Tuesday, August 11th

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing HHS to rewrite federal childhood vaccine recommendations, reducing the early-childhood schedule from 18 vaccines to 11. The order recommends separating the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three shots, administering vaccines in separate doctor visits, and removing flu and COVID vaccines from routine recommendations for children. Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. linked the shift to vaccine safety and autism concerns. Medical organizations and Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican physician, criticized the changes as outside presidential expertise and contrary to current guidance.

At least 132 people were killed and 570 injured after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, prompting President Abelardo de la Espriella to declare a national disaster. The quake hit around 7:34 a.m. local time with an epicenter near San José del Palmar in Chocó, about 250 miles west of Bogotá. Authorities reported collapsed buildings and more than 1,500 damaged homes or structures across multiple cities, including Cali and Pereira. Rescue crews and residents were searching rubble for people still trapped.

President Donald Trump on Aug. 10 rejected Iran’s demand for war-damage compensation in talks over the Strait of Hormuz and said U.S. negotiators must instead seek payments from Tehran for Americans killed or wounded in attacks he blamed on Iran and for Iranian protesters killed by Iranian authorities. Iran has said it will not fully reopen the strait unless Washington provides compensation, ends sanctions and stops military threats. Iran and Oman are nearing an agreement on new shipping lanes, but broader U.S.-Iran negotiations remain limited to indirect messages.