NEW YORK (AP) — A coalition of doctors’ groups and public health organizations sued the U.S. government on Monday over the decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and four other groups — along with an unnamed pregnant doctor who works in a hospital — filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston.

U.S. health officials, following infectious disease experts’ guidance, previously had urged annual COVID-19 shots for all Americans ages 6 months and older. But in late May, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he was removing COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women.

Many health experts decried the move as confusing and accused Kennedy of disregarding the scientific review process that has been in place for decades — in which experts publicly review current medical evidence and hash out the pros and cons of policy changes.

The new lawsuit repeats those concerns, alleging that Kennedy and other political appointees at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have flouted federal procedures and systematically attempted to mislead the public.

The lawsuit also notes recent changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Kennedy, a leading antivaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official, fired the entire 17-member panel this month and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.

Doctors say Kennedy’s actions are making their jobs harder — with some patients raising doubts about all kinds of vaccines and others worried they will lose access to shots for themselves and their children.

“This is causing uncertainty and anxiety at almost every pediatric visit that involves vaccines,” said Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

And it’s happening after U.S. pediatric flu deaths hit their highest mark in 15 years and as the nation is poised to have its worst year of measles in more than three decades, she added.

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said Kennedy “stands by his CDC reforms.”

Also joining the suit are the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

The pregnant doctor, who is listed in the lawsuit as “Jane Doe,” works at a Massachusetts hospital. She had difficulty getting a COVID-19 vaccination at a pharmacy and other sites and is concerned the lack of protection will endanger her unborn child, according to the lawsuit.

The suit was filed in Boston because the unnamed doctor and some others in Massachusetts are among those have been affected by Kennedy’s change, said Richard H. Hughes IV, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

The state has figured repeatedly in U.S. public health history.

In 1721, some Boston leaders advocated for an early version of inoculation during a smallpox outbreak. Paul Revere was the first leader of Boston’s health commission. And a legal dispute in Cambridge led to a landmark 1905 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld states’ rights to compel vaccinations.

“We think it is significant and very meaningful” that the case is happening there, Hughes said.

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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.

The Bradley Beal era in Phoenix appears to be nearing an end.

The Suns and Beal are increasingly optimistic that the two sides will agree to terms on a buyout, league sources tell The Athletic. The move would make Beal an unrestricted free agent.

The goal for the Suns is to negotiate a buyout, waive him and then stretch his remaining salary over five years, which would reduce his annual cap hit on the Suns’ books. The move would not only get Phoenix out of the second apron, a dreaded payroll threshold where only the most expensive teams venture, but also out of the luxury tax altogether.

But the Suns can’t just waive Beal; they need his help.

Because of a quirk in the collective bargaining agreement, Beal, who has $110.8 million and two years remaining on his contract, must give back at least $13.8 million for the Suns to be allowed to stretch him. If he did, Phoenix would then have a dead cap hit of $19.4 million on its books in every season through 2029-30.

Beal, who turned 32 last month, averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 50/39/80 shooting splits last season. It may not be so easy for him to find $13.8 million on the open market.

One week removed from the start of NBA free agency, most of the league is without cap space or the necessary exceptions it would take to give Beal that much money on a two-year contract. Various organizations Beal could consider can’t give him that much, either. According to a league source, the list of teams Beal has thought about includes the LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.

The Clippers just agreed to a trade that will send shooting guard Norman Powell to the Miami Heat and bring in high-flying power forward John Collins from the Utah Jazz. The deal opens a starting spot at Beal’s position, but because they used the $14.1 million midlevel exception to sign free-agent center Brook Lopez, they can offer Beal only what they have left of the MLE: a $5.3 million starting salary in 2025-26.

The Lakers could find a way to offer Beal the biannual exception, worth $5.1 million in starting salary.

The Bucks have already used up their exceptions and could offer only a minimum contract.

Meanwhile, the Warriors are stuck in a complicated situation with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga. Golden State would like to find a sign-and-trade to send Kuminga elsewhere but doesn’t have traction on one at the moment, league sources told The Athletic. If a deal is made for Kuminga that doesn’t bring back any money to the Warriors, then they would have access to the $14.1 million MLE, allowing them to offer Beal more money than the Clippers, Lakers or Bucks. But before offering anyone a portion of their MLE, the Warriors must find a resolution on Kuminga, a situation that could continue to drag.

The Suns could find other ways to dip below the second-apron payroll threshold, set at $207.8 million for 2025-26, about $20 million above the luxury tax. They could negotiate a buyout with Beal, waive him, choose not to stretch his money and then trade, say, Royce O’Neale to another team without taking any money back. But a move like that would still leave the team above the tax. And Phoenix, league sources said, is trying to save tax dollars.

The Suns traded for Beal in the summer of 2023, hoping that he, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker could form a formidable big three. It never materialized. They won 49 games their first year together but were swept out of the first round of the playoffs. This past season, the Suns went 36-46, falling short of the Play-In Tournament.

They traded Durant to the Houston Rockets earlier this summer. Beal could be the next to leave.

(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)

CNN
 — 

“Love Island USA” contestant Cierra Ortega is no longer looking for love on the reality program.

Ortega’s exit, which came a week before the dating show’s Season 7 finale, was announced in a voiceover that said she left the show for a “personal situation,” without any further explanation.

The timing was notable because last week, two social media posts from 2015 and 2023 began circulating online that appeared to show Ortega using a racial slur while contemplating cosmetic procedures she wanted to get, according to the Daily Mail.

Asked about Ortega’s exit, a representative for Peacock, the platform on which “Love Island USA” streams, told CNN, “We won’t be providing a comment.”

On social media, Ortega’s parents spoke out about the “cruel messages” that their daughter has received on social media during the past week and leading up to her abrupt departure from the show during Sunday’s episode.

“We’ve seen the posts, the headlines, the hurt and the hate. And while Cierra hasn’t seen any of it yet, we have. And so have the people who love her,” the statement, posted to Ortega’s Instagram story Sunday night, read. “We’re not here to justify or ignore what’s surfaced. We understand why people are upset, and we know accountability matters. But what’s happening online right now has gone far beyond that.”

Ortega’s parents continued to write that the “threats” to her friends, family and supporters are “uncalled for” and that “no one deserves that kind of hate, no matter what mistake they’ve made.”

Over 17,000 people signed an online petition calling for her exit from the series.

Since Ortega is still sequestered following her exit, her parents wrote in their statement, “she hasn’t had the chance to process any of this or speak for herself.”

“But we know our daughter. We know her heart. And when she returns, we believe she’ll face this with honesty, growth, and grace,” they added. “Until then, we’re simply asking for compassion. For patience. For basic human decency.”

Love Island USA will conclude its season on July 13.