KS - May 22 2025
JoCo Native Slain in DC; MAHA Report released; MAHA Report IDs Food, Chemicals; Kansas Blocks USDA Data Request; KS Delegation Splits On Budget Bill
JoCo Native, KU/SME Grad, Killed in D.C. Embassy Staff Shooting
Kennedy-Led Commission Links Modern Diet, Toxins to 'Sickest Generation' in MAHA Report
MAHA Report Takes Aim at Processed Foods, Farm Chemicals, Puts Trump Admin on Collision Course with Big Food, Big Ag
State Officials Block Federal Push for Kansans' Food Assistance Information
Kansas Delegation Splits Along Party Lines on House Budget Bill
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1. JoCo Native, KU/SME Grad, Killed in D.C. Embassy Staff Shooting
One of two Israeli Embassy staff members killed near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night was from Johnson County, officials said. The two victims, identified as Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, were shot following an event at the museum. National news reports said the two were on the verge of engagement. Milgrim’s father told The Star that she grew up in Prairie Village. Milgrim, who was Jewish, was a 2017 graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School, and a 2021 graduate of the University of Kansas.
Kansas.com
2. Kennedy-Led Commission Links Modern Diet, Toxins to 'Sickest Generation' in MAHA Report
The White House set forth its vision on Thursday for how to “make America healthy again” with the release of an expansive report that blames a crisis of chronic disease in children on ultraprocessed foods, chemical exposures, lack of physical activity, stress and excessive use of prescription drugs, including antidepressants. The report is the product of a presidential commission led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and does not set out specific policy prescriptions. Rather, it offers up carefully selected studies and proposes new research. But it is unmistakably Mr. Kennedy’s worldview, echoing many of the talking points — some intensely disputed — that the health secretary, a former environmental lawyer and outspoken vaccine skeptic, has repeated for decades. The commission paints a bleak picture of American children, calling them “the sickest generation in American history.” It points to what it claims is undue corporate influence in federal policymaking, and makes the case that the government has invested far too much in research to develop treatments for chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, obesity and depression — and far too little in understanding the causes of disease and how to prevent it. Under the executive order Mr. Trump issued establishing what he called the “Make America Healthy Again Commission” — or the MAHA Commission — the panel has another 80 days to outline a strategy to combat childhood chronic disease. Whatever steps Mr. Kennedy takes could put him on a collision course with industry.
NYT
3. MAHA Report Takes Aim at Processed Foods, Farm Chemicals, Puts Trump Admin on Collision Course with Big Food, Big Ag
After World War II, the report notes, when much of Europe and Asia’s agricultural system was destroyed, the United States responded by “increasing its agricultural output through mechanization,” which resulted in industrially manufactured foods and drinks like sodas, chicken nuggets, instant soups and many packaged snacks. Ultraprocessed foods and beverages make up nearly 70 percent of the calories consumed by children and adolescents in the United States. They tend to be high in refined grains, added sugars and fats, and they drive greater calorie consumption, research suggests. The report also calls out food additives often found in ultraprocessed foods, like synthetic food dyes and artificial sweeteners, and which carry some health concerns. Mr. Kennedy has previously said ultraprocessed foods are a major cause of chronic diseases in the United States, and has promised to “fix our food supply.” The panel’s report generated pushback even before its release. Some Republican lawmakers and industry representatives complained this week about the report’s expected focus on widely used agricultural chemicals, including glyphosate, the key ingredient in an herbicide marketed as Roundup. The chemical is mentioned in the report. When Mr. Kennedy testified on Tuesday before members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican of Mississippi, warned him and the commission not to insinuate that the agricultural chemical is unsafe or responsible for childhood disease because doing so could greatly damage farmers. She referred to scientific studies, including an assessment from the Environmental Protection Agency that found the chemical safe when used as directed. “I trust your report will be described as an initial assessment of things to be considered but yet to be determined,” the senator said. Mr. Kennedy assured her that he understood that farmers rely on glyphosate and “we are not going to do anything to jeopardize that business model.”
NYT
4. State Officials Block Federal Push for Kansans' Food Assistance Information
TOPEKA — State officials have denied a federal request to disclose personal information of Kansans using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. On May 6, the Kansas Department for Children and Families received a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that demanded “unfettered access to comprehensive data from all State programs that receive federal funding.” DCF spokeswoman Erin LaRow shared a copy of that letter and other communications in response to an inquiry from Kansas Reflector. The USDA letter specified that information to be collected for each SNAP applicant or recipient included name, Social Security number, date of birth, personal address and records to calculate the amount of SNAP benefits participants received over time. It was signed by Gina Brand, senior policy advisor for integrity at USDA’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services division. The requested data would cover the time period from Jan. 1, 2020, to the present, the letter said.
Kansas Reflector
5. Kansas Delegation Splits Along Party Lines on House Budget Bill
TOPEKA — The Kansas congressional delegation split along party lines on the narrowly passed U.S. House budget bill delivering tax breaks endorsed by President Donald Trump while stripping health care and food assistance from lower-income families.
Kansas Reflector
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https://www.kansas.com/news/state/article306979926.html#storylink=cpyhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/politics/kennedy-trump-maha-report.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/politics/kennedy-trump-maha-report.htmlhttps://kansasreflector.com/2025/05/22/kansas-denies-usda-request-for-personal-data-of-residents-receiving-food-assistance/https://kansasreflector.com/2025/05/22/u-s-house-delegation-from-kansas-votes-along-party-lines-on-federal-budget-bill/