⚕️US scales back childhood vaccine recommendations. Federal health officials yesterday reduced the number of vaccines recommended for all American children from 17 to 11. The major change from the Centers for Disease Control comes after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long criticized vaccines, weighed changing the childhood vaccine schedule to match Denmark’s (which includes only 10). Officials stressed that the decision would not result in vaccines becoming inaccessible or being removed from insurance coverage, but public health experts—who have noted that Denmark’s schedule was developed for different healthcare conditions—fear it could reduce vaccine uptake and result in the spread of disease.

The first GLP-1 pill is available in the US. Commencing a new era for weight loss treatment, Novo Nordisk said yesterday that it had begun rolling out its Wegovy pill—the first and, currently, the only GLP-1 pill for weight loss approved for sale in the US. Its price ranges from $149 to $299 per month, depending on the dose, making it less expensive than the injectables on the market (plus, no needles). Regulators signed off on the prescription drug last month, and it is now available at CVS, Costco, and through some telehealth providers. The company said it’s making enough to avoid the shortages its injectables suffered. Novo’s biggest competitor in the weight loss space, Eli Lilly, is working to bring out its own GLP-1 pill soon.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting formally dissolves after losing federal funding. The 58-year-old nonprofit that disbursed funds to local PBS and NPR stations, and was often thanked alongside “viewers like you,” announced yesterday that its board had voted to shutter the organization. The decision to shut down was not a surprise after Congress passed a budget package backed by President Trump over the summer that cut its funding. The CPB said it was better to close than to remain as an unfunded entity that could be “vulnerable to future political manipulation or misuse.”—AR

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of New York City charging drivers $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours, and the data shows that congestion pricing is doing what it intended.

• Open roads: There were 27 million fewer car trips into the congestion zone compared to the previous year, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), creating faster commutes into and around the city.
• Mass appeal: Ridership rose across subways, buses, and railroad lines, although only some of it can be attributed to fewer cars entering the city per day.
• More money: In its first year, the toll is projected to raise ~$550 million, which will be allocated to public transit infrastructure improvements.
• Safety: The number of people seriously injured in crashes is down by 8.6% in the zone compared to down by 1.6% in the rest of the city.

Jury is still out on pollution: A Cornell study found a 22% improvement in air quality. But two other reports, including one from the MTA, found no significant changes in pollutant levels.

What’s next? In November, President Trump said he wanted to kill the congestion pricing program. Judges have so far sided with the initiative remaining in place, although two cases remain pending. Despite objections about the cost from some people that have only seen New York in movies, polling showed that New Yorkers have grown to appreciate the policy since it was instituted.—DL

We can now confirm that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aren’t real, because they would never let this happen. Pizzerias are losing ground in fast-food and fast-casual dining as Americans pull back on tomato pies, the Wall Street Journal reported this weekend.

Sales growth at pizza chains has been relatively flat since 2023, falling behind the wider fast-food market, according to the research firm Technomic. Mamma mia…

• Pizzerias went from being the second-most popular type of US chain restaurant in the 1990s to sixth last year in terms of sales, per Technomic.
• Coffee shops and Mexican food joints now outnumber pizzerias, which thinned out in the US after hitting a record high in 2019, according to WSJ.

Why? With food inflation nudging menu prices higher, and GLP-1s transforming eating habits, a pizzeria’s true takeout rival may no longer be the other Tony’s across the street, but rather the nutrient-rich bowl slop from Uber Eats. Even when customers choose pizza, they tend to get smaller pies and fewer toppings, Papa John’s executives said in October.

Signs of the times: While market leader Domino’s is riding pizza promotions to relative success, Yum Brands is considering selling Pizza Hut after two years of sales declines, the company announced in November. Last month, California Pizza Kitchen sold for $300 million, down from the $470 million that previous buyers paid in 2011.—ML

In today’s hiring market, it’s not what you know, it’s where you learned it that could give you an edge. With the labor market tightening for entry-level hires, and the unemployment rate for recent grads hitting 9.3% late last year, companies are refocusing their campus recruiting efforts on a small group of elite schools. The Wall Street Journal reports:

• A Veris Insights survey of 150+ employers last year found that 26% were exclusively recruiting from a shortlist of schools, compared to just 17% in 2022.
• WilliamChichester III, who formerly headed up entry-level recruiting for companies including Target and Peloton, told the paper that most companies currently only search for talent at ~30 of the US’ 4,000 colleges—mostly at top-ranked schools and those local to them.

The reasons recruiters gave the WSJ for scaling back recruitment to only the most ivy-covered places to take Psych 101 were varied. They ranged from rolling back diversity goals that had caused companies to cast a wider net in recent years, to preferring in-person recruitment to virtual events, to educational pedigree being more prized when ChatGPT writes the same resume for everyone. Either way, it’s likely to lead to even more stress for high school seniors desperately refining their personal essays.—AR

Brew Mini: The first Mini of the year is called “Decimation,” but we think it’s a good little brain boost. Play it here.

Before and after

This is a “before and after” trivia round. Each question contains two connected clues. The two clues share a common word, and the answer is an original phrase you have to find out. It’s like a word sandwich.

Example: Rihanna and Calvin Harris’s 2011 banger enters the villa = “We Found Love” Island

1. NBA team in Florida plays a collectible card game
2. A Beatle meets Indiana Jones
3. Armageddon director conducts a failed military operation in 1961
4. The Frosted Flakes mascot picks up golf—and wins 15 majors
5. The 22nd and 24th US president joins a hapless Ohio NFL squad