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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The death toll froma crackdown over Iran's nationwide protests last monthhas reached at least 7,002 people killed with many more still feared dead, activists said Thursday.

Iran

The slow rise in the number of dead from the demonstrations adds to the overall tensions facing Iran both inside the country and abroad as it tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program. A second round of talks remains up in the air as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed his case directly with U.S. President Donald Trump to intensify his demands on Tehran in the negotiations.

"There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference," Trump wrote afterward on his TruthSocial website.

"Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit. ... That did not work well for them. Hopefully this time they will be more reasonable and responsible."

Meanwhile, Iran at home faces still-simmering anger over its wide-ranging suppression of all dissent in the Islamic Republic. That rage may intensify in the coming days as families of the dead begin marking the traditional 40-day mourning for the loved ones.

Activists' death toll slowly rises

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which offered the latest figures, has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths. The slow rise in the death toll has come as the agency slowly is able to crosscheck information as communication remains difficult with those inside of the Islamic Republic.

Iran's government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran's theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.

The rise in the death toll comes as Iran tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program.

Diplomacy over Iran continues

Senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani met Wednesday in Qatar with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar hosts a major U.S. military installation that Iran attacked in June, afterthe U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sitesduring the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June. Larijani also met with officials of the Palestinian Hamas militant group, and in Oman with Tehran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen on Tuesday.

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Larijani told Qatar's Al Jazeera satellite news network that Iran did not receive any specific proposal from the U.S. in Oman, but acknowledged that there was an "exchange of messages."

Qatar has been a key negotiator in the past with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf. Its state-run Qatar News Agency reported that ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke with Trump about "the current situation in the region and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace," without elaborating.

The U.S. has moved theaircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic should Trump choose to do so.

Already, U.S. forces haveshot down a dronethey said got too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a U.S.-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Trump told the news website Axios that he was considering sending a second carrier to the region. "We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going," he said.

Concern over Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was "deeply appalled by credible reports detailing the brutal arrest, physical abuse and ongoing life‑threatening mistreatment" of 2023Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.

The committee that awards the prize said it had information Mohammadi had been beaten during her arrest in December and continued to be mistreated. It called for her immediate and unconditional release.

"She continues to be denied adequate, sustained medical follow‑up while being subjected to heavy interrogation and intimidation," the committee said. "She has fainted several times, suffers from dangerously high blood pressure and has been prevented from accessing necessary follow‑up for suspected breast tumors."

Iran just sentenced Mohammadi, 53, toover seven more years in prison. Supporters had warned for months before her arrest that she was at risk of being put back into prison aftershe received a furlough in December 2024 over medical concerns.

Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Washington contributed to this report.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities in overnight attacks, officials reported on Thursday as Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyysaid Moscow was "hesitating" about another round ofU.S.-brokered talkson stopping the fighting.

Russia Ukraine War

Washington has proposed further negotiations next weekbetween Russian and Ukrainian delegationsin Miami or Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, which was the location of the last meeting, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday.

Ukraine "immediately confirmed" it would attend, he said. "So far, as I understand it, Russia is hesitating," Zelenskyy told reporters in a messaging app interview late Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that another round of talks was expected "soon" but gave no further details.

American officials made no comment on the possibility of further talks as part of a yearlong peace effort by the Trump administration. Zelenskyy said last week that the United States has given Ukraine and Russia aJune deadline to reach a deal.

But withRussia's invasion of its neighbormarking its fourth anniversary later this month, disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv over key issues have held up a comprehensive settlement. The issues include who keeps the Ukrainian land that Russia's army has so far occupied, especially in the eastern Donbas industrial heartland, and Moscow's demands for Kyiv to surrender more territory.

Ukraine wantsWestern-backed security guarantees, including a date for joining the European Union, and a postwar reconstruction package in place before it can contemplate signing aproposed 20-point settlement, Zelenskyy said.

Russia has meanwhile continued topound Ukrainian civilian areas, including residential areas and thepower grid, and Moscow has not responded to a U.S. proposal for an "energy ceasefire" that would also halt Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, Zelenskyy said.

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Overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, Russia fired 219 long-range strike drones, 24 ballistic missiles and a guided aircraft missile at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force.

The main targets were the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the second-largest city of Kharkiv, Dnipro in central Ukraine, and the southern port city of Odesa, the air force said — all cities that have come under relentless bombardment.

In Dnipro, Russian strikes injured four people, including a 4-year-old girl and a newborn boy, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha wrote on Telegram.

In Kyiv, several residential buildings were damaged, and two people were injured, according to the city administration.

Temperatures have moved above freezing point in Kyiv, but it is still bitterly cold in the city. Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said that almost 2,600 residential buildings were left without heating as the attack damaged critical infrastructure.

In Odesa, one person was injured as a residential high-rise was partially destroyed and a market and a supermarket caught fire, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha wrote on Telegram.

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

It's Team Ruff vs. Team Fluff, as the 'pup-ular' football frenzy featuring rescue and shelter dogs takes the field. Rick Damigella reports.

Samples of popular commercial dog foods contained "dangerous levels" ofheavy metals,plastic contaminants, andacrylamide, a cancer-causing compound created when food is subjected to high heat, according to anew investigation.

"The levels of heavy metals and other contaminants we found were alarming," said Molly Hamilton, the executive director ofClean Label Project, which conducted the investigation. The Colorado-based nonprofit tests consumer products for purity and offers manufacturers acertified labelif their commodities meet strict standards.

"Pet owners care for their dogs as deeply as parents care for their children," Hamilton said. "They should be able to buy dog food without worrying it might harm their pet."

Dog foods contained three to 13 times more heavy metals than human food tested over the past decade by Clean Label Project, according to the report. The levels are similar to those found in prior research done by veterinarian Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, a professor and nutritional specialist at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York.

"We wrote apaper in 2018comparing the intake of heavy metals between people and dogs based on a calorie," said Wakshlag, referring to a report he coauthored with three Cornell colleagues. Wakshlag was not involved in the new investigation.

"Compared to a person, we found dogs consumed three to seven times the amounts of heavy metals each day," he said.

Dry dog food, also called kibble, contained the highest levels of heavy metals and other contaminants, followed by air- and freeze-dried dog food. Fresh and frozen dog foods contained the lowest levels of heavy metals, according to the laboratory tests.

The report did not release specific test results by brand or product name.

"Over 85% of dog owners feed dry foods to their pets, and most dogs are eating one type of dog food each and every day, often for their entire life," Hamilton said. "If dry dog food is all they consume, it's possible the accumulation of heavy metals could be contributing to the higher cancer rate in dogs."

Studies show heavy metals can accumulate in the kidney and liver in a dog, potentially contributing to chronic disease. Exposure toleadandcadmiumhas been linked to canine cancer, a leading cause of death in dogs. About 1 in 4 dogs will develop cancer during their lifetime, according to theAmerican Veterinary Medical Association.

The Pet Food Institute, or PFI, which represents manufacturers of dog food, told CNN in an email it will review the Clean Label Report.

"PFI and U.S. pet food makers are continuously monitoring to best support the health and safety of dogs and cats," a spokesperson said.

Fewer contaminants in fresh and frozen dog foods

Clean Label Project purchased 79 samples of best-selling fresh and frozen dog foods, kibble and air- and freeze-dried products. A federally certified laboratory then conducted 11,376 individual tests for plastics, pesticides, lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and acrylamide.

Fresh and frozen dog foods, which only entered the mainstream pet food market in 2006, were least contaminated. Lead and mercury levels in dry food were about 21 times higher than fresh and frozen dog foods. Kibble also contained over 13 times more arsenic and six times more cadmium than fresh and frozen products.

One potential reason: "Fresh and frozen dog foods are at least 70% water, and water contains far fewer heavy metals than a highly condensed piece of kibble," Wakshlag said. In addition to doing academic research, Wakshlag consults for a dog food company.

"You also can't take those numbers at face value, because a dog has to eat about 3 cups of fresh or frozen dog food to get the same calories and nutrients as 1 cup of dry food," he said. "Therefore, the dog's exposure to heavy metals in fresh or frozen foods goes up because it has to eat two to three times as much."

An October 2021 study also detectedhigh levelsof two heavy metals in dog foods. Nearly 81% of the commercial dog foods analyzed in the study exceeded the maximum tolerated level of mercury set by regulatory agencies while 100% of the dog food products exceeded the maximum tolerated level of lead.

There is no safe level of lead for humans, according to theUS Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA does not list levels for dogs.

Safety thresholds for all animal feed are set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, or AAFCO, and the National Research Council, or NRC.Maximum levelsfor heavy metals are based on the species that would be the most susceptible to the toxins, Wakshlag said.

"The difficulty of using NRC or AAFCO expectations is that they don't have guidelines that are specific to dogs. Pet food is lumped into the same category as agricultural animals," Hamilton said. "The prevailing industry theory is that dogs have a higher tolerance for heavy metals than humans, though what this theory is based on is up for debate."

That's not known, because there are so few studies on toxic exposure in dogs, Wakshlag said.

"How would chronic consumption of these contaminants at really high levels affect a dog? We don't know," he said. "We have very few studies that have followed dogs for years on different diets to find those answers."

A solution would be for pet food companies to regularly test their products for toxins and report the results to consumers, Wakshlag added.

"But extensive analyses take time and money," he said. "So if you want this kind of information, then expect your bag of dog food to go up $3 or $4 a bag, because that's what it's going to cost to do these tests."

Acrylamide and chemicals used in plastics

Acrylamide levels in dry dog food were about 24 times higher than fresh and frozen, with one food testing at 780 parts per billion, according to the Clean Label Project report.

"I've never seen acrylamide at a 780 level in a food," Wakshlag said. "That company must be cooking the hell out of their food or using ingredients that are leading to more acrylamide formation. That's like a person eating five servings of french fries every day in terms of acrylamide exposure."

Acrylamide appears in foods rich in carbohydrates when they are fried, grilled or baked at temperatures above 248 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius). The browning of toast, french fries, coffee and baked goods can create acrylamide, which is considered "likely to be carcinogenic to humans" by the EPA. The chemical is also present in tobacco smoke and is used to make paper, dyes and plastics.

"Acrylamide reduces the ability of male animals to produce offspring," the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registrystates on its website. "Acrylamide has caused several types of cancer in animals. Adequate human data are not available."

The investigation also tested levels of two bisphenols — Bisphenol A (BPA) and Bisphenol S (BPS) — and one phthalate calledDi(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, or DEHP. In line with the other findings, dry dog food contained the highest levels; fresh and frozen food contained the lowest.

While no studies have been done in dogs, the phthalate DEHP may have contributed to more than 10% of all adult global mortality from heart disease among men and women ages 55 through 64,according to a studypublished in April 2025.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, has been linked tofetal abnormalities, low birth weight, andbrain and behavior disordersininfants and children. In adults, the chemical compound is associated with the development oftype 2 diabetes,heart disease,erectile dysfunction,cancerand a 49% higher risk ofearly deathwithin 10 years.

Bisphenol S, or BPS, is a common replacement for BPA.Studiesshow that BPS may have a similar negative impact on the reproductive system and may disrupt cellular function.

So with all these toxins, what can a pet parent do?

First, don't panic, Hamilton advised. If your veterinarian agrees and it fits your budget, consider fresh and frozen foods. Many pets, however, are picky and won't allow owners to switch from kibble to fresh or frozen.

"If you're going to keep using dry food, rotate it with other brands to diversify your dog's diet," she said. "You wouldn't want to eat the same thing every day for every meal, and many dogs are thrilled to eat new foods. Rotating the diet is probably the best thing you can do."

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MILAN (AP) — A small army keeps every Olympics running around the clock. At theMilan Cortina Winter Games, some of them are seasoned veterans dating back 20 years.

About 18,000 volunteers arespread out across northern Italy,blanketing the venues in asea of navy blue uniforms.

The Associated Press this week interviewed three Italian women who are volunteering in Milan. Two of them volunteered for the 2006 Turin Games — Italy's second time hosting the Winter Olympics — and the third worked for its local organizing committee.

An example for her daughters

Cristina Romagnoli traded her Italian heritage to be Irish for a few weeks in 2006. As a volunteer in the Alps west of Turin, she was assigned toIreland's athletes.

"We were supporting the team almost 24 hours a day, and to thank the work of the volunteers they even invited us to parade with them during the closing ceremony," she said.

Romagnoli, then 25, has few photos from those Games — a time before iPhones — but treasures her pins, volunteer guide book and lunch vouchers as souvenirs.

When the Milan Cortina Olympics were announced, she was ready for round two. In Milan, where she's from, she's volunteering at the short track speedskatingvenue.

"We might help them with their clothes, or with the maintenance of the arena's protection cushions," she said. "It is about giving our availability and support for the whole competition, for any need there might be either during the game and during the training sessions as well."

Romagnoli, now 45, is ready for her daughters, 10 and 11, totake the torchnext.

"I wanted them to breathe what is really the Olympic spirit, the Olympic sports values," she said. "I hope that when they will have the right age to participate, they will do it either in my place or together with me."

Opening a door to a new life

Angela Frisina was 50 when she volunteered in Turin. She felt caught in a never-ending cycle between work and home. So when a colleague suggested she apply for the Winter Games, she was intrigued.

Born in Reggio Calabria but raised in Turin, she wanted to give back to her adopted hometown.

She spent the Games at a hotel that hosted sponsors and delegations, her duties ranging from giving them directions for the venues and gift shops to doling out restaurant tips.

And the experience changed her life.

"I didn't go to the cinema. Just work, son, home," she told the AP. "And for me, these Olympic Games opened the window. The door!"

She joined a Turin Olympics volunteer alumni group and has spent the next two decades giving her time across Italy, including at last year'sVatican Jubileeand theEurovision Song Contestin 2022.

Now the 70-year-old nonna — "grandmother" in Italian — is volunteering as an usher, helping people find their seats at the women's ice hockey arena in the Milan suburbs. She video chats with her 5-year-old grandson between shifts to tell him about the people she's met.

Even though she's remained in Italy, Frisina says talking to tourists from countries near and far has broadened her horizons.

"I have visited all the world," she said.

An Olympic family

Olivia Azzalin found love ahead of the Turin Olympics.

She worked for the local organizing committee as a sport director assistant between 2001 and 2003.

Amid preparations for the Games, she fell for a colleague and by the time the cauldron was lit in 2006, the couple was expecting a child and planning their wedding.

"I think that Olympic Games is a very goodTinder," she joked.

Azzalin, then 34, had left the organizing committee but took a temporary job with Visa, one of the Olympics' biggest sponsors, to work at a hotel where Visa hosted guests and staff.

"I didn't want to miss it," she said.

She gave birth a few months after the Games and two decades later, she and her son were among the first to apply to volunteer, though he ultimately couldn't join her due to university exams.

So Azzalin goes alone to theOlympic Village in Milan, the city where her family has lived for nearly 12 years. The 53-year-old has assembled chairs, earninga pin of thanksfrom the Finnish delegation, and helped athletes sort their trash and recycling in the Village's cafeteria.

"It's funny because maybe you saw them the night before on TV," she said.

Her husband, meanwhile, has stayed home.

"He said that the Olympic Games in Torino was already dangerous for him," she laughed, "as he came back home with a wife and child."

Vasilisa Stepanenko and Andrea Rosa in Milan contributed to this report.

AP Winter Olympics coverage:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty

Ukrainian skeleton racerVladyslav Heraskevychwill no longer compete in the2026 Winter Olympicsafter the International Olympic Committeebanned him from participating due to his helmet.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Thursday, Feb. 12 that the 27-year-old is "not allowed to participate" due to his "refusal to comply" with the rulebook, which prohibits any political statements on the competition field. Heraskevych's helmet depicts Ukrainian athletes who have been killed in Russia's invasion of his country.

Heraskevych had been fighting back and forth with the IOC over wearing the helmet, and on Monday the committee ruled that he was not allowed to wear it in competition, offering instead to let him wear a black armband to honor those killed. The Ukrainian was not deterred, though, and said he would wear it anyway, in defiance of the IOC.

But on Thursday, the IOC took away his Olympic accreditation, "with regret."

Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty

"Despite multiple exchanges and in-person meetings between the IOC and Mr Heraskevych, the last one this morning with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, he did not consider any form of compromise," the committee said in a statement. 'The IOC was very keen for Mr Heraskevych to compete. This is why the IOC sat down with him to look for the most respectful way to address his desire to remember his fellow athletes who have lost their lives following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The essence of this case is not about the message, it is about where he wanted to express it."

Odd ANDERSEN / AFP via Getty

After the decision, Heraskevych's father, who also serves as his coach, was seen breaking down over the news. The racer also posted a simplestatement on Xreacting to his disqualification.

"This is [the] price of our dignity," he wrote in Ukrainian and English.

Heraskevych had said earlier this week that he wants the IOC to recognize that several of the people depicted on his helmet are former Olympians. "We have members of Olympic family, part of Olympic movement, and they don't even want to honor them," he said.

Russia is currently banned from participating in the Olympics due to their ongoing war against Ukraine. Russian athletes wanting to compete can, but under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), rather than Russia's flag. They also cannot have openly supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Just 13 Russian athletes were approved by the IOC for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come topeople.comto check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

Read the original article onPeople

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The Olympic gold medal is the last and only thing missing from the resume of the man who might be snowboarding's final great renegade — Scotty James.

Milan Cortina Olympics Snowboard

The Aussie halfpipe rider wants it dearly. He has called that missing gold"the elephant in the room."He has literally risked his life over the last 10 — make that 20 — years to try to get it.

But does he need it? Is winning it in Friday night'sOlympic finalthe only thing keeping him from the list of the best of the best in the history of a sport that was built by iconoclasts but has started feeling more corporate in recent years? Or is he already on that list?

"Winning an Olympics would be amazing. I don't think I need it to validate who I am as a snowboarder," James said. "I think I'm doing that just by the way I ride my board and how I interpret riding myself."

For years, James has been cinching on his trademark red boxing gloves, stepping to the top of the halfpipe and stubbornly insisting on not getting caught in the ever-growing trend of more flips at the expense of everything else.

While the defending champion, Ayumu Hirano, and Shaun White before him worked on the vaunted triple cork — three head-over-heels flips that stands as the sport's most dangerous trick, and the one that wins the biggest contests — James doubled down on complex twists and turns and doing things while riding backward.

In snowboarding, they call it "style." Nobody does style better than the 31-year-old rider who grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Warrandyte, then left his family and moved to America with Aussie snowboard greats Torah and Ben Bright at age 12, knowing he had maxed out all his possibilities back home.

Riding with style takes sacrifice, not only because it's hard but because the reward isn't always there. Riding a snowboard backward and starting a twist facing up the hill, completely blind to the landing spot, might not look as huge as a triple cork. Most in the sport would agree it's more difficult.

Over a career of close calls and near misses in the biggest events, James has watched judges — all of them lifers in this sport — value his skills less highly than the big jumps.

He has famously picked fights with judging panels: like the time they awarded White a perfect 100 at an Olympic qualifier in 2018, which led James to feeling he had no chance to win gold, no matter what he did at the Pyeongchang Games.

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He has famously been passed over: At the Beijing Games, he conducted a clinic in technical riding on the halfpipe at Secret Garden but got edged out by Hirano and his triple cork.

James has amassed a record-tying eight X Games halfpipe titles, five wins at the prestigious Laax Open, four world championships, the bronze and silver from the Olympics and so much more. This might be his last, best chance to finally win Olympic gold.

"My plan this year, regardless of results, was to try and revolutionize halfpipe snowboarding in a way that I would interpret it," James said. "Some of this is subjective but I wanted to push it in a direction that made me full, made me excited to go out and push it."

In the leadup to the Olympics, all these riders keep their cards close to the vest. The biggest clues from James came from hiswin at the X Games last month, where he landed successive backside 1440-degree jumps. That's two tricks spinning with his back facing down the hill to start, one while riding forward, the other riding backward — or "switch." Snowboarders like to call that an "NBD" — never been done.

In the Olympic qualifieron Wednesday that was stunningfor the level of the riding, James started his second run with a triple cork. Considered revolutionary four years ago, it now looks like the price of admission to the podium. Though it's not his favorite trick — not by a longshot — James has one (maybe two) in the bag for Friday.

But if he wins — a result that feels more possible because Hirano is coming off a big injury, although far from certain because of thedepth of Japanese ridingand the sudden surge from New Zealand's Cam Melville Ives — it will not be because of triple corks, or, frankly, anything else anyone is doing.

It will be because he did it his way.

"The plan doesn't change for me regardless," James said. "I have a run in my head that I want to do. It will be a good final."

AP Winter Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

By Nate Raymond

BOSTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sweeping efforts to upend U.S. immunization policies are set to go before a federal judge in Boston who already has drawn President Donald Trump's ire for impeding his administration's policies on multiple fronts.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy on Friday is due to hold a hearing in a legal challenge by medical groups ‌that assert that Kennedy and the agencies he oversees are unlawfully reshaping federal policies in ways that will increase barriers to getting vaccinated, fuel distrust in shots and lower immunization rates.

Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist who ‌has cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines contrary to scientific evidence, was appointed by the Republican president last year as the U.S. government's top health official. His critics have said Kennedy's actions on vaccines and other areas will undermine public health.

APPOINTED BY BIDEN

Murphy was appointed by Democratic ​President Joe Biden, confirmed by the U.S. Senate and joined the federal bench in Massachusetts in December 2024, the month before Trump returned to the presidency.

Murphy has earned the scorn of Trump's administration after issuing a series of rulings that blocked core parts of his hardline immigration agenda, prevented it from gutting funding for federal research and halted its efforts to prevent the further development of offshore wind energy.

The judge is a former public defender who previously ran a small criminal defense law firm based in Worcester, Massachusetts. He told lawyers at an event last week he "had not anticipated some of the more nationwide cases that have been a part of the practice, here in Massachusetts especially."

Cases with national significance have been piling up on the dockets of Massachusetts-based judges ‌like Murphy, as Trump opponents strategically funnel litigation into the federal court in Boston ⁠now dominated by the judicial appointees of Democratic presidents.

VACCINE PANEL OVERHAUL

At Friday's hearing, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other plaintiffs are expected to ask Murphy to issue a preliminary injunction that would prevent the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from implementing a revised childhood immunization schedule and block Kennedy's handpicked vaccine advisory panel from holding its February 25-26 meeting.

They argue ⁠the CDC acted unlawfully when on January 5 it reduced the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccinations to 11 and downgraded the immunization recommendations for six diseases, including rotavirus, influenza and hepatitis A.

They also are challenging Kennedy's decision last year to remove and replace all 17 independent experts who previously had served on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, whose recommendations shape U.S. vaccine practices.

The plaintiffs said that resulted in a panel dominated by vaccine skeptics appointed solely because their views aligned with those of Kennedy.

Murphy in a ruling ​last ​month allowing the case to proceed said those allegations were "sufficient to plausibly suggest the committee is neither fairly balanced nor free of inappropriate ​influence," in violation of the requirements for such panels set out in a U.S. law ‌called the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Justice Department lawyers argue that the plaintiffs are seeking a court-ordered ban on the Department of Health and Human Services "receiving and giving advice on vaccines." They say the CDC's guidance on vaccines is a matter of agency discretion, and that Congress in requiring "balance" for the panel meant employment status and background, making it irrelevant if most of its members now hold anti-vaccine views.

The reconstituted ACIP panel voted in September in favor of abandoning the U.S. government's broad recommendation for COVID-19 shots, essentially recommending patients consult their doctors first. It then voted in December to remove the broad recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine. The plaintiffs want those votes and others voided.

Global health experts have said vaccines are vital for controlling infectious diseases, preventing millions of deaths annually and lowering healthcare costs. Kennedy has called vaccine safety data flawed and has claimed vaccines are responsible for various health issues.

The public health groups argued that the newly adopted ‌U.S. changes will depress vaccination rates for shots that have long depended on clear and population-wide guidance, particularly in busy primary-care settings where ​default recommendations drive uptake.

'OUT OF CONTROL'

Another major Trump-related case Murphy has handled involved a lawsuit by immigrant rights advocates seeking to prevent the U.S. ​Department of Homeland Security from rapidly deporting migrants to countries other than their own without letting them raise any ​concerns about potential persecution or torture.

Murphy issued and enforced a court order to restrict the administration's efforts to deport migrants of other nationalities to countries such as South Sudan, Libya and El ‌Salvador.

Trump derided Murphy as "out of control," and White House advisor Stephen Miller called the judge ​a "lunatic." At the administration's urging, the Supreme Court intervened twice, ​lifting Murphy's injunction and clearing the way for the deportation of several men to South Sudan.

Murphy has signaled he is open to ruling against this "third country" deportation policy again as the case proceeds, and he has continued to deal the Trump administration other courtroom setbacks.

In October, Murphy ruled that the Pentagon's steep cuts to federal research funding for universities were unlawful.

In January, the judge allowed the Vineyard Wind joint venture to resume its Massachusetts ​offshore wind project, one of five judicial rulings nationwide that blocked the administration from halting ‌wind projects on national security grounds.

Days later, Murphy issued an order temporarily blocking the administration from ending temporary deportation protections covering more than 5,000 Ethiopians living in the United States.

"I'm sure when you imagined your first ​months on the bench, you expected a quiet start, where you'd learn the ropes," Democratic U.S. Senator Ed Markey said in video remarks played at Murphy's formal swearing-in ceremony in September. "But as the saying ​goes, sometimes the judiciary has plans for you."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Will Dunham)