Good evening. I'm Omna Nawaz. And I'm Jeff Bennett. On the news hour tonight, a wave of high-profile

resignations and a firing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raises new concerns about

the government's handling of public health. Minneapolis begins the long healing process in the wake of the country's latest school

shooting.

And we report from New Orleans on the deep mark left by Hurricane Katrina and the concern

about preparedness for future storms.

In many ways, we are much better if we faced Katrina.

But we won't face Katrina.

We'll face new storms that are different than Katrina.

Welcome to the News Hour. There are serious concerns tonight about the Centers for Disease Control and its mission after director Susan Menares was suddenly fired from her position on Wednesday. She had refused to resign amid clashes with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.

Menares, an infectious disease researcher, was sworn in less than a month ago and had quickly

clashed with Kennedy over the handling of the agency. In a statement, her lawyer said,

quote, when she refused to rubber stamp unscientific, reckless directives, and fire dedicated

health experts, she chose protecting the public over

serving a political agenda. For that, she's been targeted. Her dismissal set off a wave of

resignations with several other senior CDC officials stepping down in protest. That includes the

chief medical officer, Dr. Deborah Howry, who was met with applause and hugs from

supporters and staff outside the CDC building today. And Dr. Howry joins me now from Atlanta.

Welcome to the program. Thanks for joining us.

Thanks for having me. So let's just start with your decision. Why did you feel the need to resign?

It was such a tough decision.

I love the CDC.

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