Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health, will reportedly be the next interim head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The former acting head of the agency, Jim O’Neill, was dismissed from the post last week as part of a larger restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. O’Neill will instead be tapped to head the National Science Foundation, according to Politico.

Bhattacharya’s ascension to the top of the CDC would mean the agency would fall under control of one of its longtime critics. Bhattacharya, a professor emeritus of health policy at Stanford, became widely recognized for his criticisms of the CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the start of the pandemic, Bhattacharya and several associates openly broke with the approach of the top government health officials, including those at the CDC and former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci. In October 2020, Bhattacharya joined with former Oxford University epidemiologist Dr. Sunetra Gupta and then-Harvard University professor Dr. Martin Kulldorff to write “The Great Barrington Declaration.”

The declaration broke openly with the much more conservative approach to the pandemic government medical experts espoused. The outside experts warned of “damaging physical and mental health impacts” brought on by following lockdown policies, instead urging an approach based on targeted protection for the vulnerable while healthy populations mingle and develop herd immunity.

Bhattacharya’s 2020 warnings have proved prescient in the intervening years. The lockdown policies of the pandemic have been thought to have caused numerous add-on effects, such as spikes in social isolation and alcohol consumption. 

Lockdown policies in schools retarded the growth and education of millions of students. Students in huge chunks of the country fell many months behind typical instruction and the efforts to catch them back up proved lacking, according to a 2023 report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The loss in learning continued despite a surge in spending on education.

CDC leadership has undergone a tumultuous time under the second Trump administration. The agency had a Senate-confirmed head last year, but Susan Monarez was removed from the role after less than a month on the job. O’Neill replaced Monarez, and he generated some controversy among health experts last month with the CDC rolled back its recommendations for a slate of vaccines.

After a thrilling quarterfinal round, the U.S. men’s hockey team is now only two games away from capturing Olympic gold — something they have only done twice — and not since 1980.

The team secured the win over Sweden in an overtime nail-biter, eventually defeating them by a slim 2-1 when two-time all-star Quinn Hughes came through with the winning shot.

Despite a scoreless first period, it seemed like the Americans seized control when Dylan Larkin scored in the second period with the assists of Hughes and his brother Jack — coupled with unstoppable goaltending by Connor Hellebuyck. But with just 91 seconds left on the clock, Sweden’s Mika Zibanejad beat Hellebuyck to tie the game.

The teams then went to 3-on-3 sudden death overtime, where only ten minutes are given to score before moving to a shootout. Three and a half minutes into overtime, Hughes took a pass from his teammate Matt Boldy, ripped home the game-winner, and became Team USA’s hero. It marked his second point of the game, and sixth in the tournament.

Quinn Hughes sends the USA Men’s Olympic Hockey Team to the semi-finals against Slovakia with this OT winner!!! #USAHockey pic.twitter.com/KkvvAYFejQ

— Grand Canyon State Sports (@GCStateSports) February 18, 2026

The U.S.-Sweden match was just one of three quarterfinals that required overtime today, as Canada barely overtook the Czech Republic, and Finland also almost lost to Switzerland.

Team USA will compete against Slovakia, coming off a 6-2 win over Germany, in the semifinals on Friday afternoon. Canada will play the reigning Olympic gold champions, Finland. If the United States and Canada can both deliver in the semifinals, what a competitive rival match it will be on Sunday.

On the women’s side, the U.S. team — who last won gold in the 2018 Winter Games — has had sweeping wins over its competition throughout the entire Olympic tournament and is set to take on Canada for another gold on Thursday.