Latest news with #HeartlandSummit
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jared Kushner Advising Trump Despite Pledge to Stay Away
President Donald Trump has reportedly brought in his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to help him plan for his big upcoming trip to the Middle East. Kushner has been secretly advising administration officials on how best to negotiate with Arab leaders as Trump hopes to secure 'economic agreements' with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, according to sources close to Kushner and the administration, CNN reported. In Trump's first term, Kushner served as Trump's 'chief negotiator' on the Middle East, where he had a hand in negotiating the Abraham Accords, bilateral agreements marking normalizing relations between Israel and Arab nations. According to CNN, Kushner, along with other Trump advisers, has been plotting to expand the treaties to include more nations. A White House official confirmed to CNN that such an expansion is a 'topic of discussion.' A senior Trump administration official involved in the talks said they 'fully expect other countries to sign (agreements) first before Saudi,' adding that they are engaged in conversations with a 'wide range of countries.' However, sources said Kushner's foray back into politics is only a one-time affair after he said he would not take an active role in his father-in-law's second term. After Trump's first term, Kushner bowed out of politics to run his private equity firm, Affinity Partners, which is fueled by investments from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. He told Axios in February last year that he is committed to 'my investors, to my firm, to my employees, to my partners, and that's what I'm planning to do.' 'I've really enjoyed the opportunity as a family to be out of the spotlight,' Kushner told Axios. He added that he and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have 'both really enjoyed the opportunity to be down here in Florida with the kids.' Ivanka has also opted not to resume her nebulous role as an adviser to her father and has instead focused on a pet project: produce. Ivanka reportedly spoke publicly for the first time since her father took office again at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas. CNN reported Thursday that she was interviewed by Arianna Huffington about her produce business, Planet Harvest. 'Her participation in this is about regional private sector innovation,' a source told CNN. She was also there in the name of 'supporting small farmers' and 'strengthening access to fresh food and uplifting communities.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ivanka Trump's fresh produce venture at odds with cuts to local food programs
Ivanka Trump on Thursday made her first major public appearance since her father's return to the White House, taking the stage at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, to discuss her efforts to expand access to fresh produce. For the first time in public, President Donald Trump's oldest daughter discussed her role as a co-founder of Planet Harvest, a Chicago-based 'profit-for-purpose company' created in 2023 that claims to provide 'innovative, whole harvest solutions that resolve inefficiencies in the supply chain.' Prior to her appearance, Trump, 43, told Axios in a statement that she launched Planet Harvest 'to reimagine how American produce moves — not just through the supply chain, but across communities. … By connecting fresh and surplus harvests with those who can benefit from them, we're supporting farmers, reducing food waste, expanding access and using good nutrition to improve health.' Trump told Axios she developed 'a real passion for supporting American farmers and getting more food into communities in need' while working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farmers to Families Food Box program during the pandemic. The summit, highlighting America's heartland as a hub of growth and innovation, was co-founded by Walmart heirs Olivia, Tom and Steuart Walton and hosted by their Bentonville-based think tank Heartland Forward. Trump was interviewed by Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, who told Axios that the 'decision to focus on democratizing access to healthy food comes at an unprecedented moment in our country's health care journey, where we're finally recognizing the scale of the crisis in chronic diseases.' Huffington's comments appear to refer to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has said that cracking down on processed foods is a major focus for the agency. Kennedy has pledged to end the country's 'epidemic of chronic illness' and 'Make America Healthy Again.' 'Food can be used medicinally and food can be used to heal our bodies,' the president's daughter said on stage. 'Food can be part of the solution.' Republicans' current support for greater scrutiny of the American diet stands in stark contrast to the reaction former first lady Michelle Obama received from the right in 2010 when she launched her 'Let's Move!' campaign focused on childhood obesity. At the time, Fox News host Sean Hannity called the initiative a 'Obama government obesity task force' and asked, 'Does every American family need a dietician appointed by the government to tell them that this food is going to make you fat and this food is not?' While Ivanka Trump says she wants to expand access to fresh produce, the administration's budget cuts are accomplishing exactly the opposite. In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed two federal programs that provided more than $1 billion for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farms and ranchers. The program specifically aided some of the nation's most disadvantaged farmers. One school district said the USDA's decision will wipe out $100,000 in funding that it had planned to spend on local beef and produce for students' school meals. The cuts come as a record number of Americans continue to deal with food insecurity. According to the most recent USDA data, from 2023, 13.5% of Americans struggled at some point to secure enough food, the highest rate in nearly a decade. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Walmart heirs are creating STEM college and it will be located near the company's HQ
Two grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton plan to start their own STEM college near the company's headquarters, according to a report. Steuart and Tom Walton are expected to announce the launch of their private university Thursday at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered, Axios reported. The yet-to-be-named college focusing on science, technology, engineering and math will have an inaugural class of roughly 500 students, 'growing to about 1,500 undergraduates and 500 non-degree learners over time,' the report said. 'The school will offer stackable, flexible credentials aligned with fast-moving, in-demand fields such as computing, technical management, automation and logistics, and biomedical technology,' the school's announcement said. Steuart Walton, who is also a member of Walmart's board, told Axios that education 'should move at the speed of innovation. This institution will stay agile and grounded, built to meet the world as it changes.' 'We have the opportunity to build a new model of higher education, designed for the realities of today's economy and the challenges of tomorrow, and set a new standard for what's possible," he added in a news release. His co-founder, Tom Walton, noted: 'Our granddad, Sam Walton, built Walmart from Bentonville. There's no reason the next great enterprise can't rise from here, too.' Steuart and Tom Walton said in 2022 that they would buy Walmart's old HQ and surrounding parcels for about $60 million. Earlier this year, Walmart opened a new headquarters in the same city. It sits on 350 acres and its cost has not been disclosed. A mixed-use development, which will include the new STEM school, is currently planned for the site. The STEM college is the latest philanthropic effort from the Walton family, who have invested in art museums, a medical school and other development projects in the region over the past 20 years.
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Walton Heirs To Start A New STEM-Focused University In Arkansas
Steuart and Tom Walton, grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, have announced plans to create a ... More new private university focused on STEM. Steuart and Tom Walton, grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, have announced that members of their family are planning to create a new private university that will focus on offering a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum. The future school would be located at the location of Walmart's former home office in Bentonville, Arkansas, according to Axios, which first broke the story today. It would be part of a mixed-use development planned for the site. Development of the new university will be guided by the advice of both local and national education experts. The institution, as of yet unnamed, would offer 'a modern, flexible, and accessible model that is both STEM-focused and business-infused,' according to the announcement. "Bentonville is the perfect place to spark catalytic change — a community rooted in innovation, entrepreneurship and bold thinking," Steuart Walton said, in a news release. "We have the opportunity to build a new model of higher education, designed for the realities of today's economy and the challenges of tomorrow, and set a new standard for what's possible." Tom Walton told Axios: "Our grandad, Sam Walton, built Walmart from Bentonville. There's no reason the next great enterprise can't rise from here, too." The new university would focus on building a skilled STEM workforce, concentrating on globally competitive areas such as automation, logistics, biotech and computing. It would grant stackable credentials in those areas, which could be combined with other degrees a student might earn. The school expects that its initial class, to be enrolled 'in the coming years,' will consist of about 500 students, with projections that total enrollment could eventually grow to about 1,500 undergraduates and 500 non-degree learners over time. Initial plans call for students' tuition to be fully covered in order to 'attract enterprising candidates with entrepreneurial spirit.' Today's announcement was made at the Heartland Summit being held this year in Bentonville. The Summit is an annual event organized by Heartland Forward, a non-profit policy think tank that aims to to stimulate economic growth in the central region of the United States. According to its website, Heartland Forward has a goal of generating $500 million of economic impact for the middle states by 2030 through a focus on four pillars: innovation and entrepreneurship, talent pipelines, health and wellness, and regional competitiveness. "Universities are among the most important knowledge assets for cities and states, shaping the economic prospects of their regions and the nation overall," said Ross DeVol, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Heartland Forward. Devol added that creating a new STEM-focused university in Bentonville would represent 'a bold step to strengthen our region's innovation capacity and deepen our workforce. By embedding technology transfer and commercialization into the very fabric of the institution, we can accelerate the movement of ideas from the lab to the marketplace, drive economic growth across the Heartland, and create new opportunities for entrepreneurs and industries of the future." Individual members of the Walton family and the Walton Family Foundation have been major donors to a number of higher education institutions over the years, including the University of Arkansas, the University of Missouri, Arizona State University, and the University of the Ozarks.
Axios
08-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Ivanka Trump plans new focus on access to fresh produce
Ivanka Trump on Thursday will announce a new focus on access to fresh produce and healthy food, as part of growing national attention to "the role of nutrition in chronic disease and overall well-being," according to a preview provided to Axios. Why it matters: Ivanka Trump, a West Wing official during her father's first term, has mostly stayed out of the spotlight during Trump 2.0. Thursday's appearance marks her return to the national conversation, using her celebrity to spotlight an urgent policy issue. During a fireside chat on Thursday at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, President Trump's oldest daughter will discuss how "private-sector solutions and whole-harvest sourcing are helping expand access to fresh food, support farmers, reduce waste and drive lasting impact across communities," according to the preview. She'll be interviewed onstage by Arianna Huffington — founder and CEO of Thrive Global — who tells Axios that Ivanka Trump's "decision to focus on democratizing access to healthy food comes at an unprecedented moment in our country's healthcare journey, where we're finally recognizing the scale of the crisis in chronic diseases." Ivanka Trump is a co-founder of Planet Harvest, a " profit-for-purpose" company she started with her friend Melissa Melshenker Ackerman, a produce supply-chain expert who is the company's co-founder and CEO. "We launched Planet Harvest to reimagine how American produce moves— not just through the supply chain, but across communities," Ivanka Trump said in a statement to Axios. "By connecting fresh and surplus harvests with those who can benefit from them, we're supporting farmers, reducing food waste, expanding access and using good nutrition to improve health." Driving the news: Ivanka Trump is in Bentonville for Thursday's Heartland Summit, an annual event that showcases Northwest Arkansas as a hub of growth and innovation. The summit was co-founded by Walmart heirs Olivia Walton, Tom Walton and Steuart Walton. Philanthropist Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has made health care a signature issue, along with the arts. The summit is hosted by Heartland Forward — a think tank, based in Bentonville, that focuses on the 20 states in the middle of the country. The big picture: Make America Healthy Again, a movement led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has become a signature issue of the Trump administration and the MAGA base. Former first lady Michelle Obama, through her Let's Move! initiative, promoted healthier foods for schools to help reduce childhood obesity, and access to healthy, affordable food for families. Zoom in: Planet Harvest says it uses "real-time data and smart logistics to match the right produce with the right buyer at the right time," and "collaborates with food manufacturers to turn surplus crops into innovative products — such as dried, no-sugar-added cherries."
