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Good morning, Northwest.

Federal turmoil surrounding vaccine policy boiled over in a Senate hearing yesterday as senators and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clashed over his recent firing of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During the hearing, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden called for Kennedy’s ouster, saying every day he has been in office, “there’s been an action that endangers the health and wellness of families.”

The tense hearing came a day after OPB’s public safety and health editor Michelle Wiley and health reporter Amelia Templeton reported on West Coast states forming a health alliance to protect vaccine access.

Dr. Helen Chu, an immunologist and professor at the University of Washington, recently spoke with KUOW in Seattle about what those of us living on the West Coast need to know about vaccines, illnesses and insurance coverage.

In other news, OPB reporter Conrad Wilson reports that former Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson is expected to plead guilty today to criminal charges for endangering an aircraft and passengers on an Oct. 22, 2023 flight. That’s when Emerson nearly cut off the plane’s fuel supply mid-flight, forcing the plane to land in Portland.

It’s also been just over a year since the tragic death of beloved Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy. Crystal Ligori, OPB’s “All Things Considered” host and narrator of OPB’s “Superabundant,” looks at Pomeroy’s impact on the culinary landscape.

Here’s your First Look at Friday’s news.

— John Hill

Confused about how vaccines will work this year? Here’s some clarity

West Coast states are teaming up to issue their own vaccine guidelines in the face of rapid changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. 

The federal turmoil has some people wondering what this means for their seasonal shots.

Dr. Helen Chu is an infectious disease specialist at the University of Washington. She clarifies what you need to know about vaccines, illnesses and insurance coverage this year. (Patricia Murphy and Brooklyn Jamerson-Flowers)

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Former pilot to plead to criminal charges after endangering flight over Oregon skies

Joseph David Emerson was formerly an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who nearly shut down an aircraft’s engines over Oregon airspace in 2023. He is set to appear in state and federal court in Portland today to face criminal charges.

Emerson, 46, is expected to plead no contest in state court to one felony count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, one felony count of endangering an aircraft and 83 misdemeanors — one for each individual onboard the aircraft — for recklessly engaging another person. (Conrad Wilson)

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Things to know this morning

• Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden is calling for the removal of the Health and Human Services secretary, saying Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure has been marked by chaos, corruption and higher health costs. (Michelle Wiley)
• Small cities in Clark County successfully lobbied to maintain their voting power on the board of C-TRAN, the regional transit agency. They could be risking millions in state funding. (Erik Neumann)
• The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said it has recovered the remains of Derek Slesinger, 33, the final missing person who went over Dillon Falls earlier this summer. He was floating the Deschutes River with five other people on July 19 when they missed the take-out point above the falls. (Kathryn Styer Martínez)
• Jesse Johnson walked out of the Marion County Jail on Sept. 5, 2023, as a free man after 25 years behind bars in Oregon. Two years later, he’s suing the state and the detectives who locked him up for a crime he always denied committing. (Ryan Haas)
• Portland is one of at least 11 cities where Spirit Airlines will end its service after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year, according to Aviation Week. (Rio Yamat)

Advance screening, ‘Uncovering Boarding Schools’

Join OPB’s “Oregon Experience” at the Tower Theatre in Bend on Sept. 24 for an advance screening of “Uncovering Boarding Schools.” This new special follows Klamath Tribes member Gabriann “Abby” Hall as she uncovers her family’s experiences in Native American boarding schools, from the first generation forced to live on a reservation to the present. Tickets are free but required.

Get tickets

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Naomi Pomeroy’s legacy lives on in L’Echelle (Crystal Ligori)
• Here’s how much you’d pay in payroll tax under Oregon’s proposed transportation bill (Mia Maldonado)
• Lane County Audubon Society changes name as part of a larger trend within the birding community (Sajina Shrestha)
• Washington plan to conserve 77,000 acres of older forests draws fire (Emily Fitzgerald)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

Noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Learn how the nonprofit building community in Sisters has recently pivoted to help with recovery from the Flat Fire, and how you can help.

Superabundant recipe: Everything bagel pasta salad

Here’s an everything bagel pasta salad with smoked salmon, cucumbers and red onion to help you say goodbye to summer picnic season. 

It features homemade everything bagel seasoning with — and this is controversial — caraway seed. 

But is caraway seed *that* unusual of an addition to the everything bagel seasoning party? 

What about using nigella seed, or black garlic? 

Sometimes going off the beaten path a little leads to great discoveries (or at least interesting new pasta salads). (Heather Arndt Anderson)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/05/vaccine-policy-cdc-wyden-kennedy-first-look/