Presentation Before CDC Vaccine Panel Misleads About Thimerosal

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel vote to recommend against use of seasonal influenza vaccines containing small amounts of thimerosal followed a presentation that misled on the risks of the rarely used preservative.

There isn’t evidence that thimerosal in vaccines is harmful, and studies assessing a variety of health problems, including neurological conditions, have supported its safety.

Despite this, a June 26 presentation by longtime anti-vaccine advocate Lyn Redwood, given before the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, made unfounded or misleading claims, including that thimerosal is ineffective and a neurotoxin. (ACIP, which has been guiding the CDC’s vaccine recommendations since 1964, was recently completely reconstituted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in an unprecedented move.)

Thimerosal, which is mercury-based, has long been a focus of anti-vaccine groups, including Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit founded and formerly chaired by Kennedy. He has credited Redwood, a retired nurse practitioner who was also involved in the founding and past leadership of the nonprofit, as one of the people who introduced him 20 years ago to the thoroughly debunked claim that thimerosal in vaccines causes autism. 

Thimerosal has been used in vaccines since the 1930s but in the U.S. today is only present in flu shots taken from multidose vials, as the preservative is needed to prevent the growth of germs that could be introduced each time a needle enters the vial. In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration asked that vaccine manufacturers stop offering thimerosal-containing versions of vaccines routinely given in infancy as a precautionary measure, even though there wasn’t evidence of harm. Since 2001, no vaccines for children have included thimerosal, except for some flu vaccines.

Inside the Diddy Trial: Chaos Erupts Outside Courthouse Amid Fans, Preachers, and Public Spectacle

A man is squirting baby oil on a woman’s breasts as she jumps around in a bikini top, twirling under the eyes of craning selfie sticks. A crowd hollers with glee as weed and cigar smoke form stinky clouds. 

No, this is not a “freak-off” — one of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex parties. This is the scene outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan, hours after the jury delivered a mixed verdict in the Diddy trial, convicting him of transportation to engage in prostitution, but acquitting him on the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

Clayton Named SEC Male Athlete of the Year

Florida star guided Gators to national title, becomes first UF men’s basketball player to win prestigious Roy F. Kramer honor

GAINESVILLE, Fla. | Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. has been named the 2025 Southeastern Conference Roy F. Kramer Male Athlete of the Year, the league announced Wednesday, capping off a historic season that saw the junior guard lead the Gators to a national championship and etch his name in the college basketball record books.

Clayton becomes the 14th different Gator to earn the SEC's top individual athletic honor and the first men's basketball player in school history to receive the distinction. His selection brings Florida’s total number of Roy F. Kramer Athlete of the Year awards to 17—more than any other SEC school—with eight male and nine female honorees.

A native of Lake Wales, Fla., Clayton averaged 18.3 points per game in 2024–25, finishing with a program-record 713 total points. He shined brightest under pressure, scoring 30 points in the Elite Eight against Texas Tech before dropping a career-high 34 in the Final Four against Auburn. With those performances, Clayton became the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to record back-to-back 30-point games in the regional final or later.

Texas’ Reese Atwood Wins 2025 Johnny Bench Award as Nation’s Top Catcher

All-American junior led Longhorns to historic WCWS title, becomes program’s first recipient of prestigious honor

AUSTIN, Texas | Texas Softball standout Reese Atwood has been named the 2025 Johnny Bench Award winner, the Cincinnati Reds and Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench announced Wednesday. The junior catcher is the first player in Texas program history to earn the honor, which recognizes the top NCAA Division I catchers in both softball and baseball.

Atwood joins Coastal Carolina’s Caden Bodine as this year’s collegiate recipients of the prestigious award, which also honors top high school catchers from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia.

A force both at the plate and behind it, Atwood was a unanimous First-Team All-American in 2025 and was named the Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year. She powered the Longhorns to their first-ever Women’s College World Series championship, rewriting the record books along the way.

Shaw, Team USA Set to Open WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Finals Tuesday in Canada

PRINCE ALBERT, Saskatchewan | Mississippi State softball assistant coach Zac Shaw and the United States' Men's National Team will open play at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Finals in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, on Tuesday night.

World No. 6 Team USA secured its place in the Finals with an undefeated run through the Group Stage last fall. The Americans begin the Finals Stage in Group B along with No. 2 Australia, No. 3 Japan, and No. 11 Dominican Republic. Group A comprises No. 1 Argentina, No. 4 Canada, No. 5 Venezuela, and No. 8 New Zealand. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Round, where they will compete for a chance to participate in the Medal Round.

This is the first edition of the men's World Cup to be played in the two-stage format, similar to the women's event that concluded in 2024 when former Bulldog Mia Davidson and Team USA won silver.

Team USA will play Australia on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. CT before meeting Japan on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. The Americans close the opening round on Thursday against the Dominican Republic at 12:30 p.m.