Next on the MAHA agenda? Banning food dyes.
How’s it going? Rebecca Morin here. It’s been days since I’ve seen Ryan Coogler’s new movie, “Sinners,” and I can’t stop thinking about it.
RFK Jr. to announce ban on artificial food dyes
Next on President Donald Trump's Make America Healthy Again agenda: banning artificial food dyes. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will announce the phasing out of eight petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the nation’s food supply – a campaign promise from the one-time presidential candidate. The list or a timeline of the dyes that will be phased out has not been released. Kennedy will be making his announcement at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
- Kennedy has repeatedly said that he wants to reduce the use of artificial food dyes – a topic that was largely part of his confirmation hearing back in January – and promote the consumption of whole foods.
- Under the Biden administration, the FDA had mandated a ban on Red Dye No. 3, found in candy, desserts, and some medications, by January 15, 2027.
- Vani Hari, a food blogger from Charlotte, North Carolina, is getting top billing at the White House – such as being invited to closed-door roundtables – thanks to Trump and RFK Jr.'s MAHA agenda. Hari will be at RFK Jr.’s Tuesday announcement on the food-dye ban.
A politics pit stop
- Nadine Arslanian Menendez, wife of ex-Sen. Bob Menendez, convicted in bribery scheme.
- Are free cancer tests and cholesterol meds constitutional? Supreme Court mulling.
- Trump says tariff revenue could replace income taxes. Why economists disagree.
- When Pope Francis met Presidents Obama, Biden and Trump.
- Trump to speak at graduations for University of Alabama, West Point.
- Larry David appears to call out Bill Maher's Trump meeting in essay
Collection of defaulted student loans to restart May 5
If you weren’t paying your student loans, you better start budgeting now. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the federal government will resume involuntary collections for borrowers in default on May 5. In two weeks, loan holders will start the process of taking money from the paychecks of borrowers who've missed their payments for 270 days or more. They'll also start moving to collect from other federal payments, including tax refunds and Social Security benefits. Collections for defaulted borrowers have been paused since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While monthly student loan bills resumed in the fall of 2023, former President Joe Biden’s Education Department pushed off recommencing involuntary collections until after the 2024 presidential election. What to know about collections resuming.
Trump approval rating dips
Roughly three months in, Americans are starting to slightly sour on the president. Donald Trump’s public approval rating edged down to its lowest level since his return to the White House, dipping to 42% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. Hours after his Jan. 20 inauguration, 47% approved of the president’s job. Trump over the past several months has signed a flurry of executive orders that expanded his influence over both government departments and private institutions such as universities and law firms. See the breakdown of the poll.
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