By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday effectively ended a publicly funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma, dividing 4-4.

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The outcome keeps in place an Oklahoma court decision that invalidated a vote by a state charter school board to approve the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would have been the nation’s first religious charter school. But it leaves the issue unresolved nationally.

The one-sentence notice from the court provides an unsatisfying end to one of the term’s most closely watched cases.

The Catholic Church in Oklahoma had wanted taxpayers to fund the online charter school “faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ.” Opponents warned that allowing it would blur the separation between church and state, sap money from public schools and possibly upend the rules governing charter schools in almost every state.

Only eight of the nine justices took part in the case. Justice Amy Coney Barrett didn’t explain her absence, but she is good friends and used to teach with Notre Dame law professor Nicole Garnett, who has been an adviser to the school.

The issue could return to the high court in the future, with the prospect that all nine justices could participate.

The court, following its custom, did not provide a breakdown of the votes. But during arguments last month, four conservative justices seemed likely to side with the school, while the three liberals seemed just as firmly on the other side.

That left Chief Justice John Roberts appearing to hold the key vote, and suggests he went with the liberals to make the outcome 4-4.

The case came to the court amid efforts, mainly in conservative-led states, to insert religion into public schools. Those include a challenged Louisiana requirement that the Ten Commandments be posted in classrooms and a mandate from Oklahoma’s state schools superintendent that the Bible be placed in public school classrooms.

St. Isidore, a K-12 online school, had planned to start classes for its first 200 enrollees last fall, with part of its mission to evangelize its students in the Catholic faith.

A key unresolved issue is whether the school is public or private. Charter schools are deemed public in Oklahoma and the other 45 states and the District of Columbia where they operate. North Dakota recently enacted legislation allowing for charter schools.

They are free and open to all, receive state funding, abide by antidiscrimination laws and submit to oversight of curriculum and testing. But they also are run by independent boards that are not part of local public school systems.

Minnesota United’s path in the U.S. Open Cup will run through St. Paul. If the Loons win out, they won’t have to leave Allianz Field for the national tournament.

The draw Thursday determined the Loons will host Chicago Fire for the quarterfinals on May 8 or 9. If MNUFC wins, they will host the San Jose/Austin winner in the semifinals on Sept. 16 or 17.

If Minnesota wins again, they would hold the final at home on Oct. 1 against the club to come out of the East side of the bracket. Philadelphia Union, DC United, Nashville SC and New York Red Bulls are on the other side of the bracket.

MNUFC, which lost the Open Cup final to Atlanta in 2019, went on the road to beat Louisville City of the USL Championship in the Round of 32 in early May.

On Wednesday, the Loons returned home and came back to beat St. Louis City 3-2 at Allianz Field. Kelvin Yeboah gave Minnesota a first-half lead and Anthony Markanich scored two late goals to propel the win.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Kermit the Frog knows it’s not easy being green — or graduating from college and entering the real world, especially during a time of economic uncertainty and political turmoil.

Members of the University of Maryland’s class of 2025 will receive their diplomas Thursday evening with sage advice from the amphibious Muppet ringing in their ears.

The university announced in March that Kermit, who was created in 1955 and became the centerpiece of the Muppets franchise, would be this year’s commencement speaker. He’s also no stranger to the school.

Muppets creator Jim Henson graduated from Maryland in 1960. A home economics major, he fashioned the original frog puppet from one of his mother’s coats and a ping-pong ball cut in half, according to a statement from the university. Henson died in 1990.

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A bronze statue of Henson and Kermit sitting on a bench is a well-known feature of the College Park campus.

In a video announcing the speaker pick, Kermit is described as an environmental advocate, a best-selling author, an international superstar and a champion of creativity, kindness and believing in the impossible.

His speaker bio calls him “a star of stage, screen and swamp” whose simple mission is to “sing and dance and make people happy.”

“I am thrilled that our graduates and their families will experience the optimism and insight of the world-renowned Kermit the Frog at such a meaningful time in their lives,” university President Darryll J. Pines said in a statement.

The statement also quoted the beloved frog himself: “Nothing could make these feet happier than to speak at the University of Maryland. I just know the class of 2025 is going to leap into the world and make it a better place, so if a few encouraging words from a frog can help, then I’ll be there!”

By MATTHEW PERRONE and LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Government advisers are meeting Thursday to decide if COVID-19 vaccines need updating to improve protection this fall and winter — even as a new Trump administration policy has thrown into question who may be eligible for a shot.

The Food and Drug Administration’s outside experts have met regularly since the launch of the first COVID-19 vaccines to discuss tweaking their recipes to stay ahead of the virus. Thursday’s meeting is the group’s first since President Donald Trump took office.

But it comes just two days after FDA leaders upended the prior U.S. policy of recommending annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older.

Instead, the FDA said routine approval of COVID-19 boosters will be limited to seniors and to younger people who are at high risk of severe infection. Manufacturers will need to do new studies to show whether seasonal shots still benefit healthy people younger than 65.

That raises big implications for next fall’s vaccination campaign, with uncertainty over whether healthy people still could get a vaccine even if it’s not recommended for them — or whether insurers will keep paying for the shots for everyone. Nor is it clear what the policy means for babies who have never been vaccinated.

“This is a mess,” said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease expert. “The one thing we don’t want to do is put a barrier in place that prevents parents from getting their children vaccinated if they want to.”

FDA’s independent advisers may raise those issues Thursday, but the changes are not the focus of the meeting, which was scheduled before FDA’s announcement.

Instead, the panel is set to recommend whether the virus has mutated enough to warrant strain updates for shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax.

“We are asking for guidance to help the FDA decide what strain to select for COVID-19 vaccines going forward,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad said in comments opening the meeting. Prasad added that the agency wants “to give people a little more time to digest,” the new policy on vaccines and is open to feedback.

Last fall’s recipe was tailored to omicron descendants on the JN.1 branch of the virus family tree. Novavax brewed shots targeting the parent JN.1 variant while Pfizer and Moderna opted for a subtype called KP.2.

That JN.1 family still dominates, although it continues to evolve. The question is whether last fall’s shots still offer enough cross-protection or if manufacturers instead should match today’s most common subtype, called LP.8.1.

The World Health Organization recently said last year’s version was OK but that vaccine makers could choose an update. The European Medicines Agency instead recommended targeting the newest subtype.

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FDA officials didn’t express a preference in documents posted online ahead of Thursday’s meeting. suggested earlier in the week that the government should move away from yearly updates.

“Instead of having a COVID-19 strategy that’s year-to-year where we change things every single year, why don’t we let the science tell us when to change?” Prasad said.

Debating that science is what the FDA’s vaccine advisers do each year. If they recommend leaving the shots unchanged — and the FDA agrees — it’s possible that healthy adults and children may still get access to a fall booster, since this week’s policy changes suggest new studies would be required only if manufacturers switch strains or introduce a completely new vaccine. Those would be large, six-month studies, and vaccine experts question if their cost and logistics could make them unfeasible.

Still, the FDA’s strain decision normally isn’t the final word on recommendations about who should be vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s own advisory panel meets in June to make recommendations about the fall shots. Among its options are keeping universal access or recommending vaccination for high-risk groups but still giving lower-risk people the choice in getting a shot.

Prasad and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary were both outspoken critics of the government’s handling of COVID-19 shots during the pandemic, particularly the recommendation for use in young, healthy adults and children. Before joining government, they each garnered attention from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who built a national following by casting doubt on the safety and benefits of vaccines.

In a medical journal editorial outlining the FDA’s new approach, they criticized the U.S.’s “one-size-fits-all” approach, saying it has long been out of step with Europe and other places with more limited recommendations for boosters.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.