squad while with the club. Jean Jacques could be the second, with lots of people in Chester and beyond hoping Blake ties him on that mark.
“It means many things for me. I think it would mean many things for the club, too,” Jean Jacques said. “The team deserves this, because it’s a good club, with a good setup. I hope there will be other players, too, who will be able to be part of the World Cup, because it’s a good thing for the club.”
Danley Jean Jacques (center) in action with the Union during their playoff series against Chicago last month.
He also took a moment to praise the club’s young Americans who have played in youth World Cups lately: Frankie Westfield at the under-20 level and Cavan Sullivan at the under-17 level.
There’s a long way to go until next summer for Jean Jacques, Haiti, and the Union. But he has allowed himself a moment to dream of what it will be like if he steps onto the field in a World Cup game — perhaps even at Lincoln Financial Field if Haiti is drawn to play here.
“It has always been a dream to play in a World Cup, to qualify my country, so I’m very happy,” he said. “I’m waiting for the moment when it arrives, and I’ll see how it goes. But no matter what, whether I’m on the field or off it, I’ll support my teammates and give everything for the country.”
All games will be played in March as single-elimination rounds. The inter-continental playoffs will be played in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, while the European playoffs will be played on home fields.
Inter-continental playoffs
Bracket 1: New Caledonia (Oceania) vs. Jamaica (Concacaf); winner plays Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa)
Bracket 2: Bolivia (South America) vs. Suriname (Concacaf); winner plays Iraq
European playoffs
In all the brackets listed below, the first game’s winner will host the second-round contest.
Bracket 1: Wales vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy vs. Northern Ireland
Bracket 2: Ukraine vs. Sweden, Poland vs. Albania
Bracket 3: Slovakia vs. Kosovo, Turkey vs. Romania
Bracket 4: Czech Republic vs. Republic of Ireland, Denmark vs. North Macedonia
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a surprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, the government said, issuing a key economic report that had been delayed for seven weeks by the federal government shutdown.
The increase in payrolls was more than double the 50,000 economists had forecast.
Yet there were some troubling details in the delayed report.
Labor Department revisions showed that the economy lost 4,000 jobs in August instead of gaining 22,000 as originally reported. Altogether, revisions shaved 33,000 jobs off July and August payrolls. The economy had also shed jobs in June, the first time since the 2020 pandemic that the monthly jobs report has gone negative twice in one year.
And more than 87% of the September job gains were concentrated in two industries: healthcare and social assistance and leisure and hospitality.
“We’ve got these strong headline numbers, but when you look underneath that you’ll see that a lot of that is driven by healthcare,’’ said Cory Stahle, senior economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab. ”At the end of the day, the question is: Can you support an economic expansion on the back of one industry? Anybody would have a hard time arguing everybody should become a nurse.”
The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September, highest since October 2021 and up from 4.3% in August, the Labor Department said Thursday. The jobless rate rose partly because 470,000 people entered the labor market — either working or looking for work — in September and not all of them found jobs right away.
The data, though late, was welcomed by businesses, investors, policymakers and the Federal Reserve. During the 43-day shutdown, they’d been groping in the dark for clues about the health of the American job market because federal workers had been furloughed and couldn’t collect the data.
The report comes at a time of considerable uncertainty about the economy. The job market has been strained by the lingering effects of high interest rates and uncertainty around Trump’s erratic campaign to slap taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. But economic growth at midyear was resilient.
Healthcare and social assistance firms added more than 57,000 jobs in September, restaurants and bars 37,000, construction companies 19,000 and retailers almost 14,000. But factories shed 6,000 jobs — the fifth straight monthly drop. The federal government, targeted by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE cost cutters, lost 3,000 jobs, the eighth straight monthly decline..
Average hourly wages rose just 0.2% from August and 3.8% from a year earlier, edging closer to the 3.5% year-over-year increase that the Federal Reserve’s inflation fighters like to see.
The latest reading on jobs Thursday makes a rate cut by the Fed officials at their next meeting in December less likely. Many were already leaning against a cut next month, according to minutes of their October meeting released Wednesday. Steady hiring suggests the economy doesn’t need lower interest rates to expand.
The September jobs report will be the last one the Fed will see before its Dec. 9-10 meeting. Officials are split between those who see stubbornly high inflation as the main challenge they need to address by keeping rates elevated, and those who are more concerned that hiring is sluggish and needs to be supported by rate reductions.
Hiring has been strained this year by the lingering effects of high interest rates engineered to fight a 2021-2022 spike in inflation and uncertainty around Trump’s campaign to slap taxes on imports from almost every country on earth and on specific products — from copper to foreign films.
Labor Department revisions in September showed that the economy created 911,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the year that ended in March. That meant that employers added an average of just 71,000 new jobs a month over that period, not the 147,000 first reported. Since March, job creation has fallen farther — to an average 59,000 a month.
With September numbers out, businesses, investors, policymakers and the Fed will have to wait awhile to get another good look at the numbers behind the American labor market.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that it won’t release a full jobs report for October because it couldn’t calculate the unemployment rate during the government shutdown.
Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data — including the number of jobs that employers created last month — along with the full November jobs report on Dec. 16, a couple of weeks late.
The 2025 job market has been marked by an awkward pairing: relatively weak hiring but few layoffs, meaning that Americans who have work mostly enjoy job security – but those who don’t often struggle to find employment.
Megan Fridenmaker, 28, lost her job last month as a writer for a podcast network in Indianapolis. She’s applied for at least 200 jobs and landed just one interview. “I am far from the only unemployed person in my friend group,’’ she said. “Where the job market’s at right now – people will apply for hundreds and hundreds (of jobs) before getting one interview.’’
“Out of everything I’ve applied for, I get a response from maybe a quarter of them,’’ she said. “And the vast majority of the responses are the automated – ‘Thank you so much, but we’ve gone with another candidate.’ ‘Thank you so much, but we’ve already filled the position.’
“The whole job-hunting experience has felt so cold and so distant and so removed from who we are as humans.”
R&B star Leon Thomas’ star is on the rise. After spending his childhood working as an actor, he released his acclaimed sophomore album, Mutt, whichhas received six Grammy nominations, including a nod for best new artist and album of the year.
His child actor days now feel like a thing of the past. The singer-songwriter has entered new territory.
Thomas’ fan base is drawn to his funk, soul, and rock-infused iterations of R&B music. That was evident Wednesday night at the Fillmore.
Leon Thomas headlined The Fillmore as part of his “Mutts Don’t Heal Tour” on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.
As amber and emerald lights lit the stage, with a glimmering replica of his head floating over the elevated platform, Thomas kicked things off with the high-paced “How Fast,” a record shining a light on his ride to mainstream success and the inescapable fears of losing his grip.
“Feel like I just got off the stage at the Grammys,” Thomas sang while backed by the thundering drums of his stage band. “Feel like I just bought a new house for my mama. Feel like I’m racing through the streets of Miami. I’m in a Lamborghini, you in a Honda. How many zeros can a young … count up?”
He went on to perform a short medley of his brooding R&B jams from Mutt, before welcoming a surprise guest. As the momentous half-break on “Far Fetched” arrived, the unmistakable voice of fellow R&B star Ty Dolla $ign blared through the speakers.
Ty performed the Mutt cut alongside Thomas, who ripped from his electric guitar. Then the two transitioned to Ty’s 2024 smash, “Carnival” with Kanye West.The cameo ignited the crowd, from the standing room floor to the balcony rows.
Leon Thomas performed alongside surprise guest Ty Dolla $ign at The Fillmore Philadelphia on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.
Thomas continued performing favorites from Mutt and his 2023 debut Electric Dusk, showcasing his magnetic voice and musicianship through impromptu vocal runs and zippy guitar blends.
“Philly, I want you to sing with me tonight,” said Thomas, before performing “Vibes Don’t Lie” and “All I Do.”
“I ain’t done with you yet.”
All of Thomas’ musical gifts were on display, but not all of them resonated with the sold-out crowd.
As he transitioned from his more familiar R&B jams to the rock and soul-drenched records he’s produced in the past and on his new EP, Pholks, the momentum began to slow down.
Leon Thomas headlined a sold-out show at The Fillmore Philadelphia on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.
With records like “Blue Hundreds” and “Baccarat,” the crowd appeared disengaged from Thomas’ garage rock-inspired songs and influences. What felt like an R&B concert morphed into a momentary rock show, with Thomas’ band backing him at every measure.
The crowd’s energy, however, was soon revived once Thomas transitioned back to hip-swaying records like “Love Jones,” “Crash & Burn,” and the radiantly soulful “Yes It Is,” which he followed with a cover of iconic neo-soul group Floetry’s “Say Yes.”
He closed the 90-minute show with “Mutt.”
“This song changed my life,” Thomas said.
Leon Thomas headlined The Fillmore as part of his “Mutts Don’t Heal Tour” on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.
Wednesday’s concert made one thing clear: Thomas is a man of many musical talents and even if they all don’t land, they are undeniable.
He’s a true talent, cosigned by fellow artists like Ty Dolla $ign, that will hopefully be validated by golden gramophones on the forthcoming biggest night in music.
And rightly so.
Setlist for Leon Thomas’ “Mutts Don’t Heal Tour” at The Fillmore in Philadelphia on Nov. 19, 2025.
NEW YORK — A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to contradict the longtime scientific conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism, spurring outrage among a number of public health and autism experts.
The CDC “vaccine safety” webpage was updated Wednesday, saying “the statement ‘Vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim.”
The change is the latest move by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to revisit — and foster uncertainty about — long-held scientific consensus about the safety of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products.
It was immediately decried by scientists and advocates who have long been focused on finding the causes of autism.
“We are appalled to find that the content on the CDC webpage ‘Autism and Vaccines’ has been changed and distorted, and is now filled with anti-vaccine rhetoric and outright lies about vaccines and autism,” the Autism Science Foundation said in a statement Thursday.
Widespread scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link between vaccines and autism. “The conclusion is clear and unambiguous,” said Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in a statement Thursday.
“We call on the CDC to stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine immunizations,” she said.
The CDC has, until now, echoed the absence of a link in promoting Food and Drug Administration-licensed vaccines.
But anti-vaccines activists — including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who this year became secretary of Health and Human Services — have long claimed there is one.
It’s unclear if anyone at CDC was actually involved in the change, or whether it was done by Kennedy’s HHS, which oversees the CDC.
Many at CDC were surprised.
“I spoke with several scientists at CDC yesterday and none were aware of this change in content,” said Dr. Debra Houry, who was part of a group of CDC top officials who resigned from the agency in August. “When scientists are cut out of scientific reviews, then inaccurate and ideologic information results.”
The updated page does not cite any new research. It instead argues that past studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.
“HHS has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links. Additionally, we are updating the CDC’s website to reflect gold standard, evidence-based science,” said HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon, in an email Thursday.
A number of former CDC officials have said that what CDC posts about certain subjects — including vaccine safety — can no longer be trusted.
Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who also resigned from the agency in August, told reporters Wednesday that Kennedy seems to be “going from evidence-based decision making to decision-based evidence making.”
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, earlier this year played a decisive role in approving Kennedy’s nomination for HHS secretary. Cassidy initially voiced misgivings about Kennedy, but in February said Kennedy had pledged — among other things — not to remove language from the CDC website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism.
The new site continues to have a headline that says “Vaccines do not cause autism,” but HHS officials put an asterisk next to it. A note at the bottom of the page says the phrasing “has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.”
Cassidy’s spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bayada Home Health Care, a Moorestown nonprofit that is one of the nation’s largest providers of home health and related services, appointed Bryony Winn as its next CEO, Bayada announced Thursday.
When she takes over March 2, Winn will be the first outside CEO of the organization that was founded in 1975 by entrepreneur J. Mark Baiada. He turned the company into a nonprofit in 2019.
Winn will succeed the founder’s son, David, who has been CEO for eight years.
Until this month, Winn was president of Caralon, a unit of health insurer Elevance that provides assorted services, including prior authorizations, to other health plans. Before that, she worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and as a consultant at McKinsey & Co.
“Leading an organization like Bayada is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Winn said. “It’s a special organization that makes a real, tangible impact on people and health worldwide. I can’t wait to get started.”
Until Winn arrives, David Baiada will remain CEO, and then will join the organization’s board of directors and act as an adviser to Winn.
Bayada had roughly $2 billion in annual revenue last year, the organization said. In addition to traditional home healthcare, Bayada offers private-duty nursing and hospice care.
In June, Bayada laid off about 10% of the staff in its Pennsauken offices, where back-office and other services are provided for the entire company. Bayada employs more than 30,000 people.
