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Can an RFK Jr. Action Figure Help Cement the MAHA-MAGA Alliance?
America’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., became an action figure fighting artificial red dye in school lunches on Thursday. Before that, he was transported to a rave by a sip of whole milk. He got a face tattoo to match that of boxer Mike Tyson. He put Santa on a diet and exercise regimen and strolled with a penguin to a soaring organ soundtrack.
At least that’s what AI-generated versions of the health secretary have done in a series of videos posted not by admirers but by Kennedy himself, or at least his staff. It’s not always artificial intelligence, though: Last week, he posted a video of himself exercising with Kid Rock, set to Kid Rock’s own music.
The videos of the secretary, who has cultivated a passionate following on certain issues thanks to his Make America Healthy Again movement, have been posted to official channels of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Supreme Court Blocks Law Against Schools Outing Transgender Students to Their Parents in California
The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for California schools to tell parents if their children identify as transgender without getting the student’s approval, granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group. The order blocks for now a state law that bans automatic parental notification requirements if students change their pronouns or gender expression at school.
The split decision comes after religious parents and educators challenged California school policies aimed at preventing schools from outing students to their families. Two sets of Catholic parents represented by the Thomas More Society say it caused schools to mislead them and secretly facilitate the children’s social transition despite their objections.
California, on the other hand, argued that students have the right to privacy about their gender expression, especially if they fear rejection from their families. The state said that school policies and state law are aimed at striking a balance with parents’ rights.
Autism Researchers Form Independent Committee as Counter to Kennedy-Appointed Group
Autism researchers and advocacy leaders on Tuesday said they would form a new, independent committee to help guide autism research priorities, providing a science-based alternative to official U.S. information on the condition. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remade a federal panel that guides national autism policy, called the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.
Its newly appointed 21 members include some with ties to groups that promote claims linking vaccines to autism, contrary to scientific evidence, as Kennedy himself has for years. The new group, calling itself the Independent Autism Coordinating Committee, plans to operate much like the federal committee by creating a strategic plan for autism research that prioritizes scientific discovery and improved care for people with autism spectrum disorder.
It includes former federal committee members, National Institutes of Health directors, and autism scientists and advocates. A similar group of medical organizations and respected vaccine experts have been working to combat what they see as misinformation on inoculations coming from the Trump administration.
Meeting on U.S. Measles Status Is Delayed Until November
A highly anticipated meeting to review the United States’ measles elimination status has been postponed until November. An international panel of experts had invited the United States to a meeting in April to determine whether the ongoing spread of measles would cost the country its status, a designation granted to nations that have not had continuous spread of measles for more than a year.
But U.S. health officials asked the panel, convened by the Pan American Health Organization, to delay the review until the organization’s annual meeting in November, said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services. He said the agency needed more time to analyze its measles data.
Secret Food Chemicals: New Analysis Finds Over 100 Unreviewed Substances Added to Products
Environmental Working Group reported:
Over 100 chemicals of unknown safety are hiding in the food Americans eat every day – including sports drinks, snack bars, cereals and much more – according to a new analysis by the Environmental Working Group. The new study identified at least 111 food chemicals that companies have secretly added to the U.S. food supply, without notifying the Food and Drug Administration or the public.
Of those, 49 chemicals were found in thousands of products listed in the Department of Agriculture’s Branded Foods Database, which provides public access to nutrient and ingredient information about branded and store-brand food. It’s the strongest evidence yet that food with unreviewed chemical ingredients lurks in the nation’s grocery stores.
“This is a wake-up call for every American who assumes the FDA is reviewing the safety of chemicals in their food,” said Melanie Benesh, EWG’s vice president for government affairs. “Instead, food and chemical companies are exploiting a loophole to keep both the government and the public in the dark.”
Trump Administration Announces New Pesticide Research Initiatives
Federal agencies announced on Feb. 27 they are working on a plan to “accelerate farm modernization and long-term food supply security.” The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement it is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the plan, following President Donald Trump’s executive order directing increased production of the weedkiller glyphosate.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has defended Trump’s controversial order, and has said the administration will work to reduce pesticide use on other fronts. However, since Trump took office, the vast majority of agricultural funding has gone to commodity farms that operate within pesticide-dependent systems, while pesticide approvals have increased and numerous regulations that reduced exposure to dangerous pollutants have been rolled back.
The new plan includes research on the health risks of farm chemicals, investments in regenerative agriculture, and deregulation. At HHS, the National Institutes of Health will put $100 million into finding ways to evaluate cumulative chemical exposures, a notoriously difficult problem. The agency will spend another $100 million to research technologies to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides.
