AMNA NAWAZ: Also today, the current head of the National Institutes of Health is adding a new role as acting head of the CDC.

Dr.

Jay Bhattacharya's appointment is just the latest in a series of shakeups across the nation's health agencies.

He will serve until President Trump picks a permanent director, which requires Senate confirmation.

The former Stanford professor was a vocal critic of COVID era lockdowns.

Public health experts say he will face challenges running the agencies simultaneously.

They have both been hobbled by funding and staffing cuts and they're based in different cities, with the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, and the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia.

We have an update now for you on a story that we brought you just last night.

The Food and Drug Administration reversed its decision today to consider whether to approve a new flu shot from Moderna that uses mRNA technology.

This comes a week after the FDA rejected the company's initial application, saying its research design was flawed.

Moderna is now seeking full approval for the vaccine's use in adults aged 50 to 64 and what's called accelerated approval for those 65 and older.

The company says the FDA set an August deadline for approval.

Moderna hopes to make the vaccine available later this year.

Retail billionaire Les Wexner told lawmakers today he was -- quote -- "duped by a world-class con man" as he faced questions about his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

The former Victoria's Secret boss appears in the Epstein files more than 1,000 times.

The two met in the 1980s.

Epstein later managed Wexner's personal fortune before the two had a falling out.

At a deposition in Ohio, Wexner denied wrongdoing and indeed has never been charged with any crimes related to Epstein.

But Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say Wexner enabled Epstein's crimes.

REP.

ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): There would be no Epstein island.

There would be no Epstein plane.

There would be no money to traffic women and girls.

Mr.

Epstein would not be the wealthy man he was without the support of Les Wexner.

AMNA NAWAZ: The Epstein fallout is also playing out overseas, with prosecutors in Paris opening two new investigations into sex abuse crimes and financial wrongdoing.

Epstein owned apartments there, and officials are calling for possible victims to come forward.

More than a dozen climate and health groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its axing of a rule that declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health.

The lawsuit names the EPA and its administrator, Lee Zeldin, as defendants.

Last week, the agency eliminated what's known as the Endangerment Finding, saying it hurts business.

The finding has been the legal basis for us climate regulations since 2009.

The head of one of the groups involved in the suit said the move is -- quote -- "rooted in falsehoods" and called it -- quote -- "a complete dereliction of the agency's mission to protect people's health."

Ukrainian and Russian officials are describing the latest round of U.S.-brokered talks as difficult with no breakthrough reported today.

A second day of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, ended without any resolution on issues like Ukraine's role in NATO, the size of its army and Russia's territorial demands.

After speaking with his delegation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the negotiations as not easy, but he said both sides agreed to further talks.

And the head of his team said today's negotiations were, in his words, intensive and substantive.

RUSTEM UMEROV, Head of Ukrainian Delegation: There's progress, but no details can be disclosed at this stage.

The next step is to achieve the necessary level of consensus to submit the developed decisions for consideration by the presidents.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine overnight and into today, including in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

Local media says a number of homes were hit by Russian drones, but no injuries were reported.

The region has frequently come under attack during the war, with damage to its infrastructure and power lines.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended higher, thanks largely to gains in A.I.

giant Nvidia.

The Dow Jones industrial average added nearly 130 points on the day.

The Nasdaq tacked on 175 points.

The S&P 500 also closed in positive territory.

And at the Winter Olympics today in Italy, Team USA locked in a few more medals.

And a warning, there are spoilers ahead.

Skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin snapped an eight-year Olympic medal drought by winning gold in the alpine slalom.

The men's cross-country team added to its historic run with a silver in the two-man relay.

And snowboarder Jake Canter won bronze in slopestyle, defying doctors who told him he should never snowboard again after a traumatic brain injury nine years ago.

Looking now at the total medal count, the U.S.

remains in third place with 24 medals, behind Norway and host country Italy.

Also today, a wolf dog surprised and delighted spectators by joining a ski race and crossing the finish line.

It's believed that 2-year-old Nazgul was on a walk with his owner and got loose.

And while he surely is a good boy, Nazgul is not in medal contention.

Still to come on the "News Hour": a massive sewage spill in the D.C.

region's Potomac River becomes a political flash point; a look at two Texas primaries that could be bellwethers for the upcoming midterms; and actor Ethan Hawke discusses his Oscar-nominated performance in "Blue Moon."