First State Bans Ultra-Processed Food In School Lunches

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Plus: The Nobel Peace Prize Goes To... & Mass Federal Worker Layoffs Begin

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🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

California To Phase Out Ultra-Processed Foods From School Lunches

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation Wednesday making California the first state to ban ultra-processed foods from public school lunches. The move comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. zeroes in on these foods as a major suspect in the U.S. childhood obesity epidemic.

While there appears to be growing bipartisan agreement — with even some major industry players committing to removing some additives — some public health experts caution there’s more to the “ultra-processed” label than meets the eye.

GOING GREEN 🥦
California’s “Real Food, Healthy Kids Act” will phase certain processed foods “of concern“ out of public school lunches over the next 10 years, resulting in a ban by the end of 2035.

  • There is no universal definition of ultra-processed food, so the act is creating its own by 2028. So far, it defines ultra-processed foods as those that contain non-nutritional sweeteners, or foods that have flavor or color enhancers with high sodium content, added sugars, and more.

    • Brazilian researchers popularized the term in 2010 when they developed the NOVA classification system, which ranks foods from minimally processed (like fruits, beans, and milk) to ultra-processed (like fast food, sodas, and packaged snacks).

Scientific studies have tied ultra-processed foods to increased risk of obesity and asthma. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 62% of the calories children consumed between 2021 and 2023 were from ultra-processed foods.

The Real Foods, Healthy Kids Act also includes recommendations of maximum daily sugar and sodium intake for children of every grade level.

MORE TO THE STORY
Harvard nutrition expert and professor of pediatrics, Dr. David Ludwig, warns that politicians may be repeating the “low-fat diet” era’s mistakes — this time, replacing the 1980s boogeyman of fat with today’s ultra-processed food. In a Washington Post op-ed, he argues that lumping soda and sweetened cereal together with foods like yogurt, tofu, or protein bars is an oversimplification. Not all processing is harmful, he notes — and some additives can actually make foods healthier.

“For now, health officials should focus on the industrial products for which there is strong evidence of harm: refined grains, sugar and other highly processed carbohydrates,” he argues.

Rewind: Then–First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative to make school lunches healthier and more affordable under the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act,” signed in 2010, sparked major backlash from conservatives. The Heritage Foundation accused her of “arrogance” and trying to “co-parent your children,” calling the program costly and not addressing other major issues.

  • A JAMA study from the University of Washington later found that the program achieved healthier lunches — showing about a 30% increase in healthy eating scores for low-income students.

  • Obesity rates in children have continued to rise since then, and with Trump and Kennedy in office, conservatives appear to have changed their tune on this issue.

A MORE POLARIZING TAKE
While this administration’s moves regarding food have been popular, one of Kennedy’s MAHA initiatives is getting a lot more pushback. At a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Kennedy promoted a disputed theory linking Tylenol use after circumcision to higher rates of autism, which major health authorities have disputed. Trump echoed Kennedy’s remarks, also warning pregnant women not to take the drug.

Kennedy, who has long promoted unverified health claims and vaccine skepticism, is facing renewed criticism from medical experts warning that such comments risk spreading misinformation. While autism rates have gone up in recent years, circumcision and Tylenol use during pregnancy has become less common.

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🚨 ONE THING THAT’S ESCALATING

White House: Mass Federal Worker Layoffs Have Begun

The Trump administration has begun laying off federal workers as the government shutdown enters its 10th day, White House budget director Russell Vought confirmed Friday on social media.

  • Vought posted: “RIFs have begun,” referring to the reduction-in-force notices that alert federal workers of pending dismissals.

    • The Office of Management and Budget said the layoffs are “substantial,” though details were not released.

Unions swiftly vowed to challenge the move in court.

AN UNCONVENTIONAL MOVE
It is not the normal practice to permanently lay off government employees during shutdowns. Rather, workers are typically furloughed and get back-pay upon reopening.

  • About 750,000 of over 2 million federal workers are currently furloughed, while others deemed essential are working without pay.

    • A spokesman for the Health and Human Services Department confirmed many of its “non-essential” employees received reduction-in-force notices “to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”

The layoffs defy internal warnings from senior officials that such moves could be illegal, violating rules that guide the process of federal staff cutbacks, The Washington Post reported.

BIGGER PICTURE
The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government, cutting more than 200,000 jobs already this year, with another 100,000 workers expected to leave by December.

The shutdown showdown shows no signs of ending soon. House members will remain in their districts next week, meaning the only way to end the shutdown would be for the Senate to pass the temporary funding bill — one that does not include the Affordable Care Act tax credits Democrats are demanding.

Premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans are expected to more than double next year — from an average of $888 to $1,906 — for 22 million enrollees if enhanced tax credits expire at the end of 2025, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy group.

  • Nearly six in ten enrollees (57%) live in districts represented by Republicans, and more than three in four live in states that President Trump won in 2024

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⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

  • Multiple dead, over a dozen missing after explosion at Tennessee military facility (MO NEWS)

  • First lady Melania Trump announces 8 Ukrainian children reunited with families after being taken into Russia (FOX)

  • MIT rebuffs Trump’s federal funding proposal that comes with new limits (POLITICO)

  • Antifa expert at Rutgers University says he is moving to Spain because of death threats (AP)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

  • Two powerful earthquakes strike off southern Philippines, killing at least 7 people (AP)

  • Ukraine says ‘massive’ Russian attack targeted energy infrastructure (CNN)

  • Peru lawmakers remove president, successor vows war on crime (REUTERS)

  • Israel says it has completed a pullback of troops in Gaza (NPR)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

  • Consumer sentiment sours as government shutdown threatens economic damage (ABC)

  • Google may have to make changes in the UK so people have more choice over which search engine they use (BBC)

  • Groundbreaking new image of two real black holes orbiting each other is first to prove long held theory (NY POST)

  • CDC panel to review other childhood vaccine schedules (THE HILL)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

  • Turning Point USA will host rival to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show (AXIOS)

  • John Lodge, singer and bassist of Moody Blues during classic era, dies at 82 (AP)

  • KISS legend Gene Simmons recovering after SUV crash on PCH in Malibu (NBC LOS ANGELES)

  • Indonesia to block Israeli team from competing at gymnastics world championships in Jakart (AP)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… This year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader, found out she won the prestigious honor while in hiding on Friday.

That means, despite his campaign to get awarded, President Trump will not be honored this year. Still, Machado dedicated the award to him, and the people of Venezuela.

Machado, 57, has been a leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, promoting free and fair elections for over two decades. She most recently ran against current President Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 election, but her candidacy was blocked by the administration. She has not been seen in public since January due to arrest threats.

  • White House communications director Steven Cheung criticized the decision, saying the “Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.” He added, “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian.”

It is unclear if Machado will be able to attend the award ceremony in December in Norway.

Guest User
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Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal Reached, What's Next?