Human Race: RFK Jr.’s vaccine dispute

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may soon need to defend his agency’s vaccine policy in court. The American Academy of Pediatrics was among several major health organizations that sued Kennedy on July 7 for “unlawful” updates to COVID-19 vaccine guidelines. In May, Kennedy announced the federal government would no longer include healthy children and healthy pregnant women on its recommended COVID-19 immunization schedule, citing a lack of clinical data for using the boosters in children. The move could affect insurance coverage of such shots.

Kennedy, a noted vaccine critic, in 2021 petitioned the Food and Drug Adminis­tration to revoke authorization of COVID-19 vaccines. This March, federal health officials under Kennedy announced plans to study whether a link exists between vaccines and autism, although previous studies have found no such connection. In June, he fired 17 members of a federal vaccine advisory panel. (Kennedy did tell Congress during his confirmation process he was not “anti-vaccine” and wouldn’t discourage anyone from getting a measles or polio vaccine.)

The 42-page lawsuit claims Kennedy made the changes to the COVID-19 schedule without following proper procedure. It also suggests the schedule change was part of Kennedy’s overall effort to “undermine trust in vaccines and reduce the rate of vaccinations.” The plaintiffs have asked the court to reinstate the original COVID-19 vaccine schedule.

Counselee sues

A former member sued Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif.—­previously led by late Pastor John MacArthur—on July 3 for allegedly disclosing confidential marital information to church members as part of a disciplinary process. The suit accuses the church of violating Lorraine Zielinski’s right to privacy and free association, among other claims. As a longtime GCC member, Zielinski says she disclosed her former husband’s alleged physical abuse and other private information to church counseling staff. When counselors sought to reconcile the marriage, Zielinski resigned membership. GCC declined her resignation and placed her under church discipline, disclosing certain details to congregants as consistent with its disciplinary process. The church did not respond to WORLD’s request for comment. GCC Pastor MacArthur died July 14 at age 86 after being hospitalized with pneumonia. —Mary Jackson

Pro-lifer appointed

Keith Kautz, a former Wyoming Supreme Court justice with pro-life views, became the state’s new attorney general July 7. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon appointed Kautz to the office to replace Bridget Hill, whom Gordon tapped to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in April. Kautz becomes Wyoming’s top litigator as the state continues to defend the legality of a statewide ban on abortion in most instances. Days before oral arguments in April challenging the abortion ban, Kautz lamented during a pro-life event the killing of unborn children and prayed his former colleagues would know God loves each human. Kautz had served on the state’s highest court from 2015 until March 2024, when he turned 70 and was mandatorily retired. —Todd Vician

Double-bagel sweep

In tennis parlance, love means “zero.” So you could say Iga Świątek earned some love at the Wimbledon women’s singles final on July 12: Świątek became the first female player in 114 years to hang two zeros on her opponent in a championship match, topping American Amanda Anisimova in straight 6-0 sets on the All England Club’s famed grass court. Not since 1911, when Dorothea Chambers defeated fellow Brit Dora Boothby, had a women’s player won a Wimbledon final without dropping a single game. Świątek’s victory was her first at Wimbledon. The 24-year-old from Poland has won six major tournaments and will complete a career Grand Slam if she wins next January’s Australian Open. —Ray Hacke

Gaining critics

Professing Christians and reality TV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines faced criticism after their latest reality TV project, debuting July 10, prominently featured a male homosexual couple with two children. The Magnolia Network’s Back to the Frontier follows families as they abandon modern conveniences and assume the lifestyles of homesteaders living in the 1800s. The show includes Jason and Joe Hanna-Riggs, a gay couple who told reporters they auditioned for the series to normalize homosexuality. In a social media post that seemed to address the controversy, Chip Gaines accused American Christian culture of being judgmental. But Ed Vitagliano, vice president of the American Family Association, called the decision to feature a homosexual couple “sad and disappointing.” —Travis Kircher

Imminent execution

On July 9 a Utah judge set a September execution date for Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, despite attorneys’ arguments that Menzies’ dementia will prevent him from understanding why he is being killed. Judge Matthew Bates ruled Menzies “consistently and rationally” understands why he is facing execution despite recent cognitive decline. Menzies has been on death row for 37 years for the murder of Maurine Hunsaker, a married mother of three. After his 1988 conviction, Menzies chose the firing squad as his method of execution. Menzies would become only the sixth U.S. prisoner killed by firing squad since 1977. —Kim Henderson

Pastor deported

On July 2 immigration enforcement agents deported a Florida pastor as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal residents. Maurilio Ambrocio, 42, led a rural church in Wimauma and lived in the U.S. for about 20 years. Authorities previously removed Ambrocio in 2006 after he entered the country unlawfully. He returned illegally and officials convicted him of driving without a license in 2012, issuing him a final removal order. But his family said authorities allowed him to remain in the U.S. as long as he checked in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement every year and didn’t commit any crimes. Agents arrested Ambrocio during his annual ICE check-in in April, however, and repatriated him to Guatemala. He still hopes to reunite with his wife and five children, who are U.S. citizens, by a legal immigration pathway. —Addie Offereins