The Brief

In a surprise move on Friday morning, a panel of vaccine advisors to the federal government backed off from a proposed change to the vaccine schedule that would have scrapped the current recommendation that all children receive the hepatitis B shot at birth.

It also reversed a vote it took yesterday on coverage for a shot known as the MMRV — measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (or varicella). Yesterday, the panel said the Vaccines for Children program could cover the combined shot if parents want it — Friday they voted that it shouldn't.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, had spent much of Thursday debating the rationale for giving newborns the hepatitis B vaccine at birth — but then the committee pushed off the vote until Friday. Instead, it proceeded with a separate vote that removed the MMRV shot for children under age 4 from the vaccine schedule.

The ACIP panel crafts recommendations on vaccine policy for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Earlier this year, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the existing panel, installed during the Biden administration, and replaced them with his own handpicked roster, including five members he added this week. Some of those he chose have a history of being critical of vaccines.

"We are rookies," chair Martin Kulldorff said in opening the second day of the meeting. "With one exception, this was either our first ACIP meeting or our second."

Kulldorff went on to explain that their lack of experience led them to need to re-do a vote from the previous day because the wording had been confusing. The outcome of that re-do was to change the insurance coverage of the MMRV vaccine for low-income children.

Then came hepatitis B. Although some on the committee seemed enthusiastic about pushing the first dose recommendation for hepatitis B later in life, after some discussion, there was a revolt against tackling the issue at all.

"I move to postpone the question indefinitely," Dr. Robert Malone, an ACIP member and close associate of Kennedy, said. "I believe that there's enough ambiguity here and enough remaining discussion about safety, effectiveness and timing that I believe that a vote today is premature."

That seemed to take Kulldorff by surprise. The committee voted 11 to 1 to table action on the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, with Kulldorff as the lone dissent.

Medical experts participating in the meeting as liaisons representing major medical groups seemed relieved by the decision to table the question.

Many had voiced their opposition to overhauling the recommendations, pointing to data showing the current policy had helped dramatically reduce cases of hepatitis B. The proposed changes also ran counter to hours of data presented by the CDC's own scientists supporting the safety and efficacy of offering the shot right after a baby is born.

"It is very easy to get distracted by one study that says this or one study that does say that," noted Dr. Amy Middleman, representing the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. "There's always some risk — there's a risk to walking across the street. The committee's scientific challenge is to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks." She added that she hoped the panel would use scientific tools like grading evidence to evaluate these questions going forward.

The panel's votes still require final approval from the acting CDC director Jim O'Neill. He was installed by Kennedy after the senate-confirmed director, Susan Monarez, was ousted in part for refusing to commit to adopting ACIP's recommendations before she'd seen evidence, she testified to the Senate earlier this week.

Later on Friday, the panel will vote on recommendations on who should be eligible for the latest COVID-19 vaccines.

Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group, founded by Kennedy before he became health secretary, has long targeted the hepatitis B vaccine recommendation, claiming the risk of illness is small for most babies and the vaccine can be harmful.

Tensions between the committee and the medical establishment have surfaced repeatedly throughout the two-day gathering.

On Thursday, Dr. Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians, urged ACIP not to change the recommendations on the MMRV shot and criticized the broader process, saying they've sidelined subject matter experts and clinicians. He also noted that representatives from medical groups have been removed from ACIP workgroups, though they are still able to comment during the public meetings.
Copyright 2025 NPR

California community college districts are spending millions of dollars on artificial intelligence-powered chatbots intended to help students navigate admissions, financial aid and campus services.

However, they struggle to consistently provide clear and accurate answers, leaving students frustrated and seeking help from others on unofficial social media channels.

In testing by CalMatters, they often answered general questions correctly but struggled with more specific ones. East Los Angeles College's bot couldn't even correctly name its own president.

Contracts for these chatbots can be pricey and last for years. Three community college districts that responded to a CalMatters survey reported annual costs ranging from about $151,000 to nearly half a million dollars. At the Los Angeles Community College District, the state's largest community college system, contracts and amendments approved since 2021 total about $3.8 million through 2029, according to district board documents.

Community college districts that responded to CalMatters have contracted with chatbot platforms such as Gravyty and Gecko, which district officials say handle thousands of conversations each month, many outside regular office hours, helping to reduce calls and save students unnecessary trips to campus.

Some of these chatbot platforms rely on manually maintained libraries of frequently asked questions and campus websites to answer questions, which can lead to errors when information is outdated or questions fall outside the system's database.

However, officials are working to improve them. Districts like the Santa Monica Community College District have moved to ChatGPT-integrated AI systems that scrape the college's website to generate answers, which officials say seem more reliable. In the Los Angeles district, officials say they plan to transition to a new AI chatbot platform as early as late spring.

Looking for answers

Improvements to the chatbot couldn't come soon enough for students like Pablo Aguirre, a computer science major at East Los Angeles College and an information technology intern at the Los Angeles college district office.

Aguirre mostly avoids the chatbot himself because, he said, it might provide unreliable or outdated information. He recalled using the bot to find financial aid information, but said he gave up after it kept asking him questions instead of giving him a clear answer.

"I just didn't find it as useful," Aguirre said. He usually turns to Google, social media platforms like Reddit and the college's website when looking for answers.

"Online, some pages don't work," Aguirre said, recalling a 404 error message on the college's website. Even when pages load, he said, it can be difficult to find the right one, such as when he was trying to figure out where to sign up for Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, a state-funded program that supports disadvantaged students. "That's where I just jump on Reddit," he said.

Students walk through the Fresno State campus on Feb. 9, 2022.

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Larry Valenzuela

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CalMatters

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Aguirre's experience isn't unique. Reanna Carlson, a commercial music major at Fresno City College and student government vice president, said her college's chatbot, dubbed Sam the Ram after its mascot, repeatedly gave her unclear or incorrect answers to basic questions about campus services. Her district, the State Center Community College District, has a nearly $870,000, three-year contract for Gravyty, formerly Ocelot, through June 20, 2026, according to district board documents. Officials pointed out that the contract comes with other services, including tools that let staff engage in live chats or send text messages to students.

"I think the chatbot is outdated and can't navigate the services we provide on campus effectively," Carlson said. "I don't think it's the most beneficial option when it comes to asking questions."

Oddly, Carlson got accurate information on the availability of free food at her campus' Ram Pantry only when accidentally adding a typo to her query. Repeated CalMatters testing confirmed the same outcome, though the bot sometimes lists links that include the food pantry after clicking an adjacent "sources" button.

"If it weren't for the amazing staff on campus that constantly remind students of our services, I'd be lost," Carlson said.

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Screenshots via Fresno City College website

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Testing chatbots

When CalMatters tested community college chatbots, they generally returned quick, accurate responses to common questions but were less consistent with more specific ones.

For example, when asked, "Who is the current president of ELAC?" East Los Angeles College's chatbot incorrectly named Alberto Román, who left the position last year to become the district's chancellor. In another test, when asked, "What is the financial aid office's current schedule?" the bot provided incorrect hours and dates.

East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park on March 14, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters

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Jules Hotz

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CalMatters

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East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park on March 14, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters East Los Angeles College's chatbot claims to support several languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. But CalMatters found inconsistencies when asking it in Spanish, "Do I need a Social Security number to enroll?" Instead of answering the question, the system directed users to visit the registrar's office to update their Social Security number. When asked the same question in English, the bot pivoted to discussing financial aid.

Fresno City College's chatbot, powered by the same AI provider as East Los Angeles College's system, Gravyty, showed similar problems when asked whether a Social Security number is required to enroll. It also often failed to direct students to the correct offices and, in some cases, listed incorrect locations and hours.

Concerns with chatbots have surfaced elsewhere. In New York City, reporting by The Markup and THE CITY found that a city-run AI chatbot provided guidance that could lead to illegal behavior, prompting Mayor Zohran Mamdani to terminate it in February.

'Good answers with fewer errors'

Santa Monica College's chatbot, powered by Gecko, was more successful in answering most questions. The single-college district uses a ChatGPT-integrated chatbot that scans the college's website, which staff regularly update and monitor. The district has contracted with Gecko since 2019 and renewed its annual contract for the tool late last year for $57,000, according to district board documents. It initially showed a major hiccup: when asked about mental health counseling, the bot did not mention the campus' Center for Wellness and Wellbeing. It does now.

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Screenshots via Santa Monica College website

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District officials say chatbots' problems stem from how the tools are configured and the information they draw from, rather than the technology itself.

The Los Angeles district originally adopted its chatbot through Ocelot, which later merged with Gravyty The same chatbot platform is also used on the California Student Aid Commission website.

Betsy Regalado, one of the district's associate vice chancellors, said the current system relies on a manually maintained library of frequently asked questions that staff at each of the district's nine colleges help maintain and review at least once or twice a year for accuracy. She added that chatbots are primarily geared for the public rather than enrolled students, who can access more detailed personal information through their campus portal.

"The current chatbot that we have uses a library of questions. If you don't have that question in that library, then those poor people don't get an answer or they won't get an accurate answer," Regalado said.

She said the district plans to transition all nine colleges to Gravyty's platform as early as late spring at no additional cost under its existing contract, which runs through 2029. The new system will use AI to scrape college and external websites to generate responses.

"We're ready for the modernization of (the chatbot) and the change to generative AI. That is the new world out there," Regalado said.

Santa Monica College is one of 116 campuses in the California community college system.

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Courtesy Santa Monica College

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Santa Monica College's chatbot similarly initially relied on a manually loaded library of common questions and answers before transitioning to its fully AI system, according to Esau Tovar, the college's dean of enrollment services. In an email, he said the bot "was never designed to address all aspects of the student journey," but to answer general questions from students.

Tovar said the bot draws responses from the college's website, meaning accuracy depends on how current and complete that information is. As a result, the college prioritizes keeping its website up to date so the bot provides "good answers with fewer errors" rather than "great answers with potentially more errors."

Widely used, cautiously trusted

Acknowledging limitations, community college districts justify the costs by pointing to heavy student use, which would cost significantly more if performed by call center staff around the clock.

Regalado said the Los Angeles district colleges average 5,000 to 7,000 interactions per month. Other districts reported similar monthly use, including 5,000 interactions at the State Center Community College District, which includes campuses in Fresno and nearby counties, and 4,000 conversations at Santa Monica College. Regalado said that as long as the chatbot remains heavily used, her district would continue to support it.

Tovar said the chatbot provides 24-hour support regardless of time zone or location, which he said is helpful for international students when they are out of the country. He said that answering the tens of thousands of questions the chatbots receive around the clock would cost significantly more if handled by staff.

"Every technology has a cost. We would simply not be able to assist all students if they could only reach us using traditional methods," Tovar said.

But high usage and expanded access do not always translate into trust, especially when students need precise answers to delicate topics.

Bryan Hartanto, a civil engineering major at Santa Monica College from Indonesia, said the college's newer chatbot system is smoother and can be a useful starting point, especially for students more comfortable communicating in languages other than English. But as an international student he worries that following inaccurate guidance could jeopardize his visa status.

"Maintaining status as an international student right now is very, very sensitive," Hartanto said. "I would still rely on human or email communication."

Martin Romero is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

A city of Los Angeles commission on Thursday recommended increasing the power of the City Council over the police department, a shift supporters said would make the agency more accountable to the people.

Right now, the council has no direct authority over the LAPD. Instead, a five-member Police Commission appointed by the mayor oversees the department.

The structure has sometimes frustrated members of the City Council who want to weigh in on police policy — especially amid what some see as the department’s heavy-handed approach to protestors.

Under the proposal, any police-related ordinance enacted by the council would be reviewed by the Police Commission. The panel would have the option of vetoing it within 60 days. After that, if the commission takes no action, the ordinance would become law.

The Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission voted down stronger language that would have given the council more direct control over police policy.

Community activists hailed the recommendations.

“Months ago, police reform wasn’t even on the Charter Commission’s to-do list,” Godfrey Plata of LA Forward said in a statement. “Today, because community members came together to force conversations that likely never would have happened on their own, we have multiple reforms headed to City Council. That’s a huge victory.”

The recommendation goes to the City Council, which will decide whether to place it on the November ballot, along with a series of other recommended charter changes.

Criticism of police commission

The recommendation comes amid growing frustration over the rising liability costs caused by police misconduct and a sense the Police Commission has done too little to reform the department.

“The police commission is borderline useless,” Baba Akili of Black Lives Matter told the Charter Commission during public testimony.

In addition, the charter reform panel recommended strengthening the role of the council to terminate officers involved in misconduct. Right now, the City Council has no such role. Under the recommendation, the council would be able to override a decision by the police chief and civilian Board of Rights panel if they decide to retain an officer accused of wrongdoing.

The commission also voted to recommend the police department be required to buy $1 million worth of liability insurance for each officer to be paid out if there is a legal settlement or judgment when an officer engages in misconduct. The cost would not be able to exceed $20 per officer.

Commissioners said skyrocketing judgments and settlements connected to police misconduct necessitated the creation of an insurance program.

Other recommendations

Previously, the Charter Reform Commission recommended increasing the size of the City Council from 15 to 25 members, shifting to a ranked-choice voting system and lowering the voting age to 16 in city and school board elections.

Each of those recommendations would need to be approved by the City Council before it can appear on the ballot.

The commission was born out of calls for reform in the wake of the 2022 City Hall tapes scandal. Three members of the City Council and a labor leader were caught on audio tape making racist and disparaging remarks during a discussion of how to retain power through political redistricting.

City Council President Nury Martinez and the labor leader, L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, resigned their positions.

LA28, the committee behind the upcoming Summer Games and Paralympics in Los Angeles, made recent headlines after supporting and defending their chair, Casey Wasserman, whose name appeared in the ongoing Epstein files released last month.

The 35-member committee, which seems to be the only entity that could remove and unseat Wasserman, said that after they reviewed his documented interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, they did not go “beyond what has already been publicly documented.”

"The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that, based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful games,” the committee said in a statement.

Despite local leaders and organizations, including members of the L.A. City Council, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, representatives on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation, demanding his removal from the games' leadership, the board has remained steady in its defense of Wasserman.

For starters, the official LA28 website only lists the names of the 35-member committee, failing to provide any additional information on their external position, affiliation, or background.

Despite the limited information that the board provides about its members, the influence they hold is exponential. Overall, they are in charge of the successful execution of the 2028 games through things like ensuring the games remain on budget, managing environmental sustainability and venues and securing corporate partnerships with companies such as Starbucks, Delta, Google, and Comcast.

Among the committee members who continue to defend Wasserman are local business, sports, and political leaders, including the following:

Latinos

• Beatriz Acevedo

Beatriz Acevedo is a Latina entrepreneur, co-founder and president of Mitú, or we are Mitú, a digital news and culture source for Latinos. Acevedo, who was born in Tijuana and raised in Mexico City, also co-founded SUMA Wealth, a financial wellness company and app that is said to help Latinos with tips about financial literacy and wealth-building tools.

The app uses AI “financial coaches” that help subscribers with budgeting, investing and receive personalized financial coaching.

“Your financial future can shine brighter than your abuela's saints' candles with our unlimited money-making tips, deals, and financial tools,” the official website states.

Acevedo is also the president of her family’s foundation, the Acevedo Foundation, which, according to its website, is committed to creating more equitable access to capital and mentorship for Latino entrepreneurs to elevate the community's needs and build generational wealth. She is also a member of the Latino Community Foundation.

• Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba is known for acting roles in movies like “Fantastic Four” and “Good Luck Chuck,” among others. She is also the founder of the Honest Company, an L.A.-based consumer goods company specializing in baby, beauty and personal care items, including diapers and wipes, utilizing non-toxic, plant-based ingredients.

In 2015, numerous lawsuits claimed the company had deceptive labeling of ingredients, specifically sodium lauryl sulfate in laundry detergent.

The actress, who last month made a surprise dancing appearance during Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, has also openly spoken about experiencing sexual harassment “all the time along the way” throughout her career in the Hollywood industry.

• José E. Feliciano

José E. Feliciano is a Puerto Rican-born American businessman, investor and multi-billionaire.

He is the co-founder of investment firm Clearlake Capital, a private investment firm in the technology, industrial and consumer sectors, managing over $90 billion of assets. The company is the majority owner of Chelsea Football Club, having acquired the team in May 2022.

Through the Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano Initiative, Feliciano and his wife have also donated to causes at Princeton University and Stanford University. He also serves on the boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino and today is one of the wealthiest Americans.

• Pete Rodriguez 

Pete Rodriguez is a labor union leader and member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, one of North America's largest building-trades unions, representing over 500,000 members in the construction and wood-products industries.

Besides joining the union in 1996, when he was doing highway and bridge work, there is not much public information about him. His father was an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. undocumented and worked as a union laborer as well.

Members Tied to President Donald Trump 

• Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from January to October 2023. The Republican from Bakersfield, California, concluded his 16-year career after he was the first Speaker of the House in U.S. history to be formally removed from the position. McCarthy was initially a supporter of Trump until he stated Trump “bears responsibility” for the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a statement that he later retracted and once again became a vocal supporter of Trump's return to power.

• Reince Priebus

Reince Priebus served as Trump’s chief of staff for the first six months of his first term. He was removed as White House chief of staff in July 2017 after being blamed for poor performance and leaking of documents. He also serves as a political analyst for Fox News, appearing across their platforms and news segments.

• Diane Hendricks

Billionaire Diane Hendricks, considered to be the wealthiest person in Wisconsin, has been a Trump mega-donor for years. Hendricks, who has openly said to be anti-union, faced controversy in the past for paying zero state income taxes in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014, although it was classified as legal due to business tax classifications. She has previously said to have built the majority of her multi-billion-dollar fortune through ABC Supply, one of the largest roofing supply companies in the U.S. Before that, she worked as a Playboy Bunny for about a year as a teenager, a job she said she took to support her child and pay her bills.

• Patrick Dumont

Billionaire Patrick Dumont is the owner of the National Basketball Association team, the Dallas Mavericks. He was also recently appointed chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands, a casino and resort company. He is also the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, an Israeli-American physician who has been ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world and has been a major Trump benefactor, as well as one of the largest donors to Republican causes. In 2018, Trump awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor, for her work in support of Jewish causes and advocating for strong U.S.-Israel ties.

Others

Jeffrey Katzenberg served as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994 and later as the chief executive officer and founder of DreamWorks Animation. For decades, he has been a top Democratic Party fundraiser, involved with campaigns for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and was a co-chair for Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign.

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the board is not made up of former Paralympic athletes; instead, the majority of its members are billionaires and prominent political and business figures.

CNN reported last week that, according to their sources, the U.S. and International Olympic committees, which oversee and approve major LA28 decisions, have been engaged in backchannel conversations about Wasserman’s role, with a potential replacement floating around.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Homeless outreach workers are now roaming daily across the Eastside, including Boyle Heights, to provide hygiene kits and tents and connect unhoused residents to temporary housing.

The effort is part of a new year-long program launched last Thursday by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, which works in partnership with Urban Alchemy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides services to unhoused people.

The program — Leading Outreach with Valued Engagement, or LOVE — will be in effect through March 2027. The program costs $300,000 and is funded through Jurado’s discretionary funds. The team is made up of three people, which includes two on-the-ground outreach practitioners and a third person directing their operations.

Boyle Heights has seen a recent rise in homeless encampment reports. In the first quarter of 2025, 635 encampments were reported in Boyle Heights, compared with 379 during the same period in 2024, according to an analysis by The Eastsider.

Homeless encampments were also a source of discussion at January’s Community Police Advisory Board hosted by the Hollenbeck Community Police Station. 

Attendees expressed frustration about unhoused people living in an alley behind the Benjamin Franklin Library and a growing encampment near Hollenbeck Drive and South Boyle Avenue, according to a summary of the meeting. 

Encampments move from one place to another, said Susana Betancourt, a member of the Community Police Advisory Board. Betancourt talked about pressuring property owners to clean up. “They not only have tents, the encampments there, but they put their vehicles,” she said.

Jurado, in a statement to Boyle Heights Beat, said her office works with service providers “to respond to encampments thoughtfully.”

“We coordinate every two weeks to prioritize areas of greatest need, making sure neighbors get consistent support and that unhoused residents are connected to housing, health care, and other services,” she said. 

Jurado touts the new program as giving unhoused residents better access to “life-saving health care, stable housing, [and] pathways to recovery.” The LOVE program, Jurado said, will help “reach neighbors before situations become emergencies.”

“Addressing homelessness isn’t one-size-fits-all. I invested in the LOVE Team because every person’s needs are different,” Jurado said. “The team is out in the community every day, visiting every neighborhood in the district each week, building trust, and connecting neighbors to housing, health care, and support services that help them regain stability.”

Outreach workers are tasked with providing crisis intervention and de-escalation, assessing individual needs and connecting people to interim housing referrals. They will also distribute food and Narcan, as well as offer “post-placement follow-up to help people remain housed.”

Jurado said workers will exclusively offer daily outreach to CD 14 neighborhoods, which include El Sereno, Lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, Eagle Rock, Highland Park and downtown Los Angeles. 

Mason Santa Maria, a spokesperson for Jurado, said outreach workers have already identified unhoused residents who are not yet logged into the Homeless Management Information System, an online database tracking services accessed by people who are unhoused or at risk of homelessness. 

“It’s hard to keep track of people when they don’t have a stable address,” Santa Maria said. “This is a way to keep track of them.”

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