Category:health
Trump’s MAHA Commission: What to Expect
President Trump’s return to the White House has sparked a lot of controversy as he takes extensive executive action and appoints contentious figures to his cabinet. At the top of the list of most controversial is arguably the newly confirmed Secretary of Human Health and Services, Robert Kennedy Jr., because of his skepticism towards vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs like Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), used to treat various mental disorders. Despite criticisms, Kennedy gained a large following during his 2024 presidential campaign, where he founded the Make America Healthy Again movement and advocated for public health policies that make American food healthier and end the chronic disease epidemic in this country. Aligned with these initiatives, President Trump has taken extensive action in the first sixty days of his second term to reform public health policy. Among these changes is the newly created Make America Healthy Again Commission, which is chaired by Secretary Kennedy and consists of other cabinet and high-ranking executive officials. The Commission is initially tasked with addressing the childhood chronic disease crisis, specifically targeting nutrition, prescription drug misuse, and government transparency related to ethics and public trust.
Subsidized Addiction: America’s Sweet Problem
Today, Americans are becoming more aware and concerned about the additives in their food that have carcinogenic and other adverse health effects. This increased scrutiny in American nutrition, particularly for children, has been spearheaded by the “Make America Healthy Again” Movement, which seeks higher standards in regulations of what is allowed in food and more transparency for food products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is shifting in the same direction of promulgating stricter food standards, as it recently finalized rules banning the artificial food additive Red No. 3 and updating the standards manufacturers must meet to advertise as “healthy.” However, while agencies and activists work to keep chemical and artificial additives out of American foods, a glaring issue remains. Americans have a sugar addiction problem, and the government is their enablers.
The Americans with Disabilities Act and Private Prisons
It is no secret that a person trying to meet their needs while incarcerated faces a daunting endeavor. However, these challenges are further complicated for someone living with a disability while held in a private prison. State and local facilities are no strangers to allegations of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as evidenced by a recent class action against the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) and Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). An Illinois disability protection and advocacy agency called Equip for Equality brought an action alleging that the IDJJ and IDOC “failed to take meaningful steps to address the lack of special education services and high school education despite being legally obligated to follow state and federal laws.” While such litigation offers a narrow means of disability justice, this path is further narrowed when filing an ADA action against a private correctional facility. Private prisons, particularly with respect to ADA compliance, should be held to the same standards and means of accountability as public facilities.
How America’s Drinking Water Crisis Impacts Chicagoans
The movement to remove and replace lead pipes is nothing new in the United States. For decades, parts of the country have been working to get rid of lead pipes and replace them with alternatives that are much safer for human health. Progress, however, has generally been slow and lead pipes remain widely in use in many American cities. Earlier this month, President Biden announced the final deadline as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, giving the whole country ten years to expedite the process of removing and replacing all lead pipes.