Latest news with #UnitedStatesDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa & More Sign Open Letter for LGBTQ+ Suicide Prevention
To kick off Pride Month this year, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and several more stars have added their names to an open letter advocating to keep federal funding in place for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention measures. As unveiled by The Trevor Project on Monday (June 2), the letter comes in direct response to a leaked United States Department of Health and Human Services budget that showed the Donald Trump administration's plans to eliminate funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ+-related services, which actively supports young people in the LGBTQ+ community considering suicide. Despite it providing help to more than 1.2 million estimated callers since its launch in 2022, the proposal would have the crisis line's funding slashed entirely after going into effect on Oct. 1. More from Billboard 8 Trans & Nonbinary Artists Get Real on the Fight for Trans Rights in 2025: 'Try to Give a F–k' 'Happy Gilmore 2' Trailer Features Cameos From Eminem, Post Malone & Bad Bunny Lady Gaga's 'Wednesday' Character Confirmed, First Six Minutes of Season Two Released 'We are heartbroken by the proposal to eliminate federal funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services — a move that will have devastating, life-threatening consequences for young people across the country,' reads the message, which was also signed by Pedro Pascal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cara Delevingne, Sarah Paulson, Daniel Radcliffe and Darren Criss. 'As artists, creators, and public figures, our platforms come with responsibility. And today, that responsibility is clear: We must speak out to protect the mental health and lives of LGBTQ+ youth. We will not stay silent.' Acknowledging that youth suicide in the LGBTQ+ community is a 'public health crisis' — with The Trevor Project estimating that more than 1.8 million in the U.S. alone seriously consider suicide every year — the signatories directly called on Congress to 'do the right thing' by restoring and protecting funding for 988 in the 2026 budget. The letter ends with a message of support addressed to people most affected by the proposed cuts, as well as an encouragement to sign the nonprofit's petition to save its program. 'To every LGBTQ+ young person reading this: You are not alone,' it concludes. 'We see you. We value you. You have the right to feel safe, supported, and loved exactly as you are. You deserve access to life-saving services that honor your humanity. You may be hurting. You may be scared. You may feel like no one hears you — but we do. We will keep showing up and speaking out. We will not stop fighting for you.' Among the other musicians who signed are Aly & AJ, Bea Miller, Blondshell, Christina Aguilera, Diplo, Ethel Cain, FLETCHER, GAYLE, Julia Michaels, Kelsea Ballerini, King Princess, MARINA, Orville Peck, Tove Lo and Troye Sivan. More big names are likely to sign in the coming days, as the letter will stay open for new signatories on a rolling basis. The message comes at a particularly harrowing time for members of the LGBTQ+ community, who have watched as Trump has spent his first few months back in office working to undo protections for gay, trans and nonbinary people. GLAAD documented at least 225 attacks on LGBTQ+ rights within the first 100 days of the twice-impeached POTUS' second term, including attempts to defund HIV research and cut programs supporting the community. But as The Trevor Project and its allies put it in their letter, now is the time to 'rise together — loudly and determined — for hope, for dignity, and for every LGBTQ+ young person to know that their lives are worthy and that there will always be someone on the other end of the line.' If you or anyone you know is in crisis, call 988 or visit the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's website for free, confidential emotional support and resources 24/7. Best of Billboard Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble, Pentatonix & Train Will Bring Their Holiday Hits to iHeart Christmas Concert Fox Plans NFT Debut With $20 'Masked Singer' Collectibles 14 Things That Changed (or Didn't) at Farm Aid 2021
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. Says 'I Don't Think People Should Be Taking Medical Advice from Me'
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. runs the United States Department of Health and Human Services, but according to congressional testimony he gave on Wednesday, May 14, he shouldn't be viewed as a medical expert. During a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Kennedy was pressed on his past statements about vaccines by Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, among others. Just a few weeks after sharing false claims about the MMR vaccine — which protects against measles, mumps and rubella — RFK Jr. was asked if he would choose to have his children vaccinated today. Kennedy, who has previously stated that he regrets vaccinating his six children, sidestepped the question, saying, 'I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me.' When urged to provide an answer, he said he would 'probably' choose to vaccinate his kids, but again noted, 'My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant … I don't want to give advice.' A vocal anti-vaccine advocate prior to his HHS appointment, Kennedy has continued to promote unproven remedies amid an ongoing measles outbreak, which has reached over 1,000 cases, spread to 31 states and resulted in three deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He was chastised by members of Congress for refusing to take a stand on the matter. In her closing remarks, ranking committee member Rep. Rosa DeLauro noted that Kennedy — as the head of HHS and top adviser to President Donald Trump on health-related matters — 'makes medical decisions every day.' 'You're the secretary of HHS. You have tremendous power over health policy,' she said. '[It's] really horrifying that you will not encourage families to vaccinate their children, measles, chickenpox, polio. Vaccines are one of the foundations of public health. Vaccines, yes, save lives, and the fact that the secretary of health and human services refuses to encourage children to be vaccinated is a tragedy.' Kennedy's latest controversial comments come weeks after he was accused of fear-mongering by falsely claiming that the MMR vaccine contains 'aborted fetus debris.' 'There are populations in our country like the Mennonites in Texas who are most afflicted, and they have religious objections to the vaccination because the MMR vaccine contains a lot of aborted fetus debris and DNA particles. So they don't want to take it," Kennedy told Chris Cuomo during a NewsNation town hall. "So we ought to be able to take care of those populations when they get sick and that's one of the things that the CDC has not done." Numerous health experts quickly refuted Kennedy's remarks and condemned the spreading of misinformation. 'The claim that the MMR vaccine contains 'fetal debris' is not only scientifically inaccurate, it's dangerously misleading,' Dr. Tyler Evans, former chief medical officer for New York City, told The Independent. 'The rubella component of the MMR vaccine was developed decades ago using a well-established human cell line, replicated countless times. There is no actual fetal tissue in the vaccine." Evans continued: "It's time we stop politicizing science and return to evidence-based public health, because mistrust fueled by misinformation puts our most vulnerable communities at risk.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer. 'It is not true that the vaccines have fetal elements, debris, cells in them,' Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, told Health. 'But what is true is that the viruses that need to be grown to create vaccines are grown in cells. In some cases, human cells.' Doron added that among all vaccines, 'MMR vaccine is by far among the safest' because it has been used and studied 'extensively.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Fact check: No autism registry, real-time data platform to be created, HHS says
NEW YORK (PIX11) — An autism registry will not be created, a spokesperson for the United States Department of Health and Human Services told PIX11 News in an email Thursday afternoon. Instead of a traditional registry, a real-world data platform will be established. This platform will link existing datasets to support research into the causes of Autism and provide insights into improved treatment strategies, HHS said. More Local News This announcement comes after the Centers for Disease Control published a new study that found Autism among children aged eight increased from 2020 to 2022. Their report estimates that one in 31 U.S. children has Autism. United States Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says, 'The autism epidemic is running rampant.' Kennedy also noted that autism is a preventable disease. Autism is not considered a disease but a complex disorder that affects the brain. Symptoms include delays in language, learning, and social or emotional skills. Some autistic traits can go unnoticed well into adulthood. Since the announcement, countless reports have surfaced stating that the National Institutes of Health would create a medical records database. 'The National Institutes of Health (NIH) remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing our understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a complex and heterogeneous condition affecting approximately 1 in 31 children, according to 2025 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. In response to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s call to identify the causes of Autism, NIH is investing $50 million to launch a comprehensive research effort aimed at understanding the causes of ASD and improving treatments by leveraging large-scale data resources and fostering cross-sector collaboration.' United States Department of Health and Human Services In the CDC study, published Thursday, the agency found that non-white children, i.e., Black, Asian, and Hispanic children, are significantly more affected by Autism. Kennedy has set a September deadline to determine what causes Autism. Autism experts applaud efforts to understand the condition further, but say the number of reported cases began to balloon as the definition of the condition expanded to include mild cases. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Already Reshaping Your Spice Rack
Spice brand McCormick & Company announced in an earnings call that it is increasing efforts to reformulate products, as the United States Department of Health and Human Services targets food additives and dyes. Several states have already banned a number of food dyes and additives, and the Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of Red Dye No. 3. McCormick & Company may develop new products that align with health-focused food trends, like functional ingredients and high protein States Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s influence is already being felt throughout the food industry in the United States, and you may soon see its impact on your spice drawer. In late March, McCormick & Company, one of the largest spice and seasoning brands in the world and a name that's likely in your own pantry, announced on an earnings call that it's working with its restaurant and food manufacturer clients to reformulate products, as customers move away from dyes and other food additives targeted by Kennedy and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "We are seeing a tick-up in reformulation activity," Brendan Folly, the chief executive officer of McCormick & Company, shared on the call. According to Foley, this is happening across its customer base. Per the executive, this aligns with "what you're seeing and being written out in the news media regarding what we're hearing from the new administration." However, it's not just the HHS targeting food additives — individual states are taking action, too. In 2023, California passed a law banning four chemicals from food production: Red Dye No. 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, and propylparaben. All of these, with the exception of Red Dye No. 3 in a small number of candied and cocktail cherry products, are already banned from use in food across the European Union. "We know they are harmful and that children are likely being exposed at a much higher rate than adults," Susan Little, senior advocate for California government affairs at the activist organization Environmental Working Group (EWG), shared at the time. "It makes no sense that the same products food manufacturers sell in California are sold in the EU but without these toxic chemicals. Our kids need to be protected, too." Related: More Than 10,000 Chemical Food Additives Ended Up in the U.S. Food System — Here's Why In March of this year, West Virginia passed a similar law, banning the use of Red Dye No. 3, Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6, Blue Dye No. 1, Blue Dye No. 2, and Green Dye No. 3, along with the preservatives butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben, from being used in drugs or food products sold in the state. As Food & Wine previously reported, the dyes will be barred from use in "any meal served in a school nutrition program" starting on August 1, 2025. The dyes and preservatives will be banned statewide starting January 1, 2028. "West Virginia ranks at the bottom of many public health metrics, which is why there's no better place to lead the Make America Healthy Again mission," Governor Patrick Morrisey shared in a statement about the law. "By eliminating harmful chemicals from our food, we're taking steps toward improving the health of our residents and protecting our children from significant long-term health and learning challenges." New York state is working on similar legislation, the New York Food Safety and Disclosure Act, which would not only ban specific chemicals, but also require companies to disclose 'generally recognized as safe' (GRAS) additives on food packaging. Several other states have similar bills in the works, which consumers can track using the EWG's interactive legislation map. While McCormick & Company is working on reformulating products, the brand notes that only a small number of its goods contain food dyes. Foley explains on the earnings call, "We don't really have a lot of usage of color in our products as you might expect, at least very, very few overall. Now with respect to [changes to] formulations, we are seeing more activity on that, definitely." Related: States Are Cracking Down on Toxic Food Chemicals — Is Yours One of Them? In January, the Food and Drug Administration officially banned Red Dye No. 3 over concerns about its connection to cancer, noting that it must be removed from food products by mid-January 2027 and from ingested drugs in 2028. McCormick announced in March that it will be phasing the dye out of its products before the ban goes into effect. What can you expect from McCormick & Company moving forward? Foley hinted that the brand may soon launch new products to fit consumers' "healthier lifestyles" and align with growing trends like "hydration, functional foods, [and] high protein." Existing products are being reformulated, and consumers can expect new product releases to come. Read the original article on Food & Wine
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. said HHS layoffs are needed as 'Americans are getting sicker.' Here's what the data shows.
About 10,000 people across the United States Department of Health and Human Services were laid off this week as part of a massive restructuring plan. In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the layoffs represented "a difficult moment for all of us" but that "we must shift course" because Americans are "getting sicker every year." An official at the National Institutes of Health with knowledge on the matter, who asked not to be named, told ABC News that the layoffs were an "HHS-wide bloodbath," with entire offices being fired. Sources told ABC News that affected offices included a majority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health, key offices in the Center for Tobacco Products, most of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the entire assisted reproductive technology team at the CDC. Then, Kennedy told ABC News on Thursday that some programs would soon be reinstated because they were mistakenly cut. MORE: Environmental factors, lifestyle choices have greater impact on health than genes, study finds In a video statement posted on X prior to the layoffs, Kennedy said that he plans to bring to the agency a "clear sense of mission to radically improve the health of Americans and to improve agency morale." In the six-minute clip, Kennedy claimed that the U.S. is the "sickest nation in the world," with rates of chronic disease and cancer increasing dramatically and the lifespan of Americans dropping -- though Kennedy did not present any data in his video to support those claims. Smoking and the use of tobacco products contribute to both chronic disease and cancer -- and the offices tackling those issues are among those that were gutted in Kennedy's recent moves. While Kennedy is correct in his statement that some chronic disease and cancer rates have risen, public health experts said -- and data shows -- that the country has made great progress tackling illnesses, including driving down cancer mortality rates, and that life expectancy is on the rise. "Gutting the public health system while claiming to fight disease is a dangerous contradiction," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital, as well as a contributor for ABC News. "We should be focusing on strengthening – not stripping – the public health system if we're serious about tackling chronic disease," Brownstein continued. "Dismantling key infrastructure will only set us back in the fight to keep Americans healthy." In a post on X, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator from 2022 to 2023, said Kennedy was incorrect in his statement about Americans getting sicker. "So much of what is in here is incorrect," he wrote. "Americans are NOT getting sicker every year. After a devastating pandemic, life expectancy is beginning to rise again." Between 2022 and 2023, age-adjusted death rates decreased for nine of the leading causes of death in the U.S., according to a December 2024 report from the CDC. This includes decreasing death rates from heart disease, unintentional injuries, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, kidney disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and COVID-19. Additionally, age-specific death rates dropped from 2022 to 2023 for all age groups ages 5 and older, the CDC report found. MORE: RFK Jr. claims measles can be treated with vitamin A, linked to poor diet. Here's what science says The report also found life expectancy in the U.S. is beginning to rise again after it dropped in every U.S. state during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Life expectancy in 2023 hit its highest level since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC report. Data showed life expectancy for the U.S. population was 78.4 years in 2023, an increase of 0.9 years from 2022. The drop in age-adjusted death rates was largely attributed to decreases in mortality from COVID-19, heart disease, unintentional injuries and diabetes. "Claims that Americans are getting sicker every year simply don't hold up," Brownstein told ABC News. "Life expectancy is rising again post-pandemic, and we've seen declines in cancer, cardiovascular and overdose mortality." Kennedy has said he wants to tackle the obesity epidemic, including childhood obesity. Research does show that obesity is rising in children in the U.S. and is occurring at younger ages, with approximately one in five children and teens in the U.S. having obesity, according to the CDC. MORE: Environmental factors, lifestyle choices have greater impact on health than genes, study finds A 2022 study from Emory University that studied data from 1998 through 2016 found that childhood obesity among kindergarten through fifth-grade students has become more severe, putting more children at risk of health consequences. However, Jha pointed out in his post on X that "even obesity rates have plateaued and are beginning to turn down" in adults. For the first time in over a decade, adult obesity rates in the U.S. may be trending downward, with numbers dropping slightly from 46% in 2022 to 45.6% in 2023, according to a study published in JAMA Health Forum in December 2024. The study reviewed the body mass index, a generally accepted method of estimating obesity, of 16.7 million U.S. adults over a 10-year period. The average BMI rose annually during that period to 30.24, which is considered obese, until it plateaued in 2022, then dropped marginally to 30.21 in 2023. "Recent research I co-authored in JAMA shows that obesity rates in adults have plateaued and are even starting to trend downward," said Brownstein, a co-author of the study. "That progress reflects the very kind of long-term public health investment this reorg puts at risk." Kennedy has made tackling chronic diseases a cornerstone of his "Make America Healthy Again" platform. Over the past two decades, the prevalence of chronic conditions has been steadily increasing, according to a 2024 study conducted by researchers in Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas. "An increasing proportion of people in America are dealing with multiple chronic conditions; 42% have [two] or more, and 12% have at least [five]," the authors wrote. However, the study also found that the prevalence of chronic disease varies by geographic location and socioeconomic status. Residents who live in areas with the highest prevalence of chronic disease also face a number of contributing social, economic and environmental barriers, the study found. A 2022 study from the CDC found chronic diseases linked to cigarette smoking include respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancers and diabetes. Kennedy is correct in stating that cancer rates in the U.S. have increased, with incidence rates rising for 17 cancer types in younger generations, according to a 2024 joint study from the American Cancer Society, Cancer Care Alberta and the University of Calgary. There has been a notable increase in incidence rates for many cancer types among women and younger adults, research shows. Incidence rates among women between ages 50 and 64 have surpassed those among men, according to a 2025 report published in the journal of the American Cancer Society. MORE: Doctors say loneliness and social isolation should be discussed in health visits Additionally, cancer rates among women under age 50 are 82% higher than among men under age 50, which is up from 51% in 2002, the report found. However, while cancer incidence has increased, cancer mortality has decreased. A 2025 report from the American Cancer Society found that age-adjusted cancer death rates have dropped from a peak in 1991 by 34% as of 2022, largely due to reductions in smoking, advances in treatment and early detection for some cancers. However, there is more work to be done and disparities still persist. For example, Native Americans have the highest cancer death rates of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. Additionally, Black Americans have a two-fold higher mortality rate than white Americans for prostate, stomach and uterine corpus cancers, the latter of which is a cancer of the lining of the uterus. Dr. Jay-Sheree Allen Akambase is a family medicine and preventive medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit. ABC News' Dr. Niki Iranpour, Cheyenne Haslett and Will McDuffie contributed to this report. RFK Jr. said HHS layoffs are needed as 'Americans are getting sicker.' Here's what the data shows. originally appeared on
