By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials made broad changes to childhood vaccine recommendations Monday, alarming pediatricians and other medical experts who say they will sow confusion and undermine children’s health.

The overhaul is effective immediately, meaning that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will now recommend that all children get vaccinated against 11 diseases, down from 18 a year ago.

The changes comes as U.S. vaccination rates have been slipping and the share of children with exemptions has reached an all-time high, according to federal data. At the same time, rates of diseases that can be protected against with vaccines, such as measles and whooping cough, are rising.

Here’s what to know about the changes:

Here’s what federal vaccine recommendations have changed

Once broadly recommended, the federal government now only recommends protection against these diseases for certain children at high risk or based on individual doctor advice in what’s called “shared decision-making.”

— Flu

— Hepatitis A

— Hepatitis B

— Meningococcal disease

— Rotavirus

— RSV

— COVID-19, a change made in 2025

Here’s what federal vaccine recommendations stayed the same

The following vaccines were left on the recommended-for-all list:

— Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)

— Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or whooping cough (DTaP)

— Polio

— Chickenpox

— Human papillomavirus, or HPV. But in a surprise, the guidance reduces the number of recommended vaccine doses against HPV from two or three shots to just one.

— Hib, or Haemophilus influenzae type B, bacteria that despite the name isn’t related to flu

— PCV or pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Why were the vaccine recommendations changed?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the overhaul was in response to a request from President Donald Trump in December. Trump asked the agency to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising U.S. guidance accordingly.

HHS said its comparison to 20 peer nations found that the U.S. was an “outlier” in both the number of vaccinations and the number of doses it recommended to all children. Officials with the agency framed the change as a way to increase public trust by recommending only the most important vaccinations for children to receive.

However, many European countries recommend some of the vaccines the U.S. removed from its list.

What do doctors and pediatricians say?

The nation’s large doctors’ groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, say they will continue to recommend the vaccines that the Trump administration has now demoted. They said there was no new science that warranted the changes, including no signs that the former U.S. vaccine schedule harmed children.

Dr. Sean O’Leary of the AAP said the changes could increase child illness and death from preventable disease. He voiced special concern that the U.S. would no longer recommend flu vaccine for children, just as the flu season is becoming severe and after last winter’s particularly harsh season.

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The pediatricians’ group has issued its own child vaccine recommendations. Also, states, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. While CDC requirements often influence those state regulations, some states have begun creating their own alliances to counter the Trump administration’s guidance on vaccines.

What will change for families?

It’s not yet clear. Because of the countering recommendations from pediatricians, doctor visits may not change. However, medical specialists say when the U.S. government doesn’t explicitly recommend a shot, it will raise questions among parents, leading to more difficult conversations at the doctor’s office.

If the changes mean fewer children are vaccinated, outbreaks that have historically been prevented by high vaccination rates could spread more widely, leading to more disease and more missed school and work.

Will insurance continue to cover vaccines?

The Trump administration said coverage will continue for families that still want the shots. Health insurers generally find vaccination a good deal, as shots are cheaper than hospitalizations, and many had previously said they’d planned to cover what was recommended last year through 2026.

AP writers Ali Swenson and Mike Stobbe contributed to this report from New York.

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

The Gophers had two cornerbacks enter the transfer portal after the 2025 season and have since added a pair of new ones, brothers who played last season at Michigan State.

Cornerbacks Aydan West and Elisha West committed to P.J. Fleck’s program through the transfer portal on Tuesday, they announced on X. Ayden will have three years of eligibility remaining, while his other brother Elisha will have two.

The brothers, who are both listed at approximately 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, can help fill the gap left by sophomore starter Za’Quan Bryan and back-up Jaylen Bowden, who played very little in his first year as a transfer from North Carolina Central. Those two exited the U after the 20-17 overate win over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl on Dec. 26.

As a true freshman, Ayden West had 19 tackles and one pass breakup in 12 games for the Spartans last season. Pro Football Focus gave him a 61.8 overall grade in 380 defensive snaps.

As a redshirt freshman, Elisha West participated in two games for MSU and didn’t record a statistic. He spent his freshman year at Merrimack College in 2024.

The Wests, who hail from Gaithersburg, Md., are the eighth and ninth overall commitments to the U since the transfer portal opened Friday.

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By SARA CLINE

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As residents across much of the country take down their holiday decorations, sobered by New Year’s resolutions and a return to business as usual, in Louisiana people are ramping up for the biggest celebration of the year.

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Throughout the state residents are preparing for Carnival season, a pre-Lenten and weeks-long bash that includes feasting on savory dishes, opulent balls and a stream of massive parades rolling through city streets.

The bucket-list worthy period of festivities promises indulgence, costumed revelry and literal pounds of glimmery plastic beads to carry around one’s neck. Here’s what to know about Carnival.

What is Carnival?

Carnival in Louisiana and around the world is rooted in Christian and Roman Catholic traditions. It’s marked by feasting, drinking and revelry before Ash Wednesday and the fasting associated with Lent, the Christian season of preparation for Easter.

Each year, along with Louisiana residents, more than a million visitors travel to New Orleans to partake in the city’s world-famous celebration.

However, the festivities are not limited to the Big Easy. Similar celebrations stretch across Louisiana and into other Gulf Coast states, including Alabama, where Mobile lays claim to the nation’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration. Additionally, there are world-renowned celebrations in Brazil and Europe.

FILE – The streets are filled during the Society of Saint Anne’s parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Is Carnival the same as Mardi Gras?

Although some people use the terms “Carnival” and “Mardi Gras” interchangeably, they are actually different things.

Carnival is the entire pre-Lenten period. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is one day.

Mardi Gras marks the grand conclusion to Carnival Season. It falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, making it the final moments of indulgence before the solemnity of Lent.

How long is Carnival season?

Carnival always begins Jan. 6, which in the Catholic world is called Epiphany or Twelfth Night since it’s twelve days after Christmas. And the season always ends with Mardi Gras.

But, because it’s linked to Easter — which does not have a fixed date — Mardi Gras can fall anywhere between Feb. 3 and March 9. This year Fat Tuesday is on Feb. 17, making Carnival 43 days long.

What is King Cake?

The beginning of Carnival also marks the start of when it is socially acceptable — and encouraged — to eat king cake. Lines will snake around the block at popular bakeries known for the seasonal staple.

The brioche-style pastry, which some bakers say traces back to an ancient Roman holiday, has become one of the iconic and most-delicious symbols of Carnival.

The traditional ring-shaped and sweet-dough cake is streaked with cinnamon and adorned with decadent icing colored purple, green and gold. The cake is often filled with fruits, pecans or different flavors of cream cheese frosting.

Also in the treat is a tiny plastic baby. Whoever has the slice with the little figurine hidden inside is supposed to buy the next cake or throw the next party, lending an unending excuse for another festive gathering.

The traditional cake has evolved over the years with restaurants launching their own unique versions, including one that is filled with boudin — a Cajun-style sausage — and another that is made out of sushi rolls.

What about the parades?

Carnival is best known for elaborate and massive parades. This season there will be more than 80 parades in and surrounding New Orleans — many of which last hours.

Energetic marching bands, costumed dancers and multi-level floats laden with fantastical hand-built figures, will wind through communities.

The parades embody their own identity. They include an all-female parade, one that pokes fun at politics, a Sci-Fi themed parade with revelers dressed as Chewbacca. The largest parade hosts 3,200 riders and more than 80 floats, and one of the smallest, in the literal sense, features floats made out of shoe boxes.

Float riders and walking members of Carnival clubs — known as krewes — pour much time and money into preparations for the extravaganza. But all that work pays off as celebrants, many donning homemade costumes, line streets and sidewalks to watch.

Most spectators will have their hands raised in hopes of catching “throws” — trinkets tossed to the crowd by float riders. While throws include plastic beads, candy, doubloons, stuffed animals, cups and toys, there are also the more coveted items such as painted coconuts, highly sought-after hand-decorated shoes and even bedazzled toilet plungers.

The krewe for the largest parade in New Orleans, Endymion, estimates that they toss more than 15 million throws along the parade route. The krewe’s motto is, “Throw ’til it Hurts.”

Are there other ways Carnival is celebrated?

Although Carnival is often known for fancy balls and boisterous parades, other areas and groups have their own traditions.

In central Louisiana people will take part in the Cajun French tradition of the Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run. These rural processions feature masked and costumed participants who will perform and beg for ingredients, and even chase after live chickens, to use for a communal gumbo at the end of the day.

In New Orleans, some African Americans mask in elaborate beaded and feathered Mardi Gras Indian suits, roving the city to sing, dance, drum and perform. The tradition, a central part of the Black Carnival experience in New Orleans since at least the late 1800s, is believed to have started in part as a way to pay homage to area Native Americans for their assistance to Black people and runaway slaves. It also developed at a time when segregation barred Black residents from taking part in whites-only parades.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street Tuesday morning and approached more all-time highs.

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The S&P 500 added 0.4% and is sitting just below the record it set in late December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 158 points, or 0.3%, after setting a record on Monday. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.4% as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern.

Big technology companies were behind much of the market’s gains. Nvidia jumped 1.5% and was the biggest single force behind the market’s gains. It is among the most valuable companies in the world and its outsized valuation gives it more influence in the market.

Nvidia’s gain, along with a 7.4% gain for Micron, helped counter Apple’s 0.8% loss.

Technology companies, especially those focused on artificial intelligence, are being closely watched this week during the industry’s annual CES trade show in Las Vegas.

AI advances helped propel the broader market to a series of records in 2025. Investors will be watching companies for any updates that could shed more light on the big corporate investments in AI technology.

The price of benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 0.3%, pulling back from sharp gains a day prior when the market reacted to U.S. forces capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a weekend raid.

Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.18% from 4.15% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, rose to 3.47% from 3.45% late Monday.

Gold prices rose 1% and silver prices rose 4.6%. Such assets are often considered safe havens in times of geopolitical turmoil. The metals have notched record prices over the last year amid lingering economic concerns brought on by conflicts and trade wars.

Outside of company announcements, Wall Street is preparing for several updates on the U.S. labor market this week.

AP business writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed to this report.