States and cities are losing over $2 billion in childhood immunization and vaccination funding as part of broader cancellations of pandemic-era federal public health spending, per government data.

Why it matters: Federal money helps fight preventable and sometimes deadly diseases like measles, which is now spreading in several parts of the country.

Zoom in: In Arkansas, $38 million of the total $64.6 million granted has been cut. That averages out to $12,000 per every 1,000 people, the eighth-highest rate in the country.

Driving the news: A 42-page U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) document lists a sweeping variety of recently terminated public health grants, with about six pages dedicated specifically to awards for "immunization and vaccines for children."

• Of those grants, just over $2 billion of an originally awarded $6.6 billion has been terminated nationally.
• Some other terminated grants are also related to childhood vaccination, including some funding vaccine hesitancy research.

What they're saying: "We're talking about contractors losing their contracts and not being able to get paid, people who were working on vaccination programs not there anymore, and all of the supporting infrastructure that these funds provided evaporated in an instant," says Josh Michaud, associate director for global health policy at health policy research and news organization KFF.

• Yes, but: States also get separate federal money for immunization efforts through programs like Vaccines for Children, Michaud notes — though many were counting on these grants as well.

The big picture: The childhood vaccination cuts are part of a Trump administration effort to take back billions of dollars in federal public health grants stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• "The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a late March statement.
• The White House is also cutting funding to other vaccination efforts and organizations, including Gavi, an international group whose work has saved millions of children's lives.

What's next: 23 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit this week over the HHS grant cancellations.

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Your next Indian food stop is at Village on the Creeks in Rogers.

🍗 What to try: The Chicken 65 biryani. This rice dish with a spicy-but-not-too-spicy chicken was so flavorful, and you can easily make two meals out of it for $16.

• 🧀 And start with an order of the Bhatti Di Paneer ( $14), a fried and marinated tandoori paneer (cheese) dish on a bed of onions and peppers and dipped in sauce. 🤤
• And for $6, an order of the veggie samosas with potatoes and green peas is essential.

Zoom out: The menu also includes an Indo-Chinese section with some Schezwan options.

• Also, put this place on your list for a vegetarian dinner because it's not short on meatless entrées.

🥡 Yes, but: Get takeout. I can't tell you how the naan I ordered is because it never arrived, and I couldn't flag down a server.

• I saw many people coming in for takeout orders, and there wasn't much dedicated service to those dining in, at least in my experience.

📍Stop by: 11am-10pm daily at 5212 Village Parkway in Rogers

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🏗 Developers are proposing a new 736-bed student housing project at the corner of Center Street and University Avenue in downtown Fayetteville. (Fayetteville Flyer)

🪧 More than 800 people protested President Trump's policies in Fayetteville on Saturday, part of many protests across the country. (Arkansas Advocate)

⚖️ The Springdale School Board on Friday agreed to pay $185,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a former student who accused a former assistant principal of sexual assault. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

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We're grateful for your trust and continued readership.

A stormy weekend warrants a relaxing weekday.

⚾️ Baseball games — Tuesday is opening night for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. Catch a game any night Tuesday through Saturday as the team plays a six-game series against the Frisco RoughRiders.

• Get tickets ranging $10-$16.

🎭 "Back to the Future: The Musical" — Limited tickets remain to see this on stage every night this week starting Tuesday at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

😂 Comedy nights — Check out Nomads Trailside in Fayetteville on Tuesday; New Province Brewing Company in Rogers on Wednesday; or The Grove Comedy Club in Lowell on Thursday ($25).

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