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The controversial head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's vaccines and biologics unit,Dr. Vinay Prasad, will leave the agency at the end of April.

FDA commissioner Dr. Marty Makary posted about the departure on social media platform X, saying Prasad would return to the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, where he is a professor, and that he had accomplished much during his one-year sabbatical.

The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Makary said a successor will be named before Prasad's departure.

Prasad, an oncologist, was an outspoken critic of U.S. drug and vaccine policies, particularly around COVID-19 mandates, before joining the agency. His tenure included a series of high‑profile disputes overproduct reviews for vaccines, including Moderna's MRNA.O COVID shot, gene therapies and other rare disease drugs.

He was appointed as the director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in May last year. Shortly after, he stepped down over questions of his handling of a muscular dystrophy treatment before returning to the role just weeks later.

Most recently, Prasad's division at the FDA engaged in aback-and-forth tusslewith Dutch drugmaker UniQure over disagreements about the path forward for the company's gene therapy for Huntington's disease.

The U.S. drug regulator called for a new study to support the approval of the company's gene therapy for the rare brain disorder, but the company and patient advocates argued that what the FDA was asking for was too lengthy and onerous on patients.

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Drugmaker's shares rise

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, has accused the company of misleading the public about what regulators were asking for.

U.S.-listed shares of UniQure jumped 57% in extended trading, following the news of Prasad's departure.

An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on February 24 said the FDA had torpedoed several rare disease drugs under Prasad, contradicting Makary's stated goal of flexible reviews for such treatments and raising questions about the management of the health regulator.

The piece cited the latest rejection of Disc Medicine's IRON.O treatment, which had received the Commissioner's National Priority Voucher, a program launched by Makary to help fast-track breakthrough treatments.

Disc had said that the agencyconcludedthat the trials did not show a clear link between biological improvement and clinical benefit.

Shares of Disc rose about 10% in after-market trading.

Prasad's departure is the latest reshuffle at the health department, which recently put National Institutes of Health headJay Bhattacharyain charge of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following the departure of Jim O'Neill.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh and Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Shinjini Ganguli, and Caroline Humer)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:FDA vaccines chief Dr. Vinay Prasad to leave regulator in April

JAKARTA/WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto said he will withdraw from U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" if it does not benefit Palestinians, according to a government statement ‌on Friday, after the Iran war deepened doubts over his country's involvement.

Prabowo, who leads the ‌world's largest Muslim-majority nation, had come under criticism from domestic Muslim groups for agreeing to join the board and provide troops to ​a Gaza stabilization force, under a Trump-brokered ceasefire deal that ended the two-year Israel-Hamas war.

A U.S. official on Friday confirmed that the security situation in the Middle East could affect the timing of deployments to the international stabilization force, which was authorized by the U.N. Security Council with Indonesia as a leading contributor.

"While some ISF ‌deployment timelines may shift due to ⁠the situation on the ground, discussions with our Indonesian partners continue," a Trump administration official told Reuters when asked about doubts over Indonesia's role.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono said ⁠on Tuesday that all discussions about the Board of Peace, which will oversee the creation of the stabilization force, had been halted due to the Iran war.

Prabowo gathered leaders of local Islamic groups for a meeting on Thursday ​evening where ​he reiterated his reasoning behind joining the board, according ​to a statement put out by the ‌government communication office.

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Prabowo will withdraw from the board if it does not benefit Palestinian and Indonesian interests, the statement quoted Hanif Alatas of the Islamic Brotherhood Front as saying.

"The president said that if he sees that there is no longer any benefit for Palestine ... and that it is not in line with Indonesia's national interests, he will withdraw," Hanif said in the statement.

The U.S. commander of the stabilization force, which is meant ‌to help rebuild the Palestinian territory, said last month that ​his deputy would be Indonesian.

The Indonesian Ulema Council, a leading clerical ​body, had previously called for Indonesia to ​exit the board due to the U.S. role in the Iran war. Critics have ‌said Indonesia's participation also compromises its long-standing ​support for the Palestinian cause.

Nahdlatul ​Ulama, the country's largest Muslim group, said Indonesia's government could use its role on the board to encourage de-escalation in the Middle East.

"Indonesia could declare that the (board's) agenda is on hold until ​there are talks on de-escalation and ‌peace from the American-Israeli war against Iran," the group's chief, Yahya Cholil Staquf, said in ​a statement issued by Prabowo's office late on Thursday.

(Reporting by Stanley Widianto, Stefanno Sulaiman and ​Simon Lewis; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Edmund Klamann)

TEHRAN — Nearly a week afterairstrikes hit an elementary schoolin southernIran, killing more than 170 people and leaving witnesses to find the severed limbs of children in the rubble, there have been increased international demands to know who was responsible and how the tragedy could happen.

The strikes, in the town of Minab, came in at the very start of the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign on Saturday. The United States was targeting that area, where the boys and girls school, Shajareh Tayyebeh, was struck, Trump administration officials told members of Congress in a closed-door meeting this week, according to two U.S. officials. The administration officials also said their military partner, Israel, was not responsible for the school's bombing.

The U.S. has not claimed responsibility for the strikes, but the Trump administration's preliminary findings show it is increasingly likely that a U.S. munition was used in the strikes, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the investigation. The U.S. is still looking into whether the strikes were the result of bad intelligence or poor targeting, the sources said.

The administration did not offer an alternative theory to Congress members on who was responsible for the death and destruction, the two U.S. officials said. An American military investigation is ongoing.

"We need this to happen very quickly and we need to also make sure that there is accountability as well as redress for the victims," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said Friday in Geneva.

New satellite imagery shows the school and several nearby buildings before and after the strikes. Witnesses and an education ministry official said that the school was located on a compound that was a base for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps until about 15 years ago.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a news conference on Wednesday that U.S. forces had been carrying out strikes along southern Iran, sharing a map appearing to show the area of Minab being targeted. He noted that Israeli forces had mainly been operating further north in Iran.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the U.S. was still "investigating" the incident, adding: "We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we're taking a look and investigating that."

And Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday that U.S. forces "would not deliberately target a school."

Speaking in an exclusive interview on Thursday with NBC News' Tom Llamas, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said it was "clear that the missiles were — the school was hit by Americans," though he did not share any evidence.

Asked to address whether there was any chance a "wayward Iranian missile" could have played any role, Araghchi said "no."

Operation Epic Fury

The U.S. military and Israel launched its attack on Iran, called Operation Epic Fury, around 9:45 a.m. local time on Saturday, deploying B-2 stealth bombers, fighter jets, missiles, rockets and other weapon systems. The strikes targeted Iran's navy, missile sites, command and control headquarters and air defense systems.

Three witnesses — Ahmad Kalami Pour, who said he served as the school's first principal from 2015 to 2017; Jafar Qasemi, a first responder who saw the aftermath; and Zahra Monazah, the mother of a 7-year-old who was killed in the strikes— told NBC News that the strikes on Shajareh Tayyebeh occurred mid to late morning on Saturday. They said a second wave happened hours later.

Planet Labs images captured at 10:53 a.m. local time on Saturday appears to show that the area had not yet been impacted by strikes.

The company next captured images on March 4 showing impact sites on the school and adjoining former IRGC base, with a total of seven buildings damaged or destroyed.

Among the buildings hit appeared to be a clinic, which was opened by the IRGC Navy in January 2025, according to the semiofficial Iranian news agency ISNA.

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The clinic's signage can be seen in video geolocated by NBC News. Pour also told NBC News on Wednesday that at least one of the strikes had hit the clinic and that people were injured.

Pour, Monazah, and an official with the education ministry in Minab who spoke to NBC News said the school was located on a former IRGC base. All three said the base was closed around 15 years ago, and that all military personnel had been moved out. Pour, the former principal, said the school opened in 2015.

It is not uncommon for the IRGC to develop community infrastructure, such as schools, sport centers and clinics, particularly in underprivileged areas. Recently, Pour said, on the grounds "there was a clinic, the school, a supermarket, a cultural hall, and a car wash. Those kinds of facilities were operating there."

Satellite imagery captured in 2016 showed that the school appeared to have been sectioned off from the rest of the compound and given its own entrance. Watch towers that had been present until that point appeared to have been removed from the exterior wall around the school.

Precision strike analysis

Some weapons and conflict experts told NBC News that the satellite imagery appeared to reflect a targeted attack, while others noted that without knowing the intended target of the strikes, it was difficult to say whether the damage reflected "precise" hits.

It is unclear if the responsible party knew the building housed a school.

Jeffrey Lewis, an expert in arms control and open-source intelligence who specializes in satellite imagery, said he believed each building in the compound had been "individually targeted," most likely with bombs dropped by aircraft.

"The targeting of this site is incredibly accurate," Lewis said. "The explosion damage is incredibly precise, and it doesn't look like really anything missed, so that would tend to argue for precision munitions delivered by aircraft."

And Rich Weir, senior adviser of the Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement to NBC News on Friday that "the number of individual strikes across the compound and the apparent accuracy with which they appear to have struck individual structures across the compound, shown in part through the relatively small circular holes that were points of entry for the munitions on multiple rooftops, indicate that the attack struck multiple structures on the compound base with highly accurate, guided munitions."

Corey Scher, a postdoctoral researcher in Conflict Ecology at Oregon State University, said the fact that "most of the bombs dropped on this compound directly hit a building" appears to imply "something about targeting."

However, in a video interview on Friday, he cautioned that without knowing the intended target of the strikes, it was difficult to say whether the strikes could be considered a "precise hit."

His colleague, Oregon State associate professor Jamon Van Den Hoek, who heads Conflict Ecology at the university, noted the number of impact sites on the compound, saying the lack of "evidence" of a similar pattern of strikes surrounding the site indicated "there tends to be something within this compound that seemed to be aimed at."

'Torn apart'

Witnesses speaking to NBC News described the horrific scenes in the aftermath of the strikes.

Monazah, whose son, Soheil, was killed in the attack just two days before his eighth birthday, said the school had "collapsed on top of the children" by the time she made it to the area.

"People were pulling out children's arms and legs. People were pulling out severed heads," she told NBC News on Monday.

Qasemi, the first responder, shared a similar account, telling NBC News "there were severed heads, severed hands, and bodies torn apart" as he described "extensive" rubble, with children "trapped underneath it."

Amin Khodadadi reported from Tehran, Courtney Kube and Julie Tsirkin reported from Washington and Chantal Da Silva, Molly Hunter and Matthew Mulligan reported from London.

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker asked the team to release him after saying late last month he plans to return for an 11th season rather than retire.

Decker posted Friday on Instagramthat he is "opting for a clean and amicable close" to a "beautiful 10 years" with the Lions.

"In the weeks since notifying the team of my return, there have been numerous discussions," Decker said. "Many of which were a surprise to me, and we could not find common ground. Therefore I decided to request my release."

The 32-year-old Decker has started 140 games for the Lions and made the Pro Bowl in 2024. He endured a shoulder injury for much of last year and acknowledged after the season that he was considering retirement. Detroit finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

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Decker signed a$60 million, three-year extension that put him under contract through the 2027 season as a key player inthe franchise's turnaround.

Detroit drafted Decker out of Ohio State with the No. 16 overall pick in 2016.

With the offensive line as a strength, the Lions won two playoff games in a season for the first time since 1957 when they reached the NFC championship after the 2023 season. The following year, they had a franchise-record 15 wins when they won a second straight division title before losing in the divisional round.

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The Washington Capitals made one of the most surprising moves of the NHL trade deadline bydealing defenseman John Carlson, the second-longest tenured player on the team, to the Anaheim Ducks.

Their longest-tenured player has some thoughts on that.

Speaking with reporters the day after the Capitals announced the move,which will net them a conditional first-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick, all-time NHL leading goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin went beyond calling it a sad day:

"Obviously a sad day. Probably the toughest day in my career, talking personal-wise. It sucks. It's sad."

Ovechkin and Carlson had been teammates for 17 years, going back to the defenseman's NHL debut in 2010. Along with other franchise staples like Nicklas Backstrom, the pair presided over an era of Capitals history defined by regular playoff appearances and their Stanley Cup title in 2017-18.

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Carlson ranks behind only Ovechkin in games played for the Capitals and behind only Backstrom and Ovechkin on the franchise's all-time assists leaderboard. Ovechkin believes the franchise has never had a better blueliner:

"He's obviously the best defenseman in this franchise's whole history, leader. Obviously, an unbelievable man and a great friend for all of us. It's hard. It's a hard day."

The move answers one question for the franchise, making clear general manager Brian MacLellan is prioritizing the future over the 2025-26 season, but makes another question even more pressing.

Ovechkin is a free agent after this season, in which he holds an $8 million cap hit, andhe's been fairly mum on what he's planning to do.There are indications he'd like to return to his native Russia and play in the KHL before retirement,but he's going to have options regardless.

Asked about his future with the Capitals on Friday, he basically just shrugged:

"I don't know. I'm still here, so we'll see. We'll see what's going to happen, but yeah, it's a hard one."

The Capitals traded another of their most tenured players on Friday as well, sending longtime fourth-line center Nic Dowd to the Vegas Golden Knights. Ovechkin and Tom Wilson are now the only active Capitals players who made their debuts with the team before 2019.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears released linebacker Tremaine Edmunds on Friday aftergranting him permission last week to seek a trade.

The 27-year-old Edmunds was entering the final season of a four-year, $72 million contract he signed in 2023. The Bears saved $15 million in cap space by letting him go before the start of the league year next week.

Edmunds helped the Bears go from worst to first in the NFC North. He led the team with 112 tackles and had four interceptions despite missing four games with a groin injury.

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Chicago went 11-6 and won its first division title since 2018. The Bears advanced in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, rallying to beat Green Bay in a wild-card thriller before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in the divisional round.

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

CHICAGO (AP) — From former presidents to an NBA Hall of Famer to prominent pastors, stories ofthe Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.'sinfluence on politics, corporate boardrooms and picket lines loomed large Friday at a celebration honoring the late civil rights leader.

APTOPIX Jesse Jackson Memorial

The public tribute — with appearances by Grammy-winning gospel singers and Jennifer Hudson — felt at times like a church service and others like a political rally. Many, from former President Bill Clinton to the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader and founder of the National Action Network, likened Jackson's death to a call to action, from speaking out against justice to voting in the midterms.

Former President Barack Obama said Jackson's presidential runs in the 1980s set the stage for other Black leaders, including his own successful 2009 presidency and reelection.

"The message he sent to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that maybe there wasn't any place or any room where we didn't belong," Obama said to the boisterous crowd of thousands. "He paved the road for so many others to follow."

The event drew a slew of elected U.S. leaders. Other notable attendees included actor and producer Tyler Perry, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and political activist and theologian Cornel West. Detroit Pistons great and Chicago native Isiah Thomas also spoke at the event that lasted five hours.

The crowd gave an especially warm welcome to Obama, who launched his political career in Chicago, and credited Jackson with keeping him on his toes. He said he was grateful to Jackson for providing a "legacy of hope" in contrast with the current Republican leadership in Washington.

"We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope," Obama said. "Each day we wake up to some new assault to our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to things you just didn't think were possible."

Clinton said Jackson made him a better president, while former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris talked about Jackson's inspiring 1980s presidential runs and showed off campaign memorabilia she had kept from them. Former President Joe Biden also spoke during the service.

President Donald Trump, who praised Jackson on social media after he died and also shared photos of the two of them, did not attend.

Thousands attend Jackson memorial service

The event honoring the protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate followed memorial servicesthat drew large crowds in ChicagoandSouth Carolina,where Jackson was born. Friday's celebration — at an influential Black church with a 10,000-seat arena — was the largest.

Attendees waited in long lines outside the church as television screens played excerpts of some of Jackson's most famous speeches. Inside, vendors sold pins with his 1984 presidential slogan and hoodies with his "I Am Somebody" mantra.

Marketing professional Chelsia Bryan said Friday that she decided to attend for the "chance to be part of something historic."

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"As a Black woman, knowing that someone pretty much gave their life, dedicated their life to make sure I can do the things that I can do now, he's worth honoring," Bryan said.

Jackson Jr.: Everyone has a Jackson story

Jackson died last month at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak. His final public appearances included the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

"Every single person in here has a Jesse Jackson story," his eldest son,Jesse Jackson Jr.,said to the crowd. "The time he shook your hand, the time he prayed for you, the time he held you up, the time he prayed the funeral for somebody you know ... and he prayed you to a new course of existence."

Sitting in the crowd was 90-year-old Mary Lovett. She said Jackson's advocacy inspired her many times, from when she moved from Mississippi to Chicago in the 1960s, taught elementary school and became a mom. She voted for Jackson during his presidential runs and appreciated how he always spoke up for underrepresented people.

"He's gone, but I hope his legacy lives," she said. "I hope we can remember what he tried to teach us."

Jackson's service was to the poor, underrepresented

Jackson's pursuits were countless, taking him to all corners of the globe: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, health care, job opportunities and education. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

Sharpton, who considered the late reverend a lifelong mentor, said he hoped attendees would take home some of the "Jackson fire."

"Don't sit here so holy and sanctified and act like you have no assignment yourself," he said to the increasingly boisterous crowd. "We didn't come this far to turn around now."

Another son, Yusef Jackson, who runs the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, recalled how his father carried a well-worn Bible but also showed his faith by showing up to picket lines.

"He lived a revolutionary Christian faith rooted in justice, nonviolence and the moral righteousness," he said. "He was deeply involved in the political struggles of his time, but his gift was that he could rise above them. It's not about the left wing or the right wing. It takes two wings to fly. For him, the goal was always the moral center."

A final homegoing service was scheduled for Saturday at Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Services in Washington, D.C., were tabled after a request to allow Jackson to lie in honor in the United States Capitol rotundawas denied byHouse Speaker Mike Johnson, who said the space is typically reserved for select officials, including former presidents.