Why Water Fluoridation Is Under Fire in the US
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he wants communities to stop fluoridating water, and he is setting the gears of government in motion to help make that happen.
Kennedy this week said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. And he said he’s assembling a task force of health experts to study the issue and make new recommendations.
At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would review new scientific information on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA sets the maximum level allowed in public water systems. Here’s a look at how reversing fluoride policy has become an action item under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Scholarships for Child Care Are Drying Up. Now Families Are Paying the Price
For parents who need to work but can’t afford the steep cost of child care, federally funded scholarships can be a lifeline. Delivered through state child care assistance programs, the scholarships can mean the difference between a parent working full time — or not at all.
But qualified families increasingly are being turned away, thanks to the rising costs of child care and the end of pandemic-era funds, and some families that had scholarships have seen them end. In at least three states — Arizona, Colorado and Texas — parents who apply face long waitlists.
Other states, including Nevada and Oklahoma, have increased copayments for parents or have said they will serve fewer children. In Idaho, enrollment was paused for part of last year.
Last week, the Trump administration laid off some employees who helped states implement child care assistance. It’s all left advocates worried about the future of federal child care programs.
RFK Jr. To Lay off More NIH Employees Amid HHS Restructuring, Officials Say
More employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are expected to be laid off in the coming days, multiple federal officials say, less than a week after an initial wave of cuts gutted many offices within the health research agency.
The NIH was initially supposed to lose about 1,200 scientists, support staff and other officials as a result of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s restructuring. It is unclear how many additional employees will be targeted for cuts. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not provide a response when asked why the additional cuts were occurring.
In a statement, a department official said that HHS is doing its reorganization “in phases,” following the layoffs of roughly 10,000 employees who were notified Tuesday that they were cut. “The Department is now detailing the structure of each redefined division to streamline operations, enhance responsiveness to the American people, and ultimately improve the nation’s health as part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative,” the official said.
Key Safety Hotlines Disrupted by HHS Cuts
Teams manning government hotlines for reporting adverse events from foods, supplements and cosmetics, and call centers that provide other essential safety information were among the thousands of Health and Human Services Department employees laid off last week.
Though the department is hurriedly calling some workers back, the episodes show how information blackouts are becoming a feature of the Trump administration’s efforts to reorganize the health bureaucracy. “Very important offices that were directly involved with food safety and public health were axed,” one Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employee, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation, told Axios.
Zoom in: The Food and Cosmetic Information Center fields tens of thousands of calls annually from consumers and industry representatives about recalls, nutritional information and food business requirements, along with unintended health consequences from using FDA-approved products.
