Autism Walk/Run takes place at Greenville Town Common
It's an event to help raise awareness and acceptance for people with autism and to bring the community together. Officials with The Autism Society of North Carolina said 1-in-36 children are diagnosed with autism and about 5.4 million Americans are living with it.
People showed out for the race and WNCT's own Brian Bailey emceed the event.
'We have a lot of individuals trying to be integrated in the community, particularly right now. We have a lot of young adults with autism in this community,' Eastern Regional Services Director for the Autism Society of North Carolina Holly Akin said. 'Many of them are looking for employment opportunities, volunteer opportunities and peer relationships, so it's really important for people to meet the individuals with autism and build those bonds.'
Click the video above for more.
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Atlantic
4 hours ago
- Atlantic
A MAHA Progress Report
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent the past six months working fast to embed his Make America Healthy Again creed into American life. Over the summer alone, he has struck deals with some food companies to phase out some petroleum-based food dyes, waged a war against pediatricians over COVID-19 vaccines for young children, seemingly toyed with the idea of shipping fresh food to Americans in ' MAHA boxes,' and pledged to reboot the nation's dietary guidelines from scratch. I spoke with the Atlantic staff writer Nicholas Florko, who reports on health policy, about how the MAHA-fication of the country is coming along. Nicholas Florko: We've seen Robert F. Kennedy Jr. take actions that will weaken our vaccination system in the United States, confirming some of public health's worst fears. But there have also been some surprising successes in his term. RFK Jr. has embraced the role of a dealmaker, and we've seen him leaning on food companies in particular to change their offerings and get rid of synthetic dyes. He's been able to do that simply by asking and by making handshake agreements, as opposed to what we would normally expect from a health secretary—for him to use his regulatory power to force these changes. Stephanie: Why are these handshake agreements proving successful? Nicholas: Food companies likely realize that it's in their best interest to get on the good side of the Trump administration. We see this throughout all sectors of business, but for the food sector, these changes are small enough that companies can make them without dramatically hurting their bottom line, while also earning a lot of brownie points with the administration. Stephanie: That reminds me of President Donald Trump's announcement in July that Coca-Cola, famously his favorite drink, had agreed to make their soda with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. To what extent is Trump influencing health policy? Does RFK Jr. have a lot of latitude? Nicholas: The Coca-Cola issue is an interesting one because while it's true that RFK Jr. is very anti–high-fructose corn syrup, he's also publicly called sugar a 'poison.' So this is one of those instances where you wonder what is behind RFK Jr. supporting this change. He must know that this isn't actually going to significantly improve public health, but also probably realizes that this is important to his boss. That being said, I think that RFK Jr. does have some latitude. If you left Trump to his own devices, you probably wouldn't see the same level of aggression toward food companies overall, unless he had a personal stake in the situation. Stephanie: With back-to-school season under way, many students are getting up-to-date on their shots. How does this year's vaccination season compare to years past? Nicholas: We haven't seen huge changes, but we are seeing some hints of what might come. Much of the action thus far is around COVID vaccines. In February the president issued a largely symbolic executive order barring schools from enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but by the time that was issued, virtually no schools actually had such a policy. RFK Jr. also softened the CDC's recommendation for kids to get the COVID-19 vaccine. That's probably been one of his most controversial decisions, prompting a high-profile clash with pediatricians; a leading pediatrics group put out its own suggestions saying that children should be getting vaccinated. But we haven't seen major changes to the other vaccines typically required for returning to school. Stephanie: That disagreement must make it confusing for parents to know who to listen to. Nicholas: It's reasonable to assume that a good portion of people will listen to RFK Jr., but those people may be already skeptical of vaccines and see him as a trustworthy messenger, versus folks who are on the fence. I think that's really the question: Where do those people who are on the fence go? Do they take RFK Jr.'s suggestion, or do they trust their doctor? Stephanie: In May, you wrote a story that was alarming for salad lovers, specifically about how bagged lettuce should be avoided. What's happening with America's food-safety system? Nicholas: One of the earliest, most concerning changes for food safety happened when DOGE came into the federal agencies. Advisory committees focused on food-safety questions were shut down. People were being laid off—such as the administrative staff in charge of making sure that inspectors can go out to farms. Some layoffs seem to have been rescinded, but there's a broad worry about what will happen to the day-to-day operations that we all depend on to keep us safe. Stephanie: A recent story about the recall of frozen shrimp with potential radioactive contamination has caused a bit of a panic about where America's food safety is headed. How did you take that news? Nicholas: One thing that gives me some hope is the fact that this is the sort of thing that we caught, and there have been recalls by Walmart. That's really the big fear when it comes to food safety: that if we attack these federal programs, they're not going to be able to actually find the food that might get us sick before a lot of people get sick. So I think this is actually a good sign that things are working relatively well. Stephanie: Out of all the stories you've written this past summer about the MAHA movement, is there one that keeps you up at night? And is there one that makes you feel hopeful for where American health and safety is going? Nicholas: Honestly, the stories that keep me up at night are by our colleague Katie Wu. Her recent one on RFK Jr.'s COVID revenge campaign has really stuck with me. My own story that both keeps me up at night and that makes me hopeful is related to states, which are taking up the MAHA charge in a very quick fashion. It's felt like Republican governors and legislatures are all trying to out-MAHA one another to ingratiate themselves to Trump and to RFK Jr. Some of these ideas are good from a public-health perspective, but these states are doing a lot of things really fast, which is what worries me. For example, some states are blocking people from using food stamps to buy soda and other junk food. There's a question of how that policy will be implemented, how the attempts to enact these restrictions could affect the entire food-stamp system. Other states have passed laws banning artificial dyes in their school meals. Again, it's one of those ideas that's a good step, but the devil is in the details of how it's executed. How does this flurry of activity in the states actually affect people in the coming months? Does this ultimately make America healthier, or does it send our food system into chaos? Here are three new stories from The Atlantic: Today's News A New York appeals court voided the roughly $500 million civil-fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, calling it 'excessive,' but upheld the finding that Trump and his company committed long-running business fraud. Business restrictions on Trump in New York remain, and the state plans to appeal. More immigrants are leaving the U.S. than arriving, according to the Pew Research Center. The shift, affected by Trump's strict immigration policies, is the first of its kind since the 1960s. California lawmakers passed the first of three bills on a redistricting plan backed by Governor Gavin Newsom that would shift as many as five Republican-held U.S. House seats toward Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterms. The move comes a day after Texas state House Republicans passed a new congressional map that could add five U.S. House seats for the GOP. Evening Read What We Gain When We Stop Caring By Anna Holmes Sometime in the early aughts, the comedian Amy Poehler made a vulgar joke while sitting in the Saturday Night Live writers' room waiting for a midweek read-through to begin. As detailed in Tina Fey's 2011 memoir, Bossypants, Jimmy Fallon, who was also in the show's cast at the time, jokingly recoiled and told Poehler to stop it. 'It's not cute!' Fallon exclaimed. 'I don't like it.' 'Amy dropped what she was doing, went black in the eyes for a second, and wheeled around on him,' Fey writes. ''I don't fucking care if you like it.'' Read the full article. More From The Atlantic Read. In 2022, The Atlantic 's Culture writers recommended the books that they read too late —but that you should read now. Take a look. This is how the 17th-century painter Rachel Ruysch became one of the greatest still-life painters in the history of art, Zachary Fine writes. When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Newsweek
Shrimp Recall Map Shows 9 States With New Warning
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Southwind Foods, LLC, is recalling numerous brand names of frozen shrimp due to fears of possible radionuclide (Cesium-137) contamination. Newsweek reached out to the company via phone on Thursday and left a voicemail. Why It Matters Numerous recalls have been initiated this year due to the potential for damaged products, foodborne illness, contamination and undeclared food allergens. Millions of Americans experience food sensitivities or allergies every year. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the nine "major" food allergens in the U.S. are eggs, milk, fish, wheat, soybeans, Crustacean shellfish, sesame, tree nuts and peanuts. Cesium-137 is a man-made radioisotope of cesium, and the primary risk of repeat low-dose exposure is "an elevated risk of cancer, resulting from damage to DNA within living cells of the body," per the agency. What To Know In the alert, the FDA warns that the recalled frozen shrimp were distributed from July 17 to August 8, 2025, at wholesalers, retailers and distributors in Alabama, Arizona, Massachusetts, California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Virginia, Utah and Washington state. Below is a map of the affected states: The FDA alert has a chart with corresponding item numbers, product descriptions, as well as UPC and lot numbers for customers to cross-reference. No illnesses have been reported related to this recall as of Tuesday, the agency notes. The brands impacted by the recall include Sand Bar, Arctic Shores, Best Yet, Great American and First Street, according to the alert. What People Are Saying The FDA alert, in part: "The FDA is actively investigating reports of Cesium-137 (Cs-137) contamination in shipping containers and frozen shrimp products processed by PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati (doing business as BMS Foods) of Indonesia." In an email to Newsweek in January, the FDA said: "Most recalls in the U.S. are carried out voluntarily by the product manufacturer and when a company issues a public warning, typically via news release, to inform the public of a voluntary product recall; the FDA shares that release on our website as a public service. "The FDA's role during a voluntary, firm-initiated, recall is to review the recall strategy, evaluate the health hazard presented by the product, monitor the recall, and as appropriate alert the public and other companies in the supply chain about the recall. "The FDA provides public access to information on recalls by posting a listing of recalls according to their classification in the FDA Enforcement Report, including the specific action taken by the recalling company. The FDA Enforcement Report is designed to provide a public listing of products in the marketplace that are being recalled." Additional information on recalls can be found via the agency's Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts. What Happens Next Consumers who have purchased the recalled shrimp are advised not to consume it, dispose of the product or return it to the place of purchase for a full refund, the FDA says. People with additional questions can contact the company at 1-323-262-8222 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT weekdays.
Boston Globe
5 hours ago
- Boston Globe
As Trump weighs IVF, Republicans back new ‘natural' approach to infertility
Advertisement 'It's important that we reframe the conversation away from just being about IVF to a broader conversation about infertility,' she said at the February 2024 meeting, according to three people who were there. The key, she added, was not to oppose IVF but to provide a different solution. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Over the next 18 months, Waters and other conservatives would work behind the scenes to chart a new path, building a coalition within Trump's base to push what they describe as a 'natural' approach to combating infertility. Called 'restorative reproductive medicine,' the concept addresses what proponents describe as the 'root causes' of infertility, while leaving IVF as a last resort. Today, an approach long confined to the medical fringe has unified Christian conservatives and proponents of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again movement -- and is suddenly at the forefront of the fertility conversation in the Trump administration and the broader Republican Party. Advertisement Legislation that would fund restorative reproductive medicine has been proposed by Republicans in both the Senate and the House. Arkansas passed a law this spring that requires insurance companies in the state to cover this alternative approach to infertility. The Department of Health and Human Services will soon incorporate restorative reproductive medicine into government-funded health clinics for low-income women. And the approach has featured prominently in an intense series of conversations inside the White House, as top Trump aides have wrestled with what to recommend in a highly anticipated IVF report. 'All of a sudden it has gotten into the discussion,' said Kaylen Silverberg, a leading IVF doctor who has been consulting with the White House. While he has been in the infertility field for more than three decades, he said he had never heard the term 'restorative reproductive medicine' until four months ago. The field of restorative reproductive medicine, which dates back to the early 2000s, is grounded in the idea that infertility is a symptom of an underlying 'root cause.' Physicians who specialize in the approach analyze patients' diet and exercise habits, while helping them 'chart' their menstrual cycles, a process that can help expose certain reproductive health conditions, like endometriosis, that may lead to infertility. Practitioners treat reproductive health conditions but do not offer IVF, a posture that has prompted harsh criticism from leading medical associations. On the campaign trail, Trump did everything he could to signal his full backing for IVF, a procedure supported by 70% of Americans. Within a week of the Alabama ruling, which declared that frozen embryos are children, he called on the state Legislature to pass a law protecting IVF. Later that year, he referred to himself as the 'father of IVF' and pledged to make the procedure free, without offering any specifics on how he would do so. Advertisement Since the president took office, his aides have met with representatives from both sides of the IVF debate, discussing what should be in the final report. Many involved in those discussions are now waiting to see what the president's team will recommend. IVF proponents are hoping the president will work with Congress to require insurance companies to cover the procedure, while moving unilaterally to extend coverage to members of the military, veterans and federal employees. Christian conservatives, on the other hand, want the administration to invest in research and education related to restorative reproductive medicine. A White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, said in a statement that the administration was working on multiple fronts to address infertility. 'President Trump pledged to expand IVF access for Americans who are struggling to start families, and the administration is exploring every available tool to deliver on this pledge,' Desai said. 'Further, we are working tirelessly to address the root causes of infertility and chronic diseases as part of our broader mandate to Make America Healthy Again.' Leading medical organizations have weighed in over the past few months. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called restorative reproductive medicine 'unproven' and 'not a medical term,' stressing that many patients have already tried to chart their cycles, treat existing health conditions and make lifestyle changes by the time they arrive at an infertility clinic. While those methods may work for some, several leading IVF doctors said people experiencing infertility often required more help — and months or years spent on restorative reproductive medicine could delay the IVF they would ultimately need in order to conceive. Because female fertility declines with age, doctors said those delays could jeopardize a woman's ability to get pregnant. Advertisement 'They're underestimating how hard we try to avoid IVF,' said Eve Feinberg, a medical director of fertility and reproductive medicine at Northwestern Medicine. 'When people walk into my clinic, we don't do IVF tomorrow. We try to figure out other things.' In the weeks after the standing-room-only meeting on Capitol Hill, Waters joined forces with several other young conservative women, including Natalie Dodson, who now works as a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services. A small group began reaching out to physicians who practice restorative reproductive medicine, eager to learn more about the field and what kind of support the practitioners could use from the federal government. 'Honestly, it was a little surprising,' said Monica Minjeur, the U.S. director of communications for the International Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine, a professional body created by a small group of physicians who coined the term in 2000. Minjeur and others had been working for years toward getting the field officially recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, but the term was still largely unknown. 'I had a Google alert set up for 'restorative reproductive medicine' for a few years,' she said. 'And honestly forgot I even had it.' Then Minjeur and her colleagues learned that the approach was the subject of legislation proposed in the Senate. Two Republican senators, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi and James Lankford of Oklahoma, signed on to introduce a bill that would allot federal funding for research and education on restorative reproductive medicine. But everyone involved understood that the bill had to be framed carefully, according to three people involved in the early stages of the effort. Before agreeing to introduce the legislation, Hyde-Smith wanted to make sure it would not send the message that its supporters were against IVF, according to one of the people involved. Advertisement The legislation fizzled. But it took on symbolic importance among those pushing for a new approach to infertility, prompting conversations on Capitol Hill that were intensely personal and emotional — as well as overwhelmingly female. At a briefing on the topic organized by the Senate Pro-Life Caucus and the Values Action Team last summer, several congressional staff members cried while sharing their experiences with reproductive health conditions and infertility, according to several people who attended. One person in the audience said, 'I think I have endometriosis,' after hearing the presentation, multiple people recalled. 'People came up to me after that and said: 'Can you help me? Can you help my friend?'' said Marguerite Duane, a family physician who specializes in restorative reproductive medicine and has worked with Waters and Dodson. 'There are babies that are here now because of that briefing,' she said, adding that she was referring to 'people who became patients of mine or who I connected to other RRM physicians.' When Trump promised last August to make IVF free if he became president, people at the center of the restorative reproductive medicine effort began to view their work with new urgency. They took Trump's statements as evidence of an 'education gap,' several people said: Like much of the country, he thought IVF was the only way to treat infertility. They hoped their movement would show him that there was another option, the people recalled. Advertisement Once in office, the Trump administration moved swiftly to signal its continued support for IVF, issuing an executive order in February that promised to lower costs and expand access. The order offered no specifics on how the administration would achieve that goal but promised that a detailed report with recommendations on the topic would be prepared by late May. Three months later, the report has not been released. The coalition backing restorative reproductive medicine was diverse but organized, including leading members of the MAHA movement, anti-abortion groups and representatives from the medical field. Connected through regular calls and meetings at the Heritage Foundation's Washington headquarters, led by Waters, they presented a unified vision for what the administration could do on infertility. Many who met with the White House directed Trump aides to the legislation proposed the previous year by Hyde-Smith and Lankford, according to several people at those meetings. Inside the Senate offices, staff members worked throughout the spring to prepare a new version of that bill that incorporated the priorities of each faction of the new coalition -- eager for the White House to review it before the administration issued its report, according to the person involved in early stages of the effort. The updated version of the legislation includes a greater emphasis on lifestyle changes as a solution to infertility, reflecting the priorities of MAHA leaders involved in the conversations. Senator Tammy Duckworth speaks at a press conference concerning access to IVF treatment at the Capitol in Washington, June 12, 2024. TIERNEY L. CROSS/NYT While those central to the restorative reproductive medicine effort say they see potential for bipartisanship, leading Democrats are opposed to Hyde-Smith's legislation. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she felt 'sick to my stomach' when she considered the implications of Hyde-Smith's bill. 'They want to delay and delay and delay and essentially come up with fake science and ways to delay so that people can never actually get to the IVF solution,' said Duckworth, who has had two children through IVF. Duckworth, meanwhile, has been working to expand IVF access. She recently added coverage for military families into a draft of the annual defense policy bill. It is not clear whether that provision will survive. Last year, Duckworth added similar language to the same bill, and it was stripped out by Republicans. Hyde-Smith said in a statement that she believed leaders could 'get past the politics' and 'come together in support of genuine solutions.' Her legislation, she added, 'is not in opposition to IVF; it is a separate and potentially complementary effort to address fertility concerns in a cost-effective manner that focuses on healing couples and empowering them with autonomy over how they build their families.' At a recent event on women's fertility in downtown Washington, Waters expressed optimism that the administration would prioritize the alternative approach she had been pushing for. 'This is a historic political moment,' Waters said at the event, co-hosted by the Heritage Foundation and the MAHA Institute. 'For the first time, the White House and top political leaders are directly spotlighting family formation, real reproductive health and root cause infertility care as national priorities.' This article originally appeared in .
